Peoples Daily Newspaper, Friday 10, May, 2013

www.peoplesdailyng.com

Vol. 10 No. 95

Friday, May 10, 2013

. . . putting the people first

Boko Haram: Amnesty c’ttee meets Kabiru Sokoto, others >> 3

Rajab 1, 1434 AH

N150

2015: APC’ll deliver good governance - Buhari >> 6

Nasarawa: IGP vows to fish out militiamen

85 bodies deposited in Lafia mortuary Wives of slain cops protest Policemen in shooting spree in Maiduguri From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia, Lambert Tyem, Umar Muhammad Puma, Abuja, Mohammad Ibrahim, Kaduna & Mustapha Kwaru, Maiduguri

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he Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, yesterday vowed to fish out the militiamen that on Tuesday massacred about 100 police and other security officers in Alakyo town of Nasarawa state.

Abubakar, in a statement signed by the Force Spokesperson, Frank Mba, vowed to put an end to the killing of police and other security officers in the country even as he assured that the perpetrators of the recent massacre would be brought to book.

According to him,"This disturbing, condemnable and highly distressing incident, coming closely after similar ones in Bayelsa and Borno states, have thrown up new and emerging threat in the delicate task of policing our country.

"We consider the attack not just an attack on the Nigeria Police and its officers and men but an attack on the collective will of Nigerians to protect and preserve our dear fatherland," the police boss said.

He said the IGP has directed all Contd on Page 2

Remains of slain police officers in Nasarawa state being deposited at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital mortuary, yesterday in Lafia. Photo: NAN

2013 budget: NASS rejects Jonathan’s amendment proposals >> 2

NAF helicopter makes emergency landing in P/Harcourt

>> 3

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PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

Editorial

12

2013 budget: NASS rejects Jonathan’s amendment proposals

Op.Ed

13

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi & Umar Muhammad Puma

Letters

14

Opinion

15

CONTENTS News

2-10

Metro

16-18

Business

19-22

Stockwatch

23

S/Report

24-25

Int’l

27-30

Strange World 31

S

enate yesterday turned down the request by President Goodluck Jonathan to amend the N4.987 trillion 2013 national budget, claiming that the lead debate for the request was not ready.

Senate Leader, Victor NdomaEgba, who led debate on the request, declared at the plenary that Jonathan's request was not ready, sequel of which the request was suspended.

Jonathan had requested to amend the budget, to make appropriation for the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), but

Revue

32-33

Feature

34

Digest

36

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-45

Leisure

47

Columnist

48

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

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

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directed that the Minister of Finance should release funds periodically as due to offices involved, and failures can only be entertained with the due permission of the National Assembly.

Kicking against this controversial clause, President Jonathan said it is impossible since revenues fluctuate and might necessitate budgetary defaults.

In the amendment proposal presented to both arms of the National Assembly in March, Jonathan retained the N4.987 trillion passed by the National Assembly last December but proposed N2.4 trillion as recurrent expenditure as against the 2.3 trillion passed on December 20,

Nasarawa: IGP vows to fish out militiamen Contd from Page 1

Amnesty: Waiting for godot? Page 4

the lawmakers have been demanding that the President sacks the SEC Director General (DG) on the ground that she is not qualified to head the institution.

On March 14, 2013, Jonathan, in separate letters to the leadership of the two chambers of the National Assembly, had rejected a number of stipulations in the 2013 budget which allowed the National Assembly to monitor every kobo disbursed by the executive for project execution.

He called for immediate review of this design, which the federal lawmakers apparently hatched to check the perennial problem of poor budget implementation.

Another controversial clause

2012.

The president is also seeking the approval of N1.588 trillion as capital expenditure as against the N1.6 trillion approved by the parliament last year.

Also yesterday, there were indications that the House of Representatives may return the 2013 amendment budget sent to it by President Goodluck Jonathan back untouched.

Spokesman of the House, Zakari Mohammed, said yesterday that the scope of the amendment makes it seem the National Assembly has not passed the budget in the first place.

According to him, "amendment means there is a law on ground that has defects but with the level of the amendments requested, it is as if a new budget is to be passed.

its field commanders and Special Units including Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) and Commissioners of Police (CPs) to harness all resources available within their domain in ensuring that this reign of terror and lawlessness is brought to an end.

Mba added: "The Nigeria Police Force working in conjunction with all positive minded Nigerians, will do everything within its powers to fish out and bring to book all those involved in this and other similar killings of law enforcement agents.

We must put an end to this endless circle of impunity. Enough is enough."

Meanwhile, at least 85 charred bodies of slain security operatives, including the body of an Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Momoh, allegedly killed by Ombatse militants in Alakyo, Nasarawa state, have been deposited at the mortuary of the Dalhatu Araf Specialists Hospital (DASH), Lafia.

Sources at the hospital confirmed to our correspondent that the bodies, many of which were burnt beyond recognition, were conveyed to the hospital in six ambulances and were deposited at the mortuary.

As early as 7 am yesterday, sympathisers and family members who thronged the premises of the hospital were taken aback by the gory sight they saw, with many thrown into tears as family members try to identify their loved ones among the charred, mangled bodies of the victims.

Narrating his ordeal in a chat with our reporter one of the policemen who sought anonymity, said his survival, alongside 19 others, was only by the grace of God as they were outnumbered and overpowered by the outlawed Ombatse cultists. He pointed out that the militiamen had prior knowledge of their coming and laid siege on the narrow road leading to the Alakyo village, where they were supposed to effect the arrest of their spiritual leader and recover arms said to be in his possession.

According to him, “the road is narrow and they allowed us into their midst before opening fire on us at close range. Efforts to return

fire and scare them into hiding was futile as bullets did not to penetrate them”.

The police officer, who was visibly shaken, explained that the militiamen dressed in black shirts and caps, kept approaching amidst heavy gunfire which forced their Hilux vehicle to turn back, being the last van on the convoy. “Due to the nature of the road and ensuing gun duel, our men could not turn back and ten of us in our van were able to manoeuvre our way out not without suffering bullet wounds," he added.

Also speaking on condition of anonymity, a staff of the Red Cross Society, which went to evacuate the remains of the victims, said the militiamen, who gave conditions that no armed security officer should accompany them, were still keeping close guard in the village.

The Red Cross officer said the militia men seized their phones on entry but returned same after the evacuation of the dead policemen.

In a related development, wives of Policemen killed in Nasarawa state by militia group have taken to the streets in protest of the gruesome murder of their spouses.

The Nasarawa state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Michael Ada, told journalists that the protesting women have blocked the Akwanga –Lafia Federal Highway at the Squadron 38 Mopol base axis in Akwanga.

According to him, the women were demanding to know what actually happened to their spouses even as they called on the government to ensure that justice was done, the killers arrested and brought to book.

Adah said the Commissioner of Police , Abayomi Akeremale, had directed the Akwanga Area Commander to appeal to the women to be calm, adding that the death of the officers was a big blow not just to the Police but to the country at large even as he assured the protesting women that the Police would do all within its power to ensure that the death of the gallant officers was not in vain.

According to eye witnesses held in traffic as a result of the protest, the women, who came out in large number, set bonfire along the highway with many of them wailing uncontrollably and raining curses.

Responding to the incident, the

House of Representatives yesterday condemned the Alakyo killing and urged the Federal and the Nasarawa state governments to provide a platform for dialogue among disputing communities in the state on the path of peace rather than the use of force by the police.

This followed the adoption of a motion moved by Rep Joseph Haruna Kigbu (CPC, Nasarawa) who brought to the notice of the House a violent clash that erupted between some men of the Nigerian Police command in the state and the Ombatse Eggon Youth.

He said the clash was as a result of an allegation by the Ombatse group that the police were on a mission to arrest their spiritual leader at Alakyo village of Lafia East Development Area, adding that about 26 policemen/SSS and 10 Ombatse youth lost their lives.

"If the Federal Government does not assist Nasarawa State Government to maintain security and amicably resolve their communal differences, this may lead to further breakdown of peace and order," he said.

The Nasarawa state governor, Umaru Tanko Al-makura has, however assured the people of the state that government is in control of the situation.

Al-makura, while condoling with the families of the murdered policemen, as well as the federal government, assured that government would do everything to make sure that the perpetrators of the “disheartening” crime are brought to book.

Reacting, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has condemned in strong terms, the killing of the security officials by he cultists.

The body in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani, described the Ombatse worshipers' act as mindless and barbaric. It stated “Those whose responsibility is to secure the lives and property of Nigerians are becoming the targets of religious sects, however defined. This is unacceptable and so should be condemned by not only all religions but also by all peace living Nigerians. ACF, therefore, condemns the mindless attacks in totality.

“Yet we must not fail to point out the fact that criminals among us are shielding themselves with

beliefs which they use to unleash crimes on fellow Nigerians. This country must regard and treat criminals for what they are, regardless of their faiths,’ the ACF counseled.

In a related development, medical and administrative activities at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Borno state, (UMTH) were crippled yesterday morning, as aggrieved heavily armed policemen went on the rampage and allegedly shot a medical doctor, Dr. Abba Kabir, in the leg.

The policemen, had on Wednesday conveyed over 30 corpses of their colleagues killed during the Tuesday deadly attacks by suspected insurgents in Bama local government area of Borno state to the hospital for onward deposition at the morgue.

However trouble started when the security forces returned to the hospital the following morning only to find the corpses lying on the floor without being deposited at the mortuary.

Speaking to an eyewitness who did not want his name in print said, "the rampaging policemen who came to the hospital were provoked and started shooting sporadically when they saw their dead colleagues laying on the floor instead of being in the mortuary.

A staff at the UMTH who declined identification said "I was attending to a patient when I heard horrifying sound of the gunshots and immediately I saw people running helter skelter, which I had no option than to run for my safety too. Although, I cannot tell whether a medical staff was shot or injured, but the whole institution was shut down for over three hours before normalcy is restored ".

Commenting over the incident, Chairman of the UMTH Resident Doctors Association, Dr. Mohammed Yahaya, declared that all the 100 medical doctors of the hospital will embark on an indefinite strike from today, to protest what he termed as 'inhuman' treatment meted out on them.

Yahaya, who spoke to newsmen also exonerated the hospital from any blame, saying the only morgue at the health institution was filled to capacity and that there was no more extra space to accomodate a single corpse.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

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L-R: Vice-Chairman, World Economic Forum, Josette Sheeran, Chairperson, African Union Commission, Mrs. Dlamini Zuma, President Goodluck Jonathan; President Boni Yayi of Benin Republic, President Joyce Banda of Malawi; Vice-President Amissah Arthor of Ghana, And The IFAD President, Dr Abraham Nwanze, at the high-level closing plenary of the Grow Africa Investment Forum, yesterday in Cape Town, South Africa.

Photo: NAN

Amnesty committee meets Kabiru Sokoto, others at Kuje prison

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he Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North yesterday met with some suspected members of Boko Haram detained at the Kuje Maximum Security Prison, Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 17member committee was led by its Chairman and Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Tanimu Turaki, to the prison.

The committee held closed door consultation, which lasted for about three hours with the alleged mastermind of the Christmas day bombing in Madalla, Niger, Kabiru Sokoto and other suspected members of the sect in the prison.

Addressing some State House correspondents on the meeting,

Turaki said the consultation was in furtherance of the committee’s mission to unearth more facts about Boko Haram.

Turaki, however, declined to give details of the consultations but said that the suspects gave the committee members maximum co-operation and that they had constructive dialogue.

“As some of you may have noticed, we have had very useful discussions with some inmates that are being held here on the allegations of being either members of Jamatul Ahlus Sunnah on accounts of terrorism or acts related thereto.

“We want to assure Nigerians that this committee is poised to make sure that it carries out this assignment with all sense of responsibility, with all honesty and with diligence.

“We have had cause in the past to speak to members of Jamatul Ahlus Sunnah and in doing so to tell them that members of this committee are people of proven integrity and accomplished Nigerians who were carefully selected by Mr President to come and do this national assignment.”

The chairman clarified that the committee’s brief was not to grant amnesty but to encourage dialogue among stakeholders.

He added that the objective of the committee was not just to get the group to cease fire totally but to also look for ways of having constructive dialogue, honest and frank dialogue with all major stakeholders across board.

“Therefore, we will continue to solicit the support of not only the people that are considered to be

directly or indirectly involved in this issue, but other Nigerians,” he said.

NAN recalls that President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated the committee on April 24 with a matching order to proffer solutions to the Boko Haram insurgence in three months.

Jonathan said the committee was expected to establish link and open up dialogue with members of the Boko Haram and develop a framework for their disarmament.

He said the committee should also work out a sustainable option that would lead to the granting of amnesty to the group.

The president had also asked the committee to develop a comprehensive support programme for the victims of the excesses of the group. (NAN)

Senate passes State of Nation Address Bill

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he Senate yesterday considered and passed the report of the Conference Committee on the State of the Nation Address Bill 2013 - a bill that will make it mandatory for any sitting President to address a joint session of the National Assembly in July of every year.

Following failure of the Bill to become law after passage by the sixth senate, Senate President, David Mark urged President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure quick assent to the bill. "2013 is the first State of Nation address by Mr President and I hope that he will assent to it as quickly as possible", Mark said.

It would be recalled that June

last year, the House of Representatives had, through a resolution, invited Jonathan alongside security chiefs to appear before a closed session to brief federal lawmakers on the state of security in the country - a move that triggered varied reactions in support and dissent over the propriety of the invitation.

Jonathan has refused to honour the request till date.

A conference committee was set up to harmonize differences in the versions of the bill by the Senate and House of Representatives which had affected its passage earlier on March 13, 2013.

Senators in past debates chorused that the practice is in line with best democratic practice as

evident in the United States and other established democracies.

The bill as passed, if assented to by the President, makes it mandatory for the President, in company of the vice-president and the head of the Judicial arm of government, to address a joint session of the National Assembly on issues such as national security, the economy, foreign policy and social justice.

Going by provisions of the bill, unlike what obtains in the United States from where the model was copied, the State of the Union Address by the Nigerian President would be subjected to rigorous scrutiny and debate in the two chambers of the federal legislature.

Although the President would

necessarily address the parliament as prescribed by the bill when enacted, he could also be compelled to do so through summons, should he fail to comply with the law.

It provided that the President must address the nation on issues of security, economy and social justice on “the first legislative day of July every year.” The bill states that “the President shall address the joint sitting aforesaid on such issues including but not limited to national security, economy, foreign policy and social justice.

The two houses of the National Assembly shall each debate the issues raised within 14 legislative days following the presentation of the State of the Nation Address.

Emir of Gummi, Mohammed Abara, dies at 75 From Salisu Maradun, Gusau

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he death has occurred of Emir of Gummi in Zamfara state, Alhaji Muhammed Abara Gumi.

Gummi died yesterday following after a protracted illness, at the Usman Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto at about 6.00 pm.

The late Emir was at a time Zamfara state representative at the Fiscal and Revenue Mobilization Commission before he finally retired.

He was appointed as the second Emir of Gummi fter the death of Sarkin Mafaran Gummi, Muhammed Aliyu, in 2011.

The late Emir is survived by 42 children, 30 great children and has since been buried in Gummi town.

NAF helicopter makes emergency landing in PH

By Joy Baba

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he Nigerian Air Force yesterday confirmed that one of it helicopter on training exercise Mi-24B made an emergency landing at the Nigerian Air Force Base Port Harcourt at 10 am Nigerian time.

This is contained in a statement signed by Group Captain D.J. Alonge on behalf of the Chief of Air Staff, (CAS), Air Marshal Alex Badeh.

The statement also said there were no casualties as all the crew members came out unhurt.

It further said that on receipt of the information, CAS immediately constituted a team of experts to unravel the circumstance that led to the accident.

PEOPLES DAILY,FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

President Goodluck Jonathan and Amnesty Committee Members

Amnesty: Waiting for godot?

Two Weeks down the line, the much hyped Amnesty Committee has yet to establish contact with Boko Haram, let alone kick-start its tough task in earnest

T

wo weeks after President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated a committee to work out details of a clemency for members of Boko Haram, the militant Islamist sect, the amnesty body has not been able to make any contact with the sect led by Imam Abubakar Shekau.

Three sources, two of them members of the amnesty committee, the third an associate of Mr. Jonathan, told SaharaReporters that the committee was not close to establishing contact with the leadership of the Islamist group that has claimed responsibility for series of deadly bomb attacks in different parts of northern Nigeria, including Nigeria's capital, Abuja.

One of our sources added that the intensification of violence by the sect has left many members of the committee demoralized. "Some of us knew of the psychological difficulties associated with this assignment, but we were hopeful," said the source.

Speaking in a similar vein, another member told SaharaReporters that, unless Boko Haram decided on its own to call off further terror attacks, "the committee is going to be a failure from the look of things."

The second source added that several persons had approached individual members of the committee claiming to

be able to serve as intermediaries to facilitate negotiations with the leadership of Boko Haram. He said none of the so-called intermediaries had demonstrated any capacity to put the amnesty body in touch with Boko Haram's top brass.

A source close to the Presidency in Abuja also told SaharaReporters that the chairman of the amnesty committee, Tanimu Kabiru Turaki, has confided that his group had not reached the sect's leaders. The source added that the committee "is busy looking into past recommendations geared towards

solving the Boko Haram problem."

The source said he was not aware that members of the committee were demoralized. Instead, he praised Mr. Turaki, a lawyer, for continuing to remain positive about achieving results.

"Barrister Turaki continues to assure government that his committee will not fail," he said. "Rather, he and his committee are networking with different stakeholders to achieve a formula towards resolving the challenge of Boko Haram."

This is even as the radical gang continues to attract diverse reactions over its lateast escapade in Borno State.

A cross section of Nigerians and organizations yesterday rose in condemnation of Tuesday's killing of about 55 persons during a clash between members of the Boko Haram insurgent group and soldiers in Bama, Borno state.

President Goodluck Jonathan in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati,

“

The second source added that several persons had approached individual members of the committee claiming to be able to serve as intermediaries to facilitate negotiations with the leadership of Boko Haram.

He said none of the so-called intermediaries had demonstrated any capacity to put the amnesty body in touch with Boko Haram's top brass.

described the incident as callous and wanton attack on innocent Nigerians, in the face of ongoing efforts to establish a workable framework for dialogue and the peaceful resolution of security challenges in northern Nigeria.

According to the statement, "the President warns that the Federal Government's consideration of dialogue as an option for the elimination of some current threats to security should not be seen as a weakening of its resolve and determination to use all the forces at its disposal to crush all brazen affronts to the powers and sovereignty of the Nigerian nation.

"The President urges the Armed Forces and Police not to be disheartened or daunted by the loss of their colleagues but to remain focused and undeterred in discharging their responsibility for the security of lives and property in all parts of Nigeria with the assurance that the Federal Government will continue to give the Armed Forces and Police the fullest possible support to enhance their ability to meet the continuing challenges of terrorism and insurgency."

Also reacting to the killings, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) appealed to insurgents to accept the amnesty that may be offered by the Federal Government and stop further spilling of blood and wanton destruction of property in the region.

The group also described the in the spate of killings in the north eastern part of the country as unfortunate as it condemned the Baga and Bama massacre as heinous crimes against humanity and calls upon the Federal Government immediately set up a judicial commission of inquiry to ensure that justice is done.

Source: Sahara Reporters

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

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PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

Buhari advocates people’s manifesto for APC

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi eader of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has warned that the manifesto of the formed All Progressives Congress (APC) should be crafted with the poor masses in mind, saying this will

L

ensure that the mission and vision of CPC for the people is not compromised.

Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party yesterday, Buhari also urged that the new APC constitution should be studied to ensure that the provisions have adequate checks

and balances.

According to him, “consider the new party manifesto and decide whether they are written in a way that facilitates the realization of the mission of the CPC and attainment of the goals it has pencilled down for the people, or whether they will need to be changed.”

Ubah eyes Anambra Govt House

By Stanley Onyekwere

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hairman, Capital Oil and Gas Industries Ltd, Chief Ifeanyi Ubah, has declared his intention to succeed Governor Peter Obi of Anambra state, in the next gubernatorial polls.

Uba who with reporters in Abuja also fingered Obi for his ordeals in the oil-subsidy scandal.

According to him, “today in Anambra state, our children cannot go to school and the aged cannot enjoy their old age without been afraid of one crime or the other especially the rising menace of kidnapping; therefore our people are running out of the state because of the threat of insecurity in the state.

“I have destiny with Anambra state in truth and in spirit, so I do not aspire to become the next governor, in order to steal the state treasury but because of the need to transform the state; and if a free and fair election were to be held in the state, I would win 70 per cent of the votes.

“There is no state in this country where that you will hear anyone saying that I have been awarded any state contract, because I do not want any contract from any state government especially from Imo state government.

He said that his declaration means that the turning point for Anambra people has begun. ”After advising Gov. Obi, on the need for financial probity in the state, not too long I returned to tell him about my political ambition, but unknown to me I was inviting trouble for myself; and it

wasn’t long Access Bank, which is the government’s bank became the bank to handle subsidy matters; and before I knew it I became a subject oilsubsidy theft scandal.

“At a point it was alleged that I stole the nation’s N46

billion and at another point I was said to be a threat to national security and later on, I was alleged to be holding money worth federal allocation for 11 states; and in the process APCON sealed off my company and my accounts were frozen.”

According to Buhari, the party suspended its proposed membership and registration campaign to avoid sending wrong signals to the public, adding that the merger project was already on and that the committee set up for the membership and registration assignment has developed and concluded work on the structures and framework for the membership registration exercise, which will be implemented following the actualization of the merger project.

While pointing out that the Contact and Mobilisation Committee and Fund Raising Committee have charted out the preferred course of action they intend to follow in the struggle to

•Wants Hanga jailed mobilise people and raise funds for the party, Buhari said the conclusion of the works of the two committees of Merger and Convention, will determine if CPC would be dissolved.

Buhari suggested that the factional chairman of the party, Rufai Hanga, be jailed for failing to submit the CPC’s original certificate of registration.

According to him, “I think what the party will do is to go the court and swear an affidavit and get Hanga to jail.

“I want to assure you that we going to go with APC to INEC and whatever the commission requires I am sure we can comply with it.”

President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor (on the floor), during a prayer session on the state of insecurity in the country, by Christian Elders Forum of Northern States, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Deziani orders investigation of 445,000 domestic crude oil purchase M

inister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Allison Madueke, has ordered an immediate investigation into the management of the 445,000BPD domestic crude oil purchase by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and remittances to the Federation Account.

To ensure the integrity of the exercise, she has directed the NNPC Group Executive Director, Finance and Administration to

engage immediately an independent consultant to conduct the investigation.

Dependable sources at the NNPC said yesterday that the investigation became necessary due to allegations of corruption involving some top officials of the corporation with regards to the management and remittances of the said crude oil purchase.

Deziani is said to have described the allegations as grave and directed that detailed investigations commence

immediately into all aspects of transactions regarding the management of the 445,000 barrels of oil, day allocated, sales to NNPC by the Federation viz-aviz the level of remittances made to the federation.

The investigation, would also cover but not limited the volumes and the value of crude purchased by the NNPC, the allocation of crude oil volumes into the following components-volumes and values utilised exported oil, volumes and values of crude oil

dedicated for offshore processing, volumes and values of crude oiled dedicated to products swap as well as volumes and values of crude oil delivered to local refineries.

The investigation is expected to also uncover the values of proceeds from crude oil purchase, volumes exported, volumes and values of various states of products yield delivered for crude oil and for offshore processing, product swapping and the quantity and values delivered for local refineries.

Similarly, the panel would ensure that it determines amount realized by the Petroleum Price Monitoring Commission (PPMC) from the sales of petroleum, remittances made by Corporate Treasury from the sales of petroleum products, and remittances made by Corporate Treasury to the Federal Allocation Accounts Committee (FAAC) from proceeds of from volumes of crude oil delivered to local refineries, offshore processing, crude exported.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

Briefly Federal Character not for mediocrity says FRCN DG

D

irector-General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr. Samson Shaibu, has cautioned that the Federal Character Commission (FCC) should be used to impose mediocrity in Nigeria.

Shaibu to journalists in Illorin that, “I believe in Federal Character but it is not an avenue for enthroning mediocrity in our country.

“Democracy should tolerate the good, the bad and the ugly of people and that is what leaders should do.”

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

PAGE 7

Subsidy scam: Court dismisses application to quash charges From Matthew Irinoye, Lagos

A

Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja presided over by Justice Lateefat Okunnu yesterday dismissed an application filed by an oil marketer, Emmanuel Morah, seeking to quash the N789.6 million fuel subsidy fraud preferred against him and others by the Economic and Financial Crimes

Commission (EFCC).

Mr. Eubena Ahmedu, counsel to Morah and his company, Rocky Energy Ltd., had filed the application dated March 13,2013.

The defendants standing trial alongside Adamu Maula, George Ogbonna and Downstream Energy Resources Ltd are facing an eight-count charge on conspiracy and obtaining

IMF urges FG to remove fuel subsidy

Resettlement: Abuja indigenes protest

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he original inhabitants of Shere-Galwayi, Sherepe Sheregwari and Sherekoro communities of Bwari area council of the FCT have condemned an alleged plan by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to take over their land without paying adequate compensation.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, leaders of the communities, headed

by Umar Dantani Gbegbe, regretted that government is yet to consult with them on the planned relocation of the inhabitants of the areas.

According to him, “government forcefully took our land and paid us shabbily for economic trees without paying us for our land and some members of the communities were paid as low as between N600 and N1000 as compensation for their economic trees.”

By Umar Muhammad Puma

Bauchi procures 2,000 ox-drawn ploughs

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he Bauchi State Agricultural Supply Company (BASAC) has procured 2,000 oxdrawn ploughs worth N60 million for sale to smallholder farmers in the state for the 2013 cropping season.

The General Manager of the company, Alhaji Usman Ibrahim made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Bauchi. (NAN)

money by false pretences.

In her ruling on the application, the Judge dismissed it for lack of merit, adding that the charge against the defendants was competent and properly filed.

Okunnu maintained that EFCC was right to charge them to court under the Criminal Code Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003 which was in force when they

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani AlisonMadueke

By Etuka Sunday Government should mobilize revenues and he International non-oil Monetary Fund strengthen oil-price rule and (IMF) through its oil savings mechanism Senior Resident while pushing for the of tight Representative in Nigeria, maintenance Williams Scott Rogers, monetary policy until signs yesterday expressed of durable reduction of satisfaction with what he inflationary pressures.

Speaking on the health called the reasonable level of economic stability in the of banking system, Rogers country due to “tight noted that it has improved monetary policy,” but considerably, saying that pointed out that it could be credit to the private sector is better if the Federal growing again and banks Government checks the are now fully capitalized.

But he added that more increasing wave of insecurity and eliminate work on consolidated and fuel subsidy to “help fiscal cross-border supervision should be encouraged while adjustment.”

Briefing newsmen in there is an urgent need for reforms to Abuja yesterday during in structural a presentation of highlights enhance productivity and of the Nigeria IMF staff global competitiveness.

As a result, he said, power report on the 2012 Article IV Consultation, Rogers said reform was a quick win for and the long benefit of the growth saying removal of fuel subsidy competitiveness, would outweigh the that trade protection for immediate or anticipated “infant-industries” should challenges, stating that the be strictly time-bound and money used for the payment focus should be on of fuel subsidy was three measures to improve times more than the capital competitiveness.

On whether the closure budget for a year.

According to him, of Nigerian’s borders to M a c r o - e c o n o m i c stop the importation of encourage or performance and policies in would 2012 were broadly positive strengthen local production fiscal targets for 2013 and and trade, Roger dismissed medium terms are that arguing that no consistent with country develops by closing macroeconomic stability up itself for trading.

According to Rogers, but additional measures like planned savings in export diversification is key recurrent spending would to long-term growth and in require public sector improvement macroeconomic statistics, reforms.

He also urged the Federal especially in national

T

income accounts is important.

However, IMF noted that although international reserves have been rebuilt and now stands at just over US$50 billion, a decline in international oil prices to US$97 per barrel (annual average) can erode Excess Crude Account (ECA ) balances and that a fall to US$80-85 would completely wipe out ECA balances within a year.

allegedly committed the offences.

She further said that their claim that no prima facie case had been established against them in the proof of evidence was not sufficient to quash the charges.

She said: “section 260(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State 2011 provides that an objection to the sufficiency of the proof of evidence shall not be raised before the closure of the prosecution’s case.

“I can find no merit in this present application.

“The prayers therein are accordingly refused and the application stands dismissed.”

She adjourned the matter to May 10 for trial.

The continuation trial of four other oil marketers, Walter Wagbatsoma, Adaoha UgoNgadi,Fakuade Babafemi and Ezekiel Ejidele, also continued before the

court.

The defendants alongside their company, Ontario Oil and Gas Limited are being prosecuted for an alleged N1.9 billion fuel subsidy fraud.

Counsel to the defendants, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), Prof.

Taiwo Osipitan (SAN) and Mr. J.A. Badejo resumed their cross-examination of the prosecution’s witness, Insp. Dalmon Yelma.

The lawyers accused Yelma who is an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of not doing a thorough investigation of the case involving their clients.

The counsels maintained that the defendants did not inflate the volume of petroleum products they had imported into the country as alleged by the witness.

Justice Okunnu adjourned the matter to today for continuation of trial.

PAGE 8

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

L -R: Author of the books, Alhaji Ahmadu Kurfi ,chairman of the occasion , former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, former chief justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais, Executive chairman, safari books Ltd, chief Joop Berkhout , and Representatives of the speaker , House of Representatives, Hon. Jerry Manwe , during the 3 Book presentation, Know your Country and Beyond, Election Contest t Candidate's Companion , and Six years Long March Toward Democracy, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 9

FG begins implementation of LITFC, TBS recommendations

By Stanley Onyekwere

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he Federal Government is set to commence implementation of

Textile workers demand entitlements from northern governors From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

N

ational Union of Textile Garment & Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) has lauded Kaduna state Governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, for his efforts towards restoring investment confidence in the state.

Speaking yesterday at the public presentation of an open letter to Yero and Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF), Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, in Kaduna, the General-Secretary of the NUTGWN who is also Vice President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Issa Aremu, noted that Kaduna residents also bear witness to Yero’s commitment to peace and security.

On the content of the letter, titled, “Save the Lives of KTL Workers” Aremu said that workers at the, “the Kaduna Textiles Limited are demanding the payment of their entitlements.

According to him, the union sometime in September 2005 obtained a court judgment for settlement of entitlements of workers amounting to N687,073,346.00 but unfortunately, the management and owners of KTL (19 northern states) have remained insensitive to the plight of the workers in spite of repeated appeals.

Aremu said, “in March 2013, the NGF set up a committee of five governors headed by Governor of Kwara state, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, with governors of Zamfara, Kano, Bauchi and Borno states as members.

“The committee was mandated to look at KTL and proffer recommendations on the way forward. The report of the committee is yet to see the light of the day.

“The union also visited the Chairman of the Board of KTL, Gen. Wushishi (rtd) in March 2013 on the way forward but he could not give a concrete response.”

Aremu urged the northern states governors to note that sustainable development of any country or state lies in industrialization and mass job creation.

“It is against this background that the union is disturbed by the continuous closure of the KTL since 2000.

“Even more worrisome is the continuous delay in settlement of the entitlements of KTL workers by its owners, the 19 northern states.”

recommendations on disputes over concession of Lagos International Trade Fair Complex (LITFC) and Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), in order to sanitize and re-position the complex for efficiency and competiveness.

This was disclosed yesterday by the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Samuel Ortom, during a meeting with the managements of LITFC and (TBS), on the decisions of National Council of Privatization (NCP), on lingering issues relating the concession agreement.

He said the meeting with the

stakeholders involved was to intimate them that the committee will be going out to ensure that it implements the decisions of the NCP on the complex.

According to the Minister, “gone are the days that committees were given responsibilities, and brought their recommendations and they were approved, and dumped somewhere; because today we are out for action, and we intend to see that we conclude this assignment.

“The essence of concessionary was to give more power, energy and strength to

the complex, so that it becomes vibrant, and more useful , not just to our country but to the entire region and the whole world, because if the facilities there are upgraded to international standard to the level that we can hold international programmes in the place.

“In view of the problems that emanated from the concession agreement, and what was on the ground, we are going to review the entire concession agreement to tarry with the reality on ground now, as we are also charged with the responsibility of implementing the recommendations.

“When all these are done, the issues of outstanding payment will require those who owe to pay up the debt.

“Government believes in the participation of the organized private sector as key to the economic development of our country and that is what we are pursuing.

He also assured the government will continue to support and work with the private sector within the available resources, to ensure that all stakeholders succeed and get out of all the challenges facing the nation.

L-R: Director Solicitors Department, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Olusola Moore; Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Lawan Ngama and Vice President Namadi Sambo, during the national Council on Privatization (NCP) meeting, at the presidential villa yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

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he Jigawa state Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC) yesterday paraded two suspected rapist who were caught defiling nine and 11 years old girls in BirninKudu local government area Also paraded was a deaf man whose house the suspects used to carry out the illegal activity.

The NSCDC state

Defilement: NSDC parade two men in Jigawa Commandant, Muhammad Gidado, said his men were attracted to the scene when a mob attempted to lynch the two men.

He said that medical tests

Kaduna pilgrims’ board Secretary solicits support From Mohammed Ibrahim, Kaduna

T

he new Kaduna State Pilgrim Welfare Board Executive Secretary, Alhaji Tahir Umar Tahir, yesterday solicited for the support and cooperation of stakeholders in Hajj operations in the state.

Speaking during a familiarization tour to some Hajj stakeholders in the state, Tahir said the visit was necessary to seek support for a hitch free Hajj exercise in the state.

At the Ministry for Local Governments, Tahir described its staff as critical to intending pilgrims because all pilgrims come from the 23 local

government areas of the state.

“This is why we deemed it fit to pay you this very important visit so as to solicit for your support and cooperation for a better hajj exercise this year.

“We know how supportive you have been to the board over the years but we still need more support from you,” he said.

At the House of Assembly, Tahir said, “I believe in team work with all stakeholders because that is the only way to achieve our goals to improve Hajj exercise in the state.

“We believe that all stakeholders must put hands on deck to make a difference in this very important religious journey.”

showed that the girls were raped adding that further tests were being carried out to determine if the victims if they were infected with diseases.

One of the suspects Abdullahi Isa, 25, said he lured the girls with N80, explaining that, “one of the girls came to our achaba park crying that her money was

missing from her groundnut sale.

“She told me to give her anything to go to bed with her and I gave her N80 but my friend slept with the other girl.”

Tijjani Abdulhameed, 25, a married man with two children said the devil lured him into the act.

Research Institute vows to transform agricultural sector From David Hassan, Gombe

T

he Lake Chad Research Institute has promised to transform the agricultural sector in the north- east zone.

This is contained in a communiqué at the end of its inhouse review meeting in Gombe yesterday, the Institute’s Chairman and Secretary, Prof.

Mukhtari Mahmud and Mr. Bashir Alhaji Baba, respectively.

According to the communiqué, the Institute has impacted positively on society through appropriate research development on the livelihood of

farmers in the zone.

It further stated that due to insecurity and lack of adequate funding, in north- east zone, most of ADPs in the zone could not perform their statutory obligations.

It also explained that the extension agents to farmers ratio is low throughout the zone, noting that most of the experienced extension officers are retire without being replaced.

It further urged governments of states in the area to support th institute’s ADPs for effective research and extension service delivery.

PAGE 10

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

Briefly

L-R: Chairman, Governing Board, NAFDAC, Professor John Odo Ibu, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of health, Mrs Fatima Bamidele and the Director General, NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Ohil, during the first Inaugural Meeting of the Board, on Wednesday in Abuja,

Oshiomhole sacks Commissioner

E

do State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has sacked the his Commissioner for Ministry of Secondary, Technical and Higher Education, Mr. Ekpenisi Omorotionmwan.

There were no explanations for the sack of the commissioner who was appointed in March.

Oshiomhole also approved the dissolution of the State Universal basic Education Board (SUBEB) chaired by Joseph Emoabino.

A Government House statement said the dissolution of the board and removal of the Commissioner took immediate effect.

The statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof.

Julius Ihonvbere, said that the Governor approved the appointment of Mr. Washington Osifo as the new Commissioner for the Ministry of Secondary, Technical and Higher Education, subject to confirmation by the State House of Assembly.

By Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

100 Nigerians get Belarus scholarship About 100 Nigerians have so far been awarded scholarships by the government of Belarus to study various courses in that country.

The country has also established study centres at the University of Abuja, University of Lagos and Niger-Delta University, Bayelsa state, for preliminary courses to prepare students in Nigeria before they begin their full study in Belarus.

The ambassador of Belarus to Nigeria, Vyacheslav Beskosty, disclosed this when he paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

He said that his country was interested in partnering with Nigeria in other areas including defence and agriculture.

By Umar Muhammad Puma

NEMA seeks collaboration with IFS

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he Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mohammed Sani Sidi, has called for support from the International Federation of Surveyors (IFS) in disaster risk reduction in the country.

Sidi stated this yesterday when members of the IFS paid him a courtesy visit at the NEMA headquarters in Abuja.

The NEMA boss recalled the unfortunate occurrences of communal conflicts arising from boundary disputes between different groups of people across the country, adding that such conflicts have resulted in loss of lives and destruction of property.

He said that NEMA's partnership with the IFS was necessary in order to reduce incessant communal crisis and disagreements through proper delineation and documentation of all disputed land and boundaries across states, local government areas and the various communities of our country."

By Gladys Kenneth

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo.

2015: "Northern youth set to vote out Jonathan" From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

"This man should be charged with treason but he is at a VIP suite at Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, courtesy president Jonathan because Dokubo is from his homeland and Jonathan is also his paymaster.

"The north will not allow President Goodluck Jonathan any other term of four years because you can see the number of people who have been killed during his tenure so far and if he spends another period of four years, you can imagine the number of innocent lives that will be lost," Shinkafi said.

T

meet a strong opposition," the AYCR President, Dr. Suleiman Shuaibu Shinkafi, told reporters at a press conference in Kaduna.

He explained that his group was reacting to the recent statement credited to the leader of the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo.

Dokubo had warned that there will be crisis in Nigeria if Jonathan does not return to serve another term in 2015.

Shinkafi said the northern youth would no longer tolerate

A

At 82, Kurfi releases three new books

he African Youth for Conflict Resolution (AYCR) has vowed to mobilize forces to ensure that Nigerians use their electoral power to vote President Goodluck Jonathan out of office in 2015.

"The northern youth have taken a stand and it is that we are not going to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 and he should not even make any attempt to vie for the Presidency because is going to

veteran teacher and former public servant, Alhaji Ahmadu Kurfi, (The Maradin Katsina) yesterday released another set of three books which was, to many readers, an expression of practical thoughts, knowledgebased and historical antecedents of Nigeria's core values.

Described as apt for Nigeria's history, the books, Know your country and beyond, Election contest: Candidate's companion and Sixty years long march towards democracy, have been likened to William Shakespeare's and Chinua Achebe's Things Fall

By Mohammed Kandi Apart.

In his opening remarks, Former Head of State and Chairman of the occasion, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, expressed optimism that Kurfi's books will contribute towards improving the country's education standards.

"I feel highly privileged being called to be chairman of this book launch and I am very impressed with the author's drive towards constantly striving to educate the younger ones even at the age of

inciting comments from Dokubo and described him as a dreamer.

According to Shinkafi, Dokubo is a joker and we have contacted the youth in northern of Nigeria and briefed them adequately on the lies that the Jonathan government dishes out to the people."

He said that the AYCR was disappointed that the security agencies have continued to allow Dokubo to move about freely after his "inciting comments" on 2015, instead of charging him with treason.

82," Gowon said.

The reviewer of Know your country and beyond, Prof.

Godswill Obioma, described it as "elucidating and synthesis of Kurfi's thoughts on how Nigeria became a country, the challenges and achievements," as well as vivid accounts of socioeconomic values in Africa.

Ahamadu Kurfi started his public service career with the Katsina Native Authority as classroom teacher in 1951 and joined the administrative

service of the then Northern Nigerian Government in 1958 as an Assistant District Officer after he graduated in Economics from the University of Hull, England.

He served in various parts of the then Niger Province and was later transferred to the Federal Civil Service as an Assistant Secretary in 1960.

Kurfi was also electoral officer for Kontagora central Federal constituency in the 1959 federal elections.

FG begins implementation of recommendations on LITFC, TBS

By Stanley Onyekwere

T

he Federal Government is set to commence implementation of recommendations on disputes over concession of Lagos International Trade Fair Complex (LITFC) and the Tafa Balewa Square (TBS), in order to sanitize and re-position the complex, for efficiency and

competiveness.

This was disclosed yesterday by the Minister of state, Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Samuel Ortom, during a meeting with managements of LITFC and TBS, on the decisions of National Council of Privatization (NCP).

Accrding to him, "gone are the days that committees were given responsibilities, and

brought their recommendations and they were approved and dumped somewhere.

"Today, we are out for action and we intend to see that we conclude this assignment.

"The essence of concessioning is to give more power, energy and strength to the complex so that it becomes vibrant and more useful not just to our

country but to the entire region and the whole world.

"In view of the problems that emanated from the concession agreement and and what was on ground, we are going to review the entire concession agreement to tarry with the reality on ground now as we are also charged with the responsibility of implementing the recommendations.

PAGE 11

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

MONEY TIP

How to allocate your cash even when you are broke

Keep track of T your personal finances

T

he first step to getting o u r personal finances under control is to clearly understand where you are.

Review all of your finances listing your assets and debts, including any loans, credit cards or other liabilities.

Many banks will go through a similar process to evaluate your financial health, where they compare your income and assets with your debts and liabilities to come up with a percentage called your debt to equity ratio.

It is important to be honest and thorough, as you will need to use this information to help build your financial plan.

Find a method of tracking your personal finances, either with a simple book and paper ledger or with automatic software packages like Quicken or Microsoft Money. This will not only help you track and budget how you spend your money, but the software can integrate with many online banking services which allow you to keep a virtually real-time picture of your spending.

The important thing to do is to be consistent and make sure all of your spending and budgeting is tracked for a complete picture.

Once you have an accurate picture of your personal finances, you need to identify your short and long term goals. When do you want to retire? Are there specific purchases you are planning? Are there any time frames to consider? Are you planning for your children's education or just interested in being debt-free? y

Quote When it comes to investing, nothing will pay off more than educating yourself. Do the necessary research, study and analysis before making any investment decisions.

- Benjamin Franklin

here are many reasons why you might have a serious lack of cash, and it can seem impossible to budget the little bit of money you have on hand. Of course, the obvious question is "How did I get in this mess in the first place?" and the answer is usually due to a lack of smart budgeting. But since we can't go back and change the past, all we can do is look towards the future and try to do better with our money management.

Here are some tips for surviving life when you are cash-strapped or flat broke.

Don't Stay Silent It won't take long until your creditors come calling. The worst thing you can do is ignore those calls, and the best thing you can do is take control of the situation, no matter how out of control you feel. Ask your creditors upfront for a payment extension or an alternative payment plan on a temporarily basis until you can recover from your financial hardship.

Prioritize the money you do have If you find you are falling a few hundred dollars short of your monthly financial obligations, sit down and prioritize the bills you need to pay such as your mortgage, electricity, and insurance payments. The other bills can wait until you free up more cash.

You want to make sure you keep your home and have the basic utilities you need to survive.

Finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, whose ministry allocates monthly revenues to federal, states and local governments Again, speaking to your individual creditors can also help you extend payments without serious consequences and assure your creditors you are doing your best to get back on track.

Interrupt your savings plan...for now If you have been contributing to a savings account, it would be wise to put that money to better use.

Otherwise you will find that in order to save your typical N150

a week, you will need to pay a few hundred dollars in overdraft bank fees, credit card interest rates, and other fees for making late payments or missing them entirely.

Don't live on credit A big mistake people make when they are short on cash is to use their credit cards like they would their paycheck. They are quick to spend on credit because it is available, but they fail to see the long term impact these

purchases will have on their financial life. The golden rule of credit card use is that you should only spend on credit what you have in cash reserves. Since you have no cash, you're likely to end up racking up even more debts you can't afford.

Add to Your Income If you do not foresee an end to your budget crisis in the immediate future, you should start to take action now to find ways to boost your income.

Depending on the reason for your financial hardship, you may need to find a second job and bring in another paycheck.

You may also want to consider working overtime when you can or offloading some of the stuff around your home through a yard sale or online auction. The faster you can regain your financial ground, the less expensive this period will be for you in the long run.

Get cracking on a new budget While the last thing you may want to do is deal with your money issues, now is the time to construct a better, more viable budget to prevent this from happening again. Even if this current financial hardship was due to unforeseen circumstances (such as a medical emergency or job loss) you should make a plan to be better prepared for such instances in the future.

Boost your income and your savings goals, and learn new tricks to start living below your means.

Slow, steady and focused, debt race will be won

W

hen I woke up to the reality of having N200,000 of credit card debt, I had to face this hard truth, I didn't get into debt overnight, so I'm probably not going to get out of debt overnight.

In fact, it took me four and a half years to pay off my debt.

There were plenty of times throughout that journey when I wished there was some easy way to just wipe it all out. But there was no easy way. I don't recall ever considering bankruptcy. I racked up all that debt. I needed to pay it all off.

So I did. Slowly, month after month, I sent big checks to creditors, paying dearly for trips I had taken long ago and restaurant meals I no longer remembered.

Today, with the perspective that time brings, and with lots of experience helping others struggling with debt, I honestly believe that the slow and steady way out of debt is the best way.

The danger of fixing symptoms For many people buried under a mountain of debt, bankruptcy looks appealing; quick way to end the pain.

However, according to a paper published by the Bankruptcy Data Project, a Harvard University-based research group that has studied

bankruptcy for over twenty years, one year after filing for bankruptcy, one in four filers were struggling to pay routine bills, and one in three said their overall financial situation was similar to or worse than when they filed.

Tossing your debt overboard may feel good for the moment.

However, for many people, ditching debt without addressing the underlying causes often turns out to provide only short-term relief.

Lasting changes require changes of the heart When I was blindly digging my way into debt, I saw buying stuff as the route to feeling good about myself. I bought things I couldn't afford in order to tell the world I was somebody.

I also saw carrying a balance

on credit cards as normal behavior. How else did most people get by?

I probably could have learned some helpful new behaviors around money without changing these attitudes: how to use a budget, how to set up an emergency fund, and the like. But without a serious attitude adjustment, I doubt I would have been interested. Or, if I did start dabbling in new habits, they probably wouldn't have lasted very long.

A psychiatrist friend tells me that attitudes and behaviors work in circular fashion to bring about change.

Behavioral changes tend to alter our attitudes, and attitudinal changes tend to alter our behavior. However, they don't

usually happen on the same schedule. While we may be able to force ourselves into some short-term behavioral changes, attitudinal changes take time.

You can't just slap on a new conviction like cologne.

Getting on the slow track To be sure, getting out of debt requires behavioral changes.

You need to stop going any further into debt. You also need to gather the facts. How much debt do you have? Write it all down, and add it all up. Create a cash flow plan (a.k.a, a budget).

Then start rolling a debt snowball.

However, getting and staying out of debt also requires the slower work of heart change.

Start by taking a close look at your financial attitudes. Are there any ways of thinking that have contributed to your debt?

Have you been buying things you can't afford in order to feel better about yourself, like I did?

Acknowledging those attitudes is the first step toward changing them.

One of the key attitudinal factors that helped me turn things around was accepting responsibility for my debts. The credit card companies didn't manipulate me into carrying balances on my cards. My parents didn't fail me in some way.

Share your Money Tip: do you have a business/money idea, and you want to share it with our dear readers? Then, send it to: ikabirsule@gmail.com or (text it to 08091904890)

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 12

EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

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The curse of Wukari

esidents of Wukari, Taraba state's second largest city after Jalingo, the capital, have not ventured outdoors for almost a week now since the government slapped a 24hour curfew following sectarian violence that broke out on May 3. It was the second deadly clash between the Jukun Christian and Hausa Muslim populations of the town. The first outbreak was in February.

Wukari was the capital of the once powerful Kororafa Empire, which at its zenith in the 13th century, occupied the whole of modern Middle Belt, extending as far north as Kano. The present chief, the Aku Uka, is still influential because he is a first class chief and the chairman of the Taraba state Council of Emirs and Chiefs. However, the town's history of violence has whittled down his influence of late, with people asking why he should continue to preside over the council when he cannot hold his people together.

The May 3 crisis, according to the police authorities, claimed 39 lives and displaced over 3000 persons, now housed in camps. It came a day after, the state's acting Governor, Alhaji Garba Umar, inaugurated a seven-member committee to probe the violence in February that left one man dead and a lot of public and private property, including places of worship, destroyed.

While the spark for the February mayhem was an argument at a football training session involving Christian and Muslim youths, last week's violence was ignited by the pelting of a Jukun funeral procession in the Muslim section of the town.

According to the police, it is the tradition of the Jukuns that when a

member of the royalty dies there should be a funeral procession round the town before he is taken to his final resting place.

This time the funeral procession for a title holder on May 3 had proceeded in peace until it reached Karofi Street, dominated by the Hausa. There the procession was allegedly pelted with stones by youths; the mourners ignored the provocation and continued their march to the burial ground, but on their way back they went violent at the very spot where the procession had been attacked. In no time,

“

we believe the government's tardiness in investigating the February crisis did indirectly fuel the latest violence the fighting deteriorated into utter bedlam and mayhem.

Speaking on the latest violence, Public Relations Officer for the Taraba Police Command, Assistant Superintendent (ASP) Joseph Kwali, described the situation as one "under control". The police said the same thing in the wake of the February violence. They claimed "enough policemen" had been deployed in the town to avert a repeat of the sectarian violence. Yet it did not take quite three months before the latest round of killings and destruction erupted. Two things can

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”

be inferred here. It is either the security personnel deployed was too small in number to police a town as large as Wukari or they were ill-equipped and so were overwhelmed by marauding youths. Whatever was the case, the investigation that acting governor Umar has ordered should get to the root of it.

The panel has also been tasked to investigate the role played by religious leaders and traditional rulers in keeping Wukari on the boil. The town, of the late, has been a hotbed fundamentalist Pentecostal evangelism which draws a lot of Jukun followers. This development has forced the small Hausa Muslim community into a defensive cocoon. It perhaps explains why a purely traditional funeral procession so easily turned into a deadly ethno-religious confrontation. While we by no means advocate an abridgement of people's right to profess their faith, we definitely urge a curb on religious activism that sets one faith against another.

That said, we believe the government's tardiness in investigating the February crisis did indirectly fuel the latest violence. We believe if it had acted much quicker, it would have been able to take measures to avert last week's. As it is, which will the panel investigate, the February crisis or the May one? Will there be another panel to probe this latest violence? No easy questions for the acting governor whose position is too weak to handle the turmoil in the state's southern senatorial district of which Wukari is the capital. Such power still resides with Governor Danbaba Suntai, bedridden in a hospital in Germany as a result of a plane crash last October.

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PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 13

Decoding Kuku’s dire consequences hypothesis

By Babajide Balogun

O

nce again Nigeria is back in the musical chairs of disruptive politics. As was the case during the period when former military dictator and Head of State, General Sani Abacha wanted to transmute from a military leader to a democratically elected president, certain agents provocateur within the polity are beginning to sell the odious message that the corporate survival of Nigeria would come under heavy threats if President Goodluck Jonathan is not returned to office in the 2015 elections.

Since that failed attempt by General Abacha, successive leaders , with only the exception of General Abdulsalami Abubakar, have employed the institutionalization of fear as the only mechanism of perpetuating themselves in government.

Usually, the pattern is to weave a situation of national security importance as the major reason why the incumbent should remain in office. It is a sort of improvement upon the sit-tight syndrome in which African leaders used brute force to repress dissenting voices in perpetuating themselves in office during the past decade.

Under the new method of sittightism, the state creates a

By Michael Oluwagbemi

T

here is this natural tendency to despair in the rot called Nigeria even when one lives in this paradise of misgovernance in fits and bursts.

However, despair is exactly what the rulers of Nigeria want us to feel, and we must not give them such pleasures. Despair has succeeded in driving millions, miles away from the shores of our land even as these locusts multiplied their plan of destruction on the helpless souls left behind. But in the midst of despair, is it still possible to see hope? I dare to think so.

Nigeria is a paradise of misgovernance but also a fixers' workshop. Everything here needs retooling, starting from the very minute you step your toes on this shores. The air tight, sweat inducing tunnel that connects most ordinary travellers from their airconditioned international aircraft to the derelict and disgusting Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA) will be a great start. Okay, once you get past that the dimly lit welcome halls, the begging immigration/ customs officers and the lack of basic airport orderliness and management will be next. Need we talk about how the luggage is handled? Can someone stop the madness already!The madness about this rot that still confound otherwise sane commentators are the fact that only the most inept rise to the very top in this society.

A society that requires men with a game plan, men with grit to deliver complicated projects and reforms, men with commonsense touch for what is wrong and what needs to be done to right them seem to be obsessed

scenario which makes the incumbent government seem somewhat indispensable. During the General Abacha's episode, the tune was that only the dark goggled General held the key to keeping the military at bay in other to allow the emerging democratic experimentation to flourish. Paradoxically, it was even the political actors in the political contraption of that era, of which the late Cicero and prodemocracy activist, Chief Bola Ige, coined five fingers of leprous hand ( an euphemism of the five registered, state-controlled political parties) that were beaconing at Abacha to pick up their presidential ticket.

Ironically too, it was the men who were behind the push for Abacha's presidential candidature and General Olusegun Obasanjo's third term adventure, that are also today behind the eitherGoodluck Jonathan-or-nothing 2015 campaign. In a political system where politics attracts a lot of economic gains, it is hardly surprising lobbying to keep the president in office has become an industry and men like Kingsley Kuku, Tony Anenih have devised a professional career along that industry.

During the third term adventure of Obasanjo, it was convenient for the promoters of the agenda to say that he was the

only citizen Nigeria had who could fight and subdue the monster of corruption. And they didn't just come about that theory accidentally. His government had carefully weeded out all its perceived political opponent through an orchestrated process of official labeling of those opponents by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as corrupt politicians. The EFCC even came up with a stratagem, which was to disqualify victims of Obasanjo's quasi anti corruption crusade from participating in the 2007 elections. As a matter of fact, the annihilation of politicians from political contest by the Obasanjo government can only be compared to what General Ibrahim Babangida did when he barred all top politicians in the country from participating in 1993 presidential election.

Coming to the Jonathan administration, it has appeared that some officials of governments have begun the process of deifying President Jonathan as the only solution to keeping the country together.

This time around, the catchword is to say that without a President Jonathan, militancy will return to the Niger-Delta region. That was the odious message that the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta,

Chief Kuku, delivered to officials of the United States of America recently.

Although the statement made by Kuku is as embarrassing as it is disturbing, but where the worry is, is that certain actions of the government in recent time tend to lend credence to the suspicion that this administration seeks to make a political capital out of the pervasive mood of insecurity in the land. For instance, why would Kuku make such an outrageous statement just few days after government proposed the composition of a committee to look into the issue of granting amnesty to the dreaded Boko Haram sect? Or, when the major opposition party in the country, the Action Congress of Nigeria is accusing the government of surreptitiously reviving another militant organization, the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) in the Southwest of the country. Just recently too, the police in Lagos State discovered that the building being used to manufacture bombs by suspected Boko Haram members belonged to the Bayelsa state government.

It seems, although without concrete proof, that the government is flirting with these various militia groups so that they will be the ones issuing threats that the only panacea for

them not to revert to terrorism and violence is for Jonathan to remain in office after 2015.

Already, there are speculations in some quarters that there is a political faction of the Boko Haram sect. It is not improbable that with the setting up of a committee on amnesty for the sect, this so-called political faction of the sect will emerge to accept the amnesty offer and goes on to state that part of its terms for the amnesty is a continuation of the Goodluck Jonathan presidency.

The country has been used to this type of divisive politics, but the most interesting outcome of it is that the promoters of the perpetuation plots have never been successful at it. Not just that. It has also become public knowledge that the nation has fared better without them around such issues where they weaved the plot of their indispensability. Nigeria did better in democracy without a president Abacha; Nigerians knew better what manner of anti-corruption crusader Obasanjo was when he failed in his tenure elongation bid.

Perhaps the same way Nigerians will get to know better that we can do better with the fight against terrorism and militancy without a President Jonathan.

Babajide Balogun resides in FCT, Abuja

The problem with fixing Nigeria with empty big-men, noisemakers and men of easy virtue surrounded by sycophants! Leadership in our society is upside down. Those that are leading were naturally made to be forgotten and unseen. Both their emotional IQ and organization IQ hover slightly above zero, except for a few who had to sacrifice whatever they had in IQ just to descend to the bottom of the barrel and rise to the top of Nigeria's leadership.

This is the story of why Nigeria has not been fixed and why it will take a while to do so.

Now beyond these, we have to recognize two other reasons why fixing Nigeria remains a mirage.

First is that fixing requires undoing entrenched interests that will fight one tooth and nail to preserve the status quo. Take the example of the MM Airport.

Care to know why Lagos with a population of 17 million is stuck with one tiny terminal, while Houston with four million has two major airports with one having about five terminals to boot? Well, it is call "entrenched interest".

I understand the cleaning contract that never happens does kick back to the very top of the aviation ministry! Go figure. The parking, the collection - all of that stuff that annoys you about the Lagos airport pays into a kitty that will fear losing that jackpot over the unknown of a well operated airport or a new one for that matter! It is not that complicated. Another reason why this mirage of fixing Nigeria may persist is that fact that good people even when they approach

governance in our country assume somehow they can do it alone. Wrong! In a nation with entrenched interest, a bottom-up clean up requires a team of patriots. If you dare walk over the establishment alone, then you will have yourself to blame.

I'm using the airport as a very simple and probably the most basic fix that can happen in Nigeria. But try even the oil & gas, power, transportation and construction sector for reforms; and real giants will pursue you in your dreams without a very strong team to withstand the barrage of counter attacks by the owners of Nigeria.

Always remember Rome was not destroyed in a day, and it will take far longer to rebuild it! With decades of bad governance under her belt, and as an increasing proportion of the population surrenders to the rot of public service and corruption, Nigeria

requires a top-down scrub not just a rinse. In this society, it will take more than a good heart to fix it. It will take serious heart & liver, some degree of strategy and good measure of patriotism mixed with common sense. You will need to pick your battles and sequence reforms so that the entire system does not collapse on itself; one must also recognize that far more important than fixing Nigeria now is sustaining those reforms. Good people in good places, remains the only answer. How many good Nigerians are left? I reckon only those that try will find out but don't be too hopeful.

Would-be mini-reformers in the past and present have always had to build a parallel civil service to achieve the bare minimum. I understand the Lagos state Governor Fashola pretty much does the same thing in Lagos; moving from the round

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Always remember Rome was not destroyed in a day, and it will take far longer to rebuild it! With decades of bad governance under her belt, and as an increasing proportion of the population surrenders to the rot of public service and corruption, Nigeria requires a top-down scrub not just a rinse

house to a building where his key private sector driven executive arm implements the tiny magic that have stopped the slide into rot in Lagos but has not completely driven out the madness. Of course he keeps commissioners at the relevant ministries, but they're there to keep an eye on those trouble makers and do occasional cherry picking not do real work.

To this end we must recognize the importance of having a team of reformers elected or selected to have any hope of fixing Nigeria the way it is. There is a very practical aspect to this suggestion, first is the reality that the organ for executing life changing programs in Nigeria cannot be the existing system.

Doing this practically requires a sponsor; I mean money. Let us hope the true capitalists that have been doing those talk shops i.e. the Dangotes, Elumelus, Bello Osagies and Kola Karims, will put their money where their mouth is. Need we challenge them?

What it will take to fix Nigeria bit by bit; assuming you or I were privileged to plan this fix - as a team of course; what and how should we do it? We cannot forget the importance of these insights that for every reform planned there is an entrenched interest, that we must pick our battles, that good people are more important than good policies and that in this society; reform is another name for war. Once we have this understanding, let us get to fixing!

MichaelOluwagbemi @busanga

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 14

By Kabiru Alaramma

T

he low or high performance of a public office holder in modern management of any organization is measured with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

This approach is not too different in public administration. KPI assessment is always hinged on poor, average, above average, good, very good and excellent, depending on how the score sheet is achieved by the head of the organisation. Now how would one rate the FCT Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board, with just few months away from commencement from full Hajj exercise? The way things are going at the Board, it is easy to say this year's Hajj operation may be in jeopardy. It may go down in the annals of history as the worst ever organized pilgrimage for being uneventful, thus assuming below average performance.

There are no tangible measures to scale up the welfare of pilgrims, speed up the process of public mobilisation and enlightenments and come up with an effective organization and scientific way of doing things. Nothing seems to be working efficiently at the board as at now. Curious minds are worried about the possibility of having a successful exercise, on

Saving FCT Muslim Pilgrims Board favouritism in account handling their palpable case. challenges in Public the Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text service should administration be seen and messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written of the board. treated as a Most contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 privilege. But, worrisome is the words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and when people are fact that in spite a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed called upon to of the to: serve; and they importance of do so with Hajj to Muslims, humility and The Editor, the Federal great Capital Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, commitment, Territory 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. then the task Administration Email: opinion@peoplesdaily-online.com ahead would be [FCTA] which is SMS: 08134607052 achieved with the supervising relative ease. body is yet to appoint a substantive head that But when people get used to the houses the team rented for will steer the affairs of the board. glamour of office and begin to lose pilgrims was roundly rejected by Observers are quick to say that sight of their own ordinariness, a the National Hajj Commission of this too important organization is danger is lurking around that Nigeria [NAHCON] for being too strategic to be run on ad-hoc will spell doom. With several grossly sub standard, a pointer to basis. Excuses such as we have years operating on ad-hoc basis, the delusion awaiting the been having it lately and the FCT Muslims Board must rise pilgrims. So far, there is very whoever is in charge it the up and begin to create its own little to hold on to that can bring exercise would go on point to succour to the minds of intending history by improving on nothing but an instinct for a previous performances and this pilgrims since the taking over of failure of ability. can only be successful when a affairs by the present leadership.

How bad the situation is can substantive leader that is The board is yet to come up with be measured with the recent pre- scientific methods of organizing a credible, upright and focused is hajj visit of the board's officials to appointed. It appears doing this hitch free exercise that would the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia guarantee orderliness and ensure would remain a far cry as the under the present leadership. supervising minister, the that pilgrims who come first are Regrettably, one of the proposed Minister of State continue to treated first and with no

WRITE TO US

watch helplessly the rogue that has been going on at the board in years back.

I hope the FC Minster, Senator Bala Mohammed, will listen a bit more attentively so as to salvage the situation. The fact is that now is the time to appoint a Director that would turn around the fallacies at the board. In 2009, Sir, a panel of enquiry set up shortly after the Hajj exercise, point to lack of organization, poor leadership and commitment to duty by some officials which to date are the same people in charge of affairs at the board. It is enough to make you shudder at the thought of any of them being part of the management team with access to public purse, authority and influence.

If the minister had been listening hard enough, he would have realized that there is certain disquiet in the board today. The workers are angry, in fact very angry with the management's style, as the affairs of the board are being carried out through proxy. And going by the pulse of the workers, it seems they have spoken in unison - "We have had enough".

Kabiru Alarama wrote in from Garki, Abuja

2013 British billionaires list: No black faces

By Taju Tijani

T

he Sunday Times recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of listing men and women of class, rank, privilege, substance and excessive money in the UK. As a professional snooper of the life of the rich and well heeled in the UK, April had always been a much awaited month to undertake an annual ritual of "unroofing" the hidden wealth of the fabulously wealthy. The more I glazed my eyes on the glossy pages of the latest 2013 rich list looking for redemption, the more the grim conclusion hit home. It is still a white and brown affair. It has been a chastening and depressing affair year in and year out.

Conspicuously delisted are black faces. We are still hewers of wood and drawers of water to the dominant population of white and brown faces all around us.

Caviar-fuelled and champagne parties celebrating the arrival of billions are still exclusively the preserve of white and Asian moneybags who live in pampered lifestyles.

Money, influence, privilege and power are still eluding black British in an astonishing degree.

There is as yet no fresh-faced black new comers to give me hope of better days ahead. Rather I am faced with a hard disbelief.

How do I grapple with the fact that businessmen from the Indian subcontinent have become the dominant force at the top of the rich list? Myth, fantasy or plain truth, the Asian money miracle is becoming a folkloric legend. In 1972, many of them were thrown out of Uganda by Idi Amin Dada, the then ruler.

Many more will walk away

from Malawi, Kenya and Tanzania and faced the West.

They were prepared to use their mind to overcome matter. They were prepared to use their minds to demolish obstacles and manimposed glass ceiling.

In the top 100 richest British, 39 are foreign born. These settled foreigners to the UK are collapsing paradigms through sound investment strategies, hardwork, cooperation, deferred instant gratification, risk taking and entrepreneurial hardness to lead this year's Rich List. The richest British billionaire is not a blue blooded Englishman from the leafy shire but a humble lamb from Russia, Alisher Usmanov, the part owner of Arsenal, the club I support. The second richest is yet another foreigner, Russianborn American tycoon, Len Blavatnik. The third richest immigrants in the list are Sri and Gopi Hinduja brothers. With the displacement of Lakshmi Mittal from the usual number one, the elite Rich List is a witness to its own silent coup this year.

Mittal who had perched like a lone eagle on top of the Rich List for eight years is in the fourth position. Roman Abrahamovich, the Chelsea club owner, slips into the fifth richest British billionaire.

What is striking here is that wealth is tilting disproportionately towards Russians, Asians and the Chinese.

Zong Qinghuo, the Chinese consumer goods tycoon, was recently named among the 50 internationally acclaimed billionaires. Another new record is the number of women minting money in their chosen professions. Twenty years ago, the Queen was the act to follow.

She was the iron lady in the list of the rich and wealthy. Today, Kirsty Bertarelli (pharmaceuticals) ranks among the richest in this year's Rich List.

The Queen is demoted to the thirty-three position.

Why are we conspicuously blacked out on a free-for-all, fair and democratic level playing field of high finance and serious

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money? Can we blame the iconic compiler Philip Beresford who set the bar of inclusion in the Rich List at £75million? Is there no black British worth that amount? Why do we toil so much for this nation and yet the wheel of big fortune just roll pass us?

The era of rationalising racism as the authentic answer to our collective financial backwardness can now be seen as mantra for the fools. That old default setting has been used by the Asians to build a template to a soaring wealth and influence.

And they are thumping our nose for failing and falling behind the wealth race. Mo Ibrahim, our yearly redeemer, is the only black man in the 2013 Rich List of 1,000 wealthiest British. With a fortune of £520m, he is ranked as the 168 richest man in the UK. This mobile telecom mogul is a sure signpost foretelling us that the gates to opulent lifestyle for black British are not yet shut. We can still dangle the keys to a gleaming Bentley. We can still receive customised massage from

The era of rationalising racism as the authentic answer to our collective financial backwardness can now be seen as mantra for the fools. That old default setting has been used by the Asians to build a template to a soaring wealth and influence. And they are thumping our nose for failing and falling behind the wealth race.

Mo Ibrahim, our yearly redeemer, is the only black man in the 2013 Rich List of 1,000 wealthiest British. With a fortune of £520m, he is ranked as the 168 richest man in the UK

the soft palm of angelic but delicate bunnies. We can still eat caviar, drink the fabled Dom Perignon and wake up on a warm futon bed overlooking the Camana Bay in the Cayman. We can still cruise the sky with shiny Gulfstream.

Another year has passed and we are still stuck in the same rut.

Now, it is time for the black community to start producing idea rebels. It is time to work with vision and not black-on-black violence. It is time to risk. It is time to develop noble revulsion for poverty. It is time to use our brain and not our bravura. We have spilled our blood in the boxing ring to bring glory to Queen and country. We have run the race on the tracks to bring medals to Queen and country. We have cleaned dirty bums of rich elites in nursing homes. We have sold cocaine to the upwardly mobile city stock brokers. We have allowed men in grey suits with stiff upper lips to contain and control our destinies.

It is time to guard our minds with a governing philosophy of "YES, WE CAN", an Obama mantra that eventually made him to achieve the impossible.

Yes, we can reject and break free from the limiting orthodoxy that continues to regard us as chattels of the old colonial British empire without any hope of breaking into the exclusive zones of industry, retailing, banking, Internet gambling, food, distribution, fashion, high finance, property, investment, steel, diamond trading, supermarkets, construction, aviation, media, pharmaceuticals, horse racing, hotels, packaging, insurance, electrical goods and transport? tajutijani@hotmail.com

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 15

The illogicality of new aviation policy

By Emmanuel Onwobiko

S

tella Odua, the princess from Anambra state, is Nigeria's minister of aviation. Of late, she has been introducing grossly subjective and partisan aviation rules that are widely seen as targeted at the most visible political opponent of President Goodluck Jonathan, who happens to be the governor of River state, Chief Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. Her ministry recently grounded an aircraft belonging to the River state government which has been used over the past few months by the governor for official duties.

Amaechi's robust handling of his brief as the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum is seen as a political threat to the ambition of the President to run for office again in 2015. His fear is that the position Amaechi holds makes him visible enough to be a presidential material, running against Jonathan.

Therefore, his growing wings must be cut.

The foot soldiers of the aviation minister have in the past few weeks orchestrated a series of dramatic scenarios concerning the airworthiness or otherwise of the new jet, a Bombardier-BD700-1A11 [Global Express] owned by the government of state of River.

First, the aviation officials committed a grave blunder when they refused to allow the aircraft to airlift the Governor of River state and the Speaker of the

Federal House of Representatives; Aminu Waziri Tambuwal; who flew into Akure, Ondo state from Imo state and had wanted to take off from the Akure Airport after attending the funeral of the late Deputy Governor of the sister Ekiti state. On discovering that their lie that the failure of the pilot of the aircraft to pay landing cost at the Akure Airport did not hold water, the aviation officials quickly allowed the jet to take off from Akure Airport but they soon went into the drawing board to map out other farreaching stiffer penalties to be inflicted deeply on the River state governor who is seen in Abuja's political power circles as the Nigeria's new 'poster boy' of the opposition platforms that are warming up to give the incumbent President a run for his money come 2015.

The grounding of the jet with the intention to cripple the movement of the governor has been roundly condemned as a primitive show of power by a president bent on teaching governor Amaechi a lesson on how and why not to oppose an incumbent president. But my question is whether officials that are reeling out these draconian policies targeted at perceived political adversaries of the president are aware that Nigeria does not practice fascism but constitutional democracy.

Worried that the torrents of criticism that trailed the grounding of the jet was swearing public opinion against the president, his retinue of

spokesmen have fought vigorously to justify these clearly unjustifiable policies guided by political vendetta.

The new policy states, in part: "For private aircraft owned or leased by individuals, only the family members of the owner/ lessee of the aircraft will be permitted on boards as passengers. For private aircrafts owned or leased by companies or corporate entities, only the employees and members of the board of directors of the companies would be permitted on board as passengers.

Passengers on board will also be subjected to strict traffic control clearance".

The new policy has some dos and don'ts just as it stated that: " for aircrafts belonging to nonscheduled or scheduled operators, only the employees and members of the board of directors of the company or the corporation may be permitted on board as passengers; all operators will declare the identities of all the passengers on non-revenue charter flights in the appropriate general declaration forms prior to obtaining Air Traffic Control clearance. Nigerian carriers operating revenue passenger charter flights will be required to have a current non-scheduled or scheduled operator permit with operation manual that contains flight duty time limitations, which will be strictly monitored on regular basis".

Both the Presidency and the leading political opposition figures have begun to wage

vicious war of words concerning these new regulations with the leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria and the Congress of Progressive Change of General Muhammad Buhari [rtd] accusing the Presidency of masterminding these obnoxious aviation regulations so as to curtail the free movement of members of the political opposition platforms who may have being privileged to own private aircrafts. But the Aviation minister has being forced to defend the timing of these new rules when she debunked the allegation of political vendetta made against her by the Nigerian Political opposition. Ms. Stella Odua said the revised national civil aviation policy of 2013 is in compliance with section 769[1] of the civil aviation Act of 2006 and consists of 10 critical parts of the aviation industry, which according to her would be reviewed every five years or when necessary".

What is at play is the fact that these sets of regulations do not make sense if what they are intended to achieve is aviation safety because it is inconceivable that owners of private jets could do any thing that will sabotage/ jeopardize the security of their lives or of their choice assets bought with huge foreign currency. Secondly, it is inconceivable to imagine how the enforcers of these draconian aviation regulations will determine who are the biological members of the families of owners

of private jets. Will the ministry of aviation now set up well equipped medical facilities for determining the DNAs of all passengers carried by private aircraft?

Another clear illogicality is that the new policy does not make room for aircraft owned by state governments because they do not operate like a company or corporation and this implies that they are completely barred from flying since no state has a board of directors. For instance, the jet belonging to River state government does not have an individual owner, so in this case if we follow the new aviation policy the governor is not expected to fly the plane since he is not the owner. This set of draconian regulations breaches the fundamental human rights enshrined in chapter four of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 [as amended] including but not limited to the right to freedom of movement and freedom of association because banning friends of owners of private owners of jets from enjoying the generosity of their rich friends severely impedes the enjoyment of their fundamental freedoms constitutionally protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [UDHR] and the African Charter of human and peoples rights both of which are now domestic laws by virtue of their domestication.

Emmanuel Onwubiko's professional profile is on LinkedIn.

By willfully creating criminals and militants

By Abraham Idowu

I

t rained overnight in Lagos and the morning was cool so I seized the opportunity to rack up a few thousand steps by taking a walk to Tafawa Balewa Square. As I was about to walk through the still imposing gates of the complex a near stampede preceded me even as the gates were swung shut. I looked around and witnessed a regular sight in Lagos: Ministry of Environment taskforce operatives sanitizing our environment by dislodging roadside stalls. Wares are thrown into gutters and on the floor or captured and taken into the vans. Don’t ask me what dictates what is scattered and what is collected.

Depending on the ferocity of the particular raiding team, sellers either stand arms akimbo, hands on heads bewailing their plight or make panicky dashes for freedom as part of the Task Forces mandate is to arrest, prosecute and even ‘deport’ to other parts of Nigeria those who breach the law against street trading.

On this cloudy morning, with rain still drizzling, the team of three raiders went about its task with relative restraint as it tossed wares onto the ground and, this being post rain Lagos, into standing puddles. I particularly noticed a fellow who could be anything between his late 50s and early 70s. He sold fruit from a wheelbarrow and his apples and banana bunches were unceremoniously dumped in the

nearest puddle. As he rescued a bunch of bananas, some young fellows around helped him to pick up the apples. He effusively thanked and blessed them. I expect he also silently cursed the agents of the state and the state itself.

I went away wondering if the state governor, Babatunde Fasola, had he been leading the taskforce, would have had the heart to throw the fruits of the obviously economically desperate senior citizen into a puddle of dirty water. Even if he couldn’t really care less about the fellow’s condition and fate surely he would have considered the voters gathered around and maybe would have remembered the similarly circumstanced Tunisian street trader who is credited with starting the Arab spring by his self-immolation when the state cast its baleful gaze on him once too often.

Fasola is a politician apparently with a keen sense of socio economic justice and dynamics and surely he would have recognized the danger of such heavy handed state tactics in the Nigerian pressure cooker that is waiting for just the right confluence of events to start the ‘revolution’ that will bring this whole house of cards down. Just yesterday I had noticed and shared with friends a story in the papers about his government paying residents of defective apartment blocks in the government built Isolo housing estate, in which a block collapsed months ago killing two sisters, N200,000 each to rent

temporary accommodation while the government brought down and rebuilt their houses. So just 24 hours ago I was arguing that there are glimmers of ‘progressive governance’ in our midst especially as the same day Ogbeni Aregbesola’s government in sparely resourced Osun state had announced a campaign to rid the streets of the mentally deranged not by the usual carting of the unfortunates as so much human refuse into prison cells and to their ‘states of origin’ but by medically treating and eventually rehabilitating them.

Ogbeni had stated: “One of the factors that facilitate this illness is unemployment and we are addressing that through a series of programmes. It is to me a basic responsibility as the government, but this is not without a huge cost. We are stretching our meagre resources to better the lot of the people.”

With Fasola and Ogbeni being both of the ACN, or is it APC, now I wondered if the art of governance was beginning to turn the corner for the better in our benighted nation. I got my answer this morning. I situated the fruit selling senior citizen that fell victim to the task force within my own family. I imagined him with two or three graduate children who unfortunately were not among the best five percent of Nigeria’s graduate cadre and thus are forever shut out of jobs that pay decent wages. Some are lucky enough to find jobs, teaching in ramshackle private schools, selling insurance to unwilling buyers etc that pay about

N20,000 per month. That obviously barely takes them home and definitely leaves nothing to support aged parents without pensions or any other social support. We shall ignore this time the segment of the aged who are owed pensions by the state but whose pensions have been stolen in the most brazen way with the thieves known yet not getting even a slap on the wrist from the justice system.

When such unceasing abdication of state responsibility and abuse by the abdicators finally puts the last nail in the coffin of yet another unfortunate what goes through the mind of the descendants that are left to mourn and mark his passing? Do they all take the counsel ofthe pabulum sellers on our pulpits and chalk it all up to divine neglect with the constantly buttressed hope that soon and very soon, as long as they continue paying tithes and other unconscionable demands out of their meager income, they too will have a divinebreakthrough that will consign all the hunger, avoidable deaths, shame etc to history? Or do they, as Kehinde Bamigbetan, the Chairman of Ejigbo LCDA, who was just released by kidnappers after the rumoured payment of N15m ransom, posited, screw up their courage to the sticking point and venture into bunkering, robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking, militancy etc?

Today, probably less than one percent of our very hard done by compatriots have given up totally on the system and taken

their fates in their hands armed with AK47s, rocket launchers and IEDs. These very few brave ones, staying within Bamigbetan’s paradigm, have totally overwhelmed the state and its coercive forces and we have the state waving white flags all over the map. In the South-South MEND accepted the surrender of the Nigerian state years ago and in the North Boko Haram is being pleaded with to consider the generous armistice terms being offered.

Yet only a miniscule portion of those who have no stake in this system of things, those who can justifiably bear arms against this state that has done absolutely nothing for them but who continue to suffer the loss of even the little they manage to bring to creation, has chosen to take its fate in its own hands. What will happen to Nigeria if we decide to apply federal character to militancy as is our wont in all things good or bad? What if OPC, MASSOB and whatever gang the Middle Belt has put together decide to join the fray? What if the allure of the easy millions from ‘bloodless’ kidnapping entices even more young people?

What if up to five percent of Nigeria’s dispossessed get tired of breathing in the fumes from the private jets of their oppressors and choose to regain a ‘fair’ share of our common patrimony?

Would the bunch of clueless jokers in Aso Rock and virtually every state house in country be able to handle such a blow out?

Abraham Idowu wrote in from Lagos.

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

FACA to sensitise traditional birth attendants on HIV

By Adeola Tukuru with agency reports

T

he FCT Agency for the Control of AIDS (FACA) said it had plans to educate and sensitise traditional birth attendants on HIV testing and prevention.

Dr Uche Okoro, Project Manager, FACA, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja that the exercise would be conducted in the six area councils of the FCT. Okoro said that the healthcare workers in the primary health care centres would be encouraged to identify with the traditional birth attendants in their wards.

This, he said, was to enable the health workers and the traditional birth attendants work together as partners, to ensure zero new infections and reduce maternal mortality.

“We have been able to have a little mapping of traditional birth attendants in the six area councils.

“We want to know how many of traditional birth attendants are in each ward, because we know many of them are available in these wards,” he said.

Okoro said that the agency would find out the number of pregnant women, who patronised traditional birth

attendants.

He said the agency planned to engage them, to ensure that every pregnant woman in their care attended ante-natal in the health centres.

“Since, pregnant women still go to traditional birth attendants to deliver.

“Ours is to see how we can collaborate with them to actually know those pregnant women that are at risk and what they should do.

“Not only to prevent HIV, but to also prevent maternal deaths in that category of pregnant women,” he explained.

Okoro said the agency’s major

Beggers waiting for alms along Nyanya-Mararaba road, Abuja.

interest was to reduce maternal mortality rate which was very high in the country.

He said the traditional birth attendants would be trained and educated on the necessary things they should know about HIV and AIDS. “Also for them to ensure that their clients go through HIV counselling and testing for their safety and that of their unborn babies,” he said.

Okoro said the traditional birth attendants would be instructed to refer any pregnant woman that was HIV positive to primary health centres close to them.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Gwagwalada chairman urges residents to embrace incoming administration

By Adeola Tukuru

T

he Chairman, Gwagwalada Area Council , Alhaji Zakari Angulu,has called on residents to embrace the council’s incoming administration to enhance further development in the council.

Angulu, the outgoing chairman of the council under the platform of ANPP stated this in Gwagwalada in an interview with newsmen shortly after ANPP stakeholders meeting in FCT. He faulted speculations that the incoming administration of the council led by Alhaji Jibril Abdullahi would not sustain the developments recorded by his administration.

“The speculations that the council will not have a good

leader like Angulu is not true because the incoming administration is starting on a very good ground unlike what it was at the inception of our administration in 2007.

“I want residents to have the belief that the incoming

government will perform much more than our administration.

“They should ensure that they encourage the new person because if they already have the feelings that he will not perform, they will not be ready to go close to him by so doing will not be encourage

him,” he said.

Angulu therefore called on residents to embrace the incoming government and should see the administration as a continuation of his administration since the two administrations were under the platform of ANPP.

Film producer urges agencies to adopt stringent measures on hawkers

A

n Abuja based film producer, Mr Basil Ngene, yesterday urged creative agencies in the country to adopt stringent measures to deal with hawkers who distributed films without licence.

Ngene, who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said this was necessary if the fight against the sale of pirated and pornographic films in the country was to be won.

He said that there were laws guiding the sale of films in the country, but that the hawkers failed to obey and were acting in an unprofessional manner.

“This has stalled sustainable growth of the industry,” he said.

Ngene said the hawkers went from door to door and streets to sell the films which were pirated and contained pornographic content.

He also said that the unlicensed distributors were not members of any of the associations of movie marketers hence they used the liberty to commit the crime.

He listed some of the associations to include Movie Marketers Association, and Licensed Distributors Association amongst others.

“Film hawkers do not also allow licensed distributors to sell their films because they go from one street to the other selling pirated and pornographic films.

“The importation of foreign films is also in the hands of these unlicensed distributors; that is why most of the films are pirated,” he said.

Ngene explained that the fight against piracy and sale of pornographic films was one that needed collective effort by film makers, marketers, the public and creative agencies of government.

“I am trying to make a formal presentation to the National Films and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) and the Nigeria Film Corporation (NFC).

“This presentation is to enable them know the extent of damage these hawkers are causing the industry.

He said this would go a long way in ridding the industry of some of the problems that bedevilled it. (NAN)

Community Health Practitioners elects officials

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he National Association of Community Health Practitioners of Nigeria in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter has elected its new officials to pilot the affairs of the association for Four years.

Speaking to newsmen during the delegate conference, the second term chairman-elect of the association, comrade Elijah Alkali

Zakwoyi, said that his administration would carry every member of the association along in the scheme of things.

He urged the executive members to join hands with him to move the association to a greater height for the benefit of all.

He called on the government to provide enough fund for the community health practitioners to enable them to carry out their work effectively at the grassroots level.

He also urged the government to equip the clinics or dispensaries with the drugs to enable the people have access to the facilities at their disposal.

The chairman appealed to government to recruit more of community health workers in order to arrest the present challenges faced by them in the rural areas.

Zakwoyi, however, requested the government to send the

community health practitioners to school so as to update their knowledge and urged the government to pay their salaries as at when due.

Responding, a community health practitioner from Kwali Area Council, Mr. Isyaku A. Yunusa Leda, urged the newly elected officials to provide a purposeful leadership capable of satisfying the aspirations of the members of the association at the grassroots.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 17

Booming business for scavengers at Abuja waste dumpsites

Scavengers looking for valuables at a public refuse dump site in Karu, Abuja.

By Aderemi Koleoso, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

I

t will be somewhat difficult to convince a first-time visitor to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), that there are some waste dumpsites located in some remote areas of the city.

Investigations have shown that apart from approved refuse dumpsites, smaller dumpsites are sited in some areas of the city where the operations of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) have yet to be felt.

Although, the AEPB has created the Gosa village waste dumpsite as part of its efforts to keep the FCT clean, the public perception of the dumpsite somewhat reflects the ugly side of an emerging cosmopolitan city.

The dumpsite is certainly the biggest dumpsite in the FCT and it serves as the central dumpsite for domestic and industrial wastes from all parts of the city.

Located in Idu Industrial Layout, about 30km off the popular Jabi Road; the dumpsite, which is home to most of the refuse generated

by FCT residents, is obscure and relatively unknown to most residents.

Funny enough, the heap of solid wastes at the site has inadvertently been a source of livelihood for scavengers who always throng the site in search of discarded items, which could either be sold or

recycled for commercial purposes.

However, the collection of these items entails multiple processes, as some people are always engaged in sorting the trash into different categories and loading them into trucks and articulated vehicles.

For instance, Malam Babale Adamu, a young man who hails from Kano State, said that since he started the garbage-sorting business at the dumpsite, he had been able to eke a living.

He said that his wife and children had also joined him in the business.

“We are happy doing this because it is better than idleness and stealing, we’ve been able to overcome the current unemployment challenge facing many people across the country.

“Several able-bodied men and women are now willing to engage in all kinds of menial jobs to keep the body and soul together,’’ he added.

Adamu said that they got regular earnings from loading the sorted waste items into trucks for entrepreneurs that came to the site to buy discarded plastic items for recycling in other parts of the country, particularly Kano.

The health hazards of the business notwithstanding, Adamu claimed that he grossed between N6,000 and N10,000 daily for loading waste items into trucks and articulated vehicles.

Investigations show that no fewer than five articulated vehicles are loaded with assorted items at the site daily.

However, Malam Ahmad Sani, another worker at the site, stressed that they would have loved to be engaged in a more befitting vocation than scavenging for recyclable items at the waste dumpsite.

In spite of the economic benefits of the dumpsite, particularly to scavengers, government has consistently bemoaned the filthy state of the dumpsite, saying that it was tainting the image of the FCT as a modern capital city.

For instance, the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on the FCT has also complained about the dirty state of the Gosa refuse dumpsite “I am sad with what I see here with my colleagues, it’s an eyesore that does not befit any human being in any city no matter how uncivilised.

“But this is what we are confronted with,’’ said Sen. Smart Adeyemi, the committee’s chairman, after an oversight visit to the site.

He said that the committee had recommended some measures to deal with the filthy situation at the site.

However, the AEPB’s Acting Director, Mrs Aishat Adebayo, stressed that board had initiated

Photo: Mahmud Isa some waste-management procedures at the site to handle the situation.

“The site is still under construction and when it is fully completed, there would be facilities for sorting waste materials that could be recycled and others that could not.

“We are currently benefiting from the Federal Government’s national priority projects at Gudu, Mpape and Kubwa and the dumpsites have waste sorting facilities ; those refuse that could not be recycled would be deposited at the Gosa refuse dumpsite,’’ she said.

Besides, Adebayo said that the road to the site was being reconstructed to ease the movement of waste-evacuation trucks in the area.

“When completed, there will no longer be any need for scavengers; we are trying to discourage their activities and we are also looking into how we can integrate some of them into the system,’’ she said.

To buttress Adebayo’claims, Diamond Construction Ltd., has recently resumed reconstruction works on the Gosa dumpsite’s access road, according to media reports.

The media reported that road construction machines, which were earlier removed from the site, had returned, while the company’s vehicles were seeing moving materials back to site.

The 12-km road project, whose

contract was awarded by the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) at the cost of N422 million in 2010, was initially expected to be completed within six months but it was abandoned in 2012.

Mr Kingsley Obiakor, the Group Managing Director of Diamond Construction Ltd., said that the company’s return to site was sequel to the FCDA’s directive that work should resume at site and its pledge to fully pay up the contract fees.

Obiakor, who attributed the delay in the project’s completion to the lack of funds, said that the FCDA had so far paid the company N112 million.

“We were given this job to execute for a period of six months and we started work immediately.

“So, it is not our fault to have stopped work but we have resumed again because they have asked us to come back to site and they have promised to pay,’’ he said.

Alhaji Ahmed Bello, the FCDA resident engineer supervising the project, also conceded that paucity of funds had delayed the completion of the road project.

All the same, analysts said that tangible efforts should be made to adopt modern waste treatment techniques in the FCT, insisting that filthy dumpsites are an anathema in contemporary waste management processes of the 21st Century civilisation. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 18

Police arraign businessman for allegedly shielding an offender

T

The new look of Wuse market as FCTA intensifies efforts to decongest the ever rowdy area.

Photo: Miriam Humbe

INSIDE FCT COURTS

Victim forgives man who injured him in his organ A

man, David Ifedibe, 24, of Jikwoyi Phase 1, who was alleged to have caused grievous hurt on Chukwuma Ohinemelu’s private organ, was on Wednesday forgiven by the victim.

In an oral application brought before the court, the Prosecutor, Mrs Glory Iheanacho, said the victim told her to inform the court that he had forgiven the accused.

“He said that he is a Christian and a child of God. “That he was coming from the sanctuary of God when Ifedibe and his accomplices assaulted him and used an unknown object to cut his private organ,’’ “He said that he is no longer interested in the case,” Iheanacho told the court.

Counsel to the accused Monday Obodoeze told the court that the victim had also contacted him via phone on same issue of forgiveness.

The Magistrate, Mrs Hadiza Shagari, said that it was a good

thing to have a forgiving spirit.

“With both the prosecution and counsel agreeing to the fact that the victim has forgiven the accused, I hereby terminate the FIR. “The accused, David Ifedibe of Jikwoyi Phase 1 is hereby discharged and acquitted.

“The police should not arrest him on this same matter without a leave from this court,” she said.

During the hearing of the bail application, Counsel to the accused, Obodoeze, had told the court that the victim had since been discharged from hospital.

He added that there was, therefore, no need to continue to deny bail to the 24-year-old accused.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that during the mentioning of the case on April 15, the prosecutor had opposed bail for the accused.

Following Obodoeze’s bail application then, the prosecutor said that the victim was in critical

condition at the National Hospital undergoing surgery.

“If the victim dies, the accused may abscond. We urge the court not to grant the counsel’s application for bail to the accused person,’’ she had said.

Shagari, therefore, denied the accused bail.

But at the renewed hearing, Obodoeze told the court that the victim had an appointment with a medical doctor that morning to see how he was recuperating.

“I, therefore, urge the court to grant bail to the accused,” he said.

Iheanacho did not oppose the application.

Shagari, therefore, granted bail to the accused in the sum of N50,000 and a surety in like sum, before adjourning the case to May 8 for further hearing.

“The surety must be a reasonable Nigerian with a reasonable means of livelihood and must reside within the jurisdiction of the court,” she said.

Earlier, the prosecutor told

the court that Ohinemelu had, on April 7, lodged a report at Jikwoyi police station against Ifedibe, residing at Jikwoyi Phase One. She said that Ifedibe and his accomplices attacked Ohinemelu when he was returning from church at about 8 p.m.

She said the offence contravened Section 248 of the Penal Code.

Section 248(1) states that “whoever, except in a case provided for in Section 244, voluntarily causes hurt shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with a fine, or with both’’.

It stated further that this would be if the hurt was caused “by means of any instrument for shooting, stabbing or cutting or any instrument, which used as a weapon of offence is likely to cause death’’.

The accused had pleaded not guilty to the charge. (NAN)

Businessman remanded in prison for alleged theft of land document

A

n Abuja Magistrates Court yesterday remainded a businessman, Steven Baba, 36, in prison custody for allegedly duping one Alhaji Tafida Ahamed of documents of a land worth N90 million.

Baba of Mararaba in Nasarawa State, was standing trial on a five-count charge of joint act, criminal breach of trust, theft, cheating and forgery.

The Police Prosecutor, Sgt.

Philip Apollos, told the court that Tafida of Adamu Fika Street, Life Camp, Abuja, had reported the matter at the Life Camp Police Station on Jan. 29.

He said that the complainant had entrusted the original land documents and C-of-O on Plot No. 3070, Cadastral Zone AO4, Asokoro, valued at N90 million to the accused.

He said that the accused and his accomplice, one Aminu

Shehu, had both claimed they had a buyer for the land, adding that they stole the original documents and handed a forged copy to Tafida.

According to the prosecution, efforts to retrieve the original documents from the accused proved abortive.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the five–count charge.

Apollos, however, objected to a bail application by the accused, saying that

investigation into the matter was ongoing.

He said that the accused unlawfully escaped from police custody when he was arrested on May 3 and was rearrested.

Magistrate Abdullateef Abolaji, however, ordered that Baba be remanded in prison custody till the next adjourned date.

The matter was adjourned to June 13,2013 for further hearing. (NAN)

he Police has arraigned one Alhaji Idris Danjuma, 44, of Gomas St., Abacha Estate, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, in an Abuja Magistrates’ Court for allegedly shielding an offender.

Danjuma is standing trial for shielding an offender, Aminu Shehu, before Magistrate Mr Abdul-Lateef Abolaji.

The Prosecutor, Mr Philip Apollos, told the court that the police arraigned the accused for the absence of Shehu who was on trial in the court.

Apollos said Shehu was arraigned for alleged joint act, criminal breach of trust and forgery.

He said that Danjuma stood as a surety for Shehu to facilitate his release on bail on Feb. 14.

He said the accused promised, with a written agreement, that Shehu would appear in court on demand till the trial was over, but Danjuma deliberately refused to produce him when he jumped bail.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge, saying “yes I stood as a surety for Shehu but they had never demanded him from me until yesterday and he has traveled.’’

Apollos asked the court for a date for hearing in view of his denial.

Counsel to the accused Mr Humprey Onyeukwu further applied for the bail of the accused in view of his plea.

Magistrate Abolaji granted the accused bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum one of whom must be a civil servant not below grade level 12.

Abolaji said the surety must produce his first letter of appointment and last promotion letter reflecting his present posting or grade level.

He added that the second surety can be anyone with a traceable and fixed address, adding that both sureties must deposit a driver’s licence, international passport or national ID card.

Abolaji further said that the accused should deposit his international passport with the court.

He adjourned the case till May 13 for further hearing.

Earlier, Apollo had told the court that Ahmed Tafida of Adamu Fika St., Life Camp, Abuja, reported Shehu of Mararaba, Nasarawa State to the Life Camp police station, Abuja, on January 29.

He said that on January 19, Tafida entrusted his original land document, C of O of plot No. 3070 Cadastral Zone AO4, Asokoro, Abuja, to Shehu.

He said Shehu, who claimed to have a buyer for the land, dubiously retained the original document and allegedly gave Tafida a fake document instead.

(NAN)

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

Email: aminuimam@yahoo.co.uk

Mob: 08033644990

PAGE 19

INSIDE

- Pg 20

CBN guarantees N100bn for farmers

Maritime workers union threatens to shut down ports From Olawuni Oladapo, Lagos

F

ollowing the face-off between the Nigerian M a r i t i m e Administration and Safety (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, over alleged nonpayment of some levies accruable to NIMASA, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has taken sides with the maritime regulatory agency, saying the union may be forced to shut all the nation’s seaports if the NLNG is not made to pay.

The union insisted that the Federal Government should compel the NLNLG Limited to

pay the accumulated 3% levies on gross freight and 2% surcharge due on its Cabotage contracts to NIMASA within 21 days.

Addressing journalists in Lagos yesterday, PresidentGeneral of the MWUN, Comrade Anthony Nted Emmanuel said that failure for the multinational company to pay within 21 days will lead to closure of the nation’s seaports.

Putting holes in NLNG’s argument that it enjoys waiver and exemptions from payment of levies and charges, Comrade Emmanuel said that the waiver, which was granted to the company for 10

years has elapsed, adding that the NIMASA Act of 2007 makes it clear that all ships and shipping companies operating in the nation’s water are expected to obey the provisions of the Act; especially, section 15.

The President-General of MWUN also pointed out that apart from its general duty with respect to the development of shipping and merchant shipping and seafarers, the agency is the only institution of government that is statutorily empowered to provide direction on qualification, certification, employment and the welfare of maritime labour in Nigeria.

“The Federal Government

has given them waiver for the past 10 years and the 10 years have elapsed, he stressed.

MWUN’s president expressed regret that since the government gave the NLNG a tax rebate for 10 years from 1989 when it started operations, the company still demanded for an extension after the expiration of the rebate.

He said that the union had written to President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene because the court had failed to take action on the issue, since the NLNG failed to appear in court.

“NIMASA took the matter

FBN seeks opportunities in 11 African countries beyond Nigeria

By Abdulwahab Isa with agency report

F

BN Holdings Plc, owner of Nigeria’s third-largest bank by market value, is looking for opportunities to enter 11 other countries in Africa, said Chief Executive Officer, Bisi Onasanya.

“Essentially we’re looking at West Africa, Francophone and Anglophone countries,” Onasanya said in an interview today at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town. “We will never do greenfields and it has to be in line with our retail banking strategy,” he said, declining to name the countries.

FBN Holdings, owner of First Bank Nigeria Plc, won’t undertake any expansion that

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NEXIM Bank, Mr. Roberts Orya and the Vice President of Ghana, Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, during a session on 'Achieving Financial Inclusion in Africa' at the ongoing World Economic Forum taking place in Cape Town, South Africa.

Reps to investigate N40bn cabotage funds

By Umar Muhammad Puma

T

he House of Representatives, on Wednesday resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the over N40 billion funds meant for cabotage operations in the country.

Adopting a motion moved by Rep Hassan Saleh (PDP, Benue), the House resolved to determine the total amount that has been generated under the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) as well as the level of utilization of the funds and firms that have benefitted from it since 2003.

The House further resolved to determine the banks that are keeping the funds and the level of their participation in the scheme as well as to recommend how the CVFF can be judiciously put into transparent use for the benefit of all indigenous firms in the maritime sector.

Leading debate on the motion, Rep. Ali recalled that the CVFF was established under the

Coastal and Shipping Act of 2003 “to assist indigenous shipping firms to acquire the requisite capacity to build and develop their participation in the maritime sector so as to enable them compete and possibly overcome foreign shipping firms that have dominated the nation’s coastal and inland trade.”

According to him, the scheme was to be funded from a 2-percent deduction by the

Nigerian Maritime Administration and Security Agency (NIMASA) from all contracts awarded under the cabotage scheme.

He however regretted that, “while over N40 billion, appropriately 525 million Dollars of the funds for some inexplicable reasons are alleged to be trapped in some designated banks instead of being utilized for the purpose for which the funds were established.”

From Olawuni Oladapo, Lagos

B

arely eight months after it repositioned Area Controllers at different commands all over the federation, the Nigeria Custom Service has, once again, redeployed its Area Comptrollers in charge of Lagos command.

The latest shake-up however affected only the Apapa Port command, the Tin-Can Island, PTML and Murtala Mohammed Airport commands.

The new Customs posting was announced recently by the

Set an e-mail quota and stick to it

I

work for yourself with each message. Limit the number of threads you initiate each day.

For incoming messages, estimate the number of emails each will generate and make that your daily quota. Use filters to sort incoming mail and keep all but the most crucial

hurts its plan to “dominate” in its home market, Onasanya said.

The 119-year-old lender, which has more than 700 branches in Africa and 7 million customers, said yesterday that it plans to sell a $500 million euro bond this year to fund loans and help the bank expand.

“A listing elsewhere is part of the medium-term to long-term strategy,” Onasanya said, adding that he met with representatives of Johannesburg’s stock exchange on Wednesday.

FBN Holdings has gained 27 percent this year in Lagos trading, beating the 22 percent increase in the Nigerian SE Banking Index, which tracks the country’s 10 biggest banks.

Nigeria Custom Service reshuffles Comptrollers at Lagos Command

Management Tip of the Day f you’ve tried all of the basic ways to manage your email, but are still feeling overwhelmed, try setting quotas. The idea is that the more messages you send, the more you get. Assume that every email you send will generate 4–10 responses, so you’re creating

to court and for four years, the case was not heard because the NLNG refused to appear in court. All efforts to make the gas company pay NIMASA the money failed,’’ Nted said.

“We wish to use this medium to inform Mr President to compel the LNLG to pay NIMASA without further delay, all accumulated 3% levies on gross freight and 2% surcharge due on its contract to NIMASA within 21 days and failure to do so ,our union may be compelled to shut down all the ports of the federation”, he said.

messages out of your inbox.

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Source: Harvard Business Review

Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Dikko Inde Abdullahi and it started taking effect on Tuesday.

Comptroller Tajudeen Olanrewaju, who three months ago was drafted to the Tin-Can Island Command, was swapped with his counterpart at the PTML command, Comptroller Zakari Jubril. Olanrewaju is now to head the PTML command.

At the Apapa command, Umar Mohammed was swapped with Charles Edike at the Murtala Mohammed Airport command. Umar now heads MMA command while Edýke has been moved to the Apapa premier port.

At a handing over ceremony at the PTML command on Tuesday, it was accolades galore for CAC Jubril Zakari, who has served at the command for just eýght months.

Jubril, in his handing-over speech appealed to the officers to lend the same support to his successor for the interest of the Custom Service.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS

NCC Fines

F

our mobile telecommunications operators in the country, on Wednesday, were imposed with the fine of N53.8m by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), for contravening the rules on registration of Subscriber Identification Module (SIMs) cards in the country.

A press release issued by the Head of Media and Public Relations, NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka, said 269 pre-registered SIM cards were either purchased or reported to it and confirmed by the operators.

The offending telcos were listed as Airtel Nigeria, MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd, Emerging Markets Telecommunications Service Ltd, EMTS and Globacom Ltd.

Tecno Group

T

ecno, a fast growing mobile phone brand in Nigeria, has decried the ‘China Phone’ public given tag that has continued to haunt its products, despite its efforts to meet the rising and varying needs of the nation’s phone users.

The company also said part of its major plan in Nigeria it to build a manufacturing plant.

The Vice-President of Tecno Group, Arif Chowdhury, stated this on Tuesday in Lagos at the launch of the firm’s latest product, TECNO P3 Smartphone, into the Nigerian market.

Microsoft

M

icrosoft has named Amy Hood as its new chief financial officer, the first woman to hold the post at the technology giant.

Ms Hood, 41, is currently head of finance at Microsoft’s Office division. She will replace Peter Klein, who announced his departure in April. She joined Microsoft in 2002. Before that she worked at Goldman Sachs.

The change in personnel comes as the company is battling a decline in consumer PC sales.

CBN guarantees N100bn for farmers under new agric lending scheme

By Abdulwahab Isa

T

he Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has guaranteed close to N100 billion for farmers.

This is coming just a few months after the body commenced operations.

The scheme has also helped push bank lending to the agriculture sector to about 4 percent, from just less than one percent as at 2010.

But, NIRSAL targets to raise total bank-agricultural lending to at least 10 percent by 2017 and especially change the way the financial system and the economy see agriculture.

The Head, NIRSAL Implementation Office, Jude Uzonwanne said that between July 2012 and January 2013, the scheme sold approximately N14 billion in guarantees, while between January and the end of March, 2013, about N12 billion guarantees were sold to the farmers.

The scheme recently signed an agreement with the ministry of agriculture to issue up to N60 billion guarantees to its Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES), Uzonwanne also disclosed.

“We started selling guarantees in 2012 and if you put together what we have done since last year and the GES scheme for 2013, our portfolio is fairly getting close to N100 billion lending to agriculture and the critical thing is that there is no one kobo of CBN or government involved but private sector money in form onlending from the banking system.

“In 2010, the level of lending to agriculture was under 1 percent of all lending in the Nigerian banking system. Today it is about 3.6 percent and our goal is to get that number to 10 percent by 2017. So we have tripled the levels of lending to

agriculture in less than basically three years and our goal is to do it again and do it in a better way,” Uzonwanne said.

“NIRSAL is owned 100 percent by the CBN as at date; the goal however is to scale down most of the apex bank’s position in future, so that private sector operators can come in.

The scheme emerged out of lessons from inefficiencies of the CBN’s past agricultural lending programmes which yielded less to the farmers and the economy as they were unable to unlock the kind of bank lending that was expected into the agriculture sector.

Apart from guaranteeing bank lending to farmers, NIRSAL also works ahead to help find industry-wide solutions to some of the challenges the operators face in order to ensure sustainability of their businesses.

British Obama, Chuka Umunna to lead trade mission to Nigeria and Ghana

Dickson commissions SMEDAN SouthSouth Zonal office in Yenagoa

By Etuka Sunday

T

he Governor of Bayelsa state, Seriake Dickson has described Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as a critical cornerstone of his government’s restoration agenda and he would lay emphasis on stimulating its growth.

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), in a statement quoted the Governor, while speaking at the commissioning of SMEDAN’s South-South Zonal office in Yenegoa recently, noting that the siting of SMEDANs zonal office in Bayelsa state would no doubt assist in stimulating the growth of MSME’s in the state.

The governor added: “We shall leverage on your presence in the state to empower the youths through the creation of wealth and job for them”. He thanked the management of SMEDAN for identifying with the state.

Earlier, the Acting Director General of SMEDAN, Mr. Wale Fasanya said the South-South zonal office would provide advisory services, trainings as well as updating start ups and existing SMEs with business knowledge, book keeping as well as linking them up with financial institutions for funding.

Mr Fasanya said the SouthSouth zonal office is very important and SMEDAN was glad to partner with the state towards developing SMEs in the state.

CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

L

ondon Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has announced that the shadow business secretary of UK’s Labour Party; Chuka Umunna, is to lead a joint LCCI and UKTI North West trade mission to Nigeria and Ghana from the 13th to 17th of May. Chuka Umunna, a Brit with Nigerian descent is a fast rising star of British politics and the 34year old is famed as the UK’s

version of Barack Obama for his meteoric rise in British politics.

He is a Labour party Member of British Parliament (MP) for Streatham.

A statement by the British Deputy High Commission in Lagos on Wednesday, stated that the mission, “which will visit Lagos in Nigeria and Accra in Ghana, is expected to give small and medium sized businesses the opportunity to meet prospective

clients as well as business organisations in both countries.”

A total of 22 companies will be participating in the trade mission from a range of sectors including water purification, industrial paints and the suppliers of commercial vehicles.

Commenting on the planned visit, Chuka Umunna, said “Nigeria is on course to become the leading economy in subSaharan Africa in the next decade and Ghana is the UK’s third largest market for exports in this region. Particularly given our historic links, linguistic ties and the large diaspora communities from Nigeria and Ghana here in the UK, there is huge potential for business partnerships.”

The trip will coincide with UKTI’s export week – designed to help businesses export The LCCI is London’s largest and most representative business organisation, with members ranging in size from multinational companies to SMEs and sole traders.

Nigerian tourists contributed N 14.18 bn to South Africa’s economy – Pres. Zuma

By Ibrahim Kabiru Sule with agency report

A

total of 73,282 Nigerian tourists visited South Africa last year, contributing almost R800 million ($88.6m or N14.176 bn) to the country’s economy, President Jacob Zuma disclosed last night.

He was speaking at the end of official bilateral talks with Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, Ventures Africa reports.

“This is a 13.8% increase to the 64 402 Nigerian tourists

who visited South Africa in 2011. We welcome this upward trend,” Zuma told the media and delegations from both countries.

“Our records indicate that Nigerian tourists contributed a total of R720 million to the South African economy last year.”

Zuma urged South Africans to also visit Nigeria and explore “this sister country” which has historically played a prominent role in the continent and in world affairs.

He said over 100 South African companies are doing

business in Nigeria, with the biggest investment being in the telecommunications sector.

South Africa’s telecommunications companies, like MTN, have a presence in Nigeria.

“We welcome the participation of South African business in other sectors in Nigeria as well, such as engineering, construction, media, banking, retail, hospitality, oil and gas exploration and services,” Zuma said.

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PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

By Embuka Anna

T

he term presumptive taxation covers a number of procedures under which the exact income (direct or indirect) is not itself measured but is inferred from some simple indicators which are more easily measured than the base itself.

Presumptive income taxation is employed primarily in economies where 'hard-to-tax' taxpayers comprise the majority of the population and administrative resources are scarce. In these countries, most taxpayers lack the financial transparency that allows for effective taxation by the government. The result is that tax administrators estimate or presume the appropriate income on which taxes should be levied.

In developed countries, the transition from presumptive to actual income-based taxation compares to the shift from agricultural to industrial economies.

Economic advancements replaced selfemployment in farming and small-scale trade with concentrated employment in fewer and larger entities such as governments and large corporations.

Whereas tax liability was formerly derived from indices such as estimated crop yield of agricultural produce, it gradually became a factor of actual income received from salary and wages. Movements toward more 'modern' forms of tax administration emerged as businesses became more sophisticated and financial transparency increased.

However, in developing countries, presumptive taxation may still be the most appropriate method of tax administration for specific groups of taxpayers. The economic transition from agriculture to industry has not occurred to the same degree as in industrialized nations.

Nonetheless, most tax laws are written based on welldefined measures of income and well documented transparent accounting records. The reality is that most taxpayers do not possess the administrative resources to maintain accurate books or navigate complex tax codes. As a result, tax evasion is rampant and authorities exert considerable effort locating and taxing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) including individuals.

Presumptive taxation can be used for any tax that is normally based on simple accounting records-income tax, turnover tax, and value-added tax (VAT) or sales tax-although it is most commonly used for the income tax. A number of different types of presumptive methods exist in different countries.

Presumptive methods can be rebuttable or irrefutable.

Rebuttable methods include administrative approaches to

Taxing the assumed income - the presumptive tax phenomenon reconstructing the taxpayer's income, and may or may not be specifically described in the statute.

If the taxpayer disagrees with the result reached, the taxpayer can appeal by proving that his or her actual income, calculated under the normal tax accounting rules, was less than that calculated under the presumptive method.

By contrast, irrefutable presumptive assessments are usually specified in the statute or in delegated legislation because they are legally binding. They must be defined precisely. Depending on the situation, irrefutable presumptions might be subject to legal challenge as unconstitutional. In some countries, the constitutional court (or Supreme Court) has been quite active in applying the principle of equality in taxation. Whilst in some other countries, tax law provisions that are seen as denying equal access to justice are particularly

viability.

Small businesses are aware of the advantages that legitimate enterprises enjoy, and

assessment, estimated assessment, value of land, net wealth and asset value, visible signs of wealth, and minimum taxes amongst others.

Standard assessments assign lump-sum taxes to taxpayers on the basis of occupation or business activity. Standard assessments have shown to broaden the tax base with limited disincentives.

Although this method is viewed as less equitable than estimated assessments, it is also less open to corruption.

However, estimated assessment is employed as an alternative to standard assessments when taxpayers do not file or are audited.

In the early 1960s, Ghana introduced a simple standard assessment system that fixed lump-sum payments for different economic activities.

The payments were established by determining the average taxable income of a few taxpayers

Ag. chairman, FIRS, Alhaji Kabiru Mashi vulnerable to constitutional challenge.

Presumptive taxation is undoubtedly a 'win-win' technique, given that it is an optimal method of curbing widespread non-compliance without employing excessive government resources because it addresses the concerns of both taxpayer and tax authority.

Presumptive taxation provides taxpayers with a simplified option for tax compliance without requiring full financial transparency.

Without a doubt, SMEs employ the majority of taxpayers in any developing country. Yet, many SMEs remain in the informal sector because they lack sufficient resources, administrative infrastructure and accounting sophistication to comply with government tax regulations.

The result is that many employers are ineligible to receive the benefits the formal sector offers, which inescapably compromises their financial

most would be willing to pay taxes but for the complexity in the filing process.

Presumptive taxation also offers two additional benefits to both governments and taxpayers: it allows the government to tax its citizens in a more equitable fashion while rewarding efficient businesses with financial incentives.

It is generally accepted that wages and salaries paid by corporations and governments are taxed more effectively than income earned by the selfemployed due to the introduction of withholding taxes at source. Simplified presumptive taxation schemes increase the probability that the self-employed are also taxed effectively.

Various methods of estimating income and assessing tax liability have been developed by countries that have employed the presumptive income taxation. Some of these methods include standard

selected at random from each class of self-employed taxpayers.

Under the estimated assessment method, each taxpayer's income is individually estimated based on indicators or proxies of wealth specific to a given profession or economic activity.

Key indicators can range from location of property to numbers of skilled employees to seating capacity. France's Forfait and Israel's Tahshiv methods both utilized estimated assessments and are recognized as among the most highly developed presumptive tax regimes of their time.

Traditionally, the value of land is a known method applied in presumptive taxation.

Agricultural output comprises the bulk of GDP in many emerging economies. Yet, with little bookkeeping proficiency and a propensity to cultivate leased land, farmers have few records and can be difficult to trace, epitomizing the 'hard-to-tax'

taxpayer.

As a result, governments that tax agricultural output have adopted laws that assess income based on potential output of land or crop yield, as well as soil quality and productivity ratings.

In Nigeria, farming is largely localised and domiciled with illiterate farmers. Thus, the only way to bring them into the tax net is through a simplified presumptive means such as estimating the value of their land.

Factors such as net wealth and value of assets enable income estimation through the comparison of beginning of year with end of year net worth. As one can imagine, it is difficult to determine the amount at the beginning and end of the year with any precision, much less account for expenditures during year. Thus, tax authorities in developing nations such as Argentina, Chile, and Colombia employ this method as a basis for presuming income during audits.

However, they are faced with various technical problems when doing so. For example, since it is easy to identify owners of some assets versus others (agricultural land vs. foreign currency) equity issues arise. Moreover, valuation of assets is a problem and presumptions based on net wealth often encourage taxpayers to increase liabilities.

Presumptive Tax Regime is no doubt gaining popularity especially in developing nations.

However, there are challenges and obstacles that tend to compromise its effectiveness.

Governments that recognize the limitations of presumptive taxation often times include provisions in their tax codes that allow taxpayers the opportunity for a redress. Here are some of the challenges, albeit obstacles that affect the smooth administration of presumptive taxation.

Countries in early stages of economic development tend to employ crude methods of estimating income because they lack the required human capacity to analyze the profitability of various economic activities and to define the indexes for effectively calculating presumptive incomes. As a result, small businesses in particular are routinely taxed unfairly and inefficient.

Overall, presumptive taxation is a form of assessing tax liabilities using methods such as income reconstruction or by applying base-line taxation across the entire tax base.

Presumptive methods of taxation are thought to be effective in reducing tax avoidance as well as equalizing the distribution of the tax burden.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 22

Nokia launches the 2G, 3’’ touchscreen Asha 501

N

okia has been firing on all cylinders of late from a p r o d u c t - l a u n c h perspective, and this continues today with the launch of a new range of low-end smartphones, kicking off with the 2G, WiFi-enabled Asha 501.

The 501 is Nokia's first smartphone built on the new Asha platform, which builds on Nokia's acquisition of Smarterphone, a company it acquired last year to give its low-end phones a smartphone-like feel. It's also designed to

give developers a more open, standards-based environment to create apps.

The announcement was made in New Delhi, India, this afternoon, but TNW managed to get a brief hands-on with the device prior to today's official unveiling.

The Nokia 501 represents the 16th handset in the Asha series, a range that consists of both featureand smartphones.

Nokia has also secured an interesting agreement with Facebook and Indian

operator Bharti Airtel to allow owners of the Asha 501 on its network in India (and Africa - where Bharti has a presence in some countries) to enjoy data-free access to Facebook's mobile site: m.facebook.com.

Nokia says the agreement will be in place by the end of the second quarter of 2013, though it is unspecific on the length of access, which it says will last "for a limited period of time".

Though the launch is taking place in India, the handset is very much

aimed at international markets, and should start shipping in June to more than 90 countries worldwide. However, this won't include the US Nokia is evidently looking to push the Lumia brand hard in the States.

That said, official pricing was given in US dollars - $99, as well as the euro equivalent of •75.

The 501 ships with a 4GB memory card, and is expandable up to 32GB. ( S o u r c e : thenextweb.com)

President Jonathan acknowledges GE's contribution to power sector development From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

T

he President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathon has commended General Electric for its commitment to transforming Nigeria's power through various initiatives including investents in gas turbines and partnerships with other stakeholders. The commendation came at the Presidential Power Reform Transactions Signing Summit which took place at the presidential villa in Abuja recently.

Other partners of GE whose roles also received p r e s i d e n t i a l commendation include Transcorp, Geometric, Honeywell, Oats Global and Ibom. The presidential commendation was in acknowledgement of the joint development agreements signed to bring incremental power to the grid.

In his speech at the forum, President Jonathan stated, "Today's event signals a major step forward in the implementation of our Power Sector Roadmap. I congratulate the signing parties for reaching this significant target in our

collective efforts to revitalize this sector, which is so important to our lives and development. I must also commend all private sector players for their commitment to and confidence in our economy.

Your zeal and presence here today, is an ample proof of your endorsement and confidence in the implementation and progress so far, of our power reform Agenda", he said.

President and Chief Executive Officer of General Electric (GE) Nigeria, Dr. Lazarus Angbazo restated GE's commitment to supporting the Federal Government by highlighting the various joint development agreements which GE had entered into earlier in the year with Nigerian companies in the areas of power generation.

According to him, "We are executing on our commitment to support development of 10,000MW of incremental power generation capacity, and this is being done in partnership with several project sponsors through the joint development agreements we recently signed. This is of course in

President Jonathan

addition to what the government and other private sector developers are doing to grow the electricity market," Angbaso said.

The Presidential Power Reform Transactions Signing Summit brought together various stakeholders in the energy sector and underscored the Federal Government's commitment to transparency and its renewed emphasis on inclusiveness in core transactions to sustaining the current tempo of transformation in the power sector

Africa GDP growth, result of effective communication, says Ghana President From Suleiman Idris, Lagos he President of Ghana, Dramani Mahama, yesterday attributed Africa present strong position in the global economy, which sees five economies in Africa, Sudan, Libya, Sierra Leon, Gambia and Mozambique, ranked amongst the top 10 economies by World Bank to effective communication currently sweeping through the continent.

Mahama gave the hint as keynote speaker in his address at the first All Africa PR & Strategic Communication summit in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital on Wednesday.

According to him, Ghana recorded 14 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011, the World Bank report stated that Sudan recorded 31.2per cent, Libya attained 20.2per cent and Sierra Leon recorded 17.1 per cent in 2012. The report revealed that the Gambia and Mozambique recorded

T

8.9per cent and 8.1 per cent respectively same year.

Mahama said, "While we bask in the glow of our emerging financial and economic success, it is important that we pause long enough to identify some of the factors that have contributed to the burst of economic momentum that is propelling Africa in a direction that has generated so much expectations of a prosperous future for the continent".

He said "I want to say that the rise of Africa in the first decade of the 21st century should be credited to the harnessing of communication in all its manifestations as a tool for sustainable development."

Mahama said the negative perception of the continent has begun to change dramatically. This change is most fascinating because of the pace at which our continent is being refurbished to assume its rightful place the living room of our global village".

Bill Gates, DFID in partnership with World Bank donate N3.2 bn on health care

By Etuka Sunday

I

n a bid to strengthen health institutions and increase equitable access to affordable, quality health products and services among the poor, undeserved and hard to reach in Nigeria, the Bill Gates Foundation, UK's Department for International Development (DFID), in partnership with the World Bank Group has donated $20 million (N3.2bn) to enhance the success of the project in Nigeria.

The Lead Health Sector Specialist and Head, Health in Africa Initiative of the World Bank Group, Khama Rogo and the Senior Programme Officer, Gates Foundation, Guy Stallworthy who disclosed this yesterday in a Press Briefing in Abuja said that the AHMFE projected was necessitated by the disparities in the provision of quality health care services between the public and private sectors in Nigeria.

Speaking, Khama Rogo said "the project aims to impact at least 1million people within Nigeria living below the poverty line in the rural areas, by directly targeting these interventions at them and strengthening the health facilities within the social franchise networks.

"This investment is targeted at strengthening health-care providers (hospitals, clinics, pharmacies). Currently,

over 60% of the health care in Nigeria is provided by private providers," he said.

Explaining the modalities for the project, the Managing Director, Society for Family Health (SFH), Bright Ekweremadu said AHMFE project was a five years project that would work closely with private sectors and government and also with the existing Nigerian programmes especially the five partners to build institutions for the sustainability of the project in terms of improved health facilities and services.

Ekweremadu said that the money donated would not be used to build new hospitals and clinics but would be used to strengthen the existing ones in the areas of capacity building and improvement on the existing structures with the poor people in the rural areas as the target.

The African Health Markets for Equity(AHMFE) is a network of providers currently working in Nine (9) African Countries including Nigeria to ensure that there is an increase quality of health care provisions to the poor ones.

The partners within the country include Society for Family Health, Marie Stopes Nigeria, Grameen Foundation, Safe Care, Population Services International with Pharmaccess and the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group giving technical support.

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PEOSPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

Report as at Thursday, May 9, 2013

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 24

PAGE 25

Internet spy deal and sundry matters President Jonathan, reportedly incensed that his alleged clandestine internet spy scheme has been unveiled at dawn, summons the Israeli firm contracted to handle the controversial project

T

he Nigerian government has summoned the management of Elbit Systems, an Israeli security firm contracted to spy on Nigerian Internet users, for a meeting to explain why the contract should not be revoked after it allegedly breached a confidential agreement in the contract.

The management of the Israeli company are expected to first appear before two Nigerian security chiefs – the national security adviser

and the director general of the National Intelligence Agency – in Abuja this week.

They would then be taken before President Goodluck Jonathan, who is miffed that Elbit’s action had let this newspaper to probe into details of the secret contract.

The security chiefs will relay government’s anger over Elbit System’s ‘breach’ of confidentiality in the $40million contract which will see the Israeli company spy on citizens’ computers and Internet

communications under the guise of intelligence gathering and national security.

The Nigerian government is angry the Isreali company went public with the contract, in a global press release that tipped off PREMIUM TIMES which, after extensive investigation, revealed the details of the deal.

The disclosures sparked national outrage, with a lot of Nigerians now apprehensive that their country might be sliding back to dictatorship.

A source close to the deal has told this newspaper the government is angry for two reasons.

First, the administration is angry and embarrassed that the contract, considered by government as top national security secret, has now been blown open.

Elbit announced the contract award few weeks ago in a global press release in an opaque statement that did not disclose the Nigerian destination of the deal.

“Elbit Systems will supply its Wise Intelligence Technology (WiT) system to an unnamed country in Africa under a new $40 million contract announced on 24 April… for Intelligence Analysis and Cyber Defense,” the company’s general manager, Yehuda Vered, said.

But PREMIUM TIMES was able to tap its sources within the administration to determine that Nigeria is indeed the “unnamed African country.”

The contract will help the Jonathan administration access all computers and read all email correspondences of citizens in what is clearly, an infringement on constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression, multiple channels confirmed.

On the other hand, politicians in Aso Rock are angry over the disclosure of the contract sum, and what is left of the originally approved sum, our sources say.

The administration had indicated in the 2013 budget

that it would procure a Wise Intelligence Network Harvest Analyzer System, Open Source Internet Monitoring System and Personal Internet Surveillance System at a cost of N9.496 Billion ($61.26 million).

With the contract awarded to Elbit for about $40million, and the story made public, attention has been drawn to the leftover $21million earmarked for the project.

“That money was meant to be shared,” one of our sources said. “It is a security contract and no one will ever ask questions.

Now everybody is angry that sharing the money is now difficult.”

Investigations indicate that the Isreali company was awarded the contract without tenders or call for bids, just as there were no public announcements.

As reported by this newspaper recently, if the Federal Government’s plan sees the light of day, Blue Coat’s technology will allow

the government to invade the privacy of journalists, innocent citizens who browse the internet and their sources.

Its censorship devices use Deep Packet Inspection (DPI), a technology employed by many western Internet Service Providers to manage network traffic and suppress unwanted connections.

Civic groups have kicked against DPI because, they say, it makes it possible for censors to look into every single Internet Protocol packet and subject it to special treatment

based on content (censored or banned words) or type (email or Voice Over Internet Protocol).

DPI not only threatens the principle of Net Neutrality and the privacy of users, civic groups say, it makes single users identifiable and, in countries that flout the rule of law and violate human rights, often exposes them to arbitrary imprisonment, violence or even torture.

The new collaborative security stance of

“

The only time we make use of CCTV cameras is when our investigation takes us to a hotel or mall with security cameras.

But if it is a crime committed on a Lagos road, forget it

government, according to investigations, showed government’s realization that the security agencies in the country cannot do it alone without assistance from foreign experts, especially those that have tackled the menace for so many years.

Recall also, that a multibillion naira Federal Government project for the installation of security cameras in Abuja and Lagos has become dormant three years after it was awarded under the National Public Service Communication System (NPSCS).

The Federal Government, in August 2010 awarded the $470 million (N73.9 billion) contract to Chinese company ZTE for the installation of 2,000 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the two cities with a central control unit at the Police Force Headquarters in Abuja, aimed at helping security agencies in dealing with security challenges.

Although, the project, which was supposed to be

Yehuda Vered

President Goodluck Jonathan

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu

completed in July 2011, none has been put to use and at least 130 of the units have been vandalised in Abuja. Sources involved with the project said it is being stifled by government’s lack of “seriousness”, even as security challenges tighten the grip on parts of the country.

The project has long been mired in controversy, and a House of Representatives committee instituted an investigation in December 2011, following allegations of breach of the due process in awarding the contract. No report has been made public by the House yet.

This development has led to a simmering cold war between the Federal Government and Lagos state government, and is said to be the reason why the Presidency has stopped the Lagos Safe City Project, a scheme aimed at providing 10,000 solarpowered closed circuit cameras all over the

metropolis to help to reduce crime in the state.

Curiously, a police source at the State Criminal Investigation Department told a journalist, who was making enquiries on the issue that security cameras had never been used in their investigations.

“The only time we make use of CCTV cameras is when our investigation takes us to a hotel or mall with security cameras. But if it is a crime committed on a Lagos road, forget it,” the source said.

With the contract awarded to Elbit for about $40million, it is unclear if the National Assembly will raise questions as to what becomes of the extra $21million earmarked for the project.

Investigations indicate that in awarding the contract to the Israeli firm, no tenders or calls for bids were made, just as there were no public announcements. The contract was awarded following a proposal from a single vendor

who dictated the contract sum and the terms of the contract.

The procedure for public procurement of services, as stipulated by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the Nigerian agency charged with the duty of ensuring transparency in all matters concerning government contracts, were largely ignored. In addition, there are no public records indicating that the BPP approved this contract.

The manner of award directly contravenes the 2007 Public Procurement Act. While the Act gives room for single source contracts, the Elbit contract met none of the requirements under which such special contracts could be awarded.

Section 47 (3) (iii) of the 2007 Act stipulates that single source contracts are to be awarded in emergency situations such as “natural disasters or a financial crisis”.

Source: Premium Times

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

Muslim stand on polio vaccination A

llah says: “And when I am ill, it is He who cures Me; Who will cause me to die, and then to life (again)� [ashShu'ara'i: 80-81] The Messenger of Allah said: "Allah has sent down both the disease and the cure, and He has appointed a cure for every disease, so treat yourselves medically, but use nothing unlawful." [Dawud: Book 28: Hadith: 3865] In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All Praise is due to Allah! We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our evils and bad deeds. Anyone who is guided

by Allah, is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and final messenger to mankind.

May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon His last and final Apostle, his household, his companions and all his followers until the end of time.

The city of Abu Dhabi this week played host to many governmental, nongovernmental organization, philanthropists, businessmen and women, politicians and religious leaders from around the world.

His Highness, General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in partnership with United Nations SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon and Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will hold a Global Vaccine Summit on

the 24th and 25th April, 2013 participation will build the at Jumeira Hotel, Etihad towers misled trust, meaning that our in Abu Dhabi to continue impetus subsequent admonishing will not in the decade of vaccinations. The only be encouraging, but also gathering will aim at a vision give them the assurances its a n d commitment to reach all children with the vaccines they need in good time and condition.

By Husain Zakariyya T h e Yawale Summit will approve the +234-8052952900 (sms only) critical role that islamexplained35@yahoo.com vaccines and immunization play in saving lives and safety for they are we will not protecting children for a lifetime, connive with the 'enemies' to building on recent successes. further harm them.

The main objective is to build The fact is that the and maintain powerful antagonists of polio schedules of innoculation system immunization or the polio vaccine in order to keep all children haram have not provided healthy, all over the world. substitute or solution to the As Allah wills, I happened to prevalent of poliomyelitis be amongst the prominent amongst children and how to end Islamic scholars who were it. They do not have any wisdom invited to attend the august or plan to alleviate the endemic summit. The major objectives for disease. We cannot, therefore, the invitation of our invitation afford to allow our children to a summit of philanthropists negatively affected slowly and and medical professional, was to painfully by preventable educate them on the widespread maladies, nor allow them rot apprehensions and fears away in ignorance! surrounding the polio Today, we are on the brink of vaccination, generally amongst making history by completely Muslim communities in Nigeria. eradicating polio on the surface Many questions in Nigeria are of the earth! By so doing, we are raised concerning the real motive not only saving hundreds of of a project that is unpopular and millions of vulnerable kids, but not supported by the we are also closing the gap beneficiaries. There is also the fair between the children of the rich of the insistence of the whiteman and those of the poor. Similarly, to eradicate polio through the success will avail us vaccination at all cost, cannot be graciously the opportunity of without injurious hidden agenda; putting all children on a common such as birth control, abating level-playing ground with equal child mortality in disguise and opportunity and prosperous in some cases cancer. Thus, our future.

ISLAM EXPLAINED

R-L: Husain Zakariyya Yawale, Sheikh Kabiru Gombe and Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau

How can Muslim nations that were the vanguard of science discoveries and development up to the end of 17th century, allow themselves in this technological time, to glide into the abyss of h u m a n civilization and sciences, today?

T h i s backwardness, indeed, portends the level of ignorance and illiteracy level embedding the Muslim nations today. Islam that puts knowledge as its foundation, upon which the modern world is building ahead, has today not only become retrogressive, but repugnant to scientific advancement?! Whereas the message of Islam is about freedom and liberation; Liberation from slavery in all its ramifications, good health and economic empowerment at both the individual and the community levels.

Diseases and begging are completely abhorred by Islam.

Unfortunately indeed, almost all traditional Muslim nations and societies are today backward in almost all core issues concerning global advancement and progress. This must be changed immediately, in order to benefit from the dividend of scientific breakthrough and discoveries.

Today, civilized nations and global philanthropists, organizations and generous individuals have donated colossal funds, to the tune of $4 billion and are ready to give more in order to deliver a world devoid of any type of killer disease!

But now that we are invited

for the very first time to such an international summit, educated and sensitized on the polio vaccines, we want assure our government and the international community that the ultimate eradication of polio in Nigeria will very soon become a history to be written together with us, in sha Allah! We want to assure the major donors that their funds with not be a waste nor will their dreams be shattered!

Whatever the apprehension, the fear and the mistrust, the benefits outmeasure them! So let's kill the devil (poliomyelitis) now and free the world of all sinners; polio sufferers!

The Islamic scholars invited to the global vaccine summit in Abu Dhabi today, not only represent entire the Muslim communities in Nigeria, but they also represent future generations. The Izala and tariqa leaders today have been educated as to what polio eradication programme is all about and fully satisfied to the answers given to them concerning all the apprehensions of their followers.

The Muslim nations and scholars gathered, and the enormous funds contributed by Muslim nations, cannot be wrong! No, never! We have now come to terms that any Muslim scholar who give out wrong fatwa causing the incapacitation or death of any child, will be held responsible Yaumi qiyamah before Allah! This is because he spoke on something he is completely ignorant about!

Allah says: "And pursue not that of which Thou hast no knowledge; for every act of hearing, or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning)." [al-Isra'i: 36] An honest scholar should always speak on what he is sure of and certain. He should not guess nor hide his ignorance by exposing his dumbness. We should all learn from the answers of the angels when they were challenged by Allah to proof their knowledge before Adam (AS), when He said to them, "Tell me the names of those if you are right."

[Q. 2: 31] And they retorted: "They said: "Glory to thee, of knowledge we have none, save what Thou hast taught us: In truth it is Thou who art perfect In knowledge and wisdom." [al-Baqarah: 32] They should know that knowledge is a trust and ignorance is curse!

The Messenger of Allah was reported to have said, as narrated

by Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle (pbuh) said: The cattle (sheep, cows, camels, etc.) suffering from a disease should not be mixed up with healthy cattle, (or said: "Do not put a patient with a healthy person). " (as a precaution).

[Bukhari: Book 7: Volume 71: Hadith 665] And the Prophet said, "There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment." [Bukhari: Book 7: Volume 71: Hadith 582]

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 27

ANALYSIS

"The Pakistan Muslim League headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will have strong showing in the Punjab province," writes Akbar Ahmed [Getty Images]

By Akbar Ahmed

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his year's general elections in Pakistan will be remembered for two things: the determination of the people of Pakistan to see them through and the equal determination of the men of violence to prevent them. As Pakistanis prepare to go to the polls on May 11, there is much nervousness and hope for its outcome, potentially the first successful democratic transition between two popularly elected governments in Pakistan's history.

What my experience as a district officer has taught me, however, is that there is nothing more dangerous than changing horses in mid-stream. National elections have proven in the past to lead to the collapse of law and order and the imposition of martial law. With the promise of the current elections, this is a cycle that appears to be broken, but we should be aware of its dangers.

As an administrator in the field, I oversaw several elections in Pakistan and dealt first hand with both Pakistanis' strong desire to have democracy and the plans of some to disrupt the process. What always impressed me was that in spite of all that Pakistanis still cling to the dream of a genuinely democratic polity.

Yet, since its inception, Pakistan has always struggled with democracy. It has oscillated between periods of democratic rule and military dictatorship. Weak and corrupt governments inevitably led to martial law and military rule which in time also became corrupt and tyrannical.

What has been an impediment to lasting democracy has been the violence and breakdown of law and order which often accompanies elections. This time, though, it is a different kind of violence. Groups like the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are not only determined to disrupt the elections, but also to shake and destroy the very foundations of the structure of the state itself.

In the last few days, we have seen the Hazara community in Balochistan brutalised; frequent attacks against political candidates and their supporters in Peshawar and Mardan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and in Karachi; fighting between the Pakistan army and the Taliban in Tirah Valley which cost many lives on both sides; and the killing of the prosecuting attorney in the murder case of Benazir Bhutto.

Amidst the chaos, it is difficult to predict the outcome of this election.

Given the political forces on the landscape, it appears that no single party will sweep the elections. The Pakistan Muslim League headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will have strong showing in the Punjab province. There has been a lot of talk about former cricketer Imran Khan and the "tsunami" that will push him into power.

Commentators compare his popularity to ZA Bhutto when he rose to power, which led to the disastrous breakup of the country in 1971.

There are also regional parties that need to be factored into the

Pakistan elections and the hope for democracy election results, such as the MuttahidaQaumi Movement (MQM) in Karachi and the Awami National Party (ANP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Former President Pervez Musharraf, despite the selfdeclared fanfare for his own election prospects, has been pushed out of relevance, having been banned from running for Parliament and seeming out of touch with reality. A bewildered populace can only wonder what motivated Musharraf to return to Pakistan.

Whether Mian Nawaz Sharif emerges on top and is able to form a ruling coalition with Imran Khan, setting aside their aversion for one another, or President Zardari shows he is still able to hold onto power despite a lacklustre performance, the new government will very quickly need to address the law and order situation on the ground. It has collapsed in many districts of Pakistan. Ordinary citizens would find the random violence that is so widespread unacceptable, even if there were prosperity in the land.

At a time of high unemployment and high prices, such violence makes life almost unbearable for

ordinary people. Too often, we hear stories of Pakistanis committing suicide in despair.

In terms of policy, the government needs to tackle law and order through strong political and administrative actions in the Tribal Areas, Balochistan and Karachi. It should begin by opening a series of negotiations with local political groups and appointing its finest police and civil officers in the field.

By providing a fair and neutral civil administration, it will ensure justice is accessible and swift. The present state of anarchy cannot continue without seriously affecting the credibility of the nation.

The government should focus on education initiatives and employment programmes for the poor. These are both great challenges for any country but with a population of some 180 million people and almost 60 million living below the poverty level, it becomes even more vital to take an immediate, long-term and holistic approach to these serious problems.

The Foreign Office needs to devise ways of rebuilding better relationships with those countries

“

vital to Pakistan's foreign policy. A constructive relationship with both of its neighbours, Afghanistan and India, is vital. Yet relations with Afghanistan have greatly deteriorated with shooting along the border and a complete lack of trust between the two countries. Once Americans leave, Afghans believe that Pakistan will interfere with its domestic situation.

For India, relations with Pakistan are always subject to being swayed by the slightest incident, insult, or provocation, such as the recent killing of Sarabjit Singh in a Pakistani prison which the Indian Prime Minister rightly called "barbaric". Both are quick to ascribe blame and evil intentions to the other side. Pakistan needs to have consistent positive relations with India and build on the current thaw.

For Pakistan's close ally, the United States, it is critical - at a time of heightened anti-Americanism - to put the relationship between the two countries in a historical perspective.

Both Americans and Pakistanis should remember that when First Lady Jackie Kennedy visited Lahore in 1962, she rode with President

The new elected government could do no better than to re-dedicate itself to the ideals of Pakistan's Founding Father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Quaid-e-Azam or "Great Leader".

Ayub Khan in an open car while hundreds of smiling Pakistanis lined the streets and tossed flower petals at her. Now, both should ask what happened to that affection? Pakistan should work to build trust and respect, not only with the US, but also with India and Afghanistan, in order to have mutually beneficial relationships.

These efforts would help to restore the confidence of Pakistanis in the government itself. With the current view of the people that the better connected do not pay income taxes and can get away with murder, the new government must be committed to the rule of law. No Pakistani should be above the law.

The dramatic arrest of Musharraf may have caused dismay in some elite circles, but ordinary Pakistanis were thrilled to see a former president and head of the army held accountable for his actions.

The new elected government could do no better than to re-dedicate itself to the ideals of Pakistan's Founding Father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Quaid-eAzam or "Great Leader". Though Pakistan today is a far cry from Jinnah's vision, it is nonetheless crucial for the new government to have an ideal to aspire to. The ideals of the Quaid-e-Azam were: human rights, women's rights, minority rights, the rule of law, and the explicit condemnation of corruption and nepotism. Only by working towards this vision of the modern state can the Pakistani government be legitimate in the eyes of the international community and, more importantly, its own people.

Source: Al Jazeera

PAGE 28

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

Nigerian SME's will get a helping hand - Canadian envoy S

By Abdulkadir Isa

mall and Medium Enterprise (SME's) in the country need "just alittle helping hand", and will get such from Canadian companies the envoy to Nigeria has said."Most Nigerian entrepreneurs are not driven by demand" rather supply which hinders efficiency and optimal performance of the entrepreneurship development he affirmed.

The Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria Chris Cooter made this statement during a press briefing at the chancery in Abuja to highlight the outcome of the Canada-Nigeria Investment Conference which took place from 2nd- - 4th May 2013 in Toronto Canada.

According to the envoy, the conference was the biggest of its kind to both countries as representatives of businesses from manufacturing, SME, tourism;Government and education converged on Canada to fashion out modalities in a bid to boost trade and investment within both countries.

Mr Cooter expressed optimism on the outcome of deliberations and pledges made at the conference with possibility of doubling trade between both

countries from the present $3 billion dollars to $6 billion dollars by 2015.

At the conference he said, Canadian company Zaphs and Labs - specialist in Banking software had fruitful discussions with representatives of some Nigerian banks with among

others.

Responding to questions on specifics on deals reached, the envoy did not specify the number and volume involved but expressed willingness to follow-up as agreements were still at a too premature stage for public knowledge.

Mr Cooter also expressed his satisfaction with the cloudy nature of transactions between the Canadian company Manitoba hydro and the Federal Government on the electricity distribution contract saying "we have every indication that the program is on track".

T

High Commissionerof Canada, Chris Cooter (R) with Political Counsellor of the commission, Alexandra MacKenzie (L).

New technology to enhance farmer's income launched in Kenya

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new technology using mobile phone to help improve the livelihood of small-scale farmers has been launched in Kenya.

The solution, dubbed Farmforce which was launched by Syngenta Foundation, is set to ensure food quality and increased farmers' income across the East African nation.

"The new platform is due to help boost the number of farmers who earn a descent income from their produce to processors, exporters and across developing countries," Syngenta Foundation Executive Director for Sustainable Agriculture Dr. Marco Ferroni told journalists during launch of the product at Thika town in central Kenya late Wednesday.

He said that the tool has been developed to help manage production by small scale farmers and also

monitor their compliance with food safety standards.

Farmforce is the first tool of its kind that employs mobile phone technology that field agricultural agents of horticultural exporters can use to update their records and monitor quality standards.

The technology manages production process, provides real time traceability from small scale farmer's farms and also monitors compliance with food safety and sustainability standards.

"New approach towards science-based knowledge towards the provision of seed system is required to help improve farmer's income," Ferroni added.

Ferroni called on a strong partnership between private and

public extension service to help modernize agriculture for small scale farmers, adding that all farmers irrespective of what size of land they own deserve best technology.

Kenya's Agriculture Ministry's Secretary Dr. Wilson Songa noted that the technology can help make farming a business since it makes it easier for agribusinesses to source from small scale farmers.

"This not only helps small scale farmers earn a descent income but also increases food production and food security," he added.

Songa said the achievement of Kenya's double digit in food production can only be attained once both small scale and large scale farmers adopt new opportunities and innovations.

He announced that the government is in the process of minimizing its role in agricultural sector so as to enable the private sector to take lead in championing the development of the sector further.

"Given that 70 percent of farmers have cell phones, the technology is set to revolutionize farming through the inclusion of the youths who have knowledge of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) in the sector since farmers grow on less than two acres," Songa noted.

He called on Kenya Plant and Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) inspectors to conduct their audit correctly at individual farmer level to avoid a blanket ban on Kenya's products.

Source: Xinhua

Libya crisis deepens as rebels expand demands

L

ibya's political crisis has deepened as armed groups surrounding two

Eritrea jails 10,000 political prisoners Amnesty International

ministries in the capital said they had formed an alliance to present an expanded list of six

Vehicles owned by protesting group with mounted GPMG's parked at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice.

demands that included the resignation of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan.

The armed groups initially demanded that parliament pass the "political isolation law" banning senior officials, who held a senior position under late Muammar Gaddafi, from office, and members had hoped the vote would be enough to dislodge the gunmen from their positions at the government ministries.

Instead, the groups have settled in and expanded their list of demands, which they presented to Reuters news agency on a printed notice late on Wednesday.

The additional demands included Zeidan's resignation, the

freezing of a recently released state budget and the right to form a committee to take charge of the Foreign Ministry.

In a separate development, a rival coalition that said it supported the government warned those stationed at the ministries it was prepared to use force to dislodge them.

"If you do not respond to our demands, we will form a common national force from all the cities of Libya to handle this situation," the group said on Wednesday.

Its members included federalists in eastern Cyrenaica and leaders of former rebel groups in a number of towns including Benghazi in the east.

housands of political prisoners are being held by Eritrea in "unimaginably atrocious conditions", says Amnesty International, and not one has ever been charged with any crime.

The rights group says at least 10,000 people have been jailed for political reasons since President IsaiasAfewerki came to power 20 years ago.

It says torture is widespread in a network of detention centres.

Eritrea has so far not responded to Amnesty's new report.

Some of those imprisoned are journalists or critics of the government, Amnesty says. Others have practised an unregistered religion, or tried to flee the country or avoid conscription into the army.

In most cases, prisoners' families are not informed of their whereabouts, and often never hear from their relative again.

"The government has systematically used arbitrary arrest and detention without charge to crush all opposition, to silence all dissent, and to punish anyone who refuses to comply with the repressive restrictions it places on people's lives," said Claire Beston, Amnesty's Eritrea researcher.

"Twenty years on from the euphoric celebrations of independence, Eritrea is one of the most repressive, secretive and inaccessible countries in the world."

The facilities used as detention centres include underground cells or shipping containers, Amnesty says.

The group says some prisoners are left for days in what is known as the helicopter position - lying face down with their hands and feet bound together.

It says it has received many reports of deaths in detention resulting from torture, the bad conditions or suicide.

A former detainee held in a detention centre in Barentu told Amnesty: "The room was about 2.5m by 3m [8 by 10 feet] and we were 33 people. It is very, very hot. The door is closed, the ceiling is low, about 2m.

The temperature was about 50C. "A boy, about 17 years old, was about to die. We were not permitted to speak, but we banged the door.

They [the guards] told us they would kill all of us if we did not stop shouting.

We couldn't do anything to help him."

Amnesty is calling for all prisoners to be either immediately charged with a recognisable crime or released.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

Asia and Middle East

A

Bangladesh war crimes tribunal has convicted and sentenced assistant secretary-general of the Jamaat-eIslami party to death for war crimes, raising fears of clashes between the police and supporters of the Islamist leader.

Mohammad Kamaruzzaman, 59, was found guilty on charges of genocide and torture of unarmed civilians during the 1971 war for independence from Pakistan, lawyers and tribunal officials said on Thursday.

Obaidul Hassan, the head of the three-judge tribunal, said the charges had been proved beyond a doubt and sentenced him to death.

He had previously been acquitted for two of the seven original charges.

One of the charges that carried the death penalty was being a commander of a massacre of 120 people.

Defence lawyer EhsanSiddiky said justice was denied to his client and promised to appeal.

Analyst David Bergman said there were cheers outside the court when the verdict was announced.

PAGE 29

Bangladesh Jamaat leader sentenced to death "The defence, however, is extremely critical of the judgement and cannot believe so much responsibility is being placed on a man who was just 19 at the time," he said.

"They say the only crime he has committed is being a leader of the opposition. It is true that many of those facing tribunal are from Jamaat-e-Islami, but the a known to have collaborated with the Pakistani army in 1971 and so they are an obvious target for prosecution."

Kamaruzzaman, who had pleaded not guilty through his lawyers, was accused of committing multiple abuses during the country's liberation war.

"He was just a lad during the war. It's a ridiculous suggestion that a 19-year-old could control the Pakistani army," chief defence counsel AbdurRazzaq said.

He was found guilty of leading his followers to kill at least 183 people in his home district of Sherpur in northern Bangladesh.

The prosecution said he formed the group Al-Badr to collaborate with the

C

Mohammad Kamaruzzaman (R).

Pakistani army and led them to kill unarmed people and rape women.

Bangladesh says the war left three million people dead, 200,000 women raped and millions forced to flee to neighbouring India.

Previous convictions of other Jamaat leaders, including two that

carried the death penalty, led to protests and violence throughout Bangladesh.

The supporters of the largest Islamic party in the country claim the tribunals are a politicallymotivated attempt to persecute their leaders.

Syria conflict: US says Assad can have no post-war role

John Kerry (R) met Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh in Rome

U

S Secretary of State John Kerry has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would have no role in a political settlement to Syria's conflict.

The comments followed reports that the US was softening its insistence on Mr Assad's departure as

a precondition for any deal - as demanded by rebels.

That had been opposed by Russia, which this week agreed to convene an international conference on Syria.

Meanwhile, Jordan said Syrian refugees now make up 10% of its population.

Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said that by the end of the year that figure could reach 25%, and 40% by mid-2014.

Mr Kerry announced a further $100m (ÂŁ64m) in aid for Syrian refugees, $43m of which would go to Jordan.

Speaking to reporters in Rome, Mr Kerry said Mr Nasser would work with the US to "effect a transition government by mutual consent of both sides, which clearly means that in our judgement President Assad will not be a component of that transitional government".

Mr Kerry also said there had been a "very positive response" to the USRussian proposal for an international conference on Syria, announced after Mr Kerry held talks in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The forum will try to persuade both the Syrian government and opposition to accept a solution based on the core elements of the final

communique issued after the UNbacked Action Group for Syria meeting in Geneva last June.

The communique called for an immediate cessation of violence and the establishment of a transitional government that could include officials serving under President Bashar al-Assad and members of the opposition.

"We are going to forge ahead very, very directly to work with all of the parties to bring that conference together," Mr Kerry said on Thursday.

The UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, LakhdarBrahimi, said the deal was "the first hopeful news" on Syria for a long time, but cautioned that it was "only a first step".

British Prime Minister David Cameron, who is due to fly to Moscow for talks with Mr Putin about Syria on Friday, said there was an urgent need to "force a political transition" in Damascus.

negotiator, responded to the announcement saying, "We condemn this new decision which is proof that the Israeli government wants to sabotage and ruin the US administration's efforts to revive the

peace process."

"This is a message to the American adminstration and a blow to the peace process," he said, pointing to the "intense" shuttle diplomacy being conducted by the US Secretary of State John Kerry to try to bring both sides back to negotiations.

"This aims to drag the region into violence instead of peace and stability," Erakat added.

HagitOfran of Israel's Peace Now settlement watchdog denounced the decision.

"This initiative proves Netanyahu is deceiving the world," she said.

"On the one hand, he lets us believe that he is putting the brakes on settlement and on the other, he gives the go-ahead for an enormous building project."

Israel approves 300 illegal homes nearRamallah

I

srael has given the go-ahead to build nearly 300 houses in a settlement near the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, an army spokesman has said, in a move likely to spark tensions as Washington seeks to restart peace talks.

The army said on Thursday the plan was compensation for Israelis who were evicted last year from another settlement, Ulpana, an unauthorised outpost which was evacuated after a court ruling.

"The Civil Administration has given the green light for 296 housing units at Beit El, but this is only the first stage of a process before actual construction can begin," the spokesman said on Thursday.

The announcement comes just two days after a report said Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's

prime minister, had quietly ordered a freeze on tenders for new settler homes in a bid to give a chance to US-led efforts to revive stalled peace talks with the Palestinians.

SaebErakat, the Palestinian

China criticizes Japan's protest over question of Okinawa sovereignty

Settlers with Israel flags from Ulpana.

hina criticized Japan on Thursday for lodging a diplomatic protest against a Chinese state media commentary calling into question Japanese sovereignty over the southern Ryukyu Islands, which include Okinawa.

The latest angry exchange could further strain tense relations between Asia's two-largest economies, which are involved in a stand-off over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, called the SenkakuinJapan and Diaoyu in China.

On Wednesday, the People's Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece, published a commentary by two Chinese government-backed scholars who said ownership of the Ryukyu islands should be re-examined, prompting Japan to lodge the diplomatic protest.

"China cannot accept Japan's socalled negotiations or protests," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman HuaChunying said at a regular briefing.

"The relevant scholars' academic articles reflect attention and research paid by China's populace and academia to the Diaoyu Islands and related historical problems," Hua said.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary YoshihideSuga told a regular briefing in Tokyo on Wednesday that the islands were Japanese territory.

"Japan lodged a stern protest that we can by no means accept the article in question if it reflects the Chinese government's stance," Suga said.

China had responded to Japan by saying that the piece was written by scholars as individuals, Suga said.

Okinawa, host to the bulk of up to 50,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan, is the largest island in the Ryukyu chain, which extends south towards Taiwan.

The scholars from a top government think-tank, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, called the Ryukyu Islands a "vassal state" of China's Ming and Qing dynasties before they were annexed

by Japan, suggesting that China had a historical claim to the island chain.

"Hanging in the balance of history, the unresolved problem of the Ryukyus has finally arrived at the time for reconsideration," the scholars wrote.

Chinese-Japanese relations plummeted to their lowest point since normalization of ties more than 40 years ago when Japan bought disputed the East China Sea islets from a private Japanese owner in September.

That row has in recent months escalated to the point where both sides have scrambled fighter jets while patrol ships shadow each other in nearby seas, raising worry that an unintended collision or other incident could lead to a broader clash.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 30

Europe and Americas

Panama closes schools to save power

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he Panamanian government has ordered schools to close and government offices to reduce their opening hours as the country suffers from a power shortage.

It also declared a drought emergency in a third of the country.

Panama derives more than half of its energy from hydroelectric power and a lack of rain has hit the supply hard.

Government officials said they had been forced to take the measures after previous drives to save energy had failed to make much difference.

Officials said bars, nightclubs, cinemas and supermarkets would also be required to close between 22:00 (03:00 GMT) and 06:00 (11:00 GMT) local time from Monday to Thursday.

Businesses have been asked to turn off their air conditioning between 11:00 (16:00 GMT) and 15:00 (20:00 GMT).

President Ricardo Martinelli asked Panamanians "to save energy because the lack of rain is really causing havoc with our electricity system".

Hydroelectric power accounted for almost 60% of Panama's electricity generation in 2010, according to the US Energy Information System.

Government minister Roberto Henriquez said he hoped the measures would prevent more drastic energy shortages "If we stick to this we can certainly prevent further cuts which could seriously affect the country's economy," he said.

Panama has the fastest growing economy in Latin America with a rate of more than 10% for 2012, according to the government's statistic agency.

Officials said they would re-assess on Sunday whether to lift the restrictions and reopen schools, but with no rain forecast they called on citizens to curb their energy consumption as much as possible

Cameron says Britain must stay in EU, dismisses sceptics B

ritish Prime Minister David Cameron took on critics in his own Conservative party on Thursday, saying it would be wrong for Britain to leave the European Union.

Some pessimists "say there is no prospect of reforming the European Union, you simply have to leave. I think they are wrong ... I think it is possible to change and reform this organization," Cameron told an investment conference.

Cameron came under renewed pressure from EU skeptics this week when former finance minister Nigel Lawson said the prime minister's plan to renegotiate Britain's commitments to the EU before a planned membership referendum in 2017

‌Slovenia seeks to avoid EU bailout were doomed to fail and the country should leave the bloc.

Cameron used his speech on Thursday to underscore his determination to keep on narrowing Britain's budget deficit at a "sensible and measured pace" and to help push for new trade deals between the EU and the United States and Canada.

He also said he would continue to defend Britain's financial services industry against some European measures such as a planned financial transaction tax which has been agreed by most countries in the euro zoneand would affect the City of London.

"We shouldn't spend our time in politics endlessly bashing banks and financial institutions. If you want the economy to recover and if you want the economy to grow, you have got to play to your strengths," Cameron said.

In a similar bustle, the government of Slovenia is due to unveil an economic action plan that it hopes will help it avoid an EU bailout.

The plan, which will be presented to the European Commission, is expected to include tax increases, banking sector reforms and privatisations.

Slovenia's new Prime Minister, AlenkaBratusek

Slovenia's mostly state-owned banking sector is suffering from mounting bad debts and the government has struggled to borrow money.

The country's economy has been in recession since 2011.

Analysts have cited Slovenia as the most likely country to seek help from the EU following the bailout of Cyprus earlier this year.

European officials have expressed concern over the stability of the country's banking sector.

The government's ability to borrow money was dealt a blow last week when Moody's, a ratings agency, cut Slovenia's bonds to "junk" status.

Despite this, the government was able to raise 3.5bn euros (ÂŁ3bn; $4.6bn) from international bond markets last week, but at relatively high rates of interest.

Analysts say the funds buy Slovenia time, but do not address the underlying economic and financial problems.

The plan, due to be presented by the newly-formed government of Prime Minister AlenkaBratusek, is expected to include tax increases to shore up public sector finances.

The country is also planning a "bad bank" to take on the financial sector's bad debts.

The governor of Slovenia's central bank, Marko Kranjec, is also advocating the privatisation of some banks.

The European Commission will study the plan before recommending action.

Haiti cholera victims threaten to sue UN

A

group of lawyers representing cholera victims in Haiti has threatened to take legal action against the United Nations.

James Bays, Al Jazeera's diplomatic editor, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday said the lawyers representing the

victims and their families have "presenting a very clear message".

"They say they are giving the UN an ultimatum - they have 60 days in which to admit liability, to pay out compensation, or, the lawyers say, they're going to sue," Bays said.

The outbreak has brought devastation to a population already struggling to recover from the 2010earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people earlier that year.

More than 8,000 people died and hundreds of thousands more were infected in the epidemic that followed and

continued well into 2012.

UN peacekeepers have been accused of sparking the outbreak, although the UN has refused to pay compensation to the families of victims of the cholera outbreak.

The UN has repeatedly denied any responsibility for the cholera outbreak.

Chile students resume protests for free education

T

ens of thousands of students in Chile have resumed their protests for free education with marches in major cities.

The march in the capital, Santiago, was largely peaceful, but there were isolated clashes, authorities say.

Riot police said that they had been attacked with petrol bombs. Police used water cannons and tear gas to break up one group of protesters.

Chilean students have been staging protests for free, high-quality education since 2011.

Wednesday's action was the second nationwide protest this year.

The police estimated the number of protesters in Santiago at more than 37,000 but organisers say

80,000 people took to the streets.

There also were protests in other Chilean cities, including Valparaiso, Concepcion, Temuco and Valdivia.

On the first national marches of 2013, in early April, more than 100,000 participated.

Although Chile's education system is regarded by many as one of the best in Latin America, students argue it is deeply unfair.

They say middle-class students have access to some of the best schooling in the region, while the poor have to be content with under-funded state schools.

There are no free

Police fire water cannons at protesting students. universities.

The campaign for educational reform is the biggest protest movement Chile has seen since the return to

democracy in 1990.

It started with a wave of mass demonstrations in 2011, which carried on throughout 2012.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 31

Meet Denis Hope, the man who sells the moon

Photo: NY Times video caption

I

f someone tried to sell me the moon, I would dismiss them as con artists. So I was pretty surprised to learn about Denis Hope, a 65-year-old man from Gardnerville, Nevada, who runs a legit business selling land plots on the Moon, Mars, Venus, Io and Mercury. Of course, there's no legal backing to all this, but there's nobody stopping him either. As long as he's able to make people smile, he says he can do anything he wants.

He's been in business since 1980.

Hope is a former-ventriloquist, now in the business of space real-estate. Some people view his work as the selling of

'novelty items' such as pet rocks and certificates. Others argue that he's taking forth the age-old American tradition of land speculators selling plots of useless land. Hope admits that there are several others selling property in outer space, but the difference is that those people are criminal in their intent. He considers himself the legit owner of the Moon, so what he's doing is all right. How come he is so confident, you ask? Well, he says this is as real as any other property you can buy on Earth, and that's because he filed a declaration with the United Nations.

Otherwise, Hope says he wouldn't be

Woman desperate to find a job sells herself on ebay

F

or sale - a willing and able permanent or temporary employee' - reads the eBay ad.

It's quite unusual for the ecommerce website where merchants are more interested in selling goods. But 38-year-old Deborah Bowen had no other choice but to try and sell herself on eBay, having had no proper employment for over 2 years. She went from a ÂŁ33,000 per year role in sales, to looking for jobs where she's willing to do almost 'anything' for a living.

In the last couple of years, Bowen has been sending out her resume to hundreds of recruiters and prospective employers. She

Deborah Bowen

didn't even leave out local plumber's merchants in the hope of receiving some sort of permanent employment. But all she could find was part-time work, sometimes paying as low as ÂŁ6.6 per hour. Bowen and her partner have been struggling to make mortgage repayments and are facing eviction from their home in Gloucester. With the next payment due in March, she is desperate to try anything and hence decided to try out eBay. The ad went up on the 17th of February. It goes on to say, "Sales Professional/BDM/W/house will do almost anything for work.

selling at all.

So is Hope the real deal? Could he really get you ownership in outer space?

He claims that honesty is a very integral part of his work ethic. "In 1980, I was going through a divorce and hadn't worked in almost a year, and I was almost out of money," he says. He thought if he had some property he could do something useful, and when he had that thought, he looked out of the window and saw the moon. "I thought to myself, there's a lot of property." That's when he remembered the 1967 Outer Space Treaty as well. According to article 2 of

that treaty, no nation by appropriation shall have sovereignty or control over any of the satellite bodies. But nowhere in the treaty did it mention anything about individuals, Hope realized. And he decided to grab on that loophole by filing a petition to ownership of the moon.

Hope says he sent a note to the UN that if they had a legal problem with his claim to ownership of the moon, they should let him know. But he's never heard back from them, so he took that as a green signal to go ahead with his business. This isn't credible enough for many, though. Ram Jakhu from the Institute of Air and Space Law,

McGill University, says pretty simply, "Idon'tseealoophole."AccordingtoFrans von der Dunk, professor of Space Law at the University of Nebraska, "It's either a hollow claim or a fraud." That's not stopping Hope. So far, he's sold 600 million acres on the moon alone at the rate of about 200 properties per day.

Regardless of the location of the property, each one costs $19.99. And that's not including the $1.51 lunar or planetary tax and the extra $2.50 to put the name on the document. Hope says he has over 5 million individual property owners in 193 countries on Earth.

The most interesting aspect of Hope's work is how he selects the properties. When he has to choose the area of a planet to sell, he just covers his eyes and points his finger on a large map. Wherever his finger lands is what he ends up selling. But apart from just selling property, Hope has other ideas for development on the moon. He has plans and blueprints for a Lunar Embassy. His current idea is for a pyramid that will house embassies for every government on Earth. It all sounds pretty interesting until he mentions spaces for non-Earth based governments. That's when he seems a wee bit loony to me. He claims that these governments are 'here' and he is in touch with them. He started his own 'Moon government' in 2004 and says that they are now a fully recognized sovereign nation. It gets extremely bizarre when he mentions Rigley Pop who emailed him in 1999 claiming ownership of the Sun, asking for a charge of $30 million a year for all the energy put out for all the planetary bodies that Hope owns. Hope handled that pretty well, he just replied, "We don't want your energy, please turn it off."

Sources: New York Times, National Geographic

Miami artist uses his own body fat to make soap

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i a m i - b a s e d performance artist Orestes de la Paz has put his heart, soul and fat into 20 bars of special soap made with his liposuctioned blubber. The bars of human soap are available for purchase and priced at $1,000.

Orestes de la Paz underwent a liposuction procedure in December of last year, and decided to turn the removed fat into soap to prevent it from going rancid. He came up with the idea for his art thesis after realizing that "clients are willing to try anything to feel and look beautiful, even to the extent of buying products with human elements in them (stem cells, placenta, semen; you name it, it's out there.)" Working as a hairstylist and make-up artist, Orestes loves combining the worlds of art and beauty together, so the unusual project sort of made sense to him. Apart from coconut oil, organic vegetable shortening, lavender and tree tea oils, as well as other cosmetics ingredients, his unique soap bars are 25% human fat, which apparently leaves the user's hands soft after washing.

"There's always a certain amount of blood, sweat, and tears that goes into any artwork. I just make it more explicit," the artist said about his bizarre project.

When he first got the idea to

The soap is being used in a hand-wash test organised by the initiator.. use fat from his liposuction in an art piece, he was going to turn into some kind of acrylic memoir, but his doctor told him that in order to keep it he would have to convert the blubber into something else. That's when all the extensive biology classes he took during college finally came in handy - he remembered soap is made with fat. "There's something about converting the notions about how we approach fat that can sometimes be seen as dirty or repulsive ‌ Being

able to convert it into something that is cleansing and also potentially healing reflects off of the phrase 'Cleanliness is next to godliness.' Cleaning the outside with stuff from the inside. Converting something that was dirty and putting it into something that was clean, and then putting that thing that I saw as dirty onto my body and reclaiming what I was ashamed of before, " de la Paz told the Miami New Times.

PAGE 32

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013 With Tobias Lengnan Dapam 07036990957

'G.I. Joe' writers sue paramount, MGM over 'Stolen' sequel

D Jackie Chan Fan Bingbing

Cannes: Fan Bingbing joins Jackie Chan action comedy 'Skip trace'

R

ising international star Fan Bingbing will star opposite action icon Jackie Chan in 'Skiptrace', Hollywood reporter has revealed.

It added that the Englishlanguage film is based on an original idea by Chan, about a Hong Kong detective and American gambler who set out to take down Hong Kong's most notorious criminal.

In another key development, Exclusive Media has come aboard to co-produce and co-finance the action comedy with Beijing-based production and distribution company Talent International Film Co., guaranteeing that the film will get a slot at the Chinese

box office.

Skiptrace will be shopped to foreign buyers this month at the Cannes Film Market by Exclusive president of international sales and distribution, Alex Walton (Chan and Bingbing will personally pitch international distributors).

In the comedy, the detective (Chan) and the gambler -- a role yet to be cast -- form an unlikely partnership as they embark on a wild journey to find the criminal mastermind. Settings will include many of China's most scenic and exotic locales. It isn't know what role Fan will play.

Jon Longino wrote the script, with The Sitter scribes Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka co-writing.

'Skip trace', comes almost two decades after Talent International Film Group president, Esmond Ren first worked with Chan on 'The Legend of Drunken Master' (1994).

Chan was most recently in theaters with Chinese 12 Zodiac, which he directed, wrote, produced and starred in.

Fan, a fashion icon, has starred in numerous Chinese films. She's now shooting her first Hollywood tentpole, 20th Century Fox's X-Men: Day of Future Past.

avid Elliot and Paul Lovett, two of the credited screenwriters on the 2009 film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, have filed a massive lawsuit against Paramount, MGM, Hasbro and producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura.

At issue is the sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which came out in March and grossed nearly $120 million in domestic box office.

According to a complaint filed in California federal court late last week and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, Elliot and Lovett had a contractual "first opportunity" to write the first sequel to the Joe Cobra movie if they were the sole writers.

But they weren't. Stuart Beattie was also given a coscreenwriting credit.

Nevertheless, the two writers say that shortly after

the premiere of the 2009 film, the defendant film companies asked them to present plotlines, themes, characters and more for a potential sequel "with the stated intent that the PDH Defendants would hire Plaintiffs to write the screenplay if they liked Plaintiffs' proposed Sequel."

Elliot and Lovett said that they did just that, and now after seeing their work allegedly taken without credit, they are seeking more than $23 million in damages for copyright infringement and breach of implied contract.

"These original inventions, which make Plaintiffs' Proposed Sequel a compelling piece of story-telling, have been stolen by the (defendants) in the hopes of infusing the Joe Retailiation Movie with the blockbuster power of Plaintiffs' Work."

Dr. Phil sues Gawker for copyright infringement

Dr. Phil

P

hil McGraw's production company has filed suit against Gawker Media for posting footage of the TV therapist's Dr. Phil show interview with Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the man behind the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax, on

its sports gossip blog, Deadspin.com.

Filed Monday in Texarcana, Texas, the suit claims the website posted the juiciest parts of the interview online before it had aired in the majority of Dr. Phil markets.

Part One of the two-part interview -- which aired over two days -- had ended on a cliffhanger, with viewers left unsure whether or not Tuiasosopo would speak in the female voice that allegedly duped Te'o into thinking he was carrying on a long-distance relationship with a woman named Lennay Kekua.

The suit alleges that Deadspin stole copyrighted material and made it available to viewers online, resulting in lower ratings for the second episode.

Filed on behalf of Peteski Productions by lawyers Chip Babcock of Houston and George McWilliams of Texarkana, the claim seeks actual damages at an amount to be proven at trial, an injunction preventing Gawker Media from continuing to infringe on Peteski Production's copyright of Dr. Phil episodes, plus punitive damages meant to deter Gawker Media from engaging in such behavior in the future.

Deadspin originally broke the Te'o story in January, igniting one of the most sensational media storms of the year. The story has over 4 million views.

Attempts to reach Gawker Media for comment were not immediately answered.

A scene from the action pact movie.

Justin Timberlake announces '20/20 experience world tour '

J

ustin Timberlake is set to head out on a worldwide solo tour starting in October.

The 32-year-old entertainer announced dates for the 20/20 experience World Tour, which will run through 2014, via his official website.

The global trek will kick off in Montreal on October 31 before traveling across North America, Europe, Australia and South America.

Tickets go on sale in select markets beginning Monday (May 13). Justin's new fan club, The Tennessee Kids, will have access to a pre-sale started on Tuesday.

Justin Timberlake

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 33

Paul Okoye denies paternity of Elshama Benson’s son in London hospital

N

igeriafilms.com has revealed that Paul Okoye ofje P-Square has abandoned Elshama Benson Igbanoni, with his supposed baby in a London hospital.

It added that the hospital bill was running into five thousand pounds.

Igbanoni had claimed that Paul Okoye was responsible for her pregnancy, but the J-town born artist claimed not knowing her.

It was also revealed that Ms.

Elshama Benson Igbanoni is a very close friend of Paul Okoye's girlfriend who gave birth recently in America.

Paul's Representative has responded that there is no iota of truth in what has been on air.

His publicist said that, ''Paul stated that it is a trivial issue because the allegation lacks substance and he would not be glorifying the accusing parties by responding to their claims and the fame and attention they seek.''

Mavin record celebrates one year anniversary

M Elshama Benson Igbanoni

The new born baby

Paul Okoye

Lauryn Hill sentenced to three months for tax evasion

S

inger Lauryn Hill, 37, was sentenced to three months in federal prison plus another three months of house arrest for failing to pay taxes on an estimated $1 million in earnings.

The sentencing came after Hill delivered a strongly worded statement in court on Monday in Newark, N.J., the Associated Press reports, in which she explained that she had meant to one day pay the taxes, but was unable to after retreating from the recording

industry for unspecified reasons.

"I needed to be able to earn so I could pay my taxes, without compromising the health and welfare of my children, and I was being denied that," Hill, a mother of six, told the judge.

"I was put into a system I didn't know the nature of," Hill continued, according to TMZ .

"I'm a child of former slaves. I got into an economic paradigm and had that imposed on me. I sold 50 million units. Now I'm up here paying a tax debt. If

that's not likened to slavery, I don't know what is."

Several weeks ago, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Moser claimed in court that Hill -- a former member of influential hip-hop group Fugees -- recently signed a deal with Sony Music which would pay her $1 million in exchange for five new songs. Hill countered that while a deal was in place, the figures were "inaccurate."

label which was borne concurrently with the release of their signature album, Solar Plexus on the 8th of May, 2012 has witnessed re-energized outputs and singles from the various artists that make up the crew.

He said the past few months, the crew has had fans reeling from a flurry of hit singles being knocked out.

The statement further said that smoking hot from the stables of these musical firebrands have been radio bangers such as: The Kick, Private Trips, Goody bag, Lady Don Dada, Without my heart, Rotate and the Birthday song

by D' Prince to be released just in time for the anniversary.

The Mavin Crew are however promising to keep their beloved fans on their toes with upcoming albums from Wande Coal, Dr. Sid and the recently engaged Tiwa Savage's 'Once upon a time' which is to be released in June.

'American Idol': Mariah Carey to premier new video on result show

H

Lauryn Hill

avin Crew has celebrated its one year anniversary on May 8th, 2013.

A statement issued on Wednesday by the Group Publicist, Terfa Tilley-Gyado, said it has been a very busy year in the music industry and the Mavin team, headed by production maestro, Don Jazzy, has hardly had time to draw breath.

It added that the fortunes of Tiwa Savage, D'Prince, Wande Coal and Dr. Sid grew from strength to strength in the last year.

"The journey so far has also witnessed further additions to the family with two young and versatile producers , Altims Beats and Baby Fresh, in November last year. The numbers were further boosted in February this year with the addition of Nigeria's foremost Disc Jockey, DJ Spinall".

Gyado said Mavin Records

ollywood reporter has revealed that Mariah Carey's fans will be treated to a double dose of the American Idol judge this week.

It said the singer will premiere her new song, "Beautiful," featuring Grammy winner Miguel, on Thursday night's results show.

The single, which launched at radio and online on May 6, 2013, is the lead track from Carey's new studio album, due out in the coming months, and is already being hailed as "the song of the summer."

The soulful duet, which opens with the lines "hop on the back of my bike," has a catchy hook and a retro sound that is sure to be the soundtrack to backyard barbecues.

According to an announcement by Carey's label Island Def Jam, her forthcoming album will feature more of the "raw ballads" for which the singer is known, with tracks produced by The-Dream,

Jermaine Dupri, Hit-Boy, Rodney Jerkins and Mike WiLL. The video, directed by

Mariah Carey

Joseph Kahn, will be available on VEVO and YouTube immediately following the premiere.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 34

Addressing the burden of asthma in Nigeria

P

riscilla, a 40-year-old public servant, has been living with asthma for the last 32 years.

When Priscilla was first diagnosed of asthma, her grandmother called her an ogbanje because of the way she struggling to breathe.

Narrating her story, Priscilla said that growing up was not easy, as she was hospitalised on several occasions.

She stressed that she had to consciously avoid cats, dust, fur and feathers, recalling that her contacts with such objects usually triggered asthma attacks.

Priscilla also recollected her harrowing experience while growing up, saying that she was usually isolated because other children avoided her like a leech, thinking that asthma was a contagious disease or some kind of epilepsy.

Besides, Temilade, a secondary school student, said that she could not participate in a lot of school activities because she was asthmatic.

She noted that her attacks could be very severe, adding that her condition often scared away some of her peers, particularly whenever she started coughing uncontrollably, gasping for breath.

The two cases aptly exemplify the plight of several other asthmatic children because of the general lack of awareness about the medical condition called asthma.

The Global Asthma Report 2011 says that asthma is a serious public health concern because of the fact that it is a chronic respiratory disease which affects not less than 235 million people worldwide.

Christophe Perrin, the Coordinator of Asthma Drug Facility (ADF), International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, said that the percentage of adults suffering from asthma had increased appreciably over the years.

Perrin added that the number of children and adolescents suffering from asthma had also increased significantly because more people were now coming forward for health checks for asthma.

Dr Yinka Ojugbele, a general physician, said that asthma or bronchial asthma was an allergic condition which affected people's respiratory system.

He said that the allergy usually affected the airways of lungs, making the conduit to swell and become narrow, leading to wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness and coughing.

Ojugbele stressed that asthma was usually triggered by certain factors such as rugs, pollens, dust, fur, food and extreme weather conditions, adding that these factors, however, varied from person to person. ``When asthmatic patients

Minister of Environment, Hadiza Mailafia are exposed to such things, they have attacks and most of the time, these things are readily available in the house but they could be avoided,'' he said.

Ojugbele explained that there were two categories of asthma, adding that these were extrinsic and atopic asthma.

fumes, vehicle exhaust fumes, cosmetics and aerosol sprays.

The report shows that the burden of asthma has been growing over the past 30 years, particularly in low- and middleincome countries, while people suffering from asthma were

facing increased challenges.

Dr Regina Oladokun, a consultant paediatrician at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, said that a study indicated that about seven per cent of Nigerian children were suffering from asthma.

She noted that due to the societal stigma attached to asthma, many parents often rejected asthma diagnosis for their children, even when presented with results of medical tests confirming it.

Besides, Oladokun noted that many asthma cases involving children in the country were often misdiagnosed in both private and public hospitals ``Many asthma cases are misdiagnosed even by medical practitioners as bronchitis, pneumonia and tuberculosis,'' she added.

The consultant said that other challenges facing asthma control in Nigeria were the fact that many medical practitioners were not up-to-date in current asthma management procedures.

Oladokun also noted that some medical practitioners only attended to acute asthma cases, while refusing to follow up on their patients' repeated attacks.

Dr Olusoji Ige, the President of the UCH chapter of Nigeria Society for Asthmatics, said that majority of patients did not use inhaled corticosteroids, while others had limited access to such drugs because of the medicines were not affordable. ``The 2011 survey of selected

Inhaler

Atopic asthma is common in children, while the intrinsic or non-atopic asthma usually affects adults.

According to the Global Asthma Report 2011, the less frequent causative factors are stress and certain foods, beverages or medicines, while the environmental risk factors include allergens such as dust mites, animal fur, pollen, mould and inhaled irritants like cigarette smoke, cooking

“

When asthmatic patients are exposed to such things, they have attacks and most of the time, these things are readily available in the house but they could be avoided,''

essential asthma medicines revealed that prices of inhaled corticosteroids remained high in many countries, while only a minority of countries had the inhaled corticosteroids on their essential drug list,'' he added.

On the management of asthma, experts note that even though the condition is not curable; it can be effectively managed with existing medicines.

Perrin said that that the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease believed that it was very important for countries to have standard guidelines for asthma management. ``The medicine procurement system needs to be functional.

Proper prescription of medicines is also important to enable people to know what to use. ``We also need to train more doctors, nurses and health care workers about how to identify, diagnose asthma patients and care for them. '' Perrin added that education must be provided to people as to how to use inhalers and identify asthma symptoms.

He said that in managing asthma, there were two groups of medicines that were basically required. ``Most of the people require bronchodilators, which are of course very important medicine but apart from that, what the Union is really trying to push forward in as many countries as possible and also through ADF are inhaled corticosteroids. ``Inhaled corticosteroids are the medicines which would help in healing the lungs of asthma patients because asthma is all about inflammation of the lungs; inhaled corticosteroids are the key medicines that would cure this inflammation. ``However, inhaled corticosteroids are not available in desired quantities in many countries such as India, Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi and Zimbabwe, according to a study we conducted. ``We need to ensure the availability and accessibility of affordable and quality medicines for all people with asthma,'' Perrin added.

Nevertheless, Ojugbele stressed that teachers and parents had vital roles to play in managing asthmatic children. ``Most children with asthma or any other allergic disease tend to keep to themselves a lot because they see themselves as different from other children. ``It is important for their teachers and parents to encourage them; they should give such children the needed psychological and moral support,'' he said.

All the same, experts insist that the best way to prevent asthma attacks is for patients to eat balanced diets, avoid exposure to trigger factors and avoid smoking.

They also stress that untreated and poorly managed asthma leads to suffering and diminished lives, also causing disabilities or even deaths. NAN

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 35

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PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

Does your baby sweat when scared?

Don't worry Babies with a strong physical reaction to fear were less 'physically and verbally aggressive' as toddlers

By Emma Innes

P

arents who are concerned about their babies breaking out in a sweat have been told not to worry - it means they will be calmer toddlers.

Scientists have discovered that 12-month-olds who sweat more when faced with scary situations will show less aggression than other children by the time they are three.

Sweat monitors were attached to babies' feet to measure their reaction to loud noise and to a fearinducing mechanical robot.

The researchers compared the results with the children's behaviour, as rated by their mothers, when they reached the age of three.

It revealed that babies with a strong physical reaction to fear and anger were less 'physically and verbally aggressive' as toddlers.

Professor Stefanie van Goozen, from Cardiff University's school of psychology, said babies with less nervous sweat were 'more likely to engage in antisocial behaviour' as toddlers.

She said: 'Aggressive children may have lower levels of physiological arousal because they don't experience the same level of emotional arousal in response to fearful situations as their less aggressive peers.

'Because they have a weaker fear response, they are more likely to engage in antisocial behaviour.'

She explained: 'In order to behave aggressively you need to be relatively fearless - you dare to

be aggressive and you are not held back by concerns that the other person could be aggressive to you.

'Most people are not aggressive because they are afraid of the consequences of their aggression.

'The anticipation of some form of punishment stops us from being too aggressive.'

She added: 'These findings show that it is possible to identify at-risk children long before problematic behaviour is readily observable.

12-month-olds who sweat more when faced with scary situations show less aggression than other children by the time they are three

'Identifying precursors of disorder in the context of typical development can inform the implementation of effective prevention programmes and ultimately reduce the psychological and economic costs of antisocial behaviour to society.'

Sweat levels are monitored by skin conductance activity (SCA) how the body physically reacts when aroused by fear or anger.

But Professor van Goozen said science has yet to discover why

some babies have a stronger physical reaction to fear than others do.

One theory is that it may be genetic - and that aggression in toddlers might be passed through the family.

Professor Adrian Raine, Chair of the Department of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania, said: 'Stefanie van Goozen's latest novel findings are powerful in showing that objective physiological measures predict

later aggression over and above other measures.

'If these new results can be replicated and extended to other ages, they have potentially important implications for the future prediction of aggressive and violent behaviour.

'They highlight the promise of biological measures too in better understanding the causes of fearless aggressive behaviour.'

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 37

ACN dissolved Kwara exco, appoints Ondo leader as Caretaker Chairman

Kano state Governor, Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso attending to official matters in his office, as early as 1:30 am, yesterday.

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

T

Reps summon IGP over Kogi community crisis

By Lawrence Olaoye

H

ouse of Representatives yesterday summoned Inspector General of Police, Mohammed , Abubakar, to explain series of communal crises rocking Igala community of Kogi State.

The summon was issued by the House Committee on Public Petition who heard a petition submitted to it by a group called Elders Forum of Igalamela/Odolu at the National Assembly yesterday.

Uzo Azubuike, Chairman of the Committee said the Committee was acting on sections 62,88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution which empowers it to treat such petitions against public officers.

The committee said the invitation was aimed at ensuring that the police step up its investigation and prosecution on the communal clashes which claim lives daily.

Azubuike expressed hopes that invitation of Abubakar and current Commissioner of Police in Kogi State would assist the committee to get to the roots of all allegations raised in the petition.

The petitioners led by one Chief Ignatius Alhaji Amodu had accused police complicity in the protracted nature of their investigations in the matter which has lasted twelve years.

Hon. Ismail Inah Hussain representing Igalamela/Odolu/ Ibaji/Ofu/Idah federal constituency in the House told

his colleagues on the need for an urgent intervention into the ongoing wanton destruction of lives and properties in the area.

A copy of the petition dated 18th of March 2013 submitted to the committee recently accused one Friday Abdul Sani, a serving member of Kogi House of Assembly as being behind the mayhem.

The petition reads :”Igalamela/Odolu local government area has witnessed series of violence and crimes over the past twelve years perpetrated mostly by militant youth groups under various aliases, formed and nurtured by one Friday Abdul Sani a member

of Kogi State House of Assembly” “We wish to appeal to the House of Representatives to direct the Security Agencies especially the police and the State Security Services, SSS to step up their surveillance and investigations of these criminal gangs, to secure lives and properties in our local government” The Committee had earlier agreed with the petitioners over alleged compromise of Kogi police command under CP Ibe Aghanya who handled initial prosecution of the accused.

Sani, a 42 year old former Special Assistant on Youth and Empowerment to former Kogi governor was also said to have be currently provided with four policemen while the command claims he is at large.

No more politics of violence, character assassination in Oyo -Ajimobi From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

G

overnor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has said that brigandage, politics of violence and bitterness, as well as character assassination, have gone for good in the state.

Consequently, he warned any individual or group bent on returning the state to the era of violence to steer clear of the state or be severely dealt with in accordance with the law.

The governor stated these in his remarks shortly after being honoured with the title of Aare Asoludero (harbinger of peace) by the State Council

of Tradesmen and Artisans at the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, Ibadan yesterday.

He noted that one of the major achievements of his administration in the last two years was the restoration of peace which, he said, had eluded the state for some years past.

Ajimobi added that any move by any individual or group to truncate this feat and visit the state with violence again would not be accepted by his administration.

He said that the attainment of peace and security had served as the foundation for other

developmental strides and good governance by his administration.

According to the governor, the level he had taken governance of the state, it would be difficult for any politician of the old order to reverse the trend.

While berating politicians who take solace in brigandage that the era of thuggery had long passed in the state, Ajimobi asked the tumultuous crowd that had come to honour him to interrogate anyone who comes to them to demand for votes and demand their antecedents and leadership pedigree, stating that the era

of charlatans coming into power had long gone.

The governor took the opportunity to announce to the public that the Olubadan of Ibadan had perfected plans to install him as the Aare Atunluto of Ibadanland.

Explaining the rationale for the chieftaincy which he said was an appreciation for the general uplift of the outlook of the state and Ibadan in particular, as well as the massive road construction going on in the state, Ajimobi berated politicians whose stock in trade was maligning the state’s urban renewal programme, stating that they were self-seekers.

he National Secretariat of Action Congress of Nigeria(AC N) has dissolved the Executive of the party in Kwara State led by Mr Kayode Olawepo.

The party, in a letter issued by its National Secretary, Senator Lawal Shuaibu, to Comrade Sola Iji, party Leader, ACN Ondo State, Akure directed Olawepo to inform others members of his executive to relinquish their office.

The letter which was dated April 23, 2013 entitled “Appointment as Chairman of the Kwara State ACN Caretaker Committee” stated thus “I write to convey to you the approval of the National Chairman of your appointment as Chairman of the Kwara State ACN Caretaker Committee. “ The decision to dissolve the Olawepo led-Committee was made by the NWC of our party on April 15, 2013. You are expected to work with six members of your committee as follows: Prince Shuaibu Olarewaju; Alhaji Abdulraheem Akoerede, Alhaji Samari Abdullahi, Issa Umar, Dr. Saad Omoiya and Rev Bunmi Olusona.

“Your assignment is to ensure that you organize the party in such a way that any sort of factionalisation is eliminated before you set up all necessary organs that will assist you in running the party and ensure a seamless transition into the merger process with other merging parties in the state.

“This assignment is as important as it is tasking and therefore, requires your extreme dedication and determination to execute; it is with immediate effect please.

“The former State Caretaker Committee members have since been informed of their dissolution through their Chairman, Mr. Kayode Olawepo. However, you should not hesitate to solicit for the cooperation of the State Elders in the course of carrying out the assignment, but note that you are only answerable to the National Secretariat of the party. ”While counting on your full cooperation, please accept the assurances of our highest consideration and esteem.”

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

Amaechi floors Jonathan in Reps ...Lawmakers ask IG to withdraw police form LG hq, state Assembly

By Lawrence Olaoye

T

he animosity between Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi of River State and President Goodluck Jonathan reared its head yesterday in the hallowed chamber of the House of Representatives with the group suspected to be loyal to the governor emerging victorious.

Rep Sekontes Davies, a known loyalist of the Riverrs state governor had a motion under matter of urgent National Importance drawing the attention of the House to the siege laid to the River State House of Assembly as well as the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council Secretariat by the men of Nigeria police following the suspension of the elected officials based on allegations of financial and other a d m i n i s t r a t i v e inconsistencies.

The House of Assembly on April 22 announced the suspension of the Council Chairman, his Deputy and all the 17 Councillors and a caretaker committee was constituted the next day to take over the running of the council.

However the issue degenerated into a chaos as powerful individuals in the state opposed to the Governor mobilised some persons to stage a protest over the issue.

The State Executive of the party also suspended 27 members of the State House of Assembly from the party for refusing to rescind the

suspension of the Council officials who were perceived to be loyalists of the state Governor.

Policemen were drafted to the State Assembly Complex as well as the Council headquarters to prevent the legislators from sitting as well as the caretaker committee constituted to replace the suspended Council officials, from functioning.

In moving the motion, he drew the attention of the House to the "illegality" in the deployment of police to the Assembly complex and the council secretariat which were carried out without the request of the state governor as stated in the constitution.

According to him, Section 215 subsection (4) states that the state governor only can ask for extra deployment of police in his state for maintenance of peace when need be, but that the River State Governor in this case, did not make such request.

In his prayers he requested the House to mandate the House committee on Police Affairs, Justice and Human Rights to conduct a thorough investigations into the siege laid on the government institution as well as urge the Inspector-General of police to ask his men and officers to withdraw forthwith from the premises of the River State House of Assembly Complex and other places so occupied.

When the motion was put to general debate,

Kingsley Chinda, an avowed loyalist of President Jonathan was the only one who opposed the motion.

However, all his arguement that the motion be killed fell on deaf ears as members passed it as it was.

As soon as the Speaker ruled on the motion, Chinda raised a point of order and used it to introduce a motion under matters of urgent National importance just like Davies.

However, as he read out his motion, it was clearly a motion designed to get the House rescind itself on the motion moved by Davies.

In his motion, he drew the attention of the House to the "undemocratic suspension" of the democratically elected officials of Obio/Akpor LGA which he said was masterminded by the state Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.

In his prayers, he urged the House to condemn in strong terms the suspension, that the House should urge the Inspector General of Police to immediately deploy security men to the Area to forestall a breakdown of law and order and also urge all state Assemblies to immediately re-visit all state laws that provide for appointment of an Administrator or caretaker committee to replace democratically elected member of LGAs. Jonathan's loyalist motion was however shot down when it was apparent hat majority of the lawmakers were opposed to it.

DPP may opt out of merger

By Umar Muhammad Puma

D

emocratic Peoples Party (DPP) said yesterday that it is seriously reconsidering its earlier decision to join the APC merger plan by the four major opposition parties in the country, namely ACN, CPC APGA and the ANPP. National Chairman of the party, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi, saidat the party's National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja that it can no longer afford the luxury of not taking decision on the

issue of merger.

"We either join any of the multiple overt and convert efforts of realignment in the form of merger, working relationship or make practical plans for the party's short and long term survival strategies. But the party must take a decision as far as merger concerned".

According to him, a d m i n i s t r a t i v e technicalities did not allow the formal inauguration of the committee despite the fact that a latter was written initiating contact

with the merger coordinating committee chairman of the APC to which there is no reply.

"The inability of the merger committee of the party to be inaugurated, couple with the lack of formal response to the party's letter initiating the contact with APC, some members have started to convene meetings at which unilateral decision were taken without taking into consideration the impact of such decisions on the party". He called on the members of the NEC to feel free to express their opinion on the matter

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 39

Oshiomhole, a political hypocrite, says Edo PDP chieftain INTERVIEW

A

s someone who witnessed the April 20th council poll in Edo State, can you narrate your experience?

Our experience at the just concluded April 20th election in Edo State is a true definition of disappointment on the part of Adams Oshiomole led government. Let me start from pre-election experience.

You see, if you look at what is happening in Edo State today, you will discover that there’s a newly reformed PDP. As a result of this, members of PDP worked so hard, campaigned so wide and they ensured their campaign was issue-based, all these happened before the election.

However, our suspicion started when Oshiomole was constituting the SIEC, that’s the State Electoral Commission. It became curious that those expected to be referees at the various polling centres are cardcarrying members of ACN. Starting from the Presiding Officers, the Polling Agents and Returning Officers, they are all from ACN. It will also interest you to know that PDP led other opposition parties to protest. I can remember vividly how we organised peaceful protests and wrote petitions, but all these fell on deaf ears of the governor and his party. They went ahead and executed their agenda.

Now what really happened at the election proper?

We were rigged out at the election proper, but we were not really surprised but disappointed when we saw the outcome. The election was a far cry of the petition of the general opponents on Oshiomole judging from his antecedents. The election was flawed with a lot of rigging.

I’m speaking from personal experience here. For example, when voting was going on, if ACN presiding officer discovered that somebody from their party wanted to vote they would tear as many as five ballot papers for him.

They won’t put ink on his finger so that he can thumb print in other places. And anytime PDP members complained, they would bring police and soldiers from nowhere to intimidate them.

It was later discovered by the people that most of these security men are fake. They were imported to the state for that main purpose. They hauled most PDP members

Following the controversies that trailed the just concluded local government election in Edo state, Barrister Peter Oriaran, an Abuja-based legal practitioner and a PDP stalwart from Owan West area of the state condemns electoral irregularities allegedly perpetrated by Gov. Adams Oshiomole and his ACN followers at the polls in this interraction with newsmen recently. Lawrence Olaoye was there. Excerpts: into detention and many of them are not yet released as I speak to you. There was a particular case, where a young man named Imonu Oriaran, who protested seriously against massive rigging through thumb printing that was taking place in his Ward 4 in Sabongida Ora. Do you know that as the boy was going innocently on his motorcycle, having left the spot, that he was shot?

ACN thugs ran after him and shot him dead. As I speak to you, his corpse is still in the mortuary and nobody is saying anything about it.

Infact, a one time Deputy Governor of Edo State, Rev. Peter Obadan came out unrepentantly and said he was the one that instructed his aides to shoot him dead.

How do you think it would be possible for Oshiomhole to use police and army against PDP, even when these agencies appear to be under control of the same PDP at the central?

Yes, I must tell you that this development really baffled us. You are very right, we know that PDP is controlling power at the central but because they wanted fair play in this election, they left everything to chances. That’s why our party refused to use any federal might. However, ongoing investigations revealed that those guys are fake, I mean the soldiers. This is because you can’t imagine a situation where these men in uniform were all busy escorting ACN members to where they were stuffing ballot boxes, thumb printing and even arresting PDP

Barrister Peter Oriaran

members.

But your party, PDP, initially said it would not participate in the election, but now the song has changed to that of not accepting the result. Can you draw any link between these two positions?

As I said earlier on, PDP and other opposition parties had meetings where concerns were raised about the likey poor conduct of the election generally. But on a second thought, we reasoned that this man called Oshiomole does not do whatever he

“

In my area in Owan West for example, the person imposed on them in ACN is someone who has been in America for sixteen years. He only came to Nigeria two weeks ago, and we heard that it was Oshiomole that brought him home.

This is the man that he gave the ticket to. So also his Vice Chairman

preaches. Don’t forget that before this election, he had been operating with caretaker government for the past four years now. And this is the only time, due to pressure, that he has agreed to organise an election. We then reasoned that if members of opposition in Edo, not only PDP refused to partake in this election, that would further give him room to continue with his caretaker committees. We said well, let’s us go because we believe the whole world is watching us. We have been campaigning, we’ve been toiling even when they use the resources of the state. You can imagine in Owan West, all their candidates in ACN are still in court against the party challenging imposition.

This disagreement emanated from their primaries and this affects sixteen out of eighteen councils in Edo State. They are in court because of the way Oshiomole handpicked the candidates before the election. Infact in some areas, there were no primaries. Like in my area in Owan West for example, the person imposed on them in ACN is someone

who has been in America for sixteen years. He only came to Nigeria two weeks ago, and we heard that it was Oshiomole that brought him home. This is the man that he gave the ticket to. So also his Vice Chairman. You can investigate what I’m telling you now, go there. The name of the man is Godwin Eigbodion and Reginald Okun who are both recent returnees from Europe and America. Initially they were rejected by the people. People rejected their candidates and policies. One of their key policies is “Do what I say, not what I do”. Look at his so-called developmental strides, you will discover that they are one-sided. The development taking place in Edo State is a kind of gimmick. Projects are lumped up where people could see, but go to other interior and rural communities you will discover that nothing is taking place there. For example, go to Owan West you will not see any single state government presence.

What’s the implication of all these?

The implication of this development is that Oshiomole has proved himself to be a political hypocrite. His actions have disrupted the peace and order in Edo State.

And if nothing is done fast, this man will plunge Edo into endless crisis. This speaks volume about next governorship election too. As it is now, the ACN has lost face in Edo state. Let me reassure you that in an atmosphere of free and fair election, ACN will go nowhere. You will discover this battle is not only between ACN and PDP, even in Labour Party, the people are crying foul. They too have share of this oppressive lifestyle of Oshiomhole.

Anyone he brings in next election will fail because he has made a lot of mistakes.

Oshiomhole is a mere noise maker, you always see him talking, saying all sorts of things that are unnecessary.

He’s a master propagandist.

We want with less noise to take over affairs of Edo State especially from within PDP. Look at the current Works Minister, he has achieved a lot without making noise and these are the kind of men PDP will support in future.

PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

APGA crisis: INEC backs Umeh

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has thrown its weight behind the embattled Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Victor Umeh.

According to the Commission, the decision is in line with the ruling on appeal number CA/E/84/2013, between Victor Umeh and Okuli Jude Ejike, where the Court of Appeal in Enugu, stayed execution of the order of the Enugu High Court that earlier restrained Umeh from parading himself as Chairman of APGA.

On this basis, INEC said, “the commission will continue to relate with Chief Sir Victor Umeh as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).”

In his remarks, Victor Umeh regretted that it is only in APGA that governors are elected and they turn to fight the party that produced them, adding that the governors use public funds at their disposal to fight and disrupt the leadership of the party.

According to him, “All the dissidents activities against the party leadership was being sponsored by the Governor of Anambra state, Mr. Peter Obi.

It will be recalled that in recent times our party has been reported as a party that has been factionalised.

“We patiently waited for INEC’s response to the ruling of the Appeal court over the party’s leadership. Yesterday INEC wrote a letter to me recognizing me as the chairman of APGA. We want to use the opportunity to thank the INEC for obeying the decisions of the court and upholding the rule of law.”

He commended INEC’s decision saying it has straightened things in APGA, adding that those who want to do business with APGA now know who to deal with.

Moreover, Umeh said that henceforth dissident activities of aggrieved members will not be tolerated by the party.

Reacting to the recent formal declaration for All Progressives Congress (APC) by governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state, Umeh emphasised that APGA has never been part of any merger, pointing out that the party will never merge with any party.

He said that instead, the party is disposed to alliance talks with other parties, regretting that Okorocha have been dragging the party’s name into the merger. ”I have advised severely on the matter and the party’s position even

before he joined the merger. If Okorocha still wants to regain the membership of APGA, he should desist from dropping the name of the party on the issue of opposition party merger.”

Umeh said.

He said that if governor Okorocha wants to continue with the merger process, he should do so in his name, noting with disappointment that the success made by the party in winning two states has turned into a problem for the party. He canvassed for a review of the Electoral Act to allow parties to impose levies on their elected officials as means of raising funds for the operation of the party.

Fashola faults Reps report on constitution amendment From Ayodele Samuel,Lagos

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L-R: CPC former presidential candidate, General. Muhamadu Buhari; a member of CPC Board of Trustee, Malam Sule Hamma and former vice presidential candidate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, at CPC Board of Trustee meeting, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: NAN

Planned resettlement: Abuja indigenes reject FCTA compensation

By Umar Muhammad Puma

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he original inhabitant of Shere-Galwayi, Sherepe Sheregwari and Sherekoro communities of Bwari area council of the FCT has rejected the plan to forcefully take over their lands, by the Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) for estate

development without adequate compensation.

In a press conference in Abuja yesterday by the Sherekoro community leader, Umar Dantani Gbegbe, said the government is yet to consult with them on the planned relocation of communities from Utako, Maje, Jabi, Yakubu Zhilu and Kpaadna to the new settlement.

“We are in dark over the entire relocation exercise. It is obvious this

approach taken by the government offers no better recipe for endless misunderstanding and bad blood between us, the host and proposed occupant communities of the Galuwayi-Shere resettlement centre”.

According to him, “government forcefully took our land and paid us shabbily for economic trees without paying us for our land. Some members of the

community were paid paltry sum as low as N600 and N1000 as compensation for their economic trees”.

“We demand the suspension of the planned relocation of these communities to the resettlement centre until all the issues are identified, and also embark on extensive and sincere consultation with the community on the concerns raised”, he said.

Adamawa by election: Kowa party vows to win From Umar Dankano, Yola

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OWA party in Adamawa state has expressed it confidence to emerged victorious in the Saturday byelection for Nasarawo/Binyeri state constituency based on the popularity and acceptability of its candidate, Mallam Umar Kaigama.

The state chairman of the party, Mallam Saidu Bobboi, made this known in an interview with

with journalist in Yola stressing that this time around the party has picked a popular candidate as its flag-bearer.

“In line with KOWA party ideology of carrying the people along, we allowed the people of the area to pick the candidate of their choice and we believed that this popular step we take will see us emerging victorious”, Bobboi said.

He also pointed out that the internal crisis rocking Adamawa

PDP and CPC over candidates of their respective parties was another added advantage to KOWA party.

Bobboi called on the electorate to come out enmasse to vote the reliable candidate of KOWA party ( Umar Kaigama).

Meanwhile, CPC in Adamawa had announced the withdrawal of its candidate for the election, Mallam Ibrahim Umar, and directed all it members to vote for

the candidate of ACN, Mr Yohanna Mathias, while APGA candidate, Mr Garshon Kasuwa, also announced his withdrawal from the race and directed his supporters to work for the victory of PDP candidate, Mallam Umar Abdulkarim.

The Nasarawo/Binyeri byelection became vacant as a esult of the death of the former member representing the constituency, Alhaji Ahmad Buba Gangwaso, in January.

overnor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos state yesterday faulted some aspect of the 43-item report of the House of Representatives collated from the Peoples’ Public session on the review of the 1999 constitution held in the entire 360 Federal Constituencies in the country.

Fashola said “The report of the House is moving Nigeria away from a federal state to unitary state.”

The governor however stressed the need for an effective health insurance scheme, saying “it would help create a viable health sector in Lagos, a sector that would have over N14 billion at its disposal for the treatment of chronic diseases.”

Fashola who faulted the report at the Commissioning of the blocks of classrooms, customary courts and area office built by the Coker/Aguda Local Council Development Area, LCDA, held in Orile, said that the report failed to reflect the opinion of Nigerians on the what should be included in the country’s constitution.

According to him, “I am concerned that the report by the House of Representatives on the last year’s public session held across the country including Lagos, reads that Nigerians agreed that the State Independent Electoral Commission, SIEC, should be scrapped and that all elections should be conducted solely by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.” He added “the report also reads that Nigerians voted that in the light of all the insecurity in the country, that the idea to establish state police should be completely abandoned.

Fashola however urge Nigerians to demand from the legislature how it arrived at the result, saying “ask them to show you the answer sheet of the exam they conducted for you last year, whether the result they presented reflected your opinion on the proposed constitution amendment.”

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

PAGE 41

Gov Kwankwaso tasks Kano Pillars board on entreprise

Bolt wins 100m in photo finish

overnor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano has charged the new governing board of Kano Pillars to keep the team abreast of modern trends in sports development through entrepreneurial drive.

The governor, who gave the charge while inaugurating the members of the board yesterday in Kano, said that there was the need to run the club as a business enterprise, stressing that elsewhere football is a goldmine and no sees no reason there should be an exception in Nigeria.

“The most successful football

ix-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt edged teammate Kemar BaileyCole in a photo finish to win the 100 metres at the Cayman Invitational track meet on Wednesday.

Jamaica’s Bolt kicked his 100metre season off on Wednesday with a less than impressive time of 10.09 seconds at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex.

Bailey-Cole, who finished with the same time, is one of Bolt’s training partners. Antiguan Daniel Bailey finished third with a time of 10.23.

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clubs in Europe and elsewhere in the developed world are owned by private investors.

“So, Kano Pillars must move at par with the world and in the nearest future, be able to stand on its feet and contribute in the drive for improved revenue for our state,” Kwankwaso said.

The governor, told the board, headed by Alhaji Abba Yola, that in most places across the world, governments are not the sole financiers of football clubs.

He said that rather, they benefited in terms of revenue from the clubs’ activities.

The governor noted that with other financial support from

corporate bodies and individuals, the finances spent on the club would be channelled to provide critical infrastructure to the people.

According to him, over N200 million was recently spent on the club, in spite of the fact that it has a stadium and vibrant players.

Kwankwaso said this was in addition to several windows of investment for self-sustenance and profit opened to the club.

Yola assured that the board would critically study the governor’s proposal and work to lift the club to international level.

AFN reads riot acts to athletes, officials over camp rules

T

he Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has charged the 54 athletes and 16 officials invited for camping ahead of the Junior 11 th African championships to strictly adhere to camp rules.

Navy Commodore Omatseye Nesiama, AFN Technical Director, confirmed that strict compliance with camp rules was made mandatory to ensure that discipline and absolute

focus on the task ahead.

Nesiama said that the camping, scheduled to open on May 13, would hold at the High Performance Centre (HPC), University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. ”Athletes and officials should maintain strict camp rules and discipline. I urge them to abide by the code of conduct,’’ he said.

Nesiama said that the African championships would hold in Pretoria, South Africa

from June 27 to June 30, to select qualifiers for the 8th IAAF World Youth Championships.

He said the world championships would hold from July 10 to July 14 at the Regional Sports Complex Olimpiyski, Donetsk, Ukraine.

Nesiama said that different trials would as usual hold during the camping, saying that athletes who fail to measure up to the expected standards would be decamped.

Amrouche promises to roast Super Eagles on June 5

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Vincent Enyeama, Eagles’ deputy skipper

Dennis Oliech, Harambee Stars reliable player

arambee Stars’ Chief Coach Adel Amrouche, has vowed to change the fortunes of Kenya’s football by beating the Super Eagles on June 5 in the 2014 World Cup qualifying game, and thus improve the world ranking of the East African country.

The coach, who was reacting to Kenya’s stagnated at position 122 in the global ranking released yesterday, said the turning point would be on June 5 when Stars would roast the Eagles in the return leg of the 2014 World Cup qualifier.

Also, Coach Amrouche pledged to improve the local content in the Harambee Stars squad by creating room for domestic league players and added that it would give the locals a better chance to make it in European leagues.

“The matches we have will play a big part for Stars to rise through the rankings as we hope for good results.’’

“My target is to ensure that Kenya rises in the rankings as since I know it’s important for the players when seeking to join clubs in Europe and a good showing against Nigeria will be a positive start,’’ the coach stressed.

Amrouche is currently preparing local players at a training camp in Nairobi.

He is scheduled to name the foreign based contingent that will augment his squad next week with his task made difficult after striker and Captain Dennis Oliech and first choice keeper Arnold Origi have been ruled out of the squad through suspension.

Kenya will play Malawi and Namibia in their remaining World Cup qualifiers with a planned friendly against Ghana’s Black Stars on June 1.

The last time Kenya was ranked among the top 100 was in 2008 when Coach Francis Kimanzi was at the helm with the team being ranked 68th.

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Bolt has been battling a hamstring problem but said that wasn’t to blame for the slow time.

“It was just a bad race,” he said. “I just have to go back and figure out with my coach what went wrong. I felt it (hamstring injury) slightly. It wasn’t a bothering pain so I can’t blame it on that.”

In the women’s events, American Carmelita Jeter became the first to finish in under 11 seconds in the 100 metres, winning with a time of 10.95.

Peters chides Club Owners, Ferguson over sentiment Stories by Patrick Andrew

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ssistant National Technical Director, James Peters, has chided both Sir Alex Ferguson and the Association of Club Owners for failing to rise above base sentiment.

Thumbing down Ferguson in spite of his acclaimed achievements as Man United gaffer, Peters wondered why the Scotsman was the only manager in the English premiership that failed to spot the sublime qualities in Nigerian players.

The former Assistant Super Eagles coach said apart from Mikel Obi that came close to signing for Man United no other Nigerian player had been considered worthy of a look in by Ferguson in the 27 years of his reign. ‘’’I think the only time a Nigerian was close to signing was when Chelsea boy John Mikel Obi was coming Norway.

That’s curious considering the almost global applause that players of Nigerian extraction including those domiciled in the United Kingdom had drawn during the period,” he said.

“Personally, I think a lot has been said about Nigerian players’ exploits in Europe. But I find it difficult to believe no Nigerian player could fit into his mould...that to me is a big minus to his gains and reputation as a coach.

“In all my years as a coach, I have discovered that the Nigerian players are the most naturally endowed.

A sentiment I know most white coaches share,” he said except Ferguson who never saw

anything good in our players.

Meanwhile, Peters has also chided the Association of Club Owners for allowing sentiment rather than sound judgment to guide their actions particularly as it patterns to the current experiments being carried out by the League Management Company (LMC).

“Virtually everything we do thrive on experimentation and the league is no different. So, the current controversy generated by the Association of Club Owners is baffling because we need to move forward and not backward.

“One thinks that the current efforts of the LMC should be supported because it is an experiment with intent of moving forward. Even if it fails, which we don’t know until the experiment is carried out, we would then consider other options. We should not continue in the same way of conducting business that has in past not yielded the desired results,” he said.

James Peters

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

Is David Moyes the right choice for Man United?

By Patrick Andrew with agency reports

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ince the management of Man United decides to appoint David Moyes yesterday to replace Sir Alex Ferguson, questions are being raised over the suitability of the former Everton manager. For one, Moyes is far from being an intimidating image, which the likes of Jurgen Klopp, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, who were initially on the lips of everyone as probable successors of Ferguson.

They all possess vast experienced in the Europe’s most prestigious continental clubs competition: the UEFA Champions League.

In Moyes, the management would be taking someone whose only experience of the Champions League is the two-legged qualifier against Villarreal in 2004.

However, what he seems to lack in Champions League experience he ranks tops as a developmental coach with focus on maximising thin budget. His time at Goodison Park, albeit without trophies, has brought consistent overachievement on a limited budget.

In terms of character and charisma, he fits the bill: enjoys huge support from Goodison Park fans, hardly flamboyant, taciturn in speech and barely draws FA’s angst over unsavoury comments. Just the sort of man United’s eggs-head would cheer.

A move to Old Trafford would therefore represent a perfect one for Moyes: an upward climb. The size of the club, and their financial clout, would represent a significant step up from his current position.

United have a culture encouraging home-grown talents. And so as a matter of deliberate policy their managers have been those with aptitude for making stars of fledgling talents: search for precocious talents and carefully cultivating same to attain global stature is synonymous with them. Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney, are just a few examples.

Little wonder, Ferguson was encouraged to grow talents and build an arsenal that largely draws from a hugely fertile pool and rely sparsely on readymade materials.

United spend wisely and are never known to break the banks to acquire asset no matter how attempting rather they prefer others breaks banks to acquire their prized assets, often after maximizing their skills.

Makelele, and Christian Ronaldo are perfects handy examples.

Not being a developmental manager would be a considerable for Mourinho, one manager never known for growing talents and also lacking the patience to cultivate a fledgling and mould same into a huge stature.

Whereas United management shrewdly tend their investments with green margin in view, thus their idea of a manager is one that flows in the same page in terms of economies and profit margin, Mourinho needs a huge chest to assemble a legion of stars.

Here is where Moyes have clear edge.

And there are other things to consider: minor factors, certainly not deal-makers or deal-breakers, but worth bearing in mind all the same. Moyes’ mixture of personal and professional stability is unusual in the modern game.

In 15 years as a manager, he has never been sacked.

Since becoming a professional footballer with Celtic in 1980, he has never been out of work. His family is settled in Preston, where he has lived for nearly 20 years, and would not have to move. There are nonfootball reasons for wanting a move to Old Trafford, too.

But it is the football reasons that take precedence.

Everton were Champions League contenders for much of this season, only to fall away as a thin squad was stretched by injuries and Nikica Jelavic’s spectacular loss of form. The FA Cup was a serious possibility, and the shock of their quarterfinal defeat at home to Wigan in March hurt Moyes badly.

Reticent as ever, Moyes has taken great care to say nothing during months of speculations that could be perceived as burning his bridges with Everton.

He has created the impression of a man who would like to discover what other opportunities are out there

without running the risk of walking away into unemployment. If the chance comes, he will take it. If not, he will keep calm and carry on.

A long-time friend of Ferguson, Moyes was a candidate to become his assistant at Old Trafford after Brian Kidd vacated the role to become manager of Blackburn in December 1998.

The two men met to discuss the role, and Moyes then in charge of Preston - was interested in making the move, but after nearly two months of deliberation Ferguson instead decided to bring in Steve McClaren, then Derby's first-team coach, at the start of February 1999.

Moyes began his managerial career with Preston in 1998, leading the club to the second tier in his second year in charge, before succeeding former Manchester United assistant manager Walter Smith at Goodison Park in 2002.

His time with Everton has not resulted in silverware, but he led the club into the top four in 2005 as well as finishing runners-up in the FA Cup in 2009. He shares with Ferguson the record for LMA Manager of the Year awards, earning the accolade in 2003, 2005 and 2009.

CHANGE OF NAME I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS ALFA BABAYO. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS KIYARI ABBA. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. DARAZO L.G.A. AND GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

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REFINER’S FIRE MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL, INA ATUNIDA THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANY AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE; 1.PASTOR MRS. EWAOLA OLADUNNI KOYA LIFE-CHAIRMAN 2.PASTOR A. AJIMATI OLABIYI BASHIRU -MEMBER 3.PASTOR KOYA ABISOYE KOLAWALE -MEMBER 4.EVANG. MRS. IYABODE FELICIA DALMEIDA-MEMBER 5.MRS. MOROHUNMUBO ATOKE ADESOYE - MEMBER THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE; 1.TO PROPAGATE THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. 2.TO SET THE CAPTIVES FREE FROM THE BONDAGE OF SIN.

David Moyes AGE: 50 C L U B S MANAGED: Preston, Everton T R O P H I E S WON: Second Division (1) PROS: • Has worked miracles on a small budget, big budget should yield big results.

• Disciplinarian of Ferguson’s ilk.

• Scottish connection would follow in footsteps of Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex.

• Out of contract in the summer.

CONS: • No experience at the highest level as a player or manager.

• No major trophies, only one Champions League qualifying campaign.

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THE TRUSTEES ARE; 1.NELLY KUSHIMO 2.SAMUEL KUSHIMO 3.FELIX OGBAUDU THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE; 1.EMPOWERING OF THE LESS PRIVILEGE THROUGH SKILL ACQUISITION 2.TEACHING ON CHRISTIAN DOCTRINES.

David Moyes

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HEAVENLY RUSHING POWER OF GOD MINISTRY

SIGNED EMMANUEL ILO ESQ SUITE 18 ZM PLAZA, PLOT 1469 AHMADU BELLO WAY, AREA 11, GARKI ABUJA

THIS IS TO NOTIFY THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED BODYHAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT OF 1990.

TRUSTEES: 1.ALHAJI GARUBA AUWAL 2. ALHAJI GARUBA NUHU 3. ILYASU MUHAMMED 4. ALHAJI HARUNA AUWAL 5. DAUDA ALHASSAN YARO 6. ALHAJI NUYA ISYAKU 7.MUSA NUHU HASSAN 8. ABDULMUMINU HUDU 9. IDRIS BEITA AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. TO PROMOTE UNITY AMONG THE TRADERS 2. TO OFFER MUTUAL SUPPORT AMONG MEMBERS 3. TO PROMOTE THE WELFARE OF THE MEMBERS ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DAY OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: TRUSTEES

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

SAVE THE WORLD BIBLE CHURCH

WELLBRED BROTHERS SOCIAL CLUB

PILLARS INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CENTRE

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. CHIEF. MOSES EJIME GAMBARI 2. MR. BENJAMIN AJUDOMU 3. MR. MONDAY IGHEGHE 4. MR. THOMAS CHUKWUKA UGBOH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. TO PROMOTE UNITY, PEACE AND ONENESS AMONG MEMBERS. 2. TO PROMOTE SOCIO-ECONOMIC INTEREST OF MEMBERS. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420,TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET MAITAMA P.M.B 198, GARKI ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CHURCH HAS APPLIED TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. REV.FELIX CHIGEMEZU CHIAWOLAMOKE ONYERI - CHAIRMAN 2. MRS HOPE NKEIRUKA FELIX ONYERI - SECRETARY 3. FIDELIS OBOBHIONRIA EMUAN 4. ROSEMARY AKUBATA AGBARAKWE 5. UCHECHUKWU MIRACLE FELIX ONYERI 6. SUCCESS ADAOMA FELIX ONYERI AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. TO PREACH THE GOSPEL. 2. TO PROPAGATE THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. 3. TO SET THE CAPTIVES FREE FROM THE BONDAGE OF SIN. 4. TO LEAD THE PEOPLE TO TRUTH THROUGH CHRIST. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420,TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET MAITAMA P.M.B 198, GARKI ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED OKOEDION ISI, UNEA SOLICITORS NO 1 BANJUL STREET, WUSE II, ABUJA

THIS IS TO NOTIFY THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED BODY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT OF 1990.

TRUSTEES: 1. FRANK OLA ALABI 2. HAMMED ALI 3. OPEYEMI AJALA AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. TO SEEK THE PEACE AND PROGRESS OF MEMBERS ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DAY OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

THIS IS TO NOTIFY THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED BODY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT OF 1990.

TRUSTEES: 1. PASTOR ERIC EKEMU OLOMA 2. PASTOR BIMBO DAVIES 3. SIS. MIRACLE OLOMA AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ALL OVER THE WORLD 2. TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN MISSIONS IN NIGERIA AND ABROAD 3. TO SEEK AND SAVE LOST SOULS AND ESTABLISH THEM IN THE KINGDOM OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 4. TO PRODUCE AND EQUIP MISSIONARY FOR HUMANITARIAN WORKS 5. TO ENHANCE HEALTH CARE SERVICES BY ESTABLISHMENT OF HOSPITALS AND CLINICS 6. TO ESTABLISH MISSION SCHOOLS FROM PRIMARY TO TERTIARY ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DAY OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: PRESIDENT

THIS IS TO NOTIFY THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED BODY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT OF 1990.

TRUSTEES: 1. PASTOR DAVID FEMI ALADE - PRESIDENT 2. MRS. TEMITOPE FEMI ALADE. - VICE-PRESIDENT 1 3. BROTHER OLUKANMI OLUSEGUN. - VICE-PRESIDENT 2 4. BRO. ALADE BUKOLA. - SECRETARY AIMS AND OBJECTIVED: 1. TO RAISE MEN THAT WILL WALK IN COVENANT WITH GOD AS END-TIME PILLARS ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DAY OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: TRUSTEES

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PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

LIBERATION FOR LEFT-HANDERS SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL

GLOBAL TIDINGS CHRISTIAN CENTRE

SHIRORO DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

THIS IS TO NOTIFY THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED SOCIETY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE SAMUEL PETER CHAIRMAN JOHN BOLARINWA TOSI SECRETARY AWUSINU TOYIN JEREMIAH TREASURER UBA NGOZI EDELPHIWA MEMBER ADEBOWALE MUYIBI MEMBER ODUFUWA OLUSEYI OLUKOYA MEMBER THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: TO CREATE AWARENESS AMONG PARENTS, TEACHERS, PUBLIC AND SOCIETY AT LARGE TO CONDUCT RESEARCH PROJECTS ABOUT HANDEDNESS, CEREBRAL DOMINANCE, LATERALITY AND RELATED TOPICS. TO STUDY THE PROBLEMS OF LEFT-HANDERS WORKING IN RIGHT-HANDERS’ WORLD, TO MAKE THEM AWARE OF POSSIBLE DANGERS AND TO FIND FEASIBLE SOLUTIONS FOR THEM. TO CREATE A VERY INTERACTIVE WEBSITE/DATABASE ABOUT LEFT-HANDERS AND HANDEDNESS. TO ORGANIZE COACHING CLASSES, SEMINARS COMPETITIONS OF VARIOUS GAMES AND ARTS FOR LEFT-HANDERS TO ARRANGE CLINICS FOR COUNSELING. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRARGENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA, WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED UBA ESQ

THIS IS TO NOTIFY THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED BODY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT OF 1990.

TRUSTEES: 1. PASTOR OLUWABUKOLA FESTUS AKIN-AINA 2. PASTOR (MRS.) OLAWUNMI FUNMILAYO AKIN- AINA 3. DEACONESS AKINTAYO LUCKY AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. TO PROPAGATE THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DAY OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: TRUSTEES

THIS IS TO NOTIFY THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED BODY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. ALH. ABUBAKAR TUKUR -CHAIRMAN 2. DR. MUHAMMAD BASHIR NUHU ANNS. RSV SECRETARY 3. ALH. NUHU MUSA MNI 4. HAJIYA JUMMAI MUAZU BABANGIDA ALIYU 5. ALHAJI UBA HASA KUTA 6. DR. JAMES GALADIMA AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO PROMOTE EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN SHIRORO LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 2. TO PROMOTE SELF-HELP PROJECTS IN ALL COMMUNITIES OF SHIRORO LOCAL GOVERNMENT 3. TO ORGANIZE SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS ETC FOR PROMOTION OF UNITY AND PEACE. SIGNED: ISHAKU USMAN (ESQ.) AMANA CHAMBERS SE. 150 KUTA ROAD, MINNA, NIGER STATE.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

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PUBLIC NOTICE

ASSOCIATION OF ESTATE AGENTS EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

NIGERIA FELLOWSHIP OF EVANGELICAL STUDENTS

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PRINCE OLABODE AYEOBA 2. CHIEF JOSEPH ADEFEMI ADETIFA 3. PRINCE ADEYEMI AKINOLA 4. ENIOLA OLUWOLE H. 5. OYEWOLE SEYI 6. PAST. JEPHTHAN GBENGA ALUKO 7. MR DELE OMOTAYO. AIMS & OBJECTIVES: 1. TO CARE FOR THE WELFARE OF MEMBERS. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANIZATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR CHANGE OF ITS TRUSTEES UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

OLD TRUSTEES 1.

DR. MRS. LARABA CLARA ALFA MNI 2.

MR. KOLA EJIWUMI 3.

PROF. KAYODE E. ADESOGAN 4.

MR. HUBERT OKUGO NWOKOLO 5.

ARCH. AZIKE DIRIBE 6.

MR. GANA AUDU TITUS (DECEASED) NEW TRUSTEES 1.

PROF. SAM OLOFIN 2.

PROF. ADAMU BAIKE 3.

DA. JONAH DAVID JANG FSS, RCDS AIMS AND OBJECTIVES REMAIN THE SAME ANY OBJECTION TO THIS CHANGE SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

SIGNED: S. A. ADUKWU ESQ

PUBLIC NOTICE

THE TWELVE GATES CHURCH THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CHURCH HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PROPHET ABUNDANCE EFFIONG PRESIDENT 2. PASTOR (MRS) KAREEN ABUNDANCE EFFIONG- VICE-PRESIDENT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.

TO PREACH THE WORD OF GOD 2.

TO SOUND THE COMING GLORY OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 3.

TO TEACH THE CHURCH THE LIFE OF THE NEW KINGDOM ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: BARR. TIMOTHY NWACHUKWU OBUH, SUPREME CHAMBERS. 08069643739, 07055261616

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

FULL GOSPEL REVIVAL CHURCH INT’L

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN OF NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH WORLDWIDE

DANGOTE CEMENT EMPLOYEES GRATUITY TRUST FUND

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CHURCH HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

SIGNED: BARR. SUNDAY OGHAYEI

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANIZATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

ALHAJI TAJUDEEN SIJUADE CHAIRMAN 2.

MR. AKIN ADESOKAN 3.

MR. JOSEPH ALABA 4.

ALHAJI ABDULMALIK SHEHU 5.

MR. GEORGE OFURUM 6.

MR. MARCUS JEREMIAH 7.

BARR. ADENIKE OMODARA SECRETARY 8.

MR. JOSEPH OKWUTE 9.

OYEDELE DORCAS 10. NYISHIR TARPAV AIMS 1. TO PROMOTE AND ENHANCE THE WELFARE OF DISENGAGED EMPLOYEES OF DANGOTE CEMENT PLC. 2. TO ADVOCATE FOR PROPER REMUNERATION OF DISENGAGED EMPLOYEES. 3. TO SUPPORT THE FAMILIES OF DECEASED OR DISENGAGED EMPLOYEES. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: KALU UKA HUMPHREY 08056115474

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PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION INITIATIVE FOR WOMEN

AREWA INITIATIVE FOR VALUE ADVANCEMENT AND ADVOCACY

FED. GOVT. GIRLS COLL. OWERRI OLD GIRLS ASSOCIATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED INITIATIVE HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

ALHAJI SANI ABUBAKAR 2.

ABUBAKAR MUHAMMAD SADIQ 3.

MALLAM ABDULMUMINI ADAM ABBA 4.

ALHAJI HUSSAINI HUSSAINI 5.

ALHAJI ABUBAKAR ADAMU AIMS 1. TO ADVOCATE FOR GOOD CHARACTER AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOCIETY

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

DR. MRS. NKIRUKA CHINWE NWACHUKWU PRESIDENT 2.

MRS. OLIVE CHINNA IBE 3.

PHARM. KARACHI NWANYINNA CHIKWE SECRETARY AIMS 1. TO SUPPORT THE SCHOOL’S MISSION AND VISION 2. TO BUILD AND SUSTAIN A STRONG COMMITMENT TO THE SCHOOL AND STUDENTS 3. TO PROVIDE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN OLD STUDENTS AND THE SCHOOL 4. TO PROMOTE THE GIRL CHILD EDUCATION 5. PARTICIPATING AND REPRESENTING THE SCHOOL IN ACTIVITIES AT BOTH REGIONAL AND NATIONAL LEVELS. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CHURCH HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

DR. AZUBUIKE JOEL IHEANACHO 2.

PASTOR BARR. JOSHUA IGONOH 3.

APOSTLE OLIVER UZOCHUKWU 4.

PASTOR MRS. MERCY UZOCHUKWU 5.

PASTOR ISAAC ODIBA AIMS 1.

TO PREACH THE WORD OF GOD ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANIZATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

DR. JIBRIN IBRAHIM CHAIRMAN 2.

OBY NWANKWO 3.

BUKHARI BELLO 4.

LADY AZUKA AZINGE 5.

MULIKAT AKANDE-ADEOLA AIMS 1. TO BRING TOGETHER WOMEN’S RIGHTS NGOS AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVIST IN AN UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF EMPOWERING AND IMPROVING THEIR SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL STATUS IN NIGERIA. 2. PROMOTE AND PROTECT THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND GIRL CHILDREN. 3. SUPPORT THE ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMMES OF MEMBERS NGOS AND FACILITATE COLLABORATION WITH OTHER RELEVANT AGENCIES. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

GEN. APT. ANDREW OLALEYE ODUPAYE CHAIRMAN 2.

APT. MOTHER ALICE BOLATITO AGBOOLA MEMBER 3.

ELDER SAMUEL ISOLA OLUWASEGUN MEMBER 4.

MOST SNR. APT. EMMANUEL FOLORUNSO SALAMI MEMBER 5.

PASTOR ADEPOLAPO EMILOJU SECRETARY AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.

TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 2.

TO WIN SOULS FOR CHRIST ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED: CHAIRMAN

SIGNED: BARR. ABDUL ELAYO 08036019982

SIGNED: SECRETARY

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PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

GOD’S KINGDOM GLOWS INT’L WORSHIP CENTRE

ROAD ADVOCACY FOR YOUTH SAFETY INITIATIVE

UTAKO SHOP OWNERS TRADERS ASSOCIATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CENTRE HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PASTOR RICHFILED AHUNOPWA 2. PASTOR MRS PWASHIKAI NELSLON EDWARD AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO PREACH THE GOSPEL AND BRING SALVATION TO MANKIND. 2. TO EVANGELISE THE TENENT OF CHRISTIANITY TO THE WHOLE WORLD.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED INITIATIVE HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: BARR. VICTOR OYONAKPARE 08033350961

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. DR. CHARLES ONONIWU 2. MR TUNDE BENJAMIN LANIYI AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO SENSITIZE YOUNG PEOPLE TO OBSERVE ALL ROAD TRAFIC SIGNS THUS PREVENTING ROAD TRAFIC INJURIES. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSSOCIATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR CHANGE OF ITS TRUSTEES UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

NEWLY APPOINTED TRUSTEES ARE: 1. FELIX NWEZE 6. NELSON ONWUAMAODO 2. HAMZA UMAR ALHAJI 7. EMEKA OKAH 3. EMMANUEL BAMIDELE 8. ESIEMOGHIE PETER LAWANI 4. NDU MICHAEL 5. ISMAILA ADAMU REMOVED TRUSTEES ARE: 1. DENIS NWEKE 2. VIVIAN ANAZODE 3. JAMES CHUKWUDUBEM 4. NASIRU SINTALI AIM AND OBJECTIVES REMAIN THE SAME ANY OBJECTION TO THIS CHANGE SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

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PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

LIBERTY RURAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE

BASSEY ENE-ITA FOUNDATION

GRACE SUFFICIENT CLUB

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED INITIATIVE HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. MR GBENGA BADEJO 2. MRS MORINSOLA NYLANDER 3. MR BIMBO OLADIPO AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO HELP THE NEEDY. 2. THE PREVENTION OR RELIEF OF POVERTY FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT, IN PARTICULAR BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY, BY PROVIDING GRANTS, DONATIONS SCHOLARSHIPS AND OTHER PAYMENTS TO PERSONS TO MEET THE BASIC NECESSITIES OF THE LIFE SUCH AS FOOD, WATER, HEALTH CARE AND PROVIDE ACCOMMODATION FOR THE HOMELESS, ORPHANS AND ELDERLY AND SUPPORT AND PROVIDE AGRICULTURAL AND BUSINESS SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, TOOLS AND INVESTMENT IN RURAL COTTAGE INDUSTRIES BENEFICIARIES TO A REASONABLE STANDARD. 3. THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT, IN PARTICULAR BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY, BY ESTABLISHING AND SUPPORTING SCHOOLS WITH A CHRISTIAN ETHOS AND PROVIDING BASIC SUPPLIES SUCH AS CHILDREN’S BOOKS, AND EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIES TO HELP FAMILIES, CHILDREN AND SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD THAT ARE UNABLE TO AFFORD THEM. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. MS ANNE ENE-ITA 2. MRS EDAK IWUCHUKWU 3. MR ARCHIBONG ENE-ITA AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. YOUTH AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT 2. POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND PROVISION OF HEALTHCARE. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CLUB HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. BOBBY BROWN CHAIRMAN 2. MONDAY JOHNSON VICE CHAIRMAN 3. OBINNA EZE FINANCIAL SECRETARY 4. EBUKA ANYADO SECRETARY 5. CHUKWUDI OKENWA TREASURER AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO PROMOTE THE MUTUAL WELFARE OF MEMBERS. 2. TO CREATE A PLATFORM FOR THE EDUCATION ENLIGHTENMENT OF MEMBERS ON CURRENTS TRENDS KIN THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY. 3. TO PROMOTE THE BOND OF UNITY AND COOPERATION AMONG MEMBERS. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED: BARR. KEHINDE IJILADE TEL: 07035468502

SIGNED: ESTHER UDOH ESQ TEL: 08023117421

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PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

WELL WISHERS CHARITY INITIATIVE

LIBERY CHRIST MIRACLE AND FIRE ASSEMBLY

KEKETOBOU CARE FOUNDATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED INITIATIVE HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. DR. SA’ADATU SULE 2. HAJIYA UMMA WADA 3. HAJIYA RAKIYA SULEIMAN AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND SANITATION IN RURAL COMMUNITIES. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANIZATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

REV. (DR.) FELIX IFEANYI OBIAGBO PRESIDENT 2. REV. (MRS) PATRICIA CHUKWUMUANYA OBIAGBO SECRETARY 3. ELDER SUNDAY CHUKWUDI OKONKWO AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO PREACH, TEACH AND PROPAGATE THE TOTAL UNADULTERATED AND UNALLOYED GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST BOTH WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY. 2. TO AVAIL THE PROPHETIC, HEALING AND DELIVERANCE, PROVISION OF GOD TO ALL MEN INCLUDING THE MEDICALLY INCURABLE AILMENTS THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST PROCLAIMED IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

CAC/IT/NO. 53795 THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR CHANGE OF ITS TRUSTEES UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

OLD TRUSTEES ARE: 1. HON. KINGSLEY KUKU RETAINED 2. BARR. MRS TOMBRA KUKU RETAINED 3. HIGH CHIEF KARINA TUNYAN (SAN) RETAINED 4. HIGH CHIEF REUBEN BEKEWEI RETAINED 5. HILDA DOKUBO REMOVED 6. MRS IBI-TORU OFILI REMOVED 7. BARR. BEKEWEI AJUWA REMOVED 8. BARR. ALLEN ONYEMA REMOVED 9. MRS ESTHER EBIWONJUMI (JP) RETAINED 10. SCOTT TOMMEY REMOVED NEW TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PRINCE (HON.) CHIBUDON NWUCHE 2. LADY ANNKIO BRIGGS 3. CHIEF JOSEPH PENAWOU AIMS AND OBJECTIVES REMAIN THE SAME ANY OBJECTION TO THIS CHANGE SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SOLOMON TUNYAN ESQ, SOLICITOR (08052866281)

SIGNED: BARR. ADACHA BOSLAM SECRETARY.

SIGNED: BARR. AIGBE MATHEW JUBILLE 08036508780

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PUBLIC NOTICE

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SISTERS’ HALAQAH FOUNDATION

THE RIGHTWAY OF LIFE INTERNATIONAL MISSION

ESUT BUSINESS COUNCIL

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANIZATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. ZAHRA YUSUF (AMIRA) CHAIRMAN 2. ZAINAB IBRAHIM SECRETARY 3. ALHAJI DATTI AHMED 4. HAJIYA BILKISU YUSUF 5. ALHAJI ALIYU IBRAHIM GEBI AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. ORGANIZING RELIGIOUS LECTURES FOR WOMEN. 2. SPONSORING STUDENTS THROUGH SCHOOL 3. DONATING TO CHARITY AND CHARITABLE CAUSES WITH EMPHASIS TO DONATION OF CLOTHING, FOOD STUFF AND OTHER ESSENTIAL MATERIALS TO ORPHANAGE HOMES. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: BARR. AIGBE MATHEW JUBILLE 08036508780

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. IFURE ATAIFURE 2. EDIMA ATAIFURE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO PREACH THE WORD OF GOD. 2. TO SET THE CATIVES FREE FROM THE BONDAGE OF SIN. 3. TO UNDER CHARITABLE WORK FOR THE SPIRITUAL, PHYSICAL AND MATERIAL REHABILITATION OF THE SICK AND DESTITUTES. 4. TO CONDUCT DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS, REVIVAL, AND EVANGELISM. 5. TO CO-OPERATE AND PARTNER WITH OTHER ASSOCIATIONS WITH SIMILAR AIMS & OBJECTIVES. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: EZUGWU EMMANUEL ANENE ESQ SUITE A31, MAITAMA SHOPPING COMPLEX MAITAMA ABUJA, 08030735301

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PUBLIC NOTICE

FULLFAITH GOSPEL LIGHT CHURCH INT’L

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH ASSOCIATION

CHIKA-KORE LANDLORD DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED INITIATIVE HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

ENGR. GOODLUCK CHINYERE 3.

CHIBUZOR ANYAGHA 2.

DR. HAFSAT B. GALADIMA 4.

PAUL OMONIYI IZOKPU AIMS 1. TO CREATE AWARENESS AND INCULCATE SAFETY MEASURES TO PREVENT OCCUPATIONAL INCIDENT AND ACCIDENT IN WORK PLACE ENVIRONMENT. 2. COLLABORATE WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN AREAS OF MUTUAL CONCERN; PROMOTE THE CONTINUOUS ADVANCEMENT OF SAFETY AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION TECHNOLOGY. 3. TO STRIVE FOR A UNIVERSAL LEVEL OF PROFESSIONALISM AND COMPETENCE AMONG ITS MEMBERS AND ALL PROFESSIONALS AND PRACTITIONERS IN ALL AREAS OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY, HEALTH AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION. 4. ENCOURAGE COMPANIES IN MAINTAINING HIGH OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY STANDARDS BY OFFERING FREE PERIODIC SAFETY TRAINING TO THEIR STAFFS. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANIZATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. CHIEF JULIUS IGBAHON CHAIRMAN 2. ACHERO OYOMA 3. MOMODU PHILIP 4. ADAMU MOMOH 5. IDOKO OKPANACHI 6. CHUKWUKA DONATUS 7. DAVID UKAGWU 8. BABATUNDE ABDULRASAK AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO CATER FOR THE WELFARE OF THE RESIDENTS LIVING IN CHIKA-KORE VILLAGE, KUBWA, ABUJA. 2. TO ENSURE SECURITY OF THE RESIDENT IN CHIKA-KORE VILLAGE. 3. TO MANAGE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN THE RESIDENT. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: NDIDI EUCHARIA (08033044395)

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CHURCH HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

TRUSTEES ARE: 1. APOSTLE (AMB) DENNIS YUNUSA ABU CHAIRMAN 2. PASTOR ACHILIHU DESTINY CHIBUIKE 3. PASTOR SAMUEL FAVOUR 4. PASTOR (MRS) MARIAM JUDITH ABU SECRETARY AIMS ARE: 1. TO PREACH THE WORD OF GOD. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

SIGNED: OJUADE ISRAEL ESQ.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANIZATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR CHANGE OF ITS TRUSTEES UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

OLD TRUSTEES ARE: 1. CHIEF (DR.) CHRIS I. EZEH RETAINED 2. PROF. JULIUS O. ONAH RETAINED 3. PROF. J. O. IRUKU RETAINED 4. CHIEF CHILO C. OFFIAH RETAINED 5. MR BASSEY NDIOKHO REMOVED 6. MR FESTUS EZEH REMOVED NEW TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PROF. CYPRIAN OGBONNA ONYEJI 2. BARR. CHRISTOPHER CHUKWUDI IGBOKWE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES REMAIN THE SAME ANY OBJECTION TO THIS CHANGE SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: CHRIST OKOYE ESQ 08090878369

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PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

CENTRE FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND YOUTH EMPOWERMENT ADVOCACY

BOABAB LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANIZATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PROF. MICHAEL ABRAHAM OCHIGBO 2. PROF. ABANG WILLAIM BISONG 3. PROF. EMMANUEL SUNDAY BROWNSON 4. AMB. (MRS) STELLA BERNARD NWANAOKWO SECRETARY 5. MR BERNARD NWANAOKWO UDOH CHAIRMAN AIM 1. TO RAISE PEOPLE FROM POVERTY TO PURPOSE THORUGH CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT 2. TO EMPOWER, INCULCATE AND INSPIRE AMONGST YOUNG NIGERIANS SOUND MORAL, ETHICAL AND LEADERSHIP VALUES AND CHARACTER TOWARDS A PURPOSEFUL LIFE OF LEADERSHIP, SERVICE, RESPONSIBILITY, HONESTY, DISTINCTION AND PATROITISM ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED INITIATIVE HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PRINCE SHAKA MOMOH CHAIRMAN 2. PROF. JIM UNAH 3. BARR. ALIKA BENJAMIN SECRETARY 4. SOLOMON IKIHIODA NDUBUISI 5. PROF. FRIDAY NWANKWO NDUBUISI AIM 1. TO RAISE PEOPLE FROM POVERTY TO PURPOSE THORUGH CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT 2. TO. OFFER SCHOLARSHIP GRANT, SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE TO INDIGENT NIGERIANS WITH GREAT POTENTIALS, TALENTS AND ABILITIES BUT WITHOUT HOPE OF REALIZING THEIR EDUCAFTIONAL AND ACADEMIC DREAMS IN LIFE. 3. TO EMPOWER, INCULCATE AND INSPIRE AMONGST YOUNG NIGERIANS SOUND MORAL, ETHICAL AND LEADERSHIP VALUES AND CHARACTER TOWARDS A PURPOSEFUL LIFE OF LEADERSHIP, SERVICE, RESPONSIBILITY, HONESTY, DISTINCTION AND PATROITISM ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: BARR. U. P. NJIMOGU

PUBLIC NOTICE SHEIKH ABUBAKAR LAMIDO’S ISLAMIC FOUNDATION THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART “C” OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 2004 TRUSTEES: 1. DR. SHEIKH AHMAD ASH-SHA ALI –CHAIRMAN 2. SHEIKH SALISU BIN SALEH 3. ALHAJI BAPPAH I. MUHAMMAD –SECRETARY 4. ALHAJI ABDULKARIM KWAMI 5. SHEIKH ABUBAKAR LAMIDO AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1.

TO EDUCATE YOUTH AND ADULT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISLAMIC KNOWLEDGE AMONG THE MUSLIM COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE STATE AND THE COUNTRY 2.

TO STRENGTHEN SKILLS ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE TO REDUCE POVERTY WITHIN THE COMMUNITIES 3.

TO INITIATE, COORDINATE AND SUPPORT HEALTH ACTIVITIES THAT WILL IMPROVE HEALTH STATUS OF THE MUSLIMS COMMUNITIES FOR A BETTER AND HEALTHY SOCIETY ANY OBJECTIONS TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: DR. SHEIKH AHMAD ASH-SHA ALI CHAIRMAN

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

THE NEW LION OF JUDAH GOSPEL CHURCH

THE REAL LIFE BIBLE CHURCH INTERNATIONAL

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANY AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE; 1.PROPHET OLUSOLA ADEFIOYE FOUNDER 2.PROPHETESS TITILAYO ADEFIOYE 3.EVANGELIST FUNMILAYO ADEFIOYE 4.APOSTLE EDWIN SHITTU LONGE SECRETARY THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE; 1. TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST 2.TO ADVANCE THE CHRISTIAN FAITH THROUGHOUT THE WORLD 3.TO EMBARK ON EVANGELISM AND MISSIONARY WORK 4.TO TRAIN CHRISTIAN MINISTERS AND WELFARE PERSONNELS 5.TO DELIVER THOSE WHO ARE SPIRITUALLY OPPRESSED

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANY AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1990.

WEST AFRICAN YOUTH DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION

ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL,CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT,AGUIYI IRONSI STREET,MAITAMA,ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL,CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT,AGUIYI IRONSI STREET,MAITAMA,ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANISATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANY AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE; 1 MR OLUSEGUN AKANJI CHAIRMAN 2.MR OLUMIDE FATIMEHIN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 3.MRS ADENIKE OMOLARA JACOB 4.MR RONALD KAYODE FATIMEHIN THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE; 1.TO FOSTER UNITY AMONG MEMBERS 2.FOR YOUTHS DEVELOPMENT AND EMPOWERMENT ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL,CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT,AGUIYI IRONSI STREET,MAITAMA,ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED; EDWIN LONGE SECRETARY

SIGNED; PASTOR MRS. OLUWATOSIN OLURIN

SIGNED; ANTHONY L. MGBEOKWERE ESQ

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

ASSOCIATION OF URHOBOS IN LAGOS

MUASSAATUL MAR’ATUS SALIHA

ROYAL FOUNDATION FOR PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANY AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE; 1.AKPAKA O. INNOCENT CHAIRMAN 2.EDJEJOYWO E. ANTHONYSECRETARY 3.AGODA A. CLIFFORD PRO THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE; 1 URHOBOS IN LAGOS (URHOBOS OFF URHOBO CHORE TO KNOW THEMSELVES).

2.TO RENDER ASSISTANCE TO EACH OTHER 3.TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK URHOBO FLUENTLY

THE TRUSTEES ARE; 1.PASTOR OLUSEGUN OYERO OLURIN 2.PASTOR MRS. OLUWATOSIN OLURIN3.PASTOR TUNDE ABATAN 4.ENGR. BODURIN ODUTAN 5.MRS FOLAKE NWOSE 6. MR LEKAN OTUNFODURIN THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE IS; THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANIZATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION TO REGISTRATION UNDER PART “C” OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED THE TRUSTEES ARE: DR. UMARU ALKA DR. JUMMAI UMAR – AJIJOLA ALH IBRAHIM ABDULLAHI ALH HUSSAINI GIDADO ALH TATA ISA YUSUF AIM AND OBJECTIVE 1.TO ERADICATE POVERTY AND ILLITERACY AMONG WOMEN AND GIRLS 2.TO PROMOTE GOOD CHILD – UPBRINGING AMONG WOMEN.

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION TO REGISTRATION UNDER PART “C” OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1:PRINCE VICTOR UBA UDEHUBAKA. 2:JOY CHINELO UGOCHUKWU. 3:REV DR OBICHUKWU CHRIS CHUKWUNONSO. 4:CHIEF TONY NNAJIOFOR. 5:PRINCESS ADEOLA ABOSEDE AYANLAJA. AIM AND OBJECTIVE 1.TO PROTECT THE INTEREST OF CHILDREN.

ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL,CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT,AGUIYI IRONSI STREET,MAITAMA,ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARD TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION PLOT 426 TIGRIS CRESCENT OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET MAITAMA ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THE PUBLICATION

ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARD TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION PLOT 426 TIGRIS CRESCENT OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET MAITAMA ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THE PUBLICATION

SIGNED; AKPAKA O. INNOCENT

SIGNED: HALIMA IBRAHIM ABDULLAHI

SIGNED: SECRETARY

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS MISS VICTORIA DICK EDEM. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS MRS VICTORIA JOHN UWAH. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS MRS. OKWU PRECIOUS. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS MISS. OPUSUNJU PRECIOUS. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS AYUBA SALE. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS KABIRU SHEHU. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. DARAZO L.G.A. AND GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

LOSS OF DOCUMENT

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ORIGINAL RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY FOR A PIECE OF LAND CONSISTING 5,206.17M2 LOCATED WITHIN GIRI COMMERCIAL LAYOUT KNOWN AS PLOT 38B WITHIN GWAGWALADA AREA COUNCIL FCT ABUJA, MARKED ON GROUND PB 460, PB 458A, PB457A, PB459, WITH CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY NO. (CUSTOMERY) FCT/GAC/RLA/MISC 4235, DATED 2ND DECEMBER, 2003 BELONGING TO ABUBAKAR ISA‘M’ IS MISSING. ALL EFFORTS MADE TO TRACE THE SAID DOCUMENT PROVED ABORTIVE. IF FOUND, PLEASE RETURN IT TO THE NEAREST POLICE STATION. THE GENERAL PUBLIC, FEDERAL CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (FCDA) AND ABUJA GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (AGIS) FEDERAL MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT TO PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS MR. NWOKE KELECHI MALARKEY. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS MR. JOSEPH KELECHI MALARKEY.ALLFORMERDOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS YUSUF A. YUSUF. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS ISA MOHAMMED. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. DARAZO L.G.A. AND GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

SIGNED: BLUESTAR INTERCOMMERCE LTD

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CHANGE OF NAME

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS MISS. NSIONU NNEKA DORATHY. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS MRS. JOSEPH NNEKA DORATHY. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS PAPA SULE. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS IBRAHIM HARUNA. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. DARAZO L.G.A. AND GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

CHANGE OF NAME I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS SALIHU FATSUMA. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS ASABE JAURO. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. DARAZO L.G.A. AND GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

CHANGE OF NAME I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS SANI YAYAJIYA. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS AHMED MAMUDA. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. DARAZO L.G.A. AND GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

CHANGE OF NAME I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS DEBORAH ADO. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS MRS. DEBORAH JAMES. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. AKOZA, EKYE DEVELOPMENT AREA AND GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

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CHANGE OF NAME

CHINEMERE OHA DIVINE FOUNDATION

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS AHMED BAPPAH. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS ABDULLAHI BAPPAHA. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. ITAS GADAU L.G.A., BAUCHI AND GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANY AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE; 1 SUNDAY DIVINE CHINEMEREM -CHAIRMAN 2.SAMUEL ELANYA ONWUKA 3.ALOZIE NWACHUKWU THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE; 1.TO GIVE HOPE AND SUCCOR TO THE POOR, THE HANDICAPPED, YOUTHS, WIDOWS, WIDOWERS, CHILDREN, THE ABANDONED AND HIV/AID PEOPLE. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL,CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT,AGUIYI IRONSI STREET,MAITAMA,ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED; TIMMY

LOSS OF DOCUMENT THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ORIGINAL COPY OF STATUTORY RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY FILE NO. AD 60646, PLOT NO, 2403, LOCATED AT KABUSA DISTRICT BELONGING TO MR. SALIHU GORKO IBRAHIM, FHA HOUSE 27, 21 ROAD, SULTAN DASUKI, KUBWA, ABUJA-FCT IS MISSING. ALL EFFORT TO TRACE SAME DOCUMENTS SINCE 25TH FEBRUARY 2011 PROVED ABORTIVE. IF FOUND PLEASE CONTACT THE LANDS DEPT. FCTA. NO 4 PEACE DRIVE ABUJA FCT OR THE NEAREST POLICE STATION.

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PUBLIC NOTICE

DIVINE DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

EMEKA UGWU-OJU FOUNDATION

CHANGE OF NAME

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANY AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1990.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANY AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1990.

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS ALIYU IBRAHIM. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS ALIYU IBRAHIM TUDUN WUS. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. DASS L.G.E.A., BAUCHI AND GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

THE TRUSTEES ARE; 1.SUNDAY DIVINE CHINEMEREM -CHAIRMAN 2.EMEROKWAM JUDE CHIEDU 3.EMEROKWAM JOY ANWULI THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE; 1.TO PROVIDE ALL FORM OF HUMANITARIAN ACTIONS FOR THOSE WHO FALL IN THE BRACKET OF POVERTY.

THE TRUSTEES ARE; 1.EMEKA UGWU-OJU -CHAIRMAN 2.NKECHI UGWU-OJU -SECRETARY THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE; 1.TO PROMOTE GOOD CITIZENSHIP 2.TO PROMOTE THE CULTURE OF PATRIOTISM 3.TO PROMOTE UNITY AND PEACE. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL,CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT,AGUIYI IRONSI STREET,MAITAMA,ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

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EMMANUEL’S DOCTORS OUTREACH

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THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANY AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1990.

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www.peoplesdailyng.com

. . . putting the people first

FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2013

QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE Underneath the mayhem of Boko Haram, the youth of this country will start chasing us (political leaders) away; the sooner we devised effective strategies to address their grievances the better.

— Gov Kashim Shettima of Borno state

SPORTS INTRODUCING YOUNG VOICES LA TEST LATEST

Man United appoint Moyes to replace Ferguson as new manager

M

anchester United have appointed David Moyes to replace Alex Ferguson as the Premier League champion's new manager yesterday.

Man United declared the appointment on its website and said Moyes, the current Everton manager, was the recommendation of Ferguson, which was unanimously approved by the Board.

Moyes has committed to a long-term job in a six-year deal and will formally take the helm of Old Trafford on July 1, replacing Ferguson, who decided to retire at the end of the season one day ago, after 26 years in charge at the Red Devils. ``When we discussed the candidates that we felt had the right attributes, we unanimously agreed on David Moyes,’’ said Ferguson. ``David is a man of great integrity with a strong work ethic. I've admired his work for a long time and approached him as far back as 1998 to discuss the position of Assistant Manager here.’’ ``He was a young man then at the start of his career and has since gone on to do a magnificent job at Everton. There is no question he has all the qualities we expect of a manager at this club.’’

Just about one hour before Man United's announcement, Everton confirmed that Moyes will leave the club at the end of the season. ``The manager met Chairman Bill Kenwright early yesterday evening (Wednesday, 8th May) and confirmed his desire to join Manchester United,’’ the statement said.

The 50-year-old Scottish has been the Everton manager since 2002.

He succeeded to build his side into a steady strength standing solid in the Premier League, but failed to grab a trophy in 11 years.

David Moyes ADVERT: BUSINESS: NEWS: LAGOS:

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Trained as a Microbiologist from Obafemi Awolowo University, 'Seun Fakuade is Founder at Bedazzle Media; a Brands, Multimedia and Publishing firm; Executive Director of Beacons Development Foundation Nigeria - a non Governmental organization that uses mentorship and community services to develop the human capacity and leadership core

By Seun Fakuade

Those who oppose change, those who benefit from an unjust status quo, have always bet on the public's cynicism or the public's complacency - Unknown

W

hat is the future of Nigeria: With its two types of law - one for the Elite, the other for the Poor; with 10.6millon out-of-school children, many hawk on the streets and expressways. What is the future of Nigeria with the high rates of child mortality; with the prevalent poverty rates; with the disparity between the rich and poor; with the conflict of interests between leaders and followers; with the incessant terror attacks from home grown organizations springing up across the regions; with deliberately corrupt or developmentally disinclined leadership; with the best, brightest and fittest amongst our citizens disenfranchised and shying away from partisan politics?

What is the future of Nigeria: with the undying rape on our value system; where our concern for embezzled funds is higher than our concern for the loss of lives; where our focus is more on infrastructure than those who will sustain them? (young people). Nigeria's young people are angry, and they have a reason to be. At the high rate of unemployment, crime and violence are alternate resolves for many.

What are we doing about our young people? How are we bringing them up? Have our elders given up on the young, or they are simply in a hurry to leave the stage?

Nigeria's leaders are mostly interested in quick projects that can facilitate their win in the next election. Without citizens, most importantly young people, who are highly driven enough to engage in the political system through which an economic powerhouse/ institution can be born; Nigeria's residence in the doldrums will be long!

Political institutions birth economic institutions, which; alongside good governance, public infrastructure, propriety rights and good judicial systems; allow for a vibrant nation. Good Political institutions enable good economic institutions with the practice and right incentives for growth and development. A lack of the aforementioned are reasons Why Nations Fail. So what will give rise to the appropriate political institutions? Amidst the prevalent cries of "politics is bad", how will

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

values of young people; and Team Lead at The BOOTCAMP. Through his network and platforms, he has devoted himself to inspiring young Nigerians and believes that with integrity and diligence as virtues all Nigerians can collective guide Nigeria back to the path of growth, development and sustainability.

As he turns 30 today, Seun writes reminding Nigerians that we are the Beacons of Change Nigeria needs for its rebirth and challenges us to respond to this patriotic call?

Whine or rise: A choice!

Nigeria change the course of its erratic and epileptic growth curve?

For evil to stop, good people must be driven enough, with the will to fight and the right tactics to emerge a dynamic/robust system that checkmates that evil. The idea that politics is bad has been sold to us from time infinitesimal. I do agree to an extent: for good people, by shying away from politics, leave it to rot and to waste. Nigeria is typical of this.

Who are the leaders of the 774 Local governments? The Governors? The head of institutions? Mainly ignorant bunches! Look at the Lawmakers: what are their interests - themselves or the people? Some thugs, some aching thieves!

Consequently, these decision makers repeatedly make decisions that insulate them from consequences that the larger society is much predisposed to. They live in gated compounds with massive security; they drink from refined water; they enjoy foreign health treatments; send their children abroad for; and enjoy other unprecedented benefits that consistently make them insensitive and unreasonable on a large scale.

If Nigeria must change, good people (importantly young people) must fight through the political systems, through the political parties, to win through and through. When we enable our political institutions with sound men, with the Character, Capacity and Competence to bring about change; other things will follow. The much needed national ideology of our nation, our identity; and the accompanying rise from the underdevelopment rubble will only be consequential.

Our parents were sold the same lies: politics is bad. Look at Nigeria and the result of that lie! By constantly believing and living this lie, we perpetrate the status quo.

Good people in those days ranted too, the newspapers and other forms of old media were their field of expression; but politics: No! they stayed away. It is the same today: our media is Twitter and Facebook.

We are doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result! Madness!

The challenge to "how we can birth a great nation despite the rot in which it exists" is the consideration. Good people must go into politics as a cluster group of Change agents. We must be decisive

to do it, even though we differ, in our color, religious inclinations, cultural orientation, and ideological beliefs.

We know many things: We know that our nation will arise when its citizens are brought up with high standard in education that creates many science and medical breakthroughs, many technological innovations that eventually liberate our nation by creating jobs and wealth and a solid economy. We know Nigeria will be a greater place if more people could get and acquire technical and resourceful skills and training that employers are looking for today.

We know we would be a greater nation if we stopped accommodating corruption, frolicking with corrupt men or granting them undue pardon. We know we are better off when women are treated fairly and equally in every aspect. We know these things and more to be true. We know that our challenges are humongous and incredibly daunting but we admit that they are within reach, they can be solved. I call you friends to rise and build this nation, destroyed after years over years of lethargic, tenacious cycle of selfish greedy leaders; of expropriation, shedding of blood, murders, killings, needless bickering and incredible animosities.

When we fix our political system, we can fix other things; importantly our constitution with its flaws. We must rewrite it and input the essence of our unity, OUR IDENTITY- the true meaning of being a Nigerian; not the poster face littered over the world, of corruption, of crime, of violence, of fraud, of poverty. We must redefine our nationhood, borne out of deep resolve and deliberations; and craft out extraordinary charters which our nation, its citizens and posterity will live by.

We must refuse the "we are the future" slogan. Now is that future. It is up to us to stand up, to be heard, sit-in, to protest, to dialogue, to discus, to lobby, to march, to organize, to vote. We won't be content no more, to just sit back and watch. This is OUR nation, as much as its theirs.

We have the same inalienable right to it as those who lead it do.

We must define and determine when that cynicism and complacency ends. Its why WE CANNOT WAIT ANY LONGER. It won't be easy. Nothing worthwhile

is easy. Martin Luther King Jnr didn't have it easy. Neither did Mandela. No one of achievement has avoided failure - sometimes catastrophic failures. But they keep at it. They learn from mistakes.

They don't quit.

Will we allow the destruction and ultimate implosion of Nigeria continue? Will we allow our young ones grow up without the assurance of and for a better future? Will we arise to erase the poster dent that has plagued our nation for decades?

Or as usual, restrain from politics, or bow to the pressure of the status quo, to the altar of corruption and repeat the same!? Will we dare to be that breed without greed or corruption that will, united with others; bring forth a new Nigeria?

What will happen to those boys and girls if we don't? Who will fight for them if we don't? Who will give them a fair shot if we don't fight?

Whilst we join PINigeria to relieve our nation of several years of being pinned down; or EnoughIs-Enough because we have certainly had enough; or Sleeves Up Nigeria for all hands are needed to work Nigeria to breakthrough; or the Future Project because we are the Future of Nigeria; or Beacons Nigeria for truly, we all are the Beacons of Hope and Change Nigeria needs. These movements are good but their impacts are limited compared to the diverse and vast role of government.

Hence, we must also participate in the political process for a more robust and engaging fast track to Nigeria's, and ultimately Africa's renaissance.

Nigeria needs that new breed, without compromise, with the Character, Competence and Capacity to function effectively; with the moral reprieve and the restraints to become corrupted along the process. Nigeria requires you: the icon of integrity to engage and stand firm, participate and confront the political system and its machineries, with knowledge, with courage and grit to fight for your rightful place. Nigeria's greatness is only known potentially. Her greatness will never materialize until those set of sound incorruptible and unflinching young men and women arise to birth it.

You are that beacon of change Nigeria so need for its rebirth.

God Bless Nigeria

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