Peoples Daily Online by Peoples Media Limited

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

Wednesday, November 21, 2012.

Vol. 9 No. 73

. . putting the people first

Al-Muharram 7, 1434 AH

N150

Aviation minister bans Lufthansa By Aminu Imam

he Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah, has terminated the Memorandum of Association between the federal government and the German airline, Lufthansa. Consequently, the airline, yesterday suspended flights to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport,Abuja. A letter dated 7th November, 2012 addressed to the VicePresident of Deutche Lufthansa, and signed by the Ministry of Aviation’s legal adviser, Bola Odugbesan, stated that the Minister of Aviation has terminated the agreement it entered into with the airline in November, 2008. The letter, a copy of which was obtained by Peoples Daily, reads: “In accordance with the provisions of Article 5 of the Memorandum of Understanding entered into between the Honourable Minister of Aviation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Deutche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft (LH) on the 10th 0f November, 2008, the Honourable Minister of Aviation Contd on Page 2

PD INDEX

19th Nov., 2012

CBN RATES $ £ EURO CFA RIYAL

BUYING 154.75 245.50 198.28 0.2797 41.26

SELLING 155.75 248.09 199.56 0.2997 41.53

PARALLEL RATES EURO £ RIYAL $

BUYING 207 255 42 157

SELLING 209 256 44 158

Federation of Informal Workers Organisation of Nigeria protesting over the demolition of people's homes and collapse of industries due to government programmes and policies, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Shekarau has resigned from Emirate Council — Wambai It’s not true — ex-gov From Edwin Olofu, Kano

he Kano state Emirate Council has said that the immediate past governor of Kano, Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau (Sardaunan Kano), has resigned his membership of the Kano state Emirate Council for some personal

Jonathan loses brother on 55th birthday >> PAGE 3

reasons. Senior Councillor of the Emirate Council, Alhaji Abbas Sanusi (Wamban Kano), who dropped the hint while interacting with newsmen in his office yesterday, said Shekarau had written to the Council requesting that he wants to

Reuters withdraws JTF shooting video story >> PAGE 8

relinquish his position as a member of the Emirate Council. He further revealed that on receiving the request from the former presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the Council met and approved the request permitting the Sardaunan Kano to resign

from the Council. Wambai added that Shekarau had in the request explained that his party commitments and other reasons wouldn’t allow him participate fully in the affairs of the Council, that is why he wants to resign. Contd on Page 2

Minister engages Reps in shouting match >> PAGE 3

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

CONTENTS News

2-11

Editorial

Op.Ed

Letters

Opinion

Metro

16-18

Business

19-22

S/Exchange

Property

24-27

Motoring

Arts

29-30

2015: Metuh’s language and penchant for false alarm, Page 4

Int’l

31-32

Digest

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-47

Columnist

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU The Peoples Daily wants to hear from you with any news and pictures you think we should publish. You can send your news and pictures to: letters@peoplesdaily-online.com pictures@peoplesdaily-online.com contact@peoplesdaily-online.com

Phones for News: 070-37756364 09-8734478

2013 budget: Presidency to spend N550m on animals, waste disposal, others he Presidency is to spend about N550 million in its 2013 budget to feed animals, dispose its wastes, settle internet charges and welfare packages as well as to procure food stuffs among others. State House Permanent Secretary, Emmanuel Ogbile, who stated this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Federal Character and InterGovernmental Affair yesterday also argued that the N1.305 billion budgeted for refreshment, meals

and other miscellaneous expenses in the 2013 budget was inadequate. Ogbile was speaking while defending the N14,715 billion budget for the State House in the 2013. He told lawmakers that the N1.305 also include refreshments at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings every Wednesday. A look at the proposed budget showed that the State House seeks to spend a total of N30, 584 million on feeding of animals, including animal supplements for the veterinary clinic while a total of N20 million is to be spent on

Contd from Page 1 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria hereby terminates the aforementioned Memorandum of Understanding with immediate effect”. Acknowledging the receipt of the termination letter, in a letter signed by the airlines’ Director of Network Planning and Hub Development Frankfurt, Sebestian Hollmier and Director, Corporate International Relations and Government Affairs, Andreas Bulling, the airline however stated that the said termination by the Nigerian government would become effective on 20th November, 2012 (yesterday). It could be recalled that in May, Senate Committee on Aviation had ordered Lufthansa Airlines to pay to the Federal Government N2.198 billion ($14.8 million), being debt owed from non-payment of royalty to the Federal Government from its flight operations from 2009 to October 2011 or face sanctions. Chairman of the committee, Senator Hope Uzodinma, who gave the directive at a stakeholders' meeting organised by the Senate Committee on Aviation said it was based upon discoveries that Lufthansa Airlines had violated its Bilateral Air Services Agreement, (BASA), with the Federal Ministry of Aviation in 2008. Angered by what it discovered, the Uzodinma-led Senate

committee ordered Lufthansa to pay N2.198 billion ($14.8 million) debt owed to the FG. The order was issued less than a week after the foreign airlines were asked to also refund the billions of Naira allegedly held back in tax accruals to the federal government. Uzodinma, while lamenting that Lufthansa took advantage of the Nigerian market to violate the agreement, ordered the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), to ground the airline if it failed to pay the debt. The directive was issued by the chairman after the committee heard that Lufthansa was flying 14 frequencies to the country instead of 4 passenger and 3 cargo flights allowed by the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA). The committee was told that the former Aviation Minister, Babatunde Omotoba, gave a verbal approval to Lufthansa to be flying additional 7 frequencies and that Lufthansa has refused to pay an accumulated $14.8 million. The committee had thereafter summoned former Minister to appear before it over the violation of aviation laws by Lufthansa. Uzodinma was angry that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with Lufthansa in 2008 in which it agreed to train Nigerian Pilots and provide some equipment at the airports were discarded by the airline and it has also refused to pay its royalties. The NCAA has claimed at a

By Richard Ihediwa

sewage charges and disposal of solid wastes. Also the State House has listed N195.066 million is to be spent on welfare packages while the sum of N263,654 million is to be spent generally on foodstuff and catering materials. The budget also showed that the sum of N203,752 million has been earmarked for refreshment and meals, N107,412 million for honorarium and sitting allowances while N37,277 million was budgeted for publicity and advertisement. Others include medical

expenses of N50,308 million; postage and courier services of N10,035 million; N4,589 million is for subscription to professional bodies as well as sporting activities, which is to take N32,910 million. Also in the list was overtime allocation of N250,455 million While Summits and Extra ordinary sessions including those of the UN, African Union, ECOWAS and others has N228,112 million, NYSC, IT, LOCUM, housemanship and contract staff allowance in the State House is to take N144,788 million.

Aviation minister bans Lufthansa stakeholders' meeting that Lufthansa suspended payment of royalties to Nigeria since 2009. Uzodinma said, “As at 2009 to November 2011, we have an outstanding $14,833,000.00 and the invoices are here issued by NCAA. I want you to support NCAA, retrieve your letter so that they can receive their money because this is an entitlement of government. “I think that as we call for the review of your MoU and the BASA, we ask Lufthansa to pay all monies due to government. It is unfortunate Lufthansa people are not here, they are quick at sending lawyers.” According to the chairman, “As at 2009 to November 2011, we have an outstanding $14,833,000.00 and the invoices are here issued by NCAA. I want you to support NCAA, retrieve your letter so that they can receive their money because this is an entitlement of government. “I think that as we call for the review of your MoU and the BASA, we ask Lufthansa to pay all monies due to government. It is unfortunate Lufthansa people are not here, they are quick at sending lawyers”. “We have this huge market here that must be protected so when they go and have something convenient for them in Ghana and Togo that is not up to two local governments in Nigeria, you now use it as a model to

implement policies in Nigeria and we lose money. This makes us look stupid before the international community. “I think, as a matter of fact, you must join hands and protect the market which is our own treasure. So in my opinion, you should liaise with the NCAA and recover this money from Lufthansa. If it means grounding all the aircraft to ensure that our laws are obeyed, we will do it. We must develop the will as a people”, Uzodinma had stated. However, all efforts to contact officials of Lufthansa Airline on the issue and to find out what will happen to those who have booked ahead did not yield any positive result. Similarly, when our reporter contacted the NCAA spokesman, Mr. Sam Adurogboye on the issue, he claimed not to be aware of the FG’s ban. When contacted to comment on the issue, Special Assistant to the Aviation Minister on media, Mr. Joe Obi, said that based on what the MoU contained, any party to the agreement that is not benefiting from a signed MoU has the right to opt out, and since it has come to an end, there is no need of renewing it. It could be recalled that the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had recently named Lufthansa airline as the best International carrier in Nigeria for the year 2011.

Shekarau has resigned as Sardaunan Kano — Wambai Contd from Page 1 “Yes we received a request from Ibrahim Shekarau who is the Sardaunan Kano that he wants to resign from his position as a member of the Kano state Emirate Council. He explained in the letter that because of some engagements he wants to resign his membership. The council met and approved the request because he has the right to that; there is nothing anybody can do about it but mind you that doesn’t mean he is not the Sardauna of Kano they are two different issues he is still the Sardaunan Kano,” he stated. On the speculation that the Kano state government is behind his resignation, the senior councillor dismissed it, saying that

there is no iota of truth in the rumour making round the town. He said that for the fact that Shekarau voluntarily resigned his membership has put to rest any speculation, because in the letter Shekarau didn’t give that as his reason of resigning from the Council. Shekarau was appointed Sardaunan Kano in 2010 by the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, in an elaborate occasion that was witnessed by prominent people. However, in a letter purportedly written by Shekarau in vernacular and addressed to the Emir, with Reference No. MIS/ EC/ 1/7 dated 08-11 2012 obtained by Peoples Daily requesting the permission of the Emir to stay away

from the Kano Emirate council related activities for a while. The former governor further explained that his request was sequel to his commitment to party engagements that will not allow him to face his traditional duties. In the same vein, the Senior Special Assistant to the Kano state government on Emirate Council Matters, Alhaji Tijjani Mai Lafiya Sanka, told newsmen that his office received a copy of the letter from the Emirate Council approving the request of Sardaunan Kano. Sanka said as far as they are concern, Shekarau is no longer a member of the Kano State Emirate Council, noting that he has resigned and there are laid down rules to follow if he wants to

come back. In a swift reaction through Shekarau’s media adviser, Malam Sule Yau Sule, the former governor refuted claims that he has resigned, saying that he only wrote to the Emir seeking permission to enable him attend to some party matters, noting that the former governor was appointed by the ANPP as the chairman, merger committee that entails traveling a lot and wouldn’t be chanced to be attending Council meetings. “Is not true he has not resigned, he only wrote seeking permission that he will be away for some time and will return after he finishes his assignment that is the content of the letter,” he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

PAGE 3

Jonathan loses brother on 55th birthday By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

R-L: President Goodluck Jonathan, receiving a birthday card from Director General, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Mr Femi Ajayi, during the President 55th birthday celebration, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

t was a bitter-sweet day for the first family yesterday when news filtered in in the morning that President Goodluck Jonathan's younger brother, Chief Meni Innocent Jonathan, had died. The President attained 55 years yesterday. Though there was no elaborate ceremony even before the announcement of his brother's death. Events at the villa however went ahead as the President received 5 different new ambassadors who submitted their letters of credence to him. The Presidential Committee on the Review of the Structure, Operation and Activities of DICON also met in the State House, yesterday under the chairmanship of Vice President Namadi Sambo. Confirming the sad development, a statement signed by Presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, read: "President Goodluck Jonathan announces

who made efforts to convert same to percentage could however not do so to the consternation of the lawmakers. The chairman of the committee pointed out that the minister had never taken the committee seriously just as he recollected that Bassey-Ewa had failed to provide the percentage performance of his ministry when the committee went to his office for oversight functions sometime ago. Responding to the chairman’s comment, the minister shouted “We are prepared; we are prepared. You can see that I have been trying

Shuaibu Jimeta, profusely apologised, on personal grounds, to the lawmakers and promised to put all figures together in subsequent engagement with the committee. The committee had earlier queried the minister for failing to recommend the appointment of a substantive Director General for the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) when the Acting DG of the agency, Engr. Mohammed Haruna, had stayed in acting capacity for more than the regulatory six months.

Budget defence: Minister engages Reps in shouting match …walked out By Lawrence Olaoye

he Minister for Science and Technology, Prof. Ita Okon Bassey-Ewa, yesterday engaged his supervising Committee in the House of Representatives in a shouting match when the members asked him to give the actual budget performance of his ministry. The committee, chaired by Rep Abiodun Akinlade, had asked the minister to convert the ministry’s 2012 budget performance into percentage instead of providing it on item by item basis. Bassey-Ewa

to compute the percentage”. When cautioned by the chairman that he should realise that he was appearing before a committee which is an extension of the House, the minister replied that he was first shouted at by a lawmaker. Based on his inability to answer queries from the committee, Akinlade, after consultations with his colleagues, ordered Bassey-Ewa to leave and get himself adequately prepared to appear before the committee at another date. After the minister had walked out angrily, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Rabi

2015: North/South politicians Nigeria to send 600 troops prominent leaders including the to Mali – FG parley Chairman, Board of Trustees of the By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

rominent northern and southern politicians yesterday met at the Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja behind closed doors. Although participants at the meeting declined to speak to this reporter, it was learnt that issue of insecurity in the country and how best to tackle it is also part of their deliberations. The meeting which was held in a closed door was chaired by Prof. Ben Nwabueze with other

recently formed North-east Unity Forum and an advocate northern presidency, of Malam Adamu Ciroma, President Goodluck Jonathan’s aide, Chief Ben Obi, Chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Chief Tony Momoh, Senator Bassey Henshaw among others. Contacted for comments after the meeting that lasted over six hours, Momoh directed this reporter to talk to Malam Ciroma who in turn asked him to get information from the chairman of the parley.

By Joy Baba

he Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olushola Obada has said the Nigerian government will send 600 of the 3200 troops that are expected to go to Mali for peace keeping. The minister stated this yesterday in Abuja when the Special Representative to the British Prime Minister on Sahel paid her a courtesy call in her office. She further said ECOWAS

countries are mobilising troops to ensure peace returns to Mali especially the northern part before elections can be held as any election held in this present situation won’t be free and fair. Obada said the visit of the British envoy is a forerunner of other meetings that are expected to take place which will have all the service chiefs, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the Defence Adviser of Britain will sit to articulate other issues concerning Africa and Nigeria in particular.

with sadness the death earlier today of his younger brother, Chief Meni Innocent Jonathan. Chief Meni Jonathan passed away at the National Hospital, Abuja after a brief illness. “Formal burial arrangements will be announced later by the family". At the time of filing this report, it was unclear if the President would proceed on his Pakistan journey. Jonathan was scheduled to travel out to Islamabad, Pakistan yesterday night for a D-8 meeting.

Senators want Ilorin airport named after Saraki By Richard Ihediwa

enators yesterday passed a resolution urging the Federal Government to name the Ilorin International Airport after late Senator Olusola Saraki who died last week. This followed the unanimous adoption of a motion by the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba and Senator Simeon Ajibola (PDPKwara) who urged the Senate to immortalise Saraki for his contributions to the political development of the nation. Ndoma-Egba noted that Saraki’s negotiating skill helped to achieve the consensus witnessed in the Senate during the Second Republic. “His negotiating skills made him easily the most powerful individual in the Senate of that Republic. His charismatic personality defined the office of the Senate Leader and gave it character. Many years after he left office, he remains easily the best and most known Senate Leader”, he said. Other senators at the sitting took turns to eulogise the late politician with many of them including Deputy Senate Leader, Abdul Ningi, describing Saraki as an astute politician and legendary philanthropic. In his tribute, the Senate President, Sen. David Mark said there were many lessons to learn from the life of the late former Senate Leader. At the end of the session, lawmakers resolved to send a highpowered delegation to condole with his family, the government and people of Kwara state. NdomaEgba was named as the leader of the 13-member delegation.

2013 budget: Jonathan seeks NASS’ nod for fresh foreign loans By Richard Ihediwa

resident Goodluck Jonathan has written to the National Assembly requesting approval to secure more foreign loans to finance certain developmental projects in the country. Jonathan, in a letter, read on

the floor of the Senate by Senate President David Mark yesterday, also seeks the approval of the National Assembly to secure additional $1 billion (N160 billion) credit to be raised through a Euro bond in addition to $100 million (N16 billion) to be raised through Diaspora Bond.

The President also seeks to take a fresh $200 million loan from the African Development Bank to finance a water project in Rivers state. This is in addition to a demand to use the $300 million (N48 billion) World Bank credit facility initially listed for power projects to finance a low income housing

project in the country. The borrowings, Jonathan said, were components of the amendment he preferred in the 2012-2014 Medium Term External Borrowing Plan. He said the $1 billion Euro bond was in continuance of the programme initiated under the administration of late President

Umaru Yar’adua to finance certain projects. Jonathan explained that the decision to swap the $300 million power credit facility for housing was to ensure that the government did not increase the overall size of loans proposed in the external borrowing plans.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

2015: Metuh’s language and penchant for false alarm Abdu Labaran Malumfashi

or a party that claims to be the biggest political party in Africa and sees itself ruling Nigeria for the next 60 years seamlessly, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has a queer way of demonstrating its popularity in the country. It does not suffer criticism easily. From the opposition, that is. And whenever the party reacts to criticisms, the language in use, which is often, makes any selfrespecting motor park tout blush with shame. That would seem to be the case whenever the party’s Publicity Secretary Chief Olisa Metuh speaks, especially about Congress for Progressive Change’s (CPC) General Muhammadu Buhari. But in Metuh’s Goebbelsism, there are some elements of cowardice. For instance, what he insults Buhari for, he becomes shorn of the courage to criticize in others who voice similar or worse concerns. Clearly, Metuh lacks the courage of his conviction to also tell former President Obasanjo off for his not infrequent attacks against the Jonathan administration. As a ranking party man, Obasanjo’s criticisms ought to be more painful. When in April this year, General Muhammadu Buhari warned that if the ruling party did not end its corrupt ways and stop short-changing Nigerians, a revolution in the country was simply a matter of time, Metuh had wailed that “Buhari should spare the nation his thirst for blood”. “If there is no social justice, in a question of time there will be revolution in one form or the other,” Buhari had said. But the PDP Publicity Secretary had responded that Buhari’s statement in a language not quite becoming of the spokesman of a selfrespecting ruling party. In a long winded statement, Metuh called Buhari blood thirsty and bad loser among other uncomplimentary names. Buhari’s revolution statement, according to him, is, in addition to being “a sure sign of frustrations over his inability and that of his party to win elections”, an attempt “to truncate the journey in this right direction by advocating violence and civil unrest”. But when penultimate week former President Olusegun Obasanjo warned that unless the government took urgent steps to arrest the menace of youth unemployment and poverty, Nigeria would see a

PDP Publicity Secretary Chief OlisaMetuh is probably an admirer of Russia’s Vladimir Lenin who it was that said ‘a lie told often enough becomes the truth’and or Hitler’s propagandistin-chief, Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbelswhosevariant of the same statement goes; ‘if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.’Goebbels truly put that homilyto good practice in his trenchant Anti-Semitism rhetoric. Either that or he is a student of the motor park politics where the language shames not its practitioners.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh revolution soon, the PDP Publicity Secretary’s voice was very loud by its silence. Obasanjo, who spoke at a the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the African Development Bank –sponsored West African regional conference on youth employment in Senegal, has declared that, “I’m afraid, and you know I am a General. When a General says he is afraid, that means the danger ahead is real and potent”. During his latest and most disastrous media chat yet, President Jonathan had provided the opposition with ammunition on a platter of gold when he contradicted several statements his media aides had earlier made with authority on some burning national issues. And when the opposition parties made good use of that

offer, Metuh was his usual self accusing them of “voting huge sums of money to destabilise the Jonathan administration”. “We have uncovered a game plan by CPC and ACN on a propaganda war against PDP, the President and its elected officials to deceive the public. In the next few weeks, the

nation will see a huge blackmail, lies and cheap propaganda which they have budgeted very huge amount of money to discredit PDP. We therefore direct millions of our supporters to be calm about these elements, which have nothing to show except cheap lies. “We challenge the

“

During his latest and most disastrous media chat yet, President Jonathan had provided the opposition with ammunition on a platter of gold when he contradicted several statements his media aides had earlier made with authority on some burning national issues

oppositions to come and debate on programmes, actions and governance of the PDP rather than cheap blackmail”, cried Chief Metuh. But do the opposition parties really need to waste their money and time to destablise the administration when Jonathan himself and his spokesmen are doing an excellent job of it. Whenever there is mention of merger among the opposition parties, he comes out to claimthat PDP is not scared of that. So why is he bothered if PDP is not disturbed? And lest we forget, the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) has accused Jonathan, not Buhari, of being behind the 2010IndependenceDay bombing at Eagles Square. In a sworn affidavit in South Africa, where he is standing trial over the bombing incident, Henry Okah, the leader of MEND alleged that President Goodluck Jonathan was behind the bombing. In the194-page affidavit, the militant, who has been on exile in South Africa, said Jonathan and his aides organised the attacks to demonise Northern political opponents and win popular sympathy ahead of the 2011 elections. “The bombing on 1 October 2010 was a platform for the elimination of political opposition from the North in the form of General Ibrahim Babangida. The bombing of 1 October 2010 was also intended by the President Goodluck Jonathan Government to create anti-North sentiments nationwide in order to galvanise support from other sections of Nigeria against other northern candidates in the Presidential elections,” Okah alleged. But in all the false alarms raised against General Buhari, nobody among his traducers ever felt strong enough in their conviction to file an affidavit against the former Head of State. Depressed Nigerians are tired of these old lines, Chief Metuh. Let us move forward from here, please. 2015 is still some three years away.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

PAGE 5

Jonathan tasks new envoys on economic ties By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

resident Goodluck Jonathan has urged five new Ambassadors to Nigeria to focus attention on strengthening of economic ties during their various tenures. President Jonathan was speaking after he received letters of credence from the ambassadors during different audiences at State House yesterday. The new envoys are Mr. Isaac Genesis Munlo of Malawi, Mr. Carsten Nilaus Pederson of Denmark, Mr. Shyam Lal Tabadar of Nepal, Mr. Myint Naung of Myanmar and Mr. Alex Lamadrid of the Philippines. President Jonathan told the new Malawian Ambassador that the administration was working hard to make agriculture a business in Nigeria, instead of a subsistent occupation, in order to attract younger farmers and provide more jobs. He also told the Ambassador of Denmark that Nigeria wanted more robust economic relations with the Nordic countries. He acknowledged and welcomed the ongoing cooperation with Philippines and the training of Nigerian seafarers in that country. The new Ambassadors acknowledged the positive leadership role Nigeria has played in the African continent and commended President Jonathan for sustaining the tradition. They expressed their commitment to strengthening relations between their countries and Nigeria, for the mutual benefit of the people on both sides.

FRSC best agency in Africa - World Bank By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

he World Bank and the sub Saharan African Transport Programme (SSATP) at its 2012 Road Safety Workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has singled out Nigeria as a role model which other African countries should emulate. Speaking at the workshop, Per Mathiasen, SSATP transport specialist on Lead Agency Good Practice, noted the increase in road traffic crash data in 2008, due to good reporting developed by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), adding that the high figures has since been trending down due to improved enforcement strategy. A statement issued yesterday by the Corps Public Education Officer (CPEO), Jonas Agwu, said that Mathiasen stressed that the trending down in Nigeria is not replicated in any other country visited. Other issues highlighted by the speaker include the world class drivers licensing standards which he said is difficult to forge. He asserted that the technology deployment in Nigeria through FRSC is unparalleled in Africa, south of the Sahara.

L-R: Minister of Interior, Mr. Abbah Moro, Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, and Deputy Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abubakar Kachalla, during the concluding meeting on Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), yesterday at the State House, Abuja yesterday. PHOTO: JOE OROYE

North holds key to state creation, says ACF

As Niger Delta group opposes tenure elongation for Jonathan From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

he Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) says only the North has the final say on the contentious issue of creation of additional states in the country; just as the Itsekiri ethnic nationality of Delta state says it will not support the proposed tenure elongation for President Goodluck Jonathan and governors. “I like to say first and foremost that if the North does not agree with any state of the federation, the issue of state creation will not happen because we (North) represent 19 of the 36 states and if this side of the country does not accept state creation, it will not happen,” the ACF chairman, Alhaji Aliko Mohammed, said yesterday.

He spoke yesterday when Chief Isaac Jemide led a 15-man delegation on a courtesy visit on the ACF leadership in Kaduna. According to Mohammed, “I also like to say that the ACF has already published its position about state creation. We do not believe that at this stage of Nigeria, we need any more states. “The 36 states are already enough and so, if you increase it more than this, like they are saying up to 50 states, it means there will not be a place to even sit down and talk. “We are going to convince our governors and legislators not to accept the creation of more states. Let us maintain the ones that we have for now and later we may consider more”. Earlier in his address, Jemide

Customs arrests passenger with $320,000 at Lagos airport From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

he Murtala Muhammed International Airport command of the Nigeria Customs Service, yesterday arrested a passenger with over $320, 000 at the airport aboard a Qatar Airways flight bound for Doha, in the Gulf region. The passenger identified as Onwuekwe Anthony Chidi, was checking in on Qatar Airways, when he declared the money but could not explain the source of the currency as well as show adequate proof of his business to officials of customs at the airport. The passenger and the money had been handed over to officials of Economic and Financial Crimes

Commission (EFCC), for further investigation, according to a statement issued by the customs and signed by the customs Area Comptroller, Mr. Eporwei Charles. Two weeks ago, the Murtala Muhammed Airport Command , of Nigeria Customs Service said that it arrested one passenger with one hundred and thirty seven thousand , four hundred and thirty five( 137,435), United States of America dollars at the international wing of the Lagos airport. The passenger identified as Mr Chukwuonu Nnaemeka John, was travelling to China with textbooks published in Nigeria with the purpose of re-importing them back to Nigeria which is a copyright offence.

described Jonathan’s Ijaw tribe of the Niger Delta as oppressors of the tribal groupings in that area. According to him, “the Ijaw people of Bayelsa state have dominated the Itsekiri people to the extent that other Nigerians see them (Ijaw) as the only owners of Niger Delta and South-south region… “The issues of constitutional amendments by the National Assembly, including states creation and the rumoured tenure elongation for the President and governors are matters staring us in the face “We are opposed to tenure elongation in any guise either by the ongoing charade called constitutional amendment or by any presidential committee made

up of government apologists... “To us, the issues of constitutional amendments and state creation are serious, when taken alongside statements from principal officers of the National Assembly. “One thing is clear from the whole scenario; the National Assembly is out to achieve a pre-determined agenda, to create kingdoms and chiefdoms in the name of states for some of their principal officers and the presidency, without regard to geography, history, culture and economic viability. “From what has transpired at the public hearing by both Houses of the National Assembly, it is clear that they are working from the answer to the question. Constitutional amendment is not an event, it is a process”.

NEMA DG says most Nigeria disasters man-made From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

he National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), says it is overwhelmed by the spate of emergency cases and crises situations in parts of the country. “Unlike in other parts of the world, it is regrettable that most of Nigeria’s emergency cases are man-made and not natural”, NEMA Director-General, Alhaji Sani Sidi, said yesterday in a message he sent on the occasion of a one-day capacity building workshop, organised by Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists

(NUJ), Kaduna state council. Represented by Alhaji Ahmed Mayaki, Sani cited the case of the recent flooding in parts of the country, describing them as avoidable. According to the NEMA boss, “if we obey structural planning and the appropriate drainage regulations, this issue of flooding would have been controlled. “NEMA is really concerned with the rate of crises in Kaduna state because the area is virtually becoming a place where people no longer want to go and do business which was not the case in the recent past”. In his remarks, Chairman of

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Yuguda assures of good governance From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

overnor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state yesterday in Ibadan reiterated irrevocable commitment to good governance and sustainable democracy through provision of dividends of democracy to the generality of the people of the state. The governor gave this assurance while delivering the 2012 Press Week lecture of the Nigeria Union of Journalist, Oyo state council titled: Good Governance As Panacea to Sustainable Democracy; Bauchi State Example, held at Dapo Aderogba Hall, Iyaganku Press Centre. Yuguda, who was represented by the state's Head of Service, Chief Abdon Dalla Gin, maintained that his government will continue to uphold transparency, accountability and rule of law to ensure good governance. Commenting on the disturbances in the Northern part of the country occasioned by the activities of dreaded Boko Haram sect, the governor said "Bauchi state is not under siege whatsoever, come to Bauchi, you will sleep and snore".

Yuletide: Police strategise to curb insecurity By Lambert Tyem

he Police High Command yesterday met with all command Commissioners of Police and zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police in Abuja to strategise against violent crimes, extra-judicial killings by policemen and corruption in the force. The meeting was chared by the Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed dahiru Abubakar who warned the CPs against complacency in the fight against armed robbery, kidnapping, and extra-judicial killings by police personnel, adding that any senior officer found wanting would be sanctioned. The IG stated that the terror acts in Northwest and Northeastern states would be tackled, adding that the police have many suspects in custody awaiting trial, but could not arraign them because it was waiting for the anti-terrorism law to be amended. "We must tackle violent crimes, extra-judicial killings and corruption among officers. Some CPs are not doing enough to tackle bribery and corruption among officers and if any CP fails to do so, it is assumed that he is not interested in fighting crime and criminality and such a person will be sanctioned", the IG warned.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Reps query minister for non-utilisation of N15bn budgetary release By Lawrence Olaoye

he House of Representatives yesterday, queried the Minister of State for Power, Hajia Zainab Ibrahim Kuchi, over the ministry's inability to utilise the N15 billion released to it by the Federal Ministry of Finance for the improvement of the nation's power sector in the 2012 budget.

The House Committee on Power chaired by Rep Patrick Ikhariale, demanded explanations as to why the allocation was unused in spite of the plethora of challenges facing the power sector. The committee expressed concerns that despite all efforts by President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that power generation is improved in the country with

the budgetary provision of over N75.464 billion and the releases of over N34.765 billion, only N19.763 was utilised representing about 40 percent of the total release. Commenting during the budget defense by the ministry, Ikhariale wondered why the ministry as at November, is having such huge amount of money in its coffers while the

L-R: Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chef Edem Duke, Acting Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. Chidi Uwandu, and Director, Finance and Accounts, Mr. Emma Obingene, during the budget defence before the House Committee on Culture and Tourism, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

FG to make DICON more competitive By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

he Vice President, Arc Namadi Sambo, has assured that the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) under President Jonathan will be competitive and will provide for the accoutrements and other hardware needs of the nation's armed forces and paramilitary services. He made this known yesterday during the Presidential Committee meeting on the review of the structure, operation and activities of DICON in the State House, Abuja. He stated that the framework that the committee would develop

would ensure that DICON meets the objectives of its founding fathers, which was to ensure the local production of the needs of the country's security forces. The Vice President also used the occasion to call for synergy between DICON and its primary consumers. Arc Sambo who expressed his desire to visit DICON, the Army Research and Development Centre in Abuja, the naval dockyard and the airforce aircraft maintenance facility in Lagos, used the occasion to congratulate the Nigerian Army for developing and manufacturing a wholly Nigerian-made Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), which

was recently commissioned by President Jonathan. Earlier, the Director General of DICON, Major General S. U. Labaran, expressed gratitude to President Jonathan for setting up the high powered committee, which is being chaired by the Vice President. He noted that DICON has the capacity to produce various types of military hardware and other accessories. He said that the Corporation also produces industrial machine parts for the Kaduna refinery, adding that it has a world-class welding facility and the capabilities to produce ballot boxes.

Respecting, protecting children's rights is an important duty, says Minister By Maryam Garba Hassan

inister of Women Affairs And Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, has said that there is no duty more important than ensuring that the rights of children are respected and their lives and welfare protected. The minister made the assertion yesterday in Abuja, at the occasion to mark this year's Universal Day of the Child with the theme:"Treasure Our

Children", organizsed by the ministry. According to her, this year's Universal Children's Day has provided an opportunity for the ministry to be presented to the general public in its totality which she said will help to boost and ensure greater networking and collaboration with relevant stakeholders. Earlier in his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, George Ossi, said the essence of the Day is to promote

mutual understanding among children and to initiate actions that would benefit and promote their welfare around the world. In his good will message, Minister for Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, said though the government through the ministry and other relevant agencies has achieved much in its efforts to meet the needs of Nigerian children, still there is much to be done especially in rural areas where the plight of school-aged children leaves much to be desired.

nation's power sector continues to suffer. "What this means is that the ministry does not need such amount of money because if they need the money they would have done something about it", he said. Members of the committee were of the view that there was confusion in the ministry, just as they expressed sadness about the level of budget implementation in the sector. The lawmakers noted that more than enough money was released but the committee was not happy that the ministry lacked the capacity to utilise it. It hinted that the committee would only approve funds that the power sector would get what it would utilise in the 2013 fiscal year. Ikhariale said: "This year's budget is not going to be the normal ritual; we are going to do a thorough job. It's surprising that the ministry rolls over funds for capital budget, but the recurrent or overhead is always utilised to the fullest". Earlier in her 2012 budget appraisal and the presentation of the 2013 budget, the minister stated that the executive summary of 2012 capital budget performance showed that the total budget of the ministry and its agencies was N75,464,688,384.00 and out of this, only N34,765,694,025.00 was released with N19,763,840,915 utilised.

Jigawa releases N172m for aerial spray against birds From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

he Jigawa state government has approved the sum of N172 million for the aerial spray against quella birds that have been causing setbacks in farming activities in the Hadejia River plain. This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Rabiu Isah at the disbursement and distribution of value addition equipment to Fadama community associations held yesterday. The commissioner explained that the essence is to assist flood victims through residual moisture farming and support them also with 2000 tube wells together with water pumps for dry season farming. At the occasion, 15 Fadama community associations consisting of 180 Fadama user groups received N13.230 million worth of grants to communities to finance the acquisition of productive assets and procurement of small scale community infrastructure for their communities.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

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Katsina signs N6.7 billion roads contract From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

L-R: Director Child Development, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Rabi Ali Galadima, Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Zainab Maina, and Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. George Ossi, during the 2012 Universal Day of the Child , yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

My arrest has nothing to do with Deeper Life killings - Wada’s aide From Sam Egwu, Lokoja he former chairman of Okehi local government area of Kogi state, and Special Adviser to Governor Idris Wada on Economic Matters, Abubakar Adagu Suberu, has said his recent arrest has nothing to do with the attack on Deeper Life Church and the murder of two soldiers in Okene. Suberu who was released recently after his detention at the force headquarters in Abuja, said his arrest was politically motivated, saying he was

considering legal action. He said his arrest was based on the petition written against him by the liaison officer of the council, Malam Hassan Yusuf, whom, he said, alleged that he was opposed to his policies. “In Kogi central, everything is tied to politics, participants in party politics, especially position seekers are out and hell-bent to destroy perceived opponents”. Speaking further he said: “Let me state categorically that my arrest and detention has nothing to do with the Otite Deeper Life killings and the

killing of two soldiers in Okene. “My arrest was purely based on a petition written to the Commissioner of Police Kogi state, by Hassan Yusuf, the Liaison Officer 1 in-charge of Okehi, alleging that I am against his plan to sack over 500 workers of the local government and that my followers planned to cause breach of the peace”. He warned that development would continue to elude the central area if the people continued to engage in politics of hatred.

Ruling houses at war over succession to Attah Igala stool By Julius Ogar

ndications have emerged that the anticipated peaceful succession to the vacant stool of the paramount ruler of the Igala Kingdom in Kogi state may not be. This is because of the disagreements among the ruling houses in respect of the selection of an heir to the Attah Igala stool. A release issued by Prince Amanabo Opaluwa on behalf of the Aju Ameachor Ruling House, yesterday, debunked the earlier statement credited to Abel Emakoji Etuh, the Etemahi Igalamela who had declared that the Igalamela kingmakers were unanimous in the choice of a candidate for the vacant stool. The Etemahi had also claimed that the rotational arrangement among the four ruling Houses from Ayegba Omidoko's dynasty and proviso of being the son of an Ata were painstakingly considered. The release stated: "Our attention is drawn to a press statement purportedly released by the Etemahi on the ongoing selection of an Ata. We state here that the statement which said that 'the rotational arrangement among the four ruling Houses from Ayegba Omidoko's dynasty and proviso of being the son of an Ata were painstakingly considered' is a classical example of the perversion of the rule of law. May we remind the Etemahi of the following provisions of the Igala

Area Traditional council modification law on the appointment of an Ata. "MODIFICATION OF IGALA NATIVE LAW AND CUSTOM RELATING TO THE SELECTION OF A PERSON TO BE THE ATA'GALA. (procedure in the event of divergence)1998. 1. In respect of the bestowal of the title of ATA'GALA known as ATA'GALA, the Ata shall be chosen by the Igalamela Attahate Kingmakers headed by Etemahi in consultation with those descendants in the male line of Ayegba Oma'Idoko who are members of the four ruling houses of Igala, namely, Aju Akogu, Aju Ocholi, Aju Ameachor and Aju Aku, and who are the sons of an Attah, or in the absence of such sons, the sons of a brother of an Ata, or the grandsons of an Ata, all eligible candidates being taken into consideration, but the choice so made shall have no force or effect unless it is confirmed by the Igala Area Traditional council, and if in other respect, the selectors found nothing to chose between two or more candidates, preference shall be given to the ruling house which has gone longer without the privilege of providing a chief. 2. If there is divergence of view between the two segments of the Attahate Kingmakers, that is a): the Igala Mela chiefs and b): the representatives of the four ruling houses, and it is not resolved within

30 days from the date the Igala Area Traditional Council declares such divergence to exist, the Igala Area Traditional Council shall resolve between the two candidates who shall in the circumstance who shall be the Ata by a simple majority". The statement claimed that among the ruling houses, the Aju Ameachor is the one that has gone longer without providing an Attah, having held the position last in 1919. Going further, the statement declared: "We also wish to let the Etemahi and the good people of Igala land know that His Royal Highness the Ejeh Ofu, already a first class traditional ruler and scion of the Aju Ameachor Ruling House having been validly nominated by the Aju Ameachor House and endorsed by three out of the four ruling houses has met all the provisions of the law as a duly nominated candidate by the ruling houses and his name forwarded to the Igala Area Traditional Council as candidate of the ruling houses. "It is therefore surprising that the Etemahi has deliberately ignored or refused to adhere to the laws guiding the selection of an Ata in his purported press release… "The Aju Ameachor family cannot sit and watch the criminal rape of justice which was meted to our grandfather Opaluwa Oguche to be foisted again on this humble ruling clan...” the statement warmed.

atsina state government has signed the contracts worth N6.7 billion for the construction of four roads across the three senatorial zones of the state. Presiding over the signing of the contracts with the two contractors awarded the projects, the state’s commissioner of works, housing and transport, Architect Mustapha Maikudi Kankia noted the roads were meant to open up communities in the state for economic potentials. Kankia disclosed that the first road contract was the asphalting of Karfi-Kuringafa-Tashar Barkono-Tsiga-Huguma 42kilometre road which was awarded to Borini Prono at the cost of N1.5billion. The commissioner added that the second road contract is for the construction of Dogon Marke-Yari

Bori-Kafur 22-kilometre road which was also awarded at the cost of N1.5 billion, adding that the roads was a new one. The third contract is the Charanchi-Ganuwa-Rawayau 18kilometre road which was awarded at the cost of N1.3 billion, while the fourth one is the Baura-Hui‘Yarmaulu-Shado road awarded at the cost of N1.8 billion. The commissioner who stated that the projects had a completion period of between 12 to 18 months, advised the contractors to strictly adhered to specifications on the contract terms and ensure timely completion. Kankia also called on the benefiting communities to ensure timely completion of the contracts, calling on them to assist in ensuring the safety of equipments and personals to be redeployed in their areas for the projects.

Police arrest three for robbing priest

hree armed robbery suspects have been arrested for breaking into and robbing the house of Rev. Father Wilson Nwanu of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church at the Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo. The suspects, armed with an axe, iron cutter, iron rods, and a locally-made pistol, were said to have broken into the house of the priest on Nov. 17. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Imo, Mr. Vitalis Onugu, told newsmen in Owerri yesterday that the suspects robbed the priest of the sum of N150, 000, one laptop and four cell phones.

Onugu said some youth from the community who noticed unusual activities at the priest’s residence, alerted the Chief Security Officer of the Polytechnic who called the police. He said the suspects opened fire as soon as the police got to the scene, resulting in an exchange of gunfire. The PPRO said three of the suspects were arrested with some weapons while the fourth escaped. Onugu said the suspects, who had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Owerri, had provided useful information that could lead to the arrest of a fourth member of the gang. (NAN)

NPC tasks Nasarawa on birth registration From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

he National Population Commission (NPC), has task the Nasarawa state government on the need to launch the birth registration publicity campaign in the state, stressing that Nasarawa is the only state yet to officially kickstart the programme. Alhaji Zakari Umaru Kigbu, Federal Commissioner at the commission, laid the charge yesterday, while paying a courtesy call on Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura, in Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital. While observing that the major challenge in the state is the seeming lack of public awareness on the existence and significance of the programme, Kigbu explained that the Vital Registration System was put in place in order to monitor and tract changes within the population during the interval period, which is usually 10 years, adding that data so generated from the exercise is fundamental to population

projection as well as socioeconomic planning. The commissioner stated that the new leadership of the commission, headed by Eze Festus Odimegwu as chairman, is poised strategically to reposition the NPC for effective service delivery, explaining why it has become necessary for it to have a synergy and collaboration with state governments for proper management and control of population related issues. “If we want to sincerely tackle the issue of unemployment, poverty, insecurity, housing, health, road infrastructure and quality education for all, government at all levels need evidence based information to carry out evidence based planning, budgeting and expenditure”, Kigbu noted. Responding, the deputy governor of Nasarawa state, Hon. Dameshi Barau Luka, who stood in for Gov. Al-makura, restated that the population projection of 1.8 million people attributed to the state, “is still not agreeable”.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Mark dissociates self from 2015 campaign groups, By Richard Ihediwa

enate President David Mark has dissociated himself from the activities of certain groups consistently announcing a 2015 presidential ambition or interest on his behalf saying they were mischief makers. Distancing himself from the group, Mark said he is currently on the same page with President Goodluck Jonathan on the commitment to deliver democracy dividends to Nigerians and urged that nobly should distract him from that.

Mark in a statement signed by his Special Adviser Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the pronouncements by the groups about the formation of political fronts for him by senators or other groups were false and urged Nigerians to disregard such. He said the mischief makers are bent on causing disaffection between him and President Jonathan. The statement reads: “The trade mark of this group is to consistently announce a presidential ambition or interest on behalf of the President of the

Senate. For this set of mischief makers, the premises of the National Assembly is either flooded with “Mark for President" or that distinguished senators are forming groups to canvass the said

presidential interest. Nothing can be farther from the truth. “It is imperative to state and emphatically too, that Senator Mark and President Jonathan are on the same page in the onerous task of

providing democratic dividends for Nigerians. It is therefore irresponsible, mischievous and misplaced for any set of Nigerians to embark on overheating the polity at this time of our national history.

...condoles Jonathan over brother’s death

n another development, the Senate President has sent a message of condolence to the President Jonathan over the death of his younger brother yesterday. Senator Mark urged the first family to take solace in the

fact that the late Meni lived exemplary life of discipline, decency and isworthy of emulation. Mark in a statement signed by his media aide, Kola Ologbondiyan said he shared in Jonathan’s grief

and pains and prayed that he has the fortitude to bear the loss. He also commiserated with the government and people of Bayelsa state to take solace in the fact that late Meni lived a short but eventful life.

CBN retains interest rate at 12% By Aminu Imam

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), yesterday, retained the current monetary policy rate (MPR) at 12 percent as well as the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 12.0 percent and the Liquidity Ratio at 30 percent. According to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting read by CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) rose from its 86th meeting of Monday and yesterday with a unanimous decision to maintain the interest rates “having considered and rejected the option to any increase in rates in response to the up tick in headline and food inflation, as being potentially pro-cyclical considering the structural nature of recent inflationary pressures”. He said: “The committee commended the fiscal authorities for keeping the fiscal deficit firmly in line with the 2012 budget and improving the revenue profile of the Federal Government by plugging several of the fiscal leakages. “It called on the Government to significantly increase capital spending and increase its focus on improving on governance and transparency in the public service. “On the oil price benchmark used in the 2013 budget, the MPC reaffirmed its support for the maintaining the US$75/barrel proposed by the fiscal authorities and noted that this has become even more critical in light of evidence that output projections may have been overly optimistic. “In this regard, the committee called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly going forward, to borrow from the Chilean experience with regard to the setting of the parameters for the preparation of the National Budget to avoid the perennial rancor between the Executive and the Legislature on benchmark oil price…” The Committee expressed satisfaction with the significant accretion to external reserves which it said “stood at US$ 45.68 billion as at November 15, 2012, representing an increase of US$ 10.27 billion or about 29.00 percent from the level of US$35.41 billion at end-June 2012. External reserves had increased by US$ 13.04 billion or 39.95 percent over the December 2011 level of US$ 32.64 billion”.

Yobe state Governor, Malam Ibrahim Gaidam (middle), Secretary to the Borno State Government, Ambassador Baba Ahmed Jidda (right), and former Borno state governor, Alhaji Asheikh Jarma (left), in prayers when Gov Gaidam visited to condole with Baba Jidda over the death of his mother, yesterday in Maiduguri.

Ecological Fund: Reps call for Environment Minister’s sack By Lawrence Olaoye

he House of Representa-tives yesterday recommended the sack of the Minister for Environment, Hajia Hadiza Mailafia, by President Goodluck Jonathan for the alleged shortfall of N396 Ecological Funds deductions. Mailafia whose absence at yesterday’s public hearing into the operation of the fund led to the postponement of the exercise was accused of lacking passion for

her job just as the lawmakers observed a disconnect between her and her assignment as a minister. Rep Mohammed Abdulahi Shamsidin (Kaduna) who made the radical suggestion was supported by all the committee members at the session. He said: "The President has appointed these people to work with him in the interest of the country. The Minister of Environment has no passion for the environment and there is a disconnect between

herself and the work she has been chosen for. I would suggest that she should try her luck elsewhere. We should call on the President to find someone else who is not only interested in the job, but has the competence as well as the love for Nigeria". The committee also flayed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Anyim Pius Anyim, for his absence at the investigative session which, according to the chairperson of the committee, Uche Ekwunife, was

meant to conclude work the committee started since November 2011. Yesterday's investigative session was stimulated by an interim report by the committee which exposed about N400 billion shortfall in the deductions of the Ecological Fund. According to the report, there were illegal transfers and loans from the Fund without appropriation from the National Assembly as prescribed by the Financial Act setting up the fund.

Reuters withdraws JTF shooting video story

euters news agency has withdrawn the controversial story portraying the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Maiduguri, Borno state capital of shooting unarmed captives following questions raised over its authenticity. The news agency had in a story it published on Sunday, said it was in possession of an amateur video showing Nigerian soldiers killing its unarmed captives. The video was however

faulted by the JTF which said it was manipulated with footages put together to portray the Nigerian military in bad light. While Reuters had reported that the video was sent to it by a Nigerian soldier at the scene of the murder, the JTF insisted that its men were not the actors in the short video which had no dates. Following the questions raised on the video, the news agency pulled down the report from its

website and publishing in its place a notice announcing the withdrawal of the story. “Please be advised that the Nigeria story issued on November 18, 2012, reporting that a video showed Nigerian troops shooting unarmed captives, is withdrawn,” read the notice, posted at 8.21 pm US time Monday. The story is withdrawn because questions have been raised about the date and location of the video”, the agency said.

The spokesman of the JTF Col. Sagir Musa had on Monday dismissed the film as a propaganda package by the terror group operating in the region. “We are professionally guided by a mandate and rules of engagement in the conduct of our operations”, he said. “In our code of conduct and standing instructions, no JTF personnel is allowed to carry video or still camera and cell phones while on operations”, he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Emir of Katsina declares Jihad on polio By A’isha Biola Raji

s Nigeria steps up the final push to eradicate Wild Polio Virus in the country, the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman has compared the fight against polio to a ‘jihad’ that must involve all. The Emir stated this recently when the Chairman and Presidential Task Force on Polio Eradication and Minister of State for Health, Dr. Ali Pate paid him an advocacy visit. According to a press statement signed by Tashikalmah Hallah, Special Assistant, Media and External Relations to Minister of State for Health, Dr. Ali Mohammed Pate, accompanied by the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development, Agency, Dr. Ado Mohammad was on a trip to some high risk, local government areas in Kano and Katsina states ahead of the November round of the Immunisation Plus Days. Katsina, Kano and Kaduna States account for 60 percent of the cases of Wild Polio Virus recorded in the country this year. In Kano State, 22 cases have been recorded in eleven local government areas, while in Katsina State, 27 cases were reported in nine local government councils. Although, there has been an increase in the number of cases of Wild Polio Viruses this year, the cases are now localized as 94 percent of the local government areas in the country are polio free. The Emir praised the timely intervention of the Presidential Task Force. “Any government that did not take the welfare of its citizens at heart is not worth a government,” he said.

9, 825 Kano, Jigawa pilgrims return

total of 9,825 out of 10, 225 pilgrims who performed this year’s Hajj from Kano and Jigawa states have been brought back to the country. The pilgrims were transported by Kabo, Meridian and Max airlines through the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano. Alhaji Mohammed Yola, the Accepting Officer of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Tuesday. Yola said all the 3, 230 Jigawa pilgrims who performed the Hajj had since returned home while 400 remaining Kano pilgrims were still in the Holy land. “The last batch of about 400 Kano pilgrims and officials of the board are being expected in the country on Friday. “The pilgrims are all in Medina at the moment and they are expected to leave Medina for Jeddah for their onward journey to Nigeria on Friday”. (NAN)

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FG set to halt rot in extractive sector By Mike Etim, Uyo

resident Goodluck Jonathan has indicated that the government was resolute in building better system that will strengthen the capacity of relevant government agencies in order to halt management inefficiency and lack of transparency in the extractive sector. To underline the commitment the federal government, President Jonathan said the government willingly initiated and submitted itself to public scrutiny through several factfinding panels and objective criticisms. Jonathan who was represented by the Akwa Ibom

State Governor, Godswill Akpabio stated this at the opening of the board retreat for members of the National Stakeholders Working Group (NISWG) of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), held in Uyo. He restated the Federal Government’s commitment to expose misdeeds revealed by any exercise in the country. The President said the retreat was coming at no better time than when the federal government was pursuing comprehensive and massive reforms in the extractive industries particularly in oil and gas. Jonathan said that he had given directives towards open and unrestricted support to NEITI to

carry out its statutory functions. “The cooperation that all MDAs must give to NEITI is absolute because of NEITI’s strategic role in driving the transformation agenda of my administration. Adherence to due process in the extractive sector would impact positively on other sectors of the economy, limit waste, reduce corruption and increase government’s revenue from the sector” the president stated. According to him, the regular conducts of NEITI audits and prompt implementations was the gateway to accelerate the much needed reforms not just in the oil and gas sector but also in the general conduct of government business. The President pointed out that

he had always created space for NEITI during cabinet meetings to present its Audit reports any time it was ready, adding that he was awaiting the present rounds of audits in the oil and gas sector and for the first time in the solid mineral sector also. The President urged all stakeholders in the extractive sector especially the companies and government agencies to give NEITI all the support and cooperation it required in the conduct of its audits. He said the federal government was committed on its part to support NEITI actualize a transparent extractive sector where the revenues are accounted for and used for the benefits of the people.

L-R: President, International Federation of Surveyors, Mr. Cheehai Teo, President, Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS), Surveyor Stephen Bode Adeaga, and Publicity Secretary NIS, Surveyor Oluropo Olajugba, during NIS 30th Annual late Surveyor Olumide Memorial Lecture, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Jonathan at 55: More dividends of democracy coming-Northern Govs From Iliya Garba, Minna

he Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) has paid tribute to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who turns 55 on Tuesday, just as it asked Nigerians to expect more

dividends of democracy. Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu said within a space of two and a half years, President Jonathan has touched the lives of Nigerians in many positives ways and has stamped a seal of excellence in

all the spheres of our national life. In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo, Governor Aliyu said the forum is proud of President Jonathan’s achievements and leadership qualities in accelerating the growth and

development of Nigeria and the Africa. The statement noted the progress made in Agriculture, wealth creation, education, citizen diplomacy and other laudable programmes anchored on the administration’s transformation agenda. The forum expressed believe that President Jonathan has a lot more to offer Nigerians and called on all citizens to join hands with the President to move Nigeria forward.

Ending open defecation is possible, says UNICEF By A’isha Biola Raji

n marking the World Toilet Day this year, UNICEF has said that trends in the past five years allow for cautious optimism, that significant progress will be made in decreasing the number of people who globally practice open defecation.

A lack of toilet remains one of the leading causes of illness and death among children. In Nigeria, it is estimated that diarrhoea kills about 194,000 children under five every year and in addition, respiratory infections kill another 240,000. These are largely preventable with improvements in water, sanitation and hygiene.

According to a statement signed by Geoffrey Njoku, Communication Specialist, Media and External Relations UNICEF Nigeria, UNICEF is supporting 50 countries including Nigeria to implement Community Approaches to Total Sanitation (CATS) such as Community Led Total Sanitation aimed at empowering communities to

identify their sanitation challenges and take necessary actions to end open defecation. According to a joint UNICEF and World Health Organization report of 2012, it is estimated that 34 million Nigerians practice open defecation with the country amongst top 5 countries in the world with largest number open defecations.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER, 21, 2012

NUC approves open varsity courses From Mohammed Kaduna

Adamu,

he National University Commission (NUC) has accredited all the courses of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), the Vice Chancellor of NOUN , Professor Vincent Tenebe has said. Tenebe, who spoke during an interview with newsmen yesterday in Kaduna also stated that last Saturday's graduation of the Human Resource Development/Empowerment Initiative (HRDEI) in collaboration with Center for Lifelong Learning and Workplace Training of the NOUN has proved once more that the institution doess not just award degrees, diploma and certificates to people , but also participates in skill acquisition and empowerment of vulnerable youths in the country " to ensure that they are able to be self employed". "From those certificate we can train you to acquire a certificate and you can go to the highest qualification of Phd,' he said. "Some places that are highly populated like China and India used this same type of system to educate their people. Why are Nigerians rushing to China today, rushing to India? Anybody that is sick is going to India for treatment. Anybody that want to get good chairs, clothes and cars are rushing to China, because they have Open and Distance Learning to educate their people.

Kogi monach calls for interstate security patrol From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

he paramount ruler of Awo community, a border town between Benue and Kogi state has appealed to relevant authorities to set up joint patrol team comprising the police and soldiers on the area to forestall banditry. At a press briefing in Lokoja yesterday, Chief Thomas Amedu of Awo in Ankpa local government, Kogi state, said that it has become necessary in view of past experiences with dare-devil robbers who unleashed terror on the people. He said the expressways between Ankpa-Onyagede-Otukpo and Ankpa-Adoka-Makurdi have become notorious hideouts and especially worrisome at this period of the year. The ruler recalled how a Reverend Father's house was raided and his car snatched, pointing out that a preventive move could stall ugly situations. Chief Thomas also said one Abdulmalik traveling from Abuja through Adoka-Awo-Ankpa escaped by whiskers when his car was vandalised of items, adding that "this will become worst during the festive period if not checkmated now".

L-R: Director, Community Health Services, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Nnenna Ihebuzor, Emir of Jiwa, FCT, Alhaji Idris Musa, and Director, Planning Research and Statistics of NPHCDA, Dr. Emmanuel Odu, during the flag-off of the African Vaccination/ Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week, yesterday in Jiwa, Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

2 dead, scores injured in Kogi LG fracas From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

wo persons were yesterday feared dead while scores sustained various degrees of injury as the leadership of Omala Local Government council of Kogi state, clash with the staff over unpaid salaries. The workers numbering over 100 stormed the council secretariat at Abejukolo, headquarters of the council in a peaceful protest demanding for the payment of backlog of their salaries. . The workers among other demands urged the governor Capt Idris Wada to sack the Liaison officer 1 saying since he resumed office in

June, the workers have suffered untold hardship as he had owed them unpaid salaries for months. They also alleged highhandedness ,victimization and harassment of perceived political opponents. The protest which started on a peaceful note became uncontrollable when the police who were drafted to curtail the protest, arrested six of the leaders and whisked them to the force headquarters in Lokoja, the Kogi state capital. As the news of the arrest of Godwin Noah ,Paul Wada ,and Mohammed Bamidele Jacob Audu ,Alilu Shehu and Mohammed

Ademu filtered into the town, the youth under the aegis of Omala Youth Network barricaded all the major roads leading to the town demanding the release of their colleagues. According to an eye witness account, the liason officer 1 Aminu Atabor, for the fear of the police being overwhelmed by the protesters, brought in combatready soldiers who shot indiscriminately at the crowd and in the process two persons were feared dead while scores sustained various degrees of injuries. One of the leaders simply identified as Adown who spoke with journalists vowed that the youth

would remain on the streets as long as he could arrest all of them saying that soldiers cannot kill their agitation against oppression. It took the efforts of the state House of Assembly member Aliyu Akuh representing the area and the commissioner for commerce and industry, Ali Ajuh to secure the release of those arrested while the injured were hospitalized in undisclosed clinics in the town. When contacted, the police public Relations officer of the state command, DSP Romanus Nwaneri confirmed the arrest but feigned ignorance of those feared dead and the injured warning the people not take laws into their hands.

"The mucilage and fibre found in the vegetable help adjust blood sugar by regulating its absorption in the small intestine. "The fibre present in the vegetable helps in maintaining the health of the gastro-intestinal tract," she said. According to her, the vegetable also can assist in absorbing water and traps excess cholesterol,

metabolic toxins and surplus bile in its mucilage, slipping it out through the stool. She explained that okro was the ideal vegetable for weight loss and a storehouse of health benefits, provided it was cooked over a low flame to retain its properties. ``The vegetable is completely non-toxic, non-habit forming, has no adverse side effects, is full of

nutrients and is economically within the reach of most individuals. ``The sodium content of the vegetable is quite high; this is the reason why it is made into tablets for replenishing sodium deficiency in the body," she said. According to her, these tablets are also good for stomach ulcers. (NAN)

Nutritionist recommends okro to Nigerians

n Abuja nutritionist, Mrs. Chika Obioma, has advised the public to increase their intake of okro to reduce the risk of heart diseases and other ailments. She, however, cautioned that the vegetable should not be over cooked for it to retain all its nutritional and medical value. Obioma said in Abuja yesterday that the vegetable was useful, inexpensive and readily available in Nigeria. She explained that okro was rich in vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folic acid, calcium, zinc and dietary fibre. "It is also rich in amino acids, with the likes of tryptophan, cystine and other sulfur amino acids. "It is used to boost sexual vigour and reduces excess menstrual blood," she said. Obioma recommended okro for pregnant women as it was rich in folic acid, an essential ingredient in the neural tube formation of the foetus between the fourth week and 12th week of pregnancy.

FERMA pledges stronger ties with FRSC on roads By Mohammed Kandi

anaging Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) Engr. Gabriel C. Amuchi, has vowed to collaborate with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in its quest to improve road safety on Nigerian roads. Amuchi, according a statement issued by Agency's head of Communications and Public Relations, Mrs Maryam Mohammed Sanusi, made the pledge while receiving the Corps Marshall of FRSC, Mr. Osita

Chidoka, who paid him a working visit recently in Abuja. FERMA boss, who said that the commission had been a major stakeholder in FERMA's road maintenance operational strategies, said the Agency reached a milestone in this direction with the establishment of cold asphalt production centres in three locations in the country. According to him, the cold asphalt could be deployed for small and major road maintenance works under all weather conditions, adding that "the material is packaged in both large and small packs, adding that the era when

maintenance gangs or contractors cut and leave potholes open for days due to lack of hot asphalt concrete was over, as they could cut and patch on the same day. Earlier in his remarks, the FRSC Corp Marshall Mr. Osita Chidoka, lauded FERMA for the assistance to FRSC towards boosting its capacity to deliver on its mandate of assuring road safety nationwide. He said: "FRSC is still in need of more collaboration, especially in the area of logistic assistance to tow crashed trucks from the highways and eliminate obstructions and accidents to road users."

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

PAGE 11

How to start local restaurant business in Nigeria and earn big apply to most people out there too. One can hardly eat in a place that doesn't look nice and so do many; make sure your restaurant is well furnished to taste. The quality of your food and the type of cook you are can be perceived through your restaurant furniture The furniture may take about N150, 000 depending on what you go for and your bargaining power. You can get a local carpenter who (with proper supervision) will do very good furniture at lower cost for you. Plastic chairs and tables are not recommended; it makes your restaurant look unorganized, cheap, and untidy. But if that's what you can afford, then you go for it. Restaurant

mall scale restaurant is very easy to start and is low capital-intensive. It can even go together with beer parlour business but it is preferable to stand-alone in one business because, not everyone is comfortable eating in a beer parlour. Being one of the few businesses that is not affected by any economic meltdown. People must eat no matter how poor they are, no matter the situation they are, even if unemployed. Anyone can eat even if it is with the last penny he or she can afford, that's what makes restaurant business very lucrative. Serious investors should give it a serious look. With less than N300, 000 you can start a nice local restaurant and with good food, good business practice, and proper customer care - you will be making above N120, 000 monthly. So, what are you waiting for? To start your own restaurant business, there are certain things you need to consider and put in place. To ensure you are on the right track, and as a lover of good restaurant myself, I will be explaining some of the things you need to put in place to get you started smooth and easily. • Good space for your restaurant Everyone likes to enjoy his food in a spacious laid back environment. Make sure you get a place as nice as possible you can afford - In fact, your major

Quote Business is never as healthy as when, like a chicken, it must do a certain amount of scratching around for what it gets. – Henry Ford

investment should go into this. If it's going be a shop, let it be the one with extended frontage so that you can build canopy to afford your customers more seating space. The cost of rent depends on the environment but you can get a

nice place with N100, 000. Go for the best you can afford any area where there is enough movement of people. • Furnish your restaurant When it comes to restaurant, look is everything to me and it

• Restaurant utensils and accessories N50, 000 will be able to take care of these, don't buy something childish like plastic plates. Many people (including me) will reject the food no matter how good it looks if you serve it in plastic plates and spoon. Apart from the fact that they look cheap and childish, the tendency of dirt

hiding somewhere and the plate being discolored is high. Ceramic and Breakables are the preferred type you should go for and they are not very expensive. Feeding is a very sensitive thing and a lot of people don't take what goes into their stomach lightly, it's not just about filling the stomach, it's about satisfaction, health, and enjoyment. While you make effort to prepare good food for your customers, make sure you don't ridicule your effort with cheap plates because, food look and taste better when served in a better plate. • Employ good cook People will fall in love with your food if they are well cooked and taste great; make sure the Cook you intend to employ knows how to cook different types of meal very well. If you want to do the cooking yourself, don't just do it because you want to work hard and minimize expenses, does it because you can cook very well. No one wants to waste their money twice in a bad restaurant! Source: Wealthresult.com

Clay pots decoration: How clay are turned to gold and sold for thousands of Naira

any people feel that the statement that there is money everywhere may sound deceitful, but that is if you haven't taken your time to really think about it. A careful look into it will reveal to you that the statement is not only true but correct. Have you ever bothered to ask yourself about how money is made? Does it ever make sense to you to find out what really gives money? Those who are rich aren't from another planet, what they use in making their money is not from heaven either. Whatever you need, all what you want are here on earth. But the question is how do you find and make use of the things that will make you money? One of them is Clay Pot Decoration Designs! This simple artistic molding could be taken for granted by onlookers but if you've ever bought or even price it, you'll know what I'm talking about. Some of them go for as high as N20, 000. I recently bought some number of them for decoration, and on a closer look I discovered something very important to this topic. Are you gifted in the art of molding clay into decorative Terra Cotta Pot? Here is a business opportunity for you through which you can make millions this year. Decorated terra-cotta pots with a fresh plant inside make a good housewarming or holiday gift for a friend or loved one. It could also be educative aid as it let kids decorate their own pots and grow something all by themselves. You will need to come up with a nice product that will entice people; here are some guidelines to

follow: Paint the pot Use acrylic paint to decorate the pots. Paint designs freehand or use stencils to create shapes and patterns. Sponges can make shapes such as hearts, circles and flowers. Paint the pot a solid color first and let it dry. Once it's dry, use stamps in a contrasting color to decorate the pot. Paint the rim of the pot a different color. Paint kids' hands and let them handprint the pots, which makes a cute gift for a grandparent, or just let kids doodle on the pots with paints or paint pens. Decoupage Use decoupage glue such as Mod Podge to decoupage. Paper of any kind can be decoupage to create a one-of-akind pot. Try patterned scrapbook paper, colorful tissue paper, pictures from magazines, and copies of photographs or gift wrapping paper. Cut the pieces of paper and adhere them to the pot with the decoupage medium and a sponge paint brush. Spray a clear sealant over the pot when you are done for best results. Embellishments Use strong craft glue to decorate the pot with items like foam or wooden shaped cutouts, ceramic animals or shapes, artificial flowers, beads, crystals or even buttons. Glue a length of ribbon around the rim of the pot and decorate the rest of it with matching rhinestones or buttons, or perch some ceramic birds along the pot's rim. Glue small artificial flowers

all over the pot for a pretty, feminine look or use shiny beads that capture the light to decorate the pot. Mosaics Use small tiles, broken mirror pieces or sea glass to create a mosaic style terra-cotta pot. Glue the pieces all over the pot and allow the glue to dry. Apply tile grout over the pot, filling in the crevices. Let the pot dry overnight before you use it. Create a mosaic just on the rim of the pot or do the entire pot using different colored pieces of glass for a funky piece. Further

Clay Pot

Procedures

for

decorating the Pot Sand away any rough spots or loose clay particles on the rim, bottom edge, and outside of the pot. For standard flower pots, that will be used for planting, seal the inside with oil or water based polyurethane-2-3 coats-let dry. Either of these will work but oil based polyurethane will last longer. For decorative pots that will not be used for plants, seal the inside with water-based polyurethane or craft acrylic sealant. I suggest this because oil based products is flammable and the clean-up is easier with water based products.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

PAGE 12

EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

No to new states now, please F

or a moment penultimate week, we had thought and, indeed, hoped that the Nigerian Senate had got the diagnosis right when the Deputy Senate President and Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of 1999 Constitution, Ike Ekweremadu was widely quoted as cautioning those agitating for new states to tamper their optimism with caution. Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, Senator Ekweremadu had said that given the rigorous provision of Section 8 of the 1999 Constitution, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to create new states. He was quoted as having said that “The people who are requesting for states will still go and generate their requests and submit to the National Assembly and then, generate resolutions of the requisite authorities, the council, the House of Assembly and it will still come up to the National Assembly, the Senate and the House will vote, then, it will still go for referendum after which it will go to the Houses of Assembly of all the states in Nigeria. It is a cumbersome process and it just has to pass through that process because that is what the Constitution says.” Unfortunately, a week later, Senator Ekweremadu backtracked after the Senate President, David Mark, speaking in Makurdi, Benue state, at the Senate public hearing on the amendment of the 1999 Constitution for the North-Central

zone, supported calls for the creation of new states. He claimed that such an action has become imperative at this time in the history of the country. We totally agree with the Deputy Senate President’s earlier position, and some. For one, additional states are the least of Nigerians’ priorities, if they are at all. For another, short of converting every household in Nigeria into a state, the demand for the creation of more states will never end.

“

Our reading of the Nigerian situation is that some myopic interests, in clear opposition to that of the larger society, are always behind the agitations for additional states From a federation of three regions after independence in 1960, Nigeria is today a nation of 36 mostly insolvent states created by military fiat. Even more important, how many of the existing states are viable enough to stand on their own without the monthly handouts from the Federation Account? According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), only two states, Lagos and Rivers, generate enough internal revenues to survive without assistance from Abuja.

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”

We are encouraged by and commend the courage of Governor AbdulAziz Yari of Zamfara state in urging states to be self sustaining by exploring and exploiting the abundant mineral resources each is endowed with, instead of depending on the central government for sustenance. It is an open secret that many of the states in the North, generating next to nothing revenue internally, are sitting on abundant minerals such as gold, diamond, uranium, kaolin, iron ore and a host of others that can easily turn poor states into stupendously wealthy nations with the right management. Our reading of the Nigerian situation is that some myopic interests, in clear opposition to that of the larger society, are always behind the agitations for additional states. The volt face by the Deputy Senate President is more than proof enough that politics, rather than pragmatism, is the driving force for some of our lawmakers’ pandering to the requests for additional states. Good governance, committed, sincere and patriotic leaders, not double-speakers, are what the nation needs not cosmetic arrangements whose efficacy is only ephemeral. Nigeria is well capable of doing very well without ever amending the 1999 Constitution only if its operators will have the courage, sincerity of purpose and the interest of the nation at heart. For now and ever, let us learn to get our priorities right.

OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

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

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER ALI M. ALI

HEAD, ADVERT/MARKETING HUSSAINI ABDULRAHMAN, CNA

ACTING EDITOR, WEEKEND JAMILA NUHU MUSA

MANAGER, ADMINISTRATION HASSAN HAMMANYAJI

HEAD, LAGOS BUREAU ADESOJI OYINLOLA

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

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

By Sule Ya’u Sule

ood teachers do not make good politicians. I don’t know if this is partly responsible for why they are told to wait for their wages but a good Nigerian politician would ditch an office holder the moment he is no longer in a position to award contracts or grant favours. But teachers are different. During this years World Teachers Day celebrated on 5th October, 2012 at Eagle Square, Abuja. Nigerian Teachers decided to remember one of their own and will honur a former public official who advanced the cause of national education, including teacher’s welfare, when he was in a position to do something. Otherwise, the decision of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) to honuor the immediate past Governor of Kano State, Malam (Dr.) Ibrahim Shekarau (Sardaunan Kano), when he is out of office is dumbfounding, even as teachers nationwide celebrate him for his outstanding contributions to the growth and advancement of education in the state (2003 – 2011). By many independent accounts, Malam’s government enjoys the distinction of implementing more projects in the education sector than any other in the federation and to have constructed more secondary schools than any other state in the country. The NUT example has also inadvertently widened the frontiers of the debate on national leadership. Our public forums are

By Chido Onumah

so Rock under President Jonathan has become a graveyard of committees’ reports. Reuben Abati and Doyin Okupe are amongst the best in their business. And by this, I mean the business of dissembling (BS). That was exactly what Abati did in his latest treatise, “Jonathan and the Ribadu Report”. I don’t begrudge both Abati and Okupe. Their job is to be evasive and to try as much as possible to mislead while continuously throwing lies at us in the hope that some will stick; our responsibility is to cut through their BS. Indeed, it was a lot of BS that Abati attempted to heap on us in his last outing. Abati began his latest assault on our collective sensibilities with an overdose of insult when he wrote, “it is so unfortunate that there has been so much ignorant carping and malicious tittle-tattling about the report of the Petroleum Revenue Task Force chaired by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, both failings arising from a deliberate attempt to individualise what was actually a group work, a mischievous attempt to politicise one report out of three, and to smuggle into an emergent grand web of conspiracy, elements of blackmail, mischief and outright opportunism”. As the master of BS himself, Abati knows too well that the “putrefacious stench of the fart that seems to have overtaken the subject” comes from no other place than the Presidency. Here is a chronology of the Presidency and Abati’s metamorphosis on the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force (PRSTF) report. A few days after the report was made public by Reuters, Abati claimed it was meant to embarrass the government. According to him, “excerpts from the report could not be taken as an official document because the committee had not formally submitted its report to the

PAGE 13

Day teachers honoured Shekarau in Abuja saturated with opinions in strident condemnation of the performance of the aggregate of the national political leadership. The supreme irony however is that the majority of speaker after, have been in positions of leadership. They also had visions. But what landmark achievements legacies did they bequeath? At inception, the Shekarau administration made the revival of Kano’s education sector a cardinal programme. The engine of this revival was located in the uplift of teacher’s morale. The sector was in a state of structural decline and morale was low. Local and foreign training had been suspended while backlog of salaries and leave grants remained unpaid. Where educational facilities like laboratories, libraries, technical equipments and teaching aids existed at tall, they were too few and obsolete. There were almost no computers in Kano’s public schools in 2003. However, in eight years, his administration recorded landmark achievements, especially in new student enrolment, construction of new classrooms, equipment of laboratories and boosting teachers’ morale. Between 2003 and 2010, the state recorded a 48% increase in primary school enrolment and 82% increase in secondary school enrolment. With the introduction of free tuition for girls in primary and secondary schools, in addition to other measure, was responsible

for increased enrolment of girls by 64% in primary schools and 113% in secondary schools from within the same period. To cope with the upsurge in school enrolment, the Shekarau administration upgraded 210 Junior Secondary Schools and established 42 senior secondary schools and 551 Junior Secondary/Islamic Schools. It recruited additional 14,343 qualified teachers into the primary schools and over 6,000 into the secondary schools. The administration increased students’ scholarship allowances by 25-50% with effect from the 2004/2005 session and revitalized scholarship awards to 29 courses of study that were earlier rationalized by the previous administration. It spent over 2 billion naira in direct scholarship/bursary awards/ assistance to Kano State indigenes studying in tertiary institutions in Nigeria and overseas. Through sustained funding and capacity building, Kano State scored a resounding 100% in the accreditation, re-accreditation and resource inspection exercise on the Kano State University of Science and Technology, Wudil; Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education, Kumbotso and the State Polytechnic by the National Universities Commission, National Council of Colleges of Education and National Board for Technical Education, respectively. In pursuit of its aggressive computerization scheme, it donated laptops and computers to academic staff of the

six government owned tertiary institutions in the state while equipping the College of Art, Science and Remedial Studies, the Aminu Kano College of Islamic and Legal Studies, as well as the School of Technology with Internet/ Cyber Café facilities. The point is that, under Shekarau, teachers were kings and so treated. Even before the federal government got around the idea, and while some state governments are still consulting, Kano teachers were the first to earn the new Teachers Salary Scale (TSS), and this was without prompting by any pressure group. As was typical of the Shekarau administration, while the teachers were agitating for the new scale, the cost implication was mapped out. The governor gave the Head of Civil Service the marching order to pay before the ink dried on the agreement paper. Malam re-introduced vehicle loans for teachers and created a unique remunerative incentive of his own: the Rural Posting Allowance, by which teachers posted to teach in schools outside the major cities were paid special allowances to keep their spirits high. Leave grants and other entitlements were promptly paid and officers deserving promotion were promoted the moment they were due. Teachers who retired from the service of the Kano State Government and its Local Governments, as well as those

who retired from the services of the federal government but who served in Kano, had their outstanding pension arrears and gratuity claims liquidated in the first few months of the administration’s dynamic life. Out of office, Malam has continued to enjoy the generous affection of the millions of people, across the political aisle and across the nation, who celebrate him for his honesty and purposeful focus in government. That he is the most respected and most popular ex-public officer in Kano presently is not in question. In respect to his achievements in the field of education, Al-Hikmah University Ilorin has also honoured him with an honoruary doctorate degree (Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa), alongside other distinguished Nigerian but more crucially, after he left office. This is the man the NUT chose to honour. Considering that it is more lucrative throwing garlands around the neck of a sitting governor than honouring a former one who has no favours to confer on anyone, what the NUT has done is nothing but a courageous intervention in the debate on national values. May be Nigerians have good cause to thank Allah that professional teachers have a long way to go in learning the survival tricks of mastered by politicians. Sule Ya’u Sule is reachable on suleysule@yahoo.com

Jonathan, Abati and the Ribadu report appropriate authority. As far as the Federal Government was concerned, the report in the public domain was suspicious”. This was the first clear attempt to undermine the PRSTF report. Abati then went on to qualify the task of the committee and foreclose the prospect of anyone being held to account: “For the avoidance of doubt and for the benefit of the naysayers, the committees were set up as factfinding and advisory bodies to generate ideas and recommendations about how best to strengthen the oil and gas sector and to further pursue the objectives of institutional integrity, transparency and accountability”. Abati didn’t see anything wrong in Steve Oronsaye and Bernard Otti being appointed into different positions in the NNPC while serving on the PRSTF. “It is important to note that this committee and other committees had government officials and ex-staff as members,” he intoned. We all know the role Oronsaye and Otti played in their attempt to scuttle the report during its submission to the president on November 2. Their infamous intervention was done at great insult and inconvenience to the president. But who cares? Of course, insult and inconvenience count for nothing when billions of dollars and the president’s anointed are involved. A week after the PRSTF submitted its report, as it became evident that the controversy instigated by the Presidency will simply not go away, Abati’s secondin-command and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, the voluble Doyin Okupe, alerted us to paragraph four of the covering letter of the PRSTF report signed by Ribadu and the secretary, Olasupo Shasore, SAN. The offending paragraph four which Okupe alludes to, states: “The

data used in this report was presented by various stakeholders who made submissions to the Task Force at various dates, which have been disclosed in relevant sections of the report. Due to the time frame of the assignment, SOME (emphasis mine) of the data used could not be independently verified and the task force recommends that the government should conduct such necessary verifications and reconciliations.” The implication of this “overriding” paragraph four in Okupe’s omniscient reasoning was that “the committee had issued a disclaimer to its own report which will now make it impossible under our laws to indict or punish anybody except and until the federal government fully verifies and reconciles the facts as recommended by the committee in its submission to the government.” Can anything be more contradictory? Can Okupe be more ridiculous and fraudulent? The committee admitted that the reason it could not verify SOME of the data used was the “time frame” of the assignment. How does this constitute a “disclaimer” or absolve those responsible for the rot in the oil sector as indicated in the report? In his desperate effort to stand reality on its head, Okupe shoots himself in the foot when he says the “disclaimer” will “make it impossible to indict or punish anybody except

and until the federal government fully verifies and reconciles the facts as recommended by the committee in its submission to the government”. In one instance, he calls the committee’s statement a “disclaimer”; in another, he praises the report by implying that the government will do what the committee recommends it does: “conduct such necessary verifications and reconciliations”. How addlebrained can one be in the defense of falsehood? Okupe’s assurance that a White Paper will be issued and the recommendations would be fully implemented after the Presidency completes the uncompleted work of the PRSTF is as reassuring as asking Okupe to head the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. Back to Abati and his disdain for truth and commonsensical argument. Abati accused Zakari Mohammed, Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, of “talking absentmindedly about ‘lack of political will’ to fight corruption in his (Mohammed’s) criticism of the president’s handling of the PRSTF report. There is nothing new about Mohammed’s postulation. Every right-thinking Nigerian holds that view. This government has no redeeming feature. It was clear from the outset that the Presidency

“

This was evident the very moment President Jonathan failed the political-will-to-fight-corruption litmus test when he refused to publicly declare his asset at the inception of his government on May 29, 2011, and went ahead during a nation-wide TV interview in June to heap scorn on Nigerians by saying he did not give a damn about declaration of asset

was looking for ways to undermine the PRSTF report so as to let itself and its cronies off. The Presidency was not interested in the committee’s report. If it was, it would not have created so much ruckus around the report. It simply would have given the committee extra time to finish its work if it felt the report was incomplete. With the PRSTF report, President Jonathan has met his waterloo. Thankfully, the report has received the support of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, (NEITI). NEITI says the PRSTF report reechoes the findings detailed in its own report on the monumental corruption and waste in the oil and gas sector that have yet to be implemented. Aso Rock under President Jonathan has become a graveyard of committee reports. We have lost count of the number of committees President Jonathan has set up since May 6, 2010, when he first became president. There is a common thread to all the committee reports: their non implementation. To say the government lacks the “political will” to fight corruption is to be charitable to the president. This government has made corruption the directive principle of state policy. This was evident the very moment President Jonathan failed the political-will-to-fight-corruption litmus test when he refused to publicly declare his asset at the inception of his government on May 29, 2011, and went ahead during a nation-wide TV interview in June to heap scorn on Nigerians by saying he did not give a damn about declaration of asset. At that very moment, President IDGAD (I Don’t Give A Damn) Jonathan declared war, not on corruption, but against Nigerians. Chido Onumah is reachable on conumah@hotmail.com

PAGE 14

By Ogechi Ekeanyanwu

have always hated trend because, to my mind, it is the epitome of group think. I never really understand how a group or a particular demography conform in thought , attitude or behaviour to an opinion or way of life that probably best suits the one who thought about it. I just do not like trend; it seems to me that it is an irrational, unthinking acceptance of opinions of the minority by the majority. So I made the decision to desist from trends. I am an absolute nonconformist. Being trendy will mean settling for what the Nigerian society thinks is socially acceptable. I can’t afford that, at least not now. I feel that right now, the point where we are in Nigeria, conformity should be quite unpopular. When the standards that we are complying with are standards that are plausible and enviable, I would then be too willing to become trendy. I hate trends, it is very important for me to reiterate this. Trends, they just take away from us. I have lost too much just for trend’s sake. It has become trendy to go abroad to study in foreign universities. At first, I totally understood the reasons people jetted out of Nigeria in search of the “great academic pursuits”: the government is not living up to its responsibilities, there are no good schools, the ceaseless strikes, the untold hardship the students face in Nigerian universities. These are genuine reasons my friend’s father gave me when he scraped his By Nnimmo Bassey

orporate capture is real. And it is vicious. It grabs the mind. Its grip on policy structures cannot be fully understood or overthrown without a clear understanding of its logic. We need to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery as the great musician sang, decolonise our minds. Corporations, just like other power groupings, are masters of mobilising power alignments for the furtherance of their interests. Our examination of the fact of corporate capture seeks to help us see that the degradation we see around us is not accidental but a result of power relations in which the poor and disempowered are not only overlooked but are trampled upon. This assault has not gone on without resistance. Such resistance is subdued with offers of projects, signing of memoranda of agreement of various shades and the promise of jobs. That is the carrot. The big stick consists of calling in the security forces to apply maximum force on complaining populations. Analysts suggest that power manifests through five modalities: inducement, manipulation, seduction, coercion and authority. First we take snapshots of the logic that has fed this vicious system. Overall neo-liberal governing logic: The idea here is to shrink the sphere of influence of government or what is termed “minimising the state.” It is taken for granted that the public sector is wasteful, inefficient and cannot deliver on anything. This logic pushes for the privatisation of everything and the remove of social safety nets. Corporations consult governments; governments consult corporations. Corporations draw up

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

My grouse with trends

finances to sponsor my friend to study was going to be the fault of the use; quite embarrassing even for me. abroad. I agreed then, I still agree that government and trends. I imagine So when his mum, who owed me an almost everything is wrong with the that Osundu’s father will be thinking accumulated sum of seventy five education sector. to himself, ‘when my friends ask me thousand naira from all the deals we But Osundu (that is the name of where Osundu is, I will tell them she is had run over the years, finally my friend) was going to a school that abroad’. You see, the people in agreed to pay me, I was elated. did not have a website. Okay, I get, government encouraged this trend Unfortunately for me, her friend had website is no come to sell her a new factor to trend, ‘Brazilian measure the hair’. It cost fifty five quality of thousand Naira. Of education course, I Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text gotten from a immediately messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written school. So I became angry, ‘ah contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 checked the ah, o my gosh, which words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and s c h o o l ’ s kain thing be dis now’. a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed ranking, it was Hair extensions, below all the fifty- five thousand to: Nigerian naira, there went the Universities. I money for my new The Editor, immediately phone and the other Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, became sad; for things like my gym 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. me first, and subscription. Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com then for Yep, my end of SMS: 07037756364 Osundu. I was the year resolution going to lose my is to lose weight best friend because it has become when they thought to neglect before the New Year, so that my trendy in this part of the world for education because they could afford New Year resolution would be to leaders to neglect the one sector that to send their kids to better ranking stay healthy. I think that it would can directly influence the economy foreign schools after mismanaging be cheaper for me in the long run positively. I was sad for Osundu, public funds; a lot of it could have been to pay for the discipline a gym because she is a very smart girl, and used to finance the growth of would give me in terms of she was going to get an education not education. exercising. I read all the time that befitting her immense talent. She was When I said I have lost too much exercise can keep the doctors away. going to be under-nurtured. I was sad for trend’s sake, I meant it. I lost my So, I am buying into it, because to again, for my nation was going to lose opportunity to change my phone get marvel class medical attention, one of her bright brains because we because it was no longer befitting my God would have to give me a did not have a system to nurture her age. Seriously, my five year old ‘financial break through’. cerebral qualities. To my mind, this nephew uses the same phone that I Sometimes, I am so scared of falling

WRITE TO US

ill, because I do not want to visit the doctor’s; not because I am scared of injections or drugs but because I am scared to death that I might lose my life in the process. I might have a heart attack when the doctor spells out his bill. So if exercising would keep the doctors away, then it is ‘up and down, left and right’. That’s my gym instructor instructing. I am although hoping that it would become trendy for government to look into the health sector. If the people are unwell how can they become productive? How can the government expect them to eagerly pay their taxes, if they have to spend all their earnings treating themselves in private hospitals, because the public ones are not functioning as they ought to? In Nigeria, it has become trendy to enforce tax laws, even when we do not directly see the benefit. The idea of taxation is not exactly terrible; I am just hoping that with as much intensity that these laws are enforced, the same intensity would be given to utilizing and accounting for the money. Finally, I hate trends because they cause too much pain. Violence has become trendy; with the slightest provocation; we maim and kill. We kill in the name of God, justice, yet the mercy of God and justice elude us. How else can we explain the thriving community of thieving, blood sucking demons, either of theology or governance? Ogechi Ekeanyanwu is on facebook

Corporate capture is real, vicious government’s position papers and policies. An example is the Nigerian Biofuels Policy written and probably executed by the NNPC – away from public scrutiny. Corporations sponsor chairs in universities and research centres, direct the direction of discourse and research, orchestrate the sacking of teachers who insist on teaching things that are out of line with corporate interests. This is very conspicuous in the area of genetic engineering. A subtle way is the example of the NLNG awarding a national prize on literature. Certainly no writer who focuses on the mammoth corruption that has been exposed in that project as well as their continuous polluting activities would ever win such a prize. You want to win? See no evil, hear no evil speak no evil. The market holds the key to solving all problems. At one point the hand of the market was invisible. Now the various bailouts have exposed those hands. Market fundamentalist logic: nature for sale. Logic demands a price tag before nature can be defended. In the words of FoEI, “this vision of the world is built on the premise of profit before people and on the creed that nature must be commodified in order to have value and stand a chance of being protected and defended. A creed aptly captured in the so-called Green Economy concept in which everything carries a monetary price tag.” Multilateral negotiations, for example, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COPs). Government negotiation teams are riddled with corporate actors. Private sector representatives are also often included

on government delegations. This is particularly true for delegations from some of the more industrialised developing countries, such as South Africa, Brazil, and South Korea. With such delegations it is clear that corporate interests must be assured. Revolving doors: corporate big guns take up government positions; ex government officials take up board positions in corporations. Some do this while in office and amass incredible wealth without any form of productive activity. Gas flaring continues because oil companies prefer it that way. A face saving measure by government is to impose a paltry fine that is computed as production costs and is technically not being paid. Oil spills rage on and standards are not kept. NOSDRA requires teeth. NESREA is blinded to the oil sector. The oil sector actually superintends NESREA. The UNEP report on the assessment of the environment of Ogoniland shows that Shell did not obey its own standards, Nigerian standards or International standards in its operations there. Because there is no accountability here they and other companies continue with reckless poisoning of the soil, air and waters of the Niger Delta. Narrow corporate interests linked to polluting industries and industries

that are seeking to profit from the climate crisis increasingly hijack government positions. The logic here is that transiting from polluting to non-polluting production systems would be too expensive and would thus cripple industry leading to a loss of jobs. Politicians get sucked in by this logic and so refuse to take actions to reduce emissions at the source, but rather invest in activities that would export responsibilities to poor and already impacted nations. Forest degradation and conversion into plantations fit the new paradigm of investments. The fact that forest dependent communities get displaced strikes the ears of policy makers as nothing to worry about, as long as the powerful corporation is happy. The poor gets disposed in the interest of corporations and the rich. The Land Use Decree ensures that this goes on in Nigeria while foreign direct investment is a cover for grabbing in other countries. The oil subsidy uprising in Nigeria, the several struggles across Africa indicate one thing, the gross political unaccountability of our governments. Cases of where presidents have placed their sons in key positions are not new on the continent. Examples are seen in Liberia, Equatorial Guinea, Central

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Poor countries are compelled to open up their economies while the rich engage in crass protectionism. That is why you have export free zones in poor countries and never in rich countries. And yet we wear these free dumping zones as badges of progress

Africa Republic, Uganda, etc. There are many ways by which the corporations warm themselves into the corridors of power. These include: open and covert lobbying, i.e. behind the scenes meetings with politicians and policy-makers; direct armtwisting: for example the World Bank having an office in the presidency; direct funding of political parties; gifts to government officials including the sort proposed in the draft PIB. Poor countries are compelled to open up their economies while the rich engage in crass protectionism. That is why you have export free zones in poor countries and never in rich countries. And yet we wear these free dumping zones as badges of progress. Significant economic power is transferred from the state to multinational companies through trade and investment liberalisation measures. Anything is done to keep these companies happy so that they stay on and the few jobs they create remain available for a fraction of the army of the unemployed. Consider for instance the threats of oil companies to pull out of Nigeria when they wouldn’t dare as there is nowhere else they can get away with the rape perpetuated daily here. The threat of closure or relocation is the stuff that entrenches a reign of unaccountability. Breaking free of the corporate yoke requires system change, starting from mental realignment, mass mobilisations and community vigilance to stem off a relapse. It means a change in the exploitative system of power without responsibility and exploitation without accountability. Nnimmo Bassey is on Facebook.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

By Bello Babaniya

erhaps there is no state in Nigeria that has suffered social strife engendered by deep divisions among people like Kaduna State. Deep-rooted mistrust among the various communities that inhabit this state of 23 local government areas with a population of 6.9 million has rendered the state conflict-prone that some people including the indigenous communities have come to believe that development will never take place in the state under the present set-up. Implied in that belief is that either the communities go their separate ways as the dictates of their cultural and religious affinity demand , or the state would continue to remain comatose, a perennial victim of its own brand of politics which has preached more intolerance than cohabitation. Kaduna state, or rather the present entity now called Kaduna state has never been in this sorry state. A former seat of the Northern Region, Kaduna state had always been a beacon in all spheres of human endeavour, political, economic, administrative etc that it would have been anathema to think of Kaduna as a theatre of conflict to which it has now been reduced. The unfortunate situation of Kaduna state has been the result of the continued perception by some communities, those living in the area tagged Southern Zaria, in particular, that they have been left holding the short shrift in the association for a long time. This has led to consistent demand for the redress of their socalled marginalisation, demands which have translated into open By Atiku Abubakar

s some of you know, I am a founder of a private school system (from kindergarten to university levels) in Yola in my home state of Adamawa. But I am a product of public education and would like every Nigerian child to have the same opportunities that I had to get good qualitative education. Private schools should just be supplements and niche players rather than a replacement for good quality and accessible public education. I have to stress that strong, qualitative public education does not foreclose private education. The United States and United Kingdom are among the leading countries with strong public education and private education systems. The competition between private and public education is healthy for democracy. Unfortunately, some people have resorted to blaming the growth of private education for the rot in the public education in Nigeria rather than see them as a response to the rot in the public school system. Some even call for taxes to be levied on private education. That would be a wrong-headed policy. We should strive to improve public education as a way to reduce the need for private education, or to make the latter a matter of choice rather than necessity for most parents and their wards. The growth of private education is not responsible for the rot in public education but is rather a reaction to that rot and a reflection of the lack of confidence in the governments to address it. And we should not forget that private education has a long history in this country. The first schools in Nigeria, the mission schools, were private. And they coexisted with good

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Renewing our faith in Kaduna state

confrontation sometimes at the slightest provocation. Cases of such disturbing fracas as the 1982 Kaduna disturbance, the Jere incident of 1983, the Kafanchan crisis of 1987 (the mother of all the pent-up emotions), the 1992 Zangon Kataf massacre, the Kafanchan crisis of 1999 following the installation of the Emir of Jema’a, the Kaduna religious crisis of 2000, the This Day instigated protest of 2000, the 2011 crisis following the fall-out of the elections and in the 2012, pockets of crisis across the state, readily come to mind as dark reminders of the unwholesome the quest for justice in the political arrangement has been. The consequence of the conflicts and crises resulting from the feeling of marginalization has been enormous. The geo-political advantage the state used to enjoy over other areas in the country has fizzled out or to some who are incurable optimists is about fizzling out. Consistent with the open conflicts among the various communities have also been the call for the splitting of the state into two. This agitators on both side of divide canvass is the only panacea to the hydra-headed monster of ethno-religious jingoism which is at the centre of the Kaduna civil strife. Both sides have for instance been consistent on their demand for either the “New Kaduna State” with the capital in the present Kaduna, or “Gurara State” for the people inhabiting the areas of the southern part of Kaduna most of whom have affinity to some parts of Plateau state. A memorandum submitted for the creation of a new Kaduna state

has, for instance, indicated that the fusion of communities in the southern part of the state with the people of the northern part of the present Kaduna state in the same state could not be sustained due to the cultural and social difference existing between them. The Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) in its various submissions on its demand for what the people of the area term justice has always identified political and economic marginalization, location of Federal and State institutions in the state, delimitation of constituencies, imposition of candidates on the area, creation of additional local government areas and chiefdoms etc as those areas needing redressing for peace and harmony to thrive in the state and for necessary development to also take place. Recently though, the union has added the last exercise for the appointment of a vicechancellor for the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria among the litany of injustices being meted out to them needing further redress. Looking at the stance of the various communities in the Kaduna state project, the so-called incompatibility of the peoples is also the result of the

unwillingness of some of the protagonists to accept justice in its true application. The fair play being canvassed often times meant the position favourable only to or that confer advantage on only a particular group, often the one that had been crying the loudest. In that guise, state creation is often seen as the magic wand that can eliminate the preponderance of the state’s tragic conflicts and usher in a sustainable peace and development. I believe that there is nothing wrong for the peoples across the divide in Kaduna’s unhealthy political arrangement to sit down at a forum and harmonise their positions on state creation. That way, the demands stand a chance of being met. But there is also the belief in some quarters that the situation in the state is not totally irredeemable. The ringing clamour in all the issues raised has been “injustice” or the lack of it in our everyday conduct, especially in the affairs of government which have led to the hue and cry over the alleged marginalization. Therefore, if the state’s creation fails, we need to take the bull by the horns and renew our faith in the state. This will, however,

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But there is also the belief in some quarters that the situation in the state is not totally irredeemable. The ringing clamour in all the issues raised has been “injustice” or the lack of it in our everyday conduct, especially in the affairs of government which have led to the hue and cry over the alleged marginalization

require extra-ordinary political courage which should personate government decisions at all levels of and in all sectors the economy. There will be a need for instance to restore greater confidence in government for it to take those courageous decisions that would remove ill feelings and mistrust among the people, improve the morale of the public service and therefore ensure those aspects of practical political administration for peaceful co-existence and development of the state. The process of arriving at the above state of affairs will certainly be evolutionary but it will certainly pave way for a much better state administration. The people must be made to learn to live together and in particular be reoriented away from dependency on government to selfreliance. Vocational trading, farming etc must, therefore, be emphasized. The overriding formula for tolerance and cohabitation in peace and harmony will however be how equitable the people see resources as the state’s share of the cake being shared. A novelty in budgeting could be the key to assuaging agitations or suspicions of short-changing groups in the scheme of things. What one is advocating here is making the three senatorial districts the thrust of the budget highlights. In other words, the formula for the state budget henceforth, is who gets what in the senatorial districts. The budget should be categorized into three broad parts namely: the capital expenditure, recurrent expenditure and special expenditure. Bello Babaniya can be reached at ayubello2007@yahoo.com

Public, private education systems are healthy for democracy quality public schools when governments started investing in education. There were also the various famous private schools such as Dr Tai Solarin’s Mayflower school, Ikenne, Dr B.U. Nzeribe’s Santana schools in Awo-Omamma here in Imo State. Oh, and by the way, the schools that Governor Rochas Okorocha built in four or so cities across the country have not prevented any government from improving public schools in those states. Government control of schools or government monopoly of education in the Southern part of this country is a post-civil war phenomenon. It was part of the oil wealth-induced centralization and concentration of power in government. I am told that there was some punitive politics involved in the government takeover of schools in this part of the country. Whatever the case, while that action may have helped expand schooling and entrench secularism in our schools, the net effects have been largely negative. The schools declined in virtually every respect: inadequate resources, facilities, qualified teachers, sanitation, and character-building, among other shameful inadequacies. In addition to making the necessary investments in education we must decentralize education and other sectors of our society. I will disappoint some of you who are products of the so-called unity schools, the federal government colleges. Consistent with my call for restructuring of the federation and devolution of powers to the constituent regions/states, I call on the federal government to hands off the direct control and administration of schools in the

country. This should include ‘unity schools’. The resources that go to them should be passed on to those states where they are located. I know that some will say that the objective of promoting national unity will be compromised; others are likely to argue that their quality will further decline. I reject those arguments. They presuppose that the federal government has done a better job of managing resources and administering institutions in this country. That is questionable. Who would say that the University of Nigeria Nsukka, University of Ife (now OAU), or Ahmadu Bello University Zaria were better run after they were taken over by the federal government than the regional governments that established them? Concentration of power and centralization of resources do not necessarily promote unity as Nigeria’s case amply demonstrates. And today we have a bizarre situation where states and even local communities in which federal universities are located insist that the leaders of those universities must come from the locality. And they have largely been having their way. This completely negates the whole idea of university as an international centre of excellence which should scour the world in search of the best talent to recruit as teachers and administrators. Some will say that the states are too poor to adequately resource these schools and other institutions. Again that is a spurious argument. They are poor to the extent that the federal government is rich. The resources will have to be transferred to them as the responsibilities are. And the states, realizing that they can no longer blame the federal government for

their own inadequacies, will sit up or be pressured by their people to do so. They will also sooner or later see the need to pool resources with neighbouring states to provide infrastructure and services which would be more efficiently provided collaboratively. This will enable them to realize efficiencies and ensure more seamless service delivery. While public education is not for profit making, it will certainly benefit from such business principles as efficiency, accountability, and economies of scale. When and if the federal government pulls out of building roads as I have advocated and repatriate the funds to the states, what prevents the Imo and Abia states from jointly rebuilding and dualizing the Owerri - Aba road or their portion of the Enugu - Port Harcourt highway? Why can’t Imo, Abia and Anambra states, for instance, collapse the various public universities located in them into a single university system with multiple campuses and facilities with reduced administrative costs so that they spend more on the students’ learning? To me, it can actually be done across the entire South-East geopolitical zone, and other zones in the country. We must begin to think differently, think big, and come out of our comfort zones so that the world would not continue to leave us behind. Nigerians will know more about their country through education but more importantly through spatial mobility, commerce and justice. We must continue to promote freedom of movement and freedom of Nigerians to do business anywhere in the country. We must

insist on unabbreviated citizenship whereby residency becomes the qualification for indigeneship rather than place of birth. We should be promoting healthy competition among the various states, zones and regions in the country to ensure a striving for excellence. In order to make all of these possible, we must make meaningful and urgent investments in the development of our infrastructure – roads, railways, air travel, and communication. Think of the average Igbo man. He knows more about other parts of Nigeria through travel and sojourn in those other parts of the country. So let us build roads and railways across the length and breadth of this country; let us build and better equip our airports and improve air travel; let us build more schools all over Nigeria and let people travel freely and safely and engage in commerce and other legitimate activities. When we are able to move more freely and reside and do business wherever we want, our children will also attend schools in various parts of the country thereby coming in contact with others from other parts of the country. And they will learn more about and become indigenes of those other parts. That interaction, the sense of freedom and the sense of justice that would result from all of these, will more likely make us more united as a people and more committed to the success and security of our country. Atiku Abubakar is former Nigerian Vice President. These are excerpts from an address “The rewards of giving back” he gave at Federal Government College, Okigwe, Imo state on November 17 2012.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21 2012

University of Abuja closed indefinitely following student protests

An abandoned police post in Kubwa, Pipeline Extension II, Abuja.

Photo: Adeola Tukuru

Open drains: Garki police barracks residents send S.O.S to FG

esidents of Garki Police Barracks, Abuja, have urged the Federal Government to cover the open drains running through the barracks. Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday, a cross-section of the residents said their lives were at risk of possible diseases. Mrs Halima Sule, a resident, noted that the drains were home to pests and dangerous reptiles. ‘’Some parts of this drains are already growing weeds and these weeds are where snakes, scorpions and all sorts of dangerous reptiles animals like to stay. ‘’I have killed numerous rats and scorpions in my flat on several

occasions. ‘’These drains also breeds very big rats and rabbits that enter our rooms to feed on our food and clothes,’’ she said. Mr David Kalu, another resident, observed that the barracks was “too dirty” because of the open drains. According to him, some residents have turned the drains into a refuse dump sites. ‘’Even with the fact that the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) comes to the barracks some Saturdays to pack refuse, the barrack’s drains are still filled with dirt. ‘’In my opinion, I think AEPB should make it a point of duty to come to the barracks every Saturday and

not occasionally. ‘’These barracks are like a community on its own and it should be treated like one. I urge the FCT administration to provide us with dustbins which should be kept in strategic places. ‘’It is not good for our children to grow up in an environment like this because the care-free attitude will affect them when they go out of the barracks,’’ he said. Also commenting, Belinda John, a student, said it was more disturbing that some residents preferred urinating in these drains to using the toilets. ‘’It amazes me when some of my neighbours step out of their rooms to urinate in the gutters. Women for that matter; isn’t that absurd?

‘’This is a very bad attitude which no one has been able to correct. These people feel the barracks is a government house; so they can do whatever pleases them; but I keep asking them if it is the government that stays in the barracks. John said that for any meaningful change to take place in the barracks, the open drains should be covered first so that residents would not have access to misuse them. In his view, Malam Suleiman Kano, a trader, said that what made the barracks to stink was the dirty water being poured into the drains as well as water flowing from the toilets. Kano said that if the drains were covered, the odour oozing out would be minimal. (NAN)

Man charged for criminal breach of trust and cheating By Amaike Beauty

he police on Monday arraigned one Tony Aniebo before an Abuja Chief Magistrates court for criminal breach of thrust and cheating. Prosecutor DSP Yusuf Auta

told the court that on Aug, 3, 2007, one Barrister Ikechukwu residing in Abuja on behalf of his client Mr. Simon Ebo of Utako district Abuja wrote a petition to AIG Zone 7 that sometime in 2006 the accused paraded himself as land vendor and collected N3m from

him promising that he will give him a plot of land at Maitama, Abuja. He added that the offence is contrary to Sections 312 and 322 of the Penal Code. Auta noted that during investigation the sum 2.650m was recovered and N850, 000

balance was used by him personally. The Chief Magistrate, Mr. Azubike Okeagu granted the accused bail in the sum of N500.000 and two sureties in like sum. He adjourned the case to Dec, 19, 2012 for hearing.

140% increase of children de-wormed in Abuja By Adeola Tukuru

he Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has recorded over 140 per cent increase in the proportion of children de-wormed in 2012 compared to last year’s average. The FCT minister noted that the effective healthcare remains

one of the fundamental objectives and principles of state policy. This Administration will remain true to this core constitutional function by constantly updating our healthcare institutions with the requisite equipment and qualified personnel. “A crucial aspect of these initiatives will be that of investing in the capacity

development of health workers as well as providing them with the enabling environment,” he stated. He confirmed that FCT had achieved over 150 per cent increase in Vitamin A coverage and expressed optimism that the Territory would achieve the target set under the Millennium Development Goals in the FCT

Health Sector. He noted that the Administration would continue to evolve and implement programmes and projects that will promote the health of FCT residents, particularly mothers and children. “Our aim is to firm-up the family unit and significantly reduce the financial burden posed

he University of Abuja has been closed indefinitely following two day of student protest over the nonaccreditation of some faculties in the institution. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the students began the protest on Monday following the inability of the university management to meet up with the six months period given to it to accredit some of its courses. The courses are engineering, medicine and veterinary medicine. In a circular on Tuesday, the Registrar, Malam Mohammed Moddibo, said the closure followed protests by students of the institution. He directed the students to vacate their hostels before 4 p.m., adding that the move would ensure security of lives and properties in the university. NAN reports that the students blocked the Abuja-Lokoja Road at Gwagwalada, leaving many motorists and travellers stranded for hours. But the police were called in and succeeded in reopening the road after several hours. Some motorists, who spoke to NAN, commended the students and security agents for the maturity exhibited during the protest. Mr Mike Eboh, a motorist, blamed the protest on failure of the management of the university to live up to expectation. He said the protest was a step in the right direction since the Vice Chancellor was not interested in the future of the students. ``I have spent over five hours here and I am travelling to Benin. I don't have any cause to regret because the students are fighting for their right. ``The students are getting mature and cannot fold their hands and watch another person destroy their future. ``My appeal is for the Federal Government to intervene and clear the backlog of students in the Faculty of Engineering through its accreditation." (NAN) by the critical aspect of healthcare upon households. The family constitutes the nucleus of every society. “In order to have a healthy society therefore, all hands must be on deck to keep the family alive and well. It is for this reason that the FCT Administration is working assiduously to significant reduce, if not totally eliminate, the incidence of infant and maternal mortality in the FCT,” he stated.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21 2012

Businesswoman, 40, in court for stealing a 3-day-old baby T

he police yesterday arraigned a 40-year-old businesswoman, Ada Obasi, of Kado Village, before an Abuja Chief Magistrates Court for allegedly stealing a three-dayold baby. Obasi was apprehended by John Diwa, the chief security officer of Gwarimpa General Hospital, who reported the case at the Life Camp Police Station, Abuja, on Nov.13, 2012. Police prosecutor Cpl. Simon Emmanuel said the officer

reported that the accused brought the baby to Gwarimpa General Hospital for medical treatment and could not give valid information about the baby when questioned by the doctors. The prosecutor said that during police investigation, Obasi explained that the baby belonged to one Blessing Musa who abandoned it at her residence three days after delivery and ran away. He said the accused, however, claimed that Musa, the mother

of the baby, approached her and pleaded for assistance and she had pity on her condition and decided to employ her to stay at her residence. Emmanuel said the accused decided to take the baby to an orphanage but was advised to take the baby for medical checkup at any government hospital. The prosecutor said that all efforts to reach the mother proved abortive, adding that the offence contravened Section 287 of the Penal Code.

Vehicles burnt beyond recognition along Garki II, Abuja.

The accused pleaded not guilty and the prosecutor prayed for a date for further hearing in view of her plea. Chief Magistrate Rahmatu Gulma granted bail to the accused person in the sum of N100, 000 and one surety in like sum. She added that the surety must live in a defined address within the jurisdiction of the court and adjourned the matter to Nov. 26, 2012 for further hearing. (NAN)

Photo: NAN

Passers-by salvage burning car in Garki II, Abuja

Honda saloon car with registration number, RU 55 ABC, was yesterday in Abuja saved from burning to ashes by passers-by at Ladoke Akintola Boulevard, Garki II, Abuja. A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent at the scene of the incident reports that flames from beneath the car were spotted by passers-by.

The passers-by alerted the driver who stopped the car, but was struck with fear and did not know what to do. NAN reports that policemen, motorists and pedestrians who rushed to the scene employed fire extinguishers to put out the fire, but had to resort to mixture of water and detergents as the flames increased.

When the fire was eventually put out, the engine of the car had burnt completely but other parts were not affected. A motor mechanic at the scene, Mr Ola Sunday, told NAN that the fire must have been from an electrical fault which could have been aggravated by the hot weather. “This is a new car which unfortunately has an electrical fault;

apart from that, the very hot sun must have played a role in the incident. “Motorists should be brave enough to confront this type of occurrence immediately it starts with their fire extinguishers or it will get out of hand.’’ The driver of the car was too bemused to talk as he stood by the side gaping at the car. (NAN)

FCTA concessions new companies to handle Park ‘n’ Pay By Amaike Beauty

he Transport Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) yesterday revealed plans to concession new parking companies to handle the Pay n Park project within the Federal Capital City (FCC). Public Relations Officer of the secretariat, Mrs. Stella Ojeme, said the secretariat intends to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which will mark the formal concessioning of two new parking companies to manage some zones in the FCC.

Ojeme said, “The idea is to decongest the city of traffic because of the mass invasion of residents to the FCC during the day.” Investigation reveals that the new parking companies have already commenced operation today in areas within the metropolis. Investigations reveal that the transport secretariat of the FCTA has earlier on concessioned most part of the FCC to two pioneer, parking companies, the Integrated Parking Services (IPS) and Platinum Parking Management Services (PPMS). The Five year concession

contract between FCTA and the companies was supposed to run from 2011 to 2016, within which the companies was supposed to remit revenue to the coffers of the FCTA. A tour around town yesterday however revealed that some Civil Enforcement Officers (CEO), with reflective jackets with Special Marshal printed on it, allegedly from the new companies were already in full operations within the city center. A cross section of residents who spoke newsmen said the new development will invariably bring confusion to the well coordinated parking

enforcement that was already on ground. A resident Emeka Ochema said, “This is madness, this is a high level of unseriousness by the administration, we were just trying to adapt to having to part with money to park but now we are been forced to deal with multiple parking companies within the same vicinity, with different payment system. It is simply ridiculous. “This means that I will pay with a different company in Area 11 and a different one in Aguyi Ironsi. It is simply a bastardization of the whole exercise.”

Traditional ruler urges unity among ethnic groups By Adeola Tukuru

he traditional ruler of Jiwa community in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Alhaji Sai’du Bello has called for unity among all the ethnic groups in the country. The traditional ruler gave this charge during the just concluded new yam festival celebration of Ndigbo held in Abuja last week. The monarch urged every Nigerians to keep aside tribe and tribalism along and religion sentiment in order for the country to move forward. Alhaji Bello commended the Ndigbo for their new yam festival celebration observing that such an event is capable of portraying the country rich cultural heritage to the outside world. He observed with happiness that the peaceful co-existence in Abuja could not come by chance, charging other traditional rulers in various ethnic groups to do everything possible to ensure peace in their domains. According to him, the people in Jiwa community are trying the best to ensure that no peace remain the focal point, “ we preach and teach it to our children and our subjects, and by so doing we have impress on them the essence of peace and togetherness in our areas”. On the celebration, Sariki Hausa Jiwa noted that such could not have come in no other better time owing to some challenging situation that have bedevil the country and the FCT in particular. Responding to questions on why he attended the annual event, the traditional ruler explained that he came to support Ndigbos in the FCT saying such could go along way in forging national unity irrespective of tribes and languages. Alhaji Bello, who also hold a traditional tittles ‘of Omokachi’ also disclosed with happiness how he has been dealing with people of other tribes in the territory without bias and sentiments. While commending the event organizers, the traditional also pointed out that such a celebration is capable of neutralizing all the tribal barriers which a times made Nigerians appear differently with others from outside. Nwazirike who also called for unity of purpose among the Ndigbos warned them against every disruptive means that could jeopardize their corporate existence in the FCT, Nigeria and those beyond. In his address, the Eze Igbo I in the FCT, Dr. Ibe Nwosu described the ceremony as an epoch making occasion calling on the Ndigbo from all walks of life to be at peace with one another for the interest of peace and unity.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

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Wheel barrow pushers at work yesterday in Garki market, Abuja.

Walnuts hawkers display their wares yesterday in Nyanya, Abuja

A motor mechanic fixing his client's car, yesterday in Area 1, Abuja

A Keke NAPEP driver taking a nap, yesterday in Durumi village, Abuja

A refuse collector sets out for business, yesterday in Durumi Abuja. Photos: Justin Imo-owo

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Email: aminuimam@yahoo.co.uk

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INSIDE

- Pg 20

AERO announces additional acquisition of 2 Boeing aircraft

Mob: 08033644990

MAN pushes expansion in manufacturing for job creation

igeria’s manufacturing sector would need to grow and become much bigger than it currently is, if the country is to diversify its economy and create jobs in a sustainable manner for its growing population. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), disclosed this in a presentation on the current status of manufacturing in Nigeria, made at the National Economic Management Team (NEMT) retreat in the Presidential Villa, Abuja last week. “It is on record that no developing nation has successfully transformed their economy from developing to newly industrialised status without first dramatically increasing the contribution of manufacturing to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to at least 12.5 percent,” said Kola Jamodu, President of MAN. The contribution of manufacturing to Nigeria’s GDP stands at a paltry 3 percent, compared to 15 percent for South Africa and 20 percent for the Philippines. According to Jamodu, MAN has developed a blueprint for the accelerated development of manufacturing in Nigeria, which has been forwarded to Government and relevant agencies for consideration. Some of the key recommendations proffered have begun to be implemented, such as the reduction of agencies

at the ports, zero percent import duty on agricultural processing machinery, rehabilitation of the railway system and the adoption of a sector-specific incentives/ waivers policy. Nigeria’s 167 million people and $270 billion economy is a major market, and rising urbanisation, disposable income and GDP growth of over 6 percent per annum, have led to a booming consumer market, which the manufacturing sector is poised to service. There are however a number of challenges in the way of manufacturing companies, preventing them from fully taking advantage of the Nigerian market, which has led to burgeoning imports. Nigeria spent a total of N1.2 trillion ($7.74 billion) on imports in the second quarter of 2012, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows. A breakdown of the spending shows that N360 billion, representing 30 percent, went into the importation of oil. Industrial items gulped 25 percent, which is about N300 billion. Food took N252 billion, representing 21 percent and N180 billion was spent on manufactured products. Jamodu lists some of the challenges to Nigerian manufacturers to include, poor infrastructure, high energy costs, high cost of funds, multiple taxation,a high corporate tax rate, insecurity, smuggling and

Fadama III disburses N13m grant to farmers in Jigawa

he Fadama III programme yesterday, disbursed N13.23 million to 180 farmer associations in Jigawa. The State Fadama Coordinator, Auwalu Shehu, said at the flag-off of the disbursement that 13 rice and oil milling machines were also provided to the benefiting groups. Shehu said that the amount was provided to the farmers to enable them execute infrastructure development projects and procure agricultural processing equipment. He said that 180 Fadama User Groups (FUGs) selected from from the 27 participating local government areas benefited from the gesture. “A total of 180 FUGs received a grant of N13.23 million from the Fadama III programme. “This is part of continuous disbursement to communities to finance acquisition of productive assets, input support and procurement of small scale infrastructure,” Shehu said. The coordinator added that 100 water pumps, 100 sprayers, 27 rice and pepper milling machines as well as two grain

threshers were also distributed to communities under Fadama II project. Shehu said the machines were provided to Fadama II participating communities under its Production and Value Addition support programme. He urged the benefiting communities to ensure effective utilisation of the fund and equipment toward enhancing agricultural activity and improve their socio-economic well being. The coordinator also commended the Jigawa Government over the prompt payment of its counter part funding to the programme. (NAN)

an unfavourable regulatory environment. Out of the major challenges, smuggling, energy, and cost of funds were highlighted as the biggest hurdles for Nigerian manufacturers, in a 2010 survey conducted by MAN on 1,500 businesses. Comparatively, Nigeria is also considered an expensive

place to do business, as it ranks worse than peer countries, such as South Africa, Kenya and Ghana, in the areas of Access to finance, tax rates, and electricity and transportation costs. MAN suggested the way forward to include the harmonisation of tariffs among ECOWAS countries, to address

L-R: Accountant General of the Federation, Dr. Niyi Otunla, Director General, Debt Management Office, Abraham Nwankwo, Director Financial Markets Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Emmanuel Ukeje, and Special Adviser to the Vice-President on Economic Professor T.J. Agiobenebo, jointly briefing journalists after economic meeting with Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, on Monday at the State House, in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye.

High food cost pushes October inflation rate to 11.7% – NBS By Aminu Imam

he rising cost of food items pushed Nigeria’s inflation year-on-year, slightly to 11.7 percent in October, offsetting relative moderation in the headline index which was recorded at 11.3 percent in September. The National Bureau of Statistics reported on Monday, that while the “Core” index continued its declining trend over the last few months to 12.4 percent in October, from 13.1 percent in September, food index increased to 11.1 percent, from 10.2 percent, over the same

period. The moderation in consumer price rise, according to the Bureau, was mainly due to a decline in core index growth, which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has continued to watch closely, with its lending and exchange rate policies. ”Since its year-on-year peak of 15.2 percent in June of this year, the Core index continues to exhibit a declining trend, partially as a result of uncompromising monetary policy on the part of the CBN,” the data office stated in its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.

Management Tip of the Day

Keep your team small

here is well-known research that shows people’s efforts quickly diminish as team size increases. This is because team members reduce their input when they feel less responsible for the output. Use the smallest team possible to achieve your goals. This may

duty differentials and prevent smuggling, adequate capitalisation of the Bank of Industry (BoI) and other developmental financial institutions, to help with cost of funds, infrastructure investment and upgrade through Public Private Partnerships (PPP), and a complete harmonisation of taxes and levies.

mean including slightly fewer members than the task at hand requires. If reducing the size of your current team is not an option, consider dividing up a complex task into manageable bits, where every member of the team is accountable for one part of it. Or you can create a sense of

urgency about the task so everyone’s invested. If you see people not doing their part despite your efforts, be transparent about everyone’s performance so slackers can’t hide. Source: Harvard Business Review

The CBN has kept its benchmark lending rate on hold, at 12 percent, for the sixth consecutive time and retained the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) and Net Open Position (NOP) at 12 per cent and 1.0 per cent, respectively, to cut down pressure on the naira and curb inflation. Economic experts think that this slight rise in inflation numbers may not be enough to make the CBN vote for further tightening, as it concludes its Monetary Policy Meeting today. They therefore suspect that the apex bank will not alter its current monetary stance, and may still adopt the current tightening stance, till the end of the year. NBS figures indicate that the urban inflation rate, which stood at 15.3 percent year-on-year, was higher than the rural index recorded at 9.1 percent year-onyear increase. It further noted that the Food Index increased year-on-year to 11.1 percent, 0.9 percentage points higher than 10.2 percent recorded in September, and increased by 1.0 percent on a month-on-month basis.

PEOPLES DAILY,WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS

KPMG

peakers at the KPMG oil & gas breakfast seminar held in Lagos were unanimous in their submission that Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is currently missing investments opportunities worth between $200billion and $400billion. These oil and gas experts linked this due largely to uncertainty resulting from regulatory environment which puts on hold these investments. The speakers at the breakfast seminar linked the inability of these investments to berth in the oil sector to poor/ unclear investment case for investors, unclear subsidy regime, misalignment between/ within the industry, unfavourable access to capital market, poor enforcement of rules and regulations, unrealistic targets, and unclear/overlapping roles within the oil sector.

Richbon

ichbon, a leading authorised distributor of Sinotruck in the country, in a bid to further deepen its already strong presence in the country, has commissioned its new ultramodern truck servicing centre and spare parts centre. Cajetan Munagolu, chairman/CEO Richbon Group, made this known during a tour of its new ultramodern facility, saying the new facility is to further deepen the company’s market share, after it emerged winner of the 2011 fastest selling truck brand in the country. “When we achieved the feat, it did not come as a surprise to us, because we put in a lot of hard-work into our operations, after realising the kind of terrain we were making an entry into 10 years ago. Our hard work paid off big time, as our trucks were accepted by multi-national companies and the growing transport industry in the country.

Akintola Williams Deloitte

survey carried out by the Security, Privacy and Resiliency team of Akintola Williams Deloitte, has revealed that about 47 percent of 1,500 Wireless Access Points (WAP) in major business areas of Lagos State appear to be vulnerable. This means that they are not encrypted or have very weak encryption. Out of these, 23percent had no protection, while 24 percent were using obsolete protection. Wireless Access Points are devices configured on Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) which act as central points to connect wireless communication devices and to send and receive Wi-Fi radio signals.

FAAN to remove abandoned aircrafts from airports From Suleiman Idris, Lagos he Federal Airports Author ity of Nigeria (FAAN) has issued a directive that it is set to remove all abandoned aircraft hitherto lying unused across all airports in Nigeria. A statement by the General Manager, Corporate Communications of FAAN in Lagos, Mr. Yakubu Dati said the exercise became imperative because the abandoned aircraft constituted serious safety hazard and an eyesore at the airports, with some of them having spent more than 10 years of inactivity. Mr. Dati noted that, ‘’The Authority is constrained to embark on this removal exercise because owners of these abandoned aircraft have deliberately refused to remove them despite all efforts made by the Authority to make them do so, including meetings with the owners and publication of paid notices in various newspapers in the past five years.’’ “Owners of these abandoned aircraft had taken FAAN to court over this issue and got court injunctions that made it difficult for the Authority to

•••sacks shop owners over remodelling in …. to embark on security Benin

re-alignment carry out this exercise before now. Some of these cases have now been concluded hence the commencement of the removal exercise, at least for the abandoned aircraft which cases have been concluded.” The statement said. He said the authority hereby calls on all owners of abandoned aircraft to remove them from all our airports within the next one month as the presence of these aircraft negates the spirit of the current aviation master plan of the Federal Government. FAAN) said it security wing, the Aviation Safety and Security Directorate will soon undergo restructuring process in line with the on-going transformation taking place in the agency. The agency said in view of the exercise, a staff audit has commenced in the directorate to ensure that the right caliber of staff are working on certain beats and equally ascertain the type of

By Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin training required by the different categories of staff to make them more efficient on the job. The spokesperson for FAAN told reporters that the authority has also devised means of identifying and weeding out from the directorate, undesirable elements whose activities could jeopardize safety and security at airports. “This measure will be extended to all the directorates in the Authority, in view of few cases of indiscipline shown by some unscrupulous staff recently.” He said “the on-going airport remodelling project is designed to modernize all airport terminals in the country for improved service delivery, in line with acceptable industry standards. Management knows that this objective may not be realized if aviation security and other staff of the authority are not re-orientated to adapt to new trends in the industry, in the overall

viction notices handed down businesses busi nessmen occupying a portion of the domestic wing of Benin airport by the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN), have sent jitters into the spines of affected shop owners. The move, which has triggered protest is not unconnected to ongoing remodelling of some airports by the federal government. The notice is consequent upon a letter signed by the Head of Department ( Commercial), Namah Habila, on-behalf of the Airport manager which ordered all shopowners to vacate the airport premises before Tuesday 20th 2012 (yesterday). Some of the affected concessionaires who pleaded anonymity, however described the short notices as hasty and violation of an earlier agreement it entered with airport authority before any occupant can be evicted.

AERO announces additional acquisition of 2 Boeing aircraft From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

Interior of newly remodelled Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano. Photo: Mahmud Isa

SAHCOL gets Med-view nod to provide domestic ground handling services From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

ew entrant into the do mestic flight operation in Nigeria, Med-View airline has picked the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL), as its preferred service firm to provide total ground handling services to its new domestic operation across Nigeria. T h e s e r v i c e w i l l entail SAHCOL providing ramp and passenger handling services to Med-view Airline in

all of its flight operations within Nigeria. Before this contract, SAHCOL has partnered Medview airline in the provision of ground handling services in its Hajj operations, which has in recent years ensured the airline consistently run a hitch free out/in bound operation during the just-concluded Hajj. Spokesperson and Head, Cooperate Communication for the company, Mr. Basil Agboarumi said part of the ob-

jectives of the company chairman, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi on assumption of office in December 2009, was to invest massively in personnel development, state-of-the-art equipment, fleet replacement, and massive infrastructural development. He reiterated that less than three years later, the company has witnessed tremendous progress that has helped tailored the company to meet the needs and expectations of its growing list of clientele.

igeria domestic carrier, Aero recently an nounced an increase in its fleet with an additional 2 Boeing 737-400. The latest addition, which takes Aero’s Boeing aircraft size to 12, is said to be part of the airline’s expansion programme to double the fleet and add new destinations. The new B737-400, 144seater aircraft are equipped with the latest navigation equipment with lower fuel burn and increased reliability making the aircraft more efficient, environmentally friendly and easier to maintain. The addition of these aircraft to Aero’s growing fleet according to the Managing Director of Aero, Capt. Akin George will further consolidate Aero’s leading position both in the domestic and regional market, making Aero one of the fastest growing airline in West Africa by aircraft usage. “The arrival of these new Boeing 737 aircraft, will allow us to introduce new routes and put us in a better position to transport more passengers in this festive season, says Capt George “Aero adheres strictly to the maintenance schedule for aircraft as prescribed by the manufacturers and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority {NCAA}. We will not relent in our efforts to offer the most satisfying flying experience for passengers every time they fly with us.” George told journalists.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

When Taraba state government received its Cultural Centre By Miriam Humbe

he Minister Of Tourism, Culture And National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, at the weekend commissioned the cultural centre located at Ibi in Taraba state. With this commissioning, Taraba state has become a beneficiary of one of the cultural centres spread across the six geopolitical zones of the country. Chief Edem Duke, while speaking during the commissioning, reiterated that the cultural products will create economic opportunities for entrepreneurship and creative human capital. Represented by the Deputy Director Cultural Festivals in the ministry, Mr. Seyi Womiloju, the Minister made this assertion during the sensitization workshop on 'Developing Cultural Industries in Nigeria' and handing over of apartment keys of the Cultural Centre to the Taraba state government. He said his ministry identified with MDG goals to contribute its quota by designing a program on the alleviation of poverty as well as jobs-creation in conformity with the Vision 20-2020 objective of the Federal Government. Chief Duke, while handing over keys of ten newly built onebedroom fully furnished selfcontained apartments to the Taraba State government to accommodate visitors to the Nwoyo Great Fishing Festival, said the apartments would provide cultural and tourism services to the immediate community and build capacities in entrepreneurial activities. He called on Taraba state government to partner with his ministry to unleash the potentials of the cultural industries to create jobs and empower the people. In his welcome remarks, the Director of Culture Mr. George Ufot represented by Mrs. Obioma Obi Assistant Director, Cultural Festivals said Nigeria had a diverse and dynamic cultural industry that can ultimately create significant economic and social benefits for the entire nation boasting of uncommon potentials for economic growth and empowerment. She said the facility should be used to improve the employment prospects of disadvantaged persons in the community and make them self-reliant through the training that would be carried out at the various times in the nearest future. The representative of Taraba state government and Managing Director of Taraba State Tourism Development, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Gidado Abubakar said the project was very important to Taraba state

L-R The representative of Taraba state government, Managing Director of Taraba State Tourism Development, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Gidado Abubakar receiving the keys to the apartments from representative of Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke. especially for Nwoyo Fishing Festival, adding that the state government would harmonize the cultural festivals and generate more work for the community. The Galadima of Ibi, Alhaji Hamza Abubakar expressed the

community's appreciation to the Federal Government for this important project in the community. The Ibi Cultural Industries Centre is one of the 12 Cultural Industries Centre built by the Federal Ministry of Tourism,

Culture and National Orientation in the six geopolitical zones of the country. It showcases Nigeria's indigenous traditional architectural designs and is fitted with a 20 KVA generator, borehole and a wide expanse of breathtaking

landscape. An exhibition hall, skillsacquisition centers, shops and restaurant are expected to be added to the complex thereby making it serve as a one-stop shop for cultural goods and services in the area in the next couple of years.

Nigerians spend N1.3bn annually on Medical Tourism - Expert

Nigerian U.S-based cardiologist, Dr Kamar Adeleke, has said that influential Nigerians spend about $8 billion U.S. dollars (N1.28 bn) annually on medical tourism. Adeleke, who made this known in Ibadan yesterday, described as incredible the huge amount on foreign exchange being wasted on medical tourism by influential Nigerians. He said that such funds should have been better deployed to the development of local health infrastructure and facilities. Adeleke, who is the leader of a 50-member Free Health Mission from the U.S. to Ibadan, said his team was

partnering with the Oyo State Government to further develop health infrastructure and facilities to boost healthcare delivery in the state. “Most of the common ailments being diagnosed and treated by Free Health Mission included diabetes, high blood pressure, infections, fever, pneumonia, hernia, fibroid as well as varied degrees of eye problems. ``Our mission is also evaluating Oyo State Government's health facilities to see what needs to be done to further help them and that is part of what we are doing. “We are going to see how we can collaborate and upgrade the facilities by bringing more

equipment. “We will later bring more doctors, including ophthalmologists, dentists and general surgeons here for consulting services," he said. Adeleke, who is the Chief Cardiologist at St. Francis Hospital, Delaware, U.S.A., said the mission was invited at the instance of the wife of the state governor, Mrs Florence Ajimobi. He said that the team had brought about 50 cartons of various medicaments, notably multi-vitamins and anti-biotic for free distribution to patients. While decrying the high rate at which influential Nigerians went abroad on medical tourism, Adeleke advised the government to

create a conducive environment for local healthcare delivery. The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, had told journalists that the five-day programme would be understudied by the hospital's management. He said that the State Government was in the process of introducing a health insurance scheme. “With the health insurance scheme, it means that anytime anybody falls sick, he goes to the hospital and does not need to pay anything. It will help our people greatly," he said. The commissioner commended the team for their contribution to humanity.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

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NNPC daily crude production to hit 4m barrels by 2020 By Muhammad Nasir

he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and it is taking steps to grow the nation’s crude oil reserves to 40 billion barrels and the daily crude oil production to 4 million barrels per day by 2020 and that it has exceeded its target for Gas-toPower aspirations, the Corporation’s Group Managing Director, Engineer Andrew Yakubu has said. Engr. Yakubu, who made this disclosure during the 42nd Annual General Meeting, Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Society of Chemical

•••exceeds gas-to-power target •••says gas flare down by 15 percent Engineers, NSChE, with the theme: “Harnessing Water Resources for National Development,” in Abuja, said this is in order to ensure that a solid platform is laid for the rapid economic growth and development of the country. The NNPC GMD noted that the strategic focus of the management under his watch was to ensure that between 70 to 80 percent of gas produced in the country is channeled to

power generation to achieve the robust ambition of stabilising electricity supply to Nigerians and to industries operating in the country. “One of the strategic focus we had when we came on board was to ensure that gas availability to power was met and I am glad to tell you that as at today, we are in surplus of gas availability to power in line with the Federal Government’s

power initiative,” Engr. Yakubu informed. He noted that in the gas value chain, going forward, NNPC would consolidate on gas to power and industry to boost economic activities in the country stressing that the aggressive commercial framework put in place by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani AlisonMadueke has added impetus to

the current arrangement. Engr. Yakubu stated that the gas aggregator and the other key commercial initiatives have gone a long way in stimulating investment in the oil and gas sector of the economy. On gas flaring, the NNPC GMD revealed that a lot of investments have been put in place to end gas flaring, down noting that as at today gas flare down in the country has reduced to about 15 percent. He stated that export initiatives on gas have been stepped up and plans are under way to achieve zero-flare down in the country.

PHCN stops sale of prepaid meters in Lokoja

he Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) says it has stopped selling pre-paid meters to electricity consumers in Lokoja, Kogi state, based on the directive from the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Philomena Ejidike, the Public Relations Officer of PHCN in the district, said this yesterday in Lokoja. Ejidike said that the PHCN took the decision a few months ago when the NERC directed that consumers were not supposed to pay for the meters. She, however, did not say if refunds would be made to some consumers who had purchased over 100 units of the meters from the contractor handling the sale.

The spokesperson also said that more than 10, 000 units of single phase and three-phase prepaid meters were in store and would be distributed as soon as the NERC gave the go ahead. Richard Okposin, the Chief Vending Officer of Solimdec Nig. Ltd., the contractor, confirmed that the company had stopped distributing meters due to the order from the NERC. He said that more than 100 units of the meters were already being used in Lokoja and that the users had been coming to his office to recharge their cards. Okposin said that his company still had a large number of the meters to issue to consumers as soon as the issues involved were resolved by the parties. (NAN)

Sanusi commissions CBN house at Abuja children’s village By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

he Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has commissioned the CBN family house at the SOS Children Village, Gwagwalada, Abuja. Speaking during the ceremony which took place on Sunday night, the CBN Governor said that the SOS Village programme was a necessity, adding that “whatever it takes in our cultural, religious beliefs and humanitarian thought, we have to take care of children who are orphans or who are denied parental care and we know the importance of grooming these children.” “The CBN is pleased to sponsor this home and shall sponsor these children for this year. I will like to announce that the CBN will continue sponsoring a number of children and will probably increase the number and will sponsor them for the next five years,” he said. Sanusi responded to one of the immediate needs of the home by pledging to personally build a water treatment plant for them. He said that as responsible corporate citizen, the CBN has a long standing commitment to humanitarian support and

educational development which is carried out without prejudice to race, creed, gender or religion. Speaking earlier, the National Director, SOS Children Villages in Nigeria, Eghosa A.Erhumwunse said that the programme started in Austria as a result of the second World war, adding that in 1973 after the civil war, the first SOS Villages was set up in Isolo, Lagos to work with children and ensure that they have a loving home. He thanked the CBN Governor for his display of true leadership by identifying with the children saying that “We have almost 17 million children who are orphans and vulnerable and it is obvious that these facilities you are seeing here cannot cater for these children so we need to put in place more synergy to respond to the need of children.” He solicited for more corporate, individual and government support in the construction of water treatment plant, construction and equipping a library, school funding and subsidy, alternative power generation system (solar energy) among others.

FG to halt mismanagement in the extractive sector From Mike Etim, Uyo

e-determined to address the problems confronting the extractive sector, President Goodluck Jonathan has indicated that the government was resolute in building better system and procedure that will strengthen the capacity of relevant government agencies and halt management, inefficiency and lack of transparency in the extractive sector, warning that government action will not be compromised. To underline the commitment the Federal Government was showing to the transparency and accountability especially in the extractive industries, the President said the Federal Government willingly initiated and submitted itself to public scrutiny through several factfinding panels and objective criticisms. President Jonathan, who was represented by the Akwa Ibom state governor, Godswill Akpabio stated this at the opening of the

on-going board retreat for members of the National Stakeholders Working Group (NISWG) of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), holding at the Le Meridien Hotel and Golf Resort, Uyo. Presented Jonathan restated the Federal Government Commitment not to cover up any ascertained misdeeds revealed by any exercise in the country. The President said the retreat was coming at no better time than when the federal government was pursuing comprehensive and massive reforms in the extractive industries particularly in oil and gas. To this end, the President stressed that he had given necessary directives towards open and unrestricted support to NEITI to carry out its statutory functions. He said the Federal Government was committed on its part to support NEITI actualize a transparent extractive sector where the revenues are

accounted for and used for the benefits of the people. His words: “In the weeks ahead, I will strengthen the Inter Ministerial Task Team (IMTT) by re-inaugurating it with very senior government officials identified to be key to the reforms of the extractive sector so they can promptly implement the remedial issues arising from NEITI audit findings”. In his keynote address at the retreat, the chairman of the NEITI Board, Ledum Mitee said, since joining the global movement, the country through NEITI has made several significant strides to the extend that the country is looked up in several aspects as a model. In her speech, the Executive Secretary of NEITI Mrs. Zainab Ahmed said that the Federal Government should be commended for the courage and the political will to embark on major anti-corruption project at this time and added that the Board was encouraged by the freedom and resources provided by the FG to NEITI to carry out its work using independent auditors.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

07055652553 udennaorji@yahoo.com

FG urged to fund social housing with 1% of annual crude oil sales Pg 26

Poor mortgage finance cause of Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s I6 million units housing deficit Pg 27

What you need to know about mortgage terms

Pg 27

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

PAGE 25

Allmet Metal USA Roofs arrive, boost competition in roofing sub-sector By Udenna Orji

onstruction industry operators are having a field day discussing the arrival into the Nigerian market of the globally coveted roofing product, the Allmet Metal USA Roofs. The average life of a non-steel roof is approximately 17 years. For example, asphalt, or “composition” shingles can require re-roofing every 10 to 20 years or sooner! But an Allmet Stone Coated Steel Roof has a transferable warranty for the lifetime of the owner or a minimum of 50 years. The initial cost of installing an Allmet roof may be more than that of other roofing materials. However, the money a homeowner can save is significant, because it is generally believed an Allmet roof will be the last roof you ever buy. An Allmet Stone Coated Steel Roof adds to your home’s beauty and to its resale value. In some countries, insurance companies will lower your homeowner’s insurance premiums by as much as 35% due to the proven protection of an Allmet Stone Coated Steel Roof. Whatever the style, color or finish you require, there is most likely an Allmet Stone Coated Steel Roof that will match the appearance of your home. Allmet Stone Coated Steel Roofs

can and do stand up to extreme wind conditions without any structural or cosmetic damage. Its warranties include a 120 miles per hour (m.p.h) wind warranty and

2.5 inch hailstone Warranty. If you’ve heard anyone say that a metal roof shouldn’t be walked on, they’re obviously not talking about an Allmet Stone

Coated Steel Roof. The unique interlocking panel design, rugged Galvalume steel construction and proven installation methods provide a strong roof system that

can be walked on under normal conditions. Allmet Metal U.S.A. Roofs are marketed and installed in Nigeria by sole distributor, Steel-Tech Projects Limited (SPL).

Patio Pavers

Today’s patio paving stones offer the look of natural, traditional stone products, but with the added benefit of variable sizes, colors and ease of installation. Here, Udenna Orji writes on some of the designs, products and installation methods used in the realization of beautiful patios, walkways and others.

Coventry Brickstone pavers offer the classic look of traditional, age-worn brick. Available in a full range of colours, among them Haddon Blend, shown here. The bricks can be configured in a variety of patterns.

Bristol pavers come in 6"x 9" and 6"x 6" sizes and can be combined or used singly to create distinctive walkways, patios and focal points. Their antique, tumbled appearance and soft colorations—toasted almond, shown here—make them perfect for any house style and landscape plan.

These aged-looking Cambridge pavers are designed to resemble the walkways of the European Renaissance. Featuring ArmorTec for lasting beauty and color protection, each paver offers the look of naturally-aged stone making it particularly suited for historic house styles.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

FG urged to fund social housing with 1% of annual crude oil sales By Udenna Orji

he Federal Government has been called upon to create a special fund in which 1% of annual crude oil sales will accrue to be used to provide social housing for low income earners and the less privileged across the state capitals and local councils of Nigeria. Government has also been urged to set up an agency that will oversee the development and delivery of social housing in Nigeria. The agency will act as a dedicated and credible intermediary that will harness national efforts in the social housing sector as different from the existing structures set up with commercial responsibilities and intents. The Managing Director of Resort Savings and Loans Plc, Mr. Abimbola Olayinka who made these calls at a National Conference on Shelter an Urban Development (with emphasis on Social Housing in Nigeria) held in Abuja stressed that “the three tiers of government should not shy away from their responsibility of providing primary infrastructure if we must achieve our goal of providing affordable housing. The infrastructure projects could be financed by issuing bonds and will also provide a future income stream for government through municipal fees that will be paid by home owners.” Mr. Olayinka called for “the various housing reform legislations to be passed without further delay” adding that “investors can work in difficult environments in the short term if there is convincing evidence that reforms that will improve the investment climate will be implemented as quickly as possible”. According to him, “high cost of building materials is also a key factor that has led to the high construction cost in Nigeria. The restriction on the importation of cement which by account constitutes about 40 per cent of building materials has also hindered provision of social housing”. He therefore advised the government to “seek for alternatives to usage of cement in the building of houses”. In her presentation, Mrs. Fatima Wali-Abdurrahman, chief executive officer of The Filmo Group, a real estate company, described social housing as “an umbrella term referring to housing which is owned and managed by the state, not-forprofit organizations, or a combination of the two, usually with the aim of providing affordable rental housing. Social rented housing can be seen either as a broad concept where rented dwellings are provided for a fairly large part of the population or as a narrow concept where dwellings are provided only for the most

Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms Ama Pepple

President Goodluck Jonathan underprivileged segment of the population. Social housing is often defined from the providers’ perspective which could be government, private sector or not-for-profit organizations, etc” She called for “intervention funds targeted towards the development of social housing programmes and implementation of the social housing policy; adequate infrastructure and facilities that will improve accessibility for social housing programmes; incentives to enhance institutionalized rental housing opportunities for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups; upfront grants to meet part of the land and construction costs to providers of social housing to increase stock; comfort to avert/outlaw illegal eviction of beneficiaries; tax incentives for Social Housing Institution; capital grants, interest-rate subsidies to create a type of “equity” which cushions the private sector loan debt; incorporate default risk insurance schemes for beneficiaries; protection for stakeholders willing to engage in this limited-profit part of the real estate sector – e.g. publicly owned companies, not-for-profit organizations, foundations etc; plus an increasing number of nonspecialized actors (commercial developers and private landlord) through appropriate policies and financial incentives to encourage such participation”. In his contribution, the President of Real Estate Developers

Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Chief Olabode Afolayan, regretted that “government sees lands as another source of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and not as a resource to be used for helping the citizens live a better life”, pointing out that “if we must achieve success in social housing, government must provide the land”. He decried “the overcharging of tax on property by government” and called on government to make land available for the construction of houses to help reduce slums and Nigeria’s deficit of 16 million housing units. In his presentation, Mr. Adekunle Abdulrazaq Oyinloye, Mananging Director of Infrastructure Bank highlighted “the fallacy in the thinking in some quarters that “Social Housing” is for poor and the poor alone” adding that “this could not

be further from the truth”. According to him, “in the UK, vital professionals or “key workers” such as teachers, police officers and nurses are mass beneficiaries of Social Housing Programs that enable them to afford quality accommodation near their places of work in cities, as opposed to being forced to live in suburban areas requiring long hours of commuting. Needless to say, such arrangement speaks to household income levels directly”. In the area of financing, Oyinloye noted that “there is a clear consensus that the extent of financing required to bridge the country’s housing deficit surpasses the supply of capital available from government… there is thus a need for increased private sector participation alongside the public sector, be it from: the commercial banking

“

there is a clear consensus that the extent of financing required to bridge the country’s housing deficit surpasses the supply of capital available from government… there is thus a need for increased private sector participation alongside the public sector, be it from: the commercial banking sector; the contractual savings sector – which includes Insurance Premiums, Mutual Funds and Nigeria’s N 2.7 trillion Pension Funds pot; private equity funds; Third Party Funds; and Development Finance Institutions both here at home and abroad

sector; the contractual savings sector – which includes Insurance Premiums, Mutual Funds and Nigeria’s N 2.7 trillion Pension Funds pot; private equity funds; Third Party Funds; and Development Finance Institutions both here at home and abroad; and many other sources of private capital. …The proven reality is that the provision of housing through budgetary allocations alone would fall far short of addressing the existing huge deficit, which if not quickly addressed, is capable derailing the developmental agenda of the country. The putting in place of adequate regulatory and institutional framework necessary for private sector involvement in housing development initiatives, such as the establishment of the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission, the Housing and Infrastructure Finance Unit within the Development Finance Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the establishment of PPP Units within key Ministries and State Governments are all part of the necessary fundamentals to providing viable and sustainable solutions. However, there is much more to be done particularly in the areas of Land and Mortgage Legislations. …The Infrastructure Bank is working with public and private sector alike to mobilize funding specifically dedicated to the Housing Sector…”

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

PAGE 27

Poor mortgage finance cause of Nigeria’s I6 million units housing deficit

he nation’s shortfall of over 16 million houses has been attributed to the deficient structures of the mortgage industry in Nigeria. Mr. Elias Ovesuor a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) and Managing Partner, U.K.

Debating between a 15 and 30 year mortgage? Check out the pros and cons of each to help you pick the right loan for you.

f you’re thinking about buying a new home or refinancing your current home loan, one big thing you’re probably contemplating is your mortgage term. So, what’s better, a 15- or 30-year mortgage plan? Unfortunately, there’s no right answer. There are pros and cons to both, but the secret to making the right decision is understanding your budget and financial needs. So, depending on your financial situation, there are pros and cons to both a 15- and 30year mortgage. Keep reading to learn more... Short-Term Loan (15 years) The Pros... Paying Down Your Loan Faster: There has been a jump in the 15-year fixed-rate mortgages as more people choose to pay down their debts. This happens if interest rates are low as the monthly payment difference can be minimal. Families who can afford the higher 15-year mortgage payment choose it so that they can own their homes sooner and avoid the pressure of payments if hard economic times are

Ovesuor & Partners who made this known said “mortgage financing as an instrument for home financing for now, I can say we are having problems with it because the Federal Government is trying to inject funds into the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) which is like a CBN to the

primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs). But the structures are still deficient and the people are not well organized, because of that, what the FMBN is supposed to do, it is not doing. So, as we are talking now, the things that are supposed to be happening in the mortgage sector are not happening.

Mortgage finance as far as I am concerned, is not functioning effectively in the country. Only a few people are benefiting from it as opposed to the spirit of the institution which makes it mandatory for a lot people to benefit. The housing shortage in the country is about 16 million

housing units, but in the last ten years, we have not provided up to half a million housing units. So, to get the 16 million housing units that are in shortage, you will then appreciate the problem at hand in respect of housing provision. Mortgage in Nigeria, to be candid to you, is still as its infancy”.

ahead. Lower Interest Rate: Shorter-term mortgages -for example, a 15-year mortgage instead of a 30-year mortgage generally have lower interest rates. Lenders offer a lower rate because they know you will pay it back sooner. The new mentality of the consumer is, ‘Let’s get ourselves into a better financial picture.’ A lot of people see this as a tremendous opportunity to get into a situation so that when they retire they’ll have minimal debt on their house or none. The 15-year payments force people to spend their extra cash on their home and thus pay it off sooner and with less interest. The Cons... Higher Monthly Payments: The drawback to a 15-year loan for some consumers is that the payments will naturally be higher whereas payments stretched out over 30 years will be lower. This is typically the factor that determines which type of loan the homeowners will choose. You have to make sure you have the ability to repay and know where that payment is going to fit into your budget. If

the cost of the house is, say N25million, monthly payment is going to be quite a bit more than what it would be if it were a 30year mortgage. If you can’t afford a 15-year loan right away, start off with a 30-year mortgage with the goal of refinancing (replacing the current loan with one that has different terms) later on. It’s so much better if you can do a 15- or even a 10-year loan because of the savings you’re going to get.

retirement might want a lower payment so they can have more spendable cash. Others who may benefit from lower payments include people who have lost their job, or self-employed individuals whose business has dropped. If you’re thinking about refinancing, for example, the 30year loan allows people to reset to a lower payment to get them through tough times. To some, it might mean the difference between keeping their home and not keeping their home, or the difference between having a lot of stress and breathing easier. Extra Cash for Investments: Another positive of a 30-year mortgage is that a lower mortgage payment allows consumers to put any extra money they have into other investments each month. If there’s still money leftover, they can use it to make additional principal payments and still pay off their home sooner. Inflation Agrees with a 30-Year Mortgage: There’s one more reason a 30-year mortgage might turn out to be more desirable than a 15-year mortgage. One of the biggest concerns economists have is

inflation taking off. If that happens, it’s good to have a fixedrate 30-year mortgage because you’ll be paying back the loan with diluted money - money that buys a lot now but won’t in the future. The people who benefit during inflation are the ones who owe someone else money. The Cons... Years of Accrued Interest: The main reason to avoid 30-year loans, if possible, is that you’ll end up paying a lot more in interest, and thus causing a home to cost much more than its selling price. What’s more, for the first few years, your payments will be going primarily to interest. And while you’ll be able to write off your interest payments on your taxes, the amount drops off as the interest is paid down.

What you need to know about mortgage terms

Long-Term Loan (30 years) The Pros... So if everyone agrees that a 15-year mortgage pays down principal sooner and costs less in interest, are there any reasons to even consider a 30-year plan that will last longer and cost more? Plenty, it turns out. Lower Monthly Payments: “Some people just don’t have the financial resources to make the higher payment. So the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has been a tremendous saving grace to them. It allows them to drop their payment and get their financial house a little bit in order. People who are approaching

The Verdict When it comes to choosing the right loan term for you, the pros agree that there’s not one answer to fit everyone. The key is to examine your own situation your earning potential, as well as your short-term needs and long-term goals. Once you’ve assessed your needs, then you can decide which solution is right for you.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Mercedes-Benz C-Class offers feeling of quality

nvariably, competitors to BMW's 3 Series boast about their sporty personalities and perhaps about their ability to blast around the N&uuml;rburgring in Germany. Well, in the real world, few U.S. luxury sport sedan (or coupe) buyers will ever drive on a racetrack, let alone one widely considered to be the toughest on the planet. Although the 2013 Mercedes-Benz C-Class goes tyreto-tyre against its countryman rival and has no trouble swiftly dispatching a curvy road, it has a very appealing personality that transcends performance stats. Though it's the company's entry-level model, the 2013 C-Class is very much a Mercedes-Benz. That means it offers that feeling of quality and solidity throughout that define the marque, not to mention a ride and handling balance that should strike most folks as just right. Whether you choose the sedan or coupe, the CClass boasts chiseled good looks outside along with high-quality materials, comfy seats and sensible ergonomics within. Under the hood you can have anything from a peppy yet frugal turbocharged four to a rip-snorting V8 with nearly 500 horsepower. And for those who live in the snowy states, there's even a model with all-wheel drive. There's no doubt that the 2013 Mercedes-Benz C-Class offers a smorgasbord of tempting flavors in the compact luxury sport segment. Still, the latter boasts plenty of great choices including the Audi A4, the aforementioned 2013 BMW 3 Series, the new 2013 Cadillac ATS, the 2013 Infiniti G and Volvo's S60. We have no problem recommending any of them and would strongly suggest back-to-back test-drives. But for overall excellence and luxury-car prestige, it's very hard to do better than the Mercedes C-Class. The 2013 Mercedes-Benz CClass is available in sedan and coupe body styles, both of which are available in C250, C350 and C63 AMG trim levels. All-wheeldrive versions are also available in the form of the C300 4Matic sedan and C350 4Matic coupe. The C250 and C300 4Matic trims come standard with 17-inch wheels, automatic headlights, LED

C300 4Matic are further split into Luxury and Sport sub-trims. These differ in wheel design, suspension tuning and minor interior/exterior styling details (such as different grille and steering wheel designs). The C300 4Matic Luxury also includes a comfort-tuned suspension. The Premium 1 package adds four-way adjustable lumbar support for the front seats, heated front seats, driver memory functions, a power-adjustable steering wheel, split-folding rear seats and a Harman Kardon surround-sound audio system with satellite radio and an iPod interface (optional separately as well). In coupe form, the C250 gets a panoramic sunroof, split-folding rear seats, additional driver seat adjustments, driver memory functions and a power tilt-andtelescoping steering wheel. The coupe's Premium 1 package adds

is equipped similarly in terms of comfort and convenience features, but gets 18-inch wheels, highperformance tires, an adaptive sport-tuned suspension, upgraded brakes, sport seats, more aggressive styling and different interior trim. There are a multitude of options available. The Sport package adds 18-inch AMG wheels, a rear spoiler, black upholstery with red accent stitching, sport seats and steering wheel, shift paddles, aluminum trim, red seatbelts and black floor mats with red leather piping. For the C250 coupe, there is the Sport Package Plus, which includes all that plus an AMG sport suspension, upgraded brakes, quicker steering, sport exhaust and a sport mode for the transmission with revmatching. The Multimedia package adds a larger 7-inch central infotainment screen, a rearview camera, a navigation system and a six-disc CD changer. The Lighting package adds adaptive bi-xenon headlights with washers and automatic high beams. The Lane Tracking package adds a blind-spot warning system and a lanedeparture warning system. The Driver Assistance package also includes lane departure, plus adaptive cruise control and PreSafe brake (active braking system that can automatically apply the brakes if a collision is deemed imminent and the driver doesn't heed the visual/audible warnings). All but the C63 can be equipped with the Full Leather Seating package, which includes extended leather trim, additional passenger seat adjustments and passenger seat memory functions. The C63 can be equipped with the AMG Development package, which adds 30 extra horsepower, a higher top speed, red brake calipers and a

the heated seats and the Harman Kardon system with satellite radio and an iPod interface. The C350 sedan comes only in Sport guise, with a bigger V6 engine and the Premium 1 package standard; the C350 coupe adds a panoramic sunroof. The C63 AMG

carbon-fiber trunk lid spoiler. A limited-slip differential is offered. Stand-alone options include a rearview camera, a panoramic sunroof (on the sedan), a power rear sunshade, keyless ignition/ entry and the Parktronic advanced parking sensor system. Source: Edmunds.com

running lights, automatic wipers, a sunroof, cruise control, dual-zone automatic climate control, eightway power front seats (with adjustable lumbar), MB-Tex vinyl upholstery, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel and auto-dimming mirrors. Electronic features include a 5.8-inch central display, the COMAND interface, mbrace2 telematics/smartphone

integration, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, and a sound system with a CD player, auxiliary audio jack, a USB audio jack and HD radio. The C300 4Matic adds all-wheel drive and a V6 engine. In sedan form, the C250 and

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

PAGE 29

Appraising “Single Mother Of Five: Insights For Fathers, Mothers And Counsellors” (III) BOOK REVIEW By Patrick E. Iroegbu

aving addressed these concerns and questions a reader may raise by reading this book, I contend that this book helps us to show the new us, new me, new you by changing the way we look and take things to promote or demote our cravings and destinies. A close reading of pages 125 – 128 with the themes change your wardrobe and carrying ourselves like kings and queens with an honest purpose resonates with time offs to rejuvenate. Our author points to phrases like “take me break time and pampering oneself” – time off to be and live, and to train others on our availability (p. 128). Another is what she termed having a weekend off” and what that should mean in the practice of taking time off. For example, send the kids away, get out yourself if affordable. She shows that spending your valued time off on divine meditation or prayers counts as part of taking time off as well as reducing one’s fatigue cycle. Important to mention also is the gym life and physical appearance which the author emphasized (pp. 116 - 120). Chapters that Stood Out This book is written with 12 chapters as a whole. Nevertheless, all the chapters in this book are good to read and to follow the depth of social and moral philosophy and theology it explored. Not only do I want to mention a couple of chapters that stood out for me, it is also useful to draw attention to them due to their significance in the work. They include chapter 2, which points out that we are not alone when we feel abandoned. Though this chapter will require a further explanation of the characteristics of whom a “bully devil” is that needs to be chased away (p. 16). Chapter 3, headed as Build a Strong Support Community is engaging. It details the need to belong to a community – church and cultural groups and how these community associations must in turn challenge us and build us to be better. Another is chapter 6, captioned Fulfill your Dreams – Pick up and Progress – which discusses dreams and resilience to move on. It reveals the emotional challenges and life views of women in a shelter and how women should think and act to overcome their tragedies. Chapter 7, named Shoot for Financial Freedom, is an important one because it is a bother to most mothers and fathers. It is also a challenge for counsellors when discussing factors that lead to marital breakdowns among couples. The insight the author brought into it is worth reading and following. Chapter 8, titled Maintain a Healthy and Happy Lifestyle is one of the secrets of success no one

should ignore. This chapter caught my attention by the way it details the day to day issues that often trouble mothers from acting right. Her approach to overcome this will work for many who will try it. Her conclusion is that God wants us to be healthy and whole to function well (p. 114). Our genius and our best self can only be transmitted to our off spring when we are totally functioning in our best of mind and body; period. I liked chapter 9, captioned Nurture a Mother-Child Partnership. From the author’s professional role as a scientist and counsellor, we are made to understand the need to appreciate psychological counselling as a way to go and reinvent. Her obvious argument here is that there are lots of things involved in taking care of our children (p. 134). Many things, we often, take for granted in our rearing beliefs and practices should not be so. The chapter points out what some of those things are. In particular, she notes that the first mistake her fellow mothers (or fathers) make is the neglect of their children’s psychological welfare when we have family crisis (p. 135). To think that kids do not need counselling is untrue, argues the author. The author’s narrative of her experience in this domain is revealing for everyone to read (pp. 135-137). Chapters 11 and 12 discuss forgiveness and seeing oneself as being on a mission. I need not over labour the concept of forgiveness for it is not only crucial to religious life, but also to the dimensions of mothering and fathering, and moreover, to community relationship dynamics. The book chapters in its entirety are crafted in a way to define the problem of single motherhood and at the same time offers a solution to look ahead as one on a mission. The various chapters constitute a global call of what we have to be in our changing and challenging world. Drawing from a song by Whitney Houston and Brandy’s Cinderella, Dr. Rose Joshua’s Single Mother of Five asserts in page 195 that mothers need to be told that they are women on a mission. Her pledge and mission (our author’s) is therefore, 1. To protect my children from harm, show them God’s way, pray with them, and teach them to become the role models and leaders of tomorrow” (p. 195). 2. To ensure that my children will not be counted in the negative statistics of “children from broken homes”. 3. To change the world’s view of children from broken homes – from negative to positive one – have my children not broken in themselves. 4. To be a woman on a mission refusing to fail in the face of adversity, but to succeed with God’s help (p. 201). Critical Comments and Conclusions Taking the book as a whole, I must say I enjoyed the effort and

daily graphic details the author gave to the themes and the story of a Single Mother of Five. In a suddenly broken down home where a partner is thrown into a severe confusion, the book reflects on the challenges faced by the mom or dad and worries that in a clinically counselled system, someone needs to make sure the parent’s voice continues to be spiritually modelled, heard and listened to. In modern day family life, a book of this importance would have created more admiration if the author had included some beautiful images or pictures of the family. Who would not like to see the family photo of the FIVE Children restored to hope by God? If I were the author, her first house as described in the book would have endeared readers to see the transitions in the success story of her survival and appreciation to God and community support. Another small observation I made while reading the book is – not all chapters of the book were supported by a list of references. Why the author chose to provide some references for selected chapters and accorded no references to others were not explained to reduce the confusion a reader might develop. It is noteworthy of the author to have indicated that King James Version of the Holy Bible was used and quoted extensively. I took time to scrutinize the verses and found them nicely chosen and explored.

I liked the aspect where the writer used the God question and community ethos as a strategy of survival. It not only held the author in a much potential for improving the quality of emotional release and hope fostering practice but also in a socially oriented health services support. Ultimately the community religious initiative may often tend to exclude important victims and crucial aspects of single mother family primary care. Our society has diversified so much that sometimes I wonder how easy PASTORS and Counsellors find it to preach the concept of “hanging in there” in a deep turbulent relationship. Perusing the chapters and themes of the book, one gets the impression that with God all is cool and done. I do not belittle the fact that with God all things are possible when we carry ourselves to be solution, determination, focus and hard work. Yes, with God, according to the author of Single Mother of Five, we are empowered to overcome all tragedies and roadblocks if we try. So without trying and working hard, we stand to complicate the tragedies of life in loneliness, in dependence, in complaining – hence the essence of community and association with zero tolerance to failure, ethnic rancour and hate, conspiracy and discrimination of all sorts. It is like what the author calls for is that a fractured home requires all the divine help,

community support, not blame and distraction, to rebuild. One point of view the author shows is the importance of investing in God as the solution – to give us what no other person can offer us. That God is the abundance of love. If a human person will deny us love and care, God provides it as the source of true and unfailing love. When human love fails, the author argues, we need not forget God who is the Alfa and Omega of providence and love. A partner shares a minor love; God the giver hugely nourishes us with the major and abundant mercy and love. I need to state that the author of Single Mother of Five succeeded in taking the narrative of her story with a psychological, religious and philosophical calm. The book’s argument suggests that every mother or father can do it as the author experienced it and braved it only if one is ready to learn and follow up. It resolved the conflict and contradiction of asking people to divorce or misunderstanding mothers and children emerging from broken homes. One can also take from the author’s charge to single households that God and children are centrally the ultimate focus that offers us the way to balance the outcomes of our lived reality. Addressing several issues of practical reality – from self-care and self esteem, to finances, the work charges parents involved in child rearing practices to collaborate with communities around them with a variety of perspectives (p. iii). To say the least, this book can be described as an ethnographic text of survival told by a single mother of five. Not only does it shed light on being and becoming, but also it provides details on the opportunity for growth in any encounter – encounter surrounded by divine life, community order and group support. I conclude that having reviewed this book and commented on the findings, I strongly think it is a valuable book to have in our homes, schools, churches, libraries, and communities. Thank you Dr. Rose Joshua for challenging yourself to write and to share the story of being a Single Mother of Five. It really provides a well grounded insight from a female gender perspective of survival in the face of a broken home we cannot ignore to read and advance the dimensions of her perspective. Grab a copy – for it fits as a must read and a pendulum of crucial survival, in particular, when one is faced with a broken home and disserted. By reading this book you will discover as I did that the notion that a broken home cannot be better and that single mom and single dad child rearing practices is handicapped with the missing link and therefore over troubled is challenged by Dr. Rose Joshua’s book. A must read by all, particularly, those who are faced with living alone to give to the child in a changing situation. Concluded Source: Africanwriter.com

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Pottery as tool for promoting economic growth

PEOPLES POEM OF THE WEEK Title: AT HIS HOUSE By Chris Msosa

By Kayode Olaitan

I visited the Poet's house. At the living room they had a picture of him wearing glasses hanging on the wall, wide eyed lurking from behind the transparent lenses.

esearch findings indicate that Nigerian pottery ranks among the best in the

world. Nigerian pottery has undergone a purposeful evolution and its attributes have been sustained for decades by seasoned potters. In fact, analysts stress that Nigerian pottery is well-admired in the international market because of the country’s quality potmaking traditions. The analysts note that for instance, pottery products from Suleja in Niger and Okigwe in Imo are widely distributed abroad. Media reports also indicate that exhibitions of Abuja pottery were staged in London in 1958, 1959 and 1962. In 1960, some of celebrated African potters, including Dr Ladi Kwali, delivered lectures in Lagos, educating several potters from different parts of the world on contemporary pot-making techniques. However, available records indicate that revolutionary potmaking culture began in Nigeria with Michael Cardew, an English studio potter, who was appointed in 1951 as a Pottery Officer in the Department of Commerce and Industry of the colonial administration. During that period, Cardew reportedly built and developed a successful pottery training centre at Suleja in northern Nigeria. Although most of Cardew’s trainees were from the Hausa and Gbagyi ethnic groups, Cardew personally took delight in the pots of Ladi Kwali and in 1954, she became the first woman potter to tour UK and some European countries, exhibiting Nigerian pottery products. Two years, later, Cardew, along with other British Pottery Officers, were involved in setting up pottery centres at Okigwe and Ado-Ekiti to further stimulate the people’s interest in pottery as a veritable means of livelihood. Ladi Kwali’s ingenuity in decorative and domestic potmaking created considerable public awareness and provoked the interest of women, particularly those in the rural areas, in advanced pot-making procedures. A native of Kwali, currently in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where pottery has since been the predominant occupation of the rural women, Ladi Kwali particularly promoted the potmaking culture in the area. Ladi Kwali’s resourcefulness led to the emergence of modern potters such as Lami Toto, Kande Ushafa, Asibo Ido, Tanko Mohammud, Abu Karo, Gugong Bong, Bala Yawa, Peter Gboko and Hassan Lapai, among others. The woman’s efforts at developing a unique pottery

A man whom so ever he is; is strong in his own house but here was no man only a picture locked inside a frame hanging on the wall. His lovely wife greeted me warmly with a sturdy arm. As if wanting to tell me some secret, she leaned forward and then back perhaps whatever she wanted to say ought not to be said to a child.

Pottery works at Katsina Youth Craft Village culture for Nigeria also led to the establishment of pottery centres across the country. Nowadays, Nigeria’s pottery products are widely used as water jars, ornaments and cooking pots in several countries in Africa, South America and Europe as well as in the Caribbean. In recognition of the economic potential of Nigerian pottery, Ushafa Pottery Centre was established in 1991 by a former First Lady, the late Mrs Maryam Babangida, under her pet project, Better Life for Rural Women. The centre in Ushafa, a town in Bwari Area Council of the FCT, is about 40 km to Abuja city centre. Ushafa Pottery Centre is primarily designed to better the lot of rural women, who use powdered clay and local clay soil to mould assorted types of pots daily, by providing for them training in modern pot-making techniques. Apart from generating employment for the youth and women in the rural areas, the centre has gained some international recognition. For instance, former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle and his wife visited the centre in 1991, while former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited the centre in 2000. Clinton’s comment on the centre was so impressive and it somewhat propelled the government to start planning about how to develop the centre into one of the country’s tourist destinations which could also be used to enhance the country’s external image. The Etsu of Ushafa, Chief Mohammadu Baba, describes the centre as a blessing to the country. “In the early 90s, we received American Vice-President Dan Quayle, who served under former President George Bush; they all came and marvelled at the quality

of our pottery industry,’’ he recalls Such comments notwithstanding, analysts insist that Nigerian pottery has lost a substantial part of its dynamism which made it famous in its early days. They also say that Ushafa Pottery Centre has not been able to achieve most of the objectives behind its establishment. They advise appropriate authorities to provide adequate training facilities at the centre and upgrade it to cater for the training needs of Fine Arts students from various tertiary institutions who come there for internship and excursion. Amina and Hajara Ibrahim, twin sisters who make and sell different types of pots at Giri Pottery Market, say that pottery has not received the government’s priority attention in efforts to diversify the country’s economy. The Ibrahim sisters say that pot-making has always been a profitable craft, adding that it should be given a pride of place in efforts to develop the country’s economic base. They recall that pot-making became their means of livelihood some years ago when they dropped out of school, following their father’s death. In spite of the temporary setback, Amina and Hajara went back to school to complete their secondary education and their schooling was funded with their proceeds from the pottery trade. “What it remains for us is to make our products popular by adding a class of excellence to the business. Our products are in types, we don’t mould only pots. “For instance, we have flower pots, candle stands, long pots, plates, trays, kettle, beaded pots, fruit bowls, ornamental products and flower vases. “We have many potters here.

We mix clay soil and sand and we use natural skills to design our products. Our pots are always strong with superb finishing,’’ says Hajara. “There is no business like pottery; I will continue to be a potter, no matter how far I go in education. This is my decision and that of my twin sister,’’ says Amina. “If the sale is poor, we gross more than N5, 000 in a day. This is because people from Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna and even foreigners patronise us on a daily basis,’’ she adds. Hajara, however, concedes that she and her sister were inspired by the pottery works of Ladi Kwali In recognition of its economic and tourism potential, the FCT Administration (FCTA) took over the management of Ushafa Pottery Centre and the centre is now run under the aegis of its Social Development Secretariat. In a recent visit to the centre, the FCT Minister of State, Chief Olajumoke Akinjide, promised that the centre would be rehabilitated. She admitted that Ushafa Pottery Centre needed adequate financial support to enable it to upgrade its facilities, as part of efforts to transform it into a tourist destination. According to her, the FCTA will explore ways of using publicprivate partnership arrangements to develop and upgrade the centre. Akinjide, however, commended the centre’s managers for their efforts to sustain the centre in spite of perceptible challenges and lauded the potters for their innovative products. The minister expressed the hope that the centre would soon turn out to be a major income earner for the FCT, while becoming a viable tourist destination. Source: NAN

Her son followed behind her closely confirming his mother's gratitude he gave me a similar hand shake nothing like his mother's but firm enough that I got the message; that here was a strong family. I waited to see the Poet. To feel the firmness of his hand shake but there was no Poet to be had. Only this picture of him hanging on the wall accentuated by his watchful eyes. Eyes that see nothing today but everything that was there before. I wondered in my mind where the Poet was. Where the man responsible for this lovely family could have gone? He was not such a man to forget his family and leave it at the mercy of a picture's protection. So many questions flooded my mind. Was he busy writing or editing something in the study. Had he gone to work for the day perhaps to a recital some function he was asked to come to. I searched for an answer on their faces but none was revealed nothing for his and their sake was mentioned, nothing was said not even in passing. So we ran outside the two of us to play to be kids again. I was later to find out that the Poet like his picture had been imprisoned for writing insightful poetry

QUO TE UOTE

“Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings.” – Nelson Mandela

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

ANALYSIS

PAGE 31

China new leadership and Africa

By Charles Onunaiju

ast week, the week-long 18th congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) ended with a beginning of the process of leadership transition that would culminate with the emergence of a new president at the meeting of the supreme organ of state power, the National People's Congress next March. The party congress that began on the 8th of November and culminated with the emergence of 7member collegiate leadership of the standing committee of the politburo also confirmed the election of Vice President Xi Jinping as the General Secretary of the party, a position that made him first among equals of his other six colleagues in the standing committee, in similar fashion to the British Prime Minister, who leads his other colleagues in the cabinet of virtue of his leadership of the party. The politburo of the communist party actually consists of 25 members but the standing committee or executive committee consists of seven member collegiate leadership with the General Secretary at the core. To become the president of the country, the Secretary General of the party would have to be confirmed by the Supreme organ of the state, the National People's Congress. The 25 member politburo, from where the 7-member standing committee emerges is actually elected from the two-hundredplus member of the central party committee who were in turn elected by the over 2000 delegates elected through rigorous process from the party lowest level of village committees across the whole country. Contrary to distortion, China has the most rigorous process of leadership recruitment, in which money, special interest groups or media manipulation play no role at all. What the western media pundits call opaque method of leadership emergence in China is actually a rigorous and serious process, shorn of media blitz, political brinkmanship, theatrics and grandstanding in which the vested interests represented by the media set the agenda and completely marginalize the popular voices of ordinary citizens. However, while the Chinese leadership was the first to admit the need for political reform to deepen the socialist democracy with Chinese characteristic, it has however, made clear that a western style liberal democracy is not definitely an option. Against the plethora of western media speculation that the communist party of China is riddled with factions and the 18th Congress of the party may not hold at all, or if it holds, would be over whelmed by infighting, the weeklong party congress held

Mr. Xi Jinping General Secretary, Communist Party of China in absolute decorum and comradely conviviality as many reports noted. Having witnessed their prediction of acrimonious party congress fall on its face, the same media pundits are claiming the congress went without incident because it was a hollow ritual in which everything was previously rehearsed and played out as earlier arranged. Besides the fictions and fantasies invented and generously dished out to the unsuspecting world about the Chinese leadership, its scorecard in several respects including economic modernization, more prosperous citizens, social and political stability proves that the choice the Chinese have made are correct. At the 18th congress of the communist Party, the leadership, both the outgoing and the incoming spoke strongly and openly about the scourge of corruption and the ominous dangers it portend both for the party and the society. There is almost no known western party conference in which the

leadership of the party has taken as much public soulsearching as the Chinese communist party and come down heavily on its ranks with a strong warning of imminent collapse if the cankerworm of corruption and other vices are not rooted out. How a party that could wash its own dirty linen in the world wide public could be referred as secretive, authoritarian and undemocratic can only make sense if one contextualizes the heavily ideological bias of western media reporting. Having gone through the revolutionary storms, including the destructive inferno of the Cultural Revolution the China's evolving political process has berthed with more or less a political tradition or culture of seamless leadership transition at all levels. With the current emergence of the 5th generation of party and military leadership, due also to assume state leadership in due course, China has obviously matured in the critical sector of political succession, the bane

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of political and social crises in still many parts of the world. The question that could be relevantly asked in most of Africa with regards to the new leadership in China is whether anything untoward can happen to the already flourishing Sino-African relation which has seen trade between the two sides advancing to almost 200 billion U.S dollars, with China as Africa's largest trading partner. China in the past ten years or more have established political consultative mechanism with several Africans states through which Beijing co-ordinate action on crucial international issues with its African States partners. The bilateral consultative mechanism through which China engages the Africa states have also been reinforced and broadened by the process of the forum on ChinaAfrica co-operation, FOCAC, an institutional mechanism formally inaugurated in 2000. More than ten years after, the FOCAC process has become one of the world's most dynamic

At the 18th congress of the communist Party, the leadership, both the outgoing and the incoming spoke strongly and openly about the scourge of corruption and the ominous dangers it portend both for the party and the society. There is almost no known western party conference in which the leadership of the party has taken as much public soul-searching as the Chinese communist party and come down heavily on its ranks with a strong warning of imminent collapse if the cankerworm of corruption and other vices are not rooted out.

mechanism for international co-operation. With China steady march to the core of contemporary global relation, the new leadership would certainly deepen co-operation with Africa. Unlike the west, China do not see Africa as a major humanitarian concerns in which their leaders are more involved ostensibly for charity work, after t h e y h a v e l e f t office as former U.S president Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and even George W. Bush are involved. China has a clear cut African policy in which Beijing and Africa is engaged in wide range of issues of mutual interest. Africa is not Beijing's turf for security surveillance or a humanitarian disaster zone, fit only for elaborate compassionate rhetoric, but a serious actor engaged in a mutually productive partnership. The new leadership in China would ostensibly seize the momentum of the current Sino-Africa relation, energize it, and focus if for more concrete and beneficial engagement. Having highlighted his desire since he became the general secretary of the party for a deep communion between the Chinese people and the party Mr. Xi Jinping would most likely deepen co-operation between China and Africa, taking it beyond the inter-state relation, to building a community of Chinese and Africa peoples. The 18th congress of the communist party of China has elaborated a dynamic vision in which it will steer China in the next five years and extrapolating from this vision, Africa's co-operation with Beijing would receive a massive boost.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

PAGE 32

Opposition alleges fraud in Sierra Leone poll

Mauritania's Aziz to return home on Saturday after shooting

auritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz will return home on Saturday after recovering in Paris from what he says was a shooting accident last month. Aziz, an ally of the West in its fight against al Qaeda in Africa, was flown to France on Oct. 14 after his government said a military patrol had fired on his convoy accidentally. Rumours have abounded since then, with many in the coup-prone country questioning the official version of events. Government spokesman Rassoul Ould Khal told Reuters in Nouakchott that Aziz was due to return on Saturday morning. In Paris, Aziz, slightly out of breath and speaking softly said: "I'm doing very well. I'm beginning to recover ... but I am trying to move things along and it will be fine." Aziz's failure to return to Mauritania after being discharged from hospital last month has also raised questions about who is running the country in his absence. Although Mauritania has been stable politically since Aziz seized power in 2008, it lies on the fringes of the Sahara where Islamist gunmen hold increasing sway. Al Qaedalinked militants have seized the north of its neighbour Mali. Aziz said the situation across the Sahel zone, south of the Sahara, was difficult but said there was a willingness among the countries of the region to deal with the rise in insecurity. Mauritania launched several attacks on Islamist bases across the border in Mali in 2010 and 2011, provoking threats of revenge from al Qaeda-linked fighters. Those Islamist groups now occupy the northern twothirds of Mali after hijacking a Tuareg rebellion earlier this year in the wake of a military coup in Mali's capital Bamako.

pposition leaders in Sierra Leone have alleged poll fraud in the country's presidential, parliamentary and local elections, even as international observers have hailed the process as being wellorganised and peaceful. The National Electoral Commission is still tallying the results of Saturday's elections, seen as a test of the west African nation's recovery from a brutal civil war which ended in 2002. Unofficial results have begun to trickle in on local media, and observers have urged that the outcome be ratified as quickly as possible. It is due on Saturday. "A lot of people have said they are very concerned about reactions as results become known and that could be a flashpoint in terms of potential conflict between rival groups of supporters," Richard Howitt, the chief observer of the 100strong European Union observer mission, said. "I am concerned an undue delay in results being announced could risk conflict in a society where rumour plays a big role." On Monday the observer mission released its preliminary report praising a "peaceful and well-conducted

election". Main opposition presidential candidate Julius Maada Bio - the main rival to incumbent Ernest Koroma - said his party had evidence of "rampant ballot stuffing". The 48-year-old retired brigadier, who served a brief

stint as military ruler in 1996, urged his supporters to remain calm, pledging that "no one steals the mandate of our voters or alters the results to our disadvantage. "As things stand now we are very confident of winning the elections," he added.

The winner must garner 55 per cent of the ballots cast, or he will face his opponent in a second round runoff. The ruling All People's Congress (APC) hit back in a statement, calling the claims of the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) "fabricated and baseless".

Incumbent President Ernest Koroma

DR Congo rebels claim control of Goma

ebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have taken control of Goma, the main city in the country's mineralrich east, after several days of fighting with UN-backed government forces, a spokesman for the M23 rebel group has said.

Heavily armed rebels reportedly walked through the centre of the city that is home to one million people, without facing resistance on Tuesday, as United Nations peacekeepers observed and small groups of residents greeted them. "The town of Goma fell at 11:33 local

time, despite the attack helicopters, despite the heavy weapons, the FARDC (Congo army) has let the town fall into our hands," Vianney Kazarama, an M23 spokesman, told the Reuters news agency by phone. The rebels have also reportedly

taken control of the border posts between Goma and Gisenyi, a town on the Rwandan side of the border, the AFP news agency said. Joseph Kabila, the country's president, urged people in Goma to "resist" the rebels' advancement.

UK aid to Nigeria 'not working'- Report

illions of pounds of UK government aid to Nigerian schools has failed to produce any major improvement in pupil learning, an independent watchdog says. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact said the aid scheme was being undermined by a shortage of effective teachers and a lack of local support. So far ÂŁ102m has been spent in 10 Nigerian states, with a further

A girl walking to school bearing all harzards

ÂŁ126m committed to 2019. The UK government said the report had a limited focus but would be reviewed. The Department for International Development's (Dfid) education programme is operating "in a very challenging environment, with too few effective teachers, poor infrastructure and unpredictable state funding all contributing to poor learning outcomes for pupils in basic education", the ICAI said in its critical report. "Our review indicates no major improvement in pupil learning." Using a traffic light rating system, the ICAI rated the scheme as amber-red - the second-lowest which indicates "significant improvements" were required. It found that around a third of the eligible children - an estimated 3.7 million - were still not in school, while those that were received little by way of education. "We are concerned by the very high numbers of out-of-school children and the very poor learning outcomes in nine of the 10 Nigerian states supported by Dfid," it said.

Residents leaving Goma on arrival of the rebels

L-R: Malawi Ambassador to Nigeria, Isaac Genesis Munlo, presenting his letter of credence to President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Asia and Middle East

S President Barack Obama is set to address the contentious issue of the South China Sea at a summit dominated by rival claims to the strategically vital area. The East Asian summit, which began the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on Sunday, forms part of the regional Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting with Chinese, Japanese and Australian leaders also in attendance.

PAGE 33

South China Sea issue to top Obama visit Obama is expected to express concerns about the disputes between Beijing and its Southeast Asian neighbours, which have stoked tensions across the region this year and hampered efforts to foster economic co-operation.

US President Barack Obama believes there should be a reduction in tensions surrounding maritime territorial disputes in Asia, the White House said. "There needs to be a lowering of tensions around these territorial

disputes," Obama's deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters in Phnom Penh. Obama is visiting Asia against a backdrop of diplomatic tensions between China and Japan and between China and several Southeast

Asian nations over islands in the East China Sea and South China Sea. Tensions have been high with Manila and Hanoi in recent months amid stand-offs and minor clashes around shoals and islands disputed with China.

Pakistan acquits girl of blasphemy charges

akistan court has thrown out charges against a young Christian girl accused of blasphemy in a case that drew international condemnation, lawyers said. Rimsha Masih spent three weeks on remand in an adult jail after she was arrested on August 16 for allegedly burning pages from the Quran. She was released on bail in September and police have since told the courts that she was not guilty and that a cleric who allegedly framed her should face trial instead. "The court has quashed the case, declaring Rimsha innocent," her lawyer Akmal Bhatti told the AFP news agency. Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti,

a cleric who first gave police the burned papers as evidence against her, was detained on September 1 for desecrating the Quran and tampering with evidence. An official medical report classified Rimsha as "uneducated" and aged 14, but with a mental age younger than her years. Others have said she is as young as 11-years-old and suffers from Down's Syndrome. Paul Bhatti, the only Christian member of Pakistan's federal cabinet, confirmed that the case had been thrown out by the high court in the capital Islamabad. "I welcome this order. Justice has been done and the law of the land has been upheld by the court," he told AFP.

Obama (L) met Chinese Premier Jiabao (R) for bilateral talks

ASEAN talks on South China Sea row crumble

outheast Asian leaders' talks on how to handle tense maritime territorial disputes with China have failed as the Philippines vowed to keep speaking out on the global stage over the issue. Cambodia, the chair of ASEAN, said that all 10 members of the bloc had agreed at a leaders' summit on Sunday not to "internationalise" their disputes over rival claims to the South China Sea. The apparent deal would have been a victory for China, which has long insisted that countries such as the Philippines should not seek support

from the United States. But Philippine President Benigno Aquino insisted he and one other country, which diplomats said was Vietnam, had not agreed and that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen should not have promoted the alleged ASEAN "consensus". "While the Philippines was for ASEAN unity, it has the inherent right to defend its national interests when deemed necessary," Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters, quoting Aquino's comments to his fellow leaders on Monday.

Diplomatic efforts for Gaza truce intensify

Hafiz Chishti, right, the cleric who accused Masih of burning the Quran

Ban Ki-moon

Philippine President Aquino

N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has arrived in Israel and is set to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the crisis in Gaza. Earlier on Tuesday, Ban met the Arab League chief, Nabil el-Araby, in Cairo and called for support for Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's efforts to mediate a truce in the conflict as the Palestinian death toll from Israeli raids reached 121. Egypt has been trying to negotiate a ceasefire with the help of Qatar and Turkey. Al Jazeera's Peter Greste, reporting from Cairo, said: "There is a momentum towards a ceasefire agreement, according to the Egyptians." "Ban Ki-moon would not be going to Israel and the West Bank if he felt something could not be achieved," said Greste.

PAGE 34

Europe and Americas French rightists split over leadership race

he race to lead France's conservative opposition descended into chaos, with both contenders alleging fraud in a vote that highlighted a deep split between rightists and centrists since the party lost power in May. The bickering wrecked a contest designed to give the right a fresh start after it lost its 17year hold on the presidency in May, and prompted political commentators to warn that the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) could collapse. Jean-Francois Cop, a hardline disciple of Nicolas Sarkozy, declared in the early hours of Monday that he was 1,000 votes ahead of Francois Fillon, but the former president's long-serving prime minister said he had a lead of 224 votes. The influential daily Le Monde daily, running a frontpage photo of a bare podium at UMP headquarters, said it was hard to imagine a worse outcome for the party. "It's a catastrophe. The Socialists must be pleased with this," lamented a member of Fillon's team privately. "Nicolas Sarkozy must be happy too. He must be saying to himself that things are not going well without him." By early evening, the party was still counting votes and could not say whether a result would come before Wednesday. The infighting in the main opposition party also takes some of the pressure off Socialist President Francois Hollande, whose approval ratings have slumped to as low as 36 per cent as he struggles with rampant unemployment and stalled growth. The contest would normally decide the UMP's candidate for the 2017 presidential election, but surveys indicate that two-thirds of party members think Sarkozy has a better chance of wresting power back from the ruling Socialists. The election row has further fuelled speculation of a comeback by Sarkozy, who has told aides he will feel obliged to return if the Socialists fail to revive the sickly economy. "Even without knowing who the winner is, we can state that the true victor of this vote is called Nicolas Sarkozy," the business daily Les Echos wrote in an editorial. Alain Juppe, a former foreign minister and a key figure in founding the UMP, condemned what he called "a contest of egos" that he said threatened the party's very existence.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Croatia jails ex-PM Ivo Sanader for taking bribes A

court in Croatia has sentenced former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader to 10 years in prison for taking bribes, in a case closely watched by the EU. Sanader, in office from 2003 to 2009, was convicted of taking millions of dollars in bribes from a Hungarian energy company and an Austrian bank. The former prime minister denied wrongdoing at his trial. Croatia, which hopes to join the EU in July of next year, is under pressure to tackle widespread corruption. Correspondents say the EU is taking a harder line with the Balkan state than with Romania and Bulgaria, which were allowed to join the bloc despite struggling to address their problems with corruption. Sanader, 59, is the most senior official to have been convicted of corruption in Croatia. He was found guilty of

Ivo Sanader accepting a bribe of $12.8m (ÂŁ8m; 10m euros) from the Hungarian oil company MOL in return for securing it controlling rights in Croatia's state oil

company Ina. Unless Tuesday's verdict is overturned on appeal, Croatia may review MOL's shareholder agreement with Ina, Reuters

news agency says. In 1995, when Sanader was a deputy foreign minister, he received $695,000 in bribes for a credit deal with the Hypo Alpe Adria Group, which gave the Austrian bank a leading position in Croatia. At the time, Croatia was still fighting its war of independence from Yugoslavia, meaning it had trouble accessing the international markets. Prosecutors described Sanader's action as "war profiteering". Sanader argued that the case against him was politically motivated. He is also on trial, separately, for allegedly creating slush funds for his political party, the conservative Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), by skimming off profits from state companies and manipulating public tenders. The HDZ ruled the country for eight years until its defeat in elections in December 2011.

Colombia minister rejects FARC ceasefire

olombia's defence minister has issued a statement saying the country's armed forces will not honour a ceasefire that FARC rebels unilaterally declared as peace talks opened in Havana. Defence Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon was responding to the announcement of a unilateral ceasefire earlier on Monday by senior rebel negotiator Ivan Marquez. Marquez declared a two-month ceasefire effective Monday night, the first truce in more than a decade, as peace negotiators meet in Cuba in the latest attempt to end the five-decade-old conflict. Pinzon said in a brief statement to reporters in Bogota that Colombia's military has the "constitutional duty to pursue all criminals who have violated the Constitution".

He said that as a result, what he called "the terrorists" of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia would be pursued "for all the crimes they have committed over so many years". Marquez , FARC's lead negotiator, said on Monday that the rebels would halt all attacks from midnight on Monday until 20 January. He said it was "a contribution made to strengthen the climate of understanding necessary so that the parties that are starting the dialogue achieve the purpose desired by all Colombians". Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said it would halt all offensive military operations and acts of sabotage against infrastructure beginning at midnight on Monday night and running till January 20. Marquez said now was the time

for the Colombian government to transform its policies. "2012 has been unfortunate for the Colombians who are suffering the consequences of these policies and it would be just if, at

Christmas, the regime of Juan Manuel Santos and the ruling classes announce an end to the social war imposed by their reforms and laws of misery and hunger," he said.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos (L) talks with Defence Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon

EU recognises Syria opposition bloc

uropean Union foreign ministers have said they view Syria's just-formed National Coalition to be the

"legitimate representatives" of the Syrian people. A statement from the bloc's 27 ministers on Monday welcomed

The Syrian National Coalition, headed by Ahmad Mouaz alKhatib (Centre)

the November 11 formation of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces and said: "The EU considers them legitimate representatives of the aspirations of the Syrian people." "This agreement represents a major step towards the necessary unity of the Syrian opposition." France, which last week became the first Western country to recognise the Coalition as sole representative of the Syrian people, had urged fellow EU nations to follow in its footsteps. Monday's statement is a step short of the French stance. Italy, however, joined France on Monday and Britain is expected to clarify its position in a parliamentary debate on Tuesday.

The group was formed in Qatar after 20 months of conflict that activists say has killed more than 39,000 people. For his part, Laurent Fabius, French foreign minister, said that all his EU counterparts had expressed "much sympathy visa-vis the coalition". "I think we will invite the Coalition leaders to our next meeting [in December] to allow them to talk to all of the foreign ministers, which will be highly symbolic," he said. The EU ministers' statement urged the National Coalition to continue "to work for full inclusiveness" while respecting human rights and democracy and engaging with all opposition groups and sections of Syrian society.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

PAGE 35

20-Pound triplets may land guinness world record

Sacramento couple's triplets, weighing in at a whopping 20 pounds, may score a world record for triplets' total birth weight. Sidney, Elliott and Jenson Deen were born last Thursday. Their parents are now

submitting paperwork in a bid that, if successful, would oust a North Carolina couple whose 18 pound 11 ounce triplets secured the spot in 2011, The Sacramento Bee reported. Mom Brittany Deen, guided by Sutter Memorial's Moms of

Multiples Center, reportedly learned how to eat as much as 6,000 calories per day while the babies were growing. "Being a mom of a multiple birth is really scary," Deen, 32, told the Bee. "You hear of complications and challenges. I hope that seeing me

and hearing about my positive experience will inspire other mothers not to be scared, and will help others to realize they're not alone." She told the Bee that she feels "pretty darn good now," having already shed 50 of the 85 pounds

Indian textbook claims meat eaters 'steal, fight and turn to violence and sex crimes'

ccording to "New Healthway," a health and hygiene book aimed at 11to 12-year-old students, meat eaters are awful people. "They easily cheat, tell lies, they forget promises, they are dishonest and tell bad words, steal, fight and turn to violence and sex crimes," the book states on page 56. It also goes on to claim that the flavor of meat is the result of "waste products," and that the Japanese are long-lived vegetarians whose "generous use of green leafy vegetables, soya beans and grams has helped [them] to maintain vigour, strength and endurance throughout the centuries." According to Businessweek, the Japanese eat more fish per capita than the residents of any other developed country, with 23 percent of their daily protein coming from that source. The book is published by the S. Chand Group, which released a statement condemning the questionable material, noting that "the matter is regrettable and the book has since been withdrawn." In its statement, the publisher claims that the author of the book, David S. Poddar, is a member of the Seventh-day

Adventist Church, which advocates a vegetarian diet on religious grounds. About 80 percent of India's population is Hindu, while more

than 13 percent are Muslim. For religious reasons, beef is not consumed by Hindus and Islamic dietary laws prohibit the consumption of pork.

Editor's Note: A reference to Hitler being reputed a vegetarian has been removed. For more on this claim, read this article at Slate.

she gained during the pregnancy. Jenson and Elliott are at home with their parents, while Sidney remains in the hospital because doctors are concerned that his appetite isn't as good as it should be, the Bee reported.

Woman holds on to husband's dead body for years in Russia

You might be used to hearing this from your vegan pals during the holidays, but an Indian textbook company is now making claims that might surprise the most militant members of PETA.

ussian authorities say a woman with five children kept her husband's body in their apartment for almost three years after his death. Prosecutors in the central Yaroslavl region said the unidentified woman, described as a devout Pentecostal Christian with a psychiatric record, was so distraught when her husband died of natural causes in 2009 that she believed he "was bound to resurrect." An investigation was opened after the body was found in a dumpster in a plastic bag in July. The prosecutors' office said Monday that the woman kept the cadaver in a bed in a room of her apartment and asked her children to talk to it and feed it. The office says two children decided to dispose of the body when the family moved to another apartment.

PAGE 36

abies who eat fish between the age of six and 12 months may have a lower risk of developing asthma. But eating fish outside of this window may not have the same effect, say the Dutch authors of a new study. Those who ate fish before six months or after their first birthdays did not seem to gain the same protective effect against symptoms such as wheezing. The results, based on more than 7,000 children in the Netherlands, support one theory that early exposure to certain fatty acids in fish protects against the development of asthma. Writing in the journal Pediatrics, lead study author Jessica Kiefte-de Jong, of the

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Children who eat fish have a lower risk of asthma Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, said: ‘Introduction of fish between 6 and 12 months but not fish consumption afterward - is associated with a lower prevalence of wheezing.’ ‘A window of exposure between the age of 6 and 12 months might exist in which fish might be associated with a reduced risk of asthma.’ Concern over seafood allergies prompts some parents and doctors to delay introducing

It's thought that early exposure to certain fatty acids in fish may protect against the development of asthma.

Babies who first ate fish between the ages of six months and one year had a lower risk of developing asthma-like symptoms.

fish into babies’ diets. However, some research has found that a mother’s fish consumption during pregnancy, or the baby’s consumption of it early on, may lower the risk of asthma. Using health and diet information from a group of 7,210 children born between 2002 and 2006 in Rotterdam, the researchers found that 1,281 children ate fish in their first six months of life, 5,498 first ate fish in the next six months, and 431 did not eat fish until after age one.

The researchers then looked at health records for when the children were about four years old, and how many parents reported that their children were wheezing or short of breath. Between 40 per cent and 45 per cent of parents of children who did not eat fish until after their first birthdays said their children wheezed, compared to 30 percent of children who first ate fish when they were between six and 12 months old. That, the researchers said, works out to about a 36 percent

decreased risk of wheezing for the children who first had fish between the ages of six months and one year. Children who first had fish before six months of age were at similar risk to those who were introduced to it after their first birthdays. ‘They found it was only protective between six and 12 months,’ said T. Bernard Kinane, chief of the paediatric pulmonary unit for MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston, who was not involved in the study. ‘That would make reasonable sense because that’s when the immune system is getting educated.’ He added that he was relieved the researchers also found no association between the amount of fish children ate and their risk for asthma, which means that even a small amount of fish seems to be helpful. But he noted that there is mixed evidence about how helpful introducing a seafood diet actually was, and that while it may be helpful to introduce children to fish between six and 12 months of age, there could be other factors at work. For instance, families who feed their children fish earlier and more often may be different in a variety of ways from those who do not. ‘I think (the study) needs to be validated again,’ he said. Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Lifestyle modification reduces diabetes manifestation, says doctor

r Emmanuel Alimasunya, Senior Registrar, Family Medicine Department, Central Hospital, Benin, says lifestyle modification can reduce diabetes prevalence. Alimasunya, who made the statement in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin, defined diabetes as a sustained increase in blood sugar level above normal as a result of insulin deficiency. “Certain risk factors like age and family history cannot be altered when we talk about diabetes, but a change in

lifestyle that includes eating a modified diet, increasing physical activity, and quitting smoking might help reduce the risk of having diabetes. “While smoking can increase your chances of getting diabetes, it can also make managing diabetes more difficult for those who already have it,” he said. He also said that sedentary lifestyle was damaging to health and could cause diabetes. “Being more active lowers blood sugar levels by helping insulin to be more effective,” the doctor noted. “An individual could reduce

his risk of coming up with diabetes when he modifies his lifestyle and go for periodic medical check-ups,” he said. He identified obesity as a major risk factor, stressing that people should control their weights. “Unhealthy eating contributes largely to obesity, too much fat, inadequate fibre and too many simple carbohydrates all contribute to a diagnosis of diabetes. “Greater weight means a higher risk of insulin resistance, because fat interferes with the body’s ability to use insulin,”

Alimasunya said. The senior registrar also said that high salt intake could contribute to high blood pressure which is a risk factor of diabetes. “People with or considered at risk of diabetes should take extra care to ensure that they keep their salt intake below the recommended maximum of six grammes. “This can be achieved by simple changes, such as consuming less processed foods and checking product labels before purchase,” Alimasunya said. Alimasunya said that

smoking could also increase complications for people who had diabetes. He also explained that that periodic checks of blood pressure could also help in reducing the chances of having diabetes. “Blood pressure plays an important part in the management of diabetes. “High blood pressure (hypertension) adds to the workload of the heart, arteries and kidneys thereby damaging the kidneys, eyes and feet which are long-term complications that can go along with a diagnosis of diabetes, “he said (NAN)

Regular fruit, vegetable intake reduce cancer risk — expert

r Kin J-Egwuonwu, the National Coordinator, National Cancer Prevention Programme, Lagos, has urged regular intake of fruits and vegetables to reduce the risk of cancer. In a statement in Lagos, JEgwuonwu said that recent researches conducted by the Union for International Cancer Control showed that improvement in diet could reduce cancer incidence by 50

per cent. According to the statement, unhealthy diet is a key promoter of cancer. “One of the super foods that fight cancer is tomato. Tomato consumption has been associated with a 25 per cent reduction in prostate cancer in men. “Not only does tomato contain Lycopene, an antioxidant that also helps prevent heart disease, it is a good source of vitamin A, C, and E -

all enemies of cancer. “Tomato checks cancer of the lung, stomach, and especially, prostate. It also checks cervix, breast, mouth, pancreas, oesophagus, colon and rectum.” The statement quoted JEgwuonwu as saying that Lycopene is present in all red fruits and red vegetables, but its concentration is higher in tomatoes. “Lycopene is more readily available and biologically active

when it comes from processed tomatoes (tin tomatoes).” He said that studies had shown that Lycopene level in the blood was higher in people who ate cooked tomatoes than raw tomatoes or drank tomato juice. “This suggests that Lycopene in cooked tomato products such as tomato sauce or paste may be more readily absorbed by the body than the one in raw tomatoes.

“But it is recommended that they should do so in the context of a diet rich in a variety of vegetables and fruits,” he said. He advised adults to limit the intake of processed meat and red meat, balance calorie intake with physical exercise and limit alcohol intake. He called on all Nigerians to join hands in the fight against cancer by creating awareness and ensuring one was screened and vaccinated. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

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Aviation Ministry is acting on a script INTERVIEW

ou raised a motion on the floor of the House on the alleged refusal of the Minister of Aviation to grant landing rights to four foreign airlines in MAKIA. The MInsiter has since denied the allegation; how do you react to this? Well, the fact that they denied the allegation does not mean that it is not true. The four foreign airlines that desire to fly through Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport are Asky Airline, Ethiopian airlines, Turkish airline and Emirate airlines. When I raised the motion on the floor, it was unanimously adopted and agreed, and the minister was invited. But she did not show up at the public hearing; she was represented by the Permanent Secretary, and other top level directors and some agencies under the ministry. At the beginning of the hearing, the ministry officials vehemently denied the allegations that these four airlines have applied for landing right into Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport. After the denial, I brought the document which clearly showed that these airlines have requested for landing right into the airport, and that the ministry even wrote a follow-up letter to some of the airlines, requesting for a meeting to discuss the modality. When we showed this document to the officials of the ministry, the story changed to the fact that they didn’t exempt these four airlines, citing bilateral agreement between Nigeria and the countries concerned. It was then that we drew their attention to their initial claims that there was no communication; I can vividly recall that at the beginning, the chairman of the committee had asked them whether there was any communication between them and the four airlines I have mentioned and the ministry. The ministry officials said there was no official communication whatsoever. But after showing them my letter, they now agreed that they were aware and that indeed there was communication between them and the four airlines. They went on to say that some of the problems are partly because the airlines were not ready to start flying Kano route. It was at that point that some members suggested that we should invite the airlines to come and brief the House on the issues concerned. So, it was agreed that the airlines would be invited next week. But, to my greatest surprise, the following day, I received a text massage

Hon. Aliyu Sani Madaki, member, House of Representatives representing Dala Federal Constituency of Kano state recently raised a motion alleging that the Minister Aviation, Mrs Stella Oduah, has denied landing right to four foreign airlines in Mallam Aminu international Airport (MAKIA). In this interview with Umar Muhammad Puma, the lawmaker outlines the commercial consequencies of the minister’s action to the state in particular and North in general

Hon. Aliyu Sani Madaki informing me that the committee was meeting with the four airlines at a particular location within the National Assembly. So, I went to the venue of the meeting and these four airlines were represented, and they made their submissions, and I am happy to announce that three of the airlines that were present at the meeting confirmed the fact that they have requested for a landing rights. They also confirmed the fact that they were refused the landing right and at the end, the ministry agreed that they actually refused to give the landing right. They have now agreed that they would go and sign all the necessary documents, and that before the end of the year, all the three airlines would start operation into Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA). What do you think must have informed the decision of the Minister in the first place not to allow the four lines into the Kano airport? Actually, I don’t know what brought this shenanigans because to my understanding, as a Minister of the Federal Republic, as a Permanent Secretary of the Federal Republic, we should be mindful of what we do and how we do it. We should make sure whatever we do is in the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians; we

should put Nigeria first. To my understanding, these people are doing what is best for Nigeria, this shows lack of patriotism, that is the simple answer. Like I said on the floor of the House, the Minister is acting as if she is not a Minister of the Federal Republic Nigeria. I expect a Minister to consider every part of the country as one, whether it is Yola, Maiduguri, Enugu; we are all the same. As a member of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic, I see every part of Nigeria as my constituency. That is why I contribute in motions and bills that concern all part of Nigeria; I support all issues that would help to unite and solidify our union. But the way she is acting, I have said it on the floor of House that she is not supporting President Goodluck Jonathan. Mr. President is always doing his best to bring about the dividend of democracy to every nook and cranny of this country, but some ministers are doing otherwise. It is unfortunate. Going by what happened; would you recommend that the Minister be reprimanded? I think so; because all these while she is not in town; she only sent a representative, and she do that because she knew that all the allegations against her were true. She has no reason

whatsoever to send the Permanent Secretary. The Permanent Secretary could not even utter a word; when I presented my papers, she became an onlooker. But there is general belief that the Minister had done incredibly well especially on the ongoing airport rehabilitation across the country; don’t you think she deserves some commendations? What would renovation do for you if there are no business activities at the airports? These airports are supposed to attract businesses and serve as source of employment to a lot of people. For instance, Mallam Aminu Kano Airport, if fully functional, employs directly or indirectly more than five hundred thousand people. If you do that, it would boost the economy of not only Kano state, but the entire northern region; and invariably, it would boost the economy of Nigeria. But a Minister refuses to give the landing right to these four airlines to be operating in Kano; to open the business environment for them to operate; to help the inhabitants of Kano. Like everyone knows, Kano is a commercial city; but because of the decline in business activities, you find so many economic activities grounded; the youths are stranded. The problem we have is associated with the institutions we have which partly have to do with lack of employment. I don’t see where I can commend somebody for just beautifying the airport, and at the same time, she is denying the airport from carrying out normal airport activities. The inflow of goods and passengers into an airport is what make it an international airport. Bear in mind, that Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport is the first airport in the whole of West Africa. You are asking foreign airlines to fly Kano route while KLM airline, another foreign airline has recently abandoned the airport on the premise that there is no patronage at the airport. What makes you think that these airlines would not do thesame? The main reason KLM left Mallam Aminu International Airport, to my knowledge, is not for lack of patronage, no. KLM has

been operating in the airport for quite a long time; KLM left the airport because of the impediment on the path of the businessmen doing business by bringing goods through the airport. Before I came to the National Assembly, I am an international businessman. I buy goods from other countries and bring them into Nigeria. Before, I always prefer bringing them through Lagos instead of Kano airport. These are the things we need to remove if we truly want the airport to once again become functional. Those impediments include the custom officials, the immigration, security services who put undue impediments and protocols at the airport. These are the problems. It has nothing to do with patronage. Just look at the population of Kano, even in Lagos when emirates are flying out, go and count how many passengers are from northern Nigeria, and why do they go to Lagos if Kano is there? You should be able to answer that. The House of Representatives has just commenced debate on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB); what are your views about this bill? It is a very important bill for all of us and I think we should all support it and make sure it scales through. Be that as it may, the PIB which I have gone through, have a lot of contradictions in it. There are a lot of things that we have look into, and at the end, we would bring a bill that is in the best interest of all Nigerians and Nigeria. You have been in the House for more than a year now, what have been your achievements so far? I have done my best in the in the last one and the half year of my stay in the House. Even this motion we are talking about is for the best interest of my people. That I’m pursuing it is because I care about my people and what affects them. I want to see Kano move forward, better than it is today. And whoever follows my legislative duties in the National Assembly, it is in the interest of those who I am representing. I make sure I go to my constituency every two weeks to see my people; talk to them and to hear their complaints and see how I can protect their interests.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

ANPP strategizes for 2013 Ebonyi council poll – Orji

L-R: Senator Ita Enag, Senate Leader and Chairman South-South Zone, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, Deputy Senate President and Chairman Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Delta state Deputy Governor, Professor Amos Atuama, and Cross River state Deputy Governor, Mr. Efiok Cobhan, arriving the venue of the Review of the 1999 Constitution South-South Zone, recently at Calabar, Cross River state.

Election Tribunal: CPC petitions against exclusion of logo, party candidate by INEC From Nuruddeen Hussain, Jos

he leadership of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Plateau State Chapter, has said that is was dismayed by the disqualification of its candidate by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in the last conducted by-election into the Plateau Northern Senatorial seat. The party in a press release signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Mubashiru Aliyu, stated that the fact that their candidate, Barrister Timothy Yunana

Agaga, was duly nominated and had followed all due process of the party guidelines, which later sponsored him as its candidate as stipulated by the 1999 Constitution as amended. He said the party was yet to be convinced on why INEC decided to disqualify him. “That having also fulfilled the required process of nominating a candidate as stipulated by the Electoral Act 2010, and all INEC guidelines in respect to candidate nomination, we still wonder why INEC, unilaterally and unlawfully, contrary to section 45(i) of the Electoral Act decided

to exclude the logo of our party on the face of the ballot papers,” he alleged. Aliyu continued “The fact that section 87 of the Electoral Act under which INEC based its premise to disqualified our candidate and subsequently exclude our logo in the election lacks the backing upon which it was used by INEC, made us to suspect complicity and conspiracy by the electoral umpire, whose deliberate action denied us the lawful right of contesting in the election.” He added that based on the reasons advanced, the party is

challenging the INEC at the Tribunal. The CPC chairman stressed that they are ready to explore all legal means to ensure that the right thing is done. “We are assuring our candidate that the party is one hundred percent, in his support and will equally explore all legal avenues to ensure that justice is done. Furthermore, the CPC in Plateau State is urging its teeming party supporters in the state to give its leadership all the desired cooperation, while also calling on them to remain calm and ensure obedience to the cause of law and order,” the chairman added.

Adamawa guber: S/Court affirms Nyako's election By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

he Supreme Court of Nigeria yesterday dismissed the appeal brought before it by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and its governorship candidate in Adamawa state, Mr. Markus Gundiri, challenging the decision of the State governorship and Legislative Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal which upheld the election of Governor Murtala Nyako of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The apex court, in a unanimous decision dismissed the two appeals challenging Nyako's election brought before it by ACN and its governorship candidate in Adamawa state. The appellants asked the court to nullify Nyako's election on the grounds of substantive non

compliance to the Electoral Act and other criminal allegations against the Respondents. The judgment which was read by Justice Clara Ogunbiyi said the appellants failed to prove the civil and criminal allegations preferred against the respondents, adding also that the onus lies on the appellant to prove their allegations, which the court noted, the appellants failed to do. According to the apex court, in its judgment, the appellants' appeal," is devoid of merits and it is hereby dismissed, there is no order as to cost. The election of the 1st and 2nd Respondents as the governor and deputy Governor of Adamawa state is therefore upheld", the court held. Justice Ogunbiyi held that the request by ACN that the Supreme Court should help it severe the

criminal allegations from the civil allegations was strange and could not be granted as doing so would amount to helping a party in a suit to advance its case. It would be recalled that the lower courts had dismissed the petition of ACN and its candidate, on the ground that they failed to adduce enough evidences before the court, to prove their allegations that the elections was substantially marred by corruption, election malpractices, and violence. The Tribunal stated that the allegations by the ACN that the election results in 11 local government areas of the state were substantially marred by irregularities and not validly won by the PDP could not be proved as most of the evidences were based on speculations. It further held that the

statements of the witnesses that the CAN presented were repetitive and lacking in originality to achieve a purpose. Such evidences, the lower courts held could not be relied upon to upturn the election. It stated that electoral malpractices were criminal allegations, which should be proved beyond doubts to justify that they were substantially marred as alleged and held that even in its allegations of underage voting, the petitioner failed to show the name and birth certificate of those alleged to have voted under age. The Tribunal and the Appeal Court upheld the February 4 Adamawa State governorship election and declared Nyako as having substantially complied with the 2011 Electoral Act as amended.

he Chairman, All Nigerian People's Party (ANPP), Ebonyi chapter, Mr Emenike Orji, said yesterday in Abakaliki that the party had made arrangement for a successful participation in the state council poll next year. Orji told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the party had repositioned itself ahead of 2013 local government election in the state. He said the ANPP had fully mobilised men and material resources that would enhance its chances, adding that the party was determined to achieve victory in the contest. According to him, ANPP in Ebonyi is the only opposition party with enough support, financial and structural base, to effectively challenge the ruling party. Orji frowned at the level of infrastructure decay at the local government areas of the state and promised that ANPP would make the difference when elected into power. "There is virtual collapse of infrastructure at the third tier; roads are not maintained, our health centres are neglected, our children study in dilapidated class rooms. "There is no provision of potable water and the council chairmen have detached themselves from the grass roots. "But ANPP is set to provide direction and effective leadership if elected into power,'' he said. He decried the injustices and denials that the grass roots had suffered owing to inept leadership, assuring that the ANPP leadership would entrench people oriented administration. "The ordinary citizens of this state have suffered from the maladministration of the PDP at the local government level. "Our party is on a rescue mission to deliver Ebonyi people and launch them into a new dawn,'' Orji said. He said the party would stick to internal democracy in the selection of its chairmanship and counsellorship aspirants to ensure the emergence of best candidates for the council election. He assured party faithful that godfathers would not play a role in choosing the party's flag bearers in the forthcoming poll, pointing out that the process would be open and transparent. Orji described the recent defection of some members of the party to other political parties as part of the democratic process, but added that it would not affect the chances of ANPP in the election. "The defected members only exercised their right of free association and their action is part of the democratic process. "Though it is sad when you lose one of your own but I stand to tell you that their exit will not affect the fortunes of our party in the election,'' he added. The party chairman commended the leadership style of the national chairman of the ANPP, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu and described him as a man of vision. He said the party under Onu had remained focused, peaceful, stable and committed to the promotion of democratic ideals. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

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PDP hails Jonathan’s action on LagosIbadan express road construction T From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West has commended President Goodluck Jonathan for terminating the Federal Government concession agreement with Bi-Courtney Limited on the Lagos-Ibadan highway and awarding same to reputable construction companies in the country. The party, which urged the Federal Government to see to the early completion of the road, said the step taken by the President was a further

demonstration of his commitment to the transformation of the country. In a release issued today by its Zonal Publicity Secretary, Hon. Kayode Babade, the PDP noted that even though the idea of concessioning the road to BiCourtney was noble, the failure of the concessionaire to commence work on the road over three years after the concession agreement was signed made its termination necessary. The statement read “We received with joy the news of the

Federal Government’s termination of the Bi-Courtney’s Lagos-Ibadan road contract and award of the road construction to Julius Berger and R. C. C Nigeria Limited. The decision is highly commendable and we commend President Goodluck Jonathan for taking such a bold

and patriotic decision. “Now that the road has been awarded to two notable construction firms, it is our expectation that the job will be completed very soon. This is taking into consideration the importance of the Lagos-Ibadan express way to Nigerians,

especially our people in the South-West. “Also, we wish to urge Mr. President to see to it that the railway system is totally resuscitated so as to reduce the pressure on our roads, thereby making them durable,” the party added.

Benue LG Polls: PDP, ACN clash leaves 5 injured, party office burnt From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

t least five persons were injured and Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP)’s office in Wannune, Tarka Local Government Area of Benue was razed down during a clash between the party and Action Congress Party, ACN members yesterday in the run-off to the local government polls slated for November 24th 2012. A Toyota Corolla car belonging to an influential member of ACN in the area was also damaged. A source who pleaded anonymity disclosed to our reporter that trouble started when the supporters of the opposition party were heading for a campaign rally in Mbachaverkyondo ward in Mbakor district and they were ambushed by PDP supporters. It was also learnt that the PDP members were holding a meeting in the residence of one Ajura Aondona who only recently decamped from the ACN to PDP at the same time the clash took place. In a reprisal attack, the ACN burnt down PDP office and the residence of the former commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr. Benjamin Vembeh was attacked. The State Police Public Relations’ Officer, DSP Daniel Ezeala, who confirmed the clash, maintained that the ACN members were going for a rally when they were attacked by some political thugs. Ezeala further disclosed that one person was seriously injured and

was been hospitalized while 5 other persons have been arrested and would be charged to court. He said the command had deployed adequate police personnel to the area to forestall further break down of law and order. ACN Secretary, Mr. Tersoo Jonathan, accused the PDP of attacking them, maintaining that they unjustly disrupted their campaigns at Asukunya. He, however, denied that his party embarked on a reprisal attack and destroyed PDP office. “We are a peaceful party; we are completely opposed to violence. We duly obtained police permit to conduct our rally at Asukunya and the PDP came and disrupted it”, he said. PDP spokesperson, Mr Bem Zoho, who claimed ignorance about the incidence, however, admitted that he saw a detachment of policemen moving towards Tarka in the late hours of yesterday. It could be recalled that last week, there were two (2) clashes by the parties in Gboko and Makurdi LGAs. Tarka, Gboko and Buruku are the three local government area councils that are the strongholds of the ACN in the state. Again, at a recent decampment ceremony in Tarka, Governor Gabriel Suswam had stated clearly that the PDP would not be intimidated by ACN as they were bent on clinching the area which is the home country of Senate Minority Leader Sen. George Akume.

L-R: Chairman, House Committee on Marine Transport, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, with his Deputy, Hon. Amuna Khadi, during the budget defence by the Ministry of Transport, yesterday at the National Assembly, in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Saraki: Politicians play politics with condolence visits From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

head of 2015 general election, eminent politicians in the country as well as state governors have turned the condolence visit to Dr Olusola Saraki's family in Ilorin to an avenue to discuss politics. Some of the important dignitaries who stormed Saraki family house including the National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamaga Tukur; former Deputy Senate President, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu; Chairman of Nigeria Governor's Forum (NGF) Rotimi Amaechi; Delta State governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan and Deputy Governor of Kogi state, Arch. Yomi Awoniyi used the opportunity to cement their relationships with Saraki's ahead of 2015 election. It was learnt that the politicians

were discussing how to clinch tickets to contest on the platform of the PDP ahead of the 2015 general elections. Some of them declared their supports for the heir to the Saraki's political structure, Bukola Saraki, who is being seen as the successor to the political dynasty. It could be recalled that General Mohammadu Buhari alongside other leaders of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC); General Ibrahim Babagida, General Abubakar Abdulsalam and others had paid similar condolence visits to the family of Second Republic Senate Leader. Efforts to get reaction of Chairman of Governor's Forum, Rotimi Amaechi proved abortive as he waved to Journalists who wanted to talk to him. Our reporter gathered that supporters of Dr Bukola Saraki have started

underground campaign for him ahead of 2015 general election. Addressing Saraki's family and supporters at late Waziri of Ilorin house along Ilofa road, Alhaji Bamaga Tukur described him as a great friend whose death news he received with pains. Amaechi also noted that the late political icon was extremely generous and a man that stood by poor till death. He said should other Nigerian politicians emulate his exemplary life style, standard of living among masses would be raised. The Deputy Governor of Kogi state also described late politician as a father he knew since childhood. While calling on politicians to care about the grassroot, Governor Uduaghan said the late political sage had lived a fulfilled life which would be difficult to forget in the history of Nigeria politics.

Group commends President Jonathan for deepening democratic culture

he Executive Director, Conscience Nigeria (CN), an NGO, Mr Tosin Adeyanju, yesterday commended President Goodluck Jonathan for nurturing a favourable democratic space through a recent media chat. Adeyanju told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja that such platform would enlighten the people about government activities as well as enhance their participation in

democratic processes. ``The media chat is a welcome development to the nation's evolving democracy; we urge the President to do more," he said. He stressed the need for the President to renew commitment in the fight against corruption, noting that anti-graft agencies should be encouraged to prosecute corrupt officials. The director called on all

Nigerians to assist the various security agencies with vital information on how to curb insecurity in the country. ``Tackling insecurity in Nigeria is not a responsibility of security institutions alone; it requires collective efforts and contribution of all Nigerians to fight the menace of terrorism," he said. Adeyanju also advocated total deregulation of the downstream

petroleum sector to allow government access to more funds to develop infrastructure. According to him, fuel subsidy only benefits the few oil marketers at the detriment of the majority of Nigerians. He said that currently fuel was sold at N97 per litre only in Abuja and in some few cities, adding that ``people used to buy fuel at N120 and above in most parts of the

country". `` Therefore, who is benefiting from the subsidy? It will be better for the government to remove it to enable more marketers secure license for oil importation. ``The country needs to save the billions it is spending to sustain the subsidy regime for other development projects that will help the nation's economy to grow,`` Adeyanju said. (NAN)

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Enugu govt sacks Head of Service

L-R: Member, House Committee on Culture and Tourism, Hon. Jerry Manwe, Chairman, House Committee on Culture and Tourism, Hon. Ben Nwankwo, and Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Abdulmalik D. Usman, during the budget defence by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, yesterday at the National Assembly, in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

INEC seeks amendment to restrict imposition of candidates â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Olorode

hairman, Board of Electoral Institute, Prof. Lai Olurode, said INEC was seriously pushing for an amendment to restrict imposition of candidates on the commission by political parties. The chairman said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday that INEC was seeking an amendment to the 2011 Electoral Act to stop parties from fielding in elections, candidates who did not participate in primaries or just any candidate without credibility. Olorode, who is also INEC Commissioner, said it was so unfortunate that INEC could not on its own reject any list submitted by political parties.

``If the list of criminals, people with questionable character are submitted by political parties as candidates to INEC, it has no right under the constitution to reject such names. ``You cannot reject such names without an amendment to the Electoral Act because section 87 of the Act says any aspirant, who is aggrieved with the nomination process, may apply to the Federal High Court or the High Court of a state for redress.' He said it was unfortunate that such names were being imposed on INEC and INEC could not reject such imposition. Olorode said it had become imperative for the power to be conferred on the commission

with a view to enhancing its independence and ability to conduct free and fair polls at all times with credible candidates. The Commissioner said that was a big constraint to the commission, but expressed the hope that that could be taken out of the constitution under the review exercise. Olorode said INEC was also seeking legal and constitutional interventions for it to determine not just the order of elections but the timing of elections. He said the imposition of timing of elections on INEC by the National Assembly or State governments had become a major challenge. ``He said as simple as deciding the order of elections is, it is still a

battle that INEC is struggling for it with the state governments.'' Olorode said INEC was now seeking for legal and constitutional interventions to enable it not only determine the order of elections but the timing of elections as well. He stated that if the intervention came through it would become so easy for INEC to decide the order of elections without any challenges in securing the electoral process. The Commissioner recalled that in the bid up to the 2011 elections the commission had to seek various constitutional amendments because there were times when the voters register must be made public and the time of elections. (NAN)

Lam Adeshina was a virtuous man, says Buhari

former Head of State, retired Maj-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has described the late Alhaji Lam Adesina, a former governor of Oyo State, as a ``virtuous man''. Buhari made the remark in Ibadan on Monday when he paid a condolence visit to the home of the deceased. He noted that Adesina contributed his quota to the growth of democracy in Nigeria and in Oyo State when he served as its governor.

He extolled the level of simplicity of the deceased, adding that the late governor served humanity with humility. Buhari was accompanied on the visit by a former Speaker of the House Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Masari, the ACN National Secretary, Alhaji Lawal Shuaibu, and the Chairman of Petroleum Revenue Task Force, Malam Nuhu Ribadu. ``May Allah forgive Baba's shortcomings and may all the people

he left behind copy all his good deeds," Buhari wrote in the condolence register. In his condolence message, ACN scribe, Shuaibu, stressed that the late Adesina served his people, state and country very well. ``We have lost a great man; he served his people, state and country very well. May his soul rest in peace. ``I pray that Allah grant him eternal rest; may Allah forgive him," Shuaibu said. Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the

Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, who also visited the home of the late governor on Monday, commended the deceased for his service to humanity. ``I was a young boy growing up in the city of Ibadan when you began your missionary work in politics. ``Your commitment, dedication and selfless service as governor were exemplary and showed to all that one can be high in office and still maintain such simplicity and contagious humility. (NAN)

LG boss commends traditional rulers for polio eradication efforts

he Interim Management Officer of Dawakin Tofa Local Government Council in Kano State, Alhaji Musa Kambai, has commended the role of traditional rulers in the area's polio eradication campaign. In a statement signed by Malam Bashir Habib, the council's Information Officer, on

Monday in Kano, Kambai attributed the success of polio immunisation in the area to the advocacy roles of the traditional rulers. ``For instance, the district head of the local government, Alhaji Yusuf Nabahani, had done a lot of advocacy to aid the success of the exercise,'' Kambai was

quoted as saying in the statement. The statement said that Nabahani had directed all the ward heads in his domain to also strive to ensure the success of the polio immunisation programme. It said that Kambai stressed that the commitment of the local government workers also

contributed to the success of the exercise, which had been hitchfree since it began on Saturday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the target of the local government council is to immunise not less than 161, 719 children against polio during the 6th round of the exercise. (NAN)

he Enugu State Government has relieved its Head of Service, Mr Denis Eze of his appointment. This is contained in a statement from the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Amechi Okolo. The statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu yesterday directed Eze to hand over to the acting Head of Service, Mr Chidi Ezema within 24 hours. NAN reports that no reason was given for the sack. The statement came barely one week after the state Universal Basic Education Board was dissolved. NAN reports that Eze was the first head of service to be relieved of his appointment out of the three that had served under the administration of Gov. Sullivan Chime. (NAN)

Gov. Aregbesola swears in Acting CJ

ov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State on Monday swore in the state Acting Chief Judge, Justice Gloria Oladoke. Oladoke elevation followed the retirement of Justice Olaniyi Ojo, the former Chief Judge of the state Aregbesola, who spoke during the swearing in, pleaded with the judiciary to do justice to all matters before it. He also pleaded with judges, who he described as representatives of God in their various courts, to ensure that the purpose of justice was served in all their pronouncements. ``A situation where 90 per cent of societal resources are concentrated in the hands of 1 per cent of the people is injustice that can only breed class antagonism between the rich and the poor," he said. He said any attempt to deny people their rights could portend danger for the nation. The governor stressed that the rich should allow a greater spread of societal resources to the poor in order to avert the unexpected consequences. Aregbesola cautioned against oppression of the weak by the strong, stressing that abuse of power by the rich and powerful would only elicit proportionate response from the weak and powerless. According to him, the resultant effect of this is an unending struggle in which the poor has nothing to lose and the rich has everything to lose. The governor said the oath taken by Oladoke was a quest for justice and an affirmation of oneness with the universe in the pursuit of justice. ``What we are doing today, therefore, is symbolic of the quest for justice. An oath is a sacred thing. It is an affirmation of oneness with the universe in the pursuit of the universal purpose.'' (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

PAGE 41

NFF files protest against Mali – Green Stories by Albert Akota

he Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) says it has filed a protest to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) against the Malian U-17 national team for fielding over aged players. The Golden Eaglets defeated their Malian counterparts 2-0 in the first leg of the African U-17 final round match at the U.J.

Esuene Stadium, Calabar. Mr Chris Green, Chairman of the NFF Technical Committee said in Port Harcourt that the federation was suspicious of the age of the Malian team. He said the federation sent the petition through the match commissioner in Calabar at the end of the game. Green said the federation was not convinced that the Malians were under the stipulated age U- 17.

”We are not sure, but we want to be proved wrong that these players (Malians) are actually 17 and below because you know that our players did go through MRI and we know that what is allowable is from grade one to grade five, which makes them eligible to playing in that cadre. “The physical nature of the Malian team raised eyebrows and we suspect they were over aged, “ he said.

Manchester City can’t stop real Madrid, says Khedira

S Aminu Maigari

2013 AYC draws hold Dec 9 in Cairo

he draw for the 2013 African Youth championship in Algeria will be staged at the CAF head office in Cairo on December 9. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) also announced that the draw for the African Junior Championship to be hosted by Morocco will be conducted same day at the same venue. Defending champions Nigeria are expected to be seeded for the AYC, while hosts Algeria will head the other first round group for the competition to be played between March 16 and 30. The six other finalists for the AYC are Benin, Gabon, Mali, Ghana,

Egypt and DR Congo. The semi-finalists will qualify to represent Africa at the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup in Turkey. The final qualifying rounds of the 2013 African Junior championship in morocco will be concluded in the first weekend of December. The U17 championship is also an eight-team tournament with the top four teams advancing to the U17 World Cup in the UAE. Three-time world champions Golden Eaglets of Nigeria enjoy a 20 first leg advantage against Mali in the final qualifiers.

Ghana referees duo make AFCON shortlist

wo assistant referees from Ghana have made the AFCON shortlist Assistant referees of A.S Malik and David Laryea have been named in CAF’s shortlist of match officials for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. The duo will get the chance to officiate at the prestigious

biennial tournament if they pass a series of medical, physical and academic exercises. These are prerequisites to CAF Referees Elite courses. Malik and Laryea hit Cairo yesterday ahead of the commencement of the screening process which begins today.

1994 Super Eagles squad were corrupt – Westerhoff Nwankwo Kanu

Kanu, Ugbe tip Eaglets to Shock Mali

wankwo Kanu, erstwhile Super Eagles captain, is bullish that the Golden Eaglets would scale the Malian hurdle to qualify Nigeria for the African Under-17 Championship for the first time since 2007. The Golden Eaglets take a 2-0 goal advantage to Bamako in two weeks time against a supposedly big and obviously older opposition but Kanu said he is not confident the Nigerian youngsters would not be overawed by the Junior Eagles of Mali. “If we are talking about size, Mali should have ordinarily defeated the Golden Eaglets but winning matches is not about how big you are,” Kanu, said after watching the pulsating encounter.

“Despite the size of the Malians, the Golden Eaglets were still able to play their usual passing game and were just unlucky to have scored just two goals.” Kanu, a star of the 1993 Golden Eaglets that emerged champions at Japan’93, said he hinged his optimism on the premise that the current national Under-17 team is blessed with players who could be match winner any day. Alhassan Ibrahim, the Number 8 for instance, can wreck the Malians and he was just unlucky today because he should have scored more than a goal,” he reemphasized. “They just need to relax and play their usual style and I’m confident that they would beat Mali in Bamako,”added Kanu.

ormer Nigeria National Team Coach, Clemens Westerhof has revealed that 1994 Super Eagles players bribed their way into the national team. Westerhof, who coached Nigeria to success at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia and also led the Super Eagles to

Clemens Westerhof

their first-ever qualification for the FIFA World Cup in the United States in 1994, said the players who did not merit a place in the national team got call-ups after giving money to the selectors. “We had a situation where we had the wrong people in the wrong places, even in the (Nigeria) FA,” Westerhof told supersport.com. The Dutchman went on to specifically state that monies usually exchanged hands between national team selectors and the players when places in the national team were considered. “We had cases where players paid $15,000 (about N2.8 million) to the coach and say ‘I want to play for the national team’ and the coach would accept. They bought their way into the national team and it was an unbelievable situation. Very sad. I know these things,” an angry Westerhof said.

ami Khedira has said Real Madrid can win at Manchester City if they impose their own attacking strengths, although the midfielder is wary of the home side’s own firepower. Madrid travel to Manchester today’s in high spirits in completing with City that would guarantee their place in the last 16 and boost their chances of overtaking Borussia Dortmund to top the final group. Khedira admitted that City also had their own attacking danger men in Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Mario Ballotelli, but would not single out any particular individual. The German international, 25, who returned from a hamstring injury with a goal against Athletic on Saturday night, says he feels he is currently playing the best football of his career.

Walcott out of Montpellier tie today

rsenal manager Arsene Wenger said yesterday he will take a “risk” on the future of Theo Walcott as injury ruled the unsettled England forward out of the Champions League tie with Montpellier. Walcott will miss today’s match at the Emirates Stadium with a shoulder injury suffered during Arsenal’s 5-2 North London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League in Saturday, where he played on and scored the Gunners’ fifth goal in extra time at the end of the match. Arsenal lie second in Champions League Group B, one point behind Schalke, and failure to beat the French champions could leave Wenger’s men facing a tricky must-win tie at third placed Olympiakos in their final match. But, with Schalke hosting Olympiakos, victories for Arsenal and the German club this week would guarantee their places in the knockout stages.

Theo Walcott

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

PAGE 43

Peoples Daily CLASSIFIED

Christian banned for trash in changing rooms

an Christian has been banned for one match for smashing up a dressing room for the third time this season. The former Hampshire player, 29, trashed changing rooms after three successive dismissals for the West End Redbacks in his native Australia. Cox added: “We all have bad days but you can’t go belting holes in walls and start upsetting the people around you. Christian was fined for his second transgression but after again vandalising the changing room at Perth’s WACA, where he was out for eight and four as the Redbacks were beaten by the Warriors, he has been banned for the match against Victoria Bushrangers. The all-rounder helped Hampshire win the FP t20 title in 2010 and has played 17 one-day internationals and 11 Twenty20 matches for his country.

Donald moves up rankings with Japan win

uke Donald moved up a place to world number two as he overtook Tiger Woods by claiming victory in the Dunlop Phoenix tournament in Japan. Donald followed up opening rounds of 65, 64 and 71 with a 68 for the win. The Briton had led by four shots going into the final round and ended up finishing five strokes ahead of nearest rival Hideki Matsuyama. It is the 34-year-old’s first tournament win since he defended the PGA Championship at Wentworth in May. Donald’s latest success rarely appeared in doubt after he birdied the fourth and eighth, while getting an eagle at the seventh. He did bogey holes nine and 10 before seven pars and a birdie on the long 18th assured him of victory.

arl Froch’s desire to stage his next world title fight at one of his home city’s main football venues seem to be moving closer to reality. Nottingham Forest says they are “open-minded” about staging the IBF super-middleweight champion’s next bout. Notts County have also been eager to host a Froch bout in the past and have said they would welcome discussions. Froch, who defended his crown with a third-round knockout of Yusaf Mack in Nottingham on Saturday, tasted his first professional defeat against

Froch set to defend IBF title in Nottingham Forest Kessler in 2010. Froch is contractually obliged to meet Lucian Bute in Canada, but the former Romanian was easily beaten by the Nottingham boxer in their first meeting and may not trigger the re-match clause. And 35-year-old Froch has said fight against either Kessler or Andre Ward the only two fighters to have beaten him in a 32-fight career is his priority.

Carl Froch

Josh may retire in summer due to financial shortage

ritain’s number two tennis player Josh Goodall may retire in summer because of financial pressures. Goodall, 27, is ranked at 232 in the world; a massive 229 places lower than number one Briton Andy Murray. Goodall’s career earnings are £258,969, which is dwarfed by Murray’s career haul of £15.6m. Murray earned £333,000 from his first two tournaments of

2012. His prize money has averaged around £30,000 for the last eight years. “If I don’t see myself getting closer to the top 150 by next summer I will take a look at what I want to get out of this,” Goodall said. Goodall, who mainly plays on the Challenger and Future tours, has improved his ranking by more than 200 places since last summer and filled in for Murray in the Davis Cup

match against Belgium in April. The system is geared towards keeping players in the game longer and gives them extra money based on their performance. Without the extra £10,000 he earned from the LTA this year, Goodall admits he might not have been able to continue. He made the final of the doubles at the Nottingham Open with Ross Hutchins in 2007 but they were beaten in three sets by Eric Butorac and Jamie Murray.

Finn ruled out of second test with injury

ngland paceman Steve Finn has been ruled out of the second Test against India because of a thigh injury. Finn picked up the injury on the first day of England’s opening tour match against India A and missed the defeat in the first Test. England will also be without Ian Bell who returned home to become a father but missed the birth of his first child after his wife went into labour early. Depending on the results of Finn’s scan, he could play in an England Performance Programme match and be available for the final two Tests in Kolkata and Nagpur. He added: “His last real cricket out here in India was during the one-day series about a year ago, and he bowled superbly.

Steve Finn

Bolt set for football or cricket after 2016 Olympics

Usain Bolt

print star Usain Bolt will not appear in this year’s Big Bash Twenty20 League but may consider switching to cricket or football after the 2016 Olympics. But Bolt’s agent Ricky Simms said “Usain is currently an athlete focused on his preparations for the 2013 World Championships in Moscow. “He may try his hand at cricket or football when he retires from running but that would be after 2016. Bolt, who grew up in cricket-mad Jamaica, was sounded out by Melbourne Stars captain Warne in August after cementing his status as an athletics legend by

d e f e n d i n g his100m,200mand4x100mrelay crowns at the London 2012 Olympics. Bolt said at the time that he would “definitely” love to be involved in the Australian tournament, prompting Warne to launch a Twitter campaign to try to bring about the move. Bolt, who describes himself as an all-rounder, has appeared in charity cricket matches and famously clean bowled then West Indies captain Chris Gayle in 2009. His first love, however, is football. He was a special guest of Manchester United at the 2011 Champions League final in London and spoke recently of his desire to play professionally in the future.

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

Eko 2012 Eko 2012

Bauchi to participate in 17 sports with 220-man contingent

auchi State will send a 220-person contingent to the 2012 National Sports Festival holding in Lagos from Nov. 27 to Dec. 9, says a top official. Alhaji Tanimu Saidu, the Chairman, Bauchi State Sports Council disclosed this in Bauchi that the contingent, comprising athletes, coaches and other officials, would compete in 17 sports. “Our contingent will leave for Lagos on either Friday or Saturday and we are sending 220 people to represent the state. “Our athletes will participate in 17 sports at the festival and

they are already in an open camp preparing for the competition,” he said Some of the athletes, who spoke on anonymously, said they would try to excel at the competition but regretted the lack of serious interest in their preparation by the government. They cited the release of only N30 million for their participation as part of the government’s lack lustre interest in their welfare. The athletes said the money was not enough to buy equipment for all the sports they would participate in and also

carter for the other needs of the contingent. They also complained about the government’s inability to fulfill pledges made to some of them who performed well during the last edition of the festival in Port Harcourt in 2011. The government promised to give automatic employment and monetary rewards to athletes who won medals. However, in spite of many explanations from government officials that the promise would be fulfilled, none of the athletes has received any money or offer of employment.

Niger govt doles out N75m for NSF athletes From Iliya Garba, Minna

Isa Yuguda

Team Rivers start finishing touches ahead of NSF

he Head Coach of Abula for Team Rivers has lauded the three phased camping for athletes in preparation for the forthcoming 18th National Sports Festival (NSF). Paul Asaah disclosed this in Port Harcourt yesterday that the camping exercise had been quite rewarding. Team Rivers is in the final phase of its preparations for the NSF, having concluded the first and second phase of the programme earlier in the earlier. Team Rivers won the 17th edition of the games in 2011, with a medal haul of 135 gold, 79 silver, and 85 bronze medals. “We are doing well in the camp; this is the third camping and preparations have been in the high gear to ensure successful outing in the forthcoming sports festival. “The athletes are in high spirit to win medals and I believe God will be with us because we have worked hard.

“The three camping phases have given athletes and officials ample time to tighten up all loose ends,’’he said. The head coach urged the government to lend its support to the sport, so that it could grow the way it should at the grassroots. According to Asaah, traditional sports, especially Abula, are games that needed constant support to sustain its growth. “We have been doing great in the game, Abula has excelled very well over the years and I believe we will continue to promote the sports. “But we need government support because it is like showcasing our cultural values and putting a new thing into sports,” he said. Asaah said that team Rivers would end the final camping phase on Nov. 23 and depart to Lagos on Nov. 24. He stressed that early arrival in Lagos, would enable the athletes to acclimatise before the commencement of the NSF on Nov. 27.

FCT assembles 150 athletes for NSF T

he FCT Director of Sports Malam Alim Musa yesterday said that 150 athletes would represent the territory at the 18 th National Sports Festival (NSF). In an interview with newsmen in Abuja, Musa said the council was putting finishing touches to preparations for the festival. He said arrangement had

been concluded for FCT Minister Bala Mohammed to address the athletes before their departure for the festival on Nov. 26. “Hopefully we will leave for the festival on Nov. 26; if we are able to get the minister to address the players before Nov. 25, then they will leave on Nov. 25. “The advance party will leave two days earlier to secure accommodation and make sure that the team will not have problem settling down when they arrive in Lagos,” Musa said. The director, who refused to disclose the council’s budget for the festival, noted that the

team would spend according to their needs. “Our funding is based on our needs. We don’t discuss much about funding once it is adequate. “The most important thing is that the funding should be enough for our transportation, feeding, accommodation and other logistics,” he added. Musa expressed regret that karate would not feature at the festival. He said that it could reduce the chances of the FCT surpassing its record at the previous games held in Port Harcourt in 2011. He, however, pointed out that enough work had been

LOSS OF DOCUMENT

FCT minister, Bala Mohammed

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC OF LOSS OF ORIGINAL COPY OF STATUTORY RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY OVER PLOT NO. 17, CADASTRAL ZONE C08, DAKWO, ABUJA WITH FILE NO. MISC 110558 DATED 16/02/11 OF AN AREA OF 2.63 HECTARES, BELONGING TO TGLOBAL INVESTMENT LIMITED IS MISSING. ALL EFFORTS MADE TO TRACE THE MISSING DOCUMENTS PROVED ABORTIVE. IF FOUND PLEASE CONTACT THE NEAREST POLICE STATION, AGIS AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE. SIGNED: MR TAIWO BASHIRU 08066065909

done in other sports to make up for what would have been lost in the karate event. FCT finished 16 th with 6 gold, 12 silver and 22 bronze at the last festival held in Port Harcourt, The festival holds in Lagos from Nov. 27 to Dec. 9.

he Niger State Sports Ministry has budgeted N75million for athletes of both individual and team event for this year’s National Sports Festival slated for November 27th to December 13th in Lagos. The secretary to the Niger state government Mr. Daniel Shashere has assured the athletes that it is going to be a naira rain if the athletes justify their selection for the national event. He said “what is on the front burner in the recognition of athletes by this administration is to give cash reward to any athletes that make the state proud, it is now a policy that N2.5million should be given to teams that won gold medals and N1.5million for silver while N1m will go to a bronze medal team. On the individual event each athletes with a gold medal will be given N300,000, silver medal N200,000 and the bronze medalist will go home with N150,000, this arrangement according to the Secretary to the state Government is to keep the athletes on high spirit. The athletes have promised has confirmed their readiness to face any opposition from every quarter to make sure that their records in the last 2 National Sports festival is consolidated.

Team Edo is set for “Eko 2012” – Director

he Director of Sports of the Edo State Sports Council Godwin Okute, said that the state’s athletes would perform well at the forthcoming 18th National Sports Festival in Lagos. According to Okute, the athletes have been thoroughly grilled for better performance at the sports fiesta. “There is no problem whatsoever with our athletes in camp and I believe they are fully prepared for the Games,” he said. The director, however, shied from predicting the number of medals Team Edo would like garner from the NSF. ”In events of this nature you cannot make an outright prediction on the outcome of events. ”But I know that we will do our best and make our presence felt at the NSF,’’Okute said. Okute commended the organisers of the sports festival

for adopting the Delegates Registration Meeting (DRM) approach; which he said would curb the incidence of double registration. “The adoption of the DRM approach will address the excesses usually engaged in by some state,’’he said.

Oshomhole Adams

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

PAGE 45

Ezeji joins Rangers

egendary Nigeria striker, Victor Ezeji has joined Enugu Rangers ahead of the 2012/13 season. The prolific forward joins the Flying Antelopes from his home town club, Sharks. Following the completion of the move for an undisclosed fee, Ezeji thus puts to bed, rumours about his future which has been an issue of great debate following the conclusion of the 2011/12 Nigeria Premier League

Victor Ezeji

(NPL) season. “Everyone who follows Nigerian football knows what Enugu Rangers represents in Nigerian football. This is a traditional club and the fact that they are playing in next season’s Caf Champions League was an important factor in me making a decision on this,” Ezeji exclusively told supersport.com. ”Rangers were pipped at the post as regards the NPL title last season. I want to see that I help the club win the title this season. “The Champions League title is also important to the club and having played with three different clubs (Enyimba, Dolphins and Club Africain of Tunisia) in the competition, I believe I have the experience to help my teammates achieve good things on the competition this season. “I am happy to join Rangers and I will give my best as always to help the club win things this season,” he said. Ezeji scored six goals in 22 appearances for Sharks last season.

Nasarawa ponder for ex-World Cup star

Justice Christopher

Nigeria National League (NNL) Club, Prime FC. The Players are Sunday Taiwo, Taiwo Mayegun and Samuel Adegbenro.

Odita Okechukwu Kwara United

Nigeria Premier League (NPL) side for past two weeks. “Justice Christopher has joined us here (at Nasarawa United) for the new season. He’s been here for two weeks now. But his contract will be on a short-term that will see him leave us by February or March at the latest as he is going abroad to sign a deal with a club in Qatar. “But for now, his experience with the team will count, as he has played in the league before and has even played in the highest

football competition, the Fifa World Cup,” said a member of Nasarawa United’s backroom staff. However, the former Katsina United man might end up not kicking a ball following uncertainty surrounding the commencement date of the 2012/2013 season, earlier billed to start on December 1. The ex-Levski Sofia man made more than ten appearances for Nigeria’s Super Eagles.

FC Abuja face Prisons FC in final pre-season championship

risons Football Club of Abuja has booked a place in the final of the on-going pre-season championship organised by the FCT Football Coaches Association. The team defeated hardfighting AMAC FC, 5-4 on penalties to set up a final clash with FC Abuja which overcame Virgin Kids

Kwara sign players ahead of 2012/13 football season he Nigeria Premier league (NPL), Club, Kwara United have completed the signing of three mid fielders from

asarawa United have perfected plans to contract former Super Eagles’ midfielder, Justice Christopher. The deal, it has been learned, is on a short-term that will last till February or March when Christopher will leave to join a Qatari club. Christopher, 30, who was a playing member of Nigeria’s team to the 2002 Fifa World Cup in Japan and South Korea, has been training with the promoted

United team manager, Agboola Ibrahim said that the trios were impressive at the Club’s two weeks pre season tour in Abeokuta. “Yes we have signed them from Prime as they were fantastic in Abeokuta. “They were also superb last season as we saw what they played against Heartland in the federation cup semi final here in Ilorin. Agboola stressed that 34 Players have been recruited by the Afonja Warriors and the Club need one more before the commencement of the 2012\2013 NPL season.

Academy 2-0 in an earlier encounter. The semi-finals encounter between Prisons FC and AMAC FC went into penalty shoot-out after both teams tied goalless at the end of regulation time with ten men. Both sides had one player each sent off by the referee for dangerous tackle and for the use of foul language. 15 teams were involved in the pre-season competition played at the Area 3 sports centre. Ebere Brown, Asst. Coach of Prisons FC told reporters that his team was victorious because the players played to instructions after training hard for the encounter. “Both sides are good, but we train regularly on the same pitch, so we know ourselves very well and AMAC lost gallantly, not woefully, to a better side,” Brown said. Raphael Agetu, Head Coach of AMAC FC said the team had better chances of winning the game during the regulated period but failed to convert their opportunities. “We lost the game during the run of play before the penalty shoot-out; we could have scored many goals but

unfortunately threw the opportunities away. “Amos Daniel, one of my creative midfielders got a second yellow card to leave the field of play. It was a well deserved red card. He asked for it; it was a dangerous tackle to his opponent. “We would be playing the third and fourth place match tomorrow with the Virgin Kids,’’ Agetu said. Godwin Bamigboye, the Chairman, FCT Coaches Association in an interview said apart from preparing the teams for the new season, the aim of the competition was also to help the referees plan for the forthcoming league season. “You can see uniform referees on the field. They

are, by officiating in the matches, assessing themselves in this competition. “The new season of course was supposed to have started but we are waiting for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) and the Nigeria National League (NNL) to hold their various Annual General Meetings. “But overall, it is the NFF that will give us the go ahead to begin the new season which I hope will be done between now and Dec. “So anytime from Dec., the season proper will commence with the NPL. The final of the competition would be played tomorrow immediately after the third place match.

Musa Talle, FCT FA chairman

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2012

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I’m afraid of incredible Ronaldo, says Man City boss

anchester City's hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout round might depend on whether they manage to contain Cristiano Ronaldo in today’s tie, according to Roberto Mancini. City needs to win against Real Madrid to stand any chance of qualifying but they face a player who has a record of 165 goals in 162 appearances for his club. City boss Mancini said: "A player that scores one or two goals a game is an incredible player. But the City boss insisted that his team must not be afraid to express themselves, despite describing Real as one of the world's top two teams. “It is my opinion that Real Madrid is the best team in the world with Barca and when you play against Real, you play against 11 top players," he added. Carlos Tevez, 28, played alongside 27-year-old Ronaldo during their time at Manchester United and he labelled his former team-mate as "very, very dangerous. “Cristiano is one of the best players in the world and he will play in this game the way he always has done," said the Argentine City forward. The Premier League side have collected just two points from their first four matches. They must beat Real at the Etihad and win in the away fixture at Borussia Dortmund to have any chance of making the knockout stage. UCL results BATE 0 - 2 Lille Spartak 0 - 3 Barcelona Juventus - Chelsea Galatasaray - Man United Valencia - Bayern Munich CFR Cluj - Braga Benfica - Celtic Nordsjælland - Shakhtar

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QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE In the military, we have our tradition of doing thinngs. General (Muhammadu) Buhari is our leader and he is the one to speak on our behalf. – Former President Ibrahim Babangida during a condolence visit to late Olusola Saraki's family in Ilorin, Kwara state.

A President’s detachment from reality I

n his weekly televised media chat on the television network on Sunday, President Goodluck Jonathan came out forcefully to explain the efforts his administration is making to tackle and eliminate corruption in public life. I have never seen him so prepared for a television appearance. He smiled a lot. Contrary to the perception of lethargy that seems to characterize the war against corruption, the President explained the strategy of his administration which, he said, includes a stage-by-stage approach to the biggest challenge facing a developing country like Nigeria. According to this strategy, the Commander-in-Chief explained, his government focuses first on eliminating electoral corruption and corruption in fertilizer distribution. He argued that this approach is yielding results, citing the successful conduct of the Ondo and Edo states’ governorship elections as one of the signs that the war against electoral corruption is being won. The President’s confidence is bolstered by the fact that both Ondo and Edo are opposition states. Eliminating corruption in fertilizer distribution is another area of success cited by the President. One is not, however, sure if many Nigerians would agree with the President that the strategy he announced is actually working according to plan. The “success” story announced by the President may have stemmed from the briefings he had received from his officials and state governments. The story of the so-called “GSM fertilizer” cannot be the basis of this outlandish claim. GSM fertilizer is a mere sprinkling of fertilizer distribution to meet the needs of propaganda by government. To say that other countries are sending their officials to study how it is done here is the height of deception. Can corruption be tackled by half measures? To say that corruption has been eliminated in fertilizer distribution is a bit too farfetched. When party men and women handle fertilizer distribution, the beneficiaries are mainly party loyalists. To receive two bags as allowed

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Garba Shehu garshehu@yahoo.co.in

President Goodluck Jonathan under the “wallet” or GSM scheme, farmers were made to undergo a further screening by party committees. Theoretically, it was to get to them without intermediaries. If, indeed, corruption has been eliminated from fertilizer distribution, how does one explain the fact that fertilizer allocation enriches officials of local governments, state governments and party leaders? If not because of the corruption in the fertilizer distribution system, the current fertilizer price of N5,000 plus to nonparty members would not have been as exorbitant as it is in reality when it reaches the average farmer. The fact is that the corruption in the fertilizer distribution system makes few people rich overnight at the expense of the average farmers who are supposed to be the intended beneficiaries. Nigeria seems to be like a country that has lost its soul. If pensioners’ funds are not out of reach to greedy and corrupt officials, one wonders how fertilizer

distribution could have escaped the deadly grip of the hands of corruption. Can the President assess the success of the war against corruption from the cozy comfort of Aso Rock? When election observers were describing the 2011 election as orderly, peaceful and free and fair, it took the audacious intervention by a former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell to jolt us out of our complacency. He said that voter queues at polling stations might seem orderly and peaceful, but the devil lies in the collection centres to which election observers have no access. Is it not too early to declare victory against corruption when the government itself is taking panic measures to reassure a skeptical international community that the war against corruption has not lost momentum? The rearraignment of the former Minister of Works, Dr. Hassan Lawal, and such other cases in a fit of frenzy in the last two weeks on fresh charges of corruption is part of the desperate official efforts to deflect criticism of lethargy on the part of the Jonathan government. When she visited Nigeria in August 2009 during her firstever African tour, U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, regretted that the war against corruption “had fallen back.” As expected, rather than being humble enough to accept honest criticism, Mrs. Clinton came under attack from government officials, including Senate President David Mark, who had warned her to mind her own business. Living in denial and rejecting honest criticisms as needless interference wouldn’t help Nigeria’s anti-corruption efforts getting anywhere. We cannot fight corruption by

wishful thinking or rhetoric. Contrary to Jonathan’s strategy of stage-by-stage approach, fighting corruption demands radical action. It demands courage and iron will to confront corruption. What our President seemed to have played down is the hydraheaded nature of corruption and its deadly grip. Can we declare success when the judiciary, the police, the civil service, the EFCC and the politicians appear stubbornly corrupt? When corruption sinks its teeth into the souls of these key public institutions, is it safe to declare success by stage-by-stage approach or method? Do you scotch a deadly enemy like corruption or eliminate it totally? If it takes three years of his war against corruption to declare victory on only two counts in this litany of corruption, how much time does Mr. President require to achieve results dealing with the scourge in the NNPC, the courts, the police, the civil service and the entire gamut of public life? One may even go further to ask whether the forces of corruption are not stronger than the state. Fighting corruption goes beyond courtroom drama in which fuel subsidy fraud culprits and corrupt officials are briefly presented before judges and granted bail. No big man has been successfully jailed to serve as a deterrent. While ordinary criminals that steal goats, wrappers and handsets are sent to jail almost daily, corrupt officials use technicality to escape justice. The irony and hypocrisy of fighting corruption came to light during the recent public hearings on constitutional amendments held at zonal centres across the country at which governors were said to have opposed the death penalty for corruption. This is a very interesting revelation in a country that frequently wastes no time in jailing and hanging ordinary offenders. Are we doomed? Has corruption defeated us? The late radical A.B.U. lecturer, Dr. Yusuf Bala Usman once predicted during the rule of former President Obasanjo that if the government could not fight corruption, the monster would fight it. Is Dr. Bala’s prediction coming to pass?

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Kano office: Plot 3, Zaria Road, Opposite Kano State House of Assembly. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 803 606 3308. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com; pmlnewsdesk@gmail.com ISSN: 2141– 6141