Peoples Daily Newspaper, Wednesday, May 23, 2012

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

Vol. 8 No. 43

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

. . . putting the people first

Decomposing bodies 5 killed as of couple found soldiers go berserk inside car in Kano in Maiduguri >> PAGE 2

Rajab 2, 1433 AH

Another Kano mass wedding to hold before Ramadan

>> PAGE 3

N150

New electricity tariff may trigger inflation – CBN

>> PAGE 6

>> PAGE 19

President Court of Appeal

Jonathan shuns NJC, reappoints Justice Adamu

By Richard Ihediwa & Sunday Ejike Benjamin

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fforts to re-instate the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami may have been

dashed following the reappointment of Justice Dalhatu Adamu as Acting President of the Court.

The National Judicial Council (NJC), which had in August last year recommended the

suspension and retirement of Justice Salami, made a sudden about turn on May 11, 2012 with a recommendation to President Jonathan for his reinstatement.

The tenure of Justice Adamu as acting President of the

Appellate Court expired Monday and the President, in a move yesterday that took the judiciary and the rest of the society unaware, reappointed Justice Adamu as the Acting president of the court, an action which may

pitch him in a constitutional war with the NJC, as Section 153 of the 1999 constitution empowers the NJC to hire and fire the president of the Court of Appeal.

Thus, expectation of Salami’s Contd on Page 2

Niger gets 3rd speaker in one week

By Sunday Etuka

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L-R: Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, presenting the report of the 2011 Hajj Operations to President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

onfusion in the Niger State House of Assembly continued yesterday with the impeachment of the new Speaker, Honourable Isah Kawu, bringing the toll to three different speakers in one week.

Kawu, who was sworn-in last Tuesday following the impeachment of then speaker, Mohammed Tsokwa Gammunu Contd on Page 2

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

CONTENTS

Decomposing bodies of couple found inside car

News

From Bala Nasir, Kano

2-11

Editorial

12

Op.Ed

13

Letters

14

Opinion

15

Metro

16-17

Business

19-22

S/Exchange

23

S/Report

24

Motoring

26

Newsxtra

27

Arts

29

Lagos shuts churches, mosques over noise, Page 3

International 31-34 Strange World 35 Digest

36

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-47

Columnist

48

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

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

Phones for News: 070-37756364 09-8734478

D

ecomposing bodies of a couple believed to be lovers were discovered on Monday night inside a Volkswagen Golf car in Kano at one of the parking lots of the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH).

The late couple, identified as Najib Aliyu Yunusa and Nadiya Sherrif Abdu Gwammaja, were said to have been found dead after both were declared missing by their respective families Monday.

Grandson of a Kano based businessman and transporter, Najib who until his death was believed to be in his early 30s, met

his late friend Nadiya through the social network, Facebook network, a family source hinted.

The source stated that Najib is father to two children, came back to Kano on Friday from Abuja where he was working as the manager at a petrol station.

On her part, Nadiya, a divorcee, was said to have left a verbal message with her family that she was paying a condolence visit to family of her former husband where a member of the family died, the source further explained.

“We could not trace her whereabouts since then, only for us to get information from a family

member today that Nadiya’s dead body along with a friend of hers was discovered inside a car at AKTH,” said the family source.

Thought no one could say when and how they met on the fateful day their decomposing bodies were discovered after a disturbing stench polluted the air around the area.

The stench was traced to the parked car with tinted glasses. Our source said when the car was forced open the bodies of a man and woman were lying inside and had even started decomposing, suggesting that they had been there for at least two days.

The Public Relations Officer of

Immigration to deport 45 Chinese nationals from Kano orty five Chinese nationals, comprising 34 males and eleven females have been arrested and detained by the Kano state command of the Nigerian Immigration Service for what it described as economic scavenging in the popular

Kantin Kwari textile market of Kano metropolis.

Controller, Kano state command, Dr. Brasca Ifeadi, who revealed this while briefing newsmen in his office yesterday, disclosed that the mass arrest of the Chinese was a directive from the Comptroller General of Immigration, Mrs. Rose Uzoma.

The controller emphasised that every foreigner who is not in the country to add value to the Nigerian economy, but to devalue it will not be allowed henceforth.

He assured foreign nationals who come to Nigeria to invest and create employment for Nigerians will be welcomed and supported by the Federal Government.

Contd from Page 1 return as substantive president of the Court of Appeal was therefore dashed.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Senator Mohammed Dahiru, who confirmed the reappointment of Justice Adamu as acting president of the Court of Appeal, insisted that President Jonathan acted within the law.

“I can confirm to you that the President has renewed his appointment and there is nothing wrong with that”, he said, adding that, “Adamu’s tenure as acting president of the court ended on Monday, but the president has asked him to remain in office”.

Senator Dahiru explained that

the law does not require the President to make such appointment in an acting capacity with recourse to the NJC or Senate.

According to him, the President would be expected to forward substantive nominee for such plum job to the Senate for confirmation.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, yesterday said the Federal Government would not act on the recommendation of the NJC to recall the embattled suspended President of the Court of Appeal because the matter is subjudice.

The minister said no responsible government would act on the NJC recommendation in the present circumstances of the case.

Adoke, who made the clarification while responding to journalists’ questions at the ministerial press briefing in Abuja, noted that the Federal Government would make its position known on the matter as soon as the judiciary puts its house in order.

He said there were several litigations by way of processes served on the President on the issue and until they are resolved he cannot act on the recommendation to reinstate Salami.

From Edwin Olofu, Kano

the hospital, Malam Aminu Inuwa, who confirmed the incident yesterday, stated that the hospital was waiting police approval for an autopsy to be carried out on the two bodies so as to establish the circumstances that led to their death.

Kano state police command has confirmed the incident through its spokesman, DSP Tanimu Dutse, but added that details on the circumstances of their death had to wait for doctors’ report.

It would be recalled that a similar incident occurred at Kundila Housing Estate in the state capital a few months ago when a young couple was found dead inside a car.

The duo were later alleged to have been poisoned.

Reps to F probe multimillion insurance of Jonathan shuns NJC, reappoints Justice Adamu government assets

Niger gets 3rd speaker in one week Contd from Page 1 was himself impeached after 21 members supported a vote of no confidence passed on him.

The impeachment motion was moved by Honourable Andrew Doma, representing Shiroro, and was supported by Abass Waziri, representing Magama. Kawu’s impeachment was swift as only three members opposed the passage of the vote of no confidence.

Hon. Adamu Usman was immediately elected and sworn in, in his place, by the Clerk of the House. Mr. Yusuf Kure, the Majority Leader and Alhaji Nazeer Abdullahi, the Chief Whip, who were elected alongside Isa Kawu, were also removed while the Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Abdulrahman Gambo, retained his seat.

Gambo, the Deputy Speaker, presided over the plenary session, while Mr. Andrew Doma (PDP),

representing Shiroro Constituency, moved the motion on matters of public interest on the issue.

He urged the Assembly to relieve Kawu and two other principal officers of their positions, saying that members had lost confidence in them.

Alhaji Abba Waziri (PDP) representing Magama, endorsed the motion, while the Minority Leader, Alhaji Shehu Fawa opposed the motion, insisting that the sponsors of the motion did not give more cogent reason to impeach the Speaker.

Mrs. Comfort Yuda (PDP) representing Tafa Constituency, nominated Alhaji Adamu Usman (PDP) representing Mokwa Constituency, while Alhaji Ibrahim Ndaman (PDP) Katcha Constituency supported and the nomination was unanimously adopted by the Assembly.

In his acceptance speech, the new

Speaker thanked the members for reposing confidence in him and promised to deliver the legislative agenda to improve the living condition of the people.

Signs that all was not well at Niger State House of Assembly became manifest yesterday when government drafted armed soldiers and policemen to take over the legislative house.

The armed soldiers were drafted to the premises of the assembly to prevent access to anybody other lawmakers and staff members. Even they were only allowed access into the premises after being subjected to thorough search by the security men.

Allegedly, because the executive was not favourably disposed to the Honourable Kawu-led leadership of the House it engineered a regime change in spite of the fact that the leadership of the House had filed a preliminary objection to the suit by the preceding leadership under Hon. Gamunu, which was challenging its removal in court.

By Lawrence Olaoye

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he House of Representatives has resolved to institute a probe into the utilisation of multi-billion naira appropriated by the National Assembly for insurance of the Federal Government’s assets and properties from 1999 to date.

The resolution of the House was sequel to a motion moved

by Rep Abdulrahman Terab on the need to investigate insurance of government assets and property upon which some individuals in the various ministries are feeding fat.

The mandate to investigate the alleged fraud was given to the House committee on finance chaired by Rep Jibril Mumuni.

While introducing the motion, the lawmaker noted that there were growing concerns over the noncompliance to the Insurance Act by various government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

According to him, “huge amounts of public funds are committed to various kinds of insurance policies through the Appropriation Bill every year and that most of these subheads on insurance policies do not properly define the particular policies intend and periods of previous premium validity in order to determine or justify subsequent demand for funds in the budget”.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 3

kill N18bn fraud: You have case to Gunmen wardhead in cop answer, EFCC tells Akwe-Doma Plateau, in Borno

By Lambert Tyem

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he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday told a Federal High Court sitting in Lafia, Nasarawa state and presided over

by Justice Marcel Awokulehin, that former Nasarawa state governor, Aliyu Akwe-Doma and six others standing trial on a 17 count criminal charge of laundering state funds totaling over N15 billion, had a case to answer because their applications seeking to quash the case lacked merit and should be struck out.

The other accused persons are Senator John Danboyi, Abdulmumin Jibrin, Timothy Anthony Anjide, Dauda Egwa, Suleiman Ibrahim, Broworks Ltd and Green Forest Investment Ltd. At the resumed hearing of the case, the prosecution counsel, Dele Adesina, who stood in for Kemi Pinhiero, told the court that EFCC was opposing eight applications brought in by Doma and six other co-accused persons seeking to quash the case against them.

Counsel to all the accused

persons excluding the 4th and 8th, S.I Ameh, had earlier moved a motion to quash the charges preferred against them.

Counsel to Doma and Abdulmumin Jibrin, Charles Edosonwan had prayed the court to discharge the accused persons on the grounds that prosecution did not disclose the element of crime in the charge.

He said the case was an attempt to criminalise government and that the trial was instituted because they once held government positions.

However, EFCC counsel

argued that the accused persons should have brought the application to quash the case before their plea was taken adding that the case of Federal Republic of Nigeria vs. James Onanefe Ibori cited by the defense counsel was different from the case before the court.

“My lord, Ibori’s case which is one of the authorities they are relying on is quite different from the case before your lordship because in that case, Ibori had not taken any plea unlike here where they had pleaded not guilty to the charges before you.”

Cultists kill 1 in Keffi, suspect arrested From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

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ultists suspected to be students of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, on Monday evening, stabbed to death one Ibrahim Abdullahi, 20, while he was answering a call in front of his family house, located around Angwan Lambu area, while in the company of his friends.

Isa Abdullahi, son of the ward head of the area and elder brother of the deceased, who also assisted the police in arresting one of the suspects involved in the killing, told our reporter on phone that the late Ibrahim was answering a phone call when the cultists appeared on the scene wielding dangerous weapons and pounced on him, stabbing him severally before they escaped.

The victim was said to have been rushed to the Keffi Federal Medical Centre by the police who arrived the scene of the incident shortly after the killers escaped.

Confirming the incident, police spokesman, ASP Cornelius Ocholi, said the incident occurred when rival cult members mistook the deceased for one of them, attacking him with machetes and inflicting bodily injuries on him that led to his death.

Ocholi further disclosed that one suspect, Musa Rufa’i, has so far been arrested in connection with the killing and is providing useful information to the police.

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nknown gunmen invaded Sop village of Riyom local government area of Plateau state and killed the ward head of the village.

This is coming after two weeks of detente in the local government following the appointment of the new special task force commander Maj-Gen. Henry Ayoola.

An eyewitness told our correspondent that the assailants struck the village at about 10:41 pm Monday night shooting sporadically.

Member representing Riyom constituency in the state House of Assembly Hon. Daniel Dem confirmed the attack describing it as unfortunate and unwarranted on his people.

Meanwhile, a policeman attached to the Borno state police command, Mr. Manu Birma was killed yesterday morning, when unknown gunmen stormed his residence in Abuja Talakawa ward of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.

The latest incident came a day after gunmen attacked a police outpost in Benishek town, killing a civilian.

PSC confirms retirement of 13 AIGs

By Lambert Tyem

Some of the 1,200 restive youths being rehabilitated at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Malam Sidi, Kwami local government area of Gombe state, being addressed yesterday after some gunmen invaded the camp on Monday night and injured three persons.

Photo: NAN

Lagos shuts churches, mosques over noise From Ojebola Matthew, Lagos

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he Lagos state government through its agency, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, (LASEPA) has shut down three churches and two mosques across the state over noise pollution.

The affected houses of worship were stormed and shut down yesterday for refusing to comply

with the environmental laws of the state by LASEPA officials, backed up by the Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit.

The affected churches are The Christ Chosen Church, Onipanu and Evangelical Apostolic Church while the mosques are Darusalam Mosque at Sabo, Yaba and Ayegbesin Mosque at Mafoluku,

Soldiers kill 5, injure scores after explosion in Maiduguri From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

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From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri & Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

ragedy struck in Lawan Bukar ward of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, yesterday afternoon as soldiers went on rampage, killing five persons and leaving several others wounded while homes, shops and vehicles were set on fire.

It was gathered from residents of the area who told newsmen that the incident occurred shortly after a suspected militant waylaid a moving patrol vehicle belonging to the Joint Military Task Force, (JTF) and threw an explosive device at it which went off and injured four soldiers.

Immediately after the bomb went off,

the JTF men began shooting indiscriminately, causing pandemonium in the area burning two traders to death inside their shops when they stormed the area.

A resident, Modu Ba’ana, said shortly after the JTF operatives raided the area, they fired shots into the crowd and burnt down residences, buildings, shops, vehicles and other structures.

“It was sad that two young men who escaped from the military’s brutal action and locked themselves in their shops, were roasted to death as the soldiers pursued them and set the shops on fire, even as the men wailed repeatedly.”

Oshodi.

According to the General Manager, LASEPA, Engr. Rasheed Shabi, the places of worship were shut down as people in their vicinity had complained about the unbearable noise.

He said they were served abatement notices to remove the horns and loud speakers outside their churches in order not to disturb the public.

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he Police Service Commission (PSC), yesterday, confirmed the retirement of 13 Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs).

This development confirmed last week’s report that 14 AIGs were on their way out of the force.

The retirement which was posted on the Nigeria Police website stated that the affected officers include Johnson Uzuegbunam, Mohammmed Zarewa, Christopher Ola, Bukar Maina, Danlami Yar'Adua, Mohammed Abbas and Shehu Babalola.

Others are John Morenike, Mu'azu Hadejia, Charles Cole, Madueke Uzu, Stephen Hart and Ephraim Amakulor.

Radio House bomb suspect was in possession of hand-held, live ammunition – Police insists

By Lambert Tyem

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he Federal Capital Territory (FCT), police command yesterday, insisted that the items recovered from a suspected bomber, John Akpabu, who was nabbed at Radio House on Monday was really in possession of hand-held grenades and 37 rounds of live ammunition.

Akpabu was arrested with the weapons concealed in a bag at the venue where Ministers of Aviation, Stella Odua; Youths Development, Bolaji Abdullahi and Information, Labaran Maku were presenting their scorecards in commemoration of Democracy Day. Spokesperson of the State Security Services (SSS), Marilyn Ogar had disagreed

with the position of the police and said that the suspect was caught with tear-gas canisters instead.

However speaking with journalists at the scene where the suspect was nabbed, the Commissioner of Police in charge of FCT, Adenrele Shinaba said, "I don't know whether the SSS use tear gas or both but what I got was smoke grenades."

The FCT police boss said he personally interrogated the suspect whom he noted was giving stories that were conflicting.

He said that the suspect was being further interrogated by officers of the Criminal Investigation Department of FCT Police Command. He pledged that the police would make the outcome of the investigation public.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 4

EFCC docks lawyer over N36m theft From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

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he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday, arraigned a legal practitioner, Mr. Odi Okereke Ajike before a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja for allegedly stealing N36million belonging to another lawyer, Barrister Emeka Nwajiuba.

Okereke was arraigned before Justice Lateefa Okunnu on a three- count charge of stealing, fraud and fraudulent conversion of the money said to have been entrusted in his care and that of his company, Natuzzi Nigeria Limited for safe keeping.

According to the anti graft

agency, he was alleged to have issued a dud cheque valued at N4million on January 21, 2012 with the intent to defraud Emeka Nwajiuba.

Okereke was also alleged to have fraudulently diverted the N36 million through his Diamond Bank account at Victoria Island.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge and counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Collins Ugwu applied for a trial date and also asked that the defendant be remanded in prison custody.

She consequently fixed June 1, 2012 for argument on the bail application and September 18, 2012 for commencement of trial.

Housewife stabs self to death in Nasarawa

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housewife, Mrs. Tina EkuJoshua, yesterday, stabbed herself to death at SabonPegi area of Shabu, Lafia-North development area, in Nasarawa state.

Sympathisers were seen gathered at the compound of the deceased to commiserate with the family even as they wondered what could have led her to take her life.

Speaking on the incident, the sister to the deceased’s husband, Akimi Yamusa, said that late Eku was sound and healthy before she committed the suicide.

She said that the deceased locked herself in bathroom before using the knife to stab herself in the stomach.

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feanyi Obiekwe, who is a witness in the on-going trial of former Managing Director of FinBank Plc, Mr. Okey Nwosu and three other directors of the bank, revealed that none of the directors or management staff benefitted from the transactions as all the proceeds were still in the bank’s coffers.

He said that the management did what they did in the interest of the bank while the value of the bank shares rose on the stock exchange and the bank’s position improved.

The witness yesterday informed Justice Lateefa Okunnu of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja that the management under his

administration bought shares of the bank in the stock market, adding that it was abnormal for a bank to buy its own shares.

The sacked bank chief is standing trial alongside Dayo Famoroti, Danjuma Ocholi and Agnes Ebubedike on a 26-count charge instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) bordering on alleged stealing and illegal conversion of the sum of N16.2 billion belonging to FinBank.

Obiekwe, the Head of Financial Control department of Finbank stated that the shares trading transactions was done for the bank

by Spring Board Trust Limited, a company that holds a current account with the bank.

Again, Fashola calls for state police From Ojebola Matthew, Lagos

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he Lagos state governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola has reiterated his call for state police, saying it is time to decentralise the police so that the agency is complemented by the state equivalent to ensure effectiveness.

Speaking in Lagos while playing host to the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, Governor Fashola said that there was need for partnership between

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

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fter weeks of suspense and indecision, President Goodluck Jonathan has finally forwarded the comprehensive report of the Farouk Lawan-led House of Representatives Committee on fuel subsidy regime to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Bello Adoke, with a mandate to ensure further investigation of the alleged theft

of subsidy funds and diligent prosecution where necessary.

President Jonathan, who had promised to implement the report to the letter when it was released few weeks back, reportedly gave this directive to the AGF on Monday while he sent a letter to that effect yesterday morning.

When asked to confirm this development yesterday, Adoke told State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa that: “Very true I have just gotten

the report and I am acting on it immediately.

I am forwarding it to the EFCC.” He continued: “However in my statement to the nation I did say we are going to investigate properly to ensure that all loose ends are covered to ensure that there is proper prosecution. We don't want situations where we are stampeded to initiate prosecution and we are unable to prosecute due to lack of or paucity of evidence.

Younger sister to the deceased, who only gave her name as Abigail, said she was sleeping when Yamusa woke her up, crying and asked her to come and see her sister.

“On reaching the bathroom, I saw my sister lying down with knife inside her stomach. Parts of her intestines were out in a pool of blood,’’ she said.

“My sister got married to her husband just last month on April 12, I wonder what should be behind this kind of devilish acts”, she said.

The Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO) Cornelious Ocholi, who confirmed the incident, urged the public not to allow their predicaments to weigh them down.

(NAN)

N16.2bn theft: ‘Nwosu, others did not benefit’ From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

Finally, Jonathan orders AGF, EFCC to prosecute subsidy offenders

the federal and the state governments on policing.

“It is a thing nobody should argue about anymore. We have only to put safety measures in place to prevent abuse. If we continue with what we have done for over 50 years and we expect a different result, it won’t work.

“The idea of a central police as obtained in the country currently, is the fact that there was once a regional police and somebody had the courage at that time to make a change seeing that it was not working well.

L-R: Speaker FCT Children's Parliament, Hon. Ikpeama Johnson, Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, and Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Esther Adeyemi, during the press conference on the 2012 Children's Day celebration, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Gunmen attack Gombe youth rehabilitation camp

By Sunday Etuka

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nknown gunmen have attacked and injured eight persons at the Gombe state Amnesty Camp were rehabilitation of the notorious armed youths known as ‘Yankalare’ takes place.

Although no life was lost, eight persons including a soldier who sustained gunshots, as well as those who got injured

while trying to escape, were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre Gombe for treatment.

Reacting to the attack, the state PDP youth leader, Alhaji Kabiru Bappa Jauro, said that the attack was the handiwork of political saboteurs.

He said there was no going back on the reformation exercise of the dreaded youths who made life very uncomfortable for the people of Gombe in the last eight

years.

Our correspondent gathered that the attack was carried out around 9:30 pm after the gunmen forcefully gained entrance into the camp ground through the fence and started shooting randomly into the air.

As at the time of filing this report, six of the injured had been treated and discharged while the two others are still receiving treatment.

Armed bandit shoot Kaduna traditional ruler, kill security aide From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

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eports said yesterday that armed robbers shot and wounded the paramount ruler of Kwoi, in Jaba local government area of Kaduna state, the Kpop Ham, Dr. Danladi Gyet Maude, along Keffi road.

According to accounts, the attack which occurred at about 8 a. m. claimed the life of one of his guards while four others were

injured.

The traditional ruler and the others were said to have been rushed to the General Hospital, Kwoi, from where the Galadiman Jaba, Malam Kyom Maigari, told reporters on telephone that, “our most respectable and revered Chief was shot this morning along with his aides.

“The incident occurred while our royal father and his team were heading to Abuja for a

medical checkup.

“The armed robbers appeared from the bush some miles to Keffi town and started shooting at the vehiclesof the Kpop Ham. “His Royal Highness was shot on the neck but the bullet has been extracted in the hospital this afternoon. So, he is in good condition while his sentry was not lucky as he was killed on the spot”.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

Another Kano mass wedding to hold before Ramadan From Bala Nasir, Kano

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reparations for the mass wedding of the next batch of 100 divorcees and widows by the Kano state government have commenced as applicants wishing to participate are soon to be invited by state's Hisbah

Board.

Peoples Daily gathered that the next mass wedding which would take place before the Ramadan fasting coming up in a couple months.

An official of Hisbah board who preferred anonymity said though a date is yet to be set for the occasion, it would certainty

hold before Ramadan.

He said the board had learnt a lot from the last exercise and would make amends where necessary particularly in the area of effective crowd control at the venue of the wedding.

Public Relations Officer of Kano Hisbah, Malam Musa Tanko, confirmed that the next

batch of the mass wedding for 100 couples would hold before Ramadan but was not specific on the date.

He also acknowledged success in carrying out the first batch of the mass wedding and have analysed the whole exercise to identify points of and strength and weakness. It would

14 ships with rice, fish expected at PH port

Women Affairs minister calls for establishment PAGE of 5 family PEOPLEScourts DAILY,

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By Maryam Garba Hassan

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o serve as practical domestication of Nigerian's collective resolve and ensure the future of Nigeria, the Minster of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, has called for the establishment of family courts in the 23 states that have passed the child rights law and throughout the country.

The minister made the call yesterday in Abuja at a press briefing to mark this year's National Children's Day with the theme: "Let's build a culture of peace and security for the Nigerian Child".

According to her, the theme is intended to draw attention of all segments of the society on the need to strengthen sustained efforts and the strategies to create a peaceful and secure environment for the holistic development of the Nigerian child.

She further explained that the theme is also "a wake-up call to remind us of our responsibilities to our children and their rights, not only to good health, nutrition and education but also to a safe, secure and supportive environment and create an opportunity for advocating and sensitising stakeholders that conflicts are potentials threats to the psychological growth and development of children".

Senate laments sale of UBE books

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi he chairman Senate Committee on Education, Chief Uche Chukwumerije, has decried the reports that Universal Basic Education (UBE), books worth millions of naira, which were produced through Federal Government intervention funds in the education and meant for free distribution to school pupils, are usually seen displayed in markets for sale.

Speaking yesterday during a pre-oversight visit to the headquarters of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in Abuja, Chukwumerije urged the commission to put urgent measures in place to ensure that the books and educational materials get to the end users, arguing that it is not enough for the commission to concentrate in distributing the books to the State Basic Education Boards (SUBEB).

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be recalled that Kano state government held a mass wedding of 100 couples on Tuesday last week after months of careful planning in which the participants had to undergo series of screenings culminating in a wedding that was entirely sponsored by the state government.

L-R: Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, with Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison- Madueke, during the ministerial press briefing by the two ministers, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

ourteen ships carrying 204,652.41 tonnes of goods are expected to berth at Port Harcourt port from May 22 to May 24.

This was contained in the shipping position report of the port made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Port Harcourt.

The report said that 10 of the expected ships are carrying rice.

They are MV Marcelo Tres laden with 25,000 tonnes , MV Exelixis with 14,000 tonnes, MV New Fortune with 15,000 tonnes, MV Fatema Jahan carrying 20239.41 and MV Maha Deepa with 13,500 tonnes.

Others are MV Orion Express with 24,100 tonnes; MV Majesty with 17,000 tonnes; MV Sea Rose laden with 15,000 tonnes, MV Vinalines Green with 20,000 tonnes and MV Peace Success laden with 15,000 tonnes of rice.

The report said two ships are expected with frozen fish. (NAN)

Youth unemployment rises worldwide, ILO warns

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he number of unemployed young people worldwide will reach nearly 75 million this year, according to new statistics released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

A statement, which was released in New York on Monday, said the figure was four million higher than in 2007 and the projected numbers were expected to drop by 2016.

It said that while the global economic crisis meant that youth in all regions had been affected but those in developed

countries have been especially hit hard.

According to the statistics, the situation remains stable in sub-Saharan Africa where youth unemployment rate of 11.5 per cent has held since 2005.

It stated that large increases were experienced especially by the developed economies and European Union, Central and South-Eastern Europe (non-EU, Latin America and the Caribbean and South Asia.)

It said in the developed economies and European Union, as well as in South Asia, little

FG to punish persons indicted by visitation panel to colleges

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

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he Minister for Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i, has stated that the Federal Government would not spare any person who is found guilty in the reports submitted by visitation panels to Federal Colleges of Education and Polytechnics.

Receiving the reports yesterday in Abuja, the minister promised that the

Federal Government would ensure that the reports and recommendations made therein would be fully implemented to advance the quality of education at the various institutions of higher learning across the country.

Against this background, she directed the Permanent Secretary to produce government's view in the white paper for implementation.

progress had been made in rolling back the impact of the global economic crisis.

It said that in North Africa, the youth unemployment rate had increased sharply following the Arab Spring, rising by almost five per cent between 2010 and 2011 adding to an already very high level of youth unemployment in the region as well as the Middle East.

The statistics said large differences in regional youth

unemployment rates remained, while all regions face major youth employment challenges.

“Even in East Asia, the youth unemployment rate in 2011 was 2.8 times higher than the adult rate.

“Apart from the immediate negative economic and social effects of high youth unemployment, it is important to consider its detrimental effects on future employment and wages,'' it said. (NAN)

IHVN gets MCDN’s nod to train doctors

By Jamila Nuhu Musa

T

he Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) has received accreditation from the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MCDN) to provide Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme for medical doctors in the country.

A press statement issued by the institute and signed by its Communications Manager, Dennis Amaechi Mordi, said the programme will enable doctors acquire the necessary credits for the annual renewal of their license.

The statement said, the MCDN Head of Medical Education, Dr.

NnaemekaNwakanma said the approval came as a follow-up to its accreditation visit to the institute to determine its capacity to train doctors. He therefore urged IHVN to uphold the integrity of the profession in organising high quality CPD activities.

It further said, the IHVN Director, Office of Strategic Information, Training and Research, Prof.

Clement Adebamowo, expressed excitement at the accreditation and said that the certification allows IHVN to provide added benefits of CPD credits to trainees at the several trainings organised by the institute.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 7

FG to sustain airports rehabilitation

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

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he current rehabilitation being carried out in airports across the country would be continuous.

President Goodluck Jonathan said his administration was committed to upgrading all airports in the country to meet minimum

Dakingari promises 14, 000 metric tonnes of fertilizers to farmers From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

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ebbi state government has assured the supply of 14,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser to farmers in the state across the 21 local government areas.

Speaking to our correspondent yesterday, the Commissioner forAgriculture, Elder Sani Kanya, said arrangements have been made to ensure the product is brought into the state within the next three weeks.

Kanya said the federal and state governments have jointly agreed to offer 50 percent subsidy on each bag to be purchased by farmers.

He added that, the government has expressed dismay over the way in which fertilisers are being diverted in some states and that anyone caught will be punished and that only genuine farmers would benefit from the subsidised commodity.

Rainstorm destroys radio station tower in Abeokuta From Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, Abeokuta ainstorm yesterday in Abeokuta, Ogun state capital, pulled down and destroyed the tower of the proposed permanent site of a private radio station, Rockcity FM, as well as equipment worth several millions of naira.

The management of the station in a press statement made available to newsmen, explained that the rainstorm caused extensive damage to the radio house and a nearby buildings, but added that the incident has not affected the normal broadcast of the radio station at its Asero Estate temporary station.

“The tower being constructed at the new site of Ogun state first independent radio station, Rockcity FM, Abeokuta, has collapsed following a rainstorm today. The tower is being constructed by an Abeokuta based engineer, Kayode Kilasho caused extensive damage in the radio house and a nearby building”, the statement said.

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acceptable international standards.

Jonathan said this yesterday while receiving the report of the Federal Government’s delegation to the 2011 pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

The report was presented to him by the leader of the delegation and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, at the State House, Abuja.

The President said apart from

upgrading the airports, he has also charged the Minister of Aviation,Stella Oduah, to ensure that the upgrading covers roads and other facilities around the airports.

“The exercise will continue.

Airports are the first contacts foreigners have with a country.

We must present our country from the airport and through the roads they will ply into the town as a responsible country. We

shall upgrade roads and other facilities around our airports.”

Jonathan said his administration would look at all the recommendations made by the government delegation and ensure implementation.

He also promised to meet with the Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; and the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, on the need to sustain the

concessionary foreign exchange rate being extended to pilgrims as suggested by the delegation.

On the need for the Federal Government to always inaugurate the hajj delegation on time, Jonathan directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim, to ensure that the government delegation for the 2012 hajj be constituted this week or next.

L-R: Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufai, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Dr. Ben Ibeh, and Huawei Technologies Chief Representative, Mr. Jay Peng, during the first annual national conference on Information Technology in Education, on Monday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

CJN advises govt against forceful refugees’ return

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

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he Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Dahiru Musdapher, has advised the Federal Government to stop returning refugees to their countries of origin, against their will.

He said forcible eviction of refugees might spell doom for the country as they might slip back through porous borders and present an even greater

security threat.

The CJN who was speaking at the opening ceremony of the workshop on Refugees Law for Judges and Khadis in Abuja, said: “It is not far-fetched to envisage a situation where forcibly displaced persons (FDPs) could slip through more porous borders and present an even greater security threat”.

He said the theme:”Towards a better understanding of the plight of refugees and

Kubau council boss attributes achievements to good governance From Mohammed Adamu, Kaduna

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he interim chairman of Kubau local government area of Kaduna state, Mrs. Binta Margaret Audu, has attributed the achievements of her administration as manifested in the completion of inherited and ongoing projects in the council to the culture of commitment to good governance.

Speaking in Kaduna, Mrs. Audu said at her inauguration as the interim chairman of Kubau local government area in 2011, Governor Patrick Yakowa, had enjoined the 23 council chairmen to complete important projects in their

respective areas.

“During our inauguration last year, one of the tasks that Governor Yakowa gave us in our respective council areas was the need for all of us to complete those projects we met on ground.

Personally, I promised that I would not let the governor down right from the onset”.

She disclosed that Governor Yakowa would soon be in Kubau local government area on an official visit to commission those projects the council had been able to complete, adding that the governor would commission Damau Skill Acquisition Centre, Kubau and Kargi development area secretariats and electricity projects among others.

internally displaced persons”, was apt and timely taking into account the increasing role of courts in interpreting and enforcing legal standards for the protection of FDP’s.

“Therefore, the need to organise and conduct regular training courses, on this subject-matter not just for judges but also other stakeholders such as lawyers, asylum officers, border guards/ immigration officers, the police,

social workers and law students cannot be overemphasised in order to keep track of current developments on refugee law”, he added.

Earlier, the NJI administrator, Justice Umaru Eri lamented that “there are today millions of refugee communities who have even proven capable of igniting anxieties in areas and regions that were previously not in conflict or affected by disaster”.

Reps reject increase in electricity tariff

By Umar Mohammed Puma

T

he House of Representatives yesterday, rejected the plan by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), to raise the electricity tariff by 11 percent which is expected to commence next month.

The Issue was raise by Hon. Yakubu Bologun (ACN) Lagos state, while discussing matters of urgent public interest. He said Nigerians are yet to recover from the recent increase on the prices of petroleum products, yet, theFederal Government is planning on imposing a new

tariff that would subject Nigerians to untold hardship, thereby worsening the situation.

He further challenged the Power Holding Company of Nigeria to concentrate on finding additional ways of providing uninterrupted power supply to the country, rather than increasing tariff.

The House unanimously adopted the motion, and ordered that the Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji should appear before the Committee on Power to explain the rationale behind the planned increase in electricity tariff by the Federal Government.

PAGE 8

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

R-L: Chairman, National Inter-Religious Council (NIRC) and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar, Co-Chairman of NIRC, BPastor Ayo Oritsejafor, Secretary of the Council, Professor Ishyaq Oloyede, Primate of All Nigeria Anglican Communion, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahya Abubakar, and Gbon Gwom Jos, Jacob Gyang Buba, during NIRC meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

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L-R: Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Olugbenga Ashiru, Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Segun Aganga, Minister of Solid Mineral, Engineer Mohammed Musa Sanda, and former Minister of Police Affairs, Mr Hunphery Abbah, during the arrival of the Vice-President, on Monday night at Cape Town airport South Africa, for the Nigerian/South Africa bi-national commission conference.

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L-R: Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, with Jigawa state governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, during a national symposium to mark democracy day, on Monday in Dutse.

Photo: NAN

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L-R: Acting Inspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar, with Lagos state Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, during the IGP’s visit to the governor, yesterday in Lagos.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

Stakeholders ponder on petrochemical industries in Edo

Early marriage is barrier to girl child education – FOMWAN

From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

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il and gas communities in Edo state are set to open negotiations with prospective investors towards the establishment of petrochemical plants and allied industries in the state to provide employment for the citizens.

This was part of the submission of stakeholders at the end of 1st Edo State Oil and Gas Summit put together by the state Ministry of Oil and Gas in collaboration with the State House of Assembly Standing Committee on Oil and Gas at the Assembly Complex.

A 10-point communiqué endorsed by the chairman of the committee, Hon. Friday Ogierhiakhi at the weekend, stated amongst others: “Edo state should utilise her position as a major oil and gas location to establish petrochemical plants and allied industries to provide employment for the citizens”.

The statement indicated the need for the state to partner with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation in building capacity among host communities with a reasonable percentage proceeds from crude oil with a view to discourage youths restiveness.

The Statement also recommends to concerned authorities to always embrace peace by adhering strictly to the principles of compromise in resolving disputes arising from environmental pollution claims.

Task force on polio eradication set up in Sokoto From Sadeeq Aliyu, Sokoto

G

overnor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko has inaugurated a 44man task force committee on polio eradication to ensure effective leadership and coordination of all immunisation activities in the state.

Inaugurating the committee at Government House yesterday, Governor Wamakko said it was a further testimony of his administration`s firm determination and will to do everything to succeed in the task of eradicating polio in the state.

According to him, from the onset of his administration, he accorded health sector the priority it deserves; pointing out that it was his strong conviction that for any society to progress, the health of the people within that society must be safeguarded.

He said in line with that conviction, appropriate steps have been taken to strengthen the health care delivery system by rehabilitating most of the existing primary health centres and dispensaries across the state, while some were upgraded to the status of general hospitals.

From Yusha’u Alhassan, Jalingo

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Justice Minister, Mr. Bello Adoke, briefing journalists on the fuel subsidy probe report after a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye.

NUJ to hold national delegates conference in Abuja

By Adeola Tukuru

T

he Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), will hold its National Triennial Delegates Conference from May 24th-27th, 2012 in Abuja.

The chairman of NUJ screening /credentials committee, Comrade Pius Ede, told newsmen that the union is in collaboration with all stakeholders, such as the Nigeria

Labour Congress (NUJ), past NUJ leaders and other trade union organisations, especially the Radio, Television Theater and Arts Workers’ Union (RATTAWU) to conduct a transparent delegates conference.

In his words: “These will strengthen the foundation of professionalism among all members of the union”.

“A total number of 846 delegates are to participate in the

delegate’s conference, while 42 members are contesting various national offices of the union”, he said.

Ede further explained that the credentials committee has resolved to adopt open-secret ballot system with voting based on zones to conform with the NUJ amended constitution that stipulates that delegates of the councils elect zonal officers of their respective zones .

NDLEA arrests 18 drug suspects in Osun

T

he Osun state command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has arrested 18 suspects between April 1 and May 20 with about 275kg of cannabis (Indian hemp).

Mrs. Anthonia Ndu, the state commander of the agency, disclosed this yesterday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo.

She said that two of the suspects concealed 49 kg of the

weed in the bags of garri they were transporting on Ife-Ibadan road, while a 52-year-old lady with 9.5kg of the weed was nabbed on May 10 on the Akure-Ilesa road.

Ndu said other suspects were arrested at various locations in the state through surveillance by men of the command, adding that some of the suspects had been charged to court.

The commander, who said the agency was determined to

I am making brisk business, says lady taxi driver in Jos

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female taxi driver in Jos, Miss Lydia Wash, says that she is currently making appreciable profit driving the cab around the metropolis.

Wash, a beneficiary of the Plateau Government mini-cab Transport Scheme, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Jos that “what a man can do, a woman can also do’’.

She said that the business of taxi driving was lucrative because on a good day, she could make up to N7,500.

Wash said, “On normal days, I also make about N5, 000 and

smile home with my proceeds.

The business is not that bad at all as I now have the capacity to support my younger ones in school”.

The lady cab driver disclosed that she was forced into driving the cab because of “unemployment”. ”I am a graduate of Sociology from the University of Jos and l have been roaming the streets without a job, and when I heard that the government will give out taxis, I applied for one. ”I have my drivers’ license for the past five years. I was lucky the government considered me, but initially I was shy of driving the cab by myself”, she said.

Wash said that she initially

reduce the cultivation and peddling of Indian hemp in the state, solicited public support to achieve the objective.

She promised to end hemp business in the state through regular patrol, arrest and prosecution of offenders.

Ndu appealed to the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), and other transport unions to educate their members on the need to support the crusade against drug trafficking. (NAN) gave out the taxi to one or two persons at different times, who were bringing in stipends of between N1, 000 andN2, 000 per day.

She said that one day she was forced to withdraw money from her savings account to enable her settle the N7,200 weekly payment to the state government.

“As from that day, I decided to be driving the cab by myself and I have no regrets that I have withdrawn the cab from them.

“I have been receiving a lot of cooperation from my passengers and my colleagues, male taxi drivers, who allow me to load passengers before them”.

She, however, said that she often experience challenges from female passengers, who, out of envy, often insisted on having their change to the last kobo unlike the men. (NAN)

arly marriage has been identified as one of the factors militating against girl child education.

This was contained in a paper presented by Safiya Umar Galadima, at a workshop on girl child education organised by the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association in Nigeria FOMWAN in Ibi for the southern zone of Taraba state.

Safiya who is the Ameerah of the state FOMWAN, also mentioned cultural and religious beliefs, traditional perceptions and practices, men’s attitudes and behaviours and lack of women empowerment policies as other factors inhibiting the development of girl childe education.

On the concept of education in Islam, Safiya explained that education means any kind of knowledge in the sciences, humanities, and religion within the framework of Islam.

She called on Islamic scholars to ensure that parents and guardians are guided by Islam in dealing with their children irrespective of sex.

Safiya also appealed to Ulamas to promote girl child education by sensitising and mobilising Muslims through their sermons in the Mosques and other Islamic gatherings.

Taraba inaugurates local government election tribunal From Yusha’u Alhassan, Jalingo

T

he Taraba state local government Election Petitions Tribunal has been inaugurated.

Performing the ceremony in Jalingo, the state’s Acting Chief Judge, Justice Josephine Yakubu Tuktur said the tribunal comprises of two panels which would hear and determine petitions arising from the local government councils election in the state.

She emphasised that one of the panels would take care of election petitions in the southern zone of the state with its venue at Wukari while the central and northern zone would be situated in Jalingo.

Justice Tuktur urged members of the tribunal to uphold justice and honesty considering the fact that their appointment was based on merit.

PAGE 10

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

Democracy Day: Shettima tasks aides on service delivery From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

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Borno state Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima (middle), commissioning Rann General Hospital, yesterday at Kala Balge local government area of the state.

Photo: NAN

orno state governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima yesterday tasked members of his cabinet to live up to their responsibilities so as to offer effective service delivery that can positively impact on the wellbeing of the citizenry.

Governor Shettima gave the charge, while declaring open a three-day retreat as part of activities marking the forthcoming Democracy Day, organised for commissioners, special advisers, senior assistants, at the Government House, Maiduguri.

According to him, the retreat was organised to acquaint all commissioners and other aides on the agenda of the government, create a forum for the exchange of ideas as well as techniques of good governance for a purposeful and sustainable development of the state.

Unlawful detention: Court Kwara business wants adjourns ruling to May 30 coalition state signage

By Lawal Sadiq Sanusi

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Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna, yesterday, adjourned a case between the family of one Yusuf Abdulahi and the Nigerian Army to May 30, 2012 for judgment over unlawful detention and infringement of fundamental human rights.

A court order made available to newsmen dated 7th May, 2012 in suit no: FHC/KD/CS/33/2012 said, upon the motion ex-parte and filed on 3rd May, 2012 an interim order of injunction, restraining the Respondents, their agencies, privies, servants or any one acting

on their behalf from the continued decision of the Applicant from now till the hearing and detention of the Applicant’s motion of notice and such further orders that the court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.

However, speaking at the court premises yesterday in Kaduna, counsel to the applicant, Barrister Mustapha Aliyu Saidu of Nafi’u Baba & Co Chambers, prayed the court grant the prayer of the family of the accused on the day of declaring judgment.

Giving a background into the case, Barrister Mustapha alleged

that a driver one Yusuf was sent by his boss (Ali Adamu) to Kano to deliver some messages but along the way, he was stopped at a check point, the car was checked and nothing was found; but a certain Major Egbulem said the driver and the vehicle be taken to Abuja and we really don’t know why and since his arrest on 13 March, 2012 nobody has seen him.

He maintained that they served the Chief of Army Staff, the Commandant of the Brigade of Guards where the two soldiers Major Ebulem, Corporal Isah who were on duty on that day serve; and who were on duty as military

patrol and were the ones who effected the arrest.

The presiding judge, Justice Lucia Ojukwu, adjourned the case to 30th May, 2012 for judgment.

The Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman Kukasheka in his reply to a text message sent to him, said: “Yusuf Abdullahi was indeed arrested within 1 Division's area of operational responsibility on the basis of issues that bordered on the security of the entire nation.

'He is however at liberty to go to a court of law if he feels so aggrieved. Thank you”.

288 women trained in Gombe

Ogun to establish community viewing centres

From Auwal Ahmad, Gombe

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n an effort to improve the living standards of women in Gombe state, over N14 million has been distributed to 288 women across the state.

The wife of the state governor Hajiya Adama Dankwambo, disclosed this while speaking during the graduation ceremony of 288 women trained in skill acquisition schemes in the state capital and the local government headquarters.

Hajiya Adama, who was represented by the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Princess Fatima Shehu Abubakar, said the Hajiya Adama Women Empowerment Foundation Programme was established in effort to devote care and attention to the women as they are the custodians of the family who bear all the pains and agonies in child upbringing and other social responsibilities.

From Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, Abeokuta

gun state government has said it is working towards establishing community viewing centres across the state, as well as a state information bureau in each of the 20 local government areas, as a way of creating effective 2-way communication between the government and the grassroots.

Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, made this known at a press conference in Abeokuta, further pointing out that the information management machineries in the state have been reinvigorated as a practical demonstration of the government’s commitment to keep the people adequately informed about its activities and draw from them valuable feedback needed to guide and shape government policies at all times.

Olaniyonu stated that immediately the new government

settled down, practical steps were taken to reposition the ministry to make it function as a proactive information management machinery in the “mission to rebuild the state”, adding that the ministry had continued to employ various channels to project the image of government and carry the citizenry along.

“We have deliberately created an information management system which is not combative, not aggressive and based on a two way approach model. We refrain from any method which will create tension. We were persuasive, not abusive”, Olaniyonu submitted.

Oyo govt warns GRA residents against closing gates during daytimeFrom Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan The Oyo state government has warned residents of Government Reserved Areas (GRAs) and estates to stop closing the gates leading to their areas during the daytime.

The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Bosun Oladele, said this while

briefing newsmen at the end of the state executive council meeting in Ibadan.

He said that government had observed that gates to link roads in most GRAs and residential estates in the state capital were usually closed during the day, thus halting necessary access to those areas.

According to him, most of the link roads also serve as alternative routes to motorists due to the ongoing construction of roads and bridges in some parts of Ibadan metropolis.

Oladele stressed the need for landlords and residents’ association to employ the services of security guards to man the gates leading to their residents rather than permanently closing those gates, particularly at daytime.

In his briefing, the state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Alhaji Yunus Akintunde, restated government’s ban on the activities of the state branch of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

law repealed

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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bout 250,000 members of Kwara Coalition of Business and Professional Association (KWACOBPA) has appealed to the state government to repeal the state Signage and Advertisement Agency Law No. 5 which it noted has continue to create confusion with federal law as well over taxing it members.

The association, which condemned the law at a media parley yesterday in Ilorin, said that its members are not comfortable with the multiple taxes they are paying while the economy was not even buoyant.

“The current advocacy project of the coalition is the pursuit of the repeal of Kwara State Signage and Advertisement Agency Law No. 5 as it conflicts with a federal legislation and it has led to multiple taxation in the state.

“The coalition had presented its case at a roundtable conference with the Kwara State House of Assembly members held on Tuesday 31st January, 2012. The coalition also presented the case at the stakeholders meeting on multiple taxation organised by Kwara State House of Assembly Adhoc Committee on multiple taxation held on Monday 2nd April, 2012”.

In his reaction, the state chairman of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Barrister Rafiu Balogun, noted that the state signage and advertisement law was totally rejected by the bar but the lawmakers went ahead to pass it because they argued that the money raised would be share between state and local government councils.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

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EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

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Kano’s mass wedding for widows and divorcees

lsewhere outside these shores, mass weddings are the in-thing, as hundreds of couples often mass in one place to tie the nuptial knot. Such practice is especially common in some Asian countries, notably India, where hundreds of couples would gather outdoors to be joined in matrimony by a single official of the religious persuasions of the celebrants.

But in this country, especially in the northern part, mass wedding is something of a novelty. This obviously explains all the media hype that heralded and trailed last week's mass wedding in which 100 couples were married in the ancient city of Kano in an event organised and sponsored by the government under the auspices of the state's Hisbah board, and supervised by the Emir of Kano, Alhaji (Dr.) Ado Bayero.

Expectedly, commercial activities came to a standstill at the ancient city on that day, Tuesday 15 as hundreds of thousands came from far and near to be part of or witness the first mass wedding in the state, which was conducted by the Chief Imam of Kano Central Mosque, Professor Sani Zaharadeen.

The involvement of the state

government, the Kano royal father, the Chief Imam of Kano Central Mosque and other notable personalities says much about the concern of those in authority over the rising number of divorcees and widows in the state. We share this concern with them.

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With the government's resolve to continue with the good gesture, the beneficiaries would do well not to do anything that would discourage the state, and anyone who wants to assist for the success of the programme When the government announced its plan to sponsor the wedding for widows and divorcees as part of its plan to bring down their number in the state, thousands of couples showed up for screening at the headquarters of the Hisbah Board (State Shariah Police) about two months ago. Out of the number, about

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”

1000 women were successfully screened.

To walk its talk, government released N15 million to fund the activities, which include the purchase of furniture for the brides-to-be and their training on skill acquisition as well as the donation of N20,000 to each of them as seed money to start the business of their choice. Sheikh Isyaku Rabiu also chipped in with N1 million to the grooms to pay the dowries pegged at N10, 000 each.

While commending and expressing our absolute faith in the sincerity of purpose of all those who made the historic event possible, we want to urge the beneficiaries and those to come after them not to betray the labour of their benefactors. We hope that the beneficiaries are not involved in this noble novelty simply because of the financial ease and the material attachment that came with it. With the government's resolve to continue with the good gesture, the beneficiaries would do well not to do anything that would discourage the state, and anyone who wants to assist for the success of the programme. We wish the new couples a happy and productive married life.

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CHAIRMAN MALAM WADA MAIDA, OON, FNGE EDITOR, DAILY AHMED I. SHEKARAU

DIRECTOR/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RUFA’I IBRAHIM CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER ALI M. ALI

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GM PUBLICATIONS ABDULAZEEZ ABDULLAHI MANAGER, ADMINISTRATION HASSAN HAMMANYAJI

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

By Ugo Jim-Nwoko

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he urgent need to enthrone a regime of fiscal responsibility, in the wake of fiscal reforms that accompanied the Obasanjo’s second tenure in office; and the first coming of Ngozi OkonjoIweala as the Nigeria’s Minister of finance in 2003, denotes that it was intended to dethrone the prevailing order of fiscal irresponsibility that was hitherto en vogue.

A fiscal atmosphere characterized by poor saving culture, reckless and unsustainable borrowing, poor linkage among policy, planning and budgeting; and lack of access to fiscal information and absence of transparency in the management of public finance.

It also, very much so, entailed the absence of clear lines of fiscal accountability between the people and the government, the executive and the legislature and other governmental agencies. The surpluses realised by revenue generating agencies and government corporations were mismanaged and most times were not returned to the treasury. This is what the fiscal reforms which cumulated in the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 came to address.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act has made provisions for the return of 80% of the operating surplus to the treasury and the remaining 20% to a General Reserve Fund. This is explicitly stated in the Part 1V of the Act

PAGE 13

Revenue generation agencies and fiscal responsibility which addresses the Budgetary Planning of Government Corporations and Related Agencies. It says in Section 22 ,23 and 24 that: “1) Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law governing the corporation, each corporation shall establish a general reserve fund and shall allocate thereto at the end of each financial year, one-fifth of its operating surplus for the year. (2) The balance of the operating surplus shall be paid into the Consolidate Revenue Fund of the Federal Government not later than one month following the statutory deadline for publishing each corporation’s accounts. 23. 1) The corporation’s surplus be classified as a Federal Treasury Revenue 2) Where a corporation’s result is a deficit, the deficit shall be classified as the corporation’s loss for the fiscal year . 3) Each corporation shall, not later than three months after the end of its financial year, cause to be prepared and published its audited financial reports in accordance with such rules as may be prescribed from time to time. 24. Cessation of Application. The provisions of sections 20, 21 and 22 shall cease to apply to any of the corporations from the date of privatization.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 has provided these accountability channels and has gone further with a provision giving every Nigerian a standing to seek the enforcement of the provisions of the Act in court as provided in Section 51. However, despite all these, it could be observed in the list above that some major revenue generating agencies like the Nigerian Immigration service (NIS) and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to mention but a few, are not explicitly included in the list, but may be, by implication

covered by the clause that the Minister of Finance may include any company by local notice.

These fiscal issues and contradictions have become germane to our discussion on national transformation and addressing the budgetary challenges facing the nation.

There is need for more resources in the purse of the government to enable it carry out urgent and massive infrastructural renewal.

Over seventy percent of the Federal Government resources are spent on recurrent; meanwhile government

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The surpluses realised by revenue generating agencies and government corporations were mismanaged and most times were not returned to the treasury. This is what the fiscal reforms which cumulated in the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 came to address

agencies show enormous deficit in their statutory responsibility towards the national treasury.

This is strange!

In a recent Public Hearing at the National Assembly on the Federal Road Safety Corp; It was alleged that the Commission had not been complying with Section 8(2) of the FRSC Act that compels the Corp to remit all monetary receipts to the Federation Account within 24 hours; and the provisions of the Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution which also compels the FRSC to remit fund to the Federation Account.

This issue of revenue earning agencies and the case of remittance has become a matter of urgent national importance that need to be addressed; records and standards set right.

We cannot be a nation of double standards in our fiscal policies.

It was also strange that no serious mention was made to the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the place of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission in the politics and economics of government monetary receipts, all through the debate concerning the remittance of monetary receipts between the Senate Committees that conducted the Public Contd on page 15

Judiciary in jeopardy: Why Salami must stay out!

By Akin Oloko-Oba

Y

ou don’t have to be part of the Nigerian Judiciary to be disgusted with the irreverent role that Justice Isa Ayo Salami has lent himself to play towards the political pulverization of the Nigerian judiciary. Until his emergence, the worst that could be said about the Judiciary remained in the realm of unsubstantiated criticism. Today, the mere mention of Justice Isa Salami’s name recalls undignified but documented episodes in the rubbishing of the Nigerian judiciary. Even the Judiciary got so incensed about the conduct of Justice Salami that last August, through the National Judicial Council (NJC), it suspended him and recommended his compulsory retirement. Since then a semblance of sanity and decorum has prevailed in the Judiciary until the recent unbelievable somersault by the same NJC to eat its own words and recommend Justice Salami’s reinstatement, albeit by a split decision that reeked with political manipulation. Now it is President Jonathan that is being blackmailed to adopt NJC’s preposterous perversion of principle.

For the record, Justice Isa Salami got himself on the wrong side of public spotlight over the second election petition on the Sokoto state Governorship

election won by Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko. With an appeal pending against the election tribunal’s ruling, Justice Salami’s predecessor as Court of Appeal President declined constituting another appeal court panel to hear the petition arising from the outcome of the second election also won by Wamakko to avoid potential conflicting decisions. But as soon as Justice Salami was appointed Court of Appeal President he threw all caution and judicial due process to the wind and hurriedly constituted a panel of judges to decide the appeal, regardless of the pending appeal! It was this outrageous judicial recklessness that eventually earned him the NJC’s suspension and

recommendation for compulsory retirement, after official entreaties by CJN Aloysius Katsina-Alu and intervention by the Justice Ibrahim Auta panel, which offered him a mere warning if he could just apologize to the CJN, were adamantly ignored by Justice Salami, egged on by his political cheerleaders.

Justice Salami was also engulfed in an even more disreputable debacle in connection with the Osun and Ekiti States governorship election litigations. Here it got to the point where Justice Salami was found to have been hobnobbing by cell-phone with some politicians seeking to influence the outcome of pending appeals on the cases.

“

The recent abrupt reversal of the hitherto principled stance of the NJC which last August sent Justice Salami on suspension and urged President Jonathan to sack him, is obviously the result of sustained political blackmail and allied intrigues unleashed by the wellknown jingoists of a jaundiced judge

The public outrage triggered by this scandalous episode exposed the Judiciary to unprecedented opprobrium as it was deemed to confirm existing belief that there is an unholy alliance between judges and politicians in the determination of electionrelated cases. In the Osun and Ekiti cases, the political permutations surrounding the litigations were not unconnected with certain affinities arising from Justice Salami’s previous postings.

These are but brief recalls of the murky antecedents of Justice Salami’s on-going futile quest for lost glory and appointment. What cannot be denied or down-played is the prevalence of political pandering and gross misconduct unbecoming of a judge of his standing. This much was confirmed and censored by the highest disciplinary body of the Nigerian Judiciary, the NJC through its unanimous decision of last August.

Undeniable too is the fact that all along Justice Salami’s handful of sympathizers have not only been political partisans but also ethnic champions. If truth be told, today Justice Isa Salami has been reduced to a tribal totem pole pushing the cause of the political opposition and in the process leaving a trail of bias, indiscipline, bad blood and subversion in the nation’s judiciary. The recent abrupt

reversal of the hitherto principled stance of the NJC which last August sent Justice Salami on suspension and urged President Jonathan to sack him, is obviously the result of sustained political blackmail and allied intrigues unleashed by the well-known jingoists of a jaundiced judge.

The commendable procedural and ethical reforms of the Judiciary initiated by the outgoing CJN Dahiru Musdapher are steps in the right direction which should not be truncated by the return of Justice Isa Ayo Salami. After all HE IS NOT INDISPENSIBLE! President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has so far demonstrated the sagacity of a leading statesman by not commenting on the Salami Saga while refusing to be stampeded or blackmailed into acting on the ill-advised and absurd recommendation of the divided NJC. There are also a number of pending litigations, including Justice Salami’s, which effectively bar Mr President from taking any further action on this matter in accordance with the constitutional principle of separation of powers. The passage of time will deal conclusively and satisfactorily with this sad chapter in the history of the Nigerian judiciary. So let it be!

Akin Oloko-Oba wrote in from Ibadan.

PAGE 14

By Chidi Ugwu

T

o my mind, the answer to the question as to whether there is government in Nigeria is “yes and no”. And we will begin this way.

The history of civilizations seems to show that among any human group that have agreed to exist as a community, there has always been a two-way compromise between the people and the system they put up to regulate their lives; call it government, authority or whatever. This is the point that John Locke makes in his writings on social contract, no matter the flaws his thoughts might have.

Members of the group are to maintain this system by supporting it with their talents, and yielding to it certain privileges in exchange for welfare and security which it is to provide them. By and large, this system, if indeed it is built by the group it is to serve, becomes a unification of the society that owns it, always charting courses of action that issue from their common will.

Owing to the tendency of the strong to want to take undue advantage of other members of the community, certain institutions are thought out to regulate relationships: you may call it the justice instrument of this system. Members of the community perforce agree that

By Simeon Nwakaudu

P

rior to this term of office for President Goodluck Jonathan, the Basic Education sub-sector, like the larger education sector had taken a plunge and it was at its lowest ebb. Despite several measures taken in the past to revive the sub-sector, its free fall continued unabated because the political will to affect suggested reforms were lacking.

As the President clocks one year in a few days, it is obvious to Nigerians that the basic education sub-sector has commenced the envisaged climb for the good of all Nigerians. It is no longer a matter for loose rhetoric and annoying political promises. The results are being turned out for all citizens of the country, irrespective of their political inclination and interest to see.

At the commencement of this term of office, the goal of President Goodluck Jonathan for the education sector was to create access and equity and at the same time ensure standard and quality assurance. This objective was premised on the belief that Nigerian children irrespective of their background should have access to quality education in order for them to contribute to the development of the nation.

Creating access to quality education combined with ensuring that global standards are not compromised is indeed a tricky assignment. The Minister of State for Education, Barr.

Ezenwo Nyesom Wike has the responsibility of ensuring that the President’s campaign promises for the basic education sub-sector come to fruition across the six geopolitical zones of the nation.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

Would life not be better if there was no government in Nigeria? use of force, even extreme when up, there is no government in by the few who are taken to act necessary, to protect them Nigeria. on behalf of the many) should should rest with those they have To the extent that use of force exist to ensure that life within given charge of the apparati of to prevent some members of this the sphere of influence of this this system. community from forcibly taking system is organized and In any case, to the extent that the lives and property of other predictable, there is m e m b e r s government in contribute their Nigeria; but to talents and give the extent that up certain these rules Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text privileges and should be individual a p p l i e d messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written urges because impartially to contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 this sort of make for a fare words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and system exists environment a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed here, there is for all to to: government in thrive, there is Nigeria; but to n o The Editor, the extent that government in Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, this system is to Nigeria.

35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. pull these To put it Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com resources and simply, it is translate them majorly in the SMS: 07037756364 to good life for breach of its them, there is raison d’être no government in Nigeria. members rests with this system, that government exists in To the extent that decisions there no government in Nigeria; Nigeria. Its existence has always issuing from this system have but to the extent that the force been felt in its use against the consequences for all who are can always be used to ensure that many to whom it owes its within its sphere of influence, the views of the privileged few existence. Its use has majorly there is government in Nigeria; take precedence over those of the been felt in terms of cornering but to the extent that these majority, there is government almost all resources that exist decisions should reflect the mood in Nigeria. within the sphere of its influence, of majority of those who hold it To the extent that rules (made but not in re-circulating same in

WRITE TO US

fairness. The case has actually been seen to be that the command it has on these resources is used in ways which ensure that they translate to deficit for the many and surplus for the few. This system has mainly been experienced by the many as a tool with which they are extorted, repressed and stifled.

This system has not been felt as a guarantee for free expression but as a censor against it. It has not been experienced as protector against dangerous external influences on members of the community. Quite on the contrary, it indeed has been showing itself to be the actual facilitator of such influences.

Somehow, it may even make sense to wonder whether life would not have been better in Nigeria if there was no government. This may sound extremely romantic. But which out of all the reasons why government exists do we find here? Almost only in the negative!

Chidi Ugwu teaches in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Basic Education sub-sector: No longer business as usual

By May 29, 2012, Nigeria would continue with the fundamental progressive march towards addressing the numerous challenges that the Jonathan administration inherited in the basic education sub-sector. Without doubt, the there has been a quantum leap in the delivery of basic education to Nigerians in the last one year.

The positive changes are all over the country and the less privileged are beginning to enjoy better quality education.

The Minister of State for Education, Barr.

Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, as the supervising minister of these schools, kickstarted the process of infrastructural and academic reforms in the schools.

He initiated and concluded budgeting reform which has led to the phased rehabilitation of these Federal Unity Colleges to serve as models for states and private operators of secondary school in the nation. Since last week, selected Federal Unity Colleges for the first phase of the rehabilitation accessed their first tranche of funds to implement the 2012 budget and most of them have advertised the projects to be executed in their respective schools.

Beyond physical rehabilitation of these schools, the Federal Government has commenced the recruitment of core subjects’ teachers for these Federal Unity Colleges. The

government has also commenced the process of regularizing the appointments of casual teachers who have been teaching in the Federal Unity Colleges. This is a fallout of the Effective Public Procurement workshop organized for top officials of the schools.

The construction of almajiri schools in 16 states of the federation is a campaign promise kept by the Jonathan administration. One hundred of these schools will be handed over to different states by June 2012.

The Minister of State for Education has continued the monitoring of the construction of these schools in ten states of the

north and six states of the south.

At the end of 2015, the Federal Government will deliver 400 almajiri schools to states to create access to quality education for the estimated 9.5million almajiris out of formal education.

For the out of school girl-child, the Federal Government is constructing schools in 16 states of the nation to create access for them. Most of these schools will be delivered by July.

Wike is also pursuing the creation of access to quality education for Nigerian children through collaborations with international development

“

As the President clocks one year in a few days, it is obvious to Nigerians that the basic education sub-sector has commenced the envisaged climb for the good of all Nigerians. It is no longer a matter for loose rhetoric and annoying political promises. The results are being turned out for all citizens of the country, irrespective of their political inclination and interest to see

partners. The Chinese and Korean governments have since delivered schools in different parts of the nation.

The development of the quality of teachers nationwide has received sustained attention.

Over one million teachers have received direct training from the Federal Ministry of Education through its agencies in the past one year. The Minister of State for Education has closely monitored these training programmes because they improve the standard and quality of our education.

Textbooks for core subjects have been delivered to pupils of primary schools and students of junior secondary schools in the last one year, while there has been a total review of the curriculum of junior to meet the present-day educational realities and promote learning.

For the purpose of developing technical and vocational education in the country in order to create employment for Nigerians, Wike has worked out partnerships with Highbury College, Portsmouth in United Kingdom and institutions in South Korea. Closely related to technical and vocational education is the promotion of Mathematics and Science education through partnership forged with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA. Contd on page 15

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

By Thomas C. Mountain

A

s western oil companies loot some $140 billion a year of Nigeria’s black gold, two thirds of the country’s 100 million people live on less than $2 a day.

Nigeria’s “official” oil production figures show about 3 million barrels a day being pumped from their oil fields into the holds of western tankers, though for decades now informed observers have estimated up to one third of all Nigerian oil is actually “stolen”, secretly loaded onto oil tankers after bribes are paid to corrupt government officials.

If 4 million barrels of oil are being shipped out of Nigeria daily at $100 a barrel, times 30 days a month, times 12 months, you arrive at almost $150 billion a year in potential oil revenues for Nigeria.

The problem is not just theft but the fact that the western oil companies are literally looting Nigeria’s oil, paying as little as a 9% royalty.

Do the math, 9% of $150 billion minus the one third oil that is stolen and the Nigerian government only receives about $10 billion a year of this amount.

Simply put, at $100 a barrel, the western oil companies get $91 and Nigeria only gets $9. Or more shockingly, Big Oil makes $140 billion a year vs. Nigeria’s $10 billion.

The Big Oil robber barons

PAGE 15

The looting of Nigeria: Big oil’s $140 billion a year and counting famously promote themselves as “investors” in Nigeria, though when looking at the loot they are making from what should be Africa’s richest country it is doubtful that they have invested $140 billion in Nigeria in total over the last decades (Big Oil is notorious for sticking the host countries with a major share of infrastructure expenses, deducted from their royalty checks).

In other words, Big Oil has made its investment back almost exponentially. And all the while Nigerians are hungry, sick, and increasingly fed up.

What have the people of Nigeria gotten from all this wealth being looted from their country?

Malnutrition and disease are rampant across the country.

Many if not most of Nigeria’s children have never seen the inside of a school room. Many if not most of Nigeria’s people simply cannot afford even primary medical care. Malaria, water borne diseases, TB, HIV/ AIDS, the list of sicknesses killing Nigerians in the thousands every day is criminal.

Nigeria’s environment has been a victim with a large swath of the coast lying under a toxic

blanket of oil, mainly as a result of the criminal failure of Big Oil to do even basic maintenance on its pipelines.

Yet Nigeria has the largest, best equipped army in west Africa, the better to enforce Pax Americana. As I write, Nigerian troops are pouring into Guinea Bissau, there to restore “democracy”—something they have done many times in the past.

Nigeria should be wealthy, its people the envy of Africa, if not the entire developing world.

Instead its cities are filled with homeless children begging for their daily bread.

Nigeria imports almost all of its fuel needs, selling its oil for $9 a barrel and buying back the gasoline, diesel and kerosene made from its oil for hundreds a barrel.

Nigeria is in constant need of IMF bailouts and pays the price for such predatory loans. Earlier this year after Queen of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, paid a visit, Nigerian President “Badluck” Jonathan was forced to kneel down and kiss her feet, promising to more than double the price desperate Nigerians are forced to pay for their fuel.

The kleptocrats that rule

Nigeria under the banner of “democracy”, for they stole the elections fair and square, cannot even provide electricity to their people, with most Nigerians receiving only a few hours a day of electric supply, if any at all.

Nigeria’s other infrastructure, what little there is, decays by the day with even its once functional railroads now barely operational.

Yet this is all applauded by the west, with Nigeria’s President a permanent member of the so called G-20 council of world leaders.

One of the leading candidates for the title of “Queen of African Kleptocracy”, the Nigerian Finance Minister, complained bitterly after she was rejected by Pax Americana to head the USA majority owned World Bank.

Talk about the fox wanting to rule the chicken coop.

All this looting and theft has left a once proud and selfsufficient people on the brink of a major explosion with government repression barely containing a cauldron of ethnic/ religious violence that continues to erupt in murder and mayhem. Muslims killing Christians, Christians killing Muslims, and the army killing

ethnic rebels taking up arms over the looting and destruction of their homelands by the western oil companies.

These days the western media have begun carrying alarming reports of a dramatic decline in Nigerian oil production, down according to some reports by as much as 25% in the last few months. As bad as matters are already for Nigeria’s suffering millions, what is to come may be far worse, for without even the small morsels that their western masters allow to fall from their oil burdened tables the Nigerian economy is headed for a collapse, being almost completely dependent on their oil exports.

What is going to happen if Nigeria’s oil fields begin to run dry? Only time will tell, though thanks to the looting of Nigeria one might be forgiven for holding little hope for what should be one of the jewels of Africa.

Thomas C. Mountain is an independent western journalist based in the Horn of Africa, and has been living and reporting from Eritrea since 2006. He was a member of the 1st US Peace Delegation to Libya in 1987.

Basic Education sub-sector: No longer business as usual Contd from page 14 In the last few months, Barr.

Wike has worked with the management of NMEC to reposition non-formal education and mass literacy in the country.

With the new found dynamism aimed at driving non-formal education to its position in the national scheme of things, critical improvements have been

recorded in the country.

The percentage of Nigerians who access education through non formal sources coordinated by government agencies at the Federal and State levels have increased tremendously in the country. NMEC in liaison with the Minister of State for Education has sustained the building of National Literacy Centres in six geo-political zones

of the country. These centres will serve as models for states and local councils to improve on their coordination of non-formal education.

The crowning of these efforts is the fundamental improvement in basic education across the states and local councils due to increased access to Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, matching grants. The

improved access to these funds was made possible by meetings the Minister of State for Education held with Nigeria Governors Forum and other stakeholders in the nation’s basic education sub-sector.

The Minister of State for Education has taken the read campaign to another level, engaging Nigerian children from public and private schools in

remit such to public coffers within 24 hours, will the same constitution enforce itself, without a fiscal police?

If the FRSC Act provides for the remittances of its monetary receipt to the Federation Account within 24 hours, will the Corp serve as an enforcer of its enabling law at the same time?

This is where the relevance of an agency like the Fiscal Responsibility Commission comes in as a commission with powers to compel any person or government institution to disclose information relating to public revenues and expenditure and cause an investigation into whether any person has violated any provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007. As I had cited and indicated in a related article on the place of Fiscal police.

“The Fiscal Responsibility

Commission has mandate under the enabling Act to: (i) compel any person or government institution to disclose information relating to public revenues and expenditure; and (ii) cause an investigation into whether any person has violated any provisions of this Act. (2) If the Commission is satisfied that such a person has committed any punishable offence under this Act violated any provisions of this Act, the Commission shall forward a report of the investigation to the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation for the possible prosecution.

(3)The Commission has functions to; (a)monitor and enforce the provisions of this Act and by so doing, promote the economic objectives contained in section 16 of the Constitution; (b). disseminate such standard practices including international good practice that will result in greater efficiency

in the allocation and management of public expenditure, revenue collection, debt control and transparency in fiscal matters; ©. Undertake fiscal and financial studies, analysis and diagnosis and disseminate the result to the general public; (d) make rules for carrying out its functions under the Act; and (e). Perform any other function consistent with the promotion of the objectives of this Act.” The role of the Commission in this economy and especially in an era of transformation needs not be over emphasized; because the whole idea of promoting the economic objectives of the constitution is at the heart of the wellbeing of the people and the economy of Nigeria.

Ugo Jim-Nwoko is a Budget and Development policy analyst and writes from plot 17 flat 2 Yaoundé Street Wuse Zone 6 Abuja.

Revenue generation agencies...

Contd from page 13 hearing and the leadership of the Federal Road Safety Corp; despite the provision of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 on the remittance of 80% of the operating surplus to the Treasury and 20% to the General Reserve Fund.

From all indication, it simply amounts to stating the obvious that the Fiscal Responsibility Commission is the main fiscal police in the Nigerian Federation instituted by the Fiscal Responsibility law to enforce the new fiscal rules spelt out in the Act, meant to clean up all the ills associated with our public finance management. The Act advances the debate for accountability, transparency and value for money in the public resource management of our country. If the constitution provides for government agencies generating revenues to

orchestrated reading sessions. He has also worked for the infusion of Information and Communication Technology, ICT, in the curriculum of secondary schools, training Nigerian students from across the country in a weeklong training programme.

In line with the Government’s Transformation Agenda which gives priority to human capital development, the basic education sub-sector has been re-positioned to enhance national development.

More less privileged Nigerians now have access to quality education through the deliberate interventions by the Jonathan administration. The next three years would witness faster and more manifest development in this sub-sector.

Considering where the nation is coming from in terms of basic education, things can only improve. The commitment that Wike has brought to the table has significantly transformed the basic education sub-sector. He is building fresh collaborations and sustaining existing partnerships to ensure that the country reaps from education through the empowerment of the greatest number of Nigerians in the shortest possible time. For Nigeria’s basic education subsector; it is no longer business as usual as Wike would always say.

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

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

FCT: Galadimawa community alleges plans to eject indigenes

A

across section of indigenes of Galadimawa village in Abuja have alleged plans by a private property developer, Mesotho Nigeria Ltd, to eject them.

Mr. Solomon Donaye, the leader of the Concerned Indigenes in Galadimawa, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.

He said that the company and the village head, Chief Tanko Zhnimko, had approached some of them to come for compensation.

“We have refused to be compensated owing to the fact that the government has agreed to properly resettle and compensate us.’’

Donaye, said that the village head and the developer were issuing threats, causing “unprecedented’’ anxiety among indigenes and residents in the community.

“This matter is highly worrisome as there is an unprecedented level of anxiety among members of Galadimawa community.

“The developer has approached me on several occasions, threatening that I should either collect my compensation or face forceful eviction.

“Some helpless individuals have been forced to collect meager amounts as compensation for their homes or face demolition of their property.’’

Mr. Dauda Bako, another indigene, told NAN that the

developer had severally approached him with some money, persuading him to collect his share of compensation and thereafter vacate the place.

Bako, said that following his refusal, the developer threatened that he would go ahead to commence development on the land.

He insisted that the government had settled for the resettlement of the indigenes.

“If we are compensated today and we are not resettled, where are we going to live?

“I think it is not right for the developer to begin the development of their plots now until we are dully resettled.’’

Another indigene, Mr. Diko Musa, said that the developer had persuaded him with money for compensation but that he turned him down.

Zhnimko, the village head of Galadimawa, said he was not aware of any move by any developer to compensate members of the community.

He said that there was a court order restraining any action on the village, adding that the developer was not above the law.

The Managing Director of Mesotho Nigeria Ltd., Mr Joseph Damara, said that he did not intimidate any resident in the area.

He confirmed that he had paid compensation to 18 indigenes with N200, 000 for each room.

“The indigenes are even rushing to collect the compensation due to the instruction by President Goodluck Jonathan for the FCT minister to resettle all villages along the airport road.

“I have obtained plot number 314 since 2005. The village in question has three plots, the

other two are fully developed, but I have been waiting to get at least five hectares so that I can mobilise to site.

“I will commence work on the plot as soon as I finish the compensation and I have asked those I have issued with cheques to remove their roofs.

“I am a Christian and equally a politician. There is no way I will intimidate anybody. I am persuasive in my endeavours because of my political aspirations. So, I do not even know the person who said I have intimidated him.’’

Damara displayed a list of the

beneficiaries who had signed and collected money, adding that the portion he was about to develop was earlier demolished by the ElRufai administration.

He assured that he would not demolish the entire village at once, saying that he would start development in five out of the 15 hectares.

An Abuja High Court sitting in Kubwa, on March 15 restrained the FCDA from taking any action upon Galadimawa community in the name of development pending the determination of the substantive suit. (NAN)

2007 PDP presidential candidate to get traditional title

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in 2007, Dr Caro Nwosu who is also the PDP NEC member will be crowned as the magajiya of Tudun Fulani, Dei- Dei by the chief of the area, Malam Muhammadu Gwandabe.

Disclosing this yesterday in

an interview, Gwandabe said that Dr. Nwosu would be turbaned alongside the eighteen persons based on their outstanding contributions in the area.

The traditional ruler said the 2007 PDP presidential candidate was chosen for the title, following her establishment of skill acquisition centre as well as the creation of poll unit during the

2011general election in Tudun Fulani.

Gwandabe, however, appealed to the highly placed individuals to emulate good gesture of Dr. Nwosu by contributing towards the development and progress of Tudun Fulani, noting that the Tudun Fulani was neglected in the area of infrastructural facilities.

Islamic Academy bags media awards

By Usman Shuaibu

M

alam Abdullahi Danazumi Dahiru, proprietor of Islamic Academy Kwamba as well as the management of White Dove Academy, all in Suleja local Government Area of Niger State, have bagged the media merit awards of “Visionary Academia” from the Orator Communications Limited, the publishers of the Orator weekly newspaper based in Niger State.

Presenting the award, Mr. Nasiru Oseni, the managing Editor of the Orator weekly newspaper, said it was to Commemorate the excellent performance of the proprietors in the infrastructural development in their schools.

He said that the management of the Orator weekly newspaper has chosen the school proprietors for the awards after consultations and research that led to the nomination of two proprietors before their final selection.

The managing Editor called on the recipients to continue to provide an enabling environment for the students/ pupils to excel in their educational pursuit.

Motorcyclists being punished by a soldier for disobeying orders at a checkpoint, yesterday in Gwagwalada, Abuja. Photo: NAN

Engineering infrastructure in Bwari 53 per cent complete, says minister

By Josephine Ella

T

he Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration has reiterated it commitment towards decongesting the city centre.

To this effect, the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, who restated this during the FCT Weekly Operational Briefing in Life Camp said the administration has

intensified efforts to fast track engineering infrastructure in the designated satellite towns of the territory.

The minister said that these efforts are intended to stimulate parallel development between the city centre and the satellite towns across the entire 8,000 square kilometers of the FCT as conceived in the Abuja Master Plan.

He recalled that recently

President Goodluck Jonathan approved the re-establishment of the FCT Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA) to ensure that his Transformation Agenda gets to all the nook and cranny of the territory.

Senator Mohammed also disclosed that the provision of engineering infrastructure to Kubwa satellite town districts IV & V is 41 percent complete; while that of Karshi satellite town

districts I & II is 40.3 percent complete.

According to him, the provision of engineering infrastructure to Bwari satellite town districts I & II is 53 percent complete.

Furthermore, he revealed that the administration has embarked on construction, upgrading and rehabilitation of township roads in Gwagwalada, Bwari, Karu, Abaji, Kuje, Nyanya and Kwali.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 17

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A woman registering her GSM line, yesterday at the GSM Village, in Abuja.

PHOTOS: Joe Oroye & Justin Imoowo

A young welder at work, yesterday in Aco Estate, Abuja.

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Telephone engineer repairing phone, yesterday at the GSM Village, in Abuja.

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Men walking around the street of Abuja, yesterday in search for daily paid job.

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PAGE 18

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PRO-AM Golf Championship: FCTA pledges to review prizes

By Josephine Ella

I

n a bid to attract world class golfers, investors and tourists from all the world to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), administration has promised to increase the prizes of the PRO-AM Golf championship.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the championship at IBB Golf Country Club in Maitama, the Minister of State for the FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, commended the organisers of the championship for the success recorded despite the challenges usually associated with introductory events like this.

She remarked that Nigeria

has through the tournament reassured everyone concerned about her wellbeing at this time of some critical national challenges.

This she said is evidenced in the hardwork, hospitality and ethical conduct of Nigeria as attested to by the foreigners who participated in the game.

The minister disclosed that FCT Administration has taken steps towards promoting tourism in the territory, as it is presently, working on Abuja Tourism Master Plan in order to realise this.

She said: “The FCT will have a fix date in the calendar for the PRO-AM Golf championship. The territory needs to be a unique

place not only for conference tourism but sports tourism”.

In a remark, the captain of IBB Golf, Barister Anthony Azogu said the FCT PRO-AM Championship, is one of the highest-Prized so far.

“The Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria has taken a giant stride in organising and sponsoring the maiden edition of a championship which I believe will be an annual event in our golfing calendar,” he added.

Highpoint of the event was the presentation of various prizes to winners, of which Mr Torghan Vincent, a Ghanian, emerged the overall winner of the championship, while Amos Cobla emerged the second best.

Four injured in Bwari road crash

By Josephine Ella

A

t least four persons sustained various degrees of injuries last Saturday, when the driver of a Golf car rammed into a commercial vehicle, along Kogo, Bwari road.

The accident which was said to have occurred at 7.30pm, according to an eyewitness, Friday Omotosho, resulted from drunkenness and over speeding.

He told journalists that the driver of the Golf with registration number KADUNA AE 857 ACN, Chidi Emmanuel, was driving from the town under the influence of an alcohol and in the process, ran into the commercial Mazda saloon car, with registration number KWARA PTG 66 AA, going opposite direction.

We are improving on standard — last till the 31 of May, park operators 1thisandisitourwillown way of paying the

O

Bhagi natives performing during the ministerial press briefing, yesterday at Radio House, in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-

“I was standing by the Shirash petrol station when I saw the two car coming towards each other. The Golf car coming from Bwari left its lane to the other lane. The commercial Toyota car in the course of avoiding the Golf left the road so that it will not be hit, but because the speed of the Golf was much it hit the Toyota before it went down completely.”

“We immediately rushed to the scene of the accident to rescue them but were greeted by intense smell of alcohol”, he narrated.

According to Omotosho, although no life was lost, three people in the Toyota car including the driver, identified as Mohammed Abubakar sustained various injuries and were later taken to Bwari General Hospital for treatment.

perators of park and recreation centres in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday, unanimously resolved to enhance the quality and standard of services on offer at the centres.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondents, who spoke with some of the park and recreation centre’s operators, report that the operators agreed to make the parks more befitting for relaxation.

Mr Paul Uko, the Manager of the privately owned Wonderland Recreational Park, located at the Abuja city gate, said the management had made it a point of duty not to renege on standard.

He added that it was the responsibility of the recreational park to make the place befitting for customers.

Uko added that the management was offering a promo for the members of the public, stressing that out of four members of the family only one would be charge while others would be allowed free entrance.

“We started the promo on May

public for their patronage. “ He said the issue of security which had been the concern of everybody had been taken into consideration as policemen were always on ground to provide security.

According to him, the State Security Service and other security agencies often visit the centres, especially during the festive periods to ensure that the premises were save.

When NAN sought to know if the charges differed during festive periods, Uko said they had always been consistent with charges since the last five years, adding that there was no plan to increase it for now.

Mr. Victor Ibrahim, a Security Guard at the Millennium Park, told NAN that the park had always had the interest of the public at heart, adding however that plans were on to raise the standard at the parks.

He said the management had no intention to sell food, snacks, ice cream, but the public were at liberty to bring such items from their home. (NAN)

Minister pledges to promote value orientation, skill acquisition for youths

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he Minister of Youth Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, in Abuja on Monday promised to promote value orientation and skill acquisition programmes for youth development. .

The minister disclosed this at the Ministerial Platform to commemorate the 2012 National Democracy Day and First Anniversary of President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Abdullahi said the ministry was established to facilitate and coordinate skills acquisition and create the opportunity for the youth to develop themselves.

He said social vices was the major obstable to youth development and assured of providing guidance and training for young people through skill acquisition.

“The core mandate of our

ministry is to as we have defined it is to promote values and responsibility among young people, this is a major issue for us.

“As young people grow into adulthood social crises that they contend with is one of the major challenges that they face and all kind of vices including drug abuse, illicit sex activities, unwanted pregnancies and all that constitute a major problem for young people so in ministries like ours have a responsibility to provide guidance and support to young people in navigating through these complex challenges that they face.

“Our response to the facilitation of skill acquisition for young people is to create what we call the youth employment programme.

“In creating the youth employment programme we

have realised that we have to come up with a strategy whereby young people can acquire skills that they can quickly translate into jobs.

“Because we know that giving skills for young people without the requisite support to translate these skills into jobs will just be like accumulating frustration.”

The minister said though past governments had initiated various employment programmes, the present government would do more to tackle the massive unemployment problem in the country.

He said: “There have been other initiatives in the past; there is the National Directorate of Employment, National Poverty Eradication Programme.

“There are so many others tailored to have provided skills for

young people and even create employment opportunities.

“In spite of all these the problem of unemployment still persist, that is why we have looked at what they are not doing right in order to drive the new initiative to address unemployment.”

He, however, reiterated that plans by the ministry were on to strengthen the National Youth Service Corps scheme to promote value orientation for young people in the course of the one year programme.

He identified the establishment of the “You Win” programme and the inauguration of the Nigerian Youth Parliament as some of the ministry’s achievements in the last one year.

Earlier, the Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, observed that one year was too

short a period within which to assess the ministry’s performance.

He urged youths to exhibit good character as a pre-condition for meaningful development in the country.

“Don’t expect a minister in three months of his superintending over that ministry to do all of these; it is what you do in your various places that will promote youth development.

“And as usual my emphasis is on character; there is no amount of training you give a man or woman that will make that person useful unless you are of sound character.

“That is why so many brilliant people fail in life because the foundation for success is not just academics, it is just brilliance; sound character; sound values will take you to any destination in life.” (NAN)

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

Email: amunuimam@yahoo.co.uk

PAGE 19

INSIDE

- Pg 20

SAHCOL to provide groundhandling ...

Mob: 08033644990

Shell, Chevron licenses to be renewed next month, says Alison-Madueke

By Muhammad Nasir

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igeria expects to renew onshore oil licenses with U.S. firm Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell by June following Exxon Mobil’s renewal in February worth trillions of dollars.

The Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke made the disclosure yesterday at the last day of the Ministerial Platform in commemoration of President Jonathan’s administration’s one year in office, adding that President Jonathan has achieved a lot in his first year.

Shell, the biggest operator in Nigeria, has on-shore assets that can produce 1 million barrels of crude oil per day. It is partnered in these projects by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Italy’s Eni and France’s Total.

“In order to show our commitment to a vibrant upstream sector ... we have started the renewal of leases in good faith ... renewals with Chevron and Shell are expected to be concluded by June at the latest,” Alison-Madueke said.

Several on-shore drilling licenses that expired as far back as 2008 have been in negotiations between foreign oil

Flight schedule AIR NIGERIA (MONDAY - SUNDAY) LOS-A BJ: 07.15, 11.40, 14.00, 16.30, 17.00, 17.20, 18.30 ABJ-LOS: 07.00, 09.30, 10.30, 11.15, 16.15, 19.15, 19.35 ABJ-KANO: 18.40 KANO-ABJ: 08.35 ABJ -SOK (MON): 09.35 ABJ-SOK (FRI): 10.10 ABJ-SOK (WED/SUN): 11.20

majors, Nigeria’s state-oil firm and government for years.

Exxon signed a 20-year oil license renewals on Nigerian assets producing around 550,000 barrels per day in February.

Alison-Madueke also noted that the country has witnessed an unprecedented stability in the supply and distribution of petroleum products throughout the length and breadth of the federation. “This was achieved by designing and implementing practical measures by the petroleum ministry to ensure that steady fuel supply to all parts of the country is sustained in the medium to long-term basis”, she stated.

The Minister also pointed out that, for the first time in almost five years the nation’s three refineries, Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries are working simultaneously contributing effectively to the drive to increase local refining capacity.

On distribution, she said the oil and gas sector has witnessed an aggressive drive by the NNPC to increase its hold on the downstream sector via the expansion of its retail outfit, NNPC Retail.

She maintained that the President Jonathan has also expressed commitment to boost local content by opening the industry, where the Federal Government granted approval for new gas pricing regimes for gas-to-power and gas to the manufacturing industry, to encourage more investors into the gas sub-sector. This was done in order to expand and deepen the practice of local content in the nation’s petroleum industry through sound legislation and policy formulation.

L-R: Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Kingsley Moghalu, CBN Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and Deputy Governor, Monetary Policy of CBN, Dr. Sarah Alade, during the press conference on the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

New electricity tariff may trigger inflation – CBN

By Abdulwahab Isa

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he hike in the electricity tariff, expected to come into effect on 1st of June, coupled with new duties imposed on wheat and rice could trigger an increase in commodities prices in the medium term , Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi admitted yesterday.

He made this disclosure yesterday during question and answer session at the end of 83 sessions of the CBN Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting which held in Abuja from Monday.

SOK-ABJ (WED/SUN): 13.20

New currencies: We’ll follow due process, says Sanusi on the proposed introduction of

AEROCONTRACTORS (MON - SUN)

By Abdulwahab Isa

SOK-ABJ (MON): 11.35 SOK-ABJ (FRI): 12.00

LOS-ABJ: 06.50, 13.30, 19.45 LOS-ABJ (SUN): 12.30 LOS-ABJ (SAT): 16.45 ABU-L OS: 07.30, 13.00, 14.00, 19.00 ABU-LOS (SUN): 10.30, 14.30, 19.30 ABU-LOS (SAT): 18.30

DANA AIRLINES (MON - SUN) LOS-ABJ: 07.02, 08.10, 12.06, 15.30, 17.10

T

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said the apex bank will abide by the process guiding the introduction of new currencies if the need arises.

While responding to a clarification sought yesterday

CBN

LOS-KANO : 08.10 KANO-LOS: 11.25 KANO -ABUJA: 11.25 ABUJA-KANO : 10.08

IRS AIRLINES

CFA • £ RIYAL $

LOS -ABJ: 9.45, 11.45, 2.45

BUYING 0.2817 197.5055 244.5343 41.2489 154.7

SELLING 0.3017 198.7822 246.115 41.5156 155.7

PARALLEL RATES

ABJ-LOS: 11.30, 3.45, 4.45 LOS-KANO: 6.15 LOS-KANO (SAT/SUN): 16.30 KANO-LOS: 07.30 KANO-LOS (SUN/SUN): 10.30

22nd May, 2012

• £ RIYAL $

BUYING 210 250 40 156

SELLING 212 252 42 158

Sanusi further predicted headline inflation could peak at about 14 percent from its current 12 per cent in the third quarter of the year but assured of a downward moderation afterwards.

The apex bank kept its policy rate on hold at 12 percent for the fourth time in a row, citing the need to balance inflationary concerns with slowing growth.

“The Committee, having observed the inflationary threat that re-surfaced in the first quarter of 2012 unanimously resolved to retain the Monetary Policy Rate(MPR), also known as lending rate, at 12 per cent around a symmetric band of +/200 basis point.

Both Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) and liquidity Ratio are left unchanged”, disclosed the apex bank boss.

Sanusi said the apex bank was concerned about a slowdown in global economic activity and lower crude oil prices, which meant Nigeria was facing a “disturbing and uninterrupted trend of decline” in its high

growth rates.

According to him, “In general , the paradox of rising poverty incidence in the face of impressive economic growth further reinforces the committee’s call for the implementation of the appropriate structural reforms in the key sectors notably agriculture, power and petroleum sectors to stimulate productivity”.

The committee also expressed concern on the economic outlook for the year, which it said will remain weak if structural defect in the economy is not tackled.

Relatively benign inflation and slow credit growth meant there was no further need for monetary tightening, he said, whilst noting that loosening would have little impact on GDP growth in current conditions.

He lamented that the monetary policy on its own had limitations with respect to inducing long-term growth as according to him, the envisaged growth is dependent on fiscal and structural measures tobe directed at petroleum, power and infrastructure sectors.

Management Tip of the Day

EXCHANGE RATES

ABJ-LOS: 07.20, 09.36, 13.05, 14.40 ABJ-LOS (SAT/SUN): 13.05, 18.00

new currencies in the denominations of N2, 000 and N5, 000, the CBN governor said the bank will follow due process that guides introduction of new currencies.

“The process is that proposals are giving to the president, the approvals are received, technical work is done and enactment is made.

...Retains MPR at 12 percent

Keep your job search a secret

L

ooking for a job while you already have one can be stressful, especially in the age of social media when privacy is scarce. Here are three ways to keep your search to yourself: • Don’t tell anyone. You may be close with certain coworkers, but your secret will

only stay secret if you’re religious about keeping it to yourself.

• Network carefully.

When reaching out to others, you don’t need to spill the beans. Instead of “Hi, I’m Amy Gallo and I’m looking for a job,” say something like, “I’m doing well at my current

position and I’m always entertaining options for what’s next.”

• Wait for the offer. If you know your manager will react negatively, it’s best to wait until after you have an offer in hand to inform her.

Source: Harvard Business Review

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS Diamond Bank posts N7.8b profit in Q1

D

iamond Bank’s operating performance has continued to show significant improvement even as the bank reissues its first quarter 2012 results in line with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Govt transfers fertilizer distribution to private concerns

T

he Federal Government has discontinued direct distribution of fertilizers to farmers, who have long been deprived of the essential farm input.

Dangote, Edimo Groups top list of investors in FCT land swap scheme

D

angote Group Plc and Edimo Gruppo of Italy top the list of investors that have expressed interests in the widely acclaimed land swap scheme devised by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to accelerate provision of affordable housing for Nigerians.

Commission seeks implementation of FRA 2007

T

he Chairman of Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Dr. Aliyu Yelwa has reiterated the commission’s determination to apply the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 to make Nigerian’s wealth useful to her citizens.

Oil prices rebound on China’s renewed growth plan

C

rude oil prices rose for the first time in seven days, as China pledged to boost the nation’s economy and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the balance between supply and demand of crude is tightening.

Expert tasks customers on financial literacy over banks’ charges

T

he fear of losing a credit facility and lack of financial literacy, among other reasons, have been attributed as major reasons behind the unabated charges imposed on customers by many Nigerian banks.

Group Captian Joseph Malgi (2nd left), Military Airport Commandant, Oluropo Owolabi, Managing Director/CEO, SAHCOL (2nd right), Warrant Officer Magida Jada (1st left) and Master Warrant Officer Bawa Ali (1st right) during a visit by the new military airport commandant to SAHCOL Headquaters recently in Lagos.

Ill-treatment of Nigerians: Clergy wants compensation from Turkish airline Stories from Suleiman Idris, Lagos

F

or alleged ill-treatment of its Nigerian passengers, a Nigeria clergy, Peter Yakubu has petitioned the country’s aviation Minister, to institute inquiry into the maltreatment visited on Nigerian visitors to Istanbul by the Turkish national carrier, Turkish airlines.

In a letter address to the Minister, Mrs. Stella Oduah, the senate committee on aviation and the Director – General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren, Yakubu decried the unwholesome attitude of the airline at delaying the flights of passengers into and from Istanbul, illegal diversion of flight to Ghana instead of Lagos to avoid payment of landing charges to the Nigerian government and harassment of passengers by the cabin crew.

Narrating his ordeal to journalists, Pastor Yakubu said he lost the sum of $83,296 due to the airline’s negligence that resulted in the late arrival of his materials meant for public

presentation.

“I was to launch my books at a conference in the Caribbean Island valued at $80,000 but the luggage containing the books did not arrive with me in Istanbul as it was missing in transit.”

He said “I paid $2,546 for my ticket and I had to fend for myself at the rate of $750 (accommodation and feeding). I am demanding from the Turkish Airlines compensation for all these losses and a serious apology for the damage done to my reputation for not living up to my expectations on the trip because of their carelessness.”

Yakubu told reporters that a pregnant Nigerian woman at the stage of delivery who was accompanied by her little daughter, whose husband is a member of the U.S. Army, was ferried by the ambulance to a hospital at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana when she could not stand the stress any longer.

He affirmed that the treatment meted out to Nigerians by foreign airline operators’ especially Turkish

airline is dehumanizing going by the fact that Nigerian routes are the busiest and most lucrative in the African subregion.

Accusing the airline of charging exorbitant fares than any other routes in the world, he said, “It is cheaper to fly from location A to a certain destination than fly from Nigerian to some destinations even if location A to some destination will be twice the distance from Nigerian.

“The passengers were made to spend 12 hours in Istanbul waiting for a connecting flight and then another 2½ hours inside the plane while taxing because of the long queue of aircrafts on ground and in the air taking their turn at landing and taking off as a result of the use of the single runway in a busy hub as Istanbul.

“There was no explanation, no snacks or water served passengers and when the cabin crew were challenged by some passengers, they went wild and almost wanted to fight the passengers for daring to ask questions” Yakubu narrated.

SAHCOL to provide groundhandling services to Air Nigeria

T

he Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited, SAHCOL has emerged the groundhandling service provider for Nigeria’s new flagship airline, Air Nigeria into the United Kingdom.

The company, which also offers similar services to Arik Air, United Continental Airline, Air France and a host of others on both the domestic and international routes said it will deploy state-of-the-art

ground-handling equipment and superior skills and expertise to guarantee Air Nigeria’s successful flight operations on the new route.

A statement from the company’s head of cooperate communications, Mr. Basil Agboarumi said with its new private sector management composition and orientation, the foremost ground-handling company has kicked-off the development of

business models geared towards ensuring efficient and speedy delivery of aviation ground-handling services to all its clientele.

Agboarumi said SAHCOL’s duties will include passenger handling, ramp handling, cargo handling and warehousing. He said the company will also provide aviation security, baggage reconciliation among others to the airlines.

Over 280 delegates for 18th Aviation & Allied Business Leadership Conference

T

he annual Aviation & Allied Business Leadership conference has announced the first and second of September 2012 for the 18th Leadership Conference in the Namibia’s capital, Windhoek’s Country Club Resort & Casino.

The 2012 conference, with focus on ‘Air Transport Development: Rethinking Africa’s Strategy’ is expected to be formally declared open by the Namibia President, Mr. Hifikepunye Pohamba.

Convener of the annual event, Captain Edward Boyo told journalists that over 280 delegates are expected from Europe, Middle East, the North and South America as well as Africa and Asia, while African Ministers and air transport industry decision-makers from the public and private sectors would also grace the occasion to showcase their country’s potential in the aviation sector.

He said, “The Conference will re-assess the state of air transport growth and development in Africa while seeking more workable options for advancing practical improvement in the sector. It is also designed to x-ray major aspects of air transport including safety and security, financing, policy innovation, capacity building in addition to airports and airlines development.”

“It will equally re-define the interface between the public and private sectors of the air transport industry in Africa to nurture real development in individual aviation sub-sectors.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

By Miriam Humbe

“

Today, we have a number of foreign investors who are interested in turning the National Theatre in Lagos into an international edifice that will attract tourists to generate activities; this will in turn create jobs and further put Nigeria on the international pedestal in the field of entertainment and hospitality", were the words of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation minister, Chief Edem Duke while giving an account of his stewardship in the past one year ahead of events to mark the May 29 Democracy Day in Abuja yesterday.

According to the minister, the desperate desire of government to diversify the economy from over dependence on oil and gas to tourism and hospitality also deserves concerted efforts and the need to have all hands on deck.

In this vein therefore, the tourism ministry in the past one year, as enumerated by Chief Duke, has achieved its mandate of promoting culture and tourism as a foreign exchange earner, income distributor, major employer of labour and catalyst for rural development and poverty reduction, in order to foster peace and unity.

The ministerial score card presented by Chief Duke presented a true picture of happenings in the tourism and culture sector of the economy.

Some of them include value orientation campaigns, promotion of peace and national security through bulk messaging to otherwise

PAGE 21

Minister presents score card, calls on Nigerians to engage in tourism ventures

Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke

(L-R): Director-General of Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, Otunba Segun Runsewe receiving the award of ‘Most Outstanding Public Institution in Nigeria’ from Executive Director of Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group, Dr. Chima Amadi recently. violence-prone states of Bauchi, Yobe, Gombe and Borno in North-East Nigeria.

Peace and security awareness campaigns in schools in all 774 local government areas of the country and international conferences aimed at further strengthening ties between the

African continent and the Africa Diaspora also formed the bulk of its achievements as listed by the minister.

Chief Duke ended his presentation with an appeal to Nigerians, both rich and poor, to engage in business ventures which are tourism-oriented.

The ministry has been able

(L-R): Otunba Segun Runsewe presenting some tourism promotional items to former DG, (SON) and Chairman, 4th Nupe Day Planning Committee, Dr. Ndanusa Akanya during the DG’s courtesy call to the tourism village recently.

to achieve its set objectives, he said, through the unrelenting activities of its agencies like the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), among others.

The NTDC on its part, has worked assiduously over the years to develop the nation's tourism sector both locally and on the international arena with scores of achievements to show for it.

Recent events at the NTDC reveal massive collaborations with various cultural groups to promote grassroots tourism as among other things, preparations are underway to feature an unprecedented 200 masquerades at this year's edition of the new yam festival holding in Igbo-ukwu in Aguata local government area of Anambra state.

This was made known courtesy of the visit of Idu II of Igbo Ukwu, Igwe Dr. Martin Ezeh to the Director-General of NTDC, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe in his office.

The royal father also said a special talent hunt was planned, to feature as part of several activities lined up to celebrate this year's National New Yam Festival, Iwa Ji Ndi Igbo 2012, which is expected to climax on the 25th of August.

Commending the NTDC initiative of bequeathing to Igbo-ukwu, a National Yam House, Igwe Martin Ezeh said, "The only National Yam House

in the country has been fully built and operational for more than 3 years running, all to your vision and credit who made it happen. Your projects and projections in the tourism industry are not only read on the pages of news papers and on television, it is a reality."

Otunba Runsewe, in response aptly pledged his support for the event noting that it had attained an international status. To further consolidate on the gains of the Yam House as a veritable tourism destination, the NTDC is also considering the establishment of a museum in the site as demanded for by Nigerians especially those resident in the East.

The museum is expected to be established with the input of the National Council for Museum and Monuments (NCMM), a body charged with this responsibility.

As customary, Otunba Runsewe presented NTDCbranded souvenirs to all members of the Igwe's delegation while the latter presented a cross and a key to his host, saying he should use the key to symbolically open the remaining tourism sites in Nigeria.

In a related development, the NTDC is set to host the 4th Nupe Day celebrations, as was made known when the Planning Committee delegation, led by its chairman, Dr. Ndanusa Akanya who visited the tourism headquarters in Abuja.

The DG promptly obliged their requests and promised the support of the organisation towards its successful hosting. Most of these efforts which have not gone unnoticed, have earned the NTDC many meritorious awards, the most latest being the Best Outstanding Public Institution Award in Nigeria (2007-2011), which was piloted by an independent service delivery monitoring group.

PAGE 22

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

Reps summon power minister, NERC over new electricity tariff

T

he House of Representatives yesterday summoned the Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji and Chairman, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi over the planned increase in electricity tariff.

The duo are expected to appear before the House Committee on Power to explain the rationale behind the planned increase in the electricity tariff.

The committee is expected to submit its report within two weeks.

The resolution was sequel to

a motion moved by Rep. Yakub Balogun (ACN-Lagos), which was unanimously adopted.

Citing Standing Order 8, Rule 46, on matter of urgent public importance, Balogun drew the attention of the House on the planned increase in electricity tariff.

He said that the increase would bring untold hardship on consumers in the country, in spite of the irregular power supply.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that on May 12, Amadi at a meeting in Abuja

with electricity generation companies, said that the new electricity tariff would commence on June 1.

He said that the new tariff, tagged: “Multi-Year-TariffOrder’’, would not affect the low income earners and will attract more investors, because it will lead to increase in power generation.

Earlier, Speaker Aminu Tambuwal said that there was the need to invite the minister to brief the committee on power on why the increase in electricity tariff. (NAN)

Gov. Theodore Oji of Abia state (middle) in a group photograph with the delegation of African Development Bank, led by the Bank's Nigeria representative, Dr. Ousmane Dore when they visited the Governor in Umuahia.

Oba of Benin bestows royal beads on ex FIRS boss

By Abddulwahab Isa

S

ince the expiration of her tenure as the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), encomiums have not stopped pouring in for Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru.

At the weekend in Benin city, the Edo capital, Oba of Benin, Omo n’ Oba n’ Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa, bestowed on Okauru “Royal Beads’’ as part of the honour to celebrate her for a job well done while in the FIRS. Traditionally, chieftaincy titles are not conferred on women in Benin, but women who demonstrated uncommon

ability to flourish in their chosen profession and positively project the image of the ancient kingdom do not go unrecognised by the royal palace.

The recognition represents a sterling manner with which Okauru served the nation while in FIRS that qualified her for the conferment of the royal beads by the revered Oba of Benin.

The conferment of the royal beads, which is the highest title a woman could receive from the palace, is the second honour to Okauru in less than six-months

by Omo n’ Oba n’ Edo. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru was among the Edo sons and daughters honoured with the

Oba Erediauwa award for excellence on December 30, 2011, for her contribution to the growth and development of Nigeria’s economy.

Okauru commended and thanked His Royal Majesty, Oba Erediauwa for the honour and described it as a challenge to continue to serve Nigeria and humanity in general with greater commitment.

“Even though I really did not grow up in Benin, I am very traditional, so really, this is one of the greatest honour I have had and I want to thank the Oba for this privilege and honour not just for me, but for my parents, my family and the country in general’’, she said.

CPC warns 9 manufacturers over shortfall in products’ declared weights

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

T

he Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has issued a warning letter to nine product manufacturers in the country over the shortfall in declared measures of their products, just as it expressed pleasure with four others for conforming with their products’ declared weights.

CPC, as part of its pro-active quality checks on products in Nigerian markets and in response to consumer complaints on the under-filling of products in Nigerian markets, purchased samples of some selected products in different markets for examination.

According to CPC spokesman, Abiodun Ogunmuyiwa, the products of nine of the companies sampled (names withheld), which included candles, sweets, tissue papers, milk products, some overthe-counter (OTC) drugs and wheat meal products, were found to have fallen short of their declared weights/measures, while some have issues bordering on violations of Nigeria Industrial Standards (NIS).

The examination carried out on the products of the nine reprimanded companies showed that the short-falls in the declared measures of the products vary from 10 to 70 per cent, a development, the Council found worrisome and referred to as high

case of fraud.

CPC, in its further examination of some of these products, discovered that some of them had no shelf life and manufacturing dates on them, while others did not have uniform shelf-life periods.

The Council, while warning the affected manufacturers to desist from short-changing consumers, described the companies’ actions as an abuse of consumers’ right to adequate information, an infringement on the right of consumers to make informed choice and a denial of consumers’ right to have value for their hard-earned money.

The organization cautioned the companies in its letter that it “will not hesitate to invoke its powers, as stipulated in its enabling Act, in dealing with this issue if you do not henceforth stop the production of noncompliant products.”

From the same exercise, the Council found products of four companies worthy in terms of their declared weights, claiming that “this unarguably serves positively the interest of the consumers”.

The companies that got CPC’s commendation included Friesland Campina Wamco Nigeria Plc for Peak Milk; PZ Cussons for Nunu Milk; Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc for Golden Penny Semovita; and Procter and Gamble Nigeria Ltd for Vicks Blue.

Nigeria, US bi-lateral cooperation to boost local bourse From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

T

he out-going ConsularGeneral of the United State Embassy, Mr. Joseph Stafford has assured that the enhanced bilateral corporation between Nigeria and the United States will grow the Nigerian local bourse.

Speaking during his courtesy visit to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Monday, Stafford noted that the Exchange is recognised worldwide and commended the management for operating free market.

Stafford, who retires from office today, added that the Embassy will cooperate with the Exchange on training and human capacity development.

The President of Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, Mr. Emeka Madubuike urged the Embassy to ease processing of Visa, as his member will soon embark on road show to the United States of America.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyema, charged the Embassy on foreign investors’ confidence building to drive the market forward.

Dangote helped ginger stock market – Reps Probe panel

By Aminu Imam

F

or listing its companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) despite the challenges, House of Representatives ad hoc Committee probing the Nigerian bourse said the Dangote Group deserves commendation.

The company’s Group Chief Operating Officer Mr. Olakunle Alake, who represented the

Group’s President, Alhaji Aliko Dangote responded to questions from lawmakers at the Public Hearing which ended yesterday.

Chairman, House Committee on Information and member adhoc committee on the capital market Hon Umar Buba Jibrin(Lokoja, Kogi State) said: “I think the Dangote Group should be commended for its huge investment in cement and the Nigerian economy.”

A statement from the Dangote Group said the lawmakers where impressed by the written and oral presentation of the Group.

The committee said the Dangote Group controls about 25 percent shares of the stock market, saying: “This is commendable.”

Tracing the history of the crisis of the stock market, Mr. Alake said in the wake of the

banking sector recapitalisation in 2004, the capital market became a primary source of funds for Nigerian banks.

For the market to grow, Mr. Alake said the Dangote Group recommends more hedging options to help guard against losses.

He said there is the need for deeper disclosure by companies through more detail fillings and investor relations.

It would be recalled that in October 2010, Dangote Cement Plc listed 15,494 019 668 billion ordinary shares of 50kobo each at N135.00 per share on the floor of the bourse.

The listing added N2.1trillion or 25 per cent to market capitalisation.

At the close of year 2011, the Dangote Cement emerged the most capitalised stock on the NSE.

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

By Nuel Shepherd

Cadillac Escalade: Bold looks, great performance T

he 2012 Cadillac Escalade ranks 1 out of 10 Luxury Large SUVs. This ranking is based on analysis of 89 published reviews and test drives of the Cadillac Escalade, and an analysis of reliability and safety data.

The 2012 Cadillac Escalade is one of the most recognisable luxury-large SUVs on the market, and reviewers love that it backs up its bold looks with great performance.

The 2012 Cadillac Escalade comes standard with lots of power, clever interior features and flashy, unmistakable looks, so it's no wonder it ranks at the top of its class.

Still, auto writers note that while it's easy to love the Escalade, the decision to buy one can be difficult. Smaller luxury crossovers provide third rows that are more comfortable for adults than the Escalade's, and many of these models cost less.

German and Japanese luxury brands like Audi and Infiniti provide more technological wizardry for the same price as the Escalade. But no other SUV has quite the same cachet as the Cadillac Escalade.

The Cadillac Escalade does such a good job of combining standard features, bold looks, luxury and value that earned our 2012 Best Luxury Full-Size SUV for Families and 2012 Best Luxury Large SUV for the Money awards. Overall, if you have the money to spend and want to stand out from the crowd, reviewers say the Cadillac Escalade is a great choice.

Though you can't beat this big Cadillac's style and brawn, other

luxury SUVs outdo it with bigger third rows. The Lincoln Navigator is one of a few luxurylarge SUVs with a third row adults can live with, and costs significantly less than the Escalade.

Since it's another truck-based luxury machine, its performance doesn't even approach sporty, but neither does the Escalade's, so it remains a good alternative.

The Cadillac Escalade comes

with a 403-horsepower, 6.2-litre V8 engine and a six-speed automatic transmission. Because big, powerful V8 engines can be very thirsty for fuel, General Motors has equipped the Escalade's powerplant with cylinder deactivation. That means that four of the engine's eight cylinders shut down when they're not needed, like when the Escalade is cruising or idling.

The EPA estimates that twowheel drive Escalades and Escalade ESVs will net 14/18 mpg city/highway, while both models with all-wheel drive get 13/18 mpg.

Reviewers love the Escalade's ample power, and many mention its roaring exhaust note. Some appreciate the sound of the muscular V8, but others wish it was a bit quieter. Though the

automatic transmission features manual shift buttons, it's important to remember that these help the Escalade tow, rather than give it any semblance of sportiness For such a large, truck-based SUV, reviewers say the Cadillac Escalade handles well. The ride is enhanced by an optional roadsensing suspension called Magnetic Ride Control, which uses a computer to give real-time dampening of bumps and ruts to create a smooth ride. Though the base Escalade is rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive models are available. Reviewers agree that all-wheel drive increases the Escalade's handling abilities, and that the extra-long wheelbase of the ESV makes for an even smoother ride. The Escalade offers plenty of braking power for secure and controlled stops, which is great for an SUV that weighs almost three tons.

The 2012 Cadillac Escalade does well in federal government crash tests, with an overall score of four out of five stars. The Escalade earns top scores of five stars in front and side crash tests, but has a rollover rating of just three stars out of five. The Escalade has not been rated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, but that's typical of many luxury SUVs. The 2012 Cadillac Escalade comes standard with anti-lock brakes, a rollover mitigation system and OnStar. A blind-spot warning system is standard on all but base model Escalades.

Test drivers note that rearward visibility isn't great, but that's mitigated by the Escalade's standard rear parking sensors and rearview camera.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 27

Inside the village where young boys train golden eagles to hunt F

or these brothers hoping to follow in their father’s footsteps, the sky really is the

limit.

But the risks of chasing their dreams are not the fear of failure - but the physical dangers of training one of nature’s fiercest predators.

That’s because Azim and Aybek Shajbyrov, from the village of Bokonbaevo in Kyrgyzstan, are hoping to emulate their father and continue the family tradition of golden eagle hunting.

These extraordinary pictures show Azim attempting to train a giant golden eagle - one of the most powerful predators in the world.

Despite his diminutive size, he looks confident and self-assured with the enormous bird, which are known to kill foxes, goats and young deer.

His father, Talgarbek, began bird hunting at the age of seven and proudly passes on his knowledge to his young

sons who are eager to impress.

The family has two golden eagles and a young falcon which gives the boys the opportunity of learning the unique skill.

Golden eagle and falcon hunting is a very old national tradition in Kyrgyzstan. Professional hunters in the country call the practice berkutchy or kusbeguy in Kazakh It is a life’s profession and the relationship between the bird and its master is all-consuming. A close intimacy between both turns into a life-long trust.

With their birds the hunters work in the mountains and participate in hunting festivals called Salburun.

The Golden Eagle is found in Eurasia, North America and parts of Africa. They use their agility and speed combined with powerful talons to catch prey. They nest in high places including cliffs and trees.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Extreme: Azim and Aybek Shajbyrov are keen to follow in their father's footsteps and continue a family tradition of golden eagle hunting in the village of Bokonbaevo in Kyrgyzstan. Azim is pictured trying to train a golden eagle.

Sitting pretty: Chandra Bahadur Dangi makes himself comfortable near the Sydney Harbour Bridge after his first ever trip to Australia.

Training: Talgarbek Shajbyrov releases his golden eagle during an exercise in Bokonbaevo, Kyrgyzstan, with one of his sons wathing in fascination.

Enjoyment: Azim Shajbyrov seems happy with a baby falcon balancing on his head, left, while his father gives water to his golden eagle, right.

Eager to learn: The family has two golden eagles and a young falcon which gives the boys the opportunity of learning the unique skill.

Azim, right, and Aybek, left, enjoy playing with the baby falcon.

Teacher: Talgarbek, pictured, has been bird hunting since the age of seven and proudly passes on his knowledge to his young sons who are eager to impress.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 28

A

fter one false start, the final frontier has finally become open territory for the commercial world, after the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from Cape Canaveral yesterday morning.

The private space cargo firm’s historic launch to the International Space Station blasted off at 8.44BST, carrying with it a capsule loaded with 1,000lbs of space station provisions.

Also on-board are the ashes of Star Trek legend James ‘Scotty’ Doohan, fulfilling his final wish to spend eternity resting in space.

The mission is the first by a private company to the $100billion orbital outpost, a project of 15 countries.

NASA is investing in SpaceX, as well as four other companies, to fly cargo and eventually astronauts to the station following the retirement of the space shuttles last summer.

The first attempt on Saturday stalled, as the countdown reached all the way to practically zero before there was an automatic shutdown by on-board computers.

So instead of blasting off from Cape Canaveral on a delivery mission to the International Space Station, the rocket remained on its launch pad amid a cloud of engine exhaust.

The engine ignition sequence had started up, but there was an automatic shutdown by on-board computers.

The unfortunate delay caught even NASA’s most seasoned launch commentator off guard. ‘... 3-2-1, zero, and liftoff,’ announced commentator George Diller, his voice trailing as the rocket failed to budge. ‘We’ve had a cutoff.

Liftoff did not occur.’

Billionaire rocket designer Elon Musk attributed the problem to slightly high combustion chamber pressure on engine No. 5. ‘Will adjust limits for countdown in a few days,’ he wrote via Twitter.

Only governments have completed such a feat to date, with the SpaceX voyage the first time such a voyage has been completed by a private firm.

Ferrying the Dragon capsule into space, the mission to the ISS will be to deliver 1,000 pounds of nonessential cargo after passing a series of test maneuvers over the course of

SpaceX finally launches first private commercial flight to Moon three days.

If successful in its first-of-a kind mission, the company behind the venture SpaceX would collect the remaining payments on the $396 million contract it has with NASA and then enter into a $1.6 billion agreement for 11 more flights to the ISS. The first step in the commercialisation of space to nongovernmental firms, SpaceX is hoping one day to deliver up to seven passengers to the ISS and other destinations in low-Earth orbit.

The Falcon 9 rocket suffers from an ‘instantaneous launch window’ which means that if they don’t take off at the exact scheduled moment they will have to wait till 3.44 a.m on Tuesday for the pad and the ISS to line up again.

This will be the Falcon’s third flight as SpaceX have already sent the projectile into space on two previous occasions.

But this will be the first time it will dock with the ISS - signalling the first time a commercial enterprise has ever hooked up with the orbiting space station.

However, this mission from a private contractor is not without risk and could very well end in failure, something which SpaceX have been upfront and honest about.

‘Demonstration launches are conducted to determine potential issues so that they might be addressed and – by their very nature – carry a significant risk,’ said a statement by the private space firm according to the Guardian.

‘All spaceflight is incredibly complicated, and this flight introduces a series of new challenges – it is only the third flight of the Falcon 9 rocket, the second of the Dragon capsule, and the first for a number of all-new components necessary to berth with the International Space Station.

‘If any aspect of the mission is not successful, SpaceX will learn from the

Off we go: The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket is seen during a time exposure as it lifts off Cape Canaveral yesterday morning, flying off to the ISS.

Uncovered: The 18-year-old had taken refuge in the car as it journeyed to Bari.

Another timelapse photograph show the rocket's trip into space, as another shuttle sits outside the Cape Canaveral site.

The full flight-ready Falcon 9 (left and right) with Dragon capsule onboard stands on the launch pad at SLC-40, Cape Canaveral, Florida

experience and try again.’

If all goes well though on the next launch, Falcon 9 will carry the Dragon capsule into space and match orbits with the ISS. There it will go through a series of tests and will pass around one and a half miles below the station to see if its controls are testing properly.

If that checks out OK, the ISS will allow the Dragon capsule to within 10 feet and pull it in for docking all the while travelling at 17,500 mph.

Staying on board the space station for a week and a half, it will then be reloaded and sent back to Earth where it will land in the Pacific and be retrieved.

The launch and subsequent mission will be nerve-wracking for SpaceX and Elon Musk, the PayPal entrepreneur who founded the space exploration firm.

‘We have to allow for the fact that this is an extremely complex and tough flight. It’s a test flight, not a standard milk run,’ said Alan Stern, a U.S aerospace consultant and former associate administrator in charge of science at Nasa according to the New York Times.

‘Elon Musk and SpaceX have a tremendous track record, and when Falcon 1 failed, they stuck with it and made it work.

‘They will have a failure again, because everyone does, but a test flight is a learning experience.

‘Regardless of how successful the flight is, whether it’s complete or partial, it’s a big step forward. This is a sea change.’

Originally, the plan was for SpaceX and their capsule to have docked with the ISS by 2009.

‘Certainly, we would have hoped to have been further ahead,’ said Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX to the New York Times.

‘But I wouldn’t have expected that with great confidence.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 29

Institut Français hosts Restless Diary: YellowYellow Rivers of Dreams (II) literary festival tomorrow

By Joan Okolie-Iginla

T

BOOK REVIEW

he Institut Français in Nigeria kicks off her annual celebration of books and reading, “A Vous de Lire” (For You to Read), the 24th to the 26th of May, 2012 at the French Institute French Cultural Centre, Abuja.

The Institut Français in collaboration with the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Abuja Chapter, The Abuja Literary Society, Cassava Republic Press and Arojah Royal Theatre, will present three days of literary-themed events for the whole family. There will be lots of exciting events designed to promote a love of reading and writing in Nigeria.

In celebration of Children’s Day, the Institute will host a special series of programmes for children on Thursday, 24th and Friday, 25th of May. The events will culminate on Saturday 26th of May in a drama

By Ikhide R. Ikheloa (Nnamdi)

T

alking about technique, it is cunning how Agary avoids direct translation of indigenous Ijaw words but lets slip enough hints to keep the reader guessing about their meanings.

The hints are never enough though; one yearns to go down to the delta to hunt down those words and their meanings. Agary is defiant in an understated way, politely refusing to footnote for the reader, the meanings of most of the Ijaw words in her book. Please clamber onto a canoe and go find the meanings your damn self, Agary’s prose intones, politely, ever so politely. Pretty slick and sexy, if you ask me. Agary is good at telling heart-wrenching tragedies as if they are nothing, mocking our shocked consciences.

And there is this comforting command of Pidgin English the way it should be spoken and the way I remember it. I love this writer.

Haunting is the poetry of words missing from my vocabulary Where can I get awigiri tapes?

Wetin be “bend-down” boutique?

Kilishi? Kekefia?

Will you teach me how to play eki okoto?

Please I would love to be kongosaed!

Which one be okoso system?

In Agary’s book, the narcissistic, self-absorbed reader is reminded that there was a time when the extended family spawned a culture of service in the interest of one’s offspring and ultimately of the clan. Zilayefa’s mother’s deprivations come across as noble sacrifices to save her daughter from the despair and living death of the oil-soaked delta.

The reader yearns for halcyon days of simple needs and big dreams. We also see Nigeria as an increasingly alarming society where people go to church unfailingly - to worship the dollar.

Yellow-Yellow mourns the loss of community, of symbiotic kinships and a way of life raped raw by the gushing of crude oil into Nigeria’s greed. And this reader yearns for a return of the old way of life.

Even in the clutter of grinding poverty, funeral ceremonies provide much needed relief, sometimes with tragic results: “There is usually a lot of food at funerals, especially if the family was rich, and most villagers attended these funerals solely for the food, drinks, and music. Three years earlier, at Chief Tariye’s funeral ceremony, a man was found curled up in a corner outside the house, lying dead in his own vomit. He had gorged himself with food and kainkain for two days.” (p 19).

And in the midst of the devastation, a harried people still harvest joy in unlikely places. A simple bare-bones lovers’ picnic deep in the creeks of the delta

workshop for invited schools at the Institute and a representation by the French School of Abuja of some scenes from the French play ‘l’Avare’ by the famous classic author Molière.

For youngsters, there will also be a Children’s Fair hosted by Cassava Republic Press on Saturday, 26th May, at shop, No. 62b in the Arts and Crafts Village, Opposite the Abuja Sheraton from 12 noon to 6pm.

Participation is free and open to the public. Lovers of literature are encouraged to come and bring their friends and families. The French Institute is located at 52, Libreville Street, Off Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja (behind M. Biggs).

Come with friends, family, a blanket, a food basket and an excerpt from the book that changed your life. Share your passion with others and enjoy a fun evening of discussions, laughter and music.

Ojukwu, a world hero, says Sultan of Sokoto

T The book cover reminds us that sometimes more is not the best. Two lovers nestle in a little island armed with only a handful of plantains, iced-fish peppersoup and a couple of coconuts. The romance of it almost wants to make me go down on my knees and plead with my life’s companion to accompany me to Warri to do love me aduli!

When it comes to titillating the reader’s palate with pretty sentences, Agary is no slouch. Listen to this: “When I looked at her, I saw a petite woman with an oval face, big dreamy eyes, a nose that looked like God was running low on clay the day he made it…” (p 20) Lovely.

And try this: “As we used to say in secondary school he had yams for legs, perfectly yamulous legs.” (p 23) I love this lady! And this gem: “He picked up a file from the centre table…” (p 118). Centre table! Now, that is Naija English! When YellowYellow’s mother says “My back is not ready for grandchildren,” (p 23) we see a writer with great potential in mastering the art of conversation.

Agary does not pull punches as she languidly darkens a literary canvas with horrifying images of needless devastation in the Nigerian delta.

She goes everywhere and methodically outs and lances everybody and every issue. We see the humanity in the prostitutes in the city, the new masquerades turning tricks in an indifferent city just to satisfy needs in their ancestral village – needs that the government of the day has ignored. We learn the pecking order for turning tricks – white men are much sought after for their generosity, followed by Asians,

then “stingy locals” who work for the oil companies. We read a careful documentation of how men who were great providers have become in the new dispensation, lazy no good burdens adept only at abusing their women and children. “Cobwebs would fill the pots before the men contributed to the feeding of the household.” (p 40). Damning. But it was not always like that, certainly not in the beginning and the main character Yellow-Yellow points this out plaintively.

“My mother told me of the days of her youth when every husband was expected to give his new wife a dugout canoe that he had carved out and crafted himself. The wife would use this canoe to fish, earn a living, and help to feed the family.

Those were the days when boys carved out decorative paddles that carried the legends of the Ijaws in every curve. Those were the days when the Ijaw woman could ignore the nature of the Ijaw man because she had a means of earning a living and providing the needs of her children. Those were the days when Ijaw women cooked a fresh pot of soup every day because the rivers were teeming with fish.

Their farms held plantain trees so fertile that there was more plantain than anyone knew what to do with – roasted, boiled, mashed, green and yellow, the possibilities were endless. Those were the days.” (p 39).

Frightening testimony to the devastation that has been wrought on the land by unfeeling oil conglomerates and conniving thieving Nigerian leaders.

Contd on page 30

he Sultan of Sokoto His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar has described the late Ikemba Odumegwu Ojukwu as a hero not only of the Igbo race and Nigeria but of the entire world. He said that Ojukwu even in death has continued to attract respect and admiration from people of different shades of opinion because of his exemplary life of selflessness and uprightness.

The Sultan made the following remarks on Thursday at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja while speaking at the public presentation of the book titled ‘Ojukwu, the Rebel I Served,’ written by a veteran journalist Uche Ezechukwu.

He described the late Biafra head as a visionary leader who wanted the best for his people and Nigeria noting that Ojukwu has by his actions since after his return from exile demonstrated that he was a believer in a united and indivisible nation that should protect the rights of everyone.

While delivering the keynote speech, Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu represented by the Niger State Commissioner for Information Alhaji Daladi Umar, described Ojukwu as a fearless, courageous, patriotic and visionary leader that has become role model to millions of people saying that he went to war because of his belief that injustice was being meted to his people. “Ojukwu was a military democrat who fought for the rights of his people. He fought for unity in diversity,” Governor Aliyu said and lamented that Nigeria is still being bedeviled by bad governance and injustice in a country that is blessed with abundant wealth while its citizens suffer hunger, poverty and deprivation, adding that Nigerians have no fear of God in spite of thousands of religious houses in all parts of the country. He also decried the absence of security in the land even as government spends huge resources on security.

Anambra State Governor Mr. Peter Obi, who was represented by his Deputy Emeka Sibeudu described Chief Ojukwu as a personal father who inspired the entire Igbo race to

discover themselves in the Nigerian project. Obi said Ojukwu’s intimidating personality was to become a rallying point to political and social leaders as well as an umbrella for all genuine aspiring leaders in the entire South East geopolitical zone of the country. Earlier in an open remark, the Chairman of the occasion, Senator Ben Obi paid glowing tribute to Ojukwu whom he said was the father of all Igbo people.

He described Ojukwu as a rare gem as well as a great and unique human being who at the age 14 was already a freedom fighter and that until his death, remained committed to the ideals for which he abandoned his wealthy background and chose to fight in the trenches in order to build a better society for his people.

Ojukwu, The Rebel I Served’ is an account of a journalist who stayed and worked closely with Chukwuemeka OdumegwuOjukwu for two years at the end of a major and harrowing torments of his life- after leading the Biafra war against Nigeria that lasted for almost three years. Ezechukwu became a loyal confidant of the former ‘rebel’ after his return from a 13-year exile and into a tumultuous political experience that led to his imprisonment.

The book encapsulates the qualities of high personal integrity, moral uprightness and humility of a man many loved to misunderstand and rather labelled as an ambitious soldier and war monger.

Most of the speakers at the occasion commended the author of the book Uche Ezechukwu for a job well done and urged Nigerians to learn to document events for future generations. The book was reviewed

by Mr. Tunji Ajibade of the Abuja Writers Forum and was attended by several dignitaries including former Governor of the Central Bank Prof.

Chukwuma Soludo, the Inspector General of Police and the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service both of who were represented, former Ministers and Senators, the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA Chief Victor Umeh and many traditional rulers

PAGE 30

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

May guest writer session features Abubakar Adam Ibrahim

A

ward-winning writer and journalist, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, will be the featured author on May 26 at the Guest Writer Session an initiative of the Abuja Writers’ Forun (AWF) which started in June 2008 and has become the template for similar programmes nationwide. The Guest Writer Session which this year featured Uche Ezechukwu, Steve Okecha, Oyibo Ameh, K K Iloduba and Betty Abah holds by 4pm at Hamdala Plaza, Plot 23, Jimmy Carter Street, off Protea Hotel, Asokoro, Abuja.

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim has been fascinated with writing from a much younger age, which was what motivated him to dump the sciences and study Mass Communications at the University of Jos. He has dabbled into poetry and plays but is more at home with prose. He won the BBC African Performance Prize in 2007 and the ANA Plateau/Amatu Braide Prize for Prose the following year. He also emerged runner-up for the ANA Plateau Poetry Prize.

He is a fellow of the British Council Radiophonics creative writing workshop and has been selected for the Fidelity Bank Creative Writing Workshop as well as the Caine Prize for African Writing workshop (2012) – which he could not attend because of the Nigeria-South Africa Yellow fever row.

His radio drama, A Bull Man’s Story which fetched him the BBC African Performance Prize in 2007 was highly commended by the

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim judges for the writer’s ‘ability to enter the minds of his character’.

He published his first novel, The Quest for Nina in 2009 with a small publishing outfit in the US and has gone on to feature on several online webzines where his short fictions

and essays have been well received locally and internationally.

He has been featured in Daughters of Eve and Other New Short Stories from Nigeria published by CCC Press, London in 2010.

His debut collection of short stories, The Whispering Trees, is published in Nigeria by Parresia Publishers, Lagos and has been receiving positive endorsement within the literary community in Nigeria. In the words of poet and activist Odia Ofeimun, Ibrahim writes “stories that haunt with a telling animist-realist sensibility” and he “draws on old, intriguing traditions of folklore to thresh new and challenging insight into how we live today.” For A. Igoni Barrett, “fire and smoke, snapshots of life and brushstrokes of afterlife, the mystical running alongside domestic commonplaces, these are the energetic strains of “ Ibrahim’s debut story collection. While Helon Habila regards Ibrahim as a writer to look out for.

Educated at the University of Jos, Nigeria, where he obtained a degree in Mass Communication, Abubakar had a stint with the Vanguard newspaper. He is currently the Arts Editor of Abuja based Sunday Trust newspaper.

Since its inception four years ago, the Guest Writer Session has been a consistent feature of the nation’s literary scene. The May 26, 2012 edition will include the usual side attractions of poetry performance, mini art exhibition, and a raffle-draw as well as live music. The Abuja Writer’s Forum meets three Sundays each month and hosts a reading on every last Saturday at the International Institute of Journalism, Hamdala Plaza, Jimmy Carter Street, Asokoro, Abuja.

Restless Diary: Yellow-Yellow Rivers of Dreams (II) Contd from page 29 In Yellow-Yellow, we see a Nigeria rotting in place as its people desperate for affirmation and survival engage in an elaborate okososystem of getting whatever they need (good grades, anything) in return for whatever they can give (sex, whatever sells).

Sure-footed from the beginning, it grows even more confident and roars in the middle of the book.

I will always remember the quiet urgency of the opening chapter – Yellow-Yellow’s mother dealing with the devastating results of crude oil spillage – on her, on her farmland, on her village, and ultimately on Nigeria’s conscience, if she has one.

“It was the first time I saw what crude oil looked like. I watched as the thick liquid spread out, covering more land and drowning small animals in its path. It just kept spreading and I wondered if it would stop, how far it would spread. Then there was the smell. I can’t describe it but it was strong – so strong it made my head hurt and turned my stomach. I bent over, and retched so hard I became dizzy.” You read this chilling testimony from a child and you feel like screaming “someone stop the madness in the delta!” (p 4).

It goes on and on, this masterful use of simple, matter-of-fact prose

to deliver sharp slaps of political consciousness onto the reader’s face.

“And so it was that, in a single day, my mother lost her main source of sustenance. However, I think she had lost that land a long time ago, because each season yielded less than the season before.

Not unlike the way, she and others in the village, had gradually lost, year after year, the creatures of the river to oil spills, acid rain, gas flares and who knows what else…” (p 4). This from a child. And you feel like screaming “someone stop the madness in the delta!”

DTALKSHOP, the publishers of Agary’s book must be commended for doing a great job in terms of editing. I loved the cover design by CLAM. By the way, go to www.dtalkshop.comto see the future (or shall we say the present?) of publishing in Nigeria. Looks to me like Agary is a major shareholder in the business and the business marries her legal profession with her passions to produce an enterprise. Fascinating.

I don’t mean to imply that the book is not without its flaws, far from it. It is a simple book, with little structural complexity, one that is helped immensely by the urgency or immediacy of its tale.

The reader must prepare to endure an abiding aimlessness in the last four chapters of the book where

Yellow-Yellow falls hard in love with a wealthy retired Admiral.

Yellow-Yellow spends the rest of the book moping around this conceited unprincipled man’s space and in the process almost ruins a good book,. Agary almost falls victim to a desire to please indifferent gods willing a neat ending to a messy tale. But I could argue that the book’s aimlessness in the end is a great metaphor for Nigeria’s aimlessness in the new dispensation – an uncritical acceptance of alien cultures and values and a resulting caricature of what Nigeriaonce was. Not pretty but the book pulls it off nicely. I love this lady. Now if I can just get me some kilishiand dunk it in a pot of kekefia and osun, that would be yamulous!

August. The heat rises to overwhelm me. And I feel like wilted corn boiling in a peasant’s pot.

Ominira, my twelve year old daughter is with me in my rental car, the one that they have given me until my SUV is changed back from an effete trapper of animals to a car. It is a nice car, red hot and as I slide into the driver’s seat, things stir in me, things that remind me of my virility. We are at the traffic lights; here comes an ambulance chasing the fire trucks racing to offer the dying the light of life. Here comes the ambulance barking, sobbing, and wailing its message of

hope for a battered soul. We pull aside to make way for the ambulance, heads bowed patiently waiting, praying for the dying and waiting for the signal to for us to continue running for our lives.

Ominira says to me, daddy, the ambulance is wailing. And I say to myself: Great, my daughter is a poet, great, my daughter will not be a rich medical doctor, my daughter is a wretched over-sensitive poet! Who will take care of me in my old age, this poet? I am dead!

I slip Rex Lawson into the little slot that plays music and soon Rex Lawson lifts my spirits up and I am swaying to the beat of ancient rhythms the way my father taught me to worship with the cheerleaders of the other world. I see Kenule and his pipe on the little path to nowhere walking up to me.

Isaac Adaka Boro is in his dugout swigging ogogoro from a Fanta bottle and promising fire and brimstone next time. In the rage of my condition, joy welcomes me to freedom through the call-andrespond poetry of Rex Lawson. Life is good, who wants to die? Ominira takes one look at me and attaches her ears to her ipod. Soon, father and daughter are swaying to the beat of different drums. Life is good.

And I thank Agary for helping me out this time.

Concluded Source: African writer.com

PEOPLES POEM OF THE WEEK Title: THE LAND OF MY BIRTH

By Adeola Ikuomola

The land of my birth The land of my fathers Your thorny fingers Hurl my soul to hell Your wind wearies me Your storm stones me Your sun scorches me Your stars slap me.

I am a weeping star In a bleeding night Awaiting your golden arms To embrace my damped soul.

The land of my birth The land of my mothers Oh dearest land of my fathers Where is your moonlight song.

Title: DANGER

By Adeola Ikuomola

Yesterday was a furious lion Today is a famished serpent Tomorrow is a thirsty vampire The storm is gathering fast The tides are frighteningly high The wind speaks in tongues of hell The hawks will scale the clouds The forest will embrace the lions The sea will hoard the sharks And you snow hearted lambs Herded towards the abattoir Behold Jesus Christ your eternal lover

QUO TE UOTE “Success has nothing to do with avoiding struggle but carrying on believing the struggle will ultimately pass.” –– Mark Brown.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 31

Electing an Egyptian president ANALYSIS

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airo, Egypt - What was unthinkable only 16 months ago has become the new reality in Egypt. The posters and billboards are displayed prominently along all major roadways. Young volunteers rush to hand pamphlets to hurried pedestrians. Pop songs blaring on the radio have an unusual choice of topic. Everywhere, the atmosphere is electric as Egyptians prepare to choose their first president since the toppling of their former dictator, Hosni Mubarak.

Amr Moussa: Mubarak's former foreign minister. Running on a platform of experience and restoration of stability to Egypt.

Promises the political certainty that only a dictatorship can offer.

Ahmed Shafiq: Mubarak's former prime minister. Favoured

by SCAF, self-professed "law and order" candidate who pledges to crush future protests violently.

Has had many shoes thrown at him by angry protesters and revolutionary youth.

Mohamed Morsi: Platform of democratic governance and Islamist politics. Hasn't impressed many outside of Muslim Brotherhood. Has only confronted SCAF in a self-serving way and is therefore not seen as completely trustworthy by revolutionary youth. Despite this, FJP won a "commanding share of seats" in last fall's parliamentary elections and still has a great deal of support shown by a human chain of supporters that stretched from Alexandria to Aswan.

Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh: Former Muslim Brotherhood, but with a more moderate vision of Islamist politics. Connects with a wide swath of Egyptions from liberal Islamists to Salafis. Because of nationalistic tendencies, he also connects with liberals, leftists and Coptic Christians. Was one of only two candidates to have been in Tahrir Square on the first day of protests and has respect of revolutionary youth. As Head of Arab Medical Union and with his history of political activism since the 1970's (complete with imprisonments) he has grassroots support among the youth.

Hamdeen Sabahi: "Dark horse" of the race with credentials among the revolutionary youth.

No Islamic activist background which could be a problem since 2/ 3 of voters supported Islamist candidates in parliamentary elections.

The general mood in Egypt clearly signifies that, for good or ill, the fate of the fragile revolution rests on the outcome of this election. For some Egyptians, this spells an opportunity to restore order to a country ravaged by the lack of security and economic stagnation in the shadow of its political crisis. For others, it is the only hope for the fulfillment of the revolution's promise for deliverance from decades of corruption and subjugation.

Lurking somewhere in the

Egypt's candidates range from former foreign minister Amr Moussa (left) to former Muslim Brotherhood activist Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh (right) background is the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Egypt's self-proclaimed caretakers in the absence of a civilian president.

By most accounts, of the 13 official candidates for the presidency, four stand a legitimate chance of making it past the first round on Thursday and into a runoff of the two highest vote getters scheduled for next month. Of these, two are "remnants" of the old regime, or felool, running on a platform of experience and a restoration of stability to Egypt. Amr Moussa, Mubarak's erstwhile foreign minister, and Ahmed Shafiq, the fallen president's last appointed prime minister, represent a return to some revised version of the old order.

To varying degrees, both Mousa and Shafiq have managed to deflect the fact that their political "experience" came within the same regime that was overthrown by millions of Egyptians only one year ago, and have somehow managed to turn what was once a derogatory term into a badge of honour among their supporters. In a remarkably short period, felool has gone from signifying the corrupt survivors of the Mubarak era to the restoration of some lost greatness represented only in the political certainty that dictatorship offers.

In fact, if the relative success of their campaigns has proven one thing thus far, it is the durability of authoritarianism. The massive state apparatus and patronage networks that have been mobilised in support of what would essentially be Mubarak 2.0

has demonstrated that a successful dictatorship is simply the illusion that one man rules.

In effect, the mechanisms of control have remained intact, and in the bleakest scenario, the body is simply seeking to spawn a new head.

The fact that the SCAF appears to favour these candidates does not hurt either. Shafiq in particular has offered himself as the "law and order" candidate, pledging to crush future protests violently, while there is talk among many nervous Egyptians that his victory lap would entail a rounding up of all representatives of the political opposition, led by the Muslim Brotherhood.

There is even more widespread fear that the tentacles of the state apparatus might extend into the ballot boxes to aid one or both of these candidates, with a leading Muslim Brotherhood figure recently warning that up to five million votes could be forged.

Regardless of whether such allegations could ever be proven, it is quite likely that a victory for Mousa or Shafiq would enflame the passions of all of Egypt's political factions and affirm the view held by most of the youth leaders who first set foot in Tahrir Square on January 25, 2011 that the revolution is far from complete. The resulting standoff is sure to be more confrontational than any up to this point, with the SCAF adamant to establish order under the new political arrangement and end the popular protest movement once and for all.

“

The three remaining presidential candidates who have made significant progress in their campaigns and would also represent genuine change from the old order emerged out of the dominant political movements within Egyptian society. Foremost among these is the Muslim Brotherhood, which has put the full force of its deeply rooted organisation behind its candidate, Mohamed Morsi. But while his victory would certainly signal a break from the past and the dawn of a new era built on democratic governance and the ascendancy of Islamic politics, the Muslim Brotherhood has made few friends outside of its own ranks, owing to a series of missteps over the past year.

Upon consolidating its gains through the establishment of the most effective political machine, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), and proceeding to take a commanding share of seats in last fall's parliamentary elections, the Muslim Brotherhood carefully avoided the most difficult question facing the country: the transfer of power from the military to a civilian government. When it finally did confront the SCAF earlier this spring, it was only in the context of the FJP's desire to appoint the new government and dominate the committee tasked with rewriting the constitution. The self-serving nature of these decisions was not lost on the revolutionaries who had been consistent in their calls for an end to military rule, suffering frequent violent

The general mood in Egypt clearly signifies that, for good or ill, the fate of the fragile revolution rests on the outcome of this election. For some Egyptians, this spells an opportunity to restore order to a country ravaged by the lack of security and economic stagnation in the shadow of its political crisis.

responses in the process, and becoming highly disillusioned with the staged political transition as a result.

As the Muslim Brotherhood used the ineffectual nature of the parliament as a pretext to field a presidential candidate after pledging not to do so, most other factions within the revolutionary movement scoffed at a solution that simply handed one group yet another seat of power.

Nevertheless, the Morsi campaign has gained considerable steam from the organisation's base and its traditional network of supporters that turned out in the millions to support the FJP's parliamentary bid. For weeks, election analysts have claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood's support has waned, but opponents would do well not to underestimate the reach of Morsi's campaign machine.

Rallies across Egypt's more remote locales have generated impressive turnouts, and a human chain of supporters stretching from Alexandria to Aswan reportedly included tens of thousands of people.

But the prospect of a victory for a popular movement on the accord of the Muslim Brotherhood would be no guarantee for a smooth political transition. A Morsi presidency would alienate the remaining political factions and almost certainly set up a second showdown between the Muslim Brotherhood and the SCAF. Even before he reaches that point, if Morsi does enter the second round runoff, he will have a considerable mountain to climb to convince more than half of Egyptian voters that he is the consensus candidate and the representative of the revolution - a task that is sure to be made easier were he to face off against Mousa or Shafiq.

"One of only two candidates to have been in Tahrir Square on the first day of the protests... [Aboul Fotouh of the Muslim Brotherhood] has earned the respect and admiration of most of the revolutionary youth."

The candidate who has thus far demonstrated the greatest ability to unite Egyptian society's political trends and shown the most promise to deliver on the demands of the revolution is Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh. As a former Muslim Brotherhood leader who promotes a more accommodating and less institutionally constrained vision of Islamic politics, he has connected with a vast swath of Egyptians, from liberal Islamists to Salafis, whose religious identity informs their political activism. As a political moderate and strong nationalist, Aboul Fotouh has also appealed to many liberals, leftists and Coptic Christians.

Culled from Aljazeera.

Abdullah Al-Arian is an Assistant Professor of History at Wayne State University, where he specialises in the modern Middle East.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 32

Mali coup leader condemns president beating AU troops battle Somali rebels for control of IDP corridor

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ighting erupted outside Somalia's capital as African Union and government troops launched attacks against al Shabaab insurgents in a push to seize further ground from the rebels, AU officials said yesterday.

Already in control of most of the capital, the AU force wants to advance through the Afgoye corridor - once a rural area to the north of Mogadishu but now home to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people.

The corridor, believed to house the largest concentration of internally displaced people in the world, stretches some 30 km northwest of Mogadishu to the al Shabaab stronghold of Afgoye.

Captain Ndayiragije Come, the spokesman for Burundi's contingent at the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), said their forces were now in part of Tre Disho village, 13 km from the capital.

Bissau junta says hands power back to civilians

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ix weeks after it toppled the government and derailed elections, Guinea-Bissau's military junta said yesterday it was handing power back to the West African state's civilian leaders.

This follows a deal between the self-styled Military Command and the regional bloc ECOWAS that put in place transitional president Manuel Sherifo Nhamadjo, installed a 600-strong ECOWAS force and promised new elections in 12 months.

"Starting today, the Military Command will hand power to civilians," spokesman Daha Bana Na Walna told reporters, adding that this would be the junta's last news conference.

Guinea-Bissau has suffered several coups and army uprisings since independence from Portugal in 1974, but the latest one has set back western efforts to combat drugs cartels using the country as a transshipment point to Europe.

Coming shortly after the March 22 coup by mutinous soldiers in democratic Mali, it also further undermined West Africa's fragile gains in democracy.

Protesters occupied Mali's presidential palace in protest at a deal for Traore to remain in office for a year

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weekend agreed with the ECOWAS West African regional bloc to allow Traore to preside over a one-year transition to full civilian rule, distanced himself and his CNRDRE grouping from the procoup movement.

"The CNRDRE firmly condemns these acts of violence ... The CNRDRE calls on the Malian people to contain themselves and respect all efforts taken towards an end of the crisis and a peaceful transition," he said in a written statement.

Sanogo wished a "speedy recovery" to Traore, who was taken to a secure location late on Monday after hospital treatment.

As part of the accord extending Traore's mandate, Sanogo won status and privileges normally accorded former heads of state, including a pension for life and other perks.

The fact that unarmed protesters, mostly dressed in jeans and t-shirts, were able to occupy the palace compound despite the presence of security forces raised questions over whether they had tacit support from sections of the military.

"ECOWAS will make the necessary inquiries to establish who ordered and carried out this reprehensible attack and apply the appropriate sanctions," the 15-state body said in a statement.

Past ECOWAS statements have explicitly warned Sanogo and other coup leaders they would face foreign asset freezes and travel bans if they tried to block the transition process.

he leader of Mali's March 22 coup condemned the beating up of the interim president by pro-putchist demonstrators and called yesterday for a peaceful transition of power in the West African country.

Caretaker President Dioncounda Traore suffered

minor head injuries when protesters stormed his palace, the latest setback for efforts to stabilise Mali after the coup and deal with a subsequent revolt by northern separatists and Islamists.

Protesters occupied the presidential palace for several hours during a street

South African court has convicted one of two black farm workers accused of murdering Eugene Terreblanche, a far-right leader, in April 2010.

The court in Ventersdorp, in rural South Africa, found Chris Mahlangu guilty of murder yesterday, but acquitted Patrick Ndlovu, the younger suspect.

However, Ndlovu, who turned 18-years-old during the trial, was convicted of breaking

Guilty verdict in S Africa murder case

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and entering with intent to steal.

Police have described the murder of Terreblanche, a 69year-old white supremacist, as the climax of a longstanding dispute over unpaid wages.

But during the trial, defence lawyers alleged that Mahlangu and Ndlovu had been physically abused by Terreblanche and acted in self-defence.

demonstration in the capital Bamako called by local politicians who want the putschists to return to power and who accuse Traore of being a member of a self-serving political elite responsible for decades of misrule.

But coup leader Captain Amadou Sanogo, who at the

The defence attorneys said their case was weakened by poor police work.

They argued that a substance believed to be semen that witnesses reported seeing on Terreblanche's body apparently was not preserved as evidence.

Scores of white protesters had gathered in support of Terreblanche's family, facing off

against a larger crowd of black supporters of the accused as they awaited the court's verdict.

Terreblanche co-founded the Afrikaner Resistance Movement, known as the AWB, to seek an allwhite republic within South Africa.

The verdict ends a case that has lasted two years and increased racial tensions in Ventersdorp.

South Africa protesters deface Zuma portrait

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wo men vandalised a portrait of South African President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed yesterday, intensifying a heated debate about the picture that has enraged the ruling African National Congress.

Television footage showed a white middle-aged man in a suit walking up to the portrait at a Johannesburg gallery and painting a red cross on president's face and private parts.

A younger black man then smeared black paint over the picture while the first man was being taken into custody by security guards.

"I was stupefied and screamed for gallery security to apprehend the man," said Iman Rapetti, a reporter for the local eNews channel who witnessed the incident.

The picture of Zuma, called "The Spear", is a facsimile of a famous poster of communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, and is part of a wider exhibition

addressing the perception of endemic corruption in Nelson Mandela's former liberation movement.

In the red, black and yellow painting, the president is shown striking Lenin's heroic stance, but with his penis hanging out of his trousers.

The artist, Brett Murray, is well-known in South Africa for his work criticising the whiteminority apartheid government that ended in 1994.

Zuma's African National Congress party had already launched a legal bid to try to force the Goodman Gallery to remove the picture, which it described as crude and racist.

Minutes before the vandal attack, ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe told Reuters people had a right to criticise the government, but there were limits.

When you had an artist depicting the president's genitals,

he added, "you are not raising a discussion, you are insulting people."

Zuma has been married six times and fathered 21 children.

The two men were taken into police custody. Police did not comment on what charges they

might face.

Anton Harber, chairman of South Africa's Freedom of Expression Institute last week called the ANC's criticism of the picture "silly" and defended artists' right to pose difficult, uncomfortable questions with their work.

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma speaks during the African Union (AU) summit in Ethiopia"s capital Addis Ababa, February 2, 2010.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 33

Private firm SpaceX makes historic launch

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he US company SpaceX has became the first commercial outfit to send its own spacecraft toward the International Station with the launch of the cargo-bearing Dragon capsule.

"Three, two, one and launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, as NASA turns to the private sector to resupply

the International Space Station," said NASA commentator George Diller, as the spacecraft blasted off at 3:44 am (0744 GMT) on Tuesday.

The test flight, which should include a fly-by and berthing with the station in the coming days, aims to show that private industry can restore US access to the ISS after NASA

retired its space shuttle fleet last year.

Al Jazeera's Andy Gallacher, reporting from Florida, said this is the first time in history that a commercial, private spacecraft will plan to rendezvous with the International Space Station.

"A new era in space exploration has begun," he said.

"There is a lot at stake here for SpaceX - something like $1.6bn contract with NASA. The shuttle programme ended last year. This is the future for NASA. This is the way America will stay in orbit."

Our correspondent said the involvement of private companies would help the US government reduce the money spent on space exploration.

But he added that "history won't be made until that Dragon capsule actually rendezvous with the International Space Station, which won't happen for another 72 hours and that's perhaps the trickiest part of this entire operation".

No humans are traveling aboard the Dragon, but six astronauts are already at the $100billion space lab to help the capsule latch on, to unload supplies and then restock the capsule with cargo to take back to Earth.

The mission was delayed on Saturday due to a faulty engine valve in the rocket's main engine, but was repaired the same day.

California-based SpaceX, owned by billionaire Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, is the first of several US competitors to try sending spacecraft to the ISS with the goal of restoring US access to space for human travelers by 2015.

Canada student protesters plan mass rally

D Officials said there was an 80 per cent chance of favourable weather for the launch

emonstrations have continued in Canadian city of Montreal despite the introduction of a new law aimed at ending three months of protests against proposed tuition fee increases.

More than 300 people were arrested and at least 10 injured injured on Monday, following clashes between protesters and police, authorities said.

Quebec's provincial government had passed an emergency law on Friday restricting protests, including a requirement that police be informed eight hours before and told the route of any demonstration that includes 50 or more people.

But the new law has only served to fuel the student movement.

Student groups have panned the law and said they would challenge it in court and continue demonstrations.

On Sunday night, protesters smashed store windows and opened a fire hydrant that flooded a downtown Montreal office building.

Authorities gave no estimate of the number of protesters, but local media said several thousand had gathered in central Montreal at the start of the demonstration.

Four officers also were lightly injured during the night of clashes, which ended with the arrests of 305 people, most of whom were later released.

Authorities had declared the protest "illegal" minutes after it began because organisers had not given police advance warning as required by the new law enacted on Friday.

While the new legislation is unpopular among students and rights groups, a poll published the day after legislation was passed showed two-thirds of Quebecers supported it.

Ruling party claims win in Dominican vote

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Students have been protesting for fifteen weeks against tuition fee increases

Danilo Medina of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party is promising to boost the country's economic growth

uling party candidate Danilo Medina has claimed victory in the Dominican Republic's hotly disputed presidential election, avenging his defeat 12 years ago by opposition candidate Hipolito Mejia.

With 99 per cent of Sunday's vote counted, Medina and the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) held a 4 percentage point lead over Mejia, the candidate for the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), according to official results.

"With this victory I want to unite the Dominican Republic," Medina, 60, told a small group of supporters and PLD leaders at a ruling party office in the capital Santo Domingo.

"I have said that in this campaign I wasn't competing for the presidency of the republic, I am building on a dream to end social injustice and put my people on a better path toward progress and well-being," he said.

There was no immediate concession speech from Mejia.

PRD officials defiantly accused the Central Electoral Board of vote-rigging and fraud, even after US Ambassador Raul Yzaguirre endorsed the election as "a triumph of democracy."

"We have our own vote count," said Cesar Cedeno, who ran Mejia's campaign and openly questioned the 51 per cent to 47 per cent margin giving Medina an outright first-round victory.

"We won these elections and we're going to prove it to the country," Cedeno said.

Both parties accused each other of vote-buying as ballots were still being cast on Sunday. But election observers, while confirming some of those reports, had said the cases were isolated and had no impact on the outcome.

Voting appeared smooth, though several people told The Associated Press news agency that backers of Medina were offering people payments of about $15 to vote for their candidate or to turn over their voting cards and withhold their vote for his opponent.

Medina campaign organisers denied the allegations, which have circulated in the country for weeks.

Francisco Alvarez, co-ordinating the 3,000 observers of the civic group Citizen Participation, said many reports had come in from around the country of vote-buying by local workers for both parties.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

IAEA reports progress in Iran nuclear talks T

he head of the UN nuclear watchdog has said he expects to sign a deal with Iran soon on investigating suspected weapons activities connected to the country's nuclear programme.

Yukiya Amano, directorgeneral of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said yesterday in Vienna that he reached an agreement with Iran's government after talks in Tehran, but failed to seal the deal because of "remaining, unspecified differences".

Amano also said that Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, had assured him that "the existing differences will not be an obstacle to the agreement".

The IAEA wants access to sites, officials and documents to shed light on activities in Iran that could be used to develop the capability to make nuclear weapons, especially at the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran.

Amano said that access to the Parchin military site would "be addressed".

Iran has repeatedly said that Parchin is not a designated nuclear site and thus it is not obliged to permit IAEA inspections. Iran has rejected Western accusations that it is removing evidence at the site.

Some Western diplomats have voiced dissatisfaction with the outcome of Amano's latest negotiations with Iran.

Lebanon frees anti-Assad activist

Shadi al-Moulawi, left, was welcomed by friends and relatives following his release on Tuesday in Tripoli court in Lebanon has by members of Syria's Sunni released on bail an majority - which has sprung up activist allied with the alongside mass protests that Syrian opposition whose arrest erupted in Syria in March 2011. earlier this month set off violent Anger over Moulawi's arrest clashes that killed at least eight led Islamists in the north onto the people in the north of the streets, where confrontations country. with the Lebanese military came The fighting erupted after to include residents of a Tripoli Lebanese authorities arrested district that is home to members Shadi al-Moulawi, who Sunni of Assad's Alawite sect.

Islamists in Tripoli say was The unrest has also spread to aiding Syrian refugees in Beirut, where two people were northern Lebanon. killed on Monday in fighting He was subsequently between armed men from the charged with membership of a Future Movement, loyal to the "terrorist" organisation. former prime minister Saad alThe fighting among Lebanese Hariri, and members of a proSunni Islamist opponents of Assad Lebanese political party.

Syrian President Bashar alAssad, the Lebanese army and members of Assad's minority sect in the northern port of Tripoli highlighted the potential of Syria's 14-month-old uprising to unsettle the sect-based politics of its smaller neighbour.

A judicial source said Moulawi was released on Tuesday on a bail of 500,000 Lebanese pounds ($333) and wo people have been killed in forbidden to leave the country, eastern Syria after police adding that the charge levelled opened fire on a crowd who against him by a military came out to welcome UN ceasefire prosecutor stood. observers, according to a rebel Syria, which has demanded official.

Lebanon cut the cross-border flow There was no independent of arms to fighters, has long- confirmation yesterday's incident standing influence in parts of in the province of Deir al-Zor. Lebanon's security apparatus, "As soon as the UN convoy military and judiciary, dating entered Al-Busaira, a jubilant back to the Lebanese civil war crowd of hundreds came out to and its aftermath. welcome them. It was not minutes Tripoli is a stronghold of before they came under fire," Abu Sunni Islamist sentiment and Laila, a Free Syrian Army (FSA) much of the population backs official, said by phone from the the uprising against Assad - led town.

One diplomat told the AFP new agency that there had been "no breakthrough" in Amano's visit.

Another said the trip appeared disappointing but that they were waiting for a "clearer picture" at meetings in the Austrian capital

later on Tuesday.

Israel, which like the US has not ruled out air attacks to stop Iran's atomic progress if it deems diplomacy has failed, has said it is "highly sceptical" about the latest agreement between the IAEA and

Iran.

Amano met the head of Iran's nuclear energy organisation, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, hours after his pre-dawn arrival on Monday, according to ISNA news agency.

US ambassador to step down from Kabul post

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yan Crocker, the US ambassador to Afghanistan, is set to step down from his post, according to the embassy in Kabul.

Tuesday's announcement comes after the conclusion of a NATO summit in Chicago during which the US and 50 allied nations, 28 of which are members of NATO, formalised an agreement to hand control of Afghanistan over to its own security forces by the middle of next year.

In a post on their official Twitter account, the US embassy in Kabul confirmed earlier reports of Crocker's departure, saying ambassador "Crocker has confirmed with regret that he will be leaving Kabul this summer".

Cameron Munter, US ambassador to neighbouring Pakistan, had announced the end

of his diplomatic tour just weeks earlier.

Crocker, who had also served as ambassador to Pakistan for three years starting in 2004, Iraq from 2007 to 2009, and Syria from 1998 to 2001, oversaw the reopening of the US embassy in

Kabul in 2002, which had been closed during Taliban rule.

Crocker's served in Iraq during a period in which violence dropped dramatically and the US and Iraq signed a military pact providing for the eventual withdrawal of all US forces.

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Members of the UN mission in Syria inspected the site of a blast in the eastern province of Deir alZor on May 19

Deaths reported in Syrian police shooting T

"The observers immediately left Al-Busaira. We called them to come back but they refused."

Fighting ensued between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and FSA fighters based in the town, Abu Laila said.

Another opposition source in Deir al-Zor said that government forces surrounding Al-Busaira began firing anti-aircraft guns at the town.

The reports of violence come three days after a suicide attack hit the main town of in Deir alZor, killing at least seven people and wounding 100 others,

according to a Syrian foreign ministry spokesman.

Government troops have been battling a widening uprising against Assad for 14 months.

Al-Busaira is one of many towns and villages under rebel control in Deir al-Zor, a large oilproducing province bordering Iraq, that have been attacked repeatedly in the last four months by government troops trying to regain control.

Assad, a member of Syria's Alawite minority, had relied on a network of alliances with Sunni

Muslim tribes forged by his late father, Hafez al-Assad, to keep Deir al-Zor under control.

But these understandings began breaking down after the province erupted in mass demonstrations in July demanding Assad's removal, and tanks were sent to quell the protest movement.

There are 257 unarmed United Nations observers in Syria, sent to enforce an internationally brokered ceasefire that has been regularly violated by Assad's forces and rebels.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 35

‘What’s wrong?’: Driver ties toddler up in back of moving pick-up truck then tells police he was well strapped in T

oddler secured in back of van only by rope Bags of coal and other debris in back of truck could have crushed the boy Driver refused to speak to concerned passersby until police arrived Police in Northumberland were stunned when they stopped a man for driving with a toddler tied to the back of his van with rope.

Their astonishment reached new heights when the unnamed man, located i n a fish and chip shop while leaving the toddler unattended in the back of the van, failed to understand that he had done anything wrong.

The man had driven to to collect coal at a nearby beach and had even loaded up the back of the van beside the young boy with coal and other debris which could have crushed or injured him.

Stunned witnesses called police and one passerby snapped an image in her mobile.

Concerned members of the public attempted to speak to the man to stop him but he was set to ignore them and drive off in his Ford pick-up in Ashington, Norhumberland, before two police officers arrived.

Madness: Police intervene to save toddler tied to back of truck with rope and bags of coal strewn around However, even then the driver said: 'What's the problem? he's strapped in.'

One witness told the Sunday Mirror: 'If the driver

had slammed the brakes he could have been crushed by bags of coal. But when police questioned ther driver he just said, "What's the problem, he's strapped in" and pointed

to the rope. No one could quite believe what they were seeing.'

A Northumbria Police spokesman said: 'The driver was spoken to by the police at the scene

Laundrette horror as couple get toddler stuck in tumble dryer

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couple's prank goes sickeningly wrong after the tumble dryer they place a child INSIDE whirs into action.

CCTV footage shows the pair frantically tearing at its door, but they are - horrifyingly - unable to open it.

As the nightmare unfolds fellow users of the launderette, in the U.S., look on in shocked amazement.

The tot is eventually freed by a member of staff after over a minute of being imprisoned.

Frantic pair tear at dryer door

Eloped granny Rifca Stanescu

and inquiries are ongoing.'

It is an offence punishable with a £500 fine for driving with a child without an appropriate seat belt or restraint.

World’s youngest granny is just 23

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wife told yesterday how she became the world's youngest gran - at just

23.

Mum-of-two Rifca Stanescu was 12 when she had her first child Maria.

She urged the girl not to follow her example - but Maria gave birth to son Ion while only 11.

Rifca had married jewellery seller Ionel Stanescu when she was 11 and he was 13.

They eloped because Rifca feared her father wanted her to marry another village lad in Investi, Romania. She was forgiven when she had her daughter - making her mum, also Maria, a great-gran at 40.

Son Nicolae was born a year later. The young mum later tried to persuade Maria to stay at school.

But Maria left to wed when she was ten - and had her baby six months later.

Rifca cuddled grandson Ion, now two, and said: "I am happy to be a grandmother but wished more for Maria."

Britain's youngest gran was an unnamed 26-year-old from Rotherham, Yorks.

Her daughter, 12, gave birth in 1999.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

Children exposed to passive smoking at risk of long-term lung problems C

hildren who are exposed to secondhand smoke may experience the damaging effects well into adulthood, say scientists.

Researchers found even nonsmokers who were exposed to passive smoking when they were young had a higher risk of developing chornic chest infections.

The team from the University of Arizona analysed results from a 24-year study that assessed the prevalence rates and risk factors of respiratory and other chronic diseases.

Participants were asked to complete questionnaires that were issued every two years from 1972 until 1996. The researchers found that 52.3 per cent of the children had been exposed to tobacco smoke between birth and 15 years old.

After adjusting for sex, age, years of follow-up and personal smoking status, the researchers found that this exposure was significantly associated with several persistent respiratory symptoms.

Study author Dr Juliana Pugmire, said: ‘We examined asthma as well as other respiratory symptoms and found that exposure to parental smoking had the strongest association with cough and chronic cough that

persisted into adult life.

‘Exposure to parental smoking also had effects, although weaker, on persistent wheezing and asthma in adulthood.’

While researchers have warned of the potential health risks of second-hand smoke for 30 years, there have been few studies into the long-term effects on children.

‘Earlier studies established a link between parental smoking and childhood respiratory illness, but in this study, we sought to demonstrate whether these effects persisted into adulthood,’ she said.

Dr Pugmire said that wheezing and a chronic cough were early risk factors of far more serious lung conditions.

‘Persistent wheezing from childhood into adult life has been shown to be associated with lung function deficits.

‘Chronic bronchitis (defined as chronic cough and phlegm) is a significant risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) development later in life.

‘Therefore, the persistence of symptoms like chronic cough and wheeze into young adulthood may indicate a susceptibility to lung function deficits and chronic respiratory illness with age,’ she said.

Further research will be needed to examine whether

Smoking increases a child's risk of developing chronic bronchitis as adults smokers who were exposed to second-hand smoke as children have a greater risk of dying in

middle-age than smokers who were not exposed, she added.

The study will be presented at

the ATS 2012 International Conference in San Francisco.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Snorers may have higher risk of Statins show promise for preventing dying from cancer, study reveals incontinence and kidney damage in older men norers may have a heightened disordered breathing (SDB) and an

S

risk of dying from cancer, a study claims.

Scientists have found that mild snorers are just 0.1 times more likely to die from cancer than those without the problem.

But moderate snorers doubled the chances of cancer death, while severe snorers increased the risk 4.8 times.

The findings were based on data from sleep studies carried out on 1,522 people over 22 years.

Previous laboratory tests on mice have shown that oxygen starvation – which can be caused by snoring – promotes tumour growth.

Dr Javier Nieto, who led the new study at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, said: ‘The consistency of the evidence from the animal experiments and this new evidence in humans is highly compelling.

‘Ours is the first study to show an association between sleep

Worrying: Snorers may have a heightened risk of dying from cancer, a study claims

elevated risk of cancer mortality in a population-based sample.

‘If the relationship between SDB and cancer mortality is validated in further studies, the diagnosis and treatment of SDB in patients with cancer might be indicated to prolong survival.’

The findings were presented at the American Thoracic Society international conference in San Francisco. They will also appear in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The scientists made adjustments to take account of factors including smoking, age, sex and weight.

One surprising discovery was that the association was stronger for non-obese patients.

This echoed findings in mice which showed that the effects of oxygen starvation on cancer growth was significantly more pronounced in lean animals.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

S

tatins usually used to treat high cholesterol could also help older men by slowing prostate growth, researchers say.

Statins have been hailed as a wonder drug since studies showed that they could lower the risk of heart attack and also improve the health of heart transplant patients.

Now a meeting of the American Urological Association has been told of the beneficial effect of statins on patients with enlarged prostates.

Up to 90 per cent of men over 70 have problems with an enlarged prostate which can cause urinary problems such as incontinence and kidney damage.

Dr Roberto Muller, from Duke University, said: ‘Given that prostate enlargement is an important health problem in the United States and elsewhere, and will be a larger problem as the population ages, it’s important to understand and treat its symptoms.’

Dr Muller and his team studied data gathered for an unrelated trial intended to test a cancer drug. They narrowed it down to 6,000 people, 1,032 of whom took statins.

Men on statins tended to be older than non-users, and were expected to have greater prostate sizes. But prostate sizes were actually similar between

statin users and non-users at the start of the study. That finding provided the first suggestion that statins might affect prostate growth.

When changes were compared two years after the

An enlarged prostate can cause a frequent need to urinate and difficulty emptying the bladder fully

start of the trial, men in the study who took a statin drug had 3.9 per cent less prostate growth.

Those reductions, however, did not persist after two years.

Dr Muller said: ‘We don’t yet understand the mechanisms that might be causing this.

‘Some have suggested that statins may have antiinflammatory properties, and inflammation has been linked to prostate growth, but this needs further study.

‘Prostate enlargement was once considered an inexorable consequence of aging and genetics, but there is growing awareness that prostate growth can be influenced by modifiable risk factors.

‘In this context, the role of blood cholesterol levels and cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins warrants further study.’

Symptoms of an enlarged prostate can be mild to severe.

Doctors currently advise making lifestyle changes such as stop drinking liquids an hour before bed, limiting alcohol and caffeine intake and exercising regularly.

Those with moderate to severe symptoms are often prescribed the medication finasteride or dutasteride, which block the effects of a hormone called DHT on the prostate gland.

However, side-effects include impotence.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 37

‘We don’t expect a thief to present himself before a judge’ says ex-lawmaker INTERVIEW Innocent Lagi, a former member of the Nasarawa state House of Assembly, is now an Abuja based legal practitioner and civil rights activist. In this interview with our Nasarawa state correspondent, Ali Abare Abubakar, the ex-lawmaker opened up on the issue of corruption, the subsidy report findings. Excerpts:

C

onsidering the prevailing state of insecurity across the North, do you think the Federal Government has done the right thing by deploying the military to try to curtail the activities of particularly, the Boko Haram?

Well, where you have an exchange of power between two armed groups, you are bound to say that one with the superior power will be in the street. But I don't think the Federal Government is succeeding in its strive against insurgency and militancy generally in the country. I don't think the government has looked at the root cause. You know it is quite unfortunate when you see a situation where people become enemies of state and they are not treated as such. And you dialogue with your own enemies even within.

Where you have the people sabotaging the country, they have to be treated the way one could treat external aggressors.

The situation is that we cannot ignore the fact that there are root causes, nobody raises an arm unless there is an objective. Unfortunately, so far Boko Haram have not come up with an objective. To say they want the north to be Islamised, I don't think you need a law or an amendment of the constitution or an inclusion in the constitution to have that happen. It cannot also be by proclamation because a religion is adopted, one is born into it or converted. So I don't see how a demand on the government to Islamise a place becomes possible with their tactics. I don't see that happening. So basically, we are having a situation where on both sides there is no clear objective on

what should happen. I don't think the Federal Government understands that probably there are impediments within our social setup that has made the practice of a religion difficult within the country, which is also a guaranteed right. As long as you want a social order in your home town, you should also respect the social order of the other person in his home town. We should learn to respect our differences as even within a family, we are not the same. Some are born male or female for instance and you cannot say in your house you must be all males. So also are the issues of religion. With prevailing violent agitations, we have made religion so unattractive so much so that as our population continues to grow, there are hardly new converts. You can't force a person to believe, it is a conviction. Basically, religion has become so prominent because it has been exploited.

We have situations where anybody who raises arms in the name of religion, or anybody who sets up a Mosque or a Church for the sake of religion,

Lagi Innocent

does so with an underpinning, mostly economical or political.

The political objectives of most Nigerians are means to enrichment. The whole set-up turn to serve economical purposes. Other than that, to get an AK 47, or an Assault Rifle like the type we see being used in this country, is not cheap. When you look at the army of young people in this country, you will want to ask, who is footing the bill? I mean, you load bombs into a car and detonate it, whose car is being used? I mean if these people have such economic viability, what are they fighting for? We need to look at the root causes. There is a complete social disorder in the country, there is the complete lack of governance; lack of procedure. There is a complete lack of cohesion in the system.

Unless we get back that order, this will continue to happen.

“

There are calls for the

The executive arm of government will never ever put itself on trial to account for its action. I don't think it is the responsibility of the President to check corruption. He can't transform the country because he does not understand where the problem is coming from.

federal government to dialogue with members of the sect?

What are you dialoguing with them for? Point is, we are doing that every day; we are talking. It is not about what I want or what you want. There are collective rights and as soon as we establish collective rights, it becomes binding on all to know their limits. What are you dialoguing with members of the sect for? We have Shariah in most of the northern states. No one needs to fight over Shariah institutions to be set up in the north. Everyone who is talking of Islamization, I really don't understand the perspectives. If I am a Christian and I abide by its laws and I don't breach them; how does that affects my living in Kano? It is alright to have Shariah in Kano, when I come to Kano, I respect the law and when you move out of Kano, you should also respect the other person's law. My point is that we had an opportunity to break up the country, but we fought to stop that. In fact, it is actually stupid for the north or whoever in the north to say southerners should leave. I mean they have opted out, we fought them to keep them in. What has happened now, what has changed? What are the objectives? If they move, to where? Won't they, as is the reality everywhere, migrate back in search of economic ends? What is presently happening in Sudan is completely different. The issue is that whoever has done wrong should be told so and whoever should be punished must be punished, for the purpose of an absolute right, even if it is imaginary. It is treason to take up arms against the country.

Instead of solving the problem, we continue to shift grounds.

We have shifted grounds for MEND, OPC and now we are shifting ground for Boko Haram. Soon, the Igala or Berom insurgency will occur.

That should not be the way forward and that is why there is just no room for dialogue.

Whatever we need, we can find in our political system.

With the startling revelation of systematic corruption in the oil sector as shown by the report submitted by the House of representative ad hoc committee that probed the oil subsidy regime and the

apparent hesitation on the side of the President to prosecute those indicted, do you think he is being sincere in the fight against corruption?

I want to say it loud and clear, I have never seen a thief who has taken himself to the judge for trial. The executive arm of government will never ever put itself on trial to account for its action. I don't think it is the responsibility of the President to check corruption. He can't transform the country because he does not understand where the problem is coming from. He was first of all Deputy Governor, he became Governor; became Vice President, then Acting President and the President, in the same political party. The mismanagement of Nigeria started with him, his own organisation and is still within the organisation and if there is going to be a purging, it is not us but the President that needed to be purged. And his rganisation that needs to transform itself in order that it comes out in different light.

If you want a change of attitude, you live by good ethical example but anybody who is not ethical but demands so of others has serious problem. If we have a viable legislature, a functional judiciary, we can fight corruption. If the legislature performs its checks and balances appropriately, there is no way funds can be frittered that way. If the Judiciary decides on the issue of corruption with the passion and sensitivity that is required, people who have been accused of corruption would have been brought to book. Now since we cannot expect the government to try itself, what is the best option for the people to take in order to actualise their collective desire to rid the polity of corruption? I have stopped blaming Nigerians for the failure of our leaders. To now bring the status quo without a clearly defined alternative will just be moving from bad to worst. I am confident that someday Nigerians will take their country back but Nigeria is so complex that unless there is a leadership in place that majority of Nigerians can follow for direction, towards a particular end, We are likely going to have a political revolution, that will change things for the better.

PAGE 38

Kwara Assembly removes all principal officers From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

F

ollowing the allegations against the Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Barrister Abdulrazak Atunwa, the House leadership including the petitioner, Alhaji Iliyasu Ibrahim, the Chief Whip, representing Ipaye/ Malete,Oloru constituency have been removed by the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

The Speaker read the new principal officers, who were appointed through a letter sent to the House by the hierarchy of PDP at the floor of the house.

In the letter, the majority leader, Dr. Abraham Ashaolu who is representing Oke-Ero constituency was replaced by Alhaji AbdulKareem Abdul-Ganiyu representing Share/Oke-Ode constitutuncy while new Deputy Majority leader was Alhaji Saadu Yusuf Tanke from Ilorin South Constituency who replaced Alhaji Abdufatai Salma, from Ilorin North-West constituency.

It would be recalled that the Kwara State House of Assembly last week officially announced the suspension of Alhaji Ilyasu Ibrahim representing Ipaye/Molete/Oloru Constituency for three months over petition he wrote against the Speaker, Hon. Abdurazaq Atunwa on mismanagement of house funds among other.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

2015: Sen Adeyemi calls on Igbomina, Okun people to demand for state From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

S

enator Smart Adeyemi has appealed to all Igbomina and Okun speaking people in Kwara and Kogi states to insist on the creation of a state for them in the ongoing constitution amendment exercise.

He also urged them to always hold ensure that they elected representative that would serve them properly as well demanded for a state during the forth coming Constitution amendment in the country.

Adeyemi who is representing Kogi West Sanatorial district at the National Assembly stated this at the Omu-Aran day celebration stressing that the Nigerians, irrespective of their tribes and cultures, have absolute right to determine where to belong to under the democratic system of

government.

The former President of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) who blamed military administrator for the miscarriage of states creation which threw many people into wrong places said it was high time citizens correct the ' political demarcation' created among common tribes and people. " Let me says here that you have the responsibility to elect those people that will represent you well. So as we are moving towards 2015, put your mind together that you have a responsibility at all level to elected responsible leader who will defend your interest at all level. " When we started the Constitution Amendment, the issue of state creation would come out, the issue of local government will come out. Please, put it at the back of your mind that democracy

is all about good governance and freedom to determine your place.

Very soon, people would determine where they will be.

You will determine the state you want to be, you will determine what you want."

Senator Adeyemi who congratulated the people of OmuAran for gathering indigenes to celebrate culture day noted that their action was in conformity with the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, which emphasized on transformation and integration through culture and tradition stressing that the old town would transform to a meeting point city where business men and women, investors would carries out their transaction for the betterment of the country.

While addressing the people, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed

appealed to other communities in the state to emulate the people of Omu-Aran by assembly themselves in the interest of development, economy and transformation of education sector towards improving the welfare of their people.

Governor Ahmed who insisted that government alone could not satisfies the people of the states said, through collaboration and self empowerment, it would complement the effort of the government in ensuring provision of social amenities for it people.

Earlier, the Olomu of OmuAran, Oba Charles Oladele Ibotoye, appealed to eminent Nigerians to assist the town in its efforts to embark of rehabilitation and reconstruction of some of its infrastructure facilities as well as road linking the town with other communities.

Insecurity: Katsina harps on peaceful coexistence

By Lawrence Olaoye

I

n continuation of his peace effort geared at ensuring security and peaceful coexistence in Katsina state, the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Sanni Hamisu Makana, has charged the people of Kurfi and Bastari rea of the state to live harmoniously together.

The Commissioner was speaking when he led a delegation on peace and unity mission among various ethnic groups in Batsari and Kurfi at an interactive session organized by the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the State Governor Alhaji Ibrahim Shehu Shema on Diplomacy and Societal Relations, Alhaji Sada Salisu Rumah.

Makana however spoke on various developmental projects executed in the two areas by the present administration.

This according to him includes the construction of Kurfi - Batsari - Jibia road which will boost market and agricultural activities in the areas.

In an address, Shema's aide the governor's initiative was to promote unity among various ethnic groups irrespective of religious inclination.

He said the present state administration provide equal treatment among the indigenous Nigerians in the area of healthcare service and education.

Responding on behalf of the indigenous Nigerians residing in Kurfi and Batsari Mr. Sunday Agogo and Mr. Chochel Ehejemba thanked Governor Shema for such initiative.

Assistant Director, Federal Ministry of Defence, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Tsauri (middle), during the foundation laying of an ultra-modern market at Tsamiyar Gino town in Kankara Local Government Area of the Katsina.

No rift in Ogun PDP, says Gbenga Daniel

By Lawrence Olaoye

T

he former governor of Ogun state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, yesterday disclosed that the Ogun state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP hitherto in shambles have reconciled into one indivisible entity.

Speaking with newsmen after a protracted consultation with the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur alongside some other elders from the state, Daniel said the process of reconciliation of aggrieved party members in the state has begun.

He said the party leadership has waded into the seeming division and has succeeded in bringing the factions together in the state.

Meanwhile the party elders in a separate interaction with newsmen

also cleared the air on the insinuations that the former governor had dumped the party for Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) at the eve of the 2011 general elections.

The former governor was widely reported in the media to have bankrolled the PPN and encouraged his loyalists to contest the 2011 general election when they were denied the PDP tickets.

Making a brief remark during a meeting between Ogun PDP founding fathers and the national chairman, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, former minister of Mines and Steel Development, Sharafa Tunji Ishola, said that contrary to the speculation, it was the former governor that ensured that all aggrieved PDP members that left the party were brought back during the membership re-registration exercise

last November.

"Otunba Gbenga Daniel never left PDP for one day. Rather he was the one that brought back aggrieved members and others that left during the re-registration exercise last November".he said.

The former minister also declared that the Ogun PDP Elders were at the party national secretariat on a mission to find lasting peace to the state chapter of the party and emphasized that the group was not in Abuja to represent any particular faction.

"This is not a meeting of a faction", In his short response before the meeting went into closed door session, Bamanga Tukur declared that he has already public his intention to faithfully implement his 3Rs agenda to reposition PDP

nationwide.

"We are all PDP family, what brought you here is one of the reasons why we all told Nigerians when I took over the reign of PDP through election that I will work on triple R, reconciliation, reformation and rebuilding the party based on equity and justice.

"You came here so that we can be able to get peace to reign because once you have that the next is security and what next is investment".

Apart from Gbenga Daniel and Sharafa Ishola other elders in the delegation are Chief Bolapo Ogunjobi, Senator Monsuru Osholake, Dr, Ishiaq Salako, Chief Niyi Adegbenro, Princess Ronke Ogunremi, Deaconess Iyabode Akpankpa and Otunba Odusote.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 39

House Committee on health appeals to Lagos doctors to call off strike

T

he House of Representatives Committee on Health on Monday declared the ongoing solidarity strike by doctors under the employment of the Federal Government as “illegal and unconstitutional.”

The Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Ndudi Elumelu, made the declaration at an emergency meeting with Chief Medical Directors of the four Federal Hospitals in Lagos.

He told the doctors that he

was worried by the incessant strikes in the health sector, and urged them to go back to work.

Elumelu stressed the need to look at the constitutionality of a solidarity strike, adding: “you do not use conflict to resolve conflict. Continuous dialogue is the best option.

“We have patients who have been left unattended to and not being cared for.

“As the strike continues, should we say that the salary

should be stopped and that if we resolve the issues, salary will start running or be running at the detriment of the Federal Government and the patients to be cared for.''

Elumelu, who spoke with newsmen after a closed-door meeting with the doctors, said they had agreed to call an emergency meeting to review the situation.

“We are here in respect of the Federal Government employees that embarked on solidarity

strike.

During our deliberations, they agreed that the solidarity strike was voluntary,'' he said.

The State Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr Edamisan Temiye, said that following the meeting with members of the committee, the doctors had agreed to call an emergency meeting to review the situation.

Temiye said pending the emergency meeting of the

association, the doctors would continue to take care of the patients already on admission, and called on the National Assembly to intervene.

Enugu Speaker congratulates Chime over judgment

T

he Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Mr Eugene Odo, says Gov. Sullivan Chime's victory at Abuja Federal High Court is a victory for democracy and the rule of law.

Odo, who said this at the floor of the assembly in Enugu on Tuesday, also described the judgment as a victory for the people of Enugu State. ``Let me also use this opportunity to equally congratulate ourselves, the PDP and all those that stood for truth during the period of the litigation for their steadfastness.

NAN recalls that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had on Monday, May 21 struck out the suit filed by Alex Obiechina challenging the primary election of PDP that produced Chime.

The court said that the plaintiff lacked the legal right to institute the action.

Edo state Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, campaigns for his re-election in the July 14 gubernatorial election, recently at the Ramat Park in Ikpobha Okha Local Government Area of the state.

Kogi youths poised for development, partners government

Insecurity: APGA urges Nigerians to support government’s efforts T

From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

T

he All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) has called on Nigerians to support the Federal Government in its efforts to address the current security challenges in the country.

The Director of Publicity of the party, Mr Ifeanacho Oguejiofor, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

Oguejiofor said it was unfortunate that Nigeria was facing insecurity, and said that where there was no security,

democracy could not thrive and lives and property could not also be guarranteed.

“It is only in autocratic states that insecurity can thrive and be accepted because the government and its citizens are the same, so, there is no clear distinction.

“But in a democracy the reverse is the case because, if there is no security, the dividends of democracy can not be achieved," he said He urged the Federal Government to provide employment opportunities for

its teeming populace, especially the youths to avoid restiveness rather than voting more money on security.

“After all, the first law of nature is self survival, so, government should lay more emphasis on job creation and empowerment of the women to reduce their suffering.

“Government should also create an enabling environment for its citizens to enhance their productivity for self reliance," he advised According to him, priority attention should be given to

agriculture as the major supplier of labour to engage more people in farming for the good of its citizens.

He said that education should be given the attention it deserved in order to reduce the level of illiteracy in the country, adding that education was the bedrock of the development drive of any nation.

Oguejiofor said that security was a collective responsibility of every body; therefore, it should not be left in the hands of the government alone.

“We were compelled to set up another committee in addition to an earlier screening committee as part of the initiatives to douse the tension among the contestants."

Abubakar said there were misgivings from the 14 local government councils over the choice of candidates who were

screened by the first committee.

“The second committee was able to resolve the internal crisis ahead of the elections and this would enable us to face the election as one family.''

He said that all the problems that bedeviled the screening exercise had been fully resolved, stressing that the party and its

candidates were fully prepared to go into the elections.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state had already completed arrangements to conduct the chairmanship and councillorship positions on June 24, in the councils.

Zamfara ANPP sets up two screening committees

T

he Chairman of ANPP in Zamfara, Alhaji Lawali Abubakar, has set up two committees ahead of local council elections in the State.

He said at a news conference in Gusau on Tuesday that the measure became necessary due to wranglings among the contestants.

he Kogi Youth Progressive Association, (KYPA), has restated its commitment to work with Governor Idris Wada in developing a blueprint for youth empowerment in the state.

The Chairman of the group, Alhaji Muhammed Bello, who stated this in Lokoja yesterday while addressing journalists, noted that Wada's recent victory at the tribunal was an affirmation of the wishes of the people who freely gave him their mandate in December, 2011.

He noted that his quest for the realization of the transformation for the state requires a professional that understand international best practices saying that the duo of Wada and Awoniyi were the best for the state in this critical time people were yearning for development.

Bello stated that for the state to fully realize its potentials, the government must develop a comprehensive and robust youth programme which would help to take the young ones off the streets.

PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

Jubilation in Badagry as tribunal sacks ACN councillor T

here was jubilation in Badagry on Monday night as many residents celebrated the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) councillor, Kamarudeen Adeoye, at the Local

Government Election Tribunal.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the tribunal sitting in Lagos had on Monday nullified the election of the ACN candidate, Mrs Kehinde Demawu, and declared Adeoye

the winner of the Oct. 22, 2011 council poll in the area.

NAN reports that the sacked ACN councillor, representing Jegba Ward A, was the leader of the Badagry Legislative Council.

NAN reports that the

jubilating residents, mostly PDP supporters, trooped out on the major streets of the ancient town, applauding the tribunal's judgment.

Speaking with NAN, Alhaji Lateef Mejogbe, Badagry PDP

Chairman, commended the tribunal's verdict, describing it as "impartial and independent".

"The tribunal's independent and impartial verdict vindicated our victory at the polls," he said.

Igbo community leader lauds Bauchi Govt for sustaining peace, security

H

itler Umesiri, the President-General of the Igbo community in Bauchi, on Tuesday commended the state government for putting in place effective security measures to safeguard the security of lives and property in the state.

Umesiri made the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said by strengthening the security network in the state, the government had demonstrated serious commitment to protecting the lives and property of the people.

He said the people of the state were living in peace in spite of the security challenges in the country.

"For quite some time now, no maximum breach of the peace has been recorded in Bauchi compared to other places; only some sketches; but that is minor.

"It has been minor, no blood has been shed so far in Bauchi and we are advising those who are running away to come back because Bauchi is still peaceful and will continue to be peaceful.

"The governor is there; our father the Emir of Bauchi, Rilwanu Adamu, is also using his position to make sure that Bauchi remains peaceful."

The Igbo community leader also commended religious and community leaders for their contributions toward promoting peaceful co-existent in the state.

L-R: Director General, Nigeria Governors' Forum, Mr. Asishana Okauru, presenting State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM) base document to Rivers state Deputy Governor, Engineer Tele Ikuru, during the SPRM team visit to the state, yesterday in Port Harcourt.

Kogi Assembly makes case for erosion-ravaged communities

T

he Kogi House of Assembly has called on the state government to assist three communities in Idah Local Government Area ravaged by gully erosion.

The call came in a resolution of the House following the adoption of a motion on Urgent Public Importance raised by the member representing Idah Constituency, Mr Haruna Musa, at the plenary session in Lokoja on Tuesday.

Musa, who brought pictures of the erosion sites and its level of devastation in the areas to the House, said that communities around Technical College, down

to Oga Memorial Grammar School and Inachalo, all in Idah, had been rendered homeless.

He urged the House to impress it on the government to direct relevant agencies to asses the level of devastation and provide relief materials to the communities.

Seconding the motion, Christopher Atule, representing Ibaji Constituency, said the area was prone to erosion and canvassed a holistic approach as a lasting solution to the problem.

In his contribution, the Minority Leader, Mr Solomon Afolabi, urged the state government to involve the

National Ecological Fund in addressing the issues of erosion and other natural disasters affecting communities in the state.

Also, at Tuesday's plenary, the House adopted a motion calling on the state government to address the infrastructural decay at the Government Girls Secondary School, Ogbonicha, Ofu Local Government Area.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the school was established in 2001 by a former state governor, Prince Abubakar Audu.

Alhaji Yakubu Yunusa, mover of the motion and

Majority Leader, said that the unity school with students from the 19 Northern States in the country was facing infrastructural challenges.

Yunusa said that the school, which was once the pride of the state, is now a ghost of its former self with dilapidated structures, dearth of teachers, inadequate staff and other challenges.

He advised that the school should not be allowed to collapse.

NAN also reports that the motion, seconded by Alhaji Abdullahi Zakari, member representing Ankpa II constituency, was unanimously adopted.

PAC commends NASS for declaring LG caretaker committees illegal

T

he Progressive Action Congress (PAC) on Tuesday commended the House of Representatives for declaring local council caretaker committees illegal.

The National Chairman, Chief Charles Nwodo, made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

The legislature had declared last Thursday that the use of caretaker committees to administer local councils was

illegal.

It warned that affected governors must, as a matter of urgency, conduct elections into the various councils.

The resolution was consequent upon a motion sponsored by Mr Friday Itulah, who submitted that the caretaker system of governance was alien and unknown to the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 as amended.

Nwodo said it was unfortunate that in a democratic setting,

grass roots which were the foundation of politics had been bastardised and corrupted in the name of caretaker committee.

He said caretaker committee arrangement was in vogue during military regime and should not flourish in a democratic setting.

“It is out of the fear of the incumbent loosing grip of power that resulted in appointing the caretaker committee to run the affairs of the councils," he said “It does not require another

law to tell the governors to know that they lack the right to appoint local government caretaker committees to run the affairs of the councils.

“The NASS should regard such act as a violation of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria," Nwodo said.

He suggested that the conduct of the local government elections should not be the responsibility of the State Independent Electoral Commissions under the leadership of the governor.

“An independent body, be it a body of retired Judges, or authentic civil society groups should be set up to conduct the councils' elections nationwide.

“This is to avoid unnecessary influence from the governors in the conduct of the elections across the nation.

“It is high time the NASS separates the states from the local governments accounts for the independence of the local governments as the third tier of the government.''

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

PAGE 41

Nwankwo, Soriola, Oduamadi hit camp as Eagles tackle Peru Thursday morning

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hough it will be 8pm in Lima, Peru today, but 2am tomorrow morning in Nigeria when the Super Eagles are billed to file out against their hosts in an international cracker that is meant to test the depth and tact of the respective teams as they gear up for 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

The Eagles, who are being rebuilt are presently dominated by domestic league players were joined yesterday by four of the five players Head Coach Stephen Keshi called up to strengthen the squad.

Team’s Media Officer, Ben Alaiya, confirmed that on arrival at the Lima International Airport, the Eagles who had earlier been stranded in Madrid after missing their connecting flight to Lima, met the trio of Obiorah Nwankwo, Gege Soriola, and Nnamdi Oduamadi at the Sheraton Hotel where the team is being lodged.

Spain based Raheem Lawal later joined the squad yesterday, while Ekigho Ehiosun was part of the 18 players and officials that traveled to Lima from Nigeria.

The Eagles though would only train once because of the flight delays which forced them to arrive there later than was expected and even compelled the coaches to give the players some time to rest and beat off jet lap.

Meanwhile, Eagles Secretary Dayo Enebi, who disclosed the time of the game, said the host picked the time that suits them adding that he expects one of NFF broadcast partners; African Independent Television (AIT), to transmit the game live.

I‘ll resign... if, Ikhana threatens NFF

By Patrick Andrew

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Esther Sunday

Perpetua Nkwocha

uper Eagles chief coach, Kadiri Ikhana, has threatened to resign from his post if any member of the executive committee of the NFF or the board itself attempts to impose any player or players on him.

Ikhana, who unveiled a 21woman list of players that he intends to use to tackle South Africa’s Bayana Bayana in a twolegged international friendly duel before confronting Zimbabwe in the Africa Women Championship qualifier, said yesterday that should anyone or body tries to armtwist him to

succumb to external influence he would rather bow out of the post than stomach such act.

“I will rather resign than allow that to happen, because every coach has a vision and an approach. When he fails it means his approach and tactics have failed. So, he takes responsibility but if his failing was because of the imposition of players or tactics on him, then he’s not worth his onions. I will rather resign than accept that,” he said.

The former CAF Champions League winner with Enyimba, notes that the players he has selected are capable of producing the desired squad adding that he has opted to bring in just five players out of the 15 fresh pairs of legs he had worked on because those

invited have the qualities needed to blend with the older members of the Falcons to produce results.

Peoples Daily Sports observes that Ikhana called three members of the Falconets including Gloria Ofoegbu, Esther Sunday and Desire Oparanozie, who, though, have been members of the team on fringe.

Three foreign-based players also had the nod and had already joined the camp a day before the public unveiling. These are African Female Footballer of the Year, Perpetua Nkwocha, Rita Chikwelu and Onome Ebi. The Falcons will play Zimbabwe in Harare on May 27 and the decisive second leg fixture holds in Lagos on June 16.

They will play a two-legged friendly against the South Africa’s Banyana Banyana with the first leg in Rustenburg on June 3 while the return leg is set for the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos on June 23.

The Super Falcons are expected to fly out of Abuja to Harare today.

Full List Precious Dede (capt), Tochukwu Oluchi, Gloria Ofoegbu, Ngozi Ebere, Chidinma Okoro, Onyinyechi Ohadugha, Evelyn Nwabuiku, Onome Ebi, Joy Jegede, Gladys Akpa, Regina Macfancy, Stella Mbachu (asst capt), Akudo Iwuagwu, Perpetua Nkwocha, Amenze Aighewi, Abosede Olukayode, Desire Oparanozie, Shola Oyewusi, Rita Chikwelu, Gloria Iroka, Esther Sunday.

…Promises to win World Cup Precious Dede

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oach Kadiri Ikhana has gone a step further than the semifinals target that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) gave to him and has vowed to win the next edition of the FIFA Women World Championship.

The coach, who reiterated his desire to re-conquer Africa by winning the African Women Championship, said the squad he has assembled is capable of reproducing

the form that saw the Falconets reached the final of the U-20 FIFA World Cup final but narrowly lost to hosts Germany.

“I have accepted the target of semi-finals, but I think my personal target is to win the Women World Cup. I will work toward towards and I think I have the materials to attain the goal,” he said stressing that the 21-woman list he unveiled yesterday contains the best that could be

Didier Drogba posing with the coveted Trophy

Drogba announces June exit date

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helsea’s Champions League hero and Ivory Coast skipper, Didier Drogba, has formally announced that he would part ways with Stamford Bridge when his contract expires next month.

In apparent reaction to conflicting reports on whether he would or not leave Chelsea, Drogba, 34, who joined Chelsea from Olympique Marseille in 2004 and scored 157 goals in 341 appearances for the club, said yesterday that he the match against Bayern Munich was his final competitive game in Chelsea’s colours.

“I wanted to put an end to all the speculation and confirm that I am leaving Chelsea. It has been a very difficult decision for me to make and I am very proud of what we have achieved but the time is right for a new challenge for me,” Drogba said on the club website.

Drogba enjoyed a glittering found in the country for now.

Though he promised to continue to mold the squad by the process of elimination by substitution, he insisted that the few new pairs of legs in the team are such that would easily blend with others to produce an attractive team.

Meanwhile, he has disclosed that goalkeeper Precious Dede was penultimate night elected the skipper while Stella Mbachu and Ebere Orji were elected first and second assistant skippers.

eight years in the Premier League in which he won three league titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups.

He capped his trophy-laden career at the West London club by starring in their Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich on Saturday, when he scored a late equaliser before netting the decisive penalty in the shootout.

It was the Ivorien who also got Chelsea’s clincher against Liverpool in the FA Cup final that handed the trophy to the Blues, in a match they were dominated just like they had been against Barcelona and Bayern Munich, but still went on to win.

“We have known for some time that this outcome was likely but Didier and the club only made a final decision on that in the last couple of days, because for obvious reasons neither Didier nor the club wanted to distract focus away from the Champions League Final.

“The talks were amicable all the way through and we wish him all the best for the future. He is welcome back to Stamford Bridge at any time - either as a player or as a guest of ours,” Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said.

Drogba has been linked with a move to Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua where he would join up with former Chelsea teammate Nicolas Anelka who left Stamford Bridge in January.

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

Nadal, Djokovic aiming for history at Roland Garros

Enyimba plot Rangers fall in Aba

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elix Anyasi-Agwu, the Chairman of Enyimba FC of Aba, has affirmed the team’s resolve to defeat rivals Rangers International FC of Enugu on May 27 in Aba. Anyasi-Agwu said in Aba after the team defeated Kaduna United 2-0 in a league match that the encounter was a dress rehearsal for their showdown with Rangers. He said that a victory over the Enugu outfit would narrow the gap between them on the league table.

The chairman said that Enyimba would avenge the 1-0 defeat handed them by Rangers in the first stanza of the season in Enugu.

“Our aim is to defeat Rangers come May 27 and to also narrow the points difference between the two teams. Our victory against Kaduna United has put us in a vantage position,” he said.

While commending the coaching crew for the painstaking job they had done on the team, Anyasi-Agwi urged the players to step up their performance and guard against complacency.

“The players have been squandering many scoring chances, particularly at home, and this is affecting our title chase seriously, but hope is not lost yet,” he said.

M e a n w h i l e , Enyimba’s Technical Adviser, Austin Eguavoen, said that he was satisfied with the three points the team secured against Kaduna United in spite of the profligacy of his players.

“We have to ensure that we win all our home matches and guard against dropping points at home,” he said.

Rangers currently sit atop the NPL table with 46 points from 26 matches, closely followed by Enyimba who have 43 points from the same number of matches.

Novak Djokovic

Rafael Nadal

afael Nadal is hoping to finesse his sixth trophy at the Rome Masters into a lucky seventh at the French Open as the Spaniard heads to Paris for the grand slam beginning on Sunday. The Spaniard has recovered his winning touch with two straight clay success against Novak Djokovic, who beat him in seven finals in 2011 on three surfaces.

Nadal has won 2012 claycourt titles in Monte Carlo (his eighth), Barcelona (his seventh) and Rome with his only loss coming in Madrid where he went down to compatriot Fernando Verdasco.

A month after stopping the Serb in Monte Carlo, Nadal and his team now travel to Roland Garros

Rising Stars will escape relegation, says Coach Olujunugbe

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ayode Olujunugbe, Coach of the Rising Stars FC of Akure, says in spite of the team’s position on the Nigeria Premier League table, it will escape relegation.

Olujunugbe made the assertion on Sunday in Enugu after his team lost 1-3 to Rangers International in a week 27 match played at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium.

He said the team still had some home and away matches before the end of the league and would use the opportunity to improve its position on the table.

“We still have about 13 matches to play and I believe we can improve our position on the league table. “We actually had the intention of playing a

draw but unfortunately we lost because Rangers are also a good side.

“We have quality players and you can see the standard of play today. “I assure you our next match with 3SC of Ibadan will be okay; we hope to win the match,” Olujunugbe said.

He said the lapses he noticed in the team would be worked on to improve the performance of the players in subsequent matches.

Efe Yahere of Rangers scored twice in the 15th and 40th minutes to put his side ahead in the first half, while Efe Yahere increased the tally in the 63rd minute.

Adeyemi Adekunle of Rising Stars scored his side’s only goal in the second half.

Dep Gov promises El Kanemi N2m bonus for two wins B

orno Government on Sunday promised to pay N1 million as winning bonus to players of the El Kanemi Warriors FC

of Maiduguri for each of the remaining two matches of the league.

Alhaji Zanna Mustapha, the Deputy

Governor, made the promise on Sunday shortly after the Warriors beat Sports Light FC of Kastina 2-1 in a league encounter

in Maiduguri.

M u s t a p h a commended the players for their hard

with the player on top form and fully confident once again.

“We will be in Roland Garros but now we are in Rome and it’s a happy day to be here with the title another time,” said Nadal, not wanting to look ahead in his moment of victory,” he said.

Nadal, 16-1 on clay this season after winning the 49th title, said that beating his rival was important for his confidence. “Winning is important, when you lose you play with doubts.

“This was an important match. I will put this trophy in my bedroom. It is a dream of confidence I am playing well. This comes when I play at the right level, hopefully I’ll keep playing like this.”

The 25-year-old said that despite regaining the No 2 ranking behind Djokovic to leave Roger Federer on third again, he is not concerned with the numbers.

“It is better two than three and three is better than four. But after eight years being in the top two, it is no big difference.

“It’s normal for the rankings to change in the around Roland Garros or Wimbledon. I’m a few points from Roger. I’m happy about everything.”

Finalist Djokovic goes to Paris aiming to complete a non-calendar year grand slam sweep of four in a row after winning Wimbledon and the US Open crowns last year and the Australian Open early this year.

“I will be preparing for this grand Slam as I have all the others. It’s a big event, it’s two weeks long and one of our most important tournaments.

“I want to deliver my best game. I’m feeling good on the court, I just need to make a few adjustments before Paris but I’ll be in top form,” the Serb said. work and dedication throughout the match, saying that the target should be for

Chief Emeka Inyama, Chairman of NNNL

the club to gain promotion to the Premier League.

“I am quite happy with the players’ performance today because they really played well. We are offering N1 million bonus to the club if they win any of the two remaining matches of the league,” he said.

Mustapha said the move was aimed at gingering the players to work toward putting in their best in order to win the matches and gain promotion to the elite division.

With the win, the Warriors have taken over the leadership of its group with 26 points in the proleague division.

Kwara United confident ahead of Stars K Austin Eguavoen, Coach Enyimba

wara United striker, Kabiru Sanusi is emphatic his side will win the rescheduled Week 12 tie against Sunshine Stars today at the llorin Township Stadium.

The first fixture in llorin was one goal apiece before crowd violence disrupted the game leading to the disciplinary committee of the NFF ordering a replay.

Sanusi, who will not be available for the game due to minor right knee injury he cupped in the tie against Lobi Stars in llorin, told SuperSport.com that they have waited anxiously for the game to pick their three points.

“We’ve have been preparing for the game since

the replay date was announced and we can’t wait any longer to take the three points at stake.

“Definitely, the game will go very well for us, we consider it a serious match because we need the three points to shore up our points on the log. “I won’t play, I’m still nursing a minor knee injury but I’m sure my teammates will win the encounter against Sunshine Stars. Our victory against Kano Pillars at the weekend is a big boost going into the game.”

The former Ranchers Bees’ goal poacher, who has netted four goals for his side, said he has his eyes on the hotshot award.

“Of course, I’m still interested in the highest goal scorer award, I’ve scored four goals and will raise my goalscoring effort so as to meet my target.

I missed lots of games in the first stanza, once I’m back from this knee injury things will change for the better,” he said.

The Afonja Warriors have garnered 34 points from a possible 78.

Fixtures today Heartland vs Ocean Boys Warri Wolves vs Sharks

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

Juve abandon chase for Van Persie, focus Suarez, Dzeko

Sahin plans Madrid stay

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uri Sahin insists he has no intention of leaving Real Madrid despite playing just 642 minutes for the club in his debut season.

Sahin, 23, joined Madrid from Borussia Dortmund last summer but has been tipped to leave the Bernabeu this summer, with Galatasaray reportedly keen to sign him.

However, the Turkey midfielder remains determined to prove himself in Spain and have ruled out a move to his homeland.

“I will not return to Turkey,” he told the AS newspaper. “My dream is still Madrid, I was on the list of players who disappointed last season and I know the Madrid fans expect more from me, but I can do better if I do not have any injuries.

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Chelsea line-up Shevchenko return

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ndriy Shevchenko is being lined up for a coaching role at Chelsea as part of owner Roman Abramovich’s sweeping changes.

The £30million Chelsea flop is taking his coaching badges and can accept a role at the club when he decides to quit playing.

Shevchenko, 35, is still a member of the Dynamo Kiev squad, but he has been a regular visitor to Chelsea’s training ground this season.

He has been watching the team train and monitoring methods on a frequent basis as he recovers from injury.

Edin Dzeko

Liverpool’s resistance and Juventus could be the first, Real Madrid are also keeping tabs even though they will have to sell before they can buy.

Van Persie, 28, was their first choice and they are prepared to pay up to £25m and £180,000-a-week to get Arsenal’s top scorer.

Juventus sporting director Giuseppe Marotta has already gone public and declared their interest in van Persie and called him the “complete player.”

Marotta has also not hidden his interest in Suarez and Higuain and the Italians do not want to be kept waiting on van Persie which can only be good news for Arsenal.

Arsenal remains determined to keep van Persie and have offered him £130,000-a-week plus a £5m signing on fee to stay.

It could also mean that Arsenal are still determined to make van Persie see out the final year of his contract even if he does not want to sign a new deal and wants to leave.

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J

David Silva

talian giants Juventus are ready to switch targets to Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko and Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain because they fear they will miss out on van Persie.

Manchester City, who have made van Persie their top target, are also preparing to play hard ball as they are likely to offer around £15m if a deal can be done.

City remains in pole position but will not get dragged into a bidding war on transfer fee and contract with Manchester United also watching developments.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have yet to come in for him. Jose Mourinho is a fan but may have to sell Higuain first to fund a move.

Juventus have sounded out van Persie’s representatives and see the Dutchman as a stellar signing but are beginning to look elsewhere as they do not want to miss out on a big name altogether.

Suarez had a controversial season at Anfield but several clubs may test

Real eye Modric in exchange for Diarra

Real chase City hit man Silva

ose Mourinho sees the Manchester City star David Silva as the ideal replacement for Kaka, who is set to join Paris Saint Germain.

Silva only has two years left on his contract at the Etihad and talks have yet to start about an extension.

Roberto Mancini knows he cannot afford to lose Silva, who was instrumental in City’s first Premier League title win.

Silva cost City £24m when they signed him from Valencia two years ago and Real would have to go much higher than that to land him.

But a return to his homeland could tempt the 26-year-old, who does not get the same exposure back home as some of his international team-mates.

Real succeeded in tempting Cristiano Ronaldo out of Manchester United three years ago and feel they can do the same with Silva at City.

PAGE 43

Lassana Diarra

eal Madrid is to offer Lassana Diarra to Spurs in part-exchange for Luka Modric as the club had a long-standing interest in 27-year-old Diarra who is surplus to requirements at the Bernebeu.

Diarra has just one year left on his contract at Real and is now ready to quit the club in search of regular first-team football.

Although Turkish club Fenerbahce is keen the midfielder wants to return to England where he lifted the FA Cup at Portsmouth under Harry Redknapp.

Meanwhile Tottenham have been handed a huge boost after top target Jan Vertonghen last night insisted he still wants to join them.

The £22million-rated striker rebuffed Spurs’ interest in January and insisted he would wait to discover whether the club would be playing in European football’s elite competition before deciding whether to move to White Hart Lane.

Tottenham remain confident of agreeing a fee with his club but are waiting to see if Remy still wants to join.

Victor Moses

QPR set to make £5m swoop for Moses

Chelsea table £50m for Falcao Q C The Blues have also joined the race to sign Lille forward Eden Hazard and Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote.

helsea is ready to put £50millionrated Radamel Falcao at the top of their wish list to replace Didier Drogba when the club finalise their transfer plans in the coming days.

The European champions have already held a series of technical-based forward planning meetings designed to shape next season’s footballing operation.

The Atletico Madrid striker Falcao, Napoli centre-forward Edinson Cavani and Real Madrid goalscorer Gonzalo Higuain feature on the list of potential replacements for the Ivorian.

Chelsea remains unconvinced former manager Jose Mourinho would agree to sell Higuain, who scored 26 goals for the La Liga champions last season.

The Colombia international, has continued his prolific goalscoring form in Spain, bagging 36 goals in his first season at Atletico.

Meanwhile, Chelsea has held advanced talks with Porto over their interest in attacker Hulk, who is keen to join the Stamford Bridge club.

Radamel Falcao

PR boss Mark Hughes will make a £5 million bid for Wigan’s exciting star Victor Moses - and try to push through a quick deal while Roberto Martinez is in limbo.

Hughes wants the Nigerian international attacker and now he is going in with a formal offer for the lively Latics ace.

Rangers know that Moses could be sold

by Chairman Dave Whelan because he is entering the last year of his deal and they think that a good price will get their target.

Martinez has gone on holiday after meeting Liverpool about their vacancy - and he may not know that outcome for two or even three weeks.

Rangers want to take advantage of the uncertainty and agree a fee with Whelan for the Wigan star and then go to work about persuading him to join them as soon as possible.

Wigan could keep Moses for the last year of his deal and take a risk of a decent fee at a tribunal next summer.

Rangers could also give the former Crystal Palace starlet a fortune in wages and a guaranteed move rather than a wait for Martinez to sort out his future.

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

Nigeria World slalom championship: A debuts in test for Akinyemi, says NRSCF Wheelchair T Tennis World Cup

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igeria on Monday began to vie for honours at the Wheelchair Tennis World Cup holding in Seoul, South Korea from May 21to May 27 The Nigerian contingent, comprising three players and a coach, is making its debut at the championships and is Africa’s sole representative.

The players are Wasiu Yusuf, Alex Adewale and Jude Uwaize.

Lukman Ologunro, the Media Officer, Nigeria Tennis Federation told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lagos, that the team in Group II will be slugging it out with Germany, Australia, Thailand and Israel.

Ologunro said the players had undergone a three-week intensive training in Lagos before their departure for Seoul with their coach Frank Tarmena.

He explained that a good performance by the players would see Nigeria gain promotion into Group One which has the likes of Netherlands, France, Sweden Poland, Belgium and Great Britain.

he Nigeria Rowing, Sailing and Canoeing Federation (NRSCF) on Monday said the World Slalom Championship would be an appropriate test for UK-based Jonathan Akinyemi, ahead of the London Olympics.

NRSCF’s Technical Director, Ebenezer Ukwunna, disclosed in Lagos that Akinyemi picked the Olympics ticket in February in South Africa.

The Games are scheduled for July 27 to Aug. 12, while the slalom championship will hold at a yet-to-be-announced date in June, in England.

Ukwuana said he was monitoring Akinyemi’s training programme from Nigeria, adding that he would soon join him in London.

“I have been monitoring Akinyemi’s training programme via telephone calls and e-mails, pending when I go and join him finally.

“And Akinyemi will use the slalom competition in June to test the skills he had gathered in training,”the NRSCF chief said.

He said the athlete would camp in Nottingham ahead of the world slalom event.

Jonathan Akinyemi

Ibile Games: Female boxer wins gold at first major tournament

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atimo Shittu of Agbado/OkeOdo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) on Monday won the gold medal in the final of the female heavyweight boxing event of the Lagos Sports Festival.

Shittu won the gold after knocking out Adetutu Taker of OriAde LCDA in the second round of the fight at the Games tagged “Ibile Games” held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

The Games, which featured 25 events, is being organised by the state government to discover talents to represent Lagos at

upcoming 18 th National Sports Festival in November.

“This is still like a dream to me, I can’t believe I won. I came to this competition just to participate and now I am the winner. “This is my first-ever major tournament and I won. I am now ready to show my country that an athlete without sponsor and support can also become a champion,” she said.

Taker, who was knocked out, said that she was disappointed with her performance and losing the gold medal.

“The cold weather arising from

the heavy downpour this morning affected me. I wasn’t feeling fully fit and strong today. But I am not using that as an excuse. I congratulate the winner in good spirit and I hope one day, it will be my turn to also win gold,” she said.

In one of the other fights, Ruth Okenye of Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area (LGA) also defeated Nofisat Hassan of Ojokoro LCDA in the 64kg to win gold.

In another fight, Anaschia Odenigbo of Isolo LCDA defeated Kudirat Sunmibare of Lagos Mainland LGA in 75kg for gold.

athletes, saying the trend needed to be checked.

The officials disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday at the ongoing Lagos

State Sports Festival tagged: “Ibile Games.”

The officials, currently officiating at the Games, said that taking banned substances to enhance performance can be counterproductive.

They said they believe that sports should not be a-do-or-die affair but a career for a meaningful well being.

Traditional sports were Ayo, Abula, Dambe, traditional boxing, Kokowa, traditional wrestling and Langa, traditional combat sport, while Ayo and Abula were not physical and do not need much energy to play but experience, the other three were physical and stressful.

Dickon Omoro, the Chairman, Referee Traditional Wrestling of Nigeria, said that the habit was common these days and needed to be checked.

Omoro said that athletes discovered using any hard drug in the traditional sports would be automatically disqualified from the Games.

“Such an athlete will not also have the opportunity to compete in the forthcoming 18th National

Sports Festival in Lagos in November. I have noticed the use of drug by some athletes in some of our competitions and this must stop for future sake,” the referee said.

He said that athletes instead of taking to banned substances should try their best, saying it was the only way to go far in their career.

Also speaking, Lurky Izekor, the head coach of Dambe, advised that drugs would definitely limit the performance of athletes in the future although it seemed good to them now.

Izekor promised that greater efforts would be made to fight the menace to the barest minimum in the traditional sports.

“I have personally counselled our athletes on the need to do away with the use of banned drug when coming to compete in Kokowa and Dambe. Anyone found with drug will be disqualified from participating in competitions,” he said.

The head coach urged coaches to be alert and replace any athlete caught with banned substances.

Sports officials urge athletes to shun drugs T

raditional Sports officials have decried the increasing wave of using banned substances among athletes, including traditional sports

Nigerian athletes celebrating after a race

National Rapid Chess tourney postponed, says Solaja

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he Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF) says it postponed the National Rapid Chess Championship to make room for the trials for the World Chess Olympiad.

Femi Solaja, the Media Officer of the federation, said in Lagos, that the National Rapid Chess Championship, that had been scheduled to hold from May 22 to May 24 in Lagos, has consequently been postponed indefinitely.

Solaja said that the trials were to select players to represent the country at the World Chess Olympiad slated for Turkey in September.

He said that the trails, which held from May 28 to May 31, was thrown open to give all interested chess players opportunity to exhibit their skills as selection would be based on individual merit.

“The selection is not going to be based on past performance or will any sentiments be attached but by proof of one’s competence during the trials,” the official said.

Solaja explained that the changes in the federation’s 2012 calendar arose because of a recently introduced event.

Paralympics’ll be most watched event, says British FM

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he Paralympics will be the biggest, best, most celebrated and most watched that has ever taken place in Britain, says Jeremy Browne British Foreign and Commonwealth Minister.

This is contained in a statement signed by Hooman Nouruzi Press Secretary British High Commission yesterday in Abuja.

The statement quoted Browns, who is in charge of the Olympic and Paralympics, as saying that in 100 days’ time, the most watched, most accessible and most integrated Paralympics of all times would begin in London.

“This is the first time the UK will have hosted the Paralympics, and the country is now recognised as having started the Paralympics movement.’’

He said that the first time the planning and organisation of the Olympics and Paralympics had been fully integrated; from design and infrastructure to open spaces and public transport.

“This Paralympics will be the biggest, best, most celebrated and most watched that has ever taken place.

“In Britain we are the inventors of the Paralympics as a concept and we are looking forward to welcoming athletes from around the world to compete in the Games. It’s going to be incredibly high profile and the performances will be inspiring.

“London’s 2012 Paralympic Games will send an important message around the world about the ability of people to overcome adversity and achieve genuine excellence."

The 2012 Summer Paralympic Games will be the 15th Paralympics and will take place between August 29 and Sept. in London.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

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PAGE 45

B

C

D A| AC Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri has dismissed speculation that Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva could be sold after

PICTORIAL Roberto Mancini paid a visit.

B| Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay has calmed speculation Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres will leave the club.

C| Captain Andrew Strauss admits England were forced to "dig deep" before sealing a five-wicket victory over West Indies.

D| Manchester City have won the Premier League title and are also top of the league when it comes to value for fans.

E| Northampton Saints sign Australia and Western Force full-back Cameron Shepherd for the 2012/13 season.

F| Four-time winner Lleyton Hewitt and Britain's James Ward are handed wildcards for the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club.

G| David Haye turned down a fight with Vitali Klitschko because he fears him, the WBC heavyweight champion's manager Bernd Boente claims.

E

F

G

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

SPORTS LA TEST LATEST

FIFA names woman into executive committee

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IFA co-opted a woman to its executive committee for the first time yesterday, and continued its reform process by pressing ahead with changes to its ethics committee.

Lydia Nsekera, the president of the Burundi Football Association, will be installed as the co-opted executive committee member at the 62nd FIFA Congress this week with the formal election of a woman on the committee to follow at next year’s Congress, soccer’s governing body said in a statement.

Nsekera, 45, is a member of the women’s football and the women’s World Cup committees, and is also on the organising committee for the Olympic Football Tournaments, having been part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2009.

FIFA also confirmed its ethics committee is being restructured with a new system involving two committees to be established - one to investigate matters and the other to adjudicate on them, the head could not be named because a candidate was said to be ill.

But a meeting will take place in Zurich in the first week of July, when the new Code of Ethics is adopted and both chairmen will be named.

There was no such delay for Domenico Scala, a Swiss-Italian business executive, who was appointed as the independent chairman of FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee, with the appointment to be ratified at the Congress.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter

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Civil servants can fix Nigeria

F

ollowing last week’s column on the harrowing exchanges between those ladies, Dr. Aruma Oteh and Dr. Ndidi Okereke Onyuike, there were several Nigerians committed and emotionally attached to the country who called. They expressed their deep pains about how these women with the others plundered and mismanaged the Nigerian Stock Market and suggested ways forward for the troubled motherland.

This sordid state of affairs at the Nigerian Stock Market thrived under the so-called brilliant, technocratic officers who came home as did many having worked for many years in global reform institutions mainly the Breton Woods Institutions. They came with high ideals but they sank to the level of debauchery and primitive acquisitiveness.

A country with the high and truly attainable dream of joining the top 20 economies by 20-20 is as a consequence, slipping into a coma as the country’s brilliant minds lose track, blinded by loot and greed.

One particularly deep person warned that leadership is not essentially about academic credentials but about character, values, integrity, compassion, duty, sensitivity and humility.

“We have failed or lost capacity to focus on character. It is not about C.V.,” he emphasized. Nigeria’s crisis of development is therefore exacerbated by one, the fact that these well-qualified and experienced guys are cleverly manipulating and beating the system and two, in order to have the latitude to manipulate without interference, they have demonized the civil service.

Thus, a political class that has gone criminal and operates like a mafia has scared away the civil servants from their duty. Civil servants are the most scared people in Nigeria today. They are petrified. They fear their political masters who have perfected ways of beating whistle-blowers into line by denying them due promotions and punishing them with hardship posting. Our political leaders have no respect for systems, procedures and processes and this rot was exacerbated with Obasanjo as President. As a ploy to destroy the civil service, the former President appointed a construction worker to lead the reform process in the civil service.

The uncouth young man went ahead to debauch the service. He cast the bureaucrats as lazy, conservative, arrogant and corrupt. This had the effect of

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MUSINGS By

Garba Shehu garshehu@yahoo.co.in

HOS, Isa Bello Sali killing the spirit of the many who were clean and hardworking. I myself have friends in the service who work for 12 hours a day 6-7 days a week. They keep salaries that are about a tenth of what the private sector would have paid them.

I am saying this because I believe that the civil service has welded this country together and ran it well in the past and they can do it all over again. If the military has failed, the civil society is not up and doing and the politicians are concerned with power, money and votes at any cost, civil servants should see the state of the nation as a wake-up call.

Our politicians have little interest in the bolts and nuts of running the country. This country went through 30 months of civil war and during that

period, the civil servants ensured that the country didn’t shut down.

As it is today, there are many honest and hardworking people in the civil service. We have corrupt and dishonest politicians on the other hand who hanker for votes as a means to power, money and VIP perks without the least regard to the interest of the country. The civil servants can help Nigeria out of these doldrums. If the civil servants want, they can fix the country and rescue us from disaster because they know the system and know what is going on. In the light of this, it is immoral for them to sit down and watch the country drown in injustice, corruption and greed.

Increasingly, we are becoming a people who have lost the will to be honest. The old school says only a crack of the whip on the guilty can bring back some sanity.

A country at war with corruption grapples with accountability that has slipped into coma. Almost all the politicians including governors and ministers involved in the country’s biggest scams are out on bail. There is no clarity or certainty if or when any of them will ever be convicted. Given this situation, there are many who ask the question if Nigeria can ever be healed. Those who think well of the civil service especially considering how well they held the system

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Despite the clever and deliberate attempts to demonize the civil servants, there are many of them doing their jobs fearlessly and honestly. In 2002, a former Auditor General of the Federation, Mr. Vincent Azi was fired by the then Obasanjo administration for going public with his report, which exposed the profligacy of the Presidency and the National Assembly and their disregard for financial regulations

together in the past consider the bureaucrats as the assets of this country. There are many among them who are honest and hardworking but are scared by their corrupt bosses. They are silenced by fear, not the lack of knowing what to do that is right.

If civil servants like it; if they work hard, they can revolutionize this country.

The thing then to do is for them to clean up their individual acts and to desist from joining the rest of the population in fingerpointing. They, given their historic role in the society must take charge by first forcing the hands of the politicians. Civil servants should come out of the delusion that ministers and their collaborative permanent secretaries can run the system.

The political bosses have failed as we can all see, and the civil servants should shake off their lethargy and reject their typecasting as indolent and corrupt. They should be strong enough to turn a new leaf for our nation. The time to start is now.

Rome as they say was not built in a day. A mango tree is always planted by a grand pa, but the fruit is always reaped by a grandson.

Despite the clever and deliberate attempts to demonize the civil servants, there are many of them doing their jobs fearlessly and honestly. In 2002, a former Auditor General of the Federation, Mr. Vincent Azi was fired by the then Obasanjo administration for going public with his report, which exposed the profligacy of the Presidency and the National Assembly and their disregard for financial regulations.

The poor Auditor General committed no crime, except doing his job courageously and contentiously. Political bosses don’t want to be held accountable. On Monday this week, a national daily quoted the current Auditor General as saying that N24.8billion personal expenses borne by Senators and Reps were not accounted for or retired by the lawmakers. In fact, 313 Reps could not account for N20billion while 62 Senator couldn’t explain how they guzzled these public funds.

How can civil servants perform their duties without fear or favour when political bosses expect them to bend the rules or overlook them?

Bringing in the so-called technocrats is intended to give the civil servants a bad name in order to hang them. These technocrats have been demystified and, therefore, the government must strengthen the hands of the civil servants to fix Nigeria.

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos, Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 803 606 3308. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com ISSN: 2141– 6141