Peoples Daily Newspaper, Thursday 23, May, 2013

www.peoplesdailyng.com

Vol. 11 No. 4

Thursday, May 23, 2013

. . . putting the people first

Rajab 14, 1434 AH

N150

FG’s new policy targets private jet owners

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CJN vows to cleanse judiciary of rot

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

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L-R: Nasarawa state Governor, Alhaji Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, presenting a souvenir to Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Chris Cooter, during the envoy's visit to the governor, yesterday at the Government House, in Lafia.

hief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma-Mukhtar yesterday vowed to cleanse the judiciary and free the institution from rot which is giving the institution a bad image in he country.

The CJN said the development has waned public confidence in the judiciary and added that: "The extent to which prevalent societal currents in recent times have engulfed the judiciary demands great concern, drastic measures are being taken to curb the trend”.

Justice Aloma-Mukhtar expressed fear that if the public loses respect for the Bench, the society may gradually be

Why insurgency persists, by Emir From Edwin Olofu, Kano

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he Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, yesterday attributed the persistent insurgency in the country, particularly in the north, to government’s lackadaisical attitude to reports and

recommendations of investigative panels set up to investigate similar incidences in the past.

The Emir made the statement while receiving members of the Presidential Committee on Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North led by its

Chairman, the Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Kabiru Taminu Turaki.

Bayero who urged the committee to offer wise counsel to President Goodluck Jonathan on the best ways to end the Boko Haram insurgency in the country also expressed hope that

Why Jonathan ordered release of Boko Haram women, children — Presidency >>5

the Federal Government will take the current issues seriously.

The respected Kano monarch also regretted that sponsors and collaborators of members of the sect could be known individuals operating within and outside the country.

According to him, only

Contd on Page 2

prayers, God’s intervention and concerted efforts by government and discernable Nigerians can bring an end to the violence and spate of insecurity bedeviling the country.

Chairman of the Committee, Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki Contd on Page 2

FIRS surpasses revenue target, hits N1.56bn in April >>3

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

CONTENTS News

2-10

Editorial

12

Op.Ed

13

Letters

14

Opinion

15

Metro

16-18

Business

19-22

Stockwatch

23

S/Report

24-25

Earth

26-27

E/Update

28-29

Feature

30

Eulogies pour in for late Achebe A

renowned novelist, Prof.

Chukwuemeka Ike, yesterday urged the federal and state governments to establish creative writers workshops in secondary schools to encourage the growth of arts.

Paying tribute to the late Prof.

Chinua Achebe at the Ekwueme Square, Awka, yesterday, Ike said there was the need to rekindle the literary enthusiasm which Achebe ignited with his Things Fall Apart in 1958.

He said this could be done by setting up such workshops where they could be accessed by school children.

“I have written to the Anambra State Government and I also urge the Federal Government to do the same so that our schools will be places where we can train more Chinua Achebes,” he said.

In his tribute, the Senate President, Sen. David Mark, said the late “Eagle on the Iroko” was a world figure who brought fame and prestige.

Mark, who was represented by the Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Victor Ndoma Egba, said Achebe’s death was a great loss to his family, the country, Africa and humanity at large.

“He was a world figure who brought fame and prestige to Africa. He is worthy of emulation and his death is a great loss to humanity,” he said.

Also speaking, Senator Chris Ngige described the late Achebe as a `welfarist’, politician and fearless person who stood on the side of the down-trodden.

He commended Achebe for rejecting the last two honours awarded him by the government on the grounds that his state was in crisis.

Gov. Peter Obi of Anambra thanked the guests for their love and concern as he had always enjoyed support anytime there was need to identify with the state.

The Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Mrs Chinwe Nwaebili, urged Obi to immortalise the literary icon by naming a higher institution in the state after him.

She noted that Achebe had made the state proud and placed the Igbo on the map of the literary world.

Dr Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education, described Achebe as a man of values and not of things acquired.

Ezekwesili said the world

mourned Achebe because of what he stood for.

“He did not live for something but values and character that would turn evil away,’’ she said.

Sen. Chris Ngige (Anambra Central) described the late novelist as “an honest man, one who fights and stands for the truth at his own expense’’.

The Vice Chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Prof. Boniface Egboka, said Achebe was a pathfinder and mentor in the academia and the university had resolved to immortalise him with the Achebe

annual lecture.

Egboka also called on the state and Federal government to immortalise him by naming a university after him.

The Chairman of the Anambra chapter of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, Elder Chris Elumunoh, described the death of the great novelist as a huge loss.

Elumunoh noted that his strong will on truth, fairness and patriotism to the cause of the Igbo would remain evergreen.

Achebe died on March 21 in Boston, U.S., at the age of 82.

(NAN)

Cop detained over shooting From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

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Police corporal attached to Ankpa Divisional headquarters, Ankpa local government, Kogi state, Mr. Innocent Ademu, has been detained for alleged culpable homicide.

Innocent in company of a colleague reportedly went to Lagos Ochi, a surbub of Ankpa, headquarters of Ankpa local government, to arrest suspected criminals when his gun triggered

and killed one Joseph Itodo.

Eyewitness accounts said that one Ogbodo Abu had gone to the police station to make a report of mob attack on him by some suspected criminals in the village.

Following the report, it was gathered that Innocent and one other person were detailed by the police authority in Ankpa to effect the arrest of the suspected criminals.

Police Public Relation Officer, ASP Nwaneri, said he was still awaiting details of the report.

CJN vows to cleanse judiciary of rot Our security agencies and need for synergy, Page 4

Int’l

31-34

Strange World 35 Digest

36

Politics

37-38

Newsxtra

39-40

Sports

41-46

Leisure

47

Columnist

48

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

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

Phones for News: 070-37756364 09-8734478

Contd from Page 1 creeping back to the days of jungle justice as less and less persons and institutions would not be willing to entrust their disputes to the judiciary.

The CJN who stated this after swearing in 12 Judges of the National Industrial Court (NIC) at the Supreme Court Abuja, complex also reiterated that the National Judicial Council (NJC) has, “a vision of a justice system that is simple, fast and efficient" aimed at sanitizing the judiciary and ridding it of bad eggs.

She counseled the new judges by saying “You must also show the highest sense of discipline, honesty, integrity, diligence and dedication to duty as well as good behaviors.

“You are expected to jealously guard against disobedience of any court order in line with your oath to defend and protect the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. You must not shy away from taking a firm

position against a member of the public or even the bar that colludes to flaunt court orders as same is an affront on the collective integrity of the bench as well as the integrity of the particular Judge involved” Justice AlomaMukhtar warned.

The CJN frowned at what she described as the attitude of “press and public trial” pointing out that the trend has impugned on the independence of the Nigerian bench.

She continued "Painfully, it is not just newspaper columnists and editorial writers that are involved, but legal practitioners unfortunately get enmeshed in this unwholesome practice. It is not uncommon these days to see senior members of the Bar, wig in hand after court sessions grant interview to eager pressmen castigating the court order or judgment just delivered” she observed.

The CJN however cautioned judicial officers to refrain from

such act as the conduct is highly unprofessional and unbecoming of a legal practitioner.

Earlier, she told the judges that the objective of the NIC is to ensure that disruption of services, production and other forms of economic activities by reason attributable to labour and industrial disputes is reduced to the barest minimum.

According to the CJN, “in labour relationship, conflict is endemic but what is important is to ensure that disputes are resolved without undue delay in the overall interest of economic growth and development." She urged the newly sworn-in judges to apply the law in all fairness with good conscience without fear of harassment just as she assured that no baseless or malicious petition against any judge would be entertained.

The newly sworn-in Judges are, Mrs. Rakiya B. Haastrup, the Chief Registrar, NIC, Mr. Waziri Abali, Registrar General, Abuja

Multi-Door Court House (AMDC), Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre, High Court of the FCT, Abuja, Mrs Rabi H. Gwandu, Assistant Director, (Administration) National Law Reform Commission, Mr. Lawal Mani, Director (Administration), Federal Judicial Service Commission and Mrs. Olufunke Yemi Anuwe, Assistant Chief Registrar, NIC, Jos Division.

Others are, Mr. John Dele Peters, Director of Studies, National Judicial Institute (NJI), Abuja, Mrs. Oyejoju O. Oyewumi, Chief Magistrate I, FCT Judiciary, Mrs. Edith N. N. Agbakoba, Director Civil Justice, Legal Aid Council, Mr. Amadi Kenneth Ikechukwu Private Legal Practitioner, Abia State, Mrs. Anthonia Ndidi Ubaka, Private Legal Practitioner, Lagos, Mr. Peter Odo Lifu, Private Legal Practitioner, Oyo State and Mr. Ebeye David E. Isele, Chief Magistrate I & DCR II, Bayelsa State Judiciary.

Why insurgency persists, by Emir Contd from Page 1 (SAN) told the Emir that his team has been in a deliberate act of consultation with all stakeholders with a view to tapping from their wisdom and wealth of experiences.

“We are in your Palace to interact with you and to take ideas from you. We want to understand it from your own perspective. We need your prayers and words of

wisdom because the society holds you in high esteem,” Turaki told the Emir.

Turaki further noted that: “Any good Muslim likes peace and will always do everything to ensure peace. Kano is one of the places that were attacked during this insurgency and we commend the state government and traditional institution for restoring peace and stability in

the state," Turaki added.

The Committee also held a town hall meeting with Kano elders, political leaders and the Ulamas at the Africa House, Government House where efforts were made to sample opinions on the way forward.

Chairman, Kano Elders’ Forum, Alhaji Magaji Dambatta who played host to the Committee said: “We recognize the

importance of your (Committee) duty because through it lies the chance of gaining peace, economic growth and respect for human life.

“Within the past years, the nation has witnessed wanton killings and destruction of property and we hope that this effort of yours will bring lasting solution to all these problems.”

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 3

Union commends Taraba govt over recall of member From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

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Anambra state Governor, Mr Peter Obi, paying the last respect to late Professor Chinua Achebe's corpse, during the farewell ceremony, yesterday in Awka.

Photo: NAN

FIRS surpasses revenue target for April, hits N1.565bn

By Abdulwahab Isa

T

he Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has exceeded its revenue target of N1,489.68 billion for the month of April hitting N1,565.29 billion.

A document exclusively obtained by Peoples Daily yesterday chronicling tax collection pattern of the revenue agency for the month of April (2011, 2012 and 2011) shows the agency has a history of surpassing its revenue target.

This is coming as executive members of Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (FIRS) chapter denounced a report in the media (not Peoples Daily) of a purported threat to 2013 revenue target of the agency due to threat by a section of staff.

A communiqué issued by the union after its meeting jointly signed by National Chairman Barrister Samson Okere and National Secretary Comrade Lekwot Thomas Friday along with

Comrade Kenneth Efiong(Chairman Lagos Mainland region) and Comrade Weje Collins (Chairman South South region) further , rebutted payment of bonus for 14 and 15th month salaries as alleged by the publication .

The union leadership said what was paid was a performance bonus paid to staff that met agreed key performance indicators relating to revenue generation.

“This is to recognize hard work and encourage staff to be more committed in discharge of their schedule of duties”.

On delay of January 2013 salary which was paid in February 18th 2013, it clarified the delay was due to the late submission of annual personal emolument forms adding that” we met the management on this issue and the management promised to forestall future occurrence of such delay”, just as the union dismissed no union representatives was sent on overseas trips.

According to e recent newspaper report, the delay in payment of allowances to FIRS staff may threaten its N5 trillion revenue target for 2013.

Meanwhile, Acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Alhaji Kabir Mashi, has tasked tax officers in states to engage on constant capacity training.

He said only by endearing themselves to constant training they could articulate their objectives as well as strategize to actualizing them.

Mashi made the remarks yesterday in Abuja at a two- day Leadership Enhancement Programme organised by the Joint Tax Board (JTB) in collaboration with ReStral Consulting in Abuja.

Mashi who doubles as Chairman of JTB, counseled Chairmen of the Inland Revenue boards of the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that as leaders they owe themselves, their organizations and Nigeria the duty

to developed themselves as capacity building is perhaps the most important challenge that leaders face in modern societies.

He said, "let me state that as Chief Accounting Officers of our respective tax authorities, the need for continuous capacity building programmes cannot be over emphasized.

"You are all quite aware that we are constantly faced with the challenge of how to effectively and adequately manage both human and material resources at our disposal for optimum revenue collection.

“While we strive for perfection, we equally need avenues like this share and compare notes of the goods and not too pleasant situations around us.

In her remarks, Chief Responsibility Officer of Restral, Uchenna Nwosu, said the workshop was designed to help leaders to have the right mindset to deliver on their goals and objectives.

he Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCN) in the north has commended the Ag-Governor of Taraba state, Alhaji Garba Umar, for recalling one of their senior members in the state, comrade Boboi Bala Kaigama.

In a communiqué issued after the forum’s meeting in Kaduna yesterday and signed by its chairman Comrade Shehu Mohammed, the forum described the gesture as a bold step taken by the Umar.

The communiqué noted that the move will further harmonize peace between the government and Labour which the state needed for progress and development.

The communiqué said the cordial relationship between civil servants in the northern region and the various governors and advised the governor not to relent in their effort.

Freshwater will run out unless…- UN

By Edwin Nwachukwu

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he UN says unless greater efforts are made to reverse current trends, the world will run out of freshwater.

The world body stated this on Wednesday while marking the International Day for Biological Diversity.

This year’s theme for the Day is ``Water and Bio-diversity’’, which coincides with the UN Designation of 2013 as International Year of Water Cooperation. The Year is being coordinated by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water.

It also called for stronger scientific alliances to understand and protect natural resources. ``We live in an increasingly water insecure world where demand often outstrips supply and where water quality often fails to meet minimum standards.

FG approves N19bn water project for Karshi in FCT

T

he Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved N19.4 billion for a new water supply scheme in Karshi, a satellite town of Abuja.

Addressing State House correspondents on the outcome of the FEC meeting, FCT Minister of State Olajumoke Akinjide said the approval followed submission of a memorandum to the council by the FCT administration.

President Goodluck Jonathan presided over the meeting.

Akinjide said the water project

would be funded through “national priority budget.”

“The scope of work will be two dams with a capacity of 19.6 million cubic litres of raw water reservoir and a water treatment plant that will be able to process 2,500 cubic litres per hour,’’ she said.

Akinjide said it would also include ancillary works, steel pipe lines, elevated water tanks, generators and other electromechanical works.

According to the minister, the water project will provide potable

water for the residents and water for agriculture and irrigation activities.

She said the project would also provide work for 600 skilled and unskilled workers.

She said that the Federal Government had earlier approved contract for the provision of engineering infrastructure in two districts of Karshi at the cost of N28 billion in 2007, without water provision component.

The minister noted that work in the districts had reached advanced stage, hence the need

to provide other complementary infrastructure services in the area.

Akinjide said President Goodluck Jonathan had approved the re-establishment of Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA) with the belief that there should be simultaneous development of infrastructure in all rural areas and the city. ``Eighty per cent of Nigerians in the city actually live in the satellite towns, therefore, we believe that satellite towns should also receive the same level of

infrastructure and attention as the Federal Capital City," she said. ``We have many housing schemes along that axis and there is no provision of water for them; wish to see many other FCT projects being taken over and funded through the national budgets,” she added.

Akinjide lamented that the STDA, which is saddled with the responsibility of providing infrastructural facilities in satellite towns of the FCT, was indebted to the tune of N59 billion.

(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Our security agencies and need for synergy

By Patrick Andrew

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lashes among security agencies in recent time have not only escalated but have drawn rather unwanted attention to this lamentable sore. Seldom has such clashes been in the quest to nib crimes in the bud; more often than not it is all about egomassaging and conflict over jurisdictional authority.

To be certain, such interagency dissonance, which usually comes to the fore during major crises, is not peculiar to Nigeria. Even in advanced societies they do occur as evident by the series of interesting reports that emanate from Europe, USA and elsewhere once a while.

But the difference here has always been the sort of approaches adopted in dealing with inter-agency conflicts with a view to setting the security outfits concerned on the path to cooperation.

The Nigerian situation is even more profound given the increasing incidences of insurgency in our fragile environment where proactive security measures are desperately needed to stem the tide.

Indeed, the rising wave of insurgency in Nigeria has underscored the importance of inter-agency cooperation and co-ordination. Sadly, it seems our security agencies have yet to appreciate the grave situation, let alone act accordingly.

Granted, each agency has its own culture, operational procedures, and rules of engagement, but it goes without saying that the central focus of each and all is the national interest. Nigerians need security agencies that protect lives and properties according to expectations, not squabbling, selfserving, egoistic agencies that flex muscles while the citizenry bleed.

True, conflict of operational interests often arise apparently because of imaginary or even real encroachment of areas considered outside the other's jurisdictional purview. For instance, the Police have been frequently accused of assuming the duties and responsibilities of the likes of NDLEA, DSS, Customs, Immigration, FRSC, SSS and even that of NSCDC, as have been witnessed lately in cases involving pipeline vandalisation, crude theft, and incidences of bombing such as that of October 1, 2010 at the Eagles Square, kidnapping, etc.

Similarly, squabbles over jurisdictional authority among these agencies have led to distrust and deliberate schemes to discredit each other, leading to spurning of cooperation and refusal to share information, all of which hinder critical security operations.

Unfortunately, this avoidable show of shame is being enacted at a time when Nigeria is riddled with various insurgencies: belief-based violence, the yet-to-abate Niger Delta conflict, kidnapping, violent encounters between farmers and herdsmen, and other sectarian upheavals.

The nation is in an era when criminals are becoming desperate,

Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola IG, Mohammed Abubakar Ibrahim daring and more sophisticated in their craft.

Therefore, inter-agency cooperation and deliberate efforts to narrow the gap and eliminate the jurisdictional fog is imperative.

To effectively combat crimes in our society and stamp out the insurgencies threatening not just peace and order but the corporate existence of Nigeria, all security agencies must eschew egotism and align forces by complementing each other.

From the foregoing, especially in view of the need to confront and eliminate whatever forces are acting against the corporate interest of Nigeria and the peaceful existence of its citizens, it is imperative that the officers and men of the sundry security agencies let go personal ego and work as a unified front for the larger interest

of the nation.

Today, as the nation goes to war with the Boko Haram sect, whose disdain for Nigeria's sovereignty is evident by their destruction of state emblems and substitution of same with strange ones, the imperative of combining forces against all manner of insurgencies stands out like a sore thumb and is inevitable.

Whether it is "war" against kidnapping and kidnappers, pipeline vandals, armed robbers, drugs traffickers, elements that indulge in human trafficking, even those that engage in cross border prostitution or political thuggery, and other daredevil acts perpetrated by miscreants, without a united front defeating them would be a mirage.

Since these insurgents are

“

Esprit de corps is essential in the interest of each and all our security agencies and their operatives. Collaboration between security agencies in terms of intelligence sharing and trust will aggregate to cooperation with the wider society, particularly as the civil authorities will be stuck with the chore of cleaning up the bits and pieces, long after the military and paramilitary agencies would have departed the scene.

sophisticated in their craft, well armed and strategic in plots and delivery, combating against them requires comprehensive knowledge of their operational networks, which is where intelligence and intelligence sharing becomes central to efforts to curb their menace.

Of course, these destructive elements in our society are content to note the huge gulf existing between the different security agencies and have, as experience have shown, taken full advantage to inflict pains on the citizens.

True, there are operational differences as had been observed before now. But, isn't the objective of these agencies to ensure a serene environment conducive for unmitigated socio-economic and religious relationships devoid of illegal restrain?

Whether military or Para-military in so far as an agency is constitutionally empowered to operate, then other state agencies should allow them space to operate within the ambit of their establishment and where necessary avail them needed information and assistance to effectively carry out its operation.

The nation is today haunted perhaps in some way for the failure of interagency cooperation which paved the pathway for criminal elements to capitalise on to wreck havoc on the people.

It stands to reason going by happenings that the police are loathed by the military who see more of the sloppiness in intelligence gathering and prosecution of criminal cases, while the former regard other para-military agencies as interloper and usurpers of their functions. That ought not to be.

One believes that mutual trust and respect for each other would go a long way in saving lives. This is more so as it is well documented that the absence of inter-agency cooperation has led to the death of scores of military, and paramilitary personnel, and hundreds of civilians, in the hands of armed bandits.

Esprit de corps is essential in the interest of each and all our security agencies and their operatives.

Collaboration between security agencies in terms of intelligence sharing and trust will aggregate to cooperation with the wider society, particularly as the civil authorities will be stuck with the chore of cleaning up the bits and pieces, long after the military and paramilitary agencies would have departed the scene.

One makes bold to suggest a more pragmatic and proactive training for personnel in the various agencies on issues of interagency cooperation and subjugation to democratic institutions, of course without compromising their distinct operating rules.

This will make them more effective in tackling incidences of crimes and insurgency devoid of constituting themselves into nuisance who perpetrate outlawry by turning their arms against each other and the innocent citizenry in the name of jurisdictional authority.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 5

FG’s new policy targets private jet owners

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he Federal Government has approved the revision of the more than a decade old aviation policy which has now been replaced by the new national aviation policy.

This was one of the outcomes of the weekly FEC meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The meeting, according to the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, who was flanked by his counterparts in the ministries of aviation, transport and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), also discussed key policy issues including the new civil aviation policy and the review of the performance of the ministry of transport.

Maku said the revised National Civil Aviation Policy is seen by President Jonathan as an opportunity to modernise the sector and an economic imperative to move the country forward.

… N19.4b for Karshi Water Scheme This development followed the presentation of a memorandum to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday by the Minister of Aviation, Mrs Stella OduahOgiemwonyi, who observed that the provisions of the former policy has been overtaken by current events and circumstances, thus the need for a change in order to meet global standard in the aviation sector.

She stated that the new policy is designed to give passengers and operators their respective rights as a new directorate has been created to enforce safety regulations.

She highlighted that the policy also takes a new look at the Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASA) that are supposed to be reciprocal but are not.

The AIB, the minister insisted should not just investigate accidents but ensure that its findings are fully implemented.

In another development, the council yesterday approved the sum of N19,438 billion to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to provide water to Karshi satellite town in Abuja.

The council, explained the Minister of State FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, approved a memorandum for the award of the contract, billed to be completed in 30 months to SCC Nigeria Limited.

The project has as its scope of work the construction of two earth dams that are expected to provide not only portable water but irrigation facilities and job for 600 skilled and unskilled workers.

Power generation hits 10,000 megawatts December - Minister

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi inister of State for Power, Zainab Kuchi, has disclosed that the federal government is seriously working out plans to ensure that power generation increases from 4,500 to 10,000 megawatts by December.

She made this disclosure yesterday in Abuja during a meeting with the Senate Committee on Power, which was chaired by Senator Phillips Aduda.

Kuchi however disclosed that the sum of N347 billion would be needed for the transmission of the increase in the megawatts generated.

The minister also said the process of privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) had been completed, adding that the generating and transmission companies cannot be handed over yet because the ministry wants to ensure that the facilities are refurbished before handing them over to the successor

M

companies.

Decrying lack of fund for stalling the handover, Kuchi disclosed that the ministry had been running on zero allocation, hence it is yet to receive its first quarter allocation.

According to her, “some six months into the 2013 fiscal year, the Ministry of Power had been running on N5 billion, being the remnant of its 2012 allocation.”

Earlier in his questions, Chris Ngige, regretted that the problem with the Nigeria power sector is the inability to transmit powers already generated.

He pointed out that if government spends money to generate power but lacks the capacity to transmit it, it amounts to waste of public funds, saying it does not augur well with the economy.

Other senators who spoke, regretted that the ministry signs for transformer procurement and distribution even when it is sure that it cannot cashback such warrant.

Compensate Boko Haram victims, Southerners tell Jonathan

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

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L-R: Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i; Minister of State for Education, Barrister Nyesom Wike, and Minister of Environment, Hajiya Hadiza Mailafiya, singing National Anthem during the Federal Executive Council ( FEC) meeting, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

he General Conference of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNPA) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to adequately compensate all the victims of the Boko Haram insurgency, in the spirit of equity and fairness.

In a communiqué made available to newsmen in Abuja at the end of the 3rd General Conference of the Assembly held in Lagos, the Assembly passed a vote of confidence on President Jonathan for his courage and political sagacity in addressing the security problem in the country.

The communiqué, signed by the leaders of the three geo-political zones in Southern Nigeria, Rt. Rev. Bolanle Gbonigi (for South West) former Vice President Alex Ekwueme (South Eas)t and a foremost Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark (South-South) reaffirms the support of the Assembly in Jonathan’s effort to reposition the country.

Terrorism: Mark wants Almajiri outlawed S

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi enate President, David Mark, has condemned the activities of the Almajiri system in the Northern part of the country, saying that it is a nuisance to the society.

Speaking on the Bill seeking to repeal the trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, and re-enact Trafficking in Persons( Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Bill 2013, Mark urged the northern governors to ban the practise in their respective states, arguing that the menace has created avenue for grooming of army of unemployable youths who are

vulnerable to terrorist tendencies.

“This has made politics in the North to fail the nation through grooming of army of unemployable youths vulnerable to terrorist tendencies”, Mark said.

He added: “ I was very impressed when Senator Alkali Jajere made his point and I had to call the man who introduced Sharia, because wrongly or rightly, I think he is knowledgeable in Islamic affairs, to ask him truly if Almajiri is not an Islamic injunction, and he told me categorically that it is not.”

He regretted that politicians in the north have failed over the years to stem the almajiri tide,

saying that these northern politicians have encouraged it for political reasons and therefore does not wish to make a comment on it.

“I think it’s a unique opportunity for governors in the northern states to ban the Almajiri system today. It’s a system that is counterproductive, it is a breeding ground for irresponsible miscreants and we cannot tolerate it.

“Because for those who have different faith, one is bit worried about making comments on it, but today that I’ve heard that it is not an Islamic injunction.”, he

said.

He enjoined northern governors to be courageous enough to ban it now that Nigeria has security challenges facing it.

According to him, “I’m told that Kano yesterday (Tuesday) issued a statement banning it and I believe that the other state governors should be able to follow as quickly as possible.”

Leading debate on the bill, the Senate Deputy Leader, Abdul Ningi, described human trafficking as a modern-day slavery which has gained notoriety in Nigeria, as the country is now being regarded

as a source for, transit channel and destination country for human trafficking and forced Labour in the world.

According to him, “This growing and worrisome trend has a negative impact on the corporate image of the country”.

He explained that human trafficking is a trans-national organized crime that involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, receipt, or harboring of a person by such means as threat, use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud or deception for the purpose of exploitation and abuse.

PAGE 6

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

We shall fight criminals in Kwara, says new Police chief From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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wara state Commissioner of Police,Mr. Agboola Oshodi Glover, has declared that his agenda in the state is to fight criminals and those perpetrate silent ritual killing across the state.

The Commissioner of Police who stated this while speaking with members of Correspondent Chapel on Wednesday during his courtesy visit to chapel disclosed that he was posted to the state to ensure that criminals were chase away from the state.

"My agenda is to fight crime.

I would energise the policemen on the ground beacause they are foot-soldiers to ensure that they embark on patrol during the day and at night so that we can chase away criminals from this state," he said. While reacting to the series of secret killings of children and grave diggers in the state, Glover assured the general public that his men would not leave any stone unturned to arrest and prosecute the suspects.

"Killing secretly is not easy for police to detect and it is the people that could let the police know about the suspects and once we got them arrested, you can be rest assured that they would be prosecuted," said the police chief.

Sylva wants court's permission to accompany wife on foreign trip

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

E

mbattled former Bayelsa state Governor, Timipre Sylva, has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja for permission to accompany his wife on a medical trip abroad.

Sylva is standing trial before the court, sitting before Justice Adamu Bello for alleged money laundering related offences.

In his application filed on May 16, 2013, the ex-governor said his wife was scheduled for surgery in a United Kingdom (UK) hospital and needed his company.

He also urged the court to release his international passport to enable him embark on the trip.

He promised to return for trial and to also return the passport to the custody of the court after the trip.

Sylva said the ground for his application was that it was part of the conditions attached to the bail granted him last June, to always seek the court's leave before engaging in foreign trip.

He said his wife needed a company for her trip and he was the readily available choice, being the husband.

The prosecuting agency, the Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC) had, in a counter affidavit to Sylva's application seeking the leave of the court to travel abroad, urged the court to refuse the application on the ground that Sylva could refuse to return for trial.

Newly appointed judges of National Industrial Court, during their swearing-in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Nigeria spends N228 on sugar import, loses 10,000 jobs -Senate

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

S

enate yesterday disclosed that in the past three years, Nigeria has spent N228.5 billion in the importation of sugar into the country, adding that it has resulted in the lost of over 10,000 jobs for Nigerians in the three years under review.

According to the lead debate presented by the chairperson of the senate committee on Investment, Nenadi Usman, this anomally is sequel to the federal government policy, which grated waivers to selected importers of raw sugar in Nigeria.

In the paper, she also disclosed that

10 percent of government funds which was generated to Sugar Levy Account, have been spent by government for other purposes away from what it was created for.

Speaking earlier on a Bill for an Act to amend the National Sugar Development Council Act Cap N78LFN2011, Nenadi Usman, had disclosed that these amendment being sort in the Bill are required to ensure Council's direct access to its funds, thereby prevent the fund's from being used for un-intended purposes.

"The funds in the Sugar Levy Account is a dedicated fund for a specific purpose, but over the years, monies have been withdrawn from

the account for other purposes not related to sugar sector development.

"Beginning from around 2004, when the first sugar refinery started operating in the country, the money is accruing to the Sugar Levy Account has witnessed a steady decline. This is due mainly to the fact that most imports now are raw sugar, which currently enjoys waver on the payment of the 10 percent sugar levy.

She also disclosed that Nigeria now consumes 1.3 million metric tones of sugar annually, lamenting that the local production is merely 30-50,000 tonnes, which is less than 5 percent of the annual consumption.

She gave the breakdown of the

import as N53.6 billion in 2009, N73 billion in 2010 and N101.9 billion for 2011, adding that the imports comes mainly from Brazil due to huge gap in local supply.

"In the 80's, at the peak of production by the two local sugar factories (in Bacita and Numan), over 10,000 people were working on the farms and the factories, besides hundreds of outgrower farmers and their families who earned their livelihoods from the factories.

Ruling on the bill, Mark said the policy of granting waivers is killing the local industry growth, adding that if the federal government cannot handle sugar production, it can as well hand it over to state governments.

I didn't kill my wife, slain banker's husband told court From Matthew Irinoye, Lagos

A

kolade Arowolo, a 31-yearold man standing trial for allegedly killing his banker - wife, Titilayo, on June 24, 2011 yesterday told a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja that he did not kill his wife.

"I did not kill my wife, I never thought of it, I would never have done that as I am not that kind of person,"the accused claimed.

"I love my wife so much to want to see her hurt. And that's why I did all I could to ensure we stayed together. I love my wife and my daughter, Olamide so

much" Akolade, while being led in evidence by the defence counsel, Olanrewaju Ajanaku, told the court presided over by Justice Lateefat Okunnu, that he did all he could to save his wife's life.

"As a result of what happened on that day, I could equally have died from the injuries on me and the risk I took jumping from a four - storey building trying to save her from death. I still have a lot of medical challenges as a result of the injuries I sustained."

He told the court that it was his wife that attacked him with knife while he was trying to give her the

phone to take her sister, Folake's call.

"I was trying to regain my balance and was shouting, "Omoh, what's wrong with you?" but rather than answering me, she was shouting, "I will kill you and kill myself". While I was trying to calm her, she came at my navel and I had no choice than to try disarming her "The knife had cut my right palm into almost two and I had other cuts. I was bleeding all over and we were struggling for the knife until we fell down on the bed, the struggle continued and in the process, I sustained other lacerations and the knife dropped from her hand.

"I then asked, 'Omoh what all this?' And she said she's sorry. I told her to be calm while I go and get help but the door was locked and the key was not there. I kept asking Omo, where's the key and she was pointing at some places and I was scattering everywhere to locate the key.

"I didn't see the key. What came to my mind was to break down the door, I ran to the kitchen, took a long spoon, hammer and knife but when I couldn't get it open, in annoyance I threw them on the floor and jumped from the verandah."

FG appoints Justice Bukar as Ag. FCT Chief Judge

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan has appointed Justice Ibrahim M. Bukar as the Acting Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

A statement by the acting director, Information of the National

Judicial Commission (NJC), Mr. Soji Oye said, the appointment followed the voluntary retirement of the immediate past Chief Judge of the FCT, Justice Lawal Hassan Gummi from service.

The statement said Justice Ibrahim M. Bukar will be sworn-in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and

Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar on Thursday 23rd May, 2013 by 10 a.m.

According to the statement, the swearing-in ceremony will take place in the chambers of the CJN, at Supreme Court of Nigeria, Abuja.

It would be recalled that Justice Gummi, has been named the new Emir of Gummi, in Zamfara State. He replaces the former Emir, Alhaji Aliyu Abara, who died at the age of 75.

Gummi was appointed a Judge of the FCT High Court in 1988 and rose to become the Chief Judge and Chairman FCT Judicial Service Committee in 2004.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

KATSINA STATE UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION BOARD INVITATION FOR PRE-QUALIFICATION TO TENDER FOR UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION (UBE) 2013 PROJECTS IN KATSINA STATE Katsina State, Universal Basic Education Board wishes to invite contractors to tender for Pre-Qualification registration for 2013 Universal Basic Education (UBE) Project in the State.

The Board desires that interested companies/Firms execute these projects for Early Child Care Development (ECCDE), Primary and Junior Secondary School (JSS) components.

2. SCOPE OF THE PROJECTS; LOT I. Construction/Extension of storey-building on existing structure at; (a) Dutsi Model Primary School Dutsi LGEA. (b) Idris Girls Model Primary School Funtua LGEA. (c) Kofar Sauri Model Primary School Katsina LGEA. (d) Fago 1 Model Primary School Sandamu LGEA. (e) Kwangwalam Model Primary School Mai’adua LGEA. LOT II. Construction of a Block of 2 Classrooms, Office, Store and Toilets LOT III. Construction of a Blocks of 3 Classrooms.

LOT IV. Construction of a Blocks of 6, 4 & 3 Cubicles V.I.P Toilets LOT V. Construction and Delivery of Pupil’s, Students and teachers’ furniture.

LOT VI. Procurement of ECCDE plastic Furniture.

LOT VII. Construction, Procurement and installation of ECCDE games facilities (Games Village).

LOT VIII. General rehabilitation of Primary schools’ structures.

3. PRE-QUALIFICATION OF CONTRACTORS It is expected that the contractors are reputable and technically competent with verifiable track record on similar Projects.

All pre-qualification documents shall be subjected to strict technical evaluation, as such; interested contractors shall submit the following documents; i Evidence of incorporation with CAC or Business name Registration ii Registration Certificate with Katsina State Tenders Board iii Certificate of Registration as Contractor with SUBEB Katsina iv Evidence of Tax Clearance for three years (2011/2012/2013) v Evidence of Company’s Financial Capability.

Vi Evidence of Award and Completion of similar jobs in the past Vii Company’s profile, experience and qualification of key Personnel.

4 SUBMISSION OF COMPLETED PRE-QUALIFICATION DOCUMENTS The pre-qualification documents MUST be submitted in sealed envelope (s) and clearly marked PRE-QUALIFICATION TO TENDER for each project in view as itemized in the (2) above and shall be addressed and delivered to; The Executive Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board, Katsina P.M.B. 2174, Muhammadu Dikko Road, K.C.K. Compound, Katsina Not later than 12:00 noon, on Thursday, 6th June, 2013. The documents will be opened by 12:30pm on the closing date at SUBEB, Katsina Conference Hall.

Please NOTE that: a) The Board reserves the right to reject any pre-qualification package that does NOT fulfill the Board Guidelines. b) This pre-qualification shall NOT entitle any contractor any claim. c) Only successful contractors after pre-qualification will be contacted for tender. d) Companies are advised to deal directly with SUBEB as NO agent or proxies have been appointed for this purpose. Any company or person (s) that does contrary to the laid-down instructions does so at his/her own risk. e) Further clarification can be obtained from the Project Manager of the Board.

Signed: Kabir Umar Saulawa Public Relations Officer, For: Executive Chairman.

PAGE 7

Give relief materials to released Boko Haram suspects—ACF tells Jonathan From Mohammad Ibrahim, Kaduna

F

ollowing the federal government’s decision to release some arrested Boko Haram suspects, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) yesterday said it welcomed the development but urged the federal government to provide relief materials to those affected.

According to the group, “there is also need for FG to allow human rights monitors and observers full access to all areas involved in the current military campaigns so as to ascertain the methods being applied”.

In a communiqué issued after its emergency meeting chaired by its Chairman, Board of Trustees, Lt. General J.T Useni, signed by its deputy National Publicity Secretary, Fati Eunice Ibrahim and made available to newsmen in Kaduna, ACF urged government to comply fully with the resolutions of the National Assembly on the proclamation of the State of Emergency, especially with regard to the funding and

sustenance of the military campaign in the affected states .

“ACF welcomes the decision to release people being held in detention on suspicion of belonging to Boko Haram or related crimes. It is our hope that the Federal Government follows through with necessary relief materials to those affected”.

The Forum had earlier expressed reservations about the wisdom of an allout military campaign as the only strategy of tackling the problem and had accordingly welcomed the acceptance by the Federal Government to explore the other options of dialogue and reconciliation.

“ACF feels obliged to continue to draw the attention of the Federal Government to the need to ensure that on-going military campaign results in a minimum destruction of human and material resources. Given our experiences with this campaign so far, there is the possibility of the military taking heavyhanded actions or commit other offences, thereby making themselves very

much part of the insecurity crisis rather than the solution in the conflict areas. In the light of these problems, the ACF urges the Federal government to allow human rights monitors and observers full access to all areas involved in the current military campaigns so as to ascertain the methods being applied,” the communiqué said.

On the political climate in the country, ACF observed with concern that politicians are becoming desperate as the deadline for the 2015 general elections draw near.

“Some of the politicians already are resorting to measures that are undemocratic and may run counter to the peace and unity of the country. The ACF urges our political leaders to recall that it is fight over offices and political disagreements that have usually metamorphosed into serious conflicts and national crises.

No politician’s interest is that large as to warrant another national conflict,” it said.

lost their lives, 2 are males, 1 is a female while the other one is a baby. The 2 people that sustained injuries are all males”.

According to him, his men arrived at the scene of the crash around 7.52pm and evacuated all the dead bodies and the injured persons to the Federal Medical Centre in Azare.

Olatunji who attributed the cause of the accident to the trailer driver who left his lane and collided with the Toyota Starlet car urged motorists plying the highway to ensure that they observe traffic rules and regulations at all times.

“The accident was caused by reckless driving on the part of the trailer driver who left his lane and collided with the Toyota vehicle. The Federal Road Safety Corp is appealing to the owners of these heavy duty vehicles to caution their drivers to obey traffic rules and regulations. 75% of accidents on our highways are caused by these big vehicles and we are staging a campaign to reduce the ugly trend”, he said.

Meanwhile armed robbers struck in Lodiyo village of Zaki local government and shot dead one person and carted away a large sum of money belonging to a robbery victim.

The victim, Alhaji Muazu Gurgu said the incident took place when the car that was carrying them from Lodiyo to Hadejia was stopped by three armed men.

The driver of the starlet car was shot on the neck when he refused to stop after which the bandits identified Alhaji Gurgu and took away a large sum of money and a handset from him. Gurgu said none of the other passengers was robbed or injured as the robbers said they were particularly after him. He could not recall the exact amount he lost to the robbers.

The driver of the taxi, Malam Gagarau was said to have died instantly following the gun shot, while the armed robbers escaped to neighbouring Jigawa state on a motorbike they robbed from another victim.

4 killed, 2 injured in auto crash, robbers kill 1 in Bauchi From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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our people, including a baby were killed while 2 others sustained injuries in a ghastly motor accident that occurred in Funji village, Giade local government of Bauchi State.

Also, an armed robbery attack in Lodiyo Village, Zaki local government area of the state left one person dead, while the robbers carted away a large sum of money.

The Sector Commander, Federal Road safety Commission (FRSC) Bauchi state command, Mr. Henry Sunday Olatunji told newsmen in Bauchi yesterday that the accident occured around 7.39pm and involved a trailer vehicle with registration number XB 826KTG and Toyota starlet with registration number AA 178 BUJ. According to him, “a total of 6 persons were involved in the accident.

Among the victims of the crash, 4 are males, 1 is a female and a baby boy. Out of the number of people that

PAGE 8

L-R: Assistant Priest, St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Karu, Rev. Canon Akinlolu Ajayi, Archdeacon of Karu Archdeaconry, Ven. Benneth Okafor, Bishop’s Chaplain, Rev. Ibrahim Dauda, Bishop of Kubwa Anglican Communion, Abuja, Rt. Rev. Duke Akamisoko, Dr. Henry Edeghere, and Rev. Samuel Ojo, during the 5th anniversary of Karu Archdeaconry, recently at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Karu-Abuja.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

L-R: Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, Enugu state Governor, Mr. Sullivan Chime, and Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, during presentation of security patrol vehicles and equipment to the Nigeria police, yesterday in Enugu.

Minister of Youth Development, Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir (3rd right), Director-General, NYSC, Brigadier-General Nnamdi Okorie-Affia (middle), and members of the newly inaugurated governing board of the NYSC, yesterday in Abuja.

Technical advisor, Clinical Mentoring and Medical Education, Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), Dr. Chris Akolo (standing), speaking on young scientists and advocates to participation in aids vaccine researches, during a meeting with them to mark world HIV vaccine awareness day, yesterday in Abuja.

Fake drugs destroyed by Kano state government on Tuesday in the fight against drug abuse amongst youths in the state.

Photos: Justin Imo-Owo& NAN

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 9

Why FG ordered release of detained Boko Haram suspects

T

he presidency on Wednesday explained its decision to authorize the release of women, children and other suspected Boko Haram members currently being detained by Nigeria’s security agencies.

The Nigerian military on Tuesday said it had received a directive from President Goodluck Jonathan to release all the women being held in connection with insurgent activities.

The military also said some other detainees would be released

in phases from the different military areas to the respective state governors for onward reabsorption into the society.

In explaining the reason for the authorisation, the presidency said it was part of the interim recommendations of the amnesty committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Senior Special Adviser on Public Affairs to the President, Doyin Okukpe, said in a statement on Wednesday that the release is part of the recommendation of the Presidential Committee on

dialogue and peace in Northern Nigeria (amnesty committee).

Many Nigerians including the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria had questioned the continued sustenance of the amnesty committee despite the declaration of a State of Emergency in three troubled states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa. The emergency declaration, which was approved by the National Assembly on Tuesday, has led to an increased deployment of soldiers to the areas with a view to crushing the insurgents and criminals.

Mr. Okupe, however, explained that the emergency declaration does not foreclose the dialogue option to resolve the insurgency.

“This directive by Mr. President further proves that the Federal Government has not foreclosed dialogue as a viable option in its bid to put an end to insurgency and terrorist activities in the Northern part of the country,” Mr. Okupe said.

He said the release of the detainees is expected to encourage some of the insurgents to give up their arms.

“It is expected that this phased release of detainees will encourage those who wish to embrace the peace option to come out and take advantage of the dialogue and peace option provided by the Committee put in place by government,” he said.

Okupe explained that the President’s directive is for the Boko Haram detainees to be released in phases, the first batch being women and children.

“The emphasis is on women and children who have been in detention on suspicion of involvement and/or connection with insurgency in some parts of the country,” Mr. Okupe said in what seems to be the first confession that underage persons have been detained by the military forces.

The Boko Haram had in their videos released prior to the emergency rule declaration accused the Nigerian military of arresting and detaining their wives, female relatives and others, a claim never admitted to by the government until now.

Mr. Okupe added that the first phase of release will “be followed by other phased releases where cases will be treated on their individual merits by the Defence authorities and security agencies.”

Bookseller gets three months jail term pirating ElRufai’s book From Matthew Irinoye, Lagos

L-R: Executive Director, Skye Bank, Mrs. Amaka Onwughalu, GMD/CEO, Skye Bank, Mr. Kehinde Durosini-Etti, and Chairman, Skye Bank, Mr. Olatunde Ayeni, during the 7th Annual General meeting of the bank yesterday in Lagos.

Photo: Olawale Rotimi

Former FCT Chief Judge fails to stop NJC probe

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

T

he National Judicial Council (NJC) has rejected an objection by the immediate past Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), now the Emir of Gummi, Justice Lawal Hassan Gummi, to stop his probe over an alleged abuse of office while he was in office.

At the resumed hearing of the petition against the former Chief Judge yesterday, his

lawyer, Isreal Olorundare (SAN) who led Sunday Ameh (SAN) raised a preliminary objection challenging the competence of the NJC to probe him on the grounds that he had since resigned his office as a judicial officer since May 13, 2013.

Gummi stated in his objection that having retired voluntarily and no longer a judicial officer and having paid three months salary into the Federal Treasury in lieu of notice, he could no longer

appear before the NJC as the panel lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case against a retired judicial officer.

He further stated that there were series of litigation still in respect of the matter pending before Abuja High Court and Federal High Court and added that the NJC did not share concurrent jurisdiction with a high court.

In its ruling however, the NJC panel over ruled the preliminary objection and held

that it was a fact finding body set up before Gummi sent in his resignation letter dated May 13, 2013 notifying the NJC of his voluntary retirement which was received on 14th May. The panel further held that, “the act was allegedly committed before the 13th of May 2013 and not after, the preliminary objection was therefore overruled.”

Hearing on the petition against Justice Gummi continues today.

Lagos records 10 per cent revenue growth From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

L

agos state government has said that it recorded a revenue increase from a monthly average of N18.9 billion in 2008 to N29.0 billion in 2012 which amounts to an average yearly growth of 10.7 per cent over five-year period.

The Internally Generated

Revenue (IGR) of the state had in the last five years accounted for over 65 per cent of the total revenue of the state.

The Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Adetokunbo Abiru, who disclosed this at a press briefing yesterday to mark the second anniversary of the second term in office of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN)

said that the development had further reflected the stable nature of the state’s fiscal revenue.

Abiru stated that the government will eventually focus more on IGR by consolidating on all sources of taxation with a view to ensuring that monies generated through taxes and other sources.

He noted that government gives priority to funding capital projects as against overhead expenditure, adding that, “the budgeting process of maintaining a funding preference for capital expenditure more than overhead expenditure already adopted by this administration will be sustained in the 2013 budget.”

J

ustice Saliu Seidu, of a Federal High Court, yesterday sentenced a bookseller, Akamu Chinueze, to three months imprisonment for selling a pirated copy of a book written by former Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.

Chibueze had pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of piracy and offering to sell the “The Accidental Public Servant.”

The charge was brought against him by the Nigerian Copyright Commission(NCC).

The NCC prosecutor, Lynda Alpheaus, told the court that the convict was caught on April 25 with two copies of the book which he offered for sale.

She asked the court to convict and sentence the bookseller as charged.

In his allocutus, the convict who was not represented by any counsel told the court that he is a bookseller and that the books were brought to him by his customers.

He said that never knew that the books were pirated ones.

He pleaded with the court to show mercy in sentencing him even as he promised not to commit such offence again.

Justice Saliu Seidu while pronouncing his judgment, said that, “in view of the plea of the accused, he is convicted as charged.”

PAGE 10

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Briefly KASACA inaugurates committee against drug abuse, alcoholism

I

n its effort to check increasing cases of drug abuse and alcoholism in Kaduna, Kaduna State Aids Control Agency (KASACA) has inaugurated a drug abuse and alcoholism committee to provide guidance and counseling to people prone to drug abuse and alcoholism.

According to the agency, the committee was set up in order to ensure that there is strategic and coordinated plan against drug and alcohol abuse related activities.

KASACA's Executive Secretary, Patrick Katuka said the state government was determined to support the committee, pointing out that the agency, in collaboration with stakeholders, would work together to tackle the menace which he noted has taken an alarming dimension especially among the youth.

From Mohammad Ibrahim, Kaduna

Over one million Jigawa children to be immunized against measles

N

O fewer than 1,036,563 eligible children are expected to be vaccinated against measles disease during the ongoing Health Week in Jigawa state.

The state commissioner for health, Dr Tafida Abubakar who disclosed this in a statement added that about 956,169 children will receive nutrition supplements. There will also be health promotion talks on breast feeding, hand washing and demonstration on basic hygiene.

He noted that the theme of this year's health week, "Maternal, New born and Child Health" was aimed at improving the health of women and children in the state.

From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

Registered farmers in Kebbi to receive incentives - Director

T

he 162,000 farmers in Kebbi who registered in the first phase of the Federal Government's Gross Enhancement Scheme (GES) are to receive incentives for wet season farming.

Mr Kevin Takpat, the state Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Kebbi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday that each farmer would receive two bags of fertiliser and 20 kg of maize.

In the alternative, they will receive 25 kg of rice seedlings.

He said the registration exercise was ongoing and farmers were being encouraged to embark on massive production of foodstuff, adding that farmers who had been captured for the scheme would receive alert on the modalities to receive their support at designated redemption centres. NAN

L-R: Director General, Police Assistance Committee (PAC), Prophet Martins Oni, representative of Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier-General Isa Musa, Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Paulinus Nwagu, and representative of Chief of Naval Staff, Commodore Samuel Paul, during the national workshop on information dissemination to security agencies, organised by PAC, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Dangote to invest $600m on sugar production in three states From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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resident, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has said his company would invest over $600m in the production of sugar in Kwara, Kebbi and Sokoto States.

Dangote stated this on Tuesday during a courtesy call on Kwara State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed at the Government House, Ilorin.

The business mogul said his company intended to replicate

what it did in the cement industry by targeting about 65 million tonnes of sugar which he noted would provide about one million jobs.

Dangote emphasized that in the next five years, the company would produce two million tonnes of sugar, as part of efforts to ensure that Nigeria is selfsufficient in the commodity instead of depending on importation.

He said Nigeria was wasting quite a lot of money in the

importation of about two million tonnes of sugar, adding that the company has identified Patigi local government area of the state for the sugarcane plantation.

He expressed hope that with the cooperation of the people and the state government, the project would take-off before the end of the year.

In his response, Governor Ahmed said his administration was very committed to working with investors in the bid to

transform the economic lives of the people.

He assured Dangote that his administration would provide an enabling environment and adequate security for investors who want to operate in the state.

The Governor said Nigeria would never get it wrong if it invested in agriculture as the northern part of the country was endowed with arable soil which could be utilized for agriculture as a foreign exchange earner for the nation.

Edo Assembly condemns NDDC boss over substandard projects

By Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

M

embers of Edo State House of Assembly yesterday condemned the state commissioner on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Board, Mr. Henry Okhuarobo over what they called "continued neglect and abandonment of the commission's substandard projects" across their constituencies.

The aghast lawmakers, at plenary, seriously condemned the manner NDDC projects were being handled and blamed the Commission's shoddy jobs for the floods which recently wrecked havoc on seven houses around the Government Reservation Area (GRA) of the State due to poor drainage systems.

The legislators barred their minds when Mr. Okhuarobo was summoned by them over growing concern about the near absence of the Commission's projects in Edo State.

Though the lawmakers expressed satisfaction with some jobs done by the Commission, they however urged the Commission, through its Edo State representative, to step up its statutory responsibilities to the people of the state.

Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Uyi Igbe expressed sadness over the Commission's abandonment of the Orua water scheme in Uhunmwonde local government council, said to have been abandoned since 2012, even when same was captured in the nation's budget.

Speaker after speaker, including the majority leader, Philip Shuaibu, noted that the NDDC projects in the state fell below Edo State Governor,

Comrade Adam Oshiomhole's executed projects and said the Commission was very far from Edo people.

Hon. Elizabeth Ativie, member representing Uhunwonde constituency, noted that the NDDC water project which was completed in 2010 was yet to be powered with solar energy while the 13 kilometer Ekeloghosa, Ehor Uzamere road, Eyan, has equally been abandoned.

In his response, the NDDC

commissioner blamed the problems of NDDC projects in the state on "youth restiveness, ratification of project design, flood discharge point, delay in payment due to budgeting issues and community challenges".

The House Speaker mandated the House Committee on Oil and Gas to liaise with the Commission to identify all abandoned projects in the state and fashion out ways to complete them.

Destruction of public property retrogressive - Awoniyi From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

D

eputy Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yomi Awoniyi has condemned the destruction of public property in the name of electoral violence, describing it as retrogressive and the bane of development in the country.

Awoniyi made the remark on Wednesday while assessing the charred remains of Ibaji Local Government secretariat, burnt down shortly after the PDP primary elections to the May 4 council elections in the state.

The Deputy Governor condemned in strong terms, the electoral violence that led to the burning down of the secretariat

and said the arsonists were "devil incarnates" who did not mean well for the people of the area.

He described the action as a drawback in the development of the area, adding that it came at a time the State Government was working hard to rebuild decayed infrastructure affected by last year's flood.

Awoniyi said the State Government would work in collaboration with the council to rebuild the secretariat, as the cost of repairing the burnt council was far higher than the cost of building a new one.

Meanwhile, community leaders from the council area, under the aegis of Ibaji Development Association, on

Wednesday passed a vote of no confidence on three political office holders from the area, for the roles they played in the destruction of the secretariat.

This was contained in a communique signed by the National President of the association, Mr Davis Akoh, and Secretary, Mr Clement Omachonu, at the end of an extraordinary meeting held in Lokoja.

It stated that the activities of Mr Christopher Okoche, a legislator in the Kogi House of Assembly; Barrister Ojoka Acholo, Commissioner of Culture and Tourism and Damian Etiukwu, the Local Government PDP Chairman negated the collective resolve of Ibaji People.

PAGE 11

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Relataionships and money: Two sides of the same coin?

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ave you ever met someone who's an extreme risk-taker in life but very careful with money?

What about someone who is measured and cautious in everything except money? I sure haven't. It's no wonder, then, that money issues overwhelmingly come out on top of reasons why couples bicker, argue, and all-out fight with each other. It's because, for better or for worse, the way we deal with money is a reflection of ourselves.

Unfortunately, most of us are about as well equipped for balancing money and our relationships as we are for deepsea diving. In essence, we're all thrown overboard and are forced

MONEY TIP:

What a startup job candidate needs?

Innovative Outlook e've all heard that old saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Ira S. Wolfe, president of Success Performance Solutions, a provider of pre-employment, sales and leadership assessment tests, shares that turning ambiguity and complexity into creativity and innovation is essential in a startup environment. Ask questions that poke at a candidate's problemsolving skills: "Describe an event where you were forced to make a make-it-orbreak-it decision when you didn't have all the information you needed and no time to get it. How did you make the decision and how did it turn out?"

Another way Wolfe likes to understand candidates' creative thinking process is by asking for their next steps if their company landed a huge account. "Let's say you landed Wal-Mart as a client.

You don't have enough financing, the right management team, or a supplier in place to deliver products. What's the first thing you do?"

David Chie, vice president of Palo Alto Staffing Services, a full service administrative and IT staffing firm, believes that innovation must be coupled with a sense of initiative. It's not enough to be flexible or creative unless you can see the need for it and do it on your own.

W

Quote Live daringly, boldly, fearlessly. Taste the relish to be found in competition - in having put forth the best within you. - Henry J. Kaiser

to flounder around.

If you think about what really has an impact on the way you live your life, chances are your finances and your relationships will come out on top. After all, its problems in these areas that tend to cause the most stress. Fighting with your spouse is a stress. Fighting with your spouse because you can't pay the mortgage? That will be another major stress. But while our financial behavior is probably deeply rooted in our life experiences, we all have a choice about how we live and manage our money. Let's take a look at some of the common disagreements that revolve around money, and what they might say about you and your relationship.

Frugality My partner recently won $50 in a poker game. My reaction: "Let's go out for dinner!" His reaction: "Are you crazy? This is for my retirement account!"

Clearly, I have a smart guy on my hands. Unfortunately, a lot of people take frugal too far, even to unhealthy extremes. I'm not talking about people who have to resort to extreme frugality out of necessity, but those who earn a good living but pinch every penny they make with no long-term goal in sight.

Perhaps they're afraid of risk, or it physically pains them to part with their cash. Whether they're looking for the secure feeling a big bank account can provide or just don't believe they're worth any luxuries, those who are too insecure about spending their money may have a hard time reconciling those feelings in a

relationship, especially if expenses are split down the middle.

Division of Labor Have you ever noticed that money and control seem to go hand in hand? After all, money is like the wild card, providing a proxy for power, control, and freedom. Whether one partner makes more or just makes all the decisions, it can definitely leave

one person - or both - feeling hurt and angry. In this case, it isn't money that's the problem, but the way two people are relating to each other - or using money to avoid really relating to each other. This is why if you have a spouse who's controlling, chances are he or she is controls the finances, too.

I'm not sure it has to be that way, though. I think of

managing the finances as a chore, just like taking out the garbage or doing the laundry.

As with all chores, the division of labor is rarely 50/50, but it's a great goal to have. Maybe next time you're arguing about who should walk the dog or wash the windows, you should even out who will pay the bills, do the taxes, and balance the checkbook at the same time.

How to save money without feeling poor

E

ven if you've survived the recession without losing your job or having to take out a second mortgage, you've probably been affected by the economy. With high gas prices raising the cost of everything from groceries to cosmetics, everybody is feeling a little strain on their wallets. Fortunately, it's possible to save money without sacrificing everything that you enjoy. Here are a few tips for cutting back on expenses without compromising your lifestyle: "Make a budget. It's impossible to save money without knowing how much you spend. Make an effort to track every purchase that you make for a month, even if it's just a few dollars. At the end

of the month, compare your income to your expenses; if the expenses are higher than the money you made, you need to cut back on your budget. Make goals for how much you plan to save and where you will be cutting that money from, and be diligent about tracking your finances.

"Cut the easiest expenses first.

When you're looking for ways to trim your budget, look for the easiest places to save. Do you have a gym membership you never use? Do you have a subscription to a magazine you hardly read?

Are you paying for cable when you watch most of your shows on Netflix? Cut all of these unnecessary expenses first.

"Figure out what you can

make at home. The more you can do yourself, the less you'll have to pay someone else to do it.

Homemade meals are cheaper, healthier and usually taste better than restaurant food. You can save at least $20 a week by packing a lunch instead of going out to eat. If you usually stop off at Starbucks on your way to work, it might be cheaper to invest in high-quality coffee and creamer and make your own drinks. If you can learn how to do simple car maintenance, like changing your own oil, you can save a lot of money over time.

"Use layaway instead of shopping with credit. It's harder to spend money you don't have if you pay for everything in cash.

Instead of financing your next purchase, save up and buy it with cash. Many stores are bringing back layaway programs, so you can take advantage of that as a no-interest way of paying off expensive purchases. Keep only one credit card and pay it off immediately any time you make a purchase with it. " Utilize coupons and rebates. You don't have to practice extreme couponing to save money. The Internet makes it easy to search for coupons for items you planned to buy anyway. Before you make a purchase, check online for printable coupons. You can also sign up for the mailing list for your favourite brands and restaurants; they will occasionally email or mail you coupons and offers you can take advantage of. Before you make a purchase, check online for printable coupons on websites like Answers.com coupons.

Saving money doesn't have to negatively impact your lifestyle.

With a little planning, it's possible to maintain your standard of living while cutting down expenses. The key is to be accountable for your purchases, only spend money that you have in cash and take the time to find affordable but high-quality alternatives to items that you buy. Over time, employing these money-saving strategies will help you feel empowered about your spending and help you take control of your finances.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 12

EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

H

Proposed international conference on Syria

aving battled each other to a standstill, Syria's beleaguered regime and its military adversary - nine odd insurgent groups - desperately need some moments away from the battle fields to consider a political solution to the nearly three-year old civil war.

Even though the Syrian regime has reportedly made remarkable military gains, taking back major cities held by the rebels, it cannot hope to snatch an outright victory. The armed insurgents and their political fronts would have also realized that a Libyan-style lightning victory over the regime, aided by the western military alliance, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), is not feasible.

Given the obvious military stalemate and the continued suffering of the Syrian people, with more than 50,000 reportedly displaced, the international peace conference suggested by the United States and Russia couldn't have come at a more auspicious time. US Secretary of State, John Kerry, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, met in Moscow recently and expressed their willingness to push for an international conference in which both the Syrian regime and the armed opposition would participate to hammer out a political settlement.

The US has been the key political

supporter of the insurgents, which she provides with military equipment that it claim are non-lethal. Russia has been a traditional ally of Damascus and in its moment of distress, Moscow's support has not wavered one bit. The Syrian rebels have pinned much hope on a Libyan-style intervention by the west, including a

“

Letting Syria fall apart in a combustible region is not reasonable, that is why we'll support any genuine attempt at ending the civil war declaring and enforcement of a no-fly zone under which cover the rebels would march into Damascus. However, this has not happened and is most unlikely to happen, not because the west could not find any convenient cover to intervene but because the military odds, especially the obvious prospect of generous military supplies from Russia, make that an unviable option.

Given the readiness of the two world

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powers to promote dialogue between the Syrian belligerents, we urge both Washington and Moscow to move quickly from a declaration of intent to actually convening the peace meeting. But before then, President Bashar Assad's regime and the insurgents must step back from their hardline rhetoric and step into the arena of dialogue without preconditions. The opposition's demand that Assad not participate in any dialogue leading to a settlement is a non-starter. Assad's position that he can only talk to those who lay down their arms is also not realistic, although at a certain point in the course of the dialogue, arms must be put down.

Syrian is a pivotal Arab country.

Damascus and Aleppo are both the world’s oldest historic cities. Aleppo has been terribly disfigured and Damascus, though relatively safe in government's hands, is under constant threat of an attack from the insurgents, or even a siege.

The move to find a political solution is a welcome development, but we exhort its promoters, especially the US and Russia, to eschew any underhand actions that will undermine the prospects of dialogue. Letting Syria fall apart in a combustible region is not reasonable, that is why we'll support any genuine attempt at ending the civil war.

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OUR VISION

CHAIRMAN MALAM WADA MAIDA, OON, FNGE DIRECTOR/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RUFA’I IBRAHIM MANAGING EDITOR ABDUL-AZEEZ ABDULLAHI

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PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 13

Has Jonathan really declared emergency rule? (I)

By Jiti Ogunye

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n Tuesday, May 14, President Goodluck Jonathan, in a televised national broadcast, "declared" a state of emergency in the Northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe "in order to restore public order, public safety and security". In the address that focused on "the recent spate of terrorist activities and protracted security challenges in some parts of the country, particularly in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Kano, Plateau and most recently Bayelsa, Taraba, Benue and Nasarawa States", the President condemned the "activities of insurgents and terrorists", which are "causing fear among our citizens and a near-breakdown of law and order in parts of the country, especially the North".

While promising that the details of "this Emergency Proclamation" would be transmitted to the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the President clarified that within the purview of the "Proclamation", the Governors and other political office holders in the affected states would continue to discharge their constitutional responsibilities.

Let us state very clearly that contrary to popular but erroneous belief, the President has not declared and cannot single-handedly declare a state of emergency under the provisions of Section 305 of the Constitution.

What the President did on May 14 was to merely "broadcast" or announce a state of emergency.

Declaration of a state of emergency, proclamation of a state of emergency and announcement of a state of emergency are not one and the same thing. And this is no hairsplitting semantics.

Unfortunately, the President, in his broadcast, interchangeably said he was "declaring" a state of emergency. The President has no such powers.

Under Section 305 of the Constitution, the President can only issue "a proclamation of a state of emergency". Without any attempt at being pedantic, we submit that by the marginal note of Section 305, "procedure for declaration of a state of emergency" is not a one step or stage process. The proclamation of a state of emergency cannot be accomplished outside the official gazette of government; and the issuance of a proclamation of a state of emergency in the Official Gazette, by the President, does not constitute a declaration of a state of emergency, let alone a mere broadcast on television.

Such a proclamation in the Official Gazette is inchoate and incomplete unless and until the National Assembly passes a 2/3 majority resolution approving of the proclamation. Sadly, many commentators have been hailing the "declaration of a state of emergency" and even the deployed armed forces have reportedly "imposed a dusk to dawn curfew" in certain areas covered by the "emergency declaration". Thus, the Presidency has started exercising "emergency powers" without the approval of the National Assembly. This is unconstitutional. And a helpless and hapless broadcast on the part of a governor, urging civic cooperation with the deployed troops, before the requisite approval of the proclamation by the National Assembly, does not make it less so.

Now, three quick questions.

Can the President use a radio or television broadcast, or a newspaper or online publication to issue a proclamation, and can any of this media be legally accepted as a constitutionally

recognized platform or means of proclamation? The short answer is no, and we say so, regardless of the phrase "the President may by instrument published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation" used in Section 305 (1). The word "may", in the context of Section 305 (1), only gives the President a discretion, when a state of emergency exists or is warranted, to issue or not to issue a proclamation, and not a discretion on the choice of the medium wherein the proclamation is to be issued. The one and only medium or means of proclaiming a state of emergency under the Constitution is an official gazette.

There can be no valid proclamation outside the Official Gazette. And if we may add, the word " may" could be construed or interpreted as "shall" and mandatory, permitting of no discretion, in certain grave national circumstances, when the situations or conditions of a state of emergency exists. In such situations, if the President does not act, he may be compelled to do so by an order of mandamus of a court of law, by a resolution of a national assembly or he may risk

impeachment.

Question two: Do "announcement", "declaration" and "proclamation" of a state of emergency have the same meaning under the Constitution, so as to make no difference whether the President issues a proclamation, or makes a declaration or an announcement? The answer is no. The literal or dictionary meanings of these three words may be the same, but their constitutional import, in the context of Section 305, is dissimilar.

Question three: can the President refuse to properly issue a proclamation of a state of emergency by an instrument and publication of same in the official gazette, after indulging in a national "state of emergency declaration" broadcast ( as President Jonathan has done), to avoid suffering a feared vote defeat of the contemplated proclamation of a state of emergency? Yes, he can, for the state of emergency broadcast is, really, not a proclamation known to the Constitution. In that case, the emergency broadcast will just be a piece of national entertainment or a

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No doubt, the situation in the North-east calls for a declaration of a state of emergency. But so also is the situation of the entire country. Nigeria, as a territorial whole, and Nigerians as a people, not just the peoples and territory of the North-east states, are in an undeclared state of permanent emergency

gross violation of the provision of the Constitution, if, emergency powers have been assumed and wielded, pursuant to the broadcast.

Expectedly, the action of the President has elicited divergent views in the media, amongst the political class, and in the civil society. The "declaration" has been hailed and condemned. The issues are whether the declaration of a state of emergency was necessary or justifiable in the circumstances; whether it will permanently resolve the problem of insurgency in the North East, whether it will not only temporarily suppress it, or even complicate and worsen it; whether the enforcement of the emergency powers or orders, given by the President, would not be attended by gross human rights abuses and violations; and whether the military operation would not alienate the local population and whether the usual anti-civilian excesses of the military would not radicalize indigenes and drive the moderate mass of the population into extremism; whether the declaration of emergency has not made the amnesty offer to the insurgents, and the Amnesty Committee, itself, untenable.

No doubt, the situation in the North -east calls for a declaration of a state of emergency. But so also is the situation of the entire country. Nigeria, as a territorial whole, and Nigerians as a people, not just the peoples and territory of the North-east states, are in an undeclared state of permanent emergency. As envisaged by Section 305 (3) ( a & c ), Nigeria is at war, not with an external aggressor, but with internal aggressors.

Jiti Ogunye, a constitutional attorney and author, is Principal Counsel, Jiti Ogunye Chambers, Lagos.

...The emergency rule proclamation

By Michael Jegede

O

n Tuesday, May 14, President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, in an attempt to wield the big stick over the protracted security challenges in some parts of the north, triggered off by the activities of the deadly Boko Haram sect. In a nationwide broadcast to announce the emergency rule, the President noted that "activities of insurgents and terrorists have been reprehensible, causing fear among our citizens and a nearbreakdown of law and order in parts of the country, especially the North. We have taken robust steps to unravel and address the root causes of these crises, but it would appear that there is a systematic effort by insurgents and terrorists to destabilize the Nigerian state and test our collective resolve‌ " The number one citizen directed the Chief of Defence Staff to forthwith deploy additional troops to the affected states for more effective internal security operations, saying that "the troops and other security

agencies involved in these operations have orders to take all necessary action, within the ambit of their rules of engagement, to put an end to the impunity of insurgents and terrorists."

While many Nigerians see the action of the President as a welcome development, there are some who have condemned the move in very strong terms, arguing that it won't in any way resolve the problem. The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), in its usual characteristic manner was among the first to bang Jonathan with a sledge hammer for his pronouncement on the emergency rule. The party's national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insisted that the emergency rule imposed by the President was a deliberate gambit to subvert constitutional democracy. Noting that the declaration of state of emergency was meant to fail right from the onset, the erstwhile Lagos State governor said: "The body language of the Jonathan-led administration leads any keen watcher of events with unmistakable conclusion of the existence of a surreptitious but barely disguised intention to

muzzle the elected governments of these states for what is clearly a display of unpardonable mediocrity and diabolic partisanship geared towards 2015."

Tinubu's position came just as the ACN spokesman, Lai Mohammed, in a statement on behalf of the party equally decried FG's action, describing it as lacking in original thinking, while calling on the National Assembly to reject it. However, Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko feels it was unfair for people to unnecessarily crucify Jonathan for a courageous and laudable step he has taken in his bid to end the security challenges in the country. Imploring Nigerians to rally round Jonathan in this current effort towards checkmating the Boko Haram menace, the governor urged that those who have chosen to embark on the unwarranted politicization of the present national security challenges should not be listened to.

I believe very strongly there is truly the need for all of us to come together to support the Federal Government in every commendable, brave and

valiant step it takes to surmount the precarious security situation we find ourselves at the moment with the noxious activities of terrorists. The government had offered to grant amnesty to the insurgents (Boko Haram members). But the group clearly rejected the offer and the destruction of lives and property continued unabated. Do we expect the government to fold its arms and allow them to continue to have a field day?

I do not see how in the opinion of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), the emergency rule in just three states amount to a declaration of war against the north which has 19 states in all. I wonder what would have been said if the President had dismantled the governmental structures in the states affected, leaving them in the hands of sole administrators, as suggested by other Nigerians.

Former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara, and National Vice Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in charge of North Central, Yusuf Ayitogo, in separate interviews, noted while applauding the action of Jonathan that he should have gone further to disassemble

the executive councils and legislative organs in the states concerned. In the thinking of the duo, the President appeared to be too soft in allowing the governors and other political office holders to continue to discharge their constitutional responsibilities.

Wabara, for instance, said: "I am solidly behind the President in his decision to declare state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. I salute his courage. It is indeed a welcome development that must be embraced by all and sundry.

However, it should have been a total declaration. I was in office as Senate President when state of emergency was declared in Plateau State. It was a full imposition of the emergency rule, where a sole administrator was appointed to run the affairs of the state at that time. This will make it much more effective. As it is now, we cannot say exactly who is in charge in the states affected. Is it the governors or the military commandants?"

Michael Jegede, a media expert and public affairs commentators, resides in Abuja

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 14

Regional politics and Nigeria's unity

By Anyanate Ephraim

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he unity of our country has been fought for and lives lost to keep us as one unit. It is glaring that we have problems of understanding ourselves and there have been numerous agitations for a breakup. Historically this was seen even among our founding fathers as each of them attempted to take something to their people by fighting for central control. Our founding fathers realized that danger early and started making efforts to avoid what we are facing today. Symbols of our unity include the armed forces, the establishment of unity schools and NYSC among others.

Among the reasons for the Unity Colleges were: to bring together young boys and girls from all regions of the country, irrespective of their social or economic background to learn, play, work and live under one roof in order to remove the virtual mysteries surrounding the evolution of the people who made up the regional citizenry, thereby creating a homogeneous family devoid of rancour, suspicion or distrust.

Another reason was to breed detribalized citizens needed for the good management of resources at all levels of governance of the Nation.

Many in government or working as pressure groups today, whether state or Federal have attended a unity school or are part of the idea. Some of them have also served in the Armed Forces. I am however unable to see the positives that our founding fathers envisaged so far. So where are we going wrong?

I recently read a statement attributed to the Northern

and eroding the Elders Forum unity of the (NEF) about country". I President GEJ therefore waging war believe that Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text against the they do have north by his messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written the unity of declaration of contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 Nigeria at the state of words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and background of emergency; I their minds and a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed thought to did not mean to: myself that exactly that the these wellPresident who known and The Editor, most of them important Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, helped to elders could not become 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. have said so. I President is now fervently Email: opinion@peoplesdaily-online.com waging war believe if it is SMS: 08134607052 against them. true that they Any group, did, they may have decided to ignore the right. be it from the north, south, east constitution which many of When the NEF visited or west, that pronounces them were part of writing up.It President GEJ before the inciting statements is going would appear that it is not only amnesty committee was set up, contrary to the tenets of our NEF and Arewa Consultative one of the issues raised and in constitution as regards keeping Forum who are their press release stated inter us united as a country. When discountenancing our alia was "the elders wish to individuals talk about war in constitution in the name of observe that there is a Nigeria, I believe it is easy to regional pressure groups. Others resurgence of inciting sectional, bring them to book. If however include Afenifere and Yoruba ethnic and religious bigotry by sectional groups say similar Elders. Ohanaeze Ndigbo and persons, some of whom are things, it is obvious how difficult Igbo Elders, Ijaw National holding high positions in society, managing such threats can be.

Congress and Ijaw Elders among condemning or disparaging If Nigeria breaks up no part will the many. I know that people whole groups or sections have any benefit as we do not will tell me to get lost and that especially from the North. This have any homogenous part in the constitution allows for creates ill feeling and Nigeria. groups coming together as of disharmony, capable of injuring I am keen to understand how

WRITE TO US

“

I am keen to understand how the Northern elders see the President. Is he seen as President of Nigeria or a regional President? Same question is being asked of the Ijaws. How do they see the President? Is he an Ijaw President or President of Nigeria? Our country has been so polarised and divided along ethnic lines that the constitution has become meaningless

the Northern elders see the President. Is he seen as President of Nigeria or a regional President? Same question is being asked of the Ijaws. How do they see the President? Is he an Ijaw President or President of Nigeria? Our country has been so polarised and divided along ethnic lines that the constitution has become meaningless.

For regional pressure groups to help the unity of our country, they must be seen to work towards the goal. Functional pressure groups can be defined as those pressure or interest groups whose activities are not limited or restricted to the promotion and protection of parochial interests but who are vocal and determined in pursuing policies and goals that have relevance to citizens in Nigeria as a whole. Functional groups work towards sensitizing and mobilizing the populace against unpopular acts of government not acts that will keep us united.

It is obvious that these regional pressure groups are negatively impacting the democratic process in Nigeria and have contributed to the problem of stunted democratization in Nigeria, either overtly or covertly.

Borrowing from the words of Oba Akenzua II in 1963 and applying these words to Nigeria I say whoever does not want the unity of Nigeria will be condemned by future generations. Even those who die while working against the unity will be condemned in the other world; if they die with the bad intention of working against or persuading people to work against the unity and solidarity of Nigeria. Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Dr. Anayate Ephraim is on ww.facebook.com

Gov. Yari's transfromation agenda

By Ibrahim Sidi Muh'd, Gusau

W

hen Governor Abdulaziz Yari made a pledge to the people of Zamfara state during his inauguration that his administration would uphold prudence and good management of public resources, the people did not believe him due to their experience with the administration before his. But today, Governor Yari has demonstrated he has the will to run a government built on transparency, hard work and people-centered development programmes.

Despite the huge backlog of 42 billion naira in bills he inherited from the previous administration, Yari was able to settle 16 billion naira bank loans and the 26 billion naira owed to contractors. As part of the government's effort to restore soundness in the state's financial books uprising, the ministry of finance established a Debt Management Office {DMO} with the responsibility to ascertain the level of debts and payments made by by the immediate past administration.

People were worried and discouraged by the subsequent announcement of 42 billion naira debt which was left behind by the previous administration, as the first challenge the new government to start with, upon which much of thoughts were wasted on how long Governor Yari administration would be debt free to even swing into action to fulfil the promises made during the campaign days.

Because it has been the belief that, in the running of government, at all three tiers, nothing could be achieved under a heavy debt liability like that of the Zamfara state in the early days of the Yari administration.

A lot of excuses for diverting public funds had been given in the past serious socio-economic challenges were not confronted.

However, in the first half of his first four years, Governor Yari did things that impacted on almost every sector of the socioeconomic development of the state, with particular emphasis on education and rural infrastructure. The governor seems to have prioritized these two important sectors in view of their significance to

developmental economy and the wellbeing of the rural communities. So far, his administration has been able to open up all the 14 local governments with road network to ease movements of goods and services, while more than 80% of the dilapidated schools across the state were fully rehabilitated with additional construction of about 1000 classrooms blocks to accommodate the increasing number of pupils enrolled in schools..

The screams of rural dwellers are loudest when one makes trips to remote Nigerian rural communities, where one is often faced with abject penury, existing side by side with modern and advanced society; it is just a case of one country with two nations. It was perhaps the similar case in Zamfara state that informed the decision of Yari to accord high priority to the provision of rural roads network, as an effective strategy toward easing rural poverty.

From assumption of office to date, Yari has awarded contracts for various rural roads constructions and rehabilitation across the state, to the tune of

over N25 billion. In an effort to facilitate speedy economic growth in the state, as reflected in his campaign promises, Governor Yari has so far facilitated the construction and rehabilitation of over 370 km length of roads across various parts of the state.

Interesting enough, the governor kept saying that his administration would never adopt the wrong system of awarding contracts when the funding is not available on ground, always giving assurance that his administration will not grant any contract unless the money is physically on ground to ensure that no project is stalled halfway due to suffocation of funds.

Only last year, Governor Yari performed the official handing over of the site for the construction of a 76 km road linking Wanke and Kucheri villages. The road has since been completed and put to use. Yari emphasized that provision of rural roads was conceived by his administration as a strategy to make a positive impact on on the lives of rural communities. The governor said his administration

noticed the deplorable condition of rural roads across the state which 'has severely affected farming communities, and by extension, impacted negatively on the socio-economic progress of the whole state. He said the contract for the construction of Wanke to Kucheri road was awarded by his administration to a Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company at the cost of N8.3 billion, disclosing that the company had already collected the whole amount.

While assuring contactors handling the various roads projects of guaranteed down payment at the completion of the projects, the governor however advised them to ensure strict compliance with the terms of the contracts as well as with the demand for quality services and timely completion as specified in the agreements. He reiterated his commitment to leave no stone unturned in making sure that by end of his administration, the whole state would have been transformed, economically and socially.

Ibrahim Sidi Muh'd wrote in from Gusau, Zamfara state

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 15

Dancing to the drums of war

By Roz Ben-Okagbue

A

s General Buhari pointed out in his speech during the recent CPC convention, the country is sinking into anarchy. The hopelessness of the situation is highlighted by the inability of the policemen to protect themselves let alone anyone else. In Bama, Borno state, over twenty policemen were killed and as if that was not bad enough, two days later 27 policemen were murdered and another 13 captured by a cultist group, Ombatse in Nasarawa state, who they had been sent to arrest. A couple of weeks before that incident, 12 policemen had been killed in Bayelsa state and there had been a violent showdown in Baga between the security agencies and the Boko Haram which resulted in the death of hundreds of innocent citizens. All of this happened in the space of six weeks! If the policemen cannot even protect themselves, what hope do civilians have?

Every state in the country is experiencing some breakdown of law and order. The South East and South South states are a kidnapping zone, which is fast embracing the South West. Most of the Northern states are beset by insurgency which has continued unabated since the 2011 elections and the change of the National Security Adviser appears to have made scarce difference to the situation. Calls

for the Boko Haram to accept amnesty, which in Nigeria basically means getting paid to stop terrorism, have fallen on deaf ears and instead the Boko Haram has added insult to injury by offering the president amnesty, claiming they have done nothing wrong.

In response the federal government set up yet another committee to look into a solution and possible amnesty terms. The point of developing amnesty terms for a group responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent civilians and security agencies is lost on me more so when they have stated quite clearly that they are not interested in amnesty. The very recent declaration of a state of emergency in three states may be a step in the right direction but only time will tell. What is certainly not clear is what will happen to the violence that is still continuing in Bauchi, Kano, Plateau, Kaduna and Nasarawa states and how does this address the kidnapping in the South East and the South South or the political unrest unfolding in Rivers state.

Last week, the situation was exacerbated by an exchange of irresponsible utterances from selfish political thugs whose sole motive appears to be to destabilize the polity and create a chaotic environment where their services will become indispensable. The current exchange of verbal fire seems to be between two specific ethnic

groups, the Ijaws versus the Fulanis and they appear to be drawing us closer every day to the American prediction. It is not clear at what point these two former allies became sworn enemies but the battle lines are clearly drawn and for now the press seems to be the theatre of war. Will it end in just talk or will this prove to be the catalyst that will finally push us off the edge?

Could this be the beginning of the end of the Fourth Republic?

Asari Dokubo, a former militant who boasted a few months ago that he collected huge sums of money from the government which he invested in Benin Republic for the benefit of his several wives and 18 children, threatened the whole country particularly the North with a war in the event that the current president does not win the election in 2015. Calls from the national assembly for his immediate arrest and questioning, enraged him further into recording a video in which he described the Fulanis as 'destitute parasites' and stated that they were planning a coup which he said the president was doing nothing about. He ranted and raved about the equally careless utterances of Lawal Kaita and General Buhari who he described as extremely corrupt and then dared the authorities to arrest him. He threatened that Nigeria would cease to exist as a country if he was arrested and called the authorities cowards if they don't

arrest him. Interestingly no attempts were made to even question him let alone arrest him.

Following Asari's explosive video there was initially a deafening silence from the presidency raising questions as to whether this was indeed the position of all Ijaws (including the president) as Asari had suggested in his video. If Asari was beating the drums of war, he did not have to wait long to find dancers as two days later Ango Abdullahi, a member of the Northern Elders Form responded to his tirade by stating that they (the Northerners) have received the president's message sent through his spokesman Asari, and they are ready for the war promised. This was followed by more threats and counter threats by other supporters on both sides heating up the polity even more and then finally the Federal Government broke its silence. In a statement issued by Gulak (a Northern aide to the president), the government dissociated itself from Asari's position and denounced him in pretty strong terms.

The government's response seems to have had very little impact though. Firstly, it arrived a tad too late and did not receive the wide exposure that the video did. Secondly it came from two Northerners, Gulak and Bamanga Tukur (PDP chairman) who in reality were not exempt from Asari's missiles.

The only Niger Deltan in or out of government who has openly

taken a position against Asari's tirade is Tam David West who is known to be a strong supporter of Buhari. The damage has been done, the Northerners are in silent rage and unless there is some significant measure of damage control, the result of this deepening enmity will be demonstrated at the polls in 2015.

The reasons for the rift between these two former allies are not difficult to understand.

In a nutshell, the Ijaws feel that the Northerners who have ruled the country for decades have usurped their oil, excluding them from participating in the benefits accruing from the oil production despite the fact that their environment was damaged in the process and their people impoverished. The Northerners, on the other hand, feel cheated out of the presidency after the death of YarĂĄdua truncated Northern rule just two years into "their turn" (according to the PDP zoning formula), and are determined to regain the presidential seat come 2015.

But the Ijaws do not want Jonathan's term to end in 2015; they have benefitted immensely from this government and they do not want the party to end. They are prepared, they say, to fight to the last man if Jonathan is not re-elected. Well, you can hardly call it an election if people are coerced into returning him to power. With both sides threatening hell fire and brimstone, what does the rest of the country feel?

Roz Ben-Okagbue wrote in from Lagos

Nasarawa massacre: 'Barbarians' on rampage

By Dele Agekameh

F

or quite some time, the Eggon who claim to the largest ethnic nationality in Nasarawa state, clamoured for political power. Perhaps, to actualize that dream, the leadership came up with a novel idea of using a cult, Ombatse, to grab power in 2015. Ombatse means "time has come. A sociocultural organization, it assumed notoriety after the 2011 governorship election which was won by Alhaji Umaru Tanko alMakura, the candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) who is from the Gwandara ethnic group. Under intense pressure, the governor met several times with the leadership of this ethnic group, including Senator Solomon Ewuga and Hon. Haruna Dauda Kigbu, a member of the House of Representatives..

Things took a dramatic turn, recently, precisely between March 31, 2013 and April 7, 2013, when the group started going to churches and mosques, disrupting their services and forcing worshippers to drink herbs and take an oath to the effect that come the 2015 election, they will only vote for an Eggon ethnic group candidate that contests on any party platform. This forced the state government to invite security agencies to investigate the which has begun to amass weaponry.

This rather came pretty too late as it turned out to be a bloody outing for the security agents. It

is said that 115 policemen, including operatives from the Department of State Security Service, SSS, were involved in the Alakyo operation, out of which, 75 policemen and 10 SSS officials were massacred. Two were seriously wounded and are currently receiving treatment in Lafia while 30 returned unharmed or with minor injuries. In addition, out of 12 vehicles used in the operation, eight were burnt while only four managed to return to base.

The latest killings in Alakyo have some precedence. In 2007, there was a clash between the Alagos and Eggons in Assakio.

Not long after this, the same group also attacked Agyaragu town inhabited by the Koro (Migili) ethnic group, killing so many people and burning down all structures belonging to the elites of this ethnic group, including the palace of their paramount ruler, a second class chief. This same group also engaged the Fulanis, killing most of them and their cattle. There were, of course, Fulani-led reprisals.

However, the recent massacre of security agents sent to restore peace in the troubled area hit the nation like a thunderbolt, because of the high number of casualties involved. It is widely believed that the security agents must have committed some operational errors to warrant such a heavy death toll. Insiders or moles within the police who passed all the information from planning to execution to this group might have caused the failure of the

operation. These insiders may belong to this Eggon ethnic group or its sympathizers. Two of them, Enugu Audu, a corporal, and Joseph Haruna, an inspector, have been fingered and are among those currently helping the security agents in their investigation of the dastardly act.

In Nasarawa state, there are 25 different groups. The major ones are Migili (Koro), Alago, Gwandara, Kanuri, Hausa Fulani, Mada, Gwari, Rindre, Afo, Eggon and Ebira. The Eggons are largely farmers with a lot of educated people cutting across all educational disciplines.

They migrated to Nasarawa State in 1951 while the Alagos, Mada, Gwandara, Koro and others migrated from Kwararafa and settled where they are now

in 1232 AD. They practice Islam and Christianity. Only a very negligible number practice the traditional religion.

The Afo, where Abdullahi Adamu, the first civilian governor of the state hails from, ruled the state from 1999-2007.

The Alago took over with Aliyu Akwe Doma as governor from 2007 to 2011. Al-Makura, the incumbent, who is from Gwandara ethnic group, took over from Doma in 2007. The governor might have tolerated the Ombatse group for such a long time purely on political grounds because they played an important role in the 2011 election. But since their activities had become a threat to the security of the state, he had no other option than to move against them.

“

The latest killings in Alakyo have some precedence. In 2007, there was a clash between the Alagos and Eggons in Assakio.

Not long after this, the same group also attacked Agyaragu town inhabited by the Koro (Migili) ethnic group, killing so many people and burning down all structures belonging to the elites of this ethnic group, including the palace of their paramount ruler, a second class chief

Since 1999, Ewuga has been the arrowhead of the clamour for the leadership of the state.

However, he could not succeed despite the fact that he moved from Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP in 2003. Although prominent leaders of the community may not readily agree with this, the Eggon people listen to and obey all directives by Ewuga. In 2007, he singlehandedly made Patricia Akwushiki a senator representing Nasarawa North Senatorial District, where he hails from. And when he contested against Akwushiki in 2011, on the ticket of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, after their relationship turned sour, he defeated her hands down with a very wide margin.

Ewuga, Maku, Alhaji Halilu Envulanza, the Secretary of the National Judicial Council, NJC all Eggons - are in the forefront of those contesting the governorship in the state in 2015. So also is Dauda Haruna Kigbu, a member of the House of Representatives, who will want to retain his seat in the House in 2015.

The latest killings may boomerang on the fate, future and fortune of the Eggon ethnic group in the coming elections as all the other tribes in the state may shun any party that fields an Eggon ethnic group as its candidate. If this happens, it will be a direct fall-out of the desperation exhibited by the Eggons.

Dele Agekameh is reachable on www.feacebook.com

PAGE 16

FCT residents lament over broken sewage

S

ome residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday expressed concern over the broken sewage that was leaking faeces with offensive odour on Sultan Abubakar Way in Abuja metropolis.

Some of them, who spoke with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that the development could cause serious health hazards to the public if not arrested on time.

A correspondent of NAN, who visited the road reports that the sewage was discharging water mixed with faeces and was discharging the products into an open gutter.

Mr Felix Ukim, a passer-by on the road, who observed that faeces had been flowing from the sewage for quite some times, called on Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) to check the situation on time.

“The authority of the FCT should take urgent measures to stop the situation in the interest of the health of members of the public,especially those passing through this area on a daily basis.

“Regular maintenance of the sewage system will also help to curb the menace of the leakage, which might result in water or air pollution and poses threat to the health of the residents,” he said.

Ukim also advised FCT to take precautionary measures to maintain the sewage lines across the metropolis to avoid leakage.

Mrs Hannah Emmanuel, a petty trader on the road, also said that sewage had been discharging the smelling products ”for sometimes now’’.

“It was two days ago that I started perceiving the unpleasant odour from the bad water being discharged through this broken sewage.

“The odour from the sewage is affecting the people in this environment. I also observe that some of the sewage holes are kept open; this is not healthy to human habitation.

“This situation is particularly dangerous to the health of pedestrians especially at night, “I am appealing to the AEPB to do something urgent about the leakage to avoid the spread of sickness to the public,” she said.

In his reaction, Mr Joe Ukairo, the AEPB Head of Information, told NAN in a telephone interview that AEPB had not received any official report about the problem.

He, however, promised that officials of AEPB would be sent to inspect the leakage with a view

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

12,728 illegal structures removed in 2012, says FCTA

By Adeola Tukuru

I

n compliance with the Abuja Master Plan, the FCT Administration has removed a total of 12,728 illegal structures in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in the preceding year of 2012.

FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed revealed that the decision to remove illegal structures is a painful one, but that the Abuja Master Plan must be protected to conform to the dreams of the founding

fathers of Abuja.

Senator Mohammed reiterated that as a nation, we have an option of allowing Abuja to go the way of older cities in the country or develop it, in consonance with its Master Plan, which is a replica of Brasilia.

He revealed that his Administration in 2012 had a plan target of 4 weeks as turnaround time in granting building plan approval but was able to achieve 8 weeks instead of the previous 6 months or several years.

The Minister stated that

all these achievements have been recorded because the Development Control Department has introduced E-vetting of building plans, apart from the creation of Development Control Information System (DEVCIS) “The establishment of Schemes Unit has further assisted in addressing new emerging city management challenges,” Senator Mohammed added.

His words: “Reduction in turn around time for granting of building plan approval has enhanced our

People buying cassava, yesterday at Bwari market, Abuja.

integrity for doing business and ease reference to data and information”.

According to him, the FCT Administration in the year 2012 approved 1,489 building plans and vowed to surpass that feat in the subsequent years.

Senator Mohammed also disclosed that his Administration through the Department of Development Control has stopped serving new Contravention Notices and instead prevented new violations, while forcing old ones to revert to designated uses.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Nyanya farmers want solution to hitches in GES scheme

By Stanley Onyekwere with agency reports

S

ome farmers in Nyanya, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have called on the Federal Government to intensify efforts to address hitches in the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

NAN reports that the GES scheme is a Federal Government initiative under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) aimed at subsidising the cost of major inputs in agriculture such as fertiliser and seeds.

One of the requirements for the scheme is the farmers’ registration where farmers’ data are captured into the ministry’s central data bank.

The farmers, who spoke to NAN, said that though they had registered in one of the centres in Nyanya they were yet to get any call to receive fertiliser and seeds.

They expressed the fear that most of the farm inputs might end up in the hands of non-farmers, who would later sell the inputs to farmers at higher prices.

One of the farmers, Mr Samson Arikya, said that he has yet to receive neither seed nor fertiliser since the inception of the programme.

He complained that some of the hitches, if not addressed could cause more problems for the peasant farmers.

He, however, said that where there were challenges, efforts should be intensified to ensure that every farmer,

regardless of their status, benefitted from the programme. ‘’I don’t know whether it’s because we are illiterates or because we don’t have anybody in the government house, but the government should intensify its efforts so that small farmers get the inputs.’’

Another farmer, Mr Ibrahim Adamu, said that he had registered since the exercise began, but was yet to get the confirmation SMS to receive the inputs. ‘’I have registered my name and phone number but I have not been called. Even last year I registered but nothing came out of it. ‘’Most of the time you will find that people, who do not live in this vicinity come from other places get all the things

meant for us. ‘’It is quite regrettable, but what can poor farmers like us do; government should try and make its scheme and policies more flexible so that small farmers like us will benefit.’’

Other farmers, who also spoke to NAN, stated that they had not been contacted during the registration process.

They called on the Federal Government to facilitate access to loans for farmers so that they could hire and have access to improved mechanisation that would help enhance their production level and also adequately cater for their families.

NAN recalls that the distribution of fertiliser and seeds under the GES commenced on May 13, 2013 in the FCT. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 17

Gwagwalada council evacuates refuse

AEPB warns residents against building structures on river banks

By Usman Shuaibu

By Stanley Onyekwere

T

T

he Gwagwalada Area Council administration in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has embarked on the evacuation of refuse in the area.

The Head of Department in charge of Environmental sanitation in the council, Alhaji Tijanni Ado, who revealed this to Peoples Daily in his office in Gwagwalada, said that his administration would continue to evacuate the refuses in Gwagwalada and its environs for the benefit of the residents.

He said that he would provide the necessary support for the staff to carry out their duties effectively.

He called on the residents of Gwagwalada and its environs to always gear towards the cleanliness of their environments to avoid contacting diseases.

Ado commended the outgoing chairman of Gwagwalada Area Council, Alhaji Zakari Angulu Dobi for support accorded to the department to carry out his responsibilities.

he Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) yesterday advised park owners in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) not to build structures on the bank of streams to avert flooding.

The Acting Director ,Mrs Aishat Adebayo gave the warning in Abuja while briefing Adebayo urged both operators of gardens and parks to stay 50 metres away from water coast to allow for free flow of water.

“Due to the spate of destruction experienced in 2012, it has become necessary for us to enlighten the public on the looming dangers.

“NIMET has alerted us that rains will be higher this year and we must, therefore, be prepared to ensure that the 2012 experience does not repeat itself.

“We are warning park and garden owners not to put structures up to 50 metres from water coast to give room for water to flow.

“The Federal Ministry of Environment has given these

guidelines so that water can flow without any blockage at the coast.

“These measures have being put in place for our safety, especially as we are expecting more rainfall that ranges between 1,000mm and 1,500mm,’’ she said.

The director said the board had been regulating the activities of the parks and

gardens to avoid nuisance in the FCT. Adebayo also advised residents to avoid indiscriminate dumping of refuse, adding that such acts could block water coast.

She advised residents living in flood prone areas to vacate those places for their safety, adding that flood would affect residents who

live on water ways.

“If you are living in the suburbs, you must make sure that you clean the gutters around you so that water can flow without hindrance.

“Do not wait for government to clean it for you because you must keep safety for yourself before thinking of government’s assistance.’’

Hypertension: Medical expert advises on balance diet

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he head of the University of Abuja medical centre in Gwagwalada area council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Oriaku Okereke, has advised hypertensive patients to always take balanced diet as well as engage in frequent exercises to keep the body healthy.

She also urged hypertensive patients to make it a habit to trek in order to reduce their access weight.

Okereke, who gave the advice while speaking to newsmen during the World Hypertension day ceremony at the

university, cautioned the hypertensive patients against excessive alcoholic intake and smoking.

She said that stress and sleeplessness were the major contributory factors that lead to the hypertension, she called on Nigerians to come to the University of Abuja medical centre to check their blood pressure.

Okereke commended the management of the university for putting in place necessary facilities in the medical centre for the use of the university.

Also speaking to newsmen, the senior Registrar in the Cardiology unit at the

University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Dr. Ngabea Murtala, said that people should avoid fatty food and excess salt to enable them to be freed of hypertension.

He explained that the number of people that have hypertension in the urban areas were more than the people that were living in the rural dwellers.

Murtala also lamented that percentage of Africans that have hypertension was higher than the white men living in America, saying that this was due to genetic nature.

The occasion featured Kidney function tests as well as High Blood Pressure screening.

PAGE 18

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

3 men jailed for abuse of Nigerian currency A

Zuba Grade 1 Area court in the FCT has sentenced three men to two months imprisonment each for selling the Nigerian currency across the table.

The convicts are Malam Abdulwahabi, 32, Salisu Nuhu, 20, and Bashir Mohammed, 20,

all of Dei-Dei junction, FCT They were tried on a one-count charge of public nuisance.

Alhassan Kusherki, the judge, passed the sentence after the accused had pleaded guilty.

The judge, however, gave them an option of N15,000 fine each.

Police prosecutor Momoh Ibrahim told the court that on May 20, a team of surveillance men attached to Police Divisional Headquarters, Zuba, ,while on patrol on the Dei-Dei - Kubwa expressway had arrested the culprits.

Ibrahim said that the detectives

caught Abdulwahabi, Nuhu, and Mohammed selling the currency.

Ibrahim said the currency notes were spread on a table like groundnuts at Dei-Dei junction, FCT. The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 198 of the Penal Code. (NAN)

L-R: Outgoing chairman, Kwali Area Council, Mr Joseph Shazin, and his successor, Mr Ibrahim Daniel, during the handover ceremony, on Wednesday in Kwali, Abuja.

Photo: NAN

Man arraigned over alleged criminal breach of trust

T

he police on Wednesday arraigned one Amaefule Kingsley, of 32, Izeulo street, Maraba in Nasarawa State, before a Kado Grade 2 Area Court, FCT, for alleged criminal breach of trust and cheating.

The police prosecutor, Cpl. Mustapha Mohammed, told the court that Mr Mesaiyete Austine of Plot 695 Utako, Abuja, reported

the matter to the Utako Police Station on May 1.

Mohammed said that sometime in April, the accused collected recharge cards valued at N777,795 from a dealer, while the complainant stood as a surety for him.

He said that the accused converted the money to his own personal use without remitting the money to the owner of the

recharge cards.

Police prosecutor said the offences contravened the provisions of Sections 312 and 322 of the Penal Code.

The offence carries a a minimum term of three years and maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment or with fine or with both.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The counsel to the accused, Mr Akinoluwa Olukanmi, applied for the bail for the accused on liberal terms.

The presiding Judge, Ahmed Ado, granted the accused bail in the sum of N300,000 with two sureties in like sum.

Ado also ordered that one of the sureties must be a civil servant and adjourned the case to June 11, 2013 for further hearing. (NAN

Court remands 3 men for alleged conspiracy, theft

A

Chief Magistrates’ Court in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, yesterday ordered three accused persons to be remanded in prison custody for alleged criminal conspiracy, house breaking and theft.

They are Innocent Chukwudi, 35, of Kabayi Mararaba, Godday Oruwa, 25, of Old Customs Quarters and Edward Iyayi, 29, of Mararaba.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the accused persons, however, pleaded not guilty to the offences.

The prosecutor, Mr Samuel Okoro, told the court that one

John Umekwe, of Oassis Ground Hotel Mararaba,on behalf of the hotel’s management, reported the matter at the Sani Abacha Road Police Station, Mararaba, on May 2.

Okoro said that on the same date, Umekwe reported for duty at Guinness Unit in the hotel and discovered that the office of the cashier was opened.

He said the office was occupied by Chukwudi, Oruwa and one Chioma Ossai of Karu Site Abuja.

He added that the safe containing N1,686,355 handled

by Ossai was stolen and

eventually found dumped behind the containers kept within the hotel premises empty.

He said that the complainant strongly suspected Chukwudi and Oruwa who were the occupants of the office, Iyayi the security man on duty and the driver, Shola Mayegun, now at large.

According to the prosecutor, the offences contravened sections 97, 346 and 288 of the Penal Code.

The prosecutor said that the accused should not be granted bail to enable him to carry out

further investigation.

However, counsel to the second accused, Mr Stanley Onukwu, prayed the court to grant his client bail.

The Senior Magistrate, Mr H.A. Abundaga, criticised the counsel to the accused for making an oral application for bail, stressing that the application should come up formally.

He refused to grant the accused persons bail and ordered that they be remanded in prison and adjourned the case to June 26,2013 for further hearing.

(NAN)

INSIDE FCT COURTS Alleged keke NAPEP thief charged

T

he Police on Monday arraigned one Ibrahim Yakubu, 20, at an Abuja Magistrates Court for allegedly stealing a tricycle (Keke NAPEP) valued at N410,000.

The accused, of Tipper Garage, Gwarinpa, Abuja is standing trial for theft before Magistrate Abdulateef Abolaji.

The police prosecutor, Sgt Salisu Mohammed, told the court that the matter was reported at the Life Camp Police Station by one Isaiah Aniaba of Lungu Village, Gwarinpa, on May 15.

Mohammed said the accused stole Aniaba’s tricycle parked in front of his house.

According to him, the offence contravenes Section 287 of the Penal Code.

The section states that if convicted, the offender will be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or with a fine or both.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Abolaji granted the accused bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.

He ordered that each of the sureties must swear to an affidavit of means, and should produce either a driver’s licence or international passport.

He adjourned the case to May 27,2013 for hearing. (NAN)

2 security guards docked for negligence

T

he police on Tuesday arraigned two security guards, Tarkumbur Justin and Sunday Amadu of Halogen Security Company, Abuja, in a Wuse Zone 2 Senior Magistrates’ Court for alleged negligence.

The Prosecutor, Mr Francis Tanko, said that on May 11, Ndubisi Mgbaebi, the Site Engineer of Arbico Plc, Abuja, reported the two to the Divisional Police Headquarters, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja.

Tanko said the accused were security guards attached to the site located on Plot 194, Samuel Ademilogun St., Central Business District, Abuja.

He added that Mgbaebi reported that, on April 12, when he took stock of the materials at the site, he discovered that materials worth N525,500 were missing.

The prosecutor listed the missing materials to include 150mm by 20mm granite slabs (23), 300mm by 20mm granite slabs (13) and 55 pipes.

The Senior Magistrate, Mr Aminu Eri, granted them bail in the sum of N200,000 each with two reliable sureties in the like sum.

Eri adjourned the case to May 30,2013 for further hearing.

(NAN)

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Email: aminuimam@yahoo.co.uk

Etisalat Nigeria signs N192bn loan for network expansion From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

E

tisalat Nigeria has announced the signing of a US$1.2 billion medium term syndicated loan facility with a consortium of Nigerian banks.

The company said it plans to use the proceeds to refinance the existing commercial medium term debt of US$650 million and continue its network rollout across Nigeria.

The telecom firm said it will also continue the release of innovative products and services to its over fifteen million subscribers from the facility in both Naira and US dollar tranches from a consortium of received from Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank and United Bank of Africa.

The other banks include Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, Ecobank, Keystone Bank, First City Monument Bank, FSDH Merchant Bank, Mainstreet Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Union Bank.

Speaking on the key transaction, EMTS Chairman, Hakeem Belo-Osagie, highlighted that the loan is yet another key step in the company’s development.

According to him, “Etisalat Nigeria has grown from strength to strength reaching 15 million subscribers earlier this year. This loan is a testament to the robust strategy of the company and the faith of the banking community. It will serve to further boost the company and the telecommunications sector.

“It is important to also note the enabling environment created by the Federal and state governments of Nigeria as well as the National C o m m u n i c a t i o n s Commission”.

Hakeem said through this process, Etisalat Nigeria has benefited from the experience and support of its pioneer shareholders; Etisalat Group, Mubadala and Myacynth.

Commenting on the transaction, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Steven Evans said: ”We are delighted with the continued support and confidence shown by so many banking partners. They have shown great faith in the company since launch and we view that as a sign of their endorsement of Etisalat Nigeria’s strategy and execution capabilities.

“We aim to continue to focus on our network expansion, our investment in 3G, as well as ensuring we offer the uncompromising network quality and customer service our subscribers have come to expect from us”, he stated.

Mob: 08033644990

Islamic Development Bank triples Authorised Capital to US $150bn

By Aminu Imam with agency report

T

he Islamic Development Bank (IDB)’s Board of Governors (BoG) yesterday approved to more than triple the Bank’s authorized capital to 100 billion Islamic Dinars (about US $150 billion) from 30 billion Dinars, reflecting the Bank’s strong balance sheet and the growing economic development

needs of its 56 member countries.

The BoG also increased the Bank’s subscribed capital from 18 billion Islamic Dinars to 50 billion Islamic Dinars.

At its annual meeting in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, the Bank also announced it will immediately tap the public market with a US $1 billion offering of sukuk, or Sharia-compliant bonds.

The five-year offering is rated

Triple-A by each of the three major bond rating agencies (Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch), and will be dually listed on the London Stock Exchange and Bursa Malaysia.

The benchmark US $1 billion offering comes amid strong demand and limited supply of the highest quality fixed-income securities, in part because a number of large governments have recently lost their Triple-A

R-L: Managing Director, NAHCO Aviance, Mr. Kayode Oluwasegun-Ojo, receiving IATA Authorised Training Centre Certification from IATA’s Country Manager, Ms. Funke Adeyemi, recently.

PAGE 19

INSIDE

- Pg 20

Nigeria has Africa’s highest rate of investment returns – Aganga status. There has also been growing demand for Islamiccompliant investments.

“The tenets of Islamic banking have stood the test of time,” said Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President of the IDB Group. “Our emphasis on equity, risk-sharing and partnership enforces discipline on the financial system, allowing us to lift more of our people out of poverty.”

Saudi Arabia, with a 23.6% stake, has the largest ownership in the Bank, headquartered in Jeddah, followed by Libya with 9.5%, Iran with 8.3%, Nigeria with 7.7% and the United Arab Emirates with 7.5%. The next four biggest holders are Qatar (7.2%), Egypt (7.1%), Turkey (6.5%), and Kuwait (5.5%).

IDB provides project financing to diverse regions of the world, including a number of Less Developed Countries (LDS) that constitute part of its membership.

The joint lead managers of the new sukuk offering are Barwa Bank, BNP Paribas, CIMB, HSBC, NCB Capital, and Standard Chartered Bank, and the offering will be governed by English law.

“This capital increase will allow the bank to finance more and bigger projects in our member countries” stated, Mr. Davlatali Saidov, the chairman of IDB Board of Governors during the 38th Annual Meeting that approved the capital increase.

“It reflects the confidence of our owners in the Bank’s management and in the potential to make positive contribution to Islamic communities around the world”, he stated.

At the annual meeting, the board of governors called upon its member countries to fulfill their commitments to invest US $5.4 billion in fresh capital in the bank.

FG activates $500m AfDB loan for intervention in power sector

By Etuka Sunday

T

he Federal Government has activated a $500 million African Development Bank (AfDB) loan aimed solely for intervention in the power sector.

The loan, to be released in $100 million tranches, was activated by the inauguration of a technical monitoring committee yesterday at the

ministry of power headquarters in Abuja. Notably, the induction of this committee was mandated by the AfDB as one of the preconditions for drawing on this budget support loan.

In the meantime, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has been given priority and asked to access the initial $100 million.

Currently, the nation’s

transmission grid remains a weak link in the power value chain, with a wheeling capacity of about 4,800 MW. By year-end, the National Independent Power Projects (NIPPs) are expected to provide additional generation capacity of about 2,200 MW. With government objective to achieve 10,000 MW in 2014 and 20,000 MW in 2016, the urgent need to expand the transmission

Management Tip of the Day

Write an e-mail that people will read

W

hen you send an email, chances are that it’s competing with hundreds of others for the recipient’s attention. Here’s how to compose emails that people will actually read, answer, and act on: · Get straight to the point.

Make your request in the first few sentences. Be polite, but

concise. Try an opening like, “Great interview. Thanks for sending it. May I ask a favor?” · Keep it brief. People find long emails irksome and energy-sapping. The more they have to scroll, the less receptive they’ll be. Limit your message to a single screen of reading.

Write a short but informative subject line. With

a generic or blank subject line, your message will get lost in your recipient’s inbox. Be specific — try “The Nov. 15 Leadership Program” instead of “Program.” If you’re asking someone to take action, highlight that in the subject.

Source: Harvard Business Review

capability to evacuate the projected additions becomes all the more imminent.

According to the government, about $3.4 billion will be needed to upgrade the transmission network to the standard that it would evacuate the expected generation capacity coming on stream.

“We have been challenged by the problem of not being able to evacuate power beyond 4,500 MW. If we have appropriate funding in the next one year, we will be able to double our transmission capacity. The technical committee is critical, as it is required by AfDB to access the loan,” said Nebo, represented by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Godknows Igali.

The committee is constituted by representatives from the Federal Ministry of Finance, ministry of power, Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) and TCN.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 20

Ayodele Samuel <gtms06@yahoo.com> 0806 372 7788

COMPANY NEWS Accion Microfinance bank

I

n its continued efforts towards alleviating the sufferings of many Nigerians, Accion Microfinance bank limited has over N16 billion loan to over 133,000 customers since inception.

The bank has also since inception created employment to over 462 Nigerian youths spread across 18 branches and the head office.

The bank has concluded plans to hold its seventh Annual General Meeting scheduled to hold on the May 20, 2013 at Protea Hotel, Ikeja.

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Nigerian Shippers’ Council

T

he Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), a federal government agency responsible for the promotion of fair trade practices, is to develop a database of shippers in the Southeast zone of the country, BusinessDay has reliably gathered.

The exercise, which is ongoing, will help the agency to develop reliable databank for effective administration and monitoring of commodity flow in the zone-producers, dealers, middlemen, routes and destination of goods.

The council is collaborating with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the Ministries of Commerce and Industry of the 5 States of the zone, to ensure that all stakeholders in the shipping subsector of the economy are captured.

State of Emergency: Business activities crippled in Yobe, Borno, Adamawa Stories by Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

M

embers of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), have lamented that business activities has been grounded in states under emergency rule.

The OPS members who spoke with Peoples Daily, in an phone interview, said more than 10,000 business including manufacturing companies closed down production since the begin of Military operations in the states.

President of the Conference of Northern states Chamber of Commerce Industries, Mines and Agriculture (CONCCIMA), Alh. Sanusi Maijama’a said, ”Almost everybody is staying at home so businesses are at stand still, some manufacturing sector had stop production or reduce its production time, we have more than 10,000 businesses in those affected states.”

President of the Yobe Chamber of Commerce and

... Traders flee to Niger republic ... 10,000 firms closed down Industry, Alh. Shettima Bukar Jallaba said traders in his states had flee to nearby states like Gombe, Bauchi, Kano and Niger republic border.

“85 percent of our economy is dead, all our business activities is collapsed, even government activities is at stand still, as I speak only 15 percent of the economy is working, we can’t make or receive calls, so traders are forced to leave the state to anywhere they can operate their businesses for the main time.”

Also, President of the Adamawa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Alh. Abdulrahman Modibbo Girei said many work hours had been forfeited due to the state of emergency.

“We are forced to close at 3pm, those informal sector that display their wares in the evening are

grounded, even the cooperate organisation has taken clue from the government to resume before 9am and close by 3pm, despite that many staff don’t go to work,

Nigeria has Africa’s highest rate of investment returns – Aganga

T

he Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga has stated that Nigeria is in a unique position with the highest rate of returns on investment in Africa.

This, he claims, was made possible because the nation’s macro-economic stability is much stronger than most developing countries in Africa and this in 2012 made Nigeria become the highest destination for investment in Africa, attracting investment of about

From Olawuni Oladapo, Lagos

Courteville Business Solutions

B

usiness solutions service provider, Courteville Business Solutions Plc with footprint into two African Countries and daily processing of over 40,000 transactions, is looking at accelerating expansion into other African and Caribbean markets.

The firm which boasts as the largest data capture platform in the sub-Sahara Africa, currently operating in Nigeria and Sierra Leone with 4,500 business outlets, is positive about creating a strong brand that will continue to deliver shareholder value and meet the expectation of its teeming customers.

Courteveille at the end of the 2012 financial year recorded a turnover of N1.06 billion, a growth of 24 percent from N856.6 million recorded in 2011, resulting to a gross profit of N473.6 million. Its profit after tax grew by 22 percent closing at N298.3 million in 2012 as against N245.3 million in 2011.

From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

L-R: National Coordinator, Coalition of Civil Society Group for Transparency and Good Governance (CCSGTGG), Comrade Ali Abacha, Secretary General CCSGTGG, Ambassador Muhammad BinAhmad, and member, Board of Trustee CCSGTGG, Chief Titus Adewumi, during the media briefing calling on the Minister of Finance to stop destination inspection contract by service providers, yesterday.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

FG, SMEDAN takes ‘Entrepreneurship’ to Universities

T

he Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has flagged off the University E n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p Development Programme (UNEDEP), to promote selfemployment among the youth, right from institutions of higher learning.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, while unveiling the programme in Abuja, said it would give students the opportunity for practical handson experience to enable them to successfully manage their own businesses.

“UNEDEP’s mission is to ‘catch them young’. The programme focuses on entrepreneurship development

of undergraduates and aims to create future entrepreneurs; encourage self-employment; embed business ethics amongst the youth and consequently reduce the incidence of poverty.

“We will achieve this by using the existing ‘Network for African Student Entrepreneurs club’ structure and deriving a standard schedule of activities for all members across all universities”, he said.

“Part of our strategy is to assess existing scalable student businesses to determine ways to enhance these and then creating a platform for student mentoring by successful entrepreneurs”.

Aganga stressed that investment in youth empowerment through the

so we have less than seven hours to transact bossiness, our economy operate by less than 50 percent.

His Borno state counterpart, Alh. Muhammadu Rijiya added that all business activities in Maiduguri, the state capital has collapsed due to the 24 hours curfew imposed in the city.

promotion of entrepreneurship was one of the surest ways the country could address the twin problems of unemployment and poverty, adding that the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment would collaborate with other stakeholders to achieve this objective.

UNEDEP, which will be implemented by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, SMEDAN in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, is also aimed at enhancing and reorientating the values of undergraduates; providing a mentoring platform for students and reducing poverty and youth unemployment, among others.

$8.6billion, with an increase of about 46 percent growth and investment.

The Minister explained that according to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) result, the total foreign investments in Nigeria as at 2012 is in excess of $16billion, compared to $7.9billion in 2011.

This, Aganga said has shown a big interest in investment momentum in the country between 2012 and 2011 despite its security and infrastructural challenges.

The nation’s possession of a huge market, raw material, capital and technology knowhow are factors that make Nigeria a favorable destination for investors despite its challenges.

He said Nigeria has about 84 million hectares of land where almost everything else can grow and we have only utilized 40percent. We have about 34 different solid minerals in commercial quantities, and we are top 10 producers in crude oil and gas.

He also added that we are the gate way to ECOWAS with about 300million people and Africa’s one billion, in terms of market.

“We are in a unique position” he quipped, explaining that the nation’s economy is in a very unique position with the recently signed Investment Protection Agreement with Brazil and Canada.

This agreement he claimed is the first time such an agreement is being signed and this has already guaranteed the coming of almost 50 different investors from the two countries.

‘Work with Private sector ‘, new SMEDAN DG urged

T

he new Director-General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Hon. Bature Umar Masari has been urged to synergize with state governments and the private sector for a positive impact on the MSMEs sector in the country.

The Arewa Young Entrepreneurs Forum (AYEF), which made the call, also advised Masari to carry all stakeholders in the sector along particularly the international donor agencies and parastatals that are crucial to the sector.

PAGE 21

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

FG Commissions abandoned irrigation project after 32 years From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

T

he Federal Government, on Tuesday, commissioned the centre pivot irrigation at Ukpe-Okeran Community, Egor local government area of Edo State.

The N202, 509, 33.45 project, which has the capacity to grow arable crops three times in a year if properly harnessed, was abandoned for 32 years due

to change in government policies.

Speaking at a brief commissioning Ceremony, the Minister of water Resources, Mrs Serah Reng Ochekpe attributed the delay in completion to lack of funding.

Mrs. Ochekpe, who assured that the irrigation scheme with an available 80 land hectres , covers 45 hectares which has been fully installed and operational, said the remaining

35 hectares is already proposed at a later date.

She appealed to Edo State government help construct access road linking the community, adding that agricultural sector is the one that has the capacity to create jobs for millions of Nigeria.

According to her, ‘’the Federal Government, under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan’s desire is that we improve on agricultural

Ex-Nokia team makes rival smartphone Jolla

production in order to ensure food security in Nigeria to create jobs for our teeming populace’’, she said.

Managing Director, BeninOwena River Basin Development Authority, Engr. Ajibade Ijasan, who was flanked by the district Head of the Community, HRH. Ogieayevbona Aigbe described the project as a dream come true.

Playing host to the Minister earlier before the commissioning, Edo state governor, Adams

NPA expects 86 ships at Lagos Ports

By Chris Alu

T

he Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have said that 86 ships carrying various products would sail into the Lagos ports from May 20 to June 14 this year.

This was contained in a statement made available to Peoples Daily correspondent in Abuja .

The statement read that the ships are laden with petroleum products, bulk fertiliser, new and

The smartphone has interchangeable back panels that alter the phone's software

A

company made up of former Nokia employees has shown off Jolla, a new smartphone with a custom operating system known as Sailfish.

The software has been built from the remnants of MeeGo, a project abandoned by Nokia in 2011 in favour of adopting Windows Phone for its handsets.

The Jolla phone pronounced Yol-la - is due to be released by the end of the year, and will only be sold online.

It will enter a market already heavily crowded with several operating systems.

"For a couple of years we haven't had anything really interesting in the mobile phone market," said Antti Saarnio, chairman and co-founder of Jolla.

"This creates opportunities for newcomers to come in. It's different, but it's purposefully different."

The phone has a 4.5in screen, with an eight megapixel camera. It also supports 4G and is compatible

with apps made for Google's Android.

Among the handset's other features is what the company has called "The Other Half."

The coloured back of the phone is interchangeable - and the operating system's interface will change depending on what type of cover you have.

These changes could include, for example, team colours for a football team.

"You connect it to the phone, and the user interface reflects the players and colours of the team," Chairman, Jolla, Mr. Antti Saarnio told the BBC. "It's an interesting way to show you 'belong' with something."

He would not confirm how exactly this feature works - but many speculate the use of nearfield communication (NFC) technology.

Mr. Saarnio left Nokia in 2011, along with several other employees who had been working on a joint Nokia-Intel project to create a new mobile operating system to rival the

likes of Apple's iOS and Google Android.

Nokia released one handset running the MeeGo software, the N9-00.

Mr. Saarnio felt it was not given enough of a chance to succeed.

"The team really felt that this was one of the best phones in the market, even though it was quite under-marketed," he said. "Everybody felt so strongly that they wanted to continue."

Several of the team left the Finnish mobile giant to start their own company and remain working on MeeGo, which it has renamed Sailfish.

Despite leaving the company, Mr. Saarnio said he wished Nokia well - and that Jolla was open to letting them use Sailfish in future handsets.

"We are actually quite open - we are offering this operating system for other smartphone makers to use.

"Let's wait and see and we will just do our best in our business."

(Source: BBC News)

Oshiomhole sought for greater collaboration of relevant State Ministries.

The governor tasked the Mrs. Ochekpe who led other top management functionaries in the Ministry of water resources to prevail on Benin-Owena River Basin Development Authority to liaise with relevant state government ministries to help in fast-tracking rural development in the agriculture and water sectors.

used vehicles, rice and frozen fish.

It says some of the ships are also carrying steel products, bulk salt, general cargo, bulk sugar, bulk gypsum, bulk wheat, containerised goods and crude palm-oil.

Also 10 fuel laden ships are also waiting to berth and discharge kerosene, petrol, diesel and aviation fuel.

According to the statement, the ships are to berth at Single Buoy Mooring (SBM), New Oil Jetty (NOJ), Atlas Cove Jetty (ACJ) and Bulk Oil Plant (BOP).

Museums should also be about social change, not objects alone - Curator

T

he Technical Officer, National Museum, Kaduna, Malam Ishaq Mohammed has called for the scrapping of admission fees into museums to attract more patronage.

Mohammed, who presented a paper in Kaduna as part of activities to mark the International Museum Day, said the gesture would also enhance the role of the museum as centre for educational and social change.

He said the charging of admission fees have turned visits to museums “into special occasions instead of an everyday occasion”.

According to him, museums have great potentials to serve as agent of social change in the society. “ “As evident by many institution, museums have created excellent programmes and exhibits to help improve lives,’’ he said.

“The museums is not only an exhibition space but also a civic arena where people can reflect on the importance and efficiency of social change,’’ he added.

“Museums need to move beyond objects’’, Mohammed said, adding that it should use available designs as tool for improving life, fostering participatory engagement and social activism among the people.

He also said that curators must broaden their skills by understanding the complexities of the issues in their communities so as to serve as agents of imparting knowledge and change.

Mohammed said the theme

“Memory + Creativity = Social Change”, would encourage museums to re-examine their missions and resources in order to establish more programmes that would benefit local communities.

Earlier, the Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Abdulmumin Ashafa, stressed the need for continued sensitisation of the public on the key roles of museums.

He commended the Nigeria Custom Service for assisting in the recovery of stolen artifacts and advised it to continue its surveillance on the nation’s entry routes to prevent further theft.

“A man without culture is not a complete man, if you do not know where you are coming from, you will not know where you are going’’, he stated, adding that the museum was meant to preserve cultural and historical materials of Nigeria.

In a message to the occasion, Alh. Yusuf Abdallah, the Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments, said over 60 cultural objects belonging to Nigeria had been recovered from France, Canada, South Africa, the United States and Switzerland.

Represented by a curator, Malam Ja’afaru Dauda, the DG said the museum was still relevant in the transmission of knowledge, skills and history, as well as promoting creativity and inventiveness.

According to him, it has also helped to empower artists, educationist and researchers for the overall development of the country. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 22

Attracting foreign investments via Nigeria-Turkey Business Summit E

ntrepreneurs and industrialists from Nigeria and Turkey recently converged on Istanbul to explore and exchange ideas on how best to grow the economies of the two countries.

The meeting, tagged "Nigeria-Turkey Business Summit'' - held between May 6 and May 12 - was organised by the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey.

Declaring the summit open, the confederation's President, Rizanur Meral expressed the desire of Turkish industrialists to invest in Nigeria.

Meral, who conveyed the confidence of Turkish businessmen in Nigeria, said that they would be willing to make substantial investments in the country.

Specifically, Mr Ugur Nazli, one of the Turkish businessmen, pledged to invest massively in Nigeria's housing and tourism sectors.

He expressed his intention to construct affordable houses and world-class hotels in Abuja and Kano, as part of efforts to bring down the cost of accommodation in the two cities and boost tourism.

Nazli noted that Nigeria had the potential for economic growth through foreign investment flow, adding that it also had a large market for industrialists because of its large population.

He, therefore, called for closer cooperation between Nigeria and Turkey to promote business in the two countries.

Nazli said that Nigeria and Turkey shared similar cultural values, urging Nigerian and Turkish businessmen to take full advantage of existing opportunities to grow the economies of the two countries.

As part of efforts to exploit the emerging economic opportunities in the bilateral relations, the Kano State Government has pledged its readiness to provide land and other incentives to any Turkish investor who is interested in investing in the state.

Alh. Sarki Ibrahim, the Makaman Kano, gave the assurance during a reception organised for businessmen from Kano state by a Turkish investor on the sidelines of the summit.

Ibrahim stressed that Nazli's decision to invest in Nigeria and in Kano, in particular, showed the confidence which the Turkish businessman had in Nigeria.

He conveyed the readiness of the government and people of Kano State to provide the necessary support to foster the actualisation of the proposed projects in Kano State.

Similarly, the Bauchi State government says that it is also

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Rizanur Meral negotiating with a Turkish company for the construction of a modern shopping mall in the state.

Hajiya Amina Katagum, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, who was part of the state delegation to the business summit, said that negotiations for the signing of an MoU for the project had reached an advanced stage.

She said that the project would involve the construction of more than 5,000 shops in the state.

She said that the Turkish investors would be in Nigeria in the next two weeks to complete the necessary modalities for the agreement.

Besides, Katagum said that another group of Turkish investors had also indicated interest in investing in the state's tourism sector.

The commissioner also said that apart from the Turkish investors, the state government had also signed agreements with some foreign companies on the construction of some power

plants in the state.

Katagum said that efforts were also underway to resuscitate all the ailing companies in the state.

Also speaking, Alhaji Yahaya Mya, the Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, urged the Turkish businessmen to take due advantage of the investment opportunities existing in the state's tourism sector.

He particularly urged the Turkish businessmen to invest in the Yankari Game Reserve, which he described as the largest eco-tourism park in West Africa.

Miya also expressed the willingness of Bauchi State to host the next edition of the Nigeria-Turkey Business Summit.

Available statistics reveal that that the volume of trade between Nigeria and Turkey has risen to more than one billion dollars (about N160 billion) annually.

Malam Dahiru Mohammed, Deputy National President, National Association of

Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), said that the volume of trade between the two countries had grown significantly.

Mohammed, who addressed the summit which was attended by more than 100 entrepreneurs from Nigeria, stressed said that with enhanced business transactions between both countries, the trade volume would further increase before the end of this year.

He noted that Nigeria was one of Turkish biggest business partners in Africa, adding that Nigeria was also the 47th largest exporter of goods to Turkey, going by the 2012 records.

Mohammed, who represented the National President of NACCIMA, Dr Ademola Ajayi, urged Turkish businessmen to take advantage of Nigeria's large market and invest heavily in the country.

"Nigeria, with a population of over 160 million people and a large market in Africa, possesses enough potential for profitability of foreign investment.

"Enormous investment opportunities exist in virtually all sectors of the Nigerian economy,'' he added.

Mohammed listed agriculture, manufacturing, solid minerals, construction, oil and gas, tourism, power and telecommunications as well as ICT as some of the sectors that could be explored by Turkish businessmen investing in the state's tourism sector.

The commissioner also said that apart from the Turkish investors, the state government had also signed agreements with some foreign companies on the construction of some power plants in the state.

Katagum said that efforts were also underway to resuscitate all the ailing companies in the state.

Also speaking, Alhaji Yahaya Mya, the Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, urged the Turkish businessmen to take due advantage of the investment opportunities existing in the state's tourism sector.

He particularly urged the Turkish businessmen to invest in the Yankari Game Reserve, which he described as the largest eco-tourism park in West Africa.

Miya also expressed the willingness of Bauchi state to host the next edition of the Nigeria-Turkey Business Summit.

Available statistics reveal that that the volume of trade between Nigeria and Turkey has risen to more than one billion dollars (about N160 billion) annually.

Malam Dahiru Mohammed, Deputy National President,

National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), said that the volume of trade between the two countries had grown significantly.

Mohammed, who addressed the summit which was attended by more than 100 entrepreneurs from Nigeria, stressed said that with enhanced business transactions between both countries, the trade volume would further increase before the end of this year.

He noted that Nigeria was one of Turkish biggest business partners in Africa, adding that Nigeria was also the 47th largest exporter of goods to Turkey, going by the 2012 records.

Mohammed, who represented the National President of NACCIMA, Dr Ademola Ajayi, urged Turkish businessmen to take advantage of Nigeria's large market and invest heavily in the country.

"Nigeria, with a population of over 160 million people and a large market in Africa, possesses enough potential for profitability of foreign investment.

"Enormous investment opportunities exist in virtually all sectors of the Nigerian economy,'' he added.

Mohammed listed agriculture, manufacturing, solid minerals, construction, oil and gas, tourism, power and telecommunications as well as ICT as some of the sectors that could be explored by Turkish businessmen.

The NACCIMA chief urged the summit to enhance the volume of trade between Nigeria and Turkey, while eliminating the challenges facing the smooth flow of trade between the countries.

Mr. Foluso Adeshda, Nigeria's Deputy Head of Mission in Turkey, assured the Turkish investors of the safety of their investments in Nigeria in spite of the prevailing security challenges facing the country.

He said that the Federal Government had also put concrete measures in place to guarantee the safety of foreign nationals doing business in Nigeria.

Adeshda, who spoke at the beginning of the summit, said that Nigeria remained one of the safest places in world for investments and urged the Turkish industrialists to take advantage of the huge investment opportunities existing in Nigeria.

He said that the Federal Government had made the cost of doing business in the country somewhat easy, adding that foreign investors in Nigeria were also free to repatriate their profits to their respective countries unhindered. (Source:NAN)

PAGE 23

PEOSPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Report as at Wednesday, May 22, 2013

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 24

PAGE 25

Chinua Achebe, moves to the world of immortal spirits

By Dorcas Jonah

M

emoirs at a night of tribute organised at International conference Centre, Abuja on May 20 in honour of the late Prof.

Albert Chinualumogu Achebe, presented thoughtful moments and reflections on his life, literary works and beliefs.

Packaged by Chinua Achebe National Transition Committee, the programme of the events

preceding his burial included colloquium and tribute, among others.

In his tribute, the coordinator of the committee, Prof.

Uzodinma Nwala, said “the world is not mourning Achebe’s death; the world is celebrating his transition from the world of flesh to the world of immortal spirits, where he rightly belongs.

“Achebe was a profound academic professor of languages, literature and

African studies, the quintessential, literary icon of superlative brilliance, merit and repute.

“He was a social critic of honest and unparalleled courage, of singleness of purpose and steadfastness of conduct.’’

Prof. Bartho Okolo, the V i c e - C h a n c e l l o r , University of Nigeria, Nsukka, described the late writer as a nurturer who showed the light for other writers.

“He not only opened the path, but he literally led people by the hand through his editorship of the African Writers Series and his work with Okike, a journal the University of Nigeria.

“Prof. Achebe was one of the academic titans whose presence on the faculty served as a beacon of light that drew the world to the University of Nigeria.

He taught at the Department of English as well as carried out research

at the Institute of African Studies,’’ Okolo said.

In his remarks, President Goodluck Jonathan said Achebe’s frank, truthful and fearless interventions in national affairs would be greatly missed.

“While others may have disagreed with his views, most Nigerians never doubted his immense patriotism and sincere commitment to the building of a greater Nigeria.

“Achebe writes that we must aspire not to forget that the real solution to Nigeria’s development lies in a world where charity has become necessary,’’ he said.

Prof. Wole Soyinka and John Pepper-Clark said in a joint statement to the committee that: “For us, the loss of Chinua is, above all else, intensely personal.

“We have lost a brother, a colleague, a trailblazer and a doughty fighter. Of the pioneer quartet of contemporary Nigerian

Bishop Owen Nwokolo of the Anglican Communion offering prayers during the airport reception Prof Chinua Achebe at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

literature, two voices have been silenced — one, of the poet Christopher Okogbo, and now, the novelist Chinua Achebe’’.

They said Achebe was addressing the present generation of leaders, reminding them that Nigeria is a country of milk and honey but that enough of these were not flowing as they should.

Jonathan observed that the late writer’s aspiration was to ensure that “we make things happen so that the dependence of the poor on charitable handouts would be a thing of the past’’.

“These were the true evocative lines of Achebe that summed up his life and legacy at the panAfrican level, the death of this great scholar and novelist is a loss to our country to which he brought honour’’.

In his tribute, Gov. Peter Obi of Anambra said Africa had lost a worthy son, who lived his life in full without losing his African identity.

Obi noted that Achebe in his life time, fought against all manner of subjection by using his writing to free the oppressed.

Obi also described Achebe as a man who did not hesitate to fight to defend the black race when it came under attack.

Sen. Chris Ngige, the former governor of Anambra, described Achebe as a determined person who kept writing on his beliefs, even on his wheelchair.

He said that Nigeria and the world were not mourning Achebe but celebrating him because he immortalised himself in his work and would continue to live.

Prof. Michael Telwell, a U.S-based scholar, said the late Achebe was a cultural activist who shaped the African consciousness, noting that his writing elevated his culture and lifted his people.

Mr Remi Raji, the President of Association of Nigerian Authors (ANAN), called on the Federal Government to retrieve the original script of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart which he said, was allegedly taken away to Cameroon by a scholar in 2008.

Mrs Hazzana Aliduo, Representative of United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), said as part of its contribution to immortalise Achebe, the organisation would work with ANAN to translate Achebe’s books into several languages.

“We believe in UNESCO that works of our giants such as that of Achebe should be documented and translated into languages which can easily be accessible by others from other cultures,’’ she said.

Achebe, 82, died on March 21 at a Boston hospital in the U.S. Born in Ogidi, Anambra, the author won a scholarship to the University of Ibadan and later worked as a scriptwriter for the Nigeria Broadcasting Service.

He chose to write Things Fall Apart in English for which he received criticism from authors including Ngugi wa Thiong’o.

But Achebe insisted that he felt “that the English language will be able to carry the weight of my African experience; it will have to be a new English,

Late Prof. Chinua Achebe

still in full communion with its ancestral home but altered to suit its new African surroundings’’.

Before his death, he had twice rejected Nigerian honour of Commander of Federal Republic, complaining about corruption in his home state.

His wife Chinwe, earned degrees in various universities and has been a Professor of Education at University of Nigeria, Nsukka, since 1988. They have four children.

NANFeatures

“

These were the true evocative lines of Achebe that summed up his life and legacy at the pan-African level, the death of this great scholar and novelist is a loss to our country to which he brought honour Front cover of Achebe’s immortal work, THINGS FALL APART

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Mining Sector: Reinforcing partnership with Australia

By Mohammed Kandi

T

he Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthen the existing partnership with Australian government following the development of the country's minerals and metals sector.

In a statement issued by the Press Deputy Director of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Mashal H. Gundu the Minister, Arc. Musa Mohammed Sada said Nigeria had received tremendous support from the Australian government in the development of the country's minerals and metals sector.

Receiving a delegation led by the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, H. E Jonathan Richardson in Abuja, Sada said the Australian government and other stakeholders in the sector participated actively in the development of a globally acceptable regulatory framework for the sector.

He also disclosed that most of the mining exploration projects in the country such as Kogi miners, Segilola Gold among others are being completed by the Australian mining companies.

According to him, the Australian government had also rendered technical assistance to the minerals and metals sector in areas of capacity training which had really helped in ensuring that local content is utilized in mining operations of the country.

The Minister explained that Nigeria's minerals and metals sector which has a long gestation period requires requisite skills and capital for investors to operate the mining projects successfully, adding that, the sector was opened to the private sector and for foreign direct investment which necessitated the country to strengthen partnership with other mining countries like Australia.

He said: "One thing to put into consideration is that minerals development takes a lot of time and requires capital, so one of the considerations to make is to work around the best in the country and this is why we consider our relationship with the Australian government as a partnership in progress, because if you talk of mining, that is basically where you get the best. Somebody who has something to offer us, the skills, the funds to come in, the knowledge of the sector, Australia happens to be one place you can get all."

He said the Transformation Agenda of the present administration has repositioned the minerals and metals sector

A river which is one of the major water resources to a community in the South-South region turns black due to oil spill as one of the sectors to diversify the country's economy from oil and gas.

Sada therefore commended the new Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria for the visit, as well as the affable relationship between the two countries, saying Nigeria and Australia has demonstrated maturity in the past.

He pointed out that the Ministry had already established the Minerals and Metals Promotion Unit in order to facilitate the investment

drive of willing investors.

The Minister, who said Nigeria needed to strengthen the existing partnership with the Australian government, informed that the first effective fully operating mining project in the country would come from Australia.

Earlier in his remarks, the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, H.E Jonathan Richardson said the purpose of his visit was to reaffirm his country's commitment to a bilateral economic relationship

with Nigeria and Africa at large.

He said: "Australia has a lot of skills and expertise to add value to the mining sector compared to other countries in the world, and with a long history of development in mineral resources such as Iron, Coal, Gold, bauxite, lead Zinc among others."

"Mining for development was one of their key pillars of cooperation in Africa with 200 Australian companies in African countries and various exploration companies in almost

making in vital sector of the economy.

According to him, accurate metrological information could also be used as resources for improving productivity in the key economic sectors such as agriculture, adding that "Climate Change is real. Nigeria is not immune to it. It is impacting on our economy and the future is not promising anything less than what you have seen. So, where we must go is to have a sustainable national approach."

"We must continue to strengthen our capacity to observe weather and issue early warning and other products in order to ensure sustainability of our economy because the Vision 20:2020, the Transformation Agenda, these elements are to drive the economy; agriculture, power generation trades-retail trades and so on are sensitive to weather.

"We must also support scientific research, because the technologies are changing.

There are new knowledge, updates in scientific knowledge, better understanding of both phenomena. So research must be continuous.

"We must mainstream weather and climate into formulation of policies at all levels-planning and executions of projects and encourage those sectors that are contributing to climate change services.''

Anuforom also urged the Federal Government to empower venerable communities through awareness campaign programme.

He urged Nigerian scientists and other climate sensitive sectors of the economy to develop appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies to reduce the vulnerability of the human society to impacts of climate

100 countries all over the world," he explained.

Richardson, who urged African countries to develop their mining sector for the benefit of the masses, however said, "Our government is currently collaborating with the World Bank in planning for Infrastructural development for Nigeria's minerals and metals sector which would boost the socioeconomic development of the country."

NIMET urges professionalism on weather information

T

he National Metrological Agency (NIMET) has called for strong institutional capacities and infrastructure for the sourcing of accurate weather and climate information.

Director-General of the agency, Dr Anthony Anuforom, who made the call during a recent public lecture and induction of Fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) in Abuja, said the provision of accurate and timely provision of metrological information was necessary for sustainable development of any economy given the increasing frequency of extreme and unusual weather.

Anuforom said that extreme weather due to climate change had been identified as a threat to human life and economic development across the globe.

He said that the application of early warning weather and climate information was relevant in planning and decision

change.

The DG also advised Nigerians to change their negative behaviours towards the country's ecosystem, saying: "generally, the way we live in our environment impacts on the environment itself that is why we must be careful."

He disclosed that the Federal Government had made efforts to develop a National Action Plan and Adaptation Policy on Climate Change and also strengthened the operational capacity of NIMET through the provision of modern infrastructure and facilities for weather observation and forecasting.

These, according to him, include seasonal rain prediction, drought and flood monitor bulletin, agro-metrological bulletin, annual climate review bulletin, quarterly weather review bulletin and marine met quarterly bulletin. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 27

Flood:Forum calls for greater environmental education, awareness

By Mohammed Kandi

T

he 9th National Council on Environment has called on the Federal, States and Local government Councils across the country to create wider environmental education and awareness, urging strict adherence to some regulations on the use of land on flood plains in the states.

A communiquĂŠ issued at the end of the meeting of commissioners of environment and stakeholders from the 36 states of the federation and the FC T in Markurdi recently, emphasized the need for for states to undertake effective awareness programmes on flooding.

The communiquĂŠ also urged states to partner, support and collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Environment in the installation of automated Flood Early Warning Systems (FEWS) in their flood monitoring and management, as well as replicate same in their respective domains to prevent the recurrence of flooding.

While calling for sustained awareness campaigns on climate change, the Council urged for the greater participation by all tiers of government and other stakeholders to approve the establishment of Climate

Change Desks or Units in each state.

On renewable energy and clean development Mechanism, the Council urged that efforts should be intensified at all levels to achieve desired goals, noting however that, progress made in the implementation of the Montreal protocol on the control of substances that deplete the Ozone Layer as well as the the completion of the establishment of the National Ozone village that would provide local capacity for the sustainability of the programme be encouraged.

It said: "State must show more concern on the establishment of Integrated Solid Waste Management Facilities, including Sanitary Landfills and Sewage Treatment Plants; consider other relevant options of actualizing same through Public Private Partnership arrangement in line with Government transformation agenda, and directing request to the Ecological Funds Office as appropriate."

"All ongoing projects on solid waste management should be completed by the Federal Ministry of Environment and that the Ministry should develop a National Policy on Solid and Liquid Waste

Agency warns citizens of impending flooding in Anambra

T

he Executive Director, Anambra State Emergency Agency (SEMA), has advised people living in flood prone areas in the state to be conscious of impending flooding in their areas.

Ejezie gave the warning in an interview with newsmen in Awka on Tuesday following predictions by the Nigeria Metrological Agency (NIMET) that there would be flooding in the state this year.

He said efforts were on to contain the impending disaster in the state as the agency had embarked on aggressive sensitisation of the people to the looming disaster.

According to Ejezie, the agency is collaborating with the state Ministry of Information to inform the public of the issue.

He appealed to the people of the state to listen to the media, community and opinion leaders, and attend town hall meetings from where they could know the latest concerning the impending flood.

"First of all, for people to understand that the prediction says that the flood is coming this year again. Secondly to listen to the media, if you don't listen to the media then you have yourself to blame.

"If you don't listen to your community leaders who will be getting information passed on from

the federal government through the state government to the local government, if you don't listen to them then you may be in trouble "That people should listen and adhere to instruction and the major instruction is think of your life first, forget your property if you can and get to safe higher ground," he said.

Ejezie also called on primary and secondary school authorities to shut down their schools when ordered by the state Ministry of Education to avoid a situation where the students would be caught up in the disaster.

"For schools, again we have advised that when the flooding is coming the state Ministry of Education will do its duty and people should listen when the Ministry of Education says please shut down this school or that school for this small period of time.

"This is because in the last flooding, some children went to school and on their way back they were cut off and boats had to be used to get them home. We don't want any case of drowning and we don't want loss of lives."

The executive director, who explained that they started their sensitisation from Anambra East Local Council Area, noted that people were responding to the early warnings from the agency. (NAN)

Management," It stated.

On Environmental Reference Laboratories, the Council advised states to consider various options, including the upgrading of

existing facilities in relevant institutions within their domain.

The Council also advocated efforts to effectively tackle oil spill sources through existing

regulation on finger printing and directed the establishment of a contributory fund by oil companies for the management of spills, which should be centrally managed.

The devastating impact of 2012 flood disaster in Kogi State

Water resources master plan ready, says consultant

T

he draft copy of the reviewed National Water Resources Master Plan aimed at ensuring effective water management in the country is ready, a consultant, Mr. Kitamura Tadanori, has said.

Tadanori, a Consultant to the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), made the fact known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja recently.

NAN recalls that JICA developed Nigeria's Water Resources Plan in 1995, a document that was supposed to be updated every five years.

The plan guarantees an integrated and economically sound water resources planning, development and management till 2020.

However, the plan was not updated until 2010, when the Federal Government requested JICA's technical team to review and update it.

Tadanori said the draft copy of the document had been submitted to the Federal

Ministry of Water Resources, adding that a steering committee meeting would soon hold to assess the document.

"We have three stages for the review process: the first stage was the basic studies to correct and identify issues of water resources in the country and we have already completed that stage.

"The second phase is the formation of the master plan which is also completed; the third phase is assisting in the formulation of catchment plan for selected hydrological areas.

"We will spend four months to complete the third stage; hopefully latest by November we will finish the process," he said.

Tadanori said the review of the master plan, which started two years ago, was supposed to be completed within two and half years, noting that the final report will be submitted in January 2014.

He, however, noted that the major challenges in the formulation of the master plan were lack of data and variation

in available data, adding that the document was formulated based on available data.

Tadanori also noted that the team had been working closely with all the River Basin Development Authorities and the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency to obtain relevant data.

The consultant urged the Federal Government to invest in hydrology data, noting that the benefit of having a good hydrological data was enormous.

NAN learnt that the review of the master plan became necessary because of the rapid increase in the country's population and the global climate change phenomenon.

When the plan is completed, it will analyse the situation of water resources in the country, propose strategy for their development and how to manage them.

The review and updated copy would be transmitted to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources, to enable it to carry out similar reviews in future.

(NAN)

PAGE 28

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

EMERGENCY UPDATE

NEMA, Borno Gov't to build 250 houses for flood victims Stories by Mohammed Kandi

T

he National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in collaboration with Borno State government has indicated readiness to construct about 250 houses for communities that were displaced by the 2012 flood in the state.

The Agency had recently delivered to the government building materials including bags of cement, pieces of planks, pieces of ceiling boards and bags of nails to support the victims.

NEMA's Director-General, Muhammad Sani-Sidi, who delivered the items in Maiduguri said the gesture was in tandem with the mandates of the Agency to provide necessary assistance for citizens in distress situations, as well as in response to request from the Borno State Government.

In a statement issued by NEMA in Abuja, the DG said the Agency had initially intervened with relief supplies to the affected communities immediately after the flood saying that it has now provided the supports to permanently rehabilitate the people in partnership with the state government.

Represented by NEMA's Director of Administration, Dr.

F

ollowing the incessant incidences of human induced and natural disaster in the country, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is soliciting the collaboration and support of relevant ministries, departments and agencies to curb the menace.

Director-General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani-Sidi, also

T

NEMAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Director of Administration, Dr. Zanna Muhammad inspecting materials donated to Borno State government by the agency

Zanna Muhammad, Sani-Sidi said in addition to the issues of flood the Agency has also provided humanitarian assistance to the state following the recent security challenges during the incidence in Baga and Bama towns respectively.

Sani-Sidi therefore advised

state governments to immediately relocate communities in flood plains to safety ahead of the predicted 2013 floods to avoid the experience of last year.

He assured that NEMA would support the commitment of the state governments towards the

management of disasters in their areas.

Receiving the items, the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary Administration and General Services, Hajiya Maryam Bukar Ibrahim,

MDAs tasked on disaster reduction

thanked NEMA for the prompt response in support of the state government.

According to him, the assistance from NEMA would facilitate early completion of the project designed to permanently relocate the affected communities to safety.

stressed the need for the establishing a virile emergency management agency at state and local government levels.

Sani-Sidi, who spoke, in Abuja during a study and strategic visit by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) to the agency, stressed the need for a sustained

inter-agency cooperation and exchange of ideas between NEMA and its stakeholders including specialised institutions.

He said: "You are aware that our country is faced with wide ranging natural and human induced hazards, which require continuous support and

collaboration on emergency preparedness, mitigation and response."

"It is the collaboration between ties of governments, institutions, individuals and all critical stakeholders that will safeguard lives, properties and vital infrastructure and ensure sustainable development of the

country," he maintained.

The DG pointed out that disasters, as experienced in the recent past, could impede growth including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

He called on the NIPSS to work to incorporate in its curriculum disaster risk reduction, so as to bridge the humanitarian development gaps.

Sidi said the training, which was at the instance of the NAF unit was designed to improve the operational efficiency of the personnel through theory and practical.

He said the agency has demonstrated its capacity to provide similar training to other stakeholders in disaster management.

Gambo, noted that NEMA

will continue to cherish its partnership with the Nigerian Air Force and others stakeholders towards reinforcing the valuable synergy, cooperation and collaboration.

He further said the exercises was in line with civil-military coordination mechanism, which NEMA was taking the advantage especially with the military being very strategic when it

comes to disaster preparedness, response, civil protection and timely delivery of relief assistance.

The training covered among other areas: Overview of Disaster Management, Incident Management System, Rope Rescue Techniques, Rescue from Collapsed Structures, Techniques for Extrication, Mass Casualty Incidents, Camp

Management and Administration as well as a Simulation Exercise.

Also speaking, Commandant, Quick Response Force, Air Commodore Ben Chiobi, expressed his appreciations to NEMA for organising the training noting that in emergency management, no single agency can do it alone.

â&#x20AC;ŚOrganises training on disaster response for Airforce

he National Emergency management Agency (NEMA) has again conducted a training exercise for some officers of the Airforce in Niger State.

This followed the logistics support the Agency provided for the Nigerian Airforce during the recent "Operation Ebiye Rin" in Bayelsa State.

NEMA's Director-General, Muhammad Sani-Sidi, according to a statement by the agency's Information Officer in Abuja, Sani Datti, said the effort was in realisation of the significance of the Nigerian Armed Forces towards ensuring quicker and effective response to disaster.

He said: "The agency's responsibilities range from formulation of policies on all activities relating to disaster management and coordination of plans and programmes for efficient and effective response to disaster will continue to provide all the necessary support within the capacity of NEMA to critical stakeholders."

Represented by NEMA's Director of Training, Engr.

Daniel Balarabe Gambo, Sani

Red Cross celebrates 150 years of selfless service

T

o commemorate the international Red Cross day, Secretary-General of the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), Bello Diram last week addressed a press conference to restate the history and humanitarian services to humanity in Nigeria.

May 8 has been set aside by the society to commemorate the date of birth of the founder of Red Cross Movement, Jean-Henri Dunant.

Diram said the Red Cross activities in Nigeria dated back to 1917, when an Adamu Orisha play was staged in Lagos.

He said the play was to raise funds for the Red Cross to provide relief for returning soldiers of World War 1.

According to him, the Nigerian branch of the British Red Cross was opened in Lagos by the Governor-General in 1951 and in August 1960, the two legislative houses passed the Nigerian Red Cross Act and the General Conventions Acts.

The Nigerian Red Cross Society became an independent National Society in February 1961 following its recognition by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"Therefore, Nigeria became 86th member nation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The Nigeria Red Cross Society complements public authorities in the area of humanitarian interventions," he said.

Diram said the society had over 500,000 volunteers across the nation as well as the foremost first responder to emergencies in Nigeria.

Speaking on the 2012 flooding, the Red Cross boss said relief distributions have been completed across 11 states while

health activities in the form of sensitization and promotion have been carried out in nine states.

"Since there are no more camps, the remaining activities will now be completed as part of a recovery operation, with a strategy being determined to ensure that the most vulnerable populations affected by the floods are reached. Emergency shelter, water and sanitation activities have continued; however, as the situation has changed, the focus of the operation in these areas has shifted slowly to early recovery", he stated.

PAGE 29

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

EMERGENCY UPDATE YOUTHS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY

By Abubakar Jimoh abujimoh01@yahoo.com

2013 Flood: Ensuring secured evacuation

N

DG NEMA addressing the Advisory Group on Environmental Emergencies (AGEE) last week in Geneva

Senate seeks urgent action against flood T

he Senate has mandated its joint Committee on Water Resources, Environment, Marine Transport and Special Duties to find out the level of preparedness of the Federal Government to avert flooding this year.

The directive followed a motion on "emergency preparedness for 2013 flood and rainfall prediction" sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang (Akwa Ibom North East), and 80 others.

Stakeholders are however, of the view that averting the impending floods is beyond the scope of the Federal Government alone as the states and local governments also have crucial roles to play in emergency management.

The National Emergency

Management Agency (NEMA) Act of 1999 mandates the states to set up their emergency management agencies while local governments are to have functional local emergency management committees.

However, less than two thirds of the 36 states and Abuja have set up functional SEMAs, while only about 50 or so out of 779 local governments in the country have any semblance of LEMCs. Again, many state governors were yet to gainfully utilize the grants given to them last year by President Goodluck Jonathan to manage the flooding.

Also, the duties of town planning and refuse disposal are those of states and local governments.

Enang noted that excessive rainfall in 2012 in the country coupled with release of water from

the Lagdo dam in Cameroon led to devastating flooding in most part of the country.

He said the water released from the dam flowed through River Benue and merged at the confluence of River Benue and Niger at Lokoja leading to massive flooding, death, submerging of houses and farmlands in Lokoja, Kogi State.

The lawmaker said this led to massive flooding, death, submerging of homes and farmlands in Lokoja and its environs.

He noted that the flooding also affected Delta and Bayelsa States estuary where there are many tributaries, most of the tributaries silted and filled with sand such that the large volume of water from River Benue and Niger could not find sufficient dept to channel the volume of water to the Atlantic Ocean.

... Solicits support on disaster reduction

A

gainst the backdrop of increasing man-made and natural disasters in the country, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) is soliciting support from relevant ministries, departments and agencies to curb the menace.

Its Director General, Mohammad Sani-Sidi, also harped on the need for establishing a virile Emergency Management Agency at state and local government levels.

Sani-Sidi, who spoke in Abuja during a study and strategic

visit by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), to the agency stressed the need for a sustained interagency cooperation and exchange of ideas between NEMA and its stakeholders including specialised institutions.

He said, "you are aware that our country is faced with wide ranging natural and human induced hazards, which require continuous support and collaboration on emergency preparedness, mitigation and response.

"It is the collaboration between

ties of governments, institutions, individuals and all critical stakeholders that will safeguard lives, properties and vital infrastructure and ensure sustainable development of the country" he maintained.

The DG pointed out that disasters, as experienced in recent past, could impede growth including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

He called on the NIPSS to work to incorporate in its curriculum disaster risk reduction, so as to bridge the humanitarian development gaps.

igeria had hitherto witnessed a series of flood disasters arising from the intensifying impacts of global warming which have continued to wreak havoc on most parts of the country.

The fact remains that every responsible government must be seen to be duty bound in protecting the lives of the people and country from disasters just as prompt response and recovery to disaster situations but the prime task of ensuring safety during emergencies- human induced or natural lays with the people themselves.

Observers have blamed negligence on the part of both government and citizens as major determinant for substantial effect of disaster whenever it occurs. They believe that clinging or subscribing to some professional ethics and guideline could douse the effects at the time of emergencies.

Consequently, Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Muhammad Sani-Sidi, has at all times, work towards ensure adequate preparedness with special attention to the standards for designating emergency evacuation sites to evacuate residents temporarily from hazard zones.

The states and local government areas should therefore strategise on the need to provide the emergency evacuation sites where the people could take refuge as part of preparations against the recent prediction by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET).

Also, safe evacuation routes that could be used during flood disasters should be determined, and each route should be clearly indicated in states and local governments' evacuation plans and hazard maps to provide sufficient information to the residents.

In order to achieve concrete evacuation measures, Committee for Policy Planning on Disaster Management in Japan, has recommended that the specific evacuation standards appropriate to the nature of each community such as vertical evacuation (i.e. evacuation to upper floors of a building) and specification of contents of evacuation order must be initiated in according to the phases of flooding.

Similarly, a recent investigation conducted by Youths Against Disaster Initiative (YADI) revealed that evacuation to remote locations, local governments should be clearly indicated in the evacuation plans which must contain means of transportation such as the use of public transportation, chartered buses, automobiles, speed boats with consideration for the time available for evacuation and extent of flooding.

As in practice, social, educational and welfare facilities such as schools and community centers should be utilized as emergency evacuation sites to facilitate smooth and noncrowded evacuation; while supply storage and other live-saving facilities should be determined in advance

and set up at schools and other areas to be used as evacuation sites.

There should be consideration for pregnant women, nursing mothers, old men and women, and disabled persons who must first be evacuated to the evacuation sites during normal times. Thus, sufficient human resources should be deployed to the evacuation sites to ensure prompt and appropriate response.

Livelihood support systems run by various actors like NEMA, SEMAs, Nigeria Red Cross, United Nations, local volunteers disaster management organizations, other national and international NonGovernmental Organisastions (NGOs), social workers, nursing-care service providers, should be put in place for smooth evacuation of people requiring special assistance during flooding.

More importantly, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) should be adequately funded and promoted to thoroughly familiarize evacuation supporters, including police officers, fire fighters volunteers and volunteer disaster management organization members with the expected behavioral rules and procedures.

SEMA and LEMCs should collaborate in ensuring the delivery of warnings to residents to seek for their maximum support and understanding for the evacuation.

In addition, state governments through their SEMA should promote the development of flood evacuation plan with consideration to the information on predicted distress zones need to be evacuated, evacuation sites, evacuation routes, standards for issuing evacuation orders and instructions that match the needs of each community. They should ensure local residents are thoroughly familiarized with the plan.

With the nature of local communities in the country, there is need for improvement in the disaster management communication, sensitization, Early Warning Alert systems, technical development and utilization of satellite positioning systems. Popularising media such as Early Warning email services for mobile phones like NEMA Free Toll Call, social network services, onesegment broadcasting, and news media should be promoted.

From the previous experiences, large-scale floods in some states and local governments could result in evacuation of thousands; therefore there is need to put in place measure that will help distressed populations identify and familiarize with evacuation locations and routes, as well as early establishment of methods to issue evacuation orders, instruction and guidance.

Furthermore, Federal and State Fire Services should enhance their structures by establishing organizations that will ensure smooth movement of fire-fighting materials, vehicles, including self-sustaining equipment to the affected areas during the floods.

PAGE 30

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2012

Checking insecurity via youth empowerment

By Francis Onyeukwu

P

articipants of the Abia Youth Empowerment Summit (AYES), which was recently held in Umuahia, underscored the need for government to give priority to youth empowerment programmes.

They attributed the high crime rate in the country to unemployment, adding that youth empowerment was the panacea to the rising wave of insecurity.

The CBN Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who delivered a lecture at the summit, said that active participation of youths in economic activities would facilitate the reduction of crime in the country.

In his lecture titled, ``Youth Empowerment as Panacea for Insecurity in Nigeria'', Sanusi said that governments at all levels were not investing adequately in youth empowerment programmes.

He said that this had resulted in breeding an army of youths that were engaged in unprofitable activities. ``The aggregate of individual insecurity, which can be either financial, job, marital, economic, and psychological or a sum of them, translate into overall insecurity in the society when they are not adequately addressed,'' he said.

The CBN governor also bemoaned the increasing rate of unemployment in the country. `` Unemployment rose from 15 per cent in the period between 2002 and 2008, to over 20 per cent in the period between 2009 and 2011,'' he said.

Also speaking, Gov. Theodore Orji of Abia said that the introduction of the youth empowerment programme by his administration was a direct response to the confessional statements made by some repentant kidnappers who terrorised Abia residents between 2009 and 2010. ``Conscious of the positive and negative roles which youths play in the society, it is imperative for the youth to be integrated in the politics, development, security and total emancipation of the nation,'' he said.

Orji said that the N1 billion agricultural loan given by the CBN to farmers was disbursed in such a way that it particularly favoured youths participating in agricultural activities.

He said that the state government had commenced the development of its ``Liberation Farms'' across the state's 17 local government areas, adding that the farms would provide employment opportunities for young

CBN Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

Gov. Theodore Orji

farmers and entrepreneurs.

Orji, however, advised commercial township taxi and commercial tricycle operators, as well as others who had benefitted from the government's empowerment programme, not to sell their means of livelihood.

Two hundred vehicles and 700 tricycles were given out to beneficiaries of the programme.

Former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, who chaired the summit, commended the governor for embarking on youth empowerment programmes.

He stressed that the youth empowerment programmes would facilitate the growth of the state's economy and the national economy. ``By focusing on youth

empowerment, the governor has planted a veritable seed to cure many social malaise and address the economic needs of the state; posterity will always remember that as part of his legacies,'' Wabara said.

Sharing similar sentiments, Mr Hyacinth Okoli, the NUJ Chairman in Abia, commended Orji for initiating the youth empowerment programme, adding that it had helped to reduce kidnapping and other crimes in the state.

He noted that kidnapping was so rampant in the state a couple of years ago. ``On July 10, 2010, four journalists and their driver were kidnapped while returning to their destinations after attending the NUJ's national executive council meeting in

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Conscious of the positive and negative roles which youths play in the society, it is imperative for the youth to be integrated in the politics, development, security and total emancipation of the nation

Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. ``While that was being sorted out, 15 innocent school children were kidnapped in September, 2010,'' he noted.

Chief Sam Onuigbo, the Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, said that apart from giving support to individual beneficiaries, the youth empowerment programme would also boost the state's Gross Domestic Product (GPD). ``The beneficiaries of the empowerment programme, apart from making money to take care of themselves; will equally pay tax and other levies, which will boost the government's Internally Generated Revenue,'' he said.

Onuigbo said that the overall gains of the youth empowerment were enormous, urging other states to emulate the Abia model in their efforts to tackle the menace of unemployment and insecurity. ``The integrated approach of empowering the youths in areas of agriculture, transportation, commerce and skills' acquisition was a veritable means of addressing unemployment, which is now breeding insecurity across Nigeria,'' he said.

Messrs Uzoma Ibe and Emmanuel Chukwuemeka, both beneficiaries of the youth empowerment programme, commended the governor for initiating the empowerment scheme. ``Since my graduation from the Abia State University eight years ago, I have been without a job. I found it extremely difficult to cope without any means of livelihood. ``With this vehicle I received as an empowerment tool, I feel revived morally and economically. With God on my side, I now have a foundation to make progress as a man,'' Ibe said.

Other speakers at the summit commended the state government for introducing the youth empowerment programme, reiterating that it would boost employment and check the rising crime rate in the state.

They, however, urged the government to sustain the programme to enable more youths to benefit.

Observers also commend the government for introducing the programme but they urge the beneficiaries to ensure the fulfilment of the programme.

They also advise those who were given taxis and tricycles to handle their vehicles with care, while refraining from having the erroneous notion that the government's gesture is their own share of the national cake.

Source: NAN

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 31

Malawi: How to save a fish . . . a lake and a people ANALYSIS

By Mabvuto Banda

L

loyd Phiri, a fisherman from Senga Bay on Lake Malawi's shores in Malawi's central region, knows that the lake's water levels are dropping. He can see it in his catch, which has shrunk by more than 80 percent in recent years.

Years ago, it was the norm to catch about 5,000 fish a day, Phiri says. But now, if he is lucky, he brings in one-fifth of that. And if he is not, he catches a mere 300 fish a day.

"My fish catch has gone down in recent years and this has affected my earnings. I now have problems paying school fees for my children," Phiri tells IPS. The rapid drop in Lake Malawi's water levels, driven by population growth, climate change and deforestation, is threatening its floral and fauna species with extinction, says Malawi's Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Management.

And included among the wildlife threatened are the fish that Phiri depends on for a livelihood.

"The fish stocks have declined in the last two decades from about 30,000 metric tonnes per year to 2,000 per year because of a drop in water levels." -- Environmentalist Raphael Mweneguwe "Over the last three decades some water balance models have been done on the lake and have shown that the water levels have dropped from 477 metres above sea level in the 1980s to around 474.88 metres currently," Yanira Mtupanyama, principal secretary in the ministry, tells IPS of the 29,600-square-kilometre lake that straddles the borders of Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.

"It's a big deal because studies are showing that the water levels in the lake will keep on dropping in coming years because there are signs that show (that there will be) less rainfall and increased evaporation," she says.

An estimated 1,000 different fish species rely on the fresh waters of Africa's third-largest lake for their survival, which also provides 60 percent of this southern African nation's protein requirement.

The mbuna cichlids species and the famous tilapia fish, locally known as chambo, are facing extinction. Chambo is Malawi's most popular fish.

The country's Department of Fisheries says that fish stocks in the lake have dwindled by 90 percent over the last 20 years. It is a huge concern as, according to authorities, about 1.5 million Malawians depend on the lake for food, transportation and other daily needs.

Fishermen on Lake Malawi

And of even greater concern are the recent Malawian government reports that say the water mass may hold rich oil and gas reserves.

Environmentalist Raphael Mweneguwe fears that if oil and gas mining starts on the lake, it can lead to further biodiversity losses.

"The fish stocks have declined in the last two decades from about 30,000 metric tonnes per year to 2,000 per year because of a drop in water levels, overfishing and rapid population growth. But this may get worse if oil is discovered on the lake," Mwenenguwe tells IPS. Williman Chadza, executive director of the Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy, a local NGO that promotes activism on environmental issues, shares Mwenenguwe's fears.

"Oil is a resource of paramount importance to a country like Malawi, which is seeking revenue alternatives for its socio-economic development. But its discovery may deepen the country's biodiversity loss and impact badly on water sources," Chadza tells IPS. Mining also poses a threat to the lake. A uranium mine in Karonga, a town situated near Lake Malawi in the north of the country, is one example. The mine, owned and operated by Australian mining giant Paladin (Africa) for the past four years, is regarded as a pollution threat.

"Uranium is a highly radioactive material and therefore there are still threats of polluting

the freshwater in Lake Malawi," UduleMwakasungura, a human rights activist, tells IPS. The need to arrest the loss of biodiversity is particularly important in Malawi where people depend on biological resources to a greater extent than other parts of the world.

The 18,000 families of Nguwo fishing village in Senga Bay are an example of this dependency.

"We know that the fish stock has depleted because of unsustainable fishing practices and noncompliance with fishing regulations ... we also know that cutting trees unsustainably is ultimately affecting the quality of the water we drink," says village headman RadsonMdalamkwanda.

Mdalamkwanda tells IPS that fishermen in the village have been working together with local authorities in the district to address the threats and challenges facing the conservation of Lake Malawi.

He says that anyone not following the rules or by-laws is banned from fishing on the lake during October and November, when the fish spawn.

And for the past five years the village development committee has been going to local gatherings to educate residents about the bylaws and about the need to protect the lake.

"Apart from protecting the fish, we also want to safeguard the water so that it's safe for drinking. We do that by creating awareness at

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

Regardless of what may come of this restocking project, the Nguwo village committee understands that the future of the lake is important. So they are educating those who can do something about it - the village's future generations

gatherings like weddings and funerals," the chair of the village committee, Ibrahim Kachinga, tells IPS. Their efforts also complement the Malawi government's attempts to address the threats challenges to conserving the flora and fauna of the lake.

"There has been a ban for the last few years on the use of highyield fishing gear in lake Malawi between October and November when the fish are spawning," Mtupanyama says.

Mtupanyama also says that in 2003 the government launched a 10-year strategic plan, which largely seeks to restore the lake's fish stocks.

"So for the last 10 years we have been restocking the lake with fish by breeding juveniles outside the lake and then reintroducing them into the lake. We haven't done badly," she says.

Mtupanyama could not, however, say if this had significantly increased the lake's fish stock.

Regardless of what may come of this restocking project, the Nguwo village committee understands that the future of the lake is important. So they are educating those who can do something about it - the village's future generations.

Kachinga says: "With the help of government, we are also encouraging teachers in nursery and primary schools to teach our children about how to protect the lake."

Source: allAfrica.com

PAGE 32

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Egyptian security men abducted in Sinai freed S

ix Egyptian policemen and a border guard abducted on the Sinai peninsula last week have been released, the Egyptian army has said in a statement.

"The seven kidnapped soldiers are now on their way to Cairo after they were released thanks to the work of military intelligence, and in cooperation with the noble tribal leaders of Sinai," said army spokesman Colonel Ahmed Ali in a statement posted online on Wednesday.

A report on state television said the hostages were released by their captors in the desert south of Rafah, near the border with Israel.

President Mohamed Morsi gave the men a red-carpet welcome at a military air base in a Cairo suburb to where they were flown from Sinai.

Morsi, Egypt's first civilian president, embraced and kissed each one of them as they disembarked from a military helicopter. Prime Minister Hisham Qandil and Defense Minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi were also on hand to receive the men.

Morsi later thanked the armed forces, security agencies as well as the people of Sinai and their tribal chiefs for their efforts to secure the release of the seven men.

He said efforts to free them provided an "example to follow of cooperation, planning, execution and of how the nation's interests come first." The president also vowed to hunt down the kidnappers, saying "there will be no going back on bringing the criminals to account."

"This event will be a departure

point for all of us to solve the problems of Sinai, its people and to develop Sinai," he said.

The men were abducted last week while traveling between the North Sinai towns of El-Arish and Rafah.

The army had deployed hundreds of soldiers to Sinai, along with dozens of armoured vehicles and helicopters, in the wake of the kidnapping. A military operation to free the hostages was widely expected in Egypt, but also risked triggering a backlash in Sinai.

The kidnappers were armed with anti-aircraft missiles and heavy machineguns, interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim said on Tuesday, adding that there were no negotiations with the kidnappers, who were demanding the release of jailed Bedouin

militants.

It was not immediately clear if Wednesday's release was a sign that the captors' demands would be met.

A spokesman for the ruling Freedom and Justice Party said on Wednesday that the Rafah crossing with Gaza, which was closed shortly after the abductions, has been reopened.

Tension has been running high since the kidnapping, which was followed by two attacks on or near police camps in Sinai.

On Monday, assailants fired heavy weapons for 25 minutes at a police camp in Al-Ahrash, followed later in the day by another attack on the Oja border crossing with Israel, which is also close to a police camp.

World Bank announces $1bn for Great Lakes

T

he World Bank has announced $1bn in development funding for Africa's Great Lakes region, where renewed fighting this week between the government and rebels in eastern Congo has raised fears once again of an escalation in the conflict.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Wednesday unveiled the proposed aid financing for one of Africa's most intractable conflict regions on the first day of a trip with UN chief Ban Ki-moon to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.

The tour has coincided with clashes between Congo's army and fighters from the M23 rebel group near the eastern city of Goma on the border with Rwanda.

Kim said in a statement released in Kinshasa that the funds would help finance health and education services, hydroelectric projects and cross-border trade in the area.

"We believe this can be a major contributor to a lasting peace in the Great Lakes region," he said.

"This funding will help revitalise economic development, create jobs, and improve the lives of people who have suffered for far too long."

This week's fighting was the

Ban(L) has begun an African tour aimed at fostering lasting peace in the Great Lakes region [AFP]

first since November, when M23 fighters routed the Democratic Republic of Congo's army and briefly seized Goma,

despite the presence of thousands of UN peacekeepers.

UN experts accused Rwanda of sending troops and weapons

across the border to support the M23 last year. Rwanda denies the accusation.

Mugabe signs Zimbabwe constitution into law

Z

imbabwe President Robert Mugabe signed a new constitution into law on Wednesday, replacing a 33year-old document forged in the dying days of British colonial rule and paving the way for elections later this year.

The constitution, approved overwhelmingly in a referendum in March, clips the powers of the president and

imposes a two-term limit.

However, it does not apply retroactively so the 89-year-old Mugabe could extend his 33 years in power by another decade.

A beaming Mugabe, flanked

by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, his main political rival, and deputy president JoiceMujuru, signed multiple copies of the charter at State

House in the capital, Harare.

Aides and other politicians present at the signing broke into applause the moment the veteran leader put down his pen.

The constitution was formed as part of a power-sharing deal between Mugabe and Tsvangirai after disputed and violent elections in 2008.

The five-year coalition parliament formed under the

same agreement expires on June 29, and parliamentary and presidential elections should follow within 90 days of that date.

However, many obstacles remain, not least finding the estimated $130 million needed to pay for the election and reaching agreement on outside monitors.

Harare has turned down offers of United Nations or donor assistance.

Kenya leaders named in truth report

K

enya's President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy have been named in connection with post-election violence in a long-awaited report investigating human rights abuses in the country.

The report gave no recommendation for action to be taken against Mr Kenyatta and Vice-President William Ruto.

The report's chairman told the BBC this was because they already face charges at the International Criminal Court.

Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto deny such allegations.

The Truth Reconciliation and Justice Commission (TRJC) was set up following deadly post-election clashes five years ago.

After those elections some 1,500 people were killed and more than 600,000 forced to flee their homes.

Its mandate was to investigate and recommend appropriate action on human rights abuses committed between Kenyan independence in December 1963 and the end of February 2008 - including politically motivated violence, assassinations, corruption and land disputes.

Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto, who were on opposite sides in 2007, won elections together in March.

Wanyamawa Chebusiri in the capital, Nairobi, says that although no action is recommended by the TRJC against the president and deputy, it does recommend further investigation and prosecution of high-profile personalities in their administration over allegations of inciting and the violence following the 2007 elections.

They include NajibBalala, the new minister for mining, and two senators.

The TJRC report also recommends that its own chairman Bethuel Kiplagat face further investigation over the Wagalla massacre in 1984, when he was serving as permanent secretary in the foreign affairs ministry in former President Daniel arapMoi's administration.

The Wagalla massacre was the result of an effort to disarm ethnic Somali clans in the north-east of the country. The government said that only 57 people were killed but survivors say close to 5,000 people died.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 33

China’s Li offers to help end Pakistan energy crisis C

hina and Pakistan should make cooperation on power generation a priority, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said, as Islamabad seeks to end an energy crisis that triggers power cuts of up to 20 hours a day, bringing the economy to a near standstill.

Li arrived in the Pakistan capital under extra-tight security on Wednesday on the second leg of his first official trip since taking office in March after a visit to Pakistan’s and China’s arch rival, India.

Li’s plane was escorted by six air

force fighter jets as it entered Pakistan air space. Security measures also included shutting down mobile phone networks across the city.

Pakistan was one of the first countries to switch diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China, in 1950, and Li told a lunch

attended by Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif and President AsifZardari that China and Pakistan should remain “trustworthy partners” and good neighbors.

In an interview with Pakistan media, Li said there was still “great potential” for the relationship.

Asia & Middle East Bilateral trade last year rose above $12 billion for the first time and both sides are aiming to reach $15 billion in the next two or three years.

“Our two sides should focus on carrying out priority projects in connectivity, energy development and power generation and promoting the building of a ChinaPakistan economic corridor,” Li said.

Iran's Ahmadinejad to contest poll bar on ally

I

ran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he will contest the disqualification of his ally Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei from next month's presidential poll.

Mr Mashaei and ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani have been excluded by the Guardian Council, which vets election candidates.

The eight men cleared to stand are all considered conservatives.

The Guardian Council is loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"In my opinion there will be no problem with the leader [Khamenei] and I will take up this issue until the last moment with him," Mr Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

"I am hopeful the problem will be solved," he added.

However, Mr Rafsanjani will not contest his disqualification,

his campaign manager was quoted as saying.

Mr Rafsanjani, who was president between 1989 and 1997, had been seen as a candidate who could win the support of pro-reform and centrist politicians, whose two leaders from the last election are under house arrest.

The 686 people who registered as candidates were vetted by the Guardian Council, a 12-member body of theologians and jurists.

The candidates they approved are dominated by hardline conservatives with close links to Iran's ruling clerics.

They include the country's main nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili; former nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani; former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati; and the mayor of Tehran, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.

Mr Mashaei (left) is a protege of Mr Ahmadinejad

Japan considers resuming talks with North Korea

J

apan has started looking into resuming intergovernmental talks with North Korea after a surprise visit to Pyongyang by an aide to Japan's Prime Minister, the Asahi Shimbun and other newspapers said on Wednesday.

Such talks, intended to discuss North Korea's abduction of Japanese citizens decades ago and other issues, were last held in November 2012, but have been halted due to the North's missile launch in December and nuclear test in February.

"The Abe government on (May) 21st started preparatory work to restart inter-governmental negotiations with North Korea,"

the Asahi said, without citing sources.

Through the intergovernmental talks, Japan aims to not only solve the abduction issue but also address North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, the Asahi said.

Isao Iijima's visit last week to the North Korean capital and his talks with senior officials there irritated South Korea and prompted Glyn Davies, a U.S. envoy for North Korea, to stress the importance of close coordination among countries.

Davies said he had received no advance notice of Iijima's trip, details of which have not been made public.

Japanese Cabinet Secretariat Advisor Isao Iijima (R) arrives at Pyongyang airport, in this May 14 visit.

…North Korean special envoy visits China

N

orth Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a special envoy to Beijing, state media has announced, amid cooling relations between the two neighbours.

ChoeRyong-hae, a top military official, flew to the Chinese capital on Wednesday, KCNA said.

The brief dispatch gave no details of the visit, which comes amid an apparent toughening of Beijing's stance in the wake of Pyongyang's third nuclear test.

Chinese media said Mr Choe met Wang Jiarui, a top foreign affairs official.

The visit - the duration of which remains unknown - follows weeks of high tension on the Korean peninsula.

China is North Korea's biggest trading partner and closest ally. It has traditionally sought to maintain stability in North Korea, avoiding any crisis that could trigger the fall of the regime and propel a flow of refugees across the border.

But in recent weeks, following Pyongyang's 12 February nuclear test and amid strident rhetoric from its leaders, China has expressed frustration with North Korea, with state media openly debating the benefits of close ties.

Mr Choe, front right, is the most senior North Korean official to visit China since August 2012

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 34

Man 'linked to Boston suspect' killed by FBI Europe and Americas A Sweden riots continue Tax and energy to dominate EU summit in Brussels after police E shooting

n FBI agent has shot and killed a Florida man who "turned violent" while being questioned about the Boston Marathon bombings, the bureau has said.

A friend of the dead man told the Orlando Sentinel and Orlando television stations

U leaders are gathering in Brussels for a summit to tackle tax evasion and improve Europe's energy market.

After sharp divisions over the EU budget there may be more consensus on these issues, seen as vital in restoring Europe's competitiveness.

Tax evasion costs EU states 1tn euros ($1.3tn; £0.85tn) a year - more than was spent on healthcare in 2008.

A European Parliament resolution calls on the EU to halve that figure by 2020, by curbing tax loopholes and havens.

The lead author of that resolution, Slovenian socialist MEP Mojca Kleva Kekus, called the current scope for crossborder tax fraud "scandalous".

"Unilateral national measures will not suffice to defeat it," she told MEPs on Tuesday, in a major debate on tax evasion.

The MEPs called for a joint EU blacklist of tax havens.

Earlier, UK Prime Minister David Cameron had urged lowtax British overseas territories to sign up to international tax treaties.

The European Commission is also pressing for automatic exchanges of people's earnings data between tax authorities.

that he was 27-year-old Ibragim Todashev of Orlando, a Chechen who had previously lived in Boston.

Two brothers identified by the FBI as suspects in the April 15 bombings were also of Chechen origin.

The FBI said in a statement

that a special agent, "acting on the imminent threat posed by the individual, responded with deadly force. The individual was killed and the special agent was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries".

It said the shooting occurred

in Orlando, Florida, while the special agent and other law enforcement agents were interviewing the man about the blasts that killed three people and injured 264 others at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

A

Austria's chancellor (centre) has joined the EU chorus against tax fraud.

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says the EU should aim to introduce such exchanges on 1 January 2015.

Next month the G8 industrialised countries will discuss strengthening global action against tax evasion and avoidance, so this one-day Brussels summit is aimed at establishing a joint EU position.

The other main theme is energy policy - especially the need to improve Europe's energy infrastructure, develop renewables such as solar and wind power and remove barriers to competition. Much of Eastern Europe relies on Russia for gas and in the past pricing disputes have led to supply shortages in mid-winter.

The Commission is urging EU governments to enact energy legislation that was agreed in 2011, warning that on current trends imports of gas will rise to 80% of the gas consumed in the EU by 2035.

The EU already imports 406bn euros' worth of oil, gas and coal annually - 3.2% of total EU economic output (GDP).

Witness undermines case against Russian protest leader

A

Russian official undermined state prosecutors' case against protest leader Alexei Navalny at his trial on theft charges on Wednesday, saying that he had done no harm.

Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin's biggest critics, said the testimony of Kirov region governor Nikita Belykh showed he was not guilty of

charges of stealing from a timber company.

But he said he still expected to be convicted because he was not getting a fair trial.

Nvalny, an anti-corruption blogger who led demonstrations against Putin's return to the presidency last year, says he faces trumped-up charges and a possible 10-year jail term as punishment for his opposition to

the ex-KGB spy.

Belykh, for whom Navalny was working as a political adviser at the time of the alleged crime, was summoned as a witness by state prosecutors at his trial in Kirov, about 900 km (560 miles) northeast of Moscow.

But his remarks are more likely to boost Navalny's defense than the prosecution case, based on allegations that he used an

Nikita Belykh (R, standing), governor of the Kirov region, attends a court hearing, with Russian protest leader Alexei Navalny (2nd L) seen in the foreground, in Kirov.

intermediary firm to sell wood at an artificially low price and cheat a timber company out of 16 million roubles ($500,000).

Asked whether anything Navalny did could have harmed the Kirov region, Belykh said: "Based on the information that I have, I have no reason to draw that conclusion."

Asked by Navalny, a trained lawyer, whether he thought his former employee could have ensured the sale violated the law, Belykh said: "Knowing your attitude towards this law, no."

In what amounted to a good character reference, Belykh told Navalny he had met him more often than other advisers while he was working in Kirov.

Navalny is the most prominent opposition figure to go on trial since Soviet times. Government opponents say the trial is part of a clampdown on dissent by Putin since he began a six-year presidential term a year ago after a stint as premier.

Navalny, 36, denies the charges but has said the verdict will be dictated by Putin, an accusation the Kremlin denies.

round 200 people hurled rocks at police and set cars ablaze in a Stockholm suburb during the second day of rioting, which was triggered by the fatal police shooting of a man wielding a knife.

Dozens of windows were smashed, 10 cars and several containers were set on fire, and seven police officers were injured on Tuesday.

Six people were arrested early in the day, but two were released after questioning, police spokesman Jorgen Karlsson said.

Cars and containers were also set ablaze in Fittja, another Stockholm suburb, although police said it was not clear whether the two events were linked.

The unrest began Sunday night in response to the May 13 shooting, in which police killed a 69-year-old man who had locked himself in an apartment in Husby, west of Stockholm.

Around 80 percent of the roughly 11,000 residents of the suburbs are first- or second-generation immigrants.

Police have refused to give the nationality of the victim.

Many local residents see the shooting as an example of police brutality, and the violence has stirred debate in Sweden.

The country, known for its strong welfare state and egalitarian society, has had the biggest surge in inequality of any Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country over the past 25 years, according to a recent publication by the global economic watchdog.

“This is not OK. We will not give in to violence,” Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said.

“We must all help out to regain calm. The residents of Husby need to get their neighbourhood back.”

Reinfeldt added that Husby has been going in the right direction during his seven-year tenure, with employment increasing and crime falling.

Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from Husby, said that local authorities are doing their best to assimilate new immigrant arrivals.

“Husby is not some slum that the state has abandoned,” he said.

The atmosphere was tense on Tuesday, with residents expressing both anger at police and sadness about the destruction. City workers were seen clearing the debris of a burnt-out container and documenting fire damage.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 35

Man rides Ferris wheel for 48 hours L

inton Shepherd's world has finally stopped spinning.

The 32-year-old operations manger at Chicago's Navy Pier lakefront entertainment attraction spent the entire weekend riding a gondola on the Pier's 15-story tall Ferris wheel in an effort to break the Guinness World Record for riding a fairground or theme park attraction the longest.

"I didn't just want to beat the previous record of 30 hours and 35 seconds, which was set last July by a guy in Canada, I wanted to shatter it," Shepherd told NBC News. "Chicago was home to the world's first Ferris wheel and the title should be here." That Ferris wheel was built for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

Shepherd boarded the Ferris wheel Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. and got off on Sunday, 48 hours, eight minutes and 25 later.

In order to secure the world record, Shepherd had to be sure to follow a strict set of rules outlined in a booklet sent by the Guinness World Records organization.

"I could take a five minute break every hour and they were keen that I not fall asleep," said

Navy Pier Ferris wheel

Shepherd. "So we had a video camera recording the whole time and volunteer timekeepers who noted down everything I was doing."

During 384 spins on the wheel, Shepherd occasionally had visitors riding along in his gondola, which was outfitted with a TV, chandelier, cushions, curtains and table. Spectators

could join Shepherd for a ride by making a donation to the USO. Shepherd's girlfriend rode a l o n g Saturday evening for a candlelight

Federal Polytechnic, Kaura-Namoda INVITATION FOR THE TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL BIDS FOR THE EXECUTION OF TETFUND YEAR 2012 SPECIAL INTERVENTION FOR PROGRAMME UPGRADE AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE TEACHING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT (PHASE 4) 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) had allocated funds to the Federal Polytechnic, Kaura-Namoda under the Year 2012 Special Intervention for Programme Upgrade and Improvement of the Teaching and Learning Environment (Phase 4). The Polytechnic intends to utilize part of these funds as follows: i. Lot 1 – Supply and Installation of Laboratory Equipment for the Department of Civil Engineering Technology. ii. Lot 2–Supply and Installation of Laboratory Equipment for the Department of Science Laboratory Technology iii. Lot 3–Supply and Installation of Computers and Furniture iv. Lot 4 – Supply, Installation and Commissioning of 1No. 500KVA Sound-proof Perkins Generator.

1.2 Competent, eligible and interested Contractors are hereby invited to submit Technical and Financial Bidsin response to the bid documents to be issued to them for the projects listed above.

2.0 SCOPE OF WORKS The scope and specification of the items to be supplied and installed will be contained in the Bidding Documents to be issued to the bidders in respect of each project.

3.0 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Interested and competent Contractors are required to forward their technicalbid documents stating the project(s) they intend to handle. The technicalbidmust include the following verifiable documents. i. Certificate of Incorporation/Registration with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) ii. Company Tax Clearance Certificates for the last three years (2009, 2010 and 2011). iii. Evidence of VAT registration and past remittances for the last three years (2009, 2010 and 2011) iv. Company Audited Accounts for the last three years (2009, 2010 and 2011) showing annual turn-over. v. Evidence of financial capability to execute the projects from reputable banks. vi. Comprehensive Company Profile showing qualifications of the Management and technical staff including evidence of their experiences on the execution of similar jobs. vii. List of verifiable relevant Construction Equipment indicating ownership or on lease. viii. Verifiable list of similar projects successfully executed ix. Evidence of contribution to the Industrial Training Fund (ITF). x. Evidence of Certification/Exemption from PENCOM in accordance with the Pension Reform Act, 2004 including evidence of remittances of employees’ pension contribution/deductions. xi. Letter authorizing the Polytechnic to make enquiry into the documents submitted.

4.0 COLLECTION OF BID DOCUMENTS A complete set of Bidding Documents (Tender) shall be collected by interested bidders from the office of the Director, Physical Planning, Federal Polytechnic, Kauran-Namoda upon the presentation of evidence of payment of a non-refundable tender fee of N30,000.00 (Thirty Thousand Naira Only).

5.0 SUBMISSION OF BID DOCUMENTS The Technical and completed Financial Bids shall be submitted in 3 sets; which must include one(1) original and two (2) photocopies; in two separate sealed envelopes clearly marked “Technical” and “Financial Bids” and both of them sealed and put in a third envelope marked with the appropriate project title and lot number at the top Right Hand Corner and submitted to the address below, not later than 12.00noon of 4th July, 2013 the day of expiration of the six (6) weeks period from the date of this publication. Late submission will not be entertained.

The Registrar, Federal Polytechnic, Kaura-Namoda, Zamfara State.

6.0 OPENING OF BIDS The Technical bids will be publicly opened at 12:00 noon on 4th July, 2013at the Council Chambers of the Polytechnic after the close of the submission date and time. Only bidders who scaled through the technical bidding exercise will be invited to the public opening of the financial bids. Bidders or their representatives, relevant professional bodies and NGOs are invited to witness the public opening exercise.

Please Note: i. A bidder can only submit bids for not more than any Two (2) LOTSonly. ii. The Polytechnic reserves the right to reject any or all submissions that do not meet up with the eligibility criteria as specified in Section 3.0 (i – xi) above. The Evaluation of the received documents shall be strictly based on the eligibility criteria as specified above. ii. The Polytechnic will not enter into any correspondence with any unqualified bidder. iii. This advertisement shall not be construed to be a commitment on the part of the Polytechnic nor shall it entail any bidder to make any claim(s) whatsoever and/or to seek any indemnity from the Polytechnic by virtue of such bidder having responded to the advertisement.

Signed AlhajiSalisu A. Chiroma, MNIM. Registrar

anniversary d i n n e r catered by a l o c a l restaurant

owned by Michael Jordan.

The Guinness World Records adjudicator even climbed on for a couple of spins, once when Shepherd broke the existing

record and, later, when the 48 hours on board was official.

When he wasn't entertaining guests, Shepherd spent his time snacking on meals sent over by Navy Pier restaurants, watching Batman and James Bond movies, tweeting, listening to music and playing Xbox games.

"It was little rough at about three in the morning, but the more I kept busy, the better," said Shepherd, who admits that he was a little wobbly-legged at the end of the ride.

"It did feel a little weird when I got off, but I was presented with my Guinness World Records certificate right away and then went to celebrate my best friend's birthday. After that, I went home and completely crashed."

Shepherd's adventure was followed closely by spectators at Navy Pier and by fans on Facebook and on Twitter. After it was all over, fan @Netters08 tweeted: "Awesome Clinton! Now someone get this man a ride home and a pillow!"

Waitress gets a $446 tip - on a bill of $5.97

S

ometimes it pays to be nice. In the case of CeCe Bruce, a server at a Steak ‘n Shake in Indianapolis, it paid $446 – on a bill of $5.97.

On Wednesday, Bruce, who has been working at the chain restaurant for two years, received a surprise when one of her regular customers left her a $446 tip.

“I was amazed,’’ Bruce told TODAY.com. “She always tips me 50 percent of her bill, but her bill is usually only $5 and she leaves a $5 tip. She’s a very nice lady.’’

The regular customer, whom the staff only knows as “Miss Jo,’’ left right after paying. Bruce tried to track her down in the parking lot, saying she couldn’t accept such a huge tip. The customer was adamant that Bruce keep the money.

“I was in shock,’’ Steak ‘n Shake manager Greer Gooley told TODAY.com. “I was in the back on a food order, and Miss Jo wrote out the bill and then she ran out the door really quick. (Bruce) ran into the parking lot to thank her, and she just

told her to take it and then spun off.”

Bruce, who is a full-time student at Martin University in Indianapolis, said she is putting the money toward bills.

“It helps tremendously,’’ she said. “It restores your faith in humanity, makes you trust people, and shows you can never judge a book by its cover. You’ve got to treat everybody the same. I try to be friendly to everyone.”

Gooley said that in the six years he has worked at the Steak ‘n Shake, he had never seen anything more exorbitant than a $100 tip. “(Bruce) is extremely deserving of that money,’’ he told TODAY.com. “She works hard, and she will come in whenever you need her. She has more regulars than any of our other servers.”

Since her story became public, good vibes have continued to come Bruce’s way. She had a $14 tip on a small bill on Friday, and said a couple from California who saw her story reached out to contact her because they want to help her out with some money for school.

“Good things have been happening,’’ Bruce said.

Source: today.com

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Talking on a mobile phone can give you high blood pressure

By Emma Innes

U

sing a mobile phone can give you high blood pressure - perhaps due to the stress certain conversations can cause, new research suggests.

Researchers found that talking on a mobile phone

triggers significant increases in the blood pressure that corresponds to the 'surge' that occurs with each heartbeat.

This is the number which doctors pay most attention to when assessing a patient's risk of cardiovascular disease.

The researchers took 12 blood pressure readings at one-

minute intervals from 94 patients with mild hypertension (raised blood pressure) The participants, whose average age was 53, were seated in a comfortable armchair in a doctor's consulting room and were left alone after the first blood pressure reading was taken.

People who get more than 30 calls a day develop a form of immunity to the blood pressure spikes

Researchers phoned the patients at least three times and found that when the patient was on the phone or receiving a call, their blood pressure reading jumped from 121/77 on average to 129/82.

The American Heart Association says less than 120/ 80 is a healthy reading for adults age 20 and older.

The researchers also found that patients who got more than 30 calls a day seemed to have developed a form of immunity to the blood pressure spikes.

Dr Giuseppe Crippa, of William of Saliceto Hospital in Italy, said: 'The subset of patients who were more accustomed to phone use were younger, which could show younger people are less prone to be disturbed by telephone intrusions.

'Another possibility is people who make more than thirty calls per day may feel more reassured if the mobile phone is activated since they are not running the risk of missing an opportunity.'

Every day there are 350 preventable strokes or heart attacks in the UK caused by high blood pressure.

It has long been known that

Talking on a mobile phone triggers a significant increase in the blood pressure that corresponds to the 'surge' that occurs with each heartbeat high blood pressure can significantly increase the risk of heart disease.

Now wide variations in blood pressure are also recognised as an important risk factor compared with readings that show little difference over a 24-hour period.

Considered the 'silent killer', high blood pressure affects about a billion people worldwide, including more than one in four people in the UK and a third of adults in the United States.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

A stressful job really can kill you - by raising your cholesterol

By Anna Hodgekiss

A

stressful job can alter the way body handles fat - leading to raised cholesterol and deadly heart disease.

Spanish researchers have found that stressful situations affect how the body metabolises fat ultimately ending up with there being too much 'bad' cholesterol.

Experts have been saying for years that emotional stress is linked to the risk of suffering cardiovascular disease as a result of unhealthy habits such as smoking, an unsuitable diet or leading a sedentary lifestyle, among other factors.

But the new research shows that stress can trigger dyslipidemia, a disorder that alters the levels of fats and lipoproteins in the blood.

Researchers at the Virgen de la Victoria Hospital in Malaga and the Santiago de Compostela University analysed the relationship between job stress and different parameters associated with how fatty acids are metabolised in the body.

The study, published in the 'Scandinavian Journal of

Public Health', was conducted on a sample population of more than 90,000 workers undergoing medical check-ups.

'The workers who stated that they had experienced

difficulties in dealing with their job during the previous 12 months (8.7 per cent of the sample) had a higher risk of suffering from dyslipidemia,' said Carlos Catalina, clinical

psychologist and an expert in work-related stress.

Dyslipidemia ca result in an increase in total cholesterol and 'bad' LDL and triglyceride levels, and cause levels of 'good' HDL

Researchers have found that stressful situations affect how the body metabolises fat - ultimately ending up with there being too much 'bad' cholesterol

cholesterol to drop.

Specifically, people who suffered from job stress were more likely to suffer from abnormally high levels of bad cholesterol, excessively low levels of good cholesterol (the 'good' cholesterol) and were more likely to develop blocked arteries.

'One of the mechanisms that could explain the relationship between stress and cardiovascular risk could be the changes in our lipid profile, which means higher rates of plaque accumulation [leading to hardening] of the arteries,' said Dr Catalina.

One possibility is that s t r e s s i n t e r feres with the body's ability to rid itself of excess cholesterol - or it may trigger a number of inflammatory processes which also increase cholesterol production.

Alternatively, stress may also encourage the body to produce more energy in the form of fatty acids and glucose.

These substanc e s r e q u i r e the liver to produce and secrete more LDL cholesterol so they can be transported to the other tissues of the body.

S o u r Dailymail.co.uk

c

e

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PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY,MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 37

Opposition and Jonathan’s bullish ride towards 2015 ANALYSIS

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

A

t least, it has become clear to political observers that the battle for who rules Nigeria in 2015 would never be a tea-party.

Already, the political atmosphere is tensed up, especially as various elements, either loyal to the President or the opposition, make frightening comments.

Recently, the leader of the Niger Delta militants, Asari Dokubo, said that if President Jonathan does not win the 2015 election, the country would be reduced to roubles.

As if inadvertently playing out same script with Dokubo, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku, who spoke offshore Nigeria, said that if President Jonathan looses the election, Nigeria will be in crisis.

In addition, the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bamanga Tukur, recently declared that his party has a pending war to fight against the opposition.

Speaking during a reconciliation tour to the Northwest zone, Tukur emphasised that PDP would not allow the carpet be swept off its feet, urging party stakeholders to unite ahead of the heavy war in 2015.

“A group has come up and wants to sweep the mat off our feet. We cannot allow that to happen. Because the PDP is the only party that is not religious, not sectional or tribal. We are one big party, and we intend, and we must remain so”, Tukur said.

On the other hand, since the four opposition parties comprising of APGA, ANPP, ACN, and CPC, decided to merge and form a united platform of All Progressive Congress (APC), some members of the party have been threatening fire and brim stone if the opposition is rigged out in the 2015 elections.

This is particularly as there is a fear that the ruling party has concluded measures to brake the hands of the opposition, and make the 2015 Presidential elections go down like every other since 1999.

The ACN spokesman, Lai Mohammed, recently accused the Federal Government and the PDP of having perfected plans to truncate the 2015 elections or conduct them in an atmosphere

President Goodluck Jonathan of chaos, conducive to rigging by the party in power.

He attributed this to the only reason why Boko Haram has festered over the years, without commensurate effort to douse the tension arising from the affected zone.

ACN had also enjoined the National Assembly not to approve the state of emergency recently declared by President Goodluck Jonathan in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, alleging that it is merely a ploy to stifle the stronghold of the opposition ahead of 2015.

However, what makes the whole situation more appalling is that since these nerve flaring comments were made by the Niger Delta boys, the President has refused to call the people in question to order.

Political observers have argued that these militants and party stakeholders are acting out the thought and mindset of President Jonathan. According to them, these statements go to show how determined the President is to retain power by 2015.

It is a common knowledge that since the emergence of APC, political analysts have submitted that PDP, which is apparently rattled, will not easily have its way as usual in 2015.

It would be recalled that in the past few months, there was an alleged letter from the President directing that the business

Gov. Rotimi Amaechi interests of APC leaders should be crippled as a measure to stem their tide of influence and get them off balance before the election.

From all indications, it has become very obvious that President Jonathan is not given to any let, in his effort to ensure that every stone that may constitute a stumbling block to him in his drive for 2015 is crushed.

Even in the PDP fold, the President has indicated that he is not prepared to accommodate impunity from party members who are not prepared to file-in.

At the moment, the impasse between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaech, is based on the battle over supremacy of interest in the election.

While Amaechi is determined to contest alongside Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa state for Presidency in 2015, President Jonathan is prepared to suppress any dissenting voice.

This has therefore set the stage for battle between the President and governor of Rivers state. It started with creating a division in the Nigeria Governors Forum, which was the source from which Amaechi derived his power.

This was latter followed by the Aircraft Saga, where

NAMA grounded the Aircraft of the governor while he was on a courtesy visit to Benue governor.

As if not satisfied, the governor, all of a sudden, became accused of diverting state funds to purchase private aircrafts.

The latest in the challenge is the sudden withdrawal of security attaches to the governor and his supporters, including the Rivers House of Assembly Speaker.

The Rivers PDP chapter was suddenly factionalised, so as to pave way for the removal of Rotimi Amaechi as the NGF chair. This will also go a long way to reduce his influence and chances to win alongside Lamido in the party’s primaries.

The fight was not even zeroed on the Rivers governor alone, rather, it was extended to the perceived promoters of “2015 President of northern extraction.”

When the kite of Sule Lamido/Amaechi ticket was gathering momentum, Goodluck Jonathan immediately visited Jigawa in an impromptu two-day visit. It was alleged that during the visit, issues of the governor’s ambition in 2015 was discussed, leading to the current soft treading by the governor Sule Lamido.

Later, Lamido’s son was suspiciously arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes

Commission (EFCC) for alleged money laundering.

Though the governor publicly pointed out that the arrest of his son is not unconnected with determination of Presidency to intimidate him out of his reported ambition for 2015, fillers have continued to emerge that the governor has dropped the ambition, even though his aids are flaunting his posters across the length and breath of Kaduna and Abuja.

It would be recalled that before his travail with Aso Rock, the governor is said to be one of the few in the good book of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

His Presidential ambition was equally endorsed by both Obasanjo and other northern leaders.

Another northern governor who appears to have shelved his ambition is Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

There are reports that Kwankwaso’s Presidential ambition was originally designed by his advisers to sail by all means, whether on PDP platform or the opposition APC. Reports indicate that the various closed door meetings between him and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) leader, Mohammadu Buhari, was to iron out the strategy through which Kwankwaso could be adopted by APC on CPC wing.

Similarly, it seems the governor is withdrawing his interest after it was alleged that the Presidency has gathered enough dossier on him, waiting for the appropriate time to swoop on him.

From antecedent, Kwankwaso does not need to be reminded that the President will stop at nothing to frustrate his ambition if he insists to challenge him in 2015.

In a press statement issued by his media aid, the governor was denying publications in the media where he was quoted as saying that he will declare his 2015 Presidential ambition at the right time.

Debunking this statement which he allegedly made during his visit to Borno state governor, Kwankwaso, through his media aid said “ he never made any such statement that suggests his intent to contest the presidency of the country come 2015”.

However, though the presidential election is fast approaching, the oppositions, both within and outside PDP appear indifferent as no one is prepared to test the bitter pill of the President.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURDAY,MAY 23, 2013

FG set to tackle graduate unemployment through UNEDEP

By Etuka Sunday

I

n a bid to end the increasing rate of unemployment in the country, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment yesterday flagged off University Entrepreneurship Development Programme (UNEDEP) to promote self-employment among the youth, right from institutions of higher learning.

The programme, which will be implemented by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, is also targeted at enhancing and reorientating the values of undergraduates; providing a mentoring platform for students and reducing poverty and youth unemployment, among others.

Unveiling the programme in Abuja, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said that UNEDEP would give students the opportunity for practical hands on experience to enable them to successfully manage their own businesses.

Hear him: “UNEDEP’s mission is to ‘catch them young’. The programme focuses on entrepreneurship development of undergraduates and aims to create future entrepreneurs; encourage self-employment; embed business ethics amongst the youth and consequently reduce the incidence of poverty. We will achieve this by using the existing Network for African Student Entrepreneurs club structure and deriving a standard schedule of activities for all members across all universities.

“Part of our strategy is to assess existing scalable student businesses to determine ways to enhance these and then creating a platform for student mentoring by successful entrepreneurs. Our goal is for students to receive the necessary capacity building as part of the activities of the entrepreneurship clubs. Proposed activities include zonal and national business plan competitions whereby zonal winners will embark on the task of operating their businesses for a given period.”

According to him, UNEDEP would increase access to finance for young entrepreneurs by exposing them to investors that would fund their businesses.

“Investing in youth empowerment by making our youths become entrepreneurs and employers of labour, is one of the most invaluable investments we can make in this country. Of the 17.2 million MSMEs in the country, the majority of these businesses are owned by individuals in the 36-50 year-old age bracket. Such statistics confirm the notion that there is an obvious need to galvanize the youths and increase their participation in enterprise activity.

“Our goal as a ministry, therefore, is to promote entrepreneurial activity, first at the University level, and later in polytechnics, among youth ‘Corpers’ and other school leavers.”

PAGE 39

First Lady seeks reduction in teenage pregnancies

By Etuka Sunday

F

irst Lady and President of African First Ladies Peace Mission, (AFLPM), Dame Patience Jonathan, has canvassed for the reduction of teenage pregnancies across Africa. She spoke at the just concluded National Strategy for the Reduction of Teenage Pregnancies in Sierra Leone, entitled: ‘Let Girls, Be Girls,

Not Mothers’.

Mrs. Jonathan gave a keynote address on the ‘Roles of Traditional and Religious Leaders in the prevention of teenage pregnancies.”

Noting that the role of traditional and religious leaders in supporting communities to prevent teenage pregnancy cannot be over-emphasized, she called for a synergy and partnership

Rally to mark safe Motherhood Day, yesterday in Kaduna.

between the traditional institutions, religious leaders and opinion leaders on the essence of working together with civil society organisations, NonGovernmental Organizations (NGOs).

The First Lady said sustainable development can only be achieved in the fight against teenage pregnancies if our traditional leaders will

Photo: NAN

return to the dignity and high moral values that had held our traditional communities together.

Echoing the core roles of these leaders in uniting and developing the society, she encouraged them to take interest in the upbringing of teenage boys as well, and especially the girls in their domains, preparing both genders adequately for the responsibilities of adulthood.

She harped on the need for town hall meetings for the continuous community sensitization programmes about the dangers of teenage pregnancies, saying that educating the teenagers will prevent them from being misled.

Appealing to both religious and traditional leaders to continually work with parents and the civil society organizations as well as other relevant groups to create the necessary awareness in preventing this malaise that is destroying the future of female teenagers, she urged leaders of faith and denominations to take on the issue of teenage pregnancy prevention in the context of their religious beliefs, using the medium of programmes that are increasingly relevant to teenagers and the youths.

Niger Delta Board: Group kicks against nominee

By Lawrence Olaoye

A

group, the Concerned Nigerian Youths from the six geopolitical zones of the country, has called on President Jonathan to remove Engnr. Emeka Ebila from the list of nominees into the Board of the Niger Delta Basin Authority Board.

The group alleged that the nomination of Ebila, the former Secretary of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (NEIC) who is

currently standing trial along with Prince Vincent Ogbulafor before Justice Shaq Bello, for alleged graft, was wrong.

The group, in a statement signed by its President General, Barister John Nwanchukwu, stated: “We want to alert the President, the ICPC and the members of the public that our in-depth findings had revealed that one of the nominees, Engr Emeka Ebila, the former Secretary of the National Economic Intelligence Committee (NEIC), was on

Tuesday May 14th , 2013 docked along with Prince Ogbulafor and others on a 17count charge of alleged conspiracy and award of fictitious contracts to the tune of N107 million filed against them by the ICPC before Justice Bello and the case was adjourned till June 6,2013.

“We are using this medium to appeal to President Jonathan to use his good office to take a second look at the nomination of Engr Ebila on the board pending the final

determination of the suit as we perceived that the nomination was made in error; whoever was responsible for such a costly error should be fished out and be sanctioned in accordance with the law of the land.

“Our position is based on the total war already declared against corruption in both public and private sectors by the President Jonathan’s administration which should not be allowed to be messed up or sabotage by individual or groups for personal gains”.

COAS warns soldiers over insurgents

By Joy Baba

C

hief or Army Staff, (COAS)Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika has warned that any officer or soldier of the Nigerian Army discovered to be giving out vital information that will work against the army during operations, or is discovered to be linked with insurgents in one way or the other, will be dealt with severely and court marshaled.

Ihejirika gave the warning

yesterday in Abuja at a seminar organized by the Transformation and Innovation unit of the Nigerian Army.

The COAS also said that soldiers that gave information to insurgents on the movement of troops bound for Mali that were attacked near Okene in Kogi state have been apprehended and will be court marshaled.

He also warned that any offcers caught saying anything negative on the internet about

Nigerian Army will face the same punishment.

According to the Army Chief, “There are also some other soldiers that have been found to be posting negative comments on the Internet and also some engage in conversing with insurgents.

“I want to state that any officer or soldier caught linked one way or the other will be disciplined severely, there is no two ways about it.

In his welcome address, the Chief of Army Transformation

and Innovation, Maj. Gen Ibrahim Sani said the essence of Nigerian Army Transformation is for greater effectiveness of an army ready for today’s challenges and prepared for the emerging evolving future threats.

Sani added that to achieve the desired goal, Nigeria Army have to think differently and develop the kind of force and capabilities that can adapt quickly to the myriad and contemporary threats.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY,MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 40

IPP: Kwara set to generate 100 megawatts

APGA urges Jonathan to hasten work on second Niger Bridge

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

A

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

K

wara state government is planning to boost industrialisation and commercialization with the generation of 100 Megawatts of electricity through an Independent Power Project (IPP) as part of its plans to create an industrial cluster across the state.

The State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, made the revelation in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Dr. Muyideen Akorede. He said the IPP project was the highlight of a package of socio-economic projects designed to trigger rapid economic growth and job creation.

Governor Ahmed stated: “”We are taking advantage of the unbundling of the power sector by the Federal Government to create an IPP that will generate power to facilitate the emergence of industrial clusters. This will accelerate industrialisation, economic growth and generate a significant number of jobs for our youths, not to mention other sectors of our economy that will benefit from regular electricity supply”.

Ahmed also identified the other projects as four mega schools, a modern ICT Village, construction of new hospitals, vast road construction across the three senatorial zones, construction of modern markets, and the remodeling of major sports infrastructure.

He emphasized that the state government had spent billions onF naira on the provision of power supply infrastructure over the years and realized that an IPP project offers the most efficient and cost effective means of industrializing the state, boosting commerce and enhancing the welfare of the people of Kwara State.

He assured that the proposed IPP project will run along side the state government’s current power supply efforts which are focused on the provision of energy infrastructure, stressing that although these have boosted the availability of electricity, it was not enough to support industries in the state.

L-R: Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibril, Business Head Malima Bank Group, Mr. Oniko Daniel, and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, during an interactive session by the committee with chief executive officers of banks on tax remittance, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

T

he federal government yesterday commissioned the centre pivot irrigation at Ukpe-Okeran Community in Egor local government area of Edo State.

The N202, 509, 33.45 project which has the capacity to grow arable crops three times in a year if properly harnessed, was abandoned for 32 years due to changes in government policies.

Contiuned from page 37

Ajimobi awards N100m scholarships

Principal beats student T to death in Gombe

From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

From David Hassan, Gombe

P

rincipal of Government Day Science Secondary School, Buba Shongo in Gombe state Mr. Ahmed Usman Aliyu has been apprehended by the Police for allegedly beating a student of the school to death.

The incident happened yesterday at about 8 am when the principal reportedly pounced on the girl, said to be an SS1student called Amina Jibrin, and started beating her until she slumped. She was later rushed to a hospital where she eventually died.

According to students of the school who witnessed the incident, Amina was attending lectures when the principal beat her to death.

Speaking to our

correspondent, some students said except justice is done by government to punish the principal for beating Amina Jibrin to death, they would go on rampage.

According to the students, this is not their first time of reporting such cases to government concerning harassment of students by the school’s authority but government failed to listen to them until the latest tragedy happened.

They called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, take necessary measures in tackling this ugly incident to enable students study effectively in their respective schools in the state.

The students who stormed major streets in Gombe

protesting the loss of their mate, also called for justice to prevail in all schools across the state.

The protest took them to Ministry of Education before proceeding to Government House to register their dismay over the tragedy.

The Director of Administration and Finance declined comments, telling our reporter saying he has not been permitted to speak to the media.

Addressing the students at the Ministry of Education in Gombe, the state’s Police Commissioner, Muhammed Suleiman begged the students not to take the law into their hands as the police had already arrested the principal. He promised that the command will investigate the matter.

FG commissions 32 years old irrigation project From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

ll Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to hasten and complete the Second Niger Bridge and the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu before leaving office.

The party also commended the President for upgrading Akanu Ibiam Airport, Enugu to international standard.

In a statement issued by the party’s spokesperson, Francis Edeh, it said the action is in fulfilment of his 2011 campaign promise to South East geopolitical zone.

APGA added that the upgrade will help transform the nation’s air transport sector, adding that the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new international terminal and commissioning of the remodeled local terminal of the Airport was a giant step forward in the federal government’s transformation agenda to boost economic activities in the South East.

APGA also commended the efforts of South East leaders, the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah and others.

Speaking at a brief commissioning ceremony, the Minister of water Resources, Mrs Serah Reng Ochekpe, attributed the delay in completion to lack of funding.

Mrs Ochekpe who assured that the irrigation scheme with an available 80 land hectares, covers 45 hectares which has been fully installed and operational, said the remaining 35 hectares is already set for completion at a later date.

She appealed to Edo State government to help construct an access road linking the community, adding that the agricultural sector has the capacity to create jobs for millions of Nigerians.

According to her, “the federal government under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan desire is that we improve on agricultural production in order to ensure food security in Nigeria to create jobs

for our teeming populace.’’

Managing Director, BeninOwina River Basin Development Authority, Engr. Ajibade Ijasan who was flanked by the district Head of the community, HRH. Ogieayevbona Aigbe described the project as a dream come true.

Playing host to the Minister earlier before the commissioning, Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole sought for greater collaboration of the relevant Ministries.

wenty-eight years after scholarship was last awarded in Oyo State, Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Tuesday presented a total of N100 million to students who are indigenes of the state in tertiary institutions across the country for year 2011/ 2012.

Both the students and their parents who were present at the House of Chiefs, venue of the ceremony, were overwhelmed as the governor presented a symbolic cheque of N100 million to representatives of the beneficiaries.

The beneficiaries of the bursary/ scholarship awards included final year students of universities and polytechnics, post-graduate students from tertiary institutions, both in Nigeria and overseas, as well as those from aviation colleges.

Book on Hausainduced errors launched in Mubi From Umar Dankano, Yola

I

n a bid to improve reading culture and effective communication in Nigeria, a book on Hausa - induced error in English language has been launched in Mubi, Adamawa state.

The book titled, ”Hausa-Induced Errors in the use of of English: A Remedial Approach,” was written by Dr Jacob Helliandendum, a lecturer in Department of General Studies in Federal Polytechnic, Mubi.

The book reviewer, Dr Jacob Pongri , said it was out to correct the errors induced by mother tongue interference in the application of the use of syntax, semantics and phonology in day to day use of english language.

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY,MAY 23, 2013

PDP commends NASS for endorsing Jonathan's emergency

By Lawrence Olaoye

T

L-R: PDP National Chairman, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, and Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, during the ministers' visit to PDP headquarters, on Tuesday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Umeh blames Gov Obi for APGA’s crisis

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Victor Umeh, has blamed the lingering leadership crisis in the party on the selfish interest of the Anambra state governor, Peter Obi. The APGA Chairman alleged that the crisis in the party is because Obi had insisted on foisting his candidate on the party without

recourse to due process.

Briefing journalists in Abuja recently after inaugurating APGA rebuilding/reconciliation committee, Umeh said the APGA crisis is traceable to the activities of selfish individuals who are blind to the achievements of his leadership of the party.

He specifically accused the Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, of sponsoring various unconstitutional means to

unseat his leadership, adding that gross disrespect to the provisions of the party constitution are behind the crisis in the party.

He pointed out that the rebuilding/reconciliation committee is set up with a view to rebuild the party, saying their main responsibility includes meeting with the stakeholders in the crisis with a view to making the party one united family once again.

According to him,

“determined to save the party, the National Working Committee of the party met on May 16th and resolved to initiate steps to begin to build the party. The Committee is charged to recommend ways of rebuilding the party and eliminate the crisis in the party.

“The Committee is also mandated to source for and recommend credible Nigerians for appointment into the party’s Board of Trustees.”

Boko Haram: Benue CAN faults Jonathan's order to release suspects From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

T

he Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Benue state chapter, yesterday faulted President Goodluck Jonathan's directive that suspected members of Boko Haram in detention be released to their state governors.

His is coming as the body endorsed the declaration of state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

CAN Benue Chairman, Archbishop Yiman Orkwar, said the action smacks of political

intrigues, lambasting the President for being double faced on the issue of insecurity in the country.

He also expressed regrets that certain persons in the North have viewed the President's declaration of State emergency as declaration of war against the North, pointing out that it is a war on fundamentalists who have declared war on the generality of innocent Nigerians.

Orkwar who regretted that the current wave of terrorism in the country was a pursuit of

jihadism in Nigeria, stressed that this agenda was being executed in close collaboration with foreign mercenaries.

"From all indications, the terrorism that is now going on in Nigeria is purely in pursuit of jihad. In Benue state, Fulani jihadists in seeming collaboration with Boko Haram and other foreign mercenaries are causing wanton destruction to lives and properties.

"To this end, we encourage President Goodluck Jonathan to also carryout military operations to dislodge the armed Fulani

jihadists and their allies from Benue and Middle-belt states of Nigeria", Orkwar advised.

He condemned the recent high level killings and wanton destruction of property in six local government areas of Benue state by suspected Fulani mercenaries and urged the President to act and stop Nigeria from disintegrating.

The CAN chairman therefore urged the Benue state government to without further delay set up rehabilitation camps for the displaced persons in the ravaged communities.

IPAC, CPC challenge INEC on delimitation of constituencies

D

r Yunisa Tanko, the Chairman of Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), yesterday called on INEC to be transparent and non-partisan in the on-going delimitation of constituencies in the country.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday that though the exercise was very technical and daunting, the commission must not allow it to be hijacked by the

opposition parties.

Tanko, a one-time National Chairman of National Conscience Party (NCP), added that INEC, being an umpire, must ensure that the criteria for the delimitation were fair.

He said that the time had come for the commission to bring all the political parties together for a better understanding of the exercise to avoid "any impending danger".

The chairman said for INEC to achieve the desired success in the exercise, it must embark on adequate sensitisation for the public to understand and appreciate the exercise.

"The commission should not take political parties and Nigerians for granted on this matter. This is a very sensitive issue and INEC must do what is right in terms of sensitisation."

Malam Buba Galadima,

National Secretary, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), said that the exercise must also take into cognisance environmental, population and geographical issues for all communities to be effectively represented in the programme.

Galadima, who stressed that the exercise was not meant to create additional seats at the national level, said that it must not be politicised, to achieve its aims and objectives.

(NAN)

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday commended the National Assembly for endorsing President Goodluck Nathan's declaration of emergence in the three North Eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

The party in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, stated that the lawmakers demonstrated the national interest above partisan and sectional considerations despite pressures from some leaders of the opposition to the contrary.

He stated "The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) commends the leadership and members of the National Assembly for adopting a patriotic stance on the declaration of state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states by the President despite pressure mounted on them by some opposition leaders to reject the action.

"The action of the National Assembly is highly commendable as the lawmakers have shown that national interest must not be abridged on the alter of partisan considerations."

"By supporting President Goodluck Jonathan's decision, the National Assembly has played a major role in the overall effort to safeguard the territorial integrity of the nation as well as stop the mindless killing of innocent Nigerians in the troubled states", the statement said.

The PDP, which also commended the Governor of Borno state, Alhaji Kashim Shettima and his Yobe counterpart, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam, emphasized that the retention of all political structures in the affected states attests to the patriotism of the President and his determination to ensure a stable democratic polity while rubbishing the accusation of political manipulation by the opposition.

The statement also pointed out that the declaration of a state of emergency in the affected states will help create the atmosphere needed for dialogue, paving the way for a smooth implementation of the Amnesty already offered the Boko Haram sect by by government.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY MAY 22, 2013

C

hika Chukwumerije, the t a e k w o n d o i s t s ' representative on the board of Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF), said yesterday that he would use his wealth of experience to groom budding athletes in the

PAGE 41

Chukwumerije vows to inspire younger taekwondoists country to stardom.

Speaking in yesterday, the Olympian said that he would use every avenue to inspire them stressing that one of such

ano Pillars have returned to the top of the Nigeria Professional Football League after they defeated Kaduna United 3-2 courtesy of a disputed last-gasp winner.

Pillars now have 25 points from 13 games as erstwhile leaders Heartland lost 2-1 at Sunshine Stars.

The defending champions opened scoring through enterprising playmaker Rabiu Ali in the first minute of the game, before Tijani

Adamu equalised for Kaduna United in the 12th minute.

Kano Pillars were then stunned by the visitors, who took the lead in the 51st minute through Michael Anthony.

Kabiru Umar restored parity for Pillars in the 55th minute, before Rabiu Ali completed his brace in the 90th minute via a penalty.

Elsewhere, 3SC beat Nasarawa Utd 2-0, Sunshine Stars humbled Heartland 2-1. ABS beat Rangers 2-1

``The purpose was to give an international touch to athletes with exceptional skills, as part of preparations for the 2015 All Africa Games (AAG) and the 2016 Olympic Games,'' he said. ``Exposure is very important in the preparation of athletes for major international competitions, and the proposed tour will bring them at par with their contemporaries elsewhere. ``We can only get the best out of our exceptional athletes, when we encourage and expose them to international training to upgrade their skills. ``I believe the road map for a successful outing should start now, as we don't have to wait until when the Games are around the corner, '' he said.

The 2008 Olympic bronze medallist added that the level of skills the taekwondoists will be enhanced by the level of training they will receive in Germany.

based in Israel, is expected tomorrow, while Scotlandbased stopper Efe Ambrose and Italy-based midfielder Ogenyi Onazi are to join their colleagues on Saturday.

Ukraine-based forward Brown Ideye has been permitted to join the team in Texas, USA while Ahmed Musa and Fegor Ogude will join the squad in Frankfurt after the friendly with Mexico in

America. The trio were excused to arrive late in camp due because of cliub's engagements.

Demola Olajire, the Spokesman of the team said that the team will on Tuesday

fly out Houston, Texas in the evening. Abode is the classy The Westin Galleria and Westin Oaks. The team will The Westin Galleria and Westin Oaks.

â&#x20AC;ŚKeshi allays fears over injured Eagles

Kenneth Omeruo

uper Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, has allayed fears that injuries to key players would have adverse effect on the team's performances in the forthcoming friendly international duel against Mexico and the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

The Eagles, who are also to participate in the FIFA Confederations Cup tournament, have had spate of injuries, first to Reuben Gabriel and ace forward Emmanuel Emenike, and lately to attacking midfielders Kalu Uche and Victor Moses. They are all ruled out.

Keshi though said Nigerians should not panic because the team have enough quality to confront whatever opponents irrespective of who has been injured.

"I am never one to run away from challenges; I have confronted them head-on all my life. I have very good

is the forthcoming tour for some of the country's taekwondoists in Germany.

Peoples Daily Sports recalls that the country's Germany-

bound eight-man team, which was initially refused visas to travel for a training tour, departed the country last night.

Supersand Eagles begin on sound note, beat Libya 8-4

N

igeria's Supersand Eagles lived up to their prematch billing by trouncing the Beach Soccer team of State of Libya 8-4 in their opening match of Group B of the African Beach Soccer Championship in El Jadida, Morocco yesterday.

Emeka Ogbonna was the star performer with a hat-trick, while veteran Isiaka Olawale and Abu Azeez weighed in with a brace each.

New-boy Emmanuel Ewhoferhia scored one goal.

Ranked number six in the world, the Nigerians began with a flourish, sweeping to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter. The second quarter ended 6-2, before both teams scored two goals each in the

last quarter.

In the other match of the group, Cote d'Ivoire mauled Egypt 4-1 to join Nigeria at the top of the table. In Group A, defending

By Patrick Andrew

and Babatunde Ogu- all Germany-based strikers hit camp to the delight of technical crew. Akpala replaces injured Emmanuel Emenike, who along with Reuben Gabriel, Kalu Uche and Victor Moses are out of the international friendly and the 2014 World Cup qualifying games.

Peoples Daily Sports learnt last night that first-choice goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama,

champions Senegal strolled past Madagascar 7-3.

The Supersand Eagles will confront Egypt today before clashing with the Ivorians on

Kano reclaim top spot

K

Aminu Maigari

Friday. The top two teams at the end of the tournament will qualify to represent Africa at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup taking place in Tahiti in September.

Akpala, Ogu in as Keshi expects Omeruo, Echiejile, Oduamadi to hit camp today

T

he trio of defenders Kenneth Omeruo, Elderson Echiejile and midfielder Nnamdi Oduamadi are expected to swell the number of players in the Super Eagles in Nuremberg, Germany today as the team gears up for next week's clash with Mexico on May 31.

Yesterday, Joseph Akpala

Efe Ambrose

Joseph Akpala

S

relationship with each and every of my players, with mutual respect and regard being the bedrock.

"The players that we have invited for these matches are patriots and are always ready to defend the green-whitegreen. We have 16 players here now and team spirit is high.

Everyone wants to play. What we will certainly not do is to beg anyone to play for Nigeria".

The former Togo and Mali manager said the team should be mentally ready for their engagements stressing that the late arrival of some players is to be expected at this time of the season.

"Most of the players have just concluded very gruelling seasons and have need to sort out personal issues, and of course there are talks to hold ahead of next season. These talks have to be done now considering that the players would be away for about seven weeks, on duty for Nigeria."

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Players' union rejects Oyedeji as their representatives in NBBF board

Man United lead top TV earners

C

hampions Man United topped the table for EPL television income in 2012-13, raking in almost £61 million in the final year of the current three-year contract.

Relegated Queens Park Rangers, owned by Malaysian airline boss Tony Fernandes, received almost 40 million pounds, the lowest figure among the 20 clubs.

Television income will climb further next season after telecoms company BT entered the British market, taking a share of live rights alongside pay TV operator BSkyB. BT has replaced US company ESPN as the second broadcaster in Britain.

The League has also secured enhanced Deals from overseas rights and revenue from teevee should rise to around £5.5 billion in three years, up from £3 billion.

The differences in payments between clubs reflect position at the end of the season.

L

Oyedeji

ucky Abubakar, the spokesperson of Basketball Players Association Representative (BAPAN), has appealed to the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) to allow them to choose their own representative into the NBBF board.

It will be recalled that the recently concluded federations' elections in Abuja, saw the adoption of Olumide Oyedeji, captain of D'Tigers as the NBBF players' representative.

Abubakar said in Lagos that Oyedeji was not the preferred choice of the players and added that Oyedeji was not duly elected but imposed on them as their representative on the board. ``We are not happy about

the role given to Oyedeji; he plays his basketball abroad and does not have a grasp of the situation of things at home. ``Choosing him to represent us will not go down well, as he is not in good touch with the players, neither is he aware of the challenges being faced by most of us,'' Abubakar said.

Abubakar, an ex-player, added that players from the Savannah and Atlantic Conferences should have been allowed to decide on their choice of who to represent them on the NBBF board. ``The NBBF would only understand the plight of the players and the clubs running them through someone who is at home and has better contact with the players and clubs.

``Such a person will carry this role perfectly, because he is well known to the players and we can relate with him better,'' he said.

The DSTV/Basketball and Zenith/Women's Basketball leagues are matured enough to choose their representative, the NBBF should not choose for them,'' he added.

The spokesman also urged the NBBF to acknowledge BAPAN and invite the members for meetings, as regards the basketball league.

Abubakar noted that there would be a better understanding and more development if the NBBF would allow BAPAN's own representative in the board meetings.

Taekwnondo will soar with Ashiru, Chukwumerije in NTF board, says Yahuza

I

brahim Yahuza, Head Coach, Kano State Taekwondo Association (KSTA), has asserted that the inclusion of the duo of George Ashiru and Chika Chukwumerije in the board of Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF) would boost the development of the game and improve Nigeria's chances of excelling at international competitions.

Yahuza told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday on telephone that he was comfortable with the likes of Ashiru and Chukwumerije as board members in the federation.

He said both had practiced the sport at national and international levels and have the wealth of experience needed to improve the standards of the sport in the country. ``The election of these two personalities has brought

relief to taekwondo, because we have been yelling for such calibre of individuals to pilot the affairs of the federation. ``This is because they previously won medals for the country in taekwondo at intercontinental events and are also knowledgeable about the problems in the sport,'' he said.

The KSTA head coach, while congratulating the newly inaugurated members, urged them to be focused and committed in piloting the affairs of the federation over the next four years. ``They now have the autonomy to run the NTF affairs, and expectations are high, being highly technical and competent persons.

They must get beyond the level attained by the previous board,'' he said.

He stressed the importance of exposing

athletes to competitions within and outside the continent saying that it would be a way of improving their skills. ``Participation in

international competitions will make them to develop self-confidence that will further enhance their future careers,'' he said.

He, however, also pleaded

with them to organise local competitions as well as coaching clinics for technical officials quarterly to enhance the standard of officiating in the country.

Chika

Government has no business owning, running football clubs, says FA boss S tate governments have no business owning football clubs, according to the Chairman of the Lagos State Football Association (LSFA), Seyi Akinwunmi.

Instead of owning and sponsoring clubs, the FA boss believes states should regulate and create enabling environment for private concerns to own and manage clubs.

The FA boss said that the Babatunde Fashola administration in Lagos state has opted to draw from advanced leagues in Europe where clubs are sponsored by private concerns and communities, where the

government provides the enabling structures. ``Tell me, how many of those clubs in the premiership in Europe and elsewhere are being run by government? But people will say because of Nigeria's peculiar nature, what makes Nigeria a peculiar nation, different from others?," he queried and then went on to explain why state governments do not need to own clubs.

"Managing clubs is not state FA's duty, but to administer various football clubs in their states for proper and smooth running of the league and other competitions. ``I don't run a football club,

I run an FA and my job is to create a structure and the government's job is to create the infrastructure. ``So the state FA is to administer according to the laid down rules and regulations, while the state government is to create appropriate infrastructure for competitive competitions," he said.

According to Akinwunmi, it is not the duty of the state FA or the state government to run a football club, ``because that is what we believe is killing Nigeria football and sports generally.'' ``Government, sports associations or federations are not to run professional sports but

to develop sports at the grassroots, so also it is to football. ``For more than 20 months that we've been on board, we have enabled the coaches of all the various clubs that registered and affiliated with the state FA. ``We organise regular coaching programmes for coaches and officiating officials, which is one of our official duties for the smooth running of a football association. ``We invite resource persons from Brazil, UK, South Africa and Germany, to come and teach our officials modern coaching skills. That's what we can do; we wouldn't just go to the Premiership,``the FA Chairman said.

Akinwunmi said that last year, the state FA almost had two teams in the state promoted to the premiership, saying that if they were promoted, neither the state FA nor the state government would have taken them over. ``Government is involved intrinsically in football.

Government shouldn't be running football; government should only be supporting football and not running it.

Akinwunmi said that there were private organisations capable of funding clubs in the country, and urged football teams to look for sponsors, instead of waiting on government.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 43

Fallen Coaches and others set to fall

Man City rues romance with Mancini

E

ven before the curtail drops on the English Premier League, rumour was rife that several coaches were to be axed while others would on their own opted for greener pastures and challenges elsewhere.

That proved to the case. First, Roberto Mancini, whose axed could be seen even by the blind, was expected eased out of the saddle.

Hours before Man City draw the sword; the Italian was still living in a Fool's Paradise.

Blighted by false illusion, Mancini prodded on until the axe descended upon him pulverising his ego.

The club was to explain later why it opted to do away with one man with a loaded squad but with little to show for the huge chest made available at his disposal.

The club said he "had failed to achieve any of the club's targets, with the exception of qualification for next season's Champions League.

Assistant Brian Kidd will take charge for the final two games of the season and a tour to America in late May. Malaga's Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini has been strongly tipped to replace Mancini.

A replacement for Mark Hughes, Italian Mancini was in

charge for three-and-a-half years, winning the FA Cup in 2011 and City's first top-flight league title for 44 years in 2012 - a year to the day before his sacking.

But this term, City are a distant second to champions Manchester United, went out of the Champions League in the group stages and lost the FA Cup final to Wigan.

Mancini's record in the Champions League has come under particular scrutiny.

He reached the quarter-finals with Inter Milan, but City has been eliminated in the group stages of both their campaigns during his reign.

H

Roberto Mancini

Martinez to decide future today

Roberto Martinez

R

oberto Martinez will make a decision on his future at Wigan in the next 24 hours after holding talks with

Chairman Dave Whelan at lunchtime yesterday.

The pair will meet again today when Martinez will reveal

whether or not he plans to stay following Wigan's relegation from the Premier League.

Martinez played for Wigan

already agreed to take charge of a new club where he would have to deal with less off-field strife.

Malaga has received confirmation from UEFA that the second suspended year of

the club's European ban had been lifted, leading director general Vicente Casado to predict the entire suspension will be thrown out by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) next month.

Hamburg dismiss Arnesen

229 times between 1995 and 2001 when they were a Football League side, winning the Auto Windscreens Shield in 1999. He has taken charge of 175 games as manager But 39-year-old Martinez, who led the Latics to FA Cup success this season, has been linked with Everton, Stoke City and Spanish club Malaga. Whelan, however, remains hopeful his manager will stay after talks on Wednesday.

Martinez joined Wigan as a player in 1995 but left in 2001, before returning as the club's manager in June 2009 after more than two years in charge at Swansea City.

He managed to keep the club in the Premier League for three seasons and led the team to victory over Manchester City in this season's FA Cup final.

Despite Wigan being relegated just days after their Wembley glory, Martinez has been linked with a number of other clubs but none have made an official enquiry yet.

amburg general manager Frank Arnesen has been sacked following a board meeting yesterday.

The former Chelsea man Arnesen's transfer policy came in for criticism directly after his appointment in 2011, when a number of fringe players following the Dane from Stamford Bridge to the Bundesliga.

Hamburg are set to announce a record loss for the 2012-13 season and now appear to be hoping to turn around their fate with a new general director. According to NDR Radio sources Arnesen was sacked during a board meeting late on Tuesday evening.

Former Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath has emerged as the favourite to succeed Arnesen. As a player Magath lifted the European Cup in 1983, scoring the only goal in the final against Juventus.

In 1986 he started his second career as general manager of Hamburg and in 1995 began a highly successful stint as a coach which saw him win the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg.

Frank Arnesen

Pellegrini confirms Malaga exit 7 years after pulis

M

anuel Pellegrini says he is leaving Malaga at the end of the season to take charge of a club where he can 'fulfil his sporting ambitions.

Pellegrini is widely expected to be named the new Manchester City manager in the coming weeks, but neither he nor the Premier League side have yet confirmed this.

The Chilean coach was speaking at a civil ceremony yesterday morning where he was awarded a gold medal for his services to province of Malaga.

These services have included qualifying Los Boquerones for a first ever Champions League campaign, and also maintaining his dignity when financial and moral support from the club's erratic Qatari owner Abdullah Al-Thani dried up.

The former Villarreal and Real Madrid boss did not say what his next step in football would be, but suggested he had

Manuel Pellegrini

takes a bow

M

anager Tony Pulis has left Stoke City by mutual consent following talks with chairman Peter Coates.

Pulis's future has been in doubt for some time and he has been told the club feels the time is right for him to leave after seven years in charge.

Tony The 55-year-old was appointed Potters boss for a second time in 2006, and two years later he guided the club to the top flight after a 23year absence.

Stoke have just finished 13th in their fifth Premier League campaign.

The Potters released a brief statement saying: "Stoke City and Tony Pulis confirm that they have mutually agreed that Tony will leave the club with immediate effect.

Stoke made a strong start to the campaign and were just four points off the top four on 1 December.

However, they only managed four

league wins in 23 subsequent league matches, suffering 11 defeats.

Pulis becomes the 56th Premier or Football League manager to leave his job since the start of the 2012-13 season.

Stoke never finished lower than 14th in five top-flight campaigns under Pulis and he led the club to their first FA Cup final in 2011, when they lost 1-0 to Manchester City.

The defeat still offered a route into the Europa League, where Stoke were beaten in the last 32 by Spanish side Valencia.

Tony Pulis

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Champions League

Fans protest as UEFA bans choreography

B

ayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund supporters have united in their protests to UEFA and Wembley over regulations preventing fan choreography at the Champions League final.

Dortmund attracted widespread attention for the display ahead of this season's quarter-final first leg against Malaga at the Westfalenstadion.

The full "Yellow Wall" was in action, using coloured cardboard to create an image of the trophy as well as displaying a man with spyglasses.

However, UEFA and Wembley regulations make a recurrence during Saturday's final impossible, with fans unable to pass a banner from the level one seats to the corporate section in level two.

As a result, Dortmund fans will not have any choreography at Wembley, while Bayern are planning only a small-scale display.

In Germany, as in Italy, 'choreos' are of the utmost importance to fan groups, with 'ultras' working on them for several weeks, without help or funding from the clubs, to showcase prior to big games.

Dortmund fan group The Unity explained its decision: "We are unbelievably sorry that in this great moment, the highlight for so many, we cannot put forward a 'choreo' and we are frustrated beyond measure that UEFA makes it basically impossible for us to provide the Champions League final with a worthy setting."

Ribery: Time to win UCL final

F

ranck Ribery says the time for talking is over as Bayern Munich owe it to their fans to make up for their two recent failed attempts by winning the Champions League title in Saturday's final against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.

"We have to win for the fans, the club and the whole team," said Ribery, after Bayern lost both last seasons' final at home to Chelsea and suffered defeat in the 2010 final to Inter Milan in Madrid.

Bayern played Barcelona off the park with two impressive displays to win the Champions League semifinal 7-0 on aggregate and the Bavarians won this season's Bundesliga title by a record 25-point margin.

With the European title now just 90 minutes away, Ribery said Bayern can afford no distractions and must concentrate on their own performance.

Ribery has been in superb form for Bayern this season, maintaining his incredible run of never losing any of the 46 league games with Munich in which he has scored.

The 30-year-old missed the 2010 final with suspension and after being on the losing team last year, he has no intention of seeing Bayern return to Munich empty handed from a third Champions League final.

...as animals support Dortmund to win

Dortmund fans unveiled a spectacular display The sentiment was shared by Bayern's Club 12 fan group.

"By rational measures we would have called our planned 'choreo' off by now," the Club 12 statement read.

"However, a final like this can stop the rational parts of the brain from working, as shown in the ticket prices paid."

It added that the governing body's decision appeared to be motivated by a desire to keep "typical fan behaviour like waving flags and standing up and singing" away from the "UEFA family".

A Yeovil Town supporter hoping to take a banner reading "Little Old Yeovil" to Wembley for Sunday's League One play-off final was told he would have to pay ÂŁ1,500.

Meanwhile Borussia Dortmund is set to beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Saturday, according to oracles across a number of zoos in

Germany.

The great Paul the octopus, based at the Oberhausen Sea Life Centre, died in 2010 after having attracted worldwide fame for his football predictions.

Nonetheless, there have been numerous successors to "The Tentacled Oracle" in Germany, and all signs point to an upset at Wembley.

Walter the orangutan, based in Dortmund's zoo, backed his hometown club to claim a second European crown after local paper Ruhr Nachrichten had asked zookeeper Eddie Laudert to place two hessian sacks containing the two sides' shirts on Walter's high seat.

After initially moving towards the Bayern shirt, Walter favoured the Dortmund jersey, although his attempts to slip it on were unsuccessful.

While Walter may be biased, oracles in zoos in Leipzig and Aue also selected Jurgen Klopp's men.

In Leipzig, Saxony, an Asian tapir named Baru chose a blackand-yellow kohlrabi over a redand-white option.

The news of the tapir's support will come as no surprise to BVB midfielder Kevin Grosskreutz, who looks after one of the animals

at the Dortmund zoo.

A neutral experiment conducted in Aue, Saxony, saw two Oriental small-clawed otters, named Ferret and Mormel, opt for snacks placed in the Dortmund corner of their compound over snacks in the Munich corner.

image shows Walter the orangutan sticking with his hometown club

Bayern 100 percent confident of beating Durtmund, says Lahm

P

hilipp Lahm says Bayern Munich must focus on its own game in the

Philipp Lahm

Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

Bayern captain Lahm, 29, has won the Bundesliga four times but has never lifted a European trophy despite playing in C h a m p i o n s League finals in 2010 and 2012.

The Germany international intends to set that straight against Bundesliga rivals Dortmund at Wembley and believes if Bayern play to their capabilities then the opposition will not be able to handle them.

There is a 100% chance to win the

title. It wasn't always the case in the past few years.

Bayern are on course to secure a historic Treble, something they also eyed during their 2009-10 campaign, but were stopped by Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan side in the Champions League final that year.

However, Lahm says the mentality within the group is completely different now and they expect to win big titles.

The defeat to Chelsea blended the team. This team got up again and has shown in every match just how hungry it is for success. Now, more than ever, we have the absolute will to win the Champions League title. We have now got a psychological disadvantage.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

PAGE 45

6

1

President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi and members of the Golden Eaglets andthe U-18 National athletes in a group photograph during a reception in their honour.

2

4

3

pictorial 2] IGiovanni Visconti took his second stage win in four days as Italy's Vincenzo Nibali maintained overall control of the Giro d'Italia after stage 17.

3] Lee McConnell will not compete this year as she is expecting her first child but she hopes to run on home soil in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

4] President Goodluck Jonathan receiving the World Light Weight Boxing Belt from the winner King Davidson Emurenogu during the Special Reception held in their honour of the Athletes held at the Banquet Hall of the State House Abuja on Tuesday.

5] President Goodluck Jonathan in a Presidential handshake with one of the Eaglets Players during the Special Reception held in their honour at the Banquet Hall of the State House Abuja on Tuesday.

5

PAGE 46

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Dambe, Abula, Kokowa, langa coaches urged to cooperate with TSFN board

T

he Lagos State Traditional Sports Association, has urged traditional sports coaches to join hands with the new board of the Traditional Sports Federation of Nigeria (TSFN), to promote the

federation's five sports.

The five sports are: Dambe (traditional boxing), Kokowa (traditional wrestling), Langa, Ayo and Abula.

Lucky Izekor, the Head Coach, Dambe of Lagos

traditional sports, said that the coaches' support was paramount to ensure the general development of the five sports.

"Let all coaches join hands together with the federation for

Dambe fighter in action

the growth of traditional sports, our native sports are overdue for international acceptance and recognition, `` he said.

According to him, prospective sponsors often ask what they stand to gain from government if they sponsor any of the five sports in the federation.

He said that the preoccupation of the board should be how to popularise the various sports to the public and corporate bodies, to create awareness for acceptance and sponsorship. ``Our dream is that the federation will put in its best to ensure regular activities, including seminars and workshops, in the federation, all through the year to reposition the sports. ``What we are looking forward to seeing is that the federation will work out modalities for attracting sponsorship from the public and private organisations.

According to him, the members should also seek the support of traditional rulers for they were the original custodians of traditional sports.

Dosu faults proprietors of academies on objectives

E

x-international Joseph Dosu has lambasted some operators of football academies in the country over faulty objectives.

According to him, rather than being an avenue to grow

talents most football academies are being run for mere pecuniary reasons and have subsequent veered off its primary goal of creating the fertile ground for fostering budding talents at the

Adenuga urges AFN board to focus on sponsorship drive

A

degboyega Adenuga, an athletic coach, on Monday urged the incoming board members of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to concentrate on ways to attract sponsors to the sport.

The coach believes that the major preoccupation of the board should be how to tackle the dearth of competitions due to poor funding adding that unless this was addressed it would be difficult to discover let alone nurture talents. ``What we are looking forward to seeing in the incoming administration should be total commitment to drawing the hearts of private and public companies to sponsoring the sport. ``This is the major problem that we have been facing for a long time and it has affected the development of the sport in the country, `` he said.

According to him, government only could not transform the sport, stressing that any attempt to rely on government funding alone would amount to lack of competitions.

Adenuga, however, noted that only the knowledgeable, visionary and passionate leaders could go the extra mile to reposition the sport. ``Only visionary administrators with a passion for the sport will make an astounding impact.

So, caution should be taken for us not to elect mediocre and visionless people in the name of politics as this will take the sport backward, `` he said.

Adenuga advised the National Sports Commission (NSC) to shun appointing mediocres into sports federation boards at a time when the country desired good managers for their development.

grassroots.

Dosu said in Lagos yesterday that the nation's football stakeholders would have a critical role to play if they are to reposition football academies for optimal performance. ``We are yet to tap into the potentials of academies, and as such, they have strayed from their objective which is to impart the fundamentals of the game to budding talents. ``Many of the players in European clubs trace their origins to their academies, which means that academies are doing well, and can do better with support in our country.

``With support from football stakeholders, academies in Nigeria can reposition our football through the quality talents we send out to the world,'' Dosu added.

Dosu, who was a member of the victorious 1996 Atlanta Olympics U-23 gold-winning squad, stressed that the country's football authorities must streamline the operations of existing academies for effective performance. ``If football academies are closely monitored, then we may have some level of stability in this critical area of football development in the country,'' the former Olympian added.

Carrion joins duo in race for IOC presidency

R

ichard Carrion yesterday became the third man to seek the presidency of the International Olympic Committee in September, in succession of Jacques Rogge.

The Puerto Rican banker Carrion confirmed that he will join German Thomas Bach and Ng Ser Miang of Singapore for the top job in world sport, even as more candidates are expected to emerge over the next days. ``I play always looking to win,'' said Carrion, who has played a major role in the IOC's big wealth as chairman of its finance commission. ``I'm not the candidate of Latin America, even though I come from the Caribbean and the hispanic world. This is not about geography, our duty is to unite.''

Rogge's two terms over 12 years end this year and the IOC will elect a new president at its Session on Sept. 10 in Buenos Aires.

... Murofushi loses appeal in IOC member election

T

he Court of Arbitration for Sports has dismissed Athens Olympic champion Koji Murofushi's challenge of an IOC disqualification from member election.

The Japanese hammer thrower was disqualified from IOC's athletes committee member election after claims he excessively lobbied fellow athletes ahead of voting at the London Olympics.

The IOC has delayed filling the athlete member seats during the nine-month appeal process.

Murofushi, 38, won the men's title at the 2004 Games and took bronze in London, last year.

Wheelchair basketball federation to impose transfer fees

B

ukola Olopade, the President, Nigeria Wheelchair Basketball Federation (NWBF), says it will charge transfer fees on players moving from one state association to the other from 2014.

Olopade said in Lagos that the measure was to control the movement of players and guard against disagreement among the teams.

He said the decision was a fallout of the 2nd Victor Ochei International Wheelchair Basketball Tournament where such a problem was managed

and not allowed to not disrupt the competition. ``It is a common practise in the federation to see players' crossing from one team to another, all in a bid to gain some material rewards,'' said Olopade.

He said that such an unwholesome practise could be checked through the enforcement of the payment of players' transfer fees, but did not disclose how much would be paid on the players. ``The situation where one state will acquire the best players to play for them in a championship as seen in the

Victor Ochei tournament which ended on Sunday would be checked," he said.

He disclosed that players who played for Lagos State at the championship were from different states and that if an inquiry was conducted, most of them were still registered with those states. ``The federation can also raise funds from the transfer fees to run its affairs,'' Olopade said.

He added that the federation would conduct registration of players by their states before embarking on any other championship.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

Some Interesting Facts You breathe about 10 million times a year.

The colder the room you sleep in, the better the chances are that you'll have a bad dream.

The first non-human to win an Oscar was Mickey Mouse.

Lee Harvey Oswald was booked with mugshot number 54018.

The Gulf Stream could carry a message in a bottle at an average of 4 miles per hour.

The bullseye on a dartboard must be 5 feet 8 inches off the ground.

The foot is the most common body part bitten by insects.

The doorbell was invented in 1831.

The are 255 squares on a Scrabble board.

The electric shaver was patented on November 6, 1928.

There are 500 sheets of paper in a ream.

The monkey wrench was invented by Charles Moncke.

legs.

PAGE 47

Japan is the largest exporter of frog's

There are seven points on the Statue of Liberty's crown.

There are approx. 550 hairs in the eyebrow.

The most common non-contagious disease in the world is tooth decay.

The shell constitutes 12 percent of an egg's weight.

A squid has 10 tentacles.

A snail's reproductive organs are in its head.

A cow's only sweat glands are in its nose.

The world AND appears 46 277 times in the Bible.

Napoleon was terrified of cats.

The ballpoint pen was invented in 1938 by Laszlo and Georg Biro.

The fastest growing nail is on the middle finger.

The human body weighs forty times more than the brain.

A person

swallows approx. 295 while eating dinner.

The oldest known vegetable is the pea.

The letter N ends all Japanese words not ending in a vowel.

France has the highest per capita consumption of cheese.

The hardest bone in the human body is the jawbone.

4000 people are injured by teapots each year.

The shortest English word that contains the letters A, B, C, D, E, and F is feedback The most sensitive finger on the human hand is the index finger.

The giraffe has the highest blood pressure of

any animal.

The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue.

The most fatal car accidents occur on Saturday.

It takes the typical person seven minutes to fall asleep.

The Eiffel Tower has 1792 steps.

Dry fish food can make goldfish constipated.

The stall closest to the door in a bathroom is the cleanest, because it is the least used.

Toilet paper was invented in 1857.

There are more people alive today than have ever died.

The first X-rated animated cartoon was Fritz the Cat There are 5 varieties of twins.

Say what?

SUDOKU

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Music Collector: Ahmet is a record seller who loves music very much. He has a small and charming shop and he makes collection of long-play records. He spends his life on music and its changes, and he is very happy with the old melodies.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

www.peoplesdailyng.com

. . . putting the people first

THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2013

SPORTS LA TEST LATEST

Ferguson set to reveal Manchester United success secret

S

ir Alex Ferguson is expected to reveal many insights into his 26-year reign as manager of Manchester United when he publishes his second autobiography in October.

The 71-year-Old, who retired after Sunday's 5-5 draw against West Bromwich Albion, has signed lucrative deal with publishers Hodder & Stoughton.

It will be Ferguson's first book since Managing My Life, his 1999 account of his career that ended with United's treblewinning season.

It was a bestseller that also attracted headlines because of Ferguson's criticisms of Brian Kidd, his former assistant at Old Trafford, and Gordon Strachan, who played under him at both Aberdeen and United.

Managing My Life was ghostwritten by Hugh McIlvanney.

Paul Hayward, the Daily Telegraph's chief sportswriter, will work with Ferguson on his next book.

Hayward said: "It's a privilege for me to help him describe how he managed such huge change at Manchester United, and to lay out his countless insights and anecdotes stretching back to his roots in Glasgow.

During his 26 years at United, Ferguson won 13 Premier League titles and the Champions League twice. He retired having won 49 trophies in his 39-year managerial career.

Champions League final: Gotze rule out with injury

B

orussia Dortmund playmaker Mario Gotze has been ruled out of the Champions League final against his future club Bayern Munich with a hamstring injury.

Gotze, 20, has not played since hurting his thigh in last month's semi-final second-leg meeting with Real Madrid.

In April, it was announced Gotze would join Bayern in the summer for £31.5m.

Germany international Gotze has been described as having "the same assets" as reigning four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi by Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer.

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QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE It’s a notorious fact that corruption is being fought with archaic laws, laws that are no longer suitable for the unpleasant situation we have found ourselves in.

— Mrs. Farida Waziri, ex-Chair, Econonmic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

States of Emergency - Matters Arising (1) E

vents are moving faster than one can properly process. The declaration of a state of emergency despite all the tell tale 'denials' from government sources and late afternoon leaks still came to me as a surprise. And now today we wake to news that not only has our government been most shamefully locking up the wives and children of terrorist suspects , they (women and children) along with scores of male suspects are also to be released... just like that.

Machismo I belong to the school of thought that says we ALREADY were in a state of emergency especially in those states where armed men - uniformed and 'unknown' - have TOGETHER already crushed economic and social life to various degrees - I mean Borno, Yobe and Kano. But critics like me (well- meaning I assure you) were not the only ones taken by surprise at this declaration of a State of Emergency on Tuesday, May 14th. Even the government's fans were too.

Phrases like 'wow he has finally' taken decisive action, he is being a 'man'... were common. The macho theme was well played by President Goodluck Jonathan as he made his Tuesday declaration of war. His voice would rise appropriately and forcefully with every mention of the 'rebellion' at hand by 'terrorists and insurgents'. All that was missing really from this form of national broadcast inherited from over 30 years of military rule, was his Commander-in-chief's uniform.

Next time, may be?

Which brings me to the main point of today's column: There is far more to dealing with this country's REAL STATE of EMERGENCY than declaring what has been termed - expanded 'martial law'. The issues are so many and so troubling that yet again one was particularly surprised by the almost wholesale support given by activists, the National Assembly, the Governors. Only the Northern Elders seemed concerned. I suppose people just wanted something drastic to be done, if only for appearances sake.

Déjà vu nightmares I'm afraid all I could think about were those June 2009

311 689 292 327 454

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CAR TEL OPIA CARTEL TELOPIA With Aisha Yolah ayolah06@yahoo.com 08086296783 (text only please)

President Goodluck Jonathan pictures of the dead and broken bodies of hundreds littering the streets of Maiduguri including old men and the handicapped...It was an awful déjà vu for me. And if we recall that assault, it did not require any macho declaration of a state of emergency.

This Tuesday a press conference was held in Lagos by a network of Islamic organisations under the auspices of the Muslim Rights Concern. I herewith reproduce excerpts of their press release. It explains some of those issues more important than the semantics of killing and force.

E.g. What provision is there for food, water and medical services when whole cities are placed on 24 hour curfews? Why are the soldiers' rules of engagement as secret as their operations? And how come the massive crimes against police officers in Nassarawa and Bayelsa state, to say nothing of kidnapping and generalised lawlessness in other states, did not get any response?

The President himself listed 11 states with 'protracted security challenges'. The mysterious ways of this government got the right

response from another president who is at least held accountable by his people and conscience. He, President Barack Obama, will not be visiting. Yet again.

The MURIC statement (excerpts): President Goodluck Jonathan recently declared a state of emergency in three states: Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. While the Network of Islamic organizations condemn terrorism and violence, we insist that military force alone cannot solve Nigeria's security problem. What Nigeria needs for enduring peace is good governance and transparency. We are of the opinion that the remaining 33 states of the federation have been under emergency for long. ...The Boko Haram phenomenon is a magical conjecture manufactured in official factories. The more we look, the less we see. Only those who created it know the rationale for its existence. The declaration of emergency rule recently is therefore sheer hocus pocus. ..

The well-known highhandedness of the Nigerian

military is a major cause for concern. We call for the observance of the rules of engagement to the letter. Allahgiven and fundamental rights of the civilian population must be respected. We call for independent observers from both the European Union and the United Nations to be allowed into the emergency zone immediately. We strongly suspect that the only reason why communication was disrupted in the zone in the past 48 hours is to make it impossible for eyewitness accounts of atrocities and extrajudicial killings to emerge from the ruins.

Reports reaching us from the zone are not palatable. A huge humanitarian crisis is evolving in the territory. Already, over 2000 Nigerians have fled Borno following the clash between Boko Haram and Nigerian troops in Abadam local government area of Borno North. As of Saturday 18th May, 2013, supplies were running short in the zone. The price of basic goods has soared with supply lorries prevented from entering the zone.

Baga...

We reject reports of investigations of the Baga massacre by the Nigerian military.

They cannot investigate themselves. We demand an independent enquiry conducted by the UN...

On peaceful coexistence ...

The Network of Islamic Organizations is interested in promoting peace in Lagos State and in the whole country.

Muslims in Lagos State are always ready to coexist peacefully with people of other faiths. So far so good, there has been no religious crisis in Lagos and the South-West of the country. But this is mainly because the Muslims in Lagos and in the region have been very tolerant. The truth of the matter is that Muslims have not been given their equal share in rights, privileges and positions in the South-West. Islamic landmarks have been under threat in the South-West since the colonial days while Christian heritage have been assumed as 'conventional' and therefore imposed on Muslims in the region. A good example is the school uniform. ..Islam was already in Nigeria in 1085 and in Lagos long before the year 1775. There were more than fifty madrasas (Islamic schools) in Lagos by 1775. The presence of so many Islamic schools in Lagos at that time is enough proof that Islam had been in Lagos at least fifty years earlier, around 1725. In comparison, Christianity was first preached by the British Henry Townsend under the Agacia tree in Badagry in 1842....

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Kano office: Plot 3, Zaria Road, Opposite Kano State House of Assembly. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Tel: +234 814 292 9046. Cell: +234 802 443 2099; 803 7007 759. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com; pmlnewsdesk@gmail.com ISSN: 2141– 6141