Peoples Daily Newspaper, Tuesday 26, March, 2013

www.peoplesdailyng.com

Vol. 10 No. 62

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

. . . putting the people first

Jimadal Ula 15, 1434 AH

N150

Ex-Zambian President, One killed, cops flee Imposition of as gunmen attack candidates, root of Banda arrested over $11m Nigeria oil deal police station in Yobe PDP crisis, says Tukur >> PAGE 3

>> PAGE 2

>> PAGE 37

JTF in house-to-house search in Kano

By Abubakar Ibrahim, with agency report

P

andemonium began in the Eastern Bye Pass area of Kano early yesterday when security agents under the military Joint Task force, JTF,

arrived the area to conduct a house-to-house search.

A resident of the area, who spoke to Premium Times over the phone, said the security agents were conducting the search in apparent manhunt for members of the Boko Haram sect.

“They have been here since morning, searching for insurgents and weapons,” he said.

He added that the agents may have a point in conducting the search there because it has lately become notorious for incessant attacks.

A security source said that the security agents were convinced that most of the insurgents operating in Kano reside around the area.

However, reports say motorists plying the Eastern Bye Pass up to Hotoro, who noticed the

large presence of security agents in the area, panicked and started driving in all directions which caused heavy traffic build-up in most of the adjoining roads.

“Everyone was confused because no one could tell what was Contd on Page 2

PDP crisis

Anenih begs govs As reconciliation fails Lamido, Amaechi posters flood Kaduna

By Lawrence Olaoye, Abuja & Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

T

here are strong indications that the much publicised Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nationwide reconciliation tour might have failed as it did not meet the desired goals.

Competent party sources hinted yesterday that the development prompted the decision of Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih, to embark on a fresh nationwide campaign, pleading with the governors for a more united house.

Anenih, in Dutse, the Jigawa state capital, yesterday came short of going on his knees as he begged Governor Sule Lamido not to join the league of alleged aggrieved PDP governors who may dump the party for the opposition.

Although the Jigawa Governor reportedly gave Anenih his words on the sanctity of having one united PDP, Lamido’s 2015 presidential campaign posters flooded the streets of Kaduna yesterday, a glaring confirmation that the Contd on Page 2

Borno state Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima (2nd right), inspecting beddings at Arabic Teachers College, during his visit to the college, yesterday in Maiduguri.

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

CONTENTS News

2-10

Editorial

12

Op.Ed

13

Letters

14

Opinion

15

Metro

16-18

Business

19-22

Digest

23

Defence

26-27

Agric

28-29

Feature

30

Gunmen attack police post, kill cop in Yobe Reports indicated that the attack scuttled socio-economic activities in the area as residents stayed indoors while schools, markets and shops remained closed.

Five feared killed in Kano petrol tanker explosion

nknown gunmen yesterday morning launched multiple attacks on the Divisional Police Station at Bara town, the administrative headquarters of Gulani local government area of Yobe state, killing a policeman.

They also vandalized telecommunication masts in the area.

Bara is about 160 kilometres from Damaturu, the capital city and had previously witnessed series of killings and bombings.

The latest incident reportedly occurred at about 6.30 am when over 20 men, suspected to be insurgents, armed with assault rifles and explosives raided the town, firing sporadic shots in different directions before heading to the police station, eyewitness accounts said.

The gunmen stormed the

town, firing sporadically into the police station and engaged the policemen on duty in a gun duel, killing a police corporal on the spot, while others fled upon being overpowered by the rampaging invaders, according to the witnesses.

It was also learnt that the onslaught lasted for over two hours and that after chasing away the security personnel, the gunmen bombed the police station before heading to destroy nearby masts belonging to MTN and Glo telecommunication firms.

The state Commissioner of Police, Sanusi Rufai, who confirmed the incident, said the hoodlums used Rocket Propelled Launcher (RPG) on the police station.

The hoodlums, according to the Commissioner, destroyed the MTN and the Glo telecom masts and made away with away three vehicles belonging to the local government council.

Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar

ive persons have been feared dead after two fuel laden tankers collided at the early hours of the morning in Kano yesterday.

Reports indicate that the explosion occurred around the Bayero University Road and may have been due to break failure of one of the tankers causing it to collide with the other.

An eyewitness account said that the two tankers exploded at a military checkpoint following a break failure after being stopped by soldiers for routine checks.

“Two persons were engulfed in the inferno from the explosion with both drivers believed to have died.

A kid was also knocked down by a vehicle that lost its brake due to the explosion,” the source said.

He said emergency and security services are currently helping victims of the explosion.

The spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Yushau Shuaib, could not be reached for a response.

Contd from Page 1 reconciliatory initiatives actually hit the rocks.

A source in the PDP BoT who pleaded anonymity said: “The news we are getting from the aggrieved governors is heartbreaking because these people are no longer comfortable in the party.

“In spite of the fact that the party’s NWC has conducted a nationwide peace tour, our Chairman has realized that there is much more to be done as the reconciliation tours were not adjudged successful.

“Most of the stakeholders expected to attend the peace talks stayed away and where you had them, reconciliation was not particularly successful.

“In all the zones, you discover that grievances were raised and it would go beyond the current surface scratching for there to be resolutions.

“Already, we have information that some governors in the north are planning to adopt

the African People’s Congress (APC) as an alternative platform in 2015 should their grievances be left unaddressed.”

Meanwhile, members of the PDP were yesterday locked behind closed doors for several hours in Abuja, reviewing the latest political developments within the party.

Peoples Daily learnt that the disenchanted governors who are uncomfortable with the running of the party, accusing the leadership of surreptitiously working for the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate for the 2015 presidential election.

The governors, the source maintained, are already shopping for an acceptable northern candidate for the position of President with a Vice President from the south-south, who are expected to slug it out with the incumbent at the polls.

At the Jigawa state Government House, Anenih told

Lamido that, “the challenges we have now in the party made me feel that I needed you more than ever, adding he did not believe reports indicating that he (Lamido) has been hobnobbing with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

“The Sule I know would not do so even on the face of the firing squad because he is a person I know stays where he has the conviction that it is the right place to be,” Anenih said.

Re-affirming his loyalty to the PDP, Lamido said that the Nigerians could not afford to leave affairs of the country in the hands the ACN or any of the other emerging political parties.

According to Lamido, “no matter what, we will stand by you and for the sake of your children and the future of Nigeria you must not fail us”.

Senator Wali Jibrin, Secretary BoT, Barnabas Gemade, Ahmadu Ali, Senator Ken Nnamani, Hassan Halliru, Chief Obenezer

Babatope and Air Vice Marshal Larry Konya, were some of the prominent party men on Anenih’s entourage.

But barely 24 hours after Lamido and Amechi reportedly walked out of the PDP reconciliatory meeting in Abuja, posters of the duo were pasted at strategic locations in Kaduna yesterday.

“Sai Lamido, Sai Lamido, Sai Lamido (it must be Lamido for Presidency in 2015),” Lamido loyalists chanted in the town as some of insisted that the PDP reconciliation has to start with a statement that Jonathan will not contest the Presidency in 2015.

“That is why the posters were planned to coincide with the end of the meeting, showing that the zone will not support President Jonathan come 2015.

“The appearance of the posters has also rubbished the reconciliation meeting led by PDP chairman, showing that nothing was achieved in the meeting,” they said.

From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

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From Edwin Olofu, Kano

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Anenih begs governors 2015: INEC, opposition parties and credible elections, Page 4

Int’l

31-33

Strange World 36 Digest

36

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-45

Leisure

47

Columnist

48

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

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JTF in house-to-house search in Kano Contd from Page 1 going on and people started driving anyhow to get away and so the entire area was in a state of confusion,” a resident said.

Kano has recently become another major hotbed of insurgent attacks as scores of people including security officials have been killed in recent weeks.

Efforts to talk to the spokesperson of the JTF in Kano, Ikedi Iweha were unsuccessful.

His telephone numbers were earlier not reachable.

It would be recalled that two explosions had been reported in different locations in the troubled city The first explosion happened at Hotoro area, according to a source who declined to be named, close to the NNPC Mega station “from a car which refused to stop for a search at a military search point”.

The other explosion reportedly occurred at Tishama neighbourhood along the Eastern Bye-Pass highway.

On Monday last week, a suicide bomber targeting luxury buses full of passengers detonated a car bomb at a busy motor park in Kano along New Road in Sabon Gari , killing dozens of people and injuring many others , shortly after 5pm when luxury buses were preparing to travel to other

parts of the country.

Five luxury buses that were hit by the explosions and completely destroyed.

Survivors said that a suicide bomber drove a Volkswagen Golf car into the motor park, meant for passengers traveling to the southern part of the country, and rammed into a Lagos-bound bus which was driving out of the park with dozens of passengers on board.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 3

MDA procurements: Senate accuses Aganga of sabotaging local content

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

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Posters of Jigawa state Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, and Rivers state Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi for President 2015 adorn the major streets of Kaduna yesterday.

Ex-Zambian President, Banda arrested over $11m Nigeria oil deal

By Abubakar Ibrahim, with agency report

T

ransnational theft and corruption in the Nigerian oil industry has again been exposed with the arrest of former Zambian President Rupiah Banda with abuse of authority in connection with the sale of Nigerian oil when he was in office.

According to agency report yesterday, Banda, 76, was released on 500,000 kwacha ($93,000) bail after surrendering his passport and will appear in court today, Namukolo Kasumpa, a spokeswoman for the Government Joint Investigative Team, said yesterday.

Investigators will resume questioning Banda on April 4.

“He totally denies any wrongdoing,” Sakwiba Sikota, Banda’s lawyer, said yesterday by mobile phone, expressing confidence that“he will be vindicated by the court.”

Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba read out a list of allegations against Banda in Parliament on March 15, including “abuse of authority of office, fraud and misappropriation of public funds,” leading lawmakers in Africa’s largest copper producer to remove his immunity.

Banda became president in 2008 after Levy Mwanawasa died, and he was elected later that year.

Banda’s government diverted money from the sale of Nigerian

crude oil into a separate bank account instead of the National Treasury, Kabimba said in his statement to parliament.

The Lusaka-based High Court will hear an application on March 27 from Banda that seeks to declare the lifting of his immunity illegal and unconstitutional, Sikota said.

Banda’s lawyers will ask the Magistrate’s court today to delay hearing of the criminal case until the superior court has ruled, he said.

“It’s not that he’s afraid of the criminal proceedings, but it’s out of principle that it shouldn’t go ahead” until a judge has ruled on the civil case, Sikota said.

Zambia’s kwacha fell 0.7 percent, the most in almost a week, to 5.395 against the dollar by 6:06

p.m. in Lusaka. Yields on Zambia’s Eurobond were little changed at 5.4031 percent.

Banda also faces allegations of using government money to buy campaign material, as well as using offshore accounts to fund “opaque transactions” that indicate money laundering, according to Kabimba’s statement.

Government investigators have questioned Banda three times since Parliament removed his immunity.

“They’ve rushed these charges which are completely bogus,” Robert Amsterdam, a lawyer for the former head of state, said by mobile-phone interview yesterday from Washington. “It’s all completely political”, he said.

he Senate has accused the Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, of being indifferent to efforts towards entrenching local content in procurements by the various ministries, departments and agencies of government.

Speaking yesterday during a public hearing on Local Industry Patronage Bill, held by the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment, Senator Nenadi Usman also blamed lack of patronage of local products as one of the reasons for low capacity utilisation.

She pointed out the situation has equally contributed to the downward trend in the nation’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Declaring the programme open earlier, Senate President, David Mark, who was represented by the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma Egba, noted that the passage of the Local Industry Patronage Bill is of great economic importance to the Nigerian economy.

Mark vowed that the Senate will not relent in providing all the necessary legislative support to industrialise the country.

Also speaking, the sponsor of the Bill, Senator Shaaba Lafiagi, explained that the Bill if passed into law is intended to phase out unemployment in the country and revive the agricultural sector of the economy.

He added that in order for country’s local industry to survive, government must ensure that materials for uniforms of school children and the Armed Forces are produced in the country and assured that every stakeholder would be involved before the final report.

INEC, politicians connive to deny rival APC Muslim group appeals to Boko Haram over French hostages registration, protem chairman alleges pages of newspapers.

By Jamila Nuhu Musa

By Lawrence Olaoye

P

rotem Chairman of the African People’s Congress with the rival acronym of APC, Chief Onyinye Ikeagwuonu, yesterday alleged that certain officials at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) connived with some prominent politicians in the country to deny it registration.

This is coming as INEC had earlier foreclosed the possibility of registering the merger All Progressives Congress (APC) currently in battle with the former over the acronym.

Speaking with newsmen yesterday, at a press briefing in Abuja, Ikeagwuonu claimed he had the knowledge of a letter, purportedly written by INEC,

premising non-registration of African People’s Congress on purported irregularities in the addresses of its national officers.

The unsigned letter, according to Ikeagwuonu, emanated from INEC and titled, “Re: Application for Registration as a Political Party” and dated 21st March, 2013 indicated that African People's Congress was being denied registration because its application was in breach of the Nigerian Constitution.

The letter read in part, “your application for registration as a political party dated 28th February, 2013 refers.

“The Commission has observed that your association is in breach of Section 222(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)

which stipulates as follows: “No Association by whatever name called shall function as a political party unless: (a) The names and addresses of its national officers are registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission" “A close observation of your submitted form PA 1 established that it does not contain the addresses of your national officers as stipulated in the provision above.

Consequently, the Commission shall not register the proposed African People’s Congress, (APC) as a political party.”

Ikeagwuonu, who further claimed that the unsigned memo was sourced from INEC however vowed that his party would challenge its non-registration in court.

T

he Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has appealed to leadership of the Boko Haram sect to release the French family of seven being held by the group.

Tanguy Moulin-Fournier, his wife, four children and brother were reportedly abducted by the Boko Haram group on February 19, 2013, while holidaying in the region around Cameroon’s Waza National Park.

Some six weeks after, there appears to be evidence that the hostages are still alive as a video showing all of them was circulated to journalists on March 21.

MURIC said in a statement yesterday that it was deeply touched by the plight of the hostages as depicted in the photographs displayed on the

According to the statement signed by MURIC Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, “we remind the leader of Boko Haram, Mallam Ibrahim Shekau, and those connected with the kidnapping of the French hostages of the position of Islam on the treatment of women and children both in peace time and during wars.”

Citing various portions of the Glorious Qur’an, the statement explained further that men are enjoined to treat women kindly and that the Prophet of Islam described men who treat women kindly as the best among their peers.

“MURIC therefore appeals to Boko Haram to release the woman hostage and her four children in the light of the Islamic teachings,” the statement said.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

2015: INEC, opposition parties and credible elections A

lthough the year 2015 is still some two good years away, virtually everything in the country seems subordinated to the general elections billed for that year, and the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) has latched onto the mood, making all the noises about free and fair elections. But given the obvious intension of President Goodluck Jonathan to go for re-election in 2015, and the controversial emergence of multiple political groups with 'APC' acronym and INEC's initial ambiguity over the matter, there is serious doubt in the camp of the opposition parties that the electoral umpire will be able to walk its talk in 2015.

At the INEC's first quarter meeting with representatives of registered political parties in Abuja last week, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega had assured Nigerians that the commission would conduct much freer, fair and credible elections in 2015.

The meeting, according to Professor Jega, was called "to share information, exchange ideas, discuss mutual concerns and evolve partnership, as well as strengthen the good relationship which exists, in addressing challenges in the electoral process."

But the INEC's reassurance is obviously a product of the constant doubt expressed by the opposition political parties that the electoral body would really be able to improve on its maiden outing in 2011, and conduct free, fair and credible elections in 2015, especially given the undisguised interest of President Goodluck Jonathan to contest for re-election.

So much doubtful are members of the opposition that last month in Abuja, the leader of the Congress for Progressive (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari accused INEC of being in unholy alliance with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the judiciary and the security agencies.

And three weeks ago at the Africa Diaspora Conference in London, the former Head State and CPC's presidential candidate in the 2011 elections, General Muhammadu Buhari called for the overhaul of INEC, saying that the electoral body, as constituted presently, could not deliver any meaningful elections in 2015.

"In the run-up to the last elections, INEC requested (and

Prof Attahiru Jega received with indecent haste) in excess of N80 billion (about ÂŁ340m) a hefty sum by any standards, so that it could conduct the elections including organising a bio-metric voters data specifically for the 2011 elections. But when opposition parties challenged the patently dishonest figures it announced and subpoenaed the biometric data in court, INEC refused to divulge them on the laughable excuse of 'National Security'.

"INEC's top echelon is immersed deep in corruption and only wholesale changes at the top could begin to cure its malaise. What is required is a group of independent minded, patriotic and incorruptible people with the capacity to handle such a strenuous assignment of conducting

elections in Nigeria.

"It is not difficult to find such people but whether the Federal Government and the National Assembly have the inclination to do so, I am not so sure. The only way I and many more experienced politicians than myself expect the 2015 elections to be remotely free and fair is for the opposition to be so strong that they can effectively prevent INEC from rigging."

In what appears like kite flying, INEC, in a report credited to its Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega and the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Cross River State, Mr. Mike Igini, had recently expressed fears that elections may not hold in the North as a result of security challenges occasioned by the activities of Boko Haram. In the

“

In what appears like kite flying, INEC, in a report credited to its Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega and the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Cross River State, Mr. Mike Igini, had recently expressed fears that elections may not hold in the North as a result of security challenges occasioned by the activities of Boko Haram. In the views of observers, this was intended to prepare the ground for anything but free and fair elections when the time comes.

views of observers, this was intended to prepare the ground for anything but free and fair elections when the time comes.

But former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was quick to see through the ruse and react accordingly, declaring that "the entire North is peaceful, except for two states. I think it is a very inaccurate statement to make and certainly not from quarters such as INEC".

The controversy surrounding the emergence of three political groups aspiring to register with INEC as parties with the same acronym, APC has also called to question the assurances by the electoral umpire that it would be a dispassionate arbiter in 2015 contest.

Although the controversy over the nomenclature had been raging on for weeks, INEC only came out to make categorical statement over the matter two days ago when the Chairman denied that the commission was frustrating the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the new political group floated by the four leading opposition political parties; Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigera Peoples Party (ANPP), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and All Peoples Grand Alliance (APGA).

Professor Jega, who spoke

Federal Radio Kaduna Hausa programme, Hanu Dayawa Jega said that, "the issue has generated controversy in the past few weeks. Firstly, the truth is that no political party wrote to notify us that it is planning to merge with some other political parties until the past five days or so.

"It is not true that we were notified. The issue became serious when one group came out to seek for registration and I guess that was what made them to write and notify us. But that is not the issue. The main issue is that there are guidelines for registered political parties who want to merge to become a new party. There are also guidelines for individuals or groups who want to form a political party for registration.

"The guidelines for registering new political party are different from that of registered political parties who want to merge. For registered political parties who want to merge, they must have agreed to merge and each of the political party in the merger must hold a convention and agreed to withdraw their registration as a political party to become part of the new party to be formed through the merger.

"After their conventions, they are expected to write and request INEC to withdraw their former registration and say they want to join a new party. In spite of all the controversies, none of these political parties who want to merge has held their convention.

"We only read in the newspapers that they have the intention of merging and nobody wrote us until about five or six days ago. If anybody wants to register a political party, you are expected to tell INEC of your intention by saying that you want to register a party with so and so name and you want to know the procedure for doing so."

Although there have been persistent calls for electronic voting, Professor Jega ruled out the possibility of adopting the electronic voting in the 2015 general elections, saying since the constitution is against the use of the system, INEC would only use technology to improve on the registration of voters and the electoral process.

A former Secretary of INEC and retired Federal Permanent Secretary, Dr Hakeem BabaAhmed had urged the Federal Government to immediately consider adopting the electronic voting system as a major reform that would promote a free and fair election during the 2015 general elections.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 5

EFCC files fresh charge against Atuche From Matthew Irinoye - Lagos

T

he former Managing Director of Bank PHB, Mr. Francis Atuche, has been slammed with a fresh forgery charge by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The charge dated March 13, 2013, was filed before justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, by the commission.

The former bank chief was charged alongside two officials of Central Shared Services Centre of Keystone Bank Ltd., Joachim Nnosiri and Uguru Onyike on a nine-count charge of forgery.

According to the charged sheet signed by EFCC counsel, Mr. Ben Ubi, the commission alleged that the defendants had on March 4, 2013 , in Lagos, attempted to smuggle forged board resolutions of some companies into Keystone Bank, the successor of Bank PHB. EFCC claimed the forged board resolutions were said to have emanated from Futureview Securities Ltd., Tradjeck Ltd. and Extra Oil Ltd. According to the anti-graft agency, the board resolutions were allegedly signed by the Managing Director of the companies, Mrs. Elizabeth Ebi

Stories from Suleiman Idris, Lagos

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L-R: New Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji, in a handshake with President Goodluck Jonathan, after his swearing-in ceremony, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye and addressed to Keystone Bank.

EFCC said, the purpose of the board resolutions was to request a N10.9 billion credit facility from the bank .

It would be recalled that Ebi had earlier testified in Atuche's

N25.7 billion fraud trial before Justice Lateefat Okunnu, also of the Lagos High Court in Ikeja, that Atuche had granted a N10.9 billion loan facility to the companies without their knowledge or request.

The commission said the defendants offence contravened Sections 361 and 409 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2011. No date has been fixed for the arraignment of the defendants.

Father demands N11m from police for torturing son to death From Ahmed Mohammed Kaigama, Bauchi

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65 years old man is demanding N11 million as compensation from the police for allegedly torturing his son Bala Babangida Yashi, 25,to death.

Alhaji Bala Adamu who hails from Yashi village in Duguri district of Alkaleri in Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State, was at the Bauchi State Legal Aid Council's office alleging that his son was allegedly tortured to death by the police while in detention.

He particularly fingered one Musa Abdul, a policeman for beating his son severely while in a cell at the Maina Maji police outpost in Allakleri Local Government which subsequently led to his death.

The aggrieved old man said

the problem started when one Dan Bauchi, a resident of Yashi reported at the police station in Alkaleri on July 23, 2008 that his son allegedly lied against him that he (Dan Bauchi) was seen with a girl called Fareedah He added that "the village head of Yashi called Ibrahim Saleh came to the police station to secure bail for my son but the police refused to grant bail to my son insisting that they would only grant bail to the father and we rushed to the station when I received the news of my son's predicament".

"Prior to his arrest, I sent my son on an errand that fateful morning before I went to the farm. When I returned from the farm I was told what happened, and when I reached the police station, they brought my son out in a very bad shape. His

younger brother had to carry him and we went home.

He told me that Musa the policeman tortured him. That he kept beating him, matching him, beating him in the cell."

The father of the deceased man said he went to the police station the next day to ask the police to accompany his son to the hospital but the police refused and had to seek a lawyer who stood as a guarantor before his son was admitted at the Specialist Hospital, Bauchi.

Bala said nothing was done about the issue and so he had to write a letter of complaint to the State Sharia Commission and also reported the matter to the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria after over one year of waiting and nothing was done.

He appealed to Governor Isa Yuguda , Inspector General of Police to investigate the matter

and "help me I am a poor man but I need justice over the death of my son and I have a certificate of his death released from the Specialist Hospital Bauchi which confirmed the truth on how my son was brought to the Hospital unconscious.

A letter by the Legal Aid Council addressed to the Bauchi State Commissioner of police dated January 7, 2010, signed by the State Officer of the council, Barrister Muhammed Hanbali azzubayr, expressed regret that despite several complaints, made by the aggrieved father, nothing was done by the police to address the matter.

When contacted Police Public Relations Officer Bauchi state Police Command ASP Hassan Mohammed Auyo said he was not aware of the incident.

Police rescues 6 year old from kidnappers in Nasarawa From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

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olice authorities in Nasarawa state have rescued a 6 year old boy, Master Joseph Akpan, kidnapped by a five-man gang of armed robbers who stormed the residence of Mr. Nkeweuren Thompson Akpan, a civil servant with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

In the process, the police recovered one Beretta pistol, one locally made pistol with

FAAN generates N100m from Lagos domestic airport

seven rounds of 9mm ammunition, a flash drive, ATM cards and an identity card belonging to the father of the kidnapped boy.

According to a release made available to journalists in Lafia, signed by the command spokesman, DSP Michael Ada, the robbers gained access to the residence of Mr. Akpan, who resides in Aso "C" in Mararaba, when the victim was returning from a church service on January 23, 2013, at about 2130 hours.

The robbers ransacked the

house at gun point, carting away N150, 000 cash, laptop, handsets and other valuables.

Not satisfied, the robbers took away little Akpan, demanding for N10 million ransom before the boy would be released.

Senior Akpan alerted the Mararaba police "A"Division whose DPO, SP Emega John, alerted the Control Room in Lafia, igniting manhunt through all police formations in Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory.

Detectives from the State

Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) and operatives of the State Intelligence (SIB) joined the search, following which a team led by Cpl Simon Adamu, trailed the gang to an uncompleted building located at Orange Market in Mararaba.

One Eze Laurent Nwachukwu, under interrogation, disclosed where little Akpan was kept in another uncompleted building in Jikoyi (FCT) where policemen picked him alive.

he Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN yesterday disclosed that it has so far generated over N100 million from the newly remodeled domestic airport in Lagos.

The facility was commissioned on Monday, October 22, 2012 by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim.

Also, the agency said that by 2015, it hopes to operate independent of the federal government budget as revenue generated by it could drive its operations.

Managing Director of FAAN, Mr. George Uriesi made the disclosure yesterday in Lagos when he received members of the House of Representative committee on aviation who were on an oversight visit to the agencies in Lagos.

Mr. Uriesi said though the agency has experienced some shortfall in expected revenue, its anticipated projection for the year is still on course especially as the remodeled facilities across the country are beginning to attract revenue from non-aeronautical sources.

According to him, the agency is currently carrying out 73 projects simultaneously nationwide and when completed, would boost the revenue base of the agency toward its sustainability by 2015.

Uriesi disclosed that nonpayment of revenue by major airlines also hampered the revenue base but said that they have entered discussions on how the airlines and others would remit the revenues to FAAN.

We followed fed character rules in employment, says NAMA MD

F

ollowing the disclosure recently that the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) tilted its employment in favour of a particular part of Nigeria, the agency yesterday said that it followed the Federal Character Commission requirement that stipulates that every appointment into the federal civil service must include persons from the different geopolitical zones of the country.

NAMA Managing Director Mr. Nnamdi Udoh disclosed that the agency only employed 32 people from Abia state out of 797 staff engaged so far by the agency in the past four years accounting for only 4% of the total employment figures.

He told the House of Representative committee on aviation in Lagos that NAMA has clarified the issue with the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Federal Character Commission; both agencies had invited it to defend the imbalance.

PAGE 6

My wife talks too much, man tells court

A

lhaji Muyideen Idris of Gambari area, Ilorin, on Monday told an Ilorin Area Court that his wife, Jemilat Muyideen, is a 'talkative' and have funny manners.

The petitioner further said that’s "'my wife cannot hold on to any secret because she will go and reveal it to friends and outsiders due to her behaviour."

The 48-year-old man prayed the court to dissolve his fiveyear-old marriage which was contracted in 2008 and has produced two male children. "'My Lord, I want an end to this marriage because I hate exposing my private life and affairs to outsiders, which my wife cannot stop doing," said the petitioner.

On her part, Jemilat, the defendant, objected to the prayer of her husband saying she is still interested in the marriage. "I admit that I am wrong and I promise to change and stop seeking for advice from friends as my husband wishes," she said.

She prayed the court to grant her more time to make some amends and to initiate a reconciliatory move.

The Presiding Judge, Mr Yusuf Abdulkareem, adjourned the case till April 10 for a report of settlement or continuation of hearing. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

Again, ‘Desert Herald’ Publisher escapes assassination in Kaduna

By Sonde Abbah

F

or the third time in less than three years, Publisher of Desert Herald newspaper, Mallam Tukur Mamu, again narrowly escaped being killed by a gang of heavily armed suspected assassins at the weekend in his Kaduna office, according to a statement from the management.

"On Friday, 22nd March, 2013, four gunmen invaded the corporate headquarters of Fuza

Communication Services Limited, publishers of Desert Herald newspaper and magazine, at about 5:15pm," said the statement signed by the newspaper's Deputy Editor, Sadiq Umar.

The statement noted that the target of the assassins, was obviously Mamu as they threatened the security man with their assault rifles and forced themselves into the office.

According to the statement, "they went straight to the VIP wing of the office where Mamu

usually attends to visitors and does his weekly production work where they met the Production Manager.

"The gunmen ransacked the entire VIP wing and threatened to kill the Production Manager if he did not tell them the whereabouts of the publisher.

"It was in the process of the confrontation that a staff in the nearby office alerted Mamu through the office intercom and that was how he escaped through the back door."

L-R: Country Representative, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), Mrs Mariam Sissoko; Director General, National Agency for Drugs and Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii; and Director General, National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Alhaji Ahmadu Giade, during the public presentation of the 2013 Annual Narcotic Drugs Report by the International Narcotic Control Board, yesterday in Abuja.

Ojukwu family withdraws suit against Bianca From Matthew Irinoye, Lagos

F

amily of the late Ikemba, Odumegwu-Ojukwu yesterday withdrew its suit over property against Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu, before a Lagos High Court.

The family's firm, Transport Company, which is represented by one of its directors, Dr. Ike Ojukwu, filed the N140 million suit before Justice Adedayo Oyebanji of the Lagos High Court sitting in Igbosere.

It had demanded compensation of N100 million and payment of N40 million being the expected rentable value per year of the said premises from September 27, 2012 until the defendant gives up possession of the property.

However, it filed a notice of discontinuance of the suit dated February 5, 2013 through its counsel, Ike Ubahakwa.

During proceedings yesterday, Bianca's counsel, Nick Omeya, did not object to the application.

Consequently, the trial judge granted the company's application to strike out the case.

"Pursuant to the notice of discontinuance dated February 5, 2013, this suit is hereby struck court," the court ruled.

The statement said that Mamu reported the matter to the Kaduna state Commissioner of Police and at Divisional Police Station at Malai, adding that it was the third assassination on the Desert Herald Publisher in less than three years.

Mamu later told reporters in an interview that, "this is not a Boko Haram issue as I believe some agents of government are at work again but we will remain committed to the service of humanity."

Photo: Justin ImoOwo

NAFDAC moves to moderate use of narcotics by medical personnel

By A'isha Biola Raji

N

ational Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it is committed to safeguarding the use of narcotics, psychotropic substances, precursors and other such controlled substances, in order to ensure their use are for both medical and scientific

reasons alone.

This was disclosed by the NAFDAC Director General, Dr. Paul Orhii, in Abuja yesterday at the launch of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) report 2012.

According to Orhii, the annual presentation of INCB report by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime goes a long way in preventing travails

caused by drug abuse, drug trafficking, illegal production and inadequate access to pain killers.

He described Nigeria as one of the countries with the lowest use of opioids (powerful painrelieving substances that are used as analgesics or pain medications), as stated by the report to Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND).

FG, Nasarawa sign MoU for technology incubation centre From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

T

he federal and Nasarawa state governments have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the establishment of a technology incubation centre in Lafia.

At the ceremony yesterday, the Deputy Governor, Hon. Dameshi Luka Barau, signed the document on behalf of the government while Prof. Gambo Laraba Abdullahi, Director-General, National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), signed on behalf of the Federal Government.

According to Gambo, the proposed centre will seek to address

the issue of unemployment, as according to her, "we have unemployment because we do not have industries and government is not supposed to be the sole employer but to provide services and make sure that laws and policies are implemented."

She argued that universities continue to churn out graduates on yearly basis with no assurances for employment while researches are left to gather dust on shelves and noted further that the programme was initiated to bring together talents, capital and knowledge and give integrated support programme for the creation of a technology-based industry.

As she put it, "in the 21st century, innovation has become the product and there is the need to add value to the country's industrial process in order to catch up with the global trend."

In his response, the Deputy Governor said that the administration of Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura was set to transform the society through technology acquisition.

According to him, the centre would go a long way in availing the teeming unemployed youth in the state the rare opportunity to shake-off idleness and engage in productive ventures.

Orhii said the low use of opioids for medical purpose has however necessitated the need for obtaining pain killers for use in both public and private facilities.

He said, "this has necessitated the procurement of morphine powder and other analgesics to improve access to essential pain relief medicines for Nigerians who needed them.

"Today, we are proud to say that oral morphine is now available in the country and the Federal Ministry of Health is currently renovating a new production laboratory that will produce morphine and it will also work with partners to improve clinical training and awareness.

Presenting the INCB report, UNODC Representative, Ms. Mariam Sissoko, warned against legalisation of drug possession by non-medical and non-scientific users as well as cultivation and use of cannabis for non-medical purposes.

Sissoko said that: "The INCB cautions government that any such initiatives if implemented would violate the international drug control system."

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

Jonathan charges new HOS to sanitize civil service

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday ordered the new Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji to tackle corruption and restore sanity and discipline in the civil service.

Speaking shortly after swearing in Aji at the State House, Jonathan told the new Head of Service to pursue the implementation of the performance management system in the civil service with vigour.

According to him, the full implementation of the performance management system would positively improve the ability of civil servants to discharge their

responsibilities.

Jonathan said the civil service was historically acknowledged as the citadel of excellence where the best brains, equipment and strategies are engaged, stressing that Aji must work hard to bring back that type of civil service in the interest of the nation.

The President appealed to all civil servants to lend their unalloyed support to Aji especially the permanent secretaries that would work with him, saying that they should cooperate in the movement of greater efficiency, dedication, patriotism in service.

Jonathan said, "I will want to especially draw your attention to the ongoing

reforms aimed at our nation's rapid economic development" "As you set about your duties, the expectation of the government and our peoples is that you will now build on the achievement's of your predecessors so as to complete on-going reforms. " In particular, you must focus on those sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, education, health amongst others. The civil service which you now head is very central to the realization of our transformation agenda as a people and the associated hopes and aspirations of our citizens", the President told Aji. Jonathan expressed appreciation to the former

Head of Service, Isa Bello Sali whom the President said served the nation meritoriously before retiring from service last week.

Speaking with State House Correspondents after he was sworn in, Aji said that his immediate priority was to reposition the Civil Service for the attainment of the objectives under the transformation agenda of government "How we intend to do this is that we will slightly depart from the way we do things, we will be fast tracking the processes so that we will ensure there are concrete outcomes for our people to see", Aji said.

Aji also said the he would also tackle the issue of job racketeering in the Civil Service

Gombe: NSCDC to train 200 men on counter-terrorism From David Hassan, Gombe

T

he Gombe state commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr. Joel Onoritsebawo Khestossen yesterday said his command has made necessary arrangements to train 200 men on the use of arms to counter terrorism in the area.

Speaking to Peoples Daily in Gombe, the commandant said it was mandatory for the command to train its men on counterterrorism so asto safe guard lives and properties of citizenry.

He said in line with the arrangement made between the commandant general of the NSCDC and the chief of army staff, the Gombe state command found it necessary to train its men so as to combat crime in the state.

The commandant said his men were able to carry their legitimate functions in the state effectively interms of maintaining law and order and the prevention of vandalization of valuable property in the state.

The commandant added that insecurity in north -East region was alarming, stressing that in order to eradicate the menace in the area, communities must inform security agencies on the activities of insurgents in the area in order to tackle the menace.

Al-makura tasks religious leaders on peace

By Umar Muhammad Puma

N

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Police Affairs, Alhaji Aliyu Numan, and Permanent Secretary, Office of Secretary to the Government of Fedaration, Mr. John Gana, during their official visit to the State House, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Adamawa varsity honors ex-students for being good ambassadors From Umar Dankano, Yola

T

he Vice Chancellor of Adamawa State University (ADSU), Mubi,, Dr. Alkasum Abba has honoured two former students of the university for being good ambassadors of the institution during their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.

Presenting the ex students, Mr. Aminu Pius and Mr. Desmond Declan to newsmen in a ceremony, Dr Abba, said the celebrants who were graduates of Public Administration won State Honours Award and were nominated for National Award at Ebonyi state where they did their primary assignments in the recently concluded 2012/13

service year.

Represented by the Head of Department Public Administration and Political Science, Dr Ndaliman Hassan, Abba said the feat by the former students was a credible reflection of the young university's intellectual and character building effort.

Abba commended the state government for its sustained support to ADSU, the first state university in the North East and assured that the institution would continue to deliver quality students in knowledge and character.

Speaking on the honour, the celebrants Aminu Pius and Desmond Declan, said they were proud to be associated with the university and that the

knowledge and motivation they got at the institution played a vital role in their achievements during the service year.

Pius who served at Afikpo South Local Government said during the service year, said he executed community projects such as construction of desk for primary schools, gave free books to some schools as well as embarked on HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns.

"I also engaged in farming and after the harvest of my yam and maize, I distributed the produce to the less privilege to promote love", said Pius.

On his part, Declan who served in Abakaliki, the state capital, said as someone with talents in fashion design, he carried out entrepreneurship training in fashion design for

inmates in Abakaliki prison.

Declan said he also produced traffic jackets and distributed them to police, FRSC and NYSC community development service officials. " I also checked an erosion area that had been causing accident along a road", said Declan who explained that he spent only N92, 000 given to him by Ebonyi state Local Government Service Commission for all the projects.

He called on institutions to always prepare their students going on NYSC to enable them make impacts on the community where they serve.

Declan urged those calling for the scrapping of NYSC to rather come with suggestions on how to improve it for maximum benefit.

asarawa state Governor Umar Tanko Al-makura, has i m p l o r e d religious leaders to continue preaching the gospel of peace,tolerance and mutual coexistence amongst the people in the state.

The governor who made the call in Abuja through his senior specialassistant on media and press affairs, Sani Musa Mairiga said, his administration is working tirelessly to better the living conditions of the people despite the fact that the federal monthly allocation to the state is nothing to write home about.

He stressed that the crisis witness in some parts of the state would soon pave way for peace and tranquility because government has set up machinery to proffer solutions to the immediate and remote causes of the lingering crisis, even as he warned that mischief makers would not be shielded from facing the full wrath of the Law. He called on the traditional rulers in the state to strive hard to maintain peaceful co- existence in their domains, "as custodians of our culture and tradition".

On his administrations preparedness to conduct local government elections in the state, Mairiga said legal, rather than political considerations stopped the conduct of the local government elections in the state as former local government council chairmen elected during the Aliyu Akwe Doma administration filed a suit at a state high court challenging their removal from office by Doma.

The chairmen claimen that the constitution guaranteed them three years tenure of office but the former governor shortened it to two, in what the former government claimed was part of the implementation of a purported amended local Government Law of 2008.

The media aide said the case is now before the supreme court, adding that council elections would be held after pronouncement on the matter by the apex court before

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

Frequent money problems: Why they're your entire fault?

I

love writing about money - not because I'm obsessed with wealth (or my relative lack thereof), but because I think the way we spend our money reflects who we are, good or bad. That's probably why I bought the very first condo I saw. I'm known to be impatient, impulsive even, in just about all things.

Was it a mistake? So far so good, but I left a lot more to fate than is probably wise in a six-figure purchase. And let's just say that I hope to exercise a little more selfcontrol next time. Of course, whether it'll actually work out that way is another story altogether.

But that's really what issues that surround money are all about, isn't it? The way we behave with our money is a lot like many other things in life - we know what we should do, but that hardly means we actually do it. We know we should exercise, avoid fast food, and eat more vegetables just like we know we should spend less, avoid debt, and save more of our money. Most of us struggle with both, at least sometimes. The key to solving money problems, then, often isn't about outside factors (like

Money Tip: Passion in Business and Life

I

t isn't necessary to build a business based on passion.

There are many successful companies that have relied on the financial viability of the product or service they're providing. But I also know that the people who run these companies don't feel as fulfilled, happy, or inspired as those who launch businesses around topics they're passionate about. If you are looking to succeed in business and also live a fulfilling life, then here are a few things to consider: If your day job is too demanding or leaves you with little time or freedom to launch a side business, then you may need to think about making a move.

Find a job that gives you the time to explore other opportunities.

Alternatively, you can consider establishing a simple business that will generate profit daily. Use this as a short-term, money-making measure, or as a bridge between your current job and achieving your long-term goal of building your passion into a profitable business.

"If you're a young person who still has the option of living at home with parents, do so. I cannot stress this enough. It keeps your living costs as low as possible so you have the freedom to build a business based on your passion.

Quote March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move toward perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns, or the sharp stones on life's path.

- Kahlil Gibran

making more money). Instead, it's about our own habits and behaviors.

So how can we make better choices when it comes to money?

First, we need to accept that our money problems are (usually) entirely our own fault. Then, it's time to stop relying on selfdiscipline and develop habits that put bad choices out of reach.

What's the problem?

I think the key to unraveling any money problem is to first accept that the problem is probably an emotional one. Just think about some of the money problems people tend to get into.

Debt is one of the most obvious, and if you've ever watched SuzeOrman or Dave Ramsay or Oprah address this, it's pretty clear that debt goes much deeper than just a frivolous desire to acquire more. For some people, a desire to give their kids all the things they never had growing up makes it impossible for them to say "no." For others, a financial setback has them feeling too ashamed to admit they can no longer afford the lifestyle they're used to. And far too many people feel important, triumphant - even happy - when they come home from the mall with an armload of new purchases - whether they can afford them or not.

Anyone can see that those things aren't really about money, which is why all the money in the world is likely to lead these people down the exact same path. That may be why so many lottery winners end up penniless in a few years. They throw their money everywhere, because what they're

looking for is something money can't really buy. The problem is that while we all fall prey to emotion-driven money behavior from time to time, few of us are aware of it.

Who's to blame?

Let me just start by saying that not all money problems are the result of emotional issues. People lose their jobs, rack up huge medical bills, or fall victim to some other financial pitfall that's beyond their control. I get that. But what I also know is that a whole lot more people make excuses for themselves and blame their problems on things that are outside of their control rather than face the fact that they themselves are the real problem. I know this because not only have I seen a lot of people

do it, but because I also have a tendency to do it myself.

You see what I'm getting at here, right? Your money - and all the issues that come with it - are your problem. Admit that, and making better choices will be easier. After all, it'll be a lot harder to ignore what are really just consequences of your own bad choices when you have no one else to blame.

OK...Now what?

Even if you know you make bad choices when it comes to your money, making better ones is always hard. That's why I think it's best to leave as little to choice as possible. Several recent studies on decision-making have indicated the existence of something called "decision fatigue." In essence,

researchers believe that decisionmaking and willpower may come from the same mental store. When we are overburdened with decisions, our decision-making suffers - and so does our willpower.

This is why so many people make poor spending choices at the end of a long and stressful day at work, or grab a few impulse buys on their way out of the grocery store.

When it comes to your money, then, it's best not to leave everything to choice. Don't choose to spend less leave only enough in your checking account for planned expenses. Don't choose to not use your credit cards cut them up or lock them away so that you can't pull them out in a moment of weakness. Don't choose to save a portion of your paycheck have it withdrawn from your account automatically. In other words, rather than making better decisions, try to make fewer decisions.

That way, you'll be able to save up your self-discipline for when a tough choice really is required - and hopefully make a better one.

A tangled web If you struggle with money problems, you probably already know that it's a complicated issue.

But next time you catch yourself doing something with your money that you know you shouldn't, stop and ask yourself why you're doing it. You might be surprised by the answer, but in many cases you'll be most surprised to learn that it's not your money that's the problem - it's you. Once you get that messy business out of the way, you'll be far better prepared to do something about it.

How to entertain in a restaurant E

ntertaining in a restaurant will spare you a lot of work, but you also have less control over events. That's why you need to make arrangements in advance.

Here's how: Select a restaurant with your guests' preferences in mind. For example, if your guests are vegetarians, don't select a steakhouse; pick a restaurant with a more diverse menu. " If possible, visit the restaurant to make reservations. " Speak with MaĂŽtre d' or owner for special requests such as a special table or menu. " If you are giving a surprise party and want to serve a special cake, find out if the restaurant will prepare one for you. If you want to bring your own cake, clear it in advance with the restaurant. " If hosting a large group, prepare place cards. Either make arrangements with the restaurant to lay them out for you, or arrive early enough to do it yourself. " If you will have guests from out of the area, request directions from the restaurant. Most restaurants have directions with maps that you can send to your guests. " Call the day before your event to confirm your reservations. " Arrive before guests to introduce yourself to wait staff.

" Inform MaĂŽtre D' that you will be the person responsible for the bill. " Pay for coat checking before guests arrive.

Throughout meal, be aware of your guests' satisfaction with their

food and service. If there is a problem, bring it up with the owner or MaĂŽtre D'.

Tips: Select a location that is appropriate for your event. If you are hosting a serious business

meeting, choose a quiet restaurant that offers privacy.

Purchase a good restaurant review book if you're not familiar with the restaurants in your area.

(Source: About.com Guide)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

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EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

S

Chinua Achebe (1930 - 2013)

ome authors are famous for their literary skills, as evident in their classic books.

Others are, however, renowned for sundry other stuffs such as activism, advocacy, politics, etc, aside for their literary works.

Chinua Achebe, the globally acclaimed literary luminary who kicked the proverbial bucket last weekend, aged 82, combined both literary prowess and political activism. Achebe, winner of countless local and global awards, hit the literally scene running with his blockbuster novel, Things Fall Apart. Barely had the book been published than it started attracting critical acclaims around the world.

His poetic prose, mastery of the English language, wit, and remarkable prowess as a story teller - not to mention the way he used proverbs as the "palm oil with which words are eaten" - electrified all and sundry.

But the wordsmith was not finished with his masterpieces, as evident in his subsequent works.

These include Arrow Of God, A Man Of The People, the Trouble With Nigeria, Chike And The River, and Girls At War. With trademark short, deceptively simple, and direct sentences, Achebe's books stand out as some of the finest among the literary works of his generation.

The fallen writer's genius was not restricted to the literary arena. As a crusader for the common good, Achebe stood out. And, as this newspaper has pointed out, "for as long as many could remember, the acclaimed author had stood out on account of his activism and

“

we urge the government to not only accord Achebe a befitting burial but build a monument that would testify to the exemplary work and life of this rare gem unbending principles. Not for him the cant and chicanery that hallmarks the life of the typical prominent Nigerian politician or public office holder. Not for him the doublespeak that is the stock-intrade of your typical "statesman".

What of the complicity and unholy alliance with ungodly rulers?

Certainly not for Prof. Chinua Achebe."

The Majaha reports in his Suna that the Prophet of Allah said: "The best form of Jihad is to tell a word of

OUR MISSION “To be the market place of ideas and the leading player in the industry by putting the people first, upholding the truth, maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards while delivering value to our stakeholders”

truth to an oppressive ruler." Ask the nation's present and former oppressive rulers and virtually all of them would regale you with tales of how Achebe had, through his own brand of "Jihad", terrified them with bitter truths. Also witness the way he threw back the awards given him by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the sitting President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Instead of embracing such national honours as if his life depended on them (the way many a Nigerian love to do) Achebe spoke ''word of truth to oppressive rulers'' by rejecting the awards in his own inimitable style.

Achebe was, in short, an uncommon compatriot. In his writings as well as in his speeches and actions, he demonstrated what Franz Fanon said in his book, The Wretched of The Earth: The future will have no pity on those who, despite being in a position to tell words of truth to unworthy leaders, find refuge in silence or collaboration.

For being an exception to the rule, for not winking at evil, the present and future alike would certainly have pity on this exemplary man of the people. In this respect we urge the government to not only accord Achebe a befitting burial but build a monument that would testify to the exemplary works and life of this rare gem. Adieu, Achebe.

OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

CHAIRMAN MALAM WADA MAIDA, OON, FNGE DIRECTOR/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RUFA’I IBRAHIM ACTING EDITOR, DAILY HAMEED M. BELLO

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER ALI M. ALI

HEAD, ADVERT/MARKETING HUSSAINI ABDULRAHMAN, CNA

ACTING EDITOR, WEEKEND JAMILA NUHU MUSA

MANAGER, ADMINISTRATION HASSAN HAMMANYAJI

HEAD, LAGOS BUREAU ADESOJI OYINLOLA

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

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 13

Jonathan, it's time you were impeached

By Joel Brinkley

J

ust outside President Goodluck Jonathan's office sat 17 ambulances, just in case he or one of his aides took ill.

They were seldom, if ever, used.

No actual health-care facility nationwide had as many and, in fact, a few still have none at all.

But as soon as a Nigerian newspaper took a photo of the ambulances and published a story about them, they suddenly disappeared - probably to an underground garage.

Jonathan is president of Nigeria, which should be among the world's most prosperous nations. After all, it produces an estimated 2.4 million barrels of oil each and every day. With oil now selling at $93.61 a barrel, that's $224 million in income daily. And yet many hospitals can't afford to buy an ambulance. The reason, in my view: Nigeria is the most corrupt nation on earth.

Sure, Transparency International lists almost three dozen states as more corrupt Chad, Haiti, Laos, Yemen, Cambodia and the like. But are any of those nations as wealthy as Nigeria - taking in $81 billion annually, just from the sale of oil? No, not even one of them. So Nigeria steals and squanders more money than any other nation, making it the world's most corrupt nation, by that

By Ibrahim Biu

N

ow that almost all the traditional and community leaders in the Federal Capital Territory have expressed full support for the land-swap programme of the FCT administration, I think the coast is clear for its implementation. It will be recalled that at a recent stake holders meeting with the FCT minister, Sen. Bala Mohammed, the monarchs openly supported the programme after they agreed with its framework, presented by ten investors involved in the mass housing programme in the FCT. The ten investors are Rosehill Group, Afri - International Projects Limited, Bolmus Nigeria Limited, Ridley Group, CRCC Nigeria Limited and Hongye Group. Others are AM-PM Global Network Limited, Urban Shelter Infrastructure Limited, Gilmor Engineering Services Limited, First Aries Petroleum & Crude Oil Production, System Properties & Development Consortium Limited, PIMA International Limited and Ketti Infrastructures Limited. They have all signed an MOU with the FCTA, aimed at fast tracking implementation of the scheme. The traditional rulers were enthusiastic about the integration of the original inhabitants of the FCT into the programme. One of the conditions given to the investors by the FCDA is that the investors must provide up to date infrastructure within a stipulated time frame, apart from ensuring that 40 percent of the land allocated to them will be given back to the FCTA. The infrastructure to be provided

measure.

Nigerian journalist, Musikilu, finds all this so discouraging. "With its geopolitical power, economic resources and middle class," he laments, "no country (with the possible exception of Saudi Arabia and Egypt) has the power to change the course of black/African civilization like Nigeria." After all, Nigeria is Africa's most populous state and large, twice the size of California.

So Nigerians are living an opportunity squandered particularly now. Egypt is in turmoil. In just the last few

days, in fact, many Egyptians have been calling for a military coup - anything to rid the state of its widely despised Muslim Brotherhood government. And a new report by the World Economic Forum ranked Egypt the least safe and secure tourist destination among 140 tourist nations evaluated.

Egypt has lost its place as the Arab/African worlds' leader, and Saudi Arabia never had it.

So for Nigeria, the time is ripe.

But its leaders seem interested only in stealing the state's money to make themselves rich beyond imagining. Think about it: $81 billion a year just from

“

Egypt has lost its place as the Arab/ African worlds' leader, and Saudi Arabia never had it. So for Nigeria, the time is ripe.

But its leaders seem interested only in stealing the state's money to make themselves rich beyond imagining. Think about it: $81 billion a year just from oil, while most every local government official still tells his people the nation just doesn't have enough money to fix the roads, schools or hospitals

oil, while most every local government official still tells his people the nation just doesn't have enough money to fix the roads, schools or hospitals.

(Roads are in such a terrible shape that government officials generally travel any distance by helicopter.)

And Nigeria's people - well, they are as mistreated as any on earth. In only nine nations among them Liberia, Sierra Leone and Somalia - do more mothers die during childbirth.

And in only 10 states, including Chad, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe, is the average life expectancy lower. Right now the average Nigerian's average life span ends at 52. That may be why the median age of Nigerians is just 18.

A few months ago, the Economist Intelligence Unit published an evaluation of the best places for babies to be born in 2013, given their probable welfare as children and the chance for a safe, comfortable, prosperous life. Switzerland, Australia and Norway were the top three. The United States came in at 16th, largely because "babies will inherit the large debts of the boomer generation."

Dead last: Nigeria. "It is the worst place for a baby to enter the world in 2013," the report said. Even with all that wealth, only just over half the population has access to clean

drinking water, and one-third to a toilet, UNICEF says. Twothirds live below the poverty line. Only one child in four who contract pneumonia is given antibiotics, and only about half the population is literate.

The CIA also cites endemic "soil degradation; rapid deforestation; urban air and water pollution." All this in a county whose gross domestic product stands at $236 billion a year, in the same league as Denmark, Chile, Israel and the United Arab Emirates prosperous, successful states to be envied.

Goodluck Jonathan is certainly aware of all of this.

After all, taking the oath of office, he swore to "devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of Nigeria. So help me God." Well, just last week he demonstrated who he really is and what he stands for when he pardoned a former state governor who had been convicted of embezzling state funds and laundering the money. That pardon triggered a broad, angry uproar. Good luck, Mr. Jonathan. It's time you were impeached.

Joel Brinkley is the Hearst professional in residence at Stanford University and a Pulitzer Prize-winning former correspondent for The New York Times.

Royalty and FCT land swap policy must be in line with global best practice.

The land swap system is aimed providing critical infrastructure in all the new districts of the FCT, making use of private investors due to dwindling funding from the Federal Government which has said repeatedly that it alone can no longer continue to shoulder the burden of providing the needed infrastructure, mostly because of inadequate finances and the fact that more and more people now need the structures because of population explosion over the years. With population explosion, it has become necessary to provide more infrastructures because existing ones have been overstretched.

Abuja was planned for about 1.3 million people initially. However as at now it is estimated that there are about 3 million people or so in Abuja which makes it very necessary for new

infrastructures to be provided to the people if they are not to live in shanty and un-planned houses like in some of our cities.

The land swap scheme is the government's idea of meeting the infrastructure challenge in the FCT. At least, 30billion Naira will be needed to develop infrastructure in only one district while the entire allocation of the MFCT from the federal government is just about 46 billion Naira annually.

Therefore, the FCT administration needs 300billion Naira to provide physical infrastructure in all the ten new districts.

I see the collaboration between the investors and traditional rulers as an important factor in the success of the land swap programme as a way of meeting the housing demand in the FCT. As leaders of the original inhabitants of the territory their endorsement of

“

the scheme will remove the initial suspicion that beclouded the intentions of the FCT administration. By being brought into the scheme, the aborigines, are assured of owning their own houses in the territory. They will not be just tenants on their "own" land, something they had feared about the land swap scheme. It is only through this system that their status in life could be improved.

Some of the salient issues ordinary people had with the land swap programme included the place of the common man in the project; what will happen to them when the 10 districts are fully developed, what will happen to low income earners in these districts, ten years from now, how will their interest be taken care of especially because within the 10 districts it is expected that menial workers like cooks, drivers, cleaners,

Some of the salient issues ordinary people had with the land swap programme included the place of the common man in the project; what will happen to them when the 10 districts are fully developed, what will happen to low income earners in these districts, ten years from now, how will their interest be taken care of especially because within the 10 districts it is expected that menial workers like cooks, drivers, cleaners, gardeners etc are expected to be gainfully engaged by the well to do and even the government

gardeners etc are expected to be gainfully engaged by the well to do and even the government.

Another issue of interest to the poor people was how to ensure that the requirement of two percent of land area to be designated for solid housing was met. This very issue, I believe, has been sorted out with the integration of the indigenous population into the programme.

The most important thing about this programme is that it has allowed for unfettered interaction between the people and the FCTA and between the people and the investors unlike before when FCT residents woke up only to bulldozers demolishing their house after a short notice. Under the new arrangement, people are not only being consulted but they are going to be carried along in the decision making process.

It does appear that the people have accepted the g after making their own inputs which government has also welcomed.

For instance, they have selected some individuals to dialogue with the relevant stakeholders on their behalf. Some of the indigenes have been consulted by a youth leader who has been going round with a goodwill message from the government.

This has been the case in the past three weeks or so. It is believed that adequate publicity in the media will go a long way to removeany lingering doubts about the land swap scheme.

Ibrahim Biu resides in FCT, Abuja.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 14

Compliance with Nigeria Trade Hub Portal

By Suleiman Uba

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nyone who is familiar with the import and export business in Nigeria can testify to how tedious the process used to be. It could take days or even weeks to complete due to the various documentations importers, exporters and their agents have to do with the various regulatory agencies.

The trading community had been faced with the frustration of going from one agency to the other, repeating the submission of relevant import/export documents, thereby taking longer than necessary to complete the importation or exportation process and at higher cost. This very challenge has often been cited as a major factor encouraging smuggling in the country. Overtime, Nigeria- bound cargo has been found to be diverted to neighbouring ports from where they are smuggled into the country.

But this has now ceased to be the case as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has developed a web-based application known as the Nigeria Trade Hub Portal, simplifying the process and providing information and guidance for international trade business processors in the areas of import, export and transit trade.

This is part of the NCS' continuous effort at consolidating on its modernization, preparatory for eventual takeover from the service providers come June, 2013. Recall that the service providers' contract was extended by the federal government in December, 2012, by six months, which will end by June this year.

The new portal, www.nigeriatradehub.gov.ng, a non-restrictive online medium, is

By Olanrewaju Suraju

F

irst, it came as a rumour that President Goodluck Jonathan was contemplating state pardon for his former boss and political benefactor Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamiyesegha, aka DSP. Alas, like a bad dream, Nigerians got a rude shock from Mr. President. 'DSP' did benefit from the state-granted pardon for some ex-political convicts. It would be recalled that this same DSP looted and laundered the money meant to improve the lot of Bayelsans during his tenure as governor, with President Goodluck Jonathan as his deputy then. He was arrested in Britain and charged to court but he shamelessly escaped from house arrest and returned to Nigeria as governor.

Morally, granting of pardon to Alamieyeseigha is nothing short of the president's insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians who suffer daily the consequences of the corrupt actions of its leaders. Nigeria has lost over $380 billion dollars to graft between 1960 and 1999.

This is the same country that 60% of these citizens leave on less than a dollar a day.

This President has no regard for public morality and for the wider implication of its several inappropriate and inauspicious actions and decisions. It is unimaginable what political calculations this is meant to balance. One sure thing though, is that the Country's best interest

move. an intuitive Furthermore, and interactive information platform for entered on the classifying portal by goods. Through Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text importers or this portal, messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written exporters can be trade processors contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 simultaneously are enabled to words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and accessed by find exact other Harmonised a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed regulatory System Codes to: agencies such as (HS Codes) NAFDAC, required for The Editor, NESREA, SON, related tariffs Nigeria Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, and duties. This Agricultural latest 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja.

Quarantine technology by Email: opinion@peoplesdaily-online.com Services the Nigeria SMS: 07037756364 (NAQS), as the Customs platform is industry shared by all analysts have said will enhance compliance by other stakeholders and partners. relevant regulatory agencies. traders and avail them the The Nigeria Trade Hub is a The application will no doubt required information on tariff in collaboration of agencies such as ease the frustrations of traders areas like the prohibited items National Agency for Food, Drug by intuitively guiding them via and taxes/levies due for payment Administration Control the classification tool, which upon importation.

(NAFDAC), National presents a series of questions to The application is also Environmental Standards and the user until the right HS code designed to touch on the aspect of Regulation Enforcement Agency for the product is found, thereby trade facilitation such that trade (NESREA), Standard aiding compliance. This helps to processors can access information Organisation of Nigeria (SON) eliminate the era of going from from all related government and the NAQS. one agency to another to submit agencies. Guidelines and The most interesting feature the same document, which is procedures for obtaining permits, of the portal is that from the usually time consuming, licences and certificates of comfort of their homes or offices frustrating and tedious. specified commodity and would be, or existing importers The user friendly portal is country of origin that a trade will and exporters, both within and designed in such a way that require for business processing outside of Nigeria can access once an HS Code is selected, the are also available on the portal. relevant information from a application automatically The Nigeria Trade Hub portal central point - the Nigeria Trade presents the user with the further allows traders to convert Hub.n Items on the portal control measures of that currencies to exchange rates set include news about the Service product. For instance, if the by the Central Bank of Nigeria and industry in general, product is regulated by (CBN) on a monthly basis, make regulating agencies, guidelines NAFDAC, the application will payments, simulate tax and and procedures, currency inform the user that the access the CPC Code. conversion, Customs Procedure particular item is a "Red Lane" The development of the portal Codes (CPC) and HS Codes item which will be subject to was achieved through the amongst others. Another inspection by the particular dedication of the Nigeria Customs interesting feature is that this agency. It goes further to also Service technical partners, easy to use online application can highlight if the product is on the nominated officers of the NCS as be accessed via smart phones, prohibition list or not. well as contributions from its PC's tablets etc., whilst on the With the debut of this

WRITE TO US

application, importers are now well informed about what and what are allowed or not allowed into the country. Instances where some of them feign ignorance of items on prohibition list when caught with such items and their goods seized would no longer occur. Going forward, any importer who still engages in importation of prohibited items into the country does so in outright violation of the law and would face the full weight of the law. There would be no more excuses.

Apart from these significant uses, the application goes further to provide the tax and duties payable on any particular item, whilst presenting the user with the documents, i.e., the named permits or certificates required for the product, the issuing agency, the processing cost as well as the duration (no of days) for processing. This empowers the trader and provides them with sound information to assist them in competing on the international market.

The benefits of this portal are numerous: they include non-stop online access even as it simplifies processes whilst reducing the cost and time required for compliance. Within hours, import/export documentation process which usually took traders days or even weeks to complete, can be completed on the portal.

No doubt the simplification of the process is expected to result in improved compliance level by the trading community, and with improved compliance level comes improved revenue collection for the country.

Suleiman Gaya wrote from 64, Lome Crescent, Wuse, Abuja

Snapshots at moral and power abuse is not any where on the mind of Mr. President while taking this decision. No doubt, the presidential pardon to Alamieyeseigha serves only the interest of two persons; the pardoned and the pardoner. It is no surprise, therefore, to hear the National Working Committee of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) dissociating itself from the President's action.

Politically, Mr. President appears to be further charting a self-destructive path for himself and his party, First, it was the crises with Governors, then the Anenih/BOT saga and now this.

Nigerians will wait to see how Mr. President and DSP would survive the heat of this self-holed

kitchen. Beyond the legality, morality and politics is the question of exercise of discretion and caution in presidential actions. Is this pardon to DSP at this time circumspect, is the process tidy and will the perceived benefit justify its cost?

Mr. President's recent acknowledgement of Alamieyesegha, the PresidentGeneral of Ijaw nation, as his benefactor confirms that the pardon was a gift from a godson to a godfather and they could not care less how it robs off on the country. In a half hearted attempt to veil the real intentions, Alams' presidential pardon was packaged along with purported offer of similar pardon to General Diya

“

Mr. President's penchant for rewarding corruption is legendary. First, his wife represented him at a thanksgiving service for Bode George, who was convicted for looting the funds of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA); then made he made Tony Anenih, the indicted former minister of Works, Chair of the PDP Board of Trustees.

Now it is DSP

and Company to serve as a smoke screen. This subterfuge failed awfully though. It turned out that Diya and his group already had presidential clemency - something higher than a pardon - from General Abdulsalami Abubakar on March 4, 1999. What Diya and his co travelers probably are wishing is the restoration of their military ranks and benefits. For a presidency that could commit this cheap blunder, it leaves little wonder the quality and integrity of the ruling elite in Nigeria.

Just recently, the British Prime Minister told off President Jonathan at the last World Economic Forum, with the statement that the international community would like to know what Nigeria did with the over US$100 billion realized from crude oil sales in the last 1year.

What would the international community say now when the priority of our president is the restoration of privileges to thieves and ex-convicts. By the way, Nigerians now look up to the British system for assistance in tracking, capture, prosecution and conviction o looters of our nation. As a consequence of elites' incapacitated criminal justice system. Of course, they afterwards return home to State pardon, rehabilitation and more opportunities to loot. None of this is good for the image of Nigeria abroad or for our effort to reform and transform the polity.

Mr. President's penchant for rewarding corruption is legendary. First, his wife represented him at a thanksgiving service for Bode George, who was convicted for looting the funds of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA); then made he made Tony Anenih, the indicted former minister of Works , Chair of the PDP Board of Trustees. Now it is DSP. The same presidency shamelessly shielded Abdurrasheed Maina who stole pensions fund until the National Assembly went openly confrontational.

Irrespective who occupy's office of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is the patriotic duty of every Nigerian to protect the integrity of that office from self-inflicted or external disgrace. It is in pursuit of this patriotic duty that every right-thinking Nigerian is challenged to stand up and be counted in the redress of this inauspicious action of the current occupier of the office. All political and legal means available must be deployed at reversing this abuse of power and despicable pardon granted to DSP by President Jonathan. From a lay man point of view, the duplicated pardon of Diya and others has invalidated the purported pardon and so shall it be!

Olanrewaju Suraju is the Chairman of Civil Society Network against Corruption.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 15

Born again? No; thank God I'm not You preach against stealing, for example, but are you sure of your own honesty? You denounce the practice of adultery, but are you sure of your own purity? the Bible in Romans chapter 2, verse 21

A

n absorbing, real-life drama was witnessed at a church in Makurdi some years ago. The wife of one my neigbours, Pastor John, engaged one of their fellow church members, Mama Okonji, in a fierce fight. Right there in their church. In the presence of many of their church members. Right there North Bank, a town on the outskirts of Makurdi, Benue State. So ferocious was the fight that in the heat of the recrimination that ensued, Pastor and Mrs. John quit the church - the same church he himself had set up some years ago.

Did I hear someone wondering, "wetin concern you, Sonde, with all that?" Plenty. To begin with, it so happened that I was one of those who had been at the receiving end of that so-called man of God's fire-spitting tongue.

For reasons that defied comprehension, Pastor John liked to spread all sorts of malicious gossips about me. His malice heightened after my sweetheart, F, had opposed his plan to use part of her late father's land for his church.

Hell has no fury like a Pastor scorned! As if he had received a divine command or vision to tarnish my image to the fullest, the gentleman intensified his crusade. He would tell whoever

cared to listen (particularly my friends and family members) all sorts of real and imaginary things about me. Half truths, lies and misinformation alike were deftly deployed by the propagandist/pastor.

Things degenerated when I wrote him a letter urging him to mind his business.

After all, I pointed out, he ought to remove the 'wood' in his eye before pointing at the sand in someone else's eye.

Needless to say, he wasn't amused. For the next couple of weeks, he had nothing else to do than titillating people's ears with details of what he called my "satanic letter". The number of his barbed arrows targeting me increased dramatically. As I said to one Mr. Sunday Ocheme that time, "there is, as the holy book says, no peace for the wicked."

You could, therefore, imagine

again". And that brings us to the main topic of this article: being a born-again Christian.

Normally, being born-again is a great virtue. "Draw close to me," the Bible quotes God as saying, "and l will draw close to you." Having such a relationship with our heavenly father is, in my view, the ultimate. As Pastor William Kumuyi said in SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES, "There is a void in the heart of every man which no amount of money, material possession or social status can asonde@yahoo.com fill. Life will remain 0803-2159-249 (SMS only, pls) inexplicable and meaningless until we get into a meaningful who, he swears, would end up in relationship with God." the hottest part of hell fire.

The emphasis, mind you, is It's true that I am the worst on having a MEANINGFUL sinner on earth. I have never relationship with God. Not a been to a Church since I was born PRETENDFUL, or a DECEITFUL, in 1934, even though I am a or a HYPOCRITICAL-FUL, Christian. And, needless to say, I relationship. Yet what do we have never claimed to be a "born have these days? So-called bornagain Christians whose conduct belies their claim. Born-again in name only. Yet someone somewhere wants me to be part of such a charade by claiming to be born-again. No; thank you sir. *To be concluded next week how amused I was when the "mother of all fights" occurred in Pastor John's church barely a few weeks after the man had went round Benue State demonizing you-guess-who with reckless abandon. I'm, according to him, the worst sinner on earth. A hopeless, terrible, ungodly person

SONDE’S DIAR Y DIARY

By Sonde Abbah

“

what do we have these days? So-called born-again Christians whose conduct belies their claim. Born-again in name only.

Yet someone somewhere wants me to be part of such a charade by claiming to be born-again. No; thank you sir

Who wants Tukur Mamu dead?

Had the forces of darkness had their way (God forbid!) the media industry would have been mourning the untimely death of one of our own now. Mallam Tukur Mamu, the publisher of

'Desert Herald' newspaper and magazine, that is. A gang of armed-to-the-teeth suspected assassins was said to have stormed his office last weekend, baying for Mamu's blood.

According to a statement issued by the Kaduna-based media outfit, the motley gang ransacked everywhere in search of Mamu at the peak of his paper's production operations.

Had he not escaped through the back door, only God knows what would happen that fateful day.

Incidentally, that was reportedly the third assassination attempt on the indomitable publisher in the last three years. And that raises the poser: who is after Tukur Mamu?

Who wants this gentleman dead?

What sin has he committed to deserve such a grim fate? And what, if any, are the authorities concerned doing about this critical situation?

These questions are pertinent because what concerns any publisher and/or journalist, concerns all of us. Because we are all involved. Today it is Mamu.

Tomorrow it could be you or me.

More so as Wole Soyinka said in his book, 'The Man Died', "Books and all forms of writings have always been objects of terror to those who seek to supress the truth."

Granted, D/Herald's brand of writings may have always been objects of terror to certain interests. But should journalists' lives be sacrificed in the bid to kill the truth? Of course not. Let Mamu and his ilk be. The law courts, and not assassination, should be resorted to by aggrieved parties. C-o-u-r-t!

Kaduna refinery and its host community T

By B.A. Lawan

he media, as an institution, is one of few organs that have specific functions spelt out for them in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

Many impartial observers of our media scene are agreed that while members of the media always impress on the government need to discharge its responsibility to the people, they hardly discharge their own duties to the same people, as they rush to judgement without the basic facts and often a times indulge in public trial of public institutions and officials without, in the least, focusing on their own gross inadequacies in the discharge of their own responsibilities, sometimes arrogating to themselves the functions of the courts. The fact cannot also be denied that some indulge in the infamous brown envelop syndrome also used to slant stories in favour of the giver, contrary to their ethics which says in Section 7 (i) that "A journalist should neither solicit nor accept bribe, gratification or patronage to suppress or publish information".

Regrettably, this has become the standard practice of few journalists who have earned for

the noble profession a very dented image. Members of the public persive some reports from this angle, as fortunate as it is.

For instance, take the publication in some media regarding the alleged dumping of harmful toxic materials by KEPA, Kaduna, a subsidiary of the NNPC, at Rido.

It was reported that about 700 birds (chickens) and five people died as a result of pollution from the dump. Almost all the papers that went to town with the story reported from this angle without finding out the truth about the incident. Indeed, some reporters even refused or failed to reflect the KRPC version of what actuall happened for reasons best known to them. Had they shown professionalism and demonstrated ethical standard in their reportage of the incident, they would have discovered that the story was and is a plant by some interested parties to dent the public image of the company and set it against one of its host communities, Rido, in Chikun Local Government, Kaduna state. The core substance of the report, as earlier noted, was that KRPC dumped toxic waste at Rido leading to the death of five people and 700 birds at a poultry farm owned by a military officer.

Following the report, experts

from the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Kaduna State Environmental Protection Authority- KEPA, took prompt action by personally visiting the alleged dump site and took with them samples for laboratory investigation. After a thorough professional analysis of the samples, KEPA wrote "The confirmatory test shows that result obtained are within acceptable limits therefore, the refuse dump is not harmful to

the environment and public health" The Kaduna State House of Assembly also looked into the matter through its appropriate committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Solid Minerals headed by Hon Haruna. M. A. Inuwa. It was to ascertain (a) whether waste was dumped and if it was actually toxic and (b) To find out how it affected the community. The report of the Kaduna State of

“

There are some questions here regarding the role of some of the journalists who were invited by the KRPC to visit the dump site but declined. Why did they so refuse particularly that this would have offered them the opportunity to balance their report?

Interestingly, even the owners of the poultry farm did not cooperate with the KRPC when it sent a team to investigate the claim of 700 dead birds. Worse still, there was no evidence that any single bird was lost at all

Assembly actually blamed the contractor for dumping non toxic waste at sites not designated by KRPC as required by law. What is more, the Village Head of Rido told investigators that no one died as a consequence of the alleged dump. The company in question, Chinbache Investment (Nig) Ltd, in a letter to KRPC accepted full responsibility for what happened. It says, "We understand and acknowledge the mistake-which caused this unpleasant experience: we are able to see where we went wrong".

There are some questions here regarding the role of some of the journalists who were invited by the KRPC to visit the dump site but declined. Why did they so refuse particularly that this would have offered them the opportunity to balance their report? Interestingly, even the owners of the poultry farm did not cooperate with the KRPC when it sent a team to investigate the claim of 700 dead birds. Worse still, there was no evidence that any single bird was lost at all. What was their role in spreading this false claim?

B. A. Lawan wrote in from Kaduna and can be reached at nandaboga@yahoo.com

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

Easter: Cleric urges Nigerians to cultivate habit of forgiveness, prayer

A

n Abuja-based priest of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Nyanya in Abuja, Rev. Fr. Henry Kwasu, has advised Nigerians to cultivate the habit of forgiving and praying in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Kwasu, gave the advice on Sunday during the celebration of Palm Sunday at the church.

He said Nigerians should also endeavour to pray for their enemies.

“The betrayal by a relation or

close friend is more painful, but we must learn to forgive them, no matter the pains this may cause.

Forgiveness is the only thing we owe them.

“We should also pray for our enemies, and we should stop praying for them to die because Christ forgave the people that crucified him,’’ the priest said.

Kwasu advised those passing through hard times to be patient as “the Lord will answer them in his

time’’.

The priest cautioned Nigerians to “avoid doing bad things in order to make ends meet.

“For those who are undergoing suffering, calm down, the Lord will reward you in due time.’’

He said prayers and fasting should be part of people’s lives as they make the person spiritually strong to overcome temptations.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Palm Sunday

National Orientation Agency drama troupe performing at a function, recently in Abuja.

commemorates the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem.

During this, palm branches were placed on his path, before his arrest on Holy Thursday and his Crucifixion on Good Friday.

Palm Sunday also marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of lent when Christians celebrate the mystery of their salvation through Christ’s death and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.(NAN)

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

FCT board warns residents against unaccredited fumigators T

he Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) on Monday warned residents against engaging unaccredited fumigators to undertake fumigation activities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Mr Uche Agbanusi, the board’s Deputy Director, Environmental Health and Safety, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

NAN reports that the FCT Minister, Alhaji Bala Mohammed, had directed the AEPB to harmonise fumigation

responsibilities in the FCT. He also directed the board to supervise fumigation with a view to controlling proliferation of fumigation.

This, he said, was to protect the FCT environment from been contaminated with the application of chemicals.

Agbanusi said the board had the legal mandate to carry out all fumigations through its trained Environmental Health Officers.

According to him, the officers have been trained in chemical handling and are most qualified to handle chemicals effectively.

“The AEPB has the sole

responsibility to carry out fumigation using either its environmental health officers or the board’s fumigation consultants.

“The AEPB Act 10 of 1997, section 6(6)(b) mandates the control of vectors, rodents and reptiles in the FCT to the board.

“We are warning the public to desist from engaging quacks in the fumigation of hotels, shopping malls, hospitals and residential homes to avoid any contamination of the environment.”

The deputy director noted that the regulation of the profession became necessary to control any adverse effects of chemicals.

“Chemical reactions can affect some sensitive organs through inhalation; the endocrine disruption can be caused by the inhalation of dangerous chemicals.

“The liver and the lungs can equally be damaged by the same inhalation of dangerous chemicals.

“Definitely, the public is endangered by engaging the services of unlicensed and unaccredited fumigators.’’

Agbanusi said some of the chemicals approved for use in domestic pest and vector control are diazinon, karate, cypermetrin, pyranex, fenthion, abate fluazetop, among others. (NAN)

Tenant drags landlord to court over alleged threat to life

A

tenant on yesterday dragged her landlord, Isaac Ade, before a Karu Senior Magistrates Court, Abuja over alleged threat to life and criminal Intimidation.

Ade, 60, is facing a one countcharge of criminal intimidation contrary to Section 397 of the Penal Code.

Section 397 stipulates that “whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation shall be punished with imprisonment term which extends to two years or with

fine or with both.’’

The Police Prosecutor, Mr Umar Mohammed, told the court that, one Ayorinde Oluwale, of Molete Layout, Ibadan, Oyo State, reported the case to the Karu police station on March 13.

Mohammed said that Oluwale paid the sum of N150,000 for a self-contained room for a period of one year, but was transferred to another branch of her office after staying for just three weeks.

He said that when the

complainant asked the landlord to refund her money, he allegedly responded with threats to deal with her if she ever requested for any such refund.

“The accused went as far as hiring three jobless thugs, suspected to be Indian hemp smokers in the neighbourhood to threaten to kill her if she asks the accused for any money.

“Further investigation into the matter by the police revealed that the accused forcefully collected the said room key from Oluwale and

had the intention of renting the room out to another tenant.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the allegation having carefully listened to the First Information Report(FIR).

Senior Magistrate Omolola Akindele granted the accused bail in the sum of N20,000 with two reliable sureties in like sum who must reside within the jurisdiction of the court.

The case was adjourned to April 15,2013 for further hearing.

(NAN)

NGO partners NDE, others on entrepreneurship training for Abuja youths

By Josephine Ella Ejeh

S

trategies have been put together for the training and empowerment of youths in skill acquisition in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT).

The initiative is a collaboration of a non-governmental organization, Viscount Multipurpose Co-operative Society with Small Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, National Directorate of Employment, NDE and the Abuja Enterprise Agency(AEA).

Speaking at the weekend during a maiden edition of its monthly entrepreneurship breakfast seminar organized in Abuja, the Chief Executive of Viscount Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Mr. Ode Oghogho said the training was basically to raise the psyche of youth beyond the white collar job and become entrepreneurs after leaving higher schools.

“Basically, the seminar is in three folds. We try as much as possible to raise their psyche, train, and empower them to become independent in their various fields.

We are putting these together because we believe that a country that neglect its youth is doing so at it own peril,” Ode stressed.

On the importance of the seminar, he affirmed that “no society can advance without the astute support and development of her youths. Nation building is like a relay-race; all athletes on the track must do their best bits and trust in the ability of each other to win the race”.

He therefore, tasked Nigerian leaders and policy makers to prepare the youth in the task of nation building, stressing that education must be given an imminent priority.

He said:”We cannot separate the development of our youths from the reality of our society. To this end, if we want to see a better society which we talk and dream about, Nigerian youths have the best of energies, survival strength, best of brains to take the country to the next levels”.

In her remark at the event, a Deputy Director in charge of Resource Center of the National Directorate of Employment, NDE, Mrs. Umar Alawiyya commended the effort of the organizers for assisting government in reorienting the minds of the youths towards productive venture.

“We in the National Directorate of Employment are partnering with this group because they have put their resources together to achieve this noble goal. We keep telling our youths that there is no success in apathy. On our part, we will continue to support any genuine group by providing man power development,” she said.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 17

Lawyer in court for alleged disobedience to lawful order T

he Police on Friday arraigned a lwayer, George Achigbu of Road 13, Plot 5, Gwarimpa Estate, Abuja, at an Abuja Magistrates Court for alleged disobedience to lawful order from a public servant.

Police prosecutor Abdulahi Adamu told the court that on Nov. 22, 2012, the accused was invited by

the police for interrogation but intentionally refused to honour it.

According to Adamu, the accused went undercover until he was arrested and taken to the station on Feb. 3.

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

Counsel to the accused, Mr I.A. Solomon, urged the court

to grant his client bail, citing the 1999 Constitution.

He added that the bail would enable the accused to have sufficient time to prepare for his defence.

He also said the accused was a lawyer and a member of the bar, married man and an employer of labour who would not jump bail, if granted.

The Magistrate, Mrs Nafisat Ibrahim, granted the bail in N200,000 and two sureties.

Ibrahim said the sureties must have a fixed address and resident within the jurisdiction of the court.

She also ordered the accused to deposit his Call to Bar Certificate with the court and adjourned the matter to April 15, 2013 for hearing. (NAN)

Businessman in court for alleged cheating, issuing dud cheques

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businessman, Elisha Chori, has appeared before a Karu Upper Area Court, Abuja, charged with criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, cheating and issuance of dud cheques.

Police prosecutor Adams Peter told the court that Alhaji Abubakar Isah of No 3, Bamako St., Wuse 2, Abuja, sent a petition to the Commissioner of Police in FCT on March 14,2013.

Peter further said that Chori of No. 21D, Drive 3, Prince and Princess Estate and one other at large, collected N15 million from Isah to process a plot of land at Maitama New Extention, Abuja, on April 5, 2010.

“Chori was to process and obtain the Right of Occupancy at AGIS/FCDA. But he defaulted.

“When the complainant demanded for his money back, Chori issued him Diamond Bank and Zenith Bank cheques of N7.5 million each,” Peter said.

He told the court that the offences contravened the provisions of sections 97, 312 and 322 of the Penal Code and D11 section 1 of Dud Cheque Act 2004.

Section 97 states that whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death or with imprisonment shall be punished in the same manner as if he had abetted such offence.

Section 312 stipulates that whoever commits criminal breach of trust shall be punished with imprisonment that may extend to seven years or be fined or both.

Section 322 states that whoever cheats shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years or be fined or both.

Chori, however, denied committing the offences.

The presiding judge, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, granted him bail in the sum of N16 million with three credible sureties who must reside within the court’s jurisdiction.

He also ordered that one of the sureties must be a civil or public servant of reasonable grade level.

He adjourned the case to May 13, 2013 for hearing. (NAN)

A vehicle burning at city gate along airport road, recently in Abuja.

Photo: NAN

Man, 35, jailed for criminal trespass, theft

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n Abuja Grade Two Area Court has sentenced a 35-year old man, Peter Dauda, to five months imprisonment with an option of N5, 000 fine for criminal trespass and theft.

The presiding judge, Mr Ahmed Ado, sentenced Dauda after he pleaded guilty to a two-count charge levelled against him.

Ado said the sentence

would deter others from engaging in such acts.

Earlier, the police prosecutor, Sgt. Simon Ibrahim, told the court that the case was reported at the Utako Police Station by one Mr Yahaya Abdullahi of Government Secondary School Jabi, on March 9.

Ibrahim alleged that the convict fraudulently broke into the school premises at

Jabi District and stole sliding windows, water tanks, fumigation equipment, hoes, cutlasses, buckets, rain boots and shovels valued at N150,000.

Ibrahim added that four sliding windows were recovered at the time of Dauda’s arrest.

The convict pleaded for leniency, saying he was a first offender. (NAN)

INSIDE FCT COURTS Mason in court for allegedly causing grievous hurt

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he police on Thursday arraigned a mason, Abdul Ibrahim, of Kuruduma village, Asokoro, Abuja, in a Karu Upper Area Court for alleged joint act and causing grievous hurt.

Police prosecutor Mohammed Garba told the court that one Chidi Odoh of Kuruduma Village, Asokoro, reported the matter at the Asokoro Police Station on March 18.

Garba said Ibrahim and two others, still at large, beat up Odoh when he emerged from a restaurant in Koroduma village on March 12.

“They stabbed him in the back with a dagger and he spent N27,000 on treatment and was discharged from the Asokoro General Hospital on March 21,” Garba added.

He said the offences contravened the provisions of sections 79 and 247 of the Penal Code.

Section 79 stipulates that “when a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all, each of such persons is liable for that act in the same manner as if it were done by him alone.’’

Section 247 states that whoever causes grievous hurt shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years and is liable to a fine.

The accused, however, denied committing the offences.

The presiding judge, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, granted the accused bail in the sum of N30,000 with a reliable surety who must reside within the court’s jurisdiction.

He adjourned the case to May13,2013 for hearing.

(NAN)

11 traders in Mararaba charged to court for obstructing public highway

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he police on Thursday arraigned 11 persons before a Mararaba Upper Area Court in Nasarawa State for allegedly using their wares to obstruct public highway.

The accused are; Virginia Abah; Amos Nwancha; Joseph Ikechukwu’ Kelechi Ido; Nothing pass God Chibueze; Yusuf Hamza, Olisa Obi, Kinsley Agwurumba; Sunday

Zebed; Nwokpoku Pius and Amuche Amos.

The police prosecutor, Mr Joseph Ahwa, told the court that a team of Mobile Traffic Division personnel, led by Insp. Joseph Ahaba, while on clearing of obstruction duty, arrested the accused on March 21.

He said that all the accused, who are within the ages of 18 and 45 years, reside

at Ado and Masaka.

Ahwa said the accused displayed their wares on Keffi –Abuja Federal Highway between Access Bank and Aso overhead Bridge, thereby causing heavy traffic hold-up.

Ahwa said the offences contravened the provisions of Section 63 sub-section 3 of the Road Traffic Act, but the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Mr John Ukaegbu, the defence counsel, standing in for the accused, applied for bail for his clients, saying that they would comply with the conditions of the court.

The Presiding Judge, Mr Vincent Gwahemba, granted them bail in the sum of N50,000 each, with one surety each in like sum.

He adjourned the case to April 16 for hearing. (NAN)

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

Pastor, 55, docked over bank theft

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he police yesterday arraigned an acclaimed pastor, Ikechukwu Olekanma, of Kado, Abuja before a Wuse Zone 2, Senior Magistrates Court for allegedly stealing a bunch of bank keys.

Olekanma is standing trial on a one-count charge of theft.

The Prosecutor, Mr Abdullahi Adamu, told the court that the matter was lodged at the Wuse police station on March 22 by one Daniel Edibo.

Adamu said that Edibo, who works as a security guard at the Skye Bank, Wuse branch, allegedly caught Olekanma stealing a polythene bag from a

customer’s locker at the entrance of the bank premises.

He said “ Olekanma entered the bank’s premises, used a bunch of keys, opened the locker and removed a polythene bag containing a bunch of keys.

Adamu said that the key to the main gate of the bank was on the bunch of keys in the polythene bag.

The prosecutor said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 287 of the Penal Code.

Section 287: stipulates that whoever commits theft shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to

five years or with fine or both.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Presiding Magistrate, Mrs Chinyere Nwecheonwu, admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N100,000 with a surety in like sum.

Nwecheonwu ordered that the surety must be a civil servant not below Grade Level 09.

She said that the surety’s official and residential addresses must be verified by the prosecutor and officials of the court.

Nwecheonwu adjourned the matter to April 22,2013 for hearing.

(NAN)

Court remands 2 men in Kuje Prison for alleged theft The News Agency of

A

n FCT High Court sitting in Kuje, yesterday remanded two men in prison till April 24,2013 after they pleaded not guilty to stealing N205,000.

They are Joseph Ibeh, 28, of Wuse Zone 6; and John Nwuze, 29, of Sabo Lugbe, Abuja.

Police prosecutor Babajide Olanipekun said the duo stole the money

from Mrs Titi Iyanda, of Area 1, behind Dunamis Church, Garki, Abuja, on Nov. 12, 2012.

Olanipekun said they snatch a bag containing the money from the complaint and “immediately ran into the bush.’’

He said the offence contravened, and is punishable under sections 97 (1) and 298 (1) of Penal Code.

Nigeria (NAN) reports that the prosecutor prayed the Court to grant him a date to call witnesses as the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Justice Maryann Anenih granted the prosecution counsel’s application and adjourned the case to April 24,2013.

She ordered the accused to be remanded in Kuje Prison until the adjourned date. (NAN)

Infrastructure development in FCT boosted by digital survey, says Akinjide

By Adeola Tukuru

M

inister of State for Federal Capital Territory, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, has disclosed that infrastructure development in the FCT has been boosted by the use of digital surveying and mapping.

The minister stated this over the weekend in Abuja at the Ninth regional seminar organised by the Women-in-Surveying (WIS) of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors.

Akinjide, who was represented by her Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties, Mrs. Jummai Kwanashie, noted that the adoption of digital surveying and mapping had made planning and development in FCT less cumbersome.

She explained that the technology had been perfected under Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), the Urban and Regional Planning, and the Mapping and Survey Departments of the FCTA.

“The FCT Administration is committed towards making planning and development of infrastructure less cumbersome. This informed the digital surveying and mapping mechanism in the FCT which has resulted in improved satellite imagery and aerial photography.

Surveying and Mapping is a service that is fundamental to physical and socioeconomic development of any nation and Nigeria is not an exception.

“Surveying and Mapping data are required for development planning such as for the design and construction of roads, railways, airports, waterways, industrial and housing estates, farm settlements and other economic and physical infrastructures. Surveying and Mapping also facilitate monitoring and providing the solution to desertification, erosion, flooding, pollution and other land degradation,” she stated.

The minister advised

more women to take up the surveying profession, noting that profession was dominated by the men.

“There is absolute need for more awareness of the profession in schools and also more colleges are needed so as to encourage more women to take up the profession. In addition, a greater liaison between schools and surveyors in the profession and increased information and awareness of career advisers are needed,” she added.

The National Coordinator of the WIS, Mrs. Augustina Anobili, urged the government to put in place policies that would attract more women into the profession.

She noted there was a gender imbalance in the mainstream of the profession that should be redressed.

“Presently, there are only five women fellows in the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors and one in the Surveyors’ Council of Nigeria. This is not encouraging,” she stated.

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

Email: aminuimam@yahoo.co.uk

Mob: 08033644990

Market Making: NSE capitalisation rises by N2.6 tr in 6 months From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

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he market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has appreciated by N2.56 trillion in six months under the market making programme of the exchange, investigations have revealed.

Market making is the process whereby selected stockbrokers (market makers) ensure constant liquidity for certain securities by providing continuous two-way quotes to the market for the

securities during trading days.

The programme, which is one of the initiatives brought by the NSE to deepen the market, commenced last September with 16 securities.

By the close of the first six months last week, the securities in the market making basket have been increased to 52 securities.However, the programme has boosted the market capitalisation of the Nigerian bourse

by N2.56 trillion, rising from N8.077 trillion to N10.637 trillion.

Similarly, the NSE All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 31 percent from 25,373.83 to close at 33,243.53 last Monday, which made it six months.

In the first phase of the market making programme, 10 stockbroking firms were appointed, while supplementary list of market makers would be added in the second phase, beginning in April.

The market making was introduced into the market alongside securities lending and short selling, which was expected to provide

liquidity and deepen the market.The 10 market makers are: Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers; Renaissance Capital Limited; Future View Securities Limited; Vetiva Capital Limited; ESS/Dunn Loren Merrifield, WSTC Securities Limited; Capital Bancorp Limited; FBN Securities Limited; Greenwich Securities Limited and CSL Stockbrokers Limited.

While launching the programme, the Chief Executive Officer of NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, had said the 10 selected market makers were committed to ensuring that the objectives of introducing this initiative into the market would be achieved.

Agricultural Produce on display at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) during the Agriculture Fair Tagged ``Agriculture and the future of Nigeria``, Organised to kick-start the University's silver jubilee celebration, yesterday in Abeokuta.

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- Pg 20

Oando Marketing changes retail strategy

Naira heads for 2-week high on oil industry supply bets

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he Naira gained for a third day and headed for its strongest in more than two weeks on speculation that Nigerian oil producers will sell dollars to meet month-end expenses before a currency auction yesterday.

The currency rose less than 0.1 percent to 158.15 per dollar yesterday, poised for the highest close since March 8, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Oil producers who sell dollars to meet local expenses around the end of the month, are the second-biggest source of foreign currency after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The apex bank sells dollars at auctions on Mondays and Wednesdays to help manage the exchange rate.

"We anticipate appreciation of the Naira in the forex market amid dollar sales by multinationals to meet month-end obligations," analysts at Lagos-based Cowry Asset Management Ltd. said yesterday.

Yields on the $500 million of Eurobonds due January 2021 declined nine basis points to 4.24 percent yesterday. (Bloomberg)

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FBN Holdings commends resolution of tax issues for bank holding companies he management of FBN Holdings Plc has expressed delight at the timely resolution of tax issues which has engendered an equitable taxation regime for Bank Holding Companies in the nation.

The Bank Holding Companies emerged in compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)'s regulation on the Scope of Banking Activities & Ancillary Matters, No. 3, 2010 requiring the separation of commercial banking business from other financial services businesses.

They include FBN Holdings Plc, Stanbic IBTC, UBA, and FCMB. Speaking on the issue, the CEO of FBN Holdings Plc, Mr. Bello Maccido said the holding companies at inception faced a major concern over possible interpretation of existing tax statutes that would lead to the double taxation of dividends.

There was also a concern about the magnitude of transaction costs that would be incurred by the banks in responding to the change in regulations.

INSIDE

Borno state to send 50 agriculture trainees to India to acquire skills

Photo: NAN

By Abdulwahab isa

PAGE 19

"It was therefore necessary for Bank holding companies to seek mitigation of some of these costs through waivers and concessions from the regulatory authorities.

It was very clear that without government's intervention, the companies would have faced possible challenges in this regard," he said.

The Financial Services Regulation Coordinating Committee (FSRCC) is reported to have created the platform for the Bank Holding Companies to table their tax and transaction costs issues to regulators and supported the idea of creating an industry working group.

Maccido said the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in concert with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) team was very instrumental to ensuring that the tax issues were heard and resolved in good time to meet the CBN deadline.

He noted that the Securities & Exchange Commission, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) were equally very receptive to discussions on reduction of transaction costs for Bank Holding companies.

According to Maccido, the leadership of the Federal Ministry

of Finance and the FIRS had through the resolution of the tax issues demonstrated their commitment to ensuring greater good of the economy and stimulation of economic activity.

"We salute the professionalism and insight of Okonjo-Iweala, and the FIRS team for the progress so far recorded," he added.

FBN Holdings Plc is the largest financial services group in Nigeria. The holdings company emerged from the erstwhile FirstBank Group in November 2012 to effectively ring-fence the commercial banking business from other businesses as required by the CBN.

Management Tip of the Day

Y

Reduce stress with self-compassion

ou have too much on your plate, deadlines are looming, and people are counting on you. Since you can't eliminate bouts of intense stress, you have to learn to deal with them.

Studies show that people who practice "self-compassion" are happier, more optimistic, and

less anxious and depressed. This is the willingness to look at your failures with kindness and understanding - without harsh criticism or defensiveness. Most of us believe that we need to be hard on ourselves to perform our best, but it turns out that's plain wrong.

A dose of self-compassion

when things are at their most difficult can reduce your stress and improve your performance, by making it easier to learn from your mistakes. So remember that to err is human, and give yourself a break.

Source: Harvard Business Review

he Borno state government said that it would send 50 graduate trainees in agriculture to India to further sharpen their skills in agricultural mechanisation.

Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno stated this at the weekend in Maiduguri, during a reception organised for trainees who successfully completed a three-month course in Thailand. He explained that the objective was to prepare the ground for agricultural revolution in the state.He expressed satisfaction on the skills exhibited by the trainees on various agricultural fields. “I am highly impressed by the presentation made by the trainees, it is an indication that they have learnt what we sent them to learn in Thailand. But I believe we should further sharpen their skills by sending them to India to learn about the Green House and other modern technology,'' Shettima said.

The governor said that the state government had already ordered 500 rice milling machines from Thailand to utilise the skills of the trainees in rice production.Shettima explained that government will also acquire more implements from Thailand to further ensure full utilisation of the skills acquired by the trainees. (NAN) “In addition to providing the trainees with necessary tools and farmlands to establish farms for production and processing of produce.``Some of them are expected to be drafted to train large chunk of our local farmers on the new farming techniques,'' the governor said. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2013

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS

UAC Nigeria Plc

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AC of Nigeria Plc (UAC) has announced the acquisition of majority stake in Livestock Feeds Plc, one of the leading animal feeds producers in the country.

A statement from the company said the transaction has been concluded via a special placement and places UACN as the majority shareholder with a shareholding of over 51 per cent in LSF having previously acquired in excess of 11 per cent of the company’s share capital through secondary market trade.

UAC of Nigeria Plc, a diversified conglomerate in Nigeria with operations in foods, paints, logistics and real estate, now owns 51 per cent share in Livestock Feeds Plc, the third largest producer of animal feeds by market share in Nigeria.

Oando Marketing changes retail strategy Stories from Etuka Sunday

O

ando Marketing, Nigeria’s leading fuel marketing retailer, has added a mega station to its rapidly expanding service station outlets with the opening of another mega station at Berger, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

Similar stations owned by the company are located in Marina, Maryland, and Lekki in Lagos, as well as another in Abuja.The station offers customers a modern

....moves into mega station business and friendly environment that will engender delivery of optimal service to customers.

Formally opened to customers on March 11, 2013, the station will be a major attraction to motorists as it is the last filling station before leaving Lagos state.The full complement of Oando Marketing’s product and service offerings is on display for customers at any of the eight

modern fuel dispensing pumps installed at the stations.

According to the company, the pumps are fitted with epayment terminals that enable customers to buy fuel using their ATM debit and credit.

Furthermore, customers can dispense fuel into their tanks 24 hours a day and all year round using their cards.

At the Lubes Bay, Oando said

Contour Global

OPEC daily basket price drops to $105.88/b

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group of American investors with strong interest in power generation, ContourGlobal, has shown interest in partnering with the Federal Government in power generation with focus on the Ibom Power Plant.

Pascal Mbawuike, a senior associate with Cohen and Woods International Inc and a team of investors, who are currently working with ContourGlobal on the issue, disclosed this at the State House after meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja.

ContourGlobal is currently generating power for Coca Cola Bottling Company of Nigeria Plc, a subsidiary of the Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCH), using the ContourGlobal’s unique QuadGen technology to provide power for the Nigerian Bottling Company Plc.

NCC

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igeria is the fastest communication growing country in Africa, with the National Communication Commission (NCC) registering over 100million communication lines and subscribers.

The development amounts to 81 percent telecommunication density which is also the largest in the continent.

The Executive ViceChairman of NCC, Mr Eugene Juwah, made these disclosures on Friday at the Enugu International Trade Fair. He added that through the Universal Access Programme, the Commission had ensured deployment of telecommunication services to the rural areas.

its customers will be offered an array of services that include oil changes, wheel balancing, alignment and free air to mention a few. In addition, this new outlet will boost the company’s aspiration of switching 5 million low-income households from dirty cooking fuel to the clean Liquefied Petroleum Gas (cooking gas) as the full bouquet of its LPG products are on offer at the station, especially the 3kg OGAS cooking stove.

It would be recalled that Oando Marketing introduced a 3kg cooking stove last year to reduce the burden of cooking on low income households; The company says these households can also refill at the cylinders using the company’s Pay-As-YouGas system that allows customers to buy cooking according to their requirements using a metering system.

A typical oil refinery

JEPTFON calls for relocation of residents near tank farms in Lagos

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he Jetty and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners of Nigeria, JEPTFON, has called for the relocation of all residents near tank farms in the commercial city of Lagos.

JEPTFON Executive Secretary, Mr. Enoch Karnawa, made the call in Lagos, against the backdrop of an explosion at a tank farm around Tin Can Island on January 8.

According to him, “The tank farms have other roles to play apart from supplying products.

They generate employment and also pay taxes to the state government”, he said.

I

ndustry watchers have said that the best way to make the nation’s four comatose refineries begin to function properly would be for the government to get out of the business of owning refineries.

They say that if alternatively, government scales down the current Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), ownership stake to a minority level, equal to or less than 49 percent, refineries in the country would become much more competitive and productive.

This process would entail getting private sector managers to run the refineries, in essence,

Karnawa further stated that it was easier to relocate the residents around the tank farms than to relocate the tank farms.

“The government should relocate the residential houses and not the tank farms because the tank farms are capital intensive. It is easier to relocate the residential houses because the investments in them are not as much as that of the tank farms. In actual fact, the tank farms are always located by the seaside, apart from the ones at Apapa, to ensure access to ships bringing in petroleum products,” Karnawa said.

It would be recalled that an explosion occurred at a tank farm around Tin-Can Island Port, on January 8 when a barge carrying petrol was trying to discharge its cargo at the MRS Jetty.

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State had said that the state government would collaborate with the Federal Government to relocate the jetties.

Karnawa, however, said that relocation of the jetties would be a Herculean task and that the tank farms had economic advantages.

Stakeholders advise FG to handsoff refinery ownership employing the Indorama model.Industry sources maintain that continuing the current reform process by pumping more money into a cesspool of corruption and a black hole of fraudulent Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) was bound to be a failure.

They add that the said process would guarantee the continued importation of refined petroleum products into the country – along with its ugly baggage of corruption,

scarcity and inefficiency- far into the future.

According to the president of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Peter Else, the refineries cannot work optimally under the control of NNPC because there is too much government interference.

The managing director of one of the oil companies, meanwhile have said that until the refineries are operated as manufacturing entities, they would not work competitively.

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he price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at 105.88 dollars a barrel on Friday, compared with $106.05 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The new OPEC Reference Basket of crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

This implies less foreign exchange generation for major crude oil producers and exporters, including Nigeria whose projection is $79 per barrel this year.Brent crude declined to its lowest level this year, erasing last week’s advance, as flows increased through a North Sea pipeline after a five-day halt.

It is not only OPEC basket; available figures showed that the prices of other crude oil grades also slide marginally at the volatile market.For instance, Brent futures dropped as much as 1.8 per cent to the lowest since December 26.

The Brent Pipeline System in the North Sea is “approaching” its targeted flow rate of 80,000 barrels a day.It stated that Brent for April settlement decreased as much as $2.01 a barrel to $109.14 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It traded for $109.95 yesterday and was down 0.4 per cent last week.

PAGE 21

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

NCC releases new interconnect rates Stories from Chris Alu

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he Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has released a new interconnect rate that would guide telecom operators in the country on terminating calls for one another.

The new rate, which will

Glo flaunts strength with “Unlimited” new strap line

begin from April 1, 2013 according to NCC, will see major operators terminating calls on new entrants/ smaller operators’ networks at N6.40, while the smaller operators do same on major operators’ network at N4.90.

The new rate apparently became necessary after the expiration date of December 2012 for the old interconnect

rate regime, which came into operation in 2009.

The NCC also reviewed the respective rates further downwards for the next three years ending 2015.NCC said it took the step to enable small operators and new entrants remain in business. It described a new entrant as newly-licensed operator entering an existing or new market within 0 to 3 years.

It also said that for the purpose of determination, small operator could be defined as an existing operator with a market share of 0 - 7.5% in terms of subscriber base.

The current rate, which has attracted several hues and cries from smaller operators since it came into operation, was fixed at a uniform N8.20 per minute.Interconnect rate

represents the cost of terminating a call on another network.

In other words, it is the rate that a network operator that originates a call pays to the operator on whose network the call is terminated.The interconnect rate is important in telecommunications because it helps in defining tariffs for calls that involve at least two networks.

T

elecommunications powerhouse, Globacom has unveiled a new strap line, to reaffirm its brand promise to consumers as it prepares to celebrate its 10th anniversary on August 29 this year.

Aptly tagged: “Unlimited”, the new strap line encapsulates Glo’s commitment to enabling its subscribers achieve their dreams and desires.It embodies Glo’s attitude towards its stakeholders and its commitment to be always there for them; facilitating the realization of their desires anywhere in the world, through the company’s world-class network.

Globacom’s Group Chief Operating Officer, Mohammed Jameel said the new pay-off line marks a natural progression in the growth of the Glo brand identity and represents the unparalleled commitment of the company to its subscribers.

He explained that “Glo will offer subscribers the power to achieve and excel. It means that with Glo, they can realise their dreams and achieve infinite possibilities. To do this, Glo will give them unfettered access to the best tools that will enhance their productivity and energise their professional and social connections”.

“Unlimited” underscores the essence of the brand’s belief in the consumer in the sense that our subscribers are operating without boundaries in their attitude and altitude towards what they can achieve in life. It means that consumers can therefore go all out, pulling out all the stops in the drive towards achieving their objectives because Glo is always there to make it happen”, he said.

Jameel further explained that the new strap line captures the relevance of the Glo brand promise to its various stakeholders as well as staff after the monumental success of previous strap lines such as “Glo with Pride” and “Rule Your World”.

He said that starting with the pay-off line, “Glo with Pride” at launch, promoted and built a sense of pride in every Nigerian, by providing a world-class indigenous telecommunications network which offered Nigerians the enablement platform to succeed in different fields of human endeavor.

L-R: Vice President, National Union of Banks Insurance and Financial Institution Employees (NUBIFIE), Comrade,Danjuma Musa, Executive Director, Mainstreet Bank Limited, Mr. Anogwu Anyanwu, representative of the Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Mr. Nyamali John Audu, and Deputy President, Association of Senior Staff of Banks Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFIE), Comrade Oyinkan Olasanoye, during the signing of agreement on peaceful resolution of industrial harmony of the disengage staff of Mainstrret Bank between the unions and the management, recently in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

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he National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has called on broadcast stations in the country to maintain the code and the ethics of the profession as practiced elsewhere.

Speaking during a stakeholders meeting with the theme: “Political Broadcasts: Getting it Right”, they said political broadcast forums conducted at state’s level be scrutinised.

The stakeholders meeting was chaired by Mr. Osa Sunny Adun, president, DBN Television and had in attendance Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki Nakande, former minister of State for Information and Communication, eight state commissioners of Information and two permanent secretaries.

In his keynote address, Engr.

Yomi Bolarinwa, Director-General, NBC, said the meeting was called with a view to strategising for the betterment of the industry.

The Registrar, APCON, Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi presented a paper on political adverts and decency, while Mr. Mark Ojiah, secretary to the

Stakeholders task NBC on scrutinising political broadcast in states Commission, gave the welcome address, in which he requested for open talks to achieve far reaching resolutions.

The meeting observed that public-owned broadcast stations operate largely as the mouthpiece of government instead of representing the whole society while the private stations operate as the mouthpiece of the rich and powerful; thereby the common man is abandoned by both.They said that instances abound when broadcasting has been used to the detriment of the nation.Stations are increasingly coming under pressure to polarise the society along the lines of opposing political divides.

According to them, there is near-total absence of proper supervision and gate-keeping by station owners, station managers and editors and that gate-keeping is crucial and through it, broadcasters are expected to use their expertise and knowledge to promote generally-accepted social values

and norms, especially civil and social responsibilities.

They also said that some broadcasters commit serious breaches against the provisions of the code, which attracts severe sanctions, adding that active participation of the Nigerian Society of Broadcasters is required.

At the meeting, it was agreed that broadcasters need to be wary of “super anchors” that make subjective, unprofessional and abusive remarks without consideration for fair-hearing and that government stations do not have the capacity to say no to their governors/proprietors.

“There is the challenge of disproportionate financial capacity of contending candidates and political parties.

However the need for the Commission to ensure fairness cannot be over-emphasized”, they said.

“Super anchors make no effort to carry out research on issues they present on radio and

television.There is the tendency for stations to have sympathy for the political views of their owners” they further said.They therefore recommended the establishment of appropriate concept of gate-keeping, in order for broadcasters to use their expertise and knowledge to promote civic and social responsibilities.

The meeting also urged the NBC to invite state governors for free discussions concerning ethical broadcasting and that broadcast stations should begin to network among themselves to red-flag unruly staff.

“There is need for effective control of the broadcast media, irrespective of their ownership so that the media is not used to the detriment of the nation. Political advertising must comply with the APCON Code of Practice, the Nigeria Broadcasting Code and the Electoral Act. In addition, all adverts should be submitted to APCON for vetting” they pointed out.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 22

Niger Insurance targets N15bn premium income this year From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

D

etermined to effectively implement the transformation agenda through responsive and efficient customer services, Niger Insurance Plc is targeting premium income generation of N15 billion this year.

The Managing Director/CEO of the company, Kolapo Adedeji said during an interactive forum with journalists in Lagos that, as one of the leading light in the

Nigerian insurance industry, they wanted to continue to operate on sound principles based on responsive and efficient customer services.

According to him, “We are going to have a stronger company that is going to be more responsive to the needs of our customers, efficiently run and one of the leading light in the Nigerian insurance market.”

He said that, if one observed in the last one year, “we

embarked on transformation of the processes, in the sense that we x-rayed the entire system processes of the company, our people and processes, with a view to revamping the company to meet the peculiar needs of our customers as well as all stakeholders in the company.

“The business model we are doing is going to be driven by ICT platform, having got approval from National Insurance Commission on life annuity

products. We are also working on our traditional products to make it more user friendly.

With the processes being put in place, we are projecting to generate a premium income of N15 billion this year.

Adedeji took over from Dr. Justus Clinton Uranta in January this year following his retirement after 35 years of meritorious service in the insurance industry.

L-R: 1st deputy president Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye, president of ECCIMA, Dr. Theo Okonkwo, and Managing Director, Hardis and Dromedas group of companies, Chief Chike Obidigbo, during the Hardis and Dromedas day at the Ongoing 24th Enugu International Trade Fair, on recently in Enugu.

Photo: NAN

15 Africans bag Dangote - sponsored World Economic Young Global Leaders awards

By Ibrahim Kabir Sule

F

ifteen Africans, including six Nigerians are among 199 honourees who have been selected for the 2013 Young Global Leaders Award of the World Economic Forum (WEF) instituted by The Dangote Fellowship.

Of the 15 honourees, eight have been adjudged eligible for Young Global Leaders (YGL) Dangote Fellowship, a fellowship that gives them the opportunity of being sponsored fully to regional and global events being organised by the World Economic Forum.

Dangote Fellowship, instituted by the Dangote Foundation, has sponsored the members of the Community of the YGLs to various private programmes at the annual general meeting of the New Champions in China, World Economic Forum in India, several meetings in Davos and the WEF Educational Module in the United State of America (USA).

Since its inception the Dangote Fellowship programme has funded 35 trips to 14 African Young Global Leaders, with the

opportunity to increase their participation to regional and global events organized by the World Economic Forum.

The Young Global Leader award is an honour bestowed by the World Economic Forum each year to recognize the most distinguished leaders under the age of 40, nominated from around the world.

The beneficiaries come from all parts of Africa and represent the diversity of the community.

Some of the past African YGL beneficiaries of the fellowship sponsorship include, Clare Akmanzi, Chief Executive Officer, Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Rwanda; Osayi Alile Oruene, Executive Director, Fate Foundation,

From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

....as appetite for FGN bonds wanes

Nigeria.

Others include Mr. Akudo Anyanwu Ikemba,Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Friends of the Global Fund Africa, Nigeria; Salim Amin, Chairman, A24 Media/ Camerapix, Kenya; and Kingsley Bangwell, Founder, Youngstars Foundation, Nigeria.

DMO records lowest bids in 4 months

I

nvestors’ appetite for Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds appears to have waned as the Debt Management Office (DMO) records the lowest bids for bonds on offer at its most recent monthly auction held last week.

The DMO sold N35 billion each of 5- and 10-year bonds, raising N70 billion ($440m) from a total bid of N132 billion at its regular debt auction last Wednesday. This compares with the N105 billion of 5-, 7-, 10- and 20-year bonds, sold in February with total bids of N251.9 billion.

“We detect a cooling of interest among offshore investors,” said

FBN Capital research analysts, in a note released Friday.

Last week’s sales by the DMO were the lowest in the quarter, which might be a reflection of the recent approval of the 2013 budget.

The Federal Government has plans to issue approximately N528 billion worth of new bonds in 2013 (excluding rollovers to refinance maturing issues), compared with the N752 billion issued in 2012, according to data from the present budget proposals.

The development in the bonds market may not be unconnected

with rallies in the equities market and some macro-economic indicators.

FGN bond yields have not broken the 10 percent threshold (in spite of single digit inflation) and have trended upwards lately with the January 2022s reaching 11.3 percent on March 8.

Nigerian bonds have rallied since mid 2012 on the back of Barclays and JP Morgan’s announcement of index inclusion.

FGN bonds made up 61.44 percent of the domestic debt stock of N6.5 trillion at the end of 2012.

Pepsi rolls out new shape for 20-ounce bottle in April

P

epsi is rolling out a new shape for its 20-ounce bottle for the first time in about 17 years.

The new bottle has a contoured bottom-half that appears easier to grip, and the wraparound label is shorter, so that more of the drink is exposed.

The change follows a number of splashy moves in the past year

by PepsiCo to improve results for its namesake soda, including a multi-year deal to sponsor the US Super Bowl halftime show and a wide-ranging deal with pop star, Beyonce.

PepsiCo Inc., based in Purchase, NewYork, has been working to revitalise the brand after losing market share to Coca-Cola Co. in recent years.

A PepsiCo spokeswoman, Andrea Foote said the new 20ounce bottle is part of the company’s ongoing update of marketing and packaging materials for the cola.

The single-serve bottles, which are widely sold in coolers at drugstores and other retailers in the US, will begin rolling out in April. The new shape will also be used for the 16-ounce bottles, which aren’t as common, as well as Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Max and Pepsi Next.

(Source: Associated Press )

Niger state government to spend N17bn on rice project

T

he Niger Government said on Wednesday that it had entered into agreement with some commercial banks to inject N17 billion over the next three years on rice cultivation in the state.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Ahmed Matane, said this at Kuchin Woro village in Lavun Local Government Area during the disbursement of relief materials to victims of 2012 flood.

He said 200, 000 hectares of land would be cultivated with an expectant annual yield of one million tons of rice.

Matane said that 100, 000 farmers are expected to participate in the project, with each farmer getting two hectares for rice cultivation.

According to him, each hectre is projected to produce five tons as against the current yield of two tons.

“The farmers are expected to cultivate the rice all-year-round, thus ensuring that farmers participate in dry season farming too instead of depending on rain water for their farming.

“Each farmer will be provided high yielding seeds, fertiliser, herbicides, and harvesters among other farming inputs that will guarantee them higher yield, with the assistance of their extension officers.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 23

Energy drinks can cause high blood pressure and fatal heart problems

By Anna Hodgekiss

E

nergy drinks may cause high blood pressure and potentially lethal heart problems, new research has found.

Doctors are warning people with high blood pressure to 'use caution and judgment' before downing the drinks, after finding they may increase blood pressure and disturb the heart's natural

rhythm.

American researchers analysed data from seven previously published studies to determine how consuming energy drinks might impact heart health.

The pooled studies included healthy patients, aged 18 to 45.

In the first part of the pooled analysis, the researchers examined the QT interval - a segment of the heart's rhythm - of

Doctors have warned the drinks may disturb the heart's natural rhythm

93 people who had just consumed one to three cans of energy drinks.

They found that the QT interval was 10 milliseconds longer for those who had consumed the energy drinks.

The QT interval describes a segment of the heart's rhythm on an electrocardiogram; when prolonged, it can cause serious irregular heartbeats or sudden cardiac death.

Lead author Doctor Sachin Shah, assistant professor at University of the Pacific in the United States, said: 'Doctors are generally concerned if patients experience an additional 30 milliseconds in their QT interval from baseline.

'QT prolongation is associated with life-threatening arrhythmias. The finding that energy drinks could prolong the QT, in light of the reports of sudden cardiac death, warrants further investigation.'

The researchers also found that the systolic blood pressure, the top number in a blood pressure reading, increased an average of 3.5 points in a pool of 132 participants.

Dr Shah added: 'The correlation b e t w e e n energy drinks and increased systolic blood pressure is convincing a n d concerning, and more studies are needed to assess the impact on the h e a r t rhythm.

'Patients with high b l o o d pressures or long QT syndrome should use caution and judgment b e f o r e consuming an energy drink. ' S i n c e energy drinks also contain caffeine, people who do not normally

Energy drinks may increase blood pressure drink much caffeine might have an exaggerated increase in blood pressure.

'People with health concerns or those who are

older might have more heartrelated side effects from energy drinks.'

The findings were presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention conference.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Scientists find chocolate cuts risk of stroke J

By Simon Murphy

ust in time for Easter, it's the news chocolate lovers have dreamt of - official confirmation that their favourite guilty pleasure can be good for you.

New research shows that eating just a single chocolate bar has a direct effect on the brain and may cut the risk of stroke.

The study found that the chocolate had an effect on carbon dioxide levels which affected blood vessels, improved blood flow and, in turn, impacted on brain cells

Previous research has shown eating dark chocolate in moderation could be good for you. But the latest study, in the journal Neurology, shows for the first time how chocolate affects blood vessels.

Researchers at Glasgow University measured the speed of blood flowing through the biggest artery in the brain while subjects ate chocolate lying down.

They found that the chocolate had an effect on carbon dioxide levels which affected blood vessels, improved blood flow and, in turn, impacted on brain cells.

Professor Matthew Walters, who led the study, told The Mail on Sunday: 'Consumption of a normal chocolate bar was associated with a change in stiffness of the blood vessels.

'Our data is consistent with a direct effect of chocolate on the brain blood vessels.

'It raises the possibility that there is a direct effect of some component of the chocolate on blood vessels.

This is plausible because of the flavonoid molecules contained in chocolate.

'We think a reduction in stroke risk may be caused by chocolate changing how brain blood vessels behave.'

The beneficial flavonoids, found in the cacao plant and others, are antioxidants that contribute to the prevention of heart disease.

However, chocolate also has a high sugar and fat content which can cause obesity - a definite risk factor for strokes.

Tom Solomon, professor of neurology at Liverpool University, said: 'We have to take the findings with caution.'

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Research from Glasgow University shows that eating just a single chocolate bar has a direct effect on the brain and may cut the risk of stroke

PAGE 24

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 25

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 26

Army intercepts 14 tankers with suspected stolen crude Stories by Joy Baba igerian Army 177 Guards Battalion Keffi Nassarawa State, over the weekend paraded 14 suspected crude oil thieves, their tankers and five other men who claim to be contractors with Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Addressing press men before parading the suspects, Commander Guards Brigade Abuja, Brig. Gen Emmanuel Atewe said the 14 tankers were intercepted by troops stationed at Toto check point in Toto Local Government of Nasarawa State conveying substance suspected to be crude oil stolen from Abaji Area Council of FCT According Atewe, “On 10th of March, 2013 at about 16000hrs, troops of 177 Guards Battalion stationed at Toto checkpoint intercepted 14 tankers conveying substance suspected to be crude oil on their way to Kano.

“However, the owner of the said tankers, one Mr. Joseph Amaechi attempted to bribe our troops which was out rightly rejected and the incidence promptly reported to appropriate authority and the tankers subsequently

N

Some of the suspected oil thives and their tankers being paraded in 177 Battalion, Keffi, weekend.

Photo: Joy Baba impounded.

The tankers were immediately moved to 177 Guards Battalion in Keffi while the owner and 15 others were

arrested”.

The Guards Brigade Commander also said Amaechi admitted that he and other members of his

Training and capacity building will help Nigeria meet challenges

T

he Chief of Defence Intelligent, (CDI) Maj. Gen. Sanni Audu has said training and capacity building of personnel will enable Nigeria meet the growing security challenges adding that policy decisions must be taken with every assurance that elements of uncertainty are eliminated or reduced to the barest minimum.

Audu stated this recently in Abuja at the graduation ceremony of National Security Training Seminar (GALILEE) and the Advance Defence Intelligence Officers’ Course 07/ 13.

He noted that the National Security Training Seminar and

Advance Defence Intelligence College Nigeria has been accredited and it is jointly certificated for the first time between the Defence Intelligent College Nigeria and Galilee International Management Institute (GIMI) The CDI further said this graduation is a combination of two courses and the first of its kind as the institute’s nomenclature has changed from Defence Intelligence School to Defence Intelligent College.

He also said that Defence Intelligent Agency has gotten approval to establish Medical Intelligent Unit and a Joint Military Attaches School which

T

Fire not in COAS office- Army

he Nigerian Army has refuted reports in some newspapers recently that fire gut the Chief of Army Staff office at the Army Headquarters Abuja.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Brig. Gen Attahiru Ibrahim.

According to the statement “It is indeed true that there was a fire incident as a result of an electrical surge in one of the air

conditioners at the Army Headquarters Conference Room in Abuja.

“The incident which occurred on Wednesday 20 March, 2013 between 6.00 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. was promptly put off by vigilant personnel on duty including our own fire service operatives using existing routine fire drills and men of the Federal

will prepare potential Defence Adviser/Attaches for diplomatic duties before reporting to mission area.

Audu also noted that the Agency is poised more than ever to provide qualitative education and transform the fortune of the entire intelligence community adding that any certificate awarded from the institution is recognised internationally.

In his words, the Commandant of the College, Commodore Adekunle Olawunmi said the college is in partnership with all Ministries, Department and Agencies to be able to curtail the menace of terrorism that has bedevilled the country with ease.

Fire Service.

“It is important to state that the minor fire incident did not occur in the Office of the Chief of Army Staff as reported in some dailies. It was localised within the conference room”.

DAPR also said in the statement that there was no casualty or loss of any document.

syndicate broke and siphoned crude oil from NNPC pipeline along Abaji FCT adding that 1AK 47 riffle and a magazine were recovered from one of the

suspects.

Atewe further said with preliminary investigations into the theft concluded by the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police, the tankers as well as the suspects will be handed over to the Economic and Finan cial Crime Commission (EFCC) for further investigation and prosecution.

Speaking with the principal suspect, Mr. Joseph Amaechi, an indigene of Amanachi village of Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State said was introduced to the “business” by one Mohammed Tanko he met in Warri some years back.

According to him “I was a trader selling cloths before Mohammed introduce me to the business” The suspect said out of the 14 tankers, 11 carried crude oil, one kerosene while two carried diesel.

Five of the suspects pleaded not guilty, arguing that they were workers of a private company whose responsibilities included watching over the NNPC pipelines.

Speaking with journalist after the suspects were handed over to them, the Head of counter terrorism and general investigation of EFCC Abuja Baba Mohammed described oil theft as a national embarrassment noting that the commission will do it investigation thoroughly with a view to charge them to court where they will know their fate.

Ihejirika calls for review of security operation technique

T

he Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika said the prevailing security challenges facing the country made it inevitable for regular reviews of existing internal security operation techniques.

Ihejirika who was represented by the Commander, Nigerian Army Training Centre stated this at training centre in Kontagora, Niger State during the graduation of another batch of 705 soldiers trained in quick response.

The Army Chief said graduands have been sufficiently provided with the requisite combat skills to tackle the challenges they are likely to meet in the field.

He noted that the contemporary security challenges of bombing and killing of Nigerians called for mission of specific training to ensure that the security threats are tackled proficiently.

According to him, “We have witnessed an upsurge in acts of terrorism characterized by bombings, senseless killings of innocent people, attacks on security operatives and other acts of violence”

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika “This has necessitated the reinvigoration of our training efforts. These challenges call for regular reviews of existing internal security operation techniques,” he added while saying that the course was designed to equip them with basic soldierly skills that will enable them fit into the transformation programmes of the Nigerian Army.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 27

Navy use N45,000 bait to nab 3 members of fake job syndicate

By Joy Baba

N

igerian Navy, in line with its zero tolerance for criminality both afloat and ashore said it has used N45, 000 bait, to nab 3 members of a fake recruitment syndicate in Abuja.

Commander, Naval Unit, Mogadishu Cantonment Abuja Commodore Segun Adebari stated this over the weekend in Abuja while addressing journalist at the cantonment.

Adebari said the fake syndicate fell for a bait of N45, 000.00 which they wanted to personally collect from one of

their victim noting that they had previously collected N150, 000.00 from one Mr Bulus Doje who fell for their fraudulent antics.

The arrested members of the syndicate are; Paul Agade Manyep, AnthonyNgbe Monjack and Samuel Enoch Zamai.

He also said the ringleader of the suspected syndicate, who coordinates the fake training at Atu primary school Atimbo, Calabar, one Mr. Morris Okorobi Effiong also based in Calabar is still at large and is being trailed.

The Naval Commander

further said that at the time of arrest, the 3 members of the syndicate had the following items on them; Fake Nigerian Navy Identity cards, photocopies of credentials belonging to several individuals, mobile phones, Navy uniforms and accoutrement and a Mitsubishi Lancer with registration A2808LND. The suspects however denied any wrong doing, instead claiming to be victims of a syndicate in the Nigerian Navy.

They were later handed over to the police for further prosecution.

Oil theft: JTF arrest 33 thieves

By Joy Baba

T

he Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta region, codenamed Operation Pulo Shield, recently said it had arrested thirty three oil thieves out of which three are foreigners (two Ghanians and a Togolese) and the remaining 30 Nigerians.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Media Coordinator, JTF; Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu.

Nwachukwu, further said in the statement that the suspects were arrested on board two vessels, MV GIFT and MV TiGER FISH. He said the operatives of the outfit also seized the vessels during multiple raids they conducted along the Federal Ocean Terminal Onne, Rivers State.

The JTF media coordinator also said the raids lasted 19 days, adding that the arrested vessels had been secured at the 2nd Brigade Nigerian Army, Gunboat Company, Onne.

The statement added that the suspects and samples of the products have been handed over to authorities of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps in Rivers State for further investigation and prosecution.

Nwachukwu said JTF intercepted 10 barges laden with illegal petroleum products along Delta and Bayelsa states waterways.

He said over 143 illegal refineries discovered by the operatives along Obi Ayagbo, Otu Jeremi, Gbekebor, Esere, Ajugbo, Tigbubeni and Igbamatoru were destroyed in situ.

“Patrol troops of the JTF

have also arrested eight trucks conveying suspected illegal petroleum products along Akim Akim village in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State and Abudu pump station along Sapele road of Edo State, while 70 Cotonu boats and 214 storage tanks caught indulged in oil theft related activities” the statement further said

Commander, Naval Unit, Mogadishu Cantonment Abuja Commodore Segun Adebari

R-L: Former Director of Defence Information, Col. Mohammed Yerima handing over to the new Director, Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade at Defence Headquarters, Abuja.

Alledged illegal oil bunkers

Naval Engineering College Sapele to get university status

By Miriam Humbe

T

he Nigerian Naval Engineering College (NNEC) Sapele, Delta State will soon be upgraded to the status of a University.

Commandant of the College, Rear Admiral Akinjola Johnson revealed this when he paid a courtesy call on the President of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, (COREN), Engr.

Ibikunle

Ogunbayo in Abuja.

Rear Admiral Johnson said the main purpose of the visit was to seek possible ways of collaborating with COREN which is a regulatory body for professional advice since the NNEC is an engineering based institution.

The Commandant stated however that, as part of the Navy’s efforts to localise overseas training, the Nigerian Navy established the Nigerian Navy

Technical Training Centre at a temporary site in Port Harcourt in 1982.

According to him, the base which was renamed Nigerian Naval Engineering Naval Engineering College in 2003, has seven schools namely, Marine Engineering, Automobile, Nuclear, Biological. Others are Chemical Defence School which includes Damage Control and Fire Fighting Training and Air Engineering Schools.

Johnson also said the accreditation process for Higher National Diploma (HND) electrical electronics technology and for ND and HND in Marine engineering technology was in progress and had reached an advanced stage.

Responding, the COREN president, Engr.

Ibikunle Ogunbayo said the Act establishing COREN mandated it to regulate the practice and training of engineering

personnel in the country.

Engr. Ogunbayo clarified that COREN would not compromise in ensuring the standard and quality of engineering programmes run in the nation’s tertiary institutions.

The COREN President expressed the need for a previsitation of the institution to ascertain the level of preparedness of the college before embarking on full accreditation.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 29

Africa: New frontier for global food security - Adesina

By Dr Oyeleye Olukayode

A

t the recently concluded Forum for the future of Agriculture in Brussels, Belgium, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, opened up on the strategic positioning of Africa in feeding the world, producing renewable energy and what policies the countries within the continent must pursue to realise these and minimise the adverse consequences of climate change.

Farmers and their voice or political power If you take a look at agriculture in Nigeria, or other African countries, 80 per cent of the farmers are small holder farmers. But being small holder farmers does not mean that they cannot produce and be technically or economically efficient.

For the small holder farmers, the real challenges that they face have to do with technology, markets, finance and infrastructure, organisational capacity to engage markets, and we are investing heavily on that.

You can only achieve this kind of revolution when you have millions and millions of small holder farmers participating.

The experience of green revolution in Asia was not by large farmers. It was actually by small farmers. So, small holder farmers are technically and economically efficient. They just need to have a number of boundary conditions dealt with, which are finance, infrastructure, market access, information and insurance, in particular, in the context of climate change.

The issue of pitting the small holder farmers versus large in Africa is not the right kind of bifurcation that we need. Africa has a lot of land. We just have to be able to optmise around small holder farming population. Medium scale farmers and large scale farmers can actually co-exist.

Africa, today, is where the land frontier is. When we talk about large scale farmers, we are sensitive to the issue of environment. We are sensitive to the issue of local ownership. The revolution we are talking about must be an inclusive one that creates robust opportunities for millions of small holder farmers.

That is where our focus is.

Foreign money inflow, urban growth and land grab We should not be afraid of growth. Africa clearly needs a lot of foreign direct investment. We have taken agriculture in Nigeria as a business, a business that creates wealth for millions of our people.

For that you need a lot of capital. So, we encourage a lot of foreign direct investment and also domestic investors. In Nigeria's agriculture, in the last one year we have been able to attract $8 billion worth of foreign direct investment commitments into our agriculture.

We don't encourage land grab.

It is a partnership in which the business is coming to invest their money, whether in processing capacity or in feedlot. However, the voluntary code of conduct has to be respected in the sense that the right of the community has to be protected. The communities must have a share in a lot of these businesses. We have to make sure in particular that women are not disempowered when things like these happen and that we use modern agriculture, when it comes

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina (middle), discussing with some participants, during the Forum for the Future of Agriculture, recently in Brussels. in, to build our own capacity.

For example, in Taraba, one of our states up in the north, we set a strategy for us to be self-sufficient in rice. Nigeria is the largest importer of rice in the world today.

It makes absolutely no sense. We can produce rice all the way from the north of Nigeria to the deep south mangrove land. It is all about finance and technology. We were able to attract an investor, which is Dominion Farms, the largest producer of rice in Kenya, into Nigeria.

They are putting in domestic investment of $40 million. The total enterprise is about 30,000 hectares. That is not 30,000 hectares for the investor. The investor only gets 3,000 hectares.

The rest of it is actually in outgrowers' schemes in which the communities are in outgrowers' schemes. A lot of the youth, about 15,000 youth will have land allocated to them, to have their own farms and they will be able to produce paddy and supply to a world class mill.

That is the win-win partnership that Africa needs. To avoid win-lose, we need to improve transparency in how these kinds of investments are done in Africa.

We have to make sure that the communities are involved. We have to make sure they know what they sign; the legal issues that support their communities. That is where the issues of civil societies' support is very important. In Nigeria we are not doing the issue of large scale people coming and grabbing land.

Selling out land to foreigners When you have a situation where Africa is where the land frontier is; to be able to meet the global food supply that we have to all need to feed 9 billion people by 2050, there is no doubt that we all have to have a lot more larger farms and a lot more foreign direct investments.

What is important is how you manage them, to make sure that concerned farmers are empowered; that things are transparent; that small holder farmers are not displaced; that you

do not go into excessive mechanisation; things that destroy the ecosystem.

The responsible investment framework that was put together

by FAO, IFAD and the World Bank is the way to look at it. There is a compact between the business sector and the communities that this has to work for the communities.

Climate change, flood, farming and Sub-Saharan Africa Climate change is here to stay. We have to find a way of adapting under a context of climate change. There are number of things we can do, but we have to prioritise. We must deploy intelligent technologies for remote sensing and satellite imagery that allow you to be able to predict - through early warning systems - seasonal forecasts, how much rain you are going to get, how much inundation for flood are you going to get; how fast is that flood water going to recede so that you can do flood recession agriculture.

In other words, we cannot manage agriculture as before. We have to manage agriculture intelligently with modern tools. In Nigeria, last year, we had a devastating flood, which was the worst in several decades in the country. There was a lot of hue and cry in the media. A lot of people were saying that there was going to be food crisis by December in Nigeria. Big importers of food took advantage of that: they wanted to create another flood, which was to flood the market with a lot of cheap foods.

What I basically did was that we approached the International Water Management Institute, which is the world's leading centre for water management, to deploy remote sensing analysis and satellite imagery.

What we were able to show was that the total area that was inundated was about 1.4 million hectares. And the area in which we suffered crop loss was 467,000 hectares. You have got to put that in perspective because the total area cultivated in Nigeria was 40

million hectares, which was 1.17 per cent of the area. Using science, using modern tools, helps you to make evidence-based policies, not based on hues and cries in the media.

The second thing that is important for us to do is the issue of insurance. The World Bank has piloted a number of countries.

Syngentaand others have piloted good models of how you insure farmers under a context of climate change with index insurance schemes. What we have to do is to scale up these weather insurance schemes. The cost of developing the insurance scheme is the problem and the affordability for the poor.

For the cost of developing it, government should subsidise the upfront development of these, so that you get a lot more insurance companies into the mix. And the premiums will go down as that competition eats in.

But in terms of access by farmers, government must subsidise the access to weather insurance for millions of farmers under a climatechange. In areas where you have susceptibility to floods, the federal government, like in Nigeria, state governments and local governments,ought to work together and put in place areabased flood insurance schemes where you can insure the communities that are involved.

Other things have to be done. When you have flood, for instance, you've gota lot of water. When the flood water recedes and you don't have a way of harnessing that water, you lose all the water. So we really have toinvest in managing water.

Weather insurance as an asset in Nigeria If you take a look at the small holder farmers, they put everything into it. They are very poor farmers. They invest in seeds, they investin fertilisers. If they lose all that, they've probably lost most of their assets. If they are investing in chickens or in goats, or other small ruminants, if they are hit by a shock, they lose everything.

Their ability to recover when they have a shock is compromised unless you are insuring them.

Nobody likes to do insurance. People don't like to pay for insurance.

However, under this context, it will be irresponsible of governments not to insure their farmers in the face of the kind of climate shocks we are going to have. Is there going to be more floods or a lot more droughts? The farmers themselves are not going to demand insuranceproducts because, in most cases, they are not even aware of such products.

But, like in Kenya, Syngenta has an interesting programme, where they actually help the farmers to insure their seeds and fertilisers, if you lose some of your seeds and fertilisers, then youget reimbursed.

We cannot, as governments, abandon farmers. That has always been the challenge in Africa; that the farmers are not well organised and so people can afford to ignore them. But the times are changing, and the cost of inaction in supporting our farmers is much more than the cost of action. I think we should support a lot more farmers with insurance scheme at scale under the context of climate change.

GM technology potential In a context where you have challenges like increased drought, increased flood, rapid growth of pests and diseases, you do need to have a combination of conventional and non-conventional technologies if you are going to address all the shocks and feed the world and stabilise food supplies. I actually don't think we should be afraid ofa lot of these new technologies. We've got to manage them.

Take for example, biotechnology. Biotechnology has a huge potential in agriculture in raising yield, in stabilising production, in enhancing nutrition in crops. For example, in Africa today, we have the orangefleshed sweet potato.

Olukayode is of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 28

Nigerian scientists can help with the intellectual capability on biotechnology-Heap C

an you clarify on the significance about tech nology in the development of agriculture in Africa, and why has B4FA suddenly developed interest in the continent?

The point about the agricultural technology for development in Africa is that the interest derives from the fact that the yield of cereals in particular in Africa has not improved to any great extent over the last sixty to hundred years, while in a lot of countries, for example China or in Europe the yield have been growing up all the time but cereals in Africa has been flapped.

The question is, can we find a method of helping to increase the yield of cereals and one of the ways of doing this of course, is to use a more intensive agriculture but that of course has risk because it has an effect on the environment and it can have a negative effect on the environment by the overuse of fertilized chemicals, an alternative will be to up ways in which we can introduce genes into ploughs that will increase the yield and that is the area of particular interest because it might help to reduce the amount of chemicals that you used to increase production.

So, that is why biotechnology has significance to yield and the other potential is the possibility that you can introduce genes that improves the nutritive value of the plant. So you might be able to introduce the vitamin, the improved vitamin that will actually enable people, in particular the children who eat the grain or the rice in this case help to get a high level of vitamin A because this may aid deficiency in cereals problem and for human health so this is the two areas yield number one, number two, the possibility of improving the nutritive value of crops.

The second question you asked is why we've chosen Africa as our point of call in this project. So when I was approached by Dr. Jack Templeton who is the Chairman of Templeton Foundation in Philadelphia in USA, who succeeded his father, Sir John Templeton, who is the man who made all the money from the stock market which he then used for philanthropy for doing good in different part of the world. Jack Templeton, a son of Sir John Templeton, helped then to develop a program on genetic and in particular on GM crops and he asked me whether I will be interested in doing the project in GM crops, help to feed the world and I said yes, I would be interested in it because the Templeton Foundation allows us to do that study without any involve of industry or any interested parties so, we can do it independently, and that's the reason I became involved. Number one, independence- we can actually say we think is the position without any outside influence from anybody else and the second reason is because there is particular need in Africa for the reason I've mentioned to you that yields have not gone off, your population is increasing, there is going to be more

At the recently concluded training of the Biosciences for Farming in Africa (B4FA), Sir Brian Heap, President, European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) and Project Leader, opened up on the need for African leaders be open-minded about the potential application of biosciences for farming on the continent. In this interview with Mohammed Kandi, Heap was optimistic that the future of bio-technology driven agricbusiness lay in Africa with right technologies and legislation in place. Excerpts: hungry in Africa. Therefore we have to (you are a scientist, the white will be very pleased to interact with your scientists) see if we can find ways to actually enhance the productivity of crops in Africa so that's the reason why Africa was chosen.

How will you describe the level of successes recorded so far in Africa, is the organization making progress and according plan?

Well, if you listen to the conversation we just had, it does sound as if there is a feeling that scientists should be big involved in the efficacy in Africa. But I think we've got to be more careful about singling out GM on its own. GM is only one technology; there is a whole range of other technologies that have to be developed, for example, you have to look at ways of improving the saving of soil structure instead of plowing the land with

Sir Brian Heap

what we call maker assistant breeding. So, I think that is the number three. The number four; well, I am involved with the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC). Because we have a number of reports addressing plant biotechnology, plant genetic resources and these policy statements that we make which are based on science policy marker, now are carrying out a study which will be published in June, which is looking at the question for European policy makers.

Are you aware just how much it's developing in different parts of the world, in North America, in South America, in China, in India, in South-east Asia where biotechnology is roaring ahead and is developing? And the two areas of the world where biotechnology is not developing is Europe in one hand and Africa in the other hand. Europe, in this study that we are go-

A cross section of participants at the just concluded training of the B4FA, with world-famous Oxford scientist, Chris Leaver, recently in Abuja.

Photo: Julia Vitullo-Martin hand, you use better method or what is called tillage which is just turning over the surface without actually destroying the soil structure. It's very important we find way in preserving the water in the soil and to bring out water from the accurate source to they could help to provide water for the developing crop. It's also very important to think about ways of reducing the waste because very often, food is wasted and something like 30% to 40% of food that is grown never reaches people's mouth, it's wasted because it deteriorates or is attacked by pests or diseases or is just thrown away,

so I think it's unwise to single out GM and not other parties. I think it's very important because other plant breeders and the young plant breeders we met in this hall meeting have a very important role to play because they are using what we call conventional plant breeding, that is, using the genomics of what we now know as genes and using that to actually find ways of which we can identify genes that are in the plant and breed them and cause them to produce hybrid that will then give you this high productivity. That's not GM, that's conventional plant breeding with

ing to publish in June, we are going to be asking a question, to what extent is this policies in Bristol and the negative effect on the development of this technologies in African countries, so, there will be quite a news and an issue as far as policy making is concern.

What is your advice for Nigeria and African policy makers in terms of bio-technology driven agriculture?

I think my advice to policy makers of Africa is that it's important to be open-minded and to be ready to examine the system very carefully because policy is based on understanding of what we do

inside. That is what we are aiming for so the science will help provide the policy makers with detailed information at the back.

Do you see this project succeeding in Nigeria or Africa?

Yes I do see it because I think it's got some very bright side here beyond the scientist and you build a lot of enthusiasm in Nigeria.

You've got to be leaders in Africa here. Well at the moment; the three countries that have already put the legislation in place are South Africa, Burkina Faso and Egypt. Nigeria is lacking behind.

Now let's just think about this because there are a number of other countries that are looking up the possibility of passing the legislation. You cannot grow GM crops unless you have the legislation in place. You cannot because if you do, you are doing it illegally and that is not correct, so you have to pass the bio-safety bill, you have to help the legislating testing procedures, you have to have the voting procedures. It takes a long time, it may take years to get to the point where you can actually grow this crops commercially, but, the three countries which I mentioned can grow this crops commercially but there are hardly any other countries in Africa but that notwithstanding, biotechnology will prove to help benefit what we could build on in Nigeria and you will help with the intellectual capability to do that.

How much do you think Nigeria in particular and Africa at large is missing out of this superlative enterprise?

We visited a few laboratory which is bio national safety; national biotechnology laboratory in Nigeria and that is an example of where you make the big statement when you setup the laboratory that was very important but you have to help the investment because this is not a cheap technology, you have to actually build on it and build for future success so you have to have a long term use.

It's not going to happen in the next two to three years, so you need to look good and plan your strategic development to apply in the next eight to ten years, that's essential.

It's not a short term thing but it is something of considerable promise but I repeat it's the only answer, it fits in with a lot of other things that have to happen at the same time including particularly infrastructure. Your infrastructure is improving all the time and I think that is fantastic what you've done because if you do grow this crop you've got to find ways of which you can transport them readily and people who want to trade with them will want to enter into trade agreement as well. That of course is where you are going to get profit back into your system.

PAGE 30

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2012

Nigeria and the fight against tuberculosis

By Abiemwense Moru and Kabiru Ibrahim

T

he World Tuberculosis Day was marked on Sunday, March 24, to stimulate public awareness about the menace of tuberculosis and global efforts to eliminate the disease.

The day, which is observed every year, commemorates the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch dazzled the scientific community with his discovery of TB bacillus -- the germ that causes tuberculosis.

Prior to Koch's announcement of the discovery in Berlin, tuberculosis had been raging through Europe and the Americas, causing deaths.

Koch's discovery opened the channel for the diagnosis and therapy of tuberculosis.

However, in spite of the global antituberculosis efforts, the disease still causes the death of not less than 1.7 million people each year, particularly in the developing countries.

In 1982, the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of Robert Koch's discovery, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) proposed that March 24 of every year should be officially designated as the World Tuberculosis Day. In 1996, the World Health Organisation partnered with the IUATLD and some concerned organisations to increase the global impact of World Tuberculosis Day. Medical experts say that tuberculosis is a common, infectious and, in many cases, lethal disease that is caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually mycobacterium tuberculosis.

The bacterium typically attacks a person's lungs but it can also affect other parts of the body. It is spread through the air when people with TB infection cough or sneeze.

However, the cheery news is that tuberculosis can be cured, if is diagnosed early and treated with a regimen of drugs.

For instance, Mr Yusuf Saddiq, a civil servant, who was suffering from tuberculosis some months ago, says that he is now hale and hearty.

Saddiq recalls that he once visited the Directly Observed Treatment Centre, Maitama General Hospital, Abuja, with some complaints of fever, cough, fatigue and loss of appetite, which lasted for about five weeks.

He says that his sputum was collected and tested, while it was eventually confirmed that he was suffering from tuberculosis.

Saddiq says that he later underwent a six-month therapy, in which followup sputum tests were carried out twice to gauge his response to treatment. ``Finally, I was declared cured of tuberculosis and all my treatment was free of charge. ``I advise all those with persistent cough that lasted more than two weeks to get their sputum specimens tested so as to ascertain if they are suffering from tuberculosis or not,'' he adds.

Saddiq's advice is very much desirable, as experts insist that in spite of being a curable disease; tuberculosis is still a major health problem in developing countries, Nigeria

Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, Minister of Health

inclusive, causing the death of many people each year.

Dr Saddiq Abdurrahman, the Coordinator of Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme at the Public Health Department of the FCT Administration (FCTA), insists that the government and all stakeholders should make collective efforts to fight tuberculosis. ``The theme for this year's World TB Day, just like that of last year, is `Call for a world free of TB; Stop TB in my lifetime'. ``It is a call on government at all levels, development partners, individuals, philanthropists, families, communities and infested persons to make concerted efforts to stop TB here in FCT and in Nigeria as a whole. ``The World TB Day also means a worldwide call to mobilise political will and ensure social commitment. ``This annual event, however, offers an unparalleled opportunity to raise awareness about the burden of TB, with the view to improving TB treatment and prevention as well as ongoing efforts by the government in

that regard,'' he says.

Abdurrahman says that increased public awareness of the disease could bring about a change in the people's perception, attitudes and practices with regard to TB prevention and therapy.

He, nonetheless, underscores the need for all the stakeholders to strengthen community participation in the TB control programme so as to achieve the programme's set targets and ensure its sustainability. ``In FCT, as we are aware, treatment for TB is free; everything about TB treatment right from the phase of the disease's diagnosis up to the disease's curative stage is absolutely free. ``The disease, which is an airborne disease, is caused by a germ called mycobacterium tuberculosis; it is spread via coughing and sneezing and it is transmitted by a person suffering from the disease to others within the vicinity. ``The signs and symptoms vary from persistent cough for more than two weeks to other conditions such as

“

A specialist in veterinary public health, warns that the consumption of raw milk from cow could cause a variant of tuberculosis known as bovine tuberculosis.

low-grade fever, weight loss, loss of appetite, restlessness and so on. ``Besides, TB is known to be one of the most important opportunistic infections afflicting HIV-positive persons; so, it is one of the diseases that must be dealt with immediately when detected among persons living with HIV because it is like a death sentence,'' he says.

Abdurrahman says that TB treatment is free and available in most of the health facilities across the FCT, particularly at designated treatment centres known as Directly Observed Treatment (DOT) Centres. ``These centres cut across both public and private health facilities in the FCT and they are located in all the six area councils of the FCT,'' he adds.

He says that the FCTA has been able to acquire a TB-testing machine which was approved in December 2010 by the WHO. The machine, according to him, is capable of processing a sputum sample for results within two hours.

Abdurrahman, however, advises persons with persistent cough and feverish conditions to visit any of the treatment centres for TB diagnosis and treatment.

Nevertheless, Dr Wesley Nafarnda, a specialist in veterinary public health, warns that the consumption of raw milk from cow could cause a variant of tuberculosis known as bovine tuberculosis.

He says that the form of tuberculosis, which is caused by mycobacterium bovis, is transmitted from cattle to humans primarily through the consumption of unpasteurised (raw) milk or milk products containing the bacteria. ``Pasteurisation is the process of heating liquids or foods to destroy all bacteria that are harmful to health and the process ensures that milk and milk products are safe for human consumption,'' he adds.

Nafarda reiterates that bovine tuberculosis could be contacted from cattle, adding, therefore, that milk from cattle should first be pasteurised before drinking it.

He argues that raw milk and milk products should be adequately pasteurised so as to ensure their safety for human consumption.

Conceding that milk has several nutritional benefits, Nafarda, nonetheless, insists that tangible efforts should be made to sensitise the people to the potential health hazards of ingesting raw, unprocessed milk. ``Considering the innumerable health benefits of cow milk and the high level of its consumption in Nigeria, I think efforts to increase the public awareness of the possible health hazards of ingesting raw milk will be highly beneficial,'' he adds.

Medical experts, nonetheless, insist that the government and other stakeholders should make concerted efforts to tackle the menace of tuberculosis, using various approaches. ``For a disease that continues to survive, even 130 years after Robert Koch's historic breakthrough, greater efforts ought to be made to stamp it out,'' some of the experts add.

Source: NAN

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 31

Transcript:Briefing on Mali by U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Mali, Mary Beth Leonard and U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Terrence McCulley. (II) ANALYSIS

By Abdulkadir Isa

M

y name is Oghogho Obayuwana, I am with the Guardian of Abuja. While the French forces are out of Mali, nobody is sure [words unclear] of the probability of [word unclear].

[Words unclear] the role of AFRICOM, the U.S. high command will play in postcrisis Mali. [Question unclear].

[Ambassador McCulley] Let me take part of that and see if Ambassador Leonard in Bamako wants to add on. In the first place, the French forces remain in Mali and remain actively engaged in so far I can tell from reading the news reports. With regards to U.S. support to AFISMA, we are providing training through our Africa contingency operations training, which is our peacekeeping package, which is managed by the Department of State.

Traditionally we are providing lifts to the some of the troop-contributing countries.

Certainly we do not envisage having U.S. forces on the ground.

We are looking at training incountry, whether it be in Togo or Niger. The Nigerian contingent that is part of AFISMA, the 333rd, has just finished the training in Jaji up in Kaduna, before they were deployed to Mali. So from the U.S. side we very much look at this as a train and equip package and a sustainment package, which will provide life support to the troops on the ground in Mali and predeployment training. I don't know, Ambassador, if there is anything you would like to add?

(Ambassador Leonard) I think I got the gist of the question.

Indeed the French forces are still here. You speak of the departure of French forces and I think obviously there are sort of timeline questions that are best addressed to the French government. I think it is clear that they have a commitment to making sure that their departure does not undermine the successes that have been already realized in the north of Mali. I think the broader answer to your question is that there has been some very good work done by French and Nigerian and Chadian and AFISMA and Malian forces in re-establishing the territorial integrity of Mali and control of its north. That is not a short term process. Ultimately, as France is no longer in a leading role, there is a great deal of work to be done, both in the reestablishment of the Malian military and the continued work of AFISMA forces, and ultimately it comes down to the same, in some ways the same questions that we have all looked at for several years.

At the end of the day it will be Mali

and its neighbors and its partners in the region, who together with international support, must be able to address and to solve the security force threats that it faces in the North of Mali. And I think that international support, U.S. support to that longer term effort of regional coordination, in support of regional security, will continue.

I am SekuTanyada [ph] from Afri-Cable TV [ph]. I would like to know if we can establish a link between the military operation here in Mali and the terrorist activity of Boko Haram. Can we say the military operation in Mali has reduced the terrorist activities for Bokoo Haram in Nigeria?

(Ambassador McCulley) I would say that, as my colleague pointed out, this issue has a regional dimension. And clearly the government of Nigeria is very concerned about the situation in northern Mali.

We are all concerned with the influx after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi of weapons and extremists. We have seen reports for years of Boko Haram extremists travelling to northern Mali for training and then returning to Nigeria. The Boko Haram phenomena has not stopped as a result of the operations going on in northern Mali, I do believe the Nigerians feel there is a link between terrorist activity in the Sahel and their internal extremist insurgency.

The government of Nigeria clearly needs to address this issue with what we called for, a multi-pronged approach that focuses generally on the security threat that Boko Haram represents, but also in addressing the economic and social conditions that exist in the north.

Communicating to northern populations in [words unclear] from the depredations of these extremist attacks. 2,000 people killed since 2009.

A comprehensive strategy that goes after extremists without injuring innocent civilians, without killing innocent civilians, respecting human rights and respecting the rule of law. But clearly the crisis affecting Mali and the region in general has an effect upon the insurgency in northern Nigeria. ( Q u e s t i o n ] J o h n Gambrell,Associated Press. Good afternoon. This is a question for

U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Terrence McCulley.

Ambassador McCulley. I was in Kanu last week and speaking the leaders there, they have a great concern about the U.S. opening a drone base in Niger. Does the U.S. have any plans for these drones to be used in Nigeria? Have Nigerian authorities asked any questions diplomatically about the use of these drones and how do you address mounting concerns about the U.S. opening a drone base here after some drone strikes have killed civilians in other parts of the world.

(Ambassador McCulley) John, hello. I think that question is probably best addressed by the Department of Defense or my colleague Ambassador Bisa Williams. The issue will still come up in the Nigerian press and it has been addressed by the Department of Defense. I don't really think this is an appropriate forum to comment on that. The Nigerians have not raised this issue with us formally.

I am Abdulkadir Isa, I write for People's Daily newspaper.

Talking of a permanent solution, the landmark of Mali is too wide for 7,000 troops and

“

before AmadouToure was ousted, we saw the claims by Sanogo of widespread corruption. Because in 2011 the transparency index, was that Mali was 78th on the transparency index, and dramatically dropped to 105.

What is the UN and all the other parties doing to check this?

Have they verified the claims and what are they doing to solve this (Ambassador Leonard) I ask that the question be rephrased, I didn't follow the second half so well.

(Ambassador McCulley) The question relates to, the first part of it was, refers to the huge size of Mali and the relative size of AFISMA and associated troops, which are about 7,000.

He stepped into asking how the United States are going to address the problem of corruption in Mali. He referred to a Transparency International ranking of 78 before the coup and dropping to 105 recently, and what is the United States and the UN going to do to address this issue?

On the other hand, while the Chinese leader toil under the African sun to deepen engagement and co-operation with the continent in first ever foreign tour as president, Washington's middle cadre African policy minder, Mr. Johnnie Carson issues threats and rebuttals to the continent from his cool sanctuary in Washington through

(Ambassador Leonard) Yes okay, thank you for that question.

The north of Mali is a very large place and I think there is an understanding that merely clearing or evacuating extremists from their ability to control the key northern cities, as they have done, is not the only task at hand. And it will be a longer term issue, as I referred to earlier, of working with bordering nations, how do they control their borders, how do they participate with Mali and other forces in the region in that longer term effort of territorial control.

There has been a terrorist presence in the north of Mali since 2006 and won't be gone in 2 weeks. So it's not a question merely of 7,000 AFISMA troops, but a longer term effort of support to reform and reconstitute Mali's own armed forces and to work with all the neighbors in the region as well as international support to address that issue. It is not a short term task. On the issue of corruption, I think that goes very much to the comment I made earlier about the inter-related nature of the crisis in Mali. There is a problem of rebellion, there is a problem of governance. Then in the period after the coup, many political and civil society actors have identified areas of the way in which the government of Mali interacted with its citizens, the degree to which Malian political actors and civil society perhaps failed to challenge things that they saw that were not right, and that in a culture which puts a great deal of emphasis on consensus and dialogue, that perhaps that has undermined the very important habit in a democracy of challenging activities by your government or by your neighbors and fellow citizens. I think that is part of the longer term conversation.

Mali's governance crisis or political crisis will not be solved by elections. It is the important first step towards solving that. But I think in the period after elections that conversation about Mali's democratic culture needs to continue and I frequently have conversations with the journalists in this room with me here, with Malian political parties and with civil society about needing to take that role of a faithful opposition or of a critic or of a someone who requires things more seriously. The role of a responsible citizen within a democracy is to interact with one's government and if one sees something that is lacking or is at fault, to act peacefully and work with other Malian voices for change. That is going to be a conversation in Mali for some time to come.

(Moderator) Thank you.

That concludes today's call.

Concluded

PAGE 32

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

Central African Republic rebel chief to name power-sharing government

T

he leader of rebels in Central African Republic has pledged to name a powersharing government in a bid to defuse international criticism of Sunday's coup that killed 13 South African soldiers and plunged the mineral-rich nation into chaos.

The Seleka rebel coalition's seizure of power was swiftly condemned by the United Nations and the African Union. But in a sign of pragmatism, the United States, France and regional powerbroker Chad called on the insurgents to respect the terms of a recent peace deal.

The Seleka fighters seized power on Sunday after a lightning offensive in which they fought their way from the far north to the presidential palace in just four days after a January power-sharing agreement signed in the Gabonese capital Libreville collapsed.

Neighboring Cameroon confirmed on Monday that ousted President Francois Bozize had arrived there.

The removal of Bozize, who himself seized power in a 2003 coup backed by Chad, was just the latest in a series of rebellions since the poor, landlocked country won independence from France in 1960.

French military forces reported looting was continuing for a second day in parts of the riverside capital Bangui and water and electricity had not yet been switched back on.

Other parts of the city appeared

Michel Djotodia (L), has been named president to replace the ousted Bozize(R). (file photo) calm, with regional forces cooperating with Seleka fighters to try to restore order after chaos gripped the city of 600,000 inhabitants during the rebel takeover. Small contingents of troops from Chad, Gabon and the two Congos are there.

"We will respect the Libreville accord: a political transition of 2 to 3 years before elections," Seleka spokesman Eric Massi said by telephone, referring to the agreement reached after the rebels besieged the capital in December.

The deal had created a government drawn from Bozize loyalists, rebel leaders and the civilian opposition.

A Seleka leader, Michel

Djotodia, has been named president to replace the ousted Bozize. Civilian opposition member Nicolas Tiangaye would retain the prime minister's post he was given in the January power sharing deal, Massi said.

"The current prime minister remains in place and the cabinet will be slightly reshuffled," Massi added.

Seleka, a loose coalition of five rebel groups whose name means "alliance" in the Songo language, accused Bozize of breaking the January agreement by failing to integrate their fighters into the army.

With France's military contingent in Bangui refusing to intervene, two heavily armed

columns of insurgents in pick up trucks swept into the capital on Sunday, brushing aside a South African force of 400 troops which attempted to defend Bangui.

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma said at least 13 soldiers were killed and 27 others wounded in the fighting, the worst military setback for Pretoria since the end of apartheid and an embarrassing setback to its efforts to project its power in the resource-rich heart of Africa.

"It is a sad moment for our country," Zuma said, adding that another soldier was still missing. "The actions of these bandits will not deter us from our responsibility of working for peace and stability in Africa."

Despite rich deposits of gold, diamonds and uranium, Central African Republic remains one of the world's least developed and most unstable nations. In recent years, Bozize's government had hosted U.S. Special Forces helping regional armies hunt down the Lord's Resistance Army rebels, led by a Ugandan warlord, who have killed thousands of civilians during decades of conflict.

Zuma said South Africa had not decided yet whether or not to withdraw its forces, who he said had inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels during a 9-hour attack on their base.

Zambia's ex-President Rupiah Banda arrested

Z

ambia's former President Rupiah Banda has been arrested in connection with a Nigerian oil deal, officials say.

He is accused of stealing more than $11m (ÂŁ7m) during his three years in office, Reuters news agency reports.

Mr Banda, who was stripped of presidential immunity earlier this month, was questioned for nearly three hours before being freed on bail.

The former president denies the charges and says he is the victim of

Rupiah Banda

a witch-hunt. He is due in court on Tuesday.

Shortly after being released, Mr Banda addressed his supporters, telling them to remain calm and that he would win the case in court.

The former leader lost 2011 elections to Michael Sata, whose government is investigating several high-profile deals made by Mr Banda's administration amid accusations of corruption.

Mr Banda led Africa's top copper producer from 2008 to 2011.

China President Xi Jinping hails ties with Africa

N

ew President Xi Jinping has hailed the strength of China's ties with African nations.

Mr Xi described Africa as "a continent of hope and promise".

He was speaking in Tanzania - the second country he has visited since taking power 11 days ago.

Addressing leaders at a conference hall built by China in Dar es Salaam, he said trade between China and Africa topped $200bn (ÂŁ130bn) last year.

Mr Xi and his Tanzanian counterpart JakayaKikwete signed 16 different trade agreements including improvements to Tanzania's hospitals and ports, and the

building of a Chinese cultural centre.

The Chinese leader is expected to arrive in South Africa on Tuesday to take part in a summit of the emerging economies, known as Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

He will wrap up his African tour with a visit to CongoBrazzaville.

Outlining China's policy on Africa, Mr Xi pledged to help the continent achieve "independent and sustainable development" He said Beijing is "not only interested in shipping out raw materials but wants a relationship of equals that would help the country develop",

Reuters reports.

China has become one of Africa's biggest trading partners

in recent years, largely based on the trade in mineral products, including oil.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping(R) and Tanzanian President JakayaKikwete have signed various trade agreements.

EU eases Zimbabwe sanctions after referendum

T

he EU has eased sanctions on Zimbabwean firms and officials after a referendum approved a new constitution that will curb presidential powers.

The bloc said on Monday that it would immediately suspend travel bans and asset freezes on dozens of officials and companies, however, President Robert Mugabe will remain on the sanctions list.

"The EU ... has today agreed to immediately suspend the application of measures against 81 individuals and eight entities," Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy chief, said in a statement.

Ten people, including Mugabe, remain on the list, an EU source said.

Two companies, including staterun diamond miner, the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, will also remain on the sanctions list.

The EU has been gradually easing its sanctions against Zimbabwe as part of a strategy to encourage political reform after 33 years of Mugabe's rule.

In a March 16 referendum, nearly 95 percent of voters approved the new constitution, bringing the southern African state closer to an election.

Ashton said the "peaceful, successful and credible" vote was a significant step in the implementation of an agreement that created an uneasy coalition between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai following violent and disputed elections in 2008.

Presidential elections are expected to take place later this year.

The decision comes on a day the country's high court released prominent human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa on $500 bail, after more than a week in prison in a case that has renewed criticism of President Mugabe's security forces.

High court judge Joseph Musakwa set aside an earlier decision by a magistrate to deny Mtetwa bail.

Mtetwa was arrested last week together with four aides of Mugabe rival prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai. Mtetwa was accused of shouting at and taking pictures of police officers who were conducting a search at the home of one of the aides.

But Tsvangirai and civic rights groups fear Mugabe and his ZANUPF party are already undermining the chances of a free and fair election.

The bail hearing for the four Tsvangirai aides is expected on Tuesday.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 33

Asia and Syria opposition refuses leader's resignation Middle East

T

he Syrian National Coalition has rejected the resignation of Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib just hours after the former leader announced he was stepping down out of frustration.

In a statement released on his

Facebook page on Sunday, Khatib confirmed his resignation from the dissident group recognised by dozens of states and organisations as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

"I announce my resignation from the National Coalition, so that I can work with a freedom that cannot possibly be had in an official

Israel to resume transfer of PA tax revenue

I

srael says it is to resume the transfer of tax revenues it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the decision in coordination with the security cabinet, his office said.

Mr Netanyahu froze the transfers last year after the Palestinians gained non-member observer state status at the UN. The retaliatory move forced the PA to delay the payment of salaries to 150,000 government employees, further weakening the Palestinian economy.

In January, Mr Netanyahu authorised a "one-off" payment of $100m (ÂŁ66m) because of the PA's financial situation. The gesture was dismissed by Palestinian officials, however, who described the withholding of tax revenues as "piracy".

The statement issued by Mr Netanyahu's office on Monday said Finance Minister YairLapid would instruct officials to transfer outstanding funds.

It did not say how much money will be transferred in the coming days.

Israel collects about $100m a month in duties on behalf of the PA, but the previous Israeli finance minister, Yuval Steinitz, said in December that some money would be used to pay the Israel Electric Corporation and other Israeli public bodies owed money by the PA. The resumption of revenue transfers comes days after Barack Obama's first visit as US president to Israel and the West Bank, and follow-up meetings by his Secretary of State John Kerry.

Ahead of the three-day trip, a leaked PA report for international donors urged them to pressure the Israeli government to release its revenues, warning of a "possible slide into institutional and political collapse".

Burma communal rioting spreads outside Meiktila

M

osques and houses have been ransacked in central Burma, the latest in a series of incidents since sectarian violence broke out in Meiktila town.

About 300 people attacked a mosque and destroyed Muslimowned shops and houses in Oh TheKone town, about 50km (31 miles) from Rangoon, reports say.

This comes after more troops arrived in Meiktila, where at least 30 people have reportedly died since Wednesday.

An argument sparked violence between Buddhists and Muslims in the town.

Aside from Oh TheKone, it was also reported that a mosque was torched in Tatkone town, 80km from Meiktila, over the weekend. A mosque and 50 houses were also said to have been torched in nearby Yamenthin town.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the violence. No casualties have been reported from these towns so far.

The violence in Meiktila, triggered by what reports say was an argument that started in a gold shop, has displaced at least 9,000 residents, according to reports.

A local lawmaker told BBC Burmese on Friday that scores of mostly Buddhist people accused of being involved in the violence

had been arrested by police.

President TheinSein, opposition leader Aung San SuuKyi and the speaker of parliament's lower house on Sunday issued a joint declaration in the face of the deadly communal violence.

The declaration calls for the rule of law to be restored in Meiktila, the rapid return home of thousands of displaced people and seminars and workshops on how to prevent further communal violence in the country.

The UN secretarygeneral's special adviser on Burma, Vijay Nambiar, visited villagers displaced by the conflict on Sunday.

Buddhist and Muslim religious leaders also spoke out on Sunday, urging respect for the law and community harmony.

This incident is the worst sectarian conflict since the violence that hit Rakhine state last year, where nearly 200 people were killed and tens of thousands forced from their homes.

The conflict that erupted in Rakhine involved Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, who are not recognised as Burmese citizens. Scores of Rohingyas have fled what they say is persecution in Burma in recent months.

institution," Khatib said in the statement.

"For the past two years, we have been slaughtered by an unprecedentedly vicious regime, while the world has looked on," Khatib said.

"All the destruction of Syria's infrastructure, the detention of tens of thousands of people, the forced flight of hundreds of thousands and other forms of suffering have been insufficient for the international community to take a decision to allow the people to defend themselves," he added.

His statement came hours after the Arab League extended an invitation to the opposition coalition

to attend a summit in Qatar next week.

The pan-Arab bloc has suspended Assad's membership and recognised the coalition as the legitimate representative of the people of Syria where a two-year conflict has killed more than 70,000 people.

Khatib is a former imam and moderate Islamist who rose from independent ranks as a respected figure of dissent against the Damascus regime.

Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister, said that he regretted Khatib's decision and urged him to reconsider.

Meanwhile, the armed Syrian

opposition said that it refused to acknowledge the authority of GhassanHitto, the coalitionappointed prime minister for rebelheld areas in Syria.

"We in the Free Syrian Army do not recognise GhassanHitto as prime minister because the National Coalition did not reach a consensus," at the March 18 vote, said FSA political and media coordinator LouayMuqdad.

"I speak on behalf of the [rebel] Military Councils and the Chief of Staff when I say that we cannot recognise a prime minister who was forced on the National Coalition, rather than chosen by consensus," Muqdad said.

Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister has urged MrKhatib to reconsider his decision.

Palestinians have been protesting over the economic relationship with Israel.

John Kerry makes another surprise visit to Kabul

T

Afghan president Hamid Kharzai

he US secretary of state has arrived in Kabul on an unannounced visit, and will hold talks with the Afghan president, an official has said.

John Kerry arrived in Kabul on Monday for a 24hour visit, and will discuss a host of issues with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, including reconciliation talks with insurgent groups, according to the official.

"He will make clear that the US will have an enduring commitment in Afghanistan that will last beyond transition and that there were always be bumps on the road," said the official.

They will also discuss upcoming elections and the transfer of security responsibility to Afghan forces as foreign troops prepare to leave.

His visit coincides with the handover of a major detention centre to Afghan officials

PAGE 34

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 35

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

Guy turns his Mohawk hairdo into an artistic advertising billboard

By Spooky

B

y design, the "Mohawk" hairdo is really hard to miss, but someone found a way to actually make it even more of an attention grabber. Florida native Mohawk Gaz uses spray paint to turn his head into a truly unmissable advertising billboards for friends and businesses.

31-year-old Mohawk Gaz real name Gasmy Joseph - from Pompano Beach, Florida, has been a fan of the Mohawk for many years, but it was only a year ago that he discovered the true potential of his outrageous hairdo. A buddy had asked Gaz to spread the word about his birthday party, and suddenly a light bulb went off in his head -

why not advertise the event on his hairdo for everyone to see?

The idea was a huge success, and he has been spray-painting his Mohawk with all kinds of designs ever since. He has been offering his head as advertising space to friends who needed promotion, and has even been contacted by small businesses. A health-food catering company called Deliver Lean send Mohawk Gaz to Miami Heat and Florida Panthers games with its logo painted on his hair and was very pleased with the results. "It's been tremendous marketing," the company's founder said. "It's great exposure, and it's never been done before."

To get his unusual business off the ground, Mohawk Gaz set up a website featuring photos of his best works, and created colorful flyers he hands out everywhere

he goes. But it isn't just about the money with this guy. In fact, most of his hair ads have been pro bono for friends, and often times he wears purely artistic designs, like portraits of Marilyn Monroe, the Mona Lisa or Kimbo Slice. His most impressive hairdos so far include a basketball board with a real hoop attached to his head, and a studded Miami Heat logo he wore at an NBA game, which he says has attracted the most attention so far.

Gasmy says he gets his hair done at least once a week, but he can change the designs up to three times per week, if has different clients. He'll go to clubs, parties, charity events and pretty much anywhere else to get as much exposure to his Mohawk as possible. "I'll do Bar Mitzvahs if you need me to," the young entrepreneur says. "You never know where you'll find me, and that's the most important thing about it."

Mohawk Gaz isn't the first one to use his head for advertising purposes.

Last November, Austin entrepreneur Brandon

Irish town legalizes drinking and driving

T

he Irish town of Kilgarvan passed a law this winter that allows members of its community to drink and drive.

Proposed by local pub owner and politician Danny Healy-Rae, the motion allows people who live in country areas to have a few beers before they drive home. Healy-Rae told The New York Times he thinks the measure will help preserve pub culture, lower the risk of suicide and attack isolation in the small town.

Amid governmental and local backlash, HealyRae says the law isn't supposed to apply to everyone.

"I am talking about mainly elderly people who live in very remote places who come to town to get a bit of shopping, enjoy a couple of pints and a chat with friends and then drive home at less than 30 miles an hour," Healy-Rae told The Times.

PUBLIC NOTICE

CORRIGENDUM KANO STATE GOVERNMENT MINISTRY OF WORKS, HOUSING AND TRANSPORT

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE ADVERT CARRIED IN PEOPLES DAILY ON PAGE 18 OF 18TH MARCH, 2013, WRONGLY PUBLISHED 2012 CAPITAL PROJECTS INSTEAD OF 2013 CAPITAL PROJECTS. THE ERROR IS HIGHLY REGRETTED. SIGNED: PERMANENT SECRETARY FOR-HONOURABLE COMMISSIONER MINISTRY OF WORKS, HOUSING AND TRANSPORT KANO STATE.

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

Guy turns his Mohawk hairdo into an artistic advertising billboard

By Spooky

B

y design, the "Mohawk" hairdo is really hard to miss, but someone found a way to actually make it even more of an attention grabber. Florida native Mohawk Gaz uses spray paint to turn his head into a truly unmissable advertising billboards for friends and businesses.

31-year-old Mohawk Gaz real name Gasmy Joseph - from Pompano Beach, Florida, has been a fan of the Mohawk for many years, but it was only a year ago that he discovered the true potential of his outrageous hairdo. A buddy had asked Gaz to spread the word about his birthday party, and suddenly a light bulb went off in his head -

why not advertise the event on his hairdo for everyone to see?

The idea was a huge success, and he has been spray-painting his Mohawk with all kinds of designs ever since. He has been offering his head as advertising space to friends who needed promotion, and has even been contacted by small businesses. A health-food catering company called Deliver Lean send Mohawk Gaz to Miami Heat and Florida Panthers games with its logo painted on his hair and was very pleased with the results. "It's been tremendous marketing," the company's founder said. "It's great exposure, and it's never been done before."

To get his unusual business off the ground, Mohawk Gaz set up a website featuring photos of his best works, and created colorful flyers he hands out everywhere

he goes. But it isn't just about the money with this guy. In fact, most of his hair ads have been pro bono for friends, and often times he wears purely artistic designs, like portraits of Marilyn Monroe, the Mona Lisa or Kimbo Slice. His most impressive hairdos so far include a basketball board with a real hoop attached to his head, and a studded Miami Heat logo he wore at an NBA game, which he says has attracted the most attention so far.

Gasmy says he gets his hair done at least once a week, but he can change the designs up to three times per week, if has different clients. He'll go to clubs, parties, charity events and pretty much anywhere else to get as much exposure to his Mohawk as possible. "I'll do Bar Mitzvahs if you need me to," the young entrepreneur says. "You never know where you'll find me, and that's the most important thing about it."

Mohawk Gaz isn't the first one to use his head for advertising purposes.

Last November, Austin entrepreneur Brandon

Irish town legalizes drinking and driving

T

he Irish town of Kilgarvan passed a law this winter that allows members of its community to drink and drive.

Proposed by local pub owner and politician Danny Healy-Rae, the motion allows people who live in country areas to have a few beers before they drive home. Healy-Rae told The New York Times he thinks the measure will help preserve pub culture, lower the risk of suicide and attack isolation in the small town.

Amid governmental and local backlash, HealyRae says the law isn't supposed to apply to everyone.

"I am talking about mainly elderly people who live in very remote places who come to town to get a bit of shopping, enjoy a couple of pints and a chat with friends and then drive home at less than 30 miles an hour," Healy-Rae told The Times.

PUBLIC NOTICE

CORRIGENDUM KANO STATE GOVERNMENT MINISTRY OF WORKS, HOUSING AND TRANSPORT

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE ADVERT CARRIED IN PEOPLES DAILY ON PAGE 18 OF 18TH MARCH, 2013, WRONGLY PUBLISHED 2012 CAPITAL PROJECTS INSTEAD OF 2013 CAPITAL PROJECTS. THE ERROR IS HIGHLY REGRETTED. SIGNED: PERMANENT SECRETARY FOR-HONOURABLE COMMISSIONER MINISTRY OF WORKS, HOUSING AND TRANSPORT KANO STATE.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARC H 26, 2013

PAGE 37

Imposition of candidates, root of PDP crisis, says Tukur

By Lawrence Olaoye National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, yesterday disclosed that the tradition of imposition of candidates and lack of internal democracy in the party are the twin causes of misgivings in the party.

Tukur in an interaction with newsmen yesterday said the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) in the cause of its nationwide reconciliatory and consolidation tours of the country discovered that most enstranged members of the party felt aggrieved because they were disenfranchised.

According to him, the party has therefore fashioned out agenda to promote internal

democracy and transparency in future elections as a means of earning the confidence of all members. Tukur said the need to transform PDP into an agendasetting and issues based party more from election winning alone, has been the reason it entered into bilateral relationship with the African National Congress (ANC) in South-Africa, the ruling parties in Ghana, Sierra Leone and other African countries.

Responding to the report that the grand finale of national peace tours in Abuja was shunned by majority of the governors on the platform of the party, Tukur said such was untrue and misleading.

According to him, many of the PDP governors were absent from the rally mainly because they were part of the reconciliation

meetings in their respective zones, and had made useful contributions during the visit by the National Working Committee members, a reason it was never compelling for them to be in Abuja.

The PDP National Chairman of PDP said some of the governors were not in Nigeria during the weekend event, while others, according to him, contacted the National Headquarters about their inability to be in Abuja for the rally with stated reasons. “We were in the south-east zone and the governors turned out. When we visited the south-south, the Governor Uduaghan, Akpabio and Amaechi came to welcome us and made useful suggestions.

Indeed, the Rivers state governor spoke to us on behalf of all PDP

governors.

Bayelsa state governor, I reckoned was busy with a special task, while the same story of success trailed our visit to the north”, said Tukur.

He further stressed that the reconciliation meetings across the zones and Abuja were meant for members, most especially those who were estranged, and not necessarily for state governors who he said had played their parts meaningfully in the party’s reconciliation agenda at the zonal level. Tukur who described reconciliation initiative by PDP across the zone and Abuja as a huge success appealed to the media to show deeper understanding in the party’s efforts amid at promoting democracy, inclusiveness and a sense of harmony among members, as according to him, the party

remained the best political instrument for deepening democracy in Nigeria.

He said PDP would always be ready to partner with the media in the task of nation building, a reason he said the media in the country should never give a chance to those he described as pseudo-democrats whose sole agenda was to pull down the PDP while having nothing tangible to offer Nigeria. ”This is the first time in the history of democracy in Nigeria that the NWC of a party would embark on a nationwide tour on reconciliation drive. This is the first time that the leadership of the party went out of comfort to have a feel of what has been happening to our members at the grassroots. This is the first time that we are making conscious efforts to return the party to the owners; the ordinary members,” he stressed.

L-R: PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) Secretary, Senator Wali Jibrin, BOT Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, Kano state Governor, Engineer Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former Senate President Ken Nnamani, Senator Barnabas Gemade, and other BOT members, during their visit to the governor, yesterday at Government House, in Kano.

2015: NASS urges Nigerians to shun money politics

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

A

head of 2015 general elections, the leadership of National Assembly Committees on Information, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and Hon. Zakari Mohammed, yesterday urged Nigerians to shun materialism, especially from the lawmakers, saying their role is only to make laws to better their lots rather than giving material incentives.

Speaking yesterday during a workshop on Pro-poor reportage of the National Assembly, organised by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) in Abuja, the lawmakers lamented that poverty has made the people to

misunderstand the main role of the lawmakers.

According to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and Communication, Abaribe, the lawmakers has the mandate to make laws that will reduce poverty.

He added that their duty also includes ensuring that the executive comply with such laws, observing that poverty affects every Nigerians irrespective of social status.

He disclose that owing to the inability of the executive to perform its duties, the other arms of government has become affected, pointing out that in recent times, the lawmakers have been forced to do what the executive arm is

supposed to be doing. “if lawmakers fail to provide infrastructures for the people, they are seen to have failed.” he said.

In his speech, the chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Information and Communication, Mohammed Zakari, said disclosed that the annual budget of the National Assembly is less that N150 million, representing 2.5 percent of the national budget.

He regretted that the common impression is that lawmakers have all the money in Nigeria at their disposal, adding that the money appropriated to them is far below what the people in the executive gets from allocation.

In addition, he said that the legislature should be an independent arm of government, whose resolutions must be obeyed by the executives.

He regretted that the executives have formed the habit of choosing which resolutions to obey, especially when it favours them.

Mohammed noted that the envelop system does not work in Nigeria, hence it creates uncompleted projects, especially in executing constituency projects.

“We have no option now than to put our personal funds into providing infrastructure for the people. Last years budget was a failure,” he said.

Other resource persons who

spoke at the workshop enjoined the reporters to always prioritise the news that will better the lives of Nigerians.

According to Prof. Kate Omenugha, who delivered lectures on the topic, “Philosophy of reporting National Assembly”, the priority of journalists in the law making arm of government should be to hold them accountable.

She enjoined the reporters to create a media space for dialogue between the lawmakers and the people who elected them, adding that journalists should also endeavour to use the media to mainstream the marginalised groups in the society through development communication.

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

Senate determined to ensure project funds are utilized — Ndume

T

he Senate will work to ensure government funded projects that will stand the test of time, Sen. Ali Ndume (PDP-Borno) said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Ndume, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), made the statement in Port Harcourt yesterday.

“We are not the people’s parliament for nothing, we are not there to oversee the wastages of resources on projects.

“We are there to run a common government that

would be pro-people, for people and that would stand the test of time,” he said.

Ndume said as part of the committee’s oversight function, it embarked on a tour of Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers to supervise an ongoing land reclamation project.

“We were in Rivers State to see the physical project because money had been appropriated, released and spent on the project,” he said.

The committee chairman said his team was satisfied with the rate of work so far done on the project.

“According to the

contractor, 70 per cent of the job has been completed and by what we saw on ground because the job is still ongoing and very soon the people would smile.

“The people of the area were very glad that the Federal Government was waving a light on them.

“They were very glad that very soon, they would have somewhere to put roofs over their heads and that is the essence of government,” he said.

Ndume also said that any project of the Federal Government that was either abandoned or not executed, the committee on MDGs would

revisit them and ask questions on delayed jobs.

He said the committee would ensure that necessary steps were taken to complete Federal Government projects across the country.

“As far as the Niger Delta area is concerned, it is the resolve of the senate to take every step necessary to appropriate and fund projects that are around the Niger Delta region,’’ the senator said.

He said the Niger Delta as the base of the wealth of the nation would be kept “intact, so we can get more for collective development’’.

(NAN)

L-R: Legal Counsel to APGA Factional Chairman, Mr Patrick Ikweto, APGA factional Chairman, Sir Victor Umeh, and Factional Secretary, Alhaji Sani Shinkafi, during Umeh's appeal case, yesterday at the Appeal Court, in Enugu.

Photo: NAN

APGA crisis: Appeal Court to rule on Umeh’s application on April 8

T

he Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu yesterday fixed April 8 for the ruling in an application filed by the former National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh.

In the application dated Feb. 28, Umeh prayed the appellate court to stay the execution of the order of an Enugu High Court which scuttled his position as national chairman of the party.

He also prayed the court to grant an accelerated hearing to the appeal.

Counsel to the appellant, Mr Patrick Ikwueto (SAN),

Contiuned from page 37

pleaded that a preservative order be given by the superior court to preserve the status quo of the former chairman from being taken over by strangers.

He argued that some members of the party had scheduled its national convention for April 8, adding that a temporary deferment of the judgment of the trial court was in the interest of justice.

“The defendant at the trial court who is now the appellant was restrained from parading himself as the national chairman of the party. The question is what will be the fate

of the party without a national chairman.

“I plead with the court to give a preservative order to protect the status quo of the appellant and temporarily defer the judgment of the trial court, especially now that they have fixed a date for the national convention of the party,’’ he said.

Mr Jude Okuli, the respondent in the case, told the court that he was not aware of the appeal because he was not served by the appellant.

“We will wait for the judge to decide on this matter because we were not duly served before this court sitting,’’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that APGA is seeking a joinder as corespondent to the application filed by Umeh.

In his argument, counsel to the party, Mr S.T. Abe, prayed the court to accept the application seeking the joinder, noting that the judgment of the lower court affected other members of the party apart from Umeh.

Justice Paul Galinje, who chaired the panel of judges, adjourned the ruling on the application, adding that it was for the respondent to be duly served. (NAN)

A/Ibom Information Comm. denies report that Gov. Akpabio rigged election From Mike Etim, Uyo

T

he Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Aniekan Umana, has refuted allegations that Governor Godswill Akpabio claimed to have rigged senatorial elections in favour of the senator representing the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district, Sen. Aloysius Etok, who is also the Chairman, Senate Committee on Pension and Establishment.

According to reports in some media, governor Akpabio was quoted to have said during the Town Hall meeting to round off the Good Governance Tour, that he personally struck off the name of the winner of the primaries for the ticket of the Senatorial seat in Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district in the 2007 elections to favour Aloysius Etok.

But the Commissioner in refuting the report in a press statement said that the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, which includes the governor presented Senator Aloysius Etok as the best candidate for 2007 Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District election.

Giving further explanation, Umana pointed out that Ini and Ikono axis, where the Senator hails from, had never produced a Senator and in the spirit farness and inclusiveness the party hierarchy in the state supported the candidacy of Aloysius Etok for the election.

Defending the governor’s stance on the matter, the commissioner emphasized that Governor Akpabio was misunderstood in a video posted on some website and in the social media. He enjoined all well meaning individuals and groups to ignore the attempt of mischief makers to malign the person and office of the governor.

According to the commissioner, the video posted on some websites were inconclusive and stated the governor comment to read thus: “When I said I made Alloy to become Senator in 2007, I need to explain, so that you don’t think that I wrote his name and he became a Senator, no. during the primaries of the PDP, we zoned the Senate to his federal constituency and from his federal constituency, he emerged first in the primaries. That was what happened in the PDP. So we said since he was the first among the list of people who came from his federal constituency for the primaries, then he must be the one to become the Senator. And after that we presented him before the public in the general election and he won. And in 2011, with my support, he had the highest votes in the entire district.”

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 39

PDP sets up tactical c’ttee to woo opposition govs.

– Akpabio

T

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it has set up a Tactical Committee saddled with the responsibility of wooing the opposition Governors into the its fold.

Gov. Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom said this while fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja on Monday.

He dismissed the insinuation that some PDP Governors were making moves to defect to other parties, saying it was rather the PDP Governors who were poised to bring their colleagues into the PDP. “And we as PDP Governors are poised to bring in our other colleagues (Governors) from other parties to join us, that is what we are trying to do now.

“We have set up a tactical committee to also reach out to the “opposition” so that we can also attract people because we want to be more than what we are.

“When we started, we were more than 30 Governors so there was no need for PDP Governors’ Forum . now that we have been reduced to 23, there is now need for us to come together and ask ourselves why.

“We should get back to the number. We should be over 30 after the next election. That is why we are coming together and this seems to have rattled the opposition and I am assuring them that they should challenge us on issues and challenge us on developmental issues.”

Akpabio also debunked the insinuation that the crisis in the PDP had become intractable following the absence of most of his colleagues and other party stalwarts at the party’s reconciliation rally in Abuja on Sunday.

Akpabio, who was one of the two governors that attended the event at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, chaired by Vice President Namadi Sambo, blamed the poor attendance on late invitation sent out to the party’s stalwarts.

According to him, opposition parties are in the habit of making a mountain out of a molehill in any matter concerning him or the PDP because they are afraid of the ruling party.

He particularly cited the recent Calabar incident where the opposition raised unnecessary dust when he donated a “paltry” N1 million to state chapters of the party in the South-South, which translated “to no more that about N2,000 per delegate”.

(NAN)

L-R: Adamawa state Governor, Admiral Murtala Nyako, Chairman of Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) and Rivers state Governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, and Bauchi state Governor, Malam Isa Yuguda, during the NGF's meeting, recently at Rivers Lodge, in Asokoro, Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Katsina politician alleges intimidation by Gov. Shema

By Mohammed Umar-Puma

P

iqued by the incessant harassments and intimidations by the Katsina state government, a prominent politician and philanthropist in the state, Alhaji Umar Abdullahi Tsauri has decried what he described as a gang-up against him regarding his support for the needy.

Tsauri, who intends to contest the governorship of the state in 2015, stated that many people, particularly those from the government side have erroneously been convinced that he is fighting the incumbent governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema because of his ambition.

He indicated that instead of the governor to see his assistance to the poor and needy as a kind gesture that does not have any political coloration, he

always interpret it to suit the governor that he (Tsauri) is fighting him.

According to him “Anything that attracts gratitude is antiShema, and such a thing is a direct attack on the Governor.

All of them believe this and that is what is annoying. How can a bunch of educated people, commissioners, advisers, permanent secretaries, directors and local government administrators all believe in one thing simply because it meets the folly of their master?

If I build a mosque, it is to fightShema.

If I build Islamiyya it is to fight Shema.

If I sink a borehole it is to fight Shema. If I buy a land for graveyard expansion it is to fight Shema. If I build a primary school it is to fight Shema. If I attend a wedding, it is to fight Shema.”

Tsauri posited that recently the Divisional Police Officer

(DPO) of Danmusa incurred the wrath of the governor for simply granting him permission to commission a school he constructed for a community inthe area.

Similarly, the DPO of Kankara who was in Danmusa on the day of the commissioning was also victimized by the governor, who had him removed from his post and posted out of the state.

“What kind of tyranny is this? I was invited to an appeal fund launching by our Christian brothers in Funtua.

All the roads were blocked on the day of the launching with a government directive that Ishould not be allowed to get anywhere near the venue,” he further lamented.

He said this intimidation led to “the launching being held without me and it was a flop simply because the government was not willing to help nor was

it willing to allow other people help. What kind of tyranny is that?,” he queried.

He further gave another example of the intolerance of the governor and his lackeys “I was asked by the Mashi community to come to their aid over a stream that passes through the town and floods their houses during rainy season. I went and we started building an embankment. The government came and arrested everybody working there simply because my name was associated with the project! What kind of tyranny is this? he wondered.

He cited another case where he was invited to a launching for orphans in Malumfashi local government and he was ordered not to come by the DPO of the local government, simply because his presence will irritate the government and “someone would sit in one corner and say I am fighting Shema!”

Fashola inaugurates Perm. Sec., Auditor-General

G

overnor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State yesterday inaugurated two new permanent secretaries in the state‘s public service.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mrs Helen Deile was sworn-in as the new Auditor-General of the state, while Mr Ogunbambi Adeniyi took an

oath of office as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment.

Fashola urged them to see their new positions as a huge responsibility, charging them to perform their duties without let or hinderance.

The governor expressed happinness that the process that produced them was transparent and merit-

based.

He advised them to use their privileged positions to further move the state‘s public service forward.

“The government is committed to improving service delivery to residents and a service charter has recently been launched to achieve that objective,” he said.

Responding, Deile thanked the governor for their elevation and promised to work according to the charter of service.

She also assured the governor that they would give their best to improve the service and justify the confidence reposed in them.

(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 260, 2013

PAGE 40

LG distributes materials to watchmen, messengers

T

L-R: Secretary, Southern Kaduna Elders Forum, Mr. Peter Buba, Senator Nenadi Usman, and Chairman of the Southern Kaduna Elders Forum, Major- General Zamani Lekwot (rtd), during their meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Nigeria will not disintegrate due to Boko Haram’s insurgency-Cleric

A

cleric with African Episcopal Methodist Zion Church (AEMZC), Mr Franklin Ihemefor, has said that Nigeria will not disintegrate as a result of the Boko Haram’s activities.

Ihemefor made this known while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt yesterday on the spate of bombings in Northern Nigeria.

He said that the unity of the country had been approved by God Almighty and the unity had come to stay. ‘’God has a hand in the 1914 amalgamation, he just

used Lord Lugard to manifest it, I believe that the amalgamation is a divine idea,’’ he said.

Ihemefor explained that Nigeria would still remain indivisible in spite of the seeming threats of disintegration.

The clergyman said that it was necessary to play up those things that united the nation than those things that seemed to divide it.

He urged Nigerians not to be swayed by the present insecurity threat in the country, assuring that God would not allow it to degenerate to disintegration.

Ihemefor emphasised the need for Nigerians to always pray and work for the unity of the country.

The cleric advised Nigerians to continue to coexist as a formidable nation, saying that the insecurity situation would soon become a history.

He advised the Federal Government to see the situation as a trying time in the process of nation building.

According to him, in a family of many, there is bound to be cool-headed children and deviants, all of them make up the family, none should be killed.

Ihemefor said that it was important for the leadership to explore avenues of finding lasting solutions to the unrest rather than using force.

He said that force should be the last resort, arguing that unless dialogue had failed in the first instance.

The cleric said that peace should be non-negotiable for the harmonious existence of a united Nigeria where prosperity was possible.

Ihemefor, however, predicted a more united and indivisible country in future where peace and brotherly love would be everybody’s priority.

(NAN)

Achebe:Anambra opens condolence register

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he Anambra Government yesterday opened a condolence register in honour of the late literary icon, Prof. Chinua Achebe.

In a brief ceremony held at the Government House, Awka, the Deputy Governor, Mr Emeka Sibeudu, led other government officials, including commissioners, to sign the register.

Sibeudu said that the state government would be fully involved in the burial.

He said Gov. Peter Obi was absent because he had travelled to join in the preparations for the burial, which had yet to be announced.

“As you all know, on Friday, March 22, we lost a rare icon, it is a great loss to the government and people of Anambra where he hailed from. ”So, today, on behalf of the His Excellency, Mr Peter Obi, we are opening the condolence register to mourn our departed hero.

“The governor is unavoidably absent here because since Friday when he got the news, he had to leave everything and rush down to the United States to meet the family and see things for himself.

“The burial will be made open when his family are through with that, but let me

categorically state here that the government of Anambra will be fully involved in the burial ceremony of late Chinua Achebe,” Sibeudu said.

He said that registers had also been opened at Anambra liaison offices in Lagos and Abuja.

The Secretary to the Anambra Government, Mr Obaze Oseloka, said he was privileged to have been called a family friend of Achebe.

Oseloka described Achebe as a very exceptional, gentle, humble person, who refused to keep quiet in the face of injustice.

“Despite his quiet demeanor, he was resolved in pursuing truth, he spoke power to the

truth in his books, his teachings.

“He dedicated himself and history will judge him right as somebody who spoke up at critical times of this nation,’’ he said.

Oseloka said“ evil things happened when good men kept quiet and Chinua never kept quiet on issues about this country.

“We are happy that he published his last book ‘There Was a Country’, before he died.

And now people of Nigeria, the world, generations yet unborn now have the opportunity of knowing the history of this great country and his people, NdiIgbo.” (NAN)

he Birniwa Local Government Area i n J i g a w a yesterday distributed clothing materials worth N700,000 to watchmen and messengers to enhance their operations.

The Director of Personnel Management of the council, Alhaji Zubairu Danfaruwa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Birniwa that other items given to the guards include rain boots, umbrella, torchlights and caps.

Danfaruwa said 240 bundles of the materials were shared to 38 watchmen and 25 messengers The director urged them to reciprocate the council’s effort through hard work and dedication to their responsibilities.

The Head of the Guards, Malam Kura Kadai, while fielding questions from NAN, thanked the council for the gesture and assured that the affected workers would discharge their duties according to the laid down rules of the council.

(NAN)

Mimiko reappoints Ademujimi as Chief of Staff

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overnor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State yesterday announced the re-appointment of Dr Kola Ademujimi as his Chief of Staff.

Mimiko said in a statement issued in Akure by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Eni Akinsola, that the appointment took immediate effect.

The statement said Ademujimi, a medical doctor and politician from Idanre, returned to the post he vacated a month ago after the dissolution of the State Executive Council.

“A graduate of the University of Ibadan, Ademujimi has been involved in politics since he left private medical practice. “ He was a member of the Ondo State House of Assembly; Chairman, Ondo State Housing Corporation and was a foundation member of Labour Party.

“Popularly called “ Igwe of Idanre politics,’’ he brings back to the office years of experience in the political terrain and a deep knowledge of the people of the state,’’ the statement said. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

T

iger Woods returned to the top of the world rankings for the first time since October 2010 after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational by two strokes.

The 37-year-old had played two holes of his final round when a torrential storm ended proceedings in Florida yesterday.

Resuming with a threestroke lead he added four more birdies and dropped three shots

PAGE 41

Tiger Woods regains World No 1 spot in a 70 for a 13-under-par total, his third PGA victory of 2013. England’s world number five Justin Rose also carded a 70 to finish second.

It was a sixth title in his last 20 starts on the PGA Tour for Woods, his 77th in total and the eighth time he has won the Bay Hill tournament.

Rickie Fowler moved to within two shots of Woods with four holes remaining but dropped four strokes in the next two holes, including a triple-bogey eight at the 16th, when he put two shots into the water.

Woods, who leaked several tee shots to the right, was in

the large fairway bunker at the 16th, from where he found the water on Friday, but struck a majestic escape into the heart of the green and calmly two-putted for a birdie.

Rose, who was at the top of the leaderboard on the first two rounds before dropping back with a 72 on Saturday,

NSC to set up foundation for sports personnel

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he Minister of Sports, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi has urged sportsmen and women to always invest in their health through the health insurance scheme as a protection against the rainy days.

The minister, who revealed that the National Sports Commission (NSC) would soon set up a foundation to cater for the welfare of ex-sports personnel in

the country, gave the advice over the weekend when he visited ailing former Super Falcon’s Coach, Mr Joseph Ladipo.

The former Super Falcons and 3SC coach is currently receiving treatment at the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan.

The coach has been on life support at the UCH for some weeks now.

According to him, the

Abduljeleel Ajagun

increased deterioration in the health of ex-sports persons in recent times was alarming and added that investment in health insurance scheme was therefore a matter of priority for sportsmen and women.

The minister said that Ladipo, popularly known as Josilad, contributed a lot to sports development, adding that the visit was to show him love and care.

Peoples Daily Sports recalls that some members of the Oyo State Football Association led by Leye Adepoju had only last week visisted the Josilad and promised to draw the attention of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to the deteriorating health condition of the coach.

Speaking on the state of the Obafemi Awolowo and National Stadia, he said that it was

Aminu Umar

resumed four shots adrift with 16 holes of his final round remaining.

He dropped a shot at his first hole of the day and at the third, but recorded four birdies, ensuring sole possession of second with an assured up and down from the greenside bunker at the par-three 17th. disheartening to see them in such state.

Abdullahi said that the ministry would look into the renovation of the edifice which were built many years back by the country’s great leaders.

He said that the ministry was also putting together a programme that would encourage development of sports at the grassroots, adding that efforts were being made to ensure that the feat recorded at the AFCON 2013 remains.

Mahmoud Monem of Egypt

AYC semi-finals: Flying Eagles, Junior Pharaohs in battle

By Patrick Andrew

H

aving successfully secured a berth in FIFA U20 World Championship in Turkey, the Flying Eagles have turned attention to the task of retaining the African Youth Championship (AYC) trophy they won two years ago in South Africa.

Today in Ain Temouchent, Algeria, the Flying Eagles will trade tackles with their Egyptian counterparts for a place in the final of the fiesta.

To get to this stage the Eagles had struggled: they lost the opening game to Mali 0-1, beat Gabon with same margin and then whacked fine-playing DR Congo 3-1 in what was arguably their best performance since the tournament started on March 16.

Not so the Egyptians. Theirs was a clean sweep posing a hundred percent record to top Group A and thus remain at Ahmed Zabana Stadium in Oran.

LIke the Super Eagles in South Africa at the Nations Cup who struggled through the preliminary rounds only to pick the pieces in a stunning manner, the

junior Eagles had been less impressive.

Coach John Obuh had repeatedly said the target was to secure FIFA U-20 qualification and having achieved just that he said yesterday that the target now is to retain the trophy. He remains upbeat the bunch he is parading ahve the depth and sterner quality to bring that about.

Albeit Obuh’s present squad lacks the zest and flair of their 2011 predecessors, it could rely on the experience of skipper Abduljeleel Ajagun, Egbedi Edafe, Kayode Olarenwaju and Dami Paul, to push for the podium honours.

Add the sterling quality of Aminu Umar or the vision of Abdullahi Shehu, then you have a squad capable of inflicting serious injury on their opponents.

But the Junior Pharoahs are craftily organised side; well knitted in defence, in fact mean, sleek in the build-up and punchy in the offensive. They have the knack and depth to repress pompous opposition and would be wary of a Nigerian side replete in talents

and ambitious.

Striker Mahmoud Monem, Bassam Mohammed Omar, Hamad Hassan, Samir Mohammed and Hisham Abdelaziz have been outstanding and could prove quite a handful for the Nigerian side.

Meanwhile, the Black Statellite of Ghana and the Junior Eagles of Mali will compete for the second ticket for the finals. Mali sealed a spot in the semifinal just after two matches while Ghana edged Algeria in the final group game.

Mali U-20 side might have surrendered the 100% record in the 2013 Orange CAF Youth Championship finals after a 2-0 loss to Gabon but that has not stopped their Coach, Moussa Keita is upbeat the Malians will lift the trophy and so do not see Ghana as posing any serious obstacles on their path to realising the objective.

But Coach Sellas Tetteh has played down his side’s tactical superiority even as he has insisted Ghana won’t succumb to Mali, which makes the encounter a tasty one.

PAGE 42

Federation Cup: Immigration coach vows to end 3SC’s domination

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ladimeji Omoniyi, Chief Coach, Immigration FC of Ibadan, says he will end Shooting Stars Club (3SC’s) dominance of the Federation Cup in the state when they meet in the competition.

Omoniyi spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after the Draws for the competition at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan on Friday.

The draws pitted the Immigration team against 3SC in round two of the elimination series.

“When we meet with 3SC in the Federation Cup, Immigration FC is prepared to end 3SC’s dominance in the state,” he said.

NAN reports that both 3SC and Immigration will not be playing in the first round of the Federation Cup because they were drawn bye.

Omoniyi, who said that he had the joker to stop 3SC in the knock-out series, added that the defending champions would be under pressure in the game.

“Although we are the underdogs in the tournament, I have a player like Olukunle Ishola who has so far scored 12 goals in the Ibadan Football Association (IFA) competition.

“He also scored two goals in the Afe Babalola Champions League,” he said.

The Immigration Officer said that his team had nothing to lose playing 3SC, but would have everything to gain if they beat the defending champions.

The coach said that whatever result was at the end, it would be a plus for the team.

“Who knows Immigration in football history? So, playing 3SC at all will earn us great popularity,” he said.

No fewer than 44 teams have registered for the Federation Cup in Oyo State.

Weightlifting coach emphasises early camping for athletes

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hristopher Nwadei, a weightlifting coach, has urged the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation (NWF) to ensure that athletes being invited for international competitions are invited in time for thorough assessment.

Nwadei told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos on telephone that by so doing, the medical committee would be able to ascertain the true health status of the athletes.

“The early camping of athletes for competitions, especially international competitions, is very important; because it will give the authorities the opportunity to monitor the athletes.

“Some of them might unconsciously take banned substances, but when they are under the guidance of health experts in a camp setting, such could be avoided.

“It is also important to make sure that athletes are in sound health condition by certifying their health status, to make sure that they are fit for the competition,’’ he said.

He said that the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) usually carries out random dope tests for athletes in all its competitions.

The coach added that athletes that failed such tests were usually disqualified and their countries penalised.

Nwadei advised athletes, who are opportune to represent the country in international competitions, to represent the country well and avoid anything that could embarrass the nation.

He urged coaches to foster good relationships with their athletes, so that they will be able to relate well, in order to help them to understand their training programmes adequately.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

Visa delay forces wheelchair b’ball players’ departure to South Africa

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he Nigeria W h e e l c h a i r B a s k e t b a l l Federation (NWBF) has postponed the departure of the national U-23 team to South Africa for the Africa U-23 Championships,

slated to begin on March 29.

The federation’s Technical Director, Adoki Obereilene, said on the weekend that the initial plan had been for the team to leave the country today

Bolaji Abdullahi, Sports Minister

in order to acclamatise, but would now leave on March 28.

Obereilene confirmed that the delay in the issuance of travelling documents to South Africa has been the main reason for the change in their itinerary.

“We filed our papers to the South African High Commission since Feb. 2, so the issue of late application does not hold.

“It is a mere official delay that has been our bane all this while. There is hope that the visas will be made available to us before the commencement of the competition,” he said.

Obereilene, who is also the team’s head coach, expressed unhappiness over the situation but said

that participating in the team would expose his players to high level competition.

“My players have got all that is needed for this championship.

“The last championship we had, the 2nd Victor Ochei’s International Championship provided my players with an international platform because foreign players were involved.

“In spite of the problem, the players are in perfect form to defeat any opponent, if they eventually secure visas to the competition,” the coach said.

The continental competition is the qualifier for the World U-23 Championship in Turkey in September.

Disu canvasses restructured grassroots development programme

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unde Disu, a former Flying Eagles Coach, has urged the National Sports Commission to rethink sports development through viable grassroots programmes.

According to him, such programmes would help the authorities to ascertain the actual age of players featuring in cadet competitions as well as monitor their progress.

Disu, who said complaints of age falsification have been rampant and embarrassing to the country, has remained because there is no true grassroots sports development programmes.

He stressed that the most reliable place to scout for genuine budding talents was in the schools.

“A good coach should endeavour to scout for players in schools and in the football academies.

“It is a matter of necessity to involve schools, because that is the only place you can get a players correct data,’’ he said.

Disu, who is also the Technical Director of the Lagos Junior League, said by returning to the schools for talents, the country would never run short of well grounded budding talents.

On Stephen Keshi’s rebuilding process of the Super Eagles, Disu applauded the efforts stressing that the country would be the better of subsequently.

“As much as I applaud the dogged steps he had taken to enhance the profile of our national team, I will also urge him to stay the course.

“Through this approach, the national team will continue to have an abundance of talents at its disposal for competitions,’’ Disu added.

Referees’ boss wants independent body to assess performance

A

desegun Kosoko, Chairman, Lagos State Football Referees Association, has called on the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) to inaugurate an independent body to assess the performance of

referees.

Kosoko said poor assessment had left many referees disenchanted even as clubs have taken advantage to berate them unnecessarily with no little consequences on their psyche.

He spoke against the

Referee issuing a red card to a player

backdrop of the recurring accusation by football fans that referees were responsible for poor officiating of matches in the competition.

“Although the NPFL is still rated as one of the best in Africa, there is need for us to install measures that will sustain the current standard and improve on it from this 2012/2013

season.

“The dissatisfaction of stakeholders with the league should be curtailed by having an ad-hoc committee which will go round the match venues to assess the performances of referees “As an independent body, they will have the power to call to order any erring referee and bring sanity into the game of soccer,’’ Kosoko said.

The referees’ boss called for regular training of referees to acquaint them with the ever-evolving rules of the game by FIFA. “Ordinarily, there should be training for coaches and referees to be at par with FIFA standards, because many of them have not attended training for years,’’ he said.

According to him, the football coaches that complain about bad officiating only try to drum up sentiments to cover their incompetence, after losing a match.

He urged referees to be mindful of the people’s expectations from them, advising them to always make fair judgments.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

PAGE 43

2014 World Cup Euopean qualifiers

German Machine seek Kazakhstan’s scalp again

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o far it’s five over five for Germany. The Germans are in a fine vein of form only dropping two points against Sweden. That game was particularly painful because they squandered 4-0 lead to allow the Swedes to level 4-4.

The Germans, 3-0 winners in Astana, and a slip-up

by Group C rivals Sweden have drift five clear of the later and are cruising towards 2014 World Cup qualification. Last Friday, gthey and even a suspension to Bastian Schweinsteiger looks unlikely to stop them from notching their fifth win in six group games.

Germany are top of Group C with 13 points from five games, five ahead of Sweden, who drew 0-0 with Ireland and have a match in hand.

Germany will be without suspended midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger when they meet Kazakhstan again on Tuesday in World Cup qualifying, but they may have a true striker in the line-up for the first time since last year.

Schweinsteiger picked up his second yellow card of the campaign during Germany’s 3-0 win in Astana Friday, in which he scored the opening goal, and will miss the Nuremberg game.

Mario Gomez

Coach Joachim Loew must now decide whether to replace him with Borussia Dortmund’s Ilkay Guendogan as in last month’s friendly in France.

Loew is aware of the gap in quality between the world’s second best team and a side ranked 139 but he also saw the Kazakhs trying to battle back at 2-0 down in the first game and having two clear chances as Germany took their foot off the gas.

He also has the option of Sven Bender to replace Schweinsteiger with the Borussia Dortmund midfielder eager to notch his first win if he makes his fourth international appearance having missed the first match with flu. Besides, injured Mario Gomez could be available for selection.

Loew opted not to play with an out-and-out striker in the first game but could revert back to his tested 4-2-31 system that would offer more pace and entertainment for the fans.

For Kazakhstan, still looking for their maiden victory in this qualification, it will be an even harder task with the Germans back home on natural grass and with an early evening kick off time as opposed to Friday’s midnight game on an artificial pitch.

Three Lions set for Montenegro war

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ith four games still to come in Group H, it is too soon to cast the England versus Montenegro game as a make-or-break encounter, but the ramifications for success and failure are vastly different.

Win, and England will go top of the group, ahead of a kind run-in of fixtures that will see them play three of their final four matches at home.

Lose, and they will allow Montenegro to streak five points clear in the contest for the one and only automatic qualifying berth.

Montenegro, 28th in the FIFA ranking, avoided defeat in their two encounters with England in qualifying for Euro 2012 and their Podgorica City Stadium is expected to

provide a hostile setting.

England manager Roy Hodgson, is expected to make as many as six changes to the side that demolished San Marino, although centre-back Gary Cahill and forward Theo Walcott will both miss the game through injury.

The England manager has also revealed that Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson should be fit to play, having been excused from duty in Serravalle to rest a toe injury, although he may need a pain-killing injection.

On England’s last visit to Podgorica, 17 months ago, they recorded a 2-2 draw that allowed them to secure a place at Euro 2012, where they reached the quarterfinals.

However, the game was marred by the dismissal of striker Wayne Rooney for recklessly kicking out at Montenegro defender Miodrag Dzudovic.

In anticipation that Hodgson’s men will once again face an intimidating atmosphere in the Montenegrin capital, England captain Steven Gerrard has urged his teammates to keep their heads.

Montenegro are bidding to qualify for a major tournament for the first time since gaining independence from Serbia in 2006 and they preserved their grip on first place in the group by winning 1-0 at Moldova on Friday.

Mirko Vucinic, who claimed the game’s only

goal, says England’s need for victory today could play into the hosts’ hands, despite their opponents’ status as pre-match favourites.

Montenegro could be missing two of the four midfielders who started against Moldova, with Milorad Pekovic suspended and Filip Kasalica a big doubt after being stretchered off in Chisinau.

Today’s matches Wales v Croatia Montenegro v England Armenia v Czech Rep. Azerbaijan v Portugal Estonia v Andorra Turkey v Hungary Ukraine v Moldova Denmark v Bulgaria Netherlands v Romania Serbia v Scotland Belgium v Macedonia Germany v Kazakhstan

Steven Gerrard, Three Lions skipper

Spain face France in no margin for error clash

By Patrick Andrew with agency report

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Spain’s goal machine, David Villa

orld and European champions were shocked last Friday by Finland who forced them to 1-1 draw in one of the 2014 World Cup finals European qualifiers.

Today, as the ‘tiki taki’ playing side tackle Les Bleus at the Stade de France, it is a showdown that will have no margin for error for both, especially La Rojas.

Against France, the ebullient side will surely be playing catch-up. Trust them. They are the masters of their destiny and are as so often expected to bounce back from negative display such as was the case on Friday to a superlative performance.

But it’s against France, one team that seems to be on its own peculiar revival. Anything but victory would see the reigning champions dependent on an unexpected slip-up by the French to avoid the embarrassment of a potentially awkward playoff in November.

There may be no need for such playoff going their intimidating perdigree. Since the shocking 0-1 loss to Switzerland in their opening game of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the European champions have remain unbeaten in 24 competitive games.

After the initial loss at the World Cup finals, Vicente Del Bosque’s troops reeled off six straight victories en rout their first global title that culminated with victory over the Netherlands in Johannesburg.

The story was no different in their defence of the European title in 2012. It began with a nervy 1-1 draw against Italy before a confident march to the final and a 4-0 thrashing over the same opponents for their third

straight major crown.

Spain and France last met at Euro 2012 when Spain easily beat Laurent Blanc’s uninspired team 2-0 in the quarterfinals before beating Portugal in the last-four.

That may need be repeated if they must stamp their authority on the group.

It’s possible. True, Cesc Fabregas played the central striking role with a fitter David Villa operating from the left. That did not quite yield the result. But that may change.

Now with Spain’s all-time leading goalscorer back fit and firing in recent weeks at club level, it seems logical that he should return to playing through the middle in Paris.

For clinical result, he must revert to the old order and with the return of the magnificent midfielder duo, Xabi Alonso and Xavi Hernandez, the upfront should have enough armoury to vanguish Les Bleus.

But it won’t be a stroll in the park. Didier Deschamps’ Les Bleus have grown in stature since their 1-1 draw in Madrid last October. Also, they have deepened their resources as well, with Raphael Varane impressing in defence and Paul Pogba displaying many of the qualities of former France great Patrick Vieira.

If Karim Benzema can find the net after 929 goalless international minutes, and Mathieu Valbuena continues to make an impact, France could yet add to the woes of a legendary Spanish team hungry to prove they are not in decline.

It will be yet another opportunity to assess the pressing and ball possession and the likely of making little of it.

This seems to haunt Barcelona as was the case against AC Milan at the San Siro before they routed them in a more forceful display at the Nou Camp.

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

Siasia tasks Flying Eagles against Pharaohs Sunshine were better than

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ormer Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia has charged the Flying Eagles to bury their chances at goal against the Junior Pharaohs of Egypt.

The title holders are poised for a daunting challenge against the North Africans in the semifinals of the ongoing Africa Youth Championship (AYC) in Algeria in Ain Temouchent today.

The Egyptians amassed nine points to finish top of their group while the Nigerians were runners-up in Group B behind leaders, the Junior Eagles of Mali.

Siasia said the nation’s campaigners must be clinical at goal and avoid trailing the North Africans as a comeback will be tough.

“The Flying Eagles must expect a difficult game against the Egyptians. It will be really tough. The Flying Eagles have not been convincing, they struggled during the group games unlike their opponents who dominated group’s opponents.

“I know the tournament gets tougher as it progresses we expect the team to raise their game if they will defend the title and meet Nigerians expectations.

They’ve not been fortunate using their chances but against Egypt they can’t afford to waste any of the chances.

“Of course, they must create chances and must score first and must avoid trailing the opponents as a comeback maybe very hard.

“The North Africans are a highly tactical and skilful side, the Flying Eagles’ backline must be careful around the 18-yard area to avoid committing fouls because the Egyptians are deadball specialists.

“With a disciplined approach, I see the Flying Eagles overcome the Egyptians’ hurdle.

“Of Course, you don’t go to battle believing you’ll lose, the target is to win. The Flying Eagles look good defending the AYC title,” said the former Flying Eagles coach to supersport.com.

The semifinalists, Egypt, Nigeria, Mali and Ghana will represent the continent at the forthcoming FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Turkey starting in June this year.

AYC champions draw fair World Cup group

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he 2013 AYC champions have been drawn in a relatively easier group than the other African teams at the U20 World Cup in Turkey.

In a draw staged in Istanbul on Monday evening, the eventual champions of the AYC, which is in the semi-final stage, are drawn in Group E alongside Chile, England and Iraq.

The three other African flag

bearers are drawn in tougherlooking groups.

These groups are Group A, which has France, USA and Spain, while Group B has Cuba, Korea Republic and Portugal. Group D has Mexico, Greece and Paraguay.

The U20 World Cup will kick off on June 21 with an opening match between Cuba and Korea Republic. The tournament will see a brand new trophy at stake.

Golden Eaglets

Gombe Utd, Cooreman admits

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aurice Cooreman, Gombe United chiefcoach, has conceded superior depth to Sunshine Stars saying that the defeat his team suffered in the hands of the former CAF Confederation semifinalists was well deserved.

The match ended 3-2 on Sunday with Sunshine Stars extending their unbeaten run in the 2012/2013 NPFL at the Akure Township Stadium.

Sunshine Stars had in their season’s opening game defeated Kwara United 1-0 and got a 1-1 draw against Kwara United in Ilorin in Week 2.

Cooreman told newsmen that it was good seeing Sunshine Stars settling at home with a formidable team, adding that both teams played a good match.

“We saw a good match from

Warriors’ coach happy in defeat

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he Coach of El-Kanemi Warriors FC of Maiduguri, Zachary Baraje, has said that he was satisfied with his players in spite of losing 2-0 to Enyimba FC of Aba on Sunday.

“I came for a win and that is why I left only one person up front, they were only careful to have been able to take care of him, if not only that person can break their defence.

“They were only lucky to have succeeded in holding him down, my formation worked,’’ Baraje said after the game.

He said he was satisfied that his players played to instructions but that he was not impressed with the officiating.

“What do you say about the referees, what they were doing?

We don’t make comments on what they have done or are doing because it is sacrilege, but the game has been won and lost.

“I am satisfied with my boys, they played to my instructions, and they played exactly as I asked them to. Enyimba will

B

come to my ground; I have learnt all their tricks, whatever they have done, when they come to my ground I will do the same, it is football,’’ Baraje said.

Also reacting, Enyimba’s Chairman, Felix Anyansi-Agwu said that he least expected ElKanemi to hold up Enyimba till the 84th minute when his players broke their resistance.

“Every game is different, sometimes you play well and you find it difficult to score a goal or even you can never expect ElKanemi to come here and hold their ground up to 80-85 minutes.

“I thank our players for the spirit they exhibited, the fighting spirit, never say die, to keep pushing until the first goal came,” he said.

Enyimba’s Michael Okoye scored the opener in the 84 minute, while Chimezie Amanfor sealed victory for the Aba side in the 90th minute of the match dominated by the visitors.

Enyeama confident Eagles will make up in Kenya

Milutinovic lauds NFF over Eaglets’ training tour V

ora Milutinoviæ, former Super Eagles’ technical adviser, was full of praise for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for organising a training camp for the Golden Eaglets.

The Eaglets are at the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence in Doha preparing ahead of the CAF U-17 Championship in April.

The Serbian, who guided Nigeria to the France ’98 World Cup, said the foreign training camp would expose the youngsters to quality training facility, noting that such

the teams. Sunshine has been good and now settling at home with a good pitch and some players who had played under me in some clubs,” he said.

The Gombe United coach was sent into the stands by the referee for remonstration during the second half of the match. He had protested one of the goals scored by Sunshine.

Coach Samuel Abimbola of Sunshine Stars of Akure said that scoring three goals in the match showed the team was improving and was already planning for its next fixture against Dolphins of Port Harcourt.

Sunshine Stars are on top of the league table with seven points after three matches and will be playing its next match against Dolphin FC of Port Harcourt.

development of youth would eventually have long term effect at the senior level.

“I’m happy to hear that the Nigerian Under-17 team is here at Aspire for training,” said the Serbian while on a short visit to the Aspire’s administrative block on Monday.

“There is no better place to be than Aspire and I’m happy that the Nigerian Federation has brought these boys here because it is good for Aspire and NFF,” he reasoned. “I had other engagements and that was why i was not at Aspire to see the match.”

Bora, Global Ambassador to Qatar 2022 World Cup and Technical Advisor at Aspire, said it was imperative to prepare youth teams ahead of competitions.

“It is important to develop and prepare young players particularly for a championship and it is good for Nigeria to be here.”

The 68-year- old Bora who along with Brazilian Carlos Parreira, had taken five countries to FIFA World Cup, said he has good memories about his brief stint with Nigeria.

incent Enyeama is confident the Super Eagles will return in full force the dose of shock that the Harambee Stars gave the Eagles in Calabar in the 2014 World Cup qualifier. The Eagles had to rely on a late rally to snatch a draw in front of teeming soccer fans.

Enyeama, beaten by a terrific free-kick by the forward, rue the countless chances the Eagles failed to convert and noted that the team are capable of making up for the flop in the return leg in Nairobi, Kenya on June 5.

“We tried all we could in Calabar, but it was simply one of those days when you can’t explain what really went wrong.

We did all the playing and all the possession but they scored a

shock goal and made us chase the game.

“That’s football for you. But the promise we will give Nigerians is that in the return leg we will pay them back with a better result. We cannot let them slip through our fingers for the second time.”

Enyeama, who wore the captain’s armband on the evening in the absence of Joseph Yobo, also praised the Super Eagles for their fight back spirit.

“Some teams, would have given up in the second half but our players kept fighting and eventually the goal came. I trust that if we had a few more minutes we would have won the game but we have a return leg to play and we would be ready for them.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

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PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

‘Dambe’ now an international sport, says Gana

J

ohn Gana, the National Coordinator of Dambe, (Traditional Boxing), says the sport has been accorded international status and recognition and would soon be competed for at that level.

Gana, who revealed this in Lagos on Sunday, said that the discipline has now been modernised, and embraced in competitions across the country adding that it has been a significant crowd puller at national games, which contributed to its acceptability.

“Dambe is an indigenous sport with a very interesting history in the country. We expect it to be introduced on a demonstrational basis in the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.

“Some innovations have been infused to make it acceptable. The standard of the sport is high and fits into International Olympic Committee’s itinerary (IOC) which they will find acceptable.

“If Dambe is given more attention locally, it will certainly go beyond our continent as Nigeria’s contribution to global sports,’’ Gana said.

The coordinator said further that the sport had been developed to compete favourably with professional boxing, and urged the authorities to introduce it in schools.

“Traditional sport is a discipline that can be introduced in schools to popularise it, and the country’s culture as well,’’ he added.

Gana urged the sports administrators to popularise indigenous African sports in order to uphold the continent’s cultural identity.

C

oach Dan Otakpo of Coal City Queens basketball team of Enugu has expressed satisfaction at his team’s performance at the ongoing 9th Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball League.

He expressed his delight in spite of losing their opening match at the competition 36-58 to GT-2000 adding that it was encouraging because it was the team’s maiden appearance at any championship of that magnitude.

“It was a nice game for us, because this is the first time my players will be playing a

Dambe game in action

9th Zenith league: Coal City coach pleased with team’s performance in spite of defeat championship. We summoned up the courage to face the oldtimers because we are new to this as far as competitions are concerned,’’ Otakpo said.

The competition began on March 23 at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Abuja National Stadium with 16 teams, comprising 10 regular teams and six new entrants.

“Our opponents were at the

last National Sports Festival in Lagos, but we were not there and they are more conversant with the rules of the game and different styles of play, which we are also bereft of,’’ the coach said.

Otakpo said his players also tried their best due to the challenges they had before the league started.

“They tried their best going by the challenges we faced before this

Ismail wins ICPC/Splash FM Marathon

D

eborah Pam of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Plateau Command, has won the female category of the ICPC/Splash FM Marathon race in Ibadan.

Pam, who says she is 19 years old, alongside Harris Ismail from Plateau won both categories of the 5th edition of the 42km race having completed the event in 3hrs, 06mins, 51secs and 2hrs, 39min, 58secs respectively.

Pam emerged in the female category with Aderonke Olumudi and Elizabeth Nuhu came second

Chief Patrick Ekeji, DG, NSC

and third respectively, while Philip Shaburutu and Danjuma Gyang lined up behind Ismail.

Pam and Ismail later told newsmen that their success in the race stemmed from their commitment towards the event.

Olumudi, who hailed from Oyo, appealed to the government for assistance, adding that it would help her a lot in pursuing her international career in marathon race.

The runner-up in the female category also emerged the 2nd overall best in the Obudu mountain race held in November 2012 hintted that she could be tempted to swift nationality if foreign offers come. “I will drop the country for any other if I find help there.’’

Chief Adebayo Akande, the Chief Executive Officer of Splash FM, told newsmen that it was a good performance from the athletes that participated.

“It was a better performance, though; it is yet to meet up with the world record of 2hrs, 10mins for the 42km race. I hope with

commitment and constant training, we will get there,’’he said.

Akande also disclosed that the next edition would be an international event, adding that it would feature notable international athletes.

Meanwhile the Minister of Sports, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, has commended Chief Adebayo Akande for initiating such an epochal event, adding that it would further uplift sports in the country.

Abdullahi said according it international status would add glamour to it, adding that he was elated at seeing young Nigerians participating in the event.

“I am happy to see the young ones participating in this event and I will speak with Chief Akande because making it international will add more glamour and attract sponsorships,’’ he said.

The 5th edition of the marathon race was flagged-off at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium by the Minister of Sports, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi.

competition. Raising resources for us to be here was not easy. ‘We had problems of funding, but we thank God we were able to overcome them and put them behind us,’’ the coach said.

On his part, coach Oche Omuh of GT-2000 said determination earned his team the first win in spite of being new also in the league.

“It was our first game and we won’t describe it as a fair but a good one. Winning our first game with a margin of over 20 points is encouraging. I told them to play like determined players, that we have nothing to lose because no one expects so much from them,’’ he said.

Omuh added that the team

would correct its wrongs and take each game as it comes. “We have noticed our mistakes and right there we tried to correct some.

But every team comes with a different pattern, so we can’t correct all our mistakes at once.

“We will take one game at a time and correct the mistakes as they come because we can’t use a team’s pattern to play other matches,” he said.

Both teams are among the six new entrants who joined the 10 regulars in the league. The competition is presently in its first phase and will end on March 31.

The league’s second and third phases will come up in Asaba, Delta and Lagos respectively later in the year.

Players depart for ITTF/Africa Junior, Cadet Championships Friday

A

dedotun Omoniyi, the coach of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) junior team, has assured that Nigeria will do well at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and Africa Junior/Cadet Open Championship.

The team of nine players and officials are scheduled to depart their Lagos State training camp on Friday ahead of the tourney billed to serves off from March 28 through to April 7 in Hammanet, Tunisia.

He confirmed on telephone yesterday in Akure that the championships would be used to identify new talents.

He said that the talents

identified would be groomed to represent the country in the future in the next few years and would be used for the qualifiers for major international tournaments.

“The federation is trying to groom and expose young talents to international competitions so as to have a quality team that will replace the old players.

“So, the championships in Tunisia are a right developmental programme to really improve the standard of our players.

“The players have been training before now and we are sure of good results in Tunisia.

We will not let the country down,” the Ondo State table tennis head coach added.

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

•You can only create with the tools you have so don't hesitate to add more to your toolbox.

43. Some days are going to suck life is not perfect.

44. You never get it wrong you only learn another way that doesn't work.

45. It is people not things which give life meaning.

46. You can't take it with you when you go no one has ever slipped a Mercedes past the pearly gates.

47. The world will not fall apart if you are not there to hold it all together.

48. Its okay to say no people do it all the time.

49. There are some things you will never know the answer too.

50. The future does not exist nor does the past you only have this moment.

51. Relatives don't always know better.

52. Skeletons in family closets will always be there to haunt you.

53. Standing in your truth means respecting the right of others to theirs.

54. You cannot hear anyone if you are talking.

55. You don't have to live life with the hand you were dealt you can always shuffle the deck.

56. Potatoes won't grow out of your ears if you fail to wash them.

57. Adult eyes have a tendency to make the world small, yet are always looking for the big things, child eyes make the world big and yet are fascinated by the small things.

58. We should try to see not how people with disadvantages are different from us but how they are the same.

59. It is easy to be a big fish when you live in a small pond.

60. Adults should not let children take responsibility for their life choices.

61. No matter how shitty a job your

PAGE 47

Some Interesting Facts parents did eventually you have to take responsibility for your own choices.

62. Those who seek enlightenment will never find it.

63. If you need to say it say it now if you need to do it do it now.

64. The biggest regret of those whose time is cut short is all the things they never said and all the things they never did.

65. We only have the moment we are in.

66. You don't need an inner critic you need to be your own best friend.

67. Change requires action.

68. Misery likes company.

We have to be careful that helping doesn't turn into enabling.

70. Not everyone is going to like you and you are not going to like everyone.

71. Stuff happens that's just life.

72. Everyone should grow fairy wings and splash in the puddles occasionally.

73. If you keep doing for people they will never learn to do it for themselves.

74. Please and thank you are highly underrated.

75. Nothing is more contagious than a smile.

76. The best gift you give anyone is

your time and patience.

77. Patience is the ability to understand it is not always about you.

78. There are many rivers which lead to the same ocean you just have to be willing to look for them.

79. True beauty is not determined by a look but by a thought and a deed.

80. Times stands still for those who are in the moment not rushing by it.

81. Having knowledge does not make you wise this requires a knowing as well.

82. Meditation does not require whale music and contortions just the ability to go to your happy place. . You are not going to see the bigger picture until you have all of the pieces.

84. No matter which way you plate tofu turkey is not turkey.

85. It is wise to take a moment before you take a step that way you get a chance to see where your feet are going to land.

86. You may have a seed of greatness within you but you still have to nurture it.

87. Everyone has to find their own pathway.

88. You are not limited to one act of greatness in your lifetime.

89. The only way to stop an argument is to find a solution.

90. Every thing you do or say will come back to you eventually it just may not be in a form you are expecting.

91. Asking for help means you are smart enough to get the things you need to create the life you want.

Say what?

SUDOKU

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Last edition’s solution

Photographer: Graham McGeorge sits touching an alligator at the St Augustine Alligator Farm, Source: Dailymail.co.uk Florida USA

www.peoplesdailyng.com

. . . putting the people first

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2013

SPORTS LA TEST LATEST

Eguavoen back to Sharks

F

ormer Nigeria captain, Augustine Eguavoen has returned to the Sharks dug out, after missing out on the club's opening two games of the season.

The former Enyimba trainer was conspicuously missing on the Sharks' bench when the club faced Warri Wolves in their opening game of the 2012/13 NPFL season Speaking on the reason for Eguavoen's absence, General Manager of Sharks, Okey Kpalukwu said "Eguavoen asked for a documented form of his contract and we don't have that ready at this moment as that usually takes time to complete."

It is believed that Eguavoen had threatened to walk away from Sharks unless he received written documentation of his contract. With the papers not forthcoming, Eguavoen stayed away from the first two games of the club against Warri Wolves and Kaduna United.

In Eguavoens absence, Chief coach, Daboere Dokubo led the club to a 2-1 victory over Wolves on Sunday as efforts by supersport.com to get the views of Eguavoen proved abortive since he neither took his calls nor replied text messages sent to him The issues now seem to have been sorted out as the coach returned to the dugout for the club's week three fixture against Kwara United on Sunday.

Secretary of the club, Jerry Abrede confirmed that the issues have "been sorted out."

Rangers play goalless with Warri Wolves

R

angers International FC of Enugu yesterday failed to take a clear lead in the Nigeria Football Premier League when they drew goalless with Warri Wolves.

Rangers looked good for the lead after keeping a clean slate with two matches so far played but lacked the bite to threaten the visitors at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.

Not even their recent impressive outing in the African Champions League and away victory against Nembe City United on Friday could spur the White Antelopes into action.

After the match, angry fans threatened to unleash terror on the match officials but the timely intervention of policemen checked the action.

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QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE You can see, by inflicting undue and artificial suffering on talented (young) people we may be preparing them for terrorists to use.

— Former IGP Ibrahim Coomassie on failure of intelligence in Nigeria

Villa as new Wadata House I

n its issue of yesterday (24/ 03/2013), this paper carried as its front page second lead a report to the effect that President Jonathan has turned the Aso Presidential Villa into the new headquarters of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where all sorts of party meetings and events take place on a regular basis. The report, which cited some instances of such meetings and activities, said the development has caused outrage among some sections of Nigerians.

My own checks reveal than in the almost three months since the beginning of this year alone, the Aso Rock Presidential Villa has been the venue of over 10 meetings and events of the ruling PDP. All the four meetings between January and February concerning the controversial selection of the party's Board of Trustees (BOT) chairman were held at the Villa. On January 9, President Jonathan convened a peace meeting at the Villa over the protracted crisis in the Adamawa state chapter of the party. On February 14, Vice President Namadi Sambo, and later the president himself along with the PDP chairman, Bamanga Tukur, held separate meetings with the members of G.84, a group within the PDP, at the Villa. On February 25, a drama-filled meeting at which Chief Tony Anenih reemerged as B0T chairman took place at the Villa. On February 27, the president and party chieftains met with the PDP governors, in a stormy session at which the latter were urged to remove River State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, as chairman of the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF). On March 17, the PDP B0T, chaired by Anenih, held a meeting at the Villa.

There might have been other meetings that went unreported.

And there will certainly be many more in the coming weeks and months, most of which will be taking place, as usual, in the Banquet Hall of the Villa where there is usually a ceaseless flow of foods and drinks and all sorts of entertainment.

To be sure, this practice of the ruling party turning the Villa into its preferred venue for many of its meetings isn't an entirely new one.

As was pointed out by this newspaper itself in its story, the practice certainly didn't start with the Jonathan administration. It has a fairly long history dating back to the First Republic when the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) used to hold its caucus and trustees meetings at the State House in Dodan Barracks. Under both Obasanjo and the late President Yar'adua, such was the case too. And it isn't only at the federal level in Abuja that this is the practice. In perhaps every state of the federation, many of the meetings and events of the party

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FOR THE MASSES

By Rufa’i Ibrahim ruf585@hotmail.com in control there are held at the Government House, and at public expense. But under Jonathan, the meetings have become much more frequent, in part, perhaps, because of the many unsettling political problems that the man faces: the deep divisions within PDP, the open rebellion of some of the PDP governors, the threat from the opposition and the many uncertainties that define the political atmosphere.

This, combined with the brazenness with which the president and the PDP chieftains go about things, has given the practice a new garb that seems to prettify and legitimize it, in the eyes of many, as an established custom that is perfectly alright and offends no one and breaches no Iaw. It seems, in fact, that before now, many Nigerians have bought this lie. Not from the opposition political parties, who could easily have made a political capital out of it; not from the rights activists, for whom this should be a good enough reason for bashing the Jonathan regime; not from the Bar Association, which could easily have built a good case of abuse of power against Jonathan; and not even from the media, which could have made headlines and sold copies with the story, has there been even as much as a squeal of protests over this on-going attempt to turn the Villa, our common heritage, into the property of a political party.

It may be that even the enlightened and vocal Nigerians have too many problems of their own things on their plates, and the unenlightened are too poor, too powerless, too voiceless and too hungry to bother too much about such things. But what is happening is an act of impunity, a glaring case of abuse and misuse of power by the president and his party. The PDP won-how, is hardly the issue now-the presidency, and, with it, the right to have their man staying as a tenant in the Villa and running the country's affairs for a specified number of years. It is a tenancy, not an outright purchase that gives the president and his party ownership title and the right to do whatever they wish in and with the Villa.

Power, it is said, in an aphrodisiac. It intoxicates. And

there is always a tendency among those in power to abuse it, unless there are strong institutions in the society to check their excesses, and high standards of conduct in public life to set limit on their behaviour and define what is acceptable and what is not in the society. In Nigeria, we lack both. We lack the well-rooted institutions by which the excesses of our leaders can be checked, and through which the people can enforce accountability on the leaders. And we lack the high standards of conduct which moderate the behaviour of our public officials. These two shortcomings- which find practical expression, here in brigandage, there in impunity and everywhere in acts of dishonour and shamelessness by our leaders- are at the root of the problem of the inability of our leaders to distinguish between proper and improper behaviour in public life.

It certainly is at the root of what has now become the custom among leaders, at both the centre and in the states, and chieftains of the ruling parties to treat and use the Villa, the Government Houses and public institutions and property as their own personal possessions.

And it most certainly explains the PDP Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh's response to a question on this matter by this newspaper's reporter. Hear him: "Being the party in power, it is not out of place for the party to hold its BoT's,(sic)the highest advisory body, meeting in the Villa. It would be awkward for the party leader, especially the president, who may be exposed to insecurity, to hold meetings at the PDP secretariat".

Nonsense! It would have been much better if the PDP mouthpiece had given the reporter a curt, "no comment" response, to save himself, his party and the president from more embarrassments over the matter.

As it is, his response has opened the door upon many huge questions that cast serious doubts on the president's ability to do his job.

First, if the argument is that holding such meetings in the Villa is now the custom, why can't the custom be changed-especially as Jonathan's is, as he keeps reminding us, a transformational regime?

What is transformation if it does not involve changing bad customs and

traditions to make for a better society? Second, if the issue is one of the president's personal security, why and what is the problem that the security agencies, of which there are many, cannot arrange the president's security and secure his safety, even within Abuja? Is what Metuh said an open admission by the ruling party's spokesman that the security services can't be trusted or relied upon to provide the security he needs to move around and attend party meetings even in his seat of power? And, clearly, if security is the issue, then Jonathan's legitimacy is in serious doubt. For, if he can't secure himself, how can he secure us as his duty requires of him to do?

Insecurity is a world-wide problem. But in no decent country is the fact of insecurity used as an excuse or a justification for impropriety. In no decent democracy are party meetings elections and other events held in the State House.

What all this points to is the need for us as a people to work to build institutions and to set very high standards for those in public office. It will take time and a lot of hardwork, but it is what must be done in order not to leave our country a little stupider than we met it for future generations. It is a pity that the Jonathan administration seems completely uninterested in this aspect of governance, even when just a little peep into our history will show that there has been an established and recorded body of traditions on which we can build.

Over a hundred years ago, Shehu Uthman Dan Fodio, founder and inspiration leader of the Sokoto caliphate, kept a very rigid regime of making, in all he did, a very clear distinction between what is public and what is private. He had lanterns for his work and studies in the night. The public one he used for state duties.

The private one he used for his private studies and writings.

Those were different days, which are now gone. But even the British colonialists tried hard to make such clear distinctions between what they considered their private affairs and what was official property or duty. This distinction was, unfortunately, among the other benign legacies of British colonialism, like independent courts and relatively uncorrupted civil services, that became the first casualties in the hands of the new men that took over from the departing colonial officers. But in many countries around the world, the struggle today is to enforce such a distinction, and progress is measured by how well a country does this.

Is this too much for us to try here? And when will the PDP move its secretariat back to Wadata House where it belongs?

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Kano office: Plot 3, Zaria Road, Opposite Kano State House of Assembly. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 805 727 9862. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com; pmlnewsdesk@gmail.com ISSN: 2141– 6141