Peoples Daily Newspaper, Thursday, June 28, 2012

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

Vol. 8 No. 69

Thursday, June 28, 2012

PENGASSAN faults changes in NNPC >> PAGE 3

. . . putting the people first

Mystery fire guts NIMASA building >> PAGE 3

Shaaban 8, 1433 AH

N150

Bunkering: Reps Yakowa dismisses threaten to arrest offensive video clip Diezani, others in circulation >> PAGE 3

>> PAGE 3

18 killed in Kano gun battle From Edwin Olofu, Kano

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he Kano state Police Command said yesterday that 17 gunmen suspected to be members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect and a policeman were killed in the Tuesday evening clash between security operatives and the sect members in Kano metropolis.

The state Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, who disclosed this to newsmen yesterday, said the gunmen had launched coordinated attacks on Dala Police Station, Goron Dutse Prisons, Panshekara Police Station and headquarters of Mopol 52 in Challawa.

He said the gunmen numbering about 30 descended on the Dala Police Station hurling explosives and shooting, but that policemen repelled the onslaught.

He said during the gun battle, 10 of the Boko Haram suspects were killed while a police corporal was killed and another one sustained injuries.

He added that five of the assailants were killed at the Mopol 52 Squadron in Challawa while two were killed in Jakara Police Barracks where the attacks were equally repelled.

He called on the public to be on the lookout for persons that have gun injuries and report to security agents, adding that majority of the gunmen who escaped sustained gun shots.

He further revealed that a bomb which was planted in Sabuwar Doka Junior Secondary School in Ungogo local government area exploded but only damaged a part of an office and no casualty was recorded because the school was not in session.

“Some extremists launched sporadic attacks with bombs and Contd on Page 2

Yobe state Governor, Malam Ibrahim Gaidam (middle) unveiling the plague to commission the new office complex built for the Secretary to the State Government and Head of Service, on Tuesday in Damaturu.

Nigeria break up theory

Mark under fire

By Lawrence Olaoye, Abuja, Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi, with agency report

S

enate President David Mark’s remarks that Nigeria may break up if the activities of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents are not checked have attracted scathing criticisms from the cross section of the country.

Mark had at the opening of the Senate’s Retreat in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, blamed the persistent

violent activities of the sect on the inaction of ‘northern leaders and elders’, whom he accused of not

doing enough to proffer solutions to the mayhem perpetrated by Boko Haram.

“

So there must be something sinister about this. If you look at the details of his submission at the retreat, he is also trying to shift the blame on northern Muslims for the crises that are going on

”

The Senate President had said: “The elders in the North, I ask, can they really stop this menace? And if they cannot, let them say so.

“Because the impression at the moment is that there are some group of elders in the North who can stop it; there are group of elders who know what is happening.

“My candid opinion is that they cannot stop it and they don’t know what is happening. If they Contd on Page 2

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

CONTENTS Seriake-Dickson charges PDP on Constitution amendment

By Lawrence Olaoye

News

2-11

Editorial

12

Op.Ed

13

Letters

14

Opinion

15

Metro

16-17

Business

19-22

S/Exchange

23

S/Report

24

Earth

28

Newsxtra

29

Subsidy probe scandal: Tambuwal couldn’t have been the target, says Dantiye, Page 37

International 31-34 Strange World 35 Digest

36

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-47

Columnist

48

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

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

Phones for News: 070-37756364 09-8734478

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ayelsa state governor, Hon. Henry SeriakeDickson, yesterday urged the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to be proactive and participate actively in the process of the ongoing amendment of the constitution.

The Bayelsa governor, who was at the headquarters of the ruling party on a courtesy call to the party’s National Working

Committee (NWC) under the leadership of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, cautioned that the party risked playing into the hands of the opposition if it fails to take the lead in the process of constitution review.

Seriake-Dickson, who came in company with party stakeholders from his state, noted that the PDP has the majority of representatives both at the federal, states and the local government levels and as such, should exploit the advantage to reshape the destiny of

the country by making inputs that would reposition the country.

He said: “Nigerians have entrusted the destiny of our country in the hands of the PDP; we have to ensure that those that Nigerians do not trust do not come from the backdoor to chart the course for our nation. The only party that Nigerians have given the mandate is the PDP and we should guard the mandate jealously.”

According to him, since the party have an overwhelming

majority in the polity from the federal to the local government level, it should take interest in the process of constitution amendment just as he warned that those parties that Nigerians have rejected at the polls may influence the process to their advantage if care is not taken.

Responding, Tukur said the party would continue to support good governance in the country and just as he noted that Bayelsa under Seriake-Dickson is 100 percent PDP.

Nigeria break up theory: Mark under fire Contd from Page 1

were involved at all at some time, they are now completely out of control right now as we speak but if they are, I think it is proper that they come out because Nigeria has to be one for northern Nigeria to exist.

“The way the exercise is going at the moment, if Boko Haram is not halted, it may result to the break up of this country and God forbid, because people will not take it for too long. I call on the elders that they should come out frankly and they should assist if they are in the position”, he said.

But the Northern Elders Forum yesterday described Mark’s remarks as unfair to elders of the region.

The spokesman of the Forum, Professor Ango Abdullahi, noted that Mark has been heard at various fora speaking against the leadership of the North and accusing them of not living up to their responsibilities and wondered if Mark has excluded himself from being a leader of the region.

“If he has excluded himself from being a leader or elder, then I think he is right to say that others who are regarded as elders or northern leaders should be queried for the security challenges being faced in some quarters in the country”, Abdullahi said.

He lamented that the Senate President who is the No. 3 citizen in the country and also No. 2 citizen in the North after the Vice-President could accuse “northern leaders and elders” of doing nothing about the security challenges bedevilling the country, especially the North.

According to him, Mark cannot be a leader and a derelict, and say others should bear responsibility for some of the failures in the North.

“So there must be something sinister about this.

If you look at the details of his submission at the retreat, he is also trying to shift the blame on northern Muslims for the crises that are going on. In other words, he is passing the buck to those he considered to be Muslims in the North.

“I believe this should not be

coming from somebody who occupies No.3 position in the country and No.2 position in this part of the country, and we still regard him as one of our own even if he decided not to; but we still think so”, the Professor who was one time Vice Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, affirmed.

Abdullahi, who had also served as Obasanjo’s adviser on agriculture and food security, said he could not remember Senator Mark ever convening any meeting of northern leaders and elders as the Senate leader to discuss problems bedevilling the country or the North.

Also yesterday, the Plateau state government condemned the implicit calls for the dismemberment of the country in Mark’s remarks, saying it regards the advocates as ‘unpatriotic, wicked and wild.’

The state’s Information Commissioner, Pastor Yiljap Abraham, made the condemnation when he visited the Jos office of the National Orientation Agency (NOA).

Although Pastor Abraham did not make a directly reference to Mark, in statements that appear to be veiled rejection of the Senate President’s controversial Uyo remarks, the commissioner said emphatically that such “unwarranted calls” were a “disservice to the nation.

“We, as a government, feel those calling for the nation’s break up are unpatriotic and wicked to a nation that they claim to belong.

“Nigeria is good enough to be kept as a united entity no matter the challenges we are facing as a nation’’, he said.

Abraham argued that Nigeria was not the only country facing security challenges, and stressed that break up was certainly not the solution.

He expressed regrets that some of such advocates were people who were educated and well enlightened members of the society.

“What the Plateau government is saying is that we must not politicise serious issues like this; we must move together toward a united and

prosperous nation for our younger generations”, he stressed.

Responding, the Plateau Director of NOA, Mr Musa Chantu, said that the size and population of Nigeria was a huge advantage that must be explored toward greatness. “We shall gain more as one nation and must reject any call for any division. America is bigger and larger than Nigeria in size and population, yet it is intact and prospering, so why not Nigeria?’’.

Two youth organisations in the North had similarly blasted Senator Mark over his statement of Monday.

In a statement jointly signed

by Messrs Nastura Sheriff for Arewa Youth Development Foundation and Shettima Yerima for Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, the groups said they found it "regrettable that David Mark, himself a northerner and occupying his present office by the grace of the North, should turn round to accuse the region's elders of being behind the crisis".

The groups said it was surprising that the Senate President could publicly feign ignorance of "the concerted efforts by the Northern Elders Forum that has cut across religious and tribal boundaries; the various meetings held by the Northern Governors Forum, the northern traditional rulers and various coalitions of religious leaders".

They recalled that the northern elders have in their effort recently visited and presented a comprehensive document advising President Goodluck Jonathan on how to handle the security situation.

The region's youths also lamented that the Senate President has not for once "attempted to meet with any of the elders, political leaders, religious or cultural leaders on how to resolve the situation, to now find the courage to point accusing fingers particularly at the elders.

"It is on record that Mark has never visited Maiduguri, Kano or Potiskum to console with families of the thousands of people slaughtered in the

course of this violence but now finds the voice to criticise respected elders of the North," they further lamented.

The groups challenged Mark to name those he claimed in his statement to be behind the terror group and to tell the world the action he has ever led the Senate to take towards arresting the security threat.

Earlier in a veiled response to Mark even at the retreat, Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima disagreed with the Senate President insisting that Nigeria will not break up because of the activities of the Boko Haram sect just as he counselled that Nigerians must learn how to live with one another.

Shettima said it was impossible for the country to break up along religious lines because adherents of the two dominant religions in the country, Christianity and Islam, are interwoven in the northern and southern parts of the country.

18 killed in Kano gun battle Contd from Page 1

assault rifles in Dala Police Station, Jakara Police Barracks, Goron Dutse Prisons, Panshekara Division, 52 Squadron in Challawa and IEDs were planted at JSS Sabuwar Doka Ungogo local government area. Our men gallantly repelled the attacks during the gun duel. Due to the superior power of the police, 17 insurgents were killed and three of them were arrested”, he stated.

He said among the items recovered included five assault rifles; 14 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which were recovered and defused.

Also recovered from the gunmen by the security agents, according to the police chief, were 220 live ammunition, five vehicles, three motorcycles, large quantities of drugs and syringes and the sum of N100, 000.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2012

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Kaduna crises: Yakowa urges residents to ignore video in circulation A From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

s peace gradually returns to Kaduna after a week-long 24-hour curfew imposed on the area, the state government yesterday warned residents to ignore a certain video in circulation warning that it is designed to tarnish the image of the state, truncate the peacebuilding process in place and pit the adherents of the two major religions against one another.

The statement, signed by the Governor’s Special Assistant (Media), Reuben Buhari,

explained further that the oneminute long video said to contain a heap of dead bodies being handled by security forces is being circulated by faceless people.

According to the statement, “For the avoidance of doubt, it is pertinent to mention that the scene in the video was not shot in Kaduna state as can be seen from the abundance of neem trees in the background and the accent of some of the people speaking in the video is completely alien to the people of Kaduna.

“The police van in the background also shows that it is not

from Kaduna state. If anyone comes into contact with the video, he/she should ignore it as it is a deliberate effort by certain individuals to kindle and fan the embers of religious and ethnic differences amongst inhabitants of our state.

“The good citizens of Kaduna state are enjoined not to play into the hands of these people who are bent in further creating enmity and division among us for their own devilish goals.

“Trying to put the crisis of the past few days behind it, the state government and all security agencies will not tolerate any

deliberate attempt to incite the people of the state against each other and are prepared to deal firmly and decisively with anybody caught fomenting unrest.”

Meanwhile, the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) has commended Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa for his efforts at ensuring a return to normalcy in the state.

Addressing a press conference in Kaduna yesterday, NUTGTWN Secretary General, Comrade Issa Aremu, urged Yakowa to adopt more proactive measures in the

future, to check violent unrests in the area.

According to Aremu who is also vice-president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), “as stakeholders in Kaduna state, we commiserate with the government and good people of Kaduna state on the recent tragedy in the state.

“Our heart is with the families of those who lost their loved ones and properties to the recent unprovoked, avoidable violence and carnage.

“We urge the working people of Kaduna state, and Nigeria as a whole, not to be willing tools for mutually assured destruction, whether in the guise of religious or ethnic manipulations.

PENGASSAN faults changes in NNPC From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

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Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NMASA) building was gutted by fire, yesterday at Burma Road, Apapa in Lagos.

Mystery fire guts NIMASA building From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

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ire has gutted the second floor of the Nigeria Maritime and Safety Administration (NIMASA), located on Burma Road, Apapa, Lagos.

The cause of the fire at the ninestorey building yesterday could not be ascertained at press time.

However, unofficial sources said it could have been sparked off by

electrical fault.

The affected floor houses the SERVICOM and Cabotage sections of the agency.

Fire service men went to the scene with three trucks and were trying to bring the situation under control and prevent the fire from spreading to other floors at the time of filing this report.

The extent of damage could also

not be ascertained at press time.

The PRO of NIMASA, Hajiya Lami Tumaka, said the cause of the fire outbreak could not be ascertained at the moment.

She said they heard workers on the second floor screaming and running out in the wake of the fire outbreak and men of the fire service were contacted and they came and brought it under control within 20 minutes.

Illegal bunkering: Reps threaten to arrest Alison-Madueke, Petinrin, others

By Lawrence Olaoye

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he House of Representatives yesterday threatened to order the arrest of the Minister for Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Marshall Oluseyi Petinrin for their refusal to appear before its joint

Committee investigating the spate of oil bunkering in the country.

The joint committee investigating the alleged theft of crude in the country chaired by Rep Muraina Ajibola issued the threat yesterday following the reluctance of the officers to appear before the committee to answer queries on their roles in the matter.

Meanwhile, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), has

called for collaborative efforts between government agencies to check illegal oil bunkering in the country.

The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Omar Suleiman said that there was the need to step up security to effectively check illegal oil bunkering. He said that Nigerian ports are not used as entry points for illegal oil bunkering.

il workers under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have faulted the incessant changes in the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), saying it is a way to delay the growth of the oil and gas industry.

PENGASSAN President, Comrade Babatunde Ogun, disclosed yesterday that incessant changes in the leadership of the NNPC will affect the ongoing reforms policy in the industry.

One of the policy thrusts in the on-going NNPC transformation that is likely to suffer setback, according to Comrade Ogun, is the ongoing Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) and repair of the four refineries intended to put them back on stream to operate at their installed capacity.

Ogun explained that in the past few months, “the NNPC management had been working assiduously on how to bring back the refineries and there has been results to this effect, as the

Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries have started working progressively towards their installed capacities, while there are plans to put back the Warri Refinery.”

The union leader expressed fear that the new management may abandon the on-going TAM and repairs of the refineries and thereby allow the government to sell those refineries as scrap.

Other vital areas where the outgoing team would have been of tremendous value is in the actualisation of well articulated vision of a globally competitive national oil company in which their wealth of experience is to be tapped in kick-starting the impending petroleum industry law to successful take off.

While congratulating the new management team led by the new Group Managing Director, Dr. Andrew Yakubu, the PENGASSAN president urged the team to follow the laid-down reform policies and plans of the outgoing team, adding that the new team will be held accountable for any policy that truncate the growth of the oil and gas industry.

Appeal Court affirms Dangote’s election as NSE president From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

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he Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has upheld the election of Alhaji Aliko Dangote as President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

However, some aggrieved African Petroleum Plc (AP) shareholders have asked the Supreme Court to set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which made way for Dangote to resume as president of the NSE. Justice Mohammed Liman of a Federal High Court, Lagos, had earlier nullified Dangote’s election as NSE president, after it held that August 5, election, was in clear violation of an order of August 4, 2009, directing parties to maintain the status quo in a suit by some aggrieved shareholders of

AP Plc against Dangote, a stock broking firm, Nova Finance and Securities Limited, and others on allegation that AP’s share prices were manipulated.

Dangote had appealed against the lower court decision and urged the Court of Appeal to set aside its ruling.

In its judgment, the Court of Appeal set aside the decision of the lower court and held that there were no bases for the decision of the lower court.

On the nullification of the NSE president’s election, the Court of Appeal had held that since the court was wrong to order parties to maintain status quo, there was no need to annul the election.

The court also held that Dangote cannot be held for contempt over the election.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

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Don’t allow foreign intervention in our national affairs – IFN From Bala Nasir, Kano

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he Islamic Forum of Nigeria (IFN), has kicked against all forms of foreign interventions in the internal affairs of Nigeria.

This was contained in the communiqué issued by the organisation after its annual general meeting conducted at its national secretariat in Kano.

The communiqué which was signed by the executive secretary of the Forum, Alhaji Lawal Abdullahi, criticised elected representatives in the country for what it called their nonchalant attitude towards solving the security situation in the country.

It frowned at the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria and the general poor socio economic development particularly in the Northern part of the country.

The attitude of government, according to the communiqué, towards implementing reports and recommendations of committees, commissions and panels on civil disturbances that occurred in different parts of the country leave a lot to be desired.

The forum also supports dialogue between the federal government and all restive youths in the interest of peace and tranquility in the country.

Jigawa education commissioner apologises to ABU From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

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he Jigawa state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Haruna Wakili has apologised to the authorities of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria (ABU) over the recent incidence of evacuating indigent students from the school.

The commissioner said the state government’s action was not targeted at provoking exchange of words nor was it aimed at causing mischief but rather it was a “pure responsive action to a distressed plight of the students”.

He said, “no government or right thinking parent would ignore the plight of their distressed children, especially when they cried that their lives were in danger, and if we had failed to act, that would tantamount to highest form of irresponsibility”, he argued.

He said, “up to the time I am speaking with you, nobody from ABU (authorities0 has contacted us.

Therefore, if we were wrong, they too were wrong to have resorted to the use of the media when ordinarily a query of some sort should have been communicated first. Two wrongs don’t make a right”, he stated.

SSS fires 2 operatives for ‘illegal operations’

By Lambert Tyem

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he State Security Service (SSS) yesterday announced the dismissal of two of its auxiliary staff, Owolabi Kolawole and Okunola

Kayode for what the Service described as ‘illegal operation’.

The two personnel who operate in Akure, the Ondo state capital according to SSS were dismissed in line with the Service terms and conditions.

Spokesperson of the Service, Mrs. Marilyn Ogar, said “The Service was alerted of the involvement of two of its auxiliary staff in an illegal operation in Akure, Ondo state, on 14th June, 2012.

After a preliminary investigation by the Service, the two were handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution since their acts bordered on criminality”.

Motorcyclists pushing their motorcycles pass a traffic junction in compliance with security directive, along Yakubu Gowon Way following the relaxation of the 24-hour curfew, yesterday in Kaduna.

Photo: NAN

FG to spend N4bn on security boats

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

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he Federal Executive Council (FEC), yesterday, approved the purchase of six fast moving security boats by the Ministry of Transport.

According to the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who briefed State House correspondents after yesterday’s meeting, the procurement became compelling because of emerging security challenges in the country.

“Sequel to a memo from the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, Council approved the contract for the design and construction of fast moving security patrol boats, in line with the new international guidelines and security regime required for enhanced comfort to shipping.

Council in approving the procurement of the contract for 2 Nos. 17 Manta MkAso, which will enhance security at the Lagos pilotage district,” he said.

The contract was awarded in

favour of Messrs Kobus Naval Design (Nigeria) Ltd in the sum of USD 9,429,143.05 inclusive of all taxes with 12 months completion period.

Maku said Council equally approved the award of contract for 1 No. 32M Manta MKASD in favour of Messrs OCEA of France in association with Anglestone Ltd in the sum of USD 10,451,000.30 with 12 months completion period.

Also, Council approved the procurement of 3 No. Fast

Investment on education is key to transformation – Atiku

By Morufat Ojulari

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ormer Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has said that Nigeria’s drive for socio economic growth solely relies on huge investment in education.

Atiku made this assertion while commending the academic excellence of a Nigerian, Mr. Emmanuel Ohuabunwa a Neuroscience graduate of Johns

Hopkins University, who broke new grounds at the Johns Hopkins University, USA. Mr. Emmanuel, who was said to have been the first black man to attain a grade point of 3.98 out a 4 point scale, earned a scholarship to study medicine at Yale University.

The founder of the American University of Nigeria, who was impressed by the story of Ohuabunwa, said it is a clear

testimony that Nigeria will, one day, unlock its full potential as a great nation where every young man and woman will engage in healthy competition for scientific and technological innovations.

He urged government at all levels to be serious with their commitment to investment in education, saying: “no amount of money spent on education is ever too much.”

Reps to investigate unbundling of NITEL

By Umar Mohammed Puma

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he House of Representatives, yesterday, mandated its committee on communication to investigate the mode of unbundling in the sale of Nigerian Telecommunications Company (NITEL), which has led to monumental loss of billions of naira, denied job opportunities to youth in the country, and prevented additional investment in the telecommunication sector.

A motion filed by Hon. Chris

Emeka Azubogu which was unanimously adopted by the House, said the Federal Government in 2001 made effort to privatise Nigeria Telecommunication (NITEL)/ Mobile Telecommunication Ltd. (MTEL) following the liberalisation of telecommunication industry in the country.

He pointed out that in 2002 when foreign investors – International London Limited (IILL) offered $1.37 billion to acquire NITEL, but defaulted in

paying the bid price, and thereafter lost the opportunity.

Emeka, further said that in 2006 a group of Nigerians under the Transitional Corporation of Nigeria Plc. (Transcorp), acquired 51% of NITEL/MTEL Mobil Telecommunication for the sum of $500 million, payment was made but the sale was eventually cancelled by the Federal Government.

The committee is expected to finish its finding and make recommendations to the House within four weeks.

Moving Security Boats in favour of Messrs Oil Response Ltd, in the sum of N233, 625,000.00 to be supplied within six months.

The Minister of Transport also got FEC’s approval for the procurement of 4 Nos. Fast Moving 40-45 passengers water bus to improve transportation on the inland waterways.

He said Council, having noted that the project will create jobs for Nigerians and provide alternative mode of transportation, approved the purchase for the National Inland Waterway Authority (NIWA) in favour of Messrs A.I.A. International Ltd in the sum of N321, 510, 000.00 inclusive of all taxes.

Police ‘hunt’ Peoples Daily reporter

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olice operatives from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have been discreetly monitoring the headquarters of Peoples Daily newspaper in Abuja, in search of one of its reporters over a story pertaining to the Lawan Farouk saga.

The search began Tuesday and yesterday, after the persuasive strategy by the police to lure the reporter to its office failed.

It was reliably gathered that the police are seeking the reporter to explain how he normally sources information on the activities of the police. No official correspondence has however been received from the force over the matter.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 5

NDLEA arrests 63 over illicit drugs From Iliya Garba, Minna

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ixty-three suspects with a total of 240.1kg of various illicit drug and substances mostly cannabis, have been arrested by Niger state command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA).

The state commander, Abdullahi Abdul, made this known yesterday in Minna, saying, 39 out of the 63 suspects have so far been convicted by the Federal High Court in Minna while the rest of the cases are ongoing and 19 suspects have been successfully reintegrated to the society.

Abdul charged the state and nation at large o discuss how best the community can be healthy without drugs and said it is the responsibility of all to help towards a better society.

This year’s campaign is meant to inspire people and mobilise support for drug supply control and drug demand reduction across the world, the Commander said.

Hippopotamus resurfaces in Kogi waterways, 5 escape drowning From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

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he upsurge of water animals now terrorising Lokoja residents and riverine commercial activities have become sources of grave concern.

This is against the backdrop of the menace of hippopotamus in the River Niger which at about 5pm yesterday, sent shock waves through the spines of the ancient city whose visible source of living largely depends on water transportation.

A large crowd watched with utmost disbelief how a hippo raised its head from the water, threatening rowers in canoe at the Kpata end of the city on Obasanjo Way, Lokoja.

About 15 canoe passengers escaped being drowned as the animal moved towards their direction on their way from the River Benue end of the confluence coming to Lokoja.

L-R: Minister of State for Niger Delta, Hajiya Zainab Kuchi, Ministers of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe, during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting yesterday at the State House, Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Atuche: One witness contradicts self, EFCC tells court A From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

field detective in the Bank Fraud Investigative Department of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), David Olom Nkpe, yesterday, told Justice Lateefa Okunnu of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, that a statement by one of their witnesses was inconsistent.

Nkpe, who also doubles as a

prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the former Managing Director of Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank), Mr. Francis Atuche, his wife, Elizabeth and a former director of the bank, Ugo Anyanwu, while being cross examined by Atuche’s counsel, Mr. Anthony Idigbe at the resumed hearing of the matter before the judge confirmed that Peter Ololo had in his first statement to the anti graft commission tagged

Exhibit P191 before the court, admitted to getting another loan facility of N5billion from Bank PHB, adding that he can only supply details when he checks the documents in his office but in another statement three days later, tagged Exhibit P193, Ololo stated that he does not know anything about the transactions.

Further in his statement, Ololo also stated that his company had an arrangement with the bank to

Task force destroys 50,000 drums of diesel in Edo Nigerian From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

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fficials of Operation Thunderstorm in Edo state yesterday destroyed over 50,000 drums containing diesel allegedly gotten from illegal refineries.

The drums were recovered at Gelegele community in Ovia North East local government council of Edo state alongside

illegally refined products located in the creeks of Ondo, Delta and Bayelsa states. Gelegele is a riverine community located about 70 kilometers from Benin City.

Residents in the community wept profusely as they watched the soldiers destroy what they regarded as their means of livelihood. Some women were said to have jumped into the river with

their babies when they saw the soldiers coming.

They told reporters they just received fresh supplies and that they bought drum of diesel between N19, 000 and N20,000.

The residents said they took to buying of diesel from the suppliers who they refused to disclose because activities of oil companies have destroyed their farmland and aquatic lives.

Inspector, 2 others killed as Edo 2012: NGOs urge INEC to encourage local monitoring robbers raid Zenith, UBA, GT banks in Wukari From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

From Yusha’u Alhassan, Jalingo

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nknown gunmen have attacked three banks and carted away millions in Wukari the headquater of Wukari local government area of Taraba state.

An eyewitness, Murtala Waziri told Peoples Daily correspondent in Jalingo in a telephone conversation that ''the banks attacked were Zenith, UBA and Guarantee Trust. He also said the gunmen exchanged fire with police after operating in the banks,

buy shares in nominee names for Bank PHB to be managed by Falcon Securities though he had earlier stated that his company was not aware of all the transactions until he got a statement of account indicating the transactions.

However, when confronted with some cheques which were admitted as Exhibits before the court, Nkpe confirmed that loan proceeds were transferred to accounts controlled by Peter Ololo, adding that Ololo issued some cheques in favour of Bank PHB public offer.

killing one police man.

He said the gun men started shooting from 10 pm nonstop for over 45 minutes.

When contacted, the Taraba state police PPRO Amoa Alaoye confirmed the incident, saying it was an armed robbery attack on some banks in the area. The police PPRO also said that the armed robbers killed one police inspector.

No arrest has been made on the incident at the moment.

The police also confirmed that two civilians died in the gun battle.

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group known as Conference of Nongovernmental Organisations in Edo state (CONGO), yesterday picked holes in the ongoing accreditation by Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) headquarters, Abuja, which accredited 22 registered NGOs to monitor the July 14th governorship elections in Edo state.

They said only two NGOs operating in the state were captured out of over 60 groups that applied for the exercise believed to be more familiar with

the terrain.

A statement endorsed by Jude Obasanmi, President and Destiny Enabulele, secretary said, over 60 of them applied through the state office of the commission for onward verification at INEC headquarters but only 42 NGOs were cleared for the exercise.

The duo, said, consequent upon their investigation, it was discovered that out of 42 that were accredited, only two are based in the state.

“This election, in our estimation is too important and crucial to the survival and deepening of Nigeria's democracy to be toyed with,” he said.

elected into UN CEDAW committee

By Maryam Garba Hassan

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Nigerian, Ms. Oby Nwankwo was on Tuesday, elected into the UN Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against Women (CEDAW), in New York.

Ms. Nwankwo who spoke on Tuesday from New York, said that “the election was keenly contested by 24 candidates, six of whom were Africans for the eleven available seats in the CEDAW Experts Committee. The six African states are Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal and DRC. “It was originally 26 candidates but just before voting commenced, Libya and Afghanistan withdrew their candidature”, she said.

She added that the election which was closely fought through three rounds, saw her candidature being threatened because of events at home.

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FG includes yam, sesame in growth enhancement scheme

By Mohammed Kandi

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he Federal Government has approved the inclusion of yams and sesame seeds in the priority crops that are benefiting from the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme, Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Bukar Tijjani said.

According to a statement issued by the ministry's director (PPRD), Salisu Na'inna Dambatta, during the rolling out of the GES for Benue state in Gboko, the two crops are important and would contribute to national food security.

He urged farmers in the state to plant the improved rice and maize seeds given to them by the Federal Government (FG).

Alhaji Tijjani further announced that the registration of farmers, who would benefit from the GES would continue throughout the country until the target of 20 million farmers in a validated data base is achieved by 2015.

UNILAG: Reps vow to ‘screen’ Jonathan’s bill From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

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eputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha has promised that the National Assembly will thoroughly screen its decision on the request by President Goodluck Jonathan to change the name of the University of Lagos to Moshood Abiola University.

Ihedioha said this at University of Lagos while delivering a lecture at the Department of Political Science's annual lecture in commemoration of the university's golden jubilee anniversary.

The Deputy Speaker allayed the fear of the management, students and alumni of the university over what he termed the erroneous belief that the legislature will only approve the bill seeking the name change as introduced by the Presidency without carrying along the members of the university community and other relevant stakeholders.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

Nigeria, Germany to strengthen bilateral defence ties T

By Joy Baba

he Minister of Defence, Mrs. Olusola Obada has said Nigeria and Germany will continue to collaborate to further strengthen the defence sector.

She stated this when the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs. Donathere Janetzke-Wenzel paid her a courtesy visit, yesterday in Abuja.

She said an agreement had already existed between the two countries, which was signed in

May 2001 on Equipment Aid programme and was implemented for two phases in four years.

"I am glad that Germany has decided to include Nigeria once again in the benefitting countries for the equipment aid

programme for the period of January4, 2013 to December 2016," she said.

Earlier, Janetzeke-Wenzel told the minister that both countries would look for ways for further bilateral ties in the defence sector.

L-R: Director General, CITEC International Limited, Mr. Jinadu Nurudeen, with Deputy General Manager, Enforcement, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Mr. Chijioke Obi, addressing journalists on NERC enforcement activity in CITEC (Mbora) Estate, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Biz man sues FCTA, others over illegal demolition

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin n Abuja High Court sitting in Apo will on July 4, 2012 commence hearing on a suit brought before it by a business man, Mr. Nze Kanayo Chukwumezie against the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and two others, over alleged demolition and illegal taking over of his property.

The plaintiff joined Air CDR Abayomi Balogun and one Mrs. Uche Ezeala as defendants in the suit filed through his lawyer, Victor Okangbe, where-in he is claiming that the property located on Plot No. 155, Cadastral Zone B02, Durumi district, Abuja, was sold to him in April 2008 by Mrs Uche Ezeala (2nd defendant) and an agent of Air CDR Abayomi Balogun (1st defendant).

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He said he paid N6 million vide an acknowledgment of receipt dated April 25, 2008 to the 2nd defendant, adding that a power of attorney was executed between him and the 1st defendant which transferred the right of ownership to him.

The plaintiff, in the suit said, on noticing some irregularities filtered into the deal by officials of the FCT administration, he protested to the administration over his observation at Abuja Geographical Information System in a letter dated September 15, 2009.

In spite of that, he said his property was among those published as having incomplete documentation.

He prayed the court to reinstate the property to him and to restrain the defendants from revoking, withdrawing or derogating his ownership of the land.

Man bags 2 years jail for setting neighbour ablaze

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n Igbosere Magistrates' Court, Lagos, yesterday sentenced a 41-year-old man, Ebenezer Daramola, to two years' imprisonment for setting his neighbour ablaze over a misunderstanding.

The convict of No. 1 Atiba Close, Onipetesi Dopemu, Agege, Lagos, was arraigned on Jan. 14, 2010 on a two-count charge of attempted murder and threatening to kill.

The convict had pleaded not guilty.

Delivering judgment, the Magistrate, A. F. O. Botoku, found the convict guilty on the second count of attempted murder of one Miss Folake Badmus and discharged him on the first count of threatening to kill.

Botoku sentenced him to two years' imprisonment without an option of fine for pouring kerosene from a lighted stove on

Badmus during a quarrel, which sparked fire and burnt her body.

The prosecutor, ASP Julius Oyakhilome, had told the court that the incident happened on Jan. 12, 2010 at No. 1 Atiba Close, Onipetesi Dopemu, Agege, Lagos.

Oyakhilome said the incident occurred during a misunderstanding between the two neighbours living in the same address. (NAN)

Zamfara govt denies involvement of convoy in accident

By Joy Baba Abuja, Salisu Zakari Maradun, Gusau

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he Information Commissioner of Zamfara state, Ibrahim B. Magaji has denied the involvement of a car in the state governor's convoy in a ghastly accident three days ago, which killed the security aide to the governor along Gumi-Sokoto road.

Magaji, who was reacting to

...As Northern govs express condolence over death of Yari's aide reports in some national dailies, alleging the involvement of the security advance bus of the convoy said the driver of the bus, who had been in the front of the convoy, could not continue with the trip as it developed a mechanical fault.

According to him, the driver had to discontinue with the trip temporarily to repair the car while other vehicles in

the convoy proceeded, emphasising that the ill-fated bus had parked beside the road for over 30 minutes when the governor and his entourage had already arrived in Sokoto.

Continuing, he added that it was after the bus was eventually repaired that the driver, in an attempt to catch up with the convoy, lost control of the vehicle and suddenly fell into a

ditch.

"When the accident happened, the governor's car had already reached Sokoto. In fact, it was after they reached there that the governor was informed of what happened," he said.

Magaji confirmed the death of one of the occupants of the bus on the spot while other occupants sustained injuries.

Meanwhile, the Northern States Governors' Forum (NSGF) on Tuesday expressed shock and sadness over the death of the security aide to the governor, ASP Ado Yahaya, who died in the accident while on official assignment with the governor.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Niger state governor, Danladi Ndayebo, who is also the chairman of the forum.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 7

Ex-Edo commissioner, husband in court for divorce From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

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usband of a former commissioner in Edo state, David Erhabor, yesterday, told Benin High Court 9 how his wife had demanded the sum of N1milion from him as fee to have sex with her.

Mr. Erhabor testified in a divorce suit instituted by his wife, Florence IgbinigieErhabor, a former commissioner, alleging that his estranged wife approached the court for divorce after 15 years of marriage.

In the suit No HAB/ 16D/2O11 before Justice Anthony Erhabor, the respondent, (David Erhabor) told the court he never envisaged a broken home in his life until his wife resorted to keeping late nights when appointed commissioner by former governor Lucky Igbinedion.

He explained that his wife had abandoned their two children, absconded from home for three days, only to be caught red handed inside a vehicle, romancing and kissing a man who had earlier teargassed him.

“There was a day she

came back home drunk and without a pant on her.

She was in the habit of keeping late nights out,” Mr. Erhabor told the court, adding that it took the intervention of a former Managing Director of Delta State Oil Producing Community Development C o m m i s s i o n (DESOPADEC), Wellington Okrika, to resolve some of

their numerous crises.

On the position of the petitioner seeking divorce and the issue of the custody of the children, the respondent opined that the children can always stay with whomever they choose when on holidays.

The petitioner, Mrs. Igbinigie-Erhabor, amongst others is asking the court to grant her

divorce on the grounds of threat to life, violent assault and infidelity on the part of her husband, also a former senior special adviser to former governor Oserhiemen Osunbor.

Mrs. Igbinigie, mother of two was said to have in 2009 separated from her husband arising from irreconcilable differences.

She is equally demanding

Gombe INEC takes voter education to secondary schools From Auwal Ahmad, Gombe

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ndependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Gombe state has begun a voters’ education campaign for students of secondary schools.

Speaking during a one day workshop on voters’ education for principals of junior and senior secondary schools yesterday, the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Istifanus IDafwang, said the workshop which is part of a reformation of the electoral process, is aimed at targeting the younger ones for the desired results.

He said the purpose of

the workshop is to mobilise principals of schools into vanguards that will educate youths to grow up with a positive mindset that sees elections and INEC as agent that will help them in their ambition to become future governors and presidents of Nigeria.

According to him, in spite of the preference for democratic rule to military dictatorship in Nigeria, the images of electoral commissions have been so battered that the mindset of average Nigerian on matters relating to elections and election management is negative.

He decried the mindset of many who see INEC

officials as members of the ruling party as well as the perception that INEC does not prepare well for elections and election as warfare as he said INEC is determined to change these perceptions and has realised that for it to succeed, it must begin with the younger ones.

that the husband pays her the sum of N150, 000 monthly for the upkeep of the two children and to be compelled to pay their

school fees.

Justice Erhabor adjourned the case till August 4, 2012 for hearing.

Kano compesates land owners From Bala Nasir, Kano

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ll the owners of the piece of land on which the Federal Government constructed the ‘Tsangaya’ Qur’anic’ school at Tsakuwa village in Dawakin Kudu local government area of Kano state have been compensated.

This was disclosed by the chairman of the council, Alhaji Sani Adamu Gano through his Information Officer, Malam Salisu Babangida, yesterday.

The council according to

him had compensated the people with over N7 million for their lands on which the school was built.

Construction of the school which started some time last year has already been completed and it’s now awaiting commissioning.

Alhaji Sani Adamu thanked the Federal Government for deciding to execute the project in the area and the land owners for their understanding.

He urged them to make good use of the project by sending their children to the school.

. . . sets up technical Brothers arraigned committee on projects the state government monitoring over awarded about 467 projects some of which are Olofu, Kano attempted From Edwin either completed, nearly he Kano state completion or ongoing that government has set have direct bearings on the kidnap up a high powered people of the state.

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wo brothers, who allegedly attempted to kidnap a threeyear-old boy, were yesterday charged before an Ejigbo Magistrates Court, Lagos.

The duo - Sodiq Mohammed, 27, and Taiwo Mohammed, 25 - are standing trial on a two-count charge of conspiracy and attempted kidnap.

They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

But the prosecutor, Cpl. Oladejo Balogun, told the court that the accused committed the offences on May 22 at about 7.30 p.m. at 8, Dare St. in Ikotun area of Lagos.

He said the accused conspired and attempted to kidnap the boy from his mother.

“Sodiq went to the complainant’s home and told the boy’s mother, Mrs. Bukola Arebi, that her husband’s younger brother, Mr. Sulaimon Arebi, asked him to bring the boy.

“The mother refused because it was very late in the evening. Later, she called her brother in-law, who said he did not send anybody to bring the boy.

“The family reported the incident to the police and the accused, who was immediately arrested, said Taiwo (second accused) lured him into it”, Balogun said.

He said the offences contravened Sections 509 and 516 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State.

(NAN)

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Technical Advisory Committee on projects monitoring to ensure probity, accountability and proper execution of projects across the state.

The Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Rabi’u Suleiman Bichi who inaugurated the committee, explained that the measure was aimed at ensuring that an independent committee be given the opportunity to monitor such projects for the betterment of the citizenry.

Dr. Bichi said last year,

He assured the people of the state of government’s readiness to ensure that all projects awarded were done according to specifications of the contracts.

He pointed out that members of the committee were selected for their sound technical knowledge, excellent record of performance, patriotic disposition and ability to contribute greatly in matters affecting the socioeconomic development of the state.

NDLEA laments high consumption of illicit drugs in Benue From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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he National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Benue state, has in the last one year arrested 180 suspects, convicted 42 persons, destroyed cannabis farm measuring over 16 hectares and seized cannabis sativa worth 1468.551kg.

The NDLEA state commander, Mrs. Chinyere Obijuru who disclosed this yesterday at a seminar to commemorate the United Nation’s International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drugs Trafficking, added that the agency has destroyed 4.73 metric

tonnes of illicit drugs, has nine pending cases in court, while one person is undergoing rehabilitation in their custody.

Mrs. Obijuru who frowned at the increasing rate of abuse of illicit drug popularly called Ogogoro and cannabis sativa among the youths and the aged, said the habit is responsible for increased loss of lives, cult activities and other crimes in the state.

She regretted that the trend is fast turning the ‘food basket’ status of the state that is known for the the cultivation of food and cash crops into a cannabis zone as well as depleted family/societal values.

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PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

L-R: Business Editor, Peoples Daily, Malam Aminu Imam, Director General, Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), Professor Danladi Matawal, Head, Business Development, Peoples Media Ltd, Malam Abdulrahman Hussain, and Head, Media/ Public Relations Unit of NBRRI, Mr. Makava Daniel, during a visit to NBRRI by Peoples Media team, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Pensioners of the Nigerian Ports Authority protesting non payment of their 21 years pension arrears, on Tuesday in Lagos.

Photo: NAN

New National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd), after his first official meeting with Vice-President Namadi Sambo, on Tuesday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Demolition of illegal structures, yesterday at Abonnema Wharf, in Port Harcourt.

Photo: NAN

PAGE 9

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

Katsina has the worst health care indicator, says NMA From Lawal Sa'idu Funtua, Katsina he Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Katsina State Chapter has lamented that the state has some of the worst healthcare indicators in the country.

The Chairman of the state chapter, Dr. Abduljalil Umar Abdullahi, stated this yesterday in Katsina while addressing a press conference.

Abdullahi therefore disclosed " our maternal and child mortality rates are amongst the highest in the northern region as a whole, with only 22 general hospitals less than one per local government area".

The chairman similarly averred that the situation in the state with less than 100 medical doctors at the state and local government levels is one doctor, according to him, serving 60, 000 people as against the international standard of one doctor to 1000 patients.

He further stated that the hospitals across the state have been operating with one or two doctors, adding that the situation only qualified them as primary health centres not secondary health centres as being erroneously referred to.

Abdullahi noted that instead of government addressing the myriad of problems bedevilling the healthcare sector of the state, it, according to him embarked on ambitious project that have no direct bearing to improve the health sector.

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NOA sensitises political parties on civic responsibility

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

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he National Orientation Agency (NOA) has concluded plans to engage political parties in Nigeria on the need to streamline political values, ideologies and strategies for the provision of high quality democratic governance.

The Director General of NOA, Mr. Mike Omeri made this known when he received the Project Director, Democratic Governance for Development (DGD) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dr. Mourtadi Deme in his office on a working visit.

A statement issued yesterday by the Chief Press Secretary in the agency, Paul Odenyi, added that the agency also intends to embark on intensive mass sensitization on the constitutional role of the legislature in a democratic setting. “This is borne out of the need to correct the widespread misconception that legislators exist to issue and execute constituency projects”, the statement added.

L-R: Administrator, National Judicial Institute, Justice Umar Eri, representative of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Maryam AlomaMuktar, and NDIC Managing Director, Alhaji Umar Ibrahim, during NDIC sensitisation seminar for Judges, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: NAN

Anti-drugs day: NDLEA convicts 9 drugs dealers in Gombe From Auwal Ahmad, Gombe

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ine drugs dealers have been convicted by courts to various jail terms without an option of fine.

The Commander of the Gombe State National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Aliyu Adole, disclosed this in Gombe during the 2012 United Nations AntiDrugs Day celebration, which had the theme “Global Action for Healthy Community without Drug”.

He added that from January and June 2012 the Command had seized 44.68 kg of cannabis and 70.49 kg of psychotropic substance which include tramol, diazhapam among many others, from the dealers in the state.

Aliyu explained that most of the people engaged in the business of drugs in the state were youths, who engaged in taking solution and locally made concoction known as (sukudi).

He said his command’s effort

towards eradicating cannabis in the state has started yielding fruit, and commended his staff for their resilience in ensuring the successes so far achieved.

In his speech, the guest speaker, a pharmacist, Mr. Samuel Usman said that community leaders have vital role to play in combating drug abuse in the society.

According to him, “It is unfortunate that most of these community leaders were not playing the role effectively because they are engaged

somewhere looking for resources to solve their immediate problems”. He said collaborative effort must be put in place if the desired goal must be achieved in fighting the dangerous scourge of drug abuse.

Gombe state Commissioner for Health, Dr Kennedy Ishaya, who also spoke at the occasion, called on parent to monitor their children and assured the NDLEA that the state government would continue to support them in curbing drug abuse.

mark the 2012 United Nations’ international Day against drug abuse and illicit drug Trafficking.

He said over 96 suspects made up of 89 male and 7 female were arrested during the period and five hundred and sixty four kilogram’s of Indian hemp, known as cannibals Sativa, seized.

In the area of drug demand reduction the commander said

over one hundred and two clients had been counseled while 53 secondary schools had been visited for anti-drug abuse campaign.

The command also carried out anti- drug abuse campaigns in Taraba State University, Jalingo, School of Health Technology, Takum, College of Education, Zing and Taraba State polytechnic, Suntai.

According to Kwajafa anti-

drug abuse enlightenment campaigns were also organized for members of the National Union of road transport workers (NURTW) Jalingo, inmates at Jalingo prisons and market women Association, Jalingo.

He thanked the state Government for giving the command two Toyota Hilux vehicles, which he said had enhanced its operations.

Magistrates Association of Nigeria who paid him a courtesy call in his office.

He lamented a situation where by some people would be accused of fraud, theft, rape but later discharged despite the clarity of the offences committed.

Lamido said such actions would have effect on the psych

of some people that may eventually diminish the values of courts and the people’s confidence in judiciary and judges.

He re-affirmed the determination of his administration towards maintaining the tempo of separation of powers among the three arms of government.

In his speech the chairman of the Association, Barrister Ahmad Usman Lamin, explained that they in Government House to present to the Governor a merit award given to him by the Association’s national body.

He commended Lamido on his effort in creating an enabling environment for judicial officers in the state.

. . . Secures conviction of 44 persons in Taraba

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araba State Command of National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA) has secured conviction of 44 persons for drugs related offenses between January 2011 to June 2012.

The NDLEA state commander, Ishaka Yusuf Kwajafa made this known in Jalingo at a news conference to

Lamido urges courts to be just in justice dispensation From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

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overnor Sule Lamido of Jigawa has charged Magistrates throughout the state to be fair and just in dealing with cases before their Courts.

Governor Lamido made the charge while receiving members of the Jigawa branch of

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PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

Lamido’s media aide resigns From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

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L-R: The National Agency for the Control of AIDS’ (NACA) Chief Programme Officer, Support Department, Dr. Miriam Ezekwe, Assistant Chief Communication Officer, Mrs. Toyin Aderibigbe, and Chief Programme Officer, Partnership, Ms. Amen Mafeni, during NACA’s South-east zonal meeting for state AIDS control agencies (SACAS) and local government AIDS control agencies (LACAs), yesterday in Enugu.

Photo: NAN

igawa state governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido’s Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Adagbo Onoja, has resigned from his position.

Reports indicated that the incident occurred a week after the former Special Adviser returned from a study leave where he obtained PhD. Though no reason was given for his exit yet report from the state Government House indicated that Mr. Onoja may have fell out with the governor whom he served for about eight years.

The development came as a surprise to many as Onoja has remained amongst the favorites of the governor before his exit, even as there was lots of pressure on the governor for appointing a non indigene of the state as political office holder.

When contacted, the Chief of staff to Governor Lamido, Alhaji Aminu Ibrahim Ringim confirmed that Mr Onoja has tendered his resignation to the governor.

The Chief of Staff declined to comment on the reasons he gave for the resignation.

Kogi assures non-indigenes Hisba burns 87 cartons of protection of alcohol From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

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on-indigenes living in Kogi state have been assured of adequate protection of lives and property, and equal appointment opportunities under the administration of Governor Idris Wada.

Governor Wada stated this yesterday when he received in audience the representatives of Yoruba Community other than the Okun speaking people of Kogi state, in Lokoja.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Arc Yomi Awoniyi, commended the

people for living in peace with their host communities, noting that despite the high level concentration of different ethnic groups living in Lokoja, the people have co-existed peacefully.

While promising to constitute his cabinet in a couple of days, he assured the people that the expected appointments will accommodate all diverse interests that reside in the state.

On contract awards, the

governor stated that it will no longer be by political consideration but through competitive bidding, and promised to meet the wishes and aspirations of the people.

In his speech, the Oba Yoruba and leader of the delegation, Alhaji Audu Bello, who solicited government support stressing that having lived peacefully with the people since 1896, appointments and other benefits should be on equal footing.

NPC tasks journalists to verify Katsina releases N40m for who stated that 56 water supply handAbdullahi online information pumps boreholes would be

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he Nigerian Press Council (NPC) wants journalists in the country to always verify all the information sourced online.

The Executive Secretary of NPC, Mr. Bayo Atoyebi, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja.

He said the social media have a captivating ability for information dissemination and hence, most people go there to get such.

Atoyebi described the internet as a veritable asset, “but as a journalist, you need to verify the information before putting it in your own medium.

“Most often, the information

pushed out online does not pass what we call the integrity test.”

Atoyebi said the social media had become a gossip platform.

“Some people even refer to the social media as a beer parlour, where you can see everything that happens around the world.”

He held that social media could be a veritable tool but had to be used all the time with circumspection.

Atoyebi said the public should not misconstrue this call to mean censorship of the media.

The NBC boss said the council was determined to ensure that the print media served the public within the context of the code of ethics. (NAN)

From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

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atsina state government has released the sum of N40.8 million as part of its counterpart fund for a joint project with Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), on rural water supply in three local government areas of the state.

A statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the state Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, ( RUWASSA) Alhaji Abubakar Abdullahi, disclosed that the benefitting local governments include, Mashi, Dutsin-ma and Safana.

constructed across these local government areas, disclosed that the programme include the procurement of water tanker, Toyota Hilux and training of personnel.

He noted that already the Japanese agency had planned to drill 92 hand pump boreholes in five local governments as part of its grant in aid and technical cooperation in rural water supply and sanitation to some selected states of the federation.

According to him, the state government under the agreement would drill 93 boreholes in Zango, Sandamu, Rimi, Batsari, Malumfashi and Kafur local governments.

in Daura

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he Katsina state Hisba Group yesterday in Daura burnt 87 cartons of assorted alcohol.

The destruction of the alcohol took place along Mai’adua road, Daura in Katsina state Speaking during the exercise, Alhaji Abdulkadir Ibrahim, Commander of the Hisba Group in the area, said the cartons were intercepted on May 29, at Layi Gawo area of the town.

He said the exercise was in accordance with the order of a Senior Magistrates' Court in Daura.

In his remarks, Alhaji Kabir Royal, Chairman, Daura Local Government Caretaker Committee, who witnessed the burning of the alcohol, expressed appreciation to the Hisba group for carrying out the exercise.

He also expressed the commitment of the council to assist religious and other organisations to develop the area.

The Emir of Daura, Alhaji Faruk Umar, represented by Alhaji lawal Kane the Madauchin Daura thanked the Hisba Group for the exercise and urged the people of the emirate to be patriotic. (NAN)

Kogi CJ solicits cooperation of police on prison decongestion

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he Chief Judge of Kogi, Justice Nasir Ajanah, has solicited the collaboration of the police in the effective administration of justice and decongestion of prisons in the state.

Ajanah made the call when the newly posted Assistant InspectorGeneral of Police (AIG), Zone 8, Mr. Jonathan Johnson, paid him a courtesy visit at the High Court complex yesterday in Lokoja.

He said that the judiciary in

the state was committed to the quick dispensation of justice and required the cooperation of the police, especially in timely completion of their investigations.

“We are all engaged in the business of administration of justice,” he said, adding that the judiciary was also committed to prison de-congestion by ensuring that awaiting trial inmates did not stay in prisons longer than necessary.

Ajanah commended the police for the manner they had handled security issues in the state so far, and said “we are aware of the security challenges, but we know that you are up to the task.”

He particularly commended them and other security agencies for restoring peace to Okene and other parts of the Central Senatorial District of the state where communal and political hostilities were rife.

He promised to ensure continued police-judiciary cordial working relationship in playing their respective constitutional roles of ensuring justice, peace and security in the country.

Earlier, the new AIG, Zone 8, Johnson, said he was on the courtesy visit to the chief judge to introduce himself and his officers and to solicit his advice, suggestions and cooperation.

He said, “We owe it a duty to

pay you a visit to familiarise ourselves with you, seek your advice and suggestions and find possible areas of cooperation in ensuring peace and security of the state.

“The relationship between the police and the judiciary in the state, I was told, has been very cordial.

No report of my men disobeying court orders and processes and we want to consolidate on that.”

(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 11

My company never transacted N2.5bn deal with Akingbola — Witness From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

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he Managing Director of Intercontinental Capital Markets Limited (ICML), a subsidiary of Intercontinental Bank (now Access Bank), Mr. Thomas Ayodele, yesterday concluded his testimony before an Ikeja with a claim that his company (ICML) never had a N2.5 bn business deal with Tropic Finance Limited owned by Dr. Erastus Akingbola, the erstwhile Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank.

Led in evidence by Akingbola's

defence counsel, Mr. Deji Sasegbon,SAN, Ayodele, a defence witness, pointed out that the N2.5 billion, which form part of the contention before the court was a business transactions between his company, ICML and Tropic Security Ltd also owned by Dr Akingbola.

Akingbola was accused by EFCC of alleged stealing of N47.1bn belonging to Intercontinental bank alongside one of his associates, Mr. Bayo Dada.

The witness, who was led in evidence before Justice Habeeb Abiru of an Ikeja High Court, said

neither Akingbola nor his company, Tropic Finance, benefited or were involved in the business transactions between his company (ICML) and its customers.

The defence witness, who also clarified that contrary to the picture painted that the credit line given to his company by the then Intercontinental Bank was meant for Tropical Finance, disclosed that the N2.5 bn was a facility given to another company, Tropical Security, owned by Akingbola which made a repayment with interest at 18 percent rate.

He noted that there were two

separate business transactions involving N2.5 bn each.

Ayodele said there was a transfer involving a fund of N2.5 billion by ICML to the account of Tropics Security Limited, owned

by Akingbola and another N2.5bn kept for "account balance sheet management for year ended."

According to him, “there were two different transactions involving N2.5bn in May 2009.

“One is the facility to Tropics Security and the other N2.5 bn was meant for account balance sheet management for the year end.

“The N2bn involving Tropics

Security was paid back and they paid N35 million as interest. So, they paid N2.3 bn as full and final payment.

“We have letters from Tropical Security requesting for the loan and the one for full and final payment.

“The two cheques were lodged in the account of ICML with Intercontinental Bank, ICB.” Under cross-examination by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, counsel, Mr. Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, the witness admitted that the cheque issued by ICML on the first N2.5 bn business transaction bore the name of Tropics Finance Limited rather than Tropics Security as claimed by him.

Students commend politician for defending Yakowa

N

umana Students Association has commended a leading politician in Sanga local government area of Kaduna state, Hon. Auta Moses Avejagbi for summoning up courage to defend the state’s governor, Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa against the mischievous lies that he has anointed a particular candidate to contest for the chairmanship position of Local Government councils in the forthcoming council elections.

The students, who spoke in a chat with select few journalists through their National President, Comrade Luka Sale Avenzang said, “we, Numana National Students Association hereby concur 100 percent, with the position of Hon. Avejagbi that the governor as a true democrat, leader, mentor and a father of all in the state, cannot support an incompetent and unpopular candidate simply because his (candidate’s) god father donated a paltry sum of money to him during his election in 2011.”

It is an open secret that some businessmen who pretend to be politicians and desperately looking

for ways to invest their money, have been going round intimidating and warning serious and full time politicians that whoever among them that ventured to come out to contest for the chairmanship position of Sanga Local Government, that person is just going to waste his little money and resources because the governor has already endorsed their candidate.

Comrade Avenzang therefore argued that those calling for the head of Hon. Avejagbi for simply defending the governor and assuring politicians, particularly his supporters, that the people spreading those lies against the governor are not actually his friends as they claim but his detractors and opportunists.

The students’ union leader however advised the governor to beware of the Judases and opportunists around him who are not actually with him to help him succeed in efforts to leave an epoch making mark or legacy, as the first executive governor from the southern part of the state but to use his name to achieve their selfish interest.

Why we are yet to flag-off allocation of Lagos homes - Fashola From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

T

he Lagos state Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, on Tuesday gave reasons why the state government has delayed the allocation of homes built under a social housing schemes in the state.

The governor, who fielded questions from newsmen after inspection of some of the on-going housing projects, said the state would soon flag-off the Lagos Homes Ownership Mortgage Schemes (HOMS) to effectively address insufficient housing stock in the state.

Fashola said the existing social housing schemes are located in strategic parts of the state to make

it possible for the inhabitants of the homes to have access to the infrastructure and amenities being provided by the government.

“This is one of the housing components. We have gone to three sites. The Ilupeju sites where we have ten blocks of buildings. Where each blocks has 12 apartments.

Essentially that will house 120 households The one in Mushin where we five blocks. The one in Ikeja GRA has about 76 apartments for 76 households.

There are so many others in other parts of the state.

“What we are just doing is to monitor how much progress the contractors are making and when they are going to finish preparatory to flag-off of the Lagos HOM schemes”.

R-L: Representative of Plateau state Governor, Mrs. Comfort Piwuna, with state NDLEA Commander, Mr. Ralph Igwenagu, during the commemoration of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking, yesterday in Jos. Photo: NAN

Security: Edo Neighbourhood Watch meets security chiefs From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

T

he Neighborhood Watch committee recently set up

by Edo state has embarked on familiarisation visit to the state Police Command, 4 Mechanized Brigade, State Security Service and the Federal Road Safety Corps.

The chairman of the committee, Major-Gen. Charles Omorogie (Rtd), said the visit was to intimate the Security Agencies

of the existence of the Neigbhourhood Watch Committee and to seek their collaboration in achieving their given task.

Omoregie told heads of the security agencies that it was necessary to assist the police saddled with the responsibility of providing policy guide lines for already existing vigilante groups across the State.

He promised that subcommittees would be set up in all

the 3 Senatorial districts of the state and such would be replicated in the local governments and wards.

In his response, the state Commissioner of Police, Olayinka Balogun, said security should start from neigbhourhood as everybody knows his or her neigbhour , “I want to commend the state government for setting up this committee. This committee is a sister body that will help the police function effectively. I want to assure you of my total support but, one area of great importance is coordination and it must start immediately.

FADAMA III disburses N155m to Edo farmers From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 12

EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

N

Needed: A judicial commission of enquiry (II)

ow, however, a new dimension has been added to the continuing narrative of the oil subsidy scam, which has called to question the credibility of the House probe report. Mr. Otedola has claimed giving Hon. Lawan, the probe committee chairman, 620,000 dollars, as part of an agreed $3 million bribery deal to get his company’s name struck off the list of the guilty oil marketing concerns. Lawan first denied the claim, but later admitted to having collected $500,000 from Mr. Otedola. It was, we are told, a sting operation, in which everything was recorded on video and audio. And there are other equally disturbing allegations too, that mind boggling sums in bribe money have been sought and received by the committee from other oil marketers.

The Nigerian public has yet to be shown the video. But, the world over, what makes a sting operation of this nature worth the name and the effort, is that the receiver is caught redhanded, at the very minute and place of receiving the bribe from the giver. It was not so in this case. And this fact in itself calls to question the whole credibility and integrity of the operation.

This, however, in no way suggests that bribes have not been sought and/ or offered and received by the main actors during the probe. We believe, in fact, that this was made inevitable by the terrible combination of greed, political ambition, and the desperate fight for survival that was at play in this whole affair. After all, as we all

know, our politics bristles with corruption, and the oil business is not a game played by saints.

It seems to us, that the government, seeing the probe as part of a wider conspiracy to undermine, or even oust it, was desperate to bring the probe and its handlers under a cloud of doubts and suspicion; that the ruling party, the

“

The government, seeing the probe as part of a wider conspiracy to undermine, or even oust it, was desperate to bring the probe and its handlers under a cloud of doubts and suspicion PDP, knowing that revelations of fraud by its chieftains and financiers will further scandalise and leave it bereft of any patches of moral authority, was determined to do anything to avoid such a fate; that the oil marketers, viewing the probe as a threat to their very survival in the business, are even more desperate than the government to compromise the committee members and thereby dent the credibility of the

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”

probe; and that, therefore, all these forces, in a convergence of interests, came together and exploited Hon. Lawan’s greed for money to oil his political ambition.

While it can hardly be said that these forces have succeeded in diverting the public’s attention from the fact that the nation’s N2.6 trillion has been stolen, or in making the public’s fury over this theft less focused than it now is, we must admit the fact that the credibility of the report has been seriously dented.

Many weighty voices are still calling for the full implementation of the report’s recommendations. And, on its part, the government is saying it will do so. But we know better than to believe the government on this matter.

Besides, given what has so far been revealed and alleged in this affair, it is difficult to say for sure, the extent to which the report has been, or has not been compromised.

Given all this, what we believe is required in the circumstance is the setting up of a judicial commission that will conduct a root-and- branch enquiry into this sordid affair. The commission’s terms of reference should include the recently discovered fraud, by a Senate committee, in the assessment and payment of petroleum equalisation funds to oil marketers. The report of such a commission is sure to have more credibility, and the government will find it much more difficult to ignore or discard than that of the Lawan-led committee.

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PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

By Kolawole Olaniyan, PhD

O

ne year ago, when President Goodluck Jonathan assumed office, he identified persistent violence and crime as one major problem confronting the country and promised to “confront this threat against our collective peace and security, and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

However, evidence shows increasing violence and crime, leading to unnecessary loss of lives and property.

Amnesty International’s research indicates that several hundred people have been killed in politically-motivated, communal and sectarian violence across Nigeria in the past year.

Yet the Nigerian authorities have failed to investigate the killings, bring suspected perpetrators to justice, or indeed prevent further abuse. To date, few arrests have been made and few people held accountable for their deaths. In failing to put in place credible measures to prevent killings, and fully investigate and punish perpetrators, the Nigerian authorities have neither respected, nor met their obligations to exercise due diligence to protect human rights.

By all accounts, either the President has failed to make good on his promise, or the actions his government has taken in this respect are woefully inadequate.

Clearly, mere promises are not enough. The government must match its words with serious and concrete action.

In fact, the inadequacy of the government’s approach to security is evident at several stages: shortcomings in the prevention of violence, lack of adequate victim support and access to remedies, and a serious dearth of resources and political will to investigate incidents of violence. Equally disturbingly,

PAGE 13

Why government should ensure the security of citizens corruption seems to be present and potentially widespread in law enforcement, eroding the citizenry’s trust in the rule-of-law and contributing to a sense of lawlessness that leads to more violence and abuse.

To be sure, violence and crime are longstanding problems in Nigeria that predate this administration. However, it is the primary duty of any government to guarantee the security of the population, and the absence of concrete measures has contributed to the continuation of violence.

The government’s failure on internal security is also a serious breach of the government’s human rights obligations and commitments, including under the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Nigeria is a state party. In addition, Nigeria has made the African Charter part of its domestic laws.

Both the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights guarantee the right to life, physical integrity, and liberty, as well as rights related to due process. As a corollary, the government is required to ensure the effective functioning and operation of governmental apparatus and, in general, all the structures through which public power is exercised, so that it is capable of ensuring the free and full enjoyment of all human rights for all.

These Charter-based obligations must be performed in good faith, in keeping with Articles 26, 27 and 31 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

security.”

According to the Commission, “national security examines how the State protects the physical integrity of its citizens from external threats, such as invasion, terrorism, and violence. Individual security on the other hand can be looked at in two angles - public and private security. By public security, the law examines how the State protects the physical integrity of its citizens from abuse by official authorities, and by private security, the law examines how the State protects the physical integrity of its citizens from abuse

directly: the government must also adopt specific measures to actively protect and fulfil the right to life for everyone, regardless of their specific vulnerability or situation. A key part of the government obligation is to ensure that no one is deprived of his or her life arbitrarily.

One way to comply with these positive obligations in the area of citizens’ security and safety would be for the government to monitor, evaluate, and improve the effectiveness of its law enforcement and security agencies. This will be an

politicized and I stand to be corrected; anyone who thinks otherwise should send on a rejoinder.

The morning started as normal, but this one had a loaded package wrapped. It turned out to be a day I finally would get a chance to do a modicum of what I perpetually marveled at.

I am hardly on a road intersecting three amalgamating States.

I journeyed from Federal Capital Territory through Nasarawa state to the food basket of the nation, Benue state. Its capital, Makurdi was my destination.

I arrived at just about 2pm and was received by my host. He was doing a research and aware of my flair for content development, invited me for brainstorm. I gladly obliged; it was the little I could do for a good friend. Besides, the title of a private consultant on a study was itself flattering.

I had an appointment the following day and so decided to leave Makurdi that evening. I could not get a direct bus back to

Abuja so I joined a cab to Lafia with the hope of joining another to the nation’s capital.

I reached Lafia quarter pass 9pm. It was late whereas I remained optimistic. The loading cab was a grey Peugeot 505 wagon, it takes nine commuters but we were just four yet. The driver assured we would hit the road provided that at least three more joined up. We did not get one.

The time was few minutes to 11pm and the prospect of moving dashed. I stepped out of the car to look for someplace to have my phone charged. The battery was by now all but drained; the music player was on all along.

Luckily, one was not far-off.

The kiosk was situated where I could easily get a wide view of the vicinity. The owner is a young man named Chuks. He is of Igbo extraction but speaks English and Hausa fluently. He works from mid-day through the night. With him sat a little boy of about twelve. I wondered what a kid of that age was doing there at such ungodly hour. Before

long, I realized he was Chuks’ assistant; you can imagine how miffed I was.

In a little while, I began a tete-a-tete with my new friend – solace from the clutch of an infuriating stopover. We chatted at large, from the perceptible unemployment that forced him to his present occupation to the gloomy insecurity in the land. He spent more time-sharing his experience and how dependent siblings count upon his financial assistance. From all he said, it wasn’t difficult to deduce that he’s a workaholic who must make ends meet.

Then he deviated and lightened up the chat by inserting ‘pidgin English’. “Hmm my guy, no be small thing dey happen for here at night-o. No worry, I go gist you well well. All you need do is hang around, you will see for yourself. In fact you no need go far sef, a short walk around will reveal things,” he assured. “The atmosphere is peaceful, though not totally free of unscrupulous elements.”

I became interested in his

As noted, of particular importance to Nigeria’s current state of insecurity are the rights to security and life.

On the right to security of the person, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the body charged with the responsibility to oversee states parties’ compliance with the African Charter has interpreted this right to include “the right to national and individual

by other citizens (third parties or non-state actors).”

Regarding the right to life, this right is central both to the Constitution and the African Charter. It is a right that cannot be suspended even in case of war, public danger or other threats to the independence or security of the States Parties. As with other human rights, it is not sufficient for the government to abstain from infringing this right

“

To be sure, violence and crime are longstanding problems in Nigeria that predate this administration. However, it is the primary duty of any government to guarantee the security of the population, and the absence of concrete measures has contributed to the continuation of violence

important first step for the President to start discharging his election promises.

In addition, the government must truly make security and safety of those who live in Nigeria a public policy priority by tackling the root cause of violence and crime, which is extreme poverty and lack of opportunities and freedom for people to seek personal development and prosperity.

Victims of violence and crimes must have effective access to legal and health services, and should have access to an effective remedy, including reparation.

The government should also ensure that law enforcement and security agencies have the personnel and infrastructure to provide quality services without discrimination or distinction.

In implementing these steps, the government must also uphold the rule of law and respect for human rights in its law enforcement response to violence and crime in the country.

Preventing and combating violence and crime must not put security before human rights, which can lead to erosion of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms of the citizens.

Absent a serious political investment in public security with respect for all human rights, the government cannot secure effective protection of the right to life, liberty and security of the person. Indeed, true security requires full protection of all human rights for all.

Olaniyan is Legal Adviser, International Secretariat of Amnesty International, London

At sunset, vice wake in Lafia

By Wale Odunsi

I

have since time immemorial fancied investigative articles.

Not only do they depict a detailed story, they provide the reader graphic description of the circumstance.

Aside from that, they cause varying reactions, which usually lead to intense deliberations among family, friends and colleagues.

My mentor is the awardwinning super-writer, Musikilu Mojeed. My admiration for this genius dates back many years. If truly the country’s national merit award is meant for individuals that have distinguished themselves in their chosen fields. I recommend Mr. Mojeed for such recognition. But he may never get it and I will give reasons to buttress.

One, he is a courageous and forthright journalist whose stance mostly embarrass the high and mighty ‘big men’. By this, I mean he is a thorn in the flesh of the ruling class. Two, the award is nowadays irksomely

suggestion. The invitation was honestly hard to refuse; a clear opportunity to do an unintended investigation presented itself.

Midnight crawled in. Poor me, exhausted and famished; eyes were heavy too. Without delay, I arose and asked for where to get abinchi (meal). Pointing to the other side of the road, Chuks directed me to a well-lit stall. I crossed over walking at a snail’s pace, my legs as heavy like limbs of mahogany.

The soft local music from the transistor radio welcomed me.

Having lived in the North for thirteen months, I understand the basics so I exchange pleasantries with the maishayi (male cook) and sited customers in the indigenous dialect. I requested noodles, fried egg and hot tea and in less than thirty minutes, my order was ready.

And with just N300 only, my tummy gauge read ‘full’ from hitherto ‘reserve’.

I left after relaxing awhile but did not return straight away to the parking garage. I made a Continued on page 14

PAGE 14

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

Corruption in Ghana, Nigeria: Where Rawlings comes in (I)

By Samuel K. Obour

I

was writing an article commending Nigeria on her military strides in the subregion, especially after she deployed troops to Guinea Bissau to help protect lives and property. And I was making considerable progress when I heard the news. The devastating news: A plane flying from Abuja had crashed into a residential building in Lagos, killing 153 people aboard and an unspecified number of people on the ground.

I stopped writing immediately; I could no longer commend a government that was protecting lives in a foreign country, but had failed to protect the lives of its citizenry.

It emerged, rather agonizingly, in the following days that the crashed plane, belonging to Dana Air, was in no condition to fly - at all. It was a flying coffin.

The foregoing conclusion is supported strongly be a

By Adebowale Adejugbe Liberty is the right to do what the law permits. ~ Montesquieu

A

lady was used as the display picture on a friend’s blackberry messenger recently with an earlier status saying her husband had beaten her. It turned out to be a different story entirely as the picture depicts someone that was involved in an accident, but it provoked an argument/ discussion on the subject of domestic violence. A heated argument ensued on the issue of a spousal abuse that occured at shoprite, where the husband turned “Jackie Chan” on the wife.

and utter transcript of desperate, last profit-inclined airline gambled commitment, minute conversations between with the lives of Nigerians. Now, ineptitude that have plagued governments and the pilots of the plane and Air at least 163 people are dead, African Traffic Controllers at the Murtala including a family of nine. An institutions for decades.

Corruption has especially Mohammed Airport. atmosphere of fear and panic has The transcript revealed that also been created among air been endemic, eating into the very fabric of the plane had society and had “dual d e p r i v i n g e n g i n e millions of failure”. This o r d i n a r y was affirmed Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text Africans of much clearly by the messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written needed economic pilots on the contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 a n d p l a n e words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and infrastructural themselves. a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed development.

It is Selfish and regrettable to: self-seeking a n d public officials unpardonable The Editor, continue to that the Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, aggressively Nigerian Civil 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. serve their A v i a t i o n Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com p a r o c h i a l Authority SMS: 07037756364 interests at the ( N C A A ) expense of the joy criminally failed to institute measures that travelers within and outside the and fulfillment of millions of Africans; sometimes, at the would have helped identify and country. impound the sick plane before it It is an unfortunate expense of human lives.

While many of us are could wreak havoc. development which exemplifies The aviation authority, which the massive corruption, making the effort to affect itself is sick, sat idly by as a foreign, mismanagement, non- positive change within our

societies, and at least guarantee a better future for our children, these officials are satanically and sophomorically undermining our efforts.

An example each in Ghana and Nigeria should suffice.

Farouk Lawal had been a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives (an MP) since 1999. He was so highly esteemed that he was made Chairman of a Parliamentary committee to investigate what Nigerians now call the ‘fuel subsidy scam’, after it emerged that some oil marketers had collected oil subsidy money from government, but had failed to supply fuel.

Farouk was mandated by the Nigerian people to simply identify marketers that received monies but failed to supply fuel.

Farouk, according to reports, appeared to perform this task diligently, and soon discovered that some companies had brazenly stolen an astonishing

A friend of mine on hearing about the public chinese film acted by the husband on his wife asked about the woman’s offence, so that we could judge the merit of the case.

I had to ask him if it was justified for a man to beat his wife, to which he said YES and proceeded to give me an example of what the woman could have done to deserve a merciless and thoroughly embarrassing beating at Shoprite.

He said the wife could have embarrassed the husband or

somehow disrespected him. He went further by saying women deserved to be beaten to make them “tow the line” and respect their husband’s wishes because sometimes they needed it.

Another twist was that his fiancée was there. She added her two cents to the discussion by telling me its normal for guys to beat their spouses. It generated a lot of bad blood and tension because I was of the opposing view which I defended vehemently. I’d rather

lose a friend than compromise my principle because I wanted to make him feel justified or cool by endorsing spousal abuse. Not even if his fiancée supports domestic abuse which he confirmed to everyone there. He even described how it happened and put one of the episodes down as testing her perseverance and reaction when abused.

I understand people have opposing views on these situations, I even understand

why people have to do it sometimes (which I’ll explain later on) but I don’t support, endorse or would ever see it as appropriate irrespective of what anyone thinks.

Let’s get some facts.

Using helpguide.com’s description: Domestic abuse, also known as spousal abuse, occurs when one person in an intimate relationship or marriage tries to dominate and control the other

I thought of scolding the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency then I paused and weighed it. In fairness, the bureau cannot be all over the place.

Moving further, what clearly was another shocker was waiting for me. Strolling in between some vehicles, I heard inaudible noises - soft moan precisely. And having masterly performing my dramatic art earlier, I trusted my skill so I made another faux call.

The faint sounds grew loud; I ogled, with utmost attention.

Much to my disgust, a public transport-vehicle, the same we embark during the day was made a mobile brothel!

My friend had disclosed that drivers, traders and park workers engage young girls – some married – in illicit sex every night. “I have doubts they use protection”, I asked rhetorically.

He smile derisively and jokingly retorted, “Maybe you should ask them, they sure have the answer”. Instantaneously, we broke into a peal of laughter that engulfed us for roughly twenty seconds or so.

I went back to the park to ensure my belongings were intact. Quickly, I perceived an offensive smell coming from my west. Four men sat on a bench, leaning their backs against a bus.

I alighted from the car and also leaned.

Enter a middle-aged man who equally distributed can drinks and bottled-syrup. They opened the drinks, carefully poured a small quantity of the syrup and drank even as they smoked grass.

I was stunned. If men who ought to be custodians of morals and role models for their offspring are indulging in such unlawful act,

then the crux of parenthood is trounced.

Morning was drawing nigh.

I visited Chuks for the last time paying N50 for the full-charge of my handset. He took it out from a wooden locker he fought to unlock. “Why this stress” I queried “Bros, you see sometimes when I forget to bolt this thing I end of having a case of theft. But what can I do” his restrained voice crammed with pity.

“Please, don’t be careless with your luggage, a con man might just be lurking around” he concluded.

I felt the chills down my spine, coupled with the pain of missing a life and death password. The warning came rather late; knowing my personal effects might be at risk abruptly ended the thirst for more of Lafia fiction.

At last my expedition recommenced; a relief to long intriguing hours of darkness. As I left the district where obnoxious characters are always on the prowl, where daytime traders turn prostitutes at night and where boys and men freely take hard drugs as though it were NAFDAC approved; I held a minute silence in my heart because I fear for the tomorrow of this country.

A man must not swallow his cough because he fears to disturb others. We must assiduously talk about the ills of the society while seeking out ways to tackle; it is real and must not be overlooked.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”-Martin Luther King.

Wale Odunsi can be reached at wodunsi@yahoo.com

WRITE TO US

Continued on page 15

My wife, my property: Our society and domestic violence

Continued on page 15

At sunset, vice wake in Lafia Continued from page 13

detour to the livelier adjoining street – a harmless stroll at 1am on chilly night didn’t seem like a bad idea.

By the sharp bend of the route were some young adults; the oldest must be my age. They gathered round the bonnet of an Opel Vectra. Atop were brightcolored papers with powdery stuff on it, which I presumed was an illegal substance. The illumination from their handsets gave them away. Out of sheer curiosity, I brought out my other phone, dialed my second line and positioned like I was making a call. They snuffled one after the other, intermittently exploding in jeers and laughter; this went on for till I proceeded seven to eight minutes later. It was obvious; they were high on hard drugs.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

By Kolawole Olaniyan, PhD

O

ne year ago, when President Goodluck Jonathan assumed office, he identified persistent violence and crime as one major problem confronting the country and promised to “confront this threat against our collective peace and security, and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

However, evidence shows increasing violence and crime, leading to unnecessary loss of lives and property.

Amnesty International’s research indicates that several hundred people have been killed in politically-motivated, communal and sectarian violence across Nigeria in the past year. Yet the Nigerian authorities have failed to investigate the killings, bring suspected perpetrators to justice, or indeed prevent further abuse.

To date, few arrests have been made and few people held accountable for their deaths. In failing to put in place credible

PAGE 15

Why government should ensure the security of citizens (I) measures to prevent killings, and fully investigate and punish perpetrators, the Nigerian authorities have neither respected, nor met their obligations to exercise due diligence to protect human rights.

By all accounts, either the President has failed to make good on his promise, or the actions his government has taken in this respect are woefully inadequate.

Clearly, mere promises are not enough. The government must match its words with serious and concrete action.

In fact, the inadequacy of the government’s approach to security is evident at several stages: shortcomings in the prevention of violence, lack of adequate victim support and access to remedies, and a serious

dearth of resources and political will to investigate incidents of violence. Equally disturbingly, corruption seems to be present and potentially widespread in law enforcement, eroding the citizenry’s trust in the rule-of-law and contributing to a sense of lawlessness that leads to more violence and abuse.

To be sure, violence and crime are longstanding problems in Nigeria that predate this administration. However, it is the primary duty of any government to guarantee the security of the population, and the absence of concrete measures has contributed to the continuation of violence.

The government’s failure on internal security is also a serious breach of the government’s human rights obligations and

commitments, including under the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Nigeria is a state party. In addition, Nigeria has made the African Charter part of its domestic laws.

Both the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights guarantee the right to life, physical integrity, and liberty, as well as rights related to due process. As a corollary, the government is required to ensure the effective functioning and operation of governmental apparatus and, in general, all the structures through which public power is exercised, so that it is capable of ensuring the free and full enjoyment of all human rights for all.

These Charter-based obligations must be performed in good faith, in keeping with Articles 26, 27 and 31 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

As noted, of particular importance to Nigeria’s current state of insecurity are the rights to security and life.

On the right to security of the person, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the body charged with the responsibility to oversee states parties’ compliance with the African Charter has interpreted this right to include “the right to national and individual security.”

Olaniyan is Legal Adviser, International Secretariat of Amnesty International, London

My wife, my property: Our society and domestic violence Continued from page 14

person. Domestic abuse that includes physical violence is called domestic violence.

Domestic violence and abuse are used for one purpose and one purpose only: to gain and maintain total control over you.

An abuser doesn’t “play fair.”

Abusers use fear, guilt, shame, and intimidation to wear you down and keep you under his or

her thumb. Your abuser may also threaten you, hurt you, or hurt those around you.

Domestic violence and abuse does not discriminate. It happens among heterosexual couples and in same-sex partnerships. It occurs within all age ranges, ethnic backgrounds, and economic levels. And while women are more commonly victimized, men are also abused—

especially verbally and emotionally, although sometimes even physically as well. The bottom line is that abusive behaviour is never acceptable, whether it’s coming from a man, a woman, a teenager, or an older adult. You deserve to feel valued, respected and safe.

Conclusively, I promised to explain why I understand their justification for doing it

sometimes. People who find it hard to deal with anger and frustration constructively, often channels such to their spouses. In effect it glaringly betrays them as weak, unreasonable and incompetent. Spousal abuse to me, betrays a weak individual trying to mask his weakness by all means necessary including physical and emotional abuse.

As a man, imagine giving

your daughter out in marriage and the husband continuously destroy her confidence by abusing her in all forms possible (beating inclusive). How would you feel?

Why do it to someone else’s daughter?

Please, let’s make our world a better place.

Adebowale Adejugbe can be reached on twitter (@deboadejugbe)

Corruption in Ghana, Nigeria: Where Rawlings comes in (I) Continued from page 14

two trillion Naira ($12, 270,000,000) in fuel subsidy money.

The ‘honourable’ Member of Parliament proceeded to make recommendations as to how the monies could be recovered, and the companies punished. He made statements to the media detailing how his committee would ensure that the ‘corrupt’ companies were prosecuted according to the laws of the country.

Many Nigerians accepted the report and began calling for the prosecution of companies that were indicted.

However, in a shocking and utterly incomprehensible move, Farouk went behind Nigerians to solicit bribes from some of the indicted companies in exchange for having those companies struck off the list. He grabbed an astonishing $620,000 from one of the oil marketers - part payment for the $3 million bribe he demanded - and struck the company’s name off the list.

Long story short, the law caught up with our ‘honourable’ MP, because the marketer had liaised with the Nigerian security services and captured the entire transaction on video.

Farouk has been arrested and is expected to face prosecution, but his criminal behaviour has severely undermined the authenticity of the findings of the parliamentary committee he

headed.

As things stand, I’m certain that those findings will crumble in the face of legal scrutiny, and Nigerians many never get to find the thieves behind the ‘fuel subsidy scam’. Farouk’s criminal action has also dented the confidence many Nigerians reposed in the Nigerian legislature and undermined the integrity of the body. All these, because a lawmaker who should have known better, betrayed the Nigerian people by putting his interest ahead of the nation’s.

In Ghana, we all saw how Alfred Agbesi Woyome, a businessman and reported financier of the ruling National Democratic Government (NDC), engineered the release of about GHC51 million ($27,000,000) in judgement debt from the government.

Woyome was awarded the money after he went to court on utterly false premises, as affirmed by the immediate past Attorney General, Mr Martin Amidu, who was fired by President Mills for apparently opening his mouth too wide on the Woyome situation.

At least two others with knowledge on the situation have testified in court that Woyome neither had any contract with the government nor did he do any work for the government for which he deserved payment.

Instead of fighting back in the interest of Ghanaians, the

Attorney General’s department inimically allowed Woyome to have his way in court. Indeed, the Department agreed to part with the said GHC51 million ($27, 000,000) to have the case removed from court.

This happened in 2010, and it has taken bravery on the part of an opposition MP, Mr Kennedy Agyapong, to blow the alarm on the situation this year.

Investigations by Ghana’s Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) revealed the Woyome had paid $400,000 in bribe to the Chief State Attorney at the time.

There are also widespread reports that Woyome connived with some high ranking people in government to rob the country of that huge amount. The former AG, Martin Amidu, seems to think

so too.

The government has now capriciously turned around to charge Woyome with ‘willfully causing financial loss to the state’ as part of efforts to retrieve the money.

Bluemurder proscribed capital punishment for corrupt politicians and individuals in Nigeria. According to him, the practice had helped China curb corruption tremendously and should be considered in Africa.

In the past, many wouldn’t hesitate to dismiss this suggestion, but in the face of the unprecedented corruption and greed that have enveloped many African countries and crippled their economies, it is only a matter of time before people become more and more amenable to the idea.

“

Indeed, some Nigerians have prescribed a similar cure to their corruption menace. I’m sure they understand what such a cure means for some former Heads of State and Presidents who are believed to have stolen billions of dollars from the Nigerian treasury

It reminds me of Rawlings’ Ghana in the late 70s, and the 80s, where individuals deemed to be corrupt were convicted by the courts and shot at the stakes.

Many top military men, including three former heads of state; politicians, public servants; private citizens were convicted, and shot for engaging in acts that were deemed by the courts to be inimical to the national interest.

Indeed, some Nigerians have prescribed a similar cure to their corruption menace. I’m sure they understand what such a cure means for some former Heads of State and Presidents who are believed to have stolen billions of dollars from the Nigerian treasury.

In Rawlings’ Ghana, even people who could not explain how they came by their property and the monies in their bank accounts were not spared. They were either imprisoned or shot. Many fled the country. Corruption was virtually uprooted.

A fundamental question thus arises: Do we still need a Rawlings to introduce or restore sanity to our politics? I will be considering this in the second part of this article.

Samuel K. Obour, a Ghanaian journalist based in Accra can be reached at Email: Samuel@GhanaReporters.com and Twitter: @SamuelObour

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

Banker carts away customer’s N1m

By Kerem Kurugh

A

35-year-old banker in Zenith Bank, Malik Luke has been arraigned at an Abuja Chief Magistrates Court for allegedly carting away the sum of N1, 000,000.00, belonging to a customer of the bank.

Luke, a resident of Pegi in Kuje

Area Council, the Police Prosecutor, Udeh David told the court, was reported at police station by one Peter Osalor of Ekuru Close, Maitama in Abuja on June, 21 2012.

The complainant was said to have entrusted the sum of N1, 000,000.00 to the accused to deposit into B.E.I. Nwafor and Co. Zenith bank account number

1010475602 for him, but the banker defaulted.

The prosecutor explained that the complainant only discovered this when he wanted to make withdrawal of the money subsequently, as the account was empty.

The accused pleaded guilty to the charge. In view of the plea, the prosecutor prayed the court

A bricklayer doing what he knows best at Federal Housing Estate Abuja.

to fix a date to hear the matter.

Magistrate Folashade Oyekan, therefore granted him bail in the sum of N1.5m with two reliable sureties, one of which must be a civil servant and must have assets, property worth N1.5m or salary worth N1.5m.

She adjourned the case to July 4, 2012 for hearing.

Photo: Joe Oroye

NTDC wants FCTA to organize Abuja Carnival

By Miriam Humbe

T

he Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, Otunba Runsewe has suggested that the of the annual Abuja Carnival should be organised by the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

Runsewe made the call during a visit by a delegation from the FCT Tourism

Department led by the Director, Mallam Abdulsalam Yahaya.

According to him, the FCT is better placed to bring its unique input and strategic role in the federal capital to bear in the organisation of the carnival instead of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation which is presently saddled with the responsibility.

Among other observations, the NTDC chief said that exorbitant taxes on hospitality

outfits should be reduced, maintaining that they help to grow the economy hence, should enjoy some concession in tax rebate.

Runsewe also advocated the establishment of a tourism village in Abuja to be sited in Ushafa, stressing that South Africa has a similar model called “Lesedi Village” which showcases its cultural uniqueness while generating income for its economy via

tourist traffic from around the world.

He promised to sustain the working relationship with the FCT Tourism Department, especially with the coming on board of Mallam Yahaya for development.

Expressing his satisfaction with the insight of Runsewe, Yahaya said the visit was to seek further synergy and cooperation between both bodies.

‘Rumoured N300m donation attempt to blackmail FCT minister’

By Josephine Ella

A

non-governmental organisation (NGO), StandNigeria has described as baseless and a cheap blackmail, rumour of a purported donation of N300 million by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Mohammed, allegedly to support the building of a mosque in Bauchi state.

The National Chairman of the NGO, Dike Chigbue, who made this declaration at a press briefing in Abuja, urged those behind such rumour to desist and rather channel their efforts in supporting the minister to make the nation’s capital the pride of Africa.

He said there is no iota of truth in the story, stressing that the story is the hand work of detractors, who are deliberately out to do anything to ensure that the FCT fails.

“Senator Mohammed is a well respected man. He is a man of integrity and all his efforts to make Abuja a beautiful city has been recognised by all. I don’t see any reason why anyone would stoop so low to try to drag him into such.

When did B.B. Dogo become a tool for assessing public office holders that he would even have the guts to call for the sack of Mohammed? Does he have the moral standing to call for his sack? Residents of FCT are not complaining about the minister’s performance, so why should Dogo reduce himself to this?,” he said referring to the statement by the self acclaimed PDP chieftain in some national dailies.

Dogo had called for the sack of the minister on ground of poor performance, doling out money for renovation of a mosque, buying cars, seats to Hajj for his cronies, allotting unspecified plots of lands in Abuja to his cronies for his political ambition in 2015?.

As a chieftain of the PDP as Dogo claimed, one would expect him to be discipline and speak with caution but he speaks from both sides of his mouth. He should focus his attention on pressing matters engulfing the nation.

Furniture maker dupes client of cash, two sets of chairs

By Kerem Kurugh

A

furniture man, John Adebayo, 38, has been sentenced to two months imprisonment by an Abuja Chief Magistrate’s Court for duping his client of N150, 000.00 and two sets of chair.

The Police Prosecutor, Mr.

Christopher Roko told the court that the case was reported to the Utako police station by one Mrs. Amina Ibrahim of Makeni Street, Zone 6 in Abuja on June, 23, 2012.

According to the prosecutor, the complainant said that she gave the Adebayo, a resident of Gauraka, along Kaduna, Lokoja Expressway two sets of chairs and a deposit of

N150, 000.00 for the renewal of the chairs.

Rook explained that He added that Makeni gave the accused N150, 000.00 as part payment for the job out of the total sum of N180,000.00 that she was charged to pay for the chairs.

The accused was said to have demanded that she pay the

balance so he could complete the work, however, despite the payment, he neither produced the first set of chairs nor the second.

He said that, during police investigation, the accused could not produce the said chairs nor the money which he had converted to his own personal use.

Adebayo pleaded guilty as

charged before the court presided

by Chief Magistrate Folashade Oyekan, who in her ruling, sentenced him to two months imprisonment without option of fine.

He was also ordered by the court to pay a compensation of N150,000.00 and give back the two chairs to the complainant.

PAGE 18

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

FCTA sets to recruit 600 drivers •••Interview for applicants Saturday

T

he Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company Limited has concluded plans to employ 600 drivers to drive the 391 new mass transit buses purchased by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

The FCTA Head of Operations, Mr Eddie Ajon, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

He said that the company would conduct interviews for the drivers on Saturday, June 30 at the office premises.

Ajon said that the buses were purchased by the FCTA to promote effective urban transportation system in the city and to create employment for the youth.

He said that two drivers would be attached to a bus for effective service delivery in the

capital city.

He said that the company was unable to maintain buses purchased during the el-Rufai administration due to lack of funds.

His words: “We were unable to maintain el-Rufai buses because the transport fares we were charging then were not commensurate with what we were spending to maintain the buses.

But, for the new buses, the FCT administration has agreed to subsidise it, the subsidy will cover some areas where passengers are not many. The FCTA said that we should not leave any area untouched, such as Gudu areas, Gwarimpa, Lokogoma, among others in Abuja. This is why the subsidy will be introduced”.

He said that each bus with 56 seats would be distributed on

the basis of population in the designated areas.

According to him, e-ticket will be used by passengers to pay for their fares and the cards will be available in banks, shops, bus stops, among others.

“We have installed the epayment devices in all the buses so that drivers will not be looking for change and to reduce sharp practice among the drivers,” he said.. (NAN)

Man arraigned over land scam

By Kerem Kurugh

A

35-year-old man, Solomon Ota of Karu Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Abuja has been arraigned at an Abuja Chief Magistrate’s Court in connection with a land scam.

The accused person, who was arraigned on-one-count charge of theft, which contravenes Section 312 of the penal code, had been reported at the Utako police post by one Ude Vitalis of Moses Kurume in crescent Utako on June, 1, 2012.

The prosecutor, Christopher Roko told the court that sometimes in May, 20 2012 and June, 22 2012 respectively, the complainant was entrusted with the sum of N690,000.00 to facilitate the purchase of two plots of lands at Kurudu district in Abuja.

He further told the court that the accused went ahead to give the complainant the original papers and receipt of plot 555, Cadastral Zone, Kurudu and plot 396/397, which he could not take legal possession of.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charged. In view of the plea, the prosecutor prayed the court to fix a date to hear the matter.

Magistrate Mimi Katsina Alu granted the accused bail in the sum of N100, 000.00 and one surety who must reside within the jurisdiction of the court.

She adjourned the case to July, 7, 2012 for hearing.

What a dangerous ride: A trailer overloaded with passengers, along Zuba road in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Missionary society ordains 7 priests

By Usman Shuaibu The Missionary Society of St Paul of Nigeria has ordained seven priests, who have completed their Priestly Ordination work at the National Missionary Seminary of St. Paul Gwagwalada in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The colourful occasion which was held at the seminary’s premises in Gwagwalada attracted the parents of the Priests.

Speaking to Journalists at the occasion, the Ordaining Prelate, Archbishop of Johannesburg from South African, Rev. Buti Tihagale urged the ordained priests to be committed to service of God all the times.

According to him, he who is the leader of the people must realise that he is to be a servant to many, calling on the ordained priests to carry out their selfless service with the fear of God. Answering a question on

the perpetual bomb blasts in Nigeria, the Archbishop appealed to security agents to swing into action to fish out the perpetrators, noting out that the bomb blasts have claimed a lot of lives in the country.

On his part, the rector of the National Missionary Seminary of St Paul, Gwagwalada, Rev. Fr Martin Yina advised the graduating priests to apply simplicity to their commitments in all ramifications.

Commenting on corruption

which has eaten deeply into the fabric of the nation, Yina noted that there are some men and women who have been sacrificing their life for the betterment of the country.

The seven ordained priests include Rev. Francis Arinze Ayogu, Rev. Garuba Godwin Asatomegbe, Rev. Ime Lawrence Okon Inyang, Rev. Victor Omoagie Samugana, Rev. Johnson Ijeanyi Ugwu, Rev. Emmanuel Teryima Gusha and Rev. Inok Timothy Afok Peter.

Devt. Control sets up standard to enhance quality environment

By Josephine Ella

T

he Development Control department of the Abuja M e t r o p o l i t a n Management Council (AMMC) has developed polices initiatives and standards to enhance the overall quality of the environment in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Speaking during a meeting with District and Site Officers from the department, the Director of the Development Control, TPL Yahaya Yusuf, charged them to redouble their efforts to ensure that all standards developed as routine environmental quality indices are pursued to logical conclusion.

A statement by the Public

Relations Officers (PRO) of the Development Control quoted Yusuf to have said this is aimed at rejuvenating the overall landscape of the territory for living, working, recreation and interaction.

The director, who urged the District and Site Officers not to relent in their efforts in implementing the Abuja Master Plan, saying their

performance would be measured on briefs received for the purpose of comparison in the areas of number of building plans processed, total revenue generated within district per month.

They include enforcement of fenceless frontage in commercial buildings within existing fences, r e v a l i d a t i o n of approved building plans

that have lapsed, redecoration of worn-out buildings.

Others are discovery of weak buildings and integrity testing to conclusion, preventing the re-emergence of illegal structures in areas they were removed, prevention of any new change of use, routing removal of Shanties and removal of illegal bill boards.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 17

When will this agony end? People queuing to buy kerosene on Tuesday at NNPC Mega station, Central Area, Abuja.

A woman eke out living from roasting fresh fish for sale, yesterday at New Nyanya, along Masaka- Keffi road, Abuja.

An Okada rider with his passenger trying to divert from traffic jam, yesterday along Maraba road, in Abuja

A young woman in search of fire wood as an alternative to kerosene, yesterday in Central Area, Abuja.

Photos: Mahmud Isa

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

Email: amunuimam@yahoo.co.uk

PAGE 19

INSIDE - Pg 21 Metering plans to go under review, NERC

Mob: 08033644990

Abuja Urban Mass Transit Company luxury bus

‘Mass Transit system to be private sector-driven’

By Abdurahman Abduraheem

T

he Federal Government is working out modalities that will ensure that the Mass Transit system being put in place will be wholly private sector driven, with minimal government participation.

This was made known Tuesday, by the Vice President, Arc Mohammed Namadi Sambo during the meeting of the Presidential Committee on Mass Transit at the State House, Abuja.

Vice-President Sambo, while lamenting past unsuccessful

efforts at entrenching a mass transit culture in Nigeria said “for decades many attempts have been made to have a workable and sustainable mass transit system, but such efforts have always turned out unsuccessful.

Now we want to come out with a system that is not only workable but sustainable, where the private sector will be the major drivers.”

The Vice-President further stressed the need for a proper framework to be established for the workability of the Mass Transport System, noting that

international best practices must be observed, adding that there was the need to separate policy, regulatory framework and implementation plans.

Arc Sambo noted that it was the desire of President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that Nigerians are transported to their various destinations safely, cheaply and efficiently, through the major means of transportation.

Vice-President Sambo also stated that government was ready to support the private operators and manufacturers to

ensure the success of the System, through facilitation of access to cheap funding from financial institutions such as the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the World Bank.

“We agree that there is the need, if we want to succeed in this Mass Transit system to encourage local assembly and local production,” he stated.

In his remarks, Anambra State Governor, Dr. Peter Obi noted that the states were ready to ensure that the System works, stressing the need to develop a

regulatory framework to ensure its success. He also stressed the need to have mechanism in place that would facilitate the monitoring of intervention funds accessed by operators in the industry.

The meeting considered the framework, roadmap and financing options for the Mass Transit in Nigeria, aimed at instituting a Mass Transit culture in the country, through safe, cheap, efficient and timely transportation system, with particular reference to bus, rail and inland water ways.

Geregu power station may shut down, load-shedding to affect Lokoja From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

T

he people of Lokoja may be in for another round of hardship as the Power Holding Company of Nigeria

(PHCN), said there would be massive load shedding as the Geregu power station would be temporary short down for an upward of 12 days.

The Lokoja business

CFA • £ RIYAL $

26th June, 2012 BUYING 0.2758 193.4361 241.9849 41.3049 154.91

SELLING 0.2958 194.6848 243.547 41.5716 155.91

PARALLEL RATES • £ RIYAL $

BUYING 210 250 40 156

SELLING 212 252 42 158

capital territory.

He said within the 12 days period when the line from Geregu would be grounded, Lokoja metropolis would be fed from the Okene line, saying

Management Tip of the Day

EXCHANGE RATES

CBN

Manager, Mr. Ameen M. Shakur who disclosed this to journalists yesterday in Lokoja, said this was to enable PHCN work on the 333KVA line being taken to Abuja the federal

D

Should you take the job?

eciding whether to accept a job offer can, and should, be a difficult decision. Before you say “yes,” evaluate the situation carefully: Shape the offer beforehand. During the interview, be clear on your

expectations and desires about the job. This increases the likelihood that the offer includes what you want most.

Do your research. Find out as much as you can about the organization, its future prospects, the culture, and your new co-workers.

Think through your other prospects. You’ll likely receive your first offer when other employers are still considering you for a position.

Be realistic about what is likely to come down the line.

Source: Harvard Business Review

that this would not be sufficient, hence the need for load shedding.

On the power surge which was responsible for the problems faced by residents of Lokoja of recent, he said it has already been addressed by PHCN. Shakur said the line, though Abuja-bound when completed, would greatly improve power supply to Lokoja and its environs and called for patience on the part of residents.

The Manager equally appealed to customers to always use quality materials for the wiring of their houses, noting that the job of PHCN ends at the point of the meters in their respective houses.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS Dangote leads cement market share of sales by 71%

Boasting local steel production through standard

Efforts by the Standards Organisation of research by ARM Nigeria (SON) and steel manufacturers to investment managers, has boost local production of the crucial buildrevealed that Dangote Cement Plc now accounts for ing material items is beginning to yield the 71% market share of cement sales in Nigeria. desired result needed to arrest the issue of Turkish delegation incessant building collapse in the country, to visit Nigeria on Ayodele Samuel reports.

A

steel business deals

A

high-powered Turkish business delegation of 30 business people and investors in the steel industry will visit Nigeria in early July, to hold meetings with top government officials, private sector captains and industrial users of steel in Lagos and Abuja.

Signal Alliance customers raise new mandate

S

ignal Alliance Limited’s customers, satisfied with the quality of service and customer relationship of the IT specialist firm, have requested the organisation to expand its product chain to cover other challenging areas of the business.

Philips deepens presence in West Africa

R

oyal Philips Electronics has announced its intention to establish its first West African office in Accra as part of plans to increase its presence in the subregion.

UACN plans to build on existing businesses to deliver growth

S

hareholders of UAC of Nigeria Plc (UACN) have approved the N2.4 billion total dividend that was recommended by the Board of Directors of the conglomerate.

FCTA attracts N1.08trn foreign direct investment

B

ala Mohammed, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on Monday disclosed that the administration has so far attracted over $6.6 billion (N1.086 trillion) foreign direct investment via the transformation agenda of the present administration.

F

ollowing a crucial meeting with steel manufacturers and stakeholders in the sector, the Director-General of SON, Mr. Joseph Odumodu, had in September last year given them a 60-day ultimatum to comply with steel standards which had hitherto been developed by SON or be ready to face the full wrath of the law.

At the meeting, both parties agreed that a clampdown on inferior steel products and those without a unique identification mark, to be developed by SON for all steel manufacturers and reinforcement bars in the country, should commence after the expiration of the 60 days deadline.

Also, as part of efforts to also raise the bar in steel manufacturing processes, SON equally announced its resolve to develop a building code standard, as part of its strategy aimed at arresting the issue of building collapse.

According to Odumodu, the development of the building code standard was aimed at arresting the menace of incessant building collapse in the country, adding that steel manufacturers are not the only culprits as far as collapsed buildings was concerned.

Besides, he said the development of the code would involve the input of all professionals involved in the construction industry in order to have robust and well articulated building code standard.

“We are looking at all the input materials. Also, we have finally elaborated a building code standard which actually brings all the professionals together.

Once that becomes a standard, we will try and make sure that it is mandatory that those involved in construction industry adhere strictly to it, by signing a code of conduct.

We all have to work together to improve the economy and the quality of life of Nigerians; But for those who are bent to destroy the economy and lives through the production of sub-standard products, my sincere advice is for them to start looking for another business because we are going to make life difficult for them as there is no going back on our policy of zero-tolerance to substandard products,” he warned.

Seven months after the expiration of the deadline, our correspondent carried out a

survey on the level of compliance and spoke to operators in the sector and the findings showed about 80 percent level of compliance.

But the Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Mrs. Abimbola Ajayi, in an interview said the directive is yet to be fully embraced by steel manufacturers, saying those who have complied are the ones that have been inscribing their identification marks before the directive from SON. “The inscription of identification marks on iron rods and steel is a recommendation that our association made as far back as 2008, when the Lagos state government included Lagos NIA in the Technical Committee on Policy Reform and Building Control,” she said.

The Chairman, basic metal, iron and steel and fabricated metal product sector of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Rafic Hariz, said his members have fully complied with the directive of SON. Specifically, he said after the expiration of the deadline by SON in November last year, the iron and steel sectoral group of MAN, set up a monitoring task force team to visit the factories of all its members to monitor the level of compliance.

“From the report we have received from the monitoring team, I make bold to say our members have fully complied with the directive. If, however, there are some that have not complied, certainly these ones are not one of our members,” he said.

Hariz explained that the directive by SON has gone a long way to help boost local production of the iron and steel in the country because the consumers are now better informed and insist to buy only iron rods with names inscribed on it. Any rod with identification marks, he said, is now being turned down by customers.

The development according to him has further exonerated local producers, who, he said, are always the first culprit whenever there is a building collapse, saying the mandate of SON has thus helped them to overcome this challenge.

The steel expert posited that a lot of imported iron rods prior to the directive of SON remained substandard because they don, t

meet the minimum required industry standards and are such contribute a lot to building collapse.

Odumodu said to ensure 100 percent compliance, officials of SON have been moving to construction sites and steel factories to measure the level of compliance while clamping down on errant firms and construction engineers who may have refused to comply with the directive.

“The law is very clear on substandard products. And that is, wherever we find any, we must remove them from the system. So, anyone we find must be removed,” he said.

Odumodu explained that since his assumption of duty, he has discovered that most manufacturers and importers of steel products, and steel reinforcement bars for concrete in particular, have relegated the issue of quality to the background, resulting in the production and importation of sub-standard reinforcement bars for concrete with resultant consequences such as building collapse and other structural failures in the country.

Already, he said that manufacturers in the steel sector had been mandated by the agency to inscribe their company’s identification mark on their products. This, he said would make it easy for the agency to track down any producer of sub-standard steel capable of wreaking havoc on the citizens.

Besides, he said the intervention by SON would help in assisting unsuspecting members of the public involved in the procurement of steel and other related products to buy genuine products.

Odumodu explained that the move was in line with SON’s zero-tolerance for sub-standard products in the country which commenced over a year ago, on the need for those involved in the act of promoting sub-standard products to desist or be ready to face the full wrath of the law.

The development, according to him, has led to a certification exercise for steel complaint manufacturers across the county.

Also, he stated that the battle has equally moved to building sites, where the agency would collect various building material samples to ascertain their quality and determine whether they meet required specifications or not.

According to him, the move was aimed at ensuring that a product is traceable to the manufacturer in case of construction failure, defect or low quality standards alongside prosecution, if proved guilty.

“The steel sector has been in constant monitoring and surveillance by SON because of

SON, Director-General, Dr. Joseph Ikemefuna Odumodu the important role it plays in the building and construction industry. We want to instill the habit of efficiency in the operators to move the economy forward,” he said.

Also, an official of Federated Steels, Mr. Kunle Akinyele said his company has fully complied with the directive of SON by inscribing its identification mark on all its iron rods.

“Let me tell you the truth, you cannot cut corners with this Odumodu. It is either you do the right thing or you leave the business. He is a no-nonsense man who is interested in moving this country forward. So, for us in Federated Steels, we produce according to standards obtainable anywhere in the world. I challenge anyone to come with any of our rods and steel that does not have an inscription of our name,” he boasted.

Also speaking, Group Managing Director of Phoenix Steels Limited, Mr. Sunil Goel said the essence of its recently commissioned $20 million dollar investment in the Thermo Mechanically Treated (TMT) plant was informed by the need to produce steel and iron bars with enhanced strength combined with high ductility and excellent weldability without loss of strength at welded joints.

Sunil informed that his company has fully complied with the directive of SON in producing iron rods and steel that has identification marks inscribed on it.

TMT bars, according to him, are thermo-mechanicallytreated through world-leading Tempcore-based technology for high-yield strength.

The process leading to the final production of TMT bars, he said, involves rapid quenching of the hot bars through a series of water jets after they roll out of the last mill stand with the bars cooled and allowing the core and surface temperatures to equalise.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 21

Budgeting: Implementation gap blamed for loss of confidence in leadership From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

T

he existing gap between budgeting and implementation has been attributed as one of the major reason for the loss in confidence in leadership in Nigeria.

Capt Idris Wada,the Kogi state governor made this known yesterday in Lokoja, Kogi state

capital at the opening of the 10th Nigeria Development Forum holding in the ancient city.

The Governor, who was represented by his Deputy,Arc Yomi Awoniyi,said budgeting plays enormous role in controlling operations efficiently and effectively in the private sectors in the economy, however lamented a situation where

budgeting in governance is cumbersome.

His words,”government budgeting not only involves collaboration in preparation,negotiation and in approval processes,but also for the spending approval after budget allocation is finalised making it cumbersome”.

He called for a review of

budgeting which emphasizes the practice of developing budgets based on the relationship between program funding levels and expected results from that program.

Wada equally said due to the disturbing issues of corruption,effective fiscal governance,less prone to abuse and for personal gains should be encouraged.

The governor disclosed that his administration has adopted the fiscal responsibility and procurement Act as well as framework for prudent management of public resources

so as to respond to the wishes and aspiration of the majority of the people with a resolve to nurture a culture of accountability, transparency,prudence,living within resources,reducing waste and corruption in government.

Capt Wada maintains that his administration is not only running an all inclusive government,he allowed access for public input in budget preparation,public expenditure management with the aims of controlling financial management in fiscal governance,so as to check bribery and corruption,while overhauling public procurement machinery to achieve its transformation agenda.

Metering plans to go under review –NERC

By Muhammad Sada

T

R-L: Anambra state governor, Mr Peter Obi, and World Bank Country Director, Marie Francoise MarieNelly, after their meeting at the World Bank office, on Tuesday in Abuja.

NDIC still has some challenges, says MD

By Abdulwahab Isa

D

espite its over twenty years existence as financial guarantor to bank depositors, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) is still beset with some challenges, its Managing Director, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim observed yesterday.

The challenges enumerated

by Ibrahim at a one-day sensitization seminar for stakeholders which held yesterday in Abuja include, inadequate legal framework, the menace of liquidation related litigations which makes it difficult for the corporation to completely wind up failed banks; execution of court judgments against the assets of the corporation as the liquidator of failed banks and difficulty on the part of the corporation in recovering debts owed to failed banks due to inability to trace the debtors.

To overcome the challenges, the NDIC boss said “the Nigerian judiciary, legal practitioners and other esteemed stakeholders

have important roles to play in ensuring that the mandates of the corporation are realised” , thus calling on the management of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), which partners to organise the workshop to ensure the corporation is empowered and positioned to discharge its mandate in the interest of the Nigerian banking system.

In his address, the Administrator of NJI, Justice Umaru Eri noted that NDIC occupies a vantage and central position in both the economy of Nigeria and the national life of Nigeria and hence, there is a compelling need for proper understanding of its imperative for both practitioners and judges.

Eri observed that “the objectives of this seminar is to sensitize the participants on the nature of deposit insurance law, bring to the fore the challenges to the law and practice of deposit insurance in Nigeria and to pontificate on the solution to these challenges”.

Speaking in an interview with media representatives on

the imperativeness of the seminar, Principal Partner, Abba Global Legal Services, Mr. Fatihu Abba, whose chamber put together the seminar, advocated the strengthening of the supervisory regulatory functions of NDIC to enable the corporation discharge its core responsibilities unhindered.

he Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is to review the metering plans submitted to it by the Distribution Companies (Discos) , while current power supply in the Country is said to be 3,600 mw.

The review is believed to be an outcome of a meeting the commission held with the chief executive officers of Discos last week. While speaking, NERC Chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi, noted that the commission plans to hold a public hearing, consultations with stakeholders, and completed action on the metering plan by the end of the month.

He explained that NERC and chief executives of the Discos will also deliberate on the methodology for estimating billings and the requirement for disclosures on electricity management under the Freedom of Information Act, pointing out that work has been completed on the methodology for estimated billing based on submission from the distribution companies.

The Chairman also noted that NERC has adopted the report of the committee that conducted public inquiry on metering in the Nigerian electricity supply industry chaired by Bamidele

Aturu, stating that the regulator develops the implementation plans.

However, the commission has forwarded the report to the President and Minister of Power for action and that the Commission will be meeting with the CEOs of the distribution companies on today, to agree on the connection fees for every distribution company, it is important to note that only new customers will be charged connection fees, it is not the cost of meter, the cost of meter is already part of the tariff but the cost for connecting new customers is not in the tariff” he said.

According to the Chairman, “The meeting will be on the metering plans and methodology for estimated billing with the distribution companies.

Thereafter, we will invite civil society groups, consumer networks and the public to a hearing on the metering plan, methodology for estimated billing and the requirement of disclosures on electricity management under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.” Amadi said since the kick-off of the Multi-Year Tariff Order 2, many journalists and consumers have called to either report some alleged violations of the conditions of MYTO or inquire about meters.

World oil supply up, but spare capacity tight - EIA

By Muhammad Nasir

W

orld oil investors have risen over the past two months aided by increased output from Iraq and Libya, but spare production capacity remains tight.

The disclosure was made recently by the U.S government noting that global fuels output exceeded consumption by an average of 1 million barrels per day in May and June, helping to push oil inventories higher and prices lower, the Energy Information Administration said in a report, obtained by Reuters ahead of its

publication.

The EIA report is required every 60 days under the Iran sanctions law signed

by President Barack Obama late last year that called for restricting Iran’s ability to sell its crude oil on world markets.

The EIA estimated that world spare production capacity grew in the last two months to 2.4 million bpd, up from 2.1 million bpd in the previous two months.

The EIA warned, however, that spare world oil capacity was less than 3 percent of total world consumption, making it a factor as U.S. imposes

sanctions and the European Union embargoes Iranian oil shipments from July 1.

“Spare capacity in May and June is still quite modest by historical standards, especially when measured as a percentage of global oil production and consumption,” the EIA said.

With only a thin spare oil supply cushion, unforeseen oil production outages, such as major damage to oil platforms from hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico or an upsurge of violence in producers such as Nigeria can quickly boost oil prices.

PAGE 22

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

NIID to stamp out fake insurance – NIA chairman From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

T

he Chairman of the umbrella body of all insurance underwriting firms in the country, the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), Mr. Olusola Ladipo-Ajayi has assured that the sectors’ new database, the Nigeria Insurance Industry Database (NIID) would stamp out fake insurance practice in Nigeria.

NIID, which is an information technology-based system that facilitates easy collation and dissemination of statistical and other information relating to insurance on one hand, and also serves as a vehicle for easy

identification of genuine insurance documents by relevant authorized persons will ensure that fake insurance practitioners will cease to operate in Nigeria.

Ladipo-Ajayi, who gave the assurance during the launch of the product in Lagos stated that over the year, activities of the fake insurance operators have been a source of problem for the sector.

According to him, these fake insurance practitioners merely collect money from insuring publics without providing any insurance cover or ready to settle any claims when there is need for such.

He noted that most Nigerians

encourage these fake practitioners by patronizing them adding that these are people who believe that insurance is a paper simply needed so that the police will let them pass.

He further explained that with the NIID, there should be no longer ‘police let me pass’ , stressing that every vehicle in country must possess an insurance certificate issued by the Federal Government registered insurance company which is solely endorsed by a government agency, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

Some of the benefits of the NIID according to him include

monitoring and authenticating insurance transactions, documents and reducing incidences of fraudulent insurance transactions and policies most especially for motor and marine insurances among others.

Also speaking at the event, the representatives of Vehicle Inspectors Operations (VIO), Rev. Bayo Otuyemi of Ogun State unit commended the insurance sector for coming with such initiative.

He stated that before now they have been having problems of differentiating fake insurance certificates from the genuine ones adding the new NIID will surely assist them in their job.

RUFIN links 267 savings, loans groups to microfinance banks — Coordinator

T

he Rural Finance Institution Building Programme (RUFIN) has linked not less than 267 savings and loans groups to microfinance banks in Oyo State, Mr Emmanuel Ogundiran, the RUFIN Coordinator, has said.

Ogundiran disclosed this when Miss Atsuko Toda, the Country Programme Manager of the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), led the RUFIN supervision mission to Ibadan.

RUFIN is a seven-year IFADassisted programme designed to improve the performance of nonbank rural finance institutions to enable them to develop to sustainable rural micro-finance Institutions in the programme participating states.

The programme covers 12 states of the six geo-political zones.

The states are Adamawa, Zamfara, Bauchi, Katsina, Benue, Nasarawa, Oyo, Lagos, Anambra, Imo, Akwa Ibom and Edo. (NAN)

Skyway Aviation constructs ultra-modern cargo warehouse L-R: Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Chief Samuel Ortom, Managing Director, EPIC Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Limited, Hon. Barango Wenke, and Logistics and Operations Director, International Department, Sino Asia Energy Group Company, Mr. Henrik Christensen, during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Federal Republic of Nigeria and EPIC Refinery and Petrochemical Industries Limited in partnership with Sino Asia Energy Group Hong Kong, on Tuesday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

BOI to partner Oyo in provision of hydro-power plants From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

T

he Bank of Industry (BOI) on Tuesday said that it would assist Oyo State Government in the provision of small hydro power plants in Omi Adio and Arowomole in Ido and Ogbomoso South Local Government Areas of the state respectively.

The Managing Director of BOI, Ms. Evelyn Oputu, who disclosed this during a courtesy

call on Governor Abiola Ajimobi in his office in Ibadan, said this was part of her bank’s contributions towards improving the power supply in the state.

It would be recalled that the bank had early this year provided the sum of N1 billion to the state government towards the development of small and medium scale industry in the state, with the government adding its own counterpart fund

of N500 million to actualize the programme.

This, according to the Managing Director, was aimed at reducing unemployment and poverty in the state.

Oputu also assured that necessary assistance would be rendered to the government to fully participate in the forthcoming London Olympics.

In his response, Governor Ajimobi expressed his administration’s determination

to regaining the lost glory of the state through its seven-point agenda with emphasis on infrastructure and human capital development which he described as the bedrock of any development.

He said that his administration would leverage on the support of the bank in the areas of industrialisation, commercialisation, with priority on small and medium scale industry.

S

kywat Aviation Handling Company Limited, (SAHCOL) has concluded plans to commence the construction of a custom bonded cargo warehouse, which is the first in the West African sub-Region at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Cargo Complex.

In a statement recently by the Head, Corporate Communications, Basil Agboarumi, the ultramodern 9000 square meters cargo warehouse is designed and fabricated by Remco Romania, a division of the Remco Group of companies, with its headquarters in the Netherlands, a group which is specialised in designing, building and delivering industrial halls based on an own innovative steel construction concept.

Nigeria losing revenue to insecurity – CITN From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

T

he Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) on Monday said that the challenges of security crisis in northern states could affect the country’s revenue target for the year.

The President of the institute, Sunday Jegede, said the conflicts had distorted business activities

in the region.

This, he said, would consequently affect the revenue pool of the country negatively.

He said that business activities in the region had contributed to the nation’s income especially through taxes.

Jegede said that urgent solution should be proffered to the crisis if the Federal Government was to achieve its economy

development drive through efficient tax system.

“Because the country’s development drive is dependent on efficient tax system, especially in an era when earnings from oil is failing.

“All the states of the federation can also survive on Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) if there is complete sanity in the system.’’

The CITN President said that

N1.254 trillion was generated between January and April in 2011 as against N2.93 trillion collected in the whole of 2010.

The expert said that Nigeria would be buoyant if revenue generation continued in such progression.

“But this will depend on total sanity of the economy.’’

Jegede added that the institute had advocated that

leaderships of churches and mosques needed to be paying taxes on their emoluments.

“Those adjudged to be affluent should be made to pay tax to boost government revenue.

“But considering the circumstances on ground, such advocacy would be incapacitated because sources of income of the clerics had been attacked.”

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 24

PAGE 25

Algeria: The revolution that never was The ‘Arab Spring’ of 2011 brought down autocratic governments across North Africa and the Middle East. But, despite widespread street protests that initially threatened to spark a Tunisian or Egyptian style revolt, an expected uprising in Algeria failed to materialise.

P

resident Abdelazziz Bouteflika’s regime often accused of being one of the most repressive in the region promised modest political reform and managed to hold onto power. Earlier this month it claimed to have delivered on these promises when parliamentary elections were held, in which the ruling National Liberation Front (or FLN) won an overwhelming majority of the votes.

Although opposition groups were quick to deride the poll as

a sham and to accuse the government of manipulating the results, European and American observers called the poll a step toward democracy.

So what has been going on in Algeria for the last year? Did it genuinely, as the government would claim, avoid the upheaval that swept through the rest of North Africa last year because of the Bouteflika regime’s ‘progressive leadership’?

Or has something darker and more complex been going on - a story that opponents and human

Algeria President, Abdelazziz Bouteflika

rights activists say has more to do with a wary population traumatised by the country’s violent past and living in fear of its secret police?

People & Power wanted to find out, but getting into Algeria is difficult not least because Al Jazeera has been denied official access to the country since 2004.

Nevertheless, when our requests for journalist visas were ignored, our filmmakers managed to get in unofficially and were able to work discreetly.

Producer Caroline

Pare describes what they found.

Producer’s view In the capital Algiers at least, life seemed freer and more lively than we expected. The shops and cafes were full and, superficially at least, this did not seem to be a place on the cusp of revolution.

It felt like a country coming out of something very bad and now quite determinedly making the best of a difficult situation.

But when we began meeting human rights activists, we got a much better sense of what ordinary Algerians are up against and what they really think. To start with, the military and intelligence people, the DRS, are omnipresent, so meetings had to be arranged surreptitiously.

On one occasion, for example, a contact identified himself at a street corner by using pre-arranged code words.

Then he asked us to follow him very discreetly and at a distance to the Metro,

fire, in despair at having been prevented by police from selling cosmetics from his small stall and then at being taunted by them. His death caused outrage in the town and sparked a riot as young men attacked the police station in fury.

Other Algerians told us that theirs was actually the first country to have an ‘Arab Spring’. In 1988, the people took to the streets and forced the government to hold a free and fair election. After the first round of voting it became apparent that the opposition Islamic FIS party was set to win. But it was not to be because the military intervened.

The country turned in on itself and entered a ‘dark decade’ of bloody violence that saw an estimated 200,000 people killed. To this day it casts a fearful shadow.

The chaos enabled the DRS to get a stranglehold on the country and the body politic that democracy activists say persists to

“

Only when safely behind closed doors did he feel able to speak freely about the repression and the many economic problems the country faces - a housing crisis, rocketing unemployment and spiralling food prices past the police and the surveillance cameras, onto a train and out to his tiny apartment in the suburbs. Only when safely behind closed doors did he feel able to speak freely about the repression and the many economic problems the country faces - a housing crisis, rocketing unemployment and spiralling food prices.

He told us things were so bad that desperate young people were burning themselves alive.

There were around 130 self-immolations in Algeria last year. Indeed just before the election in the seaside town of Jijel, a 25-year-old man, Hamza Rechak, set himself on

this day.

So the elections that were held this month do not seem to have much credibility among voters.

Indeed we heard from various political analysts before the election that they could predict the turnout - based on what the government required to make the process acceptable in international eyes - and sure enough they were pretty close to the 43 per cent officially announced.

The governing party won overwhelmingly.

In Algeria, we are told, everything is preordained by the powerful shadow state, the DRS. And it does not brook criticism.

Algeria is a country rich in oil and gas reserves, earning it perhaps $200bn each year. But there are few jobs in the oil industry for Algerians and unemployment and poverty are real problems.

Youth unemployment is at over 40 per cent. The level of desperation on the ground is such that discontent boils up into street protests on a daily basis - we were told that there were 40,000 such protests last year alone against housing, food prices, police corruption etc.

Yet Algerians have not yet turned to outright revolution. We began to understand why when talking to people about the ‘dark dec ade’ and the terrors they lived through that still traumatise their lives. To put it simply, people are scared. We spoke to families whose loved ones were killed or vanished during those years. As many as 20,000 of these ‘disappeared’ are still being sought by their families, according to a group called SOS Disparu that supports families looking for their loved ones. They introduced us to one woman whose husband was snatched from their doorstep 18 years ago. She has heard nothing officially of him since then, despite writing and visiting all the government offices she could think of. The only information came from fellow detainees who tell her he was probably horrendously tortured. All these years later the memory of her husband still moves her to tears.

Will all this change? We were taken to see Dr SalahEddine Sidhoum, an orthopaedic surgeon and one of Algeria’s most respected opposition figures. As we sat in his study, the TV in the corner was showing a live broadcast of the funeral of Algeria’s first postindependence president.

We asked Sidhoum why the events that shook the rest of the Arab world in 2011 seemed to have passed his country by. His response was emphatic. “Algeria is not an exception,” he said.

“The revolution will come here in Algeria sooner or later - it’s just a question of time.”

Source: Aljazeera.

Why did the expected uprising fail to materialise in Algeria?

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

EMERGENCY UPDATE

Steer clear of disaster sites, NEMA warns T

he National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has cautioned members of the public to desist from the habit of loitering at emergency and explosion sites to ease rescue operations on such locations.

The warning was issued against the backdrop of people gathering to catch a glimpse of the scenes at bomb blast sites and other emergency occurrences, thereby making it difficult for experts to render help Assistant Coordinator NEMA, South-South zone, Godwin Tepikor, who disclosed this at a one-day workshop in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, urged people to always maintain safe distance at emergency sites so as to preserve forensic evidence from destruction.

“Time has come for us to steer

clear of disaster scenes, with a view to guaranteeing our own safety and allowing rescue workers, including NEMA, Red

T

Commissioner of Police, Chris Olakpe, while delivering a lecture at the workshop on basic security tips during emergencies, noted

that the insurgency of Boko Haram sect was the worst kind of carnage confronting the country in the new millennium.

…offers relief to 2000 internally displaced in Kaduna

By Mohammed Kandi

A

bout 2, 339 victims of the recent sectarian crisis which followed the bomb explosions that ravage resident in Zaria and other parts of Kaduna State have received relief items from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The relief materials were distributed to the victims at three Internally Displaced Camps of the Nigerian Air force (NAF) Base, NDA Ribadu Cantonment and Dallet Barracks

Insecurity: Agency strategises on disaster mitigation he National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has embarked on campaigns on how to prevent and manage the rate of fire outbreaks and security threats in the country.

Recently, the agency took the campaign to Ilorin, Kwara State capital, where it organised a programme, demonstrating how emergency workers carryout their evacuation and drill excersise at the federal government secretariat in the state.

Zonal Co-ordinator of NEMA, Abuja operations office, Mr. Ishaya Isah said the agency had organised the course in fulfillment of its mandate to carryout disaster curtailment activities.

He stated that the act that established NEMA empowers it to monitor the state of preparedness of all organisations and agencies in disaster management.

“It is in furtherance of this mandate and in response to the current security situation in the country that the management of NEMA directed all its zonal offices to prepare emergency evacuation plan for federal government secretariats and demonstrate a drill for them,” Isah stated.

The Cordinator further disclosed that his agency was collaborating with the Fire service, Nigerian Red Cross, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Nigeria police.

He said the exercise aimed at monitoring the state of preparedness of the critical stakeholders in emergency response and “to mitigate the impact of such emergencies like fire, bomb scare and terrorist threats when they inevitably occur”.

According to him, other objectives of the exercise include educating occupants of high valued buildings on emergency evacuation procedures; encourage organisations to

Cross, Fire Service and security agencies to carry out their duties unhindered,” Godwin added.

Similarly, the Bayelsa State

conduct the drill on regular basis and to build a culture of emergency readiness in our daily lives.

Isah, who called on the stakeholders to partner with NEMA in its efforts to mitigate loss of lives and properties during emergencies, harped on the need for proactive measures in tackling “the latest wave of disasters in our country occasioned by insecurity”.

In his remarks, the head of search and rescue unit of NEMA in the North Central zone, Mr. Labaran Ahman said the exercise was to reduce to the barest minimum, damages that usually accompanied emergency situations.

He said NEMA had discovered that most of the casualties recorded during fire outbreak or security emergencies were caused by other factors other than the incident itself.

Stressing the need for Nigerians to be more proactive in their approach to emergency situations, Ahman stressed the importance of exit doors and installation of fire extinguishers in high-rise buildings.

Ahman opined that if all the necessary precautionary measures were put in place in public buildings, it would go a long way in mitigating the impact of damages on people and properties whenever there was fire outbreak or security challenge.

He listed such measures to include emergency alarm system, fire extinguishers, emergency exit, and assembly/ muster point, provision for disabled in emergency situations, emergency contact numbers, first aid box and smoke detectors.

In the case of fire outbreak, he advised those involved not to panic, rush or push others.

Rather, he said they should raise an alarm, switch off all electrical appliances, attack the fire with extinguisher and refrain from using the lift/elevator.

in Kaduna.

The NDA Ribadu Cantonment, according to a statement issued by NEMA’s head of press and public relations, Yushau A. Shuibu, has the highest number of IDP’s with 1,029 victims, while the NAF Base Camp has 580 IDPs. Dallet Barracks is currently accommodating more than 400 displaced victims.

“The relief materials consist of 400 Bags of Rice, 45 bags of sugar, 140 jerry cans of cooking oil, 1900 blankets, 850 mattresses, and 800 mats,” it said.

The Zonal Coordinator, NEMA North West Zone, Alhaji

Musa Ilallah, the statement noted, handed over the relief items on behalf of the Agency’s Director General, Alhaji Muhammadu Sani Sidi to the three IDP’s Camp at Ribadu Cantonment in NDA, Dallet Barracks in Kawo and the Nigeria Air force base in Mando.

Handing over the items, Ilallah reiterated the commitment of his agency to coming to the immediate assistance of Nigerians in distress. He urged the IDPs to see their condition as an act of God and prayed that normalcy will soon return for them to also return to their homes with a view to ‘marching on with their

lives’.

Receiving the items on behalf of the IDPs in his Command, the Garrison Commander of the Ribadu Cantonment, Col. Sani Audu, applauded NEMA for the support and expressed appreciation of the prompt response of NEMA to the plight of the IDPs. While Flying Officer Col S. A. Gyam received the items for the IDPs in his Barracks on behalf of the Commander, Brig. General T C Ude, Commander of the 335 Air force base, Air Commander Soladoye received the items on behalf of the IDPs in his base.

TAbraham A. Arekekun received that of NAF Base Camp.

NEMA DG, Mohammad Sani-Sidi and other staff of the agency inspect the agency warehouse in Maiduguri during a visit to North-East zone

Governor Wada pledges partnership with NEMA

G

overnor Idris Wada of Kogi state has promised to partner with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) so as to empower the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) for swift response to emergency situations in the state.

The Governor, who made the promise in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital while receiving a delegation from NEMA, added that the state government was planning to formulate policies and measures aimed at reducing natural and manmade disasters in the state.

Represented by his Deputy, Mr. Yomi Awoniyi, the governor said that disasters had become a source of worry to the state. He said that disasters often left tales of woe in their

trail when they occured by the displacement of persons, loss of property and sometimes, lives.

Also speaking, the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, commended NEMA for its quick response to his request, providing some relief assistance to people displaced by windstorm in Geregu and Adogo/Eganyi communities of Ajaokuta Local Government Area.

The Senator hailed the agency’s efforts, especially on its promptness in responding to the needs of displaced people in the country.

He said: “NEMA’s prompt response to my call for urgent intervention in the storm ravaged villages is a clear indication of the agency’s dedication to duty and by

extension sensitivity to the plight of Nigerians.

“I urge the management of NEMA to sustain this rare spirit of dedication. On my part, I will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that I continue to speak for my people throughout my stay in the National Assembly,” he explained.

Responding, NEMA DirectorGeneral, Muhammad Sani-Sidi, urged Nigerians to imbibe disaster risk reduction mechanisms and to plant trees and advised that; Nigerians should provide fire extinguishers in their homes and frequently maintain old buildings.

Meanwhile, NEMA officials were in the state to distribute relief materials to victims of fire and rainstorm in Ajaokuta and Igalamela-Odolu Local Government Areas.

PAGE 27

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

EMERGENCY UPDATE YOUTHS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY

By Abubakar Jimoh abujimoh01@yahoo.com

Averting air mishaps in Nigeria (II) Continued from last week

I

NEMA DG, Muhammad Sani-Sidi (4th from left) in a group photograph with other NEMA officials and that of Enugu Government House during a courtesy visit recently by NEMA officials to Enugu.

NEMA laments high rate of disasters in Nigeria T

he South-East zonal coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Dr Bandele Onimode, has decried the high rate of disaster across the nation, saying that it is high time the three tiers of government pooled their resources together to stem further disasters in the country.

Briefing newsmen in Enugu recently, on the activities of the zone in the last six months, Dr Onimode lamented the ignorance of many Nigerians on disaster management, saying that the nonproactiveness of some states and local governments had not helped issues either.

Dr Onimode frowned on the

nonchallant attitude of some state governments, including those of the South-East in handling disaster related issues, saying that no nation could record any meaningful feat under a disaster threatened atmosphere.

He said it was unfortunate that some State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) in the zone did not have tools that would assist them in functioning effectively.

Some of the states in the zone, according to him, “lack functional offices, utility vehicles, funds, warehouse, amongst other facilities that would enhance their smooth operations.”

He, therefore, urged governors of the zone to have a

rethink on the development and begin to fund their various SEMAs, stressing that other tiers of government should stop shying away from their responsibilities on issues concerning disaster management, because NEMA was not established to shoulder every disaster related problems in the country.

“We are appealing to various state governments, especially those in the SouthEast zone to start taking disaster management issues very seriously. They should make their SEMAS vibrant and functional, because disaster knows no boundary hence, it could visit anybody no matter his status in the society,” he stated.

…Assesses emergency facilities in states

T

he National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has begun the assessment of emergency facilities provided in public and high valued buildings in some selected states in the country to test its level of preparedness.

The exercise commenced in some state secretariats with the assessment of emergency facilities and infrastructures, including high valued and public buildings.

NEMA officials are also looking out for the adequacy and state of alarm systems, fire

extinguishers, smoke detectors, exit doors, provision for disabled in emergency situations and first aid box and facilities at the staff clinic.

The Director-General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani-Sidi, said the excersise was part of the agency’s response to current wave of terrorism and disasters in different parts of the country.

He said that the aim of the exercise was to educate occupants of such buildings in emergency evacuation procedures and to build a culture of emergency readiness

in them, adding that the idea was to reduce the number of casualties in emergencies like fire, bomb scare and terrorism acts.

Sani-Sidi, said at end of the exercise, NEMA would help the state to prepare an emergency evacuation plan for the state secretariat.

He said that the exercise would also enable NEMA to monitor the state of preparedness of other critical stakeholders in emergency response with the aim of enhancing their capacity in this direction.

mproving fire-fighting facilities at airports is one of the essential measures that is necessary for air safety.

And to achieve this, the governments must collaborate with the Federal Fire Service (FFS) and State Fire Service to accomplish the tasks at local and international airports in the country.

There must be adherence to some firm international standards by adopting procedures such as provision of chemical fire engines at airports.

Appropriate provision of adequate firefighting and emergency systems should be made available in municipality close to airports.

There is need for effective teamwork between Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) and Red Cross Society of Nigeria to ensure prompt delivery of first aid treatment when the need arises. On it part, governments should encourage airport officers to attend first aid treatment seminars and workshops.

Furthermore, improve emergency medical systems at airports requires suitable provision of medical equipment via the cooperation relevant medical institutions so that emergency medical activities can be conducted efficiently.

Besides that, the meteorological information for air transport operators must be enhanced. The National Meteorological Agency (NIMET) should help airliners information and understand of weather conditions to facilitate air transport safety in the country. The Agency should issue forecast, warnings, and meteorological reports on airspaces.

Nigeria and aviation authorities must keep tab with the ongoing industrial revolution across the world, especially, through industrial activities thereby increasing hazardous substances that are transported by air. Consequent upon that, the Federal Airport Authority (FAAN), like others world over, should reel out safety standards relating to the transportation of hazardous materials.

The Federal and state governments needs to partner with the NEMA and SEMAs to build disaster-free aviation system.

Fresh operational safety

measures must be instituted through the establishment of fulltime auditing section, just as promotion of a shift from expost measures becomes key to preventive safety administration.

Besides, governments should encourage air transportation operators to establish a safety management system that involves every level of operators by promoting the airports’ verification, assessment, and inspection schemes.

It must also ensure prompt implementation of such by grasping the status of safety and future risks of airliners.

Also to achieve professional and accurate audits, the government will improve training for officials in charge of audits.

While governments must promote safety measures for the airliners and strive to review various safety standards by collecting and analyzing available information on accidents, mechanical problems and other issues relating to the aviation safety, so as to prevent reoccurrence of air accidents in the country.

Regular training and retraining programmes should be made compulsory for aviation personnel, just as training of pilots on air carriers at both national and international Civil Aviation Colleges is necessary to improve their skills and proficiency.

On its part, the FAAN must provide sufficient guidelines to air transport companies concerning regular in-house training for pilots.

There is need for the government to improve facilities at the nation’s Aeronautical Safety College, which are mostly aging.

These facilities must be replaced or refurbished to boost training of aviation safety officers in the country.

The government also must be realistic in carrying out aviation programmes and plans for Nigeria to catch up with the globalized economies.

Finally, the Ministry of Aviation and its Health counterpart must maintain adequate and constant check up on the physical and mental health of crew members on their aircrafts.

The government must also instruct various air transport companies to perform apt daily health controls of their aircraft crews.

PAGE 28

FG, states to co-fund N191.7bn water projects

T

he National Economic Council (NEC) has recommended a federal and state governments cofunding partnership for the completion of 111 water projects across the country.

Rivers governor, Rotimi Amaechi disclosed this in Abuja at the end of the council’s meeting presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo at the State House.

NEC is the highest economic decision making body in the country presided over by the Vice President with state governors and the FCT minister as members.

Amaechi said that the projects which were at the various stages of completion would require about N191.7 billion for completion.

He said that the council took the decision following a report presented to it by the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs Sarah Ochepe after a nationwide inspection of the projects.

“Council recommended the need for all ongoing projects to be completed to achieve meaningful development and avail Nigerians the opportunity of benefitting from the intended gains of the projects.

“The FG and state governments will partner to ensure that the various water irrigation and dam projects are completed in a more beneficial and sustainable manner,” he said.

The governor said that the council directed the directorates of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources in the states and the state governments to jointly review the details of the projects to enable government work out the funding arrangements.

He said that council also resolved that both the federal and state governments would collaborate in the budgetary processes of some strategic ministries, including health, education and works.

NEC also called on all state governors to meet with the required conditions for accessing the N35.5 billion MDGs fund for 2012.

Amaechi said that the fund was available to the states and local government councils to fund development projects.

He said that following briefings by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, Dr Precious Gbenol, the council mandated the MDGs office to provide quarterly report on the progress made by beneficiaries of the fund.

(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

Ministry moves officials, equipment to clear waste sites, says Director Officials of Kaduna state Ministry of Environment have begun the evacuation of waste that had accumulated in parts of the capital city as the State Government relaxed the 24hour curfew imposed on the state.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who went round parts of the city on Wednesday, reports that illegal dump sites were created by the residents due to the curfew.

NAN observed that the waste

had spilled over, covering parts of the streets, thereby hindering free movement, polluting the environment and posing a threat to human health and the environment.

The sites had also become a haven for rodents even as scavengers besieged the sites, picking recyclable items.

Meanwhile, Officals of the environment ministry and the waste management contractors had moved their equipment to the sites.

Some residents were seen moving to the sites to empty their waste baskets. Several trucks were also seen deployed at the Sheik Abubakar Gummi Market to evacuate the waste that had accumulated over the period of the curfew.

“The waste generated during the period is alarming; as such, we have to deploy enough equipment to evacuate it.

“We are really overwhelmed with the heaps of refuse that accumulated by the market

within the period,” an official of the ministry, who preferred anonymity, told NAN on Wednesday.

However, the state Director of Environment, Mr Solomon Guruza, who confirmed the situation, said that the waste management contractors handling the exercise had moved to the various sites.

Guruza urged residents to dump the waste at designated places to enable the contractors to clear the sites on time. (NAN)

Major roads in Lagos flooded as result of heavy rain downpour

Lagos residents to experience seven-day rainfall, says NIMET T he Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) has said that Lagos would soon experience a seven-day rainfall.

Mr Abayomi Oyegoke of NIMET Central Forecast Unit, Oshodi, Lagos, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Oyegoke also said that a total of 570 mm of rainfall had been

recorded in Lagos State between January and June.

He explained that the rains being experienced in state were the beginning of a seven-day rainfall, adding that, “In the last one week, it appears we are experiencing a prelude to the normal seven days rainfall and immediately after the seven days rain, what should be the next, is the little dry season.”

“The dry season indicates the onset of the ‘August break’ and it seems the break may come early this year towards the second or third week in July, this is also normal,” Oyegoke said.

According to him, August break signified the first break of the peak of the rainfall over the swamp forest area.

Oyegoke said that the

announcement by the Lagos State Ministry of Environment that rain would fall for 238 days was misleading. He explained that the 238 days was the duration of all the rainfall in the state.

He said that the rainfall in the state this year would be normal and urged residents to keep their surroundings clean to prevent flooding. (NAN)

Katsina Govt, Japanese agency plan to boost rural water supply in three LGAs

T

he Katsina state Government has released N40.8 million as part of its counterpart fund for a joint project with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, (JICA) on rural water supply.

A statement signed by Alhaji Abubakar Abdullahi, Public Relations Officer, Katsina State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) said the project would be in three

local government areas. aAbdullahi, who said that the benefiting local government areas were Mashi, Dutsin-ma and Safana, added that 56 hand pump bore holes would be constructed in the areas, added that water tankers, Toyota Hilux vehicle would also be procured to enhance water supply to rural communities.

He also said that already the Japanese agency had planned to drill 92 hand pump bore holes in

six local governments of the state.

Abdullahi explained that this was part of its aid and technical cooperation in rural water supply and sanitation to some selected states of the federation.

He said that the state government under the agreement would drill 93 bore holes in Zango, Sandamu, Rimi, Batsari, Malumfashi and Kafur local government areas.

He added that that the Japanese agency would also assist the states with working materials such as bore hole driller, Geophysical survey equipment and water quality testing kits.

Abdullahi said that the agency was training its staff on the project, adding that the training would be extended to the communities through mobilisation and advocacy programme. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 29

7/7 ‘white widow’ is hunted for grenade attack on Kenyan resort bar T

he ‘white widow’ of a 7/7 London bomber is the prime suspect for a deadly terror attack in Kenya.

Samantha Lewthwaite, whose husband Jermaine Lindsay blew up a Piccadilly Line train, has been on the run since December when police foiled a plot to blow up Western hotels in Mombasa.

And officers say the Home Counties mother of three was spotted near the nightclub targeted in the Indian Ocean resort on Sunday night.

A grenade was thrown into the Jericho Beer Garden – packed with tourists watching England play Italy – killing three, including a young boy.

It is not known whether Britons are among the 25 injured.

Shortly before the attack, a white woman fitting Lewthwaite’s description was seen acting suspiciously and asking questions about the bar. She was with two Asian-looking men.

‘We suspect Samantha Lewthwaite was actively involved in the terrorist attack on the club,’ a Kenyan police official said last night.

The 28-year-old soldier’s daughter from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire was charged in December with plotting to kill hundreds of British tourists in Mombasa.

Police found weapons and a bomb-making factory in her safe house, which was also apparently used as a make-shift bank for Somali terror group Al Shabaab.

Lewthwaite was released for unknown reasons and is thought to have taken refuge in Somalia before her return to Kenya.

‘Police believe Samantha is back in Mombasa and is playing an active role in hand grenade attacks,’ said

a Kenyan security source.

‘A white woman, fitting Samantha’s description, was seen with two middle-aged Arab men asking questions about the bar before the attack.

‘She really stands out as it is very unusual for a white woman to be here and dressed in Muslim clothes.’

The suspicious trio had also been spotted near Catholic churches in Mombasa.

University dropout Lewthwaite is being hunted by the CIA and Kenyan police.

Before her arrest in December, she had been travelling in Kenya on a false passport belonging to Natalie Faye Webb, an Essex nurse who has no links to terrorism and has never been to the East African country.

Lewthwaite was born in Northern Ireland, where her father Andrew, who was serving in the army, had met her mother Christine.

They separated when she was 11 – an event friends suggest was key in her seeking solace in Islam, and converting to the faith at the age of 15.

She met King’s Cross bomber Lindsay in an Islamic chatroom when she was studying religion and politics at the School Of Oriental And African Studies in central London.

She married the Jamaican-born carpet fitter in an Islamic ceremony in Aylesbury in 2004.

When her 19-year-old husband blew himself up in 2005, claiming 26 lives, she was eight months pregnant with their second child, a daughter. She had a second son by an unknown father in 2009.

Lewthwaite’s family in Aylesbury – she is the youngest of three children – say they have not seen her for years.

Samantha Lewthwaite with her husband, 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay who was only 19-years-old when he blew up a Piccadilly Line train at Kings Cross in 2005.

Her alleged accomplice in December’s bomb plot, 29-year-old Londoner Jermaine Grant, is on trial in Mombasa.

The port city and Nairobi have suffered a series of bomb attacks since Kenyan troops entered Somalia in October to crush

Islamist militants.

Hours before Sunday’s bombing the US embassy issued a warning of an imminent terrorist attack in or around Mombasa.

Police chief Aggrey Adoli said: ‘The attack occurred at about 10pm, the grenade was hurled inside a pub,

but many of those wounded were just outside the bar at the entrance.

‘One of those wounded people is assisting us with investigations because he is providing contradictory statements. He is being held as a suspect.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Ali Hasan flashes the victory sign after being released from prison ahead of his trial on June 20.

Jermaine Grant appears at Nairobi Magistrates Court believed to be Lewthwaite's accomplice in the bomb plot.

Samantha Lewthwaite pictured in her school days aged 16-17, not long after she converted to Islam.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 30

Economic apartheid is still continuing in South Africa, says Jacob Zuma E

conomic apartheid is continuing in all but name in South Africa, according to the country's President.

Jacob Zuma said ongoing inequality risked doing damage to the country's future.

He also called for more to be done to complete South Africa's economic transformation, 18 years after racial segregation officially ended.

Progress to reduce the imbalance in land ownership amongst white and black South Africans has so far been negligible,

with around 10 percent of the population continuing to own 80 percent of the land.

Speaking at an African National Congress (ANC) meeting, Mr Zuma said: 'The structure of the apartheidera economy has remained largely intact.

'The ownership of the economy is still primarily in the hands of white males as it has always been.

'The time has come to do something more drastic towards economic transformation and freedom.'

South African President Jacob Zuma said the economic structure of the apartheid-era remained broadly intact.

Impoverished suburbs, such as this one in Red Hill, Cape Town, are a far from unusual sight in South Africa.

Mr Zuma's warning has come at a difficult time for the South African economic, whose growth has become virtually stagnant after years of impressive growth.

The ANC plans to use the fourday conference in Johannesburg to put together a strategy for the country's economy.

Critics have called on the ANCled government to do more to reduce poverty in South Africa.

Young Communist League national secretary Buti Manamela, told AFP: 'A lot of black people don't approve of our democracy if it still excludes them from the economic mainstream.

'There were successes, yet massive failures like unemployment, poverty and inequality.'

The party has already put

together a number of policy documents calling on mining firms to contribute more towards state spending.

Economists have expressed concerns, however, that such companies - which frequently suffer from poor management and debt problems - are not a sensible place to look to shore up welfare payments Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Our coverage of the Arab Spring was over-excited, admits BBC

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he BBC’s coverage of the Arab Spring has been heavily criticised – by the corporation’s bosses.

Head of news Helen Boaden admitted that her journalists got carried away with events and produced ‘over-excited’ reports.

She told a BBC Trust report that in Libya, where reporters were ‘embedded’ with rebels, they may have failed to explore both sides of the story properly.

Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen was among those criticised in the study into coverage of the uprisings, which found that ‘excitement’ did sometimes ‘infect’ the reporting, which some viewers described as ‘too emotive’ and ‘veering into opinion’.

The document, published yesterday, also raised concerns about the corporation’s use of footage filmed on mobile phones and other user-generated content.

It noted that the BBC failed to warn viewers with ‘caveats’ about the ‘authenticity’ of such footage in 74 per cent of cases.

It also warned that the corporation ignored events in some countries as it concentrated on ‘big’ stories.

Miss Boaden is quoted saying: ‘In the conflict in Egypt in the beginning . . . we might have sounded over-excited – you can take on the colour of who you’re with. I had to say “just be careful about your tone”.

‘In Libya too, where we were

Journalist Edward Mortimer who authored the report said it was 'a pity' that reporting suffered on behalf of coverage of uprisings in countries like Egypt, pictured.

essentially embedded [with the rebels] at the start, we might have sounded over-excited – you have to be careful if you can’t get to the other side of the story.’

While the report found that overall the BBC’s coverage was ‘generally impartial’, it did raise concerns about aspects of its reporting.

Embarrassingly for Mr Bowen, it suggested he should ‘travel a little less’ so he would have more time to

provide ‘insight’ and ‘strategic guidance’ to bosses.

The report’s author, former UN director of communications Edward Mortimer, added that the BBC made mistakes in its reporting of countries such as Bahrain, where he said coverage was ‘rather sporadic’ and arguably insufficient.

The report added there should have been ‘greater eagerness’ in covering the situation in Yemen and also questioned coverage of Algeria,

Morocco and Jordan.

Alison Hastings, chairman of the trust’s editorial standards committee, said: ‘We’re keen to see if improvements can be made both in the scope of coverage to provide a fuller picture of events, and in providing better context for audiences.

‘We’ll ask the director of news to report back to us with an update in the autumn.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

The BBC's coverage of major revolutions such as Libya, pictured. were prioritised over reporting from countries where regimes were not overthrown resulting in 'insufficient' coverage.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

ANALYSIS

M

y people of great Egypt, who today celebrate democracy in our country; those of you standing in the public squares, in Tahrir Square, and all the public squares of Egypt; my dear people, big family, brothers and sons, you who are awaiting the future, who want security and safety, goodness and revival, and development and stability for our country, I turn to you praising God for having brought about this historic moment.

This is a shining course written by the hands of Egyptians, by their will, their blood, their tears and their sacrifices. I would never have been able to stand before you today as the first elected president by the will of free Egyptians in the first presidential elections after the revolution of 25 January, nor I would have been able to stand before you now with this overwhelming happiness that extends to the four corners of our beloved country without the support of God almighty and the sacrifices and precious blood of our noble martyrs and the noble, wounded citizens.

I give my thanks and greetings to the martyrs, to their souls, to the mothers and fathers of the martyrs, and all my people who lost their dear ones and sacrificed for Egypt. I offer my sincere prayers for them and for the wounded who watered the tree of freedom with their blood and cleared the way for us to arrive at this moment.

We are grateful to the families of all, who taught their sons the meaning of patriotism and true martyrdom. They have shown steadfastness and courage in confronting the great loss of their own flesh and blood, the price of freedom.

I renew with them the pledge that this sacred blood would not be lost in vein. I salute the great Egyptian people, and salute the army, the best soldiers on earth, our armed forces, wherever they are. I offer my heartfelt greetings and love to them. I value their role and I am keen to strengthen and secure them and their esteemed institution which we all love and value.

I also extend similar greetings to the honourable police, whose role many people wrongly perceive that I appreciate less than others. This is not true.

Whoever committed a crime would be held accountable before the law. As for the honourable policemen, who make up the majority among the police in Egypt, they are entitled to the highest expressions of appreciation. They have a great role in the future to maintain internal security and peace in our nation.

We are duty bound to acknowledge the judges of Egypt who supervised the elections of revolutionary Egypt. Even those who did not participate [in the electoral process], we equally hold them in a position of esteem and love. Our judges make up the third source of authority, which would always remain

PAGE 31

Social justice, freedom and human dignity are our basic slogans - Morsi

Egypt's new president, Mohamed Morsi (right), shakes hands with the prime minister, Kamal alGanzuri, in the Al-Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images strong and prominent. Our judiciary owns its will; it is separate from the executive and it must remain so in the future, to be independent of the executive and by necessity the legislative powers.

I affirm to all segments of the Egyptian people that I have today, by your choice and your will, through the favour of Allah, become the president of all Egyptians, wherever they are, at home or abroad, and in all the provinces of Egypt, on its eastern borders and the west, and in the south and north and central Egypt.

I turn to you all on this historic day, in which I have become president of all Egyptians, equally. Everyone will be afforded due respect, without any privilege, except that rendered by their service to our nation and their respect for the constitution and the law.

It is not possible to forget the members of the diplomatic corps, and those who work in it, as well as the members of the general intelligence; I will not forget any of them.

My beloved Egyptians who astonished the world with their revolution and whose youth surprised the world by standing in long lines to vote - whether in the referendum for the constitutional proclamation, the parliamentary elections, the elections of the consultative assembly, or the presidential elections - Egypt today is the Egypt of the entire nation. Our

country is in urgent need at this moment for the consolidation of ranks and unity of purpose so that our great and patient people would reap the rewards of their sacrifice to live with dignity.

Social justice, freedom and human dignity are our basic slogans. These are the main goals for which the revolution was started in all the squares of Egypt on 25 January 2011 and the strong voices which demanded them still do so in every expression of our ongoing revolution.

The revolution will continue until it realises all its objectives.

Together we will complete this process. The Egyptian people have been patient for long, enduring tyranny, oppression, marginalisation and forgery of their will and elections.

We used to look around us and say: when will Egypt and its people become the owners of their destiny? Today you have become the source of authority and the world bears witness to your endeavour for a better future.

O people of Egypt, you have bestowed upon me a heavy trust and great responsibility. I say to all of you, by the grace of Allah and your will, that I have been entrusted with this and I am not best of you. I will sacrifice all my efforts to be loyal to the duties and pledges which I made before all of you, and that all would be equal in rights and duties.

“

As for myself I have no rights but I have duties; so I call upon you my people to support me as long as I establish justice and righteousness among you, and as long as I obey God in your affairs. If I don't do so, and I disobey God and I do not adhere to what I promised, you are not obliged to obey me.

At this historic juncture, I call upon you the great people of Egypt to strengthen our national unity and close our ranks and stand together. We are all Egyptians. Even though we differ in our views we are all citizens of this country, even if our parties are different. There is no room for the language of confrontation and there is no room to accuse each other.

National unity is the way to lift Egypt out of the present situation and to embark upon a broad project of renaissance, one that is truly Egyptian, leading to real development of our resources. God has blessed us with much, but as you know [our wealth] was squandered and not put to proper use. We are today about to use these resources to realise our interests.

I call upon you to begin this renaissance project.

We Egyptians, Muslims and Christians, are harbingers of development and civilisation and we will remain so. We will meet the trials and schemes which are aimed at undermining our resolve and national unity as we did during

National unity is the way to lift Egypt out of the present situation and to embark upon a broad project of renaissance, one that is truly Egyptian, leading to real development of our resources.

the revolution. I am determined with you to astound the world with the Egyptian revival that realises prosperity, dignity and stability.

I am determined, with your help, to build a new Egypt, a civil state, which is democratically constituted. All my energies will be devoted to this great project. I will work to preserve Egypt's national interests on all fronts, Arab and African, regional and international.

We will respect the international treaties and conventions we signed, and we will work to have a system of Egyptian values, especially in the area of freedom and human rights, and women's and children's rights, and to remove all forms of discrimination.

We will establish balanced relations with the entire world community, relations based on mutual interests and respect between equal parties.

We will not allow ourselves to intervene in the internal affairs of any country and we will not allow interference in our affairs.

We will preserve our national sovereignty and the borders of the Egyptian state and everyone must know that Egyptian decisions will come from within and by the will of its people.

Egypt is capable with its people and its forces and history to defend itself and to prevent any hostility or anyone from contemplating aggression against it or its people, wherever they are in the world.

My Egyptian people, we recognise the challenges of the moment. I am convinced that with help of God we will together be able to pass through this phase quickly so that Egypt becomes stronger and assumes its leadership role. This is the destiny of Egypt and what awaits it in the future.

We all are happy and we celebrate this great democracy, the elections and triumph of the will of our nation. I reaffirm what I announced before, that I will never betray Allah in your affairs, or disobey Him in the affairs of my nation. I place before me His saying, "Fear a day when we will return to Allah".

Therefore, say with me together my beloved people, by our will and our unity and our love for each other, we will be able to make a great future. My beloved people some may see these hopes as distant, but we, together, see them very near, by the grace of God and "He is able to enforce His will but most people do not know".

Being a translated version of Mohammed Morsi's speech in Tahrir Square on Sunday after he was confirmed as president of Egypt.

Source: Guardian.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 32

Libya east-west highway cut by armed militia Journalists arrested in Sudan crackdown

S

udan security forces have arrested scores of people, including several journalists, in a brutal crackdown on protests that began on 16 June in response to government austerity measures and price increases.

Police are alleged to have used excessive force in breaking up protests, beating demonstrators, using tear gas and rubber bullets and even live ammunition.

Though the protests were sparked by economic grievances, protesters have since called for an end to the current government led by the president, Omar al-Bashir.

The demonstrators are also opposed to Sudan's wars in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile.

Local and international journalists have been arrested while trying to report on the protests. Simon Martelli, an Agence France Presse correspondent, was detained for 14 hours in Khartoum. After Salma al-Wardany, an Egyptian journalist for Bloomberg, was detained she was ordered to be deported after it was alleged that she had links to activists.

Migrants suffocate to death in Tanzania

F

orty-three immigrants from Ethiopian and Somali were found dead in a truck in central Tanzania, having perished from asphyxiation, the deputy interior minister said.

"They died of suffocation and had no food," Pereira Silima said on Tuesday.

"There were more than 100 people in the truck," a local administration official told AFP news agency.

The bodies were discovered in Dodoma province, about 400km west of Dar es Salaam.

Tanzania's state television said the bodies were thrown off the truck and dumped in the bush after the driver of the truck realised some of the people he was smuggling had perished. Those who survived are receiving medical treatment and being questioned by police.

In December, 20 Somali immigrants were found dead in Tanzania.

The road to Ras Lanuf in Libya.

T

he main highway linking east and west Libya has been cut by armed militia demanding changes to the rules of the country's national elections due on 7 July.

Armed units backed by vehicles mounted with antiaircraft guns have cut the highway at Red Wadi, 40 miles from Libya's main oil refinery at Ras Lanuf.

The militia say they will stay in place until Cyrenaica, Libya's oil-rich eastern province, is given a greater distribution of seats in the new national parliament, the national congress.

The region's self-declared Barqa Council - the Arab name for Cyrenaica - is calling for a boycott of the national elections unless seats are shared equally between Libya's three

provinces.

The roadblock, which government forces have not opposed, has further raised concerns over doubts over whether Libya can hold free and fair elections on schedule as violence continues in many parts of the country.

Fresh fighting has broken out in the southern town of Kufra, where battles between

the indigenous Tibu people and Arab tribes earlier this year left 70 dead.

Tense ceasefires continue around the towns of Zuara and Zintan, where battles cost more than 100 lives earlier this month.

Benghazi has also been the scene of attacks blamed on jihadists, including a rocket attack on the British ambassador's convoy earlier this month.

Ethiopia convicts journalist, 23 others

A

n advocacy group says the convictions in Ethiopia of 24 government opponents on terrorism and treason charges is a "dark day" for freedom of expression.

Amnesty International said

that journalist Eskinder Nega and leading members of the political opposition were among those convicted on Wednesday. Amnesty said the evidence in court demonstrated peaceful and legitimate activities, not criminal

wrongdoing.

Eskinder was honored in May with PEN America's "Freedom to Write" award. He was arrested in 2011 under Ethiopia's sweeping antiterrorism laws.

Ethiopia, a U.S. military

ally, is known for taking a hardline with members of the opposition. Amnesty said the evidence against Eskinder centers on his discussions on whether the Arab spring demonstrations could spread to Ethiopia.

abon is to burn its government-held stockpile of ivory to mark the country's commitment to combat poaching and illegal wildlife trade.

President Ali Bongo will ignite the ivory pyre in the Cite de Democratie at a time of intense poaching pressure in central Africa, where record levels of elephant killings have been documented in the last year.

"Gabon has a policy of zero tolerance for wildlife crime and we are putting in place the institutions and laws to ensure this policy is enforced," said Bongo.

Gabon will be the first country in central Africa to publicly destroy its ivory in an

act that is intended to send a strong signal to poachers that the nation is committed to tackling the illegal wildlife trade.

The confiscated stock totals 4,825 kilograms, including 1,293 piece of rough ivory mainly composed of tusks and 17,730 pieces of worked ivory, an overall quantity that would correspond to around 850 elephants.

It is hoped that burning the stockpiles will remove any temptation to sell government ivory on the black market. "If not managed properly, ivory stockpiles in the hands of government suddenly 'get legs' and move into illegal trade," said Tom Milliken, ivory trade expert at wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic.

Traffic says Mozambique lost more than a tonne of ivory in this way in February, while

Zambia lost three tonnes from the government's strong room last week.

Gabon to burn ivory stockpiles G

Soldiers arrange a pyre of elephant tusks and thousands of pieces of worked ivory as they prepare to burn ivory stocks in Gabon.

Photograph: AP

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 33

Syrian pro-Assad TV station staff killed in armed raid on studios

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unmen raided the headquarters of a progovernment Syrian TV station early yesterday, killing seven employees, kidnapping others and demolishing buildings, officials said.

An Associated Press photographer who visited the al-Ikhbariya station's compound said five portable buildings used for offices and studios had collapsed, with blood on the floor and wooden partitions still on fire. Some walls had bullet holes.

Al-Ikhbariya is privately owned but strongly supports President Bashar Assad's regime. Pro-

government journalists have been attacked on several previous occasions during the country's 15month uprising. "What happened today is a massacre," the information minister, Omran al-Zoebi, told reporters. He blamed terrorists - the same word the government uses for rebels.

Rebels deny they target the media. Much of the violence that has gripped Syria over the past 15 months has been sanctioned by the government to crush dissent. But rebel fighters are launching increasingly deadly attacks on

regime targets, and several massive suicide attacks this year suggest alQaida or other extremists are joining the fray.

The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said yesterday that she has "great hope" that a meeting of key powers on Saturday in Geneva can be a turning point in the Syria crisis.

But the UN gave a dire assessment of the crisis, saying the violence has worsened since a ceasefire deal that was supposed to go into effect in April, and the bloodshed appears to be taking on more dangerous, sectarian overtones.

Many killed in Bangladesh after heavy rain

L

andslides and floods kill at least 76 following three days of rains.

At least 70 people have been killed and about 200,000 stranded due to landslides and floods in southeast Bangladesh after three days of some of the heaviest rains in the country, officials said.

The army has been deployed to help with search and rescue efforts in the affected hill region of Chittagong, south of the country, said the region's chief administrator, Sirajul Haq Khan yesterday, who warned that the toll could rise.

At least 15 people were killed in and around the southeastern port city of Chittagong, while 30 died in Bandarban in an area known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts. A further 24 died in the coastal district of Cox's Bazar near the

Myanmar border, officials and police said.

"We are having the worst rainfall in many years," said Jainul Bari, district commissioner for Cox's Bazar.

Chittagong port received 40 centimeters of rain in a single 12hour period on Tuesday.

In Sylhet, north east of the country, houses stood up to one metre under water, leaving residents scrambling to reach higher ground. Three children were reported killed in the area.

According to the state Disaster Management Information Centre, 150,000 people had been marooned by the floods in the southeast while 50,000 in Sylhet were affected by flash floods.

Weather officials said more heavy rain was expected over the next few days.

Singapore preacher charged with fraud over wife’s singing career

T

A damaged headquarters of the al-Ikhbariya TV channel, in Drousha. Photograph: Reuters

he founder of one of Singapore's largest evangelical churches has been charged with fraud for allegedly funneling millions of dollars to fund his wife's singing career.

City Harvest church founder Kong Hee, 47, was charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust over a scheme to syphon at least S$23m (ÂŁ11.5m) of church funds from 2007 to 2010 to finance the singing career of his wife, Ho Yeow Sun. Known professionally as Sun Ho, the 40-year-old has put out several Mandarin and English pop albums and songs, including a 2007 collaboration with pop star

Wyclef Jean called China Wine. She has not been charged.

Kong did not enter a plea and was freed on bail after his passport was seized. He faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

Prosecutors also charged four other church leaders with breach of trust and conspiracy to commit falsification of accounts.

The charges follow a two-year police investigation prompted by local media reports about Ho's lavish lifestyle, including a $20,000-amonth Los Angeles mansion.

A church member had alleged in 2003 that City Harvest funds were paying for Ho's singing career, but he later retracted the statement and publically apologised to Kong and Ho.

Scores rescued from sunk boat off Australia

A Three days of rains triggered flash floods and snapped transport links in Chittagong [Reuters]

t least 130 people have been rescued and one body recovered after a boat sank en route to Australia.

An air and sea search was still ongoing for those missing, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that there were 133 people on board the vessel and that two Australian warships and an air force aircraft that can drop life rafts had joined the search.

The wooden Indonesian fishing boat, believed to be carrying

asylum seekers, including women and children, capsized en route to Australia's Christmas Island, the AMSA said.

A merchant vessel arrived at the scene about four hours later, advising the AMSA that the stricken vessel had sunk, and that survivors were in the water. A second merchant vessel later joined the rescue.

The accident comes less than a week after another boat, with around 200 people on board, sank in the Indian Ocean, also on its way to Australia.

Chinese migrant workers riot in Guangdong

H

City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee arrives at court in Singapore, accused of misusing at least S$23m of church funds to support his wife's singing career Photograph: REUTERS

undreds of Chinese migrant workers rioted and clashed with police this week in a fresh outbreak of social unrest in the economic powerhouse of Guangdong.

The southern province, one of China's major coastal manufacturing zones, is home to a large population of migrant factory workers drawn from across China.

But in recent years, perceived discrimination and abuse by authorities have triggered strikes, clashes and

riots.

The latest clashes took place in Shaxi township, near the city of Zhongshan, involving about 300 migrants who hurled rocks after a fight between a 15-year-old migrant and a student, according to a government spokeswoman from Shaxi.

Security personnel intervened and beat the young migrant, infuriating a group of relatives and others migrants who rioted, the Global Times newspaper reported.

PAGE 34

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

Tony Blair: I would be IMF offers prime minister again to T

ony Blair has said in an interview marking the fifth anniversary of his resignation as prime minister that he would be prepared to do the job again, but that he recognises this is unlikely.

He also claims that he has learned much in the past five years that would make him a better prime minister.

Blair describes being forced out by Gordon Brown despite the fact that he thought he could

have stayed on as Labour leader, but only at the end of a bloody internal party battle. He also accuses his successor of leading Labour to inevitable election defeat by abandoning New Labour in the wake of the

Tony Blair: 'One of my regrets is that what I have learned in the last five years would have been so useful to me [as prime minister].'

Bolivia police strike ends, other protest hits

B

olivia's rank-and-file police have ended a sixday strike for higher wages after signing a pact with the government that includes a modest pay increase.

Officers and their wives have been abandoning the barracks they had seized nearly a week ago and a camp they pitched near the presidential palace.

Under Wednesday's agreement, the government agrees to a $14 increase in the base salary of the 28,000 rankand-file police officers, who currently earn an average of $194 a month.

It also promises to reform a new disciplinary code that police complained was too harsh.

Just as the police mutiny ended, about 1,5000 Amazon Indian marchers entered the city to protest President Evo Morales plans to build a jungle highway through a forest preserve.

financial crisis.

Discussing his time since leaving office, he says: "I am seeing a lot of the world and I have learned an immense amount in the past five years.

One of my regrets is that what I have learned in the last five years would have been so useful to me [as prime minister].

Because when you see how the world is developing you get a far clearer picture of some of the issues our country is grappling with."

Discussing his departure, he says: "It was very strange because I had been preparing to go ever since I was forced out because of the events of the previous September, so in one way I didn't want to go but I felt that I had to. The only choice would have been to have fought a very bloody battle internally which I thought would damage the country as well as the party."

He also claims politics has changed greatly since 2007: "There was a predictability about government and an inherent stability. I did not foresee the tumult which would follow - the financial crisis and the aftermath of that.

help cyprus T

he head of the International Monetary Fund says Cyprus has asked the fund to participate in the financial aid package it plans to ask the European Union to organize to help the Mediterranean island's ailing economy.

Christine Lagarde said the IMF would send an evaluation team to Cyprus as soon as possible for discussions on an economic rescue program.

The IMF is part of the so-called 'troika," along with the European Union and the European Central Bank, that has provided bailout packages to four troubled nations in the eurozone.

Lagarde said Wednesday the IMF is ready to join its European partners to help Cyprus return to stable economic growth and restore its Greek-exposed banking sector.

German court: Child circumcision ‘an assault’

C

ircumcising young boys on religious grounds amounts to grievous bodily harm, a German court has ruled.

The regional court in Cologne, western Germany, ruled that the "fundamental right of the child to bodily integrity outweighed the fundamental rights of the parents", a judgement that is expected to set a legal

precedent.

"The religious freedom of the parents and their right to educate their child would not be unacceptably compromised, if they were obliged to wait until the child could himself decide to be circumcised," the court said.

The case was brought against a doctor in Cologne who circumcised a four-year-old Muslim boy on his parents'

wishes.

A few days after the operation, with the boy bleeding heavily, his parents took him to a hospital.

Prosecutors then charged the doctor with grievous bodily harm.

The doctor was acquitted by a lower court that judged he had acted within the law as the parents had given their consent.

On appeal, the regional court also acquitted the doctor but for different reasons.

The regional court upheld the original charge of grievous bodily harm but also ruled that the doctor was innocent as there was too much confusion on the legal situation around circumcision.

The court came down firmly against parents' right to have the ritual performed on young children.

Microsoft Greece headquarters attacked by gunmen T he head of Microsoft Greece, Ernst-Jan Stigter, says gunmen rammed a van packed with

gas canisters into the tech giant's Athens headquarters, before they set the vehicle on fire.

The attack happened in the early hours of yesterday, and no staff were at work.

According to police at least

two people wielding pistols and a machine gun kept security guards away as they carried out the attack.

Rihanna escapes early morning fire at London hotel

L

ondon Fire Brigade says Rihanna was among 300 people evacuated from a hotel after an early-morning fire in an elevator shaft.

The 24-year-old

Barbadian singer tweeted news of the fire early yesterday to her 21 million Twitter followers, posting a picture of a fire engine and the words: "Roamin da streets

since 6am! Fyah in da telly."

The fire brigade said the alarm was raised and 10 firefighters dealt with the blaze on the 7th floor of the luxury Corinthia Hotel.

There were no reports of injuries.

Rihanna performed Sunday at the outdoor Hackney Weekend concert in London.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 35

Hilarious moment dock collapses during wedding photo shoot and groom swims for shore leaving bridesmaid to rescue his bride

I

f there is ever a day a husband should be chivalrous, it is his wedding.

But when Eric and Maegan Walber fell into the water during a photoshoot, Mr Walber swam for shore, rather than rescuing his dunked bride.

The entire bridal party got a soaking when a dock at the Bay Pointe Inn on Gun Lake in Shelbyville, Michigan, collapsed.

However, the new Mrs Walber gracefully took it in her stride and laughed.

Her only concern was a falling down gown and finding her footing while wearing the heavy dress.

'I came up laughing,' she told 24 Hour News 8.

'I was like, "Oh, man, that really just happened. I can't believe that actually just

Photo shoot: The wedding party had just finished eating dinner when the photographer asked them to gather on the dock at the lake happened." Your wedding party falls into a lake at your reception.

Dunking: The entire structures falls into the water and the bride, Meagan Walber, goes completely under

Soaked: The groom, Eric Walber, ungraciously swims for shore, leaving a bridesmaid to rescue his new wife as she loses her footing in her heavy dress Good humour: Fortunately for her new husband, Mrs Walber saw the funny side to the event

Party on: Diners at the restaurant applauded as the bridal party dried off on safe ground

You can't plan that,' she said with a laugh.

Thankfully, her modesty was

protected by a bridesmaid, who also tried to steady her friend.

The scene was captured by

Anne Oppenhuizen of Inspiration Video.

The wedding party had just finished eating dinner when the photographer told them that if they wanted photos on the lake, now was the time to go.

'We were out there for probably 30 seconds, standing on the dock, and it started to lean and tilt,' said Mr Walber.

'We went right under,' he added.

Afterwards, the soaking wet bridal party got a standing ovation from other diners at the restaurant.

And Mrs Walber's evening wasn't completely ruined as she had the dress that she'd worn to the rehearsal dinner the night before to change into.

'It makes for a good story,' she said. 'We'll be telling our grandkids.'

Love is in the open air: Secret lover camped in a tent at the bottom of his lover's garden and her husband had no idea

A

woman has revealed how an old flame secretly camped in a tent at the back of her garden until they were able to be together.

When Sue MacLean accepted a Facebook friend request from Alex MacDonald, her former boyfriend of 25 years before, she was intrigued to see if he had

Love is in the open air: Sue MacLean (left) was reunited via Facebook with Alex MacDonald, who is shown in the tent he pitched near her back garden in Banchory, Aberdeenshire

changed at all.

Gone was the thick mop of black hair and teenage looks, but she realised her feelings were as strong as ever.After he revealed he felt the same way, things then moved so fast he walked out on his wife and ended up living in a tent near her back garden without her other man knowing.

Now, after their whirlwind reunion last year, the couple have moved into a rented house in Inverness-shire and are planning to get married in Gretna Green once his divorce comes through.

They originally met at an Inverness disco in 1985 when Ms MacLean was 19 and Mr MacDonald was 16, but split after a year because he thought he was too young to settle.

Both got married but Mr MacDonald could not forget his first true love, so he searched for her on Facebook.

Ms MacLean, 47, told the Daily Mirror that Alex's first words to her were 'I've missed you. I've been looking for you for 26 years'.

And even though he was married and Ms MacLean was in a new relationship after getting a divorce, they arranged to meet last year.

Mr MacDonald, 44, drove 160 miles to her home in Banchory, Aberdeenshire, last August and they planned their future together.

They decided that shop manager Ms MacLean would work out her month's notice and then they would run away together.

But Mr MacDonald, unemployed at the time but now a supermarket worker, turned up at her workplace a few days later saying he had walked out of his marital home in Inverness and could not bear to be apart from her any longer.

Still in love: Alex MacDonald and Sue MacLean are planning to marry in Gretna Green once his divorce comes through

PAGE 36

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

How can I tell if my son’s abusing steroids?

S teroids have made the news with a politician’s son taking up full-time body-building.

Jonny Spelman, 17, the son of Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman, has already been banned from rugby for steroid use. So what do steroids do?

How would I know if my son were using steroids?

Anyone working out regularly will build muscle, but anabolic steroids are taken by body-builders to enhance this dramatically.

They are similar to the

male sex hormone testosterone, which builds muscle bulk. Side effects to watch out for include bad acne, aggressive behaviour and even the development of breast tissue.

Is taking steroids in this way harmful in the long term?

Unnecessarily taking any medicine is a bad idea.

Steroid-users are prone to raised blood pressure, high cholesterol and kidney damage, putting them at risk of cardiovascular disease.

Steroid use can also cause impotence, reduced fertility

“

Muscle mass: Steroids enhance body shape - but have side effects.

Steroids prescribed by your doctor have side effects but are given in a controlled situation for medical benefit. Doctors also use the lowest doses possible. High doses of steroid, which are prescribed only for those with severe medical problems, cause different side effects

and liver disease.

Do steroids occur naturally in the body?

Yes, in many forms. The sex hormones – testosterone and oestrogen – are steroids made in the body. Other natural steroids are vital in our response to stress and regulating salt levels.

Anabolic steroids are most closely related to the male hormone testosterone. Doses taken are often more than ten times the natural level found in the male body.

How are anabolic steroids different from the steroids a doctor prescribes?

The steroids we use as medicine are a synthetic version of natural hormones, corticosteroids.

Steroids prescribed by your doctor have side effects but are given in a controlled situation for medical benefit. Doctors also use the lowest doses possible.

Can medical steroids cause the same side effects?

High doses of steroid, which are prescribed only for those with severe medical problems, cause different side effects.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Two cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of heart failure (but five are bad for you)

T

wo mugs of coffee a day could help keep the heart strong.

A study has linked the drug with a lower risk of heart failure, in which the organ, weakened by a heart attack or disease, struggles to pump blood around the body.

With up to 40 per cent of those affected dying within a year of diagnosis, heart failure has a worse survival rate than many cancers.

The latest research suggests that regularly drinking moderate amounts of coffee can cut the odds of the cardiac trouble brewing. However, cup after cup may be counterproductive.

Crunching together the results of five previous studies involving almost 150,000 men and women showed that those who enjoyed one or two mugs of coffee a day were 11

per cent less likely to develop heart failure than those who never touched the stuff.

Heart attack survivors gained as much benefit as those with healthy hearts.

But drinking five or more mugs a day appeared to be bad for the heart, the journal Circulation Heart Failure reports.

Researcher Dr Murray Mittleman, of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre in Boston, said: ‘As with so many things, moderation appears to be the key here too.’

Colleague Elizabeth Mostofsky said: ‘This is good news for coffee drinkers.’

The study didn’t differentiate between caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee but most of those taking part drank the former.

The researchers aren’t sure why coffee seems to cut the

“

The latest research suggests that regularly drinking moderate amounts of coffee can cut the odds of the cardiac trouble brewing. However, cup after cup may be counter-productive. Crunching together the results of five previous studies involving almost 150,000 men and women showed that those who enjoyed one or two mugs of coffee a day were 11 per cent less likely to develop heart failure than those who never touched the stuff

Coffee may protect against heart failure by reducing the chance of developing diabetes, said scientists. odds of heart failure.

But they say it may be to do with the drink reducing the likelihood of high blood pressure and of diabetes - both of which boost the odds of heart failure.

Dr Mittleman said: ‘It stands to reason that reducing one’s odds of developing either one of them, in turn, reduces one’s chance of heart failure.’

Other recent research to hearten coffee drinkers includes a study that credited the drink with helping people live longer.

The US government-funded researchers found the more coffee you drink, the less likely you are to die from a number of different ailments.

These include heart disease,

respiratory disease, stroke, injuries, accidents, diabetes and infections, but not cancer.

It is also known that some people inherit genes that make them more reliant on caffeine than others.

Those with the ‘caffeine addict’ genes, need to drink more coffee to get the same buzz.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 37

Subsidy probe scandal: Tambuwal couldn’t have been the target, says Dantiye A former member of the House of Representatives representing Babura/Garki Federal Constituency of Jigawa state, Honourable Nasiru Garba Dantiye, said it is absurd to insinuate that the House of Representatives Speaker was the target in the Farouk Lawan bribery scandal. In this interview with Ahmed Abubakar, Dantiye opens up on several other national issues. Excerpts:

A

s a former member of the National assembly what is your view of the subsidy probe saga?

Honestly I will not say I am surprised, I will only be disappointed in one area because I have worked with him when he was a subcommittee chairman of a standing committee in appropriation. When we worked together, I knew how hardworking he is.

My disappointment is in the way it happened. He came out talking tough about people stealing and making it hard for some members to survive and telling Nigerians about the impact of corruption.

The same man was in the forefront of making recommendations for people to return what they have stolen and be prosecuted. How will someone who is reputed for not only being in the forefront of the fuel subsidy saga but the chairman of the Integrity Group of the House when he came against the Former Speaker (Olubunmi) Eteh because she gave out contract and they believed that the contract was fraudulent. How can the same person involve himself in a corruption scandal when the fuel subsidy affected the lives of all Nigerians whether rich or poor.

Remember some persons lost their lives over the fuel subsidy protests in Kano, Lagos and Ilorin. How will he connive to collect bribe and exonerate somebody who was to refund about $450 Million and you are taking only $3Million to make the person free.

I am saying that if it is true that Farouk Lawan took the money the God I believe in would never allow him to go unpunished. I feel saddened and the question is where lies our hope? Can anybody give me the answer? Not only being a fourth timer, I knew Farouk Lawan when he was one of the whistle blowers during Ghali Umar Na’aba; I know that he did the media committee and I know how strong it was. During our time we worked with him as a Chairman of the Finance committee and I know he was the chairman of the Appropriation committee when I left the House.

When he left the Appropriation committee, Etteh gave him the chairman of the Education committee. For one to work at the appropriation committee, education committee and finance committee what else do you need?

You don’t need to involve yourself in all these if at all he had done it.

There was this argument that the bribery scandal was

Hon. Nasiru Garba Dantiye masterminded by the Presidency and targeted at removing the Speaker. How do you react to this?

That is a very lousy thinking.

For me, to think like that smacks of lack of patriotism. If Farouk has collected the $620, 000, in bits of $250, 000 twice and $120, 000 by his secretary in the committee, he should have been honest enough to inform the security agents at the time he was collecting the money. Why did that guy had to keep that money for almost two months? Any way that is for the security agencies and possibly the court to iron out but if Tambuwal the speaker was not in the know of this, and he did not have anything to do with this money tell me how it is going to affect him?

How do you reconcile the attempt by the bribe-giver, Femi Otedola’s attempt to link up the leadership of the House when his company, Zenon Oil was re-listed?

I was told that when the House adopted the committee reports, Farouk made an input that they made a mistake to have listed Xenon Oil among indicted companies in the first place, and it was removed, my worry is in the fact that most of the ad-hoc committees members at the National Assembly worked hand in hand with the leadership of the House. They appointed them so

the chairmen sometimes report some issues to them before making them official. I am not saying the Speaker is involved but it will be surprising that Farouk will do everything without the knowledge of the leadership of the House. So for somebody to insinuate that the Speaker is the target over the bribery for which the security was not alerted at the time when the money was kept for more than two months is mischievous and unacceptable. Why was the Speaker not targeted earlier?

They should allow the investigation to finish. If Tambuwal is involved, Farouk will say so, if Farouk will not mention the Speaker as an accomplice, then he has no case. It is left for the security agencies, Farouk himself and Otedola because if Farouk had told him the Speaker was involved, that is what he will say.

What is the level of the integrity of the report now after this brouhaha?

Left to me that report should not be used as it is for now. The House has changed the leadership of the ad-hoc committee, my candid advice is for them to have an overview of the probe again with the fear of God in their minds.

What the scenario portray is that there are some other companies that were supposed to be indicted but they have found their way out

of the list because they have performed just like Otedola and maybe there are some companies that were not supposed to be indicted but they were indicted because they refused to play ball.

Let the House go beyond suspending Farouk by dissolving the committee; set up a new committee made up of people of impeccable track records to have another look at the report.

What will you say about Otedola that quickly owned up to have given the bribe?

He was trying to protect himself by saying that he had informed the security agents. If truly he had alerted the security agents before giving out the money, then he has done a good job if he believed he never committed any offence as far as the subsidy probe is concerned but there is no way somebody will blackmail him to give out $3m. It might be that Farouk asked for the bribe and he alerted the security agents to nail him, then he has done a good job for the country and should be awarded the highest honor.

However if he did it because he was bitter for parting with the money then he should be investigated and tried to see if he contravened any of the Nigerian laws.

The government seems to be winning the war against corruption from the level of exposure of corrupt activities in the country. How will you react to this?

Is there any anti corruption crusade that we should even beat out chest? No there is none. All they know is how to find their way out with the Judiciary which is also corrupt. At the moment, I have a case against somebody with the EFCC over somebody who has duped many of us millions of Naira and he has been taken to court; so many months have elapsed but we have not even had the opportunity to address the court. Criminals have money to throw around. If you have a case, it is for you to take the most brilliant of lawyers and pay them and they will go and make some technical presentations and before they really hear your side it will be too late. As far as I know, there is no corruption crusade in Nigeria. If I am right the House has be angry that the President has refused to sign the Procurement Act. The Act has stipulated punishment for those that used to inflate figures but you will see that governors, directors will come out with pictures and after two years nothing is heard again and that is the end of the matter.

Until we have leaders that have the political will; those who are honest and sincere, we won’t talk

about any anti corruption. In a situation whereby the federal Government and states were using Nigerian money to win election, tell me who are you to fight corruption. The anti corruption agencies have been advocating for special courts to try corruption. I was reading that there are more than a 100, 000 cases yet to be dispensed in this country. With the dilly-dalling of adjournments after three months, tell me how we can fight corruption? The common people may be interested in fighting corruption but the leaders do not have the political will and sincerity to fight corruption.

What of the Obasanjo connection in this saga having earlier labeled the lawmakers as thieves?

It does not matter who played the tape; I am not trying to defend Obasanjo because he is the last person I will try to defend, but the truth needs to be told. What matters is whether the content of that tape is real. It might be that Obasanjo labeled the lawmakers as rogues because he had seen the tape. If elected members of the House of representative sent to represent his people, superintending over an all important probe of fuel subsidy will turn around to connive with the person you reported has stolen money, will start calling the same person about sixteen times to collect the bribe, can you tell me which name is more suitable than rogue?

There was this insinuation that the PDP prevented Farouk from tendering the money before the House, what is your opinion?

Farouk is not a small boy, where is the PDP now to defend him? Tendering the money is not even the best option for him. The first thing he would have done after Otedola made overtures would have been to report to the security agencies. He is also supposed to have intimated the Speaker, but he did not say that he did that. He should have known better because now they have deserted him to his fate.

Being somebody that is very clever and intelligent, any person that has worked with him will acknowledge that he wouldn’t have folded his arm waiting for PDP to tell him what to do. Taking the money, he should have known that the consequences would fall on him hence he should have proved that he never intended to take the money at the initial stage.

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PDP tasks INEC on Edo guber election

By Lawrence Olaoye

T

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure neutrality in the conduct of July 14 th governorship in election in Edo state.

The party made the plea in response to the story that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) was said to have made overtures to INEC Director of ICT, Chidi Nwafor, to manipulate the voters register and other electoral data in favor of the ACN. The PDP in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said the move by the ACN smacked of desperation to win the Edo governorship election at all cost, cautioning that INEC should do all within its powers to ensure that no discredited INEC official is allowed to take part in the election so as not to rub mud on the integrity of the electoral umpire.

The party also said INEC should convince Nigerians, especially the people of Edo state, on its preparedness to conduct a credible governorship election.

He said “This is another in the series of cascading ugly incidents that are combining to shutter the possibility of credible election in Edo state. Hitherto, the Comrade Governor had his way in forcing the INEC to shut the doors against the review of voter registers.

“The same governor is controversially enmeshed in the use of the National Youth Service Corps members whose fidelity to the credibility of the July election has been compromised by him.

Where does the INEC stand in the matter of neutrality without which an umpire loses the moral license to deliver an acceptable exercise?” “ We wish to, therefore, urge that INEC has a lot of critical steps to take, first to shore up the confidence of all stakeholders and very importantly, rein in its staff members who may want to derail and ensure the ultimate delivery of a poll with remarkable improvement

from the previous exercises.”

According to the PDP, the INEC Director of ICT saga is another bold statement on the desperation of the ACN to subvert the will of the people.”What a convergence of hypocrites the ACN is?

With their mouth, they scream free and fair, with their pairs of limbs they engage every foul tactics to win elections.”

The statement further said the bribery saga is a big sludge on the integrity of Governor Oshimole who, after four years in power, shouldn’t be linked with such disgraceful malfeasance or be afraid of any challenge, had he performed.

“The resort to bribery of election officials by this sinking governor exposes the desperation of the ACN and puts a lie to the phantom achievements of

Oshiomhole who has designed an elaborate propaganda scheme to hoodwink unsuspecting citizens of Edo State.”

The PDP noted that the ACN has employed all forms of violence to intimidate its members and urged all good natured Nigerians to speak out against what is happening in Edo State.

“We are calling on the civil society groups not to close its eyes to the orgy of violence being visited on the members of our party by Governor Oshimole’s band of thugs. Their ultimate plan is to intimidate our members and supporters from coming out to exercise their franchise and pave the way for the consummation of desperation to win at all costs.”

“At the bottom since the Edo election

Faulty INEC register delays LG polls-Edo Govt From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

E R-L: Chairman Otu Ede-Oseghe and Esogban of Benin Kingdom, Chief David Edebiri, presents copies of 500 campaign vests to Edo state Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole during a visit by the group to the governor, yesterday at the Government House, Benin City

Edo PDP governorship candidate promises to tackle Auchi gully erosiona

R

etired Maj.-Gen. Charles Airhiavbere, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Edo, said he would partner with the Federal Government to tackle the Auchi gully erosion if voted into office.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the candidate for the July 14, governorship poll made the promise on Wednesday during his campaign in Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo. Airhiavbere said he would collaborate with the Federal Government to speedily tackle the devastating gully erosion ravaging the area.

He said that it was regrettable that the gully erosion that had become a threat to lives

and property of the people in the area had been left unattended to.

The candidate expressed sympathy over the ecological challenge facing the people of Auchi and environs, and said that it must be controlled as soon as possible to put an end to the hardship facing the people.

He said, ``When you vote PDP, the transformational agenda from the Federal Government would immediately affect Edo State. ``We would quickly call on the Federal Government to join us to tackle the devastating gully erosion consuming part of this area. ``We will not just fold our arms to see our people's houses and other valuables consumed

by erosion. This ecological problem has to be dealt with head-on.''

Also addressing the rally, a former Speaker of the Edo House of Assembly, Mr. Zakawanu Garuba, dispelled the rumour that PDP was dead in the area.

He said that the mammoth crowd that graced the rally had further proved critics wrong on the speculation that PDP was eliminated in Etsako West.

Garuba called on them to continue to support PDP and to vote Airhiavbere in the July 14 election.

In his speech, the PDP Chairman in Edo, Chief Dan Orbih, said that he was impressed by the reception given to the party by the people.

Governors Forums call for state police is timely - PAC chairman

T

he Progressive Action Congress (PAC) yesterday commended the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) on its call for the creation of state police.

Its Chairman, Chief Charles Nwodo, made the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

Nwodo said the Forum's call for the creation of state police was long overdue because of its importance in combating crime in the society.

is an isolated case, just one in the thirty six states, we urge the INEC to mobilize its trusted staff members, those whose commitment and integrity it can guarantee, from other states of the federation to conduct the election.”

The Party further said its objection to the use of corps members for the election was because the adhoc nature of their service does not to conduce to strict administrative control necessary to forestall the compromise of electoral integrity.

“In Edo specifically, youth corps members have been part and parcel of the campaign trail of the ACN, their neutrality is therefore compromised” While re-stating its vigilance to ensure that votes count in the election, the PDP also called on the EFCC to thoroughly investigate the suspect with a view to unmasking other possible collaborators.

`` It is unfortunate that various panels set up for police reform in the past did not see the light of the day. ``This is seriously against the public interest seeking for police reform. The establishment of state police could have strengthened the police further. `` Now that insecurity has become our major problem in governance, the adoption of the state police has become sacrosanct," he said The PAC chieftain said there was no way

a police officer posted out of his ethnic zone could easily understand the language being used by the criminals in an unfamiliar environment.

Nwodo said the inability of such police officer to master the terrain in the rural areas would also compound his or her problems to locate the hideout of criminals.

He added that the state police contributed to the success of the first republic in combating crime, the government should take a cue from that to combat insecurity in the country.

do state government has asked the Independent National electoral Commission, INEC to take responsibility for the delay in conduct of the state local government election due to its out-dated voters Register.

The Local Government Councils were dissolved and replaced with unelected Care-taker Committees in October 2010

by Governor by Adams Oshiomhole.

State Deputy Governor, Barr. Pius Odubu who disclosed this while fielding questions at Nigeria Debate Group yesterday in Benin City said the current INEC voters' Register captured Mike Tyson, Muhammed Alli as Edo state voters Odubu recalled local Government law passed by former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership empowered the executive arm of government to obtain a blank cheque indefinitely to conduct local government election when funds are available.

'The constraints were caused by INEC…You have Muhammed Alli registered here in Edo, you have Mike Tyson registered in Edo State' even as he added that the State Government do not interfere on financial autonomy of local Councils.

He also said as a matter of policy, the state government has mandated caretaker Committee Chairmen to expend larger percentage of their revenue on construction and renovation of public primary Schools that are of the same prototype with government standard.

Responding to avalanche of Edo youth empowerment Scheme allegedly employed in error, the Deputy Governor, conceded that the government acted in error and it has been corrected by the Information Communication technology, ICT Department. 'We made a mistake initially and we have corrected it…', he said.

On aggressive tax implementation, Odubu said, the government was only implementing the federal tax law, which was not meant to witch-hunt anybody and corporate institutions; even as he disclosed that he could o0nly act on duties assigned to him by his boss.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 39

4 parties to participate in Nasarawa Assembly bye-election, says INEC

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A cross Section of some senators during the opening of the senate's 2012 retreat on Monday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state capital.

Kwara ACN, PDP trade words over bye-election rigging From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

T

he Kwara Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have engaged each other in blame game over alleged plans to rig the forthcoming bye elelction into the state House of Assembly.

The ACN alleged that a serving commissioner in the state has been designated to liaise with the youth corps members who are to be used as presiding officers at the election to help the PDP manipulate the outcome of the election ordered by the Appeal court in Ilorin.

Addressing newsmen at the party's secretariat in Ilorin yesterday, under the auspices of ACN Stakeholders' Forum, Chief Iyiola Oyedepo, alleged that, "the PDP in the 'June 30 re-run election wants to embark on

votes bulk purchase".

"We have it on authority which is impeccable that the honourable Commissioner for energy has been designated to do some hatchet work for the party in the forthcoming re-run election".

Oyedepo insisted "the commissioner on the June 26, 2012 at his Oloje block industry premises held a secret meeting with the Corpers with the aim of corrupting them in his efforts to manipulate the process on or before the election day. His intention is to use them to do ballot stuffing while the box would be on transit to the voting center or to the collation center".

"The Commissioner has promised to continue with the meetings with the Corpers until Friday, 29th day of June when he hopes to seal the deals on his desire to use the presiding officers

to manipulate the election process. After the meeting of the 26the June 2012, the commissioner gave all the attendees the sum of two thousand naira (N2, 000) each as transportation expenses.

"He equally gave them a juicy offer that the youth Corpers were free to name their price.

Negotiations on the price are scheduled for today June 27, or tomorrow June 28, 2012 when the actual Corpers that would be used as presiding officers would have been determined."

"We have taken steps to inform the Commissioner of police, Kwara state and the director, state security service (SSS) about all the information at our disposal. We believe that the security agencies will be equal to the task and will ensure that the will of the people prevails in the coming election.

Ours is to alert the security agencies, they are to act. We are waiting and watching out for actions".

But the PDP in a swift reaction debunked the ACN's allegations, describing them as baseless and unfounded.

The PDP Publicity Secretary, Alh. Mas'ud Adebimpe said that the ACN was only jittery about the "impending loss of another election".

He said PDP would win the election hands down, given the fact that the factionalization of the party in the build up to the last general elections, which gave the ACN false impression about its strength "no longer exist".

Adebimpe warned "any attempt by the ACN to disrupt the election will be resisted using every legal means available at the PDP's disposal".

Critics won't deter me from performing, says Lamido From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

J

igawa state governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido has said that no amount of accusations and insinuations from the opposition parties against his government would deter him from carrying out his policies and programmes in the state.

The governor made the remark while receiving the new executive members of the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who paid him a courtesy visit.

He said the level of progress and achievements recorded by his administration had reached a level whereby the opposition parties can either commend or

remain silent.

Lamido congratulated the new executive members on their election saying that "they assumed the leadership of the party in a critical period" as the 2015 general election would be conducted during their tenure.

He observed that strong party leadership encourages the executive to implement good

policies and programmes.

Speaking earlier, the new PDP chairman Alhaji Salisu Mamuda who was accompanied by the 27 local government chairmen said the visit was to formally introduce themselves to the Governor.

He re-affirmed their loyalty to the government and also assured to uphold the manifesto of the party for the betterment of Jigawa state.

Ondo legislator solicits support for Mimiko

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he member of the Ondo State House of Assembly representing Akoko North-East Constituency, Mr Fatai Olotu, has implored residents of the state to support Gov. Olusegun Mimiko during the Oct. 20 gubernatorial election.

Olotu made the call on Wednesday at Ikare-Akoko while

addressing members of the Labour Party.

The legislator said the state government had concluded arrangements to make Awara Dam in Ikare-Akoko a tourist centre.

"Consequently, a five-star hotel and a golf course will be built at the dam site,'' Olotu said.

He also said the government

had concluded plans to transform the Ikare-Akoko to a modern city through provision of modern facilities, rehabilitation of roads and opening up of the dam.

"In the same vein, the Almajiri school which had been approved by the Federal Government for the state would be sited in Ikare.

"So, I hereby appeal to the good people of Ikare and the constituency at large to support Mimiko so that all these new projects will to come to us,'' Olotu said.

The legislator said Mimiko's administration had built a mega school, modern markets and roads among others in Ikare.

he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Nasarawa state says four political parties are to participate in the July 7, bye-election in Awe-North House of Assembly election.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Alhaji Ahmed Makama, said yesterday in Lafia at a stakeholders' meeting that only four candidates filled nomination forms for the election.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that INEC, political parties, security agents and journalists were present at the meeting.

According to Makama, the political parties which complied with the INEC guidelines and filled in their candidates for the bye-election are the ANPP, ACN, CPC and PDP. The member of the State House of Assembly, Malam Yakubu Faransa, representing Awe-North constituency, died during a protracted illness at the National Hospital, Abuja, in May this year.

Makama, however, assured the political parties that INEC would provide a level playing ground for the parties and ensure a transparent, free and fair byeelection. ``INEC is fully prepared for the bye-election as both the sensitive and non-sensitive election materials are ready.''

He said the sensitive materials had been deposited at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lafia, hinting that the materials would be withdrawn on July 5, in the presence of security and party agents.

Makama said that adequate security arrangement had also been put in place to ensure a violent free election.

He said that NYSC members would be used as presiding and polling officers while the staff of Federal Government organisations in the state would be engaged as supervisory and collating officers.

Makama warned politicians not to take politics as a do or die affair and appealed to them to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner to ensure a hitch-free election.

NAN recalls that 11 political parties contested for the Awe-North House of Assembly seat during the April 2011 general election.

PAGE 40

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

Akpabio urges NASS to re-enact environmental law G

ov Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, has urged the National Assembly to enact laws that would bring about environment friendly policies to ensure national security.

Akpabio made the call in his representation at the Senate retreat with the theme "The National Assembly and

National Security: Securing the future for development" yesterday in Uyo. He said:"We can come up with accurate statistics of how many people Boko Haram terrorists have killed. ``But we cannot come up with statistics of how many Nigerians from the Niger Delta who have died from water

pollution and environmental degradation. ``We should not sell our future for the pot of porridge.

“While the government wages war to stop the Boko Haram, it should fight with the same zeal to secure the Niger Delta in particular, and the Nigerian environment in general, and stop the avoidable

R-L: Senate President David Mark, receiving souvenir from Akwa Ibom state Governor, Obong Godswill Akpabio, Senate president's visit to the governor, on Tuesday in Uyo, the state capital.

deaths of its people.

“When you talk about the environment, you talk about the living and the non-living and the interaction of species.

You talk about the sky and global warming.

"You talk about gas flaring in the Niger Delta and the pollution of the waterways of the Niger Delta; the destruction of aquatic resources, the destruction and annihilation of the environment, the concomitant diseases caused by water and air pollution.''

He likened the Niger Delta to the man beaten up by robbers in a familiar parable in the Bible, who was saved by the Good Samaritan passerby.

He charged the senators to act as Good Samaritans and care for the many wounds inflicted on the region by environmental degradation.

He also urged governments at all levels to follow sustainable development principles to combat water shortages aggravated by population growth, agricultural use, climate change and water pollution, to avoid compromising the future of the nation's children.

Akpabio recommended that the study of the environment should incorporated into the curricular of primary and secondary schools.

This, he said, would enable the future generation to know more about the environment and the hazards associated with it.

INEC approves permanent voter card specimen, set to begin printing of 40m cards

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved the final specimen of the permanent voter cards to enable it begin the printing of 40 million cards.

INEC's ICT Director, Mr Chidi Nwafor, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja. He said the project would cost N2.6 billion. ``After the samples we checked at our technical committee, we moved it to the ICT committee, it was taken at the commission level last week and was approved.

"So now we have a sample of what the whole voter's permanent voter's card in the whole country will look like. ``The next stage now is that since we have approved the sample is to start producing the cards which I think in the next few months we will start having the cards and after having the cards we distribute. " “The processes are in stages; the first being the signing of contract with all the arbitrations, while the company was expected to produce all the bio-data for the specimen before we arrived at the permanent sample of how the whole voter's card in the country would look like."

The director said INEC was working toward achieving the 40 million voter cards before the end of 2012 in the first phase of the distribution of the cards.

Ondo deputy governor urges Muslims to support Mimiko's re-election

PDP gets leave of substituted service against ACN T T

he Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, has granted the PDP's application of substituted service to compel the ACN to appear in court in a suit challenging the planned rerun election in two wards in the state.

Justice Ignatius Agube,

leading a three man panel, on Wednesday ruled that the application was `` meritorious.''

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that a PDP member of the Kwara Assembly, Mr Salman Abdulfatai, and his party had approached the court to challenge the re-run election

in two wards ordered by the election tribunal.

The PDP also prayed the court to grant it leave to appeal the judgment at the Supreme Court in order to get a judicial interpretation of the 180 days required to dispose off election petitions.

The party claimed that the judgment of the tribunal and Court of Appeal came after the expiration of the 180 days required by law.

It also sought an interim injunction restraining INEC from conducting the re-run election fixed for Saturday.

Agube, however, adjourned the case to June 29 for definite hearing of the substantive suit.

Kaduna Assembly Speaker charges colleagues on responsibilities

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he Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Alhaji Mu'azu Gangara, yesterday advised the various committees of the House to be alive to their responsibilities.

The Speaker told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna that there were 34 standing and special committees in the House.

He said that the committees were established to fast track the activities of the House. ``The standing and special committees are the engine rooms of legislative functions and once

they sleep the legislature is grounded. ``It is at this committee level that members make effective contributions and it is through the committees that effective oversight functions are performed,'' he said.

Gangara enjoined his colleagues to put in their best at the committee level just as they were doing at plenary sessions. ``The impact of the legislature is felt at the committee level and the electorates are assured of quality legislation during my tenure.

``We have a covenant with our voters and that is to enact people oriented laws; laws that will improve the quality of our lives, development and security,'' he said.

Gangara said that the House had so far passed seven laws, including the 2012 Appropriation Bills for the state and local government councils to enable them deliver democracy dividends to the people.

Besides, he said that 14 motions aimed at developing the state were adopted in the last one year and passed to the

executive for implementation.

The Speaker said that each of the 34 members in the House is heading a committee, including the principal officials.

The House comprised 21 PDP members and 13 CPC members, 14 of the lawmakers are PDP returnees while CPC inherited four ANPP defectors.

Meanwhile, the House would resume plenary session on June 28 to consider some outstanding committee reports and other sundry issues.

he Deputy Governor of Ondo state, Alhaji Ali Olanusi yesterday directed Muslims in the state to vote for Gov. Olusegun Mimiko during the Oct. 20 governorship election.

Olanusi made the call in Akure in statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary of the deputy governor, Mr Julius Alabi when the state's wing of Muslim Intellectual Forum (MIF) visited him.

The statement quoted deputy governor as saying that the Mimiko administration was appreciative of the good relationship existing between the Muslim communities in the state, adding that such relationship should be sustained.

The deputy governor said that the administration had succeeded in sustaining the good relationship existing between Muslims and Christians in every part of the state.

Olanusi reminded Muslim communities in the state that their active participation in politics would facilitate dividends of democracy. ``The only way to appreciate the good governance of Mimiko is to come out en-masse and support him if he declares his intention to contest for the second term,'' he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 41

Unity Bank wins Minna Polo tourney

By Aminu Imam

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nity Bank Polo Team showed class in the recently concluded Minna Polo Tournament by beating Dantata and Sawoe 5-3 to win the Talban Minna Cup in a 30 minutes chukka.

Representing Unity Bank was a four-man Team with Alhassan Aliyu A and Umar Nagoggo from Minna and Danjuma Kubarachi and Abdullahi Musa from Kaduna and Lagos respectively.

Unity Bank opened scoring in the early minutes through Alhassan Aliyu before

Dantata tied the game through Suleman Sheme close to the end of the first chukka.

The second chukka saw Dantata taking the lead with a fantastic finish from Kubarachi off a pass from Nagoggo and added another when Abdullahi Musa raced his horse past Ahmadu Balaho and fired a spectacular kick.

Dantata however, rose to the occasion by reducing the tally through Aminu Alhaji thus ending the third chukka 3-2 in favour of Unity Bank’s Team. As soon as the fourth and final chukka resumed,

Dantata took charge of the game and tied the score to 33 through Abubakar Sani.

With the game now open, the Alhassan Aliyu led Team of Unity Bank changed tactics that saw them scoring two quick goals in three minutes to make it 5-3 through Kubarachi and Nagoggo. They held on till the end.

In a brief ceremony at the end of the Tournament, Unity Bank bagged the Special Sponsorship Award plague for the Bank’s tremendous support and encouragement to Minna Polo Club over the years.

NFF insists no contract with Saintfiet

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he NFF have maintained they have not signed a contract with Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet as the country’s technical director.

The appointment of Saintfiet has generated a lot of reactions after the country’s minister of sports Bolaji Abdullahi asked the NFF to jettison the idea of employing the Belgian

coach.

NFF media committee chairman Emeka Inyama told MTNFootball.com, “We don’t have any contractual agreement with Saintfiet.

“We only announced that we have resolved to give him the job. No papers were signed, no contract was entered into and as such we have no reason to say we are sacking him.”

On March 28, 2012,

Inyama addressed a world press conference announcing that the 38year-old Belgian has been handed a four-year contract with a $20,000 monthly salary.

However, the NFF have failed in their effort to secure a work permit for the former Ethiopia and Namibia coach. It is now believed the job will be given to a local man.

Beach volleyball players depart for Russia, promise Olympic ticket

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layers, selected for the Beach Volleyball World Cup beginning in Moscow, Russia today, have said they are ready to secure qualification to the London Olympic Games.

Some of the players told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone yesterday in Lagos, before their departure, that with their level of preparation they would be at the Olympics.

The four male players who left Lagos for Russia aboard German airline flight, KLM, are Abdulazeez Adamu, Isaac Idigba, John Iwerima and Goodluck Anyasodike.

The tournament, scheduled to hold from June 28 to July 1, was moved from Italy to Moscow due to fund constraints.

Anyasodike said his team would not disappoint Nigerians because it was their last chance to qualify for the Olympics.

“We have been training very hard and we are prepared for the tournament. The President of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), Habu Gumel, and the Beach Volleyball chairman are really doing their best to ensure we have a good outing,’’ he said.

2012 FEDERATION CUP ROUND of 32 FIXTURES June 29 Venue Heartland FC Vs Unicem Rovers Aba Crown FC Vs ABS FC Ijebu-Ode Akwa United Vs Dynamite Force P/H JUTH FC Vs Enugu Rangers FC Katsina-Ala Akpabio FC Vs Kwara United Lokoja Sunshine Stars Vs Nasarawa Utd Lokoja Canaan FC Vs Samba FC Katsina-Ala Warri Wolves Vs Sportlite FC Minna Abia Warriors Vs El-Kanemi FC Keffi June 30 Prime FC Vs Gamji FC Abuja Sharks FC Vs First Bank FC Lokoja Gombe United Vs FAME Academy Lokoja Lobi Stars Vs Tornadoes FC Bauchi Kaduna United/Police Vs Kano/P Jos Plateau Utd Vs Nehoda/R. Bees Ilorin Enyimba FC Vs Kogi United Jos

Anyasodike said that though the tournament would be tough, he was optimistic that they would win the Olympic slot.

“I know that the competition will not be an easy one because other countries coming to Moscow for the World championship want to be at the Olympic Games also.

“We are not going to relent in our effort to win because we are prepared and we also want our country to feature at the Olympics,’’ he said.

John Iwerima also said he was optimistic that Nigeria would excel at the championship to qualify for the Olympics, adding that Angola, another African country was also going to pose a challenge.

“Two Africa countries will be going to the World Cup Qualification tournament and we are not ready to lose the Olympic slot,’’ he said.

Iwerima noted that the players for the various competitions had been camped in Abuja since the first week in May. Mexico, Cuba, Chile, Uruguay, China, Australia, Russia, Austria, Poland, Netherlands, Angola and Nigeria will participate in the World Cup.

Lukas Podolski, new Arsenal singing

Ikechukwu Uche, Eagles forward

Gunners to tackle Super Eagles August 5

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nglish Premier League side Arsenal will play Nigeria’s Super Eagles in a pre-season match in Abuja on August 5. It will be the first time ‘The Gunners’ have played in the West African country.

Nigeria are ranked 60th in the latest FIFA rankings face Arsenal, who finished third in the English top flight last season, nonetheless the promoters, DanJan Sports, said agreement has been finalised with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for the match.

“We are delighted to announce that Arsenal Football Club will face the Super Eagles of Nigeria in Abuja. The NFF have agreed that the country will present

Stephen Keshi, Eagles Manager

a strong side as coach Stephen Keshi continue his development process,” David Omigie of DanJan Sports said.

“The Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, will also use this game to showcase his full squad for the 2012/2013 football season.

“The London club traditionally hosts an annual pre-season tournament at the Emirates Stadium, but they opted to postpone the event for a year because of the 2012 London Olympics.

The visit to Nigeria will conclude Arsenal’s preseason tour after playing in both China and Malaysia in July.

On their official website Arsenal said: “The club last

visited Africa during a tour to South Africa in July 1993, and is returning as a result of the fantastic support which exists for the team, not only in Nigeria, but across the entire continent.

“Meanwhile, DanJan Sports also revealed that tickets for the upcoming friendly match with Nigeria will go on sale from July 4 across outlets to be announced soon.

In July 2008, they brought two other English clubs, Manchester United and Portsmouth, to the Nigerian capital Abuja for a pre-season friendly. As well as the match between the two, Portsmouth also played against Nigeria Premier League side Kano Pillars.

Arsene Wenger, Gunners manager

Referee decries lack of electronic score board for boxing

J

oseph Sangotokun, an international Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) certified referee, has decried the absence of electronic score boards at boxing competitions in the country.

Sangotokun said yesterday in Lagos that the electronic score board was introduced by the global body to record points won by boxers accurately and if the board was used at competitions, it would save boxers, referees, judges and fans the stress of manual

calculation of points and stop inaccurate judgment.

“The spectators only count the numbers of punches of the opponent that go to the body of the other boxer.

“They don’t know that there are some things we need to consider because a boxer who did not even deliver a punch with the full weight of his body and did not even get to the target will not even get a score but the spectators did not even know this.’’

Sangotokun, who is also the Secretary, Lagos State Chapter of the Nigeria

Referee and Judges Association, appealed to state boxing associations to use the score board to forestall biased judgment.

“The only thing we need is the electronic score board and we want to implore every state to have this score board. The electronic score board will ensure that points are properly recorded.”

He said electronic score boards were used only at national competitions and urged the Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF) to compel states to use it at grassroots competitions.

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

Akwa United players get 20 per cent sign on fees

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he management of Akwa United FC of Uyo said that it had so far paid 20 per cent of sign-on fees to all its 36 players.

Chief Isong Isang, the Special Assistant to the State Governor on Sports disclosed this yesterday in Uyo. Isang said that the delay in paying the remaining 80 per cent was caused by the death of the former Commissioner of Youth and Sports, Mr Oyong Asuquo, in April.

The adviser, who is also the

chairman of the club, also attributed the delay in the payment of the fees to the dissolution of the state executive council also in April.

Isang, who admitted that since January, no money was released to the club from the state government, however added that the club was not underfunded.

“We have been paying monthly salaries and match bonuses, other clubs in other states have not paid their players sign-on fees as at now,”

Isang said.

He said that the team’s management would soon meet with Gov. Godswill Akpabio over the funding of the club.

It would be recalled that the state government in its 2012 budget earmarked N10.76 billion for the construction of an Olympic size stadium in Uyo. Meanwhile, some players of the club, who pleaded anonymity, urged the state government to pay the remaining part of their sign on fees.

Coaches, players beg Zenith Bank over sponsorship of female basketball league

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They said that this would enable them take care of their families and also concentrate on the club’s engagements.

Coach, Solomon Ogbeide, said that the team was doing well judging from the fact that it recently gained promotion to the professional league.

Ogbeide said that his boys needed motivation and then appealed to the state government to assist the team’s management financially to enable them consolidate in the premiership. parcel of the league for accountability sake and growth of the competition.

Coach Nosa Uyigue of Delta Force Angels of Asaba said the sponsors should stop being spectators in their own event.

“How can a company drop its money for sports development and turn its back with the level of funds misappropriation in Nigeria,” he said.

Uyigue pleaded with the bank not to turn their back at the female league because it will be a setback to the development of female basketball.

Some of the players in their reactions pleaded with Zenith Bank not to leave them to their fate being the only sponsors of the league.

“We are pleading with Zenith Bank not to leave us at this time; they are the only company that has been helping female basketball to grow.

“They should not leave NBBF alone to do all the work, they should also monitor how their money is being spent,” they said.

asketball coaches and players have appealed to the Zenith Bank Plc, sponsors of the Zenith Bank Female Basketball League, not to leave the competition’s organisation to the Nigeria Basketball Federation(NBBF) alone.

The coaches and players spoke against the backdrop of the bankers expressing dissatisfaction with the poor organisation and performance of the teams in the just-concluded 2011/2012 season.

Zenith, the sponsors of the league for consecutive eight years, had accused the NBBF of not carrying them along in the planning and execution of the competition, saying they knew about developments from the media.

They also claimed that in the final of the three-leg league in Lagos on June 9, the NBBF did not clean up the hall or provide dancers to entertain the spectators but they hurriedly did on the eve of the final game.

But the federation’s President, Tijani Umar, said they did their best to work hand-in-gloves with the bank and expressed the hope that the relationship between the two would improve in the next season.

They corroborated the sponsors claim in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos but said NBBF’s shortfalls must have stemmed from its “too much work load’’.

They noted that the federation had many competitions running at the same time and was preparing the senior male national team, D’Tigers, for the Olympic qualifiers in Venezuela.

Coach Adewunmi Aderemi of

First Bank Basketball Club of Lagos said: “I want to plead with Zenith Bank not to leave the sponsorship and organisation of the competition to only NBBF. “How can they put down their money and turn their back at how the money is being spent. NBBF can’t be the sole organisers if the best result will be achieved. They should always try as much as possible to monitor them,” he said.

Aderemi said that Zenith Bank officials were not at the first and second phases of the league and that ought not to be.

Coach Sola Aluko of Sunshine Angels of Akure said that the “NBBF likes a one-man show, which is not supposed be. They ought to carry every stakeholder along in terms of organising the

T

NFF plans First Lady Soccer tourney

he Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is mulling a new football tournament that would be aimed at discovering new female soccer talents, according to a member of the NFF Executive Committee.

Mrs Dilichukwu Onyedinma, who is also the Chairperson of the Nigeria Women League Board, said the competition would be known as “the First Lady Soccer Competition. It will be played in all the 774 Local Government Areas of the country,” she disclosed.

league,” he said.

Aluko said there should be a forum before every season where stakeholders would contribute meaningfully to help in organising the league better.

“Frankly speaking, we do hold meetings before the season begins but NBBF will still go ahead to do what they like,” he said.

Coach Wilson Idanwekhai of AHIP Queens of Kano told NAN that “it’s like the work load is too much for NBBF and they refused to work hand-in-gloves with the coaches.

“It is unfortunate that we coaches are just there as participants, they should also involve us and the sponsors in the organisation of the league,” he said.

Idanwekhai appealed to the sponsors to always be a part and

Nigerian female basketball team playing at the Beijing Olympics

The former Secretary of the FCT Football Association said the reason for the proposed competition was largely to reshape the developmental programme that is meant to incorporate secondary schools in the country.

“This is to ensure we discover those players that will represent the country in the nearest future,” the NFF official said.

Onyedinma said the league

organising body wanted the domestic competition to be more vibrant and produce players that would go on to excel in the national teams.

“We have been making efforts to develop the local league to the standard that is attainable in some other countries. “We, therefore, want our local league to be very vibrant, so that more youthful players will be discovered for the various

national teams,” she said.

The Women League Board chairperson said it was imperative for such grassroots development of Nigerian women football as the African women game was no longer static.

“We are not ignorant of the fact that many of the African countries are fast developing their women football. “The way the game is developing in the various African countries, shows

Gov. Godswill Akpabio

El-Kanemi Warriors’ promotion not a fluke, says chairman

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hairman of El-Kanemi Warriors FC of Maiduguri, Alhaji Zanna Mala, has attributed the club’s promotion to the Nigerian Premier League to the hard work and dedication of the players.

Mala said this in Abuja after the team’s victory over Premier League side, Rising Stars FC of Ondo State in the 2012 Federation Cup. The team had knocked out the Rising Stars 5-4 on penalties after both sides ended play 2-2 at regulation time in their Round of 64 fixture on Tuesday.

The team was playing their first competitive match since gaining promotion to the Nigerian Premier League (NPL) in May. Mala also said that the Borno Government, owners of the club, had motivated the team to lift the Federation Cup trophy.

He said their qualification for the next round of the FA cup was an indication that their promotion to the Premier League was not a fluke, saying their return to the Nigerian elite league has been justified.

“We are not taking anything for granted because we have won this trophy twice; in 1991 and 1992. However, we are coming back to the Premier League to occupy our position. We are no strangers there.

“The likes of Enugu Rangers, Enyimba and Heartland FC have been missing El-Kanemi for a long time now,” Mala said. that they are now moving with the current trend in the game, and we have to move too.

“Of course, we are not static, but we want to continue to move, and that is why we are also moving ahead,” Onyedinma said.

Nigerian football has a 20-club Women Professional League, which runs a regular season, as well as an end-of-season Super Six competition.

There is also a national division one competition, which serves as a play-off for the Professional League.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

Transfer The season is over. Clubs are counting their blessing as well as losses and would like to make amends and even beef up their squads where noticeable lapses exist. And the transfer market is agog barely 24 hours after major European leagues dropped the curtain.

And so to keep abreast with latest rumours, we begin daily doses of movements within the market both for players and coaches like.

PAGE 43

Come to Chelsea Ivanovioc urges Modric

B

ranislav Ivanovic has told Luka Modric to abandon a move to Real Madrid or Manchester United and join European champions Chelsea instead.

The in-demand Tottenham playmaker was the Blues top transfer target last summer but opted to stay at White Hart Lane for another season.

Tottenham’s failure to reach this year’s Champions League as a result of the Blues beating Bayern Munich in the final last month - has made the Croatian reconsider his future with a big-money exit looming.

And Ivanovic has urged one of the star men at this summer’s Euro 2012 to head to Stamford Bridge.

‘I know there was interest in the transfer window

before,’ he told Sportske Novosti.

‘Chelsea as a team has needed a player with these qualities. He would fit in quickly and strengthen the squad. He has been in England a long time and knows about the way football is played on the island and the mentality of the players.

He has exceptional quality, and moving to a bigger club is necessary for him to take the next step in his career.

Real boss Jose Mourinho is a big admirer of Modric, as is United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, while French giants Paris St-Germain could also enter the running for the 26-year-old.

anchester City are thought to be targeting Bayern Munich star Arjen Robben as part of a deal that will see striker Edin Dzeko return to Germany.

Bosnian international Dzeko has been heavily linked to the Champions League finalists after a frustrating season on the bench at City.

And although the Premier League champions were originally keen on a straight cash transaction

an exciting replacement should they lose Robben.

Although the 28-yearold signed a new three-year deal at the Allianz Arena last month, he was upset after being booed by his own fans following his crucial penalty miss in the Champions League final against Chelsea.

The Dutch international was also involved in a bustup with team-mate Franck Ribery, which has made his future at the club uncertain.

United step up Rodriguez hunt after Porto City eyes Robben in Dzeko swap deal reject £30m bid M

M

anchester United has stepped up their pursuit of James Rodriguez amid reports of a £30millionplus bid for the 20-year old winger being rejected

by Porto.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has made the Porto prospect one of his top summer targets and registered his interest with the Primeira League champions.

The club revealed last week that Rodriguez would not come cheap after he agreed to a £40million buy-out clause being included in the five-year contract he signed last summer.

Porto is determined to hold out for the full amount and have turned down a £30million offer from United, according to reports in Portugal.

United have been strongly linked with Rodriguez ever since doubts were raised about Nani’s Old Trafford future, but it is understood Ferguson wants to sign him, regardless of whether the Portugal winger stays.

With Porto showing little interest in a player-exchange deal, despite claims that midfielder Anderson could be used as a makeweight; United will have to dig deep for the left-footed Colombian, who can operate on either flank or as a striker.

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playmaker.

Tottenham are still without a boss but the new man - likely to be former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is likely to have to rebuild the team without Modric.

Modric is on holiday after Croatia’s exit from the Euro 2012 group stages but will soon tell Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy that he wants to leave.

Sahin, born in Germany,

has 31 caps for Turkey and only arrived from Borussia Dortmund last year.

Spurs could also be offered former Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho as part of any deal but his age the Portuguese is now 34 could hinder any switch.

Modric came close to leaving White Hart Lane for Chelsea last summer but was convinced to stay by boss Harry Redknapp.

ottenham could ease the blow of losing Luka Modric by landing Real Madrid’s Nuri Sahin in exchange.

The Spanish giants are the frontrunners to land the Croatian midfielder despite strong interest from Manchester United and Chelsea.

But Real boss Jose Mourinho is confident of

landing Modric and is ready to offer Sahin as bait in any deal.

Tottenham value Modric at £40million, although they are unlikely to receive an offer as high as that.

However, the inclusion of Turkey midfielder Sahin, 23, in a £30m package could ease the pain of losing their main

F

Malouda faces Chelsea exit the club this summer.

Towards the end of last season the winger made it clear to Chelsea he wanted to leave. And the Champions League holders are not prepared to stand in his way if they can agree a fee in the region of £3m.

Although Vasco da Gama remain clear favourites to sign him there is other interest from Brazil the homeland of his wife Florencia

notably from Fluminense, where former Chelsea midfielder Deco is playing.

Earlier in the month it was also reported that former Blues manager Luis Felipe Scolari had been weighing up entering the bidding for Palmeiras.

But Scolari boss of Malouda at Stamford Bridge in the 2008-2009 season pulled the plug on negotiations when Chelsea refused to do a loan deal.

Luka Modric

Arsenal aim to offload Bendtner, Arshavin after sealing Giroud deal

City set to lure Alves from Barcelona

rsenal has turned their attention to slashing the club’s wage bill after Olivier Giroud’s capture took their spending to £24million.

The Gunners have confirmed the signing of France striker Giroud from French champions Montpellier.

‘I think I have the weapons to do well here,’ he said. ‘I will need some time to adapt but I’m not worried about that.’

Giroud follows Arsenal’s £11m capture of Cologne striker Lukas Podolski.

The club now aims to shift unwanted players, but deals to move Denilson to Sao Paulo, Carlos Vela to Real Sociedad and Sebastien Squillaci to Bastia collapsed last week. They hope to resurrect all three of the proposed transfers.

Arsenal also wants to offload Andrey Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, Marouane Chamakh, Park Chu-young and Johan Djourou.

anchester City will be keeping a close eye on developments at Barcelona, as they look to step up their interest in Dani Alves.

The Brazil international has reportedly angered club bosses after taking part in a friendly without permission from Barca’s medical staff.

Alves played 25 minutes of the match, which also featured team-mate Lionel Messi, despite having only recently undergone

A

Nicklas Bendtner

Arjen Robben

Tottenham set to land Sahin in return of £30m swoop for Modric

lorent Malouda is set to continue the Chelsea exodus after starting negotiations with Brazilian side Vasco da Gama.

The French winger, 32, has a year left on his deal but accepts he is not part of boss Roberto Di Matteo’s long-term plans.

He joined Chelsea from Lyon for £13million in 2007 but has often fallen short of expectations.

He would be the fourth player after Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Jose Bosingwa to leave

James Rodriguez

for the 26-year-old, it is now being reported that boss Roberto Mancini is eyeing Robben in partexchange.

German newspaper Bild suggests that Bayern would be open to such a move as it would mean they would only have to pay a minimal fee for Dzeko, rather than the £32million that had been quoted to them.

And the Bundesliga giants consider newsigning Xherdan Shaqiri as

M

Dani Alves

surgery on a fractured collarbone.

And now the Catalan giants are considering disciplining the 29-yearold, says Spanish newspaper Marca.

Although Alves committed his future to Barca earlier this month, it is unclear how this latest incident will affect the former Sevilla player’s future at the Nou Camp.

City may now see this as an opportunity to tempt the Spanish side into selling the attack-minded full-back.

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

NWBF applauds Orogemi for donating wheelchair basketball cycles

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he Nigeria Wheelchair Basketball Federation (NWBF) yesterday in Lagos applauded UK-based wheelchair basketball player, Adewale Orogemi, for donating two sets of wheelchair basketball cycles to the federation.

NWBF Secretary Victor Anusa, in an interview expressed delight at the donation of the equipment and

commended Orogemi for donating the basketball cycles, worth N2.6 million.

The NWBF official said the donation was a surprise, as no individual had ever volunteered to support the sport, except corporate organisations.

Anusa described the cycles as the latest in the sport, pointing out that it would enable the players to get a feel

of the updated version of the cycles during training.

According to him, the federation has planned to honour Orogemi, who would be representing the UK at the forthcoming Paralympics in early June, but could not hold.

Anusa urged all sports enthusiasts to emulate Orogemi, as his initiative would go a long way to help in developing the sport in Nigeria.

Amantle Monstho

Blessing Okagbare

Idara Otu

a former World champion (2001) who finished second behind Monthso in Nairobi and her teammate Fatou Soumah Ndeye a semi-finalist at the worlds.

“Blade Runner” Pistorius has his last chance for Olympic qualification after missing out in his 46.20 win in a 400m race in Belgium last week.

Mohamed Khouaja, the 400m defending champion leads the Libyan charge in Benin and is certain to be in the medal hunt in the absence of the 2004 African winner Congolese Gary Kikaya.

Double Nairobi medallist Ivorian Ben-Youssef Méité (100m Gold and 200m silver) is tipped to retain his title. The South African team with a 75 member strong squad is by far the largest contingent in Benin.

Also in the team that will be proceeding to the UK for their pre-Olympic camp from here, is the World 400m Hurdles bronze-medallist LJ van Zyl. He is here for a record fourth back-to-back African title.

The world indoor 60m silver medallist Ahouré has been in superb form this season and is expected to warm up for London with a medal from each of her three events in Porto Novo -100m, 200m and 4x 100m.

The Ivorian ran her personal best (11.00) a national record in Rome in May when she upset Jamaican pair of Olympic Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce and Kerron Stewart, which she followed up with another sterling 200m run in the Samsung Diamond League series in Oslo.

The defending African champion Nigerian sprint star Blessing Okagbare is also highly ranked in the 100m which was one of the three events she won in Nairobi in addition to the Long jump and the relay (4 x100m). She also holds the African championship record of 11.05 seconds from the 2010 edition of the event.

Semenya is the other surprise name that will be running in Benin and the woman to beat in the women’s 800m, as she looks to add the Olympic gold medal to her 2009 world title.

One athlete coming into form who should challenge for the two-lap race is London bound Eunice Sum. To boost her

chances of making the Olympics, the Kenyan scaled up to the less competitive 1500m and qualified second and is now looking to boost her speed.

“I will still go to Benin and race the 800m,”said Sum a semi finalist over 800m in Daegu after qualifying second behind World indoor 3000m winner Hellen Obiri at the Kenya trials last weekend in Nairobi.

With the bulk of their long distance Olympic team runners already picked Ethiopia will be fielding a youthful squad in Benin while their rivals Kenya are boosted by some seasoned athletes in Priscah Jepleting, the bronze medallist from Osaka 2007 and 2004 Silver winner, Steeplechaser Mercy Njoroge second behind Milkah Chemos in their quest to retain the overall title in their 10-gold haul in Nairobi.

Jepleting will be looking to smart from a failed double stab at the 5000 and 10,000m at the Kenyan Olympic trials.

Also lining up for Kenya in the 5000m will be Veronica Nyaruai, the former 3000m World Youth (2005) and Junior champion (2006) making a return after a two-year break, since her last major race in the steeplechase at the Beijing Olympics.

Mohammed Merima, the 2010 Ottawa marathon champion is by far the most experienced of the Ethiopian squad and will spearhead the 10,000m charge.

Antony Chemut an Olympic qualifier in Kenya’s 800m squad, is also out to gain championship experience before leaving for London later in July.

Former World cross and World junior champion Caleb Ndiku leads the 1500m entry, yearning to repeat his success at the Pan-African games in Maputo last year.

Teenager Geoffrey Kipsang, the World Cross-country winner from Punta Umbria who has been in stunning form this season should provide an interesting challenge to the double Commonwealth games champion Ugandan Moses Kipsiro in the race for 5000m honours.

Veteran Mark Kiptoo, who missed out on the London ticket has a gold medal insight in the 10,000m, to improve on the bronze medal (5000m) from 2010.

816 athletes begin chase for medals in African championships A

frican medal hopes for the London Olympics Games will test-run their potentials and possibilities at the African Championships that is a collection of some of the very best on the continent.

True, there are quite a few fledglings seeking opportunities for limelight, but the leading lights will be wary of letting antything slip off their grip as they look forward to an interesting London Games.

But first Africa must roll and Porto Novo is the venue where they are filing out to burn the track.

Expectedly, the 100m will pull the crowd as would the 800m event where World Championships defending champion Amantle Montsho of Botswana, who won a thrilling 400m duel against Allyson Felix in August in South Korea, securing Botswana’s first ever world championships medal, will take up the challenge of of her African compatriots.

Montsho, a likely medal contender at the Olympics, will be joined by several London hopefuls including South African Caster Semenya, the 2009 World 800m champion and 201 silver medallist; the Beijing 2008 Olympic Long Jump silver medallist South African Godfrey Khotso Mokoena; Mercy Njoroge of Kenya the Commonwealth Games 3000m steeplechase silver medallist; Ivorian sprinter Murielle Ahouré as well as double-amputee runner, Oscar Pistorius.

Montsho, the 28-year-old who won the world title last year by three-hundredths of a second, has her sights firmly set on becoming the first person from Botswana to win an Olympic medal.

The gold she won last September in women’s 400 metres at the All-Africa Games in Mozambique is still fresh in the minds of her opponents.

“I am here to represent my country and win gold,” she stated, more keen on defending her title from Nairobi in 2009. I won’t run as fast as I usually run as am not here to break records. I want to save my energy for the Olympics.”

A more likely challenger for the 400m crown is experienced Senegalese sprinter Amy Mbacke Thiam (35),

Mohammed Merima

Ben-Youssef Méité

Hellen Obiri

Geoffrey Kipsang

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 45

Pictorial

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4

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1.\ Britain’s Heather Watson kicks off the action on day three at Wimbledon, with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova all playing.

2.\ Michael Clarke and David Hussey hit halfcenturies and Alastair Cook manages only five runs as Australia thump Essex.

3.\ Brendan Hansen reaches his third Olympic Games, having come out of retirement, with victory on day two of the US Olympic trials.

4.\ Teenager Zoe Smith is included in the fivestrong British weightlifting squad for London 2012.

5.\ Rendall Munroe denies his boxing career is under threat because of the cut he sustained in the fight against Scott Quigg.

6.\ Graeme McDowell says he 'expects to play well' in this week's Irish Open at his hometown course at Royal Portrush.

7.\ Daniel Purvis wins the British artistic gymnastics all-around title again as Rebecca Tunney wins the women's title in her first year as a senior.

PAGE 46

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

Forget history, Loew tells Germany

J

oachim Loew has told his team to forget past disappointments and focus on beating Italy in tomorrow’s UEFA EURO 2012 semi-final as Germany hunt a first tournament win over Gli Azzurri.

Germany has never beaten Italy in a competitive match, losing three times and drawing as many in FIFA World Cups™ and European Championships. They also met in a FIFA World Cup qualifier in 1962 with the game ending in a draw, and Italy playmaker Andrea Pirlo has said the Germans

Joachim Loew

are running scared of their record against Italy ahead of the Warsaw semi-final.

However, Low was defiant when asked about the lack of German success against the Italians over the years. “We can’t turn back time, Forget about it, the past doesn’t play a role in our planning,” said Loew. “Another stat is that Germany has never won against Italy in a major tournament, but so what? The situation is entirely different now and this is not an issue for us.”

German fans know all about Juventus midfielder Pirlo from six years ago in Dortmund, when the 33year-old’s pass set up Fabio Grosso’s extra-time goal in Italy’s 2-0 victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup semi-final. But Low says he is less interested in the Italians and more concerned with what the Germans can do as they look to add to their record 15-game winning streak in competitive matches since losing to Spain at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. “(Italy) have performed well during this tournament, but we also know where they have had

Italian paper issues Balotelli apology

I

talian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport has issued an apology to national team striker Mario Balotelli, after a cartoon published by the paper depicted the Manchester City player as King Kong.

The depiction, which the

Mario Balotelli

newspaper has described as “misinterpreted”, showed Balotelli on the top of Big Ben, swatting away incoming footballs, following Italy’s victory over England.

The newspaper’s statement read: “Some of our readers have protested regarding (Valerio) Marini’s cartoon. Balotelli was depicted as King Kong.

We can honestly say it was not among the best products of our talented cartoonist.

Balotelli has allegedly been a target of racist abuse at Euro 2012, with incidents reported during the competition. The forward notably threatened to walk off the pitch in the event of abuse before the start of the tournament.

difficulties and might face a few problems,” said Loew. “What will be important at the end of the day is that we try and play our own game and take it to the opposition, not vice versa.

“If we manage to do that and play at a very level of concentration, with a solid performance at the back, we have every right to be self-confident. With a little help, we will win the game.”

Germany’s star midfielder Mesut Ozil echoed Low’s sentiments.

“We are concentrating on the here and now,” said the 23-year-old. “We are looking forward to the semi, which will be very difficult, but we are confident we can beat anybody.

“Italy are surprisingly strong, you could also see that in the very good (1-1 draw) they had against world champions Spain (in Group C). I think they deserve to be in the semifinals. They are compact, very strong, but in general we look only at ourselves.

If we play as we can, I am convinced we will beat Italy.”

Podolski calls to end Italy jinx

Lukas Podolski ukas Podolski has urged his teammates to bring an end to Germany’s dismal run of major tournament results against Italy when the teams meet in the semi-final on Thursday.

The Germans go into the match in Warsaw without a win in seven previous tournament matches against the Azzurri but Podolski believes the time

L

is right for Joachim Low’s side, who has won all four of their Euro 2012 games so far, to consign that run to the history books.

The most recent tournament clash between the two nations came at the 2006 World Cup, staged in Germany, when two Italian goals late in extra time condemned the hosts to defeat in the last four.

“It’s the time to break that series,’’ Podolski told Bild. “Since 2006, we have improved enormously. Today we have a whole different philosophy and a different team. The Italians also know that.

“One thing is clear we want to be in the final, so we have to beat the Italians. Therefore, this will hopefully be the end for Italy in this European Championship.’’

Podolski was left out of Low’s starting line-up for the 4-2 quarter-final win against Greece, but could

return for the semi-final.

On Tuesday, Low confirmed that Bastian Schweinsteiger was back to full fitness and ready to start the semi-final.

Schweinsteiger had been suffering a niggling ankle problem but was able to take a full part in training on Monday.

Giving his squad a clean bill of health, the coach said: “There are only 100% fit players. No player will run out if he is only operating at 80 or 90% capacity. All players are fit I assume Schweinsteiger will play.”

Low said he would not be singling out Andrea Pirlo, who produced an outstanding performance as Italy beat England on penalties, for special treatment, saying: “That [man-marking Pirlo] would make no sense.

“The Italians have good strengths, a lot of quality.

But we also know where their weaknesses lie, where they have their problems. We have to bring our own game, not focus so much on the opponents. If we manage to do that, then we have a good chance.”

Germany is a difficult test for Italy, says Pirlo

A

ndrea Pirlo is expecting Italy to face a significantly tougher test in their Euro 2012 semi-final against Germany than England provided in the last eight.

Juventus star Pirlo was the stand-out player in the Azzurri’s quarter-final victory, capping a virtuoso display with a cheekily converted penalty in the shootout, but he does not anticipate he and his team-mates will see quite so much of the ball in Warsaw this Thursday.

“Our approach to the game against Germany will be the same as against

England,” Pirlo said. “This is the only way we can play. But unlike England, Germany can create many threats to our defence.

“England played a very prudent and careful way.

They were sitting back all the match, like Chelsea did in the Champions League final. They tried to keep that same shape. For them going to the penalty shootout was a good result.

“There have been many games in the past when I’ve had as much possession as against England. In football it happens.

“The difference is

against Germany, whereas Wayne Rooney stayed further up I expect Mesut Ozil to be a great threat in and around the areas where I am playing, even though he will not necessarily do a manmarking job on me.”

Pirlo, who was part of the Italy team that beat Germany in the 2006 World Cup semi-finals, has been tipped by some as a potential contender for the FIFA Ballon d’Or in the wake of an imperious season for Juventus and an impressive Euro 2012.

However, the 33-yearold does not believe he stands much chance of

winning the award for the first time in his career, saying: “It is impossible for me to win the Ballon d’Or because Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo score 70 goals a year.”

Andrea Pirlo

CHANGE OF NAME I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS MAIRO USMAN, NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS A’ISHA MOH’D. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. PHC DEPARTMENT GAMAWA L.G.A., BAUCHI STATE AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

CHANGE OF NAME I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS YEKINI A. KAZEEM, NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS YEKINI ALABI KAZEEM. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. THE FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC, BAUCHI AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

Cristiano Ronaldo sat disappointed after Spain knocked out Iberian rivals Portugal on penalties following 0-0 draw in the first semi-final of Euro 2012. Joao Moutinho and Bruno Alves missed for Portugal

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012

PAGE 47

Ugboaja confident D’ Tigers will do well

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’Tigers forward, Ejike Ugboaja is confident that the Nigerian men’s basketball are prepared to come up against Lithuania and Venezuela in the Olympic Qualification.

The Nigerian basketball team have been drawn against hosts, Venezuela and European powerhouse, Lithuania for the Olympic qualifiers which holds between July 2 and 8 in Caracas.

D’Tigers have beaten Chinese clubs, Fujian Quanzhou Bank, Shanxi Zhongyu and Shanxi Zhongyu as well as Great Britain in pre-Olympic qualifying games.

Ayo Bakare’s men are also scheduled to take part in a four-nation tournament that dunks off on Monday in Brazil.

D’Tigers will come up against Brazil, Greece, and New Zeland in the tourney, which rounds off on June 30.

The former Union Bank man believes the tune-up games will put D’Tigers in good stead to face their opponents in the London 2012 Olympic Games Qualification.

Ugboaja, a power forward, would rather concentrate on Nigeria than talk on Lithuania or Venezuela.

“Yes we are ready for whatever comes in front of us.

The friendly games will get us ready and help us know each other more better and how everyone plays. We will do our best to win as we believe we are capable of winning games.

“I won’t say anything about our opponents but we will concentrate on ourselves to produce the kind of results that will take us to the Olympics,” Ugboaja, who also runs a basketball foundation in Nigeria, told SuperSport.com.

Ex-players to offer technical support to Eagles’ coaching crew, says Popo

Stephen Keshi, Eagles Coach

Henry Nwosu

he Association of Professional Footballers of Nigeria (APFON) says it will continue to boost the technical depth of Super Eagles’ coaching crew through intelligence reports and evaluation of its matches.

“This is part of our determination to ensure that the Super Eagles win all their remaining World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations matches,’’ the Secretary of the association, Austin Popo said in Benin.

Popo said the association would have some of its selected members to monitor matches and later share its reports with the technical crew of the national team.

“We are doing this because we are worried about the declining coaching content and the poor attitude of players during national team assignments.

“We have our own technical team that was in Calabar to watch the last two matches of the national team. So, what happens at the national team teams is also our concern.

“Let us be sincere, our performance over the next

three matches will be crucial. It is giving us cause for concerns, because the further we go, the tougher it becomes.

“We believe that some of our players in Europe are still good and relevant for the prosecution of these matches because of their experiences. We cannot do away with their services just yet.’’

Popo said the association was worried about the outcome of matches played by the national teams and how the country could make the most of its foreignbased players.

“And one way is to ensure that whatever you are giving to them is as much as what they receive from their clubs, because some of these players have passed through serious-minded coaches around the world.

“When they come to the national team, they also expect some level of high technical depth from the crew.’’

Popo said that giving the players less would attract negative reactions from them, which “the coaching crew can misconstrue as an act of indiscipline’’.

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Ejike Ugboaja “If a player knows that playing in the National team is a ‘dream’, you as a coach, must let him realise that vision, so that they will become committed.

“When you are committed, as a player, you are creative and when you are creative, you become productive and therefore successful. This will automatically translate into his making a positive impact.

“But how many coaches can actually make players realise that playing for the national team is a dream?

These are some of the issues the association is looking into and is willing to work out with the coaching crew.’’

On the association’s proposed match in honour of Gov. Adams Oshiomhole’s re-election bid, Popo said the gesture was the players’ way of appreciating those who were contributing meaningfully to the development of infrastructure.

“It is the opinion of the players’ union that it is only a striker who did not score a goal during the first half of a match that is usually substituted.

“Gov. Oshiomhole has demonstrated his ability and capacity as a prolific ‘striker’, who has scored many ‘goals’ in all facets of the socio-economic life of the people of Edo, including sports development.

“It is also true that football and democracy have a common virtue; while democracy is the government of the people, football is a game of the people,” he said.

Some of the ex-players expected to feature in the July 1 match at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium are Super Eagles’ Chief Coach Stephen Keshi, and former midfielder, Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha, Others are: Henry Nwosu, Austin Eguavoen and Thompson Oliha.

Austin Eguavoen

‘I’ll ease Venus pain at Olympics’

S

erena Williams survived the Wimbledon Court Two trap that swallowed sister Venus and pledged to ease her pain by successfully defending their Olympic doubles gold next month.

Serena eased into the second round on Tuesday with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic as she targets a fifth Wimbledon title, but was already looking forward to returning to the All England Club next month for the Games.

“I think it’s great. I really look forward to playing doubles with her,” said Serena, after she and her sister were confirmed in the US Olympic team.

“At the end of the day we’re defending doubles champs, even though it’s been four years. So that will be kind of cool to get out there regardless and see what happens, and more than anything, enjoy ourselves.

“I love playing doubles with her normally, but especially at the Olympics. It’s a whole ‘nother level.”

Venus’s loss on Monday to Russia’s Elena Vesnina was the five-time champion’s worst Wimbledon defeat since 1997 when she also went out in the opening round.

Serena refused to criticise organisers for putting her out on Court Two for the second year in succession, but admitted that her sister’s defeat had helped spur her on.

“I’m over it. So I don’t care to talk about it,” said Serena when asked about her Court Two schedule. I’m not here to talk about Court Two, really. I just can’t talk about that right now. I’m not in the mood.

“I don’t think she (Venus) felt her greatest going into that match yesterday. But I always want to play even better if she’s out of the tournament.”

Austin Okocha

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QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE The Boko Haram insurgency is only af over nments in afffecting 18 local g go ernments Nigeria.... Therefore, the statement credited to Mark is a betrayal of his lack of grasp of the actual situation in the countr y — Yakasai to Mar k country Mark

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EURO 2012 Spain win on penalties to reach final

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esc Fabregas struck the winning spot kick as holders Spain beat Portugal 4-2 on penalties after their UEFA Euro 2012 semifinal ended goalless after extra time yesterday.

Spain keeper Iker Casillas saved Joao Moutinho's opening penalty then Bruno Alves hit the bar to eventually open the door for substitute Fabregas, who scored via the post.

After a lively first half when Portugal took the game to their neighbours, it got cagier with fewer chances as Cristiano Ronaldo lashed two dipping free kicks just over the bar and sent another flying over in the last minutes after a counter-attack.

Spain's Alvaro Arbeloa swept a half-volley over the bar in the ninth minute and remarkably that proved to be Spain's best chance of a disjointed performance until Andres Iniesta forced Rui Patricio into his first serious save just before halftime in extra time when they finally injected some pace and took control.

Germany play Italy in Warsaw today in the second semifinal with the final in Kiev on Sunday.

Djokovic, Federer through at Wimbledon

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efending champion Novak Djokovic and sixtime winner Roger Federer both booked their places in the third round at Wimbledon.

Djokovic won 6-4 6-4 6-4 against American Ryan Harrison, with the match played under the Centre Court roof and finishing just before 22:00 BST because of an earlier rain delay.

The Serb, 25, next plays Czech Radek Stepanek or Germany's Benjamin Becker.

Third seed Federer comfortably beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-1 6-3 6-2.

Djokovic was far from his best and had a slight scare when he trailed 0-40 to his 20-yearold opponent at 2-3 in the second set, but survived the break points before recovering and then regaining control.

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their families) don't get a break I CAR TEL OPIA CARTEL TELOPIA

magine for a minute that you had lost a loved one in that dreadful June 3rd 2012 Dana airplane crash. Just imagine it for a few innocuous seconds. How would you feel? All things considered, your mind probably did go on just such a journey on that awful Sunday.

No doubt you thanked God or your lucky stars or providence that neither you nor loved one had had the misfortune of buying a seat in that 'flying coffin', as we are wont to say. Lucky you.

For over 150 Nigerian families, including residents of houses which the Dana plane smashed into, this morbid flight of fancy is not momentary. It is permanent.

National Trauma The Dana plane had come down minutes away from its destination in the densely populated neighbourhood of IjuIshaga in the Agege suburb of Lagos. The drama momentarily drowned out the steady staccato of Sunday church bombings and daily shootings with which we have become familiar.

The first snippets of stomachchurning news flashes dissolved into a terrible spectacle of emergency responders jostling with voyeurs, scavengers, 'security', and journalists for access to the site.

On Wednesday, June 6th , three days after the crash the Lagos state government convened a press conference primarily for grieving relatives in acknowledgment of the depth of national trauma. The Lagos State Government officials explained 'the situation' with the bodies of the dead.

52 identifiable bodies on June 6th They said then that there were 52 identifiable bodies deposited at the Lekan Ogunsanya mortuary located in the grounds of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH. They further told the world that 97 bodies that were 'non-identifiable' would be taken to the Lagos Mainland Hospital Mortuary for 'DNA examination'.

Nigerians had previously been informed that Lagos state law required that autopsies be done on all 149 bodies for the issuance of a death certificate before release to relatives.

Eko o ni baje At the time, many of us, this reporter included, applauded. So hungry are we for some

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By Aisha Yolah ayolah06@yahoo.com 08086296783 (text only please)

Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah semblance of 'governance and due process' that we thought this to be more evidence of the Fashola touch. This accounting for each and every victim's death was a stark reminder of just how irresponsibly other authorities have been handling deaths in their domains. So we cheered- eko ni baje! The trauma centres set up to counsel relatives also got my applause.

The state attorney-general and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, who led the government delegation at that press conference assured that all autopsies on the 149 corpses in the state mortuaries would be concluded within two weeks (June 20th, 2012).

Logically then, it was those bodies that were no longer recognisable that would require DNA testing and cross-matching with relatives before release.

As you read this, the facade of efficiency and official compassion has disintegrated, slowly and shamefully.

DNA for all, mass burial Now all bodies are to be DNA tested and identified before release. What is more, last week, the state government tried to suggest a mass burial though at least 52 bodies had as they said, been recovered and were (originally) recognisable.

The DNA tests will now take weeks, if not months, some say, and abroad! (Which makes no

sense)?

An assertion making the round is frightening: that until ALL relatives get themselves down to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH to give DNA , none of the other 148 families' samples can be 'sent abroad' because all tissue samples are required AT THE SAME TIME! (You see the cross-matching requires all samples are present.)

It is now three weeks and four days since the crash.

Professor John Obafunwa of the LASUTH who seems to be in charge told one grieving husband ,Francis Wasa, a staff of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that the bodies of his wife and daughter had been 'tagged' (as 34 and 41 respectively) i.e. but that a DNA test would have to be done nevertheless. And so his ordeal began - in that befuddled, lawless way that is typical of corrupt Nigerian offialdom.

Families fighting Francis was not so much as even allowed to see the bodies of his dead wife and daughter. No rational, official reason was given to him. Yet he watched helplessly as those with 'long leg' were allowed into the same mortuary , and out, with the bodies of their dead.

Even a CBN contingent assigned to help relatives of CBN staff who died in the crash apparently left in frustration.

Meanwhile, even the basic preservation of the bodies in a reasonable state is suddenly difficult. Two families actually ended up 'fighting' over one corpse previously identified: a shameful indictment of the handling of the whole situation. Some relatives even suspect that the tags have deliberately been removed by the mortuary attendants... to cause confusion.

Again, relatives who were on the ground early are now being asked to're-indentify' bodies. I mean, how cruel can we get?

All relatives have had to

mobilise their own resources to travel and stay in Lagos, as well as return with the corpses of the dead for burial.

Trauma counselling is over Francis Wasa travelled to Lagos on the June 11th. A medical doctor sister of his wife had seen and identified the bodies. She also gave the requisite body tissue samples for DNA testing. They were later informed that the DNA test for his wife's body would require DNA samples from not one but two of her sisters. He flew in a second sisterin-law. Luckily he had one.

At one point Prof John Obafunwa, referred him to the 'next' officer, a woman, who told him okay- we will give you the bodies - just bring dental x-rays of both wife and daughter.

Tell me, how many Nigerians have ever done a dental x-ray?

He has returned to Lagos twice, encountering only obstruction from the LASUTH authorities (Prof John Obafunwa?)

Those with 'connections' get their corpse Another friend whose sister and all her children died in the crash told me they were granted access to the mortuary and the identifiable bodies using their hospital connections. The corpses of foreigners and a few others such as that of the late police chief, John H. Ahmadu, have been released to relatives. Have the 'DNA examinations' been done on them?

The Lagos state attorney general said all the procedure is to 'protect the interest of the victims and their relatives'.

But the contrived confusion speaks to more of our usual 'corruption'- not less, especially in light of the millions of dollars of insurance and compensation at stake.

A doctor told me state hospitals , pressed for space and resources, usually try to ensure corpses are claimed as quickly as possible, especially when bona fide family members have been identified using documentation, pictures, etc. In this case officialdom is stalling collection and even allowing bodies to further decompose 'beyond recognition'. Why? I think another press conference to reassure relatives and tell the world that there is indeed a transparent and equitable process in place, is in order.

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos, Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 803 606 3308. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com ISSN: 2141– 6141