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Vol. 11 No. 16 Monday, June 10, 2013 Sha’aban 2, 1434 AH N150 . . . putting the people first

PIB: Niger Delta leaders threaten to stop oil exploration >>2

L-R: Executive Director, Public Sector South, First Bank of Nigeria Limited (left), Mr. UK Eke, Managing Director/CEO FCMB Bank, Mr. Ladi Balogun, and Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, during the maiden Annual Business Day Banking Awards, recently in Lagos.

CPC carpets CAN

Contd. on Page 2

By Lawrence Olaoye & Ikechukwu Okaforadi

President Goodluck Jonathan has been accused of surpassing his predecessors in destabilizing Nigeria through his

capricious style of politics, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has said.

In a statement issued yesterday by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Rotimi Fashakin, CPC also carpeted the President of the Christian association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, over his recent comments on former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

According to the statement, “our attention has been drawn to the recent call by Pastor Ayodele Oritsejafor, President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), for the arrest of General Muhammadu Buhari, the national leader of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) – on account of his recent commentaries on national issues.

“We are aware that this is a rehash of the stance of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor to a previous piece of mendacious writing by Dr Reuben Abati in his Guardian Newspaper column, wherein he alluded to Buhari as being responsible for post-election violence in some parts of the north in April, 2011.

“The kernel of the latest orchestrated distortion of Buhari’s recent commentaries

UniAbuja faces systems failure -Minister >>2

Reps jittery over imminent shake-up in committees >>37

lHow Yuguda tricked him in Bauchi

Calls for Buhari’s arrestContd. on Page 2

Court stops PDP from probing Suntai’s health statusFrom Yusha’u Alhassan, Jalingo

A Taraba state High Court has granted an injunction restraining the National

Secretariat of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from

carrying out any action pertaining the health status of Governor Danbaba Suntai.

This followed an exparte motion filed in by two members of the party in the state, Garba Julde from Sardauna local government

and Sale Audu Habu from Takum local government.

Granting the injunction, Justice Nuhu Adi, also restrained the PDP from acting on the terms of reference given to a seven-man committee set up by the party

in relation to the performance of the functions of the office of the Governor of Taraba state by the Acting Governor, pending the determination of the motion before the court.

Adi a lso restra ined the

committee from submitting any report to PDP and stopped the party from receiving or implementing any report submitted to it by the committee if it relates to the absence from office

CONTENTS

News 2-10Editorial 12Op.Ed 13Letters 14Opinion 15Metro 16-18Business 19-22Stockwatch 23S/Report 24-25Law 26Education 27-28Health 29-30

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Harnessing the gains of AU @50, Page 4

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PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013PAGE 2

PIB: Niger Delta leaders threaten to disrupt oil exploration

Court stops PDP from probing Suntai’s health status

Calls for Buhari’s arrest: CPC carpets CAN

News

was done to blacken him as supporting the insurgency of Boko Haram in Nigeria.

“It is our view that this statement is utterly tendentious and unsupportable by incontrovertible facts.

“We are aware that, as it was before and after the 2011 elections, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor is keen on helping the electoral fortunes of his friend, President Goodluck Jonathan.

“We leave discerning Nigerians to judge and see the incongruity in Pastor Oritsejafor’s reckless call and Buhari’s unwavering patriotic stand on Nigeria’s insecurity.

“Again, Pastor Oritsejafor has proven to be, a willing implement for destabilization in the hands of the Presidency, in the orchestrated heckling of Buhari ahead of the 2015 elections.

“As we shall prove shortly, the moral rectitude, personal discipline and patriotic love for Nigeria by GMB is head and shoulder above what the current leaders of the Nation possess. “Buhari is not in the mould of leaders that do not match their words with deeds.

“As a Party, we know that the Federal Government of President Good-Luck Jonathan, like the previous PDP administration, seems too intimidated by Buhari’s sterling qualities and previous meritorious service to Nigeria that no effort is spared to depreciate his status through deliberate distortions and misrepresentation of his statements.

Meanwhile, detailed information filtered in yesterday on how the Bauchi state Governor, Mallam Isa

Contd. from Front Page

Contd. from Front Pageof the Governor Danbaba

Suntai, pending the determination of the motion on the matter in the court.

Adi said the exparte injunction was necessitated by the time frame and urgency within which the committee set up by the PDP is to submit its reports.

During the ruling, the plaintiffs were in the court while the first defendant, the PDP and the seven members of the committee who are co-defendants were absent.

Speaking shortly after the court injunction, counsel to the plaintiffs Ibrahim Effiong, described the ruling as the best in recent times, saying that the PDP has no constitutional right to act on the

Yuguda, deceived former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, and prevented him from attending the wedding ceremony between Mohammed, son of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and Badriyya, daughter to the former Bauchi state governor, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, at the Bauchi Emir’s Palace at the weekend.

It was gathered that Buhari, who received formal invitation from the former Vice President arrived Bauchi Airport right on time aboard a chartered flight from his base in Kaduna some forty minutes to the 11am event en route the Emir’s palace.

It was learnt that the protocol officers at the Bauchi Government House who had a fore knowledge of the General’s arrival were at the airport to receive him but with an instruction to stop him from attending the wedding.

This plot, according to a competent source was to further demonstrate the Governor’s loyalty to President Goodluck Jonathan.

It was also gathered that Buhari may have stolen the day given his popularity in the state and such may dwarf the presence of some other important dignitaries at the event.

Therefore, a plan to prevent him from arriving the Emir’s palace, venue of the wedding.

On arrival, Buhari was received by the protocol officers who informed him that the time for the ceremony had been shifted from 11.00 a.m to midday and suggested they take him to the Presidential Lodge to wait till the appointed time.

An unsuspecting Buhari bought

the suggestion but noted that that instead of going to the lodge, they should lead him to wait at the house of his good friend, Alhaji Yahya Abubakar.

After consulting with the Government House, the officers then led him to his friend’s house where they waited.

A few minutes to 12.00 the General’s entourage left for the Emir’s palace only to arrive and be told by the Emir that he was late as the ceremony took place at 11.00.

He then stayed for a few minutes, conferred with the few dignitaries left behind and proceded to the airport and returned to Kaduna.

It was learnt that Buhari who felt disappointed told some people that he would not take offence at the treatment meted out to him saying that such could not be divulged from politics.

Efforts made to contact officials from the Bauchi Government House to confirm the story proved abortive.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Ishola Michael Adeyemi, when contacted said he was out of the country and would not be in position to know what happened at the weekend in Bauchi.

It would be recalled that Yuguda had benefitted from Buhari’s leadership and popularity in the past having contested and won the state governorship election in 2007 under the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP).

The Bauchi Governor however was later to ditch the ANPP for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the presidential election which Buhari lost to late President Umaru

Musa Yar’Adua.Yuguda was loyal to the late

President to the end even as he demonstrated such loyalty by getting married to one of Yar’adua’s daughters.

The loyalty was shifted to Jonathan who succeeded his late boss.

There are situations however that Yuguda’s loyalty may not be unconnected with the politics of 2015 when he would have served out his second term as the governor of Bauchi state.

By Lawrence Olaoye

Minister of Education, Professor Ruqqayatu A h m e d A l k a l i , h a s

described the University of Abuja, as a clear case of system failure.

The Minister said this while briefing the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the scorecard of her ministry. According to her, if a system has failed for several years, then it will be difficult

to resolve it overnight, adding that it was a problem that was inherited.

She also said that the ministry’s target is to attain 60% passes by students in public examinations by 2015, adding that a four year strategic plan had already been developed to achieve the target which would ensure passes in relevant subject such as English and Mathematics.

Explaining further the efforts being put in place to rectify the problems being faced by students

in Engibeering, Medical and Agricultural Faculties in the University of Abuja, the Minister explained that the issue of medical students would be resolved in the next two weeks, while students in other faculties would be transferred to other institutions where the programmes have been accredited.

“Remember we had a Visitation Panel in the University because we have so many problems there. How can we say that before us in the FCT,

the University is decaying to this level so, we raised a high powered Visitation Panel; the highest level so far, over 40 members with so many committees headed by a renowned SAN. They came up with a very good report, detailing on a one-by-one basis all the issues because for a very long time, the university is in a rot. We have submitted White Paper on that and by the time we get approval from the Presidency, you will definitely see action on one-by-one on all the issues,” she stressed.

From Ayodele Samuel,Lagos

Rising from an emergency meeting in Warri, Delta state, Niger Delta leaders under

aegis the United Niger Delta Energy Development Security Strategy (UNDEDSS) at the weekend, declared that unless the Petroleum Industrial Bill (PIB) becomes law within the next three months, the Federal Government of Nigeria and other oil and gas exploiters will be denied access to these natural resources in the region.

The leaders said that exploration of natural resources in the region

....Gives NASS 90 days ultimatum

UniAbuja faces systems failure -Minister

have led to the impoverishment of the people of the region and the despoliation it’s environment with so very little to show for it.

The group said in a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Mr. Tony Uranta, also condemned, “the current politics of hatred that have recently become the norm with certain elder statesmen, and the National Assembly’s myopic insistence in perpetuating artificial dichotomies of ethnicity that militate against policies and programmers

that are intended to fast-track national economic development, such as the refusal by a sectional caucus to allow the passage into law of PIB.

“Anybody who thinks this is an idle joke, is welcome to “three months is just 90 days from now...soon, we shall know who really owns what in this nation-state! Let’s wait and see if the NASS is intent on joining Buhari and company to break up Nigeria.”

UNDESS also condemned the

irrational focus on petty infighting amongst state governors who are apparently little interested in good governance or the common good and warned that it shall mobilize the citizenry of the Niger Delta to commence non-violent acts of sustained civil disobedience actions, from July 2013.

The leaders also called Federal Government to motivate the holding of regional mini-dialogues this year, and to convene a national dialogue within the first quarter of 2014. “We cannot afford to let Nigeria break, but no Nigerian must be expected to celebrate a 100 years of oppression, feudalism, revisionism, despotism and corruption, if there is no fundamental restructuring of this nation.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 PAGE 3

29 killed as JTF battles insurgents in Borno

Kano state Governor, Engineer Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso (middle), discussing with Jigawa state counterpart, Alhaji Sule Lamido, after Kwankwaso’s visit to Lamido, at the weekend in Dutse.

News

From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

At least 29 persons comprising suspected Boko Haram insurgents and some civilians

were killed at the weekend when operatives of the Joint Military Task Force, (JTF) had an encounter with different groups of gunmen in two areas of Maiduguri metropolis, the Borno state capital, witnesses told newsmen yesterday.

The incidents which reportedly occurred on Friday evening led to the death of 16 suspected insurgents after a gun- duel with security forces, while 13 civilians were also killed by the insurgents for allegedly exposing

the hide-out of their colleagues.The first incident occurred

when eight Boko Haram gunmen who were reportedly on a revenge mission raided the Hausari word, shooting sporadically into the crowd and killed 13 civilians and wounded several others.

Among those killed were a middle- aged woman popularly known as Hajia Ummu and her 70- year -old mother.

“The Boko Haram gunmen had beaten several security check posts, upon driving in a Hilux van, pretending to be mourners on a funeral procession and hid their arms in a coffin covered with white shroud. On reaching to the Shehu street, in

Hausari Ward, they immediately brought out guns from the coffin and began shooting sporadically; they continued shooting until they ran out of ammunition.

“When the invaders exhausted their ammunition, they attempted fleeing but were immediately rounded up and arrested by some courageous youths before handing them over to the soldiers, who shot them dead as they attempted to escape” an eyewitness who declined identification said.

The other incident, occured late evening along Biu road bridge when eight suspected insurgents were killed on the spot during a shoot -out with JTF personnel.

Our correspondent who visited the scene saw decomposing corpses of the suspects, dumped in a ditch behind the Biu road bridge.

Among the eight corpses were three teenagers who were allegedly arrested with arms earlier on Thursday and subsquently led the JTF operatives to the hide-outs of five others.

On sighting the security forces, insurgents had reportedly attempted to resist arrest and fired sporadic shots in the direction of the soldiers, leading to a fierce gun battle, with the gunnen killed and their corpses dumped inside the ditch. Spokesnan for the JTF, Lt-Col. Sagir Musa, could not be reached for comment

as at press time.Meanwhile, young men in various

areas of Maiduguri metropolis have formed a vigilante groups who patrol streets of their respective wards, hunting suspected Boko Haram members.

The youth who are popularly referred as ‘civilian JTF’, have reportedly resolved complementing the efforts of the security agents in the fight against the insurgents, apparently to express their total support in the crusade.

The youth have equally engaged in assisting the security forces with the clues on the hide-outs of the suspected insurgents.

From Mohammad Ibrahim, Kaduna

Armed bandits have struck again in two villages of Birnin Gwari local government area

of Kaduna yesterday killing about four people as villagers desert the area.

Peoples Daily gathered that the attacked villages are Gwaron Dutse and Gwaska all in Birnin Gwari local government area of the state.

Sources from the village said most of the villagers have abandoned their houses and livestock due to the attack.

It was gathered that the unknown gunmen on Saturday at about 4 pm and started shooting sporadically, attacking innocent people on sight.

“It was very terrifying because we were at home when we started hearing gunshots from all directions.

“So, we all ran with our wives, children, adult and aged into nearby bush. We suspected the attackers to bandits that have been terrorizing

Bandits kill four in Birnin Gwariour communities and villages.

“We need help because there were no policemen or soldiers in our town and this people always come to terrorize us.

“As I am talking to you now our villages have been turned to ghost town as we all abandoned everything to save our lives,” he said.

It was also learnt that the attackers were at the town on Wednesday last week but was engaged in a shootout with vigilante group in the village in which some of the attackers were injured.

It was reported that the recent

attack was a kind of revenge from the bandits on the village.

“They were at the village on Wednesday but our vigilante group engaged them in shootout so they left with some of them injured. That is why they came back on Saturday to revenge on the villagers,” the source said.

The chairman of the local government, Alhaji Idris Musa Alhassan, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview.

He said four people were confirmed killed by the bandits and two more injured during the attack.

According to him, the bandits are on the on as security agents are after them.

K a d u n a s t a t e P o l i c e Commissioner, Adenaike Olufemi, said he was yet to be briefed on the issue.

Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero condemned the attack on Birnin Gwari community.

In a statement signed by the Director General, Media & Publicity, Ahmed Maiyaki, the Governor assured the people of his administration’s commitment to protect their lives and property.

By Etuka Sunday

All is set for the Federal Government to commence w o r k t o w a r d s t h e

completion of the 18 National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) that were abandoned in the Kaduna

Electricity Distribution Company, Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, has said.

Nebo also said that the expectation of people for electricity supply is very high and all hands must be on deck to meet people’s expectations.

Welcoming the Minister and his team, Managing Director/CEO of Kaduna Disco, Idris M o h a m m e d , s p o k e o n t h e recent efforts that have led to improved levels of power supply to communities in the four states, and requested for government

assistance for the completion of abandoned projects.

Nebo in the course of the visit, commissioned the new vending office of Kaduna Disco, and officially kick-started the use of scratch cards for recharging of electricity meters by customers in the zone.

FG set to complete NIPP projects in Kaduna

The South Africa government said the condition of former President Nelson Mandela

had remained unchanged.“His condition is the same as

the statement we sent out earlier. His condition remain serious but stable,” Mac Maharaj presidential spokesman said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mandela, 94, was admitted in a Pretoria hospital on Saturday after his condition deteriorated on Friday.

He was admitted due to a recurring lung infection.

Maharaj said that doctors were doing everything they could to make Mandela “better and comfortable”.

He said that President Jacob Zuma on behalf of government and the nation, wished Mandela a speedy recovery.

Maharaj requested the media and the public to respect the privacy of the anti-apartheid Icon and his family.

It will be recalled that on April 6, Mandela was discharged from hospital after spending nine days, receiving treatment for recurring lung problems.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has suffered lung ailments on previous three occasion.

Early in March, he was admitted to a Pretoria hospital for a scheduled check-up and was discharged the following day.

In December last year, Mandela underwent an operation to remove gallstones and treat the recurring lung infection. (NAN)

‘Madela’s condition serious but stable’

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

The message today is: Africa must declare an end to the era of self-inflicted wars, conflicts and

usher in an era of transformation, peace, stability and sustainable development.

``For too long, Africa has been the victim of external domination, exploitation and manipulation; Africa must rediscover itself.

``In this regard, we must first take definite steps to implement all the frameworks aimed at curtailing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons on our continent.

``These are weapons used in the prosecution of deadly conflicts, acts of terror, arm robbery, piracy and all sort of crimes.

``For Africa to be free, its leaders must commit themselves to deepening democracy and the rule of law to allow for democracy to flourish.

``We must end the culture of abuse of power and impunity; we must embrace the culture of acceptability, equity and justice; we must also respect the wishes of our people when they express them democratically, freely and openly.

``For Pan-Africanism to endure and African Renaissance to occur, a peaceful Africa must learn some lessons from its ancient past as the cradle of human civilisation.

``However, in the past 50 years, the world has moved very fast, driven by high level technology and sciences; Africa must be part of that movement.’’

These were the words of President Goodluck Jonathan when he spoke at the debate on Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance organised to herald the start of the 50th anniversary of the African Union (AU) recently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

However, 50 years down the line, many Africans continue to express divergent opinions as to whether or not the aspirations of the founding fathers of the regional body have been met.

There is no gainsaying the fact that Africa is still bedevilled by serious poverty indices and food crises.

For instance, it is estimated that the current food imports of Africa, which stand at 50 billion U.S. dollars, would rise to about 150 billion dollars by 2030.

Also, trade among the member nations currently stands at six per cent, while imports from China dominate the market.

Infrastructure development is another vexing issue in most of the countries.

However, while it is obvious that not all the aspirations of the founding fathers of the continental body had been met, observers, nonetheless, insist that significant progress has been made in efforts to develop Africa.

Prof. Monday Mangvwat, the former Vice-Chancellor of University of Jos, is one of those who believe that the AU has not done badly in its 50 years of existence.

``In 1963 when the OAU was formed and declared, only 32 countries were independent; today, there are 53 independent African countries.

``It is a good score. We may not have reached such a perfect union, the kind that Kwame Nkrumah and others envisaged -- which entails a continental government; continental army, a continental judiciary and all that.

``But we have established institutions along the line and they are joining hands

The Page 4 ReportHarnessing the gains of AU @50 By Sani Adamu

A U Chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Zuma

to do certain things that are of common benefit to the continent.

``We also have some regional groups such as ECOWAS, East African Community and Southern African Development Community (SADC). These are organisations offering regional and continental services,’’ he said.

Mangvwat expressed the hope that Africa would be able to achieve all its development and integration aspirations within the next 50 years.

``I am hoping that by then, through the workings of the committees and African institutions that have been established, the African population would have fused into one, such that I can move to Ethiopia without a visa.

``Unless there is some tragedy; in the next 50 years, the bond of union would be far better than what it is today,’’ he added.

Sharing similar sentiments, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwurili, noted that the AU had transformed progressively into a virile and responsive regional outfit in spite of all odds.

``Indeed, as a continental organisation, the AU has provided an effective platform for its member states to adopt coordinated positions on matters of common interests, while presenting and defending them at international fora,’’ she said.

However, some development economists say that although Africa has been able to achieve a significant growth in its GDP in the last 50 years, such growth has yet to impact positively on the lives of the citizens of many African countries.

Former Nigeria’s President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, echoed a similar viewpoint.

Obasanjo urged economists and development experts to address the lopsided Africa GDP growth which failed to add value to the lives of Africans.

The ex-president made the remark, while commenting on the recent Africa’s

five per cent GDP growth rate which placed the continent among the fastest growing global economies.

Obasanjo was one of the members of the AU roundtable panel on the UNDP Rise of the South 2013 Report codenamed ``The African Renaissance in the context of the Rise of the South’’.

He stressed it was quite worrisome that the Africa’s GDP growth rate of about five per cent annually had not reflected in an improvement of the people’s wellbeing.

He urged the UN development agencies, economic experts and governments of African nations to address the situation decisively before it became a serious setback to the continent’s development.

Going from the general to the specifics, Obasanjo noted that Nigeria had recorded a seven per cent GDP growth over the last decade, especially in the oil and gas, telecommunications, banking and financial sectors, among others.

``But we need a kind of growth that would reflect on the lives of the people and the environment in terms of enhanced water supply to the villages, electricity and other infrastructure. That is the kind of growth we want.

``The economists should strive to change the current situation, where the GDP is growing while the people continue to suffer,’’ he said.

Obasanjo urged the UNDP to reflect on the impact of Africa’s GDP growth on the people’s wellbeing and look into how to ensure that it was in agreement with the development of the common man in the rural areas.

Sharing similar sentiments, former Ghanaian President John Kufuor underscored the need for good leadership, prudence in governance and people’s participation in governance in efforts to engender sustainable growth which would impact positively on the lives of Africans.

Kufuor particularly urged African leaders to address the continent’s

demographic advantage before it became a catastrophe, adding: ``We must also reduce dependency on foreign funding for our development projects so as to sustain our continent’s growth.’’

In spite of the AU’s story in the last 50 years, the World Banks’ statistics reveal that Africa is still groaning under the yoke of hunger, poverty and diseases, especially HIV and AIDS.

This, perhaps, explains the decision of Nigeria to host a Special Summit of AU Heads of State and Government, tagged Abuja+12 Special Summit in July.

The Abuja+Summit is to evolve strategies that will intensify efforts to implement the programmes of the Action Committee of AIDS Watch Africa (AWA).

President Jonathan agreed to host the conference during the meeting of Heads of State and Government of Action Committee of AIDS Watch Africa, held on the sidelines of the just concluded AU Summit in Addis Ababa.

As part of efforts to deal with the security challenges facing the region via the application of African solutions to African problems, the African leaders resolved to set up a military rapid-reaction force.

However, plans for the establishment an African Standby Force have been on the drawing board for more than a decade.

Military experts say that the force would be deployed very rapidly to effectively respond to emergency situations across the continent, in line with the framework of the African Peace and Security Architecture.

All the same, analysts insist that for Africa to extricate itself from the yoke of cynicism and fatalism, it must renew its vision of Pan-Africanism, while promoting the ideals of African Renaissance.

``Africa must build confidence in itself, in its ability and obligation to be the driver of its own destiny,’’ says one the analysts.

Source: NAN

``

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 PAGE 5

L-R: Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, Groom, Uzoma Nwosu-Iheme (jr), bride, Njideka Odili, President Goodluck Jonathan, First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, mother of the groom, justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, and mother of the bride, Justice Mary Odili, during the wedding of the daughter of the former governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, on Saturday in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

Boko Haram, Ansaru proscription stifles press freedom - ACNBy Ayodele Samuel

From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

From Matthew Aramunde Lagos

From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

The Minister of Education, Hajiya Rukayatu Rufa’I, approved the establishment

of an open university in Kebbi state.

She made this statement yesterday at the Government House, Birnin Kebbi while

Shock and disbelief rent the air when one of the suspects arrested in connection with

the killing of two Policemen some weeks earlier at Imowonla village in Ikorodu area of Lagos revealed that Oba Adeoriyomi Oyebo the Obateru of Egbin Kingdom was indeed behind the plot to kill the Police officers.

In a chat wi th cr ime correspondents, the suspect, Akorode Olatunji, gave a graphic account of how the deadly mission was carried out and accomplished. He said the killer squad that comprises some members of the outlawed Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) and some residents of Egbin who were shortchanged by those they bought some parcels of land from at Imowonla had earlier on converged at the traditional ruler’s palace where they were mobilized before heading for the scene of crime.

He however noted that the mission initially was to confront some

Kebbi gets open university

NEMA begins food distribution to victims of state of emergency

Dakingari appoints new Chief of Staff

Oba Oyebo ordered us to kill policemen - Suspect

The National Emergency M a n a g e m e n t A g e n c y (NEMA) said on Sunday

in Maiduguri it had started distributing food items to communities affected by the state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.

In a statement by Malam Abdulkadir Ibrahim, NEMA’s North-East Information Officer, it said this was in line with the agency’s mandate of providing succour to Internally Displaced Persons (IEDs).

“The agency has embarked on the distribution of food items to communities affected by the state

of emergency in the three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. The gesture is aimed at tackling acute food shortages due to the on-going military offensive against terrorists in the area”, it said.

The statement further said that items distributed included bags of rice, millet, beans, noodles, sugar, milk, beverages, among others.

“NEMA also distributed d r i n k i n g w a t e r t o t h e communities to ameliorate their hardship,’’ it added.

The statement said the exercise started in May at New Marte, headquarters of Marte Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno. “The distribution was kicked off in Marte LGA in May, by NEMA’s North-East Co-ordinator, Alhaji Muhammed Kanar, with a call on the citizens to be law-abiding and go about their normal activities. Kanar also advised the people to co-operate with security operatives b y r e p o r t i n g s u s p i c i o u s movements and strange people in their localities”, the statement said.

It added that NEMA had so far covered areas like Marte LGA, Bama LGA and Maiduguri Metropolis, all in Borno, in the distribution exercise.

Kebbi state Governor, Alhaji Usman Saidu Dakingari, h a s a p p r o v e d t h e

appointment of Alhaji Abdullahi Lamba as the new Chief of Staff.

In a press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Alhaji abubakri Muazu Dakingari said that the appointment of Lamba was based on merit and he replaces the late Alhaji Muhammadu Sarkin Kigo who passed away recently in India.

PAGE 6 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

News

as an irritant than an indispensable part of democracy.

It therefore called on media professional bodies to challenge the Order in court to save journalists from long jail terms simply for carrying out their constitutional duties.

In the alternative, the ACN called on the federal government to clarify the knotty and vague areas of the open-ended order, that may end up punishing journalists and infringing on the civil liberties of the citizens more than it will curtail the activities of the sects.

‘’Against the background of insinuations in government circles, let us be clear that we do not condone the activities of these sects that have

killed and maimed innocent Nigerians and turned a section of the country into a battle field. Terrorism in all its ramifications is condemnable, and no responsible government will allow any group, no matter its name, grievances or ideology, to carry out terrorist acts unchecked. But we believe that whatever action government takes - even in an emergency - must pass the Constitutional test, especially since the relevant sections of the Constitution have not been suspended,’’ the party said.

It said the offensive section of the Order is Section 5 (1), which prescribes a term of imprisonment of not less than 20 years ‘’for any person who knowingly, in any manner, directly or

indirectly, solicits or renders support for the commission of an act of terrorism or to a terrorist group.

“Can journalists escape being sentenced to 20-year jail terms for publishing statements issued by the sects? Can they freely report on videos periodically posted on YouTube by Boko Haram leader Shekau? Can the media freely report the kind of massacre that took place in Baga in April without being held liable for supporting’ terrorism?

“Can radio and television stations organize talk shows on terrorism without the discussants being held liable for ‘supporting’ terrorism?”

land grabbers who had taken over the lands they legitimately acquired but that on getting to the scene of crime, they were accosted by some Police officers whom they suspected were brought in by those who had defrauded them.

Akorode said they were not dissuaded by the presence of the Policemen, rather they made up their minds to confront them and that it was in the ensuing encounter that one of the Policemen was shot dead while the other Policeman escaped with machete cuts and was reported to have given up the ghost the following day.

He said while the operation lasted, they were in constant communication with the royal father who advised them to hide in a nearby bush assuring that he had sent for Police reinforcement, stressing that their protection was guaranteed.

Akorode said they were however surprised when at dusk they neither heard again from the monarch nor was the promised arrival of Policemen

fulfilled and so they had to leave their hiding spot for their various homes.

He agreed that the two AK47 rifles belonging to the deceased Policemen were handed over to Wasiu Sobu, a notorious armed robbery king pin who has been on the wanted list of the Police for sometime now for safe keeping.

In response to his alleged complicity in the sordid affair, Oba Oyebo claimed that he has never met with Akorode, let alone instructing him or any other person for that matter to kill the Policemen and that

no meeting was ever held in his palace prior to the attacks

It will be recalled that on May 22, 2013 some Mobile Policemen attached to Mopol 22 Police Squadron in Ikeja said to be responding to distress call, were alleged to have been ambushed by some hoodlums at about 2.25am, leading to the killing of one Inspector Ikpi Ikpi and attempted murder of Corporal Iwaloye Olasunbo and Corporal Daniel Amodu by inflicting cuts on their heads and all over their bodies with machetes.

receiving the certificate of occupancy of the new establishing federal university, adding that out the 36 states Kebbi state is the only state that has no open university

“It is only Kebbi state that has no open university, I have approved it now and I want it to take off very soon.”

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has said that the recent proscription order against Boko

Haram and Ansaru, desirable as it may be in tackling the terrorist organisations, violates the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by stifling the press and tampering with the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.

In a statement issued in Ila-Orangun on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the Order also makes it easy for an increasingly intolerant government to clamp down on the opposition, which its sees more

Briefly

Dana: “We’ve not received compensation,” Minister cries out

The Utility Refinancing Com-pany, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) initiated at

the instance of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to assist in re-financing the mortgage sec-tor is set to kick off.

URF Company set up by FMBN with the assistance of the World Bank, International Fi-nance Corporation (IFC) and the Federal Ministry of Finance is to address over 17 million mortgage deficit gap.

Managing Director FMBN, Gimba Ya’u Kumo disclosed this at the 4th Nigeria Development Finance Forum in Washington DC that held recently in the United States of America.

He also said the FMB was working out modalities to roll out a Diaspora product to assist Nige-rians living abroad own

homes in Nigeria.Kumo said the product has

become necessary given the large number of Nigerians in Diaspora who wish to own homes in Nigeria and also as a means of reducing the housing deficit in the country.

“We realized that about 17mil-lion Nigerians are living outside the country and most of them have plans to have houses and they have not been able to do so. We understand that over the years, people have been remit-ting money for the building or the buying of a house has not been getting good results. Stories have

followed this money.“What we are trying to do is

that by the time we develop the di-aspora mortgage model, it will be a model whereby Nigerians living abroad who want to buy houses can resort to FMBN and at the end of the day if they do not take the mortgage, they can get refund of their money with interest.

Kumo said that the reason why the bank has chosen the US is because out of the 17mil-lion Nigerians all over the world, America has about 58 per cent adding “We are going to do our case study here and in the UK. If it works well, we will try to rep-licate in Asia and other parts of the world”.

He said the move would also

lead to the inflow of finance from the Diaspora to Nigeria which would further assist to reduce the housing needs in the country.

“The target of the Diaspora, the inflow of Diaspora money to Nigeria is about $10billion. If the housing sector takes about 25 per cent of that inflow, we are expect-ing that about $2.5billion dollars is coming to us in the form of inflow from Diapora people that would need houses and invest-ments in the housing sector.

“That would translate to about N4billion and with that we can fund mortgages and build about 30, 000 units and that would be an opportunity for those who would want to have houses in Ni-geria.

National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Par-ty (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga

Tukur, yesterday insisted that members of the party must live up to the dictates of its constitu-tion by maintaint discipline and good conducts.

Apparently commenting on the suspension of some mem-bers of the party including the Rivers state governor, Rotimi Amaechi and his Sokoto state counterpart, Dr. Magatakarda Wamakko over alleged anti party activities, Tukur in a statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen yesterday stated, “we harbour no malice

against any member. We only do not want to be a flock without a Shepherd. If we are not disci-plined as a party, we certainly may not be able to produce the most progressive government in line with the greatest expecta-tion of every Nigerian and the rest of the world.

“The PDP government led by President Goodluck Jonathan has a good agenda founded on desire to transformation of Ni-geria. The agenda has started bearing fruits. Indeed, the PDP should lead in the implementa-tion.

“We do not want to constitute

a distraction to the President’s Transformation Agenda and for us not to be requires absolute discipline and loyalty from every member”

“Right now, we are re-organ-ising by way of bringing every one to appreciate the constitu-tion and manifesto of the party so that when we go into election in 2015, we can win landslide as a family in the election which will rank as the freest, most peaceful and most transparent in line with the desire of Presi-dent Jonathan.”

The PDP National Chairman equally disclosed that the dream

of the nation becoming a mem-ber of the United Nations Secu-rity Council may soon come to pass given the support it cur-rently attracts from within the world body.

Tukur who said the level of support from across the globe based on the goodwill com-manded by Nigeria was a sort of hint that the attainment of such ambition would be realized un-der the government of President Goodluck Jonathan also added that the country ranks high among the countries jostling for membership of the UN Security Council being a regional power.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar (left) and Niger state Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (right), exchanging pleasantries with guests, during wedding fatihah of the son of former vice-president, Mohammed Atiku and the daughter former Bauchi state Governor, Badriyya Mu’azu, on Saturday at emir palace in Bauchi. Behind them are Gombe state Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo (left), and Senate Deputy Leader, Ahmed Abdul Ningi (right). Photo: Mahmud Isa

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 PAGE 7

NewsFMBN floats refinancing company, Diaspora mortgage model

PDP harps on discipline, promises to resolve challenges... As Tukur raises hope of Nigeria’s membership of UN security Council

By Abdulwahab Isa

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has denied com-plicity in the placement of

his 2015 presidential campaign posters which flooded Bauchi at the weekend.

When contacted, an aide to Atiku, Alhaji Umar Bello Calculate Jada, told our correspondent that the posters are from well wishers, adding that, “I want to assure you that Atiku Abubakar is not aware of those posters as I believe they are from his well-wishers who think he is capable of holding that position.”

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, has solicited the support

and co-operation of tradition-al rulers in the country for the on-going reforms in the power sector.

According to him, the support of the royal fathers, as opinion moulders, would be vital, especially for the full privatization of the sector which would mean handing over control of the the sector from public to privately entre-preneurs.

The Minister who dis-closed this while on a courtesy visit to the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, in his pal-ace in Zaria, said traditional rulers are very important for peaceful co-existence among the various socio-cultural, ethnic and religious groups in the country, pointing out that even well thought-out power programmes and projects can-not benefit the people without peace.

By Etuka Sunday

Prices of perishables have risen in Kano as the rainy season approaches in the

area, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) checks at vegetable mar-kets in the metropolis showed that the prices of pepper increased from N250 to N450 per measure.

Similarly, the price of a meas-ure of tomatoes rose to N400 from N300, while a measure of onions that sold for N200 in-creased to N400.

Atiku distances self from 2015 posters

Power reforms: Nebo solicits assistance from traditional rulers

Prices of perishables soar in Kano

Family of the former Acting Vice Chancellor of Univer-sity of Jos who died during

the 2012 Dana Air disaster in La-gos, late Prof. Celestine Nwuliri, has revealed that no compensa-tion has been given to them by the management of Dana Airline.

Wife of the victim, Prof. Viola Adaku Onwwuliri, revealed this yesterday amidst tears while speaking to Journalists in Jos, shortly after a one year remem-brance and memorial service of late Celestine.

The widow who she is also

Minister of State, Foreign Af-fairs called on the management Dana to reach to other Nige-rians who were affected and stressed that the incident threw the family in to a serious chal-lenges and described the sad and gory event as a heavy blow

on the family.According to her, “we have

no link with Dana Airline, we have not seen them and we have no contact with them, so that is how it has been. I just hope that they have reach to other Nigeri-ans that were involved”

29th May, 2013 was celebrated nationally as the 14th Anniversary of Democracy in Nigeria and here in Kano State as the day that

commemorates the 2nd year in Office of the 2nd incumbency of Governor Engr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE. The day was celebrated as an intermission or interval of the performance of the incumbent administration but certainly not a timeout for respite as the usual weekly Council sitting was held a day earlier (Tuesday 28th May, 2013) than the usual Wednesdays. During these sittings an average of 20 approvals were granted for the execution of projects across all sectors that impact positively on the lives of the citizenry. This way, an estimated 2000 approvals were granted for the execution of projects at an estimated cost of N250 billion in two years. It remains precisely two years for the present administration to complete its unsurpassed mission of transforming Kano State.

To continue with the laudable performance of the present administration, Kano State Executive Council held its 101st sitting today Tuesday 4, June, 2013 (26th Rajab, 1434AH) during which ten (10) MDAs submitted forty (40) memoranda for deliberation by Council. Twenty-five (25) of them were approved for execution with an expenditure of Two billion, Six hundred and sixty five million, nine hundred and thirty one thousand, five hundred and ninety five naira (N2, 665,931,595.00) covering 23 projects. Thus:

1. MINISTRY OF WORKS, HOUSING AND TRANSPORT

Four (4) Memoranda were submitted for deliberation by Council from the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport. All were approved for execution as follows:

a. Request for funds for the construction of Multi-cell Box culvert at Kuki Bebeji LGCA:-

Council was notified, through contents of this memorandum that, an existing double-cell box culvert at Kuki town had collapsed causing hardships and difficulties to the people of the area when crossing the river – especially during the rainy season.

Notably, majority of the inhabitants are farmers who need to convey their products to neighboring markets and communities as well as other locations. So, renovation of the collapsed double-cell culvert at Kuki town is paramount for which the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport assessed the scope of works required and requested for the release of the sum of N52, 688,233.11 by Council to enable the execution of the project. Details were presented for Council’s consideration.

Council noted, considered and approved the release of the requested sum of N52, 688,233.11 to the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport to enable execution of the referred project. However, the money is to be contributed by the State Government and Bebeji Local Government Council at 60%:40% basis.

b. Request for funds to provide erosion control at Gunshi Bridge along Karaye Kwanyawa Road:

The Hon. Commissioner Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport alerted Council of having received a report on erosion problems at Gunshi Bridge along Karaye – kwanyawa Road from the Hon. Member Representing Karaye Constituency in the Kano State House of Assembly.

Prompt response to the report presented a picture of the situation which informed the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport on the scope of works required to be executed at the cost of N48,228,520.19, which was requested for release by Council. Details were

PAGE 8 PEOPLES DAILY| MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

USEFUL PHONE NUMBERS ON ANY EMERGENCY Council endorsed the useful phone numbers submitted by the security agents for easy access in case of any emergency on the metropolitan Roads. Accordingly, the public may easily Contact KAROTA for: Breakdown of Vehicle(s), Traffic Congestion, Accidents, Illegal / Wrong Parking to kindly Call KAROTA through the following number – 08091626747. Similarly, the State Police Command could be contacted on – 08032419754, 08123821575. In addition, the State Fire Service can also be contacted on – 07051246833, 08191778888.

101st Kano state executive council meetingpresented for consideration.

Considering the relevance of the project, Council approved the release of the requested sum of N48, 228,520.19 to the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport to enable the provision of erosion control at Gunshi Bridge, along karaye – Kwanyawa Road in Karaye LGCA. A sharing formula of 60%: 40% is to be used in sourcing the funds between the State Government and Karaye LGCA.

c. Request for funds for the construction of two (2) Multi – Cell box Culverts along Kazaurawa and Gana Villages Roads in Yalwa Ward, Rano LGCA.

The Hon. Member representing Rano Constituency in the State House of Assembly mailed a request to the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport, for the construction of bridges along the roads mentioned above. Relevant details were presented for Council’s consideration.

The site was visited and scope of works were assessed at the aggregate sum of N101,478,473.52 which was requested for release by Council to enable execution of the project mentioned above. Congruence of the project with the policy of the present administration to provide qualitative infrastructure prompted Council to approve the release of the requested sum of N101, 478,473.52 to the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport to enable the construction of two (2) Multi-Cell Box Culverts along Kazaurawa and Gana villages Roads in Yalwa Ward, Rano LGCA.

d. Request for funds for the conversion of Magwan Water Restaurant into First Lady’s College, Kano:-

Education has received a lot of attention since the inception of this Administration with more than N9 billion out of the over N24 billion allocated to the sector in 2013 budget expended for its improvement through either the setting up of a new University; the Northwest University, the establishment of 21 skills acquiring institutions, the building of more classes, staff quarters, provision of instructional materials and the sponsorship of indigenous youths to pursue courses both within and outside the country. It may be recalled that recently the Administration sponsored 501 postgraduate students to study in Turkey, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Uruguay, Britain, etc. As a follow-up 100 candidates were sponsored to undergo Pilot training in Jordan, while another 100 were interviewed to study medicine overseas.

It is in this vein that one should understand the basis of this memorandum submitted for the conversion of the 30 years abandoned Magwan Water Restaurant into the First Lady’s College. Council recalled the conversion of Ado Bayero House, Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport Kofar Nasarawa Yard, and Water Resources Engineering and Construction Agency Bagauda Office to the temporary site of the Northwest University site, Governors’ College and Technical College respectively. The conversion of abandoned/unutilized structures into educational institutions by this administration increases the number of schools and students intake.

The Hon. Commissioner, Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport tacitly reminded Council of a joint presentation by the Ministries of Works, Housing and Transport and Education on the conversion of Magwan Water Restaurant to First Lady’s College specifically meant for girls at the sum of N602, 110806.03

Council noted, considered and approved the release of the requested sum of N602, 110,806.03 to the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport to enable the

conversion of Magwan Water Restaurant to First Lady’s College according to the precise specifications presented.

2. MINISTRY OF JUSTICEThe Ministry of Justice submitted two

memoranda for deliberation by Council. Only one was approved for execution. Thus:

Presentation on Petty Trading:The Office of the Attorney General/

Hon. Commissioner for Justice submitted a memorandum to curtail School age children from exploitation and to ensure that all are given opportunity to attend schools. This is the basis for this memorandum proposing the introduction of measures to check street hawking in general and especially street hawking by females of school age.

As such, Council was specifically notified, through the contents of this memorandum, of the existence of the following Laws:

i. Petty Trading (Controls) Edict CAP 108 Laws of Kano State 1991.

ii. Petty Trading (Prohibition of Female Juveniles) Edict CAP 109 Laws of Kano State 1991.

Details were presented on both Laws for Council’s consideration as the Attorney General/Hon. Commissioner for Justice humbly requested Council to approve taking all necessary steps to ensure the full enforcement of the Petty Trading (Controls) Law CAP 108 1991 Laws of Kano State and Petty Trading (Prohibition of Females) Law 109 1991 Laws of Kano State.

Council acknowledged the presentation in appreciation and approved the full enforcement of the two Laws.

3. MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Request for funds to enable the installation of New V-Sat and Local Area Network (LAN), Installations under the NICEF – Galaxy Backbone Initiative.

The contents of this memorandum reminded Council of the partnership between the State and Galaxy Backbone to extend internet services to un served and underserved schools/institutions in the National Information Communication and Education Program (NICEP). Galaxy provides/supplies V-sat and accessories free of charge to beneficiaries as a Federal Government intervention program while respective collaborating Governments shoulder the responsibility for bandwidth cost and support services charges annually.

2012/2013 is a noteworthy period during which the Kano State Executive Council considered and approved the installation of the facility at nine (9) locations details on which were presented for Council’s perusal.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has indentified ten (10) locations for the 2nd segment of the installations at an aggregate cost of N32,669,867.70. The new locations include the following:-

1. G.S.S. Kwankwaso2. School of Nursing, Madobi3. Kano Informatics Institute, Kura4. Women Continuing Education

Centre, Gidan Galadima5. G. G. S. S. Jambaki6. G. G. A. S. S. Tudun Murtala7. G. G. S. S. Jogana8. Mairo Tijjani Girls Science

College, Kano.9. Girls Unity School Kachako10. School of Technology, Kano

State Polytechnic

As such, the Ministry of Science and Technology requested Council to approve the release of the sum of N32, 669,867.70 to enable the execution of the project mentioned in this submission. Considering the significance of the project, Council approved as requested.

4. OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

TO THE STATE GOVERNMENTThis Office submitted eighteen (18)

memoranda on behalf of some MDAs for deliberation by Council. Nine (9) of them were approved for execution as follows:

a. Request for the provision of Cash-Backed Guarantee of N10million as the final requirement for the International Air Transport Registration for Kano Amana Travels and Tours Ltd.

Office of the Secretary to the State Government presented a submission, on behalf of the Kano Hospitality and Tourism Institute, intimating government on the requirements so far fulfilled in acquiring registration for Kano Amana Travels and Tours Ltd. This company was established by the Government on behalf of, and, to be run by the graduates of the Kano Hospitality and Tourism Institute. The Company is supposed to provide self-employment to the graduates. Details were presented for Council’s perusal.

Essentially, the final requirement for the International Air Transport Registration is the provision of cash-backed Bank Guarantee to the tune of N10million by a reputable Bank to the International Air Travel Agency (IATA).

Council noted, considered and approved the raising of a Bank Guarantee in the sum of N10million in respect of Amana Travels Ltd to be issued by Guarantee Trust Bank and directed the Ministry of Finance to liaise with the Bank in processing the issue.

b. Request for provision of seven (7) vehicles for the conduct of operations at Kano Geographic Information Systems (KANGIS):-

KANGIS was a newly established Agency specifically set up to simplify, facilitate land documentation in the State for improved revenue generation. The authorities at the newly established KANGIS requested for the allocation of seven (7) vehicles for smooth conduct of its operations.

Considering the real transportation needs of KANGIS, Council considered and approved the release of the funds to the tune of N18, 200,705.00 to enable the procurement and allocation of three vehicles to KANGIS, thus Toyota Hiace 18 seater, Toyota Hilux DC Pick-up and KIA Cerato 1.6 EX MT.

d. Request for

funds to enable commencement of the 3rd phase of renovation of Primary Schools across 44 LGCAS by the State Community Reorientation Council:-

The Office of the Special Adviser Community Reorientation Council (CRC) intimated Government of the successful completion of the 2nd phase of the renovation of Primary Schools across the 44 LGCAS in the State at the aggregate sum of N220, 000,000.00. Summary of the details involved were submitted for Council information.

The Special Adviser CRC requested for another release of the sum of N220, 000,000.00 by Council to enable the execution of the 3rd phase of the laudable exercise in which every Local Government Council Area is to benefit projects worth N5million.

The request was considered credible and is in agreement with the policy of the present administration to provide qualitative education at all levels. Council approved the release of the requested sum of N220, 000,000.00 to the Office of the Special Adviser CRC to enable the execution of the 3rd phase of repairing Primary Schools across the 44 LGCAS. The Local Government Councils were directed to release the required N5million each to add up to the totally required aggregate sum of N220, 000,000.00

e. Request for ratification and release of funds to effect payment for diesel and lubricants supplied to MDAs:-

The State Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport requested the release of the sum of N14,405,600.00 to enable the payment for diesel and lubricants supplied to MDAs. Substantial evidence from the supplier was presented to Council for consideration.

Council noted, considered and approved the release of the requested sum of N14,405,600.00 to the Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport to enable payment for diesel and lubricants supplied to MDAs according to the details presented.

f. Request for funds to procure/provide uniforms and other accessories to Officers and Men of Hisbah in the Command Headquarters:-

The contents of this memorandum submitted by the Office of the Deputy Governor/Hon. Commissioner for Local Governments for deliberation by Council, referred the sitting to a communication from the Commander-General/Chief Executive, State Hisbah Board.

The communication amply reminded Council that, Government procured and provided enough/befitting uniforms and accessories to officers and men of Hisbah across the 44 LGCAS in the State recently (2013). However, such facilities were not provided to the Hisbah officers and men that work at the Central Command as a result of separating the request for the same purpose.

As such, Office of the Deputy Governor/Hon. Commissioner for Local Governments requested on behalf of the Hisbah Board, for the release of the sum of N25,095,943.03 to enable the procurement/provision of uniforms and other materials to officers and men of Hisbah in the Headquarters. Details were presented for Council’s consideration. Credibility of the request prompted Council to approve the release of the requested sum of N25, 095,943.03.

g. Request for funds to enable conduct of the first (1st) segment of the year 2013 Retreat for Political Office Holders Top Government functionaries and Directors in

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

Gov Kwankwaso

PAGE 9PEOPLES DAILY| MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

the State Civil Service:-The Head of Civil Service submitted

a request for the conduct of 2013 retreat tagged “Civil Service, Good Governance and Sustainable Development: Kano State experience”. The retreat is an annual event sponsored by the Government for exchange of ideas between political office holders and the public servants for improved service delivery in the State. Two alternatives were presented to Council to select from as venue for the worthwhile endeavor.

Council noted, considered, selected/approved Abuja Nicon Luxury Hotel as venue for the retreat and approved the release of the projected sum of N80,961,587.50 to the Office of the Head of Civil Service to enable the conduct of a successful first (1st) segment retreat for the year 2013 for the earmarked Government functionaries.

h. Request for funds to cover for Tuition, Accommodation and other charges in respect of 130 Postgraduate Kano State Indigenous Students to be relocated from Ukraine to India under the 501 Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme:-

The contents of this memorandum substantiated to Council the plausible reasons for the timely relocation of the 130 students from among the 501 postgraduate Kano State Indigenous candidates sponsored for studies abroad. These students selected to study in Ukraine were denied visa and all efforts failed despite the fact that the State Government has settled all fees in respect of the students. Realizing the unnecessary delay by the Ukraine Foreign Office to issue visa Council sought alternative Universities in India that agreed to admit the students to study the same courses offered by the Ukraine Universities. Machineries are now in process to recoup the fees paid for the students.

This explains the basis of this memorandum seeking for the release of the sum of $2,265,050.00 US Dollars (equivalent to N362,408,000.00) for the payment of fees, visa process, etc, for the 130 candidates to proceed to India for their higher education as promised by the Government.

Considering the reasons forwarded, Council approved the release of the requested sum of $2,265,050.00 (equivalent to N362,408,000.00) to the Office of the Secretary to the State Government for onward payment to the Ministry of Higher Education to enable relocating the 130 postgraduates sponsored for studies abroad from Ukraine to India in response to the positive reasons forwarded.

i. Request for funds for Poultry Re-empowerment program for 200 Women:-

General empowerment and skill acquisition opportunities provision are among the cardinal resolutions of the present administration. The teeming unemployed/unskilled youths of both genders are provided for under the laudable multiple empowerment schemes embarked upon by the present administration.

The Poultry Institute established at Tukwui village in Makoda LGCA is among the empowerment and skill acquisition institutes at which women are especially trained on poultry business. Women were selected from across the 44 LGCAS in the State for the training at the completion of which take-off packages are issued to the beneficiaries including chicks and cockerels.

Concertedly, the empowerment coordination committee under the Chairmanship of Maryam Umar K/Mata identified 200 beneficiary women from ten (10) LGCAS that encountered problems especially with the death of the chicks and cockerels issued to them for one unfortunate reason or the other.

As such, the empowerment Coordinating Committee recommended to Council to approve the release of the aggregate sum of N7,030,000.00 to replace some aspects of the take-off packages for the 200 affected Women.

The request was considered credible by Council which granted approval for the requested sum of N7,030,000.00 to enable the replacement of some aspects of the take-off packages for the 200 affected/identified women across ten (10) LGCAS, which include Dala, Municipal, Tarauni, Gaya, Dambatta, Makoda, Dawakin Kudu and Shanono.

5. MINISTRY OF HEALTHFour (4) memoranda were submitted for

deliberation by Council from the Ministry of Health. Three (3) of them were approved for execution as follows:-

a. Presentation on the need and request for funds for general repairs/renovation works at Dawakin Kudu General Hospital:-

The Hon. Commissioner for

Health acknowledged and applauded the policy thrust of the present administration and its commitment to up lifting and improvement of healthcare delivery systems and services to all nooks and corners of the State. In the past two (2) years the state Government has repaired/renovated and expanded numerous health facilities/Hospitals neglected by the immediate previous administration.

This laudable policy drive instigated the Ministry of Health to identify and present the need for general repairs/renovation of Dawakin Kudu General Hospital, which was destroyed by fire outbreak and series of thunder storm calamities in addition to a state of disrepair/dilapidation as well as neglect from the immediate previous administration that operated for eight (8) years. Scopes of works required were assessed and estimates prepared to the tune of N132, 919,985.80. This has to be segmented into three phases with phase one being allocated the sum of N57,579,289.65 while phases two and three are allocated N40,884,225.24 and N34,456,470.95 respectively.

The project was considered relevant as Council approved the release of the requested sum of N57,579,289.65 for phase one to the Ministry of Health to enable the execution of the general repairs/renovation works required at the Dawakin Kudu General Hospital.

b. Presentation on the need and request for funds to purchase required equipment/instruments and other instructional materials for the immediate take-off of the newly established College of Nursing Madobi (Temporary Site):-

College of Nursing Madobi is among the newly established 21 tertiary institutions established for the training of youths to be of help to themselves and the society. Academic activities are yet to commence though the Madobi Local Government Council has provided and renovated a temporary site for the College as instructed.

As such, the Ministry of Health proposed the equipping and furnishing of the temporary site to enable the take-off of the new College within the 2013/2014 academic session. The sum of N25,756,674.84 was requested for release by Council for the purpose. Again, the sum of N1,800,000.00 was requested for release to the Ministry of Health to enable the production of Application forms for admission into the College and meet accreditation requirement. So the aggregate sum of N27,556,674.82 was requested for release by Council to the Ministry of Health.

The request was considered credible as Council approved the release of the requested sum of N27,556,674.82 to the Ministry of Health to enable execution of the stated projects at the temporary site of the College of Nursing Madobi.

c. Request for assistance to the bereaved family of Late Alh. Saidu Muhammad Fagge (Principal School of Nursing, Kano):-

Council condoled the bereaved family of Alh. Saidu Muhammad Fagge. With concern, Council approved the following in respect of the bereaved family:

i. Granting of educational support to nine (9) children of the deceased to the tune of N1,638,000.00

ii. Provision of employment to three (3) among 12 children of the deceased who have already completed their education.

iii. Immediate release of the bereaved family/service entitlements.

iv. Processing and release of entitlements of the deceased to the bereaved family accordingly.

6. MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, INTERNAL AFFAIRS, YOUTHS, SPORTS AND CULTURE

Request for funds as financial assistance to the Nigerian Nationwide Clubs Association, Kano State Chapter:-

The Hon. Commissioner, Ministry of Information, Internal Affairs, Youths, Sports and Culture drew Council’s attention to a communication received from the Nigerian Nationwide Clubs Association, Kano State Chapter representing the State in the 2012/2013 Football Season requesting for financial assistance to its members. The Association has fifteen (15) clubs representing the State in different categories of Nationwide League (Amateur) in the country with some of them having gained promotion to the next grade in the previous season.

Nevertheless, the weak financial

disposition of the Association instigated the request for financial assistance from the State Government through the Ministry of Information, Internal Affairs, Youths, Sports and Culture.

Council acknowledged the request and approved the release of the sum of N7,500,000.00 to the Ministry of Information, Internal Affairs, Youths, Sports and Culture for onward payment as financial assistance to the Nigeria Nationwide Clubs Association, Kano State Chapter for disbursement to its 15 member clubs in support of sports – especially football.

7. MINISTRY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

Two (2) memoranda were submitted for deliberation by Council from the Ministry for Higher Education. Only one of them was approved for execution. Thus:-

Request for funds to enable the replacement of the ceiling and chairs in a lecture hall and theater respectively at Aminu Kano College of Islamic Legal Studies, Kano:-

Governor Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, FNSE paid official visit to Aminu Kano College of Islamic Legal Studies on Monday 22nd April, 2013 when he observed the need to effect adjustments at some lecture halls under construction for which an Executive Directive was issued on the following:-

i. Replacement of ceiling in a lecture hall

ii. Removal and replacement of chairs in the lecture theatre under construction.

Responding to the Executive Directives, the Ministry for Higher Education requested for the release of the aggregate sum of N14,716,000.00 to enable the execution of the project.

Approval was granted as requested by Council for the release of the sum of N14,716,000.00 to the Ministry for Higher Education to enable execution of the referred projects according to the details presented.

8 MINISTRY OF EDUCATIONThis Ministry submitted three (3)

memoranda for deliberation by Council. All were approved for execution as follows:-

a. Presentation on request for the release and permission to utilize funds from the 2013 Universal Basic Education (UBE) counterpart funds:-

Judicious utilization of the UBE matching grants has boosted the development of Basic Education in Kano State as well as demonstrated the commitment and zeal of the present administration.

To sustain the tempo, SUBEB has prepared a comprehensive plan for the execution of 2013 UBE matching grants projects. However, UBEC is yet to indicate how much is to respectively be disbursed to each State in the Federation as 2013 matching grant. This fact slows down the momentum at which Kano State Government executes its matching grants projects. Nevertheless, authentic records indicate that the sum of money required for the 2013 matching grant projects in Kano State may not be different from the 2012 sum of N852,936,713.93 approved and appropriated in the 2013 State Budget. Such projects are among the cardinal priorities of the present administration, which made SUBEB to propose for the execution of the following projects in utilizing the 2013 UBE matching grants:-

i. Construction of sixty-four (64), four (4) story blocks at various primary schools across the 44 LGCAS in the State at the cost of N1,028,603,432.73

ii. Establishment of three (3) model Primary Schools (with all necessary and standard infrastructure) at Amana, Bandarawo and Kwankwasiyya Cities at the cost of N373,896,851.14.

iii. Construction of one – 8 classrooms block at Arewa Islamiyya primary School Kwankwaso at the cost of N25,838,205.38

iv. Construction of sixty-six (66) ventilation improved latrines (VIP) in some schools at the cost of N63,396,828.00

v. Provision of school furniture to the classrooms and schools mentioned above at the cost of N181,922,000.00

This brings the total cost for the proposed projects to the sum of N1,673,657,317.20, which made the Ministry of Education to request for the release of the sum of N852,936,713.92 by Council as counterpart fund to commence execution of the 2013 UBE matching grants projects for the 2013 pending release of the UBEC matching grant.

Council considered the request appropriate and granted approval for the release of the requested sum of

N852,936,713.92 to the Ministry of Education to enable SUBEB commence execution of the proposed UBE matching grant projects in the State.

b. Request for funds as sustainability and replication funds to support the Islamiyya, Qur’anic and Tsangaya Education (IOTE) clusters and schools in the State:-

The Hon. Commissioner for Education notified Council, through the contents of the memorandum that, Kano State Government collaborates with the Education Sector Support Program in Nigeria (ESSPIN) in the implementation of its two (2) initiated Islamiyya, Qur’anic and Tsangaya Education (IQTE) pilot program in three focal LGCAS in the State; Albasu, Fagge and Kumbotso.

The program initially targeted 9,261 children as beneficiaries to graduate into the mainstream JSS for further studies. 4000 additional number of children were also enrolled to benefit literacy and numeracy programs, which will afford them acquisition of same level of Basic Education as those in the conventional school who spend up to six years. A detailed review of the performance of ESSPIN in the education sector of the State was presented to Council for consideration.

As such the Ministry of Education requested for the release of the sum of N85, 000,000.00 by Council for the sustenance and replication of the IQTE program in the State. The request was considered relevant and in agreement with laudable policy of the present administration, Council approved the release of the requested sum of N85, 000,000.00 to the Ministry of Education to enable sustenance and replication of the IQTE in the State.

c. Presentation on request for funds to construct two (2) twin Science Laboratories at G.D.S.S. Kwankwaso Malamai:-

Need to improve performance in the final WAEC and NECO examinations on Science subjects by students in the State prompted the Ministry of Education to request for the release of the sum of N22,438,280.64 to enable the construction and equipping of two (2) twin science laboratories at Government Day Secondary School Malamai, Kwankwaso.

Council noted, consideration and approved the release of the requested sum of N22,438,280.64 to the Ministry of Education to enable the construction of the required Science Laboratories at GDSS Kwankwaso.

9. OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR/HON. COMMISSIONER MINISTRY FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:-

This office submitted four (4) memoranda for deliberation by Council. Only one of them was approved for execution as follows:-

Presentation on and request for funds for the provision of Rural and Urban Solar Powered Infrastructure in Kano State as proposed by Cupious Energy Nigeria Ltd:-

The contents of this memorandum were a resubmission of an earlier one in which proposals were presented to Council for consideration by the Office of the Deputy Governor/Hon. Commissioner for Local Governments. Series of solar powered infrastructures were presented to Council for consideration and release of funds for acquisition and installation at appropriate urban and rural location.

Council noted, considered and approved the release of the aggregate sum of N9,689,000.00 to the Office of the Deputy Governor/Hon. Commissioner for Local Governments to enable the following:-

i. Solar Irrigation Solution: One each of the infrastructure for underground water sources and surface water source to be acquired and installed as pilot to the entire project at the respective costs of: *N5,000,000.00 - for underground water sources *N3,350,000.00 - for surface water source

Sub total N8,350,000.00ii. Solar Powered deep freezersTwo (2) solar powered refrigerators to

be acquired and installed as pilot to the entire project at the cost of;

*N483,000.00 – 60 watts hrs/day*N856,000.00 490 watts hrs/daySub total N1,339,000.00Grand total N9,689,000.0010. MINISTRY FOR SPECIAL

DUTIESPresentation of Report from the

Committee on the Progress of 100 Pilots Training Program at the Mideast Aviation Academy in Jordan:-

Council approved the set up of two (2) member committee comprising the Hon. Commissioner, Ministry for Special Duties and Captain Ali Magashi, an Aviation Consultant to visit Jordan in order to assess and report back on the progress of the 100 Kano State students on Pilot Program. Council was impressed on the performance of the students and their commitment. Based on the report Council considered and:

i. Approved increasing the monthly stipend allowances to piloting students.

ii. Directive to be issued to the MAA Management to issue each student with a Laptop Computer from the State funds.

iii. Approved that a commendation letter be issued to the staff of the Nigerian Embassy in Jordan through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their support to the students .

UPDATE ON ACTIVITIES OF THE 101 EXCO SITTING

COMMENDATION TO KANO PILLARS FOOTBALL CLUB

Council congratulated Kano Pillars Football Club for retaining their 1st position in the National Premier League.

CHILDREN’S DAY CELEBRATION IN KANO

Council was delighted with the successful celebration of Children’s day across the State, which was monitored by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

COMMENCEMENT OF TRAINING OF 400 WOMEN AT THE FISHERIES INSTITUTE BAGAUDA

Council acknowledged the commencement of training of 400 Women selected from the 44 Local Government Areas of the State at the Fisheries Institute, Bagauda. This is among the laudable intent of the present administration towards improving the lives and creating job opportunities to the teeming youths in the State.

RUMFA OLD BOYS ASSOCIATION (RUMFOBA) CONTRIBUTION TO RUMFA COLLEGE

Council acknowledged with appreciation the RUMFOBA contribution to the development of their alma-mater at the recent meeting while Council called on other old boys to support their Schools for the development of education in the State.

INTRODUCTION OF CASHLESS POLICY BY CBN IN KANO

Council acknowledged the recent fiscal policy of the Federal Government over the introduction of the cashless society to reduce too much money in circulation. Council supported a gradual process because of the large amount of money in the hands of the people.

SANITATION EXERCISE

Council extended its appreciation on the successful conduct of the sanitation exercise, which was shifted to Saturday 1st June, 2013 during which 320 people were arraigned by the Sanitation Mobile Court for violating the sanitation regulations across the State.

SIGNING OF AN MOU ON TIGA & CHALLAWA HYDRO POWER GENERATION PLANT

Council acknowledged the successful signing of an MOU on the establishment of Hydro Power Plant between the State Government and Skipper Group of India at Tiga and Challawa Gorge Dams in the State.

AWARDS TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR

Council noted the successful trip made by Governor Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso FNSE to USA where he received numerous awards of Peace Ambassador from the Mayor of Arkansas State and Key to the city of Little Rock on the 1st of June. Secondly, the Governor received another award by 39th Black Americans meeting for his efforts on education and progressive policy, transparency, prudence and resource management. Also another award was given to the Governor by the NEPU & PRP organization in the State for his contribution in emancipating the good ideology of Mallam Aminu Kano.

PAGE 10 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10 2013

News

10.5m Nigerian children out of school, says UNESCO report

2013 Hajj: Yero tasks intending pilgrims on conduct

Report indicts Zamfara SUBEB Chairman

New statistics released by UNESCO show that 57 million children were out of

out of school in 2011, a drop of just two million from the 2010 report.

There is no new data for out of school children for 2011 (the latest year) in Nigeria.

Using the 2010 out of school figures, Nigeria would be the home for almost a fifth of the world’s out of school children – 18 per cent.

In 2010, however, there were 10.5 million children out of school – the highest number of any country in the world. The second bottom country for out of school children in 2011 is Pakistan with 5.4 million out of school.

Despite being well at the bottom of the list, the amount

of aid to basic education the country received in 2011 was more than a quarter (28 per cent) lower than it received in 2010.

The figures highlight the need to tackle the twin crises in education – whether children get into school at all and whether they learn once they are there.

“We are at a critical juncture,” said UNESCO’s Director-General, Irina Bokova.

“The world must move beyond helping children enter school to also ensure that they actually learn the basics when they are there.

“Our twin challenge is to get every child in school by understanding and acting on the multiple causes of exclusion, and to ensure they

learn with qualified teachers in healthy and safe environments.

“Now is not the time for aid donors to back out. Quite the reverse: to reach these children and our ambition to end the learning crisis, donors must renew their commitments so that no child is left out of school due to lack of resources, as they pledged at the turn of this century.”

The new figures released by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics show that countries in sub-Saharan Africa account for more than half of all out-of-

school children and have the highest out-of-school rate.

“More than 20 per cent of African children have never attended primary school or have left school without completing primary education.”

According to the report, by contrast, countries in South and West Asia have made considerable gains over the past two decades, reducing the number of out-of-school children by two-thirds from 38 million in 1999 to 12 million in 2011.

In its bid to check the activities of touts in it vicinity, Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) has set up

a joint stakeholder committee to look into the activities of touts.

The Manager, Public Affairs of KRPC, Abdullahi Idris, disclosed this in an interactive forum with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna, yesterday.

Idris noted that the committee is made up of a number of organizations including, Petroleum Tankers Drivers Association, Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, all Petroleum and Kerosine dealers Association and the various security agencies. From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The Sokoto State Government is spending N801 million on the drilling of 89 bore holes

in the state, the Commissioner for Rural Development, Alhaji Abdullahi Maigwandu, has said.

Maigwandu told the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) in Sokoto on Sunday that contracts for the execution of the projects had since been awarded .

According to him, the target was to sustain the feat already achieved by the state government in the areas of rural and urban water supplies since 2007.

From Mohammad Ibrahim, Kaduna’

From Ibrahim Sidi Muh’d, Gusau

Briefs

Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists (SONTA), the highest professional body for theatre and culture

scholars and practitioners in Nigeria, at the weekend during its Conference in Benue State University, Makurdi elected Prof. Sunday Enessi Ododo as its 8th President.

Ododo in an acceptance speech said that, “we consider it a worthy and valued reward for our over two decades contributions to theatre scholarship and practice in Nigeria.

“It is also seen as an encouragement to us not to relent but to engage in greater exploits for the good of our profession and the Nigerian society. May God grant us the grace, strength and perfect health to serve you more.”By Etuka Sunday

Theatre artists elect new President

Kaduna refinery to check touts

Sokoto spends N801m on bore holes

R-L: Former Head of Service of the Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Bello Sali, receiving Nigeria Muslim Merit Award from Director, Al- Ha-bibiyyah Academy, Imam Adeyemi Fuad, and Deputy Chief Imam, National Mosque, Abuja, Sheikh Ahmed Onilewura, during the 11th Executive Walimatul- Qur’an and Nigeria Muslim Merit Award ceremony, organised by Al- Habibiyyah Academy, on Saturday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Kaduna state Governor, Muktar Ramalan Yero, has tasked intending pilgrims from the state

on Hajj good conduct so as to have successive hajj.

The Governor made the call during a sensitization workshop organized by National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) in Kaduna.

“We appeal to all our intending pilgrims to ensure that they seek Hajj knowledge before embarking on the journey.

“Even if you are not going for Hajj this year, as Muslims,

we are expected to acquire the knowledge because Hajj is one of the pillars of Islam,” he said.

“As Muslims, we all know that women pilgrims are supposed to have companions before living for the Holy Land but due to negligence we are not doing that until the Saudi authority force us to obey.

“So, we must make sure that we obey this rule so as to avoid another embracement,” he said.

In his remarks NAHCON Chiarman, Alhaji Moharemmed Musa Bello, said that over 40,000 intending pilgrims for this year’s Hajj are from the North-West zone.

A report by the Zamfara state House of Assembly has fingered the

Executive Chairman of the state Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Murtala Adamu Jangebe, of misappropriating the sum of N797,284,155.45.

According to the report, the House committee found that the sum of N248,568,358.00 was illegally withdrawn by the SUBEB pension account.

The report noted further that the Teacher Professional, UNICEF and ETF accounts were also affected.

aced with the similar scandal, witnessing

the misappropriation of #378,110,754.00, #41,226,238.00 and #42,777,312.30 respectively.

The committee confirmed the sum of N41,857,693.07 being the only available funds discovered in all the board’s operated accounts.

This however, has made the committee to recommend for the passing of vote-of-no-confidence on the board’s Chairman before he is finally sacked and get arrested for prosecution.

According to the report, “out of the controversial N9 million new office complex, it was established that, the board Chairman claimed to have shared the 10 per cent he collected from the contractor handling the project.

PAGE 11PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Money SenseAccepting all financial requests...

“The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” - William Faulkner: Writer, Nobel Prize laureate

Isn’t it amazing how people just assume the money YOU earn is meant for them? You work hard ,

make plans and someone shows up on your doorstep or your office telling you of their woes and problems, it does not even end there, they equally expect you to hand over money to them because they’ve asked. People fail to realise that you might have challenges of your own, or things you have planned for your money.

Now, I’m not talking about family or fr iends who have sudden financial pitfalls beyond their control. Though, if family and friends do show up, always do what you can afford. We should play our part if we are in the position to do so. You see we are social beings and living and interacting with others is what makes us human. If you can stretch a helping hand to family or friends in need please do so without hesitation. But if you cannot, do not feel guilty or put yourself in trouble just to keep up appearances.

A t r u e f r i e n d w o u l d understand that you would help if you could. And a family member who knows you love them would accept that you are not in a position at this time to lend a helping hand (though a few are self-centred, who only think of themselves and would call you a ‘Meany’ any way).

I have met quite a number of people who give financial help and get into serious money

problems because they are trying to look good in the eyes of others. The secret is, many do this because they do not want them knowing of their financial difficulties.

Now let ’s talk about the real topic of my article, the ‘F inancia l Sta lker ’ . Who is a ‘ f inancial s ta lker ’? First , who is a stalker? A stalker is a person who intruders into your personal space. They try to get into your life without an invitation by you to do so. So a financial stalker is a person who constantly and consistently goes after you for help with their financial troubles.

Financial stalkers are usually acquaintances and random people who go round looking for anyone they think has a bit more money than them. The funny part is they truly believe it is their right to get money off you.

I t i s i n d e e d a s a d phenomenon but it has become quite common and many people are f inding i t an extremely uncomfortable situation. Some financial stalkers go as far as pestering you with calls on your phone, some even late into the night.

So how can you solve the problem of financial stalkers?

There are a few ways to handle financial stalkers. First you can tell them you are not

in the position to help. Now you’ve got to tread softly when dealing with financial stalkers, most of them do not take no for an answer easily. So if you do come across those who walk away when you say no you are truly lucky.

There are some hard cases to deal with as they do not take no for an answer. These you most likely would have to put an embargo barring them from

Walk/cycle to the station/work

It maybe a bit of hippie notion to many people but it’s free. Get off the station before your usual stop and walk

We may be creatures of habit but isn’t it worth tinkering with the routine if it’s costing more than £50 a month in unnecessary fares?Pack up smoking

Never mind the hea l th implications, the guilt and the smell, your 20-a-day habit is costing you nearly N50,000 a year. Pack it in.

Avoid hidden flight, hotel fees

The last few years have been tough economically f o r m a n y p e o p l e . Unemployment fears

combined with plunging home, stock and retirement account values caused many to forgo big vacations – even though stressful times are when we most need to recharge our batteries.

But with the economy turning around, many famil ies are cautiously dipping their toes in the travel pool once again. Hotel occupancy rates have risen in many areas and airports are as crowded as ever.

A i r l i n e s a n d h o t e l s a r e

notorious for tacking extra charges onto their bills. Here are a few to watch out for:

• A few airlines allow one free checked bag, but most charge for the first checked bag each way, and even more for additional pieces. Plus, most now tack on hefty fees for overweight and over-sized checked and carry-on luggage, so measure and weigh your luggage carefully.

• Expect to pay extra for things like changing flights, extra leg room, priority boarding, unaccompanied minors, pets, Wi-Fi access and food. Some airlines even charge extra to

Quote

speak to a live person or to buy your ticket at the airport counter or by phone.

• Some hotels charge extra if you check in before a certain time. Ask whether they’ll store your luggage for free until check-in so you can begin sightseeing unencumbered.

• Many hotels charge a hefty penalty if you don’t cancel a reservation 24 to 72 hours beforehand and some a lso charge an early-departure fee – sometimes the equivalent of one night’s lodging. Read the hotel’s cancellation policy before booking, especially if you’re

looking at a discounted, non-refundable rate.

• Minibars often have electronic sensors that trigger a charge if you simply move the contents. Also, water or snacks sitting on the dresser may appear to be complimentary, but double-check before consuming.

• Some hotels and resorts automatically add housekeeping or spa gratuities to your bill, so ask first before leaving your own tip – unless of course the service was terrific.

• Most hotels charge exorbitant amounts for local and long-distance calls made from room phones, so use your cellphone.

• Resorts often charge extra for services they offer – such as gym access or daily newspaper delivery – even if you don’t use them. Find out the policy ahead of time and scrutinize your bill for unused services.

• Ask to see your bill the night before you check out, so you can review it carefully for overcharges.

• I f y o u ’ r e t r a v e l l i n g abroad, be aware that using your cellphone can be mighty e x p e n s i v e . R e s e a r c h y o u r carrier’s international calling plan and ask whether your phone is compatible with foreign networks. You may need to rent an international cellphone, or buy or rent an unlocked phone and international SIM card.

If your budget’s in good shape and you’re getting wanderlust, maybe it’s time to venture out into the world again. Just be cautious about how hidden expenses can add up.

coming round you or you would have to keep your distance from them. In cases like this it can be frustrating because you tend to lose your sense of freedom as you attempt to avoid them.

A no t h e r h a rd g ro u p a re those close to you yet are not family or friends, l ike your security personnel. These are t h e p e o p l e y o u k e e p s m a l l amounts of money for in your

monthly budget (I hope you have one!). So you give them a token of what they are asking for. Yes, they might go away unhappy but they cannot say you did not help in your own little way. In some cases you might be labelled, stingy, do not let that bother you, most good managers of money are called ‘stingy’. It’s better to be stingy than broke.

Ways to save money

Money Tip:

PAGE 12 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

EDITORIAL

OUR VISIONOUR PEOPLEOUR 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”

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company offering world class

services and products”

ChairmanMalaM Wada Maida, OOn, Fnge

managing Editorabdul-azeez abdullahi

aCting Editor, dailyhaMeed M. bello

aCting Editor, WEEkEndJamila nuhu musa

ChiEf opErating offiCErali M. ali

managEr, administrationhassan haMManyaji

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dEputy managEr, produCtionabdul-rauf musa

hEad, lagos burEauadesoji oyinlola

dirECtor/Editor-in-ChiEfrufa’i ibrahiM

The aftershocks of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) elections continue to

reverberate in the polity with the latest casualty being the Northern states Governors Forum (NsGF) whose meeting was marred by the conspicuous absence of 14 of its members in Kaduna last week Thursday. The defeat of Plateau state governor Jonah Jang by the incumbent Rotimi Amaechi in the NGF election did not evidently go down well with some of the northern governors who felt that an agreement to back Jang was violated by some of their colleagues.

None has been more vocal so far in airing his disgust than Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state who has even declared his withdrawal from the forum. Yuguda made headlines for the better part of last week, first, in an interview with a national daily which he followed up with another on the BBC Hausa Service. He rounded it off talking to journalists at the Presidential Villa on the day of the Kaduna meeting. At all those fora, his message was the same: the northern governors were betrayed by their colleagues, particularly the chairman of the forum, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger state. “There is honour in leadership and God sanctions leadership. If God has sanctioned leadership in our books of faith, I cannot see evil associated with leadership. So anybody that associates politics with evil and wants to play the evil

Yuguda’s strange homilyway is not part of us,” he said.

“You are all young men and my heart bleeds for all of you because there must be integrity in governance. We, your governors, should be men of high integrity, we should be role models and we should not play evil politics because most people associate politics with evil. If you don’t know how to tell lies, if you don’t know how to betray, if you don’t know how to have double face, you are not a good politician. But me, I am not carved out

for that.”We agree completely with what

Yuguda said about integrity and believe that if politicians will strive to bring back integrity in politics perhaps things will begin to turn for the better. But let us all pause for a minute and cast our minds back to the track record of the person talking. Yuguda, we all recall, was once a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the Obasanjo administration which made him

a minister. His battle in the party began when he signified his interest in the Bauch state governorship, a position then held by Alhaji Ahmadu Mu’azu. He was practically hounded out of the party to join the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) on whose platform he was elected governor, taking full advantage of the grassroots support enjoyed by the party’s presidential flagbearer, Muhammadu Buhari.

Not long after being sworn in as governor and with the resources and machinery of government right under his control, he ditched the ANPP and crossed back into the PDP. To rob it in, he coerced all member of his executive council to do the same. Yuguda orchestrated the impeachment of his deputy, Gaadi, who refused to toe the line, by the state House of Assembly.

It is strange that the same Yuguda is now the one preaching honour and integrity. What can be more dishonourable than what he did to the party that brought him to power? The point that Yuguda succeeded in highlighting all through last week by his media blitz is that politicians are only after power and nothing else. The majority of them are opportunists who would do anything to grab power. Integrity and honour are qualities that only very few have and by his antecedents, it would be a struggle to believe that Yuguda is one of them.

“It is strange that the same Yuguda is now

the one preaching honour and integrity

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 PAGE 13

By Law Mefor

The Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution just turned

in its report. It contains some substantial insertions and altera-tions that will move the country many steps towards true federal-ism if eventually passed into law. The Committee commendably achieved at least half of its original intentions for a full amendment. In pluralistic country such as Nigeria, reaching consensus on a variety of far-reaching issues as it has, is indeed no mean feat for the Ekweremadu Committee. It ambi-tiously articulated the following as areas for possible amendment for the country to arrive at a balanced federation, stronger democracy and better governance: Devolu-tion of Powers; Creation of more States; Recognition of the Six Geo-political Zones in the Constitution; Constitutional Role for Traditional Rulers; Local Government; Taking out the following Acts of the Na-tional Assembly from the Consti-tution: The Land Use Act, NYSC Act, Public Complaints Commis-sion Act and the National Security Agencies Act; Fiscal Federalism; and Amendment of Provisions relating to Amendment of the

Constitution; State Creation and Boundary Adjustment.

Admirably, there was massive response to the call for memo-randa by the Committee. The successful amendment of the 1999 Constitution in the 6thNational Assembly may have propped up the confidence of the Nigerian people in the capacity and com-mitment of the National Assembly to amend the Constitution for the good governance, prosper-ity and health of the Nigerian State. Remarkably, Senator Ike Ekweremaadu reassuringly told Nigerians then that the Senate had no interest to protect, except that of the generality of the Nigerian people and posterity, saying that the lawmakers would be driven by the force of superior argument and public will. This has turned out to be a promise kept.

One major flaw of the 1999 Constitution is the structure and running of the states, which has made them amorphous and governors demigods. To correct this dysfunction and with an eye to balancing out the federation, the amendment seeks to insert Section 121 – creation of first-line charge for certain bodies and offices at the State level. This provision aims to engender accountability and

efficient service delivery by mak-ing the State Houses of Assembly, State Independent Electoral Com-missions, Auditor-General of the State and the Attorney-General of a State to get their funding directly from the State Consolidated Rev-enue Fund.

The committee made the fol-lowing alterations, namely: direct funding from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation to be made for the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Auditor-General of the Federation, Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission; and the National Human Rights Commis-sion. The second alteration is de-volution of powers. The committee is equally right for concluding that the exclusive list under Part 1 of the Second Schedule to the Consti-tution is jam-packed, cumbersome and unwieldy and attempted to decongest it by maintaining only items of utmost importance while transferring items of concur-rent interest to the concurrent list. It was therefore was right in removing pensions, prisons, railways, stamp duties and wages from the exclusive legislative list. The committee recommended an elaborate provision in Section 9 of the Constitution for a procedure to

bring an entirely new constitution into being. This is predicated on their belief that the incremental approach to constitutional amend-ment may not be sustainable in the long run. There is also a new pro-vision in the Draft Bill to resolve the impasse where the President neglects to signify his assent or that he withholds such assent.

However many Nigerians will be disappointed that the Commit-tee dropped State Creation despite 61 requests as none complied with the entire conditions set out in section 8(1) of the 1999 Constitu-tion. They also failed to recom-mend the recognition of the 6 geopolitical zones in the country. Fiscal federalism/derivation was another area that failed to pass as well as State Police. The Commit-tee recommended that the status quo be maintained in line with the current mood of Nigerians in these areas. They equally rejected special status for Lagos, ministerial slot for “indigenes” of the FCT since they would get a mayoralty, rotation of executive offices, prohibition of foreign accounts, and Diaspora voting. The committee was simply afraid of biting more than it could chew, to avoid mistakes of past Senates. Building consensus at this stage is crucial and obviously led to

the dropping of highly contentious issues such as State Police, State creation and so on. Since constitu-tion review is a continuous process and with the benefit of hind sight, the Senate has adopted an incre-mental approach to achieving true federalism in Nigeria rather than lose it all once again.

Many are optimistic that since nearly half of the Senators drawn from all the States 0f the Federation, were involved in the Committee, most of the recom-mendations will be passed. Where there appears to be landmines is in the States where concurrence in 24 of them is required for each amendment to become law, for the reason that governors are bent on opposing LG, SIEC and State Assembly autonomy, among other things. It also remains to be seen how the President and Vice-President Namadi Sambo as well as governors that may be seeking second term will react to their ban. The time for solidarity and sacrifice is now, to give the nation a fighting chance to survive and make progress like her Asian Tiger peers that have long left her behind. Law Mefor is a forensic psy-chologist and is reachable on lawmefor@gmail.com

By Bobson Gbinije

In Nigeria, the meteorologi-cal bodies have warned of the coming of floods of biblical

proportion in over 30 states of the Federation. In the last flood disas-ter the Federal Government doled out Billions of Naira to statutorily obligated institutions charged with alleviating and checkmating the effects of the floods and to the State Governments.

Indeed, the Ministry of Works got 2.6Billion and an additional 556 Million, NEMA got 1.1Bil-lion plus 1.24Billion, Ministry of Environment got 250Million plus 95Million, National Committee for Refugees got 150Million and Technical Committee on Flood Impact Assessment got 100Million. These monies are exclusive of what the Federal Government disbursed to the States and what various State Governments injected into the fight against floods, structures and compensations etc.

The torrential rainfall, the opening of the Lagdo Dam by the Cameroonian authorities as it hap-pened last year, the slow pace of work on the Kashimbilla multi-purpose dam being constructed by the Federal Government in Taraba State, the Collective Leadership inertia in most States of the Federa-tion and the lethargic pace of the 23 dams being constructed across the country will definitely precipitate terribly horrendous floods.

The fight to checkmate the com-ing killer floods is on-going in Delta state, as illegal structures along drainage paths and waterways are being pulled down in Asaba, Warri, Sapele, Ughelli, Effurun, Agbor, Orerokpe, Aladja etc. In Warri the opening-up of culverts,

Senate’s incremental approach to true federalism

Countdown to the killer floods

Opinion

The fight to checkmate the coming killer floods is on-going in Delta state, as illegal structures along drainage paths and waterways are being pulled down in Asaba, Warri, Sapele, Ughelli, Effurun, Agbor, Orerokpe, Aladja etc. In Warri the opening-up of culverts, bridges, waterways, gutters etc has gained intensive acceleration. The bridge along Lower Erejuwa Road Ogboru/Nelson/Deco/Avenue/Okandeji/Ope/Omoine and Father Healey Streets are receiving commendable attention and personally supervised by Chief Omare, the Commissioner for Environment.

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bridges, waterways, gutters etc has gained intensive acceleration. The bridge along Lower Erejuwa Road Ogboru/Nelson/Deco/Avenue/Okandeji/Ope/Omoine and Father Healey Streets are receiving com-mendable attention and personally supervised by Chief Omare, the Commissioner for Environment.

I saw that the commissioner hired an engine boat (watercraft vessel) and went to superintend the quenching of a fuel barge conflagration on the Warri River Opposite Warri Club/Naval Base and there were two water hyacinth tractors doing cleansing of the Warri River. These efforts must be commended. But we must admon-ish the Commissioner and His Ex-cellency Governor Uduaghan, that this is a Molehill on a Mountain and a tip of the iceberg. They must note that Delta State, River State, Akwa-Ibom State, Edo State, Ondo State, Lagos State etc as littoral

States experience more rainfall and hence floods than other states in Nigeria and must be fully prepared for the in-coming killer floods.

The sand filling and building of a Model School on the Warri Prison Rice Farm along Esisi Road by the Okere Bridge is wrong. That Rice Farm acted as a shoreline protection measure, flood comber, rain chamber and speed breaker to floods. We also wish to draw the attention of the Hon. Commis-sioner and His Excellency to the Warri drainage plan brought from Holland by Late Chief (Dr) Esiri in 1963 and being executed by the then Warri Divisional Council, the Igberaja/Abeke Drainage plan for Sapele Urban Area of 1961 and the 1962 Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh sponsored bill on flood exigencies and the creation of the Mid-West-ern Region etc.

We call for attention to be given to the Delta Development and

Planning Authority Area Effurun (DDPA) and the NPA/Niger Cat/Ugbuwangue/Ughoton/Jeddo/Ubeji and Ogbokodo - as these areas have no viable and functional drainage systems and the existing ones are blocked by dirt. There is need for the channelization of the area and its environs into the Ed-jeba/Ugboroke/Effurun etc Rivers and their tributaries. We admon-ish the commissioner and His Excellency that the Upper Ogunu, Okere Road/Ajamimoghan, Esisi, Pessu, Alawuru, Agbassa, Mc-cliver Roads be channelized to the Warri river based on proximity to various points. There must be mas-sive sensitization based virtually through Delta Television, Pointer Newspapers, Delta Fm radio and other communication medium to the people of Delta State on how to be prepared like the people of Okla-homa before the disastrous tornado in America. We are yet to see wave/

flood breakers in our rivers. We call for the construction of flood/wave breaker in all our rivers in Delta State to forestall inundation due to flood breaker absence.

The Methuselah Sapele market that has been undergoing construc-tion for over 8 years now after be-ing burnt down should be dredged and beveled into the Sapele River to avoid floods getting into the town, if the river Ethiope over shoots its banks. The Sapele Urban Area should be channelled to the Sapele River and Ughelli town and its environs should be adequately channeled. This is not a govern-ment effort alone. All hands must be on deck to forestall the in-com-ing devastating floods. We still call on Government to setup, exclusive of existing bodies, Delta State Flood Monitoring, Emergency, Rehabili-tation and Refugee Assistance Body [DSFMERAB] to work with the People and all relevant Govern-ment Agencies to alleviate the shelter, refugees, health and food supplies problems, etc.

The tidal surge of force majeure is no respecter of lives and proper-ties. We admonish the Delta State Government and the Nigerian Government to do their best and we hope that their best will be good enough to forestall the draconic tentacles of the killer floods. Abra-ham Lincoln [1809-1865] posited that, “Beware of rashness, but with energy and sleepless vigilance go forward and give us victories”. We deserve the best from an oil pro-ducing state and its leadership. Chief Bobson Gbinije wrote in fro Warri, Delta state

PAGE 14 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

By Femi Fani-Kayode

Susan Rice is the outgoing American ambassador to the United Nations. Her long-

standing aspiration of becoming the Secretary of State was dashed when the Republicans in the Senate started sharpening their knives in anticipation of her formal nomination by President Barak Obama. Sensing that her nomination would not scale through the Senate and that she would not be confirmed as Secretary of State due to the role she played in the cover up of the Benghazi affair in which the American Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other American citizens were murdered by a group of islamist terrorists, her nomination was withdrawn.

Instead of Secretary of State, President Obama has now nominated her for the position of National Security Advisor which is a job that does not require Senate approval or confirmation. I wish Susan Rice well in her new assignment but I am constrained to ask the following questions. What did she put in the tea that she served to Chief MKO Abiola on July 8th 1998 just before he died? She was one of the last people that saw him alive, she served him some tea, he coughed violently and one hour later he dropped dead. What was in the tea? Was it Abuja “green tea”, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Liptons or some other more exotic brand?

Somebody should ask Susan Rice what her role was in the death of MKO Abiola. Who sent

By A.A. Khalifa

In our society, moral sclerosis has rendered us impotent and powerless in the face of national

challenges and difficulties. In order to truly find our bearings and forge ahead, the need to redefine our ethics and conscience has become necessary. The decision of Malam Isa Yuguda has challenged our innermost fiber in relation to ethical renaissance.

Needless to emphasize, the exit of Yuguda is a climax of series of event which began with the elections of Rotimi Amaechi and David Jonah Jang. Prior to that, the issues of consensus and principles were anchored upon their agreement but some of them could not stand by their words and the rest is history. According to Mal. Yuguda “look, let me tell you I am not into politics to betray and deceive people because I am not ready to go to hell” while anybody can pass judgment on Yuguda’s decision, no one can challenge or fault his idea of upholding a simple covenant made in secret.The reason we continue to float on turbulent waters in Nigeria is that leaders have refused to accept what they agreed upon in secret when they come to the public. They tend to act to glorify what profit them singularly regardless of the suffering might cause others.

It is equally germane to

Yuguda’s exit from NsGF a matter of principle

Abiola, Rice and deadly cup of tea

Certain questions must be answered. And some of those questions are as follows. Who killed Abiola? Who killed Abacha? What role, if any, did officials of the Abubakar administration play in the murder of both Abacha and Abiola? What role did the CIA play and exactly what transpired in the room when Assistant Secretary of State Susan Rice (as she then was), Ambassador Thomas Pickering and two other faceless officials from the American Embassy met with Abiola on the very day that he was to have been released

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Letters & Opinionappreciate the fact that North has suffered a cataclysmic fall due to some certain variables which include complete absence of sincere, honest and truthful leaders that are guided by their conscience. In order for North to set an example

aspect that is quite appealing in regard to the exit of Isa Yuguda from the Northern Governor’s Forum is placed on the platform of not only the need for continuous search of credible leaders who will call a spade a spade in Nigeria in particular but Africa in general.

It is always

people feel offensive. But then in the cause of exercising those iconic traits, one needs not take hostages. He goes all out in establishing a semblance of truth based on the general or universal values which established the timeless virtues of honesty and trust.

It is sad and aching that in a nation like Nigeria those who recognize truth and tend to follow the footpath of honour are set to be pariahs and often times are travelling the routes less travelled. Of course the routes could be filled with thorns, valleys and potholes but then once you follow them to the latter it will take you to a vibrant and egalitarian destination. Because the journey on that footpath is long and a lonely one people chose to follow the short cut which ultimately takes you ten years back on the scale of honesty.

We should therefore learn to take a stand not because it is popular, nor politic nor trendy but we must all take that stand because it is right. It is true that those who recognized truth throughout the path of history had either lost their lives, incarcerated or banished from the community but at the end of it the scriptures of both the Qur’an and the Bible have emphasized that God is with the just and the honest, for theirs is the glory God.A.A Khalifa wrote in from Zaria, Kaduna state

to the rest of the geographical zones, we must firm up our ideas and political ideals with sincerity and truth devoid of unbridled or misplaced interests.

Equally worthy of note is the fact that Yuguda’s decisions seeks to draw the attention of people towards the unity of the various religions and tribes. The North has plundered and staggered backward as a result of the poison of disunity we drank in the stream of togetherness. Unity between Muslims and Christians has taken a dangerous dive. The relationship between the two has vanished on the thicket of selfishness, lies, bigotry and political affiliations. They only share one common ideal, which is reducing each

other to nil in a mutually assured destruction. Yuguda does not want to dip his hands in the wash basin of the lepers less he become infected. So he decided to give his support to Da Jonah Jang, a northern Christian in order to foster harmony and understanding between the two religious divides. What he did was not for him, but for posterity and to stand right on the side of history that is yet to be written.

What is wrong in governors owning up to their malfeasance and daylight betrayal of trusts? If they knew they were going to jump ship, they should not have agreed on a consensus candidate, they should have raised objections and made observations. One other

annoying and appalling when Nigerians are always treated as second class human beings in foreign lands in respect to their subsidy of character and lack of sincerity. What Isa Yuguda just did is a pointer to the rest of the world that credibility and honesty could be equally exhibited and brought to bear not only on our political lives but on our business dealings with other people and nations.

As for his character, Mal. Isa Yuguda is a man of honour which to him a deal is a deal and he calls a spade a spade. He also believes in swallowing the bitter pills of truth and not the honey combs of falsehood which the nation is flying on. He is an icon, a man of exceptional integrity which most

her to do the job and who was she working for? At that time she was Assistant Secretary of State for America in President Bill Clinton’s government. Was she acting on his direct instructions or simply on the instructions of her boss and controller in Langley? Abiola was the acclaimed winner of Nigeria’s freest and fairest elections. That election took place on June 12th 1993. The following day it was annuled by General Ibrahim Babangida. Shortly after that, as a consequence of the sheer outrage that was generated by the annulment Babangida was compelled to ”step aside” and hand over power to Chief Ernest Shonekan. In what was clearly a strategic maneuver, he left General Sani Abacha (his own Chief of Army Staff) behind to be the Minister of Defence for the incoming administration.

A few months later, Abacha toppled the Interim National Government of Chief Ernest Shonekan which he had served and seized power for himself. Abiola was arrested and detained. He was never granted his freedom again. Four years later, Abacha himself was murdered by forces that are yet to be identified and General Abdulsalami Abubakar took power. Exactly 30 days after Abacha was killed, those same forces that killed him murdered Abiola as well in an attempt to “balance the equation”.

Certain questions must be answered. And some of those questions are as follows. Who killed Abiola? Who killed Abacha? What role, if any, did officials of the Abubakar administration play in the murder of both Abacha and Abiola? What role did the CIA play and exactly what transpired in the

room when Assistant Secretary of State Susan Rice (as she then was), Ambassador Thomas Pickering and two other faceless officials from the American Embassy met with Abiola on the very day that he was to have been released. Sadly instead of being released on that day, he dropped dead in questionable circumstances.

I have no doubt that this was murder but the question is whose call was it and why did it have to happen? Was it done in an attempt to pave the way for an Obasanjo Presidency one year later? Could General Olusegun Obasanjo have been released from jail and elected President if Abiola had lived and if he had insisted on claiming his mandate? The Nigerian people have a right to know the truth and it is about time that those that have wielded power in this country for the last few decades told them. The powers that be must appreciate the fact that they cannot sweep things under the carpet forever and that one day, no matter how long it takes, they will be held accountable by God and the Nigerian people for the morbid, secret and oftentimes homicidal choices and decisions that they made.

Yet the truth is that the military operates like a cult and we may never get an honest answer from any of them about what really happened. This is because there are very few Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umars in the Nigerian military. Very few of them are prepared to break ranks with the leadership and break the ”omerta” code of silence like Abubakar Umar did over the June 12th election. Very few of them are prepared

to call a spade a spade, speak the truth, expose the lie and damn the consequences. Most of them continue to spin the yarn and tell the dirty lie that Abacha and Abiola’s deaths were both from natural causes and that it was just a coincidence that one dropped dead on July 8th 1998, just 4 days before the 5th anniversary of June 12th, and the other dropped dead exactly one month later on July 8th 1998. As they say ”the secrets are embedded in the sequence of events and the dates” and, in this case, the sequence of events and the dates really do tell an interesting and revealing story.

Yet no matter how hard they try to cover her up and silence her, truth is stubborn and she cannot be drowned. She is like a pack of straws that are held together and pinned down by an all-powerful hand at the bottom of a river. As long as she is held at the bottom of that river she cannot be seen or heard. Yet one day, in the fullness of time, that all-powerful hand that seeks to suppress her forever will get tired and let go and at that point Lady Truth will happily float to the top of the water where she will be seen and heard by all. It is in the same way that one day, in the fullness of time, the pernicious and perfidious verdict of “death by natural causes” or “act of God” that the powers that be have claimed are the causes of Abiola and Abacha’s deaths respectively will be exposed for what they are.

Femi Fani-Kayode is a former aviation minister

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 PAGE 15

The hubbub in the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has definitely whittled down the

awesome powers of Nigerian state governors and it makes me happy. Every true lover of democracy and its development in Nigeria is invited to share my joy.

Just take a look at what we have on the ground. Our Constitution recognizes three tiers of government – the Local, State and the Federal. Today, the local governments in all states have been overrun by the government in power in that particular state. Their statutory allocations from the Central government are hijacked and the elections into the councils are a tragic farce.

What the governors have done with the local councils should disturb every believer in constitutional rule. For one, the 1999 constitution says that the only way governments are to be formed in these three tiers is through elections thus nullifying any government formed by way of appointment or through military action. But since the tenure of the first councils elected under the supervision of the Abdulsalami government expired, state governors have been appointing – care taker committees and even sole administrators to take care of the local councils. Where do they get the powers to make these appointments? Definitely not from the 1999 Constitution.

The Constitution grants the state governments the powers to appoint state electoral commissions and organize Local Council elections. But the framers of the constitution must be very disappointed with the turn of events. There is no state in Nigeria

By Sheyi Oriade

Given the fact that Nigeria is by composition a multiplicity of ethnicities and thus by

definition a pluralistic nation, it is not altogether surprising that its people are often riven and driven by mutual suspicions informed by ethnic sensitivities and insensitivities; to the extent that quite frequently when criticism - no matter how constructive - is directed at national public officials, by critics drawn from ethnicities other than the one(s) from which the public officials are drawn; suggestions or innuendoes are inevitably made by proxies of the public officials, that criticism of their principals is ethnically motivated or sectional in nature and should, therefore, be dismissed out of hand without a consideration of the merits; thus making it difficult, nay impossible, to hold or sustain any meaningful debate about public/political stewardship in Nigeria.

A direct consequence of this unfortunate situation is that our nation is often robbed of the benefit of creative ideas which occur and accrue naturally, in consequence of the collision of contending notions, freely ventilated in the national political space. The often baseless invocation and recital of charges of ethnic bias and sectional motives are commonly employed as a ruse to stifle and stymie constructive debate, for the purpose of shielding underperforming, non-performing, and corrupt, public/political officials from the close scrutiny that their roles demand.

The present discord between

NGF crisis: A setback for tyranny

Transforming discord into discourse

An enormous benefit arising from this dispute is that the disputants represent/symbolise key constituencies that wield executive political power in Nigeria. Powerful symbols, upon whom the beam of our national spotlight must be trained; as part of an illuminating process of introspection and extrospection centred on the quality/transparency of governance rendered to the nation

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Comment

President Jonathan and Governor Amaechi of Rivers State, presents a gilt edged opportunity for would be critics and commentators driven by a sense of patriotic zeal, to insinuate themselves into the fabric of this contention; and elevate and enlarge it into a debate about broader considerations pertaining to public/ political stewardship, without laying themselves open to charges of ethnic or sectional bias. Such a stance is possible, because the feuding protagonists locked in political battle, are drawn from near enough (but not) the same ethnicity, which share a geographical proximity not common to many other Nigerian ethnicities. So tribal watchdogs conditioned by their automatic

reflexes to scuttle debate in name of ethnic bias or sectional interest, will find in this matter, that their preferred weapon of choice is blunted and lacking cutting edge. They will have to resort to other stratagems to silence would be critics/commentators. This notwithstanding, a cautionary word needs to be issued to any would be critics/commentators seeking to utilise this contention as way of promoting wider patriotic aims. They must resist the temptation to take sides with either parties in this feud. So in framing criticism and questions around this dispute, they must remain firmly on the side of the Nigerian people. Bearing in mind at all times that the overriding aim is to elevate, enlarge

and transform this dispute into a constructive discourse about the state of public/political stewardship in the nation.

An enormous benefit arising from this dispute is that the disputants represent/symbolise key constituencies that wield executive political power in Nigeria. Powerful symbols, upon whom the beam of our national spotlight must be trained; as part of an illuminating process of introspection and extrospection centred on the quality/transparency of governance rendered to the nation. The outcome of which, should enable us to consolidate upon our strengths and identify remedies required to address areas of consistent and persistent underperformance.

Arguments will inevitably be made against the suitability of broadening this dispute into a wider debate, on the basis that the National Governors’ Forum which Governor Amaechi leads (and which accords him enhanced political status), lacks constitutional legitimacy and is, therefore, superfluous to the political scheme of things. The natural corollary of this argument is that Governor Amaechi is not a legitimate focal point, upon which, to centre wider political debate in relation to President Jonathan. One disagrees with such reasoning. It is quite correct that the constitution does not provide for the existence of a national Governors’ Forum, but neither does it provide for its

preclusion in implicit or explicit terms.

Those who question the forum’s legitimacy must equally question its usefulness. Such usefulness or otherwise, will no doubt be seen in entirely different terms by its members and those opposed to its existence and others still. For Governors of a decadent disposition, the forum is perhaps nothing more than a setting in which they can revel and luxuriate in the perks and exclusiveness that membership provides. In this sense, it is of no value. For the politically ambitious Governors, its usefulness lies in serving as a springboard, upon which they hope to achieve a bounce needed to propel them into higher office, or ease the way into their next political office.

In this regard, it is of dubious value. However, for the servant-leaders amongst them, it is useful as a basis for the generation and interchange of ideas crucial to the delivery of good governance to the people. In this instance, it is of tremendous value. But from the perspective of would be critics and commentators, the forum’s usefulness lies in the fact that it constitutes a defined target, against which they can take aim, by directing a series of posers to the Governors in collective, and individual, terms.

Sheyi Oriade’s professional profle is on LinkedIn

today where Council elections are held under the ethical standards of a democracy. The governor normally compiles a list of his party loyalists and gives it out to the state electoral commission to announce as the results of the ‘election’. It leaves the humiliated and disenfranchised electorate confused. Every voter asks his neighour: who voted for these guys?

Having appointed their henchmen to take care of the councils, the governors then feel free to invade their treasuries and hijack their funds. Whatever is left for the payment of local government staff salaries is embezzled by the Chairman and his council while most local government staffs go without salaries for months. Few local governments care to tap their internal sources of revenue. Whatever is received from there is promptly pocketed by the chairman and his council. That is the travesty and tragedy of local government administration in Nigeria today irrespective of the party in power.

State governors in addition to running their states are also running the Local governments against the provisions of the constitution which granted the councils some level of autonomy. Effectively, state governors have collapsed the three tier of government as contained in the 1999 into two – Federal and State.

Not done with capturing and colonizing the local councils, the state governors have since the coming of the Yar’adua administration made bold attempts to take over the federal government. Yar’adua’s predecessor in office, Gen Obasanjo was an expert in rough tactics and no state governor ever dared him. He

seized state government funds and refused to return them even when the Supreme Court ruled that he had no such powers; he organized the impeachment of recalcitrant governors and removed some under emergency rule and appointed sole administrators for the states etc.

The more civil Yar’adua allowed the states to run their show. He returned state funds that were impounded by Obasanjo. More refreshing still, he gave the judiciary and legislature a free hand to run their affairs. Unfortunately, the state governors saw this stickler to constitutional rule as a weakling and began the assault on federal turf. It is the assault that has led the NGF to where it is today.

The state governors decide who is a councilor and who is a commissioner or member of the State House of Assembly. Not content with that, they also decide who comes to the Senate and House of Representatives. The PDP governors also nominate ministers,

ambassadors, federal permanent secretaries and Board members of federal agencies. And so where do we leave the President of the federal Republic? Up there, high and dry. The powers appropriated by the state governors today are so frightening that Senator Jibril Aminu often warns us that they pose a threat to our democracy. He once told me that “one with governor is a majority in Nigeria today”.

In order to consolidate their strangle hold on the federation and deny Nigerians the democratic rights to form the governments of their choice from the local to the state and federal levels, the governors transformed the Nigerian Governors Forum, (NGF) into a cartel. It all started as modest, harmless club in the Obasanjo days. But as the gluttonous crave to corner more powers grew, the NGF became more menacing and audacious. Whereas they tolerate no dissension from the local councils under their control, the state governors do often take on the federal government - headlong.

A perfect example is what happened to the idea of a sovereign wealth fund. It is only a drunken sailor that spends his fortunes in a day. But the state governors – the same guys that routinely hijack local government funds - using the constitution as their defense would not allow the federal government to touch a kobo of their funds, even if they are being saved for a rainy day.

It would have been a different story if the state governors were putting such funds to use for public good. Unfortunately, the governors, particularly the ones from the north are very greedy. They pocket all the money for personal use. Some of

them (with their misery monthly allocations) are even competing with governors from the south /south in terms of primitive property acquisition in Abuja and abroad. They are the ones impoverishing the north.

Take a look at the almajeri system. This is a system that puts millions young people who should be in school on the streets. It turns out graduates without skills. Can’t our governors see what is happening in the south west where western and Islamic education runs hand in hand? How many northern governors have picked up President Jonathans challenge on almajiri system?

We in the north were once saddled with a tyrannical system of administration by the British colonial government known as Sole Native Authority system. This system vested all the legislative, judicial and executive arms of government in traditional rulers. In 1946, an excellent debater from Bauchi gave an impassioned speech at the Northern House Assembly to shred all the arguments the colonial masters put forward in support of the system. That man was a school teacher known as Abubakar. He later became Nigeria’s first Prime Minister. Nigerian history could be kind, very kind to those who stand up against tyranny.

A lot has been written to accuse the President of fomenting the crisis in the NGF. His image makers have been doing their best to clean his hands off it. But for me, I support the dismemberment of that tyrannical group known as NGF. I don’t know if the President did it. If he did, here is my salute: Oga at the top, you do well.

Emmanuel Yawe08024565402

royawe@yahoo.com

‘Be creative’, Oputa tells youth

Church begins 4-day health seminar today

Preach peace, work for unity, Imam urges Nigerians

By Stanley Onyekwere

PAGE 16 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

New FCT transport policy: Taxi drivers decry low patronage

By Stanley Onyekwere with agency report

Women fetching water from a borehole tap, yesterday in Bwari, Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Just a week into the June 3 commencement of the total restriction on minibuses

popularly referred to as Aaraba buses from operating in Abuja city centre, some Abuja taxi operators over the weekend said they recorded low patronage.

This, the operators attributed to the taken off of the new transport policy in the nation’s capital city; restraining mini-buses operations to specified feeder routes outside city limits and in the satellite towns.

Areas the mini buses are not allowed to operate in the city include

Wuse market to Eagle Square to Asokoro to AYA to Nyanya, Area 3 junction to Tafawa Balewa to Herbert Marcaulay Way to Berger junction to Jabi, Gudu market to Apo quarters to Ahmadu Bello way to Federal Secretariat to Gwarinpa and AYA to Shehu Shagari to Federal Secretariat to Transcorp Nicon junction.

A taxi driver, Mr. Lawal Akanbi, who operates between Garki and Wuse, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that it had not been easy for him.

“It is not easy, as you can see; I cannot even see a single passenger from Area1 to Wuse Market because since mini-buses are no longer operating, transport fares have been

increased.“Because of the new policy in

the FCT on the restriction of mini-buses some people prefer relaxing at home during the weekend instead of spending so much money on transport,’’ he said.

He appealed to the government to provide more buses so that people would be encouraged to move around the city, especially at the weekend.

Another taxi driver who operates in Central Area in the city, Ikechukwu Nwabueze, said the policy had forced residents who had hitherto to the development, to use their private cars instead of moving with taxis to cut cost.

According to him, people don’t trouble themselves using taxis because the fare is high and since the situation does not affect scarcity of fuel, they use their cars instead.

Also, a taxi driver, Mr Abiodun Yusuf, lamented the development had reduced business activities, saying: “Apart from us, the taxi drivers, the situation has also affected cost of food items.

“Traders are recording very low patronage because customers want to manage the little money they have.’’

Like others, he also appealed to the Federal Government to find a solution to transport situation in the territory.

A retired Supreme Court Justice, Chukwudifu Oputa over the weekend, in Abuja, urged youths

to explore legacies bequeathed by great artistes to promote creativity and intellectual development among them.

Oputa made the call at the launch of an NGO, Harcourt-Whyte Foundation, aimed at promoting production of sacred hymns and campaign against leprosy in Nigeria.

The event, which is in honour of Ikoli Harcourt-Whyte, who died in 1977 , in a motor accident, which featured rendition of hymns composed by him, was designed by the foundation to collate and document his 300 hymns with a view to keeping them alive.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that in his life time, Hracourt-Whyte’s hymns became part of the rich culture and art of eastern Nigeria and Christendom.

Oputa urged Nigerians to appreciate and honour people whose works the society could gain from.

He, however, urged youths to be inspired by Harcourt-Whyte’s story in order to strive further in spite of difficult situations currently confronting the country.

Oputa recounted how Harcourt-Whyte attained his goals in spite of the challenges of being a destitute and an orphan who was affected by leprosy.

“In spite of all the handicaps Whyte was able to make it; it does not matter how you are born, what matters is the will to excel in life; because where there is will there is a way, we must celebrate those who left something for us to copy’’’ he said.

Earlier, Mrs. Ezenwa Okorafor, Secretary, Board of Trustees, Harcourt-Whyte Foundation, said the foundation intended to establish facilities for the production of music and training of artistes among others.

Okorafor added that the foundation would also promote the campaign against leprosy and tuberculosis.

According to her, the foundation intends to achieve this by helping to create awareness about these diseases and their effects on mankind.

She said that the foundation would coordinate treatment for the diseases, mobilise volunteers and donor agencies, and distribute drugs and other relief materials to the afflicted.

His son, Sir Godwin Harcourt-Whyte, said the appreciation and sustenance of his father’s music would be an inspiration to manyyouths. (NAN)

As part of its contribution to raising a healthy population in Nigeria, the Foursquare

Gospel Church, in Asokoro, Abuja has undertaken to play host to a four-day seminar on healthy living.

The four-day event billed for

5pm each day, kicks off today (Monday) through Thursday, June 13, has as its Guest Speaker, Rev Tony Akinyemi of Shepherd Flock International Church, Lagos.

Akinyemi, an authority on scriptural principles and precepts on healthy issues, would highlight good and necessary dietary habits

that can enhance positive and healthy lifestyles on the theme: “Vibrant Health; your heritage.”

A statement signed by one Ohi Alegbe for the church, said Akinyemi, who believes that ill-health is avoidable, strongly recommends the Seminar series for “those who don’t want to be

sick; who are sick and tired; and tired of being sick and tired.”

“Organised by the Excellent Men’s Fellowship wing of the church, the seminar series which initially held last year, is designed to assist in raising a healthy population of Nigerian citizens”, the statement said.

The Deputy Chief Imam of Abuja National Mosque, Sheikh Ahmad Onilewura, has called

on Nigerians irrespective of religious creed to preach peace and work for the unity of the nation.

Onilewura made the call on Saturday in Abuja at the 11th Executive Walimatul-Quran and Merit Award of Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Academy.

The Imam, who delivered a lecture titled, `Reading the Quran: Living in

Peace’, emphasised the need for peace and unity for the country to develop.

He described Islam as a religion of peace and urged Muslims to live by the dictates of the Quran.

“The word, Islam, connotes peace, according to the tradition of Prophet Muhammad `Peace is Islam’ this means that peace is one of the prerequisites of Islam,’’ he said.

“The Quran, avers that reconciliation is best (Q4:128), and

judging by the consequences, the way of peace is far better than that of confrontation.

“Allah has decreed that success will be met with only on a reconciliatory part; and not on confrontational or violent course’’, he said.

Onilewura urged Muslim and Nigerian leaders to always follow the path of peace as exemplified by Prophet Muhammad.

Earlier, Chief Imam of Al-

Habibiyyah Academy, Imam Fuad Adeyemi said the Quran Studies programme by the academy was aimed at building a better society.

He said Al-Habiyyah had been working hard through its various programmes, such as its Zakat Foundation, to build a peaceful and righteous society.

He said the Al-Habibiyyah Zakat (Islamic Charity) Foundation had disbursed over N250 million to 300

categories of beneficiaries since March 2010 when it was founded.

“We are pleased to see many people becoming business owners through this scheme”, he said.

The event was witnessed by Islamic scholars, the academia and government functionaries.

A total of 89 students received certificates for completing various courses in Quran and Arabic studies (NAN)

PAGE 17PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Metro

Road side barbing saloon in Apo, Abuja.

Hygiene: NGO advocates establishment of sanitation fund office

TY Danjuma Foundation to spend N250million on rural poor communities

LEA Headmaster decries shortage of trained teachers in Kuje communityBy Stanley Onyekwere

By Stanley Onyekwere

The head master of LEA primary school, Kabin Mangoro community, in

Kuje Area Council, Adamu O. Idris has expressed worry over the likely draw backs of acute shortage of trained teachers in the school, on effective teaching and learning of pupils.

Lamenting the situation, Idris pointed out that there are only about seven trained and five non teaching staff overseeing a

Worried by poor state of public health in major Nigerian cities, a Non-Governmental

Organisation (NGO), Evergreen Habitat Organisation has called for the establishment of a Sanitation Fund Office, as an imperative to having a healthier and a better society.

Mr. Chris Anaekwe, the Executive President of the organisation, who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said the office would help promote a healthier and better society as it would complement the efforts of stakeholders who were already working in the sector.

He said it was high time the entire citizens and government joined forces to tackle the hazard and poor sanitation in the country.

According to him, it’s high time the government and everyone in the country became an active player in the area of hygiene and sanitation, the problem of poor sanitation will not be solved, if holistic approaches were not put in place.

Also he of the view that the fund office could be in charge of toilet construction in motor parks and market places and organise advocacy campaigns, to create awareness on the dangers of a filthy environment and open defecation.

In his words: “The funds could be used to construct toilets in each motor park; if we have toilets in all the parks, people littering environment with urine will be reduced drastically.

“And there is no awareness on the kind of hazards created by such practice. If the fund is available, there should be an advocacy campaign to educate and create awareness for other members of the public.

“If structures like latrines and toilets are provided, it will help reduce the negative effects posed by this dirty habit in the environment.”

He further explained that the organisation found out that the issue of sanitation cannot be achieved if a holistic approach is not put in place; and we looked at the Ecological Fund instituted by the Federal Government and we are advocating for adequate funding.

“Hygiene and sanitation, requires funding that will help to complement all efforts of stakeholders in the sector; and I think that the president and other policy makers should address the issue of hygiene and sanitation, making sure that enough funding is available for NGOs and ministries”, he stressed.

NAN reports that Evergreen Habitat Organisation deals on issues of climate change mitigation, hygiene and the provision of clean water for communities. (NAN)

population of about 700 pupils and 80 Early Child Care wards with only two Nannies, to carter for them.

According to the headmaster, in a recent interview with Peoples Daily, the situation requires urgent attention from government and spirited citizens to address effectively, which would help to keep school age children in school, so as to enhance the attainment of national universal basic education objectives in the territory.

“Currently we have a

population of about 700 pupils with only seven trained teachers; then we have some volunteers and the PTA community based teachers, who are assisting us; equally we lack qualified teachers and care givers for our Early Child Care(ECC), where there about 80 children with only two nannies as care givers.

“We had applied to the relevant authorities for deployment of more to the school, but were told that it’s in the pipeline; and about three years on, nothing has been

done.“So we want the government to

assist us in this and other aspects of need like provision of portable water, fencing and landscaping of the school”, he explained.

While appreciating the government for the ongoing renovation of the school, the head master said: “but we want it to be complimented with deployment of more teachers, so that both teaching and learning will become even more effective, so children will now remain in the school.”

The TY Danjuma Foundation, a Non-governmental Organisation, (NGO) is to

splash a total sum of 250million naira on target beneficiaries in Nigerian rural poor communities, including the FCT, in its 2013 Grant Cycle, just as it revealed that it has doled out a total sum of N715.2million in grants, since its inception in 2010.

Chairman and founder of the Foundation, Lt. Gen. Theophilous Danjuma (rtd.), who made the disclosure, at a press conference, in Abuja, shortly after its enlarged

board meeting, on the occasion of the handing over by the interim Executive Director to the new Executive

Director, also noted that the organisation has so far covered Taraba, Edo states and the FCT, respectively.

He said the foundation in line with its mission and vision has set aside the said sum for its operation this year, which is also a clear demonstration of its commitment towards enhancing quality of life for its targeted beneficiaries, with focus on the rural poor communities.

The retired General who

announced that three new states have been added to the Foundation’s coverage for 2013 to include Ebonyi, Imo and Benue, however, noted that the foundation does not just give out grants, but grants are released after investigation is carried out by staff of the foundation and grantees are being trained.

While calling on other states yet to be covered and wish to benefit from the organisation to write proposal to the foundation, General Danjuma said that quality of proposal will determine the response of the foundation.

Also, the Chairman explained

that although the foundation cannot meet all the needs of the people, but it will continue to try as much as possible to the best of its ability.

On his part, the new Executive Director of the Foundation, Dr. Florence Etta who assured of the commitment of the foundation to continue impacting positively on the rural poor, noted such has been the culture of the foundation.

She however requested for the collaboration of the media, as key stakeholders, to enable the foundation deliver on their target for the benefit of the people at the rural areas.

PAGE 18 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Man jailed 6 months for breaking another’s car windscreen

Businessman remanded in prison for allegedly causing grievous hurt

Extortion: Two students get 120 days imprisonment

Driver bags 2 months imprisonment for dangerous driving

Security guard in court over housebreaking, theft

Assault on ex-girlfriend lands man in court

MetroINSIDE FCT COURTS

Women transacting business in Bwari market, Abuja, recently. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

One Kabiru Yahaya, 22, has appeared before Mr. Alfred Maga, the Presiding Judge,

of Grade 1 Area Court Mararaba, for allegedly threatening and assaulting his ex-girlfriend, after she ended their relationship.

Yahaya, who was arraigned by the police over the said offence however, pleaded not guilty to allegation against him.

The Prosecutor, Mr Inuwa Maigida, had told the court that, on June 5, one Happiness Isiundben, of Midland Plaza, Mararaba reported the matter to

the ‘A’ Division police station.The prosecutor told the court

that Yahaya, who was Isiundben ex-boyfriend, threatened her that he would kill her for leaving him, after he forcefully collected her Nokia C3 cell phone valued at N12,000.

Maigida said the offence contravened provisions of sections 292, 265 and 397 of the Penal Code.

If convicted, he can be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with both.

The Presiding Judge, however, granted bail to the accused in the sum of N200,000 and two sureties in like sum.

He ordered that one of the sureties must be a traditional leader with landed property within the jurisdiction of the court.

Maga also ordered that the accused should stay away from Isiundben pending the determination of the case; before he, adjourned the case to June 27 for continuation of hearing. (NAN)

An Abuja Senior Magistrates’ Court has sentenced two students to 120 days

imprisonment each for joint act and extortion of properties from passengers, without an option of fine.

Tope Abiodun, 19, of Dape Village, Abuja, and Kelechi Njoku, 19, of Kado Village, Abuja, were convicted by Magistrate Zubairu Mohammed after they pleaded guilty to the two-count charge.

Delivering judgment, Mohammed noted that such act was becoming rampantand that there was need to punish offenders to serve as a deterrent to others.

“The convicts are sentenced to 90 days imprisonment each without an option of fine on the first count charge of joint act.

“They are sentenced to 30 days imprisonment each with an option to pay N2,000 fine each; on the second count charge of extortion, in addition to paying N14,500 compensation each to

the complainants.The prosecutor, Mr Simon

Emmanuel, had told the court that Onyekachi Epi and Oluchi Ibeawere both of Dape Village, Abuja, reported the matter at the Life Camp Police Station, Abuja, on May 11.

Emmanuel said the convicts boarded a Rick-shaw popularly known as Keke-Napep from Kado Village to Dape Village and on reaching the village they brought out knives, snatched the complainants hand bags

and inflicted minor injuries on them.

The prosecutor added that the convicts ran into the bush with the stolen items but were arrested by policemen.

Emmanuel said the handbags contained N10,000 worth of recharge cards; a Nokia hand set worth N8,000 and N10,000 cash.

He said the offences contravened the provisions of section 79 and 292 of the Penal Code. (NAN)

A Zuba Grade 1 Area Court in Abuja on Friday sentenced Eze Kenneth, 39, of

Byazhim in Kubwa, Abuja, to two months imprisonment for causing accident by dangerous driving.

Kenneth was also charge with failure to display vehicle licence on the wind screen, failure to produce a driving licence on demand and using private vehicle for commercial purpose.

Presiding judge Alhassan Kusherki, who reached verdict after Kenneth had pleaded guilty, however, gave him an option to pay N12,000 fine.

Kusherki said the convict should also pay N30,000

compensation to the accident victim.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Haruna Danlami, had told the court that on April 10, Kenneth drove his Golf 3 car with Reg. No. YE 70 ENU, in a rather dangerous and reckless manner along the Kubwa- Zuba Expressway.

Danlami said the convict knocked down Isa Ado of Mai’adua town, Katsina State, which made him to have a fracture on his right leg.

The prosecutor said the offence contravened the provisions of sections 13,19,28 and 56 of the Road Traffic Act respectively.(NAN)

The police have arraigned one 26-year-old security guard, Sunday Elisha before

Magistrate, Mrs. Rosemary Kanyip, of Kubwa Senior Magistrates’ Court, for alleged joint act, house breaking and theft.

Police prosecutor Arziki Kaura told the court that the case was reported at the Kubwa Police Station on May 6 by Aminu Sambo and Shuaibu Indabawa, both of Dawaki Village, Abuja.

Kaura said the accused, together with one Job Obasi, who is currently receiving treatment in a hospital, broke into the complainants’ apartments and stole some items.

The items include; HP laptop computer, a Compaq computer, recharge cards, two wrist watches and two cameras, all valued at N216,000, and a car key.

Kaura added that the second accused attempted to commit

suicide in police custody before he was rescued and rushed to the hospital.

He said he broke some glasses and stabbed himself in the stomach in an attempt to commit suicide but was rushed to the hospital and is currently recuperating at the Kubwa General Hospital.

The prosecutor added that the offences contravened the provisions of sections 80, 346 and 288 of the Penal Code.

However, the accused pleaded not guilty and the prosecutor applied for an adjournment to enable him to present witnesses.

The Magistrate, who granted the accused bail in the sum of N50,000 with one surety in like sum, said the surety, who must be responsible, must reside within the jurisdiction of the court.

Kanyip adjourned the case to June 18 for further hearing. (NAN)

A Mararaba Upper Area Court in Nasarawa State has sentenced one Hassan

Wansan to six months in prison, for mischief.

The presiding judge, Mr Vincent Gwahemba, however gave the convict, who had pleaded guilty to the one count charge of mischief preferred against him the option of paying N2, 000 as fine.

Earlier, prosecutor Nasiru Shuaibu had the court that Eze

Martins of Aso Pada in Mararaba reported the case at the ‘A’ Division Police Station in Mararaba on June 5.

“The complainant said that while driving from Masaka to Mararaba on the same date, the convict attacked his bus at Orange Market as he was about to dispatch his passengers and broke his indscreen’’, Shuaibu said.

The prosecutor added that Wansan ran away after breaking

the windscreen valued at N10,000, but was later caught and arrested. He said the offence of mischief contravened the provisions of Section 327 of the Penal Code.

Gwahemba who explained that Wansan got the six months jail term, as he is a first-time offender, also ordered him to pay N10,000 in compensation to the complainant for the windscreen or spend an additional 12 months in prison.(NAN)

A Karu Upper Area Court has ordered that a businessman, Inuwa Halilu, of Kurundunma

Village, Abuja, be remanded in prison for criminal force, assault and causing grievous hurt.

The Presiding Judge, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, gave the order after Halilu pleaded guilty to the charges against him.

Kagarko, however, reserved the conviction and sentence till the matter is heard in court and the state of the complainant’s health verified by the court.

The Prosecutor, Insp. Philips Akogwu, had told the court that the complainant, Mr. Anakam Mkpak

of Kurunduma, Asokoro, Abuja, reported the matter at the Asokoro Police Station on May 28.

Akogwu said that Mkpak ran to a hotel within the said address on the said date for shelter, due to heavy rain fall.’’

Halilu met Mkpak at the hotel, assaulted him and punched him in the eye, thereby causing an injury to his right eye,’’ Akogwu said.

He said that police investigations revealed that Halilu inflicted, on the complainant, the injury for which he is still on admission at the Asokoro General Hospital.

The prosecutor said that Halilu’s offence contravened sections 266 and

247 of the Penal Code respectively.Section 266 states that “whoever

assaults any person shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or be fined or with both.

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

Halilu, however, pleaded guilty, saying that it was the ring on his finger that caused the injury on Mkpak’s eye.

The judge, therefore, adjourned the case to June 12 for hearing. (NAN)

INSIDE

With an in-house academy on stand-by, the Board of Directors

of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has warned indolent staff of the corporation to be wary of their conduct which may attract severe sanctions.

Similarly, illustrious staff that distinguished themselves would be recognized and rewarded. Chairman, NDIC Board of Directors, Ambassador Hassan Adamu Wakilin Adamawa handed to the staff of the Corporation a stern warning at the weekend while commissioning NDIC’s Academy in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He said that “members of staff who come here to fly high will be recognized while those who come to waste their time will be

sanctioned”. He said the board was happy to have someone in the person of Umaru Ibrahim at the helms of affairs of NDIC as its Managing Director/CEO.

“We knew what NDIC was when we came on board and what it is now. The board is very concerned about the quality of staff in terms of training”, pledging that the Board will do everything possible to advance and improve staff training.

The NDIC academy is a leased storey-building property, located in Utako district of Abuja. In an opening address earlier, the MD/CEO of the Corporation, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim said the establishment of the Academy was an attempt to provide staff and other personnel of related institutions in the financial service industry with the much needed professional skills to function efficiently and effectively .

He said “the training MANAGEMENT TIP OF THE DAY

NDIC threatens indolent staff with sanction….commissions Academy in Abuja

‘Dangote Group subsidiaries paid N59 bn dividend in 2012’

Kuwait Finance House organises training courses for Nigerian delegation

FG plans to inaugurate National Council on Power

- Pg 20

- Pg 22

As a new hire, you’ll have 90 days to make an impact. So it’s not surprising that many

interviewers ask the question: “What do you hope to achieve in your first three months?” Have a thoughtful answer ready — one that helps people envision how you’ll work with your team, present to your boss, and talk to customers.

Start by describing the role in big-picture terms. Say briefly how you think the position fits into the larger organization. Then define the

challenges you would face. Draw on perspectives from outside the organization, like what industry experts say, or how you’ve seen similar challenges dealt with at other companies. Lastly, offer clear recommendations.

Avoid giving a bland, predictable answer like: “I wouldn’t make any changes before learning more.” But don’t promise more than you can deliver either.

Source: Harvard Business

Communicate what you’ll accomplish in your first 90 days

By Abdulwahab Isa

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 PAGE 19

- Pg 21

programmes being conducted by the academy are based on a revised and updated curricula, designed to cater for both the technical and managerial competencies of the staff; hence we have two schools-that is management and technical schools”.

Umaru said the birth of the Academy translates to a cost savings for the Corporation and promised that competent and qualify resource persons, drawn from both local and international institutions would be recruited as facilitators.

He said the Academy will be equipped with state-of-the-art teaching aids, disclosing that plans were underway to install a digital library .

Some bank customers have urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to intensify

efforts at faster inter-bank connectivity for speedy clearance of third party cheques.

They told newsmen in Lagos that that inter-bank network connectivity was the major challenge facing the cashless policy.

The customers said that Nigeria could fully become a cashless

society if the CBN created the enabling environment for the policy to work.

Reports state that the CBN has placed a ceiling on third party cheques with maximum withdrawal limit of N150, 000.

The new policy is aimed at reducing cash based transactions in the country.

Mr. Adekunle Ajose, a customer of United Bank for Africa (UBA), said that many customers preferred to withdraw over the counter because of

delays in inter-bank clearance. Ajose said that the CBN

needed to embark on aggressive sensitisation of its policies to achieve financial inclusion in the country.

Mr. Henry Tomi, a customer of First Bank, said that availability of PoS terminals would boost customers’ confidence in the policy.

He said faster completion of banking transactions would reduce the number of cash being carried about by people.

Customers task CBN on inter-bank connectivityFrom Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

L-R: Minister of State, Trade & Investment, Dr. Samuel Ortom, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and Managing Director, Infrastructure Bank, Mr. Adekunle Oyinloye, during the 3rd ECOWAS investment forum, recently in Lagos.

MD, NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim

Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the world’s leading Islamic bank, has organised a training

program to a Nigerian delegation of 51 members to introduce them to the Islamic banking and Shariaa compliant services. This program comes as part of KFH’s strategy to raise awareness of Islamic industry in the developing world.

The delegation has received a comprehensive and distinguished 2-day training program that had included 4 important subjects distributed as Basics of Shariaa, Banking Products, Retail Banking, and Real Estate which are considered very important in the Islamic banking.

At the conclusion of the training program, certificates of passing the course had been delivered to the members of the delegation, with the presence of the Nigerian ambassador in Kuwait Haron Qurba who applauded KFH’s significant role in strengthening the national economy.

Moreover, he invited KFH and major investors in Kuwait to visit Nigeria and invest their, especially that Nigeria has natural resources, and the investment environment in the next years should be rosier because the government is planning to boost the economy by all means possible.

From her part, the Minister of Financial Affairs in Nigeria, who chaired the delegation, Tolato Salamato Basheer expressed her gratitude to KFH for its exerted efforts in receiving them; in addition, she showed respect and admiration of KFH and said, “I’m acquainted with the ins and outs of KFH by browsing its website in Nigeria.”

She added, “Trainees are very pleased by this visit and they received a lot during the training program that can pave the way in front of their ideas and knowledge delivered by KFH.”

(www.ameinfo.com)

CBN suggests CRS as solution to bad loans

The Federal Government has retired matured bonds and plans to cut domestic

borrowing to N500 billion ($3.1 billion) next year as part of a move to reduce growing debt, Bloomberg reports Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said.

This year’s local borrowing target of N577 billion is expected to decrease next year as rhe country retreats from the height reached in 2010, when it exceeded a target of 867.5 billion naira and sold 1.1 trillion naira of bonds.

Nigeria “for the first time” retired 75 billion naira of maturing bonds in February and will continue to do so to reduce debt, Okonjo-Iweala said Friday in an e-mailed statement.

“No one in government is supportive of a Nigeria that returns to a high state of indebtedness,” she said. “Our current approach balances Nigeria’s needs for investment in physical and human infrastructure with a strong policy

to limit overall indebtedness in relation to our ability to pay.”

The benchmark interest rate has remained at a record high of 12 percent since October 2011, as the central bank tries to curb inflation and support the naira, helping spur bond demand.

Nigeria’s local debt has grown since it liquidated a foreign debt of $30 billion in 2006 by paying $12 billion and getting forgiveness for $18 billion in a deal negotiated by Okonjo-Iweala. Domestic debt stood at N6.1 trillion at the end of March while foreign debt stood at $6.7 billion, according to the Abuja-based Debt Management Office.

Under a strategy to run from this year, the government plans to increase foreign borrowing to about 40 percent of total debt from current 14 percent, Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Ngama said on May 15. The government will opt for cheaper, longer-term foreign loans and reduce short-term domestic borrowing, he said. (Bloomberg)

Risk Management, recalled that CRS was introduced by the apex bank in 1998.

The CBN governor explained that the introduction of CRS was due to the crisis in the financial sector.

He said that investigation carried out by the CBN revealed that a lot of customers obtained loans from banks and refused to pay back.

“The same set of customers will cross to other banks to access loans and this led to the collapse of the financial sector”, he said.

Sanusi expressed concern that most banks lacked the Single Customer’s Identifier that would be able to capture debtors in the financial system.

The Naira currency fell to its weakest level in almost 10 months on the interbank

market on Friday, driven down by strong demand for the greenback by offshore investors exiting the bond market and repatriating dividends, traders said.

The Naira closed at 159.8 to the dollar on the interbank market, a level not seen since August 8, 2012 when it closed at 160.1 to the dollar.

The currency closed at 158.98 the previous day, Reuters reports. “Demand for the dollar is coming from some offshore investors who are exiting the bond market and some who are repatriating dividends from investments in the equity market,” one dealer said. (Reuters)

Leading digital mobile operator, MTN Nigeria Communications

Limited, has replaced 285 expatriates with Nigerian workers in a move to save costs and also encourage local content in the company.

MTN Corporate Service Executive, MTN, Mr. Wale Goodluck, disclosed that the burden of catering for the large expatriate workers was heavy, thereby informing the decision to replace them with Nigerians.

Stakeholders have lauded the move, saying this is very inspiring and that other multi-nationals should follow this path.

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has begun moves

to re-strategise its operations to enable it to effectively address emerging challenges in the banking sector.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive, NDIC, Alhaji Umar Ibrahim, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja, during a retreat organised for board members of the corporation.

He said the retreat with theme, “Recent developments in the financial system,’ was borne out of the need for the corporation to improve its strategic thinking and decision making process.

Nestlé Nigeria Plc has appointed Mr. Dharnesh

Gordhon as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Gordhon succeeds Martin Woolnough who retired from the company on May 31, 2013.

South African born, Mr Gordhon has held various commercial roles in for Nestle in Southern Africa and Malaysia. He holds various academic and professional qualifications, including a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA).

Nestlé Nigeria – the single largest food company in West Africa by market value – recorded another milestone recently when the price per share hit a historic four-digit price of 1,035 Naira, the highest price in the annals of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Money MarketFG retires matured bonds in move to curb local debt

Kuwait Finance House organises training courses to Nigerian delegation

From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

Company News

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013PAGE 20

MTN Nigeria

NDIC

Nestlé Nigeria

Earnings Report for Banks

Inflation rates from May, 2012 to Apr, 2013 Max = 12.9 %, Min = 8.6 % for period in display.Current Inflation rate = 9.1%Source: CBN

The governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi,

on Thursday said that effective Credit Reporting Standard (CRS) would solve the problem of bad loans in the financial sector.

He said this in a message to a conference organised by the CBN and Business Development and Investment Ltd in Lagos.

Sanusi, who was represented by Folakemi Fatogbe, the special adviser to the governor and director in the Department of

Naira falls versus dollar to weakest in 10 months

Following the prize gains by some blue chips, equity transaction on the floor

of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE)recorded a positive trend last week as the NSE All-Share Index rose by 4.68% to close on Friday at 39,564.79 while the market capitalization of the listed equities on the mainboard equally advanced by 4.68% to close at N12.641 trillion. Also, the NSE 30 Index appreciated by 4.46% to close at 1,890.55.

Moreover, a turnover of 1.917 billion shares worth of N25.133 billion in 32,368 deals were

traded by investors, in contrast to a total of 1.503 billion shares valued at N14.109 billion that exchanged hands in 24,007 deals previous week.

Analysis of the activity in the market showed at the Financial Services sector (measured by volume) led the activity chart with a turnover of 1.302 billion shares valued at N13.510 billion traded in 17,126 deals.

The Financial Services sector represented 67.93% and 53.76% of the total traded volume and value respectively.

The Banking subsector of the Financial Services sector, boosted by activity in the shares of Zenith Bank Plc, Unity Bank

Plc and Skye Bank Plc was the most active subsector on the week’s activity chart with a subsector turnover of 1.013 billion shares valued at N11.376 billion exchanged hands by investors in 11,873 deals.

Also, the Banking subsector accounted for 52.87% and 45.27% of the total subsector traded volume and value respectively.

Traded during the week were 234 units of NewGold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) valued at N504, 991 executed in 5 deals compared with a total of 52 units valued at N111, 579 transacted last week in 3 deals.

Also, 1,100 units of FGN

bonds valued at N123, 765 were traded during the week in 7 deals in contrast to 300 units valued at N33, 242 transacted last week in 3 deals. Fifty eight (58) equities appreciated in prices during the week higher than forty (40) equities of the preceding week. Twenty-six (26) equities depreciated in prices lower than thirty-six (36) equities of the preceding week, while one hundred and nine (109) equities remained constant lower than one hundred and nineteen (119) equities of the preceding week. Fifty eight (58) equities appreciated in prices during the week higher than forty (40) equities of the preceding week.

Union Bank Plc., one of the banks rescued by the Central of Nigeria (CBN)

has assured stakeholders of the bank of optimal sustainability in the nascent profitability achieved by the bank.

The bank said that it has since paid the N120 billion injected into the company by the CBN during the bank’s crisis period in 2009. ‘’ We paid the fund back because we are now well, we have stabilized, we are gaining our strength”, said the Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Emeka Emuwa, while presenting the bank’s ‘Fact Behind the Figures’ at the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday in Lagos.

Emuwa assured that no single investor in the bank will lose his stake, adding that the 65 percent of the bank stake goes to the core investor of the bank, 20 percent to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) while 15 percent goes to the wider world.

He stated that bank is embarking on transformation programme which is rested on seven pillars including the banks business model, the culture and people. Others are risk management, operations, information technology and cost management.

‘’Now that we have returned to profitability, we need to modernize

our business model, our people and culture, IT systems etc. to maintain that profitability gained, we have to modernize our ways of operations”, adding that “reliability is at the core of our strategy and transformation programme”, he said.

Speaking on the bank’s financial profitability in the recent past, he noted that in 2011 it recorded a loss after tax of N76.7 billion while the Group wrote a loss after tax of N82.6bn, a loss he attributed to major crisis suffered by the bank from 2009.

In 2012, the bank posted a Profit after Tax N7.4 billion and the Group’s was N7.4 billion, while in the first quarter of 2013 it saw a Profit after Tax of N48 billion,

while the Group’s stood at N7.8 billion. “Looking at the result, it showed that the bank started to stabilize as things became normal and it will continue”, he assured,

Capital Adequacy of the bank, according to Emuwa, recorded 19 percent and 20 per cent in 2011 and 2012 respectively while its liquidity ratio equally grew to 93 percent and 96 percent in the same period respectively.

Union Bank said it was able to scale through the hurdles through in 2009 as a result of special intervention by the CBN and assistance by AMCON, which provided facility that enabled it cleaned up its loans portfolio, said Emuwa.

Shareholders of three Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) listed subsidiaries of the Pan-

African conglomerate, Dangote Group, are currently basking in the euphoria of good harvest as the companies made bumper returns on their investments.

As at end of December, 2012 financial year, Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar Refinery and National Salt Company of Nigeria (NASCON) altogether paid a jumbo N59billion as dividends.

The Group’s flagship, the Dangote Cement led the pack with

a total dividend payout of N51 billion, Dangote Sugar rewarded the shareholders with N6billion while Dangote Salt (NASCON) paid out N2.3 billion as dividends.

As for Dangote cement, the dividend approved by the shareholders at the 2012 Annual General Meeting (AGM), held in Abuja translated to an unprecedented 300 kobo per share.

As for Dangote Sugar Refinery enriched shareholders with 50 kobo for every one ordinary share of 50 kobo.

NASCON on its part paid each shareholder 90 kobo for every 50 kobo ordinary share held.

A statement from the Group at the weekend said the dividend payout from the subsidiaries are significant in many respect, given that many quoted companies could not pay good dividends while some others recorded either declining profits or outright loses.

Elated shareholders showed encomiums on the board and management of the business units for recording sterling performances in the financial

year under consideration, despite the inclement operating environment.

Reacting to the dividend payout, Chairman, Progressive Shareholders’ Association of Nigeria, Mr. Boniface Okezie attributed the performance of the companies to the expertise and diligence on the part of the board and management.

He commended the board for recommending good dividends as the dream of any investor is to see share prices appreciate and receive more dividends.

FBN Capital Limited, the investment banking and asset management

subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, has advocated equity fund raising for the indigenous oil and gas companies.

The company at its maiden Oil and Gas Roundtable noted that this is necessary, if the indigenous oil and gas firms must perform well and compete effectively giving the capital intensive nature of the industry.

The event brought together industry players and other key stakeholders to discuss from different professional and experienced perspectives what it takes for emerging indigenous upstream independent oil & gas companies to raise equity and mezzanine capital for asset acquisition and development.

Livestock Feeds Plc, a subsidiary of UAC of Nigeria Plc, achieved

a 50 per cent growth in its turnover for the 2012 financial year, despite the tough and challenging operating environment that characterised the year.

The Chairman of the company, Mr. Larry Ettah, disclosed this in his address to the shareholders at the 49th Annual General Meeting of the firm.

He said the company’s performance improved significantly with a turnover of N5.43bn, compared with N3.62bn made in 2011.

UAC of Nigeria Plc (UACN) and Africa Prudential

Registrars Plc (APR) have notified The Exchange that the two Companies have executed a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SSPA) in respect of APR planned acquisition of 100% of the Shares of UAC Registrars Limited, a subsidiary of UACN.

Completion of the transaction is subject to the fulfillment of all conditions precedent outlined in the SSPA including approval by the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Capital Market

Investors wealth up by 4.6 %

Union Bank stakeholders assured of profit sustainability

Dangote Group subsidiaries paid N59 bn dividend in 2012

Stories from Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

Company NewsTOP GAINERS TOP LOSERSSource: NSE/Proshare

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 PAGE 21

FBN Capital Limited

Livestock Feeds Plc

UAC of Nigeria Plc

The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has kicked against the ill-treatment

meted out to passengers of Ethiopian Airlines on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, describing it as a violation of international best practices.

In a statement by its Deputy Director, Public Relations, Abiodun Obimuyiwa, CPC said its reaction was based on several complaints received from passengers of the said flight, particularly those on Business

Class, who felt their rights had been violated.

CPC noted that Ethiopian Airlines, being the oldest African airline, with a record of international best practices displayed in other routes, wondered about the poor service delivery, which it said “is notoriously Nigerian specific”.

According to the agency, the passengers were not only shabbily treated by the airline’s ground staff, they were made to go through harrowing check-in process, faulty weighing scale and indiscriminate boarding.

It pointed out that the process of checking in at the Business

Class line was unnecessarily long and arduous and that “the complaint of passengers was met with an unapologetic wave of hand by the male supervisor on duty, passing off the fault to system failure”.

CPC in a statement said its Director- General, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, was one of the passengers that experienced the shabby treatment by the airline.

The agency disclosed further that its DG’s threat to file a complaint against the airline’s worker did not make him sober as he thundered back, saying ‘you can write whatever you please’ and that it took the

intervention of other Business Class passengers, who were distraught with the conduct of the staff, to bring him and the acrimonious situation under control.

Some of the Business Class passengers on the queue, who were distraught with the conduct of the staff in question, included Mr. and Mrs. Suraj Yakubu, former Executive Secretary of Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC); Prof. Okon Edet Uya, former Chairman National Electoral Commission and Member, African Union Panel of Eminent Person (APRM); Stephen Danyo of the World

Bank and Gary Offner from the USA, said CPC inits statement.

The agency also stated that “the weighing scale by the check in counter was faulty, with the consequence that both Business and Economy passengers had to painfully queue on the same long line.

on this note, CPC has recommended training of all the airline’s staff on acceptable service delivery, in line with the contractual obligations of the airline and international best practices.

A d i r e c t o r , m a c r o e c o n o m i c s department at the

National Planning Commission (NPC) Babatunde Lawal, on Friday asked the Indian industry to take advantage of the country’s new visa policy, aimed at attracting global investors and tourists.

“The Nigerian government has recently approved a new visa policy, which is intended to ease the entry into the country of strategic visitors, especially investors and tourists, who have much to contribute to the national economy,” Babatunde Lawal said at an India-Africa Business Series event organised by industry body, FICCI.

“It is my expectation that this year’s forum will provide further opportunity fo deepening the participation of Indians in Nigeria’s economic development process and vice versa,” Lawal said.

He said, as per the Nigeria’s “Vision 20:2020” document, the country seeks to diversify the economy and aims to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) into sectors other than oil.

Nigeria is India’s largest trading partner in Africa. India is also the second largest trading partner for Nigeria, with bilateral trade touching $17 billion in 2011-12. (Source: http://india.nydailynews.com/)

The African Development Bank (AfDB), on May 29th formally signed in Marrake-

ch, Morocco, in the prelude of the 48th AfDB Annual Meetings, a USD 100 million unfunded Risk Participation Agreement (RPA) with Commerzbank AG, under which the two banks will share the default risk on a portfolio of eligible trade transactions origi-nated by African-issuing banks in Africa and confirmed by Com-merzbank AG.

This facility will help address critical market demand for trade finance in Africa by providing support for trade in vital eco-nomic sectors such as agribusi-ness and manufacturing. It will foster financial sector develop-ment, regional integration, and increase government revenue generation ultimately improving Africa’s sustainable economic growth.

The majority of African banks have small capital bases which often constrains their ability

to obtain adequate trade limits from international confirming banks and to undertake sizeable transactions that have significant development impact.

Moreover, despite the growth in trade risk distribution global-ly, local banks in Africa have not significantly benefitted from this growth. AfDB’s additionality lies in the use of its “AAA” rating to share trade risk and expand the trade finance capacity of banks in Africa, thereby expanding trade and strengthening regional inte-gration.

During the signing ceremony in Marrakech, Tim Turner, AfDB Private Sector Operations Direc-tor, stated “Trade is a growth enabler and catalyst for develop-ment and this partnership with Commerzbank is yet another step by the Bank to increase the avail-ability of trade finance and help remove a major barrier to trade in Africa, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises in low in-come countries.”

There are strong indications that the Federal Government

may constitute a National Council on Power (NCP) and shoulder the responsibility of harmonising policies of various tiers of Government, as they relate to power by synergizing and co-ordinating development programmes in the post- privatized power sector.

The Minister, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, who disclosed this while on inspection tour of facilities at the Olorunsogo Power Plant in Ogun state commended various segments of society for their contributions towards enhanced power supply.

He however decried the situation where states and local Governments procure transformers without recourse to informed knowledge from Distribution Companies and experts to complete the chain of action and check the incidence of abandoned transformers that are not energized for use by benefitting communities.

In a statement issued by the

Assistant Director Press, Ibrahim Haruna, the Minister said “this act, though with good intention, does not provide for effective distribution of power. While commending the efforts of states and local governments, the Minister sued for collaboration by these tiers of Government, with the Federal Governments in ensuring that uninterrupted power is available to the people.”

According to him, Olorunsogo plant is very critical to the quest of Government to up the capacity on the National Grid, as it would provide a d d i t i o n a l m e g a w a t t s , assuring the managers of the plant of Government’s determination to bridge the funding gap experienced recently in its operations.

H e thanked the management

and staff of the company for their unflinching support for the power sector reform and assured them that their services would be highly required in the ongoing privatisation exercise and beyond.

Earlier in his speech, the Chief Executive Officer of Olorunsogo Power Station, Engr. Philip Emeka said that Olorunsogo seriously requires provision of maintenance tools and equipment with enough spare parts at all times, as this is the minimum requirement for the plant to be operational.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013PAGE 22

CPC frowns at Ethiopian Airlines ill-treatment of passengers

FG plans to inaugurate National Council on Power

FG invites Indian businesses with new visa policy

AfDB signs a N16 bn agreement with Commerzbank AG to support Trade Finance in Africa

…seeks compliance with int’l aviation best practices

By Etuka Sunday

By Etuka Sunday

Economy

L-R: Directors, United Bank for Africa Plc, Alhaji Ja’afaru Paki, Alhaji Yahaya Zekeri, and Non Executive Director Designate, Alhaji Abdulqadir Bello, during the 51st Annual General Meeting of UBA Plc, on Friday in Abuja.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013 PAGE 23

Report as at Friday, June 7, 2013Stock Watch

PAGE 24 PAGE 25 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Constitution Amendment: Senate’s single term proposal sparks-off controversiesBy Lawrence Olaoye

Special Report

The proposal is not only a diversionary agenda but an unwelcome development in

our nascent democratic experience. Nigeria’s democracy is not yet ripe for a six-year

single term for President, Vice-President, Governors and their Deputies, because such a thing would give room for non-

performance, much as it would encourage complacency and monotony of power among

those concerned

“

The tortuous task of constitution amendment, which began at the

inception of the seventh National Assembly, came to a climax last week when the Senate ad hoc committee chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, presented its report endorsing certain proposals made by the people in the memoranda submitted to his committee and rejecting others. Perhaps one of the most contentious of the proposals endorsed by the committee for concurrence with the House of Representatives is that of a 6 year single tenure for the President and Governors in the country.

With the approval, if endorsed by the House, the President and governors would only serve for a single term with no option for renewal of their stewardship as it is currently obtainable. The amendment, if concurred with by the House, would automatically become the law as the Presidential assent would no longer be necessary. It was reasoned, and logically too, that with the passage of the amendment by the National Assembly by at least two-third of its membership, such would have served as a veto overriding the Presidential assent.

The committee stated “In the light of recent experiences, the committee inserted a new provision to resolve the impasse where the President refuses to signify his assent or that he withholds such assent. In our view, this will strengthen legislature’s authority for good governance.”

Reasons given for the single term proposal ranged from the need to curtail the political acrimony usually accompanying the quest for second term by politicians to checkmating the distractions following constant electioneering every four years. It is also meant to curtail excessive campaigns expenditures elective office holders incur at regular intervals.

While shedding light on the recommendation of the committee currently awaiting debates at the plenary in the Senate, Senator Ekweremadu, said if the recommendation on single tenure succeeded, the President and some governors would sacrifice their ambitions in 2015.

“We don’t want Nigerians to say that we have colluded with the executive to give tenure elongation to the President and certain governors. That means somebody instead of staying for eight years; he will now be staying for 10 years.

“I think it will be easier for someone to deal with the issue of making a sacrifice than for someone to have the period for 10 years; I am not sure what our colleagues will say. If they say that those who are there now should benefit, that is fine. Those who are currently serving should be able to excuse themselves and say we make this sacrifice on behalf of the system,” he said.

Responding to Senate single term proposal at the weekend, the House of Representatives insisted that it’s members would stand by the voting patterns of the constituents at the Peoples Public Sessions conducted during the amendment process. Conversely, the result of the Session indicated the the people prefer the retention of the current two terms of four years each for political office holders.

To this extent, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, insisted that lawmakers would be guided by the positions of their constituents. According to him, the idea of the Peoples Public Session was to take the amendment of the constitution to the “doorsteps of Nigerians so that they could take control of the process and decide what they would want to be included in the constitution.”

Mohammed said the results of the sessions would be drafted as bills to be passed by the House in line with the guidelines on passing bills. With the position of the House which would need to concur with the Senate before the law could be passed, there seems to be fundamental disagreement between the two chambers.

The Presidency and some state governors desiring to run for second term are obviously not on the same page with the Senate on his matter. This is more so when the proposal seeks to exclude them and, of course, it is expected that those whose interests are injured

would fight back.Apart from the political

actors who would be affected by the proposal, other interest groups have faulted it on the ground that it would serve no useful purpose. Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Dr. Ahmed Gulak, while reacting to the single tenure proposal maintained that it would be unfair for the National Assembly to make an amendment that would short-change those elected under a constitution that allows them to contest two terms of four years each.

He said, “It is not a fair amendment to target a particular group of people. That proposal will not scale through because Nigerians are wiser. You can’t short-change some people in the name of amending the constitution. I am sure there will be some considerations and the proposal will fail. The President and some governors were elected under a constitution that allows them to contest two terms of four years each. You can’t change the rule midway.”

Similarly, the Arewa

Consultative Forum (ACF) has expressed its opposition to the proposal. The apex northern socio-political body cautioned members of the National Assembly against adopting it. According to the group, passing such law would not only be counter productive but would impede good governance. The Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, also holds he same view with those of the ACF.

Equally rejecting the proposal, opposition Action Congress of Nigeria, a major stakeholder in the emerging

mega party, All Progressives Congress (APC), maintained that the current two terms of four years each as was currently being practised, was better.

Commenting, the National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Lai Mohammed, said, “The position of our party has been consistent, two terms of four years each. There is nothing wrong with the system. What does the preclusion of Jonathan and governors from participating from the 2015 elections got to do with anything?”

Rotimi Fashakin, the National Publicity Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) said “You know the President who started this tenure thing probably thought he would benefit from it. He has been told bluntly by the Senate, that this is not going to be. For us, I wouldn’t really know the problem this amendment to the constitution hopes to solve in our political system. What we have always known is that the people should always be the fulcrum of any political decision we want to take. The current two terms of four years each, if properly used like it is done in advanced democracies like the United States, is good enough for our own environment; in that it keeps the people as the focus of the democratic value of our political system.”

To Segun Olukade, member, Lagos State House of Assembly, “The proposal is not only a diversionary agenda but an unwelcome development in our nascent democratic experience. Nigeria’s democracy is not yet ripe for a six-year single term for President, Vice-President, Governors and their Deputies,

because such a thing would give room for non-performance, much as it would encourage complacency and monotony of power among those concerned.

He continued “The beauty of democracy is such that it gives room for periodical assessment of the quality of service delivery by elected public office holders through the instrumentality of the electoral system. At the end of a four-year tenure, the people reserve the political sovereignty to either return a public office holder or replace him by another candidate that they feel could perform better than the incumbent. Only a four-year renewable tenure system could motivate elected public office holders to perform effectively based on the mind-set that the electorates could compensate them with another chance through the ballot. But in such situations that allow for only six-year single term, some politicians may end up using their positions to only feather their nest as they loot public treasury with impunity.”

Many more have responded to the proposal from the prism of ethnicity. As expected,

compatriots from the South south geo-political zone of the country, President Goodluck Jonathan’s zone, have said such proposal should only come into effect in 2019 after he President would have completed his two terms. For instance, the Republican Assembly in the South-South said it should be applied in 2019, after President Goodluck Jonathan might have served his second term in office.

The spokesperson of the group, Mrs. Annkio Briggs, said the only way Ijaw people could support the single tenure agenda in 2015 was if Jonathan would benefit from it. She said, “Whatever they mean by single term of six years, it should not affect Jonathan’s tenure. It cannot start in 2015. It has to start in 2019 after Jonathan’s second term. But if they insist that it must start in 2015, then Jonathan, instead of leaving office in 2019, will leave office in 2021.

“If it starts in 2015, that means Jonathan will have to do six years instead of four years. If that is the way they want it, they should hurry up, it is good.”

Meanwhile, the apex Igbo

President Goodluck Jonathan Senate President David Mark Speeaker, House of Rep, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal

socio-cultural body in the South-East, Ohanaeze Ndi’gbo, backed the six-year single term system. It said it would ensure equality and fairness among the six geopolitical zones in the country.

The body, which said it also supported a zoning formula, said the single tenure arrangement would put an end to the marginalisation of the region in the administration of the country.nThe National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Mr. Osita Oganah, said since the incumbent President and state governors would not benefit from the proposed arrangement; it would afford marginalised regions, particularly the South-East, an opportunity to step in.

He faulted the position of the apex northern socio-cultural body, Arewa Consultative Forum, which said the single tenure system was counter-productive and would raise corruption level. He argued that the system would only encourage competition among leaders from each region, as witnessed when Nigeria had regional system of government.

Oganah said, “To ensure equity and justice, Nigeria should rotate power along the six geopolitical zones. Ohanaeze believes that the six zones are equal; we have equal rights and duties, irrespective of population, land mass and derivation.

“It is therefore logical that a single tenure of five or six years would allow stability. Then, power can go round all the zones in Nigeria within 36 years. Once that is done and every part of Nigeria has tasted power, we can then begin to do it by merit. But for the first 36 years, every part of Nigeria, especially the Igbo, has to be assured that it has a stake in this country.”

Similarly, a group, the Federation of Middle-Belt People, said the single tenure system would add value to Nigeria’s democracy. It said the two-term system was most applicable in advanced democracies.

Plateau State Coordinator of the group, Mr. Manasseh Watyil, said, “Six-year single tenure is very good because it will reduce corruption, promote development, reduce idleness in governance and make it participatory. Dividends of democracy will be felt and it will kill godfatherism. There will be very careful selection of candidates and there will be no monopoly of leadership.”

Many political pundits however are of the opinion that the single term tenure would be beneficial to the country at least in the interim. This, according to them, would go a long way in addressing the second term fever among the political office holders. But, there are fears that the Presidency would do whatever it is within its powers to frustrate the passage of the law.

A source in the Presidency said disclosed apart from ensuring non-concurrence by the House of Representatives, the executive would ensure hat such does not have the two-third endorsement required from the state Assemblies. Most of the governors affected by the proposal, they reasoned, would also ensure that such is not passed. Therefore, the controversies accompanying the single tenure proposal by the Senate may generate more acrimony in the polity than it seeks to address.

Suspended RSHA members Vs PDP: Court slates June 19 to rule on jurisdiction

A construction company, Chemtronics Nigeria Lim-ited has sued the Federal

Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs before an Abuja High Court over an alleged breach of N1.7 billion bridge of contract.

The company sued the min-istry for advertising for bidding of a contract for the construction of a skill acquisition centre in Ig-uelaba, Edo state that was earlier awarded to the company.

The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs was said to have placed advertisement in the newspaper for the awarded contract, in spite of a pending suit in court on the

same contract.In the suit filed on behalf of

the Plaintiff by its counsel, Max Ogar, the company claimed in its statement of claims that the con-tract in dispute for the skill ac-quisition centre, was awarded to Chemtronics Nigeria Limited on March 15, 2010.

It further claimed that the ministry (Defendant) signed a contract agreement with the con-struction company in respect of the construction of the skill acqui-sition centre on March 22, 2010.

“In line with Article 8 of the contract agreement, the Defend-ant was said to have appointed one Arch. Julius Akpovoka of Efeakpo & Co. Consult as an architectural consultant to the project.

“And also in line with Article 6.1 of the contract agreement, the Defendant was also said to have given the Plaintiff 15% mobiliza-tion for the contract valued at over N1.8”, the statement added.

The Plaintiff also claimed that it was on ground and firmly in control of the contract site where work was progressing, adding that to ensure a hitch free execution of the contract, it sought and se-cured a Contract Finance Facility from Sterling Bank Plc to execute the contract under reference.

It alleged that the Defendant advertised for bidding and pro-curement of the contract already awarded to it.

The Plaintiff, through its coun-sel, is asking the court to declare,

“that the Plaintiff herein remains the bona fide contractor in charge of the contract for the construc-tion of a Skill Acquisition Centre (Lot 1) in Iguelaba, Edo State as awarded to it on March 15, 2010”.

The Plaintiff also sought for, “a declaration that the Defend-ant’s advertisement of the con-tract covered in the Plaintiff’s award letter as published in the Guardian Newspaper of April 9 2013 is illegal, null and void.”

Besides, the Plaintiff applied for an order restraining the De-fendant, its agents, assigns and privies from taking and bid relat-ing to the contract covered in the plaintiff’s award letter.

In its statement of defence and counter claim, filed by its counsel,

B. N. Udonsi of the department of legal services, the Ministry said in line with Article 1 of the Contract Agreement, the duration of the contract was 12 (twelve) months from the date of the execution of the contract agreement.

The Defendant averred that the contract agreement was ex-ecuted on 22nd March, 2010 and that the Plaintiff was expected to have completed the contract and hand over same to the Ministry on or before the 21st day of March, 2011.

On the 6th of July, 2011, six-teen months after the contract was awarded, the Minister of the Defendant, Elder Godsday Peter Orubebe visited the Plaintiff’s site at Lot 1 in Iguelaba, Edo State.

The Defendant averred that the visit revealed that work done on site was still at the level of ex-cavation/foundation level and hence the need to terminate the contract to another contractor to take over.

The case has been adjourned to July 4, 2013 for further hear-ing.

The Supreme Court Friday af-firmed a 20-year jail term handed over to an armed

robber, Semiu Afolabi, who stole a motocycle in Ogun State in 1996.

Upon his arrest by men of the Nigerian Police, Afolabi was ar-raigned before the state’s High Court on a two-count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery, to which he pleaded not guilty.

He was taken through trial, and in its judgment of April 20, 1999, the trial court convicted him on both counts and sentenced him to death.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the trial court, he appealed to the Court of Appeal, Ibadan, Oyo State where his appeal succeeded in part.

The appellate court upheld Afolabi’s conviction, but converted his armed robbery charge to, “sim-ple robbery” and reduced his death sentence to 20 years imprisonment.

In a lead judgment on Friday at the Supreme Court, Justice Mah-mud Mohammed upheld the de-cision of the Court of Appeal and resolved the five issues distilled by the appellant for the court’s consid-eration against Afolabi.

“All the issues raised having failed, the appeal failed. The convic-tion of the appellant and sentencing of the Court of Appeal for conspir-acy and simple robbery is upheld. The appeal is hereby dismissed,” Justice Mohammed held.

Justices John Afolabi Fabiyi, Bode Rhodes-Vivour, Mary Peter-Odili and Kumai Bayang Akaahs that constituted the five-man panel that considered the appeal agreed with the lead judgment.

A Chief Magistrate court in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja has ordered the remanded a

member of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Mr. Friday Sani, also known as Makama over al-leged unlawful possession of fire arms, ammunition and police walkie-talkie.

Sani was remanded alongside his co-accused person, Job David

when they were arraigned by the Police before Chief Magistrate Usman Shuaibu on June 7, 2013.

The court consequently ad-journed till June 11, 2013 to hear the bail application filed by the accused persons’ lawyer.

According to the Police First Information Report (FIR), the two accused persons violated sections 27(1) of the fire arms act

CAP F28 LFN 2004, as well as criminal conspiracy and abate-ment, contrary to section 97 and 85 of Penal Code Law.

The FIR reads: “On 4th of June 2013 at about 1340hours you Friday Sani, aka Makama and Job David were arrested in possession of AK47 rifle with 35 rounds of life ammunition and police walkie-talkie and in

the course of investigation, it was discovered that you aided and abetted Emmanuel Shuaibu (aka Action), Mohammed Musa (aka Lets go), Friday Abams and Adeboni-Musa to possess fire arms to wit AK47 rifle and am-munition by issuing them with AK47 rifle and ammunition, you thereby committed above men-tioned offences”

A Port Harcourt High Court sitting before Justice S. H Aprioku has slated June 19,

2013 to decide whether the court has jurisdiction to hear and deter-mine the suit brought before it by the 27 suspended members of the Rivers State House of Assembly against the Peoples Democratic

Party (PDP), where-in they are challenging their suspension from the Party.

The trial Judge, Justice Aprioku fixed the date after hearing a heat-ed argument on the jurisdiction of the court from parties in the suit PDP’s counsel, Mr. Ken Njemanze (SAN) told the court that it can-

not hear the suit on grounds that the matter was an internal affair of the party, adding also that the party has outstanding constitu-tion that guides its members.

Mr Njemanze said: “The 27 Assembly members should have exhausted the available avenues in the party before coming to

court”.However, Counsel to the As-

sembly, Mr. Beluolisa Nwofor (SAN) challenged the issues of ju-risdiction raised by his opponents and submitted that the PDP con-stitution is subject to the Nigeria constitution which the PDP laws recognise.

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013PAGE 26

LAWCoy sues Niger Delta Ministry over alleged N1.8bn contract breach

S/Court affirms 20-year im-prisonment to armed robber

Court remands Kogi Lawmaker over alleged fire arms’ possession

Stories by Sunday Ejike Benjamin

A group photograph of the Federal Capital Territory High Court Judges with the recently appointed Acting Chief Judge, I.M. Bukar and the Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN).

Minister of State for Education, Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike has disclosed that despite the challenges facing the

implementation of projects in the basic education sector, the Jonathan administration has been able to complete 85 out of the 124 Almajiri schools under construction, with 12 out of the 62 libraries under construction in Federal Government Colleges completed and handed over.

A statement issued yesterday in Abuja by Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Minister Media, said the administration has also completed 4 out of the 13 Special Girl-Child Model Colleges in different parts of the nation.

The statement said Wike spoke at the Ministry’s headquarters at the weekend

during the monthly meeting with contractors and officials of the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC.

The Minister stated that in two weeks time more libraries will be completed and handed over to another set of Federal Government Colleges to improve reading in the schools.

According to him, by the end of July, the remaining Almajiri Model Schools in different parts of the country will also be completed and handed over to the different states of the Federation.

He however directed the management of Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, to terminate the contracts of three non-performing contractors with the aim of taking over the projects and completing them within reasonable time.

The University of Wolver Hampton has welcomed the forming of a partnership between itself and Nigeria’s educational institution,

Ogun state Institute of Technology (OGITECH).

The collaboration was agreed on when a delegation from the Ogun State Institute of Technology (OGITECH) led by the State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Barr. John Odubela, paid a courtesy call on the University’s Vice

Chancellor, Prof. Geoff Layer to explore opportunities for academic collaboration and to sign a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions.

According to a statement issued by the institution, the memorandum of understanding signed by the partners will open up future opportunities for the

exchange of staff members, as well as the chance for Nigerian students to study at the University.

Rector of OGITECH, Prof. Godwin Ejodame, who advocated for the partnership stated how important they are for the continual development taking place in Nigeria.

Speaking about the meeting, Layer said: “The University of Wolver Hampton values collaborations with diverse external partners such as OGITECH, and expressed his delight to form another international partnership with a fellow educational institution, it added.

“It is vitally important that we meet the demand for higher education, both here in the UK and internationally, and I see this partnership as an important step in the right direction towards meeting these demands,” he said.

Out of school children figure stagnate aid to basic education falls by 6%-UNESCO

wallybabe2010@gmail.com, 08050639900

PAGE 27PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Education

New statistics released by UNESCO said while out-of-school figures are stagnant, new analysis from the Education for

All Global Monitoring Report finds that to compound this problem for children around the world is a new data analysis showing that aid to basic education has decreased for the first time by six per cent between2010 and 2012 since 2002.

The new data also show that 57 million children were out of school in Nigeria in 2011; a drop of just two million from the year before adding that using the 2010 out of school figures, Nigeria would be the home for almost a fifth of the world’s out of school children by 18% as it is in the top ten countries for the largest decrease in aid from 2010-2011.

According to the report, over the course of that year, six of the top ten donors to education reduced their spending. The changing donor landscape now sees the United Kingdom as the largest bilateral donor to basic education.

“In addition, funds are not directed to the regions and countries most in need. Only $1.9 billion was allocated to low income countries in 2011, a reduction of nine per cent, and a far cry from the $26 billion needed to fill the finance gap for basic education”, it added.

It further said that there is no new

data for out of school children for 2011 in Nigeria. In 2010, however, there were 10.5 million children out of school, the highest number of any country in the

world. The second bottom country for out of school children in 2011 is Pakistan with 5.4 million out of school.

The report said that despite being well at the bottom of the list, the amount of aid to basic education the country received in 2011 was more than a quarter (28%) lower than it received in 2010.

In 2010, however, there were 10.5 million children out of school, the highest number of any country in the world. The second bottom country for out of school children in 2011 is Pakistan with 5.4 million out of school.

The new figures were released before a high-level discussion in New York in support of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative, where the need to tackle the twin crises in the education sector, whether children get into school at all, and whether they learn once they are there was highlighted.

The report further said that aid to Nigeria which is the home to the largest number of out -of school children in the world, dropped by more than a quarter from 2010 to 2011. The biggest reductions in basic education were made by Canada, the Netherlands and the World Bank (IDA), which cut their contributions to the region by over one-third.

Stories by Maryam Garba Hassan

85 Almajiri schools completed -Wike

OGITECH to partner overseas University

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola commemorated his 2,200 days in office with

a parley with higher education institutions and undergraduates, reiterating that the nation’s training methods must

not only be re-orientated to retain the critical building blocks but must also become adapted to the real needs of society.

The Governor, who spoke at the Lagos State University, Ojo Main Campus Auditorium, before a gathering of students of all the major higher institutions, student bodies and voluntary organisations said this has become imperative as it seems clear from the deduction of experts that the gown is not communicating with the town.

He explained that for the current year, a sum of N1,500,000.00 (One Billion, Five Hundred Million Naira) was budgeted but which no one person has yet applied for the research fund.

He said the ultimate

answer to finding a solution to unemployment and joblessness lies in three simple words which is ‘made’ ‘in’ ‘Nigeria’ as no other nation has done it another way.

“So to get to “Made in Nigeria”, we must innovate and be creative. Innovation requires us to start looking for new and more efficient ways of doing the same thing. Creativity is the hand maid of

innovation which suggests we must develop things for ourselves”.

“This is the road to “Made in Nigeria”. This is the super-highway to a new economy that is home-grown and increasingly self-dependent and self-reliant”, he reiterated.

“Our medicine must now focus also on sports medicine which is a growing area of need and which requires specialization. We must stop thinking about treating malaria, and start thinking about how to

eradicate plasmodium or create a vaccine for it. Our lawyers for example must receive training in either contract or commercial law on how to negotiate PPPs or concessions”.

“Our students in tertiary institutions are in the generation

right behind us. They are the ones who in a short time will bear the responsibility to refine our crude oil, generate our electricity, produce our water, manage this university, build our trains, secure our state and country and generally be responsible for our people’s well-being”.

“The question then is this. Do these leaders in waiting and in training understand what we are doing? Do they understand why we are doing it? What are the choices of study that they themselves have made? Why did they make them? Does our society still require those skills they are learning? Is there an inherent flaw in the training we are offering in a way that it does not connect with our societal

needs? Why do we have so much to do in our country and yet still have so many unemployed people?”

Fashola explained that the need to re-orientate the nation’s training needs informed the setting up of a School of Transportation at LASU, to prepare a new generation of professionals that will become

transport planners, transport

managers and transport operators as transportation is a global problem and it is no less so in Lagos or any other part of Nigeria.

According to him, in order to help the gown assist in developing the town, the state has created an Innovation Council led by the Commissioner for Science and Technology and other members drawn from the private sector with their brief being to promote innovation and development.

He informed that the administration is also operating an After-School Graduate Development Programme where it is investing graduates with new skills to help them adapt to the needs of the nation’s economy andfind well-paid jobs or start their own business while a provision to fund research has also been created in the State budget.

Fashola also used the occasion to give an account of what his administration has achieved in the last 100 days, saying the 2013 Budget recorded a first quarter performance of 61 per cent during the period with the impact being felt across various sectors.

Group known as Cynosure C o m m u n i c a t i o n s at the weekend

organised a competition for both Primary and Secondary school students in Abuja as part of its efforts to promote peace and unity in the country.

The event which has its theme as “How I can make

Nigeria great” witnessed various presentations and displays from students to depict the Nigeria of their dreams.

Speaking the CEO, Cynosure Communications, Ngozi Nd-Alichi stated that the initiative is targeted at the young ones and aimed at inculcating positive and critical moral, and ethical values in the children

through the engagement of their creative abilities intellect.

Alichi said “the Nigeria of

my Dream project is not about who wins or who does not but about a healthy competition that promotes excellence, values and ethical rebirth in our nation championed by our children who are unarguably leaders of tomorrow.”

She said the aim of the competition was “to sensitize, impact and orientate secondary and primary school bracket in an entertaining and equally academically competitive way,

to help the children envision and insist on a great, prosperous, peaceful and patriotic Nigerian future, she concluded.

At the end of the quiz exercise, which was divided into two categories (Gold Category for Primary and Diamond Category for Secondary schools), Model Primary School, Maitama and Anglican Girls Grammar

School, Apo emerged the overall winner for both categories respectively.

From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

By Etuka Sunday

Fashola challenges higher institutions to take advantage of State’s N1.5bn Research fund

Group organises competition for students

By Maryam Garba Hassan

L-R: Oyo state commissioner for Education, Mrs Tokunbo Fayokun, Managing Director, University Press Plc, Mr Samuel Kolawole, and board member of the press, Mr Obafunso Ogunkeye, during the donation of Books to nine Secondary Schools, recently in Oyo state. PHOTO: NAN

President of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Margee Ensign, has dismissed as

“inaccurate” a story in the Daily Trust and daily News watch alleging that expatriates are leaving the University because of the state of emergency imposed on Adamawa State.

A statement issued at the weekend by the University’s deputy director communications , Innocent Okorie Nwobodo stated that Ensign said Governor Murtala Nyako’s comments in the story are also completely inaccurate.

“Not only are we running our regular summer school with very high attendance, no faculty member or staff has left AUN because of the ‘state of emergency.

In fact, over 4,000 people including the Ambassadors of the United States, the European Union, Rwanda and Ireland attended our 5th commencement ceremony on May 11th, three days before the state of emergency was announced”, she said.

Ensign further explained that the school is also continuing its important development work in the community in literacy, IT and with the Adamawa Peacemakers Initiative it founded in January 2012.

She said “If there were any security concerns in Yola, none of the VIPs who attended the school’s 5th commencement ceremony would have ventured to come adding that the graduation activity and the beginning of summer break naturally increased movements in and out of Yola airport”.

She said AUN’s summer sessions began on May 16th and a very high percentage of students have returned for summer classes facilitated by AUN’s globally diverse faculty drawn from US, UK, Singapore, India, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, Canada, Kenya, among others.

Ensign added that this summer enrollment is approximately the same percentage that has attended previous summers saying that to date, no faculty members have stated they are not retuning because of the state of emergency.

It is pertinent to mention here that the dusk-to-dawn curfew is effective in Yola, as elsewhere in the region, but does not threaten the university community or any campus learning and or extra-curricular activities. As a matter of fact, many have been coming to AUN to process admissions, having received their children’s/wards’ UTME results.

State of emergency: AUN dismisses report on expatriates leaving the university

wallybabe2010@gmail.com, 08050639900

PAGE 28 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Education

What are the challenges facing NHIS?

Most of the challenges we are facing borne out of the fact that, most people don’t understand what NHIS stands for. I will start with health care in general. Like any service provision, especially social service, there is the supply side and there is the demand side. Health is a product. You have the hospital; you have the infrastructures in hospital. You have the human resource components in the hospital.

Then, on the demand side, you have patients that are going to the hospitals to access care and services of the hospital.

Now, in the process of doing that, costs are incurred. The question is: who settles the costs? Who provides the hospitals? Who constructs the hospitals? Who provides the equipment in the hospitals? There is cost to the supply side; there is cost to the demand side. Now, NHIS is about addressing the cost of the demand rather than the supply side. NHIS is not about building hospitals, it is not about buying equipment for the hospitals. It is not about training staff or recruiting staffs to offer services in the hospitals. NHIS is about making it easy and affordable for patients to access health. How do you pay for health care?

This comes in one to three

NHIS: 1999 law still unimplemented says Sambo

Understanding National Health Insurance Scheme for the general public has become issue of concern for all stakeholders alike. NHIS is a social health insurance program where it is expected that, people contribute whether having an employer or self-employed. This will afford the social

responsibility of taking care of the entire public under the cover of NHIS. However, one of the major challenges of the scheme is the possibility of implementing it under the law at which it was conceived. Since it was signed under military regime, the month before the new democratic era, it has proven difficult having full implementation of the scheme. In this interview with selected health correspondents in Abuja, the Acting Executive secretary, Dr. Abdulrahman Sambo enumerates the benefits of the scheme and the importance of its implementation at all levels of government. Excerpts.

By A’isha Biola Raji

Dr. Abdulrahman Sambo

The perception of free health is to have the hospitals, to have the doctors and the equipment

“

PAGE 29PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Healthy Livingexpect the local or state government to pay contribution for him. This is where constitutional issues come in. The Federal Government is paying its own contribution on behalf of federal employees but the state employees and local government employees are not covered because state government is an employer; local government is an employer.What is the role of Nigerian constitution in making NHIS a success?

The constitution has made it so loose if I may use that word for health to be responsibilities of the three tiers of government. Some states see NHIS as a federal government agency that cannot come and dictate to them how they provide health to their staff or people. You all know that we don’t have any social security system in Nigeria.

Social security is beyond health. If you are poor, you can’t send your child to school. Who should take care of that? It is such a responsibility. Without that, we can’t have social security system in place. Without enlightening the public saying “let us all come together and see what government should be doing to us concerning our health, concerning our education and concerning our wellbeing in totality, we may not achieve that. When NHIS was set up, the law that set it up was made during the military era when there was a unitary form of government so to say. Though, there were states and local government, there were military administrators where the Head of States could direct “do this to your people, do that to your people.”

Immediately after the Act was signed, Obasanjo was sworn in; it was signed in May 1999, the same month that Obasanjo took over. The law from that day became un-implementable. States became totally independent when it comes to health.

Now, the other challenge that NHIS had was that democracy was just coming in then; most political parties then wouldn’t want to be seen to be asking people to pay something. They started preaching free health care. They said “no, no, we are giving free health care. We know the way to go. But, you walked into the hospital, they prescribed a drug for you; you know you will have to go and buy. Is that free health care? And, where will NHIS come in? ” If you go to the states, they will tell you they are providing free health, are they really providing it?

The perception of free health is to have the hospitals, to have the doctors and the equipment. Then you go there to access services.

But, now you pay for laboratory services, you go for bed space; do that and that and that. I am sure we all at one point or another had somebody who was sick and visited the hospital. You will see the bill individual is given. And, we see on a daily basis requests forassistance on various issues and yet states will say they are giving free health care, free education.

ways. You can say you are on your own or government say ‘I will provide for you, free health care’; or, combination of the two and lastly, it comes through insurance. These are the ways health care is financed globally.

When it comes to cost for the demand, there are two broad categories: direct taxation, which means that government will tax people to collect money and fund the hospitals directly. This is the modelUnited Kingdom has adopted. There is no insurance per say, people are taxed. When we collect the money, we ensure that hospitals are well stocked with drugs, equipment and all that. If you go to the hospitals, you don’t have to pay a dime.

The other one is the insurance model which Germany and other countries of the world adopted. Under this model, there are two broad insurance in health which are social and private health insurance. Social health nsurance is where the government comes in as part of its social responsibilities to the citizens to ensure that health care is assessed and made more affordable to the people and payment is made based on ability to pay. It takes the form of individuals coming in, and government organizing individuals either through their employers or those who are unemployed, who are so poor that they cannot afford anything.

Government subsidize for

them by paying on their behalf. So, we have a group of people coming together either by employer-based or whatever basis. The contribution is now based on the percentages of your income. The care will be the same irrespective of the individual status; either you are a level one officer or a level nine officer or a Permanent Secretary.

We have what we call benefit package; benefit package means what you are entitled to in the hospital when you go there. You will access drugs, you will access the kind of care you need, your accommodation and other things as such, irrespective of your position. It is the same drug you receive whether you are a Permanent Secretary or you are a junior officer.

But, note that because contribution is a percentage of your salary, contribution of the person on level eight will be lower than a person who is a Permanent Secretary because he has a higher salary. They all assess the same hospital, the same service; that is what makes it social health insurance. So, what you have there is the rich subsidizing for the poor. The one with a large family being subsidized by individuals with smaller families because we say the benefit package includes the individuals; the spouse and four biological children with one individual contributor. An individual contribution covers the family.

Now, what do you do with such health insurance? You now set up modalities of: how do you collect the money from these individuals?How do you keep the money? And, how do you pay to hospitals when they assess care? This is what makes insurance; collecting contribution, pooling the collection and paying the hospitals when services are assessed or given.

You collect N10 from this one, N20 from that one, N1000.00 from another person, N12 from the other; put them in one basket. It is that pool that you will now use to pay out when individuals are sick. So you can see the solidarity in it. That is what makes it social; you won’t complain that “I pay N1000, she is paying only N12. My service should be higher than hers because my contribution is higher”. Or, instead of four children, I will bring eight because I am paying more.

It is not like that. That is why it is called social health insurance.

The individual risk, diabetes, hypertension and the like make the probability of the person assessing care higher than somebody who is healthy. In the whole month, the probability of that person being sick or having a chronic illness will be higher than individual who is 20 or 30years. So, the premium will now differ and you pay out the premium to the insurance company, in our own case, the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO).

That will provide cover to you as a person for a specified period. A risk cover is for one year just like the motor vehicle while in social health insurance, so long as you are under the employment, the cover will continue. If you start work today, it will be thirty years and you will be making monthly contribution. So NHIS is about managing the two: private health insurance and social health insurance. But, in each of the two cases, payment is involved. The individual will pay contribution as it is called in social health insurance. In private health insurance, it is called a premium. So NHIS is here to collect hat contribution; to pool the contribution and pay for cover to the hospital.

In Nigeria, we have three types of employers, government, organized private sector and individuals who are self-employed. Those who are in the unemployment market are so poor; they can’t have their own businesses either individually or as a body. They are not employed by any government.

Who should pay for that individual?

The person who is employed by the local or state government will

Maxwell Idowu’s wife died in the seventh month of her pregnancy. “My

wife just complained of a slight headache and she went inside the bedroom to rest; before I knew what was happening, her condition became worse and we had to go to the hospital. “Ifeoma died along with the baby even before we reached the hospital and the doctors later told me she had suffered from eclampsia,” Idowu recalls.

The woman’s death aptly exemplifies the fatal nature of eclampsia, an illness which occurs during the later stages of pregnancy. Eclampsia involves high blood pressure as well as convulsion, and it could sometimes degenerate into a coma.

Mrs. Margaret Ladele, who suffered from pre-eclampsia and eclampsia during her first pregnancy, fortunately survived the sickness and she was able to recount her ordeal. “I was warned by my doctor here in Nigeria to always find time to rest and not to stress myself too much; however, because I did not notice the symptoms of any illness, I did not heed the advice.

“When I got to England, my pregnancy was just six months; I was feeling weak and I went to see a general practitioner and I discovered my blood pressure was 220/160, which was extremely high. “I was admitted to the hospital as I was close to having a convulsion, I was eventually delivered of my baby who was, however, premature at 28 weeks,’’ she said.

Speaking on pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, Dr. Matthew Akagwu of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, said that the two conditions are peculiar to pregnant women. He however noted that, pre-eclampsia is a condition which could develop into eclampsia if not controlled.

Curbing eclampsia-related deaths among pregnant womenBy Ifeanyi Nwoko “It is marked by high blood

pressure and a high level of protein in the urine; women who have pre-eclampsia will often experience swelling in their feet, legs and hands. “Pre-eclampsia is usually noticed in the final stages of the second half of pregnancy, which is usually the third trimester. “If undiagnosed, pre-eclampsia can lead to eclampsia, a serious condition that can put you and your baby at risk and in some cases, cause death. “One can also have pre-eclampsia and not have any symptoms but pre-eclampsia, if unchecked, would lead to eclampsia,’’ Akagwu said.

The causative factors of pre-eclampsia are not known, although medical experts suggest poor nutrition, high body fat or insufficient blood flow to the uterus as possible causes.

Again, there is no known cure for pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. To forestall eclampsia related-deaths, Dr Kayode Obende, a Gynaecologist at the Garki Hospital, Abuja, advised pregnant women to always go for regular antenatal checks. According to him, severe pre-eclampsia comes with hypertension, headache, visual disturbances and pain in the upper abdomen.

“This could be as a result of poor maternal nutrition or lack of adequate oxygen supply to the foetus,” he added. “If there is any indication of pre-eclampsia; detecting it early would help to prevent complications, hence the need for pregnant women to register for antenatal as soon as possible.

“If you go for antenatal clinic and you do not have your blood pressure checked, you have not undergone proper antenatal care,” he said.

Obende said that the women at the risk of developing pre-eclampsia in pregnancy include teenagers, women with first pregnancy and those who got pregnant late in life.

Although swelling of the

PAGE 30 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Healthy Living

feet and hands are possible symptoms of pre-eclampsia, a consultant, Dr. Maxwell Odiegwu, said that not all swellings were as a result of pre-eclampsia.

Odiegwu, an Obstetrician/Gynaecologist at the Garki Hospital, Abuja, said that some swelling could be as a result of oedema (the swelling of the body during pregnancy). “What really happens is that the body volume increases as there is more water and more blood production.

“The increase in the body’s ability to retain liquids is necessary for the baby’s development; it is even more disturbing when expectant women do not develop oedema,” he said.

Odiegwu, however, conceded that, the fact that oedema was a natural process did not mean that it was painless, adding that the movement of water to the legs during the day was as a result of gravity. “For us as doctors, we only get worried when we notice oedema as well as elevated blood pressure. “Then, we have to intervene by

monitoring the blood pressure and doing a urine test because a serious condition called pre-eclampsia might develop,” he said.

Nevertheless, Odiegwu stressed that most of the water retained in the body during pregnancy is quickly passed out through urine few weeks after childbirth, as the water is no longer needed.

He advised pregnant women to eat nutritious food, saying that oedema differed from person to person but stressed that the presence of oedema in women who are not pregnant or men is an indication of a medical problem. “Oedema can be a sign of a serious heart, liver or kidney problem and it should not be ignored,” he added.

All the same, experts insist the only pragmatic way to curb eclampsia-related deaths among pregnant women is for expectant mothers to attend antenatal clinics regularly, while the government should also provide functional health care facilities in the rural areas. NAN

Humanity imperiled and the path to disaster (II)

Russian built missile defence system

And to add a little more, a couple of months before the crisis blew up the United

States had sent missiles with nuclear warheads to Okinawa. These were aimed at China during a period of great regional tension.

Well, who cares? We have the right to do anything we want anywhere in the world. That was one grim lesson from that era, but there were others to come.

Ten years after that, in 1973, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger called a high-level nuclear alert. It was his way of warning the Russians not to interfere in the ongoing Israel-Arab war and, in particular, not to interfere after he had informed the Israelis that they could violate a ceasefire the U.S. and Russia had just agreed upon. Fortunately, nothing happened.

Ten years later, President Ronald Reagan was in office. Soon after he entered the White House, he and his advisors had the Air Force start penetrating Russian air space to try to elicit information about Russian warning systems, Operation Able Archer. Essentially, these were mock attacks. The Russians were uncertain, some high-level officials fearing that this was a step towards a real first strike. Fortunately, they didn’t react, though it was a close call. And it goes on like that.

At the moment, the nuclear issue is regularly on front pages in the cases of North Korea and Iran. There are ways to deal with these ongoing crises. Maybe they wouldn’t work, but at least you could try. They are, however, not even being considered, not even reported.

Take the case of Iran, which is considered in the West -- not in the Arab world, not in Asia -- the gravest threat to world peace. It’s a Western obsession, and it’s interesting to look into the reasons for it, but I’ll put that aside here. Is there a way to deal with the supposed gravest threat to world peace? Actually there are quite a few. One way, a pretty sensible one, was proposed a couple of months ago at a meeting of the non-aligned countries in Tehran. In fact, they were just reiterating a proposal that’s been around for decades, pressed particularly by Egypt, and has been approved by the U.N. General Assembly.

The proposal is to move toward establishing a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the region. That wouldn’t be the answer to everything, but it would be a pretty significant step forward. And there were ways to proceed. Under U.N. auspices, there was to be an international conference in Finland last December to try to implement plans to move toward this. What happened?

You won’t read about it in the newspapers because it wasn’t reported -- only in specialist journals. In early November, Iran agreed to attend the meeting. A couple of days later Obama cancelled the meeting, saying the time wasn’t right. The European Parliament issued a statement calling for it to continue, as did the Arab states. Nothing resulted.

So we’ll move toward ever-harsher sanctions against the Iranian population -- it doesn’t hurt the regime -- and maybe war. Who knows what will happen?

In Northeast Asia, it’s the same sort of thing. North Korea may be the craziest country in the world. It’s certainly a good competitor for that title. But it does make sense to try to figure out what’s in the minds of people when they’re acting in crazy ways. Why would they behave the way they do? Just imagine ourselves in their situation. Imagine what it meant in the Korean War years of the early 1950s for your country to be totally leveled, everything destroyed by a huge superpower, which furthermore was gloating about what it was doing. Imagine the imprint that would leave behind.

Bear in mind that the North Korean leadership is likely to have read the public military journals of this superpower at that time explaining that, since everything else in North Korea had been destroyed, the air force was sent to destroy North Korea’s dams, huge dams that controlled the water supply -- a war crime, by the way, for which people were hanged in

PAGE 31PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

International

In Northeast Asia, it’s the same sort of thing. North Korea may be the craziest

country in the world. It’s certainly a good competitor for that title.

“

ANALYSISBy Noam Chomsky

Nuremberg. And these official journals were talking excitedly about how wonderful it was to see the water pouring down, digging out the valleys, and the Asians scurrying around trying to survive. The journals were exulting in what this meant to those “Asians,” horrors beyond our imagination. It meant the destruction of their rice crop, which in turn meant starvation and death. How magnificent! It’s not in our memory, but it’s in their memory.

Let’s turn to the present. There’s an interesting recent history. In 1993, Israel and North Korea were moving towards an agreement in which North Korea would stop sending any missiles or military technology to the Middle East and Israel would recognize that country. President Clinton intervened and blocked it. Shortly after that, in retaliation, North Korea carried out a minor missile test. The U.S. and North Korea did then reach a framework agreement in 1994 that halted its nuclear work andwas more or less honored by both sides. When George W. Bush came into office, North Korea had maybe one nuclear

weapon and verifiably wasn’t producing any more.

Bush immediately launched h i s a g g r e s s i v e m i l i t a r i s m , threatening North Korea -- “axis of evil” and all that -- so North Korea got back to work on its nuclear program. By the time Bush left office, they had eight to 10 nuclear weapons and a missile system, another great neocon achievement. In between, other things happened. In 2005, the U.S. and North Korea actually reached an agreement in which North Korea was to end al l nuclear weapons and missile development. In return, the West, but mainly the United States, was to provide a light-water reactor for its medical n e e d s a n d e n d a g g r e s s i v e statements. They would then form a nonaggression pact and move toward accommodation.

It was pretty promising, but almost immediately Bush undermined it. He withdrew the offer of the light-water reactor and initiated programs to compel banks to stop handling any North Korean transactions, even perfectly legal ones. The North Koreans reacted by reviving their nuclear weapons program. And

that’s the way it’s been going.It’s well known. You can

read it in straight, mainstream American scholarship. What they say is: it’s a pretty crazy regime, but it’s also following a kind of tit-for-tat policy. You make a hosti le gesture and we’ll respond with some crazy gesture of our own. You make an accommodating gesture and we’ll reciprocate in some way.

Lately, for instance, there h a v e b e e n S o u t h K o r e a n -U.S. military exercises on the Korean peninsula which, from the North’s point of view, have got to look threatening. We’d think they were threatening if they were going on in Canada and aimed at us. In the course of these, the most advanced bombers in history, Stealth B-2s and B-52s, are carrying out simulated nuclear bombing attacks right on North Korea’s borders.

This surely sets off alarm bells from the past. They remember that past, so they’re reacting in a very aggressive, extreme way. Well, what comes to the West from all this is how crazy and how awful the North Korean leaders are. Yes, they are. But that’s hardly the whole story, and this is the way the world is going.

It’s not that there are no alternatives. The alternatives just aren’t being taken. That’s dangerous. So if you ask what the world is going to look like, it’s not a pretty picture. Unless people do something about it. We always can.

ConcoudedSource: commondreams.

org

PAGE 32 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

South Africans prayed for Nelson Mandela’s recovery as the 94-year-old former

president spent a second day in hospital with a recurring lung infection.

M a n d e l a w a s t a k e n t o hospital early on Saturday after his already frail health worsened.

It is his fourth hospital stay since December and the government said on Saturday his condition was “serious”. During previous hospital visits it had highlighted his “good spirits”.

His health is a cause for concern to the millions of South Africans who revere Mandela for

At least 18 people have been killed in gunbattles in the disputed southern

Somalian port city of Kismayu, residents have said.

Hundreds were fleeing the clashes on Saturday, the first since several former warlords staked rival claims on the lucrative port and fertile hinterlands in May.

G u n m e n f r o m t h e RasKamboni armed group of Ahmed Madobe, recently self-appointed “president” of the

Sunday, state media report.State radio gave no further

details in a text alert that it sent to subscribers.

South Africa prays for Mandela

Sudan ‘orders halt to oil transfers’ from South Sudan

Hundreds flee deadly gun battles in Somalia

Protest at ex-Libya rebel base turns deadly

At least 28 people have died and dozens others wounded after protesters attacked

the headquarters in Benghazi of former rebels who fought to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, a hospital official has said.

Fighting erupted after dozens of demonstrators, some of them armed, tried to dislodge the powerful Shield of Libya brigade from its barracks in Benghazi, said an AFP correspondent at the scene.

They encircled the the headquarters and called on regular security forces to step in.

The Libya Shield brigade is made up of former rebel fighters who have said they are aligned with the Defence Ministry.

Adel Tarhuni, spokesman for the Shield of Libya, said one member of the brigade had died and another seven were wounded.

He reported that there was a peaceful demonstration in front of the brigade’s headquarters, before armed men infiltrated it.

The gunmen then opened fire on the Shield of Libya building and threw hand-made explosives, Tarhuni told television station Libya Al-Ahrar.

A Benghazi resident who declined to be named said that a group of protesters started protesting against the presence of militias.

“They were calling for the disbanding of groups to rebuild the army,” the resident said.

“As I was leaving, I saw protesters throwing stones and the other side fired back.”

Ahmed Belashahr, a local activist, said: “People protested because they believe militias go against Libya’s stability, which can only be achieved through a proper army and police.”

However, Tarhuni defended the legitimacy of the brigade, which he said officially came under the umbrella of the defence ministry.

Libya’s new rulers are still struggling to impose their authority on a myriad of armed groups who often take the law into their own hands.

Last September, shortly after an attack on the US mission in Benghazi in which the American ambassador and three others were killed, the city saw a huge outpouring of public anger at the militias.

The government has taken a two-track approach, shutting down militias that operated without official government permission, but also offering public backing to many of the most powerful armed groups, which have official licences to operate.

southern Jubaland region, battled against forces loyal to Iftin Hassan Basto, another leader claiming to be president.

“Fighting started when soldiers from RasKamboni attacked and tried to arrest me,” Basto said.

“But my men fought back and defended me.”

Several rival factions claim ownership of Kismayo, a former stronghold of the Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab, where Kenyan

Ahmed Madobe (L) leader of the RasKamboni Militia

International

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has ordered the stoppage of oil transfers through its

territory from South Sudan from

troops in an African Union force are now based.

Kismayu residents counted at least 13 bodies, nearly all armed men, in the sandy streets of two neighbourhoods which witnessed the brunt of Saturday’s fighting. Five people were killed a day earlier when the clashes first broke out.

“The RasKamboni militia now controls this part of the city,” said Bile Nur, a resident of Kismayu’sCalanleey district.

“Residents are burying the dead of the militia driven out while RasKamboniare burying theirs.”

Residents hid indoors earlier as fighters riding in machine gun-mounted pick-up trucks battled for territorial control.

Businesses remained shut and the streets of Somalia’s second biggest city were empty of civilians as mortar blasts rang out.

Kismayu was controlled by al-Shabab until last September when the armed groups fled an offensive by Kenyan troops supported by RasKamboni, an armed group loyal to a former governor of Kismayu, Ahmed Madobe.

A local assembly last month declared Madobe president of the southern Jubaland region, handing him back control of Kismayu.

B u t S o m a l i a ’ s c e n t r a l government, which does not v iew Madobe favourably , said his appointment was unconstitutional.

Within days three other men had pronounced themselves president, including Barre Hirale, a pro-Mogadishu former defence minister.

Fighting broke out when Madobe’s fighters stopped another of the claimants from visiting a hotel were Somalia’s defence minister and other officials were meeting.

President al-Bashir

Mandela

his decades of struggle against white-minority rule and steering the continent’s biggest economy to all-race elections.

Hundreds gathered to pray for him at a Sunday Mass at the Regina Mundi Catholic church in the sprawling Johannesburg township of Soweto.

“We wish him speedy recovery, he must get well,” Soweto resident MlugisiSekhosana said. “We know what he did for us in South Africa. All the nation, black and white, we wish him well.”

The government had yet to

give an update on his condition early on Sunday.

The Sunday Times newspaper took a sombre tone, with the headline “It’s time to let him go”, quoting a longtime friend of Mandela’s, Andrew Mlangeni.

“The family must release him so that God may have his own way. They must release him spiritually and put their faith in the hands of God,” the newspaper quoted Mlangeni as saying. “Once the family releases him, the people of South Africa will follow.”

Oil only started flowing again in April after the two sides struck a deal.

President Bashir said in May that Sudan would stop the flow of oil if South Sudan continued to support rebels operating on Sudanese soil.

The Sudanese army is fighting a rebel insurgency in at least three regions.

D e s p i t e t h e S o u t h ’ s independence in 2011, tensions over oil and land disputes have continued.

An umbrella rebel group called the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) has launched attacks on several towns, briefly occupying the major city of Um Rawaba in central Sudan in April.

South Sudan took with it nearly three-quarters of Sudan’s oil production when it declared

independence. The two sides fell out over how much the South should pay to export its oil through Sudanese pipelines.

At the height of the dispute last year, the South shut down its entire oil output.

Both countries suffered terribly during the stoppage, says the BBC’s Africa analyst, Mary Harper.

Ninety-eight percent of South Sudan’s revenues come from oil. Sudan’s economy also shrank.

Oil started flowing again in April after both sides struck a deal in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, in March, helping to ease tensions.

They also agreed to withdraw troops from their border area.

However, the latest violence has put further strain on relations.

PAGE 33PEOPLES DAILY , MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Syria’s opposition has reiterated its decision to boycott planned peace talks in Geneva, as rebel

fighters reeled from losing a strategic city to forces of President Bashar al-Assad.

George Sabra, the interim head of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), however, called for urgent military assistance to help rebel forces battle the Syrian army.

His statement came days after regime forces seized the key border city of Qusayr and other adjoining areas.

“What is happening in Syria today completely closes the doors on

North and South Korean officials have sat down for their first talks in years, confronting

decades of mutual distrust in a search for some positive end to months of soaring military tensions.

T h e w o r k i n g - l e v e l discussions, which began on Sunday at around 10:00am (0100 GMT) in the border truce village of Panmunjom, were

Syria opposition sticks to talks boycott

Nuri al-Maliki visits Kurdistan to ease tensions

Al-Qaeda chief annuls Syrian-Iraqi merger

North and South Korea hold official talksintended to pave the way for ministerial-level talks in Seoul on Wednesday.

The agenda focused on restoring suspended commercial links, including the Kaesong joint industrial complex that the North effectively shut down in April as tensions between the historic rivals peaked.

The talks came about after an

The interim head of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC),George Sabra

Ayman al-Zawahiri

Iraq Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (centre R) shakes hands with Iraqi Kurdish President MasoudBar-zani (centre L) in Arbid, 350 km north of Baghdad.

Internationalunexpected reversal on Thursday from North Korea, which suddenly dropped its default tone of high-decibel belligerence and proposed opening a dialogue.

South Korea responded swiftly with its offer of a ministerial meeting in Seoul, the North countered with a request for lower-level talks first and - after some relatively benign to-and-fro about the best venue - Sunday’s meet

in Panmunjom was agreed.In a further signal of intent, North

Korea on Friday restored its official hotline with the South, which it had severed in March.

The two Koreas last held working talks in February 2011, and they have not met at the ministerial level since 2007.

The move towards dialogue has been broadly welcomed -

Asia & Middle East

was never fully implemented, and Baghdad’s central government and the country’s autonomous Kurdistan region have since been at odds over oil and disputed territories along their internal boundary.

“This wi l l be an ini t ia l step on the track to finding solutions for all outstanding problems,” Mal iki sa id in a speech before a cabinet meeting in Arbil. Iraqi and Kurdish officials were due to hold further talks after that meeting.

Unless the current talks s u c c e e d , I r a q i K u r d i s h Pres ident MasoudBarzani said last week the self-ruled enclave would be forced to seek a “new form of relations” with Baghdad.

Kurdistan has been an autonomous part of Iraq since 1991, running its own administration and armed forces, but the region relies on the national government for a share of the budget financed by the OPEC nation’s oil revenues.

saying that al-Nusra was “merely an extension and part of the Islamic State of Iraq”.

However, the unilateral move led to defections, infighting and a breakdown in operations as members disagreed over who commanded the battlefield.

In the letter, Zawahiri said Baghdadi was “wrong” to declare the merger without consulting or even alerting al-Qaeda’s leadership. He added that Syria was the “spatial state” for al-Nusra, headed by Abou Mohammad al-Joulani, while Baghdadi’s rule would be limited to Iraq.

any discussions about international conferences and political initiatives,” Sabra told a press conference in Istanbul on Saturday.

He was referring to an initiative headed by Washington and Moscow to bring the regime and opposition to peace talks in Geneva.

“The war declared by the regime and its allies in the region has reached a level we cannot ignore,” Sabra said.

Sabra had already said on May 30 that the opposition would not attend a peace conference while Iran and the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah were supporting Assad’s troops on the ground.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki visited the Kurdistan region on Sunday for the first

time in more than two years, in an attempt to resolve a long-running dispute over oil and land that has strained Iraq’s unity to the limit.

With the country’s Shi’ite leadership facing fallout from the Syrian conflict, which has invigorated Sunni insurgents in Iraq and prompted warnings of civil war, better relations with the Kurds could ease some pressure on Maliki.

The Shi’ite premier was met on the Arbil airport tarmac by Kurdistan Regional Government President MasoudBarzani and a delegation of high-ranking Kurdish officials, but little concrete progress was expected immediately.

Maliki’s last official trip to Kurdistan was in 2010, when the “Arbil Agreement” was struck, allowing him to form a power-sharing government among majority Shi’ite Muslims, Sunnis and ethnic Kurds after months of wrangling.

That deal, like others after,

Al-Qaeda’s top leader has ruled against the merger of two jihadi groups based in

Syria and Iraq, in an attempt to put an end to increased tensions and infighting among members.

Ayman al-Zawahiri’s ruling came in a letter addressed to the leaders of Syrian-based Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI), which is the largest jihadi umbrella group in the country.

The ruling comes two months after the leader of ISI, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared a merger with al-Nusra to form the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),

given the threats of nuclear war that were being flung around in April and May - but there is sizable scepticism in the South and elsewhere about Pyongyang’s intentions.

“The North Korean offer has all of the hallmarks of Pyongyang’s diplomacy,” said Stephan Haggard, a North Korea expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Swiss vote on refugee rights amid influxSw i t z e r l a n d i s v o t i n g

i n a r e f e r e n d u m o n whether to throw out a

government move to tighten t h e c o u n t r y ’ s a s y l u m l a w amid an influx of refugees.

T h e g o v e r n m e n t m a d e c o n t r o v e r s i a l c h a n g e s t o the asylum law last year as applications soared to their highest level in over a decade, including removing military desertion from a list of valid grounds for seeking asylum in Switzerland.

C r i t i c s o f t h e c h a n g e s g a t h e r e d t h e 6 0 , 0 0 0 signatures needed to put the issue to a popular vote, but opinion polls suggest that their bid is likely to fail. The most recent poll in late May showed 57 percent of Swiss in favour of the tougher asylum rules.

M i l i t a r y d e s e r t i o n h a d been the grounds for asylum m o s t f r e q u e n t l y c i t e d b y Er i t reans , who accounted f o r m o s t a p p l i c a t i o n s t o Switzerland last year. Eritrea imposes unlimited military service, with low wages, on a l l a b l e - b o d i e d m e n a n d women.

The revision, which took effect last September, also removed the poss ib i l i ty - which had been unique in Europe - to apply for asylum from Swiss embassies instead of travelling to Switzerland to do so. Opponents have d e s c r i b e d t h e c h a n g e a s “inhumane”.

J u s t i c e M i n i s t e r S i m o n e t t a S o m m a r u g a insisted the changes were needed and stressed that they have significantly speeded up the application process.

“ L e a v i n g p e o p l e a n d the ir fami l ies for so long w a l l o w i n g i n u n c e r t a i n t y is unacceptable,” she said recently.

S w i t z e r l a n d c u r r e n t l y counts 48,000 people in the process of seeking asylum, including 28,631 who arrived in 2012.

T h e s u r g e , a t t r i b u t e d in part to the Arab Spring uprisings, marks the highest number s ince the Balkans war in 1999, when near ly 48,000 people sought refuge in the country.

US President Barack Obama (R) and Chinese President Xi Jinping

Weapons recovered from the scene of the shooting [AP]

US, China agree to curb nuclear North KoreaThe US and China have agreed

that they cannot accept a nuclear-armed North Korea

and pledged to work closely to end Pyongyang’s weapons programme, a senior US national security official has said.

Tom Donilon said the US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached “quite a bit of alignment’’ on the subject of curbing North Korea’s ambitions during a meeting on Saturday.

“They agreed that North Korea has to denuclearise, that neither country will accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state and that we would work together to deepen co-operation and dialogue to achieve denuclearisation,” he said on Saturday, at the end of two days of meeting between Obama and Xi at an estate in the California desert.

China is Pyongyang’s ally but has become increasingly concerned at North Korean threats of war against South Korea.

Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi told a separate news conference that Xi had told Obama that China and the United States were “the same in their positions and objectives” on the North Korean nuclear issue.

Obama and Xi had wide-

Francois Hollande

PAGE 34 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

InternationalEurope and Americas

described for China’s leader the types of problems the US has faced from cyber intrusions and theft of intellectual property.

According to Donilon, the president underscored for Xi that the US has no doubt that the intrusions are coming from inside China, and said that Obama told the Chinese leader if the issue were

not addressed, it would become a “very difficult problem in the economic relationship”.

Donilon said Obama requested that the Chinese government “engage” on the issue and also understand that that type of activity is inconsistent with the kind of relationship the US desires to build with China.

The two governments signed agreements to cooperate on commercial defense, and agreed on access for Mexican tequila and Mexican pork to the Chinese market.

State oil monopoly Pemex said Export-Import Bank of China would provide it with a $1 billion credit line to buy ships and offshore equipment. It also signed a memorandum of understanding with state-owned Xinxing Cathay International Group to explore ways to work together on pipelines.

More than 15 percent of Mexico’s imports came from China in 2012 - an amount worth $57 billion - while just 1.5 percent, or $5.7 billion, of Mexican exports went to the Asian giant.

Xi said China planned to sign commercial contracts to buy an

Euro crisis is over, says France’s Francois Hollande

US gunman was ex-California college student

French President Francois Hollande has declared an end to the eurozone debt crisis,

which has gripped the region for the past four years.

“What you need to understand

China and Mexico promised broad cooperation on issues ranging from energy to mining

and infrastructure during a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, but any free-trade pact between the emerging market powers is still some way off.

Mexico’s government has voiced worry about its massive trade deficit withChina, an imbalance Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto wants to set right.

Mexico wants “to find a greater equilibrium in our trade balance,” Pena Nieto said during a joint address to the media with Xi. They did not take questions.

He said the two countries had also agreed to defuse a standoff overtextiles that had resulted in litigation.

ranging talks, including a 50-minute discussion outdoors, to conclude a get-to-know-you visit that included an extensive discussion of how to rein in North Korea, whose rhetoric in recent months has rattled the Asia-Pacific as well as the US.

Donilon gave no specifics but said the US president also

here in Japan is that the crisis in Europe is over,” he told Japanese business leaders on a trip to the Far East.

Much of Europe is suffering from high unemployment and recession.

As recently as April, there were fears about the future of the euro due to confusion over bailing out Cyprus.

The tiny eurozone state secured a loan package worth 10bn euros (£8.4bn; $13bn) from its EU partners and the International Monetary Fund.

An early proposal to raise money through a levy on all Cypriot bank deposits caused panic in financial markets and was quickly withdrawn. Instead, the island agreed to raise 13bn euros through a tax on large deposits and through banking reform.

This came after bailouts of Greece - twice - as well as Ireland, Portugal, and a bailout of Spain’s banks.

Unemployment in the eurozone is at another record high - with 19.38 million out work - and the bloc is in its longest recession since it was created in 1999, now in six consecutive

quarters of shrinkage.In a speech on the last day of his

visit to Japan, the French president said that the debt crisis has served to bolster Europe.

“I believe that the crisis, far from weakening the eurozone, will strengthen it,” he said. “Now, we have all the instruments of stability and solidarity. There was an improvement in the economic governance of the eurozone, we set up a banking union, we have rules on budgetary matters that allow us to be better coordinated and have a form of convergence.”

He has pledged to boost jobs and growth at home, but domestic demand has been sapped by the eurozone crisis.

The French jobless rate this month climbed to the highest level in 15 years.

additional $1 billion worth of Mexican goods, but did not specify what.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mexican Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade said it was too soon for a

free-trade agreement between the two countries - something China is eager to pursue.

“I think at this stage it is too early to talk about a free-trade agreement,” Meade told local radio.

Look but don’t bite – China’s Mouth-watering stone food banquetsPe t r i f i e d p a s t a , j u i c y

braised pork, rocky dried fruits and many other

delicious-looking dishes are all part of China’s rare stone food banquets. The spread is nice to look at, but trying to sneak a bite will cost you a few teeth.

People in the mountainous regions of China know how to appreciate beautiful rocks, and some spend their whole lives gathering different kinds of rocks, scouring specialized s tone shops and trekking through rugged mountain p a s s e s a n d d e s s e r t s i n search of unique additions to their collections. Strangely shaped or colored rocks are considered a feast for the eyes, and stones that resemble food are considered even more wonderful. It takes a lot of time and luck to find naturally shaped pieces of carnelian or jade that look good enough to eat, but dedicated stone collectors have proven it ’s poss ib le , on a number o f occasions. Organizing stone f o o d b a n q u e t s i s a l o n g -standing Chinese tradition, and even in modern times it manages to draw media a t t e nt io n and ke e p s t one collecting popular. Photo: China Travel Guide

Strange World

Buy a pair of shoes for a chance to find your sole mate

Latest fake in China – concrete-filled walnutsChina has long had a reputation

for making counterfeit goods, but the practice in recent years

the practice has been getting really extreme. After news reports of fake eggs and fake beek made of pork, it seems concrete-filled walnuts are the latest invention of ingenious Chinese food counterfeiters.

There’s a set of photos making the rounds on the Internet these days, but even though they recently went viral, they were actually released a year ago. They show a bunch of normal-looking walnuts that when cracked open reveal a very hard filling - concrete

Cinderella and Prince Charming re-uniting over a glass slipper has always been a popular fairy tale,

the stuff that fantasies are made of. But now it might actually happen for real. Playing God-Mother here are Kuala Lumpur’s shoe retailer, Shoes, Shoes, Shoes and a dating company called Lunch Actually. “Buy a pair of shoes and get a free man!” is their slogan.

The scheme goes something like this – bachelors who sign up choose about 20 shoes they like from the Shoes, Shoes, Shoes collection. When a woman picks up a shoe labeled “Date Included” at the store, they get to go on a free date with the man who chose it

pebbles. According to Ministry of Tofu, these fake walnuts were bought by a certain Mr. Li, last February, from a street vendor in Zhengzou, Henan province. When he got home and started cracking them, he noticed that instead of a meaty seed, many were actually filled with concrete pebbles wrapped in tissue. But Li’s case is not an isolated one. Apparently, many Chinese walnut vendors try to maximize their profits by carefully cracking open the hard shell, taking out the nutmeat, replacing it with concrete and tissue so it doesn’t make a strange noise, and gluing it shut.

Liuzhou City, also known as China’s capital of peculiar s t o n e s , i s h o m e t o o v e r 100,000 stone aficionados, who enjoy spending their free time collecting, sorting and judging uniquely shaped s t o n e s . T h e c i t y ’ s s t o n e museum holds exhibitions of rocks that look like Chinese or Western dishes, and the events are always very popular. But private collectors have also s t a g e d i m p r e s s i v e s t o n e feasts, throughout the years. In 2009, Zhou Jiaqun used the most realistic items in his amazing collection of around 20-tons worth of rocks to put together a spread worthy of the opulent Han Banquets of old, featuring delicacies like braised pork in brown sauce, fried crabs, steamed fish, barbecued chicken legs and even hamburgers. Last year, Tang Xianfeng, another passionate stone col lector from Nanjing, presented 173 realistic dishes made almost entirely from stones.

Impressive stone banquets are still very popular in China, drawing thousands of curious visitors, all of which probably grab a bite before stopping by, as not to be tempted by all the delicious looking foods.

This way they can sell the nuts and the seeds separately.

RocketNews24 reports that the sale of fake walnuts is becoming so prevalent in China that conned buyers have even posted videos like “How to spot a fake walnut and the return of making fake walnuts.” It seems a fake walnut is usually dry and doesn’t make a sound when cracked. Unless you’re buying fresh walnuts, they’re usually all kind of dry, and unless you’re lucky enough to actually pick a fake one when testing them, you’re probably going to pay for a lot less walnuts then you think.

too. So basically, you know you have one thing in common with your date – your taste in shoes. Of course, it’s understandable if the woman wants just the shoes and nothing to do with the date, so she can refuse. But there’s another incentive waiting for her on the date. The man will carry a Shoes, Shoes, Shoes discount cash voucher that he paid for himself, for the shoes that

the woman bought. This could be anywhere between 10% to 100% of the total price. Some women might not want to miss out on that, in exchange for one date! Also, there’s no limit on the number of shoes a woman can purchase under this scheme.

Some say the shoe-dating campaign is sexist, but Violet Lim, founder of Lunch Actually, says she finds the offer pretty intriguing. “This campaign is a new and exciting way of connecting potential partners together,” she says. It sure does sound like an innovative method to find both a sole and soul mate!

via Forbes

PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013PAGE 36

By Helen Lawson

By Nick Mcdermott

Exposure to bright light helps us to regulate sleep, boosts our mood and even

raises our productivity levels, new research reveals.

Sitting next to the office window on a sunny day can help double an individual’s alertness compared to those stuck in the middle of a room under artificial lights, according to scientists.

And for those who have trouble sleeping, a 30-minute walk in the bright morning sunlight could be the answer, as it help regulates the body clock and ensure a better night’s slumber.

This effect is particularly marked in older people suffering early signs of dementia, with research showing that exposure to plentiful light during the start of the day improved sleep patterns and boosted their mental abilities by 10 per cent.

O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y neuroscientist Russell Foster said studies have linked light to the release of serotonin – known as the happy hormone – which may explain why the majority of people enjoy being out in the sunshine.

Speaking at the at Cheltenham Science Fest ival yesterday, he said many of us are ‘light deprived’ with levels of brightness in our homes and workplaces inadequate to regulate our body clock or keep us at maximum alertness.

Less than five per cent of

Digest

daylight filters into the average building, and energy-efficient light bulbs are an ‘unmitigated disaster’ due to their lack of intensity. But on a bright day, those next to a window will benefit from the sunlight, while their unfortunate colleagues will be left feeling less energised.

A sunny day is equivalent to 100,000 lux – the measure of brightness - while indoor lighting only provides around 300 lux. Professor Foster said the

Drink three litres of water a day or risk kidney stones, expert warns

Thousands of new cases of kidney stones every year are caused by ignorance or

denial of the need to drink three litres of water a day, according to a leading doctor.

Bhaskar Somani, a consultant urological surgeon at Southampton General Hospital, said a lack of awareness about the dangers of dehydration was responsible for an annual increase in renal stone admissions, including among young people in their twenties.

‘ T h e n u m b e r o f p e o p l e admitted to hospital suffering severe pain and discomfort due to kidney stones is increasing by between 5 per cent and 10 per cent every year,’ he said.

‘Over the past decade, the number of hospital admissions for renal stones in the UK rose by 63 per cent to more than 80,000 and there is no sign of these numbers letting up.’

Kidney stones develop when crystals of salt gather into lumps and are not flushed out of the body due to a lack of adequate hydration, often lodging in the urinary system’s tubes.

T h e y c a n c a u s e s e v e r e

Sitting next to the office window could double your alertness

Sitting next to the office window on a sunny day can help double an individual’s alertness compared to those stuck in the middle of a room under artificial lights

The British population’s ignorance of the need to drink three litres of water a day is leading to more cases of kidney stones, says a leading doctor

Taking a 30-minute walk in the morning sunshine can help people who struggle to sleep because it helps regulate the body clock

The condition affects around 10 to 20 per cent of men and 3 to 5 per cent of women between the ages of 30 and 60

average person needs exposure to 1,000 lux to enjoy the maximum benefits.

He said: ‘Light is not just important to the visual system, it helps regulate the brightness detectors which affect our body clock and many aspects of our health.

‘When you are exposed to 1,000 lux, you are getting enough light for full alertness. But in many ways we are light deprived, with the average office lighting

only producing 300 lux, which is less than we need.’

Professor Foster said the elderly are particular vulnerable to a lack of light exposure, as they are less likely to go outside and their sensitivity to light declines with age. Lighting in care homes often exacerbates matters, with one study finding it is hundreds of times dimmer than sunlight.

He said: ‘If you do not get any other light during the day, make

sure you get out and experience morning light, which help set the body clock. Outside light is bright enough to do the job, even on a dim day.

‘But the brightness of the day affects how much light enters your home or office. This can have a real impact on the quality of your sleep and this has a knock-on effect on your brain function. The better light, the better sleep, the sharper you are.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

abdominal and groin pain which, in many cases, can only be corrected through surgery.

The condition affects about 10 to 20 per cent of men and 3 to 5 per cent of women between the ages of 30 and 60.

At Southampton General Hospital, the number of patients admitted to hospital every month has almost doubled - a trend Mr Somani said would continue without intervention.

‘The only way to drive this down is to drive home the message that healthy lifestyle, diet and fluid intake is the best way to prevent the development and recurrence of stones,’ he said.

‘With evidence that 50 per cent of patients treated are likely to have a recurrence within ten years, largely due to complacency around hydration within a few years of having surgery, we know we face an uphill battle to change the national mindset, but we must make a start.’

Mr Somani said all adults should aim to drink between two to three litres of water a day, while former stone patients should maintain a daily intake upwards of three litres to avoid recurrence.

He has also called for the

introduction of a screening programme for all high risk patients - those with diabetes, gout or inflammatory bowel disease - and regular monitoring of people who suffered their first incidence of stones under the age of 25.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PAGE 37PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Reps jittery over imminent shake-up in C’ttee leadershipBy Lawrence Olaoye

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

L-R: Representatives of ANPP, Mr. Emma Enuku, ACN, Comrade Adolphus Ude, APGA, Chief Peter Okonkwo, and CPC, Mr. OsitaOkechukwu, during All Progressive Congress (APC) Enugu chapter inaugural meeting, yesterday in Enugu. Photo: NAN

Since the epoch making speech delivered by the Speaker of the House of

Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal during the mid-term of his stewardship last week, palpable fear has gripped some members who are afraid that they may be affected in the impending committee reshuffle.

Some committee chairmen, who, by the House leadership estimation, have performed below expectation have been penciled for replacement anytime from now.

The Speaker dropped the hint recently when he noted that it was obvious that some committee

chairmen performed creditably well while some performed below expectations and those fall within this would be sanctioned.

According to him, “Given the improvements in some House processes aimed at reducing legislative red tape, it must be admitted that the timeous reportage by House Committees on bills and other matters referred to them for action has been far from satisfactory”.

According to him, this has impacted negatively on the accomplishment of targets set by the House leadership. H declared “Henceforth, Committees will be sited for such breaches and sanctioned appropriately.”

The speaker stated that at the commencement of its legislative journey, the 7th House of Representatives fashioned for itself a Legislative Agenda to guide its processes, programmes and operations. This agenda, according to Tambuwal, is consistent with the constitutional mandate of the legislature to wit: Legislation, Representation and Oversight.

“The legislative function of making laws for the peace order and good government of Nigeria appears reasonably well appreciated now by the general public, so is the function of oversight of the implementation of the laws so made pursuant to

the law making function. There however appears to be great difficulty in understanding the legislative function of Representation and it is this that I am persuaded to briefly highlight”, he added.

The statement threw some members who are afraid that they may be affected off-balance as many of them have started running from pillar to post to ensure that they are spared in the imminent shake-up.

Even as the House adjourned for two weeks, there are feelers that some lawmakers have begun intensive lobby of the leadership either to retain their committees or be appointed chairmen of ‘juicy’ ones.

A former Sokoto State Chairman of the PDP, who was also a former

member of both the state and the national assembly Alhaji Arzika Tureta, said what the PDP is doing with regards to the NGF crisis is a costly mistake that would not augur well for the future of the party. According to him, he has been in the PDP since 1998, and when Wamakko joined the party it did not have even a councillor in Sokoto State, but since then it had continued to grow, to this level that it controls almost 100% of elective posts in the state.

“Up to now the people of Sokoto do not know what Governor Wamakko did to deserve suspension, so we are just waiting for the PDP before we decide on what to do next. But the fact is Sokoto people are fully with their governor.

“We take this as a mistake because someone who sets trap ought not to scare away the prey and 2015 is just around the corner. Whichever party sends people away would have no option than to go back for them later, when it might be too late for it,” Tureta said.

Corroborating this position, another PDP leader, Dr Jabbi Kilgori said there is the need for caution against hasty reactions.

“Suspension of Wamakko was hasty and unjustifiable especially looking at the reason given that he did not pick a phone call. If there was no ulterior motive to it, when the party wanted to have a discussion with him, it should have either send emissary or use one of the numerous occasions that he attends party functions and meetings to do so.

“But with all this, the crisis would be resolved amicably because the PDP cannot afford to just send its very important members out or continue to take them for granted for no just reason; as doing so will be at its own peril,” he said.

When contacted on the issue, the national vice chairman of the PDP North West, Ambassador Ibrahim Musa Kazaure, declined to comment, saying, “I will not conduct an interview on phone, if you want me to respond meet me in Kaduna on Monday (today).”

Wamakko: Suspension hasty, unjust - PDP Leaders

2015: INEC to sanction early campaigners

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has threatened to

sanction those who breach the 90-day stipulation for campaign, as contained in the Section 99(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended).

In a statement issued yesterday by Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Kayode Robert Idowu, the Commission observed with regrets that some politicians,

registered and unregistered political parties, have begun unbridled campaign towards the forthcoming General Election against the provision of the constitution.

INEC which said such actions are heating up the polity, noted that campaign posters are being indiscriminately displayed, while electioneering broadcasts are being aired outside the statutory provision for campaigning towards elections into various elective offices.

“This trend is unhealthy and

portends ill for the political process. Indeed, it is a threat to Nigeria’s democracy”, the statement read.

It therefore reminded politicians of the provision of Section 99(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended), which states, “For the purpose of this Act, the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 90 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day.”

On this note, the Commission advised political parties to

note that campaigning outside this provision is a violation of the law, adding that it will not hesitate to apply appropriate sanctions against culprits as provided by relevant sections of the law.

Meanwhile, it has called on security agents to apprehend violators, whose activities in this regard pose a threat to public order, enjoining all political parties to play strictly by the rules, as part of a collective effort to ensure the success of the 2015 elections.

PAGE 38 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Politics

From Edwin Olofu,Kano

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

Akande, Onu, Momoh, others make APC interim management list

Kogi LG boss inaugurates blueprint C’ttee

L-R: Katsina state Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Gide Batagarawa, presenting a letter of condolence to Kebbi state Governor, Alhaji Saidu Dakingari, over the death of the State’s Information Commissioner, Alhaji Sani Kangiwa, on Friday in Birnin Kebbi. Photo: NAN

Top echelon of the merging political parties of the Action Congress

of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Congress For Progressive Change (CPC) are to head the 9 man interim management team of the All Progressive congress.

Former Kano state Governor Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, dropped the hint on Sunday while briefing newsmen in his Mundubawa road resident over speculations making round about the formation of the leadership of the APC.

The former presidential candidate of the ANPP and

The Chairman of Yagba West Local Government, Kogi

State, Engr Ayo Makanjuola, has inaugurated a seven-man Transition Advisory Committee (TAC) to develop a blueprint which will assist the operation and function of his government for the next three years.

The TAC which consists of eminent personalities from the Council, with record of achievements, is to study the handing over notes tendered by Makanjuola’s predecessor and the council bureaucracy and advise him appropriately.

The TAC has Chief J. A Owojaiye, a retired Permanent Member, Kwara State School’s Board and member, Yagba West Caretaker Committee in 2007 as a chairman and Dr Banji Yeye Agba, the pioneer Administrator of Yagba West Council upon creation in 1991, Elder Philip Agbonwo, Mr Ayo Kowontan, Mrs Omolara Adekunle, Chief SS Sinkaiye and Chief Sunday Solomon

Adeyemi as members.The Council boss disclosed

during the inauguration of the members of the committee at the Yagba West Council Secretariat, Odo-Ere, that the committee was necessitated by the need to commence work in earnest for the transformation of the council and also to study the handing over notes he received on assumption of office.

“Almost a month ago, I was sworn-in as the executive chairman of our council. It was a responsibility that I campaigned for and which I was overwhelmingly supported and voted in by our people. On assumption office, I requested for a comprehensive handover note with a view to commencing work in earnest for the transformation of our council”.

He further stated “The handover notes that I got upto date were not quite comprehensive enough for us to make much progress. In some cases, the notes were of

doubtful information. Even where they were adequate, indications are that they require forensic auditing and analysis for a meaningful understanding”.

According to him, the committee has as part of its terms of reference to understudy the council administration between January 2012 and April 2013 and recommend on the way forward and also to consider any other matters of societal relevance to assist in the delivery of democratic dividends to the citizens.

He said this move should not be misconstrued to mean that he was embarking on a probe of the past administration.

In his acceptance speech, the TAC chairman, Owojaiye, assured that the assignment will be done expeditiously and effectively, describing the move as first of its kind in the history of the council,even as he pointed out that it will serve as the beginning of

a revolution in the art of governance in the area. The TAC was given three weeks to submit their report.

a key player in the merging process of the APC, further revealed that parties have reached a consensus that principal officers of the three parties which include national chairmen, national secretaries and national treasurers of the three parties should form a 9 man interim management committee.

He further explained that the 9 man committee is only saddled with the responsibility of seeing to the registration of the APC which is expected to only last for not more than 30 days.

He said that the 9 man committee would meet between Tuesday and Wednesday this week to elect the chairman and the secretary of the interim

committee.Shekarau who was the

chairman of the ANPP merger committee and the Secretary of the merging parties committee further stated that immediately the registration of the APC is secured within 30 days the 9 man committee and all other committees’ ceases to exist.

Shekarau equally explained the decision not to include the All progressive grand alliance party (APGA) in the merger process, stating that the APC is only dealing with a group of persons in APGA not the party as a whole, adding that by the time APC is registered all the merging parties certificates of registration would be withdrawn.

The Peoples Democratic Party Bauchi State Chapter has decalred

its support to Governor Isa Yuguda over his support to he factional Chairman of the Nigeria Governors ‘ Forum (NGF).

The Assistant State publicity secretary of the Party Alhaji Bashir Bukar Rimin Zayam stated this while briefing newsmen in Bauchi over the weekend. He said Yuguda took a common position in order to protect the integrity and dignity of

NGF: Bauchi PDP backs Yuguda

You’re insensitive to people’s plight, PDP stalwart tells Suswam

northern Nigeria, because people in the north are known to be honest, trustworthy and fulfil all the promises they make without betrayal no matter what ,in order to defend their integrity and preserve their dignity and culture

Bashir added that the action of the governor portrays him a democrat and a honest person who is always a straight-forward inhis dealings with the people. He advised Yuguda’s critics to always consider the background of sound morals and discipline which northern

Nigerians are known for before criticizing his position over the state of the country.

He counseled the Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, to put more effort into his reconciliatory plans for other aggrieved governors in order to restore the confidence and gain more support of his colleagues.

Commenting on the newly formed All Peoples Congress (APC), the PDP chirftain said the alliance of all opposition party will only succeed in making PDP more stronger and assured that ruling party is working round the clock to overcome all its challenges.

A PDP elder statesman Chief Abu King Shuluwa, has criticized Governor

Gabriel Suswam of Benue State for being insensitive to the plight of the people especially over the incessant attacks on the Tiv farmers by Fulani herdsmen.

Shuluwa said this in Ugba,

Logo local government area during the constituency briefing and project commissioning of the member representing Katsina-Ala/Ukum/ Logo Federal constituency Barr. Emmanuel Udende which was performed by Governor Suswam.

He regretted that the governor had abandoned the

people busy playing politics outside the state while the people are being slaughtered like chicken by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

Shuluwa who was the chairman of the occasion urged the governor to pay more attention to the issue by crying out to the Presidency to intervene in the matter.

TETFUND YEAR 2010 – 2012 (MERGED) LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTION PROJECTS

INVITATION FOR PREQUALIFICATION AND NOTICE OF TENDER

A. INTRODUCTION:The Federal College of Education (Tech), Gombe is a beneficiary of the year 2010-2012 TETFUND (Merged) Library Development Intervention projects. In view of the above, the College hereby invites reputable and competent companies/firms for prequalification and tender submission in respect of the following projects.

S/NO PROJECT TITLE NON REFUNDABLE FEES(N)1 Proposed Procurement of Library Books and Electronic Journals 50,000.002 Proposed Procurement of Library Equipment 20,000.003 Proposed Procurement and Installation of CCTV Camera 20,000.00

B. PRE-QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:All interested bidders MUST enclose colored photocopy or, scanned colored copy of items (i-iii), and original copy of item (vi,vii, and ix) as stated below:i. Evidence of registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (Only a Limited Liability Company will be accepted).ii. VAT certificate.iii. Recent Tax Clearance Certificate for the last three (3) years with clearly written Tax Identification Number.iv. Audited Account and annual turnover of the Company in the recent three (3) years (with name, office address, Phone numbers and valid e-mail address of the Auditors).v. Company Profile. This should contain among others.• Evidence of Technical competence (Staff & Equipment)• Evidence of completion of similar project (valid e-mail address and phone numbers of the institution where the claimed project is executed should be included).vi. Letter from company’s Bank stating financial capability of the company to execute the projects.vii. A written letter of authority from a company to the college to verify its Tax Clearance status with Federal Inland Revenue.viii. Names, Address and Phone Numbers of the Company Directors and Share holders accompanied by a photocopy of form C7 and a sworn court affidavit (stating that none of the Directors/Share holders is a current staff, and; or official of the College).ix. A written evidence of non-bankruptcy from the company legal adviser.x. Evidence of registration with ITF and Certificate of compliance.xi. Evidence of pension contribution of staff and certificate of compliance.

C. COLLECTION OF TENDER DOCUMENTS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONThe tender documents and additional information can be obtained from the office of the Director Procurement Unit upon showing evidence of payment of non- refundable Tender fees indicated above. The fees are to be paid into the College account, details of which can be obtained from the College Bursar.

D. SUBMISSION OF PRE-QUALIFICATION AND TENDER DOCUMENTS:All Pre-qualification and tender submissions should be in duplicate copies (marked original and copy) and sealed in separate envelop enclosed in a common envelope. All envelopes must be wax sealed and bear the project title and lot number at the top right hand corner. The company’s name should be indicated on the revised side of the envelope and addressed to

The Director,Procurement Unit,Federal College of Education (Tech),P.M.B. 60, Ashaka Road, Gombe, Gombe State.The envelope containing the Tender documents should be clearly marked “Tender Document”All documents should be inserted into the Tender box at the Procurement unit of the College.E. OPENING OF PRE-QUALIFICATION AND TENDERS:All tender must be submitted on or before two (2) weeks from the date of this Advert by 10:00am. Prequalification submission will be opened same day by 12:00 noon at the conference room of the School of Science.Tenders will be opened one week (1) later at the same venue by 10am. Note that only tenders of those pre-qualified will be opened. The tender submission of those not pre-qualified will be returned to them sealed.Contractors or their representatives, who choose to may attend the pre-qualification and tender opening.PLEASE NOTE:• All expenses incurred and associated with the preparation of the pre-qualification and tender documents shall be borne by the prospective bidder.• The pre-qualification document should be arranged and submitted in the order they appeared (items i-ix) above.• The College reserves the right to reject any or all of the pre-qualification and tender submissions.• Performance bond will be required from any contractor that wins the tender before commencement of work.

Signed,D/DIRECTOR Procurement Unit

FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION (TECH)P.M.B. 60, GOMBE, GOMBE STATE.

PAGE 39PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

News ExtraFrom Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

From Matthew Irinoye, Lagos

Oshiomhole aircraft grounding: Edo Assembly demands apology as NAMA blames pilot

Oshiomhole threatens to prosecute illegal loggers

Ajah land dispute: Olumegbon family re-affirms ownership

2015: Group canvasses Igbo President

L-R: Director General, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Mrs. Sally Mbanefo, Parmament Secretary, Federal Ministry of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Mrs. Nkechi Ajele, and Director, Human Management Resource, Mrs. Olayinka, during the NTDC DG’s resumption to office, recently in Abuja. Photo: Miriam Humbe

Ahead of 2015 presidential election, the Igbo National Council (INC) has reaffirmed

that the Igbo people will accept nothing short of an Igbo presidency.

The group’s stand is contained in a communiqué issued yesterday in Owerri, Imo state, following the sit-at-home exercise just concluded by the Igbo.

The exercise was at the instance

of the Movement for Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) in commemoration of the Igbo killed at different times across the country.

The communiqué signed by INC President, Comrade Chilos Godsent and General Secretary, Comrade Zulu Ofoelue, insisted that producing a President of Igbo extraction in 2015 is non-negotiable given the fact that Ndigbo have contributed toward the survival, growth, unity and

development of Nigeria.“The INC calls on the Igbo who

are credible and qualified for the position to openly declare their interest in the office in order to begin early enough to galvanize the support of all Nigerians”.

“The Council welcomes and supports the state of emergency declared in three north-eastern states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno.

“The INC thinks that the action was long overdue. While

commending President Goodluck Jonathan for the action, the INC urges him to take all necessary actions to detect and flush out all members and sponsors of terrorist groups and all other miscreants and criminal groups.”

The group noted that it has the capacity to mobilize Ndigbo and other Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora, to actively support the candidacy of an Igbo person for the Presidency in the 2015.

The Edo state government at the weekend warned against poachers against

illegal felling of trees.According to Governor

Adams Oshiomhole who issued the warning at the Tree Peace Planting Exercise at the Ehor Forest Reserve in Uhunmwonde local government area at the weekend, government would adopt pro-active measures on tree planting, environmental cleanness, erosion and flood control in the state.

According to him, “I like to use the occasion to warn that government would be firm in dealing with all those involved in illegal felling of trees.

“We must use the method of carrot and stick. If you are caught felling trees recklessly in a manner that has not been authorized, in clear violation of our laws and our commitment to protect the forests, government will not only step in but will ensure you are severely punished.”

“It is important to begin not only to talk tough but act even tougher and we must recognize that it does not make sense to fell 10 trees and then plant two to replace them.

“I invite all of you to be genuine stakeholders. Do not see the forest as a place to be devastated.

“The government and the people must work together to protect the forest.

“In recognition of the role the forest plays in the environment, government recently revoked 109,000 hectares of de-reserved lands with a singular view to regenerating them.

“I like to mention that as part of our 2013 tree planting campaign, my government has released 50,000 tree seedlings for planting in Ehor Forest Reserve.”

The high point of the exercise was the planting of peace trees in memory of the late Edo First Lady, by Oshiomhole and the Dutch Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Ronhaar, who planted trees in memory of the victims of the 9/11 September 2001 attack at the World Trade Centre in the United States of America (U.S.A).

The Olumegbon family has dissociated itself from the land crisis that recently

occurred in Ajah in Ibeju/Lekki local government council of Lagos state.

Spokesman for the family, Mr. Peter Fowoyo, told journalists in Lagos that they had nothing to do with the land crisis that left two persons dead and many injured,

in Ajah.Fowoyo described the

Olumegbon chieftaincy family as law-abiding people who would not engage in any action that could jeopardize the peace of Ajah and the state in general.

He condemned the recent attack on the palace of the traditional ruler of Ajah, Chief Fatai Abiodun Lawal Olumegbon, by gunmen suspected to be land speculators who wanted to use

extra-judicial means to take over Ajahland from the family describing it as barbaric.

He said that, “the terrorist styled- mission of the hoodlums was to gun down three to four members of the palace to spur a reaction from the Olumegbon but we maintained our peace because we are the true overlord of Ajah.”

Fowoyo said that the Ajah land tussle was a matter of

litigation between Olumegbon and Ojupon and Ogunsemo families since 1987 at a Lagos High Court then presided by Justice G.I. Akinboboye which finally gave judgment in favour of Olumegbon family in 1991.

He said that the judgment of the High Court was validated at the Appeal Court and the Supreme court of Nigeria which both awarded N10,000 against the defendants as cost.

The incident of last Friday in which a helicopter ferrying the Edo state Governor, Adams

Oshiomole, to Awka was asked to return to the Benin airport has continued to generate reactions as Deputy Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Festus Ebea, has demanded apology from the management of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) for embarrassing

Oshiomole. He said that, “that was a big

embarrassment for the Governor and the people of Edo state.

“This is a chartered plane and it was not flying the Governor out of the country.

“Is it the flight plan that will give the aircraft passage? What they would have done is to call Asaba and get the pilot arrested and inform the Governor reasons for the action.”

He explained that with the action of NAMA officials that

they have given room for political interpretations on the issue adding that there would have been a proper way of doing it stressing that they ought to have gone to the aircraft to tender apology to the governor.

But NAMA explained that the pilot did not file the mandatory information about the flight before flying.

Speaking with reporters in Lagos, NAMA Managing Director, Nnamdi Udoh, absolved the agency of any wrong doing.

Udoh stated that if the pilot of the helicopter had filed the flight plan and accompanied it with the manifest, the helicopter would not have been delayed.

He said that, “we want to be emphatic with our declaration this afternoon that safety and security related issues raised by our men on Friday at the Benin airport vis-a-vis the filing of a flight plan and passenger manifest has no political undertone at all but purely an aviation matter bordering on rules and regulations.

As a matter of rules, we needed to know where the aircraft was going and how many people were onboard.

“NAMA by statute is covered by legislation to demand for all these but the pilot or his employer failed to comply with this simple procedure.

“It is a globally acceptable procedure for a pilot to do before getting a start-up.

“When this is not done, there will be delays while perfecting your documentation at the point of departure.”

PAGE 40 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Senator Ajibola blames insurgency on bad leadership

Court fixes June 12 for Maina’s case

Adebayo commends Ajimobi on transformation policy

FRSC flag off “Operation Rainstorm”

News ExtraBRIEFS

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

L-R, Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Mr. Joseph Onotu, Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, Benue state Governor, Mr. Gabriel Suswam, Chairman, Technical Committee National Council on Privatisation (NCP), Chief Atedo Peterside, Director General, Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), Engineer Benjamin Ezra Dikki, and Special Adviser to Vice-President on Media and Publicity, Alhaji Sani Umar, jointly briefing journalists at the emergency joint meeting of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd. and National Council of Privatisation (NCP), recently at the State House, in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

The Chairman, Senate Committee on New Partnership for Africa

Development (NEPAD), Senator Simeon Ajibola, has appealed to the Federal Government to rehabilitate the Eruku-Egbe road, linking Kwara and Kogi states to stem the incessant robbery incidents on the road.

Ajibola who stated this at the

weekend also blamed insurgency in parts of the country on what he described as bad leadership and inadequate education.

“Bad governance, low level of education and economic instability are the major challenges confronting Nigeria and the root causes of insurgency we are witnessing in parts of the north.

“The teeming unemployed youth are largely products of

Almajiri should be meaningfully engaged in order to end insurgency,” Ajibola said.

He urged the political class to make sincerity and good governance their watchwords with a view to justifying the confidence the citizens repose in them.

Ajibola assured that the Senate Committee on NEPAD would utilize its Peer Review Mechanism to ensure wealth creation and stable economy among member

states.On the Eruku-Egbe road,

Ajibola said the road has become a nightmare for motorists as a result of robbery incidents that occurred on the route on daily basis.

He said that the activities of the bandits had crippled the economy of people in the area stressing that there was urgent need for federal government to come to the aide.

Wamakko loses aideThe death has occurred of

Alhaji Kabiru Ahmed, the Senior Special Assistant

to Governor Aliyu Wamakko on Special Duties.

The deceased died on Saturday at a private hospital in Sokoto, after a brief illness.

Aged 54, the late Ahmed is survived by three wives, 16 children and an aged mother.

From Mahmoud Muhammad, Sokoto

Kogi LG proposes N1bn budget

The Patigi local government council in Kwara state has presented a budget

proposal of N1.96 billion for 2013.

Presenting the budget proposal entitled, “Budget of Consolidation,” before the legislative council in Patigi, the Council Chairman, Alhaji M.D. Tauheed, explained that a total sum of N485 million is earmarked for recurrent expenditure while N611 million is for the capital expenditure.

He explained that the budget proposal was based on the needs and aspirations of the people in order to better their living standard.

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

Lafia airport: Nasarawa to compensate farmers

Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura of Nasarawa state has said that landowners

affected by the new Lafia airport would be compensated.

Al-makura stated this when he visited Angwan Azara, a community bordering on the project site of the airport, yesterday.

He noted that already work has commenced on the site with the consultant handling the project, Sitech Engineering Limited, carrying out soil test to determine the appropriateness of the soil, stressing that all farmers whose farmlands affected by the project will be compensated.

Al-makura observed that when completed, the new Lafia airport would open up the area for commercial activities, provide employment to the people and a source of revenue to the state.

From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has concluded arrangements for

the launch of a nationwide special patrol programme tagged, “Operation Rainstorm.”

According to the FRSC, the idea is to further sustain operational strategies meant to reduce road crashes by 20 per cent and fatality by 30 per cent, in line with its 2013 strategic goals.

The FRSC, in a statement issued yesterday by its Corps Public Education Officer (CPEO), Jonas Agwu, explained further that the special patrol is a build up on last month’s exercise tagged “Operation Shield” and other operational activities.

According to the statement, “Operation Rainstorm has been organized to cater for strict enforcement of road traffic regulations intertwined with robust public enlightenment campaigns and fleet operators’ inspection and certification under the Road Transport Safety Standardization Scheme.”

It noted that massive deployment of patrol vehicles, motorcycles, ambulances and tow trucks along designated routes of the highways will be witnessed to boost enforcement activities during the special patrol.

“The enforcement will be on number plate violations such as covering of number plates with plastic, use of Peace Ambassador number plates, use of plastic number plates and the use of broken and defaced number plates which negates the provisions of the National Road Traffic Regulations 2004.

“Operation Rainstorm will also address other road vices such as speed limit violations, overloading, dangerous driving, driver’s license violation, non-use of the passenger manifest by some fleet operators and light sign violations.

The CPEO added that the robust awareness campaign will focus on the traffic hazards associated with the use of worn-out tyres, speed limit violations, the new number plate, use of phone while driving, driver’s license and compliance with passenger manifest among fleet operators,” the statement said.

President of the National Industrial Court, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, has

fixed June 12, 2013 to decide whether Dr. Abdulrasheed Maina’s

case was properly instituted or not.

The court had at the last adjourned date, ordered all counsels in the case to address it on whether a case of dismissal

could commence through originating summons or not.

Adejumo told the counsels that the matter had generated a lot of public interest and would want to apply caution in determining the suit.

When the matter came up for adoption on Friday, Maina’s counsel, Mahmud Magaji (SAN), argued that the originating summon was the appropriate mode to commence a case of dismissal.

Magaji urged the court to hold that originating summon was the appropriate way to commence the suit since it bothers on the interpretation of statutes that govern the claimant’s employment.

While reacting to the claimants submission, the 1st defendant’s counsel, Mr Polycap Hamman argued that originating summon was not the appropriate mode of commencing a case of dismissal.

Former Governor of the defunct Western Region, Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo (rtd) has commended

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state for the unprecedented transformation he has brought to the state within a period of two years.

Adebayo gave the commendation when he led members of the Governing Council of the University of Ibadan to the Governor’s office on a courtesy call.

The former governor, who is also the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the

university, said that Ajimobi had improved on the socio-economic and infrastructural development of the state.

“I was once a governor of this state; you have changed the Governor‘s office completely and you have changed the state, particularly Ibadan city.

“You have done a lot of work to improve on what we did when we were here; you have constructed many roads and bridges; you have done well and we are very proud of you.”

While also lauding the achievements of the Governor in the

area of education, he particularly acknowledged the support which the nation’s premier university had received from the Ajimobi administration.

Adebayo called for the continued support of the state government to enable the institution produce more well-grounded products at both the undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

In his response, Governor Ajimobi assured of his administration’s readiness to support the university to maintain its leadership position in the country.

PAGE 41PEOPLES DAILY| MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Stories by Patrick Andrew

Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo has moved ever closer to joining Chelsea following

a seal of approval by returning boss Jose Mourinho.

Representatives of Omeruo told a wire service that the young central defender is now “95% certain” to join the English Premier League club after he earned the approval of Mourinho.

“It is now 95% certain that Kenneth will finally team up with Chelsea for the coming season. Mourinho has said he wants to work with Kenneth after watching him at the recent Africa Cup of Nations in South Korea,” disclosed a representative, who

declined to have his name in print.

“He watched him against Didier Drogba at the Nations Cup and he said he liked what he saw. He will therefore not be heading back to Dutch club ADO Den Haag, where he has spent the last one and half seasons on loan.”

Omeruo’s inclusion on Nigeria final squad for this month’s FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil has enhanced his chances of joining the London club.

It was gathered that Chelsea plan to apply the special talent case to get Omeruo to England, just as they did in the case of compatriot Mikel Obi.

Omeruo will not qualify for

Members of the Super Eagles were unanimous in their patriotic fervour

as they all accepted the slashed winning bonus and other allowances from the Nigeria Football Federation without complain.

This was disclosed over the weekend by the scribe of the Glasshouse, Musa Amadu, who added that the players appreciated the NFF’s financial situation and gladly collected $5000 winning bonus.

RESULTS Rangers 3 Heartland 1

Nasarawa Utd 1 Sharks 0Enyimba 1 Sunshine 0

Nembe City 0 ABS 1Warri Wolves 2 3SC 1

Kaduna Utd 2 Akwa Utd 1Lobi Stars 1 El Kanemi 1

Mourinho wants Omeruo back in Chelsea

included in the final cut of 21 players.

Interestingly some of those that were in the CAF U-20 Championship in Algeria could not earned places in the final as only 13 of the 22 players that participated in Toulon tournament ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Turkey were selected.

“By the time the team returned to their Germany camp for the remaining 10 days to prepare for the tournament proper, am sure a real competitive squad would have emerged

“So I don’t think teams like Portugal that beat them at the Toulouse invitational will find them easy at the FIFA tournament proper because by then the mentality of the boys would have been upped,” he enthused.

Meanwhile, nine players dropped from the Flying Eagles

squad during their training programme in Europe were expected to leave for their various bases this morning, an official has said.

The team’s Media Officer, Samm Audu, said in a statement yesterday that the players would depart the camp after the squad had left France for their training base in Germany.

He said the dropped players would remain in France till today when they would return to their respective bases.

``The players are Sakiru Alimi, Lucky Omeruo, Sebastine Osigwe, Bright Ejike, Jamilu Collins, Hassan Abubakar, Daniel Etor, Samuel Mathias and Oluwasemilogo Ajayi,’’ the team spokesman said.

The Media Officer said two test games have already been lined up for the team in Germany as part of their preparations.

He said the team was due in

The Hawks of Togo tamed the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon 2-0 to throw open their group

and sustained the spates of shocking defeats recorded yesterday in the 4th round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

In the absence of first choice keeper Kossi Agassa and charismatic captain Emmanuel Adebayor, the Sparrow Hawks managed their first win in this campaign, thanks to Komlan Amewou and Atakora Lalawele.

The Lions’ new coach Volker Finke opted for a very cautious approach with the fielding of four defensive midfielders (Joël Matip, Alexandre Song, Enoh Eyong and Jean II Makoun) in front of a four-man defence.

Didier Six’ men opened the score just after the half an hour mark by midfielder Komlan Amewou from a set-piece, holding onto their lead until the break.

Togo who found the back of the net once again with thirty minutes to go, thanks to substitute Atakora Lalawele.

Only two points separate now the leaders Libya and Cameroon from fourth placed Togo with two more rounds to come.

Elsewhere, Benin lost at home 3-1 in Porto Novo to visiting Algeria, who now top Group H with 9 points. Mali could topple the North Africans if they defeat their visitors with a wider goal margin.

The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations’ MVP Jonathan Pitroipa scored to ensure Burkina Faso snatched a crucial three points from Niamey after humbling their hosts Niger to keep their hopes alive for the embattled qualifying campaign.

The Stallions recorded their second win so far in the qualifying campaign, and are now second in Group E with 6 points, behind leaders Congo (10pts).

Egypt made sure of their lead in Group G, reaching a total of 12 points and a 100 percent record, after handing Zimbabwe a 4-2 drubbing at the Warriors home ground in Harare.

Sadio Diallo and Mohamed Lamine Yattare both scored braces as Guinea thrashed Mozambique 6-1 at the Stade du 28 Septembre in Conakry yesterday, but remained in second place with seven points, five less than Egypt.

Turkey on June 17 where they will play their opening World Cup group match four days later against Portugal in Kayseri. They will also take on Cuba and South Korea in the first round of the tournament.

Don’t judge Flying Eagles with Toulon tourney, says NFF

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has dismissed the dismal performance of the

Flying Eagles at the recent Toulon Invitational in France stressing that it was not a reflection of the depth and strength of the John Obuh-tutored squad.

Appraising the team’s recent outing over the weekend, the General Secretary of the NFF Musa Amadu, said the overall performance of the team was a far cry from their depth adding that the team that Coach Obuh presented at the invitational were depleted because eight key players were deliberately excluded.

The invitational tournament was meant to offer the 12 newly called boys the chance to prove their worth for places in the main squad. Of the lot only three were able to win the hearts of the officials and were John Obuh, Head Coach Flying Eagles

Togo stunned Cameroon in weekend of shock results

*Dropped players return to bases today

Hitherto, the Eagles were paid $10,000 per win but following a bonus regime all such bonuses and allowances were trimmed by half.

He said the initial $10,000 was imposed on the NFF by the then Presidential Task Force for the last World Cup headed by Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state.

However, with the sudden financial realities, the Glasshouse has adopted measures including prunning bonuses and allowances to meet its several obligations.

“Infact, in Kenya contrary to speculation, no player to the best

of my knowledge rejected the sum. They too are aware of current realities as it affects the Glasshouse, and even at that you will agree with us that the Eagles are some of the highest paid players in the African continent,” Musa said.

a work permit in England as he has not played 75% of his country’s games in the last two years having only made his full international debut against Cape Verde in January.

The young Eagles defender, who has represented Nigeria at U17 and U20 levels, played a total of 26 matches and scored two goals in his time at ADO Den Haag.

No Eagles rejected slashed bonus

Kenneth Omeruo (Mourinho

Deaf table-tennis players assure Nigerians of medals at Deaflympics

PAGE 42

SportsPEOPLES DAILY| MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Coach Mohammed Abba of Customs club of Lagos on Saturday said that his team’s

victory over Union Bank of Lagos in the ongoing DSTV Premier League would solidify their growing confidence.

Customs sent a shock wave through the Atlantic Conference with the 84-73 routing of Union Bank, the league leaders, a feat Abba said the team used to make up for its poor start in the competition.

``We are currently playing the best games of our campaign; our strategy is essentially to be on the defensive and to see how we can get our opponents to fall easily.

``We are not forcing the game anymore; we are taking our time to make our shots count and most especially, we don’t allow easy turnovers. We are seventh on the league table of eight and hopefully we

hope to climb even higher,’’ he said.Meanwhile, Ayinla Johnson, the

coach of Union Bank, lamented that his players did not play to instructions.

``We cannot afford to play the way we did and expect to win in the end, the team did not react to simple instructions and that cost us the match.

“Even when we were up by ten points, we allowed some unforced errors in the third quarter which Customs capitalised on.

“We will play Customs hard and ensure that we pick the second leg encounter, and consolidate our lead at the top,’’ Johnson said.

In another match played at the Lagos centre, Lagos Islanders defeated Oluyole Warriors of Ibadan 73-64 to compensate for their earlier losses.

According to Coach Lateef

Erinfolami, he said that the team had to get back to their winning ways, and some minor adjustments needed to be made.

``We had to get back to our winning ways; we lost four games in a row and we were slipping down the league table. This sometimes happens and our next target now is to defeat Oluyole in the second leg encounter,’’ Erinfolami said.

Reacting to the outcome of the match, Coach Yemi Abiodun of Oluyole said that his team’s loss was unexpected.

“We will defeat Islanders when we meet in the second leg; I am not happy about my team’s performance and will not put any blame on anybody.

“We just have to come back stronger and show why we are among the favourites to pick a final four ticket from the Atlantic conference.

Wellington John-Okoh and Joshua Osmond-Imadiyi, former

Edo amateur pugilists, over the weekend donated boxing equipment to the state’s boxing council in Benin.

They donated four head guards, two top and button, two Punching bags, 10 gloves, eight bandages, electric timer and

pump value, among others. Okoh said that he was moved to

make the donation, after he found the state’s boxing gymnasium in a decrepit condition during a visit, earlier in the year adding that his gesture would go a long way to encourage the up and coming boxers in the state.

``Our hope is that other well-meaning Nigerians and sports

enthusiasts in the country will do same. Through such acts, we hope that Nigeria will regain its rightful place in World amateur boxing,’’ he said.

The two boxers had represented the state and the nation in amateur bouts between 1979 and 1983, before leaving for the U.S.

In her reaction to the donations,

the Edo Commissioner for Sports, Omosede Osifo, thanked the two boxers for their kind gesture, and urged other well-meaning individuals to do same.

She advised that people should complement the government’s efforts in the provision of infrastructure, adding that the government cannot do it all alone.

Some of the country’s deaf table-tennis players who have qualified to represent

the country at the forthcoming Deaflympics in Bulgaria, have assured that they would win medals at the Games.

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Saturday, they assured that they will strive to do the nation proud at the Deaflympic Games, which is scheduled to be held July 24 to Aug.4 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Already, athletes are undergoing training ahead of the Games in

which Nigeria would feature in three events, namely: Football, Athletics and Table-Tennis.

Ismaila Aderemi, the country’s number one ranked player, said that he would do his best at the games, saying that he had been training well with the help of his coach.

``I am sure that I will perform well. I know God will help me and I have been training well with the help of my coach. I train in the morning everyday and I know that with more training, I will not fail the country,” he said.

Munira Tokosi the number one

ranked female player, said she would apply all her skills to subdue her opponents at the Games.

Tokosi expressed optimism that the table-tennis team was capable of winning medals at the event, saying they were the best. “I know that we can do it and make our country proud. All that we need is support, we should not be under-estimated,” she said.

John Ezekwelu also expressed the belief that the team would emerge victorious, and urged Nigerians to pray for them.

“We need our fellow countrymen

to pray for our victory. We will try our best but prayers are also essential. This is our opportunity to prove that deaf players are capable of doing the country proud at international competitions,’’ he added.

Adetayo Odupitan, Ismaila Adeniran and John Ezekwelu qualified in the men’s category, while Idayat Jimoh, Munira Tokosi and Ganiyat Animashaun qualified in the female category at trials conducted from June 6 to June 7 at the Knock-Up Hall, National Stadium, Lagos.

Mukaila Olaoye disclosed that

the Nigeria Deaf Table-Tennis Association (NDTTA) had to move the trials date to June 6 and June 7 because the initial date proposed was considered to be rather far.

``We actually said June 20 will be the date for the new trials, to select a number that the ministry can sponsor. But we were told that June 20 was not appropriate because it will clash with our visa appointment. We had to move the date forward.

``Now we have the number that the ministry can sponsor, I think we have done our part. We will leave everything to God,” he added.

Royal Hoopers vs Union Bank

DSTV: Customs upset Union Bank in Atlantic Conference

Ex-boxers donate equipment to Edo Boxing Council

Flying Eagles coach, John Obuh, says that the 20-man squad he selected for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey later this month was based on merit and the response of players to his technical programme.

Obuh, who spoke following the release of the list that included 18 home-based with three foreign-based players, said the final decision was made after carefully observing the players during training and in the friendly matches the team played.

Peoples Daily Sports recalls that only last Friday, the team’s Media Officer, Samm Audu, had issued a statement on the squad and listed the foreign-based players as Belgium-based goalkeeper John Felegha, Michael Olaitan of Greek champions Olympiacos and Edafe Egbedi of Danish club AGF Aarhus.

The listed included Wilfred Ndidi, a central defender, is one of the several additions to the squad, which i s drawn mostly from the Nigerian league. Others are Daddy Moses and Samuel Eduok.

The new additions were not part of the squad that failed retained the 2013 A f r i c a n Youth Championship (AYC) in Algeria, where Nigeria placed third to qualify for the World Cup. Only 16 of the 21 players featured at the tournament.

The Flying Eagles are drawn in the first round group with Portugal, champions in

Merit basic criteria for squad selection, says Obuh

1989 and 1991; debutants Cuba and South Korea.

Nigeria, quarter-finals losers to France at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia, will face Portugal in their opening game on June 21.

The full squad: Goalkeepers --- Samuel Okani (Enyimba), Jonah Usman (ABS FC) and John Felegha (Eupen, Belgium).

Defenders --- Shehu Abdullahi (Kano Pillars), Moses Orkuma (Lobi Stars), Ikechukwu Okorie (Enyimba), Kingsley Madu (El-Kanemi), Chizoba Amaefule (Dolphins) and Wilfred Ndidi (Nath Boys).

Midfielders --- Agboyi Ovbokha (Bayelsa United), Abduljaleel Ajagun (Dolphins), Christian Pyagbara (unattached), Uche Agbo (Enyimba) and Michael Olaitan (Olympiacos, Greece).

Forwards --- Edafe Egbedi (AGF Aarhus, Denmark), Daddy Moses (Unattached), Chidi Osuchukwu (Dolphins), Umar Aminu (Wikki Tourists), Olanrewaju Kayode (unattached), Alhaji Gero (Enugu Rangers) and Samuel Eduok (Dolphins).

PAGE 43PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Sports

Newcastle may sellCisse if religion forbids him wearing lender’s logo

Fabregas ‘tops Manchester United wish-list’

Cabaye interested in United switch

Former Manchester United defender Denis Irwin has claimed the club ‘are going

to move heaven and earth’ in their bid to sign Barcelona midfielder CescFabregas this summer.

Arsenal are believed to have a first option to re-sign their former captain if he opts to quit the Primera Division champions and return to the Premier League, but Irwin suggests United are convinced they can win the race for the 26-year-old Spain international.

Irwin was among the first pundits to reveal United’s interest in Arsenal striker Robin van Persie last year and now the respected former left-back, who still works as an ambassador at Old Trafford, has revealed that Fabregas is their latest top target.

Irwin also predicted United will make a bid for Everton’s Leighton Baines and Southampton’s Luke Shaw, while suggesting winger Nani and Patrice Evra will leave Old Trafford this summer as new boss David Moyes prepares to take over from Sir Alex Ferguson.

Newcastle United midfielder YohanCabaye has told Canal+ he is open to a move

to Manchester United and believes it would be “an interesting challenge”.

Despite the Magpies’ brush with relegation last terms, Cabaye, 27, still enjoyed an impressive season.

Such form has led to the France international being linked with a number of clubs from around Europe, including United, Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco.

And when asked whether he would be interested in a move to Old Trafford, Cabaye said: “Yes of course, I’ve liked this club for a long time, I like what they do, the boss [Sir Alex Ferguson] has left but they have appointed a very good successor, and he [David Moyes] did some very good things with Everton.

Cabaye, however, insists he has yet to speak to anyone regarding a move away from St James’ Park, but says he would be willing to listen to any offers.

Newcastle United may end up selling £8million striker PapissCisse to avert the

crisis that is threatening to derail their sponsorship deal with money lenders Wonga.

Cisse informed the club several weeks ago that he does not want to wear the Wonga.com branding on Newcastle United’s shirts next season because of his beliefs as a

Arsenal look to spend £70m on Higuain, Gundogan,Bender

Manchester City target £30m Di Maria

Arsene Wenger is ready to smash Arsenal’s transfer record this week with bids for

three of Europe’s fastest-rising stars.The news that the club are

thinking big, with moves for Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain, Borussia Dortmund’s IlkayGundogan and Bayer Leverkusen’s Lars Bender, will come as a massive relief to Arsenal fans after years of frugality and summers of losing their own stars.

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis promised ‘an escalation in our financial firepower’ last week and Wenger is convinced he can transform his team into title contenders.

The Arsenal manager believes that Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement from Manchester United represents an opportunity for the for the club to regain some prestige and challenge for the title and the signing of Argentina striker Higuain is expected to be their most important transfer of the summer at a cost of £20million.

Wenger is also determined to bolster his midfield and his No 1 target is Gundogan, whose holding midfield role was crucial to Borussia Dortmund’s impressive run to the Champions League final.

Gundogan scored their penalty equaliser at Wembley, but could not prevent Bayern Munich’s 2-1 victory.

He would cost £20m but a bid for Bayer Leverkusen’s £17m-rated Bender is also being lined up, in case Arsenal are unable to complete a deal

The incoming Blues manager has given his approval to bid for the highly-rated

Real Madrid winger after the

on Gundogan. Any one of the potential fees for

Arsenal’s three targets would surpass the £15m record transfer paid for AndreyArshavin in 2009.

Arsenal is ready to move now, having already been disappointed to miss their first target, Dortmund’s Mario Gotze.

The club had an earlier £25m bid for Gotze turned down but was hopeful of returning this summer with £32m, which would have activated his release clause. But Gotze announced in April that he would be joining Bayern.

The north London club is determined to move quicker in

Gonzalo Higuain

Cesc Fabregas

Ilkay Gundogan

Yohan Cabaye Papiss Cisse

Angel Di Maria

the transfer market ever since the debacle of 2011, which saw them lose CescFabregas and Samir Nasri and scramble to replace them on the last day of the transfer window.

While Arsenal is confident of securing Higuain, there is still interest in him from Juventus, who have lost out to Chelsea in the race to sign Fiorentina’sStevanJovetic.

Wenger has said that this summer is the first for two years in which he expects to keep all his key players.

He has a reserve fund of around £70m to spend, although that has to cover wages as well. In Higuain’s case that is likely to be £150,000 a week or almost £8m a year, making him Arsenal’s top earner.

Gundogan, 22, who has seven Germany caps, is seen as the perfect fit for the holding midfield role Wenger wishes to fill and his staff have scouted more extensively than ever before in the Bundesliga.

But Gundogan may be difficult to prise away from Dortmund, with Real Madrid having expressed an interest in signing him in a year’s time.

If that is the case, Wenger will move for Bender, 24, also a Germany international who has 14 caps and whose twin brother Sven also starred in Dortmund’s Champions League run.

Arsenal will search for a centre-half and are willing to listen to offers for club captain Thomas Vermaelen.

club splashed out £50m on Jesus Navas and Fernandinho Manuel Pellegrini takes charge of Manchester City this week

and will ask Etihad chiefs to sanction a move for £30million Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria.

Ex-Malaga boss Pellegrini loves wingers and has ¬already given the thumbs-up to the arrival of Sevillawideman Jesus Navaswhose £17m City switch was revealed exclusively by Sunday People Sport last week.

Now Pellegrini has made Di Maria highly rated at the Bernabeu his next target as City prepare to break the bank to win back the Premier League title.

City have already splashed out more than £50m on Navas and Brazil star Fernandinho, and Di Maria would take their

summer spending past the £80m mark.

City would not get much change from £20m for 22-year-old Isco. Di Maria may prove to be the most elusive signing, however.

Real have no particular desire to sell Di Maria and Carlo Ancelotti, shortly to be unveiled as Real’s new boss, sees the 25-year-old as an important cog in his Bernabeu squad.

Perez is ready to play hard-ball over Di Maria and will demand a similar fee to the £34m City paid for Fernandinho.

D i M a r i a , w h o h a s 3 8 Argentina caps, signed for Madrid for £20m in 2010, agreeing a five-year deal.

Muslim.Newcastle managing director

Derek Llambias will wait until Cisse returns from World Cup duty with Senegal so the pair can sit down to discuss the delicate issue.

However, the club is heartened that Cisse’s protest is an individual one, with none of the player’s Muslim team-mates, most notably Hatem Ben Arfa and CheickTiote,

so far expressing objections.Cisse’s departure would open

the door for an emotional return to Tyneside for hometown hero Andy Carroll, who was sold to Liverpool at the start of 2011 for £35m.

Carro l l has e nd u re d a nightmare spell at Anfield and spent last season on loan at West Ham.

PAGE 44

SportsPEOPLES DAILY| MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Yohan Blake

Blake returns to track with 200m win Sanchez wins seventh stage

Huck, Afolabi set for third clash

Pont-de-Claix - Spain’s 2008 Olympic road race champion Samuel Sanchez won the seventh and penultimate stage of the Criterium du Dauphine over the weekend, the 187.5km ride from Pont-de-Claix to

Superdevoluy and dedicated it to two friends who died in the past year.The 35-year-old veteran’s stage win didn’t affect the overall lead as British

rider Chris Froome retained the yellow jersey and will look on Sunday to collect another major win this season and bolster his chances of winning the major prize, the Tour de France in July.

Sanchez burst into tears on crossing the line and revealed that this victory was an extra special one. Froome, born in Kenya and brought up in South Africa but who has ridden with a British licence since 2008, said that overall victory could still elude him.

Sanchez, who failed to defend his Olympic title last year because of injury, shook off his fellow escapee Denmark’s Jakob Fuglsang as they approached the climax of the stage at the alpine ski station. A group of 20 riders had broken away soon after the start of the stage.

However, the last of this group, Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel and Alessandro de Marchi of Italy, were swept up inside the final 16km on the climb of the col du Noyer.

Sanchez and then Fuglsang seized their chance approaching the summit of the climb and had a lead of around 20 seconds over the chasing pack, led by Spain’s two-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador, heading towards the stage finish.

In the overall standings Australian Michael Rogers moved into the final podium placing at the expense of his compatriot Rohan Dennis while Porte, who was third in the stage, is protecting Froome’s back in second spot.

Sunday’s final stage is a gruelling 155.5km ride from Sisteron, which includes the col de Vars, and climaxes at the ski station of Risoul after a steep climb of 13.9km.

STAGE 7 RESULTS:

1. Samuel Sanchez (Spain / Euskaltel) 5:26:14”2. Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark / Astana) ST3. Richie Porte (Australia / Team Sky) +15”4. Daniel Moreno (Spain / Katusha) +16”5. Stef Clement (Netherlands / Blanco)6. Alejandro Valverde (Spain / Movistar)7. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky)8. Daniel Navarro (Spain / Cofidis)9. Michael Rogers (Australia / Saxo - Tinkoff)10. Alberto Contador (Spain / Saxo - Tinkoff) +23”

OVERALL STANDINGS:

1. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 25:00:13”2. Richie Porte (Australia / Team Sky) +51”3. Michael Rogers (Australia / Saxo - Tinkoff) +1:37”4. Daniel Moreno (Spain / Katusha) +1:47”5. Daniel Navarro (Spain / Cofidis) +1:49”6. Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark / Astana) +2:04”7. Stef Clement (Netherlands / Blanco) +2:32”8. Alejandro Valverde (Spain / Movistar) +2:47”9. Rohan Dennis (Australia / Garmin) +2:48”10. Alberto Contador (Spain / Saxo - Tinkoff) +2:56” The third WBO cruiserweight

title fight between Marco Huck and Ola Afolabi is likely

to be one of the highlights of this weekend’s boxing.

The two meet at the Max Schmeling Halle in Berlin on Saturday night, when Huck will defend his belt against the London-born challenger who now lives in Los Angeles.

The 28-year-old Huck was born in Serbia but fights out Berlin. He won his first defence against Afolabi on a close decision and had to settle for a majority draw in the second. Their third clash could be another tester for the champion.

Huck won the title in August 2009 when he outpointed Victor Emilio Ramirez. His first defence was against Afolabi and he retained the title in another seven defences before trying his luck at heavyweight.

He moved up a division to challenge Alexander Povetkin for the WBA “regular” belt in February last year but lost on a majority decision.

He returned to the cruiserweight division less than three months later and retained his WBO belt with the majority draw against Afolabi. The scores were 115-113 for Huck and 114-114 on the two other cards.

In his most recent fight, on November 3 last year, Huck retained the belt with a points decision over Firat Arslan.

The champion now has a record of 35-2-1, including 25 knockouts. Afolabi’s stands at 19-2-4, with 9 wins inside the distance.

Afolabi, 33, has lost only to Huck in his last 21 fights. He has beaten Sandro Siproshvili, Lubos Suda (for the vacant WBO intercontinental cruiserweight title), Lukasz Rusiewicz and Valry Brudov.

He is capable of upsetting Huck in what is likely to be another close fight.

Juan Carlos Sanchez makes the third defence of his IBF junior bantamweight title belt when he faces Roberto Domingo Sosa of Argentina in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

The 22-year-old Sanchez, a Mexican, has a record of 15-1-1; 8. The challenger is undefeated after 24 bouts and boasts 14 wins inside the distance.

Sanchez has been a professional since December 2008 and won six of his first seven fights inside the distance. His eighth, against Felipe Costa, ended in a first-round technical draw after a clash of heads.

His only defeat was when Daniel

Rosas stopped him in the second round of a clash for the vacant WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation super-flyweight title in February 2010.

Sanchez won the IBF belt by beating Rodrigo Guerrero (16-3-1) on points in November last year and has made successful defences against Juan Alberto Rosas and Rodel Mayol, whom he beat on points and stopped in the ninth round respectively.

Sosa, 28, from Buenos Aires, has been a professional since March 2006 but has never fought outside Argentina.

In September last year he beat South African Zolani Tete on a split decision in an IBF junior bantamweight title eliminator.

Marcos Maidana (33-3; 30) of Argentina defends his WBA intercontinental title against American Josesito Lopez (30-5; 18) in Carson City, California.

On the same card, Erislandy Lara (17-1-2; 11), a Cuban southpaw, faces Alfredo Angulo (22-2; 18) in a fight for the interim WBA junior middleweight title.

In Greenhithe, England, James DeGale, a former British Olympic gold medallist, defends his WBC silver super-middleweight title against Stjepan Bozic (26-6; 17) of Slovenia.

Pacquiao could still fight

Mayweather Jr, says Koncz

If Manny Pacquiao successfully negotiated his

November 24 fight with Brandon Rios, he would be

interested in setting up a super-bout with undefeated

welterweight king Floyd Mayweather Jr, according to

the Filipino’s advisor Michael Koncz.

Pacquiao steps into the ring with ‘Bam Bam’ in

Macau later this year, while Mayweather Jr faces fellow

unbeaten star Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on September 14.

‘Money’ has not been shy in his comments over a

potential fight, but has recently insisted that Pacquiao

is a long way off facing him, following the 34-year-old’s

successive defeats to Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel

Marquez.

However Koncz believes that, should ‘Pac Man’ seal an

impressive win over Rios in China, the American five-

division champion would have ‘no excuse’ in turning

down the opportunity for a fight the world wants to see.

Mayweather Jr is currently contracted to fight on

American network Showtime after the 36-year-old

signed a six-bout mega deal in February, but Pacquiao

has recently fought on rival channel HBO. However,

Koncz does not believe this to be an issue if negotiations

over a potential bout were to commence.

Ola-Afolabi when he defeated Jean Marc Mormeck1

Reigning 100m world champion Yohan Blake made a cautious but successful

return to competition in Kingston on Saturday, winning a 200m race at a low-key all-comers meet, held at the national stadium.

Blake, who ran out of lane six, was in control of the race, leading off the bend to clock a relatively slow 20.72 seconds in a wind of 1.6m/sec.

He beat hard-charging world junior champion Delano Williams (20.74) by a hair, in Blake’s first race since he pulled up in the 100m at the UTech Classic on the same track on April 13th.

Eight weeks ago, Blake walked off the track after grabbing his right thigh and slowing, later tweeting: “am good my twitter family just a cramp”.

Two days later, however, his coach Glen Mills told Jamaican media the injury was much worse, and Blake would be out for six weeks.

After completing Saturday’s race injury-free, Blake again took to Twitter.

“Thanks be to God I finish the race” he tweeted, adding minutes later: “Wow I also feel rusty in my race.”

Blake, the Olympic Games double sprint silver medalist behind training partner Usain Bolt, has a bye to the IAAF World Championships 100m in Moscow in August as the defending champion.

But he is expected to compete in the 200m at the Jamaican National Senior Trials, the world championships qualifier, in two weeks.

PAGE 45PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

Sports Pictorialpictorial

2] New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by one wicket in an enthralling Champions Trophy Group A match in Cardiff.

4] Mohamed Salah’s hat-trick for Egypt in their 4-2 win in Zimbabwe has put the Pharaohs on the brink of the final round of African qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup

3] Ireland wing Simon Zebo has become the third player to be called up to the British and Irish Lions squad on tour in Australia.

5] Former double Commonwealth champion and Olympic bronze medallist Donna Hartley-Wass, nee Murray, dies aged 586] James DeGale moves closer to a world super-middleweight title fight as he beats Croatia’s StjepanBozic in Kent.

1

Nigeria has made nine changes to their squad for the Confedera-tions Cup from the one that won the Africa Cup of Na-tions in February.

2

34

5

6

PAGE 46 PEOPLES DAILY, MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

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THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED INITIATIVE HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990. TRUSTEES ARE:1. MRS YETUNDE ORESANYA2. MR KUNLE OYEWOLE3. DAPO OGUNYINKA4. MRS LOVETH MEROYI5. DR. ODETOYINBO BISAYO6. DR. ROTIMI JAIYESIMI7. DR. OLUSOJI DANIEL AIMS:1. TO PROVIDE HEALTH AND MEDICAL SUPPORT FOR THE LESS PRIVILEGED.2. TO ENCOURAGE HOW TO KEEP A HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT.3. TO BRING SUPPORT, AID, CARE AND GENERAL RELIEF TO THE INDIGENT, SICK AND VICTIMS OF ALL FORMS OF ACCIDENT. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

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THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990 THE TRUSTEES ARE:1. EMMANUEL OSAJI –CHAIRMAN2. CHIAMAKA DORIS EGOSI –SECRETARY3. CHRISTOPHER MGBOLU4. CHINEZE CHRISTIANA OLIEH5. PASTOR CHINEDU JOSEPH IWOBI

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THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990. TRUSTEES ARE:1. MICHEAL NKUMEDIKE NWANKPA. -PRESIDENT2. SUNDAY NWAIKPE3. CHIEMELA ONWUEGBUAHA4. ZACHEAUS NWOGWUGWU5. ANDREW ACHELEFU6. EZE ANYANWU7. AKU DIAMOND FAVOUR8. UCHE FRED9. ELISBETH WADIBIA10. UCHENNA OGBONNA AIMS:1. TO CREATE AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR MEMBER PARTICIPATION. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

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THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC) ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990. TRUSTEES ARE:1. MRS VICTORIA SILLO FREGENE2. MR SUNNY FREGENE3. MR JEFFREY EKWEJUNOR-ETCHIE4. MRS EVELYN BATEY5. MISS YEMI BERNARDAIMS:1. TO PROMOTE UNITY AMONG MEMBERS.2. TO REACH INTO OUR RESOURCES AND REACH OUT TO THE NEEDY IN THE SOICETY.3. TO ASSIST THE NEEDY IN ACHIEVING THEIR GLORIOUS DESTINIES.4. TO USE THE TOOLS OF EVANGELISM, MUSIC AND LEND A HELPING HAND TO SOUND AS A VOICE TO THE VOICELESS.5. TO SERVE AS AN EXTENSION OF GOD’S HAND OF COMPASSION TO THOSE WHO NEED IT. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

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CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES RESEARCH AND

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MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013

QUOTABLE QUOTEWe, governors, should be men of high

integrity, we should be role models and we should not play evil politics because most

people associate politics with evil.. — Gov. Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state

Rafael Nadal coped with an on-court intruder and the Paris rain to beat fellow

Spaniard David Ferrer and win a record eighth French Open title.

Nadal, 27, came through 6-3 6-2 6-3 to reaffirm his dominance on clay, and further elevate himself among the greats of the sport.

However, the final was marred by a brief protest high in the stands during the second set that was quickly followed by an intruder leaping onto the court while brandishing a flare.

Security guards managed to bundle the man to the ground as he approached Nadal, and the player even took care to shake an official’s hand before returning to the action.

Nadal immediately dropped his serve, but within an hour he had wrapped up the victory that makes him the first man to win a Grand Slam singles tournament eight times.

His 59th match win also takes him past Roger Federer and Guillermo Vilas at Roland Garros, while his 12th major title moves him above Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver on the all-time list.

Both men appeared edgy in the early stages, with breaks of serve exchanged in games three and four, but Nadal fired a brilliant cross-court backhand winner to move ahead again at 4-3 and took the set with a third break.

Former Manchester United, Everton and England defender Phil Neville has ended his 18-year playing career.

Neville, 36, announced in April that he would leave Everton this summer and now hopes to coach and work in the media following 505 top-flight appearances.

Neville, who has earned 59 England caps during his career, made his Premier League debut in 1995 for United in a 3-0 win over Manchester City and went on to feature in 19 seasons in the top flight.

The former United full-back and midfielder won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups and one Champions League crown at Old Trafford before joining Everton in 2005 for a fee of £3.5m.

Neville went on to captain the Blues under David Moyes. He ended his eight-year spell on Merseyside at the end of this season and said he was not planning to retire.

www.peoplesdailyng.com

. . . putting the people first

Nadal beats Ferrer to win French Open

Everton captain ends 18-year playing career

Yuguda is finishedIn matters of style, swim with

the current, in matters of principle, stand like a rock - Thomas Jefferson

Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state is an ideal politician. He says it, as it

isn’t. In Nigeria, this is a virtue. Here politicians lack character. They speak through both sides of their mouth. They call a spade a shovel. Because of this flaw, they just go with the flow. They just don’t swim against the current. They simply flow with it. They call that “politics”. I call it “opportunism”. Among the several labels hung on General Buhari, is one that stands out-He is not a “politician”. In simple clear language, he is not glib. He is so because he won’t run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. He won’t also double speak. Unlike Yuguda, Buhari says it as it is.

The current Republic has thrown up a lot of characters. Most of the characters now superintending over our affairs belong to comics. In this realm are the governors. All governors in this country hardly need an introduction. They are important people. And important people in Nigeria are tin-footed gods.

The Constitution of the Federal Republic gives their excellences’ such ‘divinity’. In office and in power, they can’t do any wrong. The guidebook called Constitution says they can’t be taken to court. They can’t be sued in that exalted capacity. Their words are law. God helps the political adventurer that stands up to an ‘executive’ governor.

Most governors are loud. I am tempted to say all of them are. But there are a few, like Saidu Dakingari, who, in comparison with such attention seekers like Babangida Aliyu, just mind the business of governance. Let me go a step further. All politicians are masters of double speak. This is excusable. They are politicians of the Nigerian hue. Let me sketch the

governors nationwide are tin-footed gods whose words are law. Look around; most of the governors have flatly refused to conduct local government elections because of the obvious political and material gains of having caretaker committees. And where it was held, the sitting governor’s party is returned in overwhelming victory.

Now back to Yuguda. He may not be a smooth talker but he is a smooth operator. Those who know him pretty well say he is both. Just two short days ago, Yuguda confirmed that anybody who buys a used car from him does so at his or her peril. He proved beyond reasonable doubt, that he is a master in the art of deception. Agents of his government clearly under instructions from “Oga at the top” pulled a stunt that will finally nail his political coffin.

It happened like this. Last Saturday, the city of Bauchi hosted easily the biggest gathering since the dawn of Boko Haram. The event was the wedding solemnization of the son of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the daughter of the former governor of the state Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu. It was a five star gathering. Among the crowd were several governors. The Speaker of the House, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal was also there. Naturally the parents of the bride and groom will be there.

Buhari was also billed to attend. And punctually he arrived the Bauchi airport aboard a chartered flight from Kaduna. On arrival, a

character of the Nigerian politician. They have no shame. They speak tongue in cheek. The orators among them ‘flabberwhelm’ you with piffle and with ‘overghast’ with bunkum. I just quoted the inimitable Dan Agbese. Our politicians suffer selective amnesia. Depending on their “mode’ and mood swings, they could oscillate between story telling and buck passing. When they say “no’’, they actually mean “perhaps”. When they say “perhaps” they actually mean “no”. And when they say “no”, they actually mean, “yes”.

The politician that gets elected is even more shameless. An executive or a lawmaker, they all covet the same thing-power for the sake of it. Their arrival, for instance, is announced at any public event amidst fanfare. Our

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horde of state government officials all of them, in retrospect, glib talkers like their master, were at hand to receive the three time presidential candidate with a caveat.

According to them, the time of the wedding ceremony has been delayed by an hour. No reason to suspect foul play, Buhari’s small entourage of not more than eight people believed the protocol officials, who, sickly saw “deception” and “trickery” as part of their brief.

Buhari declined an offer to be at the presidential lodge and opted to go see a friend instead. By the time he got to the venue of the wedding ceremony, he thought he was half an hour early. Alas he was half an hour late. Most of the crowd had dispersed.

Two educated guesses may help explain why the Yuguda team resort to this ploy. One, the governor was contracted by Abuja to ensure Buhari didn’t grace the wedding. Two, Yuguda knows only too well of Buhari’s monstrous appeal to the ordinary people of Bauchi state.

Whether he admits it or not, it was Buhari’s massive popularity that hurled Yuguda into office in 2007.Muscled out of the PDP by governor of the time and his bosom friend, Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu. It was to ANPP and Buhari a “helpless” Yuguda ran to for support. Both party and Buhari obliged. Buhari dutifully rose to the occasion and the radically inclined people of Bauchi answered the call by stopping the rigging machine of PDP. The rest, as they say, is history.

By 2009,Yuguda had abandoned the ANPP, engineered a botched impeachment of his deputy and defected to his old party, the PDP.

With a profile like that, it takes a glib talker to waltz through the political minefield that is Bauchi and still have a “large” following. But someone told me under oath that the followership Yuguda enjoys now is largely on account of what patronage he could dispense .I think the governor is aware of this. Unpopular at home, and with an uncertain political future, Yuguda has to pull such stunts as preventing Buhari from attending a wedding ceremony. Early last week, Yuguda called it quits with the Northern Governors Forum. He bandied “principles” as the main reason why he took the exit door. The vehemence with which he spoke of the regional body got me pondering. I asked the question “was it because he lost out or because he was under some obligation to destroy the forum?”

Bauchi state Gov. Isa Yuguda

MONDAYwith

Ali M. Alialiyumaliyu@yahoo.com

Now back to Yuguda. He may not be a smooth talker but he is a smooth operator. Those who know him pretty well say he is both. Just two short days ago, Yuguda confirmed that

anybody who buys a used car from him does so at his or her peril. He proved beyond reasonable doubt, that he is a master in the art of deception. Agents of his government clearly under instructions from “Oga at the top” pulled a stunt that will finally

nail his political coffin.

“