Peoples Daily Newspaper, Friday, May 25, 2012 by Peoples Media Limited

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

Vol. 8 No. 45

. . . putting the people first

Friday, May 25, 2012

Yakowa stops N58bn Kaduna millenium city project From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

trong indications emerged yesterday that the gargantuan millennium city project of the Kaduna state government has run into a serious funding hitch. Former Governor of the state who is now the VicePresident, Alhaji Mohammed Namadi Sambo, had conceived the project to decongest Kaduna metropolis and had contemplated it as “one of the best cities in the world” when completed. But briefing the press in Kaduna, Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Country Planning, Alhaji Sani Aminu Mohammed, said the project had been put on hold to allow a committee set up by Yakowa complete its work, of reviewing the cost of the project originally set at N58 billion. On assumption of office last year, Yakowa, according to the Commissioner, paid a working visit to the project site and was taken aback when he was told about the cost. He added: “The first question Yakowa asked when he saw the proposed N58 billion budget was where government will get the money from, and even if a loan is secured, at what interest and for what duration? “The governor set up a committee to review the concept of the new city with a view to reducing the budget and as the committee was working it identified two errors in the Contd on Page 2

Rajab 4, 1433 AH

N150

Malabu oil block deal:

How Jonathan’s aides shared N176bn largesse By Aminu Imam

resident Goodluck Jonathan’s associates, including ministers, have been named in a $1.1 billion (N176 bn) laundering scandal involving oil multinationals over the control of a deepwater oil block

that could contain up to 1 billion barrels of oil. Document s pertaining to the clandestine deal, obtained by Peoples Daily, revealed that the N176 billion secretly paid to a company run by a former oil minister, Dan Etete, by the Federal Government, on the

orders of President Goodluck Jonathan, was actually a slush fund, with a huge chunk of it ending up in bank accounts of cronies and business associates of government officials and, at least one individual with links to Jonathan. Dan Etete, it is recalled, was

convicted of money laundering in France in 2007. The current Justice Minister and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Adoke and the Minister of State for Finance, Alhaji Yerima Ngama, named in that deal too, allegedly played a Contd on Page 2

L-R: Shehu of Borno, Alhaji El-Kanemi Umar Garbai, President-General, Jama'atu Nasril Islam and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Saad Abubakar, Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, and Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, during the JNI Central Council meeting, yesterday, in Kaduna. Photo:NAN

Draft of oil bill ready next week >> PAGE 4

Don’t tamper with CBN autonomy, IMF warns >> PAGE 5

Sultan laments bloodshed in North, calls for prompt action >> PAGE 7

>> PAGE 17

PAGE 2

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

CONTENTS

110,000 cases pending in Federal, state high courts, says CJN

News

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

2-11

Editorial

Op.Ed

Letters

Opinion

Metro

16-17

Business

19-22

S/Exchange

S/Report

Religion

Feature

Newsxtra

State CPC Chairmen pass vote of no confidence on national EXCO, Page 40

International 31-34 Strange World 35 Digest

Politics

37-40

Sports

41-47

Columnist

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU The Peoples Daily wants to hear from you with any news and pictures you think we should publish. You can send your news and pictures to: letters@peoplesdaily-online.com pictures@peoplesdaily-online.com contact@peoplesdaily-online.com

Phones for News: 070-37756364 09-8734478

he Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Dahiru Musdapher has disclosed that 110,000 cases are pending in federal and state high courts across the country, saying that the situation must be redressed. Speaking yesterday in Abuja when he received the Coordinating Chairman and members of the Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT) who paid him a courtesy call, the CJN said: “We must rise up to the challenge and provide more avenues to justice and these paths need to lead to an outcome considered satisfactory by not only the

parties but also the public as a whole.” Justice Musdapher noted that “the desire of all Nigerians for a fast, simple and efficient justice system has formed the bedrock for the ongoing judicial reform initiative and it is heartwarning that this desire is shared by notable organisations like the TAT. “This is further illustrated by the facts that from the short period of inauguration and commencement of work by the tribunal, 26 appeals have been concluded and 55 struck out. “As I convey my congratulations to the tribunal on these commendable feats, permit me

to emphasize on the need for the sustenance of this impetus and that you should strive for greater heights.” The CJN emphasized that “transparency, fair hearing and substantial justice are embraced and utilized so that justice may be seen to be done.” Earlier, the Coordinating Chairman of TAT, Abraham Ndana Yisa, said the courtesy visit was part of the tribunal’s strategic plan to strengthen its operations and further deepen the relationship between the TAT and one of its key stakeholders in the judiciary. He said: “Tax Appeal Tribunal is an important

component of the tax administration system in Nigeria and the new tax policy offers a step by step objection and appeal process which gives the complainant an opportunity to explore other dispute resolution mechanisms before gaining access to the court system. “The Tax Appeal Tribunal was established pursuant to Section 59(1) of the Federal Inland Land Revenue (Establishment)Act 2007 as part of the of the on-going reforms in Nigeria’s tax system. The Tribunal was inaugurated on 4th February, 2010 and formally commenced operations in July 2010" he added.

How Jonathan’s aides shared N176bn largesse Contd from Page 1

major role in the sharing of the money. The documents revealed how the ministers in April, 2011 brokered the agreement to sell controversial oil block 245 to Shell and pay Malabu Oil and Gas from the proceeds. According to a resolution agreement reached in April between the Federal Government and Malabu, the former agreed to pay Malabu $1.1 billion in full settlement of its claim to the oil block, provided the company discontinued all pending suits in the matter. The document also showed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had indeed investigated the deal, concluding that the transaction pointed at a “cloudy scene associated with fraudulent dealings.” The EFCC investigation also clearly established that Mr. Etete’s Malabu only served as a money laundering machine, as substantial parts of the funds was later transferred to various accounts owned by “real and artificial persons” suspected to have links with the presidency and other government officials. The investigation also indicates that in order to cover up the corruption, the presidency tapped the Minister of State for Finance and Attorney-General to hurriedly transfer the funds to Mr. Etete on August 16, 2011, a

day before the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, assumed office. Yerima Ngama, was not available to comment on his knowledge of the transaction. However, spokesperson of the finance minister, Paul Nwabuikwu, said he was away in on an official engagement. Peoples Daily had on Tuesday reported how the Nigerian subsidiaries of two multinational oil companies Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited (Agip) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (Shell) paid $1.1billion (N155billion) to the Federal Government in April last year for onward transmission to Malabu Oil whose principal is Mr. Etete. At the heart of this brazen theft of public funds is someone named Abubakar Aliyu whom top Presidency and EFCC sources described as “Mr. Corruption” and who has very close business ties with Diepreiye Alamesieyegha, convicted former governor of Bayelsa state and whom Jonathan succeeded in office after the former was impeached over corruption charges. According to the documents, Aliyu, through companies coowned by him, received direct payments of $523m (N81bn) from the largesse. Investigators believe that the businessman, introduced to the President by Alamieyeseigha, was Jonathan’s front in the transaction.

The document further revealed that on August 16, 2011, Mr. Adoke and Yerima Ngama, coordinated the payment of a first tranche of $401.5million (N60billion) into a First Bank account 2018288005 belonging to Malabu. Another $400millionn (N60billion) was, based on the duo’s instructions, transferred into a Malabu Bank PHB (now Keystone bank) account 3610042472 from a Nigerian government account with JP Morgan International Bank. The balance of the fund was reportedly lodged into Etete’s account with Zenith Bank. Peoples Daily learnt that soon after Malabu received the money, the distribution began. Rocky Top Resources Limited, co-owned by Aliyu, received $336 million (N50bn) from Malabu’s Keystone Bank deposit. Other companies that got money from the Malabu transfers included A-Group Construction Company, also co-owned by Aliyu. It received $157mn (N24bn), while Novel Property and Development Limited, also coowned by Aliyu got $30 million (N4.5bn). Companies not linked to Aliyu but got money from Malabu included Mega Tech Engr Co. Ltd, which received $180 million (N27bn) and Imperial Union Limited, $34million (N5.1bn). Sources said those companies, like Aliyu’s, simply acted as fronts for

political office holders, who helped to facilitate the transfers, as they have no basis to receive such huge sums of money from Malabu. The EFCC has also not identified what tasks these companies performed to deserve the payments. “Reasons for this payment are yet to be ascertained,” the commission said. Long before the largesse was shared, however, Malabu had become a company renowned for shady deals. According to investigators, through “conspiracy, forgery, forged document, criminal misappropriation and money laundering,” Etete and Malabu Oil had been involved in illegalities since its formation. Formed on April 24, 1998, Malabu Oil had three shareholders: Mohammed Sani (Abacha, son of late military head of State Sani Abacha), Kweku Amafagha (who was representing Dan Etete on the board), and Hassan Hindu (representing her husband, Hassan Lawal, a former Nigerian High Commissioner to the UK). Sani allegedly owned 10 million of the 20 million shares in the company, Etete six million and Hassan, four million. Presidential spokesman, Mr. Reuben Abati could not be reached last night for comments. Meanwhile, a panel set up to investigate the round-tripping deal by the Senate President, David Mark , on Tuesday with its work and it is not known when it will complete the assignment.

Yakowa stops N58bn Kaduna millenium city project Contd from Page 1 concept. “So the delay in actualizing the new millennium city was due to changes in government and concept. “The concept was designed to address the issue of skyrocketing demands for land within Kaduna metropolis and the need to expand Kaduna eastward across River Kaduna. “The implementation of the millennium city is aimed at

having 10 districts when fully implemented and it will be larger than the present Kaduna city.” Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Zakariya Shamaki, who also briefed the press on the activities of his ministry, noted that government spent about N90 million monthly for the clean-up of the city. “We spend about N90 million every month to evacuate refuse and clean up the environment

but sometimes the money comes to about N80 million. The amount fluctuates; it depends on the volume of the refuse in a particular place”, he explained. “We go out on our own to inspect the environment. We surcharge offenders, and the contractors are paid by the Ministry of Finance through epayment. On illegal mining in some parts of the state, the

commissioner said the state government was “doing our best to curtail these activities though it is the responsibility of the federal government when it comes to mineral resources. “Now that the Ministry of Solid Minerals has been merged with my ministry, we are working hard to see that we play a complementary role to ensure that security agencies are alerted whenever there is a case of illegal mining in the state.”

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 3

Young scholars set to benefit from new student fund

L-R: National President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, National President, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Michael Alogba, NUT Secretary General, Obong Ikpe Johnny Obong, and National Treasurer, Dr. Nasir Mohammed during the NUT press briefing on the state of education yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

We won’t join issues with Obasanjo, say Reps By Umar Mohammed Puma

he House of Representatives yesterday said it would not be compelled to join issues with former President Olusegun Obasanjo since the National Assembly, which Obasanjo accused of being made up of rogues, has two institutions, the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The chairman of House Committee on Information, Hon Zakari Mohammed who said this while briefing newsmen yesterday, added that: “I think the former President Obasanjo is in search of some relevance and he thinks the way to go about it is to take shots at the legislature. We won't join issues with him but I think it is wrong for an elder to stand outside and pee into the house. The normal practice

in Africa is to go outside and pee, not to stand outside and pee into the house. But if you do that I am sure that children will be wondering the kind of elder you are. On Wednesday, the matter was referred to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges to determine whether it is necessary to invite Obasanjo or not. Hon Zakari also said: “Since I came here as a legislator, I have

not heard stories of Ghana must go bags but when former President Obasanjo was in charge, nocturnal visits of Ghana-must-go bags were a routine in an attempt to buy over the legislature and having failed especially with the last one over his third term agenda during which several millions of dollars were involved, I don't think it is right for anybody to have headache over whatever he says.”

BOI seeks EFCC assistance in debt recovery By Lamber Tyem

arely 24 hours after the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), invited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to assist it in minimizing smuggling across the country, the Bank of Industry (BOI), yesterday sought the commission’s

From Edwin Olofu, Kano

wo middle-aged men are cooling their feet in police detention for allegedly having canal knowledge of their biological daughters aged 5 and 6 respectively. The suspects identified as Yakubu Ismaila of Kawo Lambu and Yakubu Abdullahi of Sheka quaters in the Kano metropolis, were said to have lured their daughters and had sex with them. The Kano state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris who disclosed this to newsmen revealed that medical reports of two cases were obtained pointing out that there are substantial evidence of violation by the two accused persons believed to be in their late 30’s. Idris further disclosed that

assistance to halt the declining fortune of local firms in the country. The Managing Director of the bank, Ms Evelyn Oputu, made the request during a courtesy call on the EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde. According to Ag. Head, Media & Publicity of EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, Oputu pointed out that

the negative disposition of many local firms to loan repayment, in an economy crying for development, would need the active engagement of the EFCC and other stakeholders. “We have come to EFCC with clean hands; we want to be able to constantly have a dialogue, working together so that you can

understand us better; we want you to understand what we stand for. We want to affiliate ourselves with you, to pass the message to our teeming customers that in working with EFCC, those who do the right thing will get a reward for that and those who choose not to do the right thing will be handed over to the EFCC for prosecution,” she said.

Police detain two men over incest in Kano recorded rape cases are on the rise in the city over the last one month adding that the command is currently contending with three other cases that involved youngsters

and married men. He revealed that an eight-year old girl was waylaid on her way to school in Rogo town by one Nura Magaji who dragged her into a nearby building and forcefully

raped her. The police boss stated that one Muhammad Salisu of Yelwa quarters in the city also lured a sixyear old girl into his room and allegedly defiled her.

undreds of young sports stars, musicians and scholars around the world are being offered the chance to study at one of Scotland’s universities through a new fund put together by the British High Commission. According to a release signed by the commission’s press secretary, Hooman Nouruzi the Overseas Student Scholarship Fund of 750,000 pounds ($1.2 million) is open to students living outside the European Union and the European Free Trade Area who are liable to pay overseas tuition fees and who would bring additional personal and academic qualities to the University of Abertay Dundee, enrolling in September 2012.

Bill to fix local council polls passes second reading By Umar Mohammed Puma

bill for an act to make it mandatory for election to the office of chairmen and councilors of local government councils to be held on a particular date, yesterday passed second reading at the floor of the House of Representatives. Leading the debate, Hon. Sani Ahmad (PDP-Kwara) said that the reason for the amendment is to entrench true federalism and deepen democracy in the country. Hon. Munir Danagundi (PDPKano) said that the amendment would bring sanity to the local Government councils and check the unnecessary delay in conducting elections. Hon. Francis Enekorogha (PDP-Delta) who spoke against the bill said that it is not right for the National Assembly to make it mandatory for state assemblies to fix date for council polls, adding that the amendment would increase the number of litigations at that level of governance. Meanwhile, a bill to establish the Federal University of Uyo also passed third reading at the floor of the House. Another bill for an Act to ensure full integration of Nigerians with disability into the society and eliminate all forms of discrimination against them passed third reading.

C’ttee discovers 8,000 ghost workers in Kano

bout 8,000 ghost workers have been fished out of the pay roll of Kano state government, the state Commissioner for Information, Internal Affairs, Youths Sports and Culture, Dr. Umar F. Jibril has revealed. Dr. Jibril, who made the disclosure while briefing journalists on the deliberations of

the state weekly executive council meeting, explained that the figure is contained in an interim report of the of the ongoing biometric data exercise in respect of the state and local government staff. “The report highlighted the progress made so far in which over 8,000 ghost workers were identified pending the completion

of the exercise”, he stated. The commissioner disclosed that the council approved an expenditure of N3,176,917,530.42 for the execution of 11 projects, including about N1.7 billion which was approved to allow the state Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB utilize the 2011 matching grant fund to construct classrooms

and provide teachers’ and students’ furniture. Also approved by the council is the sum of N740 million being share capital for the 37 proposed Micro Finance banks across the state while N197.8 million was approved for the supply of 2,300 metric tons of aluminum sulphate for the treatment of water at various water plants in the state.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 4

Police arrest 8 Ogun officials over death of motorcyclist From Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, Abeokuta

ight staffers of Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) alleged to have beaten to death Samuel Adoke over traffic offence in Abeokuta, on Wednesday, have been arrested by the police. Peoples Daily reliably gathered that the suspects currently detained at Eleweran Police Headquarters in Abeokuta, have made statements with regards to the unfortunate incident which

occurred at Sokori area of the town and claimed the life of the 36-yearold father of two. Credible sources told our reporter that an autopsy had been carried on the corpse of the victim, a guard with one of the new generation bank in the town, while the result is expected to be available within the next 48 hours from the time of filing this report. The Ogun State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the arrest, explaining that investigations into the matter were still ongoing.

Jonathan inaugurates scholarship c’ttee for first class graduates By Abdulrahman Abbdulraheem

resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday inaugurated a Presidential Committee to implement the government’s plan to award scholarships to first class graduates. Speaking while inaugurating the committee headed by Professor Julius Okojie at the State House, Abuja, the President said: “We are committed to changing the educational system from the primary school to the tertiary level. We must also select our best brains and expose them properly so that they would form the first core of human tool that would lead the country to a sustainable transformation. We are starting with 100

students because we have not made adequate arrangement for funding, but the number will increase when we make budgetary allocation for it in 2013.” He continued: “We will select our best brains in the area of science, engineering and some areas of economics and expose them to the best facilities available in the world. The ministry of education and this committee will have to travel to these universities to negotiate for positions in the top 25 universities in the world.” Chairman of the committee, Prof Okojie promised to ensure thorough screening to ensure that the best of the first class holders were selected for post-graduate studies up to PhD level.

JTF raises alarm over threat text messages in Borno From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

he Joint Military Task Force in Borno state (JTF), yesterday, raised alarm over what it termed a ‘clique’ of extortionists hiding under the guise of insecurity to extort money from the public through threat text messages. Spokesman of the JTF, Lt.- Col. Sagir Musa, in a statement issued

to newsmen, said the group sends text messages to some people threatening to visit doom on them should they fail to lodge a particular amount of money. The statement reads in part: "The attention of the JTF has been drawn to the activities of extortionists who send threat text messages to individuals, demanding for a specified amount of money to be paid into certain account numbers within a

particular period and that failure to comply will attract attack." "Whoever receives such messages should report the matter to the nearest security outfit or the JTF headquarters along Pompomari ward”, it said. The statement added that those unable to report the issue to the JTF headquarters, should forward the message to the following numbers: 08064174066, 07085464012 and 08154429346.

Draft of Nigeria oil bill being finalised

new draft of Nigeria’s long delayed oil bill, whose passage is needed to unblock billions of dollars of stalled investment into exploration and production, will be finalised this week, sources close to the matter said yesterday. A copy of the 200-page Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) obtained by Reuters includes plans to partly privatise and list the state oil firm, tax oil company profits at 20 percent for deep offshore and 50 percent for shallow or onshore, and give the oil minister supervisory powers over all institutions in the industry. Current oil firm profit taxes are not published. A spokesman for Nigeria's leading operator Shell said he did not know what current tax rates were. The PIB has been years in the making and the delays have caused uncertainty over the future framework of working in Nigeria, costing the industry billions of dollars of potential investment and the government much-needed revenues. Without it, most analysts expect oil production in Nigeria to decline substantially over the next few years. Nigeria exports more than 2 million barrels a day (bpd) of crude oil popular with U.S. buyers because it is light and easy to refine. China and India are also growing takers of Nigerian crude. Even when this version gets

to parliament, there is no guarantee lawmakers will push it through, as powerful vested interests could block or delay it, as has happened in the past. President Goodluck Jonathan is explicitly behind this version and it was drawn up by a taskforce of senators his administration appointed, but even though his party has a majority in both houses of parliament it could still stall. The bill as drafted would also roll Nigeria's various regulatory bodies for upstream and downstream into one, and give Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke power to pick who runs it. Placing all institutions concerned with oil under her supervision may upset those who hoped the bill would curb her already substantial powers. Previously the downstream regulator was independent of the ministry.

L-R: President Goodluck Jonathan, Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC) Professor Julius Okojie, Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i, Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETF), Professor Mahmood Yakub, and Minister of State for Education, Dr. Nyesom Wike, during the inauguration of Presidential Committee on Award of Post -Graduate Scholarship to 1st class graduates, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

Gombe to distribute seven million tree seedlings From Auwal Ahmad, Gombe

n its effort to curb desert encroachment and environmental degradation, the Gombe state government plans to raise and distribute about seven million tree seedlings this year. The Commissioner for Water Resources, and Environment, Alhaji Idris Muhammad Mahadi disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Gombe

Mahadi said already, the state government has raised over one million trees seedlings for distribution to members of the public free of charge. According to him the 11 local government areas in the state have been directed to raise 5000, 000 tree seedlings each to provide least 5.5 million seedlings. The commissioner explained that considering the over two million people in the state, at

least each individual would have the opportunity of planning two trees and this would go a long way in checking desertification. Mahadi who expressed concern over the rampant and indiscriminate felling of trees for fire wood and warned that the government would not fold its arms and continue to watch such dangerous trend which has adverse consequences on the environment.

Training allowance: NUT issues ultimatum to NTI By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

he Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), has given the Nigerian Teachers Institute a 21-day ultimatum to pay off the outstanding N11,500 training allowance it owes it members who participated in the recent Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) training for teachers.

Addressing journalists yesterday in Abuja, President of the Union, Comrade Michael Olukoya, threatened that if the outstanding allowances were not paid after the ultimatum, the union will direct its members to boycott all the MDG trainings for teachers. He regretted that while NTI could afford money to pay the resource persons, it could not pay

teachers the allowance meant to cover their accommodation, transport and feeding for the one week programme. He added that though the union had already written to NTI, the response given on why teachers were paid only N2, 500 out of the approved N14, 000 were unsatisfactory, emphasising that the days when people rode on the back of teachers to make their

fortunes were gone. According to Comrade Odukoya “ teachers were to be paid a stipend of 14,000 per participant for the six days training programme organised for teachers nationwide by NTI under the auspices of 2011 MDGs programme, the institute rather short-changed the teachers by paying N2,500 to each participant”.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 5

IMF cautions NASS over CBN autonomy By Abdulwahab Isa

he International Monetary Fund (IMF), has cautioned that a dependent Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will impact negatively on the country’s

monetary policy. It also reiterated that Nigeria currently enjoys robust monetary policy because of the independence of the apex bank which allows it to respond quickly to managerial policy.

IMF Country Chief/Senior Resident Representative, Mr. W. Scott Rogers, gave the caution yesterday in Abuja at an interactive session with the media on the recently published IMF subSaharan Africa regional economic outlook with perspective on the Nigerian economy. Rogers’ opinion came against the backdrop of move by the

Murdered cop’s family threatens to sue Ringim, Army From Ojebola Matthew, Lagos

he family of the deceased Ibereko Divisional Crime Officer (DCO), Okedusi Samson, has threatened to sue former Inspector-General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, Nigerian Army and other individuals or agencies involved.

Speaking with newsmen in Lagos yesterday, the head of Okedusi family, Dr. Michael Okedusi, said the family would seek redress in court as the police has failed to fish out and prosecute the murderer of his brother, DCO Okedusi and his colleagues. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Samuel Salihu and others,

were allegedly killed by soldiers extra-judicially at Badagry in May 2011 while the payment of victims’ gratuity has not been made by police, Okedusi said, adding that “we wrote the then IGP, Hafiz Ringim, the Federal Government and other concerned authority for justice to prevail over the case. But till date, nothing has happened to the alleged murderers of my brother”.

National Assembly to amend the 2007 CBN Act, first to replace the CBN governor as chairman of the board, and to also compel the CBN to submit its budget to the National Assembly. “IMF has always advocated for a strong independent CBN which we think provides the autonomy to keep policy action on monetary policy. Without autonomous Central Bank, you

do not have any independent managerial policy, everything becomes dependent upon the budget alone. As you can see the CBN monetary policy has helped in building a strong reserve; so it’s important the CBN has its autonomy to help building the economy and it should be able to take its decision without fear of being penalised”, he said.

Driver survives after skidding lost control and the car skidded off off 2 lanes the lane, across the culvert By Muhammad Sada

he driver of a Toyota Sienna car was lucky to have escaped unhurt after losing control, and skidding off two lanes and crashing into a fence along the Maitama junction highway yesterday afternoon. According to the driver of the light green Sienna with registration number AA 838 ABJ, Mr. Chinedu, “I was alone in my car driving and all of a sudden, I

demarcating the lanes, onto the other lane and end up crashing into a fence of a mechanic garage” behind which a mechanic was sleeping. The sleeping mechanic, on hearing the noise of the car, scampered to safety before the car crashed into the fence and damaged it. According to an eye witness, “we were sitting across the road when all of a sudden we saw the car lose control and skid off two lanes and ended on a fence beside the road”.

Gigama, FHA return to court June 27 over trespass case By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

case of trespass brought by Messrs Gigama Consolidated Ventures Ltd against the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), has been adjourned to June 27, for further mention by an Abuja High Court. The company in the suit, is seeking the sum of N50 million as damages from FHA for allegedly trespassing on its plot of land located on plot No. 7, Apo Extension II Layout, Apo, Abuja. The company wants the court to make an order directing the FHA to pay it N30 million, being the value of the property the defendant allegedly destroyed on the disputed plot of land and another N1 million, being the cost of the suit. The plaintiff noted that in spite of the order of the court restraining the defendant

from carrying out any construction on the parcel of land pending the determination of the suit, the defendant still went on to cause the destruction of the block fence of eight block height, the motorized borehole and rails for mounting of block moulding machines it built on the land. It further averred that FHA sent its workmen to the plot on December 6, 2011 and pulled down the fence and other fixtures without any explanation for their action. The statement stated that AGIS confirmed that the title of the plaintiff in respect to the land in question remains valid. In a statement of claim deposed to by the representative of the company, Alhaji Yusuf Abba, the plaintiff averred that he was the owner of the land measuring about 4, 476 Square Metres, allocated to him via a letter

World inter-faith group says Nigeria has solution to insecurity From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

high powered delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Royal Aal Al-bayt Institute of Peace yesterday disclosed that Nigeria has the solution to the security challenges currently bedeviling the country. The 20-man inter-faith body made up of world eminent Christian and Muslim leaders visited the troubled Jos city and met with traditional rulers and religious leaders from the state. The group's first point of contact was the Government House where they were received by the Governor Jonah Jang. Secretary General of WCC and leader of the delegation, Rev Olav Fykse Tveit, and Prince Ghazibin Mohammed of Jordan, told the host that they had come to Nigeria to listen to different sides of the divide and to see where the world could be of help. According to Mohammed: "We are in Nigeria to meet with the religious leaders about peaceful co-existence and tolerance. We are here also to see if the international community can be of any help in the crises".

On his part, Tveit said: "The joint delegation of Christian and Muslim leaders have come together to express common concern and common solidarity with the people of Nigeria". According to him "We are also here to listen together and try to understand together what are your challenges and your strength and also in different ways, bring all reflections to those who can also be of help either through advice or through other processes". They expressed belief that Nigeria and Nigerians had the capacity to lead in providing the solution and called for concerted efforts out of the problem. Responding Governor Jang said security information had pointed to the fact that some influential individuals were exploiting religion to sponsor the violence against the country for personal interests. He further lamented that the crisis had gone beyond Plateau and had spread all over the Northern states, regretting that reports of past committees on Jos crisis were not implemented by the Federal Government.

of offer of terms of grant by the Ministry of the Planning and Survey Department, AMAC Federal Capital Territory (MFCT), Land zonal planning office on September 30, 2003.

PAGE 6

From Salisu Zakari Maradun, Gusau ver N85 million has been earmarked for the payment of scholarship to 8170 Zamfara state students studying in tertiary institutions across the country. So far, 5170 have been settled through their different banks by the state’s scholarship board. This is coming after students had given up and then taken up indigeneship of other states more responsive than their own. Speaking to Peoples Daily on

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Unpaid grants push Zamfara students to other states the activities of the committee, the chairman, students screening committee, Alhaji Aminu Jelani, explained that the committee had succeeded in settling almost all debt owed the students, adding that the rest would soon get theirs. Jelani stated that the committee visited all the

…Govt earmarks N85m

tertiary institutions where the students study with the aim of reducing the hardship in coming to the state capital for collection as was the case. According to Jelani, who also doubles as the chairman,

Teachers Service Board, some of the students changed their registration with Zamfara state and opted for other states. "That is why such students were not given a single kobo, because we understood that

their registration was not in the name of their state", he said. The committee, he said, discovered that the decamping students took the decision during former Governor Shinkafi's administration when they spent more than three years without being paid.

Al-makura inaugurates four new high court judges From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia overnor Umaru Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa state, yesterday, swore in four new High Court judges for the state while announcing plans to build new High Courts in Mararaba and Karu, to assist the judiciary in coping with the ever increasing litigations in the Abuja suburbs. The governor stated this while inaugurating the High Court Judges asjwell as the state's Muslim and Christian pilgrims welfare boards in Lafia, the state capital. While promising to appoint more judges to curb unnecessary delay in the dispensation of justice, Al-makura however warned trespassers on public facilities, particularly those who take advantage of their social status and economic strength to encroach on court premises by erecting illegal structures with impunity. He said, government would not spaer any individual or corporate body found to have encroached on public property, including court premises. Those sworn-in as High Court judges were Haruna Offo, Daniel Adecks, Hussaini Abdullahi and Danjuma Oyigbenu.

Borno to relocate NUJ press centre From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

orno state government has announced plans to relocate the Press Centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), located on the popular Lagos Street, Maiduguri, the state capital to pave the way for the dualisation of the road. Addressing the press yesterday, the sate Commissioner for Works and Transport, Engr. Ibrahim Bukar, said the centre built over 25 years has to make way for the dualization of the road which is often congested causing serious traffic jam. Engr. Bukar said the government in order to appease journalists in the state, has decided to get them a plot of land and to build a befitting structure elsewhere in the state capital.

L-R: Former President, Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Mrs. Fatima Abdulkareem, National Coordinator, Publish What You Pay Nigeria, Ms. Faith Nwadishi, and Executive Secretary of NEITI, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, during NEITI's national stakeholders' summit, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Ikeja NBA election: Don’t swear in new excos, court warns From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, presided over by Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo, yesterday refused to vacate an order of an interim injunction, restraining the electoral committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch from swearing-in the newly-elected officers of the branch. The interim injunctions were

granted penultimate Tuesday while ruling on an ex parte motion filed by Mr. Dare Akande, counsel to one of the chairmanship contestants in the election, Mr. Yinka Farounbi. Farounbi is challenging the conduct of the election while seeking the interpretation of the by-laws of the association, as related to conduct of its election. Respondents in the suit include: election committee chairman, Mr.

Oladosu Ogunniyi, outgoing branch chairman, Mr. Adebamigbe Omole and the embattled officers-elect, which included Mr. Onyekachi Ubani, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana and Mrs. Caroline Ibeh, Mr. Adegbite Adesina, Mrs. Titilayo Osagie, Mrs. Memuna Esegine and Mrs. Silver-Nelly Ajakaiye. At the resumed sitting of the court yesterday, counsel to the first defendant (Ogunniyi), Mr. Oludare Falana, said he was yet to be served with the originating summons of the matter.

SNG vs FGN: Judge gives May 30 date for ruling From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

Federal High Court sitting in Ikeja, yesterday, adjourned ruling in the fuel subsidy suit instituted by Save Nigeria Group (SNG), against the Federal Government of Nigeria till Wednesday May 30, 2012. Justice Stephen Adah had on Wednesday adjourned the ruling having arrived late to preside over the case. After the nationwide strike and protest against the removal of fuel subsidy in January 2012, SNG and its allies had instituted a legal action against the Federal Government for

what it termed illegal deduction of N2.5 trillion for subsidy payments from the Consolidated Revenue Fund instead of the N245 billion in the 2011 Appropriation Act by the National Assembly. ''Having regard to the provisions of Sections 80(2) (3) & 81(1) & (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or any other person acting on his instructions can lawfully withdraw and expend monies from the Consolidation Revenue Fund or any other public funds of the Federation without authorisation by an Appropriation Act, Supplementary Appropriation Act or

any Act of the National Assembly.'' SNG is also seeking to know whether the act of the 1st Defendant in withdrawing and/or directing the withdrawal of the unappropriated sum of N2,587,087,000,000.00from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation (instead of the sum of N245 billion authorised by the Appropriation Act 2011 to meet petroleum subsidy payments for the 2011 financial year, when the alleged expenditure of the said N2,587,087,000,000.00 is neither charged upon that Consolidated Revenue Fund nor authorised by the Appropriation Act 2011, Supplementary Appropriation Act

New FCT FRSC commander promises better rules By Etuka Sunday

he new sector commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), FCT Sector Command, Commander Joshua Kayode Fanola, has assumed office with the promise not to change the rules but to enhance them for the development of the commission. Fanola who made this known while briefing journalists in his office yesterday, pledged his loyalty to contribute his quota to the development of the FRSC, and to use the resource at his disposal to ensure that the roads are safe for the users. He said FRSC is alive to its responsibility in ensuring the safety of lives and properties on the road; therefore he would do his best to ensure that the road is safe for everybody. According to him, "the major statutory responsibility is to enlighten the public on how to use the road and it is the press that has the facilities to adequately enlighten the public therefore the press is the major stakeholders in the issue of road safety," he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 7

Fashola tasks police on small crimes

L-R: Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Esther Adeyemi, Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Zainab Maina,and Minister of Information, Mr. Lababran Maku, during the 2012 National Day Special Sitting of the Nigerian Children's Parliament, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Enough of bloodshed in the North, Sultan cries out From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna & Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

he Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has lamented the fragile state of security in the north, saying that the bloodshed must stop now. According to Abubakar, who is also the President-General of Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), “we must come back to our senses and say firmly and resolutely that enough is enough.” The Sultan who spoke yesterday during the opening ceremony of the JNI Central Council meeting at Arewa House, Kaduna, lashed out at the nation’s political leaders who he accused of insensitivity to the plight of the impoverished masses who elected them into office. Abubakar noted that the level of insecurity in the northern states is slowly but surely tearing apart every fabric of the religious, social and economic life of the people and that all hands should be on deck in the search for peace and security in the society. According to him, “the bloodshed must stop. Each and every one of us must come to appreciate that we cannot continue on this destructive path. “We must open active, meaningful and sincere channels of dialogue and communication to ensure that we listen to those who have real grievances and to take genuine efforts to address them. “But we must as the Ummah, also take a resolute stand against those who take advantage of this unfortunate situation to wreak havoc on society, in pursuit of their narrow interests. “Allah will definitely put to

shame those who seek to violate the honour and sanctity of Muslims. We must at all times seek Allah’s intervention through prayers for there is no calamity or distress that He cannot dispel.” Lamenting the level of poverty in the society, the Sultan said the federal, state and local governments must embark on meaningful development programmes that would make life easier and more pleasant for the majority of the people. As he put it, “the current level of poverty, especially in the northern states, cannot be acceptable in any decent society. “We can hide behind our rhetoric but we cannot run away from the stark realities which characterize the daily lives of our people. “Traditional and religious leaders must bear a special responsibility in counselling those in positions of authority at the federal, state and local government levels that governance must necessarily be equated with service to the people and that the socio-economic development of the society. “The prosperity of the state must translate into the prosperity of the entire populace. It shall not be the exclusive preserve of the few who happen to have access to state resources. “When we vie with one another in a democratic society for positions of leadership, it is equally incumbent upon us to vie with each other to make leadership more meaningful to the generality of the people.” Declaring the meeting open, Kaduna state Governor, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, described the current insecurity situation in the country as a challenge “that calls for the contribution of all Nigerians who desire that the

nation continues as we inherited it from those who led our independence struggle. “The JNI, being a noble organization, founded on truth and piety to educate Muslims, should maintain its original mandate and form, and go ahead with renewed vigour to establish much more cordial relationships with other faith-based organizations such as happened in the late Sardauna era. Meanwhile, Acting InspectorGeneral of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar has urged Nigerians to be patient with him in these challenging times. Speaking yesterday when he met with Oyo state Governor Abiola Ajimobi in his office in Ibadan, Abubakar said that he assumed office at a time when police stations and schools were being attacked and innocent souls killed. However, he assured that the floating of the National Security Trust Fund had become necessary in order to tackle the security challenges facing the country at large. He added: “we are aware of these challenges and are determined to tackle them”, he said. “When we came in these challenges were much more than what we see today. Today, arrests are being made of these hoodlums and charlatans. “Today, we have a large cache of arms and ammunition recovered from these charlatans and we are making progress as safety and security are being restored in major cities where these attacks are being made.’’ The police boss said he and his team had been working hard with the citizens of the country to ensure an improvement in security in the land.

Abubakar said: ‘Ours is to build a people-friendly police force; a police force that will be respected, respect Nigerians and provide safety and security for every citizen of this country; a police that will not harass the citizens; a police force that will be friendly in its attitude, actions and inactions; a police force that will help the aged, the children and the needy in terms of their needs. “This is our mission and vision; a competent police force that is well trained, well motivated and well equipped for the security challenges of this country,’’ he said. He, however, identified high level of poverty, unemployment and a widening gap between the haves and the have-nots as contributory factors for crime and criminality to flourish. “We have a lot of graduates and even those who have not attended any school who have nothing to do. It becomes worrisome, when you go round this country and you see the faces of unemployed persons,” he said. “You begin to wonder that we just have to do what we have to do at the level of federal, state and local governments to begin to plan and put policies in place for the employment of these persons,’’ the police boss said. Abubakar commended Gov. Ajimobi for his passion and commitment to the security of lives and property of the people of the state which, he said, had always been known to be very peaceful. In his remarks, Governor Ajimobi said that the peace which had eluded the state before the advent of his administration has been restored. He also disclosed that all was now set for the launch of the Oyo State Security Trust Fund next month.

agos state governor, Babatunde Fashola, has called on security agencies in the country to pay more attention to minor social vices as a means to stem the escalation of violent crimes in the society. Governor Fashola, who spoke while playing host to the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, said the failure to deal with such crimes as rape, abuse of drugs, abuse of women and children, assault and others was responsible for the escalation of such violent crimes as kidnapping, armed robbery, terrorism and the like. “We are losing our capacity to deal with those everyday crimes; but it is the failure to deal with those crimes that escalate to armed robbery, kidnapping and terrorism.” The Governor added: “We must, therefore, go back to enforcing compliance to traffic rules, prosecuting substance abuse, abuse of alcohol and others because it is from these small ones that the big and violent ones develop.” Governor Fashola, who said the whole issue of crime stems from non-compliance to the rule of law and order, pointed out that when people imbibe the impression that they could rape, indulge in drug abuse, drive against traffic and such other infringements and get away with it, they eventually graduate to higher and more serious crimes.

Group berates Nyako’s aide over comments on Lamurde crisis From Blessing Tunoh, Yola

he leadership of the Pene Da Bwatiye, a sociocultural association, has berated Governor Murtala Nyako’s Press Secretary, Maijama’a Adamu, over his comments on the recent bloodbath by suspected Fulani mercenaries in 12 communities of Lamurde area council of Adamawa state. National president of the association Mr. Hezron Fada, said Adamu’s allegation that leaders of the group had met with Governor Nyako two days earlier before the attack to solicit for money to reach out to the armed Fulanis and persuade them against planned attacks was reckless and untrue. In a strongly worded statement, Fada disclosed that leadership of the group, including members representing Lamurde and Numan constituencies as well as Nyako’s former commissioner only gate-crashed to see the governor on Sunday 13, May 2012 after the massacre.

PAGE 10

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Niger govt isn’t wasteful, says Commissioner From Iliya Garba, Minna

L-R: Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu, Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji, and Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Comrade Peter Esele, during the Federation of Trade Unions’ meeting with the minister, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

NOA boss tasks journalists on investigative reporting By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

n the light of the speculations that trailed the recent arrest of a suspected terrorist at Radio House, Abuja, the DirectorGeneral of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Mike Omeri has charged the media to embrace investigative reporting as a way of assisting security

agencies to unravel crimes and suspected criminals. Omeri, who gave this charge when the leadership of Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Zone ‘D’ led by its vice president, Mrs. Veronica Ogbole, paid him a visit in his office, added that “the more responsible the media is, the more credible it would be as foreign media rely

considerably on local ones”. A statement issued yesterday by its Chief Press Secretary, Paul Odenyi, urged journalists to verify all information before broadcasting or publishing them as the Freedom of Information Bill prescribes. It further called for the support of the media in sensitising the public on the benefits of the Multi Year Tariff Order in electricity which he

said would encourage electricity smartness and save costs for the rural dwellers and urban poor who consume less electricity. He noted that under the new tariff regime, heavy consumers would pay as high as N40 per kilohour, while light consumers would pay as low as N4 per kilo-hour as against the present rate of N7 per kilo-hour.

Gov Aliyu advises youth to fight Group urges FG to look said. corruption He said Nigerian youths beyond Boko Haram From Iliya Garba, Minna

igerian youths have been charged to declare war against corruption which is ravaging the country and condemn those found to have corrupted themselves in order to better the society. Niger state governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu made this known yesterday at a one day Youth Parliament retreat held at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre, Minna. “You must lead the fight against corruption in all its ramifications in this country, you must stand up to condemn it, to oppose it, and attack it wherever it rears its head”, Governor Aliyu

should ask questions and demand explanations where they perceive or suspect corruption because “it is the only way to secure their future”. Gov. Aliyu expressed regret that corruption has eaten deep into the body fabrics of the society and the time has come for the country to “entrench the right ethical and moral values to put our nation on the right track for sustainable development”. As future leaders youths should see themselves as agents of positive change for a better society adding that they should also be agents of peace, development, and national integration because “the future certainly belongs to the well educated and the well prepared”, he reiterated.

From Adesoji Oyinlola, Lagos

Lagos based group, Arewa United Association, has urged the Federal Government to look beyond the dreaded Boko Haram as the only group behind insecurity in the country, especially the north. Speaking to our reporter, the national co-coordinator, Alhaji Ado Dansudu, said recent arrest of suspected bombers in some parts of the north revealed that it is not only Boko Haram that is behind the spate of bombings and attacks. According to him, suspected bombers arrested in Kano and Abuja in the last two weeks are

not from the North. Therefore, he said the Federal Government should properly investigate the statement credited to the National Security Adviser, Andrew Azazi that some members of the PDP are behind the insurgence. “We suspect that some people are out to cause disaffection among the various ethnic groups in the country. They think by doing that they can set the pace for distrust among Nigerians, but the insecurity thing happening in the north is making Nigerians to come closer to each another regardless of where they hail from”, he said

iger state government has refutted the allegation by Senator Ibrahim Musa representing Niger-North that Niger state has been wasting funds meant for the development of the state. The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructural Development, Engr. Abubakar Baba Jibrin, made this known in Minna in a chat with journalists. He said there is no truth in what the Senator said about Niger state, adding that it was a calculated attempt to drag the name of the government in the mud. Engr. Jibrin also reiterated that the present administration is doing everything within its reach to make sure that every community benefits from the government which is geared towards Vision 3:2020, to transform Niger state into one of the three most developed state in Nigeria. Opposing the allegations by Senator Musa that the state government took a bond of N6 billion that is yet to be justified, Engr. Jibrin maintained that the projects that the N6 billion was earmarked for, have been completed and commissioned.

Labour minister urges INEC to obey rule of law By Albert Akota

he Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to obey the court ruling over the unionisation of workers in the commission. His advice was in reaction to the reported refusal of INEC to allow its workers to form unions in spite of the National Industrial Court’s ruling and the provisions of the section 40 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Chief Wogu asserted that the mantra of the present administration is respect for the rule of law and given that the judgment of NIC has not been vacated nor appealed against by INEC, the only option for the commission is to obey the ruling.

HURIWA protests police brutality By Tinuade Oredoyin

uman Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), a civil society organisation, has protested the physical brutality and violence allegedly meted out by Sergeant Samuel Urmul of the Cemetery Police Station Aba, Abia state, to a

middle age crippled widow, Mrs. Chinyere Anyanwu, on Thursday May 17th 2012. HURIWA in a media statement, said their attention was called to the incident of the cruel maltreatment of the disabled widow and it carried out independent investigation of the matter and has decided to alert the

nation of the emerging dangerous pattern of vicious human rights abuse by the police in Aba, Abia state. The national coordinator of the group, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, expressed worry that the operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have become some of the worst human rights violators.

Comrade Onwubiko also stated that the group has officially petitioned the National Human Rights Commission and that the office of the Inspector General of Police and the Police Service Commission have condemned the failure of the police hierarchy to identify, prosecute and ensure that police operatives who

perpetrate human rights violations are punished in accordance with the law. However, HURIWA stated that the brutal physical attack by the police operative on Mrs. Anyanwu amounted to torture and a breach of section 34(1) of the constitution and her right to dignity of human person.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 11

INEC conducts voter education for principals, students in Nasarawa From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

s part of its duty to educate the electorates on civic responsibilities, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Nasarawa state has met with principals and students of secondary schools from across the state.

The sensitisation meeting tagged “Catching them Young”, which held at the Abacha Youth Centre in Lafia, was the commission’s effort toward ensuring efficiency and productivity in the management of electoral activities through adequate voter education. In his speech at the occasion,

Alhaji Ahmad Makama, the resident electoral commissioner, observed that the challenges faced during the 2011 general election had no doubt signaled a new dimension in the commission’s desire for the broadening of voter education so as to imbibe the culture of democratic values devoid of any

violence. He stated that the meeting represents a vital step in entrenching in the minds of the youths, an enduring democratic culture and civic responsibility, as against turning into cannon fodder for politicians who engage them mostly as thugs and vanguards.

The REC further disclosed that yesterday’s meeting, which is a pilot, has in attendance 25% of public schools in the state, restating the role of INEC in kick-starting, monitoring and encouraging relevant agencies involved in voter education, to form voter education clubs/curriculum in schools.

Jigawa awards 104km road contract at N11.1 billion From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

he Jigawa state government has awarded contract for the construction of a 104km road from Arawa to Guri at the cost of N11,146,281,267.60. Disclosing this to newsmen yesterday after the state executive council meeting, the Commissioner for Information, Sports, Youth and Culture, Alhaji Babandi Ibrahim Gumel, said the contract was awarded to C.G.C Construction Ltd. The commissioner said the construction of the road would not only assist the people of Guri local government area, but would impact on the lives of people living in Kubau, Una, Masawa, Baturiya, among others. Alhaji Ibrahim said the council had ratified the award of the contract for the construction of a 1.5 kilometre road in Ringim town at the cost of N271 million which was awarded to Triacta Nig. Ltd. He also announced the revocation of the contract for the construction of 50 hand pumps from Water for All construction firm. According to him the contract was revoked after it was discovered that the contractor has forged his company from an earlier one that was given to New Era.

Jigawa pilgrims board secures houses, offices in Saudi Arabia From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

he Jigawa state government has released the sum of N34 million to the state pilgrims’ welfare board to settle the board’s office rent in Saudi Arabia for 2012 hajj exercise. This was disclosed by the executive secretary of the state Pilgrim’s Welfare Board, Alhaji Sani Alhasan, yesterday while speaking to newsmen in his office on the boards' preparation against the 2012 hajj operation. Alhaji Sani explained that the board officials just returned from Saudi Arabia after securing seven houses with each having over 500 rooms capacity for the state intending pilgrims and accommodation in Mecca and Medina. The Executive Secretary maintained that all measures would be taken to ensure a smooth and perfect hajj operation.

L-R: Chief of Policy and Planning, Nigerian Navy, Rear Admiral James Oladimeji, Chief of Training and Operations, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogbor, and Chief of Logistics, Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin during a press briefing on the 56th anniversary of the Nigerian Navy on Wednesday in Abuja. ` Photo: Justin Imo-owo

A/Ibom guber: Court to rule on jurisdiction July 12 By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned till July 12, this year to rule on motion challenging the jurisdiction of the court to determine the suit brought against the election of Godswill Akpabio as the governor of Akwa Ibom state. A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in the

April 2011 elections in the state, Frank Okon, had gone to court seeking the nullification of the election on the grounds that his exclusion from the party primaries held on January 15, 2011, which returned the governor as the party flag bearer breached his fundamental human rights. At the last hearing of the matter, Paul Usoro, filed a preliminary objection on behalf of the governor challenging the

jurisdiction of the court to continue hearing in the case. In its ruling, the Supreme Court said that the decision to sponsor a candidate for election is the internal decision of the political party, and not subject to being contested in court. Usoro therefore requested the court to dismiss the application of the plaintiff based on the submission that the case is similar, as it also bordered on the decision

of the PDP. But, at the resumed hearing on Wednesday, counsel to the plaintiff, Lasun Sanusi, in his response to the application, argued that there was no basis to compare Mr. Sylva’s case with that of his client, as the two are fundamentally different. Ruling on the application for a preliminary objection to the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case would be entered on July 12, 2012 along with the final judgment.

‘FinBank directed my company to buy shares for some firms’ From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday, called its second witness before Justice Lateefa Okunnu of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, in the suit filed against former Managing Director of FinBank Plc, Mr. Okey Nwosu and three other directors of the bank. At the proceedings, Joe Aba who is the General Manager of Springboard Trust and Investment Limited told the court that his company was given a mandate by Finbank to buy some shares for some companies. Aba added that the mandate was official from Finbank and all transactions were to the bank and

not any individual from the companies involved. According to the General Manager, the company purchased two billion units of shares valued at over N18 billion for seven companies in several transactions

between year 2006 and 2007. He reiterated that their account was usually credited after they bought the shares, adding that his company never interacted with any individual besides the bank.

The mandate, Aba stated was handed down from the bank through a letter issued by a staff named Akpan Okon. He added that the shares are presently with the Securities Exchange Commission.

Emir of Lafia marks 38th anniversary From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

he emir of Lafia, Alhaji Isa Mustapha Agwai I, will on May 28, mark his 38th year in office. To commemorate the event, the emirate, according to Alhaji Musa Abbas II, the district head of Lafia central, who is also the Santuraki of Lafia, has lined up series of activities to celebrate the

achievements of the emir. The event which begins with a press briefing which held at the palace of the emir on Wednesday, where the Santuraki, highlighted the achievements of the emir, will culminate with a grand reception on Monday next week. Some of the achievements of the 76-year-old royal father include among others: the upgrading of the status of Lafia from headquarters

of a local government, to that of a state capital. For this and many more, Musa Abbas II, said the people of the emirate are proud of their royal father and as such will turn out in their numbers to celebrate his achievements. He was recently honoured with the award of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

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EDIT ORIAL EDITORIAL

Pascal Bafyau (1947-2012)

he former President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Pascal Myeleri Bafyau, passed on at 11.30pm on Tuesday 15th May, 2012. He was president between 1988 and 1994, a turbulent time for Nigeria's labour movement and political development. His had been a life of struggle to liberate himself and fellow countrymen from the clutches of poverty. Born into a poor Bachama family from Adamawa state, the young Bafyau dedicated his adult life to the labour movement, beginning from 1969 when, at 22, he was elected as the North-East branch chairman of the Nigeria Union of Railwaymen (NUR). He rose to become the union’s general secretary in 1982. Comrade Bafyau was elected NLC President in December 1988 after a ten-month seizure of the Congress by the Babangida regime. According to the current NLC President, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, Bafyau would be best remembered for his commitment to a strong and united labour movement. He is credited with uniting the two factions of the NLC - the Democrats and the Progressives which were engaged in an ideological struggle at the time of the 1988 election. His presidency ended in 1994 when the military under General

Sani Abacha again seized control of the Congress. Apart from his involvement with labour issues, Bafyau was opportuned to serve the country in other capacities. He was appointed Chairman of the National Mass Education Commission Board in 2009. He was also a member of the 1986 Political Bureau and the 1987 Constituent Assembly; a board

“

throughout his life, Comrade Bafyau lived in the best traditions of the labour movement. He worked hard for sustainable democracy in the country. He shunned material things member of the Urban Development Bank (UDBN); the Nigeria Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), and the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF). But Bafyau’s first love was labour to which he dedicated all his energies. This is brilliantly captured in the tribute paid by

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

Comrade Omar, the incumbent NLC President: “Despite this turbulent period in the country's history, which included the June 12 crisis, Comrade Bafyau made remarkable achievements as NLC President. These include the building of the 12-storey Labour House in Abuja; establishment of the Labour Transport Service (now Labour City Transport); the founding of the now defunct Labour Bank (LACON); and the establishment of the old Labour Party in 1989.” Omar further stated that “throughout his life, Comrade Bafyau lived in the best traditions of the labour movement. He worked hard for sustainable democracy in the country. He shunned material things. Despite the height he attained in labour and politics, as at the time of his death, he lived in a rented house in Abuja. His death is a big blow to the labour movement and the democratic process in the country.” We call on labour leaders to emulate the exemplary life of honesty and humility lived by Pascal Bafyau. Nigerian political leaders also have one or two lessons to learn from his life of stoicism, courage and honesty. We pray that the Almighty God will grant his family the fortitude to bear this great loss and also grant his gentle soul a peaceful rest.

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

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PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

By Osi Okponobi

can just imagine the dilemma that the President of Nigeria will presently be in over the NEW decision by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to ‘forgive’ and recall Justice Ayo Salami after almost a year, when the same body accused the same justice of GROSS MISCONDUCT and recommended his dismissal. Since the earlier NJC decision, which found the suspended justice culpable or guilty of gross misconduct, perjury and bringing his office and the judiciary into disrepute, what has changed cause the NJC to make a NEW decision on the matter? Did the NJC now find that Justice Salami did not commit perjury? Is he no longer guilty of lying after claiming that the former CJN said certain things, which was denied by the outgoing CJN? Justice Salami accused the former CJN of making certain comments. Justice Salami went to town and even the press and made the whole issue a circus show and an all comers affair. Throughout, the CJN comported himself and maintained a dignified silence. The NJC investigated the matter. It was at this stage that the CJN opened up and denied making the comments that Justice Salami accused him of. Justice Salami on the other hand cited the current (or outgoing) CJN as a witness to the communication. He was sure that Chief Justice Dahiru Musdapher would support his case or help him prove his allegations. Justice Musdapher, however, disappointed him, and took

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The NJC vs Salami – The President’s dilemma (I) sides with the former CJN. Whether Justice Musdapher was lying or not, by supporting the former CJN, we are not to know and, perhaps, we would never know. Whether he acted mischievously by siding with the former CJN, perhaps, because he was blackmailed, influenced or promised the position of CJN if he lied and covered up for the former CJN, we won’t ever know, unless the parties eventually open up. The bottom line was that Justice Musdapher denied the scenario or picture as painted by Justice Salami. He said the event did not happen as Justice Salami was making it out to be. In other words, he said that Justice Salami was lying. That was lie or SIN number one. In the UK employment Law (I believe, like most other jurisdiction), lying within a work or employment environment, or lying at all, is frowned at and seen as a moral problem or issue. It is an issue that goes to the heart of an employment relationship and it is a fair reason to dismiss an employee for BREACH OF TRUST AND CONFIDENCE. The burden is even greater on a Justice, who is supposed to oversee and decide on disputes between parties. The burden of Lawyers coming before such a Justice who has been found to have lied is that they would not know when the Judge is lying

or whether he has been compromised. At that stage, the action of Justice Salami was enough to earn him a dismissal, for lying and making false accusation against another person, and more so, his superior or his boss. Justice Salami did not stop at that, but went to court to seek protection or ask the court to forbid or prevent the NJC from elevating him to the highest court in the Land, the Supreme Court. Rightly or wrongly, he believed the elevation was a demotion. He was thinking about self rather than country, and instead of seeing it as a call to service and help to clean up the ‘Augean stable’ at the Supreme Court. He also believed that it was a ploy to ‘punish’ him over the dispute he had with the CJN. In the court action, he made reference to the above LIE, which he could not prove against the CJN before the NJC. At this stage, he filed an AFFIDAVIT before the court and signed the JURAT or Statement of truth or Oath. That matter is still in court. The person he would be relying on to prove that he is telling the truth is the same Justice Musdapher, who had already made him out as a LIAR. His credibility is already a problem and a burden even before the matter is heard. At this stage, the

issue, which was until then in the domain of the gutter, had now been elevated to the court and, therefore, bordered on PERJURY. Unless Justice Musdapher later changes his earlier statement and confirms everything Justice Salami would have deposed in his AFFIDAVIT, then Justice Salami is almost certain to be done for PERJURY. This is problem number two for Justice Salami and SIN two. Justice Salami’s overall behaviour and general attitude in making the whole issue public and an all comers affair, over what appeared to be simply an ‘elevation’ (but in his view a demotion) to the highest court in the Land, was unbecoming of a senior Public (or Judicial) officer. If Justice Salami felt he was being treated unfairly and felt, what he called a ‘Greek gift’, was a demotion, he simply could have written a letter rejecting the ‘gift’, without making a meal of it. A ‘No thanks’ letter would have sufficed, where he politely explains why he was rejecting the offer of promotion. If his life ambition was to retire as the President of the Court of Appeal, he could have said this in his rejection letter and clarified that he had no desire to go to the Supreme Court. He did not need to generate so much bad blood and bring the Judiciary into

ridicule, by the manner he went about the issue. By his entire conduct and his behaviour throughout, he caused so much damage to the Judiciary and brought it to ridicule, and made it a laughing stock. He embarrassed the Judiciary and brought it to disrepute, beyond anything that has ever been done to it. The Judiciary was seriously discredited, damaged and brought to opprobrium. This is SIN number three. In normal employer/employee relationship, when an employee or staff has a problem at work or any dispute or has ANY concerns that they are unhappy with, the normal course of action open to the employee is to utilise the employer’s dispute resolution mechanism. The complaint or grievance procedure is usually available for employees to follow about any concerns that they may have at work. This procedure is available for an employee to use to complain about any action by his/her boss that s/ he is displeased about. In fact, an employee is penalised by an Employment Tribunal if they fail to follow or exhaust the internal grievance/complaint procedure of the employer. Osi Okponobi, is reachable at Jasol2kone@yahoo.co.uk

Deconstructing the Ant Hill politics of Asaba airport By Ifeanyi Izeze

rom a distance, it must be hard to feel excitement at the news gripping the Asaba airport project particularly the controversy of the alleged cost to clear what critics described as “ant hills” around the area for the facility to achieve a fourkilometer stretch runway required for landing of bigger aircrafts. Frankly, such controversy should really matter to anyone with an interest in the fate of this ambitious project and this is why all responsible deltans should actually be concerned. However, the problem is that most of the figures bandied with the fierce criticisms though made to look, at the surface, so much for high principle and genuine concern for accountability and transparency in use of public funds, looked more like it was just about power and partisan/ sectional politics. This is where the real problem lies because in Delta as a state, the line between genuine concern for the interest of the people of the state and political mischief and ethnic sentiments is so thin that they have literally come to mean the same thing in our context. Delta state governor obviously wriggling like a lugworm on a hook as the press and opposition politicians raged at the idea of paying such huge amount to clear mere “ant hills,” came out with its own story: “We wanted to build an airport

with a runway length of about four kilometers , unfortunately, there is no terrain in Asaba area that could give us such stretch of land , the topography here in Asaba is mainly either hills, or low lands , rivers with adjoining valleys. With all the directions and technical survey that was done, for the airport, we got where we are now which gives us two terrain, the hill on one side and the river on the other side. “In the face of that, we are not the regulatory body, NCAA came and said before approval could be given, the state has to demolish the hills and needed to sand fill the other extreme which is the river side, to move the runway, that involves lowering the hills and sand filling the other end to attain a level line for the runway, that we have started doing.” It’s important we get the story straight: Available information has it that it was on May 7, 2008 that the Delta State Government took the bold step to build an airport of international standard at the state capital. For now, only small aircraft, mainly Hawker Siddley (HS) 125, Bombardier jets, Embear aircraft CRJ 900 and Beech craft 1900 D, operate into the airport. As the airport stands today, there is zero cargo activity because bigger aircrafts cannot land there. This is a major minus to one of the major aims of the airport which is to handle cargo landing services for businesses in Delta and Anambra and other neighbouring states.

The expansion of the runway which necessitated the leveling of the hills and sand-filling of adjourning valleys was a prerequisite set by the regulatory agency, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), for its approval for bigger aircraft operations. Anybody that knows the topography of the Delta state capital knows fully- well that there was nowhere a four kilometer of land can be achieved without meeting an obstacle in the form of hill, valley or stream. Doubtless, moving the airport to a more level ground, wherever that may be, after spending over N13 billion on the present site sounds more like a devil’s alternative to the option of putting up with the leveling of the hilly segments of the expanded runway. And this was what critics of the project deliberately ignored in their attacks. In all the attacks and criticisms, nobody has said we can do the quantum of job entailed in the runway expansion for less. This would have been the crux of the attack on the “ant hills” leveling project. At least this shows that there were some levels of frugality in the award of the contract(s). Above all, Governor Uduaghan had openly said “splitting the ongoing work to demolish the hills and level the valleys is at no additional cost to the total project sum as it was conceptualized from the beginning.” So what is all the fuss about if not politics rather than

concern for frugality in use of public funds? Curiously, the contract for the leveling of the hilly part of the extended runway was awarded since last year and did not just crop up necessarily for the purpose of the recently concluded South-South Summit hosted in the state. So tying the runway contract to President Jonathan’s visit to Asaba for the South-South Summit was not only a political mischief but a deliberate smear not only against the Delta state governor but the entire idea of citing the facility in Asaba in the first instance and this is the truth about the politics of the project.” This contract awarded to ULO Consultant in 2011 did not raise any eyebrow until the state government decided to engage two additional contractors (CCC and Levante) to expedite action on the project as the initial contractor was too slow and suspiciously incapable of doing the volume of job required within the scheduled timeframe for the project. How come there were no public outcries until the contract was split into three? This is another food-for-thought! Is it not surprising that a contract awarded in 2011 and which work commenced since then could become a campaign issue in April/ May 2012 because Jonathan was supposed to visit Asaba through the airport? All these while, those against the cost of the runway expansion kept quite waiting for a good

opportunity to strike. So how can they convince anybody that the attacks were done in good faith to ensure transparency and frugality in government and governance? Though no single critic did openly say citing the airport in Asaba was a wrong decision by the Uduaghan-led government, it was obvious that most of the criticisms derived from the location of the airport which could have been elsewhere in the south or central districts rather than Asaba or anywhere near Asaba. This is the truth and we should simply face it! It is disheartening that rather than see the airport project as an infrastructure that could accelerate the development of the state, especially with the state’s quest to diversify its economy from oil revenue, critics and political mischief- makers opted to tear it apart through misinformation and even ethnic and sectional campaigns. Since we cannot go back from where we are on the project, the wise thing to do is to wait until the government tells us it has finished and if there are still questions on the expenses, let those who are shouting now then ask or even invite the anti-graft agency- the EFCC to investigate the entire financing of the project. This should be the line of thinking of every concerned deltan if they are genuinely patriotic. Ifeanyi Izeze can be reached on: 234-08033043009

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PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Kudos to courageous Buhari By Dave Eniwomake

omething that has never failed to amuse me and perhaps every right thinking persons, devoid of sentiments is the way and manner some self styled men of God throw about their words carelessly. One would not have complained about the atrocities these people are committing if not that they debase a religion that is highly esteemed by their reckless statements Some of these agents of darkness who engross themselves in massive exploitation of poor and unsuspecting victims still have the guts to express their romances with misguided politicians through making reckless statements. I am making reference to some self acclaimed men of God of the Christian faith. Indeed, conscience is an open wound and only truth can heal it. Uthman Dan Fodio was definitely in his elements coupled with divine inspirations when this invaluable quote was conceived. What manner of man of God would see the truth and shy away from it? Definitely, anybody, irrespective of his status that shies away from the truth is of the

By Muhammad Ajah

efore delving into the categories of poverty in such a naturally well-endowed nation, Nigeria – a pride that should have intoxicated Nigerians to render self sacrifices to their country – I want to pose this questionable question, “Is there a poor man in Nigeria?” An unwell thought out answer would create confusion in the Nigerian context. This is because it is as much harder for a Nigerian to accept that he is rich than to accept that he is poor. Many rich Nigerians do not believe that they are rich. One of the famous Nigerian leaders once claimed that all he knew about himself was that he was comfortable, meaning that he does not accept being fixed into the two edges of wealth and penury. Another past Nigerian leader severally, even while abroad, asserted that Nigerians are the happiest people on the mother earth. If such caricature statement is critically analyzed, it means that Nigerians – nay the greatest number of them – are happy. And judging from a philosophical aspect of happiness, it is a relaxed mind that attracts such abstraction. Where does happiness lie amongst Nigerians? This is another questionable question. It is he who is contented that is he who is happy. How many Nigerians are truly contented – not pretentiously contented? Every Nigerian is a potential wealth expectant because there is wealth everywhere within the shores of the country. It is only when the possibilities are closed that their hope falls just as the grape is declared sour when it is beyond reach. However, three levels of poverty are adduced from Nigerians. One, there are those who are poor but do not believe that they are so. For this

devil. into compromise by the wealth of election riggers should not live. A group of men who have the king. He was bold to tell the Let these ‘Christian leaders’ labeled themselves ‘Christian king about God’s displeasure in his come forth to quantify the loss of leaders’ have continually debased act of killing Uriah after sleeping lives that have resulted from the Christianity with their unbridled with the wife. series electoral manipulations tongues in a manner that compels The self-styled men of God of and the resultant bad leadership one to think they are serving the today would rather close their eyes that have dogged this nation for devil to bring Christianity to to the atrocities of David and say long. ridicule and odium. ‘All hail the king!’ just to get These agents of retrogression The recent did not see call by a group anything bad in of ‘Christian former president leaders’ that O l u s e g u n G e n e r a l Obasanjo’s Peoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text Buhari should statement prior messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All written apologise to to 2007 general contributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150 Nigerians is, elections that the words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name and indeed, very elections of that a valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed regrettable. year would be a to: I am a do or die affairs. Christian and I The massive pray for rigging and The Editor, B u h a r i fraud that Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza, everyday characterized 35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja. because his the 2007 Email: let ters@peoplesdaily-online.com types are rare elections were too SMS: 07037756364 this day when insignificant to men find it be noticed by our very difficult to say the truth. material benefit. self declared ‘righteous men’. The Bible gave account that Buhari has just spoken the I am not surprised that people Prophet Nathan confronted King mind of every right thinking accused some churches and their David for killing Uriah after person. Why should he be crucified leaders of helping to rig in the last committing adultery with the for saying the truth? Why should general elections. What a pity! wife. a cabal continue to hijack the If not checked, these men and Prophet Nathan was not afraid entire electoral process of the their activities would completely of King David neither was he lured nation? I am of the opinion that ruin the image of Christianity

WRITE TO US

that future generations may not be familiar with the true values of the religion. If these people were really servants of God they should know by now that they have deviated from the mandate given to them by God, for God abhors lies and unholy act while he exalts righteousness. Righteousness, in turn, has no room for sentiments and failure to say the truth at all times. The Christian Association of Nigeria and other affiliated bodies should wake up and save Christianity from being hijacked and reduced to a mere tool in the hands of misguided politicians who parade themselves as men of God in the guise of leading the sheep whereas their sole aim is to lead the sheep astray. The Bible also says, ‘There shall be sheep and wolves in sheep clothing.’ The wolves in sheep clothing are these men feigning Christianity to unleash ignorance and corruption on Christians. Buhari has spoken well. Election riggers should not in the least be tolerated. Every vote should and must count because that is the true essence of democracy.

Levels of poverty in Nigeria group, they struggle – sometimes by all means possible – to find ways of keeping their bodies and souls together. They are not limited to: - those begging on the streets - those unable to feed thrice a day with good meals - those unable to cater for their own children in terms of education, health and shelter - those languishing in the prisons for trivial offences Two, they are those who are not poor but they believe that they are equal to the poor. This group is made up of the insatiable minds who will refuse to pay a labourer his paltry reward upon the abundance they swim in. They compete to be the greatest in wealth amassment which arithmetically translates to impoverishing more Nigerians. One of such may be gathering the fortunes of a quarter of the entire population of Nigeria. They are not limited to: - some politicians, including political prostitutes and sycophants - some businessmen and women - hardened criminals involving in bank robbery, pen robbery, 419, arms smuggling, kidnapping and bunkering And three, there are those who are neither rich nor poor and they believe in what they are. This category constitutes an insignificant number of the Nigerian population. Poverty is really a big challenge in Nigeria because there can be no hiding the fact that a hungry man is an angry man. The masses and the youth, statistics have shown, are poor. Poverty is the cause of many of our problems. It has led many Nigerians to attach no value and regard to life itself. According to the former Senior

Special Adviser (SSA) to a former President on Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Magnus Kpakol, in a paper titled, “NAPEP Programmes As Enabler For Rapid Economic Development In the South-South Region”, presented at the SouthSouth Economic Summit in Calabar, the Cross River state capital, 74 million Nigerians are poor. The figure, as at December 2008, dropped by one million from 75 million in 2007. He said the population of the nation’s poor people was 80 million in 1999, i.e., when Nigeria returned to democracy. According to him, the poverty rate was higher in the northern part of the country. His analysis showed the following percentage of the poor in all the six geopolitical zones of the country. North West - 72.2% of its population North East - 71.2% ‘’ ‘’ North Central - 67% ‘’ ‘’ South East - 26.7% ‘’ ‘’ South-South - 35.1% ‘’ ‘’ South West - 43.1% ‘’ ‘’ With the fact so nakedly stated, it means that a lot has to be done by governments at all levels to improve on the life of the people and enrich more of the people. The level of development of a people is measured by the number of the citizens who are well-off. Nigerians have not erred in any way not be well-off in the sea of wealth and bounties. Jobs should therefore be created to engage the teeming population. It is only when this is done that majority will earn their livelihood from legitimate sources while corruption and anti-development factors would be reduced to barest minimum, if not completely arrested.

Daily Trust of Thursday, January 27, 2011 reported Nigeria’s high poverty level as gathered by governmental and non-governmental organizations in Nigeria. The report quoted that over 12 million youths as poor because they have no means of livelihood. It is dangerous to development. The Punch of February 14, 2012 reported the National Bureau of Statistics to have said that 112.519 million Nigerians live in relative poverty conditions. This figure which was contained in the 2010 poverty profile report of the agency represented 69 per cent of the country’s total population. Fears hovered that the figure might increase to 71.5 per cent in 2011as the 2010 figure showed data collected from 20 million households having an average of between four to six family members. According to the report, the North-West and North-East recorded the highest poverty rates in the country in 2010with 77.7 per cent and 76.3 per cent respectively. The South-West geopolitical zone recorded the lowest at 59.1 per cent. Among the 36 states of the federation, the report stated that Sokoto had the highest poverty rate (86.4 per cent), while Niger had the lowest at (43.6, per cent). As at 2004, Jigawa State had the highest poverty rate (95 per cent), while Anambra, with a poverty rate of 22 per cent, was the least povertystricken state. In 2004, Nigeria’s relative poverty measurement stood at 54.4 per cent but increased to 69 per cent or 112.518 million Nigerians in 2010. Therefore,

using the absolute poverty measure, 54.7 per cent of Nigerians were living in poverty in 2004 but this increased to 60.9 per cent or 99.284 million Nigerians in 2010. Also, Leadership Newspaper of 3rd May, 2012 reported a federal minister of youth development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, as declaring about 67million young Nigerians to be jobless, a figure out of which 80 per cent don’t possess a university degree. Bolaji, who addressed hundreds of youths at TY Danjuma Foundation’s ‘Career Day 2012: Developing capacity of youths to build successful careers and businesses’ in Benin City, Edo State capital attributed the high unemployment rate to years of failure at different levels, but explained that “lack of job is a consequence of lack of skills”. At the Annual Microfinance Conference and Entrepreneurship Awards held in January 2011 in Abuja, the Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, stated that 70 percent (105 million out of which were over 12 million unemployed youths, mostly educated and potentially productive) of Nigerians were living below the poverty line, up from 54 percent a year or two ago. Sanusi said such high incidence of poverty threatened national economic growth and development. When will poverty be reduced to the barest amidst the vast natural wealth for Nigerians? Programmes upon programmes are mapped out to tackle this colossal setback to peace, unity and development of Nigeria. When will the correct programme take effect? Muhammad Ajah can be reacehd on mobahawwah@yahoo.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

By Jude Egbas

grew up with the cackle from my Mum’s little black transistor‘Akai’ Radio, resonating in my ears. That Radio was memorable in so many ways— it was our window into the world. Plus, I still recall with nostalgia the signature tune of the BBC and VOA Stations as there were rendered on that black Radio in the early hours of the morning; with that ‘shrill’ sound associated with the Short Wave(AM) transmission system. Most of the time, Mum will adjust and lean the antenna towards the direction of each of the cardinal points before we could make out the presenter’s voice. At the time, I regarded Mum a genius and her Radio, a 20th century miracle. It was all we had. One night, the entire neighbourhood gathered around mum’s radio in the verandah just in time to hear General Sanni Abachadeclare in that thick Hausa accent: “All Political parties are hereby dissolved……The Interim National Government is hereby dissolved……” It was also thanks to Mum’s Radio that I first learned the phrase; ‘step aside’, as infamously deployed by General Ibrahim Babangida. In rural Cross River State where I grew up at the time, our little Radio could only access the signals from two Nigerian Stateowned FM By Jaafar Jaafar

hen a former US top commander in Afghanistan Major General Jeffrey Schloesser succinctly said “IEDs are the biggest threat we face,” his two former colleagues, a former CIA sleuth Robert Morgan, and retired General James M. Dubik, gave the emerging threats of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) a more explosive description they so deserve. The IED, said Morgan, “has leveled the battlefield in favor of insurgent and terrorist groups,” while General Dubik said “explosive strategies—always an option for terrorists, insurgents and criminals— are becoming more sophisticated and prevalent.” From the forgoing interrelated remarks, one can paint the theme of Nigeria’s current security challenge, mainly precipitated by Boko Haram’s IEDs. While the bombrelated deaths accounted for about 70 percent of America’s combat deaths in Iraq, Boko Haram’s bombs seem to account, in conservative estimate, for over 90 percent of deaths among the police, soldiers, immigration and Department of State Service (DSS) personnel. Equally disturbing, civilian deaths in Nigeria through Boko Haram bombs and guns are also taking a high rise. If the previous attacks by Boko Haram on security men and their formations are condemnable, the recent coordinated attacks on media houses, schools and places of worship should not only give cause for both concern and condemnation, but rather a more pragmatic approach to solving the insurgency. Until the murderous debut of Boko Haram in 2009, bomb attacks, heretofore, came in trickles, and in wider succession. But when Boko Haram unleashed its reign of terror in torrent, previous incidents

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My ‘beef’ with the Nigerian media Radio Stations—those from Enugu and Abia States. In my little world at the time, these were the only States whomattered in Nigeria. Every hour, we were kept abreast of what the Governors of Abia and Enugu States were up to. So, if Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo or Ogbonnaya Onu (Governors of Enugu and Abia States respectively at the time) farted, Mum’s Radio was there to relay that force of nature to us. If the wives of the Governors were wearing make ups in their bedrooms, Mum’s little radio will announce the beauty routines with glee. The producers considered these news items ‘Breaking News’ materials. I remember as I write this, the signature tune of theAbia State Radio: ‘Abia God’s own state ‘Unuanugo’…..Cleanliness is next to Godliness……..’ Classic! The sad part is that, very little has changed. There are now more FM Radio Stations than there were in 1993, but away from Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, these Radio Stations are still puppet masters of the State Governments. Only 43 million Nigerians (out of a population of over 160 million people), haveaccess to the internet, which translates to the fact that over 95 per cent of Nigerians have

no access to the informationsuperhighway. Most State owned Newspaper houses have since gone under owing to poor management. Only few nationalDailies get their Newspapers to reach the rural areas. In my part of Cross River State, rural folks have to make do with reading only The Punch, Vanguard and The Nation Newspapers. And even for these aforementioned Dailies, only a handful of copies are handed to rural vendors( if you arrive late at the vendor stand, you may have to beg the gentleman who picked the last copy to let you go through the day’s headlines before he scurries away). The Guardian and ThisDay Newspapers get tomost State capitals a day after Lagos and Abuja folks are looking out for the next newsworthy item in the Nigerianlandscape. The Nigerian mainstream media (electronic and print) still represent the only sources of information for more than 90 percent of the population— most of them in rural Nigeria. What this means is that the burden on the mainstream media to report the news, analyze events and the Editorial bent of the Newspapers,

has never been greater. There is still a feeling in certain quarters that most Newspaper Establishments are stooges of the Government of the day. Newspaper Editorials are losing their punch and most Television Stations have long gone softaround the edges. A few Newspaper Reporters have confided in me that Editors tweak the reports they send in; watering themdown until they are rendered pointless, before they are published. It was little wonder then, that in the heat of the ‘Occupy’Movements in most cities last January, some folks in rural Nigeria who had no access to the Internet didn’t understandwhat the fuss was all about. In the East of Nigeria, the protests were largely unsuccessful because the denizens of those States had to rely on Government owned Radio and Television Stationsfor the News. The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), still has the widest reach in terms of rural penetration—a sad development for anyone who understands what the NTA represents in our polity. The Nigerian mainstream media has to take the flak for not reporting widely, the multiple cases of electoral malpractices and

voter apathy on polling days. State correspondents oftenhave their palms greased now and again to do their paymasters’ bidding. Reporters make their way out of press conferences clutching brown envelopes—as rewards for painting black into white in the OP-ED pages. There abound poverty in the land and salaries of newsmen and women are at best abysmal. So,Reporters do appear hamstrung and are left with little choices but to make do with selling their consciences to report anything but the News. The new media (Blogs, Facebook, Twitter etc) represents the last hope for the common man in a posh office in Lagos, Abuja,Port Harcourt, Kano or Kaduna. But in most rural parts of Nigeria where most folks have never heard of the word:‘facebook’, and where Cable TV remains unaffordable and little Radio sets still loom larger than life; The Nigerian Mainstream media has to do more in terms of enlightening the people about their basic rights in a Democracy. Thus far, the fourth Estate of the realm appears to have abdicated its primary responsibility. Jude Egbas can be reached at Twitter @egbas.

Boko Haram: The IED connection became naturally submerged in the ocean of our thoughts. Instructively, the recent spate of terror has made — relatively trifling sorrows — the letter bomb that snuffed the life of the editor-in-chief of Newswatch Magazine Dele Giwa on October 19, 1986, the ‘bomb’ that killed Bagauda Kaltho of The News magazine on January 18, 1996, the May 31, 1995 Ilorin Stadium blast, the January 20, 1996 Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano explosion, the January 27, 2002 Ikeja Cantonment multiple blasts and a few others. Apart from Boko Haram saga, it’s so heartrending that the nation’s other maladies are intractable and incurable. From power problem, infrastructural decay, security challenge, unemployment, corruption, down to poverty, Nigeria’s systemic ill-health appears to be terminally chronic. I hope this current wave of terror wouldn’t last long enough to join this stubborn league of predicaments that characterized Nigeria today. While some advanced societies are trying to reduce crime rate through curtailing alchohol drinking binge particularly among youths, Nigeria seems to be at crossroad as to how to curtail the killing binge that becomes the order of the day. The UK government is systematically reducing drinking binge through imposing strict regulation and clampdown on speakeasies. Why can’t we do the other way round? I mean why can’t the government impose strict regulation on the sale of fertilizers — an easy source of ammonium nitrate used in making IEDs? Since the 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma and the frequent IED attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US is taking

proactive measures towards stemming the deadly warfare. American government has now pumped more than $20 billion into the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, which was used to develop heavy armored vehicles; 6,000 drones and robots used to detonate the devices and about 37,000 radio jammers to disrupt detonators. In addition to this, the government is devising a way of using bees and dogs in bomb detection strategy. If subsidy funds can be reinvested efficiently, if corruption can be checked, if bogus overheads can be purged, nothing can prevent Nigeria from borrowing a leaf from the US. Since the IEDs are easy to improvise as the name implies, and our leaders cannot move Nigeria’s agricultural potentials beyond subsistent level, let us go ahead to regulate the sale of fertilizer. Although many Nigerians will bear the pang of starvation over the self-imposed crunch, yet sacrifice must be made for the nation to live in peace. Let the fertilizer be only sold to accredited farmers. Set an agency that will establish the amount needed in an acreage, track its movement, regulate its sale and usage so that any suspicious purchase or usage can be monitored. Since the failure of the much celebrated General Obasanjo’s Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) in the late 70s, successive administrations unfortunately turned their focus on the oil field — a field where minted petrodollar sprouts without tilling, ridging, planting, watering, weeding and threshing. Petrodollars neither have chaffs nor shells! The end products of crude oil also produces petrodollar. But much to my chagrin, fertilizer cannot be regulated in Nigeria. Our politicians cannot do it.

Why? Fertilizer is a vital campaign tool that is used woo the locals’ votes. The inflow of fertilizers in a local community can determinate a politician’s electoral fortunes. I know with this proposition, not only Boko Haram will call for my neck but the politicians. On the issue of dialogue with Boko Haram, I make bold to say that dialogue is not the answer, and will never be the answer. Whoever knows the true picture of Boko Haram saga, will reasonably infer that you can not dialogue with someone whose precondition for dialogue is to Islamise the country despite the nation’s diversity and right to religion, which Muslim and non-Muslim leaders swore to protect. The dialogue ideologues should first consider some key issues relating to their call. You cannot dialogue with a phenomenon that is almost in abstraction. Remember, this is a group that cannot openly come out to preach its ideology or justify its standpoint (just wondering how on earth would people join or convert to Boko Haram without their coming out from their shells to make people see logic in your cause within the context of multi denominational Islam or a much wider comparative religion). Or, if they are practicing different religion, they should come out, mount a podium, and tell us why Boko Haram does not fit into any one of the three monotheistic Abrahamic religions. I bet many a reader will challenge me here, citing perhaps late President Umaru Yar’adua’s amnesty programme for Niger Delta militants. The wider narrative is that the two groups are not the same. This, I opine, is entirely a different case. Why I say Boko Haram is distinct from the Niger Delta

militants is for obvious reasons. After all, the impracticability of the group’s condition for dialogue bailed me out. One of Boko Haram’s warped conditions for dialogue is for the federal government to free their members currently in detention. But the questions begging for answers are how possible is it for FG to meet such demands? Or, do you think it’s rational to set free a killer and keep remanding a pickpocket? Do you consider it fair to release a bomber, and leave a yam thief to languish in prison for years awaiting trial? Let us think rationally and leave the issue of dialogue. After all, the stage of dialogue has already elapsed. A Hausa proverb says that a plant is only bent at its formative stage of growth. But when it is fully grown, you can only break it not bend it! However, beneath the censure the terrorists deserve from both the government and the general public, the government needs to adopt antiIED strategies from the developed societies by establishing such agency or agencies that will check the unregulated sale of fertilizer. Apart from establishing the agency, the need to reinforce the security agencies to confront terrorism headon is also imperative. It’s defeatist for Nigerian government to expect miracle through our endless prayers in mosques and churches. No, we have to sit up and take pragmatic approach to solving the problem, and then pray for the success of the effort. Let us be realistic to ourselves; this is the best way prayer can work. You cannot refuse to eat, and then pray for the hunger to go. You will starve to death. Jaafar Jaafar, a Nigeria-based journalist, wrote from Fishguard Way, Borough of Newham, London.

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PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

FCTA procures 80 tractors worth N560m By Josephine Ella

he Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration, yesterday, in Gwagwalada Area Council, flagged-off the distribution of 80 tractors, worth N560m to the six area councils for onward sales to FCT farmers at a subsidised rate of 50 per cent of the prevailing market price. Speaking at the launching of the subsidised tractors for farmers’ empowerment and kickoff of the 2012 farming season, the Minister of State for FCT, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide said the programme was part of the Federal Government (FG) Led Community Cooperative Tractor Installment Purchase Scheme.

...councils to sell to FCT farmers at 50 per cent subsidy She said the initiative by the FG, was aimed at addressing the perennial problem of agricultural mechanisation, through a vibrant and sustainable tractor service delivery programme under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement that would ensure increase in the ownership of farm power. The minister said the FCT administration was determined to ensure that farmers in the territory embrace modern farming and form formidable cooperative groups to afford them the chance to fully take

advantage of the various Federal Government programmes aimed at boosting their economic base. “As part of our efforts to ensure effective implementation of the Government Led Community Cooperative Tractor Instalment Purchase Scheme, we have purchased 80 tractors with implements for distribution to FCT farmers’ cooperative groups,” the minister said. According to her, 10 more tractors would be delivered soon to make the total of 90 tractors. Earlier, the Secretary, Agriculture and Rural

Development Secretariat, Mrs Olvadi Bema Madayi said the initiative was one of the critical projects of the secretariat aimed at increasing the tractors available to FCT farmers to a reasonable size thereby reducing drudgery in farm operations in the territory. The secretary disclosed that the secretariat is making arrangements to clear and develop 1000 hectare of land in each area councils of the FCT, which would be allocated to farmers’ cooperative societies and youths in the territory. She said the move is “a deliberate attempt to increase the number of land under cultivation thereby increasing food production and create employment for youths”.

Garki elder hails FCT Minister’s development effort

Water sector stakeholders urged to collaborate on early floor warning system

By Sunday Etuka

n elder in Garki village, Abuja, Alhaji Kasimu Mohammed, has hailed what he called the numerous development efforts of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Dr Bala Mohammed, saying his retention by President Jonathan is a right decision in the interest of the people. Alhaji Kasimu a major livestock supplier to various abattoirs within Abuja and environs said the FCT Ministers has also displayed a rare streak of humility by not abandoning his immediate community but remaining with them in Garki village. “Most big men don’t stay with the ordinary citizens but run to exclusive areas. Bala did not leave us despite attaining glorious heights in government; he chose to remain in Garki village among his people and serve them,” Alhaji Kasimu said. On the recent pressure for President Jonathan to appoint an Abuja indigene to head the FCT, Kasimu lamented that everything in Nigeria has to be looked at from a sectional perspective. “Though it is true that the original inhabitants of Abuja deserve additional attention in the distribution of resources and opportunities, the demand should however not be targeted at individuals regardless of merit,” the elder cautioned. He said individuals in government that have the people at heart should be spared to be able to actualize their peopleoriented dreams and commended the wisdom in President Jonathan’s retention of cabinet members such as Dr. Bala. “We are all Abuja indigenes, yet what ought to be top most is the development of the city and development of human resources,” he said.

This was as she assured farmers that the secretariat would continue to support them with infrastructure, necessary inputs and assistance that would ensure the sustenance of agricultural development in the territory. In his remark, the Chairman, Gwagwalada Area Council, Zakari Angulu Dobi commended the FCT administration for the project. He said that the tractors would be sold to farmers’ cooperative societies at the rate of N3.2 million against the N7million market price. He added that the council’s executive would hold a round table discussion to deliberate on how to ensure that the tractors get to the intended farmers.

Funani women preparing for market to sell their popular "Foranunu" in Lugbe Abuja yesterday. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Experts advocate flood control measures

senior government official in Abuja on Wednesday advocated the adoption of the water resources master plan to promote sustainable Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) operation in Nigeria. Mr Moyi Kabir, the Deputy Director of Dams Management Department, Ministry of Water Resources, made the call at a roundtable on upgrading hydrometrological archived data for web-based flood early warning

system. Kabir said FEWS was inaugurated in 2011 by Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, at the National stakeholders’ conference on automated web-based FEWS. He said FEWS was aimed at getting advance information to control flood. Kabir said there was a need for the master plan in such areas as Kaduna, Plateau, Osun and

Anambra states that were prone to flooding. He said serious collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Environment and Federal Ministry of Water Resources and other stakeholders should be considered to get accurate data on the problem. Kabir said the collaboration would require the training of manpower and formation of a synergy on ways of dealing with the issues. (NAN)

o ensure effective utilisation of the Flood Early Warning System (FEWS), the Ministry of Water Resources has called for the collaboration of all stakeholders in the sector. Mr. Moyi Kabir, the Deputy Director of dams in the ministry, made the call at a roundtable meeting with dam owners and operators in Abuja on Wednesday. Kabir said: “Agencies like Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Water board, River Basins, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency and others all have roles to play in contributing to the operation of flood mitigation.’’ He explained that the function of the system was to forewarn the likelihood of flooding which threatens sustainable development in the country. He said that the Federal Government required adequate funding for the implementation of effective usage of the webbased system. Meanwhile, an environmentalist, Mr Akintola Omigbodun, said that dams owner and operators played a major role in sustaining the system. “It is important for the dam owners and operators to respond to warnings, if not the problems will persist. “If you give a warning, you should know that five out of 10 from the warnings can result to flood; it is better to respond to warnings than not to respond at all.’’ Omigbodun said that any dam properly designed, should have a free board for emergency situation.(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 17

A bricklayer at work, yesterday at Federal Housing Estate, in Abuja.

PHOTOS: Joe Oroye & Justin Imoowo

A man search for the elusive cooking fuel, kerosene

Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) engineers at work, yesterday Gosa area, Abuja.

2 3

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PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Institute plans to eradicate sleeping sickness, river blindness soon – Official

he Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis Research has started intensive control of the causative vectors of sleeping sickness and river blindness with aim of eradicating them soon. Dr Steven Shaida, acting Head, Vector and Parasitological Department of the institute told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja that the institute had began a campaign to control the diseases. He said that to control the diseases, the causative organisms must first be tackled such as the black flies which causes river blindness also known as “unchocerciasis’’ and tsetse fly for sleeping sickness or “trypanosomiasis’’. He said that the flies could be found in all parts of the country, especially in the northern part of the country. “We currently have a mandate to control trypanosomiasis in the country through the PanAfrican Tsetse and

Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign. “We have just recently started the control processes from Jigawa in the NorthEast zone of the country and we hope to go to Yobe and continue until each and every state of the federation is covered. “Once this is covered, we are sure that once the vector is eliminated, we can easily say bye to the disease because we believe that those vectors are the ones that transmit the parasites that cause the disease. “Once they are removed, the parasites will not be there.” He, however, said that the control would be a very tedious task because of the geographical size of the country as the institute had the capacity to take on the project of eradication the vectors. “It is a complex thing to do, you know Nigeria is quite big and it depends on several factors, release of funds for this control, facilities, security in the country,

“But we have the capacity; we have the human capacity and the technology to completely control these diseases.” Shaida advised Nigerians, especially those in the rural areas to avoid going to areas where most of the flies inhabit. He said that to control tsetse flies, physical, chemical or biological means were needed.

He said that once diseases were brought under control, the inhabited area would then be opened up for farming. He said that by controlling the disease, the institute hoped to achieve increase in agricultural production, improve animal and human life as well as protecting the environment. (NAN)

Resettlement: Abuja indigenes give FG 14-days ultimatum By Adeola Tukuru

buja indigenes in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, under the auspices of Greater Gbagyi Development Initiative (GG-DIN) in collaboration with Joint youth Indigenous Communities of Apo Resettlement Site, said they have issued a 14 days ultimatum to the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), to revoke all the plots of land sold to

p r i v a t e a n d public organization in Apo. The National Cordinator and Founder of GG-DIN, Prince Mbaiza Gimba, who disclosed this to news men, added that the 14 days was to give them enough time to meet up with their demands. Gimba, said should the authorities fail to comply, they would mobilize their members on the next plan of action that would compel the authorities to listen to them.

AMAC chair bags peace award By Adeola Tukuru

ufeed International academy, Abuja has awarded the Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Micah Jiba, with a Distinguish Service Award (DSA) for his role in promoting inter-faith cooperation, peace and unity. The Director of the Academy and organiser of the award, Sheik

… Tasks new FCT PDP excos on hardwork By Adeola Tukuru

he Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Micah Jiba, has enjoined the newly inaugurated Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Executives of AMAC to work in the interest of the party and the council in general. Jiba, who made this known during the inauguration of AMAC PDP Executives’ members in Abuja, added that the era where leaders work for selfish purposes has past,

On indiscriminate urination and defecation in FCT

y now residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), those residing within the city centre especially, must be sick and tired of the endless promises of the Abuja E n v i r o n m e n t a l Protection Board (AEPB) to build public conveniences at strategic locations in the city. This is expected because after many years, the project is yet to see the light of the day. Even if the AEPB were to be dealing with children, after two consecutive years of reeling out this failed promise, it would have been difficult to convince them of the sincerity of the commitment of the board towards this project. The board, under the administration of late Dr. Abubakar Shehu Yabo, may his soul rest in peace, on January 29, 2010, had announced that 100 public toilets would be built at strategic locations of Abuja city before the year end. “We intend to have at least 100 toilets in this city before the end of the year. What is happening now is that we know that public toilets are inadequate, so we want to provide more,’’ the director had assured. Again, on the heels of

FCT Minister, Sen. Bala Mohammed heated complaints that trailed the increasing menace of indiscriminate urination and defecation, especially within the city centre, Yabo had also on April 13, 2010, reiterate the plan to journalists. In the same vein, he had assured that the board was working assiduously to erect the toilets that would include permanent and mobile structures in order to solve the problem of indiscriminate urinating and defecation on the streets. Media reports had also quoted the board’s Spokesman, Mr. Samuel Musa to have indicated that the toilets construction project was

captured in the 2010 budget. In view of this, Musa was said to have revealed that the board sent a proposed master plan to Abuja Regional Planning unit for approval for this purpose. Two years on however, the AEPB through it Deputy Director, Environmental Health and Safety, Mrs. Aishat Adebayo, less than two weeks ago in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) renewed this promise again. It is surprising that the project is still not visible, prompting the unanswered question begging for an answer: What happened to the said sum of money budgeted for the project? The AEPB and perhaps the FCT administration as a whole may have to explain to the public what exactly went wrong along the line. Now, a question that anybody would ordinarily ask is why has this menace, which is a serious threat to the health of the public come to stay, even within the city? The answer is not farfetched; the relevant authorities have failed in their duty to provide public toilets for use by

residents. Although, the AEPB claims that some of the facility is on ground, admitting however, that they are not adequate, they are not anywhere to be found in the city. As they must inevitably, answer the call of nature, many residents have tow the unwholesome part of emptying their bowels anywhere they find they selves in the absence of this public toilets, without due consideration to the attendant consequences of this. Unimaginable, street corners, walls of public and private buildings, parks and garden in highbrow areas and the like, now serve as public toilets for residents and visitor in the territory. Aside the health hazards associated with this kind of behaviour, as experts have linked recent outbreak of gastro entritis in some parts of the territory to this barbaric act, it does not befit a modern city. It is shameful; when visitors to the FCT and residents have to walk the street covering their noses from the foul stench oozing from every corner and worse still, behold this eyesore. For city like Abuja that is striving to listed

Mohammed Shakir Bolaji, stated that Jiba’s nomination was in view of his numerous efforts in making AMAC an abode of harmony, unity and development for its residents, urging him to continue the good work of unity. Responding, Jiba thanked the organizers and pledged to always work in the interest of peace between the two dominant religions in the council.

among the cleanest city in the world, this challenge is rather a setback to realising this dream. Indeed, if the FCT administration truly, aspires to attain this enviable status, it must take this issue very seriously by exploring means to put an end to this shameful trend. One such way that it could attain this, is by deploying these facilities to strategic places and you can be rest assured that if done, residents would be compelled do the right thing. On their parts, some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) had of recent, engaged in e n l i g h t e n m e n t campaigns and workshops to educate some communities in the FCT, like Durumi, where this is very rampant, on the health hazard of this menace. The outcome of this campaign, at the long run had been quite encouraging and given this, the FCT administration, through the AEPB is expected to key into this for more results. Mostly importantly, the AEPB must ensure that landlords in the FCT build toilets in their houses for tenants and owners of plazas and

urging them to put the interests of the people ahead of any other thing. He however, called on the members of the party to always pray and assist the newly inaugurated Executive members, so as to give them courage in dispensing their duties. Responding, the new AMAC PDP Chairman, Hon. Mahmud Muhammed, promised to improve on the areas of lapses in the party, saying that the new Executives will work in the interest of the party and the people.

ABUJA DIARY with Josephine Ella Jomarch4@yahoo.com 08065327178 other business outlets, which put up such structures without provisions for toilets should also be checked. In all, this would help discourage this practice, enhance the health status of residents and assist to restore the beauty of the city. If other wise, those found urinating and d e f e c a t i n g indiscriminately, could be arrested, prosecuted and fine as the case may be. On the other hand, exploring the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement to provide this facility won’t be a bad idea at all, given the enormous number of projects competing for the lean resources available to the board. As it stands, the public are already of the impression that this promise is one of the numerous political gimmicks dished out by our leaders. In any case, it is however left for the AEPB to prove them right or wrong by fulfilling this long time promise.

BUSINESS

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Email: amunuimam@yahoo.co.uk

PAGE 19

INSIDE

- Pg 20

Oando profits hit by fuel subsidy cut

Mob: 08033644990

Dangote Cement to produce 60m tonnes by 2015

L-R: Ogun state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Chief Idowu Shofola (SAN), and retired Justice of Supreme Court, Justice Adesola Oguntade, during a breakfast meeting with business owners, captains of industries and executives, yesterday in Abeokuta. Photo: NAN

Flight schedule AIR NIGERIA (MONDAY - SUNDAY) LOS-A BJ: 07.15, 11.40, 14.00, 16.30, 17.00, 17.20, 18.30 ABJ-LOS: 07.00, 09.30, 10.30, 11.15, 16.15, 19.15, 19.35 ABJ-KANO: 18.40 KANO-ABJ: 08.35 ABJ -SOK (MON): 09.35 ABJ-SOK (FRI): 10.10 ABJ-SOK (WED/SUN): 11.20 SOK-ABJ (MON): 11.35 SOK-ABJ (FRI): 12.00 SOK-ABJ (WED/SUN): 13.20

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

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

Power failure, curfew cripple businesses in Suleja From Suleiman Dangana, Minna

rolonged imposition of curfew coupled with incessant power failure in Suleja metropolis of Niger state have led to closures of business outfits Peoples Daily investigation has shown. The curfew which was slammed aftermath of the 25th December bomb explosion that occurred at ST. Thereza Catholic church, Madalla has strangulated the economy of the area. The curfew has forced owners of businesses to close earlier than the normal time for fear of military harassment. However, Council chairman

ABJ-LOS: 07.20, 09.36, 13.05, 14.40 ABJ-LOS (SAT/SUN): 13.05, 18.00 LOS-KANO : 08.10 KANO-LOS: 11.25 KANO -ABUJA: 11.25 ABUJA-KANO : 10.08

IRS AIRLINES LOS -ABJ: 9.45, 11.45, 2.45

CFA • £ RIYAL $

22nd May, 2012 BUYING 0.2817 197.5055 244.5343 41.2489 154.7

SELLING 0.3017 198.7822 246.115 41.5156 155.7

PARALLEL RATES • £ RIYAL $

BUYING 210 250 40 156

SELLING 212 252 42 158

ameliorate the lots of the people in the area. He said that the Council would ensure that the PHCN do everything possible to ensure the installation of the transformers on time to boost the power supply. The Business Manager of the PHCN Pope Paul Shima who spoke on the issue also said that a sub-station would be built in Zuba and it has been put in the 2012 budget. Shima said that the sub station would go along way to improve the power supply and bring about healthy business environment in Suleja and the environs. He also pledged to work harder to ensure Suleja council enjoys 18 hours power supply.

Management Tip of the Day

EXCHANGE RATES

CBN

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

Suleja Local government, Alhaji Yunusa Adamu said there was no cause for alarm as necessary measures are being put in place to restore the necessary business environment. Adamu attributed the major causes of business fold up to curfew and power failure noting that to arrest the situation, his council has provided some transformers to the town to boost power supply. According to him, the council recently distributed set of transformers to some districts while other consignments are being expected to further boost power supply. Alhaji Adamu appealed to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to utilize the transformers in order to

hairman of Dangote Cement plc Alhaji Aliko Dangote said the company’s production capacity would be increased to 60 million tonnes by 2015, up from its present capacity of 11 million tonnes. Dangote stated this yesterday at the company’s annual general meeting in Lagos, saying the company had mapped out strategies aimed at achieving the 2015 target to satisfy the demands of its customers. The industrialist said that the Ibese cement plant capacity currently at six million tonnes, would be increased to 12 million tonnes in the next 26 months. He said that additional three million tonnes would be added to Obajana cement plant, adding the Calabar plant capacity would be six million tonnes. Dangote told the shareholders that the company would seek fresh funds from the capital market at the appropriate time for expansion of its projects. He said that the company was also constructing 3,000 tonnes per day cement plants in other African countries such as Zambia, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Congo, among others. Dangote assured the shareholders of robust dividend, saying that additional production capacity would lead to increase in turnover and profitability. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the shareholders approved the company’s gross dividend of N34.9 billion, which translated to N1.25 per share and a bonus of one new share for every 10 shares already held. Mr. Peter Owolabi, a shareholder asked the management to ensure steady growth by exploring available opportunities in the industry to increase its market share. Owolabi said that the company should ensure maximum returns to all its stakeholders for their support. NANreports that the company posted a turnover of N235.7 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2011, as against N202.6 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2010. (NAN)

Use social media to boost your job search

ore and more people are finding jobs via Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites. These media aren’t changing how we look for jobs, they are simply rebooting the traditional habits of successful job hunters and making them easier. To boost your job

search:· Build a better network. You used to pester people for their business cards at conferences and mixers. Twitter offers a better alternative. Lots of recruiters, hiring managers, and industry leaders hang out on Twitter, swapping job leads and industry updates.· Share evidence of your

good work. Rather than dragging your portfolio to an interview, high-traffic sites such as YouTube and Pinterest can help you showcase your work. Recruiters increasingly prowl the web to look for the best candidates. Source: Harvard Business Review

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 20

COMPANY NEWS Nigeria’s active mobile subscriptions hit 99.14m

he total number of active telephone subscriptions combined active subscriptions obtained on Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks, the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and the fixed wired/wireless networks in Nigeria has reached 99.14 million as at the end of March 2012, according to latest statistics from the telecoms industry regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Airtel ranked among top 100 global brands By Aminu Imam

harti Airtel (‘Airtel’), a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa has been ranked ahead of top global brands such as Citi, Sony, MTN, China Telecom, and Volkswagen

Airtel said it has joined an elite club of global brands by making it to this year’s BrandZTop™ 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list. With an overall ranking of 71 and brand value of USD 11.5 billion, Airtel has been ranked ahead of top global brands such as Citi (82), Sony (86), MTN (88), China

Telecom (90), and Volkswagen (96). The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study conducted by leading global research firm Millward Brown. It is the only brand valuation that takes into account what people think about the brands they buy alongside rigorous analysis of

financial data, market valuations, analyst reports and risk profiles. The ranking is arrived through a continuous in-depth quantitative research on a category-by-category and a country-by-country basis. The research covers some 2 million consumers and more than 50,000 brands in over 30 countries.’

L-R: Director, ILO, Ms Claudia Coenjaerts, Director, ILO office for Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, Mrs Sina Chuma-Mkandawire, and Senior Gender Specialist, Ms Mwila Chigaga, during a stakeholders' meeting on financial inclusion for women entrepreneurs, on Wednesday in Abuja. Photo: NAN

Risk manager creates cutting-edge “risk edutainment” programme

he laid back approach to risk management by professionals would soon become a thing of the past, with the latest cutting edge training programme, soon to be introduced by Joachim Adenusi, a UK public sector 2009/10 Risk manager of the Year and former director of the Institute of Risk management (IRM).

Facebook drops again as pressure to perform mounts

acebook’s shares fell again on Tuesday, leaving them down nearly one-third from Friday’s highs as questions mounted over the company’s financial prospects and its ability to grow fast enough to meet the hype surrounding its stock.

Efficient data management will drive sustainable growth –NetApp boss

ith the rising quantity of unstructured data captured by Nigerian enterprises and the rise of multimedia, social media will indeed stimulate exponential growth in data for the near future. As such, NetApp, a global leader in storage has said that it is committed to assisting Nigerian firms cope with the phenomenal growth in data, by providing tailored solutions to drive business efficiency.

Julius Berger Nigeria rises to four-month high on valuation bets

ulius Berger Nigeria Plc , the country’s largest construction company by market value, rose to a fourmonth high as investors bet its price could almost double this year, according to Kundila Finance Ltd.

Oando profits hit by fuel subsidy cut

nergy firm, Oando has said its pre-tax profits for the first quarter were hit by its decision not to pass on the effect of a 50 percent fuel subsidy cut this year to consumers. The energy firm said profit before tax tumbled 15 percent to $32 million in the first quarter compared to a year ago. That was despite the fact that revenues inched up 38 percent to $1 billion. Shares in the company, down 71 percent in the last 12 months, fell to an 8-year low of 14.99 naira after the results, which also revealed 2011 net profit declined 76 percent to 3.44 billion naira ($21.61 mln). Nigeria cut petrol import subsidies in January in an effort to control the spiralling costs of a scheme that represents a huge state hand out to fuel importers. The government had initially planned to axe subsidies completely, but was forced to partially reinstate them after a public outcry. Oando, which holds a secondary listing in Johannesburg, also said administrative and selling expenses, including foreign exchange losses, hurt profits. (Reuters)

Police pension: AGF recovers N14bn from banks By Abdulwahab Isa

he Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) Mr. Jonah Ogunniyi has informed the Joint Senate Committee on Establishment, Public Service, States and Local Government Administration that his office had help in recovering the sum of N14, 069,421,240.56 police pension funds illegally deposited in various commercial banks by the Task Team on Pensions. The AGF disclosed this recently when he appeared before the committee and said the recovered monies are in safe custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The Joint Senate Com Establishment, Public Service, States and Local Government Administration is headed by Senator Aloysius Etok. The AGF had been directed by the committee at its seating on March 18, 2012 to open a special account which all monies recovered in the course of the

Pension Reform Task Team activities. Oguniyi said his office has commenced the comprehensive intervention process on the 30th of May 2012 and was able to get all the pensioners’ money in the commercial banks back to the CBN. He said no fewer than 17,000 Police Pensioners had been paid their monies for the months of March and April. The list of the banks where monies were mopped up by AGF and the amount, include UBA PLC, N3,000,000,000.00; Unity Bank PLC, N2,014,970,340.44; G T B p l c , N1,001,108,133.34;ECOBANK PLC, N1000,000,000.00, Fidelity PLC, N8,053,342,766.78. He however clarified that at the end of the exercise, all pension monies in UBA, GTB and Fidelity banks were completely withdrawn while, only N1,050 was left in Unity bank account, N1,269,782,493.15 in ECOBANK and N15,506,134,252.30 in First

bank as at 14th May 2012. He said in the case of First Bank, the bank did not transfer the pension funds in its possession to the CBN but instead transferred N1 billion to Ecobank. According to AGF at the senate briefing, the police pension accounts in UBA and Fidelity banks were illegal because approval for the accounts were granted two months after opening of the accounts. In the case of first bank, two approved accounts in Lagos were closed by the Task team without the AGF’s approval whereas a new account was opened in Abuja also by the Task Team without the AGF’s approval. The approved police pension account in GTB was closed by the team and a new one opened without the approval of the AGF as authorized by law. Senator Aloysius Etok commended the Accountant General of the Federation, for the mature and responsible discharge of his statutory responsibility.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2012

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Taxation as a tool for wealth creation and employment (1) Stories by Muhammad Nasir

axation is recognized as a very important tool for national development and growth in most societies. However, one of the major indices by which development and growth can be measured in any society is the amount of wealth, which by economic activities undertaken in that society. Taxpayers are to note that, one of the means of creation of wealth for citizens is through

meaningful employment, so that citizens are able to earn income to cater for their needs and also contribute taxes to the Government as part of their contribution to National Development. Taxpayers should be aware that taxes do not provide only sustainable revenue for Government to carry out its activities and provide development to its citizens; it also put citizens in the role of stakeholders, who are directly contributing to national

development. Therefore, in reciprocation, the Nigerian tax system should be utilized by government as a sustainable platform for ensuring growth in the Nigerian economy. In this way, wealth and employment opportunities can be created for those who are currently outside the tax net, due to low or no income, so that there in turn also earn income on which taxes are paid and the circle of growth and development in the economy is sustained in this manner.

Understanding the concept of basis period for The role of taxation in wealth assessment of profit creation and employment to tax (3) T

eceipt or payment after the date of cessation All taxpayers should note that, any receipt or payment made after the date of cessation (i.e. the date the payment elapsed) which would have been included or deducted from the assessable profit of the business, it t has been received or paid before the date of cessation shall be deemed to have been received or paid on the last day of business. Changer of Accounting Date This is when a company decides to change its account year end, usually for reasons connected to the following: (I)To align the accounting year-end with that of the government. For example, 1st January to 31st December fiscal year. (ii)In the case of a subsidiary company, taxpayers should note that, there must be alignment with the accounting year-end with that of the holding company to make consolidation easier. Where a company has changed its accounting yearâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; end, the right of election then becomes the responsibility of tax authorities to determine the basis upon which tax liability will be computed. However, the following are steps in assessing a

company to tax when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s accounting year-end changes. 1. Taxpayers should identify the year of change, that is, the year in which the company first failed to make up its accounts to the usual year end. 2. Identify the last two years of assessment following the year of change. 3. For the three years identified above, taxpayers are to compute the assessable profit on PYB using the old date. 4. Taxpayers should also compute the same three years assessable profit using the new ate. 5. Taxpayers are advice to obtain the aggregate of each of the computation in 3 and 4 above. 6. Decision rule: It is in practice that the tax authority would select the one with a higher assessable profit. Conclusion This topic has discussed extensively on the logic behind the basis period. Taxpayers should note that the use of basis period is not limited to tax authorities alone, as in the case of change of accounting yearend and cessation of business, but also to taxpayers or companies in the case of commencement of new businesses.

axpayers should equally note that, taxation play a vital and pivotal role in the creation of wealth and employment in the Nigerian economy in the following ways: (1) Stimulating growth in the economy, by increased trade and economic activities. In this regard, tax revenues are used to provide basic infrastructure such as power, roads, transportation and other infrastructure which would facilitates trade and other economic activities. (2) Stimulating domestic and foreign investment: These is where the tax system creates a competitive edge for investments in the economy, local investments would be retained in the country, while also attracting foreign investments. Increased investment would generate employment and provide wealthy in the hands of individuals. (3) Revenue generated from taxes can also be applied directly to identify sectors of the Nigerian economy to stimulate such sectors. In this regard, the sectors must be those which have potential for creating employment, developing the economy and creating wealth for the greater benefit of citizens and government of this country. (4) Revenue earned from taxes can be developed effective regulatory systems strengthen financial and economic structures and address market imperfections and other distortions in the economic sector. Taxes realized from specific sectors of the economy can be channeled back to those sectors to encourage their continued growth and development. (5) Redistribution of income, whereby tax revenue realized from high income earners is used to provide public infrastructure and utilities to the lowest income earners. Taxes may also be used to create a social security net for short and long terms relief to indigent members of society and other classes of persons who may require such intervention by the Government.

Acting Chairman FIRS, Alhaji Kabir Mohammed Mashi

Variation of tax rates in response to economic development

n the Nigeria economy, the tax system remains responsive to internal and external developments and shall not be allowed to become static or obsolete. In this regard, it is the responsibility of the Extractive arm of Government, which is empowered to manage the fiscal affairs of the Nation, to ensure that tax rates are responsive to fiscal and economic developments within and outside the Nigerian economy. In this regard, the federal or state Ministry of Finance or indeed any citizen or resident of

Nigeria may propose changes to tax for enactment into law by the National Asssembly, thereby giving that the National Assembly is the body vested by the Constitution with the power to vary tax rates. However, it is proposed, that the power to vary tax reliefs and allowances relating to income taxes should be delegated to the Minister of Finance for ease of administration. The authorities at the Federal and State level and the Joint Tax Board shall advise on proposed changes for enactment by the National Houses of Assembly.

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PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Nigerian economy must have appropriate legal framework, says Shippers’ Council Director Hassan Bello is the Director, Legal Services of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), set up in 1978 to ensure fair play in the shipping business in the country. In this interview with Sunday Ejike Benjamin, Bello speaks his mind on the activities of the council and its planned seminar for judges. Excerpts:

he Nigerian Shippers’ council is set up specifically to cater for the interest of cargo and the shipping arrangement in the country, what does it take to do business across the Nigerian waters? Talking of business across the Nigerian sea, you are talking about international trade, which is done through import or export. As far as the law is concerned, these are governed by international conventions. International trade, Admiralty law are components that enable nations and individuals to trade across the nations. Every country has its local laws for exporting and importing goods. Then, there is the element of carriage, that is the use of ship across the sea for carriage of these goods; these are also governed by bills of laden, if they are manufactured goods like cars, electronics in containers. If they are bulk goods like cement, they are governed by charter parties, depending on the contract of carriage. But all these are governed by international laws and conventions. How has the council been able to domesticate these international laws guiding international trade in the country? One of the functions of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council is to look at international conventions, participate in moulding them and recommend to the federal government that such conventions that are beneficial to Nigerian economy be domesticated. According to the constitution, even if an international convention is planted by Nigeria, the National Assembly must consider it and enact it as a national law before it comes into force. Therefore, Nigerian Shippers Council will look at international conventions dealing with international trade or commercial shipping and recommend accordingly. The Council has been able to influence the domestication of the Hamburg rules, which is an international convention that guides the carriage of goods. The council has been sensitising the maritime community of its services that those body of rules are extremely beneficial to Nigeria and the National Assembly were involved and this has now been domesticated as Carriage of Goods Act.

What are the challenges of the council, in the course of carrying out its functions to the Nigerian populace? Nigerian Shippers Council is both regulatory and advisory, regulatory in the sense that the Act which was set up in 1978 has given the Nigerian Shippers Council the mandate to advise the federal government on key policy issues as far as shipping and international laws are concerned. The challenges that we found are that the laws or the Nigerian Shippers Council Act, enacted since 1978 is a little bit out of date, because so many things have gone under. There have been so many businesses in international shipping and the laws setting up the Nigeria Shippers Council may not adequately take care of this development. The council has proposed an amendment or review of its Act and soon, the Federal Ministry of Transport, with the cooperation of the Federal Ministry of Finance and the National Assembly again, the laws will be reviewed so that shippers’ council will be strategically placed to effectively carry out its functions. Apart from that, there is the issue of funding. The Nigeria Shippers Council is not well funded, it also the function of not having an up to date laws. But the Federal Ministry of Transport is currently looking at all these challenges. The importance of maritime in international trade and the indispensability of the judiciary in the administration and interpretation of maritime law is great for the achievement of sanity in the sector; what is the Nigeria Shippers Council doing to equip the Bar and the Bench in this direction? One of the strategies of the Nigeria Shippers’ Council is to look at the judiciary as a very important sector in adjudicating maritime laws. We can have the laws, but the adjudication and administration may be a problem. Our judiciary is dynamic and the Nigeria Shippers’ Council relates so beautifully with the judiciary up to the highest level. As you are aware, the federal high court has the original jurisdiction in the case of admiralty or maritime laws. Now the role of the Nigeria Shippers’ Council is like the seminar slated to hold in Abuja between 5th and 7thJune, 2012.

The seminar will bring all the judges together to discuss complex and contemporaneous issues, current issues that may arise when they are adjudicating. Don’t forget that, until recently, maritime law is not taught; it is not that the judges are not familiar but if you update the knowledge of these judges every day, what will happen is that they will be up to date with international practices and dispensing of judgement in good time, which is the cardinal principle in international trade. Judgments that Nigerian judges are giving are internationally recognized, they are being acknowledged. Internally, everybody says the caucus of maritime law in Nigeria is dynamic because of our judges, thanks to the association with Nigerian judges and the Nigeria Shippers’ Council. The council, like you have said have arranged a seminar for the judges; what about the members of the Bar (lawyers)? It is the same thing. Of course, the focus is the judges, but still, they are not the only stakeholders in the administration of justice. The lawyers who bring the case before them must also be abreast with current trend. So, in this seminar in June, it is not only the judges that will come, we have many lawyers, especially in maritime and commercial laws, and several of them that will participate in the seminar. The resource persons are an amalgam of judges and lawyers. What is the main focus of the seminar? The main focus of the seminar are two. Number one is that our judges must be educated to face the challenges of dealing with knotty issues in admiralty or international business. Secondly, this seminar must influence or impart on the economy. The seminar has affected key policies

Director, Legal Services, Nigerian Shippers Council, Hassan Bello of the Federal Government. The seminar has necessitated profound legislation through the parliament. It has also resulted in fundamental or landmark cases for the judiciary, so this seminar is all encompassing. It has influenced the executive, the parliament and the judiciary. What are the major features at the seminar? The seminar is becoming enhanced in the sense that it is international in nature. Maritime law, international trade must be backed by international laws and international legal framework. We have an amalgamation of local

“

until recently, maritime law is not taught; it is not that the judges are not familiar but if you update the knowledge of these judges every day, what will happen is that they will be up to date with international practices and dispensing of judgement in good time, which is the cardinal principle in international trade.

resource persons and international resource persons. We have also the community court of ECOWAS that would be represented at the seminar. We also have a Judge of the Supreme Court in Ghana, who is leading the Ghanaian delegation of judges to the seminar. We are also thinking that it is not only Nigerian transportation but integration, at least, along the African community. The seminar will not only fashion out infrastructures and the integration of legal system, because the integration of the ECOWAS sub-region depends on the uniformity of legal framework. The Federal Government has earmarked some amount of money for the dredging of the River Niger; how will impact on the movement of goods across the country? That is a very important question. The inland waterway is a very important source of transportation. They are internally-generated cargo, palm oil and even coal and even petroleum products that should be distributed. We have inland waterways, River Niger, River Benue and some important rivers. The Federal Government has made the inland waterway as a cardinal medium of this exchange. The Federal Government is building river ports also. This is a way of providing multi model transport; it is not only dependent on road transport. There is the need to use the inland waterway because frequent use of roads lead to degradation; that is why we have the Nigeria Waterway Authority (NIWA) as an agency that would develop inland waterway as a means of transport.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

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PAGE 25

Election of the chairperson of the AUC: African G8 unable to provide a way forward By Alexander Ojo

hen in January 2012 African Heads of State and Government failed to elect a new chairperson of the AU Commission during the 18 Ordinary Session of Assembly in Addis Ababa following a deadlock in the election, a group of eight African leaders were appointed and tasked with the responsibility of finding a way out of the deadlock. Dr Jean Ping, a Gabonese from Central African Region, who was seeking for a renewal of his four-year mandate, was being challenged by Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, a former wife of President Jacob Zuma and former South African Minister of Foreign Affairs. Although, Ping won all the three rounds of the elections in January leading DlaminiZuma with some votes, which forced his opponent to withdraw from the contest before the fourth round, he could not to get the required two-thirds of the total votes cast during that round as required by the AU Rules of Procedure for him to be declared the winner of the election. Following the deadlock, the Summit suspended the election and also extended Ping’s mandate and that of his Deputy, Mr Erastus Mwencha and eight Commissioners by six months until the next Summit which was slated for Lilongwe, Malawi in July 2012. The general belief was that before the Malawi Summit, a solution would be found by the Group of Eight African Heads of State and Government who were tasked with the singular responsibility of ensuring a way out of the serious electoral and political crises facing the organization which is threat to much needed unity. The Gabonese Government recently announced its unconditional support for the re-election of Dr Jean Ping, the Chairperson of the AU Commission for a second term. Mr Emmanuel IssozeNgondet, Gabonese Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Francophonie said the government has reaffirmed its unconditional support for the candidacy of Ping . “In light of the preceding, Gabon hereby reaffirms its unconditional support for the

candidacy of Dr Jean Ping, whose first term in office is judged as positive, in spite of an extremely challenging Continental context. “This positive assessment of Ping ’s performance is shared by a majority of Member States, who consistently expressed their preference for him over the other Candidate in three rounds of voting during the January election”, IssozeNgondet said. He explained that Gabon ’s support for Ping ’s candidacy was motivated by the principles that govern the proper functioning of our organization, notably the two term rule and the unwritten commitment of the “Biggest Five” contributors and the host country to refrain from seeking the position of Chairperson of the Commission. “I urged all Member States that wish to preserve the unity and integrity of the Continental Organization to act individually and collectively in the higher interest of the African Continent”, he said. South Africa continues to claim that SADC block had never headed the continental body which was established more than 50 years ago, thus the desire to have DlaminiZuma head the Commission at all cost. This claim was however refuted by some watchers who believed that SADC had the longest term of 12 years when Mr Salim Ahmed Salim from Tanzania, a founding member of SADC, has chaired three times as the Secretary General of the OAU. The hope of those who believed in the setting up of the G8 has however, been dashed as almost two months to the Summit, the members of the ad-hoc committee confessed after their second meeting in Cotonou, Republic of Benin that there was no solution to the crisis, hence, the two candidates would be represented for election by their respective regional in July in Malawi. Though, there was no official communique issued at the end of the mini-summit, Mr Nassirou Bako, Benin’s Foreign Minister said that participants agreed to hold further consultations on the issue before the July summit with a view to finding a solution to the election of the new Chairperson of the Commission. President Boni Yayi of

Dlmaini-Zuma could effectively midwife. Some Diplomats in Addis Ababa believe that changing the AU Commission leadership is the South African way of harassing Gabon, which was seen as a small central African country and will not augur well for the continent’s future. Commentators say South Africa’s insistence on pushing Ping out and replacing him with Dlamini-Zuma would jeopadise the continued coexistence of the continental body which used to be run by those elected from small countries as a sense of belonging as the big five nations already play a preponderant role in their respective regional bodies and in the affairs of the Union. This will surely set a bad example. The smaller countries will be swallowed

Dr Jean Ping Benin, who chaired the meeting in his capacity as the Chairperson of the Union, said there was an urgent need for the continent to find a solution that would end the current difficult situation. “The entire continent is keenly watching our deliberations and is hoping a definitive solution will emerge from this meeting. In the face of the multiple challenges which face Africa today, we cannot over-emphasise the urgent need for us to find solutions that will end the current difficult situation”, Yayi said The G8 comprises of Yayi as the Chairman, with five other Heads of State and Government representing the five regional economic communities of the Union

namely Chad, Ethiopia, Algeria, Angola and Cote d’Ivoire. Presidents Ali Bango of Gabon and his South African counterpart, Zuma, were also part of the group as Presidents of the countries presenting the two candidates. Aladji Boni Diallo, officer in charge of diplomatic affairs in Benin said the group decided to give Bongo and Zuma another opportunity of resolving the problem at their level through continued consultations, being heads of the two countries that presented the candidates for election and re-election in the case of Ping. The general consensus among some stakeholders is that the personal interest of some big African country would continue to drag the

Commission and the continent backward. We have a situation where some few countries and leaders who feel that as big economies, they must have control of both the regional and the continent organizations. Some of them do not think about the much needed unity on the continent, which is faced with various challenges ranging from poverty, political crises, divisions, insecurity and conflicts. Going by the writings on the wall, it could be concluded that the Summit in Malawi would not achieve any desired goal, because the January election deadlock would just be repeated as the two camps supporting Ping and DlaminiZuma are yet to see reasons for resolving their differences

before the election. The AU Commission has been paralised since January when the election was suspended. Failure to conduct an election in July will put the Commission and the continent in a serious slumber and the international community will no longer take Africa serious. One of the points of contention is that while those supporting Ping’s re-election say he deserved a second term for a series of achievements and successes recorded by the Commission during his fouryear term, South Africa and the SADC bloc insist on making sure that Ping must leave. They insist that the continental body must be headed by their candidate at least for now, and must also go through some reforms that only

Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma

both at the regional and at the continental levels by the big economies, that are also the big powers of the continent politically. Our uniting factor is the provision of a level playing ground for all Member States, and if this is not guaranteed by the big nations, then Africa is finished. The January election result showed that Ping enjoys the support of three out of the big five countries including Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria, and is backed by the ECOWAS and IGAD blocs. On her part, Dlamini-Zuma has the SADC backing and also enjoys the support of some few countries spread across the continent. President Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire said during the second ad-hoc meeting that ECOWAS position is that Ping had won all the three rounds and should

therefore be elected, arguing that democracy is 50 plus one. Observers believe that failure to elect a new Chairperson in Malawi come July would amount to another six months extension for Ping and his team, which may further deepen the crises before January 2013, when the Assembly would again meet in Addis Ababa for another Summit. During the first meeting of the ad-hoc committee, there was a call for a consensus approach to the election of the candidate to ensure that the AU as an organisation is united in addressing the challenges on the continent. The outcome of the election was due to multiple factors including the nature of the relationship between Nigeria and South Africa and South Africa ‘s approach to the campaign for the chairmanship position.

Mr Andrew AttaAssamoah, editor, South African Institute of Security Studies, said that the differences in foreign policy positions of Nigeria and South Africa may have contributed to the lack of consensus during the AU elections. This stems primarily from differing views by both countries on the international responses to the Libyan and Ivorian crisis. There are also claims by proPing supporters, including Nigeria, that South Africa may be breaching the so-called ‘unwritten rule’, which requires regional powers not to occupy the position of AU Chairperson. Besides, there are growing perceptions by some African states that South Africa has projected itself as the voice and leader of Africa. Further, Nigeria is certainly one of the countries who feel that South Africa ‘s aggressive

campaign strategy for Dr. Dlamini-Zuma was unacceptable. Questions are also being raised about the manner in which South Africa ‘s current leadership is pursuing its foreign policy goals. For example, under the leadership of Presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki, it seems the quest for morality, panAfricanism and African renaissance were central to South Africa’s foreign policy, respectively. In contrast, there are perceptions that the foreign policy position under President Jacob Zuma has been unclear, inconsistent and is sometimes opposed to the views of other African states. This foreign policy disposition of South Africa seems to have overshadowed the benefits of Dlamini-Zuma as a potentially strong leader for the AU Chairperson owing to her experiences as a former Foreign Minister. If Dlamini-Zuma is not elected, it would be a huge blow for South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in general. This would, however, allow South Africa to rethink its foreign policy implementation strategy and, importantly, its relations with other influential African states. Some analysts believe that although relations between South Africa and some other African states might be affected for a short while, it will not last for long as the relations are based largely on strong trade ties, which cannot be badly hampered by the competitive nature of elections and politics at the AU level. If Dr. Dlamini-Zuma wins, there are speculations from opponents of South Africa ‘s candidacy that there could be a potential abuse of power. Even if South Africa wanted to, the structure and rules of the AU clearly stipulate the roles and responsibilities of the Chairperson and will not permit any attempt by South Africa to use the opportunity to enlarge its power base. If none of them get elected, the January 2013 Summit may be an assembly of the Heads of States and Government for the funeral rites of the AU which marks ten year of existence in July 2012 Ojo, an African Political analyst, writes from Nairobi, Kenya . He can be reached through: alexanderojo@hotmail.com

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PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Universal prophetic wisdoms (1) Allah says: “Nor does He say (aught) of (his own) desire. It is no less than inspiration sent down to him: He was taught by one mighty In power,. Endued with Wisdom: for He appeared (in stately form).” [an-Najmi:3-6]

n the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All Praise is due to Allah! We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our evils and bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah, is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and final messenger to mankind. May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon His last and final Apostle, his Household, his companions and all his followers until the end of time. Our discussion today is taken from the treasures of the Apostle of Allah (SAW). We will as time goes on learn live touching advice, wisdom, guidance, admonishing and knowledge from this inexhaustible treasures. This guidance like many more to come in the future, were product of divine guidance taught by the most honest, most truthful and most trustworthy person ever lived on this planet. All his words, speeches and utterance under any circumstances are direct guidance from the Lord high above; the Truth, the Whole Truth and the Only Truth- Allah (SWT), Who, concerning this greatest man, says: “Nor does He say (aught) of (his own) desire. It is no less than inspiration sent down to him: He was taught by one mighty In power,. Endued with Wisdom: for He appeared (in stately form).” [anNajmi:3-6] Thus, whatever came from this last and final messenger of Allah is real in its form, truth in its content, guidance in its meaning and knowledge in its message. He said to his Companions (RD): "Who will take these words and apply them, or knows someone who will?" Abu Hurairah (RD) answered, "I will, O Messenger of Allah," whereupon the Prophet ((SAW)) took his hand and enumerated five things, saying: “Avoid the unlawful (deeds), and you will be the most pious of people.” “Be satisfied with what Allah has allotted you, and you will be the richest of people.” “Treat your neighbour well, and you will be a believer.” “Love for others what you love for yourself, and you will be a Muslim.” “Avoid excessive laughter for too much laughter kills the heart.” [Ahmad: 2/ 310, No. 8081, Tirmizi: 4/ 551, No. 2305, Baihaqy: 7/ 78, No. 9543] We will Insha Allah try to do justice discussing these glorious advices in the light of our present circumstances and perspectives of lives. in the course, we will judge ourselves and see whether we fit into any, some of them, all of them

or none of them; amend where we (other) evil deeds and will admit you fall short, complement where we (to Paradise) with a noble entry.” are half way, sustain where we [an-Nisa:31] Consequently, Allah Most High positively fit well and resolve out of His infinite mercies has where we are dud. For the purpose of deriving home our lesson in pop and plain explanation, i will take these advices one after By Husain Zakariyya the other. Lesson one: Yawale “Avoid the u n l a w f u l +234-8052952900 (sms only) (deeds), and you islamexplained35@yahoo.com will be the most pious of people.” Avoidance of unlawful or guaranteed the Garden of Paradise proscribed deeds is not possible to those who avoid the major sins. without having the knowledge of Allah Most High also says: “Those who avoid the greatest the long list of the forbidden. That is to say for anyone to avoid the of sins and indecencies, and forgive haram, he must seek for when they are angry.” (as-Shra knowledge; seeking for knowledge 42:37) “Those who avoid the greatest means going to school, and that

over! Mind you the list are not exhausted: *Worshiping idols, other deities or associating partners with Allah (shirk) *Believing in superstition, fortune telling and astrology *Committing murder or assassination *Committing suicide or selfannihilation *Bearing false witness *Committing adultery or fornication *Cheating, stealing, and lying *Charging or paying interest or usury (riba) *Consuming pork or alcohol *Consuming the wealth of an orphan *Not fasting for Ramadan deliberately

sins and indecencies, except for oversights, (will find that) surely your Lord is ample in forgiveness.” (an-Najm 53:32) Minor sins are acts or utterances that are disconcerting to Allah but for which no specific penalty or severe caution has been sternly issued. In this case, an individual's ethics and sensitivity help him or her to know that an act is abhorred. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in this regards said, “Righteousness is good character, and sin is that which wavers in your heart and which you do not want people to know about.” (Muslim) Minor sins, nevertheless, must not be taken nonchalantly, for disobeying Allah is remains a very serious affair. Allah says: “You counted it a little thing, while with Allah it was very great.” [anNur:15) So, minor sins can easily mislead someone to perpetrate major sins. Therefore, frequently committing a minor sin will change its status to that of a major sin. For the purpose of clarity, the following are some of the commonest major sins amongst the Muslim populace the world

*Not observing the daily prayers under any excuses *Not paying zakat (annual charity) *Gambling *Oppression and unjust leadership *Bribery, misappropriation of public trusts and violation of contracts *Backbiting and slandering *Breaking the ties of kinship *Dishonouring of one's parents In fact, it is only Shirk that is unforgivable without sincere repentance before one's death, out of all major sins. Allah says: “Verily, Allah forgives not that partners be set up with Him (in worship) but He forgives other than that to whom He pleases; and whoever sets up partners with Allah (in worship), he has indeed invented an enormous wrong.” [Qur'an 4:48] A Muslim should endeavour at all times to remember that Allah hears and watches over him or her all the time, and that there is no hiding place from Him! This state of alertness will help him or her to think twice and refrain from committing the sinning of the tongues and hands, as well as of the minds and hearts; sure, the heart sins!

ISLAM EXPLAINED

means getting educated. Thus, the more you are educated, the more enlightened you become, which means getting closer to your Lord through good conducts and deeds. An ignorant Muslim is not better than an animist or animal before his or her Lord! Allah says: “Fear Allah and obey Him. Be afraid of the Day when you shall be brought back to Allah. Then every person shall be paid what he earned; and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.” [al-Baqarah:281] Thus, Allah warns us on the fact that major sins are indeed the causes for all desolation, wickedness and torment in both worlds. Major sins are those acts which are forbidden by Allah in the Quran and by His Apostle (SAW) in the Sunnah. Islam defines sin as any act or utterance which contradicts the commandments of Allah and His Apostle. Some sins are regarded as major, while others are minor. Whatever is the nature of the sins, they in fact generally decrease in the good deeds of an individual and increase in the evil ones, thereby leading to dishonour and ignominy in both worlds. Allah says: “If you avoid the major (part) of what you have been forbidden (to do), We will cancel out for you your

“Behold, you received it on your tongues, and said out of your mouths things which you had no knowledge; and you thought it to be a light matter, while it was most serious in the sight of God.” (24: 15) The Qur'an is very explicit on the state of the minds and hearts most especially in the Holy Land of Mecca due to the special status it occupies before Allah in providing absolute tranquility, sanctuary and shelter to His pilgrims. He says: “As to those who have rejected (Allah), and would keep back (men) from the way of Allah, and from the sacred Mosque, which we have made (open) to (all) men - equal is the dweller there and the visitor from the country - and whoever shall incline therein to profanity or wrongdoing - them will we cause to taste of a Most grievous penalty.” [alHajj: 25] One significant essence of our creation which we must never disregard for a moment is the fact that Allah created us and the jinns for the purpose of worshiping Him alone! We must have firmed believe in His supremacy and lordship over us and our belongings, serve and adore Him every flash of our sojourn on this earth. Stressing to us the purpose our being, He says: “I have only created Jinns and men, that They may serve Me. No sustenance do I require of them, nor do I require that They should feed Me. For Allah is He who gives (all) Sustenance,- Lord of power,- steadfast (for ever).” [azZaariyaat: 56-58] Accordingly, when contemplating on transgressing the bounds of Allah, we must not look at how small or great a sin is, but we should look at the prominence and power of the One Whom he is disobeying. In essence, the more aloofness we are to all prohibitions and wrongfulness in their various classifications, the closer we are to Allah, and by extension marching toward the endless bliss of the gardens of perpetual abode. “Nay- those that keep their plighted Faith and act aright,-verily Allah loves those who act aright.” [aal-Imraan: 76] Hence whoever loves Allah will be endearing by His creations by those on earth and ones high above! Similarly, whoever Allah despises, the love his creation will not change that position! Allah says: “O mankind! we created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and Tribes, that ye may know Each other (Not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the Most honoured of you In the sight of Allah is (He who is) the Most righteous of you, and Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).” [al-Hujraat: 13] Finally, may Allah show us what is right and give us the ability to work righteous deeds, and show us what is wrong, and give the audacity to turn our backs, notwithstanding attractions. Allah says: “Say: Not equal are things that are bad and things that are good, Even though the abundance of the bad may dazzle thee; so fear Allah, O ye that understand; that (so) ye may prosper.” [al-Ma'idah: 100]

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

By Johnson Eyiangho

he current security challenges facing the country have put the capability of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to contain the situation to question. Concerned observers particularly bemoan the rising wave of terrorism in the country and the seeming helplessness of the police to tackle the menace. Their concern is quite understandable, as statistics released by the police indicate that the Boko Haram sect had so far carried out 118 bombings in the country, killing 308 people. The attacks were carried out in Borno, Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Niger and Plateau states, as well as the FCT, and only 33 suspects were said to have arrested in connection with the attacks While the Boko Haram sect continues to perpetrate its evil acts mainly in the North, police statistics indicate that bank robberies and kidnapping are rife in the South. The statistics reveal that in 2011 alone, 879 robbery and 366 kidnapping cases were recorded across the country. During the period, 1,609 suspects were arrested, while 766 firearms and 31,175 ammunitions were seized from them. However, the Minister of Police Affairs, retired Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade, said at the recent Ministerial Platform organised to mark the first anniversary of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, that the personnel of the Nigeria Police Force were inadequate. He stressed that 370,000 policemen were grossly inadequate to tackle the rising wave crime and police the country with 150 million inhabitants effectively. “This is grossly inadequate; yet, there is an upsurge of crime nationwide, ranging from kidnapping, armed robbery, assassination, human trafficking and only recently, terrorism,’’ he said. Olubolade particularly noted that the emerging challenge of terrorism had made it imperative for the country to undertake an organisational restructuring of its police force, while promoting cross-agency information sharing. He, nonetheless, conceded that the seeming dwindling performance of the police was a consequence of faulty policies, stressing the urgent need to review such policies. He, however, said that the policy thrust of the ministry was aimed at building a modern, well-equipped and wellmotivated police force that were be capable of protecting the lives and property of Nigerians. The minster stressed that the policy was also aimed at boosting the capacity of the police to fight and prevent crime, while enforcing the country’s laws. “We also aim at building a police force that can aggressively pursue offenders and bring them to book, although with courtesy and respect for human dignity

PAGE 27

Boosting police capacity to tackle security challenges

Moble policemen set for a peacekeeping mission and rights’’ he said. On the achievements of the ministry in the last one year, Olubolade said that steps had been initiated to increase the personnel strength of police from 370,000 to 650,000 within the next six years, in line with the police reform programme. Saying that the mission of the ministry was to have police officers and men who were adequately trained in modern policing tactics and weapons’ handling, the minister said that in 2011, eight training courses were conducted for 1,910 police personnel at the cost of N781.3 million. Olubolade said that 500 officers were trained in counterterrorism and rapid response, 250 in basic intelligence, 650 in intelligence and surveillance, 100 in advanced patrol operations, while 200 were trained in traffic management. Besides, 100 officers underwent “train-the-trainer’’ courses and 50 officers were trained in “Effective Leadership in Public Protection, Mobilisation and Sensitisation’’, while 60 others received training in curriculum development. The minister also said that 18,320 recruits and police constables were trained at various police colleges across the country during the period, while 138 Cadet Inspectors and 153 Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs) were currently undergoing training.

“Another batch of 151 Cadet Inspectors and 149 ASPs are due to commence their training in July this year,’’ he added. As part of efforts to combat terrorism, Olubolade said that an Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had been established with bases in 12 locations across the country, while the Counter Terrorism Strike Force Unit and the Counter Intelligence and Investigation Unit had also been set up. He also said that police personnel had been exposed to training and retraining in counter-terrorism measures, while modern security gadgets, arms and ammunition for combating terrorism had been acquired. Besides, the Counter Terrorism Training School had been set up in Nonwai Tai, Rivers, he added. Olubolade said that the police’s intelligence gathering capacity would be further strengthened via an ongoing project known as “National Public Security Communication System’’, a tracking mechanism. “The National Public Security Communication System is an integrated digital tracking communication system designed to provide robust, reliable, secure and independent multimedia communication system (voice, video and data) for the police and other security agencies,’’ he said.

Olubolade said that the system comprised five main components: “Global Open Tracking Architecture’’ (GOTA), e-policing, videoconferencing, coalition emergency response and video surveillance. “The project was approved for implementation at the cost of 470 million dollars (about N79.7 billion),’’ he said, adding that the project would be jointly financed by the Federal Government and the China Export-Import Bank. He said that while the Federal Government was expected to provide 15 per cent of funds, the Chinese bank would provide the remaining 85 per cent as loan with a 2.5-per-cent interest, payable in 20 years. The minister said that out of the N9.1 billion appropriated for the police in 2011, only N6.01 billion was released to the force adding that the released money was used to fund and complete ongoing projects. Olubolade said that the police had been equipped with 250 vehicles, including Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), and nine helicopters to boost their operational effectiveness and enable them to deal with the current security challenges. The minister said that the police reform programme, initiated by the Federal Government, was meant to improve the service delivery of the police via improved training and welfare.

He, nonetheless, lamented that the reform programme was not well-funded because of the failure of state and local governments to contribute to its finance. However, analysts have been commending the Federal Government for its efforts to transform the Nigeria Police Force into a modern police force that is able to provide security for the people and their property. Mr Jacob Dimlong, a lawyer, said that the government should sustain its efforts to transform the police into a vibrant force that was capable of protecting the citizens and their belongings. “All the same, more efforts should be directed in boosting the capacity of the police in curbing the growing menace of terrorism in the country,’’ he said. “Apart from the Federal Government, individuals and corporate organizations should make concerted efforts to reposition the police for quality service delivery through voluntary donations and disclosure of information that could aid the country’s security,’’ he added. Observers, nonetheless, stress the need for the Federal Government to initiate plausible strategies to improve the security situation in the country, insisting that the betterment of police welfare and equipment should be part of the strategies. Source: NAN

PAGE 28

By ObikeUkoh eatrice Ejiogu is a 400 level university student. She had her primary and secondary education in South Africa before she returned to Nigeria for her university education. Both of her parents are of the Igbo stock, but Beatrice is unable to speak the language. It was always a problem for her to interact with her grand-parents each time she visits her home town. Beatrice’s inability to speak Igbo is due to her parents’ adoption of English as the language of communication for her and her siblings. Her return to Nigeria did not help matters, as her daily interaction with her peers and fellow students is in English. Beatrice’s case is a common finding among many Nigerians, especially the youth, who find it difficult to communicate in their mother tongues. Language experts opine that while the “old brigade Nigerian’’ are fluent in their mother tongues as well as in their adopted languages including English, the younger generation of Nigerians seem not to be interested in their indigenous languages. The declining interest in indigenous languages among the youth, experts say, is a global concern that is becoming worrisome. Former South African President Nelson Mandela underscores the importance of indigenous language when he said: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.’’ UNESCO, the global cultural organisation, is also making serious efforts to check the declining interest in mother tongue as it has set aside Feb.21 of every year as the International Mother Language Day. Ms. Irina Bokova, the DirectorGeneral of UNESCO, in recent message stresses the need for mother tongue in the face of multilingualism. “Use of the mother tongue at school is a powerful remedy against illiteracy. The challenge remains, however, to ensure this truth is actually acted on in the classroom. Excluded population groups, such as indigenous people, are often those whose mother tongues are ignored by education systems. Allowing them to learn from a very early age in their mother tongue, and then national, official or other languages, promotes equality and social inclusion.’’ Bokova notes that linguistic diversity is man’s common heritage, but lamented that nearly half of the 6,000 languages spoken in the world could “die out’’ by the end of the century. She says that the development is a sad one, as “language loss impoverishes humanity. Each language conveys cultural heritage in ways that increase our creative diversity. Cultural diversity is as important as biological in nature, and they are closely linked.’’ The UNESCO chief executive stresses that linguistic potential is

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Language as instrument of national identity

Nigerian indigenous languages should be taught at various institutions of learning. an asset for sustainable development and must be shared for the benefit of all. Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma, Executive Secretary, National Institute of Cultural Orientation (NICO) also expresses worry about the declining interest in mother tongue by vast majority of Nigerians. Ayakoroma, who was speaking at the 4th Nigerian Indigenous Language Programme, says Nigeria’s estimated 400 languages risked extinction. “Our languages are dying. Many of our country’s estimated 400 languages are moribund as they are no longer being learned by our children and are in danger of becoming extinct in the few decades when they will have no speakers left.’’ According to him, the challenge facing Nigerians is to ensure that this does not happen.“ We have to constantly speak our native languages so that the languages can endure, to always be around to nurture our children, to reinforce their identities and to perpetuate our cultures.’’ For Dr. Ayo Ojebode, Head of Department of Communications and Language Arts, University of Ibadan,colonial rule is to be blamed for the misfortune of indigenous languages. “One of the evils that came

with colonialism, which has lived with us today,is the derision with which we hold our culture and cultural practices.’’ Ojebode,who is a researcher in indigenous communication systems, says it is of interest because “communication was the major weapon of colonial warfare’’. While not blaming colonialism entirely for the cultural woes, the communication expert queried:“English is the world language, who made it so?’’ He adds that “our policy insist that if you want to study engineering or even mathematics in the university you must have a credit in English’’,and

questioned the rationale behind the policy. Ojebode says that it is an irreparable loss if a language dies. ‘What is lost is more than a set of meaningful sounds. What is lost includes life, meaning, knowledge, science and technology. What is lost indeed is a significant part of humanity — so significant that the living is incomplete.’’ For Mr.UkegbuKazi, the Principal ofMgbokoUmuanunu Community Secondary School, Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia, blames parents for contributing to the woes of mother tongue. He wonders why parents of the same language group should

“

Experts say one of the challenges facing Nigerians is ensuring the survival of their numerous indigenous languages which, by extension, means Nigeria’s survival as a sovereign nation. They warn that Nigerians should not see their mother tongues as old fashioned, and which must be discarded

always speak English to their children. “I and my wife are teachers, and we speak Igbo language to our children at home. Although I did not study Igbo in the university, I can write letters to my mother in Igbo because she writes and speaks Igbo language.’’ Kazi says that many Nigerian children are facing crisis of identity as they cannot write nor speak any indigenous languages. According to him, the situation is made worse when parents belong to different language groups, adding that children of such marriages are often lost as they cannot communicate in either of their parents’ mother tongue. He advises parents in this category to always speak their indigenous languages to their children, adding that a person is greatly disadvantaged if he cannot speak any indigenous language in the land of his birth. As experts say one of the challenges facing Nigerians is ensuring the survival of their numerous indigenous languages which, by extension, means Nigeria’s survival as a sovereign nation. They warn that Nigerians should not see their mother tongues as old fashioned, and which must be discarded. Source: NAN

PAGE 30

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

I thought we were going to be killed and eaten, says Gary Barlow G

ARY Barlow has relived the moment he feared he would die at the hands of an axewielding tribe in the Solomon Islands. The Take That singer and X Factor judge was collecting musical inspiration for the official Diamond Jubilee song when he was ambushed by a mob of men armed with bows and arrows and spears. After travelling by canoe for six hours to the remote Pacific isle of Malaita, he was completely taken by surprise when he was surrounded by members of the clan wearing necklaces decorated with TEETH. But the gnashers just turned out to be those of relatives who had passed away - and Gary said the tribe turned out to be “really sweet”. Gary said: “We were all white men and there were only eight of us. “I really did think, ‘They’ve taken us all this way up the river and they could kill us and eat us alive and no one would know’. “But the tribes people turned out to be really sweet to us. “They gave us a really warm welcome in the end and showed us all their rituals. “Any fear I had soon went away.I just think they wanted to honour the Queen, like the rest of the people we met.” Gary was in the far-flung spot while filming a BBC documentary about his journey to find musical talent across the Commonwealth to contribute to the track, called Sing. Starting out at Treetops Safari Lodge in Kenya — where the Queen learned that her father had died and she was to succeed to the British throne — Gary discovered the

musical delights of the African Children’s Choir, a Masai tribe and Rastafarian drummers. Others acts included the Slum Drummers from Nairobi — their instruments are made out of rubbish — a blind Aboriginal and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Released later this month, Sing is expected to be the first chart single to feature a member of the Royal Family — Prince Harry playing the tambourine after some tutoring from Gary. Some of the stars of the track will be flown into the UK for the BBC’s Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace and will meet the Royal family and top stars. Gary said: “We came back and obviously I am putting all the concert together and my first words were that we have to fly some of these people back. “For instance, the Slum Drummers and the children’s choir are flying over. They have never been on a plane before and are going to meet the Queen, Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney. “It’s going to be incredible — and within that lies another message in that we have changed some people’s lives, which is gorgeous.” Gary, who will become a father for the fourth time later this year, was taught a valuable fatherhood tool by the Royal Solomon Police Force Band. A member of the marching band — who play at all their country’s state events — instructed Gary on how to rock a baby to sleep. After trying out the moves, Gary said: “Now that bit I do like, I love

Musical talent ... Gary Barlow meets tribe

Bit 'arrowing ... tribesmen

Tambourine man ... Prince Harry has a lesson

Paddle dreamer ... boat trip in Malaita

children that go to sleep, it’s the best part of the day. I will be taking that routine home with me. Oh, my wife is going to love this.” The team put the finishing touches to the record in London’s Abbey Road Studios with Gareth Malone’s Military Wives choir. Gary — who while in Sydney started working on material for the next Take That album — revealed he “falls in and out of love with music” but his adventure made him “determined to find that spot again”. He said: “The thing I really love to see is how much the people we have met and recorded love music. “I was there when I started, that’s why I played an instrument and why I used to get up and sing, because I loved it, I absolutely loved it. “I fall in and out of love with

music. I exist in a business, I am signed to a major record company, there is money they build into their profits because of what I do for them. And so I need to remind myself that I need to play music and just enjoy it.” He added: “First and foremost I was a musician when I started. My one passion was playing the piano. And I look back now, the day I started singing, I kind of lost it. I lost the musician in me somewhere. “Being part of this has given what I do a little more validity and it makes me feel like we have done something really good here. “And it is something I will remember in my career forever.” He also insisted that his X Factor Mr Nasty persona with his cruel comments are here to stay. Gary, who took over the mantle

from Simon Cowell last year, revealed the King of Mean and his critical comments will continue to weed out those not up to scratch. He said: “I never said anything about not being nasty. I said I’m going to enjoy it more this year. You always have got to be honest.” Gary admitted that out of the band’s new dads, he will be intrigued to see how Robbie Williams copes. He said: “We are most interested in Robbie’s birth. I would love a 24-hour surveillance on how that is going to work. “I have found the right girl as my wife takes up all the slack all the time I am travelling and busy.” The star said revealing the final product to the Queen was a “nice break” for her from meeting dignitaries — and she is thought to be “delighted” with the song. Source: TheSun.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 29

Pakistani doctor who led US to Bin Laden’s hideout jailed for 33 years A

leading Republican blamed President Obama and his administration for ‘outing’ the Pakistani doctor who helped locate Osama bin Laden and who has now been sent to prison for 33 years. Representative Peter King, the New York congressman who leads the House Homeland Security Committee, pointed to White House administrators for identifying Dr. Shakeel Afridi to Pakistani authorities. ‘They put him out there,’ Mr King said in light of the doctor’s prison sentence for treason by the Pakistani government. ‘This has been handled very poorly right from the time of the raid,’ Mr King told Fox News. ‘They disclosed his identity.’ The sentence is viewed by Western officials as punishment for humiliating the nation which claimed not to know it was harbouring the Al Qaeda leader. Dr Shakil Afridi helped the CIA by running a fake vaccination programme that allowed him to collect the DNA of Bin Laden’s children from the family compound in Abbottabad. Sample analysis confirmed the terror leader was probably there and triggered the deadly mission by US Navy SEALS last May. It sparked a major rift between the US and Pakistani leaders who were embarrassed that Bin Laden had been living in a major military hub close to the capital. A furious Pakistan felt the covert operation was a violation of its sovereignty and implied the US was unable to trust its key partner in the war on terror. American officials have already started rallying on the doctor’s behalf, urging the

Pakistani government to overturn the sentence which is said to include hard labor and extensive fines. ‘What Dr. Afridi did is the furthest thing from treason. It was a courageous, heroic and patriotic act, which helped to locate the most wanted terrorist in the world,’ Senators John McCain and Carl Levin wrote in a joint statement. The Republican Mr McCain and Democratic Mr Levin both serve on the chamber’s Committee of Armed Services. It is not clear if Dr Afridi knew who the target of the investigation was when the CIA recruited him, or what DNA he actually collected in the fake hepatitis B vaccination programme. Dr Afridi was accused of having taken half a dozen cooler boxes without authorisation. Shortly after the raid which killed Bin Laden, Dr Afridi was arrested for conspiring against the state of Pakistan, his house was sealed and all assets frozen. A commission recommended a charge of conspiracy against Pakistan and high treason. US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta confirmed in January that Dr Afridi collected DNA in an effort to help locate Bin Laden but added he ‘was not in any way treasonous towards Pakistan. For them to take this kind of action against somebody who was helping to go after terrorism is a real mistake’. Dr Afridi had no right to legal representation, to present evidence or cross-examine witnesses. He must also pay a £2,300 fine or serve a further three-and-a-half years in jail. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for his release. Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Treason: Dr Shakeel Afridi, pictured left, was jailed for 33 year in Islamabad for helping the U.S. find Osama bin Laden by setting up a vaccination programme that led him collect DNA from the Al Qaeda leader's children.

Mission: The Al Qaeda leader was killed at this compound in Abbottabad by U.S. Special Forces.

Pointing the finger: Representative Peter King says that the Obama administration revealed the doctor's identity, effectively leading the Pakistani authorities to him.

Tense: The moment President Barack Obama and his team watched the mission to find bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House on May 1, 2011.

PAGE 30

ormer Liberian President Charles Taylor begged for leniency ahead of his sentencing for a catalogue of brutal war crimes, saying he has sympathy for Sierra Leone’s civil war. Taylor was found guilty of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, and conscripting child soldiers, during a landmark ruling by judges at the U.N.backed Special Court for Sierra Leone in April. He asked judges at The Hague to render their sentence against him in a spirit of ‘reconciliation, not retribution’. However, he stopped short of admitting any wrongdoing,

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Charles Taylor sympathises with victims of Sierra Leone violence apologising for his actions, or expressing remorse. Prosecutors said there was no reason for leniency, given the extreme nature of the crimes, Taylor’s ‘greed’ and misuse of his position of power. ‘The purposely cruel and savage crimes committed included public executions and amputations of civilians, the display of decapitated heads at checkpoints, the killing and public

Attacked: Victims of the brutal crimes committed during the Sierra Leone civil war nurse their wounds

Guilt: Charles Taylor was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Child soldier: Youngsters were forced into the army during Liberia's violent civil war, where women were held as sex slaves and civilians had limbs hacked off with machetes.

disembowelment of a civilian whose intestines were then stretched across the road to make a check point, public rapes of women and girls, and people burned alive in their homes,’ wrote prosecutor Brenda Hollis in a pre-hearing brief. The court found his aid was essential in helping rebels in Sierra Leone continue their bloody rampage during the West African nation’s decade-long civil war, which ended in 2002 with more than 50,000 dead. It was the first time a former head of state had been convicted of war crimes since the aftermath of World War II. Taylor is due to be sentenced on May 30, with prosecutors demanding an 80-year prison term, and defence lawyers arguing he should at least be given a sentence that leaves him some hope for life after release. ‘I express my sadness and deepest sympathy for the atrocities and crimes that were suffered by individuals and families in Sierra Leone,’ Taylor said. He insisted his actions had actually been done to help stabilise the region and claimed he never knowingly assisted in the commission of crimes. ‘What I did...was done with honour,’ he said. ‘I was convinced that unless there was peace in Sierra Leone, Liberia would not be able to move forward.’ Judges found Taylor helped the rebels obtain weapons in full knowledge they would likely be used to commit terrible crimes, in exchange for payments of ‘blood diamonds’ often obtained by slave labour. Defence attorney Courtenay Griffiths argued for a sentence that reflects Taylor’s indirect role: he was found guilty only of aiding the rebels, not leading them, as

Crimes: Taylor was found guilty of conscripting child soldiers during the decade-long Sierra Leone civil war. prosecutors originally charged. He said Taylor’s conviction has been ‘trumpeted...as sending an unequivocal message to world leaders that holding office confers no immunity’ from war crimes prosecution. ‘But the reality is that while many Western countries have funded militias that have committed atrocities, no Western leader has ever been indicted by a war crimes tribunal, he said. The lesson is ‘if you are a small, weak nation, you may be subject to the full force of international law, whereas if you run a powerful nation you have nothing to fear,’ Griffiths said. Taylor added that once Britain and the U.S. decided they wanted him out of power, his conviction was a foregone conclusion. ‘The conspiracy was born, all systems put into motion, and here I stand today,’ he said. ‘I never stood a chance.’ Leaked Wikileaks diplomatic cables admitted into evidence appeared to show the U.S.

government hoped Taylor would never return to power, but the cables did not prevent his conviction. Griffiths said the 80 year sentencing demand is ‘manifestly disproportionate and excessive’ for Taylor, who is 64. In court, Hollis scoffed at that. She said Taylor’s involvement in the crimes was ‘more pervasive than that of the most senior leaders’ of the Sierra Leone rebels who have already been sentenced. The longest sentence so far, 52 years, was handed down to rebel leader Issa Sesay, who testified on Taylor’s behalf in 2010. Taylor fled into exile in Nigeria after being indicted by the court in 2003 and wasn’t arrested for three years. While the Sierra Leone court is formally based in that country’s capital, Taylor’s trial is being staged in Leidschendam, a suburb of The Hague, Netherlands, for fear holding it in West Africa could destabilize the region. Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

ANALYSIS By Charles Onunaiju with agency reports

etween 1945 and the early 1990s the Republic of Korea received a variety of development aid from the international community. Foreign aid served as a valuable resource, contributing to the nation's monumental economic growth. This history has led Korea to value development cooperation as part of its efforts to contribute to the international community. Notably, Korea plans to gradually increase Official Development Assistance (ODA) in order to help the United Nations achieve its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Also, as a new member of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD since 2010, Korea has continuously pursued a policy to raise the quality of its ODA and advance its ODA delivery system. The enactment of the Framework Act on International Development Cooperation, and its enforcement decree in 2010, laid the legal and institutional basis for an integrated ODA delivery system, while the country's strategic ODA report entitled Plan to Advance International Development Cooperation and the five-year ODA mid-term plan called Basic Plan for Area-Specific International Development Cooperation provided for a foundation for the advancement of ODA. Korea's ODA delivery system consists of both bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Bilateral development cooperation is divided into grants and non-grants, depending on the repayment of aids. Most grants are executed through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) according to policies set forth by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). Paralleling the financial grants, some government ministries and institutions also offer technological cooperation. Non-grants are managed by the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of the Export-Import Bank of Korea under the supervision of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MOSF). Multilateral development cooperation is largely executed through cooperation with multilateral development banks, the United Nations, and other international organizations. MOFAT is charged with cooperation with the United Nations and other international organizations, MOSF with the World Bank and other multilateral development banks. Making use of the expertise and political neutrality of multilateral organizations, Korea supports the achievement of MDGs and other developmental goals, and also expanding its assistance for climate change, food security, and other areas requiring joint responses from the international community. Korea is particularly strengthening its partnerships with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which are the leading development and humanitarian aid agencies of the United Nations. In 2009, the nation ended its recipient relationship with the UNDP, which had begun in the 1960s, and signed a new strategic partnership agreement to assume an increased role in ending poverty and achieving the MDGs as a UNDP donor. Based on the Korea-UNICEF Framework Agreement signed in 2009, Korea is working to increase cooperation for humanitarian

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Korea: From aid recipient to donor

President Lee Myung-bak. support and development. The government is also strengthening its cooperation with the WFP through the Food-for-New-Village (FFNV) initiative in Rwanda and Nepal this year, applying the country's experience with its Saemaeul (New Village) Movement. The Korean government is also expanding its contribution to humanitarian crisis response and the protection of victims' basic right to life during natural disasters and conflicts. The Overseas Emergency Relief Act enacted in March 2007 laid the basis for swift and efficient pangovernment overseas emergency relief efforts, and the act provides for MOFAT to oversee and coordinate the overseas emergency relief system. Notably, through the Overseas Emergency Relief Advancement Plan established in May 2010, the government is making or implementing plans in specific areas, including prompt decision-making, the establishment of an urgent dispatch system, the enhancement of specialized emergency relief activities, the establishment of an efficient human

resources support system, the establishment of collaboration systems with private relief agencies in Korea, and an increase of budget. In accordance with the Plan to Advance ODA and the Framework Plan for ODA Grants, the share of overseas emergency relief in the total ODA budget would also be expanded. In recent years, Korea has offered various types of emergency relief in response to large-scale disasters, such as the cyclone in Myanmar and the Sichuan earthquake in China in 2008, the Gaza Conflict and the deadly influenza epidemic in Mexico in 2009, the Haiti earthquake, Chile earthquake, and Pakistan floods in 2010, and the Great East Japan Earthquake as well as the drought in East Africa in 2011. Korea's aid has been provided in the forms of dispatches of emergency rescue teams, the provision of relief supplies, and assistance through international organizations. Meanwhile, the Korean government is strengthening its participation in international humanitarian

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

The Republic of Korea, by drawing upon its unique experience of developing into a donor country from a recipient, will continue its bridging role in strengthening the partnership among various development actors, including traditional, new and private donors, as well as recipients.

funding mechanisms and consultation groups, such as the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Donor Support Group (ODSG), the Humanitarian Liaison Working Group (HLWG), and the Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) initiative. It is also actively using humanitarian funding mechanisms, such as the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) of the United Nations for the execution of humanitarian funding as agreed with other nations. A member of the Leading Group on Solidarity Levies to Fund Development, Korea served as the group's third Chair from March to September 2007. It also took the lead in introducing the Air Ticket Solidarity Levy, Global Poverty Eradication Contribution) in September 2007, helping the least developed countries to combat poverty and disease. The government's support for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and UNITAID, an international drug purchasing facility, is contributing to the increased fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, which are three of the world's most devastating diseases. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with many years of field experience and expertise in fighting diseases in the least developed countries are also supported by the government, resulting in these organizations' ability to carry out their initiatives efficiently. Capitalizing upon its experience in turning from a recipient country to a donor country, Korea is ever increasing

its contribution to development discussions in the international community. At the G20 Seoul Summit in 2010, the country took the lead in endorsing the Multi-Year Action Plan on Development through the Seoul Development Consensus for Shared Growth, laying out concrete actions and outcomes to be delivered and developed in nine areas, namely infrastructure, human resource development, trade, private investment and job creation, food security, growth with resilience, financial inclusion, domestic resource mobilization, and knowledge sharing. The goal of the G20 development agenda is to increase through empowerment the self-sufficiency and economic growth in low-income countries (LICs), and efforts are focused on removing bottlenecks and constraints on achieving this goal. The G20 development agenda is assessed as being complementary to existing development cooperation initiatives, such as the UN's MDGs, and is contributing to sustainable growth in developing countries. In 2011, the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, the world's largest and highest-level meeting on development aid, was successfully held in the city of Busan. The Busan Forum went beyond the Paris Declaration on aid effectiveness by expanding the scope of discussion to include development effectiveness, and set a new global development paradigm for the 21st century, called the "Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation." The Republic of Korea, by drawing upon its unique experience of developing into a donor country from a recipient, will continue its bridging role in strengthening the partnership among various development actors, including traditional, new and private donors, as well as recipients.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 32

Egyptians queue to cast ballots in presidential poll Somali leaders set transition deadline

eaders of disparate Somali factions have agreed to a timetable that will elect a new president by 20 August. The historic deal came after three days of heated discussion in Ethiopia, attended by the six signatories. But hardline al-Shabab Islamists, who control much of central Somalia, were not party to the agreement. Donors had threatened to withdraw funding if proposals to end the country's two-decade political crisis were not agreed. The BBC's Mary Harper in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, says the election of the new president will mark the end of a long transition process. She says the signatories all said in public that they were committed to the deadlines and seemed relieved there had been agreement at last after years of squabbling. The leaders also agreed on a draft constitution and that a new federal parliament, to be selected by a group of elders, will be sworn in by 20 July. The 225 MPs - half the number in the current parliament - will elect the president. The signatories included the current interim President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, his prime minister and the parliamentary speaker, as well as the regional leaders of Galmudug, Puntland and a representative of the progovernment militia al-Sunna Wal Jama'a. Puntland's President Abdirahman Farole told the AlJazeera he was "quite confident" that the timetable would be met, but admitted that traditional elders sometimes let deadlines slip as they "prefer to all the time reach decisions by consensus". The self-declared independent state of Somaliland, which broke away when the civil war started in 1991, has refused to take part in the deal which will see Somalia become a federal state.

Those meeting in Addis Ababa also agreed on the draft constitution

Egyptians are voting for the second day in the country's first free presidential elections - 15 months after Hosni Mubarak was ousted.

ueues were reported at some polling stations, and media reports said turnout was higher than on Wednesday. The election pits Islamists against secularists, and revolutionaries against Mubarakera ministers. A row erupted between two of the main candidates for apparently spreading damaging rumours about each other. In a interview with our correspondent, Amr Moussa launched an angry attack on his rival Ahmed Shafiq and denied what he described as "sinister rumours" that he was about to withdraw from the race. Mr Moussa and Mr Shafiq's campaigns have apparently been suggesting that the other is losing badly and is about to withdraw. Mr Shafiq, Mr Fotouh and Mr

Mursi have all been accused of breaking rules requiring candidates keep silent on polling days. Voting has now been extended by an hour until 21:00. The military council which assumed presidential power in February 2011 has promised a fair vote and civilian rule. On Wednesday, there were large queues in many places, and voting passed off calmly for the most part. However, protesters in Cairo threw shoes and stones at a convoy of Mr Shafiq, who was Mr Mubarak's last prime minister. The long lines outside polling stations that we visited in central Cairo yesterday have now disappeared. "It's because we're much more organised than yesterday," said a judge in Garden City. He says turnout here has already reached

50% and he is bracing himself for a rush when people vote after work. In Mohandisseen men are having to wait just a few minutes before casting their ballots. "In the past year, we've developed a good system," says a friendly police officer managing security. "The Egyptian people are really fast learners." "I came at this time because I knew it would be quieter," says Omar Adel. "All my family came yesterday." Tariq, an engineer, came home from Dubai to cast a vote. "I came just for the election. This is our future," he tells me. He sums up the categories of candidate he sees on offer. "We have three different types: the old regime, the Muslim Brotherhood and the revolution. Of course I'm supporting

the revolution," he winks. There were also reports that a group of female voters was denied access to a polling station in the capital because they were wearing a full face veil. The US hailed the election, with State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland describing it as a "milestone" in Egypt's transition to democracy. Fifty million people are eligible to vote, and preliminary results are expected over the weekend. Until a new constitution is approved it is unclear what powers the president will have, prompting fears of friction with a military which seems determined to retain its powerful position. Voting across the country resumed at 08:00 local time (06:00 GMT). The authorities have declared Thursday a holiday.

ICC rejects challenge to Kenyan election violence trial

he International Criminal Court has rejected an appeal by four prominent Kenyans accused of orchestrating post-election bloodshed in 2008. The ruling means they are likely to face trial in the Hague for alleged crimes against humanity. All four men deny their roles in violence that surrounded a disputed presidential election in which more than 1,200 people died. They had challenged the ICC's jurisdiction on technical grounds. The four men were influential supporters of the two main candidates in the election - Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga. The violence began as clashes between supporters of the two rival presidential hopefuls, but it snowballed into a bloody round of

score-settling and communal violence. Fighting continued for months, and 600,000 people were forced from their homes. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta is the most high-profile suspect. He is a son of Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, and is a deputy prime minister. He is also a leading ally of President Mwai Kibaki and has said he will stand in next year's elections. In January Kenya's attorneygeneral ruled he should be allowed to remain in office pending the outcome of the challenge to the ICC's right to hear the case. Francis Muthaura is another key Kibaki supporter and is a former ambassador to the United Nations.

The other accused men William Ruto and Joshua arap Sang - were supporters of Mr Odinga. Mr Ruto is also expected to contest the 2013 poll. They were among six people who were originally charged by

the ICC - two others, Hussein Ali and Henry Kosgey, had the charges against them dropped. The violence ended after Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga agreed to share power, with the latter becoming prime minister.

Uhuru Kenyatta has said he will stand in next year's election

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 33

U.N. report says both sides in Syria abuse rights

United Nations investigation said Syrian government forces and rebels trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad had both committed serious human

rights abuses despite an attempted ceasefire in the conflict and opposition activists reported fighting in several regions yesterday. The investigators' report said

government forces had killed entire families, and their insurgent foes had kidnapped for ransom and tortured prisoners. Separately, a Syrian Islamist said he was trying to broker the

Anti-government protesters wave opposition flags during the funeral of Mahmoud Sukaria, whom protesters said was killed by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at Naher Ayesha in Damascus on Monday.

U.S. soldiers have their Thanksgiving meal at the Bagram airbase, north of Kabul, recently.

release of Lebanese Shi'ites kidnapped by Sunni insurgents fighting Assad's forces, the latest strand of Syria's conflict to entangle its smaller neighbour. In Damascus, Assad told a visiting Iranian minister that Syria would recover from the unrest. "Syria was able to overcome pressure and threats which it was exposed to for years, and with the steadfastness of its people and their adherence to unity and independence it will be able to come through the present crisis," he told Iranian Telecommunications Minister Reza Taqipour Violence has raged despite a U.N.-brokered agreement on April 12 aimed at halting the bloodshed in Syria, where Assad is confronting a 14-month uprising which began with peaceful protests but has become increasingly militarized. The report by U.N.

Lawmakers probe food contract for troops in Afghanistan

he lawmakers are investigating a billing dispute of at least $750 million between the main supplier of food to U.S. troops in Afghanistan and the Pentagon. The Pentagon says Supreme Foodservice GmbH overcharged it, but the Netherlandsheadquartered company said the rates were properly based on the complexities and dangers of supplying food in war-ravaged Afghanistan. The Republican and Democratic leaders of a House of Representatives panel have written to the company as well as the Pentagon's Defence Logistics Agency, demanding information and documents within ten days about the dispute on a contract dating to 2005 that so far has cost U.S. taxpayers $5.5 billion. The lawmakers' probe comes amid continuing concerns about waste and abuse of tax dollars in

Afghanistan, with scrutiny intensifying as the Pentagon budget faces big cuts. With such a large sum in dispute, lawmakers questioned the Pentagon's oversight of the food contract, and also appear worried that Supreme could get the business again when an even larger follow-on contract is awarded this December. The Pentagon has solicited bids for a follow-on contract estimated at $10 billion to $30 billion over five years, although U.S. combat troops are expected to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014. "The American taxpayers refuse to accept a government contractor that bills more than $750 million in unsubstantiated charges, and they refuse to accept the Pentagon's failure to manage this contract properly," Representative John Tierney said in a statement.

Afghan schoolgirls â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;poisoned by Talibanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Since 2001, three million school-aged girls have returned to school [Gallo/Getty]

investigators - who were not allowed into Syria and relied on interviews of victims and witnesses - said government forces routinely drew up lists of wanted people and their families before blockading then attacking a village or neighbourhood. "Entire families were executed in their homes - usually the family members of those opposing the government such as the family members of Colonel Riad al-Asaad," it said, referring to relatives of the head of the rebel Free Syrian Army. The rebels, who are increasingly armed and wellorganized, have executed or tortured captured soldiers and government supporters, it said. They have also abducted civilians in an apparent bid to secure prison exchanges or ransoms. The report, which documented 207 deaths since March, said children were

ore than 120 schoolgirls and three teachers have been poisoned in the second attack in as many months in Afghanistan blamed on conservative radicals in the country's north, Afghan police and education officials have said. The attack occurred on Wednesday in Takhar province where police said the Taliban, who are opposed to education of women and girls, had used an unidentified toxic powder to contaminate the air in classrooms, leaving scores of students unconscious. Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), said the Taliban appear intent on closing schools ahead of a 2014 withdrawal by foreign combat troops. "A part of their Al Farooq spring offensive operation is ... to close schools. By poisoning girls they want to create fear. They try to make families not send their children to school," NDS spokesman Lutfullah Mashal said. Afghanistan's Ministry of Education said last week that 550 schools in 11 provinces where the Taliban have strong support had been closed down. Last month, 150 schoolgirls were poisoned in the Takhar province after they drank contaminated water. Since 2001, when the Taliban were toppled from power by USbacked Afghan forces, three million school-aged girls have returned to school. Women were previously banned from work and education under Taliban rule.

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PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Iran nuclear talks in Baghdad go down to wire

n Iranian delegation official has said world powers are hindering talks in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, with Iran over its nuclear programme, creating a "difficult atmosphere" as the negotiations come down to the

wire. "We believe the reason P5+1 [the permanent UN Security Council members, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany] is not able to reach a result is America," the official, who

asked not to be named, told the Reuters news agency. "[P5+1] came to Baghdad without a clear mandate so we think the atmosphere is difficult." The meetings spilled into a second day on Thursday in

Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy chief, presented a package of new incentives on behalf of the P5+1 to Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief negotiator [AFP]

Mladic trial to resume after four week delay

he genocide trial of Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic is set to resume at the Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal on June 25 four weeks later than initially planned, The Haguebased court said yesterday. Mladic, who was arrested in Serbia in May 2011 after 16 years on the run, is accused of genocide for his role in the siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo and for orchestrating the killing of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995; Europe's worst massacre since World War Two. In their opening remarks to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) last week, prosecutors showed footage of civilians as they fled sniper fire in Sarajevo and of thousands of Muslims being herded onto buses and deported from Srebrenica.

Former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic attends his trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague, recently

apparent efforts to avoid an impasse that could derail the most promising nuclear dialogue with Iran in years. Iran reportedly threatened to scupper efforts to defuse the crisis over Tehran's nuclear programme in the final hours of crunch talks after world powers stopped short of offering sanctions relief. The P5+1 want to persuade Iran to get into a process of regular meetings, hashing out details of measures aimed at easing suspicions that Tehran wants nuclear weapons. "It seems that the basis for another round of negotiations doesn't exist yet, unless ... the two sides reach an agreement" in the final session, the official said on condition of anonymity. The official added that before the final full plenary session of all participants began, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Iran's chief negotiator Saeed Jalili held a bilateral meeting in which Ashton "didn't say anything new". This week's talks were the second round in the latest series between the P5+1 and Iran over the Islamic Republic's controversial nuclear programme, with earlier

negotiations held in Istanbul last month. On the table on Thursday was an incentive package by the sixnation group that seeks to halt the most sensitive part of Iran's nuclear fuel production. Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful, but Western powers suspect it is masking attempts to join the elite club of nations with nuclear weapons. Iranian state media ran reports attacking the P5+1 package presented by Ashton on Wednesday, with the IRNA news agency calling it "outdated, not comprehensive, and unbalanced". Ashton's spokesman gave no details on what the incentives included, but reports said they fell short of meeting Iran's key demand for an easing of the sanctions piled on the country in recent years - more are due on July 1. Both reportedly exchanged unusually detailed proposals in Baghdad hoping to defuse the standoff. After a 15-month diplomatic freeze and exploratory talks in Istanbul last month, envoys for Iran and the P5+1 group convened with both sides publicly upbeat about the scope for an outline deal.

mounting alarm as political crisis in Yemen gave al Qaeda the opportunity to develop a base from which to launch attacks around the world. Insurgents in the south exploited mass protests last year against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh to seize large swathes of territory. Army officials and residents said at least 33 militants were killed in heavy fighting on Thursday with the Yemeni army on the western outskirts of the city of Jaar, in southern Abyan province. Among the dead were a Somali and an Egyptian fighting with the insurgents, they said. Yemeni warplanes also launched strikes on Jaar, but no casualties have been reported, residents said. In the strategically

important city of Zinjibar, Islamist militants launched a counter-attack against government forces from the eastern parts of the city but were pushed back, a local army official said. One soldier was wounded in the fighting. The Yemeni army recaptured parts of the southern city of Zinjibar on Wednesday. The advance of troops into the centre and northern neighborhoods of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, represents a new front in the government's offensive to reclaim areas seized by insurgents in the south. The militants have given shelter and support to al Qaeda's regional wing, which on Monday killed 100 soldiers in a suicide bombing at a military parade in the capital Sanaa.

Secret Service agents - there to protect the president - suddenly and spontaneously did something they or other agents had never done before," Lieberman said.

He said 64 allegations of sexual misconduct against Secret Service employees in the past five years have surfaced since the prostitution scandal broke.

Yemeni army kills 33 militants in south

emeni troops fought Islamist militants in southern cities yesterday, as the government pressed ahead with a U.S.-backed offensive to help

stabilise the impoverished Arab state that has turned into a base for al Qaeda. Western and Gulf Arab countries have watched with

Soldiers carry coffins during the funeral of dozens of soldiers killed in Monday's suicide bombing in Sanaa yesterday.

US Secret Service chief apologises for scam

S senators investigating the Secret Service prostitution scandal have said that dozens of allegations of misconduct by agents point to a culture of carousing and urged its director, Mark Sullivan, to get past his insistence that the romp in Colombia was a one-time mistake. The disconnect between the senators and Sullivan was evident throughout the two-hour hearing on Wednesday, even as the director for the first time apologised for the incident that tarnished the elite presidential protection force. "I am deeply disappointed and I apologise for the misconduct of these employees and the distraction it has caused," Sullivan said as he appeared before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The scandal broke last month, when 12 officers and agents, while

preparing for President Obama's arrival in Cartagena, Colombia, allegedly spent their off duty hours drinking heavily and even bringing prostitutes back to their hotel rooms. Sullivan said he immediately ordered an investigation into the incident and removed the officers involved from their duties. He has reportedly also set up a "Professional Reinforcement Working Group" to review the agency's standards of conduct. Still, the US senator Joseph Lieberman said he believes the scandal was not an isolated incident and is calling for further investigation. "It is hard for many people, including me I will admit, to believe that on one night in April 2012, in Cartagena, Colombia, 12

Mark Sullivan testified before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee [AFP]

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 35

Everything my dad did was for the benefit of his family. I feel so bad it is because of my boasts that he is in prison

on of Securicor fugitive 'Fast Eddie' Maher reveals his regret at his father's capture It was one of the most infamous crimes of the Nineties. Securicor guard "Fast Eddie" Maher disappeared with £1.3million from his armoured van in Suffolk. For almost 20 years he lived with his family under assumed names in the US - until he was turned in by his daughter-in-law. He is now in jail awaiting extradition to Britain. Here, in the second part of our series, we tell the story of his capture. FOR 19 years "Fast Eddie" Maher evaded the clutches of the law by leading a quiet life. Secrecy, concealment and privacy became bywords as he, wife Debbie, 46, and sons Lee, 23, and Mark, 14 - moved from one small town to another in the US. But his identity was finally exposed because his drunken, womanising son Lee could not stop blabbing. Maher, 56, was arrested in February. He was wanted after disappearing with the £1.3million in cash he should have been delivering to banks in Suffolk in 1993. In an exclusive interview Lee admitted: "It's because of me that Dad's in jail now. I'm the one responsible for this mess. "What makes it so hard now is realising you'll never meet a more selfless man than my dad. All he cares about is us. "I don't think that in my entire

Cheap talk Lee King's blabbering led to the capture of his fugitive father 'Fast Eddie' Maher life he did one thing that was not for our benefit. Maybe that's why I feel so bad, being responsible for this now. "But I don't understand why people are getting mad or mean at Dad. It's not like he's a murderer or something. "What he did was a victimless crime 20 years ago and he's lived the perfect life ever since." When Lee was three he and his mother Debbie left their home in South Woodham Ferrers, Essex, and met up with Maher in a hotel in

Boston, Massachusetts, just days after the sensational heist from a Securicor van. From that moment the family lived a lie - false names, false backgrounds, covering up an entire past. But their life on the run began to unravel soon after his son Lee left high school. Lee began a series of relationships that led to four women getting pregnant. The trouble increased as Lee developed an obsession with the US military. The truth was that Lee was kicked out of the US military even before he completed boot camp. Rory Joyce, manager of Youngblood's Car Sales in Springfield, Missouri, where Lee worked, said: "He came in here telling us he was a decorated war hero who'd been injured in battle. "He told us he'd been awarded the Bronze Star and we put him on a pedestal because I'm from a military background and we admire those young men so much. "But it all turns out to be a pack of lies - all of it. We feel cheated." But it was his relationships with three former fiancées and a wife that eventually proved to be the family's undoing. First there was high school girlfriend Kayla Jacoby, in Grafton, Wisconsin, who had a daughter, Sophie, now four. She said: "Lee told me his parents were on the run from England and his dad was an assassin. He told so many lies I didn't know whether to

Runner.The Sun story in '93 believe him or not." Then came Amanda Zignego, who also had a daughter, Natalie,

with Lee. She said: "Lee lied so many times, I didn't believe anything he said."

Kaduna’s not so disappointing budget Contd. from Back Page clear what factors will be responsible for this huge leap, a contributor might be the revenue from the ministry of lands and survey which is projected to increase from N409.9 million in 2011 to N6bn in 2012, and the state's Board of Internal Revenue which hopes to raise inflows from N9.4bn in 2011 to N24bn in 2012. The budgeted personnel costs of N29.5bn as against its IGR of N35.7bn demonstrates that Kaduna is capable of paying its staff salaries even without monthly federal allocations, so is not one of the "parastatal states", but with only N6.2bn left for overhead costs, it needs to slim down the size and cost of government and learn to live within its means. The budget would be financed from N35.7bn as IGR, N48bn from federation account, N8bn as VAT, N500 million as privatization proceeds, and nearly N3bn from land related levies and other sundry sources. Kaduna State plans to borrow a total of N14bn from domestic and external lenders this year, and expects another N13.7bn as grants-in-aid from abroad and federal agencies like UBEC and ETF. Kaduna has enjoyed significant federation account allocations in the past: N39.5bn in 2011, and an estimated N48bn in 2012. Indeed over a period of 9 years from 1999

to 2008, Kaduna state received the second highest FAAC transfers of N232.49bn, amongst the states in the North. This is substantial and could yield results if prudently managed and well-spent. The sectoral summary of the budget shows that capital expenditure budget apportioned the economic sector N30.2bn or 36%, the social sector N24bn or 28%, Regional Development got N16bn or 18% and General Administration assigned N14.7bn or 17%. The State Government needs to revisit these ratios to assign more money for the social sector - particularly health, education and scholarships for citizens of the state studying in higher institutions. Kaduna state should quite easily lead all states in the North Western region in educational attainment; after all, the state is referred to as the ‘Center of Learning’, and it is. There are at least 20 institutions of higher learning and research in the state, including three premier military training institutions. The state has N10.9bn budgeted for education in 2012, as opposed to N11.1bn in the previous year including N500m for the expansion and rehabilitation of existing schools, a pathetic N94 million for Almajiri and CAN schools, a low N96 million for teachers' quarters and NYSC orientation camp improvement, paltry N5million

for expanding libraries, and N967 million for the construction of 136 units of classrooms. According to the NBS 2010 National Literacy Survey, Kaduna has a youth literacy rate of 67.3% as opposed to Sokoto’s 33.1% and Kebbi’s 50.2%, an adult literacy rate of 53.5% as opposed to Sokoto’s 22.1% and Kebbi’s 29.1%. According to this survey, the North Central has the highest adult literacy levels with 56.4%, followed by the North East with 42%, and the North West with 31.7%. Kaduna has budgeted N6.7bn for health in 2012 as opposed to N5.5bn in 2011. The health sector is relatively stable in the sense that the state has no cases of major outbreaks of infectious diseases, but tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS remain challenges. So there is a provision N441 million for Kaduna’s HIV/AIDS control program, N113.7m is budgeted for the purchase of medical equipment, and a paltry N21m for the construction of hospitals in Zangon Kataf and Sabon Tasha. And there’s the state-of-the-art 300 bed specialist hospital that is being built via public private partnership at Kaduna Millennium City. In a bid to tackle maternal mortality, the state government also has a provision of N1.5bn for free medical services to pregnant women and children under five years. For a state that recently has

been rocked by attacks from Boko Haram, Kaduna State's security vote of N1.64bn is modest and just 35% of Edo State's, and only 9% of Bauchi's massive N17.6bn. According to the World Bank Doing Business rankings 2010, of the North Western states, Katsina now ranks first as the easiest for enforcing a contract, Kebbi comes in 2nd, then Jigawa, with Kaduna as 4th, Zamfara 5th, Sokoto 6th and Kano 7th with the most difficulty in enforcing a contract. Overall Kaduna ranks 22 amongst Nigeria’s 36 states and FCT in the ease of doing business. On average, it takes 31 days and about 9 procedures to start a business in Kaduna, and this discourages start-up of small and medium enterprises. In 2007, Kaduna ranked first in Nigeria on ease of doing business with the FCT being a very close second. Yakowa should investigate what went wrong under Namadi's watch to fall from first to near the bottom third. Agriculture is the mainstay of Kaduna’s economy, with about 80% of its population actively engaged in farming. The sum of N8.62bn is allocated to agriculture, with N1.1bn to be spent on tractor purchases and N164.4m spent in support of the National Fadama 3 programme. The state reportedly produces over 180,000 tonnes of groundnut annually, and is the leading

producer nationwide of cotton and the reason why ginneries are located in Zaria and several textile mills in Kaduna. Sadly, these industries have suffered decline due to infrastructure challenges, neglect and improper management. Governor Yakowa recently launched a commendable drive to seek federal assistance in restoring these industries to full employment and production. The Kaduna State 2012 budget is at best average. The spending ratios can be enhanced in favor of capital projects. The state remains heavily dependent on Federal allocations and has numerous underdeveloped or neglected sectors that can drive its IGR rapidly upwards particularly agriculture, solid minerals, education, real estate and tourism. Lowering the cost of doing business will attract SMEs back to Kaduna from neighboring states and the FCT. Addressing the current security challenges more ingeniously without militarization could restore Kaduna's diminished glory. Governor Yakowa has a unique opportunity to improve security and social cohesion, security, transparency and deliver better governance. He has the experience, capacity and resources to do so, and the state has potentials for much more. If he fails, he would let many of us down that think him a perfect gentleman in the wrong political party.

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PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Barefoot running causes spate of injuries

he recent craze for barefoot running has led to a spike in leg and foot injuries among enthusiastic amateurs, U.S doctors have warned. Many converts have been inspired by Christopher McDougall’s best-seller ‘Born To Run,’ which focuses on an Indian tribe in Mexico whose members run long distances without pain in little more than sandals. However, anecdotal evidence suggests doctors have seen a surge in injuries as a result. These range from pulled calf muscles to Achilles tendinitis with some patients laid up for several months. One jogger to be swept by the barefoot running craze was ultramarathoner Ryan Carter who ditched his sneakers for footwear that mimics the experience of striding unshod. The first time he tried it two years ago, he ran a third of a mile on grass. Within three weeks of switching over, he was clocking six miles on the road. Then during a training run with a friend near downtown Minneapolis, Carter suddenly stopped, unable to take another step. His right foot seared in pain. ‘It was as though someone had taken a hammer and hit me with it,’ he recalled. He hobbled home and rested his foot. When the throbbing became unbearable days later, he went to the doctor. The diagnosis: a stress fracture. Foot specialists said many injuries resulted from switching from trainers to barefoot too quickly. Shod runners tend to have a longer stride and land on their heel compared with barefoot runners, who are more likely to have a shorter stride and land on the midfoot or forefoot. Injuries can occur when people

put too much pressure on their calf and foot muscles, or don’t shorten their stride and end up landing on their heel with no padding. Podiatrist Paul Langer used to see one or two barefoot running injuries a month at his Twin Cities Orthopedics practice in Minneapolis. Now he treats between three and four a week. ‘Most just jumped in a little too enthusiastically,’ said Langer, an experienced runner and triathlete who trains in his barefoot running shoes part of the week. Bob Baravarian, chief of podiatry at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California, said he’s seen “a fair number” of heel injuries and stress fractures among first-timers who are not used to the different forces of a forefoot strike. ‘All of a sudden, the strain going through your foot is multiplied manifold’ and problems occur when people don’t ease into it, he said. Running injuries are quite common. Between 30 to 70

While some runners completely lose the shoes, others opt for minimal coverage. The oxymoron “barefoot running

shoes” is like a glove for the feet designed to protect from glass and other hazards on the ground. Experts say people can

Warning: Foot specialists say injuries can result from switching from trainers to barefoot too quickly as different muscles are used.

successfully lose the laces. The key is to break in slowly. Start by walking around barefoot. Run no more than a quarter mile to a mile every other day in the first week. Gradually increase the distance. Stop if bones or joints hurt. It can take months to make the change. ‘Don’t go helter skelter at the beginning,’ said Dr Jeffrey Ross, from Baylor College of Medicine. However, there’s one group foot experts say should avoid barefoot running: People with decreased sensation in their feet, a problem common among diabetics, since they won’t be able to know when they get injured. Harvard evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman runs a lab devoted to studying the effects of running form on injury rates. He thinks form matters more than footwear or lack of don’t over-stride, have good posture and land gently. In a 2010 study examining different running gaits, Lieberman and colleagues found that striking the ground heel first sends a shock up through the body while barefoot runners tend to have a more springy step. Even so, more research is needed into whether barefoot running helps avoid injury. ‘The long and the short of it is that we know very little about how to help all runners - barefoot and shod - prevent getting injured. Barefoot running is no panacea. Shoes aren’t either,’ said Lieberman. Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Why a curry could save a life 'Barefoot' shoes are to stop joggers from cutting themselves

Some runners swear that trainers can cause more injuries as they encourage you to strike with the heel first.

percent of runners suffer from repetitive stress injuries every year and experts can’t agree on how to prevent them. Some runners with chronic problems have seized on barefoot running as an antidote, claiming it’s more natural. Pre-human ancestors have walked and run in bare feet for millions of years often on rough surfaces, yet researchers surprisingly know very little about the science of barefoot running. The modern running shoe with its cushioned heel and stiff sole was not invented until the 1970s. And in parts of Africa and other places today, running barefoot is still a lifestyle.

CURRY cannot only spice up your life, it could save it too. Curcumin, the yellow supernutrient in turmeric, has healthpromoting effects including the potential to fight cancer. Doctors at Leicester General Hospital have just announced a study designed to see whether curcumin can work alongside chemotherapy drugs, helping the latter to work more effectively. Here, NICKI WATERMAN and AMANDA URSELL give six good reasons to eat curry and show how top Bollywood dance moves can whip your body into shape. HERE are some good reasons to tuck into your favourite curries: • Turmeric: This is used in most curries. Studies show curcumin in turmeric, which gives it the yellow colour, is able to help switch off activity of cancer cells. It also has anti-inflammatory properties, a role that makes it potentially able to fight irritable bowel syndrome, stroke and even dementia. • Chilli: The hotness of this spice comes from supernutrient capsaicin. Eating food with chilli in has been shown to raise metabolic rates by up to 15 per cent for several hours, speeding up the burning of calories. Wolfing down a vindaloo will not miraculously trigger weight

loss, but you could be more calorie-efficient than after a creamy, mild tikka masala or pasanda curry. • Cumin: Cumin is packed with supernutrients including terpineol and farnesol. Studies suggest farnesol helps make cancer cells kill themselves off. • Cinnamon: Supernutrients known as terpenoids found in this warming, aromatic spice have been shown to help fight viruses, including the herpes virus that

causes cold sores. It has also been shown to help control of sugar levels in the blood. • Ginger: This is thought to help with digestion and improve circulation. • Coriander: Researchers found Coriander, above right, helps protect against the activity of the bacteria known to play a role in triggering stomach ulcers, gastritis and even possibly stomach cancer. Source: TheSun.co.uk

Spice of life ... super-nutrient curcumin can fight cancer

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 37

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve trained 1,044 youth under Adamawaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s empowerment programme - Jada INTERVIEW Muhammad Sani Jada is Project Manager of the Adamawa state Local Apprenticeship Scheme (LAS) under the Special Projects and Programmes Unit (SPPU), which is part of Governor Murtala Nyako's Grassroots SocioEconomic Empowerment Programme. In this interview with Tunoh Yola, he throws light on the controversial "SA" programme and other issues. Excerpts:

ow many students have you been able to train so far under the scheme? We started the programme in March 2011 initially with a target of Special Assistants (SAs) until we later discovered that a lot of them were not interested, so we introduced the non-SA category for those that are not drawing any allowances but are interested in acquiring skills. Then we issued out forms for free. Since the SAs were not forthcoming we had master trainers and each of them was supposed to train five but some had only two trainees who are not even regular but with the inclusion of non SAs, we were able to assemble 10, 044. With that number we were comfortable and most of the master trainers became fully engaged and we immediately commenced till the end of the year. Towards the end of the year we took stock of those that were in attendance and those that were regular with at least 70 per cent attendance and we graduated them. What is the duration of the training programme? It depends on the mode of training; we have tailoring, knitting, auto mechanic, generator repairs, motorcycles repair, hairdressing, shoe coupling, barbing, and rice processing and so on. For some trades you can acquire the skills in three months, but for some they even exceed one year and we usually encourage the trainees to stick to their master trainers while we graduate others especially the non-SA who are already on the trade. We only support them by taking over their training fees and when we took stock of those that were active and regular to the satisfaction of the master trainers ready for graduation, we generated funds and bought tools for them and graduated them. At the end of the training exercise we gave all of them tools. If you

acquired tailoring skills we give you a sewing machine, if you acquire a skill of auto mechanic we give you a set of tools and so on. Since the SAs are refusing to acquire skills don't you think they have become a liability to the state government? Well, we came to realize that some of them were not willing to come because of their age, so that category we segmented them and sent them to farm centres. Initially, we thought we could get everybody to enrolled in the vocational training but later we realised that some people decided to go into agriculture, poultry, some went into fish farming, while others went for cattle fattening etc. So we segmented and sent them to a farm where we have a project manager handling them. So we meet their needs according to their trades of interest. That is why even on the form you have where you indicate your trade then we send you there and it is based on Local Governments, spread across the state. Very few people are centered in the state capital. What are the criteria used in admitting trainees, especially the non-SAs? All Adamawa indigenes are eligible to participate irrespective of party affiliation. What the governor usually tell us is that whenever you have somebody that is a deviant in the state it is for all, not just the PDP, it's everybody's problem. So training of all the youths is the responsibility of the state and he didn't reduce it to the training of youths only but women, widows, People Living with Aids and the physically challenged to get them off the streets. When we took the earlier statistics we discovered that the participation of women is minimal from the perspective of the SA enrolment. If you look at it from the trades we have, they may only go for knitting and

tailoring and hardly ever for auto repairs. So what we did is we introduced special centres as a pilot project for the engagement of women and we were able to get at least 300 women per centre whom we exposed to women trades, so to say. So a lot of them can participate and benefit. During the last graduation, 800 women graduated from tailoring and we gave all of them sewing machines, we even have left over and very soon we will graduate another set and everyone gets a tool. Have you considered extending your training to secondary schools to reduce the rate of un-employment and over dependence? We have it as part of our plan this year, the governor directed that we should do it during vacations, so we are working out modalities of training them and we want to see if we can run a pilot programme in each senatorial zone. We have identified schools for the programme; we are going to train the junior students going to senior class, then the SS2 before they move to the final year. And we felt we should collaborate with institutions of higher learning to be able to achieve results like FCE Yola because they have home economics centre where we sent 150 women and they were taught bakery, tailoring, etc. We identified state polytechnic Numan and sent 120 youths and they received computer training and also Mubi which is the northern senatorial zone. In College of Education Hong, we also intend to collaborate with AUN for the same purpose. So we look at the catchment areas and operate business centres locally so this is what we do to achieve maximum benefit. Do you monitor graduands so they don't sell the tools you gave them? Yes. We do the monitoring in two perspectives. First, to ensure that the tools are there and secondly, to ensure the level of utility of the tools. In most cases

Muhammad Sani Jada we advise graduates to stick to their masters even after the training. Let them bring their tools and join with that of their masters so that they will operate in a bigger way. You cannot graduate as an auto mechanic within nine months but those that were already operating with the master for maybe the last two years can graduate within nine months. So some of them graduated and were able to open their own shops while some are still with their masters. So the statistics we have indicate those who are able to operate their own centres, we have their complete contact. In fact we intend to give them a ledger card to be able to know what they generate so that we know the course is on track in the fight against poverty. What are challenges encountered? One of the apathy. I don't

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

some of the you have challenges is know whether

. We only support them by taking over their training fees and when we took stock of those that were active and regular to the satisfaction of the master trainers ready for graduation, we generated funds and bought tools for them and graduated them.

previous governments rolled out similar programmes but were not successful. So to convince people to come and acquire skills is a problem. Tell them, give them forms and they will laugh at you. They showered a lot of abuses on us saying that it's all politics, it won't work. "How can one get free tools? Is it not PDP? They are not serious!" They did not believe us. So by the time we started going round to give tools, there was a problem again, they said we were being partial and selective. The latest challenge we are now facing is demand. We were able to give only 45 per cent of the tools we acquired, we told them we are reserving what is left for those that are yet to graduate and so they should wait for 2012 after which they'll get their own toolsagain it became another problem. Where are your training centres located? We have over 600 centres and master trainers spread across the 21 LGAs in the state. What call do you have for people of the state concerning this scheme? A lot of noise is been made that poverty has overtaken us but whenever you have people, the highest resource they talk about is money but we are yet to fully explore human resources. So we need to train people. Now we have LAS that trains you for free, people should seize this opportunity and make the best use of it as tomorrow this offer may not be there. I have been in touch with my graduands and the report I get is positive, so we have been going round to monitor their activities

PAGE 38

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

ANPP rejects planned increase in electricity tariff By Umar Mohammed Puma

ll Nigeria Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Party (ANPP) has rejected the planned hike in electricity tariff by the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) which is expected to commence next mouth

The National Chairman of the party, Ogbonaya Onu, who made the call at a news conference in Abuja yesterday, said the planned increase in electricity tariff should be put on hold. Onu said "the party have consistently express

strong reservations about such plans because we believe that it would only further inflict untold hardship on Nigerians whose living conditions have deteriorated as a result of prevailing economic situation in the country." He added that`` as at today, the cost of living

has become almost unbearable with the purchasing power of most Nigerians dwindling day by day. The costs of basic food items are gradually rising beyond the reach of many of our brothers and sisters, as the value of the naira has equally fallen resulting to untold hardship."

L-R: Lagos state Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Baale of Orisunbare land, Chief Akibu Adebowale, and member, Lagos state House of Assembly, Hon. Bisi Yusuf, during the inauguration of Shasha-Orisunbare-Ejigbo road, yesterday in Lagos. Photo: NAN

3 arraigned for illegal procurement of voterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s card in Edo By Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin hree persons have been arraigned at the magistrate courts in Afuze, headquarters of Owan West Local Government Area of Edo state for electoral offences. They were alleged to have conspired in the procurement and dealing in INEC voters cards, contrary to section 124(5) and punishable under section 120 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended. The three accused, Richard Usikhifo, 61, Segun Omoarebu, 40 and Ajayi Ohikhuemi, 30, were charged before Magistrate W. I Aziegbevbin, at the Afuze Magistrate Court on Tuesday, for unlawfully conspiring to commit an offence wit: procurement and dealing in INEC voters cards, contrary to Section 124(5) and punishable under Section 120(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended. They were accused with four counts charge, including unlawful possession and deal in INEC voters' cards belonging to persons other than as provided in the Act, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 120 (1)(d) of the Electoral Act 2012 as amended.

Onu also lamented that jobs are hardly available, saying that even among those who are lucky to be employed, salaries are hardly paid as at when due and in some cases, are owed for months. "When these salaries are finally paid, considering the present situation of things, the money can hardly meet basic needs for which workers toiled." Against this background, he explained that in the situation Nigeria has found itself, at this stage of its development, Nigerians are worried that the country will have to suffer further hardship as a result of the proposed increase in the tariff of electric power supply. He said recalled that Nigerians are yet to recover from the stress imposed by recent increase in the price of petrol,

arguing that it was not the right time to increase prices, saying the increase should come when people could see a corresponding improvement in services. "Nigerians had suffered enough and we believe nothing should be further done to worsen our plight. Our party remains committed to the enthronement of free and fair elections in our polity, because without free and fair elections, our democracy will fail to drive the economy of this country." Onu said. He then urged the INEC to discharge its responsibilities by respecting the laws and be fair to all concerned at all times, adding that it is the challenge of parties to ensure that they educate and mobilise all Nigerians to know their rights and exercise such rights, to ensure that only what is right is done.

Lagos doctors strike: Group wants politicians banned from travelling abroad From Ayodele Samuel and Ojebola Matthew, Lagos

pro-labour civil society, Joint Action Front (JAF) has requested Ambassadors and High Commissioners of Foreign Missions in Nigeria to place a ban on the Lagos State politicians and public officials from travelling abroad to seek medical treatment until the current crisis in the health sector of the state is resolved. In a letter written and signed by JAF Secretary, Comrade Abiodun Aremu, the group described the continued travelling of Senior Officials of the state and their relations to foreign countries for medical attention, as a waste of public resources that should have been available to develop the health sector. According to the statement, the Ambassadors should ensure that no functionary of the Lagos State Government or their families is granted Visa to travel abroad until the current situation is resolved, and the rights of the teeming masses of our people to adequate health is restored. "It is necessary to recall that the Government of Lagos State recently sacked 788 of its doctors for

demanding it should honour the Agreement it freely made with the Lagos Medical Guild 14 months ago. The doctors had embarked on a 3-day Warning Strike in April 2012 after its months of appeals to the Government had been roundly ignored. It is the considered opinion by the General Congress of JAF that all measures, including diplomatic sanctions should be brought to bear on the Lagos state government in order to ensure that it rescinds all its deplorable act of insensitivity," he added. JAF stated that rather than wasting public resources on travelling abroad for medical checkups, while the greater mass of the people suffer under the current situation of health sector decay, the Lagos state government should see to the speedy resolution of the avoidable impasse it has created, by immediately recalling the doctors in its employment and reaffirming the agreement. The group pointed out that its interest in the matter is to ensure that Nigerian government at whatever levels should be responsible to the people, adding that it is the duty of the group to use all legitimate means to bring government alive to its responsibilities.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 39

Court bars PDP from conducting congress in Ogun From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

ustice Okon Abang of a Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, yesterday, warned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against taking any step to organise a fresh congress in Ogun state without first complying with its order, made on April 27 voiding the last South-West zonal congress of the party.

Justice Abang in a ruling on Wednesday, insisted that the order of his court made on April 27 still subsists, warning parties affected to comply with the order. He said that failure to comply; the court will not hesitate to invoke its disciplinary powers against any erring party. Justice Abangs position was informed by complaints by lawyer to the applicants, Ajibola Oluyede, that

the national leadership of the PDP, led by Bamaga Tukur, was planning a fresh congress for the party in Ogun State, despite their alleged refusal to obey the said order of court contained in its April 27th ruling. He drew the court's attention to a newspaper publication and a certain message from the party's national leadership planning to hold the fresh congress, which he said was calculated to destroy the rest of a fresh contempt

proceeding he has commenced against the new leadership of the party. Applicants in the suit filed by members of the harmonized Executive of the PDP in Ogun State include Dayo Soremi, Engr Bayo Dayo and Hon Taiwo Abisekan. Named as defendants are: PDP, former Acting National Chairman of PDP, Abubakar Kawu Baraje, Tajudeen Oladipo, Uche Secondus, Olusola Oke and Prof Rufia Alkali.

S/West youth express displeasure over delay in Salamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reinstatement From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

he leadership of the Congress of South-West Youths (COSWY) has expressed displeasure towards the undue delay and sheer insincerity of the Federal Government in acceding to the recommendation of the National Judicial Council

(NJC) on the reinstatement of Justice Ayo Salami as the President of the Court of Appeal. In a press statement signed by the secretary of the group, Comrade Ahmed Shomoye yesterday, the group said that the nonchalance of federal government towards the recommendation of NCJ is against

the rule of law. "We strongly hold the view that the nonchalance of President Goodluck Jonathan towards the recommendation of the NJC, the same judicial institution which recommended Salami's suspension upon which the President acted without any iota delay, smacks of utter disregard to the dictates of rule

L-R: Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Victor Ogene , and a member of the committee, Hon. Lanre Odubote , briefing journalists on the weekly activities of the House , yesterday at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

of law; a bizarre desecration of justice system and a tendency to water down judiciary decisions and resolutions on the platter of political expediency", the group said. The youths condemned the triviality with which the President handled the matter, saying that the Judiciary is a sacred institution, which gives hope to common man, and therefore, should be devoid of the dirty politics that bedeviled the nation's political landscape over the years, which it said, had eluded Nigeria with developmental growth. The statement read, "It is equally nauseating that the Presidency, in a face-saving melodrama, could come up with a diabolical and demeaning suggestion that Justice Salami should proceed on retirement when actually he is due for retirement by the end of next year. "In the bid to carpet justice and further embarrass the judiciary, president Jonathan had approved the elongation of the tenure of Justice Adamu as the president of Court of Appeal for about three times and now that no further elongation can be said to be lawful, with respect to Justice Adamu's stay in office, it is apparent that president Jonathan and his marauding party men and zealot, have reached their wit's end. And we therefore challenge them to convince Nigerians on the reasons for their continued obduracy against the rule of law.

Hembe still House Capital Market Committee Chairman, says Zakari By Umar Mohammed Puma

he Chairman, House Committee on Information, Zakari Mohammed, has described as erroneous, reports in some media (not Peoples Daily), referring to Heman Hembe as the former Chairman of the House Committee on Capital Market and ascribing the position to Azuborgu. Speaking to House of Representatives correspondents, Zakari said, "I don't think that the House at any sitting or anywhere took them out of their positions. In fact, it was Hembe that asked that his committee

excuse him from that function. So, they remain Chairman and Deputy of the Capital Market committee". He further said, "The House Ad hoc Committee on Capital Market just rounded up its sitting only two days ago on Tuesday. And don't forget that the ethics and privileges committee has also been mandated to look into the issues of allegations of bribery and demands for bribe. That committee was waiting for the ad hoc committee on capital market to finish its functions, only for the EFCC to arraign Hon. Hembe and Azuborgu." Zakari pointed out that "It is

an open knowledge that the Director General of Nigeria Capital Market is a statutorily member of the Board of the EFCC," saying that if she is involved in a allegation with any individual or organisations, EFCC is therefore not the right body to handle such an investigation. "I remember quite vividly that Hon. Hembe said that he was open to investigation by the anti graft agencies, he didn't mention EFCC. So why would it be the EFCC that would jump into it". He argued. He further stresses that even if the EFCC goes ahead to do an investigation, there has to be a report of an investigation and not just arraignment of individuals. "There were issues thrown back

and forth. Issue of hotel accommodation that was incurred. All these are issues that relevant organs are still going into. When an issue is before an arm of government, the practice normally is to wait for that arm to finish its duties before another arm takes over". He cited the case of suspension of the President of the Court of Appeal, saying it will not be right for the National Assembly, as an arm of government, to delve into an issue that involves the judiciary or other arm of government, disclosing that the matter is already in court, and therefore, does not require much discussion.

Despite denial from the defendants' lead lawyer, Kunle Kalejaiye (SAN), that he was unaware of any plan of a fresh congress, and contention that their applications, challenging the competence of the applicants' suit be heard first, Justice Abang elected to first hear the applicants' motion for committal proceedings. The judge, relying on the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Ebhodaghe vs Okoye 2004 18 NWLR part 905 at 495, held that a court must first consider an application that seeks the enforcement of its order before conducting any further business. Justice Abang held that by so doing the court will be protecting its majesty and integrity and preventing its dignity from being brought into ridicule.

CNPP, CPC, INEC hail planned election offences tribunal

oliticians, yesterday in Lagos, expressed diverse views on the Federal Government's approval of the establishment of a Special Election Offences Tribunal. The Federal Executive Council had on Wednesday, approved the establishment as a step to check election violence, saying the tribunal is to try cases of election violence. The approval followed the recommendations of the Sheik Ahmed Lemu-led Presidential Panel on the 2011 Election Violence and Disturbances, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had hailed the approval. The National Chairman of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Balarabe Musa, said that the establishment would reduce election violence. 'The INEC needs a special court to try cases of election violence,'' he said. He however, urged that the tribunal should try cases of violence arising from the 2011 elections to stop perpetrators from being violent during the 2015 polls. ``If it will start with the next elections, it does not make sense; it should start with previous elections,'' he said. A chieftain of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Dannis Aghanya, also hailed the proposal, saying ``INEC needs a special court to hasten up crucial legal issues; in fact, we advocate that the EFCC and ICPC should also have special courts.'' he said. He regretted that cases of election offences and economic crimes lingered in the regular courts because of other pending cases. 'If we have a special court for INEC, cases will be disposed of fast; this will help the system,'' he said. However, the National Chairman of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), Damian Ogbonna, said that there was no need for such special courts, arguing that the regular courts should be able to accommodate all cases.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 40

State CPC Chairmen pass vote of no confidence on national EXCO By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

gainst the background of the lingering crisis in the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the state Chairmen of the party, yesterday in Abuja, passed a vote of no confidence on the National Leadership of the party, exonerating only the leader, Muhammadu Buhari. In a communiquĂŠ issued after a conference in Abuja, the state chairmen regretted that ANPP failed woefully in the last general election, due to the refusal of the

National Executive members to allow competent candidates to run for the election under CPC platform. The communiquĂŠ, which was signed by its Secretary, Emeka Okafor, they attributed the failure of the party to over confidence which the EXCO had on Buhari, explaining that this over confidence made them not to allow the popular candidates to contest the election. It therefore urged the CPC

Renewal Committee, headed by Nasir El'Rufai, to intensify its efforts towards moving the party forward, adding that emphasis should be placed on the alliance talks with other progressive fronts to defeat PDP in the 2015 general election. According to the communiquĂŠ, the state chairmen resolved to suspend Sule Hamma, Tony Momoh, Mustapha Salihu, and Buba Galadima, pending when

thorough investigation into the affairs of the party by a committee to be constituted by the incoming Protem National Executive, is completed. The Chairmen also dissolved the state caretaker committees, pointing out that in states where congresses are yet to be conducted; protem state executive committees should continue to manage the affairs of the party, pending a well organised state congress.

When contacted, the Publicity Secretary of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Rotimi Fashakin, said described the move as part of the enlarged PDP script, alleging that each attendant was given N100,000.00 by the PDP. While wondering where the group derived its authority to sack the national EXCO of the party, he regretted that the time is a bitter moment for CPC as a party.

CPC elder urges women to go into active politics in 2015

Chieftain of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Mrs Adaugo Obi, has emphasised the need for Nigerian women to participate actively in politics to enable them occupy 35 per cent of political positions in 2015. Obi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday that Nigerian women were stakeholders in the Nigerian project. She said that Nigeria women would contribute largely to social, political and economic development of the country if they were given necessary and equal opportunity to participate in politics. The CPC chieftain said the 35 per cent affirmative action that was given to women was not enough, adding that some countries gave 48 per cent and above affirmative action to women. Obi said that women had the required quality and experience in politics which should be exploited to make the country great. She appealed to women with high education background to be active in politics, adding that a large percentage of women in politics were semi illiterate. "We are asking the men to please give more chance to women in politics; it is obvious that women are not enough in the politics.

L-R: National Chairman, All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Emma Eneukwa and National Financial Secretary, Hajiya Fatima Mohammed, during a press conference on the state of the nation, yesterday, in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Council polls: Ogun INEC reads Riot Act to politicians From Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, Abeokuta

he Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission has read a riot act to politicians ahead of the July 21, 2012 local government elections, calling on them to ensure they comply with the dictates of the election guideline during and after the poll. The state Chairman of the Commission, Alhaja Risikat Ogunfemi, stated this during a meeting with stakeholders and members of the various political parties held at Multi-Purpose Hall, Empire Ground, Ilaro in Ogun West Senatorial District of the state.

Ogunfemi also tasked stakeholders and leaders of the various political parties in the state to mobilize the electorate in their areas for the forthcoming local government elections, charging them to encourage and enlighten the members of the general public to troop out and exercise their civic responsibility. She observed that it was imperative for the electorate to exercise their civic rights by voting for the candidates of their choice who would serve their interests at the local government council level, adding that the electorate is an important element who must play crucial role for democracy to

thrive in any given society. "I wish to appeal to the political class and the aspirants alike to take the guidelines and the stipulations therein very seriously, both during the campaign and throughout the election period", the commission boss emphasized. Earlier in his speech, Olu of Ilaro and paramount ruler of Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Gbadewole Olugbenle, called for a free, fair and transparent conduct of the forthcoming council polls in the state. The Royal father noted that the result of the forthcoming Local Government Elections should portray Ogun State as setting the

Gombe to distribute seven million tree seedlings From Auwal Ahmad, Gombe

n its effort to curb desert encroachment and environmental degradation, Gombe state government plans to raised and distribute about seven million tree seedlings this year. The Commissioner for Water Resources and Environmental, Idiris Muhammad Mahadi, disclosed this while speaking with Newsmen in Gombe. Mahadi said that already, the state government has raised over one

million trees seedling for distribution to members of the public free of charge. According to him, the 11 local government areas in the state have been directed to raise five hundred thousand trees seedlings each, to provide least 5.5 million tree seedlings. The Commissioner explained that considering the over two million people in the state, at least each individual would have the opportunity of planting two trees, saying that this would go a long way in checking desertification in the state. Mahadi, who expressed concern

over the rampant and indiscriminate felling of trees for fire wood, warned that the government would not fold its arms and continue to watch such dangerous trend which he said usually have adverse consequences on the environment. Mahadi pointed out that they had started arresting people involved in large scale felling of trees as fire wood. He expressed the willingness of government to come up with a law that would ban the unnecessary felling of trees, adding that they would negotiate with the Ministry of Justice

in that direction. The commissioner, while regretting that between 75 to 85 percent of household in the state use fire wood for cooking, however pointed out that even though there were quite a number of filling station in the state selling petrol, one could hardly see any with kerosene. Mahadi announced government's plans to come up with a strong public enlightenment strategy that would discourage massive felling of trees and the use of alternative source of energy for cooking.

standard for the conduct of such polls nationwide, advising the commission to ensure that the politicians adhere to the universal rule of democracy.

Dakingari redeploys two permsecs From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

overnor Usman Saidu Dakingari of Kebbi state yesterday approved the redeployment of two permanent secretaries in the state civil service. A press statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Abubakar Mua'zu Dakingari indicated that Alhaji Garba Aliyu Kangiwa, former perm sec, protocol affairs in the Government House has been moved to Ministry of Science and Technology while Alhaji Bello Muhammed Bande Bess is to take over from him. The statement also stated that Bande Besse until his appointment as perm sec was the Director of Administration in the office of the First Lady.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 41

2012 Olympic: NTDC, NSC partner to promote Nigeria’s tourism

32 states register for ‘Eko 2012’

he Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) has said that it would partner with National Sports Commission (NSC) to promote Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage at the 2012 Olympic in London. Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, the Director General of NTDC said this in Abuja when the Director General of the commission Patrick Ikeji, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to NTDC. Runsewe, who said that the partnership would go a long was to boost Nigeria’s image, lauded the NSC for maintaining

hirty-two states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have formalised procedures for participation in the forthcoming 18th National Sports Festival tagged ‘Eko 2012’. Confirming the figure yesterday, Secretary of the Main Organising Committee (MOC), Mallam Abba Yola, said that the states have formalised their registration procedures following revelation that less than a third of the states had indicated interest and confirmed same with fulfillment of the needed procedures. Peoples Daily Sports recalls that early last month the MOC had raised alarm that several states were lacking behind in the fulfillment of necessary

Chief Patrick Ekeji, DG, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, NSC DG, NTDC

peace in the sports industry and added that such peace would bring about growth in the industry. “It is time for Nigeria to host the Olympics because we have all necessary potential to host the event,” he said. Runsewe said that the corporation would build a Nigerian House in London where Nigerian arts and craft would be sold. He said that the house would also have a restaurant for the country’s cuisines to be sold during the period of the games. Responing, Ikeji said that most nations of the world depended on tourism to boost their economies, adding that the world would love to behold Nigeria’s enormous tourism potential if well developed. He said that there was a need for sports to be used as tools to develop tourism as the sector “is a fast money-making business”. The NTDC had earlier in Docklands, London, launched a global support campaign for Team Nigeria’s Olympics participation, tagged: “Support Nigeria: 2012”. The campaign, according to Runsewe, was designed to gather at least one million signatories in support of Team Nigeria. He said that this was a new move by the tourism body to draw attention to Nigerian tourism potential and promote sports tourism. Runsewe said the campaign would spur Team Nigeria to greater heights, apart from re-awakening the consciousness of people to Nigeria. Nigeria is expected to participate in the Olympics scheduled to take place from July 27 to Aug. 12 in games such as taekwondo, wrestling, athletics and boxing, among others.

procedures which are prerequisites for confirmation of participation. Then, it was also learnt that only eight states had met the requirement while 12 had merely expressed interest but without obliging the mandatory participation formalities. Meanwhile, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) has confirmed that all venues selected for the November 27 through December 8 fiesta are ready for use. The LOC said only last week that some of the venues are being test-run in the on-going Ibile Games, a festival staged by Lagos State for the selection of athletes who are likely to represent the state at the Games.

Cross River accepts to host Golden Eaglets’ qualifying matches

he Cross River State government has accepted to play host to the Golden Eaglets in all their qualifying matches for the 2013 CAF Under -17 African Youth Championship to be hosted by Morocco. Governor Liyel Imoke said when he met members of the Golden Eaglets at the Practice Pitch of the U.J Esuene Sports Stadium where he charged the team to ensure Nigeria’s flag was not

just flown at the fiesta, won the trophy. Nigeria has missed two successive African championships held respectively in Algeria and Rwanda in 2009 and 2011 but Governor Imoke said he believed that the country is on the verge of turning the corner with the determination written all over their faces. The Governor, who was at the Stadium to flag off the state’s 3rd Athletics and

Swimming Competition for Primary and Secondary Schools, said he has been monitoring the activities of the Golden Eaglets since the camp was opened early this month and reiterated his total for the team. “When we see young talents like all of you here, we are happy and it is our prayer for you to become champions,” the Governor said amidst wide applause from Golden Eaglets’ officials

and players. “To become great players, you must be focused and show commitment so that the talents that God has given you would manifest in due course. There is no way you can’t be great champions of Nigeria and the world. We are happy to have you here and we know you are going to enjoy your stay here in Calabar. “Enjoy Calabar; it is a nice and safe place to be. It is green and it offers you all what you

Flying Eagles, Black Satellite rekindle rivalry in Cape Town

est African rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana resumes today in Cape Town South Africa, where the Flying Eagles and Black Satellite will trade tackle in the 8-nation Invitational Tournament. The Flying Eagles won the maiden edition under Coach John Obuh who is determined to take the podium honours to boost his quest to repackage a new Eagles team ahead of the CAF U-20 Championship. Obuh’s opposite number, Orlando Wellington is under tremendous pressure to deliver and beating the Eagles would be the right answer to critics who want him sack following series of unimpressive results including 3-0 bashing the Satellites received in the hands of the Black Starlets. And so the stage is set for teams who will be playing obviously with focus not just on the maximum points but national pride because of existing rivalry. When Nigeria won the inaugural tournament two years ago and went then the 2011 CAF African Youth Championship also in South Africa, Ghana had been crowned the FIFA U-20 World Championship kings having taken that honour in Egypt as the first African country to do so.

Thus the rivalry between both countries will not be lost on the youth as they file out today ready to exert their superior soccer skills. Obuh has challenged the players he picked for the

John Obuh of Nigeria

Orlando Wellington of Ghana

want to become the champions. We want you to come back here after your camping and any time, feel free to come to Cross River State and Calabar is your home.” Responding on behalf of the team, Head Coach Manu Garba thanked the Governor and the people of the state for generously hosting the Golden Eaglets, adding that Calabar is now home away from home for every member of the team.

Garba Manu, Golden Eaglets coach

2012 Cape Town International Challenge to grab the opportunity and justify their inclusion and thus a part of the new team he is rebuilding ahead of 2013 Africa Youth Championship qualifiers against Tanzania in July. But Wellington no less. His performance has been under intense scrutiny since the country’s U20 side were thrashed 3-0 by the U17 team, the Black Starlets. He was in charge when the Black Satellites failed to impress at the Africa U20 Championship last year and failed qualify for the World Cup, he would want his charges to react differently and thus keep him on the job. Wellington has an entirely home-based squad that will be captained by the 2011 Sports Writers Premier League Player of the Year Mumuni Abubakar, who plays for New Edubiase United. Also Prince Baffoe, Tamimu Muntari, Jacob Appau Asiedu and the duo of Benjamin Fadi and Emmanuel Obour to rely on. Also, Obuh’s new team is made of a handful of top performers in the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) like Enugu Rangers striker, Alhaji Gero, midfielders Uche Agbo, Nzube Anaezemba (both of Enyimba) as well as Kano Pillars ace, Shehu Abdullahi. Hosts, South Africa will take the pitch in the opening game against Argentina.

Group A

Group B

South Africa, Argentina, Nigeria Ghana

Brazil, Cameroon, Kenya Japan

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

Ibile Games: Fikah claims gold in 400 metres hurdles

teve Fikah of Somolu Local Government Area on Wednesday won gold in the men’s 400 metres hurdles in 53.02 sec at the ongoing Lagos State Sports Festival tagged Ibile Games. Fikah won the race ahead Saidi Odu of Lagos Island

Local Government Area who returned a time of 55.02 sec to win silver at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, while Sam Omoye also of Somolu Local Government Area was third in 56.01 sec. The Games featuring 25 events are to prepare the

state athletes for the 18th National Sports Festival to hold in Lagos between Nov. 27 and Dec. 13. Commenting on his victory, the gold medallist said: “It feels good when you’re done running the 400 hurdles and you feel like you

said. Fikah held a narrow lead over close contenders Odu and Omoye from the burst of the gun but some distance to the finish line increased his pace to widen the gap to reach the finish line. In other events, Egbeniyi

Abike of Lagos Island Local Government Area won gold in the women’s 400 metres race in 55.7 sec while Oluchi Ofoma of Somolu won the silver in 56.4 sec. While Sarah Kadiri of Yaba Local Government Area placed third in 57.2 sec.

complained of poor medical facilities on ground during competitions, which he noted, was unhealthy for the development of the sport. Oseni said the medical teams were not always supported with adequate medical requirements needed to treat injured athletes, stressing often follow-up treatment after the first aid received at the competition venues are hardly given. “The truth is that there is no better facilities in the medical centre, what they will still give to you is painkiller.And taekwondo is not a game you can just use painkiller, when you have a chronic injury most especially knee.” Another practitioner, Thursdaline Peters, also expressed displeasure at the dearth of competitions in the country, saying that it slowed the development of the sport and reduced the chances of discovering new talents. “The grassroots need adequate support because it was from there that athletes could be discovered and nurtured to Bolaji Abdullahi, represent states and the country at major competitions.” Minister of Sports

canvasses government support for amputee football

have accomplished something. “I feel like I’ve accomplished something, and I’m happy. To be honest, I was a little tired from yesterday’s qualifying rounds but I am happy I came out and took the lead early,” he

Dearth of competition, funding stunt growth of Taekwondo Coach

ome taekwondo practitioners have identified say in the east and you pay your transportation the lack of monetary incentives and dearth of from Lagos down there and you know competitions as major challenges confronting transportation these days is very expensive. the growth of the sport. “Now after the event, it might just be They have equally observed that inadequate presentation of medals or certificates that is the medical attention to athletes also contributed to only thing you benefit from it. So there is no the stunted growth of the sport. motivation there.” George Ogbeh, a heavyweight fighter, said that A featherweight taekwondoist, Shamseed Oseni, after a competition, some CHANGE OF NAME athletes often found it difficult I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS ABBA to pay their transport fare back MOHAMMED, NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND to their destinations. Ogbeh said that the problem ADDRESSED AS MU’AZU MOHAMMED. ALL detered upcoming athletes from FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. ITAS/GADAU attending competitions, because LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND GENERAL PUBLIC they would not be certain how PLEASE TAKE NOTE. they could get back home. “After a taekwondo competition CHANGE OF NAME sometimes, it might just be I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS SALISU certificates that has been given or USMAN, NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND medals, nothing like money ADDRESSED AS RABIU SAIDU KARDAM. ALL incentives to the whole thing, so FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. T/BALEWA sometimes it could be a challenge. LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND GENERAL PUBLIC “For example, they might have PLEASE TAKE NOTE. a competition in the north or let

Nestle Milo Basketball: 22 teams participating in Delta

wenty-two teams from 13 secondary schools in Delta are participating in this year’s edition of Nestle Milo National Basketball competition. The participating teams in the state comprised 12 males and 10 females, including Anglican Girl’s Grammar School, Asaba, winners of the female category in 2010. Already, the play-offs for the teams have begun

at Government College, Ughelli, and are expected to end on Friday. The play-offs, which will be on knock-out basis, according to Prof Patrick Muoboghare, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, would produce four teams, two each from the male and female categories, for the state final. Muoboghare said that the final, where the state’s representatives at the national level of

Zenith Bank female league final dunks off May 31

he Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) have announced May 31 as the dunking-off date for the final phase of the 2011/12 Zenith Bank Female Basketball League. The annual championship, scheduled for the in-door hall of the National Stadium, Lagos, would end June 9. Francis Gbiri, the NBBF Secretary, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that plans had been concluded to host the final phase of the

competition. “NBBF is ready and all necessary arrangements to make sure there are no flaws had been put in place , without doubt, the final is going to be successful,” he said. Gbiri said the former national coach, Agoola Pinhero, had been appointed to coordinate the championship. The NBBF official said the final phase subsidy had been paid to all the teams featuring in the competition, to enable them to prepare well for the

final play-off. Gbiri said all the referees to officiate at the competition had been appointed NAN reports thatt the first and second phases of the league were held in Kaduna and Ilorin respectively. Gbiri said defending champions, First Deepwater Basketball Club of Lagos, topped the table at the end of the second phase in Ilorin, followed by Lagos-based First Bank Club. The Sunshine Basketball Club

the competition in the female and male categories would emerge, would be played at the Indoor Hall of Asaba Township Stadium on Monday. He disclosed that nine of the participating schools presented two teams (male and female) each while four schools had one team each. Westend Secondary School, Asaba, Anglican Girls, Asaba, Challenge College, Aladja, and Luminary Schools, Warri, according to him, are the four schools in the tournament with one team each. The commissioner said that officials of the ministry had days before the play-offs conducted screening of the players to weed out “mercenaries” and ensure that only students currently enrolled in schools formed the teams.

of Akure were third on the chart, at the end of the second phase in Ilorin. The teams competing in the final of the competition are First Deepwater of Lagos, First Bank of Lagos, Dolphins

of Lagos, Sunshine Angels of Akure and Delta Force of Asaba. Others are AHIP Queens of Kano, Immigration of Kano, Customs of Lagos, Plateau Peaks and FCT Angels.

CHANGE OF NAME I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS SANI OSMAN, NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS SANI USMAN. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. MY EMPLOYER, MY BANKERS AND GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

CHANGE OF NAME I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS PAMELA TIJANI OF OFFICE OF THE MINISTRY OF POLICE AFFAIRS, NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS PAMELA CHRISTY OGWUDE. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. MY EMPLOYER, MY BANKERS AND GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

LOSS OF DOCUMENT I, CHIEF (HON.) JOE O. OGBA OF 74 NSUGBE STREET ABAKALIKI, EBONYI STATE LOST MY ORIGIONAL RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY (OFFER LETTER) AND PAYMENT RECEIPT IN RESPECT OF PLOT NO. 75 E05 KUBWA DISTRICT, ABUJA, FCT. ALL EFFORT MADE TO TRACE IT PROVIE ABORTIVE. IF FOUND PLEASE NOTIFY THE NEAREST POLICE STATION, AGIS OR THE UNDERSIGNED. D’ Tigres of Nigeria

CHIEF (HON) JOE O. OGBA.

he Nigeria Amputee Football Federation (NAFF) has appealed to state governments positively engage of amputees in the country by supporting efforts to provide a career in amputee football for them. Gbenga Dosumu, the federation’s national coach, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the support was essential to provide facilities and organise competitions to engage the physically challenged players. “The awareness will go a long way in giving the physically challenged footballers a sense of belonging as well as keeping them off the streets and encourage them,” he said. The coach said that if the support was given it would boost awareness of the sport and insisted that the promotion of the sport should be a collective effort but should begin from the states. “Creating more awareness of amputee soccer should be a collective effort, especially from the state level, from which talents can be identified at the grassroots,” he said. Dosumu charged the states to support the development of amputee football by providing funds, crutches and other football to be used in competitions. According to him, such competitions will assist in raising standard teams in the states and facilitate amputee football being included as a demonstration sport at the national sport festival. “It is through such competitions, that talents are identified to form state teams, also creating a good platform for them to be considered at the sports festivals,” he said. The coach, who regretted that the sport would not feature in the National Sports Festival in Lagos between November and December, appealed to the National Sports Commission to reconsider.

PEOPLES DAILY, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

PAGE 47

Is Bolaji Abdullahi Jonathan’s joker for sports?

he air had been stale, choking and clearly unhealthy for any useful performance. Many came but opted to breath in the same putrefying air content in the belief that the lingering animosity prevalent in the polity would also present them tenable alibi for their failure. Perhaps, a close look at the few also ran in the corridor of the National Sports Commission (NSC) and their contributions to the rot that they had been specifically mandated to redress might suffice. Just three of the predecessors would be enough. Former Kwara State House of Assembly Speaker, Honourable Ibrahim Isah Bio, arrived on the scene at a time the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had become a tyrannical empire with the triumvirate in charge commandeering anything and everything football and practically bared the fangs at whoever dares to differ in opinion and precepts with them. Isah Bio hit the scene. And many thought the Messiah had come to Zion. He pontificated, promised brimstone and fire, and raised so much dust that many rightly or wrongly believed before long all considered hindrances to sports development would be routed. However, when the moment

arrived for him to flex the muscles, Isah Bio first was in oblivion only to resurface in Richards Bay, Dublin and subsequently Johannesburg, the latter at which he directed FIFA to withhold disbursement of Nigeria’s World Cup finals dues. But FIFA does not operate the way Nigeria does, and promptly directed Isah Bio and his cohorts to apply for the services of anticraft agencies if they have issues with Sani Lulu’s management of government appropriation to the NFF. He returned and opted to apply the fiat instead. And Lulu was impeached. That singularly act somehow restored semblance of hope. But not for long. He went snoring and opted to fly to London on health reasons thus leaving free rein for a new set of leaders, whom he had perhaps thought would play the stooge to him. Moments of decision arrived and it suddenly dawn on him that managing the NFF even with all the veto powers one could possess is harder than bring down the gavel on few dissenting voices in a state house of assembly. He pleaded to be heard by the arrowheads or ‘the stooge’ he thought he had imposed and whom he also thought would play ball with him. He was obliged.

Then he took the matter to the Presidency but unlike the arrowheads he was not obliged audience because the presidency had then considered him an opponent since as a nominee of Gov. Bukola Saraki he was seen as being on the side of his governor who was a candidate for PDP’s flag at the primaries for the presidential race. But that only belong to Goodluck Jonathan. Lamb like, Isah Bio returned after five days as he had demanded only to swallow line hook and sinker whatever the new bosses of the NFF insisted upon. Elections were held and the result as foreknown came. Also, as foreknown, crises erupted and legal tussles ensued. Isah Bio did nothing punchy to assuage the crises and it deepens to the point of international embarrassment. Isah Bio got defrocked and in came Professor Taoheed Adedoja. Well, he was the first, so to say, professional being a physical and heath education graduate who had risen to the level of professor. This, no mean feat. From the onset, Adedoja showed tremendous insight into the bitter altercations prevalent in the polity. He promised to douse tension and to reposition the polity. Time was of essence. But the professor only, as alleged,

WATCH DOG

proved to be ‘a talk no do’. Sader still, he demonstrated no hidden pleasure in playing drum for his godfather. He took on FIFA for daring to discredit a worthy Nigeria owoidoho_ng35@yahoo.com and promptly declared that the World football governing body Suleiman like Isah Bio snored eventually returned to oblivion. Then, came Bolaji Abdullahi. Well, would live to regret its with relish according to his tactlessness in the matter antagonists. His era was no he was merely supervising the NSC. involving his mentor. Well, three different from Adedoja’s and Isah But sport is like a goldfish that has years suspension imposed on his Bio’s: legal tussles, wrangling no hiding place. He acted, held boss is almost over and it seems both internal and external. He meetings, pleaded with the not FIFA but those on the other proved to be subservient to the radicals, made promises, shifted side are moaning lost technocrats in the commission grounds and compromised where opportunities. and he was of course allegedly necessary for the sake of peace. And peace arrived on the scene: Well, the quantum of his misled and misdirected. performance are best captured Within the commission came radiant, well adorned like a by the House Committee on sundry supports for an illegal NFA, succulent nubile, ready for the bridegroom. In that singularly act, Sports utter rejection of the NSC and other bodies that were held Abdullahi emerged a hero. His performance card for which bent on uprooting the new status suddenly catapulted a 100 Patrick Ekeji, who presented the arrowheads of the NFF and fold. He achieved where others scorecard while attempting to imposing their own stooges. including Sani Ndanusa, whom justify request for 2012 Elements in the commission held many thought with his background appropriation, was thoroughly subterranean meetings with would make the difference, did fail lampooned. antagonists of the NFF, the utter woefully. If he achieved that much But there was also a certain consequences on Nigeria’s on acting capacity perhaps the Yusuf Suleiman. They say he international image lost to them. Presidency wondered won’t he performed while in charge of the Suleiman simply watched, did guide the ship to the desired El Ministry of Transport. But the nothing as was alleged. Well, Dorado? And so, Goodluck NSC proved to be a handful not whatever he did to assuage the Jonathan, hearkened to voice of with so many prying eyes problem remains a matter of the unheard and obliged their constantly breathing down his conjecture, but what was not silent prayers. Dear veteran neck plus the anger of being was his gubernatorial ambition. journalist, may your road as Sports demeaned for political reasons. And so to Sokoto he went and Minister be rough!

By Patrick Andrew

Khan faces Garcia for WBC title July 14

ormer champion Amir Khan will fight undefeated American Danny Garcia for the WBC lightwelterweight title in July 14. “Danny Garcia is unbeaten in 23 fights and has 14 knockouts, so it will be a tough test,” the 25-year-old Khan told Sky Sports on Wednesday. “It’s a great match-up. The WBC title will be on the line, which I’d love to win.” The Briton’s rematch against Lamont

Amir Khan

Peterson, scheduled for May 19, was called off after Peterson, who beat Khan to win the WBA super-lightweight and IBF light-welterweight titles, failed a drugs test. Peterson has appealed against the result and Khan is still waiting to find out whether he will be given back the belts he lost in the controversial defeat. If that happens, or if the titles are declared vacant, Khan’s fight against

Danny Garcia

Garcia, which will be held in Los Angeles or Las Vegas, could be a unification contest. “We don’t know what’s going to happen to the other titles because the hearing will be in the next couple of weeks and then the governing bodies will make their decision,” the Briton said. He is still frustrated at being deprived of a chance to avenge his December defeat by Peterson, who was awarded a split decision after Khan was docked two points. “I’m still angry because I trained so hard for that fight … then in the last week it was called off and all my training went down the drain,” Khan, who has lost only twice in 28 fights, said. “I’m still upset because I wanted to win my titles back and settle the score.” Philadelphia-based Garcia, 24, took the WBC title when he beat Erik Morales on points in Houston in March.

Quick burst key at London Games success, says Bolt

orld and Olympics 100m and 200m champion, Usain Bolt, says he hopes to start with a flash in both races to ensure success at the London Olympics Games. The Jamaican, whose only weakness is slow start from the block hopes to turn the weakness into a strength in time for the London Olympics. Having already smashed the world records in the 100 and 200 meters, Bolt anticipates what will happen if he gets the start just right in London. ‘’We were working on my start. We were reviewing a few things and seeing what we can improve. Over time, my start gets better. I am very happy; my coach is very happy where I am startwise.’’ Last year, Bolt failed to defend his world title in the 100 in Daegu, South Korea, after he was disqualified for a

false start. Bolt is the favorite to retain his Olympic gold medals in the 100 and 200, although the Jamaican is expected to face tough competition from countryman Yohan Blake, who won the world title. Bolt is unlikely to threaten his world record of 9.58 seconds when he runs the 100 meters Friday. He says he still has time to find his optimal form before London. ‘’All I have to do is to work on transition and technique,’’ he said. ‘’We have probably two months to get it right, so it shouldn’t be a problem. I’m definitely on the right track.’’ Bolt will be competing in the eastern Czech city for the sixth time and wants to improve his season best of 9.82 that he set May 5 in Kingston, Jamaica. The Golden Spike will be the first European meet for Bolt CHANGE OF NAME I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS LAWIZA this season. He will also YAHAYA MADAGU, NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN compete in AND ADDRESSED AS FATUMA YAKUBU. ALL D i a m o n d FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. HOSPITAL L e a g u e MANAGEMENT BOARD, BAUCHI AND GENERAL meets in PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE. Rome on May 31 and Oslo,

Norway, on June 7 before returning to Jamaica for the national trials. He plans to be back in Europe to run in the 200 at the Diamond League meet in Monaco on July 20, his last race before the London Olympics. Meanwhile, the fastest man on the planet was handed an unlikely defeat by young athletes at a 60-meter race in Ostrava on Wednesday - although he was running in jeans. ‘’I don’t like losing anyways,’’ Bolt said.

Pep Guardiola

Leonel Messi

Barca seek winning end to Pep era

arcelona have the chance to end the Pep Guardiola era in precisely the same way it began, with a King’s Cup final win over Athletic Bilbao today. A drained Guardiola is to step aside and hand over the reins to his close friend and assistant Tito Vilanova for next season, but will hope to walk away with a 14th trophy from his glittering four-year spell in charge. The former Spanish international kicked off his trophy-winning run with a 4-1 Cup final win over Bilbao in May 2009. Barca have already won the European and Spanish Super Cups and the Club World Cup this season, but missed out on the major prizes in the closing weeks of the campaign. They were denied a fourth consecutive La Liga crown by Real Madrid, and fell to Chelsea in the Champions League semifinals, before Guardiola’s shock decision not to renew his contract. There have been criticism in some quarters at the way Vilanova’s appointment was announced at the same news conference in which Guardiola said he was leaving, leading to speculation of a rift between the two. Barca will have to make a number of changes in defence with Eric Abidal, Carles Puyol and Dani Alves all ruled out with injury, while striker David Villa will not recover from his broken leg in time. Barca and Bilbao have lifted the trophy 48 times between them, and have been two of the most entertaining teams in Spain this year with their focus on attacking football. However, they will have to contend with a freshly laid pitch at the Calderon in Madrid, replaced after a rock concert there on Sunday night, and a political storm stirred up by the president of the Madrid regional government. Basque and Catalan nationalists among the two sets of fans whistled the national anthem in 2009, and Esperanza Aguirre’s suggestions on Tuesday that the final should be suspended if it happens again caused widespread condemnation. Bilbao head into the final with some trepidation after their crushing 3-0 Europa League final defeat to Atletico Madrid two weeks ago. The club, who only field players of Basque origin, are also concerned their inspirational and eccentric coach Marcelo Bielsa may not stay beyond the end of the season as he remains silent on his future. A two-week break after the end of La Liga will help the Bilbao players as fatigue took its toll in the season run-in and they lost four of their last five matches in all competitions.

CHANGE OF NAME

Usain Bolt

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS DR. (MISS) IBIWOYE OLUBUNMI ABAYOMI, NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS DR. (MRS.) IBOWOYEJAIYEOLA OLUBUNMI ABAYOMI. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

. . . putting the people first

FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012

SPORTS LA TEST LATEST

FIFA set to test goal-line technology on June 2

orld Football Governing Body, (FIFA) has set to test goal-line technology in England's friendly against Belgium at Wembley on June 2. The Hawkeye system will be installed at the national stadium for the match, which will be Roy Hodgson's first home game in charge of England. The referee in charge of the friendly will not be privy to the results of the system, as only scientists will be monitoring its findings. If the tests prove successful, the go-ahead for technology is expected to be given on July 2, having previously been tested during the Hampshire FA Senior Cup final at Southampton's St Mary's Stadium on May 16. Another system, named GoalRef, is being trialled in the Danish Super League, all the tests are being monitored by officials from EMPA, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology. FIFA said in a statement: "Such tests could lead to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) approving the introduction of GLT at its special meeting at the beginning of July. Goal-line incident occur at this or any of the 'test' matches, the system will not be utilised by the match officials. It means the GLT system will have no influence on the outcome of the matches in which the system is being tested. FIFA would like to place on record its sincere thanks to the football association for their willingness to support the live match tests, a critical part of test phase 2 for goal-line technology.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter

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QUO TABLE Q UO TE UOT QUO UOTE I cannot teach you violence, as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before anyone even at the cost of your life — Mahatma Gandhi

Kaduna’s not so disappointing budget Over the last few weeks, we have analyzed budgets from four of the six geopolitical zones in the country: Bauchi from the North East, Lagos from the South West, Benue from the North Central, Edo in the South South, and now, the North Western State of Kaduna. Kaduna state is located at the center of Northern Nigeria and shares boundaries with Niger state to the West, Zamfara state, Katsina and Kano states to the North, Bauchi and Plateau states to the East and FCT and Nasarawa state to the South. Kaduna state occupies a land mass of 46,053 square kilometers and had a population of 6,113,503 people in 2006 distributed amongst 23 local government areas, with some of the major ethnic groups being the Hausa, Fulani, Bajju, Ham, Gbagyi, and Koro. The state was birthed from the Northern region of Nigeria, which had its capital in Kaduna. In 1967 the north was split into six states, one of which was the North Central state, its name was changed to Kaduna state in 1976 by the Murtala-Obasanjo administration. Kaduna became a separate state in 1991, when Katsina province was carved out to form the present Katsina State. Since Nigeria’s return to democracy in May 1999, Governor Ahmed Markarfi governed the state for eight years, and was successful in uniting the disparate ethnic and religious groups to live together in relative harmony. Makarfi also registered significant strides in infrastructure development particularly the construction of intra-state roads. Makarfi was succeeded by Namadi Sambo who governed the state from May 2007 until May 2010, when he was nominated and confirmed as Vice-President. Many citizens of Kaduna State believe that Namadi's tenure was peaceful but uneventful with unconfirmed rumors of huge borrowings. Patrick Yakowa succeeded him as governor of Kaduna state and initially registered improved transparency in governance. Under a virtual military occupation that facilitated massive rigging of elections, Yakowa was returned as governor on the PDP platform in April 2011. Yakowa is a decent man with sound education and record of successful civil service career spanning state and federal governments where he rose to cabinet minister and afterwards,

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NASIR EL-R UF AI EL-RUF UFAI ON FRID AY FRIDA elrufai@aol.com

Gov. Patrick Yakowa federal permanent secretary. Expectations were therefore high that Yakowa would perform much better than his predecessor in office. Kaduna is one of those older states that should have an advantage over others, or at least over all states in its zone. The fact is that in 1981, Nigeria's first inland petroleum refinery in the North was built in Kaduna, the state has various textile mills, and the Peugeot automobile assembly plant, amongst other existing industries. The political significance of being the

administrative headquarters of the Northern region during Nigeria’s colonial and immediate post-independence era, and its reputation as a leading educational, industrial, and military center in Africa are additional advantages. Kaduna State is also blessed with an array of mineral resources which include, Kyanite, Kaolin, Columbite, Gold, Quartz, Mica, Clay, Asbestos, and Graphite. It has ample arable land which traverses the Sahel Savannah region among its agricultural endowments. The state produces huge quantities of Yam, Cotton, Groundnut, Tobacco, Maize, Beans, Guinea corn, Millet, Ginger, Rice and Cassava. The State has numerous tourist attractions like the Nok Culture, Arewa House and Museums; and comfortable large and boutique hotels like Hamdala Hotel, Crystal Garden and Asaa Hotels in Kaduna, Kongo Conference and Zaria Hotels in Zaria. In spite of these, the results on the ground are disappointing. Kaduna state has an

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The Kaduna state government has prepared ‘2012-2014 draft multi-year estimates hoping to drive economic and social development of the state through sound financial planning. However, the 272-page document falls short of boldly facing the real developmental challenges of the state as the capital expenditure plans for 2012 to 2014 are not up to the developing country target of assigning 70% of total budget

unemployment rate of 25.7% well above the national average of 23.9%, as against Kebbi state with 17.6%, Kano with 25.7%, Katsina and Sokoto with 27%, Jigawa with 28.6% and Zamfara with 33.4%. In the North-West zone, 51.8% of the citizens are food poor, 70.6% absolutely poor, while 67.4% live on less than a dollar a day. Kaduna Statehas 52.4% as core poor and 38.2% as moderately poor, the second highest incidence of poverty in the zone just behind Zamfara State. Income inequality as measured by changes in Gini coefficient between 2003 and 2010 is also increasing moderately by 9.2% in Kaduna relative to other states in the zone, behind the worst cases in Kano (25.1%) and Jigawa (18.1%). The Kaduna state government has prepared ‘20122014 draft multi-year estimates hoping to drive economic and social development of the state through sound financial planning. However, the 272-page document falls short of boldly facing the real developmental challenges of the state as the capital expenditure plans for 2012 to 2014 are not up to the developing country target of assigning 70% of total budget. It is this statement of the government’s intentions that we will take analyze. The 2012 budget for the state is N154,331,452,763, an increase of 13.01% or N17.7bn over 2011’s budget of N136,564,380,343. The 2012 budget has N85bn or 55% as capital expenditure, and N69.3bn or 45% as recurrent expenditure. Analyzing the recurrent budget further, N29.5bn or 19% of the total budget is for personnel costs, N26.5bn or 17% of the total budget is for overheads, while N8bn or 5% set aside for to service the state's public debt left behind by earlier administrations. The State has budgeted N950 million as the revenue contribution to local government councils, as required by law. Kaduna is the only state whose budget specifically provided for this. Governor Yakowa is also said to be the only governor of the state ever that does not divert local government allocations, and if true, should be strongly commended. Kaduna’s IGR estimate for 2012 is N35.7bn, an increase of N22.9bn as against the states IGR of N12.8bn in 2011. Looking at the details of the budget, while it is not Contd. on Page 35

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