PEOPLES DAILY, Thursday, March 3, 2016. Edition.

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Vol. 22 No. 28 N150

689 Days after Will the abducted Chibok schoolgirls ever be rescued?

page 15

Oil swap deal

Diezani, ex PPMC MD, Momoh shun Reps panel page 5

At last Ese Oruru re-united with family page 2 L-R: Force Public Relations Officer ACP Bisi Kolawole; Chief Superintendent of Police, Mr. Sogbeba D. West, and mother of Ese Oruru, Mrs. Rose Oruru, during the formal handing over of Ese Oruru to her parents, yesterday at the Police Force Headquarters, in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

76 starving Boko Haram militants surrender — Report pAGE 5

Vandalism: Power drops by 2, 200 megawatts - NERC pAGE 5

No plans for reprisals, say Shiites pAGE 2

Heavy earthquake hits Indonesia, spurs tsunami fears >> pg 3

pAGE 8

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

PAGE 2

News CONTENTS News 2-10 Editorial 11 Op.Ed 12 Letters 13 Politics 15-18 Business Stockwatch

19-22 23

S/Report 24-25 Property 27 Motoring 28 Arts 30

Minister reaffirms FG’s commitment to improve own media outfits Page 14

Arts

30

Metro

31

S/World

39

Digest

40

At last, Ese Oruru reunites with family

By Umar Muhammad Puma, Abuja and Mustapha Adamu, Kano

F

ourteen year-old Bayelsa girl, Ese Oruru who was abducted for marriage eight months ago by one Yenusa Yellow in Kano has been reunited with her parents.

At last, Ese and her mother, Rose, have arrived Bayelsa her state of origin from where she was abducted.

Both Ese and her mother were flown from Abuja to Port Harcourt accompanied by the police, from where they were driven in a police vehicle to Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.

Reports emanating from Bayelsa said that the teenager and her parents are presently in the Police Officers Mess in Yenagoa.

However, details of had transpired at the Police Officers Mess remained sketchy as at press time as journalists were denied access.

Meanwhile, members of the House of Representatives from Bayelsa State have called for prosecution of abductors of 14 year old Ese Oruru that was kidnapped from Bayelsa, saying the full weight of the law must be applied on all those involved.

This is just as the father of the alleged kidnapper of Ese, Yenusa Yellow yesterday denied that his son got married to her.

Speaking on behalf of the Bayelsa caucus in the House, Rep Diri Duoye, Sodaguno FestusOmoni and Fred Agbedi said they are determined to work with other lawmakers and stakeholders in the review and domestication of the Child Rights Act. According to Diri Duoye, Sodaguno Festus-Omoni and Fred Agbedi, who condemned the action of the abductor and his accomplices, the full weight of the law must be applied on all those involved in the abduction.

According to Diri Duoye, the caucus swung into action that culminated in the release of the girl to her parent yesterday.

While commending the efforts of the Nigeria police the media and the Civil Society Organizations (CSO), the caucus said it is determined to work with all stakeholders towards a review and domestication of the Child Rights Act by States.

However, Yenusa Yellow’s father said that though there was the issue of the marriage but it did not happen because the girl was kept at the custody of the traditional institution for a long time and that her parents did not want it to happen.

Our correspondent visited the resident of Bala, in Tofa town about thirty kilometers outside the Kano metropolis in Tofa Local Government area of Kano State yesterday.

The father of the embattled Yunusa who looked unperturbed, said that his son spent ten years in Bayelsa in search for money and eventually became a houseboy to Oruru’s parents, adding that the girl eventually fell in love with him with the intention to convert to Islam and marry him.

He added that despite persecution by the girl’s parents against her decision to marry the 25-year old Yunusa, she insisted on following him to Kano and marry him but the marriage did not work out eventually.

According to Bala, he became aware of his son’s relationship with Oruru when he had a discussion with him about his marriage with a proposed girl in Kano, revealing that when his son told him that Oruru would follow him to Kano, he asked him not to come with her but she insisted on following him.

He further stated that at the beginning when his son muted the idea of marrying the teenager, and that they were on their way from Bayelsa he reported the matter to the village head for onward action and the village head directed him to take them to him if they arrive.

He said, “The following day they arrived Kano, “he called me that he came with the girl. I cautioned him to take her back to Bayelsa but he said that all his effort not to come with her did not yield fruit as she insisted on

Sports 41 Columnist 48

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L-R: Head of British Council, Sir Ciarán Devane, presenting a souvenir to Sokoto state Governor, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, during a meeting, yesterday in Sokoto.

following him. They arrived here in the evening and I took them to the village head following Friday morning where he took them to the district head of Kura local government and on arrival, she said she want to accept Islam.

Instantly she converted to Islam.

But my son did not marry the girl because she was kept at the custody for a long period of time and her parents did not want it.

But we thought they would later agree.”

No plans for reprisal - Shiite

By Usman Audu

T

he Shiite Movement of Nigeria otherwise called Shiite has denied media reports alleging that it plans to carry out reprisal attacks on the military following the 2015 clash in Zaria.

The Movement in a statement

by Ibrahim Musa, President Media Forum Islamic Movement on Wednesday, said that, the online media captioned: Alert: Shiites Threaten Mass Revolt Nationwide which insinuated that the Islamic Movement of Nigeria is planning a revenge mission for the killings done to it by the army in Zaria, predicated on an extracted part of a speech by a member of the Islamic Movement in Kano, which was taken out of context.

“We hereby categorically deny that there is any plan to ‘hit back at the army and other symbols of authority’ as claimed by the report.

This is only a ploy to start series of false flag operations whereby attacks will be staged somewhere and these will be attributed to the Islamic Movement as a ‘revenge attacks,” the statement said.

NASS to pass 2016 Budget, March 17

By Umar Muhammad Puma and Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he two chambers of the National Assembly yesterday announced that they will pass the 2016 appropriations bill on Thursday, March 17.

Recall that the Budget passage was postponed earlier by the National Assembly due to discrepancies inherent in the budget.

Briefing the press conference jointly, the Chairmen of the Senate and House of

Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje (APC Gombe), and Rep Abdulmumin Jibril (APC Kano), promised to lay their reports in the both chambers on Wednesday, March 16 after which it will be considered and passed the next day.

Senate Chairman Appropriation, Goje said a lot of hard work had been put into the 2016 Budget proposals adding that the two chambers have interacted with the various Ministries, Department and

Agencies (MDA’s).

“The various sub committees of the two chambers have interacted with their various respective MDA’s, the committees have produced their reports and all the committees of the two chambers have fully submitted their reports.

“The essence of the press conference is to give Nigerians a progress report, “Goje said.

On his part, Jibrin said that a lot of hard work has been put into the reports from the various sub committees to make sure it

aligns to the National Assembly guidelines.

“After all consultation with the leadership of the House and Senate we can confirm to you that all things being equal we should be able to lay our report of the 2016 Appropriation bill before the House and the Senate on the 16th of March and the consideration, hopefully should be done on the 17th.

“So it is safe for us to conclude that the 2016 Appropriation bill will be passed on the 17th of March 2016.” he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 3

News We’ll ensure Buhari signs economic, safe rescue of kidnapped industrial pact with Turkey school girls, Ambode assures

From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

L

agos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday said his government will spare no effort to ensure the safe release of the three female students of Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School in Ikorodu area of the state, who were kidnapped by a group of armed gang on Monday evening.

The Governor in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, condemned the unfortunate incident, just as he assured that the Police and other security operatives have swung into action, with useful leads and with an unwavering determination to track down the perpetrators of the act and ensure the safe return of the girls.

“We have not been silent on this unfortunate development.

In a delicate security matter of this nature, where young innocent people are involved and management of information demands utmost circumspect, we were convinced that swift and coordinated reaction, guided by intelligence reports on the part of the Police, was a better and more sensitive approach to take, rather than a sensational, panic-stricken reaction”, Governor Ambode said.

He said the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni as well as the Assistant Inspector General of Police for the Lagos/Ogun Command were fully on ground at the scene and vicinity of the incident leading the entire coordinated effort involving every military apparatus.

Ambode said the incident may not be unconnected with his recent visit to some parts of Ikorodu where he read the riot act to vandals and criminal gangs on the resolve of the state government to take the battle to their hideouts in a spirited effort to secure the pipelines.

“We believe this is a case of evil fighting back. But Lagos will neither succumb to threats of lawlessness nor bow to terror,” he said.

By Lawrence Olaoye

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering trade, economic and industrial cooperation with President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey.

The agreement was signed at the Presidential Villa after a closed door meeting with the Turkish President who was in the country for a state visit.

Buhari, at the brief document signing ceremony, said “We thank you very much for identifying with us and your intention to invest in

Nigeria and to get Nigerians to invest in Turkey.

The MOUs just signed now on trade and economic cooperation and industrial cooperation, with others in the pipeline in terms of energy and security, is just the beginning of what we have in the pipeline. We would continue to draw MOUs and we will subsequently sign them.”

Earlier in his address, the Turkish President described Nigeria as a regional and global actor with robust population.

He said “Nigeria is one of the sub-Saharan countries that we see as a strategic partner We had the opportunity to

look into our bilateral relations as well as leading and global developments.

“The agreements and MOUs that we have signed are important instruments that will help improve our relations even further. As we speak our business people are connecting with their Nigerian counterparts “I encourage business Turkish people to make investments in Nigeria. Looking at the population of Nigeria and Turkey put together, we are talking about 260million people and this is a very important market.

“Our total trade volume is currently at $1.145billion; our

export is $314million and our import is $831million. As you see the result is to the favour of Nigeria.

“I believe that if the two countries combine forces, making use of our own respective resources, we would be able to come up with even better outcomes.

“I want to call on Nigerian business people to also make investment in Turkey. We are ready to expand all the sectors that we can to them, particularly Turkish construction contracting companies ranks second in the world.

We are ready to share our experiences particularly in the area of irrigation and agriculture.”

R-L: President Muhammadu Buhari, and visiting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, addressing a joint news conference after a bilateral meeting, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

FG to resolve Kogi, Anambra oil dispute, says Gov Bello

From Ayodele Samuel,Lagos

T

he Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has called on warring communities in the Ibaji Local Government Area of the state - who have taken arms against other neighboring communities in Anambra state - to choose the path of peace, adding that the dispute will soon be resolved by the Federal Government.

A statement from Governor Bello’s new media office quote him as stating this when the Ibaji Community Development Association paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House,

Lokoja, over the appointment of Chief Simon Achuba, as Deputy Governor of the state.

The Governor, who commended his guests for paying him a visit, said he had already set up a committee to go around the various local government areas of the state to know the immediate needs of the people and prioritise them.

On the disputed oil wells, the Governor explained that efforts are being made to ensure that the matter is amicably resolved.

The two border communities of Aguleri Otu, Anambra East Local Government Area and Echeme/ Odeke in Ibaji, have been laying

claims to the oil deposits found on the Omambala River basin. They have been violent clashes between the different groups with deaths and destruction reported on both sides.

“A few days after my inauguration, the Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, called me and asked that we should together maintain peace in that area,” Bello said. “Please, tell our people to sheath their swords. I have taken this case up at the highest level and President Muhammadu Buhari has assured us of his listening ear.

“Every drop of oil taken from

that area is on record, so every kobo that should accrue to us will be given to us when all issues are resolved and the Ibaji Community will get the full benefit of what is under their own soil. So, let everyone remain calm.”

Earlier, the President of the community association, Chief John Iyaje Ojih commended the governor for appointing their son as the deputy governor stressing the appointment is the first of its kind.

The association appealed to the governor to assist the community in providing roads and basic infrastructure like hospitals and schools.

Police arrest 8 over death of suspected smuggler in Sokoto From Raji Bello, Sokoto

P

olice in Sokoto state said no fewer than eight personnel serving with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Area Command were currently under investigation over the death of a 35-year old suspected smuggler, Shuaibu Lawal during a clash

between a group of smugglers and men of the Service.

The suspect was said to have loaded his vehicle with bags of rice enroute Sokoto, from a town bordered Niger Republic but was intercepted by the men of the Customs, Federal Operation ‘B’ who were patrolling the Gwadabawa local government

area of the state.

The state commissioner of police, Alhaji Salisu Fagge said the suspects were handed over to the police by the Customs authorities in the state to help investigate the circumstance that led to the tragic incidence.

Fagge disclosed this yesterday when he received the newly

elected executive members of Correspondents Chapel, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by its chairperson, Hajia Rakiya Mohammed.

The commissioner noted that out of the eight personnel on the patrol vehicle, investigation revealed that only four were armed.

“We are currently having eight customs men in our custody in the respect of the shooting that claimed a life at Gwadabawa local government area of the state. We have commenced investigation and we are going to prosecute anyone that found wanting in accordance with the law.”

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

PAGE 4

Page 4 Report

Curtailing rate of maternal mortality in Nigeria

By Ochiaka Ugwu

B

ased on research done by Women Health and Action Research Centre, a centre committed to the promotion of intimate and reproductive health and social well-being of women and adolescents, out of 100, 000 women that enter labour rooms, 50 of them do not come out alive. With this figure, the centre said Nigeria also ranked second to India in the global number of maternal deaths.

Another report also recorded that Nigeria loses about 2,300 underfive year olds and 145 women of childbearing age. This makes the country the second largest contributor to the under–five and maternal mortality rate in the world.

It also accounts for about 13 percent of the global maternal death rates with an estimated 36,000 women dying in pregnancy or at child birth each year. At least 5500 of these deaths are among teenage mothers.

Beyond the statistics lies the pain of human misfortune, for thousands of people who have lost their children and loved ones. Even more devastating is the knowledge that, according to recent research, essential interventions reaching women and babies on time would have averted most of these deaths.

Although analyses of recent trends show that the country is making progress in cutting down infant and under-five mortality rates, the hope to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of helving child mortality by 2015 is no longer visible, hence the launching of Sustainable Development Goals.

Preventable or treatable infectious diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles and HIV/AIDS account for more than 70 per cent of the estimated one million under-five deaths in Nigeria.

Malnutrition is the underlying cause of morbidity and mortality of a large proportion of children under-5 in Nigeria. It accounts for more than 50 per cent of deaths of children in this age bracket.

The deaths of newborn babies in Nigeria represent a quarter of the total number of deaths of children underfive. The majority of these occur within the first week of life, mainly due to complications during pregnancy and delivery reflecting the intimate link between newborn survival and the quality of maternal care.

Similarly, a woman’s chance of dying from pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria is 1 in 13. Although many of these deaths are preventable, the coverage and quality of health care services in Nigeria continue to fail women and children. This shows the close relationship between the well being of the mother and the child, and justifies the need to integrate maternal, newborn and child health interventions.

It has been however, revealed that hundreds of pregnant women and

Pregnant woman

girls are dying needlessly in rural areas as these interventions to give maternal mortality a bloody nose are concentrated in urban areas. In part, this is because they lack the money to access antenatal care services, according to reports by health workers. Lack of information and transport problems are contributing to hundreds of maternal deaths every year by acting as barriers to early antenatal care by most rural dwellers.

It is unacceptable that pregnant women and girls are continuing to die in rural areas for no fault of theirs or because of poverty, lack of transport, basic health and sexuality education.

This cannot continue as these people are part and parcel of Nigerian humanity.

Governments at all levels must ensure all departments work together to urgently address all the barriers that place the health of pregnant women and girls at risk in our rural communities. We have an unacceptably high rate of maternal mortality. More than 80 percent of

these deaths were linked to lack of access to Medicare. Health experts have said that that 60% of all the deaths were avoidable if proper things were done.

Although, antenatal care is said to be free in Nigeria’s public health system. But the question remains, how free is the free antenatal care in Nigeria. However, research found that many women and girls do not attend clinics until the later stages of their pregnancy because they are given to believe that certain amount of money is compulsory. Some of them will rather rely on fate since they cannot afford the fees. Nearly 80 percent of avoidable deaths have been linked to late or no access to antenatal care in rural communities.

Worryingly, these fears are not without foundation as report based on field research conducted in some rural communities contains testimonies from women and girls who say that health care workers will purposely not touch them until they pay the prescribed fees or after they must

“

Lack of information about sexual and reproductive health is also increasing mortality rate. Health report also identifies that a lack of information and knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and rights increases risks of unplanned pregnancies and maternal mortality, especially among adolescents.

Likewise rural women and girls are often unaware of the importance of early antenatal checks.

have been provided some clinical equipment needed for childbirth no matter how serious their case may be.

While Nigerians from all works of life commend government health care interventions, these interventions should not be on paper alone or only in the urban areas for the privileged few. It must be done in a manner that respects the rights of women and girls to quality and free health care and does not expose them to additional harm or unnecessary ridicule that will discourage them from seeking medical help as expectant mothers.

It is deeply worrying that the integrity of pregnant women and girls is not respected in our health facilities. The Nigerian government must take urgent steps to correct this anomaly especially in the rural areas.

It is vital that health care workers in receive additional training on providing quality care that is both free of judgment and stigma and that women and girls accessing sexual and reproductive health services are able to trust that their confidentiality will be respected.

Lack of information about sexual and reproductive health is also increasing mortality rate.

Health report also identifies that a lack of information and knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and rights increases risks of unplanned pregnancies and maternal mortality, especially among adolescents.

Likewise rural women and girls are often unaware of the importance of early antenatal checks.

Persistent problems relating to transport is also there. When we talk about means of transportation to available hospitals or consulting clinics, we talk about cheap means of transportation that could be afforded by these rural dwellers. Health pundits overtime have complained of lack of progress made in rural areas to ensure that women and girls can physically access health services. Problems persist relating to shortages of public transport and poor road infrastructure.

The roads in some areas are of such poor quality that they become impassable when it rains. Even when it is dry, ambulances will not go beyond a certain point on some roads.

The governments at all level must build better road networks in these rural areas to guarantee access to healthcare facilities. The government must also ensure that ambulances are always available to transport those who are in need of health care attention.

Upon these, government must ensure that all health system procedures uphold patient’s needs, particularly for women and children.

Improve knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and rights, including through comprehensive sexuality education that involves men and boys. They should as a matter of urgency address the persistent lack of safe, convenient and adequate transport, and the poor condition of transport infrastructure in the rural areas.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

PAGE 5

News

Oil swap deal

Diezani, ex PPMC MD, Momoh shun Reps panel F

By Umar Muhammad Puma

ormer Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison Maduekwe and a former Managing Director (MD) of the

Vandalism: Power drops by 2,200mw - NERC

T

he Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said that power supply through the national grid which peaked to 5000mw in past two weeks had dropped below 2,800mw due to vandalism.

Dr. Anthony Akah, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the commission disclosed this while signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Consumer Protection Council (CPC).

A statement issued on the ceremony by Dr. Usman AbbaArabi, Head, Public Affairs Department of NERC was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.

In the statement, Akah expressed dissatisfaction and worries over the spate of vandalism in the power sector.

It stated that the NERC boss enjoined the public and the CPC to collaborate with Distribution Companies (DISCOs) and security agencies to safeguard electrical installations.

The statement also said that the NERC would soon compel the DISCOs to publish their meter deployment schedules.

It added that the publication would ensure adherence to the meter roll out plan contained in the performance agreement signed with government by the utility firms. ``Such publication will make unmetered customers to be aware of the estimated period they have to wait before they can be metered,’’ it stated It stated that NERC had issued warning to the DISCOs against wrongful estimated billings and the acts of compelling customers to buy, install and repair transformers and poles.

The statement said the MoU between, NERC and CPC was part of concerted efforts to reduce the incidence of estimated billing completely.

According to the statement, the Director General of CPC, Mrs. Modupe Atoki, commended NERC for the long standing relationship between the two agencies.

Atoki, according to the statement, expressed CPC’s cooperation and renewed effort to protect electricity consumers from abuse of their rights.

(NAN)

Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) Haruna Momoh yesterday shunned the House of Representatives panel probing the crude oil swap deal.

Angry over their failure to appear before it, the House has threatened to sanction both Diezeni and Momoh over their failure to appear before it yesterday despite official notice to that effect.

Chairman of the committee, Rep Zakari Mohammed (APC Kwara), did not however disclose the nature of the sanction the House may take, but said the

committee will not henceforth tolerate any individual who refuses to appear or honour it’s invitation.

The ad-hoc committee is investigating crude oil for refined products exchange arrangement (oil swap) between 2010 and 2014.

The two invitees failed to appear, as Alison Maduekwe neither sent a representative nor a written submission explaining her reasons for not presenting herself before the Committee, while Momoh, on the other hand sent his younger brother, Suleman Momoh who said his brother was

indisposed.

“I’m here to represent my brother; he could not be here because he is indisposed. HE sent me to submit his presentation and supporting documents to the Committee.

Reacting on the matter, Rep Zakari, regretted that the two turned down the invitation of the Committee, saying “It is unfortunate that they turned down our invitation, anyone who knows them should tell them they are daring the parliament, we have taken note and we are going to take

Indigenes of Agatu-Idoma from Benue state protesting over the killing of their relatives, yesterday at the National Assembly, in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

appropriate action,” he said.

The Committee also condemned the failure of the Nigerian Custom Service (NCS), to carry out its statutory responsibility of inspecting all cargoes coming into the country.

The Committee said the development could be manipulated by unscrupulous elements to import destructive materials and equipment into the country.

Anthony Ayalogu, NCS’s Assistant Comptroller (Trade and Tariff) said Customs officer can only ascertain the presence of oil vessels at the ports but cannot vouch for the content of the vessel as a result of the 2008 directives.

He said until otherwise reversed, the NCS cannot inspect in-coming oil vessels.

The Committee therefore summoned the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance that issued the 2008 memoranda baring the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) from inspecting incoming oil cargoes.

It was also disclosed that a non-resident trading company Trafigura involved in the oil swap is owing the Federal government $642,536,470 in tax.

Olayemi Ajayi, Director, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) during his presentation also said Duke Oil owed $4.7m as tax on imported petroleum products under the crude oil swap for products between 2010 and 2014.

The two were involved in oil swap arrangement totaling $24b between the periods under review.

76 starving Boko Haram militants surrender -Report

By Ese Awhotu with agency report

N

o fewer than 76 Boko Haram militants have surrendered to the federal government in the north east, reports said yesterday.

The insurgents’ surrender is not unconnected with the food embargo being used as a lethal weapon of war in the ongoing fight against the Boko Haram.

But a top military source told the Peoples Daily yesterday that the army headquarters is not aware of

the surrender.

According to various reports monitored yesterday, hungry militants are fast losing the appetite to continue their war of attrition against the country.

The military and a civil defense fighter were quoted as saying yesterday that scores of emaciatedlooking Boko Haram members begging for food have surrendered in northeast.

Reports had it that a senior officer who preferred anonymity because he is not authorized to speak

with journalists said that seventysix people including children and women gave themselves up to soldiers last Saturday in Gwoza, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Maiduguri.

All are being detained at military headquarters in Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram and currently the command center of the war against the Islamic extremists, according to the officer.

A self-defense civilian fighter who helped escort them to Maiduguri was said to have revealed yesterday

that the detainees said many more fighters want to surrender Reports linked the current food shortages to the successes being recorded by the military in choking supply routes of the Boko Haram militants who have taken their fight across Nigeria’s borders.

Recall that the military reported that dozens of Boko Haram fighters were surrendering in September and October last year. It promised those who give themselves up voluntarily that they will be rehabilitated through a de-radicalization programme.

NAFDAC canvasses for more operational vehicles, says drug abuse on rise

By Doyin Ojosipe

T

he National Food Drug Administrative and Control (NAFDAC) yesterday solicited for donation of more operational vehicles in order to be more effective in controlling the use of narcotics as well as take on fake drug dealers in the country.

This followed the presentation of the 2015 international drug report by the International

Narcotics Control Board (INCB) at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.

The report which has documentation on use of narcotics across the globe reports how Africa has continued to be one of the main transit areas for drug peddling, including drug abuse practices and other vices.

In her welcome address, the Acting Director General of the agency, Mrs. Yetunde Ooni on the account appealed for more

support from the United Nations office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) especially in the areas of provision of more operational vehicles adding that it will go a long way in effective monitoring of narcotics in the country.

In her words, “availability of vehicles impacts positively on effective monitoring of narcotics, I am appealing for more support, we will keep asking until we get the desired support.”

Furthermore, the chairman

who doubles as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Rtd Col. Muhammad Abdallah noted that his agency has recorded an upward trend in drug abuse practices including the use of tramadol in Nigeria over the years.

He said though there was need for availability and accessibility of controlled drugs by relevant authorities, the need to conform to regulatory standard is a must.

PAGE 6

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

News

Groups hail Gen. Ransome kuti’s release, want demotion reversed From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

T

he Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), Beko Rights Klub (BRK), and the Peoples’ Action for Democracy (PAD) have commended the

order by the Nigerian Army Council for the immediate release of Brigadier-General Enitan Ransome Kuti from confinement for ‘mutiny’ against him following the decision of the military to court martial him after the Baga

massacre carried out by Boko Haram insurgents in January 2015.

The groups welcomed the release with a sense of fulfillment but implored the Nigerian Army Council to reconsider its’ decision

to demote Brigadier General Enitan to the rank of Colonel as they believe he instead deserve promotion for saving the lives of troops that he led.

They maintained that Brigadier General Enitan was

innocent based on the fact that he acted more like a patriot and demonstrated a good sense of leadership as the decision he took actually saved lives of many of our gallant soldiers that would have been lost in the Boko Haram ambush that he retreated from.

The groups also commended Barrister Femi Falana (SAN) for his timely intervention in the case which drew public attention to the plight of Brigadier General Enitan and the circumstances of the case and all other Nigerians that rallied round to call for the National pardon of the Brigadier General.

Prosecute Ese Oruru’s abductors, NHRC urges IGP

By Albert Akota

T L-R: Chairman, House Ad hoc Committee on Oil Swap, Hon. Zakari Mohammed, Human Rights Lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, and Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Hon.Tony Okechukwu, during an investigative hearing on oil swap, yesterday at the National Assembly, in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

$2.1b arms deal: My story, by Alex Badeh

By Ahmed Abubakar

F

ormer Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Alex Badeh yesterday explained his side of the $2.1 billion arms deal saga, known as Dasuki gate, where it was alleged that the money was diverted to other usage.

Badeh, in a statement titled “I am being persecuted,” said he never had a hand in the $2.1 billion arms deal, adding that the claim by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he received $800,000 from the Director of Finance and accounts was not true.

He debunked the claim that five properties were acquired for him from the $2.1 billion funds.

Badeh said: “It has been widely reported in the news that I am being investigated over the $2.1 Billion Arms deal but that is not true. I was not part of Dasuki gate.

“The claim that 5 properties were acquired for me from the $2.1billion funds is also false.

“I was Chief of Air staff from Oct 2012 to January 2014 and

then appointed CDS. During my time serving as the CDS, funds for weapons were directly released to the Chief of Air staff, army staff and naval staff and not to me. I had no control over the funds and yet I am being accused of embezzling weapons funds.

“The office of the CDS had no operational control of the services and had nothing to do with their spending.

“The EFCC’s claim that I received $800,000 from my Director of Finance and accounts is untrue. I did not receive such money from the erstwhile DFA. If he claims to have given me money, where is the proof? Was it paid into my account? Did I sign for it?

“In the case of the properties, if they claim the properties are mine and were obtained illegally through proxies then they should go to the court and get an order of forfeiture rather than trying to insist I am the owner of the properties.

“It is unfortunate that the media has unwittingly allowed itself to be used by interested

parties to become judge jury and executioner in my case.

“Even when they claimed Billions were found in accounts of wives of some past Air Force officers, none was found with my family yet EFCC keeps generalizing and making it look like my family is involved too.

“It is rather unfortunate that the nation which I fought so hard within my means to defend against Boko Haram insurgents cannot guarantee my fundamental human rights.”

He further said that “during my time as the CDS, lives of both soldiers and civilians were lost.

Territories were lost. We fought to regain our nation’s territorial integrity and the insurgents pushed back.”

Badeh further explained that he lost his personal house and hospital he built many years ago and used in the treatment of injured soldiers in defence of his fatherland, adding, “now I am losing my freedom to the same fatherland that I fought so hard to defend.”

He said: “During the 2014 Boko haram attack on my village

Vimtim, it was widely reported in the media that I sent a helicopter to evacuate my parents and relatives. Which parents? I am an orphan, I lost my father in the 70’s and my mother in 2013. My cousin, who lived next to me, was killed during the 2014 attack on my village. So who exactly did I evacuate? It is unfortunate that I didn’t come out to clarify some of these issues when they were reported in the media.

“I was detained by The EFCC for 3 weeks and was not charged to court but was given onerous bail conditions by the Commission which I could not meet. A remand warrant was hastily obtained on the 25th February in Lagos as soon as The EFCC was served with a notice for my bail hearing in court by my lawyers. Why detain me for so long and issue such onerous bail conditions when they aren’t ready to charge me to court?

“I reported to the EFCC when I was invited and would report anytime I am needed. All I ask for is to be given a fair hearing with the rule of law strictly adhered to.

It is a media trial and I am being persecuted.”

he Executive Secretary National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Prof Bem Angwe has called on the IGP, Mr. Solomon Arase to ensure that all those involved in the abduction of a minor, Miss. Ese Oruru are prosecuted in accordance with the law.

Exchanging views with the IGP in Abuja yesterday shortly after the release of Ese to her parents, Prof. Angwe commended the IGP, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II and all other Nigerians who rallied support to ensure the release of the 14 year old girl.

The Executive Secretary who was represented at the occasion by the Senior Special Assistant, Mr. Lambert Oparah condemned in strong terms the abduction of Ese, stressing the action is highly reprehensible and contravenes Section 21 of Child’s Rights Act, 2003.

The Executive Secretary said that the Commission would leave no stone unturned in ensuring the prosecution of those involved in the dastardly act warning that “the Commission is determined to end incessant child abuse in the country”.

On the request of the Executive Secretary about the protection of the girl, the IGP in his response assured the Commission that the abductor and all other actors in this abduction saga would be brought to deserve justice.

According to the IGP, an inhouse administrative enquiry has already been set up to deal with the professional conduct of officers involved in the initial investigation of the case stressing that those indicted would be dealt with accordingly.

On adequate protection of the victim, the IGP assured the Commission and indeed all Nigerians that the privacy and the protective rights of the girl-child would be guaranteed.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

PAGE 7

Man, 45, faking as catholic priest arrested in Benue From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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45-year old man identified as Mr. Amile Terhile who specializes in swindling unsuspecting people as a catholic priest from the Katsina-Ala Diocese was yesterday arrested.

The fake priest who uses the name Rev. Father Clement Tartenger was apprehended by

the police at Wadata Market, Makurdi, Benue State capital.

Luck was said to have ran out of the fake priest when a police officer disguised as someone needing urgent prayer and in the process, he was arrested.

During interrogation Mr. Amile Tartenger, confessed that he has been in the business of ‘duping’ people for many years,

adding that he uses the proceeds from the business to take care of his children and his divorced wife whom he said now lives at Wannune in Tarka Local Government Area of the state.

Reacting to the development, the Chancellor of Makurdi Catholic Diocese, Rev. Father John Ikponko, advised lay faithful to be careful while receiving

people disguising as priests by insisting to know the diocese they come from.

Fr. Ikponko advised them to always feel free to report such persons to the Catholic Secretariat for necessary action.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Moses Yamu said he was yet to be briefed on the matter.

Exam malpractice: Delta varsity apprehends mercenary From Osakhare Erese, Asaba

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Mechanical Engineering student from the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Effurun, Delta State, Inneh Aisosa has been apprehended by the authorities of Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka for allegedly serving as a mercenary to write an examination for a 400 level Mathematics and Computer Science student of the University, Onakpoma Oghenetega.

According to a statement issued by the Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr. Eddy Agbure, Inneh, who has 0452/2010 as his university (FUPRE) matriculation number, came into DELSU with a Toyota Camry marked ABH 417 GW to write an examination for Oghenetega who had FOS/12/13/212931 as matriculation number.

Agbure added in the statement that the mercenary from FUPRE was apprehended by members of the DELSU Examination Monitoring Group in collaboration with the invigilators on Tuesday, February 23, 2016.

With this development he said, it is obvious that some of our unserious minded students have introduced new tactics to perpetuate examination malpractice, pointing out that “while law abiding and committed students of the university are busy reading very had for their examinations, the lazy ones are busy engaging mercenaries from within and outside the university to write examinations for them with the sole aim of getting good grades”.

“This is totally unacceptable and management of the university will not relax in the relentless war against this academic fraud”, the Public Relations Officer added in the state.

While saying that the university’s management was appreciative of the hardworking and positively resourceful students in the university, he disclosed that the criminally minded ones will not go unpunished, even as he said that the war against examination malpractice was a collective fight.

Former Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro (middle), arraigned by EFCC over recruitment scam, yesterday at the Federal High Court, in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Police kill 3 robbery suspects in gun duel From Osakhare Erese, Asaba

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he police in Abraka community, Delta State, on Monday killed 3 robbery suspects during a gun battle.

Reports said the robbers had waylaid unsuspecting students of the State owned University in the community (DELSU) when the police acting on a tip-off moved into the scene.

It was gathered that the policemen on getting to the scene along Obiaruku Express way,

Abraka, engaged the robbers in the gun battle, leaving three of them in a six-man gang killed in the process.

Eye witness, Franca Oteh, said that the robbers had robbed their victims of their belongings, including female hand bags containing N200,000 at gun point and were almost leaving the scene when the police closed on them.

It was further learnt that three out of the robbers sustained severe injuries before they escaped into the bush.

Confirming the incident, the police image maker in the state, Mrs. Celestina Kalu, said that the robbers on realizing that the police were on their trail open fire on the police that left them with no options to retaliate thereby killing three out of six man gang.

She said that items recovered on the suspects include, three cut to size guns, strange substance tied in black and red thread including different native chalks, adding that the police were on the trail of the fleeing robbers.

News Judge declines hearing on sacked Edo LG boss case From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

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oves by the oust former Oredo Local government Council chairman, Mr. Osaro Obazee to retrieve his mandate legally, yesterday suffered a major setback when the High Court, Judge announced the transfer of the case file to the state chief Judge for reassignment.

The Edo state High Court judge, Justice Esohe Ikponmwen, said the case file would be sent to the state chief judge, Justice Cromwell Idahosa to re-assign the case to another judge at a later date which would be communicated to the parties involved.

Mr. Osaro Obazee had in September last year, approached a Benin High Court, challenging his removal from office by the state House of Assembly and Governor Adams Oshiomhole along with two defendants, without the right of fair-hearing over alleged financial impropriety levied against him when he was Oredo local government council chairman.

The case was formerly fixed for 23rd of February last month for judgement, but was deferred to yesterday due to new application brought in by the lead counsel to the claimant, Mr. Kingsley Obamogie which was not contained in the initial amendment.

According to the judge: “I cannot continue the case, admitting however that “there could be interest which is personal”, but warned parties to the suit not to speculate because no reason was given by the court.

But, the counsel to the claimant, Mr. Kingsley Obamogie, told the court that the decision of the court was frustrating the cause of justice.

“We get frustrated when we have this kind of matter we are not happy.

“We cannot be satisfied.

Everyone is out to get justice...”, he said.

Meanwhile, the mandatory three year tenure of the present local government administration terminates in April this year.

US to support Nigeria in curbing insurgency From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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he United States Government is fully committed to do everything it can in collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria to bring to an end the Boko haram insurgency in the Northeast subregion of the country.

The US Government gave this assurance through its

ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James F. Entwistle yesterday when he paid an official visit to Bauchi state governor.

Ambassador James Entwistle also spoke about the United States Government’s determination to rebuilding the social and physical life of the communities in the Northeast and the economy of the sub-region.

“The United States

Government remains committed to doing everything it can with the Government of Nigeria to bring to an end the insurgency in the North Eastern Nigeria and begin the rebuilding of the social and physical life of the communities and the economy in the Northeast”, he said.

Ambassador Entwistle, who was represented by USAID/ Nigeria Mission Director, Michael

Harvey on the visit, added; “The United States Government remains deeply committed to Nigeria over all what is going on in Northeast”.

Entwistle disclosed that USAID is working closely with the Federal Ministry of Power to support the rapid transformation of the nation’s power sector especially in the North and Bauchi state in particular.

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News

Shi’ite, army clash: Again, CESJET threatens to sue FG over Iran’s actions

By Stanley Onyekwere

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he Centre for Social Justice , Equity and Transparency, CESJET has threatened to take legal action against the Nigerian Government if it refuses to take firm action against Iranian Government over the role it played in the Army/ Shi’ite clash.

CESJET made this known in a submission made to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the Kaduna state government to look into the clashes between the Islamic movement and the Nigerian Army in Kaduna.

The Submission, a copy of which was obtained by our reporter in Abuja yesterday said it will explore court action against the Nigerian Government if the Iranian Ambassador continues to stay in Nigeria to instigate the citizens against themselves.

The Submission signed by CESJET legal Adviser, Edward Omaga wants the Commission to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to borrow a leaf from countries like Bahrain and Saudi Arabia by severing all diplomatic relations with Iranian Government forthwith.

The group also wants the Commission to ascertain the extent to which Iran has supported the Shiites financially and in terms of weaponry.

“We also want the Commission to recommend the expulsion of the Iranian Ambassador to Nigeria, Saeed Koozechi on the ground of undue interference with the internal affairs of Nigeria.

“The Commission should also impose heavy fines and ensure payment by members of the shiites sect who were summoned but refused to appear for hearing to give evidence on Monday 22nd February, 2016 “The Commission should also recommend to all security agencies to keep their personnel under careful check given the insinuation in some quarters that Nigeria’s security network has been infiltrated by the Shiites, “he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Magnitude 7.8 quake hits Indonesia, spurs Tsunami fear A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami alert in a region where an undersea tremor killed hundreds of thousands in 2004.

The quake hit 500 miles (804 kilometers) southwest of Padang in Sumatra at a depth of about 15 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Tremors were felt in tall buildings in the capital Jakarta on Java island although residents in West Sumatran towns said the quake was lightly felt. Indonesia’s

national disaster mitigation agency earlier reported the tremor at a magnitude of 8.3.

People on the coast of Sumatra should move inland, Andi Eka Sakya, an official with Indonesia’s meteorology office, said.

President Joko Widodo was on the second day of a visit to Sumatra and is safe, according to Bey Machmudin, head of the palace press bureau. He is scheduled to return to Jakarta on Thursday.

Footage aired on the TVRI television channel showed Padang

city in darkness as electricity was cut off. People were seen fleeing toward the east of city with roads congested.

Thailand issued a preliminary tsunami warning to six coastal provinces in the south after the quake, according to government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd.

A tsunami unleashed in 2004 by a 9.1-magnitude undersea earthquake off the Sumatran coast was the deadliest natural disaster this century, taking more than 220,000 lives and leaving more than 1.5 million homeless. Waves as

high as 15 meters (50 feet) crashed into towns and shorelines across more than a dozen countries, destroying people’s livelihoods and possessions.

Indonesia’s 18,000 islands sit along the Pacific’s “ring of fire” zone of active volcanoes and tectonic faults.

Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Center said it was in touch with the local meteorological department regarding the quake, but hadn’t yet issued any tsunami warning.

L-R: Director of National Assembly Special Study Centre, National Open University of Nigeria, Professor Joy Eyisi, presenting a souvenir to the former Kano state Governor, Senator Kabiru Gaya, who was admitted to study PhD programme at the NOUN, yesterday at the National Assembly, in Abuja.

Nigeria can earn $3bn yearly from solid minerals – Expert From Mohammad Ibrahim, Kaduna

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n expert in solid minerals, Engineer Goni Musa Sheikh yesterday said that about 3 billion American dollars can be generated yearly from solid mineral sector in Nigeria.

According to him, the sector can also generate job opportunities as well as save about 1.5 billion dollars annually from imports and

technological acquisition.

Engineer Goni disclosed this while presenting a paper at the 37th Kaduna International Trade Fair Roundtable Business Discussion, organized by the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce Mines and Agriculture held in the state.

He also urged Federal Government to develop a viable national policy on solid minerals mining.

Engineer Goni observed

that Nigeria’s mining problem is compounded by the discovery of oil which has made the economy a mono reliance.

Represented by Engineer Usman Abubakar, said Nigeria has rich history of mining but needs to grant licences and strengthen the institution, reorganize Nigeria Geological Service Agency, NGSA, into a parastatal.

The Engineer advocated for the privatization and deregulation of

the sector including bitumen bloc to be on bidding and investment opportunities.

Engineer Goni presented a paper on “Transformation of Nigeria Economy Through Profitable Investment in Solid Minerals”.

Earlier, chairman of the occasion, former Minister of State for Power, Architect Nuhu Wya had charged the FG to grant funds to Nigerians to be involved in the sector.

Christian group backs Kaduna govt on regulation of public preaching From Mohammad Kaduna

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Ibrahim,

rotherhood of Cross and Star, a Christian religious body have thrown its weight behind the Bill by Kaduna state government to regulate public preaching in the state Even though the group didn’t came out publicly to express their support for the bill, they believe the

state was not the first to introduced such bill, saying Lagos state government has a similar bill too.

According to them, Bible teaches them to obey government, saying whoever disobeyed government disobeyed God. This was disclosed by Christ Ambassador, Abdul Mamman while fielding questions from newsmen in Kaduna in preparation for peace march week in the state.

“The Holy Bible teaches that we should obey our leaders and the word of God is the Bible so as Christians we should obey the law and anybody who is disobeying the government is disobeying God.” “There is need for the Churches leaders to sit down and discussed on the matter and the possibility to go back to the government and negotiate on the issue.” He said.

Commenting on the Peace

March, the International Bishop Erefin Joseph said it was the First time they are organizing the event in Kaduna which is the 10th anniversary edition.

He added that the occasion is aimed to usher peace in Kaduna in particular and Nigeria as the world in General.

The Bishop lamented over the sins been committed by some people, saying “people take instruction from

Satan not from God.” He further pointed out that, some people engulfed in worshiping spirit which lead to hunger prostration etc.

Bishop Erefin urged Nigerians to repent so that they will enjoy a peaceful life.

“The only thing that gives you peace is to accept holy spirit in your life. Muslims and Christians must repent from committing sins for us to have peace in our lives,” he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

PAGE 9

News

Lawmaker empowers women, youths to be self employed

L-R: President Muhammadu Buhari, congratulating Mr. Sunday Aghaeze, over his appointment as Personal Assistant to the President (State Photographer), yesterday in Abuja. The appointment took effect from June1.

From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

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ember representing Arugungu and Augie Federal constituency Hon. Muhammad Bello Dantani has distributed 100 motor cycles to youths , 50 tailoring machines to women ,50 irrigation machines to farmers and 10 electrical generators for use to some selected mosques in the area.

The distribution ceremony which was held yesterday in Agungu was witness by large crowd of people and APC executives in the local government and state.

Presenting the items to the beneficiaries, the kebbi State Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, said that the gesture would streamline the democracy and reduce unemployment rate in the area and state at large.

The Governor who was represented by the State APC chairman, Barrister Attahiru Maccido who described the ceremony as one of the of the great political achievement in the area while urge other elected political office order to emulate the same gesture.

Speaking early, the member said the distribution was aimed at reducing poverty and creates job opportunity for the teaming youths in the area so as to compliment effort of the government towards job creation and made them to be self reliance.

“This is continuation of my effort to compliment effort of government in reducing poverty and job creation make good use of the items so that you can later employ somebody to work under you” Also in his remark, The Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samaila Muhammadu Mera who was represented by Magajin Kabii ,Alh. Aminu Musa Innami , charged the beneficiaries to make better use of the items and not to sell them.

Photo: Joe Oroye

FG pledges support for NESG to retool economy

By Ochiaka Ugwu

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inister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma has reiterated Government’s desire to continue to work with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the private sector to retool the country’s ailing economy.

Udoma made this known yesterday in Abuja during the formal presentation of the final summary report of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) Session 21 which held in October last year.

Chairman of NESG, Bukar Abba Kyari, who led a delegation of the group on a courtesy visit,

presented the report (the Green Book) to the Minister.

Udoma who commended the Group for volunteering their time and effort and working at their own expense, said that they deserved every commendation because it was remarkable for them to have continued in organizing this annual summit every year for 21 years.

He also appreciated them for not giving up even when some of the Summit recommendations were not given expected attention, pointing out that the impact of the annual Summit on Government has been most impressive.

According to him, some of the policy recommendations that were initially resisted, are now

being given consideration by Government, noting in particular that one of the most important things taken from last year’s Summit is to diversification of the nation’s economy away from oil.

The minister also reminded that the country cannot grow its economy unless the private sector is stimulated, which is why some of their recommendations were already part of Government’s policies assuring that other recommendations would be looked into.

Earlier, the Chairman of the board of Directors of NESG, Mr. Abba Kyari, while presenting the summary of the 21st summit, said that the theme “Tough Choices: Achieving

Competitiveness, Inclusive Growth and Sustainability” was consistent with the NESG’s commitment to continually focus on contemporary issues of public policy, which constrain improvement and the welfare and well-being of our people.

According to the Chairman, the main objective of NESG 21 was to examine and facilitate stakeholders’ consensus on the tough choices that needed to be made in order to address the economic situation that the country had found on the heels of commodity price shocks, chart a practical roadmap to achieving competitiveness and inclusive growth in a sustainable way, through measurable outcomes.

Al-makura gives succour to victims of communal clash, sues for peace From Gambo Ahmad, Lafia

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overnor Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa State yesterday distributed relief materials worth millions of naira to communities ravaged by communal clashes in the past with the call on citizens to embrace peace for the rapid development of the state.

The distribution took place

at the government House Lafia ground with a large crown that came to witness the occasion.

According to him “Today’s occasion as you have noticed and observed is very special. The occasion put together by all those who intervened by bringing lasting solution to the crisis for the past five years. And the essence of this gathering is to extend appreciation

of the state government to all stakeholders, and security operatives for their commitment to put the state together”.

The governor who further lamented that since 2011, the state have been engulfed by series of communal uprising; adding that he cannot precisely explain the preponderance of crisis experienced before he came on board but however expressed

appreciation for the peaceful coexistence being experienced now by all ethnic nationalities in the state.

He continued “I am proud, and happy that Nasarawa State is in a total peace. I commend the effort of the people of the state for their tremendous assistance to IDPs that does not belong to the state.

Nasarawa people have a value of oneness. I urged you to continue with

it”. Our level of civilization shows that nobody is interested in taking arms against his/her brother now in Nasarawa State.”

The items distributed to the twenty seven communities were bundles Zinc, Cement, Food Items, detergents, mattresses, mats, and donation of one Million Naira each to the 27 communities. that were affected.

Varsity don attributes domestic violence to improper upbringing From Osakhare Erese, Asaba

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he Dean, Faculty of Arts Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, Mrs. Grace Ogwu, has attributed one of the reasons why domestic violence persists in the Nigerian society to poor upbringing of children by parents.

According to her, a person that

is born and bred in an environment where the father and mother are always fighting, or the father is always beating the mother, would be inclined to carrying out such barbaric acts because he may see it as a normal thing.

Ogwu, who stated this in an interview with our correspondent in her office in Site Three Abraka, said she does not see herself getting to a point

where her husband would have to hit her.

Her words: “Unless you create room for somebody to address you rudely, it may never come. So, if I find myself in such a situation, I would just walk away and be quiet. Once you are quiet, after a while, the person calms down, and then you can go behind and express your dismay over the way

he reacted, he will acknowledge his mistakes before apologizing”.

Mr. Ogwu further identified two other causes of domestic violence to include; the societal feeling of dominance by men and cultures where wives are treatment like maids whenever the need arises, noting that some men, regardless of their educational standing still perceive that

a woman is nothing but furniture in the house, which is why such inhumane treatment thrived among academics.

While expressing the joy that the ugly trend was gradually going into extinction in the Nigerian society, she, therefore, urged women to comport themselves in such a way that there won’t be room for such inhuman treatment to be meted on them.

Page 10

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

News

Foreign aid, bad leaders impoverishing Africa – Dogara

L-R: Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Adamu, Bauchi state Deputy Governor Alhaji Nuhu Gidado, Bauchi state Governor, Alhaji Muhammed Abubakar, and USAID Mission Director, Mr. Michael Harvey, during project launch of USAID/Nigeria Northern Education Initiative Plus, yesterday in Bauchi.

By Umar Muhammad Puma

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Photo: NAN

USAID to invest $58m on education in Bauchi

From Ahmed Kaigama , Bauchi

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he United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is to invest the sum of $58 million to strengthen Bauchi State’s ability to deliver quality education to children in the state.

This was disclosed in a press statement by the Public Affairs Section of the United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria signed by Josephine Kamara and made available to newsmen

yesterday in Bauchi.

A five-year programme, the Northern Education Initiative Plus, introduced by USAID and the Bauchi State Government is to help improve educational performance of students in the state and serve as a model to other states, was officially launched on Wednesday in Bauchi.

According to the statement, the initiative will help support Hausa literacy optionally for more than 2 million children in Bauchi and Sokoto states.

Kamara said: “While focusing on the priorities of Bauchi and Sokoto, the initiative aims to strengthen the state and local government institutions that provide education, to teach children to read, and to expand access to safe, appropriate learning environments.

“The initiative will support Hausa literacy for nearly 2 million children, 45, 000 instructors to improve their teaching ability, and more than 500, 000 out-ofschool children to start attending

non-formal learning centers in Bauchi and Sokoto States.”

She added that at launch of the initiative, USAID Mission Director, Michael Harvey said, “More children attending school to learn how to read and write sets the basic foundation for a better life and a stronger economy.”

“The US government and the American people stand behind Nigeria’s efforts to help more children have access to quality education.”

of the Ministry of Education and its institutions.

Harvey who represented the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James F. Entwistle during a state visit to Bauchi, Tuesday told the State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar that the partnership is to provide children the education they needed to succeed in the modern World.

The director appreciated the leadership Governor Mohammed Abubakar and his Government have shown in priority to education in the 2016 state’s budget which,

he described, as commendable despite the naira depreciating to the dollar especially in balancing with competing demands such as water, electricity, health, and roads, among others.

Mr. Michael Harvey also appreciated the state’s foundation in peace which is education for children without which, he noted, Bauchi would not succeed in meeting its developmental goals, and expressed delight with the Bauchi renewal of the partnership in education.

Director Harvey recalled that

USAID has similarly been working with Bauchi communities who are hosting the internally displaced persons (IDPs) for more than a year now to organizing formal education centres across the state, citing example with the one at Yelwa, a suburb of the Bauchi metropolis.

“It is a program that I’m proud of because it is a program which success is based on the leadership that has been coming from Nigerian communities and institutions, that is why USAID is deeply involved because it has been a project of Bauchi Ministry of Education”.

… to launch new health initiative in Bauchi

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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he United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has said that it will before September this year launch a new health programme in Bauchi to support the building of the state’s health sector for optimum performance.

USAID/Nigeria Mission Director, Mr. Michael Harvey said that the agency is also working with the state’s education sector for many years where it has considerable successes in rebuilding the capacity

Why I resigned, by Bauchi SIEC chair From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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he Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC), Alhaji Abdulmumini Mohammed Kundak has explained why he resigned from his position to pursue his personal activities privately towards the socio economic development of the

State and the country at large.

Kundak stated this yesterday while answering question from newsmen after he met with the State Governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar.

Kundak said their meeting with the governor was in the best interest of the state ,” I asked for his forgiveness and I promise to remain loyal and dedicated and always show my respect to the

constituted authorities” He thanked the people of the state, the present and former Governors of Bauchi state, Ahmed Mu’azu and Mallam Isa Yuguda for giving him the opportunities to serve the State in different capacities and contributed his quota towards the development of the State.

He however, called on Nigerians to continue praying for

leaders at all levels to succeed in their governance.

Kundak was a former Deputy Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly between 1999 to 2007.

He served as political adviser to former Governor Isa Yuguda and was also appointed as chairman SIEC by Yuguda and his tenure will expired in November 2017 but he cut it short after he tendered his resignation letter last Friday.

he Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara, has lamented that poor leadership is responsible for the underdevelopment of the African continent.

Dogara, who said this when he received in audience the Sudanese ambassador to Nigeria Ibrahim Busha in his office on Tuesday, further lamented that African leaders have left the continent underdeveloped as a result of their reliance on foreign aids from the western world, according to a statement issued by his spokesman, Turaki Hassan.

Dogara maintained that for Africa to develop, its leaders must begin to look inward and profer solutions instead of waiting for aids from the West.

Dogara said African leaders must begin to practise governance that really puts Africans first.

The speaker explained that “It is unacceptable that our continent is still being characterised as a dark continent.

I sincerely believe that for us to make progress, leadership in Africa must be really for the people, certainly. If we do that, there is no limit to potentials of an African.”

He said: “It is unfortunate that we have been locked in a situation whereby leadership and governance as it is practised has only tied us to aids from the western world.”

“Instead of us looking inwards, we have always looked outwards to aids that come to Africa and most cases, these aids have some strings attached to them that tend to imprison and impoverish our people more than liberating them and putting them on the ladder of economic prosperity.”

“So that is one thing we have to ensure is done across Africa, to provide the kind of leadership that lifts our people out of poverty and places them on the pedestal of economic growth and prosperity and that is something we can do when we further our cooperation and deepen our relationship with countries that occupy leading positions in Africa.”

Dogara who further called for cooperation and deepened relationship among leading African countries, said it is one of the ways through which the continent can achieve its goals of development, stating, ”there is so much more, going forward, that we can do to provide the leadership that Africa needs for its progress.”

He assured the Sudanese ambassador that the House of Representatives will work on working on agreements and treaties between the two countries to the benefit of Nigerians.

“I am also aware of the diverse agreements that we have signed. From your own side of the divide, you have even gone further to establish a special implementation committee with regards to agreements signed with Nigeria.”

Dogara added, “As the House of Representatives, of course, we are the representatives of the people as the name suggests. We ensure that in whatever we are discussing, the interest of the people supercedes even our own interests as parliamentarians.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 11

EDITORIAL

Time to regain the momentum

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president recently showed that n upcoming national made over a dozen foreign trips, the he has not been properly read on economic conference is latest being the Saudi Arabia and this one. Few days after Nobel the first pragmatic step Qatar visits. The prize is that not laureate Wole Soyinka called the Buhari government much attention is paid to the home for an emergency meeting to is taking to address front where a spiral drop in the discuss the national economy Nigeria’s dire economic situation. global price of oil, Nigeria’s main now tethering on recession, the It will be the right step to take to foreign exchange earner, has meant Presidency moved to convene regain a momentum that appears a drop in government revenues and one on March 10-11. Besides to have been lost. President forex shortages. The implications Soyinka, Daily Trust’s Board Muhammadu Buhari and his are late payment of public sector of Economists Thursday, Feb. APC party, last year, were swept 25, called on Buhari to set up a to power on the crest of a huge think tank to work out a clear current of a popular demand for economic policy for the country change: change in the character that will handle, specifically, the of governance and the wellbeing twin issues of oil price crash and of the citizenry. The president’s the sliding naira. personal integrity vested the 2015 We say Buhari has done well to listen poll with globally recognized to whimpers at home while he is legitimacy; the result was a away trying to recover our looted groundswell of national and wealth. Fighting corruption long international goodwill. term; certainly it will not be won However, 9 months into the Buhari in his first term. The fight may very administration, that goodwill well outlive his administration. will appear to have weaned for a Let him also pay attention to the number of reasons. One, the new immediate needs of Nigerians. government’s pace does not seem The economy must be railroaded to match the high expectations back to growth. This means a of most Nigerians. It took the new economic policy thrust that president until last September to emphasizes diversification of name a cabinet. Secondly, its very the sources of revenue for the first expenditure presentation government. Specifically, there was bungled by a bureaucracy must be a synergy between fiscal that has been unable to cue into and monetary measures of the the president’s vision. government. The Daily Trust’s Thirdly, although most Nigerians BE pointed out lack of fiscal believe the president is doing well support for decisions taken by the in the fight against corruption, monetary authorities represented they think he is investing too by the Central Bank of Nigeria much time in it to the exclusion of (CBN). the immediate need for ‘stomach salaries and a weakening of people’s Paying greater attention to the infrastructure’, meaning food purchasing power. economy will reassure Nigerians on the table. Fighting corruption The presidential visits have also who are already doubting the APC’s and repatriating its profits means led to the allegation that Buhari ability to manage its victory, least President Buhari having to travel is handling governance too close of all govern. We think this is the out every often to negotiate terms to his chest; that he trusts only time to regain a lost momentum. with the governments of countries himself and nobody else. He is The upcoming conference is the where Nigeria’s looted funds have also presented as not having first step in that direction. been stashed away. So far, he has a listening ear. However, the

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Fighting corruption and repatriating its profits means President Buhari having to travel out every often to negotiate terms with the governments of countries where Nigeria’s looted funds have been stashed away

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PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 12

Opinion

Redefining the nation’s business environment

By Mohammed Isa

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t its inception in June 2015, the 8th Senate under the leadership of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki left no one in doubt about its determination to use its constitutional mandate to stop the business as usual syndrome and move the country forward.

Based on that firm resolve, the Senate fashioned out a well thought out, detailed plan and cohesive legislative agenda for renewed national cohesion and development.

It is in fulfilment of the objective of the agenda that the Senate President in November 2015 initiated a discussion with development partners, professional bodies like the Nigeria Bar Associations (NBA) and the academia. The result was the formation of a committee of experts charged with the responsibility of providing a framework for holistic review and improvements of legislations and policies affecting business, so as to create a better business enabling environment, leading to increased and sustained private sector development and investment in the country.

The legislative effort paid off when on February 29, 2016, the committee of experts, supported

by Department for International Development (DFID) with the strong participation of Nigerian Economic Support Group (NESG) presented its detailed report to the Senate President.

Presenting the168 page report titled, “Comprehensive Review of the Institutional Regulatory, Legislative and Associated Instruments Affecting Businesses in Nigeria,” the Team Leader, Prof Paul Idornigie (SAN) identified eight Reform Bills currently pending before the National Assembly as of priority

importance to doing business and overall private sector participation in Nigeria.

According to Idornigie, “even if no other recommendation in this report is implemented, the enactment of these Bills will be the major achievement of the 8th National Assembly.”

The bills are Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2015, Federal Roads Authority Bill 2015, National Inland Waterways Authority Bill 2015, National Roads Funds Bill 2015, National Transport Commission 2015, Nigerian Ports and Harbours Authority Bill 2015, Nigeria Postal Commission Bill 2015 and Nigeria Railway Authority Bill 2015.

The team, he said, also reviewed 54 Acts and 50 Bills pending before the National Assembly, and rated them in order of priority to help the legislature focus more on areas that require urgent intervention.

Some of the recommendations by the experts were; passage of the reform bills, establishment of federal legislative clearinghouse, access to finance and property, establishment of a national legislative forum, improving commercial dispute resolution and simplifying the payment of taxes.

The report further recommended that the leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives should collaborate to ensure proper coordination and implementation.

It urged the Constitution Review Committee of the two chambers to take into consideration “ constitutional challenges highlighted by the report, especially that of Land Use Act vesting the entire property in and control of all minerals, mineral oils and natural gas in the Federal Government, the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court and that of the Tax Appeal

Tribunal and other matters that are in the Exclusive Legislative List - for example, railways”. The recommendation, they noted, will lead to the consequential repeal of the Petroleum Act, the Mines and Minerals Act, amongst others.

Receiving the report, an elated Saraki said the present economic challenge facing the country presents an opportunity for her leaders to show leadership, courage and ingenuity.

The nation, he said should use the present economic situation to set the stage for a post-oil era in which the private sector will steer the ship of the economy while government provides the enabling environment.

“The National Assembly through our legislative agenda seized on the moment to chart a new course for the nation’s economy. The legislative agenda we have adopted is one framed largely around good governance, accountability, opening up of the economy for greater investment, ease of doing business and security of lives and property”, he said.

He added that the 8th National Assembly would give priority to the amendment of obsolete laws, noting that, “ without these laws the Executive will be handicapped to drive the economy. This is part of the executive-legislative collaboration to move the nation forward”.

While urging the Executive to ensure full implementation of such laws when they are eventually passed, the Senate President assured them that the relevant committees would be empowered to ensure effective oversight on such laws.

Saraki said the collaboration with the private sectors, development partners, professional groups, like the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), as well as the academia in

the on-going process to review laws affecting doing business will give birth to a new business environment that will boost the economy, solve the problem of unemployment, curb social vices and restore the nation’s values and pride.

He stressed that the Senate and the House of Representatives are on the same page with President Muhammed Buhari’s policy on diversification of economy, “our President has laid out a vision to fully diversify the economy beyond oil and has been committed to the actualization f the project.

“The overarching objective of the agenda targets private sector investment and business development as a major plank of the plan. This is because of our belief in the ingenuity, creativity, entrepreneurship of our people, and that in order to to create jobs, give our people better opportunities, the private sector remains our best option.

“This is at the heart of the clamour for diversification; from agriculture business support, to credit, economic reform bills, to MSMEs, taxation, conflict resolution, regulatory reform bills, our agenda is firmly rooted on increased participation, diversification and capital formation”. Saraki assured.

The report, he said will in few weeks from now at a special economic and business environment roundtable, be subjected to further interrogation, validates its conclusion and get the buy-in of key stakeholders in the business environment, so that its final outcome will leapfrog the nation’s economy into the first 20 word economies.

In his remarks, chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Bukar Kyari who represented the private sector,

commended the initiative of the Senate President in involving all the stakeholders in the preparation of the report. He said “the collaboration marks a significance milestone in the nation’s democracy, as this is the first time in the history of the National Assembly that NESG and other stakeholders would be engaged to provide a roadmap that will assist the legislature in carrying out its activities.”

The report noted the poor rating of Nigeria in “Doing Business Report” survey by the Word Bank, a situation the committee of experts described as “worrisome, extremely poor and in need of urgent reform.”

In his comment, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, who was represented by Hon. Tijjani Yusuf lamented the nonoptimal utilisation of specialised courts, such as Investment and Security Tribunal (IST), Industrial Courts amongst others for business dispute resolutions and called for concerted efforts to make those courts function effectively.

In their separate contributions, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweramadu and Senate Leader, Ali Ndume commended the committee of experts for the report and expressed confidence that the identified priority bills will make the Senate achieve the goal of its legislative agenda.

Though Nigeria as a nation is not in short of such reports in the past, what makes this one different is its inclusive nature, the determination of the Senate President to give the legislature a new direction and the commitment of President Buhari to bring about change on how things are being done in Nigeria.

with a view to taking stock of inherited projects, especially those that have immediate and direct bearing on the lives of FCT residents. Some of the projects visited include the Abuja Light Rail and the knotty Karshi – Apo – Arah road.

In order to prove to all and sundry that he is not an armchair minister, Bello embarked on a frenzied nocturnal tour of the city to ascertain the functionality of streetlights in the capital city, after which he charged the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) to fix all broken lights as quickly as possible.

Keenly aware of the pivotal importance of the on-going Abuja Rail Mass Transit, the minister assured residents of FCT that his Administration would work assiduously to make the Abuja rail system operational in the last quarter of 2017.

Another area that attracted Bello’s ministerial attention is environmental sanitation when paid unscheduled visit to the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) to signal the commencement of the war on filth (WOF). To underscore the degree of his seriousness, the minister after reading the riot act to the staff of AEPB, vowed to recover the N10.5 billion owed the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) over the years. To bring the issue of personal hygiene and environmental nuisances to the fore, he introduced the FCT Household and Community Sanitation Exercise in the Area Councils and Satellite Towns of the Federal Capital Territory.

To further drive the policy of

environmental cleanliness in the area councils, he promised to award a golden prize to the cleanest Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory by the end of the year, revealing that the award would be presented to the winner by President Muhammadu Buhari.

As security-conscious as ever, the minister who is often referred to as quiet but no nonsense ‘Oga’, has directed that henceforth, all staff of the FCT Administration should wear their Personal Identification Cards, (ID cards) within the office premises for easy identification and went further to direct that the horde of touts hovering around the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) be sent away with immediate effect.

Malam Bello, who also enjoined staff of the Administration to change their attitude towards service delivery in line with the change mantra of the Federal Government, equally assured of his Administration’s commitment to continuously support the Security Agencies in the Federal Capital Territory with a view to making Abuja safer.

He also assured of his intention to resuscitate the G-7 Security Summit, which is a group of the contiguous states with the FCT. In the area of provision of potable water for residents of the territory, he gave a firm assurance after series of meetings and visits to the FCT Water Board facilities, including the Lower Usuma Dam that his Administration would work diligently to improve supply of clean water to the entire residents of the Federal Capital City in line with

the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari’s led Federal Government.

To make health services more accessible to the residents of the Territory, especially for those at the rural areas, the Minister ordered the management of the FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat to immediately commence medical services to patients at the Zuba Cottage Hospital which was completed over 5 years ago.

In his determination to decongest Abuja city centre, the minister has invested so much attention to the development of the six Area Councils, and the Satellite Towns, just as he has moved the Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD) to Karshi to bring it closer to the rural people that the department is meant to serve.

Malam Bello also took a bold step by visiting the Apo-Karshi-Arah Road where he made commitment to complete the road by promising to expeditiously pay the contractor a pending job certificate of N324 million.

In his determination to build on the legacy left behind by his predecessors in the sanitization of the Abuja Land Administration system, the unassuming Bello has put machinery in motion to up the ante of allocation of land in strict compliance with the rule of law, declaring that henceforth, the FCT Administration would only allocate plots of land in the Abuja industrial zones to genuine manufacturers that have capacity to develop them for the purpose they are earmarked for and must be within a time frame.

On the problematic issue of

commercial motorcycles (Okada) and tricycles (Keke Napep), the FCT Administration under him has carried out extensive sensitization in that regard, reminding residents that operation of commercial motorcycles remain banned within the 250 square kilometers of the Federal Capital City, Abuja; while the Keke Napep is restricted to some areas.

In order to make life more bearable for the motoring public in the Federal Capital City, the Minister has partially opened the Inner Southern Expressway (ISEX) otherwise known as Goodluck Jonathan Expressway, in the Central Business District, Abuja.

Judging from the foregoing, especially the minister ‘s pace and style of administration coupled with the admirable synergy between him and the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye, one may not be far off the mark to declare without contradiction from any quarters at all that Muhammad Musa Bello is unmistakably committed to leaving Abuja better than he met it.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Mohammed Bello is determined to ensure that Abuja assumes its rightful position in the comity of capital cities of the world. What is required from the staff cum residents is cooperation and understanding, especially in the area of payment of taxes, necessary levies and frugality in handling government funds nay property.

Isa is Special Assistant to the Senate President on Public Affairs.

Deconstructing Bello’s 100 days as FCT Minister

By Rogers Edor Ochela

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ince it was created 40 years ago as the nation’s capital city, Abuja has had the privilege of been administered by a plethora of successive ministers under different administrations. Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, who happens to be the incumbent minister in charge of the territory, took over the mantle of leadership on Wednesday 11th November 2015 with a firm promise not only to sustain the legacies of his predecessors, but also to increase the tempo of execution of developmental projects.

It has often been said that anniversaries, either in the life of an individual or in the history of a nation, is a milestone worthy of celebration. On this occasion of Muhammad Bello’s one hundred days in office as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, I intend to interrogate the man’s activities in office so far in order to decipher whether he has made any positive impact on the fortunes of the territory or not.

On assumption of office, Bello, who paid glowing tributes to his predecessors and solicited for cooperation from the staff with a view to ensuring the unhindered execution of his agenda for the nation’s capital city, equally assured that his administration will block all leakages in order to ensure the availability of funds for the development of the Territory.

After acquainting himself with the staff and relevant stakeholders in the ministry, the minister decided to follow it up with visits to several project sites

Deacon Ochela, a fmr Newspaper Editor and now Media Consultant based in Abuja can be reached via edorochela@yahoo.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Comment

Page 13

Real reasons for drop in oil price

By Lekan Sote

One of the real reasons why the price of crude oil is falling like lead is that the Chinese economy, the second largest in the world, is getting sluggish in growth. Second, traditional buyers of crude, like the United States of America, have not only stopped buying oil; they are selling it. Even cash-strapped Russia is selling crude for quick cash (it has gas pipelines all over Europe).

Another reason is that the rogue state, ISIS, is selling oil from the Mosul region of Iraq at a giveaway price. Also, the biggest member of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel, Saudi Arabia, which has one quarter of the world’s confirmed oil reserves, is prepared to sell its oil at any price for fear of losing its share of the market.

In other words, we are witnessing an oil glut that is fuelling an undeclared or ‘cold’ price war.

Every oil producing country is stealthily exceeding its quota. As you know, a law of economics says that where supply exceeds demand, prices fall.

America is looking to acquire a substantial share of the market and pick up profit for its shale oil.

Coy Saudi Arabia certainly won’t concede any portion of its market share to any nation, within or without OPEC, no matter the plea from or assurances of King Salman al Saud to Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari. Every barrel of Saudi crude oil is a pawn in this ongoing economic real politik stare down, which puts Nigeria’s hope of raising its petro-dollar revenue to the east of the rock and the west of a hard place.

This is the shakeup stage that will separate the men from the boys. The US will continue to push its shale oil for imperialistic purposes, although the product is

coming to the market at a very high cost. America’s shale oil industry is still a very high risk enterprise and companies in that business are financed largely by high interest rate debentures.

The yield or return on investment isn’t fast enough.

Therefore, many of the shale oil prospecting companies are behind in servicing their debts. This failure, Bloomberg suggests, will pile up unpaid interest charges and snowball the current $25 billion debt into a hefty $260 billion by 2022.

One more thing, America, the world’s richest economy with the highest inventory of military arsenal, seeks to further widen the gap between itself and the rest of the world. That country needs a big financial war chest to acquire even a higher stockpile of military equipment in order to more effectively police the world.

It desperately wants to decapitate and effectively restrain regional insurgencies like ISIS, Boko Haram, Ansar Biden and al Shabab, as well as check terrorist attacks by terror groups like al Qaeda within North American and Western European cities.

The struggle to gain or retain market share is based on the premise that the price of crude oil comes with a predictable cycle and your market share will determine

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how much bundle you can run away with when oil price swings back up. OPEC President and Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry, Muhammed Al Sada, recently speculated to CNN that crude oil prices may rise to $50 per barrel

by February 2017. The vulture is a patient bird.

No matter the hype about alternative energy – solar, wind, hydrogen powered cars, electric trains, or whatever – no one is going to wean the stock of industrial plants and machinery, automobiles, ships, aircraft, military hardware and other equipment from petroleum products, such as petrol, diesel, black oil, kerosene, lubricants, grease, et cetera, very soon. It’s going to cost a lot of money and time to replace all this machinery.

It will also take a long time to replace petroleum by-products like polyester fabric, sundry plastic products, automobile parts, domestic appliances, even fertiliser. For now, and for a long time to come, crude oil will be the sprocket wheel that turns the world economy. All current alternative energy sources simply do not match its scale. Any premature attempt to switch off petroleum products will grind the world to a halt. That reality is the fuel of the price war.

America will be relentless in its pursuit of a substantial crude oil market share and Wall Street will

not halt the plummeting crude oil price until that is achieved or the shale oil business is abandoned. It just so happens that the US wants its ‘Peter’ the crude oil seller to sell to its ‘Paul’ the crude oil buyer.

This, in everyday language, means that America will like to sell its domestic crude oil to American industrial and military installations anywhere in the world, to guarantee supply and control the price.

Former American Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger’s declaration that America was prepared to take over the Arab oil fields after the 1970s oil embargo, is evidence of the country’s near paranoia to control the source of its oil. Kapish?

Nigeria’s Foreign Minister (whose name you can only remember via Google), must take a cue from Henry Kissinger, and get into the international oil fray. He must not–cannot – leave the politics entirely to Mr. President and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, IbeKachikwu. Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, needs to know that America has brought a raw material or primary commodity back to centre stage in international politics and crude oil is the king.

From the First World War, oil has been crucial to industry, war, and international diplomacy. And America’s oil industry works hand in gloves with the State Department.

Onyeama may be interested to

No matter the hype about alternative energy – solar, wind, hydrogen powered cars, electric trains, or whatever – no one is going to wean the stock of industrial plants and machinery, automobiles, ships, aircraft, military hardware and other equipment from petroleum products, such as petrol, diesel, black oil, kerosene, lubricants, grease, et cetera, very soon.

know that American oil executives pretty much shaped their country’s foreign policy with Saudi Arabia before, sort of, collaborating with the State Department.

Nigeria’s crude oil and gas must count for something in the West African sub region and Nigeria, not Angola, should be the first option for oil in Africa. Onyeama must get feistier and get to grips with international oil politics. President Buhari shouldn’t go begging the Saudis if his oil and foreign ministers know enough to play the game of international oil politics.

There is no doubt that upstream oil politics is complex.

By the way, Kachikwu seems to have a handle on the downstream sector and his intention for Nigeria to at least produce its domestic petroleum product need is spot on.

But his proposal to review petrol price down to N80 may not be too realistic, as fuel queues are creeping back again.

The drawback to his intention is that the Petroleum Industry Bill, that should unleash private initiative, is in abeyance; the refineries can only produce about one quarter of Nigeria’s petroleum product needs; and the electricity industry does not have the carrying capacity for the massive stock of investment in plants and machinery needed to run additional refineries and allied industries.

Yet, Nigeria’s way out of its financial bind is to run with Kachikwu’s plan of refining Nigeria’s crude oil for Nigerian consumers. That way, government will rejuvenate the economy, reap immense tax revenue and create jobs. The lazy way is to hope that the oil price perks up by some luck.

And that, of course, depends on the whims of Uncle Sam and the caprices of the House of Saud.

Lekan Sote is a Public Affairs Analyst.

Why Nigerian journalists won’t welcome Turkish President Erdoghan(II) T

By Suleiman Uba Gaya

oday’s Zaman, the largest selling newspaper in Turkey, whose daily circulation is one million copies, is being severely harassed, with some of its top editors arrested because it is owned by people sympathetic to the Hizmet (Gulen) Movement.

So also the Cihan News Agency, the Samanyolu Broadcasters, as well as the Journalists and Writers Foundation, which has been in the forefront of campaign against according prominence to dastardly acts of terrorists, including publishing stories about their heroics on the front pages of newspapers. The Foundation believes, and rightly so, that such publications always give terrorists a psychological edge.

The sweeping media crackdown is

aimed at ensuring organisations like the Cihan, a reputable news agency through which the rest of the world get authentic news about Turkey, close shop or forced to be administered by proErdoghan trustees.

In February last year, a columnist for the Milliyat newspaper, Nuray Mert, was sacked and her television show cancelled because she was publicly singled out for criticism by the Prime Minister. Similarly, a conservative columnist for the pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak, a certain Ali Akel, was fired for daring to write a rare, critical article about Erdoghan’s handling of the Kurdish issue. For the last few years, Turkey has been jailing more journalists than any other country on the surface of the

earth.

The global outrage occasioned by his highhandedness served nothing in dissuading President Erdoghan to change from his bad ways. In less than a month, the government succeeded in seizing two major news channels and two newspapers. Seventeen television stations were also shut down, and several journalists arrested. During the raid of Zaman newspaper, riot policemen came with water cannons and a helicopter hovering above the media house, in a clear act of intimidation.

The government seizes media houses under the false pretext that by publishing the truth, they are engaged in crime against the state. But Article 30 of the Turkish Constitution says “a printing house

and its annexes, duly established as a press enterprise under law, and press equipment shall not be seized, confiscated, or barred from operation on the grounds of having been used in a crime.”

Hassan Cemal, in a symposium on press freedom last year, said he is now 71 years old and has been an active journalist for 47 years.

“I have witnessed military coups.

I have seen my newspaper being shut down several times. I have lost friends to political murders. Many of my colleagues spent time in prison, many were subjected to torture.

But the heartache he felt last month was like “none I had felt before.”

He said he witnessed a television station (Bugun TV) and two dailies (Bugun and Millet) raided by order of the state. Late October 2015 also, iPek Media Group was raided

by police and the authorities took over the media outlets. Said Cemal: “On that day, the legal system was razed to the ground. Freedom was desecrated. Media independence was held in complete disdain. The right to property was hijacked.

The authorities wanted to silence journalists and cast a shadow over their world.”

With the frontline role the Nigerian press played in bringing about democracy in the country and in defending and sustaining same, the last thing it shall want is having in this shores a man like Erdoghan, in whose eyes and heart such contribution aggregates to nothing.

Gaya is the Vice President (North) of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 14

News

WaterAid seeks stakeholders’ collaboration to eliminate open defecation

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aterAid, an International organisation, has called for synergy among stakeholders to eliminate open defecation, especially at the grassroots and slum areas in Nigeria.

WaterAid Programmes Support Manager Wandoo Akosu made the call at Otukpo, Benue, at a two-day workshop on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).

Akosu noted that the practice was rampant at the grassroots and slum areas in most cities in the country.

According to her, open defecation free environment can be achieved when the people are educated on the importance of latrines in their homes.

Akosu urged both State Task Group on Sanitation (STGS) and National Task Group on Sanitation (NTGS) to live up to their responsibilities.

On women menstrual hygiene, Akosu said that it was a biological process like urination and defecation, and called for hygienic management of the process.

She noted that about 50 per cent of girl child dropped out of school due to shame of handling menstrual period.

She decried inadequate water supply and lack of sanitation facilities in schools.

She said that 50 per cent of girls in one school missed between one and three days of school per month due to menstruation.

Also, Mr Saheed Mustafa, WaterAid Advocacy and Partnership Manager, emphasised the need for stakeholders to work with relevant authorities at the grassroots to eliminate open defecation.

According to him, open defecation free environment is the first ladder in achieving good and hygienic environment.

Mustafa advised people to keep their environment clean, and stressed the need for behavioural change. ``WaterAid in its effort to assist the vulnerable at grassroots has gone round to certify communities and educate them on dangers of open defecation and need to have latrines,’’ he said.

Participants at the workshop said curbing open defecation in Nigeria should be everyone’s concern, and called for continued campaign to end open defecation.

(NAN)

We’ll continue to support ECOWAS on regional integration-Buhari

By Lawrence Olaoye

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resident Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria will continue to support the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to realize the noble objectives of regional integration and peaceful co-existence that inspired its creation in May 28, 1975.

Receiving the outgoing President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, at the State House, the President said the

pursuit of the laudable goals of the regional economic bloc will always remain a top priority for Nigeria. ‘‘Nigeria, by its size and resources, has no alternative than to back ECOWAS to the hilt. We are part of ECOWAS. Indeed, we are at the very heart of it, so we will continue to play our role,’’ the President said.

Buhari said the gains recorded so far in collectively providing peace in the sub-region and curtailing health challenges were major achievements of ECOWAS

that must be sustained. ‘‘Now we have to get more reliable intelligence and support from the international community, and utilize the gains for the development of our countries,” he added.

The President commended the outgoing President of the ECOWAS Commission for his diligence and visionary leadership, while wishing him well in his future engagements.

In his remarks, the outgoing President of the ECOWAS Commission recounted some of

his achievements over the fouryear period of serving to include peace and stability in the region, resolution of crises in Mali, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso and the tackling of the Ebola scourge. ‘‘We signed trade agreements with China, U.S and Japan. The biometric identity card has been approved and is due for launch this year, while a single currency by 2020 is on course.

On behalf of all ECOWAS institutions, I express my sincere thanks to Nigeria for all her support,’’ Ouedraogo said.

the northern part of the country and the nation at large.

Speaking on the outcome of the roundtable, the Executive Director of the Kaduna based organisation, Patriot Aminu Atonu, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to use NASENI, which he disclosed has now been properly upgraded

by Professor M. S Haruna, as a veritable tool in the rebuilding process of the north east region that has been ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Atonu commended President Buhari over his decision to look inwards in solving the Boko Haram crisis but noted that the decision could be further consolidated by gainfully employing youths into various manufacturing plants built

around the products developed and promoted by NASENI. He said “It is a good thing that the government is thinking of winding down the training of ex-agitators abroad. The funds to be saved from winding down the Presidential Amnesty Programme should be channelled towards strengthening an agency like NASENI. “From the contributions of various speakers at the roundtable, we discovered that using such fund in NASENI can grow it into a world class institution for infrastructure that will convert what we presently see as our economic woes into Eldorado.

“The roundtable also appealed to Mr. President to use his administration to turn Nigeria into

the China of Africa whereby made in Nigeria campaigns will go beyond mere cars for the rich but also an allencompassing economy that caters primarily for the youths, vocational institution and local production of everyday items”.

The New Initiative for Credible Leadership further said it will start consulting with private businesses to see what programmes could be developed outside of government to cater for the pressing economic needs of the region.

It also called on the governments of northern states to see where they can key into Federal Government initiatives towards using employment creation as a tool for reducing the capacity of Boko Haram to get new recruits.

Economy diversification- FG urged to utilise NASENI

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

A

non-governmental organisation, the New Initiative for Credible Leadership (NICL) has called on the Federal Government to fully utilize the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), as a panacea to diversifying the economy of Nigeria.

It said such gesture could reduce youth unemployment, thereby reducing the ability of Boko Haram to get new recruits.

The call was made on Tuesday,during a round table discussion between the group and other NGOs in Kaduna on how to reboot economic development in

L-R: Plateau state Governor, Mr. Simon Lalong, and Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps, Plateau state Command, Mr. Crawford Oti, during a visit to the governor, yesterday at the Government House, in Jos. Photo: NAN

Minister reaffirms FG’s commitment to improve own media outfits

By Umar Muhammad Puma

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he Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the present administration will do whatever it takes to ensure that government-owned media will compete more favourably with the private media.

The Minister gave the assurance while receiving the laurels won by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) at the Nigerian Media Merit Award 2015, saying the situation whereby the private media is preferred to the public

media is unacceptable.

“We believe that in terms of human resources, talent and equipment, even in terms of exposure, there is no reason why the publicly-funded media should not do better than any media houses in Nigeria and I am happy that you have blazed the trail by coming out to win these awards,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said despite the fact that the competition was also open to the private media, FRCN still won these four awards, describing that as an eloquent testimony that the public media

could do much better.

“We are determined to improve the quality, both in terms of engineering and content of the publicly-owned media houses in a manner that they will be able to perform much better than any media houses anywhere in Africa,” he said.

While advising FRCN to consider the award as a tonic that would spur it to greater achievements, the Minister urged the organization to continue to invest in the development of compelling contents that will improve the quality of life of its

audience and expand its reach.

“I think you should seize the opportunity and especially since you are a Federal Governmentowned organization, you can work very harmoniously with the Meteorological Agency and you should be able to have a programme on weather, and again another area that I think you should improve your content is on climate change... which is another topical issue that will interest Nigerians.

“All I am saying is that you need to go beyond your routine programmes and open new frontiers,” he advised.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 15

Crisis hits local chapter of plateau APC From Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos

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eports from Langtang North Local Government of Plateau state reveal that commotion has hit a local chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) secretariat in the area.

Our correspondent reports that

the commotion occurred when two groups for and against the present Caretaker Chairman of Langtang North, Dan Dul arrived the secretariat following Tuesday’s extension of the tenure of LG chairmen by two months, by the state House of Assembly.

The report further said that

members of the Langtang North exco who were unhappy with the performance of Hon. Dan Dul and the extension of his tenure had petitioned the state party officials.

On the other hand, the second group which in support of the chairman stormed the party secretariat causing commotion that

eventually led to the intervention of police officers.

When our correspondent visited the secretariat, some of the youths in support of the Chairman were being accosted by the police.

According to Shalkur Haruna , residents of Langtang North had lost confidence in the LG excos who

had written a petition against the chairman.

He said, “We learnt that they held a meeting around 2am and that they were coming to the state secretariat so we had to rush and come to let the party know that we want Dan Dul to remain as our chairman and that the action of the LG exco is a misrepresentation of the change ideology.”

Over an hour after party officials calmed the second group, the state deputy chairman of the party, Enoch Fanmark expressed anger at what he described as barging into the secretariat by the groups and resolved that the state exco will go into a closed door meeting to listen to the complaints of the petitioners.

PDP reschedules National Caucus, BOT, NEC meetings •••NEC to hold Monday •••Appoints staff for new Chairman L-R: Bayelsa state Caucus of the House of Representatives, Hon. Agbedi Fred, Hon. Sodaguwo Festus-Omoni, and Hon. Douye Diri, during the press conference on the release of Ese Oruru, yesterday at the National Assembly, in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Race for White House: Clinton, Trump likely candidates

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emocrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have each won the most states on the biggest day of the race for the US presidential nominations.

Mr Trump won seven states while his closest rival, Ted Cruz, took three.

The third-placed Republican, Marco Rubio, came in with one.

Speaking in his home state of Texas, Mr Cruz urged other Republicans to quit the race and join him against Mr Trump.

Democrat Bernie Sanders had wins in four states Super Tuesday saw 11 states voting, from Massachusetts in the east to Alaska in the north-west. A 12th state, Colorado, held a caucus – won

by Mr Sanders – but does not actually select its delegates until April.

Tuesday allocates nearly a quarter of Republican delegates, and about a fifth of Democratic delegates, who will elect their respective presidential candidates at party conventions in July. No candidate has yet won enough delegates to secure their party’s nomination.

Mrs Clinton, a former secretary of state, and Mr Trump, a property tycoon, entered Super Tuesday as favourites to win the vast majority of states for their respective parties.

The Democratic frontrunner won in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Arkansas, Texas and Massachusetts, polling well among blocs of black voters.

Delivering her victory speech from Miami, having moved her campaign to Florida for the primary there on 15 March, in common with other candidates, she appeared to already be looking towards a potential presidential race against Mr Trump.

“The stakes in this election have never been higher and the rhetoric we’re hearing on the other side has never been lower,” she said.

Donald Trump won the Republican primaries in Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Virginia, Arkansas and Vermont.

The billionaire insisted he had “expanded the Republican party”, referring to higher turnout from a broad demographic in states that have already voted.

He described himself as a “unifier” who could put internal fighting in the Republican party behind him and told reporters in Florida: “Once we get all this finished, I’m going after one person – Hillary Clinton.”

Super Tuesday states won: Donald Trump (Republican): Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee,

Virginia, Arkansas, Vermont, Ted Cruz (Republican): Texas, Oklahoma, Alaska, Marco Rubio (Republican): Minnesota, Hillary Clinton (Democrat): Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Arkansas, Texas, Massachusetts, and the South Pacific territory of American Samoa ,Bernie Sanders (Democrat): Vermont, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Colorado Mr Trump, a former reality TV star known for his controversial policies on immigration, has stunned the Republican establishment to become the party’s front-runner.

He faced heavy criticism this week over his failure to disavow David Duke, a leader of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan, who endorsed him. He later said he had on several occasions in the past disavowed Mr Duke.

Victory in Alaska handed Texas Senator Ted Cruz his third state of the night, after his home state and Oklahoma.

“Our campaign is the only campaign that has beaten, that can beat and that will beat Donald Trump,” he told supporters at the Redneck Country Club in Stafford, Texas.

Having managed to win only in Minnesota, Marco Rubio will need to shine in Florida, his home state, if he

hopes to present a serious challenge to others.

This was a strikingly different Donald Trump who met reporters on Tuesday night. His tone was conciliatory. He was quietly spoken.

He said he would be a unifier – of the Republican Party, of the nation. He didn’t crow and he didn’t claim to be the nominee, but he clearly thinks the primary race is effectively over.

This was a man not looking to the next primary, the next bit of slog along that long and exhausting road.

This was a man with an eye on the much bigger fight in November, and his presumptive opponent Hillary Clinton.

He graciously congratulated Ted Cruz over his wins in Texas and Oklahoma. No mention last night of him being the biggest liar he’s ever met. And no demeaning of Marco Rubio either. Were it not for the unmistakable blond hair and the family members at his side, you might have been forgiven for thinking an imposter had entered the room.

It was Donald 2.0 that we had with us. The trouble, though, when you upload a new operating system (OS) is there are inevitable bugs and glitches. And the new OS takes a bit of getting used to. (BBC News)

By Ahmed Abubakar

T

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rescheduled the meetings of the National Caucus, Board of Trustees (BOT) and the National Executive Committee (NEC).

The National Caucus meeting has been rescheduled for Sunday, March 6, 2016 at 7pm. The Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting will now hold on Monday, March 7th 2016 at 11am, while the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting holds at 2pm on the same Monday March 7th, 2016.

The rescheduling of the various meetings was contained in a statement issued and signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, adding that the leadership of the party deeply regrets any inconveniences that may be caused by this adjustment.

Meanwhile, the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has approved the appointment of Barr.

Inusa Mohammed as Principal Secretary to the National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff.

Also approved is the appointment of Chief Uche Nnaji as the Political Adviser to the National Chairman; Senator Saidu Umar Kumo, Special Adviser on National Assembly Relations and Senator Ighoyota Amori (JP), Special Adviser, Reconciliation and Conflict Management.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 16

Politics

Wike, APC trade words over March rerun election

R-L: Ukraine Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Vitali Alexandaruk, presenting a Ukrainian symbol of power and authority to Speaker House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, during the envoy’s visit to National Assembly on Tuesday, in Abuja.

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Photo: Mahmud Isa

PDP youths want party leaders to support Modu Sheriff From Raji Bello, Sokoto

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youth organisation under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party, Youths Initiative for Peace and Development has called on leaders of party to sheath their swords and support the new leadership of the party under Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff in order to bring a new responsible direction for the party’s success.

The zonal coordinator of the PDP Youths Organization in North-West, Malam Yusuf Dingyadi made this known after the meeting of all the chapter’s chairmen from 7 states of the zone in Sokoto, yesterday.

Dingyadi, decried the way and manner some certain party leaders are publicly attacking and castigating the new chairman and other members of the party’s Board of Trustee due to their difference on way to move the party forward.

His words: “In politics we must agree to disagree, it is the beauty of democracy, but indiscipline and abusive tendencies in party politics is not a remedy to have united party, it create division and poor relationship.”

He challenged those sponsoring such attacks or insulting the party’s collective decision to be wary of repercussion, as one day their actions will backfired and nemesis

will catch with them negatively.

The zonal coordinator maintained that members of the BoT are respectable elders of the party, thus not supposed to be attacked or insults publicly by any loyal and discipline party supporter due to any action taken, more over the kind of attacks are personal and selfish which are seen as indiscipline and irresponsible to the future of our party unity.

“We need political cohesion and unity in this new PDP. Therefore, we must roundly support and help our party’s leadership, through the national chairman, Alhaji Modu Sherrif; anything beyond that is a tantamount of fighting the hope of

good party supporters across the country. We must resist such and bring discipline and loyalty to the party for our future wellbeing” He implored the new leadership of the party to go round the country and seek forgiveness over poor leadership and misguidance attributed to the past PDP leaders who almost destroy the nation and bring a division among The meeting which reviews quarterly activities and progress for the organization and party loyalty ended with sounding notes against APC controlled government who were allegedly victimising of some PDP youths members in Katsina, Jigawa and Kano states.

INEC postpones Anambra senatorial rerun election

By Ahmed Abubakar

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he Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC on Tuesday night postponed the conduct of the re-run election earlier scheduled

for Saturday for the Anambra Senatorial Senatorial District of Anambra State This was contained in a statement made available to news men last night by the Commission’s National Commissioner in charge

of the Operations Committee, Hajiya Amina Bala Zakari, The statement reads, “In view of a court order issued yesterday by an Abuja High Court restraining it, the Commission has postponed the conduct of the re-run election

earlier scheduled for Saturday, 5th 2016 for the Anambra Senatorial Senatorial District”.

According to Hajiya Amina Bala Zakari, the Commission “is yet to determine a date for the conduct of the said election”.

he All Progressives Congress in Rivers state has responded to Governor Nyesom Wike’s allegation that the party was planning to rig the March 19 rerun elections in the state.

The APC said the governor’s accusation was but a “smokescreen”.

Wike, while receiving the Vice Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt, Ndowa Lale, who visited him on Tuesday, accused the APC of having a list of compromised returning officers for the Senate, House of Representatives and state assembly elections in the state.

Wike is reported to have specifically mentioned the APC candidate for the Akuku-Toru/Asari-Toru Federal Constituency, Dawari George, as being behind the list which he (Wike) said contained names of Uniport lecturers.

The APC in a statement issued yesterday said of Wike’s accusation, “To say the least, this is the most callous and mischievous lie of the century.

“It is important that we reveal here that this is a smokescreen by the governor to conceal his attempts to repeat what he did in 2015 which he is trying so hard to repeat without success so far and the APC is monitoring his antics closely.”

The party said its members would never be involved in any action that could compromise the forthcoming elections.

It said Mr. George, its candidate for Akuku-Toru/Asari-Toru Federal Constituency, does not work in the Independent National Electoral Commission.

“The APC notes with consternation that Governor Nyesom Wike is suddenly picking on any and every imaginable persons and institutions for bashing because of the March 19 rerun elections,” said the statement which was signed by the party Publicity Secretary in the state, Chris Finebone.

“Yesterday it was INEC, next was security agents especially the Nigerian Army. Today it is the University of Port Harcourt. Tomorrow it may be market women that will come under the hammer of the governor, who knows.

“The All Progressives Congress would like to advise Governor Nyesom Wike to strive to overcome the things that habit his subconscious as a result of what he did in the past to gain power, and if he does, he will discover that he need not look to the stars for the solution to his problems.”

Edo Governorship aspirant seeks support of security chiefs From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

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n aspirant for the 2016 Governorship election in Edo state, Charles Airhiavbere has asked for the support of security chiefs in the state.

The retired Major- General, contesting on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) disclosed this yesterday when he undertook a familiarization visit to security formations in the state.

The aspirant, told the Assistant Inspector - General of Police, zone 5,

Musa Daura that the purpose of the visit was to inform him and other security chiefs his decision to vie for the plump job.

In his narration, Airhiavbere who was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2012 governorship election in the state, emphasized the importance of security agencies for a hicthfree polls in the September 2016 governorship election.

“I believe that with due diligent to let you know that i will be participating in the governorship

election and need to come here to solicit the support of the police force during that period.

“I also want to commit myself that there will be discipline, security and the men as well as my supporters will be fully ready that during that period of electioneering everybody in my team will be law-abiding. I take that responsibility because of my military background”, he said.

He said he represents the change Edo people have been yearning for and lauded the state governor, Adams Oshiomhole led government

for putting the state among the performing comity of states in the country.

He also promised to undertaken familiarization visit to other security formations such as the state command of the Directorate of State Security Service, Military among others.

Responding, the AIG, zone 5, Mr. Musa Daura, commended the aspirant for the visit and described him as one of the most qualified aspirant to succeed the incumbent governor.

According to him, you are over qualified to become the governor of the state as a result of your past experiences and positions held during your military career.

He assured that the zone will ensure fair play after, during and after the electoral processes to all stakeholders in the election and advised the aspirant to educate his supporters to be law-abiding, adding that the zone under his watch will not hesitate to deal ruthlessly with anybody person or group of persons that foment trouble.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 17

Politics

Buhari’s succeeding in fight against insecurity, corruption – Sen Habu Ibrahim INTERVIEW

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ow do you react to the award given to you by the Diplomatic Correspondents of Nigeria?

It came to me as a surprise.

I saw their letter that they were giving me award, as one of the distinguished senators who have been working hard to improve on the image of the senate, and to provide succor to my constituents, so that is why I accepted the award. And I was really elated to see the number of the diplomatic corps, many of whom were there and that has opened by eyes to other areas that I have not ventured into. Obviously, this is an eye opener for me and I reacted positively because I heard what they were talking about.

All those who were awarded with same kind of award many of them are foreign diplomats and they talked positively on how to improve relations in Nigeria and I personally added to that by telling them about the commitment of our party to the issues of security and corruption, which are the bane of political and economic growth. And the commitment of the government now, after winning the election, to continue with the promises of our party that once we won the election, we must fight corruption, and insecurity, and on both sides we are succeeding because it has become our main activities now. In terms of security which has become a major condition for investors to come, we have done very well so far, although we are still not yet out of the woods because we hear bombings here and there, pipeline vandalisation. The president said it in Qatar that investors will only come when there is stability, and when there security to an acceptable level.

Many people believe that Nigeria’s foreign policy is weak, how do you think that the present government can strengthen it?

Nigeria is the biggest nation in Africa, our first policy priority is how to give leadership in Africa, both in terms of economic relationships and indeed, other social relationships between the different people of Africa, especially in west Africa, because many of them are so close to us and are even dependent on us, so that particular aspect of it has made it incumbent on us to provide that leadership. Last administration was so weak, that we were even depending on those that should depend on us, like Chad, Niger, Cameroun, to help us stabilize our country

Senator Habu Ibrahim is Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs. In this interview with journalists, he spoke on the effort of President Muhammadu Buhari to adequately address insecurity and corruption in the country as well as the benefits accruing to the nation from the president’s trips abroad. Ali Abare Abubakar and Ikechukwu Okaforadi were there. north east region, because somehow, the commitment of that administration to fight insurgency was lukewarm, so obviously that retarded the image of Nigeria. When our army were being routed by the Boko Haram, and they were running away from the insurgents, and stuff like that, but I think it is incumbent on us to provide leadership. Now, I think that, despite the economic hardship, Nigeria can still play that role. Obviously, the fight against corruption have pushed us really into looking to those countries where our resources that were stolen are starched in the bank, and how to recover those resources, like in Europe, middle eastern countries, and other places, where Nigerians have made safe havens for their loots, that have become the government priority now.

So that might have delayed our serious commitment to other African nations, because like I said, the first thing is to recover the looted funds, and get help to fight insecurity, and fight specifically insurgency in the north east. But I believe the best option for Nigeria is to look inwards to more relationships with our neighbors, and develop more economic ties with them because that will serve us better.

One lesson we learnt from the former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), was to first of all have a solid relationship with our neighbors, and develop such relationship because in times of problems, they are the first people we run to for assistance, what advice do you have for the President in terms of that?

If you look backwards, there was a time when most Ghanaians were in Nigeria, that’s why we had ‘Ghana Must Go’. Now, these countries, if they are not stable, most likely they will run into Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroun, even up to Ghana.

So whatever we do, we must make them our priority, but like I said, our thrust towards other African countries might have been limited now because of some aspect of our policies to fight insurgency, corruption, and in fighting corruption, you have to recover all that were stolen and that is huge amount. So that is why you see our President running here and there, he was in Europe, now he is in the middle east countries to negotiate with them on how they can work with Nigeria in some

Senator Habu Ibrahim areas, which include oil prices stability. So, these things have overshadowed that commitment which we would have done to other African countries. And I believe, once we have achieved these, we have set the parameters of recovering these loots from those countries where our money are there, and once we are able to secure our borders, the next most important step will be to see how to invest more on most African countries around us. Whether we like it or not, these small countries around us depend largely upon Nigeria. Sometimes our plans should consider also these other countries. Like the issue of oil is no longer important, but before, country like Niger depends largely on nigeria’s oil five years ago, but now they are on their own, they are even better than us because they have better refineries, and you can see how they left us behind. If look at the European union, you see how they have developed into a cartel, developing economic ties, making border accessment easier, even having one currency, which is the Euro. So, in terms of where we should be looking into, it is Africa because I believe the world is going into small village, where the IT has shrunk the space among us, so I

believe we should really look at our neighbours as our younger brothers. So whatever we do, we should make them part of us, so I will like to see closer relationship with them in our future policies.

In the course of this interaction, you mention some of the several benefits accruing to the nation from President Buhari’s foreign trips. But some Nigerians are decrying the frequency of these trips. What is your take on this?

There are things that must be done by the President himself. It will be much more significant for the President of Nigeria to visit the United Arab Emirate. If the President does not go, and sends somebody, he may not have access to the country’s head of state. But in this case, the President of Nigeria was met by the leader of the UAE at the air port, and they will see him, and they will seat down together and talk. Once you get the king and he agrees, it is finished. If you send the minister or the Vice President, he may end up seeing the crown Prince of Saudi Arabia or the crown Prince of UAE, but if the President goes himself, he will see them. Although people think that the President should

send somebody, but the ruling here is okay, it was working because once you have the minister, the vice president, you have everybody, I bet you that the President may not even say anything for twenty four hours in terms of administration of the country. The vice President may handle it, because he is the chairman of the economic team, who seats with the thirty six states ministers at the federal executive council. The responsibility is shared and I know that Buhari is very good at devolution of responsibility.

His office is not muddled with papers to the extent that his mind is bungled. He is the best manager, and you know as a good manager, his own is to say, stop when you are doing something wrong and to direct those that are working with him.

So, once he goes to a country, he is finished with that, except there is need to go to another country again. If he goes by himself, he will see the highest person, like in America, he met Obama, in France, he met Hollande, in every country he went, he met the head of state, the time he went to Qatar, he met with the king, so I don’t think it is misplaced. Except when the benefits will start accruing we will begin to understand; even now the price of oil has begun to stabilize, most likely because of his personal intervention and oil diplomacy, you know people forget that he was former minister for oil before. We are in politics, and no matter how good it is, somebody will says it is wrong, some people must criticize. I even heard Governor Fayose saying Buhari has gone to Islamise Nigeria, how stupid is for somebody to be making such statements? Is it possible, we have gone beyond that, how can he islamise Nigeria?

But somebody, whose home problem is disturbing him, he has to make noise somewhere.

You are the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, how do you think that agency can be reorganized to have the confidence of Nigerians?

From my little understanding, it is complex.

But the most important is the issue of funding. The police lack adequate equipment to do their jobs. The police lack even conducive environment to train their staff, they need reorientation, in other countries; they invest heavily on their police.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 18

Politics

Delta Speaker to PASAN: Get your facts right From Osakhare Erese, Asaba

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he Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Monday Igbuya on Tuesday criticized the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria, Delta State chapter for presenting incorrect information to the House.

He also advised members of PASAN to get their facts right on the special duty allowance before embarking on any protest in this regard.

“I got the information from the Clerk of the House that the workers are agitated over the removal of

SDA. I called the Head of Service and commissioner of finance. They assured me that the Special Duty Allowance (SDA) has not been removed but just suspended for the purpose of verification exercise. They want to authenticate those that are entitled to it genuinely. SDA is backed by law and the only way it can be removed is when the law is amended” he said.

Speaking to workers of the assembly on Tuesday, Igbuya reminded the workers that there is only one head of service in the state.

“To say that Parliamentary workers are not under the head of

service is not correct. There is only one head of service in the state. The law clearly states that the Clerk of the House is by appointment rated like the head of service. It does not remove her completely from the head of service.

Secondly, you are responsible to the clerk of the house. The clerk is the administrative head of the assembly.

The clerk must be respected. I urge you to channel your grievances to the clerk. It does not make administrative sense to be side tracking the clerk and rushing to the office of the speaker at every given opportunity”.

Igbuya told the workers that he understood the sentiment driving the

expression of protest.

“It’s very important to strengthen conditions of service but we must have in mind the dwindling financial resources of the country, particularly Delta State.

The speaker noted that the state is experiencing financial difficulties.

Igbuya who took the opportunity to remind the workers of the fundamentalpurpose of the government, said it was incomprehensible that the workers could replace suspension with removal.

He asked for patience and understanding.

He also called on the workers to

L-R: Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Danjuma Goje, with his counterpart of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibril, during a press conference on the 2016 budget, yesterday at the National Assembly, in Abuja.

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NESG: Why the legislature must give priority to business environment

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he Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) has underscored the importance of the legislature in ensuring a conducive and business-friendly environment for the growth and development of any economy.

The Chairman of the Board of the NESG, Mr. Kyari Bukar, who stated this during the formal presentation of the Business Environment Legislative Review Report to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki in Abuja, said that without such proactive interventions, the nation risks losing the few jobs available as well as the opportunity of moving significantly upwards in the doing business ranking and the world economic forum competitiveness ranking.

He commended the 8th National Assembly for its efforts and commitment at ensuring that

•••As group canvasses support for Obaseki From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

Photo: Mahmud Isa

By Ali Abare Abubakar

respect the clerk.

On workers outfit, the speaker queried the separation of staff of the assembly and the commission, stressing that the unnecessary division was not caused by him.

He urged the House Committee on establishment to look into the agitations of the workers and make recommendations.

He equally advised PASAN to verify their facts before acting on them.

The workers commended the speaker for the audience them and thanked him for their Christmas gift.

there are appropriate regulatory and legislative instruments to make the business environment in Nigeria conducive for investments to thrive.

Bukar said: “A friend of mine keeps saying that there is really no difference between running a business and running a country. If you don’t have proper governance processes and in the case of a nation, legislative and regulatory framework in place, you still do not have sustainable outcome.

“This is why our legislature has a critical role to play for exercising its powers to make, amend or repeal the necessary laws that will facilitate the development of small and medium enterprises.

“Permit me to note that without the legislature giving priority to the Business Environment, the nation risks losing what little jobs are currently available as well as risks losing the opportunity of moving significantly on the

doing business rankings or indeed the world economic forum competitiveness rankings as it is common knowledge that our poor performance is largely as a result of constraints in the business environment.

“I am however pleased to note with confidence that the 8th National Assembly has demonstrated its commitment to making the business environment right in Nigeria,” he said.

The NESG boss said the formal presentation of the Business Environment Legislative Review Report to the National Assembly marked a significant milestone in the history of the nation’s democracy “with regards to interaction of the legislative arm of government whose premise the Nigerian public is yet to fully understand and harness since the advent of democracy.”

While acknowledging the “visionary leadership of the 8th

Assembly” and its dedication to public engagement with the citizenry and public sector targeted at making Nigeria a modern and globally competitive nation, Bukar said, “The report is an embodiment of the canvassed shift for government to be proactive and strategic with regards to creating a conducive environment for businesses to thrive sustainably.

“The imperative for this being that over 37 million micro and medium enterprises exist in Nigeria and contributing approximately 50 per cent of GDP in nominal terms and account for 84 per cent of all jobs.

“It is therefore imperative that the business environment is urgently addressed in order to mitigate negative impacts associated with current economic downturn as well as for the repositioning of Nigeria within the global economy,” he said.

ll Progressives Congress (APC) delegates to the 2016 Governorship election in Edo state and voters alike have been urged to rally support for a credible successor and a man with proven integrity to sustain the legacies of governor Adams Oshiomhole.

Spokesperson of the pressure group, “Edo Voice”, a nongovernmental organisation (NGO), Mr Osaze Osemwegie-Ero disclosed this yesterday at an interactive session with journalists in Benin City.

Osemwegie-Ero, named Mr. Godwin Obaseki, is eminently qualified and tested administrator to sustain the pace of development in the state.

“We are aware of the individuals aspiring for Governor and wanting to leverage on the success and performance of the out-going administration of the comrade, but we found one capable of building on the success of the outgoing administration and that is Mr Obaseki”.

He said: “our hoice is not based on the fact that he is part of this administration, playing crucial roles in the governance of the State as head of the economic team but that he is also a successful entrepreneur, a technocrat, finance and economic management expert”.

“It is the belief of Edo Voice that considering the current economy in the country, we need more than being a politician as a criteria for selection of who takes over from the Comrade Governor.

“We need a man with leadership and management capacity to be able to mobilize human and material resources to sustain and consolidate on his current development strides and achievement”, he said.

The group which was founded in 2008, was premised on the idea of providing an all-inclusive platform for men and women of like minds politically conscious and concerned with the socio-economic and infrastructural development of the state, according to him.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 19

CCCN alleged staff promotion, false, unwarranted-NEXIM Bank

By Etuka Sunday

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he Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM) has described as false and unwarranted the news reports in various websites as well as daily newspapers since Monday, February 29th, 2016, credited to a group called the ‘The Concerned Common Citizens of Nigeria’ – (CCCN), alleging “a staff promotion scandal in the Bank.”

From the clarification

obtained through the Head of Communication of the Bank, Chinedu Moghalu, by NAN, it is evident that the allegation is completely false, unwarranted and needlessly intended to distract the staff and Management from its day-to-day operations.

For purposes of clarification, according to Mr Moghalu, the Executive Committee of Bank (EXCO) had merely sent a standard notification to all staff informing them of the results of the appraisal

exercise for 2013 and 2014 which process has been ongoing since the last quarter of 2015.

The communication specifically informed staff members on individual performances and the eligibility for promotion or merit increment in line with section 5(4) of the Bank’s Staff Condition of Service which inter alia provides that staff promotion shall be effected as reward for satisfactory performance either through examination and/or interview.

Therefore, the Bank or its Management did not at any time notify any staff member that he/ she has been promoted. Also, it is important to categorically state that there was no recruitment exercise ongoing at the Bank; and more specifically, nobody has been offered any employment formally or otherwise.

Mr Moghalu stated that the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) remains committed to adhering to the highest standards

of corporate governance and strict compliance with the Public Service Rules as applicable.

The Bank would like to urge its shareholders, stakeholders and members of the public to ignore the misleading falsehood contained in the allegation.

He finally said that the Bank would readily welcome any member of the media or other interested party that may be keen to verify the allegations contained in the publication.

L-R: Former Minister of Power, Mr Nuhu Wya; Head of Minerals and Metals Invesment Promotion, Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Sanusi Jibrin, and representative of Kaduna state Governor, Alhaji Gambo Hamza, during the 37th Kaduna International Trade Fair Round-Table Business Discussion, yesterday in Kaduna.

Photo: NAN

Nigeria /Qatar air pact is bad economics for Nigeria, says Demuren, Ex NCAA DG From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

C

riticisms have trailed the recent Bilateral Air Services Agreement BASA, the President Muhammadu Buhari signed with the Quatari government as well others Nigeria entered in time past for being loopsided.

Stakeholders in the aviation industry who yesterday spoke at a Breakfast Meeting affirmed that such trade agreements put Nigerian airlines at a disadvantage positions because they lack the capacity to reciprocate the terms of such trade agreement.

Chairman of the occasion and a former Director General

of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority(NCAA),Dr Harold Demuren described the current BASA with Quatar as good politics but bad economics.

The first quarter breakfast meeting with the topic “Nigeria Aviation Policy, NCAA Autonomy and Politics, Safety Regulation and Enforcement” was organised by the Aviation Safety Round Table (ASRT) at GulfView Hotel and suites in Ikeja, Lagos.

Demuren explained that though the agreement was a good politics for the federal government, it remains a bad economics for airlines and Nigerians.

He said that Qatar Airways, the Quatari government airline

currently has seven frequencies into Nigeria while no Nigeria airlines currently fly to Doha.

He added that with the current arrangement now the airline will demand for more frequencies and more entry points into the country, Nigeria, he said apart from not operating to Doha may not be able to reciprocate, adding that it was clear the BASAs was already one sided.

Demuren bemoaned the fact that the countries Nigeria have BASA’s with no longer pay royalties for flying into the country while no Nigeria airlines can compete with Qatar Airways in terms of equipment, personnel, maintenance and in other areas.

“I am not saying that we

should not sign BASA .What I am saying is that if we must sign BASA, we must know the content of the BASA we are signing.”

In the past international airlines that operate into the country based on the BASA’s paid royalties and that was how the government got some money in return for its investment, but presently these airlines no longer pay royalties.

“Government must get something back as return for its investments.”

A former Managing Director of Nigeria Airways, Mr Andrew Okunuga advised that Nigeria should not spend so much energy on frequency but what will favour Nigeria.

He advised that BASA should not be discussed in isolation, but such BASA also include joint venture, code share among others, adding that what the Federal Government should do is to encourage Nigeria domestic airlines to make them international players in the aviation market.

Okunuga stated that Arik Air and Medview Airlines should have been present when the latest BASA with Qatar was signed and the Federal Ministry of Aviation.

Domestic airlines, the former Nigeria Airways Managing Director, stated should do away with the one man business mentality as it was not helping the operators, and call on them to come together form a conglomerate.

Page 20

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Business Analysis Why investors must embrace SEC’s e-dividend platform

By Etuka Sunday

B

efore now, transactions at the capital market in Nigeria especially dividend payment is done with sharp practices. However, with the coming on board of the current Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo things have changed for better.

Being an astute leader, Gwarzo was determined to change the trend by introducing new innovations to mop up the market and reposition it to enhance investors’ confidence and for the overall boost of the economy.

With his wisdom, the market that was hitherto bedeviled with fraudulent activities and sharp practices was sanitised.

Non-performing stockbroking firms were also delisted.

However, as a Commission with insatiable desire for

success, speed and progress, SEC launched an e-dividend platform as a solution to delay and unclaimed dividends.

SEC said the “Electronic dividend simply refers to an online system of paying dividends to inventors whereby when companies declare dividends which are the profits meant for investors, rather than send it by post, they will just wire it to the investor’s bank account and that is what informed this exercise.

The Commission desires that the money of investors hanging as unclaimed dividends get paid to them with ease.”

As a way of getting the information to the investors, SEC commenced a four day enlightenment programme in Abuja with a Road Show, which culminated in a Town Hall Meeting on Thursday January 14, 2015 with plea for investors to register within 90 days.

“We want to make sure that

we take the message down to the grassroots; we want every Nigerian investor within this period of 90 days which is free to get registered because immediately after the 90 days, a fee of N100 will be charged.

At the Town Hall Meeting in Abuja, Director General, SEC, Mounir Gwarzo said that the newly introduced e-Dividend platform would reduce infractions in the capital market to its barest minimum.

Gwarzo, expressed satisfaction with the level of success recorded so far with the enlightenment programme and urged investors to take advantage of the service and visit their registrars or banks to register.

“We have all agreed that this is the way to go it is now left for the investors to go and register.

We have agreed with all the stakeholders that for the first 90 days the registration is going to

Sec MD, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo

Staffs of SEC during their e- dividend registration rally held in Abuja on Monday be free. After 90 days, anyone that wants to register will pay N100.

“Once the e-dividend is in place the issue of stale warrant will be of the past, the issue of travelling from one place to another to deposit the warrant will be a thing of the past; the issue of change of address will also be eliminated.

“The issue of unclaimed dividend which according to our records is in excess of N80billion will also be a thing of the past.

These unclaimed dividends came about from dividends of small stakeholders like you and me and we need to ensure that they are claimed.

Gwarzo also stated that once

the registration process is over, the next phase will be to look into claims by investors who have dividends that are less than 12 years old.

“Once we are able to get through with the registration process, those dividends that are less than 12 years, once the registrars can certify that the people are the owners, they should be able to pay them.

Gradually we should be able to address their problem of unclaimed dividends” he said.

He also listed the Direct Cash Settlement as a direct benefit to investors from the e-dividend registration as when they register for e-dividend, anytime their shares are sold, they would get

the proceeds directly in their bank accounts.

“Once we get through with the e-dividend thing, we will be able todeal with other issues in the market. The entire market has commenced Direct Cash Settlement from this month. The era when shares will be sold and the proceeds will be given to the broker who will them pay the client is over. What is obtainable now is that once the shares of an individual are sold, the proceed is paid directly into his band account. With this once the client has authorized the broker and provided all his details, the proceeds will be paid into the client’s account.

“The era of proceeds not being

remitted for shares sold will be a thing of the past. The e-dividend platform with the use of BVN is what will give us that. Once we register for e-dividend, we will also enefit from the Direct Cash Settlement. Another advantage of the e-dividend is that it will provide a very robust KYC to the operator.

“It is because of lack of KYC that we find a lot of infractions in this market. With the BVN platform which the e-dividend is leveraging on, the KYC will now be very robust. People will not be able to use all sorts of identifications to claim what does not belong to them” He disclosed in Lagos that investors in the Nigerian Capital

market are now to get dividend payment within 24 hours through the e-Dividend Payment Platform-an innovation SEC said in a statement was the first in the history of capital market in Africa.

According to him, the proposed system would automatically allow dividends to be credited directly into shareholders’ accounts within 24 hours of payment by the company.

The DG assured that once the e-dividend platform is fully operational the issue of stale warrant will be a thing of the past, the issue of travelling from one place to another to deposit the warrant will be a thing of the past; the issue of change of address will also be eliminated.

“The issue of unclaimed dividend which according to our rec ords is inexcess of N80billion will also be a thing of the past.

These unclaimed dividends came about from dividends of small stakeholders like you and me and we need to ensure that they are claimed.

“The era of proceeds not being remitted for shares sold will be a thing of the past. The e-dividend platform with the use of BVN is what will give us that. Once we register for e-dividend, we will also benefit from the Direct Cash Settlement. Another advantage of the e-dividend is that it will provide a very robust KYC to the operator.

“It is because of lack of KYC that we find a lot of infractions in this market. With the BVN platform which the e-dividend is leveraging on, the KYC will now be very robust. People will not be able to use all sorts of identifications to claim what does not belong to them.”

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 21

Business Edo, Delta petroleum marketers protest increase in fuel price

From Osakhare Erese, Asaba

M

embers of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) in Edo and Delta States yesterday staged a peaceful protest over alleged increment in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by the Management of Rainoil Depot, Oghara, Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State.

They called on the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) as well as the federal government to wade into the issue and sanction defaulting depot owners.

The activities of the angry protesters however brought the workings at the private depot to a halt- a source of succor to marketers in the region since the indigenous refineries went epileptic.

The protesters barricaded the entrance of the fuel depot, chanting solidarity songs and preventing Rainoil owned tankers from loading.

They alleged that Rainoil has refused to supply fuel to them unless they pay a price of N105.00 as against the stipulated N84.50 per litre by the federal government, saying that the product be supplied to them at N95.00 which the company has made them pay before adding

another N10.00 extra to the product.

Spokesmen for the protesters, Mr. Alabi Muyi and Mr. Joseph Okolie, while speaking to newsmen, lamented the hardships the independent marketers and tanker drivers are undergoing as a result of the outrageous increase of petroleum products by depot owners.

Mr. Muyi said: “For the past three weeks, we’ve been paying into Rainoil’s account for PMS.

The initial money we paid was N84.50k after which they said we should pay additional N11.00 which we complied with because fuel was not available.

After paying the N11 yesterday, they said they could not programme as they have left over on ground. And we left, but on getting here this morning, they said we should go and pay additional N10.00 making N21.00. We are all saying no. our load should be given to us for the N11.00 we have paid.

L-R: President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr Frank Jacobs, former DirectorGeneral, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Dr Joseph Odumodu, his wife, Mrs. Gloria Odumodu, and Vice-President of MAN, Alhaji Ali Madugu, during a dinner and send-off party in honour of the former DirectorGeneral of SON, on Tuesday night in Lagos.

Photo: NAN

Dangote Cement lifts trading on NSE

T

he Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) market indices on Wednesday rose to a sevenweek high appreciating by 2.25 per cent due to gains posted by Dangote Cement Plc. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the All-Share Index grew by 558.52 points or 2.25 per cent to close at 25, 396.83 against 24,838.31 posted on Tuesday.

Also, the market capitalisation which opened at N8.544 trillion inched N192.15 billion or 2.25 per

cent to close at N8.736 trillion.

Market watchers said that the market was driven by gains in Dangote Cement after the company proposed a dividend of N8 per share for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015 against N6 declared in 2014.

They said that investors were excited by the dividend pay-out declared by Dangote Cement which boosted interest in the company’s shares.

Analysis of the price movement chart indicated that

Dangote Cement led the gainers’ table, increasing by N11.17 to close at N160 per share.

Zenith Bank followed with a gain of 55k to close at N11.63, while Nigerian Breweries appreciated by 48k to close at N102 per share.

ETI gained 43k to close at N18.01 and Lafarge Africa grew by 35k to close at N82 per share.

Conversely, Forte Oil topped the losers’ table, dropping by N15.43 to close at N293.23 per share.

Total trailed with a loss of N7.25 to close at N137.75, while Unilever dipped N1 to close at N27 per share.

International Breweries declined by 97k to close at N18.53 and Stanbic IBTC dropped by 45k to close at N14.15 per share.

UBA drove the activity chart, exchanging 40.41 million shares worth N120.24 million.

United Capital followed with 40.13 million shares valued N55.85 million, while Zenith Bank traded 28.44 million shares

worth N330.17 million.

FCMB Group sold 26.67 million shares valued at N19.84 million, while GT Bank traded 23.58 million shares worth N379.07 million.

In all, the volume of shares closed higher with a total of 275.09 million shares valued N1.64 billion transacted in 3,344 deals.

NAN reports that this was in contrast with 159.74 million shares worth N1.10 billion exchanged 3,080 deals. (NAN)

Exxon Mobil eyes acquisitions, forecasts lowered

E

xxon Mobil Corp said on Wednesday it would continue to cut spending as long as crude prices remain low, but the world’s largest publicly traded oil company added it may look at potential acquisitions in a bid to offset a dip in production.

Exxon, which has a triple-A credit rating, tapped the debt market this week with a $12 billion deal that has led analysts

to speculate the oil major may be gearing up for an acquisition spree.

“We have the financial flexibility to pursue attractive opportunities and can adjust our investment program based on market demand fundamentals,” Exxon Chief Executive Rex Tillerson said in a statement as he and other company executives met with analysts in New York.

Texas-based Exxon said it

expects its capital spending, which has been falling since hitting a peak of $42.5 billion in 2013, to drop next year from the $23.2 billion it now plans to spend this year. It spent $31.1 billion in 2015.

Early last year, Exxon said its average annual spending would be around $34 billion over the next several years.

The company also said on Wednesday that it is on track to start up 10 new oil and gas

projects through the end of next year, which would add 450,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) to its production capacity.

But it expects long-term production of between 4.0 million and 4.2 million boed through 2020, compared to 4.25 million boed in the last quarter of 2015.

That outlook is based on a Brent oil price LCOc1 of $40 to $80 a barrel, Exxon said. Brent oil currently trades at just under $37 a barrel.

Oil prices have fallen some 70 percent since mid-2014, prompting major companies to slash budgets for expensive projects designed to bring hardto-find new discoveries online.

Exxon’s oil and gas production rose 3.2 percent in 2015, as the company’s downstream refining unit provided some insulation against the impact of falling oil prices on its upstream exploration and production unit.(Reuters)

Page 22

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Business

Lagos Airport undergoing TSA security audit From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

A

four-man team from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of United States of America are currently in Nigeria carrying out the Security Audit of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos in line with TSA security procedures.

The team led by Transportation Security Specialist (TSS), were in

the Aviation House, headquarters of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), where they brief the Director General, Capt. Muhtar Usman on the exercise.

Capt. Muhtar disclosed that the team would in the course of the exercise observe the implementation of Aviation Security measures in place at the MMIA and exchange technical expertise in line with ICAO Annex 17 and International

Aviation Security Standard and best Practices.

They will also conduct inspections on the implementation of TSA security procedures of Arik Airlines being the only Nigeria carrier that operates direct flight to United States and that of Delta Airline and United Airline, that both currently operate flight in and out of Nigeria.

The five-day exercise will also

include the examination of Airport Operations and Standards, Quality Control, Access Control point at the Airport, Measures relating to Aircraft Maintenance, Passenger and Baggage Screening, Cargo, Mailing and Catering Services etc.

Other essential issues to be examined are Screening Equipment, Airport Contingency Plan (ACP) and Airport Security Programme (ASP).

Capt.Usman, thanked the TSA

team for their visit and expressed the Authority’s willingness to partner, cooperate and assist the team for the success of the exercise.

According to him, ‘‘security is a serious issue and as a regulatory body, we give it much attention.

Thus, security issues are resolved in a timely manner.’’

In attendance are officials from the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria[FAAN and NCAA.

L-R: Executive Director, Global Infoswift Ltd, Mr. Afolabi Oke, Director of Trade, UKTI, Chris Maskell, MD/ CEO,WEMA Bank, Segun Oloketuyi, and ED,WEMA Bank, Folake Sanu, during the WEMA Bank formal presentation of ISO certificate 20000 & 27001, yesterday in Lagos.

Germany takes on Facebook in competition probe

G

ermany’s cartel office is investigating Facebook (FB.O) for suspected abuse of market power over breaches of data protection laws in the first formal probe of the social network for violating competition rules.

The watchdog said it suspected Facebook’s terms of service regarding how the company makes use of users’ data may abuse its possibly dominant position in the social networking market. It planned to examine whether users were properly informed about how their personal data would be obtained by the company.

Facebook, the world’s biggest social network with 1.6 billion monthly users, earns revenues from advertising based on data it gathers about its users’ social connections, opinions and activities in their postings.

“For advertising-financed Internet services such as Facebook, user data are hugely important,” Federal Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt said.

“For this reason it is essential to also examine under the aspect of abuse of market power whether the consumers are sufficiently informed about the type and extent of data collected.”

A Facebook spokeswoman said on Wednesday: “We are confident that we comply with the law and we look forward to working with the Federal Cartel Office to answer their questions.”

The company has faced criticism from politicians and regulators in Germany, where data protection is strictly regulated,

over its privacy practices and its slow response to anti-immigrant postings by neoNazi sympathisers.

Co-founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg visited Berlin on a charm offensive last week.

“We welcome the approach of the Cartel office,” Hamburg Data Protection Commissioner Johannes Caspar told Reuters. “Whoever has power over user data gets market power and vice versa.”

EU officials have also expressed support for the view that Facebook’s use of data might expose it to regulatory action on competition grounds.

The cartel office said it was coordinating its probe with the European Commission, competition authorities in other European Union states, data protection authorities in Germany and consumer rights groups.

French and Irish competition regulators said they were not actively involved with the German case. A spokesman for the Belgian competition authority declined to comment on whether it was cooperating with the German probe, while the British regulator was not immediately reachable.

“This is an unusual case in many respects,” said Mark Watts, head of data protection at London-based law firm Bristows.

He said it was the first time the volume of personal data a company held was such a significant factor in an investigation into whether a company has abused its dominant position.

Facebook owns four of the top eight

social network services globally including its core profile service, two separate instant messaging services, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, and its photo and video-sharing social network service Instagram.

Facebook has nearly the twice the number of users as the world’s second largest social network, Tencent’s (0700.

HK) QQ of China. Nearly 84 percent of the members of Facebook’s core social network are outside the United States and Canada, which generated half its nearly $18 billion in revenues last year.

Companies can theoretically face a fine of up to 10 percent of their annual turnover by the German competition regulator if they are found to have abused a dominant market position. But the cartel office has never leveled a maximum penalty.

BIG DATA European regulators have begun debating the role that vast collections of “big data” - collected from billions of Web searches, messages and other online interactions - give Internet giants in marketing and commerce and how such data makes it difficult for smaller businesses to compete in those areas.

“User data is often the currency which consumers pay for supposedly free services,” said Klaus Mueller, chairman of the Federation of German Consumer Organizations. “Consumers have no adequate alternative. They can’t just transfer their user data to other portals.”

The cartel office had already signaled

last month it was ready to consider data protection issues as raising potential competition concerns.

European Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso said the EU executive shared the view of the German cartel office that the mere infringement of data protection rules by a dominant company did not automatically amount to a competition violation.

“However, it cannot be excluded that a behavior that violates data protection rules could also be relevant when investigating a possible violation of EU competition rules,” he added, while declining specific comment on the new case.

Speaking in Germany in January, top EU antitrust enforcer Margrethe Vestager said her agency was taking a harder look at whether the collection of vast amounts of consumer data by big Internet companies violates competition rules.

By contrast, U.S. privacy law enforcement remains limited to gross privacy violations where it can be show companies failed to properly safeguard customer information.

The EU has accused Facebook rival Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), of favoring its own shopping services in search results at the expense of rivals, and is weighing possible sanctions against the world’s most popular search engine.

However, the commission previously considered and rejected big data issues when it approved Google’s acquisition of online advertising firm DoubleClick in 2008 and Facebook’s purchase of WhatsApp in 2014.

(Reuters)

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 23

Stock Watch: Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Company

Previous Closing Price

Opening Price

High

Low

Close

Change

Trades

Volume

Value

Company

Previous Closing Price

Opening Price

High

Low

Close

Change

Trades

Volume

Value

7UP 170 170 170 170 170 6 151,035 25,675,959.95

MBENEFIT 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

ABBEYBDS 1.25 - - - - 0 - -

MCNICHOLS

ABCTRANS 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

MOBIL 150 - - - - 17 10,350 1,521,554.60

ACADEMY 0.55 - - - - 0 - ACCESS 4.05 4.11 4.1 4.06 4.06 0.01 59 1,887,248 7,709,066.30 ADSWITCH 1.63 - - - - 0 - AFRIK 0.5 - - - - 0 - AFRINSURE 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

1.18 1.21 1.21 1.21 0.03 2

270,464 327,261.44

MORISON 1.73 - - - - 0 - MRS 49.66 - - - - 0 - MTECH 0.91 - - - - 0 - MTI 0.5 - - - - 0 - MULTITREX 0.5 - - - - 0 - MULTIVERSE 0.5 - - - 0 - -

AFRIPRUD 2.58 2.46 2.46 2.46 2.46 -0.12 26 979,264 2,412,030.84 NAHCO 4.02 4 4 4 4 -0.02 22 251,094 1,001,583.80 AFRPAINTS 2.59 - - - - 0 - -

NASCON 6.86 - - - - 9 80,100 560,610.00

AGLEVENT 0.77 - - - - 2 5,500 4,165.00

NB 99.99 99.94 99.94 98.5 99.9

AIICO 0.8 - - - - 6 62,998 50,338.15 AIRSERVICE 2.29 - - - - 1 4,588 10,001.84 ALEX 9.84 - - - - 0 - ALUMACO 7.75 - - - - 0 - ANINO 0.25 - - - - 0 - -

-0.09 68

293,234 29,196,308.21

NCR 11.02 - - - - 0 - NEIMETH 0.72 0.69 0.69 0.69 0.69 -0.03 5

518,000 357,600.00

NEM 0.73 - - - - 6 134,441 99,520.75 NESF 552.2 - - - - 0 - NESTLE 700 715.5 700 700 700 41 75,818 52,951,924.47

ARBICO 5.04 - - - - 0 - NIG-GERMAN 4.91 - - - 0 - ASHAKACEM 24 - - - 15 109,227 2,671,023.97 NIGERINS 0.5 - - - - 0 - ASOSAVINGS 0.5 - - - - 0 - -DUN-

NIGROPES 7.46 - - - - 0 - -

LOP 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

NNFM 6.65 - - - - 1 433 2,736.56

EKOCORP 3.72 - - - - 0 - ELLAHLAKES 4.26 - - - 0 - ENAMELWA 29.78 - - - - 0 - EQUITYASUR 0.5 - - - 0 - ETERNA 1.76 1.84 1.84 1.84 1.84 0.08 6 97,300 177,432.00

NPFMCRFBK 1.08 - - - 1 4,760 4,950.40 NSLTECH 0.5 - - - - 0 - OANDO 3.48 3.65 3.49 3.47 3.47 84 3,565,310 12,378,579.44 OKOMUOIL 30 - - - - 5 12,300 364,216.00 OMATEK 0.5 - - - - 0 - OMOSAVBNK 0.92 - - - 0 - -

ETI 15.6 - - - - 14 177,450 2,635,288.67 PAINTCOM 1.04 - - - - 0 - -

ETRANZACT 3.1 - - - - 0 - -

PHARMDEKO 2.14 - - - 0 - -

EVANSMED 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

PORTPAINT 3.36 - - - - 0 - -

FBNH 3.79 3.93 3.86 3.8 3.8 184 5,055,956 19,275,492.20

PREMBREW 2.95 - - - - 0 - -

FCMB 0.87 0.84 0.87 0.84 0.85 90 29,249,726 24,926,812.18

PREMPAINTS 10.93 - - - 0 - -

FIDELITYBK 1.21 1.22 1.22 1.22 1.22 0.01 12 128,900 157,724.34 FIDSON 2.69 - - - - 27 614,065 1,572,223.05 FIRSTALUM 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

PRESCO 34 35.7 - - - 5 11,400 412,350.00 PRESTIGE 0.5 - - - - 0 - PZ 21.9 - - - - 12 36,726 816,355.90 RAKUNITY 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

FLOURMILL 18.4 18.99 18.99 18.99 18.99 0.59 27 197,247 3,727,672.78 REDSTAREX 3.8 - - - - 3 12,500 49,875.00 FO 342 - - - - 6 15,200 4,938,480.00 REGALINS 0.5 - - - - 0 - FORTISMFB 5.15 - - - - 0 - RESORTSAL 0.5 - - - - 0 - FTNCOCOA 0.5 - - - - 0 - ROADS 6.6 - - - - 0 - GCAPPA 14.46 - - - - 0 - -

ROKANA 0.6 - - - - 0 - -

GLAXOSMITH

ROYALEX 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

24.17 25.37 25.37 24.99 29 501,798 12,648,111.26

GNI 0.5 - - - - 0 - GOLDBREW 0.97 - - - - 0 - GOLDINSURE 0.53 - - - 0 - GUARANTY 16.87 17.45 17.45 16.59 16.66 149 3,576,744 59,751,776.00

RTBRISCOE 0.5 - - - - 1 941 470.50 SCOA 3.96 - - - - 0 - SEPLAT 302.48 317.6 318 318 318 15.52 30

388,650 123,626,470.56

SIMCAPVAL 103.24 - - - - 0 - -

GUINEAINS 0.5 - - - - 0 - -GUINSKYEBANK 1.08 1.12 1.08 1.07 1.07 -0.01 39 1,959,858 2,104,852.11 NESS 118 - - - - 10 15,500 1,818,000.00 SKYESHELT 100 - - - - 0 - HMARKINS 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 2 5,004,000 2,502,000.00 SMURFIT 1.02 - - - - 0 - HONYFLOUR 1.37 - - - 4 20,000 27,916.00

SOVRENINS 0.5 - - - - 0 -

IAINSURE 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

-STACO 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

IKEJAHOTEL 2.89 - - - - 0 - INFINITY 1.42 - - - - 0 - INTBKPREF 13.5 - - - - 0 - INTBREW 20 20 - - - 6 14,700 284,197.00 INTENEGINS 0.5 - - - - 0 - INTERLINK 4.21 - - - - 0 - -

STANBIC 14.15 - - - - 5 37,001 523,343.90 STDINSURE 0.5 - - - - 0 - STERLNBANK

1.73 1.73 1.73 1.73

1.73

13

0

1,104,932 1,911,701.10

STUDPRESS 2.19 - - - - 0 - TANTALIZER 0.5 - - - 0 - THOMASWY 0.61 - - - 0 - -

IPWA 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

TIGERBRANDS 1.26 1.25 1.26 1.21 25 3,285,439,119 4,073,967,894.07

JAPAULOIL 0.5 - - - - 2 24,262 12,131.00

TOTAL 145 - - - - 3 3,296 480,630.96

3.51 - - - - 0 - JBERGER 41.5 42.73 - - - 12 31,470 1,386,784.78 TOURIST TRANSCOHOT 5.51 - - - 0 - JOHNHOLT 0.88 - - - - 0 - JOSBREW 1.51 - - - - 0 - JULI 1.75 - - - - 0 - LASACO 0.5 - - - - 0 - LAWUNION 0.67 - - - - 0 - LEARNAFRCA

0.81 0.85 0.89 0.85 0.08 12 610,400 526,304.00

LENNARDS 3 - - - - 0 - -

Top Gainers Company

Previous Closing Price

Opening Price

High

1.15 1.18 1.18 1.13 -0.02 57 6,563,730 7,435,456.87

TRIPPLEG 1.69 - - - - 1 500 805.00 UAC-PROP 5.2 - - - - 3 20,251 110,165.44 UACN 20.47 21.44 - - - 13 65,995 1,344,425.15 UBA 3 3 3 2.9 2.9 121 6,406,693 18,969,767.92 UBN 5.3 - - - - 8 24,412 126,491.00

Top Losers Low

Close

Change

Trades

Volume

Value

SEPLAT 302.48 317.6 318 318 318 30 388,650 123,626,470.56 GLAXOSMITH

TRANSCORP

TRANSEXPR 1.21 - - - - 0 - -

24.17 25.37 25.37 24.99 29

501,798 12,648,111.26

FLOURMILL 18.4 18.99 18.99 18.99 18.99 0.59 207,732 3,926,887.78

Company

Previous Closing Price

Opening Price

High

Low

Close

Change

Trades

Volume

Value

AFROMEDIA 0.5 - - - - 0 - LENNARDS 3 - - - - 0 - RTBRISCOE 0.5 - - - - 1 941 470.50

WAPCO 80 80.5 80.5 80.5 80.5 19 14,337,554 1,154,154,991.51

DUNLOP 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

DANGSUGAR

ETI 15.6 - - - - 14 177,450 2,635,288.67

5.44 5.36 5.6 5.36 44 2,017,332 11,033,075.32

ETERNA 1.76 1.84 1.84 1.84 1.84 0.08 97,300 177,432.00

INTBKPREF 13.5 - - - - 0 - -

LEARNAFRCA 0.81 0.85 0.89 0.85 0.08 610,400 526,304.00

UBN 5.3 - - - - 8 24,412 126,491.00

UNITYBNK 0.6 0.63 0.63 0.63 0.63 0.03 501,617 316,018.71

PREMBREW 2.95 - - - - 0 - -

Peoples Daily, Thursday, March 3, 2016

PAGE 24

PAGE 25

Special Report

The Ugandan schoolboy wrongly convicted of murder H

enry was at school when the men came for him.

They were not wearing uniforms, so he did not realise at first that it was the police, but then they pulled out the handcuffs. “I was like, ‘My God, what’s this?’” he says. He and his younger brother, Joseph, were bundled into a police van and were shocked to find their mother inside.

“Just be calm. God will help out,” she said.

A few days earlier, a calamity had befallen the family. Henry’s father had been saving money to pay for his education. In addition to the income from their small farm, the family had glued together envelopes and sold them for a few pennies, while Henry’s mother had cooked chapattis for village restaurants. The hope was that Henry, always top of his class, would be the first in the family to go to university.

But then the money vanished from under the mattress, and along with it Imanriho, a man who had worked on the farm as a herdsman for many years.

In Uganda they arrest first and then they investigate later It was not long before someone from the village spotted the culprit at the market in the nearby town of Hoima, and dragged him back to account for the missing money.

A mob set upon him. Henry heard the commotion at school, but did not know what it was about and was not allowed out. His father, however, rushed to the scene and tried to stop the attack. “Enough!

Let me get him some water,” he cried. But at that moment someone dropped a huge stone that crushed Imanriho’s head.

The crowd dispersed, leaving Henry’s father with the dead body. He had been a part of the family, even if he had run away with their savings. He decided to bury him in his field.

It was this that led the whole family to be arrested on suspicion of murder.

“In Uganda they arrest first and then they investigate later,” says Henry. The two boys - aged 15 and 13 - were locked up in Hoima jail with their father, although their mother was released.

After two months in the adult jail, Henry and Joseph were sent to a juvenile remand centre in Ihungu, about 50km (30 miles) away.

The single concrete dormitory block was dark and overcrowded, with just a few sleeping mats on the floor. There was no fence, but

Ugandan schoolboy Tumusiime Henry was 15 when he was accused of murder the first time. While he waited almost two years for the trial to begin he was accused of a second murder. But then he met an American lawyer who slowly realised it was up to him to come to the rescue of an innocent teenager.

Since his release Mpagi has remarried and set up a school for children of prisoners

Henry with his appeal lawyers, Edward Sekabanja and Jim Gash

The Ugandan justice system is overwhelmed - these are files at a magistrate’s court there were many rules in place to prevent escape. The brothers had to give up their shirt and shoes and were kept apart. One of the teenagers acted as leader and was given the title of “katikkiro” which means “prime minister” - it was their job to enforce the rules and punishments.

The group of 20-odd young people were meant to be looked after by a matron called Rose Mpairwe, but she broke the rules and sent them out to work illegally in the fields.

Henry soon found out what happened when you broke her rules. Walking to work on the first day he carried his hoe on his shoulder - this was forbidden. “I took it down but they had already seen me, so I got a beating,” he says.

The teenagers would start work at 6am and weren’t fed until after they got back at 11am. Henry and his brother were not used to such hard labour. “We had no experience of digging at that pace.

If we lagged behind, we would get less porridge,” he says.

The warden in charge of the remand centre was unaware of what the matron was up to and nobody dared to tell him. “I had a fear - so I couldn’t express myself

fully,” says Henry.

Still, the brothers settled in and after a while the warden appointed Henry prime minister.

He took his duties seriously. “I struggled to lift up the voices of any fellow prisoners who were not listened to,” he says.

And being prime minister made life more bearable. “I got relief from beating and I was allowed full access to my brother.”

Towards the end of 2009 some new boys arrived. One of them, called Innocent, was in a bad way - he had asthma, and had already spent three days in a police station without any medicine. He also had cuts on his hands from being tied up.

“I had a clue that he was sick - he worked slowly,” says Henry.

“Rose wasn’t happy with that. She really wanted to make him work.”

Henry explained to her that Innocent was sick, but she didn’t believe him. “He really couldn’t lift the hoe,” says Henry.

The matron ordered Henry to beat Innocent. When he protested, she slapped him and warned him that he would lose his position as prime minister.

The thought of losing access to his brother was too awful - Henry felt he had no choice.

“I gave him a few strokes to impress Rose, but she wasn’t satisfied,” he says. In fact, his lenience angered her further, and she then made the boys bury Innocent up to his neck. This distressed everyone so much that he was quickly dug up again.

Innocent was then given lighter duties - clearing a piece of ground which was going to be dug up the next day. He saw a chance to escape, and seized it. Henry was sent to chase the sick child.

“I easily got him and brought him back,” he says.

To punish Innocent for his escape attempt, Mpairwe ordered four of the newcomers to give him 10 strokes each with the cane - 40 in all. “Innocent couldn’t scream by that time, he was really suffering,” says Henry.

“He asked for water, she said no.

No-one moved - we did not dare to take him water. Rose was the controller of everything.”

Obviously unwell, Innocent was taken back to the remand centre by motorbike - the others followed on foot. Henry was told to take him to hospital, but by the time he reached the dormitory, it was too late. “I called Innocent, but there was no reply. I went close to his bed. It was all dark.

Innocent was dead,” he says.

Henry was deeply upset. “This was my fellow prisoner,” he says.

“What should I do?”

When Henry told the warden what had happened, he tried to reassure him. “You have nothing to worry about, I believe in you,” he said. But Henry was not so sure.

When the police came the next day, they arrested the matron but, as prime minister Henry was also held responsible.

Eighteen months after being taken from his classroom, he was now charged with two murders and began to feel he would never be released.

“I told my mum not to come and visit me again,” Henry says, “because I had really lost hope by that time.”

Then in January 2010 some American lawyers arrived in Ihungu. One of them was Jim Gash, a law professor at Pepperdine University in California. The university’s law school had developed a close relationship with the Ugandan judiciary, providing free training and sending students over to volunteer during the summer vacation.

It was the first time Gash had been to Uganda. After hearing reports of young people left languishing for long periods in an “up-country” remand centre, his team planned to spend a week preparing the teenagers’ defence

cases so that they could finally be brought to trial.

“I was a ‘volun-tourist’,” he says. “I thought this was going to be a one-time thing.” He had no idea how deeply involved he would get.

“When I walked in I was just shocked and emotionally shaken because there is no electricity, no running water, no beds - there were just thin mats on the floor, with slits in the upper part of the wall [for ventilation] with no mosquito nets, and the kids were just in a hopeless state of disrepair clothing-wise,” says Gash.

“I had kids that age and I was just thinking: ‘This is not OK with me, somebody’s got to do something about that - but at the time I didn’t think it was going to be me.’”

The team had not brought a translator, but when they arrived in Ihungu they discovered that only two of the 21 prisoners spoke English: Henry and his younger brother Joseph.

The Americans split into two groups - Joseph helped one team, while Henry was assigned to translate for Gash.

“We walked him through what kind of information we needed and he acted like he understood completely,” says Gash. “And over time we realised he did, because he’s really smart.”

Henry spoke five languages but sometimes even that wasn’t enough. “There was one kid who

spoke a language that only one other kid spoke, so I would ask Henry in English and then he would interpret into this other language and then that boy would interpret into the native language of the defendant,” says Gash.

Some of the teenagers didn’t even know what they were charged with. Others admitted their misdemeanours. Several were there because they’d had sex with their girlfriends before the girls had reached the age of 18.

There were some tragic stories.

“One boy confessed to stealing a gun in order to kill himself,” says Gash. “He was a member of the Lango tribe in an area where this tribe wasn’t accepted and his parents had died a few years earlier. Even when we were with him, he was quite despondent.”

Another girl had given birth to a sick baby and was accused of murder when it died.

To corroborate their statements, the lawyers also paid for witnesses to travel to the remand centre. One man made his own way, walking for seven hours to give his statement.

Eventually Gash turned his attention to Henry. Before arriving in Ihungu the Americans had been nervous about meeting this boy accused of two murders, but he was nothing like what they expected. “He’s a little guy - he’s 5ft 4in (162cm) and weighs about 120lb (55kg) - so I didn’t feel physically in danger,

Edward Mpagi was condemned to death for a murder that never even happened but nevertheless it was an odd situation,” says Gash.

While he spoke to Henry, Joseph was interviewed by the other team. Their stories matched exactly. Both said they were in school when the mob attacked, and that no-one had been allowed to leave.

The lawyers then called the headmaster, who confirmed the story. “When the mob rushed by the school we shut everything down - I went into every single classroom and made sure the teachers knew that no-one is allowed to leave,” he told them.

The lock-down had begun at 9am and it wasn’t until the end of the school day, long after the mob had dispersed, that anyone was allowed out.

“There was no question in our mind, these kids are being held unjustly,” says Gash.

By then, he and Henry had begun to bond. “He’s a strong person of faith as well,” says Gash, a devout Christian. “But more than anything it was: this kid needs help.”

It wasn’t all work. Between interviews, the lawyers would chat and play football with the boys. During one such break Gash showed Henry his mobile phone. “Yours is better than mine,” said Henry, and took out his. Gash was astounded that he had one, but Henry was still the prime minister, responsible for his fellow prisoners, and

needed to be able to call for help if anyone got sick or hurt.

Then Henry held up Gash’s business card and asked if that was the number for his mobile phone. It wasn’t, but at that point, Gash decided to go the extra mile - he gave Henry his mobile phone number and promised to stay in touch.

When he landed back in the US, he switched on his phone to hear the message: “Hello Mr Jim, this is Henry. I hope you had a safe journey, thank you for coming to see us.”

Since then, the two have spoken every week.

Two months later, in March 2010, both of Henry’s cases - and those of his fellow prisoners went to court. In Uganda, groups of up to 40 cases are scheduled at the same time for efficiency - that way if witnesses haven’t appeared for one trial, the court can get on with the next one.

The first charge - the killing of Imanriho - was dismissed immediately. Henry’s father and brother were free to go, but Henry had to return to the remand centre until the conclusion of his other trial, on the charge of murdering Innocent.

He felt lonely - not only was his brother gone but 17 of his fellow prisoners had also been released.

Several were found not guilty and released, but many of them pled guilty to the offences

because the punishment that they would receive was shorter than the time that had already been served.

For his second trial Henry shared a lawyer with his coaccused, the matron, Mpairwe.

Worryingly, while at court, Henry’s father had seen one of her witnesses accept a bribe, while being told to put the blame on Henry.

More worrying still was the defence lawyer’s strategy because Henry was only 17, he could get no more than three years for a capital offence, so the lawyer decided to focus on defending his other client, who faced the maximum penalty.

“The lawyer told me not to defend myself and told Rose to defend herself,” says Henry.

“I was really confused. I was trusting him as my lawyer but I was very concerned.”

Back in the US, Gash listened to these developments with increasing frustration.

It then turned out that the lawyer intended to lay all the blame on Henry - it was her word against his. No witnesses were called to defend him, and he himself was not asked to testify.

On the day of the verdict, 22 April 2010, the court found both parties guilty of murder.

Mpairwe was sentenced to 10 years. Henry’s sentence depended on a medical examination to prove that he was a minor. If he was found to be an adult, he could face the maximum penalty: death.

“That’s when I got on the next plane,” says Gash. “I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew somebody I cared about was in great distress.”

Birth records in Uganda are not always reliable, so courts ask doctors to determine the age of a defendant. Henry had been examined twice already, but this time the court said he had to be seen by a police doctor.

This made Gash nervous, because of the possibility of corruption.

“Corruption is an issue,” he says. “It’s not as big at higher levels, like the High Court and above, because they are sufficiently compensated - but in the police it’s a huge problem because they’re so poorly paid that they supplement their income.”

Henry’s family had no money to bribe anybody, and would not have been willing to stoop to it, Gash says, “or they could have been out a long time ago”.

Gash waited anxiously while Henry was taken back to his home town to be examined.

“That was one of the most tense times in my entire life,” he says. “If the other doctor said he was 18, getting a death penalty, or getting a sentence of 25 or 30 years, was a very real possibility.”

One man who knows a lot about the death penalty in Uganda is Edward Mpagi.

His 18 years on death row in Kampala’s maximum security Luzira prison ended before Henry was even arrested but their cases have much in common.

Both began with a theft.

Mpagi’s neighbour, William Wandyaka, was robbed and because their families were embroiled in a long-running dispute over land, suspicion fell on Mpagi.

Again, the whole family was arrested - Mpagi, his cousin Fred Masembe, and their parents although the parents were soon released.

The two young men spent a year on remand in the local prison during which time they only met their lawyer twice. When Mpagi stood before the High Court judge, he was horrified to hear that the charge was murder, not robbery. He didn’t even know that anyone was supposed to have died.

“It was terrible,” says Mpagi.

“Because if you are innocent you have no words to say.”

Mother Earth

The sounds of silence

Ambrose Inusa Sule environment watch globenviron@yahoo.com 0703-441-4410 (sms only)

H

ave you ever wondered how difficult it is to find a truly quiet place these days? At home, household appliances are noisy. At work, generators, computers and air conditioners hum, much more. If you work in manufacturing, it is not unusual that the noise level is so high that you need hearing protection. In the car, there is road and engine noise, and even far out in the woods, one is surrounded by unwanted noise from roads, industries and communities.

Even worse is the attitude of music cassette vendors who believe, wrongly, that the fastest and easiest way to attract customers is by heightening the decibel of their equipment.

Most beer parlors and other sit-outs are located within residential estates that also generate as much noise, if not more than worship centers that blare megaphones and loudspeakers. The volume of noise emanating from markets, club houses and factories are not less disturbing.

Recently, not a few shouted blue murder when the Lagos State Government through its Commissioner for Environment, Tunji Bello, threatened to sanction any church or mosque found disturbing public peace with noise from their loud speakers.

The reason was that Lagos State Government had been inundated with complaints from residents living near some religious places disturbing their neighborhoods with noise, and it would no longer watch the trend continue.

Those affected would likely argue that noise from the religious groups pale in intensity when compared with that from human and vehicular traffic.

The war on noise pollution did not just started today, it all began some years ago when the State Ministry of Environment took the first step of issuing out threat notices to churches, mosques and other religious institutions in the state to desist from constituting what it called nuisance to members of the public through their public address systems (PAS) which often blare out sounds at deafening decibels.

There were laws proposed for amendment which include the Lagos State Physical Development Regulation 2005, the Land Use Pattern and the Noise Pollution Control Policy.

The Noise Pollution Control Policy wants those concerned, especially churches and mosques, to desist from the use of externally placed speakers as well as refrain from the use of horn speakers within their premises.

It also prescribes that they observe night vigils once a month

The Victoria falls located in southern Africa without musical instruments so as not to disturb other churches/ mosques within the same area. It says that the noise level should not exceed 55db during the day and 45 db at night, just as early morning service should not commence before 7.am and midweek services should not exceed 9pm and should be conducted without musical instruments.

Noise pollution is recognized as a major problem for the quality of life in urban areas all over the world. Because of the increase in the number of cars and industrialization, noise pollution has also increased. Noise in cities, especially along main arteries, has reached up disturbing levels.

Residences far from noise sources and near silent secondary roads are currently very popular. People prefer to live in places far from noisy urban areas.

Many surveys addressing the problem of noise pollution in many cities throughout the world have been conducted and have shown the scale of discomfort that noise causes in people’s lives.

Existing evidence indicating that noise pollution may have negative impacts on human health has justified research in order to provide better understanding of noise pollution problems and control.

Depending on its duration and volume, the effects of noise

on human health and comfort are divided into four categories; physical effects, such as hearing defects; physiological effects, such as increased blood pressure, irregularity of heart rhythms and ulcers; psychological effects, such as disorders, sleeplessness and going to sleep late, irritability and stress; and finally effects on work performance, such as reduction of productivity and misunderstanding what is heard.

City noise levels can be investigated in three different ways as traffic and transportation; industrial activities; Sport, marketing and entertainment facilities. In comparison to other pollutants, the control of environmental noise has been hampered by insufficient knowledge of its effects on human and lack of defined criteria. Noise pollution is a significant environmental problem in many rapidly urbanizing areas. This problem is properly not recognized despite the fact that it is steadily growing in developing countries. It is well established now that noise is a potential hazard to health, communication and enjoyment of social life. It is becoming an unjustifiable interference imposition upon human comfort, health and quality of life.

In Nigeria, the problem of noise pollution is wide spread.

Several studies report that noise

level in metropolitan cities exceeds specified standard limits.

But, there is no legal frame work upon which noise pollution can be abated. The then Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) which metamorphosed into the Federal Ministry of Environment only provided daily noise exposure limits for workers in industry (i.e. 90 dB (A) for 8h exposure) in Nigeria.

In short, the Nigerian Government and her citizenry appear not to be conscious of the present and future impacts of noise induced health hazards in their environment. Unless and until measures are taken to control the level of noise, the ongoing urbanization and industrialization may complicate the problem so much that it becomes incurable.

Generation of noise in a metropolitan setting can be viewed in the light of city planning disorderliness and the increasing number of vehicular traffic in the face of urban growth and development.

The planning, development, and establishing a noise control capacity is an important consideration in the aspect of noise control.

There is need for abatement plans for noise generation areas like areas around major transport facilities especially at bus stops along traffic routes having economic activities and major mar-

ket areas.

Noise has always been a major environmental stressor in urban areas. The ability to measure ambient noise levels and represent them on a map should provide a powerful tool for spatially identifying noise sources, its spread and its impact and make decisions relating to its control and management.

In other climes noise pollution is taken very seriously and is working with policies, strategies, legislation, and monitoring and research to reduce noise interference in society.

The World Health Organization, WHO, has recently published guidelines for noise at night and states that outdoor noise exposure should not exceed 40 dB. The automotive and aerospace industries and many others in the industrial community therefore face significant challenges.

There’s no doubt that Lagos is one of the noisiest cities in Nigeria; therefore, the State government may have reached the point of exasperation in its futile effort to curb noise pollution. Likely, it is on the verge of taking more drastic measures against those inclined to making the environment in the state unfriendly and perhaps uninhabitable.

The government in the “Centre of Excellence” has vowed to bring down the sledgehammer on those who, through their actions, exacerbate noise pollution.

Its first victims are the churches and mosques it claims are proliferating in residential areas at a perceived unacceptable rate. If the authorities in the state carry out their threat, some churches and mosques in some areas mapped out as “residential” may be sealed off.

A first-time visitor to Lagos would be tempted to understand the frustrations of the government. But the noise that causes the pollution is not from religious institutions alone. This is not to say that these groups and their seeming competition in the use of loud speakers, megaphones and other forms of public address systems are not maddening enough.

The point is that if the government insists on dealing with churches and mosques alone, it is likely to be misunderstood.

It is unarguable that inhabitants of residential areas deserve their rest after a hard day’s job, even if indeed, the intention is to serve God, then, they do not need to shout at the top of their voices.

But the approach must be holistic and not discriminatory, especially as noise from whatever source is unhealthy and should be checked.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 27

Emergency Update

NEMA provides medication to Benishek IDPs camp

Stories by Mashe Umaru Gwamna

I

n continuous efforts to provide relief to residents of Liberated communities in Borno state, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the North-East has

provided medicinal treatment ,medication and basic essential needs to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs),in the newly established camp in Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) Benishek, headquarters of Kaga Local Government Area Borno state.

The gesture was disclosed When the Commanding Officer 29 Brigade Task Force of Nigerian Army, who also oversees satellite IDPs camps, Brigadier General BA Raji commended the agency’s efforts in addressing the plights of IDPs especially through its Mobile Medical Team (MMT) that

provides medications at the camp.

The team also conducted a need assessment to identify the medical supplies needed at the clinic set up

by United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF )to cater for women and children with a view to provide more capacity (drugs

and consumables) to the clinic to enable it cater for all persons with medical issues in the camp.

The Camp which is hosting people from the recently liberated communities around Benishek include Galangi, Zakurari, Shettimari ,Burma, Jalori, shettimanuri and Walari.

AgatuAttacks: NEMA,BSEMA gives humanitarian items to eight displace communities

T

he National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (BSEMA) has established three camps in Apa town for the displaced residents of the 8 communities in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State that were affected by the recent attack by suspected herdsmen.

The NEMA North Central Zonal coordinator, Abdulsalam Muhammad led the humanitarian intervention of the Agency to strengthen supports of the Benue State Government in assisting the affected displaced communities in Agatu LGA, Benue State.

About 8,642 of the displaced persons are being profiled at the camps as NEMA has despatched humanitarian relief items to cushion their conditions.

The affected persons who are mostly women and children are rescued from the bush where they ran for safety.

Officials of National Emergency Management Agency and Borno State Emergency Management Agency in a monthly meeting with other stakeholders on the supports for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Maiduguri on Wednesday

NEMA, UNICEF, stakeholders to review flood response profile ahead 2016 rains

S

takeholders in the field of environment recently had a three days forum in Akwange a Nasarawa state to review flood response profile ahead of 2016 rains , as the nation awaits this year’s Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) .

The forum which drew high profile experts from Nasarawa State, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) ,Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) ,Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) and Nigerian Hdrological Services Agency (NIHSA), all have gathered in the effort to

fashion out a fresh early warning and early action mechanism for the nation in order to ensure a hitch-free 2016 preparedness.

Speaking at the forum the Director-General of National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA ),Alhaji Muhammad Sani Sidi, said there is an underlined need to embark on flood prevention and mitigation measures that would ensure free-flowing drainage systems, operation and maintenance of hydraulic structures such as dams and reservoirs which are being adequately controlled by the various dam management institutions in the country.

Sidi, represented by Kayode Fagbemi, Deputy Director (Planning, Research

& Forecasting), NEMA, said: “This is yet another occasion for dialogue and in-depth deliberation geared towards improving flood early warning and early action mechanism in Nigeria.

Similarly, The UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Jean Gough, recalled that, following the 2015 SRP by NiMET, NEMA had constituted a multi-stakeholder committee to examine the implications of the SRP on various vulnerable groups and communities in the country.

According to her, UNICEF was part of the committee and also part of the team that supported the Flood Contingency Plan for 2015 for all Flood High Risk

States in the country “It is in line with such activities that NEMA and the stakeholders have decided to review the Flood Response Profile for 2015 ahead of the 2016 SRP in order to ensure that lessons learnt from the previous preparedness and early warning activities are not lost in the 2016 preparedness,” she added.

Gough, represented by UNICEF Nigeria’s Monitoring & Evaluation Officer (Emergency Preparedness for Response), Olusoji Adeniyi, stressed that the UN body remains committed to its mandate of protecting the rights of children and women in humanitarian situations “in which flood remains one of the most challenging and the most

devastating in terms of natureinduced disasters as it often affects women and children more than any other group in the affected population globally.

She reiterated that both the SRP and AFO are analysed to make forecast for flood early warning, early dissemination and action to flood-prone regions and high risk states in the country.

“The SRP, specifically, gives early warnings to reduce the risk associated with the nation’s two extremes of flood and dry spells.

This, they set out to do by reviewing last year’s flood prediction determining what was done right and devising ways to Contineu on Page 28

Emergency Update Continuation from Page 27

improve on it in the 2016 Annual Flooding Season”.

UNICEF`s commitment to Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR), she noted, is unwavering and remains one of the core elements of its humanitarian policy.

The workshop, she stressed, provides an opportunity for all stakeholders to review their roles and responsibilities, identify challenges and make recommendations towards improved preparedness in the future.

“It is important to note that such recommendations, especially after the serious nationwide floods of 2012, led to several improvements by National and State governments in the high risk states by the introduction of both structural and non-structural risk mitigation and risk control measures in their states resulting in lower casualties and lower disaster loss in the year 2015.

“This workshop is expected to further make recommendations that will assist the policy makers to further make improvements to processes and assign resources towards improved disaster risk reduction measures,” Gough added.

Meanwhile , Dr. Emmanuel Adanu, Executive Director, National Water Resources Institute (NWRI), in his presentation urged government to focus more on preventing disasters than managing it in order to save human, material and financial resources.

While called on the authorities to actualise the Dasin Hausa Dam, a multi-purpose facility designed to cushion the effect of the Lagdo Dam flooding.

“Since 1982 when the Lagdo Dam was built in Lagdo town on the Adamawa Plateau in the Northern Province of Cameroon along the course of the Benue River, lowland communities in north-eastern Nigerian states (of Borno, Adamawa and Taraba) especially those located downstream within the River Benue drainage basin are usually flooded whenever water is released from the reservoir”.

He emphaised that following an agreement involving Nigeria and Cameroon in 1980, the Nigerian government was supposed to embark on a similar venture along the course of the river, ostensibly to contain the gushing water released upstream from Lagdo Dam and curb flooding and attendant destruction of property and loss of lives.

Designed in 1981, the site of the proposed dam is the Dasin Village of Fufore Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

He said it would be recalled that the release of water from Lagdo Dam in 2012 caused extensive flooding across the

Officers of the 29 Brigade Task Force of Nigerian Army, receiving relief materials for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from NEMA official, during the presentation of the items for the liberated communities in Borno state by the NEMA in the North-East, yesterday at Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) Benishek camp, in Borno state.

NEMA Provides Medication to Benishek Camp Pics

border in Nigeria, submerging hundreds of settlements in Adamawa State, killing people and displacing thousands of families. Many were reportedly missing. The entire upper and lower Benue River basin was extensively flooded.

Adding that ,the worst hit areas were in Fufore, Girei, Yola South, Yola North, Demsa, Numan, Lamorde, Shelleng, Michika, Guyuk and Ganye Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state. Additionally, LGAs in Taraba State such as Jalingo (the state capital), Ardo Kola, Ibbi, Karin Lamido, Wukari, Takum and Lau were affected.

Director of Dams in the Ministry of Water Resources,Adanu, erstwhile said :“Apart from building the Dasin Hausa Dam, government should consider daming some of the tributary rivers feeding

the River Benue because this wing contributed most of the water that led to the infamous nationwide 2012 flooding. If such rain falls again, we are going to have a repeat of that situation.”

Furthermore ,A Marine Meteorologist at NiMET, Glory Onyegbule, described adaptation and mitigation measures as the response by disaster managers to tackle the ever increasing frequency and intensity of natural weather and climate hazards such as floods.

She explained that NiMet provides SRP as a critical early warning tool to encourage good planning and assist early action for any predicted extreme weather and climate events during the year.

“The use of the SRP is now known to reduce the impact of these extreme weather and climate events by about 35%, and

this can rise further reduced with massive publicity as is being done today,” Onyegbule stated.

At the end of the day, participants made observations on issues bordering timely and effective 2015 forecast/ prediction, hyrological data gaps, inadequate meteorological data, timely but inadequate dissemination of information, vandalisation of equipment, reduction of instruments’ sensitivity to measurements, non-fuctioning of some data measuring equipment, inadequate coverage of density of hydro-met network of station and untimely release of operational funds by state governments to SEMAs during response activities.

Consequently, the gathering recommended that, amid an enhancement in information dissemination that utilises

the new and emerging media, stakeholders should improve its strategies in identifying and involving relevant stakeholders in information dissemination.

While state governments were urged to timely release operational funds to SEMAs, host communities and security agents were on the other hand charged to be involved in the protection of equipment.

She disclosed that apart from a regular review, update and implementation of contingency plan by NEMA and SEMAs, as well as improve capacity building of stakeholders, the gathering recommended that, besides NEMA, NIHSA and NiMET, the existing task team should be expanded to include critical stakeholders like NWRI, Federal Ministry of Environment, and the National Space Research Concluded

Feature PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 29

Desperate migrants plead to escape ‘hellish’ Greek camp

Are the super-rich also likely to be successful in their studies?

At least 2,000 people queue for food every morning in Idomeni Harvard was the most popular university among these billionaires The desperate pleas of the migrants have been firmly stated on their tents

F

rom a distance, the spring sunshine on Idomeni migrant camp gives it the look of a music festival campsite.

Thousands of multi-coloured, flimsy tents, clustered together in a farmer’s field, with food stalls selling chips and curried meat, and rows of portable toilets.

“This is a hellish Glastonbury, where everyone’s trying desperately to leave,” is how an aid worker has described the scene.

Glastonbury is a performing arts festival in the British county of Somerset.

The camp has formed around a railway line, where there are two official routes from Greece into Macedonia - one for a train of passengers and freight - the other for migrants to be registered on entry But on Monday morning both routes were suddenly shut after an incident where migrant men threw stones at border guards.

The men then managed to breach a fence using iron poles as battering rams. The guards’ response was swift, firing tear gas directly into the crowd.

The gates remained shut until 06:00 on Wednesday, when a small group of about 170 refugees from Syria were allowed through.

The gates are closed once again. Since then there has been no access. Several migrants say they have been told to come back at the same time tomorrow. Greek riot police are reinforcing the

area, lining up across the train tracks, while young children play in front of them.

Well-trodden route Aid agencies estimate that between 9,000 and 10,000 migrants have now arrived here.

I see a steady stream of people continue to head across the corn fields to the border crossing, and some strange sights - migrant men wheeling trolleys, wheelie bins and prams full of clothing and essentials on this welltrodden route.

“Has Europe’s warm heart gone cold?” Farah, 37, a musician from Baghdad asks. She is sharing a bright pink tent near the border’s entrance with her husband and two sons.

“We’ve been here six days now.

We have registration papers to leave and we are genuine refugees fleeing war, unlike some of the other people here who are ruining our chances.”

Farah points to other tents and complains that Moroccans, Pakistanis and Iranians are falsely claiming Syrian nationality on fake documents.

Aid workers from the Medecins Sans Frontieres aid agency are dishing out a breakfast of bread, rice and meat from a huge white marquee, with at least 2,000 people in the morning queue.

At the edge of the camp is a line of tents daubed in permanent marker with “Help us it’s cold”

The border between Greece and Macedonia is for the most part firmly closed

and “Open the borders”.

I find 23-year-old Mohammed from Damascus inside one tent.

He is teary eyed and tells me €200 (£155; $217) has been stolen from his tent as he left to find food.

“I have lost my money, my dignity and now I am losing patience,” he says. “My mother was supposed to be leaving from Damascus next week to join me.

I’ve told her to think twice. This is not the Europe I imagined

Farah and her family fear that Europe’s heart has gone cold over the migrant issue

This Syrian family is among those desperate to leave Idomeni - and has so far waited for about a week

“

Thousands of multi-coloured, flimsy tents, clustered together in a farmer’s field, with food stalls selling chips and curried meat, and rows of portable toilets.

“This is a hellish Glastonbury, where everyone’s trying desperately to leave,” is how an aid worker has described the scene. Glastonbury is a performing arts festival in the British county of Somerset.

The camp has formed around a railway line, where there are two official routes from Greece into Macedonia one for a train of passengers and freight - the other for migrants to be registered on entry.

Feature

All alone: What happens to teen migrants?

Munich station has become the destination for tens of thousands of people taking the migrant route from the Balkans, and Germany has re-imposed border controls in an attempt to slow the influx down.

Ali from Kabul travelled to Germany without his family, one of many unaccompanied minors to make the journey

M

any of those arriving are children who have travelled long distances without their families.

One was Ali, a 15-yearold unaccompanied Afghan boy from Kabul, who got off the train in Munich, at the end of an arduous journey by land and sea.

He had come with a group of young friends from Afghanistan, all of them apparently without their families.

They had travelled overland to Turkey, then by boat to Greece, across the Western Balkans to Austria, finally reaching Germany.

Fear and fatigue Tired and hungry, he went to the bathroom, but when he came out, his friends were nowhere to be seen in the chaos and milling crowds in the station.

Suddenly, he found himself completely alone, unable to speak German, or any other language that

strange and different,” he said.

“I would love to be able to speak it one day.”

When the social worker told him he would be given German lessons, a smile appeared on Ali’s face for the first time since his arrival in Munich.

The refugee centre is in a former army barracks. Trees line the leafy green lanes around it and, as the car pulled in, boys were playing basketball on a court nearby.

As he entered Haus 7, Ali was greeted by a Kurdish care-worker, in his midtwenties, who assured him that there were many other Afghan boys there and that he would soon make friends.

are guaranteed refugee status.

Ali will spend a few nights at Haus 7, until he is allocated temporary accommodation, where he will spend three months in a “clearing programme” to determine his needs: what kind of education or vocational training he should have, and whether he needs psychological counselling.

Many children experience such pain and hardship during their journey that they resort to self-harm.

His days will be structured and he will be given lessons in basic German. And after three months, a permanent place will be found for him

officials could understand.

Eventually he gathered up the courage to approach police guarding tents set up by the German Medical Disaster Relief Agency.

The police began looking for a Farsi speaker, and this was where I became involved.

Ali was given a basic medical check-up and offered food and water.

He was still shaking.

Staff and volunteers wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and tried to calm him down.

“I am scared of the police, I am scared they will send me back to Afghanistan,” he said, crying.

Fear and fatigue were clearly visible in his eyes.

German lessons Soon, a social worker from the youth welfare office arrived and drove Ali to Haus 7, a refugee reception centre dedicated to unaccompanied minors.

Around 4,000

Ali will spend a few nights at Haus 7, before being moved to accommodation where he will learn basic German

unaccompanied refugee children live in Germany, many of them from Afghanistan and Syria.

On the way to Haus 7, Ali gradually became calmer, and listened with fascination to the social worker talking to the Iranian taxi driver in German.

“This language sounds so

“

New arrivals are given a basic medical check-up on arrival in Munich

Ali’s next step was registration and further basic medical examination, to check for possible bullet wounds or contagious diseases.

At some stage his age will also be determined. German officials say many young asylum seekers lie about how old they are, as minors

to live.

Germany was the main EU destination for Afghan asylum seekers last year, and nearly 70% of those applicants were granted permission to stay, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) reported.

Source: BBC

Many of those arriving are children who have travelled long distances without their families. One was Ali, a 15-year-old unaccompanied Afghan boy from Kabul, who got off the train in Munich, at the end of an arduous journey by land and sea.

He had come with a group of young friends from Afghanistan, all of them apparently without their families. They had travelled overland to Turkey, then by boat to Greece, across the Western Balkans to Austria, finally reaching Germany.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 31

FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello (left) presenting the key to the city of Abuja to the Turkish President, Recef Tayyip Erdoghan, during his arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Tuesday.

Visiting Turkish President gets honorary citizenship of Abuja

By Stanley Onyekwere

M

inister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muhammad Musa Bello has conferred honorary citizenship of Abuja on the President of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and presented him with the key to the City of Abuja.

The Minister made this conferment on Tuesday night at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, while receiving the visiting President who is on a 3-Day state visit to Nigeria.

Bello, who welcomed the Turkish leader to the City, described Abuja as the symbol of national unity of the country.

He noted that the key to the City of Abuja confers on him the Honorary Citizenship of Abuja, with all the rights and privileges.

He emphasized that this honour has been bestowed on the visiting President as a mark of respect for the strong friendship and cordial relationship between the people of Nigeria and Turkey.

Responding, the Turkish

President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who led a 210-member strong delegation of Turkish Government officials and people to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari, appreciated the honour done to him.

The President reiterated that Nigeria and the Republic of Turkey have long standing diplomatic relationship that

should be further strengthened for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

According to him, they are in Nigeria to have audience with the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari.

The visiting President also presented a Turkish souvenir to the Minister at the occasion on behalf of his country.

Residents bemoan epileptic power supply in Lugbe

S

ome residents of Lugbe Federal Housing Estate in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have decried the continued power shortage in the area, saying that it is killing businesses.

The residents told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja that the situation was compounded by the ``huge’’ electricity bills.

They therefore, appealed to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) to address the situation.

Commenting on the situation, Mr. Anthony Okeke, noted that electricity tariff was increased recently without commensurate service.

According to him, “It is so bad that we receive electricity bill of over N7, 000 per month for a one bedroom flat for electricity not provided.

“When I first moved into this area, my monthly electricity bill was between N3, 000 and N3, 500, which I paid grudgingly, because we hardly ever had light.

“Now, the bill has been increased to between N7, 000 and N7, 500 monthly, yet there is no regular electricity supply.’’

Okeke wondered how an average civil servant would survive in such area with his N18, 500 minimum wage, without engaging in fraud to make ends meet.

Another respondent, Mr. Anthony Ifemenoku, said the irony of the situation, was that while those that usually paid bills were most times not supplied electricity, people in

shanties who do not pay, get regular electricity supply.

Another resident, Mrs. Mary Akingbade, said the situation was not only affecting business activities, but also demoralising business owners.

Similarly, Mr. Hyacinth Ifeakanwan, who owns a barbing saloon in the area, said he spends a lot of money on fuel in order to remain in business, adding that he had to pushes part of the cost to his customers.

Meanwhile, an official of the AEDC, who spoke on grounds

of anonymity, described the electricity issue as complex, and urged the residents to be patient.

NAN recalls that the Nigeria Electricity regulatory commission (NERC) on February 1, raised electricity tariff by 45 per cent, sparking protests by the organized labour.

As expected, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NUC) led the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Civil Society on a protest to the Senate, AEDC and NERC over the tariff hike, demanding a reversal.

(NAN)

Photo Splash

Young children displaying Igbo rich culture at a public function, recently at Garki, Abuja.

Two young girls selling groundnut, yesterday at Area 10, in Abuja.

A welder doing what he knows best, yesterday at Area 3, in Abuja.

A car carrying mattress, yesterday in Nyanya.

A middle-aged man loaded waste papers in a sack yesterday in Area 1, Abuja.

Photos: Justin Imo-Owo

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 33

Metro Court grants bail to 3 men accused of unlawful possession of pistol

A

(L-R) FCTA Director of Information, Mrs. Stella Ojema, Special Assistant on Media to the FCT Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Sani and the Chief Press Secretary, FCTA, Mohammed Sule Hazat, during an interactive session with journalists on the FCT Minister’s first 100 days in office, yesterday in Abuja.

Gudu Upper Area Court, Abuja, has granted bail to Emmanuel Abanonye, Williams Gwabee and Joel Okechukwu, in the sum of N150, 000 each for alleged unlawful possession of locally-made pistol.

The judge, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, ordered that the defendants must produce one surety each in like sum, and adjourned the case till April 25 for hearing.

Abanonye, 30, Gwabee, 25 and Okechukwu, 27, all of Orozo, Abuja, were arraigned on a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and unlawful possession of a locally made pistol.

The Prosecutor, UmohInah, told the court that the defendants were arrested by a team of police men from the FCT command, Abuja, on December 31.

He said the defendants were in possession of a locally-made pistol and could not give the police satisfactory explanation on how they got the said weapon.

The prosecutor said the offences contravened Sections 97 and 319 of the Penal Code, respectively.

The defendants pleaded not guilty.

(NAN)

FCTA reassures resolve to improve residents’ welfare

By Stanley Onyekwere

T

he Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) yesterday reiterated resolve towards making life better for residents of the Territory, through initiating and implementing programmes that will fast track the development of Abuja, in line with the best global practices.

Making this reassurance during a media parley, to mark the 100 days of Muhammad Musa Bello in office as the 16 Minister of the FCT, the communication management

team of the FCTA comprising the Director, Information and Communications FCTA, Mrs. Stella Ojeme, Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Media, Abubakar Sani, the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister, Muhammad Sule, and Head Call Centre, Mrs. Jumai Ahmadu, said the administration has prioritized people-oriented programmes.

According to the team, as part of efforts to encourage hygienic environment and the well-being of the residents, the Minister flagged off an intensive community and neighbourhood environmental sanitation scheme across the six

area councils of the FCT. To maintain the cleanliness of the city however, the FCTA said it intends to reactivate its environmental mobile courts place to deal with offenders under the purview of the law.

On the reoccurring nightmarish traffic gridlock along Nyanya- Mararaba axis, the Administration reinstated that all is set for the commencement of construction work on the prolonged Karshi-Apo-Ara road, as funds have been made available and approved for the projects, aimed at ease the traffic congestion.

Similarly, to ensure efficient and productive workforce in the area councils, the FCTA said it set machinery in motion to make available bailout funds (undisclosed total sum) to the leadership of the six FCT councils to pay two months of the three months unsettled staff salaries staff while the chairmen of the councils offset settle the remaining one month.

Meanwhile, the FCTA expressed deep concern over the huge work force in the area councils, especially those engaged in Local Education Authority (LEA), disclosing plans to conduct

biometrics exercise, to ascertain the actual number of staff in the councils especially teachers, who are about 4,000 in numbers.

Also, the Administration insisted that the ban on Okada and tricycle riders’ activities within the city Centre still stands as violators will not only be arrested, but henceforth prosecuted accordingly in special Mobile courts.

Peoples Daily recalls that Bello took over the mantle of leadership of the FCT as the 16th FCT on 11th November, 2015, with a promise to build on his predecessors’ achievements.

Councils’ election: Jiba hails FCT Minister over partnership with security agencies

By Stanley Onyekwere

A

s March 19 FCT council elections draw closer, the chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council ( AMAC ), Hon. Micah Jiba has described as laudable the recent move by the FCT Minister, Muhammad Musa Bello, to partner with the security agencies to ensure peaceful and credible poll.

Jiba, who doubles as the President, Association of Local

Government of Nigeria (ALGON) while speaking to journalists in Abuja, further congratulated the FCT minister on his 100 days in office.

The AMAC boss said with Bello, the FCT residents has witness peaceful atmosphere, and has seen a working minister who took out his time to visits several project sites, particularly those that have immediate and direct bearing on the lives of FCT residents especially the Abuja Light Rail and

the Karshi– Apo – Ara road.

“With our experience in government we know a working minister right from the first resumption in office.

For instance, he promised to make health services more accessible to the residents of the Territory, especially for those at the rural areas, and immediately ordered the management of the FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat to commence medical services to patients at the Zuba Cottage

Hospital, which was completed over 5 years ago, I mean it’s a bold step.

“Also he made commitment to immediately pay the contractor handling the Apo-Karshi-Ara Road a pending job certificate of N324 million is a bold step.

“And want to also commend the Minister for given due attention to the development of the six Area Councils, and the Satellite Towns in order to decongest the Federal Capital City and his decision

to move the Satellite Towns Development Department (STDD) to Karshi to bring it closer to the rural people,” he said.

Jiba therefore, advised the Minister to develop a frame work and work key stakeholders in the FCT especially when constituting his economic team, mandate secretaries and special advisers.

He also urged the Minister to working hand in hand with the original inhabitants of the FCT, religious and traditional rulers.

Page 34

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Money Sense

18 Profitable Businesses You Can Start from Your Backyard

By Ajaero Tony Martins

D

o you want to earn extra income from home? Do you need some business ideas you can start part time from your backyard? Then read on.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to make ends meet with just one source of income.

Thus, more and more people are investigating the possibilities of starting their own extra-income business. Most of these parttime endeavors can be started and operated from the comfort and privacy of the home.

However, before you start, the first thing you must do, is some basic market research.

Find out for yourself, firsthand, just how many people in your area are interested in your proposed product or service, and would be “willing to stand in line and pay money for it.”

This is known as defining your market and pinpointing your customers. The more precise and detailed your plan; covering all the bases relating to how you will do everything that needs to be done, the easier it’s going to be for you to attain success. It pays to lay it all out on paper before you get involved, and the clearer you can see everything before you start, the better your chances for success.

Have you always wanted to work at home using your backyard as an office but never had a clue of a profitable money making idea to pursue? Well, I advice you read on because one of these 18 money-making ideas can be your blueprint for success.

The domestic rabbit, Oryctolagus cunniculus, are prolific breeders, which produces large quantities of tasty meat. Their rate of production is faster than that of pigs, goat or sheep. Rabbits have very short gestation period (27-33 days) and can rebreed immediately after giving birth.

A breeding doe (Female) can produce at least 5 litters per year, with an average of 6 kits per litter; if well managed under simple conditions. With simple 15% mortality at most, about 25 of the kits will reach 3kg within five to six months.

Party Equipment Rentals Renting party equipment has become big business particularly in many big cities. Public address system, Canopies, chairs, stage platform, ice block, drums, cooking utensils, table cloth and other party equipment are in hot demand by party organizers.

Your initial step is to find out fees charged for items and

for how long. Then you should investigate the cost of making or buying some of these items.

All you need to do is to get in touch with the event managers in your area and make sure you inform your neighbor that you offer such services Laundry / ironing service / clothes cleaning Everyone has dirty clothes for laundry and ironing, but many of us do not have the time to do it all. This is where you would come in and make money by doing all the laundry and ironing for other people. More and more adults are in the work force, leaving less and less time for the necessities in life to be done right or even done at all. If your backyard is large enough to store all the clothes, sort the clothes and start making money, then this business could just be for you.

Firewood Delivery Service With the price of both fuel and oil rising, many people are turning back to wood stoves and fireplaces to cook their food. Wood is easy to burn and is less expensive compared to oil and gas.

If you have access to any type of timber, woodland and trees, you can make your backyard a cash cow, providing chopped and split wood to those who are using wood for cooking, you need a few things like chain saw, axe, ropes, but these are rather minimal compared to what you can be making. You will be responsible for cutting; if you are not strong enough, you can hire somebody to do this for you. You will deliver wood to houses and retailers.

Hand-Made Carton Production Business It is amazing to know that the everyday carton that you see lying fallow by the roadside can actually be turned into wealth just with your bare hands. A carton can also be called a box. Cartons create impact and visual interest through print, colour, surface design and shape.

There are basically two types of carton package, they are heavy and light packaging cartons your customers are cosmetic shops, pharmaceutical fast-food, supermarket , cottage producers, Distillers, beverages company, etc.

You do not need to fear competitors who produce with machine. Just concentrate on servicing SMEs that is gradually emerging in Nigeria.

The capital needed to setup a handmade carton business could be as low as N50,000.

Horticulture / Gardening Business Horticulture is the study or practice of growing flowers, fruits and vegetables. It also involves the use of iron rods in garden. The soft aspect has to do with the plants itself and it varies. It involves growing of lawns, plants, planting edges, orchard plantation, etc. The good thing about this business is that you can start with whatever you have.

You can start with N1million, N500,000 or N200,000 or less. You can even start with zero capital. You can start by planting grasses or plants in a very small portion around your home. Nurture it well.

Before you know it, people are admiring it and are asking you if you can do it for them.

You can also start by doing it for free. Tell them to give you three months. By the time they see the outcome, no matter how small they will be forced to give you something and even give you more jobs and contacts.

Fish farming Over the years, quite a few people have made fortunes from fish farming, as the population is swelling and protein needs are far outstripping the available supply. Food is always a winner if done well. Fish farming is a sure bet business if you put the right structures in place. More and more people are turning to fish for its low cholesterol protein.

All you need to do is to get a space in your backyard or construct tanks, buy finger lings for between N10 to N20 and feed them for 4 to 6 months, then sell from between N200 to N1,500 depending on weight and size. You should be able to monitor the tanks for hygiene issues because if it is not managed well, it could wipe out your investment.

Herb farm Herbs are tremendously popular these days; from the smallest shop to the largest discount warehouse, you will find medicinal herbs, culinary herbs, and herbal teas, baths, candles and aromatherapy essences.

You can start out small, growing your herbs in a large backyard or renting inexpensive land. You will need a solid working knowledge of growing

and nurturing herbs. Your customers can be wholesale distributors buying for health product manufacturers, grocery chains and restaurants, or you can sell directly to these businesses yourself.

Chalk production The chalk manufacturing business is very lucrative in Nigeria today because the market is large and the supplies are few. Chalk is used by government and private schools, Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education, Colleges of Agriculture, Schools of Nursing etc. Most of the very few existing chalk producers today hardly produce standard chalk because they lack the expertise.

You can do this business right from your backyard. It can be a one-man business, a family business, or a large enterprise.

Set up a small poultry Poultry is a business you can start from your backyard with 50 to 500 birds, with between N100,000 to N300,000 depending on the cash at hand.

These amounts include cost of birds, the pen, feed and medication. Get somebody who is experienced to help you set up the pen. You can source woods directly from sawmill to lower the cost.

Waste management in poultry is very vital; if not properly handled, it will affect the growth, production and bird performance. Whatever aspect of poultry you intend to go into is profitable. A single bird can give you an average of 730 eggs within 2years before you sell it off for say N500 or

world news PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

ANALYSIS

By Hatem Bazian

T

he results of Super Tuesday primaries brought the Republican Party the unthinkable: the possibility of Donald Trump being Republican nominee for the 2016 presidential election.

While it is still too early in the contest, the writing on the wall is clear for everyone to read and no one seems able to stop Trump’s steam train. If anything, Trump represents the triumph of bigotry and the re-emergence of a longdiscredited xenophobic strand in United States mainstream politics.

Whether this will be sufficient to carry Trump into the White House is still to be seen, but the odds are moving in his favour.

Hillary Clinton is likely to become the Democratic Party candidate a political figure with a negative electability rating, low likeability among voters, and a history fraught with far too many scandals to withstand an entertainer’s assault. A Trump encounter with Clinton will provide far too many opportunities to push the same angry outsider rhetoric against a well-established and an insider political figure.

A phenomenon in the making The Trump phenomenon has been in the making for quite some time. Indeed, the anger that coalesced into the Tea Party after Barack Obama’s election in 2008 is a driving force behind the solid base of support for Trump’s candidacy.

It is important to remember that the Tea Party managed to create and cement the visible cracks in the Republican Party starting with the 2008 elections.

Republican opposition to Obama created the fertile soil for the rise of the extremist and racist fringe in the party, and for it to push ahead on the basis of a xenophobic and populist agenda.

For the Republican establishment, as long as the extremist fringe directed its anger at Democrats and worked with the national leadership to disrupt Obama’s agenda, then all was well and they were welcome in the big tent party.

The Republican Party provided resources, and big funders lined up behind Tea Party activists to energise a disgruntled white, working-class base that had been wiped out in the financial meltdown.

Legitimate grievances and popular anger at Washington was stage-managed by the infusion of massive funding, and focused into a sustained disruption tactic directed at the Obama administration.

The big funders were seeking to prevent any real reforms after the financial meltdown, and to make sure that adopted regulations were

Page 35

international_peoplesdailyng@yahoo.com

Super Tuesday and the triumph of Trump

The Trump phenomenon has been in the making for quite some time, writes Bazian [Reuters]

stripped off effective enforcement or oversight mechanisms.

Trump’s core support is coming from white middle class and bluecollar workers who have witnessed a steady decline in their income and wealth starting in the middle of the 1970s, but accelerated in the past decade as manufacturing jobs were outsourced and a shrinking industrial sector left them unemployed and unemployable.

The anger is legitimate and the fear for what the future holds is real and palatable. But who to blame and how to fix it is where this group goes totally wrong.

Trump is playing with the angry crowds like it is part of a TV reality show, and stage-managing the anger to avoid any serious questions about how he would resolve any of it. Trump himself is part of the outsourcing industry and shares the penchant of chief executives to send jobs overseas to the lowest labour cost possible.

The ugly head of fascism Trump’s blaming China, while directing animus at AfricanAmericans engaged in Black Lives Matter movement, Mexican immigrants and Muslims, is hardly a solution to anything other than fanning the flames of bigotry.

Populist politicians of old times have used this blame strategy time and time again with the results ending up in the blood and

“

Trump’s triumph is a serious nod towards fascism, and his non-committal answer when called to disavow an endorsement on national TV by the white supremacist and former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke, is yet another sign that we have entered into a very dangerous period. destruction visited upon divided and torn-up societies.

If evidence is lacking or the nightly news does not have enough time to cover it, then turning our attention to Germany’s experience with this type of politics and the consequences it visited upon the country, Europe and the world should serve as a warning sign for all.

Trump’s triumph is a serious nod towards fascism, and his non-committal answer when called to disavow an endorsement on national TV by the white supremacist and former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke, is yet another sign that we have entered into a very dangerous period.

Fascism always comes riding

a populist steam train, offering a fictitious message of prosperity, a promise to fix existing problems, a call to past greatness, and strength in the face of multiple enemies domestic and foreign.

Yet, as soon as fascism takes hold it begins to craft the desired society by silencing critical voices, using violence against opponents, and investing in militarism for domestic repression and foreign adventures.

It will be the same, and those who carry Trump on their metaphorical shoulders, if he gets elected, will end up being carried away in security wagons as they try to protest at the betrayal of promises.

Whether Trump ends up being the nominee or, absurdly,

makes it to the White House, the Republican Party is reaping the bitter harvest of the racist populism they unleashed on Obama.

The past eight years witnessed the normalisation of racist discourse using Obama’s image as a signpost, while stoking white resentment in the hope of disrupting government operations and ride it back into power.

Trump is taking the blame strategy to its ultimate conclusion by riding the racist wave, and in the process displacing the Republican establishment itself.

Racism has reared its ugly head again and is winning at the ballot box across the US: Today is the time to push back through building an anti-racist, inclusive, and broad coalition.

Hatem Bazian is co-editor and founder of the Islamophobia Studies Journal and director of the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project, and a senior lecturer in the Departments of Near Eastern and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

Source: Al Jazeera

News From Africa

UN warns of hunger crisis in Central African Republic

ICC hearing to decide on ‘destroyer’ of Timbuktu sites

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FP says it only has about half of the funds needed to help 2.5 million people who are facing acute food shortages.

At least half of the population or 2.5 million people in the Central African Republic are facing a hunger crisis, in a situation that has become dire, the World Food Programme said.

Bienvenu Djossa, WFP country director in the Central African Republic (CAR), said on Tuesday that the number of people battling hunger had doubled from 2015 and serious interventions had to be implemented to ensure the crisis did not deteriorate.

“It is serious. The situation is worse than last year,” Djossa said a statement.

“It is crucial that we continue helping the most vulnerable, who need emergency food assistance to survive.

This is the time when people need the maximum help possible as it is also the lean season, when people struggle to have enough food to eat before the next harvest.”

Three years of bloodshed and the displacement of nearly one million people from their homes have disrupted harvests and sent food prices soaring in the volatile country.

The WFP’s call for CAR not to be forgotten comes as the United Nations revealed that overall crop production in 2015 remained 54 percent below the pre-crisis average.

“Some 75 percent of people in CAR depend on agriculture, and with the planting season starting in less than

Families have been forced to sell their possessions, pull their children out of school and even resort to begging [AP] two months, boosting agriculture now is crucial to revitalising the economy and to stability in the country,” the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation’s country representative Jean-Alexandre Scaglia said in a press release on Monday.

The WFP said that families are so short of food that children receiving school meals under the WFP’s emergency programme put part of their serving in a plastic bag to take home.

Families have been forced to sell

Besigye fails to challenge Museveni’s victory

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ganda’s main opposition leader Kizza Besigye has failed to meet a 10-day deadline to launch a legal challenge against President Yoweri Museveni’s victory in last month’s election.

Lawyers representing Mr Besigye and his Forum for Democratic Change party said he couldn’t file papers in court because police have blocked him from leaving his home.

Another opposition candidate Amma Mbabazi, who came third in the poll, has managed to submit his petition calling for the annulment of the election.

BBC Newsday’s Bola Mosuro asked Mr Besigye why his lawyers didn’t hand in a petition on on his behalf:

their possessions, pull their children out of school and even resort to begging.

The country suffered the worst crisis in its history in early 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka fighters toppled then leader Francois Bozize. Christian militias responded by attacking the Muslim minority.

Killing and looting had almost halved the number of cattle and reduced the number of sheep and goats by almost 60 percent, the UN

Zimbabwe soldiers charged over ‘bomb plot’

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rosecutors in Zimbabwe have reinstated charges against two soldiers accused of planning to petrol-bomb a dairy farm owned by President Robert Mugabe’s family, the state-owned Herald newspaper reports.

The move annuls the decision of chief prosecutor Johannes Tomana to drop the charges against the 29-year-old and 37-year-old soldiers, it reports.

The legal team of the soldiers is pushing for the case to be thrown out, saying

it was inconceivable that Mr Tomana would “turn around and authorise their prosecution”.

State lawyers said Mr Tomana’s deputy had taken the decision to recharge them after complying with all the “statutory requirements”, the Herald reports.

Mr Tomana is out on bail after his decision led to him being charged with obstructing the course of justice.

He has denied the charge.

said. Damage to infrastructure and insecurity had also hit fishing.

An escalation of violence in September helped exacerbate a massive increase in food prices, the agencies said, with the price of beef almost double pre-crisis levels.

WFP said that it had only secured about half the $89m it needs until the end of July to respond to the needs of 1.4 million people in CAR and neighbouring countries hosting CAR refugees.

SA maize production estimate ‘too high’

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he South African government’s forecast of a 7.2 million tonne maize harvest this year is optimistic and will almost certainly be revised downwards, the country’s largest grain producer group has said, Reuters news agency reports.

A scorching drought has largely decimated the maize crop in South Africa, curbing economic growth, pushing prices up and fuelling inflation.

“The crop estimate is too optimistic. We have not received rain in the last three to four weeks in the western regions where late plantings took place and that maize is in big trouble,” Grain SA Chief Executive Jannie de Villiers told Reuters.

alian member of al-Qaedalinked group Ansar al-Dine is accused of being involved in destroying historic Timbuktu sites.

A Malian man has attended a hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to assess if evidence against him is strong enough to merit making him stand trial for his involvement in destroying historic sites in Timbuktu.

Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi is the first person to appear in front of the prosecutors at the ICC for planning, directing and participating in attacks against religious monuments in the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu in the summer of 2012.

ICC prosecutors are building the case against Mahdi on Article 8 of the Rome Statute, which states that the destruction of historic buildings without reason is a war crime.

If enough evidence is established, Mahdi will stand trial for his alleged involvement in the attack on the centuries-old world heritage site of Timbuktu.

The case will be the first by the ICC to consider destruction of cultural heritage a war crime.

Mahdi was arrested in Niger and handed over to the court last year.

Prosecutors say Mahdi belonged to Ansar al-Dine, an armed group with ties to al-Qaeda. During their occupation of the city, nine mausoleums and the famous Sidi Yahi Mosque were destroyed.

“We must stand up to the destruction and defacing of our common heritage,” said chief ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda as she unveiled the charges against Mahdi.

Willem van Genugten, a specialist in international law focusing on cultural heritage at the Tilburg University in the Netherlands, said the hearing was an “an exemplary case”.

Van Genugten said the precedent would pave the way for future cases, referring to the current destruction of heritage sites by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in Syria and Iraq.

“This case is not about the bloodshed of civilians but about wiping out historical importance,” Van Genugten said.

Mahdi

East African Leaders Meet Wednesday in Tanzania

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Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni speaks to reporters. East African leaders are likely to get a report from President Museveni on how his mediation efforts regarding Burundi have been going.

ast African Community (EAC) leaders are meeting Wednesday in Arusha, Tanzania. The community, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda has been involved in mediating Burundi’s peace talks under the leadership of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

But those talks have so far failed to yield practical results.

The East African leaders are likely to get a report from President Museveni on how his mediation efforts have been going. But the key question about Wednesday’s Arusha summit is whether Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza will attend.

Burundian Foreign Minister Alain Nyamitwe would only tell VOA his country will be highly represented by the country’s second vice president.

“I believe that President Nkurunziza

will be well represented at the summit, but I can confirm that it is rather the second vice president of the republic of Burundi who will be sitting for him.”

The Burundian government said last month it would welcome any offer by South Africa to facilitate the ongoing interBurundian dialogue. Foreign Minister Nyamitwe said South Africa played a critical role in the Burundian peace process in the late 1990s and early 2000.

He said if South Africa offers to facilitate the dialogue, its role would not be incompatible, but rather complementary to what’s being done by President Museveni and the East Africa Community.

South African President Jacob Zuma led the African Union delegation that visited Burundi last week.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

also visited Bujumbura and held meetings with all stakeholders in the Burundian crisis.

He said President Nkurunziza had promised to engage in “inclusive dialogue” with the opposition to end the Burundi’s monthslong political crisis.

Foreign Minister Nyamitwe played down expectations that the summit will focus on the Burundian crisis.

“The summit could receive a report from President Museveni on how the facilitation role has been done so far. But I think there is no particular issue on the agenda. Now, it could be raised by one head of state or another. But I don’t think that Burundi will dominate the summit,” Nyamitwe said.

But Nyamitwe said if Burundi comes up during the summit, his government will listen to what the other partners will have to say.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 37

Asia & Middle East India JNU student Jordan raid: Eight killed in leader Kanhaiya Kumar freed on bail Irbid as forces ‘foil IS plot’ A

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ordan says a raid in the city of Irbid that left seven suspected jihadist militants dead foiled attacks being plotted by so-called Islamic State.

Those killed were planning to blow up civilian and military targets in the country, according to the General Intelligence Directorate (GID).

A security officer was also killed and five were injured during the overnight raid, which triggered armed clashes.

Jordan is part of a US-led coalition battling IS fighters in Syria and Iraq.

It launched air strikes on IS positions in Syria in 2014 to ensure the “stability and security” of its borders, and has stepped up a crackdown on suspected IS sympathisers inside the kingdom.

Last year, Jordan executed two convicted jihadists following the killing of a Jordanian pilot who was captured by IS militants after his jet crashed in Syria.

The operation in Irbid, which is 20km (12 miles) from the Syrian border, was reportedly one of the largest targeting suspected jihadists in years.

Government spokesman Mohammad Momani told the public security department’s Amen radio station that the raid started at around 19:00 (17:00 GMT) on Tuesday and lasted until 03:00 on Wednesday, according to the Jordan Times newspaper.

Mr Momani described those targeted as “outlaws”.

Later, the official Petra news agency published a statement by the GID, which said it had thwarted a plot by an IS cell to attack “civilian and military sites in order to destabilise national security”.

Security forces tracked the suspected militants to a residential building in Irbid, which security sources said was near a Palestinian refugee camp in the city centre.

“The terrorists refused to surrender and put up strong resistance using automatic weapons,” the GID said, adding those killed were wearing explosive belts.

Weapons, ammunition, explosives and detonators were also found at the scene.

The GID said 13 people linked to the cell were detained in earlier raids in Irbid.

student leader charged with sedition in India has been freed on bail.

Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested last month after a rally against the execution of a Kashmiri separatist convicted over the 2001 India parliament attack.

The authorities allege protesters shouted anti-India slogans. Two other students remain in custody.

The arrests have sparked massive protests across India, with many accusing the government of cracking down on dissent and free speech.

The government defended the arrests, saying the students supported the Kashmiri separatist movement and the break-up of India.resolution adopted by the Council.

A UN report in 2014 accused the North of “systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights”, including disappearances, forced labour, torture, rape and infanticide.

North Korea to boycott UN rights council

Jordanian security forces have stepped up a crackdown on suspected jihadists in recent years

‘World’s longest filibuster’ ends in South Korea

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outh Korean opposition lawmakers have ended a parliamentary filibuster that lasted 192 hours, which is believed to have set a new world record.

They were trying to block an anti-terrorism bill which they said threatened personal freedoms.

But they gave up on Wednesday fearing a public backlash, as the prolonged anti-terror proceedings were delaying the passing of other important bills.

The previous world record of 57 hours was set by a Canadian party in 2011.

The end of the filibuster in Seoul means that a bill backed by the ruling Saenuri Party, which holds

the majority of seats in parliament, will be put to a vote and is likely to be passed.

The legislation allows intelligence services to collect a wide range of personal information - including phone records - on anyone deemed to pose a security risk. Opposition parties said it would violate privacy rights and could be used to stifle political dissent.

Filibustering is a parliamentary delaying tactic by which MPs drag out speeches to the end of the allocated time, so that no vote can be held.

South Korea’s filibuster was spearheaded by main opposition party Minjoo which was joined by other smaller parties, and began last

Tuesday, 23 February.

Their tactics included reading out lengthy academic articles in full as well as news articles and internet comments, staging elaborate and rambling monologues and even reading from George Orwell’s novel 1984.

Some lawmakers were spotted wearing trainers, while others reportedly refrained from drinking water so that they could cut down on loo breaks. Still others were seen dozing off in their seats during the marathon session.

The longest speech made was by Jung Cheong-rae, who spoke for 11 hours 39 minutes.

They would have succeeded if

they had managed to hold out until the end of the parliamentary session at midnight on 10 March.

But as the days wore on they faced increasing public criticism, as the filibuster was delaying the passage of bills on North Korean human rights and electoral districts for April’s general election.

But President Park Geun-hye had argued such measures were necessary and condemned the filibuster as “nothing more than a dereliction of duty”.

“The National Assembly is nearly paralysed at a time when people’s lives and safety are exposed to terror threats,” she said in a televised speech on Tuesday,according to Yonhap.

North Korea has said it will no longer take part in UN Human Rights Council session examining its rights record.

Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong accused the council of “politicisation, selectivity and double standards” and of “singling out” North Korea for criticism.

The UN council has repeatedly criticised North Korea over its treatment of its citizens.

The move is likely to further isolate North Korea, which is due to face new sanctions.

The UN Security Council is set to vote on Wednesday on the new measures, in response to the North’s fourth test of a nuclear weapon and its launching of a satellite.

Both moves contravened existing sanctions.

In his statement to the Council, Mr Ri also accused the US and others of paying “so-called North Korean defectors” for their testimony.

He said North Korea would “never, ever be bound” by any resolution adopted by the Council.

A UN report in 2014 accused the North of “systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights”, including disappearances, forced labour, torture, rape and infanticide.

Afghanistan militants dead in Jalalabad attack

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n attack near the Indian consulate in the Afghan city of Jalalabad has left five militants dead, including a suicide bomber whose device killed only himself, police have told the BBC. They say the gunmen were shot dead by the security forces soon after the bomber detonated his device.

Medics told the BBC that at least nine people were injured. Consular officials said none of their staff were hurt.

Jalalabad is often targeted by Taliban militants.

A suicide bomber killed at least 13 people in the city in January.

That attack took place at the home of a prominent local politician who backed President Ashraf Ghani’s peace talks.

It took place a few days after a gun battle near the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad in which at least seven Afghan security personnel were killed.

Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province, where two districts are controlled, or at least influenced, by the Islamic State group - a rival of the Taliban.

In the violence on Wednesday, police say a bomb in a car driven by one of the attackers was detonated near the Indian consulate, destroying other cars and shattering doors and windows.

In the aftermath there was a gun battle between gunmen accompanying the bomber and security forces, witnesses said. So far no group has claimed the attack.

The Afghan government has been locked in a bloody conflict with Taliban militants for more than a decade.

The Taliban have launched several high-profile attacks in recent months. The army recently said the militants were on the verge of capturing the key district of Sangin in Helmand province.

On Wednesday at least 25 people were killed in two suicide attacks in the capital Kabul and in the eastern province of Kunar.

In September, the Taliban briefly overran the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, in one of their biggest victories since they were ousted from power in 2001.

Ri Su-yong accused the US and others of using fake abuse allegations to attack North Korea

Page 38

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Europe & Americas Migrant crisis: Russia and Syria ‘weaponising’ migration

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ussia and Syria are “weaponising” migration as an aggressive strategy towards Europe, the senior Nato commander in Europe has said.

US Gen Philip Breedlove also said criminals, extremists and fighters were hiding in the flow of migrants.

Migrants are continuing to accumulate in Greece, after Macedonia stopped allowing more than a trickle through.

New figures suggest last year’s total of one million seaborne migrants could be reached this year months beforehand.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said nearly 129,500 migrants had arrived by sea so far in 2016, plus another 1,545 by land - and 418 had drowned or were missing.

The European Commission has now adopted plans to disburse €700m (£543m; $760m) of emergency humanitarian funding between 2016-18 to help tackle the crisis, says humanitarian aid commissioner Christos Stylianides.

The crisis has caused tensions to surge, with Greece struggling to cope with the influx and the European Commission criticising

As pressure mounts on Europe’s borders, many now closed, the US has suggested this outcome has been deliberately sought by Syria and its key backer, Russia Macedonia for using tear gas on a crowd of migrants on Monday morning.

“The scenes we just saw are not

our idea of managing the crisis,” said EC spokesman Margaritis Schinas.

I n the “Jungle ” cam p of

Bailey Gwynne: Murder accused ‘thought knife was cool’

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teenager accused of murdering a pupil in an Aberdeen school thought having a knife and knuckledusters was “cool”, a court has heard.

Bailey Gwynne, 16, died after being stabbed at Cults Academy on 28 October 2015 The 16-year-old accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murder.

A friend of the accused said he had seen him with a knife about 20 or 25 times, including the Monday or Tuesday before the alleged murder.

The witness, who cannot be identified, told the High Court in Aberdeen: “I just said ‘why did you bring it to school?’ He was like he thought it was something cool to have.

“I said not to bring it to school.”

The witness told the second day of the trial he had also seen the accused with knuckledusters 40 or 50 times.

He told advocate depute Alex Prentice QC, prosecuting, that Bailey and the accused started fighting after exchanging insults.

He said he was shocked as Bailey was “really shy” and was known not to fight back. Bailey was then stabbed and he saw blood, the witness said.

The trial began on Tuesday, when a jury at the High Court in

Aberdeen was told it was agreed by both prosecutors and defence lawyers that the accused became engaged in a fight with Bailey, and the victim was struck with a knife and suffered a “penetrating stab wound to the heart”.

A witness told the court an argument had begun in a row over some biscuitswhich ended in name-calling and a fight between Bailey and the accused.

That witness, who also cannot be named, said the accused had pulled a knife or some kind of sharp object from a pocket and thrust it towards Bailey.

The court heard that the head teacher Anna Muirhead was then

Bailey Gwynne suffered fatal injuries during an incident at Cults Academy in October

notified. She left her office and went to the school’s reception area where Bailey was lying on the ground surrounded by staff members.

Ms Muirhead, 57, told the court on Tuesday: “I knew immediately it was very, very

migrants at Calais, France, the demolition of the southern half of the camp continues - in what the government has termed a “humanitarian” operation but which critics say will just leave hundreds of desperate migrants without shelter in winter.

Gen Breedlove is the head of the US European Command as well as Nato’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

He told the US Senate Armed Services Committee that the crisis was allowing Russia to use nonmilitary means to create divisions in the Nato alliance and Europe.

Court holds Morrisons liable for attack by worker

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orrisons supermarket is liable for the actions of a staff member who physically attacked a customer, the Supreme Court has ruled.

According to court documents, Amjid Khan was working at a Morrisons petrol station in Birmingham in 2008 when he punched and kicked Ahmed Mohamud.

Mr Mohamud died in 2014 of an illness not related to the incident, and his family continued his legal fight.

Morrisons said Mr Khan had been sacked and that it had agreed to pay damages.

The court ruled that Morrisons was “vicariously liable” for Mr Khan’s actions.

The attack happened in Small Heath, Birmingham, in March 2008, as Mr Mohamud was on his way to London for a demonstration against the war in Somalia.

At the petrol station he asked staff to print some documents he had stored on a USB memory stick.

Court documents say he asked this as a “favour”, and Mr Khan responded by being abusive and using a racial slur.

Mr Mohamud was not abusive in return, but the documents say Mr Khan followed him to his car, shouted more abuse, punched him twice in the head then leapt on him and subjected him to a “brutal attack involving punches and kicks while Mr Mohamud was curled up on the petrol station forecourt”.

The Supreme Court has sent employers a wake-up call.

It has broadened the law which holds employers vicariously liable for the acts of their employees who commit a crime whilst at work.

Ahmed Mohamud died in 2014 and his family continued his legal battle

Spain election: Socialists face key vote for coalition

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pain’s parliament is due to begin debating whether to allow the Socialist party to form a new government.

The Socialists (PSOE) came second in December’s inconclusive elections and have until the end of the week to see if they can secure a majority in parliament.

On Tuesday, PSOE leader Pedro Sanchez appealed to deputies to back his bid to form a coalition.

However, correspondents say his chances of forming a government are slim.

If he fails in a confidence vote later on Wednesday, another vote will be held on Friday.

If neither vote is successful, parliament will have two months to choose a government or face fresh elections on 26 June.

In his address to parliament on Tuesday, Mr Sanchez called for

the formation of a coalition based on common interests.

He said a Socialist-led government would enact a series of progressive measures such as a minimum wage increase and a gender wage-gap law.

“Why don’t we form a government based on those things that bring the majority of the 350 deputies of this parliament together?” he asked.

“Why don’t we unite to form a government for change? Why don’t we get together and pass as many reforms as possible to solve the most urgent problems of Spaniards? Why don’t we vote together in favour of all issues in which we are in agreement?”

Between them, the PSOE and partner party Ciudadanos command only 130 seats in the 350-seat lower chamber of parliament.

The two other main parties

have said they will not support Mr Sanchez.

To become prime minister, Mr Sanchez will need the support of more than half of the chamber’s 350 deputies in Wednesday’s confidence vote.

Failing that, another vote will be held on Friday in which he would require only more votes in favour than against.

Given that opponents Podemos and the Popular Party have 191 seats between them, he would need at the very least significant numbers of their deputies to abstain.

But Podemos and smaller parties have so far rejected overtures from Mr Sanchez.

The incumbent Popular Party gained most votes in the 20 December election but its leader, Mariano Rajoy, was unable to secure enough backing to form a government.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

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Strange

world

Fury as beggar who hits the streets imploring people for food and money is seen getting in to his £50,000 Audi TT at the end of his ‘shift’

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beggar says he has received death threats after he was spotted getting into a sports car worth up to £50,000 after a day on the street.

Matthew Brinton, who has for years asked for money in Bank Street, Newquay, Cornwall, with his border collie Hazel, was filmed climbing into his Audi TT in a local car park.

Mr Brinton, 35, says the sportscar was bequeathed to him by his grandmother.

The beggar, who lives with a friend, says that it has since been stolen and he fears for his life after threats from critics.

More than 100 people have commented on a Facebook post showing him loading the TT before driving off.

Many say they feel deceived after giving him food and money when in reality he had a sportscar and a place to stay in Newquay.

But Brinton says he is in despair and starving because the donations have stopped.

He said: ‘I have not seen any of the social media posts because I do not have access to the internet but according to the police I’ve had lots of death threats.

‘People are assuming too much and I’m getting a lot of abuse. This has been going on for years’.

On Facebook there has been a mix of abuse and support, with some admitting they would like to ‘drive him out of town’.

One critic said: ‘I’m particularly disgusted as he conned £40 from an elderly gentleman I know to “pay for a B&B’ for the night” Then went home! The poor elderly gent was distraught that his kindness had been abused in such a way’.

Another said: ‘’I brought him hot food and a hot drink was very rude and ungrateful in front of my sons who were 8 and 12 at the time. I told them most homeless people were grateful and not rude like him’.

But there has also been supportive voices.

One said: ‘Leave the man alone the dog Hazel is well cared for. Vent anger towards what is really making you angry - (it’s) awful bullying a vulnerable man’.

Another wrote online: ‘Why judge people you don’t have to? He is an ok bloke just lost in life’.

Misunderstanding: Mr Brinton, pictured with his collie Hazel, says the car was a gift and has since been stolen

In trouble: Matthew Brinton, a well known beggar, is pictured loading up his Audi TT in a Newquay car park

‘Dog vampire’ who bit and sucked out canines’ blood is captured in Yemen while ‘feeding’ on a puppy

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‘The dog vampire’: The man was arrested following accusations that he was drinking the blood of live dogs, and when police stormed his home, they found him ‘feeding on a live puppy’

man has been arrested in Yemen after being accused of drinking the blood of live dogs before killing them, local news reports.

The man had been reported to police by neighbours in Hudaiydah, western Yemen, who accused him of being a ‘dog vampire’.

When police arrived at the unnamed man’s isolated home, they found him ‘sucking the blood of a puppy’.

‘They found a little dog with him. He was sucking its blood alive,’ Emirates247 reports.

‘Police said the man is not from the region and speaks strange languages.’

Pictures show the man after his arrest, with what appears to be wounds to his face, wearing a dirty grey jumpsuit and tied to a bench with a rope.

It is not known what crime the man will be charged with, but it is believed he can be prosecuted for animal cruelty.

Drinking the blood of live animals is part of tribal culture in a number of indigenous and tribal cultures across the world.

The Inuit, who live in Canada, Greenland and Alaska, believe drinking seal blood has health benefits, while some tribes in Africa drink blood from live cattle as part of ancient rituals.

Page 40

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Digest

You can eat chocolate cake on a diet!

By Sophie Freeman

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hocolate cake and sausage rolls might not sound like the kinds of foods you should eat on a diet.

But planning a ‘cheat’ day on which you eat your favourite treats can help you battle the bulge.

Scheduled ‘goal deviations’ give us an emotional boost and increase our motivation, which results in us being more likely to stick with the diet long-term, the researchers suggested.

However, they strongly emphasised that the cheating must be planned in advance; unscheduled lapses can be a disaster, with dieters at risk of giving up altogether if they feel they have ‘failed’, they warned.

‘It may be beneficial for longterm success to occasionally be bad, as long as it is planned,’ said the researchers from Tilburg University in Holland and the Catholic University of Portugal in Lisbon.

‘It is however crucial that the hedonic (pleasurable) goal deviations are planned because unplanned goal deviations might easily be interpreted as failures, which may reduce consumers’ mood, and may lead to a “whatthe-hell” effect with goal pursuit being stopped altogether.

‘When consumers share the belief that any deviation from current goal-striving represents a failure, they may end up overemphasising any initial lapse, such that even small misalignments result in total abandonment of the goal,’ they added.

For the study, 36 men and women with concerns about their weight were assigned to one of two groups who were to follow a diet plan for two weeks.

The first group dieted continuously (the straightstriving condition) while the second incorporated a cheat day once a week (the intermittentstriving condition).

Straight-striving participants were given a diet plan which totalled 1,500 calories a day and told that they should strictly follow it.

Intermittent-striving participants, meanwhile, were given a plan totalling 1,300 calories a day, but told that at the end of each week they were allowed to eat any kind of food, up to a total amount of 2,700 calories.

Each person completed an online diary each day of the diet and also returned to the lab twice to be tested.

The researchers found that, for those in the straightstriving group, their motivation to continue with the diet was negatively influenced whenever they ate something naughty, and was also affected by the mood

Researchers found that allowing ‘cheat’ days where dieters could eat whatever they liked as long as it totalled less than 2,700 calories, were found to boost motivation they were experiencing that day.

In contrast, the motivation of those in the cheat-day group was not affected if they slipped up, or were having a bad day.

Additionally, those in the cheat-day group experienced more positive emotions as they continued on the diet compared to the other group.

And when followed up a month later, those who had been allowed a cheat day were more willing to continue the diet than those in the other group.

The researchers also used

a psychological tool to assess the participants’ ability to selfregulate, in which they were asked to rate on scale how much they agreed with statements such as “I need something pleasant to make me feel better”.

Those in the straight-striving group experienced a drop in their ability to self-regulate over the course of the diet, while the cheatday participants did not.

A second experiment found that those who were allowed a cheat day also developed more strategies to resist temptation.

‘Interestingly, in terms of weight loss, including the break (cheat day) did not have any negative influence, counter to what would have happened if any goal deviation were counterproductive,’ the researchers wrote in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

‘Two controlled experiments demonstrate that including planned goal deviations during extended goal striving, compared with following a straight and rigid goal striving proves helps regain self-regulatory processes, helps

maintain consumers’ motivation to pursue with regulatory tasks, and has a positive impact on affect (emotion) experienced, which all contribute to facilitate long-term goal-adherence.

‘Of course, goal deviations should be minor and temporary, else becoming the norm rather than the exception to it,’ they added. ‘But the goal deviations can still be substantial; in fact they constituted almost 15 per cent of the activity, one-day of the week, in one of our experiments.’

A study found those who had been allowed a cheat day were more willing to continue the diet than those in the other group who had to follow a strict diet.

PEOPLES DAILY

Sports

thursday, march 3, 2016

Page

41

sports@peoplesdailyng.com, SMS- 08142929046

Eagles to open training camp for Egypt showdown on Sunday

NFF in talks with Enyeama, Emenike – Siasia

>>Pg 42

Arsenal, Chelsea, City fight over Juve wonderkind >>Pg 43

Victor Moses and Mikel Obi at Eagles’ camp

By Albert Akota

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uper Eagles will open their training camp for two crucial AFCON 2017 qualifiers against Egypt on Sunday with players from the domestic league, officials have informed.

The camp will open in Abuja before it moves to Kaduna, where Nigeria will welcome seven-time champions Egypt on March 25, before they fly out to the reverse clash in Alexandria on March 29 night.

This latest proposal for the camp to open earlier than a plan by former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh to get going two weeks to the match in Kaduna is expected to be endorsed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) technical committee, when they meet in Abuja today.

However, it is left to be seen whether the home-based players called up for the Egypt matches will be excused to feature for their clubs in league matches thereafter.

Nigeria is expected to announce a squad made up of players from the home league and foreign pros today after a deliberation by the technical committee.

NFF technical director Shuaibu Amodu met with caretaker coaches Samson Siasia and Salisu Yusuf on Tuesday in Abuja to draw up a squad list.

Emmanuel Amuneke, the third member in the Eagles consortium of coaches, was not present as he was back at his base in Spain.

Meanwhile, Sunday Oliseh has made a bold prediction that the Super Eagles will beat Egypt in AFCON qualifiers home and away this month.

Nigeria will first welcome the seven-time African champions on March 25, before they travel to Cairo for the reverse clash on March 29.

And Oliseh has restated his belief that even though he is no longer in charge of the Eagles, the team is capable of doing a double over the Pharaohs with Nigeria even recording a bigger win in Egypt.

“As a Nigerian, I can assure you should not fear the Egyptians,” he said on his personal website.

“Egypt is a good team but definitely far from the Egypt of 5 years ago and our new assembled team is definitely better.

“If we play with the philosophy and players I have put on ground, we will definitely beat Egypt home and away with a larger margin in Egypt!

Sport

NFF launches operation defeat Egypt

Onazi

T

he Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has launched what it calls “Operation Defeat the Pharaohs of Egypt’’, in the two-legged tie for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.

Seyi Akinwunmi, the 1st Vice-President of the NFF, told journalists in Lagos that the federation would not leave “any stone unturned” in a determined effort at defeating the Egyptians, home and away.

“This is the present pre-occupation of the federation for now. This is no time for politicking or dwelling in the past. We are asking all Nigerians to join forces with the federation to defeat the visiting Egyptians.

“We have a single objective now, which

is to defeat Egypt in order to guarantee the Super Eagles a place at the next AFCON.” The Chairman of the Technical Committee of the federation, who was also present, said a list of those to make the list would be unveiled in Abuja today.

“The technical committee will ratify the list to be presented by the coaching crew.

We do not have the luxury of time on our side.’’

According to him, the stand-in Coach, Samson Siasia, has been empowered along with his crew to go all out for the players to don the national colours for the match.

“He has been provided a car and other logistics to enable him to perform. He and

his staff will be working directly with the technical director of the federation, Amodu Shuaibu.

“I am aware that many of the top Eagles’ players have been contacted and some on their own expressed willingness to be part of the game.’’

He said a committee had since been working in Kaduna to ensure a hitch-free match.

According to him, the committee is working on all the logistics ahead of the match.

The Super Eagles are scheduled to host the first leg of the qualifier against the Pharaohs of Egypt on March 25, in Kaduna.

NFF in talks with Enyeama, Emenike – Siasia

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he Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) says it is in talks with former goalkeeper and striker, Vincent Enyeama and Emmanuel Emenike, over possible return to Super Eagles.

Super Eagles Interim Coach Samson Siasia, who said this in an interview with journalists in Abuja, said the aim was to ensure that the country assembles its best legs against Egypt.

The Super Eagles have crucial two-legged Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), qualifying matches against the Pharaohs of Egypt.

The first leg encounter takes place in Kaduna on March 25, while the return leg match is scheduled for Cairo on March 29.

Siasia said NFF was exploring every avenue capable of bringing success, adding that it had taken steps to facilitate the players’ return to the team.

“We just finished talking with the NFF Technical Director, Shuaibu Amodu; we are just putting the list of invited players together and after the NFF Technical Committee

meeting today, the list should be released,” he said.

“The Super Eagles’ Secretary, Dayo Enebi, will be contacting the invited players and he is talking with Enyeama and Emenike; we will talk with them when they are ready to talk.

“We will be happy to see these players back in the team if they can help us to qualify for 2017 AFCON,’’ he said.

The Olympic silver medal winning coach, however, said he was not under any pressure to win Egypt.

“The job for me is tasking but we are here for challenges and, being a challenge does not mean that it is a mountain we cannot climb.

“I am not feeling any pressure; all I want to do is to ensure we do well in the two games against Egypt.’’

Siasia was appointed on Friday by the NFF as interim Super Eagles coach following the resignation of Sunday Oliseh.

He is to be assisted

by Flying Eagles’ coach Emmanuel Amuneke, Salisu Yusuf and Alloy Agu.

Sikazwe to take charge of Eagles, Pharaohs clash

By Albert Akota

Z Janny Sikazwe

ambian referee Janny Sikazwe will be in the centre when the Super Eagles take on the Pharaohs of Egypt in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Day 3 qualifying match at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna on Friday, March 25.

The 37 –year old has been an international referee since 2007.

Football’s African ruling body, CAF also appointed Arsenio Chadreque Marengula from Mozambique as assistant referee 1, while Zambians Romeo Kasengele and Wisdom Chewe will serve as assistant referee 2 and reserve referee respectively.

CAF also named Abbasi Ssendyowa from Uganda as match commissioner for the big Group G game.

For the return leg in Alexandria on Tuesday, March 29, which will kick off at 7pm Egypt time at the Borg el Arab Stadium, veteran South African official Daniel Frazer Bennett will be at the centre.

He will be assisted by compatriots Zakhele Thusi Siwela (assistant referee 1), Peter Chauke (assistant referee 2) and Kulasande Qongqo. The match commissioner is Moroccan Said Belkhayat.

Nigeria welcomes Egypt on Friday, March 25 with the match at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium starting at 4pm Nigeria time.

Emmanuel Emenike

Green, Udoh get CAF duties

By Albert Akota

C

hairman of the NFF Technical and Development Committee, Chris Green has been appointed by the Confederation of African Football as match commissioner for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Day 3 qualifier between

Ghana’s Black Stars and the Mambas of Mozambique, scheduled for Accra on Thursday, March 24.

Green, a ranking member of the NFF Executive Committee, will work with a Moroccan quartet of Bouchaib El Ahrach (referee), Redouane Achik (assistant referee 1), Mouhib Abdallah Filali (assistant referee

2) and Samir Guezzaz (reserve referee).

The Group H clash will start at the Accra Sports Stadium at 3.30pm Ghana time.

Meanwhile, CAF has also named Nigerian officials to take charge of proceedings of the Group B Day 4 qualifier between Central Africa Republic and

Madagascar, scheduled for Bangui on Monday, March 28.

Rising star Ferdinand Anietie Udoh will be at the centre, with Abel Baba as assistant referee 1, Isah Usman as assistant referee 2 and Abdullahi Shuaibu as reserve referee.

Gaspard Kayijuka from Rwanda will be match commissioner.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 43

Sport

UEFA bans Galatasaray after FFP breach

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alatasaray have been suspended from European competition for a year for breaching financial fair play rules, Uefa has confirmed.

The club will be excluded from the Champions League or Europa League if they qualify this season or next.

European football’s governing body said in January that the Turkish champions had broken regulations on the level of financial losses allowed.

The Istanbul club is currently fifth in Turkey’s Super League.

Finishing in that position would leave Galatasaray outside the qualifying places for next season’s Champions League and Europa League.

The 2000 Uefa Cup winners have played in the Champions League for the past four seasons, going out at the group stage of this season’s competition.

They dropped into the Europa League but lost to Lazio at the last-32 stage.

Galatasaray official Iskender Baydar said that club directors are “examining the text of the decision” and will issue a statement later.

Gatasaray players celebrate a goal against Benfica

Arsenal, Chelsea, City fight over Juve wonderkind

mr. femi I, formerly Known as, obi femi emmanuel now wish to be Known and Addresses as mr. femi joseph All former documents remain valid, and the general public should please note.

A

ccording to reports from Gazzetta Dello Sport, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, along with Liverpool and Manchester United are all monitoring Juventus wunderkind Moises Kean Bioty.

The young striker, who has been dubbed the “new Mario Balotelli,” has netted 17 times in as many appearances for Juventus’ U-17 side this season, and Arsenal scouts watched him bag a brace during a 6-0 victory on Sunday.

Juventus are aware of the interest around the continent in their young talent and are set to move this week to tie him down to his first professional contract in order to keep him in Turin.

The teenager was born in Vercelli in 2000 to parents from the Ivory Coast and, as with many of Italy’s brightest young talents, is under the wing of super-agent Mino Raiola.

BUDA I, formerly Known as, ABUBAKAR ALIYU MOHAMMED now wish to be Known and Addresses as BUDA MUHAMMED All former documents remain valid, and the general public should please note.

SULE I, formerly Known as, MUNNIR SULEIMAN ARGUNGU now wish to be Known and Addresses as MANIR SULE DANFARASHI All former documents remain valid, and the general public should please note.

DANGASKIYA

I, formerly known as ABUBAKAR MUHAMMAD SANI now wish to be known and henceforth called DANGASKIYA MUHAMMAD SANI. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

MANIR I, formerly Known as, ZULAIHATU SANI now wish to be Known and Addresses as MANIR ZULAIHAT SULAIMAN All former documents remain valid, and the general public should please note.

MANSUR

I, formerly Known as, MANSOOR SULEIMAN DANFARASHI now wish to be Known and Addresses as MANSUR SULE DANFARASHI All former documents remain valid, and the general public should please note.

Moises Kean Bioty

blessed I, formerly Known as, chima chioke now wish to be Known and Addresses as blessed chima chioke. All former documents remain valid, and the general public should please note.

BALIKISU I, formerly known as BALIKISU ABUBAKAR now wish to be known and henceforth called BALIKISU SHEHU. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

Sport AIBA rejects headguards for male boxers in Rio M

ale boxers competing at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will not wear headguards for the first time in 36 years after a proposal by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) was approved.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) endorsed a decision originally taken by AIBA’s Executive Committee following London 2012 to unanimously end the use of headguards in all of their elite men’s competitions.

AIBA’s Medical Commission’s claim to have studied 11,000 bouts around the world, producing several scientific studies that it is actually safer for boxers to compete without headguards than with them.

Headguards have been worn at every Olympic Games since Los Angeles 1984 but were scrapped for the 2013 World Championships in Almaty.

AIBA claimed afterwards that there was a decrease in the number of concussions compared to the 2011 edition of the Championships in Baku.

Olympic boxers in action

Konta, Watson shine at Monterrey Open

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ritish duo Johanna Konta and Heather Watson are through to the second round of the Monterrey Open in Mexico.

Konta, the British number one, beat Colombia’s Mariana Duque-Marino 6-3 6-3, while Watson saw off Japan’s Misaki Doi 6-4 6-7 (0-7) 6-3.

Australian Open semi-finalist Konta will play either Belgian Yanina Wickmayer or Johanna Larsson of Sweden.

Watson, who has fallen to 84th in the world, faces either Hungarian Timea Babos or Slovenia’s Polona Hercog.

Fourth seed Konta, 24, broke once as she took the opening set in 32 minutes.

After dropping serve immediately after breaking in the second, she reeled off four of the next five games to seal her place in the next round.

Watson, 23, was 2-0 down in the deciding set but broke Doi twice to advance after two hours and 47 minutes.

In Kuala Lumpur, British number three Naomi Broady beat Klara Koukalova of the Watson Czech Republic 6-3 3-6 6-3.

F

Lamine Diack became IAAF president in 1999

272 African boxers to fight for 36 Olympic slots in Cameroon

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French prosecutors to investigate 2016, 2020 Olympic Games bids

rench prosecutors have widened their investigation into corruption in athletics to include the bidding and voting processes for the hosting of the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.

Lamine Diack, the former president of world governing body the IAAF, is already being investigated by French authorities.

He was arrested last year on corruption and money laundering charges, over allegations he took payments for deferring sanctions against Russian drugs cheats.

Confirming the investigation was being widened, an official from the prosecutor’s office said: “We are looking at these elements, but at this stage it is a question of verification. Nothing has been proved.”

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has told the BBC it wants to be a party to the French investigations.

Tokyo, which will host the 2020 Olympics, defended the voting process when it came under scrutiny in January.

The rubber-stamping of the AIBA’s decision was contained in the report of the IOC Medical Commission presented to the Executive Board by Turkey’s Uğur Erdener, a qualified doctor.

He said it was up to AIBA to make the rules for their own sport.

Women, who only made their debut in Olympic boxing at London 2012, will still wear headguards in Rio de Janeiro.

A HeadsUp campaign was also launched at last October’s World Boxing Championships in Doha in order to train boxers to maintain a “heads-up” stance to help prevent concussions and cuts, based upon the four pillars of health, education, sport and sustainability.

Coaches are being trained to help educate boxers to go into bouts with the correct stance and with the right mindset, which is believed will ultimately change the behaviour of boxers rather than the psychological protection of guards.

record number of 272 boxers from 39 countries have registered for this month’s International Boxing Association (AIBA) African Olympic Qualification Event at the Paposy boxing venue in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé.

The continent’s best male and female boxers will be vying for the 36 qualification places – 30 men’s and six women’s – on offer for Rio 2016 from 11-19 March.

Moroccan welterweight Mohammed Rabii, the World Series of Boxing (WSB) Boxer of the Year for 2015, and four other athletes from the continent have already qualified.

Besides Rabii, Morocco’s Achraf Kharroubi, Algerians Abdelkader Chadi and Ilyas Abbadi, and Egypt’s Hosam Abdin are also ensured of a place at Rio 2016.

AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) fighter Mohamed Arjaoui and Rabii’s younger brother Hamza represent Morocco’s strongest chances of getting more qualifiers.

Algeria’s World Championship silver medalist Mohamed Flissi and twotime Olympian Abdelhafid Benchabla will also be among the favourites to reach Rio 2016.

“The African continent’s boxers continue to show their

Edith Agu Ogoke

prowess and strength at AIBA boxing events, as highlighted

by Morocco’s Mohammed Rabii who was crowned the first African AIBA world champion in Doha in 2015,” said AIBA President C. K. Wu. “With a record number of entries and 36 spots available to the men and women in Yaoundé, this tournament is a key route to Rio 2016 Olympic Games and I am looking forward to an intense competition for the coveted places, ” Wu said.

Hosts Cameroon have high hopes for rising young star Wilfried Dieudonne Seyi Ntsengue and Tunisia, Egypt and Nigeria all have experienced boxers going for gold.

Nigerian boxers are already preparing for the qualifying tournament with a camp opened at the Brai Ayonote Gym inside the National Stadium in Lagos a few weeks ago.

The boxers are undergoing training under the tutelage of coaches such as Obisia Nwankpa, Jerry Okorodudu, Tony Konyewachi and a host of others.

Among the women’s favourites at the Cameroon tournament will be Algeria’s young flyweight Souhila Bouchene and Nigeria’s AllAfrica Games champion Edith Agu Ogoke.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Sport

Page 45

P-i-c-t-o-r-i-a-l Diego Costa’s goal was mildly controversial but Chelsea still hung on for a well-earned 2-1 win at Norwich

World number four Stan Wawrinka beats Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets to win Male boxers will not wear protective headgear at Rio 2016 after the rule change is ratified by the International Olympic Committee

Qatar SC centre-back Rafik Halliche has been ruled out of Algeria’s double header with Ethiopia in Group J of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Nigeria skipper Ahmed Musa scored one of the goals as CSKA Moscow progressed to the semifinals of the Russia Cup courtesy of a 2-0 win at FC Ufa.

Adam Scott’s Honda Classic victory provided more evidence of the depth of quality in men’s golf, writes Iain Carter.

Sport

Oliseh’s decisions Siasia must reverse Nigerians woke up to the news that Sunday Oliseh has resigned as Super Eagles chief coach.

But I must start by hailing him for doing what is alien in this part of this world - resigning ‘in the face of uncomfortable situations’.

By so doing, he has earned my respect.

I was not in support of most of his decisions while at the helm of the national team, but by voluntarily quitting, he has set standards.

But the way Oliseh was going, it was always going to be difficult for him to deliver

the AFCON ticket.

His opting out may be the tonic that will fire the team ahead of Egypt after the double header. Samson Siasia has now been drafted in to take charge for the games against Egypt.

Live among us Recall Enyeama and Emenike O liseh’s decision to run the affairs of the team from Europe didn’t help his cause. He only watched one NPFL match live, that is Shooting Stars vs Sunshine Stars. That was largely responsible for his CHAN failure.

On the contrary, during Stephen Keshi’s glorious days as Eagles chief coach, he built his team around home-based players whom he personally scouted. The team won bronze at CHAN. Siasia excelled at the

U23 Championship against all odds because he lived here and had the bulk of his team from here.

There is need to have a solid pool of players from the domestic scene. One way of doing this is for the national team coach to regularly be at the NPFL match venues.

That way, he would have an assemblage of homebased players who would be a true reflection of the inform players in the domestic league.

V

incent Enyeama should be forced out of his ‘premature’ international retirement immediately.

I have always insisted that we have not seen the last of Vincent in the national team. He is still the continent’s best goalkeeper.

The other day, he was in goal for Lille all 90 minutes and kept a clean sheet against PSG. You don’t have such a quality ‘keeper still active at club level and not use him.

Vincent was forced out of the national team following his misunderstanding with Oliseh.

Surely, another coach would have handled that incident differently and Vincent would still be donning the national colours.

Against Egypt, a top-class keeper like Vincent could be decisive. He has shut out the likes

Raise experience quotient and revive the ‘gang’

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t the full international level, only a ‘gang’ wins.

Under Oliseh, the team was not a ‘gang’. He ‘attacked’ the troop and chased away the ‘Generals’ in charge. The results were discordant tunes just as the soldiers in the battle field took cover.

This was obvious in the way the team played. No player was willing to take the risk. It would have been interesting to see how they would have overcome the Egyptian hurdle in that

state.

There is also need to raise the team’s experience quotient. The Musa-Onazi captaincy is a reflection of how low the team’s experience quotient dropped.

Even better endowed national teams don’t discard the experienced players without recourse to team’s balance. On big match days, teams lacking in experience pay dearly.

A commensurate blend of youth and experience will do the magic.

of Lionel Messi, so he wouldn’t be intimidated by the likes of Mohammed Salah.

Just like Vincent, Emmanuel Emenike was forced into early international retirement by Sunday Oliseh.

The lad saw the ominous signs and tactfully avoided being given the Enyeama treatment.

The fact is that Oliseh was a very outspoken player but as a coach, he detested players who were capable of doing what he was renowned for during his playing days.

Last weekend, we saw a virtuoso performance by Emenike for West Ham. His experience will come in handy in difficult situations.

Can you imagine an EmenikeOdion Ighalo combo upfront on current form? He could be Ighalo’s Troy Deneey in the national team.

Strip Musa captaincy and restore order in the team

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ne decision that was always going to undermine Oliseh was taking the captain’s arm band away from Enyeama and handing it to Ahmed Musa.

While not taking away anything from Musa’s talents, he was not the most suitable for that role even if Enyeama was no longer in the picture.

The next in line was Mikel Obi. It was even for this reason that Mikel turned down the offer of deputising for Musa.

Hence the coach opted for Ogenyi Onazi as assistant captain. This decision must be reversed as it unsettled the team.

A national team where Musa is the captain and Onazi assistant lack leadership, this is the senior national team and not some age-group team.

There is a possibility that even if Vincent agrees to return to the national team, he might turn down the captain’s band. In that case, Mikel should be accorded his due.

PEOPLES DAILY, thursday, march 3, 2016

Page 47

Leisure

Some Interesting Facts North American oysters do not make pearls of any value.

• Human birth control pills work on gorillas.

• Many sharks lay eggs, but hammerheads give birth to live babies that look like very small duplicates of their parents. Young hammerheads are usually born headfirst, with the tip of their hammer-shaped head folded backward to make them more streamlined for birth.

• Gorillas sleep as much as fourteen hours per day.

• A biological reserve has been made for golden toads because they are so rare.

• There are more than fifty different kinds of kangaroos.

• Jellyfish like salt water. A rainy season often

hottest puzzle book kakuro 13

puzzle 13

• •

• •

•

•

reduces the jellyfish population by putting more fresh water into normally salty waters where they live.

The female lion does ninety percent of the hunting.

The odds of seeing three albino deer at once are one in seventy-nine billion, yet one man in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, took a picture of three albino deer in the woods.

A group of twelve or more cows is called a flink.

Cats often rub up against people and furniture to lay their scent and mark their territory. They do it this way, as opposed to the way dogs do it, because they have scent glands in their faces.

Cats sleep up to eighteen hours a day, but never quite as deep as humans. Instead, they fall asleep quickly and wake up intermittently to check to see if their environment is still safe.

Catnip, or Nepeta cataria, is an herb with nepetalactone in it. Many think that when cats inhale nepetalactone, it affects hormones that arouse sexual feelings, or at least alter their brain functioning to make them feel “high.” Catnip was originally made, using nepetalactone as a natural bug repellant, but roaming cats would rip up the plants before they could be put to their intended task.

Say what?

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Something smells rotton: Even the bananas in this mom’s kitchen are falling apart..

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

www.peoplesdailyng.com

QUOTABLE QUOTE This will impact negatively on the future of the children and destroy the need to improve the literacy rate of Nigerians

. . . putting the people first

THURsday, March 3, 2016

— Rep. Albert Adeogun

SPORTS Major takeaways from Buhari’s Saudi, Qatar trips latest

Aston Villa will survive relegation- Richards still believes

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ston Villa has not given up on securing Premier League survival despite being cut adrift at the foot of the table, says captain Micah Richards.

Tuesday’s 3-1 home defeat to Everton was Villa’s 18th loss from 28 games this season, leaving them eight points adrift of safety with 10 fixtures remaining.

Villa has won just three topflight matches in 2015-16, but skipper Richards still believes they can pull off a great escape.

“It’s more tough games coming up - Man City and Spurs - it’s not getting any easier,” Richards told the club’s official website. “But we will keep going.

We are not giving up. We will believe.

“I feel their pain because Aston Villa - in this situation it’s hard to take. That goes for the players too obviously. It’s hurting us all. When people say that it doesn’t hurt us, as players that hurts the most because we don’t want to go out and lose every week. It’s not good.

Atletico Madrid to join Juve, Spurs at ICC

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panish giants Atletico Madrid yesterday unveiled as the fourth side to play in this year’s International Champions Cup in Australia, joining Italian champions Juventus and England’s Tottenham Hotspur.

Melbourne Victory will also compete in the Australian leg of the global pre-season club competition at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in July.

“This competition will form a key part of our pre-season training and will be a great opportunity for me to put my players through their paces ahead of the new season,” said Atletico coach Diego Simeone.

The tournament debuted last year with a total of 221 000 fans at the MCG across the event week to watch Real Madrid, Manchester City and AS Roma.

Advert: business: news: lagos:

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T the invitation of the King, Salman Bin-Abdulaziz alSaud of Saudi Arabia and that of the Ruler of Qatar, ShaikhTamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, President MuhammaduBuhari undertook state visits to the two MiddleEastern states between February 22nd and the 29th.

As expected, there is much healthy anxiety at home about the outcomes.

For many of our citizens,their expectation is for the benefits of these visits to reach them in Sokoto, Calabar, Owerri or Akure before the President got home after the engagements. There are good reasons for this anticipation.

The President had given impetus to and focus on foreign strategies to, as he put, overcome this country’s infrastructure deficit at a time when oil revenues had fallen by 70 percent.

This strategy draws from the enormous goodwill his election in 2015 has brought upon the country. Knowing how terrible things were for Nigeria in the past, the wold seems quite happy with us for having a president with an incredible reputation of personal integrity.

Considering our past missed opportunities, some have called this our last chance. The President calls it our best chance to shake off the shackles of poverty and underdevelopment.

He set out to achieve three to four broad objectives. One was of course to strengthen relations between these Arab states and Nigeria.

In his various speeches, the President made clear his wish to enhance the age-old relations between our nations and the various peoples of these nations built on the foundations of shared values and interests.

A matter for immediate concern to him was the wobbly state of the oil market and his inherent belief that he can rally the support of these two major oil and gas producing countries to support the return of a more stable market and better pricing.

“Why produce more, to earn less, instead of producing less to earn more?”was his constant refrain.

The President sought to persuade the Saudis and the Qatari to invest and cooperate in every Nigerian development priority, especially in the critical sectors of power, infrastructure, agriculture, mining and manufacturing.

As he did wherever he visited, he looked out for the Diasporas.

Nigerians jubilantly crowded the President’s meetings at both Riyadh and Doha. They spoke of their love for him and the work he is doing in the fighting corruption and terrorism.

The problems they have, which they brought to him were not new or different from what he had met elsewhere.

Nigerian professionals face enormous challenges getting

0806 564 8620 0704 385 9705 0814 292 9046 08074420617

Thursday Column

By Garba Shehu

President Muhammadu Buhari visas for family members to join them abroad; there are difficulties getting passport renewals warranted by acute shortages of booklets and there are many grievances against frequent police arrest and sometimes deportation without the involvement or say-so of the Nigerian missions.

Nigerians in Saudi and Qatar want to vote from their current locations in our future national elections.

It is important that the President had obtained the nodding agreement of both countries to stand together for a more stable market and better pricing for oil and gas. Together, they agreed however, that more can be achieved by working together with independent producers outside the Organization of Oil Producing Countries, OPEC. True to their word, the Saudis made a pronouncement on the issue and the market has positively responded, even if marginally so.

Oil price is up by a few percentage points.

He has also obtained commitments of investment from the states, on the one hand through their enormously well-endowed Sovereign Wealth Fund(s) and on the other, from Saudi and Qatari industrialists committed to investing billions in the Nigerian economy.

The signed agreements with Qatar on the protection of investment and avoidance of multiple taxation is helpful in paving the way for the coming investments.

The other agreement on Bilateral Services Agreement, BASA bears the imprint of Nigeria’s ambition of transforming into the international travel hub for WestAfrica’s 400 million people.

The Qatari Emir gave a prompt directive for support and collaboration with Nigeria on the plans to restart a national airline and a further development of airports infrastructure.

On security, the President made known the position of his administration to join the alliance

of Islamic States against terror.

In an interview with the Qatarbased Aljazeerah TV, he made clear his intention to work everyone and anywhere to fight terrorism.

“We are victims of terrorism,” meaning we know the pain and we feel it and that misguided sentiment will not detract him from clear national interest.

The President conveyed condolences, on behalf of himself and the nation to King Salman, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on the spate of deaths, including many Nigerians, in the course of last year’s Hajj pilgrimage.

He took note of the new concessions the Saudis have given Nigeria, among which is the increase in Umrah slots and asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Hajj Commission, NAHCON to request for more Hajj slots. He equally wants to see Nigerians pay less for their Umrah.

Clearly, the President seemed impressed by the willingness on the part of the Saudis to discuss all outstanding issues with Nigeria. Our side to the continuing discussions have 17 consular and other matters connected to the Umrah and Hajj.

Determined to give meaning to his expressed determination to produce enough food for the teeming population, bridge the infrastructure gap and putting in place measures for the diversification of the economy now precariously over-dependent on oil, the President returned home with a promise to set up a cabinet committee to identify some protects of priority to the nation.

These priority projects, when identified will be evaluated and costed, and thereafter placed for the consideration of the sovereign wealth authorities of the two states.

It is hoped that once the states lead the way, the private sector in both countries will come in tow.

With the President promising to provide all the necessary support, both the Saudi and Qatari Chambers of Commerce and Industry are expected to visit Abuja in the course of this year.

The Islamic Development Bank, IDB which met the President presented a dazzling array of opportunities to assist in mobilizing domestic and external resources to finance Nigeria’s investment program in the wake of widening funding gap.

The Bank has offered to support the Federal Ministry of Finance in mobilizing resources from Arab Countries through assistance in organizing an Arab Donor financing roundtable in Abuja.

It will leverage its traditional partners in the Arab Coordination Group (such as the Saudi Fund,

the Kuwait Fund, BADEA, the Abu Dhabi Fund, etc.) in order to increase the quantum of funding available to the country.

The IDB has equally offered assistance to the Government of Nigeria in facilitating a proposed Sukuk Bond issuance program, aimed at mobilizing domestic and external resources to finance Nigeria’s investment program. The Central Bank of Nigeria and the Debt Management Office are in a discussion with the IDB on this idea.

In another breath, the IDB Group is committing itself to helping to mobilize investments from private businesses in Arab countries to assist in the development of solid minerals and commercial agriculture.

In the meeting with the Organization of Islamic States, OIC, the President obtained assurances of support for the resettlement and rehabilitation of of the more than two million Internally Displaced Persons in various camps in the North-East.

In line with his observation that it is only by educating people properly about Islam that terrorists will be deprived of legitimacy and a basis for the recruitment of followers, the OIC accepted the President’s request to partner with Nigerians in bringing a good knowledge and understanding of the Islamic religion.

The above snapshot may not represent a 360-degree view of all the things that happened. For instance, the Qatari who are being sought after by nations eying their reserve funds had shown interest in Nigeria’s favorable demographics and infrastructure deficit. The low-hanging fruit was ignored because a past president refused to visit. President Buhari’s visit has deepened the enthusiasm of the Saudis and the Qatari in investing in Nigeria.

The most important challenge before him now is in packaging proposals acceptable to both sides, for business to start.

Shehu is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity

DAN GAYE

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