Peoples Daily, Wednesday, May 4, 2016. Edition. by Peoples Media Limited

www.peoplesdailyng.com

Wednesday, May 4, 2016 / Rajab 26, 1437 AH

. . . putting the people first

IMF, Reps make case for speedy diversification

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@pmlonline

Vol. 22 No. 70 N150

751 Days after: Will the abducted Chibok schoolgirls ever be rescued?

Kaduna seeks death sentence for 91 Shiites page 5

President Muhammadu Buhari (2nd-R) Welcoming President Paul Biya of Cameroun to the Presidential Villa, yesterday in Abuja. with Them are their Spouses, Mrs Aisha Buhari (Left) and Mrs. Chantal Biya (Right). Photo: NAN

2016 Hajj: NAHCON to track pilgrims with electronic wrist bands By Maryam Garba Hassan

he National Hajj Commission of Nigeria NAHCON has said it has introduced electronic wrist band for this year’s pilgrimage to track pilgrims and be able to communicate with them easily.

This was disclosed yesterday by the Commission’s Chairman, Barr. Abdullahi Muktar Mohammed when he led his entourage on a courtesy visit to the head office of Peoples Media Limited, publishers of Peoples Daily Newspapers in Abuja. Mohammed said the initiative

Food security bill passes second reading in Senate pAGE 8

was to identify pilgrims in the event of an emergency. He said part of the commission’s challenges during the 2015 hajj tragedy was its inability to identify Nigerian pilgrims’ corpses in time because of Nigerians similarities in skin color, names and other physical features with neighboring African

countries such as Niger, Cameroon, and Senegal among others. He said the Commission is working with the Saudi relevant agencies to ensure that the cooling system is supplied at pilgrims’ tents at Arafat during this year’s hajj for pilgrims comfort and safety. He said making provision for

Impeachment of Speaker, Deputy sparks gunfire in Edo Assembly pAGE 18

the cooling system is necessary and important as according to weather report, hajj in the next 15 years will be performed under harsh weather conditions which is hazardous to health and for that, the Commission cannot compromise pilgrims’ safety and health. Contd on Page 5

Nigeria, UN in pact against corruption, terrorism >> pg 3

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

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News

R-L: Governor Of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, presenting a cheque to a beneficiary of the Global Partnership for Education Project, Miss Kaira Isiaka Of Sukumi Model Primary School Kaduna, during the launching of the project, yesterday in Kaduna. PHOTO: NAN

Why FG still relies on oil, by Lai Muhammad By Umar Muhammad Puma

he Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammad has attributed poor funding of the culture and tourism sectors as the reason the nation’s economy is still relying heavily on oil. The minister said this while answering questions from lawmakers at the sectoral

debate of the House of Representatives. The minister lamented that the tourism sector lacked infrastructures such as roads and electricity which would aide viability of the sector to thrive. He said that for tourism to thrive in the country a surcharge can be put in place which would raise the needed funds needed to make Tourism thrive in the country. “In the 2015 budget, 9 parastatals in the

Ministry of Culture and Tourism got zero allocation. “We have an improvement this year in the 2016 budget but it does not measure up to what Nigeria needs. He said currently, tourism only contributes 1.5 percent to the country’s GDP, adding that the ministry hopes to achieve 7 percent. The minister, said though the Nigerian

Bureau of Statistics, NBS has tried it’s best to provide data for the ministry to work with, the House should enact a law that will compel immigration, hoteliers and others to provide the needed information to work with. The sectoral debate is aimed at finding sustainable policy strategies and legislations for quick recovery of the economy.

Bill to tackle climate change impact passes second reading in Senate By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

enate yesterday passed for second reading bill seeking for measures at addressing the negative impacts of global warming or climate change in Nigeria and potential hunger in the country. The bill was sponsored by Senator Issa Hamma Misau ( APC Bauchi Central) In his lead debate on the Climate Change and Global Greenhouse Emission Reduction Bill 2015, Misau said the bill seeks to address climate change

with a view to assisting the achievement of a sustainable future for the country. According to him, “Climate change is a consequence of global warming. It is essentially an ecological reaction to the gradual increase in the earth surface temperature which has in recent times, resulted in incidence of hotter summers, severe snow storms, increasing flooding, remarkable shift in the traditional weather pattern and growing climate uncertainty and unpredictability “ He explained that since

climate change resulting from global warming is generally believed to be manmade, there is need for man - made solution to it as well through reduction of global Greenhouse emissions. Nigeria, according to him, is a major producer of fossil fuel (petroleum and coal) and a study commissioned by the World Bank in 2007 indicated that Nigeria accounted for roughly one sixth of the worldwide gas flaring which in turn spews some 400million tons of carbon dioxide, one of

the greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. He therefore submitted that the bill essentially provides the legislative framework for an articulate and concerted response to challenge to challenge of global warming. “ Climate change is a challenge we must all respond to. The reality is that climate change has huge socio cultural and economic consequences and effort must be made to respond to it. The bill is a bold attempt at preparing the country for the unpleasant

consequences of climate change”, he added. Virtually all the senators who contributed to the debate supported it , upon which the Senate passed it for second reading with a remark from the Senate President, Bukola Saraki , that the bill was long overdue and that it will go a long way in addressing challenges of climate change in the country. Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, has been assigned to make further legislative.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

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News

Ag News Editor, Ese Awhotu

Lagos conducts first West Africa successful bone bridge surgery From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

L-R: Governors Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa, Rauf Aregbesola of Osun, Rochas Okorocha of Imo, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and Kashim Shettima of Borno, during a sympathy visit to Enugu State Governor by his colleagues over recent attack on people by herdsmen, yesterday in Enugu.

Kaduna gets $21m World Bank grant to renovate schools From Mohammad Kaduna

Ibrahim,

s part of it effort to assist education in Kaduna State, the World Bank yesterday gave a 21 million dollars education grant to rehabilitate and renovate public schools in the state. The fund would also be used to train teachers and motivate girl child education in the state. Speaking during the launching of Global Partnership for Education (GPE) in the state, Representative of World Bank, Dr. Olatunde Adekola said Kaduna state is the fourth state where the programme has been launched after Sokoto, Katsina, Kano states.

According to him, Jigawa state and national launching is expected to follow Kaduna state. “The objective of this project is to improve education delivery. Kaduna will benefit $21 million out of the $100 million available for education. “ The project launch would strengthen interaction and provide framework. USAID is the coordinating agency, while World Bank is the implementation agency,” he said. In his remark, Governor Nasir El-Rufai said his government inherited, 4,269 primary schools in the state, which were in total disrepair. The Governor stated that, education in the state was in total crises and needed urgent surgical

operation. Governor El-Rufai however, pledged to judiciously utilise the $21 million World Bank education grant on the rehabilitation and renovation of educational institutions in the state, training and retraining of teachers, as well as motivation of girl child education. “Inaugurating the Global Partnership for Education who seeks to support education in Kaduna state for the next four years with $21 million. It is money that our school badly need, 4,269 primary schools in Kaduna state in various state of disrepair. “The transition rate from primary school to secondary school is slightly above 20 percent. Kaduna ranks 10 in education attainment. Education in Kaduna state is in

crisis. The goal to expand access to quality basic education in our state, we need to build human capital to get all our children in school. “The consequence of collapsed education in the North has been tragic, it has ruined lives, led to crime, insurgency. We want to get all our children in school, stop premature withdrawal of gilrs from school,” el-Rufai said. He said though, 40 percent of teachers in the state were not qualified; the state would offer them opportunity to obtain the minimum qualification of National Certificate of Education. He assured that no teacher in the state would be sacked on the basis of inadequate qualification, but would be retrained for greater efficiency

Your sufferings will be over soon, UN assures Boko Haram victims

he UN Resident Coordinator, Ms Fatma Samoura, has assured the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by the Boko Haram insurgency that their sufferings would soon become a thing of the past. Samoura told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja that the UN was doing everything possible to ensure that the IDPs resumed their normal lives. Samoura, who is also the UN Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of UN Development Programme, urged the Boko Haram insurgency victims not to give up on their current condition. ``For the IDPs, I just want to encourage them that their

sufferings will be a thing of the past very soon. ``I also want to assure them that conducive conditions for their safe return will be put in place so that they can resume their normal lives,” she said. She said apart from directing the immediate relocation of the UN Humanitarian Coordination Centre to Borno, she had taken steps to improve access to IDPs through dialogue with humanitarian actors. Samoura said there were people who had still not been reached due to the insurgency, calling for the presence of more security personnel to enable access to those people. ``There is the need to enhance the security of the humanitarian actors based in Maiduguri through

more regular flights in and out of Maiduguri. ``There is also the need to secure the roads leading to the different capitals of the States in the North East region,” she urged. Samoura said she was undertaking a robust advocacy strategy with international donors. ``I have an upcoming trip to Istanbul where I will be attending the World Humanitarian Summit from May 23 to 24. ``I am going to really establish special working group to attract the world attention to the appalling situation to the IDPs and host communities in the North East of Nigeria. ``We are advocating for NGOs working on food security, nutrition and also in health, water and sanitation to augment the exiting

capacity in IDPs camps and within the host communities.” Samoura said many UN agencies and international organisations had already started helping the women IDPs to undertake income-generating activities. She said such activities included embroideries to make traditional caps, perfumes, knitting and tailoring in the camps. She encouraged the IDPs to continue to be vigilant so as to preserve their safety within the camps. Besides, she enjoined them to work towards peaceful and conducive environment through continued dialogue among the various ethnic groups within the camps and among the different members of their families. (NAN)

he Lagos government yesterday claimed the state teaching hospital, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has successfully carried out the first Bone Bridge Surgery in West Africa. It said the institution also achieved another feat in an Cochlear Implant surgeries on three deaf patients without the support of foreign doctors. The operations according to the Commissioner for Health , Dr. Jide Idris were carried out in December 2015. He said LASUTH also had its first successful Kidney Transplant carried out by the Hospital’s team of Urologists and Nephrologists in November 2015 and discharged the patient in good condition on December 1, 2015, while another transplant is being planned. Dr. Idris spoke a briefing as part of activities to mark the Akinwunmi Ambode one year administration. During the period, he explained that LASUTH collaborated with Vision Care and South Korean Community in Nigeria to provide free cataract surgeries for 120 Lagosians and treated 250 outpatients between November 9 and 13, 2015 with 100 percent success rate. Also under the blindness prevention programme, a total of 7, 250 patients with varying ophthalmic conditions were screened at 29 different community screening venues out of which 4, 867 representing 67.1 percent were given free glasses. He disclosed that LASUTH has won several international awards of excellence during the same period. He also said the departments of Internal Medicine, ENT, Psychiatry and Pediatrics were granted accreditations by the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, while the first female Oncologist in Nigeria, Dr. Fatiregun Omolara emanated from LASUTH. Also a new Critical Care Unit at LASUTH and Lagos State University College of Medicine (LASUCOM) has been practically completed and ready for commissioning, while the contract for renovation and extension of the Old Ayinke House has been re-awarded with immediate commencement of work, as well as the Psychiatry Ward.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Page 4 Report

By Ochiaka Ugwu

he result of a study tracking illiteracy conducted by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and released last week has revealed that about 65 million Nigerians are still illiterate. This was made known by the National Programme Advisor on Education, UNESCO Regional Office in Abuja, Dr. Mohammed Alkali. Dr. Alkali, who made this known during an advocacy visit to Gov. Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State, left his host speechless when he stated that over 65 million country men and women are unable to read and write. When put in percentage, it translates that more than 35 of Nigerians are uneducated. The literacy rate is not a measurement of high level training and education. It simply measures the percentage of people with the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about the written word. With this shocking revelation, one now wonders what have become of many mass literacy programmes rolled out by previous governments with the aim of promoting literacy and eradicating ignorance. There is no doubt that recent years have seen a number of initiatives formed to counter inadequate education and overcome illiteracy from the government, the private sector and United Nations agencies such as UNICEF. UNICEF’s, aims to increase access to basic education for children throughout Africa whilst the Nigeria government has also provided local support for Nigeria’s illiterate adults through a mass literacy campaign which aims to reduce illiteracy by 50%. It is on record that Nigeria government had on countless occasions through its agencies collaborated with organizations like The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to deal illiteracy a hard blow. A case in point is the recent partnership between UNESCO and National Mass Education Commission (NMEC) to embark on a project towards revitalizing adult and youth literacy in Nigeria with the target of reducing Nigerian illiteracy rate by between five to six million youths and adults. Ordinarily, this kind of collaboration ought to have nipped the illiteracy problem to the bud, if not for low funding of educational sector especially non-formal education and lack of political will by our politicians. It is time the governments at all level fulfill their mandates by recruiting and paying education trained facilitators for us to move forward. No doubt, Nigeria is the continent’s biggest and most advanced economy but its literacy rate still lags behind some of Africa’s troubled economies. It has invested billions of Naira in education but it still fails to achieve the expected result. It has a low rate of university attendance. Its school and university standards are too low with the exceptions of a few that strive to meet international standards. Furthermore, university fees are too high for the poor majority. Only one in six students gets to university and a third of those dropout within a year. Statistics show that more than 30 million Nigerians especially women and children are outside education, training or employment. 60% of Nigerians have no qualifications at all. 16% of Matric graduates are likely to get a job within a year of leaving school and 60% will still be jobless after 5 years. Officially, 54% of Nigerians are unemployed and actual unemployment is projected to be much higher than that. Worthy of note is that almost all education interest groups have decreed poor quality of education in Nigeria. It was estimated that about 85% of public schools in Nigeria have been classified by the government as failing. Although, government has promised reforms after reforms and investment in infrastructure, but it is a mammoth task for a government that has invested billions of Naira in education without achieving the intended results. The fact remains that we need a literate nation where every citizen will have unhindered access to quality education at any level he wishes. This is supported by the fact Literacy plays a vital role in the growth and development of any nation, and research has shown that the higher the rate of literacy, the better the potential to succeed. Experts have said there is a

Examining Nigeria’s high illiteracy rate

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu correlation between income and illiteracy. A high level of literacy can reduce poverty and crime, contribute to economic growth, and improve the quality of life because people, when they can read information regarding vital social issues, are able to make informed choices and feel more confident about themselves. This in turn could relieve the burden on the government in terms of public enlightenment system in our society. It has been posited by pundits that reading and writing are fundamental human rights as they allow people to take control of their lives through being able to vote, fill in an application form, do banking, read instruction manuals, and other activities. This best explains why the nation should step up its activities towards repositioning education for better. The process should start as early as possible with a sound basic education system and the establishment of a culture of reading at home – which can only be done by adults who themselves know how to read and understand the value of reading. Make no mistake, any discussion of

Nigerian education would be incomplete without some reference to the high levels of inequality that plague the country and permeate every element of the schooling system. This is nowhere more noticeable than in educational outcomes, ranging from a very few schools which perform at internationally-comparable levels of achievement, all the way down to a majority of schools which cannot impart even the most basic numeracy and literacy skills to their pupils. Another one is accountability which means that somebody most take responsibility for any action in the sector. Accountability is essential for our system to work properly. There are several weaknesses in the accountability sequence, with a culture of blame-shifting. The accountability string has to be strengthened from top to bottom. Education outcomes cannot improve unless accountability is reinforced throughout the system, from learner results to the delivery of textbooks in the classrooms. The system appears to suffer from both a lack of top-

“

down oversight and a lack of bottom-up accountability, which means that there is little consequence for non-performance and therefore little emphasis on results and ensuring cost effectiveness. Lack of accountability also means that there is little motivation to procure and retain skilled individuals. Lastly government should see education as a serious business by setting realistic goals, goals that focus on the universal acquisition of basic skills. The existing approach of government with respect to educational goal-setting can only be described as inspiring planning. Many of the policies and prgrammes set by government show no regard for the starting point, and little regard for what is actually feasible by always using international experience as standard. It is also time that Nigeria realises it is not a lot of money that changes the literacy rate, it’s how and where you invest that money coupled with political will to achieve result.

No doubt, Nigeria is the continent’s biggest and most advanced economy but its literacy rate still lags behind some of Africa countries. It has invested billions of Naira in education but it still fails to achieve the projected result. It has a low rate of university attendance. Its school and university standards are too low with the exceptions of a few that strive to meet international standards. Furthermore, university fees are too high for the poor majority.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

News

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Economic recovery: IMF, Reps make case for speedy diversification By Umar Muhammad Puma with agency report

he International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Nigerian House of Representatives yesterday underscored the importance of a well nurtured and speedy

diversification programme to the country’s economic recovery process. The IMF said Africa’s major oil exporters, including Nigeria and Angola, were hardest hit by the slump in commodities prices, same as Ghana, South Africa and Zambia.

The decline in oil prices, the Fund said, paved the way for new realities for the continent, like the diversification trend being propagated in Nigeria. This is just as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara, has emphasised that there must

be urgency in diversifying the nation’s economy in order to improve its GDP and earn foreign exchange, saying the time for paying lip service to the task is over. IMF noted that, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are gradually recovering from the

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, Peoples Media Limited (PML), Malam Ali M. Ali presenting the copies of Peoples Daily to Chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Barr. Abdullahi M. Mukhtar, during the Chairman’s visit to PML headquarters, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

2016 hajj: NAHCON to track pilgrims with electronic wrist band Contd from one

e said this year’s pilgrims will be moving 100 per cent to Makka Zirra and accommodated in 5 star and 4 star hotels in Madina close to Prophet Muhammad’s mosque. The Chairman, who commended the management of Peoples Daily for its objective reportage on the activities of the Commission, said he holds Peoples Daily on a very high esteem, adding that he will do everything in his power to support

the media. Mohammed said the Commission’s delegation was at the headquarters of Peoples Media Limited to extend its hand of friendship and to seek the organization’s continuous support for NAHCON in projecting its good image. He called on the media to expose any tour operator who extort money in the name of hajj or collects money for application form fee from any intending pilgrim saying the legitimate fee for pilgrim’s

application form fee is N 500. Responding, Chief Operative Officer of Peoples Media Limited, Malam Ali M. Ali, thanked the management of NAHCON for the visit, saying the gesture shows that the present leadership of the Commission also sees the media as partners in progress. He assured of the orgainsation’s support for the Commission and commended the appointment of NAHCON Chairman who he described as competent and hardworking to take the Commission

to the next level and commiserated with the Commission over the 2015 hajj tragedy. He commended the Chairman for the innovation he is bringing into this year’s hajj and urged him to do more. He also urged the Commission to put measures in place to ensure that pilgrims’ departure time is complied with as well as put in more effort to sensitize and mobilize intending pilgrims on the need to come out for enlightenment programmes.

Ebola epidemic, while several southern and eastern African countries, including Ethiopia, Malawi and Zimbabwe are being devastated by severe drought. On the upside, the Fund said Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and Senegal would see growth of more than 5 per cent, mostly “supported by on-going infrastructure investment efforts and strong private consumption”. The Fund said the affected countries needed to contain fiscal deficits as the reduction in revenue from the commodities sector was expected to persist. According to the IMF, subSaharan Africa economy faces a possible downturn, with growth expected to drop from 3.4 per cent in 2015 to about 3 per cent in 2016. The Fund said at the presentation of its latest African Economic Outlook in Johannesburg, South Africa that the growth would likely slow this year to its weakest level in nearly two decades. It identified three factors that would cause the drop, namely the slump in global commodity prices, the Ebola virus outbreak and drought. The House call for speedy economic diversification is in line with its resolve to promote the enactment of laws to make this goal attainable and in the long run, enhance Nigeria’s economic growth and development, the House of Representatives yesterday begun sectoral debates on economic diversification like it promised in its legislative agenda. The Speaker, while delivering opening remarks during the commencement of the sectoral debates on the floor of the House of Representatives, expressed confidence that all that is required to successfully transform the economy and earn it foreign exchange is available within the country. He said, “With the fall in crude oil prices, Nigeria really has no choice but to stop paying lip service to the urgent need for diversification of sources of revenue for Nigeria. The acute scarcity of foreign exchange, power supply challenges, falling GDP, fuel scarcity are some of the current matters of urgent national importance to be fixed. “It is our belief that Nigeria possesses the human and material resources required to successfully transform our economy and earn the needed foreign exchange for Nigeria.”

Kaduna seeks death sentence for 91 Shiites

By Usman Audu with agency report

he Kaduna State Government on Tuesday arraigned another batch of 91 members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) before a Kaduna High Court, seeking death sentence for the accused. The government had on April 21 arraigned 50 members of the sect on similar charges. They were among the 266 sect members arrested during the Shiite/Army clash between Dec. 12 and Dec 14, 2015 in Zaria. The Shi’a group, Islamic Movement in Nigeria, says over hundreds of its members were killed and secretly buried by soldiers during the clash.

The Kaduna State government said 347 bodies were buried by the army and the state government in the Mando area of Zaria. NAN reports that 256 of other Shiites arrested by the army are facing charges that attract death sentence, while 10 others are facing other charges in different courts in the state. They were arraigned on a five-count charge for criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, disturbance of public peace and wrongful restrain. Dari Bayero, who led the prosecution, told Justice Hajara Gwadah that the accused persons were being charged “pursuant to Sections 97, 102, 106, 221 and 256 of the Penal Code Law of Kaduna State. “My Lord the charge before

you is for mention. We humbly apply that the names of the accused persons be called out for identification. “My Lord the 1st, 13th, 34th, 39th, 57th , 66th and 70th accused persons are not in court and are absent. “They were released on bail and are aware of this date particularly the accused person No. 57 who we have proof of service on. “My Lord the 1st accused person was released on bail to one Ibrahim Haruna who is Resident at Zaria. “My Lord we hereby apply for a bench warrant against the 57th accused person. “My Lord same is also applied against all the accused persons that are absent. I also apply for a short date for further

arraignment.“ On his part, Festus Okoye, who led the defence team, said the prosecution had not served any of the accused persons with the charge since the case was filed on March 22, 2016. “My Lord our first application is that the prosecution should serve the charges on all the accused persons. “My Lord, the application for bench warrant against the accused persons that are not before the court is not proper. “My Lord the 1st accused and his surety were not served with a copy of this charge and hearing notice and thus, are not aware that the matter comes up today. “The 13th accused person was released because he was critically ill. There is also no evidence that

he was served with the charge or hearing notice. “The 39th and 70th accused persons were released on bail because they are minors and were not served against today. I don’t have information on the 57th accused person.“ The defence counsel requested the court to order the prosecution to serve the accused persons that were not in court and their sureties. After listening to the submissions, the Judge issued a bench warrant against the 57th accused person. “Bench warrant against 57th accused person is hereby granted. Accused persons are to be served personally. “Case adjourned to June 1, 2016 for arraignment,” Mr. Gwadah declared.

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News Alleged N6bn fraud:

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Again, Dasuki’s absence stalls trial By Paschal Chukwuemeka

rial of Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd), former National Security Adviser during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan before a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja was stalled yesterday following the failure of the Federal Government to produce him in court. The trial could not hold due to the inability of the Department of State Security Services (DSS) to release Dasuki to the EFCC for onward movement to the Abuja High Court for the trial. Counsel to the EFCC, Oluwaleke Atolagbe informed Justice Baba Yusuf that concerted efforts were made through the EFCC to contact

the DSS to produce Dasuki in court but to his surprised, the first defendant was not in court. Though the prosecution witnesses were in court, however, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) who was supposed to be the lead prosecution counsel was at the Court of Appeal for a different matter, Atolagbe stated. But in opposition, counsel to Salisu Shuaib, a former Director of Finance in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN) said that the coming of Jacobs would be of no effect since Dasuki was not in court. Olujimi informed the court that it is settled law that trial cannot go ahead in the absence of the defendant in a criminal matter.

He then urged to court to grant adjournment to the prosecution to enable them produce Dasuki in court. Counsel to Aminu Baba-Kusa, a former Executive Director at The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Solomon Umor (SAN) in his submission told Justice Baba Yusuf that “ordinarily the prosecution ought to apply for a bench warrant against Dasuki for failure to appear in court for trial but noted that in the instant case, the prosecution would not do so because they are the one responsible for the absence of Dasuki because of his unwarranted detention. “Let the truth be told that it is the Federal Government that is frustrating this trial because it

wants to eat its cake and have it at the same time. “By this I mean the government wanted the first defendant (Dasuki) tried for criminal matter and yet it was not ready to allow the defendant have access to his lawyers or even to come to court to face that trial. “I would have asked that the defendants in this case be discharged and allow to go home pending the time the prosecution would get serious for their trial, but I will reluctantly concede to one more adjournment to be granted to the prosecution. “Let me say that this adjournment should go with stern warning to the prosecution that it should not come before this court with another story on the adjourn

date because the defendants must not be held to ransom by the unwilling prosecution” the lawyer said. After listening to all counsels, Justice Baba Yusuf agreed that it was the responsibility of the prosecution to produce the defendant in court as required by law. However, he expressed dismay that the prosecution counsel could not allow the matter to go on. But according to the Judge, the conduct of the prosecution had been good in the past, and therefore granted an adjournment to May 23.

Reps mourn late Oba of Benin By Umar Muhammad Puma

Some members of the Edo Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (nuj) on a road walk to mark this year’s World Press Freedom Day, yesterday in Benin. Photo nan

Lagos Hijab ban: Judge refers Muslim students to Appeal Court president From Ayodele Samuel,Lagos

he Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has affirmed that granting of right to Muslim students to wear Hijab in Lagos State schools needed constitutional interpretation. Justice Amina Augie said this while granting the right to hear a case on Hijab matter on Tuesday. Other justices on the bench were Justice Tijani Abubakr and Justice Tukur. The case was between Asiyat Kareem (Minor) suing through Mr. AbdulKareem Raji; Mariam Oyeniyi through Mr. Sulaimon Oyeniyi; and Muslim students through Amir (President) Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit, Saheed Ashafa versus Lagos State Government (LASG) and others, who were the respondent.

The appellants were represented by a team of lawyers led by by Alhaji Gani AdetolaKassim (SAN). After hearing the brief of the case from both the appellants and respondent, Justice Augie stalled the hearing. According to her, the case on Hijab needed constitutional interpretation and only a full court could preferably give verdict on it. She also explained that it was not preferable that the case be heard by a panel dominated by only Muslim Judges. This, she said, was as a result of the sensitivity of the (Hijab) matter. She subsequently asked the appellants to write the President of Appeal Court, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, to set up a full court (of five justices) to hear the case.

Reacting to the position of the appeal court, MSSN Lagos Amir, Saheed Ashafa, expressed confidence that the position of the constitution was clear on freedom of religion. He explained that the Court of Appeal has further vindicated the position of MSSN Lagos by admitting that wearing of Hijab was a constitutional right. He said, “By the grace of God, we will emerge victorious. Our legal team is working on the decision of the Court of Appeal already and we trust that proper interpretation would be done. On her part, Amirah of MSSN Lagos, Hajia Hafsah Badru, complained that it was taking too long for the rights of Muslims to be granted. She wondered why Muslims were prevented from putting on the Hijab when Christians kept

dressing to suit their religion to schools. She reiterated that “the present dressing codes in schools are a specification for the Christians. Allowing Muslims to also wear Hijab will only show impartiality and equality on the part of government and make Muslims fulfil their obligation to their creator - Allah. Recall that the Lagos State Government banned the use of Hijab on the argument that it was not part of the approved school uniform for students. Following that, members of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit proceeded to court to seek redress and protect Muslim females from being flogged, embarrassed, and victimised for using the Hijab within and outside school premises.

he House of Representatives has mourned the Oba of Benin, his Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa of Benin kingdom who died over the weekend,. This followed a motion by a lawmaker from Edo State, Rep Omoregie Obgeide Ihama who lamented the passing away of the royal father, extolling his virtues as well as expressing confidence in the capacity of the crown prince to continue the legacies of his predecessor. He said: “It is painful to realize that our father and absolute monarch of the great Benin Kingdom Oba Erediauwa has left us to be with his Ancestors, leaving us without his peculiar unifying, fatherly, warm, and wise guidance and counsel.” He added that the late Oba was not only an uncommon royal sage, but also a man of high intellectual ability and a natural teacher of the civil work and ancient tradition that has stood the test of time as a pride of the black race. The House therefore observed a minute silence in honour of the late monarch, whilst praying for the repose of his soul.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

News

2 Lagos businessmen docked for allegedly bolting with N2.26m

wo Lagos businessmen -- Ibrahim Danfulani and Udeze Chidebere -on Tuesday appeared before an Ejigbo Magistrates’ Court in Lagos for allegedly stealing N2.26 million. The duo, whose addresses are unknown, is facing a twocount charge of conspiracy and theft. According to the prosecutor, Sgt. Babaji Isaku, the accused committed the offences between May and December 2015 at Alaba Market in Ojo area of Lagos. He said the accused conspired and stole the money belonging to their business partner, Wisi Awolope. ``Danfulani conspired with Chidebere to do a business worth N2.26 million with Wisi Awolope and refused to pay the sum as agreed.’’ The offences contravened the provisions of Sections 283 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011. Both pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted a bail of N200,000 each with two sureties each in the like sum. The Senior Magistrate, Mrs Jadesola Adeyemi, who gave the ruling, said the sureties, who must be gainfully employed, must present evidence of three years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government. In addition, she said one of the sureties must have a landed property in Lagos. Further hearing in the case has been fixed for June 27. (NAN)

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UN, Nigeria meet on corruption, terrorism

he Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, is arriving in Abuja on Tuesday on a two-day official visit to Nigeria. A statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by Mr Sylvester Atere, Outreach and Communications Officer, UNODC, said Fedotov’s visit to Nigeria is in furtherance of the long-standing excellent partnership between UNODC and the country. Atere said Fedetov visit would focus on support for Nigeria in the areas of anti-corruption, terrorism prevention and drug control with a balanced health-focused approach. He said other focused-areas of the visit would be to strengthen

criminal justice sector and the rule of law in Nigeria and the ECOWAS sub-region as a whole. ``Fedotov will hold high-level meetings with top government officials and strategic Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) of the Government of Nigeria as well as with the President of ECOWAS. ``Nigeria and UNODC enjoy cordial relationship since almost three decades. Nigeria has ratified the three UN Conventions on Drugs, 15 out of the 19 international legal instruments on terrorism. ``This is in addition to the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and the UN Convention against Corruption, which are UN Conventions that

assistance portfolio in Africa and the third world wide. Other international partners of UNODC in Nigeria are Germany, Japan and Switzerland. He said among the major landmark technical support UNODC has provided in Nigeria, is the support to the development, drafting and reviewing of new laws. Other areas is the recently enacted Administration of Justice Act; Extradition Act (Modification) Order, 2014; as well as new legislation against human trafficking and migrant smuggling. According to him, the laws are in line with the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its protocols.

L-R: Coordinating Director, Domestic Tax Group Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Mr. Bamidele Ajayi, Executive Chairman FIRS, Mr. Tunde Fowler and Chairman Ad Hoc committee to investigate the accounting procedures of the federal inland revenue service, Hon. Michael Eyong, during an investigative hearing, at the National Assembly, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Building collapse: Court grants Synagogue’s engineers N20m bail

he two engineers, who constructed the collapsed seven-storey guest house of the Synagogue Church of All Nations -- Akinbela Fatiregun and Oladele Ogundeji -- were on Tuesdayin Lagos granted N20 million bail. An Ikeja High Court gave the ruling at the hearing of the bail application for the engineers. Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo said:”The bail application hereby succeeds and here are the bail conditions. ``The defendants are hereby granted N10million bail each with two sureties in like sum.’’ The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the engineers have since April 19 been remanded at Kirikiri Maximum Prisons

are under the global mandate of UNODC,” he said. Atere said UNODC works with some 50 Government partners in Nigeria, at Federal and State levels as well as with civil society organisations in the implementation of the Conventions. ``Nigeria is one of UNODC’s priority countries, with a large and comprehensive portfolio in the areas of anti-corruption, the response to drugs and related organised crime, justice sector reform, anti-human trafficking/ migrant smuggling and counter terrorism. ``The programme is funded by the EU in the amount of about 100 million dollars and constitutes UNODC’s largest technical

after they had entered a plea of `not guilty’ to a 111-count charge bordering on gross negligence and criminal manslaughter. The Sept. 12, 2014 building collapse left 116 persons, 85 of whom were South Africans, dead. The Coroner’s Inquest instituted by the Lagos State Government had in its verdict on July 8, 2015 said the building collapse was ``caused by structural failure due to a combination of designs and detailing errors’’. The coroner ordered that Synagogue church should be investigated and proceeded against by the relevant authorities for not possessing necessary building permits, while the two engineers involved in the construction of the building should be tried for

criminal negligence. The judge said the defendants should present a surety who should be a civil servant with a minimum of Grade Level 14 and whose employment shall be verified by the State Head of Service. ``The second surety shall be a house owner with property located in Lagos and also provide utility bills and evidence of tax payment. ``The defendants must deposit their international passports with the Chief Registrar of the High Court of Lagos and the defendants shall be verified by the Chief Registrar.’’ The case was adjourned to May 19, May 20 and June 1, June 2 and June 3 for hearing. (NAN)

Fraud case: How N60m NIMASA fund was withdrawn - Witness

r Oliver Enwerem, a prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Patrick Akpobolokemi, on Tuesday testified how N60 million was withdrawn from the account of Gama Marine Ltd, a contractor with NIMASA. Enwerem, a Compliance Officer with Access Bank Plc, made the revelation before a Lagos High Court sitting in Igbosere, Lagos Akpobolokemi, a former DirectorGeneral, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is standing trial over alleged theft of N754.7 million belonging to NIMASA. He is charged alongside with six others, who are: Ezekiel Agaba, Ekene Nwakuche, Amechee Juan, Vincent Udoye, Adegboyega Olopoenia and a company, Gama Marine Nigeria Ltd. They are standing trial on a 13-count charge bordering on stealing and forgery, preferred against them by the Economic

and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Enwerem, was led in evidence by the anti- graft agency counsel, Mr I. A Muhammed. He said that the money was withdrawn in three trenches from Gama Marine Ltd’s account with the bank in favour of the fifth accused. Enwerem said that on Feb. 2, 2015, there was a credit of N67.5 million paid into Gama Marine Ltd’s account by Committee on Maritime. He also said that on same day, there was a credit of N28 million and a N39.5 million which were paid into the account of Gama Marine Ltd. The witness also testified that between Feb. 10 and Feb. 11, 2015, there was a withdrawal of N60 million from Gama Marine, which was paid in favour of Vincent Udoye, adding that it was withdrawn in three trenches.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

News

Senate passes food security Bill for second reading By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

enate yesterday passed second reading a bill seeking to ensure food security in the country, just as it encouraged the government to put measures on ground to ensure mechanisation of agriculture in the country. Leading debate on the Bill, the sponsor, senator Theodore Orji, said the Bill seeks to make provision for freedom from hunger, create basic right to food of acceptable quality and right of every child to basic nutrition. He also said part three of the Bill establishes the food security

agency, which will have functions such as formulation of strategies, plans, and programmes to facilitate the realisation of the rights to food, taking into consideration the right of vulnerable and marginalised person. In his contribution, senator Jonah Jang said Nigeria has not taken food sufficiency seriously, adding that when oil came, agriculture was abandoned, hence the country now have severe foreign exchange. “Nigeria can produce any kind of food. The country can’t be fed by subsistence farmers. Therefore government should give loans and monitor the big farmers who are

serious about agriculture. If this is not done and agriculture goes down, Nigeria is heading to food crisis. “Now that cattle farmers are ravaging farmlands and the government is playing politics with it. The government should create ranches and not grazing lands and keep the cattle and feed them properly”, he said. He therefore called on the senate committee on agriculture to visit Plateau state and see how to extend the progress in agriculture across the country. Also, Senator Abdulahi Adamu, said that the federal government has designed a ten year plan for

agriculture and food security, adding that the various policies already outlined by government will help to boost food security in the country. He also enjoined youths in the country to embrace agriculture, arguing that the white colar jobs are no longer sufficient to accommodate young graduates. Similarly, Senator Sam Egwu, said government cannot be talking about feeding Nigerians without food security, pointing out that the Boko Haram insurgency in the north has heightened food scarcity in the country. While commending the Bill, Senator Adamu Aliero, said food

security is very important and Nigeria cannot survive without food food security. However, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, lamented that the government of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the past sixteen years, did not do much to promote agriculture. Concluding debate on the Bill, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said hunger should not be accepted in the modern day Nigeria. He urged the committee to do a thorough work on the bill and bring it back to the Senate in four weeks in a way to address the issue of hunger and rights to foods in the country.

Businessman urges Nigerians to support Buhari’s corruption fight By Usman Shuaibu

businessman based in Dei-dei, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Abdul-Baruku Dayyabu, has called on Nigerians to support President Muahammadu Buhari’s administration in the fight against corruption. Dayyabu, who made the call in an interview with Peoples Daily in Dei-dei, Abuja, said that the administration of President Buhari would provide purposeful leadership to Nigerians in all ramifications. He charged the president to intensify efforts to arrest the scarcity of fuel faced by Nigerians for so long now. He also urged Buhari to expedite action to make the food stuffs available and fordable for the common people in the country, saying that Nigerians cannot eat three square meals a day due to the high price of commodities in the market. He pleaded with Buhari to make life meaningful to the less privileged ones in the society, in order to enable them to feel the positive impact of the government. He, however, appealed to the federal government to establish more industries/ companies in order to generate jobs for the young graduates roaming about on the streets in the country. Commenting on the 2016 budget, the businessman urged the president to resolve his differences with the National Assembly in order to sign the budget into law for the betterment of Nigerians. On security, Dayyabu commended the federal government and Nigerian Army for the efforts put together to wage war against insurgents, especially the Boko Haram insurgency.

• R-L: Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara and Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, with them are, Hon. Olugbenga Ayoade, Hon.Akeem Adeniyi Adeyemi and Hon. Kayode Oladele, before the Commencement of Sectorial Debate on the Diversification of the Nigerian Economy, at the National Assembly, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Stop violence against journalists, Angwe charges stakeholders By Albert Akota

s the international community celebrates World Press Freedom Day, the National Human Rights Commission has said that is committed to protecting the rights of every journalist in Nigeria as a way of deepening democratic ethos in the country. The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Prof. Bem Angwe who made this call during the Commission’s commemoration of World Press Freedom Day in Abuja Tuesday, stated that failure to protect journalists all over

the world would no doubt lead to social disorder and stunted democratic process. He called on media workers to make adequate use of the Freedom of Information (FoI) law to boost their access to information in both public and private sectors as most of the encumbrance to accessing information have been cured by the law. While stressing on the need to give adequate protection to journalists, Prof. Angwe recalled that the Commission has in recent times received several complaints from journalists working in prominent media organizations

on non- payment of salaries and entitlements which he described as constituting a gross violation of their rights to work. He therefore enjoined owners of media organisations in the country to pay journalists their remuneration as at when due, as the Commission would not hesitate to take firm but fair decisions on the various complaints lined up before it on non-payment of journalists’ salaries. He said the Commission would do everything within its powers to seek appropriate redress for these journalists as

this would encourage hard work and promote balance reporting. Prof. Angwe also condemned in strong terms, the spate of kidnapping of journalists in Nigeria over the years saying, “It is disheartening that the press whom we rely on as veritable source of information and updates on happenings around us are now endangered species”. He quoted a report from Reporters without Borders, a global association of journalists as revealing that “a total of 101 journalists were killed in connection with their work for unclear reasons in 2015”.

Varsity don tasks govt on technological development By Usman Shuaibu

lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Abuja, Prof. Adeyinka Adesoji Julius, has called on the government of the day to deem it necessary to focus on the technological development of the country in all ramifications. Julius, who made the call while presenting the 19th

inaugural lecture tagged “Catalysis: The Game Charger in Technology and Wealth Creation” on Tuesday at the Main Campus of the University, also charged the government to gear towards improving the health as well as wealth of Nigerians at all times. He said; “There is the need for improved mass production of commercial and health commodities using the best

technologies that are dictated by catalysts”. He also added that, “There is the need for the government to review policies that will accommodate the evolution of new and emerging technologies, human development and mentoring”. He urged the government to place priority on the scientific research that would lead to the

new discoveries in the society, while calling on the authorities of the University community to endeavour to engage fresh and brilliant graduates in research works. Julius who is a Professor of Chemical Engineering, however, frowned at the level of corruption in offices, and asked Nigerians to always be agents for positive change in the society.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

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News

We’ll forestall building collapse – Delta govt assures From Osakhare Erese, Asaba

ith the increasing records of building collapse in some parts of the country, Delta State Government yesterday said it is putting in precautionary measures that would help in forestalling the negative trend in the state. Part of the measures according to the State Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Joseph Ogeh, is the deliberate plan by the state government to institutionalize an effective housing policy within the state’s housing industry, which, he noted was hitherto lacking in the state. He said that the state government had put machinery in place that would check the activities of quacks in the building industry, and attributed greater percentage of the causes of building collapse to the use of quacks by developers. Speaking during an exclusive interview with our correspondent in his office, the Housing commissioner said, “There are indeed a whole lot of things that lead to building collapse, and they are; faulty designs or the use of quacks both in design and construction. “Today, everybody calls themselves building contractors; people who ordinarily are gloried bricklayers are calling themselves building contractors. They just get a contract, go there and build anything without regard to appropriate design, material specification and all that. If you are a contractor, you can canvass for contracts, but the failure to engage a competent engineer to carry out the construction of a building is yet another reason that leads to collapse of buildings. “Another issue is a situation where contractors in the bid to maximize profits use substandard materials. And, to remedy this whole thing, standard procedures such as appropriate study of the project site, soil investigation to determine the strength of the foundation, as well as that of the soil, appropriate structural design for the foundation of such structure must be followed. “Again, it must be a matter of government policy that before a building plan is said to have been approved, every necessary design calculation should be adhered to, just as we must insist on the use of professionals to carry out our building projects; these are some of the things that the state’s housing policy seeks to address in

Director-General Of Nysc, Brig-Gen. Sulaiman Kazaure (3rdleft); some officials from the nysc headquarters and Zamfara State government, during a courtesy visit by the Director-General to Zamfara Government House, yesterday in Gusau.

Delta: Muslim residents seek inclusion of herdsmen in security committee From Osakhare Erese, Asaba

he Muslim residents in Delta State yesterday appealed to the Delta State Government to allow the inclusion of Fulani cattle rearers into her security committee and vigilante group to assist her in combating crime in the state. The vice chairman, nonindigenes in the state, Lawal Imam, who made the appeal during an interactive session with journalists in Asaba, on Sunday, said such acceptance into a formidable organization will further empower the Fulani cattle rearers to fish out

immigrants who come to the state for cattle rearing during the raining season. Imam, who is also the Organizing Secretary, Miyitti Kantal Hore, a cultural and security rearers’ group in Delta State, also appealed to the state government, to implement the resolutions reached in the committee setup by her, by setting up a vigilante of Fulanis in collaboration with the state vigilante for them to combat crime in the state. “We want the government to approve Fulani members as vigilante groups

in the state to enable them combat crime. I went to Aniocha North Local Government Area where there were problems between the cattle rearers and the hostcommunities. I told the council chairman what to do and he invited all the chiefs in the local government. “We all sat down with the Fulani cattle rearers, in the presence of the council chairman and we requested for the inclusion of the Fulani cattle rearers in the local government’s Security Council meeting to bring peace to the area. And that was what the council chairman did and now there is peace in Aniocha North

Local Government Area. “The council chairman can testify to that. We have started extending this peace move to other local government areas in the state and we need assistance from the government in terms of mobility for us to move”, Imam requested. The secretary, Miyitti Kantal Hore, alleged that the immigrants coming to the state during the rainy season were largely responsible for the crimes in the bush, saying such immigrants will be around during the rainy season and go back during the dry season.

Boko Haram: VC advocates study of history, religious studies as panacea From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

he Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, AbdulGaniyu Ambali has asked the federal government to make the study of history and religious studies compulsory in schools as a measure to curb Boko Haram and other anti- social behaviours amongst Nigerians. Ambali spoke at the third biennial national conference of the University’s Centre for Ilorin Studies (CILS) . The theme the conference was “The Socio-Economic Development of Ilorin Emirate Since The 20th Century”. He said: “I want to use this medium to enjoin the federal government to make the study of history and religious studies of both Islam and Christianity compulsory in our school system. We need to understand our past and know

who we are at every point in time. We need to understand our past and know who we are at every point in time. We need to always acknowledge our past heroes so that we would be in position to appreciate their sacrifices and values. Such knowledge will help us to overcome some of the contemporary challenges we are facing and live better together as a people. “Now that both Islamic and Christian Religious Studies are merged as components of an omnibus subject, Religion and National Value (RNV) ,the amount of time devoted to the study of two subjects is drastically reduced. Given the centrality of religion in our day-to-day activities in Ilorin Emirate and Nigeria at large, not knowing what we proclaim and purportedly practice is a disaster. “Our country has paid a high

price for not learning from history, which is undermined in our school curriculum now; our country has paid dearly for the wrong knowledge and interpretation of religion as evident in the liberated communities of the North East. “Therefore, I strongly believe that taking History and Religion seriously has implications for our peaceful and harmonious development as a multicultural society and there are ample examples in support of this position in Ilorin. In other words, History and Religious Studies are essential commodities in our task of nationbuilding and we should make conscious efforts in that direction.” In his key note address, Aminu Adisa Logun,an industrialist, decried the socio-economic state of Ilorin emirate . Speaking on ‘Urbanizational Development of Ilorin’, he regretted that “most of the major development

seen in Ilorin today was not facilitated by indigenes of Ilorin”. He lamented that local government officials and council chairmen that were supposed to manage and harness the resources of the local government areas for positive development don’t even reside in the local government administrative headquarters but only interested in collecting “revenues from kiosk owners”. Going down memory lane ,the industrialists regretted that areas such as Yidi Road,Coca cola area, Federal government -Okoolowo axis that were designated as industrial parks in the past today have nothing to show than filling stations. “ It is a pity that today Ilorin has no single industrial estate despite the fact that industrialization started in Ilorin as early as 1924 where product from clay was exported to England,” he noted.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

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News Delta to build N2.4m modern market in Aradhe From Osakhare Erese, Asaba

elta State Government yesterday said in collaboration with the World Bank and the European Union, is to build a modern market in Aradhe community in the cost of N2.4million. Mrs. Omoshola Williams, the State Commission for Women Affairs, who confirmed the collaborating efforts of the state government with the World Bank and the European Union, enjoined the community project management committee (CPMC) handling the project to justify the confidence reposed in it by ensuring that the project is completed. Noting that farming was the main source of Aradhe residents’ livelihood, the commissioner disclosed that the market project when completed would impact on their socio economic and commercial activities. She said that apart from the modern market being built in Aradhe community, the state government under the leadership of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa had renovated five classroom blocks at the Aradhe primary school with the support of the UBE/ SUBEC in the state.

Buhari to Catholic Bishops: We’ll deal with rampaging herdsmen ...as clergy pleads for govt support By Lawrence Olaoye

resident Muhammadu Buhari has assured that his administration has resolved to deal decisively and expeditiously with those itinerary herdsmen attacking communities and causing mayhem across the country. The President, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, gave the assurance late Monday at a meeting with members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) led by Most Reverend Ignatius Kaigama, the Archbishop of Jos. Buhari told the clergymen that he had already instructed heads of national security agencies to take all necessary action to apprehend and expose those behind the attacks. He said “We are determined to secure all Nigerians and I have told the Inspector-General of Police and other security agencies, in very strong terms, to deal decisively with the attackers.”

While expressing his personal condolences to the Catholic Bishop of Enugu, the people of Ukpabi Nimbo and all other communities that have suffered fatalities and other losses from the recent attacks, Buhari assured the Bishops that he was acting with deliberation and moving methodically to implement his change agenda for the good of the country. “We need to rebuild our institutions methodically, we need to change the way we do things. In the last 10 years, crude oil sold for more that $100 per barrel, but Nigeria did not save. That is why we have found ourselves where we are today.” The President assured them that his administration was working very hard to fulfill all the promises it had made to Nigerians, adding that his greatest motivating factor now is the desire to bring positive change to Nigeria. Responding on behalf of his colleagues, Kaigama expressed the solidarity of the CBCN with the

President. “We are willing to collaborate with you and with your administration, in which we see hope for a greater Nigeria,” he told the President. The bishops pledged continued prayers for Nigeria and the government, expressing their conviction that current hardships are temporary, and Nigeria will soon overcome its present difficulties. Addressing newsmen after the meeting, Kaigama “With the willing disposition of the President and his attitude of embracing everyone, we felt we should spell out some areas of closer collaboration. “We found him a sincere man with great sense of dedication. He wants the best of this nation. We also want the best for this nation. “He agrees that not everyone is working as he expects. There are some who are cogs in the wheel of progress. We are praying and hoping that such people will see that Nigeria is greater than all of us, that we should develop patriotic disposition

and our aspiration should be to put this country first. With that, criminalities and other things that are anti-social will give way. We have every hope. We only need to be a little more patient.” He continue “The President has explained to us the difficulties, challenges, bottlenecks that are there and we understood him fully. “We equally call on Nigerians to give the President a chance. He is sincere, he is dedicated, he is committed and together, we shall make on wonderful progress. “Area of education is our strong point in Catholic Church. We build character and if that is defective, you can never have a well functioning nation. “We feel that when the citizens are well educated, then there is hope for Nigeria. Our schools need to be supported. We work as faith-based organisations, we run schools and hospitals to help the people. “Sometimes, government treats us as if we are dealing with Nigerians who are from other countries.

TUC wants Gov Yari’s approval on 200 housing scheme in Zamfara From Ibrahim Sidi Muh’d, Gusau

he Trade Union Congress (TUC), Zamfara state chapter has called for the urgent attention of Governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar to approve the awaiting memo requesting the commencement of construction of 200 houses for its members in the state. This was heralded by the Zamfara TUC chairman, Comrade Mansur Mustapha during May Day Workers celebration in Gusau, the state capital. Comrade Mansur said, the TUC has in its efforts, which was virtually supported by the state government, secured the site for the construction of the 200 houses with a view to overcome the housing problems that long became formidable challenge to its entire members across the state. He further stated that, the congress was convinced in a discussion with officials and agents of the National Housing Fund (NHF) of the federal mortgage for the provision of one million naira loan titled ‘REHAB LOAN’ meant for the refurbishing of houses, adding that, the engagements forms would be available next week. He also commended Governor Abdulaziz Yari’s administration for the payments of 3000 retired workers their pension so far, urging the state government despite monies accruing were on slides, to continue with the efforts as such would alleviate pains and suffering of teeming workers in the state.

• Members of National Youth Council, during a protest on the release of the president of National Youth council of Nigeria Mr. Ikenga Ugochinyere by the Officials of Department of State Security Service the entrance of embassy of United state of America, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Ex- Gov Aliyu mourns Ragada, says death shocking

From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

ormer Governor of Niger state, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has expressed shock over the death of Umar Ragada, who died in Minna yesterday. This was contained in a statement signed by the spokesman of the former Governor, Mr. Israel Ayegba Ebije. He intimated that the sudden

demise of Umar Ragada has left vacuum in the political human capital of the state, adding that he would be remembered for his meritorious contribution to development of Niger. Ragada was honorable commissioner of information in the cabinet of former Governor Abdulkadir Abdullahi Kure and was a Special Adviser Social Mobilization during the administration of Dr. Aliyu.

“I am deeply saddened by the death of Umar Ragada. He was a very loyal, committed and responsible politician. I have no doubt he meant well for the growth and development of Niger state. I have worked with him and I know he was a gift to the state.” “He died at a time Niger state needed his service the most. I am very sure he was not done with public service before his sudden demise. May Allah grant him

Aljanna Firdau. Let me also pray that Allah grant his family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. The former governor recounts that the state has lost some of its prominent sons within the first quarter of the year alone. He therefore called for prayers against further deaths. He said every human must taste death, adding that people must be tolerant, forgiving and upright.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

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Opinion Boko Haram: How sick can it get?

By Philip Agbese

ny right thinking person that followed the unfortunate exchange between music superstar, Tiwa Savage and her estranged husband, TeeBliz, would likely balk at the glee with which some celebrated the crisis that hit their marriage. The sense one gets is to start querying if the larger population of Nigeria’s online community are sadists or undiagnosed anarchists waiting for the next disaster to roll out the drums in tempo to the depraved kick they get from all that make other people sad. But some will argue that the couple called for it by doing their laundry in the cyberspace and that being entertainers, nothing stop people from getting entertained at their expense. However, what perverted joy could one derive from the casualty suffered by the Army of one’s country when almost every citizen of this country is connected to or at least knows one person serving in the military? This query is the product of the manner some section of the nation’s online population become jubilant whenever they read about the military recording injuries or casualties in the anti-terror fight. The new low for this crowd is the picture that was shared out of ignorance and passed off to look

like the bodies of soldiers killed in an ambush by insurgents in Gubio, Borno state last week. As would be expected of persons that have relegated their thinking to internet servers, which they cannot even search for proper recall, they latch onto the picture with the sole intent of making it go viral. Unfortunately, an educated search would have easily persuaded them to drop the picture and seek other ways of maligning men who daily risk their life for the safety of all citizens. First, that gory picture was showing the corpses of troops of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) who the AlShabab claimed to have killed in Somalia. Secondly, that sad incident took place in 2011, about five years from when those who didn’t know better are trying to make it go viral. Thirdly, the crowd that was aflutter about announcing the casualties suffered by Nigeria’s military does not even know what colours of uniforms their nation’s security agencies use; if they knew they would have realised that the uniforms in the picture do not belong to their country. We must as a country however be wary of dismissing the re-surfacing of this five year old picture as the handiwork of misguided and ignorant persons. There is that teeny possibility

that those behind the picture have a more sinister motive – the meta details of the picture has been cleaned out in what could have been an attempt to obfuscate its origins. It is therefore possible that the cyber wing of Boko Haram are at work to: one, boost the morale of fleeing terrorists while dampening the national morale by creating the impression that the military is being decimated by insurgents; two, cause outrage among the troops with a view to provoking mutiny and large scale desertion. If those behind this latest picture are Boko Haram sympathizers or they belong to the internet wing of the terror group, then Nigerians should be ready for more of such pranks now that the group’s fighting forces have been disrupted while what is left of them is being mopped up on daily basis. In the past, these same people had shared an old picture of combatants killed in the Sudanese crisis and touted them as the casualty suffered by Nigeria’s military in the hands of terrorists. So, it is something they will do again in the hope that unwary Nigerians would fall for it. The other type of people that should learn to exercise restraint on social media are those who ignorantly share pictures on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter as well as on instant messaging

platforms like BlackBerry Messenger and Whatsapp. This category of people unwittingly make content go viral without malicious intent as they are often victims of their own internet and social media addiction. They will hit “Like” on a Facebook post announcing the untimely death of young person; will respond with smileys and “LOL” to a Twit reporting a fire disaster; broadcast gory pictures to their contact list without verifying the story behind them. Thankfully, true Nigerians on the internet pointed out the foibles of posting such picture and claiming it depicted Nigeria’s war dead to Boko Haram. These are the people that recognise the true meaning of national interest and national pride. The purveyors of the sickening plot would join other discussions to discuss how the United States is great but where have they seen that country’s citizens even attempting to depict its 4,491 Iraqi war dead in ways that would impact morale? Whether done with malicious intent, done out the force of habit or just the result of low IQ, the growing diet of horror pictures is, like its fast food equivalent, doing untold damage to all of us. How many of us still cringe at the sight of the pictures of massacre that are now freely shared around?

Regular doses of sickening pictures have conditioned us to accept it as the new normal, albeit a bad normal. In fact, an unscientific gauge of the damage already done is that it is now usual for people to pose for “selfies” at accident and disaster scenes instead of cringing at the sight confronting them. One hopes that Nigerian researchers may be able to tell us one day about the relationship between the growing popularity of horror pictures and the growing incidents of violent attacks that end in the loss of life. Publicising this kind of picture is therefore a threat to us all. The display of this kind of pictures might have become the norm for intellectual collaborators of terrorists to weigh down on the morale of troops and their families but we have the responsibility to make it stop in our collective interest. It is heinous and horrifying to lower our institutions in the eyes of the public and before the international community. I strongly believe and advocate that this should be the last and there should be a way to address anyone who lends his/her platform to such mischievous use. Agbese is a public affairs commentator based in the United Kingdom.

Is it constitutionally possible to abolish the Senate? By Inibehe Effiong

his piece is precipitated by a private message I received from a friend on Facebook on Wednesday April 20, 2016 seeking to ascertain whether it is possible to abolish the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Without hesitation, I responded pointedly to the requisition by stating that it is practically impossible, but with a proviso that a revolution can make it possible. I further intimated the said friend that though it is constitutionally possible for the Senate to be abolished, it is very unlikely for that to happen. We will appreciate in the latter part of this essay that this is not about pessimism. With recent appalling and scandalous developments in the National Assembly, particularly in the Senate, the age long agitation by a section of the public for the abolition of the Senate is resonating. The Senator Bukola-Saraki-led Senate has been in the news since its inauguration for all the wrong reasons. It is indeed a national embarrassment that we have a Senate President who shuttles between the presiding officer’s seat in the Senate chamber and the dock at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCB). This is incompatible with the tenets of modern civilisation. It is even more reprehensible that Mr Saraki is enjoying the support of his colleagues in a manner that portrays the Senate as a corruption infested, morally depraved and selfserving institution. How can the law making body of a nation in the 21st century be shut in solidarity with its principal officer who is standing trial for corruption? This is not about the presumption of innocence that Section

36 (5) of the Constitution guarantees to every person. It is about our moral compass and ideological direction as a nation. In saner climes, the Senate President would have honourably resigned the moment he became a subject of negative public controversy. Given what the National Assembly and the Senate in particular has become over the years, is it constitutionally possible for the Nigerian Senate to be abolished? For us to properly underscore the possibility of abolishing the Nigerian Senate as advocated by a section of the public, I will examine briefly the constitutional fundamentals on the subject. Legally, neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives can be abolished or abrogated without the alteration of the enabling provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) (subsequently referred to as the Constitution). The Senate is a creation of the Constitution. Specifically, Section 47 of the Constitution provides that “there shall be a National Assembly for the Federation which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives”. Section 4 of the Constitution vest the legislative powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the National Assembly. The general procedure for altering the provisions of the Constitution is as enshrined in Section 9 of the Constitution. The power to alter the provisions of the Constitution is vested exclusively in the National Assembly. It is only when two-thirds of all the members of each house of the National Assembly have passed a Bill to amend any provision of the Constitution that the concurrence (resolution) of at least two-thirds of the thirty-six Houses of Assembly in

the country and presidential assent will be required for same to become law. If the subject of amendment relates to Section 8 (State creation) or Chapter four (fundamental human rights) of the Constitution, at least four-fifth of all the members of each house must support the amendment. Although there is no specific provision for presidential assent for the purpose of altering the Constitution under Section 9, it is submitted that since the Constitution can only be amended through the instrumentality of an Act of the National Assembly, a presidential assent is required. This argument is anchored on the provisions of Section 58 (1) of the Constitution which provides that “the power of the National Assembly to make laws shall be exercised by bills passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives and, except as provided for under subsection (5) of this section, assented to by the president”. Under the subsection (5) supra, the National Assembly can override the veto of the president where the latter withholds his assent. Furthermore, by Section 2 (1) of the Interpretation Act Cap. I23 L.F.N. 2004, “An Act is passed when the Bill for the Act is assented to by the President”. A community reading of the provisions of Sections 9 and 58 (1) of the Constitution leads to the irresistible conclusion that a presidential assent is mandatory in the alteration of the Constitution. It is a trite principle of constitutional interpretation that the provisions of the Constitution should be read as whole and not in isolation. The Supreme Court of Nigeria had settled this principle in the locus classicus case of Attorney-General of Bendel State v. Attorney-General of the Federation (1983) NSCC 181. The Federal High Court, Lagos

Division, presided over by Justice Okechukwu Okeke had rightly held in November 2010 that the first and second alterations to the 1999 Constitution were inchoate (incomplete) except assented to by the president. A former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr Olisa Agbakoba, had sued the National Assembly for failing to send the alteration Act(s) to the president for assent. The 1999 Constitution has so far been subjected to three successful alterations. The fourth alteration Act which had, inter alia, sought to dispense with presidential assent to the alteration of the Constitution, was truncated because former president Goodluck Jonathan vetoed it. The threat by the seventh National Assembly to override Jonathan’s veto to the fourth alteratation Act led to a legal battle in the Supreme Court between the President and the National Assembly. Eventually, the dispute was settled out of court just before the end of the last administration in May 2015. Our current bicameral legislature is a creation of the Constitution. Therefore, it can only be changed in favour of a unicamaral or simple house parliament if the Constitution is amended to that effect by the National Assembly and assented to by the president. This involves a long but achievable process which can be initiated through the sponsorship of a constitution alteration bill by either a member of the National Assembly; the Executive or a private citizen through a member of the National Assembly. Another possible way of actualising a unicamaral legislature for the federation is through a Sovereign National Conference (SNC). However, the convocation of a SNC must be preceded by an established legal framework. In which case, recourse

must still be made to the National Assembly to put the necessary legal framework in place. The last attempt to hold a national conversation on the future and structure of the country did not meet the aspirations of progressive Nigerians. The last National Conference convened by former president Jonathan was a far cry from what the proginators of the idea of a nation conference wanted. Notwithstanding its limitations and deficiencies, there were commendable recommendations in the report of the conference that should be implemented in the interest of national cohesion. It should be noted that the paternity of the current 1999 Constitution is traceable to Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Promulgation) Decree No 24 of 1999 promulgated on the 5th day of May 1999 by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the then Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Federal Republic of Nigeria. The starting point is credible elections. Our electoral process should be sanitised. It is only when lawmaker are freely and fairly elected by the people that the desire for a unicamaral legislature will be given serious attention by the National Assembly. We must constantly engage our representatives. Recent developments in the National Assembly has shown that with vigilance and civic action by the citizens, we can force our lawmakers to do our wish. Let the struggle continue. Inibehe Effiong is a Constitutional Lawyer and the Convener of the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (COHRD).

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

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Comment

Winning in today’s business world By Seni Adetu

ver the next few weeks, I will be sharing my thoughts on how to win in today’s very challenging and dynamic business world. If you were to ask an Economics or Business student to describe the Nigerian economy and its current state in one or two words, I imagine you would hear such words as ‘monolithic;’ ‘fragile;’ ‘import-oriented;’ ‘Africa’s largest;’ ‘developing’ (or ‘regressing’ depending on the school of thought), etc. Irrespective of the side of the divide you are on, the one thing that we all seem to agree with is that the economy is shaky at the moment. We also know that the economic potential of the country in terms of the population (and its youthfulness) or the emergence of the spending middle class, or the vast expanse of arable land for agriculture or availability of solid minerals, is huge. However, as I have always said, people take cash, not potential, to the bank. Besides, we have sung the ‘we have potential’ theme so often we are sounding like broken records now. It’s high time we turned potential into reality to experience sustainable economic growth. It is an undeniable fact that the current operating environment for business is harsh – poor power supply, little or no forex, low capacity utilisation, high (and increasing) cost of capital, etc. So how are companies reacting currently? I believe that several

companies must have pressed the panic button by way of, for example, freezing hiring (or even cutting heads), cutting marketing and training budgets, stopping innovation (due to uncertainties around value accretion from such new brands), doing portfolio rationalisation (as in letting go of some brands without due evaluation) and cutting costs in an unstructured, short-termist manner. Question is, is this really the time to press the panic button or is there space for staying the course and remaining focused on the long-term strategic imperatives of the company while executing today’s plan, albeit cautiously? I argue for the latter. I strongly believe in the Nigeria project, and as I said before, the fundamentals remain strong. This is the time a truly inspirational leader

demonstrates his ability to inspire employees to stay in the game and not give up the ghost. For me, there are four to five key areas a CEO especially in a manufacturing organisation must focus on at a time like this: (i) Revalidating the strategy for the year to ensure it is still on point in view of the changes in the macro environment. (ii) Ensuring the company’s marketing investments are “active”, consumer –focused and geared towards delivering profitable growth and market share gains. (iii) Ensuring greater operating efficiency by moderating manufacturing and related costs – even if that requires some smart brand value engineering work, such as reformulation without compromising product integrity. (iv) Innovation and (v)

It is no omission that I have not mentioned the cutting of heads and of marketing spend in my list. These are the default reactions in most organisations anyway and, in truth, in some cases, the CEO has no choice but to do these. I posit however, that there’s only so much fat you can slash off before getting to the bone as it relates to cutting people and marketing.

Employee engagement and communication. Underlying all these, is the need for increased focus on matters of governance and compliance because when employees are under pressure for performance at work or for burdensome request for financial support at home (by especially their extended family), they tend to get ‘creative’ in breaching established ethical standards. It is no omission that I have not mentioned the cutting of heads and of marketing spend in my list. These are the default reactions in most organisations anyway and, in truth, in some cases, the CEO has no choice but to do these. I posit however, that there’s only so much fat you can slash off before getting to the bone as it relates to cutting people and marketing. Back to the point of strategy revalidation, this is not the time to spend endless hours at meetings preparing power point slides. The leader needs to focus the team on execution. At times, the quality of efforts we put into planning and strategising is not matched by the quality of our execution; and that’s the performance bane of most organisations. I recall that some years back, I was announced CEO in a major PLC outside Nigeria three months before I was to assume office. I then reached out to the incumbent CEO to share with me their business plan to prepare me for the task ahead. He replied that he was on the road, but would ask his Strategy Director to send.

When his director sent by email, my computer system crashed – that was how heavy the document was! It took my IT team several hours of hard work to recover my files. One week after, my outgoing predecessor was back in his office, and apparently without checking that his Strategy Director had sent, also sent the exact material. Of course my PC crashed again. I became so nervous that I called on God for help. I wondered how I was going to successfully navigate my tenure as CEO of a company where the strategy document was so huge as to have crashed my PC twice! I recall vividly that on assumption of office and at my first town hall meeting with all staff, I announced that since we had “enough strategy to last a lifetime,” my three–year tenure was going to focus on executing the strategy flawlessly. I genuinely meant it, and that’s exactly what we did, and to great effect, leading to a career height where, to God’s glory, I was recognised by CNBC/ Forbes as a leading CEO. My point here is that today, execution must count even much more than before. Finally, I submit that at a time like this, all roads lead to leadership. In the coming weeks, I will offer my thoughts on the leadership qualities required for successfully sailing through these difficult economic times. Have a fantastic week. Seni Adetu is a Public Policy Analyst.

ALGON leadership crisis: Conspiracy, greed and desperation for power By Ijewa, Zeb Obioma

he current leadership crisis that has thrown the umbrella body of Local Governments of Nigeria, which goes with the acronym ALGON, has been attributed to the handwork of greedy and anti democratic forces in conspiracy with power –drunk and political opportunists who detest proper democratic processes. It could be recalled that the previous leadership of ALGON led by the outgoing Executive Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Micah Jiba, had expired as he has served out his tenure as the Executive Chairman of AMAC with the just concluded Local Government Area elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Preparations were already on the top gear for elections into the leadership positions in the ALGON hierarchy and interested candidates for the Chairmanship position were still

busy making consultations and waiting for a properly fixed time for the election, when suddenly they learnt that election for the Chairmanship position of ALGON had been held in Abuja last Thursday. The event was said to be a conspiracy to edge certain popular candidates out as orchestrated by a very tiny clique now referred to as ‘‘Saboteurs of Democracy’’ by the aggrieved stakeholders of ALGON. Only few people out of the

majority of the leaders and stakeholders of ALGON got wind of that atrocious plan to riddle ALGON with anti democratic practices. The few who got belated information about that “electoral coup”, as that exercise is now being described, merely rushed to Abuja from their distant places only to arrive when the said election had been ‘concluded’ and the current Chairman of Karaye Local Government Area of Kano state,

The pain of the leaders and stakeholders of ALGON is that such kind of political inconsistency where all democratic principles would be discarded for greed of power had never been tolerated in the leadership of ALGON.

Hon. Ahmad Ibrahim Karaye became the beneficiary of that ‘rape on democracy’ as the ‘new’ Chairman of ALGON. The contest for the leadership of ALGON had been between two top contenders, Hon. Ahmad Ibrahim Karaye – Executive Chairman of Karaye Local Government Area of Kano state and Hon. Abubakar Aliyu Tsafe- the Executive Chairman of Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara state. Before that incidence of last Thursday, which has variously been described as ‘Kangaroo’ election; ‘Black market’ election; ‘stolen mandate’; etc., the two candidates had mended fences and agreed to call an enlarged meeting of the leadership and stakeholders of the body so as to dot some ‘I’s and cross some‘t’s of some knotty issues and then agree and carry everybody along for the purpose of unity. But that was not to be. It was said that despite the assurances given to Hon. Karaye by Hon. Tsafe that the later, being loyal

to his state governor and would never go against his advice, would support him, Hon. Karaye was still not comfortable with the growing popularity of Hon. Tsafe, who happened to be the choice of the majority. Probably, he feared there might be some sort of political acrobatics should the election be done in the properly way. The pain of the leaders and stakeholders of ALGON is that such kind of political inconsistency where all democratic principles would be discarded for greed of power had never been tolerated in the leadership of ALGON. They are worried that if at the leadership of a grassroots body like ALGON, people are allowed to showcase rascality and demonstrate such level of political indiscipline and irregularities, what hope would it be for higher positions of leadership in the country? Ijewa, Zeb Obioma writes from Abuja.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

News Union Bank pledges support for economic growth in 11 northern states From David Hassan, Gombe

ollowing support for the economic transformation that will enable customers in northern region to benefit, Union Bank of Nigeria, said it has concluded arrangement aimed at transforming the lives of the people through saving culture. Chairman of the Initiative, Mr Arasaratnam Sheahan stated this in Gombe yesterday during the official launching of the programme even as he said the effort was meant to help commoners save N1000 per month with the assurance of earning cash benefits from saving in every quarter. He said, the programme which is tagged ‘UnionKorrect-Dai-Dai’ has been designed and targeted at 30,000 people in each of the 11 state of the northern region in other to assist in addressing economic hardship especially of those with low income. According to him, the first phase of the programme would last for two years and that it would be open for the period of six months from the time of the official launching for beneficiaries to enroll, and that, not less than 900 beneficiaries are expected to receive cash benefits within the period of the programme. Other beneficiary states according to Mr Sheahan include; Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Sokoto,Taraba, Jigawa, Kebbi, Katsina, Gombe and Zamfara States. Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer Union Bank Gombe branch, Chief Fatai Baruwa stated that the programme came at the right time when people are faced with hardship as a result of current economic down turn.

• R-L: Chairman, Bauchi state Committee on Scholarships, Alhaji Danlami Garba presenting cheque to Adama Muazu,at the payment of scholarships to Bauchi state students, yesterday in Bauchi

12 new VCs form association to move varsities forward From Ibrahim Sidi Muh’d, Gusau

s part of their efforts to move universities across the country to the next level in education, the 12 newly appointed Vice Chancellors (VCs) have formed an association to tackle challenges in the universities. This was disclosed by the Vice Chancellor, Federal University Gusau (FUGUS), Professor Magaji Garba while briefing

journalists in his office yesterday shortly after his return from a meeting held by the newly appointed Vice Chancellors with Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja. Professor Garba stated that the 12 newly appointed Vice Chancellors have formed the association to enable them have a forum where they could exchange ideas and programmes that would ensure academic excellence in the crawling universities.

Professor Magaji further announced that, “The newly appointed Vice Chancellors have unanimously nominated the Vice Chancellor, Federal University Gashua of Yobe state (FUGASH), Professor Andrew Haruna to serve as the chairman of the association”. He said all the Vice Chancellors were dedicated and hardworking staffers derived from functional universities across the county.

Oba's death: Edo Govt declares 5 days mourning

he Edo Government on Tuesday declared five days mourning period in honour of the late Oba of Benin, Oba Erediauwa. Gov. Adams Oshiomhole announced the declaration during

the State Executive Council meeting in Benin. Oshiomhole also directed that the nation`s flag should be flown at half mast in the state within the period of mourning. The News Agency of Nigeria

(NAN) recalls that the death of the late Oba was officially made public on Friday, April 29, by the palace. Oshiomhole later paid a condolence visit on the Crown Prince, Iheneden, on Monday. (NAN)

Water sector: FG to align projects, programmes with master plan By Mohammed Usman

he Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu has said that the Federal Ministry of Water Resources will align its projects and programmes with the National Water Resources Master Plan for inclusive growth and sustainable development. In a statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Information and Public Relations Unit, Mrs. Margaret E. Umoh, the minister made this known when the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG)

paid him a courtesy visit yesterday in his office. Engr. Suleiman stated that about 90% of the ministry’s projects and programmes were not aligned with the National Resources Master Plan. He explained that over 116 projects of the ministry that are ongoing could be classified as abandoned due to improper procurement practices, non project circle design and inadequate budgetary allocations over the years. He, however, assured the group that if projects and programmes are aligned with the master plan, there were lots of opportunities in the

sector which could be tapped into. According to him, there are about 3.1 million hectares of irrigable land in the country of which only a meager 10% have been utilized. “With the potentials in the dams for power generation, water supply, fishery and irrigation schemes, the water sector can actually drive the economic policy and direction of this country if the private sector can key into the master plan”, he explained. In her address, the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of NESG, Mrs. Sola David-Borha stated that the essence of the group’s

visit was to seek a closer working relationship with the ministry and its parastatals with the aim of creating public-private synergies required to make water resources the driver for inclusive growth and sustainable development which will in turn lead to achieving competitiveness in the country. She said that the NESG Infrastructure Policy Commission (IPC) is the dedicated platform for public-private sector dialogue and collaboration on infrastructure. She added that the focus areas of the Policy Commission are amongst others, Water and Sanitation.

Ondo NUJ tasks media owners on welfare of journalists

he Ondo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Tuesday urged state governments and other media owners to improve the welfare package of journalists. The Chairman of the state NUJ, Mr James Sowole, made the plea in a statement in Akure, in felicitation with media professionals on the occasion of the 2016 World Press Freedom Day. Sowole decried the suffering of journalists, arising from non-payment of backlog of salaries by some private newspapers’ proprietors and state governments. He said that journalists could not perform their responsibilities as watchdogs of the ruling class when they were being poorly paid or not being paid at all by their employers. The chairman commended recent moves by the national leadership of the NUJ to picket head offices of some newspaper houses in Lagos and Abuja, that were owing workers’ salaries. He urged the leadership of the NUJ to hasten negotiations on the new Media Salary structure (MSS). Sowole expressed satisfaction with the cordial relationship between journalists and security agents in the state. He urged the state government to reposition the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation (OSRC) for better service delivery. Sowole advised journalists in the state to desist from unethical conduct, ``especially as the 2016 Governorship election is approaching in the state’’. (NAN)

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El-Rufai reshuffles cabinet From Mohammad Kaduna

Ibrahim,

aduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmad ElRufai yesterday reshuffled the State Executive Council. In a statement issued by the Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan said the cabinet reshuffling involved four ministries. The statement reads: “Professor Jonathan Andrew Nok, erstwhile Commissioner of Health and Human Services, is assuming responsibilities as Commissioner of Education, Science and Technology.

“A laureate of the National Merit Award, Professor Nok is a distinguished scientist. He has led the public health system to remarkable strides in recent months. Under his leadership; the Kaduna State health team won two consecutive first prizes in the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) week. “Professor Nok also led the team to win MTN funding for the maternity wards of five general hospitals. He was especially vigorous about modernizing the Primary Health Centres in state. Professor Nok is taking the same dynamism and leadership to his new assignment.

“Malam Shehu Balarabe, is moving from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, to take charge of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. “Dr. Shehu Usman Adamu, former Commissioner of Education, has been reassigned to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism. Under his watch, the government started the rehabilitation of schools, the provision of furniture and the school feeding programme for primary school pupils. “To fill the vacancy in the Ministry of Health and Human Services, the Governor has

nominated Dr. Paul Manya Dogo as the new Commissioner. His name will be forwarded to the Kaduna State House of Assembly for confirmation. “Dr. Dogo, a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, is currently Chief Resident Consultant at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital. “Dr. Yau Idris, the former Commissioner of Environment, has returned to the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Agency” the statement read. The governor however has thanked Dr. Idris for his services to Kaduna State.

Niger govt reiterates resolve to promote press freedom From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

Acting Managing Director of Gotel Communications, Alhaji Muhammad El-Yakub (Right), welcoming the acting Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) , Mr. Jones Afolabi, and Editor-In-Chief, NAN, Alhaji Lawal Ado, during their visit to Gotel Radio and Television station complex, yesterday in Yola. Photo: NAN

I did not install anyone as leader of Igbo community in Ibadan—Olubadan

he Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, says he has not installed a new leader for the Igbo community in Ibadan as being speculated in some quarters. The clarification was made in a statement issued in Ibadan

yesterday by the monarch’s spokesman, Mr Adeola Oloko. The statement described the monarch as a law abiding citizen and was bound by the court ruling on the issue. It stressed that there was never a time that the Olubadan conferred the chieftaincy title

of Eze Ndigbo on anyone or recognised anybody as the leader of the Igbo in Ibadan. The statement urged all residents of the state to remain law-abiding all the time. Meanwhile, the Popoyemoja Descendants Union led by Alhaji Abass Asanpa has called on the

people of Ibadan to cooperate with the monarch. Congratulating the Olubadan on his ascension to the throne, Asanpa prayed God to make Adetunji’s dream of an Ibadan State and Ibadan International Airport a reality during his reign. (NAN)

Ogun assembly extends tenure of LG c’ttee chairmen

he Ogun House of Assembly yesterday extended the tenure of the 20 Local Government Transition Committee Chairmen in the state following the expiration of their tenure on Friday. The extension was sequel to the request conveyed in Gov. Ibikunle Amosun’s April 29 letter to the assembly requesting for extension so as not to create a vacuum. The News Agency of Nigeria

(NAN) reports that the Speaker, Mr Suraj Adekunbi, had read the governor’s letter during plenary in Abeokuta. The motion for the extension was moved by the Majority Leader, Mr Adeyinka Mafe, while it was seconded by Mr Olusola Sonuga. Also during plenary, the Speaker summoned the transition committee members of Ijebu Ode, Ado Odo, Odeda, Remo North and Ogun Waterside council areas to appear before the House over

non performance. Adekunbi said that the transition committee members should appear before the house committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy on Monday with reports of their performance in the last three months. Meanwhile, the Speaker also condemned the abduction of a former Senator and Minister of State for Education, Iyabo Anisuluwo, describing it as an “unfortunate incident.’’ He was responding to the

submission of the member representing Yewa South Constituency, Mrs Juliana Akintayo, who reported the abduction under personal explanation. He called on residents to offer useful information that could assist the security agencies in rescuing the former senator. Adekunbi also announced the receipt of the result of the referendum conducted by the Ogun Independent Electoral Commission. (NAN)

he Niger state government has reaffirmed her commitment to upholding and promoting press freedom as the main crux for ensuring freedom of expression and engaging the people for open and transparent governance. The state Commissioner of Information, Tourism and Culture, Mr Jonathan Tsado Vatsa made the position of the government known in a statement issued yesterday to mark the World Press Freedom Day. Vatsa assured that the present administration in the state view press as the fourth estate of the realm, partner in lubricating participatory governance as well as ensuring accountability and fight against corruption to achieve development. He stated that the government is desirous to always promote freedom of expression as a way of allowing the people to contribute to the process of governance and leveraging on such expression to make correction when necessary for the overall development of the state. The Commissioner said at this auspicious time of the world press freedom day the government of Niger State under the leadership of Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello is assuring all practicing journalists in Niger state of the commitment of the government to providing the right avenue legally and genuinely possible to continue to discharge their duties. He said: “Just as the Executive Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello has always said, our doors are always open to constructive criticism that will help to move our dear state forward , we will always advise our dear friends in the media to practice within the confines of the ethical codes that guide their profession. “Once again I congratulate the entire media practitioners in the state, Nigeria and world over on this world press freedom day that is a general assembly of United Nation declaration to promote freedom of expression”, he added.

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Politics Suspension of Ogun PDP chair, illegal -National Auditor

By Ahmed Abubakar

he National Auditor of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Adewole Adeyanju yesterday faulted the purported suspension of the Chairman of the Ogun State Chapter of the party, Chief Adedayo Dayo along with the Secretary, Alhaji Seminu Sodipo by nine members of the State Working Committee of the party. In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja yesterday, Alhaji Adeyanju described the action as illegal and against the constitution of the party. The National Auditor stated that no state chapter of the party has the power to suspend or discipline its chairman without due process as contained in the constitution of the party, stressing that only the National Executive Committee has such power after thorough investigation into allegations against him or her. According to him,” Chief Dayo being a member of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the party can only be disciplined or suspended from office by the NEC based on reports from the state Chapter of the party upon thorough investigation, this has not been, until this is done the purported suspension is illegal”. Alhaji Adeyanju also pointed out that the purported suspension became questionable having discovered that some of the State Working Committee members involved in the action had left the party prior the 2015 general elections. “Many of them went to the Social Democratic Party, SDP, while some to the All Progressive Congress, APC and the party had since replaced them from their respective zones, they are only coming back to cause crisis in the party, this we will not allow to happen”, he declared. While calling on members of the party to remain calm over the plots of certain elements to cause unnecessary crisis in the state chapter of the party, Alhaji Adeyanju assured that the National Working Committee, NWC of the party would handle the matter appropriately in due course. The State Organising Secretary of the party, Dr Folashade Filani, it will be recalled, had on Monday in Abeokuta, the state capital, on behalf of nine members of the State Working Committee announced the indefinite suspension of the State Chairman and Secretary respectively over alleged financial misappropriation, impositions of candidates and exclusion of party officials from the ongoing party congresses in the state.

L-R: President, Civil Liberties Organisations (Clo), Mr. Igho Akeregha; Head of Campaigns and strategy, Clo, Mr. Chijioke Odom; Baba Oloja of Olorunsogo market in Oshodi, Mr. Lukman Adeyemo, and Iya Oloja of the market, Mrs. Esther Kehinde, at a news conference by the Clo and the traders over the alleged threat by Lagos State Government to Demolish the market, In Lagos

One year anniversary: Senator Nyako rolls out scheme for women petty traders By Ali Abare Abubakar

enator Abdul-Aziz Murtala Nyako, APC member representing Adamawa Central Senatorial District, has relaunched a micro-finance scheme for women entrepreneurs within his constituency, who are in need of financial support to grow their small businesses. Performing the ceremony to

mark his one year anniversary in Yola, Nyako said the micro finance scheme, Ideal Women’s Loans and Saving is to facilitate loans for women ,who are in dire need of financial support for their families in order to engage themselves in businesses . He said that the loan would be granted on a non-interest basis without conditions, adding that the loans will be given, provided that the recipients fill a form and

belongs to an association before obtaining the loans. Responding, the managing director of Ideal Women’s Loans and Saving, Hauwa Abba (Wakiliyan Adamawa) said about 500 women will be the first beneficiaries ,in the first batch while another set would follow. She urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the opportunity with proper utilization of the funds given to them, so as to

encourage the growth of their businesses in order to live a better life. Also in support of the programme, the representative of National Council For Women Society, Hajiya Maryam Boda, and Talatu Musa one of the beneficiary, in separate remarks, lauded the gesture which, they both said would improve the overall living conditions of women in the state.

Former Lagos Chief Judge nominated as new LASIEC boss From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

agos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday nominated the immediate past Chief Judge of the State, Justice Ayotunde Philips to replace the retired Chairman of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Hon. Justice Fatai Adeyinka. The governor, in a letter addressed to the State House

of Assembly, said the decision to nominate Justice Philips was pursuant to the powers conferred on him by Section 2 (1) and (2) of the LASIEC Act, 2008. According to the letter which was read by House Clerk, Mr. Ganiyu Abiru, the Governor affirmed that the nomination of the retired Chief Judge was in tandem with the provision of the law which mandated that the House must ratify such appointment by way of screening and resolution.

The letter reads in part: “Accordingly, following the retirement of Justice A.F Adeyinka, the current LASIEC Chairman, Justice Ayotunde Philips (Rtd) is being presented as the Chairman of Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC). “While looking forward for the favourable confirmation of the honourable House of Assembly, please accept the assurance of my esteemed regard,” the Governor said.

After the letter was read, the House adjourned to May 9, 2016 for deliberation on the governor’s letter. The House, it would be recalled, had earlier confirmed Ambode’s nominees for appointment as members of the board of LASIEC. The nominees include Dr. Bunmi Omosehinde, Mr. Lateef Raji, Mrs. Toyin IbrahimFamakinwa and Mr. Olusegun Ayedun.

Adamawa LG election: APC releases primaries timetable, vows to be fair to all From Umar Dankano, Yola

he All Progressives Congress, APC Adamawa State chapter has assured all aspiring candidates of a leveled playing ground in the forthcoming local government elections in the state. Acting Chairman of the party, Alhaji Ibrahim Bilal disclosed the development in press release issued in Yola yesterday explaining the level of preparation of the party in conducting the said exercise. Bilal stated that the resolve of

the party to release the time table was sequel to due consultation with the national leadership of the party so that the exercise will be accorded well deserved transparency and accountability. Bilal noted that in order to ensure a credible party primaries, the State Executive Council was looking at the option of using party officials from the National headquarters of the party for chairmanship primaries. According to the timetable, the sales of nomination forms was to commence on 25/04/16 while

return of duly completed forms was slated for 6/05/16 and display of names of aspirants was to be made on 9/05/16. As stated by the Press Release, screening of aspirants was to hold from 11 14/05/16 while entertainment of appeals from the exercise was to hold from 16 17/05/16. Similarly, display of final list of aspirants was to hold on 19/0516. From the statement, the chairmanship and councillorship primary elections were to hold on 21/05/16 and 28/0516 respectively

while 30/05/16 was slated for completion/ return of nomination forms to ADSIEC. The statement further noted that “to avoid too much crowd at the venues of the primaries, the SEC has approved accreditation/ voting at the same time using coded and personalized ballot papers adding that the SEC has also set up committees for the screening of both chairmanship and councillorship aspirants to ascertain their worthiness before the primaries.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Politics Kogi guber: We’ll bounce back-ex-Gov Wada rom Ahmad Ibrahim, Lokoja

he immediate past governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada has expressed confidence that they would be vindicated at the end of the current post election legal tussle at the tribunal, insisting that the Peoples Democratic Party won the governorship poll held in November, last year. Speaking at the stakeholders’ meeting of the party in Lokoja yesterday, Captain Wada said he thanked the Almighty that the truth is gradually coming out, saying those who were saying they didn’t win the election would soon discover that the electorates overwhelmingly voted for PDP in

the last governorship election. He pointed out that those who have eyes could see his performance while piloting the affairs of the state, adding that what the people have experienced in the last three months only indicated that the state is passing through a difficult time. Captain Wada further stressed the need for the teeming supporters of the party to exercise patient, maintaining that the PDP would soon recover from the accident that momentarily swept them out of power, more so that the God he serves is God of justice. He equally enjoined the people of the state, particularly the loyalists of the party to be calm despite the challenges they are

passing through, saying just like what happened in 1999 the PDP, being the landlord, would weather the storm and push the tenants out at the appropriate time. Also speaking, a stalwart of the party, Senator Tunde Ogbeha posited that it is obvious that the change the people of the state were longing for is a negative change, insisting that only PDP would deliver positive change to the people. He expressed confidence that the party would reclaim their mandate at the tribunal, considering the support they got in the last election, saying “judgement would be entered in their favour”, unless the pronouncement of the justices handling the matter

is going to be “an inconclusive judgement”. According to him, what the members of the party all over the country is passing through is temporary, insisting that the larger percentage of the electorates are strongly with the PDP, even as he appealed to the members in the state to endure as there is likely to be light at the end of the tunnel. Also in a remark, the state chairman of the party, Engr. Sam Uhuotu commended the former governor, Idris Wada for summoning the meeting, and enjoined the members to remain resolute and committed to the development of the state, not minding the present level of insecurity in the state.

L-R: Former Speaker Adamawa State House of Assembly, Alhaji Muhammed Hassan Turaki, Senator Abdul-Aziz Murtala Nyako, and Hajiya Hauwa Abba( Wakiliya mata Adamawa), during the re-launch of the micro finance scheme for women empowerment by the Senator Abdul-Aziz Nyako, at the weekend in Yola.

Fallout of PDP primaries: Gombe lawmaker decries low morale among party members From David Hassan, Gombe

he member representing Billiri East constituency at Gombe state House of Assembly, Hon. Ranbi Ayala has decried inadequate loyalty among some members of the Peoples Democratic Party which he said something have to be done to ensure that the party move with one voice. The lawmaker was speaking in an interview with journalists yesterday in Billiri, Billiri local government area of Gombe state. He said the due process was not followed to ensure a successful ward congress in the area. According to him, there is need for electorates to be given their mandate to elect leaders of their choice. He said it’s only the mandate of the people that can determine leaders who are eligible to represent the people politically. He advised those behind the problem to take precaution and create an enabling environment in order to move the party forward. He also appealed that people within the party should speak with one voice so as to achieve its goal. The lawmaker, who expressed dismay over the issue, said it is sad to disallow electorate to elect people of their choice. He opined that it is regrettable if something should be done this way, adding that things have to be done correctly to ensure the success of the party.

Gun shots as Edo lawmakers sack speaker, deputy From Osaigbovo Benin

Iguobaro,

here was gun duel among suspected thugs who reportedly besieged Edo state House of Assembly complex in Benin City, yesterday, following reactions by angry supporters of the impeached Speaker of the House, Hon. Victor Edoror, which left at six persons injured. The impeachment notice of the former speaker, Hon. Victor Edoror, and his deputy, Hon. Bright Osayande, was signed by the two-third (16) members of the House, while the motion of impeachment was moved by the Majority Leader of the House,

Hon. Folly Ogedengbe. The impeachment motion, was seconded by Hon. Gani Audu representing Etsako West 1 and reads in parts, “We the under listed and undersigned Honourable members representing the various constituencies in the Edo State House of Assembly have on this day 3rd of May 2016, have resolved to impeach Hon. Victor Edoror and Hon. Bright Osayande over alleged gross misconduct”. The 16 legislators convened at the chamber at 10 am yesterday and waited for other 7 legislators led by the Speaker, Hon. Victor Edoror, representing Esan Central constituency, who failed to show up until 2 pm before the

impeachment proceeding began. A new Speaker ex-tempo, Hon. Patrick Iluobe was consequently appointed to preside over the business of the day following which a new Speaker, Hon. Mrs. Elizabeth Ativie representing Uhuwode was elected and Dr. Joseph Okonoboh representing Igueben Constituency was also elected as Deputy Speaker. Mr. Edoror had survived impeachment twice and he was said to have delayed the swearingin of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislator, Hon. Sylvanus Eruaga, member representing Etsako West 1, constituency. It could not be immediately verified whether they were gunshots injuries, but, the

impeached Speaker, Hon. Victor Edoror, in company of six other legislators loyal to him, held a brief sitting which lasted for about 10 minutes. Edoror, who had led the APC-led assembly in the past 11 months, expressed regret over the “unfortunate incident”, stating that a committee would be raised to look into the grievances of his aggrieved colleagues whom he said will not be suspended. He described his suspension as illegal, null and void. Addressing journalists immediately after the fracas, the new Speaker Hon. Mrs. Ativie, who is the only female member of the House, representing Uhunmwode Constituency, said “the members

can no longer tolerate the greedy nature of the former Speaker”. She said the impeached speaker has up to six different financial cases with the EFCC and the members cannot continue to allow such indecent person to lead the House. It was learnt that the new leadership has set up a 5-man committee headed by Hon. Kabiru Adjoto representing Akoko-Edo I to investigate the financial recklessness of the impeached speaker from June 2015 till May 3rd. She said if found wanting at the end of the three months when the committee will submit their report he will be handed over to the appropriate authority.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Enugu Disco yet to meter 70% of its Customers-NERC ...Says action unacceptable .Commissions Abakaliki Forum Office

By Etuka Sunday

he Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has described as unacceptable the action of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) not to meter its customers. The acting Chairman and Chief Executive of NERC, Dr Anthony Akah, has taken the EEDC to task over rising complaints on estimated billing, which he said was a result of wide metering gap in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). A statement by the Acting Head, Media Unit, Christie Iliya quoted Akah to have given the charge while speaking at the inauguration of the Abakaliki

Forum Office in Ebonyi State. According to the statement, Akah said that the Commission was closely monitoring EEDC and other electricity distribution companies to ensure that the metering gap in NESI, estimated at about fifty per cent should be eliminated within the shortest possible time. According to him, available statistics with the Commission indicates EEDC has customer 732,423 customer size with 70 per cent or 512 335 of them unmetered, a development he described as unacceptable for quality service delivery. He decried the fact that EEDC has not commenced its meter roll plan as contained in the performance agreement signed with the Federal Government

when the new owner took over the electricity distribution company about two years ago. EEDC has part of its performance agreement undertook to ensure average of 100,000 meters is installed within its network on an annual basis over the next 5 years. That agreement has since been reviewed to ensure that the present metering gap of 512,335 should be closed within the next 3 years. ‘’It is sad that Enugu Disco has not commenced the implementation of its meter roll-out, in accordance with the performance agreement signed with the government under the privatisation programme.’ ‘’ The Commission has instituted measures to accelerate

metering through very close monitoring of distribution companies meter roll-out plan. The present metering gap in Enugu Disco alone is about 512,335 when compared to its total customer size of 732,423. It is expected that the present metering gap would be closed within the next 3 years,’’ Akah said. He disclosed that the meter roll-out being monitored by the Commission is a combination of the Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation (CAPMI), an initiation of the Commission, to fast-track meter deployment and the metering scheme financed by the Disco in line with the performance agreement signed with the Federal

Government. Dr Akah further urged electricity customers to shun acts of violence, vandalism of electrical infrastructure and stealing of electricity; advising them to channel all such electricity complaints that were not satisfactorily treated at the Disco level to the NERC Forum office for resolution. On the occasion, the Managing Director, Enugu Disco, Mr. Robert Dickerman, appealed for co-operation from its customers, and urged them not to see the company as an enemy, but partners in progress. ‘’The role of distribution company is to serve our customers by the goal that has been established, our obligations are real and sacred, we recognised that,’’ he said.

Dr Anthony Akah, mni, Ebonyi State Commissioner for Power, Chief Emmanuel Uguro and Enugu Disco Boss,Robert Dickerman during Abakaliki Forum office launch

AEDC to reduce collection losses to 37% by December

…Engages customers in Bwari By Etuka Sunday

buja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) yesterday disclosed its plan to reduce its collection losses from the current 52% to 37% by December this year as directed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). The company said, the plan to reduce the collection losses was necessary to sustain the electricity industry. Speaking at the Customer Consultative Forum organized by the company in Bwari, the Regional Manager, FCT North Region, Hajiya, Hauwa Kutu said, “We are losing about 52%, so what

we are collecting now is just 48% that is why we are engaging the customers. Kutu said, following NERC’s directive, “we must reduce that loss from 52% to 37% by December this year so that is why we are looking at how possible we can engage stakeholders to appreciate that they have to pay for this energy so that we can sustain electricity industry. “ She said, “Energy theft is everywhere. The customers feel, the best thing to do is to bypass the meters and use free energy. Like I said, energy theft in the world is the highest. And that is the same experience we are having and we believe that when we have consultation, we will tell them

the implication. The implication is that, they are going to be penalized; they are going to pay for loss of revenue. “Because they don’t understand, people that want to make money from them will tell them, no, we can bypass for you, just pay me small money. So energy theft is something we are trying to see how we can engage the customers to appreciate that they would have to pay for the energy so that we can pay to the suppliers, which are the generation companies, so we can have more to give customers. She blamed meter suppliers and electricians for aiding meter bypass, but she however, assured, that the company was working

tirelessly to see how that could be reduced or checked. On what to achieve from the meeting, she said, “the essence is to sensitise the customers to understand what we are doing and where we hope to go. We need to carry them along. “Actually we are here for tariff issue. That is why we are having the customer consultative meeting to enlighten them to understand that with the tariff, there is a lot of gain they are going to get because it has been so difficult coming from government to where we are today and we want to make a different. “The vision of AEDC is to see how possible we can give supply to customers 24/7, and equipments are actually needed to get that

done. And if they actually respond to the bill, our interest is for them to understand why there should be the increment and why they have to respond because we both need each other for a better service to their houses, to their companies and businesses. And I believe our interaction with them has been giving us a bit of positive response. They can now have access to ask questions, they can reach us and demand for what is supposed to be theirs,” she said. Meanwhile, the consumers at the Forum demanded for more improvement from the company especially in the areas of metering and prompt response to facility breakdown.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Aviation

Controversy rages over N12.5bn debts, ownership of domestic wing of Lagos airport

Stories Lagos

from

Suleiman

Idris,

he trio of Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL), operator of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and Arik Air are in for another round of controversies over debts and the true ownership of the domestic wing of the Lagos airport. No sooner had the logjam between FAAN and Arik Air over N12.5 billion debts allegedly owe FAAN by the airline subsided before Bi-Courtney affirmed categorically that Arik Air’s alleged N12.5 billion indebtedness, which led to the disruption of its operations in Lagos and Abuja by aviation workers on Wednesday, 20th April 2016 is part of BiCourtney’s legitimate revenue. The firm has accused FAAN of continually appropriating to itself such revenue from aeronautics and non-aeronautics services rendered despite several legal pronouncements to the contrary. BASL spokesman, Mr. Aderemi Ladigbolu said the public will recall that the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NAUTE), FAAN branch, had prevented Arik from carrying out its domestic operations at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikwe

International Airport, Abuja, during the impasse. He said “ We want the public, particularly relevant stakeholders, to note that the country’s law recognises Bi-Courtney as the genuine owner of GAT, thus, making FAAN’s continuous operation of the terminal illegal and a clear violation of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. FAAN however, continues to defy the laws of the land.” The firm said the federal agency “has openly and recklessly denied our company 60 per cent of its revenue by its continuous illegal operation of the GAT as a competing terminal to MMA2 even after an Arbitration Panel, a Court of Law and an Appeal Court had ruled in our favour.” “ Consequently, all revenues, such as Passenger Processing Charge, space rental, fuel surcharge and others, which FAAN had been collecting and continues to collect from its unlawful operation of the GAT, including the N12.5 billion in contention between FAAN and Arik Air, belong to Bi-Courtney. The implication of this is that both FAAN and Arik Air are indeed fighting over monies that lawfully belong to Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited.” Ladigbolu said further “We also wish to categorically confirm that all the airlines operating at the GAT are actively involved in

FAAN’s act of illegality, because they are all aware of the position of the law in respect of the ownership of the terminal. It was, therefore, shocking to hear the Managing Director of Arik Air, Mr. Chris Ndulue, recently accuse FAAN of disregarding specific orders of the court and perpetrating acts of illegality against his company.” It was indeed surprising to hear Arik Air, which had hitherto supported FAAN in all the latter’s obvious injustice towards BiCourtney and outright disobedience to court orders, complaining and now turning round to accuse the same FAAN of arbitrariness and disdain for the rule of law. One wonders what went wrong with the romance of the two. He said “ Particular judgments confirming the owner of GAT as BiCourtney include the 2009 ruling of Justice J. Chikere of the Abuja Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CJ/50/2009. The same judgment was reaffirmed in a ruling on February 13, 2013 by Justice A.R. Mohammed of the same court in a suit filed by FAAN and the Ministry of Aviation, asking the court to declare that they were not bound by the ruling of Justice Chikere. Justice Mohammed, in his ruling, had stated categorically that by suing the Attorney-General of the Federation, Bi-Courtney’s suit was binding on all agencies of the

Federal Government. “ It should be of interest to note that Justice Mohammed also quoted aspects of Justice Chikere’s ruling, where it said: ‘The parties named in the relief 7 are agents/agencies of the Federal Government. They are agents/ agencies of a named principal that is the Federal Government. Any order against the known principal binds the agents/agencies. The agents/agencies stationed and operating at all airports terminal in Lagos State could not have operated without the support or approval of the Federal Government. They are therefore restrained, prevented or prohibited from operating scheduled flights in and out of Lagos State from any airport terminal other than MMA2 or an airport terminal owned/ operated by the plaintiff during the concession period as stipulated in the Agreement.” ”We also find interesting the claim by Ndulue in the same interview that “Arik Air continues to have confidence in the court even if FAAN does not have confidence in the court. Arik Air remains committed to adhering to principles of the rule of law”. He explained that If Ndulue’s claim was true, Arik Air would have conformed to the court judgment that affirmed BiCourtney’s ownership of the GAT, especially after the appeal filed on its behalf by Ojemaie Holdings against the judgment failed.

Rather, it continued to support and encourage FAAN’s acts of illegality. It can only mean Arik Air is very selective in its understanding of the principles of the rule of law and court orders. What Ndulue said in his interview can be classified only as mere rhetoric. BASL affirmed that “ It is our hope that this development will serve as a wake-up call to other airlines, service providers and businesses operating at the GAT to the risk they are exposing themselves to due to their continued recognition of FAAN as the operator of the terminal, despite the well-publicised position of the nation’s law on the matter.” It is public knowledge that the various court judgments on the issue, including the arbitration panel, which first adjudicated the dispute between Bi-Courtney and FAAN, on the terms of the concession agreement for the reconstruction and operation of MMA2” The document “unambiguously affirmed Bi-Courtney’s ownership of the GAT. There is a subsisting judgment of N132 billion in favour of Bi-Courtney, which FAAN has refused to honour due to its blatant disregard for the laws of Nigeria. This judgment was obtained in 2012. This amount four years on would have increased.”

Aeronautic engineers urge to brace up to meet challenges

ngineers have been admonished to roll up their sleeves as greater challenges awaits them ahead while the profession must bring out its best in the current economic downturn by sustaining the critical aviation infrastructure with minimal resources. President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Aeronautical Division, Bola Bido said the message becomes imperative as a result of the present dwindling economic activities in the country. Bido challenged engineers in the aviation sector not to rest on their oars as there was a great task of transforming the sector through ingenuity adding that the era of analogue was over as every sector has been digitilised. He decried the high rate of aging workforce in the sector and said it remained a source of worry to the association and stakeholders and appealed to various state government across the country to embark on the training of aeronautical engineers in aviation colleges to replace the old ones. He reiterated the need to imbibe maintenance culture as a norm adding that lack of maintenance culture has been attributed as reason responsible for the fold-up of some companies in the country. Bido urged engineers to continue to play leading roles in all agencies in the aviation sector as the industry was being driven by technology manned by engineers. He cautioned that no technical issues should be allowed to affect safety in any form not withstanding the challenges in the system.

FAAN in race to complete cargo terminals on schedule-MD

anaging Director or of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma said the federal authority will speed up the construction of 14 perishable cargo terminals moment the agency laid hold of adequate fund for the projects. The Goodluck Jonathan administration identified the locations for such air lifting of the abundance perishable food items in Nigeria and mull plans to contruct such structures to meet global standard. Dunoma told reporters in Lagos that though some equipment for the cargo airports

have arrived the country, inadequate fund has delayed commencement of work on the sites. He added that FAAN is working towards getting the best terminals for airport users across the country. Aviation white house constructed by the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association as part of activities to mark the May Day celebration. He also affirmed that a lot has been done to improve on safety of both the airlines and passengers at airports while work on the air side in some airports have been completed.

Dunoma explained that passengers will soon experience better facilities as soon as the new terminals were put into use noting that work has reached advanced stage. He assured that the agency will commence work by prioritizing six of those cargo airports by completing them as soon as fund was available stressing that the revenue generated from the airports will be channeled to complete others. He enjoined labour unions to maintain the peaceful coexistence between them. He lauds ATSSSAN for erecting the edifice and pledged

his support for the Union. On debts owed the agency by various organizations, Dunoma said both FAAN and agencies involved were discussing with a view to ensuring that the debts were paid. Meanwhile Dunoma has charged workers in the organisation to engage in regular sporting activities in order to remain healthy always. He urged them at the interdepartmental unity football competition at the FAAN school Ikeja where he noted that regular sporting events will ensure that workers mental and physical alertness remained.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Pension/Insurance

Page 21

FBN Holdings looks up to Insurance to sustain group

igeria’s biggest banking group FBN Holdings has no need to tap equity markets after an unexpected 119 billion naira ($600 million) loan loss provision last year, but will limit lending growth to boost capital, its CEO has said. Urum Kalu Eke said 2015 was a difficult year for the banking group due to weak economic growth in Nigeria, rising inflation and dollar shortages in the currency market, which made it hard for customers to service their loans. He said the bank holding company, with interests in insurance, commercial and merchant banking, would keep loan growth this year around the four percent it achieved last year. “The macro (economic environment) does not support aggressive loan growth at this time. We are guiding about 3-4 percent for loan growth this year,” Eke told Reuters in a phone interview. FBN has reported an 18 percent drop in first-quarter pretax profit to 22.1 billion naira after profits fell 77 percent in 2015 due to higher provisions for loan losses. Eke said about four or five oil firms accounted for some of the loan charges, in addition to real estate and telecoms businesses. He said the bank would restructure the loans or ask customers to beef up collateral and make repayments. FBN’s stock, down 34 percent so far this year, gained 5.3 percent on Wednesday to close at 3.57 naira, recovering from a 20-year low hit in February when the bank first warned of the charges. The yield on its seven-year dollar bond due 2021 has hovered at record levels above 19 percent for most of April after starting the year just above 16 percent. Eke said FBN had no plan to ask shareholders for fresh funds because its capital ratio was higher than the regulatory minimum and also partly because of depressed equity markets. He said the bank would retain profits to boost capital. Tumbling oil markets in the past year have forced Nigerian banks, which have long thrived on loans to the energy sector and government bond investments, to adapt their business models at short notice. Eke said the bank was overhauling its credit model to avoid future loan losses and would diversify towards retail customers. FBN expects its insurance and merchant banking units to contribute 10-15 percent to group pretax profits within three to five years, from 8-10 percent now.

Traders from Olorunsogo market in Oshodi protesting over proposed demolition of their market by Lagos State Government, yesterday in Lagos Sate. Photo: NAN

DG PenCom to address Pension Funds Investment at CBU Lecture

Stories from Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

he Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Chinelo Anohu-Amazu is to address a large diverse audience at the National Lecture Series of the Catholic Brothers United (CBU) scheduled to hold in Lagos. The theme of the lecture,’ “ The Use Of Pension Funds As A Catalyst For Economic Diversification” is considered apt as the country grapples with the challenges of acute infrastructure deficit needed to propel economic growth. The lecture which is in its 17th year in the series aims at providing a national discourse on how the country can leverage on funds like the Pension Funds to accelerate economic development and growth. In accepting to speak at the forum which holds on June 26, at the Mc Govern Hall of St. Agnes Catholic Church, Maryland, the Director General noted, “It is noteworthy that the Catholic Brothers United (CBU) has sustained the practice of community development activities that have been uplifting the Church and the entire community. The Annual Lecture is one of such programmes that is worthy of commendation”. Anohu-Amazu whose acceptance letter to be the guest speaker was conveyed through Ibrahim Buwai said, “ The proposed topic of the lecture, : The Use Of Pensions Funds as a Catalyst for Economic Diversification: harmonises with our renewed efforts at ensuring pensions funds are channelled towards economic development through viable and safe investments. We therefore look forward to joining you at the Annual Lecture, as proposed. Commenting on the initiative, president of CBU, Emmanuel Uwukhor said financing infrastructure projects using pensions funds has been a major topical issue that has generated much controversies given the experience with the previous pension scheme. Uwukhor stated that it has become imperative to use the CBU platform to further clarify issues around such discussion as huge population of the Catholic community are subscribers to the Contributory Pensions Scheme (CPS) while others in the informal sector are itching to join the scheme. “What we want to achieve is to sensitise the teeming Catholic faith and also the general public on the need to understand the benefits of the CPS and how the initiative will lead to fruitful retirement.

YEDC CUSTOMER CARE NUMBERS Business

Address

Phone

Unit Jimeta Yola 106 Muhammed Mustapha Way, Jimeta- 09038853247 Yola, Adamawa State Numan

Yola Road, Numan, Adamawa State

09038853271

Gombi

Biu Road, Gombi, Adamawa State

09038853258

Mubi

Ahmadu Bello Way PMB 27 Mubi, 09038853262 Adamawa State

Biu

25 Damaturu Road, PMB 1515 Biu, Borno 09038853323 State

Yerwa

Ahmadu Bello Way, Maiduguri, Borno State 09038853340

Bulumkutu Jos Road Railway Crossing Junction, 09038853286 Bulumkutu Ward, Maiduguri, Borno State Damaturu

9, Sir Kashim Ibrahim Road, PMB 1082, 09038853299 Damaturu, Yobe State

Potiskum

Ibrahim Alkali Avenue, PMB 003 Potiskum, 09038853337 Yobe State

Nguru

Canteen Area, Nguru, Yobe State

09038853306

Jalingo

16/18 Barde Way, Jalingo, Taraba State

09038853307

Wukari

Ibbi Round About, Wukari, Taraba State

09038853321

Yelwa

Near TTS, Yola Town, Adamawa State

038853305

Page 22

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Business Power: JED moves to improve efficiency in franchise area

From Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos

he Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED) is one of the 11 DISCOS saddle with the responsibility of distributing and marketing electricity to both domestic and industrial use in the states of Bauchi, Gombe, Benue and Plateau. Like all other DISCOS, the JED also sources power from Transmission Companies which ensure that the bulk of electricity is channelled through out the country and even beyond. In an effort to ensure effective service delivery by JED across the four states, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Muhammed Gidado Modibbo has in recent time been making vital moves to uplift service delivery for betterment of

consumers under his supervision. Having identified the inherited challenges facing the system after his assumption of office, and critically developed ideas on how to tackle those challenges, the managing director had recently announced the procurement of transformers and other critical facilities to help achieve the desired goals of the company. Upon take over in the last two years, the JED has embarked on Mass procurement of Network improvement equipment’s such as Transformers, 151 drums of transformers to service transformers, Control Panel, first class ICT infrastrures for billing platform Filler Pillers, Energy Analysers among others. Taking a step forward, It was gathered that many areas within JED’s franchise , transformers are being installed free of charge

particularly to the ares that need additional transformers to boost electrical current and reduce load on the existing ones . For those that require proper maintenance, the management of the company has also been working day-by-day to make sure that those facilities are adequately maintained. Old transformers which are already weak are also being replaced with new ones to improve the stability of power supply to the consumers. According to the information gathering across Jos city, areas like Anguwan Rogo, Zinariya, Busabuji, Enugu Road, Nassaraw, Katako among others had indeed benefited from the installation of new transformers . Some ares where power was rotational now enjoy supply of power like other areas, adding that improving the network is on-going and a gradual process. According to Hamisu

Maianguwa who is a resident of Anguwan Rogo area on the current change JED said, “ the area has witnessed tremendous improvement in the activities of JED. The move is of course appreciable gesture which indicates a sense of determination by the present leadership of the company. My reason for this appreciation is because for the past 11 years, some parts of Anguwan Rogo where I live were under power rotation but now, with the installation of additional transformer in the area, the issue of rotation and tripping have been significantly addressed .” It is well known fact that for many years, majority of electric consumers in Nigeria have not been metered leading to high tariff due to lack of meters in many houses. However, to get consumers out of this prolonged problem, the JED has since commenced

Youth Alliance for better Nigeria in a peaceful protest on poor electricity supply, yesterday in Lagos.

Turkish Nile varsity holds entrepreneurship fair May 11 By Ochiaka Ugwu

ll is set for the successful hosting of entrepreneurship trade fair (ETF) by the Social Science Faculty of the Turkish Nile University, under the auspices of Nigerian Economics Student Association of Nigeria, Nile Chapter, the Head, Department of Economics of the institution, Dr. Gylych Jelilov has said. In a press statement released in Abuja and made available to Peoples Daily, Dr. Jelilov noted the fair is all about “Closing the Gap between Gown and Town through Entrepreneurship Trade Fair (ETF)” The fair which is an initiative

of the Nigerian Turkish Nile University is scheduled to hold from May 11 to 12 with the theme, “Closing the Gap between Gown and Town”. According to the statement, the fair is an economic investment forum and entrepreneurship that will appreciate and see the need to close the gap between gown and town. “When one hears “Closing the Gap between Gown and Town” as a theme for an economic investment forum and entrepreneurship trade one mind starts to wonder, but the truth remains that the need to close up this gap cannot be over emphasized. “In the words of Marion, “it is important to create an effective

working relationship between the business community (the town) and the academia (the gown). With the growing knowledgebased economy and the need for innovation, it is imperative for a country like Nigeria at a time like this to start thinking towards building bridges to link up theories and knowledge that sprung out daily from the academic world to enhance and consolidate innovation in the Nigeria economy. “It is against this backdrop that the Nigerian Turkish Nile University has taken bold steps toward building solid bridges (developing sustainable economic policies) to close up the gap between the “Gown” and

the “Town” the statement read in part. The statement further revealed that the fair will be hosted by the Nigerian Turkish Nile University on the 11th and 12th of May at the University campus located at Jabi Airport Road and is organized by the Social Science Faculty under the auspices of Nigerian Economics Student Association of Nigeria, Nile Chapter. Dr. Jelilov also informed that the business Club of the university is also working with the authorities to drive the vision, saying the initiative was born out of the idea to bridge the cultural divide between the town and gown which is still existing today.

the distribution and installation of 120,000 prepaid meters in the company’s franchise States in an attempt to end customers’ complaints about high tariff. The JED Managing Director who made the pronouncement of the distribution of these meters last month during the commissioning of the supplied meters in Jos has also reaffirmed the determination of JED to distribute 180,000 prepaid meters before the end of 2016 to tackling the clamouring made by consumers over high tariff. According to Modibbo who pleaded for understanding from electric consumers as it affects increase in tariff at the event promised that Nigerians will witness tremendous growth in the sector in the next few months. While appealing to customers under his directive, Modibbo further noted that the inaccuracy of data on assets inherited by the new owners of the distribution companies is a major challenge that had constituted a drawback to the quest for speedy progress as expected by electric consumers, adding that “We are embarking on an aggressive customer audit exercise to enumerate all existing customers as well as those who are stealing electricity from the network through dubious means ”Further more, to aid the works of the personnel who go round to maintain transformers, poles, electrical wires and other facilities, the company has provided a good number of hillux vans, ladders and other safety equipment to ensure smooth running of JED’s activities. Added to the above, JED’s management has shown commitment to replaceing wooden poles with concrete ones to avoid any possible break of wooden ones. In furtherance of that, JED had initiated a modern “customer care unit” where customers would have direct contact with the company in case of any complaint being experienced in their various communities and localities. Prior now, consumers found it very difficult to reach the management of the company due the communication gap between them and the authority of the company which had in the past created poor business relationship. But with this new “customer care unit” , the communication gap was bridge where individuals can now either channel their complaints directly to the headquarters or use the provided means such as phone numbers and email addresses to lay their complaints to the company for action. On the issue of current blackout being experienced by consumers across the country, the JED’s management had explained that the problem is not directly from the DISCOs but from the Transmission Company to which the DISCOS generate power from. According Modibbo in a press conference held at the JED’s headquarters in Jos, the recent vandalisation of gas pipeline in the country is the main factor resulted to the current blackout , saying it is a national problem and not from any DISCO.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

PAGE 23

Stock Watch: Tuesday, April 3, 2016 Company

Previous Closing Price

Opening Price

High

Low

Change

Trades

Volume

Value

Company

Previous Closing Price

Opening Price

High

Low

Change

Trades

Volume

Value

7UP 170 170 170 170 170

MBENEFIT 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

0 6 151,035 25,675,959.95

MCNICHOLS

ABBEYBDS 1.25 - - - - 0 - -

1.21 0.03 2

ABCTRANS 0.5 - - - - 0 - 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 - -

1.18 1.21 1.21 1.21 270,464 327,261.44

MOBIL 150 - - - - 17 10,350 1,521,554.60 MORISON 1.73 - - - - 0 - MRS 49.66 - - - - 0 - MTECH 0.91 - - - - 0 - MTI 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

AFRIK 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

MULTITREX 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

AFRINSURE 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

MULTIVERSE 0.5 - - -

AFRIPRUD 2.58 2.46 2.46 2.46 2.46 -0.12 26 979,264 2,412,030.84 - 0 - AFRPAINTS 2.59 - - - - 0 - -

NAHCO 4.02 4 4 4 4 -0.02 22 251,094 1,001,583.80

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

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

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 - ARBICO 5.04 - - - - 0 - -

NB 99.99 99.94 99.94 98.5 99.9 -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

NESF 552.2 - - - - 0 - NESTLE 700 715.5 700 700 700

ASHAKACEM 24 - - -

NIG-GERMAN 4.91 - - -

109,227 2,671,023.97

ASOSAVINGS 0.5 - - - - 0 - -DUNLOP 0.5 - - - - 0 - EKOCORP 3.72 - - - - 0 - ELLAHLAKES 4.26 - - -

518,000 357,600.00

NEM 0.73 - - - - 6 134,441 99,520.75

75,818 52,951,924.47

- 0 - NIGERINS 0.5 - - - - 0 - NIGROPES 7.46 - - - - 0 - NNFM 6.65 - - - - 1 433 2,736.56 NPFMCRFBK 1.08 - - -

- 0 - ENAMELWA 29.78 - - - - 0 - -

4,760 4,950.40

NSLTECH 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

EQUITYASUR 0.5 - - -

OANDO 3.48 3.65 3.49 3.47 3.47

- 0 - -

-0.01

ETERNA 1.76 1.84 1.84 1.84 1.84 0.08 6 97,300 177,432.00

OKOMUOIL 30 - - - - 5 12,300 364,216.00

3,565,310 12,378,579.44

0.5 - - - - 0 - ETI 15.6 - - - - 14 177,450 2,635,288.67 OMATEK OMOSAVBNK 0.92 - - - ETRANZACT 3.1 - - - - 0 - EVANSMED 0.5 - - - - 0 - FBNH 3.79 3.93 3.86 3.8 3.8 0.01

184 90

PAINTCOM 1.04 - - - - 0 - PHARMDEKO 2.14 - - -

5,055,956 19,275,492.20

- 0 - -

FCMB 0.87 0.84 0.87 0.84 0.85 -0.02

- 0 - -

PORTPAINT 3.36 - - - - 0 - -

29,249,726 24,926,812.18

PREMBREW 2.95 - - - - 0 - -

FIDELITYBK 1.21 1.22 1.22 1.22 1.22 0.01 12 128,900 157,724.34

PREMPAINTS 10.93 - - -

FIDSON 2.69 - - - - 27 614,065 1,572,223.05 - 0 - PRESCO 34 35.7 - - - FIRSTALUM 0.5 - - - - 0 - 0.5 - - - - FLOURMILL 18.4 18.99 18.99 18.99 18.99 0.59 27 197,247 3,727,672.78 PRESTIGE PZ 21.9 - - - - FO 342 - - - - 6 15,200 4,938,480.00 RAKUNITY 0.5 - - - - FORTISMFB 5.15 - - - - 0 - REDSTAREX 3.8 - - - - FTNCOCOA 0.5 - - - - 0 - REGALINS 0.5 - - - - GCAPPA 14.46 - - - - 0 - RESORTSAL 0.5 - - - -

GLAXOSMITH

24.17 25.37 25.37 24.99

25.33 1.16

5 11,400 412,350.00 0 - 12 36,726 816,355.90 0 - 3 12,500 49,875.00 0 - 0 - -

ROADS 6.6 - - - - 0 - -

501,798 12,648,111.26

ROKANA 0.6 - - - - 0 - -

GNI 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

ROYALEX 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

GOLDBREW 0.97 - - - - 0 - -

RTBRISCOE 0.5 - - - - 1 941 470.50

GOLDINSURE 0.53 - - -

SCOA 3.96 - - - - 0 - SEPLAT 302.48 317.6 318 318 318

- 0 - -

15.52 30

GUARANTY 16.87 17.45 17.45 16.59 16.66 -0.21

149

388,650 123,626,470.56

SIMCAPVAL 103.24 - - - - 0 - -

3,576,744 59,751,776.00

GUINEAINS 0.5 - - - - 0 - -GUIN-

SKYEBANK 1.08 1.12 1.08 1.07 1.07 -0.01 39 1,959,858 2,104,852.11 SKYESHELT 100 - - - - 0 - -

NESS 118 - - - - 10 15,500 1,818,000.00 SMURFIT 1.02 - - - - 0 - HMARKINS 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 2 5,004,000 2,502,000.00 SOVRENINS 0.5 - - - - 0 - HONYFLOUR 1.37 - - -

-STACO 0.5 - - - - 0 - -

STANBIC 14.15 - - - - 5 37,001 523,343.90

20,000 27,916.00

IAINSURE 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 - -

Top Gainers Company

Previous Closing Price

Opening Price

High

1.73 1.73 1.73 1.73

1.73

1,104,932 1,911,701.10

STUDPRESS 2.19 - - - - 0 - TANTALIZER 0.5 - - - - 0 - THOMASWY 0.61 - - - - 0 - -

Top Losers Low

Change

Trades

Volume

Value

SEPLAT 302.48 317.6 318 318 318 30 388,650 123,626,470.56 GLAXOSMITH

STDINSURE 0.5 - - - - 0 - STERLNBANK

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

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 - -

Special Report

How the lives of Bin Laden’s neighbours changed forever

apparently led them to the hideout. Zain Baba and his son had access to some parts of the compound. They were picked up by Pakistani intelligence after the raid and kept in custody for two months. “They would tie our hands, blindfold us and take us for long drives from one place to another. They wanted to know if we saw Osama in the compound. We kept telling them that we didn’t see anyone except the two brothers and some children.” Five years later, he is still on the security radar. When foreign journalists come to the area, they want to talk to him, he says. “Men in plain clothes riding government vehicles” drop by to ask questions about the visitors, and to warn him against “talking to such people”. He recounts how a French journalist who interviewed an aged neighbour of his was recently escorted away by security officials. The old man they had interviewed died later that night. The next day the men in plain clothes came to see Zain Baba and asked

him about the whereabouts of his son, Shamrez. “I am tired of people asking questions. I don’t want to give any more interviews to the media. Even when the media speak to someone else, the security people come asking for me.” He has a wryness about him and a fatalistic approach, but ultimately no true fear. He believes little can happen to him now - it is a situation that tells more about the paranoia of the security agencies than his safety. Shakil Rafiq is a changed man. He used to be an amiable and responsive man who mixed with his neighbours. “He now walks with his head down, and if someone shouts a greeting at him, he just responds by waving a hand,” says one neighbour. A small-time construction contractor, Mr Rafiq’s business picked up after he was employed by Arshad Khan to supply labour and material for the construction of the Bin Laden compound. Mr Rafiq’s life changed a few years later, after the US

“

Until that night, he and his son Shamrez Khan worked as night watchmen for Arshad Khan, an ethnic Pashtun who lived in the compound with his family and that of his brother.

The compound has now been completely razed

l-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan in a dramatic and bloody raid by US Navy Seals on 2 May 2011. Five years on the BBC’s M Ilyas Khan finds loose ends, unsettling and unanswered questions, and a neighbourhood changed forever. It is a precarious life next to the razed Bin Laden home The open spaces that once surrounded the sprawling compound are fast disappearing. When I first saw it, just hours after al-Qaeda’s leader-in-hiding was killed, it was an open and quiet suburban lane. Now new houses - small, box-shaped, concrete - have come up and it has the feel of an ill-planned and crowded neighbourhood. But the view opens up as you venture

PAGE 25

Peoples Daily, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

PAGE 24

further down the street to where the tall walls of the compound once stood. That was all razed, just months after his killing. Fragments of the concrete beams from his home are strewn about. A small pipe jutting out of the ground continues to spout water, as if a natural spring even though it is actually connected to a deep well that once pumped drinking water to the Bin Laden household. The water is now used by neighbours in an area where shallow well water is brackish and not everyone can afford deep drilling. What is unchanged is the memory of the event - which rocked Abbottabad and the entire world in May 2011 and the measures some still take to avoid discussing it. A construction worker who worked on the compound agreed to see me when I

assured him we wouldn’t reveal his identity. But when I reached his home, there was a padlock on his door. A neighbour said he took his children out the previous night. Zain Baba, 84, has the distinction of being the first, and closest neighbour of the Bin Ladens. His small house was across the street. Every morning he comes out and sits under a huge maple tree, a sort of assembly point for the retired men of the neighbourhood. Until that night, he and his son Shamrez Khan worked as night watchmen for Arshad Khan, an ethnic Pashtun who lived in the compound with his family and that of his brother. To the Americans, Arshad Khan was the same man as Abu Ahmed al-Kuwati, the Kuwait-born courier of Bin Laden, whose phone calls

Bin Laden’s drinking water is now used by his neighbours Image caption This well is located in what was the Bin Laden compound

Life goes on in Bin Laden’s old neighbourhood

raid. Security agents raided his house and took him away. A neighbour who witnessed the arrest said the street was taken over by men in plain clothes and Mr Rafiq was escorted out carrying a shoulder bag. A security official who was part of the post-raid investigations says Mr Rafiq was picked up after it was found that various facilities were registered in his name. He didn’t return for several months. In the intervening years, Mr Rafiq has disappeared several times for varying durations, the latest being just a few months ago, say neighbours and local journalists. He did not respond to several attempts by the BBC to contact him. One neighbour said: “Every time he walks out carrying a shoulder bag, it’s a sign that he is going to be away for a while. Where exactly? Nobody knows.” Did policeman Yasir Khan know more than he ought to? Did he have direct links with residents of the compound? Nobody will know. He was posted to Abbottabad’s police intelligence department back in May 2011, and did not live far from the compound. He was often seen hanging around in the area in plain clothes, sniffing for information like all spies do, says one senior security source. His colleagues say he was at home around midnight on 2 May, when the Americans destroyed one of the helicopters that crashed

during the raid. The sound of the blast alerted police, and Mr Khan was one of several officials called to respond. The next day he was picked up by men in plain clothes. He is among dozens of people taken away by men in plain clothes after the raid. He is the only one who has not yet returned. A security official says he was alive until a year ago, but did not say where he was being held, or by which intelligence service. His family never speak to the media, but their pain is not hidden from their neighbours. His mother is still alive and he has a wife and children still clueless about his fate. Unusual but not extraordinary. That was how police interpreted the midnight blast of 2 May 2011. Abbottabad is a garrison town, and a helicopter crash, though rare, could be expected, explains a police officer who was among the first police officials who entered the compound. “In the dark, we couldn’t make out if the burning helicopter was Pakistani or American.” They found women and children crying and shouting. The compound was soon taken over by the military and the police couldn’t probe the matter any further. He remained part of the militaryled investigations, but will not share those details. “It was an embarrassing moment. We could neither admit nor deny that Osama was here. Our best option was to not to say anything.”

But staying silent on the matter has not helped the ghost of Bin Laden leave the town. “There is a continuing state of alert in Abbottabad,” he says. The implications of that night resonated well beyond this neighbourhood. Would Bin Laden be turning in his grave over the way al-Qaeda has gone? Could he have changed things? It has been increasingly overshadowed by the socalled Islamic State in many parts of Africa and the Middle East. In the AfghanistanPakistan region - which is the original birthplace of militant Islam - al-Qaeda continues to have links with local groups but appears to be more of oneamong-equals now. Many say that al-Qaeda is more decentralised, with regional groups acting independently of the central leadership. This could be partly because the leaders are not as militarily experienced, ideologically articulate or charismatic as Bin Laden was, and hence cannot inspire the same loyalty. But it could also simply be the changed security environment. It was the fact that Bin Laden’s home was spitting distance from a prime military academy that led to speculation about the lack of, or the extent of, Pakistani complicity. It has been a huge embarrassment for the Pakistani military, which literally runs the country’s security policy - and so the response of officials has been silence.

They have also kept tight vigil over those connected to the compound to prevent them from passing on any information to the media or “foreign agents disguised as journalists”, as one official put it. Pakistani and US officials have publicly said that Pakistani authorities were not aware of Bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad, but many have contrary views. American journalist Seymour Hersch argues Bin Laden had been in Pakistani custody since 2006 and was killed after the country struck a deal with US. Part of his argument is the ability of US helicopters to fly nearly 200km over Pakistani territory to get Bin Laden, and fly back, without being interrupted. If true, then this “prisoner” also had enough freedom to travel around in the tribal region until as late as May 2010, as the BBC discovered on good authority. Official circles and independent analysts here say that while the Pakistani government could not possibly have had any knowledge of Bin Laden’s whereabouts, that a handful of top officials in some powerful quarters may have known cannot be ruled out. Either way, the events of a small block of this mountain town five years ago not only changed the lives of those unlucky enough to be his neighbours, but also marked a moment with massive implications for the world as we know it. Source: BBC

Page 26

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Property

Stakeholders recommend Concrete Pavement to fix Wharf-Apapa road …Tips Dangote to fix it

By Etuka Sunday

ith Nigeria recording an economic loss of a staggering $1.5 billion (about N300 trillion) annually due to failed roads, a case has been made to the federal and state governments to consider the use of concrete paved road as a sustainable alternative to

bituminous roads to save the nation the huge economic loss. Also hope has risen for the fixing of the dilapidated Wharf-Apapa road in Lagos as stakeholders recommended the use of concrete pavement to rehabilitate the road. The ray of hope was given by the combined delegation from the Federal ministry of Works, Power and Housing as well as the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)

which was on inspection tour of a 25km Ibese-Itori concrete paved road in Yewa, Ogun state, constructed by the AG Dangote Construction Nigeria Limited, at the weekend. The officials said they have observed that the concrete roads are more durable than bituminous ones. Leader of the delegation, Chief Mike Ajayi, the General Manager

Western Ports, said with what they have seen, the concrete roads would be a viable alternative for Nigeria, in terms of quality and durability and against the background of the incessant failure of bituminous roads. “I will strongly recommend to states to adopt paved concrete for riad construction because of the strength of concrete pavement and durability. This will save the nation

huge resources deployed to unending rehabilitation of roads. “Particularly when you observed that Southern Nigeria has soft top soil and with heavy rain year in, year out, the solution to the longetivity of our roads lies in the adoption of concrete pavement. We have to give it a trial because it also takes a shorter time to construct.”, Chief Ajayi stated.

required little maintenance over 40 year design lives. “Using concrete roads will result in less fuel consumption and less emissions. Small percentage reduction of life time energy use associated with road will have significantly positive implications on sustainable development. “Concrete roads are durable and safe. Less prone to wear and tear and low maintenance requirements is one of the principal advantages of concrete roads.” He urged for a new policy that will accommodate the use of concrete for roads in the light of

the defects of bituminous road and its attendant strain on the nation’s lean economy. It would be recalled that Engineers at the last Nigeria Society of Engineering (NSE) Conference held in Akure, Ondo state had also signed up for the use of concrete road as a sure way of fixing Nigerians roads to last for a long time. They had cited many Nigerian bituminous roads that have given way sooner than they were constructed as opposed to the concrete roads in the USA and India which have been constructed over 80 years ago and still smooth.

Afordable housing entails more than puclic partneship Commenting after the inspection of the equipment of AG Dangote Construction Limited at the Company site in Ibese, the delegation expressed surprise at the quality and number of equipment on ground, lauding the financial ability of the Company to have acquired new state of the earth equipment. Chief Ajayi said his delegation would recommend the concrete paved road for Wharf -Apapa road, which has been a source of worry and economic waste to the people and government over the years as a sustainable means of fixing the road once and for all.

According to him “going by the equipment we saw and the technical staff on ground, I am more than convinced that the construction of Wharf –Apapa road if constructed with the concrete pavement will last for a very long time when maintained regularly. “And this will improve the fortunes of the individual port users and companies doing businesses there and all those living in the corridors of Apapa who have been suffering for long due to the road collapse.” Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of AG Dangote Construction Limited, Ashif Juma had told the

delegation that his Company had constructed the hitherto deplorable 25km long Ibese-Itori road, as a Corporate Social Responsibility project and as a test of his company can do and which can be replicated in other states, as a solution to the incessant failure of bituminous roads. He explained that the road was constructed at a record time of 150 days with all the materials tested and certified by the Lagos State Material Testing Laboratory. According to him, roads play very important part in nation’s infrastructure development and well-designed concrete roads

Page 27

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Property Property of the Week

NLC to build 3,050 housing units for civil servant in sokoto By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

he Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Sokoto State said that it will build 3,050 housing units for civil servants in the state. The State Chairman of the NLC, Mr. Aminu Umar, revealed this in Sokoto, during the 2016 May Day Celebrations. The state chairman who was represented by the Deputy,

Mr. Abubakar Malami, said that the houses will be built in partnership with some private estate developers. In his word :“So far, about 100 hectares of land had been acquired by the company on which the houses would be built including other facilities like clinic, mini market and schools, among others. “Therefore, I will like to solicit for your continued cooperation in order to help us achieve the set goals of

improving the welfare of workers”. Umar commended the State Government for ensuring the regular payment of salary and the payment of arrears of gratuities to retired civil servants in the state. He also thanked and appreciated the existing cordial relationship between labour unions and the state government, while acknowledged the desire and commitment of the state government to improve the lot of the civil servants in the state.

The NLC boss appealed to the state government to look into the plight of retired teachers and workers of local government councils, as well as salary disparity between secondary and primary school teachers. Umar further urged the state government to implement consolidated salary for legislative staff, as well as introduce a special media salary scale, among other demands.

Govenor Aminu Tambuwal, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Bashir Garba, said that no society can develop without a functional, robust, motivated and dedicated civil service. Tambuwal also pledged to sustain the prompt payment of salary and pensions, as well as uplifting the general welfare of the citizenry and urged the civil servants to reciprocate.

Aladja/Ogbe-Ijoh land dispute: Monarchs clash over land ownership ina Delta state

By Mathew Omonigho

he Traditional rulers of Udu and Ogbe-Ijoh Warri Kingdoms, HRM. (Barr.) E.B.O. Delekpe Ohworu I of Udu Kingdom and HRM. Couple Oromoni ,Pere Amakosu, in Delta state had a disputed over the ownership of land. The traditional rulers accused to each other at the supposed boundary between the two communities

shortly after a closed door meeting with Delta State Governor,Arthur Ifeayi Okowa. The Ovie of Udu Kingdom,HRM. (Barr.)E.B.O. Delekpe had accused the Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh Warri,their political leaders as well as OgbeIjoh people of allegedly wooed the Delta State Government to deceive them that they are the owner of the disputed. HRM. Delekpe who gave a brief history of the Aladja people

came about the said land warned that unless the notion the OgbeIjoh people allegedly dished out to misinform the public is correct by the government,there will be no peace. The Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh Warri ,HRM. Couple Oromoni,Amakosu accused the people of Aladja Community of alleged collection of illegal fees from its people in the guise of “deve”(development fee). HRM. Oromoni who claimed

to be maternally from Aladja Community said the least his people have been asked to pay by the Aladja people as deve is two thousand naira. He explains that the war between the communitiesbecame serious when the Aladja people allegedly refused his people entry to their communities. HRM. Oromoni said, “Do you know we will quarrel if I tell him anything, he does not agree. Where I built my house he claims is his

father’s land. We will quarrel. I own here. You are a stranger. You are our strangers”. Delta State Governor,Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa after listening to two traditional rulers exchange words said,” You need to act like a father. I have respect for all of you. The two traditional rulers should not be seen quarrelling in public”. As the governor tries to continue his speech,the immediate past

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Motoring PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Jeep Renegade easy to drive

hen the Renegade debuted last year, some Jeep enthusiasts and critics were concerned about whether a subcompact crossover could (or should) wear the badge of a manufacturer built on a reputation of unquestionable off-road capability. Jeep’s track record of building underwhelming small crossovers (see Compass and Patriot) certainly contributed to the skepticism. But with several road tests under our belts and a long-term Renegade Trailhawk in our fleet, we can happily report that those fears are unfounded. The 2016 Jeep Renegade is a fine subcompact crossover SUV that has an abundance of character, is easy to drive and can surpass the competition when the road gets

rocky. On-road, the distinctively styled Renegade is a peach. The ride is well-cushioned, with the suspension doing an admirable job of soaking up bumps and potholes. Jeep’s intuitive infotainment system is placed front and center in an attractive cabin highlighted by plenty of headroom. The Trailhawk version’s ride quality is a little more rough-and-tumble, but in compensation it provides offroad abilities that are unmatched in this segment and even in the compact crossover market. Indeed, when we put a Trailhawk on our RTI ramp (designed to measure maximum suspension articulation), we found it scored better than a Cherokee Trailhawk and Land Rover Discovery Sport. Part of that is thanks to the Renegade’s small

footprint, which also makes it a cinch to place on the road, navigate tight streets or park in crowded lots. If you’re looking for a solid all-round subcompact crossover, however, there are a few things that keep the Renegade from being at the top of its class. Neither of its two available engines is all that great. The base turbocharged fourcylinder is OK but only comes paired with a manual transmission, while the bigger 2.4-liter engine posts just class-average acceleration and below-average fuel economy. Inside, legroom in the second row is at a premium and should be reserved for short trips as not to fatigue your passengers. A small cargo area further reduces the Renegade’s capacity as a road trip vehicle full of people and luggage.

The subcompact market is heating up, with new entrants coming onto market every year. We do like the 2016 Mazda CX-3. It’s a fun, sporty alternative that boasts one of the most powerful engines in the class. Similarly light-footed and powerful is the Nissan Juke, but its interior is not nearly as roomy. Conversely, the 2016 Honda HR-V is easier to live with thanks to its versatile cargo area, but isn’t as sporty. There’s also the 2016 Fiat 500X, which is mechanically related to the Renegade and therefore shares similar pros and cons, or the bigger 2016 Subaru Crosstrek, which is the only vehicle among these rivals that offers some enhanced off-road capability. It’s a diverse group, to be sure, but the 2016 Jeep Renegade could

be a compelling pick if a sense of fun and genuine off-road ability are high on your wish list. The 2016 Jeep Renegade is a five-passenger subcompact crossover SUV offered in four trim levels: Sport, Latitude, Limited and Trailhawk. Standard equipment on the Sport model includes 16-inch steel wheels, keyless entry, power windows and locks, a 60/40-split folding rear seat, a heightadjustable driver seat, cloth upholstery, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel and a four-speaker sound system with an auxiliary jack and a USB port. The Latitude adds alloy wheels, roof rails, foglights, automatic headlights, heated poweradjustable outside mirrors, body-colored door handles and mirrors, air-conditioning, ambient LED lighting, a foldflat front passenger seat, cruise control and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Electronic additions consist of a rearview camera, the Uconnect control interface with 5.0-inch touchscreen, satellite radio, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, voice commands, an additional USB port and a sixspeaker audio system. Many of the Limited model’s standard features are offered for the Latitude and Trailhawk via option packages. Over and above that, buyers can opt for a package that includes a 6.5inch touchscreen, a navigation system, HD radio and Uconnect Access (includes extra safety features, a WiFi hotspot and voice texting). Two safety packages are also offered. A Safety and Security package comes with a blind spot monitoring system and rear cross-traffic alerts, while the Advanced Technology package adds a lane departure warning system, lane keeping assist, rear parking sensors and forward collision and braking systems. Manually removable sunroofs can be ordered on all Renegades. Except on the Sport model, the front sunroof can also be power-operated. Keyless ignition and entry is available for the Latitude and Limited, as is a Beats nine-speaker audio system. A tow package is available on all but the Sport trim. The 2016 Jeep Renegade is offered with one of two available engines. The base engine, which is standard in the Sport and Latitude models, is a turbocharged 1.4-liter fourcylinder that produces 160 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. It comes with a sixspeed manual transmission. Optional for the Sport and Latitude and standard for Limited and Trailhawk models is a 2.4-liter four-cylinder that makes 180 hp and 175 lb-ft of torque. It is paired to a nine-speed automatic transmission. All Renegades can be either front-wheel drive or fourwheel drive except the Trailhawk, which is 4WD only. Source: Edmunds.com

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Arts & Culture

Senator calls on governments, citizens to invest in arts, culture

enator Shehu Sani has called on the three tiers of government and the citizens to invest in the country’s culture and arts to protect the cultural heritage to boost revenue generation. Sani made the call while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at a seminar organised by the National Association of Nigeria Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) in Abuja. According to him, arts and culture are the soul of the society, adding that if given due attention and adequate funding, will be a source of revenue for the nation and the practitioners themselves. Sani, who is also the Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debt, said that Nigeria had come a long way in terms of rich in culture and arts. He, however, expressed concern that the country had failed to harness the culture and arts potential for its socio-economic and political advancement. ``I believe that in this era of change, the relevance of culture

and arts is to key to the new order and spirit, and the focus of the country is to contribute toward socio economic and political advancement. ``In this era of change we are desirous of the use of any tool that will advance the nation’s socio-economic and political aspirations, which the nation’s arts and culture becomes vital. ``Nigeria is very rich in arts and has clearly dominated the music scene in Africa and the black world as a whole. ``Our films and movies are in all parts of the world today. We have seen our culture and arts demolishing many cultures in the world. ``The government and private sector can appreciate our culture and arts by ensuring that the sector gets adequate funding and support for the artists and artworks in the country,’’ he said. Sani, who is also an author and a human rights activist, called on government to also give priority to the arts and culture sector, instead of focusing on oil. ``The era of oil is going; there is the need for our government

and those of us in position of authority to help to sustain the country and its economy. ``For this to happen, then, our attention has to move also to the arts and culture sector.`` Sani, an APC representing Kaduna Central, however, commended the entertainment industry for its tremendous contributions to the promotion and projection of the nation’s arts and culture across the world. ``Fifteen years ago, we only had Congo music, Cameroonian music, occupying the air waves, but now Nigeria is everywhere across the globe with its cultural and artistic works. ``It is dominating and making waves in different places. NAN reports that the seminar had the theme, ``Development and Growth of the Culture and Arts Sector under the EUECOWAS Economic Partnership Agreement’’, focused on job creation for the citizens. The theme was also aimed at building strong components of development to pave the way for sustainable economic growth in West Africa. (NAN)

Italian police officers conduct a security check inside Milan’s La Scala opera house before the opening of the 2015-16 opera season with Verdi’s Joan of Arc, December 7, 2015. Reuters/ Alessandro Garofalo

Giovanna d’Arco opens La Scala season under high security By Agnieszka Flak and Sara Rossi

he deadly attacks in Paris were not behind the choice of Giovanna d’Arco (Joan of Arc) for La Scala’s season opener, but were on the mind of many watching the story of France’s patron saint who died following God’s call to fight for her country. For the first time ever, visitors to the black-tie gala were screened with portable metal detectors and had their bags searched after Milan’s opera house was named by the FBI as a possible target of militant attacks after the Paris bloodshed. However, Italy’s business and political elite would not let the Nov. 13 attacks keep them away from one of the most important events on Europe’s cultural agenda, even with around 750 police agents deployed to monitor the situation. ADVERTISING “We will not let what happened in Paris force us to stay at home,” Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said during the intermission.

“That would have been the wrong reaction.” The opening night of La Scala’s 2015-16 season won an 11-minute ovation, especially for Riccardo Chailly, who took over as principal conductor in January, and the show’s protagonist, performed by Russian soprano Anna Netrebko. La Scala executives chose to return one of Giuseppe Verdi’s less known and more difficult to stage works to the Milan opera after a 150-year absence to reconnect with history and make Italian opera more prominent in its program. “Giovanna d’Arco was essential for Verdi’s future,” the Milan-born Chailly said. “Verdi was a master at recounting internal distress “ The four-act work, loosely based on Friedrich Schiller’s The Maid of Orleans, tells the story of a peasant girl who believes that God has chosen her to lead France to victory in its war with England, but dies prematurely. Chailly said Verdi’s seventh opera, admired and deplored alike,

is rarely performed as it presents many vocal challenges for its singers. Staging it can be equally testing and did not convince everyone. “Chailly conducted Verdi with extreme attention but the stage directors were not at all clear in their ideas,” said Gino Vezzini, president of the Amici del Loggione association, which watches every show from the top gallery of the opera house. The Belgian-French director duo of Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier placed Giovanna in her room where the tormented maiden gives her imagination and visions free rein. “You can feel their emotional engagement from everyone present tonight and that’s very particular for a premier,” said Roberto Bolle, a ballet dancer who regularly performs at La Scala. La Scala is again heading for break-even this year and did not benefit, as expected, from the additional performances added for visitors of the EXPO world fair over the summer months.

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FROM THE LIVE STAGE with Patrick-Jude Oteh 0803 700 0496, 0805 953 5215 (SMS only)

USING THE ENVIRONMENT TO SUSTAIN THE ARTS The environment is critical to the arts. By the environment I do not mean the green revolution or green theories about warming and all its attendant debate. I mean the physical locale of where we live. The geographical location of our existence. If the country is peaceful then the arts are bound to prosper but if the country is volatile and drifting from one crisis to the other, this will reflect in the arts. An environmental analysis is critical to the survival of the arts in any given community. Can you imagine going to attend a theatre performance at 7pm in Maiduguri?. It will be foolhardy within a dangerous situation to call for a performance during the normal theatre hours of 7pm – 10pm because we will end up being both the actors and the audience. It will not be wise to invite a touring company to visit us and share their talents and style with our own audiences and fellow artistes. It is either they will not come or we will hold the performance in the early evening. This is not good as it will simply remove from the ambience of the performance as well as its dynamics. Take the economic aspects of our environment – the arts have never been known to thrive in an environment where there is material poverty. In an environment where people struggle month to month for the bare basics of a daily existence watching a performance or going to the theatre will be the least of his/her worries because the list of basics is extremely long and this is perfectly legitimate. You cannot ask someone struggling to pay the children’s school fees or rent to come the theatre. We are not yet in that comfort zone where people save and save because they want to watch a particular artiste perform or because they want to go and listen to classical music! Have the loud speakers stopped blaring free music on the streets? Take the issue of the lingering cases of kidnapping which is tied to security. I will not go to the theatre if I know that I stand the risk of being kidnapped before, during or after the performance or that I might not get home after the performance because there is a high likelihood that I would be attacked by armed robbers on my way back home. A friend shared a story recently with me – they wanted to go and watch a music performance on Victoria Island from Ikeja. They were advised not to go but if they must they should look for a hotel to sleep after the performance. If the cost of the ticket was N2,000, add the new bill from the hotel – it has simply been raised to N12,000. They ended up not going. Ultimately the society is the loser. We forget or we have not been able to make the connection that a play that trills has the power to bring the community closer together. The arts can be a place where families come to spend time together, where friends can meet to reconnect giving people the opportunity to rejuvenate and relax amidst the challenges we face daily. Through the arts, we value our diversity as a nation, we help to unite our communities be it neighbourhood or village and at the end we all create shared experiences which in turn can inspire excellence which also tells us who we are as a society. Above all this, the arts allow us to endure and triumph in difficult times – our lives and the arts are inseparable. The above is our message to our new government. They must explore the use of the arts to rejuvenate the society and our lives. They must stop the daily and unending stories of why the national arts theatre should be sold or given out in a concessional arrangement. Make it functional and make a destination that people will be proud to go. The usefulness of the arts must be explored to make us more responsive to change. We do not know who will likely end up as our new Minister of Tourism and Culture. It should not be jamboree as usual and going to visit countries that contribute nothing to our well being. This is not to say that cultural diplomacy should be done away with but it must be backed by a solid plan that will project us a people with a vibrant environment, resilient and a people with a purpose. The arts must be utilized to explain ourselves to each other. So much damage has been done to our collective psyche. We must use the power of the soft diplomacy that the arts provide to reevaluate ourselves to each other. The arts should not be business as usual. The arts in a nation and for a particular people has more focus and more purpose. We must seek these out and use them. It is not late. It is the beginning of a new era and we must use the arts to explore our wonderful mission.

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Arts & Culture

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Book review

Title of Book: “Zoning to Un-zone: The Politics of Power and the Power of Politics in Nigeria’ Author: Mike Ozekhome, SAN Book Reviewer: Ambrose Inusa Sule

Zoning to Un-zone: The Politics of Power and the Power of Politics in Nigeria’

African Dreaming By Fabian Kaduka

book entitled: ‘Zoning to Unzone,’ the Politics of Power and the Power of Politics in Nigeria’ written in flowing prose by an erudite scholar/lawyer High Chief Mike A.A. Ozekhome SAN, is in fact a worthy effort in search for nationhood. The Arab admonition to any serious minded person is to get married, have a son, and write a book; this he said, is to leave a lasting legacy for posterity. To the Arab, having a son is to propagate your lineage, and to write a book is to enrich the society from your own perspective. And the main and sole purpose in writing is to focus and draw the attention of the readers, so that they may inspire them with a new spirit, a new purpose and grim determination to follow. ‘Zoning to Unzone, the politics of power and the power of politics in Nigeria,’ is such a book that will inspire and draw the attention of the reader towards the polemic political problems emasculating Nigeria from being a nation. It’s sufficed to say that the Nigeria history is not a triumphant story of continued and unimpeded development. But throughout history there have been individuals whose commitment, pursuit and sacrifice has led to radical changes in their societies. One could rightly say that the author, High Chief Mike A.A. Ozekhome is one of such individuals whose commitment, pursuit and sacrifice could be considered to have led to some of the changes in Nigeria today. The book “Zoning to Unzone,” undeniably came at the right time when the Nigeria political firmament is insipidly polluted with the fear of marginalization and domination. The book is considered by many as a worthy contribution towards our nation building. Like the author rightly observed, ”Zoning, a political ‘Word-Emperor’ whose reign mostly likely, will not be short lived.” Like the Peruvian Diplomat Dr. Victor Andres Belaunde at the heart of the Cold War, publicly expressed skepticism about the ability of small countries to survive the diplomatic might of the big powers in the world body, talked about; “The United Nations (UN) where there’s always something that disappears.” He said, “When two small powers have a dispute, the dispute disappears. And when a great power and a small power are in conflict, the small power disappears”. Former New York Times

POEM OF THE WEEK

Author of the book, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN Bureau Chef Kathleen Tettsch also recounts in her 1970 “Crosscurrents @ Turtle Bay”, that “When two great powers have a dispute, the United Nations disappears.” In a similar manner, if two of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria have a dispute, the dispute disappears. But when any of the three major ethnic groups have a dispute with any of the small ethnic nationalities, the small one disappears. Very recently, we all saw how former President Goodluck Jonathan, first Nigerian president from the minority Ijaw ethnic nationality, was schemed out of power by two of the three major ethnic groups – the Hausa/Fulani in connivance with the Yoruba. To them, Jonathan’s six years in office was barely tolerated. It could be said that he was harassed and blackmailed out of office for staying too long. Before him, there was Ken Saro Wiwa, an Ogoni minority that was hanged by Abacha’s government for daring to challenge the mighty power that was, over the disputed exploration and pollution of Ogoni land. So, in most of the conflicts between the big ethnic and small nationalities in Nigeria, the small ones always disappear and dare not to rare its ‘ugly heads’ again.

We are all aware on how the denial and the eventual death of Moshood Abiola considered to have won the 1993 presidential election from the Yoruba major ethnic nationality was resolved by the two major ethnic groups. Aftermath of the unfortunate incident, Nigeria almost disappeared. In order to ensure that Nigeria did not disappear, it was resolved by the two major ethnic nationalities (Hausa/ Fulani and Yoruba) in ensuring that the first presidential candidate of our present democratic dispensation was from Yoruba nationality. During the book launch at Yar’Adua Center in Abuja, a case study presented itself. Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and human rights activists, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) the author, openly disagreed over the zoning of political positions in the country. While Agbakoba and Ozekhome, believed that zoning of political offices is a panacea for the country political woes, and that its proper adaptation would give minority ethnic groups a fair representation in government and opportunities to produce State governors and president, Oshiomhole said the country’s problem is the elite who does not believe that Nigeria is a nation. The governor said instead of addressing issues of wealth

distribution such that “riches can be zoned to the poor,” the elite choose to ignore this fundamental problem that has held the country down. Oshiomhole agreed with Agbakoba that the country operates a unitary system contrary to its federal constitution, which is the main thrust of the book “Zoning to Unzone”. He said the problem is also that of the elite, who should lead the struggle to get things right. He challenged senior members of the bar to lead the protest to the National Assembly in this regard. The governor said it is unfortunate that the Revenue Allocation Formula Act, which ought to be reviewed every four years, has been in use for more than 15 years now. While reviewing the book, Dr. Agbakoba noted that the country has not been able to manage its diversity and that the people fight over everything. The hallmark of the book “Zoning to “Unzone” is that whether we call it power-shift, rotation, zoning or federal character, to save ourselves from eventual self immolation or annihilation, two things must be considered; true federalism and rotation of political offices. In everything there are merits and demerits. But the author considered that there are more merits in power rotation and true federalism.

There is a story waiting to be told That story is deeply asleep within The collective unconscious, And that story is the parable of ancestral gathering. It is a story that is an allegory through The valley of the shadow of death, fear and shame Through the sacred corridors of illumination And in the chalice of divine awareness Africa becomes already united…transformed and whole. What do we do with this knowledge That we become what we think about? And the evidence of thought is but the thing Thought about – There are sacred scrolls, hidden gospels Mythical dreams, spirit gods and ritual processes… Prophesies foretelling the second coming of the Osagefo – The mythology of this gospel, the earth was never flat… So let no tyrant, dictator or head of state put asunder The mythical meaning of the dream – This is the story waiting to be told Within the inner sanctuary of the soul – From slavery to salvation From colonialism to self-conception From self-betrayal to rebirth From fear to faith, From poverty to prosperity – Deciphering the secret codes, symbols and cipher.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

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FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello (right) conferring honorary citizenship of Abuja on the President of Cameroon, Paul Biya at the Presidential wing of Abuja International Airport, yesterday.

Man in trouble over alleged disconnection of electricity

or allegedly disconnecting Oluwafemi Agunbeade, a resident of Games village, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), from the public electricity supply, one Peter Etetobore, is standing trial in a Gudu Upper Area Court. Etetobore of Galadimawa by Suncity Estate, Abuja, who arraigned by the police yesterday, pleaded not guilty to a two-count charge of criminal trespass and mischief contrary to Sections 348 and 327 of the penal code respectively. Prosecutor Urom Inah told the court that Agunbeade of Block B42, Flat 4, 14th Street, Games village, Abuja, reported the matter at the Wuye Police Divisional Headquarters on April 21. Inah told the court that the

defendant and Marvelous Okoh of Revenue Protection Unit, AEDC, Zone 4, Abuja, now at large trespassed into the Games Village resident electricity feeder pillar and disconnected him from the public electricity source. He said that the disconnection which damaged his split air conditioner valued N200, 000 was without prior notice. The presiding officer, Alhaji Umar Kagarko, granted bail to the defendant in the sum of N100, 000 with one reliable surety in like sum. Kagarko said that the sureties must reside within the jurisdiction of the court, and adjourned hearing in the case till July 11 for hearing proper. (NAN)

Bello bestows Abuja citizenship on Cameroonian President

By Stanley Onyekwere

he Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muhammad Musa Bello yesterday conferred honorary citizenship of Abuja on the President of Cameroon, Mr. Paul Biya, and presented him with the key to the City of Abuja. Bello said that the key to the City of Abuja confers on him (Mr. Biya) the Honorary Citizenship of Abuja, with all the rights and privileges. Peoples Daily reports that the Nigerian Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbanjo received the visiting Cameroonian President, at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikwe International

Airport, Abuja. Professor Osibanjo led a high-powered Nigerian team to welcome the visiting Cameroonian President whose aircraft touched down at exactly 11:15am. Meanwhile, the Minister, who welcomed the Cameroonian visiting President to the City, described Abuja as the symbol of national unity of the country. He emphasized that the honour has been bestowed on the visiting President as mark of respect for the strong friendship and cordial relationship between the people of Nigeria and Cameroon. Responding, the Cameroonian President, Mr. Paul Biya, who led a strong

delegation of Cameroonian Government and people to have audience with President Muhammadu Buhari, appreciated the honour done to him. Biya reiterated that Nigeria and Cameroon have long standing historical and diplomatic relationship that ought to be strengthened for the mutual benefit of the two countries. According to him, he and his entourage are in Nigeria for a two-day visit to have audience with the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari. The First Lady of Cameroon as well as ten cabinet Ministers were on the entourage of the Cameroonian President that arrived Abuja.

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Photo Splash

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

A kerosene queue at NNPC Mega station, along Gudu Market, recently in Abuja

Labourers at Masaka Market, along Abuja-Keffi road.

Sympathizers at scene of accident, at Area 11 recently in Abuja.

A vulcanise at his working place in Abuja-Apo mechanic.

Wheel barrow pushers, at wuse market at weekend in Abuja. Photos: Mahmud Isa

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

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Metro

Mechanic bags 1 month jail term for stealing recharge cards

Kado Grade 1 Area Court in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sentenced a 26-year-old mechanic, Mohammed Abdul, to one month imprisonment for stealing recharge cards. The Judge, Malam Abubakar Sadiq, sentenced Abdul after he pleaded guilty to a count charge of stealing. Sadiq, however, gave the convict, residing near Lento Aluminum Company in Kado Abuja an option to pay N5, 000 as fine. Earlier, the Prosecutor, Salisu Khaleel, told court that one Ogechukwu Igwe of Dape Village reported the matter at the Life Camp Police Station on April 22. Khaleel alleged that the convict had requested to buy Bioclaire cream at the complainant’s shop but while she was searching for the cream, the defendant stole N11, 000 from the shop. He said that Abdul also stole recharge cards of various networks worth N1, 400 from the same shop and ran away without collecting the cream he asked for. The prosecutor said that the convict was apprehended by residents of Dape Village. Khaleel also told court that the stolen recharge cards and N5, 000 were found with Abdul. The prosecutor said the crime was punishable under Section 287 of the penal code. (NAN)

Business activities, yesterday in Mararaba.

Giri community leader begs for Secondary School By Usman Shuaibu

he Village Head of Giri Magaji community in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Etsu Abu Dasheni, has stressed the need for government to as a matter of urgency provide a Senior Secondary School, to enable their children further their education in the community. He specifically called on the FCT Minister Muhammad Musa Bello as well as the leadership of the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) to consider his appeal for the School.

Dasheni, who made the call in a recent interview with Peoples Daily in Giri, said that if a senior secondary school is established in the community, it would prevent their children (students) from travelling out to the neighbouring towns to acquire school level of education. He further charged the minister as well as the chairman of the Area Council, Hon. Abubakar Jibrin to build to build a standard hospital in Giri, to enable the residents have access to qualitative medical care. The community leader also appealed to the chairman to repair dilapidated roads in the community, alleviate the sufferings

of the people, traversing the area for especially motorists plying the roads. Similarly, he pleaded with the chairman to provide potable drinking water for the residents of Giri community, while calling on the chairman to intensify efforts to focus on the basic necessities of life required by the residents. Noting that the council could not carry out some projects in Gwagwalada and its environs due to the drop in monthly allocation to the Council, he said that his leadership would continue to support the council leadership for the overall development of the community and the Council at large.

Association wants gov’t to establish permanent tippers’ garage in FCT By Usman Shuaibu

he leadership of the Association of Tippers Quarry, Lugbe branch, in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has called on the government to deem it necessary to quickly create a permanent tipper garage in the territory, in order to streamline their operations. In particular, the association specifically charged the FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello as well

as the AMAC chairman-elect, Hon. Abdulahi Adamu Candido, to establish at least one permanent tippers’ garage along Kubwa, Nyanya and Airport Road axis respectively The Vice-Chairman of the association in the area, Mr. Husseni Musa, who spoke to Peoples Daily on behalf of the chairman, Mr. Mohammed Idrisu last weekend in lugbe, said if the permanent tippers’ garage were created on these recommended axis, it would prevent the tipper drivers from

parking indiscriminately along major road corridors in the territory. He pleaded with both the FCT minister and the AMAC chairman-elect to carry the various tippers association along in the scheme of things, noting that the tippers association had been generating job opportunities for the youth in the territory. He said that the leadership of tippers association in Lugbe would continue to be loyal to the government in the territory for the sake of development, while advising the members to shun

anti-social behavior within the association. In the same, the Auditor of Tippers Association in Lugbe, Mr. Haruna Mohammed, said that the leadership to partner with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), for the safety of their drivers. The Auditor therefore, called on the AMAC chairman-elect after he assumed office to give necessary attention to the association in the area, in order to fast track internal revenue generation drive of the council.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Money Sense

4 benefits of showing up early to work every day

veryone knows that guy. He’s always at his desk before everyone else, making the rest of the team wonder if he slept at his desk. How does he do it? Why does he do it? Chances are, that early bird knows a few things you don’t. Here are four top benefits to rolling into work bright and early every morning.

1. Skip the traffic The longer you’re stuck, the more frustrated you likely get as you realize you’re wasting valuable time that could be spent in your office. In many cities, the traffic gets worse as 8 a.m. approaches and doesn’t abate until well after 9 a.m. Even if you utilize public transportation, you’re more likely to deal with crowds if you wait around until peak traffic times. I have seen this type of traffic issue motivate many coworkers over the years to switch to an earlier morning routine. If you can force yourself to leave the house early enough, you’ll miss all of that traffic. Instead of sitting behind the wheel of your car, you can be seated at your desk, getting some work done. 2. Peace and quiet Most offices are relatively quiet before 8 or 9 a.m., since many employees are on the way in. Instead of being interrupted every five minutes by a coworker with yet another question, you’ll be able to make a major dent in your latest project. By the time the office starts filling with people, you’ll have already plowed through your to-do list, freeing you up to focus on the new emergencies that arise. Even if you find your mind isn’t quite sharp enough in the morning to tackle your projects, you can still enjoy the quiet morning hours.

You’ll be in the office early enough to enjoy your first cup or two of coffee while catching up on the news. 3. Impress others If you’re interested in showing others your strong work ethic, being at work earlier than anyone else is a great way to do it. If you’re an employee, your boss will see you as a hard worker who is so dedicated to your job, you’re at your desk, working hard, before everyone else. If you have employees, you’ll set the example

that you’re willing to work harder than anyone. If you’re really ambitious, stay later than everyone else, as well, although this type of behavior isn’t good for your work-life balance. If your work situation is flexible, you can use your early arrival as a great excuse to slip out a little early every afternoon. You’ll get home before evening rush hour starts and if someone needs you, you’ll be reachable by phone or email. 4. Catch the early calls

Depending on your line of work, being the early bird of your group can be a huge benefit. If a call comes in from a potential client or a customer calls needing assistance, you’ll have a great opportunity to save the day. Watch out, though. Once your coworkers figure out that you’re gaining the edge by showing up early, you may have company. Even if your work doesn’t stand to gain by being the first one on site each day, you can win. You’ll be better prepared for earlymorning meetings, since you’ve

been at your desk long enough to get acclimated. You’ll also be able to prepare a list of issues to discuss with your coworkers when they arrive, rather than showing up in time to deal with the lists they’ve created. Whether you’re a morning person or not, there are definite benefits to moving your alarm clock forward a half-hour or more. That extra time will let you tackle work duties uninterrupted or simply have some relaxation time before things get chaotic. Business Insider

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world news Women of Palestine in their Israeli jails

international_peoplesdailyng@yahoo.com

analysis

By Hamid Dabashi

n his now legendary painting, Women of Algiers in their Apartment/Femmes d’Alger dans leur appartement (1834, oil on canvas), Eugene Delacroix captured something so provocative, so elemental, about Arab and Muslim women at the height of the European Orientalist painting that a century-and-a-half later the eminent Algerian novelist, artist, and feminist Assia Djebar (19362015), used the very same title for her groundbreaking collection of short stories, Women of Algiers in Their Apartment(1980), turning the Delacroix painting upside down and celebrating the beauty and resilience of Algerian (Arab) women in face of multiple tyrannies. Before Assia Djebar, the master Egyptian artist Inji Aflatoun (1924-1989) had used her own experiences as a Marxist feminist revolutionary painter jailed by Nasser for four years (1959-1963) to produce some of her masterpieces depicting women in prison cells. The aesthetic genealogy and political power of Aflatoun’s work partook in an entirely different universe than what Delacroix had inspired in Djebar. Al Jazeera World - Born in ‘48 Decades after both Aflatoun and Djebar, the eminent Tunisian filmmaker Moufida Tlatli made her exquisite masterpiece, The Silences of the Palace/Samt el Qusur (1994), in which she expanded upon Aflatoun’s and Djebar’s pioneering work and investigated much deeper into the trials and tribulations of two generations of Tunisian women domestic workers at the palace of a rich and abusive family at the height of Tunisian anticolonial struggles. Doyen of Palestinian cinema These and similar works of art have just been given a powerful new twist by the doyen of Palestinian cinema, Mai Masri, whose career as a documentary filmmaker expands for over 40 years, and now, in her first feature film, she ups the ante in telling the story of Palestinian women in Israeli prisons. Once upon a time in the cosmopolitan east On April 25, the Center for

A Palestinian woman holds a stone to throw towards Israeli soldiers [Getty]

Palestine Studies at Columbia University was privileged to host the New York premiere of Masri’s new feature film, 3000 Nights (2015). Mai Masri [Getty] A Beirut-based Palestinian, Masri’s distinguished career as a filmmaker began in the early in the1980s with her pioneering documentary, Under the Rubble (1983), and has continued apace until today when she has directed her first feature film. Premiered internationally at the Toronto International Film Festival, and based on a true story, “3000 Nights” chronicles the life of Layal (as interpreted masterfully with unsurpassed poise and grace by Maisa Abd Elhadi) who was sentenced to eight years of prison by the Israeli military court, falsely accused of aiding and abetting with what the European settler colony calls “terrorism”. The incarceration of human beings inside the confinements

of a prison has been the subject of many philosophical, poetic, literary and cinematic reflections across many cultures and conditions. Masri’s cinematic engagement with the subject places the location of women imprisonments squarely in the context of the Israeli colonial conquest of Palestine ... From Plato’s Crito (360 BC) that takes place inside Socrates’ prison cell, to the legendary prison poems of Masud Sa’d Salman (1046-1121) to Lord Byron’s The Prisoner of Chillon (1816) to Frank Darabont’s Shawshank Redemption (1994), we are witness to myriad of attempts to understand the nature of incarceration on human soul. Most recently, in his Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, the French social historian Michel Foucault investigated the penal code as integral to the disciplinary formations of European modernity.

“

What the continued Zionist thievery, murder, and mayhem in Palestine face is the effervescent power of Palestinian people to give birth (just like Layal to Nour while in an Israeli jail) new force and vision to the single most atrocious colonial carnage of our time

Masri’s cinematic engagement with the subject places the location of women imprisonments squarely in the context of the Israeli colonial conquest of Palestine - in the framework of what the distinguished Palestinian sociologist Elia Zureik, extending Foucault’s insights, has studied in detail in his most recent book, Israel’s Colonial Project in Palestine: Brutal Pursuit (2016). Racialist discourse In this book, Zureik studies in detail the tripartite trajectory of the Zionist colonial conquest of Palestine: violence, territory, and population control, which he analyses as a specific form of what he calls “racialist discourse”. While Zureik has advanced the Foucauldian frame of reference of surveillance and governmentality much deeper into the domain of racialised violence and settler colonialism, Masri’s “3,000 Nights” offers a number of crucial twists on such theoretical insights into the nature of Israeli settler colonialism. A portrait of the artist as a dead boy By concentrating on women prisons she successfully genders the politics of penitentiary violence and occasions a much needed and necessary full-bodied encounter with the horrors of a surveillance state in its full violent operation. Masri’s mastery of her

cinematic craft enables a vision of colonial incarceration that no mere critical thinking can do. The genre of prison in cinema challenges the visionary gifts of a filmmaker to the maximum for she (or he) has to tell a long story almost entirely through interior shots, limited in space, mise en scene, camera movements, choice of lenses, options for lighting, and the very physicality of acting to a bare minimum. Masri comes to her first feature film from an extended d o c u m e nt a ry b a c kg ro u nd , mostly shot in the open air of urban settings and refugee camps she knows like the proverbial palm of her hand. Here she and her director of photography Gilles Porte and editor Michele Tyan are at their professional best to be able to tell a full-bodied story within the confinements of a few adjacent cells, a hallway, and a small courtyard (the film was shot in a military prison in Jordan). Because of this exquisite cinematic feat that Masri and her colleagues have achieved, it is no longer necessary to belabour the point and insist on how powerful the entire metaphoric choice of the central character of the story Layal is to keep her child when she realises she was incarcerated while pregnant, give birth in an Israeli prison, and raise her beautiful boy she names Nour/ Light in the midst of this dark misery. What the continued Zionist thievery, murder, and mayhem in Palestine face is the effervescent power of Palestinian people to give birth (just like Layal to Nour while in an Israeli jail) new force and vision to the single most atrocious colonial carnage of our time. The Israeli propaganda has convinced itself that it has sold its lies to the world at large when it labels the defiance of the nation it has conquered as “terrorism”. All it takes is one ingenious cinematic gem by a Palestinian master filmmaker to dismantle the entire house of cards that it keeps mounting around itself. Hamid Dabashi is Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy. Source: Al Jazeera

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

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News From Africa

Nairobi building collapse:

Baby girl rescued after four days A

six-month-old girl has been rescued from the debris of a building that collapsed four days ago in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Later the Kenyan Red Cross said the baby, Dealeryn Saisi Wasike, had been reunited with her father. She has no physical injuries. The six-storey residence came down in heavy rain, killing at least 23 people. Dozens of others are still thought to be buried under the rubble, but hopes of finding more alive are fading. The building had been earmarked for demolition. Its owner was due to appear in court on Tuesday charged with manslaughter. Samuel Karanja Kamau was arrested on Monday. Officials say he did not have permission to rent out the building’s 119 rooms. Mr Kamau has not yet commented on the allegation. About 135 people have been freed so far from the collapsed building, local media report. Another 93 have been reported

The girl was said to be dehydrated but with no visible injuries

missing. The Kenya Red Cross said the baby girl was found in the rubble at 04:00 local time (01:00 GMT), in a bucket wrapped in a blanket. She appeared dehydrated, but had no visible injuries, it added. She was rushed to hospital for

treatment. She was originally reported to have been one-and-a-half years old. Several hours later, the Red Cross tweeted that it had located the baby’s father, Ralson Saisi Wasike, through its tracing

services. He was reunited with his daughter, named as Dealeryn, whom he positively identified. The BBC’s Emmanuel Igunza in Nairobi says the child’s rescue is a badly needed miracle as recovery efforts enter their fourth day.

Pirates paid ‘$400,000’ ransoms in West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea

ansoms of up to $400,000 (£273,000) have been paid to gangs which hijacked ships in the Gulf of Guinea in 2015, a maritime report says. The region was the most dangerous in the world for seafarers, with pirates becoming more violent, it added. A total of 32 seafarers had been kidnapped so far this year compared with 15 in 2015, the report said. Kidnapping for ransom took place mainly in the oil-producing areas off Nigeria’s coast, it added. The spike in kidnappings appeared to be linked to political developments in Nigeria, the report by the US-based group Oceans Beyond Piracy group said. There had also been a sharp drop in oil theft last year, which the report put down to improved patrolling of Nigeria’s waters, and the fall in oil prices making it less profitable. Has Nigeria’s Niger Delta managed to buy peace? One of the most high-profile cases was that of the Malta-flagged MT Kalamo, an oil super tanker, which was attacked in February 2015. The tanker’s abducted crew was freed after the $400,00 ransom was paid, the State of Maritime Piracy 2015 report said. It did not say who had paid the ransom.

Nauru: Asylum seeker sets herself on fire at Australia detention centre

Somali woman seeking asylum in Australia has set herself on fire in protest at her detention at a centre on the Pacific island of Nauru. The 21-year-old suffered critical injuries after covering herself in fuel and setting herself alight. Last week, a 23-year-old Iranian died after setting himself alight at the same facility. Nauru is one of several off-shore detention centres for asylum seekers operated by Australia. Human rights groups have strongly criticised Australia’s policies towards asylum seekers. Papua New Guinea last week announced it was closing a similar detention centre, at Manus Island, after its Supreme Court ruled it was illegal. The young Somali woman is believed to have recently returned to Nauru, having been treated in Australia for injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident on the island, Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said. She is reportedly being treated on the island for burn injuries, and a request for a transfer to Australia for medical treatment has been made. Mr Rintoul was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as saying there was “an epidemic of self-harm at Nauru”.

Magic System drummer Pepito drowns in Ivory Coast

T A 2009 amnesty for militants in Nigeria stemmed kidnappings for several years

“In most kidnapping incidents the pirates board the vessel after firing at the bridge to suppress any opposition and intimidate the crew, and then proceed to isolate the ranking officers and engineers, who net the highest ransoms,” the report said. “Time permitting, the pirates loot the vessel as well, sometimes spending a few hours aboard. They then escape with the three or four crew members who will be held onshore during negotiations.” In most cases, victims were held on small islands in Nigeria’s Niger

Delta region. “The same pirate gangs responsible for these attacks are likely the same groups responsible for kidnapping and violence in the Niger Delta,” the report said. Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari took office last May after defeating the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in elections in March 2015. “While the anticipated spike in kidnappings prior to the March presidential election did not materialise, the elections dramatically impacted maritime

security and will reverberate well into 2016,” the report said. Mr Buhari’s government has sacked maritime security chief Patrick Ziadeke Akpobolokemi. It has also cancelled a security contract given to the Global West Vessel Specialists firm, which is linked to former oil militant Government Ekpemupolo, who has the alias Tompolo. Mr Ekpemupolo was one of the most important figures in the oilrich Niger Delta until he agreed to an amnesty deal in 2009 with Mr Jonathan’s government.

he drummer of Ivory Coast’s famous Magic System band has drowned at the age of 46, the group has said in a Facebook post. Didier Deigna, known by the stage name Pepito, drowned at a beach in the small town of Jacqueville in southern Ivory Coast on Sunday, it said. Magic System are particularly popular in French-speaking West Africa and in France. Reports say Pepito died while trying to save another person who was drowning. “For the last 16 years, Pepito was our backing vocalist, our drummer, but above all the conductor with our group Magic System,” the band added in a statement. Pepito’s tragic loss comes a week after the sudden death of influential Congolese musician Papa Wemba, who collapsed on stage while performing in Ivory Coast’s main city, Abidjan.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

China investigates search engine Baidu after student’s death

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Asia&Middle-east

South Korea and Iran to sign major trade deals

hina has launched an investigation into search giant Baidu after the death of a student who tried an experimental cancer therapy he found online. Wei Zexi, who died last month from a rare form of cancer, had sought the treatment from a hospital that came top of the list on his Baidu web search. Baidu has come under fire for allegedly selling listings to bidders without adequately checking their claims. In a statement Baidu said it was investigating the matter. The company told the BBC: “We deeply regret the death of Wei Zexi and our condolences go out to his family. “Baidu strives to provide a safe and trustworthy search experience for our users, and has launched an immediate investigation of the matter.” Baidu owns search engine and social media services, and is often compared to Google. On Baidu, listings that have paid for a prominent placement are marked at the bottom with a small sign saying “promote”, but many say this does not identify them as paid-for listings sufficiently clearly. Baidu’s value fell by more than five-billion dollars on Tuesday, after its shares slumped in the US on news of an investigation by China’s internet regulator. Baidu’s Nasdaq-listed shares fell 7.92%. Baidu is China’s largest search engine with 70% market share and more than 660 million people using its mobile search every month. China’s massive search engine Baidu is facing a colossal credibility problem. It’s one thing for the company to sell top search slots to the highest bidders, but another to manage the fallout when a boy dies of cancer after trusting that a highly placed search result was what appeared to be the most trusted hospital treatment available to him. All over the world, private companies are administering what on one level are public services, and it is becoming distorted by commercial deals - and this country is no exception. Baidu says it is looking into this matter but, for the Chinese authorities, that is not enough. The Chinese government says it will carry out an official inquiry into the role Baidu’s “search results for sale” business model had on the death of Wei Zexi.

Syria Civil War: ‘The sky is falling’ in Aleppo

Trade between the two countries is currently at $6.1bn and that Tehran would like to boost that to $17.4bn [EPA] outh Korea and Iran are been suspected of being close agreements. “A number of cooperation deals, expected to sign several trade partners in developing weapons trade deals and energy deals have deals worth billions of dollars technology. North Korea was handed tougher been signed,” he said. and discuss sensitive subjects like “And we have been hearing a lot North Korea following President Park UN sanctions for its fourth nuclear Geun-hye’s arrival in Tehran with a test and a long-range rocket launch of numbers, upwards of $10bn in agreements. So this is a big day for earlier this year. large group of business leaders. Iran has denied seeking atomic Iran-South Korea relations. Security Iran’s official state news agency IRNA said that more than 230 weapons, insisting its nuclear was also on the agenda, including the business executives accompanied programme is for purely civilian sensitive subject of North Korea.” Iran has been seeking to integrate Park who, along with several purposes like power generation and into the global financial system and ministers, met Iran’s President medical research. “Our demand is a world free improve ties with other countries Hassan Rouhani on Monday and held meetings with Iranian officials. of weapons of mass destruction, since its own nuclear-related Park asked for Iran’s help in especially freeing the Korean sanctions were lifted in January implementing UN Security Council peninsula and the Middle East from under a deal with world powers. South Korea, the world’s fifth resolutions calling for the nuclear destructive weapons,” Rouhani told largest importer of crude oil, used d i s a r m a m e n t o f t h e K o r e a n IRNA. A l J a z e e r a ’ s R a z a S a y a h , to be one of the biggest buyers of peninsula. Iran and North Korea are allies. reporting from Tehran, said the two Iranian oil, but imports plunged as Tehran and Pyongyang have long leaders had already signed several a result of sanctions.

n the early stages of the Syrian crisis, Aleppo was largely spared the violence that engulfed Homs, Hama, and other parts of the country. Today, Aleppo has come to symbolise the devastation wrought on Syria and its population, having witnessed the worst violence of the conflict and unimaginable levels of human and physical destruction. For years, the city has been physically divided between regime- and rebel-aligned forces and thus mirrored the larger military stalemate throughout the country. What distinguished Aleppo from other parts of the country was its strategic value for rebel groups as a major hub on the supply route from Turkey and as a major population centre outside of regime control. As such, when ceasefires and a cessation of hostilities were being negotiated after the Russian intervention, the Syrian regime was keen to isolate Aleppo and continue its onslaught to regain control over the city. The Syrian regime and its allies, and now even the United States, have argued that Aleppo was mostly under the control of al-Nusra Front, which is outside of the cessation agreements.

Two killed in India border town by police firing

uthorities in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh have ordered a magisterial inquiry after two people died in police firing. Six others were injured when police fired on protestors demanding the release of an antidam activist in the border town of Tawang. Peace meetings are being held in the area to restore calm. The Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh lies on the Tibetan border and is claimed in part by China. Police said they opened fire after they were attacked by protesters who tried to enter a police station in an attempt to free activist Lobsang Gyatso, who is also a monk, on Monday. Reports say Mr Gyatso, who leads a movement against a hydro power project in the state, was arrested twice last month - once for “disturbing peace” during an antidam protest, and the second time for allegedly making “disparaging” comments against the abbot of the local monastery.

The protestors were demanding the release of a monk in the border town of Tawang

However, Moji Riba, a top aide of the state chief minister, told the BBC that Mr Gyatso had been arrested after making some allegations against the abbot “which had triggered public resentment”. Mr Riba said the monk’s supporters were incensed after his bail plea was deferred to

Wednesday. “His supporters were demanding his release. There was a fracas between the police and the protesters,” he said. A 21-year-old monk is among the dead. The injured have been moved to a military hospital. Vijay Taram, a prominent

activist opposed to hydro power projects in the area, told the website scroll.in that the “government has used force on protesters, who were demanding the release of a known and vocal crusader against construction of hydro power projects in ecologically sensitive Tawang”.

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Europe & Americas Australia budget: Multinationals to be hit with ‘Google tax’

ultinational companies that move profits offshore to avoid tax will be penalised under new measures in Australia’s budget. Companies caught shifting profits will be taxed at a penalty rate of 40%, rather than the usual 30% rate . Treasurer Scott Morrison’s first budget doubles as the government’s pitch to voters at an early election slated for 2 July. The government is seeking to raise additional revenue to pay for tax cuts. “Everyone has to pay their fair share of tax, especially large corporates and multinationals,” Mr Morrison said during his address to parliament. Multinational firms that shift profits offshore will be taxed at a penalty rate of 40% under a diverted profits tax, similar to the so-called “Google tax” introduced in the UK last year. The Australian Tax Office will get a 1000-person strong team of tax avoidance specialists who will target large companies and wealthy individuals avoiding tax. With major reform off the table, Scott Morrison needed to find a way to pay for his tax cuts while not blowing out the budget deficit. And he needed to do it without upsetting ordinary Australians who could vote the government out at an early election on 2 July.

US election 2016: Trump seeks to knockout Cruz in Indiana R epublican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is poised to deliver a crushing blow to rival Ted Cruz as voters in Indiana head to the polls. Mr Cruz’s advisers had targeted Indiana as the senator’s best hope of halting Mr Trump’s march to the nomination. However, polls show Mr Trump with a sizeable lead in the mid-western state. Mr Cruz and fellow candidate John Kasich are hoping to force an open convention where party officials, not voters, choose the nominee. If Mr Trump wins Indiana, the New York businessman will likely reach the required 1,237 delegates to secure the nomination and avoid such a scenario. Meanwhile in the Democratic battle, polls show Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders locked in a tight race in Indiana. However, a Sanders win in Indiana would do little to erase Mrs Clinton’s commanding lead. The Clinton campaign has shifted its focus to other states, opting not to actively campaign or spend money in Indiana. Mr Trump told supporters on Monday that he is eager turn his attention to the general election. “You know if we win it’s over, and then I can focus,” he said at a campaign rally in the state. Mr Cruz cannot get enough delegates to win the nomination outright, but hopes he can still

Mr Trump said he was confident of victory

deprive Mr Trump of a majority. He has thrown considerable resources into the state in recent days. Indiana was supposed to be where Ted Cruz stopped Donald Trump’s recent east coast winning streak. Instead the primary on Tuesday could prove his final undoing. A Monday afternoon campaign event in the tiny town of Marion, Indiana (population 29,000) gave a taste of what Mr Cruz is up against. It was supposed to be a feelgood gathering, the candidate’s first public appearance with Mike Pence since the Indiana governor had thrown his support behind the

Texan last week. That was before a small knot of Trump supporters began heckling Mr Cruz from across a street. Is Indiana Ted Cruz’s last stand? “Indiana is in a position to decide the direction of this race, not just for Indiana, not just for the Republican Party, but for the entire country,” he told supporters in the state. “I think... the country is depending on Indiana to pull us back from this cliff.” The third Republican candidate, Mr Kasich, is no longer campaigning in Indiana. He and Mr Cruz reached a deal last month to coordinate their strategies against Mr Trump, a

Refugee radio: Broadcasting from Germany

amburg, Germany - Larry Macaulay first arrived on Italy’s shores in May 2011 after taking a dinghy from wartorn Libya. Having fled Nigeria a few years earlier during fighting between armed groups, he was forced to pack his bags and search for security yet again when the uprising against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi broke out in Libya that year. Sitting in his studio, he recalls the long journey from Nigeria and how he ended up in 2014 as the founder and editor-in-chief of the Hamburg-based Refugee Radio Network (RNN), a project that has expanded with several sister initiatives in a number of cities across Germany. Made possible by contributions from its audience and fundraising, RNN operates in the studio of a local left-wing radio station. I’ve been invited to a lot of mainstream media discussions and it’s always them wanting to tell us what to do.

RNN started with a team of three people, but it has now grown to 15 broadcasters, hosts and technicians [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

Larry Macaulay, founder of Refugee Radio Network Inspired by Radio Democracy, a pirate radio project in Nigeria, he says the idea was “to get the

news, pick it up in different places, adapt it to our local content and share it with the community and also with the refugee groups”. Between January and April

of 2015, RNN started by taking phone calls from refugees and broadcasting an hour-long Refugee Voices show, a radio magazine programme.

move which prompted Mr Trump to label them “desperate”.

Migrant crisis: EU ‘to back’ visa-free travel for Turkey

he European Commission will give conditional approval for Turks to travel without visas to Europe’s passport-free Schengen area, sources have told the BBC. Visa liberalisation was offered in return for Turkey taking back migrants who crossed the Aegean Sea to Greece. But Turkey must still meet EU criteria, and the visa deal needs approval by the European Parliament and member states. The EU fears that without this deal, Turkey will not control migration. The waiver would scrap the requirement for Turks to get a threemonth, short-stay Schengen visa, for tourism or business trips. But it will not grant Turks the right to get a job in Europe. The UK, Ireland and Cyprus are not in Schengen, so they will keep the visa requirement for Turkey. Turkey has threatened to stop taking back migrants from Greece if the EU fails to deliver on visa liberalisation. A long-running dispute with Cyprus is a major stumbling block in Turkey’s bid to join the EU, not least because Ankara does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member. Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus does not have international recognition. But a Turkish official, quoted by Reuters news agency, said a visa deal with the EU would also mean Turkey scrapping its visa requirement for Greek Cypriots. The large influx of migrants and refugees arriving in Europe from Turkey, and from North Africa, has caused a political crisis among EU states.

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Strange

world

‘I need her’: Meet the 100-year-old identical twins who have ‘never been separated’ - and even share a bedroom By Erica Tempesta

pair of identical twins who have never lived apart just celebrated their 100th birthdays—and they still can’t get enough of each other. After a century of being attached at the hip, Mary Belle Roach and Mae Belle Powell from Symsonia, Kentucky, still dress alike, get their hair done together, and live with each other in their childhood home. They have even taken to sharing a bedroom in case one of them ever needs anything in the middle of the night. ‘We’re together all the time; we’ve never been separated,’ Mary told Today. ‘That’s all we know: to love each other.’ The sisters, who are still known as ‘The Wallace Twins’ because of their maiden names, were born in their hometown of Symsonia on March 25, 1916 in the midst of World War I. Mary and Mae Belle were teenagers during the Great Depression, and Mary recalled how their family ‘had nothing’ at the time. Despite the financial hardships of the time, the two women were able to afford the $5 a semester tuition to attend Murray State College together. As college student, the twins took advantage of their identical appearances and divvied up their time in the classroom based on their separate interests. While Mary would go to gym class for her sister, who ‘can’t hit a ball to save her life’, Mae Belle would return the favor by doing her sister’s book reports. The sisters even chose chose the same profession. After they married a pair of best friends that they had grown up with, they both took teaching jobs at Symsonia Elementary School where they made a $1 per day. Mary and Mae Belle taught in classrooms that were right across the hall from each other, but after their husbands were drafted into World War II in the 1940s, they temporarily moved to Detroit to work in wartime

factories. ‘Everything was real quiet; I remember how sad it was,’ Mary said of hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Best friends: The twins wore matching clothes during one of their trips to New Orleans. The two have A century together: Identical twins Mary Belle Roach been to all 50 states and Mae Belle Powell celebrated their 100th birthand eight countries in days on March 25 Europe together She will also never At the start: The sisters, forget the Sunday after who are still known as the first atomic bomb ‘The Wallace Twins’, was dropped as she were born in their recalled how ‘you had hometown of Sym- Rosie the Riveter: The twins temporarily moved to wait in line just to sonia, Kentucky, on to Detroit (pictured) to work in wartime factories get into church.’ March 25, 1916 in the during World War II after their husbands were drafted midst of World War After the war ended, the sisters and their husband bought motor homes and traveled around the country. Over the course of their lifetimes, FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION (TECHNICAL) BICHI they have visited all 50 states, as well P.M.B. 3473 KANO, KANO STATE eight countries in Europe, together. The women, who are both widows, INVITATION FOR PRE-QUALIFICATION/TENDER continue to remain active despite The Federal College of Education (Technical) Bichi wishes to bring to the notice of interested, competent their 100 years. and reputable Contractors that the College would carry out the following projects. They keep each other company at a (a) CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS AND DRAINAGES nearby gym where they walked for 30 (b) EXTENSION OF THE COLLEGE CLINIC minutes each day, and every Friday (c) RENOVATION OF STUDENT'S HOSTELS they go to the hair salon dressed alike. Interested, skilled and reputable contractors are hereby invited for Pre-qualification/Tender Mae Belle insisted that if she is Pre-qualification Requirements: not with her sister she is worried, and Photocopies of the following documents are required they both agree that they simply can’t . Certificate of incorporation . Current Tax clearance Certificate for the last three (3) years 2013-2015 get enough of each other. . Value Added Tax Registration Certificate ‘I need her all the time,’ Mae Belle . Verifiable Evidence of previous experience in area of interest said. ‘We’ve had a wonderful, wonder. Company Profile with evidence of Technical qualification and experience of key personnel. ful, wonderful life and still have it.’ . Three years Audited Accounts/Evidence of financial Capability As for their secret to living living to . Evidence of compliance with Pension Reform Act, 2004 100, Mae Belle told Inside Edition its . Evidence of compliance with the statutory provision of Section 8 (1)-(3) of the industrial Training Fund ‘good genes’, noting that their mother Amendment Act, 2011 lived to be 97. . Evidence of Registration with the Bureau of public procurement (BPP) data base. ‘We didn’t smoke cigarettes. We didn’t smoke that pot. We never PURCHASE OF TENDER DOCUMENTS Interested companies or their accredited representatives are required to collect the bid documents from drank beer,’ she added. DailyMail on Facebook

the office of the Director works FCE (T) Bichi on payment of non-refundable fee of Twenty Five Thousand naira only, (25,000.00), at Federal Government e-collection Account, visit any Bank Branch with your PRR to make payment. SUBMISSION OF PRE-QUALIFICATION/TENDER DOCUMENTS: Pre-qualification / Tender documents should be enclosed in a separate sealed marked envelop "Pre-qualification for"..............."Name of project" The two envelops should be put in a bigger envelop and address to the Provost FCE (T) Bichi not later than 14TH JUNE, 2016. CLOSING DATE Eligible Contractors are expected to submit relevant documents within (6) weeks from the date of this publication and the Pre-qualification/Tender will be publicly opened for processing at 12:00 noon on 14Th JUNE, 2016 at the College Council Chamber. All Contractors and the general public are hereby invited to the public opening.

Good times: Mary and Mae Belle are pictured riding motorcycles together in Mississippi

NOTE The College will analyze the Documents and only Companies who pass the minimum marks will their Tender Documents be further analyse to arrive at the lowest evaluated responsive bid. Signed: MANAGEMENT

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Page 40

Digest

Could we soon ‘cure’ grey hair? F By Ryan O’hare

or those turning grey too soon, or even losing pigment from their skin, the effects can dent self-confidence in ways that can be life-changing. But scientists have found that two cell signalling pathways which play a key role in forming skin and hair cells may be at the heart of the problem. Researchers in the US found altering these pathways interfered with the amount of pigment produced in mouse and human cells. The team believes the findings could potentially lead to new drugs for treating skin pigment disorders such as vitiligo and potentially even grey hair. Scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center studied the pathways in early stage skin and hair cells in mice and humans. They found that control of these cells, known as melanocyte stem cells, is regulated by two key signalling pathways – part of the endothelin receptor type B (EdnrB) and Wnt signalling pathways. When mice were bred to be deficient in EdnrB their fur was seen to turn grey prematurely, hinting at the pathway’s role in hair and skin pigment. The team report that the pathway’s involvement in

A study has found that altering interfering with two key cell signalling pathways disrupted the amount of pigment produced in skin and hair cells. Researchers believe that the findings could potentially lead to new drugs for treating skin pigment disorders such as vitiligo and potentially even grey hair

determining hair and fur colour was ‘clearly evident’ in the mice when they were first examined. But further experiments, which stimulated the EdnrB pathway in mice, caused the melanocyte stem cells to boost pigment product by 15 times in just two months, resulting in ‘hyperpigmentation’. They found that in white mice, wounded skin became dark as it healed, as these

PIGMENT PATHWAYS Researchers found that two cell signalling pathways play a key role in pigmentation of skin and hair cells. In experiments with early stage skin and hair cells, called melanocyte stem cells, two pathways controlled the amount of pigment. Boosting one of the pathways, called EdnrB, in mice led to melaocytes which produced up to 15 times more pigment. This resulted in white mice growing dark skin to repair wounds. While disrupting a second pathway, Wnt, interfered with the growth and maturation of the stem cells, resulting in mice lacking pigment with a greyish coat.

pigmented stem cells healed the damage. ‘Our study results show that EdnrB signalling plays a critical role in growth and regeneration of certain pigmented skin and hair cells and that this pathway is dependent on a functioning Wnt pathway,’ said Dr Mayumi Ito, a cell biologist at NYU Langone and senior investigator on the study. Ito and her team found that when they blocked Wnt signalling it stalled the growth of the stem cells and stopped them from maturing into normally functioning melanocytes, even when endothelin proteins were present. The result was mice with coats lacking pigment, giving them a greyish colour. According to the Dr Ito, the team plans to further investigate how other cell repair and signalling pathways interact with EdnrB and the melanocyte stem cells. MAILONLINE

Scientists found that stimulating one of the pathways, EdnrB, boosted pigment production in in the stem cells, causing ‘hyperpigmentation’. In white mice, this meant wounded skin became dark as it healed, with the heavily pigmented stem cells healing the damage

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Top stars set to dump Eagles friendlies for Yobo Testimonial match

Amuneke drops six more players from Flying Eagles camp >>Pg 42

Leicester to make £150m from Premier League win >>Pg 43

Eagle’s striker Aaron Samuel

here are very strong indications that several top stars may opt out of Super Eagles friendlies against Mali and Luxembourg later this month. A top official informed that some players have already contacted the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) they wish to withdraw from the matches, which are now aimed at preparing the country for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers starting in October. “Some of the players want to stay out of the matches after a long and tiring season, while some say they want to be part of the Joseph Yobo Testimonial, which will be played same day as the Mali game in Paris,” a source said. “Later this week a clearer picture of those

fully committed to the friendlies we will get, but it is most likely some replacements will be named.” Already, CSKA Moscow striker Aaron Samuel, who was one of the 26 players called up for the Eagles games, is a major injury doubt after he was injured his knee in the Russia Cup final on Sunday. West Ham striker Emmanuel Emenike has also berated the NFF for fixing the Mali match same day as Yobo’s farewell game in Port Harcourt, saying that will deny some of his friends in the Eagles from attending. Meanwhile, Luxembourg, Coach Luc Holtz is preparing his team for no cake walk. Especially after Eagles called up all her big guns. Yet he believes Nigeria can be hurt espe-

cially on the counter and is confident his team that features just a dozen or so full professional players, have the ability to trip the West Africans. “In modern football, the mentality and especially, the intelligence with which decisions are takes are key” shared the coach, who once played for Luxembourg himself. As he knows, the Nigerians still smarting from their Afcon 2017 ouster will try to leave the gates early and secure a win for their mostly disappointed fans who are peeved to be ranked at a dismal 67 in the world and a shocking 14 in Africa. The game will be played in Luxembourg on June the 1st, just five days after Nigeria also takes on Mali in France.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Page 42

Sport

Ifeanyi Ubah Emerges New Anambra FA Chairman

r Patrick Ifeanyiubah has emerged as chairman of Anambra State Football Association. Ubah, who is President and sole financier of Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL, side FC Ifeanyiubah, thus succeeds Chief Mike Umeh as boss of the state FA after his 16-year reign. The election took place at Creek Hotel, Udoka Housing Estate, Awka, yesterday May 3, 2016 after nearly two years in suspense following bickering between Chief Mike Umeh’s faction and the faction led by JBC Obikwelu.

In an intrigue laden election Tuesday which took place 24 hours before Wednesday’s scheduled date, Dr Ifeanyiubah was elected chairman unopposed following the absence of chairmanship contestant, Chief Olisa Aniuno. The election which was conducted by the NFF Election Committee supervised by its chairman, Ephraim Chukwuemeka saw the emergence of seven board members including; Cyprain Amuzie, a former secretary of the association and former referee Udennaka Bebeto Anthony from Anambra Central.

Former Nigeria Premier League, NPL board member Joe Amene, Kingsley Uduh and ex-Jasper United left winger Emeka Sarafi Raphael, were elected from Anambra North just as Ifepe Edward Ada and Albert Chinye Theodore will represent Anambra South in the board. Vice chairman of the new board, Barrister JBC Obikwelu said he was happy the election has come and gone. “I’m happy to be elected as vice chairman. Our task is to move the state forward in football, but most importantly,

Amuneke drops six more players from Flying Eagles camp

Emmanuel Amuneke axe players By Albert Akota

ead Coach of the Nigeria U-20, Coach Emmanuel Amuneke has finally pruned the number of players in camp to 31 after Saturday’s friendly match with Nigeria National League side, Supreme Court FC. The match ended 1-0 in favour of the Flying Eagles but it also afforded the technical crew an opportunity to further assess the ability of the fringe players ahead of the May 22, CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier with Burundi in Bujumbura. Midfielder Kingsley Michael scored from the penalty spot in the 65th minute for the only goal of the match that is the fifth in a series of

games played so far by the U-20 boys. On Saturday, Amuneke fielded a completely new team against Supreme Court FC but was left disappointed at half time as the Flying Eagles failed to exhibit what they have learnt in over three weeks of intensive training. The second stanza saw the introduction of ten new players as the U-20 boys began to dominate play, leading to a 65th minute penalty converted by Michael. With twenty minutes left on the clock, the coaches introduced star players Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze to further pile pressure on the Abuja based team but their effort did not add to the scoreline as

issues concerning Anambra State Football Association election has been put to rest,” Obikwelu, a retired referee said. However, a dissenting voice, Akonam Obiefule discribed the poll as a charade. “Accreditation for the election was held on Monday. yesterday was slated for media debate while election proper was slated for today,” Obiefule said. “While we’re getting set for the media debate for which we were already invited via phone call, before we got there, they have already concluded an election originally slated for today.

Olympic team set for Korea tourney

igeria Olympic team are set to depart the country for an invitational tournament in Seoul, Korea, by May 29 as coach Samson Siasia has decided domestic league players will no longer be released for mid-week games. “From the information at my disposal, we are supposed to be traveling on 29th May, to Seoul,” said Siasia. “It means we have barely two weeks to prepare adequately for that competition that will have in attendance other teams that would be going to the Olympics.” The coach has therefore declared that from Monday, May 9, he will no longer release any player from training camp to play for their clubs during Nigeria Professional Football League mid–week matches. Speaking after yesterday’s training at the practice pitch of the National Stadium, Abuja, coach Siasia noted that he barely had enough players in camp to start real preparations for the Olympics, which is barely three months away. “I must confess that it has not been easy for me and my technical crew; a lot of the

players we need to work with won’t report to camp as at when due because their club chairmen will always call me to beg that these players stay back to play mid –week games,” he said. “I understand their plight that they need these players to do well in the league, but then we must draw a line between national interest and club interest. “I have always built the foundation of my team on the home-based players, so it is players I have at my disposal who I will work and plan with. “So, I am appealing to all involved to please bear with us, because from next week, I will not release any player for mid –week games. “If the clubs cannot release these players, then I am sorry, no matter how good these players are, they cannot be part of my plans.” Siasia further disclosed he will soon release the names of foreignbased professionals expected to be part of the preparation, saying he has delayed announcing their names because he has not been able to get assurances from their clubs on their release for the Games.

the match ended 1-0 at full time. Amuneke thanked the dropped players for their perseverance and endurance during the screening and advised them to stay fit as their services may still be required in the near future. One more player will be dropped next week to further reduce the number in camp to thirty. The Flying Eagles have so far played five matches, including defeating Sia-One Academy 4-1, Dabo Babes 5-0, Ace FC of Kaduna 6-2 and drawing 0-0 with Dreams FC of Makurdi. Nigeria must beat Burundi over two legs to advance to the final round of the qualifiers in July this year.

Iorfa faults invitation of Mikel, Ighalo for friendlies

ormer Nigeria International, Dominic Iorfa believes the desperation to give fans good results rather than experiment with the double friendlies is the reason behind the invitation of regular Super Eagles starters. Iorfa , who stepped down as chairman of Lobi Stars at the beginning of the season, stressed that the fans had a huge influence on the decision of the

senior national team’s coaches. The ex international said Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the Afcon 2017 presented an opportunity to build a new team and experiment with players. However, a disappointed Iorfa said the win -atall cost syndromes has forced the hands of coaches to pick out the best players available for what should be test games against Mali and Luxembourg.

Nigeria U23 goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Page 43

Sport

Leicester to make £150m from Premier League win

eicester City are set for a potential £150m boost for winning the Premier League title, analysts at sports data and marketing firm Repucom have said. The sum comprises Premier League prize money, Champions League participation cash, and increased match day revenues from ticket and hospitality sales. The Foxes will also enjoy a higher valuation of sponsorship assets, and a growth in fan bases globally, it said. Leicester clinched a fairytale first championship on Monday evening. Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with secondplaced Tottenham Hotspur meant the north London club could not catch Leicester. The East Midlands club will now feature in the Uefa Champions League next season, taking them to an even larger European and world TV audience. Spencer Nolan, head of consulting at Repucom UK and Ireland, said adding fans worldwide remained “central to realising the club’s full potential as a commercial entity”. “While it is too early to really evaluate the rapidly growing fan bases we are starting to see across Asia for example, social media provides us an opportunity to start to quantify this surge.”

This season, the club’s Facebook page following has grown by a huge 540%, making it one of the fastest growing accounts of any sports team globally. Algeria’s 500,000 followers represent Leicester City’s largest fan base on the social network (16.7%), thanks to the performances of PFA Player of the Season, team winger Riyad Mahrez. There have also been large increases in Thailand and Italy, the homelands of the club’s owners and manager respectively. ‘Maximise returns’ Mr Nolan said the summer would be an important time for the East Midlands club to build its commercial presence. “Leicester City FC’s real commercial potential will become clearer in the season break as brands vie to associate themselves to the club and, in turn, the league winners aim to maximise the returns their status could command,” he said. He also said that in the 2015-16 season, Leicester’s TV audiences had soared by more than 23% globally “which will help to increase the value of their sponsorship properties next term”. “The task now is to optimise the value of those assets and ensure they attract the incomes Leicester City could now Leicester’s captain Wes Morgan was in this season’s PFA team of the year generate.”

Iheanacho wants 200,000 poundsa-week for 5-year contract

Burnley gains promotion to Premier League

urnley won promotion back to the Premier League 359 days after being relegated from the top flight Burnley secured an immediate return to the Premier League by beating QPR. The Clarets began the game at Turf Moor knowing a win would be enough to confirm a top-two finish after Brighton drew 1-1 with Derby earlier in the day. After an edgy first hour, Sam Vokes headed in Dave Jones’ free-kick to seal promotion at the first attempt. Sean Dyche’s side are only two points clear of Middlesbrough and Brighton, but cannot be overhauled by both as they face each other on the final day. While Boro and Brighton fight for the remaining automatic promotion spot on Saturday, Burnley will be crowned champions if they win at relegated Charlton. However, the Lancashire side were far from their best against mid-table Rangers and survived a scare when Alejandro Faurlin hit the post with a long-range drive with 20 minutes to play.

Iheanacho

he agents of Kelechi Iheanacho have demanded a bumper new Manchester City contract that will pay the Nigeria starlet a mind-blowing 200,000 poundsa-week over five years, AfricanFootball.com can exclusively reveal today. “He has deserved his keep at City as he is now one of the most effective forwards in the whole of Europe when you put his game time against the number of his goals,” a top source argued. The 19-year-old Nigeria international has netted 13 goals in all competitions this season with seven of them in the Premier League. In October, Manchester City offered Iheanacho 50,000 pounds-a-week. City have opened talks with Iheanacho’s handlers over a new contract after he justified his promotion to the first team at The Etihad with goals and five-star displays in his debut season in the English Premier League. We have further learnt that Iheanacho is currently earning “between 10,000 and 18,000 pounds a week” after coming through the City youth ranks. An insider said that the least paid City first-teamer is on 180,000 pounds-a-week with the biggest earner at the club Yaya Toure pocketing almost twice that sum.

Burnley

Burnley confirmed their return to the Premier League just 359 days after dropping out of English football’s top tier. Following relegation, they lost striker Danny Ings to Liverpool, fullback Kieran Trippier to Tottenham and captain Jason Shackell to Derby, but invested heavily in their squad as they prepared for a promotion challenge. Joey Barton has added guile and experience to Burnley’s midfield, while record signing Andre Gray has repaid his sizeable fee with 22 goals in 40 league appearances. Wales international Vokes has been an unsung partner of Gray – his winner against QPR was his 14th league goal of the season and his 11th since the turn of the year. Victory over QPR extended Burnley’s unbeaten run in the league to 22 games, the longest sequence in the division this season, with their last Championship defeat coming at Hull on 26 December. During that run, Michael Keane netted stoppage-time equalisers against

both Brighton and Middlesbrough goals which have proved critical to Burnley’s promotion chances in the closing weeks of the season. Consistency of selection is one of manager Dyche’s biggest traits and he has followed that policy again in 2015-16, using only 25 players in the Championship this season. Burnley manager Sean Dyche told BBC Radio Lancashire: “We’ve worked so hard. It’s been a different league this year and a different style to it. “People have been having a real go financially, putting money into it. We’ve balanced the books and been successful again. I couldn’t be more proud. “It’s definitely better (than promotion in 2014). It’s been a much different challenge this time. The expectation rises from everyone, the money available to the club for its future – all of the things that it brings. “Last time we were under the radar, it was a fairy tale. This one was organised, business-like and wellfashioned from all involved, especially the players.”

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

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IHEANYI ABAEKWUME AGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION

This is to inform the general public that the above named has applied to the corporate affairs commission CAÇ Abuja for registration under the part C of the companies and allied matters 1990. the TRUSTEES are: 1mr uche agbarakwe chaiman 2 Mr niyi balogun secretary 3 Mr chinedu enwereuzo 4 my Johnson omolayo 5 Mr yisa adegoke 6 Mr lanre ademola aims and objectives aims OBJECTIVES: To assist members 2 to cater for all its members. Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General corporate affairs commission plot 421 Tigris crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street PMB 198 Maitama Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

This is to inform the general public that the above named has applied to the corporate affairs commission CAÇ Abuja for registration under the part C of the companies and allied matters 1990. the TRUSTEES are: 1 nuhu yusuf dicko 2 abdullahi fatima maikudi 3 lakpene mohammed 4 muhammad ganadiko 5 nuhu bello nuhu 6 mamudu mustapha isa 7 agaie bello mohammed 8 isah aliyu yabagi 9 ndagi muhammad umaru 10 muhammad baba ibrahim aims OBJECTIVES: 1 to initiate research and documentary project for reviving and advancing the intellectual ,historicaland cultural heritage of agaie and it's people. 2. To organise conference, workshops, seminars and advocacy campaigns at national and international levels on the revival of the intellectual and cultural heritage of agaie and it's people.. Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General corporate affairs commission plot 421 Tigris crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street PMB 198 Maitama Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named Foundation has applied to Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under the Companies and Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990 Part C. THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. IHEANYI ABAEKWUME 2. MMUTA ABAEKWUME 3. OBINNA ABAEKWUME 4. ADAKU ABAEKWUME 5. UKACHI OBI 6. UGOCHI OHIRI 7. AJUMOLE ONWUAMEGBU 8. CHIOMA ABAEKWUME 9.UCHENNA ABAEKWUME. THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO PROMOTE ACTIVITIES THAT WILL ENHANCE THE GROWTH OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE IN THE SOCIETY. 2.TO INIITIATE AND EXECUTE PROGRAMS AIMED AT ACCELERATING THE OVERALL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 3. TO PROTECT THE INTEREST OF FARMERS IN THE COMMUNITY. Any objection should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama P.M.B 198 Garki, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

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THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED INITIATIVE HAS APPLIED TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION FOR ADDITIONAL AND REMOVAL OF TRUSTEES UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO 1 OF 1990. THE OLD TRUSTEES ARE: 1.CHIEF JOHN OWUZURUIKE - CHAIRMAN 2.ANGELINA OWUZURUIKE - SECRETARY 3.MUSA BABA OMBUGADU 4.ABDULRAZAK ABUDU - REMOVED 5.MRS. RHODA SIMON - REMOVED 6.IWERE STANLEY - REMOVED 7.CHIBUZO SAMUEL NGOZI 8.ANTHONY FRIDAY - REMOVED 9.BARTHOLOMEW ONUH THE NEW TRUSTEES ARE: 1.ANGULU AMORE 2.JULIUS DOEYOK 3.RTD. SGT YOUNG S. UZUKA 4.UCHECHEKWU OLUEBUBE 5.OLU COSMAS THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES REMAIN THESAME. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS CHANGES SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

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The general public is hereby notified that the above named Outreach has applied to Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under the Companies and Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990 Part C. THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. REV. OBI LIVINUS OBIOMA 2. OBI CELINE CHIJIOKE 3. MARTYNS GOODNEWS THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE ARE: 1.TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. Any objection should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama P.M.B 198 Garki, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

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FRESH INITIATIVE FOR NATION BUILDING AND DEVELOPMENT

INCORPORATED TRUSTEES OF BELIEVERS LOVEWORLD AKA CHRIST EMBASSY

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORM THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO CAC FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, DEGREE NO.1 OF 1990. THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1.PROPHET AUSTIN IDAHOSA, 2. PASTOR. ADEDOLA ELIZABETH IDAHOSA. Secretary, 3. PASTOR SEGUN ADENIYI, 4. MRS. VICTORIA OLAJONLU, 5. MR. KASS YAKUBU THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE 1. TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CAC, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : SECRETARY

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORM THAT THE ABOVE NAMED INITIATIVE HAS APPLIED TO CAC FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, DEGREE NO.1 OF 1990. THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. Chief Dipo Oyewole 2. Leticia Igna-Igboko (FCA) 3. Elder Temi Aghedo 4. Dr. Soji Ijidale 5. Dr. Dele Sogbesan 6. Mr. Alaba Oduntan 7. Prof. Olasumbo Martins 8. Rev. Benny Merriman-Johnson 9. Gen. (Dr.) Shina Ogunbiyi THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE 1. To promote and encourage nation building and development through empowerment programmes. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CAC, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : SECRETARY

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORM THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO CAC FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, DEGREE NO.1 OF 1990. THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1.Pastor Akpan James Nicholas - PRESIDENT 2.Pastor Mrs Mary JAMES -SECRETARY THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE : 1. Spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ . 2. Community services . ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CAC, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : Joan shafa of J.N Shafa &co

NOTICE is hereby given that a Petition for the dissolution of the above named Incorporated Trustees by the Federal High Court Holden at Lagos, was on the 25th day of April, 2016 presented to the said Court by the Incorporated Trustees of Believers Loveworld aka Christ Embassy and that the said petition is directed to be advertised and set down for mention before the Federal High Court sitting at Court 4 Lagos on the 7th day of June 2016, and any creditor of the said Incorporated Trustees of Believers Loveworld Aka Christ Embassy desirous to support or oppose the making of an order on the said Petition may appear at the time of hearing in person or by his Counsel for that purpose and a copy of the Petition will be furnished by the undersigned to any creditor of the said Incorporated Trustees of Believers Loveworld Aka Christ Embassy requiring such copy on payment of the regulated charge for the same. Note: Any person who intends to appear at the hearing of the said petition must serve on or send by post to the above-named notice of his intention so to do. The notice must state the name and address of the person or if an firm, the name and address of the firm and must be signed by the person of firm, or his or their solicitor, and must be served or if posted, must be sent by post in sufficient time to reach the above-named not later than 48 hours before the dated the Petition is for mention in Court. Signed: Adebisi Adekunle Sogunle Esq. 08035989233/aasogunleandassociates@gmail.com

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

PUBLIC NOTICE Association Of Construction Equipments Sales And Leasing Dealers Lagos

Page 45

PUBLIC NOTICE

Bata-Kinti Development Association

Immanuel Liberation And Restoration Chapel

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORM THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO CAC FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, DEGREE NO.1 OF 1990. THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. Mr Uche Agbarakwe- Chairman. 2. Mr Niyi Balogun- Secretary. 3. Mr Chinedu Enwereuzo. 4. Dr Johnson Omolayo. 5. Mr Yisa Adegoke. 6. Mr Lanre Ademolu THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE 1. To assist members. 2. To cater for all its members. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CAC, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : SECRETARY

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORM THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO CAC FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, DEGREE NO.1 OF 1990. THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. Alhaji. Mohammed Jibril Lipata. 2. Alhaji. Mohammed Lerama Dubba. 3. Alhaji. Tsado Eyagi Aliyu. 4. Alhaji. Audu Liman Saidu. 5. Mr. Jibril Kolo Emmanuel. 6. Mallam. Salihu Abdullahi. 7. Mallam. Aliyu Ndatsu Mohammed. 8. Mallam. Issa Ndaabu Abubakar. 9. Mallam. Abubakar Ndabenu Yusuf THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE 1. To foster peace, unity and development in Bata-Kinta communities in Edu local government area through education. 2. To carter for social cultural and economic development of the communities through education. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CAC, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : Mohammed Ahmed

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORM THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO CAC FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, DEGREE NO.1 OF 1990. THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. Apostle Elias Anayochukwu Igboarinzeh- Chairman. 2. Chief Reuben Ude- Secretary. 3. Evangelist Mrs. Adanna Benedith Igboarinzeh. 4. Mr. Solomon Ikechukwu Ezeh. 5. Mr Mathew Ugwuede THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE 1. To preach the gospel of Christ our lord. 2. To provide spiritual and educational services through the word of God. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CAC, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : Barr Blessing Nwanneka Tabansi. 07067661516

PUBLIC NOTICE

Deliverance Power House Ministry

Reconciliation of life assembly international

Haske Water Aid And Empowerment Foundation

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORM THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO CAC FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, DEGREE NO.1 OF 1990. THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. Chibuzor Mirian Azubuike- Chairman. 2. Ejiroghene Amos-Tafiri. 3. Joe Igbokwe. 4. Adegbami Adegoke Elijah. 5. Awoyode Opeoluwa Great. 6. Nneoma Albert-Benson - Secretary THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE 1. To provide safe drinking water in order to ensure proper hygiene. 2. To mentor and build a generation of young people that would proffer solutions. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CAC, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : Barr Nneoma Albert-Benson. 08094897631

PUBLIC NOTICE The New Generation Youth Empowerment Initiative

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORM THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO CAC FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, DEGREE NO.1 OF 1990.

THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE 1. To preach the gospel of our lord Jesus christ to the whole world. 2. To preach and minister salvation , healing and deliverance. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CAC, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORM THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO CAC FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, DEGREE NO.1 OF 1990. THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1.Ifeanyi Chukwudi OKEKE. 2. Chioma amarachukwu OKEKE. 3. Ikechukwu Vincent Nwanze. 4. Obinna Sunday Nwanze. 5. Ekpo jack Jack. 6. Bar ikechukwu Ekpelinwa. 7. Akpan Samuel akpan THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE 1.TO PREACH THE WORD OF GOD. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CAC, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED : Bello Caroline Titilola, Esq. 08076476790

SIGNED : Bar ike Ekpelinwa

PUBLIC NOTICE

SOLOMON FOR JESUS FOUNDATION

Women of substance initiative for humanity, nigeria

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. Pastor Patsor Item Ewere Jude. 2. Mrs Item Ihioma Victory. 3. Dumbiri Onyeoghani Jonathan

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORM THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO CAC FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, DEGREE NO.1 OF 1990.

ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CAC, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORM THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO CAC FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, DEGREE NO.1 OF 1990. THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. Bilkisu Abdullahi Mohammed. Chairman. 2. Bilkisu Ibrahim abba (secretary). 3. Ighayere angela Ewaleifoh THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE 1) assist humanity (2)assist the less privilege (3) assist widows and disables. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CAC, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED : secretary

SIGNED : BARR. OPAOLA OLUWAGBEMIGA

SIGNED : secretary

PUBLIC NOTICE

DEVELOPMENT, PEACE AND RESEARCH INITIATIVE.

ETERNAL LIFE PEOPLE OF GOD MINISTRY

PUBLIC NOTICE

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1)Uche James Iroha- Chairman 2)Joy Akwarandu 3)Kelechi Ugoh 4)Lois Ekeoma 5)Oge Akwarandu- Secretary THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE To empower our youths through education. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CAC, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORM THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO CAC FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, DEGREE NO.1 OF 1990. THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. ATAKPU ANICESTUS - CHAIRMAN 2. ATAKPU VIVIAN 3. EDEKI TEGA 4. PETER ERIVWODE 5. VICTORIA NNAH THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE 1. TO ENSURE AND FOSTER A PEACEFUL JUST AND EQUITABLE SOCIETY. 2. TO CONTRIBUTE TO A JUST AND EQUITABLE SOCIETY THROUGH ADVOCACY AND POLICY DIALOGUE.. ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CAC, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : secretary

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. SOLOMON OJOCHEGBE AARON - CHAIRMAN 2. OCHEME FRANCIS GODWIN - SECRETARY THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE TO CATER FOR THE WELFARE OF THE LESS PRIVILEGED IN THE SOCIETY.

- CHAIRMAN - SECRETARY

aims OBJECTIVES: 1. To preach the gospel to all nations of the world in accordance with the word of our lord Jesus Christ. 2. To preach and train Christians to possess the good Christian virtues and shines as light in the world and salt of the earth. 3. Raising a generation of Christians that will build a better church for the coming of our lord...

FRESH ANNOINTING GLORIOUS GLOBAL COVENANT CHURCH... This is to inform the general public that the above named has applied to the corporate affairs commission CAÇ Abuja for registration under the part C of the companies and allied matters 1990. the TRUSTEES are: 1.PROPHETESS JANET O. AYANTOLA.. 2. ENGR KAYODE SAMUEL AYANTOLA.. 3 ENGR IBUKUN JOSEPH AYANTOLA... 4.AJOKE AYANTOLA..: aims OBJECTIVES: TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General corporate affairs commission plot 421 Tigris crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street PMB 198 Maitama Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: Mrs. Ogbeide Mary

SIGNED: PST BARR EFFIONG JOHN OBOHO... 08038723535...

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

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MARYAM

I, FORMALLY KNOWN AND ADDRESS AS MARYAM USAINI SANI. NOW WISH TO BE CALLED AS MARYAM USAINI THAT ALL FORMER DOCUMENT REMAIN VALID DIAMOND BANK AND GENERAL PUBLIC TO TAKE NOTE.

AHMED

I, FORMERLY KNOWN, CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS MARKUS LIVINUS. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS AHMED USMAN. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS TO REMAIN VALID. AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.

SANI

I, FORMERLY KNOWN, CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS MALLAM HASSAN ABDULLAHI. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS SANI MIJINYAWA. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS TO REMAIN VALID. AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.

ade

I, FORMERLY KNOWN, CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS olaniyi moshood saheed. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS ade mohammed said. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS TO REMAIN VALID. AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.

ADA EBELE

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS ADA EBELE OBI-OKOYE. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN ADA EBELE ONOBUN. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

ibrahim

I, Formaly known as ibrahim adeniran abdul alimi now wish to be known and called as ibrahim alimi. all former documents remain valid. zeniz bank and the General Public should please take note.

Mrs Joy

I formerly known as Miss Gift joy okula now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Joy oke-oghene Bature. all former documents remain valid.general public should take note.

Muhammadu

I, formerly known and addressed as Muhammadu Mu’azu Baba now wish to be addressed as Muhammadu Mu’azu Barau. All former documents remain relevant. The general public should please take note.

Muhammadu DAUDA

I, formerly known and addressed as MAHAMMED DAUDA now wish to be addressed as MUHAMMED DAUDA HARUNA. All former documents remain relevant. The general public should please take note.

onyinyechi

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS onyinyechi Lilian unogu. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN onyinyechi Lilian Omoaka. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

loss of document THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC OF THE LOSS OF original right of OCCUPANCY (R OF O) belonging to UNIVERSAL ESTATE LIMITED WITH PLOT NO ED 1437A AND PLOT NO ED 1436A. ALL EFFORT TO TRACE THE MISSING DOCUMENT PROVE ABORTIVE IF FOUND KINDLY RETURN TO THE NEAREST POLICE STATION. loss of document This is to notify the General public about the loss of Original documents: ENGR. EJIOFOR UMEANO of plot 1205 DAWAKI EXT. ABUJA. Reported that on the 20th of June 2014 while packing his personal documents from his office at suite FA 40 Bannex Plaza Wuse 2, ABUJA. to his house that he discovered some landed documents missing bearing : DAN-ASABE ISHAKU, with plot No. 1205, file No. BA41720 dated the 19th day of Feb 2007 and the R of O dated 31st December 2008 covering about 1000SQM in DAWAKI EXT reallocation layout was missing. All efforts made trace the said document proved abortive. Please if found contact the nearest police station.

onyinyechi

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS onyinyechi Lilian unogu. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN onyinyechi Lilian Omoaka. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

PAGE 47

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, MAY 4, 2016

Some Interesting Facts 1. During the ice age, 32,000 years ago, a squirrel buried a seed. Now the seed has been used to grow a flower. 2. We’ve found over a thousand planets outside our solar system just in the last 20 years. 3. There’s a planet where it rains glass, sideways. 4. The world’s oceans contain 20 million tons of gold. 5. If the oceans dried out, the salt left over would cover the continents to a depth of 5 feet. 6. There are more cells of bacteria in your body than there are human cells. 7. There’s a species of jellyfish that is essentially immortal.

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8. Ladybirds can fly at speeds up to 60 kph. 9. There’s a 3.5-inch aluminium sculpture on the moon. 10. Scientists have found a tiny crystal of zircon that is 4.4 billion years old. 11. You can listen to what interstellar space sounds like. 12. It takes a photon, on average, 170,000 years to travel from the core of the sun to the surface. 13. Then it takes just 8 minutes from the sun’s surface to your eyes. 14. A Mars-sized object crashed into Earth 4.5 billion years ago, chipping off a chunk of rock that became the moon, and making the Earth’s axis tilt slightly. 15. 111,111,111 × 111,111,111 = 12345678987654321. 16. Our first ancestor to walk on land was a four-legged fish called Tiktaalik. 17. Teenage brains really are different to adult ones. 18. There are roughly 2 pints of water in every cubic foot of soil on Mars. 19. You can use a blue whale’s wax earplug to work out its life history.

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Today: Polar bears, penitents and boxing hares Source: Dailymail.co.uk

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WEDNEsday, may 4, 2016

SPORTS latest

Huth, Fellaini fine with violent conduct

Robert Huth and Marouane Fellaini have been charged with violent conduct by the Football Association following their clash during Leicester City’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United. The incident occurred in the 21st minute of the match and television replays appeared to show Huth pulling Fellaini’s hair before the Belgium international struck his marker with an elbow. Both players have until 6pm today to reply to the charge. A statement from the FA read: “Marouane Fellaini and Robert Huth have both been charged for alleged acts of violent conduct which were not seen by the match officials but caught on video.

Mourinho congratulates Ranieri for winning his title with Leicester

Jose Mourinho has congratulated Claudio Ranieri and Leicester City on their Premier League triumph. The former Chelsea boss watched his old side come from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Tottenham on Monday, a result which crowned the Foxes as the most unlikely of champions. Mourinho, who lifted the trophy with Chelsea last season before departing the club in December after a dismal run of form, has lauded Ranieri, whom he replaced at the Blues in 2004, and paid homage to the efforts of every member of the Foxes’ squad. “I lost my title to Claudio Ranieri and it is with incredible emotion that I live this magic moment in his career.” Mourinho scoffed at Ranieri’s success rate earlier in his career, claiming the Italian - the man he replaced at Chelsea in 2004 - was “considered a loser” at Stamford Bridge. The former Real Madrid and Inter head coach continues to be linked with a return to the Premier League ahead of next season, with Manchester United reportedly considering his appointment.

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. . . putting the people first

QUOTABLE QUOTE The intention of the Upper Chamber to amend the CCT Act when Saraki is standing trial before the CCT is clearly in bad faith. — A Human Right Lawyer, Mr Tope Alabi

New Wage: When the Dew Can no Longer Quench Thirst W

orkers in Nigeria are celebrating another May Day amidst shrinking salaries, uncertainty in the market value of what they presently earn. The economy is unpredictable just as their future as workers cannot be guaranteed on account of present economic reality caused by dwindling fortunes in oil revenue. Curiously, no state in Nigeria has been able to fund its wage bill. An abysmal gap which is indeed a very repugnant situation. Presently, states are on bailouts. Interestingly even the bailouts have not helped much. State workers are being owed in more than 27 states. There is no state in Nigeria without an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) program. Lagos state has a well-planned IGR system and it is on record that as at 2014 it generated up to N276.16bn (still rising), ahead of Rivers and Delta which generated N89.11b and N42.82b respectively. Lagos has a huge business hub and may not really be a good reference point for other states with weaker prospects like Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Ekiti and Kebbi, generating N2.8b, N3.1b, N3.2b, N3.5b and N3.7b respectively.. The point to note is the way and manner IGR’s are collected and remitted. If states manage the way and manner revenue is collected, what they are presently collecting will quadruple and would be more than enough to pay workers salaries. Once Nigerians are asked to pay revenues directly to dedicated government accounts without a third party, the difference will leave many drooling. Corruption, laziness and laidback attitude of governors and lack of political/ administrative will have brought Nigerian government at all levels to this precipice. Over a period of years of decay, the economic situation is worsening. Soon there will be no money left to pay workers. Most states in the country have vast arable lands,

0806 564 8620 0704 385 9705 0814 292 9046 08074420617

Wednesday Column By, Israel A. Ebije mineral resources to sustain viable economic growth without crude oil revenue from the center. Corruption, laziness, lack of willpower has continued to choke developmental strides in the country. The system Nigeria operates only favors the rich. The poor are forced to accept their fate, doomed to keep them perpetually poor with little or no will to correct the surging lopsided situation pelted at them by their leaders. The present economic reality appears to be over played up as politicians are beginning to hide behind it to deny the hapless civil servant of his due. In Cross River, governor Ayade shocked workers when he paid May salaries on workers day. In Edo state, Oshiomhole demystified his colleagues when he increased minimum wage to N25,000. The action of this two governors clearly expose the sycophancy of many governors. Though Oshiomhole is deceptive and desperate publicity stunt. He has less than five months to vacate office. Why didn’t he go for a raise earlier. With the amount of money the state is owing, he has simply tied the noose around the neck of his successor. Presently 27 states of the federation are finding it difficult to pay salaries yet more than 21 former governors and deputy governors are paid salaries from their states/ pensions and at the same time receiving salaries/allowances as Senators or Ministers. For the governors asking for extra bailouts, they should be asked to publicly account for the first one, then mandated to present a marshal plan for economic strategy on how to sustain their states through realistic strategies. They

must also cut excesses, which must include unnecessary allowances, unscrupulous privileges and of cause, double salaries of former governors and their deputies. The change era must address the slave wage. If prisoners in Nigeria can enjoy free medical bills, free accommodation, free utility bills and enjoy free meal amounting to N27,000 monthly, then N56,000 minimum wage peg is not out of place in the light of the present economic hardship. It is indeed instructive to stress that Japan, South Korea, Italy, Hong Kong, Singapore, Belgium, Switzerland and Taiwan have been able to compete respectably among largest economies in the world with little or no natural resources, Nigeria must rise above its limitations. Therefore, aside the need to diversify the economy, to contain the looming wage rage, there is need to adopt a major repositioning of the economy to generate more revenue, create more jobs and promote better welfare for its citizens. It is therefore imperative to intimate that higher government wages will raise the cost of job loss due to corruption. It will also give government employees impression they are being ‘fairly’ treated. It will indeed make the change mantra implementable and the task of growing back Nigeria to its rightful position easier. Once a civil servant is happy with a good wage, it is most likely to decrease the urge to be corrupt. It will also attract better employees to government and prevent qualified government workers moving to the private sector, thus improving the government’s ability to control corruption and grow the

economy. Civil servants have endured the good, the bad and ugly administrations. Even the best administrations, Nigerian workers are at the rock bottom of the food chain. They work like elephants and forced to eat like ants. Now the change mantra has educated the proletariats, they will certainly insist on their rights. Nigeria’s mono-economy, corruption, administrative impunity has left the country’s economic fortunes at the brinks as cost of government soar without cognizance to principle and practice of cost effectiveness. Nigeria must therefore address its abysmal recurrent expenditure. The resultant negative implication of high recurrent expenditure is the paucity of funds for capital development. Good thing our president is addressing that aspect already. I am optimistic Nigerian government has learnt from its mistake of gambling with a single economic focus. Everything was tied to oil. With the abysmal crash and attendant consequence, no reasonable government at the center or state level will ever depend on a single source of revenue. Ebije can be reached on the following platforms: ebijeo5@gmail.com, twitter: @ebijeisrael

DAN GAYE

Again, Dasuki’s absence stalls trial - News

Who is fooling who here?

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Kano office: Plot 3, Zaria Road, Opposite Kano State House of Assembly. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Tel: +234 814 292 9046. Cell: +234 802 443 2099; 803 7007 759. e-mail: contact@peoplesdailyng.com; pmlnewsdesk@gmail.com ISSN: 2141– 6141