Monday, September 4, 2017 Edition

Monday, September 4, 2017/ Zhul Hijjah 13 , 1438 AH Vol. 27 No. 4 N150

1219 Days after The nation awaits rescue of the remaining abducted Chibok schoolgirls

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FG fingers 2 coys in N100bn illegal mining deal pAGE 2

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Eid-el-Kabir clash: Discordant tunes as Ganduje, Kwankwaso shift blame

page 5

Debates on Nigeria’s division are futile - Buhari page 5

...Urges elite, leaders to sacrifice for nation’s unity

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique A b u b a k a r , alongside other senior officers from Headquarters Nigerian Air Force (NAF), on 1 and 2 September 2017, celebrating this year’s Eid el Kabir with NAF frontline troops in Yola and Maiduguri respectively.

Hajj: NAHCON probes service Strike: FG to continue providers over poor facilities negotiation with ASUU pAGE 5

-Ngige

pAGE 6

No Nigerian died in Texas Hurricane Harvey-NIDO

>> pg 3

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

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News CONTENTS News 2-14 Editorial 11 Op.Ed 12 Letters 13 Politics 15-17 Stockwatch Business

18 19-20

Metro

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Analysis

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Africa New

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World New

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FG fingers 2 coys in N100bn illegal mining deal

By Musa Adamu

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wo companies, Solid Unit Limited and Geotess Nigeria Limited, that were shut down in Zurak, Wase Local Government Area of Plateau state, last month, have been implicated in alleged illegal mining activities.

The illegal mining activities is said to be worth over N100 billion.

The Minister of Mines and steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi disclosed this during a meeting with staff of the ministry in Abuja recently.

Recall that 16 Chinese nationals and eight Nigerians involved in massive illegal mining were arrested in Zurak, on August 15, 2017 at the wake of the shutting down of the two companies on the orders of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd), and the Minister when the duo visited some illegal mining sites in the richly endowed lead/zinc belt.

The Chairman of Solid Unit Limited, Alhaji Usman Abubakar (aka Dan China) who is regarded as the most notorious illegal miner in the state was also declared wanted by the NSA, who ordered all security agencies to arrest him for acts seen as economic sabotage.

Dr Fayemi, in the meeting attended by all cadre of the workers in the ministry, said the huge scale of illegal mining by the two companies in Wase was tantamount to economic terrorism, adding that government was determined to confront anyone or group that were out to sabotage the economy through illegal mining and other means.

He said the scale of illegal mining perpetrated by the two blacklisted companies and their foreign collaborators was humongous, stressing that they used very sophisticated equipment, including a tunnel with rail track and other heavy machines for their illegal operations.

He said the arrested Nigerians had been in active connivance with foreigners to carry out massive illegal mining in the state thereby depriving the country of revenue.

He said: “Their unwholesome activities have also led to environmental degradation and abandoned mine pits.”

He said the leadership of the ministry carried out the operation that led to the closure of the illegal mining companies/sites and the arrest in a discreet manner, because of the massive network of collaborators and informants at the disposal of the companies.

“We didn’t want to leave anything to chance, so it was done discreetly”, he said, adding that it was a successful operation, which according to him had also restored sanity to the area, which had been under the siege of illegal miners and criminal elements for some years.”

The arrested Nigerians and their

foreign collaborators, according to him, have been handed over to the newly inaugurated Mines Division of the Nigerian Police for prosecution.

Dr Fayemi informed that the ministry would adopt its own whistle blowing arrangement in order to encourage more information on illegal mining activities in the sector.

The Minister, however added that the ministry would continue to guide and provide both technical and financial supports genuine artisanal and small scale miners, who abide by the rules and regulations guiding the sector.

Zurak is a key location of substantial mineral deposits notably lead, zinc, copper, tin, wolframite, tantalite and other base metals. Over time the range of illegal mining activities have been recorded around the area leading to the wanton loss of revenue, minable land and social displacement of the rural communities.

Gov. Abubakar donates food items to less privileged Pgae 4

Eucation

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Sports 27-28

We want to hear from you

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By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

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he National Council for Arts and Culture ( NCAC), has said the African Arts and Craft Expo , exhibition will hold tomorrow at the permanent site of the NCAC beside Sheraton Hotels in Abuja .

NCAC stated that there will be 150 exhibitors expected to occupy and showcase their unique arts and crafts products during the 20 days events.

The Director General NCAC, Otunba Runsewe, expressed his optimism that this edition exhibition will surpass previous ones by far given the massive impetus in the organization and support from stakeholders.

Runsewa stated that the Acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF),Dr. (Mrs.) Habiba Lawal will declare the much-awaited African Arts and Craft Expo (AFAC) open on 5th of September, 2017.

“Special guests expected at the opening ceremony include; Special Guest of Honour; Rt. Hon. Philip Shaibu, Deputy Governor of Edo State; Others are, Mother of the Day: Her Excellency, Paulin Tallen (Former Deputy Governor of Plateau State); Chief Host: Alhaji Lai Mohammed (Hon. Minister, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture) Royal Fathers of the day, HRM, Alhaji Adamu Baba Yunusa MFR (Emir of Abaji, Chairman, FCT Council of Traditional Rulers); HRM, Alhaji Isma’ila Mohammed (Emir of Karshi)”.

He said the exhibition site which is Arts village been totally transformed with exquisite pavilions, an elaborate stage fitted with powerful musical hardware and a vast array of other components all geared towards accommodating and entertaining both local and international guests, top Government Officials, Exhibitors, and the general public.

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AFAC expo exhibition holds tomorrow

s part of the routine visits to troops at Operation LAFIYA DOLE, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General TY Buratai, has delegated Major General David Duwandi Ahmadu, the Chief of Training and Operations (CTOP) to visit and celebrate Sallah with troops.

He was at 112 Task Force Battalion, Mafa, Borno State on Saturday 2nd September 2017, where he celebrated Eid with the troops and then had dinner party with troops at Maimalari

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Ag News Editor, Ese Awhotu

No Nigerian died in Texas Hurricane Harvey – NIDO

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o Nigerian died due to the Hurricane Harvey in Texas, the Nigerian in Diaspora Organization, NIDO, Americas, has said.

Akin Awofolaju, a NIDO official, told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, on Sunday that the organisation had reached out to Nigerians in the area.

NAN reports that the devastating hurricane made landfall in the state a week ago and has been blamed for at least 47 deaths.

No fewer than 43,000 people are

currently housed in shelters while 156,000 homes are reportedly affected.

“So far, we don’t have any Nigerian who has lost his or her life in the hurricane. We’ve reached out to them and they are safe.

“We’ve spoken and have been speaking with Nigerians there; we have been reaching out to them and so far, no death has been recorded among Nigerians,” he said.

NAN gathered that many Nigerians in Texas whose areas are not affected by the hurricane are accommodating

Nigerians that are affected, pending when the floods recede and government relief assistance.

Awofolaju noted that for more than three months, relevant authorities have been telling people to evacuate, saying many people actually evacuated.

“Many people listened and heeded the warnings; those who defied the warnings are most affected.

“But one good thing about the U.S. is that insurance will cover most of the damages,” he said.

NAN reports that President Donald Trump on Saturday returned to Houston in company of First Lady Melania, praising the relief response on his second visit to Texas.

The president also declared Sunday a “National Day of Prayer” for victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Mr. Trump had asked Congress for $7.9 billion as an initial payment to help with recovery efforts following the flooding in both Texas and Louisiana.

(NAN)

NAF Tactical Air Command commencing Medical Assistance Programme for Makurdi floodvictims

Buratai celebrates Sallah with troops

Feture 26

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

The Theatre Commander, Maj Gen Ibrahim Attahiru (centre) briefing the CTOP, Maj Gen DD Ahmadu (right) in his office, while Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division Nigerian Army, Brigadier General IM Yusuf looks on.

Quit notice: Nigerians free to reside anywhere, Buhari reiterates

By Ese Awhotu

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resident Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated that every Nigerian was free to reside in any part of the country without let or hindrance regardless of their state of origin.

The president stated this in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State over the weekend, when Governor Aminu Bello Masari paid him Sallah homage, saying that the country belongs in equal

measure to all of us.

According to a statement signed by Abdu Labaran Malumfashi, SSA Media to the Governor Masari, the president, who spoke through Governor Masari, called on fellow Nigerians to spare no efforts in ensuring that Nigeria remains peaceful and united, where everyone is everybody’s keeper irrespective of whatever different backgrounds they may come from.

He said we should see our diversity in culture, religion and ethnicity as a source of strength and

reason why we should strive to make Nigeria great.

President Buhari also expressed his profound appreciation to all Nigerians for their constant prayers for his health and the well-being of the nation while he was away on medical leave in the United Kingdom.

He said the show of concern for his health had convinced him that Nigerians are in support and appreciative of what his administration is doing, and pledged to redouble his effort to do even more, now that he is hale and hearty.

military cantonment, Maiduguri.

At 112 Task Force Battalion, Mafa, the CTOP was received by the Commander 22 Briagde, Briagdier General Suleiman Idris and after inspection of the Quarter Guard, he was introduced to the officers of the unit and Mafa Divisional Police Officer, Mr NS Gaya. Major General Ahmadu was briefed by the Commanding Officer 112 Task Force Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel SBN Egbulem on the unit’s activities in its area of responsibility.

He thereafter moved to troops’ defensive locations where he conveyed the Chief of Army Staff’s Sallah goodwill message to them and then had lunch with the troops. The chairman of Mafa LGA Caretaker Committee, the District Head and other members of community, as well as vigilantes also attended the event.

The Chief of Army Staff’s representative also had a party with soldiers on hospital admission at 7 Division Hospital and Medical Services,

Maimalari military cantonment where the CTOP also presented the Chief of Army Staff’s Sallah message to them.

The representative of the Chief of Army Staff was accomapnied by the Theatre Commander Operation LAFIYA DOLE, Major General Ibrahim Attahiru and the Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Ibrahim Manu Yusuf and the Director Army Public Relations, Briagdier General SK Usman, and some commanders and

staff officers at both Theatre Command and Headquarters 7 Division, Nigerian Army which is also Sector 1 Operation LAFIYA DOLE. Similar celebrations with troops took part in all Nigerian Army formations and units in which Commanders interacted with the troops and some members of the host communities. Meanwhile, the CTOP has continued to other units.

Use recovered looted funds to settle ASUU, lawmaker urges FG From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

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he money recovered from the looters should be use to settle members of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) who are presently on strike, the Senator representing Kaduna Central in the Upper Chamber, Shehu Sani has advised the Federal Government.

He gave the advise at a Media interaction with journalists in Kaduna

yesterday.

He said the money recovered from former minister of petroleum, Diezani Alison Madueke alone can be used to solve their problem and that should be done.

According to him, ASUU has been deceived since 1992 by different governments sitting with them without actually addressing the fundamental issues facing the university.

“So it is very easy to do. Use the monies recovered from loots and equip the public education and that will settle it. “ We cannot continue to toy with future of our children with very deceptive agreement.

“I as a person, I’m 100 percent with ASUU and I supported their strike and they should continue with their strike until the FG meet their demands.

“If they don’t strike what would they have done to press for their demand of a trade union? Would they have carried arms?

“So, peaceful strike is allowed in democracy and I think the Federal Government should do something about it very quickly.

“This problem was inherited byBuhari’s administration but it must solve it.

“And unless we have a law where

people in public offices must have their wards in public schools, Nigeria public schools will continue to be a mockery.

“Why should we have a law that says a public officeholder cannot own a foreign account. And we don’t have a law that says your wards must attend public school within the country, these are questions we need to provide answers to,” he said

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

News

News

Hajj: FG considers reducing number of pilgrims

Hajj: NAHCON probes service providers, others over poor facilities

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he National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, has said it is considering reducing the number of pilgrims that would perform hajj in 2018.

The Executive Chairman of NAHCON, Abdullahi Muhammad, disclosed this on Sunday during inspection of pilgrims’ tents in Muna, Saudi Arabia.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that at present, Nigeria has a total of 95, 000 hajj slots as approved by the Saudi Ministry for Hajj and Umrah Affairs.

NAN further reports that the figure ranked Nigeria as the fifth country with highest number of pilgrims.

According to statistics by NAHCON, no fewer than 81,000 Nigeria pilgrims performed this year’s hajj which was higher than the number of pilgrims that participated in 2016 hajj with 10, 000.

Mr. Muhammad, who was represented by Suleiman Usman,

Director, Planning, Research and Statistic, said the commission was not happy that several states got inadequate number of tents to accommodate pilgrims, resulting in shortage of toilets.

He attributed some of the challenges to late preparation on the side of Nigeria, saying due to delay in completion of payments several states were not sure of their total number of pilgrims within required time for adequate reservations.

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, has said it is considering reducing the number of pilgrims that would perform hajj in 2018.

The Executive Chairman of NAHCON, Abdullahi Muhammad, disclosed this on Sunday during inspection of pilgrims’ tents in Muna, Saudi Arabia.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that at present, Nigeria has a total of 95, 000 hajj slots as approved by the Saudi Ministry for Hajj and

Umrah Affairs.

NAN further reports that the figure ranked Nigeria as the fifth country with highest number of pilgrims.

According to statistics by NAHCON, no fewer than 81,000 Nigeria pilgrims performed this year’s hajj which was higher than the number of pilgrims that participated in 2016 hajj with 10, 000.

Mr. Muhammad, who was represented by Suleiman Usman, Director, Planning, Research and Statistic, said the commission was not happy that several states got inadequate number of tents to accommodate pilgrims, resulting in shortage of toilets.

He attributed some of the challenges to late preparation on the side of Nigeria, saying due to delay in completion of payments several states were not sure of their total number of pilgrims within required time for adequate reservations.

“NAHCON is even thinking of

reducing the number of pilgrims because there is no way to expand Muna and the numbers of pilgrims keep increasing.

“It is still an option, but we are trying to see how the welfare of pilgrims can be improved.

“Muna was planned for about 900,000 pilgrims; it is now accommodating more than two million pilgrims.

“So, we are still contemplating reducing the number to a manageable size. But that would be subject to consultations with all stakeholders,” Mr. Muhammad said.

NAN reports that during the inspection, the officials of several states expressed concern about inadequate space for pilgrims and insufficient number of toilets as major challenges facing pilgrims.

The Head of Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Imam Hussein, told the delegation that they had three complaints of inadequate toilet, lack of enough space in the

tent and ineffective cooling system at Arafat.

“As you can see, we have shortage of tents, several of our pilgrims are sleeping outside and if it were to rain, they will all be soaked.

“We also have shortage of toilets.

We are finding it difficult to separate between male and female toilets.

“At Arafat, the cooling system at the tents did not work properly. They blew hot air and that also affected our pilgrims,’’ he said.

The situation was not different at Kano, Sokoto and Bauchi States tents visited as pilgrims spread mats in an open space, while several others endured long queues to use toilets.

Meanwhile, pilgrims began to leave the Tent City early hours of Sunday after spending four nights.

Pilgrims will return to Makkah for the final stages of hajj rites and return flights to various countries are expected to begin on September 6

…As airlift of Nigerian pilgrims back home begins Thursday

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irlift of Nigerian Pilgrims back to Nigeria from Saudi Arabia will begin on Thursday with pilgrims from Gombe State.

This was revealed Saturday by the chairman of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, Abdullahi Mohammed, when he visited the pilgrims at the tents in Mina.

Mr. Mohammed called on officials of the State Muslim pilgrims welfare board to ensure that pilgrims on the first flight are transported to Jeddah Airport on September 6.

The NAHCON chairman said success in the airlift of Gombe will go a long way in having an overall successful return journey of all Nigerian pilgrims.

He also commended Gombe State pilgrims for their conduct and patience when their flight was delayed by two days during the airlift of pilgrims from Nigeria.

In their response, officials from the state promised to ensure full compliance with the return airlift schedule.

The NAHCON chairman, Commissioners and other top officials of the commission and the media are currently going round the tents of Nigerian pilgrims in Mina holding interactions on their challenges and operations of the Hajj generally.

President Muhammadu Buhari flanked by Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State, right and tbe Emir of Daura, Alhaji Umar Faruk Umar when the duo paid Sallah homage to the President in his Daura residence on Saturday, 2nd September, 2017.

Gov. Abubakar donates food items to less privileged From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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overnor of Bauchi State Mohammed Abubakar has donated food items to the needy at Tafawa Balewa local government, Lusa and Boi villages in Bogoro local government area of the state.

APC chieftain Honourable Rifkatu Samson (BABY) who is also a former member of the state house of assembly from Bogoro local government

constituency explained that items distributed include; 150 bags of rice, 50 bags of maize to the beneficiaries.

Others according to him were 500 bags of cement, 50 bundles of zinc, 10 drums of paints, mats and kettles for selected mosques in the two local governments.

The governor who noted that orphans and widows were mostly targeted said the gesture was aimed at making them to enjoy the sallah

festival like all other citizens.

It’s also reports that the governor has also donated 50 pieces of plastic chairs, drums and cash to some churches in the areas.

The chairman council of ulama of Bogoro local government Malam Rabiu Halilu thanked the governor for the gesture promising that the items would be shared fair appealed to the state government to construct roads linking Bogoro to Lusa and Bogoro

to Tambin bara in order to facilitate transportation of goods and services for the people of the area.

In his remarks, the chairman Christian Association of Nigeria [CAN], Bogoro local government chapter Reverend Zakka Gata expressed appreciation to the governor for the donation asking other politicians and well to do people in the state to emulate the gesture.

From Ali Alkali Makkah, Saudi Arabia and Muhammad Puma

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s Nigerian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia are to start retuning home on the 7th Sept., the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) is set to investigate alleged cases of poor services rendered to the pilgrims by some tour operator companies and their service sroviders, as well as States Pilgrims Welfare Boards and agencies.

Chairman of the Commission, Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad, made this known during a visit to states and tour operators’ pilgrims tents in Muna to assess the level of services provided to Nigerian pilgrims by the service providers.

After finding some lapses and poor service in some areas, the Chairman vowed that the commission will investigate and take appropriate action against any Hajj Service Provider or Tour Operator that rendered poor services to the Nigeria pilgrims.

The pilgrims have, in many tents, complained of inadequate tent space, poor toilet facilities and delay in the provision of food by some caterers.

The Chairman vowed to oblige the erring services providers companies or tour operators to make refunds back to the affected pilgrims; saying that the commission has reported the matter to Saudi Ministry of Hajj.

Barr Abdullahi Mukhtar also visited the Kitchen and tasted the meal being supplied to the pilgrims in order to ascertain the quality of the food being served to Nigeria pilgrims.

Meanwhile, by noon Monday, Saudi time, the entire two million pilgrims that are in the last lap of their Hajj rites would have moved to Makkah, after spending the mandatory four to five days at Muna, Arafat and Muzdalifa.

They are to go back to Makkah for the symbolic stoning of the devil.

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Debates on Nigeria’s division are futile - Buhari

...Urges elite, leaders to sacrifice for nation’s unity

By Lawrence Olaoye

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resident Muhammadu Buhari has advised against dissipating energies on debates bordering on the division of the country maintaining that Nigeria was destined to be united.

The President, who was represented by his Vice, Yemi Osinbajo, gave the advice in his comments at a lunch organised by the Presidency to commemorate the 2017 Eid-Adha (Sallah) for some dignitaries yesterday at the Presidential Villa.

He also called on elites, religious and political leaders to be willing to make sacrifice for the unity and survival of the country.

He said “Our energies and resources shouldn’t be spent again on debate about division. Our manifest destiny is to be a great nation, not to be a nation where we are talking about division. We must focus our time, our

energies and our resources on being that great nation that God has called us to be.

“I think we have started building that country already.

“Despite all the noise that we hear, all that noise is part of the building.

Everybody knows that you cannot have birth without noise. No woman delivers a baby without some noise and without some pains.

“What we are hearing today are the noises and the pains of that great nation that God is about to give birth to.”

Osinbajo said Buhari was unavoidably absent at the lunch “because he is celebrating Sallah at home in Daura. He has not been in Daura for over a year now. So, this is an important home going for him.”

He continued “The significance of this celebration is the willingness of Abraham to make the great sacrifice of possibly the dearest thing to him, his

son Isaac.

“Obviously, anyone who knows anything at all about the kinds of things that it is a willingness to make a great sacrifice. And Abraham was able to make that sacrifice. And he made it in order to be able to fulfill his own destiny and the destiny of his people.

“The message today is that our nation’s elite, Muslims, Christians and all ethnicities must recognize that we also must make sacrifices, the sacrifices that are necessary to attain the destiny that God has brought unto our people.

“I am one of those who is extremely confident that our nation will remain united.

“Because I am convinced that God’s plans and purpose for Nigeria is that we would be the preeminent black nation in the world.

“This is a nation that will show forth in culture, in technology and in commerce, God’s investment in the

black race.

“This is why today for every, some people say four blacks, some say five, one must be a Nigerian. That is not a mean attainment at all. That nation that God has in mind is a diverse nation. Diverse in resources, in ideas, in opinions. The kind of nation that we have, where there is an argument about something everywhere. Before you get tired of that lone argument, another one arise and before you finish with that one there is yet another one.

“This is the type of country that God has ordained. Where we have diversity of opinions, diversity of ideas. People saying their own things here and there. But, He has also planned that this country will remain together, and that we’ll be a nation that is gifted just as we have the oil, the gas, and the most arable lands than most continents.”.

Eid el-Kabir Durbar on Saturday in Gombe. Photo: NAN

Eid-el Kabir clash: Discordant tunes as Ganduje, Kwankwaso shift blame From Edwin Olofu, Kano

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he glamorous traditional Hawan Daushe that usually holds a day after Sallah in the ancient city of Kano was marred with violence.

Armed thugs took the shine off the event, as they went berserk attacking their perceived opponents.

The Kwankwasiyya political movement in kano, accused the state government of sponsoring thugs to unleash mayhem on its supporters.

A statement signed by a former Commissioner of Water Resources in the state, Alhaji Yunusa Adamu Dangwani accused the state government and the security agents of masterminding the attack on their supporters.

“The attack was meant to eliminate kwankwasiyya leaders in kano state as part of Governor Ganduje’s plan to stop

kwankwasiyya activities by all means as contained in his “Hate Speech” during the last deceitful prayer session. It is worth mentioning that, the unfortunate attack left many number of casualties including their targeted kwankwasiyya leaders such as former SSG Rabiu Bichi, Fmr Commissioners Dr. Yunusa Dangwani, Yusuf Bello Danbatta and other leader including Alhaji Yahaya Musa Kwankwaso, Comr Baba Umar, Zainab Audu Bako, and other people.”

In a swift reaction, the Kano state government, cautioned persons trying to foment trouble in the state to desist, otherwise the state government would take every lawful means to deal with them.

The Kano government urged the police to investigate the recent clash with the aim of bringing to book the perpetrators.

A statement signed by the state Commissioner of Information, Youth and Sports, Malam Muhammad Garba, distributed to newsmen in the state said the Kano state government has expressed concern over the unfortunate incident that that reportedly happened after the traditional Hawan Daushe, at the Emir’s Palace in Kano, on Saturday evening.

Garba, while commiserating with those injured during the dastardly act, said upon completion of investigation by the Police, the full weight of the law will be brought to bear on any person or group found to be the perpetrators of the act.

“It sad that the traditional Hawan Daushe, which is an annual event showcases the rich culture and tradition of the Kanawa and indeed the Hausa people, should not be used by

disgruntled elements as a platform to foment trouble.”

Malam Garba, assured that the state government is working with the Kano Emirate Council and the relevant security agencies, to ensure that incidents like this never happen again.

The statement, however, emphasized that the government in not unaware that some perpetrators are still bent on causing trouble but it would not fold its arms in the face of any threat to peace and stability.

It urged parents and guardians to be vigilante and monitor the movement of their wards to make sure that they keep good company.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

PAGE 6

News

ASUU strike: Negotiations to continue after Sallah – Labour Minister

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he Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, says negotiation between the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, will resume after the Eid-el-Kabir holidays In a statement issued by Samuel Olowookere, Deputy Director (Press) in the ministry,

Mr. Ngige said the meeting would hold shortly after the holidays as requested by the leadership of ASUU. He also dispelled speculations of uncertainty over talks between the federal government and the union.

“Engagement of the striking ASUU members is still being handled by ministers of Labour

and Employment and the ministers of Education.

“Issues of strike by an employee are a labour matter.

The Minister of Labour and Employment is, therefore, synergising with the Ministry of Education to resolve the dispute.

“This is normal procedure in government where ministers

brief and report to the president or vice-president to streamline efforts and gains in a given assignment,” he said.

The university lecturers have been on strike for over two weeks due to the government’s failure to honour past agreements with ASUU and other welfare demands.

(NAN)

L-R: Gov. Muhammadu Bindow of Adamawa; Lamido of Adamawa, Alhaji Muhammadu Barkindo; and Wazirin Adamawa, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, during Eid el-Kabir Durbar at Lamido›s palace on Friday inYola. Photo: NAN

Hajj 2017: Gombe pilgrims first to return to Nigeria - NAHCON

By Umar Muhammad Puma

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he Osita Chidoka Campaign Organization has called on the Federal Government and security agencies to apply caution in handling matters relating to agitations by the people of the South East region.

It also cautioned against any act that may lead to further confrontation with the people and aggravate the already tensed-up situation in the region.

The group in a statement said, “ We hold firmly that rather than aggression and force, the time has come for Nigeria to pause and specifically listen to, understand and address the agitations of people of the south east.

“The southeast has legitimate concerns; concerns that have been

with us as a nation, for decades.

Officials and agencies handling the matter must understand that this agitation has been a lingering issue, existing long before those leading it today were born. Silencing or subjugating them as individuals do not hold the answers, addressing the issues does.

“President Muhmmadu Buhari had openly agreed, during his recent address to the nation, that there are “legitimate concerns” and that “every group has a grievance”.

The President even acknowledged that “the beauty and attraction of a federation is that it allows different groups to air their grievances and work out a mode of co-existence”.

“It is therefore our take that the time has come for stakeholders in our nation to directly address these concerns. One of the ways

to work out a mode of peaceful co-existence in a federation is when the underpinning issues of marginalization, repression and lack of opportunity being raised by any group; are fundamentally addressed without any forms of ethnic or political colorations.

“On our part, this campaign restates that we believe in and will vigorously pursue the ideology of our great party the United Progressive Party (UPP); the ideology of self-determination and right to determine our role in a Nigeria where no man is oppressed; the ideology of hardwork, creativity and the fear of God, the restoration of our homeland and the rebuilding of our capacity as ndi Anambra.

“We will pursue the reenacting of our people’s hopes and aspirations, and resist their dehumanizing

relegation to a mere “5%”, an agenda initiated and practiced by the All Progressive Congress (APC) in cahoots with the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

“We invite all to hold the APC and APGA responsible for the escalation of hostilities resulting in wanton killings of harmless southeasterners in various parts of the country.

While the APGA, a hitherto pan-Igbo party has since become ideologically vacuous and unable to adequately aggregate and explain the views of Ndi-Igbo to other groups in the country, the atrocious silence of Igbo leaders in the APC has emboldened aggression against southeasterners.

“The people hold them directly responsible for the killing of our unarmed brothers and sisters in Onitsha, Aba, Port Harcourt and Ekwulobia. No amount of

PAGE 7

News

Police confirm murder of businessman in Makurdi

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he Benue Police Command has confirmed the death of a businessman, Felix Toechukwu, after he was shot by unknown gunmen.

The Police Public Relations Officer in

the state, Moses Yamu, who confirmed the killing to the News Agency of Nigeria in Makurdi, said Mr. Toechukwu was shot by assailants on Saturday evening.

He said the deceased was robbed

at gun point in his house at the close of business.

Mr. Yamu said that the robbers had trailed him from his shop to his house at Nyiman where they dispossessed

him of cash and other valuables.

He said the deceased, however, died on Sunday morning at a private hospital where he was receiving treatment.

G

ombe state contingents for this year’s hajj will be first batch of Nigerian pilgrims to return on 7th September, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), boss, Abdullahi Muktar has said.

Mukhtar disclosed this while meeting with the officials of the state pilgrims board in their tent during an inspection tour of facilities at Mina, Saudi Arabia.

He advised officials of the State Pilgrims Welfare Board to ensure that they move the first batch of pilgrims departed Makkah on the sixth to ensure smooth start of the operation.

He cautioned them to prepare adequately as according to him, the failure or success of the outbound flight depend largely on how well the exercise commences.

“For speedy dispatch of pilgrims when the operation starts, we will ensure that Gombe pilgrims are airlifted before other States would follow, and any hitch from here will eventually affect the entire homeward journey.

He commended Gombe State officials and pilgrims over their conduct and patience when a delay of two days occurred at the Gombe zone during the first lap of the airlift to the holy land.

Responding, officials of the Gombe State pilgrims promised to ensure compliance with flights schedule.

Over two million pilgrims are today expected to move to Makkah, after spending the required three days in Muna for the symbolic stoning of the devil.

Biafra: Group cautions FG in handling agitations From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

rationalization can explain away their guilt and erase this bloodstain on their banners of wickedness and betrayal.

“Most atrocious is that these parties in their impudence are further demonstrating their insensitivity to the feelings of the people by fielding themselves for the November 18, 2017 Anambra governorship election.

“On the platform of the UPP, we restate our mission to restore the Igbo voice and end the reign of an ideologically bankrupt party in Anambra state. On this score, our candidate Chief Osita Chidoka stands shoulder to shoulder with the oppressed, the bereaved, the orphaned, the deprived and the betrayed; as we march to reclaim our state and restore the dignity of our people come November 18, 2017.”

Muslims faithful praying at the Ado central mosque on Friday in Ado-Ekiti. Photo: NAN

Boko Haram: security agencies made Nigerian proud- Minister From David Hassan, Gombe

F

ollowing the unwanted killing by the Boko Harram terrorists on the people, Minister of state for Power, Works and Housing, Suleiman Hassan Jara yesterday said security agencies have made Nigerian proud in the war against insurgents.

The minister gave the commendation in Gombe while

addressing Journalists in his residence also assured that government will not rest until the battle against insurgency is finally over.

He called on meaning Nigerians not to relent in giving useful information of suspicious persons to security agencies for further action, adding that security agencies are always there to protect lives and property of citizens.

According to him, all hand most be on deck in ensuring that the fight against insurgency put to an end even as he said security agencies cannot do it alone.

The minister who further stressed government commitment appreciated President Buhari and called on the people to support his programmes.

He said government is working tirelessly in ensuring that the nation benefit from the dividend

of democracy.

Speaking further, the minister emphasized that without peace among people there will be no meaningful development in the society.

He assured that the housing scheme implemented by the government will not only served to the people but will have a tremendous impact within the society.

The spokesperson said the police were yet to establish the motive for the killing but said investigations were in top gear to bring the killers to book.

He urged the public to provide security agencies with useful information that could lead to the arrest of the killers.(NAN) Bayelsa: Soldier, civilian killed in attack by suspected militants The Nigerian military has confirmed the death of two people including a soldier in an attack by suspected militants.

The attack occurred on Monday at Letugbene community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

Residents of the area had suggested that four soldiers, members of the Operation Delta Safe, were killed by the militants.

In a statement on Friday, however, a spokesperson said two people were killed.

“This is to put to rest exaggerated speculations on an incident involving our troops and suspected militants on Monday, 28th August, 2017 around 200 hrs near Letugbene community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa,” Ibrahim Abdullahi, a major and spokespersons of the joint military operation said in a statement.

“During the firefight, one gallant soldier and a civilian staff attached to the military houseboat paid the supreme price for defending fatherland as against reports of four soldiers killed.

“A rescue team supported by gunboats was immediately dispatched to the area and they were able to locate and support two other soldiers who engaged the militants,” he added.

Mr. Abdullahi said that a manhunt had been launched to fish out the perpetrators of the act some of whom fled into neighbouring communities.

He said that the ongoing operation to keep the oil producing Niger Delta safe was within the rules of military engagement in line with best practices.

He assured that innocent residents had nothing to fear.

“Operation Delta Safe and indeed the Nigerian Military do not carry out reprisal attacks on innocent citizens as alleged in some quarters,” he said.

“Members of the public especially those resident in areas where operations are being conducted are hereby advised to go about their normal lawful duties at this time of Sallah break and celebration.”(Premium Times)

How we prevented B/Haram attacks in Borno during Sallah – Air Force chief

T

he Nigerian Air Force said on Saturday it had foiled an attempt

by Boko Haram to breach the peaceful Eid-el-Kabir celebration in Borno.

The Chief of Air Staff, Sadiq Abubakar, stated this at a feast organised for officers and men of the service at the 105 Composite Group, Maiduguri.

Mr. Abubakar, an air marshal, had held a grand feast for service men carrying out the counter-insurgency operation in the North-east, as part of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

He disclosed that the Air Force in a joint operation with the army had destroyed insurgents’ hideouts

thereby scuttling their plans to attack communities during the festivities.

“Boko Haram insurgents planned to destabilise the Sallah celebration, but with help of the Almighty Allah and our collective efforts, we foiled their plans.

“Our objective is to protect life and property, safeguard the national territorial integrity and make our communities safe so that farmers can go back to their settlements and cultivate their farmlands.

“We will remain in the forest to protect our people.

“The insurgents are on the run due to concerted military efforts; the only option left for them is to surrender,” he said.

Mr. Abubakar congratulated the men and officers of the service for their dedication and gallantry, saying that Nigerians were proud of their achievements.

The air chief disclosed that the Air Force command had accorded priority to training and improvement of the welfare of its personnel.

He added that arrangement had been concluded for the training of air force personnel within and outside the country, to strengthen defence operations.

“We are sending some service men for training in Jordan.

“We are committed to providing logistics, uniforms and ammunition to

counter terrorism while construction of housing is in progress to provide decent accommodation for officers and men serving in the counter-insurgency campaign,” he added.

Mr. Abubakar urged officers and men of the service to remain disciplined, display high sense of professionalism and respect civilians in the discharge of their duties. He also commended the people for their support to the service and called on them to provide useful information that would be helpful to the fight against Boko Haram.

Meanwhile, Lawali Ibrahim, the Ward Head of the Pompomari area of Maiduguri, has applauded the service for the successes recorded in the

counter-insurgency campaign.

Mr. Ibrahim said the collaboration between the service and the vigilante group had helped to strengthen security in the area.

“The service donated two cows to the vigilante group to enable them to celebrate Sallah.

“There is mutual understanding between the service and the host community,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the Borno Deputy Governor, Usman Durkwa, had declared that this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration was the most peaceful the state had recorded in the past seven years.(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

PAGE 8

News

Sallah: Build a Nigeria of your dreams, Tambuwal urges corps members

By Ese Awhotu

G

overnor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has hosted youth corps members serving in Sokoto State to a sallah feast with a call on them to always strive to build the Nigeria of their dream.

Speaking at the event attended by hundreds of the corps members in Sokoto Government House, Tambuwal commended them for their sacrifice and dedication to nation-building.

He said despite the challenges facing the NYSC scheme and the nation as a whole, the youths should not lose focus as Nigeria will come out of it stronger.

“We believe in the oneness of this country. Nigeria is better and greater as one strong nation.

Every nation and country have their respective challenges.

What we are facing in Nigeria is a passing phase and I believe we shall come out of it stronger.

“As youths, you are all talented in your own rights and

as leaders, it our duty to lay solid platforms which will help you all to excel in your chosen careers. In Sokoto, we are happy with your contributions to the development of our state.

“For those of you who want to remain here with us after your service year, we will encourage you to stay. For those who want to go back home after your service, we pray to God to return you to your homes safely,” he added.

While expressing their appreciation to the Governor

for his care and concern to their safety and welfare, the highly elated corps members described Sokoto as the most peaceful state in the federation.

“Coming here has changed a lot of negative perception I had about Nigeria, the North and Islam. The people here are humble, hospitable and caring,” said one of the corps members who gave her name simply as Benedictta and a graduate of Data Analytics from one of the universities in Cyprus.

L-r Emir of Kagara, Mall Salihu Tanko, Emir of Minna, Alh. Umar Faruk Bahago, Etsu Nupe,Alh Yahaya Abuakar the Inpector General of Police, Ibrahim K Idris the governor of Niger state, Alh(Dr) Abubakar Sani Bello, Sarkin Sudan of Kontagora,Alh Sa’idu Namaska,Emir Of Borgu, Barr Muhammad Sani Haliru Dantoro and the Emir Of Lapai, Engr Umar Bago Tafida, during a Sallah homage on the governor in government house, Minna.

El-Rufai condoles late Kasimu Yero’s family From Mohammad Kaduna

Ibrahim,

K

aduna State Governor, Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has veteran actor, Alhaji Kasimu Yero as a shining star, a colossus of the creative industry. The governor said that the veteran actor will be missed.

Yero, a household name who is fondly remembered for his brilliant role as Uncle Gaga in the 1980s situational comedy ‘Cock Crow At Down’, and as a lead character in Abubakar Imam’s ‘Magana Jari Ce’, died on Sunday in Kaduna, aged 70.

The governor’s tribute to Alhaji Yero was contained in a statement signed by his spokesman, Samuel Aruwan.

“Alhaji Kasimu Yero was a shining star whose talent brought him national acclaim for his contribution to culture. He was at the forefront of drama in northern Nigeria, using the then new medium of television to project culture and tradition.

“He was a talented artist, who also mentored several artists who are now household names in their own right. He devoted his talents to nation building, preaching unity across religion, ethnic and regional lines.

“We are proud of his contributions to culture and national unity. On behalf of the Government and people of Kaduna State, I hereby extend our condolences to his immediate family, Zazzau Emirate and the entire creative industry in which he so distinguished himself.

“May Almighty God grant his soul eternal rest and his family the fortitude to bear the loss.”

Bus driver dies in Lagos-Ibadan Expressway auto crash

O

ne person died on Saturday while others were injured in an accident involving a tanker and a Mazda commercial bus on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, an official said.

Babatunde Akinbiyi, the spokesman for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and

Enforcement Corps, TRACE, confirmed the fatality to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abeokuta.

Akinbiyi said the accident was caused by speeding on the part of the tanker driver, who was coming from Lagos.

According to him, the tanker hit the road barrier erected by

the contractors working on the expressway and rammed into the Lagos-bound bus at 9. 25 a.m.

“The driver of the bus lost his life in the accident which involved a tanker laden with ethanol marked AKD 650 XQ and the bus with registration no.

BWR 515 XA.

“The tanker which was coming from Lagos hit the barrier and rammed into the bus going to Lagos. Only the driver of the bus has died for now, ” he said.

Akinbiyi said the body of the driver had been deposited at the morgue of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital,

Sagamu.

He said the accident had caused slow movement of vehicles on both sides of the expressway currently undergoing re“Officials of TRACE and the Federal Road Safety Corps are on ground to monitor the situation.”onstruction.

News of President Buhari’s trip to U.S. is fake – Lai Mohammed

T

he Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has urged Nigerians to disregard the fake news being circulated via a parody Twitter account and an old NTA news video that President Muhammadu Buhari is travelling or has travelled to the U.S. In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday, the minister said one of the numerous parody Twitter accounts in his name,@MohammedLai, was

used to disseminate the fake and ludicrous news that President Buhari is due to leave Nigeria for the USA on Monday ”to condole with President Trump over the floods in Houston.”

Also, he said, an old NTA News video being circulated on the social Media claims that President Buhari has already left for the UN General Assembly in New York. ”This is a 2015 NTA News video that was repackaged to look current,

and to give the impression that the President left Daura, where he is celebrating Eid-el-Kabir, directly for New York,” Mr. Mohammed said.

He said Nigerians should disregard any news credited to any account in his name, either on Twitter or Facebook, adding: ”Numerous parody accounts have been opened in my name on the two platforms, when indeed I have no Twitter or Facebook accounts.”

The minister recalled how the same parody Twitter account used to disseminate the fake news about the president’s purported trip was employed to circulate a fake report that he sharply criticised Senator Dino Melaye for attending the Notting Hill Carnival in the UK. He said these two instances highlight the dangers posed to the polity by the purveyors of fake news and disinformation, and vowed

that the Federal government would soon fish out those behind the shenanigans. ”Fake news, disinformation and hate speech are the antics of the naysayers, those who are pathologically opposed to this Administration. That is why we are urging Nigerians to be more discerning and to double check any information emanating from the social media,” Mr. Mohammed said.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

News

NAHCON lauds Jigawa pilgrims as best among others From Mika’il Tsoho, Makkah

T

he National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has described the Jigawa state

Page 9

Peoples Daily loses staff

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

P

eoples Media Limited, publishers of Peoples Daily newspaper has lost one of its staff, Mr John Dogoshe of the Advert department at the head

office in Abuja.

Dogoshe aged 38, died Saturday night after a brief illness at his residence in Garam Bwari, a suburb in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He was a pioneer staff of the

company who worked tirelessly to the development of the company’s daily publications.

Born on 7th June, 1979, the deceased was a final year HND student in the department of Business Administration,

Nasarawa State Polytechnic.

He was an indigene of Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

He is survived by his wife and three children.

pilgrims as best among the entire Nigerian pilgrims who are currently in Saudi Arabia for the 2017 Hajj exercise.

The commendation was made by the Chairman of the Commission Alhaji Abdullahi Mukhtar who was represented by his Commissioner of work Alhaji Abdullahi Saleh during the unexpected visit to the Jigawa state tents yesterday at Minna area of Saudi Arabia.

He Jigawa

explained state

that,

pilgrims

the

deserve

commendation

in

terms

environmental

sanitation,

of less

congested tents and the decent manner they behave during the exercise.

According to him, right from the commencement of the 2017 hajj exercise to date, no single Jigawa state pilgrims was found guilty of violating the rule and regulations of both Nigeria and at Saudi Arabia.

The chairman further explained that, “with this I want commend you for this good behaviour, and I assured you that my commission will keep working tirelessly to ensure a successful hajj operation” he said.

He maintained that, on behalf of

the

President

Muhammadu

Buhari and the entire NAHCON congratulate

the

Jigawa

state

pilgrims having chance to participate in this year hajj exercise.

The chairman then seek for more support and corporation of the good people of Jigawa state, urging them to avoid any act that would tarnish the image of Jigawa state and Nigeria at large.

L-R: Gov. Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State, and Awujale of Ijebu, Oba Sikiru Adetona during the 2017 edition of Ojude Oba Festival on Saturday in Ijebu Ode. Photo: NAN

Buhari’s aide fumes as another Nigerian is killed in South Africa

T

he Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has condemned the further extrajudicial killings of Nigerians living in South Africa.

This is contained in a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Abdurrahman Balogun, released on Saturday in Abuja.

Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa said the killing of Kingsley Ikeri, another member of the Nigerian Union in that country, at Vryheid town in Kwazulu Natal Province of South Africa on August 30, was one death too many.

Mr. Ikeri, 27, was a businessman and native of Mbaitolu in Imo State.

He is the second Imo indigene to be so killed in the last two weeks.

An extrajudicial killing, also known as extrajudicial execution, is the killing of a person by governmental authorities without the sanction of any judicial proceeding or legal process.

She said in spite of all diplomatic talks between Nigeria and South Africa to put an early warning signal in place, “it doesn’t seem to be working”.

Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa described the latest extrajudicial killing as “worrying and condemnable”.

She said that the latest gruesome killing of Ikeri by the police in South Africa, is “unacceptable to the people and government of Nigeria.”

Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa reiterated President Muhammadu Buhari’s calls to Nigerians to avoid crimes like drug peddling which attracts stiff penalties, sometimes death, She noted that the latest killing had increased the number of Nigerians killed in South Africa through extrajudicial means in the last one year.

“The barbaric behaviour of the perpetrators is not only unacceptable, but also calls for urgent attention by diplomatic authorities in Nigeria and South Africa”, she said.

Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa urged the South African government to ensure that justice prevails by carrying out investigation and bring the culprit to book.

She reiterated her calls to Nigerians living abroad to always respect the laws of their host countries and be good ambassadors of Nigeria.

“My heart goes out to the families of the deceased and pray God to grant the departed soul eternal rest”, the SSA prayed.

Bartholomew Eziagulu, Chairman of the Nigerian Union in the province, told journalists on Friday that Mr. Ikeri was allegedly tortured to death by the police.

He said the union’s investigations revealed that the police arrested the deceased and a friend on suspicion that they were carrying hard drugs.

He said while interrogating him, the police used plastic to cover his face to extort information from him.

“In the process, they suffocated the deceased. When the police took him to the hospital, he was confirmed dead,” he said.

Adetola Olubajo, the Secretary General of the union, said the national secretariat had been informed about the death of the Nigerian.

He said the body had informed appropriate Nigerian authorities and the police in South Africa.

Report has it that a senior diplomat from the Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg had visited Vryheid on a fact-finding mission.

Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa had in February during a meeting in Abuja with South Africa High Commissioner, Lulu Louis Mnguni said a total of 116 Nigerians have been killed in South Africa through extrajudicial means in the last two years.

Seven in 10 of the killings were carried out by the South African Police.

(NAN)

Insecurity: NAF to station trained dogs at airports, says Air Chief From Umar Dankano Yola

A

s part of strategies to ensure maximum security of our environment and other places of special interest in the country,the Nigerian Airforce,NAF has established a special Dog Unit christened “K-9”.Chief of Air staff (CAS),Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar made the development public in Yola

while celebrating Eid Kabir festival with men and officers fighting Boko Haram insurgency in the North East region.

Abubakar stated that, the highly trained dogs will be stationed at various airports and NAF bases around the nation with a view to detecting and exposing bad eggs among us as a people.

Abubakar said already some

personnel of the unit had been trained by the Nigerian Police and some had gone for more training in South Africa.

“Very soon, the will be deploy to our air ports and bases to add value to what we are doing in terms of protection,” Abubakar said.

The CAS also said that NAF has embarked on restructuring to effectively deliver on its

responsibilities to the nation.

He said that with the restructuring, the NAF would be better placed and equipped to deliver on its responsibilities.

“We are restructuring and that’s why we have two more commands; Special Operations Command and Ground Training Command.

“Very soon in all our units no technician will go for guard duty.

“We are building capacity in terms of having the required number of Special Forces so that those trained as special force will take over the defence of the base so that technicians concentrate on maintenance of aircraft.

“Right now we are training 450 special forces in Kaduna in phases,” he said.

News

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, September 4, 2017

Eid-el-Kabir: Buhari appeals for patience, understanding From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to Nigerians to show

patience and understanding as the current federal government works towards national economic recovery.

The president made the plea in his Sallah message delivered

to newsmen at his residence in Daura shortly after observing the Eid el-Kabir prayer at the Daura Central Eid ground.

The president’s Sallah message was delivered by his

Senior Special Assistant in Media, Malam Garba Shehu shortly after the Eid prayer.

Garba Shehu noted that significant success has been recorded in the fight,against

insurgency

and

which has served as an impetus for investment and economic growth.

Presidential aide preaches tolerance at Sallah

from Nigerians as the federal

By Ese Awhotu

front and the anti-corruption

T

he Senior Special Assistant to the President on Disabilities, Dr. Samuel Ankeli has called on Nigerians to co-exist in peace and desist from making hate speeches.

Ankeli who made this call while donating food items to disabled persons on the occasion of Eid-el Kabir said, “We must live as one and no confusion or threat can change the destiny of Nigeria.

We must see that Nigeria remains

one and should not permit hate speeches”.

According to him, “the scriptures refer to peace as salaam and Salem which is a divine language as such we should walk in peace”.

He told the disabled persons that they were special people and thanked them for praying for the recovery of President Buhari and still encouraged them to keep on praying for him.

The Presidential aide used the occasion to call on the National Assembly to expedite action on

the passage of the Bill on disability Rights that would enable disabled persons to have their own commission.

Speaking in the same vein, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Rehabilitation Committee of the Federal Civil Service Staff with Disabilities Multi-purpose Cooperative Society, Alhaji Abdulrauf Olarenwaju drew attention to the fact that the patriarchs of both Jews and Arabs came from the same lineage and as such adherents of both Chris-

tianity and Islam should live in peace.

In his words, “the father of Isaac and Ismail was Abraham and as such there was no need for discrimination between the two religions”.

He recalled that he attended an event in New York where they were encouraged to organize a symposium on religious tolerance and that it was necessary to imbibe the culture of tolerance because of generations yet unborn.

government consolidates the feats achieved on the security crusade.

Malam Garba Shehu also cited the $5.7 billion Mambila Power project which upon completion will generate 3,050 megawatts of electrity.

Meanwhile,

President

Muhammadu Buhari observed the Eid prayer at Kofar Arewa Eid ground alongside the Emir of Daura, Alhaji Umar Faruk Umar and other members of the

L-R: Director of Highways SouthWest, Mr Emmanuel Adeoye; Director of Construction and Rehabilitation, Federal Ministry of Works, Mr Yemi Oguntominiyin; Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola and Federal Controller of Works, Lagos, Mr Godwin Eke; during the inspection of ongoing rehabilitation of Apapa-Wharf road, yesterday in Lagos.

Photo: NAN

Daura Emirate council.

The prayer was led by Sheik Shu’aibu Na’ibi whose sermon dwelt on the need for Muslims to imbibe the spirit of sacrifice as exemplified by Prophet Ibrahim when he attempted to slaughter his son, Isma’il, in obedience to Allah’s commandments.

After the prayers and sermon, the

Emir

of

Daura

urged

Nigerians to sustain prayers for President Buhari and other leaders at all levels to continue to bring about positive change.

Borno celebrates most peaceful Sallah in 7 years – Dep. Gov.

T

he Deputy Governor of Borno State, Usman Durkwa, on Friday described the 2017 Eid-el-Kabir festival as the most peaceful celebration recorded in the state in the last seven years.

Mr. Durkwa told journalists in Maiduguri that the festivities were generally peaceful in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that thousands of Muslims faithful observed prayers in various locations in Maiduguri and

other major towns in the state.

According to him, this Sallah celebration is the most peaceful and successful witnessed in the state in the past seven years.

“This signifies that peace is taking its course in the state.

“All emirs that were hitherto displaced by the Boko Haram insurgents observed and celebrated the festival in their respective domains.

“All the emirs celebrated the Eid with their people in their localities,” he said.

Mr. Durkwa said that all the caretaker chairmen in the 27 local government areas of the state were also directed to celebrate with the displaced persons in their camps.

The deputy governor lauded the security agencies over the successes recorded in the counter-insurgency campaign.

He also commended the people for their support, prayers and resilience, in spite the

difficulties they were exposed to due to the insurgents’ activities.

NAN reports that the emirs had earlier relocated to Maiduguri after the Boko Haram insurgents sacked them from their palaces.

They include Emirs of Gwoza, Dikwa, Bama, Askira and Uba. Only the Emir of Bama has yet to return to his palace, sequel to the massive reconstruction and rehabilitation projects currently going on at the town.(NAN)

Group urges grassroots women to participate in politics From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

A

group under the auspices of Women in Need Foundation (WINEED) has called on grassroots women in Nigeria to participate in politics in order to contributes their quota to the development of the country. The Executive Director of the group Barrister Abiola Kamardeen disclosed this during a workshop for grassroots women in Kaduna.

According to Barrister Kamardeen the low turnout of women seeking elective office

in kaduna state is worrisome. She, however, said this l will soon be a thing of the past as many women are beginning to realize the importance of actively involving themselves in politics.

“What we are doing is to mobilize the women especially at the grass root for effective political participation in elections “ We want to educate women on electoral process and make them participate fully.

This is beginning to yield positive results.

Issues bordering on women are brought to fore. Like that of political parties’ conduct

of primaries which does not allow for actual representation of women candidates.

“This attributes to why qualified women with political ambition shy away from politics as such only few women are manning political offices. Through organizing of workshops, lectures they are able to say their minds.

“These are women that have capacities.

We are trying to build on it. Some of them are already into political system. Those who are not, we are trying to mobilize them to do so.

EDITORIAL

corruption

He appealed for more support

“The system is not thoroughly motivating them so we decided that we should go about sensitizing them to do so. We were in the LGs earlier on where we sourced for these women.

“We have moved from Kaduna North local government area ( LGA) to Kaduna south LG. Presently we are into educating women from Chukun, Makarfi _and Sabo Gari local Government Areas.”

She added that there is nothing stopping a woman from seeking leadership position and taking part in decision

Page 11

M

Barka da Sallah

illions of Nigerian Muslims have joined the rest of the global Muslim community in the celebration of the annual Eid el Kabir festival. It commemorates Allah’s testing of prophet Ibrahim’s faith and loyalty to Him when the Almighty asked the prophet to give up his only son as an offering. Ibrahim passed the test and it was credited to him as righteousness. In his son’s place, Allah provided a ram for Ibrahim to sacrifice.

Eid el Kabir is, therefore, a celebration of faith and obedience.

In Nigeria, the Federal Government declared last Friday and today as a public holiday. The festivities climaxed on Friday with the stoning of the devil on Mount Arafat in the Holy Land.

Back home, the faithful kicked off the festivities with prayers at eid grounds across the nation and the slaughtering of rams. Political amd religious leaders gave goodwill messages.

President Muhammadu Buhari, in a Friday Eid message to Muslims in particular, and Nigerians in general, assured of his government’s resolve to deliver on an election promise to give Nigerians the “Nigeria of our dream.’’ To achieve that goal, however, he asked Nigerians to “rise against the odds”, keep prejudices aside and strengthen the bonds of friendship and unity. He said, “On the joyous occasion of this year’s Eid el-Kabir, I appeal to all Nigerians to rise against the odds, keep our prejudices aside and strengthen the bonds of friendship and unity to keep our country together.

“For Muslims all over the world, this celebration is to commemorate the trials and triumph of Prophet Ibrahim.

As we celebrate, I sincerely believe that our nation can make rapid progress on all fronts if we re-enact the exemplary

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

virtues, typified by Prophet (Abraham) Ibrahim, through his sacrifice, patience, steadfastness, generosity and obedience to Allah’s command and constituted authority.”

Buhari seized the day to thank “all Nigerians” for praying for his recovery and continuing to “extend their goodwill and support” after his return to the country on Aug. 19.

“Iindeed, your fervent and sincere prayers, which cut across religious, political and ethnic divides, have energised me to re-

“

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, September 4, 2017

PAGE 10

At the indiviual level, Nigerians must do their part to sustain the ‘my brother’s keeper’ spirit.

This sallah festive period provides a special opportunity for us to make every Nigerian feel they have a home in every part of this country. dedicate myself and this administration to the task of building a great Nigeria.”

In his sallah message, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, implored Nigerian Muslims to “reclaim” their religion that “is being hijacked by violent extremists”.

He said protecting the image of Islam “is the greatest challenge” Muslims have to contend with today. According to him, the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east

OUR PEOPLE Chairman Malam Wada Maida, Oon, Fnge Chief Operating Officer (Ag) Editor, Daily

Hameed M. Bello Manager, administration Hassan Hammanyaji

has destroyed everything humane about Islam.

Besides, Atiku complained that the activity of the terrorist group has wrecked the economy of the North and destroyed social life in the North-east, the epicenter of the Boko Haram violence. He advised parents to watch out for extremists in their midst on the prowl for innocent children they will radicalise. He said impressionable and vulnerable students must be kept far away from “virulent ideas”. Such ideas, he said, were “as destructive as a bomb.” He stressed the importance of brotherhood and community spirit. “We must learn to see ourselves as brothers and sisters from the same heritage, who must come to terms with the African proverb ‘a family tie is like a tree, it can bend but it cannot break’”.

We at Peoples Daiily see calls by our leaders during this auspicious festive season as timely. Today, more than at any time, Nigeria’s unity is threatened by centrifugal forces - forces that are exploiting our “winter of discontent” to foment civil strife. This is characterised by the prevalence of hate speech, setting one region against another. To stop the stoking of this fire, the government must remove the tinder fodder that has been stokèpiled. This is why Buhari must be seen to walk his talk about delivering the “Nigeria of our dreams”.

At the indiviual level, Nigerians must do their part to sustain the ‘my brother’s keeper’ spirit. This sallah festive period provides a special opportunity for us to make every Nigerian feel they have a home in every part of this country.

We must eschew religious bigotry, and condemn politicians who use ethnic and religious sentiments to gain power.

Barka da sallah.

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PAGE 12

Opinion

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

Chief Judges have powers to release prisoners

By Femi Falana

D

uring a recent media briefing the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Prison Service, Mr. J. Ahmed disclosed that out of a prison population of 68,288 only 21,903 had been convicted while the remaining 46,351 are awaiting trial. In a bid to decongest the prisons the Chief Judges of some States of the Federation have ordered the release of scores of criminal suspects from custody during prison visits in the last couple of months. Some of the suspects released in Lagos state are underage children who were raided and jailed for wandering, even though the vagrant law was abolished in the country in 1989!

Thinking that the suspects who were released during the prison visits by the Chief Judges were granted pardon, my respected colleague, Mr. Sebastine Tar Hon, SAN has questioned the constitutional validity of the powers of the Chief Judges of the states to order the release prison inmates. According to him, “The practice of chief judges, particularly of the states, granting pardon or amnesty to offenders has been going on for quite some time now; but I make bold to say that such practice is clearly unconstitutional. Section 35(4) of the 1999 Constitution as amended has stipulated that anybody accused of an offense shall be arraigned in court within a reasonable time and that it is only that court that could make an order remanding

such person in prison ordering his release from custody – either conditionally or unconditionally. Clearly, therefore, there is no pre-conviction authorization for pardon or release from custody by any chief judge, acting in his administrative capacity.”

As far as Mr. Hon is concerned, the only authorities imbued with constitutional powers of pardon or amnesty are the president, after consultation with the Council of State (under section 175), or the governor of a state, acting in consultation with an advisory council of the state on prerogative of mercy, established by a law of such the state. He opined that “In respect of state chief judges, section 270(2)(a) of the constitution has merely established the office of a state chief judge with no specific functions assigned thereto. This then means such chief judges perform functions assigned to them by their respective state high court laws and high court rules.”

It is curious to note that in the press statement credited to Mr. Hon SAN no reference was made to the relevant laws on the subject matter. Hence, he thought that the Chief Judges must have been performing “functions assigned to them by their respective state high court laws and high court rules.” With respect, the position of the learned senior counsel is grossly misleading. In the first place, no Chief Judge has ever granted pardon to convicts or criminal suspects awaiting trial but who are remanded in prison custody in the country. Secondly, the Chief Judges

who have orderèd the release of criminal suspects during prison visits have never claimed to exercise powers under the respective state high court laws and high court rules.

However, by virtue of section 11 of the Prisons Act (Cap P29) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Chief Judges of the states are among prison visitors ex officio.

But while the Chief Justice is empowered to visit all prisons in Nigeria Chief Judges are restricted to conduct prison visit in their areas of jurisdiction. Such visitors shall exercise such functions as may be prescribed in respect of the prisons to which their appointments or authorizations relate. While conducting prison visits the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Chief Judges of the states are empowered by the Criminal Justice (Release From Custody) (Special Provisions) Act to order the release of any person if satisfied that the detention of that person is manifestly unlawful; or that the person detained has been in custody, whether on remand or otherwise, for a period longer than the maximum period of imprisonment which the person detained could have served had he been convicted of the offence in respect of which he was detained.

Since prison is item 48 in the Exclusive Legislative List in Part 1 of the second schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended it is undoubtedly clear that both the Prison

Act and the Criminal Justice (Release from Custody) Act cannot be said to be impugned on ground of inconsistency with the Constitution. To that extent, the powers so conferred on the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chief Judges of the states by the Criminal Justice (Release from custody) (Special Provisions) Act cannot be said to be unconstitutional in so far as it is designed to decongest our prisons by ensuring the release of any person detained in any prison in Nigeria, not being a person detained in execution of a sentence of a court or tribunal duly constituted by law.

In view of the foregoing, I am compelled to call on the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Chief Judges of the states to conduct prison visits, on a regular basis, for the purpose of setting at liberty the thousands of prison inmates held in custody illegally including criminal suspects whose case files cannot be located by the various ministries of justice or whose fundamental right to personal liberty has been abused by a dysfunctional criminal justice system. However, whoever is convinced that the release of criminal suspects held illegally in prison custody is unconstitutional may wish to approach the Court for legal redress. Meanwhile, the gates of the prisons should be flung open for the release of criminal suspects whose only offense is poverty in a country where rich men and women are hardly jailed.

Femi Falana is a legal practitioner.

Strong institutions: Panacea to sustained development

By Buwa Meldrick Memeh

P

recisely October 1st2015, at the annual event tagged “Platform” organised

by Pastor Poju Oyemade’s Covenant Christian Centre, Bishop Kukah stated that if the worst President that ever ruled Nigeria had the opportunity to be the President of the United States of America, it would be difficult to steal from their treasury and in all sincerity, this is one assertion I completely agree with.

In the same vein, you will agree with me when I say that if President Barak Obama became the President of Nigeria or the President of his ancestral home, Kenya, there is every possibility that he would have ended up like the average corrupt and selfish African leader whose only focus was to amass wealth at the expense of the masses.

The statement made by Bishop Kukah further stresses the argument put forward

by President Barak Obama that Africans should concentrate on building stronger institutions rather than strong men. Even though I might slightly differ with President Obama, it is important to stress that the existence of strong institutions can only be made possible by the availability of strong men.

The reality of present day happenings indicate that those morals and values that clearly distinguished us from peoples of other countries have been exchanged for the ills that come along with globalization.

While growing up, I remember my mother constantly reminded me that in her days, people display their goods outside the compound and the buyer didn’t have to see the trader to purchase these items and it was certain that the trader will meet her money in tact whenever she came back. Nowadays this will practically be impossible astraders

are at the mercy of hoodlums and armed robbers.

The display of the latest cars and flamboyant lifestyle of Hollywood stars as seen on television sets have completely altered our values and orientation which has consequently led to the desperation and craving of a new lease of life from both the old and young. Africans have successfully adapted to the lifestyle of their Hollywood idols but unlike developed countries, African nations have weak institutions and structures to tackle the ills and fallout of such contagious lifestyle. Societal standards have been set so high and it no longer takes a religious person but one with high moral standards to avoid the influence of society.

Today even the clergy men have been caught in the web of affluence as they have successfully reduced the worth of private jets to that of mere taxis.

Institutions set up by the government to fight against financial crimes have severally been caught in a mess of their own financial crimes and institutions set up to deliver judgements can no longer be relied upon since corruption has built a safe haven in the hearts of some judges. Today, everyone is out to make money at the expense of someone else and while some blame the situation on the untold hardship faced in the country, we must not fail to identify greed which has eaten the heart of the average Nigerian.

If we must fix the issues at hand, we must see Nigeria as an electronic DVD player programmed to play CD plates. This electronic gadget plays any CD plates but there is a loud scratch when it identifies a faulty or scratched CD plate and it refuses to recognize it or play it any further.

Unfortunately, Nigeria as an electronic DVD player has not been programmed to select its CD plates and this explains why every junk

that passes through the device is successfully played and consequently inflicts its own damage on the device and regrettably like a virus crashes a computer, every sector of the Nigerian economy is heading for a crash except for the intervention of a quick fix.

President Muhammadu Buhari must understand that the only remedy to this impending disaster is to ensure the institution of harsh laws and capital punishments to deter public officials and other Nigerians from engaging in practices that are capable of crashing Nigeria.

Countries like China and Indonesia have been successful in the implementation of these punishments. In 2014, the former deputy chief engineer of China’s disbanded railways, Zhang Shuguang was found guilty of taking bribes of more than 47m yuan over 11 years. The courts sentenced him to death.

In Indonesia, the drug laws are so strict that parents who fail to notify the authorities of their children’s narcotics use could face criminal charges. Recently several Nigerians have been executed in Indonesia due to drug related offences and these countries understand the fact that if these laws are not instituted, the country would pay the ugly price.

President Muhammadu Buhari has the opportunity to put his name in gold by being the strong man to create an environment that abhors corrupt practises such that when he leaves office, we have a system that is incompatible with corruption. Today it is difficult for any corrupt man to survive as United States President because he would be impeached and thrown in jail but in Nigeria we are not sure of the National Assembly members who will impeach any corrupt President. The onus lies on President Buhari to make the business of governance less lucrative. Those who occupy public office

must be those willing to serve and not those interested in jumbo allowances. If the salaries and allowances of National Assembly members are reduced to the present wages received by school teachers, a lot of our legislators would tender their resignation and Nigerians willing to serve would be happy to replace them. Unfortunately the cost of governance has become a burden on Nigerians and a few are carting away with the wealth of the country.

While Nigerians embrace the present administration’s anti-corruption stance, President Buhari must understand that it will be regarded as no different from what we have seen under previous administrations if stolen funds are not recovered and no one is made to account for years of misrule. It will also be a waste of time if corrupt persons are not tried and sent to jail. Nigerians are used to hearing huge figures stolen but unfortunately our judiciary are yet to convict corrupt leaders. The same judiciary cleared James Ibori an innocent man but it took the UK courts only a short while before Ibori pleaded guilty to corrupt charges and today we have an ex-governor serving 13 year jail sentence for financial fraud. Unfortunately the Nigerian prisons are built for thieves who steal Maggie cubes while the treasury looters enjoy ex-parte injunctions.

We must admit we have work on our hands which include ridding the judiciary, the police and other public institutions of corrupt elements. If we must get it right we must strengthen our institutions but until then Nigeria remains at the mercy of corrupt leaders.

Buwa Meldrick Memeh is Public Affairs Analyst and Social Commentator on national issues.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

PAGE 13

Comment

The visage of employment in Nigeria

By Salim Umar Ibrahim

T

he insipid hope for a better life in this day is usually associated with the kind of job or business one does for a living. But does it make any sense to be a reason why graduates and many of our job seekers satisfactorily blame the government and substantial employers? Unfortunately, it’s not that really! Employers mostly like candidates for their job openings with practical experience.

But sadly, to a very extensive limit, securing a government job now has become a thing of “Who you know” or “Who knows you”, not your qualification nor your eligibility. And at the same time, following the massive unemployed graduates and professionals who are just a step out of your office building waiting to be granted the opportunity to show up what they have to offer to their best. Low profile employee would likely produce the most outcomes expected because, they don’t know the taste of money yet, and are always looking up to an opportunity.

“Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for the love of it” – Henry David Thoreau.

Thus it’s hard nowadays to find a

trustworthy employee; it must also be a good point always considering his/her potentials.

“People will perform at their potential only when they know almost everyone around them” – Ricardo Sembler.

If only due process and eligibility would be considered when employing or promoting someone for a particular job, be it whatever type and its specifications, then there will surely come a very healthy and breeding of a competitive employee.

And only when we take a glance at these prospects, then we will tread in the lane of sturdy and sound profiling personnel without contemplation and avoidance of mismatch.

Sequel to the above great men quotations, it moves anxiety in the minds of fellow working class personage and at the same time creates a piece of egotistical feeling considering the hole process of employment and promotion is drowning into, which consequently is facing a great challenge today to an acute rising figure in the nation.

Promoting egotism is the main trail employment process and promotion is facing irrespective of the state of the nation in this day. When we look at our cosmic government parastatals/ agencies, ministries and other

government bodies, the issue of top ranking personnel mostly does not come from merit or eligibility. It’s only done in the way that; I, as a boss, I must satisfy my people, as well as my political godfathers with a fruitful appointments and contracts where they will go and get something before we all went out of the opportunity. Terrible!

It is there you will discern an employee who has gathered a vast experience in a particular workplace for more than 20years of service but has not reached anywhere in his career, and retirement is on the corner. And these are the ones who train their superiors, show them round and how they will operate when someone is being appointed to that workplace, because, they knew nothing about the environment and the type of job they were sent to deliver. Why not the old employee who has known every single corner of the environment and the flows of the job? Just because the top ranks/positions are reserved for certain individuals.

Only competitive companies and professional bodies like the media use this medium in their organizations.

Promoting a staff on merit or based on his/her commitment to the job.

SMEs and the NGOs keep this into

consideration too. It’s really high time government agencies cultivate this habit and rub out venal attitude toward employees.

Just take a look at places like the INEC and the likes; most of the top rankings at INEC are occupied with individuals who have no idea about what type of job is done there. When there are many there who have served the commission their entire lives and are yet to reach to those top positions.

Some have been even retired while some are still there. Every now and then you will see someone being appointed to your station as your boss while he never worked with the commission. This is the main reason why we will never produce a quality staff and do the expected thing.

If only these types of appointments will stop, then a very reasonable part of corruption will be cut off in the nation, and our workplaces will be shaped in a manner by which Ricardo Sembler and Henry David Thoreau suggest. Let and give power to everyone in his workplace to remain there and do his job!

Salim Umar freelance writer.

Ibrahim

is

a

Legal profession: Making a case for the Girl-child

By Balkisu Saidu

T

he zeitgeist of our time is accommodative of a world where women contribute as much, if not more than, their male counterparts, in all spheres of endeavour including in the legal profession. Prior to 1935, when Stella Jane Thomas was enrolled at the Bar, the legal profession in Nigeria was the exclusivity of the males. Today, women are found in all areas of the legal profession: advocacy, adjudication, academia, etc.

The journey had not by any means been turmoil-free. There were times in the history of the quest for education of the girl-child, especially in the Northern part of Nigeria, when the socio- cultural patterns and religious misconceptions limited her access, retention and completion of even the basic part of conventional education.

Those practices of bias and discrimination are now gradually paving the way for more access and choices for girls. Having overcome some of the worst hurdles in the path to education, in this piece, I make a case for the girl-child to consider law as a first choice in the determination of courses of study, but first, I address some of the challenges/myths that may stand in the path of a Northern girl wishing to pursue the study of law.

Regalia: There is the misconception that it is part of the requirement of the legal profession for women to wear short skirts, tight jackets, and leave their hair uncovered. This is very much far from the truth. Certainly, the legal profession has its codes and ethics with regard to mode of dressing and appearance, but these codes and ethics are not at variance with the

general culture of the people of the North.

The esoteric regalia of the lawyers in Nigeria traces its origin to the Legal Practitioners Ordinance No. 30 of 1915 (SAINT LUCIA), section 5 (1) which provides that “Every barrister of the Royal Court shall have a right of audience in all the Courts of Justice in this Colony: Provided that counsel appearing before the Royal Court, or Court of Appeal, have no right of audience, unless they are clad in dark clothes and wear the robes and bands proper to their calling.”This in no way advocates for immodest dressing. In fact, immodest dressing is abhorred in the legal profession. There are cases where female lawyers have been publicly admonished on the importance of maintaining the culture of decent dressing when appearing before a court of law. In a lecture delivered at the Judges Forum of the Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt (2011) on the topic “Mutual Respect between the Bench and the Bar: Courtroom Ethics and Decorum,” Funke Adekoya, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) advised female lawyers not to dress to the court “as if you are going to a night club.” The learned Silk likened such mode of dressing to act of disrespect to the court.

This position expressed is clearly enshrined in the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007.

Article 36 thereof provides that a lawyer appearing before the court shall “(a) be attired in a proper and dignified manner and shall not wear any apparel or ornament calculated to attract attention to himself; (b) conduct himself with decency and decorum, and observe the customs, conduct and code of behaviour of the court

and custom of practice at the bar with respect to appearance, dress, manners and courtesy.”

It is also part of the dress code, right from Law School that ladies are strictly prohibited from wearing trousers and their skirts must, under no circumstance, be above the knees. Skull caps and cape hijabs are now a frequent sighting in courtrooms. Even in superior courts where wigs are part of the compulsory regalia of lawyers, Muslim women do wear skull caps or cape hijabs beneath their wigs. In spite of the secular stance of the country as adopted in section 10 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, the pluralistic religious nature of Nigeria has indeed been recognised and respected by the legal profession. In some campuses of the Law School, students go to classes clad in full length hijabs.

Cost: Some states in the North, such as Sokoto State, pay the registration fees for indigenes of the states at both undergraduate and Law School levels. At postgraduate level, there are scholarship and grant opportunities available to both male and female students of law from international organisations. These include the United Nations International Law Fellowship Programme, King’s Nigerian Law Scholar Fund for Masters Students, Global Leaders Fellowship for Nigerian Students, Chevening Scholarship, and Monbukagakusho (MEXT) Scholarship, among others. This writer benefited from the last two mentioned scholarships in the United Kingdom and Japan. You or your parents do not have to carry the entire burden of your training.

Lenght of Period of Study: This

is a very real challenge to some girls, particularly those from the North. The study of law in Nigerian Universities takes four to five years depending on the point of entry (UG I or UG II – JAMB or Direct Entry). Upon the completion of the undergraduate training, candidates are required to undergo one (1) year training in the Nigerian Law School in order to qualify for call to the Nigerian Bar. It is only after the successful completion of this five or six year training that one could qualify as a lawyer. Considering that the earliest age one could gain admission into a Nigerian University is sixteen years, according to the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB), which specifies that a candidate for admission into any undergraduate programme of a Nigerian University must have attained the age of 16 or will do so on the first day of October in the year of candidature, this is a real challenge. It takes any girl wishing to qualify as a lawyer before marriage into her early twenties before such qualification; an arrangement many parents in the North do not support.

In recent years, girls have succeeded in successfully combining the responsibilities of matrimony with those of pursuit of education. If you happen to get married before completion of your training, that should not be a barrier to your success in the study of law. Some of us waded through that hurdle.

Dr Saidu is of the faculty of Law, Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

PAGE 14

News

PAGE 15

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

Hajj 2017: Nigerian pilgrims seek better facilities at Muna, Arafat

By Umar Muhammad Puma

N

igerian pilgrims for this year’s Hajj rites have complained about lack of adequate tent and facilities in both Arafat and Mina.

The pilgrims laid their complaints

to the chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Abdullahi Muktar who was on a tour of facilities at Muna.

The states mostly affected were, Kano, Kaduna and Sokoto states.

In Kaduna and Kano which has the

highest number of contigents, pilgrims were seen sleeping on the street, while others complaind about inadequate facilities and malfunctioning cooling systems, overstretching health care facilities among others.

The Nigerian medical team with

only about a little over four hundred personnel was heavily tasked in handling cases. The assessment of the team’s performance was a mixed grill among pilgrims with some commending while others expressing dissatisfaction.

Meanwhile, pilgrims would now be faced with preparation for the return journey to Nigeria, expected to start in the next four days with Gombe State pilgrims as announced in Muna by the Chairman of NAHCON, Abdullah Mukhtar.

Nigeria partners UK on housing, fight against terrorism

By Lawrence Olaoye

T

he federal government has said that it is partnering with the authorities in the United Kingdom (UK) in provision of housing to the teeming population in the country.

This was made known at the weekend when a delegation of the UK ministers led by British Foreign Secretary, Boris

Johnson paid him a courtesy visit at the Presidential Villa today.

Also at the meeting, according to a statement made available to newsmen

by Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, were Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama and Budget and National Planning Minister, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma.

The delegation also told the Vice President that the UK was prepared to

assist Nigeria in intelligence sharing and fight against terrorism.

Osinbajo said the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was ready to provide the necessary assistance to private investors looking to invest in Nigeria.

He noted that the relationship between Nigeria and United Kingdom was very important, assuring that “the next few years are certainly going to be

more interesting”.

He stressed that Nigeria has huge potential and according to him, “investors would salivate if those potentials were realised” and the country is “close to the tipping point in terms of making that happen”.

He added that in terms of trade, Nigeria had no choice but to diversify from oil and now more attention is focused on agriculture, agro-processing

Age group called “Egbe Bobagunte’’ at the 2017 edition of Ojude Oba Festival, recently in Ijebu Ode. Photo: NAN

and more interest in technology.

According to the Vice President, “UK are our natural partners and it is much easier for business because of the relationship over time and because of the robust presence of the UK here in Nigeria through the DFID which has been tremendously supportive’’.

In the area of housing, Osinbajo stated that Nigeria would be looking to partner with the United Kingdom, adding that government is interested in construction companies with the expertise and technical know-how to deliver mass housing projects across the country.

He also emphasized the role of the private sector as well as the role of government in creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the country.

He assured investors that the Federal Government is prepared to partner with them, provide assistance where necessary and solve the problems as they emerge.

In his remarks, Johnson stated that the United Kingdom was partnering with Nigeria in different areas including intelligence sharing in the fight against terrorism.

He added that the UK was also working to build an economic partnership with Nigeria given the country’s status as the powerhouse of Africa and the biggest economy in the continent.

Priti Patel, Secretary of State for International Development, Paul Arkwright, British High Commissioner to Nigeria and other top officials were on the visit to the Presidential Villa.

Buhari sympathises with Benue flood victims

By Lawrence Olaoye

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari has sympathized with victims of flood in Benue state.

According to a statement made available to newsmen by Buhari’s

spokesman, Garba Shehu, the President received with great concern reports of the flooding which, according to early estimates, has affected thousands of homes and displaced more than 100,000 persons in 12 local government areas.

Consequently, the President has directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to immediately mobilize personnel and resources to come to the aid of the victims of the flooding.

He said the President was closely

monitoring the situation, and will be receiving regular updates on the scale of the disaster, as well as the Federal Government’s humanitarian response.

The President extended his sympathies to the Government and people of Benue State, and assured

that the Federal Government will make available any assistance needed to enable the State Government and the affected communities cope with and surmount the impact of the flooding.

NEMA donates relief materials to Benue flood victims

T

he National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Saturday donated 27 different items as relief materials to flood victims in Benue and inspect affected areas.

The Director-General, NEMA, Mustapha Maihaja, told journalists in Makurdi that he was in the state on presidential directives.

He said the directive was for the agency to quickly intervene into the Benue flood disaster and see how the victims would be assisted.

Mr. Maihaja used the opportunity to extend President Muhammadu Buhari’s heartfelt sympathy to the flood victims in Benue and assured them of the

Federal Government determination.

He said the relief materials were food stuffs, household items and other building materials, adding that after the official assessment of the areas, the actual areas of assistance would be ascertained.

“May I extend the heartfelt sympathy of Mr President to the Government of Benue State and families and all those affected by the flood disaster.

“We are here on a mission from Mr President to visit the flood affected areas and ascertain the level of damage caused by the disaster to enable us assist the victims in every way possible.

“We brought 27 different relief

materials to deliver to the state for onward distribution to the affected victims,” he said.

He said the materials were preemergency response materials, adding that three trucks were on ground while five were still on the way.

The D-G explained that the quantum of destruction could not be ascertained at the moment, adding that his team would be on ground to carry out the data to determine exact quantity.

Mr. Maihaja said the agency had not received any official communication from the Cameroonian government on the possibility of opening Lagdo Dam that caused the 2012 flood.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the items delivered to the state are rice, children clothes, building materials, foodstuffs and other household items.

NAN reports that the D-G, while in the state visited the IDPs camp at International Market Makurdi and flood affected areas like Radio Benue, Idye village, Welfare Quarters, Guma, Achusa among others.

Speaking to journalists, the State Commissioner for Water Resources and Environment, Joseph Utsev admitted that though they were expecting some element of flood this year, not of this magnitude.

Mr. Utsev said that Makurdi Township lacked drainages that would control the run water into River Benue, adding that River Benue needed to be dredged to avoid a repetition of the 2012 disaster.

He said that property worth billions of naira were so far destroyed among which were households, farmlands and businesses.

The commissioner further appealed to the Federal Government to assist the state with funds for the construction of drainages and dredging of River Benue.

He said that no life was lost since the beginning of the disaster this year.

(NAN)

Kogi: Council administrator dedicates awards to state governor

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he sole administrator of Kogi Local Government Area in Kogi state, Hon. (Barr.) Muhammed Musa Tanko, has dedicated his awards being bestowed on him by the management of the Chronicle Magazine to the state governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello as well as generality of humanity.

Barr. Muhammed Musa Tanko who received the two awards entitled “Grand African Peace Prize 2017” and “Best Performed Local Government Chairman of the Year 2017” on Saturday at the Vines hotels in Abuja, thanked the authority of the chronicle magazine for the honour done to him.

Musa, who presented a paper tagged “The Role of the Local Government Area in Nigeria Economic Reforms and Democratization Process for National Development” during the award ceremony, urged the political office holders to provide purposeful leadership capable of satisfying the aspirations of the electorates at all times.

He further advised the political leaders to always shun acrimonies irrespective of their political affiliations for the sake of socioeconomic development of the country.

He called on the chairmen of the local governments to work hand in hand with the legislators, supervisory councilors, themocrats as well as the traditional rulers in order to move their respective local governments to the next level Commenting on the local government autonomous, he said if the local government autonomy was granted to the chairmen, it would give room for quick and fast development of their respective councils.

The administrator, however, commended the governor of the state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello for the necessary support and cooperation accorded to the administrators of the local governments in the state in all ramifications.

In his welcome address, the founder/editor-in-chief of the chronicle magazine, Dr. Godwin Nyitse, said the awards were conferred on the recipients based on their contributions towards the development and progress of their respective communities both in private and public life.

APC North Central chairman rallies support for Buhari, calls for sacrifice among Nigerians From Gambo Ahmed, Lafia

T

he North Central Zonal Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Zakari Edde, has urged Nigerians to offer sacrifice to their fatherland despite the socio-economic challenges confronting the nation.

Zakari stated this yesterday in Nassarawa Eggon Local Government Council of Nasarawa State while delivery his Sallah message to the people of the Zone and the country at large.

According to him “President Buhari is one single person that can salvage the

country from the mess. Mr. President has done a lot in the spheres of insecurity and corruption been perpetrated by the previous administrations. I urge fellow Nigerians to be patient and give him the needed support to accomplish his promises. This country has experienced critical situations. I assured you that Buhari will fix the economic, insecurity, unemployment challenges of this country if we all support him”.

Speaking further on the governorship seat in Nasarawa State, he applauded the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for zoning the 2019 seat to Nasarawa North District, and urged

the All Progressive Congress (APC) to also zone the seat to Nasarawa North for fairness.

His words “As a supporter of fairness and equity, I want the governorship seat in 2019 to be zoned to Nasarawa North. Nasarawa West had Eight years. Now the South too has tested it. We have to be our brothers’ keeper. For fairness, justice, equity and togetherness, I feel naturally and ordinarily that the seat of Nasarawa State Governorship should be zoned to the Nasarawa North.

“I am happy to say that our Governor, Tanko Al-Makura, had said

it severally at different occasions that for equity and fairness, it is better for Nasarawa North to have its slot”, he maintained.

He added that APC in the state too is doing a lot of calculations, calling on the leadership of the party to also zone it to Nasarawa North as its counterpart, PDP did.

“This is politics. It is democracy in action. PDP is not my party, but I like what they have done by zoning the seat to Nasarawa North. I am calling on my beloved party, APC to follow suit”, he added.

L-R: Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami; Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun; and Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Muhammadu, during the Federal Executive Council Meeting at the Presidential Villa, recently in Abuja

Ekweremadu Assures on Completion of Ongoing Constituency Projects

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he Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has assured constituents on the completion of all projects attracted by him.

This came on a day he also announced the arrival of underground water drilling equipment, a move he said was geared towards providing immediate succour to various communities in Enugu West Senatorial District facing the challenge of lack of portable water.

Ekweremadu spoke during an interactive session with all the Town Union Presidents in the Senatorial District at his Enugu residence on Sunday.

The Senator assured the people that, in addition to the efforts by the Government of Enugu State to address the rural infrastructural needs of the communities, provisions had also been made in the 2017 Appropriation Act for new projects and completion of ongoing ones in the Senatorial District and beyond.

He requested communities which infrastructural needs were yet to look forward to the 2018 national budget.

On the problem of portable water in Enugu West Senatorial District, Ekweremadu said: “As I speak with you, the drilling equipment for the Enugu West Water for All Programme, which were imported from Turkey,

have arrived Lagos.

“We will move them from community to community for the water programme to provide immediate succour to our people. And I want to assure you that no community in Enugu West will left out”.

He, however, expressed displeasure over the poor maintenance of projects by some beneficiary communities.

The Deputy President of the Senate called on the Town Union Presidents to set up infrastructure maintenance committees where they did not exist, while also strengthening the already existing ones to ensure proper maintenance and protection of facilities in in their communities.

Ekweremadu also urged the Local Government Councils to embark on rural development projects, no matter how small, to compliment the efforts by the Federal and State governments to accelerate development in rural area.

Speaking, the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, extolled the Deputy President of the Senate for taking developments to the grassroots.

She described the interactive session with Town Union Presidents as democracy in action, assuring that the Government of Enugu State would not relent in the provision of democracy dividends to the people.

Nigerians should be patient with Buhari – Mohammed

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senatorial aspirant, Kabir Mohammed, has rejected the call for restructuring, even as he enjoined Nigerians to be patient with President Mohammadu Buhari’s government.

In a sallah message, he also thanked God

for another Eld-Kabir, saying the almighty Allah rewards everyone for their sacrifices and preserves all to witness many of the season in the years to come.

“May Allah bless our relatives as well as other well-wishers on this occasion and

beyond may we be favoured to celebrate many more years in good health and absolute peace.

He urged God to enrich the souls of Muslims with strong resistance to any kind of evil and keep their family on the path of

righteousness.

“May Allah flood our country, Nigeria and Kaduna State with peace, happiness, heartful of love with spiritual mind and wisdom to stay together as one Nigeria”, he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

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Politics Nigerians must resist merchants of violence – Sen. Sani

How INEC can guarantee credible election in Anambra governorship poll – UPP

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

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he Senator representing Kaduna Central in the Senate, Shehu Sani, has called on all Nigerians to resist those trying to undermine peace and unity of the country.

Sani stated this while speaking to the media in Kaduna yesterday, where he said millions of people laid down their lives for the peace and unity of this country, saying their sacrifice must not be in vain.

He added that Nigerians inherited a united nation from their fathers and forefathers, adding that the citizents of the country must strive to leave behind a united nation for generations yet unborn.

“Nigeria is not an accident; it is a destiny, a dream, a vision and a reality that has come to stay. There are some of us that have prepared to lay down their lives for the peace and unity of this country today.

“Every Nigerian has the right to give his or her own opinion on how the country should best be governed and how it should be addressed, but it is too far for anybody to suggest or submit that this country should be burnt down. It is an attempt for them to achieve their selfish aim, which is not true.

“I will use this opportunity to remind us, especially those of us from Northern Nigeria, that there are number of steps we need to take for us to be economically equal with that part of the country that provide the resources on which this country is been run.

“Let us use this festive season to check ourselves. We must guide against terrorism and extremism. That is very important. We must bring an end to over dependency on oil and we must massively invest in education because that is the basis upon which other sectors of the economy rested.

“We must invest and revive agriculture in the North and our industries. There is need to bring an end to the disunity and disharmony that exist between Muslims and Christians in the northern Nigeria.

Every person that lives in the state or local government must be treated with dignity and respect.

“Those are very key and fundamental for our future. No state can make a law without the whole region coming together to agree to address the fundamental issues. We must begin to think of post oil Nigeria in order to give our children a better country than we inherited.

“A nation that is united by force is vulnerable. A nation that is united by justice is impregnable. We can strengthen our unity as a country, our solidarity as a people by entrenching social and political justice that can give everyone a sense of belonging.

“Ethnic champions, sectional leaders, secessionists and xenophobes pose a serious threat to our economic and political survival. It is regrettable that you see elected public officeholders from the North identifying with Arewa nationalists and anarchists. It is also regrettable to see elected political officeholders from the East identifying with secessionists”, he said.

he United Progressive Party (UPP) has felicitated with Moslems across the country on the occasion of this year’s Eid el-Kabir celebration, even as it said that the only way the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can guarantee credible governorship election in Anambra state is by transmit election results electronically from the polling centre to the INEC central database.

In a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ogbuehi Dike, the UPP also boasted that the party’s candidate for the election, Osita Chidoka, remains the best option for the Anambra people, even as

it pleaded with Anambra people to seize the opportunity to change their history.

Part of the statement reads: “UPP urges the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide a level playing field for all the political parties contesting the Anambra State Governorship Election slated for 18th November, 2017. The Commission should also transmit election results electronically from the polling centres to the INEC central database as it promised to do. The need to conduct a free, fair, credible, transparent and acceptable gubernatorial poll cannot be over-emphasized.”

Speaking on the need for peace in the country, UPP said Muslims and all Nigerians should

imbibe favourable disposition to peace, adding that it is only through a peaceful and united Nigeria that a virile, progressive and decent democratic nation can be achieved.

“The arty urges Moslems to use the occasion to pray for the nation and rededicate their lives in the service of Allah and humanity.

Eid el-Kabir symbolizes selfsacrifice, humility, love, peace and unity which Moslems, indeed, all Nigerians should imbibe and demonstrate in our collective efforts in building a strong, virile, progressive and decent democratic nation.

“In view of this, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission should be involved in monitoring elections

in the country to checkmate the unpatriotic activities of moneybags and godfathers who openly use their ill-gotten wealth to buy votes at polling booths. The arrest and prosecution of these unscrupulous elements will go a long way in sanitizing the nation’s electoral process.

“UPP urges the Anambra State electorate to vote wisely and protect their vote in the forthcoming gubernatorial poll.

Osita Chidoke is the best candidate for the 18th November 2017 Governorship Election. A vote for UPP is a vote for progressive governance and dividends of democracy to the longsuffering people of Anambra State”, the party said in the statement.

L-R: Head of Editorial Operations, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Lagos Office, Mr Peter Obakhedo unveiling Mr Adeleye Ajayi as chairmanship candidate for Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), during inauguration of the chairmanship candidate’s campaign, recently in Lagos. Photo: NAN

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

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former Deputy Governor of Edo state, Pius Odubu, has stated that the desire for retribution by those who stoked unrest behind the scenes while President Muhammadu Buhari travelled to London for medical treatment was highly undesirable.

Odubu made this known through a statement which he endorsed and made available to journalists in Benin City at the Weekend, in which he admitted however that it was time to build bridges over troubled waters.

His statement followed the howls

of protests by some groups calling on the President to resign while he was away in London on Medical vacation, which has died down.

He also described the recent peace meeting between President Buhari, the national leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as revealing a posture of a government with a clear mandate to change the narratives.

“In recent times, one of the most popular Presidents of the United States, Ronald Reagan of blessed memory, once suffered from a disease

called Alzheimer, yet he was not castigated by Americans, he did his best for his country and was loved by his people.

“Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, the interest of the people was put above all other interest. Nigeria is our country, we have nowhere else to go, and we must as a matter of interest, join hands to build it. Nigeria remains one indivisible entity, not minding our ethnic, religious and socio-political affiliations”, he said.

“The protests however show that our democracy is maturing and that our politicians no longer

exhibit parochial attitudes in their democratic activities. I give kudos to President Muhammadu Buhari, and also kudos to Ahmed Makarfi, the chairman of PDP, for his initiative and understanding.

“It has also demonstrated that our politicians are beginning to put the interest of the country first above all other interest. In democracy, the interest and wellbeing of the people should be paramount and supersedes other interest, democracy without opposition is dead”, the statement said.

Politics

Mega Party jubilates over INEC registration T he Imo State chapter of Mega Party has unveiled the certificate of registration of the party by the Independent National Electoral Commission

(INEC).

The event, which took place in Owerri, the state capital, featured jubilant members who trooped out in their numbers to rally

support for the party.

One of the leaders of the party, Kizito Ajaelu, said that with commitment and dedication of the leaders, the party would win the 2019

elections in the state.

Ajaelu disclosed that the party had come with great ideas to better the country’s political landscape.

Ahead of the 2019 general

elections, the state chairman of the MP, Reuben Obijiaku, enjoined members all levels to close ranks for the success of the party.

Anambra Guber: Enugu APC urges Senator Uba, others to back Nwoye

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he All Progressives Congress (APC) , Enugu state chapter, has congratulated Tony Nwoye for his emergence as the party’s candidate in the November 18th, 2017 governorship election in Anambra State, Southeast Nigeria.

Nwoye, who is the incumbent member representing Anambra East/ West constituency in the federal House of representatives had last Saturday defeated his closest rival, Senator Andy Uba and ten other aspirants for the

APC ticket to emerge as the party’s flag-bearer.

In a congratulatory message issued by the Enugu State Publicity Secretary of APC, Mrs Kate Ofor, which was made available to African Examiner in Enugu on Thursday, the party described Nwoye’s emergence as victory for the people who are the ones that matter in a political party.

According to the Enugu APC, the outcome of last weekend’s governorship primaries in Anambra State has shown that

no single individual, no matter the position he occupies in government is bigger than the party.

Mrs Ofor said APC has once again demonstrated in Anambra State that it stands for change through the conduct of free, fair and transparent primaries, devoid of rancour and bitterness.

“We thought PDP, which held its own primaries two days later, should have taken a cue from APC. But, can a leopard change its spot? We are amazed at the protest that greeted the PDP

primaries. One of the aspirants, Ifeanyi Uba protested while the primary election was going on and even after the exercise, he continued protesting. Veterans like Obiogbolu boycotted the PDP primaries. Senator Stella Oduah also protested. This has once again confirmed that PDP lacks democratic credentials.

“Even the APGA primary election was a one man show. We can clearly see now that APC is the only party that has democratic credentials in the country and we urged Ndi Anambra to join the

change train by voting en mass for Tony Nwoye in the November 18 governorship election” she said.

The Enugu spokesperson of the party however, appealed to all the aspirants in the primaries, particularly Senator Andy Uba, and APC national Auditor, chief George Muoghalu, to put the overall party interest at the front burner by respecting the wishes of the people and close ranks with other members of the party and work towards Nwoye’s victory in the gubernatorial pol

We need to restructure our values, morals - Imagwe Comrade Jude Imagwe, a former Senior Special Assistant to the President on Youth and Student Matter and former President of National Association for Nigeria Students (NANS) in this interview with Peoples Daily spoke on the recent call for restructuring, ASUU strike and the current cut off mark released by JAMB for universities and polytechnics which has generated controversy. Excerpts:

Ex-Edo deputy governor cautions Buhari against vendetta on sponsors of agitations

By Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

PAGE 17

Comrade Jude Imagwe

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he call for restructuring is gaining ground by the day, what is your take?

Yes, it has become like National Anthem, but the issue is this. Why I still agree that there is reason for us as a people to have a discussion in our certain aspect of our national existence, but I still feel again that we are quick to join the bandwagon without knowing what is in the wagon. If you say we want to restructure, what is it that we want to restructure? So, we first need

to identify what we need to restructure before jumping on it. Are we talking about economic, ethnic, political restructuring or our national existence?

Because, if you discuss restructuring in these entire embryo, without actually narrowing it to what our challenges are.

It means we have not identified the problems.

How have we changed over time for us to say that we are ready for restructuring? Yes, we have challenges, but I think the first thing that should be done is for us as a people to restructure our values and morals. If these two things are given urgent consideration as everybody is guilty of them, these challenges will naturally be solved. Our values strengthen our unity and togetherness which brings peace. With this being in place, it will help our morals. With all these taking its normal shape, the country will naturally restructure itself. But all the same, if we are talking about restructuring, we should know the aspect we want to focus on.

ASUU has just embarked on indefinite strike saying that government has not met their demands, as a student leader for years, what do think will be the solution?

The problem between government and

ASUU has just one clause that defines it which is responsibility on the part of government and trust on the part of ASUU. Government expects ASUU to understand that the country is passing through economic hardship and ASUU equally lacks the trust of government in keeping to its promises. Not even this alone, before now, there has been lackadaisical attitude towards government adhering to promises made during labour dispute. You will agree with me that all labour disputes end in resolution and commitment.

Several times, we have had agreements emanating from previous agreements. A labour union must not proceed on a strike before you realize there is an agreement yesterday that you have not kept. That is the part I blame government. As an institution, they shouldn’t have waited for the strike. Again, the Ministry of Labour and Employment should lead the way in mainstreaming harmonious relation with trade unions before it will get to the level of industrial action. That is why the Ministry should build synergy with all trade unions to ensure smooth operation of the system. They must not go on strike before government will react as it will affect our educational system greatly. The student body is not always taken into confidence during these ASUU negotiations and most times their demands are not even clearly known by these students. This makes it possible for students to frown at their action saying they are fighting for their own selfish interest. But if they have taken into confidence, they will now know that you mean well and they will be part it.

There are also parts of these demands that are not feasible in the light of the present circumstances. What they are demanding should reflect our economic realities. Although, government may not be able to give them all they are asking for, but should do some of it within its capacity while not forgetting others which it should do as things improve. There is need to resolve this issue immediately, because

the people that will suffer is “generation next” that you are preparing to take up the mantle of leadership. We cannot afford to give them distorted calendar. The implication of these strikes is that anytime the campus is closed down for one month due to strike action, it means that you are postponing the future of our students by one month.

The cut off mark for varsity admission and polytechnic are pegged at 120 and 100 respectively by JAMB, and it has generated a lot of controversy, what do you think?

Let me ask, at what forum did the Registrar sit to come up with such calculation? Which stakeholders were consulted, where did they meet and what benchmark necessitated that? If you complain that we have an academic system that is deteriorating, action like this is evidence to it. In our days, we were struggling to score 400 for us to get admission, but then we still complain on our poor level of education. I had 347 in my JAMB, I was to read medicine but couldn’t get it.

I got Micro-Biology. So, if you allow these present cut off marks, are you improving the standard of education? If Jamb feels it is tired of conducting entry exams into the universities, polytechnics and Colleges of Education, it should hands off. Let schools conduct entry exams for their prospective students. They will set standard that will endure.

Any policies like these which are critical in our national life should be deeply looked into before they are pronounced. For them to bring up any policy that concerns varsity education there is need for high level consultation with relevant stakeholders like Parents’ Association, Committee of Vice-Chancellors, the lecturers, student bodies of varsities and polytechnics and even Commissioners of Education to brainstorm on it.

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, sEPTEMBER 4, 2017

NSE: Investors wealth dips by 3.12%

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BAUCHI STATE NOTICE IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE PROBATE DIVISION, BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE WHEREAS the Person/Persons whose name is set out in the First Column hereunder died intestate on the date and at the place stated in the column AND WHEREAS the Person/Persons whose address and claimed relationship to the Deceased Person/Persons is set out in the Second Column hereunder has Applied to “High Court of Justice, Bauchi for grant”. LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION” of the property/ies of the said Deceased NOTICE is hereby given that “LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION” will be granted to such Person/Persons unless NOTICE TO PROHIBIT the grant thereof is filed in the Probate Registry High Court of Justice, Bauchi within Twenty One (21) days from the date of publication of this Notice.

SCHEDULE S/N

NAME OF DECEASED

NAME OF APPLICANT

S/N

MRS. MARY BITRUS SANGA OF NO.6 LERE CLOSE NEW GRA BAUCHI STATE, WHO DIED ON 7TH-AUGUST-2017 AT TURKISH HOSPITAL ABUJA

NAME OF DECEASED

JUSTICE BITRUS G. SANGA JCA & TAMAR BITRUS SANGA ESQ OF NO.6 LERE CLOSE, NEW GRA BAUCHI. THE HUSBAND & DAUGHTER OF THE DECEASED

NAME OF APPLICANT

1

MAIKUDI MOHAMMED JUMBA OF STATE LOWCOST KATAGUM LGA BAUCHI STATE WHO DIED ON 29-NOVEMBER 2015 AT FEDERAL MEDICAL CENTRE AZARE, BAUCHI STATE

SAGIR MUHAMMED OF STATE LOWCOST KATAGUM LGA BAUCHI STATE. THE SON OF THE DECEASED

19

2

MAGAJI ADAMU OF ITAS GADAU LGA BAUCHI STATE WHO DIED ON 11TH-04-2017 AT FEDERAL MEDICAL CENTRE AZARE LGA, BAUCHI STATE

SADIYA MAGAJI ADAMU OF ITAS GADAU LGA BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE. THE SON OF THE DECEASED.

20

NASIRU IBRAHIM OF ONITSHA-ANAMBRA STATE – NIGERIA WHO DIED ON 30TH-AUGUST-2014 AT 7 DIVISION HOSPITAL, NIGERIAN ARMY.

IBRAHIM NASIRU (MINOR) & HABU IBRAHIM OF AWALA PUMPU, DANKU WASAGO RIBAH LGA, KEBBI STATE, THE SON & BROTHER OF THE DECEASED

3

SA’IDU LADAN USMAN OF WUNTI STREET BAUCHI, WHO DIED ON 30-DECEMBER-2016 AT TEACHING HOSPITAL ATBU BAUCHI STATE.

USMAN LADAN OF OLD AIRPORT BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE. THE SON OF THE DECEASED

21

AKPAN JOSEPH OF BAUCHI/SHADAWANKA BARRACK BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE WHO DIED ON 02-03-2017 AT IKOT EKPENE GENERAL HOSPITAL, AKWA IBOM

CINDY JOSEPH AKPAN OF SHADAWANKA BARRACK BAUCHI STATE, THE WIDOW OF THE DECEASED

4

MUSA MUHAMMED SHALL OF SHALL TAFAWA BALEWA LGA BAUCHI STATE, WHO DIED ON 22ND-MAY-2014 AT NI’IMA CLINIC BAUCHI STATE

MUSA SALEH SHALL OF HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE BAUCHI STATE. THE SON OF THE DECEASED

22

ZAILANI ABDULKADIR MAHDI OF AZARE, KATAGUM LGA BAUCHI WHO DIED ON 13-05-2017 AT BAUCHI STATE SPECIALIST HOSPITAL, BAUCHI STATE

HAFSAT ZAILANI MAHDI OF AZARE-KATAGUM LGA BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE. THE DAUGHTER OF THE DECEASED

5

ISA WAKILI OF YELWAN TUDU BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE, WHO DIED ON 29-JANUARY-2017 AT HOSPITAL BAUCHI STATE

ALPHA ISA WAKILI OF YALWAN TUDU BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE. THE SON OF THE DECEASED.

23

SALAMATU BELLO OF ZAKWARAN, ITAS GADAU LGA BAUCHI, THE DAUGHTER OF THE DECEASED.

6

HUSNA ALI SHIRA OF DANJUMA GOJE STREET BAUCHI, WHO DIED ON 6TH-JUNE-2015 AT FEDERAL MEDICAL CENTRE AZARE, BAUCHI STATE

NURU ABUBAKAR OF DANJUMA GOJE STREET, BAUCHI STATE. THE SON OF THE DECEASED

BELLO YAHAYA OF ZAKWARAN ITAS GADAU LGA BAUCHI WHO DIED ON 19-12-2016 AT ARDO STANDARD MEDICARE HOSPITAL AZARE, BAUCHI STATE

24

7

YOHANNA ISTIFANUS OF NO.2 KOFO ABAYOMI, VICTORIA INLAND LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA. WHO DIED ON 12-02-2017 AT POLICE HOSPITAL FALAMO IKOYI LAGOS STATE

VISTY YOHANNA ISTIFANUS & EMMANUEL ISTIFANUS DAVID (MINOR) OF GURU BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE. THE SON & WIDOW OF THE DECEASED

ISHAYA BAGE JOSHUA OF MINISTRY OF EDUCATION BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE WHO DIED ON 12TH-04-2017 AT ATBUTH BAUCHI STATE

CHONGMEL ISHAYA BAGE, TACHONG ISHAYA BAGE, WAMANI ISHAYA BAGE, LURA ISHAYA BAGE OF TAFAWA BALEWA LGA BAUCHI STATE, THE SONS AND DAUGHTER OF THE DECEASED.

25

ISTIFANUS KOSA OF UNGUWAN MISSION GUMAU TORO LGA BAUCHI STATE WHO DIED ON 26-JUNE-2017 AT (HOME) GUMAU

SAMA’ILA ISTIFANUS OF GUMAU TORO LGA BAUCHI BAUCHI STATE, THE SON OF THE DECEASED

8.

IBRAHIM ABDU OF NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE KANO COMMAND, WHO DIED ON 27TH-MAY-2006 AT SPECIALIST HOSPITAL BAUCHI STATE

DAUDA ABDU OF UNGUWAN GALADIMA BARAZA, DASS LGA BAUCHI THE BROTHER OF THE DECEASED.

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HANITA STEPHEN SANDARE OF FEDERAL POLY QUARTERS BAUCHI WHO DIED ON 11-06-2017 AT HOSPITAL

SANDARE BALA STEPHEN OF FEDERAL POLY STAFF QUARTERS BAUCHI, THE SON OF THE DECEASED.

9

INSP. JOSHUA ISHAYA OF NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE HEADQUARTERS-ANNEX AZUMINI/IWUKEM, WHO DIED ON 24-12-2016 AT THE POLICE HOSPITAL FALAMO IKOYI LAGOS STATE

RAHILA LAMBA OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COLLEGE AZARE, BAUCHI STATE, THE WIDOW OF THE DECEASED.

27

AHMAD YUNUSA OF UNGUWAN SARKI TUDUN DASS LGA BAUCHI WHO DIED ON 24TH-01-2016 AT HOSPITAL

ABDULHADI AHMED OF DASS LGA BAUCHI STATE, THE SON OF THE DECEASED

28

10

FELIX OSAGIE IDUSUYI OF HUMMY HOTEL YALWAN TUDU BAUCHI BAUCHI STATE, WHO DIED ON 8-5-2017 AT ATBUTH BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE

NOSA IDUSUYI OF HUMMY HOTEL YELWAN TUDU, BAUCHI STATE. THE SON OF THE DECEASED.

KENECHUKWU COMFORT N. OF IHE-ACHI, OJI-RIVER LGA ENUGU STATE, WHO DIED ON 1ST-04-2009, AT HOME-IHE-ACHI

KENECHUKWU PEACE CHINELO OF RAFIN ZURFI, YELWA BAUCHI, THE DAUGHTER OF THE DECEASED.

29

ADAMU IBRAHIM OF POLICE BARRACK YANDOKA ROAD BAUCHI, THE SON OF THE DECEASED.

11

MUSA MUHAMMAD DAN’AZUMI OF C.40 BAKARI DUKKU CLOSE, FADAMAN MADA BAUCHI, WHO DIED ON 18-JULY-2017 AT ROCKLAND HOSPITALS NEW DELHI INDIA

AISHATU YUSUF & HAUWA HASSAN MUSA OF C.40 BAKARI DUKKU CLOSE FADAMAN MADA BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE. THE WIDOWS OF THE DECEASED.

INSP. IBRAHIM YAKUBU OF NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE BAUCHI WHO DIED ON 12TH-05-2017 AT ATBUTH, BAUCHI BAUCHI STATE

30

ABOSEDE ADEBISI FOLORUNSHO OF GUBI DAM HOUSING ESTATE, FIRO VILLAGE BAUCHI, THE WIDOW OF THE DECEASED.

12

DAUDA MARTINA OF NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE ADESUWA/DIV AWAK, WHO DIED ON 14TH-11-2013 AT SPECIALIST HOSPITAL BAYARA, BAUCHI STATE

DAUDA BILIYAMINU OF YALWAN KAGADAMA, BAUCHI STATE, THE BROTHER OF THE DECEASED.

FOLORUNSHO FEMI GBENGA OF GUBI DAM HOUSING ESTATE, FIRO VILLAGE BAUCHI, WHO DIED ON 13-JUNE-2017 AT ATBUTH BAUCHI STATE

31

ATIKU BELLO OF NEPA’S QUARTERS, JAMA’ARE LGA BAUCHI, THE SON OF THE DECEASED.

13

NANCY YUSUF OF UNGUWAN YALWAN MAKARANTA BAUCHI WHO DIED ON 18TH-05-2015 AT SPECIALIST HOSPITAL BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE

ISHAKU YUSUF OF RAFIN ZURFI BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE. THE SON OF THE DECEASED

BELLO HAFIZU OF UNGUWAR NASSARAWA FEDERAL LOWCOST JAMA’ARE LGA BAUCHI, WHO DIED ON 19-04-2010, AT SPECIALIST HOSPITAL BAUCHI STATE

32

ABDULLAHI M. BELLO OF DUTSEN WARINJE BAUCHI. THE SON OF THE DECEASED

14

DANFULANI SARKI OF YALWAN KAGADAMA BAUCHI LGA, BAUCHI STATE WHO DIED ON 21ST-AUGUST-2017 AT SPEICIALIST HOSPITAL BAUCHI STATE

JACOB DANFULANI OF YELWAN KAGADAMA BAUCHI LGA, BAUCHI STATE. THE SON OF THE DECEASED.

MUHAMMAD BELLO ADAMU OF DUTSE WARINJE, BAUCHI WHO DIED ON 05-AUGUST-2014 AT SPECIALIST HOSPITAL BAUCHI STATE

33

AHMED TIJJANI ABUBAKAR OF UNGUWAN JAJA BAUCHI, WHO DIED ON 09-JULY-2017 AT HOSPITAL PORT HARCOURT

ZAINAB AHMED &SABILU ABDULLAHI OF UNGUWAN JAJA BAUCHI, THE DAUGHTER & BROTHER OF THE DECEASED

15

KAKU LAMIDO OF MISAU LGA BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE. WHO DIED ON 9TH-05-2017 AT HOME (MISAU) LGA BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE

LADIYO S. KASUWA OF MISAU LGA BAUCHI STATE, THE DAUGHTER OF THE DECEASED.

34

IBRAHIM GARBA OF NINGI LGA BAUCHI, WHO DIED ON 21STNOVEMBER-2016 AT ATBUTH, BAUCHI STATE

ABDULMAJIB IBRAHIM OF TSAGAYAR MAIKUNSA NINGI LGA BAUCHI, THE SON OF THE DECEASED

16

IBRAHIM IDI OF MATSANGO FILLO QUARTERS AZARE LGA, BAUCHI STATE. WHO DIED ON 18-AUGUST-2017 AT FEDERAL MEDICAL CENTRE AZARE, BAUCHI STATE

HARUNA IBRAHIM OF MATSANGO FILLO QUARTERS AZARE LGA, BAUCHI STATE. THE SON OF THE DECEASED

35

MUSA USMAN OF GWALLAGA BAUCHI, WHO DIED ON 30-07-2016 AT ATBUTH HOSPITAL BAUCHI

ABDULRASHID USMAN OF JAHUN QUARTERS BAUCHI, THE SON OF THE DECEASED.

36

SA’IDU ALHASSAN OF GRA OLD AIRPORT ROAD BAUCHI WHO DIED ON 18-03-2017 AT GRA BAUCHI (HOME), BAUCHI STATE

BALARABE SA’IDU OF GRA BAUCHI, BAUCHI STATE. THE SON OF THE DECEASED

DADIYA BAHAGO OF NASSARAWA JAHUN BAUCHI, WHO DIED ON 23-AUGUST-2012 AT HOSPITAL ATBUTH, BAUCHI

HELEN ILIYA OF RAFIN ZURFI BAUCHI, THE DAUGHTER OF THE DECEASED

17

37

18

GARBA MOHAMMED GADI OF AZARE TOWN, KATAGUM LGA BAUCHI STATE WHO DIED ON 1ST-AUGUST-2017 AT NO.8 P.KALINGA RAO ROAD, SAMPAN GIRAM NAGAR, BANGALORE INDIA

MUHAMMED BAYARO MOHAMMAD, ABDULLAHI KABIR & GARBA MOHAMMED GADI OF AZARE TOWN BAUCHI STATE. THE SONS OF THE DECEASED

BAWA IBRAHIM OF STATE LOW COST AZARE, BAUCHI STATE WHO DIED ON 4-09-2016 AT FEDERAL MEDICAL CENTRE, AZARE, BAUCHI STATE

HAUWA IBRAHIM OF NO. D6 STATE LOWCOST AZARE, BAUCHI STATE. THE WIDOW OF THE DECEASED.

Probate Registrar, High Court of Justice, Bauchi, Bauchi State.

Dated at Bauchi this 4th day of September, 2017

Signed: Adamu Mohammed Kafin Madaki Esq Chief Registrar High Court of Justice, Bauchi.

ransaction on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) has for some weeks remained on bearish trend, as the twin market indicators continue to end low.

Specifically, the NSE All-Share Index depreciated by 3.12 per cent to to close at 35,504.62 basis points 36,646.46 basis pointsit opened with while the Market Capitalization equally decreased by 3.12 per cent to closed at N12.237 trillion from N12.631 trillion recorded the previous week.

Similarly, all other Indices finished lower during the week with the exception of the NSE Insurance and NSE Oil/Gas Indices that appreciated by 1.90% and 0.29% respectively while the NSE ASeM Index closed flat.

Meanwhile, it was a four-day trading week as the Federal Government of Nigeria declared Friday,1st and Monday 4th of September, 2017 as Public Holidays in commemoration of the Eid -el- Kabir Sallah Celebrations.

Review of activity in the market showed that a total turnover of 998.973 million shares worth N11.455 billion in 13,626 deals were traded in contrast to a total of 1.538 billion shares valued at N24.218 billion that exchanged hands in 19,187 deals, the previous week.

The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 838.247 million shares valued at N5.134 billion traded in 7,884 deals; thus contributing 83.91% and 44.82% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Consumer Goods Industry followed with 45.589 million shares worth N3.225 billion in 2,759 deals. The third place was occupied by Conglomerates Industry with a turnover of 35.563 million shares worth N60.673 million in 627 deals.

Trading in the Top Three Equities namely – Custodian and Allied Plc, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc. (measured by volume) accounted for 383.065 million shares worth N829.743 million in 650 deals, contributing 38.34% and 7.24% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Also traded during the week were a total of 86,063 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N838,754.79 executed in 8 deals compared with a total of 390 units valued at N6,511.60 transacted last week in 5 deals.

A total of 12,244 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N12.374 million were traded this week in 11 deals, compared with a total of 3,657 units valued at N2,866,267.62 transacted last week in 9 deals.

Nineteen (19) equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than thirtytwo (32) of the previous week. Forty-eight (48) equities depreciated in price, higher than forty (40) equities of the previous week, while one hundred and four (104) equities remained unchanged higher than one ninety-nine (99) equities recorded in the preceding week.

Cutix Plc led gainers table for the week, growing by 24.38 per cent or N0.49 kobo to close at N2.50 kobo, Continental Reinsurance Plc followed with a gain of 13.95 per cent or N0.18 kobo to close at N1.47 kobo, Total Nigeria Plc gained 13.01 per cent or N28.20 kobo to close at N245.00. Other companies appreciated in price were Fidson Healthcare Nigeria Plc 6.03 per cent, Custodian and Allied Plc 5.26 per cent, May and Baker 5.24 per cent, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc 5.00 per cent, Newrest ASL Nigeria Pic 4.99 per cent, Neimeith International Pharmaceuticals Plc 4.82 per cent and Vitafoam Nigeria Pic 4.49 per cent.

Page 19

Petrol now N142 per litre nationwide, NNPC claims

By Etuka Sunday

T

he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has confirmed a significant fall in the prices of petrol and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) nationwide which it attributed to its sustained strategic intervention in the efficient supply and distribution of the products.

A national survey by Oil and Gas Forum, NNPC’s weekly TV programme, indicated that in the last few weeks, the price of petrol has fallen steadily from N145 per litre to between N142 and N143 per litre in some stations across the country.

The study showed that NNPC Mega and affiliate stations across the country are selling the product for N143 per litre, while the pump

price range from between N142 and N145 per litre in some major and independent marketers in Lagos, Abuja, Sokoto, Enugu, Delta and other major cities.

One of the respondents in the survey and a manager at an independent fuel retail station in Abuja, Mohammed Abdullahi, said the station currently sells petrol at N142 per litre in line with the prevailing market situation in order to sustain the turnover of the business and to attract more motorists to the station.

Another independent marketer in Mosimi, Emeka Ikechukwu, said the going ex-depot prices of PMS had dropped from N138 per litre in most depots to N133.28 in NNPC depots and between N130 and N131 per litre in private depots.

However, the situation is slightly

different in Aba and Umuahia in Abia State and Calabar in Cross River State where most independent fuel stations as well as major marketers selling the product at N145 per litre.

A statement by NNPC’s spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu said, the survey also showed a similar trend of drop in price for cooking gas with the average price for refilling 5kg cylinder at N2,215.96 from the former price of N2,500.00.

The study further revealed that states with the lowest average price for the 5kg LPG refill were Kaduna and Niger at N2,000; Kogi at N2,005.00; and Oyo at N2,033.33.

At the NNPC Mega and retail stations nationwide, a 12.5kg of cooking gas that was sold for N4,500 a few months ago is now sold for N3,800 while other retail outlets

sell the same quantity for N4,000.

NNPC has sustained its interventions through sustained improvement in the supply of the products and remodeling of distribution channels to address sufficiency issues across the country.

The corporation has also stepped up the resuscitation of some of its critical pipelines and depots such as the Atlas Cove - Mosimi Depot Pipeline, Port-Harcourt Refinery – Aba Depot Pipeline, Kaduna – Kano Pipeline and the Kano Depot which have enhanced efficiency in products distribution.

Efforts are also ongoing by the NNPC to revamp and recommission other critical pipelines and depots across the country to further push down the prices of petroleum products for the benefit of consumers.

Participants sighting exhibited products, during the 2017 world entrepreneur’s day celebration, recently in Kaduna. Photo: NAN

Two coys fingered in N100bn illegal mining activities

By Musa Adamu

T

wo companies, Solid Unit Limited and Geotess Nigeria Limited, were shut down in Zurak, Wase Local Government Area of Plateau state, last month, have been implicated in alleged illegal mining activities.

The illegal mining activities is said to been worth over N100 billion.

The Minister of Mines and steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi disclosed this during a meeting with staff of the ministry in Abuja recently.

Recall that 16 Chinese nationals and eight Nigerians involved in massive illegal mining were arrested in Zurak, on August 15, 2017 at the wake of the shutting down of the two companies on the orders of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd), and the Minister when the duo visited some illegal mining sites in the richly endowed lead/zinc belt.

The Chairman of Solid Unit Limited, Alhaji Usman Abubakar (aka Dan China) who is regarded as the most notorious illegal miner in the state was also declared wanted by the NSA, who ordered all security agencies to arrest him for acts seen as economic sabotage.

Dr Fayemi, in the meeting attended by all cadre of the workers in the ministry, said the huge scale of illegal mining by the two companies in Wase was tantamount to economic terrorism, adding that government was determined to confront anyone or group that were out to sabotage the economy through illegal mining and other means.

He said the scale of illegal mining perpetrated by the two blacklisted companies and their foreign collaborators was humongous, stressing that they used very sophisticated equipment, including a tunnel with rail track and other heavy machines for their illegal operations.

He said the arrested Nigerians had been in active connivance with foreigners to carry out massive illegal mining in the state thereby depriving the country of revenue.

He said: “Their unwholesome activities have also led to environmental degradation and abandoned mine pits.”

He said the leadership of the ministry carried out the operation that led to the closure of the illegal mining companies/sites and the arrest in a discreet manner, because of the massive network of collaborators and informants at the disposal of the companies.

“We didn’t want to leave anything to chance, so it was done discreetly”, he said, adding that it was a successful operation, which according to him had also restored sanity to the area, which had been under the siege of illegal miners and criminal elements for some years.”

The arrested Nigerians and their foreign collaborators, according to

him, have been handed over to the newly inaugurated Mines Division of the Nigerian Police for prosecution.

Dr Fayemi informed that the ministry would adopt its own whistle blowing arrangement in order to encourage more information on illegal mining activities in the sector.

The Minister, however added that the ministry would continue to guide and provide both technical and financial supports genuine artisanal and small scale miners, who abide by the rules and regulations guiding the sector.

Zurak is a key location of substantial mineral deposits notably lead, zinc, copper, tin, wolframite, tantalite and other base metals.

Over time the range of illegal mining activities have been recorded around the area leading to the wanton loss of revenue, minable land and social displacement of the rural communities.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

Page 20

Business

Fidelity Bank grows earnings by 22% in H1

F

idelity Bank Plc, has posted grew 22 per cent surge in its gross earnings for the half year (H1) ended June 30, 2017, as it increased to N85.8 billion in H1 of 2017, from N70.2 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2016.

The results released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) wednesday showed that Fidelity Bank Plc posted According to the lenders filling with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Interest income grew by 27.8 per cent, while interest expenses grew faster by 48 per cent to hit N38.2 billion compared with 25.7 billion in 2016.

As a result, net interest income stood at N34.7 billion in 2017 compared with N31.2 billion, indicating a rise of 11 per cent. Impairment charges remained flat at N4.8 billion in 2017 as against N4.79 billion in 2016.

The bank reduced operating expenses by 1.7 per cent to N30.9 billion, from N31.4 billion in the corresponding period of 2016.

Consequently, profit before tax (PBT) rose by 66.6 per cent to N10.2 billion, from N6.131 billion in 2016, while profit after tax PAT) improved by 65.6 per cent from N5.457 billion to N9.04 billion in 2017.

Earnings per share similarly improved to 31 kobo as against 19 kobo in 2016.

Commenting on the performance, the banks CEO, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo had attributed the performance to the prudent execution of its medium-term strategy and a business model that enables the bank to continue to deliver improved performance in line with its 2017 financial year targets.

“Gross earnings growth was driven by a combination of increased yields on earning assets and an absolute growth in the volume of earning assets which led to growth in interest income,” he said.

NDIC: 46 staff graduate from CIBN’s chartered banker/MBA program

By Musa Adamu

N

o less than 46 staff of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) have recently made it out of the Chartered Banker/Master in Business Administration (CB/MBA) programme at Bangor University, Scotland.

According to a statement issued by the Head, Communications and Public Affairs of the NDIC, H.S Birchi, by this feat the graduands have also earned themselves triple qualifications of MBA, Bangor University; Associate, Chartered Institute of Bankers, Scotland (the oldest professional banking institute in the world) and Associate, The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (ACIB).

The Managing Director/Chief

Executive, Alh. Umaru Ibrahim, who spoke at the CIBN Graduates’ Induction and Prize Award Day in Lagos, said, the Corporation sponsored some of its staff on the CB/MBA program to upscale the skills of the staff in the lower/ middle managerial cadre.

According to Alh. Ibrahim, since the beginning of the program in 2013, a total of 77 NDIC staff had been enrolled in the Chartered Banker Bangor Program, of which, 46 including the 19 that graduated last weekend had successfully completed the program while the others were at various stages of completion.

He challenged the CB/MBA graduates to embrace life-long learning and self-development in their future careers and professional endeavours.

The NDIC CEO used the occasion to emphasize that the banking environment was witnessing rapid changes, including the forces of globalization of banking; economic uncertainties; advances in information and Communication technology (ICT), such as block chain technology and virtual currency which bankers must grapple with.

Alh. Ibrahim also noted that the current economic situation which most developing countries, including Nigeria were facing underscored the need to pay greater attention to issues such as financial literacy, consumer protection, sustainability and innovative financial services solutions.

He gave instances such as mobile money, agency banking, virtual currency, which must be

harnessed and integrated into the nation’s financial services industry to enhance the role of banking system towards economic growth and development.

The CIBN and NDIC had over the years been collaborating in human capacity building initiatives, including the Chartered Banker/ Master in Business Administration (CB/MBA)

program

at

Bangor

University, Scotland.

The NDIC Academy was also recently accredited by the CIBN as a world class provider of training in banking supervision and deposit insurance for the African Region.

Civil Defence Corps displays crude oil recovered from oil thiefs, recently in Lagos. Photo: NAN

AIB releases crashed Police helicopter, others reports From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

T

he Nigerian Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) yesterday attributed human errors as well as lack of safety oversight by appropriate authority as been responsible for the crash of an helicopter belonging to the country’s police force on March 14th, 2012.

Other reports, released by the agency in Lagos also include accidents and incident that involve a trainer Tambico aircraft belonging to Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), and two Air Peace aircraft that had a ground

collision.

The Nigerian Police Force (NPF) Bell 427 Helicopter crashed at Kabong, Jos South local government area, on March 14, 2012, killing a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), John Haruna.

The NCAT Tampico TB9 accident occurred on October 6, 2008.

The two Air Peace aircraft Boeing 737-500 with registration 5N-BQR and Boeing 737-300 with registration 5N-BQP, occurred close to Bay 4 of the Domestic Terminal 1 of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria on the April 20, 2017.

The Commissioner and CEO

of AIB, Mr. Akin Olateru at a press briefing disclosed that the medical certificate of the pilot that operated the police helicopter had expired at the time of the accident.

The final accident report also revealed that the co – pilot of the helicopter was not type rated on the aircraft type (Bell 427).

Also, the report revealed that the engineer that released the aircraft prior to the flight had no formal training on the aircraft.

Regarding the NCAT Tampico crash, the investigative agency said the aircraft crashed because of the crew inability to maintain directional control after touchdown.

The Bureau also faulted the quality of fuel used in the Police Bell helicopter, urging the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to launch an independent inquiry into aviation fuel quality in Nigeria.

Parts of the report reads:” The resulting report should focus on the vulnerability and risk of each step in the distribution process.

“This should yield firmer regulatory oversight that ensures international quality of aviation fuels used in Nigeria.” Olateru told journalists.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

Page 21

Bello consoles family of late FCTA Chief Cameraman Grace Dooyum Danjuma

T

he FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has condoled with the family of Chief Cameraman of the FCT Administration , late Aliyu Yuguda Wakili who died last week’s Tuesday.

The Minister, noted that the FCT Administration received the news of his demise with “a deep

sense of loss and sorrow but with total submission to the will of Allah” described the diseased as “one of our most dedicated staff”.

He spoke during a condolence visit to wife of the diseased, Aishatu Aliyu Auta Wakili and family members in the late Wakili’s residence in Garki.

Bello said: “On behalf of the management and staff of the Federal

Capital Territory Administration, I hereby express our condolence to you and the entire family members”.

The minister, represented by the FCTA Director of Information and Communications, Mrs. Stella Ojeme during the visit prayed Allah “to forgive him and grant him Jannatul Firdausi and grant members of the family the fortitude to bear this great loss”.

Mrs. Aishatu Aliyu Auta Wakili who responded with tearsladen voice expressed gratitude to the Minister, FCTA Permanent Secretary and staff of the Administration, who she said have shown her family true love and care in the time of need.

According to her, “his death has shown me the kind of person he is, and your office has shown me love.

“I never knew you were such a family. I have never seen this kind if response before; this is the first time.

“I am happy we still have people like you in this world, and I am sure you will not leave us alone.”

Late Aliyu Yuguda Wakili has since been buried according to Islamic rites.

Hawkers make huge sales in Mpape gridlock

By Maduakor Uju

E

xcitement and jubilation seem to be the order of the day for hawkers along Mpape road, one of the densely populated areas of the nation’s capital, as they make huge sales of food items during rush hours, even as sallah holidays ends today.

Our correspondent who visited the area, reports that both buyers and sellers were seen at various points along the busy road exchanging goods and money during the Sallah celebration.

A bread seller seen trading by the roadside, who simply identified herself as Mary, disclosed that the traffic gridlock has increased her sales.

She expressed how happy she was at the huge sales being recorded , adding that bread selling is her means of livelihood.

She revealed that she comes by 8am and leaves by 9pm daily.

According to her, due to increasing human and vehicular movement, she now sells between 110-120 breads daily.

Similarly, one of the roadside sellers who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that she loves the traffic as it is only through such means that she sells her commodities.

She noted that the heavy traffic on the road remains the reason for her increased sales and profit.

However, some commuters were unhappy about the development, as the traffic gridlock subjects them to untold hardship while traversing the road.

A commuter, Chineye Ralph, said the swelling traffic jam has been preventing her from going to her workplace on time, as well as returning early.

On his part, a cab driver, Mutiu Yusuf, Yusuf also lamented that the gridlock remain unfavorable to him and most drivers, saying that it keeps them on the road for long and makes a journey of about 15 minutes to last for 30 minutes.

He noted that the traffic occurs, because the road is very tiny and small to accommodate the volume of vehicles, motorcycles and even pedestrians traversing the area.

He equally revealed that the traffic only occurs during the morning hours when everyone is in haste when going to work, and towards evening while returning back.

He said apart from those times, the road is always free in the afternoon.

People helping in removing a car that fell into a ditch on the Outer Northern Expressway, near the Federal Housing junction, Kubwa, recently in Abuja

Eid-el-Kabir: FCT Minister doles out cows, foodstuffs to less privileged

By Stanley Onyekwere

I

n the spirit of Eid El Kabir celebration, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has doled out cows and other food items to the less privileged, to enable them have a memorable festival.

Bello donated one cow, five 50kg of Rice and cartoons of vegetable oil each to different groups; totaling ten cows, 50 bags of rice and 50 cartoons of vegetable oil.

Some of the less privileged associations, who benefited from the Sallah largess

were School for the Handicapped, Kuje; School for the Deaf, Kuje; School for the Blind, Jabi; Lapers Colony, Yangoji; and Karimajiji Disabled Community.

Others inckude: Motherless Babies’ Home, Karu; Blind Persons, Karimajiji; Al Ansar Home Home; Vocational Rehabilitation Centre, Bwari; and Unity Orphanage Home, Gwako.

Making the presentations on behalf of the FCT Minister, Protocol Officer in the FCT Administration, Mr. Terfa J. Agor explained that the donation was borne out of love for the less privileged.

He stressed that donating to the

needy during festive periods like Sallah, Christmas, and Easter was to ensure that not only the haves, but also the have-nots too partake in such celebrations.

Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Head Teacher, School for the Deaf, Kuje, Mr. Onoja John Edache, expressed profound gratitude to the Minister for his unflinching concern for the less privileged persons in the FCT. He therefore prayed for God to continue to protect and provide for him, his family and the FCT Administration as a whole.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

Page 22

world news

P

rior to North Korea’s most recent nuclear explosion, the understanding was that they possessed somewhere between 10 and 60 nuclear weapons, less or equal to the size of the Hiroshima bomb in terms of impact. The Hiroshima bomb was 15 kilotonnes - the equivalent of 15,000 tonnes of TNT. What just went off in North Korea may have been between 50 and 100 kilotonnes. The destructive potential of a weapon this size to both an individual area and the surrounding ecosystems constitutes an entirely different class of risk.

Whether a regional conflict with weapons of mass destruction turns into Armageddon depends on how many nuclear weapons are involved and what size they are.

Anything more than 50 nuclear weapons could trigger a nuclear winter. In that scenario, there would be so much soot and smoke thrown into the atmosphere by the burning cities that the entire planet could suffer an extreme drop in temperature.

The larger the weapons - of which the 100-kilotonne ones certainly fit the equation - the more likely this outcome would be.

This outcome could be delivered within a matter of minutes. The missile that Kim Jong-un recently flew over Japan, without prior warning and without Japanese consent, was fired at 5.58am. The Japanese public received a three-minute warning because there is 1,000km between them and North Korea. California is 9,000km away, which gives it a 30-minute warning. Seoul, at 55km, does not get a warning.

Due to how short these notices could be, most of the superpowers keep hundreds of their nuclear weapons on high alert. This means they can launch to retaliate within 15 m To make matters even more dangerous, neither side in the current tension between North Korea and North America is utilising adequate safeguards to prevent accidents or miscalculations. On the hand, the United States and their allies are practising war games, without the inclusion of opposing observers.

Observers from countries that feel threatened by war games give them the information they need to know they are not about to be attacked. On the other hand, North Korea is busy firing

international_peoplesdailyng@yahoo.com

What does a nuclear North Korea mean for the world?

North Korea announced it performed a nuclear test on September 3 [Reuters] missiles without announcement over countries without their consent.

While North Korea has gotten away with bullying Japan, if they attempt a similar act by landing missiles in the oceans of the American territory of Guam, it is quite possible a war will break out. President Donald Trump is not a man to be provoked. If Kim Jong-un sends unannounced and unconsented missiles, that may or may not be nuclear armed, that may be six times larger than the Hiroshima bomb, over, or into, American territory war could be imminent. Russia, China or North Korea would not tolerate such actions near their territories. There is no reason to expect that America would respond differently.

The first international response to North Korea’s nuclear test is that to call a meeting of the Security Council to discuss the situation. It will be expected from them to tighten up even further the already tough sanctions on North Korea. This would entail oil being added to the list, in addition, to a complete social, labour and diplomatic embargo of the country. Whether

China and Russia will agree to maximum sanctions is still unclear.

Even if the Security Council can agree on new tougher sanctions, it is unlikely that the North Korean regime would change direction and offer to give up their nuclear weapons - no matter how much the Security Council nuclear powers want it to do so. North Korea knows that India, Pakistan and Israel have already defied these powers and acquired their own nuclear weapons, despite international pleas for non-proliferation.

North Korea wants to join that

renegade club.

The reason the international community maintains the goal of nuclear non-proliferation is because the more countries possessing nuclear weapons there are, the more dangerous life on Earth becomes. The real threat of North Korean proliferation is not the risk to cities in the US, but rather, the regional instability that comes with one side possessing weapons of mass destruction and disturbing the balance of power.

If North Korea keeps their nuclear weapons, South Korea and Japan will also want their

“

Page 23

News From Africa

North Korea just had its sixth nuclear test. Now what? analysis

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

North Korea knows that India, Pakistan and Israel have already defied these powers and acquired their own nuclear weapons, despite international pleas for nonproliferation. North Korea wants to join that renegade club.

own atomic arsenals to act as a deterrent to Kim Jong-un. They will also want to expand and develop anti-ballistic missile defence systems, far beyond the ones that have already been deployed to the region.

They will also seek much greater autonomy over their own defence, trying to avoid relying completely on the US. While this may make sense on one level, to China, the idea of countries like Japan, bristling with their own autonomous nuclear arsenal and hi-tech defence shields is absolutely intolerable.

Unfortunately, this is where we are heading.

Alexander Gillespie is professor of international law at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. His research focuses on laws of war and armed conflict. He is the author of the threevolume set “A History of the Laws of War” and the threevolume set “The Causes of War”.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

Al-Shabab Carries Out Deadly Attack on Somali Military Base

A

l-Shabab militants carried out a suicide car bombing on a Somali military base killing at least seven soldiers north of the main city of Kismayo, regional officials tell VOA. Officials said militants detonated two suicide car bombs at a military checkpoint before heavily armed militants attacked the base early Sunday at Bulogudud town.

A spokesman for the Jubbland regional administration, Abdinasir Serar, told VOA Somali more than 10 other soldiers were wounded in the dawn attack.

The al-Shabab militant group claimed killing 26 government troops and seizing vehicles and weapons.

There is no independent confirmation of either report.

Officials said the fighting in the area lasted two hours because reinforcements sent from Kismayo were ambushed.

Military sources have told VOA that al-Shabab militants breached the base, but Serar denies this.

“They did not seize the base and they did not enter it,” he said.

“They were firing from the edges of the town, but the two vehicles that blew up got closer to the base.”

The attacked base was used by jointly by the Somali military and Jubbaland regional forces.

Top Union Official Urges Kenyan President to ‘Sober up’

T

he head of Kenya’s Central Organization of Trade Unions, the umbrella body for the country’s trade unions, has appealed to President Uhuru Kenyatta to stop drinking alcohol.

COTU Secretary-General Francis Atwoli held a press conference in Nairobi on Sunday in which he urged Kenyatta to “sober up.”

Kenyatta appeared on state television speaking to supporters Friday night after the Supreme Court canceled his re-election and ordered fresh polls within 60 days. Atwoli said Kenyatta “appeared not to be sober” at the event and warned that Kenyatta may lose supporters because of his conduct.

Many Kenyans on social media have made fun of Kenyatta’s appearance, some calling him “Commander in Drinks.” In September 2015 activist Boniface Mwangi publicly urged Kenyatta to seek treatment for alcoholism.

Cyril Ramaphosa: South African deputy president admits affair

South Africa’s Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has admitted having an extra-marital affair, but denied reports of multiple affairs.

S

peaking after allegations about his private life were published in newspapers, he accused political opponents of trying to smear him.

Mr Ramaphosa is planning to contest the leadership of the governing African National Congress (ANC).

President Jacob Zuma steps down from the post later this year.

Mr Ramaphosa’s private emails were apparently hacked into to prove an affair between him and a medical doctor.

The emails reportedly suggest he also had a series of affairs with young women, and had unprotected sex.

The deputy president admitted he had had an affair with a doctor eight years ago, but said the other women named in connection with him were students he and his wife supported to further their education.

Mr Ramaphosa had tried to block publication of the allegations in the courts, arguing that his

private affairs were not in the public interest.

He also said he would ask the country’s inspector general of intelligence to investigate the hacking of his emails.

“I had a relationship with only one person and it ended. I dealt with it with my wife,” Mr Ramaphosa told South Africa’s Sunday Times.

“I have toCyril Ramaphosa: “I am being targeted and smeared” be prevented at all costs from money, I have not looted state president in December. ascending to the position of resources. But I am being targeted The leader of the ANC president of the ANC. Some have and smeared.” automatically becomes the party’s even said it will be over their dead The 64-year-old and Mr Zuma’s candidate for president of the bodies. ex-wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma country.

“I have not committed any are the front runners to replace Mr crimes, I have not stolen any Zuma when he steps down as ANC Source: bbc.com

Kenya election: Kenyatta vows to ‘fix’ court as win quashed

T

he president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, has said his country has “a problem” with its judiciary after the Supreme Court cancelled his victory in last month’s presidential election.

Speaking on live television, he vowed to “fix” the court if re-elected.

It comes a day after the Supreme Court cited irregularities in the vote and ordered a new one within 60 days.

Mr Kenyatta has said he will respect the ruling and called for calm amid fears of unrest.

But at a rally in Nairobi on Friday he branded the Supreme Court judges “crooks”.

The 8 August poll raised fears of major violence similar to that following a disputed vote in 2007.

Deputy President William Ruto has called on the electoral commission to set a date for fresh presidential elections, saying the governing Jubilee Party is ready.

But opposition candidate Raila Odinga wants the commission replaced, saying it has lost credibility.

It is believed to be the first time in Africa that a court has ruled against the electoral win of an incumbent based on a court challenge by the opposition.

“We shall revisit this thing.

We clearly have a problem,” Mr Kenyatta said of the judiciary during his television address on Saturday.

“Who even elected you? Were you? We have a problem and we must fix it.”

Although the unrest in this year’s vote was not as serious as in 2007, days of sporadic protests left at least 28 people dead.

Kenya’s election commission had declared Mr Kenyatta the winner by a margin of 1.4 million votes but the result was immediately challenged in court by his nearest rival, Mr Odinga.

In a ruling on Friday, Chief Justice David Maraga said the

8 August election had not been conducted in accordance with the constitution, declaring it “invalid, null and void”.

The ruling did not attribute any blame to President Kenyatta’s party or campaign.

Mr Odinga, 72, said the ruling marked “a historic day for the people of Kenya and by extension for the people of the continent of Africa”.

Following the election, international monitors from the EU, the African Union and the US had said there was no major fraud and urged Mr Odinga to concede.

Source: bbc.com

At least eight students killed in Nairobi school fire

A parent embraces a student following the fire [Baz Ratner/ Reuters]

A

t least eight students have been killed and 10 others taken to hospital after a fire broke out at a girls’ school in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The blaze, which broke out early on Saturday, burned down one dormitory of Moi Girls school.

“We were sleeping and a girl woke us up and said that our hostel was

burning. We were helped to safety by some teachers,” Daniella Maina, a shaken 16-year-old schoolgirl, told Reuters news agency.

The Kenyan police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“A fire broke out at the school at 2:00am in the morning in one of the dormitories. It is very, very sad,” said Fred Matiangi, the education minister.

“This is a school that’s got 1,183 students and, as you know, is one of our top schools in the country and a school that we are very proud of.”

Matiangi said it was too early to know what caused the fire and investigations were under way.

“We have 10 students who have been admitted to hospital right now, two of them with serious injuries.

We have taken a decision this morning to close the school for two

weeks because we want to conduct thorough investigations on what happened,” Matiangi added.

A statement from his office on Saturday evening said the death toll had risen from seven to eight.

The incident has brought back memories of the deaths of 67 students in a dormitory fire at a high school in eastern Kenya in March 2001.

It later emerged the fire was caused by students apparently angered by the school’s administration.

Last year, at least 126 high schools experienced arson attacks in what appeared to be protests by students over the shortening of holidays and limiting of visits by parents.

Matiangi took those measures after widespread cheating in 2015 high school final-year exams.

Source: aljazeera

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

Page 24

Asia&Middle-east

Pervez Musharraf vows to return for Bhutto murder trial

P

akistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf says he will return from self-imposed exile in Dubai to face a “fabricated” trial for the murder of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf’s announcement came on Sunday, days after the Rawalpindi Anti Terrorism Court pronounced him a fugitive in the trial for his alleged involvement in the 2007 assassination of Bhutto, the country’s first female prime minister.

“I will certainly come back to Pakistan and face the trial as and when I am medically fit,” Musharraf said in a statement. “I have been framed in the Benazir Bhutto murder case by way of political victimisation, while I had nothing to do with her untimely and tragic death.

“I have not been the beneficiary of prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s murder and the entire case as pitched against me is materially false, fictitious, fabricated and is a result of political intrigue.”

The court branded Musharraf an absconder and ordered the confiscation of his property.

The verdicts were the first handed down since Bhutto was killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack nearly a decade ago, sparking street violence and plunging Pakistan into months of political turmoil.

Musharraf is alleged to have been part of a broad conspiracy to have his political rival killed before elections. He has denied the allegation. source: aljazeera

Annual Five-Day Hajj in Saudi Arabia Comes to End

T

he annual five-day Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia known as hajj is officially over.

Khalid al-Faisal, governor of Mecca, announced Sunday the formal end of the pilgrimage at a news conference in the holy city.

Hajj draws people from around the world to Saudi Arabia each year.

The crowds, squeezed shoulder to shoulder in prayer five times a day, fill the city of Mecca and surrounding areas to perform a number of physically demanding and intricate rites.

The pilgrimage is required once in a lifetime of all Muslims with the means to go. Its goal is remission of past sins and drawing Muslims closer to God. The governor said no accidents were reported this year. In the past, construction accidents, disease and stampedes have harmed and killed pilgrims.

Source: voanews

An aerial of the Grand mosque as Muslim pilgrims walk around the Kaaba, the black cube seen at center inside, during the annual hajj pilgrimage, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 2, 2017.

Syrian army moves closer to ISIL-besieged Deir Az Zor

S

yria’s army and its allies have advanced towards ISILbesieged Deir Az Zor city after capturing the al-Kharata oil field, a war monitor said on Sunday.

Syrian President Bashar alAssad has focused this year on striking eastwards in a multipronged assault against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to reclaim Deir Az Zor from the armed group.

ISIL controls most of Deir Az Zor province - apart from a Syrian government-held enclave in Deir Az Zor city and a nearby military airbase.

Sunday’s advance brings the

army and its allies to about 10km from the city, said the Britainbased Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

On Saturday, a military media unit run by Assad’s ally Hezbollah reported the army had captured Jebel al-Bashri to the west of Deir Az Zor, meaning forces were less than 30km from the city.

Pro-government fighters were also battling to eradicate a large ISIL enclave they left to their rear in central Syria as they move towards Deir Az Zor. Stranded convoy Meanwhile, ISIL fighters and their families evacuated from

the Lebanon-Syria border and headed towards Deir Az Zor remain stranded short of their destination, the US-led anti-ISIL coalition said.

A convoy of 17 buses started out on Monday headed for the ISIL-held town of Albu Kamal under a deal negotiated by Syria’s government and Lebanese Hezbollah.

However, the coalition bombed the convoy’s route and targeted ISIL fighters attempting to reach the buses, insisting it would not allow fighters to reach Albu Kamal on the border between Syria and Iraq.

On Sunday, the coalition

said the convoy had split into two groups with some buses remaining in the open desert northwest of Albu Kamal, and the rest headed west towards Palmyra in central Homs, an area held by Syria’s government.

The anti-ISIL coalition said it offered a plan to save women and children in the convoy from “further suffering”, but gave no details.

“We will continue to monitor the convoy, but not allow it to link up with ISIS in the Euphrates River Valley,” it said, using a different acronym for ISIL. Source: aljazeera

Sri Lanka leader to shield general from war crimes case

The lawsuits are based on Jayasuriya’s role as a commander in the war’s final phase [File: Reuters]

S

ri Lanka’s president has vowed to protect a former army chief accused of crimes in the bloody final phase of the country’s civil war.

“I state very clearly that I will not allow anyone in the world to touch Jagath Jayasuriya or any other military chief or any war hero in this country,” President

Maithripala Sirisena said on Sunday, addressing a convention of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Sirisena’s statement came a week after rights groups filed criminal lawsuits in South America against Jayasuriya, who until last week served as the country’s envoy to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru

and Suriname.

The lawsuits are based on Jayasuriya’s role as a commander in the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009.

They allege he oversaw military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people.

The suits had been filed in Brazil and Colombia and more were to come in Argentina, Chile and Peru. Suriname had refused to accept the petition.

Sri Lanka’s military has also denied the allegations against Jayasuriya.

Sirisena’s comments are seen as an attempt to woo majority ethnic Sinhalese, most of whom oppose action against military personnel accused of crimes in the fight against minority Tamil rebels.

Sirisena is being painted as anti-Sinhalese by hard-line sections of the community.

More than 100,000 people are believed to have been killed in Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war, including 40,000 to 70,000 in the final phase alone.

In a joint resolution in 2015 at the UN Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka promised among other things a truthseeking mechanism, a judicial mechanism to prosecute those accused of human rights abuses, and a new constitution that covers the island nation’s varied ethnicities and religions.

However, little progress has been made.

Sri Lanka had agreed to allow foreign judges, but backtracked later, insisting that only local courts could investigate the allegations.

The criminal suits, reviewed by the AP news agency, were spearheaded by the human rights group International Truth and Justice Project, an evidencegathering organisation based in

South Africa.

They had three central aims: push local authorities to open investigations of Jayasuriya, remove his diplomatic immunity and expel him.

However, Jayasuriya left Brazil last week to return to Sri Lanka after completing his twoyear tour of service.

The petitions can be amended to ask for arrest warrants in case he returns, according to the lawyer who filed the suit.

The civil war in Sri Lanka, an island off the southern tip of India, raged intermittently between 1983 and 2009.

Fueled in part by ethnic tensions between ethnic majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils, the fight against the government was led by a group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

They fought to establish a separate Tamil state in the northeastern part of the island.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

PAGE 25

Education

College, ITF sensitize students on industrial attachment

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he Federal Capital Territory (FCT) College of Education Zuba in Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT in Partnership with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) have Oriented the Students of the Institution on the industrial attachment Scheme.

In his opening remarks at the occasion, the provost of the college, Dr. Muhammad Hamza Gambo, said that his leadership would continue to support the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) of the unit in the college.

Gambo also said he would remain committed to the victory of the scheme for its recognition as a national priority.

His words: “I want to enjoin the

students, while on the training to promote the positive image of the college by being honest and strictly adhere to the rules and regulations of the scheme”.

He said the SIWES was designed to promote the much needed technological skills for national productivity and development.

This, according to him, its success depends on coordinated efforts of the Federal Government, Ministries of Industry and Education, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Tertiary Institutions, employers of labour as well as students for their participation in the scheme.

He thanked the management of ITF for the good working relationship with the college, saying that the door of the college is opened for the fruitful collaboration.

Also in his welcome address, the director in charge of SIWES unit of the college, Mr. Ibrahim Musa, said the SIWES was a skill acquisition programme aimed at preparing some particular set of students in tertiary institutions with the industrial work experience to be met after graduation.

According to him, “Our SIWES unit is set with the support of the college management to discharge its functions effectively to see the realization of this national goal of producing a qualitative man-power for development”.

He pointed out that he would continue to place a high premium on the SIWES unit of the college, while advising the students to be regular and punctual at their places of attachment.

In an interview, the Area Manager of

Industrial Training Fund, Gwagwalada Office, Mr. Qasimu Abubakar, noted that SIWES was an ITF baby which commenced operation in 1973.

He explained that for any student to go to the industrial attachment is expected to bridge the gap between the theory and practice, saying that for the students to bridge the gap between the training and practicing they needed to go for attachment.

He appealed to the Federal Government to deem it necessary to continue to provide funds for ITF for the sake of the students on attachment programme.

The ITF Area Manager, however, urged the students to be good ambassadors of the college while on industrial attachment.

FCT minister, AMAC chair urged to build school in Fulani community

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he village head of Tudun Fulani, Deidei in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Muhammadu Gwadabe, has called on the FCT Minister, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, as well as AMAC Chairman, Mr. Adamu Abdullahi Candido to build junior secondary school in Tudun Fulani Community.

Gwadabe, who made the call in an interview with Peoples Daily on Saturday in the community, said if the Junior Secondary School is built in the community, it would prevent the children to attend schools in the neighboring towns.

He expressed with dismay that the community was neglected in terms of access to education by their children in the area, noting that the children attend both junior and senior secondary schools in Jiwa/Gwagwa from Monday to Friday.

He, therefore, appealed to the FCT Education Secretariat to post more teachers to the primary school being built by the government in the area.

The Monarch pleaded with the AMAC Chairman as well as the FCT Minister to build a Clinic in the community.

L-R: Chairmanship Aspirant, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State Chapter, Mr Adeleye Ajayi; Chairman, NUJ, Lagos State Ministry of Information Chapel, Mr Adewale Akodu; Director Public Affairs, Ministry of Information, Mrs Toro Oladapo and Assistance Secretary NUJ, Lagos State Council, Mr Odifa Alfred, during the NUJ Chairmanship Campaign tour at Lagos State Ministry of Information, yesterday in Lagos. Photo: NAN

Scholars brainstorm on education development in Nigeria

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he School of Education at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) College of Education Zuba in Gwagwalada Area Council, has organised the National Conference on the state of education in the country.

In her welcome address during the opening ceremony, the Dean, School of Education, Dr Grace Ini Udom, said the conference was aimed at addressing the economic challenges as well contemporary issues relating to state of

education in the nation.

She also said the purpose of the conference was to suggest ways to reduce financial leakages in order to have free monies for better funding of education, adding that the conference would pave way for innovative financing strategies.

Also speaking , the provost of the college, Dr Gambo Mohammed Hamza, assured the staff that he would continue to support the annual national conference of the college for the benefit of the participants / students.

The provost advised the participants to make use of the knowledge they had gained during the conference to better the society.

In an interview, the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) chair person of the conference, Dr (Mrs) Orji Uzoaku Eunice, said the conference was an avenue where the scholars gathered to deliberate on the issues concerning the education in Nigeria.

Eunice appealed to the government of the day to deem it necessary to consider their

resolutions after the conference so that the education sector would move forward.

Meanwhile, the conference which entitled “Economic Challenges and State of Education in Nigeria” featured the lead paper presenters by the Dean, Faculty of Education, UniAbuja, Prof. Musa Maisamari and the Executive secretary of Nigerian Educational Research Development Council, Prof. Ismail Junaid among other speakers.

PAGE 26

Feature

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

Oshi Agabi envisages airports that will need no visible security system allowing people to just walk on to planes

N

“

profits of $10m in deals with the security industry.

Koniku Kore is an amalgam of living neurons and silicon, with olfactory capabilities — basically sensors that can detect and recognise smells.

“You can give the neurons instructions about what to do - in our case we tell it to provide a receptor that can detect explosives.”

He envisages a future where such devices can be discreetly used at various points in airports, eliminating the need for queues to get through airport security.

As well as being used for bomb detection, the device could be used to detect illness by sensing markers of a disease in the air molecules that a patient gives off.

The prototype device shown off at TED the pictures of which cannot yet be publicly revealed - has partially solved one of the biggest challenges of harnessing biological systems - keeping the neurons alive, said Mr Agabi.

In a video, he showed the device being taken out of the lab.

“This device can live on a desk and we can keep them alive for a couple of months,” he told the BBC. Ultimately though he has much bigger ambitions.

“We think that the processing power that

He envisages a future where such devices can be discreetly used at various points in airports, eliminating the need for queues to get through airport security.

As well as being used for bomb detection, the device could be used to detect illness by sensing markers of a disease in the air molecules that a patient gives off.

The prototype device shown off at TED - the pictures of which cannot yet be publicly revealed - has partially solved one of the biggest challenges of harnessing biological systems - keeping the neurons alive, said Mr Agabi.

In a video, he showed the device being taken out of the lab.

PAGE 27

NIGERIAN DEFENCE ACADEMY

The computer that can smell explosives

igerian Oshi Agabi has unveiled a computer based not on silicon but on mice neurons at the TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania.

The system has been trained to recognise the smell of explosives and could be used to replace traditional airport security, he said.

Eventually the modem-sized device dubbed Koniku Kore - could provide the brain for future robots.

Experts said that making such systems mass-market was challenging.

All of the big tech firms, from Google to Microsoft, are rushing to create artificial intelligence modelled on the human brain.

While computers are better than humans at complex mathematical equations, there are many cognitive functions where the brain is much better: training a computer to recognise smells would require colossal amounts of computational power and energy, for example.

Mr Agabi is attempting to reverseengineer biology, which already accomplishes this function with a fraction of the power it would take a silicon-based processor. “Biology is technology. Bio is tech,” he says. “Our deep learning networks are all copying the brain.”

He launched his start-up Koniku over a year ago, has raised $1m (£800,000) in funding and claims it is already making

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, september 4, 2017

is going to run the robots of the future will be synthetic biology-based and we are laying the foundations for that today.”

The fusion of biology and technology gained headlines recently when Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla and Space X, announced his latest venture - Neuralink which aims to fuse the human brain with AI, using neural lace.

Advances in neuroscience, bioengineering and computer science means

that much more is known about how the human brain works than ever before.

This is fuelling the development of neuro-technology - devices that aim to mould the brain into computers.

Much of the current work is aimed at improving brain function, particularly for those with brain-related injuries or diseases.

Prof John Donoghue, who heads up the Wyss Centre for bio and neuroengineering in Geneva, has been at the forefront of work attempting to allow people with paralysis to move limbs using their brain waves.

He believes the field is at a “tipping point” where biological and digital systems will come together.

The idea being pursued by Mr Agabi is interesting, he said.

“Digital computers are fast and reliable but dumb, whereas neurons are slow but smart,” he said.

“But they are not so good in a little dish and the big problem will be keeping them alive and happy. That is going to be a big challenge,” he added.

“Will we have a dish of neurons computing on our desk? I don’t know.”

But he added that scientists in Geneva were already able to “keep neurons in a dish and communicate with them for a year”, adding that such systems were an “exciting tool to study brain circuitry”.

Other scientists are developing silicon chips which mimic the way that neurons work and could ultimately prove more stable, he said.

But Mr Agabi is not convinced such systems will win out over his.

“The idea of mimicking silicon is very hard and we don’t think it can be scaled,” he told the BBC. Source: BBC

PMB 2109 KADUNA

INVITATION FOR PRE QUALIFICATION AND TENDER FOR THE EXECUTION OF TETFUND LIBRARY DEVELOPMENT 2015/2016 MERGED INTRODUCTION 1.

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) through the Nigerian Defence Academy wishes to invite competent and reputable Companies/Contractors to bid for the

Execution of Library Projects Under TETFund Library Development Intervention for 2015 & 2016 Merged Allocation.

LIST OF ACADEMY LIBRARY PROJECTS LOT 1: Procurement of Assorted Print Textbooks, (Art & Social Sciences) and reference books.

LOT 2: Procurement of Assorted print textbooks (Sciences and Engineering) and Local Journals.

LOT 3: Procurement of Library facilities, furniture and equipment.

LOT 4: Subscription to Proquest and ebrary Databases (e-books and e-journals).

LOT 5: Subscription to Springer Nature Military Database.

LOT 6: Deployment and Installation of EAS (RFID) and CCTV surveillance systems and Intercom library facility.

GENERAL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA/REQUIREMENTS 2.

Interested Contractors/Suppliers are expected to submit the following documents/information for assessment/consideration in the order as listed below: a.

Certificate of Incorporation by Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), with Forms CO2 and CO7. b.

Evidence of registration in the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) database with Interim Registration Certificate.

c.

Evidence of compliance with the Pension Reform Act 2004 as amended (Valid Pencom Certificate). d.

Evidence of compliance with Provisions of Industrial Training Fund Act, 2011 as amended (2016 ITF Certificate). e.

Evidence of Compliance with NSITF (1 per cent) Employees Compensation Act (Valid NSITF Certificate). f.

Detailed Company profile and Organisational Structure including names and Curriculum Vitae of key Personnel as well as their current valid and verifiable addresses. g.

Current Tax Clearance Certificate for the last (03) Three Years (2014,2015& 2016) indicating Evidence of Tax Payment on average Turnover not less than N180m. h.

Value Added Tax (VAT) Registration Certificate and Remittance for three (03) years. i.

03 – Year audited financial account and funding information (2014, 2015 & 2016) endorsed by a firm of chartered accountants. j.

An original Sworn Affidavit disclosing the following: i.

That all documents submitted are not only correct, but genuine. ii.

That the Director(s) has/have never been convicted by any court of law. iii. That neither the Firm’s Directors nor the Company itself is bankrupt. iv. That none of the Officers, Personnel or Civilian Staff of NDA or BPP is a former or present director, shareholder or has any pecuniary interest in the bidder. k.

Evidence of financial strength and credit worthiness supported with a letter of reference from reputable Bank(s) and Bank Statement for the last six (6) months. l.

Verifiable evidence of similar projects previously undertaken including letters of awards and Completion Certificates within the past three (3) years. m. Description and list of equipment owned by contractor/supplier (where applicable). n.

Any additional information that will enhance the potential of the Contractor/Supplier. o.

Any Organization found not to have met the above mentioned criteria their financial bid will not be entertain as such render the financial bid null and void.

COLLECTION OF TENDER DOCUMENTS 3.

Interested BIDDERS are expected to collect Tender Documents with detailed scope of works from the office of Director of Logistics, Headquarters Nigerian Defence

Academy, Kaduna.

SUBMISSIONOF PRE-QUALIFICATIONAND TENDER DOCUMENTS 4.

Pre-qualification and Financial Documents must be neatly sealed and enclosed in two (02) separate envelopes clearly marked “TECHNICAL BID” and “FINANCIAL BID”

(one “ORIGINAL and two “PHOTOCOPIES”) both put in a bigger envelope clearly marked with the project title at the right hand corner of the envelop and firmly sealed

and delivered in the tender box not later than 12 noon of Monday 16 October 2017 to the Secretary NDA Tenders Board, Directorate of Logistics, HQ Nigerian Defence

Academy Permanent site, Airport Road, Kaduna.

OPENING OF BIDS a.

The Technical bids will be publicly opened at the Air Force Wing Auditorium NDA Permanent Site, Kaduna immediately after the closing of bids submission at 12 noon of Monday 16 October 2017. b.

Companies/Contractors or representatives, interested members of the public, Civil Societies and relevant Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are invited to witness

the opening of the “Technical Bids” as scheduled in (a) above. c.

Only technically qualified Companies/Contractors along with relevant stakeholders will be subsequently invited to witness the opening of the “Financial Bids” at a later date.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 6.

This advertisement should not be construed as a commitment nor shall it entitle any Company/Contractor to make any claim whatsoever and/or seek any indemnity from

the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA)/the Ministry of Defence by virtue of such Company/Contractors respondent to this advertisement.

7.

Non responsiveness to the Tender requirements and the Tender Instructions could lead to outright disqualification.

8.

Late Submission of Bids will be rejected and returned unopened to the Companies/Contractors.

9.

Any Bid Documents not signed will be rejected.

10. Contractors/Companies may be required to show Originals of all submitted Documents 11. The written application for tender will only be for one Lot.

SECRETARY TENDERS BOARD for COMMANDANT, NIGERIAN DEFENCE ACADEMY

THE FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC, MUBI OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR

INVITATION FOR TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL TENDER FOR THE EXECUTION OF 2017 CAPITAL PROJECTS The Federal Polytechnic Mubi hereby invites interested and reputable companies with relevant experience to tender for the under listed projects in year 2017 projects.

DESCRIPTION OF PROJECTS 1. Lot 1 Construction of 1.5km Block Wall Fencing of the Polytechnic Boundary.

2. Lot 2 Procurement/Installation of Solar Street Lights and CCTV Cameras.

Oshiorenoya Agabi wants to create a brain-based computer system

REQUIREMENT/QUALIFICATION FOR TENDERING In compliance with the Public Procurement Act 2007, prospective suppliers MUST submit their tenders the following documents. i. Certificate of Incorporation/Registration with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) ii. Evidence of current tax clearance for the past 3 years 2014, 2015 and 2016 iii. Evidence of registration on the national data base of contractors, consultants and service providers by inclusion of interim

registration report valid for 2017 issued by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). iv. Evidence of Audited Account for the last 3 years 2014, 2015 and 2016 v. Evidence of Registration with PENCOM vi. Evidence of Registration with NSIT vii. Verifiable list of similar projects successfully carried out in 2013 – 2016 with evidence of job completion certificates by

evidence of reasons for not completing the projects as agreed on the contract terms and conditions. viii. Evidence of financial capability to execute the project (Bank Statements) and bank support. ix. Evidence of Registration with ITF

Please note that the none-compliance with the above requirements may render a tender invalid.

COLLECTION OF TENDER/BID DOCUMENTS Interest companies are to collect tender documents from THE OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR, FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC MUBI, ADAMAWA STATE, on the payment of non-refundable fees of N30,000 to the Bursary Department and obtain a receipt.

SUBMISSION OF TENDER/BID DOCUMENTS Technical and financial bids are to be submitted in two separate envelopes clearly marked “Technical and Financial Bids” with the Lot No. and Description of Project addressed to THE REGISTRAR, FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC MUBI, ADAMAWA STATE not later than Monday 16th October, 2017 at 12noon from the date of this publication.

OPENING OF TENDER/BID DOCUMENTS The technical bids shall be opened in the Council Hall of the Federal Polytechnic Mubi, Adamawa State immediately after closing of Bids submission by 12:00noon on Monday 16th October 2017. Representatives of all responding companies, civil societies, NGOs and members of the general public are hereby invited to witness the Bid opening exercise please.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION 1. Tender document submitted late shall be rejected.

2. Invitation for financial bids opening will be extended to only bidders who are technically pre-qualified.

3. The polytechnic shall not enter into any correspondence with any unsuccessful bidder.

4. Nothing in this advert shall be construed to be a commitment by the Federal Polytechnic Mubi

Much of AI research is focused on mimicking the job of neurons

Signed Dr. Suleiman Sa’ad Buba Registrar

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, September 4, 2017

Health

2016 Nigeria’s health budget falls short of standard - Score card reveals

Sports

PEOPLES DAILY

PAGE 28

monday, september 4, 2017

Page

29

sports@peoplesdailyng.com, SMS- 08142929046

Victor Moses voted Nigeria’s star man vs. Cameroon

Discussants during the presentation of 2016 health budget score card in Abuja.

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

T

he 2016 score card of Nigeria’s health budget has revealed that the country fall short of standard practice in the sector.

The scorecard presented to Journalists at the weekend in Abuja

By MamaYe Evidence for Action analised four major items; transparency, participation, adequate resource allocation and budget release.

In terms of allocation, the NGO said that the country’s health budget lacked adequate resource allocation which the per capita health budget stands as $86 according to World Health Organization (WHO).

However, the indicators revealed Nigeria crawling at $43, with the indices decreasing, indicating poor allocation to the sector.

“Standard health budget is 15% of general government allocation but Nigeria only allocated 10% to the sector. Also, there was no 1% allocation of Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) to implement National Health Act.” The scorecard also showed a decrease in Annual Family Planning budget which Nigeria allocated $5.6million against the provision of $11.350 million.

It was also revealed that the year’s budget lacked transparency, participation and adequate resource allocation.

The scorecard also indicated that

there was no annual publication of National Health Accounts (NHA), no adherence to budget timetable/ Calendar.

The Health Finance and Advocacy Advisor of MamaYe, Esther Agbon who presented the scorecard also said, there was no “timely budget releases to Federal Ministry of Health, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA)”.

Also, the scorecard revealed that the Ministry does not consult with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)/ communities to inform on annual budget planning.

Reacting to the presentation, the Country Director, PLAN International, Dr. Hussaini Abdu expressed worry over the out of pocket spending on healthcare services in the country.

Abdu said the situation is creating huge holes in the few resources of the masses in the country.

The doctor who attributed out of pocket spending with corrupt practices in public sector, further said “while Nigerians struggle to take care of their health, there isn’t any major investment in the health services.

“There is a strong relationship between Nigeria’s out of pocket spend and corruption. Nigerians are spending too much, they pay for virtually everything even though

their income cannot sustain it.

They are made to shuttle between two jobs either for immediacy or for the future.

“They engage in out of pocket spending for education, health, security, water, electricity, so practically, out of pocket spend on basic necessity.”

While saying the situation is unacceptable, Abdu urged the federal government to engage the health insurance system in order to reduce out of pocket spending.

“The coverage, we heard is still around three per cent, practically those who are properly covered in the scheme are those who are formerly employed. Across all the states of the federation, the states operating the scheme are not more than five and that for us is a major issue.”

On his part, the Executive Secretary, Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON), Dr. Emmanuel Abanida blamed the underdevelopment of the sector on change in leadership of the country which he said does not allow for the culture of continuity of important innovations.

He said such germane issues have often been swept under the carpet.

Responding to questions by Journalists at the event, the Country Director, Mamaye, Dr Tunde Segun, said for any country to function well, there is a need

for resources and transparency in spending them.

Dr Segun who said the score card was better compared to last year added that the need for improvement in the health sector had necessitated the initiation of the score card, which is expected to help the federal government quickly locate where it has done really poor and improve.

“Score card will give you a snap shot, haven assessed the government in four key areas of transparency, budget release, whether it was timely and whether it engaged Nigerians to ensure participation and that is just what we have done today.”

As a way forward, MamaYe urged the federal government to always ensure timely, quarterly budget releases and to increase funding for health and allocate 1% of the Consolidated Revenue Fund to health.

It also called on the federal government to ensure that budget processes starts and ends as stipulated by Nigeria’s budget guidelines - and to always involve communities/Civil Society Organizations in budget planning at ministries, Departments and Agencies.

But whether the government will heed to this advice and improve of the gray areas that need improvement, only time will tell.

Victor Moses in action

E

very Nigerian player on the park was a hero in Uyo on Friday as Cameroon were slain 4-0, but Goal readers have voted for Victor Moses as the Super Eagle who impressed them the most.

In a recent poll run by Goal, Chelsea wideman Moses picked up 45 percent of the votes, finishing ahead of Leon Balogun—in second with 25 percent—and John Obi Mikel who picked up 24 percent of the votes.

The fourth option we gave—Odion

Ighalo—registered five percent of the votes, despite scoring the Super Eagles’ all-important opener in their World Cup qualifier.

His strike just before half time, set up by Mikel, put Nigeria on the road to a famous triumph, but it was the Tianjin TEDA midfielder who consolidated their lead with a goal just before halftime following a Moses corner.

The Chelsea wideman had earlier fluffed his lines when he and Ighalo

had broken through on goal, but netted 10 minutes into the second half to make it 3-0 to Nigeria before substitute Kelechi Iheanacho added a fourth on the counter-attack late on.

Moses, as he has done on various occasions in the past, stepped up to the plate to prove decisive in a big match.

It was a performance that brought back memories of his two-goal salvo against Ethiopia in the 2013 Nations Cup group stage, while the

former Crystal Palace wideman also stepped up to the plate against the same opponents in a 2014 World Cup playoff.

Nigeria fans will be hoping that Moses, who also struck twice in the 3-1 victory over Algeria earlier in the qualifying campaign, can continue in the same vein when the Super Eagles travel to Yaounde for the return fixture against the Indomitable Lions on Monday evening.

Gombe United relegated from Nigeria Professional Football League >>pg30

PAGE 30

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, September 4, 2017

Sport

Gombe United relegated from Nigeria Professional Football League

T

he northern side suffered a comprehensive defeat in Port Harcourt to bring to an end their journey among the elites Gombe United are now relegated from the Nigeria Professional Football League following a 3-0 defeat against Rivers United on Sunday.

The Savannah Scorpions are the second Nigerian topflight side to be ousted from the league this season, and they have a game to left to play.

Bernard Ovoke’s brace plus Bolaji Sakin’s strike ensured the Pride of Rivers send Manu Garba’s men packing from the NPFL. Gombe will now join Remo Stars - whose exit after their debut campaign in the elite league was already confirmed in August in the Nigeria National League next season.

The northern side will face struggling Wikki Tourist for their final encounter of the season at the Patami Stadium on September 10.

Gombe United players

CLASSIFIED Sagir

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, September 4, 2017

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NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF LIQUIDATOR MEMBERS VOLUNTARY WINDING UP

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. Mr. Vitalis Okechukwu - Chairman 2. Mrs. Vivien Okechukwu - Vice Chairman 3. Mrs. Laura Chioma Okpala - Secretary 4. Mr Obiora Okechukwu - Treasurer 5. Okechukwu-Ozoude Onyeka Henrietta - Member THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE : 1.To promote the welfare of registered members.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR_GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIR COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

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ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR_GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIR COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

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THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CLUB HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: (1) KAREEM JUBRIL KAYODE - Chairman.

(2) JIMOH MUSILIU ALAO. (3) ONANUGA YESIDE OLUWAWEMIMO - Secretary (4).OKECHUKWU IBEAKAMMA.

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CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1.EDO-ABASI BASSEY UKPONG - CHAIRMAN 2.OTOBONG EDET TOM - SECRETARY

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE : 1.TO PROMOTE AND FOSTER UNITY, INTERACTION AND DEVELOPMENT AMONG AND BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AKWA IBOM STATE. 2.TO PROVIDE SOCIO-ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH LIVELIHOOD VOCATIONAL SKILLS, ENTRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT, REVOLVING FUNDS, MARKET ACCESS AND FINANCIAL LINKAGE SERVICES TO BOOST INCOME GENERATION, POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND EMPLOYMENT CREATION IN AKWA IBOM STATE. 3.TO PROMOTE GOOD GOVERNANCE AND COMMUNITY INFRASTRURAL DEVELOPMENT, PUBLIC HEALTH CARE SERVICES AND ACCESS TO EDUCATION. 4.TO PROMOTE PEACEFUL CO-EXITENCE THROUGH CAPACITY BUILDING, ADVOCACY AND SENSITIZATION PROGRAMME ON CONFLICT IN THE SOCIETY. 5.TO DO ALL SUCH THINGS AS MAY BE CONSIDERED TO BE INCIDENTAL OR CONDUCIVE TO THE ATTAINMENT OF THE ABOVE OBJECTS OR ANY OF THEM. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR_GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIR COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : SECRETARY

TEMPLE WORLD PRAYER AND DELIVERANCE CENTER

JASAWA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

RC: CAC/IT/NO. 33275

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990.

THIS IS NOTIFYING THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED, ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, FOR REGISTRATION/ INCORPORATION, UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THE COMPANY AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1990.

This is to inform the general public that the above named has lost IT Certificate of Incorporation ad has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Abuja for Certified True Copy (CTC) under Part “C” of Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. APOSTLE GABRIEL OBI NWONU -MEMBER. 2. EVANGELIST GABRIEL AKUBUEZE EBERE -MEMBER. 3. EVANGELIST KATE OGUEGBUNAM NWANKWO - MEMBER. 4. H.R.M. IGWE JOEL MADUADICHIE EGWUONWU -MEMBER 5. EDWARD HYAICENTH EMEKA -MEMBER 6. NWONU CYPRIAN SUNDAY -MEMBER.

THE TRUSTEES: 1. ALH. SALE HASSAN President 2. SHEHU IBRAHIM MASALLA 3. AMINU MATO 4. MUHAMMAD SANI MUDI 5. HARUNA MAITALA

Any objection thereto should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28days of this publication.

Signed : Secretary

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE : 1.TO spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people in all nations.

2. To lead people to be holy and to leave a righteous life.

3.To win soul for Jesus Christ.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR_ GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIR COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : SECRETARY

KASARACHI FOUNDATION THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1.MICHAEL ENYINNA 2.MARK ANTHONY NDUKAEZE 3.DR. AZHINTO IKPAH 4.PETER ALETOR 5.INNOCENT ENYINNA THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE : 1.EMPOWERMENT, HELPING THE LESS PRIVILEGED THROUGH SKILLS ACQUISITION. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR_ GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIR COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : BARR. VAL. IGBOANUSI 08033571640

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SIGNED : SECRETARY

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. UZOCHUKWU ARTHUR CHIMEZIE 2. UZOCHUKWU BIBIANA OKPALA 3. UZOCHUKWU ZOE EBUBE

PUBLIC NOTICE

Aims1. TO PROVIDE SUPPORT AND WELFARE FOR ITS MEMBERS. 2. TO WORK FOR PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE AND ORDERLY DEVELOPMENT.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR_GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIR COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. UCHE CHUKWU AGHA - CHAIRMAN 2. CHIMEZIE EZENWA- SECRETARY 3. EMMANUEL NWANKWO OKWUDIRI 4. NOLIKS NEHEMIAH UZONNA 5. OKIKE JOSHUA IKEGWU

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SIGNED : SECRETARY

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990.

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THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR_GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIR COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

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LIFE LIVING HAVEST MISSION

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THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR_GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIR COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR_GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIR COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR_GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIR COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

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I formerly known and address as tIMOTHY SHEYIN YAKUBU. Now wish to be known and address as tIMOTHY YAKUBU. All former documents remain valid. Authorities concerned and General public SHOULD PLEASE take note.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1 . TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST TO ALL NATIONS.

THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE : 1. To promote and protect the social, cultural and economic interest of its members.

WINDING-UP

I formerly known and address as sagir musa.

Now wish to be known and address as sagir busa musa. All former documents remain valid.

Authorities concerned and General public SHOULD PLEASE take note.

AIMS: I. TO PROMOTE PEACE, UNITY AND LOVE AMONG THE MEMBERS.

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. Okeke Chukwuma Sylvanus -Chairman 2. Okeke Kelvin Chibueze -Secretary 3. Udemba Emeka Peter

SIGNED : SECRETARY

oyintare

Aims1. TO PROVIDE SUPPORT AND EMPOWERMENT FOR THE LESS PRIVILEGED AND INDIGENT PERSONS. 2.To GRANT EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT, PROMOTE SKILLS ACQUISITION, WEALTH CREATION AND ENTREPRENEURIAL TRAINING FOR THE UNEMPLOYED.

DATED THE 30th DAY OF AUGUST 2017.

IKONU OJI DESCENDANTS UNION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990.

SIGNED : COMPANY SECRETARY

I formerly known and address as oyintare okiemute porbeni or oyitare okiemute porbeni or oyintare porbeni. THAT ALL THE SAID THREE (3) names: oyintare okiemute porbeni, oyitare okiemute porbeni and oyintare porbeni are referring to one and thesame person All former documents remain valid. Authorities concerned and General public SHOULD PLEASE take note.

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. ELDER DR. DABAYE LAMJOSE BOB-MANUEL 2. EMMAUEL EKEOMA IMO 3. BARR. ISAAC OKECHUKWU IMO 4. NNENNA MERCY OFFIA 5. OGECHI ESTHER IMO

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT AUTO ECS WEST AFRICA LIMITED (THE “ COMPANY “) OF PLOT 458, AHMADU BELLO WAY GARKI, ABUJA PURSUANT TO SECTION 491 OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, AND A SPECIAL RESOLUTION OF THE SHAREHOLDERS DATED 30th DAY OF AUGUST, 2017, HAS APPOINTED MR. SOLA ARIFAYAN, OF 21, BOYLE STREET, ONIKAN, LAGOS, LIQUIDATOR FOR THE PURPOSE OF WINDING UP THE AFFAIRS OF THE COMPANY. MR. ARIFAYAN’S APPOINTMENT TAKES EFFECT FROM 1st DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2017.

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SIGNED : SECRETARY

Mrs. akpoga

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990.

CLASSIFIED

PAGE 31

6. HARUNA ALHAJI TANKO 7. ENGR.MOHAMMED BELLO AHMED Secretary 8. AUWAL AL-MANSUR 9. ALH. HASSAN HUSSAINI 10. ALH. ADAM MUHAMMAD

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To foster unity and harmony amongst members and other People in Plateau State and Nigeria.

2. To protect the legitimate interest of members, of the Association by promoting their intellectual, moral, socio-economic and cultural development.

3. To promote the comprehensive development of our home town Jos and environs.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS APPLICATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRARGENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRES CRESCENT OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET MAITAMA ABUJA, WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY-GENERAL AMINU MATO

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF EDUCATION FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COLLEGE, KWALI-ABUJA

ADDENDUM

INVITATION FOR TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL BIDS FOR THE EXECUTION OF 2017 APPROPRIATION. This is an Addendum to our earlier publications in the Peoples Daily and the Blue Print newspapers of Monday, July 24, 2017 as well as the Federal Tenders Journal of Monday, July 24, on the above subject and to inform the general public that the closing date stated in the adverts has now been extended by two (2) weeks. The new closing date for submission of BIDS is on or before 12.00 noon, 20th September, 2017.

2. Note that only the technical bids submitted shall be opened at 12.00 noon of 20th September, 2017 and the financial bids of successful bidders from the technical evaluation shall be opened at a later date.

3. All technical bids are to be opened immediately after closing at 12.00 noon, Wednesday, 20th September, 2017 at the College Multipurpose Hall.

4. The College Management regrets any inconveniences caused by this extension.

Signed Principal FGC KWALI-ABUJA

Mrs. akpoga I formerly known and address as Miss benard helen igbe. Now wish to be known and address as Mrs. akpoga helen igbe. All former documents remain valid. Authorities concerned and General public SHOULD PLEASE take note.

QUOTABLE QUOTE

. . . putting the people first

monday, september 4, 2017

SPORTS latest

Mikel eyes World Cup ticket in Yaounde

S

uper Eagles captain and midfielder Mikel John Obi is in a buoyant mood as Nigeria look forward to further feast on the African champions, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.

The Eagles arrived in Yaounde on Sunday afternoon for Monday’s 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifier against the Central Africans at the Stade Omnisports Ahmadou Ahidjo.

The three-time African champions had on Friday pummelled the Cameroonians 4-0 in the first leg fixture at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.

Mikel said his side would love to wrap up their 2018 Fifa World Cup campaign in the backyard of the Cameroonians with two games to go in the race to the World Cup. “We are very keen to finish what we started. We started a job in Uyo and it is time to finish it. If we can pick the World Cup ticket by Monday why wait any longer?

“We are all very confident because we know our ability and what we are ready to bring to the party,” said Mikel to thenff.com.

Nigeria achieved their biggest win ever over Cameroon with the massive thumping of the Lions on Friday and Mikel is aware the wounded Lions will want to salvage some pride.

“We are as hungry perhaps even more hungry than they are. It will be a tough affair but we will give our very best to take the three points,” said Mikel.

Nigeria could become the first African team to earn a slot in Russia if they defeat the Cameroonians on Monday in Yaounde and Zambia fail to beat Algeria at the Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida on Tuesday.

Nigeria lead the pack in Group B on nine points, five ahead of closest challengers Zambia, while Cameroon are third on the log on two points and Algeria on one point.

Eagles manager Gernot Rohr has 23 fit players to select from with goalkeepers Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Dele Ajiboye and Dele Alampasu, defenders Uche Agbo, Abdullahi Shehu, Elderson Echiejile, Ola Aina, Leon Balogun, William Ekong, Tyronne Ebuehi and Chidozie Awaziem, midfielders Mikel Obi, Ogenyi Onazi, John Ogu, Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo and Mikel Agu, and forwards Ahmed Musa, Victor Moses, Odion Ighalo, Moses Simon, Anthony Nwakaeme and Kelechi Iheanacho making the trip.

Advert: business: news: lagos:

“We cannot run away from this country. The unity of this country is very, very paramount. The unity of this country is non-negotiable. I am from the Niger Delta, from Rivers State to be specific, so I cannot see us in a divided country. No way. We stand for the unity of this country.”.

- Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, disowning Biafra secession agitation

Not yet Uhuru

This article published earlier on this page is being rerun as a reminder to readers following the cancellation of the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as president of Kenya - Editor

Monday Column

N

igerian secondary school students in the 60’s and 70’s are mostly familiar with Weep Not Child, the first East African novel to be published in English and a literally classic of decolonisation in Africa.

Published in 1964, it was written

by James Ngugi who later became Ngugi wa Thiongo.

Weep Not Child is a moving story about the Mau Mau, a liberation movement that was principally responsible for the British granting nominal independence to Kenya in 1963. The heroic role and the martyrdom of the Mau Mau is not in doubt. Even the British colonial government that brutally tortured its members later repented and in 2013 paid compensation to those surviving members it brutalised.

Ironically, Jomo Kenyatta, who emerged as the first post independent leader of Kenya and the chief beneficiary of the sacrifices of the Mau Mau movement was until his death its most virulent critic. . In a speech in April 1963, he described the Mau Mau as “a disease which had been eradicated, and must never be remembered again.” In his memoirs, he casually referred to it as a civil war amoung the Kikuyu tribe and not a struggle for the liberation of Kenya from foreign domination. Additionally, Mau Mau was suppressed as a subject for public discussion in Kenya during the periods under his rule and his hand picked successor, Daniel Arap Moi. But was the Mau Mau a disease?

No. A major grievance that led to the formation of Mau Mau was land and the enslavement of the colonised Africans. Kenya was a settler colony and a feature of all settler societies during the colonial period was the ability of European settlers to grab a disproportionate share of land. Kenya was no exception. The plan from 1902 was to have a settler economy pay for the recently completed Uganda Railway through the availability of land, labour and capital.

For the next three decades, the colonial government and settlers consolidated their forceful control over Kenyan land – seizing 7,000,000 acres (28,000 km2; 11,000 sq mi) of land, some of it in the especially fertile hilly regions of Central and Rift Valley - and ‘encouraging’ native Kenyans to become wage earners on their land.

0806 564 8620 0704 385 9705 0814 292 9046 08074420617

Emmanuel Yawe royawe@yahoo.com 08024565402

The Mau Mau waged a very savage war to recover the confiscated land in response to which the British government demonstrated a higher degree of savagery in suppressing the uprising. In the Mau Mau and other movements for independence, there were four discernable tendencies: conservatives, moderates, nationalists and radical nationalists. It later turned out that Jomo Kenyatta who was thought to be a radical nationalist and on whose shoulders the leadership of the country fell after independence was after all a conservative. One of his comrades in the struggle -from the Kikuyu tribe - with whom they went to prison together for their anti colonial activism by name Kaggia a committed Mau Mau operative was a radical nationalist; and so was Oginga Odinga from the Luo tribe.

Their differences became crystal clear soon after independence in 1963. In less than two years of independence, President Kenyatta travelled to Kondura the hometown of Kaggia and could not hide his disappointment that the man was living a Spartan life on his legitimate income. In a spontaneous display of oratory, he denounced Kaggia, now a member of parliament.

“Kaggia”, he thundered, “we were together with Paul Ngei in jail. If you go into Ngei’s home, he has planted a lot of coffee and other crops. What have you done for yourself?

“Kaggia, if you go to Kabais home, he has a big house and has a nice shamba. What have you done for yourself?

“Kaggia, we were with Kungu Karumba in jail, now he owns buses. What have you done for

“

yourself?”

Evidently Kenyatta saw the independence of Kenya as a means to unlimited wealth for those who were in its vanguard. It was meant to make sure they had big houses, big farms and many, many buses.

As far as he was concerned, Kaggia was a failure since he appeared not to be interested in the rat race for wealth.

Mzee, the wise old man had to look for new friends and abandon the ‘foolish’ ones like Kaggia. The greedy old British colonial masters who had expropriated the land of poor Kenyans by force of arms came in handy.

These were the days of the cold war and the British and Americans were scared of increasing Soviet penetration of the East African sub region. With socialist Obote in Uganda and socialist Nyerere in Tanzania, Kenya had to be secured.

The Americans and the British closed in on Kenyatta and they both had a deal. The British and the World Bank provided funds for the newly independent country to buy some of the land forcefully seized from poor natives for redistribution back to the poor. Where Kenyatta and his henchmen pocketed the money and or bought the lands for themselves, Britain, the World Bank and America turned a blind eye.

Kenyatta and his men did not only amass wealth; they became the power of powers. People like Kaggai and Odinga his Vice President were soon rendered redundant or eased out of government completely.

Aided on his path to tyranny by British intelligence and military experts, he was able to crush all his opponents. What mattered to the British and Americans was that their investments in Kenya were

Mzee, the wise old man had to look for new friends and abandon the ‘foolish’ ones like Kaggia. The greedy old British colonial masters who had expropriated the land of poor Kenyans by force of arms came in handy.

protected and that the country did not come under the communist orbit.

In frustration, Oginga Odinga left his government to go into opposition, proclaiming in his well- written memoir that the independence of Kenya was ‘Not Yet Uhuru.’

It is the same old song today.

Last Tuesday, Raila Odinga, son of Oginga Odinga made his fourth and last attempt to get the Presidency of Kenya. He failed against his formidable opponent, Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Jomo Kenyatta. It is increasingly becoming impossible to uproot by peaceful means the seed of injustice planted by Jomo Kenyatta.

Uhuru was recently reported as the richest African President by Forbes. He owns at least 500,000 acres of prime land spread across the country. The land was acquired by his father in the 1960s and 1970s under the fraudulent scheme that enabled government officials and wealthy Kenyans acquire land from the British at very low prices.

Uhuru and his family also own Brookside Dairies, Kenya’s largest dairy company, as well as stakes in popular television station K24 and a commercial bank in Nairobi, among other interests.

When such a wealthy man is backed by western powers with heavy investments in a country, you can see why it becomes difficult for the opposition to defeat him in an election. But in the words of President JF Kennedy, “those who make peaceful change impossible make violent revolution inevitable” In the past few years, Kenya has had to deal with multiple violent upheavals. Something tells me the country is sitting on a time bomb.

Somebody should tell the newly reelected President of Kenya that regardless of what he calls himself, it is not yet uhuru.

DAN GAYE

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