Monday, April 5, 2021 Edition

Monday, April 5, 2021/ Sha’aban 22, 1442 AH Vol. 36 No. 045 N200

2532 Days after Malam Wada Maida (1950-2020), founding Chairman, Board of the Peoples Media Limited

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The nation awaits rescue of the remaining abducted Chibok schoolgirls

Makinde vows to expose those politicising security >>>page 5

Bandits kill 5, injure 2 in Kaduna -Official

>>Page 5

•As Police begin manhunt for kidnappers of 10 people in Ekiti

Deeper Life Bible Church youths receiving the blessing of Pastor William Kumuyi, at the close of the church’s National Easter Retreat in Suleja, Niger State. Photo: NAN

Avoid non-essential travels at Easter, Ramadan — NCDC

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Rural banditry greatest Easter: Pope slams NSCDC boss warns Zamfara N37.4b Promissory challenge in Zamfara weapons spending in job seekers to Notes: Group charges EFCC - Commissioner time of pandemic beware of scammers to prosecute Yari, others pAGE 6

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

News CONTENTS News 2-14 Op.Ed

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Politics 15-17 Stock Watch Business

18 19-20

Metro

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World New

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Africa News

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World News

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Easter: Zulum greets Christians; proud of Borno’s Christians, Muslims for peace despite Boko Haram

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

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orno Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum has felicitated with all Christians in the State at the Easter season.

Zulum, in a statement by his spokesman, Malam Isa Gusau, also said he was very proud of Christians and Muslims in Borno State for maintaining peaceful coexistence in all the 27 Local Government Areas of the State, despite facing tough situations from Boko Haram since 2009, whose fighters have undertook numerous attacks on places of worship.

Find below, Zulum’s remarks quoted from the statement: “As Christians all over the

world mark this year’s Easter celebration, which began Friday, I felicitate with my Christian brothers and sisters in Borno State.

A season like this which calls for deep and shared reflection on our lives in general, should remind us of not just the challenges we continually face, but also, to be grateful for some accomplishments we have made together as citizens with equal stakes in the Borno project.

For me, one great accomplishment recorded in Borno State is the peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians across the 27 Local Government Areas despite being faced with all manner of inciting tactics deployed by those who

wish to knock our heads.

I am immensely proud of the people of Borno for the religious harmony between Christians and Muslims in families, communities, schools, all our social and political gatherings, at Government institutions, private work places, markets and other business places, in our sporting activities and other aspects of our shared existence.

I thank and commend our traditional rulers, elders and religious leaders in both faith, for being role models for younger ones and for our children. Indeed, I am proud of the religious peace we have, and I urge us all to continue to do whatever we can to nurture and preserve that precious harmony

between us.

Government is continually committed to sustaining that bond of peace, and critically, we are determined, more than ever, working behind the scene to find lasting end to the Boko Haram insurgency.

I salute all our armed forces, the multinational joint task force, and our volunteers in the civilian JTF, hunters and vigilantes, for all the sacrifices towards finding peace in Borno.

I urge all of us never to relent, and to always take steps ahead of the insurgents in both our preventive and responsive approaches.

May God grant us enduring peace in Borno, other parts of the northeast and rest of Nigeria” .

Soludo escapes death as unknown gunmen attack gathering in Anambra Page 7

Education

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Feature 26 Sports 29-31 Back Page

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NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim (2nd left) and his wife, Mrs Martina Ibrahim (4th left) during Director-General’s visit to four Corps Members that sustained injuries along Mokwa road on their way to the 2021 Batch ‘A’ Stream One Orientation Course receiving treatment at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital rrcently in Ilorin

Catholic priest sponsors 146 weddings in Nasarawa State

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ev. Fr. Lawrence SojaAnyembugu, Parish Priest in charge of St John’s Catholic Church, Awe, Nasarawa state, says he sponsored the weddings of 146 couples from 2018 to 2021.

Soja-Anyembugu, said this on Sunday at the marriage matrimony of 10 couples he sponspored , who were church leaders in Awe Local Government Area (LGA) of the state. ” When I was the Parish Priest in charge of St Slyvester Catholic Church New Nyanya,

Karu on Feb. 3, 2018, I sponsored the weddings of 53 couples in the Church. ” In commemoration of my 10th priestly anniversary in St Patrick Catholic Church, Akwanga on Feb. 17, 2018, I sponsored another 83 couple’s wedding. ” Today, I have also decided to sponsor the mass wedding of 10 couples who wanted their marriages blessed in the Church.

“This bring the total to 146 couples from 2018 to 2021.

This is to enable them get the sacrament of holy matrimony

and will enable them to get more blessings and God’s favour,” he said.

Soja-Anyembugu urged the newly wedded couples to live peacefully for the growth of their family and overall development of the society.

He called on Christian faithful and other Nigerians to use the Easter period to pray for the unity, peace and development of the country.

The man of God also urged Christians and other Nigerians to live a life worth of emulation by shunning negative acts at

all times in order to inherit the kingdom of God and for development to thrive.

The parish priest assured of his continued determination to put smiles on the faces of the less privileged and other Nigerians.

Mr Noel Dawan, spokesperson for the couples, appreciated the man of God for the gesture and prayed God to bless him abundantly.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event featured cutting of wedding cake by the Parish priest. ( NAN)

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

News

Gov. Emmanuel preaches love, unity, togetherness at Easter

G

ov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom has urged Christians and Nigerians to emulate the love of Jesus Christ and live in unity with one another irrespective of their religious or political differences.

Emmanuel gave this counsel in his Easter broadcast message to Akwa Ibom people on Sunday in Uyo. He reminded Christians that Christianity would have been meaningless without the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Emmanuel said that the miraculous resurrection which certified Christ’s supernatural place as the son of God, gives hopes to all who follow his examples that they would at last reap the reward of eternal life.

Emmanuel enjoined Christians and Nigerians to learn to live and love one another as Christ did while on Earth.

He urged Akwa Ibom residents to emulate Jesus Christ by showing love toward one another, burying their differences and staying together in love.

“Let me also remind our people that the essence of Easter would be lost except we let the resurrection of Christ illuminate the dark crevice of our souls and let His light shine through us in love and sacrifice to our neighbours.

“I urge all Akwa Ibom people to adhere to this simple directive from the Commander of our Divine Mandate and our Saviour, the resurrected Jesus Christ.

“Let the fishermen in the ocean fronts of Mbo, Okobo, Eastern Obolo and Ibeno love one another.

“Let the farmers in the rice plantations at Ini, Ikono, Ika, Onna and Nsit Ibom love one another. Let the civil servants and public servants, politicians in all political parties, members of all denominations, preachers of all faiths, love one another.

“When we let love drive our every action and thought, when we let it drip from our lips and from our hands, then shall the joy of Easter be complete, and our state shall surely attain the lofty height set for it by our ancestors when they named it ‘Akwa Abasi Ibom State”, Emmanuel said.

The governor said his administration would continue to derive its inspiration from the leadership of Jesus Christ by embarking on people-oriented policies and programmes.

“We have relied on the leadership of Jesus Christ in our administration and we attribute all our successes to Him. He has been the head of all our meetings, all our plans and all our policies.

“By His grace we have achieved a lot and we are not slowing down because whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world,” he said.

Emmanuel reminded Akwa Ibom residents to continue to adhere to the COVID-19 protocols to reduce the spread of the virus.

He urged the residents of the state to accept the AstraZeneca vaccine as it had been proven to be safe and effective to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Ag News Editor, Tobias Lengnam

COVID-19: Students missed 750 lessons in 5 Northwest states during lockdown- UNICEF

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

T

he United Nations International Children Fund (UNICEF) has said that its observation has indicated that secondary and primary schools students have missed 750 lessons in Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi and Sokoto states during COVID-19 lockdown last year.

The Chief of Field Office, UNICEF field Office, Kano, Maulid Warfa revealed this at a two-day sensitisation workshop, jointly organised by the UNICEF and Federal Ministry of Education and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), held at the Grand Central Hotel in Kano yesterday.

Warfa said that UNICEF had therefore donated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to some schools in the selected states in order to make the students

observed the COVID-19 protocols with ease and protect themselves from being infected with the disease.

He noted that there was the need for the students to be assisted either at home or at the school for them to recover from the calamity that befell them as a result of the pandemic.

He discloswd that his organisation had deliberately engaged the five states in the Northwestern part of the Country and train them on the implications of COVID 19 Pandemic.

The Chief of field Office UNICEF said the Workshop was aimed at building the capacity of stake holders on education on the implications of COVID 19 and how it terminates human lives .within a very short time.

He said most of the stakeholders were Principals, Directors Public Enlightment Directors of planning in the Ministry among others .

He said the UNICEF is being funded

by Global Partnership for Education to assist Children especially students affected by the pandemic and work with stake holders in order to reduce the rate of COVID 19 in the Country.

He said two local government areas were selected for the pilot scheme in Kano namely Kunchi and Tsanyawa local government and in Katsina state Kurfi and Kankara local government areas, among others.

In her brief remarks, Mrs Chiemezie Nwhobiara Josephine Deputy Director Federal Ministry of Education said “the Workshop is apt considering the fact that in time of the pandemic and crisis, education must continue “ you must be alive before you read and write hence education must continue in time of pandemic that is the main reason why we say schools must be kept

safe for learning to take place .

She said “No parent will release their Children to go and die, parents must be convinced that Schools are safe before their Children are allowed to go to School.

Mrs Josephine stated further that “ I have been trained on COVID 19 protocols and we come to Kano to cascate what we learned to the stakeholders in the field so that they can step down to others if they are back to their respective communities .The Deputy Directed highligted that that is why the SBMC, SUBEB were involved and expected to pass the message to the grassroot levels.

On her part, Hajiya Hannatu Bello of the NCDC said the reason for their participation in this all encompassing Workshop is to ensure that participants are adequately train on the COVID-19 protocols.

L-R; : Gov. Abdulrahman Abdulrazak of Kwara, wife of the celebrant, Mrs Kemi Kareem; Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji; 13th Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido; wife of Olubadan, Olori Rasheedat; and newly Installed Agba-Oye of Ibadanland, Chief Orikolade Kareem, during the Installation of Karem as the Agba-Oye of Ibadanland by Olubadan on Saturday in Ibadan

Ex Rep, Kofa empowers 250 social media influencers in Kano From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

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xecutive Director, Federal Housing Authority, Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa has empowered no fewer than 250 social media influencers and activities on digital skills.

He distributed a mobile phone, N10,000 cash and a book as guide to using the mobile phone to earn a living to each of the 250 youths, drawn from the three senatorial zones of Kano Central, Kano North and Kano South.

Speaking at the programme, tagged Buhari/Ganduje and Abdulmumin Jibrin Kofa, held at his residence in Kofa, Bebeji Local Government area of Kano state, yesterday, Kofa said the scheme was aimed at empowering the

youth to earn a living.

According to him, social media users have great influence, not only in Nigeria but in the whole world, noting that 80 percent of youths in the world earn a living through smart phones.

The former member, representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency also stated that the youths have been empowered to further propagate the administration of the governor of the state, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

He added that Ganduje had undoubtedly execute several developmental projects that surpassed any governor in Nigeria, noting that the smart phones had been distributed to the youths to further sell the government in the eyes of the world.

“Your Excellency, this is not new

to you because, you have offered immeasurable empowerment programmes to the teeming youths of Kano state. That is why we, as your disciples, decided to emulate you by this kind of gesture. “ I therefore, implore you to use this phones effectively. I also urge you to continue propagating Ganduje’s government because it is the best in Nigeria. Despite economic turmoil, you continue to execute developmental projects every where in Kano.

“That is why we implore the youth to further sell you and propagate your government in the world,” Kofa said.

Kofa therefore, tasked the beneficiaries to use the phone effectively to help themselves and the country as a whole, cautioning them against abus-

ing opposition through social media.

He said the book attached with the smart phone is a guide on how to use the mobile phones effectively, urging them to follow the script in order to use it efficiently.

In his remarks, Governor Ganduje commended the initiative, noting that the modern world can not be lived without education.

He stated that his administration is the government of education, knowledge and skills acquisition, adding that youths in Kano are educated because he had invested a lot in education.

According to Ganduje, he had directed for empowerment to the teeming youths in all the 44 Local Government areas of state in order to efficiently use them as development.

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News

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ollowing an agreement to boost economic cooperation, a Nigeria-Morocco Business Council has been established.

The agreement was signed by entrepreneurs from Nigeria and their Moroccan counterparts in Rabat, Morocco The Chairman of the Nigerian delegation, Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar said the agreement, which was signed and adopted by both sides, is expected to explore and break new grounds for business opportunities in the two countries.

He said the partnership would create better economy and closer relationship between Nigeria (the largest economy in Africa) and Morocco (highest Francophone investor after France).

He said “both countries have had a long standing cultural, religious and commercial links to leverage on, formalise and expanded.

He said: “We came together

Avoid nonessential travels at Easter, Ramadan — NCDC

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he Nigeria Center For Disease Control (NCDC) has reemphasised the need to avoid non-essential travels during the Easter and Ramadan celebrations to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, DirectorGeneral, NCDC, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday that it was very important to adhere to public health and social measures required to reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19.

“As Nigerians plan to celebrate Easter and begin Ramadan, it is very important to remember the public health and social measures required to reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19.

“It is very important to remember the public health and social measures required to reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19.’’

Chikwe also emphasised the need for sustained testing as an effective public health response to detect, isolate and treat cases of COVID-19.

“Testing is one of the key components in Nigeria’s response to the pandemic.

“The benefits of getting tested include ascertaining the incidence of COVID-19 in the community, opportunity to break the chain of transmission in the community and tracking of mutation of SARS-CoV-2 in the country.’’

He said that the number of collection sites and laboratories had increased in the country making testing more accessible and effective.

“The capacity for testing has increased in Nigeria since the outbreak began, from four laboratories to 129 functional laboratories. Of these, 48 are private laboratories and eight are corporate laboratories.

“Each state and the FCT have several sample collection sites with at least one molecular laboratory to test.

“Samples are tested daily to ensure results are communicated to the clients, patients and/or managing team for optimum care,” he explained.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

Nigeria, Morocco entrepreneurs establish Business Council with the council to determine the modalities of harnessing business areas beneficial to the stakeholders.

“The leaders of our two countries, President Muhammadu Buhari and his Majesty King Mohammed IV have laid out the vision and establish the framework for businesses to cooperate through partnerships and collaboration by leveraging on the comparative advantages of both countries for the benefit of our two countries and Africa in general.”

He said at the moment, Nigeria and Morocco have 21 bilateral agreements signed by their leaders in different areas of business interests that need private sector participation for better result.

“We as business leaders, it’s our responsibility to make sure that we come to the realisation of those objectives because it’s through businesses that we can achieve their aspirations, and that is why we are forming the Nigeria/Morocco business council,” he added.

He said members of the delegation from the Nigerian are “very committed people with diverse business interests that will ensure deeper relationship and partnership between all investors.”

Abubakar also claimed that both

L-R: Dr. Najib Kettani, the President of the Rabat Chamber of Commerce Dr. Abbat Abdullah and the Chairman of Nigerian delegation, Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar after signing the MoU for the establishment of Nigeria-Morocco Business Council at the Rabat Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday.

Nigeria and Morocco are signatories The Chairman of Rabat chamber the two countries.

“Also, signing the convention to African Continental Free Trade of commerce, Abbad Abdullah, said Zone (AfCFT) which the council is the Council came at the right time has strengthened the cooperative equally ready to turn into its full to support the high-level of talks and mechanism between the two agreements between the leaders of countries,” he said. advantage.

Easter: Pope slams weapons spending in time of pandemic

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ope Francis has urged countries to quicken the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly to the world’s poor.

The pontiff described armed conflict and military spending during a pandemic as “scandalous’’.

He gave the advice in his Easter message on Sunday.

“I urge the entire international community, in a spirit of global responsibility, to commit to overcoming delays in the distribution of vaccines and to facilitate their distribution, especially to the poorest countries,’’ he said.

Coronavirus has meant this has been the second year in a row that Easter papal services have been attended by small gatherings at a secondary altar of St. Peter’s Basilica, instead of by crowds in the church or in the square outside.

After saying the Mass, Francis read his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message, in which he traditionally reviews world problems and appeals for peace.

“The pandemic is still spreading, while the social and economic crisis remains severe, especially for the poor.

“Nonetheless and this is scandalous, armed conflicts have not ended and military arsenals are being strengthened,’’ he said.

Francis, who would normally have given the address to up to 100,000 people in St. Peter’s Square, spoke to fewer than 200 in the church while the message was broadcast to tens of millions around the world.

The square was empty, except for a few police officers enforcing a strict three-day national lockdown.

The Pope asked God to comfort

the sick, those who have lost their loved ones and the unemployed.

He urged authorities to give families in greatest need a “decent sustenance’’.

He praised the medical workers, sympathised with young people who are unable to attend school and said everyone was called to combat the pandemic.

“There are still too many wars and too much violence in the world!

May the Lord, who is our peace, help us to overcome the mindset of war,’’ Francis, who has often called for disarmament and a total ban on the possession of nuclear weapons, said.

Noting that it was International Awareness Day against antipersonnel landmines, he called such weapons “insidious and horrible devices … how much better our world would be without these instruments

of death!’’

In mentioning conflict areas, he singled out for praise “the young people of Myanmar committed to supporting democracy and making their voices heard peacefully’’.

More than 550 protesters have been killed since a Feb. 1 military coup in Myanmar, which the Pope visited in 2017.

Francis called for peace in several conflict areas in Africa, including the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia and the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique.

He said the crisis in Yemen has been met with a deafening and scandalous silence.

He appealed to Israelis and Palestinians to “rediscover the power of dialogue’’ to reach a two-state solution where both can live side by side in peace and prosperity. NAN

Leave Mattawalle out of your incapacity, group warns NSA Mongonu

By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja

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he Peoples Alliance for Indigenous Rights (PAIR), has cautioned the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major Gen. Babagana Mongonu, to desist from dragging Governor Bello Mattawalle of Zamfara State into his incompetence.

PAIR, an alliance of over 20 civil society groups, called on Mongonu to stop blame game and face his incapacity to deal with insecurity in the country.

This is sequel to an allegations by the Gold Buyers and Jewelry Shop Owners Association, accusing the NSA of ordering the arrest and detention of some of its members.

The Association posited that

the move was with the intention of intimidating and coercing them into implicating Governor Mattawalle of buying gold from them in exchange for arms for bandits.

According to the group, three of its members in Zaria and Minna have been arrested on the orders of the NSA over gold for arms deal by the governor for bandits.

Speaking on Sunday in Abuja, National Coordinator of the PAIR, Danladi Adamu, accused the NSA of looking for who to hang his serial failure in office on, and expressed the wonder why President Muhammadu Buhari keeps tolerating his nonperformance even while making wild allegations against members of the government but himself.

"Gentlemen of the Press, you will recall that not too long ago, the NSA, Major General Mongonu, claimed that $1bn for arms purchase was stolen by ex-service chiefs only to recant few hours later.

"Also, he alleged that some government officials in President Buhari's government were undermining efforts against fighting insecurity but failed to note that he is the number one culprit. What can he boast of his achievements as NSA other than to cook up allegations and create bad blood amongst those in government?" Adamu queried.

He urged the NSA to stay far from the Zamfara Governor who is working hard to address the failure of Mongonu in tackling bandits in the state.

"It is to the credit of Governor Mattawalle that hundreds of bandits have surrendered and turned in their arms, while many more hundreds have been released and communities secured all to the effort of the Zamfara state government.

"Any attempt by the NSA to drag Governor Mattawalle into anything untoward will be greatly resisted," Adamu warned.

It will be recalled that the Executive Director, Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development, Dr Sani Shinkafi, knocked the NSA not long ago, saying, “Monguno has once again proven his incapacity to perform and has by divine providence exposed his selfish agenda at the most difficult and challenging time for Nigeria."

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

ICAN tasks members on integrity, accountability

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he Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), has charged accounting professionals in the country to promote integrity and accountability, in the discharge of their duties.

Mrs Onome Adewuyi, ICAN President, made the call on Sunday, in Abuja, during a reception, organised in her honour, ahead of the institute’s 50th Annual Accountants’ Conference.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was organised by the ICAN Abuja and District Society to mark the institute’s 50th Annual Accountants’ Conference.

Adewuyi, who is also the 56th president of the institute, stressed the need for accountants to be accurate and serve with integrity, which the institute is known for.

“The economy of the country as at now, is down, we are supposed to help it move up and I believe that every accountant has what it takes to do that.

“So, my advice to all accountants now, is to work hard to unlearn their old styles and relearn the new things that will help them support the economy of the country to go up.

“I believe that this conference will give them the ample opportunity to acquire more skills to enable them achieve that desired goal.

Mrs Queensley Seghosime, Conference Chairman, said that the conference would provide opportunities that would enable delegates get acquainted with new innovations in the accounting profession.

“At the end of the conference, the delegates would be equipped technically, because we are going to look at things that will make their jobs easier,” she said.

Mrs Bosede Ikhanoba, Chairman, ICAN Abuja and District Society, added that the COVID-19 pandemic had made it important for accountants to embrace the use of technology.

“One thing I know is that there is always a blessing in disguise for whatever happens.

“For some of us, we did not believe we could work from home and one of the things from the theme that we must highlight, is that as accountants, we need to embrace technology. (NAN)

News

Bandits kill 5, injure 2 in Kaduna - Official From:Femi Oyelola, Kaduna with agency report

A

rmed bandits yesterday attacked Katarma village in Chikun local government area of kaduna state, killing five persons.

This is as police said it began manhunt for kidnappers of 10 people in Ekiti state.

This was contained in a statement issued yesterday by Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan.

Aruwan stated that Security agencies reported that five persons were killed.

He listed them to include; Samson Danladi, Luka Gajere, Amos Ali, Titus Baba and Damali Musa. The statement added that one person was injured and is receiving treatment in a neighbouring state. “ In another incident, troops under the auspices of Operation Safe Haven reported a clash between some youths in Atulu village, Jema’a LGA. “During the clash, one Afiniki Thomas was attacked by two youths, and sustained a deep gash to the forehead. “ One of the assailants, Sani Safiyanu was arrested for profiling and investigation.

*** As Police begin manhunt for kidnappers of 10 people in Ekiti

“The injured victim was rushed to hospital for treatment.

Furthermore, troops of Operation Safe Haven while on patrol discovered the decomposing corpse of one Paul Simon, a resident of Yagbak village in Zangon Kataf LGA. “The deceased was reported missing on 24th March 2021. The corpse has since been buried. “ Receiving the reports, Governor Nasir El-Rufai prayed for the repose of those slain, and sent condolences to their families, while wishing the injured a quick recovery. “ The Governor also tasked security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the clash in Atulu village in Jema’a local government area. “ Investigations into the incident are in progress”.

Meanwhile, the Ekiti Police Command on Sunday confirmed the kidnapping of one Agbanigo Isaac, from his farm, bringing to 10 the number of persons so far kidnapped in similar circumstances in the state, in the last few months.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the serial kidnapping had always ended in the release of the victims, although two deaths were recorded at the

scene of action, during the period.

Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), ASP Sunday Abutu, in a statement in Ado Ekiti, on Sunday, stated that Isaac, who resides in Ikere Ekiti, Headquarters of Ikere LGA of the state, was abducted on Saturday, at about 1600hrs on his farm, along Ajegbende- Ise Ekiti road.

He said that on the fateful day, at about 1845hrs, information got to Ilupeju-Ikere Ekiti Divisional Police Headquarters that some unknown armed men had abducted the man from his farm.

“Upon receipt of the information, a combined team of Police personnel from Ikere Ekiti Area Command and Ilupeju-Ikere Divisional Police Headquarters, mobilized to the scene where they met only the wife and children of the victim. ”Recounting the incident, the wife of the victim said that the family were about entering their vehicle to return home, after finishing the day’s work on the farm, when they were suddenly accosted by seven masked armed men who ordered them to lie down facing the ground or risk loosing their lives”.

According to her, after the

suspects had asked them series of questions, they escorted her and the children to the main road, but took away her husband to an unknown destination.

She revealed that her husband’s family members had been in dispute over the same farm with a lot of threats, before the incident happened, hence, she suspects that the feuding family members must be behind the abduction of her husband, as the abductors were all speaking in Ikere Ekiti dialect”, the PPRO quoted her as saying.

Abutu disclosed that the Command had already invited three persons for interrogation and for further investigation.

We hereby implore everyone to remain calm, as the Command will do everything possible to rescue the victim and apprehend those behind the abduction ”We have commenced a serious manhunt and investigation to unravel the identities and apprehend those behind the abduction. ”The Command, therefore, enjoins anyone with useful information that could assist the Police in apprehending the suspects to visit the nearest Police Station or call 08062335577″, he said. (NAN)

Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa (M); Zonal Coordinator of the National Sports Festival tagged Edo 2020, Mr Femi Ajao (3rd, R) and other officials during the arrival of the ‘Torch of Unity’ of the Games on Saturday in Akure. Photo: NAN

Makinde vows to expose those politicising security

G

ov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, says he will soon expose the people politicising security issues in the

state.

Makinde stated this on Sunday while addressing the congregation at the St. Peters Anglican Cathedral Church, Aremo, Ibadan.

The governor who admitted that the state was experiencing security challenges, however, said it was not peculiar to the state but nationwide.

He said security ought not to be politicised, “but if they are politicising issues of security because they want to be

in power in 2023, it means they are making mistake.

“If there’s no Oyo State or Nigeria by 2023 because of the politicisation of security; who and what are they going to govern?” he queried.

The governor said he and those working with him had taken time to investigate reports of security challenges across the state.

The governor implored those behind the politicisation of security challenges in the state because of their 2023 political ambitions to seek the face of God instead of engaging in actions that could trigger

insecurity in the state.

Makinde used the occasion to x-ray efforts made so far by his administration, in addressing the menace of insecurity.

Among the efforts were purchase of 100 units of KIA cars equipped with communication gadgets for security agencies and re-establishment of Swift Response Squad and Operation Burst.

Others are purchase of all communication equipment by security operatives and establishment of Amotekun security outfit with 1,500 corps.

He reassured all residents of the state

that his government would not rest until every nook and cranny of Oyo state was secured.

The governor further felicitated Christians and the entire people of Oyo state for the Easter celebration and admonished them to forgive one another.

Earlier, the Diocesan Archbishop of Ibadan North Diocese, Most Revd. Segun Okubadejo, charged every Christian to emulate the teachings and ways of life of Jesus Christ.

He urged Nigerians not to relent in praying to God Almighty for restoration of peace and a secured nation. (NAN)

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News

Insecurity: Ruling party are bereft of ideas to help Nigerians - CNPP From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

T

he National Chairman of Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) Hon. Adekunle Rufai Omo-Aje has said the ruling party are bereft of ideas to help Nigeria out of its security challenges.

He stated this in his Easter massage which was distributed to media in kaduna.

According to him, a nation where some of her citizens sleep with only one eye closed while majority do not sleep at all is a nation in pains.

Omo-Aje said it is time to reflect on the precarious situation the country find itself

NIPR applauds Army, Airforce for appointing members as spokesmen

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

Alleged N2.1b fraud: Appeal Court discharges and acquits Dokpesi

By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja

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he Abuja division of the Court of Appeal, has discharged and acquitted the founder of DAAR Communications PLC, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi of the N2.1billion money laundering charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

A three-man panel of Justices of the appellate court led by Justice Elfreda Oyebisi Williams-Dawidu, upheld the no-case submission made by Dokpesi and DAAR Communications.

The court held that the Antigraft agency failed to establish prima facie case against the appellant in all the seven-count criminal charges against him.

It held that EFCC failed to prove that the N2.1 billion allegedly received by the appellant as

payment was a proceed of breach of trust.

Justice Williams-Dawodu further held that the ingredients of the offences were not provided by the prosecution as required by law.

The appellate court agreed with the counsel to Chief Dokposi, Chief Kanu Agabi SAN, that being a predicate offence, the ingredients of the offences against the appellant must be clearly provided, adding that it is clear that none of the offences was established in line with provisions of law.

A federal high court, Abuja had in November. 2018 dismissed the no-case submission filed by the AIT founder on the grounds that a prima facie had been successful established against him by the EFCC in the alleged N2.1B money laundering .

Justice John Tsoho, the current Chief Judge of the court had after

the ruling, ordered Dokpesi to open his defense on the grounds that he had some explanations to offer in the charges against him.

However, dissatisfied with the ruling of the high court, Dokpesi approached the Appeal Court and prayed that the ruling of the lower court made against him be set aside and his no case submission be upheld.

The Court of Appeal agreed with Dokpesi and consequently set aside the decision of the lower court and also quashed the charges.

Justice William-Dowodu in a unanimous judgment held that there was nothing in the evidence of the 14 witnesses called by EFCC to persuade the court to compel the appellant to enter a defence in the charges where ingredients of the offence were not provided.

“No case was made against the

appellant in counts 1, 2, 3 and 4 to warrant his being called upon to open his defence.

“There is no possibility that the appellant can be convicted in the charges because the evidence of the witnesses are so manifestly unreliable.

“I am of the view that irrespective of the ingredients stated earlier, and those by the appellant and first respondent respectively, prior proof or establishment of the predicate offences in count 1,2,3 and 4 of the amended charge is sine qua non to the proof of the offences of money laundering specified in the said counts.

“In totality, this appeal has merit, it is allowed and the ruling of the Federal High Court is hereby set aside and the appellant is discharged,” Justice WilliamsDawodu held.

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

crime News

Soludo escapes death as unknown gunmen attack gathering in Anambra

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olice in Anambra have confirmed gun attack on a gathering being addressed

by Prof. Charles Soludo, former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor in his country home in Isuofia, Aguata in Anambra.

Soludo, a governorship aspirant of the All Progressive

Grand Alliance (APGA) in the November 6, 2021 election, was said to be holding meeting with youths of his town at Isuofia Civic Center in Aguata Local Government Area of the state when the gunmen stormed the place.

Tochukwu Ikenga, Police

Public Relations Officer (PPRO), who confirmed the attack to the News Agency if Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday evening in Awka, said he was not sure of the killings.

“I can confirm that there was a gathering in Isuofia community where Prof. Soludo and other

personalities gathered for a meeting on Wednesday, March 31, 2021.

“For now, we can only speak of the gun shots, but other details especially on whether there were causalities or not will be when we get more facts,” he said. (NAN)

From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

K

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he Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has commended the Nigerian Airforce and the Army for appointing members of the institute — Air Commodore EK Gabkwet and Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Yerima, as their spokespersons.

Mallam Mukhtar Sirajo, the President/Chairman of Governing Council, NIPR, gave the commendation in Abuja on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Sirajo said that letters of appreciation had been dispatched on March 26 to the Chief of Air Staff and Chief of Army Staff in respect to the appointments.

He noted that the NIPR had in the letter to the military acknowledged the support of the Army and Airforce to rid the Institute and Public Relations (PR) profession of quacks.

“In the letter, we thanked the military for the confidence it has reposed in our members and we will rally round them and avail them with all necessary support to ensure it remains proud of its decision.

“We also stated that the legal instrument that chartered the NIPR, which is Decree 16 of 1990, now CAP N114 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (2004), is very unambiguous about the illegality of practicing Public Relations without licensing by the institute.

“This means that the military does not only have confidence in the ability of the appointees but also respects professionalism, and is law abiding,” Sirajo said.

The letter sent by the NIPR to the Army and Airforce read in part: “The relationship between the Nigerian Military (Airforce and Army) and the NIPR has come a long way and has been a largely mutually respectful one.

Former APC National Chairman Comrade Adams Oshiomhole Addressing Pressmen While grandChildren and Great Grand Children Surrounded Him Shortly after Thanksgiving Service of 69th Birthday at St. Joseph Catholic Church Iyamho, yesterday in Edo State.

NSCDC deploys 20,000 personnel for Easter

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The Catholic Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Revd, Dr. Mathew Man-Oso Ndagoso [m] the Parish Priest Rev.Fr. Joseph Anieke [r] and Rev’ Father Stephen Oyiema with other members during the station of the Cross service at St. John’s Catholic Church,Kaduna on Friday. pic by Shehu K. Goro

INEC Chairman says NIN not a must for voter registration

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

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he Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Thursday, clarified that the National Identification Number (NIN) would not be made mandatory for its coming continuous voter’s registration, CVR. The CVR has been scheduled to recommence in June 28, this year.

The Chairman of INEC, Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu, made the clarification while addressing journalists in Abuja.

The NIN, Yakubu pointed out, was only a means of identification for registration listed in the Electoral Act. In an answer to a question on the issue, Yakubu said, “I want to make this important clarification; NIN is

not going to be made mandatory for voter registration.

“This is for a simple reason that we are operating on basis of law establishing INEC. “Section 10 of the Electoral Act lists of identifications to be presented by prospective registrants for the purpose of voter registration includes birth certificate, National Passport, National Identify card, Driver licence or any other document that will prove the Identity, age of the applicant,’’ he explained.

The INEC Chairman noted that the NIN card is just one of the means of identifications provided for under section 10 sub section 2 of the Electoral Act. His words, “We cannot single that (NIN) out and make it mandatory.

“All the other requirements are

requirements of the law and we must apply the law appropriately.

“Yes, if you have your national ID card, we will register you on that basis of presentation on the card, but we will not make it mandatory means of identification for the exercise.

“Since the law, the Electoral Act does not make it mandatory, it is only one of the many means of identification required,” he explained.

The Chairman further said that INEC has announced June 28 for the resumption of its suspended Continuous Voters Registration across the country, with new technology. He said that the commission would replace its Direct Data Capture Machine introduced in 2011, for voter registration with a new technology called, INEC Voter

Enrolment Device.

He explained that with the new innovations, prospective registrants could apply only and go to the nearest registration centre for data capturing to complete the exercise.

Yakubu further said that provision had been made for extra registration centres across the country, based on the measures in place to avoid overcrowding at registration points for those that want to do physical registration, On COVID-19 pandemic, the INEC boss said that 1,000 registration centres had been added to the existing 1,446 for the exercise to reach as many people as possible.

He however, advised prospective registrants that it was an offence to register more than once, saying, “citizens should only register once’’.

N900m Katsina/ Maradi road project takes off

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he Commandant-General (CG) of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr. Ahmed Abubakar Audi, has deployed 20, 000 personnel of the corps to provide security during this Easter celebrations.

Speaking yesterday while addressing newsmen in Abuja, Audi said the deployment was necessary considering the security challenges beclouding the country.

“I would like to assure Nigerians of a hitch free Easter celebration. And to also say that

the NSCDC will be out there to deal with any cases of insecurity that might arise.

“Our people will be stationed in strategic areas to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order.

“I have directed the deployment of over 20,000 personnel across the country to provide safety and security for Nigerians as they celebrate this occasion.

“I have also directed that the personnel must be up and doing.

They must also be assigned to our relaxation spots and I have also directed the deployment of covert operatives. They will

mingle, mix and dine with civilians in various places. These people will provide information for us. I would also like to say to Nigerians that security is everybody’s responsibility, and that when you see something, say something.

“I know that my men are everywhere by the Grace of God.” Speaking further on AgroRangers Unit, which is the latest addition to the mandates of the Corps, he said the unit will be repackaged and rebranded.

“We shall fortify the rangers with adequate training and re-

training programmes to key into the agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure food security and banish hunger in the country, by protecting and securing farmers and their investments from incessant attacks by bandits, cattle rustlers, terrorists and other criminals,” said the NSCDC boss.

Dr. Audi, who promised to invest heavily in human capital development, added that he will surround himself with a team of experts, professionals and a think-tank that will spearhead the digitalization process of the Corps.

Easter: Police deploys 4,086 men in Adamawa From Umar Dankano,Yola

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he Adamawa state Police Command has deployed a total of 4,086 of its personnel across the 21 local government areas for the Easter celebration.

Spokesman of the Command, DSP Suleiman Nguroje made the development

known in a press release issued in Yola, Thursday, saying that the State commissioner of police, Aliyu Adamu Alhaji ordered a water-tight security deployment and proactive high visibility patrols in all the councils.

“The commissioner of police directs all divisional police officers and their supervisory area commanders to ensure a

peaceful celebration”, the release stated.

Nguroje added that the CP equally directed the operational officers to ensure massive deployment of intelligence and other operational assets of the force, particularly on major highways, airports, recreational centres, motor- parks, places of worship, financial institutions, schools amongst others.

atsina state government has commenced the construction of the over N900 million Jibia-Jibiyar MajeTashar Aibo road which will connect the state and Maradi in Niger Republic.

Officials of the two countries met at Jibia to signify the start of the three kilometers road project which the Katsina state Governor Aminu Bello Masari promised to undertake.

Builder Biyaminu Muhammad Albaba, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport, speaking shortly before handing over the site to the contracting firm, said the Governor decided to embark on the road project to provide easy linkage between the communities along the borders and boost economic and social activities amongst them.

Albaba explained that, the three kilometer road would be fully asphalted and involve the construction of a three span bridge and some hydraulic structures.

According to him, the road project is expected to be completed within the next six months.

Engineer Jihad Malouf, representative of the construction firm, in his address, expressed gratitude to the Katsina state government for awarding the contract to the company.

Malouf assured that the company would do it’s best to execute the job according to specified standard and the required date of completion.

He however appealed to the people of the affected communities to give it’s workers desired support and cooperation to enable them carry out their job with ease.

Alhaji Abdullahi Mamman, the leader of Government delegation from Maradi in Niger Republic, in his remark, commended the Katsina state Governor for offering to connect the road to the surfaced dressed road already constructed by the Nigerien government.

He expressed optimism that, the road will further cement the already existing cordial relationship between the government and people of the two states and as well boost economic development.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

PAGE 8

News Buhari condemns attempted coup in Niger Republic, Buhari says usurpation can’t be alternated to democracy greets exBy Egena Sunday Ode

President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the attempted coup in Niger Republic, saying “any illegal effort to depose a democratically elected government is not only despicable, but also unacceptable to democratic governments around the world.”

Speaking in a telephone conversation with Mahamadou Issoufou, his counterpart and outgoing President on the situation in Niger Republic, President Buhari warned that “the

international community is hostile to the change of government by violent and unconstitutional means,” according to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

“It is utterly naive to attempt the removal of an elected government by force.

“Military political adventurers should respect the will of the people and respect constitutional order.

“I’m particularly concerned about the negative impact of coups on African stability, peace

and progress.

“Nigeria cannot be indifferent to these dangers to Africa.

Coups are out of fashion and the involvement of the military in violent change of government is doing more harm than good to Africa”, the President was quoted to have said.

The Nigerian leader, the statement added, urged African leaders to “remain united against coups under whatever guise or form,” warning coup plotters to learn lesson from history on the consequences of instability caused by violent takeover of

governments.

According to the statement, President Buhari also used the occasion to congratulate the President-elect Mohamed Bazoum on his election victory and the outgoing President’s commitment to orderly and peaceful transfer of power.

The Nigerian leader also applauded the Niger’s security forces for suppressing the onslaught against the democratically elected Government of the people of Niger Republic, Shehu noted in the statement.

President of Guild of Editors, Dantiye at 60

By Egena Sunday Ode

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Staff of Shoprite, Ilorin Branch, protesting the transfer of ownership of the South African Company to Nigerian Investors on Saturday in Ilorin . photo: NAN

KDSG urges compliance with Covid-19 protocols during Easter celebrations From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

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esidents of Kaduna State have been reminded to maintain compliance with Covid-19 protocols during the Easter holidays and beyond.

The State Commissioner for Health Dr. Amina MohammedBaloni stated this in a statement made available to media in kaduna yesterday.

The Ministry commended citizens for their role in helping

to reduce infection rates in recent days and urged them to continue to observe the necessary precautions, including avoiding non-essential travel, wearing facemasks in public, maintaining physical distancing and avoiding large gatherings.

The statement added that the State Covid-19 Taskforce, chaired by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, has reviewed the Covid status of the state and welcomes the declining rate of infections being recorded of

recent. “ The taskforce wishes to commend citizens for their sacrifices over the past year as part of the efforts to contain the virus, minimise infections and fatalities and enable the safe pursuit of livelihoods.

“While infection rates are falling, they can rise again as we witnessed in Nigeria from late 2020 and as many countries across the world are painfully experiencing with fresh waves

of mass infections.

“Therefore, the Taskforce appeals to citizens to continue to observe precautions and preventive measures against Covid-19, including avoiding non-essential travel, wearing facemasks in public, maintaining physical distancing and avoiding large gatherings.

“This is why parties and large events remain prohibited, and event venues, clubs and bars are reminded that they not yet permitted to resume operations.”

resident Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with former two-term President of Nigerian Guild of Editors and renowned Communications Strategist, Malam Halilu Ibrahim Dantiye, on his 60th birthday, April 2, 2021.

Buhari, in a statement, congratulated the veteran journalist for more than 40 years of service to his profession, with many scores, including working as Permanent Secretary in Kano State.

The statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, noted that Buhari joined the Nigerian Union of Journalists and Nigerian Guild of Editors in celebrating with Malam Dantiye, fondly called “Baba’’, whose dedication to his profession, and passion for development communication impacted greatly on the dynamic media industry, regularly positioning him for more responsibilities and leadership roles.

The statement further read: “President Buhari notes the journalist’s versatility as a member of National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Secretary of Kano State Steering Committee on Ease of Doing Business, Chairman, Technical Committee on Kano State Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project, and serving as Director General, Media and Communications, to Executive Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and his predecessor, Sen. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso.

“The President believes Malam Dantiye’s experience will always be relevant in development, praying that the Almighty God will continue to bless him with longer life and good health.’

Katsina NGO vows to check human right abuses From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

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non governmental organization, the Human Rights Network of Nigeria, Katsina state chapter said it has zero tolerance for all forms of human rights abuses and trafficking, drug abuse and rape, stressing that, it only has respect for the rule of law.

Comrade Abdullahi Izma Yamadi, the

state coordinator of the organization stated this when he led other officials on a courtesy visit to the controller correctional service, Alhaji Muhammad Abdulmumini in his office.

“The organization in Katsina state will bring to the bearest minimum such abuses to ensure sanity amongst the people, the rule of law must be respected”, he added.

He commended the state chief judge

for his foresight to establish the community conflicts and dispute resolution centres, saying it will go a long way in creating the desired awareness amongst the people.

According to him, the centres would also foster unity and understanding amongst the population.

Yamadi however assured that, the NGO would continue to monitor the activities of the correctional service for improved service

delivery.

He called on wealthy individuals in the state to assist the correctional centres in areas of rehabilitation, equipments for the skills acquisition centres and the integration of convicts into the society after their jail terms.

Alhaji Muhammad Abdulmumini, the state controller correctional service, responding promised to partner with the NGO for effective service delivery.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

By Stanley Onyekwere

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liko Dangote Foundation (ADF), on Wednesday, empowered a total of 16,000 women in all the 16 local governments area of Kwara State.

Each of the 16 thousand rural women were given the sum of N10,000 each, to help boost their petty trade and also start new businesses.

In all, a total of N160,000 million were given to the rural women in a funfair event, held in Moro Local Government area of Kwara State.

Deputy Governor of the state, who stood in for the Governor, Abdulraham Abdulrasaq, lauded the ADF empowerment programme and described it as part of the key economic tools needed to boost the socioeconomic activities of the rural areas, and ultimately the state.

He said “This Aliko Dangote Foundation empowerment programme will impact positively on the socio-economic activity of our state. We are so pleased with this and cannot thank Aliko Dangote enough. We don’t want people to come and unnecessarily populate the urban areas, we want to encourage people to stay in the rural areas and add value to the respective lives and also to the state economy. This indeed is a noble gesture” Dangote’s Group Executive Director, Government and Strategic Relations, Eng. Ahmed Mansur, who represented Aliko Dangote said “...To Aliko Dangote, whom much is given, much is expected. Dangote is being blessed by Allah and he enjoys sharing some of his blessings with the people around him. This investment in the rural areas will circulate well in this rural areas and also boost the economy of the state eventually...We are going to do this on all the local governments in Nigeria.

In the same vein, the Managing Director and Chief executive of ADF, Zouera Youssoufou, explained that the empowerment programme is an ongoing activity of the Foundation and that while some Local Governments have been covered already, all rural women in the local governments, across the the country will benefit from this noble gesture from Aliko Dangote.

She said: “ ... the focus is on women because we all need to note that once you support a woman, you are supporting the whole family and the multiplier effect of that will be very great...

We have done several states in the past and today we are also doing for kwara, empowering 1,000 women for each of the 16 local governments in kwara. Each of the women gets 10,000 each, to be disbursed immediately and concluded within the next three

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News

Dangote empowers 16,000 rural women in all Kwara LG weeks all across the state...

It would be recalled that the same ADF recently launched a major philanthropic programme in Zamfara State, doling out food items running into several millions of naira to support victims of insurgency.

The farmers-herders clash and sporadic attacks by cattle rustlers have displaced thousands, many of whom are currently seeking refuge at Maradun Local Government Area of the State.

According to official reports over 3,000 people have been killed, about 100,000 displaced, of which about 30,000 are in Maradun LG, and over 500 people kidnapped.

Group Executive Director Government Relations and Strategic Relations Mansur Ahmed who presented the food items on behalf of the Group President Aliko Dangote said the Foundation was supporting the government and traditional leaders in meeting the needs of the IDPs. Only recently Mr. Dangote was rated the world’s 6th largest donors, and Africa’s richest person for almost a decade. His Aliko Dangote Foundation has been endowed with a staggering $1.25billion. He was also listed

by Forbes Magazine among the 75 people that make the world turn.

Dangote Foundation had also injected over N7billion to create succor in North East in the wake of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Mr. Ahmed, an Engineer, said Mr. Dangote was very disturbed about the plight of the displaced persons and quickly directed that everything possible is done to provide succor.

Mr. Ahmed said the company was building a 200000-ton capacity of rice mill in Maradun and that when completed this year it would create hundreds of job opportunities for the people of Zamfara State.

Responding, the Emir of Maradun Muhammad Garba Tambari said he was highly elated as the company is the first to intervene by providing food support for displaced persons.

He commended Mr Dangote for the gesture and promise to help secure his investment in his Emirate.

Chairman of the Maradun Local Government Alhaji Yahayah Shehu Maradun thanked the Dangote Foundation for the gesture and pray God to continue to bless the Dangote business.

It would also be recalled

that the Federal government, also recently revealed that the N1.2billion hostel donated by the Aliko Dangote Foundation to Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is the single largest donation by an individual in the history of Universities in Nigeria.

Executive Secretary of the National University Commission (NUC) Professor Abubakar Adamu Rasheed who represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the commissioning of the Aliko Dangote Hall extended the Federal Government’s appreciation to the President of the Dangote Group.

The President said: “You have done what no other Nigerian has done since 1948 when the first university was founded. This is the single largest intervention by any individual in any university in this country in the 70 years history of our university. So I congratulate Alhaji Aliko Dangote.”

A visibly elated Governor of Kaduna State Nasir Ahmad elRufai who is also an alumnus of the university hailed Alhaji Aliko Dangote for the giant project.

He described Dangote’s generosity as unprecedented, especially his support for education.

Speaking the Vice-Chancellor

of the University Professor Ibrahim Garba said Mr. Dangote will forever remain dear to the Ahmadu Bello University.

He added:” The student population of ABU is over 50,000, made up of about 35,000 undergraduates and about 15,000 postgraduates. Every year, 11,500 undergraduates and about 6,000 postgraduates are admitted while about 6,000 undergraduates and 3,000 postgraduates respectively graduate. In any one academic year, we are only able to accommodate about 13,000 students on our two campuses.”

The Vice Chancellor said:” We are happy that Alhaji Aliko Dangote has fulfilled the pledge he made in 2016 to build 10 blocks of hostels for Ahmadu Bello University’s student to improve their living condition.

“We may accommodate six students per room. This will certainly go a long way in ameliorating the accommodation scarcity bedeviling the university.

“We thank Alhaji Aliko Dangote for his intervention, we thank member of the Aliko Dangote Foundation and the entire Dangote Family. This is unprecedented for us we can’t ask for anything more except if he thinks of anything he wants to add on his own volition.”

Obi at Easter, charges Nigerians to work for peace

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

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he Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Vice Presidential Candidate in the 2019 General elections, Mr Peter Obi has called on Nigerians to be mindful of the need to continue to work for peace which underscores the essence of Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday.

In a statement from his media office, the former Anambra state Governor urged Christians to imbibe the ideals of perseverance, sacrifice and commitment to the will of God which characterized the Lenten season.

Obi congratulated Christians and all Nigerians who are alive to witness this year’s Easter, reminding the faithful that “we are alive today only by God’s

grace and favour and not that we are in any way special before the almighty or better than the dead.”

The former Anambra State governor, in the statement signed

by Media assistant, Valentine Obienyem reiterated the need for Nigerians to pray continually and work towards peace, stability and progress. He noted that peace can only be achieved when Nigerians

from across the country imbibe peace by shunning terrorism, banditry and other acts inimical to peaceful coexistence.

While wishing Nigerian Christians happy celebrations, Obi noted that the lesson of Easter is for Christians to rededicate themselves to the teachings of Christ which are peace, faith, hope and love.

R-L-: The Bishop of Kaduna Anglican Diocese ,Rt. Rev’d Timothy Yahaya, the Cathedral warden,Arc. Ndanusa Fearon and the Sub-Dean of the Cathedral, Venerable Joseph Olorunfemi during the Easter Sunday service at the Cathedral of St.Michael Anglican Church, Kaduna on Sunday.

Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Kaduna sets to check spread of COVID-19 - CMD From:Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

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he Chief Medical Director of Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Kaduna, Professor Jika Yusuf has said that institution has put machineries in place to check the spread of Covid-19 pendemic and continue with its primary assignment of

treating mental illness.

He stated this during the inspection of projects put in place to ensure that the checking of the spread of Covid-19 and prompt treatment of mental illness becomes reality.

Professor Jika Yusuf said the Government assisted COVID 19 projects includes; provision of Personal

Protective Equipment to all service rendering staff, construction of Modular Laboratory, provision of ten bedded intensive care units with four dialysis machines along with 10 ventilators.

He explained that the projects under COVID 19 are provision of 2 new ambulances, construction of isolation centre with Intensive Care Unit.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

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News Easter: Bishop urges Nigerians to have Odumakin’s hope in God despite challenges death huge

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he Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Enugu, Most Rev. Callistus Onaga, has enjoined Nigerians to have hope in God despite the myriad of challenges facing the country.

Onaga made the call in his Easter message titled: “Hope in God’’ made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Sunday.

The cleric noted that in spite of all the challenges being witnessed in the country; “God

is with us, Nigerians.’’

“Easter is the centre of Christianity, our doctrine and faith.

“The victory and hope which Jesus Christ brought to us over death and fear of death by His resurrection, is the message of Easter.

“With the resurrection which is the central message of Easter, there is hope that everything around us would resurrect and turn out positive,’’ he said.

The bishop noted that every year, the country usually had challenges, but this year’s challenges seemed more.

“At presently, we have security, economy and political challenges and they are made more complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. People and government all over the world are grappling with.

“However, in all these, God is with us and there is hope for better days. We must also have

hope in God since He is the author of all we do,’’ he said.

Onaga wished all Nigerians especially Christians and people living in Enugu State a happy Easter celebration.

The cleric also prayed for the healing and intervention of God in the nation’s security, economy and political challenges.

“Nigerians should also support government policies and programmes meant for their welfare,’’ he added. (NAN)

loss, says Yoruba group

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he National Coordinator, Yoruba Patriots Movement (YPM), Mr Oladosu Oladipo, has described as a huge loss, the death of the spokesman for Afenifere Renewal Group, Mr Yinka Odumakin.

In a condolence message in Lagos, Oladipo said that Odumakin’s death was a huge loss to Yoruba people and the entire Nigeria.

He said that the deceased contributed immensely to the political development of Nigeria.

The coordinator described the late Odumakin as a great patriot, who would be missed by many including members of YPM. “May God console his wife and other members of his family.

“May his gentle soul rest in peace,” he prayed. (NAN)

2020 accreditation: NUC commends How Obaseki’s reforms created ‘difficulties for saboteurs’—Edo HoS IBBUL on facilities L-R: Federal Controller of Works, Lagos State, Olukayode Popoola, Director of Highways, Bridges and Design, Emmanuel Adeoye; State Chairman of the National Automobile Technicians Association of Nigeria (NATAN), Jacob Fayehun; and Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, during a meeting with NATAN Chairman by the Minister Minister on Saturday

By Osaigbovomwan

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he Edo State Government says ongoing reforms in the public service geared towards providing the dividend of democracy for the people have made things difficult for saboteurs in Government.

The State Head of Service (HoS), Mr. Anthony Okungbowa said this at an interactive session with newsmen in Benin City.

He said the initiative by the State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki ended a stalemate between the Government and pensioners over unpaid pensions arrears by successive Government.

Okungbowa noted that the problems which could have eroded public confidence in the Government were resolved through commitment to the welfare of workers and prudent Management of State finances by the Governor.

“You will recall that for a very long time, retirees were not paid their arrears for months and in some cases years of pensions, they

use to go out wearing black cloths to protest against the Government in the past. Some of them even slumped and died while waiting for pensions during past Government.

“But due to the commitment and will power, is became easier not because the Government have a lot more money than it had in the past, but again prudent in the management of finances of the State in addition to knowing where to out your money by prioritizing were key to the achievements in the pension reforms”, he said.

The HoS stated that the deployment of Data, regular biometrics of Civil Servants and pensioners by Governor Obaseki through the ICT, helped the Government helped to eliminate ghost workers in the State Civil Service.

“Despite this achievements, there we fifth Columnists that would want to subvert the process.

What we have continue to do as a Government is to create less opportunities for them to succeed in their endeavour, then there will

be less crimes for them to create.

“So, you make things difficult for them. Even when you have a well secured house, that is no guarantee that thieves will not come. But what you do is to make it difficult for thrives to be able to break into the house. From time to time, check your locks and all that. The Government has made it more difficult for this saboteurs to succeed in their enterprise”.

Continuing, Mr. Okungbowa said, “there has been infractions and there will always be infractions, but how many of those infractions occurs is another thing entirely?

When you make it increasingly difficult fit people to sabotage the system, which is the way Mr. Governor has being executing his anti-corruption fight.

“He (Obaseki) is not after sending people to prisons, but, block those loopholes that use to be there that people exploited, to get away has been blocked. Even the people who use to take interest in such things now know that it is not note difficult to do those

things.

“A lot of things has been wrong in the past, you go to Government hospital and you are suppose to have a doctor or nurse, but you can’t find him. When you go to his private clinic, you find him there at a time when he is suppose to be at work in Government hospital.

Is that not corruption? When we talk about corruption, we are not necessarily talking about people taking money that do not belong to them, pecuniary or financial corruption alone, nepotism is also corruption”, according to him.

The HoS also said that “when you are suppose to put a competent person in a place or work when you have the authority to do so, but you someone who is less competent because is your brother or your friend or somebody who is related to you by way of consanguinity or affinity or in anyway related to you, is corruption. So, the Governor uses the word — corruption in a nebulous term not necessarily in the case of pecuniary or monetary consideration”.

From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

O

fficials of the National Universities Commission (NUC) has visited Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL) to assess the quality of undergraduate academic programmes and learning facilities.

The applauded management efforts put in place thus far.

Apparently, this is in line with its Basic Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS), which also made commendations and some suggestions that would strengthen the excellence of the teaching and learning in the Institution.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

PAGE 11

Letter to the Editor

EDITORIAL

In the spirit of Easter

Today is Good Friday, the beginning of has cast over this year’s Easter the Christian Easter festival - a three festivities, Christians, indeed all of day festivity commemorating the end humanity, would do well to remember of Lent, the crucifixion, death and and uphold the true spirit of Easter, resurrection of Jesus Christ. Believed which is love. Scripture says, “No

by Christians to be God Himself greater love hath anyone than this, assuming a human form to give His life that a man should lay down his life to save sinful mankind, Jesus Christ for a friend...” Again, Christians are suffered torture at the stake, endured enjoined to “love thy neighbour as the shame of the cross, died, was buried thyself”. A neighbour is not only the and rose to life again on the third day - one that lives next door or a member Sunday. of your faith but a fellow human, be he This festival is celebrated in Christian, Muslim or an atheist even.

Christendom worldwide. In Nigeria, Because Christ “first loved us” we are the federal government, in recognition to show love to fellow humans in both of the unique significance of the word and deed. festival, has allowed a two day holiday Easter is a perfect occasion to exhibit today and Monday. Usually, Christians this love: the rich should remember to begin the festivities with a solemn feed, clothe and shelter the needy. We evening worship service in churches in should pray for our enemies to prosper, tune with the crucifixion and not perish, so that they death of the founder of their get a chance to change faith. Scripture describes their evil ways.

Christ as the “author and This is an In spite of the gloom finisher” of the Christian opportunity for the faith.

(Hebrews 12:2) that Covid-19 has faithful in the Lord to Another church worship cast over this year’s pray peace and security service takes place on Easter festivities, for Nigeria that is Sunday, aptly called Easter Christians, indeed ravaged by terror and Sunday. The tone is much communal conflict – all of humanity, more cheerful because it would do well to and now Covid-19. “The was on this day, more than prayer of a righteous remember and 2000 years ago, that Christ uphold the true spirit man upholds a nation”, rose from the dead. His of Easter, which is says the Christian holy resurrection, for Christians, book. love is victory over sin and Our political leaders death, raising the hope of an need our special prayers everlasting life in a new Paradise over to be able to govern with the fear of which Jesus would rule as King from God, justice and fairness. In particular, Heaven.

President Muhammadu Buhari and This year’s Easter is one with a his team need to be supported in their difference. The circumstances are effort to rid Nigeria of corruption in uniquely inauspicious. The mood high places. Corruption has converted worldwide is subdued, understandably our common wealth into the preserve so because of a new virus called of a thieving few; this cancer has turned Coronavirus, spreading the deadly a God endowed nation into a pauper.

Covid-19 disease. It has already Lastly, we ought to pray for peace killed thousands in many countries. in the whole world. There are countries Nigeria has reported 2,000 cases like Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and few hundreds of deaths. To and Somalia that are at war. These contain the spread of the virus, the wars are churning out millions of Federal Government initially locked refugees heading for Europe, thereby down Lagos and Abuja, the nation’s threatening its own peace. The peace of commercial and administrative capitals the world is our own peace. respectively. Later the lockdown was This is the spirit with which to mark made nationwide.

Easter. We wish all Nigerians a happy, In spite of the gloom that Covid-19 peaceful Easter. Shallom.

“

OUR MISSION

OUR PEOPLE

“To be the market Chief Operating Officer place of ideas and /Editor, the leading player Hameed M. Bello, PhD in the industry by putting the people first, upholding the Manager, administration Hassan Hammanyaji truth, maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards while HEAD, ADVERT delivering value to patrick UGAMA our stakeholders”

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Why the West is Paranoid about China

By Charles Onunaiju

L

ate last month, the European Union, United States, Britain and Canada each announced sanctions against China over alleged human right abuses in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, claiming an unproven repression of the Uyghur ethnic group. Also in a report of human rights published by the United States, it accused China of carrying out “genocide” against the Uyghur ethnic group.

The Orchestrated and well-coordinated West’s attacks on China, coming soon after the country declared”complete victory”over extreme or absolute poverty, that saw nearly 100 million lifted out of the scourge of poverty in the past eight years is not accidental. It is undeniable that poverty is the most vicious assault on human dignity and thereby, the greatest perpetrator of human right abuses. Poverty basically robs its victims of constructive thinking, deprives them rational judgments and choices. To live in poverty, illiteracy and ill-health is to be robbed of human essence and to leave in a state of nature, which the English Philosopher Thomas Hobbes described as bestial, brutish and short.

China just broke through the millennia scourge of poverty that has not only previously hobbled its people but trapped a sizeable portion of humanity, 10 years ahead of the UN hypothetical deadline for reduction of global poverty in 2030.

To relieve more than 700 million people of the scourge of poverty in a generation is no mean feat and so far, no country has accomplished that, therefore China is clearly a pacesetter whose example is worthy of serious interrogation.

At a time that United Nations has praised China for not only setting the pace in the fight against and defeat of poverty, but has made important contributions to the global efforts towards reduction of poverty, why is the West up in propaganda arms against China, using Hong Kong, Taiwan and Xinjiang as the underbelly for the coordinated slander despite that these territories are core components of China’s sovereign territorial integrity and as such, its internal affairs. The ethnic Uyghur nationality who is mainly Muslims is among other ethnic groups in the autonomous Xinjiang region. The status of autonomous regions is China’s practice and recognition that in any province where there are preponderance of ethnic minority groups, they should be considerable degree of autonomy that allows the ethnic minorities to play pivotal roles in managing their own affairs and inclusive governance process that preserves ethnic identity through the conservation and preservation of their unique features including language, customs, religion and even a national priority to support their accelerated development. In fact as a convention, richer provinces provide and make generous contributions to speed up the economic and wellbeing of lesser endowed provinces, especially the autonomous regions where ethnic minority groups are preponderant. Against the backdrop of this practice, the Uyghur ethnic group in Xinjiang has grown faster in population rate, than other ethnic groups, including the Han which has the lowest population growth rate within the same period.

With China’s “complete victory” over absolute poverty, which among other things saw the relocation of nearly 20 million people, mostly of minority ethnic groups from inhospitable mountainous areas to modern homes, with tailored skills and other facilities to support their new life in post-poverty rural revitalization scheme, China has shattered one of mankind’s enduring myth that poverty is a fate or a destiny.

Through a targeted poverty relief approach, designed to be followed meticulously as in doing embroidery, President Xi Jinping also, the General Secretary of the Communist Party at China (CPC) led the battle in the final assault against poverty fulfilling the solemn pledge of the party to achieve a moderately prosperous society in all respects, for all the Chinese people before the party marks one hundred years of its founding. It is well known and open fact that China has provision for universal health insurance scheme covering more

than 95% of its entire population, including rural residents and all ethnic national minority groups.

The content of the Western liberal democracies in which it have developed, expanded and even matured is the decisive growth in prosperity and affluence of middle class. For China, which has the largest middle class in the world at over 400 million, only continuous expansion of prosperity among its people can guarantee its Consultative Socialist democracy. No government who wish to repress and intimidate its own citizens would implement universal literacy, promote and guarantee universal health-care access and assiduously work for a widely shared prosperity, through eliminating extreme material deprivations.

If China has therefore, brought unprecedented prosperity to its people of all ethnic national groups why is the West fixated on the imaginary repression and abuse of the rights of ethnic minorities.

It is a well-known fact that modern China was founded against the will of the West for whom the old China was a lucrative colonial outpost for expropriation, exportation and domination.

Even China’s homegrown reforms and opening up was widely believed in the West to be destined to a dead end at which point China is expected to reconcile itself to western model of development as the only way to go. This however did not happen.

In recent years, China’s major power diplomacy has contributed immensely to the realignment of balance of forces in the international system in favor of inclusive international governance or multilateralism with international law and the United Nations System as the fulcrum of contemporary international life.

With China’s stunning development and bold imprints on the international arena, the example of China: self-made, confident, bold, unyielding to neither threats nor flattery; is one that the West cannot tolerate from among other developing countries from the South.

Since, China is long past the threat of regime change as even the most callous and implacable hawk of the Western political elite cannot contemplate a regime change in Beijing as Beijing will be unmoved, unshaken and unperturbed by any plot of regime change, the west has cowardly chosen the option of slander to blemish China’s giant strides in its all-round development and advancement, and to tarnish its example which is the real reason why the West spreads falsehood against China.

China has never claimed to have attained an Eldorado but always restate its strivings at improving the quality of lives of its people and making contributions to the cause of improving the lots of mankind.

On the international level, China pledges broad partnership and solidarity to tackle problems confronting humanity.

As a practical contribution to upscale global intercourse and cooperation, Beijing initiated the Belt and Road framework of international cooperation, a massive scheme of global infrastructure connectivity and seamless investment flows within and across countries to generate the compelling material and institutional infrastructure, necessary for the construction of a community of shared future for humanity.

The new wave of Sino phobia that is sweeping the western political establishment has no prospect to achieve anything concrete, or tangible as it would neither ruffle Beijing nor dilute the broad international excitement and admiration for the rise of major power that has neither encroached an inch of any one’s soil nor instigated regime-change violence anywhere to install a puppet regime to control and grab any one’s resources.

The trend of the contemporary international system is cooperation as dangerous pockets of non-traditional threats to our common humanity like COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, terrorism and others emerge, requiring broad partnership and international solidarity to tackle.

Onunaiju, is Research Director, Center for China Studies, Abuja.

PAGE 12

Opinion

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

Making the Easter celebration in Nigeria rewarding

By Jerome-Mario Utomi

O

n Sunday April 4, 2021, Christians in Nigeria joined their counterparts across the globe to mark/celebrate the great feast of Easter. Also called Paschal or Resurrection Sunday, the feast of Easter as we know is a Christian festival and holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day after his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. In reality, each time Nigerians celebrate this great feast, it’s not only a tradition but ritual of the sort that torrents of messages from public office holders in Nigeria, religious, socioeconomic and political leaders’ fly around the country.

Take as instance, President Buhari, in his 2021 Easter message signed by his Spokesman, Femi Adesina, reminded Nigerians that Easter celebration is an opportunity to renew hope and faith, show love and appreciation to one another and not to despair, no matter the challenges of the period, noting that Nigerians should not allow the antics of a few mischief mongers to fragment the unity and faith that the vast majority of citizens of this country cherish and believe in.

Indeed, it is important that Nigerians (both Governors and the Governed) adhere strictly to the above admonitions. However, to make this year’s celebration most rewarding for Nigeria and Nigerians, there is, need for all to, within this period, graduate from mere exercise of goodwill messages to reflecting about our nationhood and asking solution oriented questions.

Among other concerns, we must ask; how as a nation, we can

truly achieve a people- focused leadership in the country?

Accelerate economic, social and cultural development?

Make promotion of peace our dreams?

And support of our industries and improvement of our energy sector our central objective?

Most importantly, for the sake of clarity, these questions could further be classified into two; one that focuses on entire Nigerians.

And the second is majorly publicoffice holders’ specific, But in all, providing answers to them all is the objective of this piece, Beginning with concerns that focus on entire Nigerians, we must, as we celebrate this year’s Easter recognize that the future of our nation is full of opportunities as it is fraught with opportunity.

As it is said, “the destiny of the ship is not in the harbor but in sailing the high sea’’ and so shall our collective responsibility be, not to destroy this great nation but join hands to nurture and sustain it . We must wholesomely admit that If we are able to manage the present disunity and reorder our tribal loyalty which is currently stronger than our sense of nationhood, and navigate out of dangers of disintegration, it will once again, announce the arrival of a brand new great nation where peace and love shall reign supreme.

But, then, we can never achieve such a feat without admitting that no nation enjoys durable peace without justice and stability without fairness and equity!

To therefore, perfectly achieve this envisaged goal, individuals, communities, tribes/ethnic groups must stop flaunting the qualities that raised you above others.

As succulently warned by the sage, ‘never be so foolish to believe that you are stirring admiration by flaunting the qualities that raised you above others. By making

people aware of their inferior positions, you are only stirring unhappy admiration or envy that will gnaw at them until they undermine you in ways that you may not foresee’. It is only the fools who dare the god of envy by flaunting his victory.’

With this highlighted, let’s focus more on the concern that public office holders’ must also do away with.

First among such attitude by the public office holders that urgently needs to be dropped in the spirit of Easter is the barefaced illusion by leaders that they are more nationalistic or patriotic than other citizens. Forgetting that globally, Individuals, groups and communities have a right in decision making, planning and implementation of programs that affect them, They must come to terms that government has a duty to enable people affected by its policies and programmes participate in ways capable of transforming their social, political and economic conditions rather than merely using them as instruments to legitimize predetermined goals and priorities.

Also, within this period of reflection on Christ resurrection/ demonstration of love, it is important for the haves (the advantaged, the rich and nation’s politicians) with more political influence than those at the bottom, to drop attitudes like corrupt enrichment, intimidation of the poor and the less privileged. Such behaviors we must not fail to remember not only undermine representational equality, a key feature of democracy but promote disunity and fracture the nation’s amalgams.

But irrespective of the above, this call for restructuring is to my mind viewed as a one-sided

narrative and which we should handle with care in order not to end up curing the effect without scratching the cause. The problem that necessitated this agitation is more man-made than natural.

The deliberate demonstration of impunity, as well as superiority by one group or region, led to this burning agitation today.

Within this period, our leaders and policymakers must revisit and address the unending call for the nation’s restructuring. Particularly as the factors fueling such call bothers around misrule and very high propensity for corrupt nepotistic practices on the part of our leaders. These leaders in question have allowed themselves to become the primary reality that the people worry about as a result of their nefarious actions and inactions. What is playing out today in Nigeria is the result of the practical demonstration of the will of man as against the rule of law as practiced in the time past. Leaders without ‘disciplined thoughts and actions’ are the people holding sway on our political fronts and that informs the reason for our not having a disciplined political and socioeconomic culture as a nation.

Another issue that needs to be addressed in this season of Easter is the public office holders’ mindless policies which daily heats up the polity. In recent past, they (public office holders) have not been able to draw a distinction between politics and leadership. They play politics all the way. In doing so, they use the people to further their own end which is unpleasant, selfish, narrow-minded and petty. Their politics involves intimidating people, getting things done by lying or other dishonored means’.

These need to be dropped.

To make this Easter celebration

enduring as well as bear the expected fruit, let us be holistic in approach. Let us commence first by restructuring thought-system as a people and through that process, restructure the nation.

This step is important as no matter how beautiful a policy appears, no matter how strong an institution tends to be, we always have deconstructionists who can undermine it. Bearing this in mind, our primary concern should be to work out modalities for instituting a reorientation plan that will erase the unpatriotic tendencies in us as well as usher in a robust nation. Let us bear in mind also that restructuring a political entity called Nigeria is important but restructuring our mentalities is not just essential but fundamental.

In the same vein, every generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it. Now that restructuring has graduated from mere rhetorics to become an issue of national concern, your responsibility and mine also graduate double-fold. First, it is time for us to use our intelligence devoid of emotional attachment to ask solution oriented questions in a solution- oriented manner.

Very outstandingly also, the fact is that we should develop a ‘war room’ using our resolve and powers to fight the undemocratic and criminal tendencies in our consciences in order to usher in a truly egalitarian nation we all yearn for. This pivotal step must be taken as failure to achieve this may render our quest for new Nigeria elusive.

Utomi is the Programme Coordinator (Media and Policy), Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Lagos. He could be reached via;jeromeutomi@yahoo. com

China strives to achieve common prosperity for all

By He Yin

C

hina will bring people’s wellbeing to a new level and take solid steps toward achieving common prosperity during its 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), according to the country’s Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035.

By 2035, people will lead a better life, and more notable and substantial progress will be achieved in promoting well-rounded human development and achieving common prosperity for everyone, said the document.

The ultimate goal of China’s endeavors to advance reform and opening up as well as socialist modernization is to ensure that development is for the people, by the people, and with people sharing in its fruits.

The people-centered philosophy of China, a major country in the world, and the Communist Party of China (CPC), a major political party, has attracted worldwide attention.

The key to governance of a country is to improve its people’s lives, and common prosperity is the shared aspiration of all Chinese people.

The CPC has always been committed to its original aspiration and mission of seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation.

Eliminating poverty, improving people’s livelihood, and achieving common prosperity are the essential requirements of socialism as well as important goals of China’s efforts to advance economic and social development.

Through an arduous journey over a long period of time, China has significantly improved the quality of life among the Chinese people and promoted the sharing of development fruits in the society.

In the new era, China determines to pursue shared development, aiming to “make the pie bigger” and divide it fairly at the same time and bring people a stronger sense of accomplishment and gain.

China has won the battle against poverty and completed the daunting

task of eradicating absolute poverty.

Such a historic miracle of China marks a milestone on the country’s journey to improving people’s well-being and achieving common prosperity.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the country has lifted 98.99 million rural poor residents living under the current poverty line out of poverty, removed all of its 832 poor counties and 128,000 poor villages from the poverty list, and resolved overall regional poverty.

It has pulled an average of more than 10 million people out of poverty each year, equivalent to the population of a medium-sized country.

Such achievements in poverty alleviation are considered a tremendous change in the more than 5,000 years of history of the Chinese nation, as well as an unprecedentedly brilliant feat in the history of the world.

“We will work to ensure that growth and development benefit all countries and peoples and that the livelihood of all people, especially those in developing countries, will

get better day by day,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping, pointing out the direction for joint efforts of countries.

Over the years, China has always been a contributor to global development, and an active advocate and strong promoter of global poverty reduction.

The country has been engaged in facilitating South-South cooperation, pushing forward the high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road, and supporting and assisting other developing countries, the least developed ones in particular, in their fight against poverty, shouldering its responsibilities on the path of pursuing common development.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the poverty-stricken population in the world has risen for the first time in many years, which poses challenges to the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations (UN).

Against the background, China has fully shaken off poverty, marched toward comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society, and progressed steadily along the road to common prosperity, which has

greatly inspired and encouraged the rest of the world.

China’s magnificent accomplishment in alleviating poverty brings hope and inspiration to international society, said UN Secretar y - G e n e r a l A n t o n i o Guterres in a congratulatory letter to China on its complete victory over poverty.

As China embarks on a new journey of fully building a modern socialist country, it will continue to adhere to its people-centered philosophy, improve people’s livelihood, and promote social fairness and justice, which is believed to bring the Chinese people a stronger sense of accomplishment and gain.

By actively advancing the inclusive development of countries and trying to ensure that the fruits of development benefit people of various countries more thoroughly, China is bound to make great contributions to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

He Yin writes for People’s Daily

PAGE 13

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

Comment

Apapa Gridlock: Why everyone should support ‘Eto’

By Niran Adedokun

F

our weeks after the take off of Etó, the electronic truck callup system introduced by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), it could be tempting to dismiss it as one of those futile governmental initiatives.

Last week, three weeks into the deployment of the app, which is expected to take over the movement, scheduling, entry and exit of trucks into the ports, there were countless reports of trucks returning back unto the streets like the times of old. From the two possible access points into Apapa, the terrorism of trucks and their drivers returned to the frustration of those stakeholders who were convinced that the introduction of Etó would end truck congestion.

To put the matter in context, for years before NPA’s intervention of February 27, trucks queued up right from Wharf Road at the tip of the Lagos Port Complex to tens of kilometres as far back as Western Avenue past Ojuelegba, Fadeyi and Onipanu areas of Ikorodu Road.

At the other end, you had trucks going as far back as Toyota and Charity areas of the Oshodi/ Apapa Express way.

On either side, these trucks constituted a menace by taking every part of road without regards to the need of others. This anomaly went on for years in spite of all sort of methods employed by government. In the course of the Buhari administration alone, Vice President Yemi Osibanjo has visited the ports at least on two occasions, one of which he embarked on some aerial surveillance that resulted in the creation of a Presidential Task Force. Almost with all of these interventions, the best you had was a possible few day of respite, after which everything fell apart with truck drivers going haywire and

blocking the roads again. With this seeming intractability, everyone who had something to do with Apapa lived in despair. Businesses had to leave or go completely under while residents lost hope that they could ever get back to the days when Apapa was one of the choicest parts of Lagos.

Then the Nigerian Ports Authority, backed by the legal seal and human capital of the Lagos State Government, introduced Etó App, which, if only for aiming at eliminating human interface, came as an edge over all others interventions.

Aside from being an electronic platform, which will reduce or eliminate the physical influence of human beings, the NPA reasoned, and with quality facts, that many trucks milling on the roads have no ready business in the ports.

They are only on the access road tramping, like rogue buses that leave motor parks to seek passengers on the roads in circumvention of procedure. These trucks drivers just drive towards the ports in search of business and constitute an impediment to those who may in fact, have legitimate reasons to be at the ports and other road users.

This was going to be an impossibility with Etó under which truck parks have been licensed.

Trucks, regardless of which part of the country they are driving in from, are expected to download the app and book to berth at designated parks and then await the call up into the ports through the app. The idea is that no truck is expected to be on the access roads to the ports unless they have been called with the evidence of the Etó ticket otherwise they would be impounded and dealt with according to the laws of Lagos State. The governor, Mr Babajide Sanwolu, himself gave a personal stamp to this initiative.

Etó showed its capacity to

solve the truck congestion problem immediately after take-off. For the first few days, the roads were free of traffic to the applaud of stakeholders, who praised the NPA and Lago State Government for the feat. But then suddenly, trucks started getting back on the roads and sceptics who never thought there would be an end to the shame at Apapa, went to town with all sorts of stories about the untimely collapse of Etó.

Now to reach such conclusions within four weeks of the operations of the app is to say the least, unfortunate. It also shows people’s mischief or total lack of understanding of the process of reform. Anywhere in the world, innovations are bound to face a measure of preliminary snags, some which can only become obvious in the course of implementation. As these teething problems present themselves, they open the process up for modifications, which lead to the perfection and maturity of the process. This is even more so in Nigeria, where entrenched interests are pervasive and ever imposing on the majority.

In the case under discussion for instance, a variety of reports have established that syndicates emerging from recurring task forces, security agents, traffic officials and even officials of the NPA have created an industry where as much as N12. 5 billion illegal money is made from commercialising traffic control, annually. There have been stories of fantastic sums that people take home daily from rent seeking. The perpetrators of this illegalities would prefer that Nigeria continues to lose the average of about N20.8 billion per day as Dutch consultancy firm Dynanmar indicated last September than lose their own accruals. It would be foolhardy to then imagine that this expansive cartel would fold their arms without fighting back by

frustrating the innovation throwing them out of business. Of course not. And the only antidote to these saboteurs who are now fighting like headless snakes is the resilience and refusal to contemplate failure.

In the interim, stakeholders need to understand that every uncomplimentary remark about Etó, which comes from the Yoruba word meaning “to organise things in an orderly manner”, buoys the ego of those who want to frustrate the innovation. People must therefore ask questions from the appropriate quarters rather than promote speculations that detract from the steady successes of the app.

For example, such questions would have revealed that last week’s congestion was compounded by a 24-hour downtime experienced by one of the terminal operators. As a result of this unfortunate downtime, the operator could not receive export cargoes. By the time the problem was solved, over 980 trucks which already had Etó Tickets were on the queue to access the ports.

Managing Director of the NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman explained in a radio interview that this led to the suspension of export receipts until the backlog was cleared, hopefully within two weeks. Without the proactive suspension of export cargoes receipts, there would have been an unprecedented inflow of trucks on the roads since last week.

Stakeholders also harp on the need to make the ports in Calabar, Port Harcourt, Warri and Onne more functional. But the NPA has argued that the choice of cargo destination is usually that of the owner. And in making those decisions, he considers factors like access to the final place of use amongst others.

More importantly, the Authority is currently making efforts to attract patronage to the eastern ports as they are called.

Last week, 7,000 metric tonnes of cocoa passed through the Calabar Port in Cross River State to the United States of America. This was the first time that would happen in about 14 years. Records from 2020 also indicate that while the very busy Lagos Port Complex received 986, the Onne Ports had 696 vessels calling. Delta Ports, Warri had 653, Rivers Port in Port Harcourt had 316, Calabar Ports had 194 and 1,127 vessels called at the Lagos Tin Can Island Port. Regardless of the fact that the eastern ports are operational, the NPA, in a bit to optimise the capacity of each of these ports, is encouraging concessionaires to explore opportunities that the eastern ports offer. There have been discounts on harbour dues as well as regular engagements with stakeholders in the area just to ensure that shipping companies have more confidence in the safety and security of their vessels, its crew and cargoes.

Critical to solving the traffic congestion issue however is the irreversible commitment to multimodal transportation. With the increasing use of barges and rail for cargo movement, there will be less concentration on the roads such that they will even last longer. In all, what needs to be learnt is that the success of Etó is dependent on the cooperation of all stakeholders. This cooperation includes committing to doing the right thing, being constructive about criticisms and giving the operation time to mature. Stakeholders must also call out every form of sabotage from those who profit from the current confusion. The management of the NPA itself must keep its eyes on the ball. Like every attempt at change, this cannot be a walk in the park, but it is possible.

Adedokun tweets @ niranadedokun

ASUP strike: Another time bomb in Nigeria

By Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim

T

he End SARS protest which did more harm than good for the country; its pragmatic bombshell still remains and ignite fear.

Research has shown that End SARS protest was successful and made dreaded impact because of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU long strike at that time because an idle man is a devil workshop.

Though, strike of such nature is not a new trend in the country but the ousted strike came with some different features because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

On the 6th of April 2021, all the Nigerian 69 Polytechnics, Colleges of Agriculture and Colleges of Education are shutting down for an indefinite strike.

This means the future of the Nigerian youths is heading to another misfortune. After the trauma, the poverty and the crashed of hopes caused by the Coronavirus effects, another misfortune is befalling Nigerian students.

The ASUP said the strike is mandatory at this time because the governments failed to fulfill the promises they made to its members.

The Union lamented that the Federal Government and some state governments are yet to pay 10 months arrears of the new minimum wage owed to its members, and some state governments were yet to implement the new minimum wage scale to its members.

Yet to implement the Needs Assessment Report of 2014 in public Polytechnics and like institutions.

The Federal Government should reconstitute governing councils in all Federal Polytechnics and in State-owned Polytechnics where such is yet to be constituted.

Release owed Staff salaries in states like Abia, Ogun, Osun, Benue, Plateau, Edo and Cross River, and implement full salary payments in Sokoto, Kaduna, Adamawa and other institutions with such reports.

Release of promotion arrears in Federal Polytechnics and payment of same as well as annual

increments in Adamawa, Plateau and other states with similar cases.

Withdrawal of the letter containing spurious, incoherent and unsubstantiated claims of PAYE tax liabilities in 19 Federal Polytechnics.

Ensure full implementation of the provisions of the Federal Polytechnics Act as well as its domestication in Adamawa, Kano, Sokoto, Abia, Niger and other states affected.

Stop attempts at forcing the ASUP members Colleges of Agriculture out of the Union.

Implement the 65 years retirement age for academic Staff in State-owned institutions like in Kano, Kaduna and other states institutions in the country.

Workers strike in Nigeria has become the only antidote to workers’ panacea for them to claim what is their own. Workers prefer the work no pay method to wage their grievances, and it seems to be a win for Nigerian government. If government will continue to allow strikes to take effect before arresting it, Nigerians will perceive another

motif by government. People will look at it as another lucrative revenue venture for government to tap some money from its workers.

Just recently, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities NASU and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities SSANU suspended it’s strike. while, the ASUU strike lasted for 9 months.

Meanwhile, Judiciary workers, under the aegis of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), have declared an indefinite nationwide strike to press home their demands for the financial autonomy of the judiciary starting from Tuesday 6th of April.

And, National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) is also on strike demanding for better work facilities and the welfare for its members while the indigent Nigerians are dying at home. The strike by NARD represents almost 40 percent of Nigeria’s doctors at this time of Coronavirus pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic is still ravaging the good future of Nigerian youths. It has brought a sluggish progress in Jamb Examination,

schools’ admission and National Youth Service Corps programme.

And, in this time of insecurity issue we should remember that an idle man is a devil workshop and psychologists said an emotional trauma is the mother of all crimes.

The picture of Nigerian education is daunt with many faults for students and ASUP strike is another time bomb that will distort the future of Nigerian polytechnic students. Nevertheless, to save the country from many faults it is a good advice for the government of all level to stop the 6th of April strike initiated by ASUP because one match can be the cause of burning a whole village and a hungry man is a angry man just like a devastated person is a mad man as the case of End SARS, the event should be a lesson to all while the mayhem is still fresh in our minds.

Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim is the Moderator of World Literary Forum for Peace and Human Rights, Bhutan and writes from Kaduna State. He can be reached via: auwalgoronyo@gmail.com

PAGE 14

NEWS

NGO trains 250 youths in Niger State From Yakubu Minna

Mustapha,

M

ellinium Global Initiative a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) has graduated another set of trained 250 youths consisting of both males and females in different vocational training skills in their fields of endeavor.

The National Coordinator, Marshal Okoro while speaking during the event in Minna at the weekend, said that his organization has so for trained over 5,000 people since its inception in the last few years of it existence.

Okoro explained that they are in to capacity building, skills acquisition as well as culture and tourism hence the need to develop the youths potentials to enhance economic self reliant and sufficiency.

Easter best season for sobber reflection – LG boss says

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

CSOs, other stakeholders’ call for amendment of CAMA Act 2020

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

Y

iaga Africa said it has kicked off advocacy against obnoxious legislation in Nigeria with a stakeholder roundtable to review the Company and Allied Matters Act 2020 in a bid to ensure further legislation.

A statement issued yesterday

by Moshood Isah, Media Officer Yiaga Africa, said the roundtable brought together stakeholders from Corporate Affairs Commission, Academics and Civil Society Organisations to identify gaps in the CAMA 2020 assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2020.

During the meeting, Yiaga Africa presented its analysis of the act, where it identified certain provisions capable of derogating from citizens’ constitutionally guaranteed rights, including how the Act affects non-state actors

especially NGOs, religious and traditional institutions.

“The analysis revealed that, the CAMA 2020 has been rightly hailed as a huge improvement on the 1990 version as it promotes the ease of doing business and seeks to promote accountability in certain sectors hitherto left at the whims and caprices of certain individuals.

“However, the analysis also revealed noticeable poor drafting of some sections of the Act, provisions capable of derogating from citizens’ constitutionally guaranteed rights, including how the Act affects non-state actors especially NGOs, religious and traditional institutions can be interpreted as unlawful and not in accordance with the provisions of 1999 Constitution as amended.”

In her remark, Yiaga Africa’s Director of Programs, Cynthia Mbamalu said the CAMA 2020 was passed without due

advocacy and thus it came to citizens as a surprise.

According to her, “the CAMA 2020 has some provisions that we believe threaten the existence of non-profit organisation under which Civil Society Organisations and even media organisations exist.”

She categorically made reference to some sections under part F of the Act which said is a potential threat to the existence of Non-profit organisations.

She however said, “the fact that a law is passed doesn’t mean it cannot be amended and we believe there is always the opportunity to review our law in tandem with democratic principles, that they protect and guarantee rights and they truly ensure effective planning for the future of our democracy”.

This meeting according to her provided an opportunity to further engage the the legislative arm of government

to further review the Companies and Allied Matters Act. Yiaga Africa through its analysis presented by Dr. Godwin Malasowe recommended the unbundling of corporate law into smaller and perhaps more effective independent components.

Dr Malasowe also called urged the National Assembly should consider the unbundling of the (CAMA 2020) into smaller legislation for effective corporate management and better corporate practice in Nigeria.

In his reaction, Assistant Director at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Tolulope Shonike provide some clarity urging, citizens to take time to read through the act saying the commission would have seen that there are sufficient safeguards in the acts”. He also said, the fear that interim managers may sell properties does not arise at all.

A

s Nigerians celebrate Easter, Mr Peter Averik, Chairman of Jema’a Local Government in Kaduna State, has advised Christians to reflect on the nation’s challenges and seek God’s intervention.

Averik, while felicitating with Christians, restated the need for Nigerians to live in peace and always forgive one another.

The Chairman, in an Easter message on Sunday in Kafanchan, said that the Easter period provided an opportunity to “reflect on the numerous challenges confronting the country and seek divine intervention.

“This Easter has again afforded us opportunity to deeply reflect on our twin challenges of insecurity and poverty and honestly beg God for his mercy and healing.

“I am happy that this year’s Easter has come at a time we are seriously working to entrench peace and harmonious coexistence among our diverse communities.

“I hereby invite you all lovers of peace and progressive compatriots to join us in this work for peace,” he added He enjoined Christians to imbibe the lessons of love and sacrifice as exemplified by Jesus Christ, and demonstrate same in their lives.

“Easter is a glorious climax of Jesus Christ’s redemption work in which mankind was saved through the death and resurrection of Christ after three days in the tomb.

“We should, as people of faith, inculcate the useful lessons of the spiritual season which are love, prayers, forgiveness and charity, especially for the poor.

“I pray that we all may be influenced with the grace of the Easter season to embrace one another in love, irrespective of our ethnic and religious differences,” he added (NAN)

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he leading Anambra governorship candidate for the November 6 election, on the platform of All progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has declared that his commitment to serve the people of Anambra has further been spurred on following the attack on him few days back in Isuofia by some gun men.

Soludo said this while responding to a question during an interview monitored on Arise TV, if his ambition to contest the 2021 Anambra gubernatorial election was anyway deterred by the recent attack on him which led to the death of three policemen.

He said if good people allow few evil people to take over the society, the good people will live to regret it, adding that no society or community has ever made progress or any meaningful development when evil people take over.

He also said when good people

Aftermath of Isuofia attack: Soludo vows more commitment to serve Anambrans

refuse to participate in democratic processes, fools can take over governance and the good people will be subject to their evil rule.

He emphasized that with the overwhelming messages, support and prayers he received from the good people of Anambra State and Nigerians across the federation, “if his commitment was 50% before, it has now been spurred on to 98%”.

Soludo also said other aspirants in the other political parties in the state also jostling for the coveted governorship seat with him are like brothers and sisters to him. He said

in their own individual capacity, they have the right to aspire to the coveted position, noting that he has respect for all the aspirants and he holds them in high esteem.

He reiterated that his chances to fly the APGA ticket are very bright considering the massive support the Anambra people have given him, which he said is increasing everyday.

He said for over 18 months now, there has been massive clamour from about 24 self-funding Support Groups scattered all over Anambra and beyond, expending their

resources, time and energy, urging him to contest the governorship election.

He said this kind of clamour and support is unprecedented in the political history of the state, just as he also canvassed for Option-A4 to be adopted for the APGA primary, stressing that it will make the conduct of the primary and the entire process more transparent, free and fair.

While commiserating with the families of the three policemen who lost their lives during the attack, he said government should

APC mourns Afenifere spokesman, Yinka Odumakin

Rev. Dr Peter Egelewa of St. Joseph Catholic Church Iyamho praying for Former APC National Chairman Comrade Adams Oshiomhole during his Thanksgiving Service of 69th Birthday at St. Joseph Catholic Church Iyamho, yesterday in Edo State.

By Christiana Ekpa

T

L-R: Chairman, Karu local Government Area of Nasarawa State, Hon.Samuel Akala, Chairman, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon Abdullahi Candido, Representative of the Minister of FCT,Comrade Ikharo Attach, the Groom, Comrade Yusuf Yunusa Adamu his wife Rosemary Yusuf, representative of the Minister of State for FCT / Founder Helpline Foundation for the Needy, Dr. Jummai Ahmadu and the House of Representative member for AMAC/Bwari federal constituency of FCT, Hon.Micah Jiba, during the wedding ceremony of Comrade Yusuf, held at the weekend in Abuja. Photo : Justin Imo

FCT: Association donates 4 chairs, 4 tables to police in kubwa

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he Kubwa Furniture Makers Association in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Thursday donated four chairs and four tables to Kubwa Police Area Command.

In an interview with Peoples Daily Correspondent during the presentation of the items, the Chairman of the association, Mr.

Godwin Chikezie Esomonu, said the donation of the items to the Police was a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.

He said: “Kubwa Furniture Makers Association is the corporate network of Furniture markers. The association was founded in 2009 and registered with Bwari Area Council. The association was also registered with the Corporate Affairs

Commission (CAC)”.

He said for so many years now, the association had been maintaining a good relationship with the Police in Kubwa.

He called on well-meaning individuals and corporate organizations to give the necessary support to the Police in order to discharge their duties effectively.

Esomonu, however, advised the members of the association to

continue to be law-abiding citizens of Nigeria.

Also speaking, the Kubwa Area Commander, ACP Aliyu Sani Omolori, thanked the Kubwa Furniture Markers Association for donating the items to the Command.

Omolori urged other organizations to partner with the Police for the Peace and togetherness.

he All Progressives Congress (APC) has mourned the death of Comrade Yinka Odumakin, spokesman of the Pan Yoruba Socio- Political and Cultural organisation, Afenifere.

A statement issued yesterday by the National Secretary of APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), John James Akpanudoedehe, said the late Yinka Odumakin contributed immensely towards serving the interest of Yoruba land and the progress of Nigeria.

According to the statement, “On behalf of the National Chairman of the APC Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Governor Mai Mala Buni, party leaders, members and supporters, we extend our condolences to the late Odumakin’s immediate family, particularly his wife, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin and Afenifere.

“The Yoruba nation and indeed the country has lost a seasoned public analyst, activist, politician and patriot who was relentless in canvassing and serving the interests of Yorubaland and the progress of the country at large.

He will be sorely missed.”

On this note, the party prayed Almighty God to comfort all that mourn and grant the late Yinka Odumakin eternal rest.

support all the security agencies in the country by further equipping them, providing more training and improving their welfare.

The governorship aspirant harped on the need for good intelligence gathering and information from the Nigerian public to help the security agencies fight crime more decisively.

He commended Governor Willie Obiano for the great legacy projects he is bequeathing to the people of Anambra state and other developments he has brought to bear in the state.

Zamfara N37.4b Promissory Notes: Group charges EFCC to prosecute Yari, others

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he Patriots for the Advancement Of Peace and Social Development (PAPSD) has charged the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrashid Bawa, to work the talk by arresting and prosecuting former Governor Of Zamfara State, Abdulazeez Yari, and his cohorts over alleged diversion of N37.4 Billion Promissory Notes being the refund of the rehabilitation of Federal Government roads in Zamfara State.

PAPSD recalled that Bawa during his Senate screening, had vowed to bring to book all corrupt officials without fear or favour, noting that it had written several petitions to the Commission without action from the EFCC. In a petition to the Chairman of the Commission and signed by the PAPSD Executive Director,

Abdulahi Sani Shinkafi, the group alleged that inspite of several petitions and the conclusion of investigations by the Sokoto office of EFCC, the former Chairman of the Commission, Ibrahim Magu, had refused to arraign the suspects even when a prima facie case was established against them.

In a petition calling on the EFCC to Investigate the alleged misappropriation and diversion of N37.400,263,782:33 billion Promissory Notes belonging to Zamfara State as refund for federal roads executed by the state government, Shinkafi said “I hereby wish to forward a petition to the Commission for a thorough investigation and possible prosecution of the case of the fraudulent and criminal diversion of the N37,400,263,781 being the promissory notes which were issued by the Federal Government through the Debt Management Office ((DMO).

“The said N37,400,263,781 is a refund of the federal rehabilitated roads in Zamfara state, which was issued on December 28th, 2018 with Face Value #14,960,105,512:93 with a Maturity Date: 28th December, 2020 and the 1st April 2019 with a Face Value of Promissory Note : #22,440,158,269:00 Promissory Note Reference FGN /PN/2019/ SG/21 with Maturity Date of 1st April 2022.

Shinkafi pointed out that “the Promissory Notes were however discounted to a commercial bank by the former Governor ahead of the maturity dates, without the approval of the State Executive Council or the resolution of the Zamfara State House of Assembly.

The Zamfara State government lost billions of naira after the Promissory Notes were acquired at an undisclosed discounted rate.

“In his desperate bid to cash out the N37.400,263,781 that has not

matured, he terminated the deal by signing up undisclosed discounted rate percentage per annum.

We call for the investigation and possible prosecution of the following people for their active roles in misappropriation of the Promissory Notes belonging to the good people of Zamafara State.

“Hon. Abdulazeez Yari, former Governor of Zamafara State. Hon. Murktar Idris, former Commissioner of Finance, Zamafara State and former Director Of Finance Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Adamu Mohammed Ahmed former Accountant General Zamafara State, Abubakar Bello R/Doruwa former Permanent Secretary Ministry Of Finance Zamfara State.

“Mrs Patience Oniha Director General Debt Management Office (DMO), Mr Asiahana Bayo Okaurau Director General Nigeria Governors Forum”, among others.

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

POLITICS

From left: Gov Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; Secretary to Oyo State Government, Mrs Olubamiwo Adeosun and others during the inspection of the scene of Thursday midnight fire at Araromi Spare Part Market yesterday in Ibadan . Photo :

APC States chairmen’s Forum denies rejecting tenure extension for Buni C’ttee

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he Forum of All Progressives Congress (APC) State chairmen has denied rejecting tenure extension for the Governor Mai Mala Buni led Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party.

In a statement issued yesterday by the chairman of the Forum of APC State caretaker chairmen, Ali Buka-Dalori, who is also the Bornu State Caretaker Committee chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the report is fake news.

According to the statement titled ‘Meeting of APC State Chairmen: CECPC Tenure Extension Report Is Fake’, the state chairmen said “A news report of how the recent meeting of states caretaker chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC)

•As party says Oshiomhole served humanity as chairman rejected an imagined plot to extend the tenure of the Party’s Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) is fake and only exist in the imaginations of the authors and their sponsors”.

It said their meeting deliberated on and unanimously agreed on the need for an extension of the ongoing membership registration, revalidation and update exercise, adding “and we are happy the CECPC promptly acceeded to our pleas by granting a threeweek extension to accommodate states requiring additional time to conclude the exercise and capture millions of Nigerians who are still desirous of joining the APC.” The statement further said that at no time during the meeting of APC states caretaker chairmen or in their briefing to media

organisations after the meeting was anything related to tenure elongation deliberated on or mentioned.

“The CECPC under the leadership of Governor Mai Mala Buni has truly surpassed its mandate to reposition and bring unity to the APC and we will continue to support all its efforts ensure the completion of all the tasks assigned to the CECPC by the Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) and further entrench the APC as a truly progressive political platform”, the statement concluded.

In a related development, the party has congratulated its immediate past chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, as he celebrates his 69th years birthday, saying that Oshiomhole served humanity

during his tenure as chairman of the APC. In a congratulatory message issued yesterday by the Chairman, Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party, Mai Mala Buni, who is also the Governor of Yobe State, the party said it joins Oshiomhole, his family and associates to celebrate this gift of good life.

The statement said “Comrade Oshiomhole has always dedicated his life to the service of humanity as a labour leader, as a governor and as National Chairman of Nigeria’s ruling political party, the APC. The All Progressives Congress (APC) heartily felicitates with H.E. Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole on his 69th birthday anniversary on Sunday April 4th, 2021.

Easter: Mark enjoins Nigerians to embrace peace for greater development

By Christiana Ekpa

A

s Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark this year’s Easter celebration, former President of the Senate, David Mark, has urged citizens to consciously imbibe the culture of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence in order to actualise development for the good of all.

In a statement issued yesterday

by his Media Adviser, Paul Mummeh, Senator Mark canvassed for a harmonious society that guarantees a win-win situation for all.

In the goodwill message to Nigerians, the former Senate President stated that religion should ordinarily be the elixir for peace, good neighbourliness and development rather than the later day version.

The season of Easter and the lessons of the death and resurrection

of Jesus Christ juxtaposed by the current security challenges, Senator Mark opined calls for sober reflection on where our country is headed.

He said: “It is time for all men and women of good conscience to rise up and make a positive difference in our country.

‘We should ponder on the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ, selflessness, forgiveness and eschew all forms of religious or social vices

tearing the nation apart.

“Let us work towards building trust and confidence between and amongst our people in order to stimulate a harmonious relationship.

We are stronger together and we can surmount our difficulties as a people.”

Mark also implored the clergymen to preach the message of love, sacrifice, forgiveness and tolerance as exemplified by the death and resurrection of Christ.

Easter: Sen Nnamani urges politicians to emulate Christ, redress injustice for peace

By Musa Baba Adamu

F

ormer Governor of Enugu State and Senator representing Enugu East Senatorial District in the upper legislative chamber, Chimaroke Nnamani, has urged the political class to reflect on the sacrifices and lessons of Easter celebration and use the opportunity to redress the inherent injustice in order to bring peace and unity.

In a statement he issued at the weekend, Nnamani said the challenges of disunity, insecurity and growing dissent among the various groups in the country can be reversed if justice, equity and fairness become the hallmarks of leadership in the country.

In the goodwill message to Nigerians to commemorate this year’s Easter celebration, Senator Nnamani stressed that deliberate efforts should be made to give every part of the country a sense of belonging.

He however cautioned against resorting to violence by some aggrieved persons in the bid to redress perceived injuries or injustices saying “no matter the anger in a man’s mind, seeking for justice must be done within the ambit of the law.”

Senator Nnamani noted that the myriad of challenges confronting Nigeria today calls for a collective, determined and aggressive approach to tackle, adding “this is not the time for blame game or buck-passing but a time to proffer solutions.“ He specifically tasked the clergy to preach the message of peace and hope to arrest the growing despondency amongst the populace.

The former Governor expressed optimism that “should we all resolve to do the right thing, the nation would recover from the insecurity challenges and economic malaise in no distant time.”

NSA directs detention of gold buyers to implicate Mattawalle - Group alleges

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

G

old buyers and Jewelry Shop Owners Association have accused the National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen Babagana Mungonu, of ordering the arrest and detention of some of its members with the aim of intimidating and coercing them into implicating the Zamfara State Governor, Bello Mattawalle, of buying gold from them in exchange for arms for bandits.

The group alleged that three of their members in Zaria and Minna have been arrested and are being tortured on the

orders of the NSA to get them to admit that the Zamfara State Governor Mattawalle was buying gold from them which he allegedly exchanged for arms with bandits.

The association, in a statement by its Chairman, Anwalu Musa, alleged that their members: Musa Mustapha, Ibrahim Sani were arrested in Zaria, while Abdullahi Mohammed was arrested in Minna on the orders of the NSA, whom he claimed is trying to frame them up to implicate Governor Bello Mattawalle of buying gold from them for exchange for arms to armed bandits in his desperate bid to blackmail and mischievously

pull the Governor down.

It claimed that the NSA has continued to sabotage the peace initiative of the Governor Mattawalle administration at all cost, resulting in the concoction of lies that an air plane was being used to take out gold from Zamfara and bring in arms for bandits in the state.

The statement by the association said “The allegation among several others has led to the imposition of a no fly zone and the banning of all mining activities in Zamfara State by the Federal Government.

“After the failed attempts to link Governor

Mattawalle with the said alleged aircraft supplying arms to bandits in exchange for gold in Zamfara State, it has now changed to another dimension of witch-hunting and intimidation of the gold buyers to implicate the Governor of Zamafara State.”

It would be recalled that a Non Governmental Organization (NGO), the Centre For Sustainable Peace and Development had declared that the allegations that the Zamfara State Governor, Mattawalle, was using an aircraft to take out gold from the state and bring in arms and ammunitions for bandits is a hoax and lie from the pit of hell.

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

POLITICS

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

C

hairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Enugu State chapter, Ben Nwoye, at the weekend, waded into the zoning controversy in the State ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Recall that political tension is heightening in Enugu State by the day with people with different interests canvassing for all forms of zoning formula for the governorship position.

The current holder of the office, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwunayi is from the Enugu North Senatorial Zone.

Before Ugwuanyi took over in 2015, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani from Enugu East Senatorial zone served for 8 years and handed over

2023: Zoning won’t decide Enugu governor – APC chairman, Nwoye cautions campaigners to Ugwuanyi’s predecessor, Barr.

Sullivan Chime from Enugu West.

However, as the zoning debate rages, some are of the opinion that it should start again from Enugu East, from where it should again rotate to the other zones.

But some stakeholders from Enugu North zone, at a recent socio-political meeting, felt otherwise.

Some of them, including Senator Chukwuka Utazi and a former APC guber candidate, Barr.

Okey Ezea declared that Enugu North should still produce the next

governor in 2023.

They based their argument on different reasons.

For Utazi, Enugu State has two zones, Nsukka and Enugu, and whereas Enugu zone has taken two slots with Nnamani and Chime, Nsukka should also be allowed to take a second slot after Ugwuanyi.

On his part, Ezea said since Enugu North took the last turn, the rotation should start again from the zone, before the other two zones would take their shot at the position.

Reacting to the controversies

generated by their positions, the Enugu APC chairman, Nwoye said zoning had never decided the occupier of Enugu’s number one position.

Nwoye at a press conference said all the governors who had served the State were not elected because they hailed from one part of the State or the other.

He also said it was sad that merely two years into the current administration, people were heating up the polity, describing it as distracting to the Governor.

“A day or two ago, we saw what

was going on in the Enugu political realm. Some leaders of thought, some organizing mini rallies, discussing 2023 elections and which geo-political zone is entitled to be at the helm of affairs in the State.

“As the chairman of APC, I thought it wise to state categorically that governance stops when politics begins; we have responsibilities as politicians and as leaders to understand that when someone is elected, he should be allowed to air space to run the government.

Easter: Ekweremadu preaches Sacrifice, love and justice

By Musa Baba Adamu

F

ormer Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, says the mounting challenges facing the nation could be affectively addressed if Nigerians unite in love, peace, and with every sense of justice and sacrifice as exemplified by Jesus Christ.

He stated this in his Easter message to the Christian faithful on Saturday.

Ekweremadu regretted that the country had seriously retrogressed because love had waxed cold, while injustice was palpable, thereby resulting in bad blood, disunity, and incompetence even in the most critical matters that affect the nation.

“There was sacrifice as symbolised by Good Friday before there was ever a resurrection as represented by Easter. Therefore, at Easter, we are reminded by the sacrifice of Christ, who paid the supreme price for the salvation of mankind that we can actually take Nigeria back to the pinnacle of glory if we sacrifice ethno-religious and numerous other narrow interests for the collective good and progress of the country.

“This is a call for us to unite, love, and treat one another with every sense of justice so that the whole nation is effectively mobilised to confront and surmount our numerous challenges with oneness of mind.

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

N

ational Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Ozonkpu Victor Oye, yesterday prayed for the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to cover the nation and shield it from destruction.

In his Easter message issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Barrister Tex Okechukwu, the APGA National Chairman expressed great optimism that the inherent power behind the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ would have an extensive impact on Nigeria, especially at this time of critical challenges.

“It is a call be our brother’s keeper in order to make the muchneeded progress as a people”, he stated.

Ekweremadu wished Nigerians a hitch-free Easter celebration, urging them to also seize the opportunity to pray for the nation.

In a related development, the former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu has condoled with Afenifere, over the death of it’s spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, saying he was a federalist and soldier of democracy.

Ekweremadu, in his condolence

message to the pan Yoruba group, Afenifere, over the death of its spokesperson, described it as a heavy loss, not only to the Yoruba nation but also to the country as a whole.

Ekweremadu, who expressed sadness and shock over the death,

said Odumakin was a courageous leader and federalist, who worked tirelessly for a peaceful, equitable, and prosperous Nigeria.

“This is hard to believe and it is a very grave loss to not only the Yoruba ethnic nationality, but also Nigeria as a whole.

Easter Virgil at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church Gwagwalada ,on Saturday in Abuja

APGA, Abia APC preach forgiveness on Easter Oye said that the 40 days of fasting, prayer and almsgiving by christendom would touch the heart of God to have mercy on the country and save it from destruction, strife and backwardness.

The APGA boss called on all Nigerians to show love to one another, avoid sin and all forms of hatred and bigotry, and embrace peace, unity and equality.

He called for more tolerance among Nigerians “despite our regions, tribal and political differences.”

According to him, “for us to achieve greatness, we must turn

a new leave, mend our hearts and reconcile with one another. This is the only we can demonstrate in practical terms the lessons we learned from Lent and Holy Week”.

Ozonkpu Oye, in the message also thanked God for the safe release from captivity the Commissioner for Public Utilities, Anambra State, Emeka Ezenwanne.

In its goodwill message issued to newsmen on Sunday by the Publicity Secretary, Comrade Benedict Godson, the All Progressive Congress (APC),

Abia State chapter, felicitated with christian faithfuls on the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Abia APC stressed the need for the people of the State to use this period of Easter to eschew hatred and love one another, adding that “Abia should always be our first love because we have no other State except Abia”.

According to the party, “there is absolutely no need for hate in a season of love. Politics or no politics, party or no party, we must remember we are all Abians.

APC counseled all and sundry to

bury whatever differences, forgive one another and toe the path of reconciliation as exemplified by our Lord Jesus Christ.

The message partly stated, “Jesus Christ despite being sinless and a life without blemish, accepted to offer his own life as a sacrifice for the salvation we enjoy today.

“He did not just offer his life for his family and friends, the Bible made it clear that he took away the sins of the World which includes the sins of his enemies, enemies of his father, mother and enemies of his country while on earth.

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Stock Close Gain UPL 1.14 0.13 LIVESTOCK 0.52 0.01 SOVRENINS 0.21 0.03 OKOMUOIL 60.00 1.80 GUARANTY 23.50 0.55

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0.11 0.21 0 0.21 0.21 MBENEFIT 0.00 0 0.43 0.43 0 0.43 0.43 MCNICHOLS 0.00 0 1.05 2.05 261 2.05 2.05 MEDVIEWAIR 0.00 0 124.80 184.80 0 184.80 184.80 MOBIL 0.00 0 0.20 0.20 970 0.20 0.20 MULTIVERSE 0.00 0 3.50 3.50 0 3.50 3.50 NAHCO 0.00 0 18.00 18.00 0 18.00 18.00 NASCON 0.00 0 78.50 78.70 0 79.50 79.50 NB 0.80 0 0.78 0.78 0 0.78 0.78 NEIMETH 0.00 0 2.60 2.60 0 2.60 2.60 NEM 0.00 0 552.20 552.20 150 552.20 552.20 NESF 0.00 0 1,475.00 1,475.00 0 1,475.00 1,475.00 NESTLE 0.00 0 1.60 1.65 0 1.60 1.60 NPFMCRFBK -0.05 0 4.60 4.80 0 4.60 4.75 OANDO -0.20 0 80.00 76.20 0 80.00 80.00 OKOMUOIL 3.80 0 64.00 64.00 0 64.00 64.00 PRESCO 0.00 0 0.50 0.50 0 0.50 0.50 PRESTIGE 0.00 0 12.30 12.30 0 12.30 12.30 PZ 0.00 0 4.20 4.20 0 4.20 4.20 REDSTAREX 0.00 0 0.20 0.21 0 0.20 0.21 REGALINS -0.01 0 0.50 0.50 0 0.50 0.50 RESORTSAL 0.00 0 0.21 0.23 0 0.21 0.22 ROYALEX -0.02 0 640.00 640.00 405 640.00 640.00 SEPLAT 0.00 0 0.20 0.20 0 0.21 0.21 SOVRENINS 0.01 0 46.50 46.00 0 46.50 46.50 STANBIC 0.50 0 102.00 102.00 122 102.00 102.00 STANBICETF30 0.00 0 1.97 1.96 0 1.97 1.97 STERLNBANK 0.01 0 203.00 203.00 0 203.00 203.00 TOTAL 0.00 0 6.10 6.10 632 6.10 6.10 TRANSCOHOT 0.00 0 1.15 1.21 0 1.16 1.18 TRANSCORP -0.05 0 9.60 9.60 0 9.60 9.60 UACN 0.00 0 1.74 1.92 0 1.74 1.74 UAC-PROP -0.18 0 7.60 7.80 0 7.90 7.95 UBA 0.10 0 6.00 6.05 0 6.00 6.05 UBN -0.05 0 2.89 2.94 0 2.89 2.91 UCAP -0.05 0 36.30 37.00 0 36.30 36.30 UNILEVER -0.70 0 0.27 0.27 0 0.27 0.27 UNIONDAC 0.00 0 1.00 0.99 0 1.00 1.00 UNITYBNK 0.01 0 2.04 1.97 0 2.14 2.14 UPL 0.17 0 0.23 0.23 0 0.23 0.23 VERITASKAP 0.00 0 4.50 4.99 0 4.50 4.50 VITAFOAM -0.49 0 11.30 11.50 0 11.30 11.65 WAPCO -0.20 0 0.40 0.40 0 0.40 0.40 WAPIC 0.00 0 0.59 0.61 0 0.59 0.61 WEMABANK -0.02 0 21.20 22.70 0 21.70 22.50 ZENITHBANK -1.00 0 Copyright © 2019 NgTradeOnline

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Stock Close Loss DIAMONDBNK 1.30 -0.10 BOCGAS 2.59 -0.22 VITAFOAM 3.50 -0.39 DANGFLOUR 6.00 -0.45 UAC-PROP 1.74 -0.18

By Etuka Sunday

T

he Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has said that robust digital infrastructure and literacy are key to reaping the transformational benefits of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) across public and private institutions in the country.

Danbatta stated this when he received a delegation of the Top Management Committee (TMC) of the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano (AKTH), who paid him a courtesy visit at the Kano Zonal Office of the Commission at the weekend.

During the visit, the AKTH team also presented an award to the EVC “as an expression of the hospital’s appreciation for the enormous contributions of the EVC and the Commission to the development of health institutions over the years in the country.”

Speaking during the visit, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of AKTH, Prof. Abdulrahman Sheshe, who led the delegation on the courtesy call, said, “the objective of our being here today is to appreciate your contribution in person and as EVC of NCC to the growth and development of the teaching hospital.”

According to Sheshe, through the support and donations from Kano people like the EVC and institutions like NCC, the hospital has increased its bed capacity from 250 to 700, as well as performing 57 successful transplant surgeries.

“You have also made enormous

Digital Infrastructure, Literacy Key to Reaping Transformational Benefits of ICT - Danbatta contributions in this regard and that has helped us to get new dialysis machines through your assistance and these machines are being put to use, aside from other state-of-the-art equipment already in place,” he said while appreciating the EVC. The CMD, however, sought NCC’s support in the area of a Health Information Management System (HIMS) and digital capacity for staff.

Responding, however, Danbatta thanked the hospital

• Receives AKTH appreciation award management for the visit and the award, noting that the Commission supports federal institutions with necessary ICT equipment across the country and is ready to assist AKTH in this regard.

“As a Commission, we are working to bridge the infrastructure divide, which is an element of the entire digital ecosystem. We do this via a lot

of ongoing regulatory initiatives.

And, through our training arm, Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), we provide digital literacy to critical sectors of the economy, including the health sector, we also intervene through our Advanced Digital Appreciation Programme,” he said.

According to Danbatta, digital divide can be bridged by making computers available and ICT

services accessible to people and key sectors of the economy.

“Infrastructure that can host this massive flow of information and knowledge is broadband infrastructure and this is top-most in the agenda of the Commission.

Indeed, ICT is transforming every sector of the economy and the earlier we embrace the vast opportunity brought by ICT the better,” the EVC pointed out.

L-,R; Proton-Presbyter, Methodist Church Nigeria (MCN), Very Rev. Jonathan Osin; Conference Convectional Secretary for Evangelism and Discipleship, Rt Rev. Samuel Obeka, Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence, Dr Samuel Uche; Bishop, Trinity Church Council, Rt Rev. Oladapo Babalola and Prelate Chaplain, Very Rev Jeremiah Shittu, after Easter Sunday Service of the Church, yesterday in Lagos,

FG Launches NASSE, Targets 500 Students, 30 Teachers As Pilot

By Etuka Sunday The Federal Government has flagged off a National Adopted School for Smart Education programme to enhance learning across Nigeria, with the targeted 500 students and 30 teachers in Abuja.

The first school to benefit from the pilot scheme was the Junior Secondary School, Karshi, in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Speaking during the launch of the (NASSE), the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami said, the digitalisation of every sector in Nigeria would accelerate the digital economy dream.

Pantami noted that Education as the backbone of a nation’s prosperity allows a country and individual to hold competitive edge in the ever-advancing technological world and reach their full potential.

He further stated that the purpose of education was to teach children to think intensively and critically.

“This can be more realistic if they are exposed to education at young

ages. NASSE is a model of catching our young ones early enough into the world of technology in a more productive way particularly in the education sector”, he said.

The Minister explained that “the goal of education is not only to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men who are capable of doing new things. It is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world and Nigeria for better”.

He asserted that building a strong digital economy requires the integration of digital technologies and innovations in all sectors.

“As a country, we lost totally in the past industrial age. In this digital age, with the increased proliferation of new technologies and innovations, going digital in all sectors of the economy is the optimal route to attain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for any government. There should be no doubt that digitization of the economy is one of the most critical issues of our time”, he said.

Also speaking, the Director General, National Information

Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, explained that NASSE was an implementation of Nigeria Smart Initiative in the education sector, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, as a policy directive of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy led by Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami to aid implementation of National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a digital Nigeria.

He said, as part of the agency strategic objectives, there was need to support every sector of the economy to succeed in this digital age.

Inuwa said, the NASSE was designed to accelerate the achievement of this global and national agenda by smartly engaging in “building and upgrading education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive with provision of safe, nonviolent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all. Hence the launch of the pilot edition of NASSE in partnership with AMAC and other critical stakeholders at Junior Secondary School, Karshi.

“We are deploying one of the indigenous cloud based digital education solutions that is based on National Educational Research Development Council (NERDC) curriculum to support over 500 students and 30 teachers for JSS 2 Karshi.

In addition to the above, NITDA is providing among others: digital literacy capacity building for over 500 students and teachers; Free Wireless Broadband (unlimited contents download and upload) for students and teachers; Portable renewable energy system; Smart education devices (Tablets); and Instructor’s android-enabled smart screen.

He reiterated that the aim was to promote massive access to quality education at the grassroots while leveraging digital technologies and innovations.

Speaking earlier, the founder Hot spot, and supplier of the free Wifi, Morenikeji Aniye said, Education is a key driver of National growth and prosperity, noting that the infusion of ICT’s further stimulates the upward trajectory of that growth.

Aniye while highlighting some of the benefits of ICT in Teaching and learning said, “it provides both Tutors and beneficiaries with 21st century skills such as critical thinking, innovation, problem solving and collaboration to name a few.

“With these tools - Connectivity, Computers and software applications, learning and teaching becomes limitless and expands in no small measure course offerings and engaging teaching methods”, he said.

He commended NITDA and the Federal Ministry of Communications & Digital Economy for the initiative adding that, “it is a laudable policy direction towards increasing the ICT Index of Nigeria which in turn has a positive and potent cascade effect on different aspects of socioeconomic life of our dear Nation”.

The principal of the school represented by Maxwell Nosiri and the Emir of Karshi represented

by Alhaji Ahmad Bukar, while expressing their appreciation, assured that the project would be sustained and protected for the benefit of the students and teachers.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

Page 20

ICT Building Products Based on Customer Needs: The LG Smart & Dual Inverter Story

By Etuka Sunday

W

ith the recent increase in the number of people working from home, the demand for energyefficient and powerful cool air conditioners have risen exponentially across Africa due to unbearable heat caused by the weather, especially during the dry season.

One company that has been at the forefront of the next generation of innovative Residential Air Conditioning (RAC) is LG Electronics. With a vision to provide differentiated customer value, LG over the last 20 years, has pursued earth environment preservation, sustainable social advancement, and improved the quality of life of all its stakeholders.

Based on customer needs, the electronics giants has varieties of Air Conditioner namely; GenCool, ArtCool and DualCool Premium Air Conditioners. A few years ago, LG introduced its GENCOOL Inverter V that can work efficiently with small capacity generators. Specially designed for the Nigerian market, AC comes with benefits such as affordability, energy efficiency and durability.

Unlike the conventional AC (i.e. ON/OFF types) which requires a big-sized generator to start the AC due to their high start-up electric power, LG’s GEN COOL AC can be started with smaller generators due to LG’s innovative inverter technology. According to LG, for the normal mode, 1HP AC needs a 1.5 KVA generator while 1.5 HP requires 1.7KVA and 2HP needs 2.2KVA. Thus, the LG GEN COOL Air Conditioner comes with the GEN Mode which allows for the use of a small capacity generator in areas where electric supply is insufficient, eliminating the need for a large generator. So with the AC’s GEN Mode feature, you can minimize startup electric requirements.

LG Smart AC features The electronics giant has equipped its ACs with Smart ThinQ technology, which, as per the company, allows the users to control and monitor ACs at any time and from anywhere with an app on the phone. Apart from control, consumers also get filter cleaning notification and control multiple home appliances through smart ThinQ. Mr. Hari Elluru, Head of Corporate Marketing, LG Electronics, West Africa Operations, said, “We have

more number of future-ready ACs with Smart ThinQ (Wi-Fi) along with Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility.

We aim to offer the best air conditioning solutions to our consumers through a robust product portfolio supported by effective after-sales service.

Which gives us the confidence to continue our last year’s and the industry’s first initiative of same-day installation.”

Energy efficiency coupled with powerful cooling The GenCool AC comes equipped with a Smart and Dual Inverter Compressor which reduces energy consumption by up to 60 and 70 per cent respectively. The Dual Inverter Compressor motor has a wide rotational frequency and a higher speed cooling range than a conventional compressor, allowing the Air Conditioner to cool more quickly, last longer and run more quietly.

So no matter how high the temperature, the Air Conditioner distributes cool air immediately to every corner in the room. The unit has a 25 per cent larger skew fan which expels powerful blasts of air through its large outlet, optimally designed to fill spaces with cool air faster and farther.

Due to their twin rotor, there is a faster cooling at a wider operating frequency or ‘broader tonnage’. Hence, dual inverter offer better cooling in terms of precision in temperature control due to variable tonnage and

speed of cooling.

Optimal comfort and health care Powerful cooling does not come at the expense of the user’s comfort. With just a click of the “Comfort Air” remote button, the GenCool AC adjusts the vane angle to ensure that the outflowing air does not blow directly to the user and cause sudden drops in body temperature. The disturbance is also not an issue as the Air Conditioner operates at the world’s lowest noise level thanks to LG’s unique BLDC motor, skew fan technology and Active Low Vibration Control (ALVC) feature. It also maintains an incredible capacity for dehumidification to provide the most comfortable environment.

“Health is one of LG’s core considerations when creating new products. The Art Cool AC offers top-quality features in favour of the user’s health and sanitation. Plasmaster Ionizer Plus, which disseminates over three million ions to sterilize and deodorize not only the air going through the AC, but all surrounding harmful substances.

Next-level convenience The installation has never been easier with the delicately designed installation elements of LG’s Air Conditioner: simple packaging, installation plate improvement, installation support clip, wider tubing space,

T

he Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, FNCS, FBCS, FIIM, chaired the meeting of the Ministerial Task Force on the NIN-SIM data linkage.

The meeting was attended by key stakeholders, including the EVC/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), DG/CEO of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), DG/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Representative of the Comptroller-General of the

Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

Others included the NCC Executive Commissioners Technical Services and Stakeholder Management, MD/CEOs of MTN, Airtel, EMTS (9Mobile), NTEL, Spectranet and SMILE, as well as the COO of Glo. The Director, Public Affairs​​​ , NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde and the Head, Corporate Communications, NIMC, Mr Kayode Adegoke in joint statement said, the meeting took place on Thursday, April 1, 2021 and an approval was given to extend the period of the NIN-SIM linkage to the 6th of May, 2021. The request for the extension was presented

By Stanley Onyekwere

T

he Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has enjoined FCT residents, especially the Christian faithful, to use the occasion of the Easter celebrations to rededicate themselves to the virtues of love and peaceful coexistence.

Bello while assuring residents that the FCT Administration has taken great measures to ensure the security of life and property both during and after the Easter celebration, urged them to be security conscious at all times.

He made the call in his

METRO

Page 21

2021 Easter: FCT Minister harps on peaceful coexistence, security message to FCT residents on the occasion of the Easter celebrations which commenced with Good Friday.

The Minister urged residents to use the Easter festivities to meditate and give expression to the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus Christ which exemplified love, peaceful coexistence and

selfless service.

He stressed the need for residents to be alert to the happenings around them and report any suspicious activities in their environs to security operatives.

The Minister thanked the residents for their support to the Administration as it works to

prevent the spread of COVID 19 since its outbreak in the Territory in 2020.

While urging FCT residents to use the occasion of Easter to pray for the complete eradication of COVID-19, he enjoined them to take steps at getting vaccinated, while adhering to all preventive, non-pharmaceutical measures

aimed at preventing the spread of the disease.

He also assured residents that the FCTA will continue to execute projects designed to improve the living standards of the residents and enjoined them to always abide by all extant regulations put in place by government to ensure their safety and wellbeing.

Remain steadfast in prayers for Nigeria - AMAC Chairman urges residents

By Stanley Onyekwere

A

detachable bottom cover and a quick button for running tests.

Less Noise Ordinary inverter AC uses a single cylinder-shaped rotary compressor. Since the operation of a single compressor requires high-speed rotation, it tends to generate a lot of vibration. This increases noise levels, especially when the shaft of the AC is whirring at full capacity.

The twin-rotary compressors in dual inverter ACs turn with a phase difference of 180 degrees,

which promotes more stability when they are operating at full capacity. More stability means fewer vibrations and whirring and ultimately lesser noise.

Consistent with this strategy, LG provides a wide range of products for heating, ventilating and air conditioning. The company’s industry-leading variable refrigerant flow (VRF) technology minimizes efficiency losses, provides sustainable energy savings and offers some of the lowest life cycle cost of any system on the market today.

NIN Database exceeds 51m records, as FG extends NIN-SIM linkage by one month

By Etuka Sunday

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

to President Muhammadu Buhari and he endorsed it.

Based on the updates of the NIN-registration process, over 51 million people have been assigned NINs. There are many people, who have enrolled and are in the process of being assigned NINs. With each individual having an average of 3 to 4 SIMs, the total number of SIMs tied to NINs would be close to the total number of registered SIMs in the country.

The current number of monthly enrolments has increased significantly to about 2.6 million registrations.

There has also been a remarkable increase in the number of enrolment centres across the country with about 3,800 centres available for enrolments. There are also many more new centres in the pipeline.

The Chairman of the EFCC addressed the meeting and stated that the NIN-SIM linkage would support the Federal Government in checkmating the activities of fraudsters and cybercriminals.

The Honourable Minister noted the importance of obtaining feedback from all stakeholders in order to ensure that the NIN-SIM linkage process is one that cannot easily be compromised.

Dr. Pantami wishes to thank Nigerians for their patience and compliance with the Federal Government’s directive on the NIN-SIM registration exercise.

He reiterated government’s commitment to continually taking decisions aimed at easing the pains of the citizens with regard to issues related to NIN and SIM registration.

s Nigerians joined their counterparts all over the world in the celebration of this year’s Easter, the Chairman, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Abdullahi Adamu Candido has called for continuous pray for growth and stability of the country.

Candido, in his message to Christian faithful in the Area Council on the occasion of the 2021 Easter celebrations, urged Nigerians irrespective of religious, ethnic and political affiliations to be patriotic to the quest for oneness.

He particularly called on all Christians to use the period to reflect on the true meaning of Easter, and the sacrifice that has been made out of love for humanity by Jesus Christ.

He said they should therefore emulate Jesus Christ by exhibiting His sacrificial love to one another, while calling on all Nigerians to shun violence and embrace peace during this period and beyond.

“I wish to felicitate with all Christian faithfuls in the

Council on this occasion of Easter celebration marking the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“Let us shun violence and hatred among ourselves, embrace peace and unity as we celebrate this remarkable event

in Christiandom.

“I urged all Nigerians both Christians and Muslims alike to continue to pray for the growth

and stability of this country and be patriotic to our national oneness,” the AMAC Boss stated.

Some hard drugs and suspected criminals caught during the raid on slum settlements in Jabi and Wuye Districts of Abuja, recently.

Alleged Assault: Group lampoons victim over “tissues of lies”

By Stanley Onyekwere

A

Civil Society Organisation, Youths for Justice in Nigeria, has picked holes in the media interview granted by the security guard allegedly assaulted by the Chairman of Code of Conduct Tribunal, Justice Danladi Y. Umar, at Bannex plaza in Abuja.

The group asserted that the media interview runs contrary to the video that went viral on social media platforms, while describing the victim as genius in dishing tissues of lies.

The group’s National Coordinator, Prince Samuel Pai’, in a statement issued in Abuja called on Nigerian Bar Association and other Human Rights Organisations to be fair and thorough in their respective investigations into the matter, saying “being loud doesn’t increase the value or validity of opinion.

Pai’ maintained that the video does not in anyway correspond with the media interview except there were two different assaults on that same day and in the same spot.

According to him: “At first we were sympathetic to the security guard after viewing the video and we joined other Nigerians to demand for the resignation of the chairman of Code of Conduct Tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar, for putting up such abominable and shameful act.

“However, few days later, we read the media interview the victim granted to Premium Times on the same issue. As a matter of fact, the interview does not correspond with the video. Honestly, he is a genius in dishing out tissues of lies.

“At that point, we came to the conclusion that being loud doesn’t increase the value or validity of opinion. In fact, often by the very nature of being the loudest, those opinions are typically the furthest from reality.

“And we challenge any Nigeria or professional group to juxtapose the interview with the video clip before jumping into hasty judgement.

“In the said interview, he claimed that he was slapped six times by Justice Umar and security personnel attached to him, and that was not reflected in

the video,” the statement reads in part.

The group also called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) not to be carried away by public sentiments in its investigation, given that the victim who was purportedly hospitalized has been granting media interviews to various media organisations.

“This is the person who is claiming to have been hospitalised for injuries and yet has been granting interviews to media, where is the truth here?

Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathon”, he stressed.

Page 22

world news

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

international_peoplesdailyng@yahoo.com

Jordan accuses Prince Hamzah of plot to destabilise kingdom

T

he former crown prince of Jordan is accused of trying to mobilise tribal leaders against the government, the country’s deputy prime minister says.

Prince Hamzah bin Hussein worked with “foreign entities” to destabilise the state, Ayman Safadi said.

The prince had earlier released two videos to the BBC, claiming he was being held under house arrest.

He denied conspiracy, but accused Jordan’s leaders of corruption and incompetence.

Sixteen people, including a former adviser to King Abdullah and another member of the royal family, were arrested on Saturday for allegedly threatening security.

In his videos, Prince Hamzah, the king’s half-brother, said he had been told he could not go out or communicate with people.

The move is thought to follow a visit by the prince to tribal leaders, where he is said to have garnered some support.

His mother, American-born Queen Noor, has said she is praying for what she called innocent victims of “wicked slander”.

What is the prince accused of?

Responding to the fallout on Sunday, Mr Safadi said Prince Hamzah had used the videos to distort facts and incite empathy, according to the state news agency, Petra.

He told a news conference that the prince had been liaising with foreign parties about destabilising the country and had been being monitored for some time.

The prince is accused of seeking to mobilise “clan leaders” against the government.

But the plot had been “nipped in the bud”, Petra quoted the deputy PM as saying.

Mr Safadi went on to allege that a man with links to foreign security services had offered Prince Hamzah’s wife, Princess Basmah, a flight out of Jordan. He did not specify which foreign security service was apparently involved.

Mr Safadi said officials had tried to discourage the prince rather than take legal action against him, but that Prince Hamzah had “dealt with this request negatively”. He noted that dialogue was ongoing.

Regional powers including Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia have voiced support for King Abdullah in the wake of the operation.

The United States, which is allied with Jordan in its campaign against the Islamic State (IS) group, described the monarch as a key partner who has its full support.

What’s behind this?

Tensions within the royal household had been visible for some time, Jordanian journalist Rana Sweis told the BBC. “The former crown prince is also seen as popular. He has a very candid resemblance to his father, King Hussein, and he is also very popular with the local tribes,” she said.

Jordan has few natural resources and its economy has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. It has also absorbed waves of refugees from the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

However, high-level political arrests are rare. The country’s powerful intelligence agency has gained extra powers since the pandemic began, drawing criticism from rights groups.

Who is Prince Hamzah?

The oldest son of the late King Hussein and his favourite wife Queen Noor, Prince

King Abdullah and his wife Queen Rania (pictured far right) attend the wedding ceremony of Prince Hamzah and his first wife Princess Noor (left) alongside Hamzah’s mother Queen Noor (centre) in 2004 Hamzah is a graduate of the UK’s Harrow School and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. He also attended Harvard University in the US and has served in the Jordanian armed forces.

He was named crown prince of Jordan in 1999 and was a favourite of King Hussein, who often described him in public as the “delight of my eye”.

However, he was seen as too young and inexperienced to be named successor at the time of King Hussein’s death.

Instead his older half-brother, Abdullah, ascended the throne and stripped Hamzah of the title of crown prince in 2004, giving it to his own son.

The move was seen as a blow to Queen

Noor, who had hoped to see her eldest son become king.

Who else has been arrested?

Others detained on Saturday include Bassem Awadallah, a former finance minister, and Sharif Hassan Bin Zaid, a member of the royal family.

Mr Awadallah, an economist who was educated in the US, has been a confidant of the king and an influential force in Jordan’s economic reforms.

He has often found himself pitted against entrenched government bureaucracy resistant to his plans, observers say.

No members of the armed forces were said to be among those detained over the alleged plot.

Source: BBC

Policies, technologies contribute big part to China’s spring farming

By Gao Yuncai, Wang Jingxian, People’s Daily

S

Hao,

Yu

eeds are being sowed on farmlands across China as the spring arrives.

However, this year, different from usual, policies and technologies are playing a more vital role in increasing and stabilizing grain output.

China said in the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 that the country will keep strengthening the position of agriculture as the foundation of the economy, deepen supply side structural reform in the agricultural sector, and drive agricultural development with better quality, so as to advance rural vitalization.

According to the latest survey by China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the sowing areas of both winter wheat and winter rapeseed recovered growth this year.

The country planted a total of 335 mu (23.3 million hectares) of winter wheat, 3 million mu more than that from a year ago, and the sowing area of winter rapeseed reached 96 million mu, up 4 million mu year on year.

With a target to stabilize the output of

staple grains and soybeans, and increase that of corns, China is continuously deepen the supply side structural reform of the agricultural sector.

Liu Changyuan is a capable farmer from Zhongping village, Ersheng Township, Banan District of southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality. The man has contracted 220 mu of land this spring.

“Paddy fields are planted with rice, while soybeans and coarse cereals are planted on dry land. This year I’ll plant more soybeans, as the grain brings more economic benefits,” he said.

Li Yufeng, president of an agricultural cooperative in Keshan County, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province told People’s Daily that after expanding the growing area of soybeans, the cooperative gained a profit of 53.28 million yuan ($8.11 million) last year. Each member of the cooperative received 922 yuan per mu, Li said, adding that soybeans made a huge contribution to the remarkable performance.

This year, China will continue implementing the plan to rejuvenate soybean farming, striving to maintain the soybean acreage above 140 million mu. A total of over 10 million mu of corns will be newly planted in northeast China and the

North China Plain to further consolidate the foundation of China’s grain reserves.

This year’s spring farming in China is highlighted by resource conservation and driven by green development.

In Qian Gorlos Mongol Autonomous County, northeast China’s Jilin Province, soils were sampled by agricultural technicians for tests. After the day of “Jingzhe” or “Awakening of Insects,” the third of China’s 24 solar terms and the start for spring farming, fertilizer formulas were delivered to local farmers based on the test results. The formulas were expected to save two kilograms of fertilizers and increase the yield by 10 kilograms for each mu of corn field.

Lu’an, east China’s Anhui Province is replacing fertilizers with organic ones, and chemical pesticides with bio-pesticides. In a tea plantation in Taiyang Township of the city’s Huoshan County, rows of solar power insecticidal lamps and traps are placed.

Local tea farmer He Xiangru noted that his fellow villagers are now fully aware of the importance of green agriculture.

Ye Xingqing, Director-General of the Research Department of Rural Economy of the Development Research Center of the State Council, told People’s Daily that by

driving green development with institutional innovation, China has blazed a trail of modern agricultural development featuring high efficiency, safety, resource conservation and environmentally friendliness.

“Potato planting was a thing of my whole family in the past, but today it’s turning easier with the help of agricultural drones,” said Du Gaogu, president of an agricultural cooperative in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province. He planted 80 mu of potatoes this year, and it only cost him less than a day for spraying. “With the Beidou navigation system, the error was controlled within two centimeters,” he added.

Large agricultural machines are running on the broad farmlands across China, while agricultural drones are flying over them.

Besides, big data is also applied to manage the fields. All these smart technologies are helping improve the quality and efficiency of the country’s agricultural sector.

This year, China will build 110 pilot counties for an project involving the internet plus and the supply of agricultural products to cities. At present, agricultural technologies are contributing over 60 percent to China’s agriculture improvement, and 71 percent of crops are planted and harvested by machines.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

Page 23

N e w s F r o m A f r i c a Mozambique Palma attack: How people tried to flee the assault

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urvivors of the recent Islamist militant attack on Palma in northeast Mozambique have been talking about how they got out amid the bullets and mortar shells, as Catherine Byaruhanga and Kyla Herrmannsen report.

Eusebio Alves Pinto was just finishing his shift at the Amarula Hotel when he saw people fleeing towards the compound.

“I asked them what was happening?

They said the situation was not good,” he told local TV station TVM. “Then I began to hear gunshot after gunshot.” He ran back inside.

This was the beginning of a wellcoordinated assault on Palma that started on 24 March.

The postcard-pretty town itself was already hosting thousands who had fled violence in the surrounding area - the country’s northern Cabo Delgado region has been hit by an insurgency for the last four years.

It was besieged and running out of food.

The town’s infrastructure has barely been developed but just 10km (six miles) away the construction of one of the biggest investment projects in Africa was under way.

Once completed, the $20bn (£14.5bn) liquified natural gas plant will help process off-shore reserves.

Despite the uneasy peace in Palma, workers and contractors, both foreign and Mozambican, flew in regularly to develop the project.

Three-pronged attack The Amarula - a focal point for the attack - sits on several acres and was popular with these contract workers.

But when the militants, linked to the so-called Islamic State, charged into Palma local residents nearby also sought shelter there.

Initially, the people inside the compound were able to get messages to family and friends about what was going on, but telephone and internet lines were cut.

Richard Davis, whose name we have changed to protect his identity, is a South African contractor normally based in the region’s capital, Pemba.

He believes that 190 people were sheltering at the Amarula, adding that “the vast majority” were locals.

Mr Davis had arrived in Palma just hours before the attack began and described how a flight coming in after his had to quickly take off again because of gunshots.

The government has said the militants attacked the town from three directions, the airfield being one of them.

On that first day, Mr Davis remembers listening “to this battle through the day and night. The following day mortar bombs were landing at our fence, the bullets were hitting the hotel.”

Fighters from the private security firm Dyck Advisory Group, which had been hired by the Mozambican government to fight the insurgents, were battling with them near the hotel.

Mr Davis was one of the lucky ones.

On Thursday he and 19 others were airlifted out of the hotel in helicopters. It would not be possible to extract everyone in the same way.

In Johannesburg, in neighbouring South Africa, 21-year-old Gracie Alexander told the BBC about the messages she was receiving from her father Nick Alexander who ran a construction company in Palma.

Mr Alexander was also at the Amarula hotel.

“He sent a video of the gunshots that were going on and he told us just to be praying and thinking of him and that he was hoping to be evacuated as soon as possible,” his daughter said.

‘Make a run for it’

Desperate after two days under fire and with hardly any food or water, a plan was devised to drive the remaining 170 people out of the Amarula in a convoy to a nearby beach where boats would take them to Pemba, where Mr Davis was now helping coordinate the rescue efforts.

“They decided they had to make a run for it and just try it at least,” he said.

“There was one armoured vehicle - a 10-seater at the back - and they packed all these women and children from the village into it.”

Around 17 cars made it out of the hotel but almost immediately the convoy came under attack - 10 vehicles did not make it to the beach.

Mr Pinto, the hotel worker, was in the convoy, and felt lucky to have made it out alive.

“I saw dead bodies when we left the hotel. Many people died,” he said.

Nelson Matola, who was working in Palma also hid out at the Amarula and was caught up in the ambush.

“It was a massacre. I think none of us want to go back there.”

The Mozambican government has said that at least seven people were killed in the incident but Mr Matola said the number was much higher.

“Not just seven! Many died, some foreign colleagues lost their lives in that exit.”

Ms Alexander’s father Nick later found out that he had escaped the convoy.

“When the ambush happened, he jumped out of the convoy and ran back to the hotel and then he found a gun and ran across the street into the bushes and just stayed hiding.”

After two days, he was found by a helicopter searching for survivors - to the immense relief of his family.

“He found a satellite phone that he used just to tell us that he’s alive. He was just in tears - I think he thought he was just never

Anxious relatives in Pemba have been waiting for news about family members in Palma going to see us again,” Ms Alexander said.

Those who made it to the beach then had to spend the night hiding from the attackers.

South Africans Greg Knox and Wesley Nel were among those on the beach. They had managed to recover the body of Adrian Nel - Mr Knox’s step-son and Mr Nel’s brother.

Mr Nel’s mother, Meryl Knox, told the BBC they’d been left to their own defences during the attack on Palma.

“You can imagine - no army to protect them, none of them having weapons so it was a matter of run for your life or face these insurgents…This could have been avoided, my son could still be alive today.”

‘Where was the support?’

It is believed he was killed while driving one of the convoy’s vehicles.

Mr Davis is still furious.

“Where the hell was the support, you know? From big companies, from countries?

It’s just not right. It’s disgraceful, There were so many more casualties than there should

have been,” he said.

By Saturday morning, the first boats rescuing the survivors at the beach started sailing in to Pemba, about 250km (150 miles) to the south - they were manned by civilians, some were cargo ships which had been passing Palma and decided to help when they heard of those in distress.

More and more people with their own stories of terror are still reaching Pemba.

Mariamo Tagir, who lost her son in Palma, arrived on board a ferry carrying more than 1,000 people on Thursday.

“I’m so tired, it was seven days [in] the bushes,” she told the Reuters news agency. “We crossed path several times with evildoers, the situation is really bad - many dead, many dead.”

She joins thousands of other displaced people in the city, including Mr Pinto.

“I am empty handed,” he said. “I don’t know whether my house and other belongings were set ablaze or not. I took nothing.”

Marwa Elselehdar: ‘I was blamed for blocking the Suez Canal’

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ews had broken about a huge container ship, the Ever Given, that had become wedged across the Suez Canal, bringing one of world’s major shipping routes to a halt.

But as she checked her phone, online rumours were saying she was to blame.

“I was shocked,” says Marwa, Egypt’s first female ship’s captain.

At the time of the Suez blockage, Ms Elselehdar was working as a first mate, in command of the Aida IV, hundreds of miles away in Alexandria.

The vessel, owned by Egypt’s maritime safety authority, runs supply missions to a lighthouse in the Red Sea. It’s also used to train cadets from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), a regional university run by the Arab League.

Rumours about Marwa Elselehdar’s role on the Ever Given were largely spurred by screenshots of a fake news headline supposedly published by Arab News - which said she was involved in the Suez incident.

The doctored image appears to be from a genuine Arab News story, released on 22 March, which profiles Marwa’s success as Egypt’s first female ship captain. The picture has been shared dozens of times on Twitter and Facebook.

Several Twitter accounts under her name have also spread false claims that she was in involved with the Ever Given.

Marwa Elselehdar, 29, told the BBC she

has no idea who first spread the story or why they did it.

“I felt that I might be targeted maybe because I’m a successful female in this field or because I’m Egyptian, but I’m not sure,” she said.

It’s not the first time she’s faced challenges in an industry historically dominated by men. At present, women only account for 2% of the world’s seafarers, according to the International Maritime Organisation.

Marwa says she’s always loved the sea, and was inspired to join the merchant navy after her brother enrolled at the AASTMT. Though the academy only accepted men at the time, she applied anyway and was granted permission to join after a legal review by Egypt’s then-President Hosni Mubarak.

During her studies, Ms Elselehdar says she faced sexism at every turn.

“Onboard, they were all older men with different mentalities, so it was difficult not to be able to find like-minded people to communicate with,” she says. “It was challenging to go through this alone and be able to overcome it without affecting my mental health.”

“People in our society still don’t accept the idea of girls working in the sea away from their families for a long time,” she adds. “But when you do what you love, it is not necessary for you to seek the approval of everyone.”

After graduating, Marwa rose to the rank of first mate, and captained the Aida IV when

it became the first vessel to navigate the newlyexpanded Suez Canal in 2015. At the time, she was the youngest and first female Egyptian captain to cross the waterway.

In 2017 she was also honoured by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during Egypt’s Women’s Day celebrations.

When rumours emerged about her role in the Suez blockage, she feared for the impact it would have on her work.

“This fake article was in English so it spread in other countries,” says Ms Elselehdar. “I tried so hard to negate what was in the article because it was affecting my reputation and all the efforts I exerted to be where I am now.”

But she says she feels encouraged by some of the response.

“The comments on the article were very negative and harsh but there were so many other supportive comments from ordinary people and people I work with,” she says. “I decided to focus on all the support and love I’m getting, and my anger turned to gratefulness.”

“Also, it is worth mentioning that I became even more famous than before,” she adds.

Next month Marwa Elselehdar will be taking her final exam to attain a full rank of captain, and hopes she can continue to be a role model for women in the industry.

“My message to females who want to be in the maritime field is fight for what you love and not let any negativity to affect you,” says Marwa.

Source: BBC

PAGE 24

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e w s

By Zhang Penghui, Jinruo, People’s Daily

Zhang

O

n March 30, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on the joint WHOChina study of COVID-19 origins in Geneva, Switzerland, and released a report: WHO-convened Global Study of Origins of SARS-CoV-2: China Part. The report said that the lab-leak theory is “extremely unlikely.”

A joint study was conducted from 14 January to 10 February 2021 in the city of Wuhan, China. The joint international team comprised 17 Chinese and 17 international experts from other countries. They made studies in the areas of the following three parts, epidemiology, animals and environment, and the molecular epidemiology and bioinformatics.

The 120-page document, composed after the team’s 28-day field study in Wuhan, the capital city of China’s Hubei Province earlier this year, shed light on the likeliness of different pathways for the origins of COVID-19.

They concluded that it’s a “likely to very likely pathway” for the virus to infect humans through an intermediate host, while introduction of the virus through a laboratory incident was “extremely unlikely.” And in between, direct zoonotic spillover is considered to be a possible-to-likely pathway, while cold food chain products are a possible pathway.

The report also mentioned that “some of the suspected positive samples were detected even earlier than the first case in Wuhan,

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r o m

A SI A

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

The WHO report on the joint WHO-China study of COVID-19 origins published suggesting the possibility of missed circulation in other countries,” adding that “Nonetheless, it is important to investigate these potential early events.”

The report also raised recommendations for further study from the joint international team, including continuing to develop an integrated global database, sequencing early cases or samples collected in future SARS-CoV-2global tracing studies, establishing a global expert group to support joint traceability research on the suspected origin of the epidemic, and analyzing the different role of the cold chain in the possible introduction of the virus in a market and the possible spread within a market following the introduction of the virus in a market by an infected human.

A Member State Briefing on the report of the international team studying the origins of SARS-CoV-2 is held on the same day. Peter K. Ben Embarek, leader of the international team of experts to Wuhan, introduced the field work and research results of the team, extending the team’s collective sincere thanks to Wuhan locals for their cooperation during their research.

Liang Wannian, leader of the Chinese team of experts, said that the report is the joint efforts of Chinese

M

odern information technologies are transforming the tourism industry and speeding up the recovery of the tourism market in China amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

While tourist destinations have introduced new technologies to enrich the experience of visitors and adopted intelligent management systems to improve services, new forms of business such as virtual travel, performances, and exhibitions have flourished.

Despite the attack of the virus, China’s tourism industry secured recovery and development in 2020. It is estimated that the number of domestic visitors received by tourist attractions across China and the country’s tourism revenue recovered by 79 percent and 69.9 percent during last year’s National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, respectively, on a comparable basis.

During the upcoming Tombsweeping Day holiday, or Qingming Festival, that falls on April 4 this year, China’s number of tourists is expected to return to the level of the same period in 2019, with 100 million trips to be made, as a research institute under Ctrip pointed out.

New tourism models brought about by the development of the Internet have grown rapidly in the country, further stimulating innovation in the modes of production, services and management, diversifying tourism products, and broadening the space for tourism consumption.

China is expected to witness its domestic tourism market receive average annual visits of 10 billion and

tourist spending reach 10 trillion yuan ($1.52 trillion) in the next five years, according to a report released by the China Tourism Academy (CTA).

Noting that tourists are now able to search for travel agencies, travel tips, and book tickets to tourist destinations

Photo taken on March 30, 2021 shows an exterior view of the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. (Chen Junxia /Xinhua) and foreign experts. He emphasized that the team adhered to scientific method in the research cooperation based on evidence. It is part of the global tracing study. All the conclusions and recommendations of the report are based on a global perspective, and future research will not be limited to a certain region.

Chen Xu, head of the Chinese

Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, said that the international experts from China and the WHO had demonstrated a scientific and open spirit and the Chinese government at all levels had provided necessary assistance for their work in Wuhan, which fully reflected the open, transparent and responsible attitude of China, and was highly appreciated

by experts from both sides. The traceability research is a scientific work that should be carried out by global scientists. It is also a global task. The China-WHO joint research will play a good role in promoting traceability in other countries and regions around the world, and provide positive and useful guidance for better understanding the virus.

via online platforms, Dai Bin, director of the CTA, believes that modern information technologies symbolized by the Internet have driven constant innovation in traveling services.

The accelerated application of big data, cloud computing, mobile

communications and smart terminals in the tourism industry has not only altered tourism consumption patterns, but brought changes to the way in which tourism services are supplied, Dai pointed out.

By digitalizing and improving

services, scenic areas in China have allowed visitors to make reservations for tours at different periods of time, and ensured the monitoring and regulation of tourist traffic and smart parking, bringing more orderly and better traveling experience to tourists.

China creates green miracles through strenuous efforts

By Yin Shuanghong, People’s Daily

C

hina accounts for 25 percent of the global net increase in leaf area in the past nearly 20 years, leading the world in greening effort, and the country’s forest coverage rate has increased from 12 percent in early 1980s to 23.04 percent today, according to data.

Forty years ago, China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), passed a resolution on carrying out a public voluntary tree-planting campaign, a nationwide event that has been participated in and promoted by governments at all levels and in both urban and rural areas.

Tao Fengjiao, a fisherwoman in Changjiang Li autonomous county, south China’s Hainan province, has planted 5.88 million trees in quicksand with her female friends since 1992. The forests they have created cover an area of 33,800 mu (about 2,253 hectares), and have given a brand new look to the island province of Hainan.

On the Saihanba mechanical forest farm in north China’s Hebei province,

Education 25 Out-of-school children T now 10.3million - FG Maryam Abeeb

he Federal Government has said the number of out-ofschool children in Nigeria has now dropped to 10.3 million from 12 million.

The federal government said various interventions by stakeholders in the sector had led to the drop in the statistics of outof-school children .

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono, said this at the zonal dissemination workshop of Nigeria Education Sector Analysis report in Abeokuta, Ogun state.

Echono, represented by Director, Educational Planning, Research and Development in the ministry, Dr Folake David, said Nigeria still had issues of access to education .

Maryam Abeeb, Abuja

Digital technologies speed up recovery of China’s tourism sector

By Wang Ke, Tang Zhihong, People’s Daily

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

three generations of residents covered 1.12 million mu of wasteland with green trees.

In the Greater Khingan Range in north China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, 16,000 forestry workers have changed their job from cutting down trees to protecting trees.

Many more areas in China, including Yulin city of northwest China’s Shaanxi province, Youyu county of north China’s Shanxi province, and Minqin county of northwest China’s Gansu province, are seeing more and more shelter forests be created and vegetated areas get better protection, while the “Green Great Wall of China”, the country’s Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program designed to improve the environment in the Northwest, North and Northeast China, continues to extend across the country.

From finding the suitable tree species to preparing trees for inclement weather, changing people’s traditional views about exploitation, and protecting the growing environment of seedlings, Chinese people’s understanding of the relationship between human and nature has deepened constantly.

China has realized profoundly that it needs to correctly understand and handle the relationship between economic development and environmental protection, and should neither follow the way of developing economy at the cost of the environment nor slow down economic development for fear of environmental pollution.

As it turned out, afforestation is a wise decision of the country, as it has not only improved the natural environment, but also benefited the well-being of the Chinese people.

Many forestry workers, farmers, and herdsmen in the country have enjoyed significant improvement in their living standards after securing stable incomes, thanks to China’s endeavors to reduce poverty through the development of local industries and its ecological poverty-relief programs.

By developing ecological tourism, China’s seventh largest desert, Kubuqi Desert located in Ordos city of China’s Inner Mongolia, has seen a great number of visitors and thriving ecological industry, which have brought considerable economic benefits to the local people.

The Saihanba mechanical forest farm, where yellow sand could block out the sun and birds couldn’t find a single tree to rest on in the past, is now covered with boundless forests and witnessing an endless stream of visitors. The development of green and ecological industries of the locality has helped nearly 40,000 people embark on a path to a more prosperous life.

China’s remarkable achievements in promoting afforestation and miracles in economic development have fully demonstrated that guided by the philosophy of green development, the country has made ecological and environmental protection, economic development, as well as improvement in people’s livelihood inseparably interconnected with one another and supplement one another.

China aims to make new progress in building an ecological civilization, cut the energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) and its carbon dioxide emissions by 13.5 percent and 18 percent, respectively, continue to reduce the total amount of emissions of major pollutants, and raise its forest coverage rate to 24.1 percent during its 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

E

ight undergraduate students of the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) have won N2.2million as research grants from the university’s Centre for Undergraduate Research Fund.

Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, who spoke at the maiden undergraduate research day with the theme: ‘Promoting National Development Through Research’ in Abuja, pledged to increase investment on research and development with a view to further boost national development.

Na’Allah said one of the problems in Nigeria was bad leadership and poor investment in research.

He urged university managements and students to identify and undertake research on local and national problems to enable Nigeria be at par with developed countries of the world.

According to him, the university would continue to harvest undergraduates to embark on research, grant them the needed financial support and mentorship, through the Centre which was established to primarily encourage undergraduate students at all levels in the university to develop keen interest in research, know Nigeria’s problems and how to resolve them.

He said: “How has the many universities in Nigeria helped in sustaining and developing this nation to compete with other nations of the world?

“Universities have no other business than helping the nation to grow and I want to encourage all universities in Nigeria to have centres of undergraduate research’’.

“I urge other undergraduates to look at the problems of the nation that they want to research into.“ The university will give you the money, support and assistance so that your research will be successful.”

She said statistics revealed that not all children of school age were in school in most part of the country.

She said “We still have issues of access. Not all children are in school even in the southwest. Some have dropped out. We have gender inequality issue as we still have more boys in schools than girls.

“In some areas, we have girls more than boys. Even when they are all in school, we have the problem of learning outcome.

“There are different challenges, so, each state has to address its own issue. And nationally, we address national issues because on a poll, the whole country will be rated not just only on the basis of one state, but on national averages.

“As at the time of the study, it is 12 million, but, from the personnel audit conducted and as at last year, it became 10.3 million which is what we have adopted as a government.

As at the time the study was

concluded, it has reduced to 10.3 million. But, while the study was on, we have 12 million. These figures are not static and a lot of things have affected the numbers.

“We had a lot of interventions in those states, the number has reduced drastically. We have some figures, but, we are doing the plus and minus. As a result of COVID-19, some other children have attained school age, they have added to the number.

“We are trying to ensure that

we look at the issues we have and plan properly in tackling then.

“We are also putting up policy to ensure that we have digitilised learning.

Earlier in his remarks, the state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu said the state had put in place measures to improve the standard of education in the state ..

Arigbabu said the state had begun the rehabilitation of 960 primary and secondary schools.

UniAbuja Students get N2.2million grants Na’Allah who further revealed that the university has developed the ‘Journal of Undergraduate Research’ open only for publication of undergraduate researches, said it would create partnership and

linkages with industries, foster future employment opportunities and expose Nigerian students to global recognition.

The director, Centre for Undergraduate Research, Dr

Taibat Atoyebi, said the institution was looking at collaborating with other organisations and industries so as to fund the researches.

On the selection process she said: “We scrutinise the topic and

see the ones that are researchable, you know not everything is researchable, some topics are just like essay we want something that is empirical, sustainable, practical and original.”

L-R: Newly conferred with Fellows of Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE), Prof.

Olaosebikan Fakolujo; Rev. Ezekiel Ojekunle; Mr Adeyemi Jacobs; and Mr Samuel Adeleke; during the Investiture and Lecture of 4th Chairman of NIEEE,Ibadan Chapter on Saturday

Bauchi Govt. upgrades 3 model primary schools in 3 LGAs –Perm Sec Maryam Abeeb

T

he Bauchi state government has upgraded three model primary schools, with the provision of health centres and water, in three local government areas of the state, according to Alhaji Garba Babaji.

Babaji, the Permanent Secretary, State Rural Water Supply Agency (RUWASSA), disclosed this during the inspection tour of ongoing projects by Gov. Bala Mohammed, in Dagauda district of Dambam Local Government Area.

The three affected model primary are located in three communities of Dagauda in Dambam, Yelwan Duguri in

Alkaleri and Mashema in Itas/ Gadau Local Government Areas of the state, he said.

“The three model primary schools encompass classrooms, laboratories, ICT, staff accommodation, computer center, administration blocks and health centers.

“Each of the model schools has 18 to 19 classrooms which are 85 per cent completed,” he said.

Babaji said the project was executed under the Inclusive Basic Service Delivery and Livelihood Empowerment Integrated Programme (IBSDLEIP), with the support of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

He assured that the project would be completed by the end of

April and put into use.

In a remarks, Gov. Mohammed commended the contractor for his efforts at reaching the final level of the project’s completion.

Mohammed said the project was part of his administration’s commitment to bringing social services close to the people.

“We are determined to improve the quality of life, by increasing access of the poor and the vulnerable to basic social services, such as water, sanitation, hygiene, health and education, livelihood opportunities, food security and safety.

“The government selected the three communities of Dagauda, Duguri and Mashema in Alkaleri, Dambam and Itas Gadau Local

Government Areas,” he said.

He urged the communities to take ownership of the projects for the sustainable use of the facility for their young ones.

He added: “This is in support of the “President Muhammadu Buhari Plan” for Emergency Transition, Recovery and Peacebuilding, for the North Eastern states of Nigeria.

“The five states that benefited from this programme include, Borno, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba.”

The AfDB, approved a financing package, comprising USD 150 million ADB Loan, USD 100 ADF Loan and EUR 5 million RWSSI Grant Facility, to finance the IBSDLEIP.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

Interview

I will drive Civil Defence to be a world class service -NSCDC boss What is the place of agro-rangers in resolving the persistent clashes between herders and farmers?

Agro rangers is a specialized squad that is well trained and encompasses armed squad, special forces and what have you. Their major role is to settle disputes among farmers and herdsmen and they will also protect and secure our agro allied investments in the country. If you watch how events unfold as per this farmers- herders crisis, we have arrested over 200 armed herdsmen and we have handed some over to the police and we are prosecuting some. The armed squad is doing really well.

NSCDC has a very unique disposition in terms of spread, that is, we have offices in all the 774 local government areas including districts and villages and farming communities in Nigeria. If you go to the Northeast, Borno state for instance, our personnel have been doing very well. They have been escorting farmers, giving them cover in most farming communities. If you go to Ekiti state, our men are also doing that. It is the same story in Ondo state.

The Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ahmed Abubakar Audi, in this interview with Tobias Lengnan Dapam, said he will drive the corps in to a world class service. He also spoke on other sundry issues and challenges beclouding the NSCDC. Excepts:

What are the challenges that you have encountered since you came on board?

It is not easy to have a mission and then when you want to implement, you will now discover that there are challenges. The first thing is paucity of funds. We need funds to provide equipment, welfare services etc.

Again, I do not have enough equipment and logistics. We need those equipment to function very well. For example, we need drones that we can send on security errands. We also need the personnel. We want to thank Mr President for graciously approving recruitment for us for the span of three years, that is, 5, 000 for each year.

That will give us ample opportunity to deploy more men to carry out our mandate.

How about the safe school initiative? What is the level of partnership between the NSCDC and state governments?

On the safe school initiative, we have keyed into it and we have even commissioned a team of researchers and intellectuals who are conducting what is called vulnerability survey of all our schools and very soon we are going to launch that programme. In the interim, I have ordered that all state Commandants should deploy our personal to schools in their various states and they are doing that in conjunction with state governors, Commissioners of Education and in fact even directly with the principals so that they can provide safety for our children.

Maiduguri has been off the power grid for several weeks now due to the activities of insurgents who vandalise power installations. What is NSCDC doing in this regard?

You are asking the right person the right question because I was the zonal Commandant in charge of North East and from my experience, our men have been providing surveillance services on virtually all the infrastructure in Borno state and environs. However, we are overstretched because of the limited number of personnel that we have. Otherwise, NSCDC has performed creditably well in that area. Nigeria is experiencing a very dangerous and different type of conflict.

It is asymmetric. The way to nip it in the bud is that we must deploy intelligence.

The Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka adopted the same strategy and they dealt with that country for two decades. That is why we told ourselves at the level of committee or heads of security agencies that we must synergize. No agency should claim monopoly of anything. We must work together, share intelligence because this is not the conventional warfare, otherwise we would have halted it by now. Those guys have international sponsors. They are also trained and heavily armed and so we are dealing with a serious situation. In Borno

them to do better.

As you can see, the NSCDC headquarters has taken a new shape. We have also gotten some vehicles from a philanthropist as part of his corporate social responsibility.

Among the vehicles, we have two fighter vehicles called Buffalos. We are doing our best to make sure that the country is safe.

We have also reached out to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC to see how we can strengthen synergy with them. We are visiting other sister-agencies to seek for further collaboration.

When somebody is working he wants to be promoted. When somebody has been promoted, you need to pay him the backlog of arrears that is due to him. We are working on that to clear all those arrears so that we will encourage them to serve Nigerians.

Ahmed Abubakar Audi state, we have been doing our best and we have been contributing our quota.

You are just one month in office.

What are we expecting from you?

I am a digital man. I like to drive this Corps to be a world class service. I will use training. When you train and retrain your personnel, they will give you their best and you will enhance their productivity.

This safe school initiative is also one of the things that I will focus on. The deployment of special forces to go round and give

“

surveillance and patrol to most of these hideouts, these kidnapping spots is also part of my mission. We are also planning to commission a Women Squad. There is this saying that whatever a man can do, a woman can do better. So, we want to give women a chance to show us what they have in stock security-wise. We are prepared to give our best to Nigerians. I will also improve on the welfare of staff because it serves to motivate them to perform better.

We are going to provide a well-packaged motivation for our personnel to encourage

I am going to pursue with vigour, to work very closely with all heads of sister agencies. As you know, historically, the NSCDC is a product of the military and I have attended strategic courses with the military at the Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies NIPSS. Some of the Generals were my course mates and we have been interacting very closely because we are good friends

What will you do differently to promote inter-agency collaboration especially with the Police?

Simple. Scientific synergy. Proper collaboration.

Attending the same trainings. Inviting other agencies to our programmes and trainings and I am also ready to attend theirs. You see, sometimes the clashes between agencies depends on the level of cooperation between the heads of such agencies. I will like to cement and strengthen such cooperation. I am going to pursue with vigour, to work very closely with all heads of sister agencies.

As you know, historically, the NSCDC is a product of the military and I have attended strategic courses with the military at the Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies NIPSS. Some of the Generals were my course mates and we have been interacting very closely because we are good friends. That is how it should be. I have been talking to my personnel that the relationship should trickle down and I know we are on course.

What is the update about recruitment into the NSCDC? You know I just came in and I am still studying that process and I wouldn’t want to make any comment now. Anything that has to do with recruitment is a very sensitive issue but I will like to advise Nigerians to be wary of criminals, scammers who are everywhere trying to defraud them about recruitment. Under my watch, we will try and follow the due process when it comes to recruitment.

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

Sports

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sports@peoplesdailyng.com, SMS- 08142929046

monday, april 5, 2021

Edo Sports Festival under threat as athletes test positive for Covid-19

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here is serious doubt about the commencement of the 2021 Edo Sports Festival after two athletes tested positive for Coronavirus.

The Deputy Governor and Chairman, Local Organising Committee for the festival, Mr Philip Shaibu stated this while briefing journalists in Benin.

The two athletes that tested positive for the virus have been immediately moved to the Stella Obasanjo Hospital Isolation Centre for proper care and monitoring.

Recall that two states, Taraba and Oyo were disqualified from the showpiece after they failed the screening

as well.

“The contingents of Oyo and Taraba stand disqualified from the 20th NSF unless the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 gives a counter directive as both states failed to meet with the COVID-19 guidelines of the games.

“We have to be strict with the guidelines so as not to use the games as an avenue to spread COVID-19 in the state, which has already been flattened.

“Even if the PTF gives approval for both states to be admitted, the teams have to go through strict COVID-19 screening and testing before they will be allowed into camp.”

Edo 2020: Obaseki receives festival torch amidst fanfare

By Albert Akota

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overnor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on Sunday received the festival torch of the 20th National Sports Festival.

The torch arrived at the premises of the Government House, in Benin, at about 3.30 pm.

The Governor received the torch from the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, represented by the South-South Director of Sports, Peter Nelson.

Receiving the torch, Obaseki described the national sports fiesta as a rallying point for the country and must be sustained.

“As you are all aware, the National Sports Festival is a festival of unity, the festival that brings the entire country together.

“More than ever before in our history, we need to come together at this time.

That is why the Edo State government decided that in spite of all the challenges and difficulties from the pandemic, to ensure that we still hold the 20th edition 9f the national sports festival in Benin City.

“I have received this touch and we will keep it alive and will pass it on to the next generation and the next state that Wil be hosting the 21st edition of the festival.

“On behalf of the citizens of Edo state, I received this touch from the Federal Minister of Sports,” he said.

He later passed the torch to the Deputy Governor who doubles as the Chairman of the local organizing committee, for onward transmission to the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, the main venue of the festival.

The Governor received the torch from the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, represented by the South-South Director of Sports, Peter Nelson.

Receiving the torch, Obaseki described the national sports fiesta as a rallying point for the country and must be sustained.

“As you are all aware, the National Sports Festival is a festival of unity, the festival that brings the entire country together.

“More than ever before in our history, we need to come together at this time.

That is why the Edo State government decided that in spite of all the challenges and difficulties from the pandemic, to ensure that we still hold the 20th edition 9f the national sports festival in Benin City.

“I have received this touch and we will keep it alive and will pass it on to the next generation and the next state that Wil be hosting the 21st edition of the festival.

Obaseki receives festival torch to commence National Sports Festival

CAFCC: Iwuala assists as Enyimba pip ES Setif at home

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Blessing Oborududu

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hree Nigerian Wrestlers have secured spots at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. Commonwealth wrestling champions, Blessing Oborududu and Aminat Adeniyi, as well as youngster Adijat Idris displayed impressive performances at the ongoing Africa/Oceania Olympic qualifiers in Hammamet, Tunisia.

Ten-time African champion Oborududu made light work of Enas Ahmed of Egypt and Senegal’s Anta Sambou, winning 13-2 and 10-0 via technical superiority respectively, before sealing a place at her third Olympics with a 4-0 pinfall victory against Tunisian Khadija Jlassi.

On her way to booking a place in Tokyo, Adeniyi, a four-time African champion, recorded a 7-0 win over Amel Hammiche of Algeria, and then subdued Zineb Hassoune of Morocco 10-0 via technical superiority before overpowering Cameroon’s Berthe Ngolle 3-0.

Despite going down to her great rival Marwa Amri 3-1 in a keenly contested bout, Adeniyi secured her place in Tokyo alongside the Tunisian Olympic bronze-medalist.

Meanwhile, teenage sensation Idris shone like a million stars on her debut on the big stage with lots of eye-catching displays to book a place at the Olympics at the first time of asking.

The 19-year-old delivered two technical superiority wins against Egypt’s Nada Mohamed and Debora Ture of Guinea Bissau, scoring 11-0 and 15-4 respectively, before dismissing Ibtissem Doudou of Algeria in her third round-robin match and despite a 2-1 loss to home girl Sarra Hamdi, Idris, who claimed gold at the Baraza Champion of

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Three Nigerian wrestlers qualify for Olympic Games in style Champions Wrestling tournament in Yenagoa in January, advanced to her maiden Olympics alongside the Tunisian.

It could have been a perfect day for Team Nigeria in Hammamet, however, Bose Samuel was stopped in the quarter-finals of the 53kg category by her Cameroonian rival Joseph Essombe Tiako, who won 2-1 via pinfall.

A bronze medal for the 2018 African champion was not good enough, as only the top 2 in each weight class qualify for the Olympics.

Oborududu, Adeniyi and Idris will thus join former World No.1 Odunayo Adekuoroye (57kg) to compete at the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games, which will run from July 23 to August 8 this year.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

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Lagos agog as Pinnick kicks off new Nigeria Beach Soccer League

CAFCC: Iwuala assists as Enyimba pip ES Setif at home

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nyimba rallied back from a goal down to beat Tunisian club ES Setif 2-1 in their CAF Confederation Cup matchday three encounter in Aba yesterday.

Monsef Bakrar gave the visitors the lead in the 13th minute after he was set up by Ahmed Kendouci.

The Peoples Elephant missed the chance to draw level four minutes later with skipper Austine Oladapo missing from the spot.

Oladapo make amend for his earlier miss with a left-footed finish from long range five minutes before the break.

Tosin Omoyele then scored the winning goal for Enyimba on the hour mark following a superb pass from Anayo Iwuala.

Fatai Osho’s side occupy top

Enyimba first in Group A with six points from three games.

Frampton retires after losing to Herring in WBO world title fight

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, april 5, 2021

arl Frampton announced his retirement in the ring after being stopped by Jamel Herring in the sixth round of their WBO super-featherweight contest.

The Belfast man was bidding to become Ireland’s first three-weight world champion.

Herring dropped Frampton, 34, a round earlier before another left uppercut in the sixth sent Frampton to the canvas.

Amid a flurry of shots and little defence, Frampton’s corner threw in the towel.

“I said before I would retire if I lost this fight and that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” an emotional Frampton said in the ring.

“I just want to dedicate my life to my family now. Boxing has been good to me, it’s also been bad to me.

“The last few years with these boys [trainers Jamie Moore and Nigel Travis], have been the best of my career.

“I just want to go home to my beautiful wife and kids and that’s it.”

Defeat draws curtain on Frampton’s career After losing to Josh Warrington in December 2018, Frampton seriously considered retiring but opted to continue in pursuit of another world title, firm in the belief he still had that level of performance in him.

The nature of the loss to Herring, given his assertion prior to the fight that such a result would signal an end to his career, has left Frampton with no doubt that the time is right to hang up his gloves.

Libya’s Al Ahli Benghazi will host South African side Orlando

Pirates in the other group game later yesterday.

Pinnick (Crouching second from left, in white), with Akinwunmi (crouching second from right), Hadejia (crouching first from left) at the opening ceremony of the Nigeria Beach Soccer League in Lagos on Saturday

By Albert Akota

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he Elegushi Beach in Nigeria’s commercial city, Lagos was on Saturday set agog when Member of world football governing body, FIFA’s Council, Executive Committee Member of CAF and President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Mr Amaju Melvin Pinnick officially kicked off the new Nigeria Beach Soccer League. The League, which is the baby project of the Amaju Pinnick-led Board is also supported by Beach Soccer Worldwide, and Africa Beach Soccer Union.

Speaking on the sidelines after the inauguration, Mr Pinnick, who was in company with NFF 1st Vice President, Barr Seyi Akinwunmi, Nigeria Beach Soccer League Coordinator, Mahmoud Hadejia and other officials, said he was excited to be part of the historical moment, and that he was at the event despite his busy schedule, to reiterate the

NFF’s endorsement, whilst also pledging his total support for the newly formed Nigeria Beach Soccer Association.

“I’m not going talk much today because I’m very excited that we are finally kicking off the Beach Soccer League in Nigeria. I’m here to officially endorse this project and to also physically express the Federation’s full backing. I want to appreciate everyone that made this happen because it has been a collective effort despite the many hurdles. It has been long overdue. By God’s grace, we will take beach soccer to greater heights of excellence,” said Pinnick.

In a thrilling first round Group A opener, Kebbi Beach Soccer Club beat Badagry United 4-2 to get their title contention underway.

Adams Taiwo set the ball rolling for them on the 8th minute when his low drive beat goalkeeper Zomoto Idowu of Badagry to give Kebbi the lead. Badagry came close to grabbing their equalizer

in the closing stages of the first period through Achior Valentine but his effort went wide to end the first period 1-0 in favour of Kebbi BSC. The Bashar Aliyu-tutored boys began the second period like they did the first, as a free-kick in the 5th minute by Badmus Faud gave them a comfortable two-goal lead. Down but not out, Badagry kept asking all the questions and were duly rewarded in the 8th minute through Akewusola Jamal. B Kebbi responded almost immediately when S. Ilimi Abubakar restored their two-goal cushion just on the stroke of the second period for 3-1.

Badagry started the 3rd period on the front foot and came close to getting their reward again through Atemo Samuel but his shot was blocked by goalkeeper Arome Isah who had a terrific day between the sticks.

The ever-vibrant Isah could however do nothing to stop Achior Valentine’s

free-kick in the 10th minute as Badagry pulled one back for 3-2.

Kebbi then made sure that any hope of a comeback was off the table for Badagry as they responded almost immediately via Adams Taiwo, who bagged his brace on opening day to lead the race for the Golden Boot.

In other matches played in Group B on Sunday, Igbogbo BSC of Lagos pummeled Edo HCF 6-3, Anambra BSC were 5-3 better than Kwara BSC in Group A, and Kada BSC squeezed past Smart City of Lagos, 5-2.

All The Results Group A Kebbi BSC 4-2 Badagry United Kwara BSC 3-5 Anambra BSC Group B Igbogbo BSC 6-3 Edo BSC Kada BSC 6-4 Smart City

. . . putting the people first

monday, april 5, 2021

SPORTS

latest French Open may be postponed over increase of coronavirus cases

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he French Open could be postponed because of a surge in coronavirus cases in France, the country’s sports minister Roxana Maracineanu says.

France entered a third nationwide lockdown on Saturday, which president Emmanuel Macron said he expected to end in mid-May. The Grand Slam is due to take place at Roland Garros from 23 May to 6 June, with qualifying the week before.

In 2020, it was postponed to the autumn because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are in discussion with [the French Tennis Federation] to see if we should change the date to coincide with a possible resumption of all sports and major events,” Maracineanu told France Info radio.

“Today, although high-level sport has been preserved, we try to limit the risks of clusters, of spreading the virus within professional sports.”

France is battling a peak of about 5,000 Covid patients in intensive care units. On Friday, the country recorded 46,677 new cases and 304 Taye Taiwo and Oduamadi deaths

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Benue: State of blood

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ver since he was murdered in 2015, Benue has not paused to explain why it killed Atoza Ihindan, a respected teacher and politician that I knew rather well. He opened the gates and deaths of politicians mostly in brutal circumstances continue unabated in Benue.

“My father had gone out to inspect the perimeter fence of a property within Katsina-Ala town last Friday July 15 2015 in company of a police escort and aide before two hired killers who rode on a motorcycle, came and shot him at close range. He died on the spot”, said Terfa Atoza Ihindan, his son and a former Commissioner in the state.

The son went ahead to accuse Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom’s Chief Security Officer (CSO), Superintendent of Police, Dickson Orlu Pawa and Youth Leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Hon. Moses Anaana, of complicity in the assassination.

High profile death has always stalked the state since the return of partisan politics in 1999. Chief Audu Ogbeh who later became National Chairman of the then ruling PDP had a close shave with death when armed assailants attacked him at his Efugo farm house in Benue State and left him badly bruised and believed to be dead..

Chief Ogbeh who still became in 2015 a Minister in the APC government of President Buhari and is at present the National Chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum was attacked by the armed assailants who demanded for dollars and inquired about his presidential ambition.

Many more inexplicable deaths and attempted assassinations have occurred in the state. We remember the dramatic escape in March 2004 of Governor George Akume who was ambushed and fired at by gunmen as his convoy drove from Makurdi to attend some

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official function in Abuja. He escaped but his friend and co traveller, Mr Andrew Agom, a former MD of Nigeria Airways who was travelling with him in the same car was not so lucky and got killed.

Life has all of a sudden become very cheap in Benue State as we continue to hear rather bizarre stories of cruel killings of citizens in the state.

I remember the nailing to the Cross of one unfortunate ex-service man from the Mbatian ward of Ukum Local Government of the state. He had become a local politician after his service to Nigeria as a veteran in the fight to keep Nigeria one. After some political disagreements with some politicians in the area, they invaded his home at night dragged him out as he was protesting and screaming. They finally nailed him on a mango tree and despite his shrill cries all night, no one came to help because his heavily armed tormentors were there daring whoever could screw the courage to just step out that night. That was during the time Gabriel Suswam was Governor of Benue.

Both Governor Suswam, the late Atoza Ihindan and excivil war veteran Anyamtswam are form the part of Tivland in Benue, popularly known as Sankera. This large part of Tiv country that was invaded

by General Obasanjo, an invasion that has been wrongly

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termed, reprisal killings in Zaki Biam. This came when as a result of the annual Tiv Jukun ethnic wars in Taraba that are going on even now, some soldiers were reported brutally killed by Tiv militia in Zakibiam, a bustling Tiv town in the rural area of Benue.

In a frightening reaction of military fury, Obasanjo ordered a full scale military invasion.

Special targets for the military armed against civilians was an invasion, led by the Army, backed by the Navy and the Airforce and their Helicopter gunboats. An internationally recognized human rights group, the Human Rights Watch issued a damning report against the Nigerian military of that invasion. One of the victims Dr Gaadi took the government army to court but the Obasanjo government did not care to even register a defense of itself.

In the event, the court granted the applicant all his demands of N41 billion as damages.

Governor Suswam is also reported to have been attacked by some Fulani herdsmen during his reign as Governor of Benue state. He is reported to have been spirited away by his ADC and chief detail after the attack occurred. Then came Terwase Akwaza, the outlaw, popularly known as Gana.

Initially granted amnesty by Governor Ortom when he came to power, he was given the poster boy superstar status of the government. Then there

In desperation, Govenor Ortom did the unusual thing of dangling a second amnesty to Gana. It was in the clumsy arrangements of that second amnesty that Gana was ambushed and killed

was an exchange of gunfire in the sacred house of the governor where his Special Adviser was felled by the superior firepower of Gana. The police invited Gana for questioning and the Governor said he advised Gana to do the needful and make himself available. But Gana took flight, returned to the bush and continued to wage war against the society.

In desperation, Govenor Ortom did the unusual thing of dangling a second amnesty to Gana. It was in the clumsy arrangements of that second amnesty that Gana was ambushed and killed. Any discussion of the current situation in Benue without considering the Gana amnesty fiasco is not an honest analysis.

Anywhere you mention the killing the Terkula, senior brother of Senator Suswam all accusing fingers are on Gana.

All top Local Government officials, Chiefs and Traditional rulers have fled Sankera, not running away from Fulani but from Gana boys who have a long list of all who betrayed their master –Gana.

The sudden introduction of the Fulani herdsmen bogey into the whole analysis looks suspicious and should be thoroughly investigated so that issues, substantial issues are not beclouded by religious and ethnic sentiments. Benue must be saved from its state of blood.

DAN GAYE Dangai Let’s help Buhari’s government to succeed, says Atiku

Is this coming from Turaki?

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako, Abuja. Kaduna office: K6 Ahmadu Bello Way, opposite Kontagora road, Kaduna. Tel: +234 814 292 9046. Cell: +234 802 443 2099; 803 7007 759. e-mail: contact@peoplesdailyng.com; pmlnewseditor@gmail.com ISSN: 2141– 6141