Wednesday 12th March, 2014 Edition

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Vol. 13 No. 17 Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Jonathan in secret meeting with Southwest APC govs >> Pg 2

..

. putting the people first

Hoodlums attack Suswam's convoy as Fulani kill 5 >> Pg 3

Jimadal-Ula 11, 1435 AH

N150

Don't leave PDP, Jonathan begs North-west members >> Pg 4

2015: Your timetable is dangerous, Sagay tells Jega From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

L

egal scholar and constitutional lawyer, Professor Itse Sagay yesterday warned Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega

to immediately review the order of the impending 2015 general elections, saying the timetable released by the commission is dangerous for the country.

Sagay confronted Jega in Lagos yesterday at a public policy lecture organized by the Lagos

state chapter of the Alumni Association of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru.

He said INEC must reverse the order of the elections by holding the presidential poll last.

Delivering a paper titled

“Building Credible Electoral Process for Democratic Sustainability”, Sagay said holding the presidential election first would spell doom for the country.

“One other action by FEDECO, which revealed that it had become an uncritical agent and

ally of the NPN was the reversal of the order of election in 1983.

In 1979, the presidential election came last. But suddenly, without cause or explanation, the Commission decided to make the presidential election the first in Contd on Page 2

Confab:

North rejects delegates' composition l Calls for new strategies to tackle Boko Haram l Demands explanation on 'missing' $20bn l Tasks politicians on peaceful 2015 polls >> Pg 2

L-R: Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, President Goodluck Jonathan, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Alhaji Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu, Chairman, PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, Kaduna state Governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Yero Ramalan, Akwa-Ibom state Governor/Chairman PDP Governors’ Forum, Obong Godswill Akpabio, Gombe state Governor, Alhaji, Ibrahim Dankwambo, and Jigawa state Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, during the PDP North-West Zonal rally, yesterday in Kaduna.

2014 budget: No provision for oil exploration in the North - Diezani

>>>>> Page 3

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, march 12, 2014

PAGE 2

News

CONTENTS News 2-10 Editorial 12 Op.Ed 13 Letters 14 Opinion 15 Metro 16,18 Business 19-22 Stockwatch 23 S/Report 24,25 Property 27 Arts

29

Confab: North rejects delegates’ composition

By Lawrence Olaoye, Abuja & Edwin Olofu, Kano

T

he North has rejected the composition of delegates billed to participate at the forthcoming National Conference organised by the federal government.

This was one of the major resolutions of the two-day Conference of Northern Elders and Leaders held Monday to yesterday in Kano, which was organised by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), with support of some northern groups.

The forum, in a communiqué issued yesterday, also called on the federal government to devise a new strategy to combat the menace of insurgency in the North so as to assure citizens of its capacity to protect their lives and property.

“The composition of the delegation to this conference, moreover, represents a serious indictment of the administration's claim to organise a conference that will address the complex

problems of the nation, because it violates all the principles of justice, fairness, inclusiveness and equity. A Conference built on a foundation of injustice and contempt for all known values which should assure all citizens that it is not a design to weaken them will not produce any conclusions that are useful”, the communiqué read in part.

It also called on the delegates, especially those from the North, to work in tandem with their consciences and walk out of the parley whenever they realise that the conference is being manipulated to serve some ulterior motives.

On increased attacks on citizens by the insurgents in the North-east, the communiqué stated that: “The meeting expressed major concerns of northerners over the seeming inability of the federal government to protect the lives and property of citizens.

The shocking level of audacity with which the Boko Haram insurgency attacks and kills people, destroys towns and villages and

commits unspeakable atrocities calls to question the existence of any political will to fight it, as well as the capacity of our military to successfully defeat it. The meeting resolved to demand that the federal government improves its capacity to protect citizens in the North-east and many other parts of the North as the most minimal evidence that it is serious about its responsibilities”.

On impunity and corruption, “The meeting noted that the absence of transparency in the management of our national resources has reached alarming levels. The endless controversies over missing funds are creating the impression of leaders who do not believe they are accountable to Nigerians anymore. The frustrations of Nigerians over the lack of information regarding the veracity of allegations, such as those of missing $20 billion are, are very worrying.

The meeting called on leaders at all levels to be more sensitive to the demands of their offices, particularly the obligations to uphold

the rule of law and requirements of honest and accountable leadership.”

Commenting on the impending polls, the forum stated that “the 2015 elections will severely challenge the electoral process, given the very high stakes, including the possibility that President Jonathan will be a candidate. In the light of the high expectations of Nigerians that the elections will be credible and peaceful, the meeting called on all politicians to develop the highest levels of tolerance and a willingness to respect the will of the Nigerian people”.

The communique was read

by Deputy Chairman of the NEF, Wantereg Paul Unongo.

Other northern groups that participated in the conference include the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) which was represented by Air Vice Marshal Muktar Mohammed (rtd), and the Code Group which is chaired by Engineer Bello Suleiman, a former Minister of Power.

of the Corporation.

According to reports, armed security officials took control of the NNPC Towers, ensuring that there is a free movement of vehicles on the adjoining roads.

Sources said access to the Tower was restricted to only workers of the corporation and few visitors who were thoroughly screened since Tuesday is a nor-

mal visiting day in the NNPC. Peoples Daily learnt that marketers who could not show their identities were denied entry.

However, a source within the Corporation said soldiers and Policemen have always been part of the security arrangement at the NNPC Towers, especially since the last Boko Haram attack in Abuja.

He added that the heightened security may be due to intelligence about possible attack by members of the insurgent group in the city.

Meanwhile, when contacted o phone, the Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim dismissed the claims, saying he was not aware of any bomb scare at the headquarters.

The APC governors in attendance were Dr. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state, his Lagos state counterpart, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, as well as Senator Ibikunle Amosun and Rauf Aregbesola of Ogun and Osun states respectively.

No statement was issued be-

fore and after the meeting on the purpose of the sudden talks even as sources hinge it on political permutations towards the 2015 elections.

At the end of the meeting, the governors simply said they had a fruitful deliberation with the president on "crucial national issues".

Governor Fashola, who spoke to State House correspondents said the meeting was a private one, saying: "If there is the need for you to know, the Presidential aide will brief you".

Governor Fayemi, who also responded to inquiries by newsmen insisted they discussed national issues.

able it to go on and rack up landslide votes in the other elections, because of the discouragement of opposition party supporters, the willingness of electoral and police officers to serve the wishes of what was already going to be the next government, and the desire of many candidates to be part of the bandwagon rather than risk being cut off from the largesse of the central government for another four years. The complete reversal in the order of the elections gave NPN strategists the opportunity to use their control of the various instruments of government, in a concentrated way, to keep their opponents offbalance and to arrange a massive vote total for Shehu Shagari by a combination of legitimate and illegitimate means.

“It thus becomes clear why the whole electoral process and the ‘government’ which emerged from it were enveloped and buried in a heavy pall of illegitimacy, leading to its inevitable crash and unlamented demise three months later.

“In this regard, we must once more draw attention to the INEC Order of elections for 2015. Once

again, the Presidential election has been brought forward to the 1st part of the elections, thus once again employing the “OvieWhisky Formula” for guaranteeing the victory of the Ruling Party through inevitable manipulation which is automatically followed by the bandwagon effect. This is an unnecessary land mine primed to explode in 2015. Fortunately, there is still time to reverse this clearly perverse and mischievous decision. I hereby call on the Jega led INEC, in the interest of peace, order, stability, justice and democracy, to reverse the announced order and make the presidential election, the last,” he further said.

The luminary therefore called on the Jega led INEC to, “in the interest of peace, order, stability, justice and democracy, to reverse the announced order and make the presidential election, the last.”

Sagay said genuine, free and fair elections constitute the threshold or doorway into a democratic, stable and progressive society. Without free and fair elections therefore, he stressed, there cannot be democracy.

Tracing the history of elections in the country, Sagay said the last time a presidential elec-

tion came first there was crisis in the country.

However, Jega who tactically waved the call during his presentation, said plans were in top gear to make the next elections remarkable in the history of credible elections in the country.

Part of the plans, he disclosed, include the electoral body’s efforts to bring in more distinguished professionals from different trade bodies and associations to participate in the collation of the 2015 general elections.

“As the 2015 election approaches, we are determined to improve on the gains of the 2011 general elections. Nobody can say credible people are only in the academia. We used only those in academia because they were the ones readily available to us at the time.

“As 2015 elections draw near, we are looking at other constituencies. We are going to be working with professional associations in identifying and working with credible people who are not partisan and who have sufficient integrity and are willing to do voluntary electoral duties”, Jega said.

Confusion over bomb scare in NNPC

By Etuka Sunday

T Finding Nigeria’s missing billions Shooting the messenger does not nullify the message – Page 10

Int’l

31

Politics 37-38 News Extra

39

Sports 41 For the Record

47

Columnist 48

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he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) headquarters was yesterday thrown into confusion over wild claims of Boko Haram attack.

The rumours of the possible bomb blast which filtered in at the early hours heightened security measures around the four towers

Jonathan, South-west APC governors in secret meeting

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday in Abuja held a secret meeting with four governors on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the South-west geopolitical zone.

2015: Your timetable is dangerous, Sagay tells Jega Contd from Frontpage

the series of elections. The intention was to engineer a landslide victory for the NPN flag bearer, President Shagari, and thereafter, create a bandwagon effect that would overwhelm the opposition.

They did so and succeeded. With the exception of the governorship elections, the opposition virtually lost interest in the subsequent elections, thus creating fantastic NPN majorities in the various legislatures. In all the depredations of FEDECO, the Nigeria Police was a close and vicious collaborator. Armoured vehicles were imported into the country for the police, shortly before the elections, in order to intimidate and over-awe the opposition. “ In commenting on the 1983 elections, Richard Joseph, the political scientist, was particularly struck by the impact of the reversed order of elections, i.e., holding the presidential elections before the others, contrary to the normal and conventional order.

“An NPN victory in the first vote of 6 August - giving it the next presidency, and thus the central government - would en-

PAGE 3

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, march 12, 2014

News

2014 budget: No provision for oil exploration in the North, says Diezani

L-R: Executive Director, Lake Chad Research Institute, Dr. Olusina Olabanji, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Hajiya Asabe Ahmed, inspecting wheat field, during the 2014 Farmers Wheat Day, yesterday in Kadawa, Kano state.

Photo: NAN

By Patrick Andrew

T

Troops capture more wounded Boko Haram members

By Joy Baba & By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

M

ilitary authorities have confirmed the arrest of scores of wounded terrorist who escaped from various camps adding that they are making some useful confession at the moment.

A statement by the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade said some of the captured terrorists who were fatally wounded are already making useful statements to interrogators of the Multi-National Joint Task Force while others were captured by troops in locations around Dikwa, Cross Kauwa, Kukawa and Alargarmo.

He said their confessions revealed that some of the camps have been disbanded following the directive of their clerics who

declared that the operation of the sect had come to an end as the mission could no longer be sustained and the terrorists who are giving useful information as to the locations of their remnant forces, are full of apologies and pleas for their lives to be spared promising to cooperate.

The statement also said the terrorist were arrested in the fringes of Lake Chad and their confession has shown that starvation was a major problem in addition to ceaseless bombardments on the camp locations even when they kept relocating.

Olukolade further said the insurgents have also confirmed that several members of the group have been wounded and no treatment was forth coming while troops have continued their assault on other locations across the states covered by the state of emergency.

He warned members of the public to desist from visiting dislodged camps like the sambisa forest as such places are still restricted and not safe for visits at the moment.

In the same vein, the federal government said serious measures have been taken to commence air border patrol in the country.

Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro who disclosed this yesterday in Abuja while in audience with a delegation from DANA Airline, led by its Managing Director, Mr. Mark Snoxell Dornier, said the measures were necessary to curb the incessant cases of insurgency in the country which has taken a new dimension.

Moro noted that the current cases of insurgency in the country were occasioned by the activities of foreigners who came through the country's porous borders.

The minister further said that "the committee which was set up examine the ministry's existing preparedness to undertake border patrol against the backdrop of existing Aircraft; some that are serviceable and some that are not serviceable have submitted their report and what is left is to commence action".

Speaking earlier, leader of the delegation Mr. Mark Snoxell Dornier, clarified that DANA Airline was ready to partner the ministry by giving efficient and reliable service and to also provide the necessary training for the immigration personnel expected to take up the responsibility.

He told the minister that his company currently has two aircraft capable of delivering such service, adding that age of an aircraft has nothing to do with it efficiency but maintenance.

Baby factory: Senate upholds Hoodlums attack Suswam’s convoy as search without warrant suspected Fulani kill 5

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

B

enue State Governor Gabriel Suswam, Speaker of the State Assembly Hon. Terhile Ayua, Special Adviser on Security, Col. Basil Kwenbeh, Commissioner of Police, Adams and other top government functionaries yesterday escaped death by the whisker in Tse-Akenyi Umenger, Guma local government area when their convoy was caught up in a gun duel with Fulani mercenaries.

This is just as the Fulani herdsmen murdered over 25 persons in an early morning attack on Uikpam community.

Narrating the incident, an eye witness, Tony Mase said the attack took place as early as 6 am, adding that the herdsmen who numbered over 500 burnt down houses and slaughtered people in a gruesome manner.

Governor Suswam who had

gone to the area to ascertain the magnitude of destruction carried out by the suspected Fulani mercenaries, got the shocker of his life when the heavily armed herdsmen engaged his entourage in a gun fire, though no one was injured. Security operatives attached to the governor quickly cordoned him.

Addressing the people at Gbajimba, the local government headquarters, the governor regretted the attitude of soldiers who abandoned them at Uikpam and urged the people to defend themselves from external forces.

"We cannot rely on soldiers who abandoned us midway during the journey. You have to defend your territory against external forces. You should put aside any sectional political interest and fight this common enemy", Suswam advised.

A

gainst the backdrop of proliferating baby factories in Nigeria and human trafficking, Senate yesterday resolved that the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) can search without court warrant, any apartment where it suspects that criminals and victims of human trafficking are kept.

Considering the report of its committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, which was submitted by Umaru Dahiru, the Senate upheld Clause (6b), which empowers NAPTIP to carry out such search without following the long process of obtaining search warrant from court.

This resolution was arrived at following an observation by Sadiq Yar'Adua, who suggested that any entry for search of human traffickers and victims by NAPTIP should be subject to obtaining search warrant from court, arguing that this will help to check abuses.

He said that Clause (6b), which gives NAPTIP the power to search people's apartments without search warrant from court should be expunged from the Act, warning that it would be injurious to democracy if the National Assembly should give both executive and judicial powers to the same agency.

Based on this observation, there were efforts by other senators to get the Clause (6b) expunged from the NAPTIP Act, on the bases that it gives sweeping powers to the agency to invade any building for search without recourse to judicial process.

Majority of the senators however supported that it should be retained to make the work of the agency more effective.

Meanwhile, after the debate, when the question was put by the Senate President, David Mark, majority of the senators voted that the agency should be empowered to search apartments for human traffickers and their victims without search warrant.

he Ministry of Petroleum Resources has made no provision in the 2014 budget for the exploration of oil and gas in the North.

This was confirmed yesterday by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani AlisonMadueke, while defending the ministry's huge budget of N61 billion before the joint Senate committees of oil, gas and metallurgy.

Diezani said sustained and intensive exploration for oil and gas in the North could not be achieved as expected in 2013 because of increased insurgency in the region particularly in the North East, stressing that it was the singular reason that no provision was made for the Frontier Basin Exploration Agency, a body charged with the responsibility of exploring oil and gas in the region.

Alison-Madueke said no direct provision was made for the Agency in the 2014 budget because necessary exploration activities could not be guaranteed until the insurgency subsides.

Senator Kabir Marafa, vice chairman of the committee, had sought to know from the minister why no provision was made for the agency in view of its crucial role in the exploration of oil and gas in the region, and especially since such provision was captured in the 2013 budget.

"The Frontier Basin Exploration Agency is still there.

It is still being funded by the government. But direct provision could not be made to it in the budget of the ministry because the agency is not under the ministry but is managed by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS).

"Not much was done in 2013 expectedly because of the security challenges. We hope to achieve reasonable progress in oil and gas exploration in the North in 2014," she said stressing that a robust policy on gas exploration in particular would go a long way to hasten action on the processes and progress of activities in that regard.

Alison-Madueke, who decried the decrease in budgetary allocation to the ministry, assured that government would intensify efforts to explore oil and gas in the region stressing though that the insurgency prevalent in the region has been a huge setback.

News

PEOPLES DAILY, wednesDAY, march 12, 2014

PAGE 4

Kano increases polio campaign coverage to 92%, says Gov Kwankwaso

From Edwin Olofu, Kano

K

ano state government has recorded an increase in polio immunization campaign coverage from just 30% in 2012 to 92% in December 2013, the state governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has revealed.

The state governor, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso said this on Saturday while distributing 200 tricycles to polio victims and empowerment/welfare packages to

Competency Test: Teachers sue Edo govt

physically challenged people in the state.

He said the administration will not relent in this direction, pointing out that its target is to achieve 100% coverage by the end of 2014.

“Polio is a very serious social and health problem and we are determined to flush it out of our state”, the governor stressed, adding that in an efforts to alleviate poverty among Polio victims, the less privileged and to eradicate street begging in Kano state, his administration has so far empowered over 3,000 people with different disabilities.

Beneficiaries of the packages

are 234 specially selected people with disabilities, out of which 100 got facilities to start the sale of recharge cards, 45 got offers of employment into the state civil service, 81 were given capital to set up provision stores, 53 were placed on a monthly social security allowance and 40 got capital and computer sets to set up business centers.

Five vehicles were given out to leaders of the physically challenges groups in the state.

Kwankwaso explained that the idea behind the gift was to “strengthen the capacities of people with disabilities and empower them to enjoy their rights and

privileges like any other citizen of the state”.

The governor, noted with satisfaction, that the physically challenged community of Kano is now fully incorporated in virtually all life endeavours in the state, expressing the hope that government’s modest contributions will help in improving their living condition.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the governor on Disabled Matters, Yusuf Dala commended the state government for giving permanent employment to some physically challenged as well as empowering many physically challenged people and five buses

to their leaders.

On his part, UNICEF representative, Mr. Panchanan Achari praised the Kwankwaso administration for taking enthusiastic steps to kick polio out of the state, adding that his organization would continue to partner with the government in that direction.

In their separate speeches on behalf of beneficiaries of the empowerment packages, Alhaji Ado Muhammad Bichi and Salisu Ishak Tudun Wada thanked the governor for the gesture and assured that their comrades will be enlightened to respect the law prohibiting begging in the state.

From Osaigboro Iguobaro, Benin, with agency report

T

eachers in Edo state yesterday sued the government at the National Industrial Court (NIC) in Akure over its plan to conduct a competency test for them.

Other defendants in the suit are Edo State Ministry of Basic Education; Edo State Ministry of Secondary Technical and Tertiary Education and the Edo State Universal Basic Education Board among others.

The teachers, in the suit filed under the aegis of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), are among others, contending that they are statutory employees and that based on their status, their employment could not be determined by the state government on the basis of competency test without recourse to relevant Civil Service Rules governing their employment.

In the suit filed by their counsel, Mr James Abah, the teachers are praying for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants or their agents from terminating their employments.

They said their employments could only be terminated in accordance with a procedure in compliance with the Edo State of Nigeria Civil Service Rule (revised to 1st of January, 2006) which governs their employment.

They also said the regulation as to the competence and standards of knowledge attainable for teachers to practice as such and be employed as such was the exclusive function of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).

Similarly, secondary school teachers in the state have equally dragged the state government to the same court over the proposed assessment test.

They said only TRCN could determine the standard of knowledge and skill to be attained by teachers in the country.

L-R: Osun state Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Ogun state Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Lagos state Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, and Ekiti state Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, during their meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Don’t leave PDP, Jonathan begs North-West zone members From Femi Oyelola, & Mohammed Ibrahim, Kaduna

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan has pleaded with members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)in North West Zone not to dump the party rather, they should work together for the success of the party come 2015 general elections.

He stated this in his address to the unity rally for PDP members from the North West Zone held in Kaduna yesterday.

According to the President, PDP remained the only strong and largest party in Nigeria with a vision to provide basic amenities, security in order to elevate the standard of living of the average Nigerian.

President Goodluck Jonathan also warned decampees from the party to retrieve their steps and return back home because PDP is

set to crush any opposition.

“I have always said not only in the North West Zone but everywhere I have opportunity to address our party faithful that PDP is still a strong party and leaving will be a mistake because very soon the chaffs will shifted from the grains, “ he said.

The President also disclosed that the North West Zone is the political havens of Nigeria, saying that the zone has the largest votes and the largest appointees, therefore, PDP cannot afford to joke with the zone.

“The reason that I am here today is because I personally hold the North West Zone in high esteem and anybody who has a true vision of achieving strong political victory in Nigeria must have a good harmony with the zone.

The zone is the political

nerve centre of Nigeria politics and no wonder why past leaders of Nigeria, like late Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto, made Kaduna the centre of activities and it has remained so,” the President said.

In his own speech the chairman of the PDP North West Zone, Ambassador Ibrahim Kazaure, boasted that the party will continue to retain North West Zone and reclaim state like Kano that was stolen from the party by some elements.

Speaking earlier, the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Chief Godswill Akpabio, said PDP governors are more united than ever and are totally behind President Goodluck Jonathon and Namadi Sambo administration.

The chief host, the governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, commended

President Jonathan for his social justice programme which has brought peace and harmony in the North West zone.

Yero thanked the federal government for allotting some federal projects to Kaduna state and taking one of their own to be the vice president.

Prominent personalities in attendance at the rally, includes the governor of Katsina State, Barrister Shehu Shema, Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, Governor of Gombe State Alhaji Nasamu Daiingari, deputy Governor of Sokoto, Alhaji Mukhtar Shagari.

Others include Chairman PDP Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, the National Chief of PDP Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, the Minister of State for Works, Alhaji Bashir Yuguda and minister of State for Transport Alhaji Aminu Wudil.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, march 12, 2014

Appreciation

PAGE 5

The Board, Management and staff of Peoples Media Limited, publishers of Peoples Daily newspapers wish to express sincere appreciation for the support of the underlisted people during our recently held conference titled: “Nigeria: The 2015 Question”.

The Conference was our modest contribution towards collective efforts at finding practical solutions to our challenges as a nation.

Our deep appreciation goes to: 1.

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Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar, GCFR, (Rtd) Speaker House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Rivers State Rt. Hon Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi represented by Commissioner of Information, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Borno State Alhaji Kashim Shettima represented by the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kano State represented by Hon Commissioner of Information, Professor Umar Faruk Jibril Hon Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku represented by his Special Assistant, Mr Kingsley Osadolor HRH, Mal Muhammad Awwal Ibrahim represented

by Sarkin Yakin Suleja, Engr. Mohammed Sani Alhassan Prof Mike Kwanashie, Vice Chancellor, Veritas University, Bwari, Abuja Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah represented by Brig- Gen Olajide Laleye Chief Sam Amuka Pemu, Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers Alhaji Ismaila Isa, Chairman, Bulet International Hon Zakari Mohammed, Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs Hon Victor Ogene, Deputy Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs Engr. Hamzat Ibrahim, former Managing Director, NEPA Arc Mansur Ahmadu Kurfi Senator Ibrahim Ida Senator Isa Kachako Col Habibu Shu’aibu (Rtd) Ms Toyosi Akerele, Founder/CEO Rise Group, Lagos Mr Duan Zhaodan of Embassy of China Mr Tony Obiechina of Embassy of Israel Alhaji Mai Aliyu Muhammad Alhaji Kabir Dangogo, CEO Timex Communications Alhaji Musa Shafi’i Mr Nick Dazang, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

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His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Yobe State represented by the Special Adviser, Media, Alh Abdullahi Bego His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Jigawa State represented by the Special Adviser, Media, Alhaji Adamu Muhammad Usman Hon Minister of the FCT, Sen Bala Mohammed represented by his Special Assistant, Media, Mr Nosike Ogbuenyi Director General, SMEDAN, represented

by Mr Levi Anyikwa Managing Director NDIC, represented

by Malam Hadi Sule Birchi Hon Robinson Uwak Alhaji Isa Umar Gusau, Special Adviser on Media to Borno State Governor Engr. Suleiman Isa Alhaji Nasir M. Mahmud Dr Uzodinma Adirieje Alhaji Saidu Usman Mr John Ronald Alhaji Rabiu Abubakar Alhaji Sule Ya’u Sule Hajiya Amina U. Ibrahim Mr Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi Mr Nuhu Kwada Mr Okey Muogbo Alhaji M. A. Ahmed Alhaji Faisal Muntaka Mr David M. Ugbe Alhaji Dahiru Umar Bala Alhaji M. M. Abdu Mr Jimoh Abdu Prince E. Okoro Barr Ibrahim Usman Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim Mr Emmanuel A. Abah Hajiya Aisha Ismail Hajiya Aisha Yolah Alhaji Abubakar Halilu Jikamshi Engr. Mustapha Bukar Rev Jason Nworah Mr F. O. Ejembi Alhaji Saidu Abdulrahman Malam Bukar Ayyanu Media Executives

And host of other important dignitaries, we simply say thank you.

Signed: Management

Peoples Daily, wednesDAY, march 12, 2014

PAGE 6

News

Yobe killings: NASS declares one-day mourning, adjourns till next week Tuesday

By Umar Muhammad Puma & Okechukwu Okaforadi

T

L-R: President, West African College of Pharmacist, Ghana, Wiltshire C. N. Johnson, Niger state Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, and President, Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, Pharmacist James Ohemeng Kyei, during the investiture of the governor as a fellow of the West African College of Pharmacist Ghana, yesterday at the National Theater, in Accra, Ghana.

Ajudua arraigned for defrauding Bamaiyi of $8.4m

From Matthew Irinoye, Lagos

A

Lagos socialite lawyer, Fred Ajudua was yesterday arraigned before a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja for defrauding a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi, of about $8.395 million.

Ajudua who is also facing similar fraud trial in another court had through a preliminary objection insisted that the court had no jurisdiction to try him since he was charged under the repealed advance fee fraud act.

He also argued that Bamaiyi should stand trial along with him for admitting in his statement to the EFCC that he attempted to bribe a sitting judge.

The trial judge however dismissed the application last week and fixed yesterday for arraignment.

Before he was docked yesterday, Ajudua through his lawyer Olalekan Ojo, made further attempt to stall his arraignment insisting that he had filed an application before the Court of Appeal challenging the earlier ruling of the court.

The judge again overruled his objection insisting that his appeal cannot automatically stall his trail more so when the appeal has not been properly entered.

In the 14 count charge slammed against him , the EFCC alleged that Ajudua, along with others still at large defrauded Gen. Bamaiyi of $8.387m between November 2004 and June 2005 while in prison.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Ajudua is the only defendant in the fresh charges as others who allegedly committed the offences along with him are said to be at large.

Other suspects at large include, Alumile Adedeji (a.k.a Ade Bendel) one Mr. Kenneth and Princess Hamabon William.

Ajudua, along with other suspects, were said to have defrauded Bamaiyi at the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons, where he and the other fraud suspects were on remand for various crimes.

EFCC claimed that the suspects had fraudulently collected the money from Bamaiyi in parts, falsely claiming that the payments represented the professional fees

charged by Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) to handle Bamaiyi’s case in court and to facilitate his release from prison.

The anti-graft agency also alleged that Ajudua and others fraudulently claimed that $1m out of the total money collected from Bamaiyi was for financial assistance for the treatment of Justice Olubunmi Oyewole’s father.

Justice Oyewole was then presiding over Bamaiyi’s case in court.

The suspects were said to have claimed to Bamaiyi that Oyewole’s father was admitted at Saint Nicholas in Lagos and the $1m was meant to assist the judge in treating his father.

Justice Ipaye adjourned the matter till April 8, 2014 for hearing of pending applications.

National Confab: NACOMYO, MSSN urge Muslims to boycott parley From Raji Bello, Sokoto

T

he Sokoto State chapter of the National Council of Muslim Youth O r g a n i s a ti o ns ( N A C O MY O ) and Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) yesterday

faulted the mode of selection of participants for the national conference.

Addressing a press conference in Sokoto on Tuesday, the spokesman of the group, Dr. Sahabi Maidamma Jabo urged all

Muslim delegates to boycott the conference.

The group noted that the number of participating Muslim in the national confab is far less in percentage when compared with theirChristian counterparts.

He explained that out of the 492 delegates released, Muslim only constitute about one-third.

“Decision-ma k i n g i n t h e Confab could be achieved by either consensus or 75 percent majority which is clearly to the disadvantage of Muslims.

Former NIALS’ boss accuses el-Rufai of re-allocating institute’s land

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

A

former director General of Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Prof. Ignatius Ayua (SAN) yesterday blamed the institution’s inability to secure a permanent office complex in Abuja on the confiscation of its allotted parcel of land by former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.

Prof. Ayua, in a remark yesterday in Abuja, at a media awards ceremony as part of activities to mark the 35th year anniversary of the institute lamented the in-adequate funding of the institute, in spite of its enormous contribution to the transformation agenda of the country.

“The institute has been playing a very fundamental role in the transformation of Nigeria. If not for resources,

we would have had our own structure here in Abuja. We had a parcel of land in Jabi but it was confiscated by former FCT Minister, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufa and shared among politicians”.

NIALS’ current DG, Prof.

Epiphany Azinge (SAN), in his remarks, decried the action of the former FCT minister but lauded the efforts of past and present Chief Justices of Nigeria for their generosity

in donating the current office accommodation at the Supreme Court to the institute.

Prof. Azinge commended the Attorney General and Minister of Justice for his support and encouragement which led to the achievements recorded so far in the institute.

He thanked the Nigerian media for its enormous support and contributions to the actualization of the NIALS’s objectives.

wo chambers of the National Assembly yesterday held a special session in remembrance of the 59 students of Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe state, killed by suspected Boko Haram militants on February 25, 2014, and declared a-one day morning for the victims.

In his speech titled “one killing too many” Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said Nigerians must unite to end the senseless killings adding that government has no excuse again for failing to protect its citizens against terrorists particularly the hapless students.

He said “On February 25, 2014, the very day the House adjourned Plenary, Nigeria suffered a horrendous terrorist attackthatstruckafatalblowattheheart and soul of the Nigerian nation and desecrated values that decent peoples of all nations hold dear.

“On that night, about 59 students of Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State were killed in the most heinous manner. Some of our future national leaders were mowed down in gruesome circumstances in their sleep.

Some were shot dead while many were burnt beyond recognition. That day was a day that will live in infamy in the history of this nation”.

The speaker decried the incessant bloodletting and killing of innocent Nigerians in the North East States of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe; in the North Central States of Benue and Plateau; and in other parts of Nigeria.

Lamenting the trend, Tambuwal declared “We wake up to the chilling news of the total annihilation of innocent, law abiding families and entire communities in the most callous, reprehensible and bizarre fashion.

This cannot continue. We must rise up collectively and decisively to stop these orgy of deaths, destruction and waste”.

He called on all arms of government and the Nigerian people to unite against terrorism in all its ramifications. “By this parameter, the Nigerian government must rise to the occasion. And by government I do not mean only the Executive.

We in the Legislature are also part of government. And we cannot therefore merely join in the chorus of lamentations. Our duty is to act swiftly and decisively in the protection of the citizenry”.

According to Tambuwal, “If a tragedy of the Buni Yadi magnitude does not bring us together as one nation, if the loss of our innocent children whose only offence was that they went to school to gain education and wisdom in preparation for a future of service to Nigeria and humanity does not unite us in grief, then we need to ask ourselves if we truly meet the basic spiritual requirements of nationhood.

News

PAGE 7

Peoples Daily, WEDNESday, March 12, 2014

T

he Police yesterday arraigned a 36-year-old man, Jelili Adeniyi, in an Osogbo Chief Magistrates’ Court charged with rape of a minor.

The police prosecutor, Sgt. Elisha Olusegun, told the court that the accused committed the offence on March 2 at about 8 p.m. at Dauda Compound in Iragberi area of Awo in Osun.

Awo is in Egbedore Local Government Area of Osun.

Man,36, in court for alleged rape of minor Olusegun alleged that the accused unlawful had carnal knowledge of the 5-year-old girl in his house.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr Olusola Aluko, granted the accused

bail in the sum of N100,000 with two sureties in like sum.

He adjourned the case until April 22 for mention (NAN)

L-R: Presenter, Mr. Adebayo Ajala; Reviewer, Dr Kayode Bolarinwa and Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Professor Olufemi Taiwo, during the seminar on ‘Security Challenges in Nigeria: Which Way Forward?’yesterday in Ibadan.

Photo: NAN

Court discharges herdsman accused of theft

A

Grade 1 Area Court in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, yesterday discharged a 30-year-old herdsman, Sale Ruwa, charged with theft.

The presiding judge, Mr Albert Maga, discharged the accused after the prosecutor, PC Friday Adaji, prayed the court to give him more time to get his witnesses ready.

Maga refused to grant the application on the grounds that

the case had suffered several adjournments at the instance of the prosecution. ``This case has suffered several adjournments without the prosecution calling any witness. ``In the interest of justice and pity, the court hereby strikes out the matter and discharges the accused. ``The accused should write an undertaking that he will not engage in any crime again for the

rest of his life,” Maga ruled.

He urged the accused to seek medical help. ``You were looking healthy on the day you were arraigned, but now you look like somebody who is infected with HIV and AIDS.’’ Ruwa, who looked very happy, thanked the court, and promised to be of good behaviour.

He was arraigned on Jan. 29 on a one-count charge of theft.

On that day, Adaji told the

court that on Jan. 20 at about 11 p.m., Mr Moses Sunday of Kare Village, Mararaba, lodged a report against the accused at the `A’ Division Police Station.

He said that the accused, without provocation, attacked Moses with a big stick and inflicted a deep cut on his head.

He said the accused also stole the complainant’s motorcycle.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charged. (NAN)

Cashier in court over alleged theft of company’s N1.4m

A

company cashier, Abibat Ragi, who allegedly stole her employer’s N1.4 million, was yesterday brought before an Oshodi Magistrate’s Court in Lagos.

Ragi, a resident of No. 26, Post Office St., Mushin, Lagos, Raji, 26, was tried for stealing.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Kehinde Olatunde, told the court that the accused committed the offence sometime between December 1,

2013 and February 26, at No. 34, Oyewole St., Palm Grove, Lagos.

He said the accused, a cashier and saleswoman with Funky Store Nigeria Ltd stole N1.4 million belonging to the company. ``The accused, who has been the company’s cashier and saleswoman for two years, stole N1.4 million from daily sales,” he alleged.

Olatunde said the accused also sold 245 empty crates and bottles

of beer, all valued at N152, 000 without approval.

“The fraud was discovered following an audit of the company’s accounts.

“It was also discovered that the accused converted the money to personal use,’’ he added.

According to the prosecutor, on interrogation, the accused confessed that she gave about N500, 000 to her boyfriend to procure a U.S. visa.

The offences, Olatunde said, contravened Section 285 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

A three-year jail term awaits the accused if found guilty.

The accused pleaded not guilty and was granted bail in the sum of N200, 000 with one surety in like sum.

The Magistrate, Mr Akeem Fashola, adjourned the case to March 25 for mention. (NAN)

4 docked for alleged cattle rustling in Abeokuta

F

our men were yesterday arraigned in an Abeokuta Magistrates’ Court sitting at Isabo for allegedly stealing four cows valued at N400,000.

The accused, of no fixed address and occupation, are Adigun Olabode, 30; Olumide Kolawole, 35; Emmanuel Adelakun, 27, and Mukaila

Salami, 26.

The prosecutor, Insp Augustine Ozimini, told the court that the offence was committed on March 6 around 11 p.m. at Isaga-Orile in Abeokuta.

He said that the accused conspired to steal the cows belonging to one Kazeem Opeloyeru.

“The four accused entered into Opeloyeru’s cattle ranch in the night and stole four cows.

“They were caught carrying one cow each,” he said.

He said the that the offences contravened sections 516, 390 (3) and (9) of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun, 2006.

The accused, who were

arraigned on a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing, however, pleaded not guilty.

The Magistrate, Mr Emmanuel Adekunte, admitted them on bail in the sum of N50,000 with two sureties each in like sum.

Adekunte adjourned the case to April 8 for mention. (NAN)

Kogi CJ releases mad man, 6 others From Omale Adama Lokoja

C

hief Judge of Kogi state, Justice Nasir Ajanah yesterday granted unconditional release to seven awaiting trial inmates including a mentally deranged man, Mallam Dantalla Adamu.

Justice Ajanah who was on decongestion visit to Koton-Karfe released the inmates while reviewing the warrants of 132 Awaiting Trial Inmates in the prison.

He also granted bail to four others and transferred one to Kabba Prison as he decried the worrisome level of congestion of the KotonKarfe Federal Prisons.

The Chief Judge said that the prison constructed in 1934 to accommodate 50 inmates had 157 inmates with 25 convicts and the 132 Awaiting Trial Inmates at the time of visit adding “This shows that there is serious congestion here”.

The chief Judge directed magistrates in the state to always ensure that cases brought to their courts were transferred to courts within the areas the offences were committed to avoid congestion saying that there were six prisons in the state.

He also frowned at indiscriminate arrest and shoddy prosecution of suspects by the police as he granted the unconditional release of Adamu who was allegedly arrested by a vigilant group in Adavi Local Government.

The mad man who was charged with criminal conspiracy and armed robbery alongside one Umoru Isiaka had spent five months in detention without being taken to court.

According to Isiaka who was also granted unconditional release, the vigilant group arrested him while on a visit to his wife’’s family house and handed him over to soldiers on the allegation that they arrested him with some people.

When the soldiers asked them the whereabouts of others, the vigilant group promised to bring them later only to bring the mad man to the soldiers the following morning and subsequently transferred them to the state SIIB where they were charged with criminal conspiracy and armed robbery.

Also released unconditionally by the Chief Judge was one Sunday Emmanuel who allegedly bought for N2,000, a fairly used mobile phone handset valued at N3,000 which was discovered to be stolen.

Justice Ajanah said the period of seven months he had spent in detention was enough punishment for his indiscretion in buying the handset.

Another case of undeserved incarceration by the police was that of the Gago of Ofoke in Ofu Local Government of Kogi whose two sons and members of his community’s vigilance group were arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy and armed robbery.

The Gago after returning from a trip outside the state visited the police to ascertain the cause of the arrest and incarceration of his children and subjects only to be detained and arraigned along with them by the police.

PAGE 8

Photo Splash

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, March 12, 2014

Network for the Defence of Democracy and Good Governance staging a peacful protest, yesterday in Port Harcourt.

Photo: NAN

L-R; Director, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Mr. Mike Harvey, Ekiti state Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, and US Consul General in Nigeria, Mr. Jeffrey Hawkins during the envoys’ visit to the governor, on Monday in Ado Ekiti.

L-R: Representative of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs. Ijeoma Okey-Igbokwe, Guest, Mr. Oludare Ogunlana, and National Coordinator, Democracy Vanguard, Comrade Adeola Soetan, during a press conference on ‘One Man, One Woman; One Vote’ and the presentation of voters’ handbook by Democracy Vanguard, yesterday in Lagos.

L-R: Chairman, Plateau state House of Assembly Committee on Works, Hon. Pomak Rindap, Plateau state Commissioner for Works, Mr. Chris Hassan, and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works, Mr. Sunday Hyat, inspecting a road project, yesterday in Langtang, Plateau state.

Photo: NAN

L-R: Director, UAC, Mr. Joe Dada, Managing Director, Softskills Management Consultant, Mrs. Wonu Adetayo, Group Managing Director/CEO, UAC, Mr. Larry Ettah, Director, UAC, Mrs. Awuneba Ajumogobia, and Director, UAC, Mr. Abdul Bello, during the company’s 2014 International Women’s Day celebration, yesterday in Lagos.

Peoples Daily, WEDNESday, March 12, 2014

PAGE 9

News

You must train, retrain to remain quality teachers– NTI DG

…As pensioners laud Sharehu over welfare packages

Director-General and chief executive of the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, Dr. Aminu Ladan Sharehu, has charged teachers on the need to train and retrain to improve the quality of the services they render o remain relevant in their respective domains.

to congratulate Sharehu on his re-appointment and to rejoice with him on his conferment with the National Productivity Order of Merit Award by President Goodluck Jonathan, last year.

Responding, Sharehu showed appreciation for the award and said: “Since we came on board, we tried to come up with a strategy on how to tackle one of the challenges, that is the issue of staff welfare”.

By Mashe Umar Gwamna

The DG gave the charge at the induction ceremony of 200 (2010 to 2012) NTI graduates of NCE and PGDE in Kaduna state centres, which was conducted by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), chief executive.

Dr. Sharehu said with quality teachers, the nation would be great, adding that the Institute

in Kaduna state, started with a student population of less than 1000, but as of December, 2013, it has recorded over 11,000 students in fifteen centres of the state.

The TRCN CEO, Prof. Addison Mark Wokocha said in exercising its mandate, TRCN directs its vision to regulate teacher education, training and practice at all levels of the education system.

Meanwhile, the NTI DG, Sharehu had last week Wednesday been given an award by the executive council union of the Institute’s retirees for what its members described as an improved welfare for all retirees.

The leader of the delegation, who is the Vice Chairman of the union, Mallam Musa Umar said they were at the Institute

Kogi contracts N2.9bn byepass road in Lokoja From Omale Adama Lokoja

T L-R: Rivers state Governor, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi, former Prime Minister of Ireland Mr. John Bruton and former British Foreign Secretary, Mr. Jack Straw, during an international conference on Democracy and Good Governance, yesterday in Port Harcourt. Photo: NAN

Hausa community in Akwanga pays solidarity visit to Al-makura From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

M

embers of the Hausa community resident in Akwanga local government area of Nasarawa state have paid a solidarity visit to Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura.

Led by the Sarkin Hausawa

in the area, Alhaji Muazu Jibril Abdulmumini, the Hausa community was at the Lafia Government House yesterday, to declare support for the All Progressive Change (APC), administration.

Addressing journalists shortly after holding a closed door session with Governor Al-makura, Muazu

Jibril said “we are also in Lafia to show solidarity with the present administration and to commend the Governor for his developmental strides”.

He added that the entire Hausa community in Akwanga has thrown their support behind the Governor.

The Sarkin Hausawa of

Akwanga, equally said they were at the Government House to also condole with the government and people of the state over the Alakyo incident that led to the death of 74 security personnel, as well as other crises that affected parts of the state, particularly, skirmishes involving Fulani herdsmen and Tiv farmers.

Zamfara partners UN-Africa to restructure major cities

From Ibrahim Sidi Muh’d, Gusau

Z

amfara State government has entered into partnership with UN-Africa with a view to assess the needed support to restructure the major cities of the state.

Governor Abdul’azeez Yari Abubakar declared this while in an interactive session with the 10-man delegation that was in the state for scooping mission to some strategic areas of the state.

The governor was in Nairobi,

the capital of Kenya last year to explore areas of collaboration and mutual interest between the state government and the agency in supporting some sectors of human development in the state.

According to him, they are to support the state in the area of environment, refused dump, waste disposal, housing and shelter as well as structures improvement, adding that since his assumption as the executive governor of the state, he had giving priority to developing infrastructures as critical to

sustainable development.

He said as at now, the state government has engaged over four billion naira for the payment of compensation to illegal structures erected by the people which cost the state government huge financial burden.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation and Osun State son of the soil, Professor Oyebanje Oyeinka, said UN-Africa in collaboration with the Chinese government are making effort to construct six million houses under the mortgage arrangement in

Nigeria, among which Zamfara will be part of the benefiting states.

He said, they have conducted an assessment tour to so many areas where they observed there were opportunities the state government could benefit.

Prof. Oyeinka further explained that, the partnership will also support the state government in the mining sector, saying the issue of lead poisoning will also be addressed and the state will be adequately supported in that regard.

Nigerian women charged on use of social media

By Evelyn Okakwu

T

he Nigerian woman has been advised to use the social media as a tool for positive change rather than an agent of fissionable display of pictures.

The call was made by Mrs. Tosin Dogebesi, at a program organized by the Networking organization, Girls Of All Ages (GOALA), to mark the international women’s day with

the theme celebrate her 2014.

Mrs Dogbesi who was represented by Busolami Tunwase noted that the wide variety of access to information is a strong tool that Nigerian woman can use to better her lot of, as well as that of the Nation in general.

She said a lot of young ladies use the media to express their beauty through pictures posted on face book ,which was not such a

bad idea, but the adoption of media literacy by them would prove a better point of focus; both for their individual goal and for the Nation as a whole.

“With media literacy you can learn how to lend your voice on pressing issues in the country; either through special columns or even letters to the editor”, she said.

According to her, “you may see a bad road and post a picture of it

with the location. When people comment, the stake holders will come to know about the condition of the road and act on it”.

Former minister of women affairs, Josephine Anenih who was also a special guest at the event, noted that women had the potential to contribute immensely to creation and as such should not allow anything to deter them from meeting their God-given objective.

he heavy vehicular traffic in down town Lokoja, Kogi state capital will soon flow with ease following the flagging off of a N2.9 billion GanajaOtokiti dual carriage by the state governor, Capt.

Idris Wada yesterday.

Speaking at the flagging off ceremony, Wada said his administration was ready to throw out any government official colluding with contractors to maximise gains at the expense of quality job, adding that there will be no compensation for illegal structures that may give way without the approval of the state government.

Performing the ground breaking ceremony for the 16 kilometer road project, the governor said the project when completed would not only reduce traffic hold up in the capital city but will also boost socio- economic interest of residents.

“There is alarming increase of traffic and influx of new residents to Lokoja in view of its strategic location as the gate way to the federal capital territory hence the need for the by- pass dualisation to decongest the township road” he said.

The governor urged the contractor handling the project to execute the work according to the contractual specifications as government would not compromise quality.

Captain Wada warned that compensation would not be paid to individual property owners along the route who don’t have legal title to their land but that those with necessary legal documents would be compensated accordingly, urging Ajaokuta host community to co- operate with the contractor for peaceful co- existence throughout the 18 months duration period for the completion of the project.

Peoples Daily, WEDNESday, March 12, 2014

Page 10

News

Fuel scarcity will disappear this week - Diezani

From Umar Muhammad Puma

T

he persistent fuel scarcity being experience in the country will end before the end of the week, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alisom Madueke said yesterday.

The Minister told reporters at the National Assembly where she came to defend her ministry’s 2014 that the scarcity is artificial, created as a result of hoarding and diversion of the product by some unpatriotic marketers.

According to her, “there is some supply hitch which we are looking into; there is also diversion which was quite clear. There was an element of hoarding as well. And while we are trying to get to the bottom of who diverted what at the same time in terms of supply, we are trying to ensure that we flood the country with petroleum products

yesterday presented N61 billion 2014 budget allocation, saying the “successive decline in the budgetary allocation,” was creating problems to the operations of the ministry.

The minister said the continued decline of the provisions has been telling on the effective

and efficient operations of the agencies and department under the ministry.

The minister, while defending the proposed N61.9 billion 2014 budget allocation before the joint committees of petroleum (upstream and downstream) and that of the gas of the House

of Representatives, however, acknowledged the decline to have been across board of all ministries.

She said that despite the lower budgetary provision, “we will work to overcome challenges particularly on the revenues accruing to the federation account.”

he All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the PDPled Federal Government of acting out a clandestine script to increase fuel prices through the back door, saying the on-going nation-wide fuel scarcity may have been induced to make higher fuel prices a fait accompli for Nigerians.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the

fact that the scarcity has persisted despite the claims and counterclaims by the government and the oil markers, and the measures purportedly taken by the government to ameliorate the situation, is the clearest indication of official deception. ‘’The more fuel trucks the government claims to have sent to major cities to ease the scarcity, the more difficult it is for Nigerians to obtain the product.

This is an old trick and Nigerians should not be hoodwinked into

believing there will be no increase in fuel prices. The only deterrent is to let the government know Nigerians will resist any price hike. ‘’The truth is that with the elections approaching, the PDPled FG is desperately seeking all possible avenues to raise funds for its usual electoral shenanigans, and increasing fuel prices has always been an attractive option to the government, not minding what the impact will be on the same people it has impoverished

since 1999,’’ it said.

APC said the lingering scarcity has already forced many Nigerians to pay as much as 120 Naira per litre of fuel, which is exactly as the FG wants it to be.

It commended the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for its timely warning against any plan to hike fuel prices, saying the Jonathan Administration’s assurances that fuel prices will not be increased arenot worth anything because the government is credibility-deficient.

the Emir of Suleja, Mallam Awwal Ibrahim’s who is the committee chairman on Almajiris had begun the compilation of the names of 840 pupils for the commencement of the programme.

He disclosed that the schools would be sited in Bida, Kontagora, Paiko, Suleja, Mokwa and Minna, the state capital where three of those schools are expected to be sited, “most of them had been completed

and ready for use.

“The Federal Government had constructed most of the schools with boarding facilities and staff quarters for their teachers and the state government provided the structures to be used for some of the schools.

“We are grateful for the collaborative venture between us and the Federal Government as well as the cooperation of the present handlers of Almajiris in the state

which critical to the success of the programme.

“The present government in the state is committed to ensuring all school age children attend school in line with its free education policy and for the future development of the children, through quality education” Abdulhameed said the state government was also intervening in the running of 125 Quranic

Integration Schools in the 25 local government councils in the state, by providing teachers for the basic subjects that would be taught in the schools.

He noted that graduate of these schools would be offered admission into public primary schools after three years of studying, while the Almajiris would run full steam primary education alongside primary education.

before next week.

The minister also dismissed rumours that the ministry of petroleum resources was going to announce an increase in the pump price of petrol which she said instigated some of the hoarding and the diversion.

Meanwhile, the minister From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

T

…As APC alleges FG’s plot to increase fuel price

Niger govt earmarks N125m for Almajiri Schools take-off

From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

T

he Niger state government has earmarked N125 million for the successful take-off of the nine Almajiri Schools across the state.

The state Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Umar Abdulhameed who stated this in an interview in Minna yesterday, said

Finding Nigeria’s missing billions Shooting the messenger does not nullify the message View from abroad

I

f the findings of Nigeria’s suspended central bank governor, Lamido Sanusi, are indeed accurate, one of the biggest heists in human history has been taking place under the nose of 170m Nigerians.

The equivalent of about 5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product has allegedly been siphoned from the state oil company. The sums involved are roughly equivalent to the windfalls the Nigerian state should have been receiving from the high price of oil, on which its government depends typically for 70 percent of revenue. As much as $20bn for the 19-month period between January 2012 and July 2013 is unaccounted for.

The mystery of where the money has gone remains unanswered.

Nor has anything been done to plug the various holes through which large streams of state income seemingly seep. Yet, astonishingly, given the seriousness of the allegations and the detailed evidence with which Mr Sanusi has backed them up, elements

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

Alison Madiueke

within President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration have succeeded in changing the subject. Assisted by parts of the Nigerian media, the debate has shifted to focus on Mr Sanusi’s tenure at the central bank, amid a raft of accusations, some of them disturbingly religious and ethnic in character, which range from the petty to the near insane.

Mr Sanusi’s record as a central bank governor is

reflected in the high opinion in which he is held by many of his peers around the world.

The tight monetary policy he maintained until his suspension last month limited the damage done by malpractice elsewhere.

He defended the value of the currency and brought inflation down to single digits; in doing so, shielding Nigeria’s long-suffering poor from the excesses of venal elites. At the same time, the stability

he presided over during his five years at the central bank was critical in rebuilding confidence among foreign investors who had begun to pour back into Africa’s most populous nation.

Just as remarkable was the way he turned around the banking system after the 2009 crash exposed a nexus of political and business interests with billions of dollars in debt.

He was resented by some top bankers for his heavy-handed approach. But without this, it is doubtful that Nigeria’s financial system would be on the firmer footing it is today.

Mr Sanusi may have his faults. He has been unafraid to speak his mind and sometimes did so in a way that appeared to be overtly political. He too may have questions to answer about the causes he championed using central bank funds and the procedures he followed to do so.

But there is nothing in the “financial recklessness” which the presidency has accused him of that comes anywhere near the scale of what has allegedly been going on at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. The

wave of allegations against him bear the classic hallmarks of a smear campaign designed to tarnish the reputation of a whistleblower.

Mr Sanusi was shifting the focus of his inquiry from how much money is unaccounted for to where the money has gone when he was suspended last month. The resulting damage to Nigeria’s credibility among investors has been considerable.

The central bank’s hard-won reputation for independence has been undermined, and with it the smooth transition Mr Jonathan had promised when Mr Sanusi’s tenure formally ends in June.

To anyone looking from the outside, this follows a depressingly familiar pattern.

A champion of reform digs around in the swamp of Nigerian petro-politics and soon after is turfed out. The allegations against Mr Sanusi should be fairly investigated.

But if Mr Jonathan wishes to preserve his own good name, he must show similar zeal in establishing the facts surrounding the missing billions. (Source: Financial Times of London)

Peoples Daily, WEDNESday, March 12, 2014

Page 11

Money Sense

How you can start ornamental flower business

T

here are a range of different businesses that you could begin and starting a florist business is one of them as it was one of the few known profitable businesses.

The first thing that you will need to do is to determine the type of floral business that you wish to start. The majority of people choose to open a retail florist business giving you the opportunity to interact with customers and design floral arrangements; however, another side to the floral business involves growing flowers and selling them to retail stores.

Once you have made the decision as to the type of florist business that you plan on opening, you will need to look for a location.

You should choose a location that is in a high traffic area, providing customers with easy access to your store. If you choose to start a wholesale business, it would be wise for you to choose a location where there is ample land to grow your flowers.

When starting a florist business you will require supplies and equipment to provide the proper care for the flowers and plants that you sell. This should be your main priority when running a flower shop; therefore, it is essential that you have the required materials to do this efficiently. If you plan on opening a retail business, you will need a cooler to prevent cut flowers from diminishing too quickly. If you plan on opening a wholesale business you will need a large amount of growing space such as a greenhouse. You should work out what you need in

Money Tip:

Consider healthy food delivery

M

ost people do not cook, either because they do not like to cook or because in these hard economic times, they spend a lot of their time working to make ends meet. This means that they will mostly consume junk food when they are hungry. If you are not a good cook, you can get a lot of cheap and healthy food recipes that, if carefully followed will produce great and mouthwatering dishes including drinks.

Simply make a few samples for tasting and visit several offices in your area and give people a taste of your home made, tasty and healthy food before you get into it. No one will reject good food and if you leave your contacts behind during the food tasting mission, you will soon begin to receive orders.

Quote

A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success.

-unknown

advance, and fix a budget on your spending.

If you are new to the floral industry, you should consider taking a class such as horticulture, or spend time reading about flowers, this will provide you with extra knowledge about the flowers that you will be caring for. Even if you are already familiar with the florist industry, continuous

learning should still be one of your goals.

Depending on the size of your business, it may be necessary for you to hire staff to assist you with the day-to-day running of your store. Not only will you need staff to help you to look after your flowers and see to customers, you may also need staff for accounting, bookkeeping,

and legal issues.

Your business idea may be the best in the world; however, if people do not know that it exists, you will find it difficult to make a profit. You need an efficient marketing and advertising plan to gain visibility. There are two types of advertising, internet and print, you will need a fixed strategy for both. Internet advertising will

out of you, they will be willing to part with the books for as cheap as N100 per textbook or fill a paper bag for N1000.

One day, I scanned the textbooks and hopped on eBay to find out how much there going to by searching the ISBN. I was shocked! They were going for over a hundred dollars a piece on eBay! I soon realized that just because our University upgraded to the next edition, many other schools didn’t. The best part yet, even selling the books for, say N1000, the buyer is getting a great deal. I found out after talking to the buyers that some textbooks would have cost them N1700-N2000 new! A win, win for all!

I was able to make a decent amount of money off this process.

As time went on, it was obvious others had the same idea as the more profitable books became few and far between. My last year at University, I started to see a group on campus who were looking to purchase old textbooks from students. Was this the end? Is it the end?I’m several years removed from University so I’m curious to find out if University still resell

their books to their students.

So a few tips: 1. Avoid selling your books back to the bookstore or another group until you look at the value on eBay or their affiliate Half.com (or other market sites). You probably can get twice as much online if you are willing to take the time and effort to list and ship them.

2. When you resell your books, be sure to wait until the start of the semester when students are actually looking! All too often I see books flood on eBay when the semester is over. While there are holiday courses, your best bet is to wait until resume of semesters when demand is higher.

3. Just like selling books, buying books online can save you some much needed money. See if you can get a syllabus in advance to start your search for needed textbooks.

So check out your University bookstore today. Do they sell used books? Are they worth more to other students around the country? While a bit more difficult, the same criterion applies to thrift stores and garage sales.

require that you have a website built, and to increase your visibility through tactics such as search engine optimization.

Print advertisement requires that you have your details in as many newspapers and magazines as possible.

These are the steps you will need to take when starting a florist business.

Attention: University students can also make money while at school

I

know what it is like being a University student. It takes a lot of dedication to devote time to studies and because of that, not a lot of time to have a job. It’s a good wake up call to life by juggling many responsibilities and being on your own. So other than work, how else can University students make money at school?

Here is an idea…sell your books!

Inspired by Nut @ The Writer’s Coin, I want to share how you can make some good cash by selling used University textbooks. The University I attended had book rentals for University courses. While it may seem like we were lucky for not having to pay for books, the cost was already included in our tuition. There were still books that needed to be purchased.

It was very often that the University Librarian would take the old edition textbooks that were no longer used in classes and sell them to students. I can assure you, not many University students were running to get their hands on those big, thick Law books. Because the University got their use out of them, and will get money

PAGE 12

PEOPLES DAILY, wednesDAY, March 12, 2014

EDITORIAL

dawn attack on Enugu state Government House reportedly took place on March 8. Security forces that managed to repel the invasion said 50 gunmen were involved. They drove in a convoy of seven buses, winding their way through the town and right up to the gate of the Government House, the official residence of Governor Sullivan Chime, without being stopped. It was only at the gate that the invaders encountered some resistance, offered by a sprinkling of soldiers, policemen and civil defence personnel. One of them who tried to shut the gate in the face of the attackers received machete cuts on the hand.

The governor’s media spokesman, Mr. Chukwudi Achife, confirmed an attempted attack by “men wearing the uniform and insignia of a cult group”.

An earlier report that one gunman was killed was denied by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Abubakar Mohammed, who said the man believed to have been killed by security operatives did survive and was arrested along with three others whom the police were interrogating. He added that the suspects confessed they

were members of the outlawed Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). Two banners and the flag of the group were abandoned by the fleeing invaders after an exchange of gunfire lasting several hours.

“

A

The Enugu government house attack

How a gang of 50 armed men was able to find their way to the facility without being stopped by the security forces is bewildering.

“The suspects said they were sent to mount the MASSOB flag at the Government House”, Mohammed explained to journalists during a briefing two days after the attack.

“Earlier reports that one of the suspects was dead are false. He was taken to the hospital for treatment because he was shot.

The suspects said their intention was to take over the Government House. We have the names of their sponsors, but we are still investigating to track them down”, he added. The CP also revealed that the attackers were

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from Anambra state, where MASSOB is based, and that security around the compound had been beefed up.

If there is anything relieving about what happened it is that neither Governor Chime nor any other member of his immediate family was killed or hurt. However, the fact that an attempt was made at forcibly occupying the Government House is frightening. How a gang of 50 armed men was able to find their way to the facility without being stopped by the security forces is bewildering.

And we shudder at the precarious security situation of our country generally. Not even government houses that we had thought were armed fortresses are anything but that. If our leaders who are supposed to protect the vulnerable are not themselves secure where they live, who is else is.

MASSOB that used to be a terror in the Igbo-speaking South-eastern states has since been outlawed. Why then are there still persons answering to that hideous name? Why are security forces reluctant to move against them? Are they afraid?

Well, we shall know they are not if CP Mohammed can bring to book the group’s sponsors he said have been arrested.

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Peoples Daily, WEDNESDAY, march 12, 2014

Opinion

Dancing on their graves

By Ibim Semenitari

I

t has been over three weeks but I still cannot get the thought of 53 children murdered in their beds out of my head.I went to a Federal Government college. It was a great experience, as anyone who had that privilege would quickly tell you. In our days it wasn’t necessarily a club for the rich. No. You wrote an examination passed it and then went for an interview.

You didn’t have to be the richest kid in the room but you did have to make good grades. Yes there was still the quota system but even that was moderated by the insistence of merit to a considerable degree.

What made our Unity school experience unforgettable was the fact that it represented all the colours of our country. I am an Anglican. My grandfather was an Archdeacon of the Anglican Communion. I knew next to nothing about other denominations including my catholic brothers and sisters not to mention any other religion before I got into the Federal Government Girls’ College, Abuloma.

Besides being an Anglican, I had a pretty sheltered

childhood. I had spent vacations in Lagos with my uncle outside vacations with my parents abroad but didn’t know anywhere else outside Rivers State. Even my holidays in Lagos were very controlled so I really was more of tourist and didn’t get a feel and hang of the true Lagosians. FGGC, Abuloma therefore opened completely whole new worlds for me. My friends, from outside Rivers State, Jummai Williams and Margaret Angulu who came from Niger State, Kaka from Potiskum, Amina and Talatu, Nike and Funso Williams, Stella Ofong Ekpe, Jacqueline Kalu, Uloma Onwuchekwa, Ijeoma Ukpabi and all the other girls taught me about my country and the world. I remember looking forward

“

to the new term and the Date palms and Aya that would come from our friends in the North, the party snacks brought by the Lagosians, while those of us resident in Port Harcourt made up for it with meals cooked by our parents to support an entire troop.

Visiting days were the most fun as every parent brought food knowing that they all had responsibilities for all the children in the dorm. During mid-term breaks our sisters from outside Port Harcourt had ready homes to go to as their parents happily allowed them go home with almost total strangers whose homes, languages and creed were worlds apart from theirs.

I learnt the word azumin and learnt to respect the

Muslim fast even though I was quite jealous of the fact that they got to have all those sumptuous early morning meals. Our Muslim sisters also learnt to respect the fact that our faith as Christians was more than just a ritual.

It was our very lives and we wouldn’t trade it for the world. I got to see a Scapula and even learnt to say Hail Mary, even though I didn’t quite agree with the concept.

We lived together, laughed together and shared great moments together.

We learnt to fight, disagree and make up. We knew each other’s homes and families through the many stories we shared. We cried when any of us had a misfortune.

We ached when there was a loss. We even cried when

I am over 45 and a mother of four amazing children.

My oldest is 21 and my youngest 13. I can’t bear the thought of any them being murdered in their sleep. It is for this reason that I don’t understand the loud silence over the death of the children in Bunu Yadi. I don’t understand how as a country we could dance on their graves and think nothing of it. I can’t understand that every time we hear of mass murders in our country, we just continue with business as usual. I don’t understand that we aren’t shocked enough to shut down everything for a moment and just try to fix this madness.

PAGE 13

one of us got expelled for a misdemeanour too major to be forgiven.

Our faculty loved us like their own. On mid-term breaks, our wonderful foster mum, our principal then, Mrs. Ada Agwu, would take the girls who lived too far away to go home to her house as an outing and would allow them fall over the place like her own biological children would.

I am over 45 and a mother of four amazing children. My oldest is 21 and my youngest 13. I can’t bear the thought of any them being murdered in their sleep. It is for this reason that I don’t understand the loud silence over the death of the children in Bunu Yadi.

I don’t understand how as a country we could dance on their graves and think nothing of it. I can’t understand that every time we hear of mass murders in our country, we just continue with business as usual. I don’t understand that we aren’t shocked enough to shut down everything for a moment and just try to fix this madness.

I really am scared - scared that my children may have nothing to hold on to. Not even the great memories I had of a great school filled with Nigerians of all shades,

Centenary heroes, rogues and scoundrels

By Bamidele Ademola-Olateju

T

he list of centenary honorees solidifies Nigeria’s longstanding reputation as the hotbed of political and economic corruption. But reputations often hide the darkest secrets; our dark secrets of romance with everything evil have now come to the surface. The world now knows us as a nation that fetes its heroes and villains.

However, when the anger swirling around the list gets tempered, the realization dawns that the list was drafted, supervised and approved by the greatest political opportunist this country has produced till date – Goodluck Jonathan.

Mr. Jonathan’s, list have so many infamous characters it is hard to limit the rogues and scoundrels to a single digit. His list was cast from Nigeria’s most exclusive gaming hell it is the list of the cold, the ruthless and the calculative. He managed to insert foils of humanity between the rafts of corresponding demons. His list exposed for the world to see, his carefully crafted reputation for deliberate

wickedness. While we were engrossed reading the names in his centenary gallery of heroes, rogues and scoundrels; Nigeria’s home grown terror group, Boko Haram struck.

They undertook the systematic slaughter of 45 innocent boys at a public boarding school. Yet the President elects to celebrate the centenary amidst pomp and ceremony in their characteristic unrefined vulgarity. While they went rosy with wine, over 100 people were killed in car bomb blasts in Maiduguri, and many others in separate attacks on nearby villages.

The dog and pony show

“

dubbed the centennial celebrations went on even as young Nigerians were getting killed in the Northeast. The centennial awards banquet hosted by the president paraded a gallery of every rogue, scoundrel and hero, from our past or present and presented them with an award.

Something is definitely wrong with a country that seeks to canonize its most brutal military despots “outstanding promoters of unity, patriotism and national development”. It is clear that we cannot look for moral leadership from Jonathan nor his rampaging cabal totally

intent on pillaging this country and share the spoils. Gradually, a rewrite of history, along with many other great and horrible, are getting knitted into the fabric of this country.

With Jonathan clearly fixated at winning at all cost in 2015, we should consider ourselves lucky that notorious armed robbers and criminals like Ishola Oyenusi, Lawrence Anini, did not get a category on the centennial award list. If he had created a category for them, we would have shouted our hearts out and nothing would have happened.

There are folkways peculiar

cannot look for moral leadership from Jonathan nor his rampaging cabal totally intent on pillaging this country and share the spoils. Gradually, a rewrite of history, along with many other great and horrible, are getting knitted into the fabric of this country. With Jonathan clearly fixated at winning at all cost in 2015, we should consider ourselves lucky that notorious armed robbers and criminals like Ishola Oyenusi, Lawrence Anini, did not get a category on the centennial award list. If he had created a category for them, we would have shouted our hearts out and nothing would have happened.

to Nigeria that is getting erased and that should concern every Nigerian. The nation is under internal colonization by frauds. We are not winning the battle for Nigeria’s soul and we will never win so long as Nigeria is controlled by finger licking frauds and fence sitting scoundrels. Whenever we are confronted with real issues like missing N20billion oil receipts, the presidency must find a way to throw in an unpopular and deleterious distraction. The country chews on that, they buy time until the next ugly thing comes up. We owe it to ourselves and Nigerians yet unborn to stay engaged and ask questions. We can’t fight truculence with fence sitting and equivocation. It is time we accept the fact that this President doesn’t share our values. We can register our displeasure at the next election cycle. If you are sufficiently aggrieved about the direction Nigeria is going; vote in the next election and protect your voice (vote). That is the only way we will change the status quo.

Bamidele Ademola-Olateju is on olufunmilayo@gmail.com

PAGE 14

Opinion

Peoples Daily, WEDNESDAY, march 12, 2014

Gusau, Nigeria’s new defence minister

By John Campbell

A

pproximately 1,300 people have been killed since the beginning of the year, and 130 in the first week of March, in violence associated with “Boko Haram” in Northern Nigeria. The carnage is accelerating. President Goodluck Jonathan’s counterterrorism strategy would appear to be failing, and one northern governor (among others) is saying that “Boko Haram” fighters outgun the government’s troops.

If Jonathan is not looking for another approach, he should be.

The appointment of Aliyu Mohammed Gusau as defense minister may be a step in that direction. A retired lieutenant general, Gusau was born into the northern establishment in 1943 in Gusau, Zamfara state, he has

served as director of military intelligence, chief of army staff, and national security advisor (to President Olusegun Obasanjo and briefly to his successor, Umaru Yar’adua). He is close to former military chief of state Ibrahim Babangida, who

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also remains a powerful figure, and to David Mark, the president of the Senate.

A major figure from the days of military government, Gusau is known to be highly competent and highly disciplined. He has

been a presidential candidate before and probably still has presidential ambitions.

I have seen no credible accusations that he has been involved in human rights violations, though like every

powerful figure in the north there is speculation (irresponsible, in my view) that he is somehow connected to Boko Haram.

In fact, as a pillar of the northern establishment, a military man, and

a Nigerian nationalist who has been deeply involved in Nigerian governance for most of his life, “Boko Haram” would likely assassinate him if it could.

As I have blogged before, Aliyu Mohammed is reported

in the Nigerian media to have set conditions for his return to government. These conditions include a free hand to reorganize the security services, including the military. The military service chiefs would report directly to him. He also requires adequate funding and for the administration to show the political will to address Nigeria’s security challenges.

If President Jonathan has accepted these conditions, substantial power will accrue to Aliyu Mohammed as defense minister, who has never been part of Jonathan’s inner circle. Aliyu Mohammed has the experience and the intellectual flexibility to chart a different path forward in the north.

Mr. John Campbell is a former United States Ambassador to Nigeria.

National confab: An overkill of representation

By Wumi Akintide

I

applaud President Goodluck Jonathan for finally agreeing to call a national conference at one of the most difficult times in his presidency when you could argue his back was up against the wall because of his initial vacillation as President.

He had waited till he forfeited the reservoir of good will he enjoyed when he first came to that office on the promise to be a catalyst for change in Nigeria. He wasted time doing what he should have focused upon like a laser beam on his getting elected after serving the remainder of Yar’adua’s term in office.

I question the timing of this conference. It has come too close to 2015 when the President is seeking reelection. I question the very short time he has allocated to the conference and his saying up front that he wasn’t going to allow the conference to discuss or debate the most important reason for calling the conference to begin with. He is wrong to state a “no go area” for the delegates.

The statement made no sense to me when the President first made it but now that he has put out the list of the delegates, the statement is more of a “no brainer” to me as I factor in the high calibre of delegates and the size of the delegation.

The President would appear to fully understand the notion of “no participation without representation.” He has made sure that every segment of the Nigerian society is represented in that conference including market women, students, Human Right leaders and even Nigerians in Diaspora and what

have you. That is a good move at one level but a bad one if you see what I see. I cannot help but wonder about the very unwieldy number of those delegates.

Given the very short duration of the conference, I have a feeling that most of those delegates are only going there to warm their benches.

I know the conference is going to break into syndicates before it holds its plenary, but the number of delegates involved is too big are and the time they are given to do their deliberations is too short for them to come to any meaningful dissection of all the issues at stake. That is just my opinion as a retired administrator who has served in similar delegations and conferences in my days in the public service. The calibre of most of the delegates is very high - which is good for Nigeria. It will be nice if the President would allow all of the conference hearings to be covered by the press and television cameras so we all know where we are going, and if the delegates are being micromanaged by a Government with an ulterior motive or agenda.

“

The Destiny of Nigeria must not be the exclusive preserve of the Government in power alone and most of their hand-picked delegates because we all have as much stake as they do in the future of Nigeria.

I happen to know many of the individuals in the delegations from many parts of Nigeria. Many of them are those whose conscience cannot be bought. Chairman Kutigi and his Vice, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, have their jobs cut out for them as they try to steer that conference to do its work.

The delegations must be aware, going forward, that a “no go area” is not in the best interest of Nigeria. Everything must be thrown open for discussion so as not to repeat the mistake the British made when Lord Lugard masterminded the 1914 amalgamation without consultation with the rank and file of Nigerians. Nigeria breaking will not be a new thing. Once upon a time the United Kingdom used to be one entity. Today you have England, Scotland and Wales. Scotland is actively seeking autonomy from England.

Myself as a Yoruba man, I am proud of the delegation from the South-west led by Lt. General Alani Akinrinade I like the substance of the Memorandum they are taking to the National Conference. I have read it cover to cover and I whole-heatedly support it, and wish our delegates very productive deliberations at the Conference.

The last point I want is to suggest that the conference has to be a sovereign one.

The President cannot gather such a distinguished calibre of Nigerians from all walks of life and just dismiss any of their major recommendations with the wave of the hand or just put it on the shelf to gather dust like has happened to many previous reports before now.

I recall Obasanjo once setting up the Falae Task Force on the Re-appraisal of the Federal Public Service in the 80s. I was the Secretary to the Task Force and we wrote a report that was very critical of Obasanjo’s Government because it was the right thing to do and we did it. Obasanjo got so upset that he wanted to detain Oluyemi

President Jonathan may also consider extending the time the conference has to complete its deliberations. The conference is a good start. I predict that their deliberations will lead to many unintended consequences for the President and his government.

He cannot afford to make this conference another toothless bulldog of a summit as it was initially envisaged or designed to be, judging by the caliber of people the President has nominated, I believe Nigeria has a chance to benefit from the national conference.

Falae, our Chairman. Because of that report Obasanjo was never going to let Chief Oluyemi Falae become a Permanent Secretary talk less of becoming a Secretary to Government and a Minister of Finance in Nigeria.

The same Falae became both under Ibrahim Babangida and he went on to run against Obasanjo for President in 1999. Chief Falae nearly beat Obasanjo in that election.

Other members of the Falae Task Force, as I recall, included one Mr. Ralph Okpara of Radio Nigeria, one Alhaji Gambo Gubio, a former Deputy Permanent Secretary of Establishments, the late Rex Akpofure, first Nigerian Principal of Kings College and one Geologist, Mr. Adeniyi, the senior brother of Federal Perm Sec, Adeniyi from Mopa in Kwara State. We wrote our final report at Luwera Hotel in IjebuOde, and we told Obasanjo not what he wanted to hear, but what he needed to hear loud and clear. The national conference must do the same to President Jonathan President Jonathan may also consider extending the time the conference has to complete its deliberations. The conference is a good start. I predict that their deliberations will lead to many unintended consequences for the President and his government. He cannot afford to make this conference another toothless bulldog of a summit as it was initially envisaged or designed to be, judging by the caliber of people the President has nominated, I believe Nigeria has a chance to benefit from the national conference.

Dr. Wumi Akintide is reachable on linkedIn

Peoples Daily, WEDNESDAY, march 12, 2014

Comment

PAGE 15

Discharging burden of debt management

By Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

S

ound judegment is exactly the story behind Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) decision to issue a USD 1 billion Eurobonds in the International Capital Market (ICM) last year despite the risk the pronouncements of US Federal Reserve tapering of the Quantitative Easing (QE) may have on the pricing of the bonds at that particular time.

Happily the Eurobonds were over-subscribed and today Nigeria is being splashed with the prestigious 2013 Best Sovereign Bond in Africa Award.

“We’re humbled, God is using the DMO to bless Nigeria” were the modest words of the visibly elated Director General of the DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, when asked to comment on the Award given to Nigeria by the Emerging Market, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Finance.

But, what is that US Federal Reserve (Fed) tapering and Quantitative Easing (QE) policy that are key consideration in

the global bond market today?

Quantitative Easing (QE) is a bond-buying program of the Fed which was designed to depress long-term bond yields in order to stimulate the US economy. So far the QE has kept yield below levels where they would trade if there had not been the QE policy in place. Tapering on the other hand is the gradual reduction of the policy. For example on December 18,2013 the Fed decided to taper its quantitative easing policy by $10 billion per month, to $75 billion from its $85 billion mark. Chairman of the Fed Ben Bernanke (who has recently been succeeded by Janet Yellen) expects the program to wind down steadily through 2014 and conclude by year-end, assuming the US economy remains healthy.

On January 29, this year, the Fed announced that it would taper quantitative easing by another $10 billion per month to $65 billion.

To understand the risk the officials in the DMO took in 2013 when they offered two Eurobond in tenors of 5 and 10 years, each for USD500 million, is to know

that the Fed was buying $85 million fixed-income securities on the open market monthly during that period through the QE policy. Yet our bonds were oversubscribed. One factor that accounts for the success of the offer was the confidence investors have in Nigeria’s economy. And, as we all know, confidence is always earned.

The issuance of the Eurobond was part of the DMO carefully crafted public debt management strategy which decided to look up to the ICM to diversify Nigeria’s source of funding its developmental programmes as well as to introduce the country into the highly disciplined international funds markets.

Thus in January 2011 Nigeria made its debut in the ICM through issuance of USD500 million 10-year Eurobond.

Since then the confidence of the investors in Nigeria’s bond has been on the increase. Most of the funds generated will go into financing the upgrading our power infrastructure, which the country badly needs for its economic growth and

development.

What I called risk, Jim Cowles, the CEO of Citigroup for Europe, Middle East and Africa calls it boldness while handing the prestigious EMEA award to Nigeria’s Finance Minister Ngozi Okonj-Iweala recently. And this was how he explained it; “if you look at the timing , this (Nigeria’s issued Eurobond) was the first sovereign bond that was issued in the beginning part of last year and there was quite a bit of turmoil in the market place because of the discussion on tapering the quantitative easing.”

“We think that the Nigerian Government showed courage and foresight in terms of access in the market when they did. When they did go into the market place it generated quite a bit of demand.

It was a $1billion offering and the demand was more than four times oversubscribed which gave them an opportunity to have good pricing on the bond.

Therefore, the award came to Nigeria because a combination of all these factors, timing, the size, and pricing in terms of access in the market place. And

I will add another factor—the professionalism with which the Dr. Nwankwo’s team at the DMO is managing our debt profile. DMO has been advising the Government of Nigeria on Terms and Conditions of Loans, Restructuring and Refinancing; Maintaining a complete and accurate database of all FGN Borrowings (Domestic and External), including contingent liabilities (guarantees) and Preparing and submiting to the Government annually, a forecast of debt service and borrowing capacity.

The award, EMEA Finance Best Sovereign Bond Award for 2013, which was delivered by Citigroup, one of the leading pan-European investment bank in recognition of Nigeria’s high performing debt profile management is a silver lining, which could not have come at a better time than now when security challenges are pushing Nigerians to the point of despair about the country’s future.

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan contributed this piece from Abuja.

and attendant penalties, neither Presidents Goodluck Jonathan, Umaru Yar’adua, nor President Obasanjo before them could account for the tens of billions of naira sunk into their respective political campaigns.

The opposition apologists are expected to roar back here with another excuse. They will cling on the reigning Nigerian political value system which readily insinuates that opposition leaders have to find any means necessary to gain power first before demonstrating the perceived sense of prudence. But such thinking ought to be quashed once and for all: A simple scan of history in the Fourth Republic profoundly reveals that the success of the opposition in different elections across the country has never been because of superior financial power over ruling parties. This should in no way be misconstrued as saying that money has no role to play.

None of that!

Money is as important to politics as water is to fish, but there are better ways of raising money than queuing at the domains of

rogue politicians. And make no mistake about this: The Nigerian masses may be down but they are definitely not out. We have not yet forgotten that former military chiefs that funded Obasanjo’s elections enjoyed immunity while he was in power. The masses still remember that President Umaru Yar’adua’s disinclination to investigate clear cases of corruption by his predecessor and some ex-governors is attributed to the source of funds used in ushering him to power. Ditto President Goodluck Jonathan.

Perhaps the opposition will drop one final mundane excuse: President Jonathan would not yield to pragmatic changes to INEC. Should that happen, the opposition should courageously boycott the 2015 elections, and the masses will and should follow.

This approach is potent because, apart from the fact that Jonathan would not like to end as an Abacha monocrat, continuing to engage in elections with predetermined results is a mindless waste of national resources. Further, unless you have not been following, Jonathan is very accommodating—probably the kindest president ever. He is kind to the good—and probably kinder to the bad. But while the latter have already capitalized to accomplish their sole objective of milking the country dry, and without qualms; the former (particularly the opposition) is caught moping—continuing to fail to take advantage of the unique kindness to provide a viable alternative to the masses.

S.K.C. Ogbonnia is on www.faceboo.com

INEC as opposition’s scapegoat

By S.K. C Ogbonia

O

ne of the earliest lessons I learned from my father is that a habit of excuses is an existential catalyst for failure. Nowhere is this adage more evident than the attitude of Nigerian opposition parties toward the Independent National Election Commission (INEC).

Perhaps, it is no longer news that the INEC has been the common excuse for failures in the different elections in the Fourth Republic. But with the 2015 general elections around the corner, and even in the midst of efforts in the National Assembly to amend electoral laws, the opposition is already working to make them fail again.

This problem is rooted in the long-standing scape-goating of the different chairmen of the Nigerian electoral body and its officials. Even though such excuse is genuine, it masks an inner foolishness for the opposition not to have recognized that expecting a commission fully controlled by a partisan executive arm of the government to produce free and fair elections is no different from perceiving a stench as an aroma. To improve the system, particularly with the current debate on electoral reform in the legislature, the opposition parties should without further delay compel President Goodluck Jonathan to truly support changes to the electoral commission in two important ways: First is to create a commission composed representatives from the ruling

party and the opposition.

A structure with members drawn from the ruling parties and representatives of truly qualified opposition parties at the different levels of government will strengthen the needed checks and balances within the commission itself.

It has the potential to facilitate the enabling environment for effective leadership of the commission, ensure and sustain true independence throughout the width and breadth of the commission, and guarantee fairness to the parties involved.

To abridge the inherent partisanship, the proposed structure can be augmented with a select few drawn from the civil society: the Nigerian Labor Congress, NYSC, Judiciary; and the security agents. In simple terms, the qualified political parties themselves should submit members with clear party affiliations to the new council.

Second, given that most individual elections in Nigeria are already being financed through looted funds from government treasury; similar to the McCain-Feingold in

“

the United States of America, without the choice for individual contributions, Nigeria should adopt full public funding for inter-party elections. Thank God that this proposal will not be burdened by the number of parties as once imagined. The opposition is now gradually evolving to the desired two-party structure after finally realizing that multiplicity of parties was a pyrrhic victory in the first place. Even more, in absence of a two-party structure, to frustrate political merchants who would like to capitalize on the loopholes of the government funding, more stringent conditions should be set for registration as well as participation of parties in elections.

Alternatively or simultaneously, the opposition should ensure that that the proposed Cashless Policy is fully implemented and INEC strengthened to enforce extant laws on campaign financing. For instance, despite the fact that the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Acts of 2002, 2006, and 2010 stipulated specific guidelines for campaign finance

The opposition apologists are expected to roar back here with another excuse. They will cling on the reigning Nigerian political value system which readily insinuates that opposition leaders have to find any means necessary to gain power first before demonstrating the perceived sense of prudence. But such thinking ought to be quashed once and for all: A simple scan of history in the Fourth Republic profoundly reveals that the success of the opposition in different elections across the country has never been because of superior financial power over ruling parties. This should in no way be misconstrued as saying that money has no role to play. None of that!

Peoples Daily, tuesday, MArch 11, 2014

PAGE 16

FCTA donates N400m worth vehicles, communication gadgets to security agencies

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o enusre effective enforcement of laws of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Administration has presented about 45 brand new operational Hilux Vehicles and a Black Maria, worth N400 million, to various security agencies.

Presenting the vehicles to the heads of the security agencies in Abuja, the FCT minister, Senator Abdulkadir Mohammed, who revealed that the cost covered some accompany communication gadgets.

He said the gesture was to ensure that the various security agencieshave capacity, to be able to move quickly and then intercept any form of breakdown of law and order.

“We give them brand new vehicles, not tokubo vehicles, to make sure that at least their lifespan are extended, and that they have a very robust plan for maintenance.

“We are the only jurisdiction that ensures that every month we give some support to the police, and we can see that they are maintaining their operational vehicles.

“Because here it is not about combating criminality or maintaining law and order, but it is a Metropolitan management system that is multi-dimensional.

“In fact we are even going to give them more than this number of vehicles for convert operations, so that they can be working without the public knowing.

“Also, so that they would be able to delineate and segregate all the parts of the Territory, in such a manner that there would be surveillance, that will be monitoring and feedback of information,” he added.

Responding on behalf of other security agencies, the news FCT Police Commissioner, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu, appreciated the kind gesture of the FCT Minister; saying that the Minister and the FCT Police Command are on the same page, with others, particularly in fighting crime and criminalities.

Mr. Mbu warmed that Abuja is not for criminals and law breakers; adding that they should immediately move out of Abuja because they wouldn’t not have any hiding place in the entire Terriroty.

Despair: This boy carrying a baby, and backing his family’s belongings outside, with no hope of where to sleep, after their house was dismantled yesterday during an AMMC’s demolition exercise, at an illegal settlement, in Katampe extension site, Abuja.

Photo: Stanley Onyekwere

AMMC sacks illegal settlers at Katampe extension Stories by Stanley Onyekwere

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arely 24 hours after the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Abdulkadir Mohammed, warned nonperforming officers of the administration to resign, or face sack, the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), yesterday swapped into action, by removing illegal structures at a settlement near Gishiri village, in Katampe District, Abuja.

No fewer than 30 houses, mostly uncompleted buildings were destroyed, when officials of the Department of Development Control of the Council accompanied by armed security joint force carried out a demolition exercise in the Katampe extension site.

It would be recalled that the minister had during an on the spot assessment tour lampooned operational heads in charge of metropolitan management services in the Territory, for letting the city become talking shop, without visible result.

However, the officials stormed the area with their bulldozers and dismantled several structures being used for residential purposes and trading

activities in the settlement.

It was however gathered that one Hajya Medina Adebayo, allegedly sold most of lands to unsuspecting persons, who built the structures, most of which were still under construction, as at when the AMMC officials stormed the area, for the exercise.

However, some of the affected persons who spoke to Peoples Daily decried that most of them had nowhere to go, as they were caught unaware by the exercise.

Speaking to journalists after the exercise, the District officer, Kalu Amadi, accused Mrs. Adebayo, of selling lands in the area illegally to innocent residents especially nonindigenes, contrary to Federal Capital Development Authority’s regulations.

He said they have been building illegal structures, thereby expanding the village beyond their original boundaries.

He added that: “most of the things we removed are on the road, because of what she did it became necessary to remove them, so that the contractors developing the district would gain access to the place to put required infrastructure for the

proper development of the area.

According to him, there were adequate notices served on the inhabitants before the council embarked on the exercise.

One of the affected residents, , who identified himself as pastor, spotted, claimed that he bought a 50x50 piece of land from the woman for the sum of N45, 000, which he developed and rented out to people at N150, 000 per year.

When asked whether, he had any legal document on the land, he claimed that the woman told that the land transaction was for a temporarily period of time.

Denying the allegations, Mrs. Adebayo, who claimed to be the FCT coordinator of Ethics and value, said did not sell the land to anybody, but “what we do is built and cost calculation,” a kind of Build- Operate and Transfer (BOT) arrangement.

She said when people bring their money, she contribute and build houses, which they give out for rent, in order to recover cost.

“If they need the renting method, they tell me, because this is where I was born, my mother and late father lived even before the development of Abuja, but the government promised to relocation them to another place,

which it is yet to fulfill.

“But I have my houses that I sole built, and rent out to willing clients in the area, since the government has not compensated us.”

Peoples Daily reports that in continuation of its intensive clean up exercise, a joint task force that is made up of all departments and agencies involved in the management of the FCT, also carried out similar exercise on the Kubwa highway corridors

by Katampe power sub-station, where overgrown grasses and illegal structures had taken over all available space there.

They cleared and set ablaze several heaps of scraps and tents constructed with scraps, poly bags and woods being used by scavengers as home and ware houses for their goods within an empty valley land space beside the Katampe power sub-station, opposite Aso radio, in the area.

Some other stakeholders the make up the task force are; Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS), Parks and Recreation, Social Development Secretariat, including the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Peoples Daily, Wednesday, MArch 12, 2014

PAGE 17

Metro

Students putting up callisthenics display during the National Youth Peace Concert, on Saturday, in Abuja.

Long queue of vehicles at Total filling station, Central Area, Abuja, as fuel scarcity bites harder, on Monday.

Young men selling fuel at the ‘black market’, yesterday in Central Area, Abuja.

An over loaded pick-up van with passengers, yesterday along Nyanya-Jikwoi Road in Abuja.

. A man hawking hats along Airport Road, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Peoples Daily, Wednesday, MArch 12, 2014

PAGE 18

For The Record

Jonathan’s regime has institutionalised corruption – Amaechi (III)

F

or example, legislation requires schools to establish democratic school governing bodies for parents, educators and learners to manage the schools’ affairs collectively.

School fees cannot be increased without the input from the three parties. But if parents fail to attend meetings or respond to correspondence, the educators and school management are forced to make decisions that may be regarded as undemocratic, causing unhappiness within the community.

One’s level of education, financial status or language should not hinder active citizenship. When we become active in our communities, we stand a better chance at entrenching values such as accountability, transparency, honesty, trust and respect, which are needed in order for democracy to thrive. For example, in a democracy, everyone is free to voice his or her opinion as long as it does not amount to hate speech. The media has the right to report on all matters concerning the public, even if it means exposing the wrongdoings of government, powerful institutions or people.

Even in a democracy, public protests have a place as a form of participation in community issues.

However, it is important to acknowledge that with public protest comes the need for disagreeing parties to talk to each other. Talking about our different viewpoints is perhaps the most difficult engagement, but it is the most viable means to resolving complex matters. Yet an intolerant government that doesn’t appreciate the role of the electorate as partners in ensuring better governance is a government that is on its way out.

In a speech to the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France, on January 23, 1967, former British Prime Minister and Statesman Harold Wilson said, “He who rejects change is the architect of decay.

The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery”.

Are we where we are, in this decay of uncertain dimension because we are rejecting or resisting change?

Have we voluntarily or involuntarily built a tower of babel where progress

Governor Chibuike Amaechi

suddenly comes to a halt?

Electoral frauds constitute the substructure of the abuse of political rights. And abuse of one right can lead to the abuse of other rights or all rights.

What has been the Nigerian experience with respect to elections and by extension political rights?

Here are the facts: • The post independence national election of 1964 set the stage.

It was characterized by wide spread rigging, intimidation, and chaos • The election of 1965 followed the same pattern and became one of the reasons for the 1966 coup.

• When the country returned to the ballot box in 1979, the ghosts of the 1964 and 1965 elections came back to town to cause havoc.

• Four years later in 1983, things took an even worse turn • 1n 1993, when we thought we had repented of our sins, the baby was not even allowed to come out deformed, it was aborted • In 1999, 2003 we barely limped along with bruises • And then crowned things up with the 2007 election described at that time as the worst in Nigerian electoral history.

• Just when you thought we have learnt our lessons, the 2011 elections came along with all the imprimatur of all previous elections.

Since 2003, almost every election has been called a make or mar election due to fear of massive rigging and its byproduct of violence.

The big question is, how many make or mar elections should we have in the life of a nation?

Once again, here we are in a pre-election year. And once again, the witches’

cauldron has begun to boil over. Majority of our political gladiators are neither debating ideological leanings nor scrutinizing past records to guide rational choices in the upcoming general elections. Rather they are engaged in a series of spectacular arguments about agreements reached in dressing rooms and whose turn it is to be at the villa.

Today, the attention is not on possible post-election mayhem or violence. The twin evil of insecurity and violence are already here with us. Right to life has been diminished as never before. We have become so used to stories that hitherto were blood chilling that we flip over them in our newspapers. A new normal has been enthroned. And the man is dying in each of us. Yet elections loom ahead with a fast moving cloud soaked with highly flammable materials.

Meanwhile, the political space is so constricted that politicians are gasping for breath and forced into unseasonal migrations.

Today’s lecture for me is a wake up call for all of us in the political space, government, politicians and electorate alike. It is a call to ensure that we all work together to guarantee the sustenance of our democracy and the existence of our nation. I will end with another comment

by Dowden in the same book.

He says “ on the contrary, I sometimes feel Africa is not violent enough. If Africans fought back sooner against theft and oppression instead of allowing themselves to be slaves to the rich and powerful, Africa would be a much more peaceful place.

Instead, African patience allows exploitation and oppression to thrive until everyone looses their temper and explodes.” Hopefully this would not be our lot.

Thank you for your kind attention and May God bless Nigeria.

Concluded Being a lecture delivered at the second conference of the Peoples Media Limited

by Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Con, Governor, Rivers State and Chairman Nigeria Governors’ Forum at the Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton, Abuja, on Thursday, March 6, 2014.

Metro

Two shoe shiners out for business in Mararaba Nasarawa state. Photo Mahmud Isa

Driver docked for stealing meat, palm wine

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he police have arraigned a commercial taxi driver, Stephen Iheaha, 42, in an Abuja Chief Magistrates’ court for stealing bush meat and palm wine worth N30, 000.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Jerry Tangshak of Nyanya Police Station, told the court that one Miss Sandra Oliver boarded the accused’s vehicle from Uke to Nyanya, Mararaba, Nasarawa State at an agreed fare of N150.

Tangshak alleged that Oliver alighted from the

cab in Nyanya and gave the accused a N500 note, but he said that he had no change.

He said that in order to help the accused, Oliver went round some people nearby looking for change.

But when she returned, the complainant discovered that the accused had driven away with her bush meat and palm wine in his car boot.

The prosecutor said that the accused was arrested on Thursday by men of the Nyanya Police Station, where the complainant

reported the case.

According to him, the offence contravenes section 287 of the Penal code.

If convicted, he faces five years in prison or an option of fine or both.

Iheaha pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Chief Magistrate Hadiza Dodo granted the accused bail for N50, 000 to a surety in like sum that must be resident within the court’s jurisdiction.

Dodo adjourned the case to April 14 for continuation of hearing. (NAN)

…2 drivers bag 2 months’ imprisonment for violating traffic rules

A

Wuse Zone 2 Senior Magistrates’ court, Abuja, has sentenced two drivers, Godwin Peter, 42, and Ndubis Ajah, 40, to two months imprisonment each for violating traffic rules.

The Senior Magistrate, Mr. Celestine Odoh, however, gave them an option of N5, 000 fine.

He said that the rate of traffic rules violation in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was alarming, adding

that the verdict would serve as a warning to other road users.

Earlier, the police prosecutor, Cpl Paul Anigbo, told the court that on February 28, at about 12:00 a.m, the convicts parked their vehicles at an inappropriate place, thereby, causing obstruction.

He said that they were arrested by a team of police patrol led by DSP Micheal Eguobi of Lugbe Divisional Police Station on Galadimawa

roundabout.

He said that Peter had a Toyota Corolla with registration no: XJ 739 RBC, while Ajah was owned a Mercedes Benz with registration No. BP 788 ABC. Anigbo said that they were standing trial for obstructing traffic, contrary to the Road Traffic Act. They pleaded guilty to the offence and begged the court for leniency, saying they would not repeat the offence.

(NAN)

Court remands teenager charged with theft

A

teenager, Emmanuel John, was on Thursday remanded in prison custody by a Kubwa Magistrates’ Court in Abuja for allegedly stealing a Nokia cell phone, valued at N5,000.

John, 18, residing in Flat 2, Block 26, Phase two, Site two in Kubwa, is facing a count charge of theft.

The Prosecutor, Cpl. Igonoh Ocholi, told the court that on Feb. 28, one

Emmanuel Iheanacho of Road 315 FHA, Kubwa, lodged a complaint at the Kubwa Police Station against John.

Ocholi he said that on Feb. 27, the accused dishonestly stole his Nokia cell phone, valued at N5,000 entrusted to him by one Ebuka Alozie.

The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Section 287 of the Penal

Code.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Magistrate, Mr Jubril Kutigi, observed that the accused had been convicted two times for criminal offences and ordered that he should be remanded without bail.

Kutigi, however, adjourned the case to March 17. (NAN)

Page 19

Peoples Daily, WEDNESday, March 12, 2014

INSIDE

etuka2012@gmail.com/meetetus@rocketmail.com 08066605655,08182721672

‘FG earmarks N10bn as Abuja rail project counterpart fund in 2014’

By Stanley Onyekwere

I

n a bid to ensure early completion of the Abuja Rail Mass Transit project, the Federal Government has earmarked the sum of N10 billion from its 2014 Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) as counterpart funding.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed made this revelation yesterday, while presenting the FCT 2014 SURE-P budget to the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on SURE-P, in Abuja.

He said the total cost of the Abuja Rail Mass Transit project comprising of final design and construction of Lots 1 and 3 respectively, which is approximately 60.67 kilometers, is US$823,540,545.87 only, with a completion period of 36 months.

He disclosed that the Federal Government had earlier obtained a concessional loan of US$500 million from EXIM Bank of China; leaving US$323,540,545.87 to the Nigerian government as counterpart.

According to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the minister, Muhammad Sule, it was further revealed that the Federal Government through the National SURE-P also intends to expend the sum of N13 billion on Nyanya Labour Camp, Wasa and Mamusa West District and other construction this fiscal year in the Federal Capital Territory.

Mohammed further disclosed that this N13 billion is to provide infrastructure for affordable housing in satellite towns of Wasa, GidanDaya, Mamusa West, rehabilitation of 6KM Kuje-Gwagwalada Phase 1Road, extension of Karshi-Apo Road (F106)(16KM) as well as construction, equipping and provision of boreholes to 12 Primary Health Care Centres in

FCT amongst others.

Meanwhile, the minister added that the FCT Administration is projecting to receive the sum of N3, 711,340,206.24 in 2014 as its SURE-P share to focus on developmental programmes.

“The sum of N600 million would be used to construct rural access roads in conjunction with DFID; while the sum of N500 million has been earmarked for

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he National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Aminu Abdulkardir yesterday said that the current fuel scarcity in the country was as a result of accumulated fuel subsidy claims owed marketers in the past nine months.

He however directed all members of the association to ensure safe reception of the petroleum products supplied to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and delivery to the various filling stations.

The IPMAN boss who spoke at the expanded meeting of the association said, “the current contraction in the supply of the products is a result of none payment of marketers subsidy”.

“The non-payment is partly, quarterly, Quarter 4 completely not paid and we are quarter 1. Our national consumption today is been supplied by the NNPC. And it is only that 50% of NNPC product that is in circulation.

“They have stepped up their

the construction of School of Health and Technology this fiscal year.

“N100 million and N450 million would be used for the construction of 2nos Standard Clinics in the Federal Capital City and Pilot Phase of the 5,000 Units of Universal Metering PrePayment System for the FCT Water Board to support revenue generation, respectively.

Life annuity records 22% growth in 2013 Q3

-Pg 21

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, Ambassador Godknows Igali, and Minister of State for Power, Hon. Mohammed Wakil, during the 2014 budget defence by the ministry before the Senate Committee on Power, yesterday at the National Assembly, in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Accumulated none payment of subsidy, reason for fuel scarcity-IPMAN

By Etuka Sunday

ITF trains 1,000 persons in 6 months in - Pg 20 Kogi

supply trying to what every stakeholder is supposed to be doing, but it is evidently clear that they alone cannot do it.

“I therefore use this medium, to appeal to the ministry of Finance as a matter of urgency, to intervene and pay marketers accordingly, so that the argumentation of this shortfall can be achieved in a short while so that this scarcity will be a thing of the past”, he stated.

“We are been owe Q3 subsidy payment, which is last year, another Q4 and Q1 pilling up to about 9 months unpaid subsidy to marketers. We need to be paid this money because we are in business.

Aminu disclosed that his men are now moving products from coastal areas to the hinterland through roads even as he admitted that congestion at the terminals in Lags is slowing down products evacuation to the northern and eastern parts f the country.

“I can assure Nigerians that product availability has improved.

Initial delay in vessels clearance at the port has been resolved. Our challenge now is gaining access to the terminals. You know is

normally busy and when you add the rush by us to reach the terminals and load product, you can imagine the gridlock.

The major challenge in the exercise, Aminu said is the wide supply gap that has been created as a result of the chain of processes at the tank farms.

Commenting on the allegations of products diversion by marketers, the IPMAN president noted that, “the diversion is not illegal as he however explained that the products are never been diverted to another country but still being sold to Nigerians within Nigeria”.

He said stakeholders are putting heads together to ensure that the vehicular gridlock does not stall product evacuation, assuring Nigerians that “neither government nor marketers are withholding all Nigerians. I urge Nigerians to exercise patient.

“Nobody is withholding products and I urge Nigerians to be patent as we move products to the hinterland .If all stakeholders cooperated, the situation will ease before the week runs out. We

should be careful when we leveled accusations. What Nigerians need to know is that pipeline vandalism is worsening the situation.

“Under normal circumstances, eighty percent of the products are supposed to be transported through pipelines. The rest are supposed to be moved through trucks.

Widespread pipeline vandalism halted that plan, hence the resort to land haulage of the products”, the IPMAN president said.

AFC to address Africa’s infrastructure requirements, investment deficit in Lagos summit -Pg 22 Exchange Rates

CBN as at 10th March, 2014 Buying

Selling

$

154.7

155.7

€

257.51

259.18

£

214.80

216.19

Riyal

41.26

41.52

YEN

1.49

1.50

CFA

0.30

0.32

Management Tip of the Day Try a different approach to keeping that project on track

T

oo many projects measure success on time and budget.

While these are important — and easily measureable — factors, they alone may not help you realize your business outcomes. A few suggestions on how to approach big projects differently: • Revisit and revise your business case regularly. Because markets and competitive environments change, you should regularly revisit what exactly you’re doing, and more importantly, why you’re doing it. This will help uncover hidden stumbling blocks and guide your project toward

accomplishing its business outcomes, which can shift over the course of its timeline.

• Enlist an entrepreneurial project manager. The number one driver of successful projects is a great manager, someone able to manage stakeholders and risk who is comfortable adapting and changing course if necessary.

Find and develop project managers who exercise judgment instead of obediently following the process. You need a strategic thinker to adjust to changing circumstances.

Source: Harvard Business Review

Peoples Daily, WEDNESday, March 12, 2014

Page 20

Business

Nigeria joins rest of the world to mark 25 years internet web access

By Chris Alu

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he Nigerian government including ICT stakeholders and technology expert from across African will tomorrow joined the rest of the world in marking the 25th years anniversary celebration of Internet web access. The occasion is expected to bring together world broadest technology sector coalition, the alliance for affordable internet, government technology innovators researchers and campaigners that will drive forward the policies of Sir Tim Berner Lee who founded the world wide internet web for a change and dialogue that will

enhanced investment needed to put internet access in the hands of millions of people across Africa To this end, the minister of communication technology Mrs. Omobola Johnson is expected to support the drive for internet accessibility and affordability in the country as well as building upon ongoing efforts that will increase broadband penetration in Nigeria to 30 percent by 2018.

The Nigerian government has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with alliance for affordable internet in order to see the launched of anew multi stakeholders coalition that will contribute to the development of policies intended to bring in

a new era of wide spread and affordable internet access to the citizens.

The Nigerian National Broadband plan has existing challenges to greater internet and broadband access in the country, and it is expected that the government would use tomorrows anniversary in others to tackled head on by incentivizing the deployment of a national fiber optic network across the entire country, developing a framework that ensures the potentials benefits of open access and infrastructural sharing are realized.

Others are addressing high cost points such as spectrum prices and the cost of physical attacks

on infrastructures and increasing citizen’s awareness about the possible benefits of the internet and how to use it According to World Bank a prepaid mobile broadband users subsisting on $2 per day who wanted to use 1GB of data per month would have to spend 22 percent of their monthly income to do so. At present almost one third of Nigerians used the internet up from 28 percent in 2011 and 24 percent in 2012.

But howerver, the broadband penetration rate is only 6 percent.

Fixed broadband currently cost 39 percent of average monthly income, with a 500MB prepaid mobile broadband plan averaging about 13 percent

L-R: D-8 Secretary-General, Dr. Seyed Mousavi, and Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, at the 3rd D-8 Expert Working Group meeting on shipping, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: NAN

Shippers’ Council lauds outcome of maritime expo

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he Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) on Tuesday said the ongoing Nigeria Maritime Expo (NIMAREX) would encourage private participation in the development of the maritime sector.

Mr Hassan Bello, the Executive Secretary of NSC, said this in Lagos while fielding questions from journalists at the 4th NIMAREX in Lagos.

Bello said that the private sector participation should be

encouraged to boost the nation’s economy. ``For the economy to grow, it means there must be increased participation of the private sector in all aspects of the maritime industry,’’ the executive secretary

said.

The expo, organised by stakeholders in the maritime industry, is to showcase the sector to investors.

The expo will end on March 12.

(NAN)

ITF trains 1,000 persons in 6 months in Kogi

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he Industrial Training Fund (ITF) yesterday said that it had trained more than 1,000 persons in Kogi within six months.

Mrs Chukwuka Chime of the Training Department of ITF

disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja. Chime said that the fund had trained 1,000 youths in various vocational skills, to make them self-reliant.

According to her, the skills include

carpentry, welding and tailoring.

She noted that the youths were drawn from the three senatorial districts of the state and that it was aimed at reducing unemployment and poverty in the state.

She called members of the public

to acquire skills to enhance their economic value and contribute to national development.

The official commended the participants and urged them to utilise the knowledge acquired effectively. (NAN)

SEC insists on new capital base for capital market operators

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he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday said it would not succumb to stockbrokers’ blackmail on the new capital requirements for capital market operators.

An authoritative source in SEC, who pleaded anonymity, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that there was “no going back on the re-capitalisation”.

He said that the commission would not compromise its stance on the market standard because of the opposition of some stockbrokers to the re-capitalisation programme.

According to him, the market does not need many dealers with negative shareholders’ fund in the market.

The SEC source stressed that the commission would not compromise the market standard because of some brokers’ opposition and blackmail.

The source also said that the commission would not be part of the proposed “capital segmentation” being clamoured by the some dealers.

He said that the brokers should be more concerned on ways to raise the new capital instead of seeking for a meeting with the commission’s board.

NAN reports that a meeting of some stockbrokers with SEC executive management team ended in a deadlock.

Mr Emeka Madubuike, President, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), told NAN that the meeting did not yield any fruitful result as both parties failed to reach a compromise.

He said that the stockbrokers would seek audience with the commission’s board to discuss their reservations on the new capital requirement released by SEC. NAN reports that SEC, on Dec. 19, issued new capital requirement for capital market operators with December 31 as deadline for operators to re-capitalise.

A breakdown of the new capital requirement obtained by NAN showed that a broker/dealer now requires a minimum capital N300 million, an increase of 328.57 per cent over the initial capital of N70 million.

A broker is now required to increase his capital to N200 million from N40 million, while a dealer’s minimum capital now stands at N100 million against the old N30 million.

An issuing house operational capital requirement also rose to N200 million from N150 million, while underwriters are now expected to have N200 million as working capital from N100 million. Under the new capital requirements framework, a registrar’s operational capital has been reviewed up to N150 million from N50 million.

(NAN)

Peoples Daily, WEDNESday, March 12, 2014

Page 21

Pension&insurance

Life annuity records 22% growth in 2013 Q3 Story from Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

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ollowing the increase in awareness recorded in life annuity, the National Pension commission (PenCom) has said that number of retirees

under the plan has increase to 5,717 in the third quarter of 2013.

This represents a growth rate of 22 per cent when compared with 4,688 retirees recorded in the second quarter of the same year.

A report from the commission for the third quarter, 2013 showed that premium worth N5,381 million was approved for payment to insurance firms for 1,029 retirees in return for an average monthly pensions amounting to N17.78 million.

Meanwhile, the Commission recorded a growth in its second quarter.

A total of 4,688 retirees and received a total of 1,081 requests for annuity retirement plan.

According to the Commission, all the requests were approved,

which brought the total number of retirees to 4,688. Also, a total premium of N4, 885 million was approved for payment to insurance firms for 1,081 retirees in return for monthly payments amounting to N48.07 million.

College of Insurance to kick off

by June

...as Oyetayo assumes rector

T

L-R: South East Zonal Co-Ordinator, Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service, Stella Oraka; Zonal CO-ordinator, Nigeria Customs Service Zone ‘C’, Assistant Comptroller-General Dan Ugo, and Comptroller, Enforcement and Revenue, Nigeria Customs Service Zone ‘C’, Umar Yusuf, during a sensitisation exercise on the Nigeria Trade Hub/Paar Regime, on Monday in Port Harcourt. Photo: NAN

Mutual Benefit launches 35 products next month

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utual Benefit Assurance said will be rolling out 35 new microinsurance products by April, 2014.

The company, which generate over N1 billion monthly from micro insurance said it has secured the approval of National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the industry regulator to push the products into the insurance market.

Speaking while presenting

a paper titled prospects and challenges of micro-insurance in Nigeria, at the the First Business Journal Insurance Summit and Exhibition held in Lagos , the Group Managing Director of the company, Mr Akin Ogunbiyi stated that since the introduction of Micro insurance in the company, Mutual Benefit has employed 7,000 marketers/ agents.

He noted that the company has developed over 105 micro insurance products adding that

the new 35 to be launched will bring it to a total of 140 products even as the company sold over 70,000 policies through its micro insurance institutions.

He stated that through micro insurance business, the company has given employment to many adding that it has empowered its numerous customers through the business.

He highlighted challenges in the business to include lack of knowledge of the structure of the

market and fragmented nature of the market which is largely dominated by the uneducated and low income earners.

Ogunbiyi noted that steps taken by the company to excel in the business include firstly training it’s staff that will man the business, identifying the low earners and grouping them in 50s, training them, empowering them to buy insurance and then design products that will be suitable and capable of meeting the needs.

Kari appointed NAICOM deputy commissioner

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resident Goodluck Jonathan has appointed Alhaji Mohammed Uba Kari as the deputy commissioner (technical), National Insurance Commission.

Kari was until 2012 the managing director/ chief executive officer of UnityKapital Assurance Plc, according to a statement from NAICOM. He is an Insurance graduate from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and an associate of the Chartered

Insurance Institute London, from Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK (1984).

He also holds a masters degree in Business Administration (Information Technology) from University of Central England Birmingham, UK (2002) and an IT management certified professional from Learning Tree Management Institute, London UK 2004).

Kari, the statement added,

started his working career with Royal Exchange Assurance Plc in 1979.

He, between 1984 and 1989, worked in Yankari Insurance Company Limited as an assistant general manager (technical).

Kari was said to have joined Niger Insurance Plc in 1989 as an executive director (technical) and worked for about three years.

He became the managing director/chief executive officer in

January 1992, a position he held up until March 1993.

It noted, “As a result of his sterling qualities, he was appointed managing director/ chief executive officer of National Insurance Corporation in March 1993 where he served up to January 2000.

“He brings to his new assignment sufficient wealth of experience in insurance underwriting and hands-on administration.”

he Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) has disclosed that the College of Insurance will commence operation by June this year even as it has appointed Dr Yeside Oyetayo as the college rector.

The Director General of the Instiute, Mr. Kola Ahmed, who disclosed this during a press conference held in Lagos, stated that the institute is in the final phase of completion the college.

According to him the first phase which includes the Admin/ Multipurpose, the Restaurant and three Chalets that were on ground as at May 2013 while the second phase has also been completed last year.

He said that six additional structures has been added to the third and final phase which includes 50 bedroom (All Ensuite) hall of Residence, 1 Storey 2,3-Bedroom Senior Staff Quarters and four Units of Chalet which are expected to be completed before the end of April.

Four buildings under constructions, he said are 1-twin Duplex Rector’s Lodge and 3 additional chalets.

He noted that these efforts represent an uninhibited commitment towards actualization of the college project and ultimately launching it for full take off, he said.

Ahmed stated that the institute appointed Yeside Oyetayo as the rector, to fast-trackmthe initiation of the college programmes in the course of the year.

Oyetayo whom he said was a renowned insurance operator before joining academics will assume duty by April this year.

He also assured that the staff of the institute is committed to ensuring that these combined developmental action plan remain on course and that the institute becomes a reference point in the comity of the global professional bodies.

Peoples Daily, WEDNESday, March 12, 2014

Page 22

Business

AFC to address Africa’s infrastructure requirements, investment deficit in Lagos summit

By Etuka Sunday

T

he Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), an African-led multilateral development financial institution has concluded plans to organize its inaugural Summit that would address Africa’s infrastructure equirements and investment deficit in Lagos State, Nigeria.

The Summit, titled: ‘AFC Live: Bridging the Infrastructure Divide’ responds to the need to open a dialogue to address the scale of Africa’s infrastructure requirements and its investment deficit, which is conservatively estimated at over US$40 billion per annum over the next ten years.

The Summit which was scheduled to take place on

25th March 2014 at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos, Nigeria would bring together African politicians, business leaders and academics for a series of lively panel discussions.

Confirmed speakers include: Jim O’Neill, the economist and former Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, best known for coining the ‘BRIC’ and ‘MINT’ acronyms, as well as: Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Coordinating Minister of Finance and Economy, Nigeria; Prof. Chinedu Nebo, Minister of Power, Nigeria; Hon. Patrick Achi, Minister of Economic Infrastructure, Côte d’Ivoire; Hon. Cristina Duarte, Minister of Finance, Cape Verde; Mr Jim Yong Cai, Executive Vice President and CEO, International

Finance Corporation; Mr Tony Elumelu, Chairman Heirs Holdings; Ms. Diana Layfield, CEO Africa, Standard Chartered Bank; Dr. Nkosana Moyo, Mandela Institute for Development Studies; and Ms. Funke Opeke, CEO Main One. Commenting on the upcoming Summit, Bayo Ogunlesi, Chairman of AFC, said: “The summit is a key opportunity to for a broad range of stakeholders, from national governments to the indigenous and international private sector and donor partners, to contribute to the development of constructive solutions to the deficit in infrastructure investment in Africa which continues to hold back economic growth on the continent.”

Commenting on the Summit, economist Jim O’Neill, said: “I am delighted to be participating in the AFC’s inaugural summit which promises to address an important agenda. If Africa is to reach its potential as the home to some of the fastestgrowing economies in the world, then infrastructure will play a vital role in making that happen.

This conference provides an excellent opportunity to gather some of the most important figures in the region in order to discuss how this can be achieved. The AFC plays not just a vital role in brokering these discussions but also in financing and advising some of most transformative infrastructure projects on the continent.”

L-R: Ag. Director of Industry & Services, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Hajiya Fati Abubakar, Ogun state Commissioner for Forestry, Mr. Adebayo Fari, BPE Director General, Mr. Banjamin Dikki, Chairman, Beulah Technical Company Ltd (BETCO), Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, his wife, Mrs. Grace Braithwaite, his daughters, Ebun Braithwaite, Omowumi Braithwaite, and his son, Olumide Braithwaite, during the handing over Iwopin Paper Mill to the core investor, Beulah Technical Company Ltd, recently in Abuja.

ETI inaugurates committee for new board members

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cobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) says it has set up a new committee to search for new board members as agreed at its extraordinary general meeting on March 3 in Lome, Togo.

This was contained in a statement by Mr Odidison Omankhanlen of the bank’s Brands and Communications Department on Monday in Lagos It said that the seven member committee had two former chairmen of the bank, Mr Gervais

Djondo and Chief Philip Asiodu.

The statement said that the committee also included two representatives of the current board and three shareholder representatives.

It also said that the agreement was arrived at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held at Ecobank’s pan African Centre in Lomé, Togo on March 3.

It added that the search would be assisted by an external search firm. The statement read: “The move to reconstitute the

board at Ecobank Transnational Incorporated follows recommendations made by West African regulators of the Stock Exchanges where Ecobank is listed.

“Its move was supported by a report from the Global Board Center of the renowned Swiss Business School and the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

“The IMD report by their Global Board Center followed

a review of ETI’s corporate governance, including the size and constitution of the board, “It is also based on its procedures for managing related party transactions as well as its committee structures and incentive policies.

“The search committee will recommend potential board members to the shareholders of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated at the Annual General Meeting in June”. (NAN)

FG promises to develop deep sea ports to reduce ports congestion

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resident Goodluck Jonathan on Monday said the Federal Government would develop deep sea ports to check congestion at the existing sea ports.

Jonathan stated this in Lagos at the opening of a threeday 2014 Nigeria Maritime Expo (NIMAREX) with the theme:”100 years of Maritime Development in Nigeria’’ .

Jonathan said that developing deep sea ports was the only way to solve the problems associated with port congestion and sustain the ongoing implementation of 24-hour ports operation.

He said that the Federal Executive Council had approved the development of the Lekki deep sea port in Lagos to handle bigger vessels and create employment under the Public-PrivatePartnership arrangement.

The president, who was represented by the Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, also said that the steering and project delivery committee had submitted a draft report on the Ibaka deep sea port in Akwa Ibom.

He said that discussion was ongoing among the Federal Ministry of Transport, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Lagos State Government and some investors on the development of Badagry deep sea port.

He said that similar arrangement was also being made with the Ogun, Bayelsa and Ondo State governments to develop the Olokola deep sea port and Agge deep sea port, respectively.

The Chairman of NIMAREX, Mrs Margaret Onyema-Orakwusi, said that the focus of the expo was to harness the country’s abundant maritime resources.

Onyema-Orakwusi said that Nigeria would “take over the world” if the country’s marine resources and mineral wealth were properly harnessed.

“For us to take on the world, Nigeria must develop her shipping industry to aggregate the facets of her economic niche within the comity of nations,’’ she said. (NAN)

Peoples Daily, wednesDAY, march 12, 2014

Stock Watch

Report as at Tuesday, March 11, 2014

PAGE 23

Peoples Daily, Wednesday, March 12, 2014

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PAGE 25

Special Report

Agonies of telecoms subscribers over poor GSM services

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Many mobile subscribers in the country, disgruntled with the persistent poor telecoms services, have condemned the negative impact the menace is having on social and business growth and have blamed the network operators for their woes, Aminu Imam and Chris Alu reports.

S

takeholders in the telecommunications sector have expressed dissatisfaction with the poor quality of services of GSM service providers in the country,which has persisted for several months now.

A cross-section of subscribers who spoke to Peoples Daily said they were unhappy as they were not getting value for their money from the service providers.

A graphic designer, Mr. Ilemona Umaru, said that the services from the networks were poor, adding that he could hardly make complete calls without problems. ``You find that when you try to call someone, especially in this season, you can hardly hear the person at the other side.You never have the satisfaction of talking to someone, it’s either the call gets cut half way into your conversation or you would be hearing some kind of unpleasant noise at the background. ``The regulators should

sanction them or there should be a limit of the number of subscribers they should have because I think that part of the problem is because the networks are over loaded.

Another subscriber, Mrs. Adejo Peace, expressed the same feelings, saying that the service providers deducted money for poor network reception.``The most annoying thing is that your money is always deducted even when your call does not get through.

“Why should I pay for something I did not use?” she queried. ``The worst of it is that even when you call the customer care, they cannot proffer any solution for you rather they would make excuses why your money was deducted.You can imagine that my cellphone was stolen and for about three weeks now I have done the well-come back-pack, yet the network is still writing `emergency’.

They are just there to collect people’s money,’’ Peace

said.

Mrs. Halima Ahmed, a teacher, however, had a different view as she commended the service providers for effective service delivery, saying: “I have no reason to complain, though at times there might be a little hitch.But I think that most of the complaints from subscribers could be as a result of the Yuletide because of multiple calls.

Ahmed appealed to the Federal Government to assist the mobile operators in the provision of infrastructure, adding that this would go a long way in reducing their challenges.

He also called on members of the public to stop vandalising existing infrastructure for the good of all citizens.

Speaking to Peoples Daily on the poor service of the service providers, a disgruntled customer who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “As a loyal MTN subscriber for the past several years, hundreds of thousands of other

Nigerians have definitely been a victim to their profit maximization strategies and general lack of conscience and/or integrity in the way they conduct their business in this great country.

“South Africa, MTN’s base, is a saturated market with nowhere near the level of opportunity that Nigeria has to offer, and so the company decided to pitch its tent here, and it brought along a service, what it did not bring along were: Good manners, Ethical behaviour, Reliable network, just to name a few.

“Don’t you wonder why their network is the most ‘ported away from’ network in Nigeria? Despite the ‘Saka’ advert, Etisalat has more people porting to their network from MTN. This is according to NCC data.

Those of us who are still on MTN are just looking for a great reason and moment to leave.No matter how many Don Jazzy’s, or Prince, they get to produce and recite silly songs for their near 419 service, they should all know

: As subscribers count losses. Telecommunications networks in Nigeria may be in for another heavy sanction by the industry umpire, the Nigerian

It could be recalled that MTN, alongside Globacom and Airtel have been sanctioned by The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) the sum of N647.5 million for breach of key performance indicators (KPIs) and poor quality of service for the month of January 2014.

Etisalat was the only operator given a clean bill as it met all the set KPIs

Fresh challenges trail the telecoms sector in 2014

that we are just ‘Jonesing’, still being 0803 loyalists.

However, their shoddy service will eventually cause us to port”, he lamented.

Another MTN subscriber, Miss Dolabomi Taiwo,said I want to express my displeasure at MTN’s data service. The company has a nasty system error that keeps deducting money from my main account even while I have an active data package. I have complained many times to the organisation’s customer service agents but all they keep telling me is ‘‘Sorry

for the inconvenience.’’ I believe this error is peculiar to Smartphones especially, when one is downloading data. I have used other networks and they don’t offer this sort of mediocre service.

It could be recalled that MTN, alongside Globacom and Airtel have been sanctioned by The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) the sum of N647.5 million for breach of key performance indicators (KPIs) and poor quality of service for the month of January 2014.

Executive Vice-Chairman, NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah

Etisalat was the only operator given a clean bill as it met all the set KPIs. In letters dated February 19, 2014, addressed to each of the affected companies, NCC said after collating statistics from the network operating centres of the operators in the month of January, discovered that the services provided by MTN, Airtel and Globacom fell below the KPI published by it in 2013.

A breakdown of the sanctions indicates that Globacom was penalised, N277.5 million for three

breaches, while MTN and Airtel got sanctioned N185 million each for two breaches.

Four critical KPIs were set by NCC – Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR), Drop Call Rate (DCR), Traffic Channel Congestion (TCHCONG) and Stand Alone Dedicated Control Channel Congestion (SDCONG).

With a target of 98 per cent for CSSR, MTN, Airtel, and Globacom failed to meet the target in January.

They scored 96.85 per cent, 96.99 per cent and 96.89

per cent respectively.

NCC set a target of 1 percent in the DCR category. The audit report referred to by NCC in its letter stated that for the month of January, MTN and Globacom failed to meet the target, while Airtel exceeded the target with a score of 0.84 percent.

For the SDCONG KPI, with a target of 0.20 percent, Airtel and Globacom failed to meet the target, scoring 0.40 percent and 0.58 percent respectively, while MTN exceeded the target with a

score of 0.17 percent.

For the last KPI, TCHCONG, with a target of 2 per cent, all the three networks exceeded the target, as MTN scored 0.55 percent; Globacom – 0.79 percent; and Airtel – 0.79 percent. In summary, MTN failed to meet the targets set in the Quality of Service Regulations for the CSSR and DCR computations; Globacom failed to meet the targets set for CSSR, DCR and SDCONG computations; while Airtel failed to meet the targets for CSSR and SDCONG computations.

The operators are expected to pay the sanctions on or before March 7, 2014 (last Friday).

Should they fail to pay the sanctions within the stipulated deadline, each of them will be liable to pay N2.5 million daily, as long as the contravention persists.

All the three operators were barred by NCC from selling new SIM cards throughout the month of March, 2014, with effect from March 1 to March 31; barred from churning or deleting from their networks inactive (or nonrevenue generating SIMs) during the period March 1 to March 31; barred from supplying new SIM cards from their warehouses to dealers or third parties during the same period; and stopped from all promotions until the identified KPIs considered are positively addressed.

Speaking during the First National Telecoms Subscriber Summit organised by the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers, the majority of subscribers at the event frowned on the services

of the providers in several areas of their operations.

They blamed the operators for poor service quality, which they said, was already affecting businesses in the country.

As such, they called on the operators to come up with lasting solutions to the continuous drop in service quality across networks.

Poor Quality of Service has been a major problem in the country over the past few years and the NCC recently fined GSM companies to the tune of N1.17bn for failing to provide quality services on their networks.

In a presentation titled, ‘The Consumer in the Eyes of the Regulator,’ the Executive Vice-Chairman, NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, who was represented by the Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Tony Ojobo, said mobile subscribers were major stakeholders in the telecoms industry.

He said that one of NCC’s mandates was to protect and promote the interests of consumers against unfair practices from service providers, adding that the commission would ensure a paradigm shift from mere service provision and delivery to consumer satisfaction.

The Director-General, Consumer Protection Council, Mrs. Ify Umenyi, who was represented by Mr. Abiodun Obimuyiwa, said the level of consumerism in Nigeria was gradually increasing as more consumers now demanded that their rights be respected.

She called on telecoms companies and other service providers to respect the rights of consumers at all times.

Peoples Daily, WEDNESDAY, march 12, 2014

PAGE 26

Property

Where are the cheapest cities in the world to rent?

Global property giant, Lamudi has announced the cheapest cities in the world to rent.

G

lobal real estate classifieds player Lamudi offers apartments and houses throughout more than 19 countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa and their broad range of listings suits all pockets. But in which city do you get the most for your dollar? Lamudi points out attractive cities in emerging countries, where renting an apartment is utterly cheap.

Surprisingly, living next to the Mediterranean Sea does not have to cost a fortune: the average rent for an apartment with three bedrooms in Tunis is only $555 per month.

Additionally, residents can easily find a job in Tunisia’s capital, since there are strong industrial and economical structures.

If that is still too expensive, one should take a look at Alexandria the second largest town in Egypt where people have to raise $487 for an equal flat.

Heading further into the west, another low-budget city can be found in Mexico: Monterrey. It is the third largest city in Mexico and also one of the wealthiest ones. However, renting a luxury three-bedroom apartment in the city center will only cost you around $526 per month, but you can save another $36 if you settle down in El Salvador’s capital, San Salvador.

However, renting an apartment can be even cheaper in Asia, as two of the world’s least expensive cities are located on this continent. Living a month in a three-bedroom apartment in Kathmandu costs only $245 in average. Nepal’s capital is well known for its picturesque cityscape and its flourishing tourism business.

Jaipur in India also offers a unique cityscape and its residents pay only $285 to spend a month in a three-bedroom flat in the so called Pink City of India.

Whether people are looking for properties for rent or for sale, the internet platform, www. lamudi.com enables customers to easily find or sell their house, apartment, commercial property or land online. At the same time, property providers and agents get a trusted online presence through a personalized webpage.

Key characteristics of Lamudi are its diverse property offers,

Tunis, Tunisia’s capital.

Alexandria, Egypt.

Monterrey, Mexico.

Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital.

“

However, renting an apartment can be even cheaper in Asia, as two of the world’s least expensive cities are located on this continent.

Living a month in a three-bedroom apartment in Kathmandu costs only $245 in average. Nepal’s capital is well known for its picturesque cityscape and its flourishing tourism business.

Jaipur, India.

the intuitive website set-up and the high security standards to avoid fraud. The business platform operates under a high level of transparency through professional photos, updated listings, detailed descriptions,

reports and rankings for 100% of its properties in each market. The Lamudi platform helps brokers to manage their inventory fast, easy and stressfree.

Lamudi was founded in 2013

and is currently available in Nigeria, Algeria, Bangladesh, Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Tunisia,

Uganda and in Zambia. Its real estate marketplace offers sellers, buyers, landlords and renters the ideal platform to find homes, land and commercial properties online.

(Source: www.lamudi.com)

Peoples Daily, WEDNESDAY, march 12, 2014

PAGE 27

Property

FCTA, firm seal deal on N440bn Abuja Down-Town project

By Aminu Imam

A

new vista of opportunity has once again opened for property investors, with the latest being the kickstarting of the Abuja City Centre Development, known as the Abuja Down-Town Development by the FCT administration, which will gulp $2.7b on completion.

In a renewed effort to increase development of the Federal Capital Territory, senior officials of the Administration

(FCTA) and a firm, Chicason Group Consortium of investors on last week signed an execution agreement to jump-start the construction of the Abuja City Centre Development named the Abuja Down-Town Development costing a whopping $2.75 billion (N440 bn).

The partnership between the FCT Administration and Chicason Group, the authorities said, will pool resources from the United Kingdom, China, South Africa and United Arab Emirate

Institute develops vibrating brick-moulding machine for affordable housing

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rototype Engineering Development Institute (PEDI), Ilesha, Osun state, has embarked on the production f vibrating brick-moulding machines for the production of affordable bricks.

The institute is an agency of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), under the Ministry of Science and Technology. ``The initiative is part of the drive to ensure affordable housing in the country,’’ the Director of the institute, Mr. Adetunji Adelana, said.

The information, contained NASENI bulletin, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said PEDI was advancing the initiative through ``Reverse Engineering Technology’’.

Adelana explained that Reverse Engineering Technology determines the technology for processing a product through rigorous study of its attributes.

He said the technology took advantage of the cost-benefit analysis of a product through the production process. ``Affordable housing today in Nigeria constitutes a major desire for every family and citizen. Making of different

forms of bricks has become expedient in the area of construction or building which makes it necessary to harness all possible approaches toward making life comfortable,” he said.

Adelana said that the machine was selected because it was a simple machine with a vibrating system to achieve effective compactness of different type of bricks needed for civil works.

He said the machine could be operated manually or electrically based on design requirement, adding that the machine was suitable for entrepreneurs with small or medium amount of investment.

Adelana stated that PEDI was developing feasible and applicable ideas in the drive to promote small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria.

He said that the institute had employed reverse engineering technology techniques to ``cast a moulding for the side sleeper pillow’’. ``The side sleeper pillow is designed to prevent or help correct various positional problems of the neck and spinal cord, particularly during the hours of night time sleep,’’ the director said. (NAN)

Kebbi Govt to pay compensation to landowners in Dakingari

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ebbi state Governor, Sa’idu Dakingari has pledged to pay full compensation to landowners who lost their land to government projects in Dakingari, Suru local government area.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Press Secretary to the Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Mu’azu in Birnin Kebbi recently.

The statement quoted the governor as directing the Ministry of Land and Housing to urgently complete survey of the affected lands to enable the government pay the

landowners.

It added that the governor also inspected ongoing projects at the permanent site of the NYSC and hostels at the proposed state polytechnic, among others.

The governor warned contractors against any delay in the completion of the projects.

He directed inspection officers in the Ministry of Works to ensure compliance to specification.

According to the statement, the governor pledged to complete all ongoing projects before the end of his tenure.

(NAN)

(UAE).

A statement made available to Peoples Daily in Abuja, said the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed and the Executive Secretary of the FCDA, Adamu Ismaila signed on behalf of the FCT Administration while the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Chicason Group, Chief (Dr.) Alex Chika Okafor and Company Secretary, Patrick Osu, signed on behalf of the international investors.

The statement explained that

the Direct Foreign Investment (DFI) of 2.75 billion US Dollars, which is a mixed-use development, will provide a Five Star Hotels, Shopping Malls, Office Spaces, Residential houses, Condominium, and Recreational Facilities amongst others.

In expressing satisfaction over the agreement, the Minister said that his Administration has decided to be pro-active to get alternative ways of funding the development of the Federal Capital Territory, which is in

tandem with the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Senator Mohammed reiterated that the investment has multiplier effects on the country’s economy; stressing that skilled and unskilled employment would also be generated The Minister remarked that this Direct Foreign Investment has shown that the world has confidence in the workings of the Federal Government under President Jonathan.

Property for rent in Abuja Exceptional N5 m 5 bedroom Duplex to rent in Katampe, Abuja

Our property of the week, is this stunning 5-Bedroom Duplex, which is located at Katampe in Abuja. This luxury serviced property, is set on a very spacious compound, which features a well-designed landscape that is decorated with groomed flowers, grass and choice interlocking stones.

All rooms in this property are exquisitely finished with a tasteful selection of wall paint, floor tiles and POP ceiling which make the property a delight to the eye.

The home consists of 5 large bedrooms and 3-room boys’ quarters, which are fitted with wardrobes and ensuite facilities. There are also 2 elegant sitting rooms which are tastefully finished with decorative lights and wall lamps.

Other features of this property include a study room, 40KVA generator, CCTV and 24 hours security.

(Source: Nigeria Property Centre)

FCTA commissions refurbished GIS system

By Aminu Imam

W

ith the upgrading of its Geographic Information System (GIS), the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has drawn a battle line against fraudulent activities over the land management of the capital city.

And, if the refurbished system works as planned, the administration would henceforth on monthly basis generate a sum of N2billion beginning from the end of March 2014.

The drive is part of the authority’s vision to check land fraud as well as boost its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base.

FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed this while commissioning the GIS upgraded technology infrastructure in Abuja last week.

In his speech, Mohammed said the step to check fraudulent activities on its landed property became imperative, as the administration was losing N10 billion annually due to proliferation of illegal survey documents, violation of its IT systems by fraudulent persons,

…to generate N2bn monthly leading to cases of double allocations, land racketeering and forgery.

According to the Minister, the FCT administration had already taken measures to forestall violation of its systems and ensure that honest landowners and intending ones are saved from the pains inflicted by fifth columnists.

He said that the effort recently aided the administration to fish out some fraudulent officers most of whom were indicted and handed over to the Economic and Financial crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution.

In her address at the occasion, the Executive Director, Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS), Hajiya Jamila Tangaza, revealed that at the end of February, the agency raked in N1.54 billion as revenue into the FCT coffers, and assured that the amount would hit N2billion with the upgrade of its systems aimed at plugging holes in all areas.

“Every single month we are

charged to sweep to the FCTA treasury the dues we have collected on behalf of the FCT. I am pleased to inform you that as at the 22nd of February this year, AGIS was able to sweep over N1.54 billion to the FCT treasury.

“We are seeing the improvement based on the leakages and the improvements that we have been managing to close, with the help and support of the skilled staff found in AGIS. In the past it used to be in the region of N700-N900 million but now we are hitting N1.54 and I am hoping that by the end of the year we will be looking at N2 billion per month.

AGIS was established with the responsibility for generation, management, and administration of geospatial and land related matters in the FCT including handling of “data capture”, processing and computerization of land related departments as well as customer services such as billing and revenue collection among others.

Cadillac ELR offers the green appeal Peoples Daily, WEDNESDAY, march 12, 2014

PAGE 28

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Motoring

s hybrid and electric cars become more common sights in U.S. cities, they’re also moving farther up the food chain and beginning to turn up in luxury-car showrooms. The 2014 Cadillac ELR plug-in hybrid coupe is an example of this trend.

Not only does it offer a convenient combination of electric-only power for short trips and gaselectric operation f o r extended travel, it brings cuttinge d g e style and posh interior trimmings into the mix. At a glance, the ELR coupe is an intriguing proposition if you’re looking to make a fashion statement while reducing your environmental footprint. However, a few significant drawbacks make Cadillac’s plug-in hybrid tough for us to recommend.

Under the hood, the Cadillac ELR shares its major mechanical components with the Chevrolet Volt, including its 16.5-kilowatt lithium-ion battery pack and 1.4-liter gasoline four-cylinder engine. Cadillac estimates it can go up to 37 miles on battery power alone, and while that’s one less mile than the Volt, the ELR is a fair bit quicker, as Cadillac was able to get more power out of the car’s electric-drive motor. Inside, Cadillac’s coupe has a much richer interior than its Chevy cousin and comes with considerably more standard equipment.

The problems begin when you look at the 2014 Cadillac ELR’s price tag, which is more than double that of the Volt. This makes the raucous drone from the ELR’s four-cylinder engine that much more difficult to take once you deplete its all-electric range. Cadillac has tried to mask the engine’s coarseness with hydraulic engine mounts, soundabsorbing materials and a noisecancelling audio system, but it simply isn’t enough when you’re accelerating hard. And while the Caddy’s ride is serene on smooth roads, a surprising amount of harshness invades the cabin over rougher pavement -- you’d never complain about this in a Volt, but in a luxury coupe, it stands out as a glaring lapse in refinement.

Beyond that, the ELR’s dramatic roof line creates some major packaging issues: The backseat is small to the point of being almost unusable, and the trunk opening is extraordinarily narrow.

For the moment, the 2014 Cadillac ELR has few direct rivals.

If you simply want a plug-in hybrid with lots of electric range, a fully loaded 2014 Chevrolet Volt will provide much the same driving experience. On the higher end, you could consider the 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-hybrid, which

delivers far more in the way of performance but only 20 miles of pure electric range. If you’re a bit more adventurous, the all-electric Tesla Model S is wildly fashionable.

On the

other hand, if a luxury coupe is what you’re really after, the 2014 Audi A5 and S5 and 2015 Jaguar F-Type have plenty of style to go around and can be fairly fuelefficient, depending on the engine you choose.

Although the time has arguably come for luxury-brand plug-in hybrids like the Cadillac ELR, this coupe simply doesn’t have the performance credentials, refinement or day-to-day functionality to justify the asking price.

The 2014 Cadillac ELR is a two-door plug-in hybrid coupe, with seating for four passengers. It comes in a single trim level.

Standard features on the ELR include 20-inch alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors, a rearview camera, LED headlights, heated mirrors, keyless ignition and entry, remote ignition, dualzone automatic climate control, eight-way power and heated front

seats, folding rear seats, leather upholstery, a power tilt-andtelescoping and heated steering wheel, cruise control, Bluetooth phone

and audio connectivity, an 8-inch touchscreen display with the CUE (Cadillac User Experience) infotainment interface, a navigation system, and a 10-speaker Bose sound system with satellite radio, an auxiliary audio jack and an iPod/ USB interface. Standard safety tech includes OnStar emergency communications, lane departure and forward collision warning systems, and Cadillac’s Safety Alert Seat.

An optional Luxury package bundles automatic high-beam control, blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic alert systems, and a different 20-inch wheel design, while a Kona brown leather package supplies premium leather and additional power seat adjustments. À la carte options include adaptive cruise control (with automatic collision

preparation) and a gloveboxmounted CD player.

The front-wheel-drive 2014 Cadillac ELR is primarily powered by an electric motor that puts out 157 horsepower (117 kilowatts) and 295 pound-feet of torque. That

electric motor is fed by a 16.5-kilowatt-hour (kWh) lithium-ion battery pack until the battery charge is mostly depleted and an 84-hp, 1.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline-fueled engine springs to life to power the electric motor. For the most part, the gasoline engine is used as an electricity generator for the electric drive motor, though in some situations it kicks in to boost the car’s performance. There are Normal, Hold, Sport and Mountain modes designed to maximize the powertrain’s performance and efficiency in different situations.

Recharging the battery can be done partially while driving (through regenerative braking and the engine generator), but you’ll need to plug into an outlet to regain a full charge. Plugged into a 240-volt power source, the ELR will take about 4-5 hours to recharge from empty. Cadillac estimates that a full charge will give it about 37 miles of electric range, which is one mile less than the Volt, but still impressive given the ELR’s additional power, increased weight and wider tires.

Standard safety features on the 2014 Cadillac ELR include antilock brakes, stability and traction control, front-seat side-impact airbags, front knee airbags, full-length side curtain airbags, front and rear parking sensors, a rearview camera and frontal collision warning and lane-departure warning systems. Cadillac’s Safety Alert Seat vibrates to get the driver’s attention when either of those warning systems is triggered.

Also standard is OnStar, which includes automatic crash notification, on-demand roadside assistance, remote door unlocking, stolen vehicle assistance and turn-by-turn navigation.

Optional safety equipment includes a blind-spot monitoring system and a collision preparation system (included with adaptive cruise control), which can automatically apply the brakes to reduce the severity of an imminent collision.

Source: Edmunds.com

Page 29

Peoples Daily, WEDNESDAY, march 12, 2014

lture

Book 6 of ‘Rediscovering The Qur’an’ out in October

By Samira Sadiq

T

he 6th Book of an Islamic publication, ‘Rediscovering The Qur’an,’ will soon be ready. As a matter of fact, it is expected to be out in October, 2014.

Its author, Engineer Abubakar A. Fari, disclosed that already, its draft has been distributed to eminent scholars for comments, contributions and reviews.

Titled, Arrogance: Its Characteristics and consequences, the book, like the previous ones in the series, aims to address the issue of the fear of Allah which the author says, is the beginning of wisdom. He emphasisies however, that the topic though by no means the only issue critical in the series, touches the heart of all mankind.

Fari, who is also an engineer, draws simile from the analysis of dynamic systems and designs in explaining that “in life, one is not too concerned with the transient state of a matter than the steady state solution”. As such, Fari contends that it is not the transient comfort that matters on earth but life after death.

The author identifies lack of faith as one of the root causes of arrogance. This, he says is closely linked to the reasoning of people who do not believe that when they

die, they would account for their deeds. That is why some Nigerians loot the treasury blind despite the poverty crushing the majority of the populace. Fari said.

With plenty of money in their pockets, arrogance takes centre stage of the lives of looters.

Abubakar Fari said in his synopsis, that “arrogance is the result of the imbalance between the heart and the soul”. He frowns at looters, whom he said are not limited to government functionaries, politicians, traditional rulers, religious leaders, and the military, amongst others in Nigeria.

“In Nigeria, the ruling class is arrogant but pretends it is made up of angels even though most of them were from extremely poor homes.

They are given the country as a trust but they abuse it with impunity, Fari, relates in his Book 6, that “He/ she will never enter paradise if any such, harbors an atom of arrogance in his heart”.

Fari, who is the 4th, grandson of Mallam Umaru Dallaje, the first Amirul Mu’uminun of Katsina, (1807-1835), admonishes Muslims to eschew arrogance and stand out by being honest in their dealings, even as he reiterates that, “Muslims have 3 options; to stop a wrong doing if they can, to advise the perpetrator to stop doing what he is doing wrong, and to distance themselves from the evil being perpetrated.

George W. Bush’s brushwork to take spotlight at April exhibit

G

eorge W. Bush, U.S. president turned painter will have his artwork featured in an exhibit for the first time in April.

More than two dozen portraits painted by the 43rd U.S. president will be part of exhibit called “The Art of Leadership: A President’s Personal Diplomacy,” the George W. Bush Presidential Centre said on Monday.

The centre did not mention the subjects of the portraits.

Artefacts, photographs and personal reflections will also be part of the exhibit, which the centre said will “provide an insider’s view into President Bush’s unique relationships with other world leaders.” His works will be displayed at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas in early April.

After leaving the presidency in 2009, Bush picked up a brush and has painted still lifes, landscapes and images of animals, including a perched cardinal that the centre featured on Christmas ornaments, and a tribute to Barney, his black Scottish terrier who died in 2013.

The portfolio includes selfportraits. In 2013, a hacker obtained

Former U.S. president George W. Bush watches before the start of the MLB American League baseball game between the Texas Rangers and the Chicago White Sox in Arlington, Texas April 30, 2013.

Bush family emails that included a painting of the former president in the shower, looking at himself in a shaving mirror, and another of a pair of legs extended in a bathtub.

Bush, who lives in Dallas, took painting lessons after leaving the White House and told the Dallas Morning News his interest

developed after reading former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s 1948 book, “Painting as a Pastime.”

“It’s a way to create,” Bush, who signs his paintings “43,” told the newspaper. “I enjoy creating ... You can express yourself in a way that’s unique.”

Commission to hold exhibition on Nok Culture

T

he National Commission for Museum and Monument, has said it would hold an exhibition on the Nok Culture, to highlight one of the world’s oldest civilisations.

Alhaji Jafaru Dauda, the Curator of the commission in Kaduna told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the exhibition would be held in the second quarter of the year.

According to him, the exhibition was part of a Memorandum of Understanding

between the Commission and Goethe University, Frankfurt Germany.

He said that the agreement included detailed researches, excavations and exhibitions on the Nok culture.

Dauda said already, some of the Nok art materials were on display in Germany and would be transported back to Nigeria by April ahead of the exhibition.

The curator said scholars from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, who were part of the research

team would present papers during the exhibition, which has as its theme:`Nok within the context of Nigerian Art tradition’. ``The exhibition is to expose the rich tradition of Nok terra cotta, one of the oldest civilisation in this part of the world’’.

NAN reports that the Nok Culture thrived between 500 BC 200 AD around Nok, Zaria, Abuja and Katsina-Ala areas.

The curator said three committees had been set up to facilitate the exhibition. (NAN)

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

Stone country

I

f I am not mistaken, this was the name of a musical group in the 1960’s led by a mailman who played music in his spare time. The group became popular and so popular that they were signed in by RCA records.

I am not discussing music this week. My reference this week is to our dear country, Nigeria and the stones we have carved out of what used to be a fun place to be in. Nigeria is no longer fun. We are living in a stone country. There is so much hardship here. I doubt if we have ever had it so bad.

In the last couple of years I have tried to be generous and tried to see things in a positive light. But it is no longer so.

There is anger in the land and there is despair. I wonder what kind of skin our leaders and politicians have. How can you have a group of people who seek power for no other elevating reason than the self. I had stated here in this column that I wish that the creativity and robust energy that our politicians bring to bear on issues concerning them and their survival is the same creativity and energy that they bring to bear in solving our common problems.

We are in serious trouble. We watched the beginnings of the Arab spring over the death of a wheel barrow pushing vegetable selling graduate who killed himself. The whole region has never been the same. We watched a country come to a halt because the government wanted to create a mall where there was a park. We are all witnesses to the quagmire that Ukraine has become in the former Soviet region. We have seen countries in the last three years go up in flames for some very flimsy reasons. Yet here we are and our politicians are toying with a potent mix of gunpowder and petrol.

A lot of us spent the better part of the out-going week in petrol stations. We were in Zaria last week and all the way from Jos to Zaria we bought fuel at black market rates of between N120 – N150. That is petrol. Presently, a section of this once beautiful nation is no longer recognizable. Killings have become the order of the day. School children are now mere pawns on the political chess boards of people who have remained invisible. We are simply not a sincere nation.

We see and play politics with everything and anything and even with human life, it is expendable as long as the end will justify the meanness. At this point we must start to ask – what kind of people are we? We laugh at other people’s misfortune. We gloat when people are being maimed and killed. We scoff when people beat themselves silly in queues at petrol stations. As far as we are concerned, it has not reached my doorstep yet. But it is only a matter of time.

Only a matter of time.

The Singaporean writer Kuo Pao Kun (1939-2002) wrote a very interesting play. It is titled ‘Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral’ – there were 999 rooms in the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Among these rooms is a very special chamber where in the olden days all cut and dried manhoods were kept. They were cut, fried and dried.

They were not stacked or hung in the chamber, they were not locked in any cupboards rather they were all hung or suspended in the air from the ceiling. Now when the eunuchs first enter the Imperial service, their cut manhoods are kept in boxes suspended at the ground level. As they get promoted, the positions of their boxes go higher commensurate with their new positions. Once upon a time this chamber held a network of 10,000 boxes!

This is what we have become. It is now a foregone conclusion that we once had refineries in this country. Are they still working? Do they still exist? Any new leader that comes in concentrates on the traffic of importing petrol.

What the previous person did incompetently is refined and done with more precise panache. Since we have become shameless in the comity of nations, and since we carry on as if we live in another planet, it is no curse we will still be importing fuel in the next thirty years.

Peoples Daily, WEDNESDAY, march 12, 2014

Page 30

Arts & Culture

Book Review

Title: ‘Tragedy of Victory Author: Brigadier-General Godwin Alabi-Isama Reviewer: Caleb Oriade Publishers: Spectrum Books, Ibadan Year of Publication: 2013 Number of Pages: 611

An incisive look into the book, Tragedy of Victory

by Brigadier Alabi-Isama, that focuses on the merits and shortcomings of the author’s handling of the contentious issues he raised.

I

picked up a shrink-wrapped copy of Brigadier Alabi-Isama’s book, the Tragedy of Victory, during my recent trip to Nigeria. Realizing from its blurb that the author devotes a substantial part to debunk the alleged misrepresentations in General Obasanjo’s My Command, I decided to go through My Command again, having read it much earlier when it was first published. It turns out that re-reading My Command is not necessary, as Alabi-Isama generously excerpts relevant sections of the book that he addresses. In fact, Alabi-Isama employs about the same number of pages to refute several claims in the 174-page book!

Alabi-Isama’s Tragedy of Victory is perhaps the first book that I have read with five forewords.

The first is by NowaOmoigui, a US-based MD and an acknowledged military historian. The second is by the Emir of Ilorin, the paramount ruler of the birthplace of the author’s mother. The third is by Major General Adeyinka Adebayo who recruited Alabi-Isama into the Army. The fourth and, in my view, the most informative , is by General Yakubu Gowon, Alabi-Isama’s Commander-in Chief during the war. The fifth is by Madiebo, the Commander of the Biafran Army. Strangely, the fourth and fifth forewords are deliberately omitted in some print versions!

In a way that many of us could relate, Isama’s entry into the military was motivated by his fascination with the exquisite accouterment and panache of the military honor guards posted to Awolowo’s house in Ibadan, then the Premier of Western Region. This house was in close proximity to Ibadan Boys High School where Alabi-Isama was an enrolled student. In a country where one’s fortune is often shaped by accident of birth, AlabiIsama‘s dual ethnic parentage turned out to be of mixed blessing. He was born and raised by a Yoruba Muslim woman from Ilorin in the geopolitical North. His father, a Christian from Utagbo Uno in current Delta State, died when Alabi-Isama was virtually a toddler. So Alabi-Isama grew up as Abdul RahmanAlabi, a Muslim from the North.

This northern affiliation aided his smooth enlistment into the military as the strict education requirement was relaxed for northerners. It is unfortunate

Tragedy of Victory(I) that, more than 50 years later, such a quota system is still a feature of federal appointments or placement in federal schools and universities in Nigeria. The author also profited from his northern association as he was unharmed during the retaliatory attacks on southeastern soldiers who were based in the North after the January 1966 coup. However, the doubt about his ‘northern allegiance’ crept in early on in his career when he, in a Mosaic-like move, facilitated safe repatriation of several northern-based soldiers of southern origin to the South to escape this 1966/67mayhem. With this act, he became a ‘marked enemy’ of some northern troops and so he relocated to the Midwest. With this relocation, he gained legitimacy as the ‘true son of the soil’ by effecting a name change from the Muslim’s Abdul RahmanAlabi to Godwin Alabi-Isama, a Christian. This ‘conversion’ also turned out to be a blessing at a point in his military career. As a federal soldier, when he was captured by the Biafran army, he was just re-kitted and recruited into the seceding army instead of being killed; his most likely fate if he had been identified as a ‘northern’ soldier.

He later deserted the Biafran Army and rejoined the federal side, after which he was wrongly jailed at Kirikiri maximum prison for suspicious treasonable activities. This ‘illegal’ imprisonment also turned out to be a saving grace as he could have lost his life along with several federal troops who perished while attempting to cross Asaba River under the command of Murtala Mohammed 2nd Division during the war. However, the shifting allegiance finally caught up with Alabi-Isama as it appears that he eventually paid the price for ‘disowning the North’ as his military career cratered. At age 37, he was ultimately dismissed from the Army as a one-star general under his course-mate, the three-star General Danjuma, as the Chief of Army Staff.

The central objective of the Tragedy of Victory is to give a detailed account of the activities of the 3rd Marine Commando Division (3MCDO) that the author claims was largely responsible for winning the war. He also debunks the alleged inaccuracies in Obasanjo’s book. According to the author, he had twin crowning moments during the war; the first as the architect and executor of the strategy for capturing Port Harcourt from their Calabar base and the other as the architect of the ‘Pincer Two’ strategy that Obasanjo dubbed ‘Operation Tail Wind’ used to end the war. For the first achievement, Adekunle, the then 3MCDO Commander, endorsed this ‘wandering Israelites- in-the wilderness’ strategy of attacking Port Harcourt from the ‘480 Km’ base in Calabar, instead of Adekunle’s original strategy of doing so from the much closer Bonny that is 80km away. For the second achievement, while Alabi-Isama had been transferred out of 3MCDO by Obasanjo who replaced Adekunle as its Commander, author claims that Obasanjo eventually employed ‘Pincer Two’ strategy that forced Biafran surrender but not before his costly misadventure in Ohoba.

The greatest strength of the Tragedy of Victory is the richness of its illustrations.

The breadth of its war pictures appears to be unmatched in any of the existing literature on Nigerian civil war. AlabiIsama should feel exceedingly proud for being able to preserve these photographs, especially since they were taken at the

time when computerized digitalization of images was a rarity. Equally noteworthy is the superb prowess of the author in recordkeeping which made his detailed accounting appear as if the war has just ended. The discussion of the strategies and tactics employed in prosecuting the war should provide valuable insights for military strategists and scholars. The author persuasively argues his case on why his recollection should be considered more credible than the ‘fiction’ presented in My Command. The ample evidence he provides via photographic images makes the arguments in the Tragedy of Victory more compelling. On the flip side, there are noticeable shortcomings that could dumb down the value of the book. First, the publisher did not do a masterful editorial job, given the plethora of spelling and grammatical errors that are avoidable in this era of computer-aided word processing tools with spell-checking functionalities.

Furthermore, the arguments in the book are too repetitive to dampen enthusiasm quickly. In fact, a more careful editing with a view to eliminate these redundancies could possibly cut the tome by half without any significant loss in substance. Finally, several claims in the book stretch credulity.

To illustrate, the various specified distances such as the 480-km Calabar to Port Harcourt are mindboggling unless they describe the typical non-linear movement of troops between locations. If this is the case, it ought to have been pointed out.

Looking into the substance of the contentious issues raised by the author vis-à-vis My Command, one is still not convinced that all the facts are fully disclosed. Rather, it appears that the truth is somewhere in-between these contrasting depositions. To start off, one recurring theme that runs through AlabiIsama book is his contention that Obasanjo is an egoist who arrogates to himself the undeserved credit for the war victory while disregarding the contributions of others within and outside his Division. It is difficult to argue with this conclusion after reading My Command. Obasanjo can be likened to a closer of a baseball game who provides the save that preserves the lead and secures the win. He could not claim all the glory. However, like Gowon pointed out in the foreword, Obasanjo’s role could also not be diminished as the Commander who received the surrender instrument from the Biafran Army. Pertaining to the non-acknowledgement of the contribution of others, Obasanjo‘sbehavior, selfish as it appeared, is not inconsistent with what other contemporary war heroes have done. The information about those who were in the trenches with Generals Schwarzkopf and Petraeus is not a public knowledge either. On another issue, AlabiIsama argues convincingly on the salutary roles played by the 3MCDO ladies in the prosecution of the war and disagrees with Obasanjo’s decision to disband the unit.

However, the author is silent as to whether these ladies also served as ‘comfort girls’ for the division’s officers; a development that would certainly undermine discipline and justify Obasanjo’s action. While the author disputes the widespread looting allegation made by Obasanjo, he concedes that there were refrigerators, air conditioners, TV sets and similar pricey gadgets in the trenches of 3MCDO troops and that these items were being used as footstools for their waterlogged foxholes.

Hmm, one wonders where they came from?

POEM OF THE WEEK A DIRGE (In memory of a nay-tion)

From a dark hut we emerge with a moribund lamp Yes. We begin our journey with a dark poem by a lost poet As the children dance with decayed breads, tattered Clothes, scars of painful times on their faces.

We emerge with news of gloomy nights Hours when the eagles pluck the eyes of the sky Throwing stones in our midst II We emerge from the remains of a nameless town Where skulls are gourds for thirsty men From a place where broken visions are signs Of a gleaming future; From a place where cowries are names of gods We dance to the lullabies of infants Struggling to know where their mothers Depart to Leaving blood-clothed shawls From a dark room we sing a dirge For those who die with their dreams In a nay-tion where bombs are seeds of unity.

QUOTE “When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen.

But if you have not a pen, I suppose you must scratch any way you can.”

- Samuel Lover

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014

Page 31

International

How the Ukraine crisis ends ANALYSIS

By Henry A. Kissinger

P

ublic discussion on Ukraine is all about confrontation. But do we know where we are going? In my life, I have seen four wars begun with great enthusiasm and public support, all of which we did not know how to end and from three of which we withdrew unilaterally. The test of policy is how it ends, not how it begins.

Far too often the Ukrainian issue is posed as a showdown: whether Ukraine joins the East or the West. But if Ukraine is to survive and thrive, it must not be either side’s outpost against the other – it should function as a bridge between them.

Russia must accept that to try to force Ukraine into a satellite status, and thereby move Russia’s borders again, would doom Moscow to repeat its history of self-fulfilling cycles of reciprocal pressures with Europe and the United States.

The West must understand that, to Russia, Ukraine can never be just a foreign country.

Russian history began in what was called Kievan-Rus. The Russian religion spread from there. Ukraine has been part of Russia for centuries, and their histories were intertwined before then. Some of the most important battles for Russian freedom, starting with the Battle of Poltava in 1709 , were fought on Ukrainian soil.

The Black Sea Fleet -Russia’s means of projecting power in the Mediterranean -- is based by long-term lease in Sevastopol, in Crimea. Even such famed dissidents as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Joseph Brodsky insisted that Ukraine was an integral part of Russian history and, indeed, of Russia.

The European Union must recognize that its bureaucratic dilatoriness and subordination of the strategic element to domestic politics in negotiating Ukraine’s relationship to Europe contributed to turning a negotiation into a crisis. Foreign policy is the art of establishing priorities.

The Ukrainians are the decisive element. They live in a country with a complex history and a polyglot composition. The Western part was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1939 , when Stalin and Hitler divided up the spoils. Crimea, 60 percent of whose population is Russian , became part of Ukraine only in 1954 , when Nikita Khrushchev, a Ukrainian by birth, awarded it as part of the 300th-year celebration of a Russian agreement with the Cossacks.

The west is largely Catholic; the

Viktor Yanukovych

east largely Russian Orthodox.

The west speaks Ukrainian; the east speaks mostly Russian. Any attempt by one wing of Ukraine to dominate the other as has been the pattern would lead eventually to civil war or break up. To treat Ukraine as part of an East-West confrontation would scuttle for decades any prospect to bring Russia and the West especially Russia and Europe into a cooperative international system.

Ukraine has been independent for only 23 years; it had previously been under some kind of foreign rule since the 14th century. Not surprisingly, its leaders have not learned the art of compromise, even less of historical perspective. The politics of post-independence Ukraine clearly demonstrates that the root of the problem lies in efforts by Ukrainian politicians to impose their will on recalcitrant parts of the

Vladimir Putin

country, first by one faction, then by the other. That is the essence of the conflict between Viktor Yanu-kovych and his principal political rival, Yulia Tymo-shenko. They represent the two wings of Ukraine and have not been willing to share power. A wise U.S. policy toward Ukraine would seek a way for the two parts of the country to cooperate with each other. We should seek reconciliation, not the domination of a faction.

Russia and the West, and least of all the various factions in Ukraine, have not acted on this principle. Each has made the situation worse.

Russia would not be able to impose a military solution without isolating itself at a time when many of its borders are already precarious. For the West, the demonization of Vladimir Putin is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence of one.

Putin should come to realize

“

that, whatever his grievances, a policy of military impositions would produce another Cold War. For its part, the United States needs to avoid treating Russia as an aberrant to be patiently taught rules of conduct established by Washington.

Putin is a serious strategist on the premises of Russian history.

Understanding U.S. values and psychology are not his strong suits. Nor has understanding Russian history and psychology been a strong point of U.S. policymakers.

Leaders of all sides should return to examining outcomes, not compete in posturing. Here is my notion of an outcome compatible with the values and security interests of all sides: Ukraine should have the right to choose freely its economic and political associations, including with Europe.

Ukraine should not join NATO, a position I took seven years ago,

Ukraine has been independent for only 23 years; it had previously been under some kind of foreign rule since the 14th century.

when it last came up.

Ukraine should be free to create any government compatible with the expressed will of its people. Wise Ukrainian leaders would then opt for a policy of reconciliation between the various parts of their country.

Internationally, they should pursue a posture comparable to that of Finland. That nation leaves no doubt about its fierce independence and cooperates with the West in most fields but carefully avoids institutional hostility toward Russia.

It is incompatible with the rules of the existing world order for Russia to annex Crimea. But it should be possible to put Crimea’s relationship to Ukraine on a less fraught basis. To that end, Russia would recognize Ukraine’s sovereignty over Crimea. Ukraine should reinforce Crimea’s autonomy in elections held in the presence of international observers. The process would include removing any ambiguities about the status of the Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol.

These are principles, not prescriptions. People familiar with the region will know that not all of them will be palatable to all parties. The test is not absolute satisfaction but balanced dissatisfaction. If some solution based on these or comparable elements is not achieved, the drift toward confrontation will accelerate. The time for that will come soon enough.

Henry A. Kissinger was United States Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014

Page 32

International

A

Probe identifies suspects over Lockerbie bomb

T

wenty-five years after the Lockerbie bombing, Al Jazeera has uncovered evidence which casts doubt over the entire investigation and trial into what was the biggest case of mass murder ever seen in Scotland.

Documents obtained by the network, and verified by security and legal experts, point to the involvement of Iran’s secret service, Hezbollah and the armed group The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) - General Command.

The investigation found that the PFLP was responding to requests from Iran to avenge the shooting down of Iran Air Flight 655 by the USS Vincennes in July 1988, which killed 290 people.

Classified US Defence Intelligence Agency cables obtained by Al Jazeera say: “The execution of the operation was contracted to Ahmad Jabril, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PLFLP-GC) leader. Money was given to Jabril upfront in Damascus for initial expense. The mission was to blow up a Pam-Am flight.”

Al Jazeera’s investigation found a meeting took place between the parties in Malta nine months before the bombing of the Pan Am flight, with the purpose of the meeting to discuss potential US and Israeli targets to attack and, or, blow up.

The Al Jazeera investigation also gains access to the confidential Bird Report, which was commissioned by Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of the bombing, before he dropped his appeal.

Al Jazeera also interviewed a senior Iranian intelligence official and a former CIA agent.

“Six days after taking down the Airbus there was a meeting in Beirut, we know where it occurred.

The Iranians went to the PFLPGC, the break off faction and said, alright you guys know how to bring down airplanes, bring down five, five civilian airliners,” former CIA agent Robert Baer said.

Criticising the subsequent path taken by the investigation and resultant trial, Baer said his opinion was not a controversial one among those involved.

“The CIA and the FBI investigations diverged completely… because the case was, being run by the Department of Justice, in complete disregard to the intelligence. As far as I can tell is someone said, look, Libya’s vulnerable to prosecution, small country, Gaddafi’s hated, let’s go for it.

North Korean-flagged tanker that loaded crude oil from a rebel-held terminal in eastern Libya has escaped navy warships deployed to intercept it and is now in international waters, rebels and a state oil company official said.

The Morning Glory , which docked in al-Sidra port on Saturday and is reported to have taken on at least 234,000 barrels of crude, is the first vessel to have loaded oil from a rebel-held port since the revolt against the Tripoli authorities erupted last July.

“The tanker left and is now in international waters,” Reuters quoted Mohammad Hitab, spokesman for the state-run alWaha Oil Company operating the al-Sidra port, as saying.

Rebels demanding a bigger share of oil revenue and political autonomy in the east seized three ports last summer and partly control a fourth.

The central government had threatened armed action , even an air strike, to prevent the tanker from getting away with its cargo of oil bought from the rebels’ self-declared autonomous regional government without the authorisation of the state-owned Libyan National Oil Corporation.

Members of the General

Tanker carrying rebel oil escapes Libya National Congress (GNC), Libya’s highest political authority, said that bad weather prevented the navy’s small vessels from following the huge ship out into the Mediterranean.

Abdelkader Houili, who sits on the GNC’s energy committee, told Al-Nabaa television that the

navy’s warships, which mainly consist of fast patrol boats, had been forced to sail close to the coast because of the weather.

“The tanker then took advantage of the gap to head for the open sea,” he said.

The tanker’s escape is a new humiliation for the

Tripoli authorities who have been battling to assert control over much of the country since the NATO-backed 2011 revolt that ended the 42-year rule of Muammar Gaddafi.

In eastern Libya in particular, a myriad of former rebel fighters have carved out their own fiefdoms

General Sami Anan, a former member of the Supreme Council for Armed Forces to whom ousted President Hosni Mubarak ceded power after the 2011 revolution, has been targeteted in aggressive media campaigns after announcing

his plans to run in presidential elections due in the following months. “ The assassination attempt occurred at 17:20 last Monday when Anan was moving out of his office,” a statement issued by his office said on Monday, adding that he had been fired at but was in good condition.

The statement quoted Anan as saying that the failed attempt would not “deter him, nor dissuade his will” away from running for the presidential elections.

Supporters of army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, whose candidacy has not been made official but is largely expected, deemed Anan’s plans for an electoral bid a sign of disrespect to a previously issued statement by the military supporting its chief in the race.

Although Anan’s office pledged to provide investigation officials with a picture of a car involved in chasing the general’s vehicle, the

Interior Ministry denied an attack happened.

Ministry’s spokesman Major General Hani Abdullatif said investigations carried out at the site of the alleged attack confirmed that the report was baseless, according to the state-run Middle East News Agency.

“Investigations conducted, as well as testimonies from people in the district, have reaffirmed that no assassination attempt had occurred,” Abdullatif said.

Interim President Adly Mansour has yet to set a date for presidential elections, which will be the country’s second since Mubarak was forced to step down, and the first since elected civilian President Mohamed Morsi was unseated by the military in July 2013.

Anan was chief of staff from 2005 under Mubarak until 2012, when he was forced to retire from his post by Mursi.

El Atoui approved of the government efforts to exert control, saying preachers are still able to say whatever they want and can even criticise the government.

Tunisian law allows for only government-sanctioned imams to preach in mosques.

According to the Assabah newspaper, last week the Religious Affairs Minister Mounir Klibi estimated that 149 mosques nationwide were operating without government control. This is a major increase from the 76 estimated by the

previous Islamist-led government in June.

Officials have not explained the different estimates.

El Mejri’s arrest follows a string of controversial comments from the imam, including one where he referred to a suspect in the murder of leftist politician Chokri Belaid as a “martyr”.

In his last address in Al-Mokhtar mosque north of Tunis on February 28, El Mejri denied that “Salafist” youths were responsible for acts of violence, implying instead that police were responsible.

Egypt ex-general alleges assassination bid

A

n Egyptian former chief of staff has said he survived an assassination attempt by unknown assailants, a claim brushed off by the Ministry of Interior as “mere elections publicity”.

Anan served as chief of staff under Mubarak, and adviser to Mursi before resigning days before the coup

Imam’s arrest sparks debate in Tunisia

R

eligious officials in Tunisia are divided over the recent arrest of a Salafi imam, who was detained earlier this week amidst what critics say is a government effort to control local mosques.

Khamis El Mejri was arrested on Monday in a city north of the capital Tunis for “preaching without a permit,” according to Mongi Belaress, spokesperson for the first court of Bizerte.

El Mejri’s arrest is the latest in a series of moves taken by the government to exert control on mosques and imams that the

government deems “extremist”.

“El Mejri’s arrest is against the essence [of] democracy and against freedom of speech,” said Tayyib Ghozi, an imam at the influential Al Uqba mosque in Kairouan, the oldest in North Africa. “He’s just an imam who loves his religion and wants the best interests of Muslims.”

Abdessalem El Atoui, the secretary-general of the union for religious officials, which includes all government-sanctioned preachers, said El Mejri was not part of the union.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014

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International

Kerala legislator accused of rape

A

Congress legislator in the southern Indian state of Kerala has been accused of rape

by the police, local media has reported.

AP Abdullakutty, who represents Kannur in the

state legislature, has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram, NDTV

The complainant is linked to a scam over which Chief Minister Chandy’s (centre) aide was arrested

reported, adding that a case had been filed on Tuesday.

She has also alleged that the politician, who is 46, threatened her against disclosing what had happened.

The Congress leader has denied the charges. “I have several things to reveal myself. I will do it at the right time. These are attempts made to defame me and the party for no reason,” he said.

The woman who has alleged rape is linked to a financial scandal that has dogged the Congress-led coalition government in the state over the last year.

The alleged scam involves a couple who duped companies into investing in solar power units that were never delivered.

A personal aide of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was arrested in connection with the scam.

Deadly Maoist attack on Indian police

M

aoist fighters have killed at least 20 members of India’s security forces in a massive attack in restive Chhattisgarh state, police say.

Security officials and police sources said on Tuesday the victims were all killed when up to 200 rebels ambushed a patrol in forests to the south of the state capital Raipur before a major gun battle erupted.

Eleven members of the national paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed along with four members of the state police force, said Mukesh

Gupta, one of Chhattisgarh’s most senior police officers.

“As of now, a total of 11 CRPF, four policemen and one civilian have died,” Gupta told AFP news agency.

Others suggested the death toll was even higher.

Rajinder Kumar Vij, the head of anti-Maoist operations in the central state, put the number of CRPF personnel dead at 15 and said that five state policemen had also been killed.

There were no figures on the number of Maoist casualties.

The forces were involved in

an operation to clear and open a road in Sukma district when the rebels detonated a landmine and started firing indiscriminately, Vij told AFP. “The attack sparked a gun battle that lasted about three hours.”

Gupta said the attack took place at around 10:30am in a heavily-forested area during the operation to clear the road some 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Raipur.

“The attack was on one of our police parties as the Naxalites (Maoists) have been frustrated

at our increased presence in the area,” he said. “We don’t yet know the casualties on the attackers side ... It is difficult for us because of the topography of the area.”

The attack was close to the site of an ambush in May last year on a convoy carrying members of India’s ruling Congress party in which 24 people were killed, including the state party president and his son.

The latest deaths will heighten fears of unrest in the Maoists’ stronghold in the build-up to the nationwide elections which begin in early April.

the deal.

Opponents close to the exchange operation also told the AFP news agency on Monday that 141 women detainees and an unspecified “small” number of men had been released in exchange for the 13 nuns and three maids kidnapped from the ancient Christian town in December.

Zoubi also denied reports the deal had been secured thanks to a mediation process involving Qatar, which is a key backer of the uprising against Syria’s government.

“The operation... was carried out without any direct or indirect contact between Syria and Qatar,” he said.

The statements come after an outpouring of rage by supporters of President Bashar al-Assad over the exchange operation, with some pro-government media organisations and activists directing their anger at the nuns.

After their release, one of the

Greek Orthodox nuns thanked Assad and Lebanon’s security agency for mediating the deal, and she also thanked the Qatari Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani.

She also said their kidnappers, the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, had treated them well and denied rumours they were forced

to remove their crosses.

A news presenter on pro-Assad Sama TV accused the nuns in Monday’s broadcast of “treachery, or at the very least, stepping away from the nation.”

The presenter also described the nun’s statement as “shocking and hurtful”.

Syria says only 25 free in exchange for nuns

S

yria freed only 25 prisoners, not 150 as had been reported, in exchange for a group of kidnapped nuns, the country’s information minister Omran alZoubi has said.

The statement came despite mediators and the opposition saying 150 female detainees had been freed in exchange for the nuns, who were kidnapped from the town of Maalula by rebels fighters last year.

“The number of people released in exchange for the Maalula nuns is not more than 25 people, whose hands had not been stained by the blood of the Syrian people,” state news agency SANA quoted Zoubi as saying.

“Everything that has been said on this issue is not accurate and has been exaggerated.”

His remarks directly contradicted comments made by Lebanon’s General Security chief Ibrahim Abbas, who mediated the exchange and said more than 150 prisoners were freed under

The nuns North Koreans, said their dressed kidnappers, in traditional the al-Qaeda-affiliated clothing, took part al-Nusra in the elections Front, hadamid treated holiday thematmosphere well

Asia & Middle East

Israeli airstrike kills fighters in Gaza

A

n Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip has killed three Palestinians who were associated with Islamic Jihad, the group said.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on Tuesday’s attack, which Islamic Jihad said in a statement targeted its members as they “resisted an Israeli military incursion” into Rafah, a town bordering Egypt.

The latest Israeli escalation can lead to the situation spiralling out of control Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Palestinian Authority spokesperson The attack comes after a Palestinian man died following a car chase with Israeli police near Tulkarem in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, Palestinian sources said on Tuesday.

Another Palestinian, a 20-yearold student, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers near Ramallah on Monday night, the Israeli military confirmed.

Fida Majadleh was killed after his car veered off the road near Jbara checkpoint, south of Tulkarem, during the chase, according to [Arabic] Tulkarem Governor Abdullah Kamil.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army, but the police described the incident as a traffic accident, and said Majadleh’s car, which was stolen from Israel, hit another vehicle.

Late on Monday night, 20-yearold Saji Darwish, a second year student at Birzeit University, was shot near Ramallah. Clashes following his death left five Palestinians wounded.

The Israeli army said he was part of a group of Palestinians throwing stones at settler cars between the villages of Beiten and Deir Debwan, just outside of Ramallah.

A Palestinian Authority spokesperson said the “latest Israeli escalation can lead to the situation spiralling out of control”.

In a statement [Ar] to the media, Nabil Abu Rudeineh said the deaths constituted “a dangerous provocation that will torpedo what’s left of the peace process”.

He urged the US or the Quartet (made up of the UN, the US, the EU, and Russia) to intervene.

Protests erupted near the Israeli embassy in the capital of Jordan on Tuesday in response to the killing of a Jordanian-Palestinian judge at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan on Monday.

After a preliminary investigation, Israel said he had tried to snatch a weapon from a soldier and strangle him.

PEOPLES DAILY, wednesday, march 12, 2014

Page 34

Excerpts from report of judicial commission on Alakyo massacre by Ombatse 3.3 Observations: From the totality of findings and evidence accruable therefrom, the following constitute the Commission’s solemn observations under this Term of Reference: i. That seventy-four (74) law enformcement and security personnel, comprising sixty-four (64) members of the Nigeria Police Force and ten (10) men of the Department of the State Services were actually killed by the Ombatse militia group at Alakyo Village on 7th May, 2013. ii. That Ombatse members converged on Alakyo from different Eggon communities across the State to enagage in the fatal ambush that led to the death of the officers and men in question. iii. That it was not the act of God or any spiritual force that caused the death of the law-enforcement and security officials as it is in evidence that fire-arms, cudgel, cutlasses and other lethal weapons were used by the Ombatse members in killing and injuring the affected personnel who were on lawful duty at Alakyo on 7th May, 2013. Subsequently, their vehicles and some of their corpses were burnt by the same suspected members of the Ombatse militia group who had acted in concert with one another. Evidence before the Commission as particularly revealed by MW40, CW86 and CW87 of the Nigerian Police respectively who escaped alive from the ambush. iv. That a combination and/or myriad of factors have been responsible for the spread of communal violence in the State.

Some factors are more visible and preponderant than others such as ethnic rivalry to achieve political dominance, youth restiveness due to non-profitable engagement (such as the high unemployment rate and manipulation of the youth by the political elite to achieve personal political objectives and mutual ethnic suspicion and antagonism, or quest for ethnic domination and usurpation of the rights and opportunities of their host communities). v. That the Ombatse group has been deeply involved in all communal clashes in the State. They are the most virulent ethnic militia. There is a definite political dimension to Ombatse militancy. vi. The Fulani herdsmen have also been involved in the crises that have engulfed the State. There is hardly any political dimension to the militant activities of the pastoralists. There is the well known perennial problem of invasion and destruction of farm lands and farm produce and when there is reaction which involved the killing or maiming of their cattle they engage in mass retaliatory attack on the local population. However, the near absence of political content in Fulani militancy does not exonerate them from responsibility. vii. Due to lax enforcement of the law by the relevant component units of the State’s criminal justice system, namely, the law enforcement agencies (especially the police), the Ministry of Justice and the Courts, obvious perpetrators of violence have been left unencumbered and emboldened to remain what they are. viii. The Federal Government unemphatic concern over the Alakyo killings even when its agents were the victims has not helped in the containment of violence in the State. The Federal Government’s attitude has given room for tendencious interpretations (largely of a political nature).

Government View: Government Notes.

4.1 Issues for determination: There is only an issue for determination here. Why, despite of its proscription via Legal Notice No. 4 of 2012, the Ombatse has continued its activities, including the breach of peace.

Government View: Government Notes.

4.2 Findings: i. Ombatse Militia has, indeed, continued its activities despite its proscription; ii. From credible evidence before the Commission, the

Ombatse phenomenon was not a deity nor a cultural festival or practice of the Eggons. But the said phenomenon became noticeable only in recent times. However, the group has been hijacked by certain political figures within the Eggon nation to champion their cause and interests (as confirmed by the Department of State Services in Exhibit M21). The group became well known in 2012 as a militia. The involvement of political forces in the Ombatse has given it vitality and relevance of some sort as to enable it proceed with its activities despite its proscription. iii. Lack of enforcement of Nasarawa State Legal Notice No. 4 of 2012, Vol. 15 and other relevant laws enabled the continuation of its activities. The failure of the component agencies of the law-enforcement and criminal justice process of the State to enforce the Proscription Order in this regard is responsible for the apparent ineffectual nature of the Proscription Order; iv. The wide spread moral and other subterranean factors (including possible material support) for the activities of the Ombatse by the Eggon nation in general and its political and traditional leaders in particular, is yet another reason for the sustenance of the group and its activities. v. Non-employment of ancilliary social methodologies to assit with the actualization of the Proscription Order – as for example reaching out to respective Eggon communities on the matter. vi. There is unrestricted illegal inflow of fire-arms and ammunition, a state of affiars which has enabled the Ombatse to continue with its militancy and/or armed activities. vii. The use of GSM telephony, the use of motor bike (especially the BAJAJ brand), effective social networking have aided the mobilizational capacity of the Ombatse thereby accounting for the co-ordinative nature of the group, thus, enabling it to continue with its armed violence. viii. Delayed and non-implementation of recommendations in the Reports of earlier Commissions of Inquiry has contributed to the patent disregard of Government authority with respect to the ban. ix. The ethnic and political philosophy underpinning the formation of the group has energized the continuation of the group. x. Mass-scale youth unemployment – since there is no gainful employment opportunities, the Ombatse movement offers certain opportunities (even if illegitimate) to make some money and while away time.

Government View: Government Notes.

4.3 Observation: It is hereby observed that it is the combination of the above indicated myriad of factors (some fairly complex) that has enabled the continued survival of the Ombatse and the continuation of its unwholesome activities.

Government View: Government Notes. i. That the Ombatse has been in existence for over hundred (100) years, but has in recent times (particularly in 2012 to date) been intruded upon and hijacked by political forces and interests, a state of affairs that has transformed it into a cult and ethnic militia portraying insurgency and genocidal tendencies. ii. That the untoward activities of the Ombatse became more pronounced and intense since December, 2011 to date. iii. It is important to note that the second aspect or issue for determination under this Term of Reference has been dealt with under TOR No. I and even briefly reiterated in finding (i) above; iv. Concerning the third aspect or issue for determination under this TOR, the Commission, finds that from the totality of evidence before it, there is strong legal evidence to recommend for the immediate prosecution of the following underlisted persons as either founders or officials or promoters or supporters or members or aiders or abettors or errand boys or foot soldiers of the Ombatse, a designated and proscribed group:

Founders/Officials: 1. Baba Ala Agu (Baba Alakyo) 2. Dogo Anda

3. Haruna Musa Zico

4. Zubura Musa Akwashiki

5. David Asilika

6. Wakili Esheba

7. Amos Agbu Otsa

8. Barr. Z. Z. Allumaga

9. Mohammed L. Agu

-

Chief Priest Spiritual Leader Chairman Secretary PRO Welfare Officer Discipline Officer Legal Adviser Patron

Government View: Government Notes.

ECDA Officials: 1. The Chris Mamman led National Executives of the ECDA; 2. The Daniel A. Yaro (President) led National Eggon Youth Movement Officials (EYM); Government View: Government Notes.

Others mentioned in various memos: i. The Various Lists of names refered to in the Commission Findings above are based on the various memoranda and oral testimonies (including those of the Police and DSS) submitted and made before the Commission; ii. The various categorizations of the involvement of the persons mentioned on the Lists may not be scientifically precise (as some of the categories tend to overlap), in actuality, such distinctions are factually and legally valid. Participation in crime comes in various levels and degrees. Accordingly, the relevant provisions of the law that deal with the various categories of participants or degrees of participation (as they relate to Ombatse violence) should be scrupulously followed; iii. That the Ombatse Group comprises of people of Eggon extraction only, however not all Eggons are members of Ombatse; iv. That the Group is strictly for Eggon males who are 18 years and above; v. That the Group came to limelight in 2012 after the General Elections in 2011; vi. That the Group appears to have the backing of all Eggon elders and political leaders, though some of these are more active than others in their support; vii. That the Group has the backing of ECDA and Eggon Youth Movement (EYM); viii. That the promoters of the Group are all officials of the Ombatse; ix. All officials of ECDA, and the Traditional Council of the Eggon nation; x. The Eggon Youth Movement (EYM); xi. The financiers of the Group are suspected to be: § Senator Solomon Ewuga, Senator, Federal Republic of Nigeria; § Honourable Dr. Joseph Kigbu, Member House of Representatives; § Mr Zakariya Zamani Alumaga, the Legal Adviser of the Group; § Mohammed L. Agu, Patron; § Zabura Musa Akwashiki; § Mrs. Felicia E. Samuel; § Mr. Joseph Gabi; § Alhaji Saleh Angulu, Village Head of Angwan Yakubu, Agyaragu; § Mr. Yohanna Labaran Envoh (Manager).

Government View: Government Notes.

A. Sponsors/Financiers/Abettors/Aiders 1. Sen. Solomon Sunday Akku Ewuga

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Excerpts from report of judicial commission on Alakyo massacre by Ombatse 2. Hon. Haruna Joseph Kigbu 3. Hon. Nathaniel Agyo Mesa 4. Alhaji Saleh Angulu (Village Head of Agyaragu 5. Yohanna Labaran, Manager, Ambula Transport, Agyaragu 6. Ahijo (Chara) Eggon Local Musician Government View: Government Notes.

B. Groups Aiding/Abetting/Sponsoring/Financing Ombatse Activities 1. Ombatse Group (National) 2. Eggon Cultural and Development Association (ECDA), National Body 3. Eggon Youth Movement (EYM), National Body 4. Eggon Council of Elders 5. Nassarawa Eggon Local Government Traditional Council (LGTC) 6. Eggon Elders Forum, former Lafia Div. 7. ECDA, Agyaragu Branch 8. ECDA, Assakio Branch 9. Ombatse Group, Agyaragu 10. Ombatse Group, Iggah 11. ECDA, Iggah 12. Ombatse Group, Assakio 13. Ombatse Group, B.A.D Government View: Government Notes.

C. Communities Aiding/Sponsoring/Abetting Ombatse Activities: 1. Alakyo Village, Lafia LGA 2. Sabon Gida Iggah, N/Eggon, LGA. 3. Bakin Kogi, N/Eggon, LGA 4. Angwan Abusa, N/Eggon, LGA Government View: Government Notes.

The Commission has a very high and reasonable suspicion that the following underlisted persons are the financiers, promoters and supporters of the outlawed Ombatse. There is the need for further investigations on their precise role in the affairs of the Ombatse.

Detailed recommendations for certain legal measures to be adopted in relation to the underlisted persons will be made in our recommendation else where in this report. The relevant list is thus: i. Sen. Solomon Sunday Akku Ewuga ii. Hon. Haruna Joseph Kigbu iii. Hon. Nathaniel Agyo Mesa iv. Alhaji Saleh Angulu (Village Head of Agyaragu) v. Yohanna Labaran, Manager, Ambula Transport, Agyaragu vi. Ahijo (Chara) Eggon Local Musician Government View: Government Notes.

5.3 Observations: The following obseravations are pertinent: i. The Various Lists of names reffered to in the Commission’s findings above are based on the various memoranda and oral testimonies (including those of the Police and DSS) submitted and made before the Commission; ii. The various categorizations of the involvement of the persons mentioned on the Lists may not be scientifically precise (as some of the categories tend to overlap), but in actuality, such distinctions are factually and legally valid. Participation in crime comes in various levels and degrees. Accordingly, the relevant provisions of the law that deal with the various categories of participants or degrees of participation (as they relate to Ombatse violence) should be scrupulously followed; iii. That the Ombatse Group comprises of people of Eggon extraction only, however not all Eggons are members of Ombatse; iv. That the Group is strictly for Eggon males who are 18 years and above within and outside the country; v. That the Group came to limelight in 2012 after the General Elections in 2011;

vi. That the Group appears to have the backing of all Eggon elders and political leaders, though some of these are more active than others in their support; vii. That the Group has the backing of ECDA; viii. That the promoters of the Group are all officials of the Ombatse; ix. All officials of ECDA, and the Traditional Council of the Eggon nation; x. The Eggon Youth Movement (EYM); xi. The financiers of the Group are suspected to be: § Senator Solomon Ewuga, Senator, Federal Republic of Nigeria; § Honourable Dr. Joseph Kigbu, Member House of Representatives; § Mr Zakariya Zamani Alumaga, the Legal Adviser of the Group; § Mohammed L. Agu, Patron; § Zabura Musa akwashiki; § Mrs. Felicia E. Samuel; § Mr. Joseph Gabi; § Alhaji Saleh Angulu, Village Head of Angwan Yakubu, Agyaragu; § Mr. Yohanna Labaran Envoh (Manager) Government View: Government Notes.

5.4 Recommendations: There are five (5) recommendations here as thus: a. The Commission recommends the immediate prosecution of the persons mentioned on the various lists of names under paragragh iv of our findings under this Term of Reference; Government View: Government accepts and directs the State Ministry of Justice to act in collaboration with relevant security agencies in the State as recommended. b. We recommend in respect with our findings above that the relevant law enforcement and security agencies together with the Special Investigation and Prosecution Panel (severally recommended in this report) be formally and emphatically requested by the Nasarawa State Government to subject the listed persons to futher and thorough ingestigation with a view to determining their precise role as possible financiers, sponsors, promoters and supporters of the outlawed Ombatse in order to ascertain their involvement and extent of their possible financial and other forms of material support to the Ombatse.

Government View: Government accepts and directs as per (a) above. c.The Commission notes with deep regret the unfortunate roles played by the Eggon Traditional Council and its elders in the tacit support of the activities of the outlawed Ombatse group. Ordinarily, the Commission would have recommended the outright sanction of the said Council. However, the Commission strongly recommends the formal admonition and reprimand of the Council and its elders in the interim, for their moral failure to call the Ombatse and such affiliated Eggon groups to order when they exceeded the bounds of reason; Government View: Government accepts and directs the State Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and, the Office of Secretary to the State Government to take appropriate action as recommended above. d.It is also recommended that all persons mentioned in all the findings under this Term of Reference should be subjected to intense and thorough investigations by the Police and other relevant Security Agencies to determine their involvement or degree of participation in whatever way in the Alakyo killings. Some of them are either direct participants or aiders or abettors in one way or the other. Some may have had just simple knowledge of the circumstances leading to the killings and no more. And some may have had full knowledge of the circumstances and might have contributed in one way or the other. The investigating authorities must discover the relevant

details and direct same to the relevant prosecuting authorities for immediate prosecution; Government View: Government accepts and directs as per (a) and (b) above. e.It is equally and further recommended that all persons on the stated list who appeared before the Commission whether as summoned witnesses or memoranda witnesses and intentionally gave false evidence on oath before the Commission should be prosecuted forthwith under Section 158(1) of the Penal Code Law (as applicable in Nasarawa State). Their false testimonies were calculated to misdirect the Commission and prevent it from making proper findings on its Terms of Reference. The law qualifies such false evidence as an act to pervert the cause of justice. For the avoidance of doubt, the Commission is particularly recommending the following persons for immediate prosecution under the section given the high social standing of the persons who are least expected to misdirect the cause of justice: i. Senator Solomon Sunday Akku Ewuga; ii. Hon. Dr. Haruna Joseph Kigbu; iii. Hon. Nathaniel Agyo Mesa; Government View: Government accepts and directs the State Ministry of Justice and the Nasarawa State Police Command to take necessary action in this respect.

6.2 Findings: There are twelve (12) significant findings under this Term of Reference, namely: i. The Ombatse meets every Saturday which is the group’s worship day and it is made up of Christians, Muslims and traditional worshipers who must be males of Eggon extraction from the ages of 18 years upwards; ii. Their recruitment process is both persuasive and coercive and it is directed only at Eggon male youth of 18 years and above. Forced initiation is allegedly known as part of its coercive strategies; iii. It is also part of the Ombatse modus operandi to operate in both conventional mass attack or in a commando style, shouting (Ombatse and Ombalamu) as they attack their victims, burning houses and destroying properties; iv. The members of the group communicate with each other using mobile telephone calls and text messages for mobilization as occasion demands. The members of the group also communicate with each other during their weekly Saturday meetings and in their Tuesday Ashangwa market; v. Members of the group move through the interior of the State using motocycles, popularly known as Bajaj for their operations; vi. The group engages in the use of sophisticated weapons such as AK-47 and AK-49 rifles, sub-machine guns alongside traditional lethal weapons such as dane guns, cadtridges, poisoned cutlasses, knives, clubs etc; vii. The group acquires its finances through levies on members within and outside the country and through support from the suspected financiers indicated in Term of Reference III above and proceeds from Ashangwa market; viii. The group is believed to obtain its arms and ammunition from the suspected financiers and aiders/abettors indicated under Term of Reference No. III above; ix. The members of the group are emboldened with delusion of invisibility by the potions (or concoctions) they consume and charms they wear allegedly provided them by their Chief Priest Baba Ala Agu (aka Baba Alakyo). They are also allegedly reputed to engage in the smoking of local intoxicating substances in the form of cigarettes believed to give supernatural powers; x. They have a regalia or uniform which is in the guise of black and red admixture attire (but mostly black) and also wear black hand woven native caps with charms and rings on all fingers. They walk bare-footed; xi. They portray a violent disposition (or react violently) to issues perceived as being against the interest of the Eggons; xii. Their sloganeering format is the chanting of the Eggon phrases “Ombatse” and “Ombolamu”.

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International Europe and Turkey PM backtracks on Americas Ukraine’s Crimea moves social media ban T towards

urkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has backtracked on a threat to shut down Facebook and YouTube in Turkey.

In comments published in the progovernment Yeni Safak newspaper on Tuesday, Erdogan said the government was determined to fight “fabricated and dubbed” recordings on the Internet but acknowledged that a total shutdown of social media was “out of the question.”

Erdogan, who is fighting allegations of corruption, had earlier said the government was considering steps to prevent secretly wiretapped recordings from being leaked on the Internet, including shutting down Facebook and YouTube.

The Prime Minister and his ruling AK Party sparked controversy last week, when audio recordings were leaked in which he and his son allegedly discuss how to hide vast sums of money.

The government insists the corruption allegations and leaks are the work of the followers of influential US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who have infiltrated police and the judiciary.

Last month, parliament passed a law that increased government controls over the Internet.

independence

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cting President Turchynov parliament to approve a decision to form a National Guard [Reuters] Pro-Moscow assembly members in Crimea have voted for independence from Ukraine in a precursor to a referendum this weekend for the region to become part of Russia.

The local assembly approved a “declaration on the independence of the autonomous republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol” with 78 out of 81 lawmakers present voting in favour.

The move by the parliament, which has been declared illegal by the new government in Kiev, appeared to be aimed at creating a legal framework for joining Russia as a sovereign state.

The parliament’s press service said in a statement that independence would come into force after the referendum if the result is in favour of Crimea becoming part of the Russian Federation.

Western nations have said they will not recognise the referendum as legitimate.

If Crimea votes to join Russia it will be the first country to do so since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Speaking on Tuesday, Ukraine’s ousted President Viktor Yanukovich accused his country’s new government of creating a civil war and criticised the West for supporting it.

Speaking in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, Yanukovich repeated the Russian claim that the new Ukrainian authorities allowing far-right factions to take over the country, describing the new government as a “bandit regime” and said that their claim to power was illegitimate.

“I would like to ask those from the West, are you blind, have you forgotten fascism?” Yanukovich said. He also reiterated that he was still the legitimate leader of Ukraine and hoped to return.

“I remain not just the sole legitimate president of Ukraine but also commander-in-chief,” he said, appealing to the armed forces to defy any “criminal orders” handed down by his foes.

Al Jazeera’s Paul Brennan, reporting from Kiev, said that this was unlikely.

“The reality is that in Ukraine he is yesterday’s man,” he said.

Yanukovich told the new pro-West authorities in Ukraine who took over after he fled to Russia last month that “sooner or later, most likely sooner” they would be held responsible for their actions.

“You will be made responsible for the suffering of the people. Ukraine is now going through a difficult time,” he said.

Erdogan has faced stiff opposition over his controversial internet laws

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uesday’s anniversary comes as security forces continue to grapple with new and emerging threats from al-Qaedalinked groups, the AFP news agency reported.

The Spanish royal family led

by King Juan Carlos, as well as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, will join a mass for victims in Madrid’s Almudena Cathedral, a solemn ceremony for a nation still wary of jihadists and “lone wolves” lured to their cause.

The shrapnel-filled bombs detonated at 7:40am on March 11, 2004, in packed commuter trains headed to Madrid’s main Atocha railway station.

Physical and psychological scars of the deadliest terrorist attack in Spanish history still run deep.

Antonio Gomez, a married 48-year-old bank computer designer with daughters now aged 10 and 15, was in a train at Atocha when a bomb detonated.

He said he was reading a newspaper that protected his

face from the flying shards of shattered windows.

“But bits of glass embedded in the face of a little girl beside me,” he recalled.

With a fellow passenger, Gomez said he managed to force

Spain is marking the 10th anniversary of the Madrid train bombings which ripped apart four packed commuter trains, killing 191 people and leaving about 2,000 wounded.

open a door of the collapsed train, as people trampled over each other to escape onto the platform.

He called his pregnant wife on his cell phone.

“Just after telling her what happened and not to worry

because I am all right, that is when the second bomb went off and the mobile was cut off,” Gomez told AFP. “The blast wave caught me and I fell to the platform, and the blow broke my left leg,” he said.

Spain wary of new threats decade after blasts

Russia condemns ‘lawlessness’ in eastern

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teenager who fell into a coma after being hit by a tear gas canister during mass anti-government protests

in Turkey last year has died at an Istanbul hospital, his family said.

“We lost our son Berkin

Berkin, a 15-year-old bystander being hit in the head last year with a tear gas canister.

Elvan at 0700 [0500 GMT].

May he rest in peace,” his family wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

Fifteen-year-old Berkin was walking to buy bread for his family on June 16, when he got hit in the head by a suspected police tear gas canister, as mass anti-government protests began to sweep Istanbul that month.

Berkin’s story, as he spent 269 days in a coma, gripped the nation and became a symbol of the heavy-handed tactics used by police to reign in the biggest demonstrations that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had faced since coming to power

in 2003.

The protests started as a small environmentalist movement to save an Istanbul park from being razed, but snowballed into a nationwide wave of protests against Erdogan, who critics say had become increasingly authoritarian.

Berkin’s death brought the toll from the unrest to at least eight including a policeman.

The protests saw an estimated 2.5 million people take to the streets across Turkey over three weeks to demand Erdogan’s resignation. More than 8,000 people were injured in the demonstrations, according to the medics.

Peoples Daily, Wednesday, March 12, 2014

PAGE 37

2015: PDP chieftain seeks support for Jonathan From Muhammad Ibrahim, Kaduna

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eoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftain in Kaduna state, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmadu, has called on electorates to vote for the party in 2015 so as to give room for continuation in government across the country, particularly Kaduna state.

He said this will enable the government to complete all developmental projects it had embarked upon.

Speaking at an interactive meeting of PDP leaders in Kaduna, he said the party deserved support of all and sundry so as to enjoy the dividends of democracy.

According to him, President Goodluck Jonathan has put in place machinery that would help for the actualization of all the party

programmes aimed at alleviating the sufferings of the people.

“In spite of campaign of calumny by the opposition, minority of Nigerians have expressed the hope that Jonathan government has a good plan for the country and should be supported by all at the 2015 general elections.

“In the last five years, the Federal Government has virtually repaired and completed all federal roads across the country and as today 70 percent of these roads are nearing completions,” he said.

The convener of the meeting, Senator Abdulaziz Haruna Zago, said the meeting has become necessary to articulate the achievements of the Federal Government in the last few years in order to persuade the electorates to vote him into office once again.

2015 Elections: Akko LG drums support for Dankwambo From David Hassan, Gombe

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he chairman of Akko Local Government Area of Gombe state, Alhaji Mohammed Bello, has pledged support to ensure that governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo return to office come 2015.

The chairman made the disclosure yesterday through his Vice, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim Jalo, at the council secretariat in Kumo.

In an interview with journalists shortly after inspection of projects at the area, the chairman explained that there was need for citizens in the area to come out en-mass to support the administration of governor Dankwambo because of the development he made in the area.

According to him, Akko local government was hitherto left behind without infrastructural development pointed out that the present administration of governor Dankwambo had created remarkable impact for the development of the area.

He lauded the government commitment which he said has touch the lives people with a view to reducing poverty among citizens.

Also speaking, Lamido of Akko Alhaji Umar Atiku said in the recent times, the area was neglected without infrastructure due to lack of understating between the government and the area but added that the present administration under the leadership of governor Dankwambo has wiped the tears of the people of the area.

PDM commences membership registration Monday

By Lawrence Olaoye

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he Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), has yesterday approved Monday, March 17th as the commencement date for its manual membership registration.

According to the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, the decision was arrived at during the just concluded meeting of the National Executive Committee of the Party which took place yesterday at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.

The approval of the March 17th date followed extensive

preparations and sensitization for the exercise which is to take place between 8. a.m. and 5 p.m daily from Monday, 17th March to Sunday 23rd March 2014 simultaneously at each of the 8,812 wards throughout the states of the federation.

Distribution of registration materials, including membership cards, membership registers, pens, markers and other sundry items is already underway at the National Secretariat of the Party.

Registration materials are to reach all states of the federation

by Thursday, 13th March and all Registration Centres in the wards

by Sunday, 16th March 2014.

All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters jubilating, during the swearing-in, on Monday, of the only councillor on the platform of the party in the local council election in Jigawa state. Photo: NAN

PDP passes confidence vote on Jonathan

…shifts Ekiti ward congresses

By Lawrence Olaoye

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he leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday passed a vote of confidence on President Goodluck Jonathan for his performance in the last two years and ten months of his administration.

The party said it is particularly impressed with the President for embarking on landmark projects which have impacted positively on the economy and social life in Nigeria in spite the sectarian violence that threaten to destabilize the nation and shut down the economy.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement yesterday said the party is happy with President Jonathan for his determination and commitment towards the commencement of work at the Second Niger Bridge which, when completed, will boost commercial and social activities while broadening the horizon for business partnerships to promote massive job and wealth creation in the country.

It said the decision by the President on the imperative of the Second Niger Bridge in his tenure and his resolve to ensure its completion in record time was instructive in many ways, one of which was his commitment towards the unity of the nation, knowing that the bridge is the major link between the South East and other parts of the country.

This, the party said was in addition to the upgrading of the Akanu Ibiam

International Airport, Enugu.

Noting that the President’s commitment towards transforming the nation has remained unprecedented, the party said Nigeria has witnessed a revolution in critical sectors such as works with the dualization and rehabilitation of major trunk roads across the country.

“The Lagos- Ibadan, Benin-OreShagamu, Lokoja-Benin-Auchi, Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja roads, repair of the Lagos Third Mainland Bridge and a host of other road projects as well as the rehabilitation and reconstruction of major inter-state roads across the country are all testimonies to this.

“This is in addition to the resuscitation of the inland waterways and the railway system which have been abandoned for years. Rail trucks now run across the west between Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan and Ilorin among other cities. The dredging of the River Escavos and the Niger from Warri to Baro in Niger State and the inland city ports in Onitsha have been completed.

“We are also highly impressed by the landmark projects in the housing sector, especially the establishment of the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC), a first of its kind in the country, which is tailored to deliver 75,000 houses every year for Nigerians in addition to 300,000 direct and close to half a million indirect jobs incidental to the projects.”

“Nigerians are all witnesses to the commitment in the power

sector resulting in the completion and commissioning of key power stations across the country including the Geregu Power Project in Kogi state as well as the Omotosho 2 Power Station in Ondo as well as investments in power plants in Calabar, 630MW; Egbema, 378MW; Ihorvbor, 504MW; Gbarain 252MW; Sapele 504MW; Omoku 252MW; Alaoji 1076MW and Olorunsogo 750MW, all geared towards meeting the targeted 20,000 megawatts of electricity by 2015 and 40,000 megawatts by 2020.”

“This is in addition to initiating the New Automobile Industrial Policy Development which has started yielding results with direct foreign investments already flowing in from leading vehicle manufacturers such as Nissan and Stallion Group which have entered into an agreement with the Federal Government to establish auto plants in Nigeria”, the statement said.

The PDP said the President has also posted impressive performances in wealth creation, agriculture, education and youth empowerment using unprecedented initiatives such as the Almajiri education in the north, the YouWin and the SURE-P projects as well as the Agricultural Transformation Agenda through which six million farmers have received inputs in a programme that targets an increase in domestic food production by an additional 20 million tonnes and creating 3.5 million jobs before the end of 2015.

Peoples Daily, Wednesday, March 12, 2014

PAGE 38

Politics

No political receptions at airport -Kwara CP tells APC, PDP

From Olanrewaju Lawal,Ilorin

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he Kwara State Police Command has informed political parties in the state that it would not permit any political reception within the premises of Ilorin International Airport.

The Command also said it would not grant permission for two political parties to hold rally on the same day, at the same time in the state.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Ambrose Aisebor, who stated this on yesterday while addressing political parties in Ilorin, said this action was to prevent any violence and act of thuggery that could

disrupt the peace and harmony of the state.

He said that the police would give adequate security to all political parties in the state stressing that the command under him would ensure fairness to all parties.

Aisabor who warned against removal of other party’s bill boards, and posters said he was in Ilorin to provide level ground for all stakeholders.

The Police boss said he had spoken with Kwara Advertisement Signatory Agency (KWASA)’s General Manager not to target any political party in the bid to sanitize the environment of posters, even as he stressed that every Nigerians

have right to do his/her normal business without any molestation.

He added that the political campaign can not commence until November 16, 2014 according to INEC and the Constitution of Nigeria stressing that the Command must be notified of any political gathering before it takes off.

In his remark, the Interim Chairman of All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state, Hon Ishola Balogun-Fulani said his members would continue to be law abiding and support the command in its bid to sustain peaceful coexistence among the people.

The APC Chairman who expressed displeasure over the

removal of the party posters and defacement of its bill boards presented 60 copies of pictures showing some of its posters destroyed by opposition party and appealed to the Police to do its investigation.

While reacting, Chairman Caretaker Committee of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon Solomon Edojah, who was represented by Hon Aliru Dantoro Mamud complained that many of President Goodluck Jonathan posters, bill boards were removed by agents of APC stressing that the party needed to enlighten their members on how to give respect whom it is due.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters, at the party’s North-West rally, yesterday in Kaduna.

Photo: NAN

Jang NGF dissociates self from Amaechi’s Lagos retreat

By Lawrence Olaoye

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he Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) chaired by the Plateau state Governor, Jonah Jang, has dissociated itself from the planned retreat being organised by the Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s faction billed for Lagos.

In a statement released in Abuja and signed by the Media Officer, Kassim Yakubu, the Jonah Jang led Forum stated

that it has come to its knowledge that there was a program in circulation naming its members as participants in the said retreat.

The statement alleged that it was a cunning attempt to give the retreat credibility following the dismal showing of the first one held in Sokoto last year.

“They have realised that Nigerians now know that they are an opposition governors forum and the only way to get

credibility now is to invoke the names of governors who clearly do not belong to their group nor share in their vision of turning the Governors Forum into an anti federal government body “ the statement added.

“The first retreat turned out to be an anti federal government venting exercise and did not gain any traction with the general public who want the governors to stick to their

primary functions of running their states and the objectives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum which is to work in cohesion with all other tiers of government to deliver needed development to the Nigerian people” the group further said.

The statement predicted that the planned retreat will turn out to be another federal government bashing get-together where the opposition script will be acted out.

Bolaji not in hurry to join politics - Aide From Olanrewaju Lawal,Ilorin

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he former Minister of Sports, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, has said that he was not in hurry to join full politics in the country.

The former Commissioner for Education under the immediate past governor of the state, Dr Bukola Saraki, who stated this through his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Julius Ogunro, said the former minister is a technocrat and apolitical, and that was why he didn’t play a more active role in the PDP rally which was attended by the President in Ilorin.

“As you may know, he was on his way for an official assignment in Poland when he was dropped from the cabinet. He took some time to rest in London and has just returned to the country. I am sure he would take some time to assess the situation before deciding on the next steps. He is a very careful person and won’t rush into anything.”

Speaking on alliance with Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, and hosting by APC Governors, Ogunro said “the ex-Minister, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi and Governor are close friends. The Governor believes the ex minister served exceptionally well in Abuja and that he is a very good son of Kwara, an Omoluabi, deserving of commendation. It is in that light that he is hosting him for doing the state proud as a minister.

“Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi is credited with changing the fortunes of sports in Nigeria and can boast of a long list of achievements. And of all the Ministers that were dropped recently, none has been celebrated like him. It is because of the good works he did. He is an honest, hardworking and focused person who achieved a lot for sports.

“There is nothing wrong if his friend and Governor host him for his exceptional service to his country. It is just coincidental that the Governor is in APC and is inviting his friends. The reception is not a party affair. It is the people of Kwara, hosting the former Minister and showing appreciation for the good works he did.”

I’m not embarking on town hall meeting to impose a successor - Akpabio From Mike Etim, Uyo

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s agitation persists from various stakeholders over who governs the state in 2015, the Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, has said that the reason for his statewide town hall meeting was not to impose his successor.

Akpabio made the clarification in Etinan as people of the Federal

Constituency demanded to know what the position of the Ibibio’s would be towards the candidature of governorship position in 2015 elections.

Speaking at the Town Hall meeting in Etinan as part of his tour to commission rural projects across the ten Federal constituencies of the state, Akpabio commended the people of Etinan Federal

Constituency for their contribution towards the development of the state but urged the people, in the spirit of fair play, to support his call for power shift to Eket Senatorial District in 2015.

He however emphasized that the party (PDP) would not stop any candidate aspiring to contest the governorship elections from doing so recalling that in 2007 when he

contested and won the governorship elections about 58 other contestant from the three senatorial districts contested against him even though, the position of who governs the state was zoned to Ikot Ekpene Senatorial district.

The governor however maintained that having stressed the need for the governorship position to be zoned to Eket Senatorial

district, Uyo Senatorial district occupies a very prominent position in the state and could not be left out in the power sharing formula.

To avoid incident where the clamor for governorship position will generate rancor, and divide the party ahead of 2015 elections, the governor promised to convene a stakeholders meeting to look into matters of power sharing.

Peoples Daily, Wednesday, March 12, 2014

PAGE 39

News Extra

Health environment experts get capacity building training

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

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xperts on Environmental Health will converge in Ibadan, Oyo state capital to train environmental health officers across the south-west zone on Health, Safety and Environment.

A statement by the Head, (Press and Public Communications) of the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON), Kehinde A. Openibo said the training will expose environmental health officers to health practice and its ethics.

The council’s Registrar, Mr. Augustine Ebisike, according to the statement said the training is to enable the professionals earn credit points which would afford them the opportunity to obtain practicing licenses.

He said the training, which is expected to start on Monday, March 17 will last for 5 days.

The EHORECON boss enjoined environmental health officers to attend the training, which he noted is mandatory for every officer.

Panic in Misau over robbery attack, one killed From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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he people of Misau were thrown into panic Monday night, following exchange of fire between suspected armed robbers and the Army in Zindi, Misau local government area of Bauchi state.

Contrary to reports that the college of Legal and Islamic Studies Misau , was also attacked, it was discovered that the incident occurred only in the village of Zindi, which is very close to the College.

However the incident caused pandemonium among the students and the people as they ran for their dear lives to neighbouring villages.

The Provost of the college, Dr Mustapha Isa Qassim told newsmen that the college was not attacked. “it was a robbery that occurred on a main road close to the college”.

A source in the army said they received a distress call from people in the area that armed bandits had blocked Kari -Misau road, adding that “in an attempt to open the road, the hoodlums started shooting sporadically which was repelled by our men and in the process one of the suspected robbers was shot dead, a motorcycle, bicycle and Mobile phones were retrieved from them and investigation has commenced into the matter”.

Gov. Nyako sacks four government officials over fraud From Umar Dankano, Yola

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n a bid to ensure efficiency and accountability in governance, Gov Murtala Nyako of Adamawa has approved the suspension of four government officials over alleged fraud in the state’s Post Primary School Management Board.

A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Administration, Government

House Yola, Mallam Mohammed Sa’ad, indicated that the affected officers include Dahiru Gomina and Garba Kayari of e-payment department of the state Accountant General’s Office as well as Dauda Ali and Elam Sule of the Post-Primary Schools Management Board.

The statement further announced the replacement of the Executive Secretary of the Post Primary School Board,

Mallam Ayuba Njidda with Hajiya Bilkisu Khalid while the removed secretary was directed to be reassigned for another assignment elsewhere by the Ministry of Education in the state.

The statement said, “Following the recommendation of the committee on the investigation of fraud in the salary payroll of Adamawa state post primary school management board, Governor Murtala Nyako, has

approved the suspension of Dahiru Gomina, Garba Kayari , Dauda Audu and Elam Sule.

“The above mentioned officers remain suspended until investigations are concluded.

“Meanwhile, Bilkisu Khalid has been appointed as the Executive Secretary Post Primary Schools Management Board, Yola while the former Executive Secretary is to be re-assigned by the state Ministry of Education”, the statement said.

2014 budget: Adamawa to boost infrastructure From Umar Dankano, Yola

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L-R: Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission(ICPC) member, Dame Julie Onun-Nwariaku, Osun state Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, ICPC chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta, and ICPC member, Professor Olu Aina, during the 1st 2014 Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Good Governance Forum, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Kwara LG establishes N500m agric village From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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he Chairman, Isin local government area of Kwara State, Barrister Maaruf Thani has concluded arrangements to establish agriculture village in the council area, worth about N500 million.

Thani, who disclosed this at a press conference in OwuIsin, headquarters of the council to mark his 100 days in office,

said the project when completed would address the problems of food security and youth employment as well as provide raw materials for agro-allied industries.

“My administration accorded the agricultural sector top priority based on our understanding that with proper systemic and holistic planning, this sector will not only produce food for the populace, it will also provide the

much needed materials for our agro-allied industry.

“In this connection, we have isolated 100 hectres of land for this agriculture programme as first step. The funding of this project will not be through monthly allocations, but from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)”. Thani, a former Special Adviser to the State Governor on Budget Monitoring, further disclosed.

Global Alliance for improved nutrition partners NAFDAC

By Abbas Aminu Bamalli

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he Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has commenced on a social marketing communication campaign in partnership with National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC), to increase awareness of consumers to the importance of fortified foods in nutrition and health.

A statement signed by NAFDAC Director, Special Duties, Abubakar Jimoh said

the GAIN’s Country Manager, Larry Umunna while launching the campaign at the Ojuwoye market in Mushin, Lagos, said GAIN is supporting NAFDAC in strengthening its regulatory ability to monitor and enforce compliance with legislation concerning implementation of the national food fortification program.

He said, it is the right of every Nigerian to consume fortified foods. Therefore it is important that the consumers begin to demand for fortified staples, adding that the food industry

must be challenged by the consumers to comply with the fortification standards.

In his speech, Director General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, represented by the Director, Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, NAFDAC, Mrs. Ugochukwu Mainasara, said the social marketing campaign demonstrates the commitment of stakeholders in ensuring the success of food fortification program in Nigeria, which is in alignment with NAFDAC’s core mandate of ‘safeguarding the health of the nation’

he Adamawa state government has yesterday, reiterated its determination to intensify more efforts in the provisions of infrastructural development which is intended to be financed through capital receipts of N40.100Bn, being earmarked for the 2014 fiscal year, made up of external loans and $50 million that the state is pursuing with the World Bank under RAMPH. The state Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Ibrahim B. Vokna, disclosed this in the breakdown of the 2014 budget document, stressing that the monies would be used for implementation of some key capital projects in the state that were being accommodated in the approved budget respectively.

According to him, N45,517,232,090.00,would be derived from statutory allocation, N2,000,000,000.00 from Excess Crude, N500,000,000 from Ecological Fund,N2,664,000,000.00, from Petroleum Subsidy-- SURE P and N7,579,691,705.00 from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) The government has also declared that it is determined to pursue vigorously, provision of infrastructural facilities, in the areas of electricity, roads and water supply for the purpose of creating an enabling environment for investment in the state and improving the living condition of the citizenry.

Alhaji Vokna, stated that government, in line with the ideals of the Millennium Development Goals, intends to address important fiscal policy measures of the administration.

According to him, the budget is geared toward the consolidation of good governance in the state for economic growth, and actualization of the nation’s Vision 20:2020 that would focus on upliftment of the standard of living of the common man through the creation of general job opportunities for many unemployed youths in the state.

PAGE 40

Photo Splash

Peoples Daily, Wednesday, March 12, 2014

L-R: Secretary to Etsako East Local Government, Mrs Benedicta Attoh, Onwuwueko of Okpekpe, HRH Peter Osigbemhe, and Edo state Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, during the governor’s inspection of the Apana-Okpekpe road, recently in Etsako East Local Government of Edo state.

Teachers waiting to be documented by Bauchi state Universal Basic Education Board, yesterday in Bauchi.

Photo: NAN

Vehicles wading through flood at Alafia area on Badagry Expressway after heavy rain, yesterday in Lagos.

Photo: NAN

L-R: A chieftain of Etinan Federal Constituency, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga, Akwa Ibom state Governor, Obong Godswill Akpabio, and his wife, Ekaette Akpabio, during a town hall meeting on choice of next Akwa Ibom state governor, on Monday in Uyo. Photo: NAN

L-R: Director of Personnel Management, Isin Local Government Area, Mrs. Mary Onaolapo, Chairman, Isin Local Government Area, Mr. Maaruf Thanni, and ViceChairman, Mr. Joseph Ajayi, during the start of activities marking the administration’s 100-day in office, yesterday at Owu-Isin, in Kwara state.

Photo: NAN

SporT 41 Page

PEOPLES DAILY, wednesday, march 12, 2014

SMS- 08036258222, albertakota@yahoo.com

Senate berates NSC budget Stories by Albert Akota

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he Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports and Social Development, Senator Adamu Ibrahim Gumba has berated the National Sports Commission (NSC) N5.6 billion for 2014 sporting activities.

The chairman who stated this yesterday in Abuja during NSC’s budget defence, said the proposed money for the year is embarrassing.

“The total allocation is N5.6 billion for 2014 out of which N2.4 billion for sporting activities.

“Personally, it’s embarrassing; the money is too small for our sporting activities because from the money, 2, 921,800,871 overhead, 1,196,108,871 personnel how mount is left, “he asked.

Also speaking, minister of sports Tamuno Danagogo commended the committee for indicating interest in order to pursuit

government for adequate funding.

He promised the committee to work assiduously to ensure the confidence repose on him by Mr. President to manage sports is justified.

Meanwhile, director general of the NSC, Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye who appeared to Gumba led committee to defend its 2014 budget maintained that the commission would continue to do its best in supporting sports industry.

“Anything that we have to do with Nigeria’s sports is very important to me and to the entire NSC, the Commonwealth games is there, we have Youths Olympics in China, we have the African Youths game in Botswana, every competition that we go we should go there and win medals for this country.

“So, none at all is less important, the World Cup is very important and I believe sincerely that we will do well, “he stated.

Eagles

Senate committee heaps encomiums on NFF

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he Senate yesterday heaped plaudits on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for utilising the money appropriated to it to bring countless laurels to Nigeria in year 2013.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports and Social Development, Senator Adamu Ibrahim Gumba, extolled the managerial virtues of the NFF leadership, saying that despite not having enough money to play around with, the Aminu Maigari-led NFF scratched the bottom of the barrel to prepare Nigerian teams adequately for international

competitions and bring glory to the nation. The NFF received the sum of N1.8 billion from the Government last year.

“I must commend the leadership of the NFF. Our National Teams won so many laurels from international championships last year and even Mr. President (His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR) was so elated each time that he hosted the teams and rewarded them for doing the country proud,” Senator Gumba remarked, when NFF officials led by General Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu, appeared before the committee

PUBLIC NOTICE

to present its 2013 budget performance and defend its 2014 budget proposal.

Gumba continued: “We won the Africa Cup of Nations, won the FIFA U-17 World Cup and the Super Eagles qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. “We also won trophies from international friendly matches against Catalonia and South Africa, and our U-17 and U-20 women teams qualified for the FIFA U-17 and FIFA U-20 Women World Cup competitions taking place this year.

Let us also not forget that our country represented Africa at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.

“This committee is very happy with the performance of the NFF in the year 2013 and we charge them to maintain same tempo, or even do better, in this year 2014.

Speaking at the budget defence session, NFF General Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu, lauded the excellent co-operation the NFF has enjoyed with the Senate Committee led

by Senator Gumba, and also praised the support and assistance of the National Sports Commission and some State Governments, especially Cross River State Government, for Nigeria National Teams.

PUBLIC NOTICE

“We played all our home matches in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying series in Calabar, thanks to the Cross River State Government, with Governor Liyel Imoke spearheading the support and show of love for our team.

The NFF is also very grateful to Governor Imoke and his Government for adopting the U-17 National Team and giving all the support for the team to win the silver medal at the African U-17 Championship in Morocco and then go on to lift a record fourth FIFA U-17 World Cup title in the United Arab Emirates.”

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THE AMEN CHRISTIAN CENTRE

TRI WELLNESS FITNESS FOUNDATION

The above named organization has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration in accordance with the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act CAP C20 LFN 2004.

THE TRUSTEES ARE:1.PASTOR AKINWUNMI DIPEOLU 2.MR. IDOWU OLANIYI ADEDIWURA 3.MRS.OLAWUNMI ALABA DIPEOLU 4. MR. SAMSON AJANI ELEGBEDE The aims and objectives of the Ministry are:1.To inspire, educate, preach deliverance and transform lives by communicating God’s truth through evangelism.

2.Propagate and promote Christian creed, to train people/grow leaders to become great men and women of God. 3.To engage in welfare, humanitarian work and book publications relating to Christianity in Nigeria and around the world.

4.To assist in promoting and engaging Christianity in communities, villages and other rural dwellings.

5.To engage in Apostolic work render help to hurting people through deliverance, prison ministration and planting of branches nationwide.

6.To engage in Pastoral work with other Ministers of God. 7. To engage in counseling and educating people etc.

Any objection thereto should be addressed to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

This Is to Inform the general public that the above named Christian Centre has applied for registration to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja under art “C” of the Companies And Allied Matters Act of 1990 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

This is to inform the general public that the above named Foundation has applied for registration to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja under art “C” of the Companies And Allied Matters Act of 1990 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Trustees are: 1. Pastor Ituah Ighodalo 2. Minister Adekunle Adegoke 3. Minister Lawrence Ebhodaghe 4. Dr. Peter Esangbedo Aims & Objectives: 1. To create awareness and provide education on the ill effects of alcoholism and substance abuse on the individual and the Community by way of Counseling, seminars and advocacy workshops.

2. To develop management techniques for the prevention of addiction, treatment and rehabilitation of addicts.

3. To reduce and eventually eliminate substance abuse and alcoholism in our Community.

4. To promote healthy living lifestyles through healthy eating, exercises etc.

5. To do all such other things that are incidental to the attainment of the above objects.

SIGNED: MRS. BENEDICTA OVOKE SADARE 12b, Fagba Crescent, Off Acme Road, Ikeja, Lagos.

The Trustees are: 1. ICHEN CLEMENT ANWULI - Snr. Pastor.

2. OFILI VERA UGONWA - Secretary 3. OHEN ANSLEM OLUCHUKWU 4. ICHEN MARYANN NGOZI. Aims & Objectives: 1. To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Any objection to the above registration should be forwarded to the Registrar- General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: Ichen Clement Anwuli ( Snr. Pastor).

Any objection to the registration of the above Foundation should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: Tunde Onakoya Esq.

PEOPLES DAILY, wednesday, march 12, 2014

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PUBLIC NOTICE

LOSS OF DOCUMENT

REIGNING CHRIST MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL This is to inform the General Public that the above named ministry has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, for change of trustees under Part C of the Company and Allied Matters Act 1990.

OLD TRUSTEES. 1. REV ELIJAH TOSS MOMOH 2. PASTOR MRS VICTORIA TOSS MOMOH 3. ARET ADAMS. 4. PASTOR ANDREW UGWT 5. SAMUEL AFEMIKHE 6. FANNY UGORJI 7. BENJAMIN SUNDAY NWACHOKOR 8. IRONDI NWADONGO 9. AINS EMMAN SULE NEW TRUSTEES: 1. PASTOR MRS VICTORIA TOSS MOMOH RETAINED CHAIRMAN 2. ABDUL FAVOUR MOMOH SECRETARY 3. EVANG MOSES AIREN IYAMU 4. EMMANUEL EXCEL MOMOH 5. EVANG MATTHEW AFEALUOKHAI DAUDU AIMS AND OBJECTIVES REMAIN THE SAME Any objection to this change should be forwarded to the Registrar General,Corporate Affairs Commission,Plot 420 Tigris Crescent,Aguiyi Ironsi Street,Maitama,Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: BARR SOLOMON AKHIGBE - 08037257296

This is to inform the general public of the LOSS OF AN ENVELOPE CONTAINING ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS IN RESPECT OF THE FOLLOWING, belonging to FATIMA AHMED: 1. Plot No. ED 30H, 5HA APO Extension II Layout, Bello Global Concept 2. Plot No. ED 22H, 5HA Apo Extension III Belle Global Concept 3. Plot No. ED 44H, 5HA Apo Extension Layout, Ladina International Company Ltd. 4. AMAC Market FHA Lugbe allocation letter for new market petty traders co-operatives society ltd Shop No. Stall 1-16 5. Fame Multi-Purpose co-operative Society Ltd, Shop No. Stall 17-24 6. Offer Letter of a Plot of land at Maitama Abuja.

All efforts made to trace the envelopes containing these documents proved abortive. If found, please return to nearest police station.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE IKPOLIKPO LAYOUT LANDLORD’S ASSOCIATION, OBOSI

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. REV.NZUBE SAMUEL CHAIRMAN 2. NWACHUKWU FLORENCE CHIDI 3.

ANUSI FABIAN AMAOBI MEMBER 4. OKORO BONIFACE ONUJA MEMBER 5. ONWUATUEGWU CYNTHIA NKIRU MEMBER

SECRETARY

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.

TO PROTECT AND PROMOTE THE INTEREST OF MEMBERS 2.

TO CARE FOR THE LESS PRIVILEGED ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE

HIGHER LIFE GOSPEL CENTRE

HE REIGNS GOSPEL ASSEMBLY INTERNATIONAL

THE DESIRED LIFE FOUNDATION IN NIGERIA

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CENTRE HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSEMBLY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Ovotoroi Christopher - Chairman 2. Ovotoroi Ifeoma - Treasurer 3. Ovotoroi Igho Endurance - Secretary 4. Abiebhode Timothy - Financial Secretary 5. Okechukwu Ogbu - Adviser 6. Abekhe John O.Y. - Elder 7. Ovotoroi Regina - Member AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. Soul winning through evangelism and crusade 2. To cover the world, ministrying to the widows, widowers, the aged and their needs 3. To create a foundation, school and centre for the widows, widowers and the aged 4. Empowering the widows and the less privileged via creating job opportunities ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. REV. PHILIP AMAECHI CHAIRMAN 2.

JUSTINA NWACHUKWU SECRETARY 3. OSONDU ERNEST IFEANYI MEMBER 4. DR. JOHN IKECHUKWU ANAGO-AMANZE MEMBER AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.

Preaching the word of God ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Faridah Ismaila Mohammed Chairman 2. Odedina Opeoluwa Adeyemi Treasurer 3. Adesina Adebola Suliat Secretary AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.

To raise funds on behalf of disadvantaged and poor children, young people and students in Nigeria, and including those with a connection in Sierra Leone, Scotland and the rest of Africa at large 2. A partner charity or changing lives foundation for Africa, a Scottish operating in Scotland with charity no. SC 0433088

SIGNED: SECRETARY

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: Secretary

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

OFUOBI-DIMMA FRIENDS CLUB INTERNATIONAL

THE RAIN OF GOD’S PRESENCE EVANGELICAL MINISTRY

SIGNED: SECRETARY

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CLUB HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

PENTECOSTAL REVIVAL MINISTRIES

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR CHANGE OF ITS TRUSTEES UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE OLD TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Rev. E.O Ugondu 2. Bro. J.C Omeagbu 3.

Pastor G.O Jack 4.

Pastor I.N Ezici 5. Deacon E. Udemba THE NEW TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Rev. Cletus Chukwuma Nwanro General Overseer/Trustee 2. Rev. Dr. Anthony Ihelacho Emeghara Assistant General Overseer/Trustee 3. Rev. Elora Friday Nwachukwu General Secretary/Trustee 4. Rev. Blessing Asunobi Akubudike National Financial Secretary/Trustee 5. Rev. Emmanuel Udemba National Treasurer/Trustee (Old Trustee) 6. Rev. Martins Ucheoha Egbo Trustee 7. Rev. Lucky Jabez Okenya Trustee AIMS AND OBJECTIVES REMAIN THE SAME ANY OBJECTION TO THIS CHANGE SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED: Secretary

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Prophet Olorunnisola Daniel Shonubi General Overseer 2. Deaconess Adewunmi Shonubi Member 3. Lady Evangelist Esther Oladeji Member 4. Mrs. Titilola Shonubi Member 5. Pastor Sam Anuforo Member 6. Deacon Kehinde Sobiye Member 7. Sister Oyinyinka Akinyemi Member AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To preach the gospel to every creature in the nations of the world 2. To declare the mandate of God 3. To heal the broken hearted and bring deliverance to the captives 4. To ignite a passion for God in the heart of the people through prophetic and teaching ministry ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: General Overseer

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

ONE ACRE FARMERS ORGANISATION

AGWO-DIKE-IZU SIMON IGWE MEDICAL FOUNDATION

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANISATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Mr. Michael Hudson 2. Mr. Benjamin Harms

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Dr. Izuchukwu Chimaobi Igwe Chairman/CEO 2. Ms. Eberechi Ogonnaya Adieze Secretary 3. Sir Hubert Onyemalu Igwe 4. Lady Charity Uzoamaka Igwe 5. Dr. Olu Lasaki 6. Dr. Obiora Ogbonna AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. Prevent avoidable blindness in Umuomaku Community and its environs 2. Improve the quality of life (QoL) of people with visual related problems 3. Increase the knowledge of healthy lifestyles among people in the rural areas 4. Prevent avoidable death ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: Gospel Adams

DE ORIGINATORS SURFACE KERO TANK OPERATORS ASSOCIATION, RIVERS

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

Joseph Kalu Chairman 2. Afam Nnadozie Secretary 3.

Udochukwu Ifeanyi Assistant Secretary 4.

Patrick Ozorfor Treasurer AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.

To cater for the welfare of members ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.

To assist small scale farmers in Nigeria by provision of farm inputs and training on new farming techniques 2.

To initiate and promote programs geared towards improving the lives of small scale farmers in Nigeria ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: Secretary

SIGNED: Rev. Elora F. Nwachukwu, General Secretary/Trustee

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Comm. Eric Cyprian Anayochukwu Mbonu Chairman 2. Ibe Chimaobi Collins Vice Chairman 3. Akpoviri Emmanuel Secretary 4. Mrs. Uko Blessing Inyang AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To promote the welfare of members ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: Barr. Francis Kennedy Anakwu

PEOPLES DAILY, wednesday, march 12, 2014

PUBLIC NOTICE SALBARI EDUCATIONAL TRUST FUND RIBAH, DANKO/ WASAGU L.G.A. KEBBI STATE

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED trust fund HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART ‘’C’’ OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO.1 OF 1990 THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. SALLAU SALIHU BALA RIBAH CHAIRMAN 2. UMAR TAMBA MAKADA MEMBER 3. AISHA BALA RIBAH MEMBER 4. ABDULAZEEZ BALA RIBAH MEMBER 5. LAMI MOHAMMED ABUBAKAR MEMBER 6. YAKUBU JUMA’A SECRETARY THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVE ARE: 1. To assist the less priviledge in their educational pursuits through scholarship and scholarships in Ribah township, and it’s environs.

Page 43

PUBLIC NOTICE COMFORTERS GRACE ASSEMBLY

The general public is hereby informed that the above named initiative has applied to the corporate affairs commission for registration under part “C” of the companies and allied matters act 1 of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. BRO. GREG ISAIAH OJIEMUADA 2. SISTER MARGARETH GREG OJIEMUADA

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. VICTOR AKOJI IBRAHIM 2. DR. CHRISTOPHER OTABOR 3. ABDULLAHI AHMED 4. IBRAHIM KABIR ADEIZA 5. PHARM. ANTHONY AIREN

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. TO PREACH AND PROPAGATE THE CHRISTAIN GOSPEL WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY. 2. TO MINISTER HEALING, DELIVERANCE AND RESTORE FREEDOM TO THE CAPTIVES. 3. TO ESTABLISH BRANCHES WHEREVER CONVERTS ARE MADE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET, PMB 198, MAITAMA ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION SIGNEDYAKUBU JAMA’A

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

The general public is hereby informed that the above named association has applied to the corporate affairs commission for registration under part “C” of the companies and allied matters act 1 of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. NASIRU ABDULHAMID DANTATA 2. ISYAKU UMAR 3. KAMAL YUSHA’U 4. ABUBAKAR AHMED 5. YARIMA YAKUBU 6. SANI TANIMU LAWAN 7. MAMZA MUSA HARUNA 8. YUSIF HAMZA USAINI AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1.TO FOSTER UNITY AMONG MEMBERS Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the registrargeneral, corporate affairs commission, plot 420 Tigris crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Garki, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: T. O. ADEJOH ESQ 08062609616

PUBLIC NOTICE

BELLVICKS GLOBAL AID INITIATIVE

The general public is hereby informed that the above named assembly has applied to the corporate affairs commission for registration under part “C” of the companies and allied matters act 1 of 1990.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the registrargeneral, corporate affairs commission, plot 420 Tigris crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Garki, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: BARR. FREDERICK AJEDE 08034828279 08172716601

UNIFIED MOBILE PHONES ACCESSORIES TRADERS AND TECHNICIANS ASSOCIATION KANO STATE

PUBLIC NOTICE

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1.TRAINING AND YOUTH EMPOWERMENT. Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the registrargeneral, corporate affairs commission, plot 420 Tigris crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Garki, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: BARR. MBA DIANA OGOCHUKWU 08035537059 ELIM LEGAL CONSULT

PUBLIC NOTICE

ROCK OF SOLUTION INT’L GOSPEL MISSION

ALA UMUOBIA DI NMA ORGANIZATION

The general public is hereby informed that the above named body has applied to the corporate affairs commission for registration under part “C” of the companies and allied matters act 1 of 1990.

The general public is hereby informed that the above named organization has applied to the corporate affairs commission for registration under part “C” of the companies and allied matters act 1 of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PASTOR OGWUCHE UMAKATA SIMON - GENERAL OVERSEER 2. EVANG. MRS GRACE FATIMA OGWUCHE 3. ENGR. CORNELIUS MAKANJUOLA OLUFOWOSE 4. ELDER SANI ADISA SAMSON 5. MR AUGUSTINE ONOJA 6. MR EMMANUEL INALEGWU OGWUCHE - SECRETARY

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. OKIRI CHIMEZIE - CHAIRMAN 2. APUTAZIE NGOZI 3. EZE JOSEPHINE - SECRETARY 4. ONYENWERE RUTH 5. APUTAZIE BENEDETH 6. NTA ANTHONIA

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. TO USE THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST TO IMPROVE THE TOTAL WELLBEING OF ALL MANKIND, THE WORLD OVER. Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the registrargeneral, corporate affairs commission, plot 420 Tigris crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Garki, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1.TO CATER FOR THE WELFARE OF MEMBERS AND EMPOWER WOMEN. Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the registrar-general, corporate affairs commission, plot 420 Tigris crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Garki, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: E.A. OGBEIDE ESQ 08055456017

SIGNED: BARR. NKEIRUKA NWOKO 08052347182

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

AMAKAMA ELITE PROGRESSIVE CLUB

LOVE AND COMPASSION DIVINE HEALING MINISTRY

FLOWING POWER OF GOD BIBLE CHURCH

The general public is hereby informed that the above named club has applied to the corporate affairs commission for registration under part “C” of the companies and allied matters act 1 of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. MR KELECHI NWOSU - PRESIDENT 2. MR. OBINNA UKOJI - SECRETARY 3. MR. PROMISE EJIRIKA - TREASURER AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. TO PROMOTE UNITY AND COORPERATION AMONG ALL AMAKAMA SONS AND DAUGHTERS RESIDENT HOME AND ABROAD. 2. TO PROMOTE THE WELFARE OF MEMBERS BOTH HOME AND ABROAD. 3. TO COOPERATE WITH OTHER COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS THROUGH VILLAGE MEETING. 4. TO PROMOTE UNDERSTANDING AND GOOD RELATIONSHIP AMONG MEMBERS 5. TO PROJECT THE NAME ‘AMAKAMA’ Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the registrar-general, corporate affairs commission, plot 420 Tigris crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Garki, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: MR. OBINNA UKOJI SECRETARY

The general public is hereby informed that the above named ministry has applied to the corporate affairs commission for registration under part “C” of the companies and allied matters act 1 of 1990.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CHURCH HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Rev. Ngini Emmanuel Tochukwu President 2. Mrs. Ngini Obioma Florience Secretary 3. Onyenyilionwu Chinyere Florience 4. Ochuba Ifeyinwa Gloria 5. Aniebonam Godfrey Ejiofor 6. Amadi Mirian Manuchi 7. Ngini Henry Chibuzo 8. Nwugbo Chukwuma Edwin 9. Chukwu Joseph Chukwuemeka 10. Oguejiofor Shadrack AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To propagate the gospel of Christ 2. To establish a bible based church with branches spread around the globe 3. To promote the kingdom of God on earth, through prayer, teaching and preaching of the Holy Bible (The word of God) ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: Uzochukwu Arinze Johnson; Solicitor. 08038466838

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

ALL CHRISTIAN MINERS FELLOWSHIP

CHURCH PLANTER’S ASSOCIATION OF MOUNTAIN OF POWER AND DELIVERANCE MINISTRY

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FELLOWSHIP HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. ELDER EMMANUEL GEORGE OCHE CHAIRMAN 2. MR MICAH H YANGS SECRETARY 3. PASTOR BULUS DATOK 4. MR ELCHI MOSES 5. MRS FUNMI AWOJEBE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO PREACH THE UNDILUTED WORD OF GOD 2. TO UNITE CHRISTIANS FROM ALL DENOMINATION ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: AKINTAYO BALOGUN esq

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. MONDAY THADDAEUS OBIDIKE 2. MRS. BLESSING WOSILAT OBIDIKE 3. JOSEPH-UKOREBI EKPENYONG 4. IFEANYI SAMUEL UKAH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. TO PROPAGATE THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST TO THE WHOLE NATIONS OF THE WORLD. 2. TO INITIATE, ENGAGE IN, PARTICIPATE AND ENCOURAGE CHARITABLE BENEVOLENCE AND OTHER MERCIFUL ACTIVITIES TOWARDS ALL MEN AND ESPECIALLY TO THOSE OF THE HOUSE HOLD OF FAITH. Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the registrar-general, corporate affairs commission, plot 420 Tigris crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Garki, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.REV DR AGBOOLA JOHN ABIODUN PRESIDENT 2. PASTOR MRS.AGBOOLA CECILIA SECRETARY 3. PASTOR MRS BANKOLE TOYIN ESTHER TREASURER 4. EVANGELIST SAMSON OYEBADE FINANCIAL SECRETARY 5. PASTOR OLUBUSADE ORIADE AUDITOR AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: secretary

ELITE MISSION INTERNATIONAL THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MISSION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. OGUNDANA TAIWO MICHAEL CHAIRMAN 2. AGBOOLA OLAWALE SUNDAY SECRETARY 3. DANFULANI ROSEMARY TREASURER 4. ULOR KENNETH CHUKWUDI 5. AMOS JOHN INALOKO 6. IBRAHIM REMI LATEEF AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO CREAT TRAINING AVENUE FOR YOUTH TO DEVEIOP THIR POTENTIALS IN LIFE ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: secretary

PEOPLES DAILY, wednesday, march 12, 2014

Page 44

PUBLIC NOTICE

CLASSIFIED PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

HYACINTH AND JULIANA ILOEJE TRUST FUND

GLOBAL HOUSEHOLD OF LIBERTY MINISTRY

THE UNDILUTED LIVING WORD MINISTRY

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANISATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Onwuamaeze Iloeje 2. Ijeoma Iloeje 3. Donates Ogbonnia 4. Anayo Offiah 5. Bernard Ngwoke

SIGNED: Barr. Kennedy Ozo-Enemmo; 08035071922

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Evang. Johnson Ayotunde Komolafe Chairman 2. Lady Evang. Funmi Komolafe 3. Femi Odejinmi 4. Bro. Israel Obaloluwa Komolafe 5. Engr. Joseph Adedayo AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.

To preach the gospel 2.

To spread the word of God 3.

To promote love among peoples 4.

To enlarge the ministry of God ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: Secretary

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

Prof. Adewale Solarin 2.

Pastor Mrs. Valentina Solarin 3.

Pastor Joseph Adeyemo AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To propagate and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ 2. To establish local branches for the propagation of the gospel worldwide 3. To organize outreaches, crusades, seminars, workshops and revival services for the works of the gospel 4. To win souls for the kingdom of God

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE ADOGHE’S ONLINE PUBLIC HEALTH CHARITY FOUNDATION

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.

To train priests at the senior seminary level ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION.

CITADEL OF GRACE CHURCH: CAC/IT/NO. 23353

GLORY FIRE AND BIBLE MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CHURCH HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR CHANGE OF ITS TRUSTEES AND AMMENDMENT OF ITS CONSTITUTION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE OLD TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Senator Ebenezer Chukwuemeka Ikeyina Retained 2. Mrs Mabel Eziru Ikeyiru Retained 3. Oyewo Adewale Akintunde Removed 4. Chidozie Ikeyina Retained THE NEW TRUSTEES ARE: 1.

Pastor Uwandu Israel Uche 2. Sister Mercy Kokoma Bayode 3. Barr. Arthur Aghaisuoti REASONS FOR CHANGE: The removed trustee has left the church while others were elected to strengthen the Board of Trustees THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES REMAIN THE SAME AMMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION 1. ARTICLE 8 (2), the number of the Church Trustees is amended 2. ARTICLE 8A is amended to be ARTICLE 9 3. ARTICLE 8A (1 to 4), names of the Trustees is deleted 4. Section 8A (4), quorum is amended ANY OBJECTION TO THIS CHANGE/AMMENDMENT SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: Arthur Aghaisuoti Esq. 08028243327

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Dr. Abel Eku Anthonia (JP) (AFP) GO 2. Mr. Caleb Ukwuegbu 3.

Pastor Amado Okemefula Promise 4.

Capt. David Ndiaye 5.

Pastor Mrs. Anthonio Juliana 6. Elder Alfred Ozoh

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: Iwuagwu Nnamdi Esq. Green Aid Solicitors; Suite 19, Deo-Gratias Plaza, Utako, Abuja. 08064332700

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.DR ANTHONY ADOGHE 2.MRS EUNICE ATUSI ADOGHE 3.MR ISMAIL ADAMU SAID 4.PHARM CHIDINMA NKECHINYERE EBEREONWU 5.MRS ANTHONIA AKHERE OBI 6.VINCENT OHWOFADJEKE

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To preach the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 2. To teach the Holy Bible and scriptures all over the world 3. To promote divine healing in the name of Jesus Christ and be fishers of men 4. To engage in Christian evangelism, refining lives through the power of prayers

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1.PROMOTING QUALITY HEALTH THROUGH INNOVATION INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY. 2.PROMOTING SIMPLE SENSIBLE & PEOPLE FRIENDLY HEALTHCARE FOR NIGERIANS,HEALTH SYSTEM.3.MOBILE HEALTHE AND SOCIAL MEDIA HEALTH.

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

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRARGENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

SIGNED: Peter Nnajiego Esq. Solicitor. 08023190239

SIGNED: SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE

ELITE LADIES SUPPORT FOUNDATION

CHRIST FOUNDATION FAITH MINISTRIES

Noblenigerian Historical Foundation

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAME HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.MRS FUNMILAYO BECKY JOHN - FOUNDER/PRESIDENT 2.MRS. UZORMA AKINWALE 3.MRS. LARA OLORUNSHOLA 4.BARR. AKPOJOTOR UTIEYIN OGHENEUWORE

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PASTOR EMMANUELJOHNSON -GENERAL OVERSEER 2. PRESIDING ELDER SATURDAY OKON 3. ELDER EMMANUEL JOSIAH 4. ELDER IBANGA AKPAN 5. DEACONESS MERCY E. JOHNSON

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO PROMOTE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG WOMEN BY WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS. AND TO CATER FOR WIDOWS,UNSUPPORTED SINGLE PARENT,ORPHANS AND STUDENTS. 2.TO HELP THE INDIGENT AND PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED PEOPLE. 3.TO ASSIST THE INDIGENT STUDENTS WHO CANNOT CONTINUE THEIR EDUCATION TO COMPLETE SAME.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO PROMOTE THE GOSPEL. 2. TO PREACH THE GOSPEL AND WIN SOULS FOR CHRIST. 3. TOTAL DELIVERANCE, ESTABLISHMENT AND EMPOWERMENT. 4. TO EVANGELIZE, TEACH, AND PROPAGATE THE WORD OF GOD 5. TO CONDUCT CHURCH SEMINARS AND CRUSADE.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Prince Tsola Emiko 2.Chief Brown Mene 3.Alhaji Mustapha Yar’Adua 4.Mr Kola Adesina 5. Oyenike Monica Okundaye THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1.To restore,transform.support,promote,preserve and sensitise the people about nigeria’s historical and cultural values and heritage.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

SIGNED: BARR PROSPER UKACHUKWU

SIGNED: SECRETARY

signed: President;07033883020.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

WEISBERT BABAJIDE DUROTOYE FOUNDATION

RAISING A VIBRANT GENERATION INITIATIVE

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED INITIATIVE HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

EUNICE AND RITA WOMEN AND YOUTH INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1)Mrs Tinuola Durotoye 2)Mr Oladoke Durotoye 3)Mr Dimeji Durotoye 4)Mr Olatunbosun Durotoye 5)Mrs Olufunmilayo Aigbomian THE Aim and Objective: 1. To help indigent and less priviledged members of the society gain access to qualitative education, food, clothing and shelter.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. Signed: Olumuyiwa Teluwo 08067924743

THE TRUSTEES ARE: ( 1)ST. PETER OAMEN(PRESIDENT) (2)IYOHA OSATOHONMWAN DANIEL(SEC)(3)COLLINS ONYEMA THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: (1)To reach out to every young persons in the society to believe in themselves. (2)To bring out the unique abilities of young persons to affect their world.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: C.J OJIAGU ESQ, C.J OJIAGU LAW FIRM, BENIN CITY

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.AGU UCHECHIOMA EUNICE 2.EZINWA OBY THERESA 3.CHIKWELU RITA I CHIKWELU THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1.TO PROVIDE FEEDING,CLOTHING AND SHILTER FOR WOMEN AND YOUTH IN OUR SOCIETY. 2.TO CARE AND SUPPORT LESS PRIVILEGED WOMEN IN THE SOCIETY. 3.TO EDUCATE,TRAIN,SPONSOR,AND EMPOWER UNDER PRIVILEGED WOMEN AND YOUTH IN OUR SOCIETY. 4.TO HELP THE LESS PRIVILEGED IN SKILL ACQUISITION. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED:SECRETARY

PEOPLES DAILY, wednesday, march 12, 2014

PUBLIC NOTICE AHAMEFULE FOUNDATION THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: (1) SEN. NWALI OFIA (2) PROF. ANYA OKO ANYA (3) REAR ADMIRAL ALISON MADUEKE. (4) DR. PASCAL GABRIEL DOZIE (5) REAR ADMIRAL GODWIN NDUBISI KANU (6) RAYMOND OBIERI (7) CHIEF MARTIN AGBASO (8) DR. JOSEPH NNABUCHI NWODO (9) AMB. (PROF) GEORGE OBIOZOR THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1) TO SEEK THE TRUTH. (2) TO SPEAK THE TRUTH AS WE KNOW IT. (3) TO KEEP THE TRUTH AS WE KNOW IT. (4) TO TEACH THE TRUTH AS WE KNOW IT. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: Chief Martin Agbaso

PUBLIC NOTICE Ludo Game and Mirror Framers Traders Association

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. chief Akeem ibrahim - chairman2.Prince musbaudeen oyedokun Vice Chairman3.Abiola Animashaun - Secretary 4.Mr Festus Ezeh -Financial Secretary 5.Mr. Joseph Owolanilo - Chief Whip6.Sikiru Ganiu - Special Adviser 7.Ibiyinka Adedayo - Members 8.Alfa kamoru Raji 9. Olumide Olatoye 10. Kunle Ajiboye 11. Olumide Olatoye 12. Kunle Ajiboye THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1.TO ASSIST MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRARGENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

CLASSIFIED

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PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

UGOSUNDAY FOUNDATION

SABONSAM FOUNDATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. DR (MRS) ESTHER EKE - HUBER 2. MRS. JUDITH CHINYERE ODUNZE 3. MRS. EUCHARIA UKACHI NKWOCHA

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. SAMPSON UBON SAMPSON 2. EMMANUEL UBON SAMPSON 3. REV. ISREAL EKPIN 4. GLORIA SAMPSON SAMPSON 5. PASTOR UDEME AKPAN 6. DANIEL ASUQUO

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. TO PROMOTE WOMEN EMPOWERMENT. 2. TO PROMOTE FREE SPECIALIZED MEDICARE FOR RURAL WOMEN. 3. TO PROMOTE POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMMES/ PROJECTS FOR THE POOREST OF THE POOR WOMEN IN THE RURAL COMMUNITIES IN NIGERIA. 4. TO PARTNER WITH SIMILAR FOUNDATIONS/ ASSOCIATIONS TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE AIMS AND OBJECTS OF THE FOUNDATION.

THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1.TO EMPOWER THE LESS PRIVELEDGE IN THE SOCIETY BY GIVING SCHOLARSHIP AND ORGANISING APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING PROGRAM FOR THEM.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: CHAIRMAN.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SUNDAY M. JIMMY, ESQ JIMMY & JIMMY ASSOCIATE SUITE 204, PLOT 855, DANTADADO HOUSE, TAFAWA BALEWA WAY, AREA11, GARKI, ABUJA.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

MICHEAL NELSON FOUNDATION

FREECARE SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED INITIATIVE HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.MR EMEKA HEZ EZEKWESILI - CHAIRMAN 2.MRS NONNY JULIE EZEKWESILI - SECRETARY 3.MR MADUKA EVANS EZEKWESILI - MEMBER 4.CHIEF (DR) MICHEAL MBANEFO OGBALU - MEMBER 5.DR ELOKA MENAKAYA - MEMBER 6.DR ABDULLAHI ALIYU - MEMBER 7.MRS HOPE ANENE - MEMBER 8.MRS IFEOMA MOMAH - MEMBER 9.DR EBELE NWOFOR - MEMBER THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1.TO HELP THE NEEDY IN THE SOCIETY. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRARGENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: (1) EMMANUEL ADINOYI SAMSON (2) JUMAI ERUKE ADINOYI-SAMSON (3) JOHN ONUH ANDREW The Aim and Objective: To assist I’m the alleviation of poverty in society by rendering assistance to the needy.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

SIGNED: SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

MEDIA ADVOCACY ADVANCEMENT INITIATIVE

G21 COMMITTEE OF FRIENDS CLUB

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED INITIATIVE HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CLUB HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

RESOURCE INTERMEDIARIES FINISHING SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.PATRICT ABU 2.JOY ONYECHE ABU 3.BLESSING EHI ABU

SIGNED: BARR:OLUMIDE EMMANUEL

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.EVERGREEN JUDE ONYEDUM - CHAIRMAN 2.BEN CHUKWUJAMA - SECRETARY 3.UZAMA OKPALAEKE 4.IFEANYI OBIORA 5.OKEY ANOLUE THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1.IT IS AN ASSOCIATION OF FRIENDS WHOSE MAIN AIM IS FOR THE GENERAL WELFARE OF IT’S MEMBERS. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED:BARR KATE OTUMU 08036677402

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1.EMPOWER THE YOUTH THROUGH THE MEDIA. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

IFON PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION

SAFINATU MOHAMMED FOUNDATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

This is to inform the general public that the above name Foundation has applied to the corporate Affairs Commission for registration under the Companies and Allied Matter Act Part “C” No. of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.OYEWO EMMANUEL OLUSEGUN 2.AKANGBE BASHIRU OLALERE 3.AKINLADE ABIDOYE 4.OYEDEJI MOHAMMED OLABANHI THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO RENDER ASSISTANCE TO MEMBERS OF ASSOCIATION. 2.TO SUSTAIN THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF MEMBERS THROUGH MENTORSHIP AND SHARED EXPERIENCES. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

The Trustees Are: (1) Jemila Thompson Abdulkadri (2) Safinatu Mohammed

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar – General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this Publication

SIGNED:BARRISTER GENEVIVA

SIGNED: UKAH ALBERT 08065903522

The Aims and Objectives Are: (1) to establish a platform that ends violence against women and girls.

(2) to expand the access of women and girls survivor of violence to humanitarian services.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.DR. EBUN LADIPO BAMGBOYE - PRESIDENT 2.SHOLA OLAJUMOKE ADEKOYA - SECRETARY 3.OJUGO FEYISARA OMOLABAKE 4.FAGBOLA ADEMOLA TOSIN 5.ADE AWO NAIKE THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO CREATE THE OPPURTUNITY AMONG ALUMNI MEMBERS FOR NETWORKING. 2.TO SUSTAIN THE CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF MEMBERS THROUGH MENTORSHIP AND SHARED EXPERIENCES. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED:ERNEST O. IBUDE ESQ 08053220512

LOSS OF DOCUMENT

The Family House of EGHAREVBA OF No. 21, Upper Uwa, Off M. M. Way, Benin City WAS set ablaze BY UNKNOWN HOODLOOMS/ CRIMINALS WHO were HEARD screaming “bring out Stella or else”. At THE end of THE day, the house was BURNT DOWN on d 27th of December, 2013. DOCUMENTS ETC WERE LOST. THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE

THIS SPACE IS FOR SALE

PEOPLES DAILY, wednesday, march 12, 2014

Page 46

PUBLIC NOTICE

CHANGE OF NAME

CHIEF PETER OFIELU DIKE FOUNDATION

I, formerly known and addressed as Abimbola Jolade Bolarinwa D.I.G (RTD). Now wish to be known and addressed as Abimbola Jolaade Ojomo D.I.G (RTD). All former documents remain valid General public take note.

This is to inform the general public that the above name Foundation has applied to the corporate Affairs Commission for Change of Trustees and Amendment of Constitution under the Companies and Allied Matter Act Part “C” No. of 1990.

Trustees: 1. ENGR ANENE DIKE -Chairman 2. CHUKWUEMEKA DIKE. 3. EUCHARIA DIKE- secretary.

4. CHUKWUEMEKA PATER DIKE Aims and objective.

1.To provide education to the less priviledged 2.To assist the less priviledged in their medical bills.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar – General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this Publication.

Signed.

Barrister V.T.UGOCHUKWU (08037266171)

PUBLIC NOTICE SPONTANEOUS ACTS OF LOVE FOUNDATION

This is to inform the general public that the above name Foundation has applied to the corporate Affairs Commission for Change of Trustees and Amendment of Constitution under the Companies and Allied Matter Act Part “C” No. of 1990.

Trustees: 1. THEOPHILUS WELLINGTON-chairman.

2. NENGI WELLINGTON-Secretary 3. DR.EKPOS WARITIMI. 4.SEGUN NENI 5.EMMANUEL NENI 6. EUNICE NENI Aims and Objective 1.literacy for all age group.

2.Gender equality in education Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar – General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this Publication.

Signed. Barrister V.T UGOCHUKWU (08037266171)

PUBLIC NOTICE OUR MOTHER OF PERPETUAL HELP PRAYER MINISTRY

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED MINISTRY HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.OBIYO IJEOMA DORATHY 2.ROSELINE UGWOEGBULEM THE AIM AND OBJCETIVE:1.TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AND TO INTERCEED FOR THE OPPRESS BY LIBRATING THEM FROM THE HAND OF THE DEVID. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: DICKSON OGHENE SOLICITOR

PUBLIC NOTICE INTERNATIONAL CHRIST DIVINE SALVATION MINISTRY

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANISATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Rev. Dr. Omotoso Olufunmilayo Florence 2. Rev. Dr. Omotoso Ayodele Rufus 3. Lady Evang. Adewale Ayobani 4. Elder Bakole Babatunde Julius 5. Elder Adeniyi Micheal Olafimihan 6. Sister Adewale Oluwatobi Oluwatinilehin 7. Evang. Adelakun Taiwo AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To preach the gospel of Christ to all nations of the world.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL, CORPERATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED: Secretary

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YYUSTXYCCORY UTTY RIRLY KNOWKOVYPICK YISTTYZ (YURKYZ) GURVURYUSTXY RUSTXY BY YYYXSTTYZZ O.Y XYISTXY WOYOZZZU ZZZXSTZZZ OF THE STATES F.C.T. YORIWON YURKYZ NITILLIRION. BEEN ABUJA GET NO ENGLISH. THEN THIS IS OUR OWNEN. YYUSTXYCCORY UTTY RIRLY KNOWKOVYPICK YISTTYZ (YURKYZ)

BY PRIYISTTY. ONLY GOD OF RIGNRY THROUGH THIS ONLY GOD OF RIGNRY MY BODY INPROVISTTY UTTY GROWRY UTTYWISITY AND THROUGH ONLY GOD OF RIGNRY MY PRIYISTTY. ABSOLUTELY ACCEPTABLY AS YOU CAN PRAYING DOING. AND SAYING IS THROUGH ONLY GOD OF RIGNRY MY PRIYISTTY ACCEPTTY. OF MY, IS BISTY MORE THAN AMEN. DO UNCALLEN JESUS OR ANY MOHAMMED. ALSO DO UNCALLEN ME. SO YOUR PRIYISTTY WONT REFAREN TO ANOTHER PLACE. YOU JUST HEALISTTY, RIRLY IN THE SPORTINGS THERE. IF RULLING KEY HAVING BEEN GIVEN TO ME, THIS OF BIBLE AND PSALMS MUST HAVEN BEEN WRITTEN INTO PUBLIC. TRETING ME ABOUT RECIEVEN WORLDEN GOLDEN CUPS TOO MUCH. AT LAGOS THEY SENT ONE PASTOR TO ME, SAID IS BEEN CHOOSEN. AS THEIR EYES TOO HIRCHED. SAID BY ME DO UNFIGHTED. ABOUT THIS COUNTRY PRAYER. YOU CAN PRAYED TO YOUR COUNTRY. CAMEROONIRS WILL BE RECEIVED PRIYISTTY FROM ME. THEY HAPPY. OTHER PEOPLES THERE SAW THEM AT OWORONSHOKI. AS AFRICAN NATION CUP WON BY CAMEROONIRS. THE CAME SAID IS OLYMPIC THEIR TALKED ABOUT. I SAID IS OK. BUT IS ONLY NIGERIAN WILL BE DIFITED

BY CHILE. MAY BE THEY CAN GO PRAYED ABOUT THAT. THEY CAME SAID NIGERIANS DEFITED BY SOUNDRAL 0 4. PASTOR WANTED TO FIGHTED PLAYER SAID GAME STILL ON. ABOUT 30 MINUTES ONLY PLAYER CAME SAID NIGERIAN IS BEEN WON. ASKEN BY ME WHAT IS THE NEXT MATCHED THEN THEY SAID NIGERIANS WITH CHILE. THEN I SAID NIGERIAN WILL RECEIVED 3 0. FROM THE CHILE. THEY CAME SAID CHILE GAVE NIGERIANS 3 0. THEN CAMEROONIRS PRIYISTY TO BY ME WON OLYMPIC. SECOND LETTERS WRITTEN TO THE CAMEROONIRS EMBASSY AT KOFOABAYOMI. AS THEIR ABOUT TO DEPIRTED. THEY RECIVED WORNED FROM ME. TOO MUCH TRESPASSED OF YOU PEOPLE. I AM STILL WITH CAMEROONIRS ONCE’S MORE. THEY SAID SIR WHICH ONE NIGERIANS WILL SEEN RECEIVED. I SAID THEIR FIGHTED FOR THEIR BROSED. THEY KEPT HAPPYED. THEN GAVE CAMEROONIRS AFRICA NATIONS CUP. LETTER IS BEEN WRITTEN TO THEIR EMBASSEY TAKE CARE OF YOUR COUNTRY THE ONE DONE BY ME IS ENOUGHED. FOOTBALLERS TO KNOW IS BY PRIYISTTY, LETTERS WRITING TO THE SPORTS MINISTER 2006 SAID WORLDEN GOLDEN CUPS REQUISTY ONCES MORE, AND IS BEEN GIVEN TO US. UNDER SEVENTEEN. HEAVY WIGHT BOXER WON. HEARTLESS WON. LIGHT WIGHT BOXER WON. AFRICAN NATION CUP. UNDER SEVENTEEN AGAIN. KERSHIY TOO TALKED. Joenathan Ibele IF HE SIGNEN IS LIKE A SNAIL TOOK IN THE BUSHED AND IT MOUTHED DROPPEN WATER SAID THOSE PLAYERS MUST UNPLAYED THAT AFRICAN NATION CUP. OF BEEN SAID THEIR PRISONEN THEN THEY ENTERED DARKNESS. SOMEONE REACHED MY PLACE SAID SPORTEES PROVEN XYISTY. THEY ARE BEEN RUSHEN OUT. FROM THE DARKNESS. THEIR ACCEPTEN BY ME. Ibele SHOUTED WASN’T BY XYISTXY. IT WANT TO TOLD XYISTXY WHAT IS MEDICINE. AS THEIR PLAYED ON TOO MUCH HARDED IS BEEN SHOUTED HIS HAND REMOVEN OUTEN FOR ME XYISTXY. WHAT WASN’T PREPARED FOR BOTH FIRST AND SECOND SHOUTED NO SETTLEMENT OF THIS. NOVEMBER 2013 OF BY Joenathan Ibele SHOUTEN ONLY WHAT IS BEING WRITTEN BY XYISTXY FAITHFULLY ON. NONE OF ANY OF HUMAN BEINGS SECRETEN OPEN TO US. IS TOO MUCHED YOU MEANING ME. MAKEN THY OPENEN MY EYES TO SEEN YOU. IT Joenathan Ibele BEEN SAID AS IS BEEN IN P.D.P. HE THOUGHT WE CAN KNOW OF THIS MUST WRITTEN AND PUBLISHING. THEN IS BEEN WRITEN PUBLISHING BY ME. IS NOW SAID FAITHFULLY IS BY XYISTXY. AS IS BEEN SEEN BY ME ARMY ARE TOO STAYED BACK. FIRST SECOND, AND AS BRIGHTY OPENED BEEN BY ARMY RULLING ONLY FREE TO RULLING COUNTRY. BEFORE CALLEN 3RD STAYEN BACK. ARMY SIDEN IS BEEN RIGNGULLISTTYZZZ. EVERY FRIQUISTY. RIRLY BREASEN SUN. RAIN. AND SO ON. GIVING US. THIS USED CARY DEAD YARADUA AND SLUGGISH PRISONEN. DEFECE WASN’T ON. NIJE UNESPECTEDLY JUMPED TO WOOD ME. IF WASN’T SO FULCONENT MUST BROUGHT ONE OF THEIR WOLDEN GOLDEN CUPS. AGE OF RULLING GIVEN STARTMENT FROM 55 YEARS UPWARDING. SINCE OF MY OF PURLISHING BY LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPER. RUSTXY BY ME HAVEN BEEN TAKING PLACENING. YOU PLAYED BALLED TO8 GOAL POST ON LOOKED BACK TO OTHER PEOPLES TO ENTERED FIELD AS AGED MATES. AS THEY WANTEN TO ASKING YOU, WHO IS YOUR MATE. BUT YOU SAID THERE IS KNOWN AGED MATE PERSON DO THAT ONE TO. YOU FREE. NIJE KILLED NORTHIANS IS MORE THAN DUREN HITLER. THY SAID IF THEY DON’T START TO BE GOING OUT TO THEIR COUNTRY NIJE NOW. THEY WONT SEE EYES USED ANY MORE. BUHARI ALWAYS ASKING ME WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT NIJE IS THEIR ANSWER TO YOU HEARING. IF WASN’T P.D.P CANT KEEPING WORLDEN GOLDEN CUPS PLUS THEIR CCOROPTEN. THERE IS NO REASON OF THEIR PUMPED WATER INTO MY COUNTRY. THEY KNOWING SUPER EAGES ENTERING MY PLACE THEY SAID IS GOVERNMENT IS USING MY PLACE THOSE ONE, ONE, PEOPLE PRAYING TO THIS ARE THE ONE BY GIVING ME SOME MONEY. THEY STONED ME, NIJE, CAMEROON, MADUGURI FIGHTED. BUT IS (NIRJIR. CURMUROON MENDUGURY NO FIGHTING) IF WAS’NT MOPOL ARE WORKING AS MURPUR HELPING ME THROUGH DIE FOR ENTER STONE THEY STONED ME. BUT POLICE AND SIRKY BEEN I CAN’T BUY LAND TO PRAY TO INTER SPORTS THEY SAID WTHAT THE MAN SPOILD IN MY PLACE, IT MUST PAY FOR IT. URDOMUSTXY ORDIRLY GIVEN TO URMY TO TAKE RULLING KEY AND BE RUSTXY ON.

PUBLIC NOTICE

CHRIST POWER HOUSE LIBERATION MINISTRY

The palace of praise apostolic mission.

This is to inform the general public that the above named MINISTRY has applied to the corporate affair commission ,Abuja for registration under the part ‘C’ of company and allied matters Acts 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PAUL JUSTUS ADETOKUNBO 2. ONALAJA OLUWAKEMI 3. ONALAJA MOBOLAJI OLAJIDE 4. ADEREMI IDOWU 5. PASTOR DAVID OLABODE AFOLABI Aims and Objectives 1. TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST 2. TO PROMOTE ESSENTIALLY THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 3. TO SET THE CAPTIVE FREE Any objection to the registration of the named ministry should forwarded to the Registrar General of the Corporate Affair commission Plot 420, Tigir Crescent,Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Mataima Abuja within 28 days of this Publication.

This is to inform the general public that the above named mission has applied to the corporate affair commission ,Abuja for registration under the part ‘C’ of company and allied matters Acts 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Pastor kayode Luke Adeleye -General OVERSEER (2) Lady Evang Christiana Adeleye -Treasurer (3) Deaconeess Oluwakemi Tijani -Secretary Aims and Objectives (1) To preach d gospel of Christ (2) To teach d world of GOD to d lost soul in all nations.

(3) To carry out soul winning evangelism throughout d whole world.(4) To teach men how to live victorious through d practice of GOD”S word.

(5) To establish branches throughout the world Any objection to the registration of the named ministry should forwarded to the Registrar General of the Corporate Affair commission Plot 420, Tigir Crescent,Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Mataima Abuja within 28 days of this Publication.

SIGNED: general overseer

SIGNED: PAUL JUSTUS ADETOKUNBO

PAGE 47

Peoples Daily, wednesDAY, march 12, 2014

For The Record Buni-Yadi: One massacre too many (I)

By Aminu Waziri Tambuwal

I

welcome you back to the Plenary Session of the House of Representatives. In the last two weeks, various Committees of the House had been working assiduously on the 2014 Appropriation Bill.

The House is grateful to the Committees for their hard work and dedication.

Our reunion at times like this has always been one of joy for accomplishment of a civic responsibility. However on this day it is with the greatest sense of anguish that I welcome you back.

On February 25, 2014, the very day the House adjourned Plenary, Nigeria suffered a horrendous terrorist attack that struck a fatal blow at the heart and soul of the Nigerian nation and desecrated values that decent peoples of all nations hold dear. On that night, about 59 students of Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State were killed in the most heinous manner. Some of our future national leaders were mowed down in gruesome circumstances in their sleep.

Some were shot dead while many were burnt beyond recognition. That day was a day that will live in infamy in the history of this nation.

When innocent, harmless and defenseless women and children become the targets of these heartless murderous bandits; when the lives of sleeping children are so callously snuffed out, it becomes clear that these agents of terror have murdered sleep and they henceforth deserve none.

Whatever grievances the terrorists harbor against the government of Nigeria, Nigeria’s innocent children have nothing to do with it. Nigeria’s children bear no responsibility for either policy making or policy implementation in Nigeria. It is therefore an act of cowardice worthy of ringing condemnation to target the children, to strike at those who are not only innocent but are also unable to strike back or defend themselves.

There can be no reason, no justification and no acceptable excuse for this act of mindless brutality. Whatever message the terrorists set out to send to the Nigerian government has been drowned out by the cries for justice by the blood of these innocent martyrs.

It is to remember these innocent children and other victims of violence in this country, that the House has declared today “A day of mourning” to express our collective outrage on these

Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal

killings that have gone on for far too long.

Dear Colleagues, please travel with me on an imaginary journey to Federal Government College, Buni Yadi.

Picture the scene as the terrorists creep into the hostels and the children begin to wake up one after the other, with their eyes heavy with sleep, each of them convinced that this is some nightmare.

Picture the chaos in the rooms and the terror on the faces of the children as they watch the murderers attack the first set of students, the ones nearest to the entrance, and the students begin to realize that what is happening is not a nightmare but a reality far harsher that any nightmare the mind of a child can construct.

Hear the panic in the voices of the children as they begin to scream for help, from God, their parents or security. But no help will come tonight.

Feel the unbearable horror

of this night, and hear the fading cries of these children as they finally succumb to the murderous onslaught.

Finally, my dear colleagues imagine that it is your own child in the hostels at Buni Yadi on this hellish night.

I can still hear the voice of the father of Aliyu Yola, one of the victims of the school massacre crying, “Aliyu was scared to go back to school after the last holiday. I forced him to resume not knowing he will never come back to me again”.

As Jodi Picoult writes in her book “My Sister’s Keeper”, “In the English language there are orphans and widows, but there is no word for the parent who loses a child”.

Dear colleagues, please let us rise for a minute silence in honor of the murdered children of Buni Yadi and of the many valuable Nigerians that have been lost in this needless orgy of violence.

“

May their innocent souls rest in perfect peace 16. Today is not a day to apportion blames. It is a day for the expression of our sense of personal and national loss.

But it is also a day for us to look for concrete solutions.

In my brief statement immediately after that attack, I warned that Nigeria is running out of excuses for our failure to live up to our responsibility to protect our citizens. Today I wish to amend that comment and declare that we HAVE run out of excuses. We no longer have any excuse for our inability to protect our innocent defenseless children from gratuitous violence.

In recent times, it seems the nation wakes up every morning to the sad news of one gory tale of bloodletting and killing of innocent Nigerians or another: in the North East States of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe; in the North Central States of Benue and Plateau; and in other parts of Nigeria.

We wake up to the disturbing news of daring and dastardly attacks on our military establishments resulting in the dissipation of our military infrastructure and the destruction of the lives of the heroic Nigerians who have committed their lives to the defense of our territorial integrity.

In Maiduguri for instance, expensive military aircraft and equipment and whole military barracks have been lost in addition to the loss of men and women of our Military and other law enforcement agencies.

We wake up to the chilling news of the total annihilation of innocent, law abiding families and entire communities in the most callous, reprehensible and bizarre fashion. This cannot continue. We must rise up collectively and decisively

Picture the chaos in the rooms and the terror on the faces of the children as they watch the murderers attack the first set of students, the ones nearest to the entrance, and the students begin to realize that what is happening is not a nightmare but a reality far harsher that any nightmare the mind of a child can construct

to stop these orgy of deaths, destruction and waste.

Section 14 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides that the security and welfare of our people is the primary purpose of government. In making this provision, the Constitution places a duty on all of us here and everyone else entrusted with the mandate of governance and representation to place a high premium on the security of lives and property of Nigerians.

By this parameter, the Nigerian government must rise to the occasion. And by government I do not mean only the Executive. We in the Legislature are also part of government. And we cannot therefore merely join in the chorus of lamentations. Our duty is to act swiftly and decisively in the protection of the citizenry.

In the past, this House had initiated and supported all measures needed to combat terrorism in the Country.

Since active terrorism started manifesting itself, the House has taken the following steps: We have passed over twenty resolutions on the issue of national security We amended the Antiterrorism Act, 2011 to strengthen the Security Agencies We have appropriated huge sums of money for the Security Agencies Only recently, January 30, 2014 the House in making its recommendations for Constitutional Amendment voted to include the National Security Agencies and the Nigerian Police on the First Line charge for purpose of ensuring their financial independence and timely release of funds when appropriated.

While we await the completion of the Constitutional amendment process in which we have thus sought to remove the funding bottleneck that impedes the operational effectiveness of our security institutions, we must in the interim adopt definite measures to ensure that the security agencies have all the support they need to put an end to this long-running orgy of bloodbath so that Nigerians can sleep with both eyes closed.

That is the most basic service citizens expect from their government.

Being text of an address by the Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, CFR, yesterday, on the “day of mourning” special session of the House to remember students and other Nigerians killed through terrorism.

www.peoplesdailyng.com

QUOTABLE QUOTE Political parties are not political parties as such, but platforms for grappíng power for self aggrandisement.

. . . putting the people first

WEDNESDAY, march 12, 2014

SPORTS latest

Malawi considers 2015 AFCON withdrawal

M

alawi senior national football team, the Flames, might forgo the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations due to inadequate funding.

The Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu told The Nation newspaper yesterday that the national team’s main sponsor, government had told the association to choose between the Flames and the Under-20’s participation in CAF Youth Championship.

“We have no choice but to forego the Nations Cup because government advised us to prioritise. We have, therefore, prioritized the Under-20 for the sake of development and also the consequences would be far-reaching since we already confirmed participation in the CAF Youth Championship,” Nyamilandu said.

“It is a painful decision, but as I said, there was little we could do because it was government that assured us that funding would be available for the Under-20 competition and now the tune has changed and they asked us to choose.

Nyamilandu said they had tried to dig dipper into their pocket to fund friendly games and now the association’s coffers are dry.

Sports Minister Enoch Chihana questioned the preparedness of the Flames in competitions and suggested that the issue should not be about making numbers in competitions but competing.

Malawi, the 1984 and 2010 Nations Cup finalists, lost 1-4 to Zimbabwe last Wednesday at the Kamuzu Stadium in what was the hosts first match in six months.

Advert: 0803 business: 0805 news: 0814 lagos: 0805 0803

–Prof Mike Kwanashie, VC, Veritas University. Bwari, Abuja.

Secure schools, don’t close them down

T

he closure of five Federal Government Colleges in the North-eastern part of the country is exactly what Boko Haram wants. It is absolutely the wrong way to go and I am really shocked and surprised that government came up with this decision. Is this then not a victory by Boko Haram, who has targeted schools with its attack in order to prevent the spread of “Boko” (Western education)?

Who then is the winner here?

The nasty incident that occurred on February 24 in Buni Yadi, Yobe state – and many others before it – in which tens of pupils were slaughtered or burnt to death was profoundly shocking and abhorrent. On the spur of emotions, any decision taken to ensure safety of the rest of the children will be right. But governments are not run that way. At a time when men lose their heads, leaders are those who keep theirs.

As a result of this decision, an estimated 10,000 have been asked to leave Federal Government Girls’ College, Munguno, College of Science and Technology, Lassa, both in Borno state; Federal Government Girls’ College, Potiskum and the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, both in Yobe state and the College of Science and Technology in Michika, Adamawa state. Reports quoted the Special Assistant on Media to the Supervising Minister of Education, Simeon Nwakandu, announcing the directive of the Minister that the students who are not writing examinations be relocated to unity colleges in Kaduna, Bauchi, Katsina, Gombe states. As a consequence, the Daily Trust on Monday,

“

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7458 1765 9046 1969 0344

musings By

Garba Shehu garshehu@yahoo.co.in

Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike

reported thousands of these students have been left in the lurch with their parents, who are plunged into a sea of worries, opposing their transfer. The parents have been told to pay for the relocation of their children and wards.

Many of them say their children are not going anywhere.

I don’t think it is right to push this financial burden to parents.

Government has also given conflicting directives on the status of students due to start writing their final examinations in a month’s time. In one breath,

government says, as earlier indicated here, that those with exams to write should remain in the schools ordered shut. It says, in another, that those students should sit for their examinations elsewhere.

As many parents have continued to argue, the solution to the problems does not lie in the closure of schools. The North-east zonal branch of the National Parent-Teacher Association which met in Bauchi at the weekend captured those concerns and put the point succinctly when they announced that the federal government was merely shirking its responsibility of providing security by shutting down the colleges. They demanded that the decision be rescinded and security be provided at the colleges. Reports also quoted unity colleges’ teachers and staff as objecting to the school closure, saying this would merely confirm assumptions, widely held, that government is unable to provide security. The schools’ closure only smacks of government’s off-handed handling of the situation in the North-east.

It is difficult to understand why government has stuck to

In our own experience, we tried the soldiers and the air force jets against the rising militancy in the Niger Delta back a few years ago. In the end, it was dialogue that brought the violence to a cessation. The excuse often tendered by government apologists that with the Boko Haram there are no negotiating partners is rubbish. If Pakistan is talking to Taliban and Israel talking to Palestinians albeit through third parties, there is nothing wrong in holding the thread out to BoKo Haram, which governors in the region say they have found. Rarely has a democratic government anywhere so consciously avoided dialogue. Even so, patriotic citizens must not be deterred from advocating for dialogue and demanding comprehensive and competent security cover for schools, places of worship, markets and just everywhere to protect life.

violence as the only solution to the crisis. When they speak about the issue as the President usually does whenever he attends church these days, he mouthes a commitment to dialogue and a peaceful resolution but it is hard to see them making any effort in that direction. Violence on both sides continues to damage the image of Nigeria as a whole. While government has set up at least three committees to explore the possibilities of peaceful settlement of the violence, to wit, the Galtimari Committee; the Maitama Sule-led Northern Elders Forum, and the latest which was headed by a Minister of the government, Mr. Kabiru Turaki (SAN) which submitted its report amid fanfare and high hopes, nothing by way of a final decision or whitepaper has come from the administration. Yet, the whole world continues to tell this country that violence alone won’t solve these problems.

In our own experience, we tried the soldiers and the air force jets against the rising militancy in the Niger Delta back a few years ago. In the end, it was dialogue that brought the violence to a cessation.

The excuse often tendered by government apologists that with the Boko Haram there are no negotiating partners is rubbish. If Pakistan is talking to Taliban and Israel talking to Palestinians albeit through third parties, there is nothing wrong in holding the thread out to Boko Haram, which governors in the region say they have found. Rarely has a democratic government anywhere so consciously avoided dialogue.

Even so, patriotic citizens must not be deterred from advocating for dialogue and demanding comprehensive and competent security cover for schools, places of worship, markets and just everywhere to protect life.

The only plausible interpretation of the action by the government in closing down schools is that it has failed to provide them with security. Boko Haram must be having a good laugh. This is what they wish to see. But watch out. Government may be laying another veritable minefield.

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