Friday, December 12, 2014. Edition.

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Bomb explosions kill 31 in Plateau

>> page 3

L-R: Winner of All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Primary, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), receiving the party’s flag from APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, after the announcement of results yesterday in Lagos.

APC delegates vote Buhari presidential candidate l Kwankwaso, Atiku, others pledge support l Okorocha, Amaechi, Fayemi jostle for VP slot l He’s welcome into race - PDP >> page 2

Sudan extorts, deports 30 Nigerian students >> page 2

Court reinstates Jokolo Emir of Gwandu >> page 5

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Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

News CONTENTS News 2-11 Editorial 13 Op.Ed 14 Letters 15 Politics 16-18 Business 19-22 Stockwatch 23 S/Report 24-25 Int’l 27-31

Sudan extorts, deports 30 Nigerian students

By Doyin Ojosipe & Tobias Lengnan Dapam with agency report

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espite the World Health Organization (WHO)’s declaration of Nigeria as a country free from the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), not less than 30 Nigerian students were still deported yesterday from Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, after being detained for three hours at the airport.

The declaration of Nigeria as Ebola-free nation by WHO, was validated on October 20th, 2014, exactly 42 days after suspected Ebola patients had tested negative and further released from quarantine.

One of the students, Fatimah Ahmed Abubakar, a second-year Medicine student, narrated her ordeal in the hands of the Sudan immigration authorities.

According to her, Nigerian students were initially singled out

among the arriving passengers and asked to step to one side, after which they were detained for almost three hours without any explanation.

She added that their international passports were further seized and when they enquired why such humiliating attitudes were meted on them, they were asked to shut up and be quiet, while plans were being made to return them to Nigeria through Ethiopia.

“We were not screened, they just told us to step aside and the next thing, our passports were seized from us and they told us, we should leave their country.

We tried to know the reason, but there was no cogent reply, only one person said, it could be because of Ebola, who seemed not to be sure of the claim,” she added.

Fatimah also explained that all their efforts to get the Nigerian Embassy in Khartoum to

intervene proved abortive as the Sudan Immigration authorities were bent on deporting them, and did not allow them any breathing space.

She further revealed that they were made to pay not less than 500 dollars each to reclaim their individual passports which were not returned to them until after returning to Nigeria.

Another victim, Hauwa’u Ibrahim Bakori, a second year student of Pharmacy at Al Ahfad University for Women, Omdurman, said she and other students were denied entry after arriving Khartoum Airport on Wednesday.

They were detained, and then deported to Nigeria the following day, said Bakori, who is in her second year at the Sudanese university and had travelled to Nigeria on holidays.

The Nigerians had travelled to Khartoum via an Ethiopian Airline flight ET 910 from Abuja

on Wednesday, travelling via Addis Ababa. But on arrival in Khartoum, authorities seized their passports, and arranged boarding passes for them to return to Nigeria.

They were sent back to the Nigerian capital via the same Ethiopian Airline on Thursday.

When Peoples Daily contacted, the Nigeria Immigration Public Relations Officer (PRO), Chukwuemeka Obua, he could neither confirm nor deny the information. He only said he had not been cleared to speak on such matter.

Also, the Information Officer of the Embassy of Sudan, Mohammed A. Rahmon, said he was on casual leave but promised to send the number of another person in the Embassy who will speak on his behalf. But hours later, when our reporter called back it was not received nor was the reminder text he sent replied to as at press time.

the APC presidential primary in preparation for the 2015 general elections.”

In his acceptance speech, Buhari said the outcome of the Presidential primaries is a demonstration of democracy at work.

“What has happened is not about winning or losing, it is about freedom of association.

I wish to thank my contenders for putting up a good fight. I extend my gratitude to you for accepting my nomination and I will meet you in due course to fashion out how we will win the election.

“It is with deep sense of humility to be the flag-bearer of the APC. I stand before you and ask that you join me to bring the needed change for this country. It is either we advance as one or we fail together.

“Christians and Muslims, rich and poor, young and old, men and women, we are all citizens of Nigeria. Either we advance as one, or fail altogether.

“We will all join hands to rescue our dear country, Nigeria, from those who have led us to the current state of insecurity, poverty, sectarian divide, and hopelessness among our people,” Buhari stated.

Speaking shortly after the declaration of the results, National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, commended the aspirants for the spirit of sportsmanship exhibited.

“You are very gallant contestants, I congratulate

you all,” Oyegun told the contestants.

“You will see this party to Aso Rock, this party will be good to you; as you have been good to the party; we will not forget you all,” he said.

Atiku in his address congratulating Buhari, described him as the man who will bring change to the country.

Pointing to Buhari, Atiku said: “See this man, who will change Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.”

He described the election as the most credible, transparent election that has ever been conducted by a political party in the history of Nigeria.

Atiku further congratulated Buhari, describing him as an embodiment of nation building in the country for decades, while assuring the party of his support, stressing that he remains committed to working with the party’s presidential candidate to salvage the country.

Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso while congratulating the winner said: “I want to start by thanking God for making me be part of history. On behalf of myself especially the delegates that voted for me, I want to congratulate the winner of this primary, General Buhari, as we earlier agreed that whoever wins this election, we will work for him. Let me assure you that we will work together for the success of APC at all levels.”

On his part, Okorocha said Buhari’s emergence has signified the end of PDP government. The Imo

governor said Buhari will bring development and progress to the nation.

“We have shown that internal democracy can be achieved in a political party,” he said.

Giving reasons why he contested the race, Okorocha said he did so to give the South East a sense of belonging in the party.

“The responsibility falls on the shoulder of General Buhari. I believe it is God and it came to him because he is the oldest of the family and I believe the next one will go to the youngest of the family.

“There wouldn’t have been this competition if all of us have not contested. We have now taught the world that internal democracy can begin in a party,” Okorocha said.

Meanwhile, an impeccable source within the APC, who spoke to Peoples Daily on condition of anonymity, disclosed that already, top notches within the party especially those from the south-west, south-south and south-east zones, have since commenced jostling for people from their zones to be picked as running mate to the presidential candidate.

Among the names prominently being mentioned were Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State; Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Governor of Imo State and former governor of Ekiti State and Chairman of the Convention Committee, Dr Kayode Fayemi.

APC delegates elect Buhari Presidential candidate From Ayodele Samuel & Umar Muhammad Puma, Lagos

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FG to revoke nonperforming oil field licenses – Page 4

Vogue 32-33 Feature 34 Digest 36 Metro 37 Newsxtra

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Sports 41 Columnist 48

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ormer military Head of State, retired General Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday emerged winner of the keenly-contested presidential primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as he promised to build a new Nigeria if elected.

Buhari, who will be running for a record fourth time, is set to challenge incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan, who got the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket unopposed, in the coming presidential election scheduled for February, 2015.

Buhari polled 3, 430 votes to beat four other contenders with a wide margin.

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, his Imo State counterpart, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and Leadership Newspapers publisher, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah, got 954, 974, 624 and 10 votes respectively.

A total of 6008 votes were cast out of the 7, 214 accredited delegates that converged at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos for the convention.

Declaring the results, Chairman of the National Convention Committee, Dr Kayode Fayemi, said, “It is my esteemed pleasure to reach this historic conclusion of this keenly contested race. Having won the majority votes cast, it is my pleasure and honour to declare Buhari as the winner of

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

News Bomb explosions kill 31 in Plateau From Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos

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bout thirty one people mostly roadside traders were yesterday killed and several wounded in large twin bomb blasts, around the popular terminus market area, in Jos, the capital of Plateau state.

Several casualties were said to have been rushed to various hospitals for medical treatment.

Captain Ikedichi Iweha, who is the Plateau State Special Task Force (STF) spokesperson, confirmed the incident, but could not ascertain the casualty figure as at the time of filing this report.

However, our reporter, who shortly after the blast visited the scene of the incident, reports that he counted about thirty one bodies on the ground of the scene.

It was also gathered that several corpses were evacuated to various mortuaries within the city, before the arrival of our correspondent at the scene of the blast.

Our correspondent, who observed the area of the blast soon

after the incident, also reported that the two explosives were wrapped like objects and dropped by unknown person.

The first bomb, which was kept beside Mr. Biggs restaurant, was said to have blasted at about 6 : 15pm while the second one, which was dropped around the vicinity of meat sellers at the terminus

market, was said to have exploded at exactly 6: 30pm.

An eye witness of the incident, who is a roadside trader, said, “ At about 6: 15 p.m., when I was about to close for today, I suddenly heard a large sound not far from where I was standing. Myself and other people around the area started running helter-skelter looking for

cover. People were unable to close their business centers. Most of the victims were women, because most of the ones I saw were women.

“God was so kind to us, because the incident occurred shortly after the members of the Jos Management Development Board ( JMDB) spread smelling water two times on roadside traders to vacate

Police avert another bomb blast in Kano

From Edwin Olofu, Kano

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peratives of the Kano state police command averted what would have been another deadly bomb attack in Kano, shortly after two female suicide bombers attacked KantinKwari market, killing four persons on Wednesday.

A competent security source, who doesn’t want his name mentioned in the print, told our correspondent that the Police, acting on a tip – off moved swiftly to arrest a thirteen-year old would-be female suicide bomber, who targeted a

treatment centre in the outskirt of the metropolis on Wednesday.

The source, added that the teen suicide bomber went to seek medical treatment in a densely populated area outside the Kano metropolis around 4: pm, shortly after the suicide attack in Kantin-Kwari market and told hospital officials that she sustained injuries in the attack and needed to be treated urgently.

According to the source, she was with the two suicide bombers that detonated their explosives at Kantin-Kwari market, saying that was how she sustained injuries

and wanted to be treated.

But officials of the undisclosed hospital sensed foul play and decided to invite the Police, but didn’t disclose to the girl their mission, after telling her to relax and that they will attend to her.

Men of the Kano state Police Ordinance Department arrived and arrested the girl, alongside a man that brought her on a tricycle, and discovered that she was wearing a jacket of primed improvised explosive device.

The source, further added that preliminary investigation has shown that the teen female would-

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the terminus market area and many left the area. The casualty figure would have been more than the one you are seeing now. It was very terrible “, he added.

Recall that in the month of May this year, same twin blasts were exploded all around terminus market where scores of people were killed.

…arrest teen female suicide bomber be suicide bomber was smuggled into Kano from Bauchi state, to carry out the heinous crime.

Our correspondent gathered that, arrest of the duo has equally given the security agents lead and some number of arrest has been made in that regard at the metropolis in areas like Sabon Mandawari among others.

Following the arrest, an explosive that was planted in the popular grain market, Dawanau was recovered by the Police and diffused without any damage.

When contacted to confirm the arrest, the Kano state police commissioner, Aderinle Shinaba denied knowledge of such arrest, but confirmed that the Police uncovered a bomb planted in the market, but has been diffused, but assured that the police and other sister security agencies are working assiduously to rid the state of criminals.

Shagari, five others get COE fellowship award

S Yobe State Governor, Malam Ibrahim Gaidam (2nd right), Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (right), and Yobe State Deputy Governor, Engr. Abubakar D Ali (2nd left), during the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary, yesterday in Lagos.

EFCC re-arraigns Bamanga Tukur’s son, others, over N3.1bn subsidy scam

By Joy Baba

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he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, re-arraigned the trio of Mahmud Tukur, Ochonogor Alex, Abdullahi Alao and their companies over a N3.1 billion fuel subsidy scam.

The accused persons were charged alongside the companies — Eterna Plc, Axenergy, and Star Inspection Services Nigeria Limited — on 38-amended count charges bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money under false pretence and forgery.

The EFCC says the accused persons colluded among

themselves and obtained N3.1 billion from the federal government under the guise that the money was for the importation of petrol.

Mr. Tukur is the son of a former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The trio had earlier been charged in 2012 but the charges were amended by the EFCC. One of the new charges reads: “You Mahmud Tukur, Ochonogor Alex, Abdullahi Alao, Eterna Plc, Axenergy, and Star Inspection Services Nigeria Limited between October and November, 2011 within the jurisdiction of this honourable court with intent

to defraud, conspired among yourselves to commit an offence to wit, obtaining the sum of N1,222,154,152 by false pretense from the Federal Government of Nigeria purporting the said sum to be subsidy fund by falsely claiming to have imported 13, 701, 569 litres of premium Motor Spirit into Nigeria through the mother vessel MT Valle Di Castiglia and the Daughter vessel MT Deepwater and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 1(3) of Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related offences Act 2006.”

The accused persons, however, pleaded not guilty when the

charges were read to them.

Prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jabobs, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, requested a trial date in view of the plea of the accused persons.

But counsel to the accused persons requested the court to allow the accused persons maintain their bail terms and condition granted earlier by the same court.

The judge, Lateef-Lawal Akapo, allowed the accused persons to continue to enjoy the terms of bail earlier granted them by court and adjourned the matter to March 2, 3 and 4, 2015 for commencement of trial.

econd Republic President Shehu Shagari and five others will receive the Fellowship awards of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, at its 21st convocation ceremony, Dec.13.

Other awardees were Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Gov. Aliyu Wamakko and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar.

The others were, Prof.

Muhammad Junaid, Executive Secretary, National Commission for Colleges of Education and Alhaji Ahmadu Dange, an erudite traditional ruler in the state.

The Provost of the College, Dr. Dikko Goshe, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Sokoto yesterday.

Goshe, who spoke on the preparations for the convocation, said the recipients were being recognised for their outstanding contributions to the development of education in the state and Nigeria.

He said that 5,674 graduands spanning 10 academic sessions 2000/ 2001 to 2012/2013 would be conferred with National Certificate of Education and prizes of the college.

The provost said that the graduands were from the five schools of the college, comprising of Schools of Arts and Social sciences, Education, Vocational and Technical Education, Sciences, and Languages.(NAN)

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Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

News

Book launch: Obasanjo appeals confiscation order From James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

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ormer President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has appealed the order given by a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court judge, Justice Valentine Ashi, those security agents, including the police and men of the Department of State

Service, to confiscate his latest autobiography, ‘My Watch’.

The judge gave this order after the ex-president went ahead on Tuesday, in Lagos, and presented the book to the public, disobeying the court’s restraining injunction.

However, Obasanjo noted that he was in no way “daring the court” as widely reported

by some national newspapers, describing such publication as misleading.

The action of the former president was prompted by the 21-day ultimatum given him by Justice Ashi, within which he should explain why he should not be punished for flouting the court order.

The chairman, Mobilisation

and Organisation Committee, Peoples Democratic Party, South West, Mr. Buruji Kashamu had instituted a legal action against some sections of the publication.

Obasanjo had through his legal team, led by Gboyega Oyewole filed an appeal challenging the confiscation order, citing 10 grounds to support the appeal and arguing that the trial judge

erred in his ruling.

In the appeal, with suit No. CV/472/14, filed in a Federal High Court, Abuja, a copy which was made available to journalists in Abeokuta, the former president’s counsel contended that Obasanjo was dissatisfied with the ruling of the High Court and “appeal against the said ruling upon the ground set forth”.

Building plan approval made easier

by ICT - Expert

By Chris Alu

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mbassador Amina Usman, an expert in building plan processing, documentary and research, has said the use of computer has enabled people to get their building plan approval much easier in FCT and the rest of the world than the analogue system.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja, Amina, said getting the right architectural designer, paying all processing fees ,with having the right building plan consultant would fast tract the process in much easier ways with the FCT development control department.

She explained that, her first programme ‘Restoring the Abuja master plan, , gave an insight to how a city needs to be plan in terms of infrastructural building plan for residential and commercial purposes.

Amina, who is anchoring her second documentary on how to acquire a building plan approval, has the Theme; the new phase of development control in FCT, the programme is schedule to hold on Saturday in Abuja, and is aim at sensitizing people on how to process their building plan approval using computer.

She said the programme is geared towards educating and the public on how best to pursue their building plan approval with the development control in a faster and easier ways, adding that it is for both low and higher income earners.

Amina also called on the residents of Abuja to embark on green building plan so as to provide a clean environment for good oxygen and as well provide good eco system.

According to her planting green tress will make Abuja, residents leave healthier.

Commenting, Yahaya Yusuf a town planer with the development control said the department has structured all its building plan processes in computer in order to make it easier for the people.

L-R: Deputy Director, Finance and Accounts, Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), Mr. Okeowo Oderinde, DirectorGeneral, FIIRO, Dr. Gloria Elemo, Head of Marketing, Niger Insurance Plc, Mr. Taiwo Owokalade, and Chief Executive Officer, EG Consulting, Mrs. Kemi Anjorin, during the presentation of Niger Annuity Plan for members of staff of FIIRO by Niger Insurance Plc, yesterday in Lagos.

Photo: NAN

Jihadist attacks: Nigeria second only to Iraq - BBC Report

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n the month of November, Nigeria came second to Iraq on the amount of deaths by Jihadists, according to a recent survey by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

The survey report was conducted by the BBC World Service and International Centre for the study of Radicalization (ICSR), a non-profit non-governmental think-tank based, at King’s College,

London.

The ICSR investigation recorded a total of 664 attacks in 14 countries and that the four worst-affected countries were Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Syria, accounting for 80% of all deaths.

It reports that Boko Haram carried out the second highest number of terror attacks in the month of November in the world and the deadliest single attack

which was at the Kano Central Mosque bombing which killed over 100 people.

According to the survey, over 5,000 people perished from 664 jihadist attacks only in the month of November; in comparison, the terrible and deadly Ebola virus outbreak has killed 7,000 people so far.

The investigation showed that nearly seven people died every hour

By Ahmed Abubakar

military, Police, Department of State Security Service (DSS) and Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps, led a Deputy Commissioner of police were drafted to the National Secretariat to secure the place.

At the peak of the tension, everybody within the Secretariat that have nothing to do with the conduct of the primaries, including accredited Journalists were chased out by gun-wielding policemen, who claimed that the order was from the above.

Following the development, a scheduled World Press Conference to be addressed by the National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Chief Olisa Metuh had to be called-off.

It was gathered that trouble started when the party

reportedly ruled that only the statutory delegates would be allowed to vote in the primaries and the ad-hoc delegates kicked and threatened to disrupt the exercise and bring down the Secretariat, alleging that there were plots to favour a particular aspirant.

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the party had ordered that the primaries should be brought to Abuja for transparency following complaints and counter complaints by stakeholders in the state on the exercise As at the press time, there was no official statement over the development as the NWC members were said to have gone out for a meeting in the Presidential Villa,Aso-Rock

Police disperse; apprehend people at PDP secretariat over security alarm

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here was sudden despair and apprehension at the National Secretariat of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party,(PDP) when security personnel invaded the vicinity last night over the suspicion that people that came for primaries of the Taraba State governorship chapter of the Party would unleash attack at the Abuja Secretariat.

Reports indicated that the tension arose following a security alert reportedly raised by the police that some supporters of some of the aspirants were planning to disrupt the exercise and attack the secretariat should they not be allowed to partake.

Consequently, security personnel, comprising the

in November as a result of violence attributed to al-Qaeda, its offshoots and groups that subscribe to a similar ideology.

The study recorded a daily average of 22 such attacks and 168 fatalities. Islamic State (IS) militants - operating in Iraq and Syria - were responsible for more than 2,000 deaths.

The bombing of the Central Mosque in Kano, Nigeria, was the single deadliest jihadist attack in November.

Of the 5,042 people killed in total, a majority - 2,079 - were civilians. Military personnel made up 1,723 deaths. Nearly 1,000 jihadis were reported killed during attacks.

“The data makes it clear that jihadists and al-Qaeda are no longer one and the same,” Peter Neumann, the director of ICSR, writes in an analysis for the BBC. “Sixty per cent of jihadist deaths were caused by groups that have no formal association with al-Qaeda, and they are the ones who will vie for leadership of the movement,” he says.

“The overall picture is that of an increasingly ambitious, complex, sophisticated and far-reaching movement.”

Bombings accounted for the most deaths overall. Many people also died as a result of gun attacks, shelling and beheadings.

(Source: BBC)

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

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News

Kebbi High Court reinstates Jokolo as Emir of Gwandu From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

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Kebbi State High Court V1, sitting in Birnin Kebbi, under Justice Abbas Ahman has delivered judgment in favour of dethroned Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Mustapha Rasheed Jokolo, who has been challenging his dethronement in the court of law in the past eight years.

Jokolo, who was dethroned in

2005, went to court challenging his dethronement on grounds of abuse of privilege, non-compliance with due process and outright disregard for his fundamental human right as a citizen of Nigeria.

The court trial has persisted for nine years, but judgment came the way of the former Emir, AlMustapha Jokolo, as the judge ruled in his favour, for his reinstatement as Emir of Gwandu.

But, in a swift reaction to the judgment, the Kebbi state government, which was joined in the suit along with the Emir of Gwandu, who was installed after Jokolo’s dethronement, appealed to the people of the state, especially the people of Gwandu Emirate, to take the matter easy with calm, promising that the state government is going to appeal the case before three months at the

court of Appeal.

Briefing newsmen in his office over the judgment, the Secretary to the state Government (SSG) Alhaji Rabi’u Garba Kamba appealed to the people of the state not to take law into their hands over the court pronouncement.

Pointing out that, the decision of the court was a normal court procedure that has to be, noting that in democracy, the decision

The victims were on a commercial bus, belonging to Libera Motors, with 15 passengers travelling to Warri from Lagos when the accident occurred.

It was gathered that the driver of the bus, who was among the survivors, tried to reverse the

vehicle after hearing a gunshot when truck rammed into the vehicle killing 11 of the passengers.

Two of the passengers, including a pregnant woman, were said to have been trapped in the vehicle while the bodies of the dead passengers were laid on the

highway for several hours.

Efforts to reach Edo State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps proved abortive.

It, however, was learnt that the bodies of the deceased passengers have been evacuated from the scene of the incident.

Eleven die in Edo auto crash From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

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o fewer than 11 persons yesterday lost their lives in a road accident at a Lagos bypass around Oluku in Benin, Edo State.

of the judiciary is paramount ,therefore, citizens should conduct themselves in an orderly manner without any form of violent.

Meanwhile, efforts to speak with the incumbent Emir Muhammadu Iliyasu Bashir were unsuccessful, as he was said to have travelled out of the state.

But, when contacted, a prominent palace aide, who would not want his name in print, responded to newsmen thus: ‘’what else do you want? The government has spoken, so you wait for further action’’ he said.

It could be recalled that Alhaji Al-Mustapha Rasheed Jokolo was deposed by the Adamu Aliero administration in June 2005 and banished to Nasarawa state before he was moved his present abode in Kaduna.

Commenting on the judgment, the lawyer to the dethroned Emir, Barr. Sylvester Imanoibe expressed satisfaction over the court ruling, assuring that in spite of the state government’s position, their client would still win the case, adding that the judgment is a perfect one in democracy.

Printing PVC abroad responsible for hitches - INEC From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

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Principal, Women Education and Skills Model Centre, Mrs Rahila Munza with her students during students skills acquisition training workshop, yesterday in Bauchi.

Photo: NAN

Boko Haram: Over 800 school buildings, 664 students affected – Report

By Albert Akota

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n independent evaluation and assessment performance project report on the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) by the Coalition of Civil society Groups (CCSG) has revealed that the insurgency in the North-East has affected over 800 school buildings and 664 students.

Presenting the report to journalists during a press briefing yesterday, the president, Comrade

Etuk Bassey Williams, said the bleak future that Nigeria’s education sector faces means that it would be not be able to meet the education for all goals 1, 2 and 4 by the year 2015 as Nigeria is one of the only 15 countries that UNESCO projects will have fewer than 80% of its primary school age children enrolled by 2015.

He said the assessment carried out in collaboration with Sihle Masonso-Africa partnership for civil Society, Kristen StrongWorld economic Development and

Emeretine Christisle-Centre For Educational Development United Kingdom, among others, was on the progress made so far in the formulation and implementation of policies for the successful operation of the Universal Basic Education in Nigeria and the role of the Universal Basic education Commission (UBEC) in actualizing the core mandate of an unhindered access without prejudice to primary and junior secondary school education by all Nigeria children.

William called for the development of national education policy, to address humanitarian and emergency situation that may arise as a result of unforeseen crisis situation, while advocating for more fund for basic education in the country.

The research shows that conflicts, gender discrimination, child labour, ignorance and poverty are majorly responsible for the high rate of out-of-school children in Nigeria among other things.

ndependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has attributed delay in distribution of permanent voter’s card (PVC), in some parts of the country to the fact that cards were being printed out side country, China to be precise.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kaduna state, Alhaji Halliru Tambuwal disclosed this while receiving on courtesy call, Council of Imams and Ulamas in the state yesterday.

According to him, the cards were printed outside the country and the process of transporting the cards has been tedious due to the quantity.

“As I’m talking to you, our headquarters informed us that a consignment would arrive Kaduna Airport this morning (Thursday), but up till now, we are yet to receive it.

“I want you to know that it is not our intention to cause the hitches for Nigerians in getting their PVC as earlier announced by the commission, but you cannot fault us for printing the cards abroad, because we know our people may duplicate anything made in Nigeria.

He, however assured that nobody would be left out in the exercise.

Alhaji Tambuwal also explained that in Kaduna state, two local government areas have not received the distribution of cards and that is; Jaba and Kaduna South Local Government Areas. A situation that arose because of logistics.

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Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

News

Ogun NSCDC arrests two for illegal dredging

Auto crash kills highway sweeper in Ilorin

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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woman suspected to be among some highway managers in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, has been killed by a vehicle, who rammed into four of them.

It was gathered that four of the victims sustained varying degrees of injuries when a vehicle rammed onto them at Agric Junction in Ilorin on Thursday.

The women, who were said to be resting after cleaning the streets was hit by Toyota Corolla car with registration no. EP 550 AP. An eyewitness informed journalists that the unnamed driver of the vehicle was using his mobile phone and apparently lost concentration.

The source said that when he found that he was about hitting the truck used to cart away refuse, the driver quickly swerved to their right side in a bid to avoid the truck.

The source, who craved for anonymity, said the driver eventually hit the women who were resting.

From James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

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Former Minister of Works, Senator Al-Amin Dagash (left), answering questions from journalists after meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan on the forthcoming election in Borno State, yesterday at the State House, in Abuja. With him is Alhaji Ibrahim Maidugu (right). Photo: Joe Oroye

Arqiva launches new channel, ARISE NEWS on Freeview A

By Chris Alu

rqiva yesterday announced the launch of a global news and entertainment channel ARISE NEWS in standard definition on Freeview channel 136, using the more advanced Digital Video Broadcasting technology MPEG4 DVB -T2.

ARISE News will be available to those Freeview viewers who are within the broadcast coverage of Arqiva’s new HD multiplex – around 72% of the UK population provided they are watching a

Freeview HD compatible iDTV or Freeview HD set top box.

The ARISE News service should also be available to YouView, BT Vision and TalkTalk TV homes within this coverage area. Viewers can find out if they are able to receive this exciting new channel by using the coverage checker on the Digital UK website at www.digitaluk. co.uk.

ARISE News delivers real time international news and entertainment to global audiences, 24 hours a day, seven

days a week, on cable, satellite, mobile devices and on the internet while celebrating diverse communities and cultures across all continents, including all that is African and Afropolitan.

Mike Finchen, Director, Digital Terrestrial Television at Arqiva said: “We are delighted to welcome ARISE News to the Freeview platform. Most Freeview HD homes will be able to enjoy the rich cultural and educational content available on the channel.

We at Arqiva are committed to broadcasting a variety of content

to offer viewers great channel and programme choices.”

According to the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief at ARISE NEWS, Nduka Obaigbena, “Today, we reach yet another milestone as we launch on Freeview. ARISE News is committed to covering issues of the day and world events that matter from an uncommon perspective, engaging citizens of the world in an emerging new global order truly representing the experiences of the under served communities often ignored by conventional media.”

Strike: JOHESU decry use of quacks in Delta hospitals From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

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s the subsisting strike action by workers in Federal Medical Centres (FMCs) across the country continues to bite harder, the leadership of workers in FMC, Asaba has raised alarm over attempt by management to use quacks to attend to patients.

They alleged that their

management have employed and deployed unqualified hands to render health services which they were not trained or licensed to do.

The representatives of the workers under the joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) raised the alarm in a statement after an emergency meeting to appraise the strike, on Wednesday.

In the statement endorsed by the chairman of HOHESU, Comrade Tony

Asiodu, the workers advised the public being lured to patronize the hospital on the guise that personnel were on duty to be careful and not to play with their health.

“The management has thrown away tenets of professionalism / ethics of professional conduct in bid to create a posture that the hospital is providing services when in actual sense, they are rendering unhealthy and quack and

members of the public at large, because all the qualified professional whose job they are trying to mimic to do are on strike ,” he state.

According to the statement, a situation where non-qualified and non-licensed casual staffs were employed to carry out laboratory and nursing services is unacceptable and condemnable, urging the people to be wary of management antics.

peratives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ogun state Command, have arrested two men over what it described as alleged illegal dredging in Abeokuta; Ogun state capital.

The suspects, Shakiru, and Dauda Adeyinka, who are both 58 years’ old, were caught in the act during a patrol operations by officers attached to Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit of the Corps in Abeokuta-North local government area of the state The illegal dredgers were seen dredging on a tributary of the popular Ogun river around Oke Sokori-Ikereku-Idan area of the metropolis, which host a mace and water pipeline belonging to Ogun State Water Corporation.

However, the dredging not only illegal, but already causing havoc as many houses in the area have been affected due to erosion occasioned by incessant dredging activities.

Earlier, the resident of the area had forwarded a petition addressed to the state commandant of NSCDC complaining about the illegal dredging activities which are currently affecting the critical infrastructure, houses, new bridge constructed in the area.

The Corps spokesperson, Kareem Olanrewaju, who confirmed the incident, said the two men were arrested while loading dredged sand into a waiting lorry.

He maintained that NSCDC is saddled with the responsibility of monitoring and protecting government facilities across the country, that all natural resources belong to government, pointing out that it is illegal for anyone to tamper with them without necessary approval from relevant government authority, adding that the illegal dredging stands to put lives and properties of residents of the area in danger.

He explained that their claim of having approval will be investigated properly and dealt with accordingly.

Exhibits recovered from them include a Leyland lorry, with registration number Ogun XC 396 AAB, fully loaded with sharp sand, mobile phones and shovels.

Ebola fight: King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia grants

By Doyin Ojosipe with agency report

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he Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdallah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud has extended a grant of US$35 million to help fight Ebola in West Africa.

In a statement to the media on this occasion, Dr. Ahmed

Mohamed Ali, President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) said that the Ebola fighting programme, initiated by the custodian of the two holy Mosques and implemented by IDB, comprises the providing schools with thermal sensors and medical examination equipment designed to diagnose the disease, thereby facilitating its treatment

and preventing its spread.

He further said the equipment will allow governments to open schools for the current academic year. Pupils will be examined at entry to ensure they have not contracted the disease, thus reassuring parents about the safety of their children at school as well as providing thermal sensors and medical examination

equipment at airports, railway stations and bus stations to diagnose the disease and ensure early treatment.

The IDB President emphasized that the kind donation made by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques will further boost the Islamic world efforts in supporting the international fight against Ebola.

He added that the equipment financed by this donation will speed up the opening of schools in the countries concerned, reinforce the institutional and health infrastructure to fight the current epidemic and any potential epidemics in the future, Allah forbids, thus saving thousands of lives and ensuring the safety of those at risk of contamination.

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

PAGE 7

Tax Alert

INTEGRATED TAX ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM(ITAS) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS WHAT IS ITAS? • ITAS is an acronym for “Integrated Tax Administration System” WHAT IS SIGTAS? • SIGTAS is an acronym for “Standard Integrated Government Tax Administration System” WHAT TASK IS THE ITAS PROJECT SET OUT TO ACHIEVE? • To simplify and automate all Tax Administration processes Where is ITAS taking us?

WHO WAS CONTRACTED TO SUPPLY AND IMPLEMENT SIGTAS? • Telnet/CRC Sogema Consortium. CRC Sogema in collaboration with Telnet Nigeria Limited works as the Lead Solution Provider, core information system providers, and direct local support in the short term and project managers.

• Telnet on the other hand, provides system integration and infrastructure, 3rd party system interface and BUS, and local maintenance and support in the medium to long term.

CAN YOU LIST EXPECTED BENEFITS OF THE ITAS PROJECT WHEN COMPLETED? • Streamlined, efficient processes that make it easier for taxpayers and other stakeholders to interact with the Service • Reduced administrative costs to the service • Provision of a comprehensive repository of taxpayer information that makes it easier for FIRS to support and monitor the taxpayer base throughout the lifecycle of each taxpayer • Improved case management for audit, investigation and appeals • Increased voluntary compliance by taxpayers • Reduction in turnaround time for tax administration processes CAN YOU LIST AT LEAST 5 TAX ADMINISTRATION PROCESSES IDENTIFIED FOR AUTOMATION BY THE ITAS PROJECT?

PAGE 8

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

News

Epidemic looms as refuse takes over major Ogun towns From James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

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alpable fear has gripped indigenes of Ogun State as mountains of refuse have taking over major cities in the state, thereby prompting many of the residents to express fear that the situation may lead to outbreak of epidemic, if urgent steps are not taken by the state government.

The gory sights of heaps of refuse, which have become common sights along major roads, streets and at bus stops within Abeokuta; the state capital and major towns such as Ijebu Ode, Sagamu, Sango Ota and

Ibafo has been attributed to the indiscriminate dumping of waste by the residents without regard to environmental regulations.

In Abeokuta, the state capital, places where refuse are commonly being indiscriminately dumped are the road medians at Kuto, Isale Igbein, Isabo, Elega, Totoro, Adatan and Saje areas of the town.

Disgusted by the development, some residents have queried the environmental policy of Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led administration, condemning it for abolishing various dump points in the state.

They put the blame squarely on the doorstep of the government,

for allowing people to dump refuse on road medians, thereby exposing residents including children to health hazards.

Making the situation worse is the common resort to burning of wastes in most residential area, a hazardous health practice said to be perpetrated by those suspected to be staff of the state’s Ministry of Environment.

A resident, Adedeji Akinlawon, expressed displeasure over the ugly development, saying that “the situation is disheartening.

We find refuse almost everywhere within the state capital. To be frank, the State Ministry of Environment seem not to be on top of situations as the available

waste disposal vehicles could not tackle the problem.

Government needs to act fast so that our environment will look healthy again”.

On her part, Mrs Bosede Adebayo wants the indiscriminate burning of waste within the State to stop; pointing out that it easily exposes people to diseases and health hazards.

A top official of the Ministry of Environment, who spoke under the condition of anonymity told our correspondent that the government had not release any fund to the ministry for some time now for it to evacuate the debris.

He said “the economic situation and lack of funds had

been the major challenge while refuse had not been evacuated, but we are putting up some palliative measures to evacuate some of them”, asking the residents to bear with government.

Reacting to the situation, through a text message, the state Commissioner for Environment, Ayo Olubori said “the allegation is an unfortunate one and it is purely baseless. The challenge is really that of logistics on the part of some of our private operators and truck maintenance firm.”

“Funds for refuse evacuation in Ogun state are under Firstline charge category”, Olubori affirmed.

Niger primaries: PDP cautions guber losers over utterances

From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

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L-R: Fellows, Social Science Academy of Nigeria, Dr Bosede Oladunni, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Olorogun Kenneth Okpara, and Professor Olayiwola Erinosho, during the 3rd investiture ceremony of the Academy, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

National Health Bill offers greater access to primary health care - NPHCDA

By Doyin Ojosipe

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he National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) yesterday hailed the signing into law of the National Health Bill by the President Goodluck Jonathan on December 9, saying it is a landmark for Healthcare Reform in Nigeria.

According to a press statement, signed by the agency’s Executive Director/CEO, Dr. Ado J.G. Muhammad, “The passage of the Bill is a significant milestone towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for all Nigerians. Its passage and assent has been an interesting journey for all stakeholders in Nigeria’s Health space.

“We, therefore, congratulate Mr. President, the Legislature, the Supervising Minister of Health, Civil Society, Private Sector, the media and all other proponents working to improve health outcomes in Nigeria who have been a part of this untiring advocacy for social good in Nigeria.

“Today, we celebrate a major victory for healthcare reformers

across Nigeria and internationally but an even greater victory for mothers, children and families especially those who are poor – the renewed hope is that they will now have easier and more frequent access to quality healthcare services.

“On our part, we avow our commitment to bring this to bear in the efficient execution of our

leadership mandate”, it stated.

The National Health Act provides for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, to provide access to basic health care services for Nigerians, the first such fund in the history of the country. This will be disbursed as grants to states.

Currently, 28 States and the Federal Capital Territory and

their Local Government Areas have established State Primary Healthcare Development Agencies in readiness for implementation of the Act. The Agency and other partners achieved this through joint and sustained advocacy; the State Agencies will serve as veritable platforms to ensure equitable distribution of basic health services to Nigerians.

N24m tax: FIRS threatens to seal up Bauchi meat factory

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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he Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has threatened to seal the Bauchi Meat Products Company Limited over tax evasion of a whopping sum of N24 million, just as it gave the company one week ultimatum The Tax Controller in-charge of seven local government areas, including Bauchi metropolis, Mr. Magaji Richard gave the General Manager of the Company, Dr. Al-qassim Ibrahim and the state

Ministry of Commerce a one-week ultimatum to settle the N 24 million or shut-down the Meat Company yesterday in Bauchi during operation of tax evasion companies It was reliably gathered that it is jointly owned by Bauchi and Gombe state governments.

Richard said, “We are under directive by our headquarters to seal all defaulting firms and there is no going back on the directive.

We have written to all the companies in the state and some

of the companies have started responding, but we also have to go around.”

He said Wiki Tours Hotel and Bauchi Investment Company are owing the whopping sum of N 19 million and N8 million, but already the hotel has paid N2.6 million, saying the FIRS have just started clapping on the defaulters.

FIRS has also sealed the premises of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), known as Partnership Project-Associate and Cyber Mart Internet cafe.

he Niger State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the conduct of the just concluded governorship primaries as flawless and a reflection of the wish of the people.

The state Publicity Secretary of PDP, Alhaji Hassan Saba in an interaction session with journalists yesterday in Minna also frowned at the press conference addressed by some of those that participated in the election, saying they are crying wolf where none is.

It would be recalled that Alhaji Umar Nasko recorded a landslide victory over other candidates who contested for the governorship candidacy of the PDP in the justconcluded primaries in the state.

Saba, therefore, urged those who lost the primaries to accept their fate, adding that they must eschew unnecessary speculations over the conduct of the election.

He said the joint press conference addressed by the contestants has the imprint of a script written in anticipation of failure borne strictly out of their inability to impress the people.

Saba stated that governor Aliyu, who was a contestant for the Zone B senatorial seat in the just-concluded primaries, said those who emerged victorious in the primaries were subjected to popularity and administrative competence test while party rules were observed in the full glare of all stakeholders.

He, therefore, rubbished the position of the aggrieved contestants over his allowing an agent to write for him. He maintained that it is legal and consistent with party regulation for him to do so, adding that there is no provision in the party constitution that makes it mandatory for him to write by himself before voting.

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

PAGE 9

News

Corps-Marshal orders removal of vehicle wrecks on roads

By Miriam Humbe

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L-R: President, Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bukhachuwa, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmoud Mohammed, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore, former Vice-President, Court of Appeal London, Sir. Mavrice Kay, and British High Commissioner Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, Dr. Andrew Pocock, during the 2014 annual conference of the Court of Appeal, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Kwara PDP Primary: Gang-up against us will collapse - Belgore From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

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ne of the governorship aspirant of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mohammed Dele Belgore(SAN) has denied allegations leveled against him that he was behind botched party governorship primary.

Belgore, in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Rafiu Ajakaiye, while reacting to the series of allegation by eleven governorship aspirants headed by Senator Simeon Ajibola in their press conference held on Tuesday, noted that despite their claims that delegate’s lists were doctored, they found out that it was false.

“Allegations that we disrupted

the exercise fly in the face of facts and occurrences at the governorship primaries. Not only did these aspirants conspire to frustrate the exercise, they imported thugs to harass officials and party elders who do not share their desperation and unsportsmanlike conducts.

“They went as far as attacking our campaign headquarters and injuring our supporters. Their thugs threw caution into the wind and molested our mothers and wives. When did our campaign headquarters become venue of the primaries to warrant attack?

We condemn this desperation.

“We indeed acknowledge the efforts and sacrifices of party elders and officials who tried to

ensure we have smooth primaries.

It is unfortunate that their efforts were being sabotaged from within by those working for some outside forces.

“We draw attention of everyone to the wild allegations by these aspirants that MD Belgore (SAN), doctored the delegates list. When the allegedly doctored delegates list arrived and they saw that nothing was doctored, they did not have the decency to apologise to the man they have maligned.”

Belgore added that, “It is funny that the same characters that cloned delegates’ tags and distributed same to their hirelings, whom they smuggled into the venue of the primaries, would

turn round to accuse Belgore of bringing in fake delegates. The allegation is most absurd.

It is against commonsense to say that an ‘anointed candidate’; if any such exists, supposedly backed by powers that be, is unable to tame their violent aggression.

“We are aware that the activities of most of these aspirants are sponsored and teleguided by some persons outside the party because they are afraid that a Dele Belgore candidature would end their tyranny, bad governance and oppression of Kwara people.

“It is a gang-up, driven by envy and evil machinations designed by enemies of the people of Kwara.”

preventing the terrorists from spreading their tentacles to other parts of the country.

Dr. Fasehun spoke at the inauguration of 29 newly appointed members into the National Executive Council of OPC at the Century Hotel, Okota.

He said, in view of the level of insurgency ravaging the Norh Eastern part of the country, “This

time calls for men and women whom our people can look up to as a refuge of security in case the unexpected happens”.

He said “OPC must be vigilant.

By the grace and mercy of God, terrorism will not rule Yoruba land and Nigeria”.

The OPC leader warned them not to see their elevation to the new positions as licence for

criminality and greed as exhibited by the previously dissolved executive members.

On the political front, Fasehun said the new leadership will sit together and give directions to the organisation on the candidates members of the Congress would be supporting at the States and National levels in the coming elections.

Boko Haram: OPC President says Nigeria in nightmare From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

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resident of the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Frederick Fasehun has charged Nigerians to be vigilant, as he said the current spate of insurgents and terrorism have turned Nigeria into a nightmare.

The Founder of the OPC said efforts should gear toward

Muslim Forum begins collection, distribution of aid to IDPs in N/East

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

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he Abuja Muslim Forum (AMF) has embarked on the collection of relief materials from well-meaning Muslims in the FCT for onward distribution to the victims of insurgency who gave been displaced from their dwellings and cut off their means of livelihood as a result of the carnage.

The forum said this has

become imperative, in view of the number of victims that has kept on growing over the months, while there has been no commensurate attention and help for them.

A statement, signed by the AMF Secretary-General, Murtala Abdul-Rahman, said the AMF is appealing to all Muslim in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and beyond, to rise to the occasion by being their brother’s keepers,

through generous donation in cash and in kind to enable the victims experiences ,some relief from the terrible agony that has afflicted them.

“It should be remembered that these people barely managed to escaped with their lives, leaving behind all they have ever worked for, becoming refugees in their own country .

“We should all put ourselves in their position and imagine for

once, what will be our expect ions from fellow brothers and sisters.

The forum further said, “The Muslim Ummah is but one body, if any part is afflicted, the entire body is affected. While we remain resolute in our prayers to overcome this devilish onslaught on our people, let us do the little we can to get to give immediate assistance to our brothers and sisters by contributing food stuff, clothing and money”.

he Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi, has directed all commanding officers of the corps across the country to effect the prompt removal of vehicle wrecks on the nation’s road corridors, to avoid further dangers to road users.

The Corps-Marshal said this in Abuja yesterday while taking delivery of three heavy duty tow trucks and 21 patrol motor bikes handed over to the corps by the Federal Ministry of Works in collaboration with the World Bank.

“I have directed all commanding officers across the country to ensure that wrecks are cleared from the road promptly to avoid further dangers to road users”, he said.

Boboye, who expressed gratitude for the logistics support, also called on all road users to show sincere commitment to the ‘safer roads and fuller lives’ campaign by obeying the traffic rules and regulations.

Speaking earlier, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Dr. Dauda Kigbu, who performed the ministry’s handover of the vehicles called on the FRSC to ensure their adequate maintenance and regular service to ensure their sustainability in order to enhance their optimal performance.

Over 22.5m Nigerian women living with disabilities –Deaf women

By Ese Awhotu

D

eaf Women Association of Nigeria disclosed yesterday that 22.5 million Nigeria women are living with disabilities, even as it called on President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently, sign into law the disabilities bill as his fatherly gift to them.

The Association spoke through its Chairperson, Abuja chapter, Mrs Helen BeyiokuAlase at a one day workshop/ seminar on “DEAF WOMEN AND HEALTH AWARENESS” held at the Cyprian Ekwensi Centre for Arts and Culture in Abuja.

“We are appealing to our President, Goodluck Jonathan to sign disabilities bill into law as his fatherly gift to more than 22.5 million people living with disabilities in Nigeria” Beyioku-Alase explained that the rising growth in the number of deaf women in Abuja has given rise to the pressing needs of catering for ourselves, especially the less privileged ones. She said, “It is in this respect that Deaf Women Association of Nigeria, Abuja chapter has decided to use the opportunity of the2014 International day of persons with disabilities to sensitize the government and the society of the issues that affect us” While the Association listed several challenges they are facing, Peoples Daily gathered that a deaf pregnant woman died last year due to the absence of sign language and interpreters, especially in hospitals across the country.

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

PAGE 10

News NGOs partner Hisbah on almajiri labour exploitation in Kano From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

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he Justice Development and Peace/CARITAS Advocate (JDPCA) and Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), in collaboration with the Kano State Hisbah board, have described labour exploitation of almajirai as a menace that could be confronted with a view to making them responsible members of the society.

Speaking to newsmen at a stakeholders forum in Kano, yesterday, the spokesman of the two non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Mr. Mark Asu-Obi, said the issue of exploitation of almajirai in the society has become a recurring decimal, stressing that the task of injecting sanity in the way and manner children in the society should be treated are made to be ordinarily irrelevant.

According to him, the two NGOs saw the need to commission researchers to investigate the labour exploitation of almajirai by the society with a view to deescalate insecurity in Kano State.

He said “We deem it fit to collaborate with you, in our effort to achieve this allimportant objective. Your role in the dissemination of information and opinionmoulding in the society cannot be over emphasised.”

He further revealed that society has a long history of incessant religious and political violence with serial records pointing to the role of unemployed and illiterate youth groups in violence and cross border insurgency.

He stressed that the children must not be exposed as to be conscripted into antisocial activities, by persons of dubious interests.

He commended the state government for its tireless effort to rehabilitate the almajiri, through various policies aimed at developing and empowering them to be relevant in the society.

He expressed the hope that, with a good policy on the eradication of child labour and abuse adopted in purposefully pursued by all stakeholders in Kano will improve the social prospect for the children, in addition to providing quality human resources for the nation’s economy.

L-R: Deputy National President, Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), Mr. Emmanuel Bankole, National Vice-President, East, Mr. Leku Ador, National President, Mr. Samson Ugwoke and National Vice President, West, Mr Alfred Jimoh, during the SSANU National Executive Council meeting, yesterday in Ibadan.

Photo: NAN

Deportees accuse Nigeria embassy officials in Finland of extortion From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

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igerians numbering over a hundred, deported from an asylum facility in Finland yesterday narrated their harrowing experiences in the hands of Nigeria embassy officials in the Eastern Europe nation.

The deportees, who include women, children as well as nuclear families, said embassy officials connived with Finnish Immigration authorities to defraud them inside the camp.

They were taken to the cargo

terminal of the international wing of the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos immediately the cargo airline that brought them, Privilege Gourment touched down at 7 a.m.

A deportee, Mr. Isaac Ejiofor, disclosed that the Nigeria Embassy at Finland refused to come to their aid after paying 1,500 euro to the embassy officials.

Ejiofor said that he was earlier in Greece but went to Finland to seek asylum to enable him acquire necessary documents that will allow him work in Finland.

“I was taken to the asylum camp and was there for more than a year, processing my documents that will permit me to work.

There are other African nationals there with four Nigerians.

Immigration officials suddenly swoop on the camp, we Nigerians were brought out and were deported without committing any offence” he told reporters.

Another female deportee, Esther, claimed she and her husband who had lived in Finland for over 14 years were surprised when officials informed them

of their deportation without committing any offence.

Esther explained that she was deported alongside her seven year-old daughter and husband without any compensation.

According to her, the Finnish authority displayed hostility toward Nigerians while other Africans in the camp were allowed to stay and work in Finland.

Esther appealed to the Federal Government to come to the aid of Nigerians who have come from Greece, Denmark, Sweden and Norway to seek asylum to be able to get working documents.

Association seek passage of Disability Rights Bill From Mohammad Ibrahim, Kaduna

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s the world celebrate the International Day for Persons with Disability, a group, under the auspices of joint National Association of Person with Disability (JONAPWD) is seeking for the passage of Disability Rights Bill, which was presented to Kaduna state House of Assembly in 2009.

The group said since the Bill was submitted to the house of assembly it yet to be passed into law.

Speaking during a one day symposium in commemoration

of the international day for persons with disability 2014 held in the state, JONAPWD National Chairman, Julius Shemang appealed to the state governor to look into the issue amicably.

He said a committee of carefully selected stakeholders that cut across different ministries, departments, institutions and organizations led by parent ministry, the ministry of women Affairs was set up in May last year, to review the state Persons with Disability Bill presented to state house of assembly in 2009 but not passed due to irregularities.

“The committee was asked

to review and produce a more comprehensive Bill that will be acceptable by all and this they have done. I am appealing to his excellency to look into the matter of the Bill; so the work of the committee, which is now at the stage of harmonization and passage for the full integration and protection of persons with disabilities in the state, will be a waste,” he said.

The chairman also appealed to the state governor to make education of persons with disabilities free and compulsory at all levels from primary through tertiary institution.

Mr. Julius also urged the state government to always consider persons with disabilities with employment opportunities into civil service, as that will make them self-dependent.

In her remarks, wife the state governor, Hajiya Fatima Muktar Ramalan Yero represented by permanent Secretary Ministry of Women Affairs, Hajiya Hauwa Umar said the bill will soon be passed.

“The bill has already reached the table of the governor because it has the blessing of the wife of the governor. We hope soon the bill will be passed into law,” she said.

Prof Haruna appointed pioneer VC University of Education Minna From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna.

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he Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has approved the appointment of Professor Farouk Abdulraheed Haruna as the pioneer Vice Chancellor of the newly established Niger state University of Education, Minna.

In his letter of appointment, signed by the Secretary to the state government, Hon. Saidu Ndako Idris said the appointment is for a single term of five years and it is

expected to take from January 1, 2015.

According to the governor, the appointment of Professor Haruna was in recognition of his track record of achievements as the Provost of the state college of Education, Minna, a position he occupied until his appointment.

The overseeing Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Professor, Mohammed Yahaya Kuta, while presenting the appointment letter to the new Vice-Chancellor, in a brief ceremony in his office on

Wednesday, said the delay in the taking-off of the University since October was to enable the government secure the approval of the National University Commission.

He said all the necessary machinery for the smooth take off of the University have been put in place, stressing that the University will operate from the present state College of Education as it temporary site.

Reacting to his new appointment, the Vice-Chancellor

said his appointment was apt and timely describing it as a challenge and a great opportunity, adding that “we will use the opportunity to build a world-class University of Education that will be of a pride not only to Niger state but to the country in general”.

He maintained that the establishment of the University will help the state achieve it vision 3-2020 because Teacher education is expected to be the main driver as it will produce those that will help to achieve the vision.

Page 11

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

News

Experts predict end to polio disease in Nigeria From Raji Bello, Sokoto

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ealth stakeholders have predicted that Nigeria is in the twilight of eradicating polio disease.

Speaking at a one-day orientation meeting organised for members Journalists Against Polio (JAP) in Sokoto, the state coordinator, Centre for Disease Control, (CDC), Mrs. Halmatu Bolatito noted that with ongoing concerted efforts it is obvious that

the country would soon be out of the list of countries harbouring the Wild Polio Virus (WPV).

The workshop is to enhance the JAP members on how best to ensure the success of the forthcoming round of the National Polio Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs) in the state.

Bolatito noted that both the government and other partners have made significant effort for the campaign to eradicate the scourge in the country, and submitted that

Nigeria is now at the transition period to stamp out polio.

She described the December round of the exercise as very crucial to the campaign and urged for wider coverage. “Other issues that need to be highlighted by the JAP members in the state include the low coverage of routine immunization.

“The care givers should be sensitized to access free antigens to protect their children from polio and other child

killer diseases,” she added.

Also speaking, the state Coordinator.

World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Isiaka Ayodeji Hassan has promised to provide adequate vaccines and gifts to the 23 local governments of Sokoto State Ayodeji said, ‘’This means that we will provide them with the polio vaccines and gifts like sweets, Indomie noodles and other incentives.

He, therefore, urged JAP

members to continue sensitizing and gingering the policy makers and other community leaders as to ensure that all the eligible children are fully immunized.

Earlier, the State Coordinator of JAP, Abdallah El-Kurebe pledged the commitment of its members to sustain the ongoing efforts to eradicate polio and other child killer diseases from the state and Nigeria generally..

Delta north PDP senatorial primaries declared inconclusive

From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

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L-R: National Trustee, Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Alhaji Audi Mohammed, Deputy President, Alhaji Musa Ayuba, and General Secretary, Elder Actor Zal, during the 13th Annual Pensioners Day celebration, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: NAN

Insurgency: NSA donates 22 war dogs to Army

By Joy Baba Yesufu

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he National Security Adviser (NSA) Col Sambo Dasuki has donated 22 dogs to the Nigerian Military Police as part of his office efforts to enhance

the operational efficiency and effectiveness of the service in the fight against insurgency.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah, made this known while commissioning a newly constructed block of kernels for war

dogs at the Army Headquarters Provost Dog Platoon, Shehu Musa wYar’Adua Barracks Abuja.

Minimah said the army has over 20 military working dogs deployed in the North East theatre adding that the injection of

these dogs into OP Zaman Lafiya has yielded dividends in several respects.

He further said the dog section was established as part of the various measures to enhance the operational capacity of the Army in the ongoing counter terrorism campaign.

Shi’ite Procession:Zakzaky, Gumi trade words over blockade From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

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rominent Islamic Scholars in the North, Sheik Ahmad Mahmud Gumi and leader of Shi’ite movement, Sheikh Ibraheem Yaqoub Zakzaky have engaged in a war of words over regular mass procession of the Shi’ite members.

Sheik Gumi, in an open letter to Zakzaky, had told the Shi’ite leader that, he was leading millions of youths astray and Allah will not forgive him if he (Zakzaky) dies without repenting.

Zakzaky, in a swift reaction through the Head of Media Forum of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (Shi’ite), Ibrahim Usman said, Gumi’s letter was written with insidious intent to pave way for a greater onslaught on him and members of Islamic movement.

The letter, titled: ‘My Brother Ibraheem El-Zakzaky: it’s not too late to repent’, Gumi said, “After egistering my condolences to the recent loss of your three children who were gunned down by some elements in the military, I find it an obligation to help you see that some of your actions too are the contributing factors in this unfortunate avoidable tragedy.

“What I fear most for you and your followers is that the consequence of this tragedy may further alienate your group from the mainstream society and create a cult -if it’s not already one - with disastrous consequences on you, your followers and the nation at large. For you especially on the Day of Judgment you will have your account to answers.

“My brother, you have brought a lot of bad innovations among

Nigerian Muslims, that rather than unite the Muslims are further entrenching the divide without any added value to the worldly development nor the hereafter, but rather with serious theological implications in the hereafter.

“How can you be the good servants of Allah when you call other human beings beside him? We saw your placards calling: Ya Hussein; Hussein the Son of Ali - May Allah be pleased with them and all the companionsis dead.

He can never answer your call and he will never.

He will also deny you on the Day of Judgment for calling him. The best you can do for any dead person is to pray for Allah’s mercy upon him.”

According to Zakzaky, “I am not surprised with the content of an open letter written

by Dr. Gumi at this particular time (forget the sinister “My Brother” tone and the crocodile tears of condolence). The choice of the time to write the letter gave Dr. Gumi a way, he was all out to attack me and the Arba’een symbolic trek currently taking place across the country. I am used to his constant attacks on me and Shi’a.

“According to Dr. Gumi, Allah has given the government the “license to shoot them”.

And the government heeded to the call. A week after,armed combined security operatives shot two people during the Quds Dayprocession in Zaria. The series of machinations by the government against the Islamic Movement in Nigeria had always been with the tacit support of Dr. Gumi and his adherents.

he rescheduled People’s Democratic Party (PDP) primary election for DeltaNorth Senatorial District took a dramatic turn on Monday when the Chairman of the electoral team from Abuja, Mr Raphael Kukuh responsible for the conduct declared the exercise inconclusive almost at the end of the polls.

The decision of Mr Kukuh triggered off a peaceful protest from the delegates, who queried the rationale behind the abrupt termination of the exercise at its tail end.

Trouble started when the election team led by Kukuh suddenly attempted to zoom-off the Asaba cenotaph, venue of the event, in their two vehicles, but were blocked by security men at the gate, following continued peaceful protest by the delegates who insisted that Oshimili-South and Ukwani local government area Delegates that were yet to vote be allowed to do so and counting commenced.

Thereafter, the election team speaking through Kukuh declared the exercise in conclusive citing a directive from Abuja mandating him to do.

Mr Kukuh , who spoke without alighting form his Lexus jeep maintained that he was acting on instruction and subsequently left as the policemen opened the gates, this attracted further condemnation as the gates of aspirant later mandated one Itiekor Ikpokpo Chairman, Isoko-South local government area to count the abandoned votes in full glare of security men, following which, Chief peter Nwoboshi scored 138 votes, Paul Osaji87, Hon. Doris Uboh 37, Hon Pascal Adigwe 27 and Dr Mariam Alli 4 votes.

The counted ballot papers and box were later taken to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Asaba for safe keeping.

Reacting to the development, both Chief Nwaboshi and Chief Edwin Uzor, Delta state PDP chairman condemned in very strong terms, the decision of the electoral team.

It will be recalled that the senatorial election scheduled for December 7 was shifted to Tuesday, December 9, 2014.

PAGE 12

Money Sense

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Backyard poultry farming

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tarting a poultry business is definitely one thing that can give you a lot of benefits. Good poultry business means a steady flow of incoming cash. This is the very reason why a lot of us today choose to start our own poultry business.

If you want to start one of your own just inside your premises, it will be a nice thing if you are well versed when it comes to the aspects of backyard poultry farming.

Lately, the business involving poultry products is becoming a lucrative venture.

The need for both meat and eggs has reached the sky simply because there is an increase in the different ways of using chicken eggs and meats in developing new products. This kind of market usually ranges from the meat shops, plants in food processing, hotels, restaurants, local market or even your neighbours within your community.

Why start a poultry farm in your backyard?

The first reason why it is good to start your own backyard poultry farm is because it can help a lot in reducing the family expenditure of families when it comes to specific food items.

It is also a good happy, a thing that will occupy you. It is also a good means to fill those gaps which cannot be covered by your regular pay check. Family integration can also be achieved since tasks can be equally divided to the members of the family, involving each more and making the whole load much lighter. Backyard poultry farming is also important for the unemployed individuals since it can be a nice avenue in earning some dollars. And lastly, since it is located just in your backyard,

Women working at a poultry farm you can attend to it easily on a schedule that best suits you.

Initial steps in poultry farming It will be helpful if you can ask a few questions in hotels and restaurants and find out how they get their supplies and inquire if your stocks can also be included for some occasions.

Start good relationships with

butches and ask your friends if they have connections to a market which needs the supplies.

Chicken types Now that you are aware of the market where you will deal with, this is now the time to decide on the specific number as well as type of the chickens that you will be needing for your

farm. In case that you choose a market that needs eggs; it will be advisable to breed chickens that lay eggs. If the market target is more interested in meats, you will then need chickens that have good meats. There are chickens which produce meat better as compared to eggs and vice versa.

Space consideration Another thing that you must not fail to look into is the available space that you have in your backyard. This will serve as your guide in deciding on the size of the coop that you will build. You will surely not want to have a chicken coop that is overcrowded. Check out other farms for you to have a better insight on the coops’ sizes.

...and how to start a water bottling business

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afe water is very important these days and since this is an essential need, a lot of people are willing to purchase bottled water. With this great demand for clean drinking water, you can start your own water bottling business. People were used to drinking tap water several years back but today, its use has decreased considerably.

Before you begin with the startup process, you will have to create a good business plan. Learn everything you can about water bottling. You can surf the web for more info so that you can make the right move and decisions.

Bottled water is available in different forms – spring water, purified water, mineral water, sparkling water, artesian water, and well water. Determine the availability of water in your area and you can consult with the International Bottled Water Association. This is important so that you can comply accordingly.

The bottling equipment is vital

in selling clean water. Aside from the source of water, you will also need bottles, labels, caps, and sterilizers. If you want, you can stick with eco-friendly designs.

During start-up, you can lease out the machines and equipment you need. This is ideal to test the water before you start purchasing your own equipment.

The regulations for bottling business The government regulations usually vary from one country to another. This type of business is under NAFDAC in Nigeria (National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control). The said entity is responsible for ensuring that the bottled water is safe from procurement and processing. It will also cover the bottling process and finally, the transportation.

You have to determine the rules in advance and make sure that you don’t violate anything. By doing so, you will sell pure and

consistent bottled water. Never sell tap water, claiming that it is bottled water. Otherwise, Environmental Protection Agency or EPA will sanction your business and may result to a closeout.

This is a highly competitive industry and you must ensure that you’re marketing water effectively.

Identify the weaknesses of your competitors and use it to enhance your business. If you can offer something unique, customers will surely patronize your business.

To increase your sales, you can sell bottled water during soccer games, basketball, and other sporting events. You can even maintain an online business site to reach a wider market.

Make sure that you provide for a shopping cart to make the buying process easy. You can use the business plan to secure capital for your new business. With the right advertising methods, you can make lots of money.

Page 13

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

EDITORIAL

Still on national honours have been caught red handed, prosecuted and convicted. Examples include the former Managing Director of Oceanic Bank Plc, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George; and a former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun etc.

Ironically, when he was appointed President, Goodluck Jonathan

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he Nigerian National Honours are a set of orders and decorations conferred upon Nigerians and friends of Nigeria every year. They were instituted by the National Honours Act No. 5 of 1964 to honour Nigerians who have rendered service for the benefit of the nation.However, like every other national institution or scheme, these awards have been thoroughly abused. On two different occasions - once under Obasanjo and again under Jonathan - the late Prof Chinua Achebe, the world renowned literary icon rejected the award.

Similarly, General Domkat Bali, former Minister of Defence and one of the finest Generals Nigeria has ever produced, rejected the offer last year.

While Achebe questioned the credibility of those that gave him the award, Gen. Bali, now the paramount ruler of Tarokland, said “I refused to go to Abuja for the national honour because it makes no sense to me. I saw the recent national award given to me as an insult to my personality.”The General revealed that whereas the 2011 honour awarded to him was Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), “the Federal Government gave me in the past a higher national honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) which is the second highest national honour in Nigeria”.Evidently, the records of this important national project are in a mess. How else could one explain the monumental blunder of demoting Gen. Bali?

Some of those who have accepted the awards were well known barefaced thieves. Mercifully, some of them

Who is eligible for national honour?

The public has a right to know; the criteria should be widely publicized promised to reform the process of awarding the honours. But alas, the promise was made only to be broken.

The recent honours he doled out have met with public scorn. It is mostly reserved for serving public officers and their friends or nominees.Included on this year’s list are business men who have grave allegations of economic crimes dangling over their heads and politicians who have untidy records.

Unfortunately, those who believe in this charade appear to think that titles honour people when in reality it is people that honour titles.

There is nothing wrong when a country

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

chooses to formally recognise and honour its citizens who make significant contributions to the promotion of the public good. Such recognition could help forge fond memories of nation-building, inspire others to seek to excel in public service and establish a tradition of virtuous public service.

The present process has done incalculable injustice to those Nigerians that have indeed earned the recognition conferred by the national honours and damaged our national brand. It has also diminished the currency of honour as a virtue in our public life.

Who is eligible for national honour?

The public has a right to know; the criteria should be widely publicized.

Secondly, the public should have a major role in the nominations and government should diminish its control over who gets honoured.

We consider it inappropriate to give the award to serving public officers of just any rank. Those who deserve it should be considered after they have left public office.

Finally, there must be room for public objections to nominations. This means that a shortlist of the nominees should be published with sufficient time to enable members of the public file objections or complaints and the process for adjudicating such objections should be clear, transparent and expeditious.

We understand that the late Alhaji Liman Ciroma once recommended a cap on the maximum number of recipients of the national honours in any year to not more than 100 persons. Those administering the awards should take a second look at this and other reform proposals.

OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

Chairman Malam Wada Maida, Oon, Fnge Director/Editor-in-Chief Rufa’i Ibrahim Managing Editor Abdul-Azeez Abdullahi

Chief Operating Officer Ali M. Ali

Deputy Manager, Production Abdul-Rauf Musa

Ag. Editor, Daily Lawal Sabo Ibrahim

Manager, administration Hassan Hammanyaji

Head, Lagos Bureau Adesoji Oyinlola

Acting Editor, Weekend Patrick Andrew

“To be a reputable, profitable, innovative and technologically reliant media company offering world class services and products”

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

PAGE 14

Opinion

My reflections on Nigeria’s political leadership ByVida Nana Badu

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he masses of this great country have grumbled over the years about the attitude of their leaders to their social and economic wellbeing. The reason is that in a normal democratic society, the principal duty of an elected leader is the wellbeing of the people who put him office through their votes. They did so hoping that he would fulfill the election promises he made to them, exhibiting exemplary leadership, characterized by competence and honesty and willingness in ensuring that the trust bestowed on such a leader is not betrayed.

As the February 2015 presidential and parliamentary elections approach, the big questions are: where do we stand? Who will make the right leader for this country going forward? What guarantees are there that we will not be manipulated again?

Blessed as Nigeria may be, things have not been going well in all spheres of life. We are heading for the abyss instead making a head way. The way out of this predicament seems more like a mirage and a blurred vision. Social and political critics have blamed the situation on bad leadership, saying that

the nationalists who fought for Nigeria’s independence in the 1960s were the only genuine and patriotic leaders the country has ever had. This postulation is open for an argument as others may assert that the post-independence leaders’ strong attachment to regionalism was the beginning of the challenges that have held us back from being a truly united, one country.

Another question is: where is the nationalist spirit in us, has this spirit really left us, or do we still have any trace of it left in us? It is clear and loud enough even to the dumb that the real problem facing our

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country emanates from the “leadership” as they always fail to discharge their promises due to their egocentric nature.

The amount of treasure God has bestowed on our country is enough for its citizens not to still languish in abject poverty. There is no reason for the education sector to be going backward and mired in incessant industrial actions by teachers and lecturers, lack of teaching and learning materials and even inadequate classroom; for the health sector to remain in its present state, where people die of the common cold.

Those who can afford it rather go abroad for treatment. In fact,

every sector of the economy has virtually collapsed.

It may be argued that a common Nigerian man is the most enduring citizen that can be compared to citizen in any other countries in the world based on the fact that the level of suffering a common Nigerian go through, going to bed without electricity, living below a dollar daily, access to quality medical services, mismanagement of resources,rich getting richer and poor getting poorer, looting of public treasures by government officials, and many of these problems known to all, are more than enough to spark civil uprising, as minor issues

This is our country and these leaders are part and parcel of us, they don’t come from the moon or sun, and it’s high time we begin to realize that we cannot continue to be used as puppets and begin to hold each leader responsible for his actions.

not compared to the ones mentioned above usually result into havoc in other countries.

The question now is why is it that despite the enduring nature of the common Nigerian the government still continues to fail them.

This is our country and these leaders are part and parcel of us, they don’t come from the moon or sun, and it’s high time we begin to realize that we cannot continue to be used as puppets and begin to hold each leader responsible for his actions.

It is a good thing therefore that we begin to emancipate into the circle of information brought by the advancement in information technology.

This is because the high level of information the high level of awareness, and as people become aware of the activities of government so would they begin to ask questions, and as they do this so would they be pressured so would they begin to take actions on unfavorable conditions unleashed on them by bad leadership experienced so far in the country, the era of folding our hands should be over.

Nana Vida Badu wrote in from Bayero University, Kano.

Much of followership, less of leadership

By Iroha Solomon

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t’s true that we have got the best deal we had hoped for from Goodluck, but if we are sincere to ourselves and not be led like people without a mind of our own, we’d see that we’ve moved forward even in the midst of myriad of challenges. I’m not a campaigner for anybody, so, I’d leave the achievements for the paid agents to do so; but I’d just list one or two things I think should indicate that we’re going forward.

Before now, we never believed that train services could be possible in Nigeria again. To put it mildly, many of us (especially we the youths) actually thought that the train is a kind of fairytale that existed in the world of fiction. Well, maybe except for few of us who’re well informed about the happenings in other worlds -the first and second worlds, the developed worlds -not this hellish African continent, especially this ‘underworld’ called Nigeria. But it happened, and it’s happening right before us. Call it whatever -locomotive, old -truths is, we’re starting somewhere and going somewhere. Today, people can now go on train from Lagos to Kano. Lots of efforts are now on modernizing our rail services.

Modern air-conditioned trains have been acquired with lots

of grounds been covered on construction of railways. We’re certainly moving forward!

The second thing I think we’re getting right is the automobile industry (car assembling and manufacturing). Like I said, the citizens must get enlightened; our lives would get better with such policies not government subsidized living. We should say no to government’s fish and demand for hook to fish. Today, Innoson manufactures it’s own brand of cars. Many other car manufacturers are on ground doing business. A lot of them would, of course, be assembling.

But that’s a good step in the right direction. In doing so in Nigeria, they’d definitely require the services of many Nigerian skilled and non -skilled workers.

These things definitely would

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seem like insignificant, and their impacts might not immediately be felt, but with time, just a matter, the impacts would be felt by everyone. Let’s not forget that these were the things that had been deliberately or otherwise grounded for over fifteen years.

There isn’t any magic that would build a Rome for us in a day, even with all the monies in the world.

It’s our duty to look beyond what we’re being told; let’s look beyond the obvious and look a little closer As I speak today, no one queues to buy petrol unlike our previous experiences. Yes, it was increased to #97 (when the subsidy should’ve been removed have we the followers been enlightened followers), but we know the politics of petrol when it was allegedly sold for #65; where in the northern part

of Nigeria, petrol sold for less than that, and in many places in the south, it sold for way above the official price. The worst was, people most times slept in petrol stations queuing to get petrol.

When you got lucky, you get to buy after spending the whole day in the petrol station while other who weren’t that lucky go home disappointed. Today, all those are history, and you could go from the creek of Bayelsa to the Sambisa forest of Borno, yet the prices are the same. We no longer wait for petrol at the petrol stations, it is now abundant that no one finds it difficult getting petrol.

Though, the issue of power has eluded all solutions in Nigeria, but a critical look at the situation now, one has a reason to be optimistic.

We all know how a powerful few are making all efforts to make

There isn’t any magic that would build a Rome for us in a day, even with all the monies in the world. It’s our duty to look beyond what we’re being told; let’s look beyond the obvious and look a little closer

sure we stay in perpetual darkness for the continuous fattening of their pockets. Be that as it may, lots of progress are being made and we could see improvements.

The generator importing cabals are trying all they could including the use of unorthodox methods to thwart the efforts of government in making things work, all in a bid to keep their business empire flowing with milk and honey.

The problem is, many Nigerians knowingly or unknowingly-aid them through various forms.

When you’re given money to burst the gas pipeline in your area, or you see someone doing it and say what’s my business; you’re part of the problem. We must take our future into our own hands.

Expose the wicked people who’re hell bent on making sure we don’t get a better future.

Finally, we should stop celebrating failures; stop following the bandwagon. Ask questions about what they intend to do, what they’ve done in the past.

Ask them about their past actions and utterances. Don’t believe in ‘them say them say’ news, find out yourself the truth and the lies.

Listen to both sides and don’t let your emotions over your senses.

Be an enlightened citizen and not a brainwashed one; be the solution , not the problem.

Iroha Solomon is on Facebook: Iroha Solomon.

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

PAGE 15

Comment

Youth immorality: Who is to blame?

By Shuaibu Ahmed Abba Decadence of morality in the Nigerian society has reached such an alarming level that even a blind individual can see. The young leaders of tomorrow do not show respect to the elders, they behave in a way the society finds repugnant. They engage in all sorts of anti-social behavior injurious to the society. Any society that is not morally sound is bound to witness all sort of social menace as a result of decadence of moral values and cultural norms that guide the actions and conduct of individuals living within such a society. Moral values are found in our religion, culture and traditions yet our youth, for one reason or the other are not that religious, they consider our indigenous culture outdated and our traditions barbaric. Therefore they queue up to embrace westernization in its totality and abandoning our indigenous culture and tradition entirely, thereby losing their identity.Now that the issue has been reached an alarming rate, as it is the tradition in our dear country whenever an issue arise, we point accusing fingers and play the blame game instead of brainstorming on how best to tackle the problem.

Some blame the parents, some point accusing finger to the media while others believe it’s the youth whom are responsible for their behavior or misbehavior.

Whichever of them you think is

responsible, you may be right and as well be wrong. Here’s why.Parents are responsible for training their children morality, compassion, respect as well as acceptable do’s and dont’s in line with societal values and religious dictates. As such, they becomes responsible for the action or inaction, behavior and attitudes of their children towards others from childhood to maturity. If a child behaves well, people conclude that the child is from a disciplined home and if they behave otherwise, people fault the parents for not properly training the child. You hear people complain “dint your parents teach you this?” or “dint your parents teach you that?” The unfortunate thing now is that parents abandon these responsibilities. For example in a working class family, the father and mother goes to work in the morning when the children are going to school, the mother will not comeback home till 5pm and the father till 9pm. These children will comeback from school and have the whole house to themselves, they do whatever they like, with whatever they like and however they like. This is not because they are alone, but because the househelp was instructed by madam and oga to play nice with the kids, should she do otherwise, she stand the risk of getting fired. Or maybe there was no such instruction but she herself wasn’t trained properly.

So what is she going teach them?

Imagine asking someone to give what they never had! Now let’s

examine the media. The role of the media in society is to inform, educate, entertain and serve as the watch-dog of the society.

Unfortunately, it is no longer so. The entertainment industry for example through music videos, movies and some publications have successfully polluted the minds of the youth and promoted indecent dressing, drinking alcohol and other dangerous intoxicants, smoking, jamboree spending and other forms of immoralities we have to live with. Such youth model their lives in accordance to any of their favourite actor, actress, musician, model and the like.

This remind me of the hypodermic needle theory and the bullet theory

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of mass communication which says that all the media need to do is to send a message and the receivers will respond accordingly.

They therefore dress, talk, walk, and misbehave like their unworthy role models with the highest sense of justification. This may include not paying attention to school or worst, which is dropping out of the school, acting though to their parents, misbehaving in the society and worst of all dedicating their most productive stage of life to temporary fun. What a mistake. For those who blame the youth, here’s your score. Some children are good liars and perfect pretenders. They act and behave like saints in the house and become

They therefore dress, talk, walk, and misbehave like their unworthy role models with the highest sense of justification. This may include not paying attention to school or worst, which is dropping out of the school,

demons the moment they step out of it. It is universally believed that once a child is 18 years of age, he or she can think and make decisions, iscern between truth and false, right and wrong, good and bad and so on. But the truth is, they need guidance and counselling of the old in order to avoid making an ill-conceived decision the repercussion of which may not end on the individual alone.The time for blame game is over, and each and every one concerned should take up their responsibilities.

Parents, no matter how busy you may be, find time to train your children to be the perfect child you ever wanted. The media should be socially responsible to the society and promote morals and values found in our indigenous culture and traditions. Whereas the youth need reorientation to include compassion, respect, tolerance and understanding. Above all, it must be understood that training the youth is a collective responsibility of the members of the society. If you train only your children, my untrained children whom are friends and go to school, mosque or church, play and socialize together can spoil your trained children.

By joining hands together we can achieve morally sound society that we can be proud to call home.

Shuaibu Ahmed Abba, Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano

Aviation portal brings turning point for Nigeria’s air passengers

By Yakubu Dati In all spheres of life, innovation is known to be the driver of change. Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka knows it. On a recent Thursday,he brought his midas touch to bear on the aviation sector once more. It was the introduction of Passengers Service Portal.

Undoubtedly, Nigeria is on course to achieve its target of handling 15 million passengers this year, according to Chidoka and everything must be done to ensure passengers get the best.For Chidoka, a culture of passenger is the king that started in January 1914, when Abram C. Pheil, the former mayor of St. Petersburg made history by being the firstfarepaying airline passenger has to be preserved through provision of information that will make each journey a passenger makes to be memorable and without stress.

Interestingly, some years after Pheil flew asthe first farepaying passenger, precisely in1925, the British RAF aircraft landed in the ancient city of Kano to signal the beginning ofthe Nigerian experience in aviation.Following that experience, aviation would laterplay a leading role in

shaping the lives of people in Nigeria and all over the world.

The year 2014 has been a significant year in the aviation sector globally.

It marks the centenary of the commercial aviation industry with 65 billion passengers in its kitty. And with over 15 million passengers estimated to be the number of those expected to board aircraft in Nigeria in 2014, the need to provide support to passengers cannot be overemphasised.Some of these passengers will be flying for business, work and leisure.

However, every passenger that flies passes through an airport and that tells a much broader story. The services and experience a passenger get at the airports leaves a lasting impression. Hence, the critical role of airports’ management cannot therefore be over emphasised.

So, Chidoka therefore hit the target when he zeroed in on the need for improved passenger service at our airports.The launching of the passenger service portal and helpline has sent clear signals that thisebullient minister who rode to power on the back of his great strides as a Corp Marshall is matching words with action. Of course, picking the strategic first week of December to launch

the Passengers Service Portal (PSP) www.aviationportal. com.ng and call centre helpline 0700011111 was novel and noble.These platforms empower passengers with information at their fingertips.

Passengers, aviation stakeholders and indeed the general public can access information on flight availability, local airport information, weather forecasts and airline performance analyses. Furthermore, visitors will have access to online aviation forums; industry news and Aviation commit

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updates. It will not only bridge critical lapses in the manner our airports and airlines currently operate, but most importantly improve service delivery at our airports, redress delays, cancellations, dearth of information and deplorable services bedevilling the sector.

The passenger service portal and call centre helpline will provide a one stop platform for passengers to get access to information about hotels, car hire services, hospitals etc on line. While airport users are entitled to seek redress for shoddy services,

It marks the centenary of the commercial aviation industry with 65 billion passengers in its kitty. And with over 15 million passengers estimated to be the number of those expected to board aircraft in Nigeria in 2014, the need to provide support to passengers cannot be overemphasised.

unruly passengers will be profiled through a mandatory identification for checking in process and possibly be barred from flying in our airports.

As the aviation sector braces up for the envisaged upsurge in passenger traffic this Yuletide season, this platform empowers passengers with tools to make the travelling experience seamless and determine their fate. The passenger now has the power in his palms.

Driving these transformational milestones will not be an easy task. Like the spies of Canaan, there are those who are already seeing “giants” instead of “land flowing with milk and honey’.

In this clime, peculiar with its army of critics, those seeing the impossibilities are legion.

However, Chidoka is prepared to convince them.

For a man with a track record ofbringing change to the road transport sector during his time at the Federal Road Safety Corps, he may have indeed been prepared for such a time as this. Like the popular commercial, enthusiastic Nigerians say ‘keep walking’… and ethnic conflicts.

Yakubu, Coordinating General Manager, Aviation Parastatals, writes from Lagos

PAGE 16

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

PDP guber candidate promises better deal in Sokoto From Raji Bello, Sokoto

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he gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Sokoto State, Senator Abdallah Wali has vowed to turn around the economic status of the state, if elected governor in the February 2015 elections.

He also promised to tackle the issue of under- development plaguing the state.

Wali made the pledged in an interview with journalists yesterday.

He frowned at the high rate of illiteracy, poverty, maternal mortality, infant mortality, decadence of moral values and other symptoms of under development in the state.

He vowed to work hard to reverse the trend of non performance exhibited by the APC led government.

His words: “We are near the bottom or right there on all human development indexes. We are not first in infrastructural or any of the

sectoral ratings. Almajiri crisis is mounting. Youth unemployment is growing, transparency in governance is near zero and the state lacks a twenty first century oriented development agenda”.

“We must transform from backwardness to fast tracked development and make Sokoto a model state. Sokoto State is a centre of learning, a center of civilization.

Why must we remain backward?

Why must we rank low on all good things all the time? Why is Sokoto

not the first among comity of states in Nigeria?

“This state has produced great leaders from Sheik Uthman Danfodio in the 4th century to Sir. Ahmadu Bello and President Shehu Shagari in the 21st century, we must collectively join hands to take this state out of the wood”, he explained.

The PDP candidate however called on other contenders to join hands with him in the challenging task of defeating the All Progressive Congress in the next election.

L-R: Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amechi, Nasarawa State Governor, Alhaji UmarTanko Al-Mukura, and Borno state Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shetima, during the 3rd National Convention/ Presidential Primary Election, All Progressive Congress(APC), on Wednesday in Lagos.

Borno: Lawal’s PDP consensus guber candidate - Daggash

By Lawrence Olaoye

F

ormer National Planning Minister, Sanusi Daggash, yesterday announced that Alhaji Gambo Lawal has emerged the consensus candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Borno.

Daggash, who addressed State House Correspondents

after a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Aso Villa, said he led the party leaders from the state to the seat of power to deliberate on how to arrive at a consensus on whom to adopt as the party’s consensus candidate in the state.

According to him, since there was no time for them to organize the party’s primary in the state

considering the tense political situation, they resolved to adopt the consensus option in the spirit of the PDP’s family affair.

The former minister gave the assurance that the PDP would defeat the incumbent governor of the state, Alhaji Kashim Shettima of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Gambo Lawal was once an

aspirant to the position of the PDP National Chairman and also a former National Chairman of the defunct Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM) during the Abacha era.

Before then, he played a prominent role in National Conference of Local Government Chairmen of Nigeria in the early 90s.

Okorie emerges UPP Presidential Candidate for 2015 elections

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he national chairman of United Progressive Party (UPP), Chekwas Okorie from Abia State, has emerged as the party’s Presidential candidate for the 2015 elections, while the national secretary, Bello Umar from Zamfara state, is his running mate.

A statement issued by the National Media Coordinator of the party, Orji Okorie, said this was announced at the National Convention of the Party held at Binez Hotel Aba, Abia State yesterday.

It said the UPP flags were also presented to the gubernatorial candidates of the party as follows, including: Osmond Ukanacho for Imo State, Chris Akomas for Abia State, Hajiya Binta Gwarzo Rufai for Kano State.

The statement further said the positions of all the National Working Committee (NWC) members of the party were also ratified at the party’s national convention, which was monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), led by Jacobs Jatau, who is Abia State Resident Electoral

Commissioner.

While delivering his speech at the National Convention of the party, the chairman of the convention committee, Ogbuehi Dike, said UPP is the voice of the voiceless and the agent of change in Nigeria after over 14 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) misrule.

“Today, we are at the threshold of democratic change in Nigeria and UPP is the party to beat. The wind of change triggered by UPP’s progressive manifesto and ideology will surely sweep away reactionary forces that have held the nation in bondage since

1999”, he said.

He said UPP is a mass movement party belonging to Nigerian masses without the claim of any known or unknown cabal to its origin, formation or ownership, adding that UPP is the product of the special circumstance in which Nigerian citizens found themselves having been alienated from the control and democratic choice of popular leadership and representation by the aging political parties that are in the firm grip of cabals of different conspiracies and gangs; suffering from leadership fatigue.

INEC assures PLDs of voting rights

By Ahmed Abubakar

T

he Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega has re-instated the commission’s commitment towards addressing barriers that prevents Persons Living with Disabilities (PLDs) from accessing the electoral process.

The INEC Chairman stated this at a conference on tiltled ``Mainstreaming into the Electoral Process Persons Living with Disabilities’’ in Abuja yesterday.

Jega, who was represented by a National Commissioner, Dr Chris Iyimoga, said that right engagement of PLDs, who constitutes 25 per cent of the national demography were necessary, was key. ``PLDs have been under represented in not just the electoral and political process in Nigeria, but in almost all spheres language interpretation. ``Also some very important voter education materials such as Frequently Asked Questions, Guide to Transfer of Registration etc should be produced in Braille for the benefit of our visually impaired brothers and sisters. ``However, permit me to state at this point that the commission can only do what it is legally empowered to do. ``We need to have a legal framework in place that will empower the commission in its quest for equitable and participatory democratic process,’’ Jega said.

In her remark, the Deputy Chief of Mission at United States Embassy in Abuja, Maria Brewer said the mission had followed with interest the progress of disability bill through the National Assembly.

Brewer said that US looks forward to a law that would have a positive impact on PLDs in the electoral arena and elsewhere. ``Of course, the US and other international partners can provide some supports, but the most critical driver of progress for persons living with disabilities will come from within Nigeria, from government and the civil society representatives,’’ she said.

Brewer disclosed that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was committed to disability-inclusive development and had focused on expanding access to the electoral process among PLDs. ``USAID is supporting the work of partners like the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, the International Republican Institute, and the National Democratic Institute to ensure that persons with disabilities remain enfranchised.

PAGE 17

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Politics

Buhari, man of destiny, harbinger of change?

ANALYLIS

By Ali Abare Abubakar

Y

esterday, General Muhammadu Buhari, former Head of state and three times presidential aspirant made another history as for the fourth consecutive time, he emerged the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after a keenly contested primaries involving four equally formidable opponents who made the challenge even more daunting when they insisted on testing their popularity among the over 8,000 delegates that gathered at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos to pick the candidate that will challenge the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.

First in 2003, under the platform of the now defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Buhari, a retired general and former GOC of the 3rd Armoured Brigade in Jos, contested for the office of the president and was beaten to second position by the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo, who got 24,456,140 votes.

Buhari scored just 12,710,022 votes.

Again, in 2007, Buhari was able to clinch the ticket of the ANPP and tested the turf against the former governor of Katsina State, his home state, following which the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua defeated him, though the late president later accepted that his election was flawed.

Yar’Adua polled 26, 638, 063 votes to emerge winner while Buhari came a distant second with 6, 605, 299 votes.

Then again, in 2011, Buhari was on the march again. Having fallen out with the ANPP, with a new political party floated to accommodate him and his supporters, the then Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), he ran against incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan in that year’s election, barely six months after the birth of the CPC. Though he lost the election, the over 12 m Buhari garnered during the election made a definite statement on his popularity and acceptability, particularly in the north.

Buhari has now been declared winner of the presidential primaries for the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and for the fourth time, he is staking out his neck in a political terrain characterized with underhand tactics, back stabbing and sleight of hand.

This time around though, the political circumstance is quite different, with several factors emerging to characterize the 2015 general election, leading

Nigerians to believe that for once, the country has no option than to conduct an election that could best be adjudged as being free and fair.

Unlike in the previous elections, Nigerians are unanimous in their clamour for change, change in the manner in which the country’s leaders run the affairs of the nation, with majority of the people left to wallow in abject depravity, despair and hopelessness.

The recent alarming rise in insecurity, particularly with the activities of the Boko Haram ravaging the northern part of the country, with countless lives being lost daily through a senseless pogrom, has gone to expose the under belly of the leadership capability of those in the helm of affairs, since it has become glaring that the chief purpose of governance, the protection of lives and property, is largely, to some extent nonexistent.

The high rate of unemployment among the youth is unprecedented, with graduates of universities roaming the streets looking for means of livelihood, leading to the death of 19 youth in March during the ill fated Nigeria Immigration employment exercise.

Commenting on the unemployment situation in the country, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, at a gathering to review the unemployment situation in the West African subregion tagged, the West African Regional Conference on Youth Employment, held in Dakar, Senegal, painted a gory picture of the prevailing situation in the country.

The ex-President as a guest speaker predicted a revolution was looming in Nigeria if the high rate of youth unemployment which he put at 72 per cent remained unchecked and should the Jonathan government fail to

Buhari create employment, the attendant catastrophe would consume the elite, himself included.

Again, Nigerians are generally agreed that corruption which has been the bane militating against the development of the country, has continued to fester, with arguably no tangible effort by the present administration to check the monster.

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, in a speech delivered recently on the second Peoples Media Limited Conference in Abuja, captured vividly the rising profile of corruption in the country and the seeming lack of the political will to tackle the menace on the side of the federal government.

“The progress made in

“

With his famed incorruptible disposition, particularly at a time when it is generally perceived that the ruling PDP lacks the will to tackle the menace posed by corruption that is crippling the nation, Buhari may turn out to be our own version of Churchill, the man of destiny who could actually fix the country and place Nigeria on the part of genuine growth and development

fighting corruption began to erode under President (Umaru) Yar’Adua. His short-lived regime cannot be assessed in this wise.

Currently in the present regime of President Goodluck Jonathan corruption appears to have been institutionalized” Amaechi said.

“A whopping sum of $20 billion (N3.2 trillion) is alleged to be missing. The stories of both fuel and kerosene subsidy are nothing to behold; it reeks of corruption and rottenness.

The aviation bullet-proof saga remains unresolved. The ShellMalabu story is a macabre dance.

The response of the regime to corruption is to imprison those exposing corruption.”

Then again, the emergence of the APC as a strong opposition party, as against the regional parties previously holding sway that lacked the muscle to challenge the ruling party, has altogether altered the political landscape. With the coming of the APC, when opposition political parties willingly gave up their separate identities to forge together as a united entity, the opposition has now become formidable and capable of challenging for the presidential seat.

The fallout of the recent PDP primaries across the country is another major factor that could tilt the electoral fortunes either way. However, the way in which the exercise was marred by protest and confusion, with already strong party men like the former national chairman of the party, Barnabas Gemade, already ditching the PDP for the

opposition APC; it’s easier to predict where the scales would turn.

These factors, alongside many others, have been on the front burner for Nigerians and as we march towards another election year, it is obvious that maintaining the status quo, allowing the country to continue sliding backward, may turn out to be Herculean. Nigerians clamour for change, they demand for change and from unfolding events in the country, change is inevitable.

In the life of a nation, there comes a time that an individual becomes instrumental in facilitating that desired change, like Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, who was reportedly instrumental in turning the fortunes of his country for the better at a very trying moment. Nigeria indeed is in a trying moment and the yearning for a leader that could take the country out of the woods is paramount.

In his speech delivered while declaring his intent to contest for the seat of the president at the Eagle Square in Abuja, Buhari wasted no time in calling a spade a spade. According to him, “Since 1999 PDP has presided over our country’s decline. Nigeria in my experience has never been so divided, so polarized by an unthinking government hell bent on ruling and stealing forever whatever befalls the country.

Mr Chairman, we in APC are resolved to stop them in their tracks and rescue Nigeria from the stranglehold of PDP. The last 16 years of PDP Government has witnessed decline in all critical sectors of life in Nigeria.

“There is now general insecurity in the land. Quite apart from Boko Haram, there is prevalence of Armed Robbery, kidnappings and killings, cattle rustling, market and farmland arson.

These outrages have taken a new and a frightening dimension, disrupting economic and social life across whole communities”.

With Buhari’s emergence as the APC presidential candidate in the 2015 election, the stage is now set for the opposition to assert itself and to usher in the desired change in the affairs of the country.

With his famed incorruptible disposition, particularly at a time when it is generally perceived that the ruling PDP lacks the will to tackle the menace posed by corruption that is crippling the nation, Buhari may turn out to be our own version of Churchill, the man of destiny who could actually fix the country and place Nigeria on the part of genuine growth and development.

PAGE 18

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Politics

Lagos PDP crisis: Obanikoro’s supporters seek Jonathan’s intervention From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

O

ver five hundred supporters of the former Minister of State for Defence and a PDP governorship aspirant in Lagos, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, yesterday walked around Lagos metropolis protesting what they described as travesty and political manipulation that favoured the candidacy of Mr. Jimi Agbaje as the flag bearer of the party in next year’s governorship election in the state.

The disgruntled supporters carried placards with different

inscriptions seeking the immediate intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Adamu Muazu urging them to cancel what they described as ‘immoral’ primaries and fix a date for a rerun with electoral officers who are above board and upright.

The coordinator of the peaceful protest, Mr. Olayinka Sotade told newsmen that the PDP as the largest party in Africa should show good example by promoting internal democracy as against the manipulations and impositions orchestrated

by the leader of the party , Chief Bode George.

He added that whoever that will emerge as the party’s flag bearer must earn it honourably and not through electoral malpractise that favoured an unpopular candidate who has no structure to deliver the state in the forthcoming election.

His words: “We are protesting against the electoral manipulation that happened on Monday supervised by Chief Bode George. We are loyal party members who are bitter over the outcome of the party’s primaries not because Obanikoro did

not win but because the whole process was flawed and should not be allowed to stay. A lot of delegates were scared of the venue with the sporadic gunshots carried out by Jimi Agbaje’s men and that of Chief Bode George.

“Secondly, the process of accreditation was flawed as ward Chairmen were not allowed to identify delegates and worse still, the announced 806 voters mysteriously turned 863 votes.

Sotade added that they are also contesting the morality of Agbaje’s candidacy since no one had told them that he was given a

L-R: Taraba State PDP Chairman, Hon. Victor Bala Kona, Taraba State Acting Governor, Alhaji Sani Danladi Abubakar, Speaker, Taraba State House of Assembly, Hon. Mark Usani, and Taraba state

Ahmadu Ali accused of imposing candidate in Kogi

By Ahmed Abubakar

A

senatorial aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused a member of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Dr. Ahmadu Ali for imposing a candidate on the Kogi State people.

Stating this yesterday while speaking to the press, Barr Halima Alfa, accused former national chairman of the party, Dr Ahmadu Ali, of attempting to impose serving Senator Atai Idoko in Kogi East Senatorial district.

Halima who visited the PDP national secretariat to protest moves by Ali to force a serving senator on the district, alleged that the senator disrupted the

primaries and made away with the ballot papers mid-way into the primaries.

She added that the Senator as well as other aspirants have gone to town declaring themselves winners of the primaries.

While she noted that she was in the lead before the exercise was scuttled, the senatorial aspirant called on the national leadership of the party to either declare her the winner of the primaries or conduct a fresh one in a neutral venue.

The female senatorial aspirant accused Ali, who is a member of the PDP BoT of antiparty activities for supporting the senator even before he returned to PDP barely three

months before the senatorial primaries.

She noted “It is me everybody came to vote for.

Sen. Atai Idoko disrupted the process and ran to declare that he got 141 votes but before he scuttled the primaries I was leading by 61 votes. I am the winner of the primary. But about three other aspirants have declared themselves winner of the primaries. I was asked to go and do the same but I said no I am a lawyer and I will follow due process.”

She however cautioned the party to ensure a popular candidate emerges noting that PDP is facing a sterner opposition in Kogi State unlike before, noting “we must present

our first eleven.”

While she appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan to intervene in the matter, Alfa accused the camp of former PDP national chairman of dropping the president’s name to produce people that cannot deliver.

In a direct appeal to Jonathan she said “Help us to ensure that the affirmative action for women is implemented. He (Jonathan) has been supportive of women in the country by virtue of his appointment of women into his cabinet. But we need elective positions.

All women are suffering from marginalisation because of god fatherism. Enough is enough.”

waiver by the National Working Committee of the party.

They urged the President to intervene with outright cancellation of the sham and order a transparent rerun.

… As PDP group insists on primaries in Taraba

A

group in the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in Taraba State, PDP Fan Club Worldwide has condemned plot to impose a governorship candidate on the party, insisting that party primaries should hold.

The PDP group in a statement signed by its Secretary General, Comrade Phinias Audu and State Coordinator Comrade Abdullahi Sani also expressed serious concern with the delay in the conduct of PDP primaries in the state.

The group appealed to the PDP National Working Committee (NWC), National Chairman, Alhaji Ahmad Adamu Mu’azu and the presidency “to allow the will of people to prevail and ensure a just and fair atmosphere for the conduct of the primaries in Taraba State.”

They argued that the issue of zoning gubernatorial ticket of the PDP to the southern Tarabas is unconstitutional and against the tenets of democracy.

The group insisted that issues arising from zoning been perpetrated by some self-centered inclined politicians is unpopular, immoral and illegal.

“Zoning in Taraba State is uncommon and unacceptable by the good people of the state, zoning has never, been a determining factor for the emergence of governors or any elective position in the state, since the return to democracy.

“In 1999 primaries were conducted likewise in 2003, 2007 and 2011. As fans club of the party, we are concerned with adherence to due process of law and order in the conducts of the party exercise, not minding the aspirants.”

They called on the NWC to handle the purported zoning issue on the basis of the party’s general interest other than that of a group or individuals aiming at destabilizing the party in the state.

“It is an irrevocable fact that our great party has had a grip of machineries of power, since inception of democratic dispensation in 1999.

The consolidation of democracy by the PDP government has placed Nigeria on a global front in terms of representative democracy and respect for rule of law” the group said.

The group urged the PDP National working committee and the Presidency, out of deep concern for the susceptibility of losing PDP fans and supporters across the entire state and damage to internal democracy the issue of zoning will cause, to quickly wade into the matter by ordering for the party primaries to hold.

Page 19

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

FG to revoke nonperforming oil field licenses From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

T

he Federal Government yesterday threatened to revoked non-performing oil field operators’ licenses by March 2015.

The Director, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr George Osahon while speaking at a one-day marginal field sensitization workshop in Lagos said that about 28 marginal fields had been awarded since 2013, but only about nine of the 24 operators that were licensed are currently producing, contributing 2.4 per cent of the country’s crude production of 2.5 million barrels per day.

He said that the increase reserve and production should be the prime objective of the industry stakeholders.

According to him, Federal Government will not hesitate to revoke licenses of those non performing marginal fields’ operators which had failed in the last 10-years of awarding the contracts.

“Unless reasonable commitments are made by the operators to ascertained by government.

“Government has been concerned about the decline in the country’s production level, which calls for urgent action.

“The workshop will help

marginal field operators to move ahead of the investment profile,” he said.

Osahon said that in spite of the operators’ challenges such as funding, infrastructure, insecurity, community issues, technical capability, ownership and partnership tussles they can still engaged professionals to advise them on best way to commence operations.

According to him, the marginal field licenses were issued ten years ago with the proviso that holders who failed to produce within five years would have their licenses revoked.

“At the end of the first five

years however, the licenses were reviewed, and the tenure extended by another five years, that extension will expire in March 2015.

The awardees have been bogged down by series of problems including infrastructure deficits around the fields, lack of industry experience, high interest rates on loans; poor oil metering tools and insecurity.

In 2003, twenty-four marginal fields were allocated to 31 indigenous companies as part of the marginal fields licensing round, while additional four was awarded after 2003 to make it 28-fields.

The companies include

Brittania-U which is the operator of a sole risk license in the Ajapa field (OML90), Platform Petroleum and New Cross Petroleum Limited in the Egbaoma field (OML 38).

Waltersmith Oil Limited & Morris Petroleum in Ibigwe field (OML 56) were also on the list.

Others are Midwestern Oil, which operates the Umusadege field (OML 56), Pillar Oil operates the Umusati/Igbuku Marginal Field located in OML 56 under a sole risk license, Frontier Oil is the operator of the Uquo field under a JV with Seven Energy, and Energia – is the operator of the Ebondo/Obodeti Marginal Field.

L-R: Investor on sesame seed processing, Mr. Terwase Par, representative of Legal Adviser, Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mrs. Julie Onmoke, NEPC Director, Product Development Department, Mr. Henry Otowo, and NEPC Deputy Director, Product Development Department, Mr. William Ezeogu, during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) between Nigeria Export Promotion Council, cooperatives and investors for the Standards and Trade Development Facility(STDF)Project 172 on shear butter and sesame seed , yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Nigeria needs additional $113bn for critical sectors development – BPE

By Etuka Sunday

T

he Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr Benjamin Ezra Dikki has disclosed that additional $113 billion would be required to develop three critical sectors of the nation’s economy.

Dikki who gave the estimate while presenting a paper at the Annual General Meeting of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) titled: Making Nigeria Work – A dialogue between the Real Sector and the Reformer, gave the names of the

sectors to be Oil and Gas, Power and Transport.

He revealed that to modernize the Nigerian transport system, investments of about $33billion will be required in six years for Roads and Rails development to undertake rehabilitation and modernisation of the Nigerian Railway and the construction of new Road networks across the country.

The BPE DG said that in the next six years, Nigeria will require about $18 - $20billion of investment in the power sector.

In a statement by the Head, Public Communications, BPE,

NCC shuts 4 telecom companies for illegal licenses >>Pg 20

Chigbo Anichebe, Dikki noted that in the next six years, Nigeria will require about $60billion investments in Oil & Gas to unleash the potentials in the Sector.

He said government was not in a position to finance all these investment requirements thus the private sector needs to participate in investing in the various sectors of Oil and Gas, roads, railways, inland water ways and so on. It is in order to attract these needed private sector investments that government through the transformation agenda is fine tuning policies and legal and

regulatory frameworks to give confidence to the private sector to invest.

He emphasised that the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and transport bills midwife by BPE will be critical. He added that without the passage of the bills, the country is estimated to be losing for example an additional revenue of about US $287m in accruals to government from the three Production Sharing Contracts every month the PIB is not passed On the impact of reform

Google to shut down news site over copyright fees >>Pg 22

and privatization on the nation’s economy, the Director General said the BPE has concluded reforms in eight sectors of the economy namely Telecommunications, Power, Banking and Finance, Marine, Mining, Industrial, Steel, and Oil and Gas, Government has also so far Privatized 123 enterprises including the recently concluded Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) successor companies and realized over N564.3 billion.

Dikki further noted that the reform of the telecommunications and banking sectors remain so far the most successful in terms of their impact on the Nigerian economy. He added that Nigeria’s tele-density has been raised from about 450,000 telephone lines in 2001 to over 134.5 million as at September 2014.

Page 20

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Business

NERC tasks Benin Disco on fair load-shedding, staff training

By Etuka Sunday

T

he Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has charged the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to ensure fair Load shedding of power supply in its area of coverage as well as to adequately train its staff on good customer relation.

Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Sam Amadi, gave the charge during the public consultation and fact finding mission on the Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation (CAPMI) scheme which was organized by the Commission at Uyi Grand Hotel in Benin, Edo state.

The regulator gave the charge following complaints of alleged unfair power rationing by the Disco and alleged cases of rudeness of some its staff members by some electricity consumers during the interactive session.

Addressing questions, remarks and observations made by participants at the event, Amadi, who was represented by NERC’s Commissioner in charge of Engineering, Standards and Safety Regulations, Engr. Mary Awolokun, explained that the objective of the consultation is to enable NERC find out first hand from consumers about the Discos compliance to CAPMI and other related issues as well as to find out what challenges the company is facing in carrying out services to customers in its coverage area.

CAPMI is a scheme initiated by NERC whereby willing customers can advance funds for purchase and installation of meters. The payments would be subsequently refunded through a rebate on the fixed charge element of their electricity bills.

She assured consumers that the regulator will ensure that the Disco is fair in its load shedding programme. They should make sure that every customer gets equal supply of whatever power is allocated to the company. They should not give longer supply to areas where their friends and

relatives live; every customer must be treated equally.

The regulator also frowned at staff rudeness to customers, “we lay emphasis on staff training, by this, we ensure the Discos train their staff to treat customers as king, we don’t want rude staff around”, Awolokun said.

On metering she apologized to customers with delayed meter installation complaints, majority of which dates back to pre-privatization; even as she commended BEDC for putting together a strategy to ensure all customers are metered despite the fact that the payments they made to the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was not transferred to it.

Responding to a question about the situation of electricity supply to Ekiti State which necessitated the state Governor, Ayo Fayose to pay a visit to the commission’s headquarter to complain of poor electricity supply.

Awolokun assured that the problem which was transmission related has been rectified. She also revealed that

plans are underway to provide an alternative electricity supply to Ekiti so that if one line has problem, another line can take over.

For this, according to Engr.

Awolokun, arrangement has been concluded with the Ekiti State Governor to fund and revive the 150KVA line from Ilesha to Adoekiti constructed by Governor Ayo Fayose eight years ago when he was governor and which was abandoned immediately Adoekiti was commissioned. This assurance was also confirmed and collaborated by the Executive Director, Commercial, BEDC, Abu Ejoor.

Earlier in his presentation, the Executive Director, Commercial, BEDC, Abu Ejoor, who represented the CEO BEDC, explained that the money paid to the defunct PHCN by customers for meters preprivatization was not transferred to the company adding that the Disco has no record of such payments.

He however, said plans have been concluded to meter

all customers who fall in that category based on their presentation of reasonable proof of payments. He said the company has already purchased 7, 000 meters for installation for this category of customers adding that a public notice has been put up in national dailies for such customers to come forward for verification and subsequently, get their installations.

Ejoor also pronounced that all customers who attended the consultation forum and have their proof of payments will be metered before the end of the week, a pronouncement that elicited celebration amongst those in attendance.

He said the Disco presently have 800,000 customers captured in its data base out of which only about 300,000 are metered either on prepaid or estimated metering.

He added that customer base is expected to hit 1.8million in another two months time as due to an ongoing data capturing programme by the company.

He further stated that “before

L-R: Managing Director/CEO, Bank of Industry (BOI), Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, Managing Director, May and Baker, Mr. Nnamdi Okafor, and General Manager, Large Scale Enterprises, Bank of Industry, Mr. Joseph Babatunde, during the visit of the management of BOI to May and Baker Pharmaceuticals Industry, yesterday in Lagos.

NCC shuts 4 telecom companies for illegal licenses

By Chris Alu

T

he Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday clamped down Steam Communications, Netcom, SwiftTalk and Multi-dimesnion Technologies for use of 5.4 GHz frequency band illegally.

The operators were discovered during a four-day enforcement exercise by the compliance and enforcement team led by the Assistant Director at the Commission, Mr Salisu Abdu in

Lagos.

Addressing media, Abdu said the operations of the telecom firms were an offence under Section 122 of the Nigerian Communication Act 2003, which criminalises any operation without proper licensing by the NCC. He explained that in 2009, NCC came up with a guideline on the deployment of service on the 5.4GHz band that no operator should operate on it without obtaining necessary licences from the NCC. He said: “In the course of the

guideline, we have monitored compliance and we have discovered that we still had some operators operating illegally on the 5.4GHz till 2012. We have done a lot of clean-up and we thought the frequency was free of interferences.

Adding that, we visited Steam Communications Company and we found there were operating on the 5.4GHz band and as result, we confiscated their radio equipment and they are currently under investigation.”

According to him, the

enforcement team also discovered Netcom, Multidimension and SwiftTalk collocating their equipment on a telecom mast belonging to a licensed inter- connect clearing operator.

He warned licensees in the telecoms sector to always comply with their licensing conditions, stressing that indulging in illegal operations is capable of creating unnecessary interferences in telecoms services delivery which ultimately affect telecoms consumers.

November 1, 2013, a little over 27,000 meters were installed, but as at October 2014, BEDC has installed 36,932 meters since taking over. We have received 46, 000 requests out of which only about 8,000 customers are yet to get their meters installed due to various reasons.”

He said the Disco presently install over 5,000 meters monthly with plans in place to increase it to over 7,000 and reduce estimated billing across the its coverage area.

…Charges Port Harcourt Disco to meter consumers

S

peaking at the public consultation forum in Port Harcourt, which was also organized by NERC Commissioner, Dr Abba Ibrahim, said that over 50 percent of electricity consumers were not metered and therefore subjected to what he called estimated billings, popularly known as crazing billings in Nigeria.

“CAPMI which came into effect through NERC Order 05 in 2013 is a stop-gap measure to ensure that people have meters. A lot of people have and are still complaining on the crazy billing otherwise known as estimated billing. Hence, NERC in consultation with other stakeholders came up with the scheme called CAPMI to mitigate their sufferings,” he stated.

He explained that the scheme enables willing customers who cannot wait for their distribution companies to come up with their own metering plan to make deposit and get a meter not later than 45 days and get a rebate from the fixed charge component of the bill which will be a discount from the fixed charge for a duration of 2 years.

Dr Ibrahim said: “Ideally, it is the distribution company that should provide the customers in its jurisdiction with meters, but we understood that they had no fund to do it, hence we came with CAPMI. “Besides, the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) is partnering with a bank here locally and the bank is providing credit for its customers to support this scheme.”

According to the Port Harcourt distribution company Assistant General Manager Customer Services, Godwin Orovwiroro, the company has installed over 1,600 meters within the company areas of license and the company is also deploying additional 20,000 meters and that so far has exceeded the number of people who paid for meters.

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Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Business Oil traders buy $100 options, betting on a rebound – eventually

O

il traders have been quietly buying cheap, far out-of-the-money call options at $100 a barrel, betting that the biggest sell-off since the financial crisis has gone too far and that crude is likely to rebound by this time next year.

Open interest in U.S. crude oil $100 calls for December 2015 has jumped 13 percent in the last two weeks to nearly 37,000 on Wednesday, with a premium of around 40 cents.

For the December 2016 $100 calls, open interest has surged by more than 50 percent to nearly 16,000, with a premium of around $1.00, according to exchange data.

With U.S. crude oil futures for January hovering at just above $60 a barrel, down from nearly $108 a barrel in June, traders aren’t likely counting on those options to expire in the money but rather betting that their value will increase provided oil prices bottom out or begin to creep up next year.

“People don’t trade options because they think the price will necessarily get there.

They’re looking for relatively good value,” said John Saucer, vice president of research and analytics at Mobius Risk Group in Houston.

“The question is: How do you get the most bang for your buck?” he said.

Since the summer, oversupplied global markets coupled with lackluster demand kicked off a selloff in both the U.S. crude and Brent contracts.

The sell-off accelerated following the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna last month, when member countries decided not to cut production amid speculation of a price war.

The motivations for investors to have so many open contracts in those two months at $100 are not immediately clear. High levels of activity in December are not a surprise as it is among the most liquid months of the year for hedging.

Yet, some argue that it is an opportune moment to buy as falling prices have increased the put skew - the difference in implied volatility for out-ofthe-money and in-the-money options - allowing more upside potential to the call side.

“There are too many guys on the short side now,” said one trader. (Reuters)

Custom officers go berserk, brutalised FAAN Manager at Lagos airport From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

A

retired Colonel and Manager Landslide Service of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Col. John George (rtd) was brutalized yesterday by Custom officers at the cargo terminal of the international wing of the Lagos airport.

The incident is coming barely a week after normalcy returned to the cargo section following it closed down as a result of a fracas that broke out when Custom officers and clearing agents clashed at the facility.

The retired military officer draw the anger of a custom officer for daring to ask him not to park his private car in the parking space designated for official purpose at the cargo terminal.

The incident attracted onlookers who bemoaned the attitude of some Custom officers at the airport in recent time.

The custom officer, one C. U Umen had driven his private car a Toyota SUV Outlander with registration number LND 633 CF to park in the parking lots built for revenue generation by FAAN. Umen’s refusal to pay the mandatory parking fee to the revenue collecting agent at the entrance on the condition that he was on his uniform did not go down well with the revenue collector.

Eye witnesses told our correspondent he quickly went to mobilise his colleagues from the Custom area command office less than a 100 meters away who came with two pickup van loaded with armed custom men.

The armed men initially

manhandled the female FAAN staff manning the gate before swooping on Colonel George who had arrived the scene to intervene.

George explained that a circular had been circulated to the security agencies notifying them of the intention of FAAN to built the park for the purpose of revenue generation.

He said only vehicles with official stamps of the agency are exempted from the said fee.

His entreaty to persuade Umen and offer him to park his car inside the hajj camp compound fell on deaf ears.

He also noted that the situation would have hampered rescue effort had an emergency occurred as the road to the hajj camp was blocked by the Customs.

“The Customs officer

told FAAN officers that their comptroller directed them not to pay and shoot at sight whoever disturb them at the airport.” He said further.

The manager noted that it was a surprise to him for a senior custom officer to engaged himself in such a fracas after what the customs just went through with the clearing agents at the airport.

When our correspondent visited the scene, materials and equipment belonging to FAAN which were destroyed littered the area.

Journalists were barred from gaining entrance into the Custom office in an attempt to get the Customs Public Relations Officer, Mrs Thelma Williams reaction.

Also General Manager, Corporate Communications of FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati said the incident is being investigated.

L-R: Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Mr. Femi Ajayi, Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Abdullahi Mustapha, and President, Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, Prof. Emenike Wami, AT the first international conference on Zeolite, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Photo: NAN

FG softens conditions for N220bn MSME fund

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he Federal Government has unveiled plans to relax the collateral conditions attached by the Central Bank of Nigeria for banks to access the N220bn intervention fund for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector.

The Director General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, Alh Bature Masari, disclosed this while addressing journalists on the importance of the National survey on MSME to be conducted

by the National Bureau of Statistics.

He said over the years, lack of access to finance had been identified as a major challenge facing the MSME sector, noting that the N220bn intervention fund from the CBN, would only address the funding challenge only if it can be easily accessed by small business owners.

Apart from finance, other challenges facing the sector according to him are weak infrastructure and inconsistency

of government policies, lack of work space, and multiple taxation.

Part of the conditions for banks to access the N220bn fund from the CBN is the need for them to collaterise whatever amount they are applying for from the CBN to the tune of about 70 per cent.

But Masari described the 70 per cent as being too high, noting that after various consultations with the apex bank, this had been brought down to 50 per cent.

The SMEDAN DG argued that if the collaterisation of 50 per cent is allowed to stay, the entire collateral demand the CBN would be making from the banks would be transferred to the ordinary Nigerian who will ultimately apply to have these funds for enterprise establishment and development.

As part of measures to further reduce the collateral, he said a sub-committee had been set up by the National Council on MSME.(Punch)

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Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Business

Google to shut down news site over copyright fees

G

oogle said it plans to close its news-linking service in Spain in response to legislation under which publishers will soon be able to force Internet sites to pay for re-publishing headlines or snippets of news.

In a statement, the search giant said the new law makes the Google News service unsustainable and that it will remove Spanish publishers from Google News sites worldwide and shut down this service in Spain on 16 December.

The move also means readers in Latin America and around the globe will no longer find links to articles from any Spanish news publishers on Google News.

The change to the copyright law, which is set to take effect in January, only applies to news aggregation sites such as Google News or domestic rival Meneame.

It does not prevent Google users in Spain or elsewhere from reading snippets of the same stories when they look up news

in Google search results, where Google stands to capitalise by selling ads alongside news stories that turn up.

“The new law requires publishers to charge Google News for showing even the smallest snippets of their content -whether they want to charge or not,” the company said. Google News displays no advertising and makes no revenue from the service, it noted.

Google’s action caps a decade of acrimony with news publishers who blame the search giant for revenue and readership declines.

The company maintains that it sends millions of clicks that allow news sites to make money via online advertising.

The stand-off also comes amid a growing campaign by politicians, regulators and courts across Europe to rein in Google’s power over the Internet search market and the impact it has on deeply ingrained social norms around personal privacy.

The European Union’s recently installed digital commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in October that he was mulling a regional Internet copyright levy, taking aim at Google.

In recent years, publishers in countries from Germany and France to Spain have pushed to pass new national copyright laws that force Google and other web aggregators to pay licensing fees when they publish snippets of their news articles.

In Spain and Germany, these laws require publishers who want their content to continue to show up in Google search results to give the company explicit permission to do so.

Google has responded by requiring publishers to release it from any liability for licensing fees under such laws.

The Spanish law thwarts this by giving publishers an “inalienable” right to levy licensing fees.

However, in November,

Germany’s largest publisher, Axel Springer scrapped a bid to block Google after an experiment by a consortium of about 200 German publishers caused online traffic to plunge. Internet search experts say the shutdown of Google News in Spain may be greater on smaller, less-well known news publishers than on name-brand news sites who are less reliant on the site to draw in readers.

For the top five Spanish news sites (ElPais.com, ElMundo. es, ABC.es, LaVanguardia.com and ElPeriodico.com), referrals from sites such as Google News are responsible for less than a quarter of traffic, ranging from 8 percent for ABC to 21 percent for La Vanguardia, according to online traffic measurement firm Similar Web. Social networks such as Facebook make up a smaller amount.

Google’s move also does not appear to affect current agreements it has with major

R-L: Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Matthew Willsher, Dean, Lagos Business School, Dr. Enase Okonedo, Director, Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), Mr. Peter Bamkole, and Deputy Director, EDC, Mrs. Nneka Okekearu during the graduation ceremony of the certificate in entrepreneurial management programme of the EDC, recently at Pan-Atlantic University, in Lekki, Lagos.

Investors turn to MLP funds as U.S. energy bet while oil slides

U

.S. investors are zeroing in on exchange-traded funds that track master limited partnerships as a way to bet on long-term North American energy boom even as oil prices slide, convinced that these funds look relatively cheap and promise growth.

Master limited partnerships typically invest in energy infrastructure such as oil and gas pipelines and storage facilities.

That makes them less affected by the decline in oil because such assets are more sensitive to volume of flows than commodity prices and usually have long-term contracts with producers.

They also offer high yields in a low rate environment. The

Yorkville MLP Universe Index, which tracks all MLPs, yielded 5.4 percent at the end of November, double that of 10-year Treasury bonds.

Among the biggest MLP exchange-traded funds, the Alerian MLP ETF and the UBS ETRACS Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index ETN saw the largest net inflows last month of $161 million and $110 million, respectively.

The Alerian fund, which is the most expensive MLP ETF, was up 7.7 percent so far this year through Friday, while the UBS ETF was up 11 percent.

In contrast, traditional energy funds, such as the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration &

Production ETF and the United States Oil Fund are both down about 29 percent, according to Lipper data. Most of that decline has come since June, when crude oil began its months-long slide.

MLP funds have edged down so far this month along with the broader energy sector after the oil cartel OPEC’s decision maintain its output. That is seen putting pressure on North American producers and led some investors to expect to eventually weigh on MLPs. And to be sure, if oil prices dive further and stay low for long, the slump could lead to project cancellations.

But some analysts and investors see the dip as a buying

opportunity.

They say the funds are now cheap by historical standards, while the long-term outlook for the sector remains good there is still a widely recognized need to build more U.S. energy infrastructure.

“MLPs are in a good spot,” said Rob Glownia, a quantitative analyst with RiverFront Investment Group.

MLP cash distributions, a key indicator of their health, remain strong. Roughly 98 percent of all MLPs either maintained or grew their distributions versus last year, according to data from Yorkville Capital Management LLC. (Reuters)

Spanish publishers to supply them with ad-serving technology that in effect creates a private ad marketplace to support their respective publications.

Reacting to the announcement, the Spanish ministry of education, culture and sport said the company was making a business decision to pull out of certain services but that the government remained open to negotiation about how it implemented what its statement referred to as a ‘Google tax’. (Reuters)

‘We are impressed with Access Bank Capital markets activities’ From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

T

he publisher and CEO of EMEA Finance Magazine, Christopher Moore has commended Access Bank Plc for its impressive dealings in the capital market. This was done at the EMEA Finance award ceremony which was held recently in London.

At the ceremony, Access Bank, which was nominated in a keenly contested category, emerged victorious as the Best Local Bank in Africa.

While presenting the award to the Bank, Christopher Moore said “Access Bank’s interim results show impressive growth not just in income and profit, but also in the bank’s loan portfolio and deposit base. These accomplishments are testament to a strong management team and business. Additionally, we are impressed with the bank’s capital markets activity, which includes the bank’s second international bond issuance raising US$400mn and its upcoming rights issue”, says Tim Burke, editor of EMEA Finance Magazine”.

Recognizing the difficulty in achieving the feat that the Bank has recorded, he further added “Access Bank competes in a very tough market, Nigerian banks are among the most innovative and dynamic in Africa, and in many other areas are global leaders and fast adopters.

It is a pleasure to recognize Access Bank as our Best local bank for 2014.

Receiving the award on behalf of the Bank, Head, Brand and Strategic Management, Access Bank Plc, Amaechi Okobi thanked EMEA Finance magazine for recognizing and celebrating the humble dealings of the Bank, “this award is a testament to the proactive and innovative approach to Banking that Access Bank has adopted. While many might see it as a call to celebrate, we see it as a call to push further.

Our promise is to deliver excellent services with lightning speed and on a secured platform and we will not disappoint”, he added.

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Stock Watch

Report as at Thursday, December 11 2014

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Peoples Daily, Friday, DecEMber 12, 2014

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PAGE 25

Special Report

Promoting women advancement through cinema and human exchange: The MIND’s style

T

here is no gainsaying that issues concerning women are hence left in the background and never integrated in our social consciousness. Even if when is captured in the national policies, it is never put to practise.

Often we highlight the giant steps taken by government in ensuring that women in Nigeria take full control of the issues that affect their lives - from the homes to the farm lands, to the functioning of the state machinery. They claimed modern equipment are made available to them in the farm fields to ease the intensity of labour, they have access to improved health service delivery, thus reducing the infant mortality rate, and, at the core of decisionmaking, ensure tangible representation of women, but

Women advancement in Nigeria no doubt has taken a back seat. Many have blamed it on our cultural practices which ensure that women were only seen and not heard. That is why the much talked about women’s empowerment and the liberation of women from poverty and domestic oppression and exploitation as pre-requisites for national development is not taken seriously. Ochiaka Ugwu reports on the recent ‘WATCH’ project launched by MIND which focused on women advancement in the real sense women in Nigeria are just mere existing.

This is why our women continue to suffer greatly in the midst of plenty. They seem not to have arrangement that is supporting them at all times. They need a system that will guarantee their welfare anywhere anytime, like free maternal health, educating the girl child for free and initiating a series of

“

development projects that go a long way to better the lots of women.

It was based on this that Media Information Narrative Development (MIND) a civil society organisation based in the Nigeria’s capital city Abuja as its part of Women Advancement programmes launched the “WATCH project” . The event which took place in the residence of

It presents a different scenario about the Niger Delta than the usual media reports about oil outputs, conflict, and kidnapping, giving a taste of everyday life in the region through the eyes of three ordinary characters: Hannah, Naomi, and Rebecca Churchill

the Netherland Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John C. M. Groffin in Asokoro, Abuja offered people the opportunity of viewing for the first time MIND’s award winning film Daughters of the Niger Delta’, which has moved audience across the world and won 5 international awards including Al Jazeera’s New Horizon Award.

Speaking on the project the Netherland Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Groffin praised MIND for coming up with such human development programme through cinema showing.

He also hinted how he had wanted to embark on such project in his home country being a cinema loving fellow but could not owing to tight schedule.

Groffin, however, said he has to embrace this project immediately it was sold to him by MIND giving the fact it was something he had wanted to do all his life.

Continuing, he said his position as the Ambassador

Members of the audience watching the film

Netherland Ambassador to Nigeria, John C.M Groffin

MIND Programme Director, Ilse Van Lamoen-Isoun

has provided the ample opportunity as he now has a large space to host people for such project. He charged the media on popularizing the project which he said was all about uplifting the living standard of the down trodden.

The Programme Director of MIND, Ilse Van LamoenIsoun while speaking to the audience informed that MIND is the a civil society, non-profit organization based in Abuja with a mission to stimulate young Nigerians especially women and also to re-envision their lives and the world they inhabit by imaginative use of media, information and narrative

development.

Talking about WATCH project, she said it simply means, Women’s Advancement Through Cinema and Human Exchange which was a special event for media and civil society professionals in Federal Capital Territory defending the rights of urban poor.

She further noted it was a participatory research project enrolled by MIND that advocates for the rights of the urban poor in the fast expanding settlements surrounding Nigeria’s communities.

Lamoen-Isoun stressed that WATCH seeks to draw public attention to the

alarming level of extreme poverty in Nigeria, focusing particularly on the rights of women and girls who tend to be hit hard by the negative outgrowths of urbanisation.

She revealed that WATCH is funded by the embassy of the Netherland in Nigeria, saying that MIND was seeking to partner with media houses and fellow Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the FCT who are keen in drawing public attention to the human rights impacts of urban poverty.

On the award-winning film titled ‘Daughters of the Niger Delta’ which was shown to the audience, Lamoen-Isoun who was the

arrow head of the film said the idea grew during one of MIND’s first projects called FEMSCRIPT funded by Cordaid and the Netherlands Embassy in Abuja following the training of a group of young women from the Niger Delta in gender and human rights.

Her words, “The idea grew during one of MIND’s first projects called FEMSCRIPT funded by Cordaid and the Netherlands Embassy in Abuja. We trained a group of young women from the Niger Delta in gender and human rights. Based on research in their own communities, they each made a short film about one issue that they considered

key for promoting women’s advancement in their own home towns”.

She noted the film was produced for local advocacy purposes, but the messages seemed important enough to be shared with a wider audience adding that a grant from the German Embassy made them to collect additional footage that helped them in producing the documentary.

“The movies were produced for local advocacy purposes, but the messages seemed important enough to be shared with a wider audience. Thanks to a grant from the German Embassy we were able to collect additional

footage and produced ‘Daughters of the Niger Delta”.

However, the film depicts a story of a forgotten people who have been subjected to all aforementioned in the society whether on their own advantage or not. It presents a different scenario about the Niger Delta than the usual media reports about oil outputs, conflict, and kidnapping, giving a taste of everyday life in the region through the eyes of three ordinary characters: Hannah, Naomi, and Rebecca Churchill. Their chilling tales revealed the true picture of what was taking place in the REGION. Through their

personal stories it was learnt that the oil and gas in the region which supposed to be a blessing is gradually turning to a cause. As the problem in the oil communities have transcended pollution, because human rights violation affecting their lives are more pronounced in their everyday activities.

The Netherland born Lamoen-Isoun also said ‘Daughters of the Niger Delta’ was a bottom-up film production which was aimed at making the women tell their stories in their own way. She said that rather than bringing in external filmmakers to document the lives of women, young women from the heart of the region, they decided to equip them with the tools and skills to do it themselves. They were trained in filmmaking as part of a MIND capacity building program entitled FEMSCRIPT. She said the aim was to give local women control over the information and images produced out about them, to enable them to say in their own words what matters to them. She held that the organisation felt it was extremely important in the Niger Delta context, where lots of people claim to be fighting on behalf of the Niger Delta people while merely filling their own pockets.

There is no doubt that this project by MIND is commendable in every aspect. It is a project that has posed a challenge to other organisations towards promoting women empowerment through human exchange. We need to do more projects like this in the country with more focus on women empowerment in their respective communities; we hope all other organisations will take lessons from the MIND’s initiative. It is even said that the degree of a country’s development can be gauged by the participation of its women in the development process. Much more, history has proven that despite their exploitation and subjugation, women, particularly those in Africa, have contributed immensely to the advancement of humanity.

They were vanguards in the African revolution against imperialism; hence they deserve the right to become active actors in the determining of our collective destiny.

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Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Islam

An Open Letter of Advice to Sheikh Ibrahim Yaqoub El-Zakzaky Allah says: “And what think those who invent lies against Allah of the Day of Judgment? Verily Allah is full of bounty to mankind, but Most of them are ungrateful. In whatever business Thou mayest be, and whatever portion Thou mayest be reciting from the Qur’an; and whatever deed ye (mankind) may be doing; we are witnesses thereof when ye are deeply engrossed therein nor is hidden from Thy Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom on the earth or In heaven; and not the least and not the greatest of these things but are recorded In a Clear record.”[Yunus: 60-61]

islam explained

By Husain Zakariyya Yawale +234-8052952900 (sms only) islamexplained35@yahoo.com

I

n the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All Praise is due to Allah! We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our evils and bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and final messenger to mankind. May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon His last and final Apostle, his Household, his companions and all his followers till the end of time.

Today this column will dedicate its space to dispatch to the public the letter which Sheikh (Dr.) Ahmad Abubakar Gummi wrote tohis brother Sheikh Ibrahim Yaqoub El-Zakzaky; the spiritual leader of the Shi’ites in Nigeria. The letter was written on the 8th. December, 2014. It was writtenafter the former’s experienced on his return to Kaduna from Dutse via Kano on that fateful day. The letter please in full: “My Brother Ibrahim ElZakzaky: it’s not too late to repent.

After registering my condolences to the recent loss of your three children who were gunned down by some elements in the military, I find it an obligation to help you see that some of your actions too are the contributing factors in this unfortunate avoidable tragedy.

What I fear most for you and your followers is that the consequence of this tragedy may further alienate your group from the mainstream society and create a cult -if it’s not already one - with disastrous consequences on you, your followers and the nation at large. For you especially, on the Day of Judgment you will have your account to answers.

My brother you have brought a lot of bad innovations among Nigerian Muslims that rather than unite the Muslims are further

Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky entrenching the divide without any added value to the worldly development nor the hereafter, but rather with serious theological implications in the hereafter.

What triggered my attention to your group now is the most recent close encounter I made with a procession of your followers on the highway from Kano to Zaria yesterday 8th Dec. 2014 on my way to Dutse. I saw about four to

six thousand youths and children trekking a long distance for hours.

Though I gave a two hour lecture in Duste, I met them still trekking on my way back.

I cannot understand under which civil or religious law gave you the right and liberty to block one side of the double carriage road, thereby forcing motorists to cramp each other dangerously on one lane! If your action is to

“

My Brother Ibrahim ElZakzaky: it’s not too late to repent.

After registering my condolences to the recent loss of your three children who were gunned down by some elements in the military . . .

propagate your creed, I am telling you; you will end up only attracting the poor and young ignorant as well as the miscreants of the society;never will any sane except of course the disgruntled!

The delinquency of your followers and their disturbance of public peace is what make you and them an easy target of the authority. How can this happen when you can as well do very well without such unscrupulous public misbehavior. Disruption of traffic flow is in fact a sign of unfaithfulness and lack of civilization. In a Hadith narrated

by Muslim, the noble prophet -AlaihisSalatu was Salam- said: “Faith has seventy something or sixty something branches. The best of it is the testimony that there is no diety to worship except Allah and the least of it is removal of harm from the road and shyness is also a branch of faith.” And Al-Bukharialso narrated that the Prophet himself used to remove injurious things and dirt from the road; all this was to make the road and traffic safe and smooth.

This is the good example you should copy! But unfortunately, instead of that, you are doing exactly the opposite by blocking roads and forcing vehicles to dangerously face each other on one lane while your followers were displaying arrogance and lawlessness. Young men brandishing knives and unsheathed swords, beating their chest, carrying inciteful placards and chanting hate songs.

Thus, how can you be the good servant of Allah when you are exactly the opposite of what the Quran describes? Allah says: “And the servants of the Merciful Allah are they who walk on the earth in humbleness, and when the ignorant address them, they say: Peace. * And they who pass the night prostrating themselves before their Lord and standing. * And they who say: O our Lord! Turn away from us the punishment of hell, surely the punishment thereof is a lasting.

Surely it is an evil abode and (evil) place to stay. And they who when they spend; are neither extravagant nor parsimonious, and (keep) between these the just mean; and they who do not call upon another god with Allah and do not slay the soul, which Allah has forbidden except in the requirements of law and justice, and (who) do not commit fornication and he who does this shall find a requital of sin; The punishment shall be doubled to him on the day of resurrection, and he shall abide therein in abasement. Except him who repents and believes and does a good deed; so these are they of whom Allah changes the evil deeds to good ones; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And whoever repents and does good, he surely turns to Allah a (goodly) turning.

And they who do not bear witness to what is false, and when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly. And they who, when reminded of the communications of their Lord, do not fall down thereat deaf and blind. And they who say: O our Lord! grant us in our wives and our offspring the joy of our eyes, and make us guides to those who guard (against evil).

These shall be rewarded with high places because they were patient, and shall be met therein with greetings and salutations. Abiding therein; goodly the abode and the resting-place.” [al-Furqan: 63-76].

How can you be the good servant of Allah when you call other human beings beside him?!

We saw your placards calling: Ya Hussein! Hussein the Son of Ali - May Allah be please with them and all the companions- was dead.

He can never answer your call and he will never respond to you forever! He will also deny you on the Day of Judgment for calling him. However, the best you can do for any dead person is to pray for Allah’s mercy upon him. Allah said: “And who is in greater loss than he who calls besides Allah upon those that will not answer him till the day of resurrection and they are heedless of their call? * And when men are gathered together they shall be their enemies, and shall be deniers of their worshipping (them).” [alAkhqaf: 5-6] My Brother!You have already lost three children on this path of perdition and shirk, so please repent now and don’t capitalize on the ignorance of our gullible youths to mislead them. If you don’t correct them now, and you die, Allah will not forgive you for whatever deviation they may add to yours. Allah says: “That they may bear their burdens entirely on the day of resurrection and also of the burdens of those whom they lead astray without knowledge; now surely evil is what they bear.”[anNahl: 25].

My Brother! I write you this open letter, and for others also who are not necessarily in your sect to benefit from the admonition. It is never intended in anywayto trigger a sectarian argument;it is only about the correct Islamic public order and mannerism.

Finally, Allah says: “When some of them said: “Why do ye preach to a people whom Allah will destroy or visit with a terrible punishment?”- said the preachers:” to discharge Our duty to your Lord, and Perchance They may fear Him.”[al-A’araf: 164] May Allah guide us all to his pleasure and give us the courage to revert back to the truth and what is righteous. Amin Written by Sheikh (Dr.) Ahmad Abubakar Gummi

P A G E

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

International

Sarko is no Zorro I

ANALYSIS

n the late 1950s, Disney struck success by launching a TV series based on the masked hero created by pulp fiction writer Johnston McCulley. Each episode, then broadcasted regularly on French networks, reinforced the widespread myth of an elegant aristocrat returning to save the poor from an indigent, corrupted authority.

Nicolas Sarkozy, commonly referred to as “Sarko”, would love to fit into Zorro’s black cape but his return as head of the main French opposition party threatens to fall well short.

He is now exposed by critics and the myriad of judiciary investigations that are targeting his past administration, and they are unlikely to offer him any respite.

His election at the helm of the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) is far from the popular landslide he was aiming for. Gathering just above 65 percent of the votes against a couple of second tier opponents, Sarkozy faired far below the 85 percent he obtained in the same election two years ago. Winning the party nomination for the next presidential elections is not a given either. He will then face poll-favoured former Prime Ministers Alain Juppe and Francois Fillon, who are both ready to pounce at the first opportunity to highlight Sarkozy’s missteps.

Yet, Sarkozy is back in charge and all eyes are on him - something he more than enjoys. He did not arrive emptyhanded. He swiftly withdrew half a million dollars from his personal funds in order to cover the tab of penalties which he left to his party due to his incapability to financially manage his run for re-election in 2012. This refund, however, is just a drop in the ocean as the party is more than $100 million in debt and its very survival is on the line.

Daunting challenge The gathering of forces in his own political family is a daunting challenge and a race against time. While Sarkozy will struggle in the organisation of a political movement marred by scandals and a history of institutional wrongdoings, Marine Le Pen is charging at full speed to position herself as the champion of populist conservatism and opposition to President Francois Hollande.

The very day Sarkozy retook the reins of his former party in a less than glorious victory, Le Pen enjoyed re-election as

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy took the poll by a disappointing 65 percent

president of the Front National, securing 100 percent of the votes in an uncontested ballot.

Extreme right fascist parties were, after all, never known for the plurality of their political offer.

Now that the financial viability of her own political party has been assured by a shady loan agreement with a Russian bank, Marine Le Pen is powering through with her spellbinding eloquence skills, addressing the crowd with populist incantations that will likely continue to mesmerise the shortsighted conservative electorate.

In a country that has been facing economic stagnation for more than a decade, blaming all societal illnesses on foreigners or external institutions such as the EU is bound to receive praise from uneducated masses that are unable to address their own incapacity to invest and

undertake reforms. History repeats itself and fascism always thrives on the same ashes.

The problem for Sarkozy is that he was in power during the economic depression. The current French deficits are the results of his policies. His apparent ‘hyperpresidentialism’ has never been backed with concrete structural adjustments.

The problem for Sarkozy is that he was in power during the economic depression. The current French deficits are the results of his policies. His apparent “hyperpresidentialis” has never been backed with concrete structural adjustments. One might even argue that the current strategy of supply-side economics implemented by Hollande and criticised by left-wing congressmen is more probusiness than Sarkozy’s own

“

programme.

Political ambition If Sarko’s voluntarism is an asset for his political ambition, his options and political space are limited. To differentiate himself from Hollande and to challenge Le Pen on the right, he has to win back the support of reactionary and conservative forces.

After antagonising half of the French population in 20112012 with his sterile debate on French identity to limit the Front National advances, Sarkozy has turned his back on the European construction calling for a reduction of Brussels’ sphere of influence.

He also appeared a pushover when his political base bullied him into calling for a repeal of the newly passed law on same-sex marriage, despite the support of a majority of French citizens.

The main reason for

Sadly, hampered by judiciary worries, Sarkozy’s desire to return to power might be motivated by his hope to protect himself from the ongoing investigations

Sarkozy’s chaotic return is that Sarko has nothing new to offer. The electorate now knows about the lack of depth of his media gesticulations and the weakness of the political support inside his very party.

This forces him to privilege shortsighted populist calls instead of an ambitious political vision. When in May 2012 he announced live that he would definitely abandon any political ambition, no one was naive enough to believe him. But at least one would have hoped that his time away from the political stage would be used to devise an ambitious strategy for his comeback.

Sadly, hampered by judiciary worries, Sarkozy’s desire to return to power might be motivated by his hope to protect himself from the ongoing investigations, in pure Berlusconi fashion, rather than to propose a desperately needed new vision for France.

The absence of a fresh strategy has been cruelly felt in the former president’s comeback strategy.

Sarko’s long path towards the 2017 presidential election will be short-lived if he has nothing new to offer. Rather than renewing with a muchtoo-well known “ex”, France might be looking for a younger and more imaginative love affair.

Courtesy; Aljazeera

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

PAGE 28

International

Mugabe names two new vice-presidents

Family of Ugandan tortured toddler ‘traumatised’

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he father of a Ugandan toddler tortured by her nanny said Wednesday the family remained “traumatised” by the event, as sentencing was delayed for the maid.

The 22-year-old maid, Jolly Tumuhiirwe, pleaded guilty on Monday to torturing the toddler, a case that shocked the country after a graphic video of her abusing the girl was made public.

The maid, who faces up to 15 years in prison for the assault, had been due to be sentenced Wednesday, but the case was adjourned until December 16.

No reason was given for the delay.

“Our baby was tortured in a way that was unimaginable,” Eric Kamanzi, 32, the father of the 18-month old girl, told AFP outside court.

“As a family we are still traumatised, the baby is still traumatised.”

When asked if 15 years would be an appropriate sentence for Tumuhiirwe, Kamanzi said it was a matter for the justice system to decide.

“My main concern is my baby girl, who was brutally beaten,” he added.

The girl’s parents, who had installed a hidden camera to film when they were at work, were shocked to see the footage showing the maid violently hurling their daughter to the floor.

Tumuhiirwe is seen apparently trying to force feed the child, before slapping her hard.

After the girl vomits, the maid throws her facedown on to a hard floor.

She then kicks the child’s fac e and s to mac h b efo re putting her entire weight on the girl’s back, and then drags her out of the room, apparently unconscious.

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imbabwe President Robert Mugabe has named two vice presidents - his justice minister and a former military commander and diplomat - a day after dismissing his deputy.

The appointment of Emmerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko , who will also serve as vice-presidents in the governing ZANU-PF, was announced on Wednesday in the capital Harare.

Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa, reporting from Harare, said Mnangagwa and Mphoko would be sworn in on Friday.

“The people he has chosen are people he trusts. People whom he thinks will not try to remove him and his wife from power,” she said.

Mugabe relieved Joice Mujuru, who also held the position of vice secretary of ZANU-PF, of her responsibilities on Tuesday, accusing her of plotting to remove him from power.

Eight other ministers were also removed in what analysts have described as in infighting in ZANU-PF. Last week Mugabe’s wife Grace became the leader of the powerful

Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe as president for 34 years, won a disputed election last year

ZANU-PF women’s league, a move observers said could pave the way for her to assume power once her

husband steps down.

Mugabe, 90, has ruled the southern African nation for 34

years and won a disputed election last year that will see him serving as president for five more years.

UN says record numbers dying to reach Europe

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ore than 3,400 people have died in the Mediterranean this year trying to reach Europe, the UN’s refugee agency said Wednesday, urging governments to

take more action to save lives.

The UNHCR said at least 348,000 people, including a growing number of asylum seekers, had taken to the seas worldwide since the beginning

At least 207,000 people have made the risky Mediterranean sea crossing since January

of the year.

“Europe, facing conflicts to its south [Libya], east [Ukraine] and southeast [Syria and Iraq] is seeing the largest number of sea arrivals,” the agency said.

At least 207,000 people have made the risky Mediterranean sea crossing since January, almost three times the previous high of 70,000 during the Libyan civil war in 2011, according to the UNHCR. Of these, a record 3,419 died, out of a total of 4,272 reported deaths worldwide on migrant vessels this year.

Most set off from Libya bound for Italy and Malta, looking for work or, increasingly, asylum, the agency said.

The figures were released at the start of a two-day meeting in Geneva

hosted by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres on how to protect people who take to the sea to escape persecution, war, instability and poverty.

Ahead of the talks involving governments, UN agencies and NGOs, Guterres said that many states seem increasingly preoccupied with securing their own borders rather than preventing the loss of life.

“This is a mistake, and precisely the wrong reaction for an era in which record numbers of people are fleeing wars,” Guterres said.

“Security and immigration management are concerns for any country, but policies must be designed in a way that human lives do not end up becoming collateral damage.”

Another defendant, Ida Jeng Njie, was found not guilty of conspiracy to cheat the revenue.

Immunity waived Lisa Rose, specialist fraud prosecutor at the CPS, said the group’s deception involved a serious breach of the trust of their own government and of the British people.

“The scheme they designed and implemented not only resulted in the public purse being cheated of almost £4.8m in tax revenue, but it also abused their diplomatic status, taking advantage of the entire system of diplomatic privilege which is reliant on trust and responsibility,” she said.

“For all practical purposes, the scheme in operation was like running a business and the volume of tobacco was so large that to suggest it was for personal use, or for the use of the High Commission, is implausible.”

Ms Rose also thanked the government of The Gambia, which waived diplomatic immunity for four of the defendants.

“The public should have confidence that in cases where our tax systems have been exploited, all steps will be taken to ensure that diplomatic staff cannot commit offences and then hide behind diplomatic immunity,” she added.

Gambian diplomats guilty of tobacco fraud

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ambian diplomats who sold tax-free tobacco from their London embassy have been found guilty of cheating the UK taxpayer out of almost £4.8m.

Deputy head of the Gambian Diplomatic Mission in Kensington, Yusupha Bojang, and his colleagues ordered 29 tonnes of rolling tobacco over three years.

They imported more than half a million 50g pouches at tax-free rates for personal or High Commission use.

Much of it was sold from the embassy, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Because it was sold and not

actually for personal use, VAT and excise duty should have been paid, the CPS added.

The trial was held at Southwark Crown Court in London.

Bojang, first secretary Gaston Sambou, welfare officer Georgina Gomez and finance attache Ebrima John, who all had diplomatic privileges, along with Veerahia Ramarajaha, Audrey Leeward and Hasaintu Noah, were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat the Inland Revenue .

Ramarajaha was also convicted of dealing, harbouring, concealing or carrying dutiable goods.

Page 29

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

International

More than 700 Iraqi Kurds killed since June

Iraqi Kurdish leaders say a total of 3,564 of their fighters have been injured in fighting with ISIL

I

raq’s autonomous Kurdish region has said that more than 700 members of its armed forces have been killed in the

conflict against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group since June.

A statement from the

region’s military forces, known as the Peshmerga, also said on Wednesday that more than 3,500 members were wounded over the

past six months of fighting.

ISIL has become a major threat to the Kurdish leadership since the fighters launched an offensive in June that led to them seizing large parts of the country.

Wednesday’s statements came a day after a senior Iraqi Kurdish official urged the country’s Shia-led government to give up complete authority to regional power centres as a solution to the current conflict.

Qub ad Talaban i, d e p u t y prime minister of the Kurdish regional administration, told the Associated Press news agency on Tuesday that Iraqi Sunnis could rule over their own area in Iraq.

H e c alle d for a broad e r power structure that “reflects the diversity of Iraqi society”.

Talabani said that giving political autonomy to Iraq’s massive Sunni population may be the one way to keep them from joining ISIL and could help defeat “extremists” who have overrun much of Iraq and Syria.

His statements came during a Baghdad visit by US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, who the Iraqi government pressured to increase US air strikes against ISIL.

Iraq presses Hagel for more strikes on ISIL

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raq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi has pressed outgoing US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel for more air strikes and weaponry to accelerate what he called the “descent” of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Hagel flew in to Baghdad on Tuesday for meetings with Iraqi government officials and American military commanders.

Abbadi told Hagel that ISIL’s capabilities had been reduced.

“Our forces are very much advancing on the ground. But they need more air power, more heavy machine guns, heavy weaponry on the ground,” the prime minister said.

As Iraqi leaders and the people of Iraq know, only they can bring lasting peace to their country if they are resolved to do that.

Chuck Hagel, US defence secretary The plea underscored tension in the USIraqi relationship, with Baghdad pushing for more aggressive assistance than Washington has provided so far, four months after President Barack Obama launched air strikes against ISIL in Iraq.

Hagel said that delivery of some weapons to Iraq had already been accelerated

Asia & Middle East Who is Kabul’s bare-legged woman?

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ut a recent photo of exactly that has spread widely because it was taken in Kabul, Afghanistan.

“I was shocked,” says the man who snapped the photo, local journalist Hayat Ensafi. “I knew I had to catch this special moment because I never saw a woman here walking down the streets like this.”

Women face severe restrictions on clothing and movement in Afghanistan. After he took the photo, Ensafi tried to talk to the mystery woman.

“But she walked very fast and didn’t talk to me at all,” he told BBC Trending.

After Hayat posted the photo on Facebook, thousands of people shared and commented on it.

Although it’s difficult to tell exactly how many people have seen the photo, and what constitutes an online trend in a country with very low internet usage, the BBC’s Syed Anwar in Kabul says the woman is a huge topic of conversation.

“We have seen thousands of people talk about it,” Anwar says.

“Not only on social media but also in the streets people are talking about her, wondering if she is mentally ill or if she is protesting.”

Some Facebook commentators read a political motive into her walk.

“It’s her body not yours,” wrote Siddiq. “Salute her courage. We want to see more women come out like that.”

“My body, my right, … no to forced hijab,” wrote another Afghan woman.

Others were less supportive.

“We are living in a Muslim country and we can’t bear such people like she is,” wrote a user named Ahmad.

Conservative women’s dress is a relatively recent phenomenon in Afghanistan. During the late 1960s and early 1970s many Afghan women wore a veil but it was not unusual to see short skirts in Kabul.

Women’s rights were steadily rolled back under Taliban rule however, and even today full-body coverings such as the burqa are much more common than exposed flesh.

Countries vow to double Syria refugees intake

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wenty-eight countries have agreed to take in more than 100,000 refugees from Syria, doubling the number of migrants to whom they were initially offering asylum, the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has said.

Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN agency, said on Tuesday that he was pleased with the new pledges but that much more help was needed to curb the rampant displacement crisis in Syria.

“We estimate [there] will be more than 100,000 opportunities for resettlement and humanitarian admission,” Guterres told reporters on Tuesday after a high-level pledging conference in Geneva.

He said 28 countries had expressed solidarity with Syrians who fled their war-ravaged country, and with neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, which are struggling to cope with a bulk of the refugees totalling in the millions.

The world has a debt of gratitude to the neighbouring countries that probably we will never be able to fully pay or to fully express,” Guterres old delegates.

There was no clear overview over which countries had pledged what, but Guterres hailed the roles played by Germany, Sweden and the United States in the resettlement programme.

However, the total pledges to help refugees still fall short of a

UNHCR’s target and the numbers experts say are necessary.

The UNHCR has called on countries by 2016 to help resettle about 130,000 of the more than 3.2 million registered refugees amassed in Syria’s neighbours since the conflict erupted in March 2011.

More than 30 humanitarian organisations meanwhile appealed on Monday for countries to take in about 180,000 refugees from Syria’s neighbours, while Guterres

acknowledged a full 10 percent, or nearly 300,000, of the refugees were in need of resettlement.

‘Terrible plight’ Syria’s neighbours warned the conference that the flood of refugees was tearing apart the fabric of their societies.

Lebanese Social Minister Rachid Derbas pointed out that, with 1.1 million refugees and counting, one in three people in his small country is now Syrian.

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Page 30

International

William and Kate attend New York gala for university

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rince William and Catherine were guests of honour at the dinner at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The gala was held to mark the 600th anniversary of Scotland’s University of St Andrews, where the couple met.

Guests included Princess Eugenie and Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

P r i n c e Wi l l i a m s a i d t h e couple had received a “first class” education at the university.

“St Andrews’ blend of academic excellence, mixed with a liberal approach to critical thought and creative reasoning, is one that both our nations, on both sides of the Atlantic, credit with importance,” he added.

Guests at the event, which featured an appearance by the US comedian and chat show host Seth Meyers, paid between £1,600 and £6,400-a-head.

They drank in the Velez Blanco

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have ended their visit to the US with a fundraising event in aid of their former university.

Patio, surrounded by 16th Century marble statues from Spain.

And they dined in the Temple of Dendur - a room decorated with statues of Egyptian gods which was constructed to house an Egyptian temple built just before the birth of Christ.

Other guests included Mary-

Human rights activists demonstrate waterboarding on a volunteer in Washington DC in 2007

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Kate Olsen, the actress turned fashion designer who is one half of the Olsen twins, and her partner Olivier Sarkozy, half-brother of the former French president.

Opera singer Renee Fleming, a triple-Grammy award-winning soprano, performed Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and the

Puccini aria, O Mio Babbino Caro.

The event raised £2.2m for the university, some of which will go towards scholarships.

During the couple’s three-day trip to the US, the prince held talks with President Barack Obama and gave a speech to the World Bank on wildlife crime.

“were far more brutal than the CIA represented to policymakers and the American public”. The CIA interrogation programme was investigated by the US Department of Justice beginning in 2009, as the Senate committee began its inquiry, but no charges were brought against officials or agents.

It’s devastating. The brutality is put out in graphic detail that makes it clear the United States was going medieval on some people.

- Reed Brody, Human Rights Watch Senate investigators concluded CIA agents used coercive interrogation techniques that had not been approved by the justice department or authorised by headquarters. Further, CIA officials actively sought to mislead Congress, the White House, the DoJ and the inspector general.

‘Going medieval’ “It’s devastating. The brutality is put out in graphic detail that makes it clear the United States was going medieval on some people,” said Reed Brody, a counsel to Human Rights Watch and former UN investigator of atrocities. “This is more than we

knew.”

Senate investigators, who reviewed thousands of internal CIA documents, focused on 20 specific cases of interrogation the CIA had claimed led to useful intelligence in the US campaign against alQaeda. The committee argues, however, the coercive interrogations did not provide intelligence about imminent threats, nor did the methods yield useful information for counterterrorism operations.

In one instance, a prisoner at an unsupervised, secret location codenamed “Cobalt” in the report, died of apparent hypothermia after being chained and left naked on a cold concrete floor overnight.

In many cases, the most aggressive coercive interrogation techniques, including extended sleep deprivation and forced stress positions - such as standing with hands shackled above heads, or being locked inside boxes - were used in combination and non-stop for days, according to the report.

“Normally when it is found out that your agents engaged in torture, the response is to prosecute,” Brody told Al Jazeera. “These are crimes.”

subjected to “enhanced interrogation” authorised by the George W Bush administration after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

“The attorney general should appoint an independent prosecutor to do a top-to-bottom investigation that goes from the White House officials who ordered these activities to people in the field who carried them out,” said Chris Anders, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

The report found the CIA’s tactics

Tennessee couple get 35 years in prison in girl’s soda death

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n eastern Tennessee father and stepmother of a 5-yearold girl who died after being forced to drink large amounts of grape soda and water as a form of punishment have been sentenced to 35 years in prison, authorities said.

Randall Vaughn, 42, and Mary Vaughn, 59, pleaded guilty to seconddegree murder and aggravated child neglect and were sentenced on

Brazil truth commission: Abuse ‘rife’ under military rule

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Calls for prosecution after ‘torture report’

he US Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on secret interrogations and torture of suspects by the CIA from 2001-2007 provides enough new information to justify reopening criminal investigations, rights advocates say.

The report, released Tuesday after a three-year congressional investigation, summarises classified CIA cables that described the treatment by Central Intelligence Agency operatives of 119 people captured by the United States and

Europe and Americas

Monday in Rogersville, Tennessee, District Attorney General Dan Armstrong said on Tuesday.

The Vaughns forced the girl, Alexa Linboom, to drink more than half a gallon of grape soda and water over two hours in January 2012 after they found she had consumed a soda or two they had told her were reserved for the adults, Armstrong said.

Armstrong said the consumption of the large amount of liquid caused the girl’s brain to swell.

She was taken to a hospital in Johnson City, Tennessee, where she died two days later, authorities said.

Rogersville is about 210 miles east of Nashville.

Her four siblings, who are now 7 to 16 years old, provided key details that led to the indictment of the

Vaughns in February and would have had to testify at trial if not for their guilty pleas, Armstrong said.

He said the offer of a plea deal was made to ensure that the Vaughns would spend the rest of their lives in prison and to protect the girl’s siblings from having to take part in a potentially high-profile trial.

Her siblings are in foster care, authorities said.

razil’s national truth commission says illegal arrests, torture, executions and forced disappearances were performed systematically by state agents under Brazil’s military rule.

In its final report, the commission also called for the armed forces to recognise their responsibility for the “grave violations” that happened.

More than 400 people were killed or disappeared between 1964 and 1985.

Many others, among them President Dilma Rousseff, were arrested and tortured.

Controversial amnesty law The seven-member truth commission spent more than two years investigating human rights abuses from the period from 1946 to 1988, with the main focus on the military era from 1964 to 1985.

It delivered its final report to President Rousseff on Wednesday.

In it, it identifies 377 people as responsible for human rights abuses.

It says the ones who are still alive, approximately 100, should be brought to trial.

The commission argues that Brazil’s 1979 amnesty law does not apply to these individuals because of the grave nature of the crimes they committed.

The 1979 law states that neither military officials accused of torture nor left-wing guerrillas accused of violence can face prosecution.

‘Official policy’ The document lists 434 people killed under military rule. The bodies of 210 of those victims have never been located.

Analysis: Rio de Janeiro correspondent Wyre Davies Brazil was one of several Latin American nations where the military overthrew democratic governments in the 1960s and 70s.

With support from a considerable part of Brazil’s elite and its then small middle class, the generals said they were countering the very real threat of a communist insurgency.

Over the next 21 years, hundreds were killed and thousands were tortured.

Form e r m e m be rs of t he military reject accusations that torture was commonplace, that it was official government policy.

Earlier this year a former colonel, Paulo Malhaes, told the commission in some detail how he had tortured and killed many victims.

Page 31

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Politics Extra

Ortom defects to APC, set for party’s guber primary From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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ormer Minister of State, Trade and Investment, Chief Samuel Ortom has defected from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to actualize his governorship ambition.

Chief Ortom resigned his membership of the party yesterday in his council ward, Nzorov in Guma local government area of Benue State.

In the same light, he picked nomination form to contest the governorship primaries of the

APC scheduled to hold later in the day.

A statement by Ortom’s media adviser Mr. Tahav Agerzua said that the former minister heeded to advice by his supporters and other stakeholders to seek an alternative party to actualize his governorship ambition.

According to Tahav “Chief Ortom appeals to APC delegates to consider his long standing experience in politics and service to the people at all level of governance, exposure and contribution to the socioeconomic development of the state as well as God-fearing

nature and nominate him as the party’s flag bearer”.

It should be noted that Ortom early this week, lost the governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party to former Speaker of the State House of Assembly Hon. Terhemrn Tarzoor.

… As Hembe picks APC Reps ticket

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ember of the House of Representatives, Herman Hembe yesterday emerged the All Progressives Congress (APC), flag bearer for Vandeikya/Konshisha Federal Constituency.

Hembe polled 280 votes to defeat Mrs. Dorathy Mato who scored 196 votes.

The primaries which was inconclusive as a result of crisis, was held in Makurdi under very tight security.

Herman is eying a third term at the lower chambers of the National Assembly.

L-R: National Chairman, Independent Democratic, Edozie Madu, the party’s Zamfara State Chairman, Abubakar Baladankande, and Jigawa State Chairman, Albrahim Mohammed, during the party’s National Convention, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

Why former Bauchi SSG withdrew from PDP guber primaries From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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ormer Secretary to the Bauchi State Government, Alhaji Aminu Hammayo withdrew from the state governorship contest in the best interest of the state, unity and brotherhood as well as to allow free and fair contest in the just concluded Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primaries.

The Director General of Hammayo campaign

Organization, Alhaji Bala Abdullahi Maiauduga gave the explanation while briefing newsmen in Bauchi , explaining that the withdrawal of Former SSG was to clear suspicions suggesting that Governor Isa Yuguda has an anointed candidate.

Abdullahi alleged that they were not happy with the role of the National Chairman of the PDP, Ahmadu Mu’azu who encouraged the former Secretary of the Federal Government, Mahmud Yayale Ahmed to join

the race for the state governorship seat, an allegation that close political associates of Mu’azu always denied.

When asked if Hammayo withdrew to give way for Yayale, Bala said “ it was part of the reasons because there is no way he will contest the election with Yayale, even though he asked for his blessings before he started and later he saw that Yayale will also contest , they decided to withdrew ” He said Hammayo would have

been the best candidate that will sustain the legacies of Governor Isa Yuguda because he served closely to the governor in the last seven years.

Abdullahi used the briefing to congratulate Governor Isa Yuguda and Mohammed Awwal Jatau for winning the just concluded primaries where they emerged as Bauchi PDP Governorship candidate and Bauchi South Senatorial district PDP candidate and pray for their victory in the forthcoming general election.

I stepped down against Nenadi Usman – former Kaduna comm From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

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ormer Kaduna State Commissioner of Finance, Dr. John Ayuba has explained that he opted out of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), senatorial race for Southern Kaduna Senatorial zone to save the party from an obvious defeat at the general polls had the incumbent Senator Esther Nenadi Usman won the primary election.

In a statement signed by him yesterday and made available to newsmen in Kaduna, Ayuba, who served both under the late governor Patrick Yakowa and Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero said: “I wish to use this medium to express my profound appreciation to my supporters both in the PDP and the generality of the southern Kaduna people for their support, encouragement

and prayers all through my campaign period.

“I will remain eternally indebted to my delegates, campaign team and other supporters for their loyalty and especially for agreeing with our collective decision for me to step down in the overall interest of the Kaduna South senatorial district, to effect a change in our representation in the senate.

“Before reaching this

decision, it was obvious that one of the contestants (Senator Esther Nenadi Usman) who was not popular with the general electorate was going to win the primary election which will mean PDP losing the seat to an opposition party during the general elections.

“I believe our decision has set precedence on the need for sacrifice to achieve the common good instead of selfinterest,” he said.

CPP never adopted Goodluck Jonathan for 2015- Sam Eke

By Ali Abare Abubakar

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he presidential candidate of the Citizen Popular Party (CPP) who also doubles as the National Chairman of the party, Chief Sam Eke has debunked the statement credited to one Dr. Charity who during a live programme on NTA, averred that the CPP has endorsed Goodluck Jonathan for the presidency in 2015.

He made the rebuttal during the recently concluded convention of the party which took place at Confidential Hotel, Nyanya, Abuja, where members of the National Executive Committee were also elected into various offices for the next four years.

Speaking further, he stated that the statement is rather unfortunate, regrettable and outright falsehood and so should be disregarded by all well meaning Nigerians as he (Eke) remains the sole candidate for Presidency of the party, come 2015 reiterating that no such decision was ever taken during the convention neither was any one mandated to issue such an embarrassing statement.

Expressing anger over what he called an embarrassment to his person and party faithful across the country, the visibly angry Presidential candidate called on the Nigeria Police to arrest and prosecute her for such a statement and charge her for impersonation.

He called on members of the media, especially the governmentcontrolled ones to endeavor to verify the authenticity of news items before airing them as to stall the institution of litigations against their establishments.

On the overall success of the party’s convention Eke stated, that he feels fulfilled that there were no parallel congresses or conventions, as was in the case of some parties. He added that the situation as recorded by some parties where certain individuals or group of persons go to the streets to announce themselves winners of primaries only goes to show that those political parties lacked internal democracy; a key ingredient in governance This situation would lead to many legal battles in 2015″, he noted.

He stressed that such situation is abhorred in the CPP revealing that the party indeed recorded a first during the convention as a woman Hajara Ishiaku emerged as the Party’s National Secretary even as two women also emerged as Chairpersons in Kogi and Oyo States respectively the first of its kind in the annals of political history in Nigeria. He further revealed that two physically challenged Nigerians emerged party Chairmen for Ekiti and Ondo States respectively.

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Page 32

Bank Manager docked over alleged cheating

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Senior citizens during the 13th Annual Pensioners Day celebration, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: NAN

‘Illegal’ demolition threatens multibillion dollar healthcare facility

By Stanley Onyekwere

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ollowing a purported demolition of the multi-billion dollar healthcare facility located at Katampe District, Abuja, being warehoused by Sustainable Health Initiative (SHI), the items there are now under threat.

The property owned by Dupyomi International Ventures Limited, comprises of warehouse and offices was reportedly demolished by some unknown individuals, who came arrived the site at about 8pm on the 3rd December 2014, in company of some policemen.

In a swift reaction to the development, the solicitor to the owner of the property, Deji Soremi & Co in a 3-page petition to the Director, Development Control Department, dated 3rd December 2014, expressed displeasure over the demolition of the property ‘for which the sum of N3, 507,962.50 was paid for its building plan.’

Soremi alleged that “after receiving payment, the Department of Development Control halted the processing and issuance of the building plan. Our client was informed that the reason was

because there was a rival claimant in respect of the plot of land. It is on record that no ‘demolition notice’ was issued or served.

He argued that the demolition exercise, which occurred on the 3rd December 2014 and the early hours of 4th December 2014 on the land “have shown a brazen, shameful, desperate move and a clear and calculated mockery of the judicial system.”

The solicitor further disclosed that “there are questions and doubts about the existence of a rival claimant; in circumstances ad on the facts, which in itself, raises issues of possible complicity in certain quarters.

“These were the issues taken to court (via suit No. CV/120/2014 between Dupyomi International Ventures Limited vs. Hon. Minister of FCT; FCTA; FCDA and Muftahul Hairi & Company Limited) by our client for resolution.”

“The structure intended to be cited on the plot of land and for which approval was sought, is a warehouse/storage facility for the ultra-sensitive and fragile drugs, vaccines, equipment and related items being used in the Federal Government’s nationwide HIV/

AIDS and malaria eradication, control and treatment programme.

“The programme is in the control of the Federal Ministry of Health and involves donations in drugs from donor countries, agencies and individuals. These drugs and materials are of a perishable nature especially if not stored in specific temperatures and settings.

“The land and structure in issue had the target of meeting these factors to save the drugs and help the nation’s healthcare system,” as contained in the petition.

“This deliberate act of brigandage and self-help will certainly not settle the issues at stake over this land.

Instead, it will only create an avenue for chaos in land allocation in the FCT and a resultant loss of faith in the ability of FCDA to grant perfect tiles. This act will also undermine the nation’s judicial system, if left unresolved.

“It is for the foregoing reasons that we now make this formal report and convey our client’s humble petition that you kindly use your good office and cause an investigation into this extremely reprehensible act. Our client remains resolute and unshaken in the belief of the rule of law and

your unwavering respect for same, hence this application,” the solicitor stressed.

While narrating his ordeal, one of the security guards on site (name not given), who spoke in Hausa through an interpreter, disclosed that the policemen, who arrested them for interrogation, said that they were acting on “order from above.”

He lamented that the unknown men, had invaded the area with caterpillars and demolished the buildings in the presence of their wives and children, while the policemen detained them at Berger Bus stop, and released them some kilometers away from site at midnight.

When contacted on phone, the Public Relations Officer of the Development Control, Kalu Emetu, who claimed ignorance of the said demolition exercise in the area, said the department has since slowed down on removal of structures in the FCT. “I’m not aware of any petition regarding the demolition of the said healthcare facility in Katampe, and not even the District Officer was aware of such exercise in the area,” he insisted.

bank manager, Raphael Imoukhuede, was arraigned yesterday in a Gudu Upper Area court, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for alleged cheating.

Imoukheude, of Block 12, flat 3, Shandam Close, Area 11, Garki, Abuja, is standing trial on a three-count charge of joint act, criminal breach of trust and cheating.

The prosecutor, Sgt. Ambi Ayuba told the court that one Hajiya Hauwa Mohammed of No. 69, Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja, reported the matter at the Garki Police Station.

He further said that the complainant sought a loan of N15 million from Fortis Micro finance Bank sometime in July through the accused.

The prosecutor further told the court that the accused, being a manager in the bank, was introduced to the complainant through two friends (now at large).

He added that the accused demanded d N120, 000 from the complainant to facilitate the said loan and the complainant paid him.

Ayuba said that all efforts to trace the accused, get the loan or the refund the complainant’s N120, 000, had since proved abortive.

According to him, the police recovered N40, 000 from the accused in the course of investigations.

He said the offence contravened the provision of Sections 79, 312 and 322 of the penal code, respectively.

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

The counsel to the accused, Mr. Rex Ereameh, made a bail application in favour of his client.

He assured the court that his client would provide a reliable surety, if granted bail.

The Judge, Umar Kagarko, granted the accused bail in the sum of N50, 000, with a surety in the like sum, adding that the surety must be resident within the court’s jurisdiction.

The judge adjourned the case till January 23, 2015 for further hearing. (NAN)

Board to deploy sign-language interpreters to FCT hospitals

T

he Executive Secretary, FCT Primary Health Care Board, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, has said that sign-language interpreters are to be deployed to hospitals to assist the deaf to access health care.

Disclosing this yesterday, at a seminar on ``Deaf Women Health Awareness” in Abuja, Mohammed expressed regrets that most

physically challenged persons were denied access to medical services.

“I heard that most physically challenged persons are denied their rights to medical services. `”But I know that in our public hospital not all of them offer free antenatal care and delivery services and free under-5 Medicare regardless of physical challenges.

“So, I don’t know why a person will be denied his or her right to health care due to physical challenges,” he said.

Mohammed, who was represented by Sectional Head, Child, Adolescence and School Health of the Board, Dr. Ruqayyah Wamako, decried the absence of interpreters in the hospitals at the

moment that would have enhanced effective communication with health caregivers.

He commended the doctors who tried their best to give the physically challenged persons health services.

“It is good to have an interpreter and I will pass that message. We will try to see how we can open a place for that so that there will be no barriers

to communication.

“If you are at any time denied the right to free medical services, at where it is supposed to be free, don’t accept it, take it up,” he said.

He said that deaf people should always present their case at inception so that their disability status would be noted on their file to facilitate better treatment from caregivers. (NAN)

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Page 33

Photo Splash

Security operatives checking delegates, during Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Special National Convention, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Deserted Federal Secretariat major road, during Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Convention, on Wednesday, in Abuja.

Young men hawking bed sheet, yesterday at Nyanya, in Abuja.

A labourer on his way to work, yesterday at Central Area, in Abuja.

Women removing chaff from corn, recently at Gwagwalada, in Abuja.

Photos Mahmud Isa and Justin Imo-Owo

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Page 34

Metro

How Abuja residents spend weekends

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

F

or Mariam Ibrahim, a resident of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), she wishes every day was weekend, as it remains the best among the days of the week, to a stress-free life experience while exploring the nation’s capital.

According to her it affords her more time to rest at home and visit recreational arenas for a lot of enjoyable social activities.

“Even though week days are good for hustling and bustling to make ends meet, but weekends are preferred more because it is best for good socialization,” Ibrahim expressed.

She added that in the FCT, just like any part of the world were some people are too eager to start the weekend, as they welcome every Friday with jubilation, being the beginning of weekend is here again; like shouting on upon of their voices “Thank God is Friday.”

Investigations revealed that for most civil workers in the FCT, the weekend even start the on Friday given that they have half working hours, as activities are very at a low key in many offices.

For many residents, weekends are always associated with different social engagements like weddings, nite clubs, games in relaxation centres, and other outdoor activities with friends.

Some civil servants begin their weekends as early as Friday afternoon, when offices are slightly closed especially when Muslim fateful visit Jumat Mosque, for prayer, affording some people time to travel or head home straightaway for rest.

Also, some residents visit friends and go to relaxation joints to keep body and soul together, others attend community or affinities

People having fun at Wonder Land, in Abuja.

meetings.

Another resident, Nam’oi Yankass says, “my weekends starts on Friday after work, and when I get back home I take showers ,sleep waiting for the night hours to go for clubbing and dance myself out of the working stress during the weekdays .

“On Saturday I go for swimming at Gombe Jewel at Wuse 2 till evening, and then start preparing to go for Sunday service.

“Overall, weekends are really especially because it gives me room to even shop and wash my clothing.”

Similarly, one Dr. Hassan Haruna, noted that even though

Children having fun at Wonder Land, in Abuja.

his schedules are tight, he still ensures that any opportunity he has for the weekend is properly used.

“If am not on call (duty), I go for gym on Saturdays to work out my stress for the week and rest too. And on Sundays, I usually visit my loved ones and hang out with friends that we could not meet during the weekdays,” the Doctor said.

For Mallam Kabiru Alkail among the weekend days, Friday is the best, because as a Muslim, he always looks forward for special Friday worship, and thereafter head home to enjoy the remaining weekend days with his family.

“After Friday prayer at the

Jumat Mosque, I usually travel back home to meet my family at Kuje ,to spend the rest to weekend together.

However, Mrs. Edith Yassin, in Central Business District, said since she started attending the #BringBackOurGirls sit out meeting at the Unity Fountain, there is no weekends for her, because her activities hovers around their daily sit out there.

“Before #BBOG campaign started, I usually spend my weekends by going to the Arts and Culture centre the place was booming with a lot of social activities; we usually watch theatrical plays and dance.

“But with the security situation in the county, Abuja residents do not love going there. Shopping is on my schedules for Saturdays, while on Sundays I attend church services,” she stressed.

In the same vein, a resident, who simply gave her name as Ngozi, says “my weekends start from Saturday, when I usually go to the market to shop food stuff to cook for the weekend.

“On Sunday I go to the presence God, and then have rest, thereafter I go out for tribal meetings, then back in doors to prepare for work for the next day (Monday).

On her part, Mrs. Nancy Davou Pam , who resides at Duste-Ahaji, Sundays are meeting days for most people, not only in Duste but even those living neighbouring towns and suburbs of the FCT .

“People use the opportunity to have various tribal meetings and parties . That is the opportunity that the weekend gives us.

“For me, on Saturdays, choir

and band rehearsal is at my top list , as I wait for Sunday for another church activities.

“But during the week I find it difficult to attend such activities but by weekends, one goes without thinking of anything else,” she expressed.

“During the weekends, I drink to stupor at the bar all day long, then I wait for the Night club to cool down, then driver home, come back the next after drinking then jump into the pool swimming, to feel much relaxed and better.

“Weekend is mine from Mondays I always look forward to Friday .Am a very busy person that’s my opportunity to enjoy all my pleasures.

“On Sundays, I met with friends to have some discuss on interesting things that are affecting us like politics , including watch football games,” another resident, Ayo Dele said.

PeoplesDaily reports that for instance, at the old Parade ground in Area 10, Garki District, people take time every Saturdays, to engaged in different form of outdoors physical exercise, such as football, aerobics ,squash and other sporting events. Also kids are not left out as they too display their skills- competing with one another as their parents and guardians are doing theirs.

It was observed that, after the physical exercise, residents usually go back to their various homes to shower and relax, to enable them go for shopping or visit recreational parks with family and family, easing out with picnic and dancing to beats played by DJs and some local drummers at the various recreational parks, in the city.

In the Abuja metropolis, weekends are always filled with creative activities by various business organisations, fashion parades to good outdoor services within the city center.

People are seen in groups, dressed with colorful attires at different parks or drinking joints, either dancing to good music, holding meetings, smiling or discussing issues that concerned them or staging competitions of various kinds attracting the attention of passersby.

But, weekends are not only experienced within the city center, but in places like Karu, Nyanya, Kubwa ,Duste, Mpape , and including some neighbouring towns like Masaka, Mararaba, Suleija and Madalla, where residents are very busy with weekend activities .

Peoples Daily also observed that even travelers are not let behind when it comes to enjoying the weekends, as they take time to stop at major parkseating and drinking pepper soup and roasted fish socializing and making news contact, sharing of ideas and getting all the pleasure the weekend has to offer them.

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Page 35

Strange World

Man Drinks 10 Cans of Coke a Day for Three Months to Show the Harmful Effects of High Levels of Sugar 50-year-old George Prior wanted to show the world just how harmful Coca-Cola can be to the human body. So he embarked on a special ‘Coke diet’ challenge during which he consumed 10 cans of Coke a day for three months. That’s 35 g of sugar per can, and a total of 350 g of sugar every day, which is the equivalent of 70 sugar cubes.

Needless to say, the results were not good.

George’s formerly healthy and muscular physique has now changed drastically. His Coke guzzling habits gave him a pot belly, he lost muscle mass, and his weight shot up from 168 lb to 192 lb. His blood pressure also soared from 129/77 to 145/96 – way above the ideal 120/80. All these

alterations to his body have greatly increased the risk of heart disease or stroke.

George also said that he was experiencing intense cravings and feared he was becoming addicted to Coca-Cola. He did try his best to stick to his normal Paleo diet with low carbohydrates, lean meats, vegetables and berries, but he couldn’t shake off the sugar cravings that hit him from time to time. In fact, he found it difficult to eat as much food because all that Coke made him feel full at lunch and dinner times. And the actual drinking was an ‘irritating chore’ because of the constant visits to the restroom and a clutter of cans everywhere.

Based on his findings, George is

now encouraging people to examine the amount of sugar in their diets.

“People need to be aware of the real and powerful damaging effects of sugar on their health,” he said. “I did the experiment to get people thinking and talking about how much sugar they eat and how unhealthy it is.” And now that it’s all over, he says he would prefer never to do it again.

George, a father-of-two, is especially concerned about the effect that sugar has on children.

“Kids shouldn’t drink Cokes,” he said. “But then kids shouldn’t drink juices, either, and that’s going to be a very hard sell to parents who believe that juice is ‘natural’, or even ‘organic’. It’s sugar, and not only do kids not need it, it’s bad for them.” Indeed, research has found that sugary drinks are a primary cause for type 2 diabetes and tooth decay in children. Fizzy drinks have also been found to fuel the obesity epidemic and lead to serious illnesses like cancer, heart

disease and stroke.

“I think there are a lot of people suffering health problems Ludvik Dolezal like diabetes and heart disease, who aren’t aware they could help themselves by just stopping sugar” George explained. He severely criticized Coca-Cola for their marketing techniques to make people believe that Coke is good for them. He also pointed out that drinks with ‘zero’ or ‘low’ sugar contain artificial sweeteners that are just as harmful.

BLK – The Black Spring Water That’s Causing a Stir in the World of Natural Supplements

O

rganic foods are generally good for you, but there are some really weird products out there that make you wonder, “Who buys this stuff?” Like this black colored water that is supposedly better for you than plain old regular water. It’s called ‘BLK’ and it is being promoted by Albie and Chris Manzo, sons of Real Housewives of New Jersey star Caroline Manzo.

According to the product’s official website, “BLK is powerful electrolytes and a high pH. BLK is serious hydration.

BLK is a delicious beverage without any

sugar, carbs, or calories. BLK is here and it will defy expectations.” They’re calling it the perfect innovation of nature and science. BLK is essentially Canadian spring water infused with fulvic acid, which is a natural nutrientrich compound that has been used in alternative therapies for centuries.

When fulvic acid reacts with water the resulting beverage is black in color, which adds to the drink’s attraction.

“The color is what gets people listening in the first place,” Albie admits.

The special black blend is

apparently the invention of two sisters – Jacqueline and Louise Wilkie – who are now partners in the company. They developed the brew in 2008, when their mother was suffering from terminal bone cancer and was told that she had only a year to live. The sisters gave their mother fulvic acid concentrate, which eventually worked and saved her life.

That’s how they got the idea for a waterbased drink.

Fulvic acid has been hailed as a ‘miracle molecule’ in recent times for its detoxifying properties, due to its ability to bind to metals. but doctors and scientists have not supported this claim and lots of people think it’s just a marketing gimmick. Critics have pointed out that there is no conclusive evidence to prove fulvic acid does anything to benefit your health.

On Amazon, BLK has been getting mixed reviews. Some love it, some hate it, and some don’t know what to make of it. “It just tastes like water but it has a dirty aftertaste and it tastes really bad warm,” one user wrote. And if the reviews are to be believed, a lot of people seem to have tried it just because they’re fans of Real Housewives and the product was promoted on the show.

BLK was introduced to the market two years ago, and the company had tweeted back then that the product was a success. We aren’t sure how well it’s selling now with all the negative reviews out there, but the fact that it’s still available must mean that there are people buying it.

Before Surgery

After Surgery

PAGE 36

Digest What does your tongue say about your health?

By Lizzie Parry

I

ndian scientists have developed a new test to detect what your tongue indicates about a person’s health. It can spot 14 different conditions For those feeling under the weather, the old adage of ‘stick your tongue out’, may betray the signs of the illness by which they are afflicted.

The tongue can signal signs of a cough, fever, jaundice, headache or bowel habits, and helps doctors make their diagnosis.

A healthy tongue should be pink, clean and covered in papillae, which contain taste buds.

But inflamed, red, black or white tongues could be a sign of other conditions such as thrush, while a swollen tongue can be a sign of an allergic reaction.

Meanwhile a black, discoloured tongue is indicative of extended antibiotic use, or a fungal overgrowth in HIV patients, say Indian scientists.

And long furrows on the surface are a sign of the sexually transmitted infection, syphilis.

Ulcers should ring alarm bells,

warning of Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.

And a ‘beefy and smooth’ tongue might reveal vitamin B12, iron or folate deficiency, and anemia.

Moving on to more serious conditions, sores or lumps on the tongue - or unexplained bleeding - can be a sign of mouth cancer, warns Cancer Research UK. But for those living in remote parts of the world, where access to a doctor can be difficult, the simple act of checking a patient’s tongue can prove hard.

To combat the problem, scientists in India have now developed a new test.

The new diagnostic system, reported in the International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, works to combine symptoms with a digital analysis of an image of the patient’s tongue.

Karthik Ramamurthy, from Rajalakshmi Engineering College in Chennai, and Siddharth Kulkarni and Rahul Deshpande of School of Electronics Engineering at VIT University, have developed the new software.

The neural network can take

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

‘soft inputs’ - standard questions about symptoms - and a digital image of a patient’s tongue to help offer a likely diagnosis.

It aims to help decide if a professional healthcare worker should be sought out for further advice.

The digital images of the patient’s tongue reveal discolouration, engorgement, texture, and other factors linked to various illnesses.

The team’s automated diagnosis, however, ultilises the condition of the tongue in combination with other symptoms, to identify whether a patient has a common cold, flu, bronchitis, stretptococcal throat infection, sinusitis, allergies, asthma, pulmonary edema, and food poisoning.

In its current form the system allows diagnosis of 14 distinct conditions.

But the team hope they can soon add images of patient’s eyes to use as additional information, thus extending the system’s repertoire significantly.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Obese pupils ‘do worse at school’

By Fiona Macrae

I

ts damage to health is well known but obesity could take a heavy toll on a child’s grades.

At least six studies have found that boys and girls who are dangerously overweight do worse at school than others – with girls particularly vulnerable.

Researcher Anne Martin said the effect is big enough to make a difference to grades and urged teachers to think about the effects of obesity on their pupils.

Several studies have found that obese pupils do worse at school, with one reason being that they are written off by teachers It is unclear why being overweight harms academic

success but possible reasons include fat children being written off by teachers and obesity slowing the development of the brain.

Bullying may also take a heavy toll, especially on girls.

Miss Martin, who is close to completing a PhD, found and analysed 14 pieces of research into the topic.

Around half of the studies showed that children who became obese or who stayed obese did worse in maths over time.

The studies found the academic effects of obesity didn’t impact on achievement until secondary school level The studies also suggested that the effects aren’t instant –

also that the diabetes and sleep problems that can accompany obesity lead to youngsters missing more school than usual.

Miss Martin said the finding is important because a child’s performance in school affects their chances of going to university and the kind of job they get.

She says that headteachers need to realise that educating children on obesity could improve academic success, rather than simply waste valuable time.

However, it is not all bad news. One of the studies Miss Martin analysed showed that obese youngsters who slim down end up doing better in maths than children who have never had a weight problem.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

The studies found the academic effects of obesity didn’t impact on achievement until secondary school level

Several studies have found that obese pupils do worse at school, with one reason being that they are written off by teachers

with obesity in primary school taking until secondary school to impact on achievement.

Girls may be particularly vulnerable, with a British study showing that those who were obese at 11 did less well in maths, science and English at 16.

The effect was big enough to make the girls drop down from an average grade C, to a D, the UK Congress on Obesity heard.

Girls were found to be particularly vulnerable with those

obese at 11 doing less well in maths, science and English at 16 Miss Martin, of Edinburgh University, said it is possible that girls are more psychologically scarred by the bullying that fat children often suffer.

Other reasons for the phenomenon include teachers writing off overweight children as lazy or naughty, poor diet and lack of exercise.

It is possible that obesity affects brain development – and

Girls were found to be particularly vulnerable with those obese at 11 doing less well in maths, science and English at 16

PAGE 37

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Parent-Child Relations

. . . A guide to raising children

Parenting model in America: Some lessons

ACTIVITY 12: DR. SPOCK’S (1903-1998) PARENTING MODEL IN AMERICA: SOME LESSON “DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO!” it together to discuss your own experiences on parenting in the light of Dr. Speck’s life story (Maier, Newsweek, 1998) paraphrased below: Understanding the status of child raising in the United States will be incomplete if we do not consider Dr. Benjamin Specks the leading pediatric psychologist of the twentieth century - influence on modern parenting. His mother smothered him with love, rules, and high expectations. He divorced his alcoholic wife after 51 years of marriage. Dr. Spock established pediatric practice and realized that most children’s problems were behavioral rather than medical, temper tantrums, thumb sucking, refusal to eat, unwillingness to sleep, and an inability to be potty trained on schedule. He grew interested in Freud and underwent psychoanalysis twice.

He advised parents not to rush children but to cherish them.

“Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do:’ He taught that love is what infants needed most from their mothers and fathers. He listened carefully to his patients, but not always to his own children. When a mother asked: “Should a young child see his parents naked?” he answered: “That is a hard one to give a simple answer to:’ Dr. Speck’s family was dysfunctional. “It is always harder to do the right job with your children than to write about it:’ His wife became an alcoholic, developed a mental illness and was later hospitalized. He was cold as a father and his two sons felt emotionally abandoned by him. He admitted that he had been too career-driven and the family started practically hugging one another intensely to compensate for the past. He acknowledged, “I never kissed my two sons when they were young:’ He instructed his sons to call their parents by their first names - a radical and seeming] enlightened move for the time. The father felt their upbringing should reflect his philosophy.To pretend that they are equals is really unreal; it was a gesture to the rest of the world, “That is my son, who calls me by my first name:’ When Dr. Spock talked to his sons, it often felt like an oral examination. The calm voice that characterized his books bore little resemblance to the blunt and condemning tones he used at home; he had no idea of his caustic effect as father He insisted that his sons never embarrass themselves or disgrace the family’s name in public.

Outsiders’ approval or disapproval was very important to him as a parent. The opinions of strangers and the Press mattered greatly to him. His boys dressed neatly and were told to be polite and neighborly. If John’s smile waned or he seemed moody, Ben quickly prompted him out of it.

“Don’t be so grouchy, try and look a little more pleasant in public;’ he demanded.

Dr. Spock seemed in denial about his problems at home. His two sons had learned to keep a respectful distance from one another. Whatever conflicts Mike and John had with their father re-

S

mained private. They played along with reporters and photographers when the news magazines and television reporters asked them to pose with him, and gave vague and short responses about their father’s behavior at home.

He did not express love and true emotions to his children, who confessed publicly: “We never kissed our father:’ Dr. Spock has been more a symbol than a man, more an authority than a human father; he was a cold and strict father who ignored his children’s emotional needs. Spock blamed his own upbringing. “I never saw physical affection (clear-cut affection between father and son). My father loved me, and he did some kind things, but as far as physical affection is concerned, I’m trying to think if my father kissed me or the rest of the children on any particular occasion, I don’t remember if my father kissed me or my siblings:’ Lesson: Do not follow the experts’ theories blindly. Such knowledge keeps evolving and changing, and unless we complement human findings with the guidance of revelation, we will go astray and cause more harm than good.

ACTIVITY 13: DISCUSSION OF CULTURE SHOCK Parents to discuss with children their own experiences of cultural shocks. Then invite each child to explain his/her own visits to other countries or the cultures of their schoolmates from other races, religions, and ethnicities.

If the children have never visited their relatives abroad, it is highly recommended, finances permitting, to research and plan ahead for the family vacation to meet their relatives as often as conveniently possible.

ACTIVITY 14: MENTALITY OF TRUE LEADERS Discuss the following quotations with your family: “I have observed that the most effective leaders are rarely public office heroes. These men and women aren’t high-profile champions of causes. They move patiently, carefully, and incrementally. They do what is right:’ (Badaracco 2002) “Leaders may want to develop a herd mentality among their followers, but they should not succumb to such thinking themselves:’ (Steven B. Sample in The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership) Conclusion: Doing the right thing is what matters, not what is most popular and fashionable!

Discuss who can define what is right and how! Is it you, I, he, she, or the Almighty Creator?!

ACTIVITY 15: SHARING FAMILY HISTORY Sit down with your children and share what you know of their ancestors. Most families today do not share their family history with their children. Children need to know about the life, achievements, failures, jobs, experiences, activities, and strengths of their great-grandfathers and great grandmothers. Nina Abdullah, a parenting expert, teaches her clients how to draw family trees and genograms. A genogram is a diagram showing marriages, divorces, illnesses, and relationships between family members such as aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents on both the mother

and father’s side of the family. The Prophet encouraged the Arab tribal tradition of telling stories about one’s ancestors and memorizing one’s family line as far back as possible (Campo, 2009). Some Somalis know 20 generations of their ancestors and meet often in a big tribal gathering to share what they know about their ancestors.

Setting the Right Goals: The First Step in Implementing Good Parenting PARENTS SHOULD PRACTICE intelligent parenting. Although many parents plan their careers and annual holidays down to the finest detail, they fail to sit down and develop a plan together for themselves as a family unit. In fact, most will not even agree on any real intent, purpose, aspiration, or strategy for their family.

With no goals, it is highly likely there will be little achievement.

Lurching from work, to home, to shops, to schools, to holidays, and from crisis to crisis, hoping things will turn out for the best, is nothing short of playing Russian roulette with our children’s future, allowing valuable time to slip by unnoticed. We need longterm goals and a strategy to realize them. The proper approach to parenting considers the individual and the society as one integrated system. We cannot build a strong society without having strong and righteous individuals.

Such individuals are not produced in a vacuum, for they need a social environment of solidity and cooperation. The objective of parents is to produce human beings who are vicegerents of God, who are strong and trustworthy, and civilized citizens, and whose mission in life is development and reform throughout the land. Without this message, human existence is purposeless and meaningless.

The interests of individuals have to encompass this life and the Hereafter, the temporal as well as the spiritual, and the personal as well as the societal. This should be the overriding theme and world view

of parents in the raising of children.

Let us begin with focusing on the chart above. We call this the Good Parenting Goals Chart. This summarizes the goals we should try to set and outlines a road map of how to achieve them through instilling principles and values from childhood through to adulthood.

The overall goals themselves have been taken from a) the deep aspirations of parents beautifully summed up in verse 25:74 of the Qur’an, and b) a revealing hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH): And those who say: “Our Lord, grant us from our spouses and our offspring joy and comfort, and make us leaders of the pious.”

(Qur’an 25:74) People are like minerals [or metals, having their own character]; the best of people in the [pre-Islamic] age of ignorance (jahiliyyah) are the best of them in [the age of] Islam, if they understand [and comprehend].

(AL- BUKHARI AND MUSLIM).

As specified in the chart, the goals have been divided into two broad categories with the second category further divided into four subcategories. Parents need to revisit the chart continually to habituate themselves with its goals and values, to study them, to mentally keep track of them, and to benchmark action and development against them. This will insure that they do not slip into complacency or allow the daily duties of life to take over parental priorities.

THE SUPPLICATION that the believers request for Almighty God to first grant them from their spouses and offspring qurrata a’yun, ( joy for their eyes). This phrase is repeated six times in the Qur’an and its literal meaning “comfort of our eyes, joy to our eyes, eye that are gladdened by blissful delights’: So in essence the first wish concerns having a happy home and family life.

This does not refer to only the nuclear family but also a truly extended one, including the spouse, offspring, grandparents, uncle aunts, and cousins. Some neces-

sary condition for a happy home include communication between parents and children; showing lox and affection, and using praise and measure criticism appropriately in a constructive waw. Additional conditions for a happy family include building positive attitudes, dealing with feelings in a considerate and sensitive way: smiling, kissing, hugging, touching and shaking hands with children; enjoying meals and doing chores together, and cracking jokes and welcoming each other.

The second request the believers make to their Lord is for their spouses and offspring to become the “imam of the pious”. The word imam and its plural a’immah is repeated ten times in the Qur’an.

Various commentaries explain this phrase “make us imam of the pious” as follows: Make us exemplars for others, a model for others, callers for righteousness, a guide for others, leaders of human beings, the foremost among those who are conscious of God, the archetypes of others, forerunners of others, and an object of imitation by our followers. Therefore, the second objective of the family is focused on raising pious and effective leaders and guides for humanity.

In this regard, we would like to point out that when referring to leadership, we do not mean the ambitious hunt for power, but rather developing people of strength, moral fiber high caliber, ethics, and other character qualities necessary for good leadership.

Furthermore the word “leader” can have a negative connotation in the sense that it is not healthy for every member to compete for this single position. The fact that there can only be one formal “leader” of any group can create unnecessary competition, and develop feeling of thwarted ambition. If everyone hungered for this position, who would then be the “workers” or followers? Our aim is to inspire our children to embody the type of qualities that mark people of principled leadership Any member of a society who participate and improves the status quo is a true leader 19 and this is how real progress is achieved. To reiterate, leadership qualities do not mean the ambitious hunt for power, prestige, position or money either do they imply the teaching of dominance and control. Quite the opposite! What is proposed is that children are raised with a sense of generosity, humility, and a wider purpose, able to perceive of themselves as active and valuable members of society. Persons who can live with ease in a world of diverse opinions and who have the tremendous advantage of confidently setting the highest goals for themselves, and are not hampered by low self-expectations.

Children who are afraid of society’s disapproval of their faith or race are not children who can serve society. Given the nature of the society in which we live, these qualities should be given importance. If one does not teach one’s children to be confident and lead rightly, they may be easily led, wrongly.

A leader is a person who guides other people and their work to achieve certain goals, while the Murabbi (trainer-educator) is the one who prepares and qualifies individuals to accomplish the goals.

The Prophet $, for instance, chose ‘Amru ibn al As and ‘Ubaydah ibn al- Jarrah to lead armies, whereas he sent Mus’ab ibn ‘Umayr to Madinah and Mu’adh ibn Jabal to Yemen as “shepherds, trainer-educators, and mentors” to raise and nurture righteous and enlightened invididuals.

PAGE 38

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Feature

Assessing Nigeria’s human rights implementation

By Evelyn Okakwu

T

he international day of human rights is globally celebrated on the 10th of October every year.

According the United Nations secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, the day was set aside by the UN General Assembly in the year 1950, to bring the attention ‘of the peoples of the world’ to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.

The aim as stated above is to form a global parameter for the measurement of human rights abuses, world over. During this year’s event, the message by the UN Secretary General emphasized the need for people to bring their leaders to account on cases of human right abuses in their community. In his words; Ban, said; “I call on States to honour their obligation to protect human rights every day of the year. I call on people to hold their governments to account. “ The message further adds that; “This year’s slogan, “Human Rights 365”, encompasses the idea that every day is Human Rights Day. It celebrates the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights, that human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values.

A couple of months back; renowned international rights group, Amnesty International; during its report lunch with the title: “Welcome to hell fire”; torture and other inhuman treatments in Nigeria” it indicted the Nigerian Military, stating that the arm of government, which is expected to protect the people is involved in serious acts of torture meted against Nigerians without cause.

To buttress its point, Amnesty international’s research and advocacy director, Netsanet Beley stated that torture is not even a crime in Nigeria, despite the fact that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria abhors torture. According to Belay; “The scope and severity of torture meted upon these Nigerians by the same institution expected to protect them is shocking; even to the most hardened human rights observers.

The human rights group therefore stated thus; “Our message to the Nigerian authorities today is clear; “Criminalize torture, end incommunicado detention and fully investigate allegations of abuse.” But shortly after the report, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,

Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, Professor Ben Angwe

“

The aim as stated above is to form a global parameter for the measurement of human rights abuses, world over. During this year’s event, the message by the UN Secretary General emphasized the need for people to bring their leaders to account on cases of human right abuses in their community

Goodluck Jonathan reacted, regarding the accusation as an undue exaggeration. In his words; “these human rights issues are blown out of proportion.”

But is this really the case?

Are the accusations truly a mare exaggeration or is there in fact an iota of truth in the said accusation?

These Nigerians share their views about the nature of human rights in present day Nigeria.

Mr Bayo Adesina is an economist, and a business man: “I believe Nigeria has a good constitutional arrangement for the protection of people’s rights.

I know that the law in Nigeria is

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

hardly ever respected. ut we have a good law, if that is what your question is talking about.

‘However, Nigerians have a very bad habit; they do not focus on their rights and cannot therefore read or do what is necessary to acquaint themselves with knowledge about their rights”.

“Nigeria has all that it takes for everyone to be conveniently satisfied with the standard of living for xample, and yet Nigerians will kill themselves, just to get a meager amount from people who have already stolen their share of the national treasury. The irony is really mind bugging. Nigerians need a whole lot of orientation; and do you know that the revenue accruable to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was slashed down so badly?”

“The NHRC now looks to international donor agencies for funds to do what it needs, because of lack of funds from the federation”. “Also these international agencies are looked upon to fund Civil rights groups; the problem is that although the laws may be there, little or

nothing has been done to ensure its implementation and until this step is taken, little success will be achieved in the fight to rid Nigeria of corruption. This is because; corruption is the direct opposite of respect for human rights”.

This anonymous respondent adds to the views of the previous speaker; “I must tell you that Nigeria is still a long way off; from the point of maintaining human rights”. “How do you maintain human rights, when we live in a country where the poor pay their ways through school and the rich accumulates various forms of revenues from government treasury, in forms of huge allowances and other unnecessary grants?”

“Where the rich get away with stealing billions and the poor is persecuted for stealing, in hundreds. Yes stealing is bad in all its ramifications and the world has various ways it responds to corruption; but Nigeria has gradually institituonalised corruption; and where corruption thrives, only the rights of the strongest will be respected”.

“More so, you said the president described the allegation; as been blown out of proportion; but I do not think that is the first time the leadership of this country has so disappointed its followers by failing to empathise with them”.

“A leader of this country’s financial sector once said; while talking about the need for government to consider the plight of the people before increasing fuel price, that 70 per cent of Nigerians are trekkers. If a leader of Nigeria would sound so untouched about the plight of 70 per cent of Nigerians, as she puts it; how then do you explain the nature of Nigeria’s observance of human rights?” she adds “I am aware that as a person I do not know much about the sections containing the fundamental human rights of the constitution, but what is contained therein is not the problem; I think what really matters is the ability of the leaders of this country to truly ensure the supremacy of the law.

Until the law becomes supreme, no country can boast of safeguarding human rights”.

“What’s more, in a country like Nigeria, where the rich; despite their seaming knowledge of God, only want to be the ones who remain rich; the journey towards safeguarding human rights, especially at the grass roots level, is still very far ahead”.

As stated by the respondents, the first step towards ensuring the Sustenance of human rights is providing the platform for implementation of the provision, as indicated by the constitution.

Only then can further loopholes be identified and adjustments made.

PAGE 39

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Weekend Revue

I don’t know if Nonso Diobis nursing a grudge against me- Yul Edochie

Yul Edochie

E

ven though Yul’s father, Pete Edochie, was already well-established in the entertainment industry, the young talented and handsome dude wanted to be his own man and make his own name, not living under the shadows of his highly respected father.

So, he never stopped hustling till his breakthrough came in 2007 when he got his first big role in a movie ‘Wind of Glory’. He has acted in some films, including ‘To Live Again’, ‘His Royal Majesty’, ‘Prisoner of Love’, ‘My Loving Heart’, ‘The King and the Princess’, ‘Innocent Pain’, ‘Head of a Prince’, ‘Wisdom of the King’, ‘Save my King’, ‘His Royal Majesty’, ‘Haunted Shadows’, ‘Wisdom of the King’ and many more.

The movie was a huge success and it launched him into the scene.

Rather than bask in the euphoria of the success the film made, Yul kept working hard, doing series of movies, thrilling his audience with his charisma, artistic skills eloquence, good diction and awesome deep voice, like his father.

Now, his career, as well as his fan base, has grown beyond bounds.

Today, Yul Edochie is ranked as one of the most sought after and highest paid actors in Nollywood. He is also loved, respected and appreciated by many all over the world.

To Yul, he owes a huge part of his success story to his fellow actor, Nonso Diobi, but expressed worries that they no longer relate again like before, ostensibly due to their busy schedules.

In an interview with

Nigeriafilms.com, the happily married father of three revealed what marriage at the age of 22 deprived him. He also spoke on other sundry issues.

Celebs now go for crazy tattoos or body piercing, do you intend following the trend?

No! I don’t think I’ll ever go for tattoos. I was able to get here without tattoos, so I don’t need it.

I will still go farther without it. You don’t scratch a Bentley. I did ear piercing long ago, when I just came into the industry. But I stopped putting earrings on it because I don’t know the message I’ll be passing to my kids in this old age f mine (laughs).

Musicians can tattoo their bodies all they want, but as an actor, I don’t need it. They need their voices to work, but we need our bodies, so why scratch it.

If you are to pick two sexy actresses for a lunch date, who would they be?

Hmm! Maybe I will think about it. They are not that bad though, but it’s not my thing. I just do my location jobs with them and that’s all. If I want to go on a lunch date, I’ll call my wife. I don’t want them (the actresses) to start thinking or feeling something else. Or you journalists to start painting pictures of what is not.

What is Yul into aside acting?

I’m also into property things but my wife is the one taking care of that aspect of our business. I do strictly movies because I really love this job so much. Right now, I am planning my own films. It hurts me

With Tobias Lengnan Dapam lovelengz@yahoo.com 07036990957

Nonso to see lot of things go wrong in our to your three kids?

(Laughs). How many do you movies today, and I feel the best way to correct them is by doing my want me to have? Yes, my father had six of us and I took after him own films.

When should your fans be in so many ways, but I don’t intend having more than three kids. expecting that?

Soon, very soon. I hope and pray Looking at the present state of it is going to be out before the end the country alone, the fear of the economy wouldn’t let you add more of this year, 2014.

Any plan on giving back to the ones you already have. What I to the society, through pet spend in a year running my family is almost same thing used to train the projects?

Right now, no! But honestly, I six of us throughout our university days. It is so crazy men! (laughs). have that in mind.

You and Nonso Diobi seems to Are you a jealous husband?

Of course, I am. Anybody who be so close, what’s the connection?

Good question! Nonso has loves his or her spouse should be jealous. But the level of jealousy always been my very good friend. matters. If I haven’t married before He really helped me a lot when I I got into the industry, I won’t see was coming up. Then I used to come anything wrong in marrying an from the East to Lagos, because he actress knowing that we travel a relocated to Lagos before me. I slept lot and shoot some romantic scenes in his house a couple of times. He too. It’s just an understanding; gave me shelter as a brother. He was when two people understand always there to advise me on how to themselves very well, their marriage go about a couple of things.

However, these days, we are all would work out.

How far can you go to busy trying to make a living and forgetting to keep in touch. But in protect your wife?

I can go very far, at any length all, I think we are still very good to protect her. I love my wife so friends.

You think? much. I can do anything and give We are still as cool as we used up anything for her. She means the world to me. She was there when I to be, nothing went wrong. It is just had nothing. That is so hard to find tight schedules. If something went these days. Girls of these days want wrong, I am not aware because I can a famous rich guy for husbands. I be very carefree. If someone offends found her when I was nobody. She me or pisses me off, I just tell them so much believed in me, even more my mind and let it go. If anyone has than I believed myself. There were anything against me, I am not aware times when things weren’t working, of it. I still strongly believe that we I felt like giving up, but she was are very cool as we used to be.

I respect Nonso Diobi. He always there to encourage me. I helped me a lot. He got into the can’t thank or love her enough.

Do you intend adding more industry before me and also helped

me to get up there. We also live in same environment in Lekki.

You got married at 22, after that did you miss bachelorhood?

At that point, I thought I really missed a lot. Whenever I hang out with my friends, just little time outside, I’ll start getting calls. My wife wants me home, there is no gas or some food stuffs and I have to go get them. At that time, it was really getting me pissed off. But with time, I got used to it. In general, I didn’t really miss so much.

What was the biggest challenge you conquered to get this far?

The biggest fear and challenge was being successful, because I really wanted to show what I have got. The struggle wasn’t easy. They were lots of talented actors there before me and I just had to carve a niche for myself. It wasn’t easy at all.

Some people had thought that I got to the industry with the influence of my father. They believed he paved way for me to take after him. But no! I really wanted to be an actor because I know I am good at it not because of my father. Making people believe in me was my biggest challenge.

What if your son decides to take after you too?

I don’t mind, at all, as long as he has the passion. I am not going to groom him to take over from me. I am only going to make sure they go to the best of schools. If any them want to be an actor, I can’t object.

The choice is theirs. The movie industry is not an easy place to be, you will take some sh*ts, lots of insults, and what have you but what keeps you moving is the passion.

They shouldn’t do it for the money but for the passion.

As some point in 2006, I tried my hands in directing. After that two, I didn’t see any movie to direct again. Those periods were the worse time of my career. The films weren’t really coming. I was married and my wife just put to bed to our first child and there was no money. It was so tough that I had to try my hands in other things aside acting but i never gave up because I had the passion. I love my career.

What is your advice for the up and coming acts?

It takes time to get to the top.

It also involves lots of hard work.

Don’t rush. No rush in life. We are all still going to die someday. No matter how long you live in this life, you are still going to be dead longer than that, so why be so desperate.

Whatever you are doing, do it for the passion and not the money.

The money is going to come in due time. Even when the money starts coming, don’t just start increasing your fees because others are earning higher. Increase your output and your fees would automatically go up. Don’t hype yourself when you are nothing. Hard work pays and takes you to the next level.

What is your philosophy of life?

Do unto others the same way you want them to do unto you. I pray that there would be peace in this life, especially our country. We are all going to die some day, then why kill people like you are going to live forever. If you bomb houses and you hide, it is because you don’t want to be killed too, then why do it in the first place.

Source: Nigeriafilms.com

PAGE 40

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Weekend Revue

Wizkid not on YouTube’s most watched videos list G

oogle released the list of most watched music videos in Nigeria on YouTube; unsurprisingly, Davido’s smash hit ‘Aye’ was the top of the list.

The list of course was made up of the usual suspects, The Mavins, Tiwa Savage, Patoranking, Flavour, Dr. Sid and others. Surprisingly Nicki Minaj also makes it on the list for her music video ‘Anaconda’.

Oddly star boy Wizkid doesn’t make it on the list.

None of his videos for 2014, ‘Ginger’ with L.A.X, ‘Show You the Money’, ‘Bombay’ featuring Phyno, and ‘In My Bed’ are on the list.

The pop star has had a dip in form best highlighted by the mixed reviews his second album got.

Wizkid

BBA rep allegedly gets N63M for losing

Praiz releases new track list for debut album

T

o

Faniran

ne of the Nigerian representatives at the recently concluded Big Brother Hotshots reality TV show, Tayo Faniran was reported to have been gifted N63M by billionaire by Warri Prince Ayiri Emami.

The billionaire is a loving husband that splashed millions on a customized convertible Rolls Royce Phantom for his wife on her birthday in October.

Prince Emami is clearly one of Tayo’s fans who is still upset that he didn’t win the TV show, hence compensating him with a staggering N63m. The winning prize on the show was $300,000 and Prince Emami added an extra $50000 for Tayo .Tayo Faniran lost out to Idris from Tanzania.

OC Ukeje explains real reason he doesn’t wear wedding ring

Praiz

he gifted X3 M Music singer, who has risen from MTN Project Fame finalist to become one of Nigeria’s most decorated R&B singers, is releasing a double album featuring him in his best cuts yet, as well as collaborations from some of the best in the music industry.

According to the former Project Fame contestant, whose real name is Praise Adejo, the album will be released on Sunday.

Praiz came second in the first season of MTN Project Fame in 2008.

The album is titled Rich and Famous after his hit single with the same name, with a cleverly curated theme that covers conventional R&B, and superb pop sounds.

Guest appearances include: Wizkid, Paroranking, Iyanya, Awilo Longomba, Chidnma, Shaydee, Sheyi Shay, BEZ, Sound Sultan, Kayswitch, King, Skales Morell and Iceberg Slim, Wande Baloy, Sammy.

O

C Ukeje said he doesn’t wear his wedding ring because the ring is not with him.

“My ring will be back next month, I had issues with it… I am working on having it resized, once I get it back, you’ll start seeing it on my finger,” he revealed.

OC Ukeji got married to his Canada-based lover, Ibukun Togonu, on Saturday, November 8, 2014 at the Hoares Memorial Methodist Cathedral in Yaba, Lagos It would be recalled that an online media recently went agog when the award-winning Nollywood actor, attended the Shuga 4th edition at the Villa Medici Restaurant, VI, Lagos, without wearing his wedding ring.

Many wondered why the ‘cool headed’ actor, who has only been married for few weeks, would step out without the perceived symbol of his undying love for his wife.

It was even speculated that he had started having marital problems.

OC Ukeje

SporT 41 Page

Peoples Daily, thursday, friday, December october 12,2,2014 2014

sports@peoplesdailyng.com, SMS- 08142929046

Canada 2015: USA, Sweden can’t stop Super Falcons – NFF

By Albert Akota

T

he chairperson of the Nigerian women league Dilichukuwu Onyedinma, has expressed optimism that Super Falcons will qualify from the group stage of the FIFA World Cup in 2015.

Onyedinma said that the Falcons would not be in Canada as participants but as one of the contenders for the world cup, adding that the group which has

former world champions USA, Sweden and Australia will be tough but that Falcons will scale through.

“They say it is the group of death but I believe the Super Falcons will not die in that group. We would survive and go far in the championship. Our girls will shock the world by making their mark in reaching at worst the last eight.

“We are not scared by the pedigree of USA and Sweden,

we respect them but we are not afraid of playing them, I know the Falcons will rise to the occasion and beat either USA or Sweden to get one of the two tickets, “she continued.

“We at the NFF will do all that is necessary to ensure that the Falcons are prepared and motivated to do well at the world cup. As African champions, the Falcons must prove their mettle and make progress in the championship”.

She however promise that Falcons will be given the best preparation as well as grade A friendly matches adding that after the successes at the -17 and U-20 at the World Cup,it is time to shake the world at the senior level.

Onyedinma who is also an executive member of NFF said NFF will stick with the coaches that qualified Nigeria for the World Cup adding that Edwin Okon and his assistants will

definitely lead Super Falcons to Canada.

“The coaches shall be sent to refresher courses to keep them abreast with the latest in the game. I don’t think we have time to start looking for a foreign technical adviser for the team.

The NFF President Amaju Pinnick has assured the team that they will get full support” she concluded.

Super Falcons

NFF can’t forge FIFA letters, says Amadu >>>Pg 42

Ghana can win 2015 AFCON with good preparations - Damba >>>Pg 43

Real Madrid wins threatened by injuries >>>Pg 43

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Page 42

Sport

NFF can’t forge FIFA letters, says Amadu

By Albert Akota

T

he General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Musa Amadu has denied claims that he has been ‘forging’ FIFA letters to suit certain purposes and has asked to be sued if it can be proven that has been involved in forgery.

Several FIFA letters have been received by the Nigeria Football Federation over the last six month since the current NFF crises began, and there have been insinuations in some quarters that some of those letters may have been forged to suit certain agenda, with Amadu primarily fingered as the culprit.

The scribe who is a lawyer, he said that if the allegations can be proven, then he should be taken to court for forgery.

“If Musa Amadu is manufacturing letters from FIFA, that is a criminal offence, a forgery and people should take Musa Amadu to court. You know it is a criminal offence. He who alleges, must prove and if somebody says Musa Amadu forges letters from FIFA, he should provide the evidence to the police, so that they can prosecute Musa Amadu for a criminal offence,” Amadu said unequivocally.

The latest FIFA letter, which apparently recognized the controversial ‘majority report’ that dismissed all petitions against the conduct of the September 30 NFF elections and upheld the elections of Amaju Pinnick and his board members has since caused more controversy, with insinuations that the letter was ‘manufactured’ by the NFF to suit their agenda.

Foreign clubs not obliged to release players for dream team-NFF

T

he Dream Team VI may have to make do with the home based players and the handful of overseas based players that have arrived the team’s camp so far ahead of the qualifiers for the 2015 All Africa Games against Gabon next February, as majority of the 47 invited overseas based players may not make the camp due to club commitments.

Confirming this to newsmen in Abuja, General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation, Musa Amadu who says that the foreign clubs are under no obligation to release the players since the camping exercise doesn’t fall under any of the FIFA

free windows.

“When we are talking about the invitations of overseas based players to camps, these clubs are not obliged to release these players.

It has to fall within the FIFA window and we need to make this clarification absolutely clear that clubs abroad are not obliged to release players for camping and trainings or for matches that are not within the FIFA calendar,” he said.

This will come as a huge blow to coach Samson Siasia, as he continues to prepare for the All Africa Games qualifiers, with only a handful of the invited overseas based players already in camp.

Amadu

Lawal tips Siasia’s team for Olympic gold

F

ormer Super Eagles star, Garba Lawal has tipped Coach Samson Siasia to lead the national Under-23 team to win the country’s second football gold medal at the Olympic Games in Brazil.

According to Lawal who was in the squad that won gold for Nigeria in Atlanta in 1996, Siasia

has started well by assembling the best home grown players in Abuja for selection stressing that before the qualifier against Gabon comes up in February the team should have taken shape.

He stated that Siasia who led the Nigerian Olympic soccer team to a silver medal finish at the Beijing Olympic Games has the experience and technical

ability to qualify for the games billed for Brazil in 2016.

“I believe Siasia will select the right players that will do the job of not only qualifying for the Brazil games but to go ahead and win the gold. It is very possible because we have the talents that can hold their own against the best in the world.

Flying Eagles set for Xmas holiday

Flying Eagles star Taiwo Awoniyi

T Siasia

he U-20 team will go on a week’s break from December 20 for the Christmas, officials have announced.

The Flying Eagles have been training in Kaduna ahead of next year’s African Youth Championship in Senegal and will resume the training camp also in Kaduna on December 27 only with invited players.

Foreign-based stars like Taiwo Awoniyi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Chidiebere Nwakali,

Chidera Eze and Musa Yahaya are expected to join up with the squad thereafter.

In the meantime, the Flying Eagles will begin playing test matches at their Kaduna training base from Thursday.

Their first match will be against Jamba Academy of Kaduna and it will kick off by 7am at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna.

They will play a second game on Saturday morning against Standard FC of Zaria at the

same venue.

Another series of training matches are fixed for next week.

Each half of the test match will last an hour and be played by different set of players as the Flying Eagles continue to scout for fresh talent to boost the squad of next year’s AYC. Training has been rigorous with hundreds of hopefuls trooping into the Ahmadu Bello Stadium on a daily basis.

Page 43

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

Sport

Real Madrid wins threatened by injuries

R

eal Madrid face Almeria in La Liga on Friday aiming to extend their record winning run to 20 matches but injuries are beginning to take their toll.

Ancelotti’s side have been in blistering form and a 4-0 victory over Ludogorets in the Champions League on Tuesday set a new Spanish record of 19 wins in all competitions.

Injuries are becoming a concern, however, with James Rodriguez going off against Celta Vigo last weekend to join Luka Modric and Sami Khedira in the treatment room.

Asier Illarramendi has earned a chance to claim a regular place in the side but the team are looking stretched in midfield with Xabi Alonso having joined Bayern Munich in the last transfer window.

Real lead the La Liga table with 36 points from 14 games and Ancelotti believes it is important for them to beat Almeria and keep their confidence high before they travel to play in the Club World Cup in Morocco next week.

Barcelona are just two points behind Real having won their last eight games largely down to the prolific form of Lionel Messi.

They beat Paris St Germain on Wednesday to finish first in their Champions League group and travel to Getafe on Saturday.

Champions Atletico Madrid, four points behind the leaders in third, have also hit form and are unbeaten in six games as they prepare to take on Villarreal.

Rodriguez

Ghana can win 2015 AFCON with Equatorial Guinea preparations underway good preparations - Damba Some of the social uilders in Mongomo are hosted the 2012 Nations Cup with

E

x Ghana goalkeeper Abubakari Damba believes the Black Stars can make a strong impact at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations provided the team prepares well for the tournament.

Ghana is drawn in the toughest group at next year’s finals alongside Algeria, Senegal and South Africa.

The Black Stars are often amongst 6he favourites to win the title for the past three editions but have failed to live Ghana hope to make a strong impact at the 2015 AFCON up to this billing.

Next year’s edition is But Damba believes the team however very different as the can surprise many if they have good Ghana FA only expect the team preparations for the competition to ‘do well’ under new coach that kicks off on January 17 in Avram Grant.

Equatorial

PUBLIC NOTICE

REPUBLICAN MINDS INITIATIVE

The general public is hereby notified that the above named Initiative has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Shitu Mohammed ( MON) (Makaman Gwagwa).

2. Ahmed Rufai 3. Gbenga Onayiga 4. Prof. Kingsley Macebu The Aim And Objectives Are: 1.To promote and protect citizens right and good Governance.

Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: A.R. Gidado AGR Danmallam Borgu &Co 08038498744

Guinea.

Ghana have made at least the last four at the tournament since 2008.

T h e i r closest to winning the title came in 2010 when a late strike

by Egyptian s t r i k e r Mohammed Nagy denied the Black Stars in the grand finale.

B

working around the clock to finish one of the four stadiums which are due to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in just over a month.

Equatorial Guinea agreed to organise the tournament last month at the request of the Confederation of African Football (Caf).

Caf took the finals away from Morocco, who had demanded a delay due to their fears over Ebola.

The stadiums in Malabo and Bata were both used as venues when Equatorial Guinea co-

Gabon.

Work also needs to be done on the stadium structure and other facilities, but all those involved in the preparations are confident the work will be completed in time.

The new highway means you can travel from Bata, on the coast, to Mongomo, located near the eastern border with Gabon, in around two hours.

While the stadiums look set to be ready in time, having enough accommodation could be a challenge for the organisers in both Mongomo and Ebebeyin.

housing buildings that could be used for accommodation during the Nations Cup The government and organisers are also taking measures against the possibility of the deadly Ebola virus getting into the country.

There was also an Ebola screening exercise at Bata stadium, before a match of the CEMAC (Economic Community of Central African States) Cup, which is currently being staged in Equatorial Guinea.

Akpala promises more goals in Turkey

S

uper Eagles striker, Joseph Akpala has promised to get more goals to lift his struggling Turkish club Karabukspor.

Akpala scored three goals in four days in a cup game and a brace in the last weekend 3-0 over host Rizespor in a league game after a rather difficult start to the season.

“I left my team Karabukspor last season injured and I came back at the beginning of this season. I’m happy to be back in the team. We are doing our best to move my team forward. I believe I will score more goals for my team, “he said.

Karabukspor are 15th on the 18-team table with 11 points from 12 matches.

The 28 year old striker who has played for Insurance(Nigeria), Charleroi, Club Brugge (both of Belgium) and Werder Bremen (Germany) scored four goals for Karabukspor in 11 appearances during his loan stint last season before injury set in and led to contact termination.

However, he has since signed a new three-year deal with the team at the beginning of the season.

Akpala back scoring goals in Turkey

Page 44

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

PUBLIC NOTICE FELLOWSHIP OF UMUAHIA CHRISTIAN BELIVERS.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

AKU DIEWA EDUCATION FOUNDATION.

GEORGE WELKEZI CENTRE FOR GRASSROOT EMPOWERMENT AND JUSTICE.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO THE 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 THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

1, IHEANYI ADIMOHA. 2, NATHANIEL C. RICHARDSON. 3, JOHN AMIKE 4. ENYINNYA SUNDAY IGWE,

TRUSTEES: 1.CHIJIOKE AMADI 2. CHIJIOKE EZEA 3.EGBE AMAECHI 4. NNAEMEKA EKOWU.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES, 1.TO FOSTER AND PROMOTE UNITY AMONG ITS MEMBERS. 2, TO ASSIST THE NEEDY. Any objection to the registration of the above named ministry should be forwarded to the Registrar Corporate Affairs Commission Plot 420, Tigris Cresent Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: secretary

PUBLIC NOTICE NITEL HOUSING ESTATE RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION KADUNA.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

TRUSTEES 1 DANJUMA YUSUF MOHAMMED. 2.PRINCE WILL ONYEKACHI ANI. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1.To bring peace, love and unity among members.

2.To cater for the welfare of its members.

3.caring for the less privilege.

ANY OBJECTIVE 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 : prince will onyekachi Ani

PUBLIC NOTICE

CROWN OF GLORY BIBLE CHURCH INC

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: 1.To assist the less priviledged students in Aku diewa in their academib pursuit in and outside the shores of the country.

2.To organise periodic seminars and workshops for the youths in Aku diewa on the importance of education and other core positive values.

ANY OBJECTIVE 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.

PUBLIC NOTICE

CHILDREN UNITY FOUNDATION.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.PROF. ANGO ABDULAHI (CFR) 2. HON. PATRICK KATUKA 3.MR.JOSHUA JATUMBO 4.MAL. IDRIS MUSA 5.HUWAILA SAHABI 6.PASTOR JERRY IBRAHIM 7.MRS. HANNATU JOHNSON. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1.To promote unity, development and peaceful co-existence amongst children in the society.

2.To assist widows and the less privilege in Nigeria 3.to promote vocational training of widows, children, and the less privilege in the society 4. To provide a forum for interaction amongst children toward promotion of peace in the society.

ANY OBJECTIVE 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

PUBLIC NOTICE IGBO-EKENE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT UNION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR CHANGE OF TRUSTEES TO THE 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 HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

OLD TRUSTEES: Mrs nelly egwuterai Dr James egwuterai Pastor George crown Mr simeon moju

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. HON. EMMANUEL OSORA IGBOKA IGBOKIDI 2. BARR. ROSE MANDE 3. ENGR. THOMAS IGBOKIDI CHUKA

NEW TRUSTEES: 1.Mr simeon moju 2.Pastor George ogheneochuco ishaka 3.Mrs Susan ishaka

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1.TO ENHANCE UNITY, PEACE AND HARMONY AMONG THE IGBOS 2. FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

AIMs AND OBJECTIVES REMAIN THE SAME ANY OBJECTIVE 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 OBJECTIVE 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: BARR. ROSE MANDE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

NWAODIA FOUNDATION

THE HOUSE OF GOD’S LOVE EVANGELICAL MINISTRY

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. BARR. (MRS) COLLETTE EGBUCHIEM 2. PROF. (MRS) KATE NWUFO (MNI) 3. MRS. ELIZABETH OGOEGBUNAM 4. BARR. MOSES ONYILOKWU 5. BARR. (MRS) IHUOMA UWALAKA 6. BARR. HILARY UGWU 7. BARR. (MRS) ZUWAIRE ISA TAHIR MUSTAPHA THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. TO RENDER FREE LEGAL AID TO PRISON INMATES. 2. TO PROMOTE THE WELFARE OF PREGNANT PRISON INMATES AND CHILDREN BORN IN PRISONS. 3. TO PROMOTE SKILL ACQUISITION AMONG PRISON INMATES .

4. TO PROMOTE THE REHABILITATION OF EX-CONVICTS AND THE PROCESS OF INTEGRATING THEM BACK TO THE SOCIETY. 5. TO LIAISE WITH RELEVANT AUTHORITY TO IMPROVE THE STATE OF FACILITIES IN NIGERIAN PRISONS 6. TO SUPPORT AND PARTNER WITH ANY OTHER CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION WITH LIKE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES. 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: CHAIRMAN.

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) BLESSING ODIVWRI (2)CECILIA ODIVWRI (3) SUNDAY ADU AKINWUMI (4) EDWARD AIGBOKHAN OSEKHUMEN THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1.TO PREACH GOSPEL. 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

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED CENTRE HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

TRUSTEES: 1.Elder Gabriel welkezi - chairman 2. Dr Aletile Johnson Semidara - secretary 3. Mrs. Elizabeth welkezi.

Aim and Objective.

1.To empower the Youths in the society.

ANY OBJECTIVE 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: ROWLAND .O. OLAIFA Esq

PUBLIC NOTICE

DABAH HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

Trustees Christian Orji John Adamu Rufai Abdul Azeez Mr Uyi Obasuyi Engr Yakubu Madaki Bukar Goni Ali Dikko Haliru Aim To cater for the welfare of members ANY OBJECTIVE 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. Jiddah Guza 08039573123

PUBLIC NOTICE

CALABAR PROGRESSIVE UNION

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY INFORMED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED UNION 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. NDIYO EFFIOM ASIYA 2. EME ANZAH 3. ANSA BASSEY 4. VERONICA OKON 5. ASUQUO OKOKON 6. ATIM EYO 7. SYLVESTER ODIONG 8. ANSA ANTIEHA THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. TO CATER FOR THE INTEREST OF ITS MEMBERS. 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 SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE

CITY OF CHRIST POWER 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. APOSTLE DR. PETER MATTHEW 2. PASTOR SARAH MATTHEW 3. DEACON BOKANTERO A. LUCKY 4. DEACON WILSON OKIKI 5. MRS. ESTHER OJIYOWVIE THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1. TO PREACH THE GOSPEL 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. EUGENE EGU FOR: EQUINOX SOLICITOR, ABUJA.08092145386

Page 45

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

The Kolade Endowed Chairs Foundation

DISABILITIES AWARENESS, WELFARE DEVELOPMENT AND RIGHTS INITIATIVE

Love Renewal Women And Children Association

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. Pastor Ituah Ighodalo 2. Mrs. Yvonne Fasinro 3. Dr. Fabian Ajogwu 4. Dr. Okon Onyung 5. Dr. Faye Iketubosin The Aims and Objective: l. Promoting, conducting, advancing and disseminating the results of, research into ethics in governance.

(2) social sciences, business studies and public administration.

(3) other aspects of the administration of not-for-profit organisations, business organisations and governmental organisations.

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: BERACHA SOLICITORS.

PUBLIC NOTICE

SMART GODFREY PEACE 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.

trustees: 1. MR. SMART NDUBUEZE GODFREY 2. MRS. EVERLYN DURU 3. MRS. ELIZABETH EGWIM 4. MISS ANTHONIA CHIKAODILI 5. MRS. SARAH FADEKEMI CHITAMA 6. MR. DAVID CHUKWUEMEKA OBUJI .

The general public is hereby notified that the above named Initiative has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named Association has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. CHIEF DR. SHARON CHIDIEBERE OHAKA - CHAIRMAN 2. DR. MRS. CELINE NWAKAEGO ANOSIKE 3. BARR UCHE WISDOM DURUEKE 4. LOLO JANE-SHARON CHINYERE OHAKA.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Evang. Dr (Mrs) Helen Enina Atekha-Odemwingie (JP) 2. Odemwingie Osaosemwen Ehi

The Aim And Objectives Are: 1. Promoting awareness and protecting the rights and welfare of disabled persons in Nigeria.

Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: Secretary

PUBLIC NOTICE

HOPEHOUSEMERCY CARE 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)Omonivie Hope Solomon - Chairman (2) Idoko John Ojonuma - Sec (3) Pastor solomon Ameh Ugbede (4) Ebri Eteng Ibor

aims and objectives: 1. To educate the masses on the need for peace through writing of books, establishment of smart godfrey peace foundation schools and vocational centre.

2. To provide programs for environmental problems and health services Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this 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: SECRETARY

SIGNED: SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE CONGREGATION OF CONQUEST ASSEMBLY

The general public is hereby notified that the above named ASSEMBLY has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for the registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. 1 of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PASTOR MARCUS OKEOGHENE AKOREFE - General Oversear 2. PASTOR MRS MERCY OBIANIBELI AKOREFE 3. MR. RUKEVWE PRINCE AKOREFE 4. MR. OGHENETEJIRE MARK AKOREFE 5. MRS SANDRA OGHENETEMURE AMAJATOJA 6. OKONKWO KENECHI 7. PASTOR GEORGE ONAKORAME Aims and Objectives : To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to all Nations.

To establish Churchs Worlwide.

To win souls into the Kingdom of God through Christ.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Maitama, Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: Barr. Stephen Oahimijie Mabvo Cate Law House, Global Plaza, Jabi, Abuja

LOSS OF DOCUMENT

this is to notify the general public of the loss of original right of occupancy(r of o) of plot no.98, measuring aproximately 1943.66 metre square in cadastral zone c20 with new file no. misc 110003 belonging to imad international limited got missing on the 19th december, 2012 All efforts made to trace the said documents proved abortive. If found, please return to the nearest police station.

THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1.To help the less priviled in the society.

The Aim And Objectives 1. To Love and care for Orphans, Women and less privileged Children Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: Odemwingie O. Ehi

PUBLIC NOTICE HOUSE OF DIVINE ESSENCE OF HAPPINESS 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. MR. COMRADE OGBUEHI 2. MARGARET OGBUEHI 3. ANITA ALLISON 4. DAWINS OKORIE 5. CHINENYE OKORIE 6. HIGH CHIEF O LORD MICHAEL BASSUO THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. TO BRING THE ESSENCE OF HAPPINESS TO PEOPLE’S LIFE BY TEACHING THEM TRUST, FEAR AND WORSHIP OF GOD. 2. TO PROMOTE CHANGE IN PEOPLE’S LIFE IN ACCORDANCE TO HAPPINESS. 3. TO PARTNER WITH GOVERNMENT, CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS OR INDIVIDUALS TO PROMOTE SHARING WITH OTHERS AND BRINGING HAPPINESS TO THE LESS PRIVILEGED, YOUTHS AND WIDOWS. 4. TO PROVIDE A COORDINATED ATMOSPHERE TO TEACH AND TRAIN THE LESS PRIVILEGED, YOUTHS AND WIDOWS TO BE ACTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE IN THE SOCIETY. 5. TO SUPPORT AND PARTNER WITH ANY OTHER CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION WITH LIKE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES. 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.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

THE ELECT COLLEGE OF BISHOPS

AKO IYAK EKID STUBBS CREEK-FOREST DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION.

This is to inform the general public that the above named COLLEGE has applied for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: Bishop Jubril Eshobode Bishop Bright Oboh Bishop Dr. Mike Owolabi Bishop Dr. Julius Akhabigimhe Bishop James Onebamoi Bishop Dr. Joseph Inedia Aims and Objectives : To sperad the Gospel of Jesus Christ by Co-operating with other Christian bodies for Spiritual growth among members Churches.

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: Secretary

This is to inform the general public that the above named organisation has applied for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. CHIEF (DR) ISAAC DANIEL OBIOUBA - Chairman 2. DR. ETTE OKON ETTEBONG 3. OBONG OTU JONES OTUINYANG 4. OBONG FRIDAY PETER EKPA 5. MRS. EKAETTE ANIETIE AMANAM 6. CHIEF EKANEM JAMES EKANEM 7. NTUEN SUNDAY NTUEN 8. MRS AFFION AKPAN OTU 9. ENOBONG OKON ETTEBONG 10. BARR. MFON ETUKUDO - Secretary Aims and Objectives : Bringing people together - to foster peace and unity among the members.

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: Chairman.

LOSS OF DOCUMENT The general public is hereby notified that the originals offer of statutory right of occupancy with file no.

MISC 106420, plot no. 34 in Cadastral Zone C14 of Pyakasa measuring about 4.47Ha belonging to KAADOS NIG. LIMITED. All efforts made to trace the said documents proved abortive. If found, please return to the nearest police station. Abuja Geographical information Systems (AGIS) and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I FORMERLY KNOWN, AS KENGEMA S. KOBIRI, NOW WISHES TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS CHIEF MORGAN TOM WEST. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID, GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

PUBLIC NOTICE Hidden Wisdom of God Christian Centre.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named , has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Ibitoye Johnson Temitope 2. Johnson-Ibitoye Funmi 3. Jeremiah Ayodele Ayobami The Aim And Objectives: 1. To preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Any objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication Signed: Cedarville Attorneys, 07038432424

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Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

CHRIST FREEDOM CHAPEL OF GLORY MINISTRY

ABUBAKAR SADEEQ IPENT SEVEN ESTATE ISLAMIC CENTRE

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.PASTOR NKECHI VICTORIA LIFE 2.DANIEL ORJI OGBUAGU 3.QUEEN UZUNMA EZE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.Preaching and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, running faith based clinics and engaging in charity works.

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.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED BY: Ezeji Gloria I. Tel: 08038769236

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 TRUSTEES ARE: 1.ATIKU YAHAYA MADAWAKI 2.ALIYU BALA AHMAD 3.AMINU SHEHU IDRIS 4.ALIYU ABDULLAHI 5.IBRAHIM YAHAYA 6.MELE KOLO KYARI 7.MAINA DANLADI 8.ADAMU BULAMA KADAFUR AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.To preach the word of Allah.

2.To promote and propagate the virtues of Islam.

3.To promote religious harmony among Muslims.

4.To promote and sponsor the education of orphans and less privileged in the society.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Maitama, Abuja within 28 jays of this publication.

SIGNED BY: Secretary

CHANGE OF NAME

I FORMERLY KNOWN, AS miss olaoluwabukola lydia olaifa, NOW WISHES TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS mrs. olaoluwabukola doyin adewumi.ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID, GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

LOSS OF DOCUMENT This is to inform the general public of the loss of original document in respect to Plot No. 1251 Guzape District Cadastral Zone AO9 Abuja with file No. LA20702 issued by Ministry of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The said missing document belong to GRACE AFFIONG EDET of Plot 45, Imo Crescent, Area 2, Garki Abuja. All efforts made to trace the document proved abortive. The general public should please take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE LEMU ORPHANGE HOME

The general public is hereby notified that the above named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No. 1 of 1990.

TRUSTEES 1.SAMUEL VOPNU 2.BORNWIN VOPNU 3.BRIGHT VOPNU 4.HENRY KOATE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The aims and objectives of the FOUNDATION are: 1.To take care of orphans & widows within our community.

2.To assist the less privilege 3. To serve as financial empowerment and reduce poverty 4-. To .render.anv, other humanitarian services.

5.To assist and encourage the deprived. and abused in our society 6.To promote human capital development 7.To advance and unleash the great potentials of women Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication. signed: secretary

PUBLIC NOTICE NANA’S FAMILY FOUNDATION

PUBLIC NOTICE ORGANISATION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH DEVELOPMENT AND WORK SAFETY AWAreNESS INTERNATIONAL

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.MAUREEN CHINELO ONYIA-EKWUAZI 2.DAVID EBHODAGHE ATAMEWALEN 3.RAYMOND NGWUECHE 4.ALLPHONSUS SUNDAY EKWUAZI AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.To actively engage in community mobilization for good and quality health care, and clean environment.

2.To organize wellness programmes for the society social wellbeing.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED BY: Ikechuku Maledo Tel: 08037793740

PUBLIC NOTICE NNEWI DEVELOPMENT FORUM

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 of 1990.

TRUSTEES 1.Mr. Bendi Agbasi 2.Barr. Douglas Mbonu 3.Mr. Alfred Eke Obi AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.For the Development of Nnewi Town Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, P.M.B 198, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication Sianed: Barr. Olusola Bukola - 08034923860

PUBLIC NOTICE IMPACT INITIATIVE FOR SOCIAL WELFARE

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 of 1990.

This is to notify the general public that the above named INITIATIVE has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under Part ‘C’ of Companies and Allied Matters Act. of 1990.

TRUSTEES 1.Mr. Samai’la Garba-Chairman 2.Mr. Habila Billy 3.Mr. Samai’la Awan 4.Mr. John Mutuah 5.Mr. Steve Bawa 6.Mr. Yusuf Garba -Secretary

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Augustine Imevbore 2. Orode Imevbore

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.To carter for the welfare of members Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar- General, Corporate Affairs Commission, P.M.B 198, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication Signed: secretary

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To provide social welfare and advocacy for the benefit of the less privileged and the widower society.

2. To do charity tot he needy in the society.

3. To cater for less privileged via health care facility, education and scholarships.

Any objection to the 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: SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE CHERUBIM & SERAPHIM CHRIST COVENANT CHURCH

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 of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.MOTHER CHERUBIM ADEJOKE DORCAS ABIOYE - GEN. OVERSEER 2.MOST. SNR. APOST. CHRISTOPHERAKINWALE IKUJENINIIYA 3.MRS. LYDIABOSEDEABOYEWA - SECRETARY 4.MR. IRETI DESMOND PELEMO - TREASURER 5.SPECIAL APOSTLE AKINDE JOHNSON 6.MRS. FOLUKE ABU 7.MR. ADELOGBE BERNARD ADEALA 8.MR. AKINLAWON MICHEAL 0LISA AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1.To propagate the gospel ofthe Lord Jesus Christ 2.To preach the words of God as in the Holy bible 3.To evangelize and win souls for God’s kingdom 4.To help the poor and the needy in the society.

5.Conduct Deliverance, Healing and breakthrough crusades and Seminars in order to win souls for Christ.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-

General, Corporate Affairs Commission, P.M.B 198, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication Signed: GABRIEL O. MOSES (SOLICITOR)

PUBLIC NOTICE ONE LOVE FAMILY-UNITED BROTHER FOUNDATION

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 of 1990.

TRUSTEES 1.Benedict Mbachu 2.Chinweeuba Eze 3.Oliver Obike 4.Kelvin Nnaegbuna 5.Stephen O. Abugu AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.To promote love, peace and unity amongst members.

2.To give priority attention to welfare of members.

3.To protect preserve, advance and maintain the economic and social interest of members.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar- General, Corporate Affairs Commission, P.M.B 198, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication Signed: Barr. Ifeji Okechukwu Charles 07038508681

PUBLIC NOTICE NORTHERN SISTERS DEVELOPMENT FORUM

This is to inform the general public that the above named Organization has applied for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: Senator Khairat Gwandabte Dr. Magdalene Dura Hajia Aisha Ismail Hawa Shekarau Dudu Poloma Manuga Ammuna Lawan Aims and Objectives : To promote peace and Unity of the north.

To empower women and children through skills acquisition.

To promote access to 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: Muhammad Faiz Abdulazeez Esq 08036243840

Peoples Daily, friday, December 12, 2014

1

Funny Jigsaw mystery

. Julius Caeser’s autograph is worth 2 million dollars, but one has not been found yet.

2. Charles Dickens slept facing North. He thought it improved his writing.

3. The three best-known western names in China: Jesus Christ, Richard Nixon, and Elvis Presley.

4. Julius Caesar wore a laurel wreath to cover the onset of baldness.

5. The house where Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence was replaced with a hamburger stand.

6. The Nobel Prize resulted form a late change in the will of Alfred Nobel, who did not want to be remembered after his death as a propagator of violence - he invented dynamite.

7. There was a person that paid $14,000 for the bra Marilyn Monroe wore in Some Like It Hot. 8. Mao Rse-Tang, the first chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, was born 26 December 1893. Before his rise to power, he occupied the humble position of Assistant Librarian at the University of Peking.

9. During World War One, the future Pope John XXIII was a sergeant in the Italian Army.

10. Albert Einstein was once offered the Presidency of Israel. He declined saying he had no head for problems.

11. When Albert Einstein died, his final words died with him. The nurse at his side didn’t understand German.

12. Uri Geller, the professional psychic was born on December 20 1946.

As to the origin of his alleged powers, Mr Geller maintains that they come

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Leisure

from the distant planet of Hoova.

13. John Glenn, the American who first orbited the Earth, was showered with 3,529 tonnes of ticker tape when he got back.

14. Catherine the First of Russia, made a rule that no man was allowed to get drunk at one of her parties before nine o’clock.

15. During the reign of Elizabeth I, there was a tax put on men’s beards.

Say what?

SUDOKU EASY 202

Unless this is the world’s most popular vacation destination for serial killers, this an odd request

PHOTO OF THE DAY

SUDOKU EASY 201

Photographer Andrew Suryono captured this amazing photo of an orangutan using a banana leaf to shield itself from the rain in Bali.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

www.peoplesdailyng.com

. . . putting the people first

friday, december 12, 2014

QUOTABLE QUOTE Obviously, we are in a transition period as long as many matters are concerned and I want to assure Nigerians that very soon all these will be over and our football will be the better for it.

– Amaju Pinnick, President, Nigerian Football Federation (NFF)

SPORTS Ebola, its hysterics and the media latest

Obi scores first Champions League goal for Chelsea

M

ikel Obi scored his first Champions League goals as Chelsea sent Sporting Lisbon crashing out of the Champions League as the Blues got back on track with 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge.

Jose Mourinho’s side had suffered their first defeat of the season at Newcastle on Saturday and they wasted little time erasing the bitter taste of that Premier League loss with a dominant display in their Group G finale at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues were already certain of qualifying for the last 16 as group winners, but Sporting needed a point to be sure of progressing in second place and they weren’t up to the task.

Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring with an early penalty and Andre Schurrle extended Chelsea’s lead.

Jonathan Silva reduced the deficit for Sporting in the second half, only for John Obi Mikel to net Chelsea’s third.

Sporting’s defeat, combined with Schalke’s win against Maribor, meant the Portuguese club were consigned to the Europa League as Chelsea did a big favour for their old boss Roberto di Matteo, who led the Blues to their first Champions League title in 2012 and is now in charge at Schalke.

With Chelsea already through, Mourinho was able to rest Eden Hazard, John Te r r y a nd O sc a r a m o n g others, as he made six changes from the loss at Newcastle.

There was no opportunity for Diego Costa to indulge in some Christmas shopping, however, as Mourinho, concerned about the Chelsea striker’s spluttering displays following a series of injury problems, named his team’s leading scorer in what was still a strong starting line-up.

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A

s with all previous outbreaks, the current Ebola pandemic has generated a wave of fear, hopelessness and frustration among many of the world’s population, especially in the disease-stricken locations-a phenomenon broader in scale and bigger in magnitude than the actual disease itself. This global fear has caused a lot of disruptions and gaps in international relations, with many scheduled international conferences suspended, invitations to meetings declined, and airline flight routes blocked by many Ebola-free countries in an attempt to close their boarders and cancel all possible flights to and from the disease-ravaged countries; even Saudi Arabia has allegedly threatened to prevent intending pilgrims from the affected countries from entering the holy land for this year’s pilgrimage. The fact is that so many things have changed in international relation since the start of the current Ebola outbreak-a grotesque illustration of how a single disease can shape events and their courses at the international level.

Here at home, the panic resulted from the Ebola horror has seemed to envelop everybody, making the whole nation doubtful of its own destiny in the face of Ebola catastrophe. This ugly trend is more evident in villages where correct information on the disease is scant, a development which has created a lot of myths and stigma around the disease; some people have gone to the extent of even avoiding shaking hands with one another, out of fear of contracting the disease.

Then, the pertinent questions: why this panic? Does Ebola reasonably warrant this quantum of fear? Who are behind this Ebola puzzle? The fact that Ebola is as fatal as that almost 9 out of 10 people who contract the disease die of it; that nobody can say, with any appreciable degree of certainty, the natural reservoir of the virus in the wild (bats, insects, guinea pigs and some

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Friday Column Mahmud Malami-Sadiq

Patrick Sawyer species of plants have all been suspected of being the natural hosts of the virus); that the virus is very difficult to diagnose even in standard laboratories; that neither safe vaccine for preventing the diseases nor effective drug for its treatment has so far been discovered can reasonably explain, to some extent, the reason for this global panic-to be scared of this disease is being sensible and responsible human being.

Nevertheless, that fear also need to be solaced by the fact that the disease, notwithstanding its other ugly features, is hard to contract and relatively easier to contain.

Because the only undisputable way of transmitting the disease is through contact with the blood and other bodily fluids of an infected person or through contact with contaminated objects, like needles. And this scenario can be

effectively avoided using “barrier nursing” techniques such as isolating of a patient, wearing of protective clothing when contact with a patient, and sterilization (disinfection) of contaminated objects before reuse- or completely avoiding reuse. In another sense, when ever the seemingly unavoidable host animal-to-man transmission occurs, the personto-person chain can be severed using the above techniques. So the bottom-line is to identify the disease when ever it occurs-as early as possible-and then block the transmission chain.

But consider some of the top killer diseases as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, and Tuberculosis, each of which is more infectious, more contagious, and has so far killed far more people than the Ebola Viral Disease (despite its 90%mortality rate).Then, also,

Who is eligible for national honour? The public has a right to know; the criteria should be widely publicized

imagine what will happen to the world if Ebola can be transmitted airborne like Influenza (also viral disease) and TB, or it is as chronic as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis.

Therefore, we should take solace in the fact that Ebola is neither similar to Influenza and TB nor identical to AIDS and Hepatitis in that sense.

Moreover, we can argue that the current tide of fear, which has been mischievously sustained due to the media attention Ebola has been able to garner, is unwarranted.

And this media-led exaggeration of Ebola has always accompanied all outbreaks since 1994 when Richard Preston published the best-seller The Hot Zone, which describes the Ebola epidemic among monkeys in Virginia, USA and warns the world of a future deadly epidemic. Subsequently, The Hot Zone inspired the 1995 movie Outbreak featuring Dustin Hoffman on Ebola, another TV movie, Virus, illustrating Ebola virus itself, and a Pulitzer Prizewinning book, The Coming Plaque,

by Laurie Garret which predicts an apocalyptic outbreak of Ebola in the near future. All these ‘works’ have been able to spark a lot of media attention on the disease; sometimes such aggressive media tit bits on Ebola are genuine, but often are either fictional or over sensationalized.

Although Ebola again has reared its ugly head in our world, we do not need to be unreasonably scared or assume unnecessary fatalistic posturing; instead, we should boldly accept the daunting realities of the disease, while being oblivious of any obnoxious media sensationalism, and then do the ‘right’ thing at both individual and governmental levels.

Mahmud Malami-Sadiq via mahmudmalamisadiq@ yahoo.com

DAN GAYE

Court orders confiscation of Obasanjo’s books – News

Over to you IGP

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