Wednesday, November 18, 2015. Edition.

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Wednesday, November 18, 2015/ Safar 6, 1437 AH

583 Days after Will the abducted Chibok schoolgirls ever be rescued?

@pmlonline

Reps frown at unrealistic target to female bankers page 2

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Vol. 21 No. 55 N150

Arms procurement:

Buhari orders arrest of indicted officials page 3

L-R: President Muhammadu Buhari, Kebbi state Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku, Central Bank Governor (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, during the flag-off of the 2015 dry season farming by President Buhari, yesterday in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi state.

Corruption war

Nobody’s untouchable, says new EFCC boss Buhari gives N20b palliative for dry season farming pAGE 2

Our economic policy to empower the poor – Osinbajo pAGE 3

Fuel scarcity: Marketers finger NNPC, DPR >> pg 3

pAGE 19

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

PAGE 2

News CONTENTS News 2-10 Editorial 11 Op.Ed 12 Letters 13 Politics 15-18 Business Stockwatch

19-22 23

S/Report 24-25 Property 27 Motoring 28 Arts 30

Saraki vows to probe alleged N25bn TSA fraud Page 18

Metro

31

Int’l 39 S/World

39

Digest 40 Sports 41 Columnist 48

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Reps frown at unrealistic targets for female bankers

By Umar Muhammad Puma

T

he House of Representatives yesterday frowned at certain unwholesome practices by Banks including unrealistic targets being set for female bankers.

The House has consequently mandated its Committee on Banking and Currency to investigate the alleged unwholesome practices by commercial banks and report to the House within one month for further legislative inputs.

This resolution by the House followed a motion-“urgent need to curb unwholesome practices of banks in Nigeria” sponsored

by Hon. Segun Adekola.

Moving the motion on the floor of the House, the law maker said, “a critical assessment of the targets being given to these employees to meet show them to be unrealistic, unreasonable, ordinarily unattainable and irrational.

“The banks resort to unethical means to ensure that the targets are met by either explicitly or

impliedly encouraging their staff, especially the female one, to engage in illicit behaviour to attract the deposits”.

Adekola who described these acts by the banks as enslavement said that these commercial banks do not provide adequate welfare packages.

“This trend is an outright breach of the dignity of the human person and of labour, negates the concepts of the decent work agenda of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) which

Nigeria is a member”.

Also contributing to the motion, the House Leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila said that as a result of these unrealistic targets homes have been broken and destroyed adding that of recent young men have become victims of richer women.

“I don’t think, you will want your daughter to go out knocking on door and soliciting for funds, “Gbajabiamila said.

The House adopted the motion after it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogar.

Nobody’s untouchable, says new EFCC boss From Mohammad Ibrahim, Kaduna

E

conomic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu yesterday gave a resounding of warning that nobody will be spared in its anti-corruption crusade in the country.

The agency also denied spending stolen funds recovered from corrupt individuals in the country.

The EFCC boss represented by his Director Public Affairs Department, Osita Nwanjah said full weight of the law would be brought to bear on anyone caught found in corrupt practices.

“I must sound a note of warning to all present, that acts of fraud, corruption and other forms of economic and financial crimes,

whether committed by individuals or groups will not be overlooked by EFCC,” he warned.

The EFCC boss disclosed this during an interactive session organized by National Board for Technical Education, NBTE for the anti-corruption crusade body and principal officers, union representatives of polytechnic and specialized institutions held in Kaduna.

EFCC said recovered stolen funds have been returned to the true owners of the money.

The anti graft agency equally denied that it spent 1trillion naira as it is being alleged by some individuals in the country.

EFCC Head of Enlightenment and Orientation Unit, Hajia Aisha Larai Musa while presenting a paper titled “EFCC: Prevention Activities,” said the public should

report any EFCC staff with dubious characters as such staffs will be made to face the full wrath of law.

According to her, the commission has put in place preventive measures to check mate the canker worm of corruption in the country.

“We have Faith based initiative where we set up 9-man committee comprising of both religious leaders to preach and discourage participation in the corrupt practices.

“We have put in place too women Civil society sensitization initiative programme and Public private sector initiative programme such as this between the EFCC and NBTE,” Hajia Musa stated.

Earlier, in his welcome address, the Executive Secretary of NBTE, Dr. Masa’udu Kazaure said the interactive session was borne out of

the need to sensitize the principal officers and union representatives of the institutions against the alarming high number of petitions which has generated negative impact on the Education sector.

“The number of petitions to the EFCC and ICPC in the past two years borders on academic and financial corruption from the Polytechnics. This is alarming high number of petitions has generated negative impact on the sector and has been a cause of concern for the board and the Federal Ministry of Education.

“The forum provided very useful information that will assist in ensuring probity and accountability in both academics and administration of the institution, as well as reduce the petitions emanating from the institutions,” Kazaure said.

Buhari gives N20bn palliative for dry season farming

By Lawrence Olaoye, Abuja and Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari yesterday gave a N20 billion palliative for dry season farming as he flagged off this year’s dry season rice and wheat farming.

The flagging off of the dry season farming expected to be a financial model for small holder farmers in the state took place at Zauro Airstrip in the outskirts of Birnin Kebbi , President Buhari said that the importance of agriculture to the economy cannot be over emphasised hence his administration will diversify the economy to give greater emphasis on agricultural production.

“The importance of agriculture to the economy cannot be over emphasised , economic diversification is the only way to prosperity ,so go back to land and develop agriculture because the era of depending on oil is over “, he said.

He said that agricultural produce such as groundnuts, palm oil, cotton and rubber plantation used to be the mainstay of the economy.

He said: “During this period, the economy of our sub region was built on agricultural activities and our

gross domestic product grew steady.”

During that time, Buhari recalled that banks and investment companies were financed from farming surpluses.

“The discovery of oil was expected to compliment our agricultural productivity. But we allowed oil to almost completely replace it. Our current trend at the international oil market had brought to fore the urgent need to diversify both the productive and revenue based of our economy and to conserve our foreign reserve by limiting our appetite for amputation of goods that we can easily produce locally,” the president said.

He noted that the price of oil had plummeted and that the implication was that there was limited resources available to government at all levels.

“Economic diversification is no longer an option for us, it is the only way to economic momentum and the drive to prosperity,” he added.

According to him, the only way to do this is to go back to the land and develop agriculture.

He said he had high hope on the CBN anchor borrowers’ programme.

Buhari said that the programme had the potential to create million

of jobs for the teeming unemployed Nigeria.

He said the scheme would also lift thousands of small holder farmers out of poverty.

Buhari commended Kebbi for taking the lead in the project and its effort in revival of rice and wheat production with other six states of Zamfara , Adamawa ,Jigawa , Ebonyi Gombe and Taraba who have demonstrated and indicated interest for assisting farmers .

He also said that the CBN farmers project has the potentials of creating millions of jobs and addressing poverty amongst the farmers.

The President said that his administration would discourage the importation of food items into the country in order to save about N1 trillion foreign exchange (FOREX) being used annually for that purpose.

He maintained that it made no sense for the country to continue to import food items which could be produced in the country.

The CBN put the amount spent yearly on such importation at over N1trillion.

Earlier, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe had commended his immediate

predecessor Akinwunmi Adesina for innovation he introduced into the nation’s agricultural system and promised to deepen the innovation.

However, Ogbe said that despite the good intention of Adesina, corruption still crept into agriculture under him.

He said: “People supplied sharp sands as fertilizer while fake seeds were sold to farmers. There were companies with no traceable address.”

As a result of this sharp practice, Ogbe said that many struggling farmers lost their monies Also speaking, the Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele said the apex bank was concerned about the high FOREX spent on importation of food items that could be locally produced in Nigeria.

He said this informed the decision of the apex court to set aside N40billion from the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund for farmers at a single-digit interest rate of 9.0 per cent.

According to him, agricultural commodities and food import bill had averaged over N1trillion in the past two years.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

News

PAGE 3

Ag News Editor Ese Awhotu

Arms procurement: Buhari orders arrest of indicted officials

By Lawrence Olaoye

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari has directed that the relevant organizations arrest and bring to book, all individuals who have been found complicit in illegal and fraudulent acts, this is as the 13 man committee that was set up by the Office of the National Security Adviser to audit the procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces and Defence sector from 2007 to date has submitted its interim report.

A statement by the special adviser on media and publicity to the president, Femi Adesina said while the committee which was inaugurated on 31 August 2015 is yet to complete its work, its interim report has unearthed several illicit and fraudulent financial transactions.

As part of the findings, the committee has analyzed interventions

…As probe panel submits interim report from some organizations that provided funds to the Office of the National Security Adviser, Defence Headquarters, Army Headquarters Naval Headquarters and Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, both in local and foreign currencies.

So far the total extra budgetary interventions articulated by the committee is Six Hundred and Forty Three Billion, Eight Hundred and Seventeen Million, Nine Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eighty Five Hundred Naira and Eighteen Kobo (N643,817,955,885.18).

The foreign currency component is to the tune of Two Billion, One Hundred and Ninety Three Million, Eight Hundred and Fifteen Thousand US Dollars and Eighty Three Cents ($2,193,815,000.83).

These amounts exclude grants from the State Governments and funds collected by the DSS and Police. It was observed that in spite of this huge financial intervention, very little was expended to support defense procurement.

The committee also observed that of 513 contracts awarded at $8,356,525,184.32; N2,189,265,724,404.55 and €54,000.00; Fifty Three (53) were failed contracts amounting to $2,378,939,066.27 and N13,729,342,329.87 respectively.

Interestingly, it was noted that the amount of foreign currency spent on failed contracts was more than double the $1bn loan that the National Assembly approved for borrowing to fight the insurgency in the North East.

The committee also discovered that payments to the tune of Three Billion, Eight Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N3,850,000,000.00) were made to a single company by the former NSA without documented evidence of contractual agreements or fulfilment of tax obligations to the FGN. Further findings revealed that between March 2012 and March 2015, the erstwhile NSA, Lt Col MS Dasuki (rtd) awarded fictitious and phantom contracts to the tune of N2,219,188,609.50, $1,671,742,613.58 and €9,905,477.00. The contracts which were said to be for the purchase of 4 Alpha Jets, 12 helicopters, bombs and ammunition were not executed and the equipment were never supplied to the Nigerian Air Force, neither are they in its inventory.

Our economic policy to empower the poor-Osinbajo

By Lawrence Olaoye

V

ice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday stated that the major focus of present administration’s economic policy is the ordinary man, especially youths.

“The focus of every policy is job-creation. The question that decides the priority of our policies is how many jobs will

this create.”, Professor Osinbajo said The Vice President stated this in a speech delivered Tuesday on behalf of the President at the 67th Foundation Day Anniversary and 2015 Convocation of the University of Ibadan, he explained that “Conditional cash transfers to the poorest segments, universal primary healthcare schemes, school feeding programs can

energize local economics and create important multipliers in the economy.”

He disclosed that the country’s next budget “will focus on the rapid development of critical infrastructure, roads, rail transport, the power sector and technology. We cannot bring about the much needed economic growth and prosperity without putting in place the necessary

infrastructure.”

He added that the “diversification of our economy is for us not mere rhetoric. We are determined to develop agriculture and the agro-allied value chain.” Besides, the president noted that the promotion of entrepreneurship is crucial and we are cleaning up the process of providing capital to Small to Medium Scale Enterprises.”

Witnesses taking oath before MajorGeneral Adeniyi Oyebade (left),president of the Panel of Inquiry to Investigate Involvement of Army Personel and Officers in 2014-2015 Presidential and Governorship Elections, during the committee’s sitting, yesterday in Kaduna.

Photo: NAN

Alleged N2tr diversion: Lamorde fails to appear before Senate

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he immediate past chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, yesterday failed to appear before the senate committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition, probing allegation of N2 trillion fraud

made against him by one George Uboh.

A situation that made the committee to threaten him with arrest if he fails to appear before it on Tuesday next week, 24th November, 2015.

It was previously reported that the Senate Committee had scheduled Lamorde’s appearance before it for yesterday, having

earlier failed to do so on the 14th of August when he pleaded to be given more time to study the petition written against him.

Though Lamorde’s counsel at yesterday’s sitting, Festus Keyamo, said his absence was due to his medical trip abroad, but the committee members disagreed by accusing him of disrespecting the senate and threatened to

enforce his appearance.

Specifically, the Chairman of the committee, Samuel Anyanwu, insisted that Lamorde must appear before them to defend the allegation levelled against him by the petitioner.

He said for the past three months, the former EFCC boss has been evading their invitation.

“Even more disturbing was the discovery that out of these figures, 2 companies, were awarded contracts to the tune of N350,000,000.00, $1,661,670,469.71 and €9,905,477.00 alone. This was without prejudice to the consistent non-performance of the companies in the previous contracts awarded.”, the statement said yesterday The statement said, “ Additionally, it was discovered that the former NSA directed the Central Bank of Nigeria to transfer the sum of $132,050,486.97 and €9,905,473.55 to the accounts of Societe D’equipmente Internationaux in West Africa, United Kingdom and United States of America for unascertained purposes, without any contract documents to explain the transactions.”

Police arraign 57 ‘rapists’ in Kano From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

N

o fewer than fifty seven suspected rapists were arraigned yesterday at the magistrate court by the Kano State Police Command.

The suspects, mostly between the ages of 60 to 65, were arrested at various locations within the Kano Metropolis for allegedly defiling innocent children and had been remanded at the prison custody after the court refused to grant them bail as prayed by their lawyers.

Addressing journalists at the command yesterday, the state Commissioner of Police, Muhammadu Musa Katsina, lamented that some of the victims had been infected with HIV, while others were hospitalised for sustaining various canal injuries, adding that the command has vowed to wage war against the illicit acts in the state.

According to him, the command had decided to launch a campaign against raping across the 44 Local Governments of the state in order to curtail the menace, adding that the stated number of the suspected rapists were arrested in just three weeks to the commencement of the campaign. “ I am worried about the spate of rape cases in this state.

It is high time to act today because tomorrow it would be late. we must strive to ensure that decisive steps were taken to put the dubious practice in check.

One has to look at the magnitude of the offence in order to face the challenge squarely. It would be fool hardy for one to believe that he can flout the law by committing a henous crime and go scot free “ , he said

PAGE 4

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Page 4 Report

As Public Private Partnership conference ends in London…

By Ese Awhotu

T

he 2015, the African Development Bank-funded conference on African Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) ended in London with a strong call on governments and private sector representatives to continue their efforts to scale up infrastructure investments especially in the energy, transport and water sectors in Africa.

The two-day conference, which is now its seventh year, was organised by AMETrade to promote infrastructure development and stronger PPP practices and partnerships in Africa. It was attended by 150 delegates and 32 speakers from 16 countries.

In a panel discussion, Kodeidja Diallo, Director of the AfDB’s Private Sector Department, highlighted that PPPs are a balanced solution to accelerate infrastructure provision in Africa.

“Therefore, it is crucial that all stakeholders be engaged in the early stages of PPP project preparation and development in order to maximize the accrued benefits that PPP projects could generate,” she said.

At the end of the conference, a general consensus was reached among participants that the discussion today was moving from a lack of available funding for PPPs, to the availability of bankable PPPs. There was also an understanding about the need to balance the allocation of longterm risks and rewards amongst project stakeholders.

According an AfDB statement on its website, the Annual Africa PPP Conference, first organized in 2009, was held in Tunis in 2009 and 2010, in Nairobi in 2011, in Abuja in 2012, in Johannesburg in 2013 and in Abidjan in 2014.

This conference and its far reaching decisions are very important to Nigeria in its quest for a robust Private Public Partnership drive.

The Federal Government argues that the global demand for basic infrastructure services has grown over the years, quickly outstripping the supply capacity of existing assets. Many years of underinvestment and poor maintenance have left Nigeria with a significant infrastructure deficit which is holding back the country’s development and economic growth. Nigeria needs to make massive investments beyond the means available to government in order to close its yawning infrastructure gap.

The Federal Government (“the Government”) believes that the private sector can play an important role in providing some

of this new investment through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).

Addressing the infrastructure deficit and improving the quality of public services has preoccupied the Federal Government’s agenda for some time now and a pre condition for meeting the Government’s vision of being one of the top 20 global economies by 2020.

According to Nigeria’s National Policy on Private Public Partnership, Government will develop regulatory and monitoring institutions so that the private sector can play a greater role in the provision of infrastructure, whilst ministries and other public authorities will focus on planning and structuring projects.

The private sector will be contracted to manage some public services, and to design, build, finance and operate some infrastructure. It is the Government’s expectation that private participation in infrastructure development through PPP will enhance efficiency, broaden access, and improve the quality of public services. This policy statement, and its supporting Supplementary Notes, sets out the steps that the Government will take to ensure that private investment is used, where appropriate, to address the infrastructure deficit and improve public services in a sustainable way.

In line with the Government’s commitment to transparency and accountability, it will ensure that the transfer of responsibility to the private sector follows best international practice and is achieved through open competition. The Government had inaugurated the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) with a clear mandate to develop the guidelines, policies, and procurement The Government’s key policy objectives for its infrastructure investment programme and for PPP are: Economic to accelerate investment in new infrastructure and ensure that existing, infrastructure is upgraded to a satisfactory standard that meets the needs and aspirations of the public;

Finance Minister, Kemi-Adeosun

to ensure that all investment projects provide value for money and that the costs to government are affordable after allowing for economic growth; to improve the availability, quality, and efficiency of power, water, transport and other public services in order to increase economic growth, productivity, competitiveness, and access to markets; to increase the capacity and diversity of the private sector by providing opportunities for Nigerian and international investors and contractors in the provision of public infrastructure, encouraging efficiency, innovation, and flexibility; to ensure that infrastructure projects are planned, prioritised, and managed, to maximise economic returns and are delivered in a timely, efficient, and cost effective manner; to manage the fiscal risks created under PPP contracts within the Government’s overall financial and budgetary framework; to utilise federal and state assets efficiently for the benefit of all users of public services.

On the social side, Government envisaged that it will ensure balanced regional development; to increase access to quality public services

“

for all members of society; to ensure that user charges for new or improved public services are affordable and provide value for money; to respect the employment rights and opportunities of existing employees and to ensure that any redundancy or other social safety net issues are resolved before final project approval; to enhance the health, safety, and wellbeing of the public; to encourage the direct or indirect participation of small and medium sized enterprises in PPP projects. Environmental to protect and enhance the natural environment; to minimise greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.

However, experts have observed that despite of increasing adoptions of PPP procurement system all over the world, many countries and regions still lack PPP experience, expertise, and the provision of an enabling environment for its successful implementation.

The PPP infrastructure projects implementation in Nigeria has been characterised with controversies, failures, delays, litigations, revocations among others.

Experts and analysts say that

The challenges of the PPP does now, however undermine its importance as finance, management and maintenance option for development of infrastructure which has been recognized in recent times

this occurred as a result of the knowledge and skills required for developing and implementing PPP projects are often lacking in the public sector.

The challenges of the PPP does now, however undermine its importance as finance, management and maintenance option for development of infrastructure which has been recognized in recent times.

According to Dabak, Panmun Dantala, Mwansat College Mangu,Jos, Plateau State in his paper Public-Private Partnership: The Answer to Nigeria’s Development Challenges,” As governments the world over are looking for a better option of financing, management and maintenance of infrastructures for development. These forms of partnership bring public and private sectors together in a long term partnership for mutual benefit. This is brought about as a result of government’s recognition that there are some things which the private sector does best and others where the public sector has more to offer.

The old argument, as to whether public ownership was always best or whether privatization was the only answer, is simply outdated.

Now government the world over firmly believes it will only deliver the modern, high quality public services that the public want and increasingly expect if it draws on the best of both public and private sectors. And the starting point is, therefore, the recognition of the contribution that the public and private sectors can each bring to the partnership in other to bring about development in the society.”

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

PAGE 5

News

ASUP holds 13th national delegates conference in Niger

Chancellor, University of Ibadan and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III (right), making a presentation to VicePresident Yemi Osinbajo (left), during the convocation of University of Ibadan, yesterday in Ibadan.

With them is Registrar of the university, Mr. Olujimi Olukoya (middle).

From Mustapha,Minna.

T

Photo: NAN

Borno schools to re-open on Monday - Gov Shettima

G

ov. Kashim Shettima of Borno on Tuesday said public secondary schools in the state, shut down since March 2013, would re-open for academic activities next Monday.

Shettima gave the directives while receiving Mr Rolf Ree, the Norwegian Ambassador in Nigeria in his office in Maiduguri.

He said however that the action was limited to day schools only.

``As from Monday, academic activities will commence in earnest in all day secondary schools across the state. ``Very soon, we will make effort to re-open all the boarding schools too,’’ Shettima said.

He commended the Norwegian government for its numerous support to the state. ``I wish to thank you for the numerous support you have given

to us, you have done so much to us. ``You have shown so much support to our traumatised people,’’ Shettima said.

Ree had told the governor that his visit was aimed at solidifying relationships between the two governments.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the schools were closed down, after deadly

attacks by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in schools in neighbouring Yobe.

The state government had last week commenced the construction of 2, 500 family shelters for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) taking refuge in public schools in Maiduguri to give room for the relocation of the IDPs and allow the schools to re-open.

(NAN)

From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

intercepted in Lagos.

It was recently reported that a vehicle carrying 29 cows was intercepted in Lagos where the traditional ruler was alleged to be an accomplice.

The SSG vowed that communities involved in the crime would be ruthlessness dealt with by

the government, “ I hope this may not be true and if it is true we will deal with the culprit”.

Inuwa added that it would be absurd for a leader of a people to join bandits in terrorizing his subjects, assuring people of the state of improved security across the state.

He further added that the state

governor Aminu Bello Masari has vowed to take all necessary measures to save the state from the hands of bandits.

Inuwa advised people to be patient with the government as it was doing careful survey of the needs of various communities in the state.

Katsina govt probes traditional ruler over role in cattle rustling

T

he Secretary to Katsina state government, Alhaji Mustapha Inuwa has confirmed that a traditional ruler (name withheld) was under investigation over his alleged role on some stolen cows

…As gunmen rustle 105 cattle, 40 sheep in Plateau From Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos

U

nknown gunmen on Sunday attacked a Fulani herder and rustled about 105 cattle and 40 sheeps in Du village of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Barrister Salisu Isa who is the caretaker committee secretary of Plateau State chapter of Miyyatti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), revealed the incident to journalists in Jos, the state capital yesterday.

According to Isa, the rustlers who attacked the herder in the evening with sophisticated weapons opened fire sporadically and moved with the cows and sheep The secretary added that soon after the incident, the owners of rustled caws reported the matter to the nearest military check point in

Du, where the cattle were rustled but up till now (yesterday) the cattle were nowhere to be found.

Earlier in his statement, Isa allege that the attack was carried out

by Berom youths in the area adding that, “it was a coordinated attack.

Confirming the incident ,the Media and Information Officer of the Special Task Force, Operation Save Heaven (OPSH), Captain Ikedichi Iweha , when contacted said, “ I called the officer in charge of the area but did not pick the my call. I will get you back when we communicate.”

German police train Nigerian law enforcement operatives The German Federal Criminal Police (GFCP) on Tuesday in Lagos commenced an eight-day training programme for operatives of law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.

Mr Wilson Uwujaren,

spokesman for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), made this known in a statement given to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

The statement said the training was on the Principles and Methods of Police Evaluation. ``It is also to strengthen the capacity of the operatives drawn from the EFCC and the Department of State Services.’’

According to the statement, other operatives benefiting from the training are from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

Mr Iliyasu Kwarbai, Head of Operations, Lagos Zonal Office of EFCC, who declared the programme open, commended the German Government for the continuous

support to law enforcement agencies in Nigeria He called on the trainees to take advantage of the programme and ensure that lessons learnt were put into practice.

Mr Otto Simon, the International Coordinator of GFCP, said the federal investigative agency of Germany coordinates operations of the Federal and State Police Forces.

He said the agency also investigates cases of internationally organised crimes, terrorism, and related cases of national security.

Otto said the training was meant to build the capacity of participants on ways to handle information as police officers. ``It would also educate participants on ways to use techniques and instruments to understand the complex situation of police information.’’ (NAN

Yakubu

he Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has commenced its 13th national delegates’ conference in Zungeru, Wushishi Local Government of Niger State.

The four day national delegates’ conference which commenced yesterday is to elect new national executives and to discuss issues facing Polytechnics in Nigeria.

The Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello at the event applauded the executives of the union for their relentless efforts in effecting the removal of dichotomy against the Higher National Diploma (HND) certificate with the University degree.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Land and Housing, Hajiya Maimuna Abdulkadir, reiterated the commitment of the state government for its continuous support to the education sector.

“The education sector will continue to receive priority attention from this administration as a way of uplifting our people.

“The education of the people translates to the achievement of any people-oriented programmes and policies of government and makes governance and dedicated followership a simple exercise,” he said.

The outgoing National President of ASUP, Mr Chibuzo Asomugha said that the conference would appraise the state of the union and determine policy direction of the Union just as the conference would also review the policy of progress on proper leadership transition for the union.

He therefore urged delegates to always represent the vast majority of members, adding that the interest of the union be held paramount above personal persuasion.

In the same vein, the Rector of Niger Polytechnic, Zungeru, Dr Umar Egbako said that the conference would help to determine the future and relevance of ASUP in the country.

Egbako said that the conference would also provide answers to the challenges confronting academic trade unions in polytechnic sub-sector in Nigeria.

While calling for partnership with the institution to achieve its desire goals.

The event witnessed the presentation of awards to Sen. Ayo Akinruluye, Alhaji Abubakar Momoh and late Sen. Uche Chukwumerije for contributing to the growth of the union.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

PAGE 6

News Senate urges JAMB to extend lifespan of result to 3yrs

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he Senate yesterday passed a resolution urging the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to review its policy and extend the validity period of the result it issues to students beyond its current period of one year to three years.

This is even as the lawmakers has invited the Registrar of JAMB, Dibu Ojerinde, come and brief the Senate committee on why it is difficult to get admissions into the universities in Nigeria.

This was even as it mandated its committee on Education to review the power of JAMB on issues revolving around admission.

This was sequel to a motion moved by Senator Joshua Lidani (PDP) Gombe South), on JAMB’s New Admission Policy.

It also asked its committee on education to investigate circumstances surrounding a new JAMB policy, including allegations of favouritism.

While moving the motion on the frustrations being witnessed

by JAMB candidates in their search for admissions into tertiary institutions, Senator Lidani expressed concerns over a recent policy of the institution which empowers JAMB to reassign applicants for Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in universities with excessive number of candidates to universities with lower number of applicants.

He listed benefits of the policy to include enabling universities with lower number of applicants to have enough candidates for admission and simultaneously

providing applicants with better chances of securing admissions.

However, Lidani expressed concerns about this policy, saying since the announcement of the policy, JAMB has been facing a series of protests from parents, candidates and organisations such as Association of Tutorial School Operators of Nigeria who have rejected the policy.

According to him, the new policy is a violation of Section 5(1) (ciii) of JAMB Act which authorises JAMB to take cognizance of candidates’ preferences for choices of institutions.

He also expressed concerns that only applicants whose names are forwarded to universities are eligible for post UTME, noting that others have to return to JAMB website to search for their new institutions.

He added that despite the

suspension of the policy by the federal Ministry of Education, its implementation has created more hardships for parents and simultaneously heightened the spate of uncertainty in the education sector.

While listing other problems associated with the policy, Lidani said some of the candidates are posted to private universities whose fees are beyond their parents’ financial capacities adding that some others are posted to far away universities and thus increasing the additional financial burden of such parents.

Other senators who contributed to the motion agreed that JAMB’s recent admission policy has become complex and more complicated especially since the introduction of UTME and hence canvassed the need to address the trend.

L-R: Director, Human Resources, Ministry of Information and Culture, Mr. Emmanuel Evong, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Culture, Mrs. Ayotunde Adesugba, and Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, during a meeting of the minister with the permanent secretary, directors, and heads of units, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: NAN

Jimeta community wants Lamido to sack district head over haughtiness From Umar Dankano,Yola

S

ome aggrieved community members of Jimeta District in Yola North Local Government of Adamawa State have appealed to the Lamido of damawa, Muhammadu Barkido Mustapha to in the interest of peace and harmony remove the District Head of Jimeta Alhaji Inuwa Baba Paris.

Making the call on behalf of the community at a press conference in Yola on Tuesday, a business man and the chairman of Madugu group of companies, Alhaji Musa Garba noted that the call has became imperative considering the unfortunate utterances of the embattled

Jimeta District Head, Baba Paris.

He also observed that such un- royal behavior of the district head had early this year led the people to riot against the district head leading to the incineration of his offices following his unilateral removal of the respected Imam of Jimeta Juma’at mosque.

“As soon as he announced the removal of the Imam people went on rampage not just because they disliked the way the Imam was unceremoniously sacked but because they were tired of the endless arbitrariness of the district head.

“If not for our prompt intervention and strong

leadership skills, that riot would have degenerated into uncontrollable mayhem. Jimeta residents are peace loving with well established history of obedience to constituted authority. A district head who took outrageous actions that led to the burning of his offices in such a peaceful community has lost his ability to lead that community,” he said.

Garba regretted that failure of the embattled district head to change his haughty and abusive behaviors as previous efforts to propitiate him only ended making him more dictatorial and abusive left his subjects (community) with no option but to call for his sack so as to serve

as a lesson to all and sundry.

Responding to the call for the removal of the district head, secretary to the district head of Jimeta Mr. Ziyad Baba Paris noted that so far the district head was not in any way disturbed by the call as he is on top of the situation.

Paris doubted the sincerity of the move insisting that, said majority of the people of the district are solidly behind his father and having been very loyal and supportive of the District Head noting that very soon the call will soon fizzle out.

“You can go to the emirate council or consult with Adamawa Concerned Citizens to understand what I mean,” he said.

Grow beyond relief distribution, UNICEF urges SEMAs From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

U

nited Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has stressed the need for State Emergency Management Agencies to live above board and become relevant and grow beyond the idea of being relief distributors to emergency managers as it currently does in the country.

Speaking to journalists during a “Workshop on Emergency Preparedness Planning and Update of State Contingency”, organized

by UNICEF for SEMAs and other stakeholders in emergency management in both the Northwest and North-central states, Soji Adeniyi, UNICEF Emergency Focal Person for Nigeria, noted that what we have currently in Nigeria as SEMAs are just relief care givers not emergency managers.

According to him, “Emergency Management is not relief, a lot of them grow up with the relief mentality, they want to carry relief materials to those that are affected with disasters. That is just one element of their job and should not be more than 25 percent, the remaining 75 percent is preparing people for those challenges letting them understand that the crisis will be caused if they did not prepare.

“They cannot be solved by relief, so 24/7 they should spend time in disaster risk Preparedness activities that will make sure that even when they are not ready to respond other responders will come to the table.

“That is exactly what we are doing here today, we’ve brought together all stakeholders like SEMAs, ministries of planning, health, education, nutrition and others including the media so that they will understand that disaster management is everybody’s business and not only states emergency management agency’s alone.”

He said there are no manmade disasters as people were made to believe in past but that man can induce disaster, adding that man complicates it because he does not respond to nature the way he supposed to, because climate change is real and we must learn to manage it.

He identified malnutrition as one of the killers of children and expressed dismay over government neglect on malnutrition and some other issues where children and women are concerned.

Soji explained that politicians are not giving the needed attention because their names will not be written on it, saying they rather give attention to physical projects which do not have direct impact on the common man.

He urged governments at all levels to shift their attention and resources to projects that have direct and immediate impact on the children so that they can live, adding “if they are malnourished there may not be children to take over from the current crops of leaders.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

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Police nab man impersonating women to defraud men

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he police in Lagos have arrested a man who allegedly defrauded some men of various amount of money by dressing like a woman before them.

The Lagos State Police Command’s spokesman, DSP Joseph Offor, disclosed the arrest to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday.

Offor said that the suspect was arrested on Saturday at about 4.30 p.m. while attempting to defraud another

man.

He said the suspect, who went about bearing a woman’s name, Kadijat, was dressed in Muslim hijab when he met one Hassimu of No. 25, Iyana Street, Ajegunle and agreed to a relationship.

He said Hassimu had wanted to take Kadijat (suspect) home, but refused with various excuses. ``While they were dragging themselves at the CMS Bus Stop, policemen from Lion Building who were on patrol saw them and

intervened. ``They were taken to the police station for causing breach of public peace. ``At the station, Hassimu alleged that the suspect had collected about N15,000 from him with a promise to marry him. ``Hassimu was shocked to hear the confession of the suspect that he is a man disguised in women’s outfit to defraud men. ``The suspect confessed that he has been into the business for about two years and that he had

defrauded many men in Lagos of unspecified amount of money. ``The suspect claimed that his real name is Hussieni Biyaya from Teke town in Kano State,’’ Offor quoted the suspect as saying.

The spokesman said the house of the suspect at Bode Thomas Street, Onipanu, was searched, noting that nothing incriminating was found.

Offor said he would be charge to court for allegedly impersonating women with a view to defraud men. (NAN)

L-R: Controller General, Nigerian Prisons Service, Dr Peter Ekpendu, Minister of Interior, General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), and Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, Professor Bem Angwe, during the emergency summit on state of prisons in Nigeria, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: NAN

Police arrest man,25, for raping 2-year-old in Minna

From Yakubu Mustapha,Minna

A

suspected rapist identified as Yusuf Suleiman 25 years was arrested by the Niger State police command for raping a two and half years old minor at Adamawa Street of Dutsen Kura, Minna.

Parading suspect before journalists yesterday in Minna, the command Police Public Relations Officer PPRO, ASP Bala Elkana warned parents to pay more attention to their wards as most of the minor rape cases are committed by those closed to the parents.

Elkana stated that the suspect confirmed that at 00 hours of that faithful day he saw the girl coming out of her house and lured her to a corner and had canal knowledge of the girl who will be three years in two months.

He said that the suspect will soon be charged to court so as to face the full wrath of the law, added that when convicted the suspect would bag life imprisonment.

The mother simply identified as Zainab 20 years stated that she was never comfortable with the suspect relationship with her husband because he raped her

at the age of 10yrs old which she refused to tell anybody.

She disclosed that he (suspect) ten years ago took her to where they wash motorcycle and raped her. On her daughter she said she returned from outside house and was crying when she wanted to urinate when she saw blood in her private part and said it was Yusuf who did that as she was rushed to the hospital where it was confirmed.

The father Lawal Adamu 30 years and mother of the victim in their separate interview expressed dismay over the wicked act of so called friend who is not

doing it for not the first time, just as they called for justice to be done by the relevant authorities concerned.

The suspected rapist pleaded guilty to the offense, said it was the work of devil but denied raping the mother as alleged, he said we are neighbors and friends urging for forgiveness. “i used to give her N10, N20, N5 or buy sweet, biscuits for her in a nearby shop, i don’t know what came over me that day i took her to nearby corner to commit this act, I am not happy with what i have done because am also married with children “ he stated.

Woman, 38, docked for stealing grinding machine in Benin

A

38-year-old woman, Mary Irabor, was on Tuesday arraigned in an Oredo Magistrates’ Court in Benin for stealing a grinding machine.

The Prosecutor, ASP Sylvester Omor, said that the accused along with others now

at large, committed the offence on Aug. 22, at No. 741 East Circular road, Benin.

Omor told the court that the grinding machine that was valued at N35,000 , was the property of one Janet Iria.

He said that the accused also obtained credit facility of N120,

480 under false pretext from one Evelyn Edobor.

The prosecutor said the offences contravened sections 516, 419 (1) (a) and 390 (4) (a) of the Criminal Code Cap. 48 Vol. ll laws of the defunct Bendel State of Nigeria, 1976, as applicable in Edo.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge of conspiracy, fraud and stealing.

The Magistrate, Mrs C.A. Nwoha, granted the accused bail in the sum of N50, 000 and a surety in like sum.

Nwoha adjourned the case till Nov. 27 for hearing.(NAN)

Police arrest 26 suspected cultists in Delta From Osakhare Erese, Asaba

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olice detectives in Asaba Delta State have in the last two weeks arrested 26 suspected cultists allegedly operating in Ozoro and Ogwashi-Uku polytechnics.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs. Celestina Kalu who confirmed the arrest of the suspects, said the police detectives acted on a tip off, saying that the police have renewed efforts towards crime control especially to arresting persons to questionable characters during the ember months.

Mrs. Kalu said that the suspect upon interrogation confessed to be members of Ake, Eiye confraternities adding that they were presently undergoing interrogation before being charged to court.

She said “It would no longer be business as usual for all forms of criminalities, especially members of various cult groups, the suspects were arrested at their initiation hide outs at the two polytechnics while police were working on a tip off” disclosing that the police have renewed its strategy with a view to bringing culprits to book.

Items recovered from the suspects, Mrs. Kalu said include 13 cut to size guns, different battle axes and some charms wrapped in different cellophane bags saying that the suspects would be charged to court on completion of investigation.

Investigation revealed that Ozoro and Ogwashi-Uku have been Mecca of sorts for cult related activities especially in the last two months where no fewer than five persons were alleged to have been killed.

NSCDC raids depots of illegal petrol hawkers in Dutse

T

he Jigawa Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Tuesday said it had raided `depots’ used by illegal petrol hawkers in Dutse.

NSCDC said in a statement in Dutse signed by its Commandant, Malam Muhammad Gidado, that the raid was carried out by the command’s Special Task Force on Illegal Fuel Hawking, on Nov. 13.

He explained that the raid was carried out after the office received intelligence reports on activities of the hawkers.

According to him, the raid was part of the command’s resolve to clamp down on illegal petrol sellers in Dutse.

He said that the suspects, on sighting men of the command, took to their heels leaving behind 47 cans of 25 litres of fuel each.

Gidado, however, said that out of the 47 jerry cans, only five were filled with Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS).

The commandant warned people sabotaging government efforts toward fuel sufficiency to steer clear of Jigawa as anyone caught would face the full wrath of the law. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

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Ekweremadu escapes assassination attempt, says aide

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he Deputy Seate President, Ike Ekweremadu, escaped suspected assassination attempt, Tuesday.

A statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Uche Anichukwu, said the attempt occurred at about

10:00am between Apo Flyover and Dantata Construction Company’s yard, close to the Old Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) headquarters junction on his way to office.

He said the suspected assassins who operated in a tinted, white-coloured Mercedez Benz AMG E63 without a plate

number, were chauffeured by a long-bearded light skinned foreigner, apparently a mercenary.

He said also that the vehicle, which was positioned by the Apo Bridge, on noticing that the Deputy President of the Senate’s convoy took the right turn to join the Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway

instead, made a turn.

“The occupants attempted to attack the convoy, but were blocked, and the driver violently broke into the convoy and they made several frantic attempts to attack Ekweremadu’s official car, but to no avail”, the statement said.

He also said that when

charged at by the security operatives attached to the Deputy Senate President, the Benz driver made a U-turn, and partially smashed an oncoming vehicle on the opposite lane of the highway and escaped, even as the development has already been reported to the security agencies.

Enough is enough, GOC warns Biafra agitators

T

he 82 Division of the Nigerian Army has warned agitators for Biafra that they are now crossing the red line and that its officers and men are battle-ready.

The Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC) the division, Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told newsmen in Enugu that the army would not fold its hands while such persons destroyed lives and property in the country. ``The warning to the agitators is to tell them that enough is enough,’’ Attahiru said, adding that it was inexcusable for troops to stand aside and watch the security situation deteriorate, leading to loss of lives or damage to peoperty. ``The Nigerian Army would like to send an unequivocal warning to all and sundry, more specifically to all those threatening and agitating for the dismemberment of the country, committing treasonable felony and arson. ``Once deployed, the Nigerian Army shall apply the rules of engagement to the letter in order for peace to prevail,’’ he said.

He noted that the agitators had recorded cases of lawlessness in Aba, Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Abakaliki and Enugu.

Attahiru said that the army took its time to adopt the present stand, saying that it was the primary duty of the police to maintain certain levels of security in the country.

(NAN)

L-R: Executive Director/CEO, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Ado Muhammad, Director, Advocacy and Communication of NPHCDA, Dr. Nuhu Adamu, and Director Internal Audit of the Agency, Mr. Henry Osawe, during the press conference on the integrated national measles campaign, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Dalong warns agencies to shun bribe, accept change

By Albert Akota

T

he Minister of Sports and Youths Development has warned it agencies not to corrupt him with monetary bribe rather he would only accept justice bribe for the interest of Nigeria’s development.

The newly-appointed sports minister, Solomon Dalung who stated this yesterday in Abuja during hand-over from the permanent secretary Mr Christian Ohaa said that his top priority is

to eradicate corruption in sports.

The former lecturer in the University of Jos further said that sports should be taken holistically to promote national unity and integration but not as usual.

“You see corruption in Nigeria is like cancer, and it is quite deadly and it has destroyed almost everything.

“If it is justice I am ready to go to prison whatever small quantity of justice you bring as bribe I will collect it, but anybody carrying anything whether dollars, bribe

or whatever name, while leaving his house he should also inform his wife where they should meet him “So nobody should attempt to corrupt my mind because an attempt to corrupt my mind is an invitation to romancing with the law.

And, the best I can do to you is to assist you to romance the law and I want to be understood clearly that my mission is to distribute justice and nobody should try me, I will welcome

anybody who wants to partner with me, we must operate within the confine of laid down rules, anything outside the score of rules is unknown to me and any other human being, “he noted.

Peoples Daily sports reports that the agencies which comprises of Nigeria Football Federation, National Sports Commission, National Youth Service Corp, National Institute for Sports and national Citizen and Leadership centre were in attendance during minister warning against bribery.

FCTA holds sensitization workshop on measles for 19 northern states, Abuja

By Patience Paul

T

he Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) yesterday held a sensitization workshop on measles and its preventive measures for the nineteen northern states and Abuja.

Speaking to journalists yesterday in Abuja shortly after the programme, the Deputy Director for Health Education and Promotion, Nana Hauwa Yusuf, said measles is a viral infection that spreads fast among the children within the same

household.

She said it is a killer disease responsible for the death of thousands of Nigerian children every year, adding that it is a highly contagious disease caused by the measles virus.

According to her, “It is so complicated that a child may even go blind or it may lead to death; measles outbreak has recently been ascertained in these areas Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abaji, Bwari and Gwagwalada.

“All hands are on deck to prevent this disease; we want to ask for your help as regards

measles vaccination campaign, even the children who has been vaccinated before, will still be vaccinated again during this period of vaccination”, Yusuf said.

She added that “The last exercise of the measles campaign was in 2013 and FCT could only reach 65%, but now the target is 95, if not 100 percent, in order to encourage people about the campaign, so as to be aware of its risks, benefits amongst others.

Measles is transmitted by respiratory droplets from infected persons; measles vaccine

is very effective in preventing measles disease. The vaccination campaign will start in the FCT from 21st-25th November 2015.

7am-3pm daily.

During the measles vaccination campaign, all children aged 9months to 59months will be vaccinated against measles.

“Understanding should be increased for the up-coming campaign; confidence should be created among population and stakeholders in the FCT, there should be free coverage of activities, marketing women

will be educated, we have done several training and set up several committees”, she said.

“It is very important for our information to go viral, so that everyone gets to know about the disease, health education is very important, because our overall goal is to contribute to the reduction of childhood mobility and mortality in Nigeria due to vaccine preventable diseases”, Yusuf explained.

At the end of the immunization, the child will be issued a card as evidence that a child has been immunized.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

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Niger-Delta Governors urged to focus on sustainable development From Osakhare Erese, Asaba

D

elta State Governor, Senator Dr lfeanyi Okowa, has challenged government of the Niger Delta States to harness the region’s natural resources for sustainable growth and development.

Governor Okowa made the call on Tuesday in Asaba during a 2-day Niger Delta Development Forum with the theme, “Collaborative Efforts For Stimulating Investment and Inclusive Economic Growth in the Niger Delta” organized by Partnership Initiative For Niger

Delta (PIND). The Governor also, observed that it was important for collaborative efforts towards speedy growth of the region.

He said, “this forum is an important platform for the various states in the region to focus on challenges and issues of common interest, foster more dynamic and equitable arrangement for regional prosperity and deepen our collaboration for using the region’s natural resources for inclusive growth and sustainable development.”

Senator Okowa described the theme of the conference as apt,

explaining that “the principal objective of policy making should be to design strategies and programmes that engender inclusive growth and sustainable development; this is the focus of our administration.”

He charged participants at the forum to identify areas of co- operation among states and suggest ways on how to achieve economic diversification, inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibajo, represented by the Managing

Director, Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Sir Dan Abia, reiterated that collaborative efforts were necessary for the growth of the Niger Delta saying, “this is the time for all specters of public, political, communal and private sector leadership to show a sincere desire and an uncanny ability to design and protect the integrity of the developmental process in the Niger-Delta region” Mr. Micheal Harvey of the United State Agency For International Development (USAID) and Deputy Governor Imo State, Prince Eze Madumere, called on

all stakeh olders in the region to focus on the provision of infrastructure development, peace and security to encourage investors to come to the region. Earlier, the Executive Director of PIND Foundation, Mr. Sam Daibo, said, the forum was organized to push for policy reforms and seek roles for the private sector in the development of the Niger Delta region, stressing that partnership and collaboration was necessary in providing conducive environment for private sector participation in the development of the region.

Community commends JTF, police for recovery of animals stolen by Boko Haram From Uche Uche, Damaturu.

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he community of Katarko village in Gujba local government area of Yobe state and owners of stolen animals are full of gratitude to members of the Joint Task Force and the state police commend for recovering 30 heads of Cows stolen by Boko Haram and handing over same to the owners.

According to the Police Public Relation Officer, ASP badegesin Toyin who briefed newsmen at the point of the handing over ceremony at the Damaturu cattle market along Potiskum road, it was on the 13th of this month of November, 2015 at about 0900 hours that one Bulama Gori of Katarko village in Gujba local government area reported the

matter to the police.

He reported that he has assigned his daughter, one Hauwa Bulama gori to rear the 31 number of cows and on the same date some members of Boko Haram stole the cows.

The PPRO told newsmen that it was after exchange of fire by the JTF with members of the Boko Haram that the JTF over powered the rustlers and recovered the stolen animals.

He said the police after investigation through the villagers to ascertain the ownership of the animals with the village and wards heads of the area, that Bulama Gari proved to be the owner and thereafter handed the animals to the owner in good faith and in the presence of newsmen and community leaders of the area

R-L: Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, Director, Hospital Services Department, Mrs. Patience Osinubi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Mrs. Amina Shamaki, and Director General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhi, during the ministerial press conference on 2015 National Oral Health Week, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

NANS honours federal lawmaker for outstanding performance

By Patience Paul

T

he lawmaker, Hon. Abubakar Hassan Fulata, who is the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Public Petitions has been recognized by National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) zone chapter for outstanding service to his people in an award ceremony recently.

Speaking on the award, Vice President of the zone chapter, Comrade Ibrahim Haruna , hailed the developmental and educational exploits of Hon. Fulata, who, he observed, has impacted positively on the students of Ahmadu Bello University and the people of Birniwa/Guri/Kiri-Kasamma constituency of Jigawa State: According to Comrade Haruna,

“As lecturer in ABU , Hon. Fulata has been responsible for the attainment of academic excellence by majority of students that he tutored and as a Honourable member of the house of Representatives, he has within a very short time ensure the delivery for crucial democratic dividends to his people for this reason we firmly believe that he is worthy of

the recognition and honour we are according to him today”.

On his own part Ho. Fuleta expressed appreciation for the award setting that when you are doing things not for the sake of recognition but to serve your people, it is indeed a delight you are honoured particularly your students.

“I have been involved in the

struggle for a better society for a long time especially as an ASUU Activist.

Now as a member of the House mu priority is impact positively on my people in the area of employment agricultural production, supply of water, irrigation facilities, educational opportunities for the poor and indigent students, rural electrification, animal husbandry etc”

1 feared killed, many injured as hoodlums attack school in Kaduna

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

A

student of Government Junior Secondary School, Badarawa, and Kaduna has been feared killed while several others sustained injuries following an attack by hoodlums on the school yesterday.

Investigation revealed that pandemonium broke out when the hoodlums invaded the school through popular Columbia in the area.

They were said to have pounced on any student and

staff of the school they could lay their hands on and students in retaliation picked up available items for defense, resulting into chaotic situation.

Local vigilante from the neighbourhood were quickly mobilized to curtail the situation, but they were overpowered by the hoodlums and the students.

Men from Malali Divisional Police office were immediately called and led by the Divisional Police Officer, but the warring parties remained adamant until the Kaduna state operation Yaki

arrived in four hilux pick-up vans and were able to put the situation under control leading to quick disappearance of the hoodlums, while the injured were taken to an undisclosed hospital.

At about 1215 hrs, military reinforcement were brought under the leadership of an Army Captain (name withheld) and after consultation with the school principal, ordered the students and staff to vacate the premises with immediate effect.

When contacted, the Principal, Shuaib Abdullahi

said he has been directed by representatives of the Governor and Director of Schools, not to talk over the development.

However, the Head of Kaduna State Security outfit, “Operation Yaki”, Colonel Yakubu Yusuf Soja (Rtd), said they are going to fish out the hoodlums just as he assured the community of his readiness to combat crime in the state.

He urged the community to furnish the security agents of any suspicion activities around them.

Meanwhile, Kaduna State Commissioner of Education, Dr. Shehu Usman Adamu, has expressed displeasure over the incident, vowed to bring the perpetrators to book.

“I want to express displeasure over the incident at GSS Badarawa, where miscreants came to the school and caused chaos. We will not allow scrupulous individuals to go our schools to cause chaos.

We will not allow any such incident. The matter is before the Police, the ministry will follow it up,” he said.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

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Okowa proffers measures to re-Integrate ex-militants into society From Osakhare Erese, Asaba

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elta State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has called for urgent empowerment of trained ex-militants so as to re-integrate them into the society.

Speaking when the Special Adviser to the President cum Coordinator on Amnesty Programme, Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh,Rtd, led some officials from the Amnesty Office to pay him a courtesy call yesterday in Asaba, Governor Okowa said nonempowerment and re-integration of the trained ex-militants could lead to their being de-skilled to the detriment of the nation.

According to him, “while we look at engaging more and more people in training, there is a need to begin to look at how to expose some of them that can stand on their own to some form of credit facilities; it may not be a full starter pack from the Federal Government but, they could be exposed to some form of credit or linkage to financial institutions for credit allocation for them to start on their own because, I get worried when I see some of them being idle and when they get frustrated, it is likely that they will go back to old habits.”

“We have seen a lot of the exmilitants who have come back with skills and when you come back with skills and after a period of time, you do not apply those skills, you actually begin to deskill yourself and that is not good,” the Governor asserted.

While suggesting that the Federal Government should pay less emphasis on overseas training, Governor Okowa said efforts should rather be on having the training facilities of international standards in Nigeria which will serve the people for a long time.

The Governor praised President Muhammadu Buhari for continuing with the amnesty programme noting that it doused a lot of tension and gave hope to the ex-militants.

He said, “there is no doubt that the amnesty programme is a good programme that was started by the Umaru Yar Adua administration and we are quite happy and we must appreciate President Buhari for continuing with the programme because, we need peace in the Niger Delta for us to be able to have a conducive environment for development of industries and the development of infrastructure, but, in trying to ensure that peace, we need to be sure that our youths have some hope looking into the future.”

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Binta Bello, Chief Party ,United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Mr. Charles Abani, Executive Director, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, and representative of Action Aid Nigeria, Professor Patricia Audu, during one national discourse on small holders women farmers in Nigeria, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Jos crisis: Community vows to expose perpetrators From Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos

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ommunity of Foron District of Barkin Ladi LGA of Plateau State has vowed to fish out criminals among them and handover to the Special Task Force, Operation Save Heaven (OPSH).

Members of the community including women made the pledge during an open-day interaction with the OPSH Commander, Major

General Tagbo Ude. The interactive session which comprised stakeholders from in and out of the community was organised to fashion out avenues to be employed in tackling the incessant attacks and counter attacks between the warring parties of Fulani and Berom tribes in Barkin Ladi and Riyom LGAs in the state.

Speaking at the event, the

Women Leader, Mary Pam Bot who spoke on behalf of women , Mary Pam reiterated that Berom women are tired of the senseless killings and destruction of properties, adding that members of the community would work together with the security operatives to ensure peace in the state.

Commenting at the occasion, the Commander of OPSH, Major General Tagbo Ude, warned the

women to talk to their children and stop all forms of hostility and embrace peace or faced.

He said, “OPSH is making concerted efforts to dealt with any breach of peace and ensure that law and order is restored in all the flash point. My appeal to you is that, you must reach out to your children and talk to them to embrace peace.

We must all learn to tolerate each other”.

Gov. Al-Makura urges fair treatment to disabled persons From Gambo Ahmed, Lafia

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overnor Umaru Tanko AlMakura of Nasarawa State has appealed to government at all levels and philanthropists in the country to extend their benevolent by giving equal opportunity to people living with disability.

The governor made the assertion yesterday during a one day programme organized by British Broadcasting Service BBC Hausa and BBC Media action for people living with disabilities held at Ta’al

Conference Hotel Lafia the state capital.

According to him, “I call on government at all levels to consider disable persons in the scheme of things. Their inclusiveness would give them full since of belonging in exhibiting their talents. Disable persons are neglected in the society even at meetings, social gathering, education, and healthcare delivery”.

He lamented that, people living with disability often suffer suspicious, abuse, deny and disgrace from the public; adding that there should be

a change in attitude of Nigerians, governments towards disable persons.

Al-Makura added that his administration has given top premium to people living with disability which according to him over 160million Naira has so far been expended for the ongoing construction of especial schools for the disable in the 3 senatorial districts of the State.

His words, “The School which is one of the best in the country has adequate infrastructures if completed. My Government will collect data of disable persons as well

as accommodate over 2,000 to train them on various skills”.

Also given the testimony of Governor Tanko Al-makura since assumption of office as a disable person Mrs. Sarah Dogo, whom is also a member of disable, expressed satisfaction with the leadership quality exhibited to people living with disability in the State; adding that during Al-makura’s tenure 15 houses were allocated to disable persons, equal treatment in terms of education and other social services compared to the previous administrations, in the State.

LASU students’ protests increment in acceptance fee

T

he Lagos State University Students Union (LASUSU) on Tuesday urged the institution’s Authorities to revert the increment of the newly-admitted students’ acceptance fee from N20,000 to N10,000.

Mr Adeyemi Onikoro, LASUSU Chairman, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the reduction should be with immediate effect.

He said that such policy, if not reverted, may lead to a looming crisis

from the students.

Onikoro said that the increment was another strategy devised by the authorities to exploit the students and a technical way of increasing the school fees. ``Such a policy was initiated sometime ago at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ileife, but it caused crisis which led to the closure of the university for six months. ``We do not want such to happen in LASU, so that the academic

calendar will not be distorted; that is why we are calling on the new governing council and the acting Vice-chancellor to do the needful. ``Any attempt to sustain the increment will be vehemently opposed by the students,” he said.

According to Onikoro, the authorities need to reverse the increment so that it does not add to the existing problems already on ground between the staff unions and the management.

He noted that the acceptance

fee for the new students was initially N10, 000 and N25, 000 for tuition fee, while returning students were to pay N25, 000 as tuition fee. ``This means that all the new students need to pay a total of N35, 000 and nothing more,’’ he said.

All efforts to speak with the University’s Registrar, Mr Akin Lewis and the Dean of Students Affairs, Prof. Kabir Akinyemi, on the issue proved abortive, as calls put through to their lines were unanswered.

(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Page 11

EDITORIAL

Tribunals and reversal of electoral victory

T

the Presidency’s. manipulation”. The he Nigerian judiciary The PDP, understandably, has been media spokesman of Rivers’ governor the party more incensed by the the has received unmerited Nyesom Wike, had earlier said that decisions of the election petitions bashing, of late, for the the judiciary was bribed to reverse decisions taken by judicial the victory of his boss. The officer tribunals on petitions over would later resign his appointment, the results of this year’s elections, suggesting that he had spoken particularly the governorship poll. hastely, without first consulting his Last month, tribunals quashed the governor, himself a lawyer. the victories of candidates of the It has becomethevogueforelectionlosers Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Yes, in the past, to accuse the victors of manipulation in Rivers, Abia, and Akwa Ibom some election and other untoward conduct. If you states and ordered a rerun in those are not a winner, then nobody is or states. And a week ago, the PDP tribunal judges had should be. Worse is that former legal candidate, Mr. Darius Ishaku, who been known to sell officers who have turned poloticians won the election election in Taraba now throw unproven allegation at the state, was unseated and his victory judgements to the their former constituency. awarded to the APC candidate, Mrs hughest bidder. And judiciary, It should not be so. Yes, in the past, Aisha Alhassan. some election tribunal judges had The election in Rivers was annulled on such officials were been known to sell judgements to the the ground INEC failed to make use known to have been hughest bidder. And such officials of the card to authenticate those on were known to have been removed the voter register while in Abia it was removed and retired and retired by the Nigerian Judicial there was no voting in a significant by the Nigerian Council (NJC). number of local government areas Our politicians should learn to respect and in Taraba, the tribunal ruled Judicial Council the judiciary and not slander it that Ishaku, an architect, was not (NJC). whenever decisions do not go their “properly nominated” by his party to way. After all, the judgements of stand in the election. For that reason the election tribunals are not final. thevotesgiventoIshakuwere“wasted so far delivered. Besides seeing its They can be challenged in the Court votes”. The surprise decision of the victories snatched under its nose in of Appeal and, in some cases, at the Taraba tribunal ignited violence in the governorship election in states Supreme Court. All that is needed is the southern part of the state where considered its traditional power base, patience. We should be patient for the Ishaku comes from; in Wukari, for it has lost a number of parliamentary full legal process to run its course. In example, 15 persons were reported seats in a number of states too. Its the end, everybody will be the better killed in a clash between supporters national leadership in Abuja has for it. of the two parties. described those reverses as “product of

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

PAGE 12

Opinion

BVN: Why are we like this?

By Ololade Ajekigbe

Penultimate Monday saw me at one of the new generation banks to perform some transactions. While being attended to, I observed the teller who was attending to the lady next to me asking her why she had not done her Bank Verification Number registration, and subsequently informing her that she was not allowed to withdraw from her account as a restriction had been placed on it following the directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria. I was waiting for the lady whose account had been restricted to offer some form of explanation as to why she had yet to get the registration done up till that moment, but she offered none. She didn’t claim to be unaware of the CBN campaign for all Nigerians to get the process done via several media.

She didn’t claim to be indisposed or somewhere in far away Australia where she didn’t stumble on the news.

She just stood there, staring at the teller with that guilty-as-charged look.

Then, I thought, why are we like this?

Why do Nigerians almost always take things for granted?

The BVN registration should have ended four months ago. But,

the deadline was postponed to the October 31 (before it was postponed again indefinitely now) when it was obvious that most bank customers had yet to get the registration done.

My sister was one of them and I can hardly forget the stress she went through that initial final day of the registration, before anyone knew the deadline date would be shifted. I felt sorry for her, but laughed at her too because I had told and reminded her to try to do it before that day. But like the “true” Nigerian that she is, she left it till the last minute.

In July, I wrote a satirical piece on, “How to be a Nigerian”, where I mentioned leaving important stuff until very late as one of the characteristics of the typical Nigerian.

Needless to say that the chaos in some banks towards the end of October proved me right once again. After the last window period for the BVN registration was extended, there was a popular meme making the rounds which predicted that Nigerians would be back at the banks on October 31, being the last day of registration once again, many of us laughed it off, but that prediction came to pass!

The stats have it that out of the 52 million active bank accounts in

Nigeria, only a little over 20 million have been duly registered for the BVN. This means that less than half of bank customers are at risk of being barred from accessing their money or performing certain transactions on their accounts going by the CBN rule.

Even though strictly enforcing this rule will certainly not be expedient for banks and customers alike, it’s really difficult to place any blame on the CBN for any punitive measures taken now.

In fairness to the apex bank, the awareness for this BVN registration started since early last year, and virtually all media were employed to inform bank customers of its importance. I recall vividly seeing bank employees practically appeal to customers in those early days of the registration to fill the forms and get the process done, but many waved them off, promising to do it later. I was one of them, until I made up my mind to stop procrastinating one day. In fact, I had to repeat the process at another bank when the first registration I did didn’t yield any result for some inexplicable reason. I figured there was no way I wanted to be at the mercy of anyone over my own money. That was enough motivation for me.

This BVN saga has just left me

bemused about why we are the way we are. Why do we like to cause ourselves unnecessary hardship when we have the option of taking the less stressful route? Maybe, we are just wired that way. Sometimes, it’s funny, but trust me, anyone who has had their account barred would certainly not be smiling now, especially if they know within themselves that they have no genuine reason not to have done the needful at the right time. It is true that some bank customers who have done their registration and obtained their BVN still had their accounts barred; a situation that clearly absolves the customer of any blame and indicts the bank, but, largely the truth is that many found themselves in the chaotic registration struggle because of their lackadaisical attitude to things.

Someone even said if the registration deadline was extended to 2039, many Nigerians still would not register, and I honestly can’t disagree with the person.

A nonchalant attitude is detrimental to almost every aspect of our lives. It is one of the reasons why many have not made progress in certain areas the way they should.

Almost all of us are guilty of it one way or another. Someone has that

persistent headache that has just refused to go away, and that never used to be there before, yet they shrug it off as stress-induced until they pass out one day and tests reveal they actually had a brain tumour! Many have lost golden opportunities by simply not following simple instructions. I can’t remember the last time I went for my eye check up, something I shouldn’t be joking with considering family history, so I am very guilty too.

It’s ironic that the average Nigerian tends to be laid back about the things they should take seriously, and aggressive about things they should take easy. We may attribute our insouciant disposition to important things to a chockablock schedule all we want, but we must remember that these things add up at the end of the day. On a larger scale, we need to shed this toga of laxity if we must be taken seriously. We speak about creating a better Nigeria. It is imperative. It is non-negotiable.

Ms Ajekigbe wrote in via l_ajeks@yahoo.com

Unveiling the Fiscal Responsibility Index (II)

By Eze Onyekpere

For budget credibility, we cannot be working and budgeting in a vacuum. Let the administration identify its policy goals early enough so that budget expenditure, especially capital votes can be tied into the clear goals. The costing and work plan of the Ministries, Department and Administrations should become more evidencebased and barring changes in macro-economic fundamentals such as inflation and devaluation, it should provide a clear guide for project implementation. This will reduce deviations between planned and actual expenditure. For an infrastructure-deficient economy like ours, it will make no sense to insist on a budget that provides less than 40 per cent of total expenditure for capital projects.

Yes, we must pay salaries and run overheads but we need as well to build the physical and human infrastructure needed for economic growth and development.

Considering that the Medium Term Expenditure Framework guides the composition and sectoral distribution of the annual budget estimates, it is imperative that the zero-based budgeting idea be introduced at the time of preparing sectoral strategies and the MTEF. This will facilitate the choice of priority projects and programmes.

Otherwise, the preparation of the zero-based budget may violate the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act if it introduces new projects and programmes that had not been approved in the MTEF. The administration needs to come out with a template for the preparation of budgets under the

new zero-based approach. The template should also be available to stakeholders so as to inform a proper analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the approach. For 2016, we have missed the timing of the MTEF and the annual budget as stated in the FRA. But we do not need to waste further time.

The new Minister of Budget and National Planning should proceed expeditiously to work on the MTEF and the budget and in so doing, open up the process for stakeholder input.

The Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, was widely reported in the media to have stated that the 2016 federal budget will be in the neighbourhood of N8tn. The 2015 federal budget and budgets of previous years have been about N4.5tn. A quantum leap of this nature at a time of declined crude oil prices will seem to be a miracle.

The miraculous nature will be accentuated by the fact that we are finding it difficult to fund the 2015 budget as only salaries and a few overheads have been assured.

Where will the money come from?

It is possible the government knows a few things about new sources of revenue which it has refused to share with the populace. Maybe, it has recovered a lot of money that was stolen from the public treasury.

Or, it has plugged leakages which will release funds for development.

Maybe, it wants to borrow massively to fund a deficit budget or it wants to increase taxation in a depressed economy.

Whichever option that fits the bill for the proposed funding of the 2016 federal budget should be put in the public domain for robust discussions before a final decision is taken. But, we must take cognisance

of the need for sustainability of the national debt. For budget implementation, we need to take more seriously the implementation of the Public Procurement Act which seeks to introduce transparency, accountability and value for money into public procurements. Effective procurement planning is at the core of good budget implementation.

The Bureau of Public Procurement has done some excellent work in setting out the formats and guidelines required to plan procurements, get the best bidders, suppliers and services providers and ensure that good and fit practices are followed to the letter.

Meticulously following the provision of the PPA in procurement planning, calling for bidders, contractors and service providers, examination and evaluation of bids, domestic preferences among others hold the key for good capital budget implementation. This will involve the mainstreaming of open competitive bidding in procurements; publication of the details of awarded contracts, involving civil society and professional groups with relevant capacity in procurement monitoring.

It will also involve the production of regular implementation reports and updates; sharing the results of monitoring and evaluation with stakeholders and for appropriate lessons to be drawn from such monitoring exercise. Background tasks that prepare a project for inclusion in the budget should be completed before their inclusion.

Projects must be fully prepared and contracts should not be awarded with preliminary engineering designs. Community issues relating to land acquisition should be settled in advance of award of contracts. A

situation where cash-backed funds are not utliised by the MDAs will no longer be acceptable in the new dispensation of fiscal responsibility.

But this comes with a caveat that the Ministry of Finance ought to release and cash-back the funds when they are needed to achieve optimum results. Releasing funds meant for capital projects in November and asking that unspent funds be returned to treasury in mid-December are not the ways of fiscal responsibility. The full implementation of the Treasury Single Account in all agencies, where this is possible, should be pursued to the letter. Already, there is loud bickering in the public service about how the TSA is purportedly crippling government business. Every MDA is appealing to be removed from the TSA. The obvious facts flowing from this development are that the process of its implementation needs to be fine-tuned so as to accentuate the gains and reduce the downsides and challenges that come with its implementation. Already, there is evidence that government has gained from a decline in cost of borrowing “its money” from deposit money banks. Internal and external audits are central to fiscal responsibility. A situation where it takes weeks and months to respond to audit queries is not ideal and could compound abuse of fiscal laws, rules and regulations.

Although President Muhammadu Buhari gave an order for audit queries to be answered within 48 hours, an order which seems like it is impossible to comply with, the administration must ensure the timely response to these queries. Audit recommendations

are not made for fun. They are part of monitoring and evaluation whose results should feed into the next budgeting cycle.

Thus, if audit recommendations were not part of the considerations hitherto used for new budgets, they should influence the 2016 budget this time round. The idea that public audits should be a secret process between the AuditorGeneral of the Federation and the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly does not belong to modern times. The stagnation of audit principles and the fact that no remedy is provided to government through the auditing process renders the audit function redundant. It is either we scrap the audit process and stop wasting money pretending to be doing something serious or we begin to use the outputs emanating from the audit process.

The National Assembly needs to sit up to its responsibility. The fact that the National Assembly failed, refused and neglected to adopt the reports of the Public Accounts Committees since 1999 is a national disgrace and calls for change of attitude. The timing of the submission of monthly and yearly returns and transcripts by the MDAs to the Accountant-General of the Federation is also another issue worth improving upon. Government needs to produce timely accounts of its income and expenditure to be able to transparently run its affairs.

A situation where the transcripts and returns do not come in on time delays the Accountant-General’s work which in turn, at the end of the year, delays the Auditor-General’s work.

Onyekpere is an Abuja based legal practitioner.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

PAGE 13

Comment

When will the true Ebola heroes be recognised?

By Moshood Isah

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bout one year ago, Nigeria averted what would have become the most explosive and complex Ebola outbreak in any single country in history. On July 20th 2014, an infected and ill Liberian traveller came into the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and began to expose unsuspecting Nigerians to the virus right from the airport to the Private Hospital (First Consultant Hospital Obalende) where he was admitted.

The man who died in the hospital on the 25th July, 2015 initiated a chain of transmission of the disease that spread from Lagos to Port Harcourt and resulted in 19 other cases and seven deaths. Through a rare dint of sacrifice and commitment by some healthcare workers, the outbreak was brought under control within three months in what has been described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a “spectacular success story”.

Unfortunately, it is surprising that this victory, unparalleled in the history of Nigeria’s Public Health sector, has not been adequately recognised by the Federal Government of Nigeria. This is despite receiving numerous accolades internationally.

For instance, the health care workers at the Ebola Emergency Operations

Centres (EEOC) in Lagos and Port Harcourt who made sacrifices and rare commitments to fighting the strange and poorly understood disease, at a time of intense fear and uncertainty, were never publicly recognised.

Consequently, non-actors, passive spectators, opportunists and even survivors of the disease have been going around parading themselves as the “Heroes” that fought the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria. Some of them have even shamelessly gone ahead to shoot fictitious films, publish articles in international and national print media and made presentations on television and at international fora dangerously distorting the true history of the Ebola fight in Nigeria. Additionally, with the help of these individuals, some powerful international media organisations now ascribe the success of the response hugely to external expertise.

On July 15 2015, President Barack Obama honoured eight American professionals as heroes in the Ebola war. Speaking at the White House, he said: “Thanks to their skill, thanks to their courage and their dedication, they not only helped keep the American people safe; they led a global response”. In the future, history books will quote Mr Obama’s words that “America led the global response to Ebola”. Where is the

voice of Nigeria’s president when his citizens actually provided hope to the world that the West African outbreak could be defeated and showed how it could be done?

The leadership provided by the Governors of Lagos and Rivers States during the outbreak remains unrecognised by the Federal Government largely because the PDP government at the helm of affairs in 2014, did not want to promote the efficient and effective leadership provided by these two APC governors.

Worse still, a section of the Nigerian media has been used to project the health workers at the First Consultant Hospital, Lagos as the Ebola Heroes. This is despite the hospital failing in its obligation to prevent further transmission of the Ebola infection to its hospital staff if they had observed basic infection prevention and control procedures.

It should be recalled that the hospital lost some of its health workers to Ebola while others survived, and all of them were detected and managed at the Ebola Treatment centre, Yaba, Lagos through the effort of some brave and courageous Nigerians who worked at the EEOC. While highly commending the role of a senior doctor at the hospital, Dr Stella Adadevoh who notified the public health authorities of the first suspect case from Liberia

and prevented his escape from the hospital, but unfortunately later succumbed to the disease herself, projecting this only as the foremost reason why the Ebola outbreak was stopped in Nigeria amounts to a desperate attempt to turn logic on its head and trivialise the tremendous and exceptional efforts that went into stopping the outbreak. Having said that, Dr Adadevoh was a courageous and thorough professional who should be recognised for her contribution to the Ebola fight as stated above.

The efforts of a group of truly patriotic Nigerian experts at the EEOC ensured that all contacts of those who had the disease were identified and monitored daily and anyone found to manifest symptoms was immediately isolated, tested and treated in the Ebola treatment centres, if confirmed to be Ebola. They also made sure that health workers provided their services safely by reinforcing infection prevention and control measures and processes. These experts were behind the public health messages that were disseminated on radio, television, newspapers, posters, leaflets and in the social media platforms. They also counselled and provided psychosocial support to individuals and communities affected by the disease. The response was a huge and complex operation

that required intense and effective logistics, supplies, administration and coordination from the EEOC. Th e f a i l u re o f t h e F e d e ra l Government to immediately recognise her citizens who are the true heroes and thus set the records straight in the public view of the Nigerian and international community has resulted in the regrettable situation of misinformation surrounding the Ebola outbreak response in Nigeria.

However, it’s never too late to do the right thing. A public recognition by the Federal Government would ensure that an unblemished history of the Ebola outbreak response in Nigeria is passed on to future generations. The Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) has a duty to urgently recommend the genuine Ebola heroes to the government for public recognition.

This will not only motivate those gallant health workers that truly put their lives at risk to perform this feat but will send a message to all Nigerians that outstanding hard work and sacrifice will be appropriately recognised. The Ebola outbreak has been an African tragedy and a country like Nigeria that mounted an effective response could become a leader and role model in the response to future public health threats in Africa.

— Isah writes from Abuja

Paris and the empathy Police

By Rotimi Babatunde

T

he bloody assault on Paris on Saturday, November 14, has led not only to the killing and maiming of hundreds of people from diverse social and racial backgrounds; it has also led to the unleashing of outrage on our social media timelines by irate members of the empathy police— outrage so preposterous one would have laughed it off if not for the gravity of the events it seeks to trivialise.

How dare you waste your sympathies on the Paris dead, those constables of the empathy police ask? Why not invest your sympathies in tragedies closer to home? As if regretting the murder of civilians in Paris—or the killings in Burundi and in Beirut—and mourning the carnage in North-East Nigeria are mutually exclusive. As if empathising with victims of multiple tragedies on different continents would suddenly overload and short-circuit their rickety neural wiring.

Patriotism is one of the rationalisations of those constables who have taken it upon themselves to police and delimit the boundaries of our empathy. They may as well proffer this Yoruba proverb as an encapsulation of their sentiment: Omo eni o le sedi bebere ka fi ileke si idi omo elomiran.

But when did the reservoir of human empathy get so depleted that it became comparable to a limited number of waist beads which must be used to decorate the ample girth of one’s child rather than that of another person’s offspring?

Well, if the malady of tunnel vision afflicting those members of the empathy police has no remedy, they are free to continue seeing the limits of their

humanity as coterminous with the boundaries of their continent or nation or ethnicity or village. So my dear constable of the empathy police, you may even opt to wail for no one else but yourself during your own funeral, if the laws of nature bend to grant you that privilege. What will not go unchallenged is your coming on social media to demand that we all take up compulsory residence with you in the groundnut shell you’ve chosen to reduce your universe to.

Another rationalisation is that people in the West treat casualties of violence that occurs in other parts of the world as “unmournable bodies”, to borrow a term from an article published in the New Yorker several months ago—a truly pathetic article written by an otherwise remarkable writer. The ideology of these members of the empathy police is so set in stone, like that of adherents to an unyielding belief system, that trying to show them the fickleness of that rationalisation would be as quixotic as attempting to shake the Kilimanjaro awake from its aeons-long slumber.

So let’s momentarily forget that Doctors Without Borders was founded after the Nigerian Civil War by Max Recamier and Bernard Kouchner— two French doctors who volunteered to treat civilians on the Biafran side of the war and were horrified by the deaths of children on that side from starvation. Let’s forget the efforts of ordinary French people, as well as those of French intellectuals like de Beauvoir and Sartre, to put an end to the blockade of Biafra by federal forces during that war. One could mention the BringBackOurGirls campaign, the protests that held in Western cities

against the Vietnam War, and the ongoing solidarity with the Palestinian cause, as well as other examples too numerous to list, but what’s the point?

Let’s just assume, even if only for the purposes of analysis, that the constables of the empathy police are right.

Even if that were truly the case, retaliating by being indifferent to tragedies in the West would be the shabbiest of responses. It would turn the act of compassion into a transactional one, and it would turn empathy into mere merchandise to be traded and bargained for like yams in the open market. If the advocates for the establishment of that proposed bourse of human compassion need a motto, this Nigerian pidgin saying would serve: Do me, I do you; God no go vex. One just hopes that members of the empathy police realise that the tit-for-tat game they are intent on playing—their avowed commitment to trading in the commerce of human emotions—would never make them better human beings than those they accuse of insensitivity to the pain of others; rather, it would make them worse.

Then there is the rationalisation that tragedies in the West should not be mourned because Western media do not give sufficient attention to tragedies in countries that are not part of the West. Surely, the media in the West need to be more balanced in their treatment of news from other parts of the world. Sometimes, they even deserve condemnation for their wilful distortion of other people’s reality to fit predetermined and simplistic narratives. Nevertheless, if you depend on the Western media—there’s a reason why it is called the Western media and not the African or Asian or Oceanic

media—to tell your stories properly for you, you are sitting on a very long thing. Western media must be holding you in a bind so strong that you cannot but keep on believing that CNN and its ilk are the only creators of existential value and communal dignity. And if your moral choices depend on the number and variety of themes based on national flags that Facebook has made available for you to pimp up your profile picture with, you deserve nothing but pity and scorn.

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main… any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee,” said John Donne five centuries ago. If you can’t connect with that position, rest assured that you’re not alone. You’re in the same camp with Isis militants and other such unsavoury elements who place no value on the lives of people outside their group.

Finally, there is the claim by the empathy police constabulary that people who expressed solidarity with Paris are merely following the herd instinct—that “some people dey follow follow, dem close dem eye”, as Fela sang in “Mr. Follow Follow”. Accusing a diverse range of people—most of whom you don’t even know—of insincerity is not only an act of poor intellection; it is also one that is ethically repugnant.

If there is a particular individual you believe is merely following the herd, why not confront that person directly with your evidence? One has to wonder if the labelling of multitudes as insincere by the blowhards of the constabulary is not just an act of psychological projection. Because was it not only after

Facebook provided the option of using the French tricolor as a profile picture theme that the constables began using the flags of other countries as their profile pictures and themes? Who then is the patent mimic man? Who is the Mr. Follow Follow?

I have prayed for Paris, not in the narrow religious meaning of the word “pray” but in the broader sense of it— praying as wishing others well. (Was it not Voltaire, to stick with the French connection, who said: “To pray to God is to flatter oneself that with words one can alter nature.”) And I have not placed the translucence of the French flag over my profile picture only because I am no fan of sloganeering, not even in the figurative sense of doing so with images.

However, I wouldn’t be averse to using the Facebook tricolor theme if I find it necessary—especially if it would make the constables of the empathy police even more irate.

“There is never any end to Paris”, wrote Hemingway in A Moveable Feast.

People may choose to substitute “Paris” with other city or country names—it is a matter of choice. The empathy police should just not demand that we must make those substitutions. No one owes them that duty. And those constables have no right to place a fatwa against having “Paris” as an option in that quote. If I wanted to tweak that sentence of Hemingway, my modification would follow a different path. It would simply read thus: There is never any end to empathy.

Rotimi Babatunde, a writer and playwright, won the prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing in 2012.

PAGE 14

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

News

Army tasks officers to stick to rules of engagement From Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos

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Staff of the Kaduna State Environmental Protection Board clear waste along Badarawa main road, opposite Primary Health Care, yesterday in Kaduna. Photo: Raji S. O.

Kebbi gov’s wife flags off measles vaccination campaign From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbi

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he wife of the Kebbi State Governor Dr. Zainab Atiku yesterday flagged off the measles vaccination campaign programme initiated by her in the state, charging parents and guardians to come forward to immunise their children against the disease.

She noted that Kebbi state being among states with high rate of malnourished and stunted growth children needs collaborative efforts to overcome the problems.

Dr Zainab therefore solicited for the support of traditional and religious leaders in mobilising

members of the public especially mothers and children to achieve the minimum target of 95% coverage in all the 225 Wards of the State.

However, despite the efforts Dr. Zainab in curtailing the measles outbreak in the state, yesterday there was a low turnout at the flag-off campaign ceremony of the measles.

The flag-off ceremony of the measles campaign which took place in Birnin Kebbi was marred with poor attendance including the stakeholders, traditional institutions, religious leaders and government officials were not in attendance.

The ceremony which was

scheduled to be held in the morning was delayed by the protocol to the evening time.

When contacted, one of the publicity organizer who did not want his name in print lamented over the poor awareness campaign from the government side.

“You see is a good programme but there was not enough publicity, they refused to recognize the working journalists that are on ground” ,he added.

Our correspondent gathered that they are reported cases of measles outbreak in four local government’s which include Jega, Koko Besse, Shanga and Bagudo

Local Government areas with three recorded deaths.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Alh Atiku Kende announced that 329 vaccination centres have been earmarked across the state with 1129 vaccinators to man them.

He announced that Governor Atiku Bagudu has committed N100 million as counterpart funding to EUMNCH/UNICEF project towards improving health indices in the state.

The main immunisation activity is scheduled to take place between Saturday 21st to 25th of this month in all the designated centres.

Truck crushes soldier to death at checkpoint in Bauchi From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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trailer truck loaded with cement lost control and crushed one soldier on duty at a checkpoint on Monday along Bauchi -Jos Road The driver of theTruck with registration Number DAL 22 YE

was said to have lost control at a military check point near Panshanu village, along Bauchi -Jos Federal highway.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO),Bauchi State Police Command,DSP Haruna Mohammed who confirmed the incident to the media, said that the

Truck belonging to Dangote and loaded with cement was coming from Obajana in Kogi State and heading to Damaturu Yobe State when it lost control and hit an Army personnel, Private Samuel Bulus attached to 33 artillery brigade who was on duty at the checkpoint.

The victim sustained various

degrees injuries and was r ushed to general hospital Toro General Hospital where he was certified dead.

Mohammed said his corpse was later moved to 33 artillery brigade Bauchi, however, he added that the truck driver and two other occupants escaped unhurt and the case is under investigation.

fficers and soldiers of the Nigerian army have been reminded to adhere to the army “ rules of engagement” and code of conduct for the Internal Security Operation in the country.

Major General Hassan Umaru, who is the GOC of the 3 Armour Division, gave the reminder yesterday in Jos, at the Rukuba Barrack, the headquarters of the division, during a media briefing.

In a four page statement read and signed by the GOC, “ following the observed short comings, especially negligence and outright ignorance displayed by troops deployed for Operation MESA and other Internal Security (IS) Operations, it has become necessary to remind all about the “Nigerian Army Rules of Engagement (ROE) and Code of Conduct set out the circumstances and limitation under which armed forces may be deployed to achieve military objectives in furtherance of government policy within Internal Security Operation.

“In the ROE, once deployed on any IS Operations, it is the duty of an officer or soldier to ensure the enforcement of law and order in conjunction with other security agencies.

“Troops are duty bound to an area where deployed. It inexcusable for troops to stand aside and watch the security situation deteriorate leading to loss of lives or damage to property without intervening. Such an intervention should however based strictly on sound judgment and within the ambit of the code of conduct for IS Operation, “ the release added.

According to the statement, the ROE for all Internal Security Operation includes; “ principle of minimum force and property must be applied at all times, wherever situation permits, reasonable effort shall be made to control the situation, automatic fire will only be opened as a. Last resort among others.

GOC however in the statement warned the agitators of Biyafran state, reiterating that the army would not in any way fold its hands watching some individuals fighting for dismemberment of the country, saying the ROE would be applied to whoever was threatening the peace of this country.

Harmattan: Community leader warns against indiscriminate bush burning

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he Head of Warwade community in Jigawa, Alhaji Ado Musa, on Tuesday, advised residents against bush burning and careless use of fire during the harmattan period.

The community head gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse.

He said that the advice became necessary in order to avoid fire

disasters during the dry season, as most of the houses in the community were thatched and could easily catch fire.

Musa explained that the traditional council would continue to sensitise the public on the dangers posed by the harmattan winds, especially as they relate to fire. ``People must be careful while burning bushes, particularly now

that the farmers are harvesting their produce. ``They must avoid indiscriminate setting of bushes ablaze in the name of preparing their farmlands for another farming season. ``Because fire, particularly during the harmattan, can escalate and consume valuables, including houses and even human lives, if care is not taken,’’ he warned.

He further advised housewives and local food vendors in the area to ensure that they quench the fire they used to cook, to avoid any fire outbreak.

“Housewives and those selling food items must also ensure that they quench the fire they use after cooking,” he added.

According to him, people must also be careful while using candles

and lanterns in their homes, as they are capable of igniting fire. ``We are advising people to also be careful when using candles and kerosene lanterns, as they have the capacity to ignite fires. ``Also, people should endeavour to switch off electrical appliances before leaving their houses to avoid fire that can happen as a result of power surge,’’ he added. (NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

PAGE 15

FCT INEC has put in place periodic update of CVR – REC

By Blessing Paul with agency reports

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the FCT has put in place

periodic update of the Continuous Voter’s Register (CVR) before a given election.

Prof.

Jacob Jatau, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the

FCT, made the disclosure in a release signed by him and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), yesterday in Abuja.

He said that the date for the update of would be fixed

by the commission.

He solicited the support of the media in disseminating accurate voter education messages and information in order to consolidate democracy in Nigeria. (NAN)

L-R: Secretary, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs. Augusta Chinwe Ogakwu, Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Abubakar Kyari, and Chairman, Interparty Advisory Council (IPAC), Alhaji Bashir Yusuf, during the 10th public lecture on Voters Behavior and Political Participation, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Anambra PDP faction set to defect to APC

By Umar Muhammad Puma

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faction of the Anambra state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Mr Tony Nwoye, yesterday met with the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun where they openly expressed their interest to join the APC. Nwoye who was the governorship candidate of the party in the last general election disclosed that their resolve to defect to the APC has been endorsed by the former vice president, Dr Alex Ekwueme and other key leaders of the PDP in Anambra state.

Justifying why they were dumping the PDP, he noted, “We are leaving the PDP on principle.

What they are doing in PDP is not acceptable to us. We have taken time to read the APC manifestos and constitution, what attracted us to the party is party discipline and internal democracy.

“That was why we decided to

consult widely and we met with all our leaders, all our financiers from Chief Arthur Eze to Emeka Offor, to Dr Alex Ekwueme who form the party and these our leaders agree with us to move because we feel that we cannot move without their blessing.”

Nwoye who promised to close ranks with APC chieftains in the state in the mould of Senator Chris Ngige, Chief Osita Izunaso assured that they would work assiduously to ensure Anambra state join the ranks of APC states in the country.

He also enjoined the Chief John Odigie -Oyegun led executive members to grace what he termed “the mother of all rallies” before the end of the year whereby tens of hundreds of PDP supporters, alongside All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) members would join the APC in droves.

Oyegun expressed happiness over the decision by the PDP chieftains in Anambra state to join the APC adding that it would be in the interest of the

nation if Nigerians of south east extraction align with President Muhammadu Buhari’s resolve to address the multifaceted problems bedeviling the country.

According to him, “You are most welcome. I want to emphasis one thing. We are glad you are coming but we are not attempting to build a one party nation. You are the engine room that makes things happen.

We got to the brink and the people saw the light and voted massively for the APC. Blaming bad governance over the years for the agitation of the state of Biafra, he said “The manifestation of the so-called Biafra thing, the resurgence of cultism and criminality all over the nation shows you how close we were to the brink and the enormity of the job to be done by all to us to bring this nation back.

“Whether you are Ibo, Yoruba, Hausa or minority like me Bini, there is beauty in the size of Nigeria.

“We will be one of the front

ranking nations on the face of this earth given our resources and the kind of aggressive positively directed character of our people. Think of the resources we have that we have frittered away without preparing for a day, the condition that we are facing now, government after government, when we had excess accounts but we had government that was not thinking of turning it into a fortune for the country that would sustain us.

“At the stage we are today we have to start reinventing ourselves. We are thinking about agriculture that no longer really exist, we are now thinking of mining that no longer exist because finally we are at rock bottom of oil money that no longer really exist. Before now our government took leave of the need to make Nigeria nation great. These are the challenges that face us today. When you come here to say you are coming to join the progressives, I took the pain to be here to receive you wholeheartedly.”

Buhari has shown Nigeria can join ``big league`` –Info Minister

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he Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari had shown that Nigeria had the capacity to join the ``big league`` of nations.

Mohammed said this in Abuja in the course of his interaction with the directors and heads of units in the ministry.

He said that the President had leveraged his legendary personality, discipline, transparency, integrity, belief in the Rule of Law, and patriotism to put the country on the global map. ``Since assuming office, President Buhari, the driver of change, has shown and demonstrated that Nigeria can join the big league. ``He has leveraged his legendary personal discipline, transparency, integrity, belief in the Rule of Law, and unparalleled patriotism to put Nigeria on the global map, to show his compatriots that Nigeria can be great again and to show that what seemed impossible yesterday is now possible, either in the war on terrorism, the fight against corruption, the determination to uplift the economy, to provide jobs for our teeming youths and to ensure life more abundant for all Nigerians.’’

The minister, therefore, urged the directors and other management staff of the ministry to drive the change agenda of the Buhari administration ``with the passion of champions of change``.

According to him, in the days ahead, theministrywillbesaddlingthedirectors with heavier and newer responsibilities as part of efforts to effectively play our role as the champions of change.

“Gentlemen, in the days ahead, we will be saddled with heavier and newer responsibilities as part of the efforts to discharge our roles as champions of change ``Brace up, because it is going to be one heck of a ride. ``We hope you will be part of the train of change, because many people will like to be where you are today. This is a historic moment ``In the run up to the last elections, there were times that we did not have money to even run our adverts, whether on the radio, television or newspapers.

We soldiered on all the same. ``We were threatened, kidnapped and abducted by those who wielded the instruments of coercion. ``But we remained undaunted. Not even the massive war chest of the ruling party then could shake our resolve or deter us, until we rode to office on the wings of change.’’ ``Such was the determination that propelled us then and such is the determination that can propel us now.`` He urged the entire workforce to draw its inspiration from the electoral success of the All Progressives Congress ``to match towards a greater nation``.

(NAN)

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Politics

Ekiti election: APC chairman, 14 others testify before army panel From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

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arely four days to winding up its sitting in Kaduna, the Army panel of inquiry investigating involvement of soldiers in the 2014 /2015 gubernatorial elections in Ekiti, Osun, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states, the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) State Chairman of Ekiti State, Olajide Awe and 14 other petitioners yesterday testified before the panel on Ekiti State election.

However, when it was the turn of the Ekiti State Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),Tope Aluko, to testify, he pleaded to be heard behind the camera and the panel members obliged him for security reasons.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Mechanized Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, who is also the president of the panel, Maj-Gen. Adeninyi Oyebade, had on November 9, inaugurated the panel on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.

Gen. Tukur Buratai at the division headquarters in Kaduna.

The GOC had said based on the weighty allegations against the Army in those elections, the COAS, whose vision was to reposition the army professionally in accordance with its statutory mandate, instituted the panel.

Major General Oyebade said the authority was deeply concerned about the alleged misconduct of officers and men before, during and after the elections.

But, while testifying yesterday, the Ekiti APC State Chairman, Olajide Awe told the panel that the role of soldiers in the June 2014 gubernatorial election in Ekiti was better imagined than real because according to him it was more of a battle field between the soldiers and the voters.

He alleged that before the election, party bigwigs, including the then Rivers State governor and now Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, was prevented from entering the state for the

party’s rally, while the Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole was grounded in Benin on the order of the powers-that-be.

He also alleged that over N30 million meant for party agents and election works were confiscated by some soldiers, whose identity, particularly their name tags, he said were concealed with black bands.

Awe disclosed how 36,000 suspected soldiers invaded the state on the eve of the governorship election, harassed and arrested its party leaders, members and supporters as well.

The state APC leader further stated that he received so many phone calls from APC loyalists on the Election Day, reporting to him the maltreatment soldiers were meting out to them.

He also added that the whereabouts of the DirectorGeneral of the Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Bimbo Daramola, who escaped arrest on the eve of the poll in his country homes in Ire, was still unknown even after

the election.

According to him, the ordeal the party went through in the hands of the military before, during and after the election was “better imagined than real.”

The APC chieftain told the panel that there was no election in the state, noting that the then governor and now Minister of the Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi accepted the outcome of that election for peace to reign in the state.

He said while he objected to accepting the outcome of the poll, the governor (Fayemi) replied that “look if we say we cannot accept the election result, we will put the lives of our people in danger.”

Awe added that “he (governor) accepted the result in the name of peace. Some of this did not go down well with our people. We took the decision to accept the result for the sake of peace in the state.”

Asked by the president of the panel Major General Adeniyi Oyebade whether there was a

R-L: Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, H Hon. Yussuff Sulaimon Lasun, Deputy Speaker, Osun state House of Assembly, Hon. Akintunde Adeboye, and Speaker, Kwara state House of Assembly, Hon. Ali Ahmed, during the National Assembly Dialogue on Economic Security and Development, yesterday at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

report of killing by the Army during the election, the chairman said there was none.

He however said that in his village alone, several houses were razed, 15 vehicles destroyed while several people were kidnapped until after the election.

“Some of these people that were kidnapped were later found at Shagamu (Abeokuta) with bruises on their bodies,” he said.

“Mr. President sir, there was no reports of anybody killed, but reports of robbery, harassment and intimidation,” Awe added.

Awe also fingered the operatives of the Department of State Services and the Nigeria Police Force in the party’s misfortunes in the Ekiti governorship election, saying that the “DSS did a lot havoc because they were the ones that are close to the people.”

He said it was operatives of the DSS, whom he claimed that some of them came from outside the state and the police that pointed at their members and supporters for arrest.

He explained that while the DSS wore hood, the military concealed their name tags to cover their identity.

Though the chairman admitted before the panel that he was not harassed or arrested, but the military disenfranchised their teeming supporters in the state by disallowing them from voting.

Awe said, “Prior to the June 22, 2014 governorship elections in Ekiti State, we were excited when told that the Army will be involve in maintaining peace in the state. A week or so when the Army arrived, our expectation was short-lived.

“On Wednesday, we started seeing that things were not as we thought; Thursday, we had a rally where most of our guests, especially the bigwigs of the party, governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi was prevented from coming into the state, governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole was grounded at Benin while the party Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed(now Minister of Information and Culture) was not allowed into Ekitit at all.

“Nearly all major roads in Ekiti were blocked by the military.

The stop and search was beyond what it’s should be. Money meant for the party agents and other logistics were taken by soldiers”.

INEC commences distribution of PVCs to newly registered voters in Kogi

By Ahmed Abubakar with agency report

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he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the distribution of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) to newly registered

voters in Kogi.

Mr Daniel Kure, Head of Department (HOD) Voter Education, INEC Office, Lokoja, made the announcement in Lokoja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said that the distribution

of PVCs, which commenced on Nov. 14, would continue till Nov. 20, adding that there were over 47, 000 newly registered voters in all the 21 LGAs across the state.

He called on registered voters to visit INEC offices in their

various LGAs to collect their PVCs to enable them participate in the Nov. 21 governorship election in the state.

Kure also announced that a meeting of all stakeholders in the election would hold on Nov. 17 at Riverton Hotel, Lokoja by 10 am.

He said that dignitaries expected at the meeting includes; INEC Chairman, Mr Yakub Mahmoud, the lnspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, and the Director General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Johnson Olawumi.

(NAN)

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

PAGE 17

Politics Appeal Court reserves judgment in Mark/Onjeh case

L-R: Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr. Solomon Dalong, and Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, during a stakeholders dialogue on strengthening Nigeria’s transition framework for democratic consolidation organised by NDI, on Monday in Abuja.

Photo: NAN

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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Taraba: Appeal Court upholds Tribunal ruling sacking PDP Senator From Umar Dankano,Yola

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he legal battle of Senator Bashir Marafa of Peoples Democratic Party representing Taraba central senatorial district in Taraba state has suffered another setback as the Federal Court of Appeal Yola upheld the Taraba State Election Petition Tribunal judgement

sacking Marafa as the Senator.

Delivering their verdicts on the appeal separately the three judges including; Justice Duobele Abraham,Justice Jummai Hanatu Sankey and Justice Maiwada dismissed the case for lack of merit and was unable to proof his case.

They upheld the decision of the lower court sacking Marafa

as senator representing Taraba central.

Recall that the lower tribunal had sacked Marafa for election malpractice where it ruled that Mal. Abubakar Yusuf of APC be declared the winner of the senatorial election.

Speaking after the judgement, the Taraba state chairman of APC, Alhaji

Hassan Jika Ardo, expressed satisfaction and lauded the judiciary for living up to expectation.

Ardo urged APC supporters in the state to continue to remain calm as the party continue in search for justice in the court over snatching of its hard earned victories in the last general elections.

APC chieftain laments abandoning of party loyalists From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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All Progressives Congress chieftain in Bauchi, Alhaji Bappah Mohammed Tafida Hardawa has lamented over the lack of appointment and abandoning of party loyalists by the government and the state chapter of the party Bappah made the

lamentations yesterday while speaking to newsmen in Bauchi, saying party loyalists that worked tirelessly for the party’s victory were abandoned and ignored without any appointments or job.

“From my understanding, party is the mother of all members despite your position in the party but the fact is

that all those that submitted themselves and worked for the victory of the party were not carried along, right from the inception of the merger party we are part of it and we loyal to the party yet the party and government ignored us, it only go with those that are not party members.”

According to him, “the

essence of politics and democracy is to provide the dividends of democracy but not in this case that we called for change and got the change yet we are wallowing and remain in object poverty, no appointments, no executives that will run the government.

It is indeed unfortunate for the government; we thought we are out of the bondage of PDP”.

Former Suswam’s aide threatens court suit against Ortom’s Perm Sec From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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pecial Adviser to immediate past Governor of Benue State Gabriel Suswam on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Prince Solomon Wombo has described as ‘misleading’ and ‘mischievous’, allegations that he cannot account for 18.7 billion naira meant for teachers salaries.

Prince Wombo accused the permanent secretary of the Bureau Emmanuel Ikpe of lacking knowledge of basic interpretation

and politicizing the issue, calling on him to resign.

“Mr. Ikpe is endangered species to the Benue State government.

His continued stay at the Bureau is a time bomb waiting to explode. If he wants to join politics, he should resign instead of misrepresenting facts.

The permanent secretary had appeared before the probe panel which resumed sitting recently following a court judgement, where he claimed that 18.5 billion naira meant for teachers’ salary was not

properly accounted for.

However, Wombo explained vividly that when the new minimum wage was implemented, teachers were initially left out because they were already wage receiving above other categories of workers in the State, adding that with insistence, government decided to include them.

“We saved 2.4 billion naira which was in a fixed deposit account for three (3) months. We merged both principal and interest which amounted to 6 billion naira and

disbursed to the State Universal Basic Education board, SUBEB to pay the teachers’ salary 4 months’ salary. And the permanent secretary went to liquidation account and combined the roll over on the fixed account as if it was a fresh fund.

“This is mischievous. It is a dent on my image and I am filling a suit against Ikpe if he fails to retract his statement in 48 hours. My lawyers have already gone to work. This is a direct and organized attack on my person and I will not take it lightly”, Wombo fumed.

he Court of Appeal, Makurdi Division has reserved for judgment the notice of appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress, APC’s, Daniel Onjeh against the decision of the National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, which upheld the election of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) Senator David Mark.

Onjeh whose case was struck out at the tribunal for lack of merit approached the Appeal Court asking that the re-election of Sen. Mark be annulled for failure to compile with the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

At yesterday’s sitting counsels adopted their briefs as Counsel to Onjeh, Adetunji Oso, urged the appellate court to allow his appeal and set aside the decision of the lower tribunal, stating that the court erred when it held that documents tendered by his client were mere documentary hearsay.

The documents, according to Oso demonstrated and showed that while at various times collation of result for the Benue South Senatorial Districts election held on 28th March, 2015 was still going on in seven out of the nine Local Government Areas of the Senatorial Districts, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had already declared Mark winner of the election.

But Mark, PDP and INEC in adopting their briefs urged the Court of Appeal to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit.

Lead counsel to Mark, Kenneth Ikonne said where figures or scores of an election are challenged, such evidence must come from officers who conducted the election in line with Section 126 of the Evidence Act, maintaining that such was not the case in the instant subject of appeal and urged the court to dismiss the appeal with cost and affirmed the election of Mark.

On his part, counsel to the PDP, Chris Alechenu drew the attention of the Appellate Court to issue six of Onjeh’s brief which he said was deemed abandoned since same was not argued and urged the Court to dismiss the appeal for want of merit.

Meanwhile, the appellate court turned down attempts by counsel to INEC, Philemon Retshik to amend the commission’s reply to the appellants’ brief. INEC had five days within which to reply to the appellants’ briefs but counsel informed the court that it did not cover all the grounds of the appeal and the need for his motion, which was struck out by order of court.

Having listened to all the parties, Presiding Judge of the 3 member Special Appeal panel, Honourable Justice Mensen Dongbam adjourned the matter for judgment at a date to be communicated to the parties.

PAGE 18

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Politics

KDSG reinstates suspended LG boss

R-L:Former Vice-President and chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engineer Babachir David Lawal, and Senator Binta Masi Garba, during a visit to the former vicepresident by a delegation of federal elected and appointed officials of Adamawa state origin led by the SGF, at the weekend in Jimeta-Yola, Adamawa state.

From Mohammad Ibrahm, kaduna

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he Chairman, Interim Management Committee of Kaduna North local government council, Alhaji G.A. Kurfi has been recalled from suspension.

A letter of recall, dated 13 November 2015, signed by Balarabe Abbas Lawal, the Secretary to the State Government, ordered the immediate reinstatement of the chairman.

The chairman was suspended from office on 8 October 2015 following some actions taken by the Kaduna North local government council in furtherance of the recovery of public lands from encroachers.

After his suspension, his conduct was investigated and he was invited to respond to a query.

Following consideration of his response, and the conclusion of investigations, the government determined that his conduct in tackling illegality was commendable.

But it noted that the administrative lapses that occurred in the implementation of the action were unfortunate.

The investigation cleared the chairman of any wrongdoing, and commended his courage and initiative. The government has therefore decided to lift the suspension, and recall him to office.

The letter also admonished the recalled chairman to always abide by laid down administrative procedures. The government further said it expects full compliance with regulations by all public officials.

Delta assembly rejects Gov. Okowa’s nominee as Auditor - General

By Saratu Ibrahim with agency report elta Assembly has rejected the nomination of Mrs Mary-Brown Njokanma as Auditor-General of the state on the ground of long service.

The rejection of the nominee’s nomination followed a voice vote requested by the Speaker Mr Monday Igbuya which was unanimously approved by members during plenary yesterday in Asaba.

``Considering the credentials of the nominee before the House, it is so clear that the nominee is not qualified for the appointment as AuditorGeneral of the state,’’ Igbuya said.

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa had earlier forwarded the name of the nominee to the Assembly for screening and confirmation.

The nominee, who appeared before the lawmakers, said that she was recruited as Clerical Officer into the then Bendel State Civil Service in 1973 when

she was 16 years old.

She told the lawmakers that during the period, she applied for four years study leave without pay.

After due consideration and deliberation, the legislators observed that the nominee had spent more than the required 35 years in the state civil service despite her four years study leave and rejected her nomination.

Also at Tuesday’s plenary, the Speaker announced the constitution of 28 standing committees.

Majority Leader, Mr Tim Owhefere was appointed the Chairman, Committee on Information, while Miss Eriathake Ibori, representing Ethiope West constituency, was appointed Chairman, Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation.

Mr Dennis Omovie representing Warri South II constituency, was appointed Chairman, Committee on Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESPADEC). (NAN)

It therefore directed its Committees on Finance, Banking and other Financial Institutions and Public Accounts to investigate the matter and report back in two weeks.

Saraki however, vowed that no amount of intimidation will stop the Senate from investigating the alleged fraud, explaining that it was part of the Senate’s constitutional duties to point out any individual or group’s action that would be injurious to the country.

He said: “No amount of either blackmail or intimidation will stop us from doing the work we have to do.

“We have a responsibility here to ensure that there are no leakages in government funds and if there are, we will call the attention of the public and do whatever it takes to salvage the

situation; it is our responsibility.

“The fact about the TSA will come out and everybody will have opportunity before the committee to state the fact, the facts will speak for themselves’’.

Saraki who later referred the write-up and letters cited

by Senator Dino Melaye ( APC, Kogi West) to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions for thorough investigation added that committees to carry out the needed probe on the alleged N25billion commission , would soon be inaugurated.

Senator Melaye while raising the motion, expressed concern over the write-up which alleged that the Senate was working against President Muhammadu Buhari’s effort to implement the TSA. He pointed out that it was

the motion on the alleged TSA fraud and decision of the Senate to probe it that led SystemSpecs to refund the one per cent it collected from mopped up funds to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“The writer said we are against the change agenda of Mr President because we raised the abnormality going on with the implementation of the TSA. “We did not at any time in this hallowed chamber implicate President Muhammadu Buhari of being involved in TSA fraud.

“We will not stop carrying out our legislative duties for fear of being blackmailed. The motion moved last week had two prayers.

“The first thing we did was to thank Mr President and commend him for the implementation of the TSA and for anyone to say the Senate is fighting Mr. President is myopic, parochial

and unacceptable.

“I have a letter here that I am going to lay with this paper, written by the Director, Banking and Payment of CBN to the Managing Director of SystemSpecs. The CBN categorically stated that they should remit the one per cent that they collected.

“I also have a letter here by the managing director of that company to the Accountant General of the Federation and the Governor of CBN that have completely buttressed and elicited our decision last week.

“So for people to blackmail us as irresponsible, it is not acceptable to me and the Senate.

Never would we allow blackmail and political and economic bigots to destroy the people. We are for the people and we will stand in defence of public interest”, he said.

D

Saraki vows to probe alleged N25bn TSA fraud

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

S

enate yesterday vowed to continue with its investigation into the alleged N25billion paid as commission to an e-collection firm, REMITA, engaged for the Treasury Single Account (TSA), in spite of insinuations being made against its motive in certain quarters.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, made the declaration while reacting to a motion moved by Senator Dino Melaye (APC Kogi West) over a newspaper article allegedly blackmailing the upper legislative chamber investigating the alleged fraud.

The upper legislative chamber had on November 11 informed through a motion that REMITA collected N25 billion in one day as one per cent commission of monies transferred to TSA.

Page 19

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

‎ Deputy Speaker, House of Representative, Hon. Yussuff Sulaimon Lasun (middle), General Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Dr Peter Ozo-Eson (right), Volker Treichel of World Bank, Washington D.C (left), during the National Assembly Dialogue On Economy, Security and Development, yesterday at Transcop Hilton, in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Investment: KEDCO procures 100, 000 Smart Meters

By Etuka Sunday

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he era of estimated billing on electricity consumers in Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) said it has procured 100, 000 Smart Meters to be distributed to customers in its franchise areas of Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states as part of efforts to eliminate estimate billing system.

A statement by the spokesperson, KEDCO,

Mohammed Kandi, said the 100, 000 pre-payment meters would soon be distributed to esteemed customers in authorised coverage areas.

The statement also noted that the effort was part of KEDCO’s corporate plans to roll out at least 500, 000 meters to its customers within a period of five years.

“KEDCO has begun the execution of its five years investment plans which include stepping up its investment needs

in line with the directives of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) that Distribution Companies should provide meters for all their customers,” it said.

It added that, “Indeed, this is a huge investment; a right step in the right direction for the company, and good news to all its valued customers whose frequently asked questions centred on getting a meter for individual household.”

The statement informed that providing meters to all classes of customers have remained a huge challenge facing Nigerian DISCOs, considering the huge amount of money that is required to purchase meters (PPM) for all the power consumers on their network.

Surmounting the metering challenge, KEDCO said it is making intensive efforts in bridging the metering gaps saying such would enable the company

recover at least 90% of its investments, as well as, to bring to an end as soon as possible the era of estimated billing.

To KEDCO, metering all classes of power users in its franchise area is a top priority, even as KEDCO management appealed to all its customers to continue to be patient, supportive and optimistic that the company’s determination to satisfying the electricity need of the people was achievable.

IPMAN blames NNPC, DPR for petrol scarcity

*Regulated price must be adhered to...DPR From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

T

he Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has blamed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and activities of the DPR for being responsible for the scarcity of fuel in the nation.

The Chairman of the Niger, Kebbi States branch of IPMAN, Alhaji Adamu Ahmed Erena made this known yesterday in Minna at a press briefing said due to some corrupt hands in NNPC which deprived the

Independent marketers to have access to the petroleum product at government regulated price.

“NNPC have been using IPMAN for their business, they ask us to pay for product lifting and when we do so, they refuse to give us the product. It is the money of private marketers that NNPC uses to make sales.”

Erena who faulted the federal government for saying there is enough petroleum product to go round said that the federal government should direct IPMAN to the location where the product is being lifted at government regulated price to

enable them get the product and reduce the sufferings of Nigeria.

“Federal government can say there is enough fuel in NNPC. We are stating here and now, show us where to lift it. We are ready to supply, please show us where to lift it at government regulated price.”

Erena the called on the government to go to the source and regulate the price stressing that the independent marketers cannot do anything if they cannot get the fuel at the regulated price.

“If the government cannot control the source, they cannot

control the end-users. The onus is on government to do something about the distributors.”

The Niger state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello in a meeting yesterday held at government house Minna with the Department of petroleum Resources (DPR), the IPMAN on how to make the product availability in the state following the hardship created by the scarcity but IPMAN Chairman said their hands are tied as DPR will not allow them to sell above government regulated price.

He then expressed optimism that the fuel scarcity will soon be

a thing of the past only if their products bought above regulated price from private deports would be allowed to be sold at a price that will not harm the marketers.

But in a swift reaction by the Niger State DPR controller Engineer Abdullahi Isah Jankara in an interview in his office said he was not aware of price of petroleum sold above regulated price by the depots while he insisted that the government regulated price must be maintained.

Jankara reassured that his department will continued in carrying out its legitimate responsibility to the people adding that it will not be business as usual in the state.

Page 20

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

Aviation Director commends plan

by Nasarawa state to build new airport in Lafia

A

Director of Projects in the Federal ministry of aviation Dr. Ibrahim Idris has commended the proposed construction of new airport by the Government of Nasarawa State.

He gave the commendation when he led the delegation from the Ministry including the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Engr. Saleh Dunoma and other FAAN officials, on a working visit to the Governor of the State in his office.

Dr. Idris promised that the Ministry would support the State Government on that project.

In his response, Governor Tanko Al-Makura, who, in the company of the Deputy Governor, the Secretary to the State Government and other top Government officials, welcomed the delegation, stated that “the proposed airport in Nasarawa State will serve as alternate airport for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, serve as cargo airport for agricultural produce and serve neighbouring States of Benue, Kogi, Kaduna, Plateau and Taraba.”

The MD of FAAN in his remarks, thanked the Government of Nasarawa State for their foresight in proposing the construction of this new airport , which he said would open up Nasarawa State to the rest of the world, stimulate economic activities and create more jobs in the state in particular and the country in general.

L-R: Kabiru Yusuf Mohammed, Chief of Staff to Managing Director; Engr Munir Abiola, General Manager, Projects; Hon Silas Agara, Deputy Governor, Dr Ibrahim Idris, Director, Planning Research & Strategy, Alh Tanko Al-Makura Governor of Nasarawa State, Engr Saleh Dunoma, Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and Surv Remi Aromiwura, General Manager, Land, Water & Survey during a courtesy call on the governor recently

U-23 team flight: Arik Air says no aircraft lost engine

A

rik Air management has explained that none of the aircraft used in conveying members of the U-23 national team between Accra and Banjul, lost a tyre on landing in Accra or an engine.

Arik Air spokesman, Ola Banji in a statement in Lagos claimed that none of the passengers and aircraft was in danger because one of the aircraft lost an engine or a

tyre, as been erroneously reported.

According to him, ‘the aircraft that was conveying the team to Banjul had a stopover in Accra, Ghana. On ground Accra, the Captain, while on routine walk around the aircraft as part of the airline’s safety procedure, noticed that one of the tyres had a low pressure (not flat). Instead of keeping the team in Accra longer than necessary, we had to deploy

another aircraft that was on a night-stop in Accra to take the team to Banjul.

“The Captain of this aircraft was airborne when he had to make an air return due to a gear pin in-situ.

However, our standard operating procedure required the aircraft to be re-certified by our maintenance partner, Lufthansa Technik before it could continue with the flight to Banjul. We then had to fly in

Lufthansa engineers from Lagos to change the low pressure wheel on the original operating aircraft for it to fly the team and other passengers to Banjul. The other aircraft were also examined and released back to service”, he said.

Banji added that the safety of passengers is paramount in the airline’s operations, adding, ‘and we will not compromise this for anything’.

due compliance of the firm and the partners to help ensure that all laws are abided.

According to him, already, ABX WORLD has reached out to the Federal Government to leverage on the global agro-allied sub-sector while breaking the challenges pose by mono-produce nature the country practices at the moment.

“Assuming one million out of over three million Nigerians living in the United Kingdom make purchases of food items from Nigeria at the cost of $100 weekly even with the current exchange rate, Nigeria cannot make less than $5.2billion from this sub-sector annually.

He said agriculture is taking back its leading contributory position to the global economy; hence oil and gas sector is seriously in shambles and Nigeria must not be left behind.

Stressing the need for President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to jettison the penchant and interest on the oil and gas sector facing bleak future,

Cap. Okakpu added, “We know the price of crude oil today. Nigeria is largely a mono-dimension economy focused on crude oil extract, export and import. Our banking sector is no way to be reckoned with the rest of the world. God wants to reposition Nigeria, which is the reason we are faced with the crude oil price downfall.

“People like me would prefer the crude oil sales for $10 (USD) per barrel, because that will wake us up from slumber. Before crude oil Nigeria was, but we lost our focus because of that. For Nigeria to balance her budget at the moment, crude oil has to sell for $128 (USD) per barrel. How do we make up the difference? Is it by producing more?

Do we have the capacity to produce more to make up the difference? We have no choice than to go back to the foundation which is agriculture.

To bring about the required turnaround, he said that the firm has engaged top supply chains in Europe, as about 60% of the agro-

allied produce shall be exported to the European market; “get farmers through their respective corporative societies for training on how and get certified on the supply chain processes such as the kind of pesticides to use. Through that, they can be guaranteed three year of supply”.

He further stressed on the need for establishing purpose-driven cargo facilities, strategically built around passenger airports to attract and sustain airlines’ interest in the business.

He urged the Federal Government on the auspicious provision of airfreight subsidy in the agricultural sector for rapid growth of Agricultural sector and aids the ailing economy.

According to him, under the platform, over 20 million jobs are set to be created on the provision of $0.50 (N100.00) per kilogram of agricultural produce for airfreight transportation.

“This is an avenue to brining all

participants together to integrate their individual roles in this sector.

ABX World strategy is to generate over 50,000 tons of agricultural produce annually for export, while targeting produce such as pumpkin leave, fresh ginger and garlic, white and red sweet potatoes, washed bitter leaf, etc.”

“It is going to be a very painful task and journey that will take a lot of time and hard work, because the attitudes of some government officials are discouraging the system from moving forward. But the bottom line is that we are no longer talking about classroom theories.

Our goal is to champion agro-allied export in Nigeria. We don’t want to lead, because we are already leading,” he added.

He lamented that whereas Nigeria’s agricultural produce are in high demands at the European markets and world over, however, keeping to quality has been the bane of farmers usually orchestrated by unprofessional middle-men.

How courier firm ABX World, others championing Agro-Allied worth US$52.2bn annually

A

BX WORLD (NIGERIA), a Nigerian, globally recognized courier/cargo firm, in collaboration with Arik Air and Skyway Aviation Grand Handling Company (SAHCOL) as cargo airline and process handling company, are etching to repositioning Nigeria’s agro-allied products exports to markets across Europe and the rest of the world.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Office of ABX World Nigeria, Captain John Okakpu, described the revolutionary project as one that will leapfrog the agricultural sector in the country while boosting the supply chain involving transportation, logistics, aviation, packaging, among others; in a bid to creating jobs for the teaming youths.

Capt. Okakpu said that both Arik Air and SAHCOL are EU certified with ACC3 and RA3 certifications respectively; such an evidence of the acceptability of EU Governments to rely on the

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Page

Pension/Insurance

AXA Mansard gross premium dips by 8%

A

L-R: President. A3 Foundation, Dr. Aisha Audu-Emeje, Director General, National Information technology Development Agency (NITDA), Engineer Peter Olu Jack, and Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, during the opening of 2015 e–Nigeria and Afritex conference, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Insurance operators urged to revamp sector From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

W

est African insurance operators have been urged to revive the sector in spite all odds.

Speaking at the annual educational conference of the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) held in Banjul, the Governor Amadou Colley of the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG), said an African insurance renaissance is possible, but only if the aspirations of the insurance practitioners are not circumscribed by the old excuses.

Excuses of the industry’s lacklustre performance, such as lack of awareness attributed to illiteracy and religious beliefs interfering with sales should be no more, he charged.

“Africans are becoming more literate and many know the advantages of insurance.And religion is no barrier either.The success of Takaful Insurance debunks the notion of religion being an obstacle,” Governor Colley said in a statement read on his behalf by the first deputy governor, Basiru Njai.

“True, we cannot change things overnight, but we can honestly resolve to do what must be done while setting off in a new direction that we seek for Africa,” he added.

Despite progress in so many fronts, Africa’s institutional drivers of long-term growth, especially insurance, are

underdeveloped.

Insurance penetration in Africa remains low with several countries at less than 1 per cent.

Statistics has it that only seven African countries have a penetration rate exceeding 2 per cent.Inaddition, spending on insurance by Africans averaged US$65 compared to the global average of US$627 in 2010.

The Central Bank Governor said no country has ever marched out of poverty without a strong indigenous private sector.

“The logic is simple.If we do not invest in Africa, others would hesitate to do so,” he said.

“They would want to see our success stories before they invest.

We could and must transform the insurance industry.Not alone, but we would lead and others would follow.”

Governor Colley noted that although the insurance industry is full of promise in Africa, the industry should and must not be developed using existing approaches.

“Given the embryonic state of insurance in Africa, we have no choice but to leapfrog the branchbased age using technology, especially mobile technology,” he said.

“We also have to do everything possible to bury the seemingly entrenched perception in some quarters that the industry is good at collecting premiums and poor at paying claims.”

WAICA president Ivan

Avereyireh said it was time for West Africa to build stronger insurance institutions from within.

SA Insurance pays N1.5bn claims, earns ‘BBB’ rating Standard Alliance Insurance Plc, one of the nation’s leading underwriting companies said that it paid a consolidated claims amounting to N1.5 billion in its nine months’operations in 2015 just as it has received a ‘BBB’ rating from the South Africabased Global Credit Rating (GCR) in recognition of its ability to settle verified claims promptly.

A breakdown of the above consolidated sum indicates that Standard Alliance Insurance Plc was responsible for a total of N801.1 million claims while the balance of N714.2m was paid out by its life subsidiary, Standard Alliance Life Assurance Ltd. The claims which were paid out between January and end of September this year to affected policyholders spread across fire and special peril, aviation, marine, Motor, oil and energy, general accident, bond and engineering classes of general insurance as well as the group and individual life policies.

The company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Nelson Egboboh, who disclosed this during a chat with our reporter over the weekend explained further said that a total consolidated sum of N2 billion was paid out by the company

and its life subsidiary as claims to affected general and life policyholders during the same period in 2014.

He explained that the company’s commitment to settle genuine claims to the tune of N1.5 billion despite the pervasive economic hard times businesses were experiencing was in keeping faith with the organisation’s renewed commitment towards settling claims to affected policyholders, noting further that the company recognizes that the best tool to win and retain customers was its good records of a sound claims administration.

Meanwhile, Global Credit Rating, a South Africa-based rating body, has rated Standard Alliance Insurance Plc “BBB” in recognition of its claims paying ability.

Passing a remark in its conclusive report released in October, the rating body observed that the general business underwriting company’s “gross claims rose slightly during the review year, underpinned by the rise in volume of business written,” adding that “although a notable increase was reflected in the oil and gas class, management confirmed that those are related to claims incurred in prior year.”

He further observed that “the insurer made increased provisioning across all classes of business which saw the net claims rise by 12% to N1.2bn in 2014 financial year.”

XA Mansard Insurance Plc. has recorded depreciation in gross premium in its unaudited financial results, for the period ended September 30, 2015, as it dropped by eight per cent.

The company said its written premium was N13.50 billion down from N14.75 billion as at September 2014 while net premium income of N7.31billion was up by 12 percent from N6.55 billion as at September 2014 The insurance firm reported that its Investment and Other Income recorded a 55 percent rise from N2.06 billion to N3.20 billion in September 2014 with operating expenses of N3.60bn,indicated a 18 percent rise from N3.04 billion as at September 2014 Profit before Tax of N1.72 billion showed a 28 percent rise from N1.35bn recorded in September 2014 while Profit after Tax of N1.5 billion was up 32 percent from N1.14bn as at September 2014 The company’s total assets grew by 13 percent from N44.89 billion in December 2014 to N50.59 billion while Insurance Liabilities was up 21 percent to N13.67bn from N11.29 billion in December 2014 Commenting on the result, Mrs. Rashidat Adebisi, the Chief Financial Officer said “In the quarter under review, Profit Before Tax grew by 28%, this was driven by a 55% growth in investment & other income and a 3% decline in underwriting expense.

However, Gross Premium Written declined by 8%, this was caused by the nonrenewal/delay of certain transactions as a result of the prevailing macro-economic uncertainties.

Looking forward, we maintain a positive outlook as the new administration begins to issue polices that would give the economy a positive direction.”

Commenting also on the Company’s integration with the AXA Group, Mr. Tosin Runsewe, the Chief Client Officer, said “In the quarter, we upgraded our brand to align with AXA Group (the No. 1 Insurance brand globally according to Interbrand).

Our services and processes are being upgraded to ensure all our customers receive best value.”

Page 22

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

KADUNA STATE UNIVERSITY Tafawa Balewa Way, Kaduna INVITATION FOR SUBMISSION OF TECHNICAL BIDS IN RESPECT OF 2015 SPECIAL INTERVENTION PROJECTS A. INTRODUCTION Kaduna State University intends to utilize its 2015 TETFUND Special Interventions (SIP) in the procurement of works and goods as under: Lot 1: Procurement and Installation of Hospital Equipment for Clinical Teaching; Lot 2: Construction of a 2-Storey Sterilization Building for Medical Teaching; Lot 3: Construction of 2-Storey Building for Kitchen and Laundry for Medical Student’s Hostel; Lot 4: Construction of 2-Storey Building comprising Classrooms, Offices and Toilets for Medical Student’s Training; Lot 5: Construction of a 1-Storey Building for Medical Ward for Clinical Training at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital with External Works; Lot 6: Upgrading of Primary Health Care Centre at Gwagwada for Clinical Teaching.

Lot 7: Construction and Equipment of Sick Bay at Kafanchan Campus B. PREQUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS Reputable and interested Contractors/Vendors wishing to undertake the procurements are to indicate their intention by submitting Technical Bid documents in the following order: (i) Evidence of Incorporation/Registration with Corporate Affairs Commission (C.A.C); (ii) Evidence of current Tax Clearance for the last three (3) years; (iii) Certified audited account for the last three (3) years; (iv) Verifiable evidence of similar jobs successfully executed; (v) Experience and technical capabilities of the company including key staff and qualifications; (vi) Evidence of financial capability/support and reference from a recognized Financial Institution/Bank; (vii) Evidence of VAT registration and remittance in the last three (3) years; (viii)Evidence of compliance with provision of the Pension Reform Act, 2004 as evidenced by a Current Certificate issued by PENCOM; (ix) Evidence of compliance with provision of the Industrial Training Fund Act, 2011, Section 6.

C. GENERAL INFORMATION i. Interested bidders are to purchase documents for the Lots of their interest at a non-refundable fee of N20, 000.00 only and collect the documents at the office of the Director Physical Planning and Development ii. Submission is to be made in sealed envelope clearly marked ‘TECHNICAL BID’ indicating the Lot No. under submission. iii. The Financial Documents should also be submitted in a separate sealed envelope marked “FINANCIAL BIDS” also indicating the Lot No. under submission iv. Bid is to be enclosed in a single envelope properly addressed and submitted to the Secretary, Tenders Committee in the office of the Registrar, Kaduna State University, Tafawa Balewa Way, Kaduna on or before Thursday December 17th, 2015. Submission closes by 11.00am same day and bid opening commences immediately after at the Senate Chamber of the University. v. Only prequalified respondents will have their financial bids opened. vi. This is only an invitation for solicitation to submit and does not bear any financial undertaking on the part of the University. vii. All enquiries should be directed to the office of the Director, Physical Planning & Development, Kaduna State University. viii. The University reserves the right to make detailed search on documents submitted.

SIGNED REGISTRAR

Business

World Panel, Vodacom sign pact for Mobile Electricity Solution

By Etuka Sunday with agency report

W

orld Panel Inc. yesterday signed agreement with Vodacom for Mobile Electricity Solution.

World Panel which showcased its latest products at AfricaCom, announced a deal with Vodacom as a key retail partner to sell its new SunStream in select stores.

APO reports that the Executives from both companies were on the floor of the Cape Town tradeshow to unveil the products that directly connect mobile phones to a clean and reliable energy source.

World Panel products are the first to stream electricity from the sun directly into mobile devices and they require no chipsets or PC boards. The SunStream and SunStream Plus™ charge mobile phones at or near the same speed as a wall plug.

SunStream products have been built to international standards using industrial grade materials, allowing them to withstand harsh conditions and can even charge while submerged in water.

“I originally visited Africa with a solar prototype for household purposes and was consistently asked by residents whether it could charge their phones. I’ve returned with a product that is essential for anyone who owns a mobile phone but who has limited access to dependable energy sources,” said World Panel CEO John Anderson.

Anderson said, “We are honored that Vodacom has joined us as a retail partner and are looking forward to reports on how the SunStream is changing lives and delivering energy independence across the African continent.”

Speaking on behalf of Vodacom, Suraya Hamdulay, Executive Head for Vodacom Sustainability said: “World Panel created a buzz at AfricaCom two years ago and we are proud to carry the SunStream products in our South Africa stores.”

“This is a game changer for many because mobile phone users from every walk of life can now benefit from reliable and portable access to renewable electricity,” Hamdulay said.

World Panel secured

a U.S.A. Utility Patent earlier this year on the core technology inside the SunStream™ product line and now holds 20 design patents worldwide, including those in India, Japan, Europe and China. All SunStream products are made in the U.S.A. at World Panel’s new production facility in Colorado with capabilities to scale up to 10 million units annually.

The World Panel SunStream is built to provide the highest performance in the most challenging real world conditions. It is the first technology in the world that combines USB charging standards with international solar panel standards.

It is water submersible, even continuing to operate while under water. Drop tested up to two meters, it is made with a shatterproof glass face and a polymer case which is UV stable and remains cool to the touch in extreme heat. The patented technology circumvents chipsets and PC boards which are notorious for breaking on typical solar charging devices. SunStream carries a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of R199.

31 ships laden with petroleum products, foods to arrive Lagos Ports

T

hirty one ships laden with petrol, food items and other goods are expected to arrive Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports in Lagos from Nov. 17 to Nov. 30. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) stated this in its daily publication `Shipping Position’, a copy of which was made available

to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

NPA said that the expected ships contained petrol, general cargo, containers, bulk malt, steel products, buck wheat, rice and crude palm olein.

The document stated that nine other ships had arrived

the ports, waiting to berth with rice, petrol, butane, diesel and base oil.

NAN reports that 18 other ships are at the ports discharging buck wheat, crude palm olein, bulk fertiliser, bulk gypsum, soda ash, containers, bulk sugar, petrol, diesel, bulk gas and kerosene. (NAN)

engage in their Corporate Social Responsibilities in their host communities. ``Specifically, I am not aware of these isolated cases of complaints that Chinese companies are not obeying Nigerian Labour laws. ``We have always reminded our companies that they should not put profit above the well being and interest of Nigerians working with them,’’ he said.

Gu also said that it was imperative for the companies to obey Nigerian laws, just as the Chinese government would want foreign companies and nationals in China to obey its laws.

The ambassador noted that the existing relationship between Chinese and Nigerians

was being hampered by language, culture and proper understanding of themselves.

Gu said that the Chinese government was working hard at eradicating the current challenges in the people-to-people interaction between Chinese and Nigerians. ``Let me say that there is today much of Chinese companies presence across Nigeria which shows the existing relationship between China and Nigeria. ``Chinese companies are today providing so much job opportunities to Nigerians in different parts of Nigeria. ``Let me say that China’s policy for Africa is that of openness, transparency, friendliness and win-win cooperation,’’ he said. (NAN)

China to sanction companies for disobeying Nigerian laws

T

he Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Amb. Gu Xiaojie, on Tuesday said that the Chinese government would henceforth sanction any Chinese company that would disobey Nigeria’s local content and labour laws.

Gu made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos following complaints by some Nigerians that the companies were not obeying Nigerian labour laws.

The Envoy, however, said that he was yet to get any report from relevant Nigerian government authorities of such companies that were violating the laws. ``As an Embassy, we have always urged our companies in Nigeria to be law-abiding, as well as

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

PAGE 23

Stock Watch: Tuesday, November 17, 2015 Company

7UP

Previous Closing Price

185.06

184.5

Opening Price

184.5

High

Low

184.5

Close

184.5

Change

Trades

-0.56 25

Volume

Value

Company

Previous Closing Price

Opening Price

High

Low

Close

Change

Trades

Volume

Value

233,796

1.26 - - - 1.26 5 26,078 32,955.18 43,137,315.02 MAYBAKER

ABBEYBDS 1.25 - - - 1.25 0 - -

MBENEFIT 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

ABCTRANS 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 4 505,000 252,500.00

MCNICHOLS 1.2 - - -

ACADEMY 0.59 - - - 0.59 0 - -

1.2

ACCESS

MOBIL 138.99 - - - 138.99 20 6,378 854,115.18

4.46

4.46

4.64

4.46

4.5

0.04 321

28,060,764

126,589,999.78

5

154,383 176,896.62

ADSWITCH 1.63 - - - 1.63 0 - -

MORISON 1.73 - - - 1.73 0 - -

AFRIK 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

MRS 49.66 - - - 49.66 1 500 23,590.00

AFRINSURE 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

MTECH 0.91 - - - 0.91 0 - -

0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - AFRIPRUD 2.65 2.7 2.7 2.61 2.61 -0.04 35 553,581 1,479,349.55 MTI AFROMEDIA 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 1 550,000 275,000.00

MULTITREX 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

AFRPAINTS 2.59 - - - 2.59 0 - -

MULTIVERSE 0.5 - - -

AGLEVENT 1.02 0.97 -

0.5

-

1.02

8 48,971 46,330.44

1

10,000 5,000.00

AIICO 0.9 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.91 0.01 18 983,972 898,207.23

NAHCO 4.38 4.17 4.17 4.17 4.17 -0.21 19 203,175 850,145.97

AIRSERVICE 1.91 - - - 1.91 3 1,505 2,918.35

NASCON 7.18 7.5 7.3 7.16 7.3 0.12 26 1,031,170 7,479,398.60

ALEX 9.84 - - - 9.84 0 - -

NB 135 135.2 135.2 129.51 129.51

ALUMACO 7.75 - - - 7.75 1 200 1,474.00

-5.49

ANINO 0.25 - - - 0.25 0 - -

NCR 11.02 - - - 11.02 0 - -

105

1,220,085 161,842,702.19

ARBICO 5.04 - - - 5.04 0 - -

NEIMETH 1.03 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.98 -0.05 6

ASHAKACEM 22.5 - - -

NEM 0.69 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.01 16 1,774,600 1,241,859.00

22.5

16

NESF 552.2 - - - 552.2 0 - -

55,698 1,233,876.58

ASOSAVINGS 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

NESTLE 814

822.99 822.99 822.99 822.99

AUSTINLAZ 2.09 - - - 2.09 0 - -

8.99

115,282 94,401,035.72

AVONCROWN 1.52 - - -

NIG-GERMAN 4.91 - - -

1.52

4.91

0 -

126,800 124,264.00

-

BECOPETRO 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

73

0

-

-

NIGERINS 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

7.46 - - - 7.46 0 - BERGER 9.6 9.61 9.61 9.61 9.61 0.01 9 379,696 3,674,398.56 NIGROPES BETAGLAS 48.51 - - - 48.51 0 - -

NNFM 8.99 - - - 8.99 0 - -

BOCGAS 4.18 - - - 4.18 0 - -

NPFMCRFBK

0.98 0.98 0.98 0.98

0 6 174,000 170,510.00 CADBURY 20.1 - - - 20.1 15 82,240 1,655,764.64 0.98 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - CAP 38 39 39 39 39 1 16 166,666 6,492,031.87 NSLTECH CAPHOTEL 4.07 - - - 4.07 0 - -

OANDO 8.5 8.92 8.92 8.48 8.48

CAPOIL 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

-0.02

CAVERTON 2.63 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 -0.13 7 145,913 366,122.50

OKOMUOIL 28.82 - - - 28.82 21 108,772 3,056,214.60

364

7,671,197 65,761,034.51

CCNN 8.73 9.16 -

-

8.73

7 51,560 458,087.60

OMATEK 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

CHAMPION 4.17 4.17 -

-

4.17

11 146,282 587,170.36

OMOSAVBNK 0.92 - - -

CHAMS 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

0.92

CHELLARAM 3.76 - - -

PAINTCOM 1.14 - - - 1.14 0 - -

3.76

PHARMDEKO 2.14 - - -

0 -

-

0

-

CILEASING 0.5 - - - 0.5 2 4,000 2,000.00

2.14

CONOIL 27.41 26.04 -

PORTPAINT 3.53 - - - 3.53 0 - -

-

27.41

8

13,350 330,799.00

1

-

5,000 10,850.00

CONTINSURE

1.06 1.01 1.06 1.01

PREMBREW 2.95 - - - 2.95 0 - -

1.06

11

PREMPAINTS 10.93 - - -

0

3,520,635 3,661,166.09

CORNERST 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

10.93

COSTAIN 0.5 - - - 0.5 1 5,000 2,500.00

PRESCO 30.5 - - - 30.5 6 32,910 1,045,950.40

0

-

-

COURTVILLE 0.5 - - -

PRESTIGE 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

0.5 0 - -

PZ 25.5 25 25 25 25

CUSTODYINS 4.1 - - -

-0.5

4.1

RAKUNITY 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

6

16,101 64,845.03

33

567,539 14,195,538.05

CUTIX 1.45 - - - 1.45 1 26,666 38,665.70

REDSTAREX 4.2 - - - 4.2 2 19,785 83,097.00

CWG 2.67 - - - 2.67 0 - -

REGALINS 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

DAARCOMM 0.5 - - - 0.5 1 4,000 2,000.00

RESORTSAL 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 1 100,000 50,000.00

DANGCEM 162 163 163 163 163

ROADS 6.6 - - - 6.6 0 - -

156,759 25,532,904.96

ROKANA 0.6 - - - 0.6 0 - -

DANGFLOUR 2.31 - - -

ROYALEX 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

1

33

RTBRISCOE 0.5 - - - 0.5 3 78,164 39,082.00

2.31

16

DANGSUGAR

6.52 6.32 6.51 6.32

6.51

-0.01 26

31,484 75,328.68

SCOA 4.16 - - - 4.16 0 - SEPLAT 230.04 225 225 225 225

343,221 2,210,542.55

DEAPCAP 0.58 - - - 0.58 0 - -

-5.04 20

77,862 17,490,790.00

103.24 - - - 103.24 0 - DIAMONDBNK 2.87 2.8 2.8 2.74 2.74 -0.13 43 1,315,800 3,645,250.00 SIMCAPVAL IPWA 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

SKYEBANK 1.9 1.9 1.99 1.9 1.99 0.09 75 2,020,105 3,920,083.45

JAPAULOIL 0.5 - - - 0.5 1 10,000 5,000.00

SKYESHELT 100 - - - 100 0 - -

JBERGER 39.5 - - - 39.5 4 1,180 44,879.00

SMURFIT 0.98 - - - 0.98 0 - -MAY-

JOHNHOLT 0.96 - - - 0.96 0 - -

BAKER 1.26 - - - 1.26 5 26,078 32,955.18

JOSBREW 1.51 - - - 1.51 0 - -

MBENEFIT 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

JULI 1.75 - - - 1.75 0 - -

MCNICHOLS 1.2 - - - 1.2 5 154,383 176,896.62

LASACO 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0 1 300,000 150,000.00

MOBIL 138.99 - - - 138.99 20 6,378 854,115.18

LAWUNION 0.54 0.53 0.53 0.52 0.52 -0.02 14 910,610 481,548.30

MORISON 1.73 - - - 1.73 0 - -

LEARNAFRCA

0.68 0.65 0.65 0.65 0.65 -0.03 10 1,074,871 699,416.15

LENNARDS 3.15 - - - 3.15 0 - -

MRS 49.66 - - - 49.66 1 500 23,590.00 MTECH 0.91 - - - 0.91 0 - -

LINKASSURE 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

MTI 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

LIVESTOCK 1.4 1.41 1.41 1.41 1.41 0.01 9 134,400 192,410.51

MULTITREX 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

Top Gainers Company

Previous Closing Price

Opening Price

High

Top Losers Low

Close

Change

Trades

Volume

Value

Company

Previous Closing Price

Opening Price

High

Low

Close

Change

Trades

Volume

Value

ALUMACO 7.75 - - - 7.75 1 200 1,474.00

MULTITREX 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

FORTISMFB 5.42 - - - 5.42 0 - -

NNFM 8.99 - - - 8.99 0 - -

UNHOMES 5.23 - - - 5.23 1 3,750 18,637.50

MCNICHOLS 1.2 - - - 1.2 5 154,383 176,896.62

INFINITY 1.42 - - - 1.42 0 - -

UTC 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

OMOSAVBNK 0.92 - - - 0.92 0 - -

UNIONDICON 11.84 - - - 11.84 0 - -

MULTIVERSE 0.5 - - - 0.5 1 10,000 5,000.00

MANDRID 5.35 - - - 5.35 0 - -

ASOSAVINGS 0.5 - - - 0.5 0 - -

CADBURY 20.1 - - - 20.1 15 82,240 1,655,764.64

ABBEYBDS 1.25 - - - 1.25 0 - -

JULI 1.75 - - - 1.75 0 - -

Peoples Daily, Wednesday, NOVEMber 18, 2015

PAGE 24

PAGE 25

Special Report

Why ISIS will eventually fail

W

ith each attack come millions of words. Politicians, journalists and witnesses express their shock and their determination to hold tight to the values of openness, tolerance and democracy.

But soon after these initial reactions, bewilderment sets in. What do the jihadists want? Why are they so brutal, as they were in Paris? How can they be stopped? How long can they endure?

The West’s dilemmas are acute. But the jihadists also have things to worry about.

Brutality alienates The mass movement of Syrian refugees tells its own story. While a few thousand alienated young men and women have headed east to Syria, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have headed west to Europe.

In the months that followed the fall of Mosul, there were signs the socalled Islamic State (IS) had learnt an important lesson about how to govern.

It knew the Taliban administrations in Afghanistan and small pockets of Pakistan had failed to sustain popular support.

In both countries, people had hoped the Taliban could offer an alternative to the existing, corrupt

Large parts of Sinjar were left destroyed and empty

Syrian refugees have been heading to Europe in vast numbers

political order.

But when they gained power, the Taliban’s brutality alienated its support base.

Take the issue of administering justice.

Exasperated by the

dysfunctional state judicial system, people wanted to believe in the Taliban’s promises of speedy justice.

But as often as not, the new religious courts consisted of ill-educated clerics handing down capricious verdicts.

Al-Shabab controls most of southern Somalia and is estimated to have up to 9,000 fighters

There were signs when Islamic State started taking territory in Syria, it tried to avoid such mistakes.

Local level administrators reassured traders they would be able to run their businesses in a safe and

secure environment.

But, while first-hand accounts are few and far between, the evidence suggests IS has failed to follow through on such promises.

Furthermore, its leaders

are so ill-educated, they will never be able to govern well enough to provide people with jobs.

When the Iraqi town of Sinjar was recently retaken by Western-backed Kurdish forces, there was

no-one living there. Having killed or terrified Sinjar’s residents, IS had ended up running a ghost town.

Flee or keep your head down There are other reasons to believe IS will eventually

fail.

Its central idea - those who do not agree with its religious ideas are worthy of death - is rejected by virtually everyone, including most Muslims.

For members of a

France is marking a third day of national mourning, following Friday night’s attacks on a concert hall, bars, restaurants and outside the Stade de France

minority seeing IS forces heading in their direction, it means the only option is to flee. For Sunni Muslims, it is a case of keeping your head down, attending prayers and obeying all the IS rules regarding dress, beards and other customs.

But right now, the victories just keep coming at an astonishing rate. Before 9/11, advocates of jihadist violence were little-known, irrelevant figures: misfits on the margin, rejected by their own societies and ignored by the West. How different it looks today.

The Americans have been humbled in Iraq and Afghanistan. The caliphate has been established. AlShabab in Somalia and Boko Haram in Nigeria have attracted tens of thousands of fighters. And all the while, the West looks on, transfixed, unsure what is coming next.

Of course, the jihadists have had setbacks. Osama Bin Laden was killed.

Some drone strikes have found their mark. The West’s proxy forces in Iraq and Syria have on a few occasions forced IS to

relinquish territory.

But for the most part, the defeats have been Western ones. A single week can now bring hundreds of deaths.

‘Us or them?’

To maintain the flow of recruits in the long term, the jihadists need to make Muslims feel more vulnerable and alienated in Western societies.

And in countries such as the UK, this objective is being achieved.

Largely unnoticed by the national media, intercommunal tensions are deepening at the local level.

Where once the BNP stood alone, there are now a plethora of British - or more often English - nationalist groups resorting to street power.

Each protest makes it easier for the jihadist recruiters to press home the question: “Who are you with - us or them?”

The jihadists have another, more important, objective: to draw Western armies back to the Middle East.

Only then, will they be able to rally mainstream Arab support by portraying

foreign troops as imperialists determined to occupy Muslim lands.

Western governments will then be faced with the choice so concisely described by an al-Qaeda magazine headline in 2009: “Disastrous occupation or humiliating withdrawal?”

Each attack on a Western city increases the pressure to transform the air campaign against IS into a ground war. And everyone knows another major attack on US soil would almost guarantee the American military walking into IS’s trap.

Regimes that terrify their subjects can persist for long periods of time. But history, all the way from the Soviet Union to Cambodia, suggests eventually they collapse.

The question for those now living in the caliphate - and for Westerners who want to go out for a drink on a Friday evening - is: “How long will it take?

Years or decades?”

And in the meantime, the jihadists’ strategists count their victories.

Source: BBC

Page 26

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Property

Land Tussle: Court adjourns Gen. Lekwot case, till 10th December

From Femi Oyelola , Kaduna

A

High Court Judge sitting in Kaduna had adjourned to 10th of December 2015 for the presentation of final address by

both the counsel to the Defendants and Plaintiff in a matter of land tussle involving the former military administrator of Rivers state Gen. Zamani Lekwot and 224 farmers. The presiding Judge,

Justice Hannatu Balogun made the adjournment after over ruling an application filed before her by 224 farmers of Rijana village in Chukun Local government Area of the state

seeking the court to transfer the case to Chief Justice of the State, Justice Tanimu Zailani for reassignment of their case between General Zamani Lekwot rtd to another court as they alleged that justice would not be done to them.

The counsel to the Defendants/ Applicants, Barrister Mahdi Suraj while speaking to press men, said “the court had earlier fixed 13th November 2015 for ruling between the 224 farmers who are my clients and Zamani Lekwot who is the

Plaintiff/ Respondent.

“The court has today over ruled my clients’ application and has fixed 10th of December 2015 for the adoption of Final Written Address and has dismissed the farmers claims that justice would not be done to them if the Court continue the hearing of the case,” he said.

Barrister Y.J. Haruna who is the counsel to the Plaintiff/ Respondent, said, “It is the court that will decide after the presentation of the final written address and we are satisfied with the said trail in this court.”

Land dispute: Enugu families seek IG intervention

T Elegant property to behold

Housing advocacy group sets Agenda for Fashola

M

r Festus Adebayo, a housing expert, described the merger of the Federal Ministries of Power, Works and Housing as a good development, saying it was aimed at cutting the cost of governance.

Adebayo, who is the president of Housing Agenda Round Table, made the observation while speaking with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

“It is a welcome idea; the merger of the ministries of power, works and housing is by all means a good development. “But the government should remember the huge cost of running these ministries and use their merger as a pragmatic means of cutting cost.

“The three ministries are related and with the kind of personality that President Muhammadu Buhari puts in charge, you can be rest assured of the overall results,’’ he said. Adebayo, however, urged the new Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, to formulate a policy that would be conducive for the increased use of solar power in the Federal Government’s efforts to generate and provide electricity for the citizens. “He should exploit every available opportunity to increase power generation, as this will aid the survival of manufacturing companies and businesses,’’ he said.

In the area of roads, Adebayo advised the minister to make tangible efforts to rehabilitate all the federal roads across the country.

“He should also support the

development of metro lines, including community bus routes and monorail systems, for inter-city and intra-city transportation “Mr Fashola should also consider the reintroduction of toll gates on major highways across the country to facilitate the roads’ maintenance,’’ he said.

On housing, Adebayo urged the new minister to make pragmatic efforts to tackle the country’s housing deficit, which was estimated to be over 17 million units, by considering existing roadmaps for housing delivery.

The housing expert also urged the minister to scrutinise the National Housing Policy and the Vision 20:2020 documents for specific programmes that could actualise the goals of government’s housing delivery strategies.

Adebayo, however, underscored the need to reposition the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and use it to spearhead efforts to develop and provide social housing programmes.

“The minister should strengthen the Public-Private Partnership scheme of the ministry on housing and use it to deliver the one million houses that were promised in the APC manifesto.

“He should also initiate a move to rekindle the citizens’ interest in mortgage schemes, while recapitalising the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and support the operations of Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Plc “He should encourage increased government’s investments in housing projects, with a view to

using housing to drive the economy.

He charged Fashola to initiate a move to the presidency that will take a political decision to reduce the interest rate for estate development and mortgage loans from commercial banks for estate developers and prospective Home owners, “The minister should look into the Land Use Act and other laws which have constituted a barrier to housing development efforts in Nigeria,’’ he said.

Besides, Adebayo urged the minister to spur the ministry to initiate the training of artisans, construction workers as part of designed efforts to revamp the housing sub-sector and create employment for the youths.

He particularly urged Fashola to increase government’s patronage of indigenous construction companies so as to promote the companies’ development and create additional employment opportunities for the citizens.

“He should also look into how pension funds and unclaimed dividends can be used to finance infrastructure, and social housing.

“However, for the new minister to achieve these lofty goals, he must devise a way to work harmoniously with the professionals/ officials of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing ‘’ he added.

Adebayo, who also is the convener of annual Abuja Housing Show calls on all professionals and advocacy groups in the housing and power sector to support Fashola for a better infrastructural development in Nigeria. (NAN)

he Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, has been asked to intervene in a protracted, age-long land dispute between two families in Enugu State.

The dispute is between the Umunenshi and Umuewoukwu families, both of Amechi-Uwani in the Enugu South Local Government Area of the state.

Investigations revealed that since the 1970s, the two families have been fighting over the ownership of the large expanse of land, known as Egbrigba, Ugwuonyia land, which lies a few kilometres away from the state capital.

It was equally learnt that a 1996 Supreme Court judgment was not able to resolve the vicious dispute, which turned deadly when one Chinedu Nnaji, of the Umunenshi clan, died during a fracas on the plot of land, on December 14, 2014.

Nnaji’s death is at the heart of fresh controversy in the land dispute, over which both families are asking the IGP to intervene.

Both families have different accounts of how the deceased, 35, died.

According to the lawyer of the Umunenshi family, Barrister Sunday Anyanwu, Nnaji was ambushed and killed while inspecting the disputed land in company with his kinsmen.

According to Anyanwu, survivors and an eyewitness had identified the assailants as members of the opposing Umuewoukwu kindred.

The Umunenshi family are insisting that their brother was “beaten to death with sticks and other objects” by the Umuewoukwus.

It was gathered that some members of the Umuewoukwu kindred were arrested over Nnaji’s death, before they were eventually released, following the report of a medical autopsy carried out by the police, which said the deceased died as a result of cardiac arrest.

Meanwhile, Anyanwu has urged the IGP to ask the Enugu police commissioner to address the matter in order to avert a breakdown of law and order”. “We do not wish or hope for a day our people will be forced to take the laws into their own hands because certain actors in police uniform decided to be partial and political. “Police prosecutors came all the way from Abuja to arraign suspects in a murder case only for a state commissioner of police who should be facilitating their job, now the one obstructing it,” Anyanwu said.

Also, the Umuewoukwu families, who have accused the

Umunenshi family of plotting to “exterminate” them and “inherit” their land, have equally petitioned the IGP over what they described as incessant harassment, intimidation, exploitation and extortion of their members, who are suspects in Nnaji’s murder, by one ASP. Umuewoukwu family lawyer, Louis Onyia, who also briefed journalists on the matter, said the ASP “cashed in” on petitions sent to the IGP by the Umunenshi family to “torment, hoodwink, harass and exploit and extort money” from the suspects.

Onyia also noted that contrary to what the Umunenshi family stated, the deceased, Nnaji “died while running away with other members of the gang from police arrest and prosecution, shortly after attacking and attempting to set ablaze the ancestral home” of two members of the Umuewoukwu family, Afamefuna Ugwu and Chijioke Ugwu. He added that before Nnaji’s death could be investigated, the Umunenshi family forwarded a petition to the IGP, alleging that their kinsman was killed by the suspects.

However, according to him, the report of an autopsy conducted by the police absolved his clients.

“It is not fortuitous that the report of the medical autopsy conducted on 9/01/2015 by the police pathologist, DCP (Dr) Wilson Akhiwu, Force/ Chief Consultant Pathologist, in the full glare of both parties, showed clearly that Chinedu Nnaji died of myocardial inaction following persistent systemic hypertension contrary to the earlier allegation by Mr. Sunday Anyanwu that the said Chinedu Nnaji “was beaten to death with sticks and other objects”.

Onyia, in a petition to the IGP, alleged that an ASP started harassing his clients around August or September, when the police officer informed the suspects that the case, which was closed after the autopsy report was made public, had been re-opened by a new, unnamed Commissioner of Police in the Homicide/CID, Force Headquarters.

“It is our clients’ reverent prayer that you use your good offices to order for full investigation into this matter and the role currently being played by the ASP,” Onyia urged the IGP in the petition.

The lawyer also asked the IGP to order the ASP to release his clients’ sureties, who are being detained in Enugu, and return back to Abuja, “pending the outcome of the full investigation”.

Page 27

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Property

Mortgage Banking CEOs hold annual retreat in Lagos Mashe Umaru Gwamna

T

he 11th sub-sector Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN), Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) 2015 annual retreat is set to hold in Lagos.

The three-day retreat scheduled

at the Epe Resort, Opposite Lagos State Driving Institution, EpeItokin Road, with the Theme: “Sustainability of the Mortgage/ Housing Sub-Sector: Critical Issues, Impediments, Prospects and Potentials”.

In a statement by the association noted that the programme is in

tandem with their culture, “the main motive for the Association and its Constituent Member-Mortgage Banks and Brokerage Companies to proactively address issues that would strengthen the capacity and capability to deliver on out mandates, with a view to satisfying the yearnings of our numerous

Customers and Stakeholders.”

“And in an operating environment in which the conditions are gradually emerging to become favorable for our business, it behooves on us to seek viable routes towards achieving our objectives and this has made it imperative for us to re-kindle our collaboration, at

least once annually, to forge ahead as a composite team and discuss issues that are germane to our development strides.”

Speakers at the programme include the Managing Director/ CEO, NDIC, Umaru Ibrahim and Managing Director/CEO, NMRC, Prof. Charles Inyangete.

Property of the Week

Guide to Land acquisition in FCT Abuja

L

and acquisition in Abuja, FCT, Nigeria, could be tedious especially when one is not a residence or when one is ignorance of the process. One can own a plot of land by direct allocation either from any of the six area councils or directly from the administration of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA). Alternatively, one could also acquire land by buying from a person who has been previously allocated by either the FCT or any of the area councils, or someone who has bought from a direct allotted.

The simplest way of land acquisition in the FCT is through purchase, where an individual or corporate body wants a piece of land for whatever purpose, and at a certain size and location, has the money to pay for it.

These tips will certainly assist a prospective buyer; if strictly adhere to make a good buy.

1. The first mistake a prospective buyer could make when looking for a suitable plot of land is to entrust the process on a friend, relative or well wishers, who knows little

to nothing about the FCT land matters. Abuja is one of the fastest growing cities in the world today.

Therefore, land acquisition is one of the most lucrative businesses in the capital city and must be handled efficiently to achieve the best result.

There are lots of land agents who could help source for and get the desire land documents which could meet the needs of the buyer without the influence of a friend, relative or brother who knows nothing about the business. Therefore, the services of a honest land agent or a land surveyor is very imperatives in acquiring a landed property in the FCT. 2. When the documents of the land in view are found, it is very important for the buyer to conduct a proper search for the documents.

Search for land documents are done either in the area council that issued the offer letter of allocation, if the land is a customary land i.e Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abaji Area Council, Bwari Area Council, Gwagwalada Area Council, Kuje Area Council or Kwali Area Council. Search for federal land

are hitherto conducted in the FCDA but now moved to the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), the agency of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) on land matters. It is important to know that when a land search is being conducted, a certain receipted fee should be paid to the searching authority, and the result of the search formally given to the person conducting the search.

This is important to establish the genuine of the names on either the offer letter of allocation or the certificate of occupancy(C of O) offered for sale. Again, either a lawyer or a land surveyor of repute could best conduct search for land document. Search for a land that is already certificated is easier than a land that has not been processed, as in offer letter of allocation, because a genuine certificated plot may not have encumbrances of location problems. However, a letter of offer of allocation may be difficult to locate, considering the fact that the data and other coordinates that may assist the location process may not be available at the time of purchase.

Therefore, it is important to engage a professional land surveyor to conduct search on the availability of the land in view before purchase.

A land surveyor will be able to determine the location of the plot and if need be, establish the beacons and the coordinates.

3. In the case of land that is already certificated, the Technical Deeds Plan (TDP) embedded in the certificate of occupancy will give the coordinate properties that will indicate to the buyer the actual size, position, access, and the adjoining plots, since the TDP is the actual representation of the plot on land in paper. Therefore, a buyer must recognise the important of the TDP or is it the Right of Occupancy (R 0f O) as it is known in the local parlance. A prospective buyer must do a good search on this part of the land document to achieve a good buy.

4. The Deeds of Assignment or Conveyance. This is the trace of history of the land transfers of ownership till date. The conveyance gives information about the true owners of the land from A to B

to C. It is important that a buyer must conduct a proper search on this document to establish the true owner of the land before payment is made. An agent could deceive a buyer by presenting a fake owner to assume the identity of the original owner, may tell the buyer that the real owner is fictitious, or may out rightly coerce the buyer to buy instantly without conducting a proper search on this aspect. Buyer must engage the services of a property lawyer to do a thorough search of the conveyance before entering into payment arrangement; otherwise, a buyer’s money may go down the drain while the land will remain where it was. A buyer must also sign a conveyance with the owner of the land when eventually the deal is done.

In conclusion, buyers must endeavour to go through all the procedures above to safeguard his/ her money to avoid losing it; after all, as I said earlier, it is your money that will go down the drain while the land remains where it was.

Source: abujalandagents

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

Motoring

Page 28

Mazda 6 comes with more striking designs in class

T

he Mazda 6 has always been a darling of car critics everywhere, yet for a multitude of reasons, it has never quite caught on with the masses. So Mazda has redoubled its efforts with the new 2014 Mazda 6, and the result is a more stylish-looking 6 that gets better fuel economy while still being roomy, practical and fun to drive.

The new Mazda 6 has one of the more striking designs in the class, and to our eyes is an easy rival to the elegant Ford Fusion. Under the sleek skin there’s a new 184-horsepower, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that provides spirited performance along with pleasantly subdued noises and an impressive 30 mpg combined fuel economy estimate. As a sign of these more fuel-efficient times, a V6 upgrade is no longer offered.

Instead, Mazda will introduce a turbocharged 2.2-liter diesel fourcylinder later in the model year that should return at least 40 mpg highway while offering stronger acceleration than the base gasoline engine.What separates the 2014 Mazda 6 from most of the pack is its sporty, involving personality.

But it’s not the only midsize sedan vying for your attention, of course.

The Nissan Altima is also one of the sportier entries in the class, while the Honda Accord offers an excellent all-around package.

The aforementioned Fusion and the Kia Optima are also worth a look if sharp styling and creature comforts are high on your priority list. Nor should you ignore a perennial sales leader like the Toyota Camry. In short, there are many other outstanding choices in the family car segment, but if owning a classy midsize sedan that’s also enjoyable to drive sounds appealing to you, the Mazda 6 is a great choice.

The 2014 Mazda 6 is a fivepassenger sedan offered in Sport, Touring and Grand Touring trim

levels.Standard features on the base manual-transmission Sport include 17-inch alloy wheels, cloth upholstery, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, air-conditioning, cruise control, full power accessories, a 60/40-split rear seat, a 3.5-inch multi-information display and a four-speaker sound system with a USB/iPod interface and an auxiliary audio jack. If equipped with the optional automatic transmission, the Sport also includes Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, a 5.8-inch touchscreen, a rearview camera and audio upgrades (voice commands, HD radio, Pandora, text-message display function and automatic 911 notification).

Stepping up to the Touring trim adds 19-inch alloy wheels, premium vinyl (leatherette) upholstery, dualzone automatic climate control, a sliding console armrest and a sixway power driver seat. An optional Touring Technology package adds keyless ignition/entry, automatic headlights, rain-sensing wipers, auto-dimming rearview and driverside mirrors, heated side mirrors, navigation, an upgraded 11-speaker Bose audio system and the Smart City collision mitigation

system.The Grand Touring includes all of the above as well as unique wheels, a rear spoiler, adaptive/bi-xenon headlights,

LED running lights, foglights, a power sunroof, leather upholstery, an eight-way power driver seat (with power lumbar support), a four-way power passenger seat, driver memory functions, heated front seats and satellite radio.

Optional for the Grand Touring is adaptive cruise control bundled with a forward collision warning system. An Advance package (late availability) includes those optional features as well as lane-departure warning, automatic high beams and an energy capture system called i-Eloop (“intelligent energy loop”) that can store energy during deceleration to a capacitor, which can then power air-conditioning, lighting and accessories for about a minute while the stop-start system shuts down the engine at a stoplight.

The 2014 Mazda 6 is powered by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 184 hp and 185 pound-feet of torque. It can be matched to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission (with shift paddles on the

steering wheel). The Grand Touring comes standard with the automatic.In Edmunds testing, an automatic-equipped Mazda 6 sprinted to 60 mph in 7.6 seconds,

making it one of the quickest four-cylinders in its class. Fuel economy estimates stand at 26 mpg city/38 mpg highway and 30 mpg combined for the automatic, with the manual-transmission numbers rating 1 mpg less across the board. Standard safety features for the Mazda 6 include antilock disc brakes, traction and stability control, front-seat side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags and active front head restraints. The Touring and Grand Touring trims additionally include blind-spot and rear cross-traffic monitoring.The Grand Touring alone has Mazda’s Smart City Brake Support, which is a collision-mitigation system that uses an infrared laser sensor at the top of the windshield to detect an imminent collision. It can automatically brake the car to a stop at low speeds if the driver doesn’t react. A separate package (late availability) for the Grand Touring bundles a forward collision-warning system (that uses radar to detect your closing distance on vehicles ahead and t h e n

provides visual and audible alerts) with a lanedeparture warning system.In Edmunds brake testing, a 6i Grand Touring came to a stop from 60 mph in 128 feet, which is a bit longer than average for the midsize sedan class.

Source: Edmunds.com

Page 29

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Arts & Culture

Lennon, Thatcher, Henry VIII star in ‘Face of Britain’

By Jeremy Gaunt

W

hat do John Lennon, Margaret Thatcher, Henry VIII and West Indian immigrants in 1956 London have in common? They are all, according to British historian Simon Schama, part of “The Face of Britain”.

Schama - known to worldwide audiences for his 15-part documentary “A History Of Britain” - has curated a small but delightfully precise exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery.

It takes a thematic approach.

Rather than starting with portraits of early Britons and heading towards the modern, the exhibition is presented in five rooms dedicated to “Power”, “Love”, “Fame”, “Self” and “People”.

This approach allows for some fascinating juxtapositions.

In “Power”, for example, Thatcher, Britain’s first woman prime minister, shares space with Henry VIII, the king who ruled England from 1509 to 1547.

Both portraits - respectively, a sitting by Rodrigo Moynihan and a painting by George Vertue after Remigius van Leemout and Hans

Holbein the Younger - tell a tale about their subjects.

Henry is portrayed with his third wife, Jane Seymour, but also with his parents Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. The message is one of legitimacy in a dynasty - the Tudors - that at the time was still fairly vulnerable.

The Thatcher portrait was apparently subject to much interference from the sitter, who was renowned for her strident views and penchant for control. The painting, as a result, is rather bland.

Elegant juxtapositions continue in the “Love” gallery, where Beatle Lennon shares the walls with George, prince of Wales, and his older, commoner mistress of circa 1784 onwards, Maria Fitzherbert.

Both have poignant stories.

The Lennon portrait - the famous photograph by Annie Leibowitz of a naked Lennon curled up on his (clothed) wife Yoko Ono - was taken just a few hours before he was assassinated in 1980.

George, meanwhile, is said to have died as King George IV in 1830 with a miniature of Fitzherbert around his neck.

“The craving to keep the ones we love close to us never goes away,”

says in an introduction to the “Love” gallery. “If they can’t be with us, having their likeness can turn absence into presence, divide distance and even defy death.”

The exhibition, befitting the nature of the gallery itself, does not limit itself to painting and photographs.

For example, pride of place in the “Fame” room - where Diana, princess of Wales, Horatio Nelson and William Shakespeare can be found - is a display of 50 cigarette cards from 1926 of contemporary celebrities, including a youngish Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin and G.K. Chesterton.

Elsewhere, there is a lenticular portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, and sculptor Marc Quinn’s self-portrait made with his own blood.

Ordinary people also get a look in. A series of photographs taken in Torquay around 1900 present people such as a chair mender and a crab salesman.

Similarly, Jamaican-born photographer Charlie Phillips offers a glimpse at London’s pre-gentifried multi-racial Notting Hill Gate.

The exhibition, which is free, runs until January 4. A link can be found at: here

Artist Chris Levine poses next to his lenticular image of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth during a press view at the National Portrait Gallery in London, Britain file photo. Reuters/Stefan Wermuth/Files

Paris attacks: Paris museums reopen after attacks

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he Louvre is home to the Mona Lisa painting Public museums and other cultural venues in Paris have reopened following the attacks in the French capital on Friday.

Many of Paris’s tourist attractions, including the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay, closed on Saturday amid heightened security.

The institutions reopened at 13:00 local time following a minute’s silence to honour those who were killed.

However the Eiffel Tower will remain closed until further notice.

A message on the tower’s website added “the Eiffel Tower will not sparkle” on Monday night,

during the period of national mourning, at the request of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

A total of 129 people died in the attacks by Islamist militants.

People were targeted in bars and restaurants, the Bataclan concert hall and the Stade de France.

In explaining the decision to reopen the venues, French Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin said although France had suffered a tragic event, “culture is more than ever this symbolic place of selfdiscovery”.

Ms Pellerin added the government would help to boost security measures at public cultural institutions in Ile-de-France, the

region immediately surrounding Paris.

Its landmarks include the Louvre, which houses Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa painting, as well as the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Eighty-nine people died at the Bataclan venue, where US rock band Eagles of Death Metal had been performing.

Many concerts scheduled to take place in Paris over the weekend, including those by U2, Motorhead, Foo Fighters and Deftones, were also cancelled.

Cinemas were also ordered to close following Friday’s attacks, but most reopened on Sunday.

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

ON THE MOVE AGAIN

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he much awaited list of ministerial nominees is finally out. The biggest surprise to me is that my name was conspicuously missing from the list. I have a consolation though that there will be second list and most likely a third list. I wait patiently.

As is usual, Nigerians have taken to the airwaves and any medium that affords them the opportunity to vent their anger and probably collective spleen to condemn the list and make suggestions as to who should have been in it and who should be left out. Again, in all the discussions, I still find my name missing. I had laid out all my plans as soon as my name is announced – how I will change my number and become inaccessible, how many cars I would have in my convoy and most likely how many despatch riders I would have, how many personal assistants and in the mood of the moment I would promptly close all my accounts overseas and declare my assets for the public. But I will wait. I am also wishing that our dear President will read this article and know that I am available for a ministerial post. The quota for my state still has one vacant slot.

We wish all the President’s nominees the very best of luck as they face the senate beginning this week.

We open our last season for the year 2015 with the performance of Pedro de Alarcon’s The Three Cornered Hat on Monday 12th October courtesy of the Embassy of Spain, Nigeria and Nigeria LNG Limited. The day also marks the beginning of the 10th Spanish Week in Nigeria. It is week usually set aside by the Embassy of Spain, Nigeria to showcase the warmth of Spanish culture, cuisine, dances, as well as Spanish plays performed by Nigerians. There is a visual arts competition with a theme that connects Spain and Nigeria. Despite the odds, despite the tough terrain, the initiative has been kept alive and going. We are indeed very grateful as a company that we have been a part of this initiative for the past eight years. Our horizon has been widened and our repertoire expanded with the diversity of Spanish plays that we have performed ranging from Federico Garcia Lorca, Lope de Vega and Antonio Pedro de Alarcon. Ordinarily these are playwrights that we do not come in contact with even in our reading list. Over the years, we have created a group of Nigerians who are familiar with Spanish plays and playwrights. In the area of soft diplomacy what more can a country wish for? I am also very positive that our audiences have been richer for it from such a diversity of plays and experiences.

The Spanish play will be followed by Wale Ogunyemi’s Queen Amina of Zazzau on the 13th and 14th November 2015 at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja. Chief Ogunyemi’s (MON) version of the epic of Queen Amina is acclaimed as the most correct version till date. Commissioned by the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ibadan, the story tells of the exploits of Queen Amina and her inherent weakness which eventually led to her death.

Queen Amina of Zazzau will be followed by Sefi Atta’s Last Stand at the premises of the French Institute, Abuja on December 4th and 5th 2015. Last Stand is a family drama centered on the family of General Mashood who is dying and is seeking an heir to take control of his estate. He has only one son by the late wife and daughters by the estranged wife. He has another son whom he does not believe is his. The only son is not interested in the estate and the General believes that his daughter is too weak to handle an estate of such magnitude. His biggest fear is that if she is the one in charge of his estate, her mother will control her.

Our season will eventually end on the 18th of December 2015 with a commissioned performance after which we will take a break until 2016. We are happy to be on the move and we are grateful for the opportunity to be back on stage again.

On a final note, whoever gets the Culture portfolio should please not forget the idea of an endowment fund for the arts. An endowment proves to us that the arts are not a luxury; rather the arts are a necessity in our lives.

Page 30

Arts & Culture Book Review

Authors: Owen Logan and Uzor Maxim Uzoatu Reviewer: Michael Jimoh Publishers: Altered Images, Scotland: Year: 2014 Pages: 105pp

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Masquerade: Michael Jackson Alive in Nigeria

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his book is a fraud at first glance. The title, Masquerade: Michael Jackson Alive in Nigeria, warns any savvy reader who is old enough to know. The formerly slightly chubby, afro-haired prodigy of The Jacksons and then reborn twiggy, stringy-locked solo artiste was never in Nigeria all through his reign as king of pop for decades. He was in Senegal before he died five years ago, visited and performed in Cote d’ Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia but never Nigeria.

Even so, readers find MJ, embroidered jacket and all, arms spread on the tarmac in Nigeria, though the place is not specified.

The year is also unspecified. Too bad the singer is all alone, apart from three security detail, not his but airport staff in the background.

If this is a joke, you hope not to see more. But there are more, all through the entire publication, one of MJ in his signature attire on an okada, another of him suffering from, presumably, post-concert exhaustion, splayed on a bench, a Ghana-must-go just beneath him. He is tended by the Ejiogbe Twins in their cowry-beaded outfit who the African American singer probably never heard of or ever met. (The twins feature prominently throughout with the eccentric performer’s tour in the book, ultra-traditionalists serving as a counterpoint to the real MJ’s westernized orientation.)

MJ is almost everywhere in the country, in the cavernous maw of a sculpted feline, contemplating a fallen effigy, giving a sympathetic ear to a roadside tramp, appearing on a billboard with the logo of an opulent communications giant and so on. There is hardly any page you turn without the shattered visage of him, pepping up at a choreographed dance in a street corner, simulating a threesome in a hotel room or just sitting with early crush Diana Ross and Elizabeth Taylor.

Can any scam ever be more obvious than this, particularly in a country notorious for perfecting and executing astonishing varieties of fraud?

Masquerade is the result of a collaborative work by Owen Logan and Uzor Maxim Uzoatu. Logan is a Scottish-born photographer while Uzoatu is a Nigerian journalist.

The collaborators almost certainly experienced what would have amounted to a rip-off in publishing history. The idea for Masquerade was bruited nearly 15 years ago, and a publisher, Steidl Mack, was approached.

The London publisher accepted the script quite alright but “stopped communicating and

unceremoniously dropped the idea.” In the meantime, the real MJ died and only after did the publisher resurrect the project.

Look deeper in Masquerade and the lopsided relations between whites and blacks stare you hard in the face, sometimes embarrassingly to a black reader.

To Logan’s risible shots, Uzoatu provides a thought-provoking script about the great rip-off, often written with a piquant wit.

A Nigerian writer and poet laureate, Tade Ipadeola, once mused at a literary meeting that Africa has always given to the rest of the world, from slavery through colonialism to the present day. Apart from the traditional European colonizers, Asians are establishing their presence on African soil, particularly the Chinese who are roaming free in Africa, buying up swathes of land everywhere from Sierra Leone to Gabon, filling the continent with all sort of ersatz electronic gadgets.

There is no other continent in the world where that is happening. It is clearly, as Fela famously put it, second slavery.

African elites have partly been responsible for such total domination by the Western world. That is the subject of Masquerade, and viewed against that background, the reader understands too well who the modern-day scammers are.

In local parlance, for a scam to succeed, there must be a mugu, a fall guy. It is to the fall guy Uzoatu addresses his epistle on the very first page. “My Dear Mugu,” he begins, “I know you are dying to be rich. Die no more and live, for this letter will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.”

It is on this paper promise that the script man launches into a litany of woes that have shaken the

“

Nigerian nation and, by extension, the African continent to its very foundation.

“I’ll let you into the spellbinding detail of my deeper-than-skin bond with Michael when we meet at the Waldorf Astoria to spend a bit of the huge fortune accruable to us from this Nigerian saga,” the writer continues on another page.

“The main rule of the Nigerian game is that once a deal clicks here you will almost instantly become richer than your peers.”

Masquerade, as Logan points out, was inspired by Frantz Fanon’s book, Black Skin, White Masks, 1967. They settled on the personality of Michael Jackson because he epitomized the “perfect star for our spin-off. His career seems to personify the rise to power of the decadent black elites across newly independent African nations who chose to go on serving white master.”

Fanon himself stated it all too starkly. Black Face, White Masks, the author wrote, was used “to explain the feelings of dependency and inadequacy that Black people experience in a White world. That the divided self-perception of the Black Subject who has lost his native cultural origin, and embraced the culture of the mother country produces an inferiority complex in the mind of the Black Subject, who then will try to appropriate and imitate the culture of the colonizer.

Such behaviour is more readily evident in upwardly mobile and educated black people who can afford to acquire status symbols within the world of the colonial ecumene, such as an education abroad and mastery of the language of the colonizer, the white masks.”

Even in their own world, black people, elites, especially, often behaved unapologetically like the former colonialists. As Logan

contends on a page he calls, Credits and recriminations from behind the scene: “The African elite did not become white but in other ways they went even further than the king of pop in reinventing and aggrandizing themselves.”

For example, during the trial of the infamous self-described Field Marshall of Central Africa Republic in Bangui, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, the deposed ruler, arrived in court decked in a field marshal’s uniform, complete with epaulettes and gloved. He was prouder of giving the classical salute of De Gaulle whom he venerated.

One thing the reader cannot understand about Masquerade is who takes the blame most for the great scam. Is it the stupid African who apes the colonizer or the colonizer who plays on his stupidity? After all to perpetrate a scam, there has to be a veneer of greed in both parties.

The book is “an allegorical tale about neo-colonialism,” Logan insists. “It is a far bigger and more profoundly damaging rip-off than all the “419” letters in the world put together.”

The accompanying photographs in Masquerade, all but one shot by Logan, tell a story of Nigeria. For instance, there is a squashed up vehicle lying by the roadside with a telling caption: “A hero made for Nigerian roads.” In another, MJ is seen upside down almost touching the screen of the Benz car in which military head of state, Murtala Mohammed, was shot. There are portraits of his predecessors and successors.

The rider is, aptly, “Michael drops in on fellow stars of stage and screen.”

If you think Logan and Uzoatu have really taken you for a ride in Masquerade, take heart because this is deception based on reality.

It is on this paper promise that the script man launches into a litany of woes that have shaken the Nigerian nation and, by extension, the African continent to its very foundation.

POEM OF THE WEEK

Play Me the Kora By Unyierie Angela Idem Play me the Kora.

Take me to heavenly heights, The very essence of the Strings plucked by the Deft fingers of a thousand Djelis rolled into one, Recounting the history of Kingdoms erased by time.

Take me to the lands of Mali, Guinea, Gambia.

Take me to Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Sierra Leone, La Cote d’ Ivoire, To the lands of my ancestors, Where the sun never sets, and The ocean breeze warms my dark skin.

Take me to the flowing banks Of the Joliba, its precious Pearls of rhythm wading Through the sands of time.

Play me the Kora from Timbuktu to Mopti; follow The trade routes of Koulikoro From Segou through Bamako As the tides of Kangaba seek The nurturing hands of Tembakounda Bathe me in the sweet sounds Of Mandinka, Bambara, Dioula, Malinke fused into wordless Celestial notes.

Take me to the musicians, To Jobarteh, Diabate, Kante, Toumani, Kouyate, Sissoko, Mamadou, Foday, Diawara, Ballake, Ablaye, Jegede, Sidiki, Susso, Sona.

Play me the Kora

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

PAGE 31

‘Gallstones’ common among women, older persons - Physician

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Petroleum black marketers selling fuel on the street, yesterday at Area 1, in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Perm Sec charges heads of SDAs to block all leakages

By Stanley Onyekwere

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he Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye has warned all heads of Secretariats, Departments and Agencies (SDAs) under the FCT Administration to block all leakages in order to improve available funds for the development of the Territory.

The Permanent Secretary gave this warning on Monday while receiving briefs from Heads and Directors of some Secretariats, Departments and Agencies in his office.

Dr. Ajakaiye lamented that

a leakage may seem small in some cases but cumulatively pose great danger to the entire system with devastating effects on the residents as well as the visitors to the Territory.

The Permanent Secretary therefore reiterated these leakages if contained would go a long way in improving the infrastructure and services in the entire 8,000 square kilometers of the FCT. According to him, “the country desires change and the change is already here: In the words of President Muhammadu Buhari, we should not fear him but fear the

consequences of our actions.”

He called for holistic change of altitude by thinking outside the box and being innovative in our approach to government businesses by considering it a service to humanity.

Dr. Ajakaiye further charged the Heads of the Mandate Secretariats and Directors to genuinely devise means of doing things proactively now that the country’s economy is dwindling.

“We should all put our thinking caps to be solution providers and think outside the box to spawn buoyant Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to

sustain its operations, because funds are really not there again as it used to be,” he stressed.

He therefore enjoined the Senior Officials in the FCTA not to be possessive in terms of property or monetary accumulation because these might not make meaning to their children but rather on legacies that are capable of enduring positive effects on the society.

The Permanent Secretary has so far received briefs from the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC) and the seven Mandate Secretariats.

ost people have gallstones without knowing, and it is common among women and older persons, a medical doctor with a private hospital in Asokoro, Abuja, Dr. Okezie Emenike, has said.

Emenike, who said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday, noted that obesity was the highest risk factor to the development of gall bladder stones.

He explained that gallstones were pieces of solid particles that form in the gallbladder, noting that the stones develop because of cholesterol and pigments in the bile which formed hard particles.

According to him, most people have gallstones without knowing and that it is common among women and older persons.

He attributed the disease to genetics, diet and obesity, saying high levels of estrogen and ethnic background were other factors that could also contribute to gallstones development.

The doctor said some medications such as cholesterol-lowering drugs could also predispose an individual to gallstones.

He also said that diabetes, eating diet high in fiber, as well as rapid weight lose posed risk to developing gall bladder stones.

He added that ``liver cirrhosis is another risk factor, as well as being between the age of 60 years and above. ``Being a female and pregnant are other causes of developing gallstones too, as well as taking medications with high estrogen content.’’

The medic then urged persons susceptible to gallstones to make lifestyle changes such as eating healthy balanced diet and drinking lots of water to keep the body hydrated.

Emenike also urged individuals who wanted to lose weight to do so gradually, stressing that it was a measure to prevent gallstones.

He, however, suggested surgery to treat gall bladder stones and also recommended the use of drugs to dissolve gallstones caused by cholesterol. (NAN)

Court awards custody of daughter to boyfriend

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house agent, Joshua Obed, yesterday secured the custody his daughter from his girlfriend, Sofia Isaac, 28.

Obed, 30, told a Mararaba Grade1 Area Court, AsoPada, that his daughter, who was under the custody of his girlfriend, was not properly looked after.

The petitioner, a resident of Mararaba, Nasarawa State, claimed that his girlfriend was a heavy drinker.

“Sofia goes out in the morning and come back late at night and do not take proper care of my daughter,’’ he claimed.

Obed informed the court that he met Sofia sometimes in 2009 while she was staying with her sister in Mararaba and they fell in love.

“She left her sister’s house to be staying with me and months later, she became pregnant in which I took responsibility for all

her needs.

“During her pregnancy, I told her I want to go and introduce myself to her family in the village, but she told me according to her tradition, it must be after her delivery,’’ he said.

He also told the court that a year after she gave birth, the respondent’s behaviours changed, she started drinking and staying out late before she left his house to her sister’s house.

“Whenever I talk to her, she shouts at me and says I have no right to talk to her because she is not my wife.

“My Lord, I want the custody of my daughter because I don’t want my daughter to grow up in a bad environment,’’ the petitioner said.

The respondent, however, did not raise any objection to the prayer of the petitioner.

She simply said: ``she is his

daughter as long as he is ready to take good care of her, then I have no objection,’’ she said.

The respondent urged the court to order the petitioner to allow her access to her daughter at her own convenience.

The presiding judge, Mr. Albert Maga, awarded the custody of the baby to the petitioner, and ordered him to allow the respondent free access to her at any time. (NAN)

PAGE 32

Photo Splash

Vulcanizer sleeping in his workshop, yesterday at Lugbe, in Abuja.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Motorist patronizing petroleum black marketers as fuel scarcity persist, yesterday at Garki, in Abuja.

Commercial motorcyclists queue to buy petrol, yesterday at Bwari town, in Abuja.

Scavenger on the move, yesterday at Central Area, in Abuja.

Young men hawking beverages and sachet water, yesterday at Kubwa, in Abuja.

Photos: Justin Imo-Owo

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

PAGE 33

Metro Scavenger bags 2 months’ imprisonment for theft

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he Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) yesterday reiterated its commitment to collaborate with the Lagos State Government to implement the community health project it started in 2014.

The Agency’s Communications Officer, Mrs. Elizabeth Ejeregbe, said this in a statement made available in Abuja.

Ejeregbe said that the Lagos State Ministry of Health, the

state’s primary healthcare board and JICA started the project called ‘’Strengthening Pro-poor Community Health’’ in May 2014.

Noting that the project would be implemented up until 2018, she explains “the project is aimed at creating demand for primary healthcare services at the community level as one of the priorities of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Reducing disparity in access

to health between the wealthy and the less privileged is inevitable in reducing inequality.’’

The communications officer explained that the project would contribute toward ensuring that targeted communities in the Etiosa Local Government Area of Lagos State accessed essential and quality healthcare services.

She also gave assurance that the project would be extended to other parts of the state.

Ejeregbe said that the Joint

Coordinating Committee (JCC) for the project was established to facilitate harmonisation among the health authorities involved in the project, the state officials, Federal Ministry of Health and JICA. “The JCC will be meeting to endorse the work plan of the project and to review the progress, achievements of the project so far to take definitive actions for the smooth implementation of the project activities.’’ (NAN)

Wuse Zone 2 Senior Magistrates’ Court, Abuja, yesterday sentenced a 22-year-old man, Kabiru Musa, to two months in prison for attempted theft.

Musa, a resident of Karu Village, Abuja, pleaded guilty to the charge and begged for leniency.

Senior Magistrate BintaDongoyaro, however, gave Musa an option to pay N10, 000 fine.

The Prosecutor, Cpl. Simon Emmanuel, had told the court that on October 13, the convict allegedly broke into the complainant’s apartment with the intent to steal his property Emmanuel said that luck ran out of the accused as the complainant’s roommate, Rejoice Njoku, came into the apartment, saw broken windows and doors, and raised an alarm.

“Njoku’s alarm attracted neighbours who apprehended the convict and took him to the Karu Police Station,’’ he said.

Emmanuel told the court that the convict admit committing the crime, attributing it to ``the devil’s work’’.

The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 95 of the Penal Code. (NAN)

By Saratu Ibrahim

it hard to consider themselves among those living in the nation’s capital, as there is almost non presence of government in the FCT rural communities.

Peoples Daily reports that while some of the residents expressed dismay over poor quality of few projects initiated and implemented by the respective councils in their localities, others said they don’t feel the impact of third tier of government.

According to them, the third tier of government doesn’t exist in the territory as they never get know any project being executed by the council chairmen, for the benefit of the people.

A resident, UkoIbe, who lives in one of the rural communities along Airport Road, in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), said despite the proximity of the settlement to the city centre, people in the area have been having problem of water and access road, causing a lot of hardship to them.

He however, decried that the only borehole in the community constructed by the area council was no longer functioning, calling the council leadership to as a matter of urgency drill boreholes, to boost potable water supply in the area.

He further appealed to the council chairman to provide transformers to boost power supply for the people of the community, as well as build more schools, in order to improve access to education in the community.

Another FCT rural dweller, Tanko Moses, who was seen around Area 11, Garki District, complained of lack of standard health care facilities to carter for inhabitants in most rural communities of the Territory.

He stressed the need for the various FCT council chairmen work towards enhancing access to proper medical care especially in poor communities within their respective domains.

Also, he urged various area council administrations to step up efforts at providing the needed facilities for the handful of medical centres constructed by the leadership of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for the benefit of the rural inhabitants.

Similarly, a resident, Esther Akpan, who lives at DutseAlhaji, a suburb settlement in Bwari area council, who expressed her dismay over alleged dismal performance by the councils, said she was not aware of any road project in the area, being done by the council there.

She insisted that her neighbour who works at the Bwari council’s secretariat told her that lack of funds for projects has virtually grounded the programmes of the council and that nothing could be done to reverse the situation except funds for the council improves.

For one Maaji Mohammed, who resides at Kuje Area council, it does appear the leadership of the

area council has stopped execution of projects in the area, due to purported paucity of funds.

He noted that it was unimaginable how people, especially those living in rural dwellers scattered across in the entire area councils do not feel the impacts of their government in charge of affairs at the closest level of governance in the FCT. According to him, most rural residents do not place their hopes on interventions by the councils as previous projects executed by them failed to survive beyond its commissioning.

He said overtime, rural people cried out to the government of the area councils and the FCT Administration to look into ways of ameliorating their plight, especially in the area of fixing the dilapidated roads, boreholes, healthcare centres and schools, but it seems that they (government) are not interested to wiping off their tears.

A restaurant operator preparing for the day business at Jabi Motor Park, in Abuja.

Agency reiterates commitment to strengthen community health project

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Residents decry absence of amenities in rural settlements

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ome residents in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have bemoaned lingering absence of social amenities in suburb and rural communities across the six area councils of the Territory.

They specifically complained about acute dearth of critical infrastructural like access road network, drainage system, electricity, pipe bone water and hospitals in rural communities and Satellite Towns across all the six area councils of the FCT. A cross section of the residents living in rural settlements scattered around the nation’s capital, who spoke to Peoples Daily, decried that the situation has subjected them to lot of untold hardship, despite their proximity to the Abuja city, adjudged to be one of the fastest developing capita cities in the world.

According to them, they found

Page 34

Money Sense

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

How to spend less during the festive season

T

he bright and sparkling season of festivity that is most predominant in our country may spell doom for you rather than delight! Familiar?

Probably because you are spending way too much on gifts and other items during the festive period. Read on to know how you can spend less.

1. Buy in sales The festive season is one during which sales are galore.

While shopping, remember to visit stores that are offering discounts. The sales normally start before Dussehra or Durga Puja and continue until Diwali.

Make the most of this period.

2. Plan your expenses in advance Advance planning of the expenditure during the festive season can work wonders for your pocket! Plan the parties to be thrown and attended, the gifts to be purchased, the decoration for the house that your family needs to buy, and whatever else you envisage you may need to spend on. Next, assign a budget to each of these categories and make sure you stick to it. Let your family know of the budget too.

3. Don’t be Santa Claus Whilst it is important to give gifts to certain important people in the friend’s circle, family or office, you do not need to go around giving presents to everyone.

4. Homemade decorations Simple decorative elements cost a bomb nowadays, yet your house cannot do without them.

Encouraging your wife and kids to get creative and make decorations at home can prove to be a good idea.

5. Homemade sweets Ok, so your wife or partner may not necessarily ‘Ok’ this idea, but there is no harm in suggesting it, nevertheless. Make something simple, not elaborate. Homemade

sweets are always more welcome to guests rather than the ones from the market.

.

8 Painless ways to save money Reduce spending without big changes to your lifestyle.

We all know how to spend less by sacrificing. From eating out less to buying fewer clothes to cutting back on vacations, saving through sacrificing can be effective, but painful. So if you are looking for ways to save money, why not start with money saving tips that are relatively pain-free?

Get healthy

As someone who has struggled to stay fit, I realize that eating healthy and staying in shape is easier said than done. But for those who are in good shape, you can save a lot of money on life insurance and individual health insurance plans. And as an added bonus, you’ll feel better and have more energy.

Rethink auto insurance.

Every year, reexamine your auto insurance policy for savings opportunities.

For example, consider raising your deductible, which lowers premiums. For older vehicles, evaluate whether you really need collision coverage, which covers damage to your car when your car hits or is hit by another vehicle or object. And make it a habit to compare auto insurance quotes annually, which can be done online in minutes.

Improve your credit score Of all the painless ways to save money, improving your credit score is arguably the most important. From home loans and car loans to credit cards and auto insurance, a good credit score can save you a small fortune.

Over a lifetime, the savings can easily reach tens of thousands of dollars.

Invest on the cheap For mutual fund investors, stick with funds that have low expense ratios. One rule of thumb is to keep the weighted average expense ratio for all mutual funds under 50 basis points (0.50 percent). Compared with funds that charge well over 1 percent in fees annually, the savings over a lifetime of investing can be substantial.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

world news

Page 35

international_peoplesdailyng@yahoo.com

Is Egypt’s Sisi facing growing isolation?

ANALYSIS

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s Russian investigators on Tuesday concluded that a bomb caused the crash of a Russian plane in the Sinai Peninsula last month, the regime of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is facing its most severe crisis to date.

World powers have suspended flights in the area, and tourists have been fleeing in droves. At the same time, Egypt is in the midst of a parliamentary election meant to be the last phase of the country’s “road map to democracy” - but instead, the vote has been marred by widespread public cynicism and poor turnout. The situation has some observers asking whether, less than a-year-and-a-half into his presidency, Sisi’s government is becoming increasingly isolated.

The Russian intelligence service’s conclusion that the Russian plane was intentionally downed by terrorists will have “major consequences” for Sisi’s regime, with significant pressure brought to bear on the Egyptian government, he said. Egypt has not yet accepted the Russian findings.

“This [will] greatly hurt the regime and discredit its image as a stable and reliable ally to the West,” Anani said. “To what extent the West would tolerate Sisi’s blunders and inefficiency, it’s a matter of time to see this. What’s certain is that Sisi’s regime is facing unprecedented challenges that might push it to the brink.”

Last month, just days before the Russian plane crash, Egyptians went to the polls for the first round of voting in Egypt’s parliamentary elections, which are taking place in two phases. The country has been without a parliament since 2012, when former President Mohamed Morsi took power, only to be ousted in a coup the following year.

In the absence of a parliament, Sisi, who was elected as president in 2014, has issued a raft of controversial laws by decree, including stringent anti-terrorism legislation that has been denounced for targeting any form of dissent.

He has also revamped the parliamentary electoral districts law, dividing the country into “individual candidate” districts and “electoral list” districts.

Criticised for potentially giving a bigger advantage to individuals with money and power, the new districts system stipulates that

Egypts ongoing parliamentary elections have been marred by widespread public cynicism and poor turnout [EPA]

448 of parliament’s 596 seats are competed for on an individual basis, 28 are appointed by Sisi, and the remaining 120 are determined through the winner-take-all list system, where voters select a party list and all the seats in that constituency go to the list that earns more than 50 percent of the vote.

In the first round of voting, which took place between October 17 and 19, Egyptians elected 273 candidates, including 60 list seats in the West Delta and Upper Egypt constituencies. For the Love of Egypt, a list comprised of Sisi supporters, took all of the list seats in that round. Voter turnout, however, was recorded at just 26 percent.

The second phase of voting in Egypt is scheduled for November 21 to 23, with final results to be announced in early December.

“People don’t see alternatives.

This isn’t a real competition,” said Samer Shehata, an associate professor of political science at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. “It’s unlikely that any parliament would be able to challenge the president.”

Egypt’s new parliament will be tasked with revising, rejecting or ratifying any laws made since Morsi was ousted, and it will come into being at a time when Egypt faces numerous challenges on the economic and security

fronts, as violence continues to rage in the Sinai. The parliament will also have the power, under certain conditions, to impeach the president. But by its very composition, it is expected to function mostly as a rubber-stamp for Sisi’s past decrees.

In a country where civil rights and press freedoms have been severely curtailed, there is little room left for dissenting political voices, Shehata noted.

“As a result of the limiting of political space, other critical liberal opposition figures and political movements have withdrawn from politics, so what we’re left with is largely supporters of the regime,” he told Al Jazeera. “[They] are the ones who have participated in the elections, and that also explains why the participation is so low.”

HA Hellyer, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in Washington and at the Royal United Services Institute in London, pointed out that Egypt’s pro-Morsi base, estimated at around 20 percent of the population, boycotted the vote. Many other Egyptians were apathetic, possibly because they have gone through the voting process close to a dozen times in the last four years and are simply tired of it, he said.

“Political space in Egypt isn’t particularly open, and Sisi does continue to have a genuine popular base. Opposition to

him is not insignificant, but it is markedly fragmented,” Hellyer told Al Jazeera, noting the low parliamentary vote turnout could actually benefit Sisi in the long run by presenting the optics that his presidential mandate - Sisi clinched more than 90 percent of the vote in 2014 with 44 percent turnout - is stronger than parliament’s.

“Certainly if there is a clash between Sisi and the parliament on any issue, one imagines that the issue of mandate will come up,” Hellyer told Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, since the Russian plane went down last month, a number of countries, including Russia and the United Kingdom, have suspended flights from the Sinai. Russia, long considered an important Sisi ally, drew ire after Moscow ramped up its efforts to bring home tens of thousands of Russian tourists from Egypt, with the front page of Egypt’s al-Masry al-Youm newspaper screaming: “Even you, Putin?”

Tourist bookings in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh have plummeted since the crash, with around 80 percent of reservations cancelled, a local tourism official told the Associated Press news agency.

At the same time, Israeli officials have reportedly expressed concerns over whether the threat from extremist groups in Egypt

would prove too much for the Sisi regime to handle - and even analysts from Saudi Arabia, a financial and political backer of Sisi, have lamented the state of affairs in Egypt.

“The remarkable apathy of Egyptian voters, as clearly reflected in the unprecedented low turnout in the parliamentary elections, is an indication that something is definitely wrong,” Jamal Khashogshi, an influential Saudi commentator, wrote in the London-based al-Hayat newspaper. “It was a silent protest, not through a revolution or a sitin, since the regime is running the country with an iron fist, but by turning away from ballot boxes.”

Despite all the criticisms of Sisi, Hellyer said, there is a “de facto agreement on not doing anything about it. He’s been well and truly integrated into the international order”.

Shehata agreed, noting that despite the recent loss-of-face the Egyptian regime has suffered, no state has taken any major steps towards censure, such as cutting diplomatic ties or military support.

“Pressure is on the regime,” he acknowledged. “Is it leading to fissures, is it leading to loss of support, is his invincibility no longer the case? All those things are correct, but the regime isn’t about to collapse.”

Source: Al Jazeera

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News From Zanzibar Russia plane crash: ‘Terror act’ downed election: A321 over Egypt’s Sinai Couples ‘divorce’ over voting difference

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usbands who abandoned their children after disagreeing with their wives’ choices in Zanzibar’s election must provide for their families, a women’s rights lawyer has told the BBC. The call comes after divorces following October’s election.

The vote on the semiautonomous archipelago was cancelled.

Even so, Tanzania’s Daily News reports eight women at a lawyers’ meeting said their husbands had divorced them over their voting preference.

Saada Salum Issa, programme co-ordinator of the Zanzibar Female Lawyers Association, told the BBC Swahili service she had concerns about the divorces.

“This is really affecting democracy in the island as women’s free choice is being compromised by their spouses’ dictation,” she said.

Some women had not voted in the poll because of divorce threats, she added.

The Daily News added that women whose husbands had left them were complaining that they had also abandoned their children.

The BBC’s Aboubakar Famou in Tanzania says that while the vote at the polling booths is confidential, disagreements most probably occurred after discussions between the couples.

There is little the women can do to challenge the men’s actions in Zanzibar where 99% of the population is Muslim, he adds.

Zanzibar maintains a political union with Tanzania, but has its own parliament and president.

Its presidential vote were cancelled by the head of Zanzibar’s electoral commission on grounds of alleged fraud.

International observers say the nationwide elections were largely “free and fair”, but all groups raised concerns over the subsequent annulment of Zanzibar’s local elections.

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ussia’s security chief says an act of terror brought down the Russian A321 airliner in Egypt last month, killing all 224 people on board.

“Traces of foreign explosives” were found on debris from the Airbus plane, FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov told Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Putin vowed to “find and punish” those behind the attack over the Sinai peninsula. A branch of socalled Islamic State said it downed the plane.

Nearly all the dead were Russians.

Mr Bortnikov said a bomb had been planted on board the Metrojet plane, equivalent to up to 1kg of TNT. The Kremlin website carried a transcript of the meeting.

The bomb shattered the plane mid-air on 31 October, he said, “which explains the wide dispersal of fuselage pieces”.

Mr Putin said that Russia must hunt those responsible “indefinitely, find out who the individuals were”.

“We’ll look for them everywhere, wherever they are hiding. We’ll find them in any corner of the planet and punish them.”

Russia has offered a $50m (£33m) reward for information on the Sinai plane attackers.

Sinai Province, a branch of Islamic State (IS), said in a statement on 31 October that it had destroyed the plane because of Russian air strikes in Syria.

IS also said it was responsible for the multiple shootings and bombings in Paris on Friday night which killed 129 people and wounded hundreds more.

Most of the A321 passengers were Russian tourists flying home from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Egyptian and Russian crash experts examined the debris in the Sinai desert

Metrojet is the brand name of Kogalymavia, an airline based in western Siberia.

Mr Putin said that Russia’s air strikes in Syria “must not only be continued - they must be intensified so that the criminals understand that retribution is inevitable”.

Russian warplanes are supporting Syrian government forces against various rebel groups, including IS and other Islamists.

Russia’s military commanders were also at the meeting with Mr Putin and the Federal Security Service (FSB) chief.

The Russian statement that a bomb ripped apart the plane will surprise few, but it will be deeply damaging to Egypt’s image, its tourist industry and its president, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.

The former army chief sold himself to the nation, and the world, as a leader who could bring order after chaos.

Instead, a virulent branch of Islamic State has been able to take root on his own doorstep, in the Sinai peninsula - in spite of a major military offensive.

Even after the crash, in a BBC interview, President Sisi claimed implausibly - to have “full control” over Sinai. Instead, attackers were able to slaughter more than 200 Russian tourists.

The last thing a Middle Eastern strongman can afford is to look weak.

But the wreckage of Flight 9268 is proof of President Sisi’s vulnerability, and of the growing strength and reach of Islamist extremists in the Arab world’s most populous nation.

Tunisia Sousse: ‘new plot to attack resort’ foiled

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olice in Tunisia have foiled a new plot to attack the beach resort of Sousse, where 38 people were killed in June, the interior ministry says.

More than a dozen suspected Islamists, believed to have trained in Syria and Libya, were arrested, it adds.

Most of those killed by an Islamic State (IS) militant in the earlier attack were British tourists.

Tunisia is the biggest exporter of jihadis, with at least 3,000 of

its nationals fighting in Iraq and Syria.

The arrests are part of one of the country’s most significant counter-terrorism operations, says the BBC’s Rana Jawad in Tunis.

Officials said the militants had planned to target politicians, beaches and security centres in Sousse, which has seen tourism plummet since the March attack.

On Monday, the interior ministry said security forces had

arrested seven women suspected to be part of the media wing of the Islamic State group’s Tunisia affiliate, Jund al-Khilafa.

Tunisia is the birthplace of the 2011 Arab Spring, and has been the most successful among the Arab states involved, in efforts to establish multi-party democracy.

However, it has seen an increase in jihadi activity, including the killing of more than 20 people at the Bardo museum in Tunis in March.

Guinea’s last Ebola patient released from care in Conakry

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he last known Ebola patient in Guinea has recovered and been released from a treatment centre in the capital, Conakry, health officials say.

A spokesman for Guinea’s Ebola co-ordination unit said two tests on the patient - a baby - had been negative.

Guinea will be declared officially

free of Ebola if no new cases are reported in the next six weeks.

The epidemic, which began in Guinea, has killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa.

Neighbouring Sierra Leone and Liberia have already been declared Ebola-free.

“The last confirmed case of Ebola has been released from a

treatment centre,” said Fode Tass Sylla of the Ebola co-ordination unit.

“We did two tests after his treatment and they came back negative.”

The 19-day-old baby was born in the Nongo Ebola treatment centre but his infected mother did not survive, Reuters reported.

Sierra Leone was declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organization earlier this month after 42 days without a single declared case.

Liberia was declared free of the disease in September.

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was first reported in March 2014.

Mr Putin was speaking after separate meetings at the G20 summit in Turkey, with US President Barack Obama on Sunday, and UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday.

The Syrian conflict was the focus of their talks. Mr Cameron pressed Mr Putin to direct air strikes against IS, and not at moderate rebel groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s troops.

Commenting later on the G20 talks, Mr Cameron said everybody recognised the need for compromise and Russian opinion was changing.

Swapped SA babies to stay with families raising them

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South African court has ruled that two children swapped at birth will remain with the families who raised them.

The parents will also be allowed contact with their biological children.

The mistake came to light when one of the couples split and the father demanded a DNA test to challenge the mother’s demand for maintenance payments.

It revealed that neither was the biological parent.

The High Court in Pretoria accepted an expert’s recommendation against breaking the strong bonds already formed.

The boy and girl, now aged five, had been unwitting victims of a mix-up in hospital in the Gauteng Province of South Africa.

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Asia & Middle East

Australia receives first five Syrian refugees

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ive Syrians have become the first of 12,000 refugees to arrive in Australia under a oneoff plan to resettle people fleeing the country’s conflict.

The couple with three children arrived in Perth on Monday night after their resettlement was fasttracked due to a medical condition.

Australia agreed in September to take in an extra 12,000 refugees amid public pressure over Europe’s migrant crisis.

The first Syrian refugees had not expected to arrive until December.

Federal Minister for Social Services Christian Porter said the family had “been through a great deal”.

They had spent very long periods of time in refugee camps as a result of the Syrian conflict, a spokesperson for the minister told the BBC. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said all those being given refugee status in Australia had been “handpicked” by authorities and faced a rigorous screening process.

She was responding to questions about unconfirmed reports one of

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pg37pix The family arrived in Perth following a thorough process, the Social Services Minister said

the men involved in the Paris attacks on Friday had posed as a Syrian refugee to enter Europe.

“We are focusing on people who have been persecuted in Syria

and Iraq, people who are fleeing from terrorism, from persecution.

Our screening and testing is very intense,” she told the Seven Network.

“Australia is in control of the

whole process. These are not people who are coming via the people smuggling trade and we don’t know who they are.”

Uzbekistan arrests 200 alleged ISIL ‘sympathisers’

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t least 200 Muslims have been arrested in Uzbekistan for allegedly having the intention to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or being sympathetic to the armed group, a human rights group says.

The arrests started in early October in and around the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, and take place almost daily amid massive checks and searches, the Initiative Group of Independent Rights Defenders said on Monday.

Most of the arrested men are migrant workers who returned home from Russia, Turkey or Western Europe and have nothing to do with ISIL, the group’s chairman, Surat Ikramov, told Al Jazeera.

“They find five real militants

Ashok Singhal: Controversial Indian VHP leader dies

and arrest 50 innocent men who will be tortured and forced to confess,” he said. “Some of them are not even observant Muslims.”

About two million Uzbeks toil in Russia, mostly in menial jobs.

Russian authorities claim that some of them are “radicalised” and recruited by ISIL amid an unfolding economic crisis in Russia and back home.

‘Artificially creating terrorists’ The new arrests in Uzbekistan have little to do with “wannabe ISIL fighters”, a Moscow-based writer says.

Uzbek authorities “artificially create ‘terrorists’ to report on the terrorist cells they allegedly identified”, Daniil Kislov, whose website is banned in Uzbekistan, told Al Jazeera. “They need to keep

the machine going, to get more funding and new chevrons.”

Uzbek officials declined to comment on the arrests. Most foreign media outlets have been expelled from Uzbekistan.

In March, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, an armed group founded in the early 1990s, pledged allegiance to ISIL in a video that also showed a beheading of a captive Afghan soldier.

The group staged several attacks in Central Asia and relocated to Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal zone in the late 1990s, where they colluded with the Taliban and fought against the US-led forces.

Hundreds of natives of Central Asia have joined ISIL in recent years, officials say.

Alarmed by the threat of attacks, Uzbek President Islam Karimov, a former Communist bureaucrat, has for years been cracking down on Muslims who attend mosques unsanctioned by authorities.

Thousands of peaceful Muslims have been jailed in the ex-Soviet nation of 31 million people, where they are routinely tortured and abused, rights groups and survivors say.

The pressure on believers intensified after Uzbek troops mowed down hundreds of protesters, including women and children, in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan in 2005 in what became the bloodiest crackdown on a popular revolt in the former Soviet Union.

shok Singhal, a senior leader of India’s Hindu nationalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad movement, has died aged 89.

He was admitted to hospital near Delhi last Friday in a critical condition after complaining of breathlessness.

A leading figure in the drive to build a temple at a disputed religious site in Ayodhya, he was known for his anti-Muslim remarks. Ayodhya has sparked deadly riots and remains a flashpoint.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described his death as “a deep personal loss”.

Mr Singhal was the international president of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) - an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) - for more than 20 years. The VHP is a close ally of Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

“He passed away at 2.30pm today. He had multi-organ dysfunction, ARDS [acute respiratory distress syndrome] and sepsis and was being treated by a team of specialists,” The Times of India quoted Dr AK Dubey of Medanta hospital in Gurgaon as saying.

The 16th Century Babri Masjid (mosque) was torn down in 1992, allegedly by activists of VHP and other hardline Hindu groups who claim the site is the birthplace of their deity, Ram. Tributes have been pouring in for the controversial leader on Twitter. In a series of tweets, Mr Modi described him as “an institution”: Soon after the news of his death became public, Ashok Singhal began trending in India and was also the number two trend worldwide. Many tweets praised his role in “resurrecting” Hinduism in India, but not everyone shared that opinion.

Syrians in Raqqa tell of ‘insane nights’ of air strikes

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rench defence officials say that, for the second time in less than 24 hours, fighter jets have targeted Raqqa, the defacto capital of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in northern Syria.

Ten Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighters carried out the raid early in the morning, dropping 16 bombs, the defence ministry said on Tuesday, as France hits back at ISIL in retaliation for Friday’s Paris attacks that killed at least 129 people and wounded

hundreds more.

“Both targets were hit and destroyed simultaneously,” the ministry said.

“Conducted in coordination with US forces, the raid was aimed at sites identified during reconnaissance missions previously carried out by France.”

1-Some people say there is a lot of civilians got killed by #France Airstrikes we want to confirm until now NO civilians got killed #Raqqa On Sunday, the French defence

ministry said 30 air strikes destroyed an ISIL training camp and munitions dump in Raqqa.

However, a media activist in Raqqa, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that French air strikes had targeted abandoned ISIL bases in the suburbs of the city where there are no civilians or ISIL fighters.

“It has been two insane nights.

Abandoned ISIL posts were targeted at the entrance of the city, along with ISIL checkpoints and

several other points. Electricity and water have been cut off as supply lines were hit too.

“We can confirm that there were no civilians killed or injured in the latest French air strikes.

“People are horrified and everyone here lives in fear. We are sure that several ISIL fighters at the checkpoints were killed in the air strikes.”

The Pentagon said that over the past few days it had also bombed ISIL posts in Iraq and Syria.

On Monday, the US-led coalition’s warplanes struck ISIL targets in Raqqa and several posts were destroyed, the US defence department said on its website.

France is part of the coalition, which was launched in September 2014, but conducted its first air strike in Syria only in September 2015.

‘Raqqa is devastated’ The Syrian activist in Raqqa said that in the past few days Russian air strikes had caused the most destruction.

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Europe &

Europe anti-refugee rhetoric swells after Paris attacks Paris

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n the days after a wave of deadly attacks killed at least 129 people in Paris, a number of European politicians have seized the opportunity to warn against accepting any more people fleeing from war and persecution in Muslim-majority countries.

The warnings have added to fears that the plight of refugees would worsen after reports that one of the Paris attackers was carrying a Syrian passport - a connection that has not yet been proven.

Quickest to react to the events in Paris, in terms of attempting to stop the flow of refugees, was Poland.

Less than 24 hours after suicide bombs and gun attacks rocked the French capital, Poland’s incoming European affairs minister, the Eurosceptic Konrad Szymanskic, told the wpolityce.pl website that the country would pull back from an EU-wide quota commitment to relocate refugees across the continent.

“In the wake of the tragic events in Paris, Poland doesn’t see the political possibilities to implement a decision on the relocation of refugees,” he said. “The attacks mean there’s a need for an even deeper revision of the European policy regarding the migrant crisis.”

While Lebanon and Turkey host the largest number of Syrian refugees, an estimated 500,000 refugees escaping the Syrian conflict - more than half of them women and children - have arrived

in Europe this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Those numbers are thought to be conservative estimates, as many cross the border undetected.

In October alone, the United Nations said 218,000 refugees crossed the Mediterranean to Europe - a monthly record.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday said “terrorists” had taken advantage of the crisis to enter Europe.

Minneapolis protests: Police arrest 51 after man shot T he 43 adults and eight juveniles were part of a group that blocked a major highway for two and a half hours.

Police have released little detail about the shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark, an assault suspect, who remains on life support in hospital.

Some witnesses have said that Mr Clark was handcuffed when he was shot.

A number of high-profile police shootings of black people have sparked protests nationwide about the police use of excessive force against African Americans.

The latest round of protests in Minneapolis came on the heels of the mayor’s decision to ask the federal government to launch a civil rights investigation.

Mayor Betsy Hodges said she was asking for the investigation in the “interest of transparency and community confidence”.

While a state agency has already launched a criminal investigation, the mayor said that the city needs “all the tools we have available to us”.

Two officers involved in the shooting are on paid leave - which is standard procedure after incidents such as this.

The police chief has said that the officers were not wearing body cameras, but would not say whether the squad car or other surveillance video captured the incident.

Protesters have welcomed the

pg38pix1 Police in Minneapolis arrested 51 people on Monday night following a second day of protests over the police shooting of a black man. federal investigation, but have vowed to continue demonstrating until any video of the situation is released and the officers involved are identified.

The protests began on Sunday and included an overnight encampment at a Minneapolis police station near the scene of the shooting.

At least eight tents were seen at the campsite on Monday, and a few protesters were sitting inside the

glass doors of the station - including one who was knitting.

“We’re still not moving until we get that footage,” said Michael McDowell, a demonstrator with the Black Lives Matter movement.

According to police, the incident began at around 00:45 local time (06:45 GMT) on Sunday when police were called to north Minneapolis following the report of an assault.

Upon arriving at the scene,

police found Mr Clark interfering with paramedics who were attempting to help the victim.

They attempted to calm him, which resulted in a struggle and a shot being fired.

Mr Clark has not been formally identified by police, but was named by family members.

His father told the Associated Press news agency that his son suffered a single gunshot wound over his left eye.

Another blast of winter hits the western US

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iolent weather has caused widespread disruption along much of the US west coast. The storms extended from Washington state to Southern California before moving inland and dumping heavy snow across the mountain states.

The weather system was powerful enough to spawn a tornado in Northern California near the town of Denair, near Modesto, on Sunday.

There were no reports of

casualties, but it did damage buildings, down trees and cause power outages.

Nearly 18,000 customers were without power in Los Angeles, as the winds gusted in excess of 100km per hour.

On Monday, Department of Water and Power crews were still trying to restore power to more than a dozen neighbourhoods, including parts of Hollywood.

San Francisco was also badly hit. Authorities say nine people

and a dog were rescued in two incidents as strong winds caused high surf conditions in the Bay Area.

The system is now in the process of moving inland and is increasingly turning to snow as it moves over the higher ground. The National Weather service expects up to 45cm of snow to fall over the Eastern Plains of Colorado.

Utah has already had a good covering of snow. In Parley’s Canyon, several cars slid off the

roads as they drove through the white-out conditions.

Snow was, however, welcomed at the ski resort town of Park City with 15cm falling by midday on Monday.

The snow is expected to melt at lower levels, but will stick around the higher ground. Elsewhere, warnings have also been issued for significant accumulations of snow and dangerous driving conditions in northern Arizona and New Mexico.

attacks: Police search suspects’ premises

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olice probing Friday’s attacks in Paris have been searching premises they believe were used by the attackers.

Salah Abdeslam, the suspected eighth gunman who is now the subject of an international manhunt, rented out an apartment and two hotel rooms.

A car that he rented which may have been used to bring the attackers to and from Belgium is also being inspected.

The so-called Islamic State (IS) group says it carried out the multiple attacks in which 129 people died.

A Belgian-registered black Renault Clio was found parked near Montmartre in northern Paris.

After police sealed off the area and ensured there was no booby-trap, the vehicle was towed away for forensic examination.

Images on French media of one of the hotel rooms being examined show syringes and tubes which could be bomb-making equipment.

Follow the latest live updates Salah Abdeslam is believed to have fled across the border to his native Belgium. Belgian police have released more pictures of him.

On Tuesday French media reported that a French jihadist, Fabien Clain, had been identified as the voice in a recording issued by Islamic State in which it said it had carried out the attacks.

As the investigation continues, and in an effort to prevent more attacks, France has mobilised 115,000 security personnel, according to Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

Mr Cazeneuve said 128 more raids on suspected militants had been carried out. French warplanes also carried out fresh strikes against the IS stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria, the army general staff reported, destroying a command centre and training centre.

Russia’s security chief said earlier on Tuesday he believed terrorists were behind the downing of a Russian jet in Egypt last month, killing all 224 people on board. IS has said it destroyed the plane.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian planes had intensified their air campaign, hitting positions in the Syrian cities of Raqqa and Deir al-Zour.

Meanwhile, Belgium’s government has raised its terror threat level because of the failure so far to arrest Abdeslam. Tuesday’s football match between the national team and Spain has been cancelled as a result.

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Strange

world

The man with a new face: Severely injured firefighter risked 50/50 survival rate to have most extensive transplant ever performed Thomas Burrows

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former firefighter whose face was so horrifically burnt while tackling a blaze that he ‘scared his own children’ has been given a brand new one in the most extensive transplant ever performed.

Pat Hardison now wears the face of David Rodebaugh - a 26-yearold who died in August following a cycling accident.

The procedure - which was the riskiest face transplant carried out to date - has left Hardison feeling normal again and it should restore his impaired sight, too.

The Tennessee man was told he had only a 50 per cent chance of surviving the surgery but it was a risk he was willing to take.

He said he had been left so horrifically disfigured that young children - including his own - ran away screaming at the sight of him.

Hardison’s face had ‘melted’ off during a fire at a mobile home in Senatobia, Mississippi, on September 5, 2001.

Recalling the incident, he told ABC: ‘It was just a normal day. Just like every other fire...we went in looking for a lady.’

He entered the house with three other firefighters but the ceiling collapsed around him. ‘[My mask] was melting to my face,’ Hardison said. ‘My hose [was] already melted.’

He pulled the mask off, held his breath and closed his eyes, which doctors say saved his sight and prevented smoke from damaging his throat and lungs.

Volunteer firefighter Bricky Cole later described the horrible moment Hardison came out of the house.

‘His face was smoking and flesh was melting off,’ Cole recalled. ‘It was all char.’

The former firefighter spent 63 days in hospital and was given the

Before and after, Pat Hardison’s face before surgery and afterwards, when David Rodeburgh’s face had been transplanted on to his head semblance of a face with flesh taken from his thighs. He had lost his ears, lips, most of his nose and virtually all of his eyelid tissue.

Because of this, he was unable to see properly.

When he returned home, he recalled how his three young children, Alison, six, Dalton, three and Averi, two, were terrified of him.

He told ABC: ‘My kids were

scared of me. You can’t blame them.

They’re young kids.’

He playfully told them and other curious children that he had fought a bear but they ‘ran screaming and crying when they saw me. There are things worse than dying.’

In the painful years that followed, Hardison underwent 71 operations (at a rate of around seven a year) to try to rebuild his mouth, nose

Surgeons prepare to operate on face transplant patient Hardison at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York

and eyelids using skin grafts. His continuing ordeal meant he soon spiralled into depression.

10 YEARS OF FACIAL TRANSPLANTS The first partial facial transplant was done in 2005 on Isabelle Dinoire, a 38-year-old French woman who had been bitten by a dog.

The first operation in the US was performed in December 2008 on Connie Culp, 46, from Cleveland who was shot by her husband four years earlier.

In Spain in 2010, a 31-year-old man named only as Oscar, a farmer who accidentally shot himself in the face, was given what was then described as the world’s first full facial transplant.

Even though he had two more children, Braden and Cullen after the accident, the impact of his accident put a huge strain on his family life and after ten years of marriage, he and his wife Chrissi divorced.

Further tragedy followed when he was declared bankrupt and lost his home. He later explained that during the years of agonizing operations and recoveries, he had become addicted to pain-killers, which impacted on his new tire shop business.

His story was first revealed in an interview with the New York magazine yesterday.

Eventually a church friend of Hardison’s wrote to Dr Rodriguez, who had performed a 2012 face transplant at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

The doctor said he would try to help, and in August 2014 Hardison was placed on a waiting list.

He needed a donor who matched his skin color, hair color and blood type, as well as skeletal structure.

A year later, Rodebaugh was identified as a potential donor

by LiveOnNY, the nonprofit organization that seeks transplant organs and tissue in the New York City area.

Rodeburgh had crashed and hit his head while riding his bike in July this year. A few weeks later, he was declared brain-dead at the hospital.

When a representative with LiveOnNY approached his mother about donating his face, she accepted, noting how he had always wanted to be a firefighter.

Rodebaugh’s heart, liver and

kidneys were also donated to other patients, along with his corneas, bone and skin tissue.

During the face transplant, Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez removed the donor’s face and scalp, including the outer skin, tissue, nerves and muscle, as the surgical team removed the skin on Hardison’s face.

Rodriguez then placed the donor face on Hardison and connected the blood vessels.

More than 100 doctors, nurses, technical and support staff took part in the 26-hour operation, conducted in mid-August at the NYU Langone Medical Center.

Now three months later, Hardison is still recovering but with his new eyelids and more surgery, is expected to regain a normal field of vision for the first time in more than a decade.

He will have to continue taking medications to prevent his body from rejecting the transplant.

Eventually, ‘a casual observer will not notice anything that is odd’ in Hardison’s new face, which will be a blend of features of his original face and the donor’s, Dr Rodriguez said.

Hardison said his new face has already made a difference when he goes outside.

He said: ‘I used to get stared at all the time, but now I’m just an average guy.’

He now hopes to do motivational speaking and helping wounded veterans. He has also set the ambitious target of learning to drive again.

His message? ‘Just how there is hope.’

Cource: Dailymail.com

Pat Hardison examines his ‘new’ face in the mirror following surgery

The operation was described as the most extensive facial transplant ever done and took 26 hours to complete

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

Page 40

Digest

Could five cups of coffee a day help you live longer?

By Ben Spencer

D

rinking up to five cups of coffee a day could help you live longer, scientists

say.

The risk of an early death from heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and type two diabetes are reduced by moderate coffee drinking, their research suggests.

The study, based on more than 200,000 people, suggests that drinking coffee also lowers the risk of suicide.

Whether or not the coffee drunk contained caffeine made no difference.

The benefits are thought to be linked to plant compounds in coffee beans.

The authors found that drinking between three and five cups of coffee a day has beneficial health impacts.

Lead scientist Ming Ding, of Harvard School of Public Health in the US, said: ‘Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation.

‘That could explain some of our findings. However, more studies are needed to investigate the biological mechanisms producing these effects.’

The results, published in the journal Circulation, were based on a pooled analysis of three large on-going studies with a total of 208,501 male and female participants.

Coffee drinking was assessed using food questionnaires completed every four years for around 30 years.

The risk of an early death from heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and type two diabetes are reduced by moderate coffee drinking, their research suggests Compared with less or no coffee drinking, moderate coffee consumption was associated with a significant reduced risk of death across a range of causes.

The analysis took into account other factors that could have influenced the results including smoking, body mass

index, levels of physical activity, alcohol consumption and diet.

Co-author Professor Frank Hu, also of Harvard School of Public Health, said: ‘This study provides further evidence that moderate consumption of coffee may confer health benefits in terms of reducing premature

The study, based on more than 200,000 people, suggests that drinking coffee also lowers the risk of suicide

death due to several diseases.’

But Emily Reeve, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘It is important to remember that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is what really matters if you want to keep your heart healthy, not

“

Previous research suggests that drinking up to five cups of coffee a day is not harmful to your cardiovascular health, and this study supports that. But more research is needed to fully understand how coffee affects our body and what it is in coffee that may affect a person’s risk of heart attack or stroke

how much coffee you drink.

‘Previous research suggests that drinking up to five cups of coffee a day is not harmful to your cardiovascular health, and this study supports that. But more research is needed to fully understand how coffee affects our body and what it is in coffee that may affect a person’s risk of heart attack or stroke.’

Claire Bale, head of research communications at Parkinson’s UK, said: ‘This study adds to existing research on caffeine and its potential associated protective qualities in reducing the risk of Parkinson’s.

‘Particularly interesting is that the study shows regardless of whether the coffee is decaffeinated or caffeinated, drinking a moderate amount may slightly reduce the risk of a person developing Parkinson’s and other neurological diseases.

‘Further investigation is needed to find out if coffee could genuinely help us fight Parkinson’s – taking us a step closer to helping improve the lives of people with the condition.

‘It’s important to remember that there are many health issues associated with excess caffeine intake.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PEOPLES DAILY

Sports

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18

Page

41

sports@peoplesdailyng.com, SMS- 08142929046

Nigeria humbles Swaziland to progress in 2018 World Cup qualifiers

Onigbinde calls for establishment of NFF medical department pg46

Samson Siasia’s mother kidnapped pg46

Liverpool boost as Sturridge returns to full training

pg47

By Albert Akota

T

he Super Eagles scored twice at home to beat Swaziland 2-0 on aggregate and progress in Africa’s qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup. Eagles were toothless in front of goal in the first leg, which ended 0-0, and needed 52 minutes of the return game to make the breakthrough.

Moses Simon fired them ahead, finally ending the resistance of a team they were expected to sweep aside.

A second goal was added by Efe Ambrose on 88 minutes before Swaziland had Phumlani Dlamini sent off when he was shown a second yellow card.

They join Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Morocco, Uganda and Zambia - who had already played their second legs - in the group stage.

Kicking off next October, the 20 secondround qualifiers will form five groups of four teams with the winners of each group booking their place at the finals in Russia.

Another of the continent’s heavyweights, Ghana, secured their passage in very similar fashion to Nigeria.

Having been held 0-0 to Comoros in the first leg, the Black Stars hit two goals without reply in the return match to go through 2-0 on aggregate.

Wakaso Mubarak grabbed the opener and Swansea striker Jordan Ayew added the second late on. And just as Swaziland ended their match with 10 men, so too did Comoros when Omar Mdahoma received a second yellow card with eight minutes remaining.

Libya were the first team on Tuesday to book their place in the next round after a 3-1 win in Rwanda gave them a 4-1 aggregate victory.

Khumaj put the visitors ahead in the second leg to put them in control of the tie.

Rwanda’s Jacques Tuyisenge made it 1-1 on the day and offered his side some hope of a comeback but Libya pulled away thanks to a brace from Mohamed Ghanudi.

And Cameroon is through, despite being held to a 0-0 draw at home to Niger. The Indomitable Lions secured their passage in the first leg with a 3-0 win.

Congo finally emerged victorious after a fantastic tussle with Ethiopia, the Red Devils winning their second leg 2-1 to go through 6-4 on aggregate.

Ethiopia’s Getaneh Kebede scored the opening goal of the second leg to level the tie at 4-4 on aggregate.

But Francis N’Ganga nudged Congo ahead overall when he made it 1-1 on the day and Thievy Bifouma’s strike sealed his side’s victory.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

Page 42

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

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UKWULU UNITED TRADERS ASSOCIATION OF ABUJA

ULTIMATE BROTHERS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION

MAZI CLEMENT OKONKWO MEMORIAL FOUNDATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.MR. INNOCENT CHUKWUMA OKOYE 2.MR ONYEKA PAUL CHRISTIAN 3.MR. OBI EJIKE 4.NWOYE DEMIAN 5.CHUKWUJIOKE MMADUONEKE THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO UNITE ALL THE INDEGENS OF UKWULU TOWN DOING BUSINESS IN ABUJA,FCT. 2.TO PROTECT AND PROMOTE THE INTEREST OF ALL THR INDEGENS OF UKWULU TOWN DOING BUSINESS IN ABUJA, FCT. 3.TO FOSTER CORDIAL RELATIONSHIP AMONG THE INDEGENS OF UKWULU TOWN DOING BUSINESS IN ABUJA, FCT. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

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.UGWUOKE CHRISTIAN OGBONNA - CHAIRMAN 2.OSSAI MARK OKECHUKWU 3.ANYANWU CHUKWUEMEKA 4.EZE MOSES IKECHUKWU 5.UGWU SUNDAY IKECHUKWU 6.EZE JUDE UGOCHUKWU 7.EZUGWU ALEXIUS CHIZOBA 8.EZE KINGSLEY CHINEDU 9.OGBO OMALE SIMON 10.AZUDUGWU DENNIS CHUKWUKELO THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO BRING ABOUT HEALTHCARE AND GENERAL POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN THE COMMUNITY. 2.TO SUPPORT THE ORPHANS AND THE LESS PRIVILEGE IN THE SOCIETY. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

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.

SIGNED: JEREMIAH U. NWEKE, ESQ.

PUBLIC NOTICE HOLY GHOST ANNOINTED AND GRACIOUS MISSION INTERNATIONAL

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED 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 ROBINSON ABIODUN OLUYEMI 2.EVANG MRS MONISOLA LYDIA ODUYEMI 3.EVANG. MRS OLUFUNKE OLUYIMIKA 4.EVANG. MRS VICTORIA BOLANLE OLANIYAN 5.PASTOR PETER VIWAKO HEFUNME 6.EVANG. MRS GRACE OMOLADE FANUSI 7.EVANG. MRS CHRISTIANA ADEOLA KOMOLAFE 8.EVANG. MRS ROSE ASIEDU OFILI THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO PREACH THE WORD OF GOD, PROMOTE AND ENCOURAGE EVANGELISM. 2.TO EDUCATE CHRISTIANS ON THE PRINCIPLES OF WELFARE AND CHARITY SERVICES. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.OKONKWO ANTONIA 2.OKONKWO IFEANYI 3.OKONKWO AMALA 4.OKONKWO MARYANNE 5.OKONKWO EMEKA 6.OKONKWO ONYEBUCHI 7.OKONKWO OGECHUKWU 8.OKONKWO OGOCHUKWU 9.CHUKWUMA IGWE THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO ASSIST THE LESS PRIVILEDGE IN OUR SOCIETY. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE

GLORY ARENA CHRISTIAN CENTRE

ZION HOUSE HOLY HILL MINISTRY

THIS IS TO NOTIFY THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANY AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. OF 1990.

The general public is hereby informed that the above named Ministry has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. FRED ADUOJO EMMY - CHAIRMAN 2. SAMUEL CHIGOZIEM NWAMADI - SECRETARY 3. JOY OJONOGECHA EMMY - TREASURER THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. TO MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS FOR CHRIST. 2. TO BRING PEOPLE AND NATIONS INTO GOD’S PURPOSE FOR THEM. 3. TO BUILD THE CHARACTER OF THE SPIRIT IN ALL BELIEVERS IN CHRIST.

THETRUSTEES ARE: 1) PROPHET PRAEZE NWACHUKWU KINGSLEY 2) ROSEMARY NWACHUKWU AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1) To propagate the teaching and Gospel of Jesus Christ.

ANY OBJECTIONS TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION,420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THIS PUBLICATION.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission plot 420, Tigris Crescent Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: CHAIRMAN

Signed: BARR. NWOGU JOHN CHUKWUEMEKA

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

NEW BEGINNING FOUNDATION

THE REACH OUT TO SUPPORT INITIATIVE

SET LEGACY FOUNDATION

The general public is hereby notified that the above name has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part “C” of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No. 1 of 1990.

The general public is hereby notified that the above-named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, 1990.

The general public is hereby notified that the above-named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. ADEWUYI ADEBISI EZEKIEL 2. ALABI OLUSOLA 3. MRS. RITA AKINWALE AYODELE 4. MRS. ADEWUYI JANET OYETEJU OLUBUNMI 5. ADEOYE ABIODUN 6. AGOYE BAMIDELE

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Mr. Ayodeji Adu - Chairman 2. Mrs. Ajoke Adu - Secretary 3. Mrs. Taiye Faloju 4. Dr. Sumbo Odeseye AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To cater for the needy and less privileged in our society.

2. To enhance the development of youth education and assist the less privileged in the area of education.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Darius Anyiemerigo 2. Philippus Heer 3. Chinonso Akujor 4. Nnamdi Solomon 5. Jonathan Opara 6. Ogechi Okwume AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To ignite the passion for education in the life of the African child.

2. To develop the African child via education

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1. To cater for widows and the less privileged in the society.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the registrar, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, P.M.B. 198, Garki, Abuja within 28 days of this publication Signed: SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE

Any objection to this application 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: BARR. ODUMADE RASHIDAT SHOLA 08054507177

PUBLIC NOTICE

Any objection to this application 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

GLORIOUS FRUITFUL LIFE GLOBAL MINISTRY

SABARA HEALTH DEVELPMENT ASSOCIATION

PHOTIZO LIFE FOUNDATION

The general public is hereby notified that the above named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Rev. Dennis Idahosa 2. Mrs. Doris Idahosa 3. Mr. Tanimowo Austine Adelaja 4. Mrs. Edo Ahmed Blessing 5. Mrs. Precious Aghahowa AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To preach and propagate the gosple of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. To win souls for the kingdom of God. 3. To establish local branches for the propagation of the gospel worldwide.

The general public is hereby notified that the abovenamed has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, 1990.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION AT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF Aguiyi –IRONSI ST. PMB 198 MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

Any objection to this application 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.

The general public is hereby notified that the abovenamed has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Adanna Ifeoma Enwezor 2. Engr. Ifeanyichukwu Nkemakonam Enwezor 3. Hon. Osita Ndubuisi Egwuatu AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To instill right and positive values in people through life counselling.

2. To motivate people to discover, explore and maximize their potentials to generate employment and create wealth.

Any objection to this application 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: BARR. ADELAKUN OREOLUWA ATINUKE 08163012814

Signed: SECRETARY

Signed: BARR. LUTHER KING ONYEMKPA 08033776078

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Ismaila Mahmud Lawal - Chairman 2. Balarabe Adamu Usman 3. Abarau Jafaru 4. Muazu Zulaihatu AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1. To promote community health.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

PUBLIC NOTICE Borno Kolanut Dealers Association

Page 43

PUBLIC NOTICE HILLCITY HERITAGE TABERNACLE

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED club HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Jibrin Alh. Bukar 2. Goni Husunu Danbale 3. Sa’adu Sadauki 4. Alh. Sule Abubakar 5. Kaumi Alh. Ali 6. Alh. Garba Laula 7. Abubakar Alh Modu 8. Alh. Abba Mai Goro 9. Mohammed Sabo 10. Alh. Bukar Kawuri.

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: To foster unity among the members. To empower members that are in need of assistance.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: Jibrin Alh. Bukar

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

PUBLIC NOTICE OLD NAME: Arm of hope world outreach I.t no. 40312

PUBLIC NOTICE GOOD NEWS & IMPACT FOR YOUTHS ORGANISATION

NEW NAME: arm of hope foundation.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.UCHENNA NJOKU JOHN 2.OSARO ONAIWU JUNIOR 3.AGHEDO EMMANUEL 4.SAMETU AGHEDO THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. 2.TO PROCLAIM SALVATION OF JESUS CHRIST. 3.TO ENSURE THE ACT OF CHARITY TO THE LESS PRIVILEDGED. 4.TO ESTABLISH AND ACCEPT CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. 5.TO HELP IN GODLY UPBRINGING OF THE YOUTH. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED:BARR. EMMANUEL AGHEDO

PUBLIC NOTICE Isoko Development Union (ODU)

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR Reconstituted TRUSTEES TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Chief (Dr.) Stephen Onovughakpor Akpotu 2. Chief Dennis Egwe Etaluku 3. Maj. Gen. (Chief) Paul Ufuoma Omu 4. Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Oghenero Okoro 5. Barr. Blessing Emonena Ukiri 6. HRH. Barr. Anthony Uvietobore Ogbogbo 7. HRH. Anthony William Ovrawah 8. Senator (Mrs.) Stella Unuezi Omu OON 9. Dame (Mrs.) Florence Ehinlaiye 10. Dame (Mrs.) Alice Okpokpor THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. Promoting And protecting Isoko cultural values 2. Providing development AND capacity building initiative to Isoko land AND the Isoko people in general.

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS Reconstituted TRUSTEES SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: S A Adukwu

PUBLIC NOTICE THISDAY 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 of 1990.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED ORGANISATION 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.GABRIEL IFEANYICHUKWU AKPA - CHAIRMAN 2.NWENYI OKORO AJA - SECRETARY 3.AUGUSTINE OGBONNIA OKOH 4.EMMANUEL UDOMIAYE 5.IKECHUKWU VICTOR OKORONKWO THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO EMPOWER YOUTHS TO MAKE A POSITIVE CHANGE IN THE SOCIETY. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED:SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE BONNE HEALTH DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE

PUBLIC NOTICE NWIGWE EMEKA WILLIAMS FOUNDATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.DR ALI JOHNSON ONOJA - CHAIRMAN 2.DR DELE JAMES BABARINDE - SECRETARY 3.MRS MODUPE TABITHA BABARINDE - MEMBER 4.DR TEMITAYO DARAMOLA - MEMBER 5.DR JAMES ANENIH - MEMBER THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO ELIMINATE HEALTH DISPARITICES AFFECTING MINORITY,DROWN TRODDEN AND LESS PRIVILEGED MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN. 2.TO PROMOTE AND DELIVER THE HIGHEST QUALITY OF FREE MEDICAL OUTREACH AND TREATMENT, RESEARCH E.T.C. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED 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. Nwigwe Emeka Williams 2. Nwigwe Uchechi Euphemia

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Israel Chukwuma Edward 2. lady Charity Ijeoma Duru

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. To render Charitable Services To The less Privileged in the Society.

2. To protect the Interest of the Less Privileged in the society.

3. To help the less Privileged in the society.

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: To propagate the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES REMAIN THESAME. THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES REMAIN THESAME. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS CHANGE OF NAME SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE OMOIGUI IGIOGBE 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.DANIEL AIYANYO OMOIGUI - CHAIRMAN 2.GRACE ONAIWU OMOIGUI - VICE CHAIRMAN 3.NOWAMAGBE AUSTIN OMOIGUI 4.OSEMWOTA JEFFERSON OMOIGUI 5.IFUEKO MARINA OMOIGUI OKAURU 6.EGHOSA DOMINIC OMOIGUI 7.NOSAKHARE DANIEL OMOIGUI THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO PRESERVE AND MAINTAIN THE IGIOGBE (PRINCIPAL FAMILY HOME) OF MR. DANIEL AIYANYO OMOIGUI. 2.TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PRESERVATION OF CULTURE AND TRADITION. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: ISA ALADE

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

The Trustees are: 1. KENNEDY AMAECHI 2. DAMILOLA MOIID 3. CHIKA MBGNU 4. OKWUDIRIUKANDU Aims and Objectives: 1. To preach and propagate the gospel of our Lord and Saviour lesus Christ 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: EDECHIME CHUKWUMA ESQ.

PUBLIC NOTICE Excellent holy message international church

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

SIGNED:Uche Uwazuruonye (08037868944)

SIGNED: Barr Nkechi Chukwuemeka 08037789542

PUBLIC NOTICE AREWA TRADERS & PROGRESSIVE ASSOCIATION ABUJA CHAPTER

PUBLIC NOTICE OKPOLO ENHWE CLAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITIES OF ISOKO NATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED 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.HRH. DR. ALH. MUSA MUHAMMED IJAKORO - (MFR) - CHAIRMAN 2.ALH. ALHASSAN SULEMAN (GALADIMAN GWAGWA) - SECRETARY 3.HON. AHMAD USMAN BABBA KAITA 4.MUHAMMAD DODO OROJI 5.ALH UMARU UBA KANO 6..ALH. YUSHA’U ISHAKA KABO THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO FOSTER UNITY AMONG MEMBERS. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED: SECRETARY

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED 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.High chief panama oyibo JP 2.BARR. BALANCE OKEGBE 3.SURV. ALIA ONOME OVESUOR 4.CHIEF JOEL URHOBO THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1.TO PROMOTE MUTUAL LOVE, PEACE, UNITY AND PROGRESS AMONGST THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITIES/CLAN. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SIGNED:SECRETARY

PAGE 44

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

ALHASSAN

ALHASSAN

I formerly known and called MAMMAN MOHAMMED henceforth wish to be known and called MAMMAN KUDU MOHAMMED. all former document remain valid and general public should please take note.

I formerly known and called TAYE DALO, TAYE ANNI ALHASSAN henceforth wish to be known and called ALHASSAN ABDULSALAM. all former document remain valid FCMB, Access Bank Plc and general public should please take note.

AGADA

MRS HABIBA

I formerly known and called MATHIAS SUNDAY henceforth wish to be known and called AGADA GABRIEL. all former document remain valid and general public should please take note.

I formerly known and called MISS HABIBA MUHAMMED henceforth wish to be known and called MRS HABIBA MUHAMMED MUSTAPHA. all former document remain valid and general public should please take note.

CHRISTIAN

MRS ADAMA

I formerly known and called CRESCENT I. EGWUAKA henceforth wish to be known and called CHRISTIAN EZE. all former document remain valid and general public should please take note.

I formerly known and called MISS ADAMA SALIHU henceforth wish to be known and called MRS ADAMA SALIHU MOHAMMED. all former document remain valid and general public should please take note.

USMAN

MRS OLADELE

I formerly known and called USMAN henceforth wish to be known and USMAN TANKO. all former document valid Sky Bank and general public please take note.

TUKULA called remain should

I formerly known and called MISS AJAYI GRACE OMOLOLA henceforth wish to be known and called MRS OLADELE GRACE OMOLOLA. all former document remain valid and general public should please take note.

GRACE O. I, formerly Known as NYEBE CECILIA, now wish to be Known and Addresses GRACE O. AKUMA. All former documents remain valid, the general public please note.

RUKAYYATU I, formerly Known as, EMILY M. OGBORU now wish to be Known and Addresses RUKAYYATU AHMED. All former documents remain valid, the general public please note.

SIMON I, formerly Known as, ABAYOMI SIMON OSHASONA now wish to be Known and Addresses SIMON DOARA. All former documents remain valid, the general public please note.

Muhammad I, Wish to formerly inform the general public that I Muhammad Dandare of Polytechnic Birnin Kebbi and Malam Mamman is the same name. And All former documents remain valid, Union Bank, STABIC and the general public should please note.

MUHAMMAD

SAADU

MRS. ASMAU

I formerly known and called SAHADU HUSSAINI henceforth wish to be known and called SAADU HUSSAINI. all former document remain valid UBA, Stanbic IBTC Bank and general public should please take note.

I formerly known and called ASMAU ABDULRAHMAN henceforth wish to be known and called MRS. ASMAU UMAR. all former document remain valid and general public should please take note.

I, formerly Known as, MOHAMMED ALI now wish to be Known and Addresses MUHAMMAD A. FARABALA. All former documents remain valid, FIRST BANK PLC and the general public should please take note.

ERIM

AMOS

musa

I formerly known and called ERIM OFU AGBOR henceforth wish to be known and called ERIM REGINA AGBOR. all former document remain valid First Bank and general public should please take note.

I formerly known and called TANKO PATRICK henceforth wish to be known and called AMOS TANKO PATRICK. all former document remain valid general public should please take note.

uzuran - I, formerly Known as, musa shehu uzuran now wish to be Known and Addresses musa garba. All former documents remain valid, concerned authorities and the general public should please take note.

MRS COMFORT

MOHAMMED

KAMALU

I formerly known and called MRS COMFORT AKPEJESHI EZEKIEL MATHEWS henceforth wish to be known and called MRS COMFORT AKPEJESHI MATHEWS. all former document remain valid Finance Department of Federal Ministry of Education, Union Bank Bida Niger State and general public should please take note.

I formerly known and called MOHAMMED WAKILI MOHAMMED MAKO MASHI henceforth wish to be known and called MOHAMMED WAKILI. all former document remain valid general public should please take note.

I FORMERLY KNOWN AS KAMALU ALIYU ABBAS NOW WISH TO BE ADDRESSED AS KAMALU ALIYU, ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID, KAURA NAMODA GOVERNMENT TECHNICAL COLLEGE AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE PLEASE.

MARIYAM

MRS TRICIA

I formerly known and called MARY DANJUMA henceforth wish to be known and called MARIYAM SAIDU. all former document remain valid and general public should please take note.

RASHIDA

I FORMERLY KNOWN AS MISS NJOKU PATRICIA NGOZI. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN MRS TRICIA NGOZI OBINNA. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN Valid.IMO STATE UNIVERSITY OWERRI,NIGERIA BARR ASSOCIATION, ALL OTHER AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.

I FORMERLY KNOWN AS RASHIDA ABDULGAFAR NOW WISH TO BE ADDRESSED AS RASHIDA SHITTU, ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID, JA’IZ BANK AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE PLEASE

HAMAD

LOSS OF DOCUMENT

Rebeccah

I formerly known and called AHMED NDAMAN MOHAMMED henceforth wish to be known and called HAMAD MOHAMMED. all former document remain valid First Bank, UBA Minna and general public should please take note.

UMAR I, formerly Known as ABUBAKAR SANI, now wish to be Known and Addresses UMAR SANI. All former documents remain valid, the general public please note.

MAMMAN I, formerly Known as, STEVEN BENJaMIN NOAH now wish to be Known and Addresses MAMMAN AUGUSTINE. All former documents remain valid, the general public please note.

KASIMO I, formerly Known as, ABDULHAFIZ ALHAJI now wish to be Known and Addresses KASIMO ALHAJI. All former documents remain valid, the general public please note.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC OF LOSS OF CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY WITH FILE NO:30480 IN RESPECT OF PLOT NO: B01/717 SITUATED AT BLOCK E38 FLAT 3 ZONE E, GUDUAPO, ABUJA, FLOOR 1496100.BELONGING TO CYRIL CHUKWUEMEKA UNOGO. ALL EFFORTS MADE TO TRACE THE SAID DOCUMENT PROVED ABORTIVE. IF FOUND, KINDLY RETURN TO THE NEAREST POLICE STATION.GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

I FORMERLY KNOWN AS Rebeccah Abarshi NOW WISH TO BE ADDRESSED AS Rebeccah Haruna, ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID, JA’IZ BANK AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE PLEASE

LOSS OF DOCUMENT

MRS OLUWATOYIN

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC OF LOSS OF CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY WITH FILE NO:KB 10047 IN RESPECT OF PLOT NO: 184 SITUATED LEGISLATORS QUARTERS BLOCK 3 FLAT 11, APO, ABUJA. GUZAPE DISTRICT. BELONGING TO SANI BABA ARGUNGU. ALL EFFORTS MADE TO TRACE THE SAID DOCUMENT PROVED ABORTIVE. IF FOUND, KINDLY RETURN TO THE NEAREST POLICE STATION.GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

I FORMERLY KNOWN AS MISS OLUWATOYIN OLABOWALE ODUWOLE. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN MRS OLUWATOYIN OLABOWALE ODUJINRIN. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN Valid.ALL OTHER AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.

MRS MARIA I FORMERLY KNOWN AS MARIA ONU. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN MRS MARIA OBITLE LINUS. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN Valid.ALL OTHER AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.

MR. UKOR I FORMERLY KNOWN AS MR. PAUL JOSEPH ERONG. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN MR. UKOR JOSEPH ERONG. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN Valid.ALL OTHER AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

PUBLIC NOTICE HAVILAH GRACE HELP THE NEEDY MINISTRY

The general public is hereby notified that the above-named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Mrs Grace Osho - President 2. Mr. Osho Olumide 3. Mr. Osho Micheal 4. Mr Alia Francis 5. Mrs. Osho Arinola - Secretary AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To take care of the less privileged in the society.

2. To reach out to the both children and adult in the society in a view to improving their lives.

3. To go to remote areas to preach the gospel and give them spiritual books, Bibles, foodstuffs and clothing materials.

Any objection to this application 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: FUNMI R. AYENI

PUBLIC NOTICE SPICES DEALERS ASSOCIATION

The general public is hereby notified that the above-named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Dr. Florence Edwards - Chairman 2. Barr. Bib Orekyeh - Secretary 3. Fun Danlami Tanko 4. Kalu S. N. Kalu AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. Promoting of welfare of members.

2. Educating members through seminars and progreammes on the global best mechanism of growing and preserving spice crops.

Any objection to this application 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: BARR. CHIME T. EMMANUEL 07036791338; PATH2GRACE LEGAL CONSULT

PUBLIC NOTICE REAL VALUES FOR AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE

The general Public is hereby notified that the above named organization has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under Part “C” of the Company and Allied Matters Act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Rev. Fr. Chukwudike Linus Okwu - Chairman 2. Dr. Nicholas Achilike - Secretary 3. Rev. Fr. Dr. Nnamdi Nwankwo 4. Ozor Barr. Joe Mmamel 5. St. Rev. Msgr. Patrick Mary Mmuo 6. Mrs. Regina Emehelu 7. Mrs. Maria Chukwuma-Ene 8. Sir. Chuma Osuora 9. Mrs. Steve Ononihu 10. Chief Ferdinand Anikwu AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To promote education among the under-priileged.

2. To rediscover our faith and moral language and culture among the youth and under-privileged.

Any objection(s) to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General Corporate Affairs Commission, GarkiAbuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

Page 45

PUBLIC NOTICE SAM INOKOBA FOUNDATION

PUBLIC NOTICE GINGER GROWERS AND MARKETERS ASSOCIATION

The general public is hereby notified that the above-named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, 1990.

The general public is hereby notified that the above-named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Helen Sam Inokoba 2. Clee Inokoba 3. Afie Okubokekeme 4. Nelson Gabriel

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Fun Danlami Tanko - Chairman 2. Dr. Florence Edwards - Secretary 3. Kalu S. N. Kalu 4. Barr. Bib Orekyeh AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. Promoting of welfare of members.

2. Educating members through seminars and programmes on the global best mechanism of growing and preserving spice crops.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1. To assist the less privileged.

Any objection to this application 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: RUMI & ASSOCIATES 08022551973

PUBLIC NOTICE EDEH ONOVO FOUNDATION

The general public is hereby notified that the above-named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Prof. Emmanuel M. P. Edeh - Chairman 2. Ikenna Anselem Onu - Member 3. Edeh-Omego Maria-Goretti U. - Member 4. Prof. Emmanuel Ezedum - Member 5. Peter Chukwudumogu Ntuko Nwosu - Member 6. Barr. James Eleonu - Secretary AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To promote advancement of education, knowledge integrity and impeccable character integrated in their professional life.

2. To promote and preserve a conducive working environment for the growth of reputable cooperate institutions in the society.

Any objection to this application 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 CHRIST OUR LIGHT WORLD OUTREACH MINISTRY

The general public is hereby notified that the above-named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, 1990.

Any objection to this application 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: BARR. CHIME T. EMMANUEL 07036791338; PATH2GRACE LEGAL CONSULT

PUBLIC NOTICE QLARSICAL SOCIAL CLUB OF NIGERIA

The general public is hereby notified that the abovenamed has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Onuvaye Adeiza Solomon 2. Abdulrahman Akpata 3. Siyaka Abdulwahab Sadiq AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1. To promote unity among members.

Any objection to this application 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 IYEDE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To preach the gospel of Christ.

2. To evangelize.

The general public is hereby notified that the above name has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part “C” of the Companies And Allied Matters Act No. 1 of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. EVANG OBUKOWHO BERNARD ETOWHORAHA - (PRESIDENT) 2.

REV. EVANG KAGHOMOMOMADIA PETER OGHENEROBO (DEPUTY PRES.) 3. MR OBETHE JOHNSON AKWIROROGBE - (SEC) 4. DEACON OBA RAPHEAL - (ASSIST. SEC) 5. PST MRS. AKPONASA REBECCAH EDIJALA - (NAT. TREASURER) 6. PST IJOMONE FELIX IGHENEKIOJA - (NAT. FIN. SEC) 7. EGOGO PAUL - (NAT. P.R.O) AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Any objection to this application 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.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the registrar, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, P.M.B. 198, Garki, Abuja within 28 days of this publication

Signed: SECRETARY

Signed: SECRETARY

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Pastor Michael Olarotimi Ojuekaye - Chairman 2. Pastor (Mrs.) Racheal Taiwo Ojuekaye - Member 3. Pastor Joel Isah Ibrahim - Member 4. Engineer James Abiodun Babatunde - Member 5. Barr. Disu Bashirat Funsho - Secretary

fatima

THIS SPACE IS FOR SALE

THIS SPACE IS FOR SALE

I FORMERLY KNOWN AS arwa idris abubakar. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN fatima abdullahi. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN Valid.ALL OTHER AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE.

THIS SPACE IS FOR SALE

PAGE 46

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

Sport

Onigbinde calls for establishment of NFF medical department C AF and FIFA instructor Adegboye Onigbinde yesterday called for the establishment of a medical department in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Onigbinde made the call while delivering a paper titled “Areas of Fitness’’ at the ongoing NFF/ CAF B-Licence Coaching Course, organised by the NFF technical department in Abuja.

According to Onigbinde, establishing a medical department will ensure that the medical staffs is regularly trained for the day-to-day football challenge.

“This will ensure that they don’t just have a medical doctor for the football teams but a special football doctors,’’ he said.

Onigbinde, whose topic dwelt on intellectual fitness, psychology, medical, physiological, technical and tactical aspects of football, noted that a good coach was one who could improve the players’ intellectual fitness.

He also said that coaches should be able to think constructively to

impact positively on players, noting that coaching went beyond what happened on the pitch.

The former Super Eagles coach added that coaches should have speed, strength, flexibility, agility, stamina and endurance to be able to succeed.

Amodu Shaibu, Technical Director, NFF said that coaches were to be blamed for the misfortunes of their teams, since they take the glory when the teams perform well.

Shaibu urged the coaches to be alive to their responsibilities in order to be reckoned with in their coaching career.

Robinson Okosun, a former psychologist of the Eagles also presented a paper on the psychological aspects of the game.

James Peters, another instructor and former Assistant Technical Director, NFF presented a paper on “the qualities and responsibilities of the coach/manager’’.

No fewer than 60 participants are taking part in the coaching course which started from Nov. 16 to Nov. 28.

Enyimba rejects AnyansiAgwu’s resignation

By Albert Akota

T

he Nigeria Premier League champions, Enyimba, have move swiftly to keep their chairman, Felix Anyansi-Agwu, after the respected sports administrator announced he was quitting his position after 16 years in charge of the Aba-based club.

Anyansi-Agwu had said needless pressure from those that wanted to succeed him at all cost and his health were reasons he was walking away from Enyimba for good.

But the club has moved against his resignation as they released a statement on Tuesday stating that Anyansi-Agwu would remain their chairman.

“Felix Anyansi-Agwu wants the best for Enyimba, always,” the statement posted on the club’s official website read.

“It is this desire for the continued success of our club that has led him

Felix Anyansi-Agwu

(Anyansi-Agwu) to express grave concerns over certain factors.”

“Factors that if left unaddressed would undermine his abilities to carry on his job effectively and take us to greater heights.

“Unfortunately, these statements have been misinterpreted as an act of resignation.

“He remains Chairman of Enyimba Football Club and would always strive for the development of our club and the sport.”

In his 16-year stint as Enyimba boss, Mr. Anyansi-Agwu helped the Peoples Elephant win all their major honours, including two CAF Champions League and seven league championships among other trophies and accolades.

The club will be hoping for more as they take part in the CAF Champions League next season having finished champions of the Nigeria Premier League for a record seventh time last Sunday.

Enyimba target Kano Pillars’ Afelokhai for Champions League

By Albert Akota

K Onigbinde

Samson Siasia’s mother kidnapped

G

unmen have kidnapped the 72-year-old mother of ex-international Nigerian footballer Samson Siasia.

Three kidnappers took Ogere Siasia from the family home in Bayelsa state in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

Her son appealed for her release, and said the gunmen’s motive was unclear.

Kidnapping is common in parts of Nigeria and footballers’ families are increasingly becoming targets.

Nigeria international Christian Obodo was abducted in Warri, southern Nigeria in June 2012.

A year earlier, the father of Nigerian footballer and Chelsea player John Obi Mikel was kidnapped in Jos, central Nigeria.

“I only beg them to please release her unhurt. I was told they

Samson Siasia

shot sporadically into the air before taking her away on a motorcycle,” Samson Siasia told BBC Sport.

“We’ve not heard from them to know their motive, but right now I’m only concerned about her safety,” he added.

Mr Siasia was in The Gambia at the time of the attack as the coach of the Nigerian Under-23 team, preparing for the Confederation of African Football Under-23 Championship in Senegal next month.

The Nigerian Football Federation’s president Amaju Pinnick also appealed for the kidnappers to release Mrs Siasia.

“Samson is on a critical national assignment presently and the last he needs is this kind of distraction, “he said.

ano Pillars g o a l k e e p e r , T h e o p h i l u s Afelokhai, has emerged on the shopping list of Enyimba International ahead the 2015/2016 domestic and continental seasons.

Enyimba were crowned Nigerian top flight champions for a record seventh time at the weekend after a goalless draw with Sunshine Stars in Lagos.

The People’s Elephant will make their 10th CAF Champions League appearance next year and want the best players for the campaign.

Completesportsnigeria. com gathered that goalkeeper Afelokhai is wanted to give the pair of Chijioke Ejiogu and Femi Thomas competition.

“We will try to see how we can get Afelokhai. He’s one of the exceptional goalkeepers in the league and experienced on the continent,” an Enyimba official said.

The official who doesn’t want his name to be mentioned said they would love to sign Warri Wolves winger, Stanley Dimgba, but fear that may be resisted by Wolves who will also be playing in the CAF Champions League next season.

“There are a couple of Warri Wolves players we would fancy so much.

Players like Stanley Dimgba and even Oghenekaro Etebo.

“But because Wolves will also be playing in the (CAF) Champions League, I don’t know whether they could be allowed to join us,” the source added.

PAGE 47

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18,

Sport

Belgium, Spain friendly called off over security concerns

B

elgium’s friendly against Spain yesterday has been cancelled amid security fears in the wake of the Paris attacks.

The Belgian football federation said the decision was made late on Monday after the government recommended that the game not be played.

French authorities have identified a 27-year-old Belgian as the mastermind of the Paris attacks on Friday. His current whereabouts are unknown. A major police operation took place in the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek on Monday, although it failed to yield any arrests related to the attacks.

The Ministry of the Interior’s Crisis Center had raised the threat level earlier on Monday, recommending the cancellation of the match on its website.

The Belgian FA released a statement indicating the decision was made in conjunction with its Spanish counterparts, and that it “deeply regretted” cancelling the match.

In total, at least 129 people were killed in six attacks in the French capital. Two explosions went off outside Stade de France during the national team’s match against Germany, killing three people, while it was reported that one gunman tried to gain access to the match.

Cameroon through after goalless draw

T

he Indomitable Lions of Cameroon are through to the next round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers after their goalless stalemate at Stade Omnisport Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé yesterday afternoon.

The Central Africans are through to the group stages following their 3-0 first leg win away to Niger and therefore go through on a 3-0 aggregate result.

Although the hosts were favourites going into the clash after their 3-0 demolition of the hosts last week, the Menas surely came back prepared for this one despite also failing to bag a single goal.

At half time, both nations were still locked at 0-0 and the second half began with the home supporters hoping to see goals from the hosts, however, it wasn’t to be.

After 55 minutes, it seemed certain that both sides were going to struggle to break the deadlock after struggles in the final third of the field where attacking players were

not decisive enough.

The dying stages of the contest also failed to produce the much needed spark in front of goal and clear cut chances evaded both teams.

Cameroon will be happy that they did the job even though it was not spectacular by any means.

Cameroon international keeper Carlos Kameni

Spaniards

Liverpool boost as Sturridge returns to full training

L

iverpool received a major boost yesterday with the return to first team training of Daniel Sturridge, Goal can confirm.

The striker, who picked up a knee problem ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s first game in charge against Tottenham in October, has played just 241 minutes of football this season, scoring two goals against Aston Villa on his comeback.

The development is seen as another step in the England international’s recovery, and is unlikely to feature against Premier League leader Manchester City on Saturday evening.

Klopp revealed ahead of the defeat to Crystal Palace that he would not rush Sturridge’s return, saying: “He needs time so that we can bring him back to good shape.

The 26-year-old was initially expected to make a speedy recovery after a training ground collision with Jordon Ibe on October 15.

Sturridge

No Real Madrid contact with Lewandowski - Agents

R

Robert Lewandowski is fed up with Arjen Robben’s ‘selfish’ style of play.

obert Lewandowski’s agents have both denied that Real Madrid have made contact with the Bayern Munich star following a report in Marca.

M a d r i d - b a s e d newspaper Marca had quoted Cezary Kucharsky, Lewandowski’s Polish agent, as saying: “You cannot deny that there is interest from Real Madrid.”

The report also claimed Madrid who are said to have attempted to hijack Lewandowski’s move from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern last year made a

further attempt to sign the Poland international in the summer.

Lewandowski’s German agent Maik Barthel, who last week told Sport Bild that Premier League clubs are keen on signing the striker, underlined his partner’s statement on Twitter.

Lewandowski joined Bayern on a free transfer from Dortmund in the summer of 2014, signing a five-year deal, but Polish tabloid Super Express reports that Bayern plan to offer the striker a new contract on improved terms.

www.peoplesdailyng.com

QUOTABLE QUOTE The Saudi government set uo a committee on the stampede, the committee is yet to submit their findings. Nigeria requested to be part of the committee investigating the incident, but we are yet to receive response from the Saudi authority.

. . . putting the people first

wednesday, NOVEMBER 18, 2015

—NAHCON Commissioner, Dr. Saleh Okenwa

SPORTS PDP: Nuisance value of opposition latest

Nishikori holds off Berdych at ATP World Tour Finals

K

ei Nishikori beat Tomas Berdych to reignite hopes of progressing at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

The eighth seed let an early lead slip and saved a break point in the decider to win 7-5 3-6 6-3 at the O2 Arena.

The Japanese had lost to Novak Djokovic in his opening roundrobin match, while Czech Berdych lost to Roger Federer.

Djokovic and Federer will meet with any victory certain to take Djokovic through and straight-sets win enough for Federer.

In the doubles, Britain’s Jamie Murray and Australian John Peers suffered their first defeat at the event in their second group match.

Kei Nishikori

I won’t live in fear before Davis Cup final —Murray

A

ndy Murray says he is not afraid to play in the Davis Cup final despite security concerns in Belgium.

Next week’s final takes place in Ghent. The city is 35 miles from Molenbeek, the focus of a manhunt for one of the suspects involved in the Paris attacks.

“I don’t want to live in fear each time I step on a court,” said Murray, 28, who has been named in the provisional five-man squad for the tie.

Tuesday’s football friendly with Spain in Brussels has already been cancelled.

Belgium’s government has raised the terror threat level to three in the country, and the International Tennis Federation said in a statement.

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T

he re-branding of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appears to be coasting subtly towards rocky shores. It is rather curious and a bit disappointing for the once populous party to be struggling for relevance as key drivers assumed to be in the fold are already turning a blind eye towards rescue effort of the party.

Rumors spreading revealed two governors under the shattered umbrella of the party are set to shift party platform to the ruling party.

Spurious or real, the party is not having the best of political times.

Interestingly, PDP once served as meal ticket to many politicians, has quickly assumed a leprous status. Even those who consistently benefitted from the platform since 1999 do not want to have anything to do with it. There certainly is a reason for that besides the usual “use and dump” character of Nigerian politicians.

It is true the party has suffered battered image, lost credibility and shattered goodwill. Those to blame are probably the same people bailing ship? That might not generally be the case as most elites had warned the party of a looming political disaster on account of impunity.

The tragic, rather shameful exit of the PDP could be blamed on a number of issues. The usual impunity and disrespect for the supremacy of the electorate is certainly cardinal. But the gap created by exit of prominent Nigerians who jettisoned the party is however the straw that cracked the political cutting edge of the party.

At this point therefore, a recap will suffice that PDP came into existence on the strong shoulders of powerful elites across the divides of the country. The elites sensed trouble, couldn’t manage the problem, abandoned the party.

Then voters revolution against PDP made the once powerful party a lame duck.

Mal-administration, disrespect for the sanctity of peaceful coexistence of Nigerians, soaring social, political and economically induced impunity are variables considered to be inimical to the corporate entity of Nigeria. In the interest of one Nigeria, the umbrella bearing ship had to be abandoned by those who constructed the PDP. It is however necessary to recall that before PDP lost the last hold of its shredded goodwill before the immediate past elections, some governors in the party led by Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu formed the G-7, an activist group opposed to cyclical impunity eating the party and government of the day.

Their efforts were ridiculed, their hopes of constructing a formidable part dashed and the PDP sank deeper into the mire of its own fecal matter. Many in the G-7 (nPDP) were targeted for witch-hunt, many knew their political career was grinding to an abrupt stop. The only way out was to jump ship and join the growing opposition armada.

While wailing for the orphaned

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Wednesday Column

By Israel A. Ebije

Metuh, spokesman PDP, we cannot forget the party is responsible for its present political miasma. It failed to consolidate on its 16 years of reign, abused every single opportunity in the book. The worst mistake was to undermine the ‘power of the people’ by allowing impunity to hold sway.

Beside the party self inflicted problem, a cardinal characteristic of Nigerian political game only recognizes the fist prize after elections (hence a bandwagon exodus). The one party standing takes it all and the opposition is always orphaned. Culturally therefore, no Nigerian wants to lose, they must win regardless of the platform before elections.

Not many Nigerians, not even the elites may wish to agree with the submission that opposition play key role in entrenching vibrant democracy, which is fine-tuned to stress on people based governance.

So many people are of the opinion that opposition can only be what they are literarily.

For an opposition like the PDP, rejected, loathed and stigmatized as a party of kleptomania’s, the challenge is more herculean.

Therefore, a step towards divine intervention will be needed to pull the re-branding effort through.

We have seen the role of the PDP in its successful mission of self afflicted political failure. We have record of floodgate of politicians who exited the PDP to the All Progressive Congress (APC). We have seen the rise of the APC from ashes of marriage of fragmented party platforms to a formidable ruling party.

From the foregoing, an oblique recap of what led to the shattering fall of the PDP has been stated and dramatis personae obliquely mentioned. The focus now is the rebranding agenda of the PDP. When will hope the ‘nuisance value’ of the opposition and the

‘governance value’ of the ruling party unfold? Already the APC is set to dish Nigerians a new meal in people based leadership. But those who made the PDP a formidable force do not want to have anything to do with it again.

Now the characteristic one party syndrome has hit the country political sphere where most politicians prefer to be associated with the ruling party. The one-sided party tilt is at whose fault, whose expense and whose responsibility to correct?

If the Opposition’s main role is to question the government of the day and hold them accountable to the public, then its nuisance value must be accepted, encouraged and sustained, no matter how seemingly distracting.

A democratically elected government without vibrant opposition translates either to a one party state or a dictatorial government. Under an unregulated political turf, most leaders take advantage of the situation and rule like the lord of a fiefdom. Holding periodic elections cannot therefore be solely relied upon to build a successful, democratic nation. As prerequisites for growth, democracy requires an informed electorate, active opposition parties, and respect for law and order.

Dr. Don Brash leader of the opposition in New Zealand says one of the most important jobs of the Opposition is to constantly question the Government. “Any Government has to remain answerable to the public at all times, and a good Opposition can put the spotlight on serious issues and have them resolved quickly”.

It is therefore instructive to establish an understanding that in Nigeria, its either you ride or die. But President Muhammadu Buhari shortly after winning the just concluded presidential election had urged the opposition to stop the deluge of defection, insisting APC would need an opposition party.

He spoke like a democrat that he is but Nigerians, the monolithic APC including most of the founders of the PDP don’t see it that way.

Former military President of Nigeria, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida once said Nigeria needs just two political party platforms.

Some people faulted his submission but reality appears to be staring us in the face. It is indeed crystal clear that its APC and PDP, others follow miles behind- though its uncertain where the party will be if agents of political denudation continues to act on it.

Once Nigerian politicians learn to be good losers and good winners, the game of politics would be better appreciated, opportunity for a second best party certain, and the value of opposition enhanced for

good governance.

We must not forget that the formation of APC at first was like a joke. It was however beefed up when five PDP governors defected.

Nigerians were lucky PDP threw its opportunity away. Nigerians were lucky the government at the center couldn’t annul elections on account of whittled goodwill. A second best party is therefore important to regulate the excesses of the ruling party.

PDP in its rebranding effort must be festooned on self evaluation (remote problem), change of political strategy and approach.

They must also gauge the mood of Nigerians, which must be used as an indicator either to completely change the party name, logo, leadership or to merge with one or more party platforms for strength.

The importance of timing cannot be overemphasized. Leadership of the PDP must realize the image of PDP is damaged and the euphoria of Buhari leadership is soaring even higher now that the just sworn-in ministers are giving people more hope for a brighter change based future.

The re-branding package of the PDP cannot be signed and sealed but must be open for adjustment according to the political wind of change. The party is not marketable today, is a function of those who managed its affairs. The same people who killed the party are now brandishing the mantra of change in the APC only shows that party name; its leaders and the political environment/structure determine the political power play.

The PDP re-branding ambassadors must also realize that 16 years of “locust” and the next four years of change are indeed very different climes that demands different approach in an herculean task of becoming a meaningful opposition in the first place then a worthy replacement on the long run. Alas, our democracy is not only fledging but set to fly if we can accommodate the nuisance value of the opposition.

Ebije can be reached on the following: (ebije05@gmail. com, @ebijeisrael)

DAN GAYE

Army ready to quell treasonable protests – GOC —News

The earlier the better oh!

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