Monday, December 21, 2020 Edition

Monday, December 21, 2020/ Jumada Thani 6, 1442 AH Vol. 35 No. 070 N150

2445 Days after Malam Wada Maida (1950-2020), founding Chairman, Board of the Peoples Media Limited

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The nation awaits rescue of the remaining abducted Chibok schoolgirls

NJC recommends sack of Yobe Grand Khadi, Osun high court judge >>>page 2

Troops rescue 39 Islamiya children, recover 8 rustled cattle in Katsina

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L – R: Director, Legal Department, NDIC, Mr. Belema Taribo; Executive Director (Corporate Services) Hon. (Mrs.) Omolola Abiola-Edewor; Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice John Tsoho; CEO, Alheri Legal & Allied Services, Mr. Alheri Nyako; and Director, Communication & Public Affairs Department, NDIC, Mr. Bashiru A. Nuhu at the opening ceremony of the 2020 NDIC Sensitization Seminar for Judges of the Federal High Courts in Abuja, Friday.

LEADERSHIP chairman, Sam Nda-Isaiah for burial Dec. 28

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PDP alleges APC’s plot to Economy: Zulum Nigerians must not allow Kankara school boys' release heighten insecurity in Zamfara, disburses N154m to 704 outlaws hold country to shows Buhari's priority to other Northwest states SMEs in Borno ransom - Atiku security - Mohammed pAGE 3

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

News CONTENTS News 2-14 Op.Ed

12-13

Politics 15-17 Stock Watch Business Metro

18 19-20 21

World Analysis 22 Africa News

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World News

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NJC recommends sack of Yobe Grand Kadi, Osun high court judge

By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja

T

he National Judicial Council (NJC) has recommended the compulsory retirement of the Grand Kadi of Yobe State, Shu’aibu Talba, and a judge of the Osun State High Court, Justice Abdulkareem Abdulrasaq over alleged age falsification.

The NJC also acknowledged the notifications of retirement of 12 Judicial Officers and notifications of death of three (3) Judges of Federal and State Courts.

The body also at the same meeting recommended the appointment of 69 other judicial officers to enhance justice delivery in the country.

The decision was taken at the 93rd meeting of the NJC which held virtually on December 16, 2020.

A statement by the Director, Information NJC, Mr Soji Oye, noted that, Talba was recommended for compulsory

...appoints 69 judicial officers

retirement following an investigation into a petition against him by one Malam Zakar Adamu, Chairman, Movement for Justice in Nigeria.

The statement alleged that Talba falsified his age on two occasions, i.e. from February 1, 1955 to August 27, 1955 and later to December 30, 1959.

“Findings revealed that he was supposed to have retired on February 1, 2020 by virtue of his declared date of birth of February 1, 1955.

“Council, after deliberation, decided to recommend His Lordship’s compulsory retirement to Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State. Furthermore, Council requested the Government of Yobe State to deduct all salaries received by His Lordship from February 1, 2020 till date, from his gratuity, and remit same to the National Judicial Council that pays salaries of all Judicial

Officers in the Federation”, the statement said.

Regarding Abdulrasaq, the statement said following investigation into a petition against him by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Yomi Alliyu, it was discovered that he falsified his date of birth from September 3, 1955 to September 3, 1957.

“Council therefore, recommended His Lordship’s compulsory retirement to Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State with effect from September 3, 2020. It also requested the Osun State Government to deduct from His Lordship gratuity, salaries received by him from September 3, 2020, and remit same to the National Judicial Council”, Oye. Meanwhile, the body, in exercising its disciplinary powers under the 1999 Constitution has suspended both Talba and Justice

Reps move to end rivalry among Nigerian security agencies

Responders battle to put out fire from a tanker laden with diesel that exploded on Otedola Bridge inward Berger in Lagos on Saturday night.

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Digest

Abdulrasaq from office pending the approval of the recommendation of their compulsory retirements by their respective Governors.

However, the NJC dismissed 18 petitions against 14 judicial officers for lacking in merit.

“Similarly, Council considered the Report of the Interview Committee and recommended the appointment of Sixty-nine (69) Judicial Officers as Heads of Court, Judges of High Court of States, Kadis of States/FCT Sharia Courts of Appeal and Judges of the Customary Courts of Appeal.

“In another development, Council also received and approved the Report of its Committee on Appointments, Promotion and Discipline which recommended the promotion of Seventy (70) Members of Staff of the National Judicial Council”, the statement added.

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Feature 26 Sports 30-31 Back Page

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Lagos/Ibadan railway to be ready by January - Amaechi reassures

By Albert Akota

T

he Minister of Transportation Rotimi Ameachi has charged China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) the Contractor handling the lagos ibadan railway to ensure its completion

by January, 2021.

Amaechi who was speaking during an inspection of the terminal, said the January

date for the commissioning of Apapa Extention railway alongside that of Lagos-Ibadan remains sacrosanct, hence the appeal for cooperation from all stakeholders is maintained.

“We have already told the President, that we are commissioning in January.

Now, I am working towards that time. We must achieve that time”, he said.

The Minister further said, “the moment we begin

movement of cargo from Lagos to Ibadan, then the Lagos gridlock will reduce drastically and that’s my objective in January” Earlier, the Country Manager of APM Terminal, Klaus Laursen, showed the Minister the monitoring station which gives real time information on what is happening in all sections of the terminal, saying ” the essence is to have it here to control and monitor cargoes

coming in and going out of the terminal.”

According to him, they decided to introduce one in Nigeria as it is the trend in Shanghai and other global towns where similar operations take place.

While acknowledging the fact that the terminal is not where it is supposed to be, Laursen, said they were putting the right facilities in place to encourage productivity.

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

News

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

T

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of plot to use an impostor, as spokesperson, to heighten the already unbearable insecurity in the Northwest part of the country.

The party said this in a statement at the weekend by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan in Abuja.

The PDP claimed that it has already been made aware of the alleged plots by the APC to use the said impostor to destabilize the northwest states, particularly

News Editor, Ese Awhotu

PDP alleges APC’s plot to heighten insecurity in Zamfara, other Northwest states Zamfara state, create space for violence and blame it on Governor Bello Muhammad Matawalle.

According to the statement, “Our party has also noted series of devious statements against Governor Matawalle by the APC, a party that has been exposed to be encouraging acts of terrorism, banditry and kidnapping in our country.

“The APC has been distraught since their roles in emboldening acts of terrorism have been exposed by our party and now seeks to use an impostor, as spokesperson, to trigger violence, heighten insecurity and blame it on innocent Nigerians.

“Our party charges Nigerians to hold the Governor Mai Buni-led caretaker committee responsible, should there be any sudden wave of

acts of terrorism, kidnapping and banditry in Zamfara state.

“Also Nigerians should hold the APC caretaker committee responsible should there be another mass abduction in any other state of the Northwest or any other part of our nation for that matter.

“Our party cautions the APC to end its evil enterprise with the lives of Nigerians for their selfish

interest.

“Now that the APC has been exposed,”, the PDP charged Nigerians “ to be at alert, remain united in resisting the APC and its antics and continue to give useful information to our security forces, even as they collectively work hard on opportunities offered by democracy to rescue our nation from the stranglehold of the APC”.

Minister hails Nigerian Film selection for 2021 Oscars

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

T

he Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has lauded the emergence of ‘The Milkmaid’ as Nigeria’s representative in the International Feature Film category of the 2021 Oscars.

This was contained in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by Segun Adeyemi, Special Assistant to the President (Media)Office of the Minister of Information and Culture.

The Minister said the film is a testament to the progress which the local film industry has made in the areas of professionalism and international competitiveness, while also highlighting Nigeria’s potential as a viable destination for cutting edge film productions.

He pledged government’s full support for ‘The Milkmaid’s’ success at the 2021 Oscars, and urged all Nigerians to fully support the film’s quest for a noteworthy run at the 93rd Oscars.

The film was selected by the 12-member Nigeria Official Selection Committee (NOSC), having followed and met the prescribed procedures by the United States’ Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

The selection of ‘The Milkmaid’ was officially announced on December 1st, 2020 by the NOSC, headed by a filmmaker and education administrator, Chineze AnyaeneAbonyi.

Written, produced and directed

by Desmond Ovbiagele, ‘The Milkmaid’ is a Hausa language-based thriller spotlighting insurgency and extremism, especially as they affect women and children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The film, which recently garnered eight nominations at the 2020 Africa Movie Academy Awards. narrates the story of a Fulani milkmaid who

confronts extremists in a rural African community in a quest to locate her missing sister, and details how efforts to recapture her disrupted past became complicated.

The film, while supremely

entertaining, simultaneously sensitizes and facilitates insights into the predicament of victims of insurgency, especially women and children, thereby contributing to ongoing efforts aimed at eradicating

extremism from the society.

Technically crafted to the highest international cinematic standards, The Milkmaid showcases the natural beauty of Nigeria’s topography such as the Mambilla Plateau in Taraba

state, while highlighting the richness of the subregion’s colourful Hausa and Fulani cultures.

The Executive Producer of The Milkmaid, Dr. Oluseun Sowemimo, is a US-based Nigerian surgeon.

LEADERSHIP chairman, Sam Nda-Isaiah for burial Dec. 28

T

he late Sam Nda-Isaiah, 58, who died on Friday, December 11, after taking ill briefly will be laid to rest on Monday, December 28, according to a family statement.

A statement by his brother, Mr. Abraham Nda-Isaiah, said dignitaries expected to participate in the events, which would commence on by 12noon on Wednesday with virtual tributes, include former heads of state, General Ibrahim Babangida and General Abdulsalami Abubakar.

The foremost traditional ruler in Niger State, Etsu Nupe, Dr. Yahaya Abubakar, is also expected

to participate in the events. NdaIsaiah held the traditional title of Kakaki Nupe, spokesperson of the Nupe people, among several other traditional titles.

There were also indications that on Sunday that the Presidency and Niger State (where the late Chairman comes from), would send delegations to the events, the family statement said.

The statement by Mr. Abraham Nda-Isaiah said the virtual tribute for the late media mogul would start at 12noon on Wednesday.

The Service of Songs will hold on Sunday, December 27, 2020 at

the International Conference Centre (ICC) Abuja at 3pm.

“He will be interred on Monday, December 28, 2020 at the Gudu Cemetery, Abuja at 10am in what would be an invitation-only ceremony,” Abraham said.

Sam Nda-Isaiah, who was a pharmacist, entrepreneur, media mogul and an astute politician. His passing has drawn an outpouring of grief across the country and abroad.

A statement from his family announcing the death penultimate Friday had said Sam Nda-Isaiah “was a family man, serial entrepreneur and visioner, passionate politician,

and above all, a man of faith.”

Although he trained as a pharmacist, “Sam”, as he was fondly called, adopted journalism as his profession and earned a mark for himself having founded the LEADERSHIP Newspaper titles, National Economy and AYAU, the first daily Hausa newspaper.

He was also a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a political platform he contested for the presidential ticket in 2014.

The media mogul is survived by his aged mother, wife, children and siblings.

Personnel of the Nigerian Navy Central Naval Command lowering the Ensign, as an age long naval tradition, during the Central Naval Command 2020 End of Year Ceremonial Sunset at the Command Headquarters , at the weekend in Yenagoa. Photo ,; DINFO CNC

INEC holds 1st election in 2021 in Niger State

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

T

he Independent National Election Commission, INEC, said yesterday that the Court-ordered Re-run Election into Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency of Niger State will take place on Saturday, 6 February 2021.

The Commission declared that only duly nominated and qualified candidates of African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are eligible to participate in the election.

The commission said this in a statement yesterday by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Mr Festus Okoye.

The INEC statement declared that fresh nomination of candidates is not allowed in a court-ordered re-run election.

It stressed that Kasimu Danjuma and the APC will not participate in the election as the candidate have been disqualified and the election nullified by the Court.

The Commission, the statement explained, will give the statutory notice

of election on 11 January 2021 while the Political Parties will submit the list of their party agents on 29 January 2021.

It stated that the last day for campaigns is 4 February 2021 while the election will take place on 6 February 2021.

The timetable and schedule of activities for the election, it said, has been uploaded on the Commission’s website and social media platforms.

The statement teads, “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) met today (yesterday) Thursday 17 December 2020, and deliberated on a number

of issues including the judgement of the Court of Appeal delivered on 17 November 2020 which affirmed the nullification of the return of Kasimu Danjuma of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as member representing Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency of Niger State.

“It will be recalled that the Commission conducted bye-election in Magama /Rijau Federal Constituency of Niger State on 14 March 2020 and returned Kasimu Danjuma of APC as duly elected.

‘However, on 21 September 2020, the Election Petitions Tribunal

disqualified the said Kasimu Danjuma of APC and nullified his election. On 17 November 2020, the Court of Appeal affirmed the disqualification and nullification of the said election and ordered the Commission to conduct re-run election within 90 days from the date of the judgment.

“It is important to note that the disqualification and nullification of the election was based on the ground that the candidate submitted forged documents to the Commission and had nothing to do with any infraction on the part of the Commission”, it added.

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

News

Reps move to end rivalry among Nigerian security agencies

By Christiana Ekpa

T

he House of Representatives Thursday took steps to address the lack of synergy and unhealthy rivalry among security agencies in Nigeria The House consequently urged the Federal Government to put necessary machinery in place to ensure collaboration amongst the security agencies in Nigeria to achieve national security; It also urged the various security agencies to train and educate their personnel on a frequent basis the need to see other security agencies as partners in the fight against insecurity.

The Green Chamber further asked the National Security Adviser to ensure that the leadership of the various security agencies inculcate discipline among their personnel.

These resolutions were reached

Reps Ok N453.200bn NDDC 2020 budget

By Christiana Ekpa

T

he House of Representatives on Thursday approved N453.200 billion 2020 budget for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for the period ending 31st March, 2021.

The approval was sequel to the consideration of the report of the House Committee on NDDC by the Committee of Supply at plenary.

Out of the N453.200 billion, N27.389 billion is for Personnel Expenditure, N13.937 billion is for Overhead Expenditure, N2.

793 billion is for Internal Capital and N409.080 billion is for Development Projects.

The report presented by Chairman of the Committee on NDDC, Olubunmi TunjiOjo read: “issue from the Statutory Revenue Fund of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Total Sum of N453,200,000,000.00 (Four Hundred and Fifty–Three Billion, Two Hundred Million Naira) only, of which the sum of N27,389,000,000 (Twenty– Seven Billion, Three Hundred and Eighty–Nine Million, Naira) only is for Personnel Expenditure.

“N13,937,244,107 (Thirteen Billion, Nine Hundred and Thirty– Seven Million, Two Hundred and Forty–Four Thousand, One Hundred and Seven Naira) only is for Overhead Expenditure, N2,793,755,893 (Two Billion, Seven Hundred and Ninety– Three Million, Seven Hundred and Fifty–Five Thousand, Eight Hundred and Ninety– Three Naira only is for Internal Capital, N409,080,000,000 (Four Hundred and Nine Billion, Eighty Million Naira) only is for Development Projects for the period ending on 31 March, 2021”.

upon the adoption of a motion sponsored by Abbas Adigun at plenary.

Moving the motion, Adigun noted the violent conflicts among security operatives that have over the years become a recurrent decimal in inter-agencies relations in Nigeria; He also noted that for more than two decades, hardly did a year without recording violent clashes between security operatives particularly between personnel of the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria

Police Force.

According to the lawmaker, other security operatives and paramilitary organizations in Nigeria have been caught in the web of violent clashes over the years.

Adigun said he was: “Aware that the inter-agency feuds in Nigeria have exposed the country and her citizenry to perpetual threats and insecurity.

“Also aware that without synergy and effective collaboration among security agencies, the security challenges in the country

will remain unabated.

“Cognizant that failure of security operatives to address some of the daunting security challenges of Nigeria is due to lack of synergy between them.

“Concerned that security operatives rather than explore avenues of collaboration in security provision, capacity building and sharing intelligence reports, have over the years been engulfed in unhealthy rivalries.

“Worried that intra-agency discipline and inter-agency es-

pirit de corps appears to be on the decline and this could be detrimental to the security of the country.

“Also worried that recent events in the country, particularly in Taraba, Kaduna and Ebonyi States where soldiers and the police where engaged in clashes is a pointer to the fact that there are still traces of disharmony, lack of cooperation and synergy in operation and information management among security agencies”.

EU commends Buhari on release of abducted students

By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja

T

he European Union Human Rights Forum (EUHRF) has commended President Mohammadu Buhari for the release and safe return of the 344 students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State.

The Group ensures that President Buhari’s administration will put measures in place to ensure that such actions do not repeat itself again.

In a statement signed by Joseph Cullen, Special Rapporteur, Lake Chad, West Africa, EU said the release of the students is a deserving relief to see that everything ended without bloodshed. ‘’The abduction had sent shockwaves across the entire international community because of the similarities it shared with the kidnap of the schoolgirls in a secondary school in a town of Chibok in Borno State of Nigeria which took

place on the night of Monday, the 14th day of April 2014 under the previous administration. ‘’EUHRF commends President Muhammadu Buhari and the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for this cheery outcome even as it is now apparent that measures must be implemented to ensure such actions do not occur in the first place.

This will ensure that the priority that President Buhari gives to matters pertaining to women and children continues to remain in place since these are vulnerable people that must be given extra protection in view of the complex security situations that Nigeria is having to deal with owing to an unhealthy mix of internal, external, state and non-state factors that Nigeria is contending with. ‘’We commend President Buhari for the swiftness and efficiency with which the lads were rescued from their abductors. Such swiftness would have made all the difference had such

occurred in 2015 when school girls were similarly abducted from their school in Chibok, Borno state. It is commendable that critical time was not lost in returning the school boys back to their families. ‘’EUHRF’s one major concern from the entire incidence is the tenacity with which some key players wanted to chalk up the abduction as credit to Boko Haram, which had criminally claimed credit for the development that it knows nothing about. This goes to confirm the concerns that some indigenous groups had expressed in the past that there is much of political coloration to the security breaches in Nigeria’’, the organisation said in a statement.

Cullen said the EUHRF is committed to lending support in any way possible for the government to deal with terrorist propaganda that encourages those with criminal intentions to commit these kind of acts.

The organisation expressed shock that at the result Nigeria was able to achieve in dealing with the situation before external support could be factored in.

EUHRF further commended other stakeholders in Nigeria who made the feat possible. ‘’The outcome could not have been possible without President Buhari providing the needed leadership but the collaborative inputs of the other layers of the government is remarkable. We therefore commend the Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari and the Nigerian Army for their valiant and cooperative efforts towards ensuring the release of the schoolboys. ‘’It is imperative that Nigeria now gets similar support from governments of the world in order to deal with a problem that has manifested its spread across national boundaries.

L-R: senior programme officer, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) Mr.Fidelis onyejegbu, reoresentative of the Ministry of Transport audit department , Kato Jesuloluwa, Lead Director CSJ, Mr. Eze Onyekpere, representative of the ministry of science and technology, Mrs. Mariam Amodu, Rep. federal ministry of Labour Audit unit, mr Yemi Dojumo and the Director internal audit, federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Mr. Akpan Jumbo, during the public presentation of the Audit Assesment index and award of MDAs that meet their constitutional audit report and make it open, held at the weekend in Abuja : photo : Justin Imo-owo

Creative Art is a vibrant sub-sector of tourism industry -Kangiwa

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

T

he Director-General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Nura Kangiwa has stated that the Creative Art Industry is one of the most vibrant activity sub-sectors of the tourism industry requiring the support and collaborations of relevant institutions of both public and private sectors of the country to grow and develop the industry Kangiwa who made the disclosure when he received the Most Beautiful Face Southern Nigeria,Miss Uwah Edidiong Ezekiel in his office recently.

This was contained in statement signed by Deputy Director Media &Public Relations Ahmed Sule .

He said that the beauty pageant industry is part of the Creative Arts that offers youths the platform to showcase their talents in a variety of ways that make them functional citizens contributing their quota for the progress and development of the country.

He said NIHOTOUR as the apex public sector institution saddled with the responsibility of capacity building and offering skilled training of different grades and cadres in the country’s hospitality and the travel-tourism

industry is willing to support and collaborate with Miss Uwah Ezekiel to participate at all levels of beauty contests both at home and abroad and succeed as well as achieve her dream goal of becoming the most beautiful beauty pageant worldwide.

Kangiwa posited that NIHOTOUR does not have the financial muscle to offer funds in her beauty contest quests, but will endorse her bids and solicit for her the goodwill and financial wherewithal to pursue her career in local and global contests for the coveted crown of either the most beautiful face, most beautiful girl, etc. from public and private sector organizations,

individuals and corporate bodies.

Earlier in her address, Miss Uwah Edidiong from Akwa Ibom state and current crown holder of the Most Beautiful Face Southern Nigeria 2020 which she won in Lagos, September 2020, said she was at NIHOTOUR to seek the support and collaboration of the Director-General in her contest and quest for Ms. International World 2021 Crown back to Nigeria as well as to request him to serve as the Patron of her organization under the auspices of the Most Beautiful Face of Southern Nigeria in view of his pedigree of philanthropic gestures and outstanding contributions to humanity.

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

T

he Nigerian military said its troops of Operation HADARIN DAJI in conjunction with Police and local vigilante deployed at Dandume LGA of Katsina State, have rescued 39 kidnapped girls and rescued 8 rustled cattle.

The military in a statement issued on Sunday, by Major General, John Enenche, Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Defence Headquarters, said the troops received a distress call at about 11:30 PM on 19

Nigeria must not allow outlaws hold country to ransom- Atiku

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

F

ormer Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar said the frequency and ease with which bandits are killing innocent people almost on a daily basis is embarrassing and should be halted lest outlaws are allowed to rule over affairs.

Atiku stated this while expressing sadness and outrage over the brutal murder of aides and security details of Emir of Kaura Namoda, Alhaji Sanusi Muhammad Asha by bandits who attacked his convoy.

Reacting to the attack in which two other persons were also killed, Atiku lamented that the rate at which life is becoming cheaper is worrisome.

The Wazirin Adamawa, in a statement from his Media office, noted that a situation where the people are afraid to leave their homes for the fear of their lives being terminated by bandits is a cause for anxiety, advising that the government response should be tougher and more proactive than what obtains currently.

According to him, “Condemnation of attacks is not enough to reassure citizens who are constantly living in fear.

“The government should speed up the prosecution of terrorists and bandits in order to send a strong message to these outlaws that there are consequences for wilful taking of life”, he said.

Atiku commiserated with the families of all those who may have lost a dear one, Emir Muhammad Asha, the Kaura Namoda Emirate Council and the government and people of Zamfara State over the tragedy.

News

Troops rescue 39 Islamiya children, recover 8 rustled cattle in Katsina December 2020 from locals at Mahuta village that suspected bandits were moving with unconfirmed numbers of Islamiya children mostly girls and rustled cattle.

He said the report indicated that the children were returning from Maulud

programme at Unguwar AlKasim village at Dandume.

“In reaction to the distress call, troops quickly mobilized to the scene, laid ambush and blocked bandits’ route along Daudawa-Kadisau and road Sheme Mairuwa and Unguwar Audu village.

“While patiently waiting for the bandits at the ambush and blocking position, troops established contact with bandits and engaged them.

During the fierce battle, troops superior fire power forced bandits to abandon the children and the rustled cattle

thereby forcing the bandits to flee in disarray into the forest.

“Troops thereafter, searched the general area and rescued the children.”

“The victims have been reunited with their families while the recovered cattle handed to the owners.”

Zamfara: No records of bandits' attack, killing, kidnappings in Shinkafi -LG Sole Administrator From Ibrahim Sidi Muh'd, Gusau

T

he Sole Administrator of Shinkafi local government Council, Sani Galadima Shinkafi, has appreciated Peace Reconciliation Initiative by the present administration of Governor Bello Matawalle as it helps to end the banditry activities and other security challenges in the local government.

Sani Shinkafi made the statement in Kaura Namoda at a town hall meeting organized for local governments in Zamfara-North by the State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning which was aimed to derive real projects to be executed as planned in the 2021 budget been presented to the State House of

Assembly for legislative deliberation.

Shinkafi further said, "Despite successes achieved by the State Government and the Security Agencies in tackling security challenges in Shinkafi local government, there was still need to prioritize the construction of Zangero-Badarawa-Kware-Kurya about 60 kilometer road that linked Zamfara with some parts of Katsina and Sokoto states.

"By considering the said project which bears the weight of over 600,000 populace in the 2021 budget, the security personnel on roads and farms' patrols would then found it easier to reach any targeted community that may lodge distress calls for rescue, and the construction of the road would also facilitate easy

transportation of farm products to the targeted markets", the Sole Administrator has prayed.

Number of observations were made by representatives of the 4 benefitting local government councils of the zone including Kaura Namoda, Birnin Magaji, Zurmi and Shinkafi.

The town hall meeting as according to the Director and Economic Planning, Hamza Salihu who, represented the State Commissioner, Ibrahim Jibo Magayaki, said the aim of the meeting was to inform the zone on the planned projects to be executed for their wellbeing.

“Part of the reasons for organizing the town hall meeting was to read out the list of projects marked by the State Government for the zone, and on the

other hand, to listen to them whether they may suggest another important project that was not captured in the 2021 budget.

“Being first of it’s kind in the state, the town hall meeting on the budget was aimed at providing enabling environment for the teeming beneficiaries to take part in the budget decision where they could either support the planned projects or replace them with more important ones”, Magayaki has said.

Also speaking on behalf of people of Zurmi local government, the Chairman Zurmi Initiative Forum, Suleiman Babayo Zurmi, advised that, the State Government need to come up with projects that would improve it’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

R-L: Fedral Commissioner representing Abia at the Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission, Dr. Chris Akomas Commissioner for Fiance Akwa Ibom State Mr. Nsikan Linus Nkan. and the Assiatant Comtroller, Nigerian Customs, Etop Essien , during the Federation Account Allocation Comittee meeting , recently in Abuja.

P h o t o : Justin Imo-Owo

AKH-TRACADA condemns killing of commercial motorcyclist, appeals for calm

By Ochiaka Ugwu

T

he Anti-Kidnapping, Human Trafficking, Child Abuse & Drugs Abuse Initiative (AKHTRACADA) has condemned the killing of a commercial motorcyclist in Igbo-Ukwu, Aguata Local Government of Anambra State over disagreement arising from the State authority’s ban on Okada riding.

In a press statement released in Abuja by the National Coordinator of AKH-TRACADA, Primate Belonwu Ezeanyaeche it noted that the shooting was unwarranted and uncalled for.

He however, advised those who wish to continue the protest to embrace peace for stability sake as the situation in the country does not call for anything that will heighten the already tensed environment.

He noted that dialogue is greatly required to resolve all pending issues within the polity and in all dealings with governments worldwide and throughout all history, including wars, everything ends on the negotiating table.

“We must be ready to dialogue with the authorities lest you lose your momentum and colossal gains and citizens’ support.

‘Please observe that the Anambra State government has demonstrated ready acquiesces to arrest the situation with the help of the security operatives.

“The nation’s destiny is in your hands. You have a unique opportunity to put your names in gold in the annals of our National History if not National Treasure” he said.

While urging support for security agencies, he advised that people should be prompt in reporting any issue to security operatives instead taking law into their hands.

Continuing, Ezeanyaeche

specially appreciated the Executive Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano for his prompt response in dousing the tension generated as a result of the conflict.

He said Gov. Obiano’s cash gift of N500, 000 each to the families of victims and award of scholarship to one of the children is a clear demonstration of his commitment to total peace and tranquility in the State.

He tasked Anambarians to always support the administration of Gov. Obiano as he has all it takes to make Anambra the truly light of the nation.

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

News

Economy: Zulum disburses N154m to 704 SMEs in Borno

By Musa Adamu

G

overnor Babagana Umara Zulum on Sunday disbursed N32m cash to 704 small and medium entrepreneurs in Borno state, bringing to N154m the amount given by the governor in the last one week, to boost small businesses, stimulate the local economy and fight poverty.

The distribution took place along Damboa road where 304 persons in small businesses received N50,000 each, and

Avoid overcrowded places during festive period -EHORECON warns

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

E

nvironmental Health Officer’s Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON) has warned that people should avoid overcrowded places during this festive period.

The Acting Registrar of Dr Baba Yakubu Muhammed, made the appeal at a press briefing on the Control of the Second Waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Abuja.

He said that second wave of the COVID-19 seems deathly and what this means is that,as a nation we are doing all what it takes to strengthen our preventive services.

Muhammade said it has become more necessary to reecho the need for Nigerian to adhere strictly to provisions of the COVID-19 control protocol as the main barriers of the virus spread .

He explained that, the honourable minister of environment has given immediate directives for the reactivation of all our resources to do intensive environmental surveillance and inspection by ensuring that public places and homes produces national ventilation process.

“Nigerians should use both artificial and natural ventilation in their public places, homes and abide by all covid -19 rules”,he said.

He also pointed out that this will go a long way in reducing the impotency of virus in order not to infect humans.

He used the opportunity to appeal to Nigerians to take the minister message seriously.

at Kulo Gumna at which 400 more, benefited the same N50,000 each. Both places are in Maiduguri.

A total of N35.2 million naira was disbursed to entrepreneurs in Sunday’s exercise. Before it, N75 million was earlier distributed to cola nut sellers, N20 million to traders around dandal and another N24 million to traders operating around customs round about in Maiduguri. Each of the beneficiaries also received N50,000 to boost their small

businesses.

At the Sunday’s programme, Governor Zulum charged the beneficiaries to make proper use of the empowerment package given to them, he said, the disbursement was in fulfillment of his campaign promises to the people.

Speaking to journalists, Zulum said: “we want to empower them, you are aware that many of our people have completly lost their means of livelihood as a result of the insurgency. Empowerment

is one of the items in our 10 pact agenda, so in fulfillment of our campaign promises we have to empower our people so that they can be gainfully self-employed.

I appeal to the beneficiaries to make judicious utilization of the little we have given them so that it can grown and make some impact”.

Before Zulum’s distribution, General Manager of Borno Renaissance Microfinance Bank, Dr. Bello A. Ibrahim said over N1 billion has so far been disbursed

within one year, to various clubs and associations.

In December 2019, N384m was distributed to empower street beggars while in January 2020, N515m was disbursed in ‘cash for work’ programme in which 2,862 members “Ecomog”, an outlawed political political thuggery group, were paid N30,000 each month for a half of the year. The youths received payments for cleaning the streets.

Ebonyi PDP raises alarm over insecurity, bloodbath, arms stockpiling

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

T

he Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ebonyi state chapter, has raised the alarm over stockpiling of arms, general insecurity, deliberate preparation for bloodbath and use of state resources for partisan activities.

The Ebonyi state of the PDP raised the alarm at the weekend at an emergency press briefing in Abuja.

The Publicity Secretary of the PDP in the state, Barr. Silas Joseph Onu, explained that the primary aim of the briefing was to put the nation and the entire world on notice in respect to the rising level of politically motivated violence and killings in Ebonyi State.

The Ebonyi PDP noted that the development has now been exacerbated since Governor David

...Begs international community to intervene Umahi decamped from the PDP to All Progressives Congress (APC) few weeks ago.

According to Barrister Onu, “For the sake of clarity, we do not harbor any ill-feelings concerning the decision of the Governor to leave the PDP, especially as the decision was solely for personal reasons.

“However, the feeling is not mutual as our members have been subjected to acts of intimidation, violent attacks and direct threat to lives (even as people get killed daily under the guise of cult clash) from persons under the direct leadership of the Governor. Ebonyi State has become the most dangerous State to disagree with a Governor as the consequences are dire,” the party said.

Speaking about the insecurity and deliberate preparation for bloodbath in the state, the party said, “we are aware of the plans to make this holiday season the bloodiest in Ebonyi State, for those who are perceived as ‘enemies’ of the Governor due to political differences.

“Since the decamping of the Governor to the APC, his rhetoric has only persistently been geared towards activating his support base for violence against key leaders of the PDP, especially those from his immediate constituency, like me, who hail from the same community with the Governor.

“The former Secretary to the government of the Federation, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, GCON, is not exempted from this planned reign of

violence, verbal and physical. Same applies to the serving members of the National and State Assemblies from Ebonyi South.

“This is not to say that those from the northern or central zones are spared from this planned violence and criminal set-ups, but the importance of hitting hard at home cannot be over-emphasized.

“Many of us have received threats either directly or through proxies, indicating that a scenario of violence will be staged with the main intention of harming us.

“Personally, I have gotten some sort of intimidating utterances that call for concern and we are calling on all the security agencies to be vigilant in the state and deal with any act of violence as state sponsored, because it is.

Director-General, National Center for Women Development(NCWD), Mrs Mary EkpereEta(2and L), with Tilling and Masonry artisans and their equipment during the closing ceremony of 2020 Residential Capacity Building Empowerment program for 200 Female Artisans organized by the NCWD, recently Abuja . Photo; NAN

PDP hails Saraki’s commitment to nation’s unity, stability

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

T

he Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described former Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki as an exceptionally courageous leader, excellent administrator and brilliant legislator whose commitment to the unity, stability and development of the country has remained unshaken.

The PDP particularly noted that Senator Saraki has continued to make sacrifices for the wellbeing of humanity as well as the

development and entrenchment of good governance in our country both in private practice as a medical doctor as well as in public life as governor of Kwara state, Senator of the Federal Republic, President of the Senate and now as a loyal party man.

The main opposition party said this in a statement at the weekend by by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan in Abuja in celebration of the 58th birthday of Senator Saraki.

The PDP pointed out that the

landmark legislations, including the amendments to the 1999 Constitution and other relevant laws in pursuit of good governance and much-desired electoral reforms, stand Saraki out as a patriot, who put the wellbeing of the nation over and above individual, group or sectional interests.

It added that Saraki’s commitment towards the effort to rescue the nation from the stranglehold of misrule, including as Director-General of the PDP at the 2019 Presidential Campaign

Council; with resounding success, and now as the Chairman of PDP National Reconciliation and Strategic Committee, demonstrated his loyalty to the party and our nation in general.

The PDP statement’s reads, “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) congratulates former President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, as he attains the age of 58 years.

“The party described Senator Saraki as an exceptionally courageous leader, excellent administrator and brilliant legislator whose commitment to the unity, stability and development of our country has remained unshaken.

PAGE 7

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

CRIME News

Delta Poly expels 2 students over involvement in cultism T

By Nosa Akenzua, Asaba

he management of Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, has expelled two students of the institution for gross misconducts

and cult-related activities.

The Rector of the institution, Professor Stella Chiemeke, in a chat with newsmen in her office at Ogwashi-Uku, explained that the two students were deeply involved in cult-related activities

and gross misconducts.

She said the two students, whose names were given as Jonald Ometan (male) with matriculation number FDT/ HND/18/0015, Department of Foundry Engineering

Technology and Justin Ometan (male) with matriculation number COM/ND/18/10126, Department of Computer science, ceased to be students of the institution with immediate effect.

The rector added that the management of the institution would continue to give zero tolerance for acts of indiscipline, calling on students to abstain from acts capable of putting them in trouble.

Covid-19:FG urges Nigerians to obey rules

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

T

he Minister of Environment, Dr Mohammad Abubakar has urged Nigerians to obey all Covid-19 rules.

Abubkar made the appeal yesterday in Abuja, at a ministerial press briefing on the Control of the Second Waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said, “it is necessary that we remind ourselves that Nigeria is witnessing a resurgence of COVID-19 Infection going by the records of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control(NCDC).

“The second wave as it is known, is hitting countries and territories with varying degrees of impact. The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, has been advocating to Nigerians to observe safety provisions in the Protocol for Corona Virus Disease control in the Country”.

He said that the Federal Ministry of Environment has already begun Terminal Environmental decontamination and disinfection of Premises where COVID-19 cases have been recorded stemming out of requests from such quarters.

He emphasized that “It is once more necessary to re-echo the need for Nigerian citizens to adhere strictly to provisions of the COVID-19 control protocol as the main barriers of the virus spread”.

He pointed out the need for Nigerians to keep their hand hygiene,

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

T

he Nigerian military said its troops have killed 2 bandits’ in Benue State and arrested one other.

The military in a statement issued on Sunday by Major General, John Enenche, Coordinator, Defence Media

By Nosa Akenzua, Asaba

D

elta State Governor, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, has congratulated former President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, on his 58th birth anniversary today.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, in Asaba, Okowa acknowledged Saraki's unparalleled efforts at repositioning and ensuring the independence of the legislature

respiratory hygiene, avoidance of crowd, physical distancing as well as terminal and concurrent decontamination and disinfection must continue to be adopted by all and sundry.

“I would like to appeal to Nigerians to embrace the safe utilization of decontamination formulations and administration by engaging only licensed Environmental Health Practitioners for Decontamination

and Disinfection Services as an efficient non pharmaceutical Corona control measure”.

Also speaking,the Acting Registrar of the Environmental Health Officer’s Registration Council

of Nigeria (EHORECON) Dr Baba Yakubu Muhammed, said the second wave of the COVID-19 seems deadly “and what this means is that,as a nation we are doing all what it takes to strengthen our preventive services.”

Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya being accredited before casting his vote at Yahaya Umaru polling unit 010, Jekadafari ward Gombe during the Local Government Councils Election held on Saturday in Gombe state.

Military kill 2 bandits in Benue Operations, Defence Headquarters, said the operations took place on16 December 2020, when the troops acted on credible intelligence on identified hideout of some of late Gana’s militia gang members

in parts of Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State.

He said the troops conducted a dawn raid on the criminals’ location at Adangbe Village in Mbacher Council Ward of the Local Government Area. “The superior

firepower of the troops forced the armed bandits to flee in disarray.

However, as troops engaged the criminals in a hot pursuit, 2 of them were neutralized, while another was arrested by the gallant troops.

“During the encounter, 3 locally made rifles l, 21 rounds of 7.62mm Special Ammunition as well as other items including a motorcycle were recovered by the troops. The arrested one has been handed over to the Police for further action.”

Okowa congratulates Saraki at 58

when he served as Chairman of the 8th National Assembly.

He stated that Saraki contributed immensely to the political development of Nigeria as a former governor and president of the senate.

According to Okowa, Saraki’s Senate was more of the People's parliament where several lifechanging Bills and motions were

passed to improve on the welfare of Nigerians.

He also lauded Saraki’s role as Director-General of PDP Presidential Campaign Council for the 2019 general elections, which he said, was very remarkable notwithstanding that the party did not win the presidential election.

“As President of the Senate from 2015-2019, you led a

remarkable pro-people Red Chamber which was dedicated to the course of providing Nigerians with legislations that will make their lives better.

"It is also worthy of note that the Senate you led clamoured, supported and obeyed the rule of law in all its endeavours.

“Under your watch, the independence of the legislature was

a core component of your leadership as summons from the Senate and House of Representatives were well respected by the executive.

“In spite of several distractions, you achieved significant milestones in the execution of your Legislative Agenda which was aimed at improving governance, ease of doing business and the quality of life of Nigerians.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

PAGE 8

News

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

FG approves enrolment agents to boos NIN enrolment -NIMC

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

T

he Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), has approved the licensing of 173 private sector Agents and 30 State Governments/Public Sector Institutions to conduct enrolment of Nigerians and legal residents into the National Identity Database (NIDB) on behalf of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

The Director-General/Chief Executive of NIMC, Engr. Aliyu Aziz, explained in a statement in Abuja, that the licensed agents were approved after successfully fulfilling all the conditions in the advertised Expression of Interest (EOI) which was done in 2019 as a first step towards the take off the National Digital Identity Ecosystem project.

According to the statement, a breakdown of the successful licensees shows that 16 state governments were licensed, including Abia, Akwa Ibom, Gombe, Lagos, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Oyo, Ogun, Sokoto and Zamfara states.

The statement which was signed by Kayode Adegoke, Head, Corporate Communications, said among the public sector institutions licensed are the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Pension Commission, Central Bank of Nigeria (through the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems Plc), National Population Commission, Economic and

Niger NBA raises alarm over rates of insecurity From Yakubu Minna

N

Mustapha,

iger State Branch of Nigeria Bar Association NBA, Minna has raised concern over the persistent operations of bandits, kidnappers and other criminals in the country.

This was contained in a press release issued and made available to our reporter in Minna which was jointly signed by the association Chairman Mohammed El-Surur Abubakar and Secretary Muhammad Sagir Abdul- Aziz.

The statement expressed dissatisfaction over the state of insecurity in the state.

Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joint Tax Board and Nigeria

Postal Services.

Other public sector organisations issued licences include Military Pensions

Board, Abuja Enterprise Agency, Corporate Affairs Commission, National Health Insurance Scheme, National Agricultural

How Refugees Commission plans to resettle, empower IDPs

By Egena Sunday Ode

T

he National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), has concluded plans for the establishment of resettlement centres for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) across the states of the federation.

The Honourable Federal Commissioner for NCFRMI, Senator Basheer Garba Mohammed who disclosed this to newsmen yesterday in his Abuja office said four statesZamfara, Borno, Katsina and Edo-would benefit from the first phase of the project.

Accordingly, the commission will perform the ground breaking

ceremony for the Katsina centre in Katsina tomorrow.

The Commissioner noted that 600 units of two bed room flats would be built in each of the centres with accompanying facilities such as schools, police posts, worship places, skills acquisition centres, water treatment plants among others to provide the IDPs with decent living.

He said the centres were necessitated by the imperative for the over 2.5 million displaced persons scattered in about 290 official and about 700 unofficial camps to exit the camps.

To achieve this dream, according to him, the commission requested for 50 hectares of land each from

governors of the beneficiary states who have all “responded positively.”

“Government has provided funds and contractors are already being engaged,” he also noted.

Senator Mohammed disclosed that the whole arrangement is coming under what he called Project Reliance which is intended to provide empowerment for vulnerable and displaced Nigerians with a view to making them self reliant through acquisition of vocational skills.

He said the project which is in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would provide 50 different vocational skills for the beneficiaries to

choose from.

Thereafter, according to him, the apex bank would provide 70% and 30% percent of capital required by the applicants to practice the skills acquired at the centres.

He noted that no few than 350,000 applicants had already been verified by the commission in Borno State alone, adding that “ the idea is to empower as many as possible.”

Asked whether the commission was partnering donor agencies to build the centres in view of shortfalls in government revenues, the Commissioner said he would only require their assistance in the operation of the centres after they had been fully built.

Court stop PDP LG state congress in Jigawa From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse

F

ew hours for commencement of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) local government congress in Jigawa state, the high court of justice of Jigawa state has

ordered the party to stop for the conduct of the congress.

This was contained in the order issued by the court judge justice Musa Ubale at the court sitting held yesterday in Dutse. “an order of interim injunction

restraining the defendants/ respondents, their agents, privies or any other person(s) acting for and or on behalf of the defedants/ respondents from conducting local government and state congress as purportedly scheduled in the

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (REOI) (CONSULTING SERVICES)

BAUCHI STATE GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA INCLUSIVE BASIC SERVICE DELIVERY AND LIVELIHOOD EMPOWERMENT INTEGRATED PROGRAMME SUPERVISION, QUALITY ASSURANCE AND MONITORING FOR THE CONSTRUCTION WORKS

Extension & Research Liaison Services and National Commission for Refugees, Migrants & Internally Displaced Persons.

FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello cutting the tape at the road commissioning ceremony at Sabon Lugbe assisted by Executive Secretary FCDA, Engr Umar Gambo Jibrin (1st left) and staff of the FCTA, Ecological Funds Office and residents of the area, at the weekend in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

1st defendants letter dated 14th December,2020 with reference no.

PDP/DOM/GF.2/VOL.1A/20-217, pending the hearing and determination of the plaintiffs’/ Applicants’motion on notice is hereby granted “ the order said.

Page 9

USING CONSULTANTS QUALIFICATIONS (CQS) LOAN NO: 2100150036593 Project ID No: P-NG-100-001 REF NO: BA/IBSDLEIP/SERVICES/CQS/2020/01 1. Background The Bauchi State Government (hereinafter called “Borrower”) has received financing from the African Development Bank in the form of a “loan” toward the cost of Inclusive Basic Service Delivery and Livelihood Empowerment Integrated Project (IBSDLEIP).

The Bauchi State Programme Implementing Unit (PIU) the beneficiary of the loan intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this loan to eligible payments under the contracts for Supervision Consultancy Services of the construction works in the State; 2. Objectives of the Assignment The objective of the consultancy services is to put in place a robust system for quality management of all works contract under this programme in line with the design and technical specifications to ensure there is value for money. This assignment is equally meant to strengthen government and the consultant’s capacity in construction and contract management and to review design and other related documents from time to time.

3.0 Scope of Work This consultancy shall cover supervision, quality assurance, and certification of all works done under this programme for the year 2020 - 2021 in the selected locations.

The following works are expected to be supervised: A. Construction of sanitation and town hall facilities in 3 Model Schools, 3 Model PHCs and 2 TVET centers covering • Construction of 42 Pour flush Latrines: Comprising sub-structures, superstructures, finishing and handwashing facilities as per design and specifications.

• Construction of 3 Town Halls, as per design and specification.

B. Upgrade of 3 Model Primary Schools in three communities of Dagauda in Dambam LGA, Yalwan Duguri in Alkaleri LGA and Mashema in Itas/Gadau LGA. Comprising of the following: • Construction of 19 blocks of classrooms, library and laboratories • Rehabilitation of 15 blocks of classrooms and libraries • Construction of 3 perimeter fencing and gate houses • Construction of 3 recreational areas and 3 school gardens • Construction of 15 blocks of teachers’ accommodation • Construction of 3 Administrative blocks C. Rehabilitation/upgrage of 3 PHCs in the three communities of Dagauda in Dambam LGA, Duguri in Alkaleri LGA and Mashema in Itas/Gadau LGA, comprising the following: • Rehabilitation/improvement of 3 main PHC blocks • Construction of 15 blocks of nursing accommodation • Construction of 3 perimeter fencing and gate house D. Reconstruction/Rehabilitation of 2 TVET Centres at Azare in Katagum LGA and Bauchi in Bauchi LGA. • Rehabilitation of 22 blocks of workshops and classrooms • Construction of 8 workshops and classrooms • Rehabilitation of 3 teachers’ accommodation E. Supervise the works so that all the contractual requirements are met by the contractor including those in relation to quality of the works, safety and environmental protection, with the following as key tasks and deliverables: Task Table Tasks T1

T2

T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9

Description of task

Associated Deliverables Collaborate with the SPIU to organise pre-bid during the D1 Inception Report solicitation stage and inception meeting marking the beginning of the execution of the contract. These meetings will provide opportunities to clarify all issues pertaining the contract.

Review contractors’ program of work and work method D2 Final Management statement and grant approval for the document to be adopted plan on the project. The consultant will create a final project management plan given with inputs from the client and contractors.

Deploy qualified personnel to supervise works in line with the D3 Qualified staff approved project management plan, designs and technical deployed specifications Create and share monthly progress reports for all sites using D4 Monthly progress agreed formats report Hold contract management meetings with Contractor and D5 Minutes of Contract Client management Advise client on needed revisions to existing designs if there is D6 Up-to-date progress any possibility that may exist. report Clarify all technical issues as they may arise in the life of D7 As above contract Create a data base for progress reports.

D8 Data base of information Prepare valuation reports of all completed works to enable the D9 Evaluation report client meet their payment obligations.

4.0 CONSULTANT’S TEAM COMPOSITION, QUALIFICATION & ESTIMATED TIME IN-PUT SN Key Staff Minimum Qualifications & Experience (Detailed CV’s Time Inputs (Days) Required) 1 Team Lead/ • Bachelor’s Degree in Building/Civil Engineering, Architect, 365 Project Quantity Surveyor with at least 10 years leading similar Manager (1) consultancies and assignments.

• Postgraduate degree and professional qualification relevant to the assignment are mandatory.

• Experience in major programme design, development and implementation • Experience in project management shall be an added advantage.

Project 2 • Bachelor Degree in Building/Civil Engineering, Architect, 365 Senior Quantity Surveyor with at least 5 years’ experience related Engineers to the assignment.

(2) • Postgraduate degree or professional qualification relevant to the assignment is mandatory.

• Strong background in Project management and design.

• Professional certificate will be an added advantage.

3 Resident • Bachelor Degree in Building/ Civil Engineering, Architects, 240 Engineers Quantity Surveyors with at least 3 years’ experience related (5): to the assignment • Advance degree and Professional qualification relevant to the assignment is an added advantage.

4 Electrical • Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering with at least 3 180 Engineer (3) years’ experience related to the assignment • Advance degree and Professional qualification relevant to the assignment is an added advantage.

5 Mechanical • Bachelor Degree in Mechanical/ Civil Engineering with at 180 Engineer (3) least 3 years’ experience related to the assignment • Advance degree and Professional qualification relevant to the assignment is an added advantage.

6 Quantity • Bachelor Degree in Quantity Surveying with at least 3 180 Surveyor (2) years’ experience related to the assignment • Advance degree and Professional qualification relevant to the assignment is an added advantage.

5.

The Bauchi State Programme Implementation Unit (SPIU) now invites Expression of Interest (EOI) and information from suitable consultants that will provide supervision, quality assurance and monitoring for the construction works in 3 model schools, 3 PHCs and 2 TVET centers, for proposal submission to the AfDB Board seeking its approval for the programme funding.

Interested Consultants must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the assignment (Brochures, description and experience of similar assignments, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc.) Specifically, Consultants are to provide the following information: i. A full company profile, with all details (Address, contact person, Phone numbers, e-mail) ii. General Organizational capability and resources (staffing, years of experience) iii. A company CV iv. Evidence of intended Joint Venture partnership agreements where Consultants intend to associate v. Specific CV of Key Experts (listed above) fully endorsed and supported with verifiable educational and professional certificates 6. Time Frame The duration of the assignment is Twelve (12) Months. The assignment is expected to commence in March, 2021.

7. Eligibility criteria and the selection procedure for Consultant’s Qualifications Selection (CQS) are in accordance with the African Development Bank’s “Procurement Policy and Methodology for Bank Group Funded Operations” (BPM), dated October 2015, which is available on the Bank’ website at http://www.afdb. org/en/projects-and-operations/procurement/new-procurement-policy/ 8 Interested consultants may obtain further information at the address stated below during office hours 09:00-16:00 (WCA Time).

9 The Consultant shall submit One (1) Original and Three (3) copies of Expressions of Interest (EOI) with a soft copy on a CD and must be delivered to the address below by 4th January, 2021 (at 2 weeks after publication), at 12.00 noon.

The Programme Coordinator Bauchi State Government of Nigeria Inclusive Basic Service Delivery and Livelihood Empowerment Integrated Programme (IBSDLEIP) No. 5 Yakubu Maigari Road, Behind Government House, G. R. A. Bauchi, Bauchi State.

Emails:pc@basgafdbibsdleip.org or info@basgafdbibsdleip.org

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

PAGE 10

News From Ibrahim Sidi Muh’d, Gusau

Z

amfara State north zone has called for the State Government to consider the constructions of dams, roads and rehabilitations of markets across the 4 local government areas comprising Kaura Namoda, Birnin Magaji, Zurmi and Shinkafi.

The observations were made by representatives of the 4 benefitting local government councils of the zone during town hall meeting organized by the state Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning.

The town hall meeting as according to the Director and Economic Planning, Hamza Salihu who, represented the State Commissioner, Ibrahim Jibo Magayaki, said the aim of the meeting was to inform the zone

Zamfara North calls for inclusion of improved IGR, dams, roads in 2021 budget on the planned projects to be executed for their wellbeing.

“Part of the reasons for organizing the town hall meeting was to read out the list of projects marked by the State Government for the zone, and on the other hand, to listen to them whether they may suggest another important project that was not captured in the 2021 budget.

“Being first of it’s kind in the state, the town hall meeting on the budget was aimed at providing enabling environment for the

teeming beneficiaries to take part in the budget decision where they could either support the planned projects or replace them with more important ones”, Magayaki has said.

In his remarks, the sole administrator of Shinkafi local government council, Sani Galadima Shinkafi, has pleaded with the State Government to consider the construction of Zangero-Badarawa-Kware-Kurya about 60 kilometer road that linked Zamfara with some parts of

Katsina and Sokoto states.

Galadima further said, “There were 4 densely populated wards out of ten in the local government along the said road with over 600,000 inhabitants whose only source of living was nothing apart from farming. The road is not motorable enough to transport out their farm products, and for security personnel to answer distress calls”.

Also speaking on behalf of people of Zurmi local government, the Chairman Zurmi Initiative

Forum, Suleiman Babayo Zurmi, advised that, the State Government need to come up with projects that would improve it’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

“Renovations of markets in the zone will no doubt help provide opportunities to secure jobs for the teeming unemployed youths, and by so doing, there would be self reliance among them, while the rate of criminal activities will be reduced to the barest minimum”, Babayo insisted.

Walid Jibrin begs aggrieved PDP members to sheathe swords

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

T

he Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Walid Jibrin has called on all aggrieved members of the party to shield their sword, assuring that peaceful means will be explored to find amicable solutions to the various issues.

Senator Jibrin specifically appealed to the aggrieved members to remain in the party in view of the fact that the leaders of the main opposition party are working hard, looking for the way forward.

The Chairman BoT of the PDP made the appeal in a statement personally signed by him yesterday in Abuja.

Senator Jibrin pointedly declared that he and other leaders of the party are doing everything possible to find solutions to the various contending issues.

According to him, ‘In my capacity as Chairman of PDP BoT, the conscience of the party, I am watching very keenly the recent developments in our great party with a special call on all aggrieved members to remain in the party with a view to looking for the way forward.

“As the father of all, I have decided not to pay deaf ears to group or individual grievances to enable me play a neutral and fatherly role in order to harmonise the views expressed with a view to taking necessary action. “ I wish to call on the aggrieved members to shelve their sword while we explore all peaceful means to find an amicable solution.

“I want to state that it is very normal for any member or groups to air their views, but we must use the various reconciliation strategies in order to make the party the strongest. “ I want to further state that PDP has come to stay with no shaking and determination to bring our detractors and enemies to shame”, he said.

The BoT Chairman appealed to all the organs of the PDP including the National caucus, BoT, National Executive Committee, and the National convention to leave up to their expectations and be guided by justice and fairness without any sinister motives or personal aggrandizement.

He also urged the governors elected on the platform of the PDP to continue to use their positions to

...Tasks Govs to help keep party alive

keep the party alive.

He similarly called for support

for the Governor Bala Mohammed and Senator Bukola Saraki’s

committees on post 2019 post election review committee and

National reconciliation and strategic committee respectively.

L-R........Chief Executive Officer, Privilege Magazine, Hon, Victor, Bobai, the Awardee / Chief Executive officer EDI GEN GROUP of Company, Chief Benjamen Omale, Managing Director, Off the Company, Mrs, Gloria Omale, and Head of Chamber JB Daudu Kaduna Office, Barr, Osagie Isiramen, during the Presentation of 11th Nigeria Leadership Award held, at weekend in kaduna.

Photo: Shehu K. Goro

Kankara school boys’ release, shows importance Buhari attaches to security, says Mohammed

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

T

he Federal government has declared that release of the over 300 Kankara school boys in Katsina state on Thursday night was a testament to the importance that the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari attaches to the security and safety of all Nigerians.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who said this at a press conference in Abuja at the weekend, also appealed to those who are quick to politicize the issue of security to desist from such.

Alhaji Mohammed made it pointedly declared that there is no government in the world that will not face the challenges of security at one time or another, stressing that no government in the world is immune to terrorist attacks.

According to him, what stands any government out is the way and manner

it responds to such challenges.

The Minister, who said that no ransome was paid for the the release of the Kankara school boys, said, “The release of these school boys is a testament to the importance that this Administration attaches to the security and safety of all Nigerians.

“There is no government in the world that will not face the challenges of security at one time or another.

“No government in the world is immune to terrorist attacks.

“What stands any government out is the way and manner it responds to such challenges.

“Let me be clear: What happened in Kankara - and in Chibok and Dapchi before it - is totally unacceptable.

“Our children should not have to go to school in trepidation.

“The Federal Government is doing everything possible to secure all our schools, and indeed all Nigerians. And

we will not relent until all Nigerians can go to bed at night with their two eyes closed”, he said.

Continuing, Alhaji Mohammad said, “Let me state here that the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will do everything possible to prevent a recurrence of these school abductions.

“But we also make bold to say that we have moved with speed and determination each time we have faced the challenge of school abductions, and the results attest to this. Each time this has happened, we have always accepted responsibility, rather than being in denial.

“And that has made all the difference in whether or not the abducted school children have been recovered.

“We will not relent until all those who remain missing in Chibok and Dapchi and reunited with their families.

“Irrespective of the security

challenges that we, as a nation, may be facing at this time, they are not insurmountable.

“We can only appeal to those who are quick to politicize the issue of security to desist from such.

“The reactions in certain quarters to the Kankara incident was shameful.

Some Nigerians went as far as denigrating their government and country in the most uncouth and irresponsible manner.

‘They simply threw decorum to the wind and allowed their emotions to take a better part of them.

“When disasters and tragedies strike, people come together. We hope the naysayers have learnt their lessons.

“And we hope those who have started trading and politicking with the hashtag ‘BringBackOurBoys’ can now go home, as our boys have been brought back, even before their dubious campaign could take off”, the Minister said.

Sen. Musa laments Niger East invasion by bandits From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

S

enator representing Niger East Senatorial district of Niger state, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa has decried that at least two persons have been killed about 5,000 persons rendered homeless and over 30 persons have been abducted since the

latest attacks.

The lawmaker who is the Chairman Senate Committee on Senate Services in a statement stated that armed men in their hundreds have unleashed mayhem and terror on innocent citizens in their peaceful villages, forcing them to evacuate their homes.

“On Thursday, 10th December, armed men numbering over fifty were reported to have stormed, at separate times, Garin Gabbas and Yakila communities in Rafi local government, where they abducted the District Head of Gunna, Ibrahim Abdulhameed, a youth leader of the All Progressives Congress and two

other persons”.

“On the same day, Chukuba and Kuchi communities in Shiroro local government area were attacked by bandits, in which a Christian cleric and a man thought to be a vigilante security personnel were killed, while at least eight persons were kidnapped.”

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

PAGE 11

Letter to the Editor

EDITORIAL

The sin of overzealousness

I

nspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, Dec. 4, ordered that a suit instituted by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), seeking to STOP judicial commissions of inquiry investigating alleged brutality by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) be withdrawn. He denied authorizing the court action and ordered an “immediate investigation” into the origin of the suit and the suspension of the head of the legal unit of the police.

Thereafter, Police spokesman Frank Mba issued a clarification, saying, “The IGP’s order, today, 4th December, 2020, is sequel to the outcome of investigations into the role played by the Force Legal Section in the institution of the said suit. Recall that the IGP had yesterday, 3rd December, 2020, ordered a probe into the alleged involvement of the Force Legal Section in the attempt to halt the ongoing States’ Judicial Panels of inquiry into the activities of the defunct SARS. Meanwhile, the IGP reassures citizens that the Force remains committed to the cause of justice at all times and will not allow anybody to constitute a ‘brick-wall’ to the ongoing reform process in the Force.”

The NPF filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, demanding an order to stop the judicial panels of inquiry set up by state governors to probe allegations of police brutality and human rights abuses by SARS and other police tactical units. The NPF, through its lawyer, Mr. O. M. Atoyebi, argued that the governments lacked the power to investigate the police force or its officers.

The suit urged the court to restrain the attorneys-general of the 36 states and their various panels of inquiry from going ahead with the probe focusing on police impunity.

According to the police, the state governments’ decision to

set up such panels violated the provisions of section 241(1)(2) (a) and Item 45, Part 1, First Schedule to the Constitution and Section 21 of the Tribunals of Inquiry Act. It argued that the Constitution and the Act give the federal government the exclusive power to “organise, control and administer the Nigeria Police Force”.

Therefore, it wanted the court to declare that “the establishment of a panel of inquiry by a governor of a state of the federation of Nigeria, to inquire into the activities of the Nigeria Police Force in relation to the discharge of her statutory duties is a gross violation of the law.”

The case was first listed for December 3 but was then rescheduled for December 18 because the court was unable to sit. The defendants included the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which set up the Independent Investigative Panel sitting in Abuja, the Attorneys-General of the 36 states, and chairmen of the various state panels.

The suit was a case of misdirected enthusiasm by a police officer, clearly not in sync with his immediate boss and out of touch with the new reality. The officers attempt to stop the probes going on in the states contradicted President Muhammadu Buhari’s tacit approval for the state governors to institute the panels of inquiry.

This is disobedience to authority of the highest order. In the light of this, IGP Adamu was right to stop the insidious suit. But he must go further to sanction the officer who initiated it and make sure that his officers invited to appear before the panels of inquiry do so promptly. This is the way to go.

“

The case was first listed for December 3 but was then rescheduled for December 18 because the court was unable to sit.

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The 2023 power shift debate!

T

he debate that the presidency moves to the south in 2023 is gaining momentum. Both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressivesl Congress (APC) have strong candidates from the south. But these candidates have their respective baggage and the parties have internal squabbles that must be resolved.

The APC has its stronghold in the Northwest, Southwest, Northeast and Northcentral - four of the nation’s six geopolitical zones. The PDP has strong structures in the six zones with a stranglehold in the Southeast and Southsouth.

Come 2023, the APC has no reasons to retain power in the north, but there is strong politicking by some governors and other bigwigs in the north to retain power. This will mean the APC contravening the unwritten agreement between the north and the south on power rotation. In any case, the APC does not have a strong presidential candidate from the north, though there are some northern governors and bigwigs secretly nursing presidential ambition.

If APC picks its presidential candidate from the south, especially southwest, the PDP may attempt to outwit this by looking to the north for its presidential candidate. This, as well, will put PDP in a catch-22 situation on how to explain this to the south, especially the Southeast and the Southsouth.

PDP has good candidates in their own ‘rights’ from the southeast and Southsouth.

Peter Obi from Southeast and Governor Nyesom Wike from the Southsouth. Obi does not have friends in the north, and has never tried to pull an appeal from the north, directly or by proxy. His deportation of other Nigerians to their states, when he was governor of Anambra state was used against him in the north during the 2019 electioneering campaign, and it worked. For Wike, his words‘Rivers is a Christian state’ will be used against him in the North, like Governor El-Rufai’s Muslim-

Muslim ticket in Kaduna can be used against El-Rufai. This is how local politics impacts a candidate’s wider political opportunities.

The Southeast has started a move to convince other Nigerians to support the region.

Southeasteners like Governor David Umahi, Orji Uzor Kalu, Rochas Okorocha, Ike Nwachukwu and others have friends and are well-known across the Niger. However, the major hurdle on the path of the region is the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Nnamdi Kanu. The current mirror-image of the Southeast in the mind of many Nigerians is IPOB and its leader.

In APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has the brightest chances to clinch the presidential ticket among all the presidential hopefuls, but he has a very difficult dilemma to solve. Tinubu, a Muslim from the Southwest, might have a free sail at home because of the complex nature of the socio-political settings of the region. But to appeal to other zones in the country, he will be in a quandary in respect of his choice of a running mate. If he picks a Christian from the north, the bulk of APC support in the north- the Muslim north, will look the other way, if he picks a Muslim from the north, the whole country will certainly be against a presidential MuslimMuslim ticket. Tinubu is a good candidate, but has a big dilemma.

The 2023 battle will be very interesting –like this writer has always maintained, PDP will be on the offensive, while the ruling APC will be on the defensive. The flag bearers of either parties will also have many political hurdles to cross. However, #ENDSARS has opened a big window of opportunity for politicians, whoever offers the youths, the vice presidential position may be able to contain the other obstacles effortlessly.

Zayyad I. Muhammad writes from Jimeta, Adamawa state zaymohd@yahoo.com 08036070980

PAGE 12

Opinion

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

Kenyans: Stop burning witches, witchcraft is superstition

By Leo Igwe

T

he Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AFAW) urges the people of Kenya to stop lynching persons suspected to be witches because witchcraft allegations are mistaken assumptions. The call has become necessary following reports of the brutal murder of elderly women accused of witchcraft in the country since August. Kenyan advocates drew the attention of AFAW to a particular video that was circulating on social media.

One advocate who shared the video also said: “Very disgusting this is! And the people that do this will not know peace. Witchcraft only exists in people’s minds. I’ve never believed in it. How do you even tell that a person is a witch if you’re not or you’ve never been one yourself?” The video contains revulsive scenes where an alleged witch, a woman in her 70s, was pleading for her life. She had been beaten and had bruises on her face. The mob put a tyre on her neck, covered her with dry leaves, and then set her ablaze while members of the public watched and cheered.

Many Kenyans have been commenting on the incident and pervasiveness of witch persecution and killing in the country. Njeri Wa Migwi-Mwangi posted this comment:”The first time I saw a video on Whatsapp of an elderly woman being burnt, she was in a ditch, she was bleeding and crying and begging them but they beat her anyway and they burnt her. I remember I broke down and cried and cried.

They said she had red eyes so she was a witch and deserved to die. No one was arrested. That was 2016. On 28th October, an elderly woman was burnt in and the same allegation was

made: she was a witch. That a child had died from flu in the neighborhood. My god, no one had a mask, no one. No one was arrested. I’ve checked and it’s a habitual thing to kill elderly women in Kisiiland under the guise that they’re witches. Most of these women are also widows.

Is this a case of land grabbing? Where is the outrage? Is it a crime to be elderly? Why are you killing old women? Why is no one talking about this! Thousands of posters advertising the services of witch doctors are in this city, with their numbers but somehow the ones in Kisii are the effective ones! Stop killing old women”.

In the same vein someone said: “I watched that clip, I couldn’t stand it. A chilling fear ran down my spine. Fear of the young men and women we are raising, who will commit murder in broad daylight, and will be applauded. This has been, will always be, murder. When people want to disinherit widows, they first accuse them of killing their husbands or being a witch’.

My heart bleeds for our society”.

Another Facebook user commented: “I hated when I saw one of the guys slapping our old mum, I couldn’t do the whole video when she caught fire, I missed mum who died a natural death(I was there seeing someone’s mum burning away. It’s painful, I wish we could do away with this kind of act” Usikimye, a local organization that campaigns against gender-based violence said this on its Facebook page: “Gender violence comes in many ways and one of the many ways is the killing of the elderly especially women under the guise of witchcraft. There was a heartbreaking video doing rounds of an old woman being beaten by a mob, and eventually,

she was set on fire. On 28th October, the same fate befell another old woman and the mob burnt her, they claimed that she had bewitched a child that died. This is a practice in Kisii and seems like parts of the coastal province are also on it.

We cannot in good conscience continue to be silent when the elderly are burnt. This could be an issue of disinheriting widows or grabbing land. Stop killing elderly women”.

In addition to comments on social media, a report in the Nation summarizes what transpired in Kiisi. A mob attacked the woman after she allegedly dropped “some leaves considered as witchcraft paraphernalia at the home of her stepson”. The stepson had lost three children in ‘mysterious circumstances’. The expression, ‘mysterious circumstances’ usually refers to situations that defy commonsense and everyday explanations. This elderly woman was suspected to be responsible for the death of the children. According to the report, the woman confessed to being behind the death when she was confronted. She claimed to have killed the children along with two other persons. The mob descended on the woman and lynched her.

As the report noted, the father of the children wondered what the woman was doing at their house very early in the morning.

When families suffer many deaths within a short period, members become paranoid and sometimes think that some persons might be using harmful magic against them. Elderly women are often suspected and scapegoated.

The belief is that elderly persons use magical means to extend their lives, and achieve longevity. Elderly persons kill children and younger persons to exchange their young souls

with their elderly ones. Thus the young persons die pre-maturely while the elderly continue to live.

AFAW implores all Kenyans to discard this baseless assumption and superstitious nonsense. The people of Kenya should understand that there is no evidence for witchcraft explanations of death, diseases, and other misfortunes. Kenyans should stop attacking and burning elderly women for witchcraft because these women are innocent and have no hand in deaths and other misfortunes in families. Witchcraft allegations are informed by ignorance, fear, and anxiety over existential challenges and uncertainties.

Elderly women need care, love, and protection because in some cases they suffer from dementia and other old age-related ailments that predispose them to make confessions and utterances that could easily be attributed to witchcraft. The people of Kenya should abandon the superstitious belief in witchcraft and embrace science and critical thinking.

In response to the recent development, AFAW has started a local Whatsapp group for advocates in Kenya who are discussing various ways to tackle the problem of witch persecution. Some have proposed to organize public education campaigns in the communities. Others have proposed to set up shelters for victims in the affected regions. It is encouraging to know that there are Kenyans who do not believe in witchcraft and who are willing to take measures to address this menace. For instance, one of the advocates posted the following on the platform: Leo Igwe is a Public Affairs Analyst.

Black ignorance, a billion dollar industry

By Aina Ademola

B

lack people are oblivious of the blueprints of their current situation, they have been disconnected and detached completely from their roots and origin, this is because of the Eurocentric education of balkanization that has kept us in disunity and fighting one another instead of uniting and fighting the common enemy which is the racist white man who has subjected us to this condition of destitution that we have found ourselves as a people. Africans in the diaspora are the most mis-educated and brainwashed, this is because they live in the oppressors camp, they eat his food, wear his cloth, speak his language and ultimately think like him; they have become Caucasianized. They believe whatever definition the white man gives them about themselves, they believe the lies and distorted African history that the white man tells them. They have become alienated from their brothers and sisters who are in the African continent. Nobody needs mental liberation more than the Afro American man, in fact, the major learning for Africans in the 21st century is unlearning, this is because of the lies we have consumed years upon years, it’s time to change history and challenge the status quo.

Colonization in it’s modified and refined form is still present in the African community, this is because we aren’t African enough, our inferiority complex as a people has made us to choose to be whiter than the white man instead of being black and proud. Black people choose to look at themselves from the perspective of the racist white man, the same man that enslaved and oppressed them.

The basic cause of race problem is complete ignorance, why do I say this? I say this because if the white man knows the glorious history of the white man he wouldn’t disrespect or degrade him, if the white man knows the contribution of the black man to world civilization he would definitely not mistreat him. by the same token, if the black man is fully aware of his contribution and the part he has played to world civilization

he’d also not feel inferior. I’d say the racist white man and the inferior black man are both ignorant.

Africans have had civilization and built great empires before the invasion of the white man, black people excelled on all fronts architecture, teaching, medicine and so on. As a matter of fact the father of scientific medicine is a black man and he built the basis upon which medical professionals nowadays work on his name is Imhotep. It was during imhotep’s reign that the great pyramids were built, Stone was first used in building, hieroglyphic writing was discovered, Stone quarrying was perfected and invented and Imhotep became the father of scientific medicine. The great pyramids of Giza was built during the fourth dynasty by Africans and thenites after the name of their sacred city thinis, the pyramid was built during the rain of Knufu about 2590-67 BC . The second great pyramid was built by king Khafre, the nephew of king Knufu. To accentuate his identity, a portrait artifact of him was carved which is referred to as the great Sphinx. Historical evidences are there to validate this assertion. Only a crazy person will see the Sphinx and say it isn’t negroid. The black civilization was destroyed by the same people who came in guise of religion. The colonialists have the same tactic which brother Kwame Ture called Called “MMM” meaning (Money, missionary and Marine). They’d try to buy your people as slaves if that doesn’t work they come in guise of religion which is the missionary or they come with full force to invade a territory which is the marine. In Angola during the 16th century Portuguese slave masters invaded Angola and came in guise of missionary, eventually they unleashed their cruelty after converting many Angolans, proselytizing the king, changing his name to Afonso, they started capturing Agolans and forcing them away as slaves, and yet black people still pay obeisance to their oppressor, Stockholm syndrome in full display.

Our inferiority complex has made us believe that black is a badge of shame so we boycott any black owned establishment and embrace

white own establishments; it’s only logical to know that when you take money from the black community into the white community, you’re not only disrespecting yourself as a black man you’re setting your race backward and enriching the race of your oppressor simply because you have inferiority complex this is how our ignorance has become a billion dollar industry.

Until we espouse black consciousness and instill ourselves with pride and dignity there’s no progress for the black race. We must rally round with our brothers and sisters who have the same skin color with us and rid ourselves of the machinations that have bound us to servitude. The most revolutionary thing we can do for ourselves as Africans is to be proudly Africans. The wealth and progress of the west is based on the inferiority complex of the black man. Cater G. Woodson says in his book The Miseducation of the Negro “When you control a man’s thinking you do not need to worry about his actions” until we rid ourselves of the subservient role we have placed ourselves due to inferiority complex, until then that freedom will come. When a man loses his authority he sinks to the level of lower animals, he carries out the instruction of the superior man, if superiors man says bark he’d bark, if he says sit he’d sit, he carries out the functions of a sheep, goat as to the will of their masters” it’s until black people all over the world grasp their authority we’d continually remain oppressed politically, exploited economically and degraded socially.

The black skin is not a badge of shame but a symbol of National greatness. We must not only fight racism we must fight mental slavery too, as Steve Biko said “The most potent weapon in the hand of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed” understand that the oppression and the dehumanization of black people is the bank of wealth of the west, the European common market (ECM) was established around the late 50s to the early 60s after the abolition of slavery and colonialism; the economy of the oppressor shook and they were forced to set up a common market to boost them economically.

We must think about these things and not let our mental slavery emanating from inferiority complex become another basis of wealth and economic prosperity for the same people who have oppressed us and have set us back to this level we are today. Being black is not a matter of pigmentation it’s a reflection of mental attitude, we must purchase black products, patronize black brothers and sisters, by doing this we’d be elevating the black community and ridding it of poverty and economic paralysis. The world won’t respect Africa until she earns that respect, it’s until we ourselves grasp our authority and decide not to be set back, only then will the world respect us.

Our African school curriculum must be changed, African history must be taught right from primary school. I don’t understand why French and Arabic is being taught in school and history isn’t. We must not only be taught about African oppression, we must be taught about African resistance as well. For instance, our kids must be taught about Queen Ann Nzinga of Angola, she was an army commander who resisted the Portuguese slave raiders for good 30years, we must be taught about Jean Jacques and the Haiti revolution and many.

We need Afrocentric education, Africans were taught about Hitler and the killing of 6million Jews but many of them do not know about the criminal king Leopold and the killings of almost 20million Congolese. We need an education that’d reconnect us with our roots. A Pan African education that’d serve as a global highway, that’d link us with our long lost brothers and sisters who were kidnapped from Africa and taken to the diaspora by the criminal white invaders.

The future of Africa doesn’t depend on how many western education we have consumed, the future of Africa depends on how mentally liberated and Afrocentric we have become.

Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.

Aina Ademola is a Public Affairs Analyst and dedicates this to black people all over the world

PAGE 13

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

Comment

Russia sees neocolonialism as an investment barrier in Africa

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

R

ussia not only supported African countries in liberating themselves from the yoke of colonialism and attaining political independence but also facilitated in the UN General Assembly adopting in 1960 the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. It’s a landmark document which states that all people have a right to self-determination and proclaimed that colonialism should be brought to a speedy and unconditional end.

Russia has now embarked on fighting “neo-colonialism” which it considers a fortified barrier on its way to regain Sovietera multifaceted influence in Africa.

Obviously, Russia has taken the most difficult task, reminiscent of the Cold War in the 1980s and early 1990s when East-West confrontation was at its heights. On the other hand, many African leaders, the elite and even the youth from the Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone backgrounds are still loyal and inseparably linked by nostalgic post-colonial master relationship.

It relates to furtherance of economic investment, education and training – all controlled by the former colonial powers.

Russia has sought to convince Africans over the past years of the likely dangers of neocolonial tendencies perpetrated by the former colonial countries and the scramble for resources on the continent. But all such warnings largely seem to fall on deaf ears as African leaders choose development partners with funds to invest in the economy.

Prior to his official visit to SubSaharan countries – Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Ethiopia – to promote multifaceted ties and find new areas of cooperation, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov gave a wide-ranging interview with the Hommes d’Afrique magazine on March 5, 2018. In this interview, he highlighted Russia’s foreign policy as multi-directional, the updated Foreign Policy Concept, which President of Russia Vladimir Putin approved in November 2016.

Lavrov reminded that the African direction is one of Russia’s priorities, and further praised Africa for its contribution to the development of a fairer and more

democratic polycentric world order and to the settlement of current problems.

“Russia actively contributed to the independence of African countries and the development and strengthening of their states. Today, we maintain friendly relations that are spearheaded into the future,” he noted in the interview.

Thereafter, while addressing the staff and students during the beginning of the academic year at the Moscow Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Lavrov stressed the damaging effects of neocolonialism.

He told the fully packed auditorium that Russia marks the anniversaries, both the ones dedicated to freeing every African country, and those dedicated to adopting the landmark UN General Assembly document, the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Politicians and lawyers, including judges at the UN International Court of Justice, repeatedly refer to that Declaration while at the same time pointing out that “there are several more territories that have not yet been freed from the colonialists as stipulated by the Declaration”.

Now, many Western countries, who have a colonial past on the African continent, prefer to forget where the problems of contemporary Africa largely come from.

Russia believes it is unacceptable to forget about that period or even turn blind eyes to the neocolonial practices and its harmful effects that continue in Africa today.

Russia in fact believes that the process of decolonization is still incomplete. UN General Assembly resolutions and the International Court of Justice demand the completion of this process, for instance and more specifically, with respect to the Chagos Archipelago. Mauritius’ sovereignty over it be restored. The sovereignty of

“

At the end of the meeting, the participants adopted a joint declaration on the key areas of Russian-African cooperation. The Declaration reaffirms the fundamental importance for the Russian Federation and the African States of the universally recognized principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, which has become the legal basis for the decolonization process.

Facebook and fake news

By Isa Eneye Mubarak

F

acebook is a very progressive platform for engagement and mobilisation. But in the hands of mindless people, it can be extremely dangerous. A grooming ground for fake news and hate speech.

Recently, a gruesome photo of two pupils who were hacked to death was going viral on Facebook attributed to the Fulani herdsmen violence in Benue. People were writing long epistles condemning the President and the government. It was later discovered that it was a mad man who was responsible and it didn’t even happen in Benue.

Few days ago, was one with an alleged picture of the returned Dapchi girls with Luggages with captions to justify the “stageplay” theory asking if the alleged kidnapped girls were gifted with bags full of easter gifts.

A simple image search revealed that picture has been on circulation since February and

Madagascar should be restored over the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean and Comoros’ sovereignty over the island of Mayotte. This French territory preserves its status despite numerous UN General Assembly resolutions.

In July 2019, the Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin addressed the participants of the special plenary session of the Russia-Africa conference, which takes place within the framework of the 2nd International Forum “Development of Parliamentarism” organized by the State Duma in Moscow.

At the end of his speech, Chairman Volodin stressed that “it is necessary to prevent the revival of neo-colonialism, the destructive attitude towards the African resources. To achieve this, the sovereign right of African states to build their own future must be protected. Russia has always advocated and stands for the observance of international law on the basis of the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states”.

On taking partnership with Africa to a new level, the Chairman of the State Duma unreservedly noted: “African countries play a prominent role in international affairs and take an active position in solving topical issues of modern world politics and economics. Progress in the economic and social spheres, improving the quality of life of people on the African continent contributes to this.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has mentioned aspects of neocolonialism in speeches at the summit in Sochi in late October 2019, which was devoted to the interaction between Russia and Africa.

Gathered there were representatives from all 54 African states and the leading regional organizations. It was the first meeting of this scale, and vividly showed evidence

it’s a picture of Dapchi students with their packed bags leaving the school and not the returned Dapchi girls as widely circulated on social media.

Then the nonexistent Sgt David Bako conspiracy theory, who allegedly claimed that Buhari has special forces who carried out the Dapchi plan. A nonexistent sergeant. A grown up person, sat down, thought of it, typed it and posted it. As if that was not bad enough, educated adults, graduates, and intellectuals alike were busy sharing and commenting. How can this be?

Even when we have a limitless access to information available to us?

People who are busy posting gruesome photos of incidents unrelated to the Fulani Herdsmen are mindless and very irresponsible. This thing of going on the internet looking for photos from 2years ago or 6years, some from an entirely different country or scenarios etc, then posting them with captions claiming that’s the

representation of the violence, must be condemned with the contempt it deserves.

It is extremely reckless and does nothing but add fuel to an already dangerously raging fire in Nigeria.

I don’t know if people keep sharing these posts, photos and videos genuinely because they don’t know that they’re inauthentic, or if we have in our midst adults who are sitting behind computers excitedly architecting violence for whatever reason.

But what I know is that this is irresponsible.

This irresponsible and mischievous use of media is dangerous and have history as a reference point.

We all know that the genocide in Rwanda was fueled by fake reports on radio.

This led to the massacre of almost a million innocent people! Can we please realise that social media is not just a play thing. This is a serious issue we are dealing with here.

We are talking here about people’s lives.

People are dying and being killed and we

of a mutual desire to promote ties in all spheres and to strengthen the multifaceted partnership between the two regions.

That event opened up a new page in the history of Russia’s relations with African countries, Putin noted and added: “We are ready to continue working together to strengthen our mutually beneficial cooperation. But we are also aware of the host of problems facing Africa that need to be settled.”

In his view, “this new stage and this new quality of our relations should be based on common values. We are at one in our support for the values of justice, equality and respect for the rights of nations to independently choose their future. It is within this framework that we will continue to coordinate our positions at international platforms and our joint efforts in the interests of stability on the African continent.”

Russia-Africa relations are based on long-standing traditions of friendship and solidarity created when the Soviet Union supported the struggle of the peoples of Africa against colonialism, racism and apartheid, protected their independence and sovereignty, and helped establish statehood, and build the foundations of the national economy, according to historical documents.

At the end of the meeting, the participants adopted a joint declaration on the key areas of Russian-African cooperation. The Declaration reaffirms the fundamental importance for the Russian Federation and the African States of the universally recognized principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, which has become the legal basis for the decolonization process.

In the context of the 60th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, due to be marked in December, Russia has urged the United States and other countries to follow the spirit of this highly important historical document and to completely renounce their mentor-like attitude towards developing countries. *This article was first and originally published by InDepthNews.

Kester Kenn Klomegah is an Int’l Affairs Analyst.

must fight that with every ounce of energy we have. Inciting more violence by being deliberately dishonest is no different a crime to that we accuse Boko Haram and Herdsmen of.

Please, we have data to post on Facebook and social media all day but why don’t we seem to always have data to confirm news source before posting, sharing, commenting and therefore spreading fake news? A simple google search will suffice. You can even search for images, an image search for any picture you doubt it’s authenticity.

There is no excuse now.

We must stop these barbaric killings.

And in the process we must not create fertile ground for more killings which will be informed by our own collective recklessness!

Isa Eneye Mubarak can be reached at isamubarak66@yahoo.com

PAGE 14

NEWS

By Christiana Ekpa

T

he Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that governance from the angle of the 9th House of Representatives is a collective effort of all 360 members from the six geopolitical zones of the country.

The Speaker stated this while addressing a delegation of 9 Royal fathers from Ekpe Federal Constituency of Lagos State, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office on Thursday.

While expressing remorse for playing host to the traditional rulers in his office, instead of him going to their respective domains to pay homage as their son, the Speaker however thanked the royal fathers for their modesty in taking the time to come all the way, in appreciation of government effort toward constructing a strategic access road in the constituency, as facilitated by the Speaker.

He said: “I want to first of all thank you for actually coming for this courtesy call. Much as I appreciate this courtesy call, I am embarrased by this courtesy call, because when Hon. Raji told me about it, I objected and said that why should Obas come to me? I should be the one to go to them.

To have 9 solid Obas on a plane to Abuja to come and see me, I was embarassed.”

“But having done that, I want to say that this road issue is just a small effort to say thank you for all your support for me over the years.

You people have been there through it all with me, and I have to say thank you.

“So when the issue came up, I put my ears to the ground and asked what’s going on with that road, and then said we must have it done by 2021. Because of the strategic importance of that road, and we set down to work. And my colleagues rose up to make it happen given the importance of the road.”

He said all the House members are to be appreciated for the work on that road as nothing can be achieved without the support of all lawmakers from Lagos, Southwest, Northwest, North central, Northeast and South east and South South who make up the green chamber.

“All the 360 of us are involved and

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

Legislative work, a collective responsibility- Gbajabiamila we will ensure it is completed on schedule:, Gbajabiamila assured.

Hon. Tasir Olawale Raji, who represents Ekpe Federal Constituency in the House had while introducing the royal fathers earlier, informed the Speaker that their were at the House to “express their appreciation for the historic intervention of the Speaker in the construction of a strategic road”, following cries of the people fro the area.

According Hon. Raji, “the

Speaker did not just listen and hear their cry, but promptly acted on it by providing the needed solution.”

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Alhaji Akanni Seriki reiterated the reason for the visit, saying that the people of Ekpe are happy today because of the Speaker’s effort to wipe away their tears.

“We are here today on this historic visit to appreciate our very own Rt Hon Speake for the wonderful thing which he has

graciously taken responsibilty to do for us in the whole of Ekpe Local Government and other LCDAs. The Rt Hon speaker has been very active, proactive, a round peg in a round hole. We are very grateful sir for the good things you are doing not only for Ekpe, but for the whole of Nigeria.

“Like Hon Wale Raji said, that road has been a serious matter of concern for the people of Ekpe poeple due to its startegic important to us, but the state of that road us

been a nightmare for our people, however, as we speak, progress has been made due to the intervention of the Speaker.

“We have come here this afternoon to salute you, to give honour to whom it’s due. We are here to commend you as a dutiful leader who has hearkened to the cry of his people because you have taken that road as your own constituency project. We are very happy that you took it up and you also matched your words with action.

Islamic School graduates 5 students

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he proprietor of Madrasat Nurul-Hudan AlAdabiyyahn Dagiri in Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT, Mr Abdulhamid Adebayo, has graduated a total number of five students in this year’s Islamic calendar on Saturday in

Gwagwalada.

The names of the graduating students are: Abdul-Azeez Abubakar, Muhammad Mutalib Usman, Fatimat Abubakar, Nafisat Yakubu and Fareedat Abubakar.

While speaking to Peoples Daily correspondents after the graduation ceremony ceremony,

Adebayo advised the parents/ guardians to support the education of their children at all times.

He also charged the graduating students to further their education in order to know the meaning of the holy Qur’an, saying that to finish the holy Qur’an did not make them to

acquaint themselves with the meaning of the holy book.

He said the tutors of the school would continue to put in their best to teach the students, and pleaded with proprietors of Islamic schools to engage qualified Islamic teachers to impart knowledge on the students.

L--R,Doctor Ahmed Mchanna, Prof. of Cochlem Implant Alexandua, Doctor Mohamed El-Disoudy and Doctor Mohammed Sani, the Doctors perform surgery on ear hearing for the daft, at National Ear Centre Kaduna yesterday in Kaduna. Photo: Shehu K. Goro

FG establishes 10 new National Parks

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

T

he Minister of Environment, Dr Mohammad Abubakar, said that the Federal Government has established 10 new National Parks, even as he assured of maximum security at the parks across the country.

Abubakar made the disclosure during a press conference in Abuja yesterday.

The minister stated that an executive bill would soon be presented to the National Assembly to legal backing to the development.

He listed the new parks to include Allawa Game Reserve, Allawa National Park 310km 2

Niger, Apoi Forest Reserve, Apoi National Park 64.77km 2 Bayelsa, and Edumenum Forest Reserve Edumenum National Park 86.76km 2 Bayelsa.

Others, according to him, are Falgore Game Reserve Falgore National Park 920km 2 Kano, Hadeja Wetland Game Reserve Hadeja Wetland National Park 320km 2 Jigawa and Kampe Forest Kampe National 652.86km 2 Kwara 2 Reserve Park.

The new parks also included Kogo Forest Reserve, Kogo National Park 212.66km 2 Katsina and Marhai Forest Reserve Marhai National Park 54.00km 2 Nasarawa.

Oba Hill Forest Reserve Oba

Hills National Park 52.5km 2 Osun and Pandam Forest Reserve Pandam National Park 244km 2 Plateau were also part of the new parks.

“We are very much aware that security is crucial in order to protect the national parks.

“The creation of these parks will provide the much- needed apparatus to ward off criminal elements living or looking for hideouts in those areas,’’ he said.

Abubakar expressed the regret that most state-owned forest reserves had become dens of criminal elements.

He said that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed

his ministry to collaborate with the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Interior to ensure maximum security.

“The creation of additional National Parks in Nigeria has become imperative in view of the prevailing effects of climate change across the globe.

“This action is geared towards the United Nations (UN) policy three of placing 25 percent of its member- countries’ landmass under permanent vegetation cover for carbon sequestration to mitigate the effects of climate change and ameliorate other ecological challenges.

“It may interest you to note that

Nigeria currently has 6.7 percent of her total landmass under vegetation cover, which is grossly inadequate, in line with global best practices.

“The creation of these parks will, no doubt, further create more employment opportunities, alleviate poverty in rural areas and ultimately enhance the country’s revenue profile, especially now that Nigeria is seeking to diversify her economy,” he said.

According to him, national parks are areas reserved and managed for conservation of wildlife and natural resources.

Peoples Daily reports that with the 10 new parks Nigeria has the total number of 17 national parks.

PAGE 15

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

Senate commends release of kidnapped Kankara schoolboys

By Musa Baba Adamu

T

he Senate has expressed relief at the news of the release of the hundreds of schoolboys kidnapped last week Friday at the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara in Katsina State.

In a statement issued yesterday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ola Awoniyi, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, said news that all the kidnapped boys regained their freedom unharmed would delight their parents and all people of goodwill in Nigeria and across the world who have been horrified by the ordeal of the innocent children.

The Senate President in particular rejoiced with the parents who had been under tremendous emotional stress as they prayed for the safe return of their children.

“The past few days have been harrowing for the parents of the students, their teachers and all of us as a nation.

“The nightmare sadly reminds us of our country’s continued vulnerability to heartless crimes such as the kidnap of hundreds of schoolgirls in Chibok in 2014 and the Dapchi incident of 2018. The blemish of those earlier incidents is still on us as a country and we had hoped that the outrage that they sparked would mean such never happened again in Nigeria.

“This sad recurrence is, therefore, enough warning to us as a nation to deploy all the resources required for the security of our educational institutions, and indeed of everywhere else where our children gather, to protect them against cowardly attacks by primitive terrorists.

“I commend the prompt intervention and productive engagement of President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina state and others which resulted in the release of the children,” Lawan said.

The Senate President also praises the security forces and the intelligence community for their coordinated efforts that brought this saga to early closure and urges them to continue in the same spirit and with the same approach in addressing other security issues across Nigeria.

Reps defection: APC now party of choice for progressive partisans

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he All Progressives Congress (APC) has welcomed some federal lawmakers of the House of Representatives who recently defected from some opposition political parties to the party, even as it said the ruling party is now a party of choice for progressive politicians.

In a statement issued yesterday by Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, who is the Secretary Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, APC recalled that on Wednesday, Hon. Aliyu Yako representing Kiru/Babeji Federal Constituency of Kano State and Hon. Danjuma

Shiddi representing Ibi/Wukari Federal Constituency of Taraba State, defected respectively from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to the APC. The statement said “On Thursday, Hon. Tajudeen Adefisoye representing Idanre/Ifedore Federal constituency in Ondo State and Hon. Sam Onuigbo representing Ikwuano/ Umuahia federal constituency of Abia State announced at House plenary their respective defections from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and PDP to the APC. “Also recall that the recent meeting of South South APC leaders received two members of the Federal

House of Representatives from Rivers State who defected to the party. They are: Hon. Chisom Dike and Hon. Ephraim Nwuzi (Eleme, Tai Oyigbo & Etche and Omuma Federal Constituencies respectively) “Evidently, the APC under the Governor Mai Mala Buniled Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) has been repositioned as the party of choice for Nigerians and progressive-minded partisans.

“The mass defections to the APC is a signpost of the democratic and progressive environment the CECPC has created in the APC by accommodating all interests and ensuring peace, unity, fairness,

equity, justice, inclusion and entrenching internal democracy.

“While we are confident that the new entrants will contribute their quota to the growth of the APC and the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, the CECPC assures that in line with the resolution of the last virtual Emergency APC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, waivers will be granted to those who have joined, or want to join the APC.” To this end, the party commended all stakeholders for their continued support as the APC CECPC achieves its renewed mandate to reposition the party and bring true peace and reconciliation across its ranks. ‘’’L-R: The President General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo FCT, Barr.

Owua Arua, Secretary General FCT, Nkonye Kingsley, Vice Chairman Representing Abia, Chief Iroha C Iroha, Vice Chairman, Rep. Delta state, Chief Efedebe Egbefe and the the Vice Chairman, Rep Imo, Prince Charles Ekwere, during the seminar and inauguration of the newly elected exco of the apex Igbo cultural organization, at the weekend in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo -owo

Our party ready to consolidate on democratic gains – Lawan

By Musa Baba Adamu

P

resident of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has said that the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) is determined to consolidate on the gains of democracy in the last two decades despite the challenges faced by the country.

Lawan stated this in a keynote address delivered at the 2020 Conference of the APC Press Corps, which was held in Abuja.

The Senate President, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Media, Ola Awoniyi, however, said that the task of consolidating on the gains of democracy is a painstaking effort which requires sacrifice from leaders and patience on the part of followers.

“While we are talking about contestation therefore, we are referring to a competitive process that is not just healthy, but also reflective of a widely acceptable culture, an appreciated norm, and a predictable value system.

“Achieving this is not however a

day job. It is founded on processes, growing to become beneficial, and helpful to social, and economic development.

“Nigeria has been on this steady path in the last two decades, and we will consolidate on this despite challenges.

Speaking on how the ruling party has managed its internal issues, Lawan said, “the APC story is a story that is founded on fostering understanding amongst a divergent interest.

“It is the story of creativity and ingenuity in the management of difference. The APC story is a pacy story of brilliance in the administration of a plural system.

“It is a story that hallmarks how well democracy should flourish, for its adaptive capacity, and its potential as a lesson, and the possibilities it bears for the future.

On his part, Secretary of the All Progressive Congress Caretaker/ Extraordinary Planning Committee, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe said the APC under the watch of the

Chairman, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, is focused on seeking solutions to identified problems through strategic interventions to remedy intra-party conflicts.

According to him, the membership Registration, Revalidation and update aims at giving the party back to the people.

“When the people are involved in a transparent selection process, they will be more interested in the process and this cures voters’ apathy and unnecessary dissension in the polity.

“The conventional system of one strong man in politics is no longer fashionable in the APC under Mai Mala Buni,” he said.

On Reconciliation efforts by the party amongst its members, he added, “the APC understands that persons must be given platforms to ventilate their grievances within the party.

“Exhaustive internal mechanisms are being created within the party to handle grievances before it snowballs into cracks within the party.

“Reconciliation Committees are there with persons of high integrity

to intervene and intercede on issues within the party.

Chairman of the occasion, Osita Okechukwu, in his remark, debunked the insinuation by the opposition party that the APC-led Federal Government is opposed to restructuring.

According to him, “no meaningful restructuring can be effected under rubber-stamp State Houses of Assembly, pliable State Judiciary and local government councils not democratically elected as enshrined in Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.”

“Ironically, the dominant narrative or contestation is that APC led federal government is against restructuring, without awarding President Muhammadu Buhari marks or taking note of this key harbinger of restructuring.

“A lot of people often forget that democracy is not a revolution, that all the gains recorded in liberal democracy throughout history are incremental in nature.

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

POLITICS

Community policing: Fayemi makes case for reforms, need to address trust issues

12. Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State (sitting); Secretary to the State Government, Mrs Olubamiwo Adeosun (3rd L); Special Assistant to the Governor on ICT, Mr Bayo Akande (L); Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun (2nd L); Director General, Due Process, Ms Tara Adefope (L) and Chairman, State Advisory Council, Sen. Hosea Agboola, during the inauguration of 1108 Computers at the Secretariat, ICT Centre on Saturday in Ibadan. Photo : NAN

By Musa Baba Adamu

T

he Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, has reiterated the need for a reform mechanism that would improve citizens’ trust in the Nigeria Police for the intent and purpose of community policing to be achieved.

Fayemi stated this during a stakeholders’ forum on community policing, involving heads of security agencies, public servants, politicians, civil society organisations, youth and women organisations, heads of government institutions, trade and professional groups in Ado-Ekiti at the weekend.

The Ekiti State Governor spoke, just as a former Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero urged stakeholders to support the holistic establishment of community policing to tackle the menace of banditry, kidnapping and other security challenges bedevilling the Country.

Fayemi who stated that community policing is vital to addressing security challenges in the country, however, lamented the nonimplementation of a wide range of recommendations made at different conferences on how the Nigeria Police can be reformed in the last 20 years.

The Governor who spoke through the State Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice, Wale Fapohunda; said the establishment of a police ombudsman with the mandate to receive and address citizens’ complaints against police officers and also address cases of abuse against police officers had become imperative.

He also urged the Federal Government not to despise recommendations made by the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up in the wake of the End SARS protests with special attention on getting justice and compensations for victims of police abuse.

The Governor also called on the Minister of Police Affairs to engage a reputable audit firm to undertake an audit of the salaries, the wages, allowances of police officers including manpower and equipment available to the police, stressing that a Police officer with a poor condition of service and struggling to survive cannot deliver the purpose of community policing.

Fayemi said “A large number of our people still don’t see police as their friends. So it seems to me that an important way we can get that trust is through police reform. We cannot simply hope to achieve the intent of community policing without police reforms.

We’re ready to work with PDP Govs to restore peace across Nigeria - APC Govs

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), comprising of State Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has said it is ready to work with their counterparts elected on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to restore peace across the country.

In a statement issued yesterday by the chairman of APC Governors Forum, Atiku Abubakar Bagudu, who is also the Governor of Kebbi State, the PGF, while reacting to the rescue of the abducted students of Government Science Secondary School (GSSS), Kankara, Katsina State, said the APC governors are also ready to work with non political leaders to bring peace to Nigeria.

It also commended the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, in ensuring that the abducted students

regained their freedom, adding that it will continue to work under the leadership of President Buhari to bring about total peace in the country.

According to PGF, the release of the students has shown that the security agencies have the capacity and competence to protect, defend and secure Nigeria as one united, indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under God as affirmed by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic.

The statement said “The Progressive Governors Forum joins His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the families of abducted students at Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, people and government of Katsina State, and indeed all Nigerians to celebrate the rescue and return of all the abducted students of the

school.

“The rescue, once more attests to the capacity and competence of Nigerian security agencies to protect, defend and secure the country. With the rescue of the students, we wish to express our gratitude to God Almighty and all those who worked for the successful rescue of these students from the hands of criminal armed bandits, especially, government of Katsina State, under the leadership of His Excellency, Aminu Bello Masari.

“Given the important role of our security agencies and other non-governmental leaders in the process that rescued our Kankara school children, it demonstrates that efforts to resolve our national security problem is a responsibility that require united, resolute and prompt responses.

“We therefore appeal to all Nigerians to rise up to this responsibility and work for more effective and efficient responses to

every security problem facing our dear nation as a united people.

We call on our security agencies to reinforce their capacity to protect and defend lives and properties of all Nigerians in every part of the country.

“On our part, as Governors elected on the platform of the APC, we will continue to work under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR to bring to an immediate end this new phase of insecurity in the country. We will ensure that, as leaders, we are able to work in harmony with all governors, political and non-political leaders for the restoration of peace across all parts of the country, irrespective of any difference.

“Nigeria belong to all Nigerians and must be secured as “one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under God” as affirmed by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic, as amended.”

Security: Resign from your office as Gov – APC tells Obaseki

By Musa Baba Adamu

T

he state caretaker chairman of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Edo State, Col David Imuse Rtd. has called on Gov Godwin Obaseki to immediately resign from office over security challenges in the state.

In a statement, Col Imuse alleged that Obaseki had run out of ideas on how to govern the state.

According to him, “the call has become necessary because the Governor is failing in his duty of protecting the lives of Edo people, he has shown gross disregard for the rule of law and his personal interest is clashing with his official interest.

“He has failed in duty to uphold his oath of office to protect the lives and properties of Edo citizens, his penchant for disobeying court orders and his decision to plunge Edo state into more indebtedness with his recent clandestine borrowing of N25 billion from the capital market as the reasons for his call.

“No one is safe in Edo. The state is under siege. We have a governor who has lost focus. Fear and insecurity have become the order of the day, yet the Governor takes N700 million monthly as security vote. And so far he has not been able to deploy this huge amount to mobilise the security agencies in the state to fight criminality”.

On the recent ruling by Benin

High Court, Col Imuse noted that the governor does not have an iota of respect for the judicial and legislative arms of government or the rule of law but regularly runs to the courts on the most frivolous of excuses.

“A court recently ruled that the duly elected chairman of Etsako East Local Government Council who was illegally removed from office should go back to his seat.

But the Governor, in disobedience of the Court, mobilised thugs to seal up the entrance of the Council Secretariat at Agenebode, denying the Chairman access.

“Because Edo state is designed to be governed by relevant laws”, Col Imuse said, “Edo APC is ready to take the bull by the horns, as it can no longer condone a governor

who has no regard for the rule of law”.

The Edo APC Chairman who also blamed Governor Obaseki for making Edo the third most indebted state in the country, wondered why he would clandestinely resort to borrowing the sum of N25 billion from the capital market without telling Edo people.

“This loan is unacceptable to Edo people and Governor Obaseki must urgently return it or cancel it outrightly because it is to be repaid by Edo taxpayers and to make matters worse, his own company, Afrinvest is the stockbroker for the facility. This action of the governor is not only illegal, there is a clash of interest”, he added.

PAGE 17

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

POLITICS L-R: Member, House of representatives Committee on Transport, Rep. Oluyemi Taiwo; Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mrs Magdalena Ajani; and Managing Director Nigerian Railway Corporation Mr Fidget Okhiria, during the ongoing inspection of LagosIbadan Rail Project on Saturday in Lagos

Vote for your conscience not big names, money bags – Cleric advises Nigerians P rophet Samuel Olu Alo has told Nigerians to stop voting for big names and money bags during elections but rather vote for good people capable of performing.

He also urged those in the position of authority to always deliver on their election promises to the people.

Alo, who is the Planter of CAC, Grace of Mercy Prayer Mountain, Adamimogo Outreach stated this during the ministry’s annual empowerment programme held in Ido Ekiti, headquarters of Ido-Osi local government area of Ekiti state.

The cleric posited that the country will start getting it right when people vote with their conscience and said “Let us stop voting for money, or name but vote for conscience and those who can really do it. It is not a name that can end the problems of Nigeria. People are fond of taking little money from politicians that can never sustain them for four years “There are many who really would perform better if voted into power, but because they do not have the money to give people during polls they can’t get there. Vote for politicians you

have known is a technocrat, not some strange people you do not know”.

Alo attributed some of the challenges of the country to failure of the leaders to fulfil their promises to the electorate saying people were promised good roads, water, employment among others but no reasonable differences are being made.

“If our roads were very good, kidnapping would have been reduced. Only prayers cannot solve our problems but governments must fix the bad roads

PDP wins 17 LGAs in Abia election

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won the 17 local government areas of Abia State in the Local government chairmanship election conducted last Friday in the state.

Announcing the results on Friday at the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission headquarters Umuahia, the ABSIEC chairman, Mkpa Agu Mkpa, said in Umunneochi, Ifeanyi Madu of the PDP polled 6,971 votes to beat the APC candidate who garnered 188 votes.

Umuahia South, Benson Humphrey of the PDP polled 11,480

votes to defeat the APC candidate who garnered 58 votes only. InUmuahia North Ugochukwu Njikonye of PDP polled 29,931 votes to beat the APC candidate who garnered 25 votes.

In Ukwa West, Kanu Okechukwu of PDP, polled 9,630 votes to beat his APC opponent who had 804 votes.

For Ukwa East, Nwagbara Chuks of PDP polled 6,235 votes to defeat the APC candidate who garnered 136 votes.

In Ugwunagbo, Nnata Chinasaokwu of the PDP had 28,800 votes to beat the APC candidate who garnered 120 votes.

Osisioma, Kamalu Christian of the PDP polled 26,820 votes to beat the APC candidate who had 10 votes.

In Ohafia, Ukiwe Okorafor of PDP polled 28,671 to defeat his APC opponent who had 3,520. For Obingwa, Nwoke Ibe of the PDP polled 79,640 votes to beat the APC candidate who had just 5 votes.

Isuikwuato, Agbaeze Chimaobi of PDP polled 15,630 votes to beat the APC candidate who had 1200 votes.

Isiala Ngwa North, Ochulor Chinwendu of PDP polled 18,323 votes to beat the APC candidate who had 210 votes while in Isiala Ngwa South Anyatuonwu Ikechi came unopposed with a total vote of 17,465.

Aba North, Prince Ikonne of the PDP polled 29,851 votes to beat the APC candidate who had 3,492 votes

“During the time, they were sharing palliatives, we said the government ought to have known the number of poor widows in Nigeria but that didn’t happen.

“Most times, it is when highly placed people have an accident on our roads that our government makes it a priority to repair the roads. This is bad. We do not value human lives in Nigeria unlike in abroad where human lives are valued. Same laws that apply to the rich should apply to the poor, but in Nigeria, it is not so.”

while in Aba South Clinton Ebere of PDP came unopposed with a total vote of 26,321 votes. In Ikwuano, Mpamugo Steven of PDP polled 8,720 to defeat the APC candidate who had 110 votes.

Prof Mkpa said in Bende, Onwuchekwa Emmanuel polled 33,561 votes to defeat the APC candidate who had 2,320 while in Arochukwu, Prince Dan Kalu came unopposed with a total vote of 15,620 Meanwhile for the councilorship positions, the Labour Party won six seats out of ten wards in Ikwuano Local Government Area, while the PDP cleared all council seats in other local government areas of the state.

Abia LGA Polls credible and fair – Okiyi

By Christiana Ekpa

A

bia State Commissioner for Information, John Okiyi Kalu, has congratulated the Chairman-elect of Ohafia LGA, Okoroafor Ukiwe, on his victory at the recently concluded Abia State Local Government polls and urged him not to take the vote of the people for granted.

Okiyi who was speaking with newsmen in Umuahia after the announcement of the result of

the election by the Chairman of Abia State Independent Electoral commission (ABSIEC), Mkpa Agu Mkpa, described the election as fair and credible and expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the polls and thanked Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and his wife, Okezie Ikpeazu, for their support and love for Abia youths and women which according to him informed the conduct of two LGA polls within 5 years of the Ikpeazu administration.

Okiyi who applauded the people

of Ohafia LGA for their support to all the PDP candidates in the election, also praised the Deputy Governor, Ude Oko Chukwu, and other stakeholders in the area for leading the party to victory, while thanking God for the peaceful conduct of the election.

He used the occasion to congratulate other victorious PDP candidates, including Michael Ibe Okorie, Ike Anyatonwu, Christian Kamalu among others and described their victory as affirmation of the

people’s love and support for the PDP in the state.

On the victory of some Labour Party candidates in the Councilorship election, Okiyi described it as evidence of democracy at work, the fairness that characterized the work of ABSIEC led by Mkpa Agu Mkpa and urged winners and losers to close ranks in order to deliver dividends of democracy to the people as well as support the developmental vision of Governor Ikpeazu.

Commissioner charges LG administrators on transparent budget process in Ekiti

By Musa Baba Adamu

E

kiti State Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Adio Folayan has charged council administrators in the state to make the budget and budgeting process more transparent, accountable and implementable towards addressing the needs of the people at the grassroots.

Folayan gave the charge in Ado-Ekiti, while declaring open a workshop on the review of the Local Government 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) documents.

The Commissioner observed that the MTEF documents have now been widely accepted as the most appropriate framework for strategic expenditure and therefore called for consultations and engagement in designing budgets at the grassroots.

According to him, the MTEF is now more imperative due to the fact that the implementation of the year 2020 budget was first threatened by the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 before the curve began to flatten.

He added that the present situation of the pandemic requires ingenuity in budget preparation and implementation, thus available funds must be judiciously used to cater for the most pressing needs of the people.

Professor Folayan remarked that the success of the workshop would be measured by the quality of the 2021 budget prepared by each council and urged them to take the workshop seriously.

He charged council officials to embed new initiatives in 2020-2022 MTEF documents so as to promote the welfare of the people in line with the vision and mission of the Dr Kayode Fayemi administration.

In his address, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government, Engr Sunday Komolafe said the workshop was organised to review the local government 2020 – 2022 MTEF documents in readiness for preparation of the 2021 budget at the local government level.

He expressed hope that the 2021 budget would transform the social-economic activities of the various communities in Ekiti State for the better.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

18

Feature

The loyalty oath keeping Rwandans abroad in check

L

eaked footage of a controversial “oath” ceremony at the Rwandan High Commission in London has fuelled allegations of an aggressive global crackdown on dissent by the authoritarian government of the small East African nation, dubbed the new “North Korea” by its critics.

Members of the Rwandan diaspora have told the BBC that such ceremonies are commonplace and designed to instil fear and obedience.

One man said his relatives back in Rwanda had been abducted and possibly killed to punish him for refusing to co-operate.

The Rwandan authorities have dismissed the allegations as false and unsubstantiated.

In the video footage, recently circulated on WhatsApp, more than 30 individuals can be seen standing in a crowded conference room at the Rwandan embassy in the UK, raising their hands and pledging loyalty to the governing party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).

“If I betray you or stray from the RPF’s plans and intentions, I would be betraying all Rwandans and must be punished by hanging,” the group says, in Kinyarwanda, while also promising to fight “enemies of Rwanda, wherever they may be”.

The RPF’s use of an embassy - which in London is close to Marylebone Station - for an overtly political pledge is, in itself, noteworthy.

‘They’re terrified’ But, while some of those attending the ceremony understood to have taken place in 2017 - may well have been genuine supporters of the governing party, now living abroad, others have told the BBC that many attendees were there under duress.

“I am certain the majority of people taking that oath did not believe it. We were lying to protect ourselves and our families back in Rwanda,” said one person who was - according to our investigation present at the ceremony, but who asked us not to reveal their name for fear of reprisals.

“This is what happens everywhere. It’s routine. Either you take [the oath] or you are [the] enemy. It is black and white,” said David Himbara, who was once a senior adviser to Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame.

He is a Canadian citizen, academic and activist who says his life has repeatedly been threatened

by Rwanda’s security services.

“The vast majority go because they’re terrified. They think that if they don’t go, something will happen to their family [in Rwanda],” said Rene Mugenzi, a British-Rwandan

human rights activist, who was recently convicted of theft in the UK and jailed.

“You need to be active [in the RPF]. Even if you are neutral… they suspect you to be supporting opposition groups,” he said.

Asked about the “oath” ceremony, the Rwandan High Commission replied, by email, that members of the diaspora used its conference room for a variety of cultural engagements and that participation in an RPF loyalty pledge was legal and “entirely of their own choice and no-one is forced to do so”.

‘My brothers were abducted’ But the BBC has heard new evidence that Rwanda’s government has not only sought to threaten members of the diaspora seen as disloyal, but also that it seeks to punish such people by targeting their relatives still living in Rwanda.

“In order to intimidate me, they abducted my two brothers. They were never involved in politics. They were on Rwanda soil. Why should they be paying such a heavy price for doing nothing?” asked an emotional Noel Zihabamwe, from his home in Australia.

Mr Zihabamwe is a prominent member of the Rwandan diaspora in Sydney, who came to the country as a refugee in 2006, seeking to escape what he saw as an increasingly stifling and repressive political climate.

He says his refusal to actively support the RPF government prompted a public death threat from a visiting Rwandan diplomat in late 2017, which he reported to the Australian authorities.

That was followed by the alleged abduction of his two brothers, Jean Nsengimana and Antoine Zihabamwe, who were reportedly taken off a bus by police officers near the Rwandan town of Karangazi in September 2019 and have not been seen again.

“They often use this kind of kidnapping or murdering family members. This has to stop. We have had enough,” Mr Zihabamwe said.

“We would like to see the Rwandan government restore democratic rights to all citizens, cease targeted killings, kidnappings, illegal arrests and campaigns of intimidation of former citizens, like me, who are living overseas,” added Mr Zihabamwe, who now believes his brothers are probably dead and has decided to speak out in public, despite what he believes are considerable risks for himself and his extended family.

“Why can’t they let the family know where their bodies are, so we can organise a formal funeral?

There are many Rwandans outside

The footage, which the BBC has chosen to blur, shows members of the group promising to fight “enemies” of Rwanda

Family photos of Jean Nsengimana (L) and Antoine Zihabamwe (R), who have been missing for more than a year who have lost or missed their beloved ones.

“I want to speak against injustice. We need leadership that can stand for everyone, not for some,” he told the BBC. ‘No basis to allegations’ The Rwandan High Commission in London dismissed Mr Zihabamwe’s allegations as “tired and recycled” falsehoods and a “cheap ploy by political detractors to get free media attention”.

But allegations such as these are considered credible by many researchers, human rights groups and foreign diplomats, who say the Rwandan authorities appear to have calculated that - despite provoking some criticism from Western governments - such actions, which have included several targeted assassinations abroad, never appear to result in any long-term damage to Rwanda’s international relations.

The Rwandan government has received widespread global praise and financial support, over decades, for its hugely successful development agenda, which has

Gospel singer Kizito Mihigo was found dead earlier this year, at the age of 38, in a police cell helped to combat poverty and transformed Rwanda into one of the continent’s most impressive economies.

“Their view is - we can do what

Page 19

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

we like, kill who we like,” said one source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The case of Paul Rusesabagina, who was feted internationally - his story was turned into the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda - for sheltering people from the 1994 genocide, attracted global criticism earlier this year after he was spirited back to the country to face trial on terrorism charges.

The death earlier this year, in police custody, of the popular gospel singer Kizito Mihigo also stirred huge anger.

Kizito, as he was popularly known, had tried to cross Rwanda’s border illegally, the authorities said. They say he killed himself - a version which is widely disputed in the diaspora and by many analysts.

“If you’re Rwandan, it’s simply safer to stay silent,” said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s deputy director for East Africa.

“The Rwandan authorities have a whole toolbox of tactics that they use to supress dissent at home and abroad, ranging from harassment to threats to illegal detention, disappearances, torture, and even extending to returning Rwandan dissidents from other countries back to Rwanda without going through extradition proceedings… and to threatening family members too.”

The Rwandan High Commission in London said such allegations had no basis, and were being spread by a “handful of opponents… in order to damage the image and continued development journey of Rwanda”.

‘Totalitarianism’ President Kagame officially secured almost 99% of the vote in Rwanda’s last presidential election in 2017.

In London, Abdulkarim Ali, an official in the opposition Rwandan National Congress, said: “Either you pay allegiance to the RPF or… you become an enemy of the state.

We normally compare it to North Korea.”

In Canada, Mr Himbara described the Rwandan government’s ideology as one of “totalitarianism - a government that wants to control all aspects of the Rwandan people, even in the diaspora”.

The Rwandan High Commission in London said the government’s main focus was to lift Rwandans out of poverty and create a good quality of life and opportunities for all of them.

“The focus of the High Commission is not on a handful of opponents who consistently spread false information in order to damage the image and continued development journey of Rwanda.”

Source: BBC

By Etuka Sunday

T

he Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has stated that a limited understanding and the widespread misconception of the Deposit Insurance System (DIS) in Nigeria was largely responsible for the pool of unclaimed deposits following bank closures.

The Executive Director (Corporate Services) of NDIC, Hon (Mrs) Omolola Abiola-Edewor made this disclosure Friday while delivering her keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Sensitization Seminar for Judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja with the theme: The Challenges to Deposit Insurance Law and Practice in Nigeria.

According to Abiola- Edewor, this phenomenon has informed the concerted efforts by NDIC to continuously collaborate with the Judiciary and other stakeholders in promoting sound knowledge and understanding of the deposit insurance system over the years.

Why pool of deposits in closed banks remain unclaimed - NDIC The Director, Communication & Public Affairs Department, Bashir A. Nuhu in a statement said, AbiolaEdewor who said the situation was a global challenge to deposit insurance system commended the active collaboration by the honourable judges of the Federal High Court and the National Judicial Institute in the last nine years that the Corporation commenced the annual seminar.

She said the NDIC would continue to jealously guard the relationship with the Judiciary.

She added that the current economic situation occasioned by the COVID-19 Pandemic has further underscored the need to strengthen the collaboration towards enhancing the stability of the financial system.

While describing judgments

against the Corporation for liabilities of failed banks under liquidation as another challenge confronting the Corporation, the Executive Director noted that effective resolution of legal issues affecting the administration of the deposit insurance system was critical to the enhancement of safety and soundness of the banking system.

She said the Corporation would be looking forward to drawing from the rich knowledge and experience of the Federal High Court judges on ways of addressing these challenges.

The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Honourable Justice John Tsoho noted that the seminar had gone a long way in broadening the knowledge of judges, not only in deposit insurance law and practice,

but also in the workings and operations of the financial system.

He assured this had enhanced the discharge of the judges’ duties in the last nine years that the seminar was initiated.

The Administrator of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Hon. Justice Rosaline Bozimo in her goodwill message stated that the seminar was aimed at consolidating on the gains of the NJI and NDIC in exposing judges to best practice in deposit insurance law in particular and the financial system in general.

She was represented by the Director of Research, Mr. Gbenga Omotesho.

The papers presented at the seminar were as follows: An Overview of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 by Hon.

Justice Nelson Ogbuanya of National Industrial Court of Nigeria and discussed by Garba Abubakar, Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission; Evolving Cyber Risk and Future of Virtual Banking in Nigeria by Dr. Adekemi Omotubora of Faculty of Law, University of Lagos and discussed

by Dr. Kabiru Katata, Deputy Director, Research, Policy and International Relations Department of the NDIC; and Non-interest Banking and Deposit Insurance in Nigeria by Prof. Ahmad Bello Dogarawa, Director and Member, Advisory Committee of Experts, Jaiz Bank and discussed by Mr. Galadima Gana, Director, Insurance & Surveillance Department of the NDIC.

SEC Nigeria disclaims activities of Famzhi Interbiz Limited

By Etuka Sunday

T

he Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC has disclaimed the activities of Famzhi Interbiz Limited as neither the entity nor the illegal products they offer are registered or regulated by the Commission.

According to the SEC, “The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) has been drawn to the illegal fund management operation conducted by FAMZHI INTERBIZ LIMITED. “The Commission wishes to inform the public that FAMZHI INTERBIZ LIMITED is not registered to operate in the Nigerian Capital Market. The company had applied to the Commission for registration to operate in the capital market but was unable to fulfil certain regulatory pre-conditions required for the grant of registration.

The SEC stated that despite not being registered by the Commission, the company had proceeded to unlawfully solicit funds from the investing public on product(s) neither registered nor approved by the Commission, with the promise of a guaranteed return on investment in clear violation of the Securities and Investment Act (ISA) 2007.

Consequently, the Commission stated that it has referred the company to the appropriate law enforcement agency for criminal investigation and possible prosecution for violation of the provisions of the Investments and Securities Act 2007 and other relevant laws in Nigeria.

In view of the above, the SEC therefore advised the general public to always confirm the

registration status of any entity offering fund management or any other capital market services from

the Commission’s website https:// sec.gov.ng/cmos/ or by visiting any of the Commission’s offices.

“Furthermore, any person who subscribes to any product of an unregistered entity or enters into

any dealing with an entity, does so at his/her own risk” the SEC stated.

On-going installation of escalators at the Ebutte-Metta mega train station on Saturday in Lagos

NNPC to deepen compliance with EITI Standards, appoints Implementation Manager

By Etuka Sunday

I

n keeping with its resolve to deepen its compliance with the transparency standards dictated by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) as a Supporting Company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has

announced the appointment of Ms. Murjanatu Ibrahim Gamawa as EITI Implementation Programme Manager to help drive speedy attainment of the EITI requirements across its operations.

A press release by the group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, stated that Ms. Gamawa’s

appointment which will take effect from January 2021 was a practical step towards entrenching the culture of transparency in the Corporation.

Ms. Gamawa, a petroleum geologist, was until her appointment, the EITI Country Manager in charge of coordinating implementation of EITI standards across Anglophone Africa.

She also worked at the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) as a petroleum analyst and team lead of the Oil and Gas Team.

Gamawa’s wealth of experience across the Oil and Gas industry and in EITI mandate implementation is expected to boost the Corporation’s compliance strategy and roadmap.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

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ICT

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

By Stanley Onyekwere

W

orried by rising dealership in automobiles within residential neighbourhoods in Abuja, the nation’s capital city, the FCT Administration has warned residents involved to swiftly quit or risk having them impounded.

Making this known, Chairman, Ministerial Taskteam on City Sanitation and Traffic Management, Comrade Ikharo Attah, said the FCTA frowns at the ugly trend, and hence will heavily clampdown on it.

Attah, who spoke on the sidelines of the ongoing raid on illegal car marts hotspots in the City, at the weekend, said the strong warning followed the receipt of several complaints about the menace from residents.

He said: “The FCTA has made it very clear that you cannot set set up a car marts where you sell cars within your residential premises.

So FCTA wants to reiterate it; You cannot sell cars within your premises, as your house is not a

Schools children carrying placards during a sensitisation programme marking the international day against gender base violence, recently in Abuja.. Photo: Justin Imowo

FG Cancels N20 NIN Retieval Charge Across All Networks Etuka Sunday

T

he Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Identity Management Commission

(NIMC) to remove the N20 USSD fee imposed on subscribers for NIN retrieval requests.

The Spokesperson to the Minister of Communications & Digital Economy, Uwa Suleiman (Mrs) in a statement said, the Minister’s directive which takes immediate effect, was an intervention

aimed at making the process easier and affordable.

In a letter conveying the implementation of the directive, the Executive Vice Chairman NCC and the Director General of NIMC, informed Dr. Pantami that the relevant authorities had met with, and negotiated a waiver with the Mobile

Network Operators in that regard.

By this waiver, all Nigerians, subscribers and applicants can access the service using the *346# code for their NIN retrieval at no charge for the duration of the NIN/SIM Card integration exercise.

Recall that the Federal

Government had earlier directed that all National Identification Numbers be integrated with Subscriber Identification Modules for security purposes..

The Honourable Minister appreciates the efforts of all stakeholders and encourages them to continue to sacrifice more for national interest.

Telecommunications Key To Economic Diversification in Nigeria - Danbatta

By Etuka Sunday

T

he Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta has described as key the role of telecommunications to the diversification of the nation’s economy.

Prof. Danbatta made this assertion in his presentation to Course 29 Participants at the National Defence College, Nigeria, on Monday.

Speaking on a theme, “The Telecommumcations Industry and Nanonal Development in Nigeria: The Roles of the NCC in Promotmg Digital Economy”, he said, Telecoms sector is

...as NCC remits N362.34bn to Government Coffers in 5years

the life-wire that will drive the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) of the Federal Government.”

He noted that the sector plays a dual role of contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and being an enabler to other sectors of the economy.

“Telecommunications is key to the diversification of the Nigerian economy, as the telecom sector played a dual role of contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and being an enabler to other sectors of the economy.

The EVC informed that

the commission remitted over N362.34 billion as revenue in five (5) years to the Federal Government’s consolidated revenue account.

He listed fixed broadband Infrastructure gap, Right of Way (RoW), Foreign Exchange, Vandalism of telecoms infrastructure, Electric Power Supply, Multiple Taxations and regulations as some of the challenges bedeviling the industry.

On fixed broadband Infrastructure gap, he said, the commission will bolster the exiting fibre optic infrastructure

across the country by 38,296 km through the infraCo project Initiative.

On Row, the NCC boss said, the engagement with the Nigeria Governors Forum on adoption of N145/m as RoW fees has yielded results in Kaduna, Katsina, Imo, Ekiti and Plateau State.

He therefore, urged other states governments to key in to the success of the digital economy drive by reducing RoW fees and other charges targeting telecom service providers.

Prof Danbatta’s paper delved into a range of issues,

including the correlation between broadband and GDP, telecom contribution to national development, telecom investment trend in Nigeria, telecom contribution to digital economy, conceptualisation of digital economy among others.

In his remarks, the Commandant of the National Defence College, Rear Admiral Mackson Kadiri appreciated the EVC, describing his paper as indepth, incisive and timely, giving the pivotal role the telecom sector plays in ensuring National Security and National Development.

METRO

Page 21

FCTA decries rising car dealership in residential areas car mart.

“Bringing up to 50 and 70 or more cars within a residential neighbourhood, where you live in just a three-bedroom flat in Area 10, we will not allow that to continue. We will impound the vehicles, we will take them away, because neighbours are all complaining.

“Some persons will go there and rent a flat or even a duplex, and turn the entire neighbourhood to a car mart, and they will bring as many as a hundred cars without plat numbers, with which they litter the whole streets. “ That we will not accept, so they must quit and return to the appropriate area, which for is temporarily allocated along the Kubwa expressway until of issues

around Dakwa Auto market are settled.”

Meanwhile, the joint taskforce on car marts enforcement cleared Illegal car marts and mechanic workshops on pedestrian walkways along the AA Rano filling station and AYA roundabout in Asokoro District.

They also arrested three persons and towed three cars parked on the walkways in the area.

Speaking during the exercise, Director of FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DTRS), Wadata Bodinga, said although there is almost total compliance for now, but they want to t make sure that the compliance is a continuous one as well.

He noted that the exercise is

totally encompassing, as every nuisance that is taking place in a particular place is included, that’s why they studied the place first, to take the characteristics of the nuisance anywhere visited.

According to him, “If we say that we clear only car marts, there are other nuisances such as those selling things, having workshops within undesignated areas in the city. So we try to incorporate all those nuisances taking place. This is to ensure that all of them are stopped.”

Similarly, Director of Parks and Recreation Department, Risikatu Abdulazeez, disclosed that they are putting a sort of semi permanent measures, in the sense that they are going to invite plants nursery operators ( sellers of flowers) to

occupy all the notorious places either on green verges or road buffers, to ensure these dislodged people will not return again.

Not left out, Director of Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), Dr. Hassan Abubakar, said : “This is a joint operation , we are not unaware of the festive period, and a lot of waste is going to be generated alongside with all these car marts and other things.

That’s why we have to sit up, and we must make sure that the city cleaned.

“We will not allow any nuisance to continue in this city, as we will be up to our responsibilities. We will make sure that we clean this city. We have capacity to do so, and we will not this to continue as the city must be cleaned.”

USAID, FCTA sign MoU to bolster primary healthcare services

T

he United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing collaboration between USAID/ Nigeria and FCTA to boost the health of residents in the Territory.

During the signing ceremony, the Mission Director USAID/Nigeria, Anne Patterson, revealed that though the health status of the FCT population was fair when compared with other states of the federation, but noted that with the country's north east crisis and perception of economic opportunities in the nation's capital, FCT has seen an increase in the influx of people from other parts of the country.

She, further noted that this population increase was putting stress on the available public infrastructure, especially primary healthcare facilities, which are illequipped and under-resourced to address the increased health needs of the residents.

"The purpose of the MOU is

to support the revitalization of the FCT healthcare system to deliver quality, affordable, and sustainable preventive and primary healthcare services to the residents of FCT. "With the signing of this MOU, USAID expects to apply global best practices and provide high-level technical expertise to assist the FCTA to meet their health improvement goals to operationalize their health plans and their reform strategies," she said.

Also, FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, while signing on behalf of the FCT Administration, acknowledged the tremendous role of USAID/Nigeria, in the development of healthcare facilities in the Federal Capital Territory, adding that the administration would actively sustain and build on the cost-effective intervention of this partnership.

Aliyu noted that USAID had recently supported the FCT Administration with a $20 million investment in family planning and reproductive health interventions, supporting facilities to improve

service delivery, distributing contraceptive commodities, and increasing demand among local communities for these services and products.

Recall that the MoU shall cover a period of 5 years and as part of this effort, USAID plans to commit $45 million over the five years period for FCT through four existing health

activities namely: the Integrated health programme, breakthrough action, health workforce management, and the global health supply chain.

L-R: Acting Secretary, Health and Human Services Secretariat, Dr Muhammed Kawu, FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello Director, Disease Control, Dr Saddique Abdulrahman, and Special Assistant (Media) to FCT Minister, Malam Sani Abubakar during the media briefing on the second wave of COVID-19 in the FCT at weekend in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

GWADECA harps on reawakening youth to cultural heritage

By Stanley Onyekwere

T

he Gwandara Educational and Cultural Association (GWADECA), has identified cultural festival as key to reawakening the consciousness of the youth on embracing cultural heritage of the ethnic nationalities in the FCT and beyond.

This advocacy dominated talks at a two-day Gwandara cultural festival, organised by GWADECA at the weekend, at Dusten-Alhaji Community, in Bwari Area Council of Abuja.

Our correspondent reports that the third edition of the festival, which kicked off with a visit to the ancient cave in Dusten-Alhaji, with

lectures on: Gwandara Girls Child education; Gwandara, history, tradition and culture, climaxed with rich cultural parade and dances.

Chairman, GWADECA FCT Chapter, Alhaji Jibril Imam Karshi, said the essence of the festival is simply to showcase their cultural heritage.

He added that by organising the festival, the Association has demonstrated a very clear determination towards the promotion of cultures of the Gwandara people, which will help revive other indigenous cultures in the Territory.

Similarly, the Secretary of GWADECA FCT, Comrade Abdullahi Musa Gwagwa, noted that

the annual celebration was not only reawakening the Gwandara people, but also reawakening other ethnic nationalities in Abuja especially the indigenous inhabitants.

“If we fail to be doing what we are doing now, our younger ones will forget about our history.

“This festival will indeed promote unity, because we invited all other ethnic groups to come and see our culture.

“We are doing this, so the younger ones can know and understand more about our history and culture,” he stressed Also speaking, representative of the Chairman, Bwari Area Council, Hon. Yawo Zakari, Supervisory Councillor for Works, housing and

planning in the Council, reiterated that the festival will enhance the promotion of the Gwandara cultural heritage especially among the youth.

He said as a Council, it is doing a lot to encourage the promotion of indigenous cultures in the area.

On his part, Deputy Chief of Staff to AMAC Chairman, Hon. Hasimu Angama, who expressed delight with the festival, said Hon Abdullahi Adamu Candido has helped to expose the traditions of the Gwandara people to other ethnic nationalities and the world.

Angama opined that before now, nobody knows much about the existence of the Gwandara traditions especially their younger

ones.

He adds: “We want to make sure that all our tradition is well known to the younger ones, because most don’t know. But we should keep it and make sure it stands very firm.

Not left out, Hakimi (District Head) of Dusten-Alhaji, Alhaji Abubakar Bako, who delivered a brief lecture on culture as an instrument of unity, reiterated that when it comes to the promotion of peaceful coexistence in the society, there is no greater tool than culture.

According to him, “the Gwandara cultural activities of unity are numerous, part of them include; agriculture, commerce, traditional education initiation and local boxing.”

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

Page 22

world news

Covid: Nations impose UK travel bans over new variant

E

uropean nations have begun to apply travel bans with the UK after it reported a more infectious and “out of control” coronavirus variant.

Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium are all halting flights and travel. The measures vary and are initially generally short-term.

An EU meeting will be held on Monday morning to discuss a more co-ordinated response.

The new variant has spread quickly in London and south-east England.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday introduced a new tier four level of restrictions for those areas, scrapping a planned relaxation of rules over the Christmas period for millions of people.

Top health officials said that there was no evidence the new variant was more deadly, or would react differently to vaccines, but it was proving to be up to 70% more transmissible.

Which countries have acted and how?

Within hours of the UK announcement on Saturday, the Netherlands said it would ban all passenger flights from the UK from 06:00 (05:00 GMT) on Sunday until 1 January.

Pending “greater clarity” on the situation in the UK, the Dutch government said that further “risk of the new virus strain being introduced to the Netherlands should be minimised as much as possible”.

New variant: How worried should we be?

Covid: Chile’s president Sebastián Piñera fined $3,500 for nomask selfie

C Gatwick Airport on Sunday, as nations began to impose travel bans Tracking the global pandemic: Where has been hit hardest?

What is tier four and who is in it?

The country on Sunday reported a daily increase of more than 13,000 cases - a new record, despite tough lockdown measures being applied on 14 December.

Belgium is suspending flights and train arrivals from the UK from midnight on Sunday. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told Belgian television channel VRT the ban would be in place for at least 24 hours as a “precautionary measure”, adding “we will see later if we need additional measures”.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on his Facebook page that the government was about to sign a measure to suspend flights from the UK. The first case of the UK variant has also been detected in Italy, the Italian health ministry reported on Sunday. The patient is in isolation in Rome.

In Ireland, the government announced that flights arriving from the UK would be banned for 48 hours at least from midnight, and “in the interests of public health, people in Britain, regardless of nationality, should not travel to Ireland, by air or sea”.

US cyber-attack: Around 50 firms ‘genuinely impacted’ by massive breach

T

he cyber-security firm that identified the large-scale hacking of US government agencies says it “genuinely impacted” around 50 organisations.

Kevin Mandia, CEO of FireEye, said that while some 18,000 organisations had the malicious code in their networks, it was the 50 who suffered major breaches.

The US Treasury and departments of homeland security, state and defence are known to have been targeted.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blamed Russia for the hack.

So too have the chairs of the Senate and House of Representatives’ intelligence committees.

However, President Trump cast doubt on Russia’s role in two tweets on Saturday, hinting instead at Chinese involvement.

Mr Mandia told CBS News that the cyber attack “was very consistent” with what US officials know about the work of Russia’s foreign intelligence agency, the SVR. “I think these are folks that we’ve responded to in the ‘90s, in the early 2000s.

It’s a continuing game in cyberspace,” he said.

He said the attack on the Texas-based SolarWinds Orion, the computer network tool at the source of the breach, had the “earliest evidences of being designed”.

It started with a “dry run” in October 2019 when “innocuous code” was changed.

“Then sometime in March, the operators behind this attack did put malicious code into the supply chain,” he said, “injected it in there and that is the backdoor that impacted everybody”.

international_peoplesdailyng@yahoo.com

Hackers accessed major organisations by compromising software developed by Texas IT firm SolarWinds What is being said about Russia’s involvement?

Despite Russia’s denials of the “baseless” claims, many in the US intelligence community suspect the Russian government is responsible.

Increasingly clear that Russian intelligence conducted the gravest cyber intrusion in our history The process of determining its extent & assessing the damage is underway Our rMr Pompeo said on Friday: “We can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity.”

He said that Russia was trying to “undermine our way of life”, and add that Russian President “Vladimir Putin remains a real risk”.

Mr Pompeo has taken a strong line against Russia before. In his time as secretary of state, the US has pulled out of a key nuclear treaty and the Open Skies Treaty on aerial surveillance flights.

The Republican Chair of the Senate intelligence committee, Marco Rubio, tweeted that it is “increasingly clear that Russian intelligence conducted the gravest cyber intrusion in our history”. He said the response “must be proportional but significant”.

Adam Schiff, Democrat chair of the House intelligence committee, echoed these views, saying on Sunday: “I don’t think there’s any question that it was Russia”.

Soruce; BBC

hilean President Sebastián Piñera has been fined $3,500 (£2,588) for breaching coronavirus rules by posing for a selfie with no facemask on.

Mr Piñera apologised after the photo of him with a woman - also without a mask went viral earlier this month.

The president admitted he should have worn a mask when the woman requested a photo on a beach near his home in the town of Cachagua.

Chile has strict rules about wearing masks in public.

Violations of the mask law are punishable with penalties that include fines and even jail terms.

Coronavirus cases are on the rise in Chile, which has seen among the highest number of cases and deaths related to the disease in Latin America.

The country has recorded 581,135 infections and 16,051 deaths to date, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University in the US. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Controversial photos have proved politically troublesome for Mr Piñera in the past.

Last year, he provoked anger after being pictured at a pizza party on the night protests over inequality broke out in the capital, Santiago.

Then in April this year, the president sparked outrage again by posing for photographs at the plaza that had been the centre of anti-government protests before coronavirus restrictions were imposed.

There has been unrest over the coronavirus restrictions in Santiago as well.

A demonstrator wearing a face mask throws a stone at a riot police vehicle during clashes following a protest against Chilean President Sebastian Pinera’s government in Santiago Since June, Chile has been reporting more than 1,000 new cases a day.

At the start of December, Mr Piñera extended a state of emergency for 90 days, allowing his government to continue imposing restrictions. The first three million doses of the vaccine would be shipped “across all states” this weekend, said Gen Gustave Perna, who is overseeing distribution.

The vaccine offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 and was deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

On Saturday, the US recorded a daily toll of 3,309 Covid-related deaths.

The figure, reported on the Johns Hopkins University website, is the highest total in a single day anywhere in the world.

Coronavirus deaths have been rising sharply since November in the US.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

Page 23

N e w s F r o m A f r i c a François Bozizé: CAR former president denies ‘attempted coup’

T

he ex-president of the Central African Republic has denied, through his spokesman, that he is plotting a

coup.

On Saturday, the government accused François Bozizé of marching with a rebel alliance on the capital, Bangui, a week before a general election.

But spokesman Christian Guenebem said he was in his house in Bossangoa.

“If, in the minds of some men in armed groups he represents an alternative, that’s not François Bozizé’s fault”, he told Frenchlanguage broadcaster RFI. “Perhaps it’s the fault of those who have failed to offer a credible alternative.”

Tensions rose after Mr Bozizé’s candidacy for next week’s national elections was rejected by the country’s highest court.

The UN said on Friday it had deployed peacekeeping forces to the country.

President Faustin Archange Touadéra has insisted the poll will go ahead, saying the presence of the army and UN peacekeepers means people have nothing to fear.

But opposition parties, including that of Mr Bozizé, have called for the vote to be postponed “until the re-establishment of peace and security”.

Rebel groups have seized several towns close to CAR’s capital, clashing with government forces and looting property, and the UN said its troops were working to prevent a blockade of Bangui.

Mr Guenebem told AFP news agency: “We categorically deny that Bozizé is at the origin of anything.”

The CAR is one of Africa’s poorest and most unstable countries, even though it is rich in resources like diamonds and uranium. The UN estimates that half of the population are dependent on humanitarian

Ethiopia explosion: ‘Abandoned’ bomb kills three in Addis Ababa

T

hree people have been killed and five others wounded after an abandoned bomb exploded in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, police say.

The blast happened in the city’s Lideta neighbourhood on Sunday.

The people who died were homeless and living on the streets, senior police officer commander Alemayehu Ayalke told state broadcaster EBC. There is no indication that this explosion is linked to the crisis in the northern Tigray region.

Fighting between federal and regional troops from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) began there on 4 November and has forced 50,000 people into Sudan.

There have been other incidents in which police said “abandoned” bombs were either found or detonated in Addis Ababa in recent weeks, but most of those did not cause deaths, says the BBC’s Kalkidan Yibeltal.

Reuters news agency reports that police have blamed the TPLF in several previous cases, but have not produced evidence to back up the accusation.

“An investigation regarding the explosion is now going on and the public will be informed once the investigation is completed,” the state-owned Ethiopia News Agency reported on Sunday.

assistance and up to a fifth have been displaced.

Who are the key players in this crisis?

François Bozizé, a Christian, came to power after a coup in 2003 and subsequently won two elections that were widely seen as fraudulent. He was ousted in 2013 by the Séléka - a rebel coalition drawn largely from the Muslim minority - which accused him of breaking peace agreements.

The country has since been caught in conflict between the Séléka and the socalled “anti-Balaka” self-defence forces, who are mainly Christian.

After military intervention by France, the country’s former colonial ruler, elections were held in 2016 and won by President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, who is currently seeking re-election.

But fighting among militias has continued, and the UN has blamed rebel groups for the country’s instability.

Mr Bozizé, 74, returned to the CAR in December 2019 after living in exile for six years in Benin, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He announced in July he would stand in the 27 December election - a move that was seen as high-risk given the country’s lingering civil unrest, but not unexpected.

Mr Bozizé still maintains a large following, especially in the army and among the country’s largest ethnic group, the Gbaya.

But he faces UN sanctions for his alleged support of the “anti-Balaka” groups in 2013. CAR authorities have also issued an arrest warrant against him for “crimes against humanity and incitement of genocide”.

What is the threat now?

On Saturday, the three main rebel groups announced they had formed an alliance called the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC), and accused President Touadéra of trying to rig the upcoming election.

In a statement, the CPC invited “all other groups to join” and called on members to “scrupulously respect the integrity of the

Former President François Bozizé has tried unsuccessfully to run in this month’s elections civilian population”.

As election campaigning heats up, Facebook said earlier this week it had identified rival disinformation campaigns to influence the vote - masterminded by individuals with links to the French military and prominent Russian businessman Yevgeniy Prigozhin.

Moscow has fostered close ties in recent years with the CAR. Russian military advisers are currently stationed in the country to help train government forces.

Reports by UN investigators, the US military and journalists have also documented activity in the country by the Wagner Group, a private military firm allegedly owned by Mr Prigozhin. Mr Bozizé still maintains a large following, especially in the army and among the country’s largest ethnic group, the Gbaya.

But he faces UN sanctions for his alleged support of the “anti-Balaka” groups in 2013. CAR authorities have also issued an arrest warrant against him for “crimes against humanity and incitement of genocide”.

What is the threat now?

On Saturday, the three main rebel groups announced they had formed an alliance called the Coalition of Patriots for Change (CPC), and accused President Touadéra of trying to rig the upcoming election.

In a statement, the CPC invited “all other groups to join” and called on members to “scrupulously respect the integrity of the civilian population”.

As election campaigning heats up, Facebook said earlier this week it had identified rival disinformation campaigns to influence the vote - masterminded by individuals with links to the French military and prominent Russian businessman Yevgeniy Prigozhin.

Moscow has fostered close ties in recent years with the CAR. Russian military advisers are currently stationed in the country to help train government forces.

Reports by UN investigators, the US military and journalists have also documented activity in the country by the Wagner Group, a private military firm allegedly owned by Mr Prigozhin.

Uganda election: False claims about Joe Biden and others

W

ith Uganda’s elections due in January, there’s plenty of misinformation being shared in a heated campaign which has seen serious violence.

President Yoweri Museveni, in power since 1986, is facing a challenge from 11 candidates, amongst them a young musician known as Bobi Wine.

Some of the misinformation about the campaign involves fabricated content, and in some cases videos taken out of context.

Our first example is a widely-shared video clip, with social media users claiming it shows US President-elect Joe Biden at an event calling for the release of Bobi Wine (real name Robert Kyagulanyi).

Some even claim it shows Mr Biden endorsing him in Ugandan elections.

The grey-haired white man speaking in the video can be heard saying: “We all care about the freedom to exercise our own religion.

We all stand together, we need democracy in Uganda.”

But the man speaking is not Joe Biden, and the video is two years old.

We traced it back to protests by Ugandan pro-opposition groups held in various cities around the world after Bobi Wine was detained in August 2018.

This particular event was held in Boston, and the man speaking is Nick Carter, a Democratic politician who was contesting a local election there.

He can be heard about three minutes into the video, seeking support from the local community for his bid for a place on the Massachusetts Governor’s Council.

We also checked with Mr Biden’s media team, who told us: “The president-elect has not tweeted or issued a statement on the matter [the current elections in Uganda].”

They said the most relevant tweet on Uganda was one from Mr Biden in October 2019 on the issue of LGBT rights there.

Last month, former US President Barack Obama started appearing in pro-opposition content on social media.

Mr Obama can be seen in posts with the hashtag #FreeBobiWine, apparently under his own Twitter handle.

But there’s no record of Mr Obama posting such a comment on that day, despite the screenshot indicating the tweet got nearly a million re-tweets.

It also shows a minor spelling mistake with the word “iPhone” incorrectly using an initial capital letter.

And the blue tick which would indicate an authenticated account is white.

The screenshots look similar to tweets prepared using a popular free online tool for fabricating tweets.

Did Bobi Wine avoid talking about his political record?

Pro-government social media accounts have shared posts claiming opposition candidate Bobi Wine ducked a question about his record as a member of parliament during a radio interview.

“Moderator, I do not have enough time here on radio, let’s go to another question,” is the answer Bobi Wine is said to have given.

The image of the radio station poster being used in some posts is for Radio Wa 89.8 FM in northern Uganda. Source; BBC

PAGE 24

N

e w s

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain begin vaccination programmes

H

ealth Minister Tawfiq Rabiah was among the first people to receive a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which the Gulf kingdom authorised for use last week.

Afterwards, Mr Rabiah hailed what he called “the start of a breakthrough in the crisis”.

“For the past nine months, I anxiously monitored the number of registered cases,” he said. “But today, I will happily monitor the numbers of those getting vaccinated.”

Saudi Arabia has reported more than 360,300 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 6,080 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

On Wednesday, the king of neighbouring Bahrain was given a Covid-19 vaccine, as the country began its own national programme.

State media quoted King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as praising the Bahraini people’s “high level of awareness and keenness to adhere to all precautionary measures and directives”.

Bahrain, which has reported 89,600 cases of Covid-19 and 349 deaths, approved the registration of Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine on Sunday, having already given emergency use authorisation to the PfizerBioNTech vaccine. Australia had previously agreed to buy 51 million doses of the vaccine being developed by Australian firm CSL and the University of Queensland (UQ).

The government said orders of other vaccines would now fill the shortfall.

CSL and UQ stressed that the positive results were false meaning trial participants’ health was not at risk.

The Australian government said it had now entered an agreement for the Novavax vaccine, and upped its existing order of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

The UK was the first to begin rolling out a vaccine from Pfizer this week.

What happened with the UQ/ CSL vaccine?

The vaccine had been in stage one of trials, and proving to be effective in making antibodies.

But it also generated HIV antibodies in some recipients - which meant it showed false positives for HIV. Further testing proved the HIV wasn’t there.

CSL and UQ said fixing the flaw would take about a year, prompting a decision to abandon the trial.

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r o m

A SI A

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

Covid in Sydney: New restrictions announced as outbreak grows A

ustralia’s most populous state has announced new restrictions for the Greater Sydney area in an attempt to contain a growing outbreak of Covid-19.

Household gatherings will be capped at 10 people and hospitality venues at 300 until Wednesday.

Residents had already been told to stay at home.

The cases were found in the city’s Northern Beaches area, which entered a five-day lockdown on Saturday.

Since then Sydney residents have rushed to leave the city ahead of Christmas.

Thousands have travelled from the city in New South Wales (NSW) to the neighbouring state of Victoria.

In response, Victoria will close its borders to residents of Greater Sydney and the NSW Central Coast from midnight. People will then face a 14-day quarantine.

Tracking the global pandemic: Where has been hit hardest?

South Australia state also said all arrivals from the Greater Sydney area would have to quarantine for 14 days from midnight. People who have been in the Northern Beaches area will be barred from the state entirely.

The outbreak has also forced

By Maryam Abeeb

T

he Board of Trustees of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund has approved an increase of the national research fund from N7.5 billion to the tune of N8.5 billion in 2021.

The organization also announced a total of N5 billion in special interventions to the University of Lagos to be captured in the 2021 budget.

The Chairman, TETFund Board of Trustees, Alhaji Kashim Imam, said these in Abuja during a two-

T

organisers of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race to cancel the event for the first time in its history.

Until Wednesday, Australia had recorded just one locally transmitted infection in the past

fortnight. The country, which is considered a relative success story of the pandemic, has recorded about 28,000 infections and 908 deaths in total, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

The restrictions in Greater Sydney - including the Central Coast and Blue Mountains - can be lifted if no cases of community transmission are reported. They include.

Germany and Finland bring home women from Islamic State camps

G

ermany and Finland have repatriated five women and 18 children from Syrian camps housing suspected family members of Islamic State (IS) militants.

The foreign ministries of both nations said the women and children were brought back this weekend for humanitarian reasons.

Three of the women were under investigation for allegedly belonging to IS, German media said.

Hundreds of Europeans who joined IS are in Kurdish-run camps in northern Syria.

They were moved there along with thousands of others who were displaced after IS was declared territorially defeated in Syria and Iraq in March 2019.

Many of them are suspected wives and children of IS fighters or sympathisers of the jihadist group.

Concerned about the security risk they pose, some European governments have been reluctant to repatriate their citizens from the camps.

The case of Shamima Begum, the British schoolgirl who joined IS in 2015 and was later stripped of her UK citizenship on security grounds, is one prominent example.

But human rights groups have urged governments to take their citizens back, arguing that leaving women and children in the camps puts them at risk of illness and radicalisation.

On Sunday Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said he was

Education

By Maryam Abeeb

Sydney residents have been told to stay at home

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

he Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two foreign universities towards enhancing quality of knowledge in the institution.

Prof.

Muhammad-Bello Uthman, Director, Centre for Islamic Legal Studies, (CILS), ABU, disclosed this during the 21st Annual Judges Conference in Zaria .

Uthman said that the universities were Al-Azhar University Cairo, Egypt and International University of Africa, Khartoum, Sudan.

The theme of the Conference was “ Application of the doctrine of Hauzi (Prescription) in the Sharia and Area Courts; Challenges and Prospects.”

He said the MoU was centred on research in Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh), teaching; exchange of staff and students among others.

He added that the university also plans to sign another MoU with the Ummul-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

“Early this year we were in Saudi Arabia, we discussed with the Vice-Chancellor of UmmulQura University on the areas of collaborations which includes Hajj (Pilgrimage) Administration and Management and Hajj rites,’’ he said.

25

TETFund proposes N8.5bn research fund for 2021 day capacity-building workshop for heads of beneficiary institutions and staff of TETFund centres of excellence.

According to him, the intervention for UNILAG which was on the orders of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), was also carried out in the University of Abuja in 2020.

He stressed the importance of research as a prerequisite for

national development, adding that no nation can develop without research.

Speaking on the academic development programme of the fund, Imam warned that if the country funded infrastructure without research and scholarships, the institutions would only be halffulfilled.

He announced that TETFund would add another 12 centres of

excellence next year and allocate N1billion to each.

“Six state Universities and six polytechnics will be added to the centres of excellence next year, and 70 per cent of the funds will be for research funding,” he said.

Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Prof.

Suleiman Bogoro, said, “Within the five-year gestation period of the TCOE Project, we await success

stories and manifest achievements that will stretch the limits of our expectations.

“The R&D and innovation flame has been ignited in Nigeria, thanks to our modest efforts, but the future of this initiative and the possibility of the R&D flame developing into a raging inferno that transforms the research landscape in Nigeria rests squarely on your shoulders”, he stated.

ABU Zaria signs MOU with 2 foreign universities He said under the proposed MoU, some students of ABU would travel to Saudi Arabia to complete their studies at Ummul-Qura University.

Uthman further explained that the exchange students would have practical knowledge during the annual Holy Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, Alhaji Mahmud Gama who represented of Justice R. Bozimo, Administrator of National Judicial Institute (NJI), said the conference was aimed

at promoting legal research, continuing legal education and mutual interaction between judicial officers and legal practitioners among others.

Minister of state for Education, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba at the exhibition stand of the students of federal Government Techinical College Orozo, during the Ministry of Education 2020 technical innovations expo for unity colleges , recently in Abuja. Photo : Justin Imo- Owo

TRCN, others train 1,771 teachers on digital technology

By Maryam Abeeb

The women and children were brought back to Germany and Finland this weekend (file photo) “very relieved that we were able to repatriate another 12 children and three mothers from camps in north-eastern Syria yesterday”.

Mr Maas said the repatriations were “humanitarian cases, primarily orphans and children who were ill” and their need was “deemed particularly necessary and urgent”.

He said it was not legally possible to repatriate children without their mothers.

Women walk through al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate, Syria German broadcaster SVR said one of the female returnees had

been arrested at Frankfurt Airport on suspicion of being an IS member, among other alleged crimes.

Prosecutors said the woman, from the central German state of Saxony-Anhalt, was believed to have travelled to Syria at the age of 15 and joined IS. A report by German magazine Der Spiegel said the two other female returnees were also being investigated on suspicion of IS membership.

The three women were “wives of jihadists” of IS and “in very poor health,” a spokesman for the Kurdish administration’s foreign relations office, Kamal Akif, told

AFP news agency.

In Finland, the foreign ministry said it had brought home six children and two mothers.

“Under the constitution, Finnish public authorities are obligated to safeguard the basic rights of the Finnish children interned in the camps insofar as this is possible,” it said.

The Finnish government estimates that more than 9,000 foreign women and children, twothirds of them children, are still being held in the al-Hol and Roj camps in north-eastern Syria. Of those, about 600 children and 300 women are EU citizens.

T

he Registrar, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Segun Ajiboye, says that the council has trained 1,771 teachers on use of digital technology in classroom delivery.

Ajiboye, who spoke with newsmen in Ibadan , stated that the training was organized in collaboration with Teach 4 Nigeria

and Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT).

He said that the training, which began in November, lasted for two weeks, adding that it focused on how to utilise digital technology to propel classroom delivery.

Ajiboye further stated that the teachers were selected from across 20 states in the country, adding that the training was aimed at updating their delivery skills and making them adapt to the challenges posed

by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to him, the Federal Government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that teachers adopt the use of technology in passing knowledge as the new normal in the global knowledge ecosystem.

The TRCN boss stated that the capacity building had become essential in order to block the digital holes in some Nigerian teachers, adding that a teacher

must re-learn and re-tool in order to remain relevant, both nationally and internationally.

He said that the council, in collaboration with ‘Teach 4 Nigeria’, had mobilized 50,000 teachers for similar training at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is becoming increasingly important and inexcusable not to possess digital knowledge to deliver classroom teachings.

“This is why the federal

government is equipping teachers with the skills to catch up with the global trends,” he said.

According to Ajiboye, another training on digital literacy, solely organised by TRCN for 200 selected teachers from Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Edo, Delta, Rivers and Cross River, is ongoing in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.

He said that the training, which commenced on Dec. 14, would last for six days.

Basic education: UBEC, ABU train 500 head teachers, others in Kaduna State

Maryam Abeeb

T

he Institute of Education at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, began a five-day training to develop the managerial capacities of 500 head teachers and other officials on basic education in Kaduna State.

Mr Tijjani Abdullahi, the Executive Chairman of the Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board, said that the training was funded by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in his address.

Abdullahi, represented by the Director of School Services, Malam

Aliyu Idris, said that the trainings were taking place simultaneously in Zaria, Kaduna and Kafanchan.

According to him, the goal is to equip the head teachers with the necessary skills for effective and efficient management of basic education in the state.

“This is part of Gov. Nasiri

El-Rufa’i-led administration’s efforts to improve the quality of education delivery at the basic level which is critical to the educational development of the state.

“We have over 30,000 teachers and head teachers in basic schools and we will continue to train and retrain them to keep tab with the best

practices for quality teaching and learning,”Abdullahi said.

He identified other participants attending the training to include: School support officers and the officials of Kaduna SUBEB, the Ministry of Education and the Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority.

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

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THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE : 1. COMMITTED TO THE WELBEING OF HUMAN LIVES AND THE ENVIRONMENT 2. TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO LIVE HEALTHY AND EXERCISE REGULARLY THROUGH CYCLING. 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 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : SECRETARY.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990, (CAP C20, LFN 2004).

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1.GEORGE ONYEKA ONYEJIAKA 2.AUSTIN EKENE ARINZE THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE : 1.TO FOSTER LOVE, PEACE, UNITY, SOLIDARITY, UNDERSTANDING AND FRIENDSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND WELL BEING OF AWKA COMMUNITY. 2.TO PROMOTE THE WELFARE OF MEMBERS OF THE CLUB AND GENERALLY OF AWKA CITIZENS IN AWKA AND ENVIRONS. 3.TO PROMOTE THE SPIRIT OF ONENESS, BROTHERLY LOVE, FOSTER UNITY, PEACE, SOLIDARITY AND UNDERSTANDING AMONGST MEMBERS. 4.TO CARRY ON SOCIAL ACTIVITIES THAT WILL UNITE MEMBERS, TOWNS AND FAMILIES AND IMPROVE MEMBER’S WELFARE. 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 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : SECRETARY.

public NOTICE

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INTER AGAPE MINISTRY

HIGH FLIERS FOR CHRIST MINISTRY

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990, (CAP C20, LFN 2004).

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1.KATUNG SUNDAY MARSHALL 2. MARSHALL KATUNG ABIGAIL WOK 3. ALISON JAMES JOSEPH 4. KATUNG MARY JOSEPH 5. MARSHALL-KATUNG ELYON NOKAH ENITAN 6. BAIN UMAR BYANG. THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE : 1.To cater for widows, Orphans and the Indigent Members of the Society.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990, (CAP C20, LFN 2004).

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1.ALLAGENYI ALBERT AONDOFA 2.ALLAKYAGH DAVID 3.ALLAKYAGH HALLE IWUESE THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE : 1.To preach the gospel of 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 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : SECRETARY.

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MIRAWET UPS FOUNDATION THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990, (CAP C20, LFN 2004).

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1.STEPHEN UFUOMA PRESIDENT 2.UFUOMA ABIEYUWA WEALTH 3.EMUEBIE CHUKS OGHO. THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE : 1.To give back to the Society 2.To help the less privilege.

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 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : SECRETARY.

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990, (CAP C20, LFN 2004).

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. ADEBOWALE OLADIPUPO O. 2. ONOCHIE KENECHUKWU OMOLASO 3. ADESANYA ADESOLA OLUWASEYE 4. ADESANYA OLUWASEUN OLUFEMI

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THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990, (CAP C20, LFN 2004).

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. BIODUN-OYEDEPO, ADEYEMI. - CHAIRMAN 2. BIODUN-OYEDEPO, FOLASADE. - MEMBER 3. THOMAS, ROTIMI ALADE - SECRETARY THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE : 1.TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS 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 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION.

YABAGI MUHAMMED FOUNDATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990, (CAP C20, LFN 2004).

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1. IBRAHIM MUHAMMED - CHAIRMAN 2. USMAN KASIM ALHAJI 3. IBRAHIM NUHU - SECRETARY 4. MUHAMMED RAMAT THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE : 1.TO CATER FOR THE WELFARE OF THE LESS PRIVILEGED IN THE SOCIETY.

SIGNED : SECRETARY.

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 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : BARR. OPAOLA OLUWAGBEMIGA.

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Oriyomi hamzat rescue mission foundation

YOUTH’S SUPPORT INITIATIVE FOR BETTER DEVELOPMENT

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990, (CAP C20, LFN 2004).

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1.oriyomi hamzat Abdulrahman, - CHAIRMAN 2.Akinbohun Seyi peace.

3.olaide olajide, 4.alonge Ayodeji, 5.Oladimeji basirat Ajoke, 6.olaoye adijat toyin 7.shalewa abdulahi - SECRETARY THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE : 1.TO SET AN ORGANIZED STRUCTURE AND CONSOLIDATED OF EMPOWERMENT AND PHILANTHROPY. 2.TO ENCOURAGE AND PROMOTE CULTURAL, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT AS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE EMPOWERMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PEOPLE IN GENERAL. 3.TO SUPPORT UNDERPRIVILEGED PERSONS PARTICULARLY MEMBERS OF ECONOMICALLY AND SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED GROUPS AND TO SUPPORT LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN INITIATIVES WITH SIMILAR OBJECTIVES AS A MEANS OF ALLEVIATING POVERTY. 4.TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES AND FUNDS FOR THE ALLEVIATION OF THE HUGE COST OF EDUCATION OF THE LESS PRIVILEGED. SUCH AS TO TAKE CARE OF EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF THE STUDENTS AT THEIR DIFFERENT LEVELS OF EDUCATION. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR_GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT , OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET , MAITAMA , ABUJA WITHIN 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : ABDULAHI SHALEWA - SECRETARY

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION (CAC), ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, 1990, (CAP C20, LFN 2004).

THE TRUSTEES ARE : 1.IBRAHIM ABDULHADI 2.KASSIM ABDULHADI 3.YAZAH FAROUQ AHMAD 4.TESSY MUSA 5.SALISU USMAN 6.CHRISTIAN ANYAFO 7.VICTORIA IKPOYI OKOH 8.NYAKO ARIN ABOK THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE : 1.TO PROMOTE YOUTHS SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT. 2.TO YOUTHS ECONOMICALLY BY GIVING THEM SKILS ON VOCATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 3.TO EDUCATE AND ORGANIZE TRAINING FOR YOUTHS ON THE NEED TO BE SELF-RELIANT. 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 28DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION. SIGNED : SECRETARY.

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

CLASSIFIED IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE OF NASARAWA STATE OF NIGERIA IN THE PROBATE DIVISION WHEREAS the person whose name is set out in the first column hereunder died intestate on the date place stated in the said in the column.

AND WHEREAS the person(s) whose name (s) and address(s) and relation(s) to the deceased are set out in the second column hereto has/have applied to the High Court of Justice, Nasarawa State for the grant of Letters of Administration of the Real and personal properties/estate of the said deceased.

NOTICE: IS HEREBY GIVEN that Letter of Administration (without will) will be granted to such applicant/applicants unless a “NOTICE TO PROHIBIT” the grant is file in this Registry within Twenty- One (21) days from the date hereof.

SCHEDULE

S/N 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

NAME OF DECEASED PERSON 16NA/75/5392 PTE Aliyu Ibrahim late of Keffi, Died on the 20th day of September, 2020 at Damboa Umaru Salihu late of Shabu, Died on the 8th day of February, 2018 at Benue Kunza Samuel late of Nassarawa Eggon, Died on the 15th day of July, 2020 at Nassarawa Eggon Ja’afaru Onveh late of Wamba, Died on the 25th day of May, 2009 at Wamba Ahmed Abdullahi Yabagi late of Keffi, Died on the 2nd day of November, 2020 at Abuja Yakubu Jibril late of Gidan Zakara, Died on the 10th day of October, 2020 at Keffi Musa Adamu Danjuma late of Awe, Died on the 27th day of October, 2020 at Awe Anas Abubakar late of Awe, Died on the 20th day of January, 2019 at Awe Hajiya Amina Umar late of Lafia, Died on the 21st day of October, 2020 at Lafia Nweke Joy late of New Karu, Died on the 4th day of February, 2019 at Kafanchan Eke Ernest Chukwuemeka late of Karu, Died on the 13th day of August, 2020 at Bauchi Obala Umar Sarkin Pada late of Lafia, Died on the 11th day of November, 2020 at Lafia Haruna Alhaji Nuhu late of Nassarawa Eggon, Died on the 8th day of February, 2020 at Lafia Adamu Mohammed late of Akwanga, Died on the 17th day of April, 2020 at Keffi Egwa Dangana Abe late of Obi, Died on the 15th day of October, 2020 at Lafia Garba Shamsuna Borodo late of Lafia, Died on the 19th day of July, 2020 at Keffi Joseph L. Ibrahim late of Andaha, Died on the 30th day of September, 2020 at Akwanga Mailafiya Danlami late of Gudi, Died on the 11th day of November, 2010 at Jos Dogo Samuel late of Sabon Gida, Died on the 28th day of August, 2019 at Sabon Gida Padawa Musa late of Nasarawa, Died on the 29th day of July, 2020 at Nasarawa Muhammed Abbas Kayyimu late of Akurba, Died on the 15th day of October, 2020 at Lafia Garba Amadu late of Keffi, Died on the 22nd day of December, 2019 at Keffi

NAME(S) AND ADDRESS (ES) OF APPLICANT(S) Abubakar Aliyu of Keffi the lawful Brother of the said deceased.

Yahaya Umaru of Shabu the lawful Brother of the said deceased Samuel Polycarp & Samuel Joy both of Nassarawa Eggon the lawful Son & Widow of the said deceased respectively.

Shafa’atu Ibrahim of Jos the lawful Daughter of the said deceased Salisu Amina Ahmed of Keffi the lawful Widow of the said deceased Jubril Habibu Yusuf of Gidan Zakara the lawful Son of the said deceased Tamuzu Yusuf A. of Awe the lawful Son of the said deceased Salihu Anas of Awe the lawful Son of the said deceased Suleiman Umaru Sanda of Lafia the lawful Widower of the said deceased.

Obinna Innocent Nweke of New Karu the lawful Brother of the said deceased Ekeh Chika of Karu the lawful Widow of the said deceased Umar Shamsudeen Obala of Lafia the lawful Son of the said deceased Mohammed Dauda & Nuhu Adamu both of Nassarawa Eggon the lawful Brother & Son of the said deceased respectively.

Adamu Tanimu of Akwanga the lawful Brother of the said deceased Dangana Ashibita Shedrach of Obi the lawful Son of the said deceased Muhammad Nura of Suleja the lawful Brother of the said deceased.

Joseph Janjui of Andaha the lawful Son of the said deceased Musa Ibrahim of Gudi the lawful Son of the said deceased Samuel Angelina & Samuel Dalichi both of Sabon Gida the lawful Widow & Son of the said deceased respectively.

Moses Victor of Nasarawa the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Abbas Hauwa of Akurba the lawful Widow of the said deceased Sani Garba of Keffi the lawful Son of the said deceased

S/N 23

NAME OF DECEASED PERSON Kadon Mburma late of Gudi, Died on the 10th day of March, 2020 at Nasarawa Joshua Clement Goltura late of Lafia, Died on the 24 11th day of October, 2020 at Benni Ayuba Pataki late of Karu, Died on the 27th day of 25 June, 2020 at Doma Yusuf Adama late of Wamba, Died on the 21st day 26 of September, 2019 at Wamba Emie Apochi Jonathan late of Keffi, Died on the 27 3rd day of May, 2020 at Keffi Tatari Philips Shekwo late of Lafia, Died on the 28 21st day of November, 2020 at Lafia Dingba Anthony late of Akwanga, Died on the 6th 29 day of December, 2019 at Akwanga Hussaini Isah late of Keffi, Died on the 3rd day of 30 May, 2018 at Keffi Oboshi Ogu late of Shabu, Died on the 27th day of 31 November 2001 at Doma Dalhatu Yusuf Umar late of Waja, Died on the 8th 32 day of June, 2017 at Wamba 33 Abdullahi Jafaru late of Keffi, Died on the 16th day of April, 2020 at Keffi 34 Akwe Moses late of Doma, Died on the 16th day of November, 2020 at Kwara 35 Salihu Yahaya late of Toto, Died on the 29th day of October, 2019 at Toto 36 Idris Titi late of Lafia, Died on the 28th day of May, 2014 at Lafia 37 Yusuf A. Affiku late of Kaduna Wangibi, Died on the 9th day of February, 2017 at Keffi 38 Inimiah Auta late of Akwanga, Died on the 20th day of February, 2019 at Akwanga 39 Zaki Kekura late of Kekura, Died on the 10th day of March, 2012 at Awe RepubRepublication lication 1 Sgt. Anzaku Udoji late of Yobe, Died on the 1st day of December, 2014 at Yobe 2 Ibrahim Mallo Mado late of Keffi, Died on the 30th day of June, 2014 at Keffi 3 Maku Kagbu Emmanuel late of Lafia, Died on the 13th day of February, 2016 at Akwanga 4 Dandaura Enoch Nehemiah late of Nasarawa, Died on the 12th day of April, 2018 at Nasarawa

NAME(S) AND ADDRESS (ES) OF APPLICANT(S) Forsan Gideon Kadon of Gudi the lawful Son of the said deceased Joshua Hauwa & Joshua Shedrack Rotgak both of Lafia the lawful Widow & Son of the said deceased respectively.

Ayuba Bilatus of Karu the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Ibrahim Yusuf Bariki of Wamba the lawful Son of the said deceased Jonathan Grace Ehi of Keffi the lawful Widow of the said deceased Philip Grace Larai of Lafia the lawful Widow of the said deceased Anthony Mark Dingba of Akwanga the lawful Son of the said deceased Yusuf Ramatu of Keffi the lawful Widow of the said deceased Ogbose Louis Akwe of Lafia the lawful Cousin of the said deceased Ibrahim Yusuf Umar of Waja the lawful Brother of the said deceased Rilwanu Ahmed of Keffi the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Kaura Christiana Tanko of Doma the lawful Widow of the said deceased Yahaya Ibrahim of Toto the lawful Son of the said deceased Odhe Lami Tabitha of Lafia the lawful Daughter of the said deceased Affiku Moses Danlami of Nassarawa Eggon the lawful Son of the said deceased Macbako Philip of Akwanga the lawful Brother of the said deceased Hamidu Abdullahi of Kekura the lawful Son of the said deceased Republication Alex Isaac Tsaku of Mada Station the lawful Son of the said deceased.

Patience Musa of Keffi the lawful Sister of the said deceased.

Maku Grace Mazhe of Akwanga the lawful Daughter of the said deceased.

Tsentse Dandaura Nehemiah of Akwanga the lawful Brother of the said deceased

(Ahmed Sani, Esq.) PROBATE REGISTRAR NASARAWA STATE OF NIGERIA, LAFIA

Sports

PEOPLES DAILY

PAGE 28

TOLULOPE

OLUWATOSIN

I, formerly known as JIBRIN HASSAN now wish to be known and addressed as JIBRIL DANJUMA HASSAN. All former documents remain valid.

Authorities concerned and the general public should please take note.

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS Tolulope Ogungbemi Oguntomole. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AS TOLULOPE ADEBAYO FERNANDEZ-ADEKUNLE. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS Oluwatosin Sarat Oguntomole. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AS OLUWATOSIN SARAT FERNANDEZ-ADEKUNLE. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

Okougbo

DECLARATION OF NAME:

ONOME

I, formerly known as okougbo thompson now wish to be known and addressed as Okougbo Thompson monday. All former documents remain valid. Authorities concerned and the general public should please take note.

I hereby state that I Catherine Nguzan Nomhwange and Kate Nguzan Nomhwange are one and the same person. ALL DOCUMENTS IN EITHER NAMES REMAIN VALID. Zenith shareholders,Access bank, ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AS ONOME EBIETOMIRE. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AS ONOME IKWEN. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND GENERAL PUBLIC PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

John

Hadiza

UZOR JOY

I, formerly known as John Oko Michael now wish to be known and addressed as John Oko Ebiega.

All former documents remain valid. First Bank and Authorities concerned and the general public should please take note.

I, formerly known as Hadiza jibrin Ajima now wish to be known and addressed as Hadiza Mohammed. All former documents remain valid.

Authorities concerned and the general public should please take note.

I, formerly known as OKEOGHENE JOY AKPOAREBE. now wish to be known and addressed as UZOR JOY OKEOGHENE. All former documents remain valid.

Authorities concerned and the general public should please take note.

Fatima

Hauwa

Nazmiye

I, Formerly known as Fatima Mohammed now wish to be known and addressed as Fatima Abubakar Danlami. All former documents remain valid.

Authorities concerned and the general public should please take note.

I, formerly known as Sanda Hauwa Dogara now wish to be known and addressed as Hauwa Ibrahim Barau. All former documents remain valid. Authorities concerned and the general public should please take note.

I, formerly known as Nazmiye Ali Mohammed now wish to be known and addressed as Nazmiye Ali Moslimani. All former documents remain valid. Authorities concerned and the general public should please take note.

29

sports@peoplesdailyng.com, SMS- 08142929046

monday, december 21, 2020

NOC Grant Approval To Nigeria Teqball Federation

By Amaechi Agbo

T

he Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC has recognised and granted approval to Nigeria Teqball Federation, NIGTEQ to operate in the country.

The approval was granted Thursday during a virtual Annual General Meeting, AGM, of the NOC. In a nine-point communique issued at the end of the meeting, the NOC also granted approval to two other federations, Bobsled and Skeleton Federation of Nigeria and Nigeria Curling Federation.

The AGM which was chaired by the President, Nigeria Olympic Committee, Engineer Habu Ahmed Gumel, also had in attendance the Hon Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Sunday Dare, the Permanent Secretary, of the ministry, Mr Gabriel Aduda, the Executive Committee, International federation; ANOCA President representative, Mr Jonathan Dyagas, all members of the Executive Board, as well as Patrons, Sponsors, members of the various NOC commissions

…General Secretary Expresses Appreciation

and Observers.GeneralSecretary, Nigeria Teqball Federation Appreciates NOC On Approval Meanwhile, the GeneralSecretary, Nigeria Teqball Federation, NIGTEQ, Mr Ndudi Edede has expressed profound gratitude to the Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC for the recognition and approval granted to the new federation to operate under its purview.

The NOC Thursday through its Annual General Meeting recognised and approved the establishment of the Nigeria Teqball Federation, NIGTEQ in the country.

Reacting to the development in an interview, the GeneralSecretary, NIGTEQ commended the Technical Committee of the NOC for doing a diligent work in granting the approval.

Mr Ndudi who said that the Federation worked hard to achieve the recognition added that the approval will stimulate the Executive Board into action “We are grateful to the NOC.

Teqball table We really worked for it. It was not an easy task. The technical

committee of the Nigeria Olympic Committee and the body as a

whole were so diligent in their activities and were so precise in their actions.

“We really worked towards meeting up with their requirements and we eventually did, so I thank God for that. We give God all the glory,” he said.

Going forward, the scribe said “The approval means a lot to us as a federation. If you watched in the couple of months ago, we were silence because of the recognition. It slowed down our activities but we are so patient with them to ensuring that we get the approval. Now that we have gotten the approval, it is going to fast-track our activities.

“Even the parent body, the International Federation of Teqball, FITEQ needs this approval and now that we have gotten it, it will position us in carrying out our activities especially in the coming new year.

“We worked so hard to achieve it, they did not delay. They did their job creditably. And we also did our best,” he said.

Mr Ndudi added that the federation will roll out its plan for the year 2021in the first quarter.

Again, Gara Gombe disentangle self from Bubayero’s match fixing scandal

By Albert Akota

JIBRIL

Page

T

he former chairman of Gombe State Football Association, Ahmed Shuaibu Gara Gombe, has again opened up on match fixing scandal involving a team from Gombe State, Bubayero FC in 2013 Division 3 play-off of the nationwide league and exonerated himself of any involvement in the ‘scandalous score-line’.

He attributed the latest move by some certain individuals to link him with the ‘scandalous match fixing’ nine year after the NFF investigative committee found culprits found guilty and banned them for life, as calculated attempt to smear his image.

The renown sports critics however challenge anybody with fresh fact and prove of his involvement in the scandalous match fixing to come out public and prove his case, saying he is not scare of anything as the facts of none his involvement in the Bubayero 67 goals scandal are there for everyone to verify.

“I’m surprise that whenever I raised issue about people instead of them to defend themselves or say their own side of the story, they would be digging stories that are neither here nor there, or don’t have any strength to stand the test of time.

‘On issue of the scandalous and embarrassing match fixing incident where a team from Gombe State, Bubayero conceded 67 goals against Police Machine and Plateau United Feeders were 79-0 victory over Akurba FC from Nasarawa.

That particular match was play in Bauchi and four teams were involved. But only one would qualify to play in the Nationwide League and I was told that goal difference will be used to determine who qualifies.

“My team, Bubayaro FC. I made it clear right from day one that I did not form the club for competition, not to play in the league because it is going to be a waste of time.

I formed the club for developmental purposes. That faithful week when the incident happened, I was in Lagos and I read

on social media that my own team was in Bauchi to participate in the playoff with Police Machine. So, I immediate called the secretary of the club and asked him how did they got to Bauchi and under who permission, he said the chairman of Gombe State Sports Commission was the one that gave them money to travel to Bauchi and ask him how, or under what circumstances did the chairman gave you money to travel for the match?

“I immediately instructed him to enter the next bus with team and return back to Gombe. But against my wish, he refused to come back to Gombe. I then sent the coordinator of the club from Gombe who was also LMC match commissioner, Ibrahim, to go to Bauchi in the morning before they start the match and return with the club back to Gombe.

Unfortunately, they refused to heed to my advice. In the evening I read that they conceded 67 goals. I immediately disbanded the club.

“After disbanding the club, I wrote a letter to the General Secretary of NFF, informing him about the disbandment of the club following that embarrassing and shameful act by the team and officials.

The NFF acknowledged my letter and I copied CAF and FIFA because two days after, the news was all over the world.

I also spoke to a BBC reporter who called me to ask why I took such prompt and bold action to disband the team after investing so much in the club.

I told him that I don’t support match fixing and any act that would damage the game of football.

He thanked me and appreciated my position. Someone from FIFA also called me after receiving my letter to thank me for my courage.

“The NFF set up a committee under the chairmanship of Chief Mike Umeh and the secretary was Dr Muhammed Sanusi who is now General Secretary of NFF but he was head of competitions then.

There were other members of the committee to investigate

and try those involved in the scandalous match fixing.

The match officials, the players of the two teams and their officials, all appeared before the panel and they were found guilty of match fixing offenses. Some of them were banned for life while others were banned for 10 years.

“Those proactive actions that I took exonerated me. The committee never invite me nor tried me because God knows that I know nothing about it. I didn’t even stop at that since the team that scored my team 67 goal happened to be the Police team, I petitioned the Inspector General of Policy, reporting he should investigate what happened and jailed whoever needs to be jailed for the offence.

“If the NFF could not find me guilty, the Police did not find me guilty, I was not in Bauchi, I didn’t speak to anybody about the match apart from the fact that I asked my team not to participate in the playoffs and go back to Gombe.

Some people are today, nine years later, trying by force to mention my name and how my team was involved in match fixing. I was not banned but if they want to retry the case, it is their own problem, I don’t care because the facts are there.

“The report of the committee is there, Dr Sanusi is alive, Mike Umeh is alive, other members of the panel who investigated the matter are also alive.

The IGP who I wrote the petition to investigate the matter is still alive, the documents and the letters I wrote to NFF, CAF and FIFA are all there for anyone to verify.

“I challenge anybody to come out to show how I was involved in that match fixing scandal. I can never do that. But those who are involved in match fixing in Nigeria we know them. Let them continue talking, one day we’ll expose them.

The struggle to liberate Nigeria football administration and management from corrupt elements has started. For 15-year I have ion this I will not stop. If you have anything against me bring up and I have my defense, be ready to come up with your own defense.” Gara Stated.

Amokachi lambast NFF over $2 million compensation clause in Rohr’s Contract

PG30 >>>PG31

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PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

Mighty Jets reconstitute board ahead of new NNL season

By Amaechi Agbo

I

n order to facilitate its target of gaining promotion to the 2021/2022 Nigeria Professional Football League, NPFL, Nigeria National League campaigners, Mighty Jets of Jos have Reconstituted its board to ensure that this target is achieved.

The Executive director of the club, Malam Abbas Jimoh who disclosed this on Saturday said the move is geared towards efficiency and actualising the new trajection of the club in the 2020/2021 NNL Season.

Malam Abbas, said the team board of patrons and founders, on the leadership of Alhaji, Ali Abubakar Promoter, has in a letter to the Plateau State Governor,

Simon Lalong, and copied the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), the Nigerian National League (NNL), as well as the Plateau Football Association (PFA), respectively, notified them of the new management.

The letter signed by Malam Abbas Jimoh, made available to sportswriters read: “After due consultation with members of the board of patrons and founders I, wish to notify you of the appointment of the new management members of the club.”

According to the letter, Mr. Alexander Noel Wukari, is the team President, Mr. Isaac Salami Amabu, director marketing, Amadu Muhammad Maikudi, team manager, while Muhammad Baba Oto, is the team’s Co-coordinator/chairman

technical committee.

Malam Abbas said, Muhammad Baba Otu, was an ex-player of the team, known as the best African winger, whose excellent performances earned him the job of the first technical director bank of North football club, also the first technical director, Kano pillars football, at the time of retirement.

He said the decision to reconstitute the team management, was done in order to take the team back to its glorious days, adding that “coaches would also be giving free hands to perform for better results.”

He said the team board of patrons and founders, wish to express their profound appreciation to Governor, Simon Lalong, for his continuous support and encouragement to the team.

CAF Confederation Cup: Rivers United depart for south africa

By Amachi Agbo

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igeria’s CAF Confederation Cup campaigners, Rivers United this morning left for South Africa ahead of their Wednesday encounter with Bloemfontein Celtic club in the first leg second round of the preliminary stage.

“We begin our journey to Bloemfontein for our #CAFCC tie. #ThePrideOfRivers,” the club said on its twitter Sunday morning.

Coach of the side, Stanley Eguma had expressed confidence that the team will not disappoint Nigerians in the clash.

The Pride of Rivers left the country in the wee hours of Sunday morning less than 48 hours after the management raised alarm over South Africa Embassy frustrations in granting the team visa ahead of the trip.

Rivers United players at the Port Harcourt Airport Sunday The match on Wednesday will be played at the Dr. Petrus Molemela Stadium, Bloemfontein city, South Africa Ahead of the encounter, the host

Saturday played out a 1-1 away to Kaiser Chiefs in the South African League.

Akumu gave the host early lead in the 9th minute but Tumelo Mangweni equalised for

the visitor in the 67th minute.

The winner of the two-leg encounter will qualify for the group stage of the competition.

We are developing other sports beyond football - Minister

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he Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare_ has declared that his priority is to Develop other sports where Nigeria has comparative advantage.

Speaking to pressmen during a facility tour of the ongoing rehabilitation at the National Stadium, Surulere on Friday, Mr Dare said “We have seen that football has been able to birth and support other sports.

Our focus is beyond football. Yes, we pay attention to football, but we want to develop other sports such as Badminton, Tennis, Boxing, Wrestling, i can go on and on.

“We have in a deliberate way moved resources and the latest which

is really exciting is Cricket. The newly appointed coach for cricket is one of the best in the World. Three days ago, the International Cricket Federation approved Nigeria to host two major tournaments. This is unprecedented and we think wherever we have talents we are going to support such sports to grow”.

On the achievements of the Basketball teams, he affirmed “Our basketball teams are really doing well, and more sponsors are gradually coming to identify with our Basketball teams apart from Total owing to the fact that both the Female and Male teams are going well”. Dare concluded

Sports minister (centre) during inspection of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos

PEOPLES DAILY, monday, december 21, 2020

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Amokachi lambast NFF over $2 million compensation clause in Rohr’s Contract

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Omeruo Academy U-16/18 screening holds December 22

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he federal government has criticised the Nigeria Footbal Federation, NFF for inserting $2 million compensation clause on the new contract of Super Eagles coach, Gernot

Rohr The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Sports, Daniel Amokachi who made the carpeted the federation under Amaju Pinnick for inserting a whooping $2 million compensation package in the coach’s contract in any event he was sacked.

Fondly called “Da Bull” in his playing days, lamented NFF for not according former Super Eagles players, Sunday Oliseh and Emmanuel Amunike the needed support to excel despite their being more technically sound than the current occupier of the position, Gernot Rohr.

Rohr was employed as Super Eagles coach on August 9, 2016 on first two-year deal but that contract has been renewed on two occasions in 2017 and 2020.

The latest renewal with two-and-a-half-year extension which took place in May this has a compensation package of $2 million should NFF decides to sack the coach “For the administration to bring somebody like Oliseh and not giving him time because he’s Nigerian and they let go,” Amokachi told Brila FM. “To bring in somebody like Amuneke and not giving him time then they let him go. Then you bring a new coach where those two coaches are far better than him; pedigree-wise and portfolio-wise.

“But still, they gave the machinery a lot of money, $60 plus with all the bonuses, if they play two matches in a month, then you’re talking over $100,000.

“And then at the end of the day, you put a $2m clause on a coach that has never won anything. A coach that came from Burkina Faso to Tunisia then to Nigeria and you put a $2m clause, that’s the first I’m hearing such.

“If you were bringing Guardiola you can put $10m if he says he wants it because you know who he is; he has won laurels. But for a coach that has not done anything, not achieved anything and you put a $2m clause? There’s a lot of failure in that.

“I’ll not rate them (NFF) out of 10, but all these things I’ve broken down will tell anybody with common sense where I’m coming from.”

Gernot Rohr came under severe criticisms with many calling for his sack following a 4-4 and 0-0 draw against Sierra Leone in the matchday 3 and 4 encounters in the ongoing 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON qualifying race played in November.

NFF President, Amaju Pinnick had told Nigerians that the federation cannot sack the German because doing so would come at a huge cost.

“If we sack Gernot Rohr, we will pay his salary from now till January 2023 when his contract expires, we will pay all his allowances, assuming all matches to be played from now till then would be won and we’d pay all the match bonus till then.

We’d then pay compensation as damages and other charges. At the end of the day it could be as much as $3million. There are also political implications which I don’t want to talk about,” he explained.

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he organizers of the Omeruo Football Academy screening have announced 22nd to 24th December as the screening dates for new young talented players The screening which will take place at the Gwarimpa Estate pitch will strictly focus on footballers between the age of 16 to 18 years.

Speaking from his base in Spain, the bulky defender said he is conducting the screening as his own way of giving back to the community where he lived and grew up from.

“I am a product of grassroots, I played on that same Gwarimpa pitch before I was invited to U-17 camp.

I want to give back to the society.

I grow up in Abuja and deem it necessary to organize this Kenneth Omeruo’s football academy trial for the coaches to discover young talents that will stand the test of time.

“We emphasize strictly on 16-18 years. It’s going to be young boys who are in their formative years and still have time to grow and as well learn about the game. I will also be there

to be part of the screening process. I have started this for a long time.

“We have discovered some exciting players who are now part of the U20 team and some are plying their trade with NPFL sides.

Omeruo stressed further by saying he didn’t know what the future holds when asked about life after football.

“I really don’t know yet, anything can happen but I will still be in the circle of football,” the former Chelsea defender concluded.

Super Falcons ends 2020 as Africa best without kicking a ball in 14 months Nigeria’s national senior female team, the Super Falcons have ended the year 2020 as the best team in Africa without kicking a ball according to the December FIFA ranking released this week.

Nigeria women’s team alongside Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania moved up on the last Fifa women’s ranking for 2020 released by Fifa on Friday, December 18.

The Super Falcons rose one spot to 37th on the new global rankings despite a 14-month hiatus since crashing out of the 2020 Olympic qualifiers after a 1-1 draw with Cote d’Ivoire in October 2019.

Cameroon are still occupying 51st position despite losing the coveted Caf Olympic Games ticket to Zambia on the away goal rule following a 3-3 draw on aggregate in the final qualifying stage in March.

South Africa also remained stagnant in 53rd place despite claiming a record fourth consecutive title following a 2-1 victory over Botswana in the final of the 2020 Cosafa Women’s Cup in November.

While Ghana moved up two spots to 58th spot thanks for a runners-up finish at the 2020 Turkish Women’s Cup in

March before the convincing back-toback triumphs over Morocco last month.

Elsewhere, Kenya made a huge leap as Cecafa Women’s Cup champions, climbing up 13 spots to 124th place, along with Tanzania (13 places up) to 126th, while Uganda were unranked due to prolonged inactivity.

In Africa, Nigeria are still ranked the best on the continent, with Cameroon, South Africa, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire (61st), Tunisia (71st), Morocco (77th), Mali (78th) and Algeria (79th) and Senegal (80th) occupying the top 10 spots.

Globally, the USA ended the year 2020 at the summit as reigning world champions followed by Germany, France, the Netherlands and Sweden in the top five of the rankings.

Botswana, Comoros, Mauritius, Eswatini and Madagascar were rewarded with rises of 17 spots following their activities in 2020, with only 28 of 56 nations in Africa ending the year on the rankings.

The next edition of the women’s ranking will be released on March 26, 2021.

. . . putting the people first

monday, december 21, 2020

THIS SPACE IS FOR SALE

SPORTS The new Gen. TY Danjuma latest Golden Eaglets defeats John Utaka Academy in friendly

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igeria’s national U-17 male team, the Golden Eaglets Saturday came from a goal down to defeat John Utaka Football Academy (JUFA) 3-1 in another friendly game played at the FIFA Goal Project, MKO Stadium, Abuja.

It was a very difficult test game and the Eaglets had to really work hard for the equaliser to end the first half at 1-1.

But the superior quality of the team was very visible in the second half, where the team scored two more goals to emerge victorious at the end of 90 mins.

Shanghai Shenhua Set For Odion Ighalo’s January Return

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hanghai Shenhua, the Chinese club of former Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo are bracing themselves up for the return of their marksman next month.

Ighalo’s loan deal at EPL giants, Manchester United will end in January 2021 and the former EPL champions are not disposed in further agreement for extension of his deal.

English tabloid to the Daily Star, reported that Ighalo won’t be joining another team in January and will return to his parents club in China at the end of the current deal which expire in January 31.

After a dream to his career at the club last season, Ighalo has failed to hold down a regulation shirt this season, with the manager prefer to play with Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial Edison Cavani.

Taye Taiwo andorOduamadi

Advert: news: Kano: lagos:

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report in This Day newspaper of 9th December 2020 says that “Lt. General T.Y Danjuma has donated N60 million to the Katsina-Ala Old Boys Association (KAOBA) for the renovation of the hostels of the Government Collage, KatsinaAla. The General a former Nigerian Minister of Defence was a member of the 1958 set of the school has been at the forefront in uplifting the 100year- old institution.

“The President of KAOBA, Dr. Haroun Adamu, while leading the board of trustees of the school on a visit to Governor Samuel Ortom in Makurdi, disclosed that Danjuma made the donation to repair part of the century-old institution.”

The General couldn’t have chosen a better person for this assignment. Haroun Adamu is very much accepted all over Tivland. I even thought he was a Tivman from the Iharev clan.

They are the Tiv clansmen who bear Hausa names without any form of embarrassment.

He speaks the Tiv language fluently. When I finally discovered that he was a Hausa Fulani man, I was surprised.

Recently when in2018 when tension was high between the Tiv and Fulani over clashes between nomadic herders and Tiv farmers, it was difficult for a Fulani man like him to walk about freely in Tivland but he braved it. At the burial of Mr Rov Ikpah, the Public Relations Officer of Katsina Ala Old Boys Association, he showed up at the rather remote village of Ikpah in Mbatyerev District to the surprise of all.

Before Senator JKN Waku died, we often met in the Senators office in Abuja. I have often been amazed not only of his deep knowledge of Tiv language but of its people and politics. There is no major political player in Tiv land of the first and second republic and even the younger generation of today that he does not know deeply. The other day we were discussing Tiv politics in Senator Wakus office and he surprised me with how deeply he knew Chief Godwin Dabo, the controversial Tiv politician and his mother. Haroun Adamu is well connected in Tiv land.

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Emmanuel Yawe royawe@yahoo.com 08024565402

His friend and school mate General TY Danjuma is similarly well connected in Tiv land too. The General himself has confessed that he has Tiv blood bothers. His mother was first married to a Tivman from the Kunav clan in Vandeikya Local Government Area and the marriage was blessed with some children. When the marriage broke up she went on to marry Danjuma, a Jukun or is it Chamba man from Takum.

In those days, such things hardly mattered because all these areas were part of what the colonial masters created as Benue Province.

Both gentlemen attended the Benue Provincial Secondary School established in Wannune, Tarka Local Government, then later moved to Katsina Ala in Katsina Ala Local Government. The school has produced many notable Nigerians from JS Tarka, Col Joseph Akaahan, late Chief of Staff Nigerian Army, General Victor Malu, late Chief of Staff Nigerian Army and TY Danjuma himself the most famous of the survivors of the school who held public office.

It is a respected school, except for those who attended Bristow Secondary School next doors in Gboko. In 1958, the year TY Danjuma left Katsina Ala secondary school, the protestant missionaries from North America working around his hometown of Takum were getting ready to establish a Secondary School in the nearby village of Lupwe. They named the school after Mr. William Muckle Bristow, a British missionary bridge builder who also did much to spread

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education and Christianity in Northern Nigeria. The school was later moved to its present site at Gboko.

By the time some of us attended secondary school, there was already some form of competition-in sports and academics between the two schools. But what we at Bristow hated much about Katsina Ala boys was the lustful looks they cast on our girls. Katsina Ala was a boy’s school while Bristow was mixed. While we handled our girls in a gentle Christian manner as we were brought up to do, the Katsina Ala boys were very rough and rascally. Amazingly the girls we sought to protect were more inclined to the rough boys than gentle ones. This is a story for another day.

Today, those of us who finished from Bristow are proud of the legacy of our school. The structures are still standing there beautifully as they were built in the 60’s. The land that was freely donated by the Mbayion community for the building of the school is still there. Land speculators have been kept away because it is fenced, thanks to the efforts of the old boys of the school.

Not so with Government Secondary School Katsina-Ala. The buildings are dilapidated and the school wears a weary decrepit look.

General TY Danjuma has done a great thing with his hefty donation for the renovation of that school. This is not the first time he has done so anyway. I understand earlier donations by him for the same purpose were swallowed by that snake in Benue that swallows public

Today, those of us who finished from Bristow are proud of the legacy of our school. The structures are still standing there beautifully as they were built in the 60’s

money meant for educational development. The last swallow the snake took in was the huge amount of money meant for Joint Admission Matriculation Board. Now that this hefty donation of sixty million Naira from the General has been taken to the highest office in Benue state, we hope that snake will not find its way there.

But the new face of TY Danjuma must look further. If the general is not embarrassed or sad about the endless Tiv/ Jukun wars, some of us clearly are. And I am sure the man who delivered his message to Governor Ortom should also be. This is not the atmosphere in which we were brought up, not even those of us who are much younger than the general.

And I am sure the relationship between the Tiv and Jukun was much more amicable in his days as a young man.

If General TY Danjuma has had any misgivings in the past about resolving this crisis, I urge him to seek the advice of his good friend and confidant, Alrasheed Haroun Adamu, the journalist who established the Triumph newspaper in Kano, where for the first time in my itinerant and turbulent career as a reporter, I was promoted to the highly cherished position of Editor. Haroun Adamu I know played an immodest role in resolving or at least calming nerves during the Tiv Fulani crisis. If given the chance he will guide the new TY Danuma correctly. History will pass a very harsh judgment on all living Tiv and Jukun men if we handover this crisis to another generation. The struggle must continue.

DAN GAYE Dangai

ISIS appoints new ‘Governor of Lake Chad’, reveals security expert - News

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