Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015 Edition

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Wednesday, September 23, 2015/ Zul Hajj 9, 1436 AH

Again, EFCC re-arraigns ex-gov Lamido, sons

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Boko Haram

Buhari to address world leaders in US page 2

l Shekau’s new audio antics of dying sect-DHQ l As Army arrests soldier training militants

Tribunal fixes October 21 for Saraki’s trial lAs Senate President

pleads not guilty

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

T

he Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) headed by Justice Danladi Yakubu Umar yesterday fixed October 21, 22, and 23 respectively for continuation of trial of Senate President Dr Olubukola Saraki.

This was after Senate President Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) faulted the falsification of criminal charges levelled against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) as he denied the 13-count charges against him.

Saraki who used his arraignment to open up, told the code of conduct tribunal prosecuting him in Abuja that he was being brought for trial because of his new status as Senate President.

At another point, Saraki said that he was shocked with the issues being raised Senate President Bukola Saraki in accused box, during his trial by Code of Conduct Tribunal on allegation of 13-count charge against him because he was seeing them bordering on corruption and false assets declaration, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa Contd on Page 2

Bird flu resurfaces, 60,000 affected in Lagos

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

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23,

News

addresses world leaders on Boko Haram in U.S CONTENTS Buhari Council, a High-Level Roundtable strange religious ideology to kill the clock to rid the country of this

By Lawrence Olaoye News 2-11 Editorial 13 Op.Ed 14 Letters 15 Politics 16-18 Business Stockwatch

19-22 23

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

Picnnick confers with Hayatou ahead of FIFA presidential race Page 42

Metro

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Int’l 39 S/World

39

Digest 40 Sports 41 Columnist 48

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resident Muhammadu Buhari will tomorrow (Thursday) leave for New York, United States of America (USA) to address the world body n violent extremism bordering on the activities of the dreaded Boko Haram in the country.

In a statement made available to newsmen by his Special Adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari who was personally invited by the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, during his last official visit to Nigeria, will be accompanied by the governors of Sokoto, Kaduna and Niger.

Others on his entourage are the Permanent Secretaries of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, Health, Industry and Trade and Investments.

Those notable world leaders expected to participate in the rounds of discussions at the UN General Assembly include President Barack Obama of the United States, President Francois Hollande of France, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Vladmir Putin of Russia, President Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister Narenda Modi of India and others.

The world leaders are to deliberate on domestic developmental issues, bilateral relations, the war against terrorism, countering violent extremism, the enhancement of global security, peace-keeping operations, climate change and the adoption of a post 2015 global development agenda.

Also on Buhari’s busy schedule in New York are a meeting of the African Union’s Peace and Security

on South-South Cooperation organised by President Xi Jinping of China and the United Nations, and participation in the launching of an updated global health strategy for women and children.

Equally on President Buhari’s schedule are meetings with former President Bill Clinton of the United States, Mr. Bill Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which is assisting Nigeria in several areas including polio eradication, and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain, the United Nations Special Envoy on Global Education who is one of the main drivers of the Safe Schools Initiative.

The President will conclude his visit to New York on Tuesday, September 29 and leave the city for Abuja on the same day. eanwhile, the military said yesterday that it viewed as irrelevant and fruitless effort the motive behind the recent audio clip presumably released by Shekau, the acclaimed leader of Boko Haram sects.

The military appealed to the good citizens of Nigeria not to lose sleep over the concocted audio rhetoric of the waning terrorist sect which is a usual antic of a drowning person struggling to hold on to anything to remain afloat.

The military said it is not considering any particular person in the terror group to be much relevant in the ongoing onslaught against insurgency in the North East. Shekau or any of his cohorts would not deter the spate of the military operations to rid the country of criminals hiding under

innocent Nigerians.

A statement signed by Colonel Rabe Abubakar, Acting Director Defence Information on Tuesday said, “The Armed Forces wish to reiterate that It is a well known fact that the terrorists have been seriously decimated and the tremendous effort and achievement recorded in the recent time by combined forces of the Nigerian Army and the Air Force is commendable.. The Armed Forces did not lie about the successes recorded so far in its counterinsurgency operations and for avoidance of doubt, the liberated communities in the North East, which were hitherto under the throes of Boko Haram terrorists, are free for interested person or body to explore.

“The military does re-state that in the recent time a number of Boko Haram members have been surrendering and denouncing radicalization. Our candid advice to Shekau or his ghost; cohorts or impersonators is to toll the line of their fellow comrades and surrender now as no more hidden place for him or his criminal gang to operate freely any longer. It is also necessary to tell those that are still masquerading as leadership of Boko Haram in whatsoever guise to quickly come to term with the fact that era of cheap propaganda is over and in no distance time Nigerians and the whole world will know who is saying the truth.”

While urging Nigerians and the nation’s well-wishers to disregard the audio clip purportedly released

by Shekau in its entirely, the military called on peace-loving Nigerians to go about their normal businesses as the military is working round

devilish and anti-human group.

Also yesterday, the army said it has arrested a rogue soldier, who specialised in training Niger Delta militants, during its arms and ammunition mop-up in Kula Community, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers.

Lt.-Col. Timothy Opurum, Commanding Officer of 2 Brigade Garrison of the Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

Opurum said the soldier, a member of 13-man -militant gang alleged to have been terrorising many communities in Rivers, deserted the army in 2002.

“Based on intelligence reports, we carried out a sting operation where we captured 13 members militant gang including their notorious kingpin leader, simply known as Kenneth.

“We also arrested a soldier, who deserted the army in 2002 and specialised in training of militants in weapons handling and operational tactics.

“The soldier (names withheld), who is a Private, joined the army in 1998 and served in 331 Artillery Regiment Kalapanzi Barracks in Kaduna before he was declared missing in 2002.

Opurum said that troops raided the community on account of incessant cases of militancy, kidnapping, piracy, cultism and killings which occurred regularly in the area.

The commanding officer said that intelligence revealed that the community was not only serving as hideout for criminals but hoodlums were also storing caches of arms and ammunition in the area.

denied the charges when his plea was taken and he was allowed home on the basis of self recognition.

About 15 Senators led by Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu were at the tribunal throughout in solidarity with their President.

Prosecution counsel led by Mr Rotimi Jacobs SAN, thereafter briefed the tribunal how the accused person while in office as the executive governor of Kwara State filled four different assets declaration forms with the first one in 2003, the second in 2007, third also in 2007 while the fourth was filled in 2011 when he left office as a governor.

Jacobs among others alleged that the Senate President made anticipatory assets declaration while in some cases he failed to declare others acquired while he was the governor.

He also alleged that the Senator operated two foreign accounts in the United Kingdom also while in the office as governor and made some huge deposit in foreign currencies into the accounts with the aid of the Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB).

The alleged offences were said to be contrary to section 15 of the CCB and CCT Act 2004.

The prosecuting counsel also announced his intention to tender the four assets declaration forms as exhibits and that he will also call five witnesses to give evidence against the Senator.

After the presentation of facts of the case by the prosecution to the tribunal, its Chairman ordered that the bench warrant of arrest earlier issued against the Senate President for Police to arrest him has been vacated and that the accused should go home.

Justice Umar also announced that the tribunal will hear all the motions already filed by the accused to challenge the jurisdiction of the tribunal before going into the main issue.

“It is not the intention of this tribunal to shut out the accused person in the numerous applications he has filed. It is in the interest of justice that we will hear and all the motions in one way or on the other before going into the main case”. Justice Umar said.

After a brief consultation by

lawyers in the issue, the case was adjourned till October 21, 22 and 23 for trial.

Earlier the defence team, led by Mr Joseph Daudu SAN, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had insisted that Saraki will not be docked by the tribunal until all his motions challenging the jurisdictions of the tribunal are disposed off.

Daudu SAN, premised his argument on the fact that until the issue of jurisdiction was first determined, the plea of any accused cannot be taken.

Prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacob however countered the arguments claiming that the first thing for a court or tribunal was to take the plea of any accused standing trial before listen to him on any point.

Justice Umar upheld the submission of the prosecution and ordered Saraki to enter the dock which he complied with.

Others in the defence legal team are Yusufu Olaolu Ali SAN, Saka Abimbola Isan SAN, Chukwuma Ekomaro SAN, K.K Eleja SAN and Adebayo Adelodun SAN

M

Tribunal fixes October 21 for Saraki’s trial Contd from Cover page

Against him because he was seeing them for the first time in his life.

Shortly after the first of the 13-count charges was read to him, the accused informed the tribunal that those putting him on trial (Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) even violated its own law with its deliberate refusal to first invite him (Saraki) for clarifications in the discrepancies in his assets declaration forms as provided for under section 6 of the CCB Act 2004.

He asked the tribunal headed

by Justice Danladi Yakubu Umar to act in the best interest of justice and not in favour of external forces that were out to fight him on vendetta.

He said, “I am one of the strongest believers in the rule of law. I am a law abiding citizen and my faith in the judiciary remains unshaken but when trial is being instigated outside the purview of normal procedure then the tribunal must watch it and must be on the side of justice.”

Saraki however completely

Page 3

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

News

Ag News Editor Ese Awhotu

Osinbajo to Boundary Commission: Partner other agencies to end smuggling

L-R: ECOWAS Commission President, Kadre Ouedraogo, Prime Minister of Guinea, Mohammed Said Fofana, Presidents of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, Niger Republic, Mohamadou Issoufou, Benin Republic Boni Yayi, Nigerian, Muhammadu Buhari, Republic of Senegal, Macky Sall, Togo , Faure Gnassingbe, Cote’ d’ivoire, Alassane Quattara, and Prime Minister of Mali, Modibo Keita, during the extraordinary meeting of ECOWAS Authority of Head of State and Government on the political crises in Burkina Faso, yesterday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

By Lawrence Olaoye

V

ice President Yemi Osinbajo has charged the National Boundary Commission (NBC) to collaborate with other security agencies in the country to checkmate the activities of smugglers.

The Vice President who is also the chairman of the NBC Board gave the charge at the Presidential Villa yesterday at a meeting with the management of ten organisation.

Osinbajo in a statement by his special Adviser on media and publicity, Laolu Akande, stressed that the collaboration with sister agencies like Customs and Immigration services would be useful in identifying actual points where smuggling is taking place in the nation’s borders.

Earlier in his briefing, Dr. M. B. Ahmad, the Director General of the Commission, said the National Boundary Commission functions include intervening and dealing with any boundary disputes that may arise between Nigeria and any of her neighbours with a view to settling it.

According to him, the Commission also intervenes, determines and deals with boundary dispute that may arise among states, local government areas or communities in the federation with a view to settling them.

He said the Commission is in-charge of the NigeriaNiger Joint Commission (NNJC); Nigeria-Benin Joint Commission (NBJC); Nigeria-Benin Joint Technical Committee on Delimitation; Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission (CNMC); Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and the ECOWAS/Cross River Initiatives (CBI) Ahmad noted that the Commission has intervened in many internal boundary disputes in the country including states like Jigawa/Kano, Kaduna/Kano, Kaduna/Katsina, Kaduna/Plateau in the North and other areas in country.

He cited the challenges faced by the Commission to include funding, straddling settlements, re-establishment of destroyed/ missing boundary pillars as well as demographic movements with the emergence of new settlements, among others.

Again, EFCC re-arraigns exgov Sule Lamido, sons, others

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

T

he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday arraigned a former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, his two sons, Aminu Sule Lamido and Mustapha Sule Lamido, Aminu Wada Abubakar and Batholomew Darlington Agoha, before Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a 27-count amended charge bordering on corruption and money laundering.

The other companies arraigned along with them were companies through which they allegedly perpetrated the fraud.

The companies are Bamaina Holdings Limited, Bamaina Company Nigeria Limited, Bamaina Aluminium Limited and

Speeds International Limited.

Lamido and his co-accused had been arraigned before Justice Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court, Kano State, on July 9 2015 for allegedly misappropriating funds belonging to Jigawa State.

Their case was later transferred to the Federal High Court, Abuja, where Justice Gabriel Kolawole, a vacation judge, granted the accused persons bail, and adjourned the matter to September 22, 2015.

At the resumed hearing yesterday, presided over by Justice Ademola, counsel to the EFCC, Chile Okoroma, presented the court with the amended charge, dated September 15, 2015, which added Agoha, manager of Speeds International Limited, as one of the accused persons.

The hearing which commenced

at about 9.11am was, however, adjourned briefly to allow the registry to assign a new charge number to the amended charge sheet, since the case was originally heard in Kano.

On resumption, the charges were read to the accused persons.

One of the charges read: “That you Alhaji Sule Lamido (while being Governor of Jigawa State, Nigeria), Aminu Sule Lamido, Mustapha Sule Lamido, Bamaina Holdings Limited, Bamaina Company Nigeria Limited, and Speeds International Limited between 15th October and 18th December, 2008 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did convert an aggregate sum of N124,649,915 paid by Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Nigeria Limited into the account of Speeds International Limited.”

Another charge read: “That you Alhaji Sule Lamido (while being the governor of Jigawa State, Nigeria), Aminu Sule Lamido, Mustapha Sule Lamido, Bamaina Holdings Limited, Bamaina Company Nigeria Limited and Speeds International Limited between 8th January and 10th December, 2013 within the jurisdiction of this Honbourable Court took possession of an aggregate sum of N101,580,300 paid by Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Nigeria Limited into the account of Bamaina Holdings Limited.”

They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According a statement by Wilson Uwujaren Head, Media & Publicity to EFCC, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, thereafter, adjourned till October 21 and 22 for trial.

Eid celebration, opportunity to seek Allah’s intervention - NSCIA

By Osby Isibor

T

he Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has said that the Eid celebration is an opportunity to supplicate to Allah to liberate Nigerians from the current challenges the country is going through.

The council under the leadership of its President General, the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar also congratulated

the Nigerian Muslim Ummah and the entire Muslim world on the occasion of the 1436 A. H. Eidul ‘Adha celebrations.

A press statement signed by the Secretary General of NSCIA, Prof.

Is-haq O. Oloyede said this year’s Eid is significant as it provided a rare opportunity for Nigerians to supplicate to Allah to liberate Muslims from the shackles of our hydra-headed challenges.

He said the challenges are evident in the sufferings of Muslims all over the world,

especially from North Eastern Nigeria to various parts of Africa, Asia and the worst-hit Middle East.

“The significance of this year’s Eid derives from the fact that for the first time in 20 years, three khutbahs will consecutively follow one another in three days. There will be khutbah on Wednesday (Khutbatul ‘Arafah), Thursday (Khutbatul Eid) and Friday (Khutbatul Jumuah). If it is Allah’s wish that we witness these important occasions, we

should use the blessed days and this blessed month of Dhul Hijjah as a whole to seek Allah’s divine intervention in making our world a more peaceful place”.

The NSCIA further reaffirmed its support to the federal and state governments in their efforts of repositioning the country for sustainable accelerated development and greatness. The council wished all Nigerians happy Eidul Adha celebrations and many happy returns in faith and health.

Don’t be deterred by renewed bombings, ACF tells military

By Ibrahim Saratu with agency report

T

he Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) yesterday urged the Nigerian military not to be deterred by the renewed bombings by the Boko Haram elements in the North-East.

Boko Haram terrorists had on Sunday carried out multiple suicide bombings, which claimed over 54 lives at Damari and Bulunkutu areas

of Borno State.

ACF stated this in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim, in Kaduna on Tuesday, saying that the military was already winning the war against the insurgents and should not relent.

According to the Forum, with the renewed effort of the military and the civilian JTF, Maiduguri has experienced relative peace, “but for this wicked act of barbarism on September 20, 2015.”.

The Forum condemned the continued used of suicide bombers

by Boko Haram to kill innocent people, and hailed the Nigerian military for the onslaught against the terrorists in their enclaves.

It noted that what the Nigerian military needed to root out the insurgents was to intensify its intelligence synergy with the communities.

“Arewa Consultative Forum was shocked and disturbed by the sad

news of the multiple bomb blasts again that occurred on Sunday at Gomari and Bulunkutu areas of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, killing about 50 people with many injured.”, ACF said. It condemned in strong terms the continued use of suicide bombers

by Boko Haram terrorists to kill innocent people in the name of a religious war, adding that no religion condones such cruel and barbaric act.

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Page 4 Report

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Fighting corruption: Is Nigeria on the right track?

By Ochiaka Ugwu

C

orruption is prevalent and has particularly serious economic consequences in Nigeria today. We have experienced a share of this problem through a substantial loss of our common wealth to few privileged office holders, investors as well as foreign aid.

As a result, the country has taken wide-ranging measures to eradicate corruption.

Some of these measures such as establishing anti-graft commissions like Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) have made a dent in corruption. Others, such as criminal process have met with many problems due to the socio-political structure of the country.

Although, corruption is not a problem unique to Nigeria, but it is one of the country’s major challenges. Even the international anti-corruption conventions which inform Nigeria’s domestic laws, our local legislation and the local institutions, commissions whose specific task are to root out, tackle and eliminate all forms of corruption have not been able to give the menace a bloody nose.

Transparency International’s 2014 Global Corruption Barometer indicated that Nigeria ranks 136 out of 176 countries with a score of just 27 out of 100 on the Corruption Perception Index; 85 per cent of Nigerians surveyed believe corruption has increased from 2011 to 2013 not just among government officials but among its citizenry.

The report shows that corruption hits hardest at the poor in who make up more than 40 per cent of the 179 million people. Global Financial Integrity estimates more than US$157 billion in the past decade has left the country illicitly.

Corruption is everywhere: even the health and medical services, considered the least corrupt government institution, are considered very corrupt by 41 per cent of Nigerians.

In the analysis, more than half, that is, 55% of Nigerians said that they had paid a bribe in the past year to at least one of eight public services mentioned.

Turning the tables, many were of the view that the police force is the most corrupt public institution in the country.

So far, there are numerous anti-corruption measures already in place, but it has

Mahmud-Mohammed

shown that if they are not effectively implemented it will be impossible to successfully fight corruption in the land.

This too is not a wholly Nigerian situation. The global barometer reports that people from 88 countries felt that government anti-corruption measures were ineffective, while others from just 11 nations felt that they were working.

This best explains why 2015 polls’ campaign was dominated by discussions on tackling corruption. During the buildup, parties tend to punt their stance against corruption as a sweetener for voters, because the electorate asked questions around accountability and anti-corruption policies, and especially the young voters. The APC really used the assurance on putting an end to corruption to earn the vote of Nigerians, in light of the corruption that

affects young people’s future and destroys their trust in their leaders.

Legal experts have posited that the reasons for ongoing corruption is that the existing laws have not been adhered to or implemented to their fullest extent, although the framework is strong, with several pieces of domestic legislation already in place. This indicates some degree of political will to clean up corruption, though not enough will to ensure that intention is translated into action. In the meantime, wrongdoers can carry on without being called to account.

Upon the fact that currently, Nigeria has an impressive array of structures, institutions and laws aimed at combating corruption, it is disheartening that despite the existence of these laws and institutions, Nigeria still falls short of the standards

“

and requirements of an effective anti-corruption government as embodied in the international anti-corruption conventions.

More importantly is that Nigeria is a party to a number of international and regional conventions that set out obligations to fight corruption.

In addition, we have enacted domestic legislation in order to give effect to the commitments enshrined in these conventions.

The outcome is that the country is legally bound to fight against corruption, both locally and internationally.

Nigeria is a party to some of these major conventions: the UN Convention against Corruption, the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption. These conventions need to be brought into effect domestically to curb corruption and remove it totally from the system. This can be achieved

Upon the fact that currently, Nigeria has an impressive array of structures, institutions and laws aimed at combating corruption, it is disheartening that despite the existence of these laws and institutions, Nigeria still falls short of the standards and requirements of an effective anti-corruption government as embodied in the international anti-corruption conventions

firstly, by incorporating an international piece of legislation directly into the country’s legal system without a need for the country to adopt a domestic piece of legislation to give effect to the international law. Bearing in mind that International law needs to be translated into national law, and without this translation, the international law does not apply.

So there must be a piece of national law that explicitly incorporates the international law, otherwise it does not become part of national law and citizens cannot rely on it nor can judges apply it and national laws that contradict it remain in force. Nigeria’s Constitution no doubt provides for international law. This section states that Parliament is required to ratify international treaties.

The United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) was ratified by Nigeria in 14 Dec 2004 having become a signatory on 9 December 2003.

It therefore came into force in 2005. Nigeria is one of 168 parties to the convention, which means that it accepts the terms of the convention and is legally bound by its provisions. Under UNCAC, we as a nation are also obliged to help other parties to prevent and fight corruption by providing technical assistance if necessary.

Some of the prominent features of the UNCAC are the requirements to take steps to: Prevent corruption; Criminalise corruption; Co-operate with other countries in the fight against corruption; and Recover assets.

These are not going to happen by themselves, because the UNCAC parties must ensure that certain steps and processes are in place so that everybody can get involved.

These requirements include the promotion of active participation of individuals and groups, including civil society and communitybased organizations, in the prevention of and fight against corruption; codes or standards of conduct for public officials; and appropriate training so that they can perform their functions effectively and honestly.

These anti-corruption policies must comply with the rule of law, and foster integrity, transparency and accountability; whistle-blowers are also covered under the convention, which states that parties should consider incorporating measures into their domestic legal systems to provide protection against unjustified treatment of persons who report corruption in good faith. With these religiously applied, I think the war on corruption will assume a more positive dimension that will rekindle the hope of ordinary Nigerians in the system who are desirous of seeing corruption stamp out.

PAGE 5

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

News

Eid-el-Kabir: IDPs in festive mood as Borno govt., NEMA donate cows

T

here was wild celebration at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Adamawa on Tuesday following the donation of cows by the Borno government and NEMA for the celebration of the Eid-el Kabir.

Announcing the donations at Fufore and Damare camps near Yola, the Chairman of Kala-Balge Local Government of Borno, Alhaji Babagana Malarima, and his GamboruNgala counterpart, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulkarim, said the gesture was to give the IDPs a sense of inclusion during the festival. ``The gesture was directed by Gov. Shettima of Borno and it is to make you feel at home,’’ Malarima told the IDPs. Malarima also told the IDPs at Fufore Camp that Shettima had directed chairmen of local governments in Borno, whose areas had been affected by the insurgency and whose people were in the Yola camps, to celebrate with them. ``We are here to see and assess your condition and prepare on how you will all be evacuated to Maiduguri after the festive period,’’ Malarima said.

Abdulkarim, on his part, lauded the military for recapturing Gamboru and urged the people to continue to keep hope alive for possible return to their homes ``within the shortest possible time.’’

Speaking on the preparations for the Sallah, the NEMA Coordinator of the camps, Mr Saad Bello, said that the agency had made preparations to ensure that the IDPs marked the festival in a fitting manner.

Bello said that the agency had provided cows to be slaughtered for the celebration.

He also said that there were no fewer than 6,000 IDPs in the camps, with most of them from Borno, and expected to be evacuated to Maiduguri after the Sallah.

Buhari approves N70m for 2015 Independence anniversary

By Yamusa Kpediya

T

he Federal Government has said it will expend N70 million for the 55th Independence anniversary celebrations slated to commence on Sept. 25, in line with the it’s cost-saving policy.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Babachir Lawal,disclosed this yesterday at a press briefing in Abuja.

The SGF said Buhari reluctantly approved the N70m after complaining that he would have preferred the money is diverted for the payment of workers’ salaries.

He said the president had argued that the money was too

much to be spent on frivolities such as celebrations when Nigerians are grappling to survive the present day economic stress.

He further explained that “this year’s celebration is, indeed low key because the present administration appreciates the economic hardship that Nigerians and the nation is confronted with today and he almost slashed its downward from N70m”.

The SGF, represented by Mrs Ibukun Odusote, the Permanent Secretary (Political Affairs), said that government was cutting cost because of the present state of the country’s economy. “ddress the situation, government has adopted a general policy to be very prudent in the

management of our financial resources. ``This year`s celebration is, therefore, in consonance with the cost-saving policy of this administration.’’

He said that the Federal Government would rather spend more money on ensuring payment of workers’ salaries, better learning business environment than on anniversary celebrations.

The SGF, however, said that the president had approved four events for the anniversary which include the Jummat prayers, slated to hold at the Abuja National Mosque on Sept. 25 and the Interdenominational Thanksgiving Service holding at the Abuja National Christian Worship Centre

on Sept. 27.

Other events are the ceremonial Change of Guards slated for Oct. 1 at the Presidential Villa and children’s party on Oct. He said that the children’s party, which would hold at the Presidential Villa, would be attended by children within the ages of five to 13, including some children from Internally Displaced Camps.

Besides the approved four events, Buhari would address the nation at 7 a.m. on Oct. 1, the SGF said.

According to him, four subcommittees have been constituted to handle preparations for each event, to ensure a successful commemoration.

L-R: Former Jigawa state Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, his two sons, Aminu Sule Lamido, Mustapha Sule Lamido, and Aminu Wada Abubakar, arraigned by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 27-count amended charge bordering on corruption and money laundering, yesterday at the Federal High Court, in Abuja.

Hard times await gender-based violence perpetrators, IGP warns

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

T

he Inspector-General of Police, IGP Solomon E. Arase, yesterday warned perpetrators of gender based violence to refrain from it or face the wrath of the law This is even as he assured the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development of his total support on the

clampdown on perpetrators of violent crimes and other genderbased violence against women and other vulnerable persons The IGP made this known when he played host to a delegate from the Federal Ministry led by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Ezekiel Oyemomi in his office at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

The Permanent Secretary used the forum to solicit for the IGP’s

support in his ministry’s bid to prevent gender-based violent crimes against women and other vulnerable persons. He also sought for the cooperation of the Police High Command for the sensitization of the general public against the unwholesome act.

According to a statement by Ag. ACP Olabisi Kolawole, Force Public Relations Officr, Force Headquarters, Abuja, the e IGP

declared to the delegation that the Nigeria Police under his watch is gender sensitive and as such it would be committed to ensure that the perpetrators of gender based violence refrain from it or face the wrath of the law. He further used the occasion to enjoin members of the public to utilize the Nigeria Police-Gender based platform to report any case in this regard.

NSCDC deploys 40,000 personnel for sallah celebrations

By Tahab Maryam

I

n cognizance of the upcoming Muslim Celebration, the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu has directed deployment of 40,000 personnel across the nation to provide

maximum security during the Sallah festivity.

The Commandant General of the Corps assured Nigerians that in spite of the uncertain security situation in some parts of the country, adequate preparation is being made to protect critical areas such as places of worship, markets and schools among other soft

targets.

While calling on citizens to be extra vigilant and security conscious at all time by reporting strange movements and objects to security personnel, he said the Corps is prepared to protect all critical national assets such as telecommunication masts and oil pipelines among others in

collaboration with other security agencies.

According to a statement by DCC Emmanuel O. Okeh Public Relations Officer ,NCSDC HQ, Muhammadu said that : “In our efforts to fight miscreants and criminal-minded individuals who see festive periods as the time to perpetuate their nefarious activities,

all hands must be on deck in the areas of intelligence-gathering and reporting all suspicious behaviour to relevant security authorities.”

While felicitating with all Nigerians, especially the Muslims on the Sallah celebrations, he urged them to continue to imbibe the spirit of peaceful coexistence and tolerance at all time.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

PAGE 6

News

Adamawa govt to pay N1.6b outstanding salaries in 10 days – HOS

From Umar Dankano, Yola

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ivil servants in Adamawa State have cause to smile as all their outstanding entitlements worth N 1.6 billion would be settled in the next ten days, the Head of Civil Service in the State, Barrister Musa Kaibo has disclosed Barrister Kaibo gave the hit in an interactive session with journalists in Yola yesterday noting that Governor Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla Bindow has assured him that all outstanding entitlements including leave grants, promotion allowances, yearly increment and

others sundry entitlements will be paid as soon as possible.

He maintained that, the state government has improved its relationship with the civil servants through training and retraining, adding that so far about 8000 workers have benefitted from the training.

He stressed that the verification exercise conducted by the state government has yielded fruitful outcomes as about 3000 ghost workers have been weeded out of the system translating to the government saving about N400 million on monthly basis.

“The salary bill of the state was about N2 billion monthly but after the verification exercise the bill dropped to N1.6 billion monthly,” he noted.

“Initially, the workforce of the state civil service is 32,000 but after the verification exercise it dropped to 27, 000,” he added.

He said that the present administration of the state would soon implement the new salary payroll based on the last screening exercise.

He observed that following the successful introduction of the system at the state level, the state

government has now extended the verification to the local government levels across the state.

“Governor Muhammadu Jibrilla having seen the advantage of e-payment in the payment of worker’s salary in the state has approved that this should be extended to our workers at the local governments.” Kaibo added.

He said that the introduction of the e- payment was based on the interest of the workers.

He emphasized that the payroll system would solve many problems affecting the civil servants in the state.

Lagos state Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode (middle), his Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule (3rd left), Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello (2nd right), Head of Service, Mrs. Folasade Jaji (right), and members of the Governing Board of Tertiary Institutions, during the swearing in of the board, yesterday in Lagos.

Photo: NAN

Plateau violence: Lalong assures of peace, stability From Ado Abubakar Musa,Jos

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he Plateau State governor Rt. Hon Barr Simon Bako Lalong has again assured the citizens of the state that, his government would do everything humanly possible to ensure peace and stability in the state.

The governor who gave the assurance in a press release signed by his director of press, Mr. Emanuel Nale also assured that the security

operatives in the state would continue to work round the clock to fish-out perpetrators of the several dastardly acts that have threatened peace in some parts of the state.

He stressed that the state government will not rest on her oars in ensuring that the survival and general well being of the people is will guaranteed.

Lalong, however called on the people to sustain community vigilance and ensure peaceful

coexistence in their respective communities.

The release further said, the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in conjunction with Plateau State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) will very soon response to the humanitarian needs of Internal Displace Persons (IDPs), distribute non-food items (Blankets, cooking sets, sleeping mats, soap e.t.c) and hygiene kits for more than 1,100 household in both Gindiri

camp and Boto camp in Bauchi State for IDPs from Kadunu, Mangu Local Government Area, slated for Wednesday, 23rd September, 2015.

It added that the ICRC would distribute food rations to the IDPs as well as open a new IDPs camp for another 3,700 displaced persons, consisting of women and children in Boto town, Bauchi State with the support of both Bauchi and Plateau’s offices of Nigeria Red Cross Society (NRCS).

Analyst wants Buhari to constitute committee on FCT Area Councils

By Usman Shuaibu

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public analyst based in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Mohammed Guwa Lamorde, who is also a retired civil servant in Kuje Area Council, has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari to deem it necessary to constitute a powerful committee capable of reviewing the status of the nation’s Federal

Capital Territory whenever the minister is appointed.

He said that the committee should be chaired by an engineer who is a professional to arrest some abnormalities facing the residents in the territory in terms of land allocation and other pending issues.

Lamorde, who made the call in an interview with Peoples Daily on Sunday in Abuja, also said

during the review the minister should collaborate with federal legislators to accommodate other Nigerians apart from the indigenes of the FCT for the developments of Abuja.

He appealed to Buhari to allow the development areas to continue to exist in the FCT for the overall development of the rural dwellers.

While answering a question in the situation of the economy

in Nigeria, he asked Buhari to declare the state of emergency in all sectors of the economy in order to pave way for the socio-economic development of the country.

He also charged the president to put in place necessary measures for the recovery of the looted funds by the past leaders in the country, and urged Buhari to reduce the number of the ministries to minimize expenses in governance.

Lagos records new incidence of bird flu, allays fear of spread

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ew incidences of bird flu have been recorded in Lagos State, with an estimated 60,000 birds already affected, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Mr Olugbenga Ogunsetan, the Executive Secretary of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) Lagos State chapter, confirmed this to NAN on Tuesday in Lagos.

He said that several poultry farms were affected by the avian influenza in Ikorodu area of the state. ``Over 60,000 birds were lost in August after the avian influenza ravaged the farms. ``This has largely affected production of poultry products and leading to price hike in the area,’’ Ogunsetan told NAN. Meanwhile, the state government said that it was making arrangement with the Federal Government for compensation to the affected poultry farmers.

The Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Olajide Basorun, who spoke on the compensation move, corroborated the severity claim by the PAN Scribe.

He told NAN that compensating affected farmers would encourage others, who were afraid to report the case, to come forward. ``The Lagos State Government, in collaboration with the Federal Government, is already thinking of ways to support these farmers whose poultry were affected by the scourge. ``Many economies have shut down because of this avian influenza and these economies have dependants, which mean a lot of people have lost their livelihoods. ``Government is mindful of that and is working out modalities to compensate the farmers so that others, who have the flu and have not reported or are under reporting, will be encouraged to come forward,’’ he said.

The permanent secretary said that government does not want a scenario were the farmers, who do not report, will sell their birds to unsuspecting public.

He said that where there was a reported case, the ministry had moved swiftly to conduct tests and depopulate such farm.

The permanent secretary also allayed fear of possible spread, saying that the disease has been contained.

Basorun noted that the ministry would continue to encourage poultry farmers to report suspicious cases for proper action. ``We have moved to places where disease has been reported, conduct test and depopulate where the test proved positive. ``We will take the vital statistics of the farm concerned for further action,’’ Bashorun told NAN. Nan reports that there has been shortage of poultry products like eggs and chicken parts in Ikorodu because of the disease. (NAN)

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23,

News

Benue police parade 30 robbery suspects

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

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ew Commissioner of Police, Benue State, Mr. Paul Yakadi has said that the command has mapped out new strategies in curbing crime in the State.

Mr. Yakadi who gave this assurance yesterday while briefing

journalists in his office, intimated that the command has within the short period he assumed office, arrested many robbers who are presently undergoing prosecution.

In the same vein, the command paraded over 30 robbers for various offenses.

Amongst them two (2) suspects

who were responsible for the kidnap of one Mrs. Ngodoo Kortar, two(2) armed robbery suspects terrorizing Gboko local government area, a three (3) cattle rustler syndicate who were arrested with arms, 3 cows and a vehicle, a notorious armed robbery gang who were arrested with over 2.6 million naira, a

ritual killer syndicate as well as a car theft syndicate who were busted and two (2) cars recovered from them.

The Police commissioner said Police will continue to be proactive in synergy with other security agencies in the State in combating crime just as he advised youths in the State to

key into the amnesty program of the government by surrendering arms in their possession.

“The amnesty program is expected to end on the 30th September, 2015 after which we will go all out and fish out robbers and those in possession of illegal arms”, he warned

Kidnappers of Minna hotelier, Ojukwu demand N50m ransom

Nasarawa police assure of hitch free sallah celebration

From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

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From Gambo Ahmed, Lafia

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Minna based businessman and hotelier who is the Director of Phoenix hotel limited, Chief Cletus Ojukwu has been kidnapped by some armed men from his hotel located at Tunga in Minna, the Niger state capital last Sunday night.

Investigation revealed that the armed men numbered about six stormed the house of their victim, located directly behind the hotel in Tunga area of the town at about 8:30pm and held everyone in the house to ransom before he was whisked away to unknown destination.

A family source who witnessed how their bread winner was taken away told our reporter that the kidnappers wanted to go away with the man and his wife but the vehicle could not contain them.

This brings to three the number if kidnap cases so far recorded in the state in the last three months.

It could be recalled that the uncle to the People Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the state, Hon. Umaru Nasko, was kidnapped from their residence in Nasko, Magama local government area of the state but was later rescued in Kebbi state.

Also last month a 74 years old mother of former Mariga local government Council chairman was kidnapped at Biri who was later released after ransom might have been paid.

Consequently, the kidnappers of Chief Cletus Ojukwu have demanded N50million for his release just as the family are said to be in touch with the family.

When contacted on phone the Public Relation Officer of the Niger State Police Command, ASP Bala Elkana confirmed the kidnap of the Anambra born businessman but however said that the police is on top of the situation.

Representative of the GOC. 3 Div., Brigadier-General Benson Akinroluyo (left), presenting some items donated by the Army to Principal of Plateau State Rehabilitation Centre, Mr. Bulus Kwjai (middle), for the physically challenged persons, yesterday in Jos. With them is Executive Secretary, Plateau Disability Rights Commission, Mr. Bitrus Hosea (right).

Photo: NAN

AIG tasks officers, men on community policing M r Olufemi Ogunbayode, the Acting Assistant Inspector -General of Police (AIG), Zone 10, Kano, on Tuesday charged officers and men to establish a cordial relationship with immediate communities for effective community policing.

Ogunbayode, who gave the advice during an inspection tour to Kebbi Police Command in Birnin Kebbi, noted that the advantages of Police community relations crime control could not be over-emphasised, “It is our mandate to ensure peace and reduce crime.”

He said community policing had made law enforcement agencies and the communities to enjoy cordial relationship, thus improving crime control and detection, Ogunbayode cautioned officers and men against harassment, saying gone were the days when police brutality was condoned.

He warned that if any officer was caught harassing people, he would be dealt with accordingly, He said that the issue of Police welfare and training would be paramount attention in the present

dispensation; The Police chief urged the general public to report officer found to be corrupt or high-handed.

He also assured the zone of maximum security before, during and after the forthcoming Eid-el Kabir celebrations.

Responding, the Kebbi Commissioner of Police, Mr Yakubu Jibrin, told the AIG that the command had declared total war against violent crimes, saying: “the morale of our men is very high.”

He said the command had the lowest crime rate in the country and would sustain its record. (NAN)

3 men docked for trespassing on Nasarawa land

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hree men, who allegedly trespassed on a land one of them had resold, were on Tuesday brought before an Upper Area Court in Mararaba, Nasarawa State.

The accused -- Gabriel Igah, 50; Mike Baba, 40; and Alex Oluchukwu, 40 – all reside in Kabayi, Mararaba.

The trio is facing a four-count charge of criminal conspiracy, trespass, mischief and cheating.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Hemen Donald, told the court that at

about 11:00a.m., the complainant, Christiana Oguh of Chris Park Area, Mararaba, reported the incident at Mararaba `A’ Division Police Station on May 27.

According to Donald, Oguh had on Dec.16, 2013, bought a piece of land from the 1st accused, Gabriel, at a cost of N560, 000. ``When Oguh came to the land, she saw Oluchukwu working on the land, erecting some structures on it. ``The complainant destroyed the beacons on it and it was later revealed through Oluchukwu that

the second accused, Baba, resold the land to him.’’

He said the offences contravened Sections 97, 348,327 and 322 of the Penal Code, Laws of the Federation.

The accused pleaded not guilty.

The Judge, Mr Vincent Gwehemba, granted them bail in the sum of N50, 000 each with one reasonable surety each in like sum.

He said the sureties must be resident within the court’s jurisdiction.

Further hearing has been fixed for Sept. 28. (NAN)

he Nasarawa Police Command has assured people of the state that adequate security arrangements have been put in place in ensuring safe and peaceful festivity.

The State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Sani disclosed this in a chat with journalists yesterday in Lafia, the state capital.

According to him “Nasarawa State Command being a proactive command is fully prepared for the celebrations.

Already there is a joint security operations comprising the military, NSDC, and headed by the police aimed at having a free and protective sallah celebration”.

The state police boss also highlighted some of the tremendous achievements recorded by the command in one month which 3 persons were rescued from kidnappers from the neigbouring sister states by the Nasarawa state command in three locations of Obi, Garako and Nasarawa Local Government Councils of the State.

Mohammed Sani further appealed to the general public in the state to support the security operatives through dishing out useful information for the successful celebrations.

He also commended journalists in the state for their enormous co-operation with the command in terms of their reportage and urged them to always ascertain information from the authority before press.

Similarly, the Lafia Local Government Chairman, Honourable Suleiman Wambai has charged youths in the state capital to shun act of criminality during the festive period, adding that islam teachings peace’ urged the relevant security Agencies to closely monitor activities of men of the underworld during the sallah celebration.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

News

OPC begins manhunt for Falae’s kidnappers From Ayodele Samuel,Lagos

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he Founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Fredick Fasehun has ordered OPC operatives to immediately launch a manhunt, combing all nooks and crannies of Ondo State and beyond, for kidnapped politician and elder statesman, Chief Olu Falae.

The kidnappers have reportedly demanded a ransom of N100 million from the Falae family.

Fasehun described the kidnap as an assault and insult on the Yoruba people, and challenged security operatives and agencies to produce Falae within 48 hours.

“OPC is not interested in crisis but it was founded primarily for the protection of its own and for building bridges in Nigeria,” he said. “All lovers of Nigerian

unity like OPC, communal peace and national progress must rise up to this challenge.

Warning of possible consequences, Fasehun pointed out that eyewitnesses indicated that Falae had been taken by strangers, just like the wife of the Sun Newspapers Executive Director, Mrs. Toyin Nwosu, abducted last week in Lagos.

Recalling that Falae had rendered “impeccable” service to the country as a Permanent Secretary, then Minister of Finance and Secretary to the Federal Government, Fasehun described the victim’s current ordeal as uncharitable. ““When we heard that Falae was kidnapped we thought it was impossible, as kidnappers would not be mad enough to kidnap a man of peace, a man who has selflessly served Nigeria,” he said. “Falae is by any standard

a leader of the Yoruba people, a leader of Nigeria and a significant leader in Africa. He is a leader of Afenifere. He was a leader of NADECO. And any assault on him is an assault on Nigeria and Nigerians.”

He also frowned at the fact that 24 hours following the kidnap, the Federal Government was yet to officially react to the incident.

“Over 24 hours after this disruption of the life of a dignitary, government has not issued any statement; rather what we hear is a loud silence from the Federal Government.

It is a shame; it is a big shame,” Fasehun said.

Recalling that Falae, as the Olu of Oba-Ile, was the ruling monarch of his homestead, he urged all traditional rulers in Nigeria to also rise up for his release.

According to the OPC President, the organisation felt concerned at Falae’s kidnap, which he described as an affront.

Fasehun feared that the kidnapping of the top-flight politician portended ill for his fellows.

“We believe this is a political issue. And any politician in Nigeria must make sure that Chief Olu Falae is released immediately,” he said. “Otherwise OPC will take any step available to defend its own” The OPC Founder immediately summoned all members in the country to attend an emergency meeting on Sunday.

Also, spokesperson of Pro National Conference Organisation, PRONACO, Veteran Olawale Okunniyi has condemned the abduction of Chief Olu Falae in his Akure

Bauchi: Royal Academy gets PTA support to enhance learning

L-R: President/ Chairman Governing Council, Institute of Directors (IoD), Mr. Samuel Yemi Akeju, Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Harry Purwanto, and former President of IoD, Mrs. Eniola Fadayomi during a world press conference on the Annual Directors Conference 2015 scheduled to hold next month, yesterday in Abuja.

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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he Parents Teachers Association of the Baptist Royal Academy Bauchi has donated white boards worth sixty thousand naira to enhance learning in the school.

Speaking while handing over the learning materials to the management board of the school, the chairman of the PTA, Mr Asagba Emmanuel Esim said the association was impressed by the commitment of staff and management board of the school to improve learning atmosphere.

He said the association was also motivated by the board’s recent purchase of similar white boards to replace black boards that are no longer in use in most modern private schools, pointing out that the white boards would improve clarity.

Mr Asagba Esim also commended the school board for the on-going renovation exercise, hoping that effort would be geared towards recruiting qualified teachers to maintain the standard already set by the school in academics.

In his remark, the chairman of the Baptist Royal Academy management board, Mr David Ayodele expressed gratitude to the PTA for complimenting the effort of the board hoping that others would emulate the gesture.

farm on Monday by suspected Fulani herdsmen in strong terms, describing the abduction as mindless and crisis provoking acts by the Kidnappers Okunniyi, a close associate of the abducted elder statesman, slammed the kidnappers for embarking on a reckless and senseless mission capable of igniting inter ethnic crisis in the country “Chief Olu Falae is too important to Nigeria and the Yoruba people for any group of people to imagine such act against him. First he has served Nigeria in various capacities especially as number 3 man, Secretary to the Federal Government at that time and Finance Minister, after which he was popularly chosen as Presidential candidate in 1999 receiving votes from all over the country and block vote by the Yoruba people.”, he said

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Emir of Misau enjoins students to be proactive

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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he Emir of Misau in Bauchi State, Alhaji Ahmed Sulaiman has enjoined the student body to be proactive in the educational development of the emirate while inculcating sound moral behaviour in the society.

This is just as he expressed his total commitment to the educational development of the emirate.

Sulaiman made the pledge while receiving in his palace, a delegation of Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, Misau Area Council who paid him a courtesy call..

The emir, who stressed the importance of education in the society, said his priority will be ensuring the educational development of the emirate.

Alhaji Ahmed commended the association for its humanitarian efforts and pledged his continued support in order to achieve the

desired goal.

Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation who is also the Amir Misau Area Council of the group, Ustaz Balarabe Musa Misau said they were at the emir’s palace to register their support and seek for the his blessings and fatherly advices.

Sallah: Lalong shares rams, rice to Muslims From Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos

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s Muslims all over the world begin to celebrate Eidil-kabir festival, Plateau State, Governor Simon Lalong has approved the sum of N40m, for the purchase of rams, cows and rice for the Muslims in the state.

This was disclosed yesterday by the chairman committee of the distribution, Barrister Yusuf Gambo Hawaja, while fielding questions from journalists soon after presenting foodstuffs and a cow to the Jos prison inmates and

Aisha Mana orphanage home in Jos. Hawaja who is also the Deputy Chief of Staff, Government House, said as part of the tradition of government in the state, it is giving out some rams and rice for the Muslims to celebrate in happiness.

He said, “Lalong will not relent on his effort until he achieved his goals,” of ensuring the welfare of his people, even detention.

“More good things will come, and will continue to render services to the People,” he added.

Commenting, the Deputy

Controller of Jos prison, Mr. Godwin Ochekpe, said most of the inmates were abandoned by their families to them.

Ochekpe explained that besides other charity organizations, the issue of feeding is a problem.

“But now that his Excellency Simon Lalong has deemed it right to assists and give them sense of belonging, we on behalf of the inmates appreciates his Excellency,” he added.

At the Aisha Mana orphanage home the deputy chief of staff told the officials that; “we are

assuring you that ours is a merciful Government,” that will continue to cater for the well being of its people.

He said the Governor would visit the orphanage before or during the Christmas time.

Responding the assistant officer in charge of the home Mrs. Helen Itse, said they are happy that the Governor has supported them with the items.

“This is the second of coming and we pray that this government will continue to remember us,” she said.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Page 9

News

Atuwatse’s death: Dep. Gov. commiserates with people of Warri, Itsekiri

By Ahmed Abubakar

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he Delta Deputy Governor, Mr Kingsley Otuaro, has commiserated with the people of Warri and the entire Itsekiri race on the demise of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II. This was contained in a

statement signed by Mrs Doris Aboh, Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Deputy Governor, and issued to Peoples Daily in Abuja on Tuesday.

Otuaro described Atuwatse’s death as a huge loss to Nigeria and the entire black race, judging from his antecedent as a first class traditional ruler and his

input to the unity of the nation.

He urged the family of the deceased, the palace chiefs and the incoming Olu, to see Atuwatse’s death as an act of God. The deputy governor also urged them to build on Atuwatse’s legacies of peace and ethnic harmony.

He also commiserated with the Delta Traditional Rulers Council and its Vice-Chairman, Dr Emmanuel Efeizomor II, on the death of their chairman.

He urged the council and the entire royal fathers in the state to take solace on the fact that their chairman died in Christ and positively impacted on their lives

R-L: Director General of NEMA, Malam Muhammad Sani Sidi, Executive Secretary of SEMA, Mr. Ezekiel Baba Karik, Kaduna state Commissioner for Environment, Dr. Ya’u Usman Idris, and Planning Officer of NEMA North West Zone, Hajiya Zainab Saidu, during the inspection visit NEMA DG to flood victims, yesterday in Kaduna.

Insurgency: CITAD urges states to make schools safer for learning From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

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Photo: Bashir Bello

Kebbi gov. commiserates with families of flood victims From Ahmed Idris Birnin Kebbi

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he Kebbi State Governor, Senator Atiku Abubakari Bagudu has condoled and commiserated with the families of over hundred people who lost their lives, houses and properties in last week’s flood disaster across

the state.

In a press statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Alhaji Abubakari Muazu Dakingari said that arrangements have also been made to ensure that the affected victims have being compensated.

The statement also said that

the governor has inspected the two bridges which was washed away by the flood in GangarenDaji, Gangaren Makabarta, Takalau and Malala and paralysed the business activities in the affected areas.

Therefore, the governor who also visited prone areas that

was affected by gully erosion, and compelled most of the residence to vacate their houses in anticipation of more heavy-down pours most especially in the night.

Other places that were affected are cemetery, health care facilities, water boreholes, electric poles and public schools.

profession that is widely known for accuracy, we want to sincerely make the clarion call on the government that SWAN Abuja is ready to partner with government to fight corruption and help in building the nation of our dreams”.

According to Mrs. Obomo, the future of the country looks bleak because of corruption.

She stated that the monster called corruption has eaten deep into the system and has become a bane in the development of the economy.

She thanked the founding mothers of the Chapter especially for the solid foundation they had

laid. She promised to work hard with her team in order to uphold the good values of women of integrity SWAN is known for.

In her acceptance speech, she outlined some of the Chapter’s projects that would encourage and assist women in particular and the entire ICAN in general through their philanthropic activities within the FCT and its environ to include, organizing career talk/ quiz competition in secondary schools, organizing of programs that would enrich members through seminars/ workshops.

Other projects, include, engaging in corporate social

responsibility such as; visit to orphanage homes, government hospitals and adoption of children in some of the orphanages.

The new Chairperson of the Society, Mrs. Obomo is expected to serve tenure of two years.

Delivering her speech, the immediate past chairperson of the Society of Women Accountants in Nigeria, Mrs. Elizabeth Ajibola, called on the new executive headed by Mrs. Obomo to show absolute commitment and doggedness towards ensuring the success of all the projects outlined by the chapter for execution under her leadership.

Women accountants partner FG on anti-corruption

By Mohammed Usman

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he Society of Women Accountants of Nigeria Abuja (SWAN) has promised to partner with the Federal Government in the fight against corruption.

A statement by Attari M. Hope on behalf of the Association said that, Mrs. Katchy Patience Obomo disclosed this during her Investiture as Chairperson, SWAN, Abuja and the inauguration of the Chapter’s new Executive/Project launching in Abuja.

She said, “As women of integrity who belong to a noble

while alive.

Otuaro, who prayed God to grant Atuwatse’s soul eternal rest, said ``it is unfortunate that the Olu of Warri died when his fatherly counsel are mostly needed by the present administration’’.

The deputy governor gave the assurance that state government would give the same cooperation and recognition given to the departed Olu to his successor. ``I urge the incoming Olu to see the entire Itsekiri as one, be a rallying point for the unity of Itsekiri and it’s neighbouring ethnic groups.

entre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has stressed the need for governments in the insurgency states of the north-east to make deserted schools in their respective areas safer and secured for normal school classes.

According to CITAD, the governments in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa should also rebuild the confidence in parents and girl-child that schools have been made safe and secure for them.

“So we sought that there is the need to get governments do something in terms of making the school safer and more secured, but also rebuilding the confidence of parents and the girls that schools have been made safer and secured for them”.

CITAD Executive Director, Yunusa Zakariyya Ya’u told the press in Bauchi weekend that one of the ways to demonstrate that is by establishing learning corners and learning centres within the IDPs camps.

He revealed that CITAD, WRAPPER, and ADOPT-ACAMP, an organization that specializes working at the camps as partners with different synergies working in the camps are succeeding in getting the girls back to schools to attend normal classes.

Ya’u, said however, that as result of Chibok girls abduction and other people who have been abducted but not documented, many parents are hesitant to allow their daughters to go to schools.

Take decisive action on Falae’s kidnap, SDP tells FG

By Felicia Eingfa

S

ocial Democratic Party, SDP, yesterday urged the Federal Government to take immediate and decisive action against the rising spate of kidnapping of high-profile personalities in the country.

The SDP warned that

the country could descend into anarchy if the issues of kidnapping are treated with kid gloves.

The party’s National Secretary, Dr. Abdul Ahmed Isiaq who gave the warning in Abuja Tuesday expressed dismay that, the Federal Government was yet to make a statement

on the kidnap of the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and ex-Alliance for Democracy/ All Peoples Party presidential candidate in the February 1999 general elections, Chief Olu Falae.

He said that silence over the incidence and dismal manner cases of criminal acts are handled

leaves much to be desired.

The party lamented the disdain with which Fulani herdsmen have destroyed farm lands and killed hapless villagers and even burnt down homes adding that the kidnap of its National Chairman in his farm was a new dimension in the spate of criminality of the herdsmen

and that it should not be given superficial attention.

“With very deep sense of sadness, we hereby express our disappointment and worry over the unfortunate kidnap of our National Chairman, Chief Olu Falae on his farm yesterday (Monday) by some unknown gunmen.”, the party said.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23,

News

Danjuma, Mamora, Lasun extol virtues of HID Awolowo From James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

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ignitaries on Monday continued to pay homage to the country home of the Late Sage, Chief Onafemi Awolowo in Ikenne to commiserate with the family on the demise of the Matriarch of Awolowo family, Mama HID Awolowo.

Among the dignitaries were the Deputy Speaker House of Representatives, Hon Lasun Yusuff, Former Defence Minister, T Y Dajuma,Senator Olorunbe Mamora and others.

Speaking with journalists after the visit, Gen Danjuma said he was part of Awolowo’s family.

His words “My wife Daisy and I were adopted by Mama some Ten years ago. We still miss her loving maternal guidance.”

“Severally mama was a remarkable woman who refined her faculty to the very end of her long life. She departed with dignity and majesty. May mama’s soul rest in perfect peace.”

Also in his remark, the Deputy Speaker House of Representatives, Hon Lasun Yusuf said “If you look at the history of Nigeria very well, particularly the history of SouthWest, Chief Obafemi Awolowo united the Yorubas.

He was a politicians and he was a Premier of the Western region. He did fantastically well he was the leading Yoruba leader.

So after the death of Baba, Mama continued to unite the Yorubas and carried on the footsteps of Papa.”

“We are united Yoruba, two things can unite us, one culture and politics. We are trying to mke sure that we get back to the era of Awolowo when the politics was uniformed by the culture we are able to do what Awolowo did.”

“The Awolowos as a family has left very good legacy for us in Yorubaland and in Nigeria. They have done their best. People are going to carry on, we have other people and powerful Yoruba leaders like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Baba Bisi Akande is there, Chief Olusegun Osoba, Chief Biyi Durojaiye and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and a whole lot of them.

These are well known Yoruba leaders who I know after the death of Chief Obafemi Awolowo will want to carry on the legacy of Awolowo, particularly the unity of the Yorubas.”

The former Governor of Osun State, Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola said “the only tribute that we can say to retain the memory of mama is for us to honor her by ensuring the actualisation of her dream, particularly to see all Yorubas united under the same umbrella I think it will be a worthwhile testimony to her memory if we can achieve that.

Muslim faithful buying rams for Eid-El-Kabir celebration, yesterday at Utako Ram Market, in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Dangote employs 15 professors for kano varsity From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

T

he Africa’s richest businessman, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has granted approval for employment of fifteen professors at the Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST), Wudil.

Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Shehu A. Musa, made the disclosure at a media chat in preparation for 15th anniversary ceremony of the institution at the university’s conference hall yesterday.

“Let me on this note, inform you of some of the pledges made

by Dangote for this university, because we want to properly put them on record. Firstly, he has granted us the approval to recruit 15 professors. This is the first of this gesture in the country.”, he said.

According to the VC, Dangote, who is the Chancellor of the university, has also pledged to pay salaries and allowances of the professors for the period of four years, adding that the business mogul has also pledged the provision of fifteen housing units within the university where the professors would be residing.

He added that the Chancellor has also donated the sum of N100 million to cater for some developmental projects at the institution, adding that he also pledged provision of industrial borehole as well as ultra modern power supply for the about15,000 population of the university.

While highlighting his achievements within the period of 18 months of his tenure as VC, Prof. Musa stated that there are 36 ongoing projects and 12 completed projects, saying.

“This has been achieved for my vision and mission to take this institution to the promise land.”

He also commended the previous Vice Chancellors for laying a good foundation for the university, stressing that their performances during their respective tenures were the reason why the institution is ranked among the best in the country.

He however commended the Kano State government for its commitment towards development of the university, stressing that there are a lot of completed and ongoing projects being executed by the state government in the science and technology based university.

2015 Hajj: Pilgrims move to Muna for Arafat

P

ilgrims from across the world, who gathered at the holy city of Mecca for this year’s Hajj, on Tuesday moved to Muna for the Arafat.

The Saudi authority had announced that Arafat will hold on Wednesday, Sept. 23, following the sighting of Lunar month of Zul-Hajj on Sept.14.

No fewer than three million Muslims worldwide, including 76,000 Nigerians, had arrived Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage.

Also, about 75 per cent of the pilgrims had passed through Madinah to visit the tomb of the Messenger of God, Prophet Muhammed, war field of Uhud and other historical Islamic sites before coming to Mecca for the pilgrimage.

Already, the Saudi authority had restricted movement of vehicles to certain parts of the

city to allow free flow of buses conveying the pilgrims to Muna, where they are expected to spend a day before the Arafat.

Thousands security personnel from the country’s security agencies were deployed to a strategic positions to ensure security and smooth movement of the worshipers to Muna.

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the Arafat, Sheik Kabiru Yusuf Bakinruwa, one of the clerics attached to the pilgrims, said Arafat was one of the obligatory aspects of Hajj. ``If you miss it, you lose the entire Hajj, there is no ritual to correct it; the only way to correct it is to repeat the exercise the following year. ``It is the only day Almighty God is proud of Muslim Ummah (those in Arafat). It is on this day that God will assemble the entire

angels, show them the crowd of Muslims all dressed in white seeking for His forgiveness and say: ``These are my people, they came from far and near without considering dust, prostrating their heads on the ground looking for mercy and forgiveness, tell them that they are forgiven,’’ he said.

NAN reports that clerics sponsored by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and state pilgrims’ boards were fully engaged in educating the pilgrims on the importance of the act.

Similarly, traditional rulers and NAHCON officials had on many occasions warned the pilgrims against violation Saudi laws.

The Emir o f Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II, had urged the pilgrims to accept

the arrangement of the Saudi Authority on throwing stones at the Jamarat (stoning site).

Sanusi, who is the Head of Nigerian pilgrims for this year’s Hajj, said pilgrims should follow Saudi Arabian timing arrangement for stoning Jamrat . ``Grouping pilgrims to do the throwing and spreading the time to include the period of Zawal (sun rise) is necessary to protect lives of pilgrims. ``On many occasion, pilgrims have been killed at the stoning site from stampede arising out of thousands of pilgrims converging to do the throwing at the same time, among a number of causes,’’ he said.

He said 266 pilgrims had died and 98 injured at the stoning site in 1994; 251 pilgrims died in 2004, and in 2006, 346 lost their lives.

(NAN)

Page 11

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

EDITORIAL

Burkina Faso: Give no quarter to coupists

B

civilian transitional government. urkina Faso’s coup last week with the new leaders all week, The statement issued by General was, no doubt, an attempt finally managing to get a plan under Diendere to journalists in Burkina by former President Blaise which the coupists agreed to free Faso said he would release the Compaore to return to the detained interim president and interim prime minister who has power. In Nov. 2014, he was prime minister. The game changer, been under house arrest since the forced out of office by popular however, was a decision by the coup. A compromise plan which protests against a plan to extend entire Burkinabe military taken regional mediators negotiated his term, having already held Monday to forcibly disarm the with Diendere and opposition power for 27 years. Last week’s presidential guard that Diendere political leaders over the weekend coup was led by Compaore’s called for new elections by the end ally, Gen. Gilbert Diendere. of November.

Soldiers from the presidential In a concession to Diendere and his guard that he led stormed a The game changer, supporters, the plan would allow meeting of the country’s interim loyalists of the former longtime government preparing for the however, was a president to take part in the first post Compaore elections vote. Under that plan, Diendere scheduled for Oct. 11 and arrested decision by the entire would step aside and the interim both interim president Michel Burkinabe military president he overthrew would be Kafando and the prime minister. reinstalled until the vote. The draft Gen. Diendere’s reason for the taken Monday to plan was to go before a meeting coup was that the transitional forcibly disarm the West African regional bloc known government was partial about as the Economic Community of who could participate in the presidential guard West African States (ECOWAS) upcoming polls and who could that Diendere led. expected to get under way in Abuja not. An electoral code approved yesterday. Peoples Daily learnt earlier this year banned members that the coupists asked for amnesty of the former ruling party from led. The military had earlier said after they agreed to return to the running for office. that “all the national armed forces barracks. The compromise plan The coup sparked mass protests are converging on Ouagadougou released Sunday was silent on on the streets of the capital, with the sole aim of disarming the that though. If they did make that Ouagadougou. Several people presidential guard without any demand, they wanted to eat their were killed and dozens others bloodshed”. cake and have it. However, for the injured. The protests were Isolated and vulnerable, Gen. purpose of getting the transition followed by a flurry of diplomatic Diendere was said to have back on track, the ECOWAS activity on the part of the regional apologised to the nation and said leaders should consider it at their economic grouping Ecowas. that he would hand over power to a Abuja meeting.

Benin’s president held meetings

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Opinion

Amplifying conflict, terror through social media

By Rimini Makama

W

hat do these times – 0603hrs, 0703hrs and 0803hrs – have in common? Research suggest these times in the morning as the peaks for when we check our mobile devices and log on to social media for updates on what happened while we were sleeping. War, violence and terrorism are usually the first bits of news that come up. YouTube, Facebook and Twitter as the key social media platforms now deployed in the forefront of various conflicts around the world, from Boko Haram in Nigeria and The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) gaining new ground to the opposition leader getting killed in Russia.

On Sunday March 1, Twitter founder, Jack Dorsey, received an open death threat from ISIS after their Twitter accounts had been blocked in line with the platform’s policy. The threat was pasted on another social media site – Pastebin. According to the Brookings Institution, there are at least 46,000 Twitter accounts linked to ISIS even though not all of them are active. ISIS’ use of social media suggests that they have a robust social media strategy and a dedicated engagement team to seed their narrative and ensure control on

their messaging. It also means they can identify and recruit supporters and further push their terror campaigns; which they sometimes do through dedicated hash tags. In 2014, an app called Fajr-al-Bashaer (Dawn of Good Tidings) developed

by ISIS was made available on Google Play, further proof of how tech-savvy they are. ISIS infamously launched its use of video with the filmed execution of American James Foley. The organisation also allegedly has an online magazine which can be downloaded in PDF form called ‘The Islamic State Report.’ It is clear that they understand the importance of communications as a valuable tool. However, not all agree. According to a terrorism analyst and political scientist at North-eastern University US, Max Abrahms, the effectiveness of the social media propaganda

by ISIS may be widely overstated.

In comparison to ISIS, Boko Haram in Nigeria are nowhere as sophisticated as that, nevertheless they use videos to push their messaging. These videos usually feature their leader, Abubakar Shekau, giving enthusiastic speeches in Arabic and/or Hausa, flanked by armed weaponry and foot soldiers (also brandishing weapons) as he gives a warning on impeding terror or takes responsibility for a recent

act of violence. The videos are often placed on YouTube and they have found it to be an effective way to update the public on their campaign to propagate terror. As expected, Boko Haram seems to be increasingly understudying ISIS; their video released in March had French subtitles and was slickly titled ‘The Harvest of the Spies.’

Another interesting point to note is that security experts who have closely followed the videos have alleged that the original Shekau no longer exists or is using a body double in the videos. In February 2015, Twitter also suspended an account allegedly linked to Boko Haram. The account was fairly new with only 19 tweets before it was suspended.

Another illustration of social media being widely used in conflict to provide updates, lobby for support or push messaging can be seen in the Palestinian conflict. The Gaza Strip has always been a point of contention; more lives have been lost over it than could occupy the entirety of the land, it seems. The conflict over Gaza has resulted in almost 2,000 deaths since 1998.

However the most recent fighting was spurred by the killing of three Israeli students in June 2014, an act which, although not claimed

by Hamas, has been attributed to them nonetheless. The killings sparked a lot of commentary on

social media.

What is clear from the Gaza conflict is that, regardless of sides to be taken, social media has helped advance (or at the very least, fuelled) the causes on either side. Groups such as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign UK, which was founded in 1982, is the largest UK body dedicated to lobbying and protesting on behalf of Palestine. Through Facebook and Twitter they are able to disseminate their messaging and recruit members for their group.

Similarly, there are groups on Facebook in support of Israelis which promote a primarily anti-Hamas and anti-Palestine message.

In the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, social media has been a tool both parties have used effectively, and sometimes with questionable results. The 2014 Malaysia Airlines MH17 plane crash illustrates the risks of using social media in conflict. The proRussian rebel sect in Donetsk, Ukraine, posted on the Russian social networking site VKontakte: translated from Russian, it read, ‘In the area of Torez, we just shot down an AN-26 airplane, it’s lying around somewhere behind the ‘Progress’ mine.” “We did warn after all – not to fly in our ‘sky.’

And here is a video confirmation of yet another ‘birdfall.’

The statement was eventually taken

down but the damage had been done, it had gone viral.

On February 27, 2015, Russian opposition politician, Boris Nemstov, was murdered on the streets of Moscow. In the hours that followed, people turned to social media to discuss and air their views. Reactions were a mélange of disbelief and sadness; followed with allegations of government involvement that Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied while vowing to find the killers. The British Broadcasting Corporation reported that his lawyer alleged he had received death threats via social media, though these have not been directly linked to the murder. Nemstov’s last tweet was a call to action urging people to join him in an anti-war protest on March 1. It made headlines and at a point had been retweeted over 1,900 times, reaching an estimated number of over 74,898 accounts.

Irrespective of the platform of new media used, the outcome is often the same. Social media has the ability to magnify a message; an inherent power that makes it the new frontier in war, terror and conflict.

Rimini is Corporate Communications Director at Africa Practice

NASS and the cost of governance (2)

By Eze Onyekpere

I

n 2010, the personnel vote of the National Assembly was N14.358bn; capital vote was N8.397bn whilst the overhead vote was N136.159bn being 9.04 per cent, 5.28 per cent and 85.68 per cent respectively of the overall National Assembly allocation. The import of the foregoing is that the high cost of running the legislature stems mainly from the overhead costs, which appear bloated, averaging about 83.5 per cent over the years 2009 and 2010. Since the remuneration and allowances of the lawmakers are still based on the Act No.1 of 2008, this would likely be the trend in all the years subsequent to 2010 when the legislative budgets were not disaggregated.

Therefore, any effort to cut down the cost of running the National Assembly ought to holistically focus on all aspects of its budget with a special interest in the overheads. Even if their personnel vote were reduced by 50 per cent, the fat in their budget will still be intact.

In the 2010 budget of the National Assembly, there are overhead votes of N500m for budget tracking softwares, hardware, implementation and monitoring; implementation and committee programmes, policy and fiscal MTEF evaluation and monitoring got N750m; budget coordination activities got N500m. There was a vote of N750m for fuelling generators. If the diesel is bought at N150 per litre, this would buy five million litres of diesel. Engineering and maintenance of National Assembly buildings have a vote of N1.2bn. This is simply outrageous. How much does it cost to build new engineering installations if you need so much for maintenance? Essentially, a lot of the line items simply played on words that have no exact meaning to justify a financial vote or the votes were simply padded. It seems that not publishing the details of the legislative budget may have compounded the existing scenario.

It is now imperative to compare the budget of the National Assembly with the appropriations of similar bodies in two peer African countries – Ghana and South Africa.

This will reveal the adequacy or excessiveness of appropriations to the legislature. Nigeria has 469 federal lawmakers; South Africa has 490 members in their Parliament while Ghana has 230 members. Between 2010 and 2015, the legislature of Ghana got an average of $31.2m yearly which was 0.51 per cent of the overall national budget. On the other hand, Nigerian lawmakers appropriated an average of $735.9m annually to run their affairs out of a $23.4bn federal budget. The South African Parliament took $101.7m annually out of a budget of $74.2bn.

Essentially, the South African budget is more than thrice the Nigerian federal budget but our legislators appropriated a vote more than seven times the value of the budget of South African legislators. The Parliament of Ghana got an average of $31.2m every year. When the appropriations by the three legislatures are divided per capita by the number of legislators, the figures stood at $1.57m; $0.21m and $0.14m per Nigerian, South African and Ghanaian legislator respectively.

When you compare South Africa’s population of 53 million, with per capita income of $6,090.27 and Nigeria’s 174 million persons and the per capita income of $1,091.64 and the votes of their legislature, it will be clear that Nigeria is not on the right path. $42.7bn is in the external reserves of South Africa against Nigeria’s $31bn. From the foregoing, it will be clear that the cost of running the National Assembly is not in tandem with reason and rationality.

Maybe, the structure of the National Assembly contributes to this unnecessary high cost. For instance, there are 57 committees

in the Senate and 90 in the House of Representatives bringing the total to 147 whilst the German legislature has a total of 53 committees. Forty seven, 25 and 60 are the number of committees in the federal legislatures of the United States of America, Britain and Australia. To run a committee involves a lot of resources and this number of committees spreads the resources of the National Assembly too thin.

Committees need rooms, computers, printers and general consumables, communication gadgets, furniture; cost of travels, interactive sessions, public hearings, hiring of consultants and ad hoc staff, study tours and capacity building activities, etc. It is therefore imperative that the Senate and House of Representatives in the exercise of their power to establish committees under Section 62 of the constitution consider cutting down the number of these committees as a means of reducing costs. For instance, the committees on Land Transport and Marine Transport can be merged to one Committee on Transport. The committees on Air Force, Army and Navy can become one committee on Defence. Similarly, all health-related committees can come under the umbrella of Committee on Health.

Considering that all the macroeconomic indicators that purportedly justified the increase of the remuneration of the National Assembly members and other political office holders have been reversed by the economic decline following the collapse of the price of oil and the fact that Nigeria is experiencing a fiscal crisis, the sum appropriated to the lawmakers must have to follow the reality of our time and the need to cut down frivolous and wasteful expenditure. It takes some level of insensitivity to insist on the same dance steps when the music has changed.

The following recommendations are

therefore apposite. The basic salaries are reasonable and should not be reduced but the allowances and perks of office should be reduced by a minimum of 40 per cent.

Provisions for overhead expenses in the National Assembly should be regulated by law or policy and pegged at not more than 250 per cent of the combined personnel and capital votes. This recommendation takes cognisance of the budgeted sums for personnel and capital expenditure as percentages of the overall budget in the years 2009 and 2010.

In the alternative, the appropriation for the National Assembly should not exceed two per cent of the Retained Revenue. In regulating overheads, a proper budget development template specific to the needs of the legislature should be developed.

The template must have sufficient clarity to check duplications, frivolous and wasteful budget items. This should be preceded by a public expenditure management review of the systems of the National Assembly. All statutory transfers including the allocation to the legislature should be published in detailed line item format as is the practice with the allocations of other MDAs. The Senate and House of Representatives should consider reducing their committees to tally with international best practices from the current 147 to about 50 committees.

The 1999 Constitution designed a National Assembly that was supposed to be the bastion of democracy and development; a parliament that responds to the heart beat of the people.

It is therefore not too late for the National Assembly to lead the struggle for the reduction of the cost of governance and write its name in gold in the annals of Nigeria’s socio-economic rebirth.

Eze Onyekpere is an Abuja based legal practitioner

PAGE 13

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Comment

Salvaging the naira

By Adebiyi Adesuyi

O

ur national currency, the naira, has been losing its external value at a disturbing rate since the price of crude oil started heading southward. Besides, the country’s major customer, USA, is no longer interested in our oil as it has become a producer now.

China, another big buyer, is currently experiencing economic slow-down. At home, crude oil theft has also exacerbated the problem. All the above factors have jointly contributed to the decline in the volume and value of our oil exports thereby causing a large fall in the country’s monthly inflow of foreign exchange.

Most people are worried about this negative development because Nigerians live chiefly on imported goods. As the supply of foreign exchange falls and its demand keeps rising, more naira will be needed to buy a British pound or an American dollar.

Consequently, imported goods will become more expensive for Nigerians. We need to appreciate how the economic forces of demand and supply play to raise or lower the exchange rate.

Recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria has been trying to control

the demand for foreign exchange.

The apex bank classified 41 items as not valid for foreign exchange.

Let us hope that some importers will not obviate this policy by buying foreign exchange to import the prohibited items using different custom HS Codes. Most corrupt importers will always get their goods cleared with the connivance of equally corrupt officials.

Banks have also been stopped from accepting cash into customers’ domiciliary accounts.

Transactions in foreign currencies are to be done through transfers only. This measure is meant to prevent speculative practices. It will also give a trail on movements of funds acquired unlawfully.

However, every effort to manage the demand side of the market will not succeed in the long run unless stakeholders resolve to increase the supply of foreign exchange phenomenally.

Nigeria must make deliberate efforts to increase the volume and value of non-oil exports within the next two years. Economic sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, mining and tourism must be positioned for export drive.

Entrepreneurs must be encouraged to invest in

these critical sectors. Special institutions, not commercial banks, must be created by the CBN to give revolving equity funds to emerging entrepreneurs. Mentors should be arranged for nascent entrepreneurs for successful operations. Funds extended can be recouped through the securities market when an enterprise has successfully operated for three years.

Standardisation of Nigerian products must never be neglected.

It is painful that our agricultural foods are overloaded with harmful pesticides which led the European Union to ban Nigeria from exporting beans, sesame seeds, melon seeds, dried fish and meat, peanut chips, and palm

“

oil into its markets. Relevant institutions must be equipped to guide producers and exporters in the area of quality for our exports to meet acceptable standards in the global market.

Let every state in Nigeria be organised into a Strategic Economic Area. Thus, Nigeria will have 36 SEAs. Each SEA must use the resources available in its domain to promote manufacturing, agriculture, mining and tourism with a view to earning sufficient foreign exchange. The 36 states should be categorised into three types namely 12 large SEAs, 12 medium SEAs and 12 small SEAs. Each of the 12 SEAs must work assiduously to earn $5bn annually,

Let every state in Nigeria be organised into a Strategic Economic Area. Thus, Nigeria will have 36 SEAs. Each SEA must use the resources available in its domain to promote manufacturing, agriculture, mining and tourism with a view to earning sufficient foreign exchange. The 36 states should be categorised into three types namely 12 large SEAs, 12 medium SEAs and 12 small SEAs.

each of the 12 medium SEAs must fetch $3bn annually, and each of the 12 small SEAs must bring $2bn into Nigeria every year.

Thus, the 36 SEAs will begin to contribute a minimum of $120bn annually through the investors that have been attracted to their states. These targets should be reviewed upward periodically.

SEAs that meet annual targets must be celebrated and rewarded by the Federal Government.

The foreign market must be easily accessed by Nigerian exporters. The Nigerian Export Promotion Council must be directed to get overseas buyers for each product that Nigeria can export. The supervising ministry must create a schedule of all exportable products and request NEPC to get a specified number of foreign buyers for each of them.

Exporters must have access to this information on request.

The local currency can and must regain its lost value. Expectedly, this goal will only be attained through shared responsibility and singleness of purpose. We can salvage the naira!

Adebiyi Adesuyi is a Public Affairs Analyst

Buhari and his desperate hurting critics

By Peter Claver Oparah

O

ur newly-forged critics are on overkill. They came through the historical electoral feat of March 28. They are over-charged; ready to pounce and kill. They are dripping with Viagra and venom, and they have an unmistakable target: President Muhammadu Buhari. They don’t want to spare anything. They are not giving any chances, not letting any space. They wait on President Buhari like lascivious and hungry dogs, ready to attack his person, his policies, his actions and his pro increments. . Oh yes, he must be cut to pieces for daring to topple the sordid order from where they freely fed. Since he had the audacity to take on their carefully erected Augean stable and turn it over, he must pay, so says our hyperactive critics.

Buhari must be toppled. He must be dealt with, and he must be made to feel the heat through relentless pillorying. He must be made to regret ever taking on the most formidable, most potent and most fortified brood of freeloaders that had ever invaded the country and dealing them a bloody nose last March. Oh yes, Buhari has sinned for daring to topple the table from which our new-found critics and their stand-patters feed!

When anger interfaces frustration, you get what our new critics in town have turned their unflagging businesses today!

Our new critics are angry- not hungry yet- since the hefty tranche they purloined from the Treasury is still intact. They are sorely frustrated that they are just starting

what promises to be a long and dreary night in political limbo, no thanks to Buhari. Like they never tasted opposition politics before, they have never tested life outside the corridors of power. They are inconsolable. When they remember that they have just started what promises to be a long, long life in the cold, a rash of a goose pimple flush through them and they get nastier and charged to deal with Buhari and his government. The pains of March 28 is still fresh.

It is still an open wound, and it is still dripping blood and whoever inflicted such gash must be made to pay. When our new critics recall the expensive, expansive and very desperate measures they put futilely in place to stop Buhari and continue in power, they get more flummoxed. When they remember how Buhari walked through all their mines to deliver them his killing punch, they get all the angrier and more resolved that he will know no peace. This is the firing pin propelling the bland, purely sectionalized and clearly the disoriented wave of criticism trailing every action by President Buhari today.

Try to make something out of their baleful cacophony of distraught expressions of frustrations over President Buhari’s leadership and you hit a confusing bend. Oh yes, Buhari is doing nothing, he is slow (possibly to loot and let loot). Nigeria has broken down, the economy has gone under, he promised to declare his assets and tarried to do so, all the sectors have gone down, he has refused to appoint ministers, the Naira is losing value, Buhari is probing his predecessors, Buhari

sleeps wrongly, Buhari is not distributing milk and honey on the streets after three months in power, Buhari is causing so much rainfall… ..-and there they go, blaring uncontrollably as if their lives depend on such silly vituperations.

Oh yes, Buhari has given all the available appointments to his kinsmen, even his butler! To these fellows, all the good things the nation has pleasantly experienced since Buhari came were done by Jonathan while everything bad has been by Buhari yet these woe-criers don’t tell us why it will take the coming of Buhari for Nigerians to harvest the good things Jonathan purportedly did while the six years he was in power with billions of dollars flowing were all about woes, buck-passing, relentless looting and infrastructural rot.

But the fact is that the newfound critics of Buhari remain the same minority freeloaders and their minions that so abused and denigrated power just the other day; so much so that Nigeria defied all their unorthodox tactics to vote them out of power on March 28. They remain the same practitioners of the same damned ancient regimen of plundering, impunity, mediocrity, profligacy who audaciously prosecuted Nigeria’s free fall through mendacious brigandage that they were thrown out of power few months ago. They are the same blood-thirsty apostles of prebendal governance that is rooted in mass privation. The newly minted Buhari critics remain those who fangled very desperate and dangerous means to prevent the emergence of Buhari and the rustication of the despicable regime where they

freely fed on the monumental wealth that would have bettered the lots of the ordinary Nigerians.

They remain the same rodents that plundered without let, stole, without compunction, purloined with impunity to set in motion the bleak pangs of decay Buhari is dealing with. Let us not forget that the tortured critics that spew forth all manners of inanities against Buhari today for daring to restore order to the messy stable they diligently prosecuted were the selfsame characters that employed every known crude tactics to stop Buhari just some few weeks ago.

Nigerians should recall that the same cries of woes masked as criticisms started even as these freeloaders sensed that Buhari will topple the apple art from which they generously fed. Let us recall that these vandals now masking as inconsolable critics of Buhari merely doubled their efforts when Buhari roundly defeated them on March 28. Let us all recall that our present day critics are merely ventilating a deep-seated frustration that the sane order they have vowed was impregnable, was so toppled by Buhari in that epic election. Let us read through the mischief, those that have refused to be consoled by the humbling hiding Buhari dealt them last March are torturing themselves to oppose every move Buhari has made to retrieve a nation they cast to the swines in unprecedented leadership anomie. They mask as self-opinionated vendors of public opinion, agbataekee columnists working covertly and overtly for the dethroned power hustlers that rue the prospects of life

outside power. Some are cash and carry self-anointed activists who discovered their wrong choice of business as Jonathan’s corruptive nectars crossed their ways while are some dubious ethnic pressure groups, scam religious groups and men who were purchased slaves of the corrupt regime that was overthrown by Buhari’s emergence.

One serious fact that the Buhari agnostics will not reveal is that they are still the same minority that never wanted Buhari to come and upset their apple cart in the first place. They are the same fellows that propagated the credo that the rotten state of filth and internecine corruption Buhari replaced where their primitive interests reigned supreme was the best for Nigeria.

So when they yell that Buhari is doing nothing by stopping the well of rot that favored them and restoring order and decency in the conduct of statecraft, you should read their guile. They don’t want you to know they are still the loud, noisome minority that failed to stop his emergence last March.

They cleverly want to mask their strength in the maze of loud noise and repetitive mendacity. They think its about what they profess or not profess, what they admit or failed to admit that people will judge Buhari’s government.

It was the same fatal mistake they made during the campaigns when they kept repeating lies and embellishments against Buhari even when it was obvious that Nigerians were much cleverer than their mischievous means.

Peter Claver Oparah writes in from Ikeja, Lagos.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23,

PAGE 14

News

Tropical diseases: Stakeholders seek new strategy to achieve target by 2020

L-R: Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Mr. John Kennedy Opara, presenting a gift of Bible to Taraba state Governor, Architect.

Darius Ishaku, during NCPCF sensitisation visit to the state, yesterday in Jalingo.

By Doyin Ojosipe

T

Sallah: Customers lament high cost of ram I

nspite of the cash crunch in the country, prices of ram have remained very high in Kano, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Investigations by NAN at Dawanau, Unguwa Uku, Makole and Yan’awaki ram markets in the city on Tuesday showed that only a few customers were seen trying to purchase the animals even with the Sallah festival barely two days away.

Some of the customers, who spoke with NAN, said the prices were too high compared to last year.

The prices ranged between N25,000 and N80,000 this year

as against N20, 000 and N75, 000 during the same period last year in all the markets visited.

A customer, Malam Manu Ali, who was seen bargaining over the price of a medium sized ram at Makole market, lamented the high cost of the animals at the market.

Ali, however, expressed hope that the prices would crash with the commencement of the celebration on Thursday.

Another customer at Dawanau market, Isah Gezawa, said he was unable to buy a ram due to the high cost of the animals. ‘’I have now decided to wait until after the Eid prayer on

Thursday so that I can get it at a cheaper rate,’’ he said.

Reacting to the development, a spokesman for the ram sellers in the state, Alhaji Auwalu Fari, attributed the rise in prices on the high cost of breeding livestock and the general cash crunch in the country.

Fari said those breeding the animals also wanted to break even in order to get money to take care of their family needs.

Another ram dealer at Dawanau market, Nura Husaini, said, ‘’we are not making much profit because of the high cost of transporting the animals.’’

Sanusi Malam, a ram seller,

said that a medium size ram which cost N20,000 last year was now being sold at between N30,000 and N35,000.

Malam said the situation had scared customers away from buying ram, saying that many of them had either settled for goats or decided not to slaughter any animal for the Sallah.

He blamed the increase in the prices of the sacrificial animal to low importation from neighbouring countries.

NAN observed that following the lull in the ram business, many sellers were seen roaming the streets with rams looking for buyers.

UniAbuja: SSANU blasts VC over non-payment of arrears

By Usman Shuaibu

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he management of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) of the University of Abuja chapter, has lampooned the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Michael Adikwu over the blatant refusal to pay the 2011/2012 promotion arrears to the deserved staff.

This was contained in a press release made available to Peoples Daily by the staff of the university

on Monday in Gwagwalada.

The release accused the ViceChancellor of illegal recruitment of scores of staff without following due process, as according to the release, no advertisement, no interview as well as no competition was carried out by the Vice-chancellor.

The release alleged that the Vice-chancellor had purchased five luxury cars worth about N60 million for members of the management at a time staff of the university were dying of curable

diseases.

The release read: “Wanton misapplication and even outright misappropriation of fund, under the pretext of program/course accreditation. However, this did not stop several programmes such as Law, Accounting, Chemistry, English and Literary Studies from de-accreditation by the National Universities Commission.”

It alleged that the Vicechancellor had rented a building with huge amount of money

which serves a university Guest House and left the entitlements of deserving staff unpaid.

The press statement, however, tongue-lashed the vice-chancellor of refusing to release an audit report on some units/departments that indicted the favourite officers and cronies of the vice-chancellor of the university.

These, according to the statement, some of the officers are known to be sycophants who operate as virtual sole administrators of their units.

he Director and Head, Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), Mrs. Ifeoma Anaegbolu revealed today that about 100million Nigerians stand the risk of contracting a neglected tropical disease due to the lack of access to clean water, sanitation and improved hygiene practice.

Addressing Pressmen at a stakeholders meeting in Abuja, the NTDs Director said, it was high time institutions including communities collaborated to achieve the eradication target by 2020 as those diseases pose grave danger to a huge number of the Nigerian populace who mostly live in the rural areas.

Anaegbolu also said that the agency is determined to hit the target of the SDGs by 2020.

“We also plan to intensify high level advocacy to policy makers and partners for improved support and release of funds for NTDs and implementation scale up”, she said.

The Director further explained that much success was not recorded between 2013 and 2014, which has forced the stakeholders to take different approaches like promoting the activities of the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) to be integrated into all necessary systems in order to achieve success.

Other Stakeholders who presented at the meeting regretted that WASH has never been seen as one crucial way to fight tropical diseases, stating that both have been treated from different angles Similarly, a WASH Officer working with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Mr. Jacob Ominyi has said all hope is not lost for Nigeria concerning meeting the health MDGs, adding that, better approaches are beginning to emerge towards achieving success.

On tackling of open defecation in Nigeria, he said the UNICEF has engaged the Community Led Total Sanitation Approach, which implies, seeing the dangers of open defecation through the eyes of a given community.

Osinbajo, Obasanjo, Amosun, others for ex-premier Adegbenro’s memorial lecture From James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

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he Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun are among the dignitaries expected at the 2nd annual lecture of the former premier of Western Region, Late Chief Dauda Adegbenro.

The Dauda Adegbenro Foundation announced its second annual lecture, which coincides with the 40th anniversary of the death of late former Premier of Western Region, Alhaji Dauda Soroye Adegbenro.

This year’s edition of the Dauda Adegbenro lecture comprises of a series of events, which include a visit to an orphanage and special Jumat service scheduled to hold

at Abadiya Mosque at Moshood Abiola Way in Abeokuta on Friday 25th September, 2015 and a Church service at Owu Baptist Church, Totoro, Abeokuta the following Sunday.

The 40th anniversary Fidau prayers will hold at the late Premier’s family house, Lafenwa in the Ogun State capital on Monday the 28th of September.

The foundation accompanied

by members of the family and well-wishers will also pay a visit to the Olowu of Owu Kingdom and Alake of Egba Land same day. the grand finale comprising the annual lecture and award ceremonies will take place on Tuesday September 29, 2015 at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library Auditorium, Abeokuta.

The lecture, titled,

“Imperatives for industrial and technological revolution: Panacea for development in Nigeria,” will be delivered by Dr. Gloria Elemo, Director General Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO). Also taking place are the awards for winners of the foundation-organised national essay competition and a launch of the Adegbenro scholarship and research fund.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23,

Akwa-Ibom election: PDP accuses APC of tribunal arm-twisting

By Ahmed Abubakar

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he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the APC has now confirmed its culpability in a number of anti-democratic actions of government agencies lately, particularly the mindless invasion of Akwa-Ibom State Government House and interferences in the activities of that state’s election tribunal.

The PDP said in bringing out himself, through a press conference on Monday to attempt to explain the unlawful actions of the DSS, the APC spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, only succeeded in confirming that his party and the Federal Government, under President Muhammadu Buhari, are behind the invasion and the hounding of election officials to compromise the Akwa-Ibom governorship election tribunal and feloniously take over the state.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement recently said it has noted the weak attempt by the APC to defend the indefensible, stating that only “a desperate attempt at political shoplifting would drive the APC to engage in a miscarried effort to cover its culpability, by seeking to defend the condemnable actions of the DSS, a security and statutory apolitical organization, which has its internal system of public communication.”

“By now Nigerians have become too familiar with the macabre dance by the APC spokesman, who has distinguished himself as a ‘renowned liar’; a shameless veteran in the ignoble art of deception.

“Our take is that the truth may be hidden for some time, but it has a way of expressing itself to shame the guilty. We ask, what other reasons, other than a desperate cover up, would push a spokesman of a political party to stand in the gap to explain away the actions of the DSS when the security organization, has its own spokesperson and existing system of public communication?

“Is this not a confirmation of the

fact that the DSS, under the direct command of an APC member, Alhaji Lawal Kaura, as Director General has since been politically annexed and working in cahoots with the leadership of the APC in its illegal operations in Akwa-Ibom and other PDP states?

“Perhaps, lacking in prowess to conjure believable fabrications to justify its dastardly actions, the DSS had to employ the services of APC master liar, who shamefully embark on excursions of falsehood.

“In fact, the contradictions in the claims in Alhaji Mohammed’s press conference betray it all. In trying to explain the invasion of the AkwaIbom state Government House on

behalf of the DSS, the APC Chief propagandist controverted himself when he said, “we in the APC are not privy to the reasons for the DSS’ search of the Akwa Ibom Government House. However, we have no doubt that the security agency acted within its area of competence and authority’.

“We ask, if the DSS acted outside the knowledge of the APC as Lai Mohammed claimed, how would he validate his postulation that the agency acted within its area of competence and authority?

“Severally in the past, we have exposed the APC spokesman in terms of lying to deceive the nation. Recall that in May this year, Lai Mohammed

APC Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, daughter of late H.I.D Awolowo, Rev. Tola Oyediran, Oyo state Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, and Lagos state Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, during a condolence visit to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s family over the death Mrs. H.I.D Awolowo, on Sunday at Ikene, in Ogun state.

DPC mourns HID Awolowo

By Osby Isibor

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he national chairman of the Democratic People’s Congress (DPC), Rev Olusegun Peters has said that the entire members of his party received with shock the news of the demise of the matriarch of the Awolowos, Chief (Mrs.) Hanah Idowu Dideolu HID Awolowo.

Rev Peters stated this in a press statement issued in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory FCT. “We are deeply pained over the death of this shining star that touched millions of lives in her 99 years of service to God and humanity.

Indeed, the death of a mother at any age is always painful as nobody can fill her vacuum in the lives of her family. “ A woman of indefatigable endeavour, Ma HID Awolowo would be remembered for her love, devotion and commitment to her husband, Chief Obafemi Awolowo in his eventful political career and her selfless service to humanity. She was a pride to the women fold. The nation would miss her wise counsel in our collective quest at building a strong, virile, prosperous and decent society.

“We share the grief of members of her family, but grateful to God for a life well spent in service to the people.

May her patriotic soul rest in the bosom of the Lord.”

nearly scuttled the transition programme when he issued a false statement alleging that the APC team was being frustrated, only for the head of the APC’s Transition Committee, Alhaji Ahmed Joda to announce that there was nothing of such.

“This is the same APC National Publicity Secretary, who in June 2014 issued a statement alleging that a plane carrying Kano state Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso to attend an APC rally in Ekiti was denied landing permission in Akure, only for Kwankwaso’s Director of Press Affairs,Baba Dantiye to announce that his boss was at another event in Kano and had no plans to travel to Ekiti state”.

Photo: NAN

Tribunal fixes judgement in Yobe gov’ship on Oct 21

By Ahmed Abubakar

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he Yobe State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja has slated October 21 for judgement in the petition challenging the victory of Governor Ibrahim Gaidam.

Justice Mojisola Baba adjourned the case yesterday after the parties in the case adopted their final written addresses.

The judge, who hinted that the tribunal would relocate to the Appeal Court, Abuja Division for the judgement, however said the venue will be communicated to the parties before the date.

Adamu Maina Waziri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had challenged the election of Governor

Ibrahim Gaidam of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the grounds of “widespread violence and irregularities in the election culminating into noncompliance with electoral laws.”

At the resumed hearing, counsel to Waziri, Niyi Akintola (SAN) urged the tribunal to cancel the election because the petitioner has established the allegation of fraud and irregularities in the April 11 governorship election.

He claimed that the N15m bribe paid into the account of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Abu Zarma by the governor’s Aide-deCamp Zakari Deba was meant to influence the outcome of the election, maintaining that the REC withdrew from the money.

But defence counsels Abeny Mohammed (SAN), Yusuf Ali (SAN)

and Titus Ashaolu (SAN) asked the court to dismiss the petition for failing to establish the allegations of electoral violence and fraud.

While contending that the tribunal lacks the powers to determine criminal allegations, the defence contended that there is nothing to show that the attempted bribery alleged against the REC had any effect on the outcome of the governorship election.

Arguing his application further, Akintola told the tribunal that Exhibit AA44, the EFCC Investigation Report, which the APC counsels want it to take judicial notice of, was not signed and does not comply with section 84 of the Evidence Act. Exhibit E, which the report of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) cannot be denied

by 3rd and 4th respondents because it’s their documents, it’s INEC document.

“INEC witness was the star witness of the petitioner; he was Administration Secretary of INEC. He stated that the card reader did not capture the exhibits in the six local governments.

“There is evidence that the 5th is not linked to the 1st respondent is not correct. The 5th respondent was the ADC of the 1st defendant. All that was required was that the person was in the employ of the respondent.

“The REC withdrew 600,000 two days after it was paid into his account and gave the name and company where the money was to be paid.

“We urge my lord to grant the prayers of the petitioner. This is not a pre-election matter, it’s a very important allegation,” he said.

PAGE 16

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Politics

Anti-Democratic actions: We stand by our statement – PDP tells APC

By Ahmed Abubakar

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he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said it has no apologies to offer to the APC, especially, its spokesman, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for exposing his penchant for barefaced lies, insults and distortion of facts to deceive unsuspecting Nigerians.

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement yesterday described, as “a mockery of self opinion, Alhaji Mohammed’s early morning tirades on Tuesday, wherein he attempted to pontificate on decorum, a field where he has no credentials, being the originator of hate campaign, with which he fouled Nigeria’s political arena and influenced hundreds of young people, who now engage in abusing one another on the social media, thinking that such is what publicity is all about.

“It is, to say the least, a dance of hypocrisy, for the APC spokesman to wake the nation up, at exactly 7:29 Tuesday morning, to bemoan

his being fittingly described as “a renowned liar”, when he, in his widely covered press conference the previous day, called the Acting National Chairman of our great party, Prince Uche Secondus and the entire leadership of our party liars, for exposing the involvement of the APC-led government in the invasion of Akwa-Ibom State Government House by the Department of State Services (DSS) in addition to moves to compromise that state’s governorship election tribunal.

“It is also common knowledge that during the 2015 campaigns, Lai Mohammed distinguished himself in hauling insults at everyone, including continually denigrating and labeling the person and office of the President of this country, an excursion he saw nothing wrong with, at that time.

“While we appreciate the sleeplessness and nervousness of the APC spokesperson in his desperation to be noticed for an appointment, we have no apologies for exposing his lies and hypocrisy.

“Alhaji Mohammed, in his early morning outburst sought to divert attention and failed to address the issues raised by the PDP regarding his proclivity for distortion of fact.

We therefore want to remind him that Nigerians are still waiting for his explanations for becoming the mouthpiece of the DSS, which has a spokesman and internal machinery for public communication.

“He has failed to address the contradiction in his statement where he claimed that the APC was not privy to the reasons for the DSS’ search of the Akwa Ibom Government House while at the same time explaining that the agency acted within its area of competence and authority.

“Furthermore, apart from ‘a liar’, what words would Lai Mohammed use in describing himself when he, in May this year, nearly scuttled the transition programme with his false statement alleging that the APC team was being frustrated, only for the head of the

APC’s Transition Committee, Alhaji Ahmed Joda to announce that there was nothing of such?

“How else would Lai Mohammed describe himself when he, in June 2014 issued a statement alleging that a plane carrying former Kano state governor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso to attend an APC rally in Ekiti was denied landing permission in Akure, only for Kwankwaso’s Director of Press Affairs, Baba Dantiye to announce that his boss was at another event in Kano on that date and had no plans to travel to Ekiti state?

“We are not yet talking about the denial of the list of campaign promises upon which the APC rode to power at the center and the endless propaganda, insults and blackmail hauled on well-meaning Nigerians when they attempt to offer counsels on observed infractions and anti-democratic tendencies of the APC administration.

“Our counsel once more to Alhaji Lai Mohammed is that he should advice himself and learns to

be truthful and honest. At his age, he should shed this narcissist proclivity of always trying to make himself the issue and desist from fabricating lies and dishing such to the nation.

“In any case, we wish to restate that no matter the antics of the APC and its spokesperson, the PDP will remain focused on issues. We would continue to offer constructive and credible opposition, while firmly holding the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government accountable in the running of the affairs of the nation.

“Our handicap here however, is that we have in our hands, a ruling party and a government who are unable to articulate any policy direction in the economy or any other critical sector of the polity since its assumption of power in May. Instead, what we are witnessing, sadly, are administrative confusion, abuse of process, constitutional violations, political witch-hunt and sleazes in government quarters”.

Lagos assembly approves Ambode’s request for budget reordering From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

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he Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday approved the re-ordering of the year 2015 budget of the state government as requested by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

The House approved N19, 743, 164, 323 for capital expenditure and N5, 697, 089, 009 for recurrent expenditure bringing the total approved sum to N25, 440, 253, 332.

The House also admonished the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget to henceforth do a quarterly review of approved budget to enhance effectiveness and determine level of compliance by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

It would be recalled that Governor Ambode had last week presented letter to the House titled, “titled: “Re-ordering of priorities under the 2015 Budget”.

According to the letter, the governor listed the reasons for the re-ordering to include construction of a pedestrian bridge at Ojodu Berger, construction of fly-over bridges at Ajah Roundabout and Pen Cinema, Agege.

The letter added that the budget re-ordering proposal would cater for the continuation of the construction of blue light rail project, continuation of the construction of the LekkiEpe Expressway and acquisition of emergency/rescue helicopters and heavy duty equipment (cranes and forklift) and for Employment Trust Fund and wealth creation programmes.

Supporters of Senate President Bukola Saraki, jubilating after the trial of Senate President by Code of Conduct Tribunal on allegation of 13-count charge bordering on corruption and false assets declaration, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Mahmud Isa

Atiku urges Nigerians to conquer hate, political intolerance

By Umar Muhammad Puma

F

ormer Vice President Atiku Abubakar urges Nigerians to rid their hearts and minds of hate, intolerance and prejudice, which he says promote violent conflicts and destruction of life and property in the country.

In his passionate Sallah message on the occasion of Eid-el Kabir celebration, the former Vice President says every passing day he is saddened by the “deepening frenzy of hate, intolerance and bigotry”, which produce toxic

effects on unity and harmony among Nigerians.

According to the former Vice President, Nigerians should use religion to create a conflict free society, adding that “love is the universal language of all the world’s religions.”

He urges Muslims and other Nigerians to be good ambassadors of the teachings of their own religions.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar appeals to the Muslim faithful to pay greater attention to stemming and eliminating

poisonous extremist tendencies by ensuring that people with violent ideologies are not allowed to influence the innocent in the wrong direction.

Atiku says Muslims must speak with one voice against extremism because of the great harm its causing the image of Islam and its adherents.

He says the greatest honour Muslims can do to their religion is to live by its virtues.

The former Vice President explains that the virtues of Eid-el Kabir should not be treated as a

transient attraction and forgotten soon after the celebration was over.

Speaking on the hardship among ordinary Nigerians, the Turaki Adamawa urges Muslim leaders to identify with the plight of the people.

He urges well-to-do Muslims to contribute in their own ways to job creation instead of expecting the government to carry the entire burden.

The former Vice President wishes Muslims a happy and peaceful Sallah celebration.

PAGE 17

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Politics

Atuwatse’s death: Delta Deputy Gov commiserates with people of Warri, Itsekiri

By Ahmed Abubakar

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he Delta Deputy Governor, Mr Kingsley Otuaro, has commiserated with the people of Warri and the entire Itsekiri race on the demise of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II. This is contained in a statement signed by Mrs Doris Aboh, Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Deputy Governor, and issued to Peoples Daily in Abuja yesterday.

Otuaro described Atuwatse’s death as a huge loss to Nigeria and the entire black race, judging from his antecedent as a first class traditional ruler and his input to the unity of the nation.

He urged the family of the deceased, the palace chiefs and the incoming Olu, to see Atuwatse’s death as an act of God. The deputy governor also urged them to build on Atuwatse’s legacies of peace and ethnic harmony.

He also commiserated with the Delta Traditional Rulers Council and its Vice-Chairman, Dr Emmanuel Efeizomor II, on the death of their chairman.

He urged the council and the entire royal fathers in the state to take solace on the fact that their chairman died in Christ and positively impacted on their lives while alive.

Otuaro, who prayed God to grant Atuwatse’s soul eternal rest, said ``it is unfortunate that the Olu of Warri died when his fatherly counsel are mostly needed by the present administration’’.

The deputy governor gave the assurance that state government would give the same cooperation and recognition given to the departed Olu to his successor. ``I urge the incoming Olu to see the entire Itsekiri as one, be a rallying point for the unity of Itsekiri and its neighbouring ethnic groups. ``He should also assist government in attracting the needed development to Itsekiri,’’ Otuaro said.

Otuaro, who observed that the country had lost many first class traditional rulers in recent times, called on their successors to remain the custodians of culture and the link between their subjects and government.

Chairman of the Seven-Man Committee in-charge of the APC Governorship Primary Election for Bayelsa state, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state (middle), arriving the venue at Samson Siasia Sports Complex, Ovom, yesterday in Yenagoa. Photo: NAN

Why I can’t deliver my campaign promises – Taraba Gov From Mulega Mkom, Jalingo

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he Governor of Taraba State, Arch. Darius Ishaku has said his administration is in a tight corner to hit the ground running because of treasury of the state has been looted by the past leadership in the state.

Ishaku stated this Monday night when he host the members of Nigerian Union of Journalist, NUJ, Taraba state chapter to a dinner at the Taraba Motel in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital.

Ishaku while lamenting the poor state of finance he inherited from the past administration stated that

he was finding it “very difficult” to deliver promises he made during his governorship campaign across the state.

He further narrated that the state government has been borrowing money from commercial banks to pay salaries to the state government workers apart from the inherited debt he received in his handover note from the recent past acting governor of the state, Sen. Sani Abubakar Danladi.

According to him, Danladi was accused of looting the state government treasury by so many groups in the state through a petition to security and anti-graft

bodies after his six months as acting governor of Taraba state.

Ishaku said the state financial status was completely reading red when he took over the mantle of leadership of the state three months ago.

“I made so many campaign promises across the state that am not finding easy to fulfill now that am on the seat of Taraba State as a governor.

“I was making those promises without knowing that I will meet the state treasury in an empty situation, now that I have won my election even though am determined to do my best for the people, what I met

was an empty treasury.”

Ishaku who meet with the media working in the state for the first time after three months in office as a governor also lamented the level of unwanted killing of people in some selected areas of the state.

He urged the people of the state to remain peaceful, coexist with one another for the purpose of development. “Give me peace, I will give you development” Ishaku stated.

He therefore called on journalists to publish reports that would promote peace and review the aspects that are capable of causing insecurity in the society.

Saraki victim of party stalwarts, APC youths allege From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

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ouths of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Northern Nigeria have accused the presidency and party leaders of the All Progressives Congress for masterminding the war of litigations facing the Senate President on his asset declaration, stressing that all governors and senators of the party should also declare their assets and the legitimacy of such declarations probed.

Speaking yesterday in Kaduna, the group led by Alhaji Shehu Ibrahim Umar lamented that contrary to the party’s claim of safeguarding internal democracy and upholding the party’s unity of purpose, the leadership of the APC has vehemently opposed Senate President Bukola Saraki all in the name of fighting corruption.

“This is not the first time the

Senate President Bukola Saraki is holding public office, he has held several offices before now even as a governor and seating senator, but is it only now that issues of corruption have been raised against him, or will such issues have been raised if Bukola Saraki was in the good book of the party?

“Or is Saraki the only northerner that may have had skeletons in his cupboard? It is simply witch hunting and politics orchestrated by those who are opposed to his senate presidency and simply a ploy to stop him from presiding over the senate that elected him.

“We the youths of the party did not vote for wars within us, we voted for a change devoid of hatred and witch-hunting, we voted for internal democracy, the party has not even exhausted the internal mechanism for settlement, this act is capable of putting our best hands off the party leaving us at the mercy of the

opposition.

“The party leadership should also compel all senators and governors in APC to declare their assets as well as probe the legitimacy of such declarations. This is a deadly move by our party because it might deepen the gap existing in the broken walls of the party,” he said.

The group also rebuked the claim by some northern youths calling for the resignation of Senate President Bukola Saraki ‘’the group is an unrecognized and baseless in ideas of running democracy in a country like Nigeria”.

It could be recalled that, the Code of Conduct Bureau has slammed a 13-count charge of corruption on the Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

In charge number ABT/01/15, dated September 11 and filed before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Saraki was accused of offences ranging from anticipatory declaration of assets to making false declaration

of assets in forms he filed before the Code of Conduct Bureau while he was governor of Kwara state.

Following the recent corruption controversy trailing the Senate President Bukola Saraki, President Muhammadu Buhari has denied instigating the ongoing trial against him.

The presidency in a statement released said attempts to link the ongoing trial of the Senate President to the presidency are unacceptable.

“Saraki is being prosecuted at the Code of Conduct Tribunal for alleged false declaration of asset. His associates have alleged the trial is politically motivated.

“Views to the effect that the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB and the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT can only act upon external instigation are equally uninformed”, Garba Shehu, a spokesperson for President Muhammadu Buhari has said in the statement.

PAGE 18

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Politics

Reform in Niger State civil service not aimed at witch hunting anybody – HOS Interview

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hy the reform now and what are the areas of consideration in the exercise?

It would be recalled that His Excellency, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, the Executive Governor of Niger State, in a recent broadcast to the state, approved the implementation of the Report of the Committee on Rationalization of the State Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Similarly he approved the mainstreaming of the service by which implication a total of 19 Permanent Secretaries out of the inherited 54 lost their status as permanent secretaries while 10 out of 29 were advised to go on retirement. In carrying out its assignment, the Committee under the Chairmanship of the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Ahmed Ketso took into consideration several factors which included but not limited to the need to cut down the cost of governance but also to review the structure and size of the civil service for effective service delivery.

It was alleged that the present administration is targeting some persons and groups who played vital roles against APC

The Niger State Head of Service, Alhaji Mohammed Maude Lapai in an interview with journalists in his office in Minna, spoke on the new reform by the present administration, warning civil servants on insolence and fraudulent activities among other issues. Yakubu Mustapha Bina was there. during the 2015 elections.

How true is this?

No, the structure and personnel strength were critically examined at the end of which 14 Ministries and the Niger State Planning Commission with the status of a Ministry emerged from the 23 number of ministries which the administration inherited. For the avoidance of doubt, i wish to state that this exercise was not aimed at witch-hunting any individual or short-changing any local government area in the state. It was a thorough exercise devoid of sentiments, ethnic, religious or political and it is still ongoing.

Some LGAs are already agitating for being sidelined in the permanent secretaries’ saga, example Chanchaga local government. What is your take on this?

As a palliative to Local Government Areas whose Permanent Secretaries could not make the list of selected Permanent Secretaries, the former permanent secretaries will be posted to head certain

Alhaji Mohammed Maude Lapai parastatals in other to continue to benefit from their administrative skills and wealth of experiences. Also,

“

It is important to state, at this stage, that as we proceed with the reforms, civil servants, are thereby advised to desist from acts of misconduct, insolence at work and dishonest practices in accordance with the service rules and regulations.

Particularly, insolence at work, late coming or fraudulent engagements by civil servants will not be condoned. More stringent measures are already being proposed to ensure the service regains its lost glory as a law abiding corporate body.

Person with genuine complaints are advised to channel them appropriately

as permanent secretaries retire from service, former permanent secretaries with more years in service will be given priority consideration for reappointment as permanent secretaries.

The issue of local government balance will also continue to receive due consideration so as to achieve one permanent secretary per local government.

What is the implication of this reform to civil servants in the state?

As you all know, reform of any kind usually comes with some pains. It is however important to appreciate that given the expected future outcome of this crucial exercise, which is good governance, prudent management of state resources for improved quality of life of the citizenry, we should all be ready and willing to make the supreme sacrifice as it affect us.

What is your advice to the state civil servants especially as the reform takes off?

It is important to state, at this stage, that as we proceed with the reforms, civil servants, are thereby advised to desist from acts of misconduct, insolence at work and dishonest practices in accordance with the service rules and regulations.

Particularly, insolence at work, late coming or fraudulent engagements by civil servants will not be condoned. More stringent measures are already being proposed to ensure the service regains its lost glory as a law abiding corporate body.

Person with genuine complaints are advised to channel them appropriately.

What in your view went wrong with the state civil service that needed correction?

You will all agree with me that the present administration inherited over bloated civil servants in Niger State in which efforts is being taken to salvage the situation which must be applauded by every well meaning Nigerlite in order to have a robust civil service, this will as a matter of fact block leakages, wastages as well to maximize accountability and transparency in the system to enhance good governance in Niger State.

Why did you include a serving permanent secretary in the rationalization committee who is seen as a judge in his own case?

As the head of civil service in the state, I have the power and privilege to nominate or appoint anybody to serve in the committee of such magnitude who will make sure fairness and justice is done to the work assigned to them without fear of contradictions.

Kogi election: No match for Audu’s credentials - Group

By Umar Muhammad Puma

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group under the aegis of Movement for Development of Kogi state has thrown it weight behind the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Abubakar Audu, describing him as a powerful man with intimidating credentials.

The group said this yesterday in Abuja during a solidarity visit to the National Chairman APC at the party’s national secretariat.

Convener of the group, Barrister Adamu Idris - Atola said “Prince Abubakar Audu, more than any other candidate standing for the Kogi election of November 2015, is coming to the race with very powerful and intimidating credentials that stood him head and shoulders above all others.

According to the group “the Kogi Movement for Development, as the name signifies is a nonpartisan movement that has as its core objective the development

of Kogi state for the enjoyment of both citizens of Kogi state and its residents.

He explained that the group had scrutinized all the aspirants for the office of the governor of Kogi state before settling for Prince Audu which he said “bring to fruition the objectives of our movement and by extension, fulfill the yearnings and aspirations of Kogi state indigenes.

“We came to show our appreciation to the leaders of this great party and its executives

over the successful conduct of the Kogi state primaries for the forthcoming governorship elections coming up on the 21st November, 2015. The election was not only successful it was credible, free fair and transparent.”

Responding, National Organising Secretary of APC, Senator Osita Izunaso, who stood in for the National Chairman urged the group to work very hard to mobilize the people of Kogi state especially the youth to

vote and ensure the emergence of APC candidate.

He said “it is not us that delivered Abubakar Audu, it is the delegate from Kogi state that voted him. Our party believed so much in internal democracy, without internal democracy you cannot get the policy right that is what make APC different from PDP. “Our party believed in transparency because if you get your primaries right there will be no room for internal sabotage.”

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

-L-R, Mr Osi Imomoh, Vice President, Abuja Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ABUCCIMA), Mr Tony Ejinkeonye, President ABUCCIMA, Mr Abubakar Sani, Acting Director FCT Economic Department, Chief Bassey Edem, National President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Austine Okoh, GMD Nigerian Army Welfare Holdings and Maj Gen. Emmanuel Atewe, Representing the Chief Army Staff during the 10th Abuja International Trade Fair in Abuja. on 21-09-15.

9 countries jostle for spaces at 10th Abuja International Trade Fair

...As ABUCCIMA plans expansion of facility

By Etuka Sunday

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o fewer than nine (9) countries and 65 foreign exhibitors are present at the 10th Abuja International Trade Fair, organised by the Abuja Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ABUCCIMA).

Recall, it was widely reported that over 460 international and local exhibitors registered and are currently participating in the 2015 10th International Trade Fair in Abuja.

The President, ABUCCIMA, Mr Tony Ejinkeonye who

confirmed the number of exhibitors yesterday while addressing newsmen at the sideline of the Opening Ceremony said, there are plans for expansion of the facility to accommodate more exhibitors.

Speaking on the high cost of products at the Trade Fair, he said, “ we are going to reappraise our costing system to see how we can bring it downwards, but off cause our limitation is always this: when we have few spaces to allocate, it will naturally drive up prices; so we are going to look into to that, hopefully, next year, we are going to expand this facility and accommodate more people, and if we accommodate more people, that will off cause drive down the prices.”

Mr Ejinkeonye said, the theme of this year’s Trade Fair

which is: “Entrepreneurship, a panacea for economic growth” was apt considering the rate of unemployment in the country.

“It is so important because I know that with the unemployment rate in Nigeria, government and the organised private sector cannot provide the required number of employment, so, any graduate coming out of school now have to think inwards to seek to employ himself rather than seeking for employment, so that is the emphasis for us. As you know 85 per cent of the economy is driven by entrepreneur, that is why it is important to us,” he said.

He welcomed the idea of the Single Treasury Account (STA) of the Federation Government, saying it would prevent wastages in the system.

“We are excited when government started reducing wastages in the system. One way to increase revenue inflow is to reduce wastages. And now, this single income flow to the govt will be a welcome development, at least govts will know what is accruing to them, so that MDAs will strictly abide by the provisions in their budgets not this one that NNPC and CBN will just be making expenditure outside their budgets.”

Also speaking, the representative of the Permanent Secretary, Industry, Trade and Investment said, at the end of the Fair, participants would have availed themselves of the opportunity of promoting trade and investment flow into the country.

He said the Trade Fair

initiative would help in the creation of jobs in the country.

He gave other objectives to include: Attracting direct foreign investments; Promote global aware of Nigeria’s products; Boost and encourage domestic production in the country.

According to him, the present administration is ready to be part of any initiative(s) that would promote sustainable economic growth in the country.

Also the Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), represented

by Abubakar Sani said, in this present dispensation where the society is full of unemployed youth, entrepreneurship is handy to keep them off the streets.

Nigerian Airports ready for traffic increase during Eid-el-Kabir holidays-FAAN From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

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he management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to assure members of the public, especially passengers and airline operators, that necessary operational and security measures have been

put in place at all our airports to ensure hitch-free passage of passengers and cargo during the 2015 forthcoming Eid-elKabir holidays. Our airports are expected to experience considerable upsurge in passenger traffic during this period.

Apart from the statutory

security and safety measures already in place at the airports, sniffer dogs and members of the Bomb Detection Unit of the Nigerian Police Force have also been deployed at the airports, to complement the effort of our Aviation Security personnel at the security screening points.

Passenger facilitation at

all our airports has also been enhanced by the installation of more modern and bigger conveyor belts and walk-through metal detectors.

The expansion and modernisation of all the airport terminals in the country now provide better ambience and more space for shops and restaurants

at the terminals. This also helps passengers relax comfortably while waiting for their flights.

The Authority however advises air passengers to make early arrangements for their travels and to leave home early on their travel dates, in order to complete their boarding facilities in good time.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Business

FAAN boss satisfied with work at MAKIA, says new terminals will grant Nigeria hub status

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he Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Engr. Saleh Dunoma, has expressed delight with the level of work at the new international terminal at the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.

He made this remark when he paid a working visit to the airport to supervise the on-going construction of the new international terminal.

One of the five being done simultaneously across the country.

Engr Dunoma, while on this follow-up to the Permanent Secretary’s earlier working tour to the airport, noted that this laudable project was undertaken to increase the capacity of the affected airports while positioning them to be able to deliver efficient

services at world-class standards, in order to maintain best practices as prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO. Meanwhile, the FAAN boss has also said that new terminals at Nigeria’s major international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port-Harcourt and Enugu will make Nigeria the hub of aviation in Africa, when they are completed in 2016.

Dunoma, had made this known at Panama, during the Annual General Assembly Conference and Exhibition of the Airport Council International (ACI).

Speaking as a panelist at the event, Eng Dunoma said the completion of these terminals would stimulate robust traffic

growth in passenger and cargo traffic.

“These airports will improve passenger comfort, increase capacity and improve facilitation”, he said.

He added that though the 7.2% increase for passenger traffic from the MINT countries (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) as contained in the 2014 ACI World Airport Traffic Report, was commendable, this figure would experience a steady rise.

Earlier during the opening ceremony, the President of Panama, Mr. Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez welcomed members to the city, highlighting the importance of aviation which contributes significantly to

NAMA Managing Director, Engr Ibrahim Abdulsalam (right) welcomes Mrs Victoria N Menta, Commissioner of Police, Airport Police Command on a courtesy visit to the agency’s headquarters in Lagos recently.

NAMA implements 6 new PBN regional routes, partners NPF on NAV facilities security

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igerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), has completed safety assessment and design of six International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) approved PBN regional routes that will enhance regional connectivity within the AFI region.

These routes include a new airway linking Nairobi in Kenya direct to Abuja in Nigeria (UT475); another linking Bangui in Central African Republic (CAR) direct to Tamale in Ghana (UT458) and a Europe direct route from Abuja in Nigeria to Tamaransset in Algeria (UT416).

Others are an international route from Garoa in Cameroun to Niamey in NigerRepublic through Kano in Nigeria (UT459); Lagos Nigeria direct to Guiney Conakry (467) and Oxilo in Cameroun direct to Lagos in Nigeria (UT457).

Managing Director, Engr.

Ibrahim Abdulsalam, who disclosed these new routes also said that they shall become operational on the AIRAC date of 15th October 2015 have been

published worldwide through the Nigerian AIP Supplement issued

by NAMA. While counting the gains of the new regional routes to include enhanced airspace capacity utilization and reduced flight times, Engr.

Abdulsalam expressed confidence that these new routes would also boost regional integration, co-operation and trade within the sub-region.

The NAMA boss has also advocated a coordinated and harmonious operational synergy with the Nigeria Police in order to enhance the security and safety of Air Traffic Management/ Communication, Navigation and Surveillance infrastructure deployed across airports in the country.

He made this known while receiving the Commissioner of Police, Airport Command, Mrs Victoria N. Menta who led a highpowered delegation of the force to the agency’s headquarters in Lagos.

Abdulsalam noted that a close synergy and collaboration with

the Nigeria Police Force as well as other security agencies would ensure that the nation’s hightech Air Traffic Management facilities remain safe and secure for effective and seamless flight operations in the country.

While congratulating Mrs Menta on her new posting, Engr.

Abdulsalam appreciated the Airport Police Command for the maintenance of law and order as well as security of infrastructure within the nation’s airports, stressing that “NAMA would continue to promote operational harmony and synergy among aviation and security agencies at the nation’s airports as this would make for safe, efficient and effective service delivery.”

In her remarks, Mrs Menta commended NAMA for maintaining safety of air navigation in the country, stressing that their visit to the agency was to ensure that the Airport Police Command has direct interface with all stakeholders in the sector where issues of mutual interest would be addressed.

Panama’s Gross Domestic Product.

In his welcome address, Joseph Fidanque III, the General Manager, Tacuma International Airport, said the Tacuma Airport was building a new terminal to accommodate growing traffic as the hub of region.

Also speaking on the theme

‘Airports: Shaping our future’ the Chair of ACI World, Hector Navarrette said ACI “works across all aspects of the airport business, from our top priorities of safety and security to customer service, training, the environment, knowledge sharing and much more”.

Protesting unions plan disruption of airline operations over debts Stories from Suleiman Idris, Lagos

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perations of airlines allegedly owing federal agencies were temporarily shut down yesterday by protesting workers who insisted that airlines must settle their debts.

For a little over three hours activities around the local wing of the Lagos airport were disrupted following the protest by two unions in the sector, Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria ATSSSAN and National Union of Air Transport Employees NUATE. They barricaded the entry gates leading to the premises of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria FAAN asking management to swing into and force debtor airlines to offset their bills.

They particularly warned Arik Air of their intention to stop it operations during the protest at the airline’s ticket counter at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT) in Lagos.

They explained Arik Air has accumulated a staggering sum that is telling on the overall functions of the agencies affirming that a bleak future awaits all debtor airlines as it would never be business as usual.

General Secretary of NUATE, Comrade Olayinka Abioye said Arik airline alone owed FAAN, N25b and gave all debtors to all agencies one week to settle their debts.

Abioye said debts owed the agencies was the reason why promotion can not be effected as there was no money to pay for various allowances.

He urged workers of various agencies to brace up for battle against debtor airlines.

Also addressing the workers, the president of ATSSSAN Comrade Benjamin Okewu said the debt profile by Arik Air was becoming too alarming.

Okewu said bleak future awaited all debtor airlines as it will never be business as usual.

He recalled how meavis, a concessionaire was sent packing from the airport and same will be extended to debtor concessionaire.

“If we want to achieve, let all prepare for war. We must act and consolidate our decision to do the right thing “ He noted that Arik since its inception had never had any of its aircraft grounded with all its aircraft well maintained and serviceable and wondered why they could not pay debts owed agencies.

Dana Air Seeks Police Support against false Passengers

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he Accountable Manager of Dana Air, Mr Obi Mbanuzuo, has assured the new Commissioner of Police Airport Command of Dana Air’s support to improve the welfare of its officers.

Mbanuzuo made this known during a courtesy visit by the Airport Police Command Commissioner, Mrs Victory Menta, at Dana Air’s Murtala Muhammed Airport 2 office in Lagos.

He said Dana Air is committed to the safety and security of its guests and would also appreciate the continued support of the Airport Police Command, in prosecuting criminals who act like genuine passengers by ensuring full investigation and eventual prosecution ‘’these days we have those who buy tickets just to steal from genuine passengers. We would appreciate if the command can continue to support us in ensuring

full investigation into these cases and prosecution to serve as lesson to others’’ Mrs Menta while responding to this call said the command is committed to tackling security issues within and around the airport. She noted that her visit was to familiarize herself with the airline to ensure a good working relationship. ‘’The reason for my visit is to familiarize with you to foster a good working relationship and urge you to continue to corporate with the Airport Police Command’ Only recently, Dana Air was awarded the best security conscious airline by the International Institute of Professional Security. The airline is the only domestic airline to have undergone an operational audit conducted by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority Flight safety Group in partnership with their foreign counterparts.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Pension/Insurance

NAICOM signs MoU with Ghana, Sierra-Leone, others for Sub-regional insurance regulation Stories from Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

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he National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has signed a Mult-Lateral Memorandum of Understanding with the National Insurance Commission Ghana, SierraLeone Insurance Commission, Central Bank of Liberia and the Central Bank of Gambia to deepen insurance penetration and supervision in other countries in the West African region.

At the historic ceremony at the NAICOM headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria’s Commissioner for Insurance and CEO NAICOM Alhaji Mohammed Kari said the objective of the MMoU is to “formalize the relationship among the parties in strengthening cross

border insurance supervision through information sharing, mutual cooperation, which is in conformity with International Association of Insurance Supervision (IAIS) principles.”

According to him, “since the regulators are active members of AIO and some are also members of IAIS which emphasizes the importance of these type of arrangements for cooperation and information sharing.”

According to him, the MMoU underscores NAICOM’s goal to build effective working relationships with regulators in the West African region and beyond.

Alhaji Kari also noted that “the importance of this agreement is further buttressed by the fact that NAICOM is the home regulator

of many subsidiary insurance companies authorized by Ghana, Liberia, Sierra-Leone and the Gambia to conduct insurance business.

The increased activities of these Nigerian insurance companies in West Africa makes the National Insurance Commission of Ghana, SierraLeone Insurance Commission, Central Bank of Liberia and the Central Bank of Gambia our important regulator allies.”

“With the signing of the MMoU, the cross-border supervision among Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra-Leone and the Gambia will now be greatly enhanced. Thus, we look forward to mutual assistance in the promotion of international standards to foster favourable

investment environments and orderly markets in West Africa,” the NAICOM CEO said.

“The MMoU will also help us to effectively communicate with each other in addressing such fraud across jurisdictions in compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FACTF) recommendations on anti-money laundering,” he said.

Insurance in the whole of Africa has been characterized by low penetration and poor contribution to the African financial growth in most countries, therefore maintaining efficient, fair, safe and stable insurance market in the West African region must be promoted for the benefit of the policy holders,” he said.

Responding, the Commissioner for Insurance Ghana Lydia

Bawa and the Commissioner of Insurance Sierra-Leone Mr. Augustus Kanu agreed that the MMoU will bring the regulators in West Africa closer and provide the opportunities to harmonize regulatory efforts among member countries.

The permanent secretary Nigeria’s federal Ministry of Finance Mrs. Anastasia DanielNwaobia said the ministry will give its full support to the objective of the association.

Represented by the Director, Home Finance, Alhaji Kalli Zaji, the permanent secretary said the association is vital because of the rapidly integrating insurance industry and the growing practice of our insurance companies operating across regional and international boundaries.

Inspenonline unveils new portal

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An official of the Nigerian Communications Commission sealing the Skynet General Data Engineering Services over license regularisation, yesterday in Ibadan.

Photo: NAN

SA Insurance holds 19th AGM T he Board of Directors of Standard Alliance Insurance Plc, one of the nation’s foremost underwriting companies, has concluded plans to hold its 19th Annual General Meeting next week in Lagos even as the firm wished to use the occasion to seek shareholders ratification the appointment of new directors and the Group Managing Director/CEO. According to the company’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr. Nelson Egboboh, this year’s meeting was coming a bit earlier than other

meetings held in the last three years owing to the focused efforts of the new management, noting that it was “the avowed corporate desire of the new team to return the company to its first quarter meeting timetable it was known for.”

Egboboh noted that as part of the ordinary business outlined for transaction at the meeting, shareholders would be expected to receive and adopt the audited financial statements together with Auditor’s Report and Audit Committee’s Report for the year ended 31st December, 2014.

He listed other businesses to be transacted to include reelection of retiring directors and shareholders’ ratification of appointments of new directors, Group Managing Director/CEO and BDO Professional Services as External Auditors,” among others.

He disclosed that the board would also be asking the shareholders to approve the sale of the Treasury Shares amounting to 2, 212, 046, 824 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at 25 kobo per share by way of Special Placement to identified Strategic Investor, Gemrock Management

Company Limited.

Meanwhile, the company has called its shareholders’ attention to the unclaimed share certificates and dividend warrants which were returned by the post office as “unclaimed,” informing that they were with its registrars.

According to the company, “some dividend warrants sent to shareholders’ registered addresses or their bankers are yet to be presented for payment or returned to its Registrars of the company for re-validation,” advising that affected members should contact First Registrars.

nspenonline, Nigeria’s premier insurance and pension news online channel, in its determination to bring information close to the public, has unveiled a new portal.

According to the Managing Director Inspen Media, Chuks Udo Okonta, the portal was designed to enhance public knowledge on pension, insurance and related matters.

He noted that in the past three years of existence of the organisation, it has helped deepened awareness on insurance and pension through in-depth news reportage, analysis, interviews and the yearly Insurance and Pension awards which has helped showcased companies and individuals that are making giant strides.

Okonta, who was recently nominated for an honorary doctor degree by Commonwealth University in the United Kingdom, due to his contributions to human and business existence, said the organisation will continue to promote the sectors owing to their relevance to human existence, stressing that the portal can be accessed via www.

Inspenonline.com.

He called on the public to embrace insurance as it remains the best way to mitigate risks, adding that insurance exists for the survival of businesses and better lifestyle for human.

While commending the successes recorded in the pension sector in recent times, he called on the government to enforce relevant laws put in place to promote the new pension scheme, and employer to secure their employees future by embracing the scheme

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Business

Katsina approves N2bn for small business operators From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

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overnor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State has disclosed that his administration has approved the distribution of N2 billion for small business operators.

Masari made the disclosure yesterday while speaking at a skill acquisition workshop organized

by The National Association of Unemployed Graduate, Katsina State Chapter.

The governor who was represented by his chief of staff, Alhaji Dikko Umar Radda said, 100, 000 beneficiaries would be selected from across 34 local government areas of the state.

He added that 100 beneficiaries would be selected from each polling unit, where he stressed that 60 of the beneciaries must be women while 40 should be men.

According to him, the federal government has focused on the development of mining and agric sectors as major tools in providing employment opportunities.

Masari pledged the commitment of his administration in tackling youth unemployment and introducing plausible measures to address them.

He similarly stated that his administration was looking at ways of assisting intermediate and big business enterprises in the state.

Delivering a keynote address

at the occation, a lecturer with Umaru Musa ‘Yar’adua University, Katsina, Dr. Muhammad Yusuf Dandume observed that the country’s educational system does not equip graduates with skill acquisition required for earning a living.

Ismael, however, said that the price would come down after the festive period He said when compared this period with that of 2014, the prices of rams were almost the same only that the market was dull.

NAN reports that the price of a big rams in most of the markets are between N75,000 and N90,000 The medium size rams also cost between N40,000 and N60,000 while the smaller ones goes

between N25, 000 and N35,000.

(NAN) In Calabar, NAN survey revealed that the prices of rams had reduced compared to 2014, but ram sellers decried low patronage.

NAN survey in Bagobiri market Calabar, indicated that a big ram which was sold last year for between N60, 000 and N70, 000 was selling for between N45, 000 and N50, 000 this year.

Similarly, a middle-sized ram goes for between N35, 000 and N40, 000 as against N45, 000 and N50, 000 in 2014.

NAN also reports that a smallsized ram now goes for between N30, 000 and N35, 000.

Alhaji Isyaka Mohammed,

Chairman, Ram Sellers Association, Bagobiri market Calabar, told NAN that the reduction in the prices was due to gradual return of peace in the north east region. ``Usually, we buy Ram from Gombe, Taraba, Adamawa and Borno, but because of Boko Haram insurgency we were unable to go there to buy; rather we resorted to buying from Cameroon. ``But with the gradual return of peace now, we go to North East to buy Ram; so, that is why the prices had to come down,” he said.

NAN reports that some Muslim faithful in the city have taken advantage of the situation to buy ram for their EId-El-Kabir.

(NAN)

Eld-el-Kabir: Lagosians lament high cost of rams

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People buying ram for Eid-El-Kabir celebration along Kubwa-Suleja High Way, on Monday in Abuja.

Photo: NAN

FG slams airline N11m for violating Nigeria airspace

From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

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he federal government has slammed the sum of over N11 million on one of the two foreign aircraft whose operations was grounded following it illegal operation within the country’s airspace.

The regulatory authority said the aircraft has been let-off the hook and allowed to return to its country of origin, the United Kingdom.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) told journalists in Lagos it allowed the plane to leave after the operator of the aircraft-Bombardier 700-100 with registration marks G-RBEN Global Express S/N 9083 operated by Gama Aviation of UK had paid a civil fine of N7million to NCAA and $20,000 to the Nigerian Airspace Management

Agency(NAMA) yesterday.

The aircraft it said has flown out of Abuja airport back to UK yesterday.

Acting General Manager,Public Relations of NCAA, Mr Sam Adurogboye told airport correspondents that operator of the second aircraft, an Embraer 135J with registration marks XA-MHA is yet to comply with the same fine.

NCAA had on Sunday in a press statement announced the grounding of the two foreign registered aircraft with immediate effect.

The operator of G-RBEN aircraft was found operating in Nigeria’s airspace with falsified flight clearance information and conducting illegal domestic flight operations in Nigeria.

Other infractions includedconducting illegal commercial

revenue flight operations contrary to conditions contained in Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs) Part 10 and security violations.

Mr. Sam said preliminary investigations revealed that the Embraer 135BJ registration marks XA-MHA was reported to have landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, from London, Farnborough without any flight clearance on the 10th of September, 2015.

Reports from the Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) indicated that the crew informed them that they possess a ministerial approval for the flight. However, on landing; the crew could not produce any ministerial approval as claimed.

The BD 700-100 is a United Kingdom Air Operators Certificate (AOC) holder and

has been carrying out several domestic operations between Abuja and Lagos without the Authority’s Permit/Certification in accordance with Nigerian CARs Part 10.

While further investigation continues both aircraft remain grounded. The aircraft country registry in UK CAA and Mexican Civil Aviation Authority[MCAA] will be notified as appropriate.

The statement had assured then that Legal and Enforcement department of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) would after the conclusion of the investigation proffer appropriate sanctions and enforcement procedure according to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations [ Nig. CARs], which is what had now led to the N7million and $20,000 fines on each of the illegal operators.

ome residents of Lagos, who went to different ram markets on Tuesday to buy rams for the Eld-el-Kabir, had lamented high cost of rams two days to the celebration.

They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that in spite of the economic crunch most of the rams brought to the state were unaffordable.

Mr Sulaiman Kazeem, who came to came to buy ram at Bariga Ram Market, said that the prices of rams in the market were on the high side.

“In fact, we thought because there is scarcity of funds in circulation, prices of rams will be affordable.

“I came to this market with N45, 000 thinking that I will get a medium price ram at the price.

“To my surprise, the least medium ram here cost N60, 000 this is too much.

“The dealers should consider the fact that there is no money, everybody is just trying to kill ram to mark the festival,” he said.

Kazeem said that he needed to add another N15, 000 to the money he brought to the market in order to buy his choice ram.

Alhaji Lawal Rabiu, another buyer at Itire ram market, said that he was fortunate to get his ram at N30,000.

Rabiu said that though the ram was small, he was happy that his family would have something to celebrate with.

“There are some people who could not afford to buy a ram, but we should be grateful to God for gift of life,” he said.

Alhaji Wada Ismael, the Chairman, Olaleye Ram Market, Iponri, complained that high cost of transportation fares and feeding contributed to the high cost of livestock.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Stock Watch:

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

PAGE 23

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Peoples Daily, Wednesday, September 23, 2015

PAGE 24

Special Report

Why is EU struggling with migrants and asylum seekers?

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he flow of desperate migrants from the Middle East and Africa hoping to reach Europe is already much higher than in the same period in 2014.

Recent trends show that thousands of people are attempting a perilous route through the Western Balkans with the ultimate destination in Germany and other northern EU countries.

Here are some of the key questions surrounding the crisis.

How many people are on the move?

More than 300,000 migrants have risked their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year, according to the UN. This compares with 219,000 for the whole of 2014.

Nearly 200,000 people have landed in Greece since January this year, while another 110,000 made it to Italy.

Most of those heading for Greece take the relatively short voyage from the Turkish mainland to the islands of Kos, Chios, Lesvos and Samos often in flimsy rubber dinghies or small wooden boats.

The voyage from Libya to Italy is longer and more

Some 2,500 migrants have drowned in the Mediterranean this year as overcrowded boats head for the coasts of Greece and Italy, the UN says. hazardous.

Some of the worse tragedies in 2015 include: • Two boats carrying about 500 migrants sinking after leaving Zuwara in Libyaon 27 August • Bodies of 71 people, believed to be Syrian migrants, discovered in an abandoned lorry in Austria on 27 August • Shipwreck off Italy’s Lampedusa island on 19 April took an estimated 800 lives • At least 300 migrants feared to have drowned after attempting to cross the Mediterranean in rough seas in early February Survivors often report violence and abuse by people traffickers. Many migrants pay thousands of dollars each to the traffickers, and robbery of migrants is also common.

There has been unrest on the border between Greece and Macedonia as migrants try to travel towards northern Europe

Fifty thousand people arrived on the shores of the Greek islands in July Chaos in Libya has given traffickers freedom to exploit migrants.

The EU’s external border force, Frontex, monitors the different routes migrants use and how many people are

arriving at Europe’s borders.

It says some 340,000 migrants have been detected at the borders since the beginning of 2015.

That compares with 123,500 in the same period last

year.

Where do they come from?

The largest migrant group by nationality in 2015 is Syrians, as people flee the country’s brutal civil war.

Afghans and Eritreans come next. They are often also fleeing poverty and human rights abuses.

People from Nigeria and Kosovo also make up large groups. Poor, marginalised Roma account for many of the

Rosarno, southern Italy: One of many migrant camps set up to handle the emergency migrants from Kosovo.

In Italy new migrants from Eritrea form the biggest group, followed by those from Nigeria.

But in Greece migrants from Syria are the biggest group, then Afghans.

Where are they going next?

Germany, which receives by far the most asylum applications in the EU, is expecting 800,000 refugees to arrive this year.

Recent trends show that thousands of people are trying

“

to travel to both Germany and other EU countries via Greece and the Western Balkans.

Some 3,000 people are expected to cross into Macedonia each day in the coming months, according to the UN. Many then cross into Serbia, which says it has seen 90,000 migrants so far this year, and head for Hungary and the EU’s passport-free Schengen zone.

In July alone, 34,000 migrants were detected trying

The largest migrant group by nationality in 2015 is Syrians, as people flee the country’s brutal civil war.

Afghans and Eritreans come next. They are often also fleeing poverty and human rights abuses. People from Nigeria and Kosovo also make up large groups. Poor marginalized Roma account for many of the migrants from Kosovo.

In Italy new migrants from Eritrea form the biggest group, followed by those from Nigeria. But in Greece migrants from Syria are the biggest group, then Afghans.

to cross from Serbia into Hungary.

Faced with that influx, Hungary is building a 175km (110 mile) fence in a bid to stop migrants entering.

It has also urged EU partners not to send back migrants who have travelled on from Hungary.

The Dublin Regulation places responsibility for examining an asylum seeker’s claim with the first EU country that the migrant reached.

Other countries are struggling with the influx of arrivals.

Austria says it is expecting 80,000 asylum applications this year.

Meanwhile thousands of migrants are camped around Calais in northern France.

Many will risk their lives smuggling themselves across the Channel into the UK. What are politicians doing about it?

Frontex has been carrying out most of the rescue operations.

After much argument EU leaders agreed to triple its funding to some €120m (£86m) in April.

However Frontex said in August it had not received enough pledges of assets from

EU states to help Greece and Hungary with the current influx of migrants.

Italy abandoned its Mare Nostrum search-and-rescue mission last year after some EU members - including the UK - said they could not afford to fund it. The decision was widely criticised by rights groups.

In April EU leaders also pledged to beef up maritime patrols in the Mediterranean, disrupt people trafficking networks and capture and destroy boats before migrants board them. Any military action would have to conform to international law.

And huge questions remain over how the migrants who arrive in the EU are dealt with.

The EU has tried unsuccessfully to persuade member states to accept a quota system for taking in 40,000 Syrians and Eritreans over the next two years.

They eventually agreed to accept 32,500 on a voluntary basis.

Another 20,000 refugees currently in UNHCR camps would also be transferred to the EU, but the details have not

been decided.

Are EU countries doing their fair share?

For years the EU has been struggling to harmonise asylum policy. That is difficult with 28 member states, each with their own police force and judiciary.

Championing the rights of poor migrants is difficult as the economic climate is still gloomy, many Europeans are unemployed and wary of foreign workers, and EU countries are divided over how to share the refugee burden.

More detailed joint rules have been brought in with the Common European Asylum System - but rules are one thing, putting them into practice EU-wide is another challenge.

There are also tensions in the EU over the Dublin Regulation - Greece complained that it was inundated with applications, as so many migrants arrived in Greece first.

Germany has announced it is suspending the rule and decided to consider asylum cases from the majority of Syrian applicants, regardless

of how they entered Europe.

Finland is also among the countries that has stopped sending people back to Greece.

The number of asylum claims in the EU rose to 626,065 in 2014, up from 435,190 in 2013, the European Commission reports.

Germany granted the most, followed by Sweden and Italy.

How do migrants get asylum status in the EU? They have to satisfy the authorities that they are fleeing persecution and would face harm or even death if sent back to their country of origin.

Under EU rules, an asylum seeker has the right to food, first aid and shelter in a reception centre. They should get an individual assessment of their needs. They may be granted asylum by the authorities at “first instance”.

If unsuccessful they can appeal against the decision in court, and may win.

Asylum seekers are supposed to be granted the right to work within nine months of arrival.

Source: BBC

PAGE 26

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Property

Abia cement technology ready for use

By Agi Victor

T

he Governor of Abia State Okezie Ikpeazu said it has completed road projects using cement technology, also known as rigid pavement technology in road construction.

The governor who said experimenting those three roads the state government have recorded success with the completion of the 400 metres, ENUC Road, off Udeagbala in Aba. Governor Ikpeazu is pioneering

this technology in Nigeria in road construction with the construction of three roads in Aba ENUC Road, Omeni Drive, by Aba Owerri Road and Owerri Road, off Okigwe Roads.

“The technology is more durable and more sustainable and will be extended to other roads in Abia in the days ahead.

“The construction engineers uses a mixture of crush rock-based materials and other items to achieve a thickness fill and compaction to the level of 300mm and then cast with concrete reinforcement with 8mm

to 10mm high tensil ( mash of wires), reinforcement bars over the stabilized base course before treatment with prime coat and asphaltic concrete”.

He disclosed that, “though the cost of this technology is higher than the conventional construction methods, he had chosen the experiment as a measure to strengthen the load bearing capacity of some roads in Abia and boost the strength and quality of the finished work”, adding that roads constructed with this technology had a sustainability guarantee of ten to twenty years.

Ikpeazu further stated that the cement technology will address the challenges raised by the soil examination conducted on the three roads, noting that the process involves soil stabilization which is a process of introducing materials that have properties which the routine construction materials or naturally occurring materials lack to further strengthen pavement and improve the load bearing capacity of the roads.

While disclosing that the cement technology is used in the construction of airport run-ways, tarmac and

places that carry high load bearing capacity machines and equipment, the Governor said it was a good solution for achieving sustainable roads in Nigeria, as it was better and of a higher value than the convention method of using only asphalt.

In Similar vein , Aliko Dankote had earlier in the week advised Nigeria and road constructions firm to adopt the cement technology, assuring that the technology is more durable and cost less.

An appealing architectural design

Niger: Fire destroys properties worth millions in Kontagora From Yakubu Mustapha,Minna

P

roperties worth millions of Naira in the early hours of yesterday were destroyed as fire razed some shops at the Kontagora local

government New market in Niger State rendering traders helplessly.

An eyewitness told our reporter that the firestorm started at about 12:00 am and lasted till dawn destroying valuables, including auxiliary attachments made up

of woods and planks used by petty traders last week Thursday throwing them to confusion.

It was further revealed that scores of traders thronged to the market in order to salvage their wares moments after the outbreak.

The Secretary to the Niger State Government, Shehu Umar Danyaya who visited to the scene of the inferno enjoined the affected traders to take the incident as an act of God. Danyaya also appealed to the

people to remain calm as the State Government under the leadership of Governor Abubakar Sani Bello is leaving no stone unturned in nsuring that traders who lost their properties were compensated and the market renovated.

said that Amuchi was appointed by the former President Good luck Jonathan on the 6th of September, 2011 with six executive directors.

Amuchi during his handover ceremony said that he was proud of his team as the percentage of road failure decreased significantly with good number of Nigerian roads being motorable.

The statement also stated that, during his tenure, the Agency witnessed a drastic reduction in budgetary provision for road

works.

He then called for an alternative and improved funding for the Agency to enable it meet up with the expectations of Nigerians.

Continuing, he said he is taking responsibility of all that had happened during his administration and asked for forgiveness from whoever he might have unintentionally wronged in the course of discharging his duties.

Meanwhile, Engr. Amuchi

handed over to a transitional executive management committee with Engr. Peter Odeh Ibu, as the Acting Managing Director/ CEO; Engr. (Mrs.) B. A. Ilemore, Ag. Executive Director, Road Maintenance Management Services (RMMS); Mr. Joseph O. Oyinloye, Ag. Executive Director, Administration and Human Resources Development, Mr. A. D. Ahmed, Ag. Executive Director Planning & Engineers Services; Engr. J. A. Olawoye, Ag. Executive

Director West Operations, Engr.

Taiwo O. Koya, Ag. Executive Director, East Operations, and Mrs. Fatimah Okei, as the Ag. Executive Director, Finance and Accounts.

Responding, the Ag. MD/CEO, Engr. Peter Odeh Ibu, commended the outgoing MD/CEO and his team for working satisfactorily despite daunting challenges. He assured Nigerians that the attention of his team would focus more on fixing critical inter-state roads nationwide; the statement added.

Eng. Amuchi bows out as FERMA Director

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

T

he Managing Director Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Engr. Gabriel C. Amuchi, has bows out as the Agency’s Managing Director, having completed his tenure.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Acting Genera;l Manager and Head of Communication Public Relation Mrs.Maryam M. Sanusi yesterday,

PAGE 27

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Property

LASTMA renews enforcement traffic law

T

he Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has directive the Lagos State Transport Monitoring Agency (LASTMA) to adopt new strategy in booking traffic offenders rather than the old method of seizing their vehicles.

In order to ensure the safety of lives and free flow of traffic on Lagos roads, LASTMA renewed the enforcement of the road traffic law across the state using a holistic method of booking offenders on spot and allowing the driver continue with his journey without impounding vehicles. The exercise which kicked off at Ojota area, witnessed the booking of four drivers violating the Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, Law. The Vehicles included two commercial buses with plate

registration numbers AGL 109 XA, JJJ 7775 XJ, also booked was a black Honda FST 914AX belonging to Nike Elegbede and a blue Toyota Camry car with registration number EJ 54 KIJ driven by one Adamu Danladi.

The drivers were booked accordingly, while the two private owners were able to provide valid vehicle documents on the spot, the two commercial bus drivers could not but were all allowed to go with the their vehicles in line with the new policy of the Lagos State government.

The General Manager of the agency, Bashir Braimah, who led the officials to monitor enforcement, explained that the exercise was the first after the governor’s directive He re affirmed that the enforcement was a signal

to recalcitrant drivers and those who engage in transportation business in the state that it’s no longer business as usual as the Road Traffic Law is still valid and must be obeyed at all times. He stated further that only the method of implementation has changed.

The LASTMA boss explained that; “There would be no hidden place for traffic violators as the offenders are expected to make payment of their various fines within the docket of seven days and present their tickets at LASTMA offices and failure to comply, offenders will be arrested at home after the expiration of the grace.

“To those without valid documents or not registered in the state, there is a working synergy between the agency and

other sister agencies across the federation, therefore no traffic offender will go unpunished. It’s in their own interest to either fall in or fall out with this new method” Braimah charged.

Recently, LASTMA boss met with various leaders of transport unions where he unveiled its plan to meet and engage all stakeholders in the management and control of traffic in order to ameliorate daily hardship experience on the road and also deploy more officers to traffic prone areas in the state with the determination of increasing general road safety.

More so, Braimah lamented the nonchalant attitude of truck and commercial drivers plying Apapa Oshodi Expressway who are indifferent to the plight of other

Property of the Week

A bungalow house

Estate Surveyors declare Buhari’s asset declaration unprofessionally done, insist on valuation

T

he recent assets declaration

by President Muhammadu Buhari and his vice, Yemi Osinbajo, has continued to receive commendation and condemnation from individuals and institutions.

Nigerian estate surveyors and valuers, professionals who described themselves as land economists and strategic stakeholders in the built environment, have faulted the president’s assets declaration, insisting that merely declaring assets was not enough to establish the worth of a public officeholder.

President Buhari had, a couple of weeks ago, declared that he had $150,000 (£100,000) in his personal account coupled with five homes and two mud houses as well as farms, an orchard and a ranch

with 270 head of cattle, 25 sheep, five horses and a variety of birds, shares in three firms, two undeveloped plots of lands and two cars bought from his savings.

Osinbajo, who is relatively wealthier, said he had $1.4 million (£900,000) in his bank accounts plus a four-bedroom residence, three-bedroom flat, two-bedroom flat and a two-bedroom mortgaged property in Bedford, UK. William Odudu, chairman, Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON), said what the two leaders had done was not, professionally speaking, dependable as asset declaration.

Odudu, who spoke at an interactive session with the media, said assets had to be documented, verified and valuated before they

were declared, pointing out that the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) had the duty of inviting estate surveyors who were the ones statutorily and professionally qualified to do the verification and valuation of those assets.

“As a rule, the CCB should, after receiving assets from a public officer, his wife and children, not just the man alone, appoint a surveyor to valuate those assets. The declaration is not enough; there should be verification and valuation,” he insisted.

Without verification and valuation, he said further, it would be difficult, in the case of Buhari, to locate his five homes, two mud houses and 270 sheep, adding that nobody knew, as it was now, the value of Mr President’s houses,

farms, orchard, just as nobody knew the nature and value of his two cars.

“The president has told us that he has four-bedroom residence, three-bedroom flat, two-bedroom flat and a two-bedroom mortgaged property in Bedford, UK. Where is the location of the four-bedroom residence and what house-type, is it bungalow or duplex? What is the value of each of the houses he has declared? We can only find answers to these posers through verification and valuation,” Odudu said.

According to him, asset valuation has the benefit of helping to check corrupt practices by politicians, stressing that the features, location and value of an asset needed to be established before it was declared.

Source: Estatetimes

road users with little or no regard for the road traffic law.

At The MRS Truck Staging Area along Oshodi Apapa Expressway, trucks park indiscriminately on the dual carriage with the excuse of awaiting fuel loading teller leading to the total blockage of other road users’ access to the road.

He condemned the act of impunity and charged the Petroleum Union Drivers (PTD) to key into the vision of the government and reciprocates the kind gesture of the government on enforcement policy by obeying road traffic laws willingly.

While, He further observed that the state usually witness gridlocks due to the excesses of motorists particularly commercial and truck drivers who are fond of flouting traffic rules and regulations, driving in direction prohibited by law, turning all the nooks and crannies of the state into parks rather than using the dedicated bus tops or parks and therefore narrowing the roads.

“The agency has been magnanimous enough to have called the unions to a meeting towards the restoration of sanity to no avail and as a responsible government, the agency can’t fold its hands and allow the impunity to continue on Lagos roads hence the reason for enforcement’’.

In his reaction, Joseph Okpara, an executive of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) expressed displeasure on the conduct of his members saying his union is ready to partner with LASTMA in finding a lasting solution to the perennial traffic situation associated on the axis.

One of the offenders revealed that the enforcement came as a shock to him as he thought LASTMA had been restricted to the control and management of traffic on Lagos roads while Adamu admitted to the offence.

The enforcement was applauded by some motorists who lamented the increase in traffic violations by drivers. Clampsdown on Okada riders, street traders: Also, Lagos State Task Force has warned commercial motorcycle operators popularly called, “okada riders” operating on all restricted routes and street traders to comply with the State Road Traffic Law 2012 or risk arrest and prosecution.

The Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force, a Superintendent of Police, Olubukola Abe, who gave the warning, disclosed that since he assumed office in August, 2015, till date, over 1000 motorcycles have been impounded and their riders prosecuted, including street traders/hawkers with their wares confiscated by the courts of law.

He stated that the taskforce was ready to strictly, implement the Section 3 of the traffic law and others to the latter. He said out of 9100 roads in the state motorcycle operators were restricted to only 475 roads including highways and bridges according to the law.

Abe said that enforcement by law enforcement officers would be intensified, assuring that they would not relent in their efforts to restore sanity on roads while curbing the excesses of okada riders and street traders.

He however, appealed to his officers and other law enforcement agents to carry out their duties diligently while enforcing the Law.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Hyundai Tucson is high fun to drive

Motoring

PAGE 28

T

he term “compact crossover” often seems like a misnomer these days, but the 2014 Hyundai Tucson is bringing compact back. Measuring just 173.2 inches from nose to tail, the Tucson is about 7 inches shorter than Toyota’s RAV4 and a whopping 14 inches shorter than Chevy’s Equinox. Not surprisingly, the Tucson trails most rivals in passenger and cargo space, but it compensates with great maneuverability and a surprisingly high fun-to-drive factor. If you’re looking for more of a hatchback-on-tiptoes than a true SUV, the Tucson could be a nice fit.

Notably, Hyundai has burnished the 2014 Tucson’s credentials with some key enhancements, including tweaked styling and a revamped model lineup that bids adieu to last year’s sparsely equipped GL trim level.

The formerly midgrade GLS is now the base trim, which means that even the cheapest 2014 Tucson comes with a respectable roster of standard features. There’s also a well-stocked SE trim level that bridges the gap between GLS and Limited, and the infotainment scene gets an update with a pair of new touchscreens: a humble 4.3-inch unit that’s standard on SE

The GLS starts with the 2.0-liter engine, 17inch alloy wheels, privacy glass, LED running lights, a rear spoiler, cloth upholstery, airconditioning, full power accessories, a trip computer, a height-adjustable driver seat, 60/40-split-folding rear seatbacks with recline, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, a tiltand-telescoping steering wheel with auxiliary controls and a six-speaker CD sound system with iPod/USB connectivity and satellite radio.

The SE gets the bigger engine, automatic headlights, foglights, heated side mirrors, sport body cladding, roof rails, a 4.3-inch central touchscreen display, a six-way power driver seat (with two-way power lumbar), heated front seats, cloth/premium vinyl (leatherette) upholstery and rear climate vents.

The Limited turns on the charm with 18-inch wheels, chrome exterior trim, keyless ignition/ entry, leather upholstery, dual-zone automatic climate control, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a rearview camera, Hyundai’s Blue Link telematics, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and a retractable rear cargo cover.

The Limited is eligible for the Technology package that adds LED taillights, a panoramic

and Limited and a 7-inch setup with updated software on the Limited’s optional navigation system. Furthermore, both engines have been redone and now boast direct fuel injection technology, though oddly, their fuel economy and output numbers remain about the same.

The 2014 Hyundai Tucson does have its flaws, even putting aside concerns about its size. The rear seat, for example, doesn’t slide fore or aft, although it does gain a reclining function this year. Also, the base 2.0-liter engine lacks punch, and the Tucson’s sporty handling comes at a price, as ride quality is decidedly on the firm side. The versatile 2014 Mazda CX-5 is a dynamic alternative, especially with its 2.5-liter engine, while the 2014 Ford Escape is similarly entertaining and offers more high-tech features.

If you’re open to going even smaller, consider the chic 2014 Mini Countryman or the less chic but more affordable Nissan Juke.

Finally, the Kia Sportage is mechanically related to the Tucson, and offers available turbocharged power for those interested in even sportier performance. Overall, the Tucson remains a solid option, particularly with all those improvements for 2014. If you’re looking for a value-packed crossover SUV that’s light on its feet and cake to park, Hyundai’s still got one of the better solutions on the market.

The 2014 Hyundai Tucson is a fivepassenger compact crossover SUV that’s offered in three trim levels: GLS, SE and Limited.

sunroof, an upgraded seven-speaker sound system, a 7-inch touchscreen, HD radio and a navigation system.

The 2014 Hyundai Tucson offers two different engines, each paired with a six-speed automatic transmission.

The GLS comes with a 2.0-liter inline fourcylinder that produces 164 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque. EPA-estimated fuel economy is 25 mpg combined (23 mpg city/29 mpg highway) with front-wheel drive and 23 combined (21 city/25 highway) with all-wheel drive.

The SE and Limited step up to a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 182 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque. Fuel economy stands at 23 mpg combined (21 mpg city/28 mpg highway) with front-wheel drive and 22 combined (20 city/25 highway) with all-wheel drive.

Standard safety features on the 2014 Hyundai Tucson include antilock disc brakes, stability and traction control, active front head restraints, front side airbags, side curtain airbags, a hill-holder feature and hill descent control. The Blue Link telematics suite, standard on Limited, includes emergency safety assistance, stolen vehicle tracking, geofencing (allowing parents to set limits for teen drivers) and other smartphone-based features via the Blue Link mobile app.

In Edmunds brake testing, the Tucson came to a stop from 60 mph in 123 feet, an average distance for this segment.

In government crash testing, the Tucson received four out of five stars for overall crash protection, with four stars for overall frontal impact protection and five stars for overall side impact protection. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the Tucson its top rating of “Good” in the moderate-overlap frontaloffset, side-impact and roof strength tests.

Its seat/head restraint design was also rated “Good” for whiplash protection in rear impacts.

In the IIHS’s small-overlap frontal-offset test, however, the Tucson earned the lowest “Poor” rating.

The 2014 Hyundai Tucson has an unusually stylish cabin, highlighted by a sleek dashboard that complements the exterior’s striking lines.

In spite of the emphasis on style, the controls are generally clearly labeled and simple to use, with extra credit due this year for the Limited’s much-improved optional touchscreen interface. The default 4.3-inch touchscreen on the SE and Limited is less impressive, but still a nice bit of standard technology at this modest price point.

Source: Edmunds.com

Page 29

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Arts & Culture

FROM THE LIVE STAGE with Patrick-Jude Oteh 0803 700 0496, 0805 953 5215 (SMS only)

The star syndrome

T L-R: Odovidi Ebira in Kawo, Alhaji Yahaya Abdullahi, Malam Abdullahi Anuha, and Abdulkadir Mohammed (Ohiku), during new yam and cultural festival organised by “Ebira Ayi-Oyiza” at Farin Gidan area, recently in Kaduna.

Photo: Raji S. O.

Giant head from Lenin statue unearthed in Berlin

T

wenty-four years after it was buried, the head of a giant statue of Soviet revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin was dug up from woodland on the outskirts of Berlin to be displayed at an exhibition in the German capital.

The monument was unceremoniously torn down two years after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. Its demolition, depicted in the German blockbuster movie “Good-bye, Lenin!”, became a symbol of the end of East Germany and downfall of Communism in Europe.

The granite statue designed

by Russian sculptor Nikolai Tomski was split into 130 pieces

before being interred. Berlin officials said all other sections would remain buried.

Residents at the statue’s former site in Lenin Square in east Berlin, now renamed United Nations Square, were divided over the about the prospect of the head being on display again soon. For decades in East Germany, Lenin, who led the Russian Bolshevik revolution of 1917, was held up as the model communist, feted everywhere in portraits, banners and statues.

“It is bullshit to dig him up again now,” said Friedrich Krause. Another resident who gave only his last name as Seuder said: “Lenin to rise again? That doesn’t work. History is over.”

Other Berliners disagreed.

“That is a great idea. It was a shame to take it away in the first place,” said a local resident who identified himself only with his first name Erhardt.

The statue was originally unveiled in East Berlin in 1970.

The head is due to be displayed as part of an exhibition in the west Berlin district of Spandau together with other historic monuments.

“Because the statue is some 19 meters high (60 feet) ... there was no way that we would get the whole statue into our rooms, so we decided to display the head as its most recognizable part,” said Andrea Theissen, head of BerlinSpandau’s art department.

FBI warns U.S. art dealers about antiquities looted from Syria, Iraq

By Victoria Cavaliere

T

he FBI has urged art dealers in the United States to be careful when buying antiquities from the Middle East, saying there is evidence collectors have recently been offered artifacts plundered

by Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq.

The looting of ancient artifacts across Iraq and Syria and their sale on the black market has become a source of funding for Islamic State militants, and there is growing concern those items are showing up in the Western marketplace, the FBI said in a press release.

“We now have credible reports that U.S. persons have been offered cultural property that appears to have been removed from Syria and Iraq recently,” said Bonnie Magness-Gardiner, manager of the FBI’s Art Theft

Program.

Magness-Gardiner urged collectors and buyers to be vigilant checking importation, provenance and other documents.

“What we’re trying to say is, don’t allow these pieces that could potentially support terrorism to be part of the trade,” she said.

Islamic State, a hardline Sunni Islamist group, has ransacked some of the greatest archaeological sites in northern Iraq and Syria, posting photos and videos of fighters destroying pre-Islamic monuments and temples they consider idolatrous.

On Tuesday, the group published photos purporting to show the destruction of the Roman-era Baal Shamin temple in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, an act the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO has called a war crime.

Before the city’s capture by Islamic State, Syrian officials said they moved hundreds of ancient

statues to safe locations out of concern they would be destroyed by the militants.

Last month, the United States handed back to Iraq antiquities it said had been seized in a raid on Islamic State fighters in Syria, saying the retrieval was proof the group was attempting to sell the items to raise cash.

The relics included ancient cylindrical stamps, pottery, metallic bracelets and other jewelry.

Islamic State fighters have desecrated ancient Assyrian and Graeco-Roman palaces in northern Iraq including the 2,700-year-old Assyrian capital of Khorsabad.

Growing concern the trade in plundered artifacts can help finance militants earned them the nickname “blood antiquities” - adapted from the phrase “blood diamond,” used to refer to gems that financed fighters in African wars from Angola to Sierra Leone.

here are now so many ‘stars’ in Nigeria that there is no more space for even the clouds to move! In the typical Nigerian fad of taking things to the extreme we have created our own ‘stars’ even if we cannot point to any tangible achievement of the ‘star’.

In our own situation, someone walks past a scene in a home video, he/she has become a star. Someone participates in a music video, he/she has become a star. Someone sings in a CD and he/she has become a star. Someone shakes the hand of someone who has done a stage appearance with a real star, this person that has been shaken has become a star by virtue of the handshake. Some of these ‘stars’ are so pedestrian that one begins to wonder, if there is any other name for a charlatan.

I am not saying that there are no “stars”. There are stars and one of the yardsticks for recognising them is hard work and a consistent one at that. So if one comes and says Fela is a star, he has been consistent over a number of years and his work is seen to deserve such accolades. Michael Jackson is a star, it is well earned. So also Denzel Washington. There are some who have earned the star sparkle that they are simply there. We all see them and we all would want to be like them.

We would want to be seen with them. But what happens when someone participates in any of these our reality or music shows – please mind you, just mere participation – and he comes back to the neighbourhood and wants everyone to ask him/her to sign autographs on their ears!

It simply does not add up! And sometimes when this does not happen, the anger is great and the disappointment is almost everlasting.

We had an experience recently – we were on the road and we had one of us who had been with our company on and off in the last seven years. He is really talented and has an extremely good voice coupled with a commanding stage presence. Over the years he had gone to the great city of Lagos and done some home videos and two soap operas.

Overall, you are looking at a resume of about six works. We invited him to come work with us and we have sincerely regretted this – we had thought that he would be a good example as well as a mentor of sorts to the younger members of the company. We were wrong - he was always the last to wake up and the last to get into the bus and for those artistes who had been on the road before, we all know that every single hour counts especially when you have deadlines to keep. By the time most of us are in the bus, he is just in the shower. By the time we are all getting in to sleep to prepare for the next day, he is still in the bar. All throughout the trip, we found ourselves dealing with a maladjusted child! The talent was still there but it is now on a downward spiral.

I called him during one of our stops and tried to talk it all over with him – his argument was that I had never been to Lagos or any of the home video producing centres to understand that he was not doing anything wrong. I felt like crying – here was a huge talent on a downhill slide and he thinks that he is on a good road or that he has already arrived. It was pathetic to say the least. But I further thought that these are the ‘stars’ that the Nigerian arts circuit was beginning to produce. ‘Stars’ who believe and think that talent alone can sustain them. I beg to disagree, the talent is only the starting point! What about hard work, what about availability of work, what about the age old value of discipline? And humility? Success requires a certain amount of humility and discipline. Without these values an artiste is like a cannon that is just firing without any control! Give me an artiste without these qualities and I will show you someone whose career is not destined to be consistent or long lasting. I always tell our artistes that it is not an ability to play God by those of us in arts management that enables us to predict these but that the signs are all there. Even for those of us who are not artistes, we all need a certain amount of discipline and humility to live life!

Page 30

Arts & Culture Feature

By Asomwan Sonnie Adagbonyin

H

uman beings have been known to console other human beings, or themselves, but not “galloping imagination”, an abstraction. Similarly, horses are known to gallop, and when they do this, their four feet leave the ground.

‘Imagination’, even when it is at its creative best, is not known to do this.

But in foisting these propositions, Osofisan seeks to communicate the intensity of Stella’s confusion as she tries to convince herself that exposing the organization she works for to the police would give her the freedom she seeks. It is a desperate act, but as Osofisan tells us, 4) but if she could slip through the easily infiltrated police ranks to reach the superiors, perhaps she could barter with the whole dirty story. Call a press conference and vomit the horrible truth before the whole world. (3) Interestingly, almost every attempt Osofisan makes to tell his story gets trapped in the web of paradigmatic structuring. In 4) above, for example, the verb phrase, “vomit the horrible truth …” elicits the following meaning: i) That truth can be horrible ii) That truth can be vomited (like food or drink) At this stage, Stella is ready to throw caution to the wind. She has kept the truth inside of her for quite some time and it is now horrible leaving it to remain there to torture her, to make her sick. She has to, like the act of vomiting, throw it all out, damning the consequences.

Osofisan’s imagination is clearly peopled by things which are unreal and it is his ability to bring them to us this way that helps us to appreciate Stella’s dilemma.

When Osofisan goes back in time (a year earlier, actually) to capture Stella’s days of job-hunting, he informs us that Stella inherited the principle of being a good girl from her grandmother, and describes those days of her grandmother as days “when men respected women, and chastity walked proud.” (4) When Stella and Franca meet again after their university days, we are told that Franca “drove Stella to the nearby Mr Biggs where both of them exhumed old times over a grand feast” (5). Corpses have been known to be exhumed and they are tangible, but not ‘time’, which is temporal and abstract. Osofisan’s choice of the verb ‘exhumed’ offers some indication that what Stella and Franca did was bring the times that were literally old and dead back to life in their conversation and, in reliving them, there is fresh reawakening not unlike a corpse that had been dead and buried being exhumed to be seen again. Clearly, just as the reason for exhuming a corpse is, in most cases, to examine the cause(s) of death, Stella and Franca’s examination of their past as undergraduates helps them to fashion new bonds of friendship which eventually makes Franca secure her first-ever job since leaving the university.

The meeting is crucial, for it signals Stella’s break with a past of

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

In the Belly of a ‘New’ Culture: Paradigmatic Foregrounding III

intense suffering where 5) an extended family of plodding job seekers stared her in the face. (4) At the meeting, Stella had felt cheap beside Franca 6) although she was turned out in what she considered her battle dress, her best blue flared skirt cringing under a courageous cream shirt. (5) At that meeting too, Stella’s general appearance had been rather ruffled: “tired clothes, shoes crying for polish, dry crinkled skin…” (5).

Osofisan’s lexical selections and the manner he combines them reveals a broad-based collocational geography. In 5) above, the nominal phrase “an extended family of plodding job seekers” and the verb phrase “stared her in the face” offer some impossibility in real-life situation. But the choice of ‘family’ is meant to convey the feeling that Stella was consoled by seeing other job hunters like her plodding the streets. That this ‘family’ stared her in the face suggests that the reality of their presence was not lost on her.

In 6), in which Osofisan describes Stella’s cream shirt as “courageous”, various reactions are at once elicited: laughter, sympathy, etc. What is not lost on the reader is Stella’s courage to battle all odds.

She had worn the dress so often that it had become a trademark.

Ironically, it is not by deliberate choice, hence we sympathize with her. The world she finds herself in had values different from the ones she learnt from her grandmother and from the university, and she is prepared to battle on.

“

Unfortunately, however, Stella’s new job is not the most suitable for her kind of high moral standards even when she meets the high and mighty and the poor and lowly who had been washed by the strange tide of the brand new world. This last group Osofisan calls 7) The buyers of auctioned dreams, frigid screams… Vague young men and women who had embraced habits they lacked the financial muscle to sustain and the demonic will to refrain from… They drifted about as if borne by the wind, disconnected, coke-caned into the silly state of scattered days… (11) “The buyers of auctioned dreams” refers to those who seek dreams that are not realizable but can only be imagined under the ecstatic effect of hard drugs. The neologism ‘coke-caned’, which is derived from a Noun + Verb combination is an obvious phonological pun at the word ‘cocaine’ and is meant to reinforce this proposition.

The reader’s familiarity with the abbreviated word for cocaine (‘coke’) offers useful guide in the interpretation of the lexical compound. The verb ‘cane’ to which a past-tense ‘- ed’ morpheme has been added in the above passage, refers to the act of hitting someone with a stick as a form of punishment.

Osofisan clearly alludes to this act in deriving ‘coke-caned’, meaning to be punished by ‘coke’. Clearly, the men and women who are being spoken about have lost their bearing as a result of excessive indulgence in cocaine and must now float about as dregs of the society.

Stella had been working for

six months when she meets, for the first time, with the head of her Organization variously referred to as ‘Chief’, ‘Father’ and ‘God Father’.

She is given briefs on a mission she has to go with hard drugs to the United States. During the brief, we are told that 8) The Chief turned back to Stella, his low voice hissing out of the small mouth like the unwanted blessings of a mamba. (11) The simile in this text exhibits instances of irregular foregrounding.

How does one “hiss” words from his mouth when he is speaking in a low voice and a hiss is supposed to suggest a loud whisper? Again, how can these words be likened to the “unwanted blessings of a mamba”? Can a mamba bless, even if the blessings are “unwanted”?

Incredulity is what stares the reader who confronts this passage. But like every instance of foregrounded irregularity in literature, there is always some form of “sense” in apparent nonsense. Information offered by Osofisan indicates that the Chief is the most feared person in the Organization. He is not only thought to be like God, but believed to be God himself. He is held in deep awe, and his word is law. These things explain why at this encounter Stella is completely overwhelmed by respect and fear that even make her tremble. Even when the Chief “appears” from the rooms to meet Stella, she sees that as “materializing” (13). Thus Osofisan’s preference for the word “hissing” is well motivated. He is seeing things from Stella’s perspective. She is not listening because of her awe, and, therefore, everything comes to her like hissing. As for the reference to the venomous African snake called the mamba, it is observable that its motivation derives from the preceding word “hissing”, for it is the habit of this snake (like all snakes) to hiss. But more importantly, Osofisan alludes to the awe in which Stella holds the Chief as he briefs her. Like the mamba, whatever pronouncements that would come from him would never go down well with her in her state of mind. It is necessary to note that it is this encounter with the Chief that is responsible for the change in Stella’s fortune.

When Stella eventually goes to the police station after her wandering to expose the Organization, she meets 9) A moody policeman perched behind a moody desk in a mouldy office moodily stabbing at his nicotined teeth with a ballpoint.

(23) Besides, 10) Dirty posters on the abused walls lamely urged: The end....

Source: Africanwriter.com

When Stella and Franca meet again after their university days, we are told that Franca “drove Stella to the nearby Mr Biggs where both of them exhumed old times over a grand feast” (5). Corpses have been known to be exhumed and they are tangible, but not ‘time’, which is temporal and abstract.

POEM OF THE WEEK Symphony of Words

By Fabian Kaduka The opposite of love is death, Hate is too weak an adjective To stand against the power of love – I am bemused by the magic of this invisible earth Giving birth out of the passions of history – Where do I go to find the realm of infinite love?

For I am mapping out new paths Into the kingdom of prosperity Through the labyrinth of my mind Making affluence my companion The mythical goddess of possibility my counsel – Death is my ultimate evidence That life is real and thoughts are but A metaphor of things yet to come – Oh, sacred flower of a dreaming heart Show me the recipe of God’s alchemy To transmute thoughts into things Imagination into image nation and dreams into reality To render all things good in the end – Pain and suffering evaporate into the ether Of God’s crescent space and His mind made visible In the invisible sphere of human thought – Time becomes empty, shaping out the seasons of life Healing myself of regrets and mistakes Before the empty slight of the traitors’ eye Ungrateful multitudes who couldn’t appreciate my song – So I depart from the material realm into the spirit world Learning at last the meaning of the Emerald text “As above so below, as within so without…”

Till earth becomes one with heaven – I am but a miracle made alive by love Dreaming, dreams of a dreamer who has but glimpsed The infinite world of endless possibilities – So I sing my song all over again, Symphony of Words Out of the note books, from the Promised Land –

PAGE 31

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

A staff of Abuja Environmental Protection Board carrying a sack filled with empty plastic bottles, yesterday at Wuse, in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Auto electronics call for improved electricity supply

S

ome auto electronincs technicians, who specialize on car battery charging, operating in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have called the government to improve electricity supply and ease access to loan, to promote business growth in the nation’s capital.

Two of the operators, who spoke on behalf of their colleagues, made the call in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recently in Bwari.

A car battery operator, Andrew Chijioke said that the

lack of constant electricity and inability to access soft loans often posed a challenge.

Chijioke told NAN that although he pays his electricity bill regularly, the additional cost of constant use of a generating set was affecting his income generation negatively.

He, therefore, appealed to the government to boost power supply and create opportunities for small businesses such as his, to access loans.

“We have some challenges in doing the business; the most pressing challenge is lack of electricity, because the business

requires constant light and we don’t always have that.

“Sometimes, we stay without light for one week, thank God for the provision of small generator, but the cost of powering it is another thing.

“Another challenge we are having is capital; to access it is very difficult, you go to bank they will tell you to bring this or that, or collateral, before they can give you funds.

“Capital is another thing that is hindering our business to grow; if government can look into it, may be banks can give us soft loans, without demanding much

interest.

“In a month, I get up to N30,000; I will encourage people to venture into the business; it is an alternative source of income; it is profitable, and if you are sincere in doing the business, at least from it, you can make your daily income,`` he stressed.

Similarly, an auto-electrician, Okechukwu Okoye, advised people who want to do the business to invest more money in order to make profit.

“There are batteries that people brought here for charging for four days now, but there is no light.

“In order to please them, I have to buy fuel and start my generator to charge their batteries.

“So that is a big problem to us; we don’t always have constant light in this area; sometimes they will flash the light for 30 minutes and that will be the end for two days.

“We complained, they are still promising, yet they have not done anything to address it.

“If you can get money to buy batteries, in case some one’s car has battery problem, he or she can always purchase from you and that will help, rather than rely on charging alone”, Okoye noted.

Bizman jailed for cheating

A

businessman Ayebo Adebayo, 36, is to spend four months imprisonment for cheating a customer of N590, 000, following the ruling of the Zuba Upper Area Court, FCT Abuja.

Adebayo of Airport Road,

Abuja, was also charged with criminal breach of trust.

The Presiding Officer of the court, Malam Aminu Sa’ad, handed the sentence.

Sa’ad passed the sentence after the accused pleaded guilty to the two-count charge

of criminal breach of trust and cheating.

He, however, gave the convict an option to pay a fine of N15,000 and an order to refund the N590,000 to the nominal complainant as compensation.

The prosecutor, Insp. Haruna

Danlami, had earlier told the court that on July 1, one Azubuike Emodi of Deidei, Abuja, came to Zuba police station to report the matter.

Danlami said Emodi told the police in his statement that sometimes in 2011, he gave the

convict the amount in question to supply him with timber wood, but Adebayo converted the money to his personal use.

The prosecutor told the court that his offences contravened the provisions of sections 312 and 322 of the Penal Code. (NAN)

PAGE 32

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Photo Splash

Staff of Abuja Environmental Protection Board on duty, yesterday at Wuse, in Abuja.

Unity dance troupe entertaining guests, during a book launch on Nigeria Confederation State, recently in Abuja.

Young men loading sacks of grains into articulated vehicles, yesterday at Garki 11, in Abuja.

Fulani women preparing meal in an uncompleted building along Airport Road, recently in Abuja.

A man loading his cart with scraps, yesterday at Garki, in Abuja. Photos: Justin Imo-Owo

PAGE 33

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Metro

Gwagwalada Almajiri School: UBEB seeks community participation

By Stanley Onyekwere

T

he Federal Capital Territory Universal Basic Education Board (FCT-UBEB) has reiterated commitment towards increasing community participation in making

Gwagawalada school of Almajiri initiative achieve its objective for the teeming number of children desiring to learn both Islamic and Western education.

The board made this point at a recent media briefing and stakeholders interactive session

organised by the Public and Private Development Center (PPDC), held at UAC building, Central Area, Abuja, towards increasing citizens participation.

Representative of the Board, Engr. Sidi-Aliyu Adamu, pointed out that there is need to have a

fence around the school, adding that’s why there is a delay.

Citing that another challenge is the access road to the area, Adamu notes: “We are discussing with the chairman to have road leading to the school” adding that, the computers and books are all

Anodere MariaGoretti Adaku (2nd left), during thanksgiving of her golden jubilee celebration at SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Nyanya at the weekend, in Abuja.

ready and in a central store.

While denying that the community is not been carried along in the project, he insists: “if the community says they are not aware of the school, they are been economical with the truth.

In fact there were farmers on the land when we came to the place at first. Those that are within that area are aware.”

Earlier in her remarks, Coordinator, PPDC’s Procurement Monitoring Programme, Nkemdilim Ilo, said the interactive session with the community members where this school are situated is not to castigate the government but to appraise the challenges, issues that came up with the community of the Almajiri school.

She added that the interactive session is to find possible solutions to the problems for a useful conclusion.

According to her, PPDC had found out that the Almajiri School in Gwagwalada has been completed since 2014 but it’s not yet in use.

One of the community members, who doubled as one of the almajiri teachers in the area, Mallam Musa Saheed, said they also would want to benefit from the school as they can only speak and communicate in Arabic and Hausa languages, but would want to learn English language from the school so as to better their lives.

He therefore urged the government to provide the access road, water and commence the school for the benefit of these almajiri students.

Council empowers women with vocational tools

By Usman Shuaibu

S

ome women in ten political awards of Kwali Area Council, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), received assorted entrepreneurial and

other economic empowerment items, donated by the wife Council Chairman Mrs. Obigal Ibrahim Daniel.

Daniel, who presented the materials to the women recently in the area, said that she would

continue to empower women through skills acquisition programme.

She charged the women in Kwali and FCT at large to always engage in available skills acquisition, in order to be self-

reliance for the advancement of themselves and families.

She appealed to the women to form co-operative societies, so as to enable them benefit from the government’s empowerment programme.

Some of the beneficiaries who spoke to Peoples Daily thanked the wife of the Chairman for the gesture, and assured her that they will make use of the items judiciously.

Etsu Kwali reiterates support for Open Varsity

By Usman Shuaibu

T

he Etsu (Second Class Chief) of Kwali Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Audu Shaban Nizazo III, has promised to give necessary support to the management of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) to improve access to tertiary education in the FCT. Nizazo, who made the pledge during the commissioning of the Special Study Centre

for Victory International Institute of Theology in Kwali recently, pointed out that its establishment by the NOUN would enable the residents to have access to higher education in the area.

He assured the management of the university that some traditional rulers in Kwali will be encouraged to enroll into the university, in order to update their knowledge.

He appealed to the authorities of the university to provide the needed facilities for

the Centre to further encourage the students in their studies.

Also speaking, the ViceChancellor of the University, Prof. Vincent Ado Tenebe, said his administration would continue to provide a purposeful leadership capable of satisfying the aspirations of the students of the university in the FCT and the country at large.

Tenebe, who was represented at the accession, pointed out that the Open University has established several Special Study Centres across the

country, to enable Nigerians to have access to higher education.

Similarly, the proprietor of the Victory International Institute of Theology, Kwali, Prof. Sam Ale, urged the Kwali community to contribute their quota towards the progress of the Centre.

He called on the authorities of the six FCT area councils to liaise with the NOUN to establish special study centres in their respective areas, so as to encourage their people to have access to university

education.

Ale, who was once time the Director-General of the National Mathematical Centre Abuja, however, begged the government of the day to continue to provide the needed infrastructural facilities in the university to enhance learning.

Not left out, the Chairman of Kwali Area Council, Hon. Ibrahim Daniel, promised to allocate a plot of land to NOUN, where the students of agricultural science will carry out their practical works.

PAGE 34

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Money Sense

If you want to be rich, don’t get an MBA

By Marianna Zanetti

T

he first thing I am going to say about wealth is that many authors who write about prosperity and wealth make it clear: A job will not make you rich.

If you want to be wealthy, at some moment of your life, you will have to create a source of income other than your salary. This is an evident and crushing reality: If you sell your time to others, you will quickly reach a limit in your capacity to generate income.

In his book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” Robert Kiyosaki said that the rich do not work for money; they generate assets that work for them. If you want to learn how to work for money, go to school. If you want to learn how to work even harder, you should get an MBA. OK, some top managers earn millions (and they are therefore millionaires).

Some people still think they can get to those positions with an MBA — as if the Businessweek study, which found an MBA does not have a causal relationship with professional success, was not convincing

enough.

Do you want some more proof that an MBA will not get you there? If you look at the degrees of CEOs of the CAC 40 (the main stock exchange index in France), you will see that the MBA is nothing but an “optional” degree.

In some companies, it is still desirable to climb the corporate ladder.

These companies represent a very low percentage of the companies in the market, and you do not need an MBA if your biggest ambition in life is to climb to a top management position.

But let’s go back to the topic that interests you: how to be rich. If you want to be rich, you must be an entrepreneur, investor, or both. By a simple matter of statistics, your probability of becoming a rock star, sports star, or Standard & Poor’s CEO are very low (and believe me, the MBA will not increase your probability of becoming a Standard & Poor’s CEO).

The richest men in the world are entrepreneurs and do not have MBAs. Many of them have no degree at all or quit college when they realized that it was only teaching them to be employees

and to obey.

Today these people hire the ones who have degrees. Consider the cases of Mark Zuckerberg with Facebook, Bill Gates with

Microsoft, Steve Jobs with Apple, Amancio Ortega with Zara–Inditex, Richard Branson with Virgin, or Ingvar Kamprad with Ikea.

And there are a lot of anonymous rich men and women who have never sat in a college classroom to learn how to be corporate slaves.

…and 15 businesses you can start with N1million or less (1) phone system, and Internet connection are your lifeblood in this industry. If you already own the relevant machines, make sure you have the means to pay for good connections on a monthly basis.

Many virtual assistants come from a non-virtual (on-the-job) background.

Recurring expenses: A good Internet and phone connection.

Subscription fees for job-finding services such as ELance.

Time/energy requirement: You will need a solid business plan, marketing strategy, and training.

At the beginning, you may work between 14-18 hours per day.

Income potential: Most virtual assistants make money per hour, according to this survey.

A

re you serious about starting a business, but lack the big bucks? Before you take out a bank loan, consider that you can start a number of businesses for as little as several hundred dollars. We’ve compiled a list of 15 proven businesses that you can start for N1,000,000 or less in overhead.

Some require little outlay, but lots of time; others require more energy; still others don’t require much at all. One of the business

ideas below might just be your next big thing.

Virtual assisting: Virtual assistants help clients with a variety of projects from their home offices. Tasks may be administrative, but can also relate to marketing, Web design, IT, and other tasks. Virtual assistants communicate with their clients via Internet, phone, or fax.

Overhead: Your computer,

App development Apps are taking over the world!

If you have a propensity for Web development, enough skill to work in various platforms (iPhone, iPad, Droid, etc.), it’s time to mine the app craze.

Overhead: N500,000 – N1,000,000 Many companies now exist that will take your amazing Smartphone application idea and develop it into a real, sellable app for download. Upfront costs include a development period where they will work with you to best design the application. Most of these companies charge from N200,000 – 400,000 and many keep partial ownership of the application as the developer. But you are also gaining entry into a highly technical marketplace.

Recurring expenses: Ongoing marketing and spreading the news about your app will be your greatest time and money

expenditure. You might consider hiring PR or marketing company familiar with getting new apps reviewed. Make sure that your app is included on the relevant blogs and news outlets who report on new apps.

Time/energy requirement: Not very much if you have the next killer app idea. Filling out some forms and conceptualizing how the app will work is the hard part. Making sure the build

does what you envisioned will be the second. Outside of that, the marketing effort and telling everyone you know about your app will be imperative.

Income potential: Varies wildly.

But, if you have an app priced at $1.99 and 10,000 people download it, you can always spend the N500,000 and start another one. However, even joke apps have sold hundreds of thousands, so it is worth the shot.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

International Can anyone stop the killing in Syria? international_peoplesdailyng@yahoo.com

It’s clear at this point in time that there are no good options for Syria, writes Bishara [AP]

ANALYSIS Marwan Bishara

A

s the last five years have shown us, the bloodier the change, the worse the outcome.

Perhaps I should have seen it coming. I didn’t. I was dumbstruck.

To explain the effects of psychological violence on Syrians, a Syrian scholar gave us an example during the “Conference on Violence and Politics in Contemporary Arab Societies”.

It’s a “personal anecdote” he said, as he moved closer to the microphone. “When I told my sister that she must find a way to escape, she said she wouldn’t/couldn’t move an inch after the beheading of my nephew as he tried to escape the violence.”

As the words echoed in the room, I couldn’t tell if I heard right until I looked at the sympathetic faces around me. In retrospect, the revelation was as sobering as it is shocking.

Most of the academics, intellectuals and journalists who gathered here in Tunis this week, have had first hand experience with violence. Iraqis, Algerians, Libyans, Palestinians, Egyptians, and others shared similar insights, shaped in no small part by a bitter dose of realism.

They prescribed remedies to the imploding situation in the region (which I will discuss separately), but no one had illusions about the monumental challenges ahead. Not even the Tunisian attendees.

Not least for Syria and Syrians.

Unlike those Arab intellectuals, who are mindful of human suffering, the regional and international leaders involved in Syria have proven to be either terribly insensitive or outright psychopaths. In other words, they clearly don’t care how their policies harm ordinary people.

Saving Assad The choice was clear from the outset: sacrifice Assad to save Syria, or sacrifice Syria to save Assad.

The regime embraced the latter to preserve itself and more than 100,000 Syrians died in the process.

No regrets, no hesitation. None whatsoever.

When it failed, Iran and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah stepped in to save the Assad regime, and in the process another 100,000 or more died. No worry, no sorry. None.

As that effort also failed, and the regime continues to bleed, Russia has stepped in under the same pretext: Only by saving Assad could the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) be defeated and Syria saved, contends President Putin.

So, will 100,000 more Syrians die to show that Assad can no longer

rule over Syria?

Filling the void Ever since President “No Drama” Obama decided to back off from his threat to hit the Syrian regime following its use of chemical weapons, the American president has argued, rather poorly, that it was in Syria’s best interest not to interfere; that outside involvement was no remedy for the country’s civil war.

But instead of putting the US’ weight behind a political solution, he chose to start a long-term bombing campaign against ISIL - 6,000 sorties and counting. To no avail, alas. In the process, ISIL has become an alibi for who’s who to interfere in Syria as long as they steered away from the regime.

And Syria, Iraq, and the entire Middle East region re-emerged as the landscape for a renewed socalled “war on terror”, where the US led the way and Assad, Rouhani, Sisi, and Abbadi are privileged members.

Russia saw an opportunity and stepped in rather aggressively to reshape the scramble for Syria.

Is Moscow acting unilaterally

“

to take ownership of the Syrian regime? Is it complicit with Iran to expand its influence in the region?

Or, is it coordinating its actions with Washington to pave the way for a political solution?

Bad to worse Russia could be taking the military lead in order to spearhead a diplomatic process that bridges the Iranian-American divide over Syria; one that phases out Assad but preserves the regime (along with the Russian-designated “healthy” part of the opposition) under its tutelage. Lacking any credibility among Syrian opposition, if Russia has such wishes, they could prove mere wishful thinking. That is unless the commitment to remove Assad & Co is ironclad.

Russia could also be trying to phase out Iran or partake in its influence over the Syrian regime following the signing of the nuclear deal. If it’s true, Moscow will discover, sooner rather than later, that it can’t succeed where Tehran has already failed. In the process, many more will die in vain.

(Speaking of another Afghanistan

It’s clear at this point in time that there are no good options for Syria; that the sweetest among all plausible scenarios is bitter. But the record also shows thatquick and peaceful transition as here in Tunisia has proven the least costly among the Arab nations

might be premature, but then, who could have imagined we would be here five years ago?)

Lastly, Russia might also be taking advantage of Western indifference towards Syria by aligning their strategies with Tehran in support of the Syrian regime. Such scenario will prove most costly to Syria and Syrians as the country continues to fall apart.

Which of these scenarios is most plausible is unclear. But if US leaders continue to play innocent (read stupid) and Europeans continue to play catch up, Russia’s foul play is sure to pave the way for another bitter and bloody chapter in Syrian history.

Tunis to Syria It’s clear at this point in time that there are no good options for Syria; that the sweetest among all plausible scenarios is bitter. But the record also shows thatquick and peaceful transition as here in Tunisia has proven the least costly among the Arab nations, while on the other hand, the protracted and violent change in Syria is deadly and destructive.

Indeed, the last five years of turmoil, like the previous 50 years of dictatorships, have taught us that the bloodier the change, the worse the outcome, and the longer the wait, the more complicated the change.

Marwan Bishara is the senior political analyst at Al Jazeera.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

Source: Al Jazeera

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23,

Page

International

Burkina Faso coup leader Gen Diendere defies ultimatum

South Africa appeals after ‘genitals found in Danish man’s freezer’

S

outh Africa’s police are appealing for information after arresting a Danish man alleged to have had suspected genitals from 21 women in his freezer.

Peter Fredekrisen, who owns two gun shops in Bloemfontein, is facing charges including sexual assault, intimidation and domestic violence.

The 58-year-old allegedly sedated his victims before operating on them, the police said.

Mr Fredekrisen was not asked to plead at his first court hearing on Monday.

Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, from South Africa’s special Hawks police investigation unit, told the BBC the suspect would remain in custody until he was able to apply for bail next Monday.

Police believe most of his alleged victims may have come from neighbouring Lesotho.

The BBC’s Milton Nkosi in Johannesburg says Mr Fredekrisen was arrested last week following a tip-off.

The suspected genital parts were found in his freezer, all neatly labelled in plastic bags with a date, the name of a woman and where she was from, he says.

Anaesthetic drugs and a surgical doctor’s operating equipment were also found at his house, police say.

Brigadier Mulaudzi said police wanted alleged victims to come forward to help with investigations.

Officers want to establish how the women were lured to South Africa, as well as the man’s motives, he said.

According to the police statement, Mr Fredekrisen is wanted by police in Denmark for alleged illegal dealing in firearms.

The police alleged that Peter Fredekrisen is wanted by Danish police for illegal dealing in firearms

Both the police and army have opposed the power grab

B

urkina Faso’s coup leader has defied an ultimatum to step down, saying his forces will retaliate if attacked.

Army chiefs had given Gen Gilbert Diendere a 10:00 GMT deadline to surrender or face an assault.

The army has ordered anticoup protesters in the capital, Ouagadougou, to return home, amid fears of fighting.

Gen Diendere seized power last week with the backing of the presidential guard, but the army has remained loyal to the deposed government.

Its troops have entered the capital, vowing to retake it.

The European Union (EU) has called on the presidential guard

to immediately lay down their weapons to avoid bloodshed.

Army chief of staff Pingrenoma Zagre told France 24 news channel that he was in contact with Gen Diendere, and wanted to avoid conflict.

He added that he was awaiting “instructions” from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) regional body, which had put together a peace plan for the former French colony.

Regional leaders are holding crisis talks in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, to discuss it.

At least 10 people have been killed and more than 100 injured since the coup in clashes between the presidential guard and protesters.

Fear are growing in Ouagadougou that fighting could erupt between the army and presidential guard, reports the BBC’s Maud Jullien from the city.

Gen Diendere seems to be backed into a corner by international and national pressure.

Many people in the capital support the army. However, they feel betrayed by Ecowas’ peace plan, which would give Gen Diendere and his troops full amnesty, and allow candidates of former ruler Blaise Compaore to run for presidency in elections to be held by the end of November.

Residents I spoke to say the general has blood on his hands, and he and the presidential guards do

Egypt ‘demolishes thousands of homes’ for Sinai buffer zone

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gypt has demolished more than 3,255 homes and other buildings in the Sinai peninsula in violation of international law, Human Rights Watch says.

Troops began razing homes along the Gaza border in 2013 to create a “buffer zone” and eliminate smuggling tunnels, after a surge in attacks by militants.

But those evicted are given little or no warning, no temporary housing and inadequate compensation, HRW alleges.

The Egyptian government insisted that residents supported the demolitions.

Jihadist groups based in North Sinai, including an affiliate of socalled Islamic State (IS), stepped up their attacks after the military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.

More than 3,600 civilians, security personnel and militants have

been killed in the ensuing violence more than two-thirds of them since the government announced plans for the buffer zone in October 2014 HRW cited media reports and official statements as saying.

So far, the military has destroyed nearly all buildings and farmland within about 1km (0.6 miles) of the Gaza border using uncontrolled explosives and earth-moving equipment, according to analysis of satellite imagery, videos and interviews with residents by HRW detailed in a report released on Tuesday.

The military aims to eventually clear an area of about 79 sq km (30 sq miles) along the Gaza border, including all of the town of Rafah, which has a population of about 78,000 people, HRW says.

The government says the operation will allow the military to close smuggling tunnels it alleges are

used by jihadists to receive weapons, fighters and logistical help from Palestinian militants in Gaza.

But HRW said little or no evidence had been offered to support this justification, citing statements from Egyptian and Israeli officials that suggested weapons were more likely to have been obtained from Libya or captured from the Egyptian military.

HRW also said the authorities had provided residents with little or no warning of the evictions, no temporary housing, mostly inadequate compensation for their destroyed homes - none at all for their farmland - and no effective way to challenge official decisions.

It concluded that such actions violated protections for forcibly evicted residents laid out in UN and African conventions to which Egypt is a party, and might also have violated the laws of war.

not deserve amnesty.

“We are waiting to see what this agreement will be in Nigeria and if it is not acceptable we will take hold of our own destiny. The future of this country belongs to us,” one man said.

Gen Diendere staged the coup after opposing moves to integrate the presidential guard into the army.

Speaking at a press conference in the capital, he said he did not want bloodshed, but would defend himself if attacked.

Earlier, an army officer said talks with Gen Diendere had broken down.

“He wants a fight,” said the officer, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity.

Gen Diendere says he will step aside once regional leaders endorse the peace plan at their summit.

He has released the interim president and the prime minister, following talks brokered by mediators.

France’s ambassador to Burkina Faso, Gilles Thibault, tweeted that interim President Michel Kafando, who was arrested last Wednesday, was now at the ambassador’s residence.

In an interview with BBC Afrique, the general apologised to the nation for staging a coup, saying it was “the least we could do”.

“Ready to surrender? We are not there yet... We wish to continue the discussions and we say to all that we are ready to implement Ecowas’ decisions,” said Gen Diendere, who once served as chief of staff to Mr Compaore.

Somali car bomb kills six near presidential palace

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car bomb has exploded at the gate of Somalia’s presidential palace in the capital Mogadishu killing at least six people, witnesses say.

A conference debating the nature of Somalia’s election in 2016 had just ended in the compound.

Presidential guards and a Turkish national are believed to be among the dead, as most delegates had left.

It is not yet known who carried out the attack but the Islamist group al-Shabab has targeted the palace before.

Al-Shabab lost control of Mogadishu in 2011, but often carries out attacks in the city.

The presidential palace is the seat of government and many top government officials live and work there.

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he senior Nato commander in Afghanistan has denied reports that the Pentagon ordered US troops to overlook the sexual abuse of young boys by Afghan police and militias.

Gen John Campbell said in a statement that he had served multiple tours in Afghanistan and no such policy existed.

The allegations emerged in the New York Times on Sunday.

The paper based its report on accounts from numerous soldiers

and the father of a marine who was killed in 2012.

“My son said that his officers told him to look the other way because it’s their culture,” Gregory Buckley Sr was quoted by the New York Times as saying.

The paper said that rampant sexual abuse of children has long been a problem in Afghanistan, especially among armed commanders in rural areas.

Citing interviews with numerous military witnesses, it

International said that the practice is called bacha bazi, literally meaning “boy play”, and US soldiers and Marines were ordered not to intervene even in those cases where Afghan allies abused boys on military bases.

“Soldiers and Marines have been increasingly troubled that instead of weeding out paedophiles, the American military was arming them in some cases and placing them as the commanders of villages - and doing little when they began

abusing children,” the paper said.

It said that the US nonintervention policy was intended to maintain good relations with the Afghan police and militia units trained by America to fight the Taliban.

“It also reflects a reluctance to impose cultural values in a country where pederasty is rife, particularly among powerful men, for whom being surrounded by young teenagers can be a mark of social status,” it said.

Yemen crisis: President Hadi returns to Aden from exile Y

emen’s president has returned to the southern city of Aden after six months in exile, his office says.

Officials at the city’s airport confirmed a plane carrying Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi had landed on Tuesday.

A government source told the Reuters news agency Mr Hadi would spend the festival of Eid al-Adha in Aden before flying to New York to address the UN. He fled Aden in late March as Houthi rebels advanced on the city, triggering air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition.

In July, pro-government militiamen and soldiers drove the Houthis and allied army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh out of Aden with the help of coalition ground forces.

However, residents have complained that Aden has descended into chaos and lawlessness, with jihadist militants affiliated to alQaeda and Islamic State seen on the city’s streets, and that the local authorities have been slow to restore services.

Security around Aden’s airport was increased ahead of the president’s return, with armoured vehicles reportedly surrounding the facility and checkpoints put in place.

“The return of his excellency the president to Aden comes after an absence that has lasted for six months

A ground offensive by forces loyal to President Hadi appears to have stalled in Marib province

amid the brutal aggression which has been carried out by the militias loyal to the Houthis and Saleh on the city of Aden,” the Associated Press quoted a statement by Mr Hadi’s office as saying.

The president was expected to meet members of the cabinet, local officials and military and security leaders in the coming days.

Last week, Prime Minister Khaled Bahah returned to Aden with seven ministers to take up residence, and acknowledged the government faced major challenges.

The UN says almost 4,900 people, including more than 2,200 civilians, have been killed in fighting on the ground and air strikes since 26 March.

Earlier, medics said at least 20 people were killed when coalition warplanes bombed two buildings in the capital Sanaa, which the rebels overran a year ago.

The identity of the casualties was not clear. One security source saying they were mostly Houthis, but the rebel-controlled Saba news agency said they were civilians.

Asia & Middle East India to buy Boeing Apache and Chinook helicopters

I

ndia’s cabinet has approved a $2.5bn (£1.7bn) deal to buy 37 military helicopters from the US aviation company Boeing.

The news comes ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US later this week.

India will buy 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15 Chinooks to replace ageing Soviet-era aircraft.

The purchase strengthens the status of the US as one of India’s top military suppliers.

The Indian Air Force picked the Apache and Chinook helicopters over Russian competitors in 2012, but budget constraints had held back the deal until now.

The cabinet committee on security, headed by Mr Modi, gave the green light for the deal on Tuesday.

The US and Indian governments are now negotiating a series of defence collaboration projects, according to the Reuters news agency.

Mr Modi will meet US President Barack Obama on the fringes of the UN General Assembly in New York.

“This visit seeks to build on the substantial ground covered during my last visit to USA and President Obama’s visit to India early this year,” he said, according to Press Trust India.

While in the US, Mr Modi will also visit Facebook headquarters for talks with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook has more than a million monthly active users in India.

Protesters reclaim public space in Beirut

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eirut - On Sunday night, Ali was busy serving coffee from a makeshift stall fixed to the back of a scooter on the corner of Martyr’s Square in downtown Beirut. At his feet lay two large coolers containing bottles of iced water.

Within five minutes, he had sold nine cups of coffee and 12 bottles of water before taking a quick break to call a friend waiting on a scooter nearby to replenish his stock. Between serving customers, Ali, 64, reflected back to the times he spent in downtown Beirut and at

Martyr’s Square before Lebanon’s 15-year civil war that began in 1975.

“When I was a child, my father brought me to Beirut to show me downtown,” said Ali, who grew up in a small village near Marjayoun in southern Lebanon.

“It was a centre of activity and commerce before the war. There were street vendors, trams, cafes, banks and cinemas, and a pleasant park. I remember it fondly.”

Across the street from where he stood, two ice cream vans were also thriving, while further down the street, vendors flogged ka’ak

warmed by the embers of dying coals, and potato crisps, freshly fried by the roadside.

Street vendors have become an increasingly significant presence in downtown Beirut since protests, which are targeting the state’s failure to solve the city’s waste crisis and Lebanon’s broader political malaise, began in late July.

On Tuesday, a third round of national dialogue, due to be held at the Lebanese parliament, was expected to attract another wave of anti-government protests.

During Lebanon’s civil war,

Beirut’s downtown area - once a thriving cosmopolitan hub and officially known as the Beirut Central District (BDC) - became the main dividing line between east and west Beirut.

The BDC became a graveyard of abandoned buildings, sniper posts, and concrete and sand barriers, as local neighbourhoods in both east and west Beirut became increasingly self-contained as the war rumbled on.

In recent weeks, as large crowds of protesters have gathered at Martyr’s Square, interactions

between people from different backgrounds and social strata have inspired nostalgia for the cosmopolitan city centre, as depicted in old sepia photographs displayed in many of the capital’s bookshops. And on Facebook pages, Lebanese residents have bemoaned Beirut’s loss of its architectural heritage.

The post-war reconstruction of Beirut’s downtown was handled

by Solidere, a private development company founded by Lebanon’s second post-war Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

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International

France’s La Pen to be tried over anti-Muslim incitement F ar-right leader faces charges of provoking racial hatred after comparing Muslim street prayers to Nazi occupation.

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Front, has been ordered to stand trial in October on charges of inciting racial hatred after comparing Muslim street prayers to the Nazi occupation, legal sources have said.

Le Pen told the AFP news agency on Tuesday that she would attend the trial. “Yes, of course. I wouldn’t miss such an occasion,” she said.

She was charged in July 2014 after her immunity as a member of the European Parliament was lifted following a vote over her controversial statements.

Le Pen was campaigning to take over leadership of the FN from her father in December 2010 when she made the comparison, complaining that there were “ten to fifteen” places in France where Muslims worshipped in the streets outside mosques when these were full.

“I am sorry but for those who like talking a lot about World War II, if it comes to talking about the Occupation, we can talk about it, because that (Muslims praying

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Muslims pray in the streets of France during Friday prayers when the mosques are full [Reuters]

on the street) is the occupation of territory,” she told a crowd in the eastern city of Lyon.

“It is an occupation of part of the territory, suburbs where religious law is applied. Sure, there are no armoured vehicles, no soldiers, but it is an occupation

nonetheless and it weighs on residents.”

After the comments, which provoked outrage in France, Le Pen, leader of the third largest party in the country, was investigated for inciting racial hatred but the probe was later closed with no result.

But a complaint by an association led to a judicial enquiry which was opened in January 2012, leading to the charges.

Islam is the second largest religion in France, with up to 10 percent of the population following the faith.

$750.

The pill costs about $1 to produce, but Mr Shkreli, a former hedge fund manager, said that does not include other costs like marketing and distribution, which have increased dramatically in recent years.

In the UK, the National Health Service is the main buyer and prices are set through a voluntary scheme between manufacturers and the government, trying to strike the right balance of serving patients and generating money to keep the drug pipeline going. Profits are capped to stop prices creeping too high.

In the US, the buyers are private insurance companies as well as the

government through the Medicare and Medicaid system. It’s a market and prices can go up and down, depending on what people are willing to pay.

In recent years, pharmaceutical research and development has slowed and companies have to think carefully about what they invest in.

Blockbusters such as Viagra pull in money, but orphan drugs for rare diseases can be less attractive. Not many patients use them, and so turning a profit may be difficult.

What’s a fair price for a drug?

Read more “We needed to turn a profit on this drug,” Mr Shkreli told Bloomberg TV. “The companies before us were actually giving it

away almost.”

He says the practice is not out of line with the rest of the industry.

“These days, modern pharmaceuticals, cancer drugs can cost $100,000 or more, whereas these drugs can cost half a million dollars. Daraprim is still underpriced relative to its peers,” he told Bloomberg TV. On Twitter, Mr Shkreli mocked several users who questioned the company’s decision, calling one reporter “a moron”.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America, the HIV Medicine Association and other health care providers wrote an open letter to Turing, urging the company to reconsider.

Migrant crisis: EU ministers approve disputed quota plan

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U interior ministers have approved a controversial plan to relocate 120,000 migrants across the continent over the next two years.

It will see migrants moved from Italy, Greece and Hungary to other EU countries.

Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary voted against accepting mandatory quotas.

After the vote, Slovakia’s prime minister said he would not accept the new quotas.

Finland abstained from the vote.

Poland, which had opposed the proposal, voted for it.

US woman held in China for six months ‘for stealing state secrets’

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US pharmaceutical company defends 5,000% price increase he head of a US pharmaceutical company has defended his company’s decision to raise the price of a 62-year-old medication used by Aids patients by over 5,000%.

Turing Pharmaceuticals acquired the rights to Daraprim in August.

CEO Martin Shkreli has said that the company will use the money it makes from sales to research new treatments.

The drug treats toxoplasmosis, a parasitic affliction that affects people with compromised immune systems.

After Turing’s acquisition, a dose of Daraprim in the US increased from $13.50 (£8.70) to

Europe and Americas

The BBC’s Europe correspondent Chris Morris said it was highly unusual for an issue like this - which involves national sovereignty - to be decided by majority vote rather than unanimous decision.

The matter must now be ratified

by EU leaders in Brussels on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the Czech government warned that the plan was unlikely to work, even if it gained approval.

The UN refugee agency said the scheme would be insufficient, given the large numbers arriving in Europe.

“A relocation programme alone, at this stage in the crisis, will not be enough to stabilise the situation,” , UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said.

The number of those needing relocation will probably have to be revised upwards significantly, she said.

The UN says close to 480,000 migrants have arrived in Europe by sea this year, and are now reaching European shores at a rate of nearly 6,000 a day.

Under the EU’s constitution, a country that does not agree with a policy on migration imposed upon

it could have the right to appeal to the European Council - if it feels “the fundamental principles of its social security or legal system are under threat”.

None of the countries that voted against the plan has yet indicated whether they would appeal.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico said he would not implement the quotas as long as he was in office.

The Czech interior minister Milan Chovanec tweeted: “Very soon we will realise the emperor has no clothes. Today was a defeat for common sense.”

n American woman has been held by authorities in China for the past six months accused of stealing state secrets, her husband has revealed.

Sandy Phan-Gillis’s husband Jeff Gillis said he decided to go public about her circumstances ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the US. China’s Fore ign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei confirmed the investigation in a regular briefing on Tuesday.

The US government has not commented. Her family deny the allegations.

The New York Times reports that she has now been formally arrested, citing her husband and lawyer.

Mrs Phan-Gillis, a naturalised American born in Vietnam, was detained in March, during a trade visit to promote the Texan city of Houston.

According to Save Sandy, a website campaigning for her release, she has spent six months in so-called “residential detention”, which it equates to house arrest.

Her husband says she is now being moved to a more secure facility.

Hong Lei said on Tuesday that Mrs Phan-Gillis was “suspected of carrying out activities endangering national security, and is currently being investigated by relevant departments”.

“We hope that the outside world will respect China’s handling of this case according to law,” he added.

Mrs Phan-Gillis was president of the Houston Shenzhen Sister City Association and consulted for Chinese and US businesses.

At the time of her detention, she was travelling with Ed Gonzalez, who led the trade delegation on behalf of Houston’s mayor, as well as Chief of Staff Jerry Peruchini, Houston businessman Vincent Chau and Chinese businessman Gary Ge. Mr Gonzalez told the BBC “there was nothing out of the ordinary” about the trip but described the sequence of events as they left China as “bizarre”.

They had been travelling around China for about a week when the group went through immigration control at the border between Guangdong and Macau, in Zhuhai, on 19 March.

The group became separated, regrouping on the other side - without Mrs Phan-Gillis.

After eventually moving on without her, a message was sent from her phone saying “something to the effect of ‘I’m going to stay behind, to take care of personal matters’,” Mr Gonzalez said.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23,

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It’s not just a movie... I was left for dead on Everest: The bone-chilling true story behind the epic new film... told by a hero who paid a terrible price for his survival

By Beck Weathers

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welve climbers died in a terrifying blizzard on Everest on May 10, 1996 • Beck Weathers escaped but has been permanently scarred by frostbite • In the new movie ‘Everest’, the American climber is played by Josh Brolin • Here, he tells how he defied nature, his own demons and death itself It is of one of the darkest tragedies in mountaineering history – the deaths of 12 climbers in a terrifying blizzard near the summit of Everest in May 1996.

American doctor Beck Weathers was twice left for dead, but survived – thanks to a vision of the family life he nearly lost.

Now the disaster has been turned into a film starring Josh Brolin as Weathers, and co-starring Keira Knightley, Jake Gyllenhaal and several other big Hollywood stars.

Here, Weathers tells how he defied nature, his own demons and death itself…

On May 10, 1996, high in the ‘Death Zone’ of Mount Everest, I vaguely remember dying. The cold anaesthetised me and I gradually faded away. The following day, as the sun descended towards the horizon, I came back from the dead and opened my eyes.

That is a mystery and a miracle which I still don’t understand.

I struggled to my feet. I was lost.

I was almost blind. My hands were frozen. My face had been destroyed by the cold. I had not eaten for three days, or had water for two. I remember moving into the wind, praying for deliverance but gradually coming to understand that I wasn’t going to make it through this thing alive. I looked up and I realised that in one more hour as darkness descended again, I would simply kneel and accept the cold moving through me one last time.

I had fallen into climbing in response to crushing depression that began in my mid-30s. The black dog slunk away, yet mountaineering

American doctor Beck Weathers, pictured with his wife Margaret, was one of a group of climbers caught in a terrifying blizzard near the summit of Everest in May 1996 became my obsession. When my wife, Peach, warned I was betraying the love of my family, I listened but did not hear her. I emotionally abandoned them and am eternally grateful they did not abandon me.

May 10 began auspiciously for me. I was battered from the enormous effort to get within 3,000ft of Everest’s summit, but I was as strong as any 49-year-old amateur mountaineer can expect to be and was hell-bent on testing myself against the ultimate challenge.

We had reached High Camp the previous afternoon to find four separate groups in a dozen tents bivouacked in preparation for the final assault. I was secretly grateful we couldn’t climb further that day – I was bound to feel better the next morning. This was rank

The biographical adventure thriller is due to be released on September 18 and is expected to tell the tale of the climbers’ attempted descent

self-deception. I wasn’t going to get any stronger. They call it the Death Zone because above 25,000ft the mountain slowly kills you, whether or not you leave your tent.

At about 10pm, the gale blew itself out. ‘Guys,’ said our New Zealand guide Rob Hall, ‘we’re going for it!’ We put on our oxygen masks and down suits.

It was an exquisite evening as we moved across the South Col towards the summit face. It was ten below zero, quite warm for a big mountain, and the stars shone brilliantly.

There was nothing to it, really.

Just keep ploughing on. Step and rest, hour after endless hour.

Halfway to the top, I realised with deep annoyance that I couldn’t

see properly. The previous year, I had had a cornea operation to correct near-sightedness. Unknown to me, a cornea thus altered will flatten at this altitude, rendering you effectively blind in poor light.

I wasn’t worried. Daylight would restore my vision.

As the sun rose, I headed upwards – until I wiped my face with an ice-crusted glove, lacerating my right cornea. It was 7.30am on a perfect day and I was stuck on a promontory called the Balcony, about 1,500ft below the summit. Rob told me: ‘If you can see in 30 minutes, climb on. If you can’t, promise to stay here until I come back.’

It didn’t enter my mind that he might never come back.

By noon, three of our group descended: a bottleneck of climbers meant that they could not reach the summit. I should have gone down with them, but I had promised to stay put.

I expected Rob no later than 3pm. When 5pm came and went, I began to worry. As the shadows lengthened and it got colder, I realised I had stayed too long. I was blind again and trapped.

I recognise now that I was becoming dangerously hypothermic.

The water bottles inside my jacket froze solid against my chest. Then Jon Krakauer from my party came along, plainly exhausted. Rob was at least three hours behind him, which meant that all deals were off.

Krakauer offered to help me down but I said I’d wait for another guide, Mike Groom, who was 20 minutes behind. I think Jon heaved a sigh of gratitude.

After half an hour passed, Mike arrived with Yasuko Namba, who had reached the summit, but looked like a walking corpse.

Fortunately, members of a different group arrived. They were close to the limit, but Yasuko and I were the acute problems.

The damage to Weathers’ face and hands, which had to be wrapped in bandages, was almost immediately apparent after the incident Descending a mountain is a lot

more dangerous than climbing up, so Mike short-roped me. One end went around my waist, and 20ft behind was Mike, using the rope to stabilise me. It was nearly 6pm.

I moved forward, but stepped on thin air and came whipping down.

The rope snapped taut, pulling Mike off his feet. We jammed our ice axes into the hill to stop the fall.

This happened twice more, but except for some rips in my suit I was fine – and heartily relieved to reach the South Col. In less than an hour we would be in our tents at Camp Four, drinking hot tea.

But as we all began to move, we heard that throaty rumble come surging up the mountain. Suddenly, a blizzard detonated all around us. It crescendoed into a deafening roar.

A thick wall of clouds boiled across the South Col, wrapping us in white until the only visible objects were our headlamps, which seemed to float in the maelstrom.

We were wrapped in a howling cloud laced with ice pellets. We couldn’t see our feet and it quickly became incredibly cold – 60 below.

I grabbed Mike’s sleeve. He was my eyes. I dared not lose contact.

We instinctively herded together, all sense of direction lost. We inched forward until someone shouted: ‘Stop!’ A few more paces and we would have gone down a 7,000ft plunge. But to stand still is to freeze to death, which was already happening to me.

I could no longer feel my right hand. This is normally a fairly simple problem to solve: you take off two of your three gloves and jam the affected hand against your bare chest.

What happened next was a complete shock: the skin on my hand and my arm immediately froze solid.

My outer gloves disappeared.

I didn’t consider my exposed arm – life and death was now the issue.

When the clouds briefly parted, one of the climbers called out: ‘I know where the camp is!’

To be continued

While attempting to reach the summit, Weathers was caught in a blizzard and forced Fellow climbers helped bundle Weathers into a to wait for more than 12 hours in the cold helicopter after he reached the camp so he could before he could descend. Above, Dr Ken Kamler nurses Weathers’ frostbite on Everest be flown to safety

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Digest

Parents ‘must stop checking phones in front of children’

By Sarah Harris

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f you’ve ever checked your smartphone for an email while carving the Sunday roast, it’s not just your fingers you’re putting at risk.

Children are picking up technology obsession from parents and that is beginning to affect their mental health and school work.

Child health education specialist Dr Aric Sigman said mothers and fathers need to act as good role models for youngsters by having ‘screenfree dinners’ and not allowing their technology to ‘amputate’ family conversations.

Dr Sigman, a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, believes areas of family life need to be protected from ‘intrusions by entertainment screens’.

He said heads should also urge parents to slash their children’s ‘excessive’ recreational screen time outside school to no more than two hours a day – the level recommended by health bodies around the world. intervene because ‘screen misuse at home can have an impact on mental health’, which makes it ‘school business’.

He said parents should give their children the ‘gift of boredom’ as it teaches them to entertain themselves.

Dr Sigman will make the claims at a Mental Health

Damaging youngsters’ mental health: Child health education specialist Dr Aric Sigman says parents need to act as good role models by not allowing their technology to ‘amputate’ family conversations

in Schools conference today, organised by charity YoungMinds and Kingston Grammar School.

Speaking ahead of the event at the private boys’ school in London, he said:

‘Headteachers should talk about parental role modelling ... Parents need to look at their own use and how much they do it in front of their children and to set a good example.’

He added: ‘They need to

Alarming: Dr Sigman points to official data showing that, by age seven, children will have watched screens recreationally for nearly one full year of 24-hour days, rising to three full years by the age of 18 (f

discipline themselves to not allow family conversations to be interrupted and amputated.

Because this sends a message to children that the most important thing in your home is to look at a screen, even if someone’s there who wants to speak to you.’

Families should also have ‘screen-free dinners where everything’s put in a technology basket and turned off’.

Dr Sigman added: ‘[Heads] should tell parents they should not be worried about giving their children the gift of boredom – this idea that children will be bored if they don’t have their entertainment screens.

‘Boredom is good for children. It allows them to discover how to entertain themselves.

‘This is a very good life lesson.’

He pointed to official data which shows that by the age of seven, children will have watched screens recreationally for nearly one full year of 24hour days, rising to three full years by the age of 18.

Internet use among 16 to 24-year-olds has also almost tripled in a decade, with these young people now spending more time using media than they do sleeping.

Dr Sigman will say that children’s alertness, concentration levels and moods are affected by ‘excessive discretionary screen time’.

He will say: ‘There comes a point where what goes on at home affects children’s wellbeing at school. We’ve reached that point…and it is now incumbent upon headteachers to intervene.’

A study from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development published yesterday found that teenagers who spend over six hours online before and after school are more likely to be lonely and skip lessons.

They suffer lower emotional well-being than students with more ‘moderate’ internet use.

Source: co.uk

Dailymail.

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sports@peoplesdailyng.com, SMS- 08142929046

Pinnick confers with Hayatou ahead of FIFA presidential race pg42

Gabriel wins appeal against red card pg43 Para athletes lead the way as Nigeria unearth more stars in Congo

Team Nigeria at the All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville

By Albert Akota

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eam Nigeria recorded her best finish in 18 years at the just-concluded African Games in Congo as the country finished second just behind Egypt with a total medal haul of 144 out of which 47 were gold.

The last time Nigeria had it as good or better was when it actually hosted the Games in Abuja in 2003, finishing tops on the final medals table back then.

The placement on the final medals table at the 2015 African Games was surprising for many as expectations in various quarters were quite modest on the eve of commencement of action in Brazzaville.

While sports like football, which continually gulps the bulk of allocations, failed to meet expectations, the para athletes that donned Nigeria’s colours in Congo put up awesome performance; providing a dozen gold medals for Nigeria-the most by any of the sports entered for by the country.

Aside wining gold, the country’s Para Lifting contingent went further: setting as much as five world records, a feat that was not recorded in any other 21 events on parade at the 2015 Games.

The list of record setters has Bose Omolayo, Loveline Obiji and Precious Orji who simply held spectators spell-bound with their brave performances on the final day of competition.

Omolayo, competing in the Women’s up to 79kg, made a lift 137.5kg while Obiji in the Women’s up to 86kg lifted 149kg.

On her part, Orji in the Women’s over 86kg

lifted 164kg to complete a hat trick of records and gold medals.

Nigeria’s Yakubu Adesokan had set the tone with his record making performance in the Men’s up to 49kg category as he lifted a massive 182.5kg to win the first gold medal for Team Nigeria in the Para Lifting event.

A day later, another Nigerian power lifter, Esther Oyema followed suit with a new world record in the Women’s up to 55kg category.

Oyema lifted 133kg to win.

Nigeria failed to do as expected in the football event. Sadly, the country only got a bronze medal in the men’s category while there was no shade of medal for the women.

The Coach of the Nigeria U23 team, Samson Siasia, said happenings in Congo were a pointer that more work still needed to be done especially as the Dream Team VI seek qualification for the Rio Olympics from the Africa U-23 championships billed for Senegal.

“I am totally disappointed; we can’t play like this in Senegal and expect to qualify for the 2016 Olympics, Siasia said while hinting on possible wholesale changes in his squad going forward.

The performance of the Falcons was even more dissappointing as many submit that something drastic is needed to revive the women’s game who were condemned to fourth place in the women’s football event.

As has always been the case in multi events like this, Athletics is always at the front burner for Nigeria and there was no difference in Congo.

Ending up with 10 gold medals, which

put Nigeria top in Track and Field medal standings, was surprising for many as there was so much controversies on the eve of the games in Congo.

After a poor show in Beijing at the world championships, Team Nigeria was hit with series of withdrawals by top stars who claimed the AFN was treating them and handling issues unprofessionally.

The biggest threat came from Blessing Okagbare, accused of feigning injury and was reportedly banned from competing at the Olympics for choosing to skip the All Africa Games.

Okagbare, after several back and forth, made a surprise show in Congo where she helped powered the 4x100m relay team to gold.

However the deed had been done as Nigeria could not record a podium finish in the 100m women’s event for the first time in 50 years.

But rather than focus on the misses, Technical Director of the AFN Navy Capt, Nesiama Omatseye said the Federation remained proud of what was achieved in Congo where the country finished tops in the medals table for athletics.

“I think it is better we look at the positive sides and the marked improvements by our home-based and junior athletes just moving up the ranks,” the AFN technical director said.

“See what Amusan did in the 100m hurdles for women, she is one of our junior athletes we are just grooming; also Kelechi Nwanaga is an home-based athlete we all

camped at our High Performance Center in Port Harcourt and they showed tremendous potentials going forward.

We have laid a good foundation in Congo which we will build on going into the Olympics,” he added.

In his own submission, Alhassan Yakmut, directorgeneral of the National Sports Commission, believes Nigeria should have her eyes on ruling sports in Africa hence should not be carried away with the second place finish.

Amongst other things, Mr, Yakmut highlighted the need for Nigeria to start taking full advantage of sports like swimming and fencing which accounts for a large chunk of medals.

The NSC boss promised that all hands would be on deck to make sure Nigeria no longer play second fiddle in the continental fiesta.

“I’m overwhelmed that we finished strongly placing second behind Egypt. It is worth celebrating but we deserve to be number one in Africa’’.

“It’s a thing of joy to finish second after 18 years but we have the wherewithal to be number one in Africa. We’re not going to celebrate this feat and forget where we should be,’’ Yakmut stated.

Going forward, Yakmut, who was appointed DG less than three months to the African Games, said the NSC would consciously make efforts at building on the perceived area of strengths while also setting the machinery to work on the weak areas.

Team Nigeria displaced South Africa in the second position with its last surge to finish with 47(Gold), 55(Silver) and 42(Bronze) medals behind Egypt’s 85(Gold), 64(Silver) and 68(Bronze).

Although President Muhammadu Buhari has already congratulated Team Nigeria for the feat, it remains to be seen how the Nigerian government will honour the athletes in the days ahead.

PAGE 42

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

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Page 43

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THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.EMMANUEL MAMUDU 2.STEPHEN SHESHI 3.SAMUEL AMAKO 4.JUDAH GANA 5.DR. MICHAEL SHESHI 6.MRS. ROSE MAMUDU 7.MRS. LUCY SHESHI 8.JACOB TSADO 9.BARR. JONATHAN TAIDI THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1.TO PROVIDE FREE MEDICAL SERVICES TO MANKIND IN THE SOCIETY. ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION. SINGED: U. V. EGELAMBA 08069010375

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The general public is hereby notified that the above-named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Major General OluwasegunOlorundareAdeleke - Chairman 2. Engr. AdeniyiOladeinde 3. OluwadamilolaAdeleke - Secretary THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1. To support the education and development of youths for positive change in the society.

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4. To educate women and youths on the need to be self-reliance.

5. To promote moral values in youths and women and their performance in the society.

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The general public is hereby notified that the above-named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts, 1990.

Trustee (1)Josephine.Mwuese Washima - Chairman (2)Gabriel. A.YOUNG. (3)AJAYI SUSAN TOMMIE - Secretary (4)REMiajayi (5) ONYEANULA WILSON IFEANYI Aims and objective.

1.

To create opportunity to the unopportune on the street 2. Toempower and enhance creativity,abilities,talent and skills of IDP’S in the society through empowerment programme 3. Toexpose youths to various entrepreneur,workshop and other skilled opportunities 4. Tolaise with other NGOs Any objection to this application should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, Off AguiyiIronsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

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THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PASTOR DANIEL OLU JEMISI 2. PASTOR BENJAMIN ADE BABAFEMI 3. PASTOR (MRS) SOPHIA NWANNEAMAKA OWOICHO 4. PASTR EMMANUEL OCHE OWOICHO 5. DR. BASSEY NKANA 6. DEACON SUNNY ONARBO 7. SISTER HELEN NGOZIKA ELEKE Aims and objective.

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This is to inform the general public of the loss of original title Documents in respect of; File No. BN11229 at Katampe, File No OD1015 at Katampe, File No. OS444 at Kado, File No. KG13238 at Katampe Extention, File No PL208 at Gwarinpa and File No. AD10614 at Guzape Abuja. Belonging to Abdullahi Chafe. All effort made to trace the said Document proved abortive. General public should please take note. If found, kindly return to the nearest Police Station

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THIS SPACE IS FOR SALE

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THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Ajayi Michael Doyin - Chairman 2. Helen OtseiluIyevbeh 3. His Excellency Ossai Kingsley Chimdi 4. Dr. Amina Marcia Rossell 5. Hon. OkoloDonatusUchechukwu THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1. To engage in humanitarian services.

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CHANGE OF NAME I,FORMERLY KNOWN AS MOHAMMED ALIU JUNIOR. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AS EDDINS MOHAMMED ALIU JUNIOR. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAINS VALID.ALL AUTHORITIES CONCERNED AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE.

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known as MISS Adetola Oluwafunke Fadare, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Adetola Oluwafunke Alade-Fawole. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23,

Sport

Pinnick confers with Hayatou ahead of FIFA presidential race

By Albert Akota

P

Hayatou

Ifeanyi Ubah demands 3 million Naira for Sani Kaita

N

Kaita (right) joined FC IfeanyiUbah after a stint in Moldova

igeria premier league club FC IfeanyiUbah have demanded three million Naira as transfer fee from Kano Pillars for ex-Nigeria star Sani Kaita.

Kaita is set for a sensational return to hometown club Pillars after he dumped IfeanyiUbah over an alleged breach of contract.

And now the Nnewi club have agreed to let go the former international defensive midfielder, but at a princely price of three million Naira.

It was further gathered by AfricanFootball.com that Pillars are willing to pay this amount but would want to do so in installments.

Kaita has featured for clubs in Holland, France and Russia, but lately he has returned to the domestic league to first star for Enyimba before he eventually joined up with IfeanyiUbah.

resident of the Confederation of African Football, Alhaji (Dr) Issa Hayatou has emphasized that Nigeria is a very important nation in African, nay world football, and would always play an influential role at every turn.

At a private meeting with NFF President Amaju Pinnick in Yaounde, Cameroon on Monday, the continent’s football supremo lauded the measures that the present NFF has been taking to rebuild Nigeria football and restore the nation’s glory in the international game.

Pinnick briefed the CAF boss on the various developmental programs of the Nigeria Football Federation, which Hayatou said he was very much aware of.

Africa’s number one football administrator, who is world – governing body, FIFA’s only Senior Vice President, spoke at length on the unity in CAF

- which insinuates that CAF would only support a candidate which has Africa’s interests at heart, for the forthcoming FIFA presidential elections.

The NFF boss then thanked the CAF President and assured him of Nigeria’s steadfastness in support of CAF’s programs.

“As a responsible affiliate body, the NFF will continue to follow CAF’s lead in global football politics and policies.

We have a lot of developmental programs that we are about to unveil, and we will always require CAF’s support,” said Pinnick.

It will be recalled that while setting its conditions for Nigerians aspiring for the highest office in world football, the NFF had made it clear that it would be willing to facilitate meetings with CAF’s top hierarchy for the aspirants. This also formed part of discussions between the CAF President and NFF boss Pinnick on Monday.

Obuh to return to Niger Tornadoes

We have contracts with NFF – Eagles coaches

By Albert Akota

A

ssistant Coaches of the Super Eagles have come out to deny a newspaper report that they have been working without contracts.

Coaches Jean Francoise Luscuito and Salisu Yusuf were at the NFF Secretariat yesterday to express anger at the story that insinuated that the coaches have been working without contracts, and therefore with low morale.

“We have signed our contract papers, and the papers have been handed over to us a long time ago. We do not understand where the story is coming from, because we never spoke to anyone about not having valid contracts, or not having been paid salaries,” Coach Salisu Yusuf said on behalf of Luscuito and goalkeepers’ trainer Alloy Agu. Yusuf continued: “The Head Coach, Sunday Oliseh and ourselves have been working in one accord and there is no problem of motivation. Our commitment to the vision and mission of the present NFF to build a Super Eagles’ team that will re-enact the Golden Era of our football remains unshaken.”

The Eagles’ assistant coaches later met with NFF President Amaju Pinnick to discuss preparations for the Super Eagles B’s 2016 African Nations Championship qualifying fixture against Burkina Faso, coming up next month.

Obuh

T Salisu Yusuf

here are strong indications that Coach John Obuh may well return to promoted Niger Tornadoes source has scooped.

Obuh rose to prominence at the Minna club, who have now made it very clear they plan to reengage the former Flying Eagles coach for the coming season when they would have returned to the country’s top flight league.

Owner of FC IfeanyiUbah

has already confronted Obuh will Tornadoes plans, which the coach said he is unaware of.

“Those who won promotion for Tornadoes have already been informed that Obuh is returning to the club come next season,” a top source hinted.

Obuh is back in charge of IfeanyiUbah following the sensational departure of former Super Eagles assistant coach Daniel Amokachi.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23,

Page

Sport

Gabriel wins appeal against red card

A

rsenal’s appeal against defender Gabriel’s red card during Saturday’s defeat by Chelsea has been successful.

Gabriel, 24, was sent off by referee Mike Dean for violent conduct after a clash with Diego Costa during the Blues’ 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.

The successful appeal means he will now not serve a three-match suspension.

The Brazilian is subject to a separate Football Association charge of improper conduct to which he has until Thursday to respond.

Gabriel did not leave the pitch immediately after receiving his red card, and faces possible sanction from the FA.

Gabriel

Alonso denies allegations of tax fraud

B

ayern Munich midfielder Xabi Alonso has released a statement to deny allegations of suspected tax fraud during his time at Real Madrid.

Spanish publication El Mundo claimed that the former Madrid star was under investigation over allegedly failing to declare his income from image rights between 2010 and 2012.

Ronaldo is Madrid’s only undisputed starter - Benitez

Alonso has since insisted he has always complied with his tax requirements and has vowed to prove his innocence.

In a statement released via his official Twitter account, Alonso said: “Following the information published today by newspaper El Mundo about Xabi Alonso and the Tax Office, the player states the following:

R

afael Benitez says Cristiano Ronaldo is the only guaranteed starter in his Real Madrid side - though he insists the team must always take

priority.

Benitez has deployed Gareth Bale in a more central position this season in order to maximise the impact of the Wales international, who has

struggled to win over sections of the Santiago Bernabeu support during his time in Spain.

Ronaldo, however, remains Madrid’s most potent attacker and has already scored eight times in just five appearances this season, despite much of the rest of the side being rotated so far.

And while Benitez has challenged the remainder of his squad to force their way into his reckoning, he has stressed there is little chance of Ronaldo being rested.

Benitez - who confirmed Sergio Ramos is not fit to return against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday as he recovers from a shoulder injury - is expecting a difficult test at the San Mames.

With 10 points and no goals conceded from the opening four Liga games, Benitez has enjoyed a better record than Carlo Ancelotti or Jose Mourinho at the start of his Madrid tenure, but he believes there is little to read into the stats at this stage of the season.

Benteke to undergo hamstring scan

L Xabi Alonso of Bayern Munich

iverpool striker Christian Benteke will have a scan on the hamstring he injured during the 1-1 draw with Norwich at Anfield.

The Belgium international, 24, has scored two goals in six Premier League appearances this season and was replaced at half-time by Danny Ings, who scored his first goal for the club.

England striker Daniel Sturridge also started after five months out injured.

The Reds host Carlisle in the third round of the League Cup on Wednesday.

Despite the concern over Benteke - a £32.5m signing from Aston Villa in July - first-team coach Gary McAllister praised 23-year-old Ings for getting off the mark in his fourth appearance.

Liverpool are 13th in the Premier League table after picking up just two points from their last four games.

Captain Jordan Henderson broke a bone in his foot in training on Friday but McAllister said “everything went well” with the England midfielder’s operation.

Christian Benteke

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23,

Some Interesting Facts 1. Nigeria’s north (719,000 sq. km), occupies 80% of Nigeria’s land mass. In size it is four times the South.

2. 1st republic Aviation Minister, Chief MbazulikeAmaechi hid former South African President, Nelson Mandela, for six months in Nigeria to evade his arrest by the apartheid regime.

3. Gangsta: In 1984 under the disciplinary Buhari/Idiagbon government, there was a sophisticated attempt to kidnap and repatriate ex-civilian regime minister of transport, UmaruDikko from the UK, anesthetized in a freight crate, for the embezzlement of $1bn under the Shagari regime.

4. Valor: Part of the ‘Forgotten Army,’ Nigerians volunteered to fight with the allied forces among the 81st and 82nd West African Divisions, in the Second World War. 5. The Adubi war in 1918 was a major uprising

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Leisure

by 30,000 Abeokuta Ebga warriors against the colonial government for colonization, taxation and slave labor. One British was killed and rail and telegraph lines destroyed. The British rewarded their soldiers with medals for quelling the uprising. AwapeAdediran a Molashin/ Kingmaker was imprisoned for his active involvement.

6. Activist Mrs.FumilayoRansome-Kuti travelled widely, including to the Eastern bloc (Hungary, USSR and China where she met Mao Zedong).

These interactions angered Nigeria, Britain and America. America called her a communist and refused her a U.S. Visa.

7. Mrs.FumilayoRansome-Kuti, legendary Fela’s mother, was one of the delegates that negotiated Nigeria’s independence in Britain.

8. Once upon a time, the north was the more literate part of Nigeria.

According to Lord Luggard, there were 25,000 Qur’anic Arabic schools with about 250,000 pupils in the north.

9. Sardauna of Sokoto said he preferred foreign workers to Igbo’s because he felt Igbo’s are domineering. This was while Nigeria existed as regions with regional administrations.

10. Kaduna Nzeogwu killed Sardauna in Nigeria’s first military coup.

110. In 1966, a mischievous Igbo owned bakery allegedly made a loaf of bread with a label that depicted Nzeogwu as the Saint in the ‘Saint George and the Dragon’ medieval tale, killing Sardauna, the ‘dragon,’ this labeled bread provoked deadly anti-Igbo riots.

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Culture: The Wodaabe believe bright eyes, white teeth and a sharp nose make a man beautiful and the make up enhances these features.

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QUOTABLE QUOTE The prohibition on the use of knockout or banger is still in force and anyone caught in the act of using these prohibited items will be prosecuted according to the law.

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WEDNESday, SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

SPORTS latest

Amuneke seeks opening win against USA

W

ith barely less than a month to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, Coach of Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets, Emmanuel Amuneke, is pondering how he will win the first match of the competition against USA. The World Cup holds from 17 October – 8 November, 2015.

The Eaglets will open their defence of the trophy won in the United Arab Emirates in 2013 against USA on the first day of the tournament at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago De Chile.

They will play against the hosts, Chile on 20 October at the Estadio Sausalito in Vina Del Mar and the Croatians on 23 October at the Estadio Francisco Sanchez Rumoroso in Coquimbo.

Amuneke who leads his boy on training tour of Argentina yesterday said he is busy preparing for the fixture against USA in the 16th edition of FIFA U-17 World Cup, adding that winning the first match will set the pace for a successful performance in the group stage of the tourney.

The Golden Eaglets are defending champions and record holders in 1985, 1993, 2007 and 2013.

Eto’o wins Golden Foot Award

F

ormer FC Barcelona and Cameroon forward Samuel Eto’o has been awarded the 2015 Golden Foot at a gala in Monaco.

The 34-year-old, who has starred with five goals in his first five games Antalyaspor in Turkey, won the prize awarded to active players above the age of 28 for their contributions both on and off the field.

The retired Cameroon captain joined an illustrious list of former winners and followed last year’s winner Andres Iniesta.

Eto’o is only the second African to win theGoldenFootawardafterDidierDrogba won it in 2013.

Previous winners are Iniesta (2014), Drogba (2013), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2012), Ryan Giggs (2011), Francesco Totti (2010), Ronaldinho (2009), Roberto Carlos (2008), Alessandro Del Piero (2007), Ronaldo de Lima (2006), Andriy Shevchenko (2005), Pavel Nedved (2004) and Roberto Baggio (2003).

Samuel Eto’o

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-Kaduna State Government

Why the law is not on Saraki’s side

T

he news that charges have been filed against the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal was received by many with a shock. The expectation, however, was that the accused would be in haste to clear his name, as honourable men would want to.

On the contrary, Dr. Saraki filed an application before the Federal High Court seeking to stop the scheduled trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal. The application was granted ex-parte.

The ex-parte application and its grant represent the two of the most frustrating avenues through which justice is frustrated and judicial process abused in our country’s courts of ‘justice’.

The fact that the number three man in our political hierarchy is the perpetrator in this case is profoundly disappointing.

More importantly, however, is the fact that the grant of the application was in manifest error of trite law such that keen watchers may be pardoned for suspecting that something underhand was involved in the entire process.

In the first place, no court of law has the powers to interfere with, or in any way restrain the exercise of the judicial powers of another court of co-ordinate jurisdiction. This is trite and well established in accordance with the principles of the doctrine of judicial precedent. In this case, the Federal High Court and the Code of Conduct Tribunal are courts of co-ordinate jurisdiction: appeals from the decisions of the Code of Conduct Tribunal lie to the Court of Appeal (s.23 (4) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act) and appeals from the decisions of a Federal high Court lie to the court of Appeal (s. 243, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999).

In the second place, an injunction restraining the Code of Conduct Bureau is misdirected and therefore, futile. The Code of Conduct Bureau is not a prosecuting authority; under section 3 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, it is merely an administrative and investigative authority and its role in the prosecution of defaulters under the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act is limited to recommending persons for prosecution. The prosecuting authority in respect

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WEDNESDAY Column By

Barr. Idahosa Anthony

Senator Saraki of offences under the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act is the Office of the Attorney General. Thus section 24 (3) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act provides the Attorney General or any one nominated by him may bring charges in respect of offences under the Act. In the third place, it is incorrect for Dr. Saraki to hinge the basis of his ex parte application on the fact that there is no incumbent Attorney General capable of instituting actions against him or any criminal action whatsoever.

This line of legal reasoning, once regularly cited, has since been discredited by the Supreme Court in a number of cases and, most recently, in the case of Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Senator Adewunmi where the Supreme Court, per Umaru Altu Kalgo, JSC said “There is no doubt at all that the power to institute criminal proceedings against any person in the 1999 Constitution lies on the Attorney-General of the State or the Federation as the case may be, but such power may be exercised by the Attorney-

General himself or through any officers of his department. See Sections 174 and 211 of the 1999 Constitution.

These sections though very similar in content do not require that the officers can only exercise the power to institute criminal proceedings if the Attorney General expressly donated his power to them. The provisions of the sections presume that any officer in any department of the Attorney General’s office is empowered to initiate criminal proceedings unless it is proved otherwise”.

Furthermore, section 25(3) provides that the question whether any authority has been given in pursuance of this section requiring the Attorney General to donate his prosecutorial powers under the Act, “shall not be inquired into by any person”.

The decent course for an accused, if he has concerns, is to raise preliminary objection(s) before the tribunal where he has been charged. Dr. Saraki is advised to so do if he is to remain qualified to remain as the number

one lawmaker in this country.

On September 18, 2015, following Dr. Bukola Saraki’s failure to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal as charged, the Tribunal, on the application of the prosecutor, issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Dr. Bukola Saraki.

This power is inherent in any tribunal having the full powers of a court of law, such as the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

Furthermore, sections 2 and 14 of the 3rd Schedule to the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act empower the tribunal to compel the attendance of accused persons and witnesses.

Under section 23 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, if found guilty, the tribunal is empowered to impose any of the following punishments: (a) Vacation of office or any elective or nominated office, as the case may be; (b) Disqualification from holding any public office (whether elective or not) for a period not exceeding ten years; and (c) Seizure and forfeiture to the State of any property acquired in abuse or corruption of office.

Furthermore, trial or conviction under the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act does not preclude a separate trial under any other applicable criminal law (Section 24 Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act).

Barr. Idahosa Anthony is a legal practitioner

DAN GAYE Army arrests soldiers training militants - News

Court marshal him now now!

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