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Vol. 8 No. 78 Wednesday, July 11, 2012 Shaaban 21, 1433 AH N150. . . putting the people first

No mass transferof corps members,

NYSC insists>> PAGE 7

S/Court awards76 oil wells to

Akwa Ibom state

FOI: Ex-SSGdrags Shema, 4others to court

>> PAGE 6>> PAGE 5

Edo guber poll:INEC deploys 8

comms, 10 RECs>> PAGE 37

Salami saga mybiggest regretBy Maryam Garba Hassan

Contd on Page 2

L-R: An elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, representative of FCT Minister, Hajiya Jamila Tangaza, Nigerstate Deputy Governor, Hon. Ahmed Musa Ibeto, and Chairman of the occasion, former Military President,General Ibrahim Babangida, during the book presentation, titled: "The Story of a Humble Life of Tanko Yakasai",yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Outgoing CJN declares:

Bauchigoesbroke

Outgoing Chief Justice ofNigeria (CJN), JusticeDahiru Musdapher, has

described the failure to resolve theissue of the suspension of former

President of the Court of Appeal,Justice Isa Ayo Salami, assomething “I regret very much”.

Justice Musdapher for whoma valedictory Supreme Courtsession has been planned forFriday in Abuja, believes “therewas no reason for the matter to

have arisen in the first place.”Speaking to some editors

Monday night at his officialresidence in Abuja, the retiringCJN said he felt personally hurtbecause the two protagonists –Salami and then CJN AloysiusKatsina-Alu - were both close to

him.“I felt very sad about it; I

wasn’t happy. The two wereclassmates of mine and theyworked under me at one time oranother,” he said. About Salami,in particular, Justice Musdapherdescribed him as a “close family

friend.”However, what appears to

hurt him the most was that thetwo former colleagues of hismisrepresented his role in thewhole matter, which had to dowith governorship election

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

Contd on Page 2

With their total dependence onmonthly handouts from thefederation’s purse, it was only a

matter of time before the bubble bursts in somestates. And it did yesterday…in Bauchi State.

In a development that might soon hit otherstates of the federation, especially those in theNorth, the Bauchi state government yesterdayfell short of declaring itself bankrupt, as itannounced a massive cutback on statutoryofficial commitments on grounds of financialincapacity.

A letter by the Secretary to the Bauchi stategovernment, Ahmed Ibrahim Dandija, sent toall state government offices yesterday in

Bauchi stated: “The current downturn inthe nation’s economy is telling on the stategovernment as a result of dwindling resourcesat its disposal. This has made it very difficultfor the government to meet the competing

CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSNews 2-11

Editorial 12

Op.Ed 13

Letters 14

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Metro 16-17

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Property 25

Arts 29

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Constitution amendmentto rid judiciary ofcorruption, says

Tambuwal, Page 37

WE WANTTO HEAR

FROM YOU

International 31-34

Strange World 35

Digest 36

Politics 37-40

Sports 41-47

Columnist 48

PAGE 2 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

Contd from Page 1

Outgoing CJN declares: Salami saga my biggest regret

Contd from Page 1

Bauchi goes broke

petitions in Sokoto, Ekiti and Osunstates.

According to him, he was inthe office of CJN Katsina-Alu “atone time when Salami came in (todiscuss) the issue of Sokoto electionpetition. Quite honestly, I leftthem at that.”

However, to JusticeMusdapher’s dismay,“eventually, Salami said I wasthere when CJN Katsina-Aluasked him to give evidence (in theSokoto case) in favour of oneparty.”

On his own part, JusticeKatsina-Alu claimed that JusticeMusdapher was his number twoman at the time of the face-offbetween him and Salami over theSokoto election petition.

“I wasn’t number two at thetime”, denied Musdapher. “I wasnumber three; Justice Niki Tobiwas number two. I wasn’t even amember of the National JudicialCouncil (NJC)” that sits on issuessuch as that involving the conflictbetween Salami and Katsina-Alu.

According to him, when hewas asked to testify before acommittee of the NJC that wasinvestigating the allegations andcounter-allegations by Salamiand Katsina-Alu respectively, hefelt “very very bad”. But then “inmy evidence, I spoke the truth as

I knew it.“I did say that I wasn’t there

when Justice Katsina-Alu(allegedly) asked Justice Salamito give judgement in favour of oneparty in the Sokoto election case.How can you do that kind of thinganyway?

“At our level, to enterjudgement in favour of oneperson..., I don’t know. But then,you know...I felt very sad aboutit. I wasn’t happy,” he stressed.

Asked between the Presidencyand the NJC, which of them doesnot want Salami back in hisformer position, Musdapher saidhe was in no position to answerthe question because he was not

in the picture right from thebeginning. “I was away in SaudiArabia on vacation; I wasn’t thereat all, I can’t explain,” he said.

However, he recalled thatwhen he “became number two toCJN Katsina-Alu who wasaccused of dabbling into the Sokotoelection affair and Salami wasaccused of doing same in Ekiti andOsun, I wrote to them as thenumber two man to respond to theaccusations. I did so as a matter ofresponsibility.

“When their responses came tothe NJC, it decided to set up acommittee, headed by formerPresident of the Court of Appeal,Justice Umaru Abdullahi. I decided

demands being made on it”. Consequently, Dandija said,

the government has suspended allawards of new contracts, foreigntrips for training, includingoverseas scholarship award,medical treatment/check up orother official matters “exceptwhere it’s absolutely necessarywith express approval given byGovernor Isa Yuguda”.

Letter number GO/SS/OFF/S/30/V.ll/943 added: “Allunnecessary expenses byministries, departments andagencies must be stopped.

However where there is acritical and urgent need, theaffected ministry must seek andobtain his Excellency’s verbalclearance through the secretaryto the state government”.

The directive also suspendedall requests for review of salariesand allowances by labour unionsand reduced allowances for ad hoc– committees by 50% as well asrestriction on fresh employment.

Our correspondent gatheredthat even the supply ofnewspapers at the GovernmentHouse has been stopped for overtwo weeks because of non-payment of an outstanding debtof about N25,000.

A source even hinted of drytaps in Government House,Bauchi, dried up to last weekTuesday.

The precarious position ofBauchi state, and indeed others inthe North, brings to the fore the

recent call by the Northern StateGovernors Forum (NSGF) for

a review of the national revenuesharing formula.

Currently, the revenueallocation formula is 52.68% forthe Federal Government,26.72% for states and 20.6% forlocal government areas.

Thirteen per cent is also givento the oil-producing states asderivation.

The 13 per cent derivation wasintroduced in 1999 as part ofmeasures aimed at redressing thelong time grievances of oil-producing states of the NigerDelta.

In February, governors fromthe 19 northern states called for areview of the revenue allocationformula “to reflect currentrealities.”

Chairman of the NSGF andGovernor of Niger state, Dr.Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, madethe call in Abuja whileinaugurating the AdvisoryCouncil of Sir Ahmadu BelloMemorial Foundation.

Aliyu described as unfair, asituation where a state like Nigergot between N4.2 billion and N4.5billion as monthly allocationwhile some other states received20 times the amount.

The governor said Niger statespends half of its monthlyallocation on payment of salariesand other overheads. This,according to him, leaves the statewith barely enough to provideinfrastructure and other needs ofthe people.

Aliyu said he and othergovernors of the region hopedthat the revenue allocation wouldbe reviewed before the end of theyear.

Also, governor of the CentralBank of Nigeria (CBN), SanusiLamido Sanusi, had in aninterview with The FinancialTimes of London last January,decried what he termed the lowallocation to Northern states fromthe Federation Account.

Sanusi had linked violence inthe North, particularly theactivities Boko Haram, to theuneven distribution of thecountry’s wealth. He had said thatattempts to redress historicgrievances in Nigeria’s oil-richsouth might have inadvertentlyhelped create the conditions for thesect’s insurgency.

However, governors from theSouth-South governors faultedclaims by their northerncounterparts that the North isbeing cheated by other parts of thecountry in the revenue sharingformula.

The six South-Southgovernors, at their first ordinarysession of the BRACEDCommission Governors’ Councilfor 2012 hosted by the Cross RiverState Government in Calabar saidthe clamour for the alteration ofderivation and revenue sharingformula by the North “wasunfortunate and misplaced”.

In a communiqué read byGovernor Liyel Imoke at the endof the meeting, the governorsregretted the attempt by their

colleagues in the North to link theincreasing insecurity in parts ofthe country to the issue of 13 percent derivation.

They also questioned “therationale of not exploiting othermineral deposits in different partsof the country while depleting theoil and gas reserves of the South-South.”

Critics have also accused thenorthern governors of unbridledprofligacy in the way they spendtheir ‘paltry’ federationallocations.

Yuguda in particular wasaccused of “extensive andmeaningless overseas travels atthe expense of state matters.”Opposition parties accused him ofabandoning the state due to hisfrequent travels since hisinauguration for a second term onMay 29. They believed that thedevelopment had translated toless democratic dividends for thepeople of the state under hisleadership.

But reacting to theaccusations, Yuguda said it wasnot necessary that the citizens ofthe state must see his face beforehe works for the development ofthe state.

“With or without my face, Iwill do my job, which I am doing.The world is a global village andone does not need to be in aparticular place to be effective. Ican govern the state well fromanywhere,” he said.

The northern governors havealso been accused of beinguncreative in generating morerevenues for their statesinternally.

not to be part of it”, said Musdapher.But then he was asked to giveevidence because both partiesmentioned him in their affidavits.

As it turned out, according toMusdapher, the NJC committee didnot find any of the two guilty of anyoffence but it made norecommendations as to the wayforward.

“Quite honestly, Salami wasn’tcharged with any offence, but whathas happened is that it was theSokoto case that caused hissuspension. That’s why the NJCwants him recalled but it hadalready written a letter to thePresident to compulsorily retireAyo Salami”, he explained.

Fresh attacks in Barkin Ladi, Riyom From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

Unknown gunmen yesterday reportedlylaunched fresh attacks

on Tse and Shong villages inBarkin Ladi and Riyom LocalGovernment.

The attack was carried outless than two hours before thestate government announcedthe reviewed of curfew earilerimposed on Barkin Ladi,Riyom, Jos North and Jos southLGA.

Member representingRiyom constituency in the stateHouse of Assembly Hon. DanielDem confirmed the attack tonewsmen in Jos.

According to him, “I can au-thoritatively confirm to youthat as I am talking to you now,the same gunmen from top ofthe mountain attacked twomore villages. The houses Tseand Shong have all been setablaze and no single house isstanding in these villages".

The Special Task Force

(STF) media and information,Captain Salisu Mustaphahowever said he was notaware of the figure sayingthat in the last attack, resi-dents of those villages desertedthem.

He further disclosed thatSTF heard that some hood-lums invaded the villages andset houses ablaze but werehowever making efforts to ar-rest the hoodlums and bringthem to justice in order to serveas a deterrent to others.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Jonathan receives Belgore’sreport on Constitution review

President GoodluckJonathan has promised towork towards speedy and

fairer administration of justice aswell as creation of an independentlocal government administrationas recommended by the JusticeAlfa Belgore led committee on thereview of Outstanding Issues fromthe Recent ConstitutionalConferences.

Speaking while receiving thereport of the committee at the StateHouse, Abuja, yesterday, thePresident said the presentation of thereport signaled a “defining momentin our quest for the consolidation andentrenchment of democratic idealsin our nation’s political andgovernance processes. It is the dutyof government to focus and mediatethe different perspectives to ourshared vision and forge nationalconsensus and cohesion”.

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem Commenting on the keyrecommendations made by thecommittee, which he said wereunanimous, the President said “Ialso understand that you haveworked hard to develop provisionsfor speedy and faireradministration of justice.

“I am one with you on theseissues, as I believe that fundamentalrights, security of life and property,the protection of the law, andequitable dispensation of justice

Former Chairman, SenateCommittee on Appropria-tion, Senator Iyiola Omisore,

yesterday, exonerated himselffrom the murder of formerAttorney-General and Minister ofJustice, Bola Ige saying that people

who are accusing him should lookelsewhere.

It would be recalled that, ChiefIge was killed by yet to be identifiedgunmen on December 23, 2001at his Bodija residence, Ibadan, theOyo state capital.

According to him, there is alie that has gone on for too long

From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan about the death of Bola Ige, inspite of the court judgment on theissue.

Omisore who was guestspeaker at the Federal RadioCorporation of Nigeria monthlylecture with the theme:“Dividends of Democracy: AreNigerians Being Short-Changed”,

in Ibadan said how the formerAttorney-General died could notcontinue to be a matter ofinsinuations, innuendos andconjectures where facts areavailable saying that the facts hadbeen scrutinised by appropriateand competent bodies andconclusions had been made.

... FG may establish independent local govt systemmust be made real as they greatlyinfluence the average citizen’s senseof obligation and patrioticdisposition towards the nation”.

The President added that hewas delighted about the need forlocal government administrationto be independent, saying “thegreatest asset of our democracy wasthe commitment of people at thegrassroots to the ideals oftransparency, accountability andgood governance.

President GoodluckJonathan has approved theredeployment of five

Federal Permanent Secretarieswho have been given till July 18thto conclude all handing and takingover formalities.

The Head of the Civil Service ofthe Federation, Alhaji Isa Sali,made the announcementyesterday at the PresidentialVilla, Abuja.

Those affected are Mrs. IbukunA. Odusote moved fromEnvironment to Culture, Tourismand National Orientation; Mr.Taye Haruna moved from PoliceService Commission toEnvironment; and Mr. LinusAwute from Interior to Mines andSteel Development.

Others are Mrs. A. M. Daniel-Nwaobia from Culture, Tourism& National Orientation to Interior;Mr. Ossi George Afamefuna fromOffice of the Secretary to theGovernment of the Federation(Special Duties) to Women Affairs;and Dr. Henry E.M. Akpan whowas newly appointed last weekWednesday is now the newPermanent Secretary Office of theSecretary to the Government ofthe Federation (Special Duties).

FG redeploys5 Perm Secs

Tragedy struck yesterday inKano when two staff of thepower Holding Company of

Nigeria (PHCN) got electrocutedwhen they were carrying out somerepairs on a high tension line atYankaba Quarters along HadejiaRoad around 6 pm.

An eyewitness told ourcorrespondent that the victimswere up on the pole when powerwas suddenly restored on the line.

He alleged that this actioncaused the electrocution and theyfell down from the pole as a resultof which one of them died instantlywhile the other was rushed tohospital unconsciously.

PHCN spokesman in Kano,Muktar Baffa, confirmed theincident and added thatmanagement of the company isinvestigating the matter and if theproblem is caused as a result ofnegligence, the culprits will bepunished accordingly.

2 PHCN workerselectrocuted inKanoFrom Bala Nasir, Kano

Again, Omisore denies involvement in Bola Ige’s murder

Justice Charles Archibong of a FederalHigh Court in Lagos has dismissed a suitfiled by some aggrieved shareholders

of Afribank, Spring Bank and Bank PHB,challenging the forceful take-over of theirbanks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)and Assets Management Corporation ofNigeria (AMCON).

The judge dismissed the suit in the face of amotion asking him to disqualify himself fromthe matter on the basis of an alleged bias.

The shareholders – Boniface Okezie,Adeyemi Kehinde, Adebowale Bolanle andCole Alexander had filed the suit on behalf ofthemselves and all the shareholders of thethree defunct banks to challenge the actionof CBN and AMCON in purporting to transferthe assets, businesses and operations of their

banks to Mainstreet, Keystone andEnterprise banks respectively.

Other defendants in the matter includedNigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation(NDIC), Securities and ExchangeCommission (SEC), Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE) and the Minister of Finance, Dr. NgoziOkonjo-Iwaela.

But the shareholders had petitioned theChief Judge of the Federal High Court, JusticeIbrahim Auta, asking him to investigate theconduct of Justice Archibong in the matter.

Meanwhile, Justice Archibong hasdismissed the shareholders’ suit despite thepetition, and another motion asking him todisqualify himself from continuing with thematter. The judge hinged his decision on thegrounds that the suit was unsustainable inaccordance with Section 53 of Banks andother Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA).

Court dismisses suit challenging take-overof Afribank, Spring Bank, Bank PHBFrom Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

The Minister of Education, Prof.Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, has said thatNigeria is one of those countries that

are at risk of being unable to meet theEducation For All (EFA) goal of halvingilliteracy by 2015 unless urgent andaugmented action is taken.

Speaking at the opening ceremony ofE-9 workshop on enhancing publicprivate partnership for literacy in thecountry, Prof. Rufa’i said the LiteracySurvey of 2011 by the National Bureauof Statistics, estimates that 40 millionadult Nigerians are illiterate with only500,000 presently enrolled in adultliteracy classes.

She said Nigeria is the current Chair ofthe E-9 Forum, a group of nine most populouscountries of the world with the highest ratesof illiteracy.

“These realities and other currentnational and international statistics onilliteracy rates in Nigeria as provided in theGlobal EFA Monitoring Reports of 2011, havenear alarming implications and call forurgent action by stakeholders”.

The minister added that the presentadministration has demonstratedcommitment to increasing access to qualityeducation through series of initiativesincluding the recent integration of Qur’anicEducation into the formal system, yet it isunable to meet the full cost of education likeother nations.

By Maryam Garba Hassan

Nigeria set to miss ‘Educationfor All’ by 2015, says minister

L-R: President Goodluck Jonathan, Chairman, Presidential Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, AmbassadorHamzat Ahmadu, and Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, during the presentation of the council's report to the President,yesterday at the State House in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012PAGE 4

Jang relaxes curfew in 4 LGs

Governor Jonah Jang ofPlateau state yesterdayannounced the reviewal of

the curfew earlier imposed on JosNorth, Jos South, Barkin Ladi andRiyom Local Government Areas(LGAs) following Sunday's attackon Barkin Ladi and Riyom LGAs.

It would be recalled thatSenator Gyang Dantong andmajority leader of the state Houseof Assembly Hon. Gyang Fulaniwere consumed in the attack.

The state Commissioner forInformation and Communication,Mr. Yiljap Abraham, in a

statement said “following a reviewof the security situation in the Stateby the Plateau State SecurityCouncil, the Governor, Dr. JonahJang has reviewed the curfewearlier imposed in the four LGAs ofthe state”. According to him, thecurfew would now run from 7pm -6am with effect from today, July10, 2012.

The curfew had spannedbetween 12 noon and 5pm sincethe weekend attacks.

Meanwhile Governor RaufAregbesola of Osun State yesterdayreiterated his call for an urgent endto the wanton killings in thecountry as he described the deathof a senator and a member of the

From Nankpah Bwakan, Jos& Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

House of Assembly in Plateau Stateas “another horrendous dimensionto the growing insecurity in thecountry.”

Specifically, GovernorAregbesola expressed regrets at themassacre of scores of people lastSunday in Barkin Ladi LocalGovernment Area of Plateau stateand the subsequent death ofSenator representing PlateauNorth, Dr. Gyan Dantong and theMajority Leader of the State Houseof Assembly, Hon. James GyanFulani.

The governor, in a statementby the Director, Bureau ofCommunications and Strategy,Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, called for

an urgent halt to what he describedas “mindless destruction of livesand properties.”

The statement noted, “Thedeath of the lawmakers is anothersad pointer to us that we havereached the precipice and unlesswe beat a hasty retreat, we mayall be doomed.

“The dastardly murder ofscores of people in the first place,remains a sad reminder of howbeastly we have turned in ourhandling of conflicts. And morehorrendous was the death of thelawmakers that took place againin the course of the mass burial forthe victims of the heinous raid”,he said.

Insecurity affecting Nigeria's image abroad – AnyaokuBy Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

The Presidential AdvisoryCouncil on Foreign Relationshas expressed worry over

the spate of terrorist attacks in thecountry which it said, is affectingNigeria’s standing in the comity ofnations.

The committee thereforeadvised government to intensify

efforts to restore law and order inevery part of the country.

Former secretary-general ofCommonwealth of Nations, ChiefEmeka Anyaoku who is thechairman of the council, made thisknown yesterday after presentingtwo books on the country’s foreignpolicy to President GoodluckJonathan at the State House,Abuja.

The books are a ‘Compendiumon Nigerian Foreign Policy’ andReview of Nigeria’s ForeignPolicy.

It would be recalled that theHonorary International InvestorsCouncil (HIIC) led by BaronessLynda Chalker last week notedthat terrorism was affecting theflow of Foreign Direct Investments(FDIs) into Nigeria.

“The extent of the insecurityat home it is a drawback to ourforeign policy. But, I believe thatthe President and Governors aredetermined to address the issue andmy hope is that in due course theirefforts will succeed,” ChiefAnyaoku told State Housecorrespondents.

President Jonathan therefore,thanked the chairman and

…These killings must stop, says Aregbesola

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

Justice Gabriel Kolawale of aFederal High Court sitting inAbuja yesterday advised the

federal government to releaseSenator Aliyu Ndume if it is notready to go on with prosecution.

The judge gave the advicewhen a counsel from the office ofthe Attorney-General of theFederation, A. Idaba, asked foradjournment of the case on theground that the Director of PublicProsecution (DPP), Mrs.

Olufunmilayo Fatunde who hasbeen handling the matter ispersonally interested in the case.

Idaba paryed the court for anadjournment of the matter toenable Mrs. Fatunde prosecute thecase herself.

Fatunde, through Idaba, senta letter to the court, asking for anadjournment to enable her appearpersonally.

In his objection to the letter,counsel to the accused person,Mr. Rickey Tarfa (SAN), told thecourt that the application for the

leave of court is just a subsidiaryone and urged the court to denythe application foradjournment.

In his ruling on the applicationfor adjournment, Justice GabrielKolawale, expressed dissatisfactionwith the way the AGF isprosecuting the case.

According to the trial judge,the nature of indictment for whichthe accused person is standing trialis of public interest and should bedetermined expeditiously.

After advising the

government to release the accusedpersons if it has no credible evidenceagainst him, the trial judge,Justice Kolawole, reluctantlygranted the application foradjournment and directed theprosecution counsel to file all thenecessary process and serve thedefence counsel.

Further trial has beenadjourned to July 16, October 24,31 and November 1, 2012.

Federal government had putNdume on trial, for alleged linkwith the Boko Haram sect.

Ndume: Court warns FG against delayed proceedings

The Minister of ForeignAffairs, Olugbenga Ashiruhas restated Nigeria’s

resolve to ensure that Dr. Jean Pingretains his position as the AfricanUnion Chairperson.

The election is billed to holdnext week during the 19th AUSummit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Dr. Ping of Gabon is contestingthe position of the AU Chairpersonwith South Africa’s NkosazanaDlamini- Zuma.

The last election into theposition ended in a stalemate asPing could not get the required 31votes to emerge winner.

Ashiru told State Housecorrespondents yesterday that thecountry’s resolve to back Ping wasin line with the position of theEconomic Community of WestAfrican States (ECOWAS).

“ Nigeria will be there and youknow Nigeria is the natural leaderof that sub-region," Ashiru noted.

According to him, Nigeria willbe presenting a candidate for theposition of AU commissionership.

Nigeria insistson Jean Pingfor AU ChairBy Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

A Federal High Court in Ikoyi,Lagos, presided over byJustice Okon Abang,

yesterday, warned theIndependent Electoral Commission(INEC), over alleged plans toderegister some political partiesbefore a suit challenging thelegality of such action isdetermined.

The judge gave the warning ina suit filed by the NationalConscience Party and a memberof the party, Mr. AgunbiadeTunde.

The court said it would nullifyany action taken by the electoralbody contravening the prayers ofthe plaintiffs in an applicationseeking an injunction against theelectoral body.

The plaintiffs had throughtheir lawyer, Mr. MarcusEyarhono, filed the suitchallenging the powers of INEC toderegister any political party.

They subsequently filed anapplication dated July 3, 2012,seeking an injunction to restrainINEC from deregistering anyparty while the suit was pending.

However, the judge refusedEyarhono’s request for theapplication to be heard yesterday.

Court warnsINEC overmoves toderegisterpolitical partiesFrom Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

Bauchi state Governor, Malam Isa Yuguda (left), answering questions from a journalist on the influx of refugees from neighbouringstates to Bauchi as a result of crisis, after meeting Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, yesterday at the State House in Abuja.

Photo: Joe Oroye

members of “this very noblecommittee for the work they havebeen doing over the period.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs,Olugbenga Ashiru, said the focuswas now on security in the sub-region and the unity of the AU,adding that the foreign policy isnow being channeled towards theattraction of foreign investmentsinto the country.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012 PAGE 5

Kaduna groansunder tight security

FOI: Ex-SSGdrags Shema, 4others to court

From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

There was massive securitybeef up yesterday invarious parts of Kaduna

metropolis following what apolice source described as “freshchallenges.”

The source who pleadedanonymity declined to givedetails but hinted that therenewed efforts by securitypersonnel, comprising soldiersand policemen, may not beunconnected with what thesource simply called “alerts,”insisting that no amount of

Former Secretary to Katsinastate government, AlhajiMustapha Muhammad

Inuwa has sued the Katsina stategovernor, Alhaji Ibrahim ShehuShema and four others to courtfor allegedly violating theprovision of the Freedom ofInformation Act, 2011.

Others to appear before theHigh Court 4 sitting in Katsinainclude the commissioners ofFinance, Works and Housing, LocalGovernment and ChieftaincyAffairs and the state Attorney-General.

The applicant stated that hisrequest for information on certainissues was “in pursuance to section2 (1) of the Freedom of InformationAct 2011 which provides that...The right of any person to

Access or requestinformation...which is in custodyor possession of any public official,agency, or institution howsoeverdescribed is hereby established”.

The applicant similarlystressed that in accordance withsection 2 (2) of the Act, he needs toknow the banks and accountnumbers where the Katsina statelocal government allocations fromthe Federation Account are beingdeposited.

The presiding judge, JusticeSanusi Tukur adjourned thesitting till after the court’s vacationand said a date for continuedhearing on the case would becommunicated to the parties.

President Goodluck Jonathan,yesterday, directed Socio-Economic Rights and

Accountability Project (SERAP), toseek information about his assetsdeclaration from the Code ofConduct Bureau since the bureau“has the powers and responsibilityfor addressing the issues.

This followed a request by thegroup made under the Freedom ofInformation Act asking PresidentJonathan to, “provide informationon your assets declaration detailsbetween May 2007 and May2012, and to publish widely theinformation on a dedicatedwebsite.”

However, in a letter with

reference number SH/SHC/9/Vol.6/128, dated 5 July 2012 andsigned by Jalal A. Arabi, StateHouse Counsel on behalf of theChief of Staff to the President, thePresidency said: I am toacknowledge receipt of your letterdated 26 June 2012 in which yourequest Mr. President to urgentlyprovide information on his assetsdeclaration details between May2007 and May 2012, hingingyour request on the provisions ofboth the 1999 Constitution asamended, and the Freedom ofInformation Act, 2011...”

Responding, the group’sExecutive Director, AdetokunboMumuni said, “Firstly, wewelcome the response by MrPresident as a very positive

Asset declaration: Jonathanrefers SERAP to CCB

Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura of Nasarawa stateyesterday launched the

NNPC/Capital Oil and Gas Kero-Direct scheme in Lafia, the statecapital, a Federal Governmentinitiative aimed at sellingkerosene directly to the end usersin communities across thefederation at governmentapproved rate of N50 per litre.

In a speech he delivered at theoccasion, Al-makura thanked theFederal Government forincluding Nasarawa state in thelists of beneficiaries of the scheme,while also appreciating thehumane gesture of the NNPC andCapital Oil, which according tohim, “will have positive impacton the lives of the common man,particularly at the grass root.”

He said the gesture will go along way in not only alleviatingthe suffering of the people,occasioned by the scarcity andrising cost of kerosene, but also helpin curtailing the felling of treesused as fire wood, which hasresulted in deforestation andenvironmental degradation.

In a goodwill message, Dr.Ifaenyi Patrick Uba, managingdirector, Capital Oil and Gas,praised the Nasarawa stategovernment for keying into thekero-direct scheme, saying theprogramme is meant to alleviatethe suffering of the people.

L-R: Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, presenting a copy of the Fifth AlterationBill 2012 to Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, during the formervisit to the National Assembly, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

security should be considered toostressful to safeguard the livesand property of citizens.

Unlike in the past few dayswhere security checks at someof the road blocks were merelyperfunctory, motorists weretaken aback yesterday whenthey were asked to open theirbonnets and booths for scrutiny,a development that resulted intraffic hold up at some of the

major roads in the metropolis.Commercial motorcyclists

and their passengers were theworst hit as they were forced toroll their motorcycles for longdistances with the passengerswalking behind on foot.

Meanwhile, GovernorPatrick Ibrahim Yakowa hascondoled with the governmentand people of Plateau state overthe recent killings in parts of

that state.A press statement by

Yakowa’s Special Adviser (Mediaand Publicity), Reuben Buhari,also described the death ofSenator Gyang DaylopDantong, representing PlateauNorth and Hon. Gyang Fulani,Majority Leader of the PlateauState House of Assembly, andseveral others, as unnecessaryand worrisome.

From Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

development for government’saccountability in this countrybecause it is rare to see this kind ofdialogue between the Presidencyand civil society.

It would be recalled that SERAPhad earlier sent a request to boththe president and the Code ofConduct Bureau, arguing that“The disclosure of the informationrequested will give SERAP and thegeneral public a true picture of theassets of the president from May2007 to May 2012, and willdemonstrate the president’s oft-expressed commitment totransparency and accountabilityand show that the signing of theFOI was not just a public relationexercise but a public duty done ingood faith.

…as Yakowa condoles with Plateau state govt

From Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

RepssummonNNPC over$329.4minflatedinsurancepremium

The House of Representativesyesterday summoned themanagement of the

Nigerian National PetroleumCorporation (NNPC) for allegedlyinflating the corporation’sinsurance premiums paid someinsurance companies by $329.4million.

The House Committee onFinance chaired by RepAbdumumuni Jubrin whichissued the summons during thesecond day of its public hearingon the insurance of governmentassets and property, disclosed thatthe local insurance companiesmanaging NNPC portfolioinflated the account to the tuneof over $317.4 million and failedto pay insurance claims worth$12 million due to thecorporation between 2007 to2011 .

Official documents releasedfrom the office of the Head of CivilService of the Federation(HOCSF) also showed thepayment of N7,130,941,041.56death claims between 2008 and2011, depicting increase in deathrate in the federal civil service.

The sum ofN12,582,293,787.55 premiumwas also paid to 19 appointedinsurance companies(underwriters) in 2011 for Grouplife Assurance scheme for all thefederal civil servants across thecountry.

From the N5 billion take-offgrant released by FederalGovernment for Group LifeAssurance for its employees in2008, the sum of N4 billion waspaid to the insurance companieswhile N1 billion was spent onpayment of backlog death claimsto 742 demised civil servants.

The HOCSF also paidN1,675,976,061.27 backlogdeath claims for dependants of722 officers in 2010; N1.9 billionbacklog death claims paid in2011 while N3,600,973,485.71death claims have been processedand awaiting payment.

By Lawrence Olaoye

Nasarawalaunches kero-direct schemeFrom Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012PAGE 6

L-R: Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, Corps Marshal/Chief Executive Officer, FederalRoad Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Osita Chidoka, National President, Road Transport EmployersAssociation of Nigeria (RTEAN), Chief Abubakar Sadiq, and Chairman, House Committee on RoadSafety, Hon. Nasiru Sani Zangon Daura, during the official launch of FRSC Toll-Free Emergency Number122, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Kebbi urges FG topromote agric produceFrom Ahmed Idris, Brinin Kebbi

Kwankwasourges parentsto invest ineducationFrom Edwin Olofu, Kano

Governor Rabi'u MusaKwankwaso of Kano statehas called on parents to

invest in the education of theirchildren in building a goodfoundation for them.

Kwankwaso made the callduring the opening ceremony ofthe second Quranic recitationcompetition organised bySenator Basheer Garba Ladorepresenting Kano Centralsenatorial zone.

The governor who wasrepresented by state chairmanof PDP Elders committee, AlhajiDatti Wudilawa, noted thateducation is one of the lastinglegacies parents could leave fortheir children.

He commended the legislatorfor organising the competitionand called on other wealthyMuslims to emulate him.

He also charged parents toensure good moral upbringing oftheir children, so as to curbsocietal menace and bringdevelopment to the society.

In his remarks, chairman ofthe Quaranic recitationcommittee, Alhaji SalatiIndabawa said a total of 145students from various Islamiyyaschools across the 16 localgovernment areas in thesenatorial zone were screened forthe exercise.

He cautioned the participantsto exhibit good moral conductduring and after the programme.

Meanwhile, Senator Ladocommended the Kano EmirateCouncil for the support andcooperation it has been given tothe organisers of thecompetition.

Governor Usman SaiduDakingari of Kebbi statehas made a passionate

appeal to the FederalGovernment to promote onionand rice production in thestate.

Making the appealyesterday at the flag-offceremony of the 2012 GrowthEnhancement SupportScheme (e-Wallet VoucherSystem] in Kebbi state atKalgo local government areathe governor said Kebbi state

is blessed in the agriculturesector and thus the federalgovernment should assist thestate in promoting onion andrice production.

"We have the comparativeadvantage in terms of riceand onion which is going toboost the economy andincrease revenue generationfor the state'', he said addingthat the flag-off of the fertiliserand seeds sale and distributionunder the GES scheme in thenew AgricultureTransformation Agenda hadgiven premium to the small

scale farmers who produce thebulk of food in the country.

“I have been made tounderstand that only 76,579farmers in my state have beencaptured in your registrationexercise'' he told the Minister ofstate for Agriculture Dr.BukharTijjani at the occasion.

In his speech the ministercommended the effort the Kebbistate government inpromoting agriculture andpledged the FederalGovernment's assistance to thestate in promoting farmers’data base.

Be honest or leave, new Zamfara chairman warns staffoffices so that the confidencereposed on them could bejustified.

The newly sworn-inchairman of the localgovernment, Alhaji Bello DanGamji gave the warning,shortly after the swearing-inof his councilors in the area.

Dan Gamji explained thatthe era of deception andembezzlement of public fundshas gone, adding that anyonewho tried to test the will of the

local government, would betaught an unforgettable lesson.

According to the chairman,local government councils we reno longer places for embezzlingpublic funds and "therefore wemust make sure that we serveour people better".

Dan Gamji also disclosed thatpolitical officeholdersanywhere, should not forgetthat they were elected by thepeople who rely on them andtherefore, should not be betrayed.

He stated that hisadministration will not tolerateunnecessary spending, buthowever, explained that onlygenuine and legitimate caseswould be treated. Said he, "mycoming to the secretariat of thelocal government as the chiefsecurity officer is nothing otherthan to make sure that I and therest of the stakeholders of thecouncil join hands to collectivelymove it forwarddevelopmentally.”

Political office holders inBakura local governmentarea of Zamfara state have

been sternly warned by the newchairman of the council, todistance themselves fromdishonesty and insincerity.

He also urged them towork relentlessly for thebenefit of the people whoelected them into various

From Salisu Zakari Maradun,Gusau

...to commence gold mining soonGovernor Usman Saidu

Dakingari hasannounced plans in Kebbi

state to start gold mining inZuru and Yauri localgovernment areas of the state.

He gave this assurance whileflagging-off this year’s GrowthEnhancement Support Schemeheld at Kalgo local governmentof the state adding that a Chinese

contractor would handle theZuru axis while South Africanand Russian contractors wouldtake the Yauri area.

He explained that with thisnew development, Kebbi will berated high among the solidmineral producing states in thecountry.

Dakingari said that hisadministration would promote

agriculture and reduce thesuffering of the farmers whileassuring the people of the statethat revenue from removed fuelsubsidies, would be invested inagriculture.

"This programme has thecapacity of transforming thesmall scale farmers fromsubsistence to commerciallevel'', he said.

Good procurement practiceswill curb corruption, says DGFrom Iliya Garba, Minna

The Director General ofBureau of PublicProcurement (BPP), Engr.

Emeka Ezeh, has said corruptionwill only be stamped out from thesystem through the good use ofprocurement practices.

He made this knownyesterday at the forthsensitisation workshop on PublicProcurement Act to stakeholdersin the North - Central Zone heldat Hydro Hotels Ltd, Minna, Nigerstate.

NDLEA laudsSupreme Courtjudgement ondrug baron’sconvictionFrom Suleiman Idris, Lagos

The Supreme Court of Nigeriayesterday gotcommendation from the

National Drug Law EnforcementAgency (NDLEA), for convicting adrug baron – John Timothy, whotook his appeal to the apex courthaving been dissatisfied with thejudgment of a lower court.

Timothy had taken his appealto the Supreme Court having failedto upturn his four-year sentence bythe Federal High Court in 2005 atthe Court of Appeal.

In the same vein, the anti-drugagency told journalists it has alsowon 743 drug related cases betweenJanuary and May this year whileothers are at various stages ofprosecution.

The agency disclosed that it hasmany cases are at various stages ofprosecution in the country.

NDLEA Chairman, AhmaduGiade, said “the Supreme Courtjudgment is laudable. Let me warnthat the Federal Government willenforce the laws of the land againstdrug culprits. No infringement shallgo unpunished.”

According to the agency, Kanoand Kebbi states have the highestnumber of convicts within theperiod with 79 each while stateswhere it won a larger percentage ofthe cases include Adamawa with 59convictions, Plateau 56, with Osunand the Federal Capital Territoryrecording 46 and 39 respectively.

Others include Lagos with 34,Niger 29, Cross River and Jigawaboth recorded 27 convictions withGombe, Oyo, Kaduna and Akwalbom recording over 70 convictions.

He said the essence of thegathering was to explain tocontractors, public servants,consultants, politicians, civilsociety, non-governmentalorganisations, professionalassociations and the generalpublic, the provision of the Act.

"It provides an opportunity forinteraction with the stakeholdersfrom this zone on how they cantake maximum advantage of thelaw to compete effectively innational procurements".

Engr. Ezeh said that the processof implementing the PublicProcurement Act requires thedutiful commitment of allstakeholders who are key entitiesin the procurement chain andpivotal roles on individual basis.

"The BPP hopes to take Nigeriato a level where best practices inPublic Procurement areimplemented in the overallinterest of national development.National Development wouldcome if corruption, which mainlytakes place through shoddyprocurement practices, iseliminated".

PAGE 7PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

FG has failed us, says Plateau AssemblyFrom Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

The Plateau state House ofAssembly yesterdaydeclared that the Federal

Government has failed the statefor its inability to protect thepeople from militia attacks,having taken over the securityof the state since 2010.

The unanimous decision wasreached by the 23 members ofthe House who attendedyesterday’s emergency sessiondressed in black.

The lawmakers observed aminute’s silence in honour oflate Senator Gyang Dantongand the House Majority Leader,Hon. Gyang Fulani, who died inthe attack launched on a massburial ceremony on Sunday inMaresh, Barkin Ladi localgovernment.

Deputy Speaker of theAssembly, Hon. JohnbullShekarau, who presided overthe sitting, said it was morepainful because the deathsoccurred at the time thedeceased went to bury membersof their constituency killed in anearlier attack.

Shekarau said: “Moreworrisome to us is the fact that

one of the three senatorsrepresenting the state in theNational Assembly also died inthe same attack. The pain is tooheavy to bear, this is more thana tragedy, it is a calamity ofimmense magnitude and Ibelieve the best honour we cando for our slain legislators is tocome here, put our headstogether to review the state ofinsecurity Plateau state.”

Hon Istifanus Muansat(Pankshin South constituency)said: “I fear for Plateau state, Ifear for Nigeria, I fear that we

are going the way of Republicof Mali where rebels have takenparts of the country. It is hightime the Nigeria police andArmy confess that they areincapable of securingNigerians.

On his part, memberrepresenting Kankeconstituency, Hon. TimothyGolu, said they were finding itincreasingly difficult to consolethe people, stressing that “thepeople are running out ofpatience as the innocent aregetting killed every day.”

A passionate appeal has beenmade to the Zamfara stategovernment to investigate

how a 13-year-old, JSS 1 student,Salim Mohammed, died afterbeing allegedly caned by ateacher for failing to turn in hishomework.

According to his parents,Mohammed died last Sunday inthe course of an illness whichstruck him after he was allegedlycaned in school two weeks ago.

Investigation conducted byour reporter in at the JuniorSecondary School,Kwatarkwashi, revealed that thedeceased received thepunishment alongside hisclassmates who also failed to dotheir assignment.

Father of the deceased,Malam MuhammaduKwarkwashi, explained that hisson was hale and hearty beforehe was caned in school.

Malam Muhammadu said:“When Salim started to behaveout of character, we asked himwhat he was up to because at thattime he stopped going to school,choosing to hide away fromhome. We asked him why he hadnot been going to school and hesaid he could not go to schoolbecause he was not well after ateacher beat him. A few dayslater, Salim started vomitingblood, and whatever he ate willnot stay in his stomach. He thendied on Sunday”

At the school, the Principal,Alhaji Sa’idu Sani Gusau, toldPeoples Daily that the boy, alongwith some of his classmates whodid not do the assignment givento them, were given threestrokes of the cane each aspunishment.

Malam Gusau said: “ActuallyI was not in the office when ithappened but I was briefed afterI came back”.

Posers asstudent diesafter caning inZamfara

People queue to buy kerosene during the inauguration of NNPC/Capital Oil Kero-Direct Scheme, yesterday in Lafia. Photo: NAN

According to Golu, theFederal Government has failedthe state in its responsibility ofproviding security since takingover that function inPlateau.

Hon Zaina Dogo (Qua’anPan North constituency)urged the National Assemblyto summon President GoodluckJonathan to appear before it totell Nigerians and the worldwhy he had failed to protect thecitizenry of “because thesituation is becomingunbearable.”

Nigerians have beencharged on the need toembrace peace and

dialogue in resolving thornyissues in the polity.

Chairman, Joint Islamic FirstAid Organization, Alhaji SafiyanuUsman, made the call at theinauguration of the group’s newleadership at the National Mosque,Abuja.

The organisation urgedcitizens being used to causemayhem in the country toembrace peace and opt fordialogue to resolve theirgrievance, especially in the spiritof the approaching holy month ofRamadan.

It also charged thegovernment to keep its promisesto the people and ensure thewellbeing of all citizensirrespective of their status.

Islamic groupsues for peace

2013 budget will be ready in September – FGBy Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

Aiming at a clear departurefrom the past, the FederalGovernment yesterday

said plans were under way toprepare and present next year’sbudget to the NationalAssembly in September.

In preparing the 2013Appropriation Bill, thegovernment has also pledged tobe transparent, even as it urgedNigerians to make inputs intothe proposed budget.

Director General (DG),Budget Office of the Federation,Bright Okogwu, disclosed thisyesterday in Abuja at a

consultative forum on the 2013budget, which was attended byprivate sector operators andcivil society organisations.

Okogwu said: “We intend topresent the budget to theNational Assembly bySeptember which is going to bea feat by recent standards. Weare therefore encouragingNigerians to take advantage ofthis kind of forum to askquestions and suggest solutionsto identified challenges.”

However, Okogwu alsodecried the habit of government

agencies in demanding for morefunds each New Year, statingthat the budgetimplementation rate of most ofthem was questionable.

He hinted that someagencies would not get anycapital allocation in the newbudget “since their duties do notmake it necessary for them toexecute projects.”

Okogwu, who said the 2012budget implementation thusfar had been more successfulthan previous ones, added thatgovernment planned to make

more Internally GeneratedRevenue (IGR) through theFederal Inland Revenue Service(FIRS) and the Nigeria CustomsService.

Also at the event, Ministerof Finance and CoordinatingMinister of the Economy, Dr.Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, saidgovernment was committed tofurther reducing its debtburden by borrowing less thanit did in 2012 to finance the2013 budget.

She added that the FederalGovernment would also workhard to stem revenue losses bytackling oil theft and othereconomic crimes.

. . . Seeks citizens’ inputsFrom Salisu Zakari Maradun,Gusau

By Muhammad Sada

Director General (DG),National Youth ServiceCorps (NYSC), Brig.-Gen

Nnamdi Okore-Affia, has said thatcorps members were not targetsof attacks in troubled spots acrossthe country, hence they shouldfeel free to serve wherever theywere posted.

Consequently, Okore-Affiastated that the NYSC would nottransfer corps members en massefrom the Northern part of thecountry.

Okore-Affia stated this inGombe while speaking with

newsmen after inspectingactivities at the Gombe stateNYSC orientation camp in MallamSidi, Kwami local governmentarea of the state.

His words: “We will onlyconsider cases of redeploymentbased on merit and follow NYSCstandard rules for deployment.

“I do not believe that theattacks are targetted at corpsmembers. Therefore, corpsmembers should avail themselveswith the hospitable nature of theirhosts and enjoy their service year.

“There are corps members

who are equally serving in otherpart of the countries facingsecurity challenges. We cannotlose sight of the fact that corpsmembers serving in the South-South, South-East are facingabduction or kidnappingchallenges.

However, the NYSC DG saidthe federal and stategovernments were doingeverything humanly possible toensure the safety of corpsmembers throughout theirmandatory one-yearassignment.

No mass transfer of corps members, NYSC insists

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012PAGE 8

L-R: Commissioner for Finance and Management Services, Nigeria ElectricityRegulatory Commission (NERC), Mr. Patrick Umeh, Chairman of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi,and Chairman, Petroleum Subsidy Task Force, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, during NERCinteractive forum with stakeholders, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

L-R: National Vice-President, federation of Ahlus-Sunnah Organisations of Nigeria(FOSON), Sheikh Olanrewaju Adepoju, Secretary General of Muslim Ummah of SouthWest (MUSWEN), Professor Daud Noibi, and Amir Sunak, Ijebu Ode, Sheikh AbdurazakOloruntosin, during a press briefing by FOSON on peaceful co-existence among allreligions, yesterday in Ibadan. Photo: NAN

L-R: Sokoto state Commissioner for Information, Malam Danladi Bako, the state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Shagari, Cross River state Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke,Sokoto state Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, Speaker, Sokoto House of Assembly, Hon. Lawali Zayyana, and Alhaji Attahiru Galadiman Gari, during thecommissioning of Boding a-Bakale road by Governor Imoke, yesterday in Sokoto.

L-R: SeniorSpecial Adviserto Kwaragovernor onCommunicationand Strategy,Mr RaheemAdedoyin,Speaker, KwaraHouse ofAssembly, Hon.Razak Atunwa,and the stategovernor, AlhajiAbdulfatahAhmed, beingreceived onarrival by MrsSilifatOlanrewaju,yesterday at thevenue of Kwarastateassociation ofNigeria, NorthAmerica’s 6thnationalconvention, inWashington DCUnited States ofAmerica. Photo:NAN.

PAGE 9PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

L-R: Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-General Azubuike Ihejirika, Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, Minister of Interior,Comrade Abba Moro, Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, during asecurity meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday at the State House, in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

Minister advocates Nigeria-Chile Business Council

The Minister of State forTrade and Investment, Dr.Samuel Ortom yesterday

called for the establishment ofNigeria-Chile Chamber ofCommerce and Nigeria-ChileBusiness Council to facilitatetrade relation between the twocountries.

Ortom who made the callwhen he received the ChileanMinister of Foreign Affairs andTrade, Ambassador FernandoSchmidt Ariztia in Abuja

yesterday, noted that the visitwas a positive way ofestablishing bilateral traderelations with Chile.

Ortom disclosed that theFederal Government had sincecommenced efforts towardpartnering with the OrganisedPrivate Sector (OPS) to furtherboost economic activities in thecounty.

He said: “We should work outmodalities for the organizedprivate sectors from bothcountries to work together formutual benefits. This will help

in professionalizing theiractivities. There is also the needfor an economic agreement so asto know the bounds of the newties.”

“From available statistics,the trade ties are in favour ofChile and there is need tobalance it up. Chile can benefita lot from Nigeria’s rawmaterials, agriculture, minesand solid minerals sectors.Nigeria, with a population ofabout 167million people is goodfor business’’, he said.

The minister, who called on

Borno farmers to get 90,000 bundlesof cassava stems, says FG

Minister of State forAgriculture and RuralDevelopment, Bukar

Tijani, has said the FederalGovernment will give cassavafarmers in Borno state 90,000bundles of cyanide-free cassavastems for planting on 150hectres of farmland this year.

Tijani stated this yesterdaywhile receiving the executives ofthe Borno State CassavaFarmers Cooperative Unionduring a courtesy call on him inAbuja.

He said the gesture was to

By Mohammed Kandi

The Lagos State House ofAssembly has expresseddisgust over the misuse

of roads as refuse dumps,mechanic workshops, tradingspots and dumping grounds forabandoned vehicles by residentsand artisans in the state.

Member representingShomolu 1 Constituency, Rotimi

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Lagos Assembly condemnsmisuse of roads, walkways

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem Chilean investors to establishindustries in Nigeria, assuredthat the ministry wouldgive technical and othersupport needed to make theirbusinesses thrive and profitablein the country.

Earlier, the ChileanMinister, Ambassador Ariztiasaid the Chilean economy hada 4.6 per cent growth rate, asat 2011, adding that therewas great opportunity forNigerian products to enter itsmarket .

“Economic relations with

Africa are just 0.3 per cent ofwhat Chile xports to the world;and what we import fromAfrica is just 1.1 percent. Wehave a $250billion GrossDomestic Product and 80 percent of our products arerelated to external trade;which means we dependhighly on external trade.

“ In three weeks from now,we should agree on our plan ofaction. Part of this is to sendeconomic missions from Chileto Nigeria and from Nigeria toChile”, he said.

Olowo who moved the motion onthe floor of the House duringplenary session, noted thatthe act contribute immensely tothe untidiness of theenvironments as well asincreasing the cost ofmaintenance of the roads in thestate.

He also expressed concern thatdumping of refuse, abandoning ofvehicles, use of walkways as

trading spots and spillage ofchemical products such as greaseor lubricants, were part ofthe factors causing damage tothe roads, thereby stunting flowof traffic in the state.

Lending his voice to thematter, member representingMushin Constituency 1,Adefunmilayo Tejuosorecommended that officials ofKick Against Indiscipline (KAI) inthe state, should be mandated tovisit the affected areas and arrestthose misusing the roads.

She also stated that KAI shouldevict the residents and artisansfrom the roads.

Unity schools have enoughfunds, says committee

Reports on needsassessment of the FederalGovernment Colleges in

the country has indicated thatthe funds allocated to the 104schools by the FederalGovernment can manage thefacilities effectively ifproperly utilized, even as itadmitted that more fund isneeded for the schools tofunction better.

This was revealed yesterdayin Abuja by the committeechairmen of the six geo-political zones in the country,during the formal presentationof the reports andrecommendations made by thecommittee.

It would be recalled that theFederal Governmentinaugurated the committee onJune, 1, 2012 with the aim ofassessing unity schools in thenation and to address thevarious challenges facingthem.

According to the report ofeach of the committees, majorchallenges facing the unityschools in the country, includelack of equipped laboratories,dilapidated structures, lack of

fence around some of theschools, overcrowded hostelsand overpopulated classrooms.

Other problems revealed bythe committees’ report alsoincludes lack of qualifiedteachers, under staffing,abandoned projects, teachersworking for 10 years withoutregularization, promotedteachers not properly placedand paid their salaries formonths.

The committee however,recommended that theministry should haveparticipatory interest in thefunds given to the schools andmonitor how they are beenmanaged and arrears of thoseteachers promoted becalculated and paid.

The committee furtherr e c o m m e n d e dthat government shouldorganize capacity buildingworkshops and training forteachers as well as rewarddeserving teachers to boosttheir morale.

The report from North Westzone however, revealed that,schools managed by femaleprincipals are better comparedto those managed by maleprincipals.

By Maryam Garba Hassan

Bauchi State AgriculturalSupply Company (BASAC)has revealed that the

company is inadequately funded torevive its foundry workshopcapable of fabricating ox-plough,plough disc, double furrow ridgeand school beds.

The General Manager of theCompany, Alhaji Usman Dankadestated this at the state MDAs pressbriefing in Bauchi, saying thatalthough there was an allocation ofN15 million in this year’s budgetfor the company, the funds areinadequate to meet its pressingdemands.

Dankade said also that thecompany’s structures in theheadquarters of the 20 localgovernment councils of the staterequire complete renovation, andadditional staff to effectivelydischarge its functions.

BASAC lacks fund torevive foundryworkshop, says GMFrom Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

assist them in boosting cassavaproduction in the state andcontribute to Nigeria's foodsecurity.

A statement issued by theministry's Director ofInformation, Salisu Na'innaDambatta, said "the FederalMinistry of Agriculture andRural Development would linkthe Cassava FarmersCooperative Union to the Bankof Agriculture and the Bank ofIndustry for credit facilities, andthe acquisition of small-scalecassava processing plants,respectively," he said.

The minister also said the

cassava farmers could benefit byaccessing the agriculturesupport aspect of the SubsidyReinvestment andEmpowerment Scheme (SURE),and funding to support womenand youth in agriculture by theMillennium Development Goals(MDGs) office.

Earlier in his remarks,President of the Borno stateCassava Farmers CooperativeUnion, Alhaji Allamin UmarLawan, who led a 14-memberdelegation on the courtesy visit,praised the transformationagenda of the administration"especially in the area ofagriculture and ruraldevelopment."

PAGE 10 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Nigeria restates stance on AU Commission postMinister of Foreign Affairs,

Mr. Olugbenga Ashiru,has said that Nigeria is

still backing ECOWAS’ preferredcandidate for the chairmanship ofthe African Union (AU)Commission.

Ashiru stated this in aninterview with State HouseCorrespondents shortly after abreakfast session organised byPresident Goodluck Jonathan formembers of Presidential Advisory

Council on Foreign Relations.His words: “We have not shifted

ground, we are working in concertwith the ECOWAS group and wewill remain with ECOWAS group.

“Any decision taken byECOWAS, Nigeria will support andyou know Nigeria is the naturalleader of the sub-region. So, we’llprefer to have one united positionand we stand by that positionwhich we will take.

“But it is when we get there, to

Addis Ababa, that we will see theground and will stay where otherECOWAS members would stay”.

It will be recalled that at thelast AU Summit in January inAddis-Ababa, ECOWAS haddeclared its support for theincumbent Chairperson, Mr JeanPing of Gabon.

South Africa had fielded itsHome Affairs Minister, NkosazanaDlamini-Zuma, as itschairmanship candidate for the AU

Commission.The election was inconclusive

because neither Ping nor Dlamini-Zuma was able to secure the two-third majority needed to win.Hence, African leaders at theJanuary Summit shelved theelection until the 19th AU Summitinitially billed for Malawi, but nowto hold in Addis-Ababa.

In a related development,Ashiru said Nigeria had intensifiedits campaign to clinch the AU

commissionership position zoned toWest Africa.

According to the minister, theposition will be determined byelections by member-states at thenext summit.

He said: “We are doing ourcampaign round the member-states and we hope that when weget to the Summit Nigeria willmuster enough votes to be able tofill that position ofcommissionership”. (NAN)

The National OrientationAgency (NOA) yesterdaycanvassed punishment for

parents who aid and abet theinvolvement of their children andwards in examinationmalpractice.

Director-General of theagency, Mr. Mike Omeri, statedthis in Abuja while speaking withthe News Agency of Nigeria(NAN).

He said the act of supporting

examination malpractice shouldbe deemed a crime and treated asrape or bribery.

Omeri urged teachers who hadbeen subjected to unfair treatmentsby parents as a result of not lendingsupport to their children andwards on examinationmalpractice, to speak out.

He said a teacher of values andknowledge should disregard suchthreats to violate the ethics of hisor her profession.

“Any act contrary to qualitativeeducation as a result of your actionis a disservice to the child, countryand to God,” Omeri said.

He also called on stakeholdersand eminent personalities to takeup the challenge and speak againstthe dangers posed by examinationmalpractice to the upcominggeneration.

The NOA chief stated: “Lethuman rights groups and civilsociety organisations start mass

movement against examinationmalpractice; NOA has started byspeaking out for the teachers; letthe civil society also speak out.

“Let the parents who lendsupport to their children in thecrime be subjected to some form ofpunishment by society.”

Omeri decried the state of thenation’s education system, statingthat the society had degeneratedand was passing its legacy of rot tochildren. (NAN)

NOA seeks sanctions for parentsaiding exam malpractice

From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

Edo state Governor, AdamsOshiomhole, has issued anultimatum to the Minister

of Works, Mr. Mike Onolemenmento construct the Sabo-Sobe road inOwan West Local Governmentbefore year-end or the stategovernment will start theconstruction of the road next year.

The governor, who issued theultimatum during his re-electioncampaign at Sobe, yesterday, saidif the Federal Ministry of Worksrefused to do the road, Edo stategovernment will put it in the state’s2013 budget.

His words: “If the minister ofworks does not carry outconstruction of the Sabo-Sobe road,which has always been in theFederal Government budget, itwill be provided for in the 2013budget of the state governmentand work will start next year.

“If they don’t do it, I will tellthem the state government is incharge of the land. From January1, 2013 Edo State government willtake over the road to ensure thatour full presence is felt in Edo state.”

The governor told the largeturnout at the St. Stephen PrimarySchool, Sobe that the people can seethe difference between the projectsexecuted by the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) and theAction Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

“With immediate effect, wewill demolish the dilapidatedstructures of the school built by thePDP and replace it with a newschool of modern quality. We haveawarded the contract to build theSobe High School and we willfurnish the primary andsecondary schools with modernfurniture,” he disclosed.

Edo issuesultimatum toFG overroad project

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

Why prisons are congested, by CG

Controller-General, Nigerian PrisonsService, Mr. Zakari Ibrahim, hasattributed Prisons congestion in the

country to the rot in the nation’s educationsystem.

Ibrahim stated this yesterday at thefoundation laying ceremony of the PrisonsOfficers Wives Association (PROWA)Academy in Abuja.

He said rot in the school system has forcedmany youths to engage in drugs and othercriminal activities.

His words: “Criminals are usually theenemies of peace in any society and whenarrested, they end up in prisons.Therefore, there is every need to supportany initiative that would mould the

future leaders of tomorrow, instead ofwatching them being transformed bysocietal influence into weapons ofdestruction.”

Ibrahim lauded the PROWA initiative,saying it would contribute to stem deviantbehaviours in youths.

On her part, wife of the Minister ofInterior, Mrs. Jane Abba Moro, called on wellmeaning Nigerians and private individualsto support the initiative in order to help inbuilding the future leaders of the country,stressing that “education is the bedrock ofevery human being.”

President, PROWA and wife of theController General of Prisons, Mrs. RuthZakari Ibrahim, said the initiative wasinformed by the desire to uplift the standardof education in the country.

From Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, Abeokuta

Workers who retired from the OgunState Civil Service between lastDecember and now and are yet to

collect their pensions and gratuities will soonhave cause to smile as the state governmentis doing everything possible to pay them assoon as practicable.

Permanent Secretary, Bureau of StatePensions, Isaac Odunlami, gave thisassurance in Abeokuta while speaking withnewsmen in his office.

Odunlami disclosed that the immediatepast administration in the state left behinda huge debt on the workers’ monthly pensiondeductions, which should have been

remitted to the new contributors’ pensionsscheme.

He stated that the new administrationhad been remitting the deductions just as ithad been consistent in the payment ofworkers’ salaries and pensioners’ allowancesas at when due.

Odunlami added that as part of measuresto ensure that pensioners collect theirgratuity as they disengage from service, thestate government had been remitting 5%bond to the Central Bank to pay those whohad been working before year 2008.

The Permanent Secretary thereforeurged workers to embrace the new pensionscheme as it could guarantee them a happyand comfortable life in retirement.

Ogun assures new retirees onpension, gratuities

L-R: Late Senator Gyang Dantong's widow, Hannatu, wife of Plateau state Governor, Mrs. Talatu Jang, and the state Governor, JonahJang, during a condolence visit to the late Dantong's family, on Monday in Jos. Photo: NAN

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012 PAGE 11

Women EmpowermentInitiative (WEIN), aBauchi based non-

governmental organisation, hasexpressed concern over the lack ofaccess to safe water and propersanitation in all the localgovernment areas andcommunities in the state.

The state Coordinator ofWEIN, Lydia Haruna Tsammanimade the observation during themarketing of Local DevelopmentPlan (LDP) of Bogoro and Darazo

local government area of thestate held at Zaranda Hotel,Bauchi, yesterday. According toher "UNDP in 2006 reported thatonly 48 percent of the people inBauchi state have access to safewater supply while only 44percent have access to sanitation,this picture differs from one LGAto the other. For MDGs to beachieved in the state, there hasto be intensive intervention inthese sectors.

Mrs. Tsammani advocated forintensive interventions in watersector and access to sanitation in

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi the state in order to achieveMillennium Development Goals in2015.

She said: “In the year 2000,Water Aid Nigeria and WEIN wentinto partnership to work in Bauchistate on water and sanitation toalleviate some of the problems inthe sectors. In carrying out theseactivities, it was found that mostLGAs have no planning tools, so theneed to develop this planning toolto help the LGAs achieve theirdevelopmental goals”.

She therefore solicited forsupport from donor agencies, state

government and otherstakeholders noting that localgovernment alone cannot meetthe target if MDGs in 2015 withoutexternal support.

In his remark the stateCommissioner for LocalGovernment and ChieftaincyAffairs, Abubakar Faggo,represented by MaigariEmmanuel Gambo, commendedeffort of WEIN for developing LocalGovernment Development Plansaying their effort will guide theLG administrators in executingdevelopment projects in the state.

NGO worried over lack of safe water, sanitation in Bauchi

17 years after: Niger Igbocommunity reconcileThe Igbo Community

Association (ICA) in Nigerstate has decided to embrace

peace after 17 years of leadershipcrises and vowed to move forwardfor the interest of peace andtranquility.

Speaking shortly after the

reconciliation meeting whichtook place at the Dr. Umar FaroukPrimary School Keteren-Gwari,the Eze Igbo of Minna, Nigerstate, Eze Pampas Nwahiwedescribed the event as veryremarkable in the lives of Igbopeople in the state.

He told our correspondentshortly after the meeting that with

the final resolution, Igbos from allthe Igbo speaking states resident inNiger state have been reunited asone big family.

According to him: “As you cansee, today is remarkable, all thefactions in the ICA have seen theneed for members to co-existpeacefully and harmoniouslyespecially at this time, when the

From Iliya Garba, Minna country is being confronted bysecurity challenges”.

Earlier, the ICA president said:“Today we as Igbo people in Nigerstate are celebrating peace, nomore factions in our fold. Werealized that the more we areunited the more we can be focusedin all that we have set out toachieve as a people”.

A former special adviser to thechairman Zing localgovernment area in Taraba

state, Mr. Habu Idi popularlycalled Habu Gambaye, has beenaccused of raping a 13-year-old girl(name withheld) who is aJSS1student of GovernmentSecondary School, Zing.

It was revealed that the littlegirl was on an errand for hermother in the company of oneChindo Zion at about 7:20 pm lastweek, when the said suspect, with

the help of two others (nameswithheld), pounced on them andforcefully took the girl to anunknown destination, ripped herskirt and pant apart and had carnalknowledge of her against her will.

They were said to have droppedthe victim in front of the DivisionalPolice Station, Zing, leaving herwith a torn and blood stained skirtand the sum of N400.

The former adviser, who is theprime suspect, was arrested whenthe police chased after him andseized him.

In his confessional statement to

the police, the suspect admittedhaving carnal knowledge of theteenager, claiming that it waswith her consent because the littlegirl was his girlfriend.

A statement signed by theAssistant Commissioner of Police inthe Criminal InvestigationDepartment, Jalingo, ACPMohammed Wayah made availableto our reporter, said: “The principalsuspect, Habu Idi, stated that heconveyed the victim on hismotorcycle to a house behind a fillingstation where he claimed to have hadsexual intercourse with her, with her

From Yusha’u Alhassan, Jalingo consent because she is his girlfriend…”Also a medical report obtained

from the General Hospital, Zing,signed by Dr. Emmanuel Garbaconfirmed that the girl wasactually raped.

The victim who was still intrauma and could not hold backher emotions, sobbed profusely asshe narrated her ordeal to ourreporter on the phone.

According to the police, aprima facie case of criminalconspiracy, assault, abetment andrape have been established againstthe suspect.

Former LG chair’s aide accused of raping JSS1 student

The National PopulationCommission (NPC) in Ogunstate has disclosed that the

state population in the next oneyear may rise in view of the influxof people, and advised thegovernment to start preparing forbudget appropriation to meet upthe challenges associated with thegrowth.

The Federal Commissioner,Seyi Aderinokun-Olusanya, madethis known while speaking at apress conference held at FederalSecretariat in Abeokuta, incommemoration of the 2012World Population Day.

She said statistics have shownthat many workers in theneigbouring states are nowresident in Ogun state.

She assured that thecommission would give out regularstatistics to help the state projecton it needs, but equally called onthe state government to alwayscollaborate with the commission.

The commissioner disclosedthat total number of 1,724 personsdied in 2011, comprising of 1,164male and 560 females.

Similarly, on the birth recordof the same year, 55,113 males and53,844 females were born. She,however, noted that people arereluctant to give details of birthsbecause of ignorance.

Ogunpopulation toexplode nextyear, saysNPC bossFrom Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji,Abeokuta

The founder of the AlbinoFoundation (TAF), Mr. JakeEpelle, has said that albinos

in the West African sub-regionhave indicated their interest tocollaborate with their Nigeriancounterparts to get government'srecognition and empowerment.

Epelle told the News Agency ofNigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abujathat the collaboration wouldpromote awareness on the plightand social exclusion of people withalbinism in the sub-region.

According to him, albinos insome countries in West Africa aretapping into the programmes ofthe TAF in a bid to getempowerment in their countries.

Epelle called for morerecognition and empowerment ofalbinos in West African countriesto enable them find their place insociety.

He disclosed that albinos inNigeria had started getting someincentives from government,following the unveiling of theAlbinism Support Programme bythe Office of the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) AbinoSupport Programme and otherspecial projects, designed forvulnerable groups in the country.

Albinos inW/Africa seekNigeria’scollaboration

L-R: Secretary General, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Obong Ikpe Johnny Obong, Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu AhmedRufa’i, and NUT National President, Comrade Onem Nelson Onem, during the 81st Founders Day Celebration, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-owo

PAGE 12 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Are we winning the drugs war?June 26 was celebrated as the

International Day Against DrugAbuse and Illicit Trafficking.

According to the United Nations Officeon Drugs and Crime, UNODC, “despitecontinued and increased efforts by theinternational community, the worlddrug problem continues to constitute aserious threat to public health, thesafety and well-being of humanity, inparticular, young people, and thenational security and sovereignty ofstates, and it undermines socio-economic and political stability andsustainable development.”

In Nigeria, the head of its drugbuster agency, the NDLEA, AhmaduGiade, is worried that drug abuse andtrafficking “are compromising ouryouths and our future.” Indeed, ourstruggle with the drug problem hasbeen prolonged, with mixed results.

The country’s return to democraticrule, in the late 70s, coincided with aperiod of political and social decay.This led to a big credibility gap ingovernance. There was a wide gapbetween policy formulation andpolicy implementation.

By the time the military came backto seize power in 1983, the decay hadgone deep into the fabric of theNigerian society. The environmentencouraged many Nigerians to getinvolved in many illegalities, one ofsuch was drugs.

The public execution by a firingsquad of three Nigerians, BernardOgedegbe, Bathlomew Owoh, AkanniOjuolakpe, for alleged trafficking inhard drugs by the Buhari/Idiagbongovernment was the most clearevidence yet that we had a serioussocial problem on our hands. Before

“there is a need for acomprehensive

reorientation of theNigerian society. Why do

people abuse drugs? Whydo they trade in them?The answers to thesequestions will help insecuring victory in this

must-win war

then, Nigerians thought of drugs morein terms of Indian hemp than anythingelse. The coming of cocaine and heroinchanged the scenario.

So serious had the problem becomethat by 1989, the military governmentwas forced to publish a decree to tacklethe menace. Named Decree 48 of 1989,it established the National Drug LawEnforcement Agency (NDLEA). Thisagency was saddled with the task of

controlling, interdicting andintercepting the trafficking, peddlingand consumption of hard drugs in andoutside Nigeria. It was also to educateNigerians on the deadly effects of harddrugs on individuals and the nationaleconomy. It was also the responsibilityof the agency to arrest both barons andtraffickers and help to rehabilitateaddicts. No doubt, the decree gave theagency a very huge mandate.

In the beginning, the agencyenjoyed the support of people andgovernment. A Commissioner ofPolice, Fidelis Oyakhilome, who hada PhD in law and had earlier servedcreditably as the military governor ofRivers state, was appointed to headit. Even the internationalcommunity, long suspicious ofNigeria’s capability to fight suchsocial ills, became impressed with hisfirst moves.

Suddenly Jennifer Madike, a Lagossocialite came on the scene toscandalize the drug buster withsalacious stories of his alleged linkswith drug barons and moneylaunderers. Since then, the country’swar against illicit drugs has beenhampered by a credibility problem atthe agency. More chief executives ofthe agency have left the place withtheir image shredded.

The saga of shattered reputationsat NDLEA has succeeded in makingthe point that without a credibleleadership at the agency, the waragainst drugs will fail. Needles to saythe government must take extra carein finding the person to entrust withthe responsibility of fighting harddrugs. More than that, the crimeworld of drugs is a highlysophisticated and a fast changing one.There is, therefore, the need to trainand retrain those involved withcombating the crime in Nigeria.

Finally, there is a need for acomprehensive reorientation of theNigerian society. Why do people abusedrugs? Why do they trade in them?The answers to these questions willhelp in securing victory in this must-win war.

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PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012 PAGE 13

It was barely a week after closeto a 160 people perished in theill-fated Dana plane crash. In

that plane were six pivotal officersof the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) who succumbed, or rathermelted in their untimely death atthe behest of the mindlesscapitalistic and fraudulentlyinsensitive antics of a few businessowners. Just at the peak of thetension and palpable anxiety,there came a vent for the chargedmilieu in the Governor’sadventure to appear in the officein the resplendent garb of hisnewly acquired traditional title,the Dan Majen Kano. Flying intoAbuja shortly into his break fromactive work, he was the cynosureof all eyes that day as he receivedaccolades from colleagues andsubordinates alike, turbanedround both in head and body in apose depictive of his proud displayof his new title.

Expectedly, this has sparked offquite a sizeable amount ofreactions from different quarters,as is the custom of Nigerians. Mostpeople have viewed thisexperiment of his from the angle ofa seeming disregard for his calibreof person, as well as the official andcorporate outlook his office andorganisation portrays andpresents. According to them, hedeserved to be sufficientlymaligned and sanctioned forperceived undermining of theweight of the position he occupies,by such impunitive demeanours.

But while the sparks are flyingoff at tangent in differentdirections on this issue which Iwould rather term trivial, itwould be important to note thatthe CBN Governor was not onofficial duty as at the day and timeof his ‘August’ visit to the towers ofthe Central Bank. In fact, thereare even speculations,unconfirmed as they are, that hecame on the request of somemembers of staff, who wereapparently interested incongratulating him as well asprobably treating their curiouseyes to what he would look like inthe regalia. As a governor who isa leader in the true sense of theword, what would be better thanobliging his subjects their littlerequest? This little arguments andstandpoints are onlyembellishments and spices on thedish of the actual truth and factthat the average Nigerian needscomic reliefs in things like this todouse the ever-smoulderingenvironment and ambience.Every Nigerian at present is dailytreated to the heart jump ofinsufficiency of his earnings tomaintain his family on account oflow income and sky-high rates of

living, the heart-breakingstatistics on daily basis of thesoaring unemployment rateswith of course its attendantconsequences on society, and mostcurrently the fact that one has tolook far above and ahead of hisshoulder all the time due to thesecurity mess the country has

Sanusi’s dress code:What’s the noise about?

By Ike Willie Nwobu

does not appear any less formal.That is aside a host of most politicaloffice holders who represent theirorigins of ethnicity so passionatelyby the day, by way of theirappearance. The President himselfis rarely seen in any other attiresave his traditional Ijaw dress code,yet it has become too commonplacefor anyone to make a molehill outof. Why did Governor Lamido’sdecided matinee become such anobject of discourse, and why is heseen as the only one downgradinghis office and person to some hugejoke?

Nigerians should forget theperipherals of that day’s show, butlook inwards and they will amongother things discover that hisdressing and appearance that dayin that manner has the potentialof constituting a tourist attractionwith huge and mega investmentcapacity and potential. Tourism isnot only in wild animals andinteresting landforms and places,but also in ideologies and evencharisma, and there is no tellingwhat, if aptly and adequatelyexploited, that alone could give tothe economy he has sworn toenrich and enbetter.

So President GoodluckJonathan doesn’t want todeclare his assets? And he

doesn’t give a damn about it? Sothe one that went to school shoelessis so sensitive to declare whatmother fortune and sleight ofpolitical hand had trust on him inthe few years he had been blessedto make his lift of the Nigeriantreasury? And he was soaudacious about it that he had totell us he doesn’t give a damnabout it? There is a contradictionhere. Why wouldn’t he just tellNigerians that the same god thatimposed him on Nigeria hasblessed him with the totality ofNigerian wealth and it is his togive to whosoever tickles hisfancy? Why didn’t he just tellNigerians that thecommonwealth is his andwhosoever cares to access hiswealth can take a look at the vastestate that is Nigeria and whoeveris not home with that ruddy factcan go to hell? That way, hisaudacity-which one of my friendstypifies as the audacity of a fool-would have had better meaningthan telling Nigerians that hedoesn’t give a damn aboutdeclaring the assets he hasacquired as President of Nigeria.

For the avoidance of doubts, Igive no damn myself about thatusually well talcumed but wellrelegated ritual called assetdeclaration in Nigeria. It amountsto nothing and leads to nothing ina country besmirched by total,overwhelming and unbridledcorruption. Even when Jonathan

was forced-deducing from hisrecent statement-by his lateprincipal, Musa Yar’adua todeclare his assets, I took it asnothing because there was littleto believe in the assets so declared.What is usually declared, as in theYar’adua/Jonathan effort, wasusually an infinitesimal fractionof the wholesome loot public officeholders purloin from the Nigeriantreasury and nothing more. Evenat that, a little scrutiny of the sodeclared assets would have ledmost of the declarers to jail werewe to run an enclave saner thanthe empire of thieves we have beenburdened with in Nigeria.

It therefore becomesworrisome that a man that hasnot done any other meaningfulwork apart from teaching beforeObasanjo’s mystic ken of roguerydiscovered him is so reticent todeclare his assets. It is so bizarrethat a man that the other day,whelped and made so muchcapital of the fact that he went toschool without a shoe is telling usto go to hell rather than he tellingus what he is worth. If anything,this fact and the clear indecorousmanner it was rendered put anofficial seal to the reign of vermin,termites, locusts, thieves,vampires, scavengers, treasurycleansers and rodents, which theJonathan regime has proven tobe. That after some year’s brushin government, Jonathan cannotsafely declare what he owns is apointer that Nigeria needs a totalcleansing and fumigation fromthe odious stench which roguepolitics, prebendal governanceand an official culture of sleaze has

brought on it. Nothing bestdemonstrates the moral nuisanceof those that pretend to rule usthan the fact that a man that justhappened on governance cannotsafely declare what he owns afterjust a few years in power andspeaks of the dire need for athorough cleansing from theheaven of looters of thieves thecountry had been turned intomost especially since the PDPcriminality happened on us andmost noticeably since the amoraland filthy Jonathan governmentwrote a sort of carte blancheallowing all manners of criminalsfree and unhindered access to thecountry’s treasury.

One must grant Jonathansome credit. He had never statedor pretended to be bothered aboutcorruption. He had never madeany road show of fightingcorruption. If anything, he hadshown perhaps the most tolerantattitude to corruption and publicstealing amongst the bevy oframparts that have taken turnsto rape the country. Hisattachment to anti corruption hasonly been to the cosmetic extentthat he has turned the anticorruption agencies frompretenders to anti corruption tocomic frills as Nigeria sink deep incorruption quagmire. He presidesover a regime that supervisesmulti trillion Naira scandals andis very much at home with thisputrid scenario. He had shownperhaps the most protectiveinclination to known thieves andhas even gone out of his way tokeep them off harm’s way. Evenwhen it means inflicting mass

privation and torture onNigerians, like in the ant-infestedsubsidy scam, he has not shirkedfrom levying the sledge hammeron Nigerians so that his closestconfidants, enablers and footsoldiers on corruption do not cometo grief. He does not contest hisblurred moral carriage and theethical red herring that weighsdown his regrettable regime. For aregime where corruption onlycompetes with cluelessness, it isunderstandable why he cannotdeclare his assets and doesn’t evengive a damn.

We must even give Jonathansome kudos for admitting he doesnot believe in asset declaration ashe was forced to do the one he didby his late principal. He was beingsincere and I place muchpremium on that. He makes nopretence about his mission ingovernance which is to promotebizarre stealing and he is onlylifting every scintilla of doubtfrom his commitment to ensurethat nothing is left of Nigeriabefore he rounds off his tenure. Weknow very well that he has nocompunction about rot and publicstealing, which hangs on hisgovernment like a malignanttumour so he needs not tell us hedoesn’t give a damn about assetdeclaration. He went through thediscomfort of declaring his assetsduring Yar’adua’s reign as a sortof political preservation. He is onlyshowing his true colours now he iscalling the shots. With the kind ofamoral stealing that has goneunder his watch, it would be amiracle if he can even take goodstock is his assets before he rounds

Goodluck Jonathan and his assetsBy Peter Claver Oparah

been plunged into. In a countrywhere the basic needs of food,shelter and clothing have nowbecome the exclusive preserve ofthe high and mighty, there is alight diversion to lower blood

“As a governor who is a leader in the truesense of the word, what would be better

than obliging his subjects their littlerequest? This little arguments and

standpoints are only embellishments andspices on the dish of the actual truth and

fact that the average Nigerian needs comicreliefs in things like this to douse the ever-smouldering environment and ambience

off his tenure. I believe whatprompts that audacity is the lackof ability to even take stock of whathe has made from the looters’haven he superintends over atpresent. By making thatunfortunate statement, he wasmerely living true to his nameand the ethos of his government.He was telling Nigerians that theymake such a hefty expectation bythinking he would wake from hislong slumber and deal withcorruption.

So, it is my opinion that wehanker less on Jonathan’s officialconfirmation that he is runningan unaccountable den of roguesfor that is what his refusal todeclare his assets tantamount to.We should rather warm up to thefact that the PDP has, in the lastthirteen years, done everythingto grow public stealing and theurgent imperative is how Nigeriacan free itself from the clutches ofthis cancerous virus with whichthe PDP is wrecking the countryat present. I don’t know who caresabout Jonathan’s assetsdeclaration when he is presidingover a plunderers’ enclave. Ourgreatest desire as a raped anddespoiled nation should be tocleanse this nation of the putridmess Jonathan and his forefathersin PDP has made of it and this isthe only way we can walk awayfrom the doom we face with theincreasing audacity with whichPDP celebrate corruption andpublic stealing in Nigeria.Peter Claver Oparah residesin Ikeja, Lagos and isreachable onpeterclaver2000@yahoo.com

pressure and someone will wantto deny Nigerians even that littlepleasure?

His reasons for that show mayrange from the spiritual to just atestimony of the normal partyingand jollying Northern pastime.Whatever it is, the Dan MajenKano should be left alone. His office

is no more official than that of theSecretary-General of theFederation, whose igwe dons thetraditional red cap with of coursethe matching outfit, nor theMinistry of Agriculture whose Oba Continued on page 15

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012PAGE 14

Policing oil spills in Nigeria

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WRITE TO US

Crude oil spills haveconsistently occupied thefront burner as the most

disturbing environmentalproblem in the oil rich but heavilyneglected Niger Delta region of ourcountry. Nigeria. I spent thebetter part of last week askingsome senior high school studentsif they knew what the NationalOil Spill Detection and ResponseAgency [NOSDRA] is supposed tobe doing. Only few said they hadever heard the name. Thisgovernment agency, according tothese respondents, needs to be moreinvolved in sensitization workbecause its mandate as themanager of oil spills in the countryis key to sustainable development.

Over the weekend, a major oilspill of catastrophic dimensionsoccurred in Sabatoru and Igbeta-Ewoama communities in NembeLocal Government Area councilin Bayelsa state, causingunprecedented panic among thepeople. Fingers are pointing atAgip, a multinational oil companybut the company, in turn, hasaccused fifth columnists ofsabotage of its trunk lines. Agippipelines and trunk line link oiland gas distribution to the exportterminal at the company’s majorfacility in Twon Brass. The twocommunities fear that the oilspills would destroy farmlands and

fishing ponds which are theirmeans of livelihood.

The chairman of the oil and gascommittee of Nembe Kingdom, Mr.Nengi James, whosaid thecommunities werenot happy with theresponse of Agip tothe situation,accused the oilcompany ofadopting delaytactics in the clean-up operation.

James said if thematter was nothandled properly, itwas capable ofpuncturing thep e a c e f u lr e l a t i o n s h i pbetween the oilcommunities and the oil company.“Having visited the affected sites, itis indeed sad and most unfortunatethat in spite of the huge consequencesoccasioned by the oil spill, Agip hasfailed to liaise with the Oil and GasCommittee to discuss how the clean-up could be done,” he said.

“It is instructive to note thatmulti-national companiesoperating in the Niger Delta regionhave often employed delay tactics

in dealing with oil spillages. Theyallow the oil spill to spread to Riversand mangrove forest before comingfor inspection and clean-up.”

Only recently, Nobel laureateprofessor Wole Soyinka and thechairman of the National HumanRights Commission Professor ChidiOdinkalu lamented the lack ofresponse by the federalgovernment to effectively compelindicted multinational oil firms tocommence clean up exercisearound ogoniland in River stategravely affected by oil spill whicheven attracted the attention of the

By Emmanuel Onwubiko

United Nations.Already, four Ogoni

communities and six familieshave dragged the Shell Petroleum

DevelopmentC o m p a n yover an oilspill andhydrocarbonfire thatoccurred inthe area in2009. Thecommunitiesand familiesa r edemandingN121.7bn ascompensationfor thed a m a g e scaused by thespills.

A statement by thespokesperson for the communities,Mr. Bari-ara Kpalap, in PortHarcourt recently, said thehydrocarbon fire and spillage,which was caused by a Shellmanifold facility, occurred in2009 in the oil firm’s Bomu OilField.

The affected communitieslocated in Gokana LocalGovernment Area of Rivers State

are Kegbara Dere, Kpor, Biara andDeken, while the families areGberebeedom, Keenom, Dugbor,Keregbor, Biradee and Nkoo/Gbienga Nbe.

The statement read in part, “Inthe suit (FHC/PH/CS/133/2012 –FHC/PH/CS/142/2012), theplaintiffs are seeking a N121, 703,992, 208.00 compensation forsevere impacts inflicted on themand the local populations.

“The communities arecollectively claiming N88,400,188, 208.00 while thefamilies sought to be paid N33,303, 804, 000.00 representinggeneral damages (health issuesand death of community andfamily members), and loss offarming rights, shrines and sacredplaces and air pollution.

“Others are loss of fishing rightsand replenishable ponds, economictrees, cash crops, land, swamps andcreeks.”

It pointed out that apart fromseeking financial compensation,the litigants were also seeking aDeclaration that the defendant isunder lawful duty to employlawful and acceptable methods toclean-up the plaintiffs’environment affected by oil

CBN and the absurdity of exchangerate management mechanism

Continued on page 15

Let us start with a cruelcomedy. Suppose a NigerianGovernment worker had,

after a grueling encounter withthe Nigerian, blood-sucking,political class, received theminimum wage of N18,000 in agiven month. No amount ofeconomizing will make thatmeasly sum finance his monthlysubsistence needs. He adjusts bytrekking to and from work, and toall other places he has to visit. Hisdiet does not include meat, milk,talk less of fruits.

What would happen were youto come to him and sapy that hehas to spend, let’s say N5000 inorder to safeguard the value of theN13,000 that would be left in hispocket? Were Chike Obi alive, andyou teamed him up with Prof. IyaAbubakar; plus that Yorubamathematician (Awojabi) madefamous by the 122/3 debacle, andasked them to teach theminimum wage earner tounderstand the mathematics ofhaving to spend his money inorder to safeguard its value, hewould surely not be willing tounderstand. I don’t understand iteither.

An article I read in an onlineedition of Business Day newspaperwas explaining to us the challengesin managing our foreignexchange reserve as a result offalling oil prices which will affectour forex earnings. The Naira isexpected to slide down as aconsequence, and CBN will beforced to sell dollars in order toshore it up! And that is mydilemma: A nation’s income(dollars) to be spent to shore up thevalue of that (Naira) which thegravity of economics insists thatit should go down! Is it not then adouble tragedy? What of if theNaira were allowed to have a freefall? Well there will result we are

told, an unmanageable inflation:industrial inputs will cost more;imported consumer goods will costmore; workers will demand higherwages, and the economy willcontract or even collapse! But why?

Yes, but why? Why should thecurrency of a country lose value? Ifa farmer in Nigeria uses God-givenland, rain, sunshine, and evenorganic fertilizers, to produce crops;should a situation be encouragedwhere he has to augment the year’sharvest from his barns in order forthe current year’s production to sellat the same price as last year, or inorder to recoup this year’sinvestment?

They say an exchange rate isdetermined by the law of supplyand demand. That is, if you desirethe currencies of others more thanthey desire yours; you need theirproducts and services more thanthey need yours; then the value ofyour currency will continuedeclining against theirs. (even yourself-worth will surely be decliningagainst theirs).

What is the solution then whenyou consume more than you earn?Well the CBN of your country, goingby universal practice, should tryto shield you from your folly: byensuring that you keep smokingcigarettes; drinking whiskey;chewing chewing gum, buyingused tyres and clothing; drinkingsoft drinks; buying foreign music,and films, at stable or affordableprices! But why?

‘Yes’, but why? Do average,normal citizens run their daily livesthis way? If you have little moneywhich you can either spend to buyfoodstuff for your family or buychewing gum for your use, would

you prioritize chewing gum overthe food your family is to eat?

Where do smugglers get theforex to finance their imports: usedtyres; used pants and brassieres;used cars; confectionaries; high classbrocades and soon? One could havewished they sold something fromNigeria to the Countries from whichthey imported all theaforementioned trash. But No!Wish not granted.

If an underdeveloped nation isblessed with astute economymanagers, and they decide to erectbarriers against importedfrivolities, the equally ‘astute’businessmen and women will havefactories that will need all sorts ofindustrial inputs: from rawmaterials, to spare parts, and evennew or fairly used plants. But thedevil is in the detail: the allocatedforeign exchange will intimately besold to black market forex dealers(they are now more respectable:Bureau de change!) at a nicemargin. The moribund factoryowner will earn millions with nosweat, (supervising production offinding market for final products).And those traders who can onlyimport and cannot export will haveforex for used tyres, and even gunsin some cases, to fuel interethnicrivalries.

Before going back to ourdiscussion on the management offoreign exchange rate, we maywell make the point that a nationsuch as Nigeria is rigged againstthose in formal sectoremployment: governmentworkers, and those who work inestablished privateestablishments. This is because ‘Saian kai ruwa rana’ (a Hausa

expression) before they are ableto move their salaries an inch,while prices are allowed to gallopup in feet. Workers of privatizedcompanies may face dismalfuture as factors such as ethnicitymay see them be thrown out infavour of the new owners’kinsmen and women. Or thepreferred investor wanted just tokill competition: he is an importercompeting against a localmanufacturer. By buying andclosing the factory, the consumerhas only the imported productsto choose from. The governmentloses taxes; the workers loseemployment; the Naira losesvalue; and the economy weakensdue to lack of internallygenerated growth.

To a nation like Nigeria, crudeoil should not be seen as aconsumable, it is an asset, thougha wasting one. Sold in its crudeform, there is little value-addition.And this is what makes us alaughing stock. Where did I see itwritten that Spain has 52operating refineries? I have notlooked it up, but I doubt if Spainhas Nigeria’s population. So therewould surely be no harm ifNigeria has a refinery in each stateof the federation. Can we quantifyour losses from selling crude oiland importing refined products?Have we any conscience to prickus as to our guilt that we havebeen flaring gas for well over fortyyears, while ordinary citizenscannot afford kerosene to cooktheir meals?

The value of Nigerian leadersshould be allowed to fall hard on‘concrete of disgust’. But will theycare, as long as we cannot stop

them from shoring it up fromNigeria’s treasury?

A nation’s currency is part ofthe nation’s image. You cannotmaintain the value of a nation’scurrency by spending the foreignreserves. The nation must firstexist in the minds of its leaders.(Nigeria does not exist in itsleader’s minds). The nation mustalso exist in the minds of thebusiness and working classes.(Nigeria cannot exist in theirminds because it does not exist inpolitical leaders’ minds). How canwe know when Nigeria startsexisting in the minds of politicalleaders? We will know whenpoliticians are able to put reins totheir ambitions once theythreaten the foundation of theirnation. But where political leadersencourage sectarianism in orderto achieve selfish, politicalobjectives, then one dollar shouldrationally be equal to at least N1,000, since you must of necessitygive low value to one who does notvalue the lives of his own people.

As the exchange rate nowstands, one American isequivalent to 160 Nigerians! ($1– N160). (In 1986 it started with3 Nigerians to 1 American)

Does any Nigerian feel that sheor he is worth more than that?Prove it by producing much morethan you consume; thereby givingyour nation, you currency, andyourself more value. I ammasochistically delighted that BenBenanke of America is 160 timesmore valuable than our newlyturbaned, aristocratic, Banker tobankers!Abdullah Musa wrote in from557K-Nassarwa, Kano City.

By Abdulla Musa

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012 PAGE 15

I hate calculations right frommy kindergarten days. I wasthen good at 1+2=3 and some

simple multiplications that did notgo beyond 2x3=6. Anything thatwent beyond this looked more ofMandarin to me. I later foundmyself in a state of cognitivedissonance at Kofar NassarawaPrimary School when figures wereslowly juxtaposed with alphabets.

In my college and universitydays, nothing significantlychanged. Maths remained likecockroach me. But by sheerprovidence of objectives questions,I ‘rigged’ my way to becomesophomore when I passed Mathsfor Social Science with E duringmy university days. Can you seeOBJ’s (read Obasanjo if you like)rigging power? Attahiru Jega(yes, Jega, when he was the VC ofBUK) then signed my certificate(of return)!

Today’s discourse is not mainlyabout Maths but rather about thecalculation of loot and setting anagenda for looters. Looting is notalien to Nigeria and Nigerians. Itis like a trait in our genetic makeupwhich makes us vintageNigerians. A shoe shine boy canrub Stella Pomade on your shoesas Kiwi neutral. A sugarcane sellerwill palm foamy part of the caneon naive kids as the sweatiest part.A tax collector will print hispersonal invoice. Constructioncompanies will tamper with theinitial contract specification or uselow caliber metal rods on overheadbridge in order accommodate 15percent kickback. This is how wedraw ourselves back.

Now let us steer the discourseback to the issue of calculation. Iwas amazed recently when I read

a tweet revealing the mind-blowing power of a billion naira.The tweet says if a person steals N2billion, and he is spendingN50,000 daily, it will take him100 years to spend the money. Yousee, from invective, rumour,humour, down to preaching, onesees all manner of stories in thesocial media.When yourmind gotwounded by awildest rumourtoday, you maybe healedtomorrow with adose of fact. Suchis the nature ofsocial media.

Despite myc o n g e n i t a lnumerophobia, Ihad to make thecalculations to erase the doubt inmy mind. Here we go: 365 daysmake a year. Yes. So if you spendN50,000 daily for 365 days, youwill spend a total sum of N18,250,000. Right. When youmultiply N18, 250,000 by 100(years), you will arrive atN1,825,000,000. Still, you havea remaining N175 million. So ifone wishes to be fikish, one can add25 days ‘accrued’ from the 25 leapyears in every century. With justthe leap year spoil, you can comeup with ‘something’ that can drilla couple of boreholes at Ikare-Akokoor build a ward at YadakunyaLeprosy Hospital.

Dear looter, do you know how

many dialysis machines N1 billioncan buy? I learn that the cost of onedialysis is in the region of $1500(N2.4 million) to $6,000 (N9million). So if you divide 1 billionby 2.4 million, you will arrive atabout 416 million units of dialysismachines. Isn’t this amount morethan enough to decorate our

hospitals with dialysis and X-raymachines?

Here, a looter who stole N2billion can save two things: livesand 1 billion naira. If you canwithdraw the money from yournumerous proxy accounts or haulback your loot from the Swissvaults, many people with renalproblem, who otherwise wouldsuffer to death, can be saved. InNigeria, you will think buying theequipment is more difficult thanbuying drones or owning nucleartechnology. Why don’t we improvethe standard of our hospitals thisyear, and then focus on anotherproblem the following year?

There are many members of

the National Assembly who cangive out N1 billion the way we giveN20 donation for mosquemaintenance or offertory inchurch. In the Customs Service,there are many billionaires whocan feed millions with just a cupfrom the kegs of their wealth.Likewise in the extractive

industry and theCivil Service,there are enoughbillionaires tomake life betterfor Nigerians.S u r p r i s i n g l y ,these billionairesdo not only evadecharity but alsotax. A localcouncil will forcea poor roadsidevulcaniser to paytax but cannot

collect ground rent from the rich.Paradox.

If a pension fund looter can be‘cleaver’ enough to steal Old AgePensioners’ (OAPs) lifetime saving,I wonder why he couldn’t have thenous to commit some percentageof the money to charity. With BokoHaram killing innocent Nigeriansopenly in a pocket of attacks,corruption is secretly executing agenocide against Nigerians on arichter scale.

I was recently privileged to seea bill of quantity and cost ofbuilding a four classroom blockwith two offices. The ultra-modernclassroom, which was build at thecost of N15 million, has long-span

Agenda for looters aluminum roofing sheets,suspended ceiling, tiled floor, extra-strong doors, among others. So ifthese looters can be conscientiousenough to give some percentage oftheir loot to education, the literacylevel will improve.

Looter live in castles, whiletheir siblings and relations live inhuts or rented multi-roomapartments that can pass aspigpen. They take their childrento study abroad but they cannotpay the school fees of their nephewsand nieces studying at home. Can’tyou see how heartless we can be?

Life expectancy in Nigeria isjust about 50 years. So this makesit somewhat impossible for a looterto live for 100 year, that is even ifhe began stealing public fundswhen he was being pushed in abuggy. The 10 billion Tafa Balogunloot could take him centuries tospend. James Ibori loot will takehim up to the new millennium.Abacha loot, which is calculatedin billions of dollars, could even lastfor eternity.

Apart from our home grownlooters, we have thesemultinationals who feigncommitment to corporate socialresponsibility (CSR). According toa blog,injusticefacts.wordpress.com, “thetop 200 corporations [in the world]are bigger than the combinedeconomies of 180 countries.” Butit’s dismaying to note that most ofthese corporations made the BribePayers Index (BPI). The fact is thatif all the bribe givers will refuse togive, there won’t be a takeranymore and life will be better forNigerians.

I just wish the looters would seelogic in my agenda.

Sanusi used to appear in theflowery Arabic gown before now.He only just upgraded to befit hisstatus as the emir-in-waiting. Histhree major dress-codes: the gown,three-piece suit with bow-tie, andthe Marxist tight safari all suit hisperson. Wherever he went, hestrictly restricted himself to thesecodes of dressing, from importantfunctions to even the presentationof compensation for the Madallablast victims.

As far as I am concerned,Governor Lamido Sanusi has doneno wrong, neither has his recentstir impinged on his performancesince he took over as the spearhead

of Nigeria’s apex bank. I willadvocate in fact, that he treats usto leisure as this periodically. Justlike his people want to see himdonning the colours of royalty, mypeople of Anambra will be morethan willing to receive such askilled thespian. We could use a lotof him and his shows.

Sanusi has engaged Nigeriansin very unusual intellectualconversations and discourse,starting from his criticism of YarAdua’s seven-point agenda asbeing wide and unrealistic,recommending rather two-pointagenda at the point of hisconfirmation in the hallowedchambers of the Senate. He

proceeded to dismantle theleadership of some bankers,branding them as criminals,looters and gangsters. If thegovernment had not taken overthe three banks using the bridgebanking model, by now they musthave been neck-deep inliquidation. He spoke his mind onthe running cost of the NationalAssembly, presenting the dangerof their cost. He was summonedand threatened, but he kept hisground. He proceeded to Islamicbanking, cashless banking andother reforms. We should not forgethis tenure mandate that saw UBA,Zenith and others out of theirleadership. Thereafter he turned

his energy into agriculture,putting the bankers where theybelong, with almost directlending to to agriculture throughstructured finance via the stategovernment. At the momentwhen the Senate needed to tamehim, he went cultural, royal andtourist with his regal appearanceto the institution, heart andsystem of CBN-a major relief toseverely traumatised Nigerians.We need more of him, let him be.We cannot be celebrating thequeen at 60-let us at least havesomeone to celebrate.Ike Willie Nwobu’s emailaddress:ikewillienwobu@yahoo.com.

Sanusi’s dress code: What’s the noise about?

spill.The plaintiffs stated further;“We (the plaintiff) also seek adeclaration that the defendant isunder lawful duty to provide analternative source of drinkingwater for the plaintiffs pursuantto their right to an environmentfavourable enough for theirdevelopment” and “a declarationthat the defendant is under lawfulduty to relocate the BomuManifold and pipelines to anotherlocation not close to the dwellinghouses of the plaintiffs.”

Pauline Tallen, the formerMinister of State for Environmentis of the view that governmentcannot afford not to carry out thestatutory obligation of ensuringthat whenever there is a spill, theenvironment must be promptlycleaned up to save the inhabitants

from the environmental hazards.Her words: “Environmentalissues have perhaps attractedmore lively discussions than anyscientific topics these recent years.This is because man suddenlyrealized that his dirty habits arewreaking a terrible havoc on hisecosystem-acid rain, ozone layerdepletion, deforestation anddesertification, oil spills, erosion,global warming, solid waste, toxicchemicals. These contaminants,pollutions and toxicants in formsof solid, liquids and gasses that arespewed daily by anthropogenicactivities, are threatening thevery fragile fabric and have

exposed our very tenuousexistence and this hithertobeautiful world”.

The federal government, inline with global best practices, hasestablished the National oil spillDetection and Response Agency(NOSDRA) under the National oilspill Detection and ResponseAgency (establishment) Act of2006 to handle the criticalenvironmental consequences of oilspill and to enforce relevant lawsguiding against oil spillage in t ehoil producing communities.

The Jonathan administrationis expected to be in the vanguard ofthe advocacy for adequate funding

and comprehensive legalempowerment of NOSDRA so thatthese disturbing cases of oil spill inthe oil producing communities areeffectively tackled. Governmentis statutorily obliged by section 20of the Constitution to protect theenvironment from oil spill. Section20 of the Constitution providesthat “The State SHALL protect andimprove the environment andsafeguard the water, air, andland, forest and wild life ofNigeria”. The internationalconvention on civil liability for oilpollution damage (1992) and theinternational oil pollutioncompensation funds convention

(IOPC), [1992] are major globallegal framework that specificallyprescribes measures on how toensure environment that isrelatively free of oil spill.

Senator I. S. Martyns-Yellowe,one time chairman of the Senatecommittee on the environment,wrote thus; “Domestication ofthese conventions is a sine qua nonfor Nigeria in its capacity of aleading oil producing and oiltransporting country to avail herof direct access to hugecompensations from theinternational oil pollutioncompensation Fund in case ofdamages caused by spillages fromoil tankers”. Several years after, itis unclear if the NigerianGovernment has indeeddomesticated the two global anti-oil spill conventions. To thereforecontemplate any measure outsideof strengthening NOSDRAcharged with the onerous duty ofprotecting the environment fromoil spill is a complete anti-climaxfrom the general expectation of thegood people of Nigeria. NigerianGovernment must give NOSDRAthe legal teeth to more effectivelycombat oil spill and to carry outmedia campaign in the same waythat such agencies like NationalAgency for Food and DrugAdministration and Control[NAFDAC] always do because ofenhanced financial lifeline.Emmanuel Onwubiko blogs atwww.huriwa.blogspot.com

Policing oil spills in Nigeria

Continued from page 13

Continued from page 14

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012PAGE 16

Man remanded in prison foralleged possession of ammunitionA Gwagwalada High Court on

Monday remanded oneJohn Apkavan in prison

custody for allegedly being inpossession of firearms.

Apkavan, of Nasarawa state,

was arraigned on a one-countcharge of possessing ammunition.

The prosecution counsel, MrUmoh Inah, told the court that theaccused was arrested on May 21at the FRCN headquarters, Abuja,

with 37 rounds of ammunitionand two grenades.

He urged the court to takecognisance of the offence andremand the accused in prisonpending the conclusion of

investigation.Justice Balami Mwada

granted the application of theprosecution counsel and orderedthat the accused be remanded inprison. (NAN)

The police have arraignedone Ibrahim Sani ofAnguwar Beriberi village,

Abuja before an Abuja SeniorMagistrate’s Court on a one-countcharge of alleged theft.

The police prosecutor, Mr SimonEmmanuel told the court that thematter was reported to the Life Camp

Police Station by one Mr Inyang Ateof Efab Estate, Abuja on July 4,2012.

Emmanuel said that the offencewas committed on July 4, when theaccused and one, Black, now at largebroke into Ate’s house and allegedlystole four speakers and onegenerator.

He said that the stolen itemswere valued at N390, 000.

The prosecutor added thatduring investigations, the exhibitswere all recovered from thepossession of Sani while hisaccomplice Black was at large.

He told the court that the offencecontravenes Sections 79 and 287 of

the Penal Code.However, the accused person,

however, pleaded not guilty.The Magistrate, Habiba Bello

granted him bail in the sum of N20,000 with one reliable surety in likesum.

She adjourned the case to July16, 2012 for further hearing. (NAN)

Man arraigned for alleged theft

Inspector Clement Egwu told thecourt that one Dr Nwokoye ofGwarimpa, Abuja reported thecase at the Life Camp PoliceStation on July 3, 2012.

Egwu said that the twoaccused persons threatened to killNwokoye because he reported acase of theft against one

Queendalin Udobi.The prosecutor said that the

offence amounted to joint act andcriminal intimidation whichcontravenes Section 79 and 347of the Penal Code.

The accused persons,however, pleaded not guilty.

The Magistrate, Habiba Bello,

granted them bail in the sum ofN100, 000 with one reasonablesurety each in like sum.

He ordered that the suretiesmust reside within the court’sjurisdiction.

He adjourned the case to July23, 2012 for further hearing.(NAN)

Two persons have beenarraigned before anAbuja Senior Magistrate’s

Court over alleged threat to life.They accused persons are

Inijamah Jane, 37, housewife,and Okechukwu Okeke, 26, bothresidents of Dawaki Close, Abuja.

The police prosecutor,

Two arraigned over alleged threat to life

FCTA sensitisesyouthsagainst drugabuse,trafficking

Youths have been urgedto desist from drugabuse and drug

traf f icking in order toremain focus on theireducational pursuit.

The Secretary, FCTHealth and Human ServicesSecretariat , Dr. DemolaOnakomaiya gave theadvise at an event organisedfor selected secondary schoolin Gwagwalada, Bwari andAbaji area councils to markthe Internat ional DayAgainst Drug Abuse.

Organised by the FCTDrug Abuse ControlCommittee, the event ,according to the secretarywas aimed at ra is ing the awareness of the youth whoare the target population ondrug abuse, on the dangersof illicit drug trafficking anddrug abuse.

He said drug abuse destroys the future of theyouth, who are otherwise very important personalitiesof tomorrow, urging them torather focus more on theirstudies in order to become useful to their families andthe society at large.

Speaking at the event, ondrug abuse by young people,Professor of PharmaceuticalTechnology, NationalInstitute for PharmaceuticalResearch Development, Idu,Abuja, Pharm. OlobayoKunle revealed that 20 percent of those arrested fordrugs are youths.

He said drug use andabuse have become veryprevalent in our societytoday because informationabout the avai labi l i ty andtypes of drugs, methods ofingestion and drug seekingpract ice are readi lyava i lab le .

Kunle l is tedexperimentat ion, peerpressure, the bid to reducestress, build self esteem, thedesire to be sociable , drugavai labi l i ty , unemploymentand social economicfrustration among others, asthe factors that drive manyyouths to engage in drugs.

He emphasised the healthand social hazards ofinvolvement in drug abuseas he advised youths to shunthe practice.

The professor a lsoexpressed appreciation to theFCT administrat ion fororganis ing such anenl ightenment andsensit isat ion program,stressing that the programwould impart posit ively inthe life of the youths.

By Josephine Ella

The Federal CapitalTerritory (FCT) HighCourt Judge in

Gwagwalada Area Council, JusticeBalami has warned the lawyersacross the country to shun anyshady act capable of tarnishing theimage of law profession.

Balami gave the warningwhile addressing lawyers during

the special reception/inaugurallecture organized by the NigerianBar Association (NBA)Gwagwalada branch.

He also urged legalpractitioners to be vanguard in thefight against corruption in thecountry, noting that war againstcorruption is the responsibility ofeverybody in our society.

He further advised lawyersagainst collecting legal fees fromtheir clients before defending them

in the Law Court.In his remark, the guest

speaker, Dr Samson Sani Ameh,who is the Senior Advocate ofNigeria (SAN) urged lawyers to usetheir profession to protect therights of Nigerians and called onwomen lawyers to participateactively in the law profession.

On his part, the Chairman ofNBA Gwagwalada branch in aninterview said that the leadershipof the association had apprehended

some fake lawyers who have beenoperating illegally in the areas.

He said the association wouldnot relent in its effort to fight fakelawyers operating in Abaji,Gwagwalada, Kwali and Kuje areacouncils.

Commenting on corruption inthe country, the GwagwaladaNBA Chairman noted thatNigerian lawyers were in bestposition to curb corruption in thecountry.

Avoid shady acts, Judge warns lawyersBy Usman Shuaibu

Market womendisplay theirgoods andwaiting forcustomers,yesterday inMasakamarket, alongAbuja- KeffiRoad.

Photo: MahmudIsa

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012PAGE 18

Street traders, hawkers urged toembrace empowerment programmes

Principal decrydearth ofinfrastructure inpublic schools

Worried over therecalcitrant attitudeof street hawkers and

traders, who despite the ban ontheir activities continue toflood Abuja streets with their

wares, the Federal CapitalTerritory Administration(FCTA) yesterday, appealed toculprits to embrace theempowerment programmes ofthe administration.

Speaking through hisSenior Special Assistant onPolitical Matters, Senator

Jibril Wowo, the Minister of theFederal Capital Territory,Senator Bala Mohammedreiterated the stand of theadministration against streethawking, emphasizing thatthe ban on street hawking stillstands.

Although, the minister

commended their sense ofeconomic activity, he condemned the dangerousstyle they choose to do their business by risking their liveson a daily basis in the traffic.

According to him, “nomatter how attractive streethawking may appear to ourpeople who choose to sell in thetraffic, the exposure to riskand associated danger of theirtrade is of serious concern tothe administration.

“God forbid, the event ofany single loss of life due tomechanical faults or otheraccidents cannot be comparedto the entire profit made byall the traders put together.It is important that theyshould weigh the option ofsafer trade to this dangeroustrade they engage in,” he said.

This was as he called on thestreet hawkers to takeadvantage of some of thea d m i n i s t r a t i o n ’ sprogrammes aimed atempowering the economicallychallenged residents of theterritory like the BwariVocational and RehabilitationCentre, for the PhysicallyChallenged Persons, Child-Hawkers and Street Kids aplatform used by theadministration to tackle thesesocial menaces.

He insisted that the overalldevelopment of the children isa fundamental right owedthem which should bepursued by their parents andthe government at all levels.

Principal, Idukoro JuniorSecondary School, Idu inthe Federal Capital

Territory (FCT), Mrs. AishatuMohammed Ibrahim has raisedalarm over the infrastructuraldecay in some public schools withinthe territory.

Aishatu, who lamented the appalling situation at the justconcluded 4th graduationceremony and launching of theschool maiden magazine, blamedthe poor performance of studentsin most of the public schools to lackof basic infrastructure.

Ibrahim called on theUniversal Basic EducationCommission (UBEC) in the FCT tocome to the aid of her school andother affected schools by providingthem with the necessaryinfrastructure.

In the same vein, ChiefLauncher of the occasion, AlhajiYahaya Asawu also urged theFederal Government to ensurethat basic infrastructure areprovided to all the schools in theterritory and others nationwide.

He commended the principal,staff and students of the school fortheir zeal which he noted havemade the school to stand out amongits equals.

A contractor, Chinedu Eze,26, has been arraignedbefore an Abuja Chief

Magistrate’s Court forallegedly convertingN34,534, belonging to hisclient, to his personal use.

Eze is standing trial on atwo-count charge of criminalbreach of trust and cheating.The prosecution said theoffences contravened sections

312 and 322 of the Penal Code.The Police Prosecutor, Mr

Jeremiah Elijah, told the courtthat the case was reported tothe Lugbe Police Station byMrs Ngozi Emeghepo ofFederal Housing Authority(FHA), Lugbe, on March 15,2 0 1 2 .

Elijah said that inJanuary, the complainantgave the accused the money to

supply her with cement.He said the accused,

however, failed to bring thesaid item and converted themoney to his personal use.

The prosecutor added thatthe accused was unable to givea satisfactory account of hisaction during investigation.

Eze pleaded not guilty tothe charges.

Elijah said in view of the

denial by the accused of theFirst Information Report (FIR),the court should fix a date forhearing.

Magistrate Tony Ubanigranted bail to the accused inthe sum of N100,000, with asurety residing within theFederal Capital Territory.

He adjourned the case toJuly 30, 2012 for hearing.(NAN)

Contractor, 26, arraigned for alleged fraud

The Chairman of AbujaMunicipal Area Council(AMAC) has challenged

all political office holders andothers in position of authority to brace up to the challenges ofcharting a formidable coursethat would offer unfetteredaccess to health care for Abujaresidents.

Jiba spoke yesterday,during an event tocommemorate the 2012 WorldPopulation Day.

He noted that the provisionof basic healthcare services tothe electorate is both a

necessity and a constitutionalright of every citizen ofNigeria.

According to him,population in all ramificationsis both a blessing and a curse,depending on how authoritiesand indeed family unit manageit.

“Some critical areas thatadversely affect our society isas a result of the negativeimpact of population, whichincludes explosion, crimes,squalor, rise in disease andmany anti-social vicesassociated thereof,” he said.

The Chairman assured thatAMAC administration iswilling to step up its efforts in

adding value to primaryhealth care service deliverysystem.

“We shall indeed try todomesticate the theme by beingmore responsive to the ruralneeds of the people”, he said.

He advised parents to plantheir families well, stating thatparents and our religiousleaders must also continue topreach morality to themultitude they lead.

Earlier the Chairman of theNational PopulationCommission (NPC), Mr EzeFestus Odimegwu said that thetheme of the 2012 WorldPopulation Day is “UniversalAccess of Reproductive Health

Service”.He therefore, emphasize

the need to re-energizecommitment towardsuniversal access toreproductive health services asit has become more compellingin order to meet Goal 5 of theMillennium DevelopmentGoals (MDGs) which prescribeimprovement in maternalhealth.

Festus lament that thecurrent maternal mortalityratio of 545 per 100,000 livebirths is unacceptable, saying,it is disheartening to note that52,900 women, includingteenage girls die every yearfrom pregnancy related causes.

AMAC chair tasks office holders on health care delivery

A young man searching for kerosene, last Friday at the NNPC Mega Station, in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

By Josephine Ella

Courtremands manfor assaulting public officers

An Abuja SeniorMagistrate’s Court hasremanded a 35-years-old

businessman, Mohammed Kekere inprison custody for causing grievousbodily hurt on two public officialswhile on duty.

Kekere of House 11, Phase 2,Federal Housing Authority, Lugbe,was alleged to have caused bodilyhurt on Bako James, a staff of the HighCourt, Maitama and Corporal DanielMusa, a police officer attached to thecourt.

Presiding magistrate OmololaAkindele ordered that the accused beremanded for causing a lot of injurieson the complainants and adjournedthe case to August 7 for hearing.

Earlier, the Police Prosecutor,Inspector Jeremiah Elijah told thecourt that the case was reported tothe Lugbe Police Station by the duoon July 5.

According to him, James andMusa are on official duty to evictKekere from a house which he wasoccupying based on a previous rulingby another court.

Elijah told the court that thevictims were on admission at AsokoroGeneral Hospital where they werereceiving treatment for the injuries.

He said that when questioned bythe police, the accused was unable togive any satisfactory account ofhimself, adding that the offencecontravenes Sections 347 and 267of the Penal Code. (NAN)

By Adeola Tukuru

By Adeola Tukuru

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012 PAGE 17

Young men patronising second hand clothes, yesterday at Garki market, in Abuja.Women displaying fruits and pepper waiting for customers, yesterday at Kubwa market,in Abuja. Photos: Justin Imo-owo

A middle-aged man preparing to take his breakfast on road side, yesterday in Nyanya.A young man hawking plantain chips, yesterday at Kudu market, in Abuja.

A destitute resting in an uncompleted building, yesterday in Garki 2, Abuja.

PAGE 19PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Management Tip of the DayThe right way to ask for a new assignment

manager may be reluctant tochange things. Or he may feelyou’re not the right person forthe job. Try to predict theseconcerns beforehand so youcan address them directly.

Make a plan. How will yourcurrent responsibilities behandled if you take on the new

assignment? Don’t promise youcan do it all. Point out which ofyour tasks can be passed on.

Be patient. This may not bea one-conversation decision.Give your boss time to thinkabout it.Source: Harvard BusinessReview

INSIDE

If you hope to take on newproject, don’t walk intoyour boss’s office and just

ask for it. Prepare for theconversation by doing thefollowing:

Anticipate concerns. Ifyou’re doing well with yourcurrent assignments, your

BUYING SELLING

CFA 0.2779 0.2979• 191.7662 193.0042£ 240.6991 242.253RIYAL 41.3034 41.57$ 154.9 155.9

CBN 6th July, 2012EXCHANGE RATES

PARALLEL RATES BUYING SELLING

• 207 209£ 258 260RIYAL 40 42$ 165 169

SAHCOL to provideground handlingservice to Etihad

Airways

- Pg 20

Email: amunuimam@yahoo.co.uk Mob: 08033644990

BBBBBUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESS

An industrial textile factory once vibrant is now comatose

Kaduna textile industries to resumeproduction soon, says KRPC

“This refinery is capable ofproducing 16 by-products fromrefining our crude oil andimported crude.

“But unfortunately, withthe refinery shut down foralmost five years, theseindustries that depend on themhad no choice than to shutdown.

“The good news now is thatwe have produced enough to

start supplying them on asustainable basis.

“We now have enough kero-solvent which thin, clear liquidconsisting of a mixture ofhydrocarbons for our detergentindustries.

“We are just waiting forpermission to start allocatingthem. Also, our LiquefiedPetroleum Gas (LPG) plants inKaduna and environs would

With current dailyproduction of 3.5million litres of petrol,

the Kaduna Refining andPetrochemical Company(KRPC) says most of theindustries that rely on its by-products would soon bounceback to business as it hasenough stock-feeds to sustainsuch industries.

The KRPC acting ManagingDirector, Idi Mukhtar, toldreporters in Kaduna at theweekend that, “afterrehabilitation andmaintenance of our plants, wehave been producing at 70 percent the refinery’s capacity.

“The production of basicfuels comes with other byproducts which manyindustries are dependant on.

From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna start getting their supply fromhere.

“We also have plenty stockof asphalt for road constructionand sundry services and thetextiles industries in Kadunathat have been shut downbecause of power problemsshould breathe back to lifebecause we can now supplythem with the much neededLou Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO).”

Seven Nigerian banks havebeen featured in a rankingof the Top 1000 banks in the

world.The list is compiled by The

Banker magazine, a publicationof the Financial Times of London.

The seven Nigerian banks

are Zenith Bank, First Bank,GTbank, Access Bank, UnitedBank for Africa, Fidelity bank,First City Monument Bank andSkye Bank.

The banks are rankedaccording to their tier-1 capital.According to this metric, ZenithBank is the No. 1 Nigerian bankon the list with a tier 1 capital of

$ 2.398 billion (Zenith is no.7 inAfrica and No.322 Worldwide).

Zenith is followed closely byFirst Bank’s tier 1 capital of $2.262 billion (No.2 in Nigeria,No.8 in Africa and No.338worldwide). GTBank is third witha tier 1 capital of $ 1.478 billion(No.3 in Nigeria, No.11 in Africaand No.455 worldwide).

Access Bank’s tier-1 capital orshareholders’ funds is $1.054billion (No.4 in Nigeria, No.15in Africa and No. 541worldwide).

UBA is the fifth largest bankin Nigeria, No. 16 in Africa andNo. 563 worldwide. Fidelity takesposition as the sixth biggest bankin Nigeria, No. 17 in Africa andNo. 618 in the world while FirstCity Monument Bank becomesthe seventh largest bank inNigeria, No. 22 in Africa and No.710 in the world.

Bank of America emergedNo.1 on the global list with a tier1 capital of $159.232 billion, JPMorgan was No. 2 with $150billion. Four American and FourChinese banks made the top tenlist, with one British andJapanese Bank apiece alsoemerging.

7 Nigerian banks ranked amongst world’s top 1000By Aminu Imam

Microfinance Banks in thecountry have called onthe Central Bank of

Nigeria (CBN) to extend thedeadline for recapitalisation by oneyear and also review policiesaffecting the sub-sector.

It would be recalled that the CBNhad given all microfinance bankstill December 31, 2012 to complywith the revised policy framework

The MFBs however asked theapex bank to extend the deadline toDecember 31st 2013, so as to allowenough time to either recapitaliseor enter into merger and acquisition.

This was contained in acommuniqué issued by participantsat the just concluded microfinancecertification programme of non-executive directors of microfinancebanks organised by CBN, NDIC andFITC in Lagos.

The communiqué stated, “Thefact that the EFCC considers mostof the fraud cases affectingmicrofinance banks to be below itsthreshold have emboldenedperpetrators of fraud against thesub-sector to continue to exploit theendless adjournment inconventional courts.

“There should be further reviewof some aspects of the regulatoryguidelines and policies as follows;sanctions for infringementsregarding submission ofmonthly returns, annual reportsetc to be reviewed downward formicrofinance banks and to beimposed only after enoughwarnings have been given,corporate tax for microfinancebanks to be reduced to 20 per centofficially with special additionalconcessions because of the socialnature of the business, and singleobligor for microfinance banks tobe increased to five per cent and10 per cent for individual andcorporate borrowers respectively.”

MFBs seek oneyear extension ofrecapitalisationdeadlineFrom Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

PAGE 20 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

SON to beginproductregistration inSeptember

The Standards Organisationof Nigeria (SON) has said itwill begin product

registration in September.The registration which willcover all products in thecountry, according to the Director-General of SON, Mr.Joseph Odumodu.

Niger Insurancemarks 50 -years ofbusiness withdividend payout

Shareholders of 50-year oldNiger Insurance Plc wouldhave reason to smile

again as the company’s boardplans to declare dividendduring the 42nd annualgeneral meeting of theinsurance company, billed tohold in Lagos July 19, 2012.

Access Bankobtains ISO’ssecuritymanagementcertification

Barely a year after itsemergence as the firstNigerian and indeed only

bank in West Africa to obtainthe Payment Card IndustryData Security StandardCertification, (PCIDSS), AccessBank has again raised the antein management of securityinformation with its recentcertification by the BritishStandard Institute.

Dangote Flourpartnership withTiger brandspushes stocks tomonth-high

Dangote Flour Mills Plc, aNigerian producer,headed for its highest in

more than a month after TigerBrands Ltd. (TBS) of SouthAfrica agreed to take amajority stake in the miller.

Flour mills profitdown 94% overcommodity pricerise exchange ratelosses

Flour Mills of Nigeria Plchas released its auditednumbers for the year

ended 31 March 2012,revealing turnover grew by amarginal 8.2 percent from theN238.8billion reported for FullYear 2011 to N258.3billion.

COMPANYNEWS

British Airways opens summer flights withdiscounts for economy class passengers

The British Airways airlinehas opened up a big andcheap opportunity for

Nigerians travelling to theUnited Kingdom in the economyclass for summer.

With a lot of activities goingon in the United Kingdom thissummer, including Wimbledon,The Olympics and Paralympics,the airline has announcedanother discount offer for itsWorld Traveller (economy) classcustomers.

The new offer is coming justweeks after BA rolled out anumber of discount promos,namely the ‘Big Holidays, SmallPrices’ Promo on its WorldTraveller, World Traveller Plusand Club World cabins, as well asamazing discounts on its ClubWorld to several North Americancities.

According to the airline, BAcustomers travelling to Londonfrom Lagos and Abuja on theWorld Traveller (Economy) classcan now experience unparalleledservice within the luxurious

ambience of British Airwayscabins for less.

Announcing the new promo,Kola Olayinka, British AirwaysCountry Commercial managerfor Nigeria, stated that the offerwhich is available for salebetween June 21 and June 29,2012, means that BA passengersin the World Traveller class cannow travel from Abuja or Lagosto London from as low as $439and $489, respectively.

He disclosed that outboundtravel for the offer runs from 21June till July 3, 2012. All fares,

he added, are exclusive of allsurcharges and taxes, and subjectto availability. He said that withthe offer, British Airways isproviding its customers thechance to start their summerholidays early.

“We provide inclusive fares,a high free baggage allowance onall flights, free seat selectionwithin 24-hours of departure,make no charge for bookings bydebit card and we fly tomainstream airports close to thedestination you want,” Olayinkasaid.

. . . to deploy tech to find passengers’ face on Google

United Kingdom carrier,British Airways has saidit will

install sophisticated gadget onits aircrafts that will enable itsstaff to identify customers byusing a new computer systemthat searches Google to findimages of them.

The airline said cabin crewand staff at check–in desksand first–class lounges will beequipped with technology to helpthem meet and greet selectedtravellers.

According to BA, the aim isto give the airline a morepersonal touch when servingimportant passengers, such aschief executives of financial

From Suleiman Idris, Lagos companies, who may not beinstantly recognisable byBritish Airways employees.

The carrier already identifiessuch passengers on each flightbut until now staff would nothave known what they lookedlike until they checked in butwith the new computer they willbe able to approachsuch clientsproactively.

SAHCOL to provide ground handling service to Etihad Airways

African ministers call for greater air links across continents

Ministers from acrossAfrica countries haveaffirmed that there is

the need for the continent toeffect changes in its aviationsector in order to lay a solidfoundation for competition in theemerging globalindustry thathas seen the continent still milesbehind in the areas ofliberalisation and competition.

The leaders, who gathered at

the Kempinski Resort Hotel inthe Seychelles for the 7th RoutesAfrica summit said theconference is part of a high levelStrategy Forum aim at dealingwith key issues inAfrica aviationin Liberalisation versusCompetition and theglobal outlook for Africa andfinding the opportunities andchallenges inherent on thecontinent.

They said it is time theaviation industry come together

By Muhammad Sada

The “Know Me” system willenable staff “to put a face to thename before the customer setsfoot in the airport”. It said.

The programme is able tosend messages with informationabout specific passengers to theiPads of customer service agentsand senior cabin crew or updatecheck–in staff via the airline’scomputer system.

From Suleiman Idris, Lagos to fashion and highlight growthand opportunity that exists in theregion as a springboard to have ashare of the global aviationbusiness.

Addressing the over 300decision makers for thecontinent’s aviation sector,keynote speaker and Minister forTourism and Culture forthe Seychelles, Alain St Angestated that Africa can no longerafford to live on an island in theindustry hence the need to

establish partnerships betweenthe sector and others.

Panel discussions and keynoteaddresses during forum alsoencourage the need for greaterair lift within the region, so thatall African countries can gleanthe economic benefit that airservices bring.

The summit affirms thatAfrican governments must becommitted to a universal e-visa,to encourage tourism and createjobs in the various sectors.

Nigeria foremost SkywayAviation HandlingCompany Limited

(SAHCOL) has been picked asground handler for new entrantinto the country Etihad Airwayswhich began its operations intoLagos, from its home base,

Aero links Uyo and Abuja with new flight operationslaunch of these new routes andadded frequencies furtherunderscores the importance ofour interest in the dynamic cityof Uyo and our commitment toits growth.”

frequencies, which give ourcustomers even more traveloptions to and from Uyo,”said Captain Akin George, AeroManaging Director.

He said “In addition, the

From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

Abu Dhabi in UAE a fortnightago.

The airline said SAHCOL willbe providing total GroundHandling Services for it’s 6 timesa week flight operations from andto Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Head of Corporate

Communication of SAHCOL, Mr.Basil Agboarumi told journaliststhe company would be supplyingGround Handling Services to allEtihad Airways operations(passenger and Cargo Aircraft)in/out bound Lagos.

The company currently

provide similar service to ArikAir, The United/ContinentalAirline, Air France Cargo andEgypt Air while others includeMiddle East Airlines (MEA), AirNigeria, Allied Air andAeroContractors Airline amongothers.

Aero Contractors said it hascommenced a daily flightoperation between Uyo and

Abuja with a Boeing 737 aircraft

which depart either location at12:45pm on daily basis.

Managing director of theairline Captain Akin George said“We are very excited to belaunching these new routes and

PAGE 21PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

The Guild of TourismJournalists (GTJ) hascalled on the Federal and

state government educationauthorities to regulate andstreamline the packaging ofstudents’ tour and excursion inthe country.

In a release made available tothe news men recently, andsigned by Wale Ojo-Lanre, afterthe inauguration of the body inAkure last week, the body raised

Guild of Tourism Journalists advocateprofessionalism in students tour packagingStories from Miriam Humbe alarm over the increased

number of students who lost theirlives when on tour andexcursions.

“We are not happy with theunwholesome incidences ofaccidents, deaths and rape whichhave characterized the story ofstudents tourism packaging inthis country. It is a high time forthose in education sector toregulate and monitor the conductof such venture.”

“It is shocking to know thatNigeria has lost over 100 young

stars of tomorrow in the last fouryears to death by accident,drowning and armed robberyduring and when on tour orexcursion. This is not a good storyfor the growth of the sector.”

The Guild pointed out that“Our investigation revealed thatmost of these ugly incidents were avoidable had it been the schoolproprietors and managementsengaged or hired professionaltour operators and mangers whoare well schooled in the art ofpackaging students on tour.”

“While we commend themanagement and proprietors ofeducation institutions in thecountry for inculcating thetourism culture in the studentsin the early stage, we howeverwarn them to be circumspectand careful of those engaged forsuch a tour in order not to destroythe whole sector in a hurry.”

The body said, “Ourinvestigation also reveale thatsome unscrupulous schoolproprietors just embark onstudents tour for their school, not

out of genuine love for tourismand the students but see it as ameans of exploiting the parents.This make them steer clear ofprofessionals tour operators whowill not like to cut corners.

“It is because of this that wethe entire Guild of TourismJournalists in Nigeriapassionately advocate theregularisation of the conduct ofstudents tour and excursion inthis country. Enough of the talesof death by accident, rape anddrowning”, it further stated.

expedient to open new frontiers because of its excellent clienteleservice performance which hasbeen outstanding and demandsby clients to have the presenceof the company in virtuallyevery capital city of northernstates.

He said “Although we havenot been long in the market, ourexcellent performance with ourclients has been outstanding.Our diligence and hard work hadcontributed tremendously to oursuccess beyond our dream,

especially in Abuja and inNorthern states in general.”

He acknowledged thecontribution of the usage of state-of the- art modern facilities tothe success of the organisationby saying that “we have themost popular reservation systemon the Global DistributionSystem called Amadeus used bymost airlines and travel agents,as well as Galileo reservationsystem.

We also have Basic VSATconnectivity with dedicated

bandwidth for efficient linkageand service meant for the travelreservation alone.

Alhaji Sani said theorganisation since inception ofoperation has been careful inutilising the services ofreputable airlines and charteraircrafts where necessary, toenhance performance to itsnumerous Federal Governmentministries, departments andagencies, state governments,banks and private businessconcern.

According to him, Baitil-Atiq’s clientele list include theNigeria Tourism DevelopmentCommission (NTDC), CentralBank of Nigeria (CBN), NationalAssembly, Nigeria CustomsService, Nigeria ImmigrationService, Nigeria NationalPetroleum Corporation (NNPC),Nigeria Export PromotionCouncil (NEPC), National HajjCommission of Nigeria(NAHCON), as well as Kaduna,Plateau and Nasarawa statesgovernments, among others.

Baitil-Atiq Travels to open branches in Kano, Jos, LagosAn Abuja-based travels and

tours firm, Baitil-AtiqTravels and Tours (Nig)

Limited has completed theprocess of expanding its business,by opening branch offices inKano, Jos and Lagos as well asintroducing tour buses andhaulage services to furtherconsolidate on the gains oftremendous performance withinsix years of operation.

Speaking recently in Abuja,the chairman of the company,Alhaji Umaru Sani said it is

Fajuyi Memorial park in Akure

Gamji Gate, Kaduna

Riyom rock is a typical tourist destination in Jos, the 'Home of Peace & Tourism'

PAGE 22 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

FG, worst violator of insurancelaws, says CommissionerThe National Insurance

Commission (NAICOM)boss, Fola Daniel

yesterday alleged that theFederal Government is theworst violator of insurancelaws in the country becausegovernment agencies delay inpayments of their insurancepremiums.

Speaking at a five-dayInvestigative Hearing onInsurance of GovernmentAssets and Property, puttogether by the House of

Representatives Committee onFinance, Mr. Daniel said “thegovernment is the majorviolator of Insurance laws inNigeria because Section 51 ofthe Insurance Act providesthat premiums should be paidin advance but Governmentbodies pay 11 months afteralmost one year into aparticular year.”

Speaking further, theNational InsuranceCommission, NAICOM, boss,Mr Daniels said, “We havebeen imposing sanctions onerring insurance companies

that had violated our lawseither through outrightwithdrawal of their licences orvarious sanctions to sanitisethe sector.”

“So far, the situation hasbeen reasonable in theInsurance Industry but somewere dealt with and in theprocess 8 Insurance companieswere sanctioned foroperational infractions, 19companies were penalized forbreach of the guidelines for oiland Gas Insurance .”

“38 others were dealt withfor failing to submit copies of

By Lawrence Olaoye

L-R: A consultant, Professor Joseph Yayock, IFAD country portfolio officer, Dr Ben Odoemena, and consultant, Mrs Margaret Onubanjo,during the 5th IFAD direct supervision mission, on Monday in Port Harcourt. Photo: NAN

The Revenue MobilisationAllocation and FiscalCommission (RMAFC)

says it will conduct publichearings on the new revenueallocation formula in the sixzones of the federation.

The Commission’sChairman, Mr. Elias Mbam,said this in an interview withthe News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

He said that the hearingwould provide an opportunityfor Nigerians to make input onthe new allocation for thethree tiers of government.

Under the present revenuesharing formula, the FederalGovernment gets 52.68 percent, while states and localgovernments receive 26.72

per cent and 20.60 per centrespectively.

“There are still manyoutstanding issues, first, wehave collected data from localgovernments, the next is toanalyse those data and wehave also receivedmemoranda from Nigeriansand that would be analysed.

“We also intend to carry outadvocacy tours in all the zonesand then conduct open publichearing that everybody wouldbe entitled.

“Those who could notsubmit memorandum cancome there, makesubmissions, presentations,ask questions and be moreenlightened.

“Before then, we intend to

send all our members to statesto sensitise them, becausethey should be concerned aboutthis; we don’t want when it isconcluded you start bringingsuggestions.”

It could be recalled thatstate governors have beenagitating for a new, equitableand just revenue formula toget more allocations than theypresently enjoy.

The agitation intensified inthe first quarter 2011 whenthe bill for a new minimumwage became an Act makingit mandatory for states tocomply.

Mbam described the processfor a new revenue allocationformula as “very sensitiveissue with a lot of

implications”.He said it had “serious

implication for the socio-economic development andunity of the country.”

“We believe that we shouldhandle it with care and do itin such a way that an averageNigerian or majority would seethat we are fair, just andequitable. ’’

The cost of the reviewprocess was not immediatelyavailable, but Mbam noted thatthe benefits Nigerians stood togain from the review faroutweighed the cost.

“We expect thatgovernment would understandthe need to fund this issue.

“We are making contactsand believe government wouldprovide all the funds which arenot readily available, howeverwe are optimistic thatgovernment knowing theimportance of this reviewwould provide appropriatefunds.’’ (NAN)

RMAFC plans zonal publichearing on new revenue formula

evidence of their reinsurancearrangements, 46 for anti-money laundering, 2 licensesof Insurance brokers weresuspended for variousinfractions, 32 licenses ofInsurance brokers have beencancelled, 10 Insurancecompanies are currentlyunder regulatory watchfollowing observed deficienciesrelating to solvency.”

Acting Chairman of theFederal Inland RevenueService (FIRS), Mr. KabirMashi, in his briefpresentation said that of all the

Nigeria LiquefiedNatural gas (LNG)tanker, LNG Port

Harcourt is expected to arriveat Rotterdam’s Gate terminaltoday, port authority arrivalsdata showed yesterday.

The vessel can carry up to122,000 cubic metres of thesuper-cooled fuel and was lastseen yesterday in the EnglishChannel, AIS Live ship trackingdata showed.

The ship last exitedNigeria’s Bonny Offshoreterminal on June 27,according to the same data.(Reuters)

Nigerian LNGcargo due inRotterdam- Port

Mrs. Liz Okereke, theVice President ofNational Association of

Small and Medium Enterprises(NASME), yesterday called forrelaxation of listingrequirements of the NigerianStock Exchange (NSE).

She told the News Agency ofNigeria (NAN) in Lagos thatthis would enable smallmedium-scale enterprises to getlisted on the NSE.

Okereke said that thecurrent requirements were toohigh for these enterprises tomeet.

She said that the sub-sectoralso needed special banks asmicrofinance banks could notmeet their needs.

According to her, micro-finance banks can not lend morethan one million naira toindividual customers as they donot have the capacity to do so.

Okereke said that thecreation special banks for theNASME would help to developthe sub-sector.

She said that the sub-sectorcould not access the currentintervention fund which thegovernment gave tomanufacturing industry.

She also said that thecommercial banks were nothelping matters as theypreferred to give short-termloans. (NAN)

NASME callsfor relaxationof NSE listingrequirements

60 insurance companies, only37 are tax compliant othersowe various types of taxes andare not willing to pay.

PAGE 24 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

The Allroad is based on theA4, not the larger, heavierA6 that underpinned its

predecessor. The new Allroad is 2.5inches taller, slightly longer and wider,and offers more ground clearance thanthe A4 wagon (Avant) it replaces. TheAllroad is still less of a serious off-roader, however, and more of acompetent all-weather vehicle thancan take you off-highway on a whim.

As with the A4, the 2013 AudiAllroad offers only one choice of engineand transmission: a 2.0-liter turbofour-cylinder teamed with an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive.But the Allroad's real strength isitscabin. With high-end materials, athoroughly modern design and a rangeof upscale features, the Allroad standsout as a wonderful place to sit andmotor.

The Allroad's taller ride height andall-wheel drive make it something ofanodd duck in the small-wagon class.The BMW xDrive 328i is its closestcompetitor, but it lacks the same willto get dirty. A size up, there's the VolvoXC70. It follows the same outdoorsywagon theme as the Allroad and isroomier and less expensive, but isn'tas nice inside and gets lower fueleconomy. You can say pretty much thesame thing about the Subaru Outback.

Then there's a host of small luxurycrossovers to consider, includingAudi's Q5, the BMW X3, the MercedesGLK-Class and the Volvo XC60. Thesetypically provide more cargo room andSUV-like design at the expense ofhandling. All told, the 2013 Allroad'sappeal is pretty narrow. But for theshopper looking to split the differencebetween wagon and crossover SUV, it'san ideal pick.

The 2013 Audi Allroad is a five-passenger wagon available inPremium, Premium Plus and Prestigetrim levels.

Standard features on Premiummodels include 18-inch wheels, apanoramic sunroof, automaticheadlights, cruise control, leatherupholstery, automatic climate control,split-folding rear seats, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, eight-waypower front seats(with four-way powerlumbar) and a 10-speakersoundsystem with CD player and satelliteradio. An optional Conveniencepackage adds Bluetooth, an iPodinterface and an enhanced trip

2013 Audi takes you off-highway on a whim

(optional on Premium Plus). Optionsunique to the Prestigeincludeadaptive cruise control,adjustable settings for steering andtransmission, and manual rearsunshades.

The Sport Interior package (alsooffered on Premium Plus) adds moreaggressively bolstered 12-way powerseats and a three-spoke steeringwheel with transmission shiftpaddles. Nineteen-inch wheels arealso available on both Prestige andPremium Plus, while rear side airbagsand wood trim are optional on alllevels.

All 2013 Audi Allroad models arepowered by a turbocharged 2.0-literfour-cylinder making 211 horsepowerand 258 pound-feet of torque. Theengine is coupled with an eight-speedautomatic transmission with manualshift control and standard all-wheel

computer, while the Lighting packageincludes bi-xenon headlamps andLED running lights.

All of the above features areincluded in the Premium Plus trim,along withheated exterior mirrors, apower liftgate, heated front seats,driver memory functions, three-zoneautomatic climate control and auto-dimming mirrors. An optional MMINavigation package adds a navigationsystem with real-time traffic, arearview camera, rear parkingsensors, voice controls, HD radio, acolor trip computer screen, AudiConnect Web services and MMIcontrols located on the center console.

The Allroad Prestige comesstandard with adaptive headlamps,keyless ignition/entry, a blind-spotwarning system, the Navigationpackage and a 14-speaker Bang &Olufsen premium sound system

drive.Audi says the Allroad can dash

from zero to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds, afairly quick time for an entry-levelluxury car. EPA-estimated fueleconomy stands at 20 mpg city/27mpg highway and 23 mpg combined.

Standard safety features on the2013 Audi Allroad include antilockbrakes, traction and stability control,front seat side airbags and sidecurtain airbags. Rear-seat sideairbags are optional on all trim levels,while a blind-spot warning systemis standard on the Prestige.

In government crash tests, theAudi Allroad earned five stars forside crash protection, but has not yetbeen rated in overall frontal crashprotection as of this writing. The A4sedan on which the Allroad is based,however, earned an overall rating offour stars out of a possible five. TheInsurance Institute for HighwaySafety awarded the A4 its highestrating of "Good" in both frontal-offset and side impact crash testing,as well as roof strength tests, and thatwas without the optional rear-seatside airbags.

Among luxury wagons, the 2013Audi Allroad's interior is one of thebest in its class. With its modernistdesign, top-notch materials andstandard leather upholstery (anadvantage over BMW and Volvorivals), the Allroad sends a messageof sophisticated refinement.

Most MMI infotainmentfunctions are conveniently accessedaround the shift lever on modelsequipped with the navigationsystem. Cars without navigation,however, have MMI on the dash,which is far less convenient and user-friendly. Navigation-equipped carsalso get the newer, improved versionof MMI.

The Allroad offers 17 cubic feetbehind the second-row seats and 51cubes with the seats folded. Thesedimensions are average for the class.And although the Allroad isn't a trueoff-roader, its stainless steel skidplates, lower body cladding and 7.1inches of ground clearance providepeace of mind when heading furtherafield in search of sand, snow, orsingle-track.Source: Edmunds.com

PAGE 25PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

By Udenna Orji07055652553

Why Nigeria may not meet the MillenniumDevelopment Goals on Housing

Pg 26

Roofing

Stone Cladding

Stone Cladding is back in building designs and is steadily gaining more popularity in Nigeria due to itsaesthetic imitation of nature. Globally, there is a challenge to develop eco-friendly buildings andspaces without compromising on visual appeal. Creative individuals now manufacture stones to

imitate nature and use these to aesthetically design interior and exterior walls, walkways, bars andgazebos, stairways, fences, sign posts, swimming pools, etc. In the above pictures are stone cladding worksby Nigerian manufactured stone veneer company, Waterock.

Metrotile Roofing Systems:

Awards have continued toflood the way of MetrotileNigeria Limited, in

recognition of the company'sstate-of-the-art roofing products,Metrotiles.Overcoming strong winds, heatfrom the tropical sun, humidity,

fire and other environmentalhazards has alwaysconstituted a difficultchallenge for roofing experts.The ability to overcome theseproblems and at the same timecome up with strikinglybeautiful and inviting roofshas always been the hallmarkof successful roofing.

One roofing system that hasbeen technologically designedto withstand these adverseclimate conditions includinghazards like fire and at thesame time bring beauty andsplendour to a building is themetrotile lightweight roofingsystem. Metro tiles are stone-coated roofing tiles made of

aluzinc (aluminum and zinc).The products are fire proof,extremely insulated againstheat and sound, have higheraesthetic value and come witha 50 year guarantee.Metrotiles come in fourvarieties; metro bond, metroshake, metro roman andmetro shingle. Used in over 80

countries, the products havesteadily become the choice ofdiscerning developers andMetrotiles Nigeria receivedNigeria's Best RoofingCompany Award in 2007 and2008. Cap your building withquality and durability,beauty and splendour, usemetrotiles.

Woodwork

Wood works by furniture maker, Wood-et al

Bringing beauty and splendour to roofing… With a 50-year guarantee

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012PAGE 26

Why Nigeria may not meet the MillenniumDevelopment Goals on HousingUnless concerted efforts

are made to reverse thecurrent state of affairs,

Nigerians nationwide will haveto wait much longer than othernations before they can enjoythe benefits of the MillenniumDevelopment Goals on Housing.Millennium Development Goalson housing are a global pact toensure that citizens of nationshave access to affordable anddecent housing by the year2020.

The Millennium Declarationwas adopted by Member Statesof the United Nations inSeptember 2000. It containseight Millennium DevelopmentGoals (MDG's) ranging fromeradicating extreme poverty tocombating HIV/AIDS, malariaand other diseases. The MDGsdetail out 18 specificdevelopment targets, each witha time-frame and indicatorsdesigned to monitor the extentto which the target has beenachieved.

Specifically, MillenniumDevelopment Goal 7, Target 11assigned the UN-HABITAT theresponsibility of assistingMember States to monitor andgradually attain the "CitiesWithout Slums" target alsoknown as Target 11, which is oneof the three targets of Goal 7: ToEnsure EnvironmentalSustainability". Target 11 aimsto achieve a significantimprovement in the lives of atleast 100 million slum dwellersby 2020.

By UN-HABITAT definition,a slum household is a householdthat lacks any one of thefollowing five elements:

Access to improved water:(Access to sufficient amount ofwater for family use, at anaffordable price, available tohousehold members withoutbeing subject to extreme effort).

Access to ImprovedSanitation: (Access to an excretadisposal system either in theform of a private toilet or a publictoilet shared with a reasonablenumber of people).

Security of Tenure:(Evidence of documentation toprove secure tenure status or defacto or perceived protectionfrom evictions).

Durability of Housing:(Permanent and adequatestructure in non-hazardouslocation).

Sufficient Living Area: (Notmore than two people sharingthe same room).

But the increasing growth ofslums in Nigeria, borne out of thenation's estimated deficit of 16million housing units is causingunease in government circlesand among industry operators.While commending the federalgovernment for the newlyapproved housing and urbandevelopment policies, expertssay bills on Land Tenure (theproposed amendments/repeal ofthe Land Use Decree),Foreclosures, Tax Incentives for

Housing and Mortgage relatedtransactions still pending at theNational Assembly constitutemajor impediments to therealization of the United Nation'sMillennium Development Goalson Housing in Nigeria.

According to mortgagebanker, Muhammed Jibrin,Chief Executive Officer of SunTrust Savings and Loans Ltd, "Ifyou look at the Nigerianeconomy generally, it is clearthat minimum attention hasbeen paid to the housing sector…Every body in this countryknows that the land tenuresystem confers the right of titleto the governor of the state,making ownership and transferof title cumbersome. The bankscannot easily foreclose onproperties that mortgages havebeen created on. The foreclosurelaw has to be passed. The Lawconcerning tax incentives forhousing and mortgage relatedtransactions should also bepassed. Unless the NationalAssembly passes theselegislations, the expectedMillennium Development Goalsin terms of providing decentaffordable housing will not beachieved. Government needs tomove forward and make surethose bills are passed into law."

Explaining further, he said"the second thing is that youbring in private sectorparticipation. Nigeria today hasan estimated shortage of 16million houses based on FederalMortgage Bank of Nigeriafigures. Assuming a decent homein the country will cost aminimum of N10 million, tomeet 10 million housing units,it will sum up to 100 trillion. Sogovernment must provide a

holistic policy framework andthe necessary environment totackle this shortage. Only thencan the needed long-termprivate sector funds to developthe sector be attracted."

A recent World Bank reportsays Nigeria has the potential tobecome Africa's foremosteconomic power, with anaverage GDP of six per cent perannum, buoyed by a young andgrowing population of 160million. Morgan Stanley, aninvestment banking institution,also predicted that Nigeria'seconomy would outperformSouth Africa's by 2025 to becomethe biggest in Africa. Themacroeconomic outlook isfavourable. With an expectedstable inflation rate, five per centrural to urban immigration, andthree per cent populationgrowth, experts say Nigeria is ahuge real estate market by allstandards.

Concurring with thestatistics, the Jibrin noted that"in the highly developedeconomies, the averagecontribution of the real estate andhousing sectors to the GDP is 40per cent. In every economy,there is an engine room for thateconomy. The Nigerian housingsector can serve as that engineroom as we seek to diversify oureconomic base. The sector has thepotential to generate and createhuge economic activities. Thehousing sector needs to consumeother building materials andproducts such as electricalequipment, furniture, paints,roofing, cement, etc. The sectorcan help in developing small andlarge scale production of thesekey inputs thereby generating

employment and increasing thelevel of national income.Addressing the housing sectorproblem is the same as addressing

President Goodluck Jonathan Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ms Ama Pepple

the unemployment problem andone avenue to diversify theeconomy away from dependenceon the oil sector".

Eden Heights, a sturning design byt award winning design firm, DesignUnion

DESIGN MARVEL

PAGE 27PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

The nation's shortfall ofover 16 million houseshas been attributed to the

deficient structures of themortgage industry in Nigeria.

Mr. Elias Ovesuor a Fellow ofthe Nigerian Institute of EstateSurveyors and Valuers (NIESV)and Managing Partner, U.K.Ovesuor & Partners who madethis known said "mortgagefinancing as an instrument forhome financing for now, I cansay we are having problems withit because the FederalGovernment is trying to injectfunds into the Federal Mortgage

Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) whichis like a CBN to the primaryMortgage Institutions (PMIs).But the structures are stilldeficient and the people are notwell organized, because of that,what the FMBN is supposed to do,it is not doing. So, as we aretalking now, the things that aresupposed to be happening in themortgage sector are nothappening. Mortgage finance asfar as I am concerned, is notfunctioning effectively in thecountry. Only a few people arebenefiting from it as opposed tothe spirit of the institution which

makes it mandatory for a lotpeople to benefit. The housingshortage in the country is about16 million housing units, but inthe last ten years, we have notprovided up to half a millionhousing units. So, to get the 16million housing units that arein shortage, you will thenappreciate the problem at handin respect of housing provision.Mortgage in Nigeria, to becandid to you, is still as itsinfancy".

In another development, thereason for the overcrowding andsqualor in which many

Nigerians lives was brought tothe fore when the House ofRepresentatives committee onEnvironment and Habitatrevealed that Nigeria was inurgent need of 23:33 millionmore houses to be able toaccommodate the nation's 140million people by United Nations(UN) standard. Estimate showNigeria has only 6.33 millionhouses presentlyaccommodating the nation's140 million people. But U.N.standard says there should be 6people per house, which meansNigeria needs more than three

Poor mortgage finance cause ofNigeria’s N16 million units housing deficit

The brisk business going onat the low and middlesegments of the property

market has continued to surgewith such property ownersraising rents arbitrarily in citiesall over Nigeria especially inAbuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt.

With the surge in rents, amajority of Nigerians are nowcalling on the NationalAssembly to expedite action onthe Landlord/Tenants Act whichalong with other house-related

Acts have been lying at theNational Assembly, unattendedto.

Analysts say the surgingrents are as a result of theabsence of a Rent Regulatory Lawin the country which theLandlord /Tenant Act isexpected to address. The lull inbusiness nationwide due torising insecurity has putpressure on most families,leading to property ownersraising rents arbitrarily to

Low and middle segment property marketson bullish trend as bears grip high end market

enable them earn more incometo solve their financial problems.

Another reason advanced forthe surging rent at the low andmiddle segments of the propertymarket is that those who boughtor rented the high end propertieshave been buffeted by decreasingearnings within the Nigerianeconomy and thus forced byfinancial crisis to scale down andpatronize the middle and low endmarkets, putting pressure onthese segments.

But a Property Consultant,Mr. M.I. Okoro blamed the highrents on the low value of thenaira and high exchange rate.According to him, "this is acountry where almost 90percent of building inputs areimported which means that thecost of developing a property hasgone up in line with the exchangerate … landlords are not FatherChristmas; they too are inbusiness. They would like torecoup their cost of development

and make a little profit."As the low and middle end

property markets boom, gloom isthe order of the day at the highend segment where buyers aredisappearing and prices falling.This end of the market is playedby the rich and the very richmost of whom have beenfinancially crippled by the globaleconomic meltdown. It costshundreds of millions of naira,sometimes billions, to play in thissegment of the property market.

times the estimated 6.33million houses standing in thecountry today.

"If we must maintain theUnited Nation's standard of 6persons per house, then if youconsider a population of 140million people, we actually needabout 23:33 million morehouses in addition to the 6:33million that we have today. It iswrong for a former minister tohave said we have short fall ofonly 17 million houses,"committee member Hon.Mohammed Sani (PDP Bauchi)said.

Ekulu Estate, Enugu

PAGE 28 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Mortgage giant, Fannie Mae appoints newCEO as global housing market returns to profit

Recovering United Statesmortgage banking giant,Fannie Mae has appointed

Timothy J. Mayopoulos, 53, asPresident and Chief ExecutiveOfficer and a member of thebank's board. Mayopoulos wholast served as executive vicepresident, chief administrativeofficer, and general counsel, willlead the mortgage giant'sbusiness transformation agenda.

Mayopoulos assumesleadership of Fannie Mae at apivotal point for housing finance.He will succeed Michael J.Williams who announced inJanuary his decision to stepdown after leading the company'seffective response to the housingcrisis and the rebuild of thecompany since 2009. In the firstquarter of 2012, Fannie Maereported a net income of $2.7billion and did not requirefunding from Treasury. Thecompany's comprehensiveincome of $3.1 billion in the firstquarter of 2012 was sufficient topay the first quarter dividend of$2.8 billion. To date, Fannie Maehas paid $22.6 billion toTreasury through dividendpayments.

Fannie Mae was set up by theUnited States Government toexpand affordable housing andbring global capital to localcommunities in order to servethe America's housing market.Fannie Mae has a federal charterand operates in America'ssecondary mortgage market toenhance the liquidity of themortgage market by purchasingor guaranteeing mortgage loansoriginated by mortgage bankersand other lenders so that theymay lend to home buyers.

Foreign Markets

It was the collapse of thegargantuan mortgage bank,which holds trillions of dollars inmortgages,that led to the globaleconomic meltdown in 2007.The crash of the housing market

dominated by Fannie Mae andits American rival, Freddie Macmeant that several banks,private equity funds andinvestors in several countries ofthe world that invested in thehousing market and which fundswere guaranteed by Fannie Maeand Freddie Mac could not bepaid when their funds were due.This led to foreclosures in theUnited States and in Europe.

As the economic meltdownworsened, Fannie Mae andFreddie Mac took over aforeclosed home roughly every90 seconds during the first threemonths of 2010. They owned163,828 houses at the end ofMarch. The mortgage financecompanies, created by congressto help Americans buy homes,had become two of the nation'slargest landlords.

Bill Bridwell, a real estateagent in Phoenix was among thethousands of agents hirednationwide by the companies tosell those foreclosures, to recoupsome of the money thatborrowers failed to repay. In agood week, he sold 20 homes andFannie sent another 20 listingshis way. "We were all workingfor the government then," saidMr. Bridwell.

For all the focus on thehistoric federal rescue of thebanking industry, it was thegovernment's decision to seizeFannie Mae and Freddie Mac inSeptember 2008 that costAmerican taxpayers the mostmoney.

Fannie and Freddie increasedAmerican home ownership overthe last half-century bypersuading investors to providemoney for mortgage loans. Theirsales pitch amounted to amoney-back guarantee: Ifborrower defaulted, thecompanies promised to repay theinvestors. Rather than actuallymaking loans, the two companies- Fannie older and larger,Freddie created to providecompetition - bought loans frombanks and other originators,providing money for morelending and helping to hold downinterest rates. "Our business isthe American dream of homeownership," Fannie Mae declaredin its mission statement, and in2001 the company set a targetof helping to create six millionnew homeowners by 2014.

In Arizona, during a housingboom fueled by cheap land,cheap money and populationgrowth, Fannie Mae executivestrumpeted that the companywould invest $15 billion to help

President, United States of American, Barack Obama

families buy homes.As it turned out, Fannie and

Freddie increasingly werechanneling money into loansthat borrowers could not afford.As defaults mounted, thecompanies quickly ran low onmoney to honor theirguarantees. The U.Sgovernment, fearing thatinvestors would stop providingmoney for new loans, placed thecompanies in conservatorshipand took a 79.9 per centownership stake, adding its ownguarantee those investors wouldbe repaid. The huge andcontinually rising cost of thatdecision spurred national debateabout federal subsidies formortgage lending.

With Fannie Mae no longerrequiring government fundingnow, but indeed paying till date,$22.6 billion in dividendpayments to Treasury, it isrevealing that the mortgagegiant and housing marketsglobally, have returned toprofit.

PAGE 24 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

The Allroad is based on theA4, not the larger, heavierA6 that underpinned its

predecessor. The new Allroad is 2.5inches taller, slightly longer and wider,and offers more ground clearance thanthe A4 wagon (Avant) it replaces. TheAllroad is still less of a serious off-roader, however, and more of acompetent all-weather vehicle thancan take you off-highway on a whim.

As with the A4, the 2013 AudiAllroad offers only one choice of engineand transmission: a 2.0-liter turbofour-cylinder teamed with an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive.But the Allroad's real strength isitscabin. With high-end materials, athoroughly modern design and a rangeof upscale features, the Allroad standsout as a wonderful place to sit andmotor.

The Allroad's taller ride height andall-wheel drive make it something ofanodd duck in the small-wagon class.The BMW xDrive 328i is its closestcompetitor, but it lacks the same willto get dirty. A size up, there's the VolvoXC70. It follows the same outdoorsywagon theme as the Allroad and isroomier and less expensive, but isn'tas nice inside and gets lower fueleconomy. You can say pretty much thesame thing about the Subaru Outback.

Then there's a host of small luxurycrossovers to consider, includingAudi's Q5, the BMW X3, the MercedesGLK-Class and the Volvo XC60. Thesetypically provide more cargo room andSUV-like design at the expense ofhandling. All told, the 2013 Allroad'sappeal is pretty narrow. But for theshopper looking to split the differencebetween wagon and crossover SUV, it'san ideal pick.

The 2013 Audi Allroad is a five-passenger wagon available inPremium, Premium Plus and Prestigetrim levels.

Standard features on Premiummodels include 18-inch wheels, apanoramic sunroof, automaticheadlights, cruise control, leatherupholstery, automatic climate control,split-folding rear seats, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, eight-waypower front seats(with four-way powerlumbar) and a 10-speakersoundsystem with CD player and satelliteradio. An optional Conveniencepackage adds Bluetooth, an iPodinterface and an enhanced trip

2013 Audi takes you off-highway on a whim

(optional on Premium Plus). Optionsunique to the Prestigeincludeadaptive cruise control,adjustable settings for steering andtransmission, and manual rearsunshades.

The Sport Interior package (alsooffered on Premium Plus) adds moreaggressively bolstered 12-way powerseats and a three-spoke steeringwheel with transmission shiftpaddles. Nineteen-inch wheels arealso available on both Prestige andPremium Plus, while rear side airbagsand wood trim are optional on alllevels.

All 2013 Audi Allroad models arepowered by a turbocharged 2.0-literfour-cylinder making 211 horsepowerand 258 pound-feet of torque. Theengine is coupled with an eight-speedautomatic transmission with manualshift control and standard all-wheel

computer, while the Lighting packageincludes bi-xenon headlamps andLED running lights.

All of the above features areincluded in the Premium Plus trim,along withheated exterior mirrors, apower liftgate, heated front seats,driver memory functions, three-zoneautomatic climate control and auto-dimming mirrors. An optional MMINavigation package adds a navigationsystem with real-time traffic, arearview camera, rear parkingsensors, voice controls, HD radio, acolor trip computer screen, AudiConnect Web services and MMIcontrols located on the center console.

The Allroad Prestige comesstandard with adaptive headlamps,keyless ignition/entry, a blind-spotwarning system, the Navigationpackage and a 14-speaker Bang &Olufsen premium sound system

drive.Audi says the Allroad can dash

from zero to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds, afairly quick time for an entry-levelluxury car. EPA-estimated fueleconomy stands at 20 mpg city/27mpg highway and 23 mpg combined.

Standard safety features on the2013 Audi Allroad include antilockbrakes, traction and stability control,front seat side airbags and sidecurtain airbags. Rear-seat sideairbags are optional on all trim levels,while a blind-spot warning systemis standard on the Prestige.

In government crash tests, theAudi Allroad earned five stars forside crash protection, but has not yetbeen rated in overall frontal crashprotection as of this writing. The A4sedan on which the Allroad is based,however, earned an overall rating offour stars out of a possible five. TheInsurance Institute for HighwaySafety awarded the A4 its highestrating of "Good" in both frontal-offset and side impact crash testing,as well as roof strength tests, and thatwas without the optional rear-seatside airbags.

Among luxury wagons, the 2013Audi Allroad's interior is one of thebest in its class. With its modernistdesign, top-notch materials andstandard leather upholstery (anadvantage over BMW and Volvorivals), the Allroad sends a messageof sophisticated refinement.

Most MMI infotainmentfunctions are conveniently accessedaround the shift lever on modelsequipped with the navigationsystem. Cars without navigation,however, have MMI on the dash,which is far less convenient and user-friendly. Navigation-equipped carsalso get the newer, improved versionof MMI.

The Allroad offers 17 cubic feetbehind the second-row seats and 51cubes with the seats folded. Thesedimensions are average for the class.And although the Allroad isn't a trueoff-roader, its stainless steel skidplates, lower body cladding and 7.1inches of ground clearance providepeace of mind when heading furtherafield in search of sand, snow, orsingle-track.Source: Edmunds.com

PAGE 29PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Reading JournalismAcross Cultures (I)

IN a world where power relationnarratives tend to suggest thatsignificant events that shape

progress happen mainly in theWest, it is sometimes difficult tosituate the trajectory of ideas inother parts of the world. Historiesof science, ideas and the arts tendto be skewed to create theimpression that knowledge andknow-how cascade down the hillsof Anglo-American and Europeanminds, to the plains of countries inthe global south.

This dominant, albeit impliedsupposition is not helped by the factthat original thoughts, even whenthey come from citizens of theglobal south, emanate fromWestern structures; theuniversities, the think-tanks andso on. The result of this is that theglobal firmament of ideas,concepts, and even professions,tend to be seen as offshoots ofWestern traditions, and as such, acontinuation of those traditions.

The global media is one arenawhere hegemony is perpetuated.Journalism provides a platform forexchange across the globe, but thequestion of who comes out betterat the end of the exchange of ideasis something of interest to manyscholars. There are those whoargue that enough has not beendone to document the roles,similarities and peculiarities ofjournalistic cultures that are non-western.

In Journalism Across Cultures:An Introduction, Levi Obijiofor andFolker Hanusch attempt to providea holistic and global basis forunderstanding journalism, notjust of the western strand, but thoseof marginalised peoples of non-western extraction. The mission ofthe authors is thus clear right fromthe start of the book: to establishthe notion that central journalisticmessage and the methodology fordelivering it is determined by thecultural milieu in which such

journalism is found.The position is also advanced

that the pen profession, apart fromtilting substantially in favour ofthe west, and catering for itsconcerns, has not been inclusiveenough to reflect aspirations of thepeoples in non-western cultures.

Right from the introduction ofthe book, the view is canvassedthat “although we live in aglobalized world, research evidencesuggests that news agendas aredominated by domestic newsevents, a focus on popularpersonalities, soft news andentertainment-driven content,concentration on regional news or‘Eurocentrism’, as well as adiminished attention tointernational news in general…”

These are indeed tryingtimes. We have never hadit these bad. The kind of

times that some people will say' I am in soup'. I am sure that alot of us would have tried differentthings and different tactics.Some are working and some arenot. The times has also thrownup the worst in the arts circuit.A lot of our artistes or those whohave chosen to reside and makea living out of the arts are reallybehaving badly.

Plato in writing The Republichad a code of conduct for anideal republic and part of hisrecommendations included therole of the artiste in any idealsociety and a society thatstrives to be ideal. But herethere are so many things thatare upside down. Our tribe ofartistes are supposed to showthe way to good behaviour butsadly that is missing here. Moreand more of us are gettingengaged in it and we think it isthe best thing to do. Forinstance, how can someonecontribute money to yourprogram and you never go backto say 'thank you?' We all knowthat the funding circle is sosmall. When someone elsegoes back to that sourceneedless to say what you get isa refusal! Some of us are also inthe habit of 'knifing' each otherwhen we get to sources ofpotential business. What I meanis this - you get to a source andyou find that there is already aproposal with that source.Instead of walking away withdignity and await another time,we proceed to run down theother person or organization andmost times we propose a lowerbudget or what we think is alower budget and we hopefullywill get the job. This works inthe immediate but on the longterm, it is you that is the loser.

I believe that ultimately we allcannot continue to behave insuch indecent manner. Forsome of us it is the ideal thingto do but this cannot last. Mytake on this is that it will onlylast for the short term. Fororganizations that decide to gothis way, it is only a matter oftime before they will unravel. Ialso believe that no matter howhot the present soup is, oursociety still appreciates decentbehaviour.

Farewell Ambassador(Chief) Segun Olusola

We lost a very rare gemrecently. Chief Segun Olusola.

A rare man. A rare human beingand a rare Nigerian. The creatorof the evergreen VillageHeadmaster, he slept at theripe age of 78. In a societywhere the life expectancy is putat 43, living to 78 was indeed alandmark. A man of many partsand vast talents, he was a verydecent man.

I look back to the days ofVillage Headmaster. Wemight not have understoodwhat it was then. We mightnot have made meaning of thefoibles of the characters. Butgoing back to the programthen and for those whounderstood it, it was arevolution in its own time. Theprecursor of our Nollywood.Even going back to commentsfrom then, it was a classahead of most of the homevideos we have presently. Butwe cannot live forever. Wesalute the life of AmbassadorOlusola. We salute thecourage with which he livedhis life to the full. We salutehis artistic decency. Wesalute the finesse he broughtto his work both as Nigeria'sAmbassador to Ethiopia andlater as the Founder and CEOof African RefugeeFoundation. He was Patron ofthe National Association ofNigerian Theatre ArtsPractitioners (NANTAP) formany years. He never shirkeda call. He never refused a callno matter how late to theevent. If he was in the country,he would be there. He had noairs about him despite hismammoth achievements. Hewas a very decent man. Hewas a human being. He wasone of our very best.

Rest well Chief andAmbassador. You deserve therest.

AND A LAST CUT...For those who have been

in government before, pleasejust what is that makes menand women to abandon theirfriends and sometimes familywhen they get into thecorridors of governmentappointment? As soon asthey get there, they changenumbers, they become sobusy and I keep wonderingwhat they are busydoing....then they abandonfriends, family and makehopefully new friends. But assoon as they leavegovernment.......pathetic andmiserable.

We are in soup!

FRFRFRFRFROM OM OM OM OM THETHETHETHETHELIVE STLIVE STLIVE STLIVE STLIVE STAAAAAGEGEGEGEGE

with

Patrick-Jude Oteh

0803 700 0496, 0805 953 5215

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The authors contend thatjournalism in parts of the worldother than the west has inhaledthe influences of the cultureswithin which it plays its roles.They are very enthusiasticabout stretching what has beena traditional debate revolvingaround, and utilising Westernjournalism as the sole laboratoryof analysis of what is effectivelya global phenomenon. They,thus, contend that journalism asan art that captures the veryevents that shape the lives ofsocieties could be understoodfrom a global perspective,wherein the inputs of the variouscultural movements could bediscerned.Source: NigerianVillageSquare

Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives, Hon.Aminu Waziri

Tambuwal and Imo stateGovernor, Owelle RochasAnayo Okorocha are expectedto be part of the dignitariesthat will attend the launchingof a book titled "The SecretsThat Made Dangote Rich",on Sunday at the NigerianNational Merit Award House,Maitama, in Abuja.

The book, written byObinna Godwin, an Imo state-born Chemical Engineer and

publisher, is a must read forentrepreneurs and those whoaspire to be successful.

The publication x-rays thesuccess story of one of Africa'smost outstanding businessmoguls, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

The event which comes upat 2:00pm on Sunday,August 15, 2012, would bechaired by GeneralMohammed Buba Marwa(rtd). Other dignitariesexpected at the event areGovernor Isa Yuguda ofBauchi state, Deputy Speaker

of the House ofRepresentatives, Hon. EmekaIhedioha, and Senator ChrisAnyanwu as special guests ofhonour. Dr. David Spencerwould be the guest speaker,while General T.Y. Danjumawould be the Chief Launcher.

Also, the book would be co-launched by Alhaji HussainiDikko and Barrister S. I. Aheh(SAN), while Elder (Prof)J.A.M. Otubu and MalamaFatima Ogohi would be thefather and mother of the dayrespectively.

Tambuwal, Okorocha,others for book launch

BOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEWBy Armsfree Ajanaku Onomo

The book front cover

PAGE 30 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

PEOPLESPEOPLESPEOPLESPEOPLESPEOPLESPOEM OFPOEM OFPOEM OFPOEM OFPOEM OF

THE WEEKTHE WEEKTHE WEEKTHE WEEKTHE WEEK

Oh! Princess!What an extra-ordinary

nameWith fabulous surface

Oh! Daffodil can tell better.

Hey princeWhat do you see?

Immortal beauty of a doveDove! Dove!! Oh! Dove!!!

Oh! Perfect oha!Why do I love everything

about thee?But I have met edikaikong

from South Africa withbeauty all over,

And Editan from India

Oh perfect oha!Even Atama from calaba,

White soup from Jerusalemand

Afang from Jos!And still, you are

unforgettable.

Oh! Oh!! Oh!!! Miss planet!What? Who?? And

where??? Will I comparethee with?

Oh! Disciple of loveIs it pacific ocean

Which I can drink the wholea minute call?

Angel!How special is Bill gate, Bill

Clinton,Dangote, Mike Adenuga,

Good luck Jonathan,Obama or your colleague

Queen Elizabeth???To compare thee with? Oh! I

canâ•™t.

Oh! Rose of Eden!I will set room 101 for thee!Manchester for your honey

moon!Chelsea for your bachelor

Eve andOur kingdom shall be as big

as paradise.

Oh! Virgin Mary!I also wait patiently for thee

Source: Online Nigeria

Title: Rose of EdenBy By: ArthurAlexandra Apeh Ojima

“If we have no peace, it isbecause we haveforgotten that we belong toeach other.”–– Mother Theresa.

QQQQQUOUOUOUOUOTETETETETE

Is it nothing to you...?By Hannatu Musawa

Is it nothing to you that youbomb-suicide; Whole

families in the worshipinghouse they preside? Whenyou decide to collide where

mass people reside, In orderto kill them; you’re thedevil personified! Is it

nothing to you that yourfaith must have died,

Is it nothing to you that ourdear children cry;

That they sigh and they die inthe blink of an eye?

From hunger to strife to a lifethat’s awry,

Nigeria’s kids can barely scrapeby!

Is it nothing to you that theworld asks us why;

We belie a potential that limitsthe sky?

Whereby, we misapply ourabundant supply.

We pry and we lie like the alphabad guy!

Is it nothing to you that ournation can’t fly;

From the depths of destruction,to a renewable high?

As I scribble these words on thisday of July,

This beautiful land is on theverge of goodbye!

Is it nothing to you that wecannot comply;

That we have no ally, we’re onvirtual standby?

Nigeria must vie to defy thiswar cry.

Revert back to basics, renew ourstrong tie!

______***______

Is it nothing to you that yourofficers steal?

A classic example is the MalibuDeal!

The wheel given Tompolo is justtoo surreal;

And the Fuel Subsidy banditsare the greatest reveal!Is it nothing to you that

bribery’s not ideal;When friends of your

government try to spin bogusspiel?

After their set-up with markedbills for appeal,

And recording the transactionwith a video conceal!

Is it nothing to you that we dosee your zeal;

In killing the Subsidy Reportwith a blatant repeal.

You just want to seal all thecrime that is real,

The trillions that’s pilfered forthe cabal’s sumptuous meal!

Is it nothing to you yourachievements are neal?

That the genteel you are rulinghave a bad ordeal.

The steel of this governmenthas began to peel,

But for the sake of our future,Nigeria must heal!

______***______

Is it nothing to you that youbomb-suicide;

Whole families in theworshiping house they preside?

When you decide to collidewhere mass people reside,

In order to kill them; you’re thedevil personified!

Is it nothing to you that yourfaith must have died,

When you misuse our religion

with your much warpedmisguide?

The words of the Scripturespeak of peace side by side.The words of the Scripture

speak of love, patience abide!Is it nothing to you that your

troops cannot hide;From the extra-judicial killings

that the JTF applied?In their stride, innocent bodies

have piled nation-wide.They’re as bad as the terrorists,

worse than Jekyll and Hyde!Is it nothing to you other

interests do hide;Behind Boko Haram andcommit crime to divide?Not all of the killings, the

bombings or snide;Come from one source or have

the same single guide!

______***______

Is it nothing to you that yourairlines are old;

And millions of Nigerians fly inyour coffin mould?

You mortgage our lives to gainabundant Fool’s Gold.

You patch up bad airplanes thatare second hand sold!

Is it nothing to you that youmust uphold;

A global wide standard forairlines controlled?

All the vessel’s information thatyou do withhold;

Must be given to the public tosee and behold!

Is it nothing to you that thoseout in the cold;

Are the victims who survivedwhen the Dana Air rolled?

Their houses were bowled; theylost all in a fold.

When to get compensation;they have still not been told!Is it nothing to you that our

options are outsold?Had we sea or rail travel, we’d

feel much more bold.The aviation industry must of

itself get a-hold;So Nigerians can fly feeling safe

and consoled!

______***______

Is it nothing to you that youcontest elections;

By tugging and pulling onpeople’s affections?

Now you’ve made yourconnections and are ingovernment sections,

The hoard that supported youare part of your rejections!

Is it nothing to you that mosthave objections;

Of the amount that you makefrom your official collections?

Your allowances and extra-fundinjections,

Are an affront to a society withlittle confections!

Is it nothing to you that from allour reflections;

INEC, you’re not independentin your past selections?The interjections andprotections of INEC’s

predilections,Have exposed their addictions

and Jega’s imperfections!Is it nothing to you that we can

change the complexions;Of our future government by

making corrections?2015 is coming, let’s use wise

directions;To put into power those who

give good projections!

______***______

Is it nothing to you that you sellour land short;

When you travel abroad todistort our sort?

All over the World our passportdoes import;

419 and scams, scarlet ladiesand drugs snort!

Is it nothing to you in Chinesejails, in court;

Nigerian’s are plenty for thecrimes they export.

They beat some; they kill some,a few they deport.

It’s sad that our people don’tabort this contort!

Is it nothing to you that you roband you thwart;

Our freedom, our peace by yourconstant extort?

Kidnappers and robbers, crimeis your blood sport;

You’ve resort our homes as

quite an unsafe forte!Is it nothing to you that we

have no support?The world looks at us as a joke,

as a wart.We must pull together; focus

our exhort;To clean up our act; bring our

crime down to naught!

______***______

Is it nothing to you when youberate so much hate;

On another tribe in Nigeria, itcreates a debate?

North, South, East, West orCentral, we’re from one estate.

One people, one nation whoshare one single fate!

Is it nothing to you when inblogs you misstate;

An irate dictate that translatesto negate?

At the rate we communicate,we can’t interrelate;

We’re like enemies in a vesseljust lying in wait!

Is it nothing to you that thepoverty weight;

Is on every Nigerian with nodiscriminate?

If our nations deflate, no tribeshould elate.

We’ll all skate to desecrate; I’mtelling you straight!

Is it nothing to you that ourleaders who ate;

All our money in governmentare from each ethnic plate?

When they conjugate behindthe gate of the Chief of the

State;They don’t think about tribe,only their share in that crate!

______***______

Is it nothing to you, because it’ssomething to me;

That we’re living in darkness toa constant degree?

Nepa say’s it is working, but it’sreal hard to see;

Because the lights are alwaysoff. I am sure you’ll agree!

Is it nothing to you, because it’ssomething to me;

That our people are screaminglike senseless banshee?

Many families can’t eat; somecan’t even buy tea;

The only one’s living are thepeak bourgeoisie!

Is it nothing to you, because it’ssomething to me;

That our motorways are likecraters with earthquake debris?I can tell you for free, our roads

are no Grand-Prix;Our maintenance culture’s not

as it really should be!Is it nothing to you, because it’s

something to me;That I’m writing this sonnetwith not much “Whoopee”?My prayer for my nations is

renewed esprit.My wish for Nigeria is for our

land to be free!Is it something to you…? It’s not

nothing to me…!

Ms. Hannatu Musawa, apoet and publiccommentator, is a graduateof the University ofBukingham, and a lawyerbased in the UnitedKingdom.

Ms. Hannatu Musawa

PAGE 31PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

In pre-dawn darkness, aToyota Land Cruiser skiddedoff a bridge in North Africa in

the spring, plunging into the NigerRiver. When rescuers arrived, theyfound the bodies of three U.S. Armycommandos - alongside three deadwomen.

What the men were doing in theimpoverished country of Mali, andwhy they were still there a monthafter the United States suspendedmilitary relations with itsgovernment, is at the crux of amystery that officials have not fullyexplained even 10 weeks later.

At the very least, the April 20accident exposed a team of SpecialOperations forces that had beenworking for months in Mali, aSaharan country racked by civilwar and a rising Islamistinsurgency. More broadly, thecrash has provided a rare glimpseof elite U.S. commando units inNorth Africa, where they havebeen secretly engaged incounterterrorism actions againstal-Qaeda affiliates.

The Obama administration hasnot publicly acknowledged theexistence of the missions, althoughit has spoken in general about plansto rely on Special Operations forcesas a cornerstone of its globalcounterterrorism strategy. Inrecent years, the Pentagon hasswelled the ranks and resources ofthe Special Operations Command,which includes such units as theNavy SEALs and the Army's DeltaForce, even as the overall numberof U.S. troops is shrinking.

At the same time, the crash inMali has revealed some details ofthe commandos' clandestineactivities that apparently had littleto do with counterterrorism. Thewomen killed in the wreck wereidentified as Moroccan prostituteswho had been riding with thesoldiers, according to a senior Armyofficial and a U.S. counterterrorismconsultant briefed on the incident,both of whom spoke on the conditionof anonymity because of thesensitivity of the matter.

The Army's CriminalInvestigation Command, which isconducting a probe of the fatalplunge off the Martyrs Bridge inBamako, the capital of Mali, said itdoes not suspect foul play but has"not completely ruled it out." OtherArmy officials cited poor roadconditions and excessive speed as thelikely cause of the 5 a.m. crash.

U.S. officials have revealed fewdetails about the soldiers' mission ortheir backgrounds, beyond a briefnews release announcing theirdeaths hours after the accident.

In many countries, includingmost in Africa, Special Operationsforces work openly to distributehumanitarian aid and train localmilitaries. At times, the civil-affairsassignments can provide crediblecover for clandestinecounterterrorism units.

But in Mali, U.S. militarypersonnel had ceased all trainingand civil-affairs work by the end ofMarch, about a week after thecountry's democratically electedpresident was overthrown in amilitary coup.

The military's AfricaCommand, which oversees

operations on the continent, said thethree service members killed wereamong "a small number ofpersonnel" who had been aiding theMalian military before the coup andhad remained in the country to"provide assistance to the U.S.Embassy" and "maintainsituational awareness on theunfolding events."

Megan Larson-Kone, a publicaffairs officer for the U.S. Embassyin Mali, said the soldiers had stayedin Bamako because they were"winding down" civil-

affairs programs in theaftermath of the coup while holdingout hope "that things would turnaround quickly" so they couldresume their work.

Two of the soldiers, Capt. DanielH. Utley, 33, and Sgt. 1st ClassMarciano E. Myrthil, 39, weremembers of the 91st Civil AffairsBattalion, 95th Civil AffairsBrigade, which is based at FortBragg, N.C.

For two months after the crash,the U.S. military withheld theidentity of the third soldier killed.In response to inquiries from TheWashington Post, the Army namedhim as Master Sgt. Trevor J. Bast,39, a communications technicianwith the Intelligence and SecurityCommand at Fort Belvoir.

The Intelligence and SecurityCommand is a little-known andsecretive branch of the Army thatspecializes in communicationsintercepts. Its personnel often workclosely with the military's JointSpecial Operations Command,which oversees missions to captureor kill terrorism suspects overseas.

During his two decades ofservice, Bast revealed little aboutthe nature of his work to his family."He did not tell us a lot about his life,and we respected that for securitypurposes," his mother, Thelma Bastof Gaylord, Mich., said in a briefinterview. "We never askedquestions, and that's the honesttruth."

U.S. counterterrorism officialshave long worried about Mali, aweakly governed country of 14.5million people that has served as arefuge for Islamist militants alliedwith al-Qaeda.

With only 6,000 poorlyequipped troops, the Malian armedforces have always struggled tomaintain control of their territory,about twice the size of Texas.Repeated famines and rebellions byTuareg nomads only exacerbatedthe instability.

About six years ago, thePentagon began bolstering itsovert aid and training programsin Mali, as well as its clandestineoperations.

Under a classified programcode-named Creek Sand, dozens ofU.S. personnel and contractors

were deployed to West Africa toconduct surveillance missionsover the country with single-

engine aircraft designed to looklike civilian passenger planes.

In addition, the military flewspy flights over Mali and othercountries in the region withlonger-range P-3 Orion aircraftbased in the Mediterranean,according to classified U.S.diplomatic cables obtained by theanti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.

In what would haverepresented a significantescalation of U.S. militaryinvolvement in Mali, thePentagon also considered a secretplan in 2009 to embed Americancommandos with Malian groundtroops, diplomatic cables show.

Under that program, code-named Oasis Enabler, U.S.military advisers would conductanti-terrorism operationsalongside elite, American-trainedMalian units. But the idea wasrejected by Gillian A.Milovanovic, the ambassador toMali at the time.

In an October 2009 meetingin Bamako with Vice Adm. RobertT. Moeller, deputy chief of theAfrica Command, theambassador called the plan"extremely problematic," addingthat it could create a popularbacklash and "risk infuriating"neighbors such as Algeria.

Furthermore, Milovanovicwarned that the U.S. advisers"would likely serve as lightningrods, exposing themselves and theMalian contingents to specificrisk," according to a StateDepartment cable summarizingthe meeting.

Moeller replied that he"regretted" that the ambassadorhad not been kept better informedand said Oasis Enabler was "awork in progress." It is unclearwhether the plan was carried out.

Since then, however, securityin Mali has deteriorated sharply.After the coup in March, extremistMuslim guerrillas in northernMali declared an independentIslamist state. They have imposedsharia law and have begunenforcing strict social codes thatinclude compulsory beards formen and a ban on television.

In the fabled desert city ofTimbuktu, al-Qaedasympathizers have destroyedancient mausoleums andattacked other shrines as part of areligious cleansing campaign.Western aid workers haveabandoned the northern half ofthe country after a string ofkidnappings.

Thousands of Malians havefled to refugee camps inneighboring countries.

The three soldiers riding

ANALYSIS

Mysterious fatal crash exposesUS commando presence in Mali

through Bamako in April hadrented their 2010 Toyota LandCruiser from a local agency,according to written statementsprovided to The Post by theSpecial Operations Command atFort Bragg.

Bast was in the driver's seat andwas headed south across theMartyrs Bridge. Preliminaryinvestigative results determinedthat he lost control of the LandCruiser, which broke through thebridge's guard rail and landed inthe river below.

Also in the vehicle were threeMoroccan women, according to theArmy's statement. Contributingfactors in the accident, the Armysaid, were limited visibility and "aprobable evasive maneuver on thepart of the vehicle's driver to avoidimpacting with slower movingtraffic."

The soldiers died of "blunt forcetrauma" when the vehicle landedupside down in the shallow river,crushing the roof, the Army said.

The Special OperationsCommand said it could not answerquestions about where the soldierswere going, nor why they weretraveling with the unidentifiedMoroccan women, saying thematter is under investigation.

At least two of the soldiers inMali had been trained ascommunications or intelligencespecialists.

Bast, the master sergeant, wasa ham radio hobbyist whooriginally joined the Navy beforeswitching to the Army severalyears ago. An Army spokesmandescribed him as a"communications expert" and saidhe was posthumously given theMeritorious Service Medal butdeclined to say why.

Myrthil was a native of Haitiwho joined the Army two decadesago. Military officials releasedvirtually no details about his

service record.Utley, the captain, was a

Kentucky native who joined theArmy in 2002 to work as a signalsand communications officer butlater transferred to the SpecialForces.

Friends said he had expected todeploy to Afghanistan last summerbut received last-minute orders togo to Africa instead. His Maliassignment was scheduled to endthis spring but was extended, theysaid.

Three weeks after the coup, onApril 11, Utley sent a brief e-mail toa friend from college, ChrisAtzinger, to report that he was allright and that he would write morelater.

Atzinger said he and otherfriends of Utley's were frustratedthat the Army hasn't given aclearer explanation of how he died."Those little details don't seem to addup," Atzinger said. "All of us areresigned to the fact that we won'tever know."

Utley, a graduate of theUniversity of Louisville, was aMcConnell Scholar, part of aleadership program named afterSen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), theSenate minority leader. Less thana week after the fatal crash,McConnell gave a eulogy to Utleyon the Senate floor, calling him "anAmerican hero and patriot."

Gary Gregg, director of theMcConnell Center at theUniversity of Louisville, called Utleya star student and "just a terrifickid." But he said the official accountof the crash didn't make sense.

"It seems really dubious that sixpeople died in a single-car accident.It's just very fishy," Gregg said in atelephone interview.

Culled from WashingtonPost.

Dana Priest and Julie Tatecontributed to this report.

By Craig Whitlock

US President Barack Obama

“U.S. counterterrorism officials havelong worried about Mali, a weaklygoverned country of 14.5 million

people that has served as a refugefor Islamist militants allied with al-

Qaeda.

PAGE 32 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

ICC jails DRC warlordover child soldiers

The InternationalCriminal Court handeddown a 14-year jail term

to Congolese warlord ThomasLubanga in its first-eversentence, after Lubanga'sconviction for using child soldiersin a brutal conflict in the centralAfrican country.

"Taking into account all thefactors... the court sentences MrLubanga to 14 years in prison,"presiding Judge Adrian Fulfordtold The Hague-based court, setup in 2002, on Tuesday.

Lubanga, who has beendetained in The Hague sinceMarch 2006, will howevereffectively only spend eightyears in prison. Fulford said thecourt had taken into account thetime Lubanga has already spentbehind bars.

Lubanga, 51, was convictedin March of war crimes,specifically for using childsoldiers in his rebel army in theDemocratic Republic of Congo in2002-03. Criticised for its slowprogress, Lubanga's sentencemarks the ICC's first since itstarted work a decade ago.

Alpha Sesay, the legal officerfor International Justice at theOpen Society Justice Initiative,a foundation that promoteshuman rights andaccountability for internationalcrimes spoke to Al Jazeera.

"These children were told tokill and rape. That was theeducation [Lubanga] gave thesechildren "

He said that the judgeconsidered a range of issues, butthey also considered mitigating

circumstances, as Lubanga hadcooperated with the proceedings.

"So the prosecution did not getwhat they asked for," said Sesay."There was dissenting opinionthough with one of the judgessaying that the sentencedisregards the arms so far duringthe conflict in the Ituri region."

The Hague-based court'sformer chief prosecutor LuisMoreno-Ocampo, who has sincehanded over this position toGambia's Fatou Bensouda, earlierthis month called for a 30-yearsentence against Lubanga,saying his crimes were "of themost serious concern for theinternational community".

"These children were told tokill and rape. That was theeducation [Lubanga] gave thesechildren," said Moreno-Ocampo.

During the trial, prosecutorstold how young girls served as sex-slaves, while boys were trainedto fight.

Lubanga was found guilty ofabducting children as young as11 and forcing them to fight andcommit atrocities in the DRC'snortheastern gold-rich Ituriregion. NGOs site some 60,000people killed in the war since1999.

So far his team has notindicated whether they wouldappeal his conviction, sentencingor both.

The ICC - the world's onlyindependent, permanenttribunal to try genocide, warcrimes and crimes againsthumanity - has issued four arrestwarrants for crimes in the DRCsince opening its doors in 2003.

Muslim fighters inTimbuktu havedestroyed two tombs at

the northern Malian city'sfamous Djingareyber mosque,residents have said.

Eyewitnesses said themilitants shot in the air to warnpeople away as they begansmashing the shrines.

Timbuktu is a WorldHeritage site, with centuries-oldshrines to Islamic saints, reveredby Sufi Muslims.

The al-Qaeda-linked AnsarDine group that seized the cityin April says they are idolatrousand wants them removed.

The UN Security Councilcondemned the destruction lastweek of some shrines, warningit could constitute a war crime.

This means that a case couldbe referred to the InternationalCriminal Court (ICC) in TheHague, whose prosecutor hasalready condemned the recentdestruction of Muslim tombs.

About a dozen militantsdrove up to the 14th-CenturyDjingareyber mosque in anarmoured four-wheeled truck,armed with guns, pickaxes andhoes, one Timbuktu residentwho witnessed the scene toldReuters news agency.

Other residents describedhow the fighters blocked the twomain roads leading to themosque and shot in the air toscare people off.

"The two tombs are adjacentto the western wall of the greatmosque and the Islamists havehoes [and] chisels - they arehitting the mausoleums whichare made out of packed earth,"another witness told the AFPnews agency.

The UN cultural agencyUnesco and Mali's governmenthave already called on AnsarDine to halt its campaign.

The group has destroyedseveral of 16 listed mausoleumsin the city, and has vowed tosmash them all.

…UN to help troops protect GomaUN and Democratic

Republic of Congo troopsare reinforcing a key city

in the east of the country toguard against attack by rebelswho have seized ground inrecent days.

DR Congo authorities and theUnited Nations fear that the M23movement, which took one townon the Uganda border last weekand forced 600 governmenttroops to flee, may target theprovincial capital of Goma, UNofficials said.

"It would be disastrous ifGoma was taken," said a UNofficial who gave details of thereinforcements yesterday.

M23, a group of mutineersled by accused war criminalBosco Ntaganda, has alreadybriefly taken other towns nearits new stronghold in

Bunagana.The DR Congo government

is moving a US-trainedbattalion from the north of thecountry to eastern Goma, theofficial told reporters, speakingon condition of anonymity.

The battalion, previouslyused in the hunt for Lord'sResistance Army (LRA) fighters,will join about 7,000 troopsalready in Nord Kivu province,of which Goma is the capital.

The UN mission in DR Congo,known by the acronymMONUSCO, is movingGhanaian troops andGuatemalan, Jordanian andEgyptian special forces from its18,000-strong peacekeepingforce to the city, said the UNofficial.

MONUSCO's deputy forcescommander, General Adrian

Foster of Britain, has moved toGoma to run the UN operation,as UN troops will help withplanning, logistics, fuel,transport and other support.

They have already gone intobattle to protect civilians, andone Indian peacekeeper waskilled last Friday.

"This is all to ensure that wecan strengthen our support toensure that Goma does not fall andalso to provide wider protection ofcivilians in the area affected bythe M23," said the UN official.

M23 broke away from thegovernment army in Aprilcomplaining about conditions. Inthe past two weeks its numbershave grown from about 1,000 to2,000 fighters.

At the weekend, M23 tookRutshuru, which controls a keyhighway to Goma, and other

smaller nearby towns. But theywithdrew again on Mondaywithout any apparent reason.

The UN is also concerned thatM23 is trying to form allianceswith other rebel groups in theregion.

Alongside thereinforcements, the UN will seekto press diplomatic means todefuse the crisis at the AUsummit this week. TheInternational Conference of theGreat Lakes Region - whichincludes DR Congo and Rwanda - isto be held on Thursday focusing onthe new troubles.

Security Council powers arealso trying to get countries withinfluence over DR Congo andRwanda to bring them back fromthe brink of a showdown,diplomats said ahead ofTuesday's council meeting.

Tombs inTimbuktu’sDjingareybermosque‘destroyed’

Pakistani army soldiers gather after attack on army camp in Wazirabad, some 180km southeast of Islamabad

Thomas Lubanga, left, in frontof his house in Bunia, Congo in2003.

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Egypt’s legislature convenes despite court rulingEgypt's Islamist-dominated

parliament convenedyesterday in defiance of a

ruling by the country's highestcourt and swiftly voted to seek alegal opinion on the decision thatinvalidated the chamber overapparent election irregularities.

The lawmakers' session wasbrief - it lasted just five minutes -but it pushed Egypt deeper into apotential power struggle betweennew President MuhammadMursi and the powerful military,which has vowed to uphold thejudicial ruling that led toparliament being dissolved.

The crisis atmosphere hasgrown steadily since Mursi issuedan order Sunday to reconvene the508-seat legislature. Hisexecutive order said it wasrevoking the military's June 15order to disband the chamberbased on the previous ruling bythe Supreme ConstitutionalCourt.

The court said a third of thechamber's members were electedillegally by allowing candidatesfrom political parties to contestseats set aside for independentcandidates.

Parliament Speaker Saad El-Katatni told lawmakers that thelegislature met to find ways toimplement the court rulingrather than debate it out ofrespect for the principles of "the Egyptian Parliament Speaker Saad el-Katani presides over a brief session of Parliament.

supremacy of the law andseparation of authorities."

But he put forward a plan toseek what amounts to a "secondopinion" from an appeals court onthe ruling. It was notimmediately clear, however,whether the appeals court wouldaccept the legislature's request.

Both Mursi and el-Katatni are

longtime members of the MuslimBrotherhood, the fundamentalistgroup that has long been at oddswith successive Egyptiangovernments.

In its only public comment onthe dispute, the military Mondaydelivered a thinly veiledwarning to Mursi, saying thearmed forces sides with the

"constitution, legitimacy andlaw" - language that means thepowerful military will stand byand watch a ruling by thecountry's highest court ignoredor breached.

The military handed overpower to Mursi on June 30 afterruling Egypt for 16 months sincethe fall of Hosni Mubarak.

In this 2004 file photo are the late Palestinian leader YasserArafat and his wife Suha.

PAGE 33

Kingdom of Cambodia holds rotating chairmanship of the Southeast Asian regional bloc

In the run-up to thehandover, the military declareditself the country's legislativeauthority in the absence of aparliament and gave itselfcontrol over the drafting of a newconstitution and the nationalbudget. The generals alsostripped Mursi of significantpowers.

ASEAN seeksto smoothSouth ChinaSea dispute

As foreign ministers met inthe Cambodian capitalPhnom Penh on Monday,

Prime Minister Hun Sen saidhammering out a code of conductwith China in the disputed waters wasa chief goal for the 10-memberAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN).

Tension over competing claims inthe South China Sea promises to bethe hot button issue of the meetings,particulary later in the week whenHillary Clinton, the US secretary ofstate, and her Chinese counterpart areamong regional participants for asecurity-focused regional forum.

ASEAN comprises Brunei,Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,Myanmar, the Philippines,Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, agrouping of nearly 600 million peoplefrom disparate economic and politicalsystems.

In his opening address, Hun Senurged delegates to "give emphasis" toworking towards a code of conduct inthe sea, which will provide guidelinesto resolving disputes over a web ofconflicting territorial claims involvingseveral member nations.

He said ASEAN should show thatit can be a "driving force for thepromotion of dialogue and co-operation" on political and securityissues.

"Maintaining regional peace andsecurity is indispensable for ASEANprosperity," said the Cambodianleader, whose country currently holdsthe rotating chairmanship of the bloc.

Tensions have risen recently inthe sea, with both Vietnam and thePhilippines accusing Beijing ofaggressive behaviour.

Manila is leading a push forASEAN to unite to persuade China toaccept a code of conduct but Beijinghas preferred an approach thatwould deal with the claimantsindividually.

Senior diplomats attending themeetings in Cambodia said ASEANwas still wrangling over how toapproach the issue without offendingChina, the world's second biggesteconomy and a major trade partnerfor many Southeast Asian states.

One diplomat, who asked not tobe named, said ASEAN has yet toreach consensus on whether tomention the recent standoff betweenChinese and Philippine ships in thedisputed Scarborough Shoal in a jointcommunique.

China claims essentially all of theSouth China Sea, home to vitalshipping lanes and believed to be richin oil and gas deposits. Taiwan andASEAN members the Philippines,Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia alsohave claims in the waters.

Arafat’swidow to filesuit in Parisover death:lawyer

Yasser Arafat's widow is tofile a lawsuit in Francefollowing allegations the

Palestinian leader died at a Parishospital in 2004 after beingradioactively poisoned, herlawyers said yesterday.

"Mrs Suha Arafat, widow ofPalestinian leader Yasser Arafat,has asked a Parisian legal practiceto file suit against an unnamedperson under French jurisdiction,"lawyer Pierre-Olivier Sur'spractice said in a statement.

"Mrs Arafat hopes that theauthorities will be able to establishthe exact circumstances of herhusband's death and find out thetruth so that justice can be done,"it said.

The move comes after aninvestigation commissioned by Al-Jazeera news channel foundelevated levels of the radioactivesubstance polonium on some ofArafat's belongings, suggesting theleader could have been poisoned.

Palestinian presidentMahmud Abbas has said he willask the Swiss experts who probedArafat's death to take samplesfrom his body in the occupied WestBank city of Ramallah for furthertests.

Polonium, which is highlytoxic, was used to kill Russianformer spy turned Kremlin criticAlexander Litvinenko, who diedin 2006 after drinking tea lacedwith the substance at a Londonrestaurant.

PAGE 34 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Russia sends naval flotillato Syrian port: report

This 19, 2008, file photo shows the Russian Admiral Chabanenko destroyer arrives at Havana'sharbor.

escalation of the situation in Syria.""In Tartus the ships are going

to top up on supplies of fuel, waterand foodstuffs," the source said,adding that their deployment inthe Mediterranean would lastuntil the end of September.

Russia has been bitterlycriticized by the West for failingto cut military ties with Syriadespite the conflict between theregime and opposition rebels thathas claimed thousands of lives.

Russia has sent a navalflotilla of six warships ledby an anti-submarine

destroyer to its naval base at theSyrian port of Tartus, theInterfax news agency reportedyesterday.

The Admiral Chabanenkoand three landing craft have lefttheir home port of Severomorskin the Arctic Circle on their wayto the Mediterranean where theywill be joined by the Russian

patrol ship Yaroslav Mudry aswell as an assistance vessel, amilitary source told the agency.

"The program of the voyageincludes a call in the Syrian portof Tartus," the unnamed sourcetold the news agency.

The source said the trip wastaking place in line with the plansof military readiness of the Russianfleet. According to Interfax, thesource insisted that thedeployment "was not linked to the

…Putin claims West is on the declinePresident Vladimir Putin

said on Monday the West'sinfluence was waning as

its economy declines but warnedRussian diplomats to be on theirguard against a backlash fromMoscow's former Cold Warenemies.

In a b iennia l speech toRussian ambassadors, Putinalso took a shot at the Westby condemning anyuni la tera l ac t ions to so lveinternat ional d isputes andunder l ined the importanceof reso lv ing such conf l i c tsthrough the United Nations.

His remarks suggestedthat Russia, a veto-wieldingpermanent member o f the

Secur i ty Counci l , wouldkeep on defending ally Syriaat the United Nations overi ts mi l i tary crackdown onan popular uprising that hasevolved into an armedi n s u r g e n c y .

"Domestic socio-economicproblems that have becomeworse in industr ia l i zedcountries as a result of the(economic) crisis are weakeningthe dominant role of the so-calledhistorical West," Putin told ameeting of Russian ambassadorsfrom across the world. He told theenvoys, gathered in Moscow,that they should try to influenceevents where Russian interestswere at stake.

"Be ready for anydevelopment of the situation,even for the most unfavorabledevelopment," he said in the 20-minute speech, parts of whichwere televised.

Putin's speech was sprinkledwith the hawkish rhetoric thathas made many foreignpolicy experts predict a turnfor the worse in relationswith the United Statesfollowing his return to theKremlin in May.

The economic problemsfaced by the European Unionare the "tip of the iceberg ofunresolved structural problemsthat is facing the entire worldeconomy," he said.

Romanian court approves president’s dismissal

Romania's constitutionalcourt has given itsapproval to parliament's

vote to suspend the country'spresident, but the ultimate willbe up to a popular referendum setfor July 29.

The court appointed amember of the centre-left rulingcoalition to replace the suspendedpresident.

"The court notes that theprocedure for the suspension fromhis duties of Romanian PresidentTraian Basescu has beenrespected ... and that the functionof interim president will beassured by Crin Antonescu," itruled on Monday.

Most legal observers had

anticipated this ruling forprocedural reasons. On Friday,256 of 432 deputies voted toimpeach the centre-right Basescu

over claims he improperlyassumed the powers of the primeminister when he announceddrastic austerity cuts in 2010.

Basescu, a centre-rightpolitician, was sackedfor assuming powersimproperly in 2010

Mladic war crimes trialresumes testimonyFormer Bosnian Serb military

chief Ratko Mladic will hearfrom additional witnesses in

the second day of testimony in thelong-awaited war crimes trial inThe Hague.

Mladic's trial, which resumedyesterday, could result in amaximum sentence of lifeimprisonment if he is convicted.

The first witness in the Mladictrial described a day earlier of aharrowing escape and scenes ofhorror in his home village despitea motion by defence attorneys toadjourn the war crimes case for sixmonths.

United Nations judges atInternational Criminal Tribunalfor the former Yugoslavia said theprosecution could respond to therequest on Tuesday and allowedElvedin Pasic to testify.

Pasic described how in 1992,his family was separated as theyescaped the shelling of his villagein northern Bosnia by BosnianSerb troops under Mladic'scommand. Pasic was just 14 at thetime and told of weeks ofwanderings with his mother, beingturned away from village aftervillage.

Mladic faces 11 chargesrelating to the massacre in the

Former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic is on trial for warcrimes at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugo-slavia.

Assad proposes gradualsteps to end Syria violenceSyrian President Bashar al-

Assad has suggested endingSyria's conflict on a step-by-

step basis, starting with districtsthat have suffered the worstviolence, international mediatorKofi Annan said yesterday.

The former U.N. secretarygeneral met Assad in Damascus onMonday, launching a round ofshuttle diplomacy to try to revivehis moribund plan for endingSyria's 16-month-old uprising inwhich rebels are fighting to topplethe authoritarian leader.

Speaking to reporters after talksin Iran, Annan said Assad hadproposed "building an approachfrom the ground up in some of thedistricts where we have extremeviolence - to try and contain theviolence in those districts and, stepby step, build up and end theviolence across the country".

Annan, who represents theUnited Nations and the ArabLeague, said he needed to discussthe proposal with the Syrian

opposition and could not givefurther details.

It was not clear how or wherehe planned to do this withopposition leaders, who say therecan be no peaceful transitionunless Assad, who tried to crushpopular protests by armed forcefrom the moment they began,relinquishes power first.

After talks with IranianForeign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi,Annan flew to Baghdad. He willpresent the conclusions of his tourto the U.N. Security Council inNew York on Wednesday,according to the French ForeignMinistry.

Syria's major ally Russiaproposed what sounded like analternative to the Western-backed,anti-Assad "Friends of Syria"forum, with an offer to visitingSyrian opposition groups to hostregular meetings of Annan's own"action group" of states, which ismore balanced between pro- andanti-Assad influences.

enclave of Srebrenica innortheastern Bosnia in 1995,when almost 8,000 Muslim menand boys were murdered byBosnian Serb troops under Mladic'scommand. The charges includegenocide, war crimes and crimesagainst humanity.

He also faces charges for theterrorising of the capital Sarajevoduring 44 months of shelling andsniping that killed 10,000 people.

Prosecutors also hold himresponsible for taking some 200UN peacekeepers hostage and forallegedly ordering his troops to"cleanse" Bosnian towns, drivingout Croats, Muslims and othernon-Serb residents.

"Before the war we had a greattime," Pasic told the court. "We wereplaying basketball and football, weused to do everything together.Muslim, Croats and Serbs, we wereall having a great time, respectingeach other."

Now 34 years old, Pasic spokein English, carefully describinghow he and his mother eventuallycircled back to their Muslim villagedespite a warning from two Serbsoldiers patrolling nearby who toldthem "there is nothing for you togo back to: your home is Turkey,this is Serbia".

PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012 PAGE 36

Dutch TV station accidentally givesAngela Merkel a Hitler moustacheA Dutch TV news station

accidentally gaveGerman chancellor

Angela Merkel a Hitlermoustache when studiographics overlapped part of herface during a report. We're notsure if someone at the stationwas trying to send a message tothe viewers but somehow MrsMerkel ended up looking likethe former leader of the NaziParty.

The German chancellor was

A Dutch TV station accidentally gave German chancellor Angela Merkel a Hitler moustache(Picture: YouTube)

appearing on Nos television'sSix O'Clock news during theweekend when a black lineappeared across her top lip.

It was an unintendedoutcome from theprogramme's graphics, whichinadvertently placed the markon her face.

Some Twitter users took tothe social media site to expresstheir surprise at what theysaw.

?@martinenserink wrote:

'Things you can't make up:Dutch studio set accidentallygives Angela Merkel a Hitlermoustache.'

?@a_nnelie saw the funnyside to it, and posted:'Whoops...Dutch NOS televisionnews gives Angela Merkel a'Hitler' moustache.'

Some Germans may not betoo pleased though, with MrsMerkel having previously beencompared to Hitler because ofher tough policies.

Meet the twins born in different countriesTwins are normally born

minutes - if not hours -apart, but Dylan Joseph

and Hannah Rose Fox will be able tosay they were born in differentcountries.

The youngsters were welcomedto the world in England andScotland last Sunday as theirparents, Donna Keenan and JoeFox, settled down to watch the Euro2012 final.

With no time to get to thehospital, paramedics were forced todeliver Dyland on the living roomfloor.

But as the twins were being bornfour weeks early, medical staff pulledout all the stops to get Ms Keenan to

hospital in time for Hannah'sarrival.

The 28-year-old endured anhour-long trip to Borders GeneralHospital in Melrose, Scotland, beforeher daughter made an appearancehours later.

'I'm still getting over the shockof what's happened,' said MsKeenan, of Wooler,Northumberland. 'It's all such ablur.

'Joe and I already have adaughter, Jessica, who's two, and Iwas in labour with her for 30 hoursso never imagined the twins wouldcome so quickly.

'I had already been up to theBorders hospital and come home

when I started to feel a bit strangeand that's when my waters went.'

Dylan was born at about 8pm,weighing 2.6kg (5lb 13oz), while hissister tipped the scales at 2.2kg (4lb14oz) when she arrived at 11.40pm.

Mr Fox, 24, who was at hispartner's side for both births, said:'We're still getting our heads aroundit.

'We knew the babies were goingto be born in different countries butthere was also a chance they'd beborn on different days because it wasso late.

'I joked to Donna that she shouldhold on as long as possible but I onlymentioned it once and don't think itwent down too well!'

Hey, baby: Twins Dylan Joseph, left, and Hannah Rose, were born hours apart - in England andScotland (Pictures: NNP)

World’s tallest Legotower constructedat Legoland WindsorThe world's tallest Lego

tower has beenconstructed by model

makers at Legoland Windsor.Measuring a dizzying 32m

(105ft), it took hundreds ofvolunteers four days to createthe toy tower, using over500,000 Lego bricks.

Groups of Lego enthusiastshelped construct the towercomprising of 160 differentcoloured sections at ground levelbefore they were hoisted intoplace using a crane.

The resort's divisionaldirector, Sue Kemp, told ITV: 'Weare delighted to reclaim the

record for Britain. We last heldit in 2008 when it was a mere29.26 metres tall.

'We're very grateful to thehundreds of people who helpedcreate the tower, which is madefrom over 500,000 bricks. It tookfour days to build and is certainlyan impressive feat.'

To complete the record attemptLego master builder Per K Knudsenfinally placed nine Team GB Legomini figures on top of the tower.

The tower beats the previousrecord set in Seoul earlier in yearand reclaims the recordpreviously held by the resort in2008.

Nine Team GB Lego minifigures sit on the top of theworld's tallest Lego tower(Picture: Steve Parsons /PA)

Going up inthe world:Theworld'stallestLego tower(Picture:SteveParsons/PA)

Per K Knudsen places nine Team GB Lego mini figures on thetop of the tower (Picture: Steve Parsons/PA)

PAGE 36 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Glamorous film stars who light-up on screen‘encourage children to take up smoking’

Films with an R rating in theU.S are for viewers aged 17 andover unless they have aguardian with them.

Dr Sargent and hiscolleagues counted how manytimes a character was seensmoking in each of over 500box-office hits from recentyears. The database includingfilms such as Iron Man, MissionImpossible 2 and Closer.

Then, they asked 6,500 U.S.kids ages 10 to 14 which of arandom selection of 50 of thosemovies they had watched.

The average ‘dose’ of moviesmoking was 275 scenes fromfilms rated PG-13 and 93 scenesfrom R movies, the researchersreported in Pediatrics.

Three subsequentinterviews with the childrenfound those who had watchedsmoking-heavy movies weremore likely to pick up the habitthemselves.

For each extra 500 smokingshots reported in their initialsurvey, youth were 33 to 49 percent more likely to trycigarettes over the next twoyears.

The effect of on-screen

Children who watch a lot ofmovies with cigarette-smoking characters are

more likely to take up the habitthemselves, according to astudy.

Recent popular films fromthe PG-rated Rango to the 12A-rated The Help includecharacters who smoke.Researchers said the studyparticipants, who were aged 10to 14, responded to the smokingin films whatever their rating.

Lead author Dr JamesSargent, from the Geisel Schoolof Medicine at Dartmouth, NewHampshire, said their findingssuggest it’s the smoking itself,rather than sex or violence infilms for older viewers, thatinfluenced young people.

‘Movie smoking seems to bejust as impactful if it’s packagedin a PG-13 movie as opposed toan R movie,’ said Dr JamesSargent, from the Geisel Schoolof Medicine at Dartmouth inLebanon, New Hampshire.

‘I really think it’s a ‘cool’factor. The more they see it, themore they start to see ways that(smoking) might make themseem more movie-star,’ he said. Glamourising? Scarlett Johansson smokes in a number of her films. She is seen here in the 2005

Lost in Translation

‘This study goes a stepfurther and suggests that takingsmoking out of all PG-13 moviescould have a palpable effect onthe impact of smoking in theU.S.,’ he added.

However, Matthew Farrelly,from the scientific institute RTIin Research Triangle Park,North Carolina, said while a linkbetween on-screen smoking andtrying cigarettes ‘makes sense’,he said ‘I just think therelationship has been vastlyoverstated.’

All the researchers agreed,however, that the new findingsmean parents should be paying

smoking was not significantlydifferent for PG-13 and R films.As children tend to see more PG-13 flicks, Dr Sargent’s teamcalculated that if smokingautomatically earned an Rrating, the number ofyoungsters who try cigaretteswould drop by 18 per cent.

Dr Brian Primack at theUniversity of Pittsburgh Schoolof Medicine, who was notinvolved in the study, said: ‘Atthis point, it is established thatexposure to smoking in movies isa potent risk factor for actuallytaking up smoking, especiallywhen the exposures are early.

Puffing on a cigar: A smoking scene in superhero flick Iron Man.

Ashtrays grace most tables in the film The Help based in the 1960s.

The PG-rated cartoon Rango was slammed by anti-smokingcampaigners with more than 60 instances of characters puffingaway.

attention to what their kids areseeing in movie theaters and onTV.

‘Parents have to treat theirkids’ media diet the same waythey treat their food diet,’ DrSargent said.

That means paying attentionto movie ratings and possiblysetting TV controls to block outage-inappropriate material, headded.

Sargent recommended youthwatch no more than two moviesa week and called for ‘no R-ratedmovies until kids are well intoadolescence.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PAGE 37PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives, Rt. Hon.Aminu Tambuwal

yesterday disclosed that theongoing constitutionamendment exercise wouldaddress the issue of corruptionin the judiciary as well as hastenthe pace of dispensation of justicein the country.

The Speaker stated thiswhen the Chief Justice ofNigeria, Justice DahiruMusdapher led other eminentjustices of the Supreme court topresent "A Bill for An Act toAmend the Constitution of theFederal Republic of Nigeria (5thAlteration Bill) 2012" to theHouse leadership.

According to the Speaker,"This amendments beingproposed and judicial reformswill no doubt address many ofthe problems bedeviling theNigerian Judiciary. Issues ofappointment and removal ofjudges, expanding thejurisdiction of Nigeria SupremeCourt, creating a separate orspecial court for financialcrimes, creating more balancein Nigeria Judicial Council andthe Federal Judicial ServiceCommission will in no doubt ridthe bench of corruption andhasten the speedy dispensationof justice.

"As a House we are going togive these amendments all thesupport we can to see that theybecome laws, so that people canget speedy and qualitativejustice from our courts. As

Constitution amendment to ridjudiciary of corruption, says TambuwalBy Lawrence Olaoye

legislators we are determined togive Nigerians the kind ofconstitution they deserve andthis your professional inputwould in no small measures helpin ensuring that ouramendments meets the highstandards", he maintained.

Justice Musdapher in hiscomments said, "When I assumedoffice in September 2011, publicperception and confidence in theJudiciary was generallyadjudged to be low. There wereserious concerns regarding our

ability to dispense justice to thesatisfaction of the citizenry.Consequently, in a bid to addressthese issues, I expressed graveconcern regarding the currentstate of affairs at several foraand communicated a resolve totake corrective measures toreform the Judiciary.

"With the hope that ourefforts so far have served toimprove the perception of thejudiciary among the citizenry,I am glad to state that this Bill isan important step in our

comprehensive plan to repositionand reform the judiciary to meetthe expectations of Nigerians",he said.

On the amendments beingsought by the apex court, theCJN highlighted that theappellate jurisdiction of theSupreme Court has been alteredby providing that appeals fromthe Court of Appeal onInterlocutory decisions and othermatters shall only be by leave ofthe Supreme Court.

"The composition of theNational Judicial Council andthe Federal Judicial ServiceCommission has also been alteredto ensure greater balance; theprocess of removal of judicialofficers has also been streamlinedto ensure a greater degree offairness and the old section 295regarding reference on questionsof law has been deleted as it hasbeen identified as a means to stallthe swiftness of the trial process.

"The jurisdiction of theSupreme Court was alsoexpanded to include an AdvisoryJurisdiction on application bythe President or a Governor onquestions of law or fact that are ofsuch importance that it isexpedient to obtain an opinion ofthe Supreme Court on it," headded.

He continued that theamendment "were borne out of thereform process and are expectedto address many serious issuesaffecting the Judiciary today.As the custodian of theConstitution, I believe theJudiciary has a duty to point outto the Legislature deserving areas

requiring legislativeintervention some of which areobvious concerns of the publicdissatisfaction with theadministration of justice, whichmakes our proposedamendments most imperative".

He added that, apart from theBill as presented before the House,"there are many other proposalscoming from the Judiciary. Forinstance, there are consequentialamendments to the existingSupreme Court Act, Court ofAppeal Act, High Courts Acts,and the National JudicialInstitute Act. These shall bebrought to you shortly".

In addition, he said, "we arealso introducing new legislation,to wit, the National JudicialCouncil Act and the FederalJudicial Service Commission Act.These new Acts shall providemore detailed provisionsregarding functions, structureand a robust administrativeframework beyond what isalready contained in theConstitution.

"It is also hoped that in thenear future an Act to create anindependent institution to caterspecifically for judicial disciplineand removal shall be submittedto the National Assembly forconsideration. This shall alsorequire the submission of a fewmore alterations to theConstitution. We are of theopinion that this all importantissue requires a separateinstitution to perform thefunctions more effectively thanthe National Judicial Council", henoted.

Hon. Aminu Tambuwal

Chukwu said that thereactivation of the NNPC depot hadbrought back economic activitiesto the South East Geopolitical Zoneand Abia in particular.

He commended the efforts ofPresident Goodluck Jonathan, thegovernor, management and staffof the NNPC and PPMC and otherstakeholders who ensured the depot,

shut in 2006, was back on stream.The speaker also commended

the lawmakers at the state and thenational assemblies for workingtirelessly to make the re-openingof the depot a reality.

He said that the statehad remained without economicbenefits from the depot in the lastsix year, stressing that many of

people who made a living from ithad suffered untold hardship.

Chief Gilbert Nwoke,Chairman of IPMAN in Aba depot,said the rehabilitation would nothave been achieved without thesupport of the state governor andother stakeholders.

He appealed to the NNPC andPPMC to also pump diesel and

The Speaker of Abia House ofAssembly, UdeChukwu, has assured of

speedy passage of the bill on illegalbunkering and pipeline vandalismto boost the economy of the state.

Chukwu told newsmen in Abaon Tuesday that the House wasalready waiting for the stategovernment to formally presentthe bill for it to work on it and passit into law.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that Gov. ChiefTheodore Orji had, at the re-opening of the NNPC depot atOsisioma, near Aba on July 9, saidgovernment would soon send a billto the House.

According to him, the bill willmake it an offence punishable bydeath for illegal bunkering andpipeline vandalism in the state.

The governor also urged thetraditional rulers, as the custodiansof tradition in their variouscommunities, to help in ensuringthat such economic sabotage wasnot allowed in their domains.

Abia Speaker assures of speedy passage of bill on illegal bunkeringkerosene to the depot.

Nwoke commended them forthe 30 million litres of petrolalready in the depot fordistribution.

“We want the pumping ofproducts to Aba depot to besustained so that we do not go backto the ugly experience of the past,’’Nwoke said.

``I can confirm that thenames of the NationalCommissioners have been sentto me and I am awaiting theirarrival any moment from now.

``Each Local GovernmentArea is expected to be supervisedby either a nationalcommissioner or a REC.

``I can also confirm to youthat the new 18 EOs selectedfrom across the six-geopoliticalzones have been redeployed toEdo and have since taken overfrom their old colleagues.

``I have met with them and

told them what is required ofthem as EOs,'' he said.

Kassim said the commissionhas distributed all non-sensitive materials to the 18local government areas of thestate while all vehicles to beused on Election Day were onground.

“From what we have onground, we are going to deploythree Hilux and four-wheeldrive vehicles to each of the localgovernment areas.''

On the handling of logistics inareas identified as difficult terrain,

he said ``we have made adequatearrangements to that effect.''

Kassim confirmed that INECChairman Attahiru Jega wasbeing expected in Benn yesterday.

He added that Jega wouldimmediately address staff of thecommission at the Bishop KellyPastoral Hall in Benin and meetwith stakeholders on Wednesday.

The REC also said that theActing Inspector General of Policewas being expected to assess thesecurity situation.

“So, we are not leavinganything to chance at all.''

INEC has deployed eightNational Commissioners and10 Resident Electoral

Commissioners (RECs) to Edo forthe July 14 governorship election.

The REC in Edo, Mr KassimGaidam, made this known to theNews Agency of Nigeria (NAN)in Benin yesterday.

He added that new ElectoralOfficers (EOs) had beenredeployed to take over from theold EOs ahead of the election.

Kasssim said the new EOswere posted from states acrossthe six geo-political zones.

INEC deploys 8 National Commissioners, 10 RECs to Edo for governorship poll

PAGE 38 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

The hurry to swear in newmember, Mr YunisaOlofu, without Certificate of

Return from the IndependentNational Electoral Commission(INEC) has torn Kogi state Houseof Assembly apart.

While some members were nothappy that without Certificate ofReturn it was illegal to swear inany member, others said theywere under pressure from a higherauthority to swear in the newmember.

According to an impeccablesource, a member from Ankpastate constituency who is assumedto be loyal to the rule of law wasrefused a position meant for asecond term member.

He was described as beingrecalcitrant despite his secondterm in the Assembly not to listento people who are close to thehigher authority and can makethings work.

While the Majority Leader,Yunisa Yakubu, described aserroneous the removal of DeputyChief Whip, Habibat Mohammed-Deen, who was described 'asworking at cross purpose' with thechief whip, she was at plenaryyesterday reinstated.

A good number of people whogot the surprise news of the returnto Deputy Chief Whip seat by theformer occupier of the seatwondered what happened to theChief Whip seat when it was saidthat both committed same offence.

For claiming to be atraditional ruler, theparamount monarch of

Efon, Ekiti state, the Alaaye ofEfon, Oba Emmanuel Aladejare,has removed Chief Jacob Adelowoas the Alahun of Obalu Quarters,Efon-Alaaye, with effect from July6.

The monarch is alsodemanding written apologies andletters of allegiance from eightother chiefs in the town for joiningAdelowo to revolt against him.

The eight chiefs are Ojo Segun(Oisawe), Joshua Omoniyi(Ejemu), Matthew. Oke (Oloro),Kola Johnson (Okunato),TopeObere (Eleejofi), Folorunso Omole(Osolo), James Adekanle (Saloro)

and Abiodun Olajubu (Olukotun).Furthermore, the Oba has

asked 15 men and women installedas chiefs by Adelowo to stopparading themselves as such in thetown or face sanctions.

Addressing newsmen in Ado-Ekiti yesterday on behalf of theAlaaye-in-Council, High ChiefJacob Elekolusi, said the counciltook the decision followingAdelowo’s intransigence afterbeing duly queried by the counciland even warned by the Ekiti stategovernment.

Elekolusi said Adelowo wasinstalled the Alahun by Aladejareon Nov 20, 2007 and presentedwith a letter of appointment dulysigned by the monarch.

He said that soon after, Adelowostarted agitating to become an Oba.

Elekolusi stated that Adelowostarted wearing the regalia of anOba and went about paradinghimself as one.

To forestall any breakdown oflaw and order, the chief said ameeting of all stakeholders in thetown was held on Nov 10, 2008where Adelowo was present and hewas asked to stop parading himselfas a traditional ruler.

Dissatisfied with the decision,Adelowo petitioned the Ekiti StateGovernment and asked to berecognised as a monarch.

On the strength of Adelowo’spetition, the state government setup a panel of enquiry that looked

into his claims.Based on the findings of the

panel, the state government,through the Bureau of ChieftaincyAffairs, in a letter P& E/CH/118/10VOLVI/128 titled: Re: AlahunChieftaincy Crisis and datedMarch 14, 2012, addressed toAdelowo and copied the Chairmanof Efon Local Government,dismissed Adelowo’s claims ofhaving the pedigree of an Oba andwarned him from parading himselfas one.

The letter, signed byEmmanuel Abejide, for the SpecialAdviser on Chieftaincy Affairs,requested Adelowo to abide strictlywith the content of the letter,adding that any unwholesome

Oba sacks rebellious chief,demands apologies from 8 others

KogiAssemblydivided overswearing in ofnew member

A total of 6,666 fieldworkers are to be engagedby the Ogun State

Independent ElectoralCommission (OGSIEC) as it isgetting prepared to conduct thelocal government poll in the stateon Saturday, 21st of this month.

They are made up of 3,205Presiding Officers, 3,205 PollClerks, 236 Returning Officersand 20 Electoral Officers

Chairman of OGSIEC, Alhaja

Ogsiec to engage over 6,000 for LG pollRisikat Iyabo Ogunfemi made thisdisclosure in her office while hostingthe management team of theNigeria Television Authority,Abeokuta station during acourtesy call on her.

Alhaja Ogunfemi stated thatthe Commission in collaborationwith the International Foundationfor Electoral Systems, (IFES) hadalready conducted extensivetrainings for both Electoral andReturning Officers who in turnwill embark on training forPresiding Officers and PollingClerks.

She noted that the trainingwill go a long way towardsachieving a credible andsuccessful election, appealing to alland sundry, most especially theyouths, not to allow themselvesto be used as instruments ofthuggery and destruction duringthe coming election.

While urging them to come outenmasse to cast their votes, AlhajaOgunfemi admonished that aftercasting their votes, they shouldmove to a reasonable distanceaway from the polling booth,adding that when the votes are to

NGF to find a lasting solution to country‘s security challenges

behaviour from his end would beseriously viewed by the stategovernment.

Elekolusi said that in spite of thestate government’s warning,Adelowo did not stop paradinghimself as an Oba.

He said the Alaaye then issueda query to Adelowo, followed by areminder when he refused toanswer the first query within thestipulated time.

He said Adelowo sent abelatedly reply straight to Gov.Kayode Fayemi and copied theAlaaye among others.

Aladejare later informed thestate government of the stance ofAdelowo and the stategovernment, in a letter entitled“Re: Intransigencies and threats ofChief Jacob Adelowo, the Alahun(Alias Oleyo) dated May 16, 2012,said the matter had been concludedand that if any act ofinsubordination was noticed on thepart of Adelowo, the Oba shouldnotify the law enforcementagencies.

be counted, they are allowed tocome around to witness thecounting.

Speaking earlier, The GeneralManager, Nigeria TelevisionAuthority, NTA, Abeokuta, PastorDele Oke commended members ofthe Commission and urged themto remain focused in order to carryout their assignment as expectedby citizens of the state.

Pastor Oke stated that on itspart, the station would do theneedful to create necessaryawareness about the activities ofthe Commission.

The meeting is expected to alsodiscuss the issue of constitutionreview and the eradication of poliofrom the country.

The governors had in theirearlier meeting of June 25,condemned the spate of insecurityand violence in the countryand called for a multi-dimensionalapproach in tackling the situation.

They had stressed the needfor enhanced coordination and

collaboration among securityforces, effective use of technologyand intelligence, value orientationand sincerity of purpose toaddressing the situation.

The governors also stressed theneed for a special intervention fundfrom the Federal Governmentparticularly for states that weremostly affected by insecurity.

This they argued had becomenecessary because state

governments were currentlyoverstretched in funding security.

The governors also emphasisedthe need for state police, which,they said, had become necessaryto combat insecurity at the statelevel.

The NGF formed after theAmerican Governors‘ Associationis an association of the 36 electedgovernors of the federationirrespective of party affiliation.

Members of theActionCongress ofNigeria (ACN),Ogun womenwing, protestingagainst allegedmarginalisationof womanaspirants by theparty in theforthcominglocalgovernmentelection in thestate at the stateassemblycomplex,yesterday inAbeokuta.

Photo: NAN

From Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji,Abeokuta

From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

Governors under theauspices of the NigeriaGovernors‘ Forum (NGF)

are to meet today to find a lastingsolution to the country‘s securitychallenges.

A source, who spoke with theNews Agency of Nigeria (NAN) ongrounds of anonymity, said themeeting was being convened by thechairman Gov.Chibuike Amechi of Rivers.

PAGE 39PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Sen. Ike Ekweremadu,Deputy President ofSenate and Chairman,

Senate Committee onConstitution Review, on Tuesdayreiterated the NationalAssembly’s commitment to thenorms of democratic process.

Ekweremadu made thisknown at a National Conferenceon Advancing the Role of theMedia in Constitution ReviewProcess organised by DemocraticGovernance for Development(DGD) Project in Abuja.

He noted that legislative dueprocess; the principles oftransparency, accountability,inclusiveness and popularparticipation were the drivingforce of the constitution reviewprocesses.

“ Let me reiterate that theNational Assembly remainscommitted to the norms ofdemocratic procedures, includinglegislative due process andprinciples of transparency andaccountability.

“ We will ensure that ourindividual members mobilise toevery nook and cranny of theirconstituencies so that as manyshades of opinion as possible are

adequately taken into account.“Constituency tours, town

hall and village square meetingwould be fully exploited tomobilise and guide Nigerians,including those at the grass rootsto own the project and take fullresponsibility of the endproduct,“ he said.

According to him, thecommittee will fully involve themedia, civil society as well asprofessional bodies to drive theprocess.

He stated that the Nigerianmedia represented one of the mostcritical stakeholders and keydrivers of both the constitutionreview project and indeeddemocracy in its entirety.

Speaking on the theme:“Advancing the role of the Mediain the Constitution Reviewprocess“, Ekweremadu observedthat “the media have done verywell as bastions of Nigeriandemocracy. “

“This conference is averitable platform for the mediaand stakeholders to review thepast efforts of this importantsector in the constitution reviewproject learn from mistakes andstrategies for the task at hand. “

He said the committee hadarticulated an array of priorityareas in the current constitutionreview process which include thedevolution of powers, statecreation, giving constitutionalbacking to the six geo-politicalzone arrangements.

Others are constitutional rolefor traditional rulers, localgovernment reforms, fiscalfederalism, immunity clause,the Nigerian police, gender andspecial group, mayoral status forthe Federal Capital territoryand residency and indigeneprovision.

“ It will interest you to knowthat these priority areas aremainly derived fromsubmissions by Nigerians in the6th Assembly because we see theconstitution review project as acontinuum.

“Others factors thatinformed these priority areaswere emerging realities in thepolity as well issues set on thefront burner by the media.

Ekweremadu called on themedia to be most objective inconveying information andanalysis issues on theconstitution review process.

NASS reiterates commitment tonorms of democratic process

“ I urge you to dissect issueson their own merit and avoid anyaction capable of aggravating ourfault lines as a nation.

“Feel free to approach us atany time for more informationor clarifications on any matter,you can be rest assured that ourdoors will always remain open.

“He urged Nigerians to takeadvantage of the subsequentpublic hearing that would becoming up at the national andzonal levels to make inputs intothe project.

Earlier, Mr Daouda Toure, theUN Resident Coordinator andUNDP Resident representative,noted that durable democraciesdepended on respect forconstitutionalism, rule of law andfreedom of press.

Toure said that the mediaplayed a crucial role in keepingcitizens engaged in the businessof governance, adding that“healthy political processrequires pluralism and opencommunication”.

“By providing a vibrant andfree environment forcommunication, debate anddeliberation, the media helps toestablish good governance.

President GoodluckJonathan summoned theheads of the three arms of

government to an unprecedentedmeeting to work out a nationalstrategy to fight corruption in thecountry.

Briefing State Housecorrespondents after the two-hourclosed-door meeting at thePresidential Villa in Abuja, theSenate Majority Leader, Sen. VictorNdoma-Egba (SAN), said themeeting deliberated on how thethree arms of government couldwork together to tackle corruption.

He said the meeting receivedimportant insights from each armof government and would meetagain to review issues that arose andthe way forward.

‘The President is obviouslyworried about the incidence ofcorruption and from discussions wehad, all the arms of governmentare indeed worried about theincidence of corruption in oursociety.

“And we looked at what thechallenges were prosecuting thefight against corruption, some of theissues are constitutional. TheNational Assembly will takeanother look at these issues. Thejudiciary also gave its own insightinto the constraints, all of those willbe addressed.

“The issue of funding of theagencies especially the EFCC andthe ICPC was also discussed, all ofthose issues will be addressed.’’

The Attorney General of theFederation and Minister of Justice,Mr Mohammed Adoke (SAN), whowas also at the briefing, said thereport of the House ofRepresentatives Committee probeon 2011 fuel subsidy claims was notdiscussed.

He also said assurances were,however, given that as soon as theEFCC concluded its assignment, hisoffice would begin prosecution ofculprits.

“You will begin to seeprosecution probably in the nextone week; we will begin to prosecutebecause the EFCC has gone very far.

“So, Nigerians should restassured that this is not an issue thatwill be swept under the carpet. Wehave gone this far because we wanta proper and painstakinginvestigation done so that when wecharge people to court there will beno lapses or loopholes for lawyers toexploit.’’

Representing the executivearm at the meeting were thePresident, Vice-President NamadiSambo, the Secretary to theGovernment of the Federation, Sen.Anyim Pius Anyim, the Head ofCivil Service of the Federation,Alhaji Ali Sali, the CBN Governor,Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Adoke.

From the Legislature were, theSenate President, Sen. David Mark,the Deputy Senate President, Sen.Ike Ekweremadu, Speaker of theHouse of Representatives, Hon.Aminu Tambuwal and Ndoma-Egba.

Executive,legislature,judiciary shopmeasures totackle corruptionin Nigeria

Agency of Nigeria (NAN) inAbuja.

“More citizens should beinvolved in the process ofgovernance; citizenparticipation is the cornerstoneto democracy.

“The people should beconscious, mobilised andinvolved that is when there is

true democracy,’’ he said. Dara said that increased

participation of the people inthe democratic process wasfundamental to the sustenanceof democracy.

“A situation where peoplecan do anything and get awaywith it cannot be described asdemocratic.

“Once there are laws thatare not discriminatory thenevery one will fall in line andam sure it will get better in thiscountry,’’ he said.

Dara, however, stressed theneed to reduce corruption to thebarest minimum fordemocracy to be sustained inthe country.

Board of Trustees of theN a t i o n a lTransformation Party

(NTP), Mr John Dara,Chairman, yesterday called forincreased participation ofcitizens in the country’spolitical process.

Dara made the call in aninterview with the News

NTP calls for increased citizens’ participation in political process

DeputySenatePresident IkeEkweremadu,signingcondolenceregisteropened forlate SenatorGyangDantong,who diedduring inmass burialat BarkinLadi area ofPlateaustate,yesterday atthe NationalAssembly, inAbuja.

Photo:MahmudIsa

PAGE 40 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

party. Many parties that startedthe journey with us had fallenby the way side but we arewaxing stronger, in spite of odds.

“Our national chairman hasnot only consolidated APGAleadership in Anambra, he hasexpanded the frontiers to Imoand other South-East states.

“We are today in majority inthe Anambra State House ofAssembly and had madeinroads into the NationalAssembly. We will not

allow anybody to truncate hisregime,” Kwentor said.

He expressed confidence thatUmeh would successfully comeout of what he termed “APGAfamily crisis”, saying “nobodycan impeach him. “That is whythe 36 state chapters of theparty passed a vote ofconfidence on Umeh’s leadershiplast week,” he added.

The chairman noted thatthe party had made advancesto reconcile opposing camps in

The Chairman of APGA inAnambra, Chief MikeKwentor, has said that the

36 states chairmen of theparty passed a vote of confidenceon their National Chairman,Chief Victor Umeh.

Speaking with newsmen inAwka, Kwentor explained thatduring Umeh’s reign, the partyhad enjoyed a nationalidentity.

”Our national chairman hasdone enough for this

APGA crisis: Why weendorsed Umeh – Chairman

the party, assuring that theparty would be stronger inthe end.

According to him, those whoshow remorse will be pardonedas the interest of the party isparamount.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) recalls that threemembers of the partywho called for itsrestructuring and removal ofUmeh as the national chairmanwere expelled.

Gov. Rauf Aregbesola ofOsun has called for themerger of the National

Conscience Party (NCP) and ActionCongress of Nigeria (ACN) in Osun.

Aregbesola made the call inOsogbo at the seventh NationalConvention of the NCP.

The convention's theme was``People’s Democracy: Need forGenuine Participation’’.

The governor, who was thespecial guest of honour at the event,said the request was because the

Aregbesola urges ACN, NCP mergertwo parties had the same ideologyof abolishing poverty and socialinjustice.

Aregbesola expressedappreciation for the contributionsof NCP members to his election.

Mr Femi Aborisade, theCoordinator of the Centre forLabour and Development Studies,urged NCP members to uphold thefundamental principles they wereknown for by Nigerians.

According to him, the NCP is asource of hope for the liberation of

Nigeria.He listed the main objectives of

the party as the actualisation of theJune 12 election as a basis fortermination of military rule and afirst step for the introduction ofgenuine democracy in Nigeria.

He said that others were toprovide a platform for genuinechange-seeking elements inNigeria for the freedom of themasses.

Former National Chairman ofthe party, Mr Femi Falana,

Majority Leader, Houseof Representatives,Rt.Hon. Mulikat

Akande-Adeola, has said that thenomination of Justice MariamMukhtar as the Chief Justice ofNigeria (CJN) signaled thebeginning of a new dawn in thenation’s judiciary.

A k a n d e - A d e o l a ' scommendation was contained ina statement issued on Sunday andsigned by her PrincipalInformation Officer, Mr. AustenAdesoro.

She said Muhktar’snomination would further deepenthe country’s nascent democracy.

The first female MajorityLeader in the National Assemblydescribed Jonathan as a gendermotivator and the most womanfriendly leader in the country.

Mukthar's nomination was inconformity with section 231(1) ofthe 1999 Constitution as amendedwhich gave the President powerto appoint a Chief Justice of Nigeriaon the recommendation of theNational Judicial Council.

When confirmed, Mukhtarwould be the 13th and the firstfemale CJN in Nigeria.

Mukhtar'snominationmarks newphase in judiciary,says Reps Leader

described the governor as a humbleand intelligent man.

He, however, said that themerging did not mean that the NCPwould totally dissolve into the ACN.

The newly-elected executivemembers include Mr YanusaTanko, National Chairman; MrAyodele Akerele, NationalSecretary General, Ms AminaMolid, National FinancialSecretary and Mrs FunmiTanigbola, National WomenCoordinator.

An Islamic scholar, Dr Is-haq Akintola, on Mondayin Lagos advocated a

Sovereign National Conference as apanacea to the country’s socio-economic, security and ethno-religious challenges.

Akintola told the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) that the conferenceremained the “viable solution’’ to thevarious challenges confronting thecountry.

“There is an urgent need for aSovereign National Conference

SNC a good platform for national discourse, says donwhere every group and religious bodywill come forward to say exactly whatthey want.

“The conference is capable ofdousing the tension and violence thathave pervaded the nation,’’ he said.

Akintola, who teaches Islamicreligion at the University of Lagos,recently, renamed Moshood AbiolaUniversity, called for true federalismin the country.

He said the 1999 constitutionshould be amended to ensuredevolution of powers among the three

tiers of government.“Nigeria’s present constitution

has many defects. The people shouldbe allowed to prepare their ownconstitution.

“The system needs urgent reform.We must sit down and talk,’’ the donadded.

Akintola urged the FederalGovernment to dialogue with theBoko Haram sect without furtherdelay.

“Government should set themachinery in motion for sincere

dialogue with Boko Haram.“The state governments in the

north can initiate the dialogue for andon behalf of the Federal Government,’’he said.

Akintola appealed to the massmedia not to heat up the polity byensuring objective reporting ofactivities and events, particularlysecurity issues.

The don, however, called fortolerance and peaceful co-existenceamong Nigerians and adherents ofall the religions in the country.

SenatePresidentDavid Mark,answeringquestions fromjournalists aftersigningcondolenceregister openedfor lateSenator GyangDantong, whodied during themass burial inBarkin Ladiarea of Plateausate, yesterdayat the NationalAssembly, inAbuja.

Photo: MahmudIsa

By Lawrence Olaoye

The Head of the InterimManagement Committeeof the Ajaokuta Local

Government Council, MrAlloysious Okino, has promised toexecutive programmes thatwould engender peace, unity anddevelopment of the area.

Okino who made thestatement on Sunday in Ajaokutashortly after a prayer sessionorganised for him and othermembers of the committee saidthat without peace, no meaningfuldevelopment could be achieved.

He regretted that the LocalGovernment had over the yearssuffered neglect and under-development, due to corruptionand bad leadership, promising tomake positive change by runningan inclusive government devoidof corruption and nepotism.

He thanked the organisers ofthe special prayer session, thetraditional ruler of EganyeDistrict, Alhaji MuhammedAchuja for his love and fatherlyrole in the council, calling on otherpeople to emulate the traditionalruler by supporting him.

Achuja in his speech, called onthe people to support the newgovernment, saying that Okinoand other members of thecommittee had been tried in thepast and could still be trusted.

The Sole Administrator of KogiState Investment and PropertyDevelopment Ltd., Mr MosesOkino, urged the people to shunsentiment and work for theprogress and development of thecommunity.

Ajaokuta LG bossassures evendevelopment

PAGE 41PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

The four clubs in Group Aof the 2012 FederationCup, Enyimba, Warri

Wolves, Lobi Stars and SambaFC have threatened to boycottthe Bauchi centre for fear ofinsecurity.

The teams are expected tocontest for two quarterfinaltickets from the group with thefirst round of games scheduledfor July 17.

Wolves have already filed anofficially complaint to theNigeria Football Federation(NFF), organizers of the oldestcompetition in Nigeria.

Spokesmanof the club, TimiEbikagboro said Wolves wouldnot travel to Bauchi for the

matches because the city is notsafe.

“There have been reportedcases of bombings in the northernpart of the country and asking usto go to Bauchi which is a corenorthern Nigerian city is not safe.

“We have already written

formally to the NFF through theDelta Football Association (DFA)telling them that we will nottravel to Bauchi,” Ebikagborosaid yesterday.

He also revealed that the otherthree clubs drawn to play in theBauchi centre, Enyimba, Lobi

Stars and Samba have alsostated that they won’t be inBauchi for the round of 16games.

“We have been in discussionswith officials of the three clubsand I can confirm that this isnot a unilateral decision byWolves. The other clubs havealso stated that they won’t bein Bauchi because we don’tthink the city

Insecurity: Enyimba, Warri Wolves, 2others threaten to boycott Bauchi centre

Some 24 athletes and 10 officials who were to represent thecountry at the IAAF World Junior Championships may missthe event as the Spanish Embassy in Lagos has denied the athletes

visas to participate in the competition. The event, which was scheduledfor Barcelona, is to run from yesterday (July 10) through July 15.

A statement released by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN)spokesman, Duro Ikhazuagbe said the federation lodged the visaapplications a fortnight ago with the Spanish Embassy in Lagos, butregretted that the officials of the embassy had “kept dribbling theathletes and officials’’.

The team was scheduled to travel on Sunday but trip had to beshelved because the visa were yet to be issued. It said officials of theembassy insisted that the visas could not be issued because the officers,who were supposed to stamp the passports were not on seat.

The athletes and their officials were then asked to report yesterday,without any definite assurances they would be issued the visas.

“We gave them our passports two weeks ago. We were supposed totravel on Saturday, but they assured us that visas will be issued byMonday, only for them to fail,’’ the statement quoted some of theofficials as saying.

Coach Yusuf Ali, a former long jumper, expressed disappointment atthe decision of the Spanish Embassy to deny the athletes travel visas.

have watched him severally,”Keshi said.

Laffor scored 14 goals in 62appearances for Jomo Cosmosbetween 2005 and 2009 beforegoing on to have his mostsuccessful season so far atSuperSport United scoring 24goals in 85 appearances.

Keshi however claims that theLone Star are not just all aboutLaffor insisting that the entireLiberian side would not beunderrated.

“(The Lone Star) is not all aboutLaffor and we must show all theLiberian players respect and playin the right way if we are to qualifyfor South Africa,” he said.

Keshi’s first game in charge of theSuper Eagles was against Liberia.

Head coach of the Nigerianational team, StephenKeshi has identified

Anthony Laffor as the main threathis side will face when the SuperEagles face Liberia’s Lone Star inthe final round of qualifying forthe 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

Both nations go head-to-headover two legs of the final qualifyinground for a ticket to the 2013Afcon. Laffor plies his trade in theSouth African Premier SoccerLeague (PSL) with MamelodiSundowns and Keshi believes the27-year-old must be kept quiet ifthe Super Eagles are to make it toSouth Africa next year.

“I know (Laffour) very well andI can say he is a good player. Hehas been doing well in the PSL I

Real Madrid and Barcelonawill meet in the opening LaLiga "Clasico" of the season

on the weekend of Oct. 6 to Oct.7at Barca's Nou Camp stadium,according to the draw held at theSpanish soccer federation (RFEF)headquarters in Madrid onyesterday.

Champions Real will then hostBarca, who finished second lastseason, on the weekend of March 2

to March 3, the RFEF said.The great rivals also meet over

two legs next month in the SpanishSuper Cup, the traditional seasonopener that pits the leaguechampions (Real) against theKing's Cup winners (Barca).

Real begin the defence of theirtitle at home to Valencia, third lastterm, on the weekend of Aug. 18Aug.19, while Barca are at hometo Real Sociedad.

Keshi identifies Liberia’sLaffor as Eagles’ main threat

Team Nigeria Athletics Chief Coach, InnocentEgbunike, is optimistic that Nigeria will pick amedal in the 4x400 metres relay at the London

Olympics.The former quarter miler said yesterday in London

that Nigerian women have the depth to challengefor podium honours at the Games and wasparticularly delighted that the women have in recenttimes demonstrated their potentials.

Though, Nigeria posted some disappointing resultsat the just concluded African Athletics Championshipheld in Port Novo, Benin Republic, she topped themedal thus giving indications of positive prospect atthe London Games.

“The women’s team is capable. In BlessingOkagbare, we have one of the best female sprintersin the world and we have others, so when they cometogether as a team, they can put it out there and ourgoal is that they get a medal”, Egbunike, a 1984Olympic medallist said in an interview with the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) in London.

Egbunike said that Team Nigeria was in London togive their best as they had worked hard to qualify,adding, “ these women have become an inspirationto me.”

“The biggest goal is to have the athletes at thepossible level of fitness and for them to make the finalsof their events; when they get that far it’s anybody’srace.

“Many of them have sacrificed a lot to get to thislevel and some of them have been away for three,four and five months; we believe they’ll do very well”,Egbunike said.

Also, Quarter miler, Idara Otu expressed optimismthat she and her teammates would make Nigeriaproud. “I’m expecting us to make the medal stand”,Otu said.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Olwatoyin Lawal, DeputyNigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdomhas urged the team to be disciplined and avoidscandal during the fiesta. Lawal made the remarksat a reception organised by the Central Associationof Nigerians in the UK (CANUK) to welcome the TeamNigeria and officials to London.

“Representing Nigeria come with a lot ofresponsibility; as flag bearers, you owe Nigeria a dutyto be scandal free,’’ Lawal said.

Also, Engr. Sani Ndanusa, President of NigeriaOlympic Committee, said more than 50 athletesqualified for the London Olympics, an indication thatNigeria was not only a football loving nation.

Earlier, Mr Bimbo Folayan, CANUK Chairman inhis welcome address assured the team of “homesupport’’ from Nigerians in the UK.

La Liga ‘Clasicos’ set forOctober, March

Nigeria may tourney asSpain deny athletes visa

IAAF World Junior ChampionshipIAAF World Junior Championship

Blessing Okabgare

Idara Otu

Tosin Oke

Olympics:Egbunike hopefulof medal inWomen’s 4x400relayBy Patrick Andrew with agency report

PAGE 42 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Rivers Governor, Mr ChibuikeAmaechi has presented cars andcheques to players and officials of

Dolphins and Rivers Angels football clubsrespectively for winning the league titlesin the 2010/2011 football season.

Dolphins won the Premier League title,while Rivers Angels won the femaleleague title in the 2010/2011 season.

Amaechi presented the car keys andcheques for N1 million each to the coachesof the two teams and a car key and chequesfor N500,000 to each player of the teams.

Amaechisaid he was happy fulfilling apromise made to the Dolphins and RiversAngels teams and added that the gesturewas aimed at making the teams winmore laurels for the state.Dolphins FC

Enyimba of Aba arelooking beyond thegroup stage of the

Federation Cup, whichbegins today, according to itsSpokesman, FarrielAllaputa.

Enyimba are to face threeother clubs in the Group A ofthe tournament scheduledfor the Abubakar TafawaBalewa Stadium, Bauchi.

They are two premierleague clubs, Warri Wolvesand Lobi Stars of Makurdiwhile Samba FC of Enugu isthe only non-league side inthe group.

Allaputa disclosed thatEnyimba, last year’srunners-up, hoped toadvance beyond the groupand eventually get to thefinal.

“We are leaving forBauchi from Makurdi afterplaying Lobi Stars in a re-scheduled Premier Leaguegame on Wednesday(today).

“Our ambition is to get tothe Federation Cup final andperhaps lift the trophy. Wenarrowly lost to eventualwinners, Heartland FC, lastyear in Lagos,’’ Allaputasaid.

Heartland of Owerri arein Group D in Port Harcourtalongside Gombe United andPlateau United, two premierleague sides, as well assecond-tier NationalLeague’s Nasarawa UnitedFC.

In Group B at the TeslimBalogun Stadium, Lagos,are Kwara United FC ofIlorin, Kano Pillars, CrownFC of Ogbomosho and El-Kanemi Warriors ofMaiduguri.

Confluence Stadium,Lokoja, will host Group Cmatches involving EnuguRangers, Sharks FC of PortHarcourt, Prime FC ofOshogbo and DynamiteForce of Edo, a NationwideLeague club.

The group stage of thecompetition will holdbetween July 16 and July20.

Austin Eguavoen,Enyimba coach

Fed. Cup:Enyimbalookingbeyondgroupstage

The governor urged Dolphins to workhard and retain the league trophy byclosing the gap between them and thecurrent season league leaders.

He said his administration wouldreward outstanding sportsmen andwomen who had done the state proud.

In his speech, the Commissioner forSports, Mr Fred Igwe, said Dolphins andRivers Angels did the state proud duringthe 2010/2011 football season.

He said Rivers Angels, in particular,had 21 players in the female nationalteam, the Falcons and Falconets.

Dolphins Manager, Mr Stanley Eguma,commended Amaechi for the gesture andadded that the teams would do their bestto get good results.

He promised that Dolphins would workharder to retain the league trophy andappealed to the governor to provide carsfor the Dolphins and Rivers Angels toassist them travel for their matches.

Rivers honours Dolphins,Rivers Angels with cars, cash

The Nigeria VolleyballFederation (NVBF) willthis week begin the

distribution of N25 millionworth of equipment toschools across the country,an official said yesterday inAbuja.

Niyi Beyioku, thefederation's Secretary-General,said that themove was aimed atpopularising the sport atthe grassroots.

“The essence is to furtherentrench the sport in theirpsyche, by way of makingit a household game in thecountry and for everybodyto be able to play it,'' he said.

The secretary said thefederation's aim is torejuvenate theprogramme through thedistribution of balls andnets to 20 secondaryschools in Abuja on Friday.

“Abuja will be thelaunching pad for theprogramme. Thereafter, wewill identify some key statesin the geographical zones ofthe country to do same.

“This will be done throughthe Coordinators of theZonal Offices of the NationalSports Commission (NSC),and we are already incontact with them.

“From there, we will go tothe states, picking schools atrandom through the stateeducation authorities for thev o l l e y b a l l - a t - s c h o o lprogramme tagged“Operation Catch ThemYoung,” he said.

Beyioku added that theAbuja event was slated forthe Package B of theNational Stadium with thepresentation of equipment tobe done by the Ministers ofSports, FCT and Education.

“The event will be gracedby the ministers as well assome other importantdignitaries, such as theNVBF President and IOCmember, Alhaji HabuGumel.

“Already, the 20 schoolshave been asked to comewith 20 students, and theywill witness a demonstrationof how to use the nets andhow the game is played.

``Thereafter, there will bea test match between twoteams, made up of playerspicked at random from the20 schools present,'' he said.

Further, the NVBF official

said that the federation hadenough balls and nets at itsdisposal for the exercise.

``It will help to furtherpopularise the sport at the

grassroots, where it will helpmore people to create afuture for themselves andfurther get empowered,'' hesaid.

NVBF to donate free balls,nets to schools, says official

Jarma FC of Kano will begin playing itsoutstanding matches on Sunday, thesecretariat of the Nigeria Nationwide

League (NNWL) has said.Executive Secretary of the league

Emmanuel Adesanya told the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the club stillhad nine outstanding matches.

He said that the outstanding matcheswere because of the club’s earlier suspensionfrom the ongoing 2011/2012 season.

It would be recalled that the suspensionfollowed an outbreak of violence by the club’ssupporters in Kano on April 2, after a matchwith visiting DSS FC of Kaduna.

The club’s fans, after a Division One D,Week Five match was lost 1-2 by the team,attacked match officials from the FCT.

The team’s suspension was lifted recentlyby the Appeal, Organising and DisciplinaryCommittees of the Nigeria FootballFederation (NFF).

Adesanya said since the team’s suspension

had been lifted, and that they would have toplay all outstanding matches to enable thembe at par with the other clubs in Division 1.

“They will be playing on Sundays andWednesdays till they finish and all other week18 matches have been put on hold.

“In order not to give undue advantage toJarma, we have to stop all week 18 matchesand accommodate every other match thathas to do with Jarma.’’

He said the teams to play against JarmaFC are Boro United FC, Court of Appeal FC,VON FC, Apa FC, FC Lokoja, DSS FC, Bida FCand Nigerian Prisons FC.

The team will play two matches (homeand away) with VON.

Adesanya said the team might be made toplay some of its matches outside Kano to denythe fans the joy of watching their team play.

He said that further sanctions would bemeted to the team by the Appeal, Organisingand Disciplinary Committees of the NFF, butthese were yet to be determined.

Jarma FC to play its outstandingmatches on Sunday

Maria Sharapova

Former tennis world number one Maria Sharapovawill be Russia’s first female Olympic flag-bearer atthe London Games later this month, the national

Olympic committee confirmed on Tuesday.“Sharapova will carry our flag,” president of the

Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Alexander Zhukovtold reporters following the ROC’s executive boardmeeting. “She was the most worthy candidate amongall our athletes. In June she claimed her fourth grandslam title (French Open).” Russia broke with traditionby naming Sharapova, who also won Wimbledon(2004), U.S. Open (2006) and Australian Open (2008)titles, for the rare honour.

Since the Russians first took part in the 1952 SummerGames in Helsinki as part of the Soviet Union this greathonour was traditionally given to famous male athletessuch as Greco-Roman wrestler Alexander Karelin andswimmer Alexander Popov, who have won numerousOlympic titles.

“I am so honoured, and especially excited as it will bemy first Olympics in my career,” the Florida-basedRussian said on her official website when she first heardthe news about her nomination last month. “I have hadto keep this hush hush for two weeks and keeping secretsis not my best quality!”

The 25-year-old will be making her Olympic debut inLondon after failing to qualify for the 2004 Games inAthens and missing the 2008 edition in Beijing with ashoulder injury.

Sharapova isRussia’s Olympicflag-bearer

Sharapova isRussia’s Olympicflag-bearer

Beyioku gave assurancethat the move to popularisethe sport and furtherdevelop the game at thegrassroots would besustained on an annualbasis. FIVB has promisedthat such donations of ballsand nets will be an annualevent," he said.

PAGE 43PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

The season is over. Clubs are counting their blessing as well aslosses and would like to make amends and even beef up theirsquads where noticeable lapses exist. And the transfer marketis agog barely 24 hours after major European leagues droppedthe curtain.And so to keep abreast with latest rumours, we begin daily dosesof movements within the market both for players and coacheslike.

Transfer

•Born: 6 March 1987 in Cadiz, Spain•Position: Defence•Played for: Cadiz, Portuense (loan), Barcelona B

(loan), Almeria, Genoa, Mallorca (loan)Honours: Three caps for Spain Under-21

Andy Carroll

Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini hasadmitted that the club are currently consideringa bid from Liverpool for forward Fabio Borini.

It has been speculated that the proposed transfer couldgo through before the end of week but Sabatini explainedthat Roma has yet to make a decision on the forward’sfuture.

“There is real interest in the player,” he told reportersat a press conference yesterday. “We are evaluating theoffer with (general manager Franco) Baldini.”

Sabatini went on to admit that Roma is giving seriousthought to parting company with the player, who nettednine times in 24 Serie A appearances last season.

“It’s an option that we have,” the 57-year-old mused.“We’ll see how we work it.”

Fabio Borini

Kevin Strootman could be on his way out of PSVthis summer as Valencia is keen to secure theservices of the versatile midfielder, the player’s agent

has revealed.The Primera Division side

are hoping to add some freshblood to its squad ahead ofthe new season, and itsupposedly sees the 22-year-old as a valuable addition toits squad.

“It’s correct that Valenciahave asked me informationabout him,” agent ChielDekker stated to EindhovensDagblad.

Los Che face stiffcompetition in the race forStrootman’s signature,though, as many clubs haveinquired about the midfielder’s availability. “More clubshave been in touch to ask about his situation,” added Dekker.

Strootman has previously been linked with ManchesterUnited, AC Milan and Inter. He has a contract with PSVthat runs until the summer of 2016.

Kevin Strootman

Ishmael Yartey set to leave Benfica for a new clubIn-demand Ishmael Yartey is set to quit Benfica in thecoming hours to join an unknown club in the coming

hours. This comes after he was replaced in the Portuguesegiants’ squad for pre-season yesterday as the team preparedfor pre-season in the French town of Evian.

He was part of coach Jorge Jesus’ squad for next season buthas been left out indicating that an agreement for join anotherclub has been reached. The Ghanaian has many offers in thetable after recent impressive showing and the midfielder wason loan to Servette last season where he turned out to be oneof the best players in the Swiss top-flight.

With interest from Swiss giants Sion and an unknownFrench side and German Champions League campaignersMoenchengladbach, Benfica look to have reached a deal tosell Yartey. He has been replaced in the Benfica squad bycentral defender Roderick, who will join the squad from theclub’s second team. City rivals and defending champions of the EPL Man

City are on red alert as Nani drags abit on newcontract with Man United. Already, Juventus,

Inter Milan, Benfica and Borussia Dortmund areinterested in him, but Fergie is keen to keep the player.

The Portugal star still has 18 months of his current£60,000-a-week deal to run. But he wants a pay hike toput him alongside the highest earners at the club andhas so far stopped short of -confirming that he will-definitely stay.

Nani, 25, said: “I am very happy at ManchesterUnited and have been here five years and won everytitle.

‘‘The manager has great faith in me and that’s whatis important. Right now my agent is negotiating andwe will see what -happens.”

Roma confirmsLiverpool bid for Borini

Borini, who wasincluded in the Azzurri’sEuro 2012 squad, spentfour years at Chelsea. Buthe joined Parma lastsummer after a successfulloan spell at Swansea,where he worked undernew Liverpool bossBrendan Rodgers.

Meanwhile, the Reds arelikely to seal a deal withClint Dempsey before theweek runs out. TheAmerican scored 17 timeslast season for Fulham.

Juan Manuel Flores

Abdoul Wahid Sissoko (22 years old), the youngFranco-Malian midfielder from Italian clubUdinese, will once again be loaned to Brest this

season.After enjoying little game time for the Breton club

last season (ten matches with only five selections),Sissoko will have the opportunity to improve this season.

The younger brother of Malian international,Mohamed Sissoko, will be trying to land himself aposition in the starting line-up of Stade Brestois.

Abdoul Wahid Sissokoagain loaned to Brest

Benfica’srevisedsquad forpre-season:

Goalkeepers: Artur,Paulo Lopes and Mika;Defenders: Maxi Pereira,Luisão, Garay, Jardel,

Miguel Victor, Roderickand Louie;

Midfielders: JaviGarcía, Matic, CarlosMartins, Witsel, BrunoCesar, Nolito, Enzo Perez,Pablo Aimar, Nico Gaitan,Hello John and Melgarejo;

Forwards: Cardozo,Saviola, Rodrigo Mora,Yannick, Hugo VieiraMichel and Kardec.

Valencia is interestedin signing Strootman

Yartey set to quitBenfica, set to move

Juan Manuel Flores

Man United are closing in on a £16m deal to landEngland and Everton star Leighton Baines afterSir Alex Ferguson made Baines one of his main

summer targets and hopes to complete the deal before theend of this week.

Fergie views Baines as United’s long-term successor toPatrice Evra at left-back and is hoping to sign him in time totake him on the club’s summer tour of South Africa andChina next week.

It’s understood United will pay an initial £12m for Baines,which could rise by another £4m depending on add-ons.

Toffees boss David Moyes is reluctant to sell Baines, butknows he cannot turn down such a tempting offer or persuadethe defender to stay at Goodison Park.

Moyes could now use some of the cash to make a move forJuventus -left-back Reto Zeigler, who spent three years atTottenham, as Baines’ replacement. Baines, 27, will becomeFergie’s third signing of the summer following ShinjiKagawa and Nick Powell.

Swansea City havecompleted the signingof defender Jose Manuel

Flores from Genoa for aninitial £2m. Flores completeda medical on Monday andagreed a three-year contract,subject to internationalclearance.

The 25-year-old Spanishplayer is Michael Laudrup’sfirst signing as Swansea Citymanager.

Centre-back Flores, knownas Chico, also played forLaudrup at Real Mallorcaduring a loan spell in Spain’s top division.

“I know I am joining a club that has been growing over thelast few years and is still ambitious to go even higher,” Florestold Swansea’s official website. “Having played in La Ligaand Serie A, two great leagues, it’s a dream come true to playin the Premier League, one of the best, if not the best in theworld. “I have been studying Swansea on the internet and Iknow I am joining a club with passionate supporters who arevery close to the players.”

Flores began his career with Cadiz and spent loan spellswith Racing Club Portuense and Barcelona B before joiningAlmeria in 2008.

In July 2010 Flores joined Genoa in Italy and spent the2011-12 season on loan at Mallorca during Laudrup’s time asmanager. The defender has won three caps for Spain’s Under-21 side and was a member of their squad at the 2009 UefaChampionship. Villarreal midfielder Jonathan de Guzmanis also close to joining Swansea on a season-long loan.

Midfielder De Guzman, a Netherlands Under-21international born in Canada, also played under Laudrup atMallorca. The 24-year-old joined Villarreal for an undisclosedfee, believed to be around £7m, in August 2011. Born inOntario, Canada, De Guzman moved to the Netherlands as ayoungster when he joined Feyenoord’s youth academy andplayed over 100 games for the Rotterdam club.

In July 2010, he joined Mallorca on a free transfer andmade 38 appearances before being sold to Villarreal. DeGuzman opted to represent the Netherlands after he gainedDutch citizenship in 2008. He has won four caps for theNetherlands Under-21 side and also played at the OlympicGames in Beijing in 2008.

Swansea City hookSpain defender Flores

Man United close in on £16m deal for Everton’s Baines

City, Juventus, Inter alerted asNani opens talks with United

New Liverpoolmanager BrendanRodgers has admitted

that striker Andy Carrollcould go out on loan toanother club.

The Daily Telegraphquoted Rodgers as saying thatthough no offers have beenreceived for the 23-year-oldEngland striker, it wasalways an option. “It’ssomething I would have tolook at, I have to be honest,”Rodgers said.

“I’m not going to sit hereand say I will never letanyone go on loan, thencome in here in two weeksand a player’s gone, andyou’re saying ‘you said youwouldn’t let them go’. “Thereare many things to going onloan. Is it going to be beneficialfor the club, that’s the mostimportant thing?

“Sometimes a player goingout on loan in general, notjust Andy can benefit theclub in the long term.

Liverpool seek offers for Carroll“It gets them game

experience, and they comeback a better player, a moreconfident one. Certainly,more so than if they’ve beensitting on the bench for themajority of the season.“Andy’s always going to belinked with clubs, whetherhe was here or not. I havespoken to him on hisholidays, he knows exactlywhere he stands, but I havehad no inquiries about him.”

Carroll joined Liverpool for35 million pounds (54.3million dollars) 18 monthsago but has struggled toestablish himself as a first-choice striker.

Senegalese international Demba Ba wants to put anend to the rumours that he is joining a new clubevery week. Reacting on his Twitter account, the

27-year old player seemed to contradict the informationcirculating on the subject of his future.

“So many things are being said about me. Rumoursare rumours. So don’t forget that,” he tweeted.

Demba Ba was announced very shortly at Liverpool,Tottenham and even Arsenal, but he confirmed that heis still a Newcastle player.

The former Mouscron and Hoffeinhem player has aclause in his contract allowing him to leave for 7 millionEuros, a price well below his value. The Senegaleseinternational (fifteen selections, four goals) is in factestimated at 15 million Euros on the market.

But after 31 July, the clause will no longer apply andNewcastle could demand much more to transfer theirbest striker of last season.

Demba Ba wants tohush rumours

PAGE 44 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

How did you see the win over TP Mazembe? The game was very difficult against a tough and strong opponent. We had a well deserved victory under a difficult situation. Everyone knows

Egyptian football is struggling because of the football activities stoppage. I wasalso concerned of the national team players’ state of mind after missing out onqualifications of the 2013 AFCON but they were up to their responsibilities andproduced a good game.

How do you feel about your team’s performance?I’m very satisfied. Al Ahly deserved to win because we looked for victory from

the first whistle, even if the winning goal was scored late in injury time.

For Mazembe’s goal it seems more could have been done defensively tostop it is that how you saw it?

This is football and mistakes are part of the game. Goalkeeper Ikramy had agood game and mistakes happen. He should not be blamed alone for this mistake.Ikramy is a talented and very good goalkeeper.

You adopted a 4-4-2 strategy for this game. Is there any chance that youmight switch to another formation later on?

I don’t think so. My players played well to this tactic and they are playing thisway with the national team for more than 2 years. I don’t intend to alter thisformat.

You made 3 attacking substitutions into the game. How do you explainthis?

Our changes were meant to cope with our attacking strategy, as we were lookingfor victory and collecting all three points and we did just that. Mohamed AbouTreika was replaced because of injury, and I hope it’s not serious because he is a

What is your assessment of the match? It was a difficult game, playing against the defending champions is not easy. It is unfortunate that we lost this game being the very first game

of the group stage. I won’t blame my players but we respected our opponents toomuch in the first half and that cost us a lot.

First game first defeat, how do you intend to turn this around to ensurequalification from this group?

We will recover from this set back and step up our game. Like I said earlier wehad too much respect for them in the first half. We can go there (Tunisia)anddefeat them on their ground just as they did to us today. We have other teams inthe group to play and hopefully we will win matches from these.

What are your chances in this group now that you have lost your firstmatch at home?

We still have hope. It’s too early to write us off. We have to buckle up and riseabove this defeat and aim to get an away victory. The mini-league stage has juststarted and there is still plenty football to play.

What did you tell your boys during the break after going down 2-0 in thefirst half?

I told them we were showing too much respect to the opponents and this wasaffecting our game plan. I encouraged them to go all out and turn the gamearound and you could see how different we played in the second half. It wasn’tthat our tactics was wrong but we missed too many chances in the second half.Ithink we lost the match in the first half.

Gbenga Ogunbote

Houssam El Badry

Everyone knowsEgyptian football isstruggling becauseof the footballactivitiesstoppage. I wasalso concerned ofthe national teamplayers’ state ofmind after missingout onqualifications ofthe 2013 AFCONbut they were upto theirresponsibilities andproduced a goodgame.

“

Al Ahly’s win was hardfought, says El BadryHoussam El Badry manager of Egyptian side Al Ahly saw hischarges snatch a late goal to beat visiting DR Congo’s TPMazembe 2-1 on Sunday in an Orange CAF ChampionsLeague Group B fixture. El Badry told Cafonline.com afterthe game that he was delighted with the victory and said thatAhly worked hard to collect maximum points from thedifficult encounter.

Ogunbote: Sunshinewill rise abovedefeat to challengefor semi-final ticketSunshine Stars coach Olugbenga Ogunboterevealed after the match that his side will riseabove their 2-0 defeat to Esperance and mount arenewed challenge in the Orange CAF ChampionsLeague campaign.

We still have hope.It’s too early towrite us off. Wehave to buckle upand rise above thisdefeat and aim toget an awayvictory. The mini-league stage hasjust started andthere is still plentyfootball to play.

“LOSS OF DOCUMENTThis is to inform the general public of the loss of theorigional copy of the certificate of statutory right ofoccupancy dated 7th January, 2990 issued by OndoState Government duly executed and registered asNo 50 at page 50 in volume 832 of the state’s landregistry office, Akure on 16th February, 2009belonging to the Nigeria Police.All efforts made to trace the said document provedabortive.If found, please return to the nearest police state.

very important player forthe team. I believe ourchanges were successfuland played a role inAhly’s victory.

What did you tellyour players after thematch?

I praised them for theirperformance, but I alsoasked them not to getcarried away bycelebrating too much.We’re still at the first stepof the group stage, and wehave a difficult matchagainst our arch rivalsZamalek in a fortnight, sowe should start preparingfor this matchimmediately. Ahly is achampion team withgreat players, and ouronly goal to get victory inevery match.

CHANGE OF NAMEI, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS MISS.NADIA MOHAMMED ABBA NOW WISH TO BEKNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS MRS. NADIA ALIYUISAH AHMADU. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAINVALID. PLEASE, GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE.

PUBLIC NOTICE

SIR HENRY UZOMANWANERI FOUNDATION

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVENAMED FOUNDATION HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRSCOMMISSION ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THECOMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT 1990THE TRUSTEES ARE :1. OBINNA NWANERI2. ADAEZE NWANERI3. VICTORIA NWANERI4. CHUKWUKA NWANERI5. KEM NWANERI6. AZUBIKE NWANERI7. MRS ESTHER UJU OKOROTHE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:1. TO PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIPS AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL AIDFOR POOR STUDENTSANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BEFORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CORPORATEAFFAIRS COMMISSION, MAITAMA ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THISPUBLICATION

SIGNED:OMOTAYO OJO

Godfrey Oboabana

PUBLIC NOTICE

CLEMENT OBIESIE AGUKWE STARFOUNDATION

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVENAMED CHURCH HAS APPLIED TO THE CORPORATE AFFAIRSCOMMISSION FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART ‘C’ OF THECOMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE:1. MRS ENYIOMA AGUKWE2- MR CLEMENT NNAMDI AGUKWE3- MR. EMMANUEL EMEKA AGUKWE.4- BARR. TOSIN KAYODE THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:1.TO ENCOURAGE YOUTHS TO STUDY.2.TO PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIP FOR THE NIGERIAN STUDENTS ANY OBJECTION TO THE REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDEDTO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL, CORPORATE AFFAIRSCOMMISSION, PLOT 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSISTREET, MAITAMA, P.M.B. 198, GARKI, ABUJA WITHIN TWENTY-EIGHT (28) DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS PUBLICATION.

SIGNED:TOKILEGAL -08033282945

PAGE 45PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Gavin Rees hopes tofulfil his dream of beinga two-weight worldchampion by taking thevacant WBA lightweighttitle.

Chelsea captain JohnTerry denied he hadsnapped and used aracist obscenity afterbeing taunted byanother player in courtyesterday.

Roma sporting directorWalter Sabatini hasconfirmed that Liverpoolis looking to sign Italystriker Fabio Borini.

5. Britain's firstWimbledon doubleschampion for 76 years,Jonny Marray, hopeshis success can helphis Davis Cup hopes.

6. Former Englandmanager FabioCapello and ex-Tottenham boss HarryRedknapp are amongthe candidates to beRussia's next manager.

7. Premiership sideLondon Waspscomplete the signing ofversatile Italyinternational backAndrea Masi fromAironi.

5 6 7

Didier Drogba, who hasbeen on vacation in theUSA since the signing ofhis contract withShanghai Shenhua andis set to arrive in Chinaon 14 July.The former Marseilleplayer, who helpedChelsea to clinch theUEFA Champions leaguewill be presented on theevening of his arrival atthe Stade de Hongkou.

PAGE 46 PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

Olarenwaju Kayode

After Wladimir’s victoryover Tony Thompson onSaturday night, Vitali is

set to defend his WBC title. So,it’s back to the other Klitschko,who are dominating the worldheavy weight class and areproud owners of all the titles.

Wladimir retained his WBA,IBF and WBO heavyweighttitles in Berne on Saturday

night by stopping Thompson inthe sixth round after puttingthe challenger on the canvaswith a big right hand near the

end of the fifth round.The 40-year-old American

southpaw never recovered.When the Ukrainian dropped

The Chief Coach of OgunScrabble Association,Rotimi Odulele, yesterday

canvassed for the inclusion of thesport in schools curriculum.

He spoke at the ongoingParliamentary Staff Associationof Nigeria (PASAN) Games at theAlake Sports Centre, Abeokuta,where he insisted that inclusionof scrabble would not only gingerthe sporting zest of pupils butbroaden their grasp and scope of

vocabulary.According to him, scrabble

plays an important role in thelearning of the EnglishLanguage just as it helps in theimprovement of vocabularyamong students, adding thatexposure to the sport would boostNigeria’s chances atinternational tournaments.

“Scrabble should be taken toschools nationwide. We want toemulate the former USSR and

their chess history; they ruledthe chess championship circlefor over 100 years because theytook it to the schools. If weemulate that in scrabble, withinfour to five years, we will see theresult,” Odulele said.

The asoociation’s Secretary,Mr Dele Ogunjobi, said effortswere underway to includescrabble in schools curriculumin the state.

Ogunjobi said some privately-

owned schools were alreadyshowing interest in theinitiative while their publiccounterparts were yet to do so.

“We still want to break thejinx by getting the programmeacross to the public schools. Weare making efforts through theMinistry of Education,” he said.

According to Ogunjobi, thePASAN Games has provided theplatform to realise the dream asthe event involved virtually allthe states of the federation.

He said Ogun had an academywhere younger scrabble playerswere being groomed to take over

from the older ones.On Team Ogun’s chances at

the forthcoming National SportsFestival tagged “Eko 2012”,Ogunjobi expressed confidencein the prowess of the state’sscrabble contingent, saying “weare battle-ready to storm Lagosand do Ogun proud.”

At the end of the first round ofthe scrabble event, AdebayoOlanrewaju from Ekiti Assemblydefeated Odo Christopher fromthe National Assembly 2-0 whileNdagi Abdulkadir from Nigerlost to Anya Chukwuma of ImoAssembly 2-0.

Coach canvasses inclusion of scrabblein schools curriculum

Chukwuneye Ukani, thecaptain of the FlyingEagles, has expressed the

hope that the team would wintheir forthcoming qualifiers.

He said in Abuja where theteam is camping that victorywould be made possible with thetype of training they arereceiving in camp.

“We lost the invitationaltournament in South Africa dueto lack of training and little timeto prepare for it.

“We had not trained together;we only trained for three weeksbefore going for the tournament.The Ghana side we playedagainst said they were in campfor three months.

“It was so unfortunate that welost all our matches. I believethat with the new players andthe training we now have incamp, we will win.”

Ukani said with the trainingand experience they werehaving in camp, they wouldperform better and winforthcoming matches.

He commended the coach forinviting more professionalplayers to camp.

“With the new players, therewill be changes. We will do welland win all our forthcomingmatches in the qualifiers.”

In a bid to fortify the team,Coach John Obuh has invitedfive overseas-based players ledby striker Olanrewaju Kayodeahead of 2013 Africa YouthChampionship qualifier againstTanzania.

him again in the sixth, refereeSam Williams gave Thompsona standing count beforestopping the fight at 2 minutes56 seconds.

After the fight, Klitschko ledthe 25 000 crowd in signingHappy Birthday to his trainer,Emanuel Steward, who turned68 on Saturday.

“Tony Thompson is hard tohit, “ Steward said. “He waswatching Wladimir’s righthand all night.”

A cagey opening round wasfollowed by a scrappy second,as Klitschko twice wrestledThompson to the floor.Thompson briefly stepped uphis cautious tactics whenlanding a left to Klitschko’s facein the third.

But Klitschko finally landeda long, straight right in thefifth and the round ended withThompson struggling on theropes.

The champion corneredThompson toward the end ofthe sixth, and landed punchesto the head though no singleblow appeared to cause seriousdamage.

“I got caught but I’m OK,”Thompson said in the ring.“He’s strong and he’s worldheavyweight champion for areason.”

Klitschko extended thedomination of the heavyweightranks he shares with his elderbrother. Vitali will defend hisWBC title against ManuelCharr of Germany in Moscowon September 8.

Yota Sato

will improve a lot for my nextmatch,” he added.

Lopez, from the Philippines,looked passive in the first round,allowing the champion toconnect with an array of righthooks. Sato also fired a couple ofeffective right hooks in the thirdround and led 40-36, 39-38 and40-36 after the fourth round.

Sato’s combination of left jabsand right hooks lifted him up to79-73, 78-75, 80-72 at the endof the eighth round.

Lopez became aggressive in

Yota Sato retained his WBCsuper-flyweight title bybeating Sylvester Lopez in

Yokohama on Sunday. TheJapanese fighter won byunanimous decision – 118-110,116-113 and 119-109.

“Lopez is ranked at the top andhas 19 wins and 15 KOs. He is reallya strong fighter, so I was nervous inthe first round. I will fight moreaggressively in my next titledefence,” the 28-year-old Sato said.

“I’m not satisfied with the wayI fought today, but I promise I

the next few rounds but stoppeda right to the face in the tenthand a right hook in the 11th,allowing the Japanese to safelykeep the lead.

It was Sato’s first defence of thetitle he wrested from SuriyanSor Rungvisai of Thailand inMarch, improving his record to25 wins, including 12 KOs,against two defeats and a draw.

The 24-year-old Lopez’s recordwas reduced to 19 wins,including 15 KOs, against fourdefeats and a draw.

Sato beats dangerous Filipino Flying Eagles’captainupbeat onqualifiers

WBC title: Vitali set to imitateWladimir September 8

Vitali Klitschko Manuel Charr

SPORTS LALALALALATESTTESTTESTTESTTEST

ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT: 0803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 7458BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS: 0805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 1765NEWS:NEWS:NEWS:NEWS:NEWS: 0803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 3308LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS: 0805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 1969

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Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza,Utako, Abuja. Lagos Office: No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos,Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 803 606 3308. e-mail: contact@peoplesdaily-online.com;pmlnewsdesk@gmail.com ISSN: 2141– 6141

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

QQQQQUOUOUOUOUOTTTTTABLE QABLE QABLE QABLE QABLE QUOUOUOUOUOTETETETETENigerians should rest assured that this isn’t

an issue that will be swept under thecarpet. We have gone this far because we

want a proper and painstaking investigationdone... — Justice Minister on imminent— Justice Minister on imminent— Justice Minister on imminent— Justice Minister on imminent— Justice Minister on imminent

prosecution of subsidy fraudstersprosecution of subsidy fraudstersprosecution of subsidy fraudstersprosecution of subsidy fraudstersprosecution of subsidy fraudsters

Okochacanvasses forMikel's Eaglesrecall I am not a frequent traveller

but whenever I happen to gooutside this country, I use my

local MTN phone. This is so that Idon’t miss my calls. My last threetrips in September, last year; inMarch and June this year, makeme wonder whether it is worthstaying with the biggest carrierin the country, the MTN. Is theirexplosive growth of trafficdifficult to sustain?

In my local use of their line, Ihave noted in my frequenttravels that there are manyblack spots as you travel theAbuja-Kano road. You are in andout of their network such thatyou are hardly connectedcontinuously for half an hour.Whenever the connection comeson, you will notice that you arelimited to one, two or three bars– hardly all five bars – signifyinga weak connection. On this roadin the past, the MTN maintaineda wall-to-wall coverage.Nigerians laugh at the MTNwhen the automatic answeringmachine tells them that the mansitting next to them is not in theservice area or his phone is shutwhen that is absolutely not thecase.

In my last two trips outsideNigeria, I got calls in the UK andsomehow, managed to receivecalls and to call others. On theother, the blackberry and the smsworked on one occasion and failedon the other.

In the USA, one had in the pastenjoyed a flawless connectionusing the MTN through AT&Tand T-Mobile. In the last week ofJune this year, my blackberrypowered by MTN did not work.SMS to and from this phone failed.It took a miracle to make asuccessful call- perhaps two orthree on a lucky day. It was atotally frustrating experience.

Getting the MTN to listen tocustomer complaints is evenmore frustrating. I have calledthe number 180 to complainand have presented complaintsat service centres. A standardresponse is that on suchmatters, the customer shouldpresent him/herself at theircustomers’ forum. Thesemeetings held at the six geo-political zonal locations. I do not,at this time, remember howlong ago I read of such meetings

daytime or at night. The absenceor failure of network has givenNigerians a line to hold inexplaining their failure to returncalls. In the face of deterioratingservice, it is amazing how theMTN has been amassing moneygoing up to three trillion Nairaturnover, out of whichN857.6billion was accumulatedas profit over a ten year period.(ThisDay 28th August, 2011).Analysis of MTN’s group profitafter tax for the year 2010showed that the West and CentralAfrican operations, made upmainly of Nigeria and Ghanacontributed N269billion or 71%of the group’s profit after tax.Analysts say this is likely totranslate into the likelihood ofNigeria contributing to not lessthan 70% of this profit,amounting to about N188billion,making it the most profitablecompany in Nigeria.(Businessday March 10th, 2011).

What is even distressing is thenon-challance of the Nigeriangovernment to the telephone woesand saps Nigerians suffer. Theregulatory body, the NationalCommunications Commission,

Former Nigerian player,Austin Okocha has saidChelsea midfielder, John

Obi Mikel is key to Super Eagles'2013 Afcon campaign.

Super Eagles are pairedwith the Lone Star of Liberia ina two-legged final race of thebiennial football fiesta in SouthAfrica next January.

Okocha toldSuperSport.com that Nigeriacannot afford to shut out one ofthe nation's best players in therace for South Africa 2013showpiece.

“I think we’re looking atimproving with every gameand bringing Mikel back, ofcourse, is a plus for us. Mikel isabout one of our best players,no matter what we think aboutit, we still need him. He is animportant player, I think it's agood goal to have him,” saidOkocha.

The former Super Eagles’captain also spoke of theLiberian opposition.

“I think it’s a good draw forus, we've a team that can beatLiberia. I don't think they canstop us, I believe Eagles will gothrough. Well, my confidenceis based on the fact that we don'tconcede lot of goals.

“If you don’t concede goalsyou have only one option toscore and win. Even thoughwe’re struggling upfront, we’reon the good way in getting ateam that will take us to wherewe want to be,” the former ParisSt Germain and Fenerbahceman remarked.

The midfield maestrobelieves that a blend of thedomestic and foreign-basedplayers is a positive path tosuccess.

Okocha said we need not losesleep trying to know themakeup of the Liberian team.

“The key for me is getting itright on the matchday, do ourhome work well. Aside that wedon't need to bother ourselvesabout our opponents,” he said.

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

. . . putting the people first

advertised in the press.In the light of this experience,

one feels safe to say that thetelecoms revolution ushered in bythe sale of licenses to carriers thathas enabled more than 100million Nigerians to access thephone, has now frozen on itstracks – if not, in fact, regressing.The continuing deterioration inservice manifested by theabsence of connection or repeatedcuts – and this applies to all thenetworks – is so pervasive that itis hard to sustain a singleunbroken conversation in

MTN: Raking profitsand floundering

MUSINGSMUSINGSMUSINGSMUSINGSMUSINGSBy

Garba Shehu

garshehu@yahoo.co.in

NCC, is one white elephant withan established habit of allowingthe networks to get off lightlywith poor quality service.

Our citizens know for surethat the telephone companiesprovide extraordinary perks togovernment officials, legislatorsand regulators so they can sitpretty exploiting the ordinarycitizen. How else do they not getoverlooked when they letpoliticians, regulators and theirfamilies get free airtime, fundwedding and birthday events? Itis perhaps the need to do all theseshenanigans that the cost perminute is sky-high in Nigeria.The government that shouldreduce or eliminate excessivecharges in the face of worseningservices knows only how to tapcrude oil, tax the GSM companiesand swindle the citizen by eatingaway the money.

But, a simple survey willreveal that it isn’t just the MTNalone which is the biggest of themthat is scamming Nigeriansthrough the active collaborationsof their government. They are allin it. How did we allow ourselvesto be duped and sucked paying somuch for so poor a service?

A patriotic government canend the woes of Nigerians byembarking on a radicalreworking oftelecommunications policies andto, in particular, impose higherstandards and holding them toaccount. Enough of the vice holdon ordinary Nigerians.

In Western societies,companies and other serviceproviders are held accountable,however rich or powerful theyseem to be. That is possiblebecause leaders are public-minded. Here, however, ourleaders look the other way whileGSM service providers exploitcustomers frequently withoutdeterrent punitive measures. Aformer member of the House ofRepresentatives, Dr. Yarimafrom Yobe state, was oncesuspended for blowing the whistleon how GSM network operatorsbribed lawmakers with freeairtime at the expense ofcustomers. The selfish attitude ofour leaders feeds the impunity ofour network service providers.But for how long will the networkcontinue to be bad for Nigerians?

“One feels safe to say that the telecomsrevolution ushered in by the sale of licensesto carriers that has enabled more than 100million Nigerians to access the phone, has

now frozen on its tracks – if not, in fact,regressing. The continuing deterioration in

service manifested by the absence ofconnection or repeated cuts – and this

applies to all the networks – is so pervasivethat it is hard to sustain a single unbroken

conversation in daytime or at nightJohn Obi Mikel