Peoples Daily Newspaper, Thursday, May 17, 2012

www.peoplesdaily-online.com

Vol. 8 No. 39 Thursday, May 17, 2012 Jimadal Akhir 26, 1433 AH N150. . . putting the people first

>> PAGE 4 >> PAGE 4 >> PAGE 5 >> PAGE 19

Land acquisitionin FCT is fraud,says EFCC

Women policeofficers free tomarry men of choice

Ex-NLCPresident,Bafyau, dies at 65

PHCN’s N88.4bngas debt cripplespower supply

By Abubakar Ibrahim

Boko Haram: How ex-governorSheriff was arrested in Cameroon

Contd on Page 2

Former governor of Bornostate, Ali Modu Sheriff,recently got the shock of

his life when he was arrestedby neighbouring Cameroon’s

security forces, allegedly for hislink with Boko Haram, theextremist sect that has beenwaging an insurgency in partsof Nigeria’s northern region.

According to a news reporton page 10 of the April 2, 2012

edition of the Cameroon daily,L’Oriel du Sahel, Modu Sheriff,also a former senator, wasarrested upon enteringCameroon from Chad on hisway to visit the governor ofthat country’s Far North

Region.The report translated from

French reads: “On the 28thMarch, 2012, the police inMora, under Commissioner ofPolice Hamadou Bello arrested

Jonathan is dangerto Nigeria – CPC

Ex-Gov. Ali Modu Sheriff

Face-off: President Goodluck Jonathan and CPC Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari

By Lawrence Olaoye

Contd on Page 2

Presidency plans to arrest me, says BuhariBuhari is right on 2015 polls - ACN

Nigeria’s politicaltemperature is bound torise even higher in the

coming days no thanks to theraging battle of wits betweenopposition leader GeneralMuhammadu Buhari and theman who beat him in last year’spresidential election, GoodluckJonathan and his ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP).

It all began last Sunday whenBuhari warned of a bloodbath in2015 if elections scheduled forthat year are not free and fair.The next day, the Presidencyand PDP responded, describingBuhari, a former head of state asbloodthirsty and a sectionalleader, describing the federalgovernment he leads as “thebiggest Boko Haram”, areference to the insurgency inthe north by an extremist sect.

And yesterday, Buhari’sCongress for Progressive Change

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012

Social insecurity cause ofcorruption in police - IGP

Suswam: Police join suitagainst chief magistrate

Yobe state Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam (left), during an inspection tour of Potiskum-Danchuaroad under construction yesterday, in Yobe state.

Acting Inspector General ofPolice, MohammedAbubakar yesterday said

high level corruption obstructseffective performance in theNigeria Police.

Abubakar, who disclosed thiswhile inaugurating the Board ofDirectors of Police Savings andLoans Limited (Mortage Banker),

noted that the fear of not havinga personal house has drivenmany police personnel intocorruption.

Abubakar said "The quest forthe ownership of a house has beenfor a very long time, the bane ofalmost all police personnel bothwithin and outside service. Manyofficers are distressed by thethought of retirement and eventransfer for the fear of not having

a permanent place of residencefor themselves and their families.

"The worst are those who diedin active service as their familiesare generally ejected from eitherrented or official abodes before theend of their mourning period. Theeffect of this has encouragedcorruption, immorality amongofficers and men of the force andhas even accelerated the death rateof retired personnel.

By Lambert Tyem

The Federal Executive Council(FEC) yesterday approved thepurchase of a Cessna Citation

CJ4 surveillance aircraft worthN1.73 billion for the NigeriaCustoms Service (NCS) tostrengthen its anti-smugglingoperations.

The Minister of Information,Labaran Maku, who briefed StateHouse correspondents after theweekly meeting of the councilpresided over by PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, said theaircraft would enhance theeffective surveillance andmanagement of Nigeria’s bordersto eliminate economic sabotage andcross border crimes.

The approval followed the

ratification of the President’santicipatory approval after thecouncil considered a memopresented to it by the CoordinatingMinister of the Economy andMinister of Finance, Dr. NgoziOkonjo-Iweala.

He said the aircraft whosecontract was awarded to MessrsAfricair Incorporated, would helpthe Customs to aerially patrol theborders not well defined as well asroads used by smugglers to bypassofficial border posts.

FEC also approved theimmediate implementation of theAfrican Union (AU) Green WallConvention through theresuscitation of the National Councilon Shelterbelt Afforestation, ErosionControl and Coastal ZonesManagement.

By Abdulrahman AbdulraheemTrade Union Congress (TUC),

yesterday rolled out 150mass transit buses worth

N2.3 billion in Lagos for both intraand inter-state transportation.

The TUC President, ComradePeter Esele who spoke withnewsmen, said “we took a loanfrom Urban Development Bankduring President UmaruYar’Adua’s administration and it

was guaranteed by thegovernment”.

Esele said that TUC wouldrefund the money in five yearswith five percent interest payableto Federal Government whichguaranteed the loan.

On why TUC ventured into thebusiness, Esele said that apartfrom making profit, it wouldcreate good relationship betweenmembers and Nigerians inparticular.

He said the operations wouldbe handled by Country WideLogistics and Eko Mega Cityoperators. He went on: “We wantto start in Lagos first because of thepopulation and later extend it toother states which depend on ouroperators”.

He added that to ensuretransparency, no TUC memberwould be involved, pointing outthat most projects fail in Nigeriabecause of owners influence.

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

TUC rolls out 150 buses worth N2.3bn

An Abuja High Court sittingin Zuba yesterday joined theNigerian Police in a suit filed

against Chief Magistrate, HafsatSoso Sadiq of Abuja MagistrateCourt, seeking to review theprocedure she adopted in thehandling of a defamation caseagainst Governor Gabriel Suswamof Benue state.

When the matter came upyesterday, the court granted theapplication brought before it by thepolice seeking to be joined as defendantand adjourned the case to June 6,2012 for hearing of the motion onnotice filed by the applicant.

The said defamation case wasinstituted by the police uponcomplaint by Governor Suswamthat Power Steering magazinepublished a false story allegingthat he (Suswam) engaged oneChidozie Ukpabi to forge the WestAfrican School Certificate for him.

But an affidavit deposed to byUkpabi claimed that Chief

Magistrate Soso initiated thecriminal trial against him whilethe police prosecutor, Mr. SimonLough hails from the samenativity with Governor Suswam.

Also listed as defendants beforethe police was joined yesterdaywere Chief Magistrate Court of theFederal Capital Territory Abuja,Registrar and Chief MagistrateCourt II, Wuse 2 in Abuja.

While the matter was beingheard at the Magistrate court,counsel to the accused personsincluding the Editor of themagazine, Daniel Ekahapproached the Abuja High Courtin Zuba sitting before JusticeOlasunbo Goodluck seeking thereview of the procedure used by theMagistrate in handling the matter.

Meanwhile, Chief Magistrate,Hafsat Soso, last Friday stayedproceedings in the matter, followingan order of an Abuja high courtdirecting her to hands off the matterpending the determination ofmotion on notice before the Zubahigh court.

By Sunday Ejike Benjamin

The Economic and FinancialCrimes Commission (EFCC),yesterday arraigned a 42

year-old Congolese, Seleto Papybefore a Federal High Court sittingin Ikoyi, Lagos, on a five-countcharge bordering on unlawfulpossession of fake foreign currencytotaling $38,400.

According to Wilson UwujarenAg. Head, Media and Publicity,“the suspect was arraigned beforeJustice James Tsoho.”

After the charges were read outto the accused person, he pleadednot guilty to them. Prosecution

counsel, Modupe Akinkoye thenurged the court to remand theaccused in prison and fix a date forthe commencement of trial.

However, defence counsel,Adeniyi Odunsi told the courtthat his client was entitled to bailbased on the National RefugeeAsylums Certificate. He urged thecourt to exercise its powerjudicially and judiciously,insisting that the accused personis presumed innocent until provenguilty.

Justice Tsoho granted theaccused person bail but ordered hisremand in prison custody until hemeets the bail conditions.

By Lambert Tyem

Congolese arraigned overcurrency trafficking

FG approves N1.73bn surveillanceaircraft for Customs

No fewer than 50 peoplewere trapped yesterdaymorning when a bridge

connecting over 20 communitiesto Ibadan main city called AyegunBridge at Olomi in Oluyole localgovernment area, collapsed.

Most of the victims in thetragedy were students and civilservants in four commercialvehicles going for their dailyengagements before they gotstuck in a traffic jam on the bridgewhich caved in ostensibly fromoverload.

Some of injured victims weresaid to have been rushed to St.Mary’s Catholic Hospital, Olomi-

Academy area of Ibadan fortreatment.

An eyewitness told newsmenthat the state government hadtemporarily repaired the bridgeafter the August 26th 2011, flooddisaster that ravaged the state.

One of the residents, AlhajiOloya explained that one side of the

bridge was closed down for repaires,adding that the pressure from theother side of the bridge caused thecollapse.

The state police commandthrough its public relations officer,DSP Bisi Okuwobi, said thecommand has not been briefedabout the incident.

From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

50 people trapped as bridge collapses in Ibadan

Commercial activitiesaround Okpanam Road andGovernment Reserved Area

(GRA) in Asaba, Delta state, wereparalysed for several hours yesterdaywhen a commercial motorcycle andhis passenger were crushed to death.

The killing of the motorcyclist

…Violent clash as truck crushes okada, passenger in Asabaand his passenger sparked off abloody clash between commercialmotorcycle operators and truckdrivers plying the road.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that trouble startedwhen a tipper, laden with sand,crushed the “okada” rider and his

passenger to death at DBS Roadjunction on Okpanam Road.

The incident which occurred atabout 11.30 a.m., stirredspontaneous protest by okada riders,who instantly set the tipper on fire,after the driver and his conductorsfled the scene of the incident to escape

the wrath of the motorcyclists.But as the news of the incident

reached the tipper mark at AnwaiRoad, the drivers were said to havequickly mobilised and descended onany motorcyclist seen around,beating them up and torching theirmotorcycles.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012PAGE 4

A reporter with FederalRadio Corporation(Bronze FM, Benin), Mr.

Sashua Edeghagba, was shotdead on Tuesday night byunknown gunmen alongDawson Street, before Iyaro inBenin City.

The death of Edeghagba hasbrought the number ofjournalists killed in Edo state byunknown gunmen to three in

Gunmen kill FRCNreporter in Benin

the last 30 days, excluding thethree journalists who died in aroad mishap involvingGovernor, Adams Oshiomhole’sconvoy.

According to ControllerNews of Bronze FM, Benin, Mr.Fulani Olufemi, Edeghagbe methis death when he went toDawson street to fix his car whilethere was a robbery operationgoing on near the mechanicworkshop adding that it waslearnt that in a desperate bid to

L-R: National Commissioner, Information and Communication of Independent National ElectoralCommission (INEC), Prince Adedeji Solomon Soyebi, with Coordinator of Electoral Institute ofINEC, Dr. Frank Ozoh, during the commissioner's visit to the scene of a fire yesterday at theinstitute, in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo,of an Ikeja High Court, wasyesterday informed that

parties in the ongoing trial of DejiAbiola have agreed to settle thematter out of court.

Deji Abiola is standing trial forallegedly swindling HamzatBabatunde Jose of N35.5millionunder the pretext of importing aprinting machine for him, fromSwitzerland.

However, as the trialcommenced on Wednesday beforethe court, counsel to Abiola, JimohLasisi, SAN said the complainant(Jose) and his client had come to

Deji Abiola: Parties opt forout of court settlementFrom Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

From Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

Justice O.A Taiwo of a LagosHigh Court sitting in Ikeja,yesterday, restrained the

Nigerian Bar Association, IkejaBranch and its chairman fromswearing-in the newly electedofficers pending the hearing anddetermination of a motion onnotice for interlocutory injunctionfiled by a contestant, YinkaFarounbi.

The judge in her rulingordered the elected officers to stopparading themselves as officers

elect of the NBA Ikeja branch,pending the hearing anddetermination of a motion onnotice for interlocutoryinjunction.

The claimant, who contestedthe chairmanship position of theNBA Ikeja branch with oneMonday Ubani (3rd defendant/respondent) and lost, had sued himalongside the out-going chairmanof the association, AdebamigbeOmole, seeking an order of interiminjunction restraining the 1st and2nd defendants from swearing -inthe officers elect.

Ikeja NBA election: Court stopsswearing-in of new executivesFrom Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

an agreement and that whatremained was for the complainantto inform the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission sothat the matter could bewithdrawn from the court.

According to Jose whoconfirmed that they had come toan agreement, they are yet tofinalise it.

The prosecution counsel,Omeiza Adebola, however said hewas not carried along in thesettlement plan and so had to goahead with the trial.

Justice Onigbanjosubsequently adjourned thematter till June 21, 2012 formention.

Disturbed by the securitymeasures currentlyadopted at airports that

are undergoing maintenanceby means of manual searchwhich is defective, the House ofRepresentatives yesterdaymandated its Committee onAviation to investigate thefunctionality of securityequipment in all such airportsand to report back to the Housewithin four weeks.

Reps to investigate securityat airports

Police Act: Women officers free tomarry men of choice, says courtFrom Francis Iwuchukwu, Lagos

A Federal High Courtsitting in Ikeja, Lagos,presided over by Justice

Stephen Adah, yesterdaydeclared as illegal andunconstitutional the provisionof the Police Act that prohibits awoman police officer frommarrying a man of her choicewithout the permission of theCommissioner of Police in thecommand where she is serving.

The judge in his judgment,rejected the arguments of theAttorney-General of theFederation and held thatRegulation 124 was illegal, nulland void due to its inconsistencywith Section 42 of the 1999

Constitution.Justice Adah declared the

Regulation unconstitutionaland proceeded to annul it,pursuant to Section 1(3) of theConstitution.

The suit was filed by theWomen Empowerment andLegal Aid Initiative (WELA)challenging the constitutionalvalidity of Regulation 124made pursuant to the Police Act(Cap P19) Laws of theFederation of Nigeria.

The Regulation states that:"A woman police officer who isdesirous of marrying must firstapply in writing to theCommissioner of Police for thestate command in which she isserving, requesting permission

to marry and giving name,address and occupation of theperson she intends to marry.

"Permission will be grantedfor the marriage if the intendedhusband is of good character andthe woman police officer hasserved in the force for a periodof not less than three years."

When the case came up forargument, counsel to WELA,Mrs. Funmi Falana, in hersubmissions, argued that it wasillegal to ban a woman policeofficer for three years beforeentering into a marriage andthat seeking permission of aPolice Commissioner was aninfraction of her fundamentalright to dignity and freedom ofchoice.

The motion was filed byHon. Ossai Nicholas Ossai, whosaid that the present globalsecurity challenges in airtransportation calls for urgentadoption of measures toforestall any breach ofpassenger and aircraft safetyin Nigeria, adding that thecurrent renovation of theairports has dislocated anddisrupted the smoothfunctioning of installedscanning machines and othervital security gadgets therebyposing great security risk topassengers and the airports.

By Umar Mohammed Puma

Chairman of the Economicand Financial CrimesCommission (EFCC), Mr.

Ibrahim Lamorde, has said landallocation and acquisition in theFederal Capital TerritoryAdministration (FCTA) is a hugefraud.

Lamorde said, "It is in the FCTthat people brandish supposedoriginals of Certificate ofOccupancy of plots of land andother people still come andcontest it with the originalcertificate".

Speaking at the publicpresentation of a United NationsDevelopment Programme

Land acquisition in FCTis fraud, says EFCC

(UNDP) sponsored report of a"Systems Study on the FederalCapital Territory LandAdministration andDocumentary on Grass rootsInvolvement with BudgetProcess in Abuja, Lamordedescribed the results of the studyas commendable, stressing thatsuch a report should be expandedand applied not only in the FCTAbut across Nigeria.

He described land scam as thebiggest scam in the FCT, andexplained that, since "land isvery important to us in Africa; Ihope we can move forwardpositively from this study andreplicate it in other parts of thecountry".

By Lambert Tyem

escape when residents of thearea raised alarm, the robbersshot sporadically to scare peopleaway, and in the process shot apoliceman and Edeghagba.

The policeman is said to behospitalised in an undisclosedhospital, while Edeghagba’sbody has been deposited at themortuary.

Until his death, Edeghagbawho was employed last year byFRCN was a father of three anda wife that is pregnant.


UBEC contract documentfabricated, says EFCC

From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

A new Chairman is expectedto emerge during theNorthern States Governors’

Forum (NSGF) holding in Kadunatoday.

The forum will also elect anumber of vice-chairmen,according to the secretary to theNiger state government, DanielClifford Shashere, who is alsoCoordinating Chairman, forum ofsecretaries to the governments ofnorthern states.

Shashere who spoke yesterdayduring a meeting of the SSGs inKaduna, explained that the

elections were part of efforts torestructure the NSGF.

According to him, thegovernors would deliberate on anumber of issues and receivereports from committees earlier setup on the repositioning of NewNigerian Newspapers (NNN) and

revival of agriculture in the north.As Shashere put it, “the main

items on the agenda of the meetingof the NSGF include as usual, therecurrent issue of the security inthe north.

“We are aware that during ourlast meeting, despite the fact that

Northern govs elect new chairman today

The Economic and FinancialCrimes Commissionyesterday at the Federal

High Court, Abuja, closed its caseagainst UBEC officials andcontractors for an alleged N787million contract award.

Counsel to EFCC, Mr WahabShittu closed the case for theprosecution after Mr Usman Tahir,a prosecution witness, concludedhis evidence.

During cross-examination,Tahir, a police investigatorattached to the EFCC, said that theminutes of the 5th Board Meetingwhich approved the contract wasfabricated.

The witness had told the courton May 15 that the contractawarded by UBEC to an Americancompany ``was against the rules’’.

The prosecution witness furtherexplained that the contract was

discussed at the 5th GoverningBoard Meeting of the Universal BasicEducation Commission (UBEC)based on misrepresentation.

The anti-graft body isprosecuting four UBEC directors,an American contractor, Inter-market USA LLC and Inter-marketNigeria.

The accused persons areMolkat Mutfwang, Michael Aule,Andrew Ekpunobi, Alexander

Cozma and Prof. Bridget Sokan,They were said to have

deceived UBEC into awarding thecontract to Inter-market, USA LLCand Alex Cozma and N636 millionwas paid.

Earlier in the trial, JusticeAbdul Kafarati had held that theEFCC had established a case againstthe accused persons.

The judge adjourned the caseto June 27. (NAN)

A former President of theNigeria Labour Congress(NLC) and chieftain of the

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),Comrade Pascal Bafyau is dead. Hewas 65 years old and hailed fromNuman local government area ofAdamawa state.

Peoples Daily gathered fromrelatives that the former labourleader died in the early hours ofyesterday after suffering amassive heart attack late Tuesdaynight.

The late Bafyau, it was learnt,had slumped in his Abuja residencelocated at Wuse Zone 2, close toBanex Plaza at about 10:30pm onTuesday before he was rushed toSilver Spring Hospital, wheredoctors battled for hours to revivehim but to no avail.

Consequently, his corpse hasbeen deposited at the NationalHospital, Abuja. No officialannouncement has been made bythe family regarding burialarrangements.

Following the news of thedemise of Bafyau, thousands ofsympathizers have beenconverging at his Yola residenceand his hometown, Numan tocondole with the family.

He was last seen at a publicfunction in Yola, at a press briefingorganised by Pene Da BwatiyeAssociation at the state secretariatof the Nigeria Union of Journalistson Monday.

The Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) and the Trade UnionCongress of Nigeria (TUC)

yesterday described the death ofComrade Pascal Bafyau, a formerNLC President, as a great loss tolabour movement.

Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar,NLC President, Comrade PeterEsele, TUC President, and anotherlabour leader spoke with the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) inseparate interviews in Lagos.

A statement by the congresssaid the deceased joined the rulingPDP in 1998 and madeunsuccessful bids for senatorial andgubernatorial contests inAdamawa.

The statement said that“Bafyau would be remembered forstriving for a strong and unitedlabour movement in the country.”

Omar described the deceasedas a strong pillar who alwaysparticipated in the developmentand growth of the congress.

He said that the death of theex-NLC president “came as a shockto all” and gave assurances thatthe congress would collaboratewith the family to ensure abefitting burial for him.

Esele, while commiseratingwith the family of the deceased, saidit was during Bafyau’sadministration that thefoundation for a virile labourmovement in the country waslaid. (NAN)

Ex-NLCPresident,Bafyau diesat 65From Blessing Tunoh, Yola

…NLC, TUCmourn him

Worried by thedisruptions caused bythe moribund Nigerian

Telecommunications Plc (NITEL)obsolete cables on major streetsacross the country, the House ofRepresentatives yesterday urgedthe Nigerian CommunicationsCommission (NCC) to initiatemeasures to remove them and tourge the telecom firms to laycables underground, wherenecessary, in line with

international best practices.The motion which was moved

by Hon. Samuel Segun Williams,observed that since thecommencement of Global Systemfor Mobile Communications(GSM) and Code Division MultipleAccess (CDMA) services, NITELhas witnessed drastic reduction orhas almost stopped the provisionof telephone services, adding thattelecom mast/base stations werethe new infrastructuresupporting telecommunicationservices.

L-R: Minister ofCommunications,Mrs. OmobolaJohnson, Ministerof Justice, Mr.Mohammed BelloAdoke, Minister ofState for FCT, ChiefOlajumokeAkinjide, andMinister of Statefor Defence, EreluOlusola Obada,during the FederalExecutive Councilmeeting yesterdayat the State House,Abuja.Photo: Joe Oroye

Governors of the six statesof the South East geo-political zone will today

launch a book on the late Igboleader, Chief Chukwuemeka

Odumegwu-Ojukwu at the ShehuMusa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.

The book titled: “Ojukwu,the Rebel I Served,” was writtenby Uche Ezechukwu, a veteranjournalist and public analystand captures some of theinnermost secrets and exploits ofthe former Biafra leader and topNigerian soldier who died lastyear.

Chief Emeka Okengwu, whosigned a statement on behalf of

South-east govs to launch book on Ojukwu

By Umar Mohammed Puma


Reps want NCC to removeNITEL cables nationwide

discussions had been held, therehave been pockets of security issuesthat have come up.

“Therefore, we will not get tiredabout discussing and trying to findsolutions to this issue. We requirethe cooperation of everyone to beable to tackle the security problem.

the organisers, said SenatorBen Obi would chair the eventwhile the governor of Nigerstate, Dr. Muazu BabangidaAliyu would present thekeynote speech.

The book is an account of ajournalist who worked closely withOjukwu for two years at the end ofa major and harrowing tormentsof his life after leading the Biafranwar against Nigeria that lasted foralmost three years.

There was a fire incident atThe Electoral Institute(TEI), located at the Central

Business District, Abuja. TEI is anannex of the IndependentNational Electoral Commission(INEC).

The fire, which started atabout 11: 55a.m. yesterday, waspromptly put under control –

preventing any serious damage tothe facility.

Chief Press Secretary to theINEC chairman, Mr. KayodeIdowu, said in a statementyesterday that relevant agencieshave commenced investigationinto the exact cause of the incident.

The Fire Service was promptlycalled in to join officials of theCommission who had responded tocontain the fire.

By Richard Ihediwa

Fire guts INEC facility


L-R:Author of “Templates for Nigerian Transformation,” Mr. William Otabil, Executive Director,International Organisation for Youth Advocacy and Development (IOYAD), Mr. Samuel Ayinde, andConference Director, Mr. Ayokun Fagbeni, during the stakeholders' summit of IOYAD, yesterday inAbuja. Photo: Justin Imo-owo

Jibril blames decline in values oncolonialism, coups, corruption,

The Special Adviser to thePresident on Ethics andValues, Mrs. Sarah Jibril,

blames the country's decline inmoral values and ethics on thelong history of colonialism,military coup and corruptionwhich she said is still a cog in thewheel of the progress of the nation.

Jibril, who gave thisindication yesterday at theheadquarters of the NationalOrientation Agency (NOA),during a one day collaborativeseminar with GlobalEntrepreneurial institute on"Promoting Ethics and Value Re-orientation in Nigeria", added thatthe experience of war eroded trust

in the minds of people whilecorruption battered the country'simage and economy.

She said however, that thepresent administration was benton restructuring Nigeria to theright path, by appointing thecurrent Director-General tochampion the campaign so as togive the Nigerian people a senseof belonging.

Similarly, PermanentSecretary, Ministry of Culture andTourism, Anesthesia Nwaobia,who harped on the need for leadersto lead by example, said there wasurgent need for effectivecollaboration between the leadersand people at the grassroots.

Earlier in his welcome address,the Director-General of the

Agency, Mike Omeri, said that theaim of the programme was toengage Nigerians from all walksof life and influence theirattitude positively towardsbrightening the image of thenation.

He noted that thecollaboration would enable theagency to tap from theexperience of other foreignersand stakeholders on how tobetter inculcate values in thepeople.

He added that the agency wascommitted to equip more peopleto serve as vanguard for change,and to in turn mould additionalpeople who would extend thechain of the transformationagenda to the wider society.

Labour minister commiserateswith NLC over Bafyau’s deathBy Albert Akota

Governor Rabiu MusaKwankwaso of Kano statehas declared that for

stopping wastage, Kano workersreceive their salaries by the 25th ofevery month unfailingly.

The governor was saying thisduring the distribution of working andlearning materials procured by thestate government for public schools

in the state.The materials worth over N330

million were distributed to all the 44local government councils in the statefor onward distribution to all publicschools in their respective areas.

Governor Kwankwaso stated thatsince he came to power last year, hemade sure that public money wereused judiciously for public good andnot for some few to stash away.

He said salaries are paid at once,

not by senatorial zone as is the case insome places.

Adding, if all states of the federationcould manage their resources verywell, none would find it difficult payingits workers every month.

The governor therefore urged allthe principals, headmasters andteachers to use the materials suppliedto their schools for the purposes theywere procured.

The materials, according to him,

We pay salary promptly because we can - KwankwasoFrom Bala Nasir, Kano

I need no PDP support to fightJustice Salami, says Oyinlola

The National Secretary ofthe Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP), Prince

Olagunsoye Oyinlola, yesterday,said he needed no support fromthe leadership of the party to takeon reinstated Justice Ayo Salamias President Court of Appeal.

Oyinlola made theclarification in a statement hepersonally signed in an effort to

clarify the alleged rift betweenhim and the national chairmanof the party, Alhaji BamangaTukur over the propriety orotherwise of President GoodluckJonathan acceding to therecommendation by the NationalJudicial Council (NJC) that thesuspended President of the Courtof Appeal be reinstated.

There have been insinuationsthat there was a big disagreementbetween Oyinlola and Tukur on

whether the President shouldaccept the NJC recommendationor reject it, with Oyinlola said tobe averse to the return of Salamito office.

The PDP secretary howeverstated that the insinuations weretissues of lies. Oyinlola insistedthat the matter was neverdiscussed at the party's NationalWorking Committee (NWC)meeting as reported.

He said "The alleged rift in the

By Lawrence Olaoye

Residents of Makurdi, theBenue state capital, haveexpressed displeasure over

the incessant increase in houserents in the town.

Our correspondent’sinvestigation reveals that houserent in the town has jerked upby more than 100 percent.

For instance, a roomapartment which used to go forN50,000 now attractsN100,000 per annum while aroom and parlour equivalentthat used to be N80,000 nowgoes for between N150,000 andN200,000 per annumdepending on the location andthe facilities.

An agent, Sunday Agbe saidan ordinary room and parlourstructure goes for N120,000 per

Benue residents groan over rent hikeFrom Uche Nnorom, Makurdi annum while three bedroom flat

goes for between N350,000 andN450,000 per annumdepending on the locationadding that a prospectivetenant has to pay for at leastone and half years.

He attributed the recentincrease to large influx of peoplefleeing from other areas of theNorth because of the activitiesof the Boko Haram Sect.

"Many people are leavingthe troubled areas to Makurdihaving discovered that Benueis relatively peaceful. So, houserents have increasedtremendously. I receive morethan 10 people on a daily basislooking for accommodation,many of them are from Kano,Jos, Kaduna, Bauchi and Yobestates", Agbe said.

The Minister of Labour andProductivity, Chief EmekaWogu has described the

demise of Comrade PascalBafyau, a former President ofthe Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC), from 1988-1994 asshocking.

The minister in his reactionto the news of the death eulogizedlate Comrade Bafyau for hisresilient efforts at improving thewelfare of the Nigerian workersas evident in the negotiation ofthe national minimum wage of1991, establishment of FederalUrban Mass Transit (FUMT)programme which he

championed among others."We have lost a foremost

labour leader, an astutepolitician whose wealth ofexperience could be drawn uponas we move towards a paradigmshift in labour governmentrelationship from adversarialposition of industrial relationspractice to a more flexible win-win relationship", he said.

According to a statement bythe Assistant Director of Press inthe ministry OlowookereSamuel, Wogu prayed for therepose of the soul of the dead andfor the family and the entirelabour movement in Nigeria tohave the fortitude to bear theloss.

Katsina awards N4.7bn road contracts

Katsina state governmenthas awardedcontracts worth N4.7

billion for the rehabilitation of twomajor link roads in the state.

At the signing ceremony,yesterday at the Ministry of

Works, Housing and Transport,the commissioner, Arch.Mustapha Maikudi Kankia signedon behalf of the governmentwhile representative of theconstruction firm signed onbehalf of his company.

According to thecommissioner, the two contractscovers a distance of 112kilometres comprising Mashi-Mani-Ingawa- Bindawa-Kusadaand Ingawa-Kankia roads.

He noted that contracts forthe rehabilitation andasphalting of these roads wouldto be completed in 18 month,calling on the contractor toquickly mobilise to site.

The commissioner similarlyassured that the governmentwould provide more roadnetworks to ease movementsand economic activities acrossthe state.

From Lawal Sa'idu Funtua,Katsina

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

would be used in public schools in thenext 12 months adding that a planhas been designed by the stategovernment to make themavailable to the schools withoutfinishing throughout the year.

He also called on the people ofthe state to help hisadministration by making gooduse of the projects provided by hisadministration and to protect themfrom vandals.

leadership of our great party overthe recommendation by NJC tothe President to reinstate thesuspended President of the Courtof Appeal is not only false but abaseless media speculation.

"The PDP as a party had at notime discussed the issue much lessdisagreeing over it. "

"The PDP has no reason to tablefor discussion at its NationalWorking Committee, a matterthat both the Federal Executiveand the Judiciary have entirelyconceded its resolution to the

unconditional context of dueprocess and rule of law.

"However, I wish to make itabundantly clear that while thePDP is least interested ininterfering in this matter as abody, Prince OlagunsoyeOyinlola as an individual whoserights and electoral victory werehurt by the matter which areclearly related to the reason thatorchestrated Justice Salami'ssuspension, reserves every rightto continue to seek redress withinthe ambit of the law."


4

2 3

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L-R: Former Cross-River stateGovernor and member of the NationalSteering Committee of State PeerReview Mechanism(SPRM), Dr.Donald Duke, another member of thecommittee, Professor OladipupoAdamolekun, and Director General,,Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mr.Asishana B. Okauru, during theTechnical Review Mission on SPRM,on Tuesday in Awka, Anambra state.

1A driver being frog-jumped for trafficoffence at a check point, yesterdayat Giri, Abuja. Photo: NAN

Staff of New Nigerian Newspapersprotesting non payment of their one-year salary, yesterday in Kaduna.Photo: NAN

4L-R: Minister of State for Finance,Dr. Lawal Ngama, Minister ofEnvironment, Hajiya Hadiza IbrahimMailafiya, and Minister ofInformation, Mr. Labaran Maku,jointly briefing journalists on thepurchase of aircraft for NigeriaCustoms and the and the need fortree planting in the country,yesterday at the State House, inAbuja. Photo: Joe Oroye


NUJ supports journalists’ threat toboycott govt activities in PlateauFrom Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

L-R: Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Dr. Ekpo Nta, Permanent Secretary,Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Ministry, Engineer Anthony Ozodinobi, and Chairman, Economic andFinance Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, during the presentation of report of asystems study on the Federal Capital Territory lands administration and documentary on grassrootsinvolvement with budget processes, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

The national secretariat ofNigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ), has endorsed the

resolution of journalists inPlateau state to boycott theactivities of the stategovernment.

In a telephone interview, NUJsecretary, Mr. Shuaibu Liman,regretted that journalists havebeen forced by governmentinsensitivity to shun itsactivities.

Liman described the action ofthe journalist as laudable,

because the government hadfailed to provide the enablingenvironment for them to dotheir job.

He condemned in entirety theinsinuation by one of the aides ofGovernor Jonah Jang that theaction was borne out of the factthat journalists were seeking forsome pecuniary favours beforedoing their job.

According to him, journalistsin Plateau have contributedimmensely in stabilising thevery fragile security challengesin Plateau and should becommended.

Benue Speaker lamentsstagnation at medical collegeFrom Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

Speaker of the Benue StateHouse of Assembly, Mr.David Iorhemba, has

lamented over what he describedas ‘the stagnation of theprogramme of medical studentsof the Benue State Universitymost of whom have stayed at theinstitution for over 10 years.

Mr. Iorhemba who made thelamentation yesterday during ameeting with the students in hisoffice, disclosed that the Assemblywould put in place a jointcommittee on education, healthand human services that wouldinvestigate the matter and makerecommendations to assist the

state government providesolutions.

On the request by the studentsto be sent to foreign universitiesto complete their programme, thespeaker noted that languagewould constitute a barrier,stating that the to-be constitutedcommittee would work towardssending the students to otheruniversities in the country tocomplete their courses.

President of the MedicalStudents Association, BSUchapter, Abah Ochigbo, regrettedthat some of the students havestayed in the institution for morethan 10 years without graduatingas a result of inadequacies at theBSU Teaching Hospital.

The University of Jos and theJos University TeachingHospital (JUTH), has

signed a memorandum ofunderstanding with the ApolloHospital in India to trainconsultants, nurses andlecturers on the provision ofadvanced healthcare in thecountry. The training is throughan observer-ship programme inareas of invitro fertilisation,cardiology and cardiac surgery,neurosciences, organstransplantation, jointreplacement, oncology andcritical care medicine.

In a press statement issued inJos, Dr. Bode Thomas,paediatrician and consultantwith JUTH who is one of thebeneficiaries of the training,stressed that under theagreement, the Indian hospital

would see to it that doctors fromthe University of Jos and JUTHare trained and exposed duringthe observer-ship period in thevarious fields to enable thempractice same on return toNigeria.

Dr. Thomas stated that 96doctors and nurses will beleaving in separate batches forthe programme, adding that thefirst batch consisting of eightmembers are expected to spendthree months while the varioussessions will last between threeto six months.

According to her, “The threeinstitutions are desirous ofproviding quality and costeffective healthcare to patientsin Nigeria. The trainingprogramme will be intensive innature and it is expected to keepthe participants abreast withlatest advancement in themedical field”.

JUTH doctors, consultants toundergo re-training in IndiaFrom Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

Nigeria has 85millionhectares of uncultivatedarable land - Sambo

The Vice President, ArcMohammed Namadi Sambo has said that

Nigeria has over 85 millionhectares of arable land yet to becultivated.

Sambo stated this during acourtesy visit by a high poweredtrade delegation from Japan, ledby the Nigerian Ambassador toJapan, Ambassador Godwin N.Agbo.

The Vice President said theadministration was seeingagriculture not as a programme,but as a business that wouldcreate jobs to the teemingunemployed.

“We have placed greatimportance on agriculturaldevelopment, which we intendto develop as a business;previously in this countryagriculture is considered as

government programme, butnow agriculture is considered abusiness”.

Vice President Sambo usedthe opportunity to invite theJapanese delegation to invest inthe huge potentials that aboundin the sector. He alsoenumerated several areas ofopportunities for Japanesebusinesses to tap into, whichincluded the power sector, thetransport sector, oil and gas,petrochemicals, finance, etc.

He noted that Nigeria hadput in place measures thatwould safeguard the businessconcerns of all investors. He alsopromised them that there wereincentives that would furtherboost their confidence, whenthey invest in the country.

Arc Sambo used the occasionto express Nigeria’s sympathyover the unfortunate disastercaused by last year’s Tsunami,

in that country, while alsoappreciating the confidence thatJapan had placed on Nigeria. Hesaid this confidence had boostedthe cordial relations existingbetween the two countries. Hethanked the country for theassistance they have beenrendering to Nigeria throughthe Japan InternationalCooperation Agency (JICA).

Earlier, the leader of thedelegation, Ambassador GodwinAgbo stated that the tradedelegation was in Nigeria to tapinto the huge potentials indifferent sectors of the country’seconomy. He said that the 32member delegation was drawnfrom companies, which includedThe Bank of Tokyo-MitsubishiUFJ Ltd, Marubeni Corporation,Sanyo Foods, Kawasaki HeavyIndustries Middle East FZA, andYamaha Motor Co. Ltd, amongseveral others.

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

How NTA went digital, by zonal director

The director, NigerianTelevision Authority(NTA) Kaduna zonal office,

Malam Bala Hassan, has said thata Chinese firm, StarTimes, madeit possible for the station to begindigital transmission.

“Otherwise, we would haveremained an analogue broadcaststation,” Hassan said at a pressconference, in collaboration withStarTimes in Kaduna.

According to him,“StarTimes came to our rescueby introducing digitaltransmission through thedecoder format, at a time theNTA was in dire need of a digitaloutlook.

“The resultant effect of the

partnership with StarTimes wasthe introduction of channel 24 bythe NTA which is a 24-hourtransmitting station, operateddigitally and viewed globally”.

In his contribution, StarTimesGeneral Manager, Jess Jing, said“in fact, each time you hearpeople talking aboutdigitalisation, you will alwayshear them talk about StarTimes.

“When the NTA Director-General briefed us on how to godigital, some officials fromStarTimes visited Nigeria andthat was the time when the NTAwas struggling for expansion,struggling to have news 24 hourschannel, sports channels andentertainment channels.

“So, that was how it all startedand later it became something

great for us because it helped usin the digitalisation effort.” Henoted that more channels werebeing introduced into theStarTimes decoder, due to whathe described as popular demand.

From Agaju Madugba, Kaduna

Leadtime Africa magazinewill honour the wife ofKaduna state governor,

Mrs. Aminatu Yakowa and otherprominent Nigerians for theircontribution to nation building.

The chairman of themagazine, Professor Buba

Mshelia, told newsmen that themagazine took the initiative ofhounoring deserving Nigerianswho have contributedimmensely to the developmentof Nigeria.

“The award is principallyorganised to spur people inleadership positions towardsexcellence in service delivery

Leadtimes magazine to honourprominent Nigerians on nation building

and to engender goodgovernance in leadership forquality service delivery in ourrespective positions of leadership.It is further aimed at sensitizingAfrican leadership on the effectof corruption in a democraticset-up.”

The event is slated to hold inJune, 2012 in Abuja.

By Adeola Tukuru


A Kano High Court onTuesday convicted oneBello Garba Bello to death

by hanging for killing his parentsand three siblings, two years agoat their family house along ZooRoad by Gandun Albasa quartersin Kano metropolis.

The presiding judge, JusticeHaliru Abdullahi said he wassatisfied with the evidencetendered before him that theaccused had actually committedthe five- count charge of homicidefor which he was accused.

Justice Abdullahi also declared

that the five victims were killed asa result of various degrees ofmultiple injuries inflicted on themcontrary to section 221 of the penalcode.

The prosecuting counsel,Shu’aibu Sule, said the accusedhad confessed to have committedthe offence in a written statementhe made to the police on September15, 2010.

He presented seven witnessesbefore the court including theyounger brother of the accused,Farouk, whose testimoniescorroborated the charges againstthe defendant.

It would be recalled that Bello

Garba Bello was said to havemurdered his father, Garba Bello,an officer with state securityservice (SSS) in Sokoto. His motherHabiba, and three siblings Khalifa,Murja and Hafsa on the night ofSeptember 13, 2010.

The defense counsel, Mr.Ahmed Raji had tendered a 17-page written address before thecourt explaining thecircumstances leading to the deathof the five persons and exoneratingthe accused from the chargespreferred against him.

According to him, thestatement written by Faroukimplicating the accused was

From Edwin Olofu, Kano inadmissible as the witness wasbelow the age of 14 and that BelloGarba had earlier written astatement on September 14,2010 exonerating himself beforehe was forced to write another oneon September 15, 2010confessing to have committed theoffence.

Our correspondent recalledthat the incident which occurredon the night of September 13,2010 at the residence of Garba BelloNumber 175, Zoo Road in Kanomunicipal had generated publicout-cry and sympathy as it wasthe first homicide case of its kindever witnessed in the state.

Man, 21, to hang for killingparents, siblings in Kano

The National Council ofWomen’s Societies (NCWS),Edo state chapter has

condemned the wasteful killingand maiming of innocent peopleon a daily basis in the country,particularly in Edo state.

The women who registeredtheir indignation by staging aprotest, were armed with placardsreading: ‘Mothers of the nation,appeal for calm’. ‘Orphans are onthe increase’. ‘Reduce thewidowhood in the state’, marchedthrough major streets in BeninCity.

State chairman of NCWS, Mrs.Omoluru Agbokhae Eniye, toldnewsmen at the Nigeria Union ofJournalists press centre that thecouncil is worried over the risingnumber of widows and orphans.

“As mothers we can no longerfold our arms and watch thesesenseless killings overpower ourwealth and inheritance. Edo statebelongs to us all. In all these womensuffer because their children andhusbands are been killed and theyare left as widows”.

Women protestinsecurity in EdoFrom Osaigbovo Iguobaro, Benin

The Church of Christ inNigeria (COCIN) yesterdaydisclosed that it lost over 15

preachers last year alone to theactivities of Boko Haram in theNorthern part of Nigeria.

COCIN president, Rev. SojaBewarang made this disclosure atthe general church council in Josheld in the headquarters compoundof the church. He lamented thateven though democracy has cometo stay in Nigeria, there is still muchto be desired because his membersdespite their striving to live in peace,are continuously being threatenedby Boko Haram.

According to him, theunchecked activities of the BokoHaram terrorists have causedincalculable loss of lives and havesubjected the citizens tounnecessary panic.

The COCIN president furtherregretted the fact that most of thepolitical leaders are moreinterested in using their positionsto create wealth for their selvesrather than concern themselveswith the plight of ordinary citizensbeing mindlessly slaughtered.

According to him, theinsecurity in the country hasexposed the incapability of theleaders to tackle the securitychallenges once and for all.

Boko Haram:COCIN has losses15 preachersFrom Nankpah Bwakan, Jos

FRSC joins UN road safety body

The World HealthOrganisation (WHO), hasadopted the Federal Road

Safety Corps (FRSC) as a memberof the UN Road SafetyCollaboration (UNRSC).

An FRSC statement issuedyesterday by the Corps PublicEducation Officer, Jonas Agwu,said that the adoption wascontained in a letter endorsed by

the Director and the UNRSCchairman, Dr. Etienne Krug.

It added that the FRSCadmittance was taken from the15th meeting of the UNRSC inWashington DC, United States.

Mr. Agwu, further revealedthat the UNRSC was set up by theWHO in May 2004 at theinstance of the World HealthAssembly to act as coordinator onroad safety issues across theUnited Nations.

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) and the GermanPress Agency (dpa)

yesterday in Abuja signed aMemorandum of Understanding(MoU) to boost the capacity of bothagencies.

Mrs. Oluremi Oyo, theManaging Director of NAN, saidat the signing ceremony, that the

MoU would enhance the capacityof NAN to meet the yearnings of itsmore than 240 subscribers.

According to Oyo, the Nigeriannation deserves to know what ishappening in the Republic ofGermany and wherever dpacorrespondents are.

She said that NAN had widereach and guaranteed fair

coverage of all events without biasto nationality or race.

“We believe that signing of thisagreement will also help to boostour capacity because you have alonger history in news agencyjournalism than we do…”

Responding, Mr. LaszloTrankovits, the Bureau Chief ofdpa, said the agency had not given

Africa adequate coverage, asituation it intended to correct.

He said that Nigeria was astrategic partner based on its hugepopulation, adding that theagreement would boostcooperation between Nigeria andGermany.

“We did not pay enoughattention to Africa especially toNigeria and this we want to correct;we are aware of the importance ofNigeria as the most populouscountry in Africa.” (NAN)

NAN, German Press Agency sign MoU on capacity building

The Birnin Kudu School ofNursing and Midwiferyconstructed at the cost of

N2.1 billion has beencommissioned by the Rivers stategovernor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

The school according to theJigawa state governor Alhaji SuleLamido was conceived to providethe maximum standard forlearning by the state’s futurehealth workers.

Alhaji Lamido said the schoolof nursing complex which is thebest in the west of the Sahara, was

equipped with modern facilities,laboratory equipment andmotivated teachers.

The governor said the RasheedShekoni Hospital based in Dutsethat is equipped with the state ofthe art facility has beenaccredited to serve as training ofhouse officers, pharmacy andphysiotherapy interns in thestate.

Meanwhile, the stateCommissioner for Health, Dr.Hassana Hussaini Adamu, hassaid apart from the construction ofthe school of nursing andmidwifery the state government

has improved the enrolment ofdoctors from 40 in 2008 to 170 in2011.

She also said nurses’ populationhas increased from the former 351to 672 and midwives from 30 to268 within the periods of 2008 and2011.

She said in addition to givingdeserving students theopportunity to study in the school,the government has also givenindigenous students automaticemployment and they are placedon grade level 03 and subsequentlyplaced on GL 07 on graduationfrom the school.

From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

Amaechi commissions Jigawa nursing school

R-L: Abia state Governor, Chief Theodore Orji, with Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier-General NnamdiOkere-Affia, during the 2012 Annual Management Conference of NYSC, yesterday at the Hotel Royal Damgrate, in Umuahia, Abia state.

PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012 PAGE 11

Rep advocates fiscal federalism, saysNorth can survive without oil moneyRep Mohammed Monguno

(ANPP) representingMonguno/Marte/Nganzai

Federal Constituency in the Houseof Representatives, has canvassedfor the inclusion of fiscal federalismclause in the nations’ statute booksas the National Assembly considersthe amendment of the 1999

Constitution.The Borno state lawmaker said

the Northern region can survivewithout oil money from the Southif the leaders could harness theregion’s potentials in agricultureand other mining concerns.

He said: “Fiscal federalism isgood; too much power isconcentrated in the centre; there isneed to devolve powers so that every

state will take its own destiny in itsown hand. As it is presently, manystates are not viable”.

According to him, “The FederalGovernment should have nobusiness with agriculture becauseit is practiced at the local level; theFederal Government shouldconcentrate on defense; it should notconcern itself with agriculture andeducation but on policies that could

By Lawrence Olaoye regulate their administration.“Before the advent of oil, the

North supported itself withagriculture. The oil only made theNorth to be lazy. The North cansurvive without the oil money.The money used to prospect for theoil came from agriculture”, heasserted.

Monguno equally noted thatopposition parties in the country

were not virile enough to put thePeoples Democratic Party (PDP)government on its toes. He howevercommended the latest efforts beingmade by the leadership of theAction Congress of Nigeria (ACN),Congress for Progressive Change(CPC) and other opposition partiesto forge a united front to confrontthe ruling party ahead of the 2015general elections.

The Nigeria Union of LocalGovernment Employees(NULGE) Katsina state

chapter has commended GovernorIbrahim Shehu Shema of KatsinaState for approving the newminimum wage to localgovernment workers in the state.

A statement signed by thepresident of union in the state,Comrade Aliyu Haruna noted thatby this act, the governor accordingto him has demonstrated that hewas a listening governor.

Similarly the union lauded thegovernor's prudent, accountableand transparent management ofthe state funds at both the stateand local government levels.

The union whileacknowledging the governor'sachievement in all sectors of thestate advised workers toreciprocate the gesture by showingcommitment, discipline anddedication to duties, adding thatthe union would continue to beloyal to the state administration.

Katsina NULGEcommendsShema overminimum wageFrom Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

The House of Representativeshas urged all ministries,departments, agencies and

private organisations toperiodically embark onmandatory security drillsincluding emergency responseand awareness measures twotimes annually in order to savelives and properties in times ofterror attacks.

A motion filed by Hon. ChudiP. Uwazurike during Tuesday’splenary session, observed that theinsecurity in Nigeria is a majorthreat to the nation’s democracyand the general well being of thepopulace.

Hon. Chudi said the Nigerianpublic is not adequately educatedon security measures and drills inthe face of the rising menace ofterrorism, both lives and propertyare usually lost when panic sets inas observed in the recent terroristscares in Lagos, Ibadan, CrossRiver, Benin, Warri and otherplaces.

Reps urgeMDAs toembark onsecurity drillsBy Umar Mohammed Puma

The trial of the formerdirector general of NigerianMaritime Administration

and Safety Agency, (NIMASA),Temisan Omatseye continuedyesterday at the Federal HighCourt Lagos with the Economicand Financial Crimes Commissioncalling two witnesses.

Ahmed Ibrahim, an operativeof the commission and prosecuting

witness 1, during crossexamination by Olushina Sofola,counsel to the accused person, toldthe court how several contractswere awarded for the supply of desktop computers, air fitters, printersand lap tops and a host of others,without due process.

The Head, Media & Publicity ofEFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said:"Contracts were only internallyadvertised on the notice board ofNIMASA, and that it breached

government procedure onapproval limit.

The 2nd prosecution witness,Director of Shipping M. K Bulama,who was a former Director ofFinance, told the court about thesum of 300, 000 poundstransferred from NIMASA’s rentaccount to its impress account,and was spent to finance theelection of one Mrs. Mbanefo, aNigerian who was seeking officeof the Secretary General of

By Lambert Tyem International MaritimeOrganisation, expending only26,000 pounds on rentingaccommodation.

He also told the court that theagency’s approval limit for servicewas N2.5 million and N5 millionfor works.

Justice Binta Nyako adjournedproceedings to June 12 for furthercross examination andpresentation of more witnesses bythe EFCC.

NIMASA boss’ trial: EFCC calls 2 witnesses

The Federal Government hasconcluded plans to partnerwith Nigerian Building and

Road Research Institute (NBRRI),to create jobs for the teemingyouths, with the aim of alleviatingpoverty in the country.

The Vice President, Arc.Namadi Sambo, who made thisknown in Abuja, during aconference organised by NBRRIwith the theme: ‘Curbing theincidence of Building Collapse inNigeria’, added that the technicalworkshop was a welcomedevelopment.

The Vice President who wasrepresented by the Minister of

Lands, Housing and UrbanDevelopment, Ms Ama Pepple, said“the Federal Government is readyto encourage NBRRI or any agencywhose activities are tailoredtowards creating jobs, alleviatingpoverty and wealth creation”.

Sambo averred that theinitiative was a key feature ofPresident Goodluck Jonathan’stransformation agenda, addingthat as a seasoned professionalarchitect, the issues of combatingthe incidences of collapsed buildingsin Nigeria was an issue of concernto the Federal Government. Headvised that NBRRI and otherprofessional bodies to proffer solutionto the menace of building collapsein the country.

By Joy Baba

FG to partner NBRRI on job creation

Ogun State Police Com-mand on Tuesday shot fourmembers robbery gang

dead along the busy Lagos-IbadanExpressway, after foiling robberyoperations and recovering threelocally made pistols.

The command’s PublicRelations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi,disclosed to journalists in Abeokutathat the incident took place at about9:00 am at Fidiwo junction of theexpressway.

“A good spirited individual alongthe expressway who saw the bus beendriven to the bush alerted the DPOIshara division about the attack”,

stating further that the DPO, SPHaruna Bashir immediately swunginto action and met the robbersrobbing the passengers”.

The bandits, on sighting thepolice took to their heels, while theaudacious four who engaged policein gun duel were shot dead whileothers escaped with bulletswounds.

The items recovered from therobbers included three locallymade pistols, eight xpendedcartridges, and some Indian hemp.

According to Adejobi, “We werealso able to recover all the itemscollected from the victims such astwo black berry phones, two Nokiahandsets, one Compaq laptop,among others”.

From Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji,Abeokuta

Ogun police kill 4 highway robbers

L-R: Commissioner for Policy, Personnel Management and Finance, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Yusuf AdebayoIbrahim, NAHCON Chairman, Malam Mohammed Bello, and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Aviation and member ofNAHCOM Board, Captain Shehu Usman Iyal, during House Committee on Foreign Affairs meeting with the NAHCOM chairman, onTuesday at the National Assembly, in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa


No to increased security votePenultimate Saturday, one of the

weekend newspapers reported thatthe National Assembly was

concluding plans to jack up the N930billion 2011 Security Vote because theamount is now considered grosslyinadequate to cope with the securitychallenges confronting the nation, butwhich many have rightly viewed as beingunreasonably on the high side consideringthe dire economic situation in thecountry.

The paper quoted an unnamed seniorgovernment official as saying that “weare really worried about the worseningsecurity situation and we have made thepoint very clear to the authorities thatsomething must be done urgently tocheckmate those who are killing andgetting away with it. In the face of othercompeting challenges, money is a bigproblem but we have to source for it andconfront an enemy that has refused toback down”.

According to the newspaper, theagencies charged with the management ofthe nation’s security are uncomfortablewith the “paltry” sum and had alreadymade their feelings known to the federalgovernment.

But the confirmation of the move bythe NASS to hike the security vote,coming from the chairman of the SenateCommittee on Security and NationalIntelligence, Senator MuhammedMagoro, is the pointer that there is clearlya predetermined but unhealthyconvergence of minds between theExecutive and the Legislature, on theissue.

It quoted the former internal affairsminister and retired army general assaying that “the security committee inconjunction with other committees in theNational Assembly will put headstogether to see what can be done to the

“if strong arm tactics were anypanacea to militancy, insurgencyand other security challenges of

that nature, the problem inAfghanistan would have long

been history, so consigned bythe combined military might ofNATO, which has unfortunatelybeen fought to a near standstillfor upward of a decade by theill-equipped, ill fed, ill sheltered

and ragtag Taliban army

budget with a view to improving security inthe country.”

The move, in our view is wrong, andtherefore uncalled for, for a number ofreasons. Since it is a universal truism thatthe military approach alone cannotsuccessfully address the multiple securitychallenges confronting Nigeria or anycountry for that matter, it is thereforeillogical to jack up the security vote whenthe extra fund could be put to better use inother even more demanding areas, the

neglect of which is a contributing or thesole factor in the emergence of the securitychallenges, in the first place.

We dare to argue that, if strong armtactics were any panacea to militancy,insurgency and other security challenges ofthat nature, the problem in Afghanistanwould have long been history, so consignedby the combined military might of NATO,which has unfortunately been fought to anear standstill for upward of a decade by

the ill-equipped, ill fed, ill sheltered andragtag Taliban army, at the cost ofhundreds of thousands of lives of Afghansand a few hundreds of the coalitionmembers, not to talk of the over $100billion annual costs of the war.

Closer at home, there is little to say insupport of the effectiveness of the Militaryapproach as the sole cure and deterrent ofsecurity problems. Else, nobody would becontemplating increasing a budget thatalready amounts to N2 billion per day forthe security sector, but with pretty littlepositive to show for the impact of thatmind-numbing amount.

It is our considered belief at PeoplesDaily that any further militirisation of theapproach to the security challenges wouldonly make a bad situation worse, at leastfor the innocent larger society, which hasin any case been paying the price, in manycases with lives, of the murderousactivities of the Boko Haram sect andother criminal elements in the society onthe one hand, and the vicious and no lessfatal response of the security agencies,especially the military, on the other. Thisonly-stick approach has left the entirenorthern part of the country under thecombined siege of the equally brutalsecurity agencies and the criminalelements in the society.

Even by his own admission in thatcontroversial contribution at theBRACED meeting of the South-Southstates on April 26, the National SecurityAdviser, General Andrew Awoye Azazi,said military force alone, could not solvethe problem of Boko Haram as, accordingto him, “it is a combination of everything(religion, poverty and a desire to ruleNigeria), and unless you address all thosethings, it would not work”. Need we arguemore on the need to free the funds forother uses away from brute force? Morecivil and less military approach, please.

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HEAD, ADVERT/MARKETING

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EDITEDITEDITEDITEDITORIALORIALORIALORIALORIAL


With total delight Irecently read Dr AliyuTilde’s piece ‘To Niger In

Search of Aisha’ in which henarrated the outstandingimprovements Nigeria’sneighbour to the north hasrecorded in just few years.Previously, one’s attention wasoften drawn to ‘begging bowls’stretched out by the countryconsidered one of Africa’s poorestasking for handouts on which shemight survive. Famine and dyinghumans and animals have longbeen used to symbolise Niger. Ivividly recall MuhammaduGawo Fillinge’s songs, which I firstheard as a kid in the 1970s,emphatically conveying amessage of urgency to save Niger.I always pitied Nigeriens,hundreds of whom lived in mycommunity. They were alwaysthe ‘maigadis’ (security guards tothe better off Nigerians), the ‘yangaruwas’ (water vendors), the‘maishayis’ (local tea vendors) etc.Once they owned a bakery in mystreet and, during the brief periodit survived, life became muchmore comfortable for those scoresof ‘yan garuwa’ and ‘maishayis’who thronged and sought solaceunder the umbrella it provided.But the bakery was among thefirst victims of President ShehuShagari’s austerity measure asprices of almost all essentials (inaddition to scarcity) took a suddenflight to the skies rendering suchsmall businesses effectively dead.That sent many of them back tothe streets, again, and to theinglorious mockery of many of ourcountrymen. But, from Dr Tilde’sarticle, it seems Niger is no longerthat Africa’s weeping child andher citizens would, by right, betreated with more respect perhapsfor the first time. And what a

paradox, Niger is set to be one ofNigeria’s oil suppliers!

Again, there is the story ofGhana whose citizens swarmedour villages and cities in the late1970s and 1980s seeking greenerpastures. They were in everyprofession or trade as could readilybe available; they were our shoemenders or cobblers, breadhawkers, taxi drivers and eventeachers. I once had a privateteacher, Mr Fringpong, who couldteach virtually every subject. Istill consider myself quite luckyto have been his student as histutorials gave the sort of headstart that would prepare me forlater academic and professionalchallenges. But he was one ofthousands of foreigners given themarching order by thegovernment of GeneralMuhammadu Buhari in 1984.Even as a die-hard supporter ofGeneral Buhari that is one policyI still can’t understand and mightnever do. Sadly. I remember howmany of them hurriedly packedtheir bits and pieces in carry bagsthat were later renamed ‘GhanaMust Go’ by Nigerians in mockeryof their plight. Many sold offwhatever they could not takealong at give away prices.Benbella, a neighbour gladly toldof how he bought a 14-inch colourtelevision at 50 naira. It was anexcellent bargain for him, but 50naira was also quite some moneyto be taken back to Ghana then,given the higher exchange valueof Nigeria’s naira to Ghana’s cedi.The last I heard of Mr Fringpong

was that they had been taken inby Libya’s Muammar Ghadafi.Our loss was indeed Libya’s gain.However, Ghana has since madea big come back and can no longerbe bullied by big sister Nigeria. Itis such a big shame that ourpoliticians (and big men) nowflock Ghanaian hospitals fortreatment and send their childrento their schools after collapsingour own. Ghana will probably jointhe list of our oil suppliers soonenough.

Cameroun is another countrywhose citizens considered Nigeriaa sanctuary. The country ispolarised on the basis of such sillysentiments as the foreign(colonial) language spoken bythose in one part as opposed to theone spoken in the other. Andbecause those speaking French inthe south of the country are inpower by means of Paul Biya’soverspent presidency, theEnglish speakers in the northare, in effect, marginalised.Many ran off to Nigeria at a timethey badly needed a home, butthey were let down by their hosts.The list of those we have let downin the most bizarre manner isendless.

One would be very unfair tocontinue to suggest that Nigeriahas been a very bad sisters’keeper. No. Working on thepremise that she coulddisentangle the continent fromthe vestiges of colonialism (andcheckmate imperialism) therewere quite a few times shedemonstrated rare altruism, at

least on the surface. One of suchwas her involvement in SouthAfrica’s anti-apartheidcampaign by directly fundingthe African National Congress(ANC). Nigeria defied every riskto solidly stand by RobertMugabe’s Zimbabwe and SamNujoma’s South West AfricaPeople’s Organisation (SWAPO,in Namibia) in their fight forindependence. For instance shesupported SWAPO with up to US$20 million in its preparation forindependence in 1989. Nigeriawas the main African backer tofrontline states like Zambia,Tanzania, Mozambique andZimbabwe that constantly facedthreats from the Pretoriaregime. In terms of peacekeepingoperations, more than any otherAfrican country Nigeriacontributes troops. Thus, herearliest participation was in theCongo crisis of the early 1960s.Since then she has played amajor role in transforming theconflicts in Sierra Leone, Liberia,Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Eritreaand Western Sahara. In fact forher role in the conflict in SierraLeone, despite Britain stealingthe shine off her, most SierraLeoneans still speak glowingly ofher. In Liberia’s renewed conflictshortly before Charles Taylorwas tricked into stepping asidein 2003, Nigeria it was that firstput her troops in Monrovia todeescalate the violence. The USwould not put a single soldier atsuch risk; they waited for Nigeriato clear the bush.

Contagious implications ofNigeria’s security challenges

By Aliyu Musa

Like the legendary cat withnine lives, this subject of gaymarriage seems to be one

that is determined to come to stay.When it seems it has been sappedof steam and gleam, and isconsidered driftinguncontrollably into the throes ofoblivion, out of nowhere a freshburst of wind flows to its sails andsets it on course, on point and onhand to continue to unleash itsodious tidings on an alreadygodless and spirituallyimpoverished secular world.

A little more thancommensurate dosage of fuellingwas fed into the burning cauldronof the gay marriage discoursewhen the President of the UnitedStates of America, Barack Obamasummarily reversed his stance onthe issue, saying in an interviewthat it was important to him toaffirm that same sex couplesshould be able to get married.Previously, the British primeminister, David Cameron hadthreatened to cut foreign aid tocountries that frowned at suchsame-sex marriages. We expectedthis re-echoing of the Britishagenda from the American front,since there has already been anunderstanding involving the twocountries in economy, securityand defence. Now that there hasalso been a blazing of the trail bythe British concerning foisting

immorality and mindless lewditywith impunity on the people, it isonly natural that America,through its number-one citizenwill definitely follow suit, andconfirm our suspicions he has,albeit in a very ignoble anduncanny manner.

The pointer to the level anddepth America and Britain, andindeed the whole of the Westernworld has fallen in the miry glutof the sickening abyss of lecherousimmorality, was the fact that heeven cited his daughters’ opinionof acquiescence on the matter as astrong leverage for his approvingnod to the gays operation. Whenit is no longer out of place for evenchildren, who should be morepristine and probably warehousesome level of sanity and sanctity,to see things as this as unusual andpossibly ask searching questionsthat should restore older folk fromtheir transgression, then it iscertain that doomsday is but a fewticks of the clock away. When thesores of spiritual malaise haveeaten so deep into the polity andpsyche of the people to the extentthat laws are now promulgatedto seal societal and spiritualautistic tendencies, to the level weare witnessing in the present-dayWest, then it is only time to lookfor a just recompense which WILL

SURELY come. President Obamashould by this piece know and notethat he owes both posterity anddivinity hordes of explanation forthis wicked and self-seeking sell-out, and that is of course inexclusion of the account he has togive for handing down suchpeevingly pervasive values to hisinnocent and unsuspectingchildren and generation, in hiscapacity as a father. For failing inhis duties to protect his childrenfrom the rodential, and poisonousgnaws of same sex awareness beingtouted about, he is certainlyculpable and cannot lose hisreward.

How on earth does permittingsame sex relationships foster thiseconomic development andempowerment that has becomeas elusive as looking for the moonat noon, the world over? Apartfrom being a licence to hand lewdpeople their proclivities andexcesses on a platter of gold, howis this going to impact on ourexistence and improve on ourlives? Instead of improving ourlives and perpetuating it, theobvious result of permitting samesex relationships will onlydecrease world population, and ahost of other impromptuimbalances of which loss of activeworkforce is one,since I have not

heard of any form of reproductionemanating from relationsbetween an Ada and Eve, or anAdam and Steve.

I think it is clear enough thatthis whole pervading politics andintrigues of same sex marriage isaimed at enslaving anddestroying Africa and the blackrace, with special focus on Nigeria,and it is most unfortunate thatBarack Obama, a man with somuch followership and charisma,on top of his glaring African rootswould give in to such spirallingevil. For one thing, thecomplexity of this same sex sagais a major weapon of destructionfor societies, and none who havetrotted that tortous path havepleasant stories to tell-from thedays of Lot on the Bible, to Ballamand Barack and their lure of theIsraelites to their pernicious ways-it has always been met with theseething wrath of God, anddecimation of such societies tovanishing point. Perhaps the firstport of call would be the resultantdiseases and infections people whoengage in such alliances arealready living with and maypossibly die from-torn rectaltissues, HIV/AIDS, and a host ofthem. While this should not bemistaken for a sermon, but showme a man or institution that

Now that Obama has spokenBy Ike Willie Nwobu

Several years on, Nigeria,plagued by myriads of upheavals,is now Africa’s ‘sick old woman’in urgent need of a new lease oflife. In 2004 I read an articlepublished by a South Africannewspaper in which Nigeria waslikened to a ‘hell on earth’ fromwhich everyone hopes to make agreat escape. Contrast thesituation then to all that ishappening now you’ll have apicture of a much, much betterplace eight years ago. I won’t ceaseto wonder what analogy theauthor of that article wouldapply today, taking intoconsideration the state of Nigerianow. But this is not a matter thatcalls for laughter. Nor is it onethat should be treated withlevity. What still shocks me isthat African leaders still pretendthat the contagious effect theoryis a ruse in politics. Perhaps theyneed to scroll back their memoryto the events of the early 1960s.Scholars of African Politics haderroneously assumed that withthe return to self rule Africa wasa showcase of democracy. But afew like Samuel Huntington andS. E. Finer still thought it was tooearly to rule out the possibility ofmilitary encroachment. Suchscholars emphasised the wisdomin diarchy and/or militaryprofessionalism.

To be continuedAliyu Musa, wrote in fromDesmond Tutu Centre for Warand Peace Studies, LiverpoolHope University, Hope Park,Liverpool, L16 9JD, UK.

engages in ‘’common”adultery,and I will show you one who isspeedily headed down the slipperypath of destruction and perpetualdownfall, in every wise.

With all our indices ofsensibility and reasonabilityintact and without mincingwords, we hereby affirm that wewill not be as daft and dumb as toimport that spiritual balderdashinto our country, even if it gets tothe level of same-sex incestuousrelations in the White House. It isalien to our culture and thereforeis NOT acceptable to us. The levelof below-the-belt crimes we arecontending with here is more thanenough headache, and we willcertainly not burden ourselvesfurther, mortgage ourgenerations yet unborn andincure the ire of the Almighty byacceding to that manifestation ofspiritual and psychologicalpaupery. Whether the House ofRepresentatives lends a voice ornot, the few unfortunate ones whohave dared the law have startedreaping the rewards, and so willit remain. We will not follow theWest blindly to perdition, in thename of allowing people theirright of association.Ike Willie Nwobu is [email protected]


Mrs. Jonathan, give usfemale pilots, not agberos

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WRITE TO US

Flipping through a copy of TheGuardian in the morning ofThursday May 3, 2012, I was

confronted by a full page black andwhite advertisement by theNational Directorate ofEmployment, a department of theFederal Ministry of Labour andProductivity. What attracted myattention were the boldphotographs of the Minister ofLabour, Mr. Emeka Wogu and thatof the wife of President GoodluckJonathan, Mrs. PatienceJonathan.

Specifically, the advertisementwas an invitation to theinauguration of what was called alady chauffeur training scheme[LCTS] with the notice disclosingthat it was a joint initiative of thegovernment funded NationalDirectorate of Employment andthe privately-run-but- lavishly-funded Non- Governmentalorganization Women for ChangeDevelopment Initiative, which ispromoted by the wife of thePresident. According to the authorsof this public notice, whichincidentally appearedsimultaneously in over four othernational dailies, the scheme isaimed at producing 200 ladies intogainful employment ascommercial drivers under what itcalls the pilot phase in the FederalCapital Territory. Furtherbuttressing the underlyingobjectives of the scheme, theauthors stated that the schemewhen operational after theinaugural ceremony billed forMay 4th 2012 [though the advertin Guardian carried on Thursday

May 3rd 2012 said the event isbilled to take place on April 4th2012] will among others createand empower a pool of femaledrivers that will meet the needs oflabour market in Abuja and theimmediate environment; createwealth and job satisfaction as aresult of choosing driving as a tradeand impart the spirit ofprofessionalism and commitmentin driving as a profession.

The first thing that came to mymind after deep reflection over thepublic noticewas why somei n f l u e n t i a lpersons holdingpublic officesand ap r o m i n e n twoman in theperson of thewife of the firstN i g e r i a nPresident withan academicd o c t o r a t edegree wouldwant to giveN i g e r i ahundreds ofl a d ycommercial drivers [or agberos asthey are known in popular pallancebecause of their nuisance value todecent passengers] rather thandesign a more scientific approachtowards producing better

equipped, twenty first century-compliant female technicians towork in the railway industry thathas gone moribund as one way ofresuscitating and rejuvenatingthat service sector and also trainfemale pilots who would begainfully employed both inNigeria and outside of our shoreswith better and further enhancedremuneration and internationalprestige.

Even as I write, I am completelyshocked that government officials

always engage in churning outhalf baked policies that are notscientifically tested and are notmeant to last for a long period oftime. Government officials in theExecutive and Legislative arms are

happy to embark on the freedistribution of tricycles andmotorcycles to their constituentsand other less fortunate citizens toturn them into commercial bikeriders rather than commit theresources into providing bettertechnology-driven training of thethousands of unemployed youngNigerians to be gainfullyemployed in ventures that cancontribute tremendously to theactual growth and advancementof the nation’s economy and bring

about real jobsatisfaction forthe participantsand reduce thehigh crime rate inthe society. Whyare Nigerianp o l i t i c i a n sb u y i n gmotorcycles forthe youngN i g e r i a ngraduates to useas commercialbikers even whenit is known thatbecause ofpaucity of turnover fund most of

these commercial bike riders haveconverted these bikes as weaponsand tools of perpetrating thesophisticated crimes of kidnappingfor ransoms, bag snatching, gunrunning and targeted

assassinations?At best, the Federal

Government’s newly inauguratedLady Chauffeur Training Scheme(LCTS) is worthy of beingdismissed as substantially lackingin creativity, innovation andsustainability.

Rather than spend the scarcepublic fund in this good -for-nothing venture, the FederalGovernment should consider theintroduction of specializedtechnology skills’ acquisitionschemes specifically targeted attraining young Nigerian ladies tobecome middle level techniciansin the petroleum andenvironmental sectors and othertechnology related skills that willmake them job creators ratherthan job seekers.

Like most other schemesintroduced by some governmentinstitutions and political officeholders that never last, the newladies’ drivers’ training scheme isabsolutely bereft of creativity,innovation and therefore is not asustainable job creation effort in thetwenty first century.

Come to think of it, is thepressing service need of mostNigerians that of commercialdrivers? Another question is howmany unemployed persons wouldbe taken off the streets ifcommercial driving is now the

By Emmanuel Onwubiko

If Nigeria’s opposition partiesever hope to defeat the PDP’sstranglehold on Nigeria and

the political environment, theplanning, mergers and alliancesmust begin from now. Oppositionparties must also promote internaldemocracy by carrying outcritical reforms in the way theparties are run. Therefore, thereis a need to go back to the drawingboard to re-examine the rules andmanagement of our parties tocome with dynamic partyadministrative structures. Part ofthe requirement for registrationas a political party by theIndependent National ElectoralCommission (INEC) states that theparty’s constitution and rulesmust:

• Provide for periodical election(not exceeding four years subjectto reelection) on a democratic basisof the principal officers andmembers of the executivecommittee or other governingbody of the political party;

• Ensure that the members ofthe executive committee or othergoverning body of the politicalparty reflect the federal characterof Nigeria. Members of executivecommittee must belong todifferent states not less than twothirds of 36 and FCT; and

• The programme as well asthe aims and objects of a politicalparty shall conform with theprovisions of Chapter II of this

Constitution.This has translated into the

provision of uniform structureswith virtually the samedesignation of officials across allthe political parties. Thenomenclature, number andfunctions of the structures andofficials are virtually the same.What you find in the PDP is almostword-for-word what you have inthe ACN, CPC, ANPP, LabourParty and others with respect tostructures and provisions ofofficials in the constitutions of theparty. The only variation is wherethe parties’ names are mentioned.

All our parties are governed byNational Convention, Board ofTrustees, National ExecutiveCommittee, National WorkingCommittee, State Congress, StateExecutive Committee, StateWorking Committee, LocalGovernment Area Congress, LocalGovernment Area ExecutiveCommittee, Ward Congress andWard Executive Committee. Thesmall variation would be theexistence of Stakeholders/Eldersstructures at National, States,Local Government Areas andWards in different forms.

In terms of officials, all ourparties have a minimum of 24officials since the INECregistration requirementstipulate that the “executivecommittee must belong todifferent states not less than twothirds of 36 and FCT”. Arisingfrom this, Nigerian political

parties all have a NationalChairman, Deputy NationalChairman, Six National ViceChairmen (one from eachgeopolitical zone), NationalSecretary, Deputy NationalSecretary, National Treasurer,Deputy National Treasurer,National Financial Secretary,Deputy National FinancialSecretary, National OrganisingSecretary, Deputy NationalOrganising Secretary, NationalPublicity Secretary, DeputyNational Publicity Secretary,National Legal Adviser, DeputyNational Legal Adviser, NationalWelfare Officer, Deputy NationalWelfare Officer, National Auditor,Deputy National Auditor,National Women Leader andNational Youth Leader.

These designations arecascaded down to states, localgovernments and wards withslight variations. In all cases, themain focus is not aboutrecruitment or providing servicesto members. References torecruitment and services arehardly traceable in theconstitutions of all our parties. Aquick explanation would be thehurried way they were packagedin order to meet INECrequirements and get registeredas political parties. A secondexplanation would be the fact oforiginating from a commonsource given that ANPP and ADwere breakaways from PDP, ACNbeing formed by AD leaders and

splinter group of PDP, CPC beinga breakaway of ANPP, etc.

The questions would be: nowthat these parties are opposing thePDP, why should they retain thesame structural outlook? Whyshould emphasis to membershiprecruitment and services not be amajor distinguishing feature ofthese parties from the PDP? Theanswer is: because the main focusof all our parties is to win electionsfairly or unfairly! Arising fromthis, political practice and cultureis the same across all the parties. Itis all about recruitingmembership based on individualaspirations for political offices,capacity to buy/procure votes,employ thugs for politicalcampaigns, contract ballot boxsnatching and capacity toorganize rigging during elections.

A major determining factortherefore is financial capability ofindividuals. Across all the parties,once an individual aspirant isrecruited with strong financialcapability, the party issurrendered to him/her. Such aperson would then proceed tonominate/appoint party leadersfrom among his loyalists.Accordingly, presidentialaspirants nominate/appointparty leaders at national levelsand gubernatorial candidatesnominate party leaders at states,local governments and wardslevels. Candidates for elections arealso similarly recruited that way.Presidential candidates recruits

gubernatorial candidates andgubernatorial candidates recruitsother candidates for lower officesfrom the ranks of loyalists. As aresult, a few individuals havebecome the proprietors of ourpolitical parties.

Issues of participation anddemocracy are compromised,professional management ofparties ignored and disciplinaryconduct of members sacrificed.The consequence is thepreponderances of so manyunethical, unfair and uncivilizedpractices by party leaders andpublic representatives of politicalparties, including public officials.Knowledge, logic, conventions,qualifications, skills andexperiences carry little weight.For instance, the Chairman,Secretary, Publicity Secretary,Treasurer, Legal Adviser, etc. ofthe party can be any ‘yes-person’.Offices are reduced to territorialcontrol with hardly any focus onservices. Cost considerations arehardly regarded. It is more aboutaccess to resources.

In the circumstance, all partyofficials are full-time. They arepolitical, administrative andbureaucratic leaders. In fact, thedefinition of structures in theconstitution of all our partiesentrenches and enforces thisambiguity. A good demonstrationof this is the fact that theSecretariat of the party, which issupposed to be the administrative

Why party administration must be reformedBy Salihu Moh. Lukman

Continued on page 15

Continued on page 15


Continued from page 14

and bureaucratic organ of theparty, only ascribes its location,which as the INEC rule providesshould be Abuja, with offices instate capitals, local governmentheadquarters and wards. There ishardly any further definitionwith respect to functions andresponsibilities. Even provisionsspecifying that the NationalSecretary shall be the head of theSecretariat and its compositioncan only be assumed.

Lack of professionalism istherefore an inherentcharacteristic of all our parties.Also, the absence of viabledemocratic funding sources is amajor attribute of our parties.This partly accounts for why therecent external auditors reportson the accounts of political partiesfor the year 2010 released byINEC produced virtually the sameresult. The summary is:

a. Parties do not have internalaudit reports and accounts for theyear under review (2010);

b. Conventional accountingbooks were not properlymaintained;

c. Budget and budgetarycontrol were not in place; and

d. The parties do not have awell defined fixed assets registerand assets were not labeled;

In addition, INEC reported theincome and expenditure claims ofall the parties, which are hardlyverifiable given that there are noaccounting books and budgets.Interestingly, this is the situationwith all the parties with veryminor differences. With noexception, this report covers all the63 registered political parties inthe country. And all the partieshave Treasurers, FinancialSecretaries and Internal Auditors.The question we need to ask is whatare the responsibilities of theseofficials?

The truth is that many of theseofficials don’t even know theirresponsibilities as provided in their

respective constitution. Besides, theconstitutions of our parties are inmost cases blind or ambiguous onmatters of responsibilities for theseofficials. As a result, our parties areat best models in bad practices,inefficient and ineffective in servicedelivery and excellent examples ofdysfunctional structures. Thisbeing the case, they cannot be theharbingers of good and democraticgovernance.

How do we create a modelparty that can engineer thedevelopment of democratic,efficient and effective politicalorganization that can mobilizeNigerians based on an agenda ofdeveloping and harnessing theresources of the country? This isnot simply about meeting INECregistration requirements. It isabout efficient mobilization anddeployment of resources – humanresources especially.

The first reference point of ourparties is mobilizing citizens andstrategically deploying them intopublic services. From allevidences, our 63 existingregistered parties are anything butpolitical parties as far as humanresource mobilization is concerned.As for deployment into publicservice, it is more by default onaccount of demands by aspiringpoliticians. As a result, our partiesare ambition rather thaninspiration driven. This is thefactor which produced the absenceof choice. Choice, if it exists at all, ismore about the individualcandidates and not the party.

A crucial challenge beforeopposition parties in Nigeria is theneed to properly restructureinternal party organization withthe objective of developing serviceframework around which citizens’mobilization can take place.Restructuring internal partyorganization would require cleardefinition and delineation ofresponsibilities. This would meanseparating political leadershipfrom the administrative. It would

also further require outliningresponsibilities of all functionariesbased on modern organizationalstandards. In other words, there isthe urgent need to professionalizethe workings of our parties if theyare to meet the expectations ofNigerians.

A situation where offices aredesigned based on convenience andoffice occupants are recruited basedon personal loyalty is counter-productive and can only breedundemocratic practices.Professionalizing the operations ofour political parties wouldnecessitate focus in two areas. Theseare membership mobilization andparty funding. The two are related.

As it were, it is the absence offocus in these two areas that madeour parties what they are – mereplatforms for contesting electionsand not representatives of anyinterest. To be able to mobilizemembership would entail makingoffers to specific interests’ of citizens.The strength of commitments tothese offers would determinefinancial contributions. Beyondoffers however, membership wouldbe encouraged to makecontributions if they areguaranteed prudent managementof party resources. Also, apart fromlegal requirements, good financialmanagement is imperative for thefinancial survival of parties andsin-qua-non for internaldemocracy in the party. Financialmanagement should not betherefore only vested in the handsof political leaders. Competentpersonnel with requisitefundraising and bookkeeping skillsmust be recruited andremunerated.

In addition to financialmanagement, sound and proactivecommunication strategies shoulddrive our political partymembership mobilizationprogramme. Therein lies the roleof propaganda, which is basicallyabout influencing the attitude ofNigerians towards political and

governance issues in the country.It is the consistency of the messagebeing conveyed and its relevanceto the realities of Nigerians thatwould attract membership to theparty. The main challenge is todevelop the internal capacitywithin our parties to develop themessages and popularize them. Itis not simply the responsibility ofa Publicity Secretary. It is alsoimperative to consider thepresence of competentcommunication skills experts whocan develop the messages andcreate platforms for theirdissemination. This is nothappening in any of our partiestoday.

The other issue is the need tofocus mobilization specificallytowards women and youths. Thisis because women constitutedabout 50% of our population andyouths constitute more than 60%.Any party that is popular to thesecategories of our population wouldbe guaranteed majority votes.Already, given the provision forWomen and Youth Leaders in theparties, it can be argued that thisis already recognized. What ismissing is the absence of clearmobilization programmes orprojects. Our parties need toconsciously invest resources todevelop youth and womenmobilization programmes andprojects.

In the debate aboutrepositioning our parties,especially opposition parties, if weare interested in achieving a goodmeasure of political anddemocratic progress as a nation,all negotiating parties need to doat the initial stage, is to prioritizeissues of membership mobilizationand party funding with theobjective of developing aframework that would ensuredelineation of political andadministrative responsibilitieswithin our parties. Gooddelineation would mean thatmajority of our parties’ political

leadership are part-time officialsand very few are full-time.However, it would also require thata conscious decision is taken torecruit specialized financial andcommunication experts to provideservices to the parties.

This would then define the day-to-day workings of the party. Inaddition to these day-to-dayworkings of the party, there areother periodic services that partiesmust provide, which is not the casenow. For instance, the task ofrecruiting agents for elections canbe handled better by the partywhich can in the process organizespecialized trainings for them. Asit is today, in almost all the parties,the task of recruiting agents islargely the responsibility ofcandidates with little input fromthe party. Also, the issue ofmanaging the process of filingpetitions after elections can bebetter organized and handled bythe party. Many good cases havebeen lost on account of poorhandling by candidates and wrongchoices of lawyers.

Given all these, the challengeis for our opposition parties toengage and negotiate political,administrative and bureaucraticframeworks for service delivery.It will be less controversial to havean agreement on these issues. Oncethere is agreement on the need forthese reforms, it will be much easierto develop a strategy on how tomanage the resolution of moredifficult challenges such as theissue of leadership, staff andcandidates’ recruitments.

In the context of our discussionof the need for ACN and CPC tounite in order to present a strongerelectoral challenge to the PDP,these are the primary issues.Capacity to reach an agreementon these issues wouldfundamentally change thepolitical fortunes of our parties.Salihu Moh. Lukman can bereached [email protected]

Why party administration must be reformed

way out when in actual factmaking someone a commercialdriver will rather than take theperson out of the streets deepen theinvolvement of such persons in thevices associated with motor parktouts? More importantly, howmany of the female children ofthese political office holders wouldbe encouraged to participate in thelady chauffeur training schemebeing spearheaded by the wife ofthe President? This is not to saythat all commercial drivers aretouts and the objective of this pieceis not to belittle the commercialdrivers.

To assume leadership positioncomes with a big demand andthose who aspire to becomeleaders must have real vision onhow to transform their societiesand must not engage in activitiesthat would not last and bear goodfruits. I am of the strong belief thatin these days and age, what mygovernment should be doing isintroducing modern, technology-inclined job creation schemes for

Nigerian women rather thanwaste scarce public fund toproduce mere artisans andcommercial drivers which are notthe pressing needs of mostNigerian consumers. Isgovernment unaware that thelocal content law which prescribesmainstreaming of indigenoustechnicians and middle levelexperts in the foreign dominatedNigeria’s crude oil industry isobserved in the breach by themulti-national crude oilcompanies operating in Nigeriabecause of claims by them thatlocal experts are in short supply?Why can we not for once beforward looking as a nation bytraining a pool of twenty firstcentury compliant techniciansfrom among our thousands ofunemployed female graduates tobe deployed to work in the Railwaysector whenever the hugeresources committed intorebuilding the moribund ventureby Government begin to bearfruits that would last?

I sincerely think that every

right thinking and forwardlooking Nigerian should be veryworried that at a time that Indiahas successfully launched a longrange surface to air nuclearmissile anchored by an Indianyoung lady Miss Tessy Thomas,and in an era that developingcountries like South Africa,Botswana and Bangladesh amongothers, are investing heavily inthe training of their women in thetechnology and aviationIndustries, Nigeria is stillbehaving as if we are in theeighteenth century by trainingfemale commercial drivers as ifthat is the most pressing serviceneed of Nigeria and Nigerians. Thisdownward thinking of officials ofgovernment is a clearmanifestation of the dearth ofquality vision among those whoare privileged to assume politicaloffices or be married to powerfulpersons in government.

If truth be told, NigerianGovernment and other leadingstakeholders in the private sectorshould concentrate energy and

resources towards training youngNigerian ladies to becomecompetent pilots, and scientistswho can build the much neededsecurity architecture that Nigerianeeds to check the unprecedentedrise in terror-related violence.Government should not behave asif we live in stone age by massproducing commercial driverswhose services are not needed. Toeven hear the wife of the Presidentsay that Nigerians will soon beginto experience the joy of being drivenby lady commercial drivers showsthat those who hurriedly packagedthe scheme for this gentle lady didnot reflect deeply so as to evolve abetter job creation scheme for theNigerian women. The ladychauffeur training scheme ispedestrian and cheap thinking atbest and must be discarded.

Although I was happy whenrecently Miss Blessing Liman wascelebrated as the first femalefighter pilot but at the same time Ifelt ashamed that Nigeria with allthe big name that we gave toourselves as the giant of Africa has

only just produced the first femalefighter pilot nearly fifty two yearsafter gaining independence andeven with the unfortunate buthistoric fact that Nigeria has hadthree years of civil war. BillNewman in his book “10 laws ofLeadership” pointed out vividlythat; “Vision is the key tounderstanding leadership.Without vision you are justplaying games with your life. Menand Women with vision see moreand further than others. Leadershave empires in their brains”.

Mr. Newman built his theoryfrom the statement by WinstonChurchill that; “The empires of thefuture are the empires of themind”. Only by the developmentof human capacity of youngerNigerians to acquire the rightkinds of skills in high demandsaround the world will Nigeriabecome a better society.+Emmanuel Onwubiko, head,Human Rights Wrietrs’Association of Nigeria writesfromwww.huriwa.blogspot.com.

Mrs. Jonathan, give us female pilots, not agberosContinued from page 14


2011 and signed by the MD ofFHA, which was obtained fromthe victim, confirmed thetransfer of ownership of theproperty to her, having madethe required payment to theFHA.

The letter reads in part:“Further to your application for1 unit of 4-Bedroom Twin Duplex(modified Badagry at GwarimpaII Estate, Abuja , FCT, and inconsideration of your paymentof the sum of N35,000, 000.00(Thirty Five Million Naira) onlybeing full purchased pricethereof, it is hereby confirmedthat House No.8k, 2nd Avenue,Kado Binko, Gwarimpa II EstateAbuja, FCT, Nigeria, has beenformally allocated to you forresidential purpose on a leasehold basis for a term of Ninety-Nine (99) years with effect from1st January, 2011”.

The FHA boss was said tohave in March, this year, served the occupant of the housea notice to vacate the propertyfor a man said to be his closefriend without any justificationfor the action.

According to her, “Thisproperty was allocated to meAugust last year, but when theFHA’s Managing Director’sfriend saw the house inDecember same year and toldhim that he likes the property,he wrote a letter to us that weshould pack out. It was afterthis letter that he ordered hisfriend to throw our things outof the house”, the occupant said.

She added that despite aletter from her lawyer,restraining the FHA fromharassing her, the MD wentahead to mobilise his men andpolice officers to carry out thedemolition.

Recounting the incident toour reporter who visited thescene, the security manattached to the house, LobeJames, said prior to the incident,officials of the FHA had lastweek Saturday, forcedthemselves into the house,placing a notice on the wall.

“They came last weekSaturday in the morningaround 7am, while I waspraying and started knocking at

Resident accuses FHA of illegaleviction from N35m house

This buildingat No. 8k, 2ndAvenue,Gwarimpa,Abuja, iswhere HajiyaAisha Ismaliwas evictedfrom onMonday bythe FederalHousingAuthority(FHA).Photo:Mahmud Isa

By Usman Shuaibu

The owner of a 4-bedroomtwin duplex at ModifiedBadagry, 8k, 2nd, Avenue,

Kado Binko, Gwarimpa II Estate,Hajiya Aisha Ismail, yesterday,accused the Federal HousingAuthority (FHA) of illegaleviction from her N35m house.

Hajiya Aisha claimed thatarmed policemen, invaded thehouse, manhandled her securityguard, domestic workers anddestroyed properties worththousands of Naira.

She said that the policemenclaimed that they were actingon the directive of the ManagingDirector (MD) of the FederalHousing Authority (FHA), Arc.Terver Gamade.

The owner of the house, whosaid she purchased the propertyfrom the FHA in 2011 at thecost of N35 million, told ourreporter that the men stormedher house in her absence atabout 9am, throwing out all herproperties and destroying somein the process.

A letter dated 22nd August,

By Sunday Etuka the door. I refused to open thedoor, they opened the windowbut their hands could not reachthe in-lock so they forced thedoor opened without properidentification.

“I didn’t take it seriousinitially but when theyentered, they started pushingme to gain entrance to the staircase, but I resisted. After that,they left but wrote on the wallthat we should pack out of thehouse before 24hours,” henarrated.

”This Monday, they cameagain and started knocking atthe door; I refused to open thedoor so they sent for two policemen to come. And they usedtheir legs to force the door openand started throwing thingsout. They scattered everythingand even destroy someproperties.

Several attempts to get thePublic Relations Officer (PRO) ofthe FHA, Mr. Tunde Ipiminsho,to comment failed as he refusedto pick calls or reply text amessage sent to his mobilephone.

Developmentcontroldismantlesshanty nearYar’AduaCentre

The Department ofDevelopment Control ofthe Federal Capital

D e v e l o p m e n tAuthority(FCDA), Wednesday,removed a shanty, erectedbeside the Musa Yar’ AduaCentre at the Central Area inAbuja.

Officials of the department,led by the Director ofDevelopment Control, YahayaYusuf, were on routine removalexercise, when they stormedinto the illegal structure,situated at a large-spaced greenarea near Sheraton Hotel andTowers.

Peoples Daily gathered thatthe shanty which served as ahouse for a security man, whotakes care of the green area, waserected by a contractor, whonurtures the green area.

Yusuf, described the shantyan eye-sore, as he urged the saidcontractor to provide a befittingstructure in place of the shantywhich defaced the environment.

He also advised residents todesist from erecting illegalstructures anywhere in theFCT, warning that thedevelopment controldepartment would not hesitateto remove such illegalstructures at any time.

By Josephine Ella

Two men, Victor Obi, 27 andIfakachi Chike, 26,yesterday, appeared before

an Abuja Chief Magistrates’Court charged with joint act andtheft.

Police prosecutor SimonIbrahim told the court that onMay 12, one Samson Okewu ofJabi Park, Abuja, reported thematter to Utako Police Station.

He said the two accusedpersons conspired and stole a cellphone valued at N12, 000belonging to the complainant.

The prosecutor said theaction contravened Sections 79and 288 of the Penal Code.

The accused howeverpleaded not guilty to thecharges.

Chief Magistrate MimiKatsina-Alu subsequentlygranted the accused bail in thesum of 50,000 each with asurety each in like sum.

She directed that the suretiesmust be civil servant residingwithin the jurisdiction of thecourt and adjourned the case toMay 29 for hearing. (NAN)

Two men in courtfor stealing

Lady, 24, charged with stealingAn accused, Hope Joseph,

24, on Wednesdayappeared before an

Abuja Magistrates’ Courtcharged with criminaltrespass and theft.

The police prosecutor, MrPhillip Akowgu, told the courtthat on May 12, one AndrewAjoge came to Asokoro Police

Station to report the case.He said the accused, who

claimed to be Ajoge’s girl-friend, came into his roomand stole his camera andDVD player valued at N69,000.

The prosecutor said theaccused disappeared andrefused to show up until she

was teased by telephone tocome to Asokoro Hospital ,Abuja and collect a messagefrom her uncle in the U.S.

He said the accused wascharged with criminaltrespass and theft whichcontravened Sections 348and 288 of the Penal Code.

The accused however

pleaded not guilty to thecharges.

Magistrate Musa Jobbogranted the accused bail inthe sum of 100,000, with asurety who must be a civi lservant residing within thejurisdiction of the court.

Jobbo adjourned the caseto May 24 for hearing. (NAN)


A woman proudly hawking yam yesterday in Utako District, Abuja.In Abuja, you don’t have to buy a newspaper. Vendors permit casual reading as this scene yesterdayat Area 3 Abuja shows

We all can do our part to keep Abuja clean.

A young mother backing a child with a load on her head, yesterday, at Lugbe, Abuja.


Minister charges pilgrims welfareboard on hitch-free pilgrimage

the FCT administration and thenation as a whole.

Commending the pastachievement of the NigeriaChristian Pilgrims Commission(NCPC), the minister pledge the commitment of the FCTadministration to continue tosupport the activities of theboard towards the spiritual well

being of residents.In a remark, the Chairman,

Board of Directors, FCT PilgrimWelfare Board, Rev. IsraelAkanji assured that in a bid toensure a successful pilgrimage,the board would embark on thenecessary preparatoryactivities.

According to him, “these

activities include among others,the pre-visit, state of readinessvisit, interview of air carriers,procurement of Visas, screeningand orientation of intendingpilgrims etc.”

He said the screeningexercise would present qualifiedpilgrims with genuineintentions and good health status

By Josephine Ella

The Minister of State for theFederal Capital Territory(FCT), Oloye Olajumoke

Akinjide, has charged the FCTChristian Pilgrims WelfareBoard to ensure a hitch-free2012 pilgrimage in the Holyland.

While declaring open a two-day stakeholders workshoporganised by the boardyesterday in Wuse Zone 5, sheexpressed that the workshopwould have a direct impact onthe successful implementationof this year’s pilgrimage.

“The Federal Government inits concerted efforts to changethe wrong perception of theinternational community hasconsidered Christian Pilgrimageas an important component offoreign policy and has therefore,frowned at such misconducts likeabsconding during the exercise.

“I therefore, charge you todeliberate thoroughly on waysto achieve a successivepilgrimage without a single caseof abscondment amongmembers,” she charged thestakeholders.

She further, reminded themto focus on the essence of thepilgrimage, which is to pray for

for participation in Holypilgrimage.

On his part, the ExecutiveSecretary, NCPC, KennedyOkpaka condemned the calls forthe Federal Government towithdraw sponsorship of theChristian and Muslim Holypilgrimage to Israel to SaudiArabia.

While emphasizing theessence of the exercise, he pointedout that if Nigerians are morallysound, it would go a long way tochange the Nigeria system,saying “the essence ofpilgrimage should not beundermined by the economy ofany country”.

Soldiers impounding banned Okada motorcycles yesterday at Area 1, Abuja. Photo : Justin Imo-owoThe Chief of Tudun Fulani,Dei- Dei in Abuja MunicipalArea Council (AMAC) of

the Federal Capital Territory,Malam MuhammaduGwandabe has crowned Mr.Mufu Tau Olalekan Lasisi as theOba of Tudun Fulani in the area.

Speaking at the occasion,Gwandabe urged the Oba ofTudun Fulani to carry theYoruba along irrespective oftheir religious and politicalaffiliations.

The traditional ruler saidthat his leadership wouldcontinue to maintain Cordialrelationship with all the tribalChiefs in the interest of peaceand security of the area.

On his part, the Oba ofYoruba in the FCT, Dr. OlusegunSalau called on Yoruba to co-operate with the newlyturbaned Oba of Tudun Fulanito move the Yoruba Communityto a greater height in the area,while urging the Yoruba tosupport government policies atall times.

Responding, the newlyturbaned Oba of Tudun Fulani,Dei -Dei, Mr. Mufu Tau AlalekanLasisi advised the Yoruba acrossthe country to be law- abidingcitizens, saying that he will nothesitate to fight for the unity ofthe Yoruba people.

By Usman Shuaibu

The needed reform ineducational sector canonly be achieved if the

teachers’ education isrevolutionalized, theproprietor of City College ofEducation Mararaba Gurku inNasarawa State, Evang.

School proprietor advocates for education reform educationBy Usman Shuaibu Gabriel Amu, has said.

Amu, stated this in aninterview with Peoples Daily,calling on the government ofthe day to re-establish theTeachers Training Colleges/Technical Colleges across thecountry to enable the studentsto have the area ofspecialization from the

tertiary education level beforegoing into the higherinstitutions.

According to him, let thegovernment of the day go backto the Teachers TrainingColleges again, the onlyweakness during the existenceof the Teachers TrainingColleges was that government

Tudun Fulanigets oba ofYoruba

was more concern withLiberal Arts than PrimarySciences, stressing the need forthe government to bring in thepure sciences/ social sciencesif the country must achievethe teachers’ education.

He lamented that if theteachers’ education isneglected there would be notransformation in educationalsector, noting that the teachers’education need not to be toyedwith.

The proprietor appealed tothe Federal Ministry ofEducation to consider theoperators of private schools andthe School Principals as theprimary stakeholders ineducational sector, emphasisingthat the authorities know whatis practically wrong witheducation at this present time.

Amu, however, advised theproprietors of private schools inNigeria to continue to providean enabling environment forthe Students to enhancelearning, noting that the schoolbusiness is a sacrificial venture.

The Administration ofAbuja Municipal AreaCouncil (AMAC), have

warned Abuja residents to shunthe habit of indiscriminatedumping of refuse in thecouncil.

The Council chairman, HonMicah Jiba, gave this warningyesterday during a massivecleaning exercise in FederalHousing Authority in Lugbe,Abuja.

AMAC warns Abuja residents againstindiscriminate refuse dumpingBy Adeola Tukuru Jiba explained that the

unhealthy state of anenvironment results tosicknesses, such as Lasser Feverand other diseases that aredangerous to human life.

He said that the beauty ofany city comes from its cleanliness,saying there is need for residentsof the council to see cleanlinessas their watch word in order tolive a long and healthy life.

In his words: “We have to giveserious attention to cleaning ourenvironment on daily basis. we

should not see as a monthlyexercise, because that will nothelp us,” he said.

He appealed to the FederalCapital Territory Administration,FCTA, to provide more dumpingsites in the council, so thatresidents will have particularareas for dumping of refuses.

He further assured that thecouncil will set up a task forcecommittee and also a mobilecourt to prosecute any residentcaught dumping refuseindiscriminately.


Management Tip of the DayKeep Gen-Xers engaged

chameleons. Gen-Xers like tocontinually learn. Rotatepromising employees throughdifferent functions on a regularschedule. This will keep things freshand prep them for leadership rolesthat require broad experience.

Bring them out of theshadows. Put Xers in charge ofhigh-visibility projects to spotlight

their abilities, or partner them withBaby Boomers who can enhancetheir careers.

Test their wings. Many Xershave an entrepreneurial spirit.Foster this interest by letting themtake responsibility for a company-sponsored venture.Source: Harvard BusinessReview

INSIDE

Generation X may be asmaller population thanBaby Boomers or

Millennials, but it wields greatinfluence in today’s organizations.People in this generation are the all-important bench strength for agingleadership. To keep them around,here’s how to keep them engaged.

Develop corporate

BUYING SELLING

CFA 0.2839 0.3039• 197.0569 198.3307£ 246.6537 248.2481RIYAL 41.2489 41.5156$ 154.7 155.7

CBN 16th May, 2012

EXCHANGE RATES

PARALLEL RATES BUYING SELLING

• 210 212£ 250 252RIYAL 40 42$ 156 158

NACCIMA asks FGto legalize illegal

refineries in Nigeria

- Pg 20

Email: [email protected] Mob: 08033644990

BBBBBUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESS

Flight schedule

LOS-ABJ: 07.15, 11.40, 14.00,16.30, 17.00, 17.20, 18.30

ABJ-LOS: 07.00, 09.30, 10.30,11.15, 16.15, 19.15, 19.35

ABJ-KANO: 18.40

KANO-ABJ: 08.35

ABJ-SOK (MON): 09.35

SOK-ABJ (MON): 11.35

LOS-ABJ: 06.50, 13.30, 19.45

ABU-LOS: 07.30, 13.00, 14.00, 19.00

LOS-ABJ: 07.02, 08.10, 12.06,15.30, 17.10

ABJ-LOS: 07.20, 09.36, 13.05, 14.40

LOS-ABJ: 9.45, 11.45, 2.45

IRS AIRLINES

AIR NIGERIA (MONDAY - SUNDAY)

DANA AIRLINES (MON - SUN)

AEROCONTRACTORS (MON - SUN)

ABJ-SOK (FRI): 10.10

ABJ-SOK (WED/SUN): 11.20

SOK-ABJ (FRI): 12.00

SOK-ABJ (WED/SUN): 13.20

LOS-ABJ (SUN): 12.30

LOS-ABJ (SAT): 16.45

ABU-LOS (SUN): 10.30, 14.30, 19.30

ABU-LOS (SAT): 18.30

ABJ-LOS (SAT/SUN): 13.05, 18.00

LOS-KANO: 08.10

KANO-LOS: 11.25KANO-ABUJA: 11.25

ABUJA-KANO: 10.08

ABJ-LOS: 11.30, 3.45, 4.45

LOS-KANO: 6.15LOS-KANO (SAT/SUN): 16.30KANO-LOS: 07.30KANO-LOS (SUN/SUN): 10.30

N88.4bn PHCN gas debt cripplespower supply, says Minister

Science in Abuja.The PHCN owes Agip N60

billion, Shell N12.14 billion,Nigerian Gas Company (NGC)N10 billion, NIPP N6 billion andIbom Power N300 million.

The minister said that witha new tariff coming into force onJune 1, the PHCN should be ableto pay for gas and power suppliespromptly.

He said that NNPC was owedN110 billion by various

The Power HoldingCompany of Nigeria(PHCN) is in N88.44

billion debt, which is cripplingpower supply in the country, astatement by the SpecialAdviser on Media to the Ministerof Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, CdonAdinuba said yesterday.

According to the statement,the minister made the disclosureat a public lecture organised bythe Nigerian Academy of

customers, includinggovernments and their agencies,which accounted for 20 per centof the debts.

He attributed the cause of theongoing power crisis to non-availability of gas.

The minister said that the gasissues arose principally frompoor coordination among theministry of power, the ministryof petroleum resources and theagencies under them.

At the invitation of thePresident of the UnitedStates, Barack Obama,

the President of the AfricanDevelopment Bank, DonaldKaberuka will be attending theGroup of Eight (G8) meeting atCamp David in FrederickCounty, Maryland in the

United States of America on 18and 19 May.

The discussions will centreon the subject of food securityin Africa and will also showhow Africa’s voice is beingheard at the highest level.

Donald Kaberuka will alsobe attending a special luncheonat the White House during histime in the United States.

AfDB president, DonaldKaberuka, invited to 38th G8summit by President ObamaBy Aminu Imam

Nigeria’s cement production now 28 milliontonnes –ManufacturersFrom Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

GMD/CEO, UBA Plc, Mr. Phillips Oduoza, (2nd right), welcoming Managing Director, Travelex, UK, Mr.Peter Jackson (2nd left), yesterday to UBA House Marina, in Lagos. With them are Group Treasurer,UBA Plc, Funso Olusanya (left), and Vice-Chairman, Travelex Nigeria, Chief Godson Evulukwu(right).

The Chairman, theCement ManufacturersAssociation of Nigeria

(CMAN) Joseph Makoju sayscement production in Nigeriahas increased tremendouslyfrom 3 million metric tonnesin 2006 to 28 million metrictonnes at the moment.

Makoju said this at theNational Conference on:“Cement Based Option forSustainable RoadConstruction” organised by

CMAN in conjunctionwith BusinessDay Newspaper.

He however lamented thatthat Nigeria still has poorquality roads, explaining thatless than 0.1 percent of roadsin Nigeria are cement based,compared to 40% in developedcountries.

He however assured ofavailability of cement to caterfor the new approach to roadconstruction.

In his remarks, theManaging Director of LafargeLimited, Mr. Joe Hudson notedthat with the recent

developments in the industry,Nigeria will soon be secondlargest producer of cementwhen production hits over 48million metric tons per year.

He urged the FederalGovernment to act quickly andensure constant power supplyas well as ensure an efficientand effective rail system toconvey produce to the marketsaying the stock, quality andquantity of our roadsinfrastructure are majorstimulant for economic growthjust as the lack of it hinderssustainable growth andpoverty reduction.

The nation’s foreignexchange reserves rose totheir highest in 21-

months to $37.02 billion byMay 14, from $36.66 billion atthe end of last month, the latestfigures from the central bankshowed on Wednesday.

Forex reserves in Africa’sbiggest crude exporter stood at$33.94 billion a year ago. Thelast time the reserves were atthis level was in August 2010.

Nigeria’sforeignreserves rise to$37.02 bn -CBN

CBN to sellN126 bn intreasury bills

The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) yesterday said itplans to auction 126.33

billion naira ($800.19 million) intreasury bills ranging from 3-month to 1-year maturities at itsregular monthly debt auction onMay 23,.

The bank said it would issue30.65 billion naira in 91-daypaper, 45 billion naira in 182-daybills and 50 billion in 364-daybills next week Wednesday.

Nigeria, Africa’s second biggesteconomy after South Africa, issuestreasury bills regularly to reducemoney supply, curb inflation andhelp lenders manage theirliquidity. (Reuters)

Naira falls to 2-month low ondollar demand

The Naira currency fell toits lowest level in twomonths against the U.S

dollar on the interbankmarket on Wednesday, onstrong dollar demand frominvestors repatriating theirdividends abroad, traderssaid.

The naira closed at 158.90to the dollar on the interbankmarket, the lowest since themiddle of February,compared with the 158.03naira it closed at on Tuesday.

“The market was hit bylarge demand for the dollarwith which it could not copewith due to lack of dollar flow,putting pressure on thenaira,” one dealer said.


Signal Alliancerepositions forvisibility

Due largely for more marketvisibility and also inresponse to complaints by

its esteemed customers, SignalAlliance, an IT multi-disciplineservice company, has moved itsoperational base and nowoperates at the massive UBAHouse on Lagos Island.

TIC, Bauchi govtpartner on youthempowerment

The Technology IncubationCentre (TIC) said it willcontinue its partnership

with the Bauchi StateGovernment on youthempowerment.

Edozien tasksgovernors onrevenuediversification

Worried by the states’overdependence on theoil proceed from

Federal Government forinfrastructural development,the Asagba of Asaba, Prof.Chike Edozien, has advisedgovernors to devise a means ofdiversifying their economies.

Nigeria, Iraq liftOPEC oil output inApril

Notwithstanding the theftand sabotage that haveaffected the nation’s oil

export in recent times, Nigeriastill ranked high among thenations that lifted the crudeoutput of the Organisation ofPetroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) in April.

Dangote targets33m tonnes ofcement by 2015

Nigeria’s business mogul,Aliko Dangote onTuesday in Abidjan said

he was targeting the production of 33 million tonnesof cement by 2015, with a largeshare going to West Africancountries.

Indigenousfirms urged toutilise localcontent law

Indegenous companies in thecountry have been urged totake advantage of the oil

and gas industry’s LocalContent legislation and investin the sector.

COMPANYNEWS

Sub-standard goods: Nigeria, China trade pact fails againrelations between the twocountries failed, as efforts to signthe agreement to ensure thatonly quality products areimported into Nigeria fromChina was not totallyachieved.

The Nigeriadelegation had severalmeetings with Mr.Wang Xin –Director-Generalof theAdministrationof QualityS u p e r v i s i o n ,Inspection &Quarantine (AQSIQ)of the People’s RepublicOf China leading the otherside.

The meeting was marked byinitial optimism on both sides,given some of the conclusionsreached. These included: thatproducts which do not meet thestandards for export qualities areidentified and their furtherexports stopped; if themanufacturers are found tohave violated the law they wouldbe punished according to thelaws of China.

Part of the early concessionincluded that the Chinesegovernment would not charge

any fees for its pre-inspectionservices, and that all productsexported to Nigeria should

comply with the Chinesestandards and the NIS

standards, and thatshould products

arrive Nigeriaand are

f o u n dt o

b ewithoutC I Qcert i f i catesand are sub-standard, then theimporters should betreated according to thelaws ofNigeria.

There were however othercontentious issues which led tothe duo parting ways withoutsigning any agreements.

First was the issue of countryof sales, through which theNigerian team, represented bya delegation from SON,demanded that products not fitto be sold in China should notimported into Nigeria.

The Nigerian delegation alsorequested that products foundwanting on arrival in Nigeria bequarantined, investigated byboth parties and if foundwanting, repatriated to thecountry of origin; and alsorejection of the demand byChina to charge 1.5 per cent forevery one thousand product destined for Nigeria.

The draft agreement, whichhas been on the drawing board,was to be finalised to ensure thatit stands the test of time and

Nigeria, over the years has beenlabelled a dumping ground forsub-standard products comingfrom the Asianc o u n t r y , C h i n a ; A y o d e l eSamuel writes on how recentmoves to harmonise standardquality between both countriesfailed.

The draft ‘Co-operativeagreement onsurveillance of Chinese

products’ exported to the Nigeriawas first drafted eight years ago;since then, it had undergoneseveral amendments and was onthe verge of being signed at acertain point before beingaborted.

The agreement, meant tocurb the influx of sub-standardproducts, largely from the Asianregion into Nigeria, was recentlyrevived by the Director-Generalof the Standards Organisation ofNigeria (SON), Dr JosephOdumodu when he led a highprofile delegates to Beijing to putan end to sub-standard productscoming from the country toNigeria.

The Nigeria-China dialoguemeeting, meant to reachmutually beneficial trade

benefit both parties.SON and ASQIC, which

represent both regulatory bodiessat for hours and days workingon the agreement in ordertofinalise it.

The Director-General of theSON, in his opening at themeeting, had said that the issuesof products quality andstandards are serious such thatboth countries should be willingto dispassionately discuss and

make concessions wherenecessary.

He said the issue ofs u b s t a n d a r dproducts from China

has come a long wayand would no longer be

swept under the carpet.According to Odumodu,

the dumping of sub-standardproducts in Nigeria has

resulted to loss of life, economichardship, and environmentaldegradation, and that it shouldbe stopped.

He further emphasised ateach time such products arrivedNigeria and is quarantined, it isthe hard-earned money ofNigeria that goes under thedrain, while the Chinesemanufacturer benefits and saidcurrently, the trade is lopsidedbecause the China governmentdoes not suffer any losses.

The Chinese governmentdelegation had earlier welcomedthe Nigerian delegation sayinghe hoped that the visit wouldlead to the signing of theagreement.

He said China was aware ofNigeria’s concern about sub-standard goods being exportedinto the Nigerian market, andthe perception that the productscome from China, therebyhaving a negative image forChina.

He said the Chinesegovernment was committed toworking with Nigeria toreducing the problem, but theway the meeting ended tends topoint otherwise.

The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce,Industry, Mines and

Agriculture (NACCIMA) has calledon the Federal Government toissue licensee of operation toillegal refineries in the country tobecome legal instead ofdestroying them.

NACCIMA National President,Dr. Ademola Ajayi speaking at a press conference on the stateof the economy in Lagos, said that legalizing illegal refinerieswould boost local supply capacityof petroleum products, reduceprices and create jobs.

”NACCIMA believes if theseillegal refineries are made legaland is effectively done, it wouldboost local supply capacity ofpetroleum products, create jobsand invariably may also reduceprices when competition fullytakes its course.

“We have watched with dismaythe continuous destruction ofsmall refineries classified byGovernment as illegal in thecountry. We believe that theaction of Government/Ministry ofPetroleum Resource is not thebest given the current problemconfronting the country in thepetroleum sector; as it wouldfurther compound the sector’ssupply chain of petroleumproducts. To ensure strictcompliance and standards with thelaid down criteria by the operatorsof the small (but now legal)refineries, there is need for theDepartment of Petroleum Resource(DPR) to assume effectivesupervisory role,” he said.

NACCIMA also called on theCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) andSecurity and Exchange Commission(SEC) to establish an UnclaimedDividend Trust Fund as a means to addressing the problem ofunclaimed dividends which

presently estimated at N52.2billion.

”Unclaimed dividends in theNigerian capital market now standsat N52.2 billion as at December 31,2011. We are worried that therising wave of unclaimed dividendsin the nation’s capital market maybecome another thorny issue thatseems to have defied all solutionsdespite the aggressive drive bythe regulators to ensure thatdividends payout by companiesare received by investorspromptly.

“The establishment of anUnclaimed Dividend Trust Fundwith appropriate legal law to curethe present defects by making itpossible for shareholders torecover their dividends howeverlong this may take. This will makeit mandatory for companies tohand over unclaimed dividends toSEC for onward transfer into theFund,” said NACCIMA President, Dr.Ademola Ajayi.

NACCIMA asks FG to legalizeillegal refineries in NigeriaFrom Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

Traders urge SON to intensifyfight against sub-standardproducts

The Chairman, Marinemodern market, Onitsha,Mr. Vincent Ifeme has

urged the StandardsOrganisation of Nigeria (SON) tore-double its efforts incheckmating the influx of sub-standard products.

Ifemetold the News Agency ofNigeria (NAN) in Onitsha,Anambra, on Tuesday that a lotof sub-standard products stillflooded most markets in thecountry.

He said that the issue of sub-standard products was makingbuyers lose confidence in mostgoods and denied importers ofquality goods the opportunity tosell their products at the rightprices.

Ifeme said: “It has come to atime that holistic and drasticaction is taken against sub-standard products and theirimporters and manufacturers.

“SON must re-double itsefforts and find a way ofinvolving Nigerians in the fightagainst sub-standard productsjust like the degree of successrecorded by NAFDAC in the fightagainst fake and sub-standarddrugs, cosmetics and foodproducts.’’

On payment for stall anddevelopment levies by traders,Ifeme said most traders in theMarine Market had compliedwith the payment.

“Our market records thehighest compliance followingseries of sensitisation we gave toour members on the need to payit and not to defer payment,’’ hesaid.

The chairman, however,urged the government to

provide the market with a newand bigger transformer thatcould carry all the electricalappliances in the market.

“We are sincerely grateful toGov. Peter Obi for providing uswith water as well as tarring themajor road to the market.

“Marine market and othermarkets in the state have notreceived such attention untilthe inception of Obi’sadministration,’’ he added.(NAN)


Unilever Nigeria, David Okeme,also noted that “At Unilever, wecontinuously improve on ourbrands because we always wantto provide our consumers withproducts that help get the best outof life.”

“With the new Knorrseasoning powder, women nowhave a brilliant opportunity toenjoy the consistent superiorKnorr quality, as well as the besttaste from their cooking,” headded.

Before the formal unveiling ofthe exciting new product, acrowd of over one thousand peoplejoined Unilever, Knorr andvarious Nollywood andentertainment celebrities toembark on a 2km ‘Green Walk’for Natural Taste Celebrities thatparticipated in the fun dayinclude actresses Omoni Oboliand Ufuonma Ejebenor as well ascomedians and on-air radiopersonalities, Yaw and Manny.

In a bid to effectively remainahead in the entire marketsegment it operates, Unilever

Nigeria Plc has added a powderseasoning to its Knorr range ofseasoning; the premium culinarybrand from the stable tagged:‘New Knorr Seasoning’ for stewsand another for soups.

At the launching, at the PoliceCollege ground in Lagos,Managing Director/ChiefExecutive Officer of UnileverNigeria, Mr. Mabe Thabo said, “We are unveiling Knorr in adifferent way, we are unveilingKnorr based on the strategicagenda of creating better lifeevery day, every year. We dothis with our brand when we takea ‘Green walk’, we call it the‘Green walk’, because Knorrbrings all the tasty ingredientswhich are more favourablygiven.

“What we are launching isabout driving health and mostimportant we are makingconsumers life easier. Cooking hasnot been easier. Knorr has madecooking easier. Now you can enjoycooking. We are now making lifeeasier for everybody. We arebringing health credential as acorner stone of our brand.

Thabo said the product is madewith all the natural ingredientsof garlic, paisley all the naturalingredients piped together in theform of a small powder in makinglife easier; instead of buyingdifferent flavours we havepepped them into one. We havedecided to use a strong aroma inresponse to consumers’ agitationfor more. Today we have twovariants of stew and soup and weare unveiling a new one verysome, which will also be focusingon food, it is a passion for what wemake.

Brand Building Director for

From Suleiman Idris, Lagos

TV presenter, Andre Blaze (left), Nollywood actresses, Lola Alao, Ufuoma Ejenubor, Florence Onuma,Omoni Oboli and radio presenter, Yaw with the Brand Building Director, Unilever Nig Plc, Mr. DavidOkeme during the launch of the new Knorr Seasoning Powder recently.

Unilever pops out newKnorr seasoning

Against all odds, Unity BankPlc defied the currentsecurity threat ravaging

the northern part of Nigeria toberth it new consumer promotiontagged: ‘Aim, Save and Win’promo to the people of Bauchi statethrough a massive road show andmarket activation.

The show marked the firstconsumer promotion laced withbrand activation carried out byany brand in the home state ofNigeria foremost Prime Minister,Tafawa Balewa in a long while.

The jubilant resident could nothide their joy, having had tocontend with security challengesand measures put in place tocurtail their movement, and theyexpressed their gratitude to UnityBank Plc for coming to lift theirspirit.

A trader in Muda Lawalmarket, Adamu Mohammed Torotold the mammoth crowd that heheard the music and thought itwas from the state government,and that on knowing that it was

the ‘Aim, Save and Win’ Promofrom the Unity Bank Plc, he wasso glad that a bank has come toentertain them among their tightmarket performance.

Speaking at theenlightenment campaign, UnityBank’s North-East Zonal Director,Alhaji Usman Abaji, assured thepublic that the promo has beendesigned to be very transparentand that the whole idea behindthe ‘Aim, Save and Win’ promo isto reward the bank’s new andalready

existing customers for theirsteadfast patronage and also toencourage savings cultureamongst Nigerians.

The Unity Bank’s Aim, Save& Win promo activation train hasbeen to Abuja, Lagos PortHarcourt and the train will bemoving to Kano city at a later dateyet to be announced. The firstzonal draw will take place laterthis month simultaneously in theentire geo-political zoneearmarked for the campaign.

Unity Bank defies securitythreat in Bauchi for new promo

Dufil Group hits market withPower Pasta spaghettiMaker of leading Indomie

Noodles and othersbrands, Dufil Prima

Foods Plc has again hit the pastasegment of the market with anew brand named Power PastaSpaghetti.

Having gotten approval fromthe National Food DrugsAdministration and Control(NAFDAC) and duly certified bythe Standards Organisation ofNigeria (SON), the companysaid Power Pasta is producedunder world-classmanufacturing conditions at itsfactory is located in the Chobasuburb of Port Harcourt inRivers state.

At the presentation of the newproduct in Lagos, GeneralManger of the Pasta Division,Pure Flour Mills Limited, Mr.

Karan Checker disclosed thatPower Pasta is set to upstageother similar products andchallenge for consumers minds’share and market share in thecompetitive pasta market.

He affirmed that the newspaghetti is set to change thegame in the pasta segment of theNigerian food sector, bychanging the perception aboutpasta being a supplement oralternative meal and launchingit into culinary menu lists as astaple and regular meal inNigeria.

Managing Director /ChiefExecutive Officer Dufil PrimaFoods Plc, Mr.

Deepak Singhal, describedthe launch of the Power Pastaspaghetti by its subsidiary, PureFlour Mills Limited as another

remarkable milestone in thehistory of the company, whichis regarded as a leader in theNigerian food sector.

According to him, thecompany has invested severalmillions of Naira into theproduction of the new product,by installing the best state-of-the-arts plant that is equippedwith an ultra-modern and fullyautomated production process,to ensure best quality product forits esteemed consumers.

On the unique qualities thenew Power Pasta Spaghetti isbringing into the competitivemarket, he said, “With all senseof modesty, we make bold to saythat Power Pasta Spaghetti isNigeria’s finest pasta brandmade from quality Americanwheat, providing energy with adistinct great taste and a wholenew unique experience for theconsumers”.

Music fans around Africamust be thrilled to get theopportunity and

authority to decide on theirfavourite music videos after thelaunch of Channel O’s new virtualinteractive music video war showthis month.

VideoWars is a first-of-its-kindexperience, where viewers use asynchronised VideoWars Facebookapplication and mobile site todecide which music video playsnext while interacting with otherviewers on-air as well as on-line.

At any time, four music videosfrom around the world will gohead-to-head in an all-out war fortelevision domination, vying forthe votes of Channel O viewers, tosee which one is going to dominatelive on their television screens.This means fans will be able to vote

for the video that they want to seerule on Channel O via socialnetworks and SMS.

“With VideoWars, Channel Ois giving its viewers and musiclovers the chance to view theirfavourite music videos andmusicians battle it out with themat the controls. We are delightedto be pioneering this technologicalinnovation for our music and wewill continue to give our viewersthe latest and best of OriginalAfrican music,” says Channel OAfrica Manager, Leslie Kasumba.

The show advances the

concept of social TV, by selectingand displaying the names andprofile pictures of viewers whosupported the winning video andby hosting a live audience chatchannel which combinesFacebook, Twitter and SMSinteraction on-air as well as onFacebook.

African music fans get excitingnew innovation on DStv’sChannel OFrom Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

Golden Pasta and GoldenNoodles Nigeria Ltdrecently hosted it’s 2012

edition of their annual customerforum with thetagged ‘The FoodBasket’ at theprestigious LadiKwali Hall, SheratonHotel & Towers,Abuja withcustomers cartinghome loads of cashand cars.

The forumbought together,company officialsand her variousdistributors all over Nigeria, whowere in their hundreds, seemedvery excited as they expressedtheir joy and enthusiasm at theconvergence.

In his remark, GM/Director

Golden Pasta Yiannis Katsichtisindicated that the company waswilling to further strengthen itspartnership with the distributorstowards achieving the vision ofthe company, which is providing

Nigeria and the WestAfrican hub a completefood

basket that meetsall the needs of afamily, from breakfastto dinner includinghealthy snacks.

Golden Pasta, adivision of Flour Mills ofNigeria Plc is the leadingproducer of pasta inNigeria, with various

pasta types such as spaghetti andmacaroni while Golden NoodlesNigeria Lt, a subsidiary companyproduces the fast growing GoldenPenny Noodles, which has severalvariants including; chicken,onion, beef and seafood.

Golden Penny Pasta, Noodlesreward dealers


ECOWAS inter-regional trade low– UNIDO

The United NationsIndustrial DevelopmentOrganisation (UNIDO) has

lamented that inter-regionaltrade between the EconomicCommunity of West Africanstates (ECOWAS) sub-regionremains very low at 10 per cent,compared to trade among theEuropean Union countries .

UNIDO CountryRepresentative in Nigeria,Patrick Kormawa said this at themeeting of the Regional SteeringCommittee of the West AfricaQuality Programme (WAQP)-transition phase.

He said that inter-regionaltrade within North Americastands at 30 per cent, Asia 40 to50 per cent while Latin Americastands at 30 per cent.

He said: “This means that weneed more work to ensure thatwe promote trade within our sub-region and quality standardmetrology certification and therest of the issue that thisprograme deals with are theprerequisite to promote suchtrade.

“Trade is a very importantaspect in the economicdevelopment and we cannottrade in this sub-region if we arenot able to bring our products toquality and standard that arerequired on the internationalmarket and even also here in the

DN Meyer hosts 2012 dealers’ forum

DN Meyer Plc,manufacturers of topquality paint in Nigeria

, hosted its customers across thecountry to its annual DealersForum in Lagos recently.

The highly interactivesession, which witnessed a largeturnout provided both DNMeyer and its customers anopportunity for honest feedbackand discussions on ways toimprove their already great


L-R: High Chief, Francis Eshiebor, discussing with the Vice-Chairman LONA Global Resources, Hon.Salisu Ibrahim Mohammed, during Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Outdoor Advertising Associationof Nigeria (OAAN), recently at Lagos.

business relationship.The goodwill message of the

Chairman of the company, SirRemi Omotoso, which wasdelivered by the MD/CEO, Mr.Adeola Omosebi, said that the“forum was an opportunity forus as a company to intimate thedealers with the progress wehave made so far, the currentpolicies of the company, thefocus of the company this yearand the outcome of the variousresearches being carried out bythe company with respect tonew products”.

The Chairman, Strategy,Finance and General PurposeCommittee of the Board of DNMeyer Plc, Prof. Wale Omole, inhis opening speech said, “As acompany, we are totallycommitted and now poised morethan before to meet theyearning and aspirations of ourstakeholders especially ourcustomers. This is the basis forthis forum, so that we canbrainstorm and cross-fertilizeideas on how to grow. “

He further reassured thedealers of the high qualitystandard of the products of DNMeyer. He said, “This year, weare more than configured tomanufacture products of highquality. For the record, four of

our products were recentlyawarded the prestigious NISQuality Awards of Excellence(Gold Category) by theStandard Organization ofNigeria (SON) for consistentlyconforming to the requirementsof the NIS.”

Prof. Omole also revealedthat the company hascontinued to carry out variousresearch with respect to newproduct development“outcomes of this effort is thebirth of a new product called“Gladiator”, which is about to beintroduced to the market.Similarly, one of the existingproducts –BENIP –‘BeautifyNigeria Paint’, which is anEconomic Value Paint, has beenrepackaged to support people’sderive towards affordability/maintenance of new and existingprojects.”

Speaking at the forum, theManaging Director/CEO of DNMeyer Plc, Mr. Adeola Omosebi,disclosed that, the company wasmoving from being customerfocused to being customer led.According to him, “We are nothere just to meet needs and exceedour customers’ expectation but todelight. We will respond to ourcustomer’s needs and deliverquality service”.

regional market.”Also the Representative of the

European Union, Mr. ManuelIglesias said that regionalintegration is not happening inreality in West Africa, addingthat the programme will help inthe integration process andimprove trade within the sub-region as well the nationaleconomies.

The WAQP is a capacitybuilding programme executed byUNIDO on behalf of the ECOWASCommission and the UEMOACommission, funded by the EUto provide support to


Sterling Bank Plc on Tuesday announced a profit after taxof N4.6 billion for its

financial year ended Dec. 31,2011.

Its Managing Director, MrYemi Adeola, disclosed this atthe 50th Annual GeneralMeeting of the bank in Lagos.

He said that the figurewas against the N4.2 billionrecorded in 2010.

Adeola said that the grossearnings of the bank rose by 49per cent to N45.2 billion in 2011from N30.4 billion in the 2010.

According to him, theoperating income rose by 32 percent from N20.4 billion in 2010to N27 billion in 2011.

Adeola said that the totalassets of the bank grew by 89 percent to N583.1 billion in 2011

from N308.5 billion in 2010. The bank’s deposits rose to

N406.5 billion from N199.3billion in 2010.

The Managing Directorassured stakeholders that thebank would improve on corporatebanking so that its operationcould grow from strength tostrength.

He said that thedetermination and passion ofthe management as well as thecontributions of the shareholdersimpacted positively to theperformance of the bank.

The National Chairman,Independent ShareholdersAssociation of Nigeria, Sir SunnyNwosu stated that there ispresently need for the bank toinvolve young brains to bringinnovations into the bank orderthan being dominated by oldones.

competitiveness andharmonisation of TechnicalBarriers to Trade and Sanitaryin West Africa.

The specific objectives of theprogramme is to create anenvironment that facilitatescompliance with internationaltrade rules and technicalregulations through theestablishment and strengtheningof national and regional qualityinfrastructure that provideeffective standardisation,conformity assessment andaccreditation that meetsinternational standards.

Sterling Bank postsN4.6bn profit after tax From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

statement from StandardBank, a unit of Johannesburg-based Standard Bank Group Ltd.

The loan is repaid andsecured by “remittance flows”generated by Skye Bankthrough Western UnionCo. and is the first suchtransaction on a public basisin Nigeria, Standard said.

Officials of Skye Bankweren’t immediately availablefor comments when Bloombergcalled their office in Lagos.(Bloomberg)

Skye Bank Plc, rose for thetime in six days aftersigning a loan agreement

with three foreign banks.The stock rose 4.5 percent to

N3.50 by the close in Lagos, thecommercial capital, its firstadvance since May 4.

The bank signed a $150million five-year term-loanfacility with African Export-Import Bank, Citigroup Inc. andStandard Bank Plc, who are themandated lead arrangers andbookrunners, according to a

Globacom has recently setnew standards indealership recognition

when it presented spectacularprizes including 10 top of therange Special Utility Vehicles(SUVs), special crystaltrophies, 43 utility vans,several million naira creditnotes and Samsung GalaxyNotes to its 124 top performingbusiness associates at a grandevent held in Lagos.

The business associateswere rewarded for theiroutstanding performance andexcellence in distributing andselling Glo’s products across thecountry.

Top among the associateshonoured at the event was Easyand Quiet Ltd., who emergedas the best performing Globusiness associate nationwideand was rewarded with thelatest model of Range RoverSport HSE, a Hyundai utilityvan, one million naira creditnote, Samsung Galaxy Notesand a special crystal trophy,courtesy of Globacom’sChairman, Dr. Mike AdenugaJnr.

Don P Communications andSozabat Nig. Ltd were thesecond and third bestperforming business associatesnationwide respectively and

were rewarded with the latestToyota Land Cruiser VX.R V8,Hyundai utility vans, severalmillion naira credit notes,Samsung Galaxy Notes andspecial crystal trophies.

Seven other highperforming dealers emerged asthe fourth, up to the tenth bestperforming Glo businessassociates nationwide and wereeach rewarded with a ToyotaLand Cruiser Prado and otherprizes. The entire top 10 formedthe first category of winnerswho were rated as bestperformers nationwide in termsof revenue.

Glo rewards top dealerswith 10 SUVs, other prizes

Skye Bank rises first dayin six on loan deal

PAGE 25PEOPLES DAILY, THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012

NIGERIA: Where is the moneyto help poisoned children?Aid organizations and

rights groups are puttingmore pressure on the

Nigerian government torelease a promised US$5.4million in aid for lead-poisonedchildren, but governmentofficials keep ducking the issue.

Last week , Nigerian andinternational specialists, aidworkers, scientists, officials ofZamfara state government andlocal cultural leaders gatheredat an international conferencein the capital, Abuja, to mapout a collective plan to clean uppoisoned sites, test and treataffected residents - mostlychildren - and put in place safermining practices.

Over 400 children have diedand an estimated 10 times thatnumber have beencontaminated by acute leadpoisoning in the state ofZamfara since 2010, wheninternational health NGOMédecins Sans Frontières (MSF)learned of what its Nigeria head,Ivan Gayton, referred to as “oneof the worst, if not the worst,lead-poisoning crises ever.”

In November 2011 thefederal governmentcommitted US$5.4 million tohelp the poisoned children, butnone of this money has beenreleased, and the delay has notbeen explained, said MSF.

“Without delay, the $850million naira from theecological fund must be releasedin order to begin theenvironmental remediation[cleaning] and the safer miningprogramme in Zamfara State,”Gayton said at the close of theconference.

Thousands of children inZamfara go untreated whiletheir villages awaitremediation, excluding themfrom chelation [removing leadfrom the body] while they arecontinuously re-poisoned.

Lead poisoning is caused byartisanal mining practices inthe gold-rich but otherwiselargely impoverished Zamfararegion, when independentminers use crude hand toolscontaining lead to extract goldfrom crushed ore in theirvillages.

The toxic dustcontaminates soil, water, foodand homes. Children under fiveyears of age are especiallyvulnerable to poisoning, as theirbodies weigh much less andabsorb far greater amounts oflead from the environmentthan adults. Lead-contaminated dust is also morelikely to be ingested by childrenas they crawl on the groundand put dusty hands in theirmouths, while their vital

organs and cognitive abilitiesare still forming.

Zamfara’s lead crisis came toa head in 2010, whenskyrocketing international goldprices (1 ounce of gold is valuedat approximately $1,600)prompted scores of residents toturn to artisanal mining.

“The state government isdoing all it can with its limitedresources,” said MouktarLugga, EnvironmentCommissioner for ZamfaraState. The state has beenworking with US-basedenvironmental engineeringfirm Terragraphics to cleanseven of the affected villages,while Geneva-based MSF hastreated over 2,500 childrenunder five.

Yet no federal minister ofmining, the environment, orhealth attended the conference,and no concrete action by thefederal government wasannounced.

“By not participating in theconference, the federal

government sent a messagethat the political commitmentto resolve this really isn’tthere,” said Jane Cohen, anenvironmental healthresearcher with Human RightsWatch. “It’s not just about asymbolic message, it’s aboutwhether or not the resources arethere to now take action and,unfortunately, they’re just

not.”Professor Abdulsalami

Nasidi, Project Director of theNigeria Centre for DiseaseControl, spoke on behalf of thegovernment during theconference’s closing remarks,and stressed that Nigeria’s high-level officials are engaged withthe needs of Zamfara. “Thefederal government is

regarding this problem notonly as an emergency, but achemical warfare declared onNigerian children,” he said.

On behalf of the ministers,he pledged to follow up on theissue, which Cohen says is alegal responsibility. “Thegovernment is obligated underinternational law to protect therights of these people, andthey’re really failing in thisduty,” she said.

Fending for themselvesThe village of Bagega is

widely considered to be thelargest and mostcontaminated region inZamfara, with some 1,500poisoned children requiringtreatment. Minimalremediation has begun, butthe scale of the village’stoxicity demands moreresources than are currentlyavailable.

After a visit there, Cohensaid that messaging aboutsafety practices from NGOsand the state government arebeginning to have an impacton local residents. Sheencountered one family whohad cleansed their own homeof lead by replacingcontaminated soil and mudwith clean materials, withoutexternal resources orexpertise. “They’ve given upon their government,” Cohentold IRIN.

However, if theremediation is not thorough,families remain at risk. “A lotof the bricks in people’s homesin Bagega were made ofcontaminated mud,” she said.“Even though that family tookout six inches of soil andreplaced it with clean soil, theirwalls are still dangerous.”

Despite the standstill inreleasing federal funds,delegates to themultidisciplinary conferenceannounced an action plan forZamfara, including creating astate-level rapid responseteam, a plan to include localcommunities in policydevelopment, and a push forsafer artisanal miningtechnologies.

But this must not excuse thegovernment from fulfilling itsresponsibility, Gayton said.“This 850 million naira wouldbe an amazing first step toaddressing the problems inZamfara state.” (IRIN)

An artisanal miner crushes stones to extract gold

Fringe teaching: The classes were taught to military officers by a rogue instructor Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia.

Water sources, like this well, have been contaminated by the lead.

“Over 400 children have diedand an estimated 10 times

that number have beencontaminated by acute lead

poisoning in the state ofZamfara since 2010

Going for gold?


EMERGENCY UPDATEYouth corps member gets NEMA scholarship

The Director-General,National EmergencyManagement Agency

(NEMA), Muhammad Sani-Sidi,has offered an automaticscholarship award to a youth,corps member, Abubakar Jimohfor an outstanding campaign ondisaster risk reduction (DRR) inNigeria during the service year.

Sani-Sidi, according to astatement by the agency”s headof press and public relations,Yushau A. Shuaib, presented theaward at the end of a quizcompetition for secondary schoolsstudents in Abuja, and describesthe prize as “deserving”, sayinghe was particularly impressedJimoh’s over 25 feature publishedarticles in the media, as well aspublication of a booklet ondisasters management.

The NEMA boss said: “I amoverwhelmed and impressed bythe contributions of youth corpsmembers on nationaldevelopment and particularlyencouraged by the contributionsof Abu Jimoh through his writingsand advocacies, that I find itnecessary to offer him a cashdonation to pursue a postgraduateprogrammes in DisasterManagement in any of the 6universities that offered the

course in the country.”Reiterating the agency’s

commitment of NEMA instrengthen its collaboration withstakeholders including responseagencies and the NYSC on disastermanagement and awarenesscampaigns, he called on the youthto avail themselves withopportunity of serving involunteer groups and clubs set upon Disaster Risk Reduction in thecountry.

He said NEMA would sooninstitute annual awards ofrecognition to deservingindividuals, groups, institutionand media who have madesignificant contributions todisaster management in thecountry.

In her remarks, representativeof NYSC Directorate at theoccasion, Mrs Maksuda Momohcommended NEMA for sponsoringactivities of Youth VanguardVolunteer groups of NYSCthroughout the federation andassistance it offered corps memberat their various communitydevelopment efforts.

Meanwhile, winners at thequiz competition includeGovernment Secondary School,Garki, which came first followedby Government Day SecondarySchool, Tudun Wada and ReginalPacis College Abuja.

DG, NEMA (centre), with students and corps members during a quiz competition on disastermanagement in Abuja.

By Mohammed Kandi

DG, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Alhaji Muhammad Sani-Sidi, offersscholarship to Abubakar Jimoh, a distinguished NYSC member for disaster prevention advocacy.

PRO, Fire Service, Colins Elechi, presents certificate to a student of GDSS, Wuse II at the quizcompetition in Abuja.

Student ofReginalPacisCollege,Abuja,receives aprize fromDirector,Training,NEMA,Mrs.ClemenAisueni atthe end ofthecompetition,.

DG, NEMA(left),assistedbyAbubakarJimoh(centre),presents2nd prizeto astudent ofGSS,TudunWada afterthe quizcompetition

DG, NEMA,(right)presentsfirst prizeto aStudent ofGSS, Garkiafter thequizcompetitionin Abuja.He is beingassisted byAbubakarJimoh(centre)


EMERGENCY UPDATE

Mitigating windstorm disaster

YOUTHS FORYOUTHS FORYOUTHS FORYOUTHS FORYOUTHS FORPUBLIC SAFETYPUBLIC SAFETYPUBLIC SAFETYPUBLIC SAFETYPUBLIC SAFETY

By Abubakar [email protected]

A storm has been scientificallydescribed as any disturbedstate of an astronomical

body’s atmosphere affecting itssurface, and strongly implyingsevere weather. Storm may bemarked by strong wind, hail,thunderstorm, rainstorm, strongwinds, or wind transporting somesubstance through theatmosphere as in a dust storm,blizzard, and sandstorm.

Windstorm in this case opensthe door for massive amounts ofwater and debris that causefurther damage to a structurewhich result to negative impactsto lives and property, such asstorm surge, heavy rain causingflooding or road impassibility,building devastation.

However, as a resultwidespread occurrence of thewindstorm in some parts of thecountry, the National EmergencyManagement Agency (NEMA)recently issued a fresh warningalerting members of the publicagainst predicted windstorms inthe Niger Delta and Kwara.

Apparently, windstormalways lead to unpalatableconsequences, especially toautomobiles, aircraft, skylights,glass-roofed structures, livestock,and most commonly, farmers’crops including wheat, corn,soybeans, and tobacco. Forinstance, hailstone is one of themost significant thunderstormhazards to aircraft when exceed0.5 inches (13 mm) in diameter,may damage planes withinseconds; just as hailstonesaccumulating on the groundcould be hazardous to landingaircraft.

Over the years, windstorm hascaused deadly disasters to theglobal environment. It has beenobserved that between 1964 and1985, windstorm has caused nofewer than 26 major civiltransport aircraft accidents in theUnited States leading to 620deaths and 200 injuries; overt 500homes were devastated bywindstorm in Abi and Ogoja andBekwarra Local GovernmentArea of Cross River in August,2009; while Lagos windstorm hadclaimed no fewer than 15 lives andmillions of property was destroyedin February 2012.

As a result of these socio-economic damages, NEMA incollaboration with the NationalMeteorological Agency haveprovided a number of strategiesto help in mitigating the hazardsof windstorm in Nigeria. They alsoadvised individuals to evaluatetheir building and ensure it isprotected by strong building codesand enforcement. This rangefrom re-nailing removing roofweaken walls to prevent roof fromblowing off, should the wind getunder the roof panels and attemptto lift the roof; install all shingleswhich can be damaged by highwinds; and make sure the

sheathing complies with currentrecommended practices if puttingon new roof.

They must ensure that theirhome are secured at the top of thedoor frame and the floor by usingsturdy sliding bolts in your home,as the exterior walls, doors, andwindows are the protective shellsof your home; while damage to theshell during a wind storm canpave way for high winds to enterthe home and put pressure on theroof and walls, causing seriousdamage. Use strong doors madewith bolt kits that can withstandhigh winds in your home.

There is need for highlysecured garage door fails,windows, walls, and the roof toprotect wind from blowing out thedoors. Provide a concretefoundation of your building; andmake sure it is anchored bycertified building practitioners.Individuals are warned againstthe use of inferior materials inbuilding construction, and toalways construct all newbuildings with adequate bracingand materials of adequatestrength and rigidity to providefor proper wind and snow load.

Also, landlords are advised toinsure their property againstwindstorm; and this thereforerequires a separate premium anddeductible. Meanwhile,windstorm insurance requiresseparate classification of winddamage in order for the policy tocover damage with annual reviewof home insurance coverage. Makesure you know what is coveredand what is not. Contact yourinsurance carrier whenconsidering remodelling,additions to existing buildings ornew construction.

There is a need for moretechnical support and adequatefacilities toward the NationalEmegency Managements to helpimprove the understanding ofclimate processes for determiningthe predictability of climate,including its variability andchange to identify the extent ofhuman influence on climate; andfoster the effective application ofclimate knowledge andinformation for the benefit of ournation.

Adequate information andenlightenment on a predictedwindstorm is very vital. In thiscase, weather forecasts andwarnings are the most importantservices provided by themeteorological profession used bygovernment and industry toprotect life and property and toimprove the efficiency ofoperations, and by individuals toplan a wide range of daily activities.

Also, comprehensivemeteorological report must bemade available in local dialects tosensitise individuals andcirculating reports on windstormto wider audience, especially atrural communities.

Following the incessantinsecurity pervading Bornostate, Director General of

the National EmergencyManagement Agency, (NEMA)Mohammed Sani Sidi yesterdayadmonished Governor KashimShettima to establish a befittingemergency centre to cater for theInternally Displaced Persons,(IDP).

Sidi gave the advice whilepresenting some relief materialsto the victims of the violencecampaign posed by the militantsin various parts of the state.

According to him,establishment of the centre willnot only compliment the federalgovernment’s gesture in assistingvictims of the militants’insurgency, but also serve as anemergency unit which would

cater for the needs and aspirationsof the affected victims in the statebefore any possible response by thefederal government.

Represented by ZannahMuhammad, the NEMA boss saidthat, they were in the state topresent some relief materials tovictim of Gamboru market,Budum and Biu local governmentarea of the state.

He explained relief materialsis not to compensate the victimsbut is just a palliative measuresto assist the victims of the affectedareas, adding that the agency hasincreased its staff strength toaddress the security challenges inthe state.

Responding, GovernorShettima thanked NEMA for theirconcern to the plight of the peopleof the state.

He said that hisadministration is determined tocreate more jobs and employment

as part of measures in addressingthe current security challengesfacing the state.

Shettima further noted thatBorno is the fourth largest city inthe country, after Lagos, Kano andPort Hacourt, but it is unfortunatethat the state is currently havingsome security challenges,stressing that peace is the onlyoption and called on the militantsto lay down their arms andembrace dialogue.

He said with steps taking byFederal and state governments,Borno state is on the path of lastingpeace and development.

The governor also promised toallocate some units of houses toassist staff of NEMA withaccommodations and directed thestate commissioner of land andsurvey to immediately forwardfile of the land allocated to NEMAto his office for certificate ofOccupancy.

Insecurity: NEMA urges Bornoto establish emergency centreFrom Mustapha Isah Kwaru,Maiduguri

Kaduna SEMA wants residentsin flood prone-areas to relocateThe Kaduna state

Emergency ManagementAgency (SEMA) has

appealed to residents living in flood-prone areas to relocate so as toprevent loss of lives and property.

Executive Secretary of theSEMA, Mr Ishaku Makama, saidin Kaduna that their relocationwas necessary because of the recentforecast by the NigerianMetrological Agency (NIMET) onKaduna state.

Makam also told journalists

that the agency had embarked onearly warning campaign toprevent flood disasters in the 23local government areas of thestate.

He said: “NIMET forecasts thatthere will be heavy rainfall thisyear, which may cause extremeflooding, land slides, andwindstorms,” adding that threelocal government area wereaffected in April.

The executive secretary saidthat the three local governments

were Kaura, Jema’a and Sanga,and that relief materials hadalready been given to affectedindividuals in the areas.

“Although relocation wouldnot be easy for residents of flood-prone areas, adequate measuresshould be embraced to avoidfloods,” he said.

He also said that the stategovernment had ordered thediscontinuation of anyconstruction work going on in suchareas to prevent flooding. (NAN)

The National EmergencyManagement Agency(NEMA) has presented

relief materials to victims ofnatural disasters in Borno State.

The agency’s Director ofAdministration and Supply, DrMohammed Zanna, presentedthe items, consisting mainly offood items, to Gov. KashimShettima, at the GovernmentHouse, Maiduguri.

Zanna said that the itemswere meant for the victims ofGamboru Market fire disaster aswell as victims of disasters in Biuand other parts of the state.

He said it was sad that somefactors had hampered theagency’s plan to build itspermanent site in Maiduguri.

“We have acquired a plot forthe project but the lack of acertificate of occupancy hasfrustrated our efforts to beginconstruction work,” he said.

“We are appealing to the stategovernment to help facilitate theissuance of the certificate ofoccupancy so that we can beginconstruction work at the site,”Zanna said.

Responding, Shettimathanked NEMA for the kindgesture and promised fairness in

...presents relief materialsto disaster victims in Borno

the distribution of the items.He also directed the Ministry

of Lands to begin the process of

issuing a certificate of occupancyto the agency so that work couldbegin on the site. (NAN)

NEMA D-G, Alhaji Muhammad Sani-Sidi


RUWASA to spend N350m onwater supply, sanitation projectsThe Kano state government

has provided N350 millionto Rural Water Supply and

Sanitation Agency (RUWASA) toexecute water supply andsanitation projects this year.

Commissioner for Rural andCommunity Development,

Alhaji Garba Durbunde, toldjournalists recently in Kano thatthe government made provisionfor the N350 million in its 2012budget, saying “the agencypresented a number of work plansto the state government forapproval.”

According to him, the projectsinclude the construction andinstallation of 50 new modelwindmill water solution schemes.

Others are payment ofcounterpart funding for therehabilitation of hand pump-operated boreholes as well as

construction of numerous handpump, motorised and solar-powered boreholes in the state.

The commissioner called onthe people, particularly those inthe rural areas to be vigilant andprotect projects sited in theirareas. (NAN)

Scavengers at a waste dump

The Kaduna state Governmenthas commenced a four-dayrefuse evacuation to clear the

oldest dumpsite in Tafa, Jere LocalGovernment Area of the state.

The Commissioner forEnvironment and NaturalResources, Mr Zakariah Shamaki,told the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) that the evacuationbecame necessary as the dumpsitehad become a menace in the town.

Shamaki said that thedumpsite was established in 1992by the people of the community,which is located on the Abuja-Kaduna dual carriageway.

He said that more than 20tippers and four waste collectiontrucks had been deployed to thearea to ensure total evacuation ofthe waste.

Shamaki decried theproliferation of illegal dumpsites inparts of the state, and warnedagainst indiscriminate dumping ofrefuse, stressing that it was notgood for the health of the citizenry.(NAN)

Kaduna Govt.evacuates 20-year-old dumpsite in Tafa

Gwaram LocalGovernment Council ofJigawa State, has

engaged unemployed youths toclear all major towns ofpolythene waste, theChairman of the Coucil, AlhajiBala Kila, has said.

Kila told the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) in Sara onMonday that each of theyouths was being paid N500daily to keep his environmentclean.

He said that apart fromkeeping the environmentclean, the exercise would helpin clearing drains to avertflooding during the rainyseason.

The chairman said that theexercise would last for someweeks when the rainy seasonwould have stabilised.

Kila said that cleanliness ofthe environment waseverybody’s business andtherefore, urged people in thelocal government area toalways keep their environmentclean. (NAN)

Council engagesunemployedyouth to clearpolythene waste,says Chairman

A late evening thunderstrike recently in Ilorin,the Kwara state capital

set a coconut tree ablaze,leaving the residentsscampering for safety.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that theincident occurred at Jooro areaon Asa-Dam road in the area.

It was also learnt that thethunder strike preceded a lightshower which continued up tothe early hours of Monday.

An eyewitness, Mrs VictoriaSodiq, revealed that when thethunder struck, an “object likerocket” entered into the treefrom the top and set it ablaze.

“The incident was strangeand unbelievable. We all ranfor safety because we neverexperienced such in our lives.All of us stayed glued watchingthe tree with surprise as smokeglowed from it,” she said.

“The flame burnt the freshleaves into ashes with severalbranches falling down as aresult of the blaze,’’ she said

Another eyewitness, AlhajiFatai Saliu, said: “the thunderstruck and something camefrom the thunder like a rocketand entered the tree, and thefire started.”

“I can’t believe it. It is justthe power of God. It is divineand I have never seen suchincident in my life.”

It will be recalled thatrainstorm wreaked havoc inthe metropolis some weeks ago,rendering many homelesswhile property were destroyed.(NAN)

Thunder setstree ablaze inKwara state

It demands raising thecommitments to mitigateclimate change before 2020 andthat it must be the top priorityand ensuring that the newProtocol should have as a keyobjective, the fullimplementation of mitigation,adaptation and finance andcapacity building among others.

The LDC group alsodemanded that systems formonitoring, reporting andverifying finance and mitigationactions must not be weaker thanbut should build upon those thatalready exist in the KyotoProtocol.

“At last year’s conference ofparties to the convention inDurban, parties agreed tocomplete negotiations by 2015,but such deadlines have beenbroken before,”said Pa OusmanJarju, the chair of the LDCgroup.

“Our countries cannot wait.We are already feeling the effectsof climate change, but the timehas come for us to be leaders inthe international effort to addressthis global challenge.

“The creation of a new bodyto negotiate a second protocolunder the Convention represents

an overdue acknowledgementby all Parties that theConvention and the KyotoProtocol alone are insufficient todrive action consistent with theultimate objective of theConvention,” he said.

Janju underscored the needfor urgent action is by all Parties“to prevent dangerousinterference with the climatesystem, and in particular to staybelow 2 degrees C and keep openthe possibility of limitingwarming to 1.5 degrees C abovepre-industrial stadards in thelong-term as called for by themost vulnerable countries.”

As negotiators gather inBonn for the latest round of talksthis week, the LDC group alsoproposes changes to the way thenegotiations work to make themfaster and fairer.

To ensure that all issues canbe dealt with, the group said thenumber and duration of futurenegotiation sessions must beagreed in Bonn, along with atimetable to discuss particularissues.

The group also said partiesshould consider electing officersto the bureau that will run thetalks for more than the usual

two-year period, to ensurecontinuity, and that the size ofthe bureau should perhaps beexpanded given the urgency ofits task and the wide range oftopics it must work on.

“The LDC group comes to theBonn climate change talks witha strong set ofrecommendations,” Jarju said.

“In the spirit of internationalcooperation and with our desireto see the UN climate changeconvention meet its objective, weurge other parties to join our callfor these improvements to thenegotiating process and its finalgoals.”

The session in Bonn is thefirst, following the Durbanclimate conference in December2011 which, according to someanalysts, was a step backwardsin terms of action on climatechange.

Although it produced severaloutcomes including a politicalagreement to continue the KyotoProtocol but not a legally-binding set of science-basedtargets.

Also, the conference agreedon the establishment of theGreen Climate Fund but nomoney to fill it. (PANA/NAN)

Climate change: Least developed countriesissue plan to strengthen discussionThe world’s poorest countries

have issued a bold plan tomake the UN climate

change discussion resumingMonday in Bonn, Germany,more likely to reach their goal.

The meeting is aimed athaving an effective and legally-binding agreement ready forgovernments to adopt by 2015.

The Least DevelopedCountries (LDCs) group’s formalsubmission to the UN FrameworkConvention on Climate Change,under which the talks are takingplace, includes demands that thenew legally-binding agreementshould take the form of a newprotocol.

It also includes demands thatthe protocol should come underthe convention that builds onand enhances the commitmentsunder the Kyoto Protocol, andthat parties should agree newrules to allow the adoption of theProtocol by a 75 per centmajority, and not by consensusas under current rules.

Other demands include thata final negotiating text should beready a full year ahead of the2015 deadline rather than theusual six months deadline thatthe UNFCCC imposes.


Zamfara leadpoisoning blame game

ENVIRENVIRENVIRENVIRENVIRONMENTONMENTONMENTONMENTONMENTWWWWWAAAAATTTTTCHCHCHCHCH

By Ambrose InusaSule, mnes

[email protected] (sms only)

In March 2009, an estimated400 children were reportedto have died and 30,000

others poisoned in Zamfarastate, in the world’s worstrecorded outbreak of leadpoisoning.

It was discovered that thesituation was more extensivethan anyone thought when thiswas first discovered. It was alsodiscovered that there were morevillages involved, and the leadlevels were higher, and thenumber of children infected washigher than anyone firstestimated.

The quest for gold after theinternational price of golddoubled due to the globaleconomic crisis was said to havebeen responsible for thecontamination of these remotemud-hut villages, as young menbegan to dig metal ore fromnearby mines and process it intheir homes in the search forgold.

But they were unknowinglymining lead, and the dust fromthe processing contaminatedtheir houses. As children play inthe dust around water wells,ignorant of the danger aroundthem were contaminated.

Subsequent tests by expertsshow the areas contaminatedwith 11,000 parts per million oflead. According to the U.S.Environmental ProtectionAgency, the safe level of lead is400 parts per million.

The inaction of ZamfaraState government after thealleged warning by the FederalMinistry of Mines about thedanger of the illegal miningbefore it occurred, elicited publiccondemnation considering thenumber of people that died andthose that were hospitalized.

The blame game betweenZamfara State Government andthe Federal Ministry of Minesand Steel Developmentcontinued, until we had to waitfor the United Nations to tell usthat, “The lead pollution andintoxication crisis in Zamfarastate is far from over.”

Thousands more people arebelieved to still be at risk.Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman ofthe UN Office for the Co-ordination of HumanitarianAffairs (Ocha), was quotedsaying “an urgent andcoordinated response is needed.”

The Medecins SansFrontieres MSF is concerned thatthe situation in Zamfara isdeteriorating as the watersupply becomes polluted and hascalled on the Nigeriangovernment to do more to dealwith the deadly outbreak of thisunfortunate lead poisoning.

“It is under-estimationbecause many lead-relateddeaths are never reported andin many cases, thesecommunities attribute them toother factors or deny themaltogether,” it said.

To extract gold, deadlyamounts of lead were releasedand soil containing lead deposits

was dumped in water sources andin places where children played.

This new information wasdiscovered earlier this yearduring the country’s annualimmunisation programme,when visiting doctors realisedchildren in the region were dyingin unusually large numbers. Inseveral villages they saw therewere virtually no children.

Villagers said the childrenhad died of malaria and it wasonly when an MSF took bloodtests from local people that thehigh concentrations of lead werediscovered.

They were actually poisonedby dust released by gold minersbreaking open rocks near theirhomes.

The charity says 4,000 otherchildren remain contaminatedwith many of them unable to gettreatment.

“One thousand five hundredchildren are currently lead-poisoned but are not receivingtreatment because it isimpossible to deliver effectivetreatment while they still live incontaminated homes,” MSF’shead of mission in Nigeria, IvanGayton, said.

In November it was reportedthat the federal government saidit would spend more than N500mcleaning up Zamfara, and insome areas this work it claimedhas already begun.

At a two-day conference inAbuja, Human Rights Watchnoted that the government hadnot sent senior officials andsuggested this underlined thefact that authorities were nottaking the situation seriouslyenough.

MSF says although thegovernment has started a cleanup it must do more to stop peoplemining.

The outbreak began after theprice of gold shot up and villagersrealised they could make moremoney from exploiting local gold

deposits than from farming.They carried rocks home to

break them open - but as well asgold the rocks contained highlevels of lead, so poisonous dustand flakes were released into thecommunity.

Contaminated soil was alsodumped in water sources andthere were fears that rain wouldalso spread pollutants.

Exposure to high levels oflead can damage the brain andnervous system, and in severecases cause seizures, coma anddeath.

MSF says the situation inZamfara is one of the worst evercases ever, if not the worst case,of lead poisoning, killing 460children and contaminating afurther 4,000.

Although the authorities

have told people to stop mining,MSF wants to see bettereducation in place to teachpeople of the health risks.

“It is possible to do theenvironmental remediation andit is possible to do safer mining...we need not die in search oflivelihood. It can be done safely,”MFS said.

When will our governmentbe proactive on issues thatconcern our very existence?Must we have to wait for anagency like MSF to tell us whatto do to remediate thecontaminated areas in Zamfaraof lead poisoning? Only Godknows how many people havealready died and how many arestill living with the lead poison.Above all, it is criminal for suchnegligence.

Forestry commission memberdecries high level of deforestation

A member of Cross RiverForestry Commission, MrAugustine Ogogo, has

decried the increasing rate ofdeforestation in the state.

Ogogo, the member in-chargeof Forest Regeneration at thecommission, expressed the view inAkamkpa after inspecting facilitiesat Regeneration Centre.

He said increasing deforestationwould threaten the position of CrossRiver as one of the 25 global bio-diversity hotspots, saying “theforest has since depleted to the pointthat some areas have beencompletely deforested.”

He said that at a deforestationrate of 3.5 per cent, the state wouldlose some of its forest areas if notchecked.

Ogogo, who is also in-charge ofAgro-forestry and Timber,expressed regrets that very littlework had been done in the area ofregeneration over 30 years ago,while deforestation had been on theincrease.

He said the state raised over onemillion seedlings last year for itsregeneration programme, addingthat the state targeted N5 millionseedlings every year to enable thestate to regenerate lost forest.

“Every year we raisedseedlings for regeneration of forest,our target is N5 million seedlings

yearly,” he said.Ogogo said that the commission

planted over 250,000 seedlingsbetween 2010 and 2011 to addressdeforestation.

He said that the commissionhad keyed into the state policy ofprotecting state-owned forest andcommunity forest to protect thefragile ecosystem in the area.

Ogogo said the state had a policyto conserve forests for the paymentof ecosystem services, adding thatthe commission had establishedlinks with relevant national andinternational regulatory policymakers and funding bodies for thebenefit of bio-diversityconservation and sustainability.(NAN)

Respect right to healthy environment,NESREA D-G tasks NigeriansThe National Environmental

Standards Regulations andEnforcement Agency

(NESREA) have underscored theimportance of respect to the rightof the people to live in a healthyenvironment.

Director- General of NESREA,Dr Ngeri Benebo, who disclosedthis in Keffi, Nasarawa state, said“If you pollute any environment,you will be contravening otherpeople’s rights to live in a hazard-free environment.”

She called for concerted effortstoward conserving endangeredspecies in the country, stressingthat the presence of wildlifestimulates good and healthynatural environment, addingthat, “A rich environment isassessed by its vegetation and notits dry land.

“You will agree with me that

this country is blessed with veryrich vegetation and it appears wedo not know its value. Some peopledo pay to visit the kind ofvegetation we have, but we do notvalue our own,” she said.

“It is when we finishdestroying this vegetation with itscontents (endangered species)that we will discover how much itwill cost us to develop an artificialone,” Benebo stated.

She expressed thedetermination of the agency toassist the wildlife department toachieve the goal of protecting andconserving the nation’sendangered species.

Benebo also gave theassurance that the agency wouldcollaborate with other relevantagencies to enforce theEndangered Species Act with aview to achieving the goal of the

conservation of the wildlife.On the issue of e-waste

management, the director-general, commended theNigerian Customs Service (NCS)for its support to checkmate theimportation of e-waste.

“I must commend the NCS forits efficiency and inter-agencycollaboration with us to check theimportation of outdatedelectronics. We have achievedmuch through the use of theirmodern gadgets which canidentify the contraband as quickas possible,” the D-G declared.

“Although the NCS has theresponsibility to generate revenueby collecting duties on importedgoods, yet they will notcompromise the health and theimage of our dear country forrevenue generation,” she said.(NAN)

NEWS

Illegal mining activities in Zamfara state


Panama: Village of the damned

Last February, the most famousPanamanian in the worldwent for a routine medical

check-up. The authorities used adecoy, and General Noriega, thecountry's former militarygovernor, was spirited back to hisluxury detention centre, safe fromprying eyes and a hungry press.Nonetheless, acres of news printaround the world were lavished onthe event, while a far more urgentunravelling Panamanian storydropped under the radar.

Panama's largest indigenousgroup, the Ngabe, had decided totake a stand against the unlawfulencroachment of their homeland.Since the time of the conquistadors,the Ngabe have been pushed to themargins of the country - forced tolive on the land that no one elsewanted. Twenty years ago thePanamanian government finallyceded what was considered a uselesstract of land to them. The Ngabehad in fact lived there for centuries,so by rights it has always beentheirs.

But now this land, rich inmineral deposits and rivers, isconsidered priceless. And RicardoMartinelli, Panama's authoritarianpresident who is a close friend offormer Italian premier SilvioBerlusconi, wants it back.

His plan is to open the Ngabeheartland to foreign miningcompanies and push hydroelectricpower projects onto an unwillingpopulation. The problem is that theNgabe have nowhere else to go.

Their demand: an audiencewith the president. Martinelli'sresponse was extraordinary for thisrelatively peaceful country with aconstitution that forbids theformation of an army. The police,who human rights observers sayhave become increasinglymilitarised since Martinelli becamepresident three years ago, launcheda vicious crackdown, cuttingcommunications with the outsideworld, and allegedly shootinginnocent bystanders as well aspeaceful protesters.

Harrowing reports surfaced ofrapes and the mistreatment of

detainees, as scores of Ngabe men,women and children werearrested. At least two people werekilled and many more were injured.The crackdown lasted for three daysand proved so unpopular withPanamanians, that Martinelli wasforced into negotiations with theNgabe.

Opening fire

The talks were taking place atthe National Assemblybuilding in the centre of

Panama City and dozens of Ngabefamilies had set up camp nearby toshow support for Silvia Carerra,their elected leader who is knownas the Casica.

It was here that my crew and Iset up our camera on my first dayin Panama to interview some of thepeople who had travelled hundredsof miles to make their point. We hadjust started to interview a youngwoman and child when gun shotsrang through the air.

It is possible that thegovernment was never that keento talk to the Ngabe in the first placeand that this was an attempt toprovoke a reaction which wouldforce the cancellation of the talks. Ifthat was the plan, it did not work.The Casica had no intention ofletting the government set theagenda and the talks continued.

But as I flicked through thechannels in my hotel room laterthat night I was given an insightinto the less than perfect

relationship between thegovernment and the media here.Panamanian TV media carried thepolice's version of events - thatdrunken Ngabe youths had gone onthe rampage. It was a story that Iknew for a fact was far from thetruth.

A piece of paradise

The next day one of the so-called'drunkards', a teetotaller by thename of Ricardo, invited us to

his village. It was a six-hour drivefrom Panama City followed by agruelling trek through mountainjungle. But nothing could haveprepared me for the beauty of Kia - asettlement nestling on the banks ofthe Tabasara River.

Here the Ngabe have carved outa little piece of paradise forthemselves, and I saw at once whythey are fighting so hard to protectit. There is an open air school wherechildren are taught in the Ngabelanguage, which is vital if theirunique culture is to survive. And Ienjoyed a continuous stream ofhospitality as we talked into the earlyhours under a night skyunblemished by light pollution.

The following morning Ricardogave us a guided tour of the village,explaining the close bond betweenhis people and nature. I was taken ashort distance to the riverbankwhere a little girl showed us a colonyof Tabasara Rain Frogs, one of therarest species in the world, whichare found nowhere else on the

Away from its busy capital city and famous canal, Panama is one of the world's most ecologically diverse nations.ANALYSISplanet.

Yet a few miles downstreamfrom Kia, the massive constructionsite of Barro Blanco is an ugly bloton the landscape. As the enormousdam takes shapes, armed guardspatrol the perimeter to keep thevillagers away. When the dam iscomplete the village of Kia will belost.

From Kia I travelled northwestto visit Ngabe villagers who hadalready lost their community.They had been made homeless byanother hydroelectric project lastyear, when the mightyChanguinola River was dammed.Here I met Carolina. Her house hadbeen built on higher ground thanthose of her neighbours in thevillage of Guiyaboa, She told methat she and countless others hadreceived no compensation for lossof their land, crops or housing.

I travelled on through Chiriquiprovince, the scene of thecrackdown, and met andinterviewed survivors and therelatives of those who had beenkilled by the police. I found it hardto understand why they had died.All the Ngabe had been asking forwas an opportunity to talk to thegovernment - a concession that theauthorities had to make in the endanyway.

A roll call of Panama'swealthy

Back in Panama City, JorgeRicardo Fabrega, thecountry's powerful minister

of government, agreed to meet meand explain the government's side.He admitted that things couldhave been handled better atChanguinola, but insisted thatduring the recent crackdowns thepolice had behaved veryprofessionally. He was keen tounderline the importance ofhydroelectric energy for Panama'sbooming economy and then statedcategorically that nothing wouldbe allowed to stop the Barro Blancoproject going ahead.

"There's one thing that I haveto make clear," he said. "We're notgoing to cancel Barro Blanco. The

Barro Blanco project is underconstruction and it will continue."As I listened I thought of Ricardo andthe other villagers whose futurewas being decided by the ministerand his friends.

By now news had got aroundthat a filmmaker from Al Jazeerawas in the country and someonediscreetly passed me a lengthydocument detailing thegovernment's future hydroelectricplans. It was an eye-opener. Thesheer number of the projects isstartling; if they all go ahead theywill surely produce far moreelectricity than Panama will everneed, no matter how dynamic orfast growing its economy. Whichbegs the obvious question: Whatwill they do with all this power?

Alongside each project listedwere the names of the companydirectors involved - a roll call ofPanama's wealthiest families. Itwas not difficult to put two and twotogether. Electricity is acommodity like anything else andif there is spare capacity it can besold to energy-hungry consumersin neighbouring countries.Someone, it seemed, was going toget very rich. Unsurprisingly, thatdocument has never been madepublic.

It was then I realised what SilviaCarerra, the Casica, was up againstin her negotiations with thegovernment. And on my lastevening in Panama, I was luckyenough to meet her. Despite havingbeen up since sunrise debating withother Ngabe leaders, she found timefor an interview.

A charismatic 41-year-old, withlittle in the way of a formaleducation, she has found herselflocked in negotiations with theminister I had just met. Thisremarkable woman is all thatstands between her 100,000kinsmen and development projectsthey neither want nor need. It mustbe a terrible responsibility. I foundher candour and determinationrefreshing. She told me that evenafter all the government had donethe Ngabe would never give in.Culled from Aljazeera.

“Electricity is a commodity like anythingelse and if there is spare capacity it canbe sold to energy-hungry consumers in

neighbouring countries. Someone, itseemed, was going to get very rich.

Unsurprisingly, that document has neverbeen made public.


Congo‘Terminator’still forcingyoungsters tofight, saysHRW

Renegade general BoscoNtaganda, who iswanted by the

International Criminal Court,is still forcing youngsters tofight, Human Rights Watch(HRW) says.

Over the past month nearly150 young men and boys havebeen recruited in the east of theDemocratic Republic of Congo,according to HRW.

Those who escaped talk ofbeing taken at gunpoint fromschools and villages.

Gen Ntaganda, also knownas the Terminator, wasindicted in 2006 by the ICC forusing child soldiers.

The alleged recruitmenttook place in the aftermath of amutiny from the Congolesearmy of troops loyal to GenNtaganda - former members ofthe National Congress for theDefense of the People (CNDP)rebel group, whose fighterswere integrated into theCongolese army as part of apeace deal three years ago.

Gen Ntaganda deniesmasterminding the mutiny,which led to heavy clasheswith the Congolese army ineastern Congo.

In one incident, near thevillage of Kingi, in Masisidistrict, about 30 studentswere rounded up from a school- their hands were tied andthey were marched up a hill, a17-year-old student told HRW.

"They told us we would fightfor Bosco [Ntaganda]… Theyinformed us that we wouldliberate our country by givingour support to BoscoNtaganda," he said.

"Bosco Ntaganda is onceagain committing the verycrimes against children forwhich the ICC has beendemanding his arrest," HRW'ssenior Africa researcherAnneke Van Woudenberg said.

This week, the chiefprosecutor asked the ICC to addmore counts of crimes againsthumanity and war crimes toGen Ntaganda's arrestwarrant.

The new charges includethe murder and rape ofcivilians.

Gen Ntaganda is believed tobe hiding in DR Congo'sVirunga National Park, hometo mountain gorillas.

Taylor ‘sympathy’ for Sierra Leone victims

Charles Taylor, the formerLiberian president foundguilty of perpetrating war

crimes in neighbouring SierraLeone, has accused prosecutors ofpaying and intimidating witnessesas a UN court heard argumentsbefore his sentence hearing in twoweeks.

"Witnesses were paid, coercedand in many cases threatened withprosecution if they did not givestatements," Taylor told the specialcourt at The Hague for war crimescommitted during Sierra Leone'scivil war.

"I express my sadness andsympathy for crimes suffered byindividuals and families in SierraLeone," said Taylor, speakingbefore his scheduled sentencing onMay 30.

Seeking leniency, Taylor, whowas convicted last month of 11counts of war crimes includingmurder, rape and conscriptingchild soldiers, said he did notcondone impunity in any form.

Judges at the UN-backed courtsaid his aid was essential in helpingrebels across the border in Sierra

Taylor, was convicted last month of 11 counts of war crimes includingmurder, rape and conscripting child soldiers [AFP]

Amnesty cites rights abuses in northern Maliin neighbouring countries."

The Amnesty researcherscollected testimony from womenand girls who said they were"raped, sometimes collectively, byarmed men including bymembers of the MNLA,particularly in Menaka and Gao".

"Delegates found evidence ofthe presence of child soldierswithin the ranks of the armedTuareg and Islamists groups whotook control of the north of thecountry."

The report states that soldierstoo, were guilty of human rightsviolations.

"Malian soldiers beat and thenextra-judicially executed threeunarmed people accused of spyingfor the MNLA in Sevare [630kmnorth of Bamako] on 18 April2012," read a statement fromAmnesty.

independence in 1960," saidGaetan Mootoo, AmnestyInternational's West Africaresearcher.

"The entire north of the

country has been taken over byarmed groups who are runningriot. Ten of thousands of peoplehave fled the region, creating ahumanitarian crisis in Mali and

Amnesty International hasaccused armed Tuaregs andgroups fighting to impose

Sharia law in northern Mali ofcarrying out grave rights abusessuch as rape, murder and usingchild soldiers.

A report released onWednesday by the London-basedrights group said governmentsoldiers had also carried outextrajudicial killings, brandingthe crisis Mali's worst humanrights situation in 50 years.

Tuaregs fighting for theseparatist Azawad LiberationMovement (MNLA) and othergroups have seized control ofmuch of the north of the countrysince a military coup in Bamakoin March.

"After two decades of relativestability and peace, Mali is nowfacing its worst crisis since

Many Malians have been forced to flee the north after oppositiongroups took control [EPA]

Kenya: Man arrested over deadly attack on Mombasa clubA man has been arrested on

suspicion of helping tocarry out an attack on a

nightclub in the Kenyan port cityof Mombasa, police have said.

He was one of five peopleinjured after explosive deviceswere thrown into the popular club.

Armed men lobbed what arethought to be grenades - after theywere denied entry to the club forrefusing to be frisked by securityguards.

No-one has claimedresponsibility, and a gun wasfound at the scene.

"We have retrieved a busticket from him and when ourofficers went to the bus stationthey found his luggage which hada magazine loaded with eightrounds of ammunition," MrIteere said.

The Bella Vista club is on astreet known for its night life inMombasa - a popular holidaydestination for both Kenyans andforeigners.

A pool of blood marked theentrance to the club, and spentcartridges and grenade shellswere strewn near its gate,

reported Reuters news agency.Regional police chief Aggrey

Adoli told the AFP news agencythat armed men tried to bargetheir way into the club but werebarred by security guards.

They then fired off shots fromtheir guns, critically injuring aguard, before throwing inexplosive devices, he said.

Ambrose Munyasia, theregion's top criminalinvestigation officer who was atthe scene, told Reuters theevidence suggested three grenadeshad been thrown.

Seven die in clashes in Libyan desert town - government

Leone continue their bloodyrampage during the West Africannation's decade-long civil war,which ended in 2002 with more

than 50,000 dead.It was the first time a former

head of state had been convicted ofwar crimes since the aftermath of

World War II.The former president told

judges that he sympathised withvictims of the war, but stoppedshort of apologising or expressingremorse.

He insisted his actions hadactually been done to help stabilisethe region and claimed he neverknowingly assisted in thecommission of crimes.

"What I did...was done withhonor,'' he said. "I was convincedthat unless there was peace in SierraLeone, Liberia would not be able tomove forward."

Prosecutors are demanding an80-year sentence, while Taylor'slawyer Courtenay Griffiths notedTaylor's conviction was forenabling, rather than orderingwar crimes, and that the 64-year-old deserved a sentence that gavehim hope of release.

Judges found Taylor helped therebels obtain weapons, knowingthey would likely be used to committerrible crimes, in exchange forpayments of "blood diamonds" oftenobtained by slave labour.

"The suspect is one of thoseinjured. He is now under policeguard," said police chief MathewIteere in the Kenyan capital,Nairobi, adding that the policehad been watching the suspect forsome time "in connection withvarious other attacks".

He was hit by shrapnel froma grenade and taken to thehospital with other people injuredduring the attack, Mr Iteere said.

The man had booked a busticket for Nairobi to leaveMombasa soon after the attacklate on Tuesday night, he said.

Seven people have been killedand more than 20 injured inclashes in Libya's western

desert town of Ghadames, thegovernment says.

Government spokesmanNasser el-Maneaa blamed an

"armed group from outside thetown" for the violence.

He added that the army hadbeen sent to Ghadames and thesituation was now under control.

Unconfirmed reports say theclashes were between town

residents and Tuareg tribesmen- nomads who roam the desert.

The fighting erupted overcontrol of a checkpoint on theedge of the town - on a routeoften used for smuggling, localofficials were quoted as saying

by Reuters.Libya's interim government

is struggling to control the vastcountry with numerous tribalgroups after former leader ColMuammar Gaddafi was ousted inthe uprising last year.


Colombia blast targets former ministerUnfortunately his driver and a policeofficer have died," he added, sayingboth the victims were accompanyingthe minister as part of a stateprotection programme.

The Andean country has battledleft-wing guerrillas, right-wingparamilitary groups and drugcartels for decades, but a campaignsince 2002 against cocaine traffickers

A bomb targeting a former Interior minister Fernando Londono has killed his driver and a policeofficer, President Juan Manuel Santos said.

Ties between the United States and Pakistan have been severely strained over the past year[Reuters]

Protesters oppose Putin's return to the Kremlin and question parliamentary elections' results[AFP]

Pakistan president toattend NATO summit

underline the strongcommitment of the internationalcommunity to the people ofAfghanistan and to its future.Pakistan has an important roleto play in that future."

But ties between Islamabadand Washington had gone from"from bad to worse", Al Jazeera'sKamal Hyder, reporting fromthe Pakistani capital, said.

Our correspondent saidPakistan had come under "a bitof pressure" from NATOmembers like Turkey, a majorIslamabad ally, to reopen theroute.

The killing of the soldiersfanned national anger overeverything from covert CIAdrone strikes to the U.S.incursion into Pakistaniterritory last year to kill alQaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

We condemn this attack... this government willnot be thrown off course by

these terrorist attacks. We will staythe course and carry out all theinvestigations needed to find theculprits," Santos said after Tuesday'sattack.

"This was an attack againstformer minister Fernando Londono.

and rebels coupled with thedemobilisation of paramilitaries hassharply reduced violence in thecapital.

Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera'sLatin America editor, said Bogota hasnot seen attacks on this scale for years.

"Although there have beensmaller bombings in past years, andmore recently in front of Radio

Caracol in Bogota, this attack is seenas the largest and boldest in manyyears," she said.

"The bomb was placed on top ofthe vehicle of [former interior andjustice minister] Londono, who is arightwing and conservativepolitician, who has a daily radioprogramme La Voz de la Verdad, orthe Voice of Truth, as well as anewspaper column in El Tiempo.

"He uses both to fiercely attackthe FARC and is a staunch supporterof ex-president Alvaro Uribe."

Al Jazeera's AlessandroRampietti, reporting from Bogota,said the bomb exploded in one of themost important thoroughfaresconnecting the city with Colombia'snorth.

"Londono was being driven by hisdriver, who died in the attack.Londono himself is said to be in stable

condition," Rampietti said.Local television broadcast images

of him walking from the scene of thebomb attack with blood covering hisface, flanked by a bodyguardcarrying a gun.

Local media said more than 20people were taken to a nearby hospitalfor injuries sustained in the blast,which was initially reported to havehappened on a bus.

Londono was interior ministerfrom 2002 to 2004 in thegovernment of former PresidentUribe, who led a crackdown on theFARC, the Marxist group which stillcontrols large areas of the country,and other armed groups during hiseight years in office.

Although substantiallyweakened by a US-funded militarycrackdown, the FARC remains a forceto be reckoned with.

Pakistan has confirmed itspresident will attend asummit of NATO leaders

this weekend in Chicago asnegotiations with US to reopensupply lines into Afghanistancontinues.

Nadeem Hotiana, a Pakistaniembassy spokesman inWashington, said on Tuesdaythat Asif Ali Zardari wouldattend the May 20-21 summit.

Pakistan, which has endureda stormy diplomatic relationshipwith the US, closed the route inprotest against the killing by USwarplanes of 25 of its troops.Washington expressed regret forthe incident and has beenquietly urging Islamabad toreopen the route.

In a statement, OanaLungescu, a NATO spokesman,said: "This meeting will

Protesters dispersedfrom Moscow parkRussian riot police have

dispersed an Occupy-styleprotest against President

Vladimir Putin, forcing dozens ofpeople out of central Moscow park,where they had been camped formore than a week.

The action against the sit-inwas the latest step in a governmentcrackdown on protests over Putin'sreturn to the presidency on May 7for a six-year term following fouryears as prime minister.

Police converged on the site atChistiye Prudy Park early onWednesday and told about 50people who had spent the nightthere to leave, citing a court orderissued on Tuesday requiring themto clear the area.

Police clashed withdemonstrators, beating some onthe head with batons in the worstviolence since a wave of protestsprompted by suspicions of fraud ina December parliamentary vote.

At least 15 protesters had beendetained after the swoop, Reutersnews agency reported.

"People were ready to gather

their stuff and move, but they didnot give us time, they just startedpushing people out," AlisaObraztsova, a protester in her 20s,said.

Protesters said that police hadtold them they must leave by noon(08:00 GMT) on Wednesday, butObraztsova said the police whocleared the park said it had to becleaned by noon.

The small protest became thetalking point of Russian politicswhile testing the ruling elite's desireto put up with a form of dissent thatstill falls narrowly within theconfines of increasingly strictlegislation.

The rallies swelled to a fewthousand as people finished workbut shrank to just a few dozenactivists overnight.

The sit-in referred to itself asOccupy Abay a reference to thelooming bronze statue of 19thcentury Kazakh poet AbayKunanbayuli around which theprotesters gathered in a leafyboulevard in the upscale ChistyePrudy district.


Zetas cartel ‘denies’ rolein Mexico massacre

Banners have appeared innorthern Mexicoapparently signed by the

country's Zetas drug carteldenying any role in themassacre of 49 people, whose

Ratko Mladic goes on trial for genocide

Forensic experts have struggled to establish the identity of the 49 corpses found dumped in Monterreycity [Reuters]

Prosecutors at theInternational CriminalTribunal for the former

Yugoslavia made their openingstatements against Mladic onWednesday almost a year afterhis arrest in Serbia andsubsequent deportation afteryears on the run.

Mladic is accused of 11 countsof war crimes and crimes againsthumanity, includingorchestrating the week-longmassacre of over 7,000 Muslimboys and men at Srebrenica in1995 during the Bosnian war.

Prosecutor Dermot Groomesaid the prosecution wouldpresent evidence showing"beyond a reasonable doubt thehand of Mr. Mladic in each ofthese crimes".

"The world watched indisbelief that in neighborhoodsand villages within Europe agenocide appeared to be inprogress," said Groome,describing the beginning of thewar in 1992.

The trial of General Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb armychief accused of orchestrating war crimes and a campaign of geno-cide, has begun at a special UN court at The Hague in the Nether-lands.

mutilated bodies were founddumped in the neighbouringstate of Nuevo Leon.

An employee of theprosecutors' office in San LuisPotosi state said the banners were

"By the time Mladic and histroops murdered thousands inSrebrenica ... they were well-rehearsed in the craft of murder,"Groome told the court.

Dressed in a dark grey suit anddark tie, Mladic, now 70, flasheda thumbs-up and clapped hishands as he entered the courtroomin The Hague.

In the packed public seatingarea, a mother of one of theSrebrenica victims whispered"vulture" several times asprosecutors opened their case.

Later, Mladic made eye contactwith one of the Muslim women inthe audience, running a handacross his throat, in a gesture thatled Presiding judge Alphons Orieto hold a brief recess and order anend to "inappropriateinteractions."

"Ratko Mladic is clearly not thestocky, physically imposing,bullish man that we rememberfrom images of the early '90s," AlJazeera's Barnaby Phillipsreported from The Hague.

Belgian halts hunger strike in DubaiA Belgian man has agreed

to halt his hunger strike,after United Arab

Emirates authorities promisedthat they would reconsider hiscase.

Oliver Loeb, a 51-year-oldBelgian businessman, is servinga three-year sentence in a Dubaiprison for bouncing cheques afteran investor did not pay up on abusiness deal.

He was taken to hospital onTuesday and was placed on aglucose drip after he collapsed.He had begun his hunger strikeon April 18.

The chief prosecutor met theBelgian hunger striker that day,a source familiar with the casetold Al Jazeera, and he agreed toresume food and drink for oneweek. Loeb remains very weak.

During this time, the

Oliver Loeb would need to be pardoned by Dubai's ruler, SheikhMohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum [EPA]

vice-president of the UAE, for thecase to be dropped.

"They promised him that theywould do something within thistime," the source said.

hung from overpasses in thecity of Ciudad Valles, accordingto The Associated Press.

The employee was notauthorised to speak on therecord, and did not give the

precise wording of the banners.The bodies were found onSunday in the city ofMonterrey with their heads,hands and feet hacked off.

A slogan scrawled on a stonearch nearby read "100%Zetas", although it wasunclear when the graffiti wasdaubed there.

Authorities have struggledto identify the corpses to gainclues into the latest in a seriesof massacres from anescalating war between rivaldrug cartels.

Forensic experts are yet toestablish the identities of anyof the corpses after the fourthmassacre in a month.

None of the bodiesexamined so far showed signsof gunshots, Jorge Domene,Nuevo Leon state securityspokesman, told local Mileniotelevision on Tuesday.

Mexico's interior secretary,Alejandro Poire said onMonday that all thoseincidents resulted from thefight between the Zetas gangand the Sinaloa Cartel, whichhave emerged as the two main

forces in Mexican drug-trafficking and other organisedcrime.

Zetas, formed by ex-militarypersonnel in the 1990s, ispresent in nearly all of Mexico's32 states.

Some victims in earlier bodydumps have turned out to bebakers, bricklayers and students;seemingly anybody who could besnatched off the streets in masskillings that one captured gangmember said were designed to"cause terror".

The 43 men and six womenfound on Sunday were dumped atthe entrance to the town of SanJuan in the municipality ofCadereyta about 175km southwestof McAllen, Texas.

There have been 74 killings inthe first four months of this year inCadereyta municipality,compared to 27 over the sameperiod in 2011 and seven in 2010,according to figures from NuevoLeon state prosecutors.

The massacre follows thediscovery of 14 men left in a van indowntown Nuevo Laredo on April17 and 23 people found hanged ordecapitated in the same border cityMay on 4.

Eighteen dismembered bodiedwere left near Mexico's second-largest city, Guadalajara, last week.

Drug violence has killed morethan 47,500 people since PresidentFelipe Calderon launched a stepped-up offensive when he took office inDecember 2006.

authorities have promised toreview the case. It would requirea pardon from SheikhMohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum, the ruler of Dubai and

Syria election results show support for reforms, says Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that theresults of last week's

parliamentary elections provepeople support hisgovernment's reforms.

Mr Assad told Russian TVthey also represented amessage that Syrians were "notscared by terrorists' threats".

The election commissionsaid on Tuesday that turnoutwas 51% for the polls, whichthe opposition said were afarce.

Meanwhile, UN observerswho came under fire onTuesday have been rescuedafter spending the night withrebel fighters.

UN spokesman AhmadFawzi said other UN personnelhad picked up the six-strong

Opposition groups inside and outside Syria called for a boycott ofthe People's Assembly elections

team from the northern townof Khan Sheikhoun onWednesday and taken them totheir team site in Hama.

A commander of the rebel

Free Syrian Army (FSA), AbuHassan, told Reuters newsagency that the observers were"in good health and on their wayto Damascus".


The horrific moment man set himself on fire outside thecourthouse where Anders Breivik trial is taking place

The burning man rantowards the entrance ofthe building after dousing

himself in a flammable liquidPolice officers pulled his

jumper off before attempting toput the fire out

He was taken to hospital withwounds on his chest and stomachwhich have been described as'serious injuries'

A man has set himself on fireoutside the courthouse where thetrial of right-wing extremistAnders Behring Breivik is takingplace.

After dousing himself in aflammable liquid, the burningman ran towards the entrance ofthe building in Oslo, Norway.

Police officers rushed to his aid,pulling his burning jumper offbefore attempting to put the fireout.

Police spokesman Kjell JanKverme told Norwegianbroadcaster NRK that policebelieve he is a Norwegian citizen

Blaze: A man set himself on fire outside the courthouse where thetrial of right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik is taking place

Shocking: The man doused himself in a flammable liquid and sethimself on fire. He is pictured being taken away by paramedics

'but we don't yet know his identityto 100 percent. He is seriouslyinjured. He has wounds on hischest and stomach.'

The man was transported toOslo University Hospital.

Asked whether the incidentwas connected to the trial against

Breivik, that has been going onsince mid-April, Finn Belle, of OsloPolice, said: 'One would think thereis one connection or another butwe don't have any information onthat.’

Norwegian newspaper VG

posted a video clip on its websiteshowing a man running towardthe security checkpoint outsidethe courthouse with flames

shooting up from his hat.Another sequence showed

police officers tending to him onthe pavement outside thecheckpoint, removing his burningsweater.

Breivik has admitted to settingoff a car bomb that killed eightpeople outside the governmentheadquarters in Oslo and thenkilling 69 people in a shootingrampage at the Labor Party'sannual youth camp.

He has shown no remorse forthe attacks, saying the victimshad betrayed Norway byembracing multiculturalism.

The fire was the first incidentoutside the Oslo district court sincethe trial began.

Inside the court, an Iraqi manwhose brother was killed in themassacre threw a shoe at Breiviklast Friday, hitting one of Breivik'sdefense lawyers.

Horrific: A man has set himself on fire outside the courthousewhere the trial of right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik istaking place

Injuries: The man is seriously injured and has wounds on his chestand stomach following the fire

Petite barmaid, 21, wins £10k compensation after manager, 33,asked her to show off breasts in a push-up bra to boost trade

'Intimating': Blonde barmaid Kathryn Broughton (left) has won£10,000 in damages after telling an employment tribunal how sheendured six months of sexual harassment from her pub managerAndrew Stephens (right)

Shy graduate KathrynBroughton told she shouldwear push-up bra Given the

nickname 'little t*ts' by hermanager Andrew Stephens MrStephens wrongly said she had asexually transmitted disease

She quit job after six months ofabuse, employment tribunal heardWins sex discrimination case afterjudge says 'circumstances serious'

A barmaid who was asked by hermanager to show off her breasts ina push-up bra to boost a pub's tradehas won £10,000 in compensation.

Kathryn Broughton, 21, wasgiven the nickname 'little t*ts' byher boss Andrew Stephens andasked if she was wearing a push-upbra.

When the shy universitygraduate failed to reply, the 33-

year-old married man told her:'Well you really should.'

Miss Broughton told anemployment tribunal: 'He then saidwe will get more customers and youwill get more tips.'

The part-time barmaid won herclaim for sex discrimination aftershe quit the real ale pub in disgustfollowing a string of rude remarks.

She claimed on-going sexual

harassment over a six-monthperiod by Mr Stephens, who is ashareholder in the pub companywhich runs the Rutland Armsin Sheffield city centre.

Miss Broughton said her bossfirst called her 'little t*ts' to'curry favour' with a member ofstaff with whom he wasengaging in banter at the barand repeated it on several

occasions in front of other barand kitchen staff.

When she was off work sick,Mr Stephens made a commentabout her having a sexuallytransmitted disease and he labelledher boyfriend a transvestite.

In a Facebook message, MissBroughton was told of a rumourthat female bar staff could be askedto wear more revealing tops.

He said she had never raisedany grievance with himand he did not make any

comments about sexuallytransmitted infections or call herboyfriend a transvestite.

He said the picture she painted ofthe Rutland Arms was 'far removedfrom reality' although they did havenicknames for staff.

One was called 'Fat Paul' althoughhe was slim, there was 'StaringRichard' who stared at people and hehimself was called 'Steve the man', buthe denied calling Miss Broughton 'little

t*ts'.The tribunal heard a female

friend of Miss Broughton's posted onher Facebook wall a message reading'tits, tits, I love tits.'

Mr Stephens said: 'Perhaps she isnot as adverse in talking to her friendsin that way.'

But Miss Broughton said she tookit as a joke between friends and it wasdifferent if an employer had madesuch a comment.

The panel decided MissBroughton's sex discrimination claimin her favour after a two-day hearing.

Employment Judge JohnTrayler said in his judgment that the

panel believed the comments weremade as described by the barmaidalthough the sexually-transmitteddisease remark was not an act ofdiscrimination but 'unwelcome'nevertheless.

Mr Trayler said there wasevidence that the physicalcharacteristics of employees at the pubwere identified and this was a factorthat had to be taken into account.

He said: 'There is a possibility theclaimant may have been referred toby Mr Stephens as "little t*ts" either aspart of banter which had gone too faror a nickname which had beeninitiated but not stuck.'

By Judge John Trayler

‘She (Miss Broughton) is a relatively quiet-spoken individualwhom we believe was pretty upset. The circumstances wereserious and caused her to give up her job’


One bite from a cat canput you on the critical list

A few weeks ago I was at myfriend Helena’s houseplaying with her cat, Mr

Fluff, when he suddenly lashed out.Mr Fluff is a cutie, but he’s a

very aggressive moggie — and hasbeen confirmed as semi-feral by acat behaviouralist.

I’ve never left Helena’s housewithout a map of scratches on myarm.

This time Mr Fluff flipped andleapt at me with a low growl.Hanging on to my arm with hisclaws, he sunk his teeth into mywrist twice.

I flung him off and, whilespinning around, whacked mywrist against the door-frame.Ouch. Helena came running.

Mr Fluff was now crouched,hissing. She tried to pick him up tosoothe him, but he shot at her footand bit it, too.

Thinking little of it (other thanthat Mr Fluff could do with arelaxing spa day), we washed ourbites with soap and water,slathered on Sudocrem and I wentto bed.

The next morning my handhurt. I ignored it. But when I triedto pull my tights on, I couldn’t gripthem to yank them up. My handwas red and swollen.

‘I must have fractured mywrist when I hit the door frame,’ Ireasoned.

I went to Chelsea &Westminster A & E andregaled them with the tale ofhuman versus cat while I had mytetanus jab.

I couldn’t understand why theykept asking me about the tiny biteson my wrist. And then an X-rayrevealed I had no fracture.

‘We think your hand isinfected,’ the nurse explained.

‘A cat bite is much worse thana dog or rat bite. It’s the worstanimal in the UK to be bitten by.

‘Their mouths are filthy,swimming in bacteria. Butbecause it’s so rare that they bite,it’s not widely talked about.’

I told them Mr Fluff lives in agorgeous Chelsea townhouse, eatsthe finest cat food and never goesout, so surely I must be safe.

I listened, half amused, as theytold me I would go for a ‘wash out’the next morning under generalanaesthetic. The proceduresounded innocuous, so why wouldI need a general?

‘We’re just going to explore thewound,’ the surgeon explained.

‘You’ll probably be OK to gohome tomorrow.’

They hooked me up to anantibiotic drip while, using myBlackBerry, I changed myFacebook status to a jolly ‘CatherineGray has been hospitalised by acat!’ before drifting off to sleep.

When I came round, searingagony gradually set in.

‘We’ve opened up the two bitemarks and made two newincisions. There was a lot of pus todrain,’ the surgeon explained.

‘I’ve fed antiseptic ribbonsthrough your hand to fight theinfection further.’

These ribbons are gauze soakedin antiseptic, more commonly usedafter the removal of cysts.

The pain was such that nursescame with vials of morphine forme to gulp down every few hours.

I used my left hand to Google‘cat bite infection’ into myBlackBerry.

Page after page came up,

warning that a cat bite, especiallyto the hand, could cause severedamage.

I learnt that dog bites turnedinfectious around 15-20 per cent ofthe time, but cat bites do in 50 percent of cases because moggies havethin, pointy teeth, whicheffectively inject you withbacteria.

Even if you wash the woundimmediately, chances are youwon’t get the bacteria out.

I read of a woman in Wales whodied after contracting a rare blooddisorder caused by a cat bite.

Now, I was scared. Nobody hadexplained the peril I waspotentially in; presumablybecause they didn’t want me topanic.

I later learned the danger wasparticularly severe because thebites were to my wrist.

As Dr Suranjith Seneviratne,

a clinical immunologist fromLondon’s Royal Free Hospital,explains: ‘The wrist is packed withtendons and blood vessels, soinfection can be pumped to vitalorgans very quickly and causethem to fail in extreme cases.’

I’d originally been told I couldprobably go home later that day.

‘We want to keep you inanother night, just to keep an eyeon you’ was the casual verdict.

Day after day rolled by. I wasregularly pumped withantibiotics and my hand slowlyhealed. There were four scarletincisions, each about a centimetrelong and deep.

I whiled away the time withThe Hunger Games trilogy, andcould now waggle my fingers. I washigh as a kite on morphine andtramadol and quite enjoyingmyself.

A test on the third day showed

that the cat had given mePasteurella multocida andStaphylococcus aureus.

An internet search revealedthat both were potentially lethal. Ididn’t want to know more.

‘If bacteria such as this travelfrom the soft tissue of the hand intothe bloodstream, they can go tovital organs such as lungs veryquickly, and can absolutely causedeath,’ Dr Seneviratne tells me now.

This is because they can triggersepsis, where the immune systemgoes into overdrive and beginsattacking the body, leading to organfailure. I am really, really glad Ididn’t know that at the time.

But after four nights came thewords of doom: ‘Another washoutin the morning.’

I argued against it.‘But I can wiggle my fingers! It

feels all better!’ I pleaded, only to betold sternly: ‘If we don’t get all of the

infection out, the consequencescould be extremely serious.’

The previous time I’d beenwheeled to theatre I was enjoying the novelty of my first hospitalovernighter. This time, my facewas ashen and I was tremblingfrom nerves. I was worried I wouldcome out without a hand.

When I came round two hourslater, my hand was still there butthe pain was excruciating. Myteeth chattered.

It took seven doses of morphinefor the pain to come down tobearable — usually you only getone dose every few hours.

At night, I barely slept. Ibegged the nurses for as muchmorphine as they couldadminister.

When three doctors swept backmy curtain at 11am the next day,I physically winced.

But it was good news: ‘Yourtendons are fine. You can go homelater today. You’ll need to comeback in a week for us to check thewound and for physiotherapy.’

For the next fortnight, Icouldn’t really type. My mum orboyfriend washed my hairbecause I couldn’t get the bandagewet. I would dictate texts to myboyfriend.

Two months on, although fullrange of movement has beenrestored, a too-firm handshakemakes me flinch.

I’ve been told I might neverrecover complete function of myhand so may not be able to playtennis or horse-ride again.

My hand is still inflamed, andthe scars are blood red. My friendshave affectionately dubbed myhand ‘the mutant claw’.

But at least I’m alive.‘People underestimate the

danger a domestic cat bite can do,’says Dr Seneviratne.

‘Obviously being bitten by astray cat is far worse, due torabies, but bacteria such asPasteurella are often missed byGPs, so it’s crucial to go to A & E with a cat bite.

‘You would have been at riskof death had you not received theright treatment so promptly.

‘Those with a low immunesystem, say someone ill, are evenmore at risk.

‘I’m not remotely anti-cat,’ headds. ‘A human bite is far morelethal, because we have morebacteria in our mouths than anyother animal, yet no one wouldsuggest all humans should bebanished.

‘But people do need to beeducated that cats are the mostdangerous animal in the UK to bebitten by.’

The only thing I’m bitter aboutis that I’m now slightly nervousaround animals. Recently a feistyspaniel play-nipped me, not hard,but I burst into tears.

I still love cats, but the nationdoes need to know that our furrybest friends are potentially lethal.

As for Mr Fluff, I’ll neverdarken his door again.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Scarred: Catherine Gray, still bearing the marks of her ordeal, with a friendlier cat. 'Nobody hadexplained the peril I was potentially in,' she said


The 7th Assembly is oneyear old; as alegislator, what has

been your achievement so farin terms of legislative input andthe constituency projectdelivery?

I think what our people expectfrom us is to ensure that theactivities of the FederalGovernment is spread across myconstituency. At the moment,when we came in 2011 we werenot part of the appropriation so wehave to stand on what was existingwithin the 2011 appropriation.

So what I did was to ensure thatthe existing projects wereimplemented to a larger extent andour coming at that time has helpeda lot. For example, there are lot ofroad projects in my area whichcontractors have almostabandoned; so when I came, I raisedthe issue which saw the contractorsrushing back to side to ensure thatthey do what was expected of them.This are some of the things I did first,and of course, coming to the 2012appropriation, I made sure that twomajor roads that were taking placein my constituency have gotten thedesired attention; it is not actuallyto my satisfaction but in any case,it is better than what was obtainableat the initial stage. So we ensuredthat in the 2012 appropriation,they got more money to do theirwork. Of course, I have some otherrural projects cutting across myconstituency which include ninemotorized boreholes, and thepoverty alleviation projects whichconsist of the provision about 1500sewing machines for women andabout 1800 water tanks forirrigation farmers and a lot of otherthings. What we are ensuring, as alawmaker, is to make sure thethings that our people are supposedto get from the FederalGovernment are given to them andas I'm taking to you, I have beenmoving from one agency to theother to ensure that other projectsare awarded to my constituency.

FG should review border closure tosave Borno economy, Rep pleads

INTERVIEW

And in terms of legislation onthe floor, I'm sponsoring four billswhich I have already submittedand I'm sure any moment theywould be debated; and I havesponsored three motions and threemore are underway which, beforethe end of this year, I would haveabout average of six motionspersonally to my credit apart fromthe one I have seconded.

One of the motions I'msponsoring is the need to review theclosure of our border by the FederalGovernment. Borno State virtuallysurvives on the trans-border tradebecause neighboring countries likeNiger, Chad, and Cameroun andeven as far as Sudan do usuallycome to Borno state for business andnow that the border is close, a lot ofbusinesses are dying. The businessesthat employed three to fourhundred people cannot managemore than twenty to thirty peopleand when two hundred people areoff the payroll, where are theygoing to go? These people can beavailable for anybody'srecruitment; so the securitychallenges has to do with theeconomic aspect; the number onesecurity is the economy, so long asthere is good and stable economy,then you can fight insecurity. Soday in, day out, if we are given theopportunity, we would try as muchas possible to ensure that the

yearnings and aspirations of ourpeople are met.

Nigeria is facing a veryserious challenge at this timeespecially in your state; how areyou hoping to achieve all thesesconsidering the security threat?

Developmental projects aregoing on right now. If you go thereyou would see for yourself; there isnothing that would stopdevelopment, some of the primaryroot causes of the problems we areseeing today is just lack ofdevelopment. Both the insurgentsand the Government are onlytrying to win the heart of the people;everyone is saying that he is on theside of justice and for the bettermentof the people and there is no saneperson that would go against thepeople oriented developmentprojects; and nobody or group ofpersons going to my state in goodfaith, to do a good work would beaffected by anything anddevelopment is what people wouldsee and feel that would affect theirdaily lives. As I'm taking to you now,all the road projects that are stillongoing are there, the constructioncompanies are also there they have

not left and they are doing their job.The state government on its

own is there embarking on differentdevelopmental projects even withinmy constituency and in variousplaces. Works are going on and someof the contractors are alwaysavailable in my place doing whatthey know best. So if you have arequisite qualification that meetsthe standard of our people you wouldalways be welcome to my place. Asa matter of fact, this would not be areason for anybody to shy awayfrom bringing development to thepeople as part of his primaryresponsibilities.

There have been complaintsthat despite all the securitychallenges facing Borno, thePresident has not for oncevisited the state in order tocommiserate with the people. Isit because Borno is controlled bythe opposition ANPP?

Let me inform you that thereare two Senators from my state thatare in PDP and we have fewmembers of the House ofRepresentatives that are PDPmembers. This does not makeBorno a total opposition state. Wesaw what it cost George Bushwhen he decided not to visit thestate that was hit by Katrina andit became an issue. So it iseverywhere in the world, it is agesture, a show of concern, itshows that a leader is very muchconcerned with the welfare of hispeople. Even if it is a small foodthat is causing problem, theleader must show his concern notthinking that it is other people'sproblem not his. I would not wantto go deep into this but it is amatter of responsibility of aleader, and leaders should bealive to their responsibilities, nomatter the situations.

Nigeria's image abroad isvery bad, as a member of thecommittee on Diaspora,what is your committee doingto change that?

Interestingly, this is the firstcommittee of its kind in thewhole world that we know. Fromthe inception of that committeebarely three years ago, I thinkwhat it has done is too numerousto mention. For the first timeforeign governments are clearlysaying that Nigeria is becomingconcerned about its own citizensoutside Nigeria. Everywhere inthe world you would findNigerians in one problems or theother without the governmentcoming to their rescue or findingout how they are faring abroad.This committee is the one thatbrought this to lime-light.Every day we are flooded withvarious applications byNigerians in Diaspora asking usto allow them or to give themthe opportunity to come to theHouse and tell us their plightsin their respective places of stay;this is to tell you that there aresomething positive about thecommittee, if it is not positivepeople would not bother to comeall the way.

For example in one of ourtrips to Brazil, quite a numberof Nigerians are in Brazilianprisons with drug relatedcrimes. Nigerians in Brazilbelieved that if there is anybodythat could come to their rescue,it is the House committee onDiaspora. They decided to comehere and because there was noprior appointment, they havebeen loitering in this area forabout four or five days becauseof the security situation in thecountry. Eventually they gottheir way, and by the time theycame in, it was as simple as ABC,they started crying and weepingthat it could be that simple tomeet the chairperson and thecommittee members and theSpeaker of the House in less thantwo hours and lay theircomplaints; and were givenassurance that we are comingto Brazil, and we went, and theysaw the level of impact we madein Brazil.

This is to tell you that thiscommittee is one of the mostpositive committee of the Housetoday and I believe the Housemust be proud with thecommittee and its composition.We are trying to see thateverywhere we go, we ensure thebetterment of Nigerianseverywhere they are in theworld. That is commendable, and Imust commend the leadership ofthe committee headed by theChairman in person of Hon. AbikeDabiri-Erewa who is doing verywell. I believe with that kind ofspirit, the sky is our limit.

“The state government on its own isthere embarking on different

developmental projects even within myconstituency and in various places.

Works are going on and some of thecontractors are always available in my

place doing what they know best.

Hon Abdul-Rahman Terab

Hon Abdul-Rahman Terab is themember, House of Representatives,

representing Bama/Ngala-Kala/Balgefederal constituency of Borno state. Inthis interview with Umar Mohammed

Puma, he speaks on the securitychallenges facing his state and berates

President Goodluck Jonathan for notpaying an official visit to Borno to

commiserate with the people who arevictims of attacks by insurgents.

Excerpts:


Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekition Tuesday threatened toprosecute Mr Segun Oni if

he continued to parade himself as aformer governor of the State.

Fayemi gave the threat duringa rally held in solidarity withJustice Ayo Isa Salami in Ado Ekiti.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN), reports that the Conferenceof Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP)with other groups organised therally.

They displayed placards ofvarious inscriptions and marchedfrom the Fajuyi Park to Governor'soffice as the groups urged PresidentGoodluck Jonathan to reinstate

Fayemi warns Oni to stop parading himself as former governor of EkitiJustice Salami.

They comprised the NationalUnion of Road Transport Workers,Road Transport EmployersAssociation of Nigeria, youthbodies, artisans, ``Okada'' riders,market women and leaders ofsome political parties.

Fayemis said that appropriatesteps would be taken against Onifor failing to stop parading himselfas former governor of the State inspite of judicial pronouncementthat he was never elected as agovernor.

“The judgment of the AppealCourt was very clear andunequivocal that Oni was not

validly elected in 2007 and wasnever a governor in the face of law.

“Because no law, either at theState or Federal level, recogniseshim as a former governor.

“And appropriate steps will betaken to ensure that those that areimpersonating are prosecuted andbrought to justice.''

In his reaction, the media aide tothe former governor, Mr LereOlayinka , described Fayemi as“someone who is dancing naked inthe market place to give theimpression that he has something inhis head.

“If Fayemi is truly an intellectual,he must be aware of the recent

Lagos doctors’ sack: Fashola, ACNmust account for casualties - PDPThe South West zone of PDP

on Tuesday berated theLagos State Governor, Mr

Babatunde Fashola over theongoing crisis in the Statehealth sector.

A statement by signed bythe Zonal Director of Media andPublicity, Mr Lere Olayinka inLagos said that Fashola shouldbe held responsible for thecausalities.

Doctors in the State hospitalsunder the aegis of Medical Guildhad on April 24 embarked onan indefinite strike demandingfor the implementation of the

Consolidated Medical SalaryScale (CONMESS).

They also wanted adownward review of taxes andpayment of teaching allowancefor medical doctors oninternship.

But the State governmenton May 7 sacked 788 doctorsfor insubordination andabsence from their duty posts.

“Fashola and his partymust answer for the blood ofLagosians that are dyingdaily as a result of the sack of788 striking doctors in theState.

“The doctors' strike andtheir eventual sack by theState government have alsoexposed the lies of the LagosState Government as regardsprovision of health carefacilities in the State.

“Even though thousands ofpatients have died as a resultof the crisis, it is important tonote that the casualties wouldhave been higher ifgovernment owned healthinstitutions were to beresponsible for the provision ofhealthcare services to 50 percent of Lagosians.

“That there is no outbreakof epidemic and patients arenot dying in hundreds ofthousands yet is becauseLagosians do not rely ongovernment healthinstitutions in the firstinstance.

“They patronise privatehospitals because the existinggovernment healthinstitutions cannot cater forup to 10 per cent of the people.

“The question to be askedtherefore is; where is the overN30 billion that Lagos Stategets monthly going to,'' theparty asked.

Olayinka berated the ACNfor supporting the doctor's sack,saying that it was inhuman,wicked and tyrannical tosupport a government decisionsending hundreds of Lagosiansto the grave on a daily basis justbecause of party affiliation.

“Once again, the ACN and itsfunctionaries havedemonstrated their contemptfor the welfare of the people, andthey are worse than militarydictators,'' the statementquoted him as saying.

Wada lists conditions forreaping democracy benefits

For Nigerians to reapmaximum benefitsfrom civil rule, they must

exhibit the right attitude todemocracy and fully participatein electing their leaders, KogiGovernor, Idris Wada has said.

Wada gave the admonition onTuesday in Lokoja while openinga one-day workshop on votereducation, organised by INEC forselected principals of publicsecondary schools.

According to him, far lessvoters have been determining theoutcome of elections being heldsince 1999 and the trend can bestbe described "as the imposition ofthe will of the voting minority onthe country."

He expressed regrets that lowturnout of voters had taken theshine off democracy as electionhad constituted its hallmark.

The governor noted that theelection that brought him to powerand other elections held at variouslevels had been marred by lowvoter turnouts.

"Voter turnout in all elections

held in the country has always beenbelow 50 per cent of the total numberof registered voters and this is notgood enough for the country'sdemocracy."

Wada said that democracy wasthe best form of government,describing it " as a major plank fordevelopment and growth in manydeveloped and developingcountries."

He commended INEC'sinitiative at inculcating good valuesin the nation's youths, right fromthe secondary school level, sayingthat the efforts would go a along wayin reducing electoral violence.

He noted that the initiativewould also improve quality ofmobilisation and enhance civiceducation.

Wada said that INEC'sinvolvement of youths in theelectoral process would likelydiscourage politicians' habit ofbeing bad losers and reduce thenumber of litigations that follow theoutcome of elections.

The governor assured that theState Government would giveINEC necessary support andencouragement to make a successof the programme.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that 72 out of the302 principals of public secondaryschools in the state are attendingthe workshop.

Earlier, the state's INECresident ElectoralCommissioner, Mr SegunAgabje, said that the decisionto involve youths in thecommission's voter educationprogramme was aimed atensuring efficiency andproductivity in electionmanagement.

"Voter education will helpprovide important informationand knowledge to enable avoter get properly equipped totake the right decision at theright time and in the rightmanner. ''

According to him, theworkshop will enhance thecapacity of teachers to deliverfactual information onelectoral issues to students inaddition to managing andsustaining the clubs that willbe formed in all the 302 publicsecondary schools in the state.

Agbaje said that youthsoutside the school system wouldalso be brought into the net in thecommission's march towards 2015under the scheme.

by its National Publicity Secretary,Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said thestatement for which Gen. Buhariis now being mercilessly savagedwas nothing but a warning againstthose who may be planning to rigthe 2015 general elections, henceshould not have rankled anyonewho believes in free, fair andtransparent polls.

It said the viciousness of theseemingly coordinated attacks bythe presidency and the PDP raiseda lot of concern regarding theirplans for the 2015 elections.

''We hold no brief for anyone. Butit is true that if elections are rigged,as they have been so shamelessly andbrazenly done by the PDP since1999, naturally people will react,and in doing so it is impossible foranyone to predict how far things cango. This is what, in our opinion, Gen.Buhari warned against. If thepresidency and the PDP have nointention to rig in 2015, why arethey so worried about theconsequences of such action?'' ACNqueried.

The party said Buhari's warning

The Action Congress ofNigeria (ACN) hasdenounced the crude,

vitriolic and impudent verbalattack on a former Head of State,Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, by thepresidency and the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) for noother reason than his timelywarning against election rigging in2015.

ACN in a statement issuedyesterday in Osogbo, Osun State,

ACN denounces crude attacks on Buhari, urges FG to heed his warningswas in order, considering that the2011 general elections remain themost systematically-rigged polls inNigeria's history, irrespective ofthe so-called endorsement by somevisceral foreign election monitors.

''The 2011 elections also leftNigeria divided along ethnic andreligious lines, more than anyother time in the history of Nigeria,hence no one should tell us aboutthe polls being the best sinceNigeria returned to civil rule, justbecause some self-acclaimedmonitors said so!'' ACN said.

judgment of the Supreme Court onthe tenure of former governor ofKogi, AlhajiIbrahim Idris andothers.

“We also expected him to havealso availed himself with theSupreme Court's decisions in AG.Anambra V AG Federation (2007)12 NWLR Pt 1047 and Balonwu VGovernor, Anambra State (40NSCQR pg 514),'' Olayinka said.

NAN recalls that Fayemi uponassumption of office Oct 16, 2010ordered the removal of all Oni'seffigies and pictures in thegovernor's office, ministries,parastatals, departments andagencies.

Member, House of Representatives, Hon. Simon mwadkwon (middle), briefing newsmen on the crisis inhis Barkin-Ladi Riyom Federal. Constituency in Plateau state, on tuesday in Jos. With him are Editor, DailyIndependent, Jos, Chief Audu Ojogbane (left), and Editor, Silver Bird Television, Jos, Mr Samson Omale(right). Photo: NAN

By Tobias Lengnan Dapanm


Taraba state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Hon. Victor Bala Kona, casting his vote in a local government council election onSaturday, at Sarkin Dutse ward in Ardo Kola Local Government Area.

presided over the day's sitting,after Adeyeye brought a Noticeof Motion before his colleagueson the advertorial of the Senatecalling for memoranda towardsthe amendment of the 1999constitution.

Adeyeye in his motion notedthe provision of Section 9 (1)and (2) of the 1999 constitutionof the Federal Republic ofNigeria. He further noted theadvertorial of the Senate,calling for memoranda towardsthe Amendment of the 1999Constitution to be submittedwithin 50 days to thecommittee on the review at the

Constitutional amendment: Lagos Assemblysets up committee for memoranda

The Lagos State House ofAssembly on has set up acommittee that will be

responsible for the drafting ofthe state memoranda for theconstitutional amendment

The Independent ElectoralCommission (INEC) hassaid it would soon kick-

start the continuation ofvoter's card registrationexercise in the country

The INEC Publicity AffairsOfficer Bauchi office AlhajiYahya Saliu Mohammeddisclosed this in an interview

INEC to start nationwide voter registration soon

agricultural use.Amaechi stated this

yesterdy whjile on a courtesyvisit to the Emir of Gumel forthe commissioning of Gumel-Babura Road.

The Governor said he wasamazed with the endless vastof arable land that he saw on

his way from Birnin Kudu toGumel and wondered whymost of i t had not beenCult ivated.

He said, "If the Jigawastate governor would paymore deserved attention toagricultural sector he wouldgo a long way in solving

The Chairman NigeriaGovernors' Forum andRivers' State Governor

Mr. Rotimi Amaechi hasadvised the Northern stategovernors to exploit the vastland available for

From Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

Amaechi counsels North to embrace agriculture


From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi with newsmen in his office,saying that very soonregistration of voters cardswill commence we are onlywaiting for the INECheadquarters to give us goahead and make the necessaryarrangement before we start .

He said INEC has beenwaiting for the cases in thetribunals to be effectivelydone with in the country

before the commencement ofthe registration. "Now that allis concluded we are waiting forthe head office to give orders."

The Publicity Officer saidsome of the youths haveturned eighteen now andthere would be need for themto get the voters card becauseof their eligibility to vote inthe future

According to him, we are on

the process of the voter'sregistration; that is why we aregoing to organize a sensitizationworkshop for about sixtyheadmasters across the stateover the need of voter'sregistration and also tosensitize them on thedemocratic process and theinvolvement of youths in thedemocratization process in thecountry.

being proposed by the NationalAssembly.

Members of the committeeinclude the Leader of the House,Ajibayo Adeyeye as itsChairman; AdefunmiilayoTejuoso (Mushin Constituency1); Kabir Lawal (Surulere 1);Abdulbaq Balogun (Ajeromi-Ifelodun 2); Segun Olulade (Epe2); Sanai Agunbiade (Ikorodu1); Chief Whip of the House,Rasaq Balogun (Surulere 2)and Deputy Leader, LolaAkande (Ikeja 2).

The committee was set up bythe Deputy Speaker of theHouse, Taiwo Kolawole, who

1999 constitution.He observed that previous

amendment of theconstitution did not address thesalient and topical issues in theconstitution thereby notmeeting the yearnings andaspirations of Lagosians andNigerians in general.

He stated that there was aneed for the Lagosians to stateunequivocally "our position onthe proposed constitutionalamendment, highlightingclearly, areas in theconstitution that requireurgent amendment as dictatedby our interaction with the

Executive, Judiciary andLagosians at large," he added.

The House however,resolved that a committee beformed for drafting of a Lagosmemoranda for constitutionalamendment. "The Houseshould empower theCommittee to meet withstakeholders and consult withLagosians through a welladvertised public hearing; andthere should be a formalpresentation of the resolutionarising from Committee'sReport to all quarters as maybe determined by the House,"Adeyeye added.

TarabaCPCgovernorshipcandidatedecamps toPDP

A gubernatorial candidateof the Congress forProgressive Change

(CPC) in last year’s generalelection in Taraba state,Ahmed Yusuf Gamaliya, hasformally returned to People'sDemocratic Party, PDP.

Gamaliya who made thepronouncement yesterday inJalingo while briefingnewsmen said he decided to goback to the PDP after dueconsultations with GovernorDanba Suntai, the PDP,individuals, groups and hissupporters.

According to him, thecircumstance that led him andhis supporters to leave the PDPin the past were no longer thereand his return wasunconditional but to join handswith the government to movethe state forward.

He said as a strong memberof the PDP who contributedimmensely to the growth ofthe party, not only in Tarabastate but in Nigeria, he hadmoral justification to go backto the party.

Gamaliya said he was surethat his return to the PDPwould generate positive andnegative comments from thepublic and assured that hisreturn was for the bettermentof the people.

He thanked God for theopportunity to serve in variouscapacities since the creation ofthe state and promised to keepthe people abreast ofhappenings in his politicalcareer as they unfold.

He said he remainedgrateful to the CPC for givinghim the gubernatorial ticket atthe time he needed it most andsaid he has no grudges againstanyone and commended theleadership of the party at theNational level and in TarabaState.

He commended theChairman of the party in thestate, Uba Ahmed, forsupporting him while he wasin the CPC.

From Yusha' Alhassan Jalingo

indolence amongstunemployed youths in thestate"' he said.

He said, "the North isundoubtedly blessed withferti le lands of which iftapped would transformedthe lives of the people of thestate".


L-R: Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Treaties and Agreement, Hon. Emeseye Akpodiogaga, CommitteeChairman, Hon. Yacoob Alebiosu, and member of the committee , Hon. Jagaba Adam Jagaba, during an interactive session withMinister of Foreign Affairs, yesterday at the National Assembly, in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Gov. Aliyu Wamakko ofSokoto State has directedlocal government

chairmen to mobilise religious andtraditional rulers to sensitise thepeople about the importance ofpolio eradication in the state.

Wamakko made the call onWednesday in Sokoto at a meetingwith local government chairmen,the Federal Task Force on PolioEradication and the stateCommittee on Polio Eradication.

He said the state governmentwould review its method of

fighting the menace with theactive participation of allstakeholders.

Wamakko said thegovernment would continue toaccord priority to the eradicationof polio, stating that the supportof traditional and religious leaderswould fast track the fight againstthe disease.

"You must set up a committeein your respective localgovernment areas to reach to thepeople on the need to allow theirchildren to be immunised."

The Governor urged them topartner with religious leaders onthe need to always preachspecial sermons on theimportance of the immunisation.

Earlier, Dr. EmmanuelAbonida, Director, DiseaseControl, Federal Ministry ofHealth had said that a new caseof polio was recorded in SokotoNorth Local Government Area.

He called for fullparticipation of all stakeholdersin the fight to eradicate thedisease.

Wamakko directs LGs to mobilisereligious leaders for polio eradication

The Edo chapter of the PDPhas appealed to the peopleof the state to embark on a

seven-day fasting and prayersession to ward off the increasingwave of violence in the state.

The party made the appeal ina statement signed by thePublicity Secretary, Mr MathewUruokhide, in Benin on Tuesday.

``The party is very concernedabout the increasing spate ofdeaths arising from politicalactivities in the state.

``We, therefore, call for aseven-day fasting and prayersfrom all Edo people and indeed theentire nation, for the AlmightyGod to intervene in theforthcoming elections in EdoState.''

The statement noted that Edohad witnessed in the past fewweeks, unprecedented andincreasing rate of violence fromactivities related to politics inwhich about six people had. It saidthat the seven-day fasting andprayers should take place betweenMonday, May 21 andSunday,May 27.

According to the party, theprayer and fasting have becomenecessary to implore God to havemercy and avert furthercalamities in the state.

PDP calls forprayers,fasting in Edoto ward offviolence

National Assembly favoursregional govt, says Lanlehin

development.“An egalitarian western

Nigeria was built under ChiefObafemi Awolowo without beingat the mainstream,'' Lanlehinsaid.

The News Agency ofNigerian (NAN) reports thatLanlehin inaugurated sevensolar-powered boreholes atKudeti, Foko, Oke-Itunu,Igangan, Lanlate, Nalende andOpo Yeosa.

“I have built the seven

boreholes I am inauguratingtoday from my purse and sixothers will be built andinaugurated in the next twoweeks,'' he said.

Chief Mogaji Oluokun, Mogajiof Kudeti, commended Lanlehinover the project, adding that itwas a welcome development.

“We are happy that suchwonderful developments arehappening again in our society,''Oluokun said.

He, however, said the

Sen. Olufemi Lanlehin,representing Oyo SouthSenatorial District, on

Tuesday in Ibadan said theNational Assembly would soonamend the constitution to favourregional government.

Lanlehin, who said this at theinauguration of solar-poweredboreholes he donated to hisconstituency, noted thatregional government under thelate Chief Obafemi Awolowobrought meaningful

constituency needed modernpublic toilets while thedilapidated classroom blocks invarious schools needed to berenovated.

NAN reports that theinauguration ceremony wasperformed by a former governorof the state, Alhaji Lam Adeshina.

The forum was graced by theChief Imam of Ibadanland,Sheikh Suara Haruna as well asACN executives and members inthe senatorial district.

Edo PDP accuses Oshiomhole of unlawful protestsorganised by the Edo governor.

Orbih described the action asexecutive rascality, and said thatAdams Oshiomhole led the firstprotest to the Palace of the Oba ofBenin.

He pointed out that the secondprotest was to the State PoliceCommand and thirdly to theINEC office.

Orbih said, “These actions bya chief executive of a state are

condemnable and animpeachable offence.''

“Gov. Oshiomhole needs to bereminded that he is no longer alabour leader, but a servinggovernor and, therefore, cannotlead unwarranted protestmarches in disregard to the ruleof law.

“Gov. Adams Oshiomhole andthe ACN have lost direction, holdand initiative, as the first citizen

The Edo chapter of the People'sDemocratic Party (PDP) hasaccused Gov. Adams

Oshiomhole of uncivil and violentprotests, and said that suchactions were capable of causinganarchy in the state.

A press statement signed byChief Dan Orbih, the state PDPChairman, in Benin onWednesday stated that there hadbeen three unlawful protests

of the state,'' the PDP boss stated.He said that the PDP was

focused, prepared anddetermined to give its best in theelection and that Oshiomhole andhis ACN's fears notwithstanding,the party was poised to win theelection.

“And instead ofunthinkingly accusing the PDPof any clandestine moves,Oshiomhole should go andprepare, as the PDP had doneand was doing to contest theelection decently.

In his reaction, Pastor OsagieIze-Iyamu, Director-General,Oshiomhole Campaignorganisation, said thatOshiomhole did not lead anyunlawful protest to INEC.

Ize-Iyamu also said thatthere was freedom of movementand expression, adding thatbefore Oshiomhole embarked onany campaign exercise healerted the police and othersecurity agencies.

“Oshiomhole like any othercitizen has the right to protestover irregularities of INEC,especially when INEC is beenfunded with tax payers money.

A Bill for an Act to repealand re-enact the LagosState Road Traffic Law has

passed through the secondreading at the state House ofAssembly.

The Bill, read by the DeputyClerk of the House, SholaOgayemi, seeks to makeprovision for road traffic andvehicle inspection in the state.

Contributing to the debate onthe bill, the Deputy Whip of theHouse, Mr Rotimi Abiru, saidthat it would bill will bringsanity to the roads.

Abiru added that it wouldprevent indiscriminate packingof commercial vehicles andcheck traffic gridlock on theroad.

He explained when passedinto law, the bill would alsomake offenders face severepenalty for flouting the law.

Mrs Funmilayo Tejuosho,(ACN- Mushin II), described thebill as vital to the efforts aimedat reducing accidents in thestate.

Tejuosho expressed concernover the challenge posed bycommercial motorcyclists,tricycle operators and otherillegal commercial means oftransportation

Road trafficbill passessecondreading atLAHA


Super Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, will todayunveil the John Utaka, Austin Ejide, Mikel Obi,Joseph Yobo and Victor Moses plus five other

foreign-based members of the Eagles who will do battlefor Nigeria in the 2013 and 2014 World and Nations Cupsqualifying matches, next month.

Keshi, who disclosed this yesterday at the weelky mediaparley, said he intends to call up the 10 foreign-basedplayers, ought the 17 domestic league players who arecurrently preparing to tackle Peru in Lima on May 23.

Though Keshi did not specifically listed the players,Peoples Daily Sports however recalled that the coachhad previously dropped the hit that Yobo, Utaka, Ejideand Moses would be considered for the Eagles’ Worldand Nations Cups qualifiers.

And only recently, he called up Ekigho Ehiosun, NnamdiOduamadi, Gege Soriola, Obiorah Nwankwo and RaheemLawal, who are to join 17 domestic league players out

John Utaka Brown Ideye

of the current 24 in camp battling for shirts for theLima friendly duel.

Meanwhile, high-flying Glasgow Rangers winger, SoneAluko, is likely to be recalled for next month’s WorldCup qualifiers against Namibia and Malawi.

According to a wire service, a top official of the teamhas disclosed that Aluko, who has scored 12 goals forRangers including a hat-trick last weekend, will be oneof the foreign professionals that will be named by CoachStephen Keshi.

Aluko,who featured for the country at the 2009 FIFAU20 World Cup in Egypt, will therefore be given thechance to add to his one cap against Republic of Irelandin May 2009 after he represented England at variousage-group levels.

Peoples Daily Sports recalls that Keshi had soon afterthe Nigeria versus Egypt friendly game applauded thedomestic league Eagles but gave indication that hewould beef up the attack with experienced and visionaryplayers.

Accordingly, he praised Wigan Athletic winger Victor

Moses, John Utaka, who has been in tremendous formfor his French club Montpellier, Chelsea’s Mikel Obih,while goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu said Austin Ejide wouldbe recalled to challenge Vincent Enyeama and ChigozieAgbim for the safehands’ first choice shirt.

trainer is also in line to add to his first cap againstRwanda in February, when he made his long-awaiteddebut for Super Eagles.

Top team officialsalso informed thatthe five foreign-based pros for thefriendly against Perunext weekWednesday couldalso be consideredfor the qualifiersbased on theirperformances inLima.

Utaka, Ejide, Aluko return, as Keshiset to call up 10 foreign pros

The presence of Samsunspor’sforward, Ekigho Ehiosun andthe return of Warri Wolves and

Heartland FC players increased thetempo of the team’s training yesterdayas the players intensified efforts tosecure places in the 17-man squadhead coach, Stephen Keshi will taketo Lima, Peru for an international duel.

Ehiosun, one of the five foreign-based players Keshi called up for the

May 23 friendly game, arrived in thecamp Tuesday evening and trainedwith the rest yesterday.

Also defender, Azubuike Egwueke,midfielder Uche Ossai, striker SundayMba, who scored twice against LiberiaLone Star in a friendly and goalkeeperand skipper, Chigozie Agbim, returned

to the camp after their continentalclubs engagement as did the duo ofHeatland’s goalkeeper Dan Akpeyi andwinger Obinna Nwachukwu. Theirpresence added filip to the trainingas all the players put in extra effort toimpressive the technical crew whowere busy consulting from time to time

as the training hots up.Keshi, who concentrated on team

discipline and tact as he shapes theplayers up for depth against theirSouth American opponents said later,“any South American team playpossessional football, they won’t allowyou touch the ball but when they

know you can match them skill forskill, they respect you. That is whatI’m preparing your minds Peru”, hetold the players.

Ehiosun looked fresh from hisexploits in the Turkish league and wasquick on the ball when he played forthe possibles against the probables,later at training. It was an interestingsight to behold as Keshi assumed therole of referee in the game won bythe probables 3-1.

Meanwhile, Kwara United striker,Barnabas Imenger, may have ruledhimself out of considerations for thetrip to Lima, as he was yet to resumetraining by yesterday morning. Themedics were still working on histroublesome knee and even Keshitook several minutes during trainingto personally assess the player’srecovery rate.

In all, 25 players trained yesterdayand the list is expected to be prunedto 17 by the weekend for the trip toLima, the Peruvian capital.

African youth championsNigeria will rekindle old rivalrywith Argentina and Ghana at

an invitational tournament in CapeTown next week.

Nigeria Flying Eagles have beendrawn against old foes Argentina andGhana in the first round of thecompetition, which kicks off onWednesday, May 24.

Argentina denied the FlyingEagles the chance to win the 2005FIFA U20 World Cup in TheNetherlands, while the rivalry withGhana has been extended from thefull international level.

Last year, Nigeria defeateddefending world champions Ghana1-0 in a group game on their way toa sixth AYC title in South Africa.

According to the official websiteof Ghana Football Association (GFA),the Black Satellites will take on theFlying Eagles on May 25.

The Nigeria U20s will then comeup against Argentina two days later,before they complete their firstround engagements against hostnation South Africa.

The Flying Eagles are thedefending champions having wonthe inaugural edition last year.

The final of this year’scompetition will be played on June3.

Ehiosun heightens tension in Eagles camp

Nigeria will storm Calabar May 27 ahead of a 2014 World Cupqualifier against Namibia next month, officials disclosed. Thequalifier will be played on June 3 and six days later, the Eagles

will be hosted by Malawi in continuation of the series.FIFA have already named Sudanese referee Khalid Abdel Rahman for

the Namibia game, while Mauritian referee Rajindraparsad Seechurnwill be at the centre when the Super Eagles battle Malawi in Blantyreon Saturday, June 9.

The match will be played at the Kamuzu Banda Stadium in Blantyre,starting from 2.30 pm local time (1.30pm Nigeria time).

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) also announced that coachStephen Keshi, will on Thursday in Abuja unveil his hit squad for thethree qualifiers next month.

Keshi is also expected to name same day the 17 players from thedomestic league who will be joined by the five foreign-based playersfor the trip to Lima, Peru.

Turkey-based striker Ekigho Ehiosun already joined the squad inAbuja Tuesday evening. The team to Peru will depart for Madrid fromLagos on May 19 and connect a direct flight from Madrid to Lima onMay 20 – an 11-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

LIKELY LIST OF FOREIGN-BASED PROSMikel Obi, John Utaka, Brown Ideye, Victor Moses, VincentEnyeama, Austin Ejide, Sone Aluko, Taye Taiwo, and JosephYobo, Ahmed Musa and Ekigho Ehiosun

Eagles shift base to Calabar May 27

Stories by Patrick Andrew

F/Eagles drawArgentina,Ghana

Sone Aluko Victor Moses Ekigho Ehiosun


Sunshine Stars have acknowledgedthat they are in a difficult group inthe raw that was conducted for the

group stage of the 2012 CAF ChampionsLeague.

The Akure Gunners will face Esperanceof Tunisia, Etoile du Sahel Sportive andAS Chlef of Algeria - all North African clubs- in the group stage of the continent’sbiggest club football competition thisyear.

Reacting after the draw, Sunshine Stars’head coach, Gbenga Ogunbote agreedthat the group is a tricky and tough onewith experienced teams but added thatthe Stars would do their best to matchevery other contender strength forstrength and depth for depth.

“No doubt the other teams in our groupare quality sides and surprisingly they areall North African sides. At least we knowour opponents before we kick a ball andnow we will work towards reaching thesemifinals.

“I agreed, we are the only team in thecountry remaining on the continent. Wewill have to give everything to fly thecountry’s flag well and I am confident wehave the team to do so,” he said.

Midfielder Ekundayo Ojo believes hisside’s home form in the group stage willbe key in reaching the last four.

“Well, we are in a very tough group. Ifwe can win all our three home games andget one away win, we are through to thesemifinals,” he said.

Zamalek head coach Hassan Shehatahas assured that he’s not worriedabout the quality of opposition in

his CAF Champions League group.Shehata told SuperSport.com that he

wants win with the African cup so hedoesn’t care against who he will play inthe group stage.

“I respect the draw , I will play withtough teams like Al Ahly, Berekum Chelseaand with TP Mazembe , I will do my bestto win and progress in the tournament”Shehata said.

“ I hope the Ministry of Interior in Egyptmake our fans attend our matchesespecially against Al Ahly , I think thatwill be good for the Egyptian football”

On the other hand Al Ahly boardmember Hadi Khashaba toldSuperSport.com “ the draw very tough ,we will play hard matches “

“ We will buy new players in the nextmonths to Support the team , Jose hassubmitted a list of the players he wantsto sign, and we will do our best in that”he added.

Stephen Keshi Samson Siasia Gbenga Ogunbote

Okey Emordi John Obuh Edwin Okon

CAF Champions LeagueSunshineStars waryof NorthAfricans

Shehataunfazed bytough draw,relishesderby

Adegboye Onigbinde, a former HeadCoach of the Super Eagles, has saidthat the quality of a country’s football

is a byproduct of the quality of trainingthe coaches have received.

The CAF/FIFA instructor said there wasno magic to tactically disciplined teamother than what the coach impacted onthe players stressing that when coachesare not put through regular refreshercourses, to improve their profile, it reflectsnegatively on the domestic football.

Further, he argued that there wereseveral measures that could be taken, tocompel coaches to take up refreshercourses, especially when they showreluctance to upgrade themselves.

“In football, we say a player is as good ashis coach, if he does not know the bestlesson to give a player to deliver on thepitch, what do you expect?

“If coaches who are supposed to be thetechnical men, do not improve themselves,then the chances of having quality classfootball is not feasible. “Two years ago inCAF, we took a decision that any coach whodoes not have a CAF license, will not beable to seat on the bench for CAFcompetitions, and they all rushed to get it.

“The same stringent measure could betaken in Nigeria, if you don’t have a licenseA you don’t handle any premier leagueteam, if you don’t have B you don’t handleprofessional league side”, Onigbinde said.

He further stated that, by so doing, itwill compel coaches to get back to theclassrooms to keep them abreast with thecurrent trends in football management.

To buttress his point, Onigbinde saidthat for a nation to improve on its level ofeducation, the foremost thing to do is togroom the teachers to perform maximally.

“If you want to improve the level ofeducation in any country, the first thingto do is to educate teachers, obviouslybecause they are the source from whichthe students tap from.

“Same goes for football, if you get it rightwith the coaches, then the country’sfootball will be better off for it,”the formerSuper Eagles coach said.

On his assessment of the level ofgrassroots football development in thecountry, he stressed that emphasis shouldbe on the impartation of the rudiments ofthe game before exposure to competitions.

He said competitions are opportunity forcoaches to assess players on their level of

understanding of the game and would spurthem to they perform better.

“Competitions are used as venues toassess the development of players, to seehow well the players are imbibing what theyare being taught, if you don’t develop them,what do you assess in competitions?

“Everybody is talking about competitions,but there should be a level of developmentput in place before you can evaluate theirperformance in competitions.

“Competitions are like examinations inschools, why do we set up examinations,because you want to know what yourstudent’s have learnt. “In a competition youcan bring in my mother’s age group to play,somebody will win, we will all clap andeverybody goes home, but the question ishave the players learnt anything?”, he said.

He called on corporate organisations, toget involved in the developmental processof football and not only funding footballcompetitions, which does not serve itsdevelopmental aspirations.

“People are just making money from thesponsors of such competitions, I lookforward to a day when a corporate bodywould sponsor a nationwide coachingprogramme,” he said.

Onigbinde says good coachingbreeds quality football


Chelsea and Liverpool look set to miss out onBrazilian starlet Lucas Moura, with InterMilan looking the strong favourites to clinch

his signature.Both Premier League clubs have been linked

with a move for the 19-year-old Sao Paulomidfielder, but no side is believed to have made a

Karim Benzema Lucas Moura

Borussia Dortmundmidfielder ShinjiKagawa is set to

leave the club thissummer after turningdown the offer of anew contact.

The Japaninternational still has ayear left to run on hiscurrent deal with theBundesliga champions,but he is a player indemand. He has beenheavily linked withManchester United -and Dortmund isunlikely to want to runthe risk of losing him fornothing next year.

United manager SirAlex Ferguson andassistant Mike Phelanwere present at theDFB-Pokal final at theweekend as 23-year-oldKagawa scored inDortmund’s 5-2 win overBayern Munich.

Kagawa will commanda significantly higherfee than the £280,000Dortmund paid CerezoOsaka for him in 2010.

He has scored 21goals in 49 Bundesligamatches, playing a keyrole in the club’s back-to-back league titles.

Wigan midfielderM o h a m e dDiame is

attracting attentionfrom the PremierLeague’s elite clubs.

L i v e r p o o l ,Tottenham, Arsenal andAston Villa have allshown interest in theSenegal internationalthat is considered oneof the bargains of thewindow as a free agent.

Liverpool is keen toadd energy to theirmidfield and Tottenhamrecognise the need tomaintain a big squadwith improved quality ifthey are to launchanother seriousoffensive on theChampions League andthe Premier League.

Wigan also expectsto lose Hugo Rodallegawhile Victor Mosescontinues to becourted by clubs suchas QPR.

Van Persie will hold crunch talks over his futuretoday and Arsenal fear he will tell them he wantsto leave. City is leading a three-way battle for

van Persie with Manchester United and Juventus butit is believed the newly-crowned Premier Leaguechampions are in pole position.

Big-spending City are prepared to more than treblehis wages to £250,000-a-week to snap up anotherArsenal player after already signing Samir Nasri, GaelClichy and Kolo Toure.

Wenger has already insisted he will not sell vanPersie to City for any price but Arsenal will not be ableto match the contract on offer and then must decidewhether to hold him to his contract or sell and cuttheir losses.

Karim Benzema has said that he is enjoying life atReal Madrid so much at the moment that he wouldconsider spending the rest of his career at the

Bernabeu.Benzema, 24, scored 32 goals in 52 appearances

for the club this season as Real reached the 100-pointmark to set a Spanish record on the way to the Ligatitle.

The Frenchman endured criticism of both his fitnessand his commitment during the campaign, but heinsists that he is not looking to leave anytime soon.

Madrid sporting director and France legend ZinedineZidane has played a role in helping Benzema to adjustto life in Spain, as has Coach Jose Mourinho.

Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle arelocked in a battle with BorussiaMonchengladbach to sign Montpellier defender

Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.Yanga-Mbiwa, 22, is rated one of the best young

defenders in Europe and has been a star performer inthe French League this season.

The talented youngster has earned a surprise call-up to the France squad and is in the preliminary 26-man party for Euro 2012.

There have been no shortage of Premier Leagueclubs chasing his signature, but reports in Germanmagazine Kicker claim Borussia Monchengladbach havenow entered talks to sign the 23-year-old defender.

firm offer for him yet.Inter head coach Andrea Stramaccioni has finally

admitted that Lucas is one of the club’s top targets.The Italian boss told newspaper Corriere dello

Sport: “He is a world class player. For me he isone of the most interesting talents on the transfermarket today and would be great for us.

The Spanish giants want to offer Drogba, 34,a two-year deal worth up to £5million aseason to quit Chelsea and snub a move to

China, Milan or the USA.Chelsea has also offered the striker a new two-

year deal with owner Roman Abramovich pullingout all the stops to keep him.

But Drogba is out of contract and could quitthe Blues after the Champions League final on

Saturday.Though a move to Shanghai FC could be far

more lucrative, the lure of playing alongside LionelMessi and Co could prove irresistible for the IvoryCoast star.

Italian giants AC Milan, who have wanted Drogbafor years, were also in touch to declare theirinterest just after Chelsea beat Barcelona in theChampions League semi-final.

Kagawaclose toOldTrafford

Liverpool,Spursleadchase forDiame

Inter set to pip Liverpool,Chelsea to Brazil starlet

Benzema happy toend career at Real

City table £25mfor van Persie

Man United, Arsenal andNewcastle face biddingwar for French defender

Del Piero: ‘I wantto play in England’ Barca line up Drogba

Spurs need Bayernto beat Chelsea toseal £20m Remy deal

Drogba

Tottenham’s bid forFrance strikerLoic Remy all

hinges on BayernMunich beating Chelseain the Champions Leaguefinal on Saturday.

Harry Redknapp triedto sign the £20m-rated

Remy in January but hisclub Marseilles are nowready to deal after failingto qualify for Europeanfootball next season.

R e m y ’ srepresentatives had toldSpurs they wanted towait to see if the North

London club hadqualified for theChampions Leaguebefore continuing withnegotiations, meaningSpurs must now hopeChelsea get beaten inthe showpiece match onSaturday night.

Harry Redknapp’s sidewill take England’s finalChampions League spot,If Chelsea win, they willgo into next season’scompetition as winnersand Spurs will have tosettle for the EuropaLeague.

Arsenal, Tottenham and QPR have been put onred alert after Italian legend Alessandro Del Pierorevealed he would love the chance to play in

England. Del Piero, 37, is set end his memorable 19-year association with Juventus after helping themwin the Serie A title this season.

Arsenal, Tottenham and QPR have been stronglylinked with a move for Del Piero and he hopes to finalisehis future in the next few weeks.

TransferThe season is over. Clubs arecounting their blessing as well aslosses and would like to makeamends and even beef up their squadswhere noticeable lapses exist. Andthe transfer market is agog barely24 hours after major Europeanleagues dropped the curtain.And so to keep abreast with latestrumours, we begin daily doses ofmovements within the market bothfor players and coaches like.


CHANGE OF NAMEI, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS AISHATUS. ALIYU, NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN ANDADDRESSED AS SADDIYA A. IBRAHIM. ALLFORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. P.H.C.DARAZO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND GENERALHOSPITAL JAKUSKO AND GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULDPLEASE TAKE NOTE.

RESULTS

Men’s 100m1. Justin Gatlin (U.S.) 9.932. Michael Rodgers (U.S.)10.063. Jacques Harvey(Jamaica) 10.16

Men’s 400m1. Kirani James (Grenada)44.722. Renny Quow (Trinidadand Tobago) 45.653. Calvin Smith (U.S.) 45.70

Men’s 800m1. Mohammed Aman(Ethiopia) 1:43.512. Leonard Kirwa Kosencha(Kenya) 1:44.743. Andreas Bube (Denmark)1:45.27

Men’s 110m Hurdles1. Aries Merritt (U.S.) 13.212. David Oliver (U.S.) 13.223. Jason Richardson (U.S.)13.34

Men’s 4 x 400m Relay1. Japan 3:01.042. Australia 3:01.583. Australia B 3:07.29

Men’s High Jump1. Trevor Barry (Bahamas)2.252. Jamie Nieto (U.S.) 2.223. Samson Oni (Britain) 2.22

Men’s Long Jump1. Ignisious Gaisah (Ghana)7.992. Elvijs Misans (Latvia)7.963. George Kitchens (U.S.)7.92

Men’s Shot Put1. Ryan Whiting (U.S.)21.142. Dylan Armstrong(Canada) 20.723. Adam Nelson (U.S.) 20.34

Men’s Javelin Throw1. Dmitri Tarabin (Russia)85.752. Ari Mannio (Finland)81.063. Igor Janik (Poland) 80.23

Women’s 100m1. Carmelita Jeter (U.S.)11.112. Blessing Okagbare(Nigeria) 11.213. Aleen Bailey (Jamaica)11.34

Women’s 200m1. LaShauntea Moore (U.S.)22.712. ChaRonda Williams (U.S.)22.823. Aleen Bailey (Jamaica)23.15

Women’s 1500m1. Eunice Sum (Kenya)4:05.992. Meskerem Assefa(Ethiopia) 4:06.523. Kaila McKnight (Australia)4:06.54

Women’s 100m Hurdles1. Dawn Harper (U.S.) 12.652. Kellie Wells (U.S.) 12.663. Brigitte Foster-Hylton(Jamaica) 13.00

Women’s Long Jump1. Janay DeLoach (U.S.)6.792. Karin Mey Melis (Turkey)6.483. Saeko Okayama (Japan)6.45

Women’s Pole Vault1. Anastasiya Savchenko(Russia) 4.602. Lacy Janson (U.S.) 4.503. Silke Spiegelburg(Germany) 4.45Women’s Hammer Throw1. Betty Heidler (Germany)77.242. Tatyana Lysenko (Russia)76.143. Zhang Wenxiu (China)75.68

Belgian coach, Maurice Cooreman, has angrily toreinto his players for failing to put up a fight againstSouth African club, Black Leopards last weekend.

Warri Wolves were bundled out of the CAF ConfederationCup on away goals’ rule following a 0-2 loss in the secondleg against the PSL team.

Cooreman’s men had won the first leg in Warri 3-1 inApril before they lost in the reverse match.

The Warri Wolves’ manager is now livid that his playersdid not turn up against the Polokwane-based team in thereverse fixture.

“It was a disgraceful performance from my players. Wewon the first leg 3-1 and we just needed to play well andscore at least a goal but my players didn’t do that,” saidCooreman to SuperSport.com.

“Some of our players are in the national team and thisresult is just unacceptable. The national team players (inthe Wolves’ team) disappointed me the most, but that isfootball.”

The former Kaduna United manager now wants his teamto focus on the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) and salvage

their season by fightingto finish among the topthree.

“Now we have to goback and work hard andmake sure we finish inthe top three. That’sthe only way we canwin a place back tocontinental clubfootball,” adisappointed Cooremanremarked.

Warri Wolves are in14th position in thePremier Leaguestandings on 30 pointsfrom 22 games and are13 points behindleaders, Enugu Rangers.

American sprinter Justin Gatlin continued his recentresurgence ahead of the London Olympics with victoryin the men’s 100 metres at the IAAF World Challenge

meeting yesterday.The gold medallist from the 2004 Athens Games won in

9.93 seconds ahead of compatriot Michael Rodgers (10.06)and Jamaica’s Jacques Harvey (10.16).

Gatlin, the world indoor 60 metre champion who hasenjoyed a revival of late after his four-year ban for dopingended in 2010, followed up his success in the Diamond Leaguemeeting in Doha on Saturday, where he beat Jamaica’s AsafaPowell. In the women’s 100, Carmelita Jeter sprinted tovictory in 11.11 seconds to finish ahead of Nigeria’s BlessingOkagbare (11.21) and Aleen Bailey of Jamaica (11.34).

Jeter, who won the world title on the same track lastyear, was short of her season best of 10.81 but the Americanstill extended her winning streak in finals to 10 races.

Another world champion who enjoyed a happy return toDaegu was Grenada’s Kirani James, who won the men’s 400metres.

James finished almost a second ahead of Renny Quow ofTrinidad & Tobago to claim victory in his first race of theseason. There was also success for America’s world indoor60 metre hurdles champion Aries Merritt (13.21), who pippedcompatriot David Oliver (13.22) to win the men’s 110 metreshurdles, while Ethiopia’s indoor 800 world championMohammed Aman proved too strong over the distance toedge Kenya’s Leonard Kirwa Kosencha.

Jamaican sprinter Sherone Simpson was disqualified in thewomen’s 200 allowing American LaShauntea Moore to claimvictory in 22.71, just ahead of her compatriot ChaRondaWilliams.

Men’s javelin world champion Matthias de Zordo of Germanyonly managed 79.39 metres in his season opener to finish adisappointing fourth in the event, which was won by Russia’sDmitri Tarabin with an 82.75 effort.

De Zordo will be among those athletes heading to Shanghaifor this Saturday’s second Diamond League meeting of theyear.

Justin Gatlin

Kirani JamesMaurice Cooreman

Cooreman blamesplayers for Warri Wolves’Confederation Cup exit

Liverpool have adoptedAston Villa’s style bysacking its manager

Kenny Dalglish in a mannerthat showed displeasurewith his performance duringthe season.

The 61-year-old Scot, whohad returned for a secondstint as manager at Anfield inJanuary last year, paid theprice for a dismal seasonwhich saw Liverpool finish 37points behind championsManchester City.

The Merseyside club’sAmerican owners the FenwaySports Group had givenDalglish more than £100 million(159 million dollars) to spendin the transfer market sincehe took over from the sackedRoy Hodgson in 2011.

But expensive signings suchas Andy Carroll, StewartDowning, Jordan Henderson

and Charlie Adam have largelyflopped, with Liverpool’seighth place finish their worstseason-ending position fornearly two decades.

“Fenway Sports Group andLiverpool Football Clubannounce that Kenny Dalglishis to leave his post today asmanager after having hiscontract terminated,” a jointstatement said.

“After a careful anddeliberative review of theseason the club came to thedecision that a change wasappropriate. It is not adecision that was reachedlightly or hastily. The searchfor a new manager will beginimmediately.”

Although Dalglish endedLiverpool’s six-year trophydrought this season withvictory in the League Cup, theclub were comfortably

beaten by Chelsea in the FACup final earlier this month.

Liverpool lifted the gloomwith a 4-1 win over Chelsea intheir final home game of theseason, but a 14th loss againstSwansea in their last game ofthe campaign on Sunday wasthe last straw.

The defeat against the newlypromoted Swans, whose squadcost a fraction of Liverpool’sto assemble, left Liverpool ineighth – their worst finish for18 years, with their lowestpoints tally since 1953/54.

British media reports havealready linked severalyounger up-and-comingmanagers to the vacancy atAnfield, with Wigan’s RobertoMartinez, Swansea’s BrendanRodgers and Norwich’s PaulLambert all mentioned aspossible candidates tosucceed Dalglish.

The Nigeria PremierLeague (NPL) haspromised to organise

regular workshops andseminars for elite clubscoaches with a view todeepening their technicalgrasp off the game.

The NPL’s Acting ExecutiveSecretary, Tunji Babalola, saidthat the body has resolved toprovide these trainingprogrammes to shore upteams’ technicalcompetence continentalcompetitions.

Babalola debunked thenotion that the country’s clubsides, that recently goteliminated from the ongoingCAF Champions League andthe Confederation Cup werehumiliated, noting that theircoaches just needed tostrengthen their depth.

“What the clubs needed todo in subsequent editions ofthe continental competitionswas for them to reinforcetheir teams with quality andexperienced players.

“On the part of the NPLwe are trying to support themin terms of logistics, forinstance we make sure theirdomestic league competitiondoes not clash with theirdeparture dates for

continental assignments.“Its quite unfortunate that

we are out, but we still needto appreciate the fact thatthey tried their best, theywere not disgraced; nomatter the level ofpreparation a team must winand a team must lose.”Babalola said.

When asked whether theelimination of Dolphins FC ofPort Harcourt the defendingof the NPL does not questionthe authenticity of theirstatus as defending champion,he said the question was outof place.

“You can’t conclude basedon this, for instance Chelseadid not perform well at theirdomestic league, but theyhave performed well at theChampion’s League whichbrings me back to the luckfactor. “The absence of theSpanish La liga clubs in thefinals of the forthcoming UEFAChampions League, does itmean their league is bad,” hesaid.

He added that currentdevelopments in football hadmade it mandatory forcoaches to develop

themselves, in order to keepabreast with thecontemporary demands ofthe game. “As a coach, thereis the need to constantlyupdate yourself with thecurrent trends of the game,because football is dynamic.If you are not current withthe trends as a coach you willnot be able to pass these newskills to your players,” he said.

Babalola applauded the

recent training programmeorganised by FIFA and CAF, forNPL coaches to enhance thequality of the game, he calledfor more of such training.

“I appreciate the fact thatFIFA and CAF are trying toupgrade coaches, because ifsuch training are periodicallydone it would surely affectthe quality of play. Refreshercourses are compulsory forquality football,” he said.

Gatlin wins again,clocks 9.93 secs,Jeter also

NPL to organise regular training workshop for coachesHe added that the NPL on

its own would organisetraining workshop forcoaches, he said the last wasdone during the previewingprogramme.

“We organised training forour coaches for instance thelast training we had was duringour previewing of matches, wegot an instructor from Holland,we are planning anotherworkshop in July,” he said.

Liverpool ease Dalglish out of saddle


a

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A. Jonny Bairstowwill grow ininternational cricketand become anEngland Test regularin the future, saysformer skipper AlecStewart.

B. Natasha Jonas isthe first femaleBritish boxer toqualify for theOlympics afterreaching the WorldChampionships semi-finals.

C. Coach RobbieDeans admits hisAustralia side arewary of the threatposed by Grand Slamchampions Walesahead of the summertour.

D. Manchester Uniteddefender RioFerdinand hasconfirmed thatEngland boss RoyHodgson has omittedhim from the Euro2012 squad.

E. Andy Murrayovercomes DavidNalbandian 6-1 4-6 7-5to make it into thethird round of theMasters series eventin Rome.

F. England managerRoy Hodgson is set toselect Andy Carroll inhis squad for Euro2012 while RioFerdinand is certainto miss out.

G. Chief F1 writerAndrew Benson askswhether seven-timeworld championMichael Schumachercan still competewith the best.


Anthony Idolor, the Head Coach of the Lagos StateHandball Association, has said that his team isdetermined to win the gold medal on offer at

National Sports Festival (NSF).The festival tagged ‘EKO 2012’ to be hosted by Lagos

State has been scheduled to hold from Nov. 27 to Dec.9.

Idolor said at the Lagos State Sports Festival, ‘Ibile2012’ on Tuesday that the state’s handball teams werealready training hard to win the men and women titleat the festival.

“My target is to win the gold medals. We are workingtoward that and by the grace of God, He will give uswhat we are working for,” he said.

Idolor explained that the ongoing Ibile Games wasaimed at showcasing the talents available as well asidentifying new talents that would represent the stateat the event.

“The aim of this tournament is to showcase the talentsavailable within the local governments, where eachsports association will discover hidden talents.

“This is also an avenue to assess the players. Some ofthem are already representing the various LGs, we allknow them, but here is another opportunity to assesstheir performances,” the coach said.

Fatima Abinu and Sadiq Abdullahi former CBN tennis aces

The 34th edition of the just-concluded Central Bankof Nigeria (CBN) Senior Tennis Open took a differentturn as it recorded come-back winners in the Men’s

and Ladies singles events.The tournament, organised by the Nigeria Tennis Federation

(NTF) was held between May 3 and May 12 at the NationalStadium, Lagos.

Favourites Abulmumuni Babalola, seeded two and FatimaAbinu, seeded one, returned as the Men’s and Ladies Singleschampions respectively at the end of the competition.

Babalola beat Shehu Lawal, seeded three, 6-3, 6-4 to lift theMen’s Singles trophy while Abinu defeated unseeded SarahAdegoke, current African U-14 champion, 6-4, 6-3 to lift theLadies Singles trophy.

Babalola had earlier won the competition three times, in2002, 2006 and 2009 to record the second highest winnerafter legend David Imonite who had won it seven times.

The annual competition began in 1979 with Kehinde Ajayi asthe maiden champion and also retained the trophy in 1980.

Remi Osho dethroned Ajayi in 1981, but Imonite took overin 1982 and won it three times consecutively.

He was dethroned by Sadiq Abdullahi in 1985 who alsoretained the trophy in 1986, but Imonite in 1987 dethronedAbdullahi and came back to win the competition again threetimes consecutively.

Imonite was dethroned by Segun Balogun in 1990 before hewon it for the last time in 1991 to complete his seven timesrecord.

“It will be difficult for me to break Imonite’s record, he haswon it three consecutive times twice, but I have not. “I willneed to break the three times consecutive record first beforemeeting his record of seven times champion,” Babalola toldNAN after defeating Shehu.

Tournament’s referee, Saidu Musa, described Babalola’sperformance in the tournament as ‘really a come-back one’as he played the game with his heart. “I commend his effort.He played the game with much determination and zeal, hewas more reserved and did not allow for detraction throughouthis matches,” he said.

In the Ladies, Abinu has only tallied with the record ofOsaro Amadin who has won it four times but was yet to meetthe record of Veronica Oyibokia won has won it record eighttimes.

Anne Abimiku, was the maiden champion in 1979 and retainedit the following year before Esther Onyekwelu dethroned herin 1981.

Rolake Olagbegi dethroned Onyekwelu in 1982 butOnyekwelu returned in 1983, only for Oyibokia to win it fourrecord times between 1984 and 1987.

Oyibokia was dethroned by Nosa Imafidon in 1988, cameback in 1988 and won it three consecutive times between1989 and 1991 to complete her seven year record.

Amadin achieved her four times record by winning it in 1997and three times running from 2003 to 2005.

Abinu first won it in 2007, she was dethroned by ChristyAgugbom in 2008 but regained her title in 2009.

She successfully defended her title in 2010, was againdethroned in 2011 by Biola Akewula, but came back to win itin 2012 to complete her four times winner.

“I am looking forward to meet Oyibokia’s record; I still haveage on my side. “This remains the source of my confidence tomeet that record and even beat it,” Abinu said, while anotherfemale player who made record in the competition was tennisprodigy, Adegoke. Unseeded Adegoke stunned spectators asshe rode on the back of other seeded players to qualify forthe final.

Adegoke’s coach, George Odiong, said that Adegoke woulddefinitely next year emerge the tournament’s champion.

The Men’s and Ladies Singles champions went home withN600, 000 each while their runners-up went home withN400,000 each.

Uche Onwumeh, the Secretary, Nigeria WeightliftingFederation, has reiterated the need for athletesto participate in World Championships to enhance

their chances of taking part in major competitions suchas the Olympics.

Reacting to the award of two slots to Nigeria in theevent at the London Olympics, Onwumeh said the factthat the country’s weightlifters did not participate inthe championships was responsible.

The secretary, who spoke on Tuesday in Lagos, urgedthe National Sports Commission to ensure that thecountry’s athletes competed at the WorldChampionships.

“Our non participation at the 2010 Weightlifting WorldChampionships held in Antalya, Turkey, reduced ourpoints to secure more slots to represent the countryin London” she explained.

According to her, regular participation in bothcontinental and world championships will help athletesto acquire points and have better chances of gettingmore slots for the Olympic Games.

Onwumeh said that all the weightlifters thatparticipated at the qualifiers in Kenya in April wereoutstanding “but due to our low points, only two couldmake it to the Games.

“Our athletes are exceptionally good, especially thefemales who broke the African record. However, the

fact that we participated in a few major competitionsaffected us,” she added.

The secretary disclosed that the athletes currentlyin camp in Abuja were responding to training.

She explained that apart from the two to compete inthe Olympics, other lifters who do well while in campwould also be in London. Onwumeh disclosed that thelifters will undertake a training tour to hone their skillbefore the Games, but suggested that immediately afterthe London Olympics, preparation for the 2016 OlympicGames should start.

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We want to win goldfor Lagos at festival,says Coach declares

CBN Senior Tennis Open: winners stagecome back

A female Nigerian weightlifter, Hadiza Zakari

Peoples Daily Newspaper, Thursday, May 17, 2012

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Transcript of Peoples Daily Newspaper, Thursday, May 17, 2012