Peoples Daily Newspaper, Tuesday 29, January, 2013

www.peoplesdailyng.com

Vol. 10 No. 22 Tuesday, January 29, 2013 Rabiul Awwal 17, 1434 AH N150 . . . putting the people first

The Nigerian Army (NA)may have abandoned itscherished application of

professional ethics in the conductof its affairs as investigationsreveal high level ethnic bias,favouritism and corrupttendencies in promotion of officersand admission into the various

Insecurity is why northernleaders shunned peace

submit – chairman>> PAGE 3 >> PAGE 5 >> PAGE 3

‘Boko Haram’announces ceasefire

Senatorsdivided overstate creation

Recruitment, promotionirregularities rock Army

15 Russians arraigned before a Magistrate's Court, yesterdy at Tinubu, in Lagos for alleged illegal possessionof arms and ammunition. Photo: NAN

Army training schools across thecountry.

The Chief of Army Staff(COAS), Lt. Gen. AzubuikeIhejirika, who was appointed intothat coveted seat in 2010, does notseem to help matters following hisalleged repeated flouting ofcertain decisions of the NACouncil.

The council recently approved

the retirement of 11 major-generals but the COAS retired 12,along with 26 brigadier generalsinstead of the approved 25 and 13colonels instead of 12.

Also in 2010, reports show thatthe Ordinance Corps presentedfour brigadiers for considerationfor promotion to the rank of majorgeneral and Army Headquarters,contrary to the defined rules,

picked the most junior, BrigadierUgwu of NDA Course 25, ahead ofBrigadier Kachallah of NDACourse 22, Brigadier Oginni ofNDA Course 23 and BrigadierMartins of NDA Course 24.

The situation was not differentin the Armoured Corps where inthe appointment of a CorpsCommander, ethnicconsiderations might have played

a dominant role with theappointment of Brigadier Nwogbo(NDA Course 25) as CorpsCommander, against BrigadierOshinowo (NDA Course 24).

“Ihejirika is prosecuting anunwholesome programmedesigned to put officers from hisethnic zone in the Army ahead ofthe other areas,” a source within

By Agaju Madugba and Joy Baba

Contd on Page 2

Following his guilty plea to a three-count charge in the on-going trial ofthe Police pension scam suspects by

one of the accused persons, John YakubuYusufu, a Director at the Police pensionboard, an Abuja High Court yesterdayconvicted and sentenced him to two yearsimprisonment or an option of a fine ofN750,000.

Yusufu, the 8th accused person on thecharge sheet, specifically pleaded guilty tocounts 18, 19 and 20 where he was alleged

N26.2bn Policepension scam:Director jailedtwo years...but could avoid jail bypaying N750,000 fineBy Sunday Ejike Benjamin

Contd on Page 2

BUYING SELLING

$ 154.72 155.73£ 24576 24735EURO 205.99 207.32CFA 0.2953 0.3153RIYAL 41.25 41.52

BUYING SELLING

EURO 208 210£ 254.50 257.50RIYAL 42 43$ 157 158

CBN RATES

PD INDEX 28th January, 2013

PARALLEL RATES

CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSNews 2-10

Editorial 12

Op.Ed 13

Letters 14

Opinion 15

Metro 16-18

Business 19-22

S/Exchange 23

S/Report 24-25

Defence 26-27

Agric 28-29

Feature 30

The Peoples Daily wants tohear from you with any news

and pictures you think weshould publish.

You can send yournews and pictures to:

[email protected]@[email protected]

Phones for News:070-3775636409-8734478

Power generation: Onestep forward, two steps

backward, Page 4

WE WANTTO HEAR

FROM YOU

Int’l 31-34

Strange World 35

Digest 36

Politics 37-40

Sports 41-46

Leisure 47

Columnist 48

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2013PAGE 2

From Nasiru Mu'azu Isa, Kaduna

Recruitment, promotion irregularities rock Armythe NA council alleged, aseemingly logical insinuation,considering similar developmentsthere.

According to the source, “itappears that the Chief of ArmyStaff is on a specific mission, mostprobably, sponsored by somesinister dark forces bent ondestroying the Army and settingthe country on the path of seriousconflagration.

“From all indications, Gen.Ihejirika is deliberately andrecklessly pursuing a plan todestroy the career of senior non-Igbo officers while at the same timeembarking on a massiverecruitment of soldiers of Igbo stockin order to eclipse all other ethnicgroups in the Nigerian Army”.

As if to justify the allegation,the Supply and Transport Corpsin 2011 recommended fourbrigadiers for promotion out ofwhich Brigadier Agha Okoro(NDA Course 28) was selected,

ahead of his senior colleagues,Brigadier Baidon (NDA Course25), Brigadier Magaji (NDACourse 26) and Brigadier Nienger(NDA Course 26).

Some of the alleged lopsidedpositions approved by the COASalso include those of BrigadierOkoro as Sector Commander atUNAMSIL ( Liberia), BrigadierDuru, Director of Logistics at theNigerian Defence College (NDC),Brigadier Chioba, defacto officer incharge at the Army Headquarters(AHQ) Policy and Plans, BrigadierEgwuagwu, Director at AHQ incharge of recruitment, positioningand promotion of all soldiers,Brigadier Ebenebe, Director ofOperations at AHQ, BrigadierOkoh, Acting Chief of Logistics atAHQ, among others.

The source explained furtherthat, “in course 30 of the NDA,four officers were presented butnone was promoted and Gen.Ihejirika preferred a junior officerfrom course 26, the idea again

Contd from Page 1

2015: Jonathan has served twoterms – Shehu SaniPresident of the Civil Rights

Congress, Comrade ShehuSani has stated that

President Goodluck Jonathanhas no right to contest the 2015presidential election because hehas already served one term andis serving his second term now.

Comrade Sani made thestatement during an exclusiveinterview with our reporter inKaduna.

He said Jonathan had failedand continues to fail as a leaderof the nation. "PresidentJonathan is a failure, he hasfailed politically, socially andeconomically and has failed inall his promises and pledges to

the Nigerian public.It is true that a lot of

northerners have beenappointed to the government ofGoodluck Jonathan but he hasshown that his interest is onlyon appeasing and pleasing thepeople of Niger Delta, observedSani.

In his view, issues raised bysons of the Niger Delta such asAsari Dokubo have always beenpersonal because he was notawarded an oil bloc.

On the threat issued byMEND with regards theconviction of Henry Okah,Sani said such should not beignored as they have alwaysmade real their threats and assuch the government should

expect a reaction from Okah’sgroup.

Comrade Sani said violenceand killings by terror groups isnot restricted to the north aloneand Okah's conviction andsentencing will have farreaching repercussions than isbeing seen now.

Also speaking on thesuggestion of offering amnesty toterror groups such as BokoHaram, he said has been astrategy of buying peace insteadfinding a lasting solution to theviolence.

He called on government tobe honest and sincere in theirquest for peace, saying thedishonesty of the government isone of the major challenges

towards ensuring peace in theNorth.

Comrade Sani saidgovernment's argument thatBoko Haram is faceless is baselessbecause he has facilitated talksbetween Obasanjo and BokoHaram and if they are honest intheir quest for dialogue peoplelike him and others are willingto help out.

Sani reiterated his view of theChristian Association of Nigeria(CAN) and the Supreme Councilfor Islamic Affairs (SCIA) aslackeys of the government andsaid the stance of the CatholicChurch is in line with theinterest of the country.

He called on Islamic religiousleaders to take steps in distancingthemselves from leaders that areunable to stand in defense ofjustice, freedom and truth.

N26.2bn Police pension scam: Director jailed two yearsAbubakar Kigo, was initiallydocked alongside Mr. EsaiDangabar, Ahmed Inuwa Wada,John Yakubu Yufufu, Sani HabilaZira and one woman, Mrs. VeronicaUlonma Oyegbula in 2011 on a 16counts charge before the chargewas amended to include Mrs.Attang and Mr. ChristianMadubike.

The judge had earlier grantedeach of the accused persons bail inthe sum of N10 million, with twosureties in like sum, one of whommust not be less than an officer ongrade Level 14 and that thesureties must live within thejurisdiction of the court.

Other conditions for their bail,the Judge held was that thesureties must depose to affidavitsof means, which must be verifiedby the EFCC.

The accused persons are also todeposit their national passportsbefore the court.

being that for every promotion hemust insert an Igbo”.

The alleged “Igbonization”programme, from investigations,also indicates that recruitmentinto the Nigerian Army Depot,Zaria, has tended to follow acertain trend under Ihejirika,from Abia state.

Abia with a population of only2.8 million has so far had thelargest share of recruits, 450, farabove Kano with a population of9.3 million and Lagos with apopulation of just over ninemillion and Kaduna with apopulation of about seven million.These states have 259, 255 and382 recruits respectively.

Although 377 persons wererecruited from Ebonyi with apopulation of 2.2 million, Oyo statewith a population of 5.6 millionhad only 282; Katsina with apopulation of 5.8 million had only248; and 271 recruits fromPlateau state which has apopulation of 3.2 million.

And on a zonal basis, theSouth-east, with estimatedpopulation of 16.3 million, has thelargest number of 1925 recruits,the north-west with a populationof 35.8 million has 1949 recruits;the South-west with a populationof 27.6 million, has only 1561recruits.

The source warned that, “adisgruntled officer corps is a recipefor disaster because the Army willlack unity, cohesion and purpose.It will be pre-occupied withfighting itself, as the terribleexperiences of 1966 -67”.

When contacted, immediatepast Director of Army PublicRelations, Major Gen. MobolajiKoleoso, said “no comments fromme please. I have not heard aboutsuch allegations in the NigerianArmed Forces of which the NA isan integral part.

“I am not covering anythingup, mind you, but I believe theNigerian Army under thecurrent leadership is beyond suchallegations”.

to have connived with Mr. EssaiDangabar, Atiku Abubakar Kigo,Ahmed Inuwa Wada, Mrs.Veronica Ulonma, Sani HabilaZira, Mrs Uzoma Cyril Attang andMr. Christian Madubuike, toconvert the sums of N24.2 billion,N1.3 billion and N1.7 billionrespectively, belonging to thePension Office to their own use, anoffence punishable under section309 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532,Laws of the Federal CapitalTerritory, Abuja, Nigeria 2007.

While delivering hisjudgement, the trial Judge, JusticeMohammed Talba put intoconsideration the submissions ofthe counsel to the convict, MayakiTheodore Bala who prayed thecourt to temper justice with mercyin sentencing the convict.

He further stated that section309 of the Penal Code under whichthe accused persons were charged

provides for 2 years imprisonmentwith an option of fine or both.Consequently, he sentencedYusufu to 2 years imprisonmentfor each of the counts or N250,000. The jail terms runconcurrently.

He told the court that theconvict, who had no previouscriminal record, voluntarilypleaded guilty to the charges forwhich he was standing trial andhas agreed to forfeit the money hestole as well as the property heacquired with the ill-gottenmoney.

Justice Talba held in hisjudgement that even though theconvict was remorseful and did notwaste the time of the court bypleading guilty to the charges, hasa duty to Nigeria which have beenbedeviled by the monster of whitecollar frauds which have deniedNigerians of better livingconditions.

The Judge therefore sentencedthe convict on count 18, to twoyears imprisonment or an optionof a fine of N250, 000.00, sameapplies to counts 19 and 20, towhich the convict pleaded guiltyto and that the terms should runconcurrently

Meanwhikle, the other accusedpersons in the matter which isbeing prosecuted by the Economicand Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) maintained their earlierplea in the matter, insisting thatthey were not guilty.

In the amended 20 countscharge, bordering on conspiracyand criminal breach of trustbrought against the accusedpersons by EFCC, two more persons;Mrs. Uzoma Cyril Attang and Mr.Christian Madubuike who were notincluded in the earlier charge wereintroduced in the matter.

The Perm Secretary of thePension Office, Mr. Atiku

Contd from Page 1

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2013 PAGE 3

‘Boko Haram’ announces ceasefireFrom Mustapha Isah Kwaru,Maiduguri

The Jamaatu Ahlis SunnaLidaawati Wal Jihadotherwise known as Boko

Haram, yesterday, declared animmediate ceasefire, beginningfrom yesterday (Monday) andresolved to lay down arms toembrace dialogue so thatnormalcy can be restored to theNorth-east region and othernorthern states, which sufferedseveral attacks , which claimedhundreds of lives and properties.

Speaking to newsmen in atelephone conference inMaiduguri, the Borno state capital,Sheikh Mohammed AbdulazeezIbn Idris, who claimed to be thesecond in command of the sect incharge of Southern and Northernoperations, said the group decidedto abandon violence and bloodshedin pursuing its course followingseries of meetings held withrepresentatives of Borno stategovernment on how best to bringan end to the wanton killing anddestruction of property in the stateand other parts of the North.

The group added that it alsoresolved to put a halt to its violentcampaigns as government hasagreed to facilitate the release of itsmembers being detained bysecurity forces.

The statement t reads in part:

“For sometimes now, we themembers of Jamaatu AhlilSunnati Lidaawati Wal Jihad haverecently had a meeting anddialogue with the government ofBorno state where we resolved thatgiving the prevailing situation,there is the need for us to ceasefire.We, on our own, in the tophierarchy of our movement underthe leadership of Imam AbubakarShekau, as well as some of ournotable followers agreed that ourbrethren in Islam, both womenand children are sufferingunnecessarily; hence we resolvedthat we should bring this crisis toan end”.

“We therefore call on all thosethat identify themselves with usand our course, to from today laydown their arms. Let everymember who hears thisannouncement relay it to the nextmember who hasn’t heard. Wehave met with the Borno stategovernment on two occasions andthe fallout of the meeting is toembrace dialogue”.

He added that the sect has alsotold the government to heed itsdemands, comprising theimmediate release of its membersbeing detained across the country,hoping that this time around,government will not betray theconditions of the truce, saying“because we all know that it wasbecause of the continued detentions

of our members that this crisiscontinued for this long. And ifgovernment fails to meets thedemands then this conflict willnever be brought to an end as wewill never give governmentanother chance”.

Commenting on thespeculations that there is splintergroup in the sect, he said: “Of coursethere is a faction within us, but thelarger faction of our movement isthe one in support of the ceasefiremoves. Moreover, once topmembers of our group includingImam Abubakar Shekau are insupport of the need for dialogue,other smaller factions can be dealtwith easily”.

Idris also exonerated the groupfrom the recent attacks andkillings in Maiduguri, saying theonslaughts were perpetrated byother criminals who hide under itto commit evils.

“Let me confirm to you that therecent assassinations of civilianswere not carried out by us, rathersome elements, do so for their selfishinterest, but God willing theceasefire we have declared willvindicate us. People should knowthat henceforth, we should not beheld responsible for a singlebloodshed, rather government andits security operatives shouldconduct thorough investigation tofish out the perpetrators”, heargued.

When contacted to comment onthe sect’s claim that it heldmeetings with government overthe issue, special adviser toGovernor Shettima oncommunications, Isa Unar Gusausaid: “Well, I’m just hearing thatfrom you but you will agree withme that the issue is that of nationalsecurity, I’m not competent tospeak on national security issues”.

“We have a security councilin Borno state, and I’m not amember of that council… you willalso agree with me that nogovernor will speak on suchcritical security issues, so I cannot

speak on the matter. But what Iknow which you can also confirmas journalists that have followingthe activities of the governor isthat from the day he became agovernor elect, even before he wassworn-in, he was the first to speakon the need for dialogue as the bestway out”.

Reacting to the developmentyesterday, JTF spokesman, Lt-Col. Sagir Musa, described it as awelcome development.

He said JTF will continue tomaintain law and order andprotect the lives and property ofcitizens in its area of operation.

Unknown gunmen,launched another attackin the early hours of last

Sunday in Borno state, killingeight persons, including a deputytreasurer of a local governmentarea.

This came barely four daysafter similar incidents in which 12persons were killed in separateareas of the state.

The latest spate of violenceoccurred when over 10 gunmenstormed Gajigana village inMagumari local governmentcouncil, which is about 55kilometres away from Maiduguri,the capital city.

Witnesses said the assailantswho raided the village in acommando style around 3.amkilled the deputy treasurer of thelocal government, a woman andsix others.

Spokesman of the JointMilitary Task Force, (JTF) Lt- Col.Sagir Musa confirmed the incidentin a statement issued to newsmen,but said he could not ascertain theexact number those killed by theassailants.

Also, suspected hired killers onSaturday in Anyigba, Dekina localgovernment area, Kogi state, killeda staff of Grimard Hospital in thearea, Mr. Luke Egwu.

Sources informed our reporterat Anyigba that the gunmennumbering four, stormed thepremises along old Egume Road

around 2 am and went straight totheir victim’s room, shot him inone of his eyes.

The source further stated lateEgwu who was a senior nurse withGrimard Hospital had just resumedwork after a one month leave.

Narrating the ordeal to police,one of the sons of the victim whosurvived knife cut on his shoulderstated that the four gunmen camein through the back door; shot thefather in the eye till he bled to deathbefore any help from the co-tenantscould come.

Police Public Relations Officer,Ajayi Okasanmi who confirmedthe story, said the police was on topof the matter, noting that searchfor the killers was on.

In another development, irateyouths invaded and destroyed asettlement occupied by Fulaniherdsmen in Tumbarangabilivillage, Michika localgovernment area of Adamawastate. The unrest between nomadsand farmers, investigationrevealed, started when a missingwoman farmer was found dead ina forest named Kuburgilu wherethe nomads usually graze theirherds.

An eyewitness who pleadedanonymity said “the diseasedwoman left home to harvest herfarm produce but did not returnhome for two days which led to asearch.”

Confirming the incident,spokesman of the police in the state,DSP Ibrahim Muhammad, said hewas yet to be briefed fully on thematter.

Gunmen kill eight inBorno, one in Kogi…as youths avenge woman’sdeath, destroy nomads’ settlementFrom Mustapha Isah Kwaru,Maiduguri, Sam Egwu, Lokoja &Umar Dankano, Yola

The Federal Government hassaid it will only makepronouncement after it

must have critically studied theconditions given by the BokoHaram sect while announcing itsunilateral ceasefire.

An impeccable governmentsource who pleaded anonymitysaid yesterday that governmentwas not in a hurry to jump at theoffer made by the sect.

The source who saidgovernment was yet to take aformal position on the matternoted that "from our experience,

the sect is not reliable and theirwords cannot be taken at facevalue.

"All facets of governmentalapparatus would be consultedbefore a final decision would betaken on the matter. We are not ina hurry to jump at their offer", thesource said.

The source went further tostate that while government wascommitted to dialogue, it was notgoing to negotiate with any groupon a position of weakness andproactive security measureswould continue to be taken tosafeguard the lives and propertyof Nigerians.

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

...We are not in haste, says FG

Strong indications yesterdayemerged that the upperlegislative house is divided

over state creation which iscurrently before the SenateCommittee on the Amendment ofthe 1999 Constitution.

As it appeared, state creationwhich Senate President DavidMark has variously advocated doesnot enjoy acceptance of senatorsfrom opposition parties.

This was made manifestyesterday during a briefing on statecreation by selected senators,

during which an ACN senator fromEkiti North, Adetumbi Olubumi,argued against the position of a PDPsenator from Nasarawa state,Sulaiman Adokwe, sayingeconomic viability should be thedetermining parameter in statecreation rather than satisfying thepolitical desires of few minoritykingpins.

He said that the emphasisshould rather be on adequatefunding for the existing statesrather than state proliferation forpolitical reasons, adding that in theplace of state creation, the localgovernments should be made

more viable.While arguing that Nigeria

fared better during regional era,Adetumbi emphasised thatcreating more states will onlyincrease the cost of governance inaddition to the already expensivepresidential system.

Earlier in his speech, SenatorSulaiman Adokwe who is theChairman of the Committee onSenate Services, maintained thatthe motive behind state creation isto give a sense of belonging to theminority groups with regards tooccupation of some sensitivepolitical positions.

Senators divided over state creationBy Ikechukwu Okaforadi

Nasarawa state Governor, Alhaji Tanko Al-makura (left), addressing internally displacedpersons, who returned to their homes on Sunday, at Iggah in Nasarawa-Eggon localgovernment area. Photo: NAN

PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2013

Power generation: One stepforward, two steps backwardIn June last year at the 40th

Annual General Meeting(AGM) of Manufacturers

Association of Nigeria (MAN),President Goodluck Jonathangave the assurance that powersupply in Nigeria will beamong the best 20 in the worldby the year 2020.

The President, who spokethrough the Minister of Statefor Trade and Investment, DrSamuel Ortom stated that, "wewill do everything possible toaddress the structuralweaknesses standing betweenus and revolutionising thepower sector. Some of theproblems are deep, but notbeyond the government. Weare currently reviewing thelapses in the power sector tomake it one of the best in theworld in the year 2020.Nigeria is on the threshold ofhistory, ready to join the worldeconomic powers in the verynear future."

And towards the end ofDecember last year, theTransmission Company ofNigeria (TCN) announced in astatement that electricitygeneration in the country hadreached 4,500 megawatts.

Signed by the AssistantGeneral Manager of TCN onPublic Affairs, Dave Ifabiyi thestatement gave credit for theachievement to thecommitment of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan to fulfillinghis promise of improvedelectricity supply.

"A new power generationpeak of 4,502.2 megawatts wasachieved on Dec. 21, 2012, andwas efficiently wheeled byTCN," the statementproclaimed.

But against the backdrop ofthe Jonathan's professedcommitment to up powergeneration in the country, thePresident proposed a whoppingN5.5bn for the fuelling andmaintenance of generators ingovernment offices and thePresidency in the 2013 budget.Another N200 million wasvoted for the same purpose atsome of our foreign missions, incountries where they do notknow the meaning of poweroutage.

The President apparentlyknew what he was doing whenhe voted these amounts forservicing generators in thecountry and at Nigeria'sforeign missions abroadbecause the current poweroutage in the country is quietin conflict with the supposedattainment of 4,502.2megawatts announced by theTransmission Company ofNigeria last in December year.

It is also in disagreementwith the President's claim in hisrecent CNN interview that his

government had recordedsuccess, especially in powergeneration where "everyNigerian, even the civilsocieties, are happy about".This is unless those living inKatsina state and UtakoDistrict in the Federal CapitalTerritory are not part of thePresident's "every Nigerian". Inthese places, where thisreporter alternates his workingand non-working days, poweroutage is as irritating as it hasever been.

Which is why not only theopposition All Nigeria PeoplesParty (ANPP), but even foreignobservers saw through thePresident claim for what it was;an attempt to make a politicalcapital out of the CNNinterview.

According to ANPP in astatement signed by itsnational Publicity SecretaryEmma Eneukwu, "ThePresident's assertion on powerpatently shows that either heis not properly briefed, or he isnot in touch with the reality onground in the country.

"This was an obviousdeflated ego trip, effectivelyshot down by the fact thatstable power supply stillremains a mirage in our greatnation, and could not beameliorated even by anycontrived public relationsmileage that could be garnered

via a world renowned mediachannel like the CNN.

"Officially, Nigeria's powergeneration has dropped from itsDecember 2012 figure of 4,502megawatts to 4,286megawatts, though there aresuggestions from variousinformed quarters that theactual generation is 3,700megawatts. In fact, we makebold to aver that most of theNigerian citizens are not feelingthe impact of any increase inpower generation, and thefigures bandied around by thePDP-led government does not

have any impact on the livesof the ordinary citizen".

The ANPP's assertion wascompletely taken by GhanaNews -SpyGhana.com, whichsaid the President waseconomical with the truth inhis claim about improvedpower generation in Nigeria.

According to the on linemedium, the most amazingand appalling of all, is thePresident's take on the energyissue. He said electricitygeneration and distribution hasgreatly improved; that thepower sector was relatively

Hajiya Zainab Kuchi, Minister of State for PowerPresident Goodluck Jonathan

Power generation in Nigeria these days would seem to be like what the Hausa people refer toas "Tafiyar Kura" (Hyena's gait); one step forward, two steps backward, writesAbdu Labaran Malumfashi

In the final analysis, the AMANPOUR

Interview further revealed that the

President is neither in charge nor on top

of issues; he seems to have lost touch

with reality, and he clearly has lost control,

because the Nigeria he spoke of last night

certainly does not exist; it exists only

perhaps in his dreams".

“

stable and that if you askNigerians on the streets ofLagos and Abuja, they willtestify to that.

But that is totally untrue,and residents in both Lagosand Abuja, as well aselsewhere, will confirm this.

In short, there has been noimprovement in power supplyat all; a close look at the indiceswill reveal that the nation isyet to exceed the4,000megawatts (MW) it wasgenerating three to four yearsago.

There has been no increasein megawatts; what we havegot is simply a change inenergy distribution policy.

The present governmenthas simply re-allocateddistribution of moremegawatts to select areasaround the country; so if one isliving in those choice areas, itwill create the false impressionthat there is improvement inelectricity generation anddistribution. Yet, the nation isstill on 4,000MW.

"In the final analysis, theAMANPOUR Interview furtherrevealed that the President isneither in charge nor on top ofissues; he seems to have losttouch with reality, and heclearly has lost control,because the Nigeria he spoke oflast night certainly does notexist; it exists only perhaps inhis dreams".


Insecurity is why northern leadersshunned peace submit – chairmanThe chairman of the

Northern DevelopmentFocus Initiative (NDFI),

Alhaji Usman Farouk has offeredan insight on why northern leadersshunned the peace confab in Kanoat the weekend, saying majoritydidn’t show up because of theinsecurity situation in the state.

Farouk who was addressingnewsmen after the 3-day peacesummit, explained that the attackon the Emir of Kano, Alhaji AdoBayero instilled fear in the mindsof majority of the invitees who hadearlier signaled their intention to

From Edwin Olofu, Kanoattend the conference.

He added that apart fromformer Head of State, GeneralYakubu Gowon and former vicepresident Alhaji Atiku Abubakarwho took excuse that they wouldbe away during the conference,most of the leaders didn’t even offerany explanation to the organiserson why they couldn’t makethemselves available.

The former governor of theNorth-western state added that theban of motorcycles in the statedidn’t help matters, because therewere rumours that achaba riderswere going to protest the ban,which put off so many guests.

He however, said the decisionof the conference is binding on allthe leaders that were unable toattend especially the northerngovernors who will help inimplementing the resolutions.

Farouk said the conference hasresolved that: “Northern states andthe Federal Government shouldinstitute compulsory and freeeducation at the primary andsecondary school levels for allschool-age children and introducea free pupils feeding programmelike in Kano state.

“Governors of the northernstates should increase budgetaryallocation to the educational sector

to 30 percent...”He further stated that the

conference recommended that:“Given the spate of ethno-religiousconflicts and prevalentinsurgency, the summitrecommended that a judicialcommission of inquiry be setup toestablish the remote andimmediate causes of theseconflicts; all persons identified tobe involved in sponsoring,benefiting or involved in all formsof terrorism and insurgency beprosecuted; reformation andrehabilitation programme toinvolve repentant Boko Haraminsurgents unconditionally”.

Food shortage:Don recommendsintegrating homeeconomics, agric

Benue State Commissioner ofPolice, Mr. ChristopherKatso, has declared total war

by the command in combatingviolent crimes and other vices inthe state.

Katso who made thedeclaration yesterday in his office

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdiin Makurdi during an interactionwith newsmen, maintained thatthe command would improve onits relationship with thecommunities and other securityagencies as well as emphasizediscipline of officers that hasremained one of the factorshindering the productivity of theservice.

Speaking against thebackdrop of last weekend’s crisisin Otukpo which led to themurder of three Fulaniherdsmen, burning of houses andslaughter of 8 cows, the policecommissioner assured that hismen would apprehend theculprits, adding that maximumsecurity has been enhanced in

the area.“My men have been given a

lead on those who committed theheinous act and we are on theirtrail. I assure you that we willarrest and prosecute them”, heboasted.

The CP promised to sustain thelocal government peace meetinginitiated by him last year

especially between the Fulanipeople and their host communitiesto ensure peaceful co-existenceamongst the tribes.

He also pledged that the policewill guarantee the protection oflives and property of Benuepeople and urged them to go abouttheir lawful businesses withoutpanic.

Benue police commissioner declares war on criminals

Vice President MohammedNamadi Sambo hascommissioned the National

Staff Hospital, Abuja donated bythe Chinese government.

At the commissioningceremony, yesterday Sambo saidthat the Jonathan administrationplaces high premium on providingaffordable and world classhealthcare services to Nigerians.

Arc Sambo who stated that thehealth sector was a critical priority

By Abdulrahman Abdulraheemof the UN MDGs, added that itsimportance was also reflected inthe country’s nationaldevelopment objectives,particularly in the Vision 20:2020and the Transformation Agenda.

“This administration iscommitted to the provision ofquality and affordable healthcarefor all Nigerians, theimprovement of the quality of life,and the achievement of definedgoals and targets.”

He therefore stated that theadministration through a

deliberate policy of improvingtechnology, human capital, andinfrastructure and in collaborationwith the private sector, isimproving all healthcareinstitutions across the country,adding that this is yielding positiveresults.

Vice President Sambo whileacknowledging the longstandingrelations between Nigeria andChina, which span over fourdecades, said “the construction ofthis hospital which will serve veryuseful purposes in improving the

health status of millions ofNigerians, marks yet anothermilestone in Nigeria-Chinarelations. This is why today'scommissioning ceremony is veryimportant to us as a country”.

He also used the opportunity toexpress the gratitude of Nigeria tothe government and people of thePeoples Republic of China, saying“China has been a very reliable allyof Nigeria in her developmentquest for several decades, not justin the health sector but also in otherareas of national life.”

Sambo commissions National Staff Hospital

A professor in theDepartment of AgricExtension and Rural

Development, University of Ilorin,Prof. Oluwasegun Adekunle, hasrecommended the integration ofhome economics and agriculturalextension to allow involvement ofwomen in direct farming and solvethe problem of food scarcity inNigeria.

Adekunle who made thisrecommendation during the120th inaugural lecture hedelivered at the institution, notedthat out of 72 million hectares ofland available in Nigeria, 34million are currently under use.

He said the FederalGovernment needs to appointqualified Agriculture Extensionspecialist to head AgricDevelopment Projects (ADPs) andother extension organisations ifgovernment is serious about theproblem of food shortage in thecountry.

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

A security guard with AIT/Ray Power broadcastingstation was allegedly shot

dead by people suspected to bearmed robbers at Tirwun suburbof Bauchi on Sunday night.

The man named Malam IdrisYusuf , was said to have comeacross the robbers along Tirwunvillage in Bauchi metropolis afterclosing from duty between 10-11pm on Sunday night.

Reports have it that the robberswho were said to have sought forhis assistance after their car ranout of petrol but shot him in hisabdomen when the owners of thestolen car trailed the robbers andraised an alarm. They were aboutto run when Idris grabbed one ofthe suspects who shot the securityman. He was rushed to AbubakarTafawa Balewa UniversityTeaching Hospital where he gaveup around 4 am.

The head of station of the AIT/Raypower Mr. Terver Tsavdescribed the deceased as a GoodSamaritan who wanted to use hismoney to buy the fuel for thestranded men not knowing thatthey had stolen the car.

The deceased was buried at theGombe road burial groundaccording to Islamic rites.

Robbers killBauchi AIT/Ray Powersecurity guardFrom Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

L-R: Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, Ambassador of People's Republic of China to Nigeria, Mr DengBoqing, Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, Minister of National Planning Commission, Dr. ShamsuddeenUsman, and Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, during the commissioning ofFederal Staff Hospital, yesterday in Abuja. Photo: Mahmud Isa


From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

Kogi commissioner,LO docked forthuggery

The Commissioner forCommerce and industry,Ali Ajuh and the Liaison

Officer 1of Omala local council,Omale Simeon have been arraignedbefore a chief magistrate court sittingin Kogi for alleged criminal

conspiracy, public disturbance,thuggery and attempted culpablehomicide.

They were also charged withinciting disturbance, failure to givenotice or information, negligentconduct and causing death and hurt.

The accused persons were allegedto have used thugs to cause mayhemat Abejukolo, headquarters of Omalalocal government during a prayersession for former governor IbrahimIdris.

The prosecutor, Otowu Gabrieltold the court that on January 26,the commissioner of police receivedinformation that Aminu Ataborand Ali Ajuh criminally conspiredwith thugs armed with guns, clubsand

cutlasses to unleash mayhemat Omala in an attempt to killpersons.

The prosecutor further told thecourt that the thugs blockedAbejukolo-Anyigba road, destroyedtwo cars and injured severalpersons and also stole N200,000and property

He added that Aminu Ataborand Ali Ajuh had prior knwoledgeof it but refused to inform the police,saying that they have also refusedto produce their thugs whoallegedly caused the mayhem.

According him, one pump actiongun, 28 life catridges, one pistolmagazine with six live ammunition,clubs and cutlasses were recovered.

L-R: Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Chief Samuel Ortom, Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, andCanadian Minister of International Trade, Mr. E. D Fast, during the Nigeria- Canada Bi-National Commission meeting, yesterday in Abuja.

Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

Sudan crisis: Jonathan convenesAU Heads of State meeting

President GoodluckJonathan on Sundaynight convened an enlarged

meeting of prominent AfricanUnion Heads of State primarilytargeted at finding peacefulresolution to the crisis betweenSudan and South Sudan.

Also, the frosty relationshipwhich had existed between Libyaand Nigeria over maltreatmentsof Nigerians resident in Libya

following the crisis that dethronedColonel Muammar Gaddafiappeared resolved as it hasreopened Libyan embassies inLagos and Abuja.

The peace meeting broughttogether the Presidents of the twohostile nations namely, SouthSudan President, Salva Mayaditand Sudan President, Omar Al-Bashir.

The two presidents had earlier

By Augustine Aminu

on Saturday night individuallymet with President Jonathan atdifferent locations in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia.

This was one of the outcomes ofa bilateral meeting Sunday nightbetween President Jonathan andthe Prime Minister of Libya, AliZeidan.

On Sudan, Sunday's nightmeeting received a boost as the duowere in attendance along with

...As Libya reopens Nigerian embassies

Suit against Labour Minister, RTEAN dismissed

other Heads of State including CoteD'ivoire President, AlassaneOuattara; South AfricanPresident, Jacob Zuma; SouthSudan President, Salva Mayaditand Sudan President, Omar Al-Bashir. Others who were inattendance include Representativeof Ethiopia Prime Minister,Hailemariam Dessalegn andRepresentative of Kenyan PresidentMwai Kibaki.

By Abdulrahman Abdulrahman

The National IndustrialCourt has dismissed thesuit filed by Abubakar

Sadiq-led faction of the RoadTransport Employees'Association of Nigerian, RTEAN,against the Federal Ministry ofLabour and Productivitychallenging the officialrecognition accorded Alhaji SaboMohammed Tanko'sadministration.

The Sadiq faction of RTEANhad last year dragged the labourministry before the National

Industrial Court (NIC) after thefederal government handed fuelsubsidy palliatives to RTEANthrough the Olufemi Ajewole'sadministration. Ajewole waslater allegedly expelled from theassociation for a differentallegation. The aggrievedclaimants under the leadershipof Abubakar Sadiq had asked thecourt for a declaration that inview of the inter-union disputes,the Federal Ministry of Labourand Productivity was wrong ingranting recognition to theTanko's leadership whichsucceeded Ajewole.

The claimants also want allthe vehicles received by theassociation under the fuelsubsidy palliative programmefrom the federal government tobe shared among the factions.Ruling on the preliminaryobjection filed by thedefendants, Justice M.N. Sowenoted that the core issue beforethe court borders on inter-uniondisputes which the NationalIndustrial Court had theopportunity to pronounce uponearlier in 2009.

She said that the appealchallenging the decision of the

NIC was still pending before theCourt of Appeal Kaduna,Division. "Even though, in theinstant case, the names of theclaimants were different fromthose that filed the earlier suits,the objective of the two suitswas same," she ruled.

The judge also said that itwas very clear that thechanges in the names of theclaimants were due to internaldisputes. According to thejudge, the subject matter of theinstant suit was same as theappeal pending before the Courtof Appeal, Kaduna. Aside,Justice Esowe further ruledthat the claimants have notexhausted the conditionsprecedent for settling internaldispute before coming to thecourt.

The judge regrettedhowever that the internalwrangling in RTEAN hascreated additional problem forthe transportation sector in thecountry, particularly in the roadsubsector where the federal

government wanted them todrive its growth. She advisedthem to amicably resolve theirdifferences.

Bauchi primary teachers suspend one week strike

Primary school teachers inBauchi state have announcedthe suspension of their one

week indefinite strike action anddirected all teachers to report totheir places of work on MondayJanuary28, 2013 for full academicactivities.

A statement signed by the stateNUT Chairman, ComradeMuhammad Kawu Modi andSecretary, Comrade Musa G Ali

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi made available to newsmen inBauchi, yesterday stated that it wasin the best interest of developmentof education in the state.

According to the statement,primary teachers refused to openschools ince January 7 due to thedisagreement between theteachers and State UniversalBasic Education Board (SUBEB)over board effort to sack over 5,000allegedly discovered unqualifiedteachers back to school.

The statement said they

suspended strikes after they listenedto the voices of elders and otherconcerned citizens of the state andcommended Governor Isa Yugudafor allowing all teachers to submitthemselves for verification ofcredentials and pledged theircooperation to the exercise.

Meanwhile, the Bauchi stategovernment had last weekend inBauchi, issued a statementdirecting the teachers to open schoolMonday or consider theydisengaged from the service.

Jos High Courtfixes 'WonderBank' suit for Feb 6

A Jos High Court has fixedFebruary 6 to hear a suit filedby more than 7,000 investors

of Access Investment Company, Jos.The investors dragged the failed``wonder bank'' to court to press forthe release of their monies trapped init.

The company, which hadoperated as an investment house,collapsed in July 2012 after allegedlycollecting huge investors' fundrunning into millions.

Justice Yakubu Dakwak, whomentioned the case on Monday,adjourned the matter to allow theplaintiffs to effect service on allrespondents.

One of the respondents, Unionbank of Nigeria, had told the courtthat it was yet to be served, while thePlateau State Government had alsoapplied to be joined as co-respondent.

Mr Charles Obishai, SAN, counselto the plaintiffs, had earlier urged thecourt to hear the matter due to thenumber of persons affected. He toldthe court that ``a quick release ofthe trapped fund located in Unionbank, Jos would bring a huge reliefto the investors.'' Dakwak, whileadjourning the matter, said thatfurther proceedings would continueafter all parties had been served.(NAN)


Sprawling market at the abandoned Apete bridge, yesterday in Ibadan.

1

Some youths at Omu-Aran, Kwara, protesting against alleged illegal billing andextortion by PHCN yesterday.Bauchi state teachers during their screening exercise at the ministry of education,

yesterday in Bauchi.

Business administration and accounting departments, Gombe state university,gutted by fire, yesterday in Gombe.

L-R: Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Ngama, Dr Ekiti state Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Niger Delta PowerHolding Company, Mr James Abiodun Olotu, briefing State House correspondentsafter the meeting of Board of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company with Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sabo, yesterday in Abuja.


Kwara to create 14,500jobs before May 2015Kwara State government

has disclosed that itwould create 14,500

jobs before May 2015 as partof its effort to reduce crime inNigeria.

Special Adviser to KwaraState Governor on Youth andEmployment Matters, AlhajiSaka Babatunde who disclosedin Ilorin while presenting

paper at the retreat organisedby National YouthCouncil(NYC),Kwara Statechapter, said youthunemployment has increasedthe rate of crime, insecurityand other social vices.

The governor’s aideexplained that neglect ofyouth in the area of jobs alsoled to stagnancy in economicdevelopment ,reduction inper capital Income which has

multiplier effect on poverty.“Youth unemployment

and underemploymentimpose heavy social andeconomic costs, resulting inthe loss of opportunities foreconomic growth and under-utilized investment.

“The recurrent social andeconomic problems associatedwith poverty andunemployment in Nigeria;and in particular, their

L-R: UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, President Boni Yayi of Benin Republic, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn,Executive Director, UNFPA, prof. Babatunde Osotimehin, President Goodluck Jonathan, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, and PresidentJoyce Banda of Malawi, during a campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA), on Sunday in AddisAbaba, Ethiopia.

devastating effects on theyouths have continued toattract the attention of theGovernments, Non-Governmental Organizations,Voluntary and InternationalAgencies, CorporateOrganizations and individualson the urgent need to accordYouth Development a priorityattention in order to arrest thescourge”.

From Olanrewaju Lawal, Ilorin

in the Federal Civil Service,while the six others should eachpresent two Assistant Directorsin the state civil service assureties in Kaduna.

Justice Awokulehinadjourned the case to Feb. 10 and11 for continuation of hearing.

The EFCC had through itscounsel, Sa’ad Hannafi, filed a six-count charge of conspiracy andfraud against them.

The commission said theoffence was contrary to Section1(2)(c) of the MiscellaneousOffences Act 2004, Hannafi toldthe court that the offence wascommitted between March 2011

and February 2012, when theseven conspired to defraud thecouncil of N30 million.

The EFCC had also told thecourt that Tahir, the deputyspeaker and three others hadconspired “with the intent todefraud the state”.

According to him, theyobtained the sum of N17 millionvia fraudulent award of contractfor the renovation of GovernmentLodge Saminaka, the property ofthe Kaduna State Government.

The EFCC also alleged that thesuspects obtained N8 million viaVoucher No: 4165 for the supplyof hospital equipment, which they

knew was false.The EFCC told the court that

the accused persons forged areceipt, titled AustinoPharmaceutical Ltd, dated May15, 2011, to effect the payment ofN8.01 million for goods that werenever supplied.

The deputy speaker was alsoaccused of receiving N5.37million as 10 per cent kick backfrom one Alhaji Umaru Dangi.

He explained that thetransaction was conductedbetween June 2011 and May2012 through a fraudulentcontract for the resurfacing andredressing of Malali road. (NAN)

N30m fraud: Court grants deputy Speaker, 6 others bail

The present administrationin Kogi State said it haswitnessed great challenges

within the last one year, but has beenhelped by God to record modestachievements in meeting theyearnings and aspirations of thepeople.

The state governor, Capt IdrisWada acknowledged the challengeat an interdenominational serviceheld to mark his first anniversaryin office.

Represented by his deputy, YomiAwoniyi he reflected on the physical,legal, social and security challengeswitnessed by the administrationwitnessed, and commended theLord’s mercies that theadministration was notconsumed.

The governor solicited thesupport of people in ensuring thatthe administration achieved itsset objectives.

The governor disclosed that hisadministration was howeverdetermined to address those issuessquarely.

In his sermon, State Chairmanof the Christian Association ofNigeria,CAN, Most Rev.BishopEmmanuel Egbunu, , said thechallenges faced by the statewithin the last one year, wasaimed at challenging the leadersto prove their mettle.

Bishop Egbunu called on thepresent administration to amongother things, strive to providequality education adding thatgovernment should rehabilitateand return mission schools totheir owners.

The CAN chairman appealedfor the transformation of thelandscape of the state, and worktowards the welfare of the citizensby bringing democracy dividendsto their doorsteps.

Wada admitschallenges

National Association ofGovernment ApprovedFreight Forwarders of

Nigeria, (NAGAFF), KatsinaState chapter, has pledged toassist government in checkinginsecurity in the country.

The state chairman of thechapter, Alhaji Bello MagajiIngawa made the pledgeyesterday in Katsina, shortlyafter a visit to the State SecurityService (SSS), headquarters inKatsina.

He noted that becauseKatsina is a major border state,members of the association havea major role to play in ensuringthat contrabands and arms werenot smuggled through theborder.

“We are facing securitychallenges and you know thatfrom Sokoto to Adamawa, ourborder in Katsina is the mostfunctional. We would thereforeas clearing agents, make surethat the border is not used forsmuggling arms”, he added.

Ingawa stated that the

association has also resolved toassist government on improvedrevenue generation through theblockage of all sources of waste.

According to him, the Katsinachapter was the only functionalchapter in the northern part ofthe country, which wasspecifically initiated to assistbusiness owners in clearing theirimported goods.

Ingawa however advisedpeople using the border to shunsmuggling and embrace a morelegitimate way of legally clearingtheir goods.

NAGAFF pledges to assist Katsina on securityFrom Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina

The Federal High Courtsitting in Kaduna,yesterday granted bail to

the Deputy Speaker of KadunaState House of Assembly, Dr.Mato Dogara and six othersarraigned over a N30 millionfraud allegation.

The other accused persons inthe case are Kabiru Tahir,former Interim CommitteeChairman of Lere local council;Ahmed Yahya, its formerDirector of Finance and BillyGraham, a former Director ofWorks.

Others are Yushau Aboki, anex-Director of Personnel;Hannatu Iliya, the Head ofHealth, and Eric Alhassan, aformer acting Chairman of thecouncil.

The seven were chargedbefore the court, by the Economicand Financial CrimesCommission (EFCC) on MondayJanuary 14, for allegedconspiracy and fraudamounting to N30 million.

The court, presided byJustice Marcellus Awokulehin,granted bail to the accusedpersons in the sum of N1.5million each.

The court said the deputyspeaker must present twosureties on the level of Director

From Sam Egwu, Lokoja

Barely three weeks afterlaunching a scholarshipscheme, the immediate past

executive-secretary of PetroleumTechnology Development Fund,(PTDF), Engineer Muttaqa RabeDarma, has launched a masstransit scheme.

Launching it yesterday at theemir’s palace in Katsina, Darmanoted that the mass transit schemewould be kick-started with 15buses.

He stated that he used part ofhis retirement benefits topurchase the buses as a way ofbringing succour to the lessprivileged in the society.

Similarly, Darma who notedthat the transport fares would besubsidised at 50 percent, said thebuses would cover all parts of thestate and beyond.

Speaking at the launchingceremony, the Emir of Katsina,Alhaji Abdulmumini KabirUsman, praised the initiative ofDarma by bringing succour to thepoor in the state.

Ex-PTDF bosslaunches masstransit schemeFrom Lawal Sa’idu Funtua, Katsina


Kano state Gvernor Rabi'uMusa Kwankwaso of Kanostate was among

dignitaries from across the worldthat attended the 3-day IndiaInternational Garment Fair 2013held at the Pragati Maidan, in New

Delhi, India last week.Organized by India Apparel

Export Promotion Council, theevent, which was the 50th in thepast 23 years, is a specializedbusiness fair that offers a platformfor showcasing the latest trendsin the garments/accessories andfashion jewelry industries.

Kwankwaso was specifically atthe fair to source for facilities andexpertise ahead of hisgovernment's planned

Kwankwaso visits India,woos investors

establishment of 44 craft schoolsas well as the remodeling of someagricultural supplies stores inlocal government areas of thestate to garment productioncenters.

Speaking during the event,the noted that India had vastexperience and technology in thegarment production sector thatcould be tapped to revolutionizeproduction of clothing in Kano andopen up more job opportunities forthe teeming youths of the state.

He took time off to visitRAJKNITTERS, a leadinggarment and fabric industry inthe country, where the ManagingDirector, Mr. Sanjeev Nagpalpromised to look into ways ofcollaborating with the Kano stategovernment for the establishmentof a similar industry in Kano.

Similarly, GovernorKwankwaso also paid a visit toMEDANTA, one of Asia's largestspecialty medical institutes inGurgaon, near New Delhi, whichwas founded by an eminentcardiac surgeon, Dr. NareshTrehan.

During a meeting with theChairman/CEO of the institute,the governor highlighted thatKano has three new hospitalbuildings, which the stategovernment plans to use ascenters of medical care, clinicalresearch, education and training,in collaboration with interestedinvestors.

He said that the state has theright potentials for Public/Public

Partnership in the healthsector, explaining that Kano'spopulation, strategic commercial

From Edwin Olofu, Kano

Agency's zonal boss accused ofdiverting appointees letter

Dr. Khalil Zaria, the ZonalCo-ordinator of Ethics andValues with office of the

Special Adviser to the president,Mrs, Sarah Jibril, has beenaccused of diverting appointmentletter of Alhaji Usman Abubakarwho was recently picked as the co-ordinator of ethics and values inKebbi state.

Usman Abubakar toldnewsmen in his residence atNassarawa in Birnin Kebbi at theweekend that he sought theappointment through anapplication he sent to the specialadviser's office sometimes in Julylast year but when theappointment letter came up, thezonal co-ordinator, according to

Mixed reaction trails NOA's 'keep to time' campaignMixed reaction continued to

trail the recentlylaunched ``Keep to Time

Nigeria'' campaign by theNational Orientation Agency(NOA), with some citizensdescribing it as a jamboree whileothers lauded the initiative.

Some residents in the FederalCapital Territory believe it wastime for Nigerians to change theirattitudes to time keeping, whileothers are skeptical about successof the campaign.

A contractor, MalamMuhammed Sani, expresseddoubt on the campaign sayingthat "most Nigerians preferred tobe late for appointments, whichthey usually referred to as``African time''.

A civil servant, Miss KateYusuf said that it was timeNigerians valued the virtue ofkeeping to time.

She cited her experience whenshe was in Germany on a course,adding that what she saw there

made her change her orientationabout time.

``When I first got to Germany,I saw everybody rushing and in ahurry to get to where they weregoing.' '

A journalist, Mr, David Bakosaid that the campaign shouldstart with government officialswho had formed the habit ofcoming late for events.

``Our ministers and othergovernment officials don't keep to

From Ahmed Idris, Birnin Kebbihim, diverted the letter to anothercandidate.

Usman Abubakar added thatwhen his appointment wasapproved, somebody from theSpecial Adviser's office called andinformed him that he wasappointed as Kebbi state co-ordinator on ethics and valuesand that his appointment letterwill soon be sent to him.

'' But surprisingly last week,one Ibrahim Master Yauri calledme on phone and told me that myletters of appointment are withhim but, on his way from Abujato give me, somebody called himand said he is directed to collectthe said letter from him and whenasked who sent him, he repliedthat it was from the zonal office ofethics and values'', said Abubakar.

He revealed that theappointment letters are now withone Kabir Argungu who iscurrently the co-coordinator ofethics and values in Kebbi Kebbistate.

The zonal office has howeverasked Abubakar to take charge ofthe office of treasurer which herejected.

He pledged to report the matterto the concerned authority soon.

NDDC to completeabandonedprojects in AkwaIbom

The Niger Delta DevelopmentCommission NDDC hasassured Akwa Ibom State of

completing all its abandonedprojects in the area.

Mr. Imaobong Inyang, thecommissioner representing AkwaIbom State on the board of thecommission made the pledgewhile inaugurating two solarpower water projects at EtebiIdung Assan Akwata in Esit EtekLocal Government Area andAnyam Nsit in Nsit Ibom LocalGovernment Area of the State.

Briefing the communities onthe workings of the solar panel,the NDDC Commissioner said itwas designed to address theproblem of electricity in the areaadding that the commission as anintervention agency, was equallycarrying out medical services,education, environmentalprotection and human capacitybuilding.

He reiterated NDDC's resolveto continue to promote the livingconditions of the rural people andproviding basic social amenitiesand urged the Local GovernmentCouncils to maintain the facilitiesprovided by the commission.

The Commissioner howeverdenied rumours that thecommission abandoned theAkwata/Okosi road in Esit Eketand NNPC inability to completeseveral projects in Nsit IbomL.G.A explaining that with thepresent board of the commission,no project would be abandoned.The commissioner commendedstate governor, Godswill Akpabiofor always ensuring that whatwas due to Akwa Ibom from thecommission was always provided.

position and government'spolitical will, among other things,makes the state a leadinginvestor's destination in Nigeria.

On his part, the Chairman/CEO of the institute, Dr. NareshTrehan promised to send adelegation to inspect the treehospital buildings in Kano forpossible partnership in setting upa specialised hospital and medicaluniversity.

Also, during his four-dayworking visit to India,Kwankwasovisited some public and privateorganizations and participated inpresentations by potentialinvestors including Kewalram-Chanrai Group,

JAIN Irrigation Ltd., SkipperElectric Company and EDCIL.

NIMET's weather gadgets begin work at four airports

The NigerianMeteorological Agency(NIMET), says its

weatherInstrument CalibrationLaboratory in four airportsacross Nigeria are nowoperational.

From Suleiman Idris, Lagos The airports includeMurtala Mohammed Airport,Ikeja; Nnamdi AzikiweInternational Airport, Abuja;Aminu Kano InternationalAirport, Kano; and PortHarcourt InternationalAirport.

The director general of, Dr.Anthony Anuforom, whodisclosed

this to newsmen in Abuja,that the InstrumentCalibration Laboratory wasbuilt and equipped last year.

According to Anuforom,have also been trained on thelaboratory last year to man theequipment.

The NIMET boss emphasisedthe significant role of thelaboratory describing it as a

component that enhancessafety by giving accuratemeasurement of the weatherconditions.

He explained that theweather calibration laboratorywas designed for correctinginstrument errors throughcalibration, for more accuratemeasurement of weathervariables.

time, when they call us for 2 p.m.event, they will not turn up untilat 3 p.m.''

The NOA had on January 17embarked on a roadshow acrossthe country to sensitise Nigerianson the significance of keeping totime.

Its Director-General, Mr. MikeOmeri led his workers on theroadshow tagged ``Keep to Time,Nigerians'', as part of thesensitisation campaign. (NAN)

L-r: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Dr Godknows Igali, Minister of WaterResources, Mrs Sarah Ochekpe, and World Bank Country Director, Ms Marie Francoise Marie-nelly, during the championing water utility workshop, Yesterday in Abuja. Photo: NAN

By: Mike Etim, Uyo

PEOPLES DAILY,TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2013

The NBA is never just a business.It's always business. It's alwayspersonal. All good businesses arepersonal. The best businesses arevery personal - Mark Cuban

Quote

Is your landlord responding to petrolsubsidy removal? Start planning nowEach day, week or year starts

with its peculiar challenges.This year is not different, if

for no other thing, it has comewith challenges occasioned byNew Year petrol subsidy removal.

Everybody is responding tothe changes in market place, withincrease in the prices of items,services including house rent.

Landlords who have built theirhouses many years back, earningfrom the rent since then are alsocomplaining of increase in the costof building materials as reason forincrease in tenants' rent.

I got home during the weekendto see a letter from my caretakerinstructing of a rent increase by25 percent, stating that thelandlady has instructed him tonotify me and the other tenants.

"I have been directed by yourlandlady to inform you of the newadjustment in the rent of whichyou have been paying…Thelandlady considered so manythings including, among others,the present harsh economicrealities before arriving at thisslight increment. I thereforeadvise you to cooperate with herand wish you success in yourundertakings," the letter read.

Success wishes indeed. That isthe truth. Another increment willcome whether you like it or not,so, this is the time to think andplan.

Planning here is affirmative.Not that you are thinking aboutit, but that you have startedbuilding on an acquired land orplanning to buy a land or you arecontributing into a scheme thatwould guarantee you anapartment in the long run.

Many people have been takenunaware and before you know it,they are either not able to pay fortheir rent any longer or areforcefully ejected from theirapartment.

Most of these have happenedbecause people take for grantedthe challenges of tomorrow;concentrate on enjoying city funwithout thinking that it may notbe all bed of roses.

Godwin worked with a bankuntil three years ago when he wasasked to resign following a fraudin his department, and has livedmost of his working years inSurulere, a relatively high browarea in Lagos. His thinking wasthat one day he would haveenough money to buy a classhouse in Ikeja or Lekki area wherehe thought befits his status.

Godwin had enough moneyyears back to buy, at least, a smallproperty or build one in otherlower end of the property marketwithin Lagos but never bothered,because he felt, it was not yet time.

But when the house where he

used to pay about N450, 000.00annually was sold and all tenantsincluding him was given quitnotice to pack, it dawned on himthat he may have wasted hisyears after all.

His concern is not that he wasejected, but that he can no longerpay such amount of money on

rent, and even to live in Ikeja orLekki where he thought life wasgrand.

Godwin has contacted anestate agent in at Egbeda inAlimosho area of Lagos and theresponse he got was that the kindof house and environment he islooking for is not less than N300,

000 per annum and he has beenadvised to consider other areas likeIjegun or Iyana Ipaja.

The Estate Agent, Baba Isholasimply described Godwin as a foolishman who has no vision.

"He wasted his working yearswhen he could have built a house inany low end area in Lagos and put

tenants if he didn't want to live thereor just as it has happened now, hecould have told a tenant that thelandlord wanted to move into hishouse. And that is all. Now tell me,no money, no job, how is he going tocope?

This is a lesson for everyone; wecan also be victim of wrong priorities.

Going into tax planning? Your 'reference words'…very vital

One area in which planningis important is taxation,which as a matter of fact

has become an integralcomponent of our cost of living asindividuals, as well as cost of doingbusiness in an economy.

In today's reality, the list ofpossible influence on willingnessto pay taxes is doubtlessincomplete. The reasons whysome comply with tax regulationsand others resist them are boundto be complex, so complex that noamount of further research islikely to unravel all the reasonsconclusively.

Most tax experts have alreadylikened tax planning as a subsetof tax avoidance depending on thecontext in which one finds oneself.When you are going into taxplanning, it is best youunderstand the simple processthrough these reference words"who", "what", "when", and"where."

According to TaofeeqAbdulrasaq, partner, SaffronProfessional Services, "who" in taxplanning may involve the carefulselection of the particular

taxpayer who will for example,receive the income or realise a loss,thus, it may be another memberof the family with little otherincome or relief, or a subsidiary ofa company.

"What"; with care, it may alsobe possible to influence the type ofreceipt; whether capital orincome, or one type of incomerather than another - example,

employment income or businessincome.

"When"; timing is alsoimportant; and paying attentionto timing may enable thetaxpayer to postpone a liability totax, for example, by takingadvantage of a deferral rule; or toavoid being caught by an artificialtax rule which forbids, forexample, the carrying back of an

unused capital loss.The tax expert went further

to note that in tax planning, onemust take note of the "where"which means location.

"Location is important sinceplacing income or assets outside thetaxing jurisdiction may mean noliability to Nigerian tax, or noliability until income is remitted toNigeria. The downside of this is thatliability may be incurred under theforeign tax system. The foreign taxsystem may be different to theNigerian system, and theexploitation of gaps between taxsystems is the forte of theinternational tax specialist,"Abdulrasaq said.

"It should be noted that whilethere has been legislative (andoccasional judicial) activity toprevent from converting incomeinto capital, there has been none tostop conversion in the oppositedirection," he told participants in hislecture titled "Tax evasion, taxcriminality, and tax avoidance,"during the 25th inductionceremony of the Chartered Instituteof Taxation of Nigeria (CITN).

New Year resolution: Prioritising goals keeps you focused

The ritual New Yearresolution is here again. It isa time to reflect on the

changes you want or need to makeand resolve to follow through onthose changes. Irrespective of howsuccessful you have been infollowing the resolutions last year,you can make fresh resolutions forthis year with full determinationand will.

The starting days of New Yearare the most crucial in order to planfor the entire year. These are thedays when most of the people sketcha graph for the whole year. Tomaterialise the things thought of issomewhat difficult but still somepeople manage to do so. New Yearresolutions provide a sort ofdirection to people to lead thecoming year.

However, experts advise thatyou rather than engage in theritual New Year resolution thisyear, you should be realistic insetting achievable goals. They areof the view that it is important tobreak down large goals into smallerones.

Above all, aim for things thatare truly significant to you, notwhat you think you ought to do orwhat others expect of you. In orderwords, prioritising your targets canhelp you to be focused inaccomplishing them.

Omenuwa Dennis,microfinance practitioner, isdetermined to set goals and agendathis year. His priorities includeexpanding his microfinancebusiness in order to empower thelow income earners in the country.

He also wishes to open branchesof his financial institution to createemployment opportunity forNigerian citizenry.

One would think whetherOmenuwa would go for a job that,perhaps, would give him fat salaryso as to accomplish his set targetsthis year. Rather than that he isresolute on improving his presentprofession.

His words: "I will set goals andagenda for this year. My prioritiesfor 2012 are to expand my businessto empower the active poor in myenvirons, and to open up branchesto create employmentopportunities. I will be focused. Mystrategy is to make God mychairman; hope on him fordirection, for it is neither by powernor by might. I don't need to changejob but improve on what I havenow."

In our last week edition, weagreed that unaccomplished goalsin 2011 can form the basis of thisyear's.

This is the case of BalogunKehinde, business analyst. His

priorities this year are the goals hewas unable to accomplish last year.

"I am just going to check whatgoals I have not achieved in this2011 and carry them over to thenext year. You could say I will setnew goals for myself having inmind the ones I could not meet theprevious year. My priorities this2012 are the goals I was unable tomeet in the previous year. I havealways prioritised my goals just so Icould be more satisfied with myself.Prioritising goals is so important. Itcannot be over emphasised.

I will just set my goals and comeup with a plan to meet them. Themost important of all these is toensure that I remain focused allthrough the year. I will also need tohave a quarterly appraisal done toensure that I am on track," he said.

He might need to change his jobor diversify in order to meet his goalsbut where his goals are notmonetary, "then it won't matterwhether or not I remain in mypresent job."

Experts recommend that youcreate immediate plan to make adifference in your goal setting. Theyadmit that setting a goal withoutformulating a plan is merelywishful thinking.

Apart from making your NewYear goals, it is also appropriate toreview it from time to time. You

may choose to review it monthlyor quarterly, whichever; it will helpyou not to fall off the track ofaccomplishing it.

According to Gbenga Jegede, apublisher, "I do not have a ritualNew Year resolution, so to say. Myannual ritual is to set goals,prayerfully. What I mean is that Igo before God and tell Him what Iwant to achieve in the New Year.When the goals are set I think upthe actions to take and move onthem as opportunities avail. This isdifferent from prioritising becauseif all opportunities are open I move.If no opportunities I create as theyappear easier in ranking. Mystrategy is to review the goals fromtime to time, seeing the level ofachievement and praying forwisdom to take the necessaryactions. This has worked over theyears but the goals that are not metare brought forward and reviewedannually."

----GoalsTo start a businessTo invest in stocksTo build houseTo invest in propertyTo get marriedTo have a babyTo spend more time with familyTo retireTo save more moneyTo travel abroadTo acquire more knowledge

e t c . S o u r c e :www.monyning.com


Gruesome Ezu River discoveryPenultimate Saturday, the

people of Amanseacommunity in Awka

North local government areaof Anambra state awoke to agruesome discovery of over30 dead bodies floating in EzuRiver, which separatesAnambra and Enugu states.Nearly two weeks after thedecomposing bodies werefound by fishermen and sandexcavators at the old Enugu-Onitsha road axis of the river,the authorities are no closerto solving the mystery than onthe day the bodies werefound. But amazingly, whileinvestigations to unravel thesource of the bodies andpossible cause of death wereongoing, most of the bodieswere hastily buried withoutthe benefit of an autopsy or acompelling religious reason,as if the authorities inAnambra have something tohide, no pun intended.

We, therefore, laud thedecision of the government toexhume those bodies thatwere not subjected to autopsyfor the purpose as announcedby the Anambra stateCommissioner for Health, Dr.Lawrence Ikeako, during ameeting with the traditionalruler and people of Amanseacommunity last Saturday.

“That as many as, 30bodies could be dumped

in a river without thesecurity agencies beingany the wiser, speaks

volumes about theapology we have forsecurity personnel

At a time when the nationhas become a helpless hostageto innumerable securitychallenges, what with armedrobbery, kidnapping,militancy, religious insurgencyand cultism, not to mentionsundry criminal activities, itwould be foolhardy of theauthorities to bury the bodieswithout ascertaining the cause

or causes of death and wherethey originated from. This isespecially so in an area (theSouth-east) where mysteriousdeaths, often attributable tocultism, are not uncommon.

But after all is said and done,the inexplicable discovery ofthe bodies is a sad statementon the efficiency of our securityagencies, especially the police.

That as many as, 30 bodiescould be dumped in a riverwithout the security agenciesbeing any the wiser, speaksvolumes about the apology wehave for security personnel.Surely, the dead bodies couldnot have walked themselvesto the river for them to avoiddetection by security officials.Here lies the possible reasonfor the haste in interning thebodies without the benefit ofan autopsy.

As the authorities continueto grapple with the whats,whys and hows of thegruesome finds, there is anurgent need for haste to cometo the aid of the Amanseacommunity, whose onlysource of water, for drinkingand other domestic uses, hasbeen contaminated by thedecomposing bodies.

In this wise, while calling onthe governments of Anambraand Enugu states, NEMA andother corporate organizationsand individuals to come to theaid of the community, PeoplesDaily commends the ObinnaUzoh Foundation for doingthe right thing at the righttime by promptly donatingover 20, 000 cartons of sachetand bottled water as well astwo tankers of water toAmansea community.

OUR MISSIONOUR MISSIONOUR MISSIONOUR MISSIONOUR MISSION OUR PEOPLEOUR PEOPLEOUR PEOPLEOUR PEOPLEOUR PEOPLECHAIRMAN

MALAM WADA MAIDA, OON, FNGE

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

ALI M. ALI

MANAGER, ADMINISTRATION

HASSAN HAMMANYAJI

EDITOR, DAILY

ABDULAZEEZ ABDULLAHI

ACTING EDITOR, WEEKEND

JAMILA NUHU MUSA

HEAD, ADVERT/MARKETING

HUSSAINI ABDULRAHMAN, CNA

HEAD, LAGOS BUREAU

ADESOJI OYINLOLA

“To be the marketplace of ideas and theleading player in the

industry by putting thepeople first, upholdingthe truth, maintaining

the highestprofessional andethical standards

while delivering valueto our stakeholders”

“To be a reputable,profitable,

innovative andtechnologically

reliant mediacompany offering

world classservices and

products”

OUR VISIONOUR VISIONOUR VISIONOUR VISIONOUR VISION

DIRECTOR/ EDITOR-IN-CHIEFRUFA’I IBRAHIM

EDITEDITEDITEDITEDITORIALORIALORIALORIALORIAL


It is not uncommon for toppolitical office holders likegovernors to be targets of

critics, guided or misguided.Mukhtar Ramalan Yero cannot bean exception. Criticisms, ifmeasured and fair, are healthy forfunctional democracy, especiallyin developing polity like ours.However, unfortunately manysuch critics only cover behind theconstitutionally guaranteedfreedom of expression to raise dust,either prematurely or in purelysuspicious circumstance.

A curious article and a separatenews item were given prominencein a National Daily on ThursdayJanuary 17, 2013, from anapparent faceless group: SouthernKaduna Progressive YouthMovement. In a press conferencepurportedly delivered by thepresident of the movement, oneCaleb Samuel Abott, it wasinsinuated that Kaduna StateGovernor Yero is indeed behind thetravails of the state DeputySpeaker Dr. Dogara Mato.Similarly, the movementpessimistically projected whatthey termed the imminent deathof the People's Democratic Party,PDP, in the state come 2015,because the chairmanship of theparty is not yet allocated to thesouthern Senatorial Zone, whichthey claimed is the standardpractice if the governor comes fromthe Northern part of the state.

The movement also lamentedthat the state "is bleeding" andshould not be allowed to be inperpetual anemia. Abott thenconcluded that the recentappointments of the Governorseemed to have excluded citizensof the Southern part of the state.He specifically mentioned the

offices of Chief Security Officer,Chief Detail; Aide-de-Camp;Principal Private Secretary; Chiefof Staff; Secretary to the StateGovernment; Director General;Media and publicity; Directors ofFinance/Accounts and Admin/Supply; the Government HouseTransport Officer; as well as theChief Driver.

From the surface, themovement could delude itself intobelieving that it is championing asectarian cause. Realities of themoment however indicate thatelevating sectarianism makesthings more volatile and drags backthe wheel of progress in thiscountry. Take the case of the officeof the party chairman whichbecame vacant when its occupantwas elevated to the office of the stateDeputy Governor. Is it not too earlyto start throwing banters, especiallythat it is clear the party hasprocedures and rules andregulations in its constitutionguiding the filling of such gaps? Noone has yet filled this vacancyexcept in the party'sconstitutionally determined actingcapacity, which in consistent withthe laws of the party, more so thatthe vacancy was barely only twoweeks old when they startedcomplaining. Can't the Movementwait to see what the party woulddo, especially in this challengingperiod of its existence?

It is on record that most of theoffices the movement complainedabout are those regarded as thoseof the personal staff cadre to thegovernor, which the constitutionaccords him the absolutediscretion in their selection.Furthermore, some of thesepersonnel are of security

background like the CSO, CD andADC, which belong to Federal Armsthat could come not only from anypart of the state if need be, but evenfrom any part of the country. As afact, many of the state governors'security personnel are non-indigenes whose choice is never onsentiments but on expedientperformance considerations. Forinstance, the late ADC of Kogi StateGovernor that died during a recentaccident was from Zaria, KadunaState. The present ADC of GombeState Governor is from AdamawaState. In fact, the records are clearthat there are more non-indigeneADCs, CSOs, and CDs across thecountry for strategic reasons. Whyshould Kaduna's be different?

Even in other appointments,whether political like the SSG andCOS, or in the regular civil andpublic services like DFA and DAS,it is the Government House thathas better knowledge of expedientreasons for selecting those to occupysuch offices or postings, whichsurely an outsider Movement maynot have the advantage of knowingthe compelling inner reasons forthose chosen. It normally stuntsthe growth of democracy and goodgovernance if appointments areerroneously interpreted orcharacterized on sectariansentiments rather than on meritor service expediency.

On the case of the DeputySpeaker, the Movement did noteven speculate on any good reasonswhy the Governor, with so muchonerous task on his laps to give thestate the dignified lift, shouldpurportedly descend so low as tojoin issues with the DeputySpeaker. Neither have theyprovided any tangible evidence of

the so-called "rising profile" of thisofficer who is not even from theSouthern Senatorial Zone, theirprimary constituency, butrepresenting Lere in the NorthernZone where the governor himselfcomes from. The Nigerian Law isvery clear that there are no sacredcows provided there are goodreasons and evidences to prosecutea citizen, no matter his statusprovided it is not covered bystatutory immunity.

It is on record that GovernorYero has promised to uphold thelegacies of his late boss, Sir PatrickIbrahim Yakowa. The time is eventoo short to start reading meaninginto the few appointments he hasmade, more so that many moreare likely in the offing. If alsoKaduna citizens will be fair to thisgovernment which only came inby sheer providence, then they

By Bashir Bello & MusaMubama

When will the world end?This question maysound absurd to those

who believe in re-incarnation.However, Muslims and someChristians do believe that there isa terminal date for all humanaffairs. If you believe that there isgoing to be an end to this physicalworld, and you are a Nigerianpolitical actor, it will seem wise tohasten and take the reins ofgovernance in Nigeria, so as tosave it before the apocalypse.

Many political commentatorsare of the opinion that Nigeria hasbeen governed by the samepolitical group right fromindependence to date. They tracesuch governance from NPC to NPNand now to PDP. The botchedBabangida transition programmemight not be unconnected to thefact that it was SDP rather thanNRC (would-have-been successorto NPN) that was poised to win.From Mallam Aminu Kano to ChiefAwolowo to Abubakar Rimi toBalarabe Musa, none of those whowanted to challenge the status quosucceeded. Since the return todemocracy in 1999, the PDP hasheld power at the centre; andopposition parties like AD, ACN,ANPP and recently CPC, have beenunable to wrestle power from PDP.Vote rigging, misuse of the security

apparatus, and with the 2011elections, use of tribalism andreligion, were believed to havebeen the factors that denied theopposition victory.

Now, in order to consolidatetheir resources into one single,formidable, killer punch, notableopposition parties intend to merge.If I remember rightly, theircurrent political weight as perstates captured in the 2011elections is: ACN (5); ANPP (3);CPC (1). The arithmetic does notlook good to me - 9! (There are 36states in Nigeria!). A nationalnewspaper carried a news storywhich quoted Senator Bukar AbbaIbrahim (former governor of Yobe)as saying the other parties shouldcollapse into ANPP, as it is the

oldest amongst them. Even if thefinal arrangement does not accordwith the Senator's wish, after themerger, CPC would be swallowedby ANPP in Kano State. It hadnever a credible structure in theSouth-west to challenge Tinubu'sACN, such that there, ACN willonly collapse into itself.

PDP had tried its best todislodge ANPP from Borno andYobe to no avail. Yariman Bakurawas able to re-claim Zamfarafrom PDP. As such, in these states,into whatever form ANPPcollapses, it is the current actorswho will hold sway. What is CPCabout: It is all about GeneralMuhammadu Buhari. And whatis the General about? He is aboutgood governance and anti-

CPC is merging into oblivioncorruption. But why then aremajority of the political actors notcomfortable with him in theirmidst? In near-harmoniouscounries like Ghana, Niger,Sudan and South Africa, GeneralBuhari may not find it difficultselling himself as a presidentialmaterial. But Nigeria is different.Apparently, some Nigeriansmight prefer their lives andcountry to be ruined, rather thanwillingly choose through theballot box someone who has beensmeared as a religious bigot, or die-hard Northerner. Those in CPCwho favour merger with otherparties believe that with anexpanded base, their leader(General Buhari) may be able tomake it to Aso Rock. But who willbring more votes to the table?Apparently ACN and ANPP.

But why did the South-westvote for (impliedly)Obasanjo in2004, and President JonathanGoodluck in 2011? Why did ANPPfield Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau inthat same 2011, when he knewthat the General was the politicalgodfather who smashed allobstacles for him to make it to Kanostate's Government House in2003? Granted that GeneralBuhari is a vote-catcher in the coreNorth, but will ACN really deliverpresidential votes to Buhari fromSouth-west? If the power brokersin the new party to emerge remain

By Abdullah Musa

Governor Yero and his critics

those who would otherwise dinewith Buhari only with a longspoon, or those who fell out withhim like Shekarau or those whonever hid their disdain for him likeformer Governor of Borno, AliModu Sheriff, would Buhariultimately not be a beached whale?

Buhari should have taken offwhere Aminu Kano left: nurturea party with a mass appeal, andshow why that party is different.How come Mimiko is able tosurvive with Labor Party? Or isit, as some allege, due to his hiddenunderstanding with PresidentGoodluck? Worthy of note is thefact that both ANPP and ACN areadept at Nigeria's politics: capturepower and corner resources forfuture fights. It might be due tosuch 'realism' that Shekaraubacked away from Buhari. TheHausa folklore of an alliancebetween the tomcat (muzuru),and a mouse, should beillustrative to General Buhari. Inthat story, the mouse agreed topool resources with the tomcat formutual survival. In the end, thetomcat ate all the stored resourcesand gobbled up the mouse also. Inthe proposed merger what Buharibrings is integrity. Supporters ofANPP and ACN have hordes ofcash. The followers of Buharinever ran a government fromwhich to loot. When they comeinto the new party, they will beout 'nairaed'! And right beforetheir eyes their lion will be caged,a force immobilized by cunning!Abdullah Musa wrote in fromKano City, Kano state.

should not equate genuine loyaltywith only fully retaining thestatus quo. God has made this timeto be different, and Yero should beallowed to settle down so that thegood citizens will give him thechance to freely contribute hisdevelopmental quota.

If however the movementwould want to be fair and takenseriously, then it should have alsofacts and figures of both therepresentation in public and civilservices based on sectarianclassification, which anyway isnever helpful. If the movementwants to help Kaduna state, let itcome up with proactivesuggestions that can cementmutual relations; bridge ethnic,religious and social gaps; as well asjoin in suggesting a truly workableBlueprint of action on how to movethe state and indeed the nation atlarge to the next aspired level.Bashir Bello & Musa Mubamaare of Kaduna JusticeInitiative

“The Hausa folklore of an alliance betweenthe tomcat (muzuru), and a mouse, should

be illustrative to General Buhari. In thatstory, the mouse agreed to pool resourceswith the tomcat for mutual survival. In the

end, the tomcat ate all the stored resourcesand gobbled up the mouse also

“It is on record that Governor Yero haspromised to uphold the legacies of his lateboss, Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa. The timeis even too short to start reading meaninginto the few appointments he has made,more so that many more are likely in the

offing. If also Kaduna citizens will be fair tothis government which only came in bysheer providence, then they should not

equate genuine loyalty with only fullyretaining the status quo


Need for sanity on Abuja roadsPeoples Daily welcomes your letters, opinion articles, text

messages and ‘pictures of yesteryears.’ All writtencontributions should be concise. Word limits: Letters - 150words, Articles - 750 words. Please include your name anda valid location. Letters to the Editor should be addressed

to:

The Editor,Peoples Daily, 1st Floor Peace Plaza,

35 Ajose Adeogun Street, Utako, Abuja.Email: [email protected]

SMS: 07037756364

WRITE TO USBy Ibrahim Biu

There have been mixedreactions to the newtransport order introduced

in Abuja's city centre by the FederalCapital Territory Administration(FCTA). Though the new measurewas introduced by the SenatorBala-led administration to arrestthe worsening traffic situation inthe city centre, many commutersand some members of the minibuses transport union see it from adifferent perspective and have evenrisen against it.

The order restricts highcapacity buses and mini buses tocertain routes in the city centre.More than 500 high capacity buseshave been secured to ferrycommuters from one part of the cityto the other. Specific areas will beplied by the new buses to usher insanity in the Abuja transport sectoras actions by some motorists,especially the drivers of mini buses,often make things difficult forcommuters and the general public.

Less than 24 hours of theintroduction of the new transportorder and especially after actionhad been taken on the issue by theAbuja Environmental ProtectionBoard (AEPB), owners of the minibuses angrily reacted to the newpolicy and engineered a lot ofconfusion in the city whichnecessitated the temporarysuspension of the policy by the FCTA.Owners of the mini buses and theirdrivers ganged up, recruited toutsand street boys to chase away thehigh capacity buses.

In order to properly review thepolicy and allow for propersensitization on the new scheme,the FCTA minister postponed thetake-off of the policy for three weeks.FCDA official, especially those of theAEPB insist there was need to put a

stop to theactivities of themini bus driversand touts whichhad hinderedthe smoothoperation ofp r e v i o u st r a n s p o r tpolicies in Abuja,resulting inc o n t i n u e dsufferings forcommuters andt r a n s p o r to w n e r sgenerally. It wasreliably learntthat on the daythe new schemewas introduced,touts and the mini owners usedweapons to chase away owners ofthe high capacity buses in theNyanya, Mararaba and Karu axis.The touts were even said to havethreatened to burn the new busesand the owners fled to save theirlives.

Officials of the Abuja TransportAssociation had shown their angerover the new system when theymobilized their members and otheraggrieved commuters to stage apeaceful demonstration in Abuja.They disrupted bus services onmajor routes, notably the JuliusBerger roundabout in Wuse, AminoKano Street and some roads in WuseII adjourning the Barnex Plaza endof the street in Maitama. Motoristsand commuters who ply roads inthe FCT and its environs havealways suffered incessantharassments and attacks silently atthe hands of these touts and evenmotorists who extort money fromthem while hiding under the guiseof being members of the AbujaTransport Workers Union.

The introduction of the new

The hope of every responsibleparent is that our schoolsystem will help to develop

his child's potential in life and thiscan only be achieved if ourgovernment is ready to provide theresources. Where this has not beenpossible it is easy to see youngstersbeing recruited by emptypoliticians to intimidate their morevisionary opponents.

In Gombe state, GovernorIbrahim Hassan Dankwambo(Tolban Gombe) is one name thathas become synonymous withgood governance, excellence andperformance everywhere in thecountry for his ability to matchwords with action. First, hedeclared a state of emergency inthe education sector. Now he isfollowing up with real action tobring the sector alive. He isdeploying the meagre resources ofthe state into developing thesector.

In 2011, when the state was indire need of focused leadership, theelites, youths and common peopleof Gombe State who had envied hisbrilliant stint at the office of theAccountant General of theFederation for almost seven years,speak plainly that the man theyurgently deserve was IbrahimDankwambo. To many aspirantsthat had amassed large economicprowess to confront the people'smoving train, Dankwambo whomthey thought was nothing less a

young man with little or virtuallyno experience to challenge theirintentions. However, hisemergence as the gubernatorialflag bearer of PDP emanated froma most credible primary electionand subsequently as a governor,has proved them wrong.

However, the experience of thestate in the hands of GovDankwambo from that time to dateis not short of their dream that merepolitical speeches could transformthe almost dead state to Eldoradothrough various policies andimplementation mapped out by thesector based committee of expertise.Gombe State is living a matchlessmoments of its history becauseDankwambo offers honestcombination of wisdom andconviction that the state needs tocompete with others in terms ofusing education as a tool foreconomic, human capital andrapid infrastructural development.

The most successful men orwomen anywhere are,paradoxically, those who neverforget where they are comingfrom, who cling to values bred intothem by family, faith andcommunity. As one of the manysons of Gombe, Dankwambolearned early in life what it meansto seek common ground in thesociety and give back good tidingsto the same society that broughthim up.

Not many Nigerian politicalleaders have been able to survivethe tricky political skirmishes.

Dankwambo has conquered in thepast. In Nigeria where ideologicalpolitics is still at its infant stage,many people dump their principleespecially when it conflicts withcertain primordial interest. Butthe story is not so for Dankwambothat sees himself as a sacrificiallamb that must lead his people tothe desired destination. It is areality that is far away from themere myth, when he steps in office,he immediately order for theconstruction of 15 models primaryand secondary schools each andequipped with internationallearning facilities, approved theestablishment of school for basicand remedial studies at Kumo andDukku local government areasrespectively. Education alsoreceived another impetus with theestablishment of a collage ofeducation at Billiri and a jointremedial programme for Gombeindigenes at the University ofMaiduguri where more than 50%of them have already gainedadmission to study various coursesof their choice. He also approvedN120 million to Gombe StateScholarship Board fordisbursement and introduction ofe-wallet to curtail corruption in tothe scheme and Marshall plan onAlmajiri/ Islamiyya schoolsystem. It has become a settled casein history, Dankwambo possessesextraordinary qualities that arevery rare in nowadays leaders andshould be harness for the generalgood of the society.

Talbanomics and educational development in GombeDankwambo is a leader with

intellectual depth and an unusualcapacity for hard work.Considering how the youths havebecome tools in the hands ofdesperate politicians, he decided toapprove the establishment of theCollege of Islamic and Legal Studiesin Nafada; a polytechnics at Bajogain Funakaye local governmentarea and he approved N500million for the purchase ofequipment for the college ofmedicine and faculty ofpharmaceutical science in thestate university. The stategovernment is sponsoring 200Gombe indigenes to study atMaritime Training College atOron, Akwa Ibom state.

Dankwambo has alsoestablished four technical colleges,renovated and constructed 40primary and secondary schoolsacross the state, procured over 250JAMB forms and distributed themto secondary school leavers to helpthem secure direct admission intotertiary institutions of learning.The central lesson of Dankwambo'seffort to revive our economythrough education and other keysectors is that a leader must beknowledgeable in all fields ofhuman endeavour. Of course, onedoes not need to be a jack-of-all-trade but it is important that aleader at that level should beinformed about governance. beacquainted in all areas ofgovernance. Dankwambo is a goodexample.

FCT. But thisinformation isnot true. Whileintroducing thenew system lastweek the FCTT r a n s p o r tS e c r e t a r yinsisted that it isaimed atsanitizing thepresent confusedstate of thet r a n s p o r tsystem whichdid not favourcommuters. Hesaid the policywill also befriendly to thepeople and that

By Dahiru Hassan Kera

system is therefore intended tocheckmate the activities of thesetouts and mini bus drivers apartfrom the fact that it will strengthenthe movement of vehicles withinthe city and also drastically reducecriminal activities in not only thecity centre but the whole FCT. Eventhough the new policy is intendedto bring about orderliness amongmotorists and to correct the existingclumsiness on Abuja roads, the issuehas not gone down well for the mini-bus owners and some commuterswho regard it as a deliberate act todeny them their means of livelihoodand survival. But what is really thegrievance of the bus owners andtheir drivers? This group of peoplehave complained that over 20,000persons or so will be rendered joblessif the new system is allowed to take-off since the mini buses would losetheir customers.

The owners of these buses arenot comfortable with the newsystem as they see it as aimed atmarginalizing them andeventually easing them out of theroad transportation business in the

commuters will be better off underthe new policy as jointly plannedby the FCTA and the private busowners.

The FCT minister had spokenabout serious intimidatingsecurity challenges and the needto sanitize the entire transportsystem for the benefit of thegenerality of Nigerians especiallythe FCT residents who use buses astheir means of transportation toand from their places of work or tomarket and other places of socialengagements. The need toalleviate commuters' sufferingsactually informed the decision tointroduce the scheme, he added.His views were supported by Engr.Adamu Ismaila, the ExecutiveSecretary of the FCDA

No wonder, there was jubilationamong some commuters andmotorists who have heaved a bigsigh of relief immediately after newpolicy was announced followed bythe quick action initiated by themanagement of the EnvironmentalProtection Board. The happiness ofthese people was obviously due to

the long period of sufferings on ourroads silently. The happiness of thisgroup was captured by one of thecommercial drivers, Mike Odey,who said the roads will now be freefrom inconsiderate group of peoplewho have for long showed nofeelings or respect for commuters.He said they have made life veryunbearable to people. Anothercommuter wondered loudly thatthe action of the FCTA will also bringdown transportation fares in theFCT. I think I agree with this fellowtoo. The new policy should take offsoon as many commuters seem tobe saying now according to one ofmy colleagues who visited theUtako motor park recently. Manystakeholders of the Abuja projectincluding lawmakers at theNational Assembly have openlyand publicly commended the FCTAmanagement for introducing thenew transport policy.

In introducing the new system,it is necessary for the FCTA/FCDAand other stakeholders to make surethat the new buses should beadequate in number and its fareshould not only be reasonable butaffordable to the poor massesespecially in view of the fact thatmajority of workers in the citycentre are poor or middle incomeearners who reside in the satelliteareas of the FCT. They travel longdistances every day to and fromtheir places of work. They needrelief.

The bottom line has to do withindiscipline which prevented thesuccessful take-off of the projectdespite the fact that it was on thedrawing board for a long time. Lackof discipline was responsible for themini bus drivers and their toutschasing away and operators of thehigh capacity buses from plyingthe routes agreed upon by all theparties involved in the newscheme. The high capacity buseswill NOT replace the mini buses,to be sure. Ibrahim Biu resides in Abuja,FCT

The people controlling thecentre of national politics and theordinary Gombian have come toagree that Dankwambo is amobilizer and motivator of peoplefor active participation indemocracy for effective change. Asa motivator, Dankwambomobilizes people to turn theirweakness into strength, transformtheir apathy into positive actionand turn laziness into energeticpursuit of given goals. Goodexamples are the old ugly dayswhere the only functionalindustry in Gombe state was forpeople to gather at the gate of thegovernment house to share pantrysums of money for doing nothingor threatening other people. Anaverage Gombe person became apraise singer not minding if therewere schools for people.

The nationalistic posture ofDankwambo as the people'sgovernor everywhere in thecountry is derived from hiscommitment to the peace andunity of the country as one entityeven as the country has beenbattling security challengesespecially in the northern part. Hehas made Gombe a home to allirrespective of religious or ethnicbackgrounds. The state capital hasbecome an infrastructuredestination where many otherstate governors regularly visit totap from his wealth of experience.Dahiru Hassan Kera isreachable ondahiruhkera99@gmail.


The ‘rain maker’ of Nasarawa Varsity

Remembering Murtala Mohammed 37 years afterGeneral Murtala Ramat

Mohamed, former head ofstate and commander in

chief of armed forces , federalRepublic of Nigeria wasassassinated on Friday, February3, 1976 in Lagos through anabortive coup led by Lt Col. BakarSuka Dimka including CaptainDauda and Sergeant ClementYilda. He was born on 18thNovember 1938 in Kano.

One can say that among all themilitary heads of state that ruledNigeria, none made great impactwithin a short time like the lateGeneral Murtala Mohammed. Itis on record that during his tenureas head of state between 29th July1975 and 13th February 1976,he pursued vigorous policies ofreturn to civil rule, reorganisationof the Federal governmentstructure, accountability in publicservice, discipline, state creationvibrant economic plans and adynamic diplomacy.

He had his early education atthe Cikin Gida and Gidan primaryschools in the ancient city.Mohammed proceeded toGovernment College Zaria for hissecondary school education beforeenlisting in the Nigerian army.After his training at the SandhurstRoyal Academy in England, heworked briefly in the Army signalscorps in that country.

General Mohammed was partof the Nigerian contingent to the

United Nations Peace Keeping forcein Congo, when civil warthreatened that country. Hecommanded the first brigadesignal troop in Kaduna in 1963,Later left the country to Englandfor further military training.When he came back to Nigeria, hewas appointed commandingofficer, one signal squadron and inNovember, 1965, acting chiefsignal officer. Based on hispromotion to lieutenant colonel, hebecame the inspector of signals inLagos. A civil war hero, GeneralMohammed commanded thesecond infantry division andfought seriously to put the Biafraforce under check. After civil warin Nigeria, he attended the jointservices staff college, England. Asa Brigadier- General, Mohamedwas made the FederalCommissioner of Communicationsfrom August 1974 to 29th July,1975 when he and his colleaguesoverthrew Yakubu Gowon, thethen head of state.

Murtala's removal of Gowoncame at a point when Gowonreneged on his promise to hand overpower to democratically electedgovernment in 1976. At thatperiod, the civilian populace wereno longer interested in Gowon'smilitary administration. This isbecause Gowon and his militarygovernors were accused of massivecorruption. They had a lot ofmoney to play with due to the oilboom. Consequently, Mohammedsacked all the governors with the

exemption of Brigadier GeneralOluwole Rotimi and MobolajiJohnson.of Western and lagos staterespectively. His investigationsrevealed that all the militaryadministrators and governors(with the exemption of Rotimi andJohnson) that served under Gowonhad betrayed the trust andconfidence reposed in them by thenation. In the words ofMohammed, those of them whowore uniforms betrayed the ethicsof their profession and they are adisgrace to their profession.

They should be ashamed ofthemselves. Mohammed's purge ofthe civil public service was sharplycriticized because it became a toolfor witch-hunting and robbed thepublic service of permanence andcontinuity. The process wassuspended on the 21st of November

1975.The exercise was appraised inthe military in politics from Aguiyi-Ironsi and Ibrahim Babagindaedited by Dinkson Agegha: ''As itturned out to be, the great purgehas perhaps remained till date, themost impact making purificationever carried out by any Nigeriangovernment on the country's civilservice and leadership. The Buhari-Idiagbon purge was perhapssomething near it''. His radicalforeign policy, however, made hima darling of the oppressed,especially his position on Angola.In 1975, he announced Nigeria’ssupport for the Soviet- backedpopular movement for theliberation of Angola because,according to him, South Africasupported the rival NationalUnion for the total Independenceof Angola (Uniao Nactional para a

independencia Total de Angola).That irked the United States.

Professor Patrick Wilmot, theWest-Indian academic who oncetaught at Ahmadu BelloUniversity, Zaria said that one couldonly rightly assess the significanceof Murtala Mohammed in Africa ifone read his speech of 11th January1976, delivered in Addis Ababa, atthe Organistion of African Unity(OAU) now African Union (AU)Summit. Wilmot said Mohamedrecongnized the strategicimportance of the South Africanstruggle for the rest of the continent.He saw the attempt of the SouthAfrican regime to avert thestruggle and he saw Angola as a testcase of the struggle. When thePortuguese were defeated, theSouth Africans, and theAmericans, using UNITA, tried toforestall the victory by declaringwar against MPLA. The Nigerianleader defeated the fallacy of Africanleaders calling for a nationalgovernment. Murtala recongnizedthat the FNLA and UNITA were nottrue liberation movements andthat they were being promoted bySouth Africa. Having realized this,he supported the MPLA".

According to Wilmot, GeneralMurtala Ramat Mohammed madeit clear that Africans interestscould not be compromised, ''He toldHenry Kissinger to get lost ''.Kissinger was then US Secretaryof State.Charles IkedIkwa Soeze [email protected]

By Charles Ikedikwa Soeze

“His radical foreign policy, however, made him adarling of the oppressed, especially his position onAngola. In 1975, he announced Nigeria’s supportfor the Soviet- backed popular movement for theliberation of Angola because, according to him,

South Africa supported the rival National Union forthe total Independence of Angola (Uniao Nactionalpara a independencia Total de Angola). That irked

the United States

a higher level, he did so in style,performing beyond a legion ofpeople's expectations.

Despite that, however, somestill wondered whether therenowned academic would be able

to replicate hischequered featelsewhere. Whichapparently explainswhy when the man'sappointment as ViceChancellor ofNasarawa StateUniversity wasannounced earlier thisyear, his criticssalivated, waitingpatiently to see

whether he would either prove hismettle as a peerless professor andacclaimed administrator. Orwhether he would fumble. "Givehim a few months on the job atNassarawa State University andlet's see if he would be able todeliver," was their commonrefrain.

As someone who is not onlyfamiliar with the history of Keffi-based institution but had done anumber of articles on it during mytenure as editor of LeadershipWeekend newspaper and later asAssociate Editor of ABUJAINQUIRER newspaper, I developedsome measure of interest in theunfolding development, waitingto see whether the new broomwould turn out to be the messiah,or whether he would merely be arun-of- the-mill actor.

About three years ago thiscolumn, then appearing ina Kaduna-based weekly,

featured a piece entitled 'TheMagic Maker from Ilorin'. Prof.Shamsudeen Amali, the ViceChancellor of Nasarawa StateUniversity, Keffi, mounted barelyone year earlier, and that articledwelt on his remarkablestewardship at the University ofIlorin.

Recently I was in Keffi for areligious programme and laterused the opportunity make an on-the-spot check at the university.What did I witness there? Whatdid I hear? And what did I thinkand feel about the situation on theground there? Before we come tothat, it is pertinent to take a briefperusal of the aforementionedarticle, if only to put the wholething in proper perspective:

A few years ago the Universityof Ilorin used to stand out as averitable centre of excellence. Ata time when crises, hallmarkedby frequent disruption ofacademic activities, was the rulerather than the exception in mostNigerian universities, Unilorinstood out by virtue of thetranquility, discipline andprofessionalism that reigned therefrom one academic session to theother.

Needless to say, many peoplewithin and without the academicarena could not but wonder howthat institution was able toconjure such a rare feat, more so

as some other remarkabletransformation was beingwitnessed in many areas there.For perhaps the first time in thatuniversity's chequered history,legions of visionary projects werenow beingexecuted at aboutthe same time,despite the limitedresources at hand.

Who was thebrain behind this"magic"? How wasthat person doingall these at amoment when hiscounterparts ins i m i l a rinstitutions could not perform upto half of that level despite the factthat many of them had moreresources than Unilorin? The"magic maker," it turns out, wasnone other than Professor

Shamsudeen O. O. Amali, theuniversity's then vice chancellor.

Ironically, when hisappointment was announced wayback in 2002, not a few people hadwritten off the gentleman,

insinuating that he was notcapable of delivering the kind ofleadership Unilorin was yearningfor. But the rest, as they say, isnow history. Not only did Prof.Amali catapult the institution to

Ordinarily, Nassarawa StateUniversity would not beattracting much attention, giventhat it is a relatively newinstitution. But its proximity tothe Federal Capital Territory(FCT) as well as the headline -hugging events that hadcharacterised its birth anddevelopment (the good, the badand the ugly alike) all ensuredthat it remains in the spotlight,at least every now and then. Littlewonder, by the time Amali tookover from his predecessor, Prof.Adamu. D. Baikie, he was underpressure to either swim or sinkwith the institution.

To put the matter inperpective, let's switch back to thecourtesy visit paid the ViceChancellor, shortly after hemounted the saddle, by the Emirof Keffi, Alhaji MuhammaduChinedo Yamusa and Jama'atuIzalatul Bidi'a wa IkamatusSunnah, Keffi branch, amongothers. While congratulating Prof.Amali who was recentlyhonoured with the Officer of theFederal Republic (OFR) nationalaward, they all urgred him toendeavor to perform according toexpectations.

Spurred by what he regardedas the "challenging circumstances"confronting the relatively newinstitution, Amali threw his hatinto the ring. As one of his staff putit, "he is someone who does notbelieve in 'impossibility', he alwaysemphasizes that with faith anddetermination anything ispossible."*To be concluded next week

SONDE’SSONDE’SSONDE’SSONDE’SSONDE’SDIARDIARDIARDIARDIARYYYYY

By Sonde [email protected]

0803-2159-249 (SMS only, pls)

“Amali threw his hat into the ring.As one of his staff put it, "he is

someone who does not believe in'impossibility', he always

emphasizes that with faith anddetermination anything is possible


Threevigilante menallegedlyassault lady

Three suspects have beenbrought before an UpperArea Court in Karu,

Abuja for alleged joint act andassault.

The trio are DantolaDanladi 35, Ishiaka Ahmadu40, and Suleman Umar 18, allof vigilante group NyanyaFederal Housing in Abuja.

Police Prosecutor, SilasNanpan told the court that onJanuary, 23, 2013, oneDooshima Akula of NyanyaFederal Housing came to thepolice station and reported thatwhen the nominalcomplainant was coming backfrom work, the three accusedstopped her and when she wastelling them that she wascoming back from work theystarted beating her.

Nanpan further noted thatas a result of the beating, thecomplainant sustained injuryon her face.

She was taken to Nyanyageneral hospital where shespent the sum of N4, 200 fortreatment.

He said that the offence was contrary to Sections 79 and264 of the Penal Code.

Meanwhile, Suleman ImanJega interpreted that thecomplaint lied against theaccused in Hausa and theypleaded not guilty to thealleged complain.

Nanpan also said the threeaccused are threatening thelife of the complainant.

Presiding Judge, AlhajiUmar Kagargo caution thethree accused.

He said: “Be it true or not Iam giving you the benefit ofdoubt”.

Kagarko granted bail thembail in the sum of N30, 000each and a surety each in likesum.

He added that the suretiesmust be reasonable, residewithin the jurisdiction and alsoreliable.

He adjourned the case toFebruary, 26, 2013 forhearing.

Fake taskforce official nabbedof Taskforce, Wuse Zone 5, reportedthe matter at the Wuse PoliceStation on January 21, 2013.

Udeh said the accused wasarrested by task force officialsfollowing a tip-off that he wasparading himself as a task forceofficial with a fake identity card.

A 37-year-old man, JohnJoseph of Gwagwavillage, Abuja has been

sentenced to three monthsimprisonment by an AbujaMagistrates Court forimpersonating as taskforce official.

Magistrate Binta Dogonyaro

handed down the sentence afterJoseph pleaded guilty to thecharge.

Dogonyaro, however, gaveJoseph an option to pay N2,000fine.

Police Prosecutor, David Udehhad told the court that Ufot Dick,

Work continues on this building intended as a plaza which was originally a residential plot in spite of the stop-work mark byDevelopment Control as contravening the Land Use of the Kubwa Master Plan. When completed, it may be responsible for trafficcongestion in the Phase 2 site 1 area due to its location. Photo: Miriam Humbe

One Miss EstherEkpeyong of GrandMirage, Area II Garki,

Abuja has been ordered by an Upper Area Court in Karu to beremanded for breach of trust andcheating.

Police Prosecutor, SergeantMohammed Garba told the courtthat on January, 21, 2013, oneMrs. Blessing Osom of house 16Efab Estate Apo in Abuja cameto the police station and reportedthat between July and December2012, the accused fraudulentlytook over possession of thecomplainant restaurant on thepretence that she would manageand remit the sum of N500, 000to the complainant which shefailed to fulfilled.

He further stated that onJanuary, 23, 2013, the accused

intentionally resisted her lawfularrest for the offence and duringpolice investigation it wasdiscovered that she was liable.

Garba said that the chargesare contrary to Sections 312,322, 397and 172 of the PenalCode.

Meanwhile, the accused

pleaded not guilty to the charges.Garba in response to the

accused denial of the charges,said that the allegation againsther is not bailable quotingSections 349 of the code criminalprocedure.

Presiding Judge, AlhajiUmar Kagarko, however asked

Woman in prison for breach of trust, criminal intimidationBy Beauty Amaike

He said that duringinvestigation, the convictadmitted that he committed thecrime.

Udeh added that the offencecontravene the provisions ofSection 132 of the Penal Code.(NAN)

By Beauty Amaike

A Karu Upper Area Court,Abuja, has ordered theremand of a carpenter,

Yakubu David of Kubgo timber shedfor theft.

The presiding Judge, AlhajiUmar Kagarko, however gave himan option to pay N6, 000 fine or onemonth imprisonment.

Police Prosecutor,Umaru

Mohammed told the court that onJanuary ,1, 2013, one Abutu Davidof plot 782 Wuse Zone 6 came to theNigeria Police DivisionalHeadquarters in Karu Abuja andreported that the accused onJanuary,19,2013 dishonestlymade away with his vibratingmachine valued N75,000 from hissite at Kugbo.

Kagarko also ordered the accusedto pay the compensation of N75,000 to the nominal complainant

Carpenter in remand for theftMohammed further noted that

the accused fraudulently sold thevibrating machine to one Baba Bolawhose name and address are addressare yet unknown and at large at therate of N3, 000, adding that duringinvestigation he confessed to the act.

He said that the chargecontravenes the provisions of Section288 of the Penal Code.

However the accused pleadedguilty to the charge.

By Beauty Amaike

the accused “Do you have anyreason why you should not bepunished”?

The accused did not respondto the question and as a result ofthat he remanded her to in prisoncustody.

He adjourned the case toFebruary, 26, 2013 for hearing.

A teenager, Mansir Muazu, 18,of no fixed address has beenbrought before an Abuja

Senior Magistrates Court forallegedly causing grievous hurt.

The Police Prosecutor, MrMonday Akor, told the court thaton January 18, at about 2.30 p.m.,

one Ezekiel Nuhu, of KarimoVillage, Abuja reported the matterat the Maitama Police Station.

Akor said that Nuhu made thereport on behalf of one 30-year-oldDanladi, of Maitama Extension,Abuja.

He told the court that on the

same day, the accused went to asite at Maitama Extension andinflicted serious injury on the rightlap of Danladi.

He further told the court thatas a result of the injury, Danladiwas rushed to the Maitama DistrictHospital for treatment, the cost of

Teenager accused of inflicting injury on 30-year-old manwhich was yet to be determined.

Akor said that the offence ofcausing grievous hurt contravenesthe provisions to Section 245 of thePenal Code.

The accused, however, pleadednot guilty to the offence.

The presiding Magistrate, Mr

Aminu Eri, granted the accused bailin the sum of N5,000 and a suretyin like sum.

He added that the surety mustbe resident within the jurisdictionof the court and adjourned the caseto February 13, 2013 for hearing.(NAN)

INSIDE FCTCOURTS


Community leader calls for betterhealth care centre for Mabushi residents

referred to Gwarimpa GeneralHospital for such treatment.

She added that most womenwho attended ante-natal clinics atthe centre were not delivered oftheir babies there because the clinicoperated only during the day time.

Her words: “We do refer themto Gwarimpa General Hospitalbecause we don’t have thetreatments here. We can only runthe tests for them.

“Once we notice that the personis HIV positive we will refer theperson, so that she will take thetreatment there and the person willalso attend ante-natal clinics there.We don’t allow them to deliver here.

your money and dig a boreholeyou cannot get water, we do notsee the benefit of the communitybeing right in the heart of Abuja,’’he said.

He said that during town hallmeetings, women wereencouraged to attend ante-natalclinics and the response was goodbecause the clinic was usually fullto capacity on such days.

The chief added that womenfrom Gishiri, Bada and Utakocommunities also came to thehealth care centre to attend ante-natal clinics.

He said that the health centrewas usually over-crowed, though

the men in the community hadbeen sensitised to ensure thatpregnant women in thecommunity attended ante-natalclinics.

The nurse at the primaryhealth care centre, Ms LucyYunana, told NAN that theresponse to ante-natal clinicattendance in the community wasgood, saying at least 10 womenattended the ante-natal clinicweekly.

Yunana, however, said thatprevention of mother–to-childtransmission of HIV and AIDStreatment was not available at thecentre and women were usually

Aminu Esu Akuyi, thetraditional chief ofMabushi, a community in

the FCT, has called on thegovernment to provide a betterhealth care centre in thecommunity.

He made the call when theNews Agency of Nigeria (NAN)visited Mabushi community.

The chief complained aboutthe state of the health carefacility, saying that it wasinadequate to cater to the morethan 3000 people living in thecommunity.

“The clinic here is even toosmall for the community becausewe are the people in thecommunity that built thishospital. Even the time they builtit, I was very young; up to now,government hasn’t done anythingabout this clinic; even the roofingsheets were supplied by thecommunity; when the roofingsheets get old, we replace them.

“Some National Youth ServiceCorps members used to come hereto help us; just last week one NYSCmember came here and paintedthe clinic. There was even anotherNYSC member that came hereand supplied the beds.

“We need help, so that drugsand other equipment needed aresupplied; sometimes when youcome for treatment, you arereferred to Gwarimpa GeneralHospital or to the one in Wusebecause there are not enoughfacilities here,’’ he said.

Akuyi added that thecommunity also lacked water andpeople had to buy water at a costof N100 for a 25 litre keg.

The traditional ruler noted thefact that the Federal Ministry ofWorks was close to thecommunity, but had not providedwater pipes.

“Water is life. Unless you have A road side barber attending to his client in Garki village, Abuja. Photo: Justin Imo-Owo

“You know that we are onlyrunning shifts, we don’t sleep here,so that is why most of our women,once they are about nine monthsinto their pregnancies, we will givethem their cards, they will go to thegeneral hospital.

“Some of them, if they come inthe morning we can deliver them,but as from the evening when weare not around in the night theycan go to other places’’.

The nurse said that the majorchallenge faced by the clinic wasits small size, which wasinadequate for the community.

Yunana added that theenvironment was dirty, saying“we usually go from house tohouse to educate residents aboutpersonal hygiene and how to takecare of the environment.’’

She said government shouldbuild a bigger and moreconducive health care centre inthe community with adequatefacilities to meet the needs of thepeople. (NAN)

Village; Area 1 – Cemetery – ApoMechanic Village; Jabi – Mbora –Kaura – Gudu Market; Jabi –Mbora – Suncity – Apo Mechanic;Jabi – Mbora – Lugbe; Gwarinpa– Life Camp entrance – 1st Gate;Bwari Town – Dutse Alhaji – ONEXExpressway; Kubwa 2nd Gate –Gado Nasko Road – Kubwa 1st Gate;Mpape – Murtala MuhammedExpressway Junction.

Furthermore, he said the mini-buses are not permitted to ply thefollowing routes which have beenallocated to high-capacity buses:Wuse Market – Eagle Square –Asokoro – AYA – Nyanya; Area 3Junction – Tafawa Balewa –Herbert Macauly Way – BergerJunction – Jabi; Gudu Market –Apo Quarters – Ahmadu BelloWay – Federal Secretariat –Gwarinpa; AYA – Shehu Shagari– Federal Secretariat – Transcorp– NICON Junction. Under thepolicy, the services of tricycles(Keke) have been restricted toGwarinpa Estate; Life Camp; Kadoand inside all large estates and thesatellite towns.

Permanent Secretary, Engr.Anthony Ozodinobi.

Ogbenyi said the compositionof the committees was announcedby Ozodinobi at the secondmeeting of the mainimplementation committee.

All the licensed operators forthe four categories, namely minibuses, high capacity buses, taxisand car hire services, he said were represented at the meeting andhad their members in the sub-committees.

He listed the licensed mini busoperators represented to includethe Self-employed CommercialDrivers Association (SECDA),Abuja Transport CooperativeSociety Limited (ATCS) and theNational Union of Road TransportWorkers (NURTW).

Meanwhile, the licensed highcapacity bus operators at themeeting included the Abuja UrbanMass Transport Company Limited(AUMTCO), SHAANXI Limited,FABREM Limited and ATCSamong others.

The SA said the Pricing and

Palliative sub-Committee has theDirector of Transport, Engr KolaGarba as Chairman, the PublicEnlightenment is headed by theSenior Special Assistant onInformation ManagementSystems, Hajia Jamilah Tangazawhile the Special Adviser onSecurity Matters to the FCTMinister, Col. Abdullahi Kudu(rtd) chairs the Securitycommittee. The Monitoring andEnforcement Committee is chairedby the Director of AbujaEnvironmental Protection Board(AEPB), Mallam Isa Shuaibu andthe Strategy committee by Engr.Wilson Unaogwu.

He said the delineated routesare distributed in such a way thatthe mini-buses have 10 routesassigned to them and the highcapacity buses allotted sevenroutes to ply.

He further listed the routescurrently allocated to the mini-buses are the following: Mombassa– Michael Okpara – OlusegunObasanjo – Moshood Abiola Area1; Area 1 – Gudu – Apo Mechanic

An enforcementcommittee has been setup by the Federal Capital

Territory Administration (FCTA) to ensure a successfulimplementation of routedelineation for mini and highcapacity buses in the FederalCapital City.

According to a statement bythe Special Assistant(SA) to theFCT Minister on Media, Mr. NosikeOgbuenyi, the stakeholderscommittee set up last week by theFCT Minister, Senator BalaMohammed has broken into fivesub-committees.

He said the sub-committees aresaddled with Enforcement andMonitoring, Pricing and Palliative,Security, Public Enlightenmentand Strategy, adding the fivepanels which have membersdrawn from all the operators andstakeholders in the FCT transportsector would work under the maincommittee headed by the FCT

FCTA sets up c’ttee on enforcement of buses’ route delineation

Science Academy in KujeArea Council of theFederal Capital

Territory(FCT) has held its 4th

Annual Inter-House Sportscompetition with a pledge to continue to encourage students in sports competitionin a bid to fish out the hiddentalents.

The Principal of the school,Mr Peter Mcleod, who madethe commitment while fieldingquestions from the newsmenduring the event, said that themanagement of the school, aswell as teaching staff woulddeem it necessary to assess thestudents for their academicpursuit every week.

He said that hisadministration would takeeverybody along for theoverall progress of theinstitution towards continuous academic excellence of itsstudents.

Also speaking, one of theboard directors of the school,noted that the annual sportscompetition was beingorganized among the studentsevery year in order to developthem in sporting activities.

Commenting on theacademic performance of thestudents, the director rated thestudents high in their studies.

At the end of thecompetition, prizes werepresented to overall best houseand other winningcompetitors.

By Josephine Ella Ejeh

Academy organises sportscompetition tofish out talentsBy Usman Shuaibu


For the Congress Progressive Change (CPC)administration in Nasarawa state, under theleadership of Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura,

bequeathing a functional health system has been acardinal objective, with the governor resorting tosponsoring free medical treatments to make health careavailable, with so far uncountable number of mostlyless privileged persons, benefiting from suchinterventions.

It is in this respect that the state deputy governor,Hon. Dameshi Barau Luka, towing the line of his boss,sponsored a two-day free medical treatment, incollaboration with the Nasarawa state Association ofPharmacy Students' of Nigeria (NASAN), University ofJos chapter, in a bid to make such services available tothe people at the grass roots, particularly members ofhis immediate community.

In a brief ceremony to launch the exercise whichheld at the LGEA primary school Ningo, Akwanga localgovernment area, and his country home, Hon. BarauLuka, reiterated the decision of the presentadministration to make the available health facilities inthe state functional, stressing that the CPCadministration has made the health sector top priority.

He told journalists at the function that when thepresident of the association contacted him to facilitatethe programme, he immediately saw the opportunitynot only to demonstrate the stance of the stategovernment but also assist the members of hiscommunity who mostly cannot access qualityhealthcare.

While declaring the exercise open, shortly aftertouring the component units of the exercise, the deputygovernor, hailed the students for the initiative, sayingit is his hope that many that will benefit from the exercisemay attain long life, urging members of the associationto make the exercise an annual event in order to benefitmore people.

He disclosed that he took it upon himself to foot thecost of the drugs to be distributed during the exercise,as well as logistics to facilitate the smooth take-off ofthe programme, adding that the gesture, thoughmodest, is aimed at providing medical care for thepeople.

"We look into the possibility for the association tomake this exercise a yearly routine, so that many peoplecan benefit from this humane gesture," he said.

On her part, president of the students' pharmacyassociation, Miss Ichukwu Ombugadu Bala, informedjournalists at the event that members of the group tookit upon themselves to reach out to the general public,guided by their motto; "building a healthy society".

She stated that her association thought it better toreach out to the less privilege in the society throughthe organisation of free medical treatment, which shesaid has been ongoing for the past years in Plateau state,with NASAN conducting the exercise for the first timein Nasarawa state.

She observed that being indigenes of the state,members of the association thought it wise to comeback home and assist the people, especially the lessprivileged members of the society.

"On the request by the deputy governor, we haveagreed to make the exercise a yearly event but with hissupport," Ms Bala stated.

She explained that the services to be provided duringthe exercise comprises of a de-worming exercise for allbeneficiaries, HIV and hepatitis screening andcounselling, general diagnosis and the distribution of

As Nasarawa Deputy Governor launchesfree medical treatment for his peopleBy Ali Abare Abubakar

free drugs, while cases beyond the ability of the team,would be referred to competent healthcare facility forprompt attention.

Explaining further on the nature of the exercise, thepresident said the first point of call for intendingbeneficiaries will be the registration point and taking ofvital signs, such as the blood pressure and blood sugar,followed by screening and testing point, where HIVand hepatitis test and screening will be conducted, thena diagnosis and consultation point , where experienceddoctors and nurses are on ground to assist, with thelast point of call being the drug distribution point.

As part of the team, Ms Bala stated that experienceddoctors, pharmacists, nurses and lab technicians, havealso been drafted to provide adequate medicalattention, stressing that the association outsourced themedical professionals to make the exercise a success.

Taking up on the promise by the deputy governor onthe likelihood of the state government coming in toassist the association in its subsequent exercise, the

youth leader pleaded with the government to assistthe association financially and to invite other influentialmembers of the society to reach out to the group, "sothat we can do this annually, as well as attain a widercoverage."

For the people of Ningo and the surrounding villages,estimated at over 2000, the free medical exercise couldnot have come at a better time. For most residents ofthe agrarian community, accessing medical facilitieshas been herculean, with most patients having to travelas far as Akwanga to be able to access a health facility.

Mrs Halima Daniel, a mother with her two kids whowere seen at the venue of the exercise, expressed hergratitude to the deputy governor, for facilitating theexercise, explaining that after been examined for bothHIV and hepatitis, for which she was found to be free,she was given free drugs to take home.

On his part, Godfrey Bame, a resident of Ningo, toldour correspondent that he attended the event in orderto access the free medical service. While praying forthe success of the exercise, he also thanked the statedeputy governor for making the exercise a reality.

Madaki Anthony, district head of Ningo, whileappreciating the gesture, which he said has broughtuntold relief to the people, appealed to the organisersto sustain the effort so that many people, mostly ruraldwellers, can benefit from the exercise.

As a parting gift, Hon. Barau Luka, informed thestudents' group of his intention to convey the requestof the association for official recognition, to his boss,Governor Umaru Tanko Al-makura, saying, "when theyfirst contacted me, I decided to personally sponsor theprogramme so that I can assess the effort of theassociation. But now that I have seen what the groupcan do, I will not hesitate to talk to my boss on theirbehalf, so that government will assist them in theirsubsequent exercises and so that they could reach widecoverage."

More than 2000 people are expected to benefit fromthe two-day free medical treatment in Ningo.

Hon. Luka Barau undergoing medical checkup during the exercise.

“Mrs Halima Daniel, a motherwith her two kids who wereseen at the venue of theexercise, expressed hergratitude to the deputygovernor, for facilitating theexercise, explaining that afterbeen examined for both HIVand hepatitis, for which shewas found to be free, she wasgiven free drugs to take home


Management Tip of the DayStop surfing the Internet now

INSIDE

How much time do you spend checking Facebook, sending and readingTweets, and buying things youdon’t need online? If the answeris “too much,” try these two waysto battle your internetaddiction:

Eliminate temptation.

Total moved staffout of Nigeria,Algeria - CEO

- Pg 20BBBBBUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSUSINESSEmail: [email protected] Mob: 08033644990

Choose specific times each daywhen you’ll turn off alltechnology. Mornings are ideal,when you’re likely to have moreenergy to get challenging tasksdone.

Carry a notebook. Writedown ideas that come to you,things you want to Google, or

emails and Tweets you want tosend. Keep this running listrather than opening yourbrowser whenever an ideastrikes you. Later, at adesignated time, you can knockseveral things off at once.Source: Harvard BusinessReview

the dollar after the EuropeanCentral Bank said banks willhand back a greater amount ofloans than analysts estimatedand German businessconfidence rose for a thirdmonth in January. U.S. oildemand grew last week by themost in a month, governmentdata showed Sunday.

“The German confidencenumber is a pretty good signthat the economy isimproving,” said MichaelLynch, president of StrategicEnergy & Economic Researchin Winchester, Massachusetts.

“We have a better economicoutlook and more people areexpecting stronger growth andhigher oil demand.”

The Brent-WTI spreadwidened by $1.83 on Jan. 23after Enterprise ProductsPartners LP (EPD) said capacitywas limited at the Jones Creekterminal on the Seawaypipeline, cutting shipmentsfrom Cushing, Oklahoma, thedelivery point for WTI futures,to the Gulf Coast. The deliverypoint in Katy, Texas, hasallowed Seaway to “make upthe difference” from therestrictions, the company saidat the weekend. (Bloomberg)

...as oil prices record longestweekly gains since 2009

The Federal Inland RevenueService (FIRS) has closedthe 2012 financial year

with a total collection of N5.007trillion, according to an officialstatement issued by the Service.

The statement, signed by Mr.Emmanuel Obeta, the Director,Communications and LiaisonDepartment of the service, at theweekend in Abuja noted that itwas the highest cumulative taxcollected in the history of theFIRS.

According to the statement,N1.806 trillion about 36.07 percent came from non-oil taxes.

“Oil taxes contributedN3.201 trillion (63.93 per centand was N3.070 trillion in2011.These sums aresignificantly higher than thebudget target N3.635 trillion forall its taxes.’’

It stated that compared with2011, the all-taxes figure grewby N379.4 billion or 8.20 percent. FIRS collected N4.628trillion in 2011. Thecontribution of non-oil taxesincreased from N1.557 trillion or33.65 in 2011 to N1.806 trillionor 36.07 per cent in 2012.

“This performance reflectsthe service’s unwavering

FIRS nets N5tr in 2012By Aminu Imam

commitment to its vision ofmaking taxation the pivot ofnational development.’’

It is noted that compared withthe N715.4 billion collected in2011, Companies Income Tax(CIT) returned N847.5 billion in2012.

The statement said that theValue Added Tax (VAT) wasN710.5 billion as againstN659.15 billion in 2011, whileEducation tax (EDT) recordedN188.43 billion from theN130.74 billion in 2011.

According to the statement,the National InformationTechnology Development Fund(NITDF) accounted for N9.13

billion as against the N8.67billion it returned in 2011.

“The sum of N51.59 billionwas realised from PersonalIncome Tax (PIT), Pre-Operational Levy (POL), CapitalGains Tax (CGT) and StampDuty (SD), it said, adding thatall was pooled together in theFederal Government’sConsolidated Revenue Fundaccount.’’

However, the statementnoted the total tax yield with theinclusion of Petroleum Profit Tax(PPT) for the year ended 2012stood at N5,007 trillion comparedto N3.635 trillion of the annualprovisional budgets.

Crude oil prices completeda seventh weekly gain inNew York, the longest

run of advances in almost fouryears, on speculation thatstronger economic growth willboost demand.

Brent for March deliverysettled unchanged at $113.28a barrel on the London-basedICE Futures Europe exchange.Volume was 20 per cent abovethe 100-day average. TheEuropean benchmark contractwas at a premium of $17.40after contracting to $15.16 onJan. 17, the narrowest inalmost six months.

Prices were little changedtoday as the euro strengthenedto an 11-month high against

…as non-oil tax hits N1.8tr

L-R: Gombe state Coordinator, National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Alhaji Abdulkadir Mabudi, member, state House of Assembly,Hon. Sagir Haruna, and Gombe state Deputy Governor, Mr Tha'anda Rubainu, during the launch of Subsidy Re-Investment and Empowermentprogramme (Sure-P) community services youth and women empowerment scheme, last Friday in Gombe. Photo: NAN

NACCIMA tasks FG to address growth-retarding issues nowFrom Samuel Ayodele, Lagos

Nigeria can ill-afford todrag its feet in addressingthe challenges besetting

business operations in thecountry, the NigerianAssociation of Chambers ofCommerce, Industry, Mines andAgriculture (NACCIMA), hassaid.

Specifically, NACCIMAtasked the Federal Governmenton the need to implement policiesthat would aid the ease of doingbusiness in the country,especially in respect of the Micro,

Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs).

Essentially, the privatesector operators canvassedenabling environment for theiroperations, especially in theareas of power generation andsecurity, in order to bolster theattainment of government’sdevelopment objectives.

President of NACCIMA, Dr.Herbert Ajayi, who briefedjournalists on the state of thecountry’s economy in Lagos atthe weekend, said: “The presentstate of power supply in thecountry has continued to

constrain capacity utilisation inindustries and also increasedcost of doing business.

“The economy will movefaster and record a higherpercentage in implementationthis year, if security and powerchallenges are addressed. Manybusinesses, especially theMSMEs are groaning under thehigh tariff of electricity, whilecontinuing to spend more ongenerating power throughfuelling of generators.”

Ajayi listed some of thechallenges currently facingoperators to include poor and

high cost of infrastructure,insecurity and dumping of sub-standard goods into thecountry, stressing that a lotstill needed to be done in areassuch as power supply,modernisation and expansion ofthe nation’s railways, inlandwaterways and urban metronetwork, for rapid mass transitand rapid industrialdevelopment.

He also added that lack ofadequately equipped enterprisezones, industrial clusters andparks at both state and localgovernment levels have also IMF predicts

worldeconomicgrowth forecastfor 2013

The InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF)has forecast on economic

growth in sub-Saharan Africato reach 5.8 percent this yearfrom 4.8 percent in 2012.

This is however likely todrop to 5.7 percent in 2014.The predictions are containedin the funds latest WorldEconomic Outlook.

Global growth is forecast tobe 3.5 percent in 2013 from 3.2percent in 2012. Emergingmarkets and developingcountries are expected to fuelthe growth. (Reuters)

been hindering the growth ofthe private sector.

He identified lack ofpatronage of Nigerian productsand services, as an issue thaturgent attention.

Ajayi urged the ministriesand parastatals to showexample of encouraging localproduction through thepatronage of locally producedgoods, stating that the economyis heavily import-dependent,both for industrial rawmaterials and finished products.


COMPANYNEWS

Jim OviaFoundationIn recognition of the immense

role software plays and canplay in growing the economy,

the Jim Ovia Foundation in ICThas initiated a ‘Prize forExcellence,’ dedicated tosoftware startups in Nigeria.

Besides, the Foundationinformed that the initiativewould also empower and launchthe army of Nigerian youths intodigital entrepreneurship.

The Jim Ovia Foundation inICT, which said that the plan wasto resolve the missing link in thenation’s knowledge capacitydevelopment space, added thatthis was done by invigorating aproactive strategy to enthronesoftware start-ups.

Association ofCharteredCertifiedAccountants

Policymakers, regulatorsand finance professionalsmust help small

businesses to adopt sustainablebusiness practices, even astheir huge impact is currentlybeing overlooked, theAssociation of CharteredCertified Accountants (ACCA)has said.

The body, in its assessment,said despite the fact that SMEsrepresent more than 90 percent of global businesses andaccount on average, for 50 percent of Gross Domestic Productand 63 per cent ofemployment.

JosMetropolitanDevelopmentBoard

Jos MetropolitanDevelopment Boardgenerated more than

N12.7 million revenue in2012, the General Manager,Mr. Mathias Hata has said.Hata told the News Agency ofNigeria in Jos yesterday thatthe revenue was the highestever generated by the boardsince its inception.

“Our performance in 2012is 200 per cent above theprevious years and this is anindication that we arecontributing to the statemeaningfully. In the yearsbefore 2012, our revenuegeneration was always aroundthree to four million but in2012 we broke that record”, hesaid.

Hata said that revenue wasfrom properties, shops,processing of building plans,permits for right of way as wellas fees and probate violationfines.

Two years after the NigerianOil and Gas Local ContentDevelopment policy

cameinto operation, indigenousunderwriting companies aregradually taking control of thebusiness, monitoring the wholeprocess of risk assessment.

Industry operators said thatthis is a significant departure

Insurers list gains of local content policy

L-R: Director-General, Lagos State Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture, Mr Vincent Nwani,Chairman, Crown Natures Nigeria Limited (CNNL) Brigadier-General Gisk Emdin (rtd), Managing Director,Bank of Industry, Ms Evelyn Oputu, and representative of Lagos State Governor, Mrs Rukayyat Akiode, duringa public presentation/unveiling of Nigeria innovative caps and hats, recently in Lagos. Photo: NAN

from the past where fewinsurance companies werefronting for the foreignmultinational companies.

An insurance technocrat andChairman EHI Consulting(Insurance Oil, Gas Strategy),Deacon Tom Ogboi, told TheGuardian that the industry hasrecorded significant benefitsfrom the local content policyfrom a position where insurance

companies were merelyfronting, but today they areactually in control, monitoringthe whole process of riskassessment in the sector.

According to him, therehave been developments ofhuman capital in the industry.Prior to this time, he said, we didnot have Nigerians whounderstood anything about oiland gas underwriting,

The West African Gas PipelineCompany (WAPCo) mayrecord a gross loss of $2.4

billion (N384 billion) within fourmonths if the vandalised sub-regional pipeline remainsunrepaired by the end of thismonth.

The Managing Director of thecompany, Charles Adeniji, hadtold journalists during a mediabriefing on the damaged pipeline,that the incident had resulted in adaily loss of between $500,000 to$600,000 to the company.

WAPCo is the operator of theWest African Gas Pipeline(WAPGo), which was breached inAugust, truncating supplies toGhana’s power plants.

The company was uncertainwhen it would resume flow of gasfrom Nigeria to neigbouringAfrican countries.

The pipeline suffered a set-backin October, when it experienced afatal accident during the re-commissioning of the TakoradiRegulating and Metering Stationin Ghana. The pipeline was shut

down in August last year afterexperiencing a loss of pressurearound the Lome segment of thefacility.

The West Africa gas pipeline,the first sub-regional natural gasscheme in sub-Saharan Africa,was initiated by the governmentsof Nigeria, Benin, Ghana and Togoto supply gas from the Escravosregion of Niger Delta, to feed gas-fired generating plants of the threeparticipating countries, wascompleted four years behindschedule.

WAPCo may record N384 bn loss fromvandalised sub-regional pipeline

everybody avoided it, nobodywanted to go into it because wedid not understand it.

But today, he said, there havebeen a lot of training andretraining in the industry.Insurance companies have beensending their staff for traininglocally and abroad, we now haveNigerians who have a fair idea ofoil and gas underwriting, thatexposure is a great benefit not onlyto Nigeria but to Africa.

Collaborating Ogboi, theManaging Director and chiefexecutive officer, LASACOAssurance Plc, Olusola LadipoAjayi agreed, “Our position hasimproved drastically from wherewe started. Our strength,knowledge base has improvedtremendously. But we cannotachieve 70 per cent overnight,because we cannot legislatefinancial capacity into existence;the capacity is being built upgradually.

He said “The insuranceindustry has benefited from all thepolicies, more and more insurancecompanies are subscribing,training and retraining ofexpertise are ongoing and theexperience has been rewardingand encouraging.”

French oil major, Total hasmoved its staff from theNigerian capital, Abuja

following the kidnapping of aFrench national last month,Chief Executive Christophe deMargerie said on Friday.

This is the first time inrecent history that a companyhas said it has evacuatedforeigners from Nigeria’scapital due to securityconcerns. Western diplomaticsources told Reuters earlier thisweek that embassies were notplanning to remove families oftheir staff from Abuja.

“What we do first is to limitthe number of expatriates, notbecause they have more rightsto be protected than the others,but because they are a moreinteresting target, if I may

say,” de Margerie told France24 television.

He did not elaborate on thenumber of staff moved.

“In Nigeria, we have threeinstallations ... We moved ourpeople from Abuja, which is thecity that is most at risk, toLagos and Port-Harcourt, andif necessary, we move themback to Paris,” he told the TVchannel on the sidelines of theWorld Economic Forum inDavos.

Nigerian Islamist groupAnsaru kidnapped a Frenchnational last month in theremote northern town of Rimi,close to the Niger border.

The group threatened tocontinue to target the Frenchbecause of the country’s supportof military action in Mali and its

decision to ban the full face veil.Ansaru claimed an attack on

a military convoy taking troopsfrom Nigeria to Mali last weekin Kogi state, south of the capitalAbuja.

The group’s full name isJama’atu Ansarul MusiliminaFi Biladis Sudan, which roughlytranslates as “Vanguards for theProtection of Muslims in BlackAfrica”.

The group, thought to be abreakaway from better knownIslamist sect Boko Haram, hasrisen to greater prominence inrecent weeks.

It claimed responsibility fora dawn raid on a major policestation in the Nigerian capitalin November, where it saidhundreds of prisoners werereleased. (Reuters)

Total moved staff out of Nigeria, Algeria - CEO

The push to ensure Nigeriancompanies execute mostcontracts in the nation’s oil

and gas sector is yielding positiveresults as indigenous firms havewon about 87 per cent ofcontracts in the sector in the lastone year.

The Minister of PetroleumResources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who stated this inAbuja at a meeting of thegoverning council of the NigerianContent Development andMonitoring Board (NCDMB), saidinsistence on the usage ofNigerians in the industry hasdeepened the local supply chain.

The Minister, who is also theChairman of the council,maintained that the rare feat is afirst step towards domiciliation ofspend and local value addition.

Her words: “The board has toa large extent achieved consensusin most aspects of NigerianContent implementation to theextent that there has been nomajor dispute amongststakeholders on interpretation ofprovisions of the Nigerian ContentLaw.

“Stakeholders are alsoresponding positively to the needto do things differently in theindustry, for the benefit of all.This clearly demonstrates that wehave been carrying the industryalong in the implementation ofthe Act.”

Alison-Madueke also assuredthat the Federal Government willcontinue to support the Boardand its numerous local valueaddition initiatives, aimed atdeepening indigenousparticipation in the industry.

Local oil firms win87 per cent ofindustry contracts,says Minister

From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos


As the days draw closer forthe kick-off of the mobilenumber portability of all

operating net work in thecountry by NigerianCommunications Commission(NCC), MTN has said that it isready to implement the MobileNumber Portability (MNP), inconsonance with the policy of theindustry regulator set by NCC.

NCC has recently announcedplans to flag-off mobile numberportability in the first quarterof this year, which might startby March ending 2013.

MTN CEO, Brett Goschensaid the company has put allnecessary arrangement for thekick off and is ramping up

MTN Nigeria set for numberportability in March, says CEO

efforts to make numberportability a reality for mobilephone users in the country.

“We have put thenecessary infrastructure for thetake-off of the program of thisproject,” said Goschen. “We arealso confident that NCC will giveus the necessary cooperation, hestated

Goschen disclosed that a seriesof tests had been carried out onthe company’s systems andinfrastructure, adding that moretests will be carried out in the daysahead to ensure that the projecttakes off without any hitch.

“We are excited thatcustomers who wish to join thenetwork with the most coverageof Nigeria will now be able to doso without worrying about losing

Stories by Chris Alu their mobile numbers. As youknow, we have made far moreinvestment in our network thanany other operator in Nigeriahas done, with the result that weare today the clear leader witheffective network coverage ofmore than 85 percent of Nigeria’sland mass and population.

“We have nearly 100 percentcoverage of most majorhighways in Nigeria and we aregradually moving towards thefinal laps of a massive,nationwide networkmodernisation and swap-outexercise that is bound to give thenetwork unequalled capacityand much improved quality ofservice. We have no doubt inour minds that mobile phoneusers on other networks in

Nigeria will be eager to port intoMTN to avail themselves ofthese and other benefits theycan only find on the MTNnetwork,” he said.

Apart from its massiveinvestment in its core services,MTN remains the only operatorthat has created a CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR)vehicle, MTN Foundation, toimplement life-impacting socialprojects across the length andbreadth of Nigeria, Goshen said.

He added that the companythrough MTNF had invested overN5 billion in such social projectswhich have directly andindirectly impacted millions oflives in the areas of health,education and economicempowerment

Smartphones sold highest in 2012

The smart mobile phonemarket grew 1.9% year-over-year in the fourth

quarter of 2012 , as it salesraised shipments among all thephones worldwide to levelsnearly equal to those of featurephones, said Kevin Restino ,senior research analyst.

According to him, vendorsshipped a total of 482.5 millionmobile phones in 2012compared to 473.4 millionunits in the fourth quarter of2011 in which Smartphone topmost sales.

And for the full year2012,the global market for mobilephones was essentially flat,declining 0.2% on shipments ofmore than 1.7 billion units yetSmartphone’s sales records

were quite impressive.In the worldwide

smartphone market, vendorsshipped 219.4 million units in2012, which represents 45.5%of all mobile phone shipments,the highest percentage ever.

The 36.4% year-over-yeargrowth was slightly below IDC’sforecast of 39.5% for thequarter. On an annual basis,545.2 million smartphoneswere shipped globally in 2012,which was 10.1% more thanin 2011.

“The high-growthsmartphone market, thoughdominated by Samsung andApple, still presents ampleopportunities forchallengers,” said KevinRestivo, senior research

analyst with IDC’s WorldwideQuarterly Mobile PhoneTracker.

“Vendors with uniquemarket advantages, such aslower-cost devices, canrapidly gain market share,especially in emergingmarkets. A good example isHuawei, which overtook LG asa Top 5 vendor in the overallmobile phone market andpassed HTC to become a Top 5smartphone vendor.”

“The fact that Huawei andZTE now find themselvesamong the top 5 smartphonevendors marks a significantshift for the global market,”noted Ramon Llamas, researchmanager with IDC’s MobilePhone team.

The Minister ofC o m m u n i c a t i o nTechnology, Omobola

Johnson said government is onthe driving seat of improvingand developing the ICT industryin Nigeria to meet up withcountries like India, Malaysia,claiming the Ministry has setKey Performance Index targetsfor itself.

In order to achieve this andmore, the minister said theministry is actually going intocirculating internetconnectivity across the nationand strengthening ICT businesseconomy in the ranges of Small,Medium and Large scaleenterprises which will be ICTfocused and contribute to thenation’s GDP.

“In terms of the KPIs we’vegot some very clear targets thatwe have set for ourselves interms of connectivity(broadband infrastructure)across Nigeria and ICTeconomy’”

The Minister said theministry is keying into thepotential of an ICT-driveneconomy in a developingeconomy like Nigeria, which willhighlight development in the

economy and governance aswell.

Talking about the sustenanceof these policies with a focus onimprovement in Nigeria’stertiary institutions, theMinister said “the ministry isworking with the World Bank,Ministry of education and theUSP Fund in providing higherInstitutions in Nigeria with a 10-GigaByte fibre optic link andafterwards connect them all tothe internet so research anddevelopment can be easy forthese institutions”.

FG targets infrastructuregrowth in telecomsindustry – MinisterWhile commending

Bank of Industry (BoI)for its single digit

interest rate for the ICT sector,the Information TechnologyAssociation of Nigeria, (ITAN)has called on the FederalGovernment to set aside fundfor the ICT sector so as toencourage growth of smalllocal ICT companies in thechallenging marketenvironment

President of ITAN, Engr.

Florence Seriki stated thisrecently while taking stock ofOmatek Ventures and the RoadMap for 2013 noted that thefund would serve as a bail outfor the ICT sector battling withforeign vendors.

Seriki, who is also the ChiefExecutive Officer of OmatekVentures Plc said that bylending funds to SMEs in theindustry at a single digit

lending rate, the bank wouldhave helped the growth of theindustry.

“We have approached BoI toexplain the state of the industryand BOI created a desk for theICT industry and will fund anyplayer that is interested at asingle digit or at most 10 percent interest rate. BOI givesconcession to ITAN members onfunding.

ITAN boss seeks special fund for ICT sector…lauds BOI’s single digit interest rate

The Federal Governmenthas been urged to as amatter of urgency, enact

and release a local contentpolicy for the country this year.

Chief Executive Officer ofTeledom Group, Dr. EmmanuelEkuwem, who made the callrecently said that it wasimperative for government toact now, owing to the perceived

implications of non-use of localcontent from Nigeria, indeveloping the Nigerianinformation andcommunications Technology(ICT) sector, coupled with thecontinued loss of revenue toforeign countries, throughimportation of their productsfor use in Nigeria.

According to Ekuwem, theenactment of local contentpolicy and its implementationwould put an end to importationof items that could be developedto standard in Nigeria andaddress the issue of capital flight,had made Nigeria lose so muchmoney that could have beengenerated as revenue from localcontent development in thecountry.

Apart from addressingrevenue loss andunderdevelopment caused byoverdependence on foreigngoods, Ekuwem said strictimplementation of local contentpolicy would create jobs, wealth,reduce poverty and enhanceproductivity among Nigerians.

In technical parlance, localcontent development andadoption in the ICT industry, isthe use of available componentsor materials or resources in theICT industry that could besourced in Nigeria. They includecomponents of hardware,software, integratedtechnology, and physicalstructures like towers, masts,racks, cell site enclosures, aswell as technical expertise.

Stakeholder seeks adoptionof local content in ICT

Minister of Information andCommunication Technology,Omobola Johnson


A study by Meristem,which looked at thefinancial market in 2012

showed that Nigeria has thehighest cost of accessing fundsfor development in the world.

This gives insight into thedeclining investment in thereal sector of the economy, infavour of the service industry.

The study also revealed thatthe naira was the bestperforming currency in theworld, having gained 0.64percent during the period.

According to Meristem,among the next 11, Nigeria hasthe highest MPR, at 12 percent,compared with countries likeEgypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh,Indonesia, Mexico, South Koreaand Turkey. Base rate is therate at which banks borrowfrom the apex banks for on-lending among themselves andfund users.

Comparing the base cost offunds in the country with theBRICS (Brazil, Russia, India,China and South Africa) anddeveloped nations, it costsmanufacturers more to securefunds in Nigeria than in theseother countries. In Brazil, thebenchmark interest rate is7.25, Russia 8.25 percent, India7.00 percent, China 6.00 andSouth Africa 5.6 percent.

Base rates in the US, ECB, UK,and Japan, are 0.25 percentECB 0.75 percent , UK 0.50percent and Japan 0.50 percentrespectively.

Interbank rates monitoredaround the world also show thatNigeria’s interbank rate of13.83 is the highest comparedwith China’s CHIBOR 4.40

Nigeria has highest cost of funds in the worldBy Ibrahim Kabir Sule percent, Egypt’s EGDIR 10.50

percent, Europes EURIBOR 0.54percent, , Japan’s TIBOR 0.42percent, South Africa JIBAR5.46 percent, UK LIBOR 1.01percent and US BBA LIBOR 0.84percent.

Analysts say that with suchinterest rate profiles, it ischeaper for foreign direct

investors to set up shop in othercountries than in Nigeria, andattribute current FDI inflows tothe stable exchange rates andreform measures taking place invarious sectors of the economy.

Investment analysts saythat if the trend persists , thecountry may attract more ofportfolio investments,

including hedge funds(otherwise called hot money)induced by high return oninvestment. As hot money isusually the first to take flight,in the event of economic andmarket crisis.

Other experts includingSanusi Lamido Sanusi, CBNGovernor, said high cost of fundswas not as much of a problem,as unstable exchange rate andhigh inflation. At the 2012Economic Summit, Sanusi saidone of the worst problemsconfronting the real sector wasinfrastructure decay. His viewis that if infrastructure was notfixed, available funds wouldnot be appropriately deployed.

But other economiccommentators say reducingthe cost of funds in the Nigerianeconomy would attract moreinvestments and also reduceprices of locally produced goods,which are currently unable tocompete with foreign goodsproduced in low costenvironments.

The stability of the localcurrency is seen as good forplanning and capitalrepatriation for foreigninvestors looking foralternative window of returns,especially with decliningmargin of returns in themature economies of Europeand America.

L-R: Kaduna state governor, Alhaji Mukthar Ramalan Yero, Abia state governor, Chief Theodore Orji,Vice-President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, and Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Alhaji AbubakarKachalla, during a meeting on Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), yesterday at the StateHouse, in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

sell off their surplus eggs andmake profit.

He added that the measurewas to encourage Nigerians toeat eggs as a major source ofprotein.

“For us to stay in the businessof making feeds, poultryfarming must be madelucrative through highpatronage. If we do not helppoultry farmers dispose theirsurplus eggs, no one will buyour feeds.

“We will mop up the eggs anddistribute them to students ofprimary and secondary schoolsas well as orphanages. This is aspart of our corporate socialresponsibly, “ Gambo said.

Mr. Julius Gusan, theChairman PAN in Plateau,thanked Grand Cereal for thekind gesture extended to thepoultry farmers.

Feeds company plans to mop up excess eggs in Plateau

Grand Cereal Nig. Ltd, aJos-based producer ofpoultry feeds, has

promised to mop up excess eggsin Plateau between Februaryand March.

“We shall do that as we havealways done every year as partof our corporate socialresponsibility,’’ Mr. NanscelGambo, a manager of thecompany said in Jos yesterday.

Gambo, Assistant BrandManager in-charge of thepoultry feeds in the company,announced the plan at themonthly congress meeting ofthe Plateau Chapter of thePoultry Association of Nigeria(PAN).

Gambo explained that themopping up of eggs by thecompany had become anannual event to check againstegg-glut in a bid to help farmers

“You have done it before, weare glad you are going to do itagain,’’ he said.

Gusan called on otherorganisations to emulate thesteps of the company, addingthat such partnership andsupport would move theeconomy forward.

He pleaded with thecompany to first consider PANregistered members beforeextending the gesture tounregistered farmers to attractfarmers to join the association.

He also pleaded that a“reasonable price’’ be consideredduring the exercise to enablefarmers to make profit and stayin business.

Gusan called on poultryfarmers to register with theassociation to benefit from thegesture and other benefitsaccruing to members. (NAN)

The Nigerian BroadcastCommission (NBC)yesterday denied

banning the broadcast of onsome musical videos byNigerian artistes.

The Acting Public RelationsOfficer of the Commission, Mrs.Maimuna Jimada told theNews Agency of Nigeria (NAN)in Abuja that the commissionwas not aware of the ban.

She said NBC was not incharge of banning musicalvideos, adding: “NBC has notbanned any videos as we are notin-charge of placing a ban onmusic videos.”

Some newspapers hadreported that the commissionhad banned some new musicalvideos from being broadcast inthe country.

The report named some ofthe affected artistes as P-square, Wande Coal, Timaya,Flavour, D’prince, Goldie,Chuddy K and Tillaman.

The report said the videoswere banned for containingoffensive materials.

Jimada said NBC was solelyresponsible for ensuring thatmusical videos and audiosmade for public consumptionwere safe.

“ If a music video or audiohas content that is not suitablefor broadcast we tag thesevideos and audio as ‘not to beput on air’’.

Also we inform stationsacross the country not to

broadcast them,” she said. She said that if a video was

tagged as not to be aired, itsproducers could still reproducethem with better content forbroadcast.

Commenting on the matter,Mr. Yunusa Tanko, the DeputyDirector and Head of Corporateaffairs, National Films andVideo Censors Board, said theboard was unaware of suchban.

He said although the boardwas in-charge of censoring thecontent of musical video,artistes failed to bring theirworks to the board for propercheck before broadcast.

He explained that since thevideos were produced forbroadcast, it was also the dutyof NBC to monitor theircontents.

“The board has collaborationwith NBC and the NigerianCopyright Commission (NCC)in matters of copyright, piracyand censorship.

“Most times these issues couldfall under any of our jurisdictionbecause our functions overlap.

“NBC has the mandate toregulate content and musicvideos are supposed to beclassified.

“Though piracy is supposedto be handled by the copyrightcommission, the censors’ boardworks to ensure that all contentthat passes through the boardare classified,” he explained.(NAN)

NBC denies banon musical videos

The Director, FederalHighways (South-West),Alhaji Kabir Abdullahi

has said that Julius Berger Plcwill soon begin work on PhaseII rehabilitation of Oshodi/Apapa Expressway.

Abdullahi told the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) atthe weekend in Lagos that therehabilitation of the highwaywas a top priority for theFederal Government.

“We have several projectsin the South-West on ourpriority list for 2013 but the

immediate ones are the Lagos/Ibadan Access rehabilitationand Phase II of Oshodi/ApapaExpressway reconstruction.

“We are in the process ofawarding the contract and wehope that by next week, theprocess for the award would becompleted.Julius Bergerwould handle it and Godwilling, would start work onthe bad portions in the nextcouple of weeks”, he stated.

He further said that thecompany had concluded workon Phase 1, adding that the

road had been overlaid anddrainage channelsconstructed and covered.

He added that MessrsBorini Prono Nig. Ltd wascurrently working on theother stretch of the road.

Also, the engineersupervising the Project, Mr.Godwin Eke, told NAN thatthe phase II of the projectwould cover about threekilometres and would bereinforced to cater for theheavy traffic on the road.(NAN)

Julius Berger to begin Phase IIrehabilitation of Oshodi/Apapa expressway

PAGE 25PEOPLES DAILY, TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2013

Mpape killing: A victim’s cry forjustice and its grinding wheel

Doris, who was a cashierat the then Bank PHB,Wuse Zone1 branch,

became another victim of themany incidents of extra-judicial killing by securityoperatives in Nigeria in thename of enforcing the law.

The shooting happened inthe early morning ofJanuary 31, 2011 when thealleged killer, Cpl. OlotuOwoicho of the Squadron 44

attached to the bank, openedfire on a taxi hired by thedeceased to take her to herwork place. Then she wasnursing an eight-month-oldbaby boy.

Owoicho was said to hadreacted angrily, rainingbullets on firing his rifle,bullets at the vehicle becausethe driver allegedly ignoredhis warning not to make a U-turn in the vicinity of the

bank; and the bullets from hisgun instantly snuffed the lifeout of Doris, an incidentwhich incensed sympathizerswho besieged the bankbuilding and set it ablaze.

However, in what appearsto have been a move by thepolice to appease the angryresidents of Mpape, two daysafter the incident, the thenInspector-General of Police(IGP), Mr. Hafiz Ringim,

directed that a criminal suitbe instituted against thesuspect.

Obviously, the deceased,did not get any chance to saygood bye to her husband, Mr.Eugene Okere, a publicservant, their eight month-old baby, Chidiebere Okereand a host of other familiesand friends. And on February19, 2011, her bullet riddenbody, after medical

examination, was laid to restin her husband’s home town,Ohekelem, in Ngor- OkpalaLGA of Imo state.

Following the brutalkilling of his wife, Okere andhis son, Chidiebere Okere(through a lawyer friend,Barr. Eze Onyekpere, onApril 27, 2011, jointly fileda civil suit which sought inaddition to monetarycompensation, a declarationthat the killing of Doris wasunconstitutional and a grossviolation of the deceased’sright to life.

And with the help ofNational Human RightsCommission Centre for SocialJustice and under thewatchful eye of the media,the matter decided at theFederal Capital Territory(FCT) High Court sitting inApo on May 4, 2012. HonJustice Ufot Inyang declaredthe killing of Dorisunconstitutional and aviolation of her human rightand awarded over threehundred million naira asdamages against the NigeriaPolice.

The police, through theircounsel in the suit, C. A.Mishel, declared theirintention to appeal againstthe May 4, 2012 verdictdelivered by Justice UfotInyang, in a 400 millionnaira suit against thealleged killer, InspectorGeneral of Police (IGP) andthe Attorney General of theFederation (AGF) as 1st, 2ndand 3rd defendants.

A source close to thewidower, Eugene Okere, toldour reporter that even afterthe “90 days window”available to the NigeriaPolice Force to seek areversal of the landmark

Two years after the brutal murder of Mrs Nonye Okere Doris by a trigger- happy mobilepolice officer near Zenith Bank, in Mpape, a suburb of Abuja, the victim’s husband’s questfor justice appears elusive even as an Abuja high court declared the killing unconstitutionaland a gross violation of the deceased’s right to life, and awarded over three hundred millionnaira in damages against the Nigeria Police Force, Stanley Onyekwere writes.

judgement by the victim’sfamily legal team, nothingwas done by the police.

The source said: “thepolice lawyer had told themthat they will serve thefamily the appeal notice at thetime before the widow forappeal elapses, but so farnothing has been done orheard about it.”

According to a humanrights group Legal Defenceand Assistance Project(LEDAP) report on extrajudicial executions in Nigeria2010-2011, on the average,six persons were unlawfullykilled every day

Many observers areconcerned that despite thehigh number of killings, onlyeight per cent of the caseswere prosecuted within theperiod, resulting in animpunity rate of 92 per cent

and their victims do not getredress or remedy of anymeasures.

Meanwhile, humanrights activists and groupshave stressed the need forthe Federal Government toset up a high level judicialcommission of inquiry into

Now apart Mr. Eugene Okere & the late Doris Okere, after their wedding in 2009.

extra-judicial executions andsummary killings in thecountry with a view toidentifying and prosecutingthe perpetrators and provideredress to families of thevictims.

Also, some have severalhave called on thegovernment to immediatelyoverhaul the police and otherlaw enforcement authoritiesin order to cut downdrastically on the increasinginsecurity and lawlessness inthe country, in particularhuman rights abuses of thisnature.

However, to compoundthe agony of the deceased’sfamily, is the government’sintrigues silence on thematter, especially thevictim’s family’s struggle toget justice two years after herbrutal murder. This is in spiteof the fact that a court of lawentered judgement in theirfavour in the said civil suit.

There is no denying thatthe oblivious slowing down ofthe wheel of justice in theslain Doris’ family’s cry forjustice raises eyebrows as tothe competence and capacityof relevant institutions toensure that when people who

Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar

are to safeguard the securityand welfare of the citizens endup doing the opposite arepunished and their victims doget redress or remedy.

Observers say that whengovernment cannot provideand protect lives of its citizens,and punish those whotruncate the right to life ofothers, then the governmenthas failed in its primaryresponsibility to its people.

But importantly, the issueremains that as Mrs. Okererests in her grave, not a fewpersons hope and pray God totouch the hearts of the policeand government to fast-trackthe wheel of justice in the caseas an honour to late Doris byduly punishing her killer andcompensating her family leftbehind, in the hope that thiswill console them.

Therefore, going by most

accounts, government musttake urgent steps to addressthe situation with a view toensuring that families ofvictims receive adequatecompensations and diligentprosecution of culprits ofunlawful killings to serve asa deterrent to officers of theNigeria Police Force andreduce incidents of extra-judicial killing in thecountry.

“The police lawyer had told themthat they will serve the family theappeal notice at the time beforethe widow for appeal elapses,but so far nothing has been

done or heard about it

FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed


Army gets new spokesman,redeploys 316 officersFollowing the recent

retirement and as partof the ongoing

transformation effort with therecently promoted seniorofficers, 317 Army officersincluding the Army spokesman,Maj. Gen Mobolaji Koleoso havebeen redeployed.

A statement signed by theoutgoing Director of ArmyPublic Relations (DAPR) Maj.Gen Mobolaji Koleoso in Abuja

yesterday said theredeployment was necessary soas to fill the vacuums createdfrom the retirement and enablethe new generals take effectivecommand structure in differentArmy units, formations and theDefence Headquarter.

The former DAPR, thestatement said is now the Chiefof Civil Military Affairs (CCMA)while Maj. Gen Bitrus Kwaji whowas erstwhile the CCMA hasbeen redeployed to the NigerianArmy Welfare Limited and

Guarantee as the GroupManaging Director.

The new Army Spokesman isBrigadier-General IbrahimAttahiru formerly of the DefenceHeadquarters.

Other senior officersredeployed according to thestatement include erstwhileChief of Training andOperations, Maj. Gen. LawrenceNgubane who is now at theDefence Headquarters as theChief of Training andOperations while former

General Officer Commanding(GOC) 3 Division, Maj. Gen JackNwagbo is now the Chief ofTraining and Operations ArmyHeadquarters.

Others include; former GOC2Division, Maj. Gen MohammedAbubakar now Chief of ArmyAdministration (COAA) at theArmy headquarters; formerChief of Army Standard andEvaluation, (CASE) Maj. Gen.Shehu Abdul-Kadir has beenappointed the ForceCommander of the African- led

International Support Missionfor Mali and the new CASE isMaj. Gen Paul Isang.

The new Commander for theNigerian Army TrainingDoctrine Command (TRADCO)the statement further said isMaj. Gen Babagan Monguno,Maj. Gen Daniel Kitchener, thenew Chief of Logistics at theArmy Headquarters while Maj.Gen. Emmanuel Bassey becomesthe Chief of Policy and Plan.

The statement also namedfour new GOCs. Maj. Gen.Ebiobowei Awala, new GOC 3Division, Maj. Gen AhmedJibrin, new GOC 2Division,former Commander, NigerianArmy Engineers, Maj. GenAshimiyu Olaniyi ,GOC 82Division and Maj. Gen. ObiUmahi as the new GOC 81Division.

The Nigerian Air Forceover the weekendcommissioned 144 cadets

into its Direct Short Service(DSS)

Addressing the new officersat the passing out and pipingceremony at Air Force Base inKaduna , Chief of Air Staff, AirMarshall Alex Sabandu Badehsaid the challenges of tacklingthe spate of terrorism andother internal security threats in the country remain thehighest priority of the federalgovernment and by extensionthe Nigerian Air Force.

He said the new officers willbe deployed to crisis prone areasand other parts of thecountry to assist themilitary in protecting livesand properties of the citizens.

Badeh also said though theirprimary responsibility is to

defend the territorial integrityof Nigeria from the air, “theprevailing security situation inthe country has seen the NAFinvolved in roles aiding thecivil authority.

The Air Chief said theparticipation of the NigerianAir Force in the ongoing effortto flush out rebels in Mali hasearned the service thereputation of an effective anddependable force.

“As Nigeria continues totackle the challenges ofinternal security, let me stressthat the security of lives andproperties remains the highestpriority of government,consequently, as youngofficers, you may sooner thanlater find yourselves deployedfor internal securityoperations in any part of thec o u n t r y . ”

Nigerian Air Force commissions 114 cadets

NDC Alumni Association holds national security seminar

Also speaking at theoccasion, Kaduna stategovernor, Muktar RamalanYero commended theefforts of the Nigerian AirForce for ensuring peace andsecurity in the state.

“We have goodpartnership with them(NAF) and that is one of thereasons we have toparticipate in theirprogrammes and they havealso been helping us a lot ,especial ly with the groundtroops that form part of thestate’s Operation Yaki as wellas providing air surveillancein the state” Yero added.

The 144 Short ServiceCourse 21 cadets, whichconsist of 16 femaleofficers were commissionedas f lying off icers afterthe passing out ceremony.

Stories by Joy Baba

The 3rd annual seminar onnational security of theAlumni Association

(AANDEC) of National DefenceCollege (NDC) will begin inAbuja tomorrow and run tillWednesday.

Briefing newsmen on theactivities lined up for the eventover the weekend, ChairmanSeminar OrganisingC o m m i t t e e M a j - G e nAlexander Mshelbwala, saidthe seminar would be co-hostedby AANDEC and the NationalDefence College.

The theme for this year’sseminar according toMshelbwalla is “ContemporaryNational Security Challenges:Policy Options.

He said the seminar wasdesigned to serve as a bridgebetween the currentparticipants of the college andthe Alumni Association of thecollege.

In his words “the objectivetherefore, is to bring theexperiences of the members ofthe Alumni Association to bearon the academic learning of theparticipants.

“This is in order to galvanisethem for the daunting workawaiting them in the field withrespect to national security, ‘’

he said.According to him, the

philosophy of the AANDEC wasto bring field realities to bearon the academic programme inthis direction as a prelude totheir re-induction into higherresponsibilities.

He further said the seminarbecame necessary because thevanguard for national securityis the armed forces as the mainpurpose for their establishmentwas for the defence of theterritorial integrity of thenation.

“To the armed forces, thesurvival of the nation is notonly fundamental but indeednot negotiable, none the less, itis the people that make orunmake the efficacy of themilitary in this direction.

“Realising this therefore,the seminar has been carefullystructured to harp on thecritical sectors of nationalendeavours with a view todistilling the security supportcomponents inherent in them.

The seminar he also saidwill provide policy options aspalliatives or outrightsolutions to the securityproblems.

LOC chairman disclosedthat the Manufacturers

Association of Nigeria (MAN)and other stakeholders hadbeen invited to brainstorm onhow the country couldimprove especially in themanufacturing sector so as to

Commandant, National Defence College, Rear Admiral Jonah Lokoson

have more people gainfullyemployed and improve theirliving standards.

He noted that the seminar,would prepare current Course21 members of the College, who

are future Service Chiefs, aswell as technocrats of strategicsectors of the country for therealities that were bound tomeet on the field and how toaddress them.

Some of the new cadets on parade during their passing outceremony in Kaduna, weekend.


Crude oil Theft - JTF Seizes three vessels,destroys 362 illegal refineries

The Joint Task Force, JTF,code named OperationPulo Shield, Saturday,

launched an operation along thecreeks and waterways of Deltaand Bayelsa states, leading tothe seizure of three vessels anddestruction of 362 illegalrefineries.

The operation was scarriedout simultaneously in theKolokolo, Bisigo, Igbomatoru,Sagana areas of the two states.

Also raided by the men of theJTF were the Ogbokodo creekand the Ugbokolo area of DeltaState.

The spokesperson for the JTFin the region, Lt. Col. OyeamaNwachukwu, said the actionwas new as it is part of thestrategy of the newly deployedcommander, Major GeneralBata Debiro.

“The operation led to thedestruction of 362 illegal oilcooking ovens usually referredto as local refineries in Kolokoloarea and Bisigbo in Warri SouthLocal Government Area of Delta

Members of Joint Task Force (JTF) destroying illegal refineries

State; Igbomatoru, in IjawSouth Local Government andSangana in BayelsaState,”Nwachukwu stated.

“Three vessels and sevenbarges engaged in oil theft werealso scuttled by troops of the JTFin Opobo River, Bonny LocalGovernment of Rivers State andTomkiri in Brass LocalGovernment of Bayelsa state.”

“The operation also led to thescuttling of 75 wooden boats(Cotonu boats) conveyingillegally siphoned petroleumproducts at Ogbokodo creek andUgbokolo areas of Warri SouthWest of Delta state. 175 suspectswere arrested in the operationand handed over to prosecutingagencies for litigation.”

The JTF spokesman alsonoted that the new commanderof the JTF, Debiro, had unfoldedhis strategy to stamp out illegaloil bunkering in the NigerDelta.

“The new commanderaverred that he would be highlymobile and fluid in the fightagainst illegal oil bunkering. Hestated that sitting like a lameduck in the office is not his

approach and had alreadyembarked on an appraisal tourof troops’ deployments includingNaval Forward Operational

is suspected to be stolen crudeof about 157,822 litres andthey didn’t have papers tojustify the cargo,” he saidadding that the tanker does nothave the Nigerian PortAuthority’s bunkeringpermit, nor the joint taskforce, Operation Pulo Shieldcertificate of registration.

Nigeria’s Foreign Minister,Olugbenga Ashiru throwingmore light on the issue of illegalbunkering at African Unionsummit held in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia appealed to foreigncountries to enlighten theircitizens on the dangers ofillegal oil bunkering inNigeria.

“Most of the ships arrestedfor crude oil bunkering in thepast belonged to foreigners. Ifthere is no willing foreignbuyer, there won’t be a seller,”Ashiru said adding that anyforeigner caught for bunkeringwould automatically face theNigerian court process.

•••As Navy arrests 12foreigners for alleged oil theft

Nigerian Navy hasarrested ten Indians andtwo Ghanaians for

alleged oil theft after itintercepted a vessel near the oilrich southern Rivers state.

The suspects have beenhanded over to the country’santi-corruption agency, theEconomic and FinancialCrimes Commission (EFCC) forinvestigation and prosecution.

The Flag OfficerCommanding Nigeria’s CentralNaval Command, RearAdmiral Johnson Olutoyin,said the suspects were arrestednear Port Harcourt, thecapital of oil rich southernRivers state.

“The suspects were arrestedon a vessel MT Ashkay whichwas intercepted by a navalship NNS Predator off SanganaRiver with cargo suspected tobe stolen crude oil,” Olutoyinsaid.

According to Olutoyin, theproduct on board MT Ashkay

Stories by Joy Baba withagency report

Bases (FOB) in Brass, Bonny,and Escravos. The tour also tookhim to Nigerian Navy ShipDelta in Warri, and toamphibious troops of 3 and 146Battalions and 343 Regiment ofNigerian Army deployed inWarri, Bonny Island andNembe respectively,”he said.

“The commander of themulti-agency security outfit,while on courtesy visit tomilitary formationcommanders, securityagencies and traditionalrulers’ council in Bayelsa StateCapital, Yenagoa during theweek, General Debiro stated,unequivocally, that hismission is portrayed in thefour-word directive ofPresident Goodluck Jonathan

to the task force to ‘stop illegaloil bunkering’.

Nwachukwu quoted Debiroas saying that “Nigeria is theonly country where peopleengage in crude oil theft withthe connivance of our countrymen and we must put an endto it.”

He pointed out that crudeoil theft is tantamount toeconomic sabotage and athreat to the economicsecurity and futuregenerations of Nigeria.

Nwachukwu stated that thecommander had vowed totackle the menace of oil theftvigorously noting that Debirohad warned operatives of JTF tosit up and face the challengebefore the Task Force.

More than a week afterthey arrived Mali aspart of an African-led

force to help fight Islamistinsurgents in the north of thecountry, Nigerian soldiers arestill stuck in the capital,Bamako, and have not beenassigned any combat role.

The seeming redundancy ofthe Nigerian contingentcontrasts with soldiers fromChad and Burkina Faso thatarrived Mali a couple of days agowith fewer men, but have beenassigned combat roles alongsideFrench soldiers in the forefront.

Speaking on the nonassignment of combat roles toNigeria troops, the Director ofDefence Information,Mohammed Yerima, said thefirst batch of 160 soldiers arehelping to secure Bamako and arepreparing grounds for thearrival of a larger contingent.

“Our main body has notgotten there. It is only 160 thathave reached there and they arethe ones providing security forBamako. It is when the mainbody arrives there that they willbe deployed”

Despite the raging conflict inthe north, Bamako has remainedpeaceful and is yet to come underany attack from the Islamists.

Col. Yerima also said it is notthe responsibility of theNigerian military authoritiesto decide when and where thesoldiers are to be deployed.

“We don’t have anybusiness with that. Our own isto give them (the West AfricanForce) soldiers. It is theirresponsibility to determinewhen to deploy them (soldiers)and where to deploy them. Wehave no business with them.We have handed the (thesoldiers) over to them.”

It is not yet clear whetherthe refusal to assign Nigeriansoldiers to combat positions isconnected to the assessment ofthe Nigerian army byEuropean military experts.

Last November, a seniorEuropean military expertassigned to plan the militaryousting of the Islamists told theU.K. Guardian newspapers,that the Nigerian army is in“a shocking state” that it canonly be relied upon for“manning checkpoints andloading trucks.”

“The Nigerian Forces lacktraining and kits, so they simplydon’t have the capability tocarry out even basic militarymanoeuvres. They have poordiscipline and support and aremore likely to play a behind-the-scenes role in logistics andproviding security,” the sourcesaid.

Nigerian soldiers left in Bamako with no combat role

Commodore O.O. Osinowo being decorated with his new rank of Rear Admiral by Chairman, SenateC’ttee on Navy, Senator Chris Anyanwu and his wife, Mrs Tonia Osinowo in Abuja recently.


Agricultural transformation and ruraldevelopment through mobile technology (I)By Dr. Oyeleye Olukayode

Prominent among the variousfactors responsible for thebackwardness of agriculture

in Nigeria is the fact that thefarmers, majority of which arerural-based, are poor anddependent on old-fashioned tools.

Their poverty, which has beenpervasive, has generally beenattributed to their remotenessfrom financial centres in theurban environment and fromgovernment policy makers andimplementors, poor access roadsthat waste much time andincrease transaction costs, leadingalso to increase, althoughsometimes arbitrarily, in prices ofagricultural produce.

The farmers have, for the mostpart, been operating at themercies of weather, at the whimsof middlemen and creditors,under the ruthless influence ofpests and diseases and, have beenoperating mostly at deficits, butkept doing the farming businessfor lack of alternatives. Those whocould not cope further, or decidedto take risks outside agriculture,have ventured into towns andcities, looking for other means oflivelihoods, no matter howunsure.

Add all of these to the ageingpopulation of the farmers, andyou will be able to predict whatthe future portends foragriculture, food security and theeconomy of Nigeria. Although anintegral part of the real sector ofthe economy, agriculture inNigeria has, for decades not beenreckoned with as a strong pillarof the economy and so hasremained in the informal sector.While this lasted, the planners,policy makers, researchers,development organisations andNGOs had been churning outconflicting and mostly estimatedfigures on the state of ruralinfrastructure, agriculturalemployment, volumes of foodproduced and the sector'scontribution to national GrossDomestic Product (GDP).

The farmers remainedbackward, isolated, remote, poor,disenchanted and disconnectedfrom the national economicradar. Yet, Nigeria's food importprofile rose on annual basis andbillions of naira frittered away onfood importation. Nigerians, overtime, developed tastes forimported products that could verywell be produced at home, togenerate huge volume ofemployment for Nigerians andreduce capital flight. Under theAgricultural TransformationAgenda (ATA) of the Jonathan'sadministration, it is time to dothings differently, as the presidenthas once put it.

The financial institutions havehuge roles to play, especially inguaranteeing money movement,to boost rural and urbaneconomies. Nigerian banks havebeen declaring profits runninginto billions of naira annuallyfrom narrow areas of business,

particularly those they consideredless risk-prone, notwithstandingthe fact that they are notnecessarily sustainable. For thecountry, the unbanked and under-banked represent a large andpotentially profitable untappedmarket. Traditionally,commercial banks haveconcentrated overly on risks inagriculture as reasons for notlending to the sector, and areoverlooking very huge business

societies and 6.7 million adultsuse village associations.

Nigeria is not alone in thistrend as a recent research byDeloitte Consulting LLP showsthat financial institutions aroundthe world compete against oneanother trying to attract andretain the same middle- to upper-income retail customers year afteryear. Yet a common finding is thatthere is an enormous market thatmost banks are ignoring - and that

commercial drivers or theirconductors are susceptible tohighway robberies and thefts.Money sent through letters andparcels of the courier companiesmay be stolen. Other challengesinclude delays and long queues,network limitations, insolvency ofbranches, unreliablecommunication and misdirectedparcels. Structural weaknesses inthe formal financial industry,however, limit the access to

These models have had limitedsuccess due to factors such as hightransaction costs of delivering theservices to small and widelydispersed farmers, high covariaterisks, missing markets formanaging weather and marketrisks and the lack of suitablecollateral. These factors limit theability of smallholder farmers tosave, borrow as well as accessremittances.

Encouraging banks and otherfinancial institutions to embracealternative transaction channels(internet, POS, mobile phonesetc) is timely now. These channelsare a convergence of banking andtelecommunication sectors,designed to ensure ease andconvenience for the users. Mobilemoney merges the regulatoryenvironments of bothtelecommunications and bankinginto a new paradigm thatultimately demands acollaborative dialogue amongproviders to balance interventionfor risk mitigation with marketinnovation.

The widespread diffusion ofICT, particularly mobile phones isknown to have the potential ofbridging the digital divide as wellas alleviating poverty through thedirect and indirect job creation.Mobile money has now become animperative factor for financialinclusion and the key driver offunds from the informal sector tothe formal/banking sector.Mobile money campaign inNigeria, as done presently, tendsto concentrate largely at the urbancities and the banked segment.

Western Union andMoneyGram, which operatethrough commercial banks, areused almost exclusively to receivemoney rather than send it.Despite the network of theseformal providers throughout thecountry, rural areas and clientsegments such as low-incomeearners tend to be excluded. Theavailability of financial services inthe rural areas has suffered asetback since the mid-ninetieswhen there was a massive failureof banks and commercial banksclosed down less-profitablebranches especially in rural areas.

Such gaps left by formalproviders have typically beenbridged by informal means andservices. These includetransporting the money by oneselfor sending it by a friend or throughan unlicensed service. Mostfinancial organisations tend to belocated in commercial centreswhere there is enough clientele tomake their operations profitable.Such centres, however, tend to beinaccessible to the remotely locatedsmallholder farmers.

The lack of access to a broaderset of financial options in ruralareas represents a potentialconstraint to entrepreneurship andthe ability to undertake socially andprivately profitable investmentprojects. Participants aregeographically scattered, financialtransactions are small and ruralincomes tend to be unstable.

Agricalture made east with the aid of cellphone.

opportunities while they givedisproportionate attention andservices to the urban centres andother volatile investment options.Their activities betray a clearabsence of research-basedcorporate business decisions andan absence of needs assessmentstudies as basis for developingtheir operational plans.

The robust economic growthof the past decade, and evenbefore it, has not trickled down tothe people, and banks' outlookplayed a significant part: onlylarge corporate and guaranteedwage earners in the public andprivate sector in the urban centreshave been having access to credit.Majority of the populace are ruraldwellers that do not have accessto basic financial services and arepoor. This class of people is madeup of peasant farmers and pettytraders.

According to a report byEnhancing Financial Innovation& Access (EFInA), 63.5 per centof Nigerian adult males and 76.8per cent of adult females areunbanked, while 78.8 per cent ofthe country's rural populationsare largely unbanked. About 59.3million adults are unbanked dueto irregular income,unemployment and distance tothe bank branches. Currently, inNigeria, 23.8 million adultschoose to save money at home,12.9 million adults use informal

nonbank competitors have begunto cultivate effectively: the world's2.5 billion adults who are eitherunbanked or under-banked.

Differentiating the categories,experts at Deloitte identified theunbanked customers as having nochecking, savings, credit, orinsurance account with atraditional, regulated depositoryinstitution. Under-bankedcustomers, on the other hand,have one or more of theseaccounts, but conduct many oftheir financial transactions withalternative service providers, suchas cheque-cashing services,payday lenders, and even pawnshops - and still use cash for manytransactions.

Nigeria is a big country, withmany far-flung towns, villagesand even hamlets. Sending orreceiving money for buying andselling agricultural inputs andfarm products, payment ofsalaries or school fees, settlementof business transactions, or familysupport is common amongbusinesses and individuals. Itrequires efficient, reliable andaffordable money transferservices in which money can bedeposited in one location andwithdrawn in another in bothurban and rural areas.

The informal systems ofmoney transfer such as individualtraders carrying money onthemselves or sending

money transfer services,especially in rural areas and forlow-income people. Banks areconcentrated mainly in urbancenters, operating underconditions that constitute barriersto the use of their services.

Mobile money solutions willplay a major role in integratingNigeria's hugely informaleconomy, which is driven bysmall-scale farmers, traders,craftsmen and other types ofsmall and medium-sizedbusinesses, into the formaleconomy. The desire to spurprogress in smallholderagriculture has historically led tosearch for new models ofagricultural financing thataddress the constraints faced byfarmers. Among these models areinterventions that provideagricultural finance to farmers ingroups and attempts to use theGrameen lending model. Thebeneficiaries, which are mainlyrural and remote, still facedaunting hurdles in accessingsuch supports. Other effortsinclude establishment of creditand microfinance platforms basedon collateralised lending.

Indeed, the emergence of ruralmicro-finance organisations andSavings and Credit CooperativeSocieties (SACCOs) has beenbased on the premise thatsmallholder farmers need uniqueservices that are close to them.


By Mohamed Kandi Minister urges farmers to encouragetheir wards to embrace rice farmingMinister of State for

Agriculture and Ruraldevelopment, Bukar

Tijani, has urged rice farmers inthe Bakolori irrigation area ofZamfara State to encourage theiryoung wards to embrace paddyrice production, even as heannounced the resolve of theMinistry to launch massivewheat production in the country.

Tijani, according a statement,made the appeal while rolling-out the distribution of subsidisedand free agro-inputs for theaccelerated dry season paddy ricefarming in BirninTudu village,Bakura Local Government Areaof Zamfara State.

The Minister was assistedduring the crowded roll-outceremony by Minister of State forWorks, Ambassador AbubakarYuguda, the representative of theMinister of Water Resources, topofficials of the Zamfara StateMinistry of Agriculture and theEmir of Bakura, Engineer BelloSani.

He said that each of the 11,000 farmers registered for thedry season accelerated paddy riceproduction in the area will begiven a 50-kilogramme bag ofimproved rice seeds free ofcharge and three 50-kilogrammebags of assorted fertlisers, whichthe Federal Governmentsubsidised by 50 per cent asincentives.

Tijani urged farmers in thearea to encourage their youngwards to embrace rice farming inthe dry season and seek theirfortune at home instead oftravelling to the cities where jobswere not available.

"The youth should stay hereand farm. They can become richthrough dry season and wetfarming season,'' he emphasised.

The Minister said that the dryseason accelerated paddy riceproduction programme was partof the Agricultural

Transformation Agenda (ATA).And ATA is part of thetransformation agenda ofPresident Goodluck Jonathan.

Tijani urged the ZamfaraState Government to support thefarmers in its way and assuredthat President GoodluckJonathan will continue tosupport Nigerian farmers infulfilment of his promise and thedesire to transform theagricultural sector.

He disclosed the FederalMinistry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment will soon concludearrangement and come out witha programme for massive wheat

production in order to boost thenation's self-sufficiency in thecommodity.

in his remarks, Minister ofState for Works, AmbassadorAbubakar Yuguda said that theN250 million released to theZamfara State Government byPresident Goodluck Jonathan toassist the victims of flooding andthe 750 metric tonnes of assortedrelief grains sent to the state bythe Federal Government weremanifestations of the President'scommitment to improve thewellbeing of the people ofZamfara state.

He reminded the multitude of

cheering farmers at the ceremonythat a farmland was given toPresident Jonathan and a numberof livestock's by the people of thestate during a visit. "The Presidentis farming and rearing the animals.He is one of you as a farmer."

The Emir of Bakura, EngineerBello Sani commended the FederalGovernment on behalf of the 12communities served by theBakolori dam and irrigationinfrastructure and assured that thefarmers in the area would producerice in large quantities in order tocontribute to the country'sachievement of self-sufficiency inthe staple food.

He called on the FederalGovernment to expand theirrigable land in the area byproviding additional channels andclearing of more land for thefarmers, pointing out that 12, 000hectares of land which should beunder irrigation has not beendeveloped.

The Emir, himself a largescale farmer, urged the SokotoRima Basin DevelopmentAuthority to deploy moreextension officers to the area toexpose farmers on how toproperly use the improved seedsand teach them new farmingtechniques.

By Mohammed Kandi

FG to construct dams for irrigation farmingThe Federal Government is

to construct more dams forirrigation and flood control

in the country, Minister of WaterResources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpesaid.

She said this in a speech readon her behalf by Alhaji HaliduYusuf, the Managing Director ofthe Sokoto Rima BasinDeveopment Authority inBirninTudu village, Bakura LocalGovernment Area of ZamfaraState on Tuesday during the roll-out of the dry season acceleratedpaddy rice productionprogramme.

"The Federal Ministry ofWater Resources will continue toconstruct dams for irrigation andflood control, water treatmentsplants and boreholes for ruraland urban water supply for thebenefit of the people," sheemphasised.

She said that the Bakoloridam has made hugecontributions to the productionof various crops, poverty

reduction, and economic andsocial transformation amongfarmers in the area.

Ochekpe assured that, "theMinistry of Water Resources willcontinue to collaborate with theGovernment of Zamfara Stateand other stakeholders who wereconcerned with the mandate ofthe Ministry to transform the

agricultural sector."She urged farmers in the area

to come out enmass for the dryseason farming, especially thepaddy rice productionprogramme, which the FederalGovernment is creating anenabling environment for itssuccess. "It is our hope that ourfarmers will continue to grow

rice for Nigerians and forexport," she said.

The Minister said that thewheat being cultivated in theBakolori and Jibia areas throughirrigation was done well andwould provide the foundationseeds for massive wheatproduction in the country in thenext cropping season.

The Managing Director ofthe Sokoto River BasinDevelopment Authority,AlhajiHaliduYusuf said in hisown remarks that the waterrate chargable per farmer forthe dry season farmingremains N5, 000.00 andfarmers should not pay a koboextra to anybody.

Fadama III disburses N12m loan to fadama user groups in Bauchi

The Fadama III Project inBauchi State has disbursedN12 million as loans to 56

user groups to expand their agro-businesses in Dass LocalGovernment Area, an official said.

The Desk Officer of theProject, Alhaji Sani Bello, madethe fact known to the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dasson Sunday.

Bello said that the user groupscontributed N3 million ascounterpart-fund to establishagricultural processing projects.

He said that some of theprojects had been inauguratedand functioning while others were

ongoing.Bello named TAKDAN Rice

Processing Centre as one of thosecurrently producing parboiledrice, which could competefavourably with foreign rice.

He said the centre was usingbio-fuel obtained from cow dungas energy source for its operation.

Bello described bio-fuel asenvironment friendly because itdoes not emit carbon-monoxide.

He described the riceprocessing centre as "one of thebest in the North-East geo-political zone".

Meanwhile, the Secretary ofthe Centre, Hajiya Hajara Bello,

said the Fadama Women UserAssociation was formed in 2008with 23 registered members.

Hajara said the associationmetamorphosed into FadamaUsers Women Group in 2010.

She said Fadama III projecthad assisted the association with85 per cent of its project cost orN1.55 million.

Hajara said members of theassociation raised N350, 000 ascounterpart-fund for the project.

She said the centre currentlyproduced 10 bags of 50kg ofparboiled rice from 20 bags of100kg of unprocessed rice daily.

``Apart from the one we are

processing, we also process forindividuals, who come fromneighbouring towns and villages.

``Our major market is Bauchitown s and other neighbouringtowns and village but we havestarted having buyers fromoutside the state, includingAbuja,'' Hajara said.

She said that 50kg ofprocessed rice cost N4, 000,adding that the rice tasted betterthan imported rice.

Hajara appealed to the stategovernment to assist the centrewith N500, 000 to re-capitaliseand expand its productioncapacity. (NAN)

Rice farm in Northern Nigeria

PEOPLES DAILY,TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2013 PAGE 30

Among the cases thatdominated theMagistrates' Court of

Lagos State in 2012 is rape.More worrisome, however, is

that many of the rape cases haveunderage as the victims.

Rape is having a sexualintercourse with a woman or girlwithout her consent or with herconsent if the consent is obtainedby force, threats or intimidationor by means of fraudulentrepresentation.

It contravenes Section 357 ofthe Criminal Code of theFederation and attracts a penaltyof life imprisonment.

According to Sections 359and 380 of the code, attempts tocommit rape and indecentassault on females attract 14 andtwo years' imprisonmentrespectively.

Also, abduction of a girl under16 years with or without herconsent is punishable with twoyears' imprisonment.

Punishment for rape in mostcountries today is imprisonment,but until the late 20th century,some states of the U.S., forinstance, could apply the deathpenalty in cases of aggravatedrape, indicating the severity withwhich the crime was viewed.

Castration is sometimes apunishment for rape in the U.S.and, controversially, some U.S.jurisdictions allow shortersentences for sex criminals whoagree to voluntary chemicalcastration.

In Britain, a person guilty ofrape is liable to imprisonment forlife or for any shorter term.

In Denmark, a person whoengages in intercourse with achild under 15 years is punishedwith up to eight years'imprisonment. If the child isunder 12 years, or if theperpetrator has gainedintercourse through force orthreats, the punishment may beup to 12 years.

In the Netherlands, he whocommits sexual penetration withsomeone younger than 12 yearswill be punished with up to 12years' imprisonment

Some rape cases pendingbefore the Magistrates' Court ofLagos State include that of a 25-year-old man, ChukwumaIheme, charged with rape of hischurch member. The case isbefore an Ogudu Magistrates'Court.

Also, 30-year-old AbiodunAdeboye is standing trial beforean Ojokoro Magistrates' Court,Lagos on a two-count charge ofrape.

Equally, seven men werearraigned before an Ebute MetaMagistrates' Court over allegedrape of a teenager.

The defendants are -- SeyiLajuwomi, 25; OpeoluwaOkedairo, 30; Pius Okwuada, 29;Dada Sheriff Jimoh, 23; GbengaOlaewe, 23; Monday Augustine,26; and Sunday Oladapo, 36.

In the same vein, 20-year-oldUmaru Ismail is facing a countcharge before an EjigboMagistrates' Court for allegedrape of 12-year-old JS1 femalestudent

Analysts are worried that inspite of the weight of the penalty

to the state and society.``Whatever they let go will

bounces back on the society atlarge," he warns.

According to a medicaldoctor, Mrs Peace Nwankwo,rape is also fuelled by the failureof many victims to report thematter because of ignorance andfear of stigmatisation.

``Most victims of rape preferto put the traumatic experiencebehind them rather than have itpublicised because of fear ofstigmatisation.

``Moreso, some of the victimsare ignorant of the fact that theyshould go for medicalexamination and treatmentwithin 48 hours of the assault.

``Most rapists capitalise onthese facts, and have, thus,become serial rapists, the doctorsays.

She is sad that even somereported rape cases are not beingproperly prosecuted.

The doctor discloses that rapehas a traumatic effect on thevictim which most of them do notovercome.

She consequently calls forprosecution and adequatepunishment of rapists to serve asa deterrent.

`Ì will advise that the policeand judicial system bestrengthened to tackle this.

When an underage is rapedBy Oluwafunke Ishola

`À man raped a six-year-oldgirl in Edo State and wassentenced to two yearsimprisonment with an option ofN80, 000 fine.

``What does thatcommunicate? The judgmentleaves the rapist to do morebecause he goes free and feelsthat the law is spurious," shesays.

An expert in Family Life andSex Recovery, Mr PraiseFowowe, attributes the risingwave of rape to what Nigerianshear and watch on radio andtelevision stations and the socialmedia.

He is convinced that feedingone's eyes and ears with obscenematerials can stir a man's bodyto desire sex by all means.

``We have agencies thatought to screen music and videosthat people are exposed to beforethey hit the airwaves, but we findout that lyrics of many of themusic are still lewd.

``There are so many sites onthe internet that people couldaccess for pornography.

`À lot of these sites arededicated to incest and rape.When you whet the appetite ofyouths, naturally, rape will occur,Fowowe says.

The expert is advocating thecompilation of an online sex

for rape, the crime appears to beon the increase.

They also believe that a largernumber of rape cases is beingunreported and blame the surgeon alleged failure to punishoffenders.

Mr Ãdesina Adegbite,Secretary, Nigerian BarAssociation, Ikeja Branch,blames the menace on thesociety, family and the process ofjustice administration.

``The truth of the matter isthat the society hascondescended to almost a stateof anarchy and indecency.

``This has, in a way,reverberated in the activities ofyoung ones.

``Parents do not instill theright values in children;indiscipline and immorality areprevalent among the youth.

``The inability of theprosecution to prove beyondreasonable doubts that theoffence was committed makesmost rape cases unsustainable inthe court.

``The court deliversjudgment based on facts andevidence before it.

`Ìf the prosecution is unableto prove beyond reasonabledoubts that rape was committed,the charge cannot be sustained.

``To prove penetration in arape case, there must be amedical doctor's testimony,semen of the accused andwitnesses with information thatwill aid prosecution,'' the lawyerexplains.

Adegbite adds that Nigerians'conservative nature also hindersprosecution of rape cases.

``Parents will find it difficultto go to court and testify in a rapecase of their children becausethey consider it shameful.

He appeals to prosecutors todo their best to conclude rapecases in spite of the challenges.

``Prosecutors shouldremember that their allegiance is

Underage rape victims

“

offender register with picturesand data of rape convict.

``The purpose of the registeris to expose the rapist to publicstigmatisation as against thevictim being stigmatised,''Fowowe says.

Fowowe also advocatesintroduction of martial act in theprimary school curriculum toempower the Nigerian child tohave a self-defence technique.

He notes that the mostvulnerable to rape are girlsbetween ages five years to 12years.

``Taekwando and Karateshould be taught in schools sothat they can wriggle out of anyawkward situation.

``Parents will not always bethere to protect," he argues.

A cleric, Imam OdunayoOlutosin, blames the menace oninadequate reproductive healtheducation.

Olutosin, the Chief Imam andMissioner of the Ansar-ud DeenSociety, Ikorodu, Lagos Branchsays: "A lot of parents have noteducated their children aboutsex.

`Àppropriate sex educationshould be introduced early to ourchildren.

``Not giving our children sexeducation exposes them to a lotof things."

Olutosin canvasses equity andfairness in criminal justiceadministration, urging that thereshould be no sacred cows.

Pastor Kenneth Adebola of theTransfiguration Chapel Church,believes that rape thrives because ofthe sexual permissiveness commonin the contemporary society.

He says, `Ìndecency and evilhave become the bane of oursociety'', warning that rape has adevastating effect on all.

Analysts urge commitment of allmembers of the Nigerian society ineradicating rape, especially that ofthe underage

Source: NAN

An expert in Family Life andSex Recovery, Mr Praise

Fowowe, attributes the risingwave of rape to what Nigerians

hear and watch on radio andtelevision stations and the social

media.


The government of scienceWe give huge amounts

to science through ourtaxes. Isn't it about

time we had some say in whatthe money was used for?

In my first two pieces for AlJazeera this year I wrote aboutthe related matters ofcommunication and money.Recent events have made itclear that democratic controlof the economy requires amuch greater degree of publicparticipation in monetarypolicy. But it is also clear thatthe current organisation ofknowledge in the major mediamakes this participationimpossible in practical terms.

Though the origins andnature of money are notuncanny or complicated, themedia contrive to make thema matter of deep mystery. Thisfact alone makes reform of thesystems of communication anurgent priority.

To communication andcredit we should add a thirdarea where unaccountablepower has hidden behind bothreal and invented complexity.In the decades since the SecondWorld War states and theircorporate lieutenants havemade science into a valuableinstrument for the pursuit oftheir interests. In the processthey have denied the rest of usimportant opportunities toshape the world in which welive.

The money spent on sciencehas an impact on economicdevelopment that is onlyrivalled by bank-createdcredit. In a previous column Iquoted Harvey Brooks, whoexplained in his book TheGovernment of Science that the2 percent of GDP thegovernment gave to scientistshad "disproportionate socialand economic leverage, sincethe whole thrust of theeconomy is determined byscientific and technicalresearch".

Brooks was writing in the1960s but science continues toreceive huge subsidies fromtaxpayers. And we still havealmost no say in how thismoney is spent. In the UnitedStates the military controlsmuch of the science budgetdirectly, but even when thescience is nominally civilian,the National Science andTechnology Council seeks to"orient science and technologytoward achieving nationalgoals".

These national goals are notwidely publicised, much lessdebated. And while the detailsdiffer, other countries thatspend significant amounts onscience take a similarapproach. Committees ofsenior scientists, industryrepresentatives andgovernment officials make thedecisions behind closed doors

A low-loader drives a rocket out of the manufacturing plant for launch.

and a veil of complicatedjargon.

The consequences surroundus. The consumer economy islittered with the fruits ofmilitary research, from thesilicon chip to the internet, byway of mass air transit andsatellite communications. Andif the engine of progress isn'traison d'état it is profit.

Drug companies spendpublic subsidies testing newmolecules that can bepatented. The proliferation ofquestionable treatments formore or less fictitious disorders

merely implicit, but it is infact quite final."

More recently the financialsector has, in the words of PhilipAugar, "wrapped its tentaclesaround the relevant parts ofthe academic world".

The interests of the fundershave a pervasive effect on thedistribution of prestige in thesocial sciences. Media studiesand sociology, whichconstantly intrude on mattersthat the powerful wish to keepunder wraps, are treated withderision in the wider culture.

Mainstream economics,

disappointment at theconsequences. Meanwhile thoseeconomists who saw theeconomic crisis coming stillstruggle to secure a fairhearing. Though their ideashave proven predictive powerthey remain on the fringes.

For the most part the self-declared champions of sciencepay little attention to this stateand corporatedomination.Richard Dawkins,the late Christopher Hitchensand many others have hadtremendous fun warning usthat the light-filled city builtby reason is under siege fromthe armies of darkness.

An unlikely alliance of theNew Age and the OldTestament, in Francis Wheen'sphrase, is out to get us, theytell us, repeatedly. It is allvery JRR Tolkien and, likeTolkien, appeals to a certainkind of male adolescentimagination.

But while, despite PeterJackson's recent efforts, Iremain very fond of TheHobbit, it is not a particularlyhelpful model forunderstanding the threats toreason in the real world. Thepresent constitution of scienceis riddled with conflicts ofinterest, corruption andabuse. The enemies of freeinquiry that really matter, inother words, are alreadyinside the gates.

As in the realms ofcommunication and credit thesolution can only be found ingreater public participation.We are not all scientists orengineers, any more than weare all journalists or bankers.But one way or another we arepaying for science as we are

An unlikely alliance of theNew Age and the OldTestament, in Francis

Wheen's phrase, is out to getus, they tell us, repeatedly.

“

paying for journalism andfinance.

Though the details ofparticular processes may bebeyond the understanding ofthe public, we have everyright to a say in setting theobjectives of science. In orderto do that we must exercisesome direct control over howfunds are distributed. Evenquite small sums could havean important effect, throughcreating new opportunities forscientists to do work that doesnot meet with state orcorporate approval.

Taken togethercommunication, subsidy andcredit do much to shape thenature of our shared world.They determine whatbecomes practically possibleand what remains an idle orwistful dream. Theydetermine who is feted andadmired, who is ignored ordespised.

At present too often thesegreat mechanisms jointogether in a kind of Sadeanclockwork that exalts thecontemptible and crushes themagnificent. I wonder if weare generous and wise enoughto take control of this fever ofgears and pulleys, and put itin the service of anotherworld.

These then are the areas inwhich we must assert ourselvesas a sovereign public throughthe acquisition and exercise ofnew powers. Next week I turnto the world of work, and thearrangements necessary if weare to take on the labour ofgovernment, the only suremeans of securing our freedom.

Source: Al Jazeera

By Dan Hind

has nothing to do with anyserious assessment of the publicgood, yet the sector continuesto receive billions in direct andindirect subsidies, no questionsasked.

In the social sciences toomoney talks. As long ago as the1930s the economist andpolitician Harold Laski warnedof the influence of theindustrial foundations on theuniversity: "it is merely thefact that a fund is in reachwhich permeates everything.The college develops along thelines that the foundationapproves. The dependence is

which reliably tells a story thatsuits the powerful, is held upas the pinnacle of the socialsciences, for all its manifestfailings. Indeed whileeconomists insist that theirdiscipline bears comparisonwith the natural sciences, theircomplicity in the debt bubblegives their pretensions afarcical quality.

It is as though the world'smost prestigious physicists hadspent their days manhandlingelephants up the stairs of theirdepartments and throwingthem off the roofs, only toexpress surprise and

ANALYSIS


Malawi's Joyce Bandaauctions presidential jet

President Joyce Banda.

Violence flares in Egypt after emergency law imposed

Two thousandflee as battleengulfs SouthSudan town

At least two thousandpeople were forced to fleeto a U.N. base after a

battle between South Sudanesesoldiers and the guards of aformer rebel commander laidwaste to a small town, theUnited Nations and witnessessaid on Monday.

South Sudan wonindependence from Sudan in2011 but the government hasbeen struggling to assertcontrol over an impoverishedcountry the size of France thatis full of weapons after decadesof civil war with the north.

The latest fighting tookplace on Sunday in the smalltown of Pibor in the easternstate of Jonglei, betweensoldiers and bodyguards offormer rebel commanderJames Kuberin, witnesses said.

Kuberin used to be acommander of a group led byDavid YauYau, one of severalmilitias fighting thegovernment of the new Africanrepublic, but he defected to thearmy in December.

Witnesses said Kuberinwent to Pibor's market to get ahaircut and was told by anarmy patrol not to walk aroundwith armed guards.

Witness Peter Gazulu saidone of the soldiers had a handgrenade. "Somebody tried totake it and they wrestled withit and it exploded. The guydied. Then the other menopened fire on the bodyguardsand they escaped," he toldReuters by telephone.

"The army fired all over theplace and burned half of Pibortown, particularly in thesouth. They were firing atcivilians," he said. "In a housethe father of my friend wasburned alive. The body is stillthere." Several people had beeninjured, he said.

About two thousand peoplefled the town, mainly made upof thatched houses, to seekprotection at a U.N.peacekeeping base, U.N.spokesman KouiderZerrouksaid.

Army spokesman PhilipAguer said one soldier had beenkilled in the battle, and thatKuberin had fled with hisguards afterwards. He declinedto say whether the army hadfired on unarmed civilians.

Medical organizationMedecins Sans Frontieres, oneof few charities operating inJonglei, said it had treated fourpeople for gunshot wounds.

French-led troops 'enter Timbuktu'the country last year, but havebeen losing ground since Frenchforces launched an operationearlier this month.

Most militants appear to havemoved out to desert hideouts, says

the BBC's Thomas Fessy in thecapital, Bamako.

The advance comes as AfricanUnion (AU) leaders are meetingto discuss sending more troops toMali.

Malawi's government hasinvited bids for its 14-seat presidential jet,

which is being sold off as part ofcost-cutting measures.The officeof President Joyce Banda says

the plane will be sold to thehighest bidder.

Her predecessor, the lateBinguwaMutharika, wasstrongly criticised for buyingthe jet five years ago at a cost of

about $13.3m (£8.5m).Donors cut aid to Malawi by

$4.4 million after the purchase.Mrs Banda has refused to

travel in the jet since she tookoffice last April, following Mr

Mutharika's unexpected death.She has said money from the

sale of the Dassault Falcon900EX would be used to providebasic services for Malawi's poor.

The notice said the jet was in"perfect flying condition" and canfly a range of 4,500 nauticalmiles (8,380 km) non-stop.

"The bids will be opened andoffers read out in the presence ofinterested buyers or theirrepresentatives and anymember of the general public on20 February."

When Mr Mutharikapurchased the jet, he said itwould be "cheap to run".

However, the opposition anddonors accused him of wastingmoney.

Malawi is one of the poorestcountries in Africa.

It was hit by widespreadprotests over the rising cost ofliving towards the end of MrMutharika's rule.

Since taking over, Mrs Bandahas taken several steps toimprove relations with Westerndonors.

French-led troops in Mali haveentered the historic city ofTimbuktu, French and Malian

military sources say.The troops encountered no

resistance as they headed towardsthe city, where a building housingancient manuscripts has reportedlybeen set on fire.

Meanwhile, French PresidentFrancois Hollande declared thatthe joint forces were "winning thisbattle".

French and Malian troops havebeen pushing north in theiroffensive against Islamist rebels.

They seized Gao, north Mali'sbiggest city, on Saturday. Mostmilitants seem to have fled intothe desert.

Islamists seized the north of

On Monday afternoon, aFrench military spokesman saidtroops had moved into Timbuktuafter blocking roads surroundingit.

Meanwhile, a Malian armycolonel told the AFP news agency:"The Malian army and the Frencharmy are in complete control ofthe city of Timbuktu. Everythingis under control."

French army spokesman ColThierry Burkhard had told theBBC earlier that "substantialairpower" had been used to supportabout 1,000 French and 200 Malianforces in their offensive againstmilitants in Timbuktu.

He said French forces had takenaccess points to the city during thenight.

A man was shot dead onMonday in a fifth day ofviolence in Egypt that has

killed 50 people and prompted theIslamist president to declare a state ofemergency in an attempt to end awave of unrest sweeping the Arabworld's biggest nation.

Emergency rule announced byPresident Mohamed Mursi onSunday covers the cities of Port Said,Ismailia and Suez. The army hasalready been deployed in two of thosecities and cabinet approved ameasure to let soldiers arrest civilians.

A cabinet source told Reuters anytrials would be before civilian courts,but the step is likely to angerprotesters who accuse Mursi of usinghigh-handed security tactics of thekind they fought against to oustPresident Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt's politics have become

deeply polarized since those headydays two years ago, when protesterswere making most of the running inthe Arab Spring revolutions that sentshockwaves through the region andIslamists and liberals lined uptogether.

Although Islamists have wonparliamentary and presidentialelections, the disparate opposition hassince united against Mursi. Late lastyear he moved to expand his powersand push a constitution with Islamistleanings through a referendum,punctuated by violent street protests.

Mursi's call for a nationaldialogue meeting on Monday to helpend the crisis was spurned by hismain opponents.

They accuse Mursi of hijackingthe revolution, listening only to hisIslamist allies and breaking a promiseto be a president for all Egyptians.

Riot policemen beat a protester along Qasr AlNil bridge

French and Malian troops cross the desert to Timbuktu at night.

Islamists say their rivals want to overthrow by undemocratic means Egypt'sfirst freely elected leader.

Anti-Mursi protesters were out on the streets again in Cairo and elsewhereon Monday, the second anniversary of one of the bloodiest days in the revolutionthat erupted on January 25, 2011, and ended Mubarak's iron rule 18 dayslater.

Hundreds ofdemonstrators inPort Said, Ismailiaand Suez, citieswhich all lie onthe economicallyvital Suez Canal,had turned outagainst Mursi'sdecision onSunday withinmoments of himspeaking. Activiststhere pledged to defya curfew that startsat 9 p.m. (1700GMT).


Delhi rape: Court rulessuspect to be tried as juvenile

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei

Many demand death penalty for rapists.

A court in India has ruledthat one of the six peopleaccused of the gang rape and

murder of a 23-year-old woman inDelhi last month is a minor.

The Juvenile Justice Board said itaccepted the accused's date of birth as

4 June 1995, making him 17 yearsold. He will be tried in a juvenile court.

If convicted, he faces a maximumof three years in a reform facility.

Five other suspects have gone on

trial at a specially convened fast-trackcourt and face the death penalty.

The case has shocked India andsparked a debate about its treatmentof women.

Asia andMiddle East

The victim, a physiotherapystudent who cannot be named in Indiafor legal reasons, and a male friendwere attacked on a bus on 16December.

Police said the assailants beat bothof them, and then raped the woman.She suffered massive internal injuriesand died nearly two weeks later.

On Monday, the Juvenile JusticeBoard accepted the elementary schoolrecords of the suspect as proof of his age,the AFP news agency quoted a lawyerwho was present in the court as saying.

The Delhi police, who haddemanded a bone ossification test asconfirmation, said they wouldchallenge the verdict in the HighCourt.

Experts say the teenager, whocannot be named for legal reasons,may be released within six months ifhe is convicted, because adults cannotbe detained at juvenile reform facilities.

The ruling shocked the victim'sfather.

"A sudden current ran throughmy body in disbelief. I can't believe this,"the Reuters news agency quoted himas saying.

"How can they declare him aminor? Do they not see what theydid?"

Although the court based itsruling on the suspect's school records,its headmaster told BBC Hindi thathe could not really be sure of his age.

"There is no concept of producingbirth certificates in village schools atthe time of admission. People just bringtheir children and tell us theirapproximate age.

Image of the monkey that made the flight.

Dhaka policeand protestersclash over warcrime trialsBangladeshi police have fired

tear gas and rubber bulletsto disperse Islamist activists

protesting at the trial of theirleaders for war crimes allegedlycommitted during theindependence war.

At least 50 people, many ofthem police, were injured in theclashes.

Supporters of the country'slargest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, say the trials are politicallymotivated.

Bangladesh says more thanthree million died when troopswere sent to stop East Pakistanbecoming independent in 1971.

Police and hundreds of activistsfought pitched battles in Dhaka'smain commercial district onMonday.

Protesters also set off crudeexplosives and threw bricks atpolice, the BBC'sAnbarasanEthirajan reports fromDhaka.

A number of cars and buseswere damaged.

There were similar protests inseveral other towns across thecountry.

The Jamaat-e-Islami wantsthe trial of its leaders for crimesallegedly committed during the1971 independence war to bestopped.

The latest protest came a weekafter a special tribunal sentenceda former member of the party todeath in absentia.

China saysconcerned byJapan's move toboost military

China expressed concern onMonday after Japanunveiled plans to boost the

number of its military personnel,as a bitter territorial disputebetween the two countries dragson.

Japan's Defence MinisterItsunori Onodera said on Sundaythe government would increasethe number of personnel, nowstanding at about 225,000, by287 in the next fiscal yearstarting in April, the biggest risein two decades. The figurerepresents an expansion of about0.1 percent.

Chinese Foreign Ministryspokesman Hong Lei said Japanshould pay greater attention toregional concerns, alluding to Japan'sat times brutal behavior duringWorld War Two which Chinaconsiders Japan has not done enoughto atone for.

"Due to historical reasons, Japan'sneighboring countries pay greatattention to its militarydevelopments," Hong told a dailynews briefing.

"We hope that Japan pursues apath of peaceful development,respects the concerns of countries inthe region, take history as a mirrorand does more to benefit regionalpeace and stability," he added.

Iransuccessfullysends monkeyinto space

The primate travelled in aPishgam rocket, whichreached an altitude of some

120km (75 miles) for a sub-orbitalflight before "returning its shipmentintact", the defence ministry said.

Iranian state TV showed images ofthe monkey, which was strapped intoa harness, being taken to the rocket.

Western nations have expressedconcern that Iran's space programmeis being used to develop long-rangemissiles.

Such missiles could potentially beused to carry nuclear warheads.

Iran denies it is seeking to developnuclear weapons and insists its nuclearprogramme is solely for peacefulpurposes.

In 2010, Iran successfully sent arat, turtle and worms into space. Butan attempt to send a monkey up in arocket failed in 2011.

President MahmoudAhmadinejad announced in 2010that the country planned to send a maninto space by 2019.

A domestically-made satellite wassent into orbit for the first time in 2009.


Europe andAmericas

Russia to banNorth Americameatoverfeedadditive

Argentina and Irancreate 'truth commission'

Argentina and Iran are tojointly set up acommission to

investigate the 1994 bombingof the Israeli-Argentine MutualAssociation (Amia) Jewishcommunity centre in BuenosAires.

The commission will be

Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman(R) with Iranian counterpart,

Berlusconi commends Mussolini on Holocaust Memorial Day

Italy's gaffe-prone formerpremier Silvio Berlusconihas stoked controversy by

praising Benito Mussolini onHolocaust Memorial Day - despiteIl Duce's anti-Jewish laws.

Mussolini had been wrong topass anti-Jewish laws but hadotherwise been a good leader, saidMr Berlusconi.

He was speaking at a Milanceremony commemoratingvictims of the Nazi Holocaust.

He has not ruled out anotherstint as PM if his party wins pollsnext month.

His People of Freedom (PDL)party is hoping to form a centre-right coalition government withanother party after elections on24-25 February, but have notnamed a candidate for prime

minister.The media tycoon stepped

down from a third term as primeminister in November 2011, whenhe was replaced by the technocrat

Mario Monti."Obviously the government of

[Mussolini's] time, out of fear thatGerman power might lead tocomplete victory, preferred to ally

made up of five independentjudges, none of whom will befrom either Argentina or Iran.

Argentine courts haveblamed Iran for the attack,which killed 85 people. Iran hasalways denied anyinvolvement.

Israel's foreign ministry

said it was "surprised" by newsof the commission.

Spokesman YigalPalmortold the AFP news agency thatit was waiting "to receive fulldetails" from Argentina.

Amia and another keyArgentina Jewishorganisation were meanwhile

Silvio Berlusconi

reported to be vehementlyopposed to the move.

Iran agreed last July to co-operate with Argentina in theinvestigation, which it said"was going down the wrongway".

Such negotiations havealarmed Israel's governmentand Argentina's sizeable Jewishcommunity, who fearArgentina is weakening in itsresolve to put suspects on trial.

"We warned the Argentinesfrom the start that the Iranianswould try to set a trap for themand that they should beware,"Mr Palmor was quoted by AFPas saying on Monday.

The news agency alsoquoted a joint statement byAmia and the Delegation ofIsraelite ArgentineAssociations as saying that thenew move would "imply adecline in our sovereignty".

"To ignore everything thatArgentine justice has done andto replace it with a commissionthat, in the best of cases, willissue, without any defineddeadline, a 'recommendation'to the parties constitutes,without doubt, a reversal inthe common objective ofobtaining justice," thestatement said.

However, ArgentinePresident Cristina Fernandezde Kirchner called theagreement "historic".

"It guarantees the right todue process of law, afundamental principle ofinternational criminal law,"Ms Fernandez said.

She said Argentine ForeignMinister Hector Timerman andhis Iranian counterpart hadsigned a memorandum ofunderstanding on the sidelinesof an African Union summit inAddis Ababa, in Ethiopia.

It still has to be ratified bythe parliaments of bothcountries.

The commission would"analyse all the documentationpresented to date by the judicialauthorities of Argentina andIran", Ms Fernandez wrote onher Twitter account.

According to Mr Timerman,the agreement will make itpossible for Argentine legalofficials to question Iraniansuspects in Tehran.

Among the suspects namedby Argentine prosecutors whenthey made their case in 2007is Iran's current DefenceMinister, Gen Ahmed Vahidi.

At the time of the attack,Gen Vahidi was thecommander of a special unit ofIran's Revolutionary Guards.

Argentine prosecutors saidIran planned and financed theattack, and that the Lebanesemilitant group Hezbollahcarried it out.

No-one has been convictedof the car bombing whichdestroyed the seven-storeycultural centre.

Latin America to rally behind single WTO candidate

Latin American candidatesbidding to head the WorldTrade Organization could step

down from the race and rally behindthe regional figure with the best chanceof being appointed, Mexico's candidateto lead the trade body said.

Mexico, Brazil and Costa Rica havenominated candidates to replace PascalLamy as director general of the WTO,which is struggling to remain relevantafter repeated failures to revive globaltrade liberalization talks.

A total of nine candidates arerunning to take over when Lamy'sterm expires in August.

"We're convinced that, ideally, thenew director general of the WTO shouldcome from Latin America," HerminioBlanco, a Mexican trade negotiatorwho led talks over the North AmericanFree-Trade Agreement, said late onSaturday.

Herminio Blanco, Mexicantrade negotiator who led talksover the North American Free-Trade Agreement.

Russia warned onMonday it might soonbar imports of U.S. and

Canadian beef and pork ifproducers do not certify themfree of the feed additiveractopamine.

The potential ban couldjeopardize more than $500million a year of exports toRussia and coincides withmounting U.S.-Russiantensions over trade andhuman rights.

Alexey Alexeyenko, thespokesman for Russia'sVeterinary and Phyto-Sanitary SurveillanceService (VPSS), said chilledproducts could be banned fromFebruary 4 and frozen meatby February 11.

Ractopamine is a growthstimulant used to make meatleaner which is banned insome countries because ofconcerns that residues couldremain in the meat and causehealth problems despitescientific evidence statingthat it is safe.

The VPSS said last week itwas considering toughermeasures on U.S. andCanadian meat importsbecause they continued toarrive without certificationrequested by Russia.

An earlier statement leftunclear whether frozen meatwould be restricted. The VPSShad said it did not receive testresults for chilled meat beforeit was sold. Alexeyenko saidfrozen meat was addressed ina separate letter to NorthAmerican regulators.

Alexeyenko said thecertification requirementsare no more onerous onproducers than regulations inplace in the European Union.

itself with Hitler's Germany ratherthan opposing it," said MrBerlusconi, who heads a coalitionthat includes groups with fascistroots.

"The racial laws were the worstfault of Mussolini as a leader, whoin so many other ways did well,"he added, referring to the 1938laws that barred Jews from Italy'suniversities and many professions.

The comments were swiftlycondemned by the centre-leftDemocratic Party (PD), which isahead in the polls.

"Our republic is based on thestruggle against Nazi fascism andthese are intolerable remarkswhich are incompatible withleadership of democratic politicalforces," said PD spokesman MarcoMeloni.

"The arrangement between thethree of us is 'let things take their course'.When we see what's going on with theselection process, which will haveseveral stages, we'll see if it's possible forall of us to get behind whoever is doingbest," he said in an interview during asummit of European and LatinAmerican leaders in Chile.

Brazil has nominated RobertoAzevedo, an experienced negotiatorwho has represented Brazil at thetrade club, while Costa Rica hasproposed Trade Minister AnabelGonzalez.

Brazil, Latin America's largesteconomy, presented a candidate to leadthe 157-member organization in2005, but splits within the regionover who to support weakened thechallenge.

Blanco said his experience, whichalso includes closing trade deals with

the European Union, Japan,Nicaragua and Bolivia, would behelpful in getting the deadlocked Doharound of world trade talks back on track.


Couple Glues 39,000 Pennies to Bedroom FloorLike many young couples,

Ryan Lange and EmilyBelden were looking for

inspiration while deciding howto renovate the bedroom of theirChicago home.

That inspiration finally camefrom a quick glance at a jar ofchange.

"We'd been looking up optionsand were thinking about beinggreen when I said we should justtile the floor in pennies," Lange,a entrepreneur and self-described design freak, told NBCChicago.

Belden wasn't completely onboard at first, but before she couldput her two cents in, the projectwas off and running.

"I came home one day andfound a small corner was done,so I thought 'I guess we're doingit,'" she recalled.

Thus began four months ofpainstaking work they dubbed"pennying," which involveslaying down a special glue thatacts like grout and individuallyplacing the pennies heads up onthe floor of the 380 square-footroom in Chicago's South Loopneighborhood.

It turned into a nightly formof relaxation for the pair -accompanied by "SpotifyPremium and pinot noir" - but it doeshave drawbacks. Handling thatmany dirty pennies turns yourhands pitch black. But all in all, theyconsider it time well spent.

"Once we were halfway done, wewere kind of over it, but I knew it wassomething that one day we couldlook back and laugh at it," Lange said.

An estimated 38,903 pennieswere used to completely cover the

floor, which was then sanded downto a shiny copper sheen andcemented in with a clear coat assmooth as a sheet of glass. They spentclose to $1,000 on the project, whichmade for a lot of trips back and forthto the bank for more pennies. Andcreated more than a few odd glancesfrom the tellers.

"After we told them what wewere up to they started tracking the

project themselves, and I was alwayspassing my iPhone through the glasswindow to show them pictures,"Lange said.

Within the bulk of pennies camesome rare finds - a 1944 WWII 440steel penny that was created due toa copper shortage, and a 1873penny featuring an Indian headinstead of Abraham Lincoln. Bothpennies are worth enough money

The bedroom floored with Pennies.

to pay for the project, but they alsoended up on the floor.

"It's turned into a fun partygame where we challenge ourguests to find the rare coins," Beldensaid.

The couple has been posting thephotos on their social media accountsand created a blogcalledThePennyFloor.com aboutthe project.

"A friend pointed out thatthousands of people have now seenthe inside of my bedroom, whichkind of creeps me out a bit," Beldensaid.

And in case you'rewondering, they're buying theirhome, not renting, which meansno pennies lost in the form of adeposit check if they decide tomove.

Office worker fined £400 for dropping smallsachet of SALT in front of litter warden

NewYorkerfakedownkidnappingto extortransom- Cops

Authorities say a 31-year-old man in upstate NewYork faked his own

kidnapping to extort ransomfrom his girlfriend.

Police in Plattekill in UlsterCounty tell the Times Herald-Record of Middletown thatMark Rodriguez left for work inhis girlfriend's car on Jan. 14.Officials say the woman laterreceived a telephone call froma stranger saying herboyfriend had beenkidnapped and she needed tohand over $2,000 or hewould be killed.

She contacted police, whotracked other calls made toher. Police began a search andfound Rodriguez and anaccomplice inside thegirlfriend's car in the city ofNewburgh. He was unharmed.

Rodriguez was arrested onTuesday and charged withattempted grand larceny. Hehas been released from jail afterposting bail.It couldn't bedetermined if he had a lawyer.Laura Howells

A young woman has beenfined £400 for dropping apacket of salt on the ground

in a car park.Office worker Laura Howells,

24, dropped the tiny sachet -measuring just 2.5cm by 5cm - asshe ate her lunch from a KFCtakeaway.

But she was spotted eating inher car by a litter enforcementofficer from the local council whohanded her a £75-on-the-spot fine.

Miss Howells said she picked upthe salt packet - claiming it was justan accident.

She said: 'I couldn't believe it - itwas only a salt sachet.

'I had been to KFC with friends

and we were sitting in the carhaving food and I must havedropped it by accident.'

But when she failed to pay thefine, she was hauled up in front ofCarmarthen Magistrates Court.

She pleaded guilty to an offencecontrary to Section 87 of theEnvironmental Protection Act1990m and was told that as well asthe original fine she would have topay £316.85 costs and a £15 victimsurcharge.

She added: 'I felt sick when Ifound out how much the fine was -it is definitely over the top.

'If I had been caught a couple oftimes then it is fair enough, butthat's not the case at all. I am not

the type of person whoever litters.'

Miss Howells, fromKidwelly, West Wales,was caught byC a r m a r t h e n s h i r eC o u n c i l ' se n v i r o n m e n t a lenforcement officers inthe B&Q car park inTrostre, Llanelli.

Jim Jones, thecouncil's executiveboard member forenvironmental andpublic protection, said:'I hope this acts as awarning to others.

'Cleaning ourstreets of litter, dogfouling and fly-tippingcosts the council £2.2million a year.

'Dropping litter isagainst the law,whether it is discardingrubbish from a vehicle,throwing cigaretteends or spitting outchewing gum.

'We do not want tofine people but we aredetermined to clean upCarmarthenshire andwe will not hesitate toprosecute those thatbreak the law in thisway.'Salt sachet dropped by Laura.


Want to be happy? Just switchoff your phone, says expert

Professor Paul Dolan warned the extraordinary popularity of smartphones has seen people constantly having their attention drawnaway from their nearest and dearest and to the devices instead

The secret to happiness liesin turning off your mobilephone and concentrating

on your friends and familyrather than text messages andemails, an expert on happinesshas said.

Professor Paul Dolan, of theLondon School of Economics,believes that the popularity ofiPhones and other smart phoneshas seen people constantlyhaving their attention drawnaway from their nearest anddearest and to the devicesinstead.

He warned that unless peoplechanged their behaviour, theycould suffer mental illness as aresult.

He told an audience at the HayFestival - a celebration of cultureand social responsibility - inCartagena, Colombia that thereare also now mental conditionscalled internet addiction andPhantom Vibration Syndrome -where you have a phone in yourpocket and you think you havegot a text message but have not.

He said: 'We're constantlyhaving our attention distractedand distraction is a cost.

'When you switch tasks itrequires attention. Payingattention to what you're doingand who you are with andturning your phone off andenjoying being with your friends

is much better for you thanconstantly checking your phoneand checking emails', TheTelegraph reports.

Prof Dolan was once a memberof the Cabinet Office'sBehavioural Insight Team - orNudge Unit.

It was set up to suggest smallways that people could changetheir way of life to improve it.

He said the solution could liein introducing small changes tothe environment in which peopleuse their mobile phones.

He used an American gamecalled 'Don't be a d*** at dinner' -where people put their phonesand tablets in the middle of thetable as an example.

The first one to use it has topay for everyone else's meal.

He said it was easier to 'changethe environment you were inrather than the person you are'.

In his talk on happiness, ProfDolan also pointed to researchthat people who are married orhave religious faith are happierthan single people or atheists.

But he did warn that marriedcouple's happiness is relativelyshort-lived lasting for about'three years'.

Prof Dolan added separationwas much worse for marriedcouple's happiness than divorcebecause of the uncertainty itcaused.

The secret to happiness is turningoff your mobile phone andconcentrating on your friendsand family rather than textmessages and emails

By Amanda Williams

His advice to anyone goingthrough a break-up would be to'make decisions quickly' addingthat once a divorce is finalisedpeople's happiness quickly rises.

Prof Dolan said happiness canhave little to do with people'swealth.

A recent survey ratedColumbians as the happiestpeople in the world, despitehaving an average income of just£5,000 a year each.

He said that middle-aged menin their forties are among theunhappiest that levels ofsatisfaction start to rise oncepeople reach their fifties.

Recent research showed thatmonkeys have mid-life crisestoo, he said.

Prof Dolan's concerns aboutthe effects of modern technologywere echoed at the festival byMario Vargas Llosa, a Nobel prizewinning Peruvian author.

The author told an audiencethat unless high culturereasserted itself in the face oftelevision and computers,society would face the prospectof an 'authoritarian nightmareof a world controlled bytechnology.'

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Why you should exercise before breakfast - you'llburn 20 per cent more body fatBy Claire Bates

Early risers who exercise onan empty stomach beforebreakfast can burn up to 20

per cent more body fat, accordingto new research.

Researchers sought to find outwhether the known benefits ofexercising after an overnight fastwere undermined by an increasedappetite and eating more food laterin the day.

A team from University ofNorthumbria asked twelve activemen to perform a bout of treadmillexercise at 10am, either after they

had eaten breakfast or in a fastedstate having not eaten since theevening before.

Following the exercise allparticipants were given a chocolatemilkshake recovery drink.

Later in the day, participantswere provided with a pasta lunchwhich they were asked to eat untilthey felt 'comfortably full'.

Their lunchtime consumptionof energy and fat was assessed andcalculated, taking into account theamount of energy and fat burnedduring the morning period.

The researchers, led by DrEmma Stevenson and PhD student

Javier Gonzalez, discovered thatthose who had exercised in themorning did not consumeadditional calories or experienceincreased appetite during the dayto compensate for their earlieractivity

They also found that those whohad exercised in a fasted stateburned almost 20 per cent morefat compared to those who hadconsumed breakfast before theirworkout.

This means that performingexercise on an empty stomachprovides the most desirable outcomefor fat loss.

Mr Gonzalez said: 'In order to losebody fat we need to use more fatthan we consume.

'Exercise increases the totalamount of energy we expend and agreater

proportion of this energy comesfrom existing fat if the exercise isperformed after an overnight fast.

'Our results show that exercisedoes not increase your appetite,hunger or food consumption laterin the day and to get the most out ofyour session it may be optimal toperform this after an overnight fast.'

Dr Stevenson added: 'Thisresearch is very important inhelping to provide practicalguidelines relating to food intake toindividuals who are exercising tomaximise fat mass loss.

Source: Dailymail.co.ukDr Emma Stevenson and Javier Gonzalez (left) found that exercisingon an empty stomach burns 20 per cent more fat

Rise and shine! Getting out before breakfast will help you burn morefat during a workout


South Africa to investigatethe killing of a NigerianOut-going South African

High Commissioner, MrKingsley Mamabolo,

yesterday assured Nigerians thatthe South African authoritieswould investigate the allegedkilling of a Nigerian recently inSouth African.

Mamabolo made the promisein his office yesterday in Abujawhen Rep. Abike Dabiri-Erewa-ledHouse of RepresentativesCommittee on the Diaspora Affairsmet with the High Commissioner.

He said that the South Africangovernment would look into thereported case of Nigerian killed in

South Africa and blamed theprotest in South Africa on thematter to lack of adequateinformation and wrongperception.

“A lot of times, story such asthis was based on lack ofinformation and wrongperception’’, he said.

He said constant interactionbetween Nigeria and South Africaas well as citizens of the twocountries would minimise themisinformation and wrongperception.

“If South Africa and Nigeriacome together, they will be giantsof Africa’’, he said.

He stressed the need for

L-R: Member, House of Representatives, Hon. Ogbuefi Ozongbachi, Chairman, Godfrey Okoye University Capital Projects campaign team,Obiora Ike, Vice -Chancellor, Godfrey Okoye University, Professor Christian Anieke, and Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. AminuWaziri Tambuwal, during the launch of Godfrey Okoye University Capital Projects Campaign, at the weekend in Enugu. Photo: NAN

By Lawrence Olaoye collaboration between Nigeria andthose in the Diaspora especially inSouth Africa to minimise any formof protest or crisis in the future.

Mamabolo, whose tenure asHigh Commissioner in Nigeriawould expire on Wednesday,assured Nigerians that SouthAfrica would not condone injustice.

“This latest case will beproperly investigated and therewould be no cover up. There is nospecial law in South Africa forcitizens and non-citizens alike. Thelaw is equal for anybody’’, He said.

Earlier, Rep. Abike Dabiri-Erewa said the committee wasworried about the recent killing ofa Nigerian in South Africa and

wants the case properlyinvestigated and justice done.

The lawmaker advised thatthere was the need to createawareness for the younger SouthAfricans to know the role Nigeriansplayed in the apartheid struggle.

“If they know the rolesNigerians played in the apartheidstruggle in South Africa, thehostilities to Nigerians will bereduced’’, She advised.

While advising Nigeriansliving abroad to be law abiding intheir respective countries ofresidence, she said that moreNigerians in South Africa areexcelling than those getting intotrouble.

There afe indications thatthe Ogun state chapter ofthe Action Congress of

Nigeria (ACN), is facingimminent break-up if emergingfactions in the state are notimmediately harmonized.

Already, there are twofactions with one loyal to theincumbent governor, Sen.Ibikunle Amosun and the otherloyal to the former governor ofthe state, Aremo OlusegunOsoba. Prior to 2011 generalelection in the state, Amosuncandidacy was not acceptable tothe legion of aspirants who viedfor the oval office of the governorunder the platform of the party.

Party elders of the partyobjected to his candidature butcontrary to all these, an externalforce in person of ACN Leader,Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, wasalleged to have forced Amosunupon the party leaders in thestate.

In the last local govermentelection in the state, Amosunwas alleged to have imposedsome of his loyalists whodecamped with him from the AllNigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) aschairmen and it was reportedthat the faction loyal to Osobastormed the Southwestsecretariat of the party in Ibadanto register their displeasure overwhat they termed dictatorialattitude of the governor.

One of their grievances isthat most of the party memberswho toiled over time to make theparty popular and acceptable forAmosun to leverage on to attainhis current status have beenabandoned to their fates.

The three serving senators inthe state, most of the House ofRepresentatives members andthe larger parts of the House ofAssembly members are loyal toOsoba. They always floor theunilateral and unpopulardecision always taken by thegovernor.

For instance, the governor’splan to scrap the Tai SolarinUniversity of Education, IjegunIjebu Ode (TASUED) attractedcondemnation from the OgunAssembly lawmakers, Obas,indigenes and the stakeholdersin education sector. A Senatorrepresenting Ogun EastSenatorial District, AdegbengaKaka, threatened to sue thegovernor over the matter.

Meanwhile, Rep AbiodunAkinlade, member of the Houseof Representatives representingYewa South/Ipokia federalconstituency, who was prevailedupon to step down for Amosun inthe 2011 governorship electionin the state has nit hidden hisdetermination to govern thestate come 2015.

2015: Disquietin Ogun ACN asimminentbreak-up loomsFrom Bolaji Olasunkanmi

A member of the House ofRepresentatives, Hon.Gerald Irona, has said that no

member of the National Assemblyis opposed to the passage of thePetroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

Irona (PDP-Imo), the DeputyChairman of the House Committeeon Gas Resources, said this in aninterview with the News Agency ofNigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja.

He was reacting to the oppositionof some Northern lawmakers to theproposal to reserve 10 per cent of alloil and gas earnings exclusively forthe oil producing areas.

The North believes that such

proposal could further polarise thecountry, and that the additionalfunds being proposed for the oilproducing states, should rather goto the treasury for the benefit of allNigerians.

The lawmaker said, “I don’tthink any member of the NationalAssembly is keen not to support thepassage of the PIB.

“I am talking to you as a deputychairman of the gas committee andas a member of the ad hoc committeeset up to look into the PIB.

“It is erroneous to say that asection of the country does not wantthe PIB passed.

“Every member is desirous ofensuring that there is a documentthat will holistically solve the legal,physical and environmentalframework for the operations of oiland gas companies in Nigeria.”

Irona, who is also a member ofthe ad hoc Committee on PIB,explained that members were onlyopposed to certain proposals in thebill and not the bill as a whole.

He insisted that members wouldnot support the bill in its presentform and state, until further workwas done on it.

He said, “We want to give thebill some legislative touches; that is

why it is a bill; until we finish withit and send it to the President forassent.”

According to him, thecommittee is working to ensure thatoil exploration and mining aregiven prominence in the proposedbill.

Irona urged the FederalGovernment to garner enoughpolitical will to promote suchexploration activities.

He said, “There must be adeliberate effort to make sure thatall the oil farms in all the nooks andcrannies of the country areexploited.” (NAN)

No member of NASS is opposed to passage of PIB, says lawmaker


L-R Minister of Works, Architect Mike Onolememen, Head of Service, Alhaji Sali Isa Bello, and Minister of Information, Mr. LabaranMaku, during their meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, recently at the State House, in Abuja. Photo: Joe Oroye

Following an emergencycouncil meeting,Governor Umaru Tanko

Al-makura of Nasarawa statehas dissolved his cabinet bysacking the Secretary to theState Government, allcommissioners, as well as allSpecial Advisers.

This was contained in a pressrelease issued to journalistsyesterday and signed by theDirector of Press top thegovernor, Malam Iliyasu AliYakubu.

While directing the officialsto hand over to their respectivePermanent Secretaries, Al-makura, in the statement,thanked the former excomembers for theirimmeasurable contributions tothe development of the state.

Al-makuradissolvesNassarawacabinet

CPC expels Sen. NazeefGamawa from partyGamawa Local

Government chapter ofthe Congress for

Progressive Change (CPC) inBauchi State has declared theexpulsion of Senator SuleimanNazeef Gamawa from the party.

The letter from Gamawa southward, which was signed by theChairman, Mall. Mamuda IdrisSarkin Makera and Secretary,Mamman Bello, stated that theparty resoved to expel the Senatorin order to instill discipline andprevent factionalisation in theparty.

The second letter was signed by

the Gamawa Local GovernmentChairman of the Party, AlhajiAbdu Shamaki and SecretaryAlhaji Sale Janare Raga. Theletters were made available tonewsmen in Bauchi. The localgovernment CPC chapter endorsedthe decision of the ward chapter.

The local government chapterof the party alleged that the replyto query sent to the Senatorshowede no remorse and it will notaugur well for the growth of theparty and its efforts to reconciletheir differences.

The State chapter of the Partyinformed Nazeef in a letter signedby Chairman CaretakerCommittee of the party, Alhaji

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi Aliyu Sa’idu and SecretaryIbrahim Mahmood that “Ourcontinued effort to get you torecognize the caretakercommittees of the party at all levelsof the party as the only legitimateparty authority in the state hasonly met your aversion anddisrespect to constitutedauthority”

Gamawa was the formersenator representing BauchiNorth Senatorial district inBauchi state and also contested asa gubernatorial candidate of theparty in the state

In his swift reaction toexpulsion from the party,Gamawa’s political adviser,

Garba Akuyam, said the Senatorcould not be sacked from theparty because no wrong doinghas been traced to him.

Akuyam said “We considerthe expulsion of senator Nazeef asnull and void because it goescontrary to the constitution ofparty’s Article 8 which stipulatesdiscipline measures for anyerring member if any wrongdoing is established against him;and in CPC Gamawa, we havefactions; I don’t know whichfaction sacked Gamawa andgoing by the constitution, onlyNational Headquarter of theparty can sack a member at theNational convention”

The Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has commended theleadership of the party in

Enugu and Taraba statesincluding the Acting Governors,party chairmen, Speakers of theHouses of Assembly, state caucusmembers, members of theNational Assembly from the statesas well as government appointeesin the states for holding forth andensuring smooth running ofgovernment affairs in the absenceof their governors.

PDP National PublicitySecretary, Chief Olisa Metuh in astatement yesterday said the factthat government activities havebeen going on smoothly in these

states shows that that PDPgovernments have direction andfocus in line with the manifesto ofthe party to ensure the welfare ofthe people at all times.

"We want to commend ourparty leadership and governmentofficials in Enugu and Tarabastates; the Acting Governors, theSpeakers of the Houses ofAssembly and other state caucusmembers and governmentappointees in these states forholding forth in the absence ofGovernor Sullivan Chime ofEnugu state and GovernorDanbaba Suntai of Taraba state,who are out of the country formedical attention.

"The fact that governmentactivities are going on smoothlywithout altercations shows that

the PDP governments in thesestates and indeed across thecountry have direction and focus,which is to ensure the welfare ofthe people in line with ourmanifesto", Metuh said.

Stating that the party isdeeply saddened that thegovernors have been away forhealth reasons, Metuh alsothanked the people of the twostates for their steadfastness inpraying for them adding thatwith prayers, they will soonreturn to work.

"It is sad for somebody to beill, but we are all human. So theparty commends the people ofEnugu and Taraba states fortheir understanding andsteadfastness in praying for theirgovernors. We commend them

for the night vigils they held inseeking divine intervention forthe governors. We know that Godanswers prayers and we believethat with all our prayers thegovernors will soon be back", hesaid.

The party said themonumental achievementsmade by Chime in developing hisstate stand out for him addingthat it was satisfied with themanner in which the stateofficials have continued to ensurethat the tempo is sustained evenin the absence of the governor.

It urged the people of the twostates to continue to be united andsupport the PDP administrationsin their efforts to ensure thestability, peace and progress oftheir states.

Chime, Suntai: PDP commends Enugu, Taraba party officials

From Ali Abare Abubakar, Lafia

The FCT Chairman of theAccord Party, AlhajiYusuf Abdulkarim, has

appealed to the electorate in the FCTto shun money bag politicians, as thecouncil election in the FCT drawsnear.

Abdulkarim told the NewsAgency Nigeria (NAN) in Abujayesternday, that the call becamenecessary to ensure that the moneybag politicians did not buy their votes.

He said that his party in the FCThad gone to the grass roots to mobilisethe people to shun such politicians,who did not mean well for thedemocratic process in Nigeria.

“We are going to the grass roots tomobilize them, sensitize them to knowthat money bag politics is no moreobtainable in Nigeria,” he said.

He also urged eligible voters toensure that they vote for thecandidates of their choice based ontheir credibility and not on the basisof political parties.

Abdulkarim said that the AccordParty had put in place some politicalstrategies to ensure that it would winin most of the six area councils in theFCT.

He said, “The Accord party is apeaceful party, the party and itssupporters will not engage in electionmalpractice and other politicalactivities that can scuttle the electionprocess.

“We will manage our members,we don’t need to hire a crowd of peopleto be at the polling units on theelections day,” he said.

He said that the party wasworking closely with the FCT INEC toensure that party members,supporters and the electorate aresensitized on good conduct tomake the council electionshitch free. (NAN)

Accord Partyurges electorateto shun moneybag politicians inFCT

By Lawrence Olaoye


Arewa Youth Foundationfor Development andEmpowerment has

endorsed the former VicePresident, Alhaji AtikuAbubakar, for the Presidencyin 2015.

The group NationalPresident, Hon. Halliru DaudaJika, revealed this to newsmenin Bauchi saying that thefoundation has been makingconsultations since last year inan effort to push forward acredible northerner who canturn around the fortune of thiscountry and Nigerians

irrespective of sectionalism,tribalism and nepotism.

He stressed that Abubakarhad in his capacity as VicePresident during theOlusegun Obasanjo’sadministration shown zeal andaction in saving the lives ofordinary Nigerians withoutbias.

2015: Youth group endorsesAtiku for presidencyFrom Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

In recognition of his sterlingleadership qualities andefforts at promoting inter-

religious harmony in thecountry, Godfrey OkoyeUniversity, owned by theEnugu Diocese of the CatholicChurch, has named anauditorium after the Speaker ofthe House of Representatives,Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

The decision to build andname the school auditoriumafter Tambuwal was madeknown last weekend by the ViceChancellor of the University,Reverend Father (Professor)Christian Anieke, during theinstitution’s Capital ProjectCampaign held at University’stemporary campus, Enugu.

A statement by theSpeaker’s Special Adviser onMedia and Public Affairs,Malam Imam Imam, quotedTambuwal as commending theinstitution for thegesture, saying it would spurhim to do more for theupliftment of the standard ofeducation in the country.

Speaking at the event,Tambuwal also described asworrisome, the glaring absenceof academic activities inmajority of Nigeria’sinstitutions of learning.

He said the country’seducation sector is facingimminent collapse, adding thatall hands must be on deck tosalvage the situation.

He however assured of theresolve of the House ofRepresentatives to continue tocome up with legislativeinterventions that wouldguarantee educationalexcellence in Nigerian schools.

He said in line with theHouse’s Legislative Agenda, thelawmakers are working toensure that all Nigerianchildren get better andqualitative education for thebetterment of the society.

Tambuwal equallycommended the Enugu Dioceseof the Catholic Church forestablishing the university andurged other dioceses andreligious bodies to emulate theinitiative by setting up schoolsthat would help raise bettertrained and morally uprightpeople in the society.

On his part, the ViceChancellor of the University,Reverend Father Anieke, saidthe overall interest of thechurch in education was whatinspired the Enugu Diocese toestablish the University. Hesaid the presence of SpeakerTambuwal at the CapitalProject Campaign launchunderscored his commitmentto education and strengtheningif inter-religious harmony inthe country.

Catholicvarsity namesAuditoriumafterTambuwal

“We have been making a lotof consultations since wefounded this foundationbecause our biggest problem atthe time was how and who ourfoundation could support forthe presidential election in2015. This was a greatchallenge because there are somany of them and this neededcareful assessment. That iswhy it has taken us so long tocome out with one contestantand our candidate is the formerVice President, Alhaji AtikuAbubakar,’’ Jika stated.

The group leader said thathis foundation was searchingfor the right candidate thatshould be between the ages offifty and sixty years. He saidY a r ’ a d u a / G o o d l u c kJonathan’s degrees haveimpacted very little on thelives of Nigerians adding thattheir youthful age when theyassumed office was a disgraceto Nigerian youths.

Jika who was theimpeached Bauchi state Houseof Assembly Speaker in theadministration of Governor IsaYuguda believed thatAbubakar is the only leaderthat can lead this country intoachieving its desired goal inrecapturing its lost glory. Hesaid the former Vice Presidentwas instrumental formobilization of people to votefor Obasanjo during theparty’s presidential primariesin 1999 while the campaignmachineries was headed byAtiku and was the power thatrestored democracy in someAfrican nation.

L-R: Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and United States consulate-General, Lagos, Mr Jeff Hawkins,during his visit to the Senator, yesterday in Lagos. Photo: NAN

Rep urges Gov Yero to run an all-inclusive govtRep Simon Arabo (PDP,

Kaduna) has advisedGov. Ramalan Yero of

Kaduna State to run an all-inclusive government witheach stakeholder as equal.

“We expect the newgovernor to be fair to all andtreat everyone as an equalstakeholder in the quest for agreater and better KadunaState.’’

Arabo was speaking in aninterview with the News

Agency of Nigeria (NAN) inJos yesterday.

He said that the governorshould “get feelers andaggregate the opinions of keystakeholders from all the localgovernments before makingkey appointments.

“The governor should alsoequally extend a hand offriendship to all stakeholdersin the award of contracts andother sensitive issues.”

According to him, “Yero

will defuse tension if he runsan open administration andoperates with an open door.

“It is to the late Gov.Patrick Yakowa’s credit thathe navigated the state verywell and kept all interests andgroups together.

“ Yero should emulate thatand build on such solidfoundation.

“I am confident that itwon’t be difficult for Yero toemulate that style of

administration,’’ Arabo added.The lawmaker also advised

members of the public to giveYero the needed support andavoid a hasty judgementabout his decisions.

He called on the governorto always dialogue with allsections of the people so as toremove any fear or suspicion.

He commended thegovernor’s commitment tocompleting the projects startedby his former boss, andparticularly called for thespeedy completion of theKwassam-Geshere road inKauru constituency.

“Yero’s boss promised toconstruct the 15-kilometreBakin-Kogi – Kamaru road assoon as the Kwassam project iscompleted. We expect Yero tofulfill that promise,’’ heappealed.

The lawmaker said thatKauru Local Government wasessentially rural and called onYero to make the area apriority in the award andexecution of road and bridgeprojects.

According to him, that willlink the inhabitants with therest of the world. (NAN)

The National Chairmanof Progressive People’sAlliance (PPA), Mr Sam

Nkire, has directed statechairmen of the party not toengage in merger talk withany political party in theirstates.

Nkire made this known ina statement made availableto the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) yesterday in Abuja.

The national chairmanrefuted the rumour that theAbia PPA chairman wasaligning with a particularpolitical party in that state.

He said that if there shouldbe any alliance talk, it wouldbe done at the national level,adding that the party wouldnot allow the chairmen aloneto engage in such negotiationson its behalf.

Nkire said that the PPAhad adopted strategies thatwould enable it to win thegovernorship elections inAnambra and Ekiti in 2014.

“The elections in the twostates will be won on the basisof the quality of candidateand not on the basis of nameor size of a political party,” he

said.He called on members of

the party to be morecommitted and loyal in orderto make the party virile andformidable across the country.

According to him, this isnecessary for the party tobounce back to limelight inthe political landscape of thecountry .

Nkire said that the PPAwould continue to promotecommitment, loyalty andhard work in its members inorder to ensure its success infuture elections. (NAN)

PPA directs state chairmen not to engage in merger talks

By Lawrence Olaoye


as over-inflated.The PDP had raised alarm over

what it said was the wide gap inthe cost of constructing theoverhead bridge costing the Oyogovernment the sum ofN2.5billion and its claimed 2.5kilometer Lalubu-Ibara-Totorooverhead bridge in Ogun Statewhich was widely reported to havecost Ogun state government thesum of N1.5billion.

According to the ACN, the PDPshould be ashamed of itself forhaving imposed its naivety aboutroad/bridge construction on thegenerality of the people.

"We are awe-struck that apolitical party could advertise itsnaivety this shamelessly. Whatthe PDP ought to have done was to

demand the details of the twobridge constructions in both statesand the details would have shockedit and avert this shameless plungethat it has made," said the ACN.

Kolawole said that the truth ofthe matter was that the bridge thatwas commissioned in Ogun Stateis 400 meters in length, while theone being constructed in Oyo Stateis 640 meters.

The party also said that part ofthe Oyo State contract in theconstruction of the over-headbridge which distinguishes it fromthat of Ogun State, is that, apartfrom the wide differences in theirlengths, the inclusion of provisionof ancillary facilities to the bridgealso mark them apart.

According to the ACN, these

Oyo ACN blasts PDP for "roadconstruction illiteracy"

Nwodo urgesNigerians tosupport state ofthe nation Bill

The Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN), Oyo State chapter, haslamented what it called "roadconstruction illiteracy" of the statechapter of the Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP), maintaining that itwas this lack of knowledge thataffected the state in the party'syears of rule in the state.

The ACN made this known in arelease issued by its State PublicitySecretary, Hon. Dauda Kolawole,in a reply to an earlier release bythe PDP comparing the cost ofconstruction of the Ibadan fly-overbridge being constructed by thestate government and onecommissioned in Ogun staterecently and attacking the former

From Inumidun Ojelade, Ibadan

Chief Charles Nwodo, aformer NationalChairman of de-registered

Progressive Action Congress (PAC),has called on Nigerians to supportthe ‘State of the Nation Bill’ in theinterest of the nation.

Nwodo made the call in aninterview with the News Agency ofNigeria (NAN), yesterday in Abuja.

“It is necessary to establishcommunication between the peopleand the government in order toreach out to the citizens, so that theycan be carried along in the process ofgovernance.

“Some presidents normallyaddress their nations on weekly,monthly, or quarterly basis, butours is not like that.

“It is not a bad idea for theNational Assembly to pass a lawmaking it mandatory for thepresident to address the nation atleast on quarterly basis,” Nwodosaid.

According to him, that alone willdouse the suspicion that has beengoing around in the process ofgovernance in this country andreduce corrupt practices in thecountry.

Nwodo said that if accountabilitywas established at least on quarterlybasis in this country, there would beno way an individual or a group ofpeople would be looting this countryas it was being done now.

“We believe it is the right thingto do, especially at this time of ourcountry when we have high level ofinsecurity, corruption and othersocial vices.

“If the people cannot understandwhat their leaders are doing, thenthe essence of leadership is beingdefeated,” he said.

“We also believe that it willafford the government to makeamend of the past, to explain to thepublic the details of the governmentprogrammes.

“It is not only the president thatshould be addressing its citizens, butalso the chief executives like theministers, CBN governors and othersto explain to the nation about theiractivities,” Nwodo said.

According to him, it isregrettable that every day you readin the pages of newspapers howbillions of naira are being stolen fromthe nation’s treasury and nothing ishappening at the end of the day.

A bill for an act that will make itmandatory for the president topresent the account of hisstewardship for public scrutiny haspassed second reading in the Senate.

Deputy Senate President IkeEkweremadu, who led the debate,said that democracy was not justabout elections, irrespective of howfree and fair they were.

Ekweremadu said beyondelection was governance, the billsought to uphold the right of thepeople to hold their presidentaccountable, take stock of the nationand make governance more openand participatory.

He said that when the “State ofthe Nation Address Bill’’ became law,it would usher Nigeria into an olddemocratic convention in bothadvanced and fledgling democraciesaround the world. (NAN)

L-R: Member, House Committee on Diaspora, Hon. Ajibola Famurewa, South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Kingsley Mamabola,Chairperson, House Committee on Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri Erewa, and Member of the Committee, Hon. Nassir Ali Mohammed, during thecommittee's visit to the South African High Commission, yesterday in Abuja over a Nigerian recently killed in South Africa. Photo: Mahmud Isa

Four political parties havesupported the call for thescrapping of the states

independent electoral commissions(SEICs) because they are instrumentsof political manipulations.

Speaking in an interview withNews Agency of Nigeria (NAN) inAbuja yesterday, Mr ChambersOkorie, a United Progressive Party(UPP) Chieftain, said SEICs hadoutlived their usefulness.

He said it was so unfortunate thatSEICs had not lived up to theirresponsibilities because they hadcontributed to apathy, and politicalinstability at the grassroots level.

“SEICs are not interested inconducting credible elections, orinspire trust and confidence throughimpartiality, transparency, andcivility,” Okorie said.

According to him, SIECs do notrespect the wishes of oppositions intheir various states.

Okorie said it was so unfortunatethat SEICs had allowed the stategovernments to use them as agentsof political settlements at thedetriment of democracy at thegrassroots.

“SEICs have contributed topolitical corruption in Nigeria, theyhave never conducted free and fair

elections,’’ he said.Okorie said the activities of SEICs

should be transferred to INEC becausethe “Jega led INEC team has broughtcredibility to bear in the conduct ofelections in the country’’.

The Chairman of Labour Partyin the FCT, Mr Adejobi Peter, said hewas in support of political partiespositions in Nigeria calling for thescrapping of SIECs.

He said that labour party was intotal support of such decision becauseSEICs was not democratic and theiractivities were unhealthy for thedevelopment of democracy.

Peter said it was so unfortunate

4 parties call for scrapping of states electoral commissions

include construction of roads onboth sides of the bridge,rehabilitation of adjoining roads tothe bridge, drainage works on bothsides of the roads of the overheadbridge, beautification of the lengthof the road, landscaping and street-lighting.

"It is apparent that the PDP istoo illiterate to understand thesefacilities-rolled-into-one in theconstruction of the over-headbridge. For instance, theupgrading of all the adjoiningroads of the walk-ways is included.This also includes a standard one-meter-by-one-meter reinforcedconcrete drainage. In the historyof the PDP reign in Oyo State, itnever had a road construction ofthat quality," said the ACN.

that SEICs had rendered localgovernment elections uncompetitivein the country.

He said SIECs had denied theelectorate their rights to goodgovernance because their votes didnot count.

Peter said this system had madeit difficult for the local governmentsto deliver the dividends of democracyto the people at the grassroots level.

The Deputy Chairman ofAPGA in the FCT, ChiefAnyegnunamu Okoye, saidpoliticians in the FCT werelucky not to have anything todo with the SEICs. (NAN)


The National School Sports Federation (NSSF) andthe National Academicals Sports Committee ofNigeria (NASCOM) have harped on the need for

government to pay adequate attention to grassrootssports development.

They made the call at the ongoing 5th NationalSchool Sports Festival in Port Harcourt, in which morethan 7,000 athletes and officials from 22 states areparticipating.

The national President of NSSF, Malam IbrahimMohammed attributed the decline in the nationalsports teams over time to the neglect of youth sports,but said that the trend could be reversed if thegovernment pay adequate attention to school sports.

He deplored the idea of coaches going for already

established athletes for age ompetitions and thefalsification of age, all in a bid to win competitions.

“If we must achieve meaningful development in ournation and in sports in particular, we must come tothe grassroots. The youth are the bedrock of ournation; we have to support them in order to see theNigeria of our dream.

“The problem is that our coaches want to achievesuccess without working for it; that is why they cheatinstead of coming around to spot young talents atschool sports competitions,” he said.

Similarly, Mr Yemi Idowu, the Chairman ofNASCOM, said its committee would double its effortsto support NSSF, YSFON and other youth sports bodies,to discover more talents.

Idowu said the committee would address some ofthe major problems of finance and awarenessbedevilling grassroots sports.

“We will help these bodies to source funds, createawareness and mobilise support. We will harmonisetheir activities and achieve a unified calendar on howto groom these young talents effectively and developthem to the elite stage.

“So we are calling on government at all levels,parents and organisations to join and recreate sportsin the country,” Idowu said.

The fifth national sports festival was declared openon Sunday with 22 states, including the FederalCapital Territory of Abuja participating. It will endon Feb. 3.

NSSF, NASCON harp on grassroots sports development

Nigeria’s 4x400m relay team -Omolara Omotosho, Idara Otu, Bukola Abogunloko and Regina George-celebrates after qualifying forthe 3rd round of the London Olympics relay race. The AFN hopes to use the Youth fiesta to discover more talents for the country.

No fewer than 358athletes haveregistered for the

maiden African YouthAthletic Championships

(AYAC), scheduled forApril in Warri, Delta.

Commodore OmatseyeNesiama, the TechnicalDirector of the Athletic

Federation of Nigeria(AFN), announced this inan interview with theNews Agency of Nigeria(NAN) yesterday in Lagos.

Nesiama said that a totalof 24 Africa countries wereexpected to participate atthe championship, addingthat Nigeria had the

highest number of entries.“The number of entries

is quite encouraging and Iam happy that we arehaving the highest

number of participants,’’he said noting that as host,Nigerian athletes wouldnot disappoint the countryat the event.

The country hasregistered a total of 80athletes, consisting of 40male and 40 femaleathletes, to participate in20 events.

Ethiopia has the secondlargest number with atotal of 42 athletes madeup of 21 males and 21females, followed by SouthAfrica, with 30 athletesconsisting of 15 males and15 females.

Similarly, Egyptregistered 24 athletes,made up of 13 males and11 females; Senegal, 20athletes, consisting of 10males and 10 females,while Chad registered 14males and 6 females.

Morocco will berepresented by 10 maleand 8 female athletes,while 17 playersconsisting of 10 males and7 females will representKenya.

Uganda will berepresented by 11 athletes;Gambia, 10; DemocraticRepublic of Congo, eightand Rwanda, six; Lesotho,four; Burundi, 12; Eritrea,eight; Mauritius, eight;and Angola, Comoros, andSao Tome and Principle,two athletes each.

Similarly, Mozambiqueregistered four athletes,Guinea, Botswana andCape Verde, two athleteseach, while 24 athleteswill represent Mali at thechampionship.

358 athletes to feature in maidenedition of AYAC, says Nesiama

The acting General Manager, Osun State SportsCouncil, Akin Adio, said on Monday that toexcel at the 19th National Sports Festival in

Calabar in 2014, the state had begun preparations.Adio said said in Osogbo yesterday that the council

was re-positioning all sports to guarantee an

excellent outing, noting that inadequate preparationcontributed to the poor performance of the state’scontingent at the Lagos Games.

He decried poor officiating at the last festival and

lamented that it was the reason Team Osuncontingent could not win gold in boxing and otherevents at the Games.

It would be recalled that Osun won only two gold,one silver and seven bronze medals at the 18thNational Sports Festival in Lagos.

He disclosed that coaches and organisingsecretaries of the various sports had begun work onhow to improve on their performance. Adio said thatlocal competitions in some events had begun so asto discover new talents.

“The council is equally working on how to generatefunds to complement government’s allocation, tomake the council sufficient monetarily.

“We plan to solicit support from individuals andorganisations within and outside the state, to ensurethat our sportsmen and women are motivatedthrough timely payment of their allowances,’’ Adioadded.

Segun Adagunodo,Chairman, Ondo StateFootball Agency(ODSFA), said yesterdaythat the body hadconcluded plans to sellthe state-owned RisingStars FC, if prospectivebuyers met its value.

Adagunodo disclosed inAkure that the Gov.Olusegun Mimiko wasmuch more interested in

Sunshine Stars FC and thestate-owned FootballAcademy and added thatthe state’s female team,Sunshine Queens FCmight also be sold.

Adagunodo said thatthe Mimikoadministration wasmuch more interested inthe clubs that wouldyield money for the stategovernment.

“The governor,Olusegun Mimiko, ismuch more interested inSunshine Stars and theacademy, the organs ofODSFA that can makemoney for the state.

“Even SunshineQueens may even be sold,all these decisions are nottaken based onsentiment, and they arerealities which we must

face. But as I speak withyou now, the club stillremains the property ofOndo State,” he said.

Rising Stars, SunshineQueens, Sunshine Starsand the Ondo StateFootball Academy are allunder the supervision ofODSFA. The Rising StarsFC of Akure are currentlyplaying in the NigerianNational League.

19th NSF: Osun begins preparation for ‘Calabar 2014 Games’

Ondo govt to sell Rising Stars FC, Sunshine Queens


1] Mario Balotelli is "still a Manchester City player", accordingto first-team coach David Platt, amid speculation the Italystriker is set to join AC Milan.

2] Cristiano Ronaldo says Real Madrid's Copa Del Rey semi-final clash with Barcelona will not be easy, but missing playerscannot be used as an excuse for not getting a good result.

3] Hurricane Fly wins a third successive Irish ChampionHurdle in blizzard conditions at Leopardstown.

4] Britain's Dwain Chambers starts his indoor athletics seasonwith victory over 60m at the Glasgow International.

5] British number one Andy Murray says defeat in theAustralian Open final is easier to take in light of his finerecent form.

6] Tiger Woods closes in on his 75th PGA Tour victory at thefog-delayed Farmers Insurance Open.

PICTORIAL

1

2

3

4 6

5


Nigeria face Ethiopia in awin-or-bust game onTuesday. How are you

looking forward to the game?It is going to be a tough game,

but we just need to be focused andlet our burning desire be to qualify

Super Eagles must scoreplenty goals, says Emenike

Emmanuel Emenike, scorer of Super Eagles’ two goals sofar in the AFCON tournament, says Nigeria cannot afford tobe proficient in front of goal, particularly against Ethiopiatoday.

The big Spartak Moscow of Russia striker has scored twicein the competition, but he has now said the team as a wholemust kill off their next game by scoring more goals on theirway to the last eight.

from group stage goes on. It’s abattle and we are ready for it.

A lot of Nigeria expected aneasy ride for Eagles in this firstround group. Did you envisageany difficulties when the drawwas made?

I knew from the onset that ourgroup will be a most interestingand tough group, but no matterwhat, we just need to be optimisticof our qualification. As it is now,only victory against Ethiopia cangive us the ticket. That means ourdestiny lies in our own hand andthat is why we must giveeverything on Tuesday.

Nigeria have scored twogoals in two games, what doyou think is the problem?

We need to be more ruthless infront of goal, maybe 1-0 could notbe enough to claim victory, so wewill do our best to score more goalsin our next game.

You scored on your AFCONdebut, how was the feeling?

It is always a thing of joy when astriker scores, but my happinesswould have been more completehad we won all three points againstBurkina Faso.

What should we expect fromyou as the competitionprogresses?

Like I have said before, my bestis yet to be seen, this is just thebeginning. I will always do my bestto get the goals whenever I am inposition to do so. My goals arepossible because I got assists frommy team mates, I appreciateeverybody’s effort to make ithappen. Together we will makeNigerians happy.

Are you promising goalsagainst Ethiopia?

I won’t make promises, but I will domy best as usual to lift my team bycontributing my quota, but theultimate for us in this game is to getthe three points no matter the scorer.We just hope that we keep going toseal our much-awaited victory.

What do you want to say tothe fans?

Nigerians should keep theirfaith in us and we promise that theteam will fly past Ethiopia onTuesday. We have a lot to offer thecountry. We can do much morethan what we did against Zambiaand we will do that againstEthiopia.

The Nigerian duo of VictorMoses and Joseph Yobocould be left out of their

Afcon Group C clash withEthiopia in Rustenburg today.

Moses, 22, made his debut atthe Africa Cup of Nations againstZambia but showed signs of stillstruggling with his hamstring.

The Chelsea attacking wingerplayed for 78 minutes in thegame against Zambia before hewas substituted for Brown Ideyeand is yet to recover from theinjury, according to head coach,Stephen Keshi.

Captain of the Super Eagles,Yobo is also a huge doubt owing

to an ankle injury after missingthe 1-1 draw with Zambia inNelspruit on Friday.

“Victor Moses is still underobservation. He’s been trainingbut not at 100 percent rightnow. Same goes for Joseph Yobowho missed the last game,” saidKeshi.

But the Nigerian manager isnot ruling out both players fromthe crucial game againstEthiopia.

“They still have a good chanceof making the squad for thegame as they have been trainingwith the team. But if they arenot healthy enough we will seek

other options,” he said.Supersport.com was also

informed that Warri Wolves’defender, Azubuike Egwuekwe,has recovered from illness that haskept him out of the Nigerian squad.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles need anoutright win against theirEthiopian counterparts, theWalya Antelopes, in their lastgroup game to have any chanceof advancing to thequarterfinals.

Emmanuel-Emenike Brown Ideye

Moses, Yobo doubtful for Ethiopia tie

they survive the knockout stageor not.

Though he is worried that poorofficiating at the championshipcould mar the credibility of thecontinent’s flagship footballtournament, the former left-winger urged the CAF to putstringent measures in place tocurb incidents of poor officiating.

“The officiating has not beenup to standard, we have seenterrible faulty decisions, and weshould not wave that asidebecause it is part of the game:although mistakes can occur butnot frequently.

“Apart from officiating, it’sbeen very exciting, as I said afortnight ago, the FIFA and CAFranking will not be ofimportance anymore.

“Take a look at Cape Verde,they have proven themselves asa strong contender. I am thrilled

by their performance, so far,they are the revelation of thetournament,’’ he said.

When asked to assess theperformance of the Super Eaglesat the ongoing tournament,he says he has not beenimpressed by the team’s

performance.“I am not surprised that we are

not doing so well, as I havealways said, there are certainthings that we are still not doingand until we go back to thebasics, we won’t get it right,’’ headded.Angola skipper Manucho says

he was disappointed not tohave scored at the 2013

Africa Cup of Nations, but believeshe can atone for that in futurecompetitions.

Angola crashed out of thechampionship on Sunday afterlosing 2-1 to debutants Cape Verdeand they finished bottom of GroupA with just one point from a 0-0draw with Morocco.

Former Manchester Unitedstriker Manucho hopes to returnto the tournament and make animpact.

“I’m a natural goal scorer and soI’m disappointed not to have scoredin this competition,” admitted the

lanky, dreadlocked striker whocaptains his country. But I’m stilla young player and there are a lotof matches and tournamentsahead.”

Manucho, who has been insuperb form for Spanish La Ligaclub Real Valladolid this season,said the Palancas Negras (BlackAntelopes) were unlucky duringthe tournament.

“We need to show a lot moreconcentration, and we failed todefend our lead against CapeVerde. “We are all to blame,” hesaid of the poor showing by Angola,who also made a first round exitfrom the 2012 tournament inGabon/Equatorial Guinea.

Angola captain Manucho looks ahead

Amiesimaka says Cape Verdebiggest tournament revelation

Adokiye Amiesimaka, amember of the GreenEagles squad that won the

1980 AFCON said on Mondaythat the Blue Sharks of CapeVerde Islands were the biggestrevelation of the ongoingAFCON.

Amiesimaka says he has beenimpressed by the quality of playexhibited by the Nations Cup

debutants adding that they willremain a force to be reckonedwith subsequently whether to

FernandoNeves,popularlyknown asNando is theskipper of theBlue Sharks ofCape Verde

FernandoNeves,popularlyknown asNando is theskipper of theBlue Sharks ofCape Verde


Everton have agreed a deal to signNetherlands international Leroy Fer from FCTwente, according to a statement on the club’s

official website.Fer, 23, is heading to Merseyside to undergo a medical

and discuss personal terms, with a view to joining DavidMoyes’ team before the end of the transfer window.

The midfielder started his career at Feyenoord beforemaking the switch to Twente where he has made 29appearances, scoring ten goals.

Fer has made two appearances for Netherlands atLeroy Fer

Xavi Hernandez has signed a new contract tyinghim to Barcelona until 2016. The Catalan clubconfirmed yesterday afternoon that the two year

extension, agreed late last year with the player’s agents,had been signed by the midfielder and

World Cup and double European Championshipwinner Xavi made his Barcelona debut in October 1998and has since made a club record more than 650competitive first-team appearances, winning 20 seniortrophies (two World Club Cups, three ChampionsLeagues, two European Supercups, six La Liga titles, twoCopas del Rey and five Spanish Supercups).

Xavi’s team-mates Carles Puyol and Lionel Messi havealso agreed long term deals recently. Puyol signed hisextension until 2016 last week, while Messi is expectedto complete the formalities on a new contract runninguntil 2018 in the coming weeks.

Contract negotiations with Victor Valdes have provedless fruitful. The Barca goalkeeper’s agent, GinesCarvajal, announced in mid-January that his clientwould not be extending his current deal, which ends inless than 18 months time.

Xavi Hernandez

international level and is reportedly known as ‘theBouncer’ for his physical appearance, while he has alsobeen compared to former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieirain style.

Everton, who are looking for options to replaceMarouane Felliani if he departs, are ready to spendaround •10 million on the midfielder.

Fer hit the headlines last year when he splashed out£22,000 on a horse for his girlfriend, forgetting thatshe lived in a block of flats and would not be able to carefor it.

Everton agree deal for Leroy

Hawthorns despite anincreaded bid believed tobe worth £3.25 million.

The Nigeriainternational is also likelyto be facing disciplinaryaction over his recentTwitter outburst at theclub, despite offering hisapologies.

Although the formerLokomotiv Moscow manhas shown contrition, hemay still face a fine of twoweeks’ wages, with theBaggies confirming thatstatements by players onthe social network siteform part of the club’sdisciplinary code ofconduct.

West BromwichAlbion hasrejected a second

bid from Queens ParkRangers for wantawaystriker Peter Odemwingie.

An opening offer thoughtto be as much as £2.5million was turned downearlier this month, andQPR boss Harry Redknapphas carried out the promisehe made after Saturday’sFA Cup defeat to MK Donsto step up his efforts atstrengthening his squad.

But Redknapp mayhave to look elsewhere tobolster his frontline,following anotherknockback from The

Schalke midfielder Lewis Holtby will join Tottenhamduring the January transfer window, rather than atthe end of the season after the two clubs agreed on a fee.

Holtby, 22, has already signed a five-year contract at WhiteHart Lane and was set to leave the Royal Blues on a freetransfer in the summer.

However, with Spurs midfielder Sandro now ruled out forthe rest of the season, the English club sought to push througha new agreement with the Bundesliga side and Spurs’ secondoffer, believed to be around •1.5 million, was accepted.

A statement on the Spurs website read: “We are delightedto announce that we have reached agreement with Schalkefor the immediate transfer of Lewis Holtby.”

Schalke are now believed to be bringing in Lyon wingerMichel Bastos, with the German club only prepared to makean offer once the Holtby deal is completed.

According to Bild, Bastos will undergo his medical at theclub on Monday and sign a loan contract until 2014. Schalkewill pay •1.85 million, with a further option to make the dealpermanent at the end of both seasons.

Isco

The news does not meanthe 20-year-old is likely tostay at Malaga for the longterm, but should ensurethat the cash-strappedQatari owned club receivesa fee higher than his

previous •21 millionrelease clause when hedoes leave.

Isco’s sparkling displays inhis first Champions Leaguecampaign have broughtinterest from Chelsea andManchester City.

Pep Guardiola’s futureclub, Bayern Munich;have also been mentioned,while Tottenham werereportedly close to meetinghis current release clauselast summer.

Last week, Malagasporting director MarioHusillos said a new dealwas in the pipeline butwould not necessarilymean the player stayed atthe club for the contract’sfull duration.

West Brom rejectsOdemwingie bid

Malaga’s covetedattacker Isco hasagreed a new

contract, including arelease clause ofaround •40 million, withthe La Liga club.

Isco agrees new Malaga dealSchalke star joins Spurs

Xavi signs newBarcelona contract

Lewis HoltbyThe former Chelseastar has made themove to Turkey from

Shanghai Shenhua aftermonths of speculationlinking him with a moveaway from the ChineseSuper League

The Chelsea legend haslong been linked with areturn to Europe afterleaving Stamford Bridgefor China in the summer,and, despite rumours ofinterest from Italy, theTurkish champions havewon the race for hissignature.

“Big clubs can reach forhigher targets with biggergoals,” the club’s presidentUnal Aysal commented onthe deal.

“Drogba said that he wasvery happy to play for a bigclub like Galatasaray in thefuture. Drogba met ourcoach and decided to cometo Galatasaray.”

The Cote d’Ivoire icon willearn •2 million for theremainder of the 2012-13season, and •4m for theduration of the 2013-14campaign, with anadditional bonus of •15,000for each match he plays.

Both AC Milan andJuventus had been closelylinked with a Januarymove for Drogba, but Galaannounced yesterday thatthey had opened talks withthe player.

The Liverpool bossadmits that therehave been

negotiations between theReds and the Italian side forthe Brazilian midfielder,but no deal has yet beenagreed

Goal.com confirmedover the weekend that theReds have agreed an £11.7

million fee with theNerazzurri for the Brazilianplaymaker, althoughRodgers was keen to stressthat the deal is a long wayfrom being completed.

“There’s been talksbetween the clubs butthat’s about it, so nothingto report,” the NorthernIrishman told reporters.

Rodgers confirms talks overInter starlet Coutinho

Rodgers saw his sidedumped out of the FA Cupat the hands of League Oneside Oldham on Sunday,but he dismissed claimsthat such a defeat meanthe would have to bringnew players in, insteadclaiming that it could beused to improve theplayers he already has.

GalatasarayannounceDrogbasigning

Gunners’ contractnegotiator DickyLaw has been in

Spain to negotiate apermanent transfer afterthe Catalan giants softenedtheir stance on selling thestriker this month

The Londoners wereknocked back by Barcelonawhen they made anapproach for Villa earlierthis month.

But Arsene Wenger hasrefused to accept defeat inhis pursuit of the forwardand has been encouragedthat the runaway La Ligaleaders have softened theirstance on selling him inrecent days.

Spanish sources havetold Goal.com that Villa is“very keen” to join Arsenalafter growing frustratedwith his lack ofopportunities at the NouCamp.

Wenger is a long-timeadmirer of Villa, whoturned 31 last month, andis prepared to pay up to£13.8 million to sign himon a permanent deal and

match his current£110,000-a-week wages.

Negotiations havecentred on the constructionof the deal, with Barcelonastill owing Arsenalscheduled payments forthe transfers that took CescFabregas and Alex Song toCamp Nou in the summersof 2011 and 2012.

Arsenal have madebolstering their strikeforcewhich already have TheoWalcott and OlivierGiroud.

The Gunners tabled a bidof around £10m for AtleticoMadrid’s Adrian Lopez butthey are nowconcentrating their effortson pushing through a dealfor Villa.

Villa, who missed muchof last season after breakinghis leg, is Barca’s second-leading scorer in 2012-13with 10 goals, behind onlyLionel Messi, who hasnetted an astonishing 44times.

Arsenal open formal talks withBarcelona to sign David Villa


Neymar was recently named South American Footballer of the Year for the secondtime in a row. A succession of titles have come his way already in his short career,among them the 2011 Copa Libertadores, and as he prepares to win yet more in theyear ahead, he gave a wide-ranging interview to FIFA.com at the recent FIFA Ballond’Or Gala.

How do you feel about taking part in the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala for asecond time?

I’m very proud and happy to be here. To be taking part in such a big party asthis, with all the world’s best players here and to be side by side with my heroes, issomething that I’m thrilled about obviously.

You were nominated for the second time running for the FIFA Puskás Awardfor the best goal of the year. Is scoring great goals another of the objectivesyou set yourself every year?

No, no. That’s just how it’s worked out, and it’s not like I’m out there on the pitchtrying to score fantastic goals. Thanks to God I’ve managed to score some very niceones and more than anything else they’ve been good enough to get me to the Gala.

Do you enjoy scoring goals as much as providing assists?I enjoy both. If I can’t score, then creating a goal makes me happy too. To tell you

the truth, every time I play a pass and a team-mate scores from it I get the samefeeling as I would if I’d scored.

Let’s turn to football now. What was your personal highlight of 2012? It would have to be the Brazilian championship game against Cruzeiro

(Neymar scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 win for Santos last November), when I got around of applause from all the opposition fans. It was a very emotional moment forme. I felt very honoured, I have to say, and it made a big impact on me.

Tell us about your experience at the London Olympics, where Brazil lost toMexico in the final.

It’s a tough one because it was a very happy time but sad too. I learned an awful lotfrom it. A lot of athletes go to the Olympics in search of a medal, whether it’s a bronze,silver or gold, and we came away with a silver. It’s not what we expected but for asportsman it’s still wonderful. It was a shame to lose the final but I’m also happy to bea medal-winning athlete.

You’ll be facing Mexico at the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013. Is thata chance for revenge?

A little bit! (laughs) We’re really up for it after losing that final, though we don’thave anything against them obviously. That’s football. In every final there’s a winnerand it went their way that time. I think they deserved it too.

What do you owe former Brazil coach Mano Menezes? Mano brought me into the team. He gave me my first call-up, and I learned a lot of

things with him. Every coach you work with has their own way of doing things andyou learn a little from each of them. It was no different with Mano, and I learned a lottoo.

How do you feel about Luiz Felipe Scolari’s arrival?There’s a huge amount of expectation. He’s a great coach, whom I’ve played against,

and he’s also a great person. I hope we can show that when we play and win all ourgames.

Scolari was the last Brazil coach to win the world title at the 2002 FIFAWorld Cup Korea/Japan™. What memories do you have of that competition?

I remember it clearly. I was ten and I’d get up very early because it was morningin Brazil when the games were played. I cheered them on all the way and shouted myhead off in the early hours. I remember all the goals, especially the ones in the final.

How important will the FIFA Confederations Cup be bearing inmind Brazil haven’t played much competitive football in the last few years?

It’s a really important tournament and we’ll be facing some top-quality teams. It’llhelp us prepare for the World Cup, and we need to make the most of it by building ateam with a new coach and getting used to a totally different approach. For the goodof the team we need to do that as quickly as possible.

Are you ready to cope with the pressure of playing two major competitionsin front of fans as demanding as Brazil’s?

The pressure is huge. It’s always there, no matter where we play, but it’ll be evenbigger at home. We’re aware of that but we like it. It’s nice pressure. I’ve been fortunateenough to win finals in different tournaments and it’s fantastic to feel that pressure tosucceed. We’re prepared for all of that. Brazilian players just accept it, and we’repreparing for that moment.

Do you agree with Ronaldo’s recent comment that Brazil are not among thetop five sides in the world right now?

If you look at the Ranking, Brazil aren’t in the top five at the moment. But we’reworking hard on the team’s identity and at becoming more of a unit. We haven’t beenplaying together for that long. The team’s been through a lot of changes and it needstime to forge that identity and reach the top again.

What are your objectives for 2013?To help Santos first of all by winning titles any way how, whether it’s with goals,

passes or sliding tackles. That’s what matters. And the same goes for the nationalteam: to win titles and take it back to the top.

Will you still be at Santos after the FIFA World Cup?Even I don’t know that. My contract runs to 2014 but there’s still a long way to go

before the World Cup. I don’t know if I’ll renew it or not. It’s a personal issue and I’llhave to talk it through with my family and Santos. We’ll definitely speak about itfurther down the line.

Dani Alves told us he’s always telling you to sign for Barcelona.(Laughs) Dani’s always embarrassing me! He’s put me in a tight spot.Do you think staying in Brazil for so long will delay your development as a

player?No. You can develop and improve your game whether you’re in Brazil or not.

Personally I feel I’m becoming a better player and getting more experience as everyyear goes by. Some people say you have to leave to develop but I don’t agree with that.

You’re only 20 so how do you handle all the success you’ve already had andbeing world-famous?

I know a lot of things are going on in my life and that everything’s happened too fastup to now, but I do feel prepared for what’s to come. Whenever an opportunity hascome my way I’ve worked hard to make the most of it and that’s why I’m so happy.My aim now is to win more things, both with Santos and Brazil. My goal is to keepgrowing as a player and as a person too.

My family, Santoswill decide myfuture, says Neymar

Neymar

Ramires


The Super Eagles take its destiny in its own hands today as theyconfront the Walyas Antelopes of Ethiopia knowing that nothingshort of a comprehensive victory will keep them in the race for a

sip in the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations trophy.Besides, the nation’s soccer ruling organ, the Nigeria Football

Federation (NFF) has warned the head of the technical crew, StephenKeshi, and his charges against compromising Nigeria’s desire for podiumhonours, a privilege they last had in 1994 in Tunisia.

Reading the riot act yesterday, Chairman of the NFF Media andPublicity Committee, Chief Emeka Inyama, said: “This team hasreceived tremendous support from the government of Nigeria, thefootball federation. There is nothing the players or the Head Coach andhis crew have requested for that we have failed to provide.

“Everything that is needed to spur players and officials on have beenprovided for them. All that is left now is for the team to go all out andshow high level of commitment and patriotic fervour by getting the jobdone,” Inyama said stressing that the team would have no excuse doingotherwise.

Consequently, the Eagles are condemned to win against the Antelopes,who, though have played some exciting football, have shown tepid inthe last quarter of the pitch. Albeit the Eagles have fared slightly better,the squad is laden with talents and could explode if the players dare toup the ante.

Against the Stallions of Burkina Faso, the Eagles were in ascendencyand showed lot of gut and temerity but were bereft of impact in front ofgoal. They paid for the many chances they frittered away when theStallions drew level with 10 seconds left on play.

It was repeated against the defending champions, Chipolopolo ofZambia.

Now, Keshi, who opted to resign after being told of his technical blunderson Saturday, looks set to ring changes and breathe into the squad for thedesired vibrancy, and hopefully comprehensive victory.

Today, the Eagles may have to play two point-men in IkechukwuUche, usually sleek and Emmanuel Emenike, the bulldozer in the team.It is obvious the Ethiopia are weak in the midfield meaning that MikelObi and colleagues could do lots of damage if they pile up pressuretherein and supply the attack with enough amulet to fire.

The Eagles need goals, though a win with a single goal may well beokay provided the Stallions hold Chipolopolo to draw. Should this sceneriooccurs then Nigeria and Burkina Faso go through as second and firstrespectively. But if the Zambians win and Nigeria also beat Ethiopiaboth will go through to the next round. A win for Stallions will put anend to Zambia’s quest to defend the trophy as Burkina Faso and Nigeriawill march on.

We haveto win,saysRenard

Ghana dump Niger, draw CapeVerde in quarterfinals

EmmanuelAgyemang Badu ofGhana challenged byBoubacar Talatou ofNiger during the 2013Orange African Cupof Nations matchbetween Niger andGhana yesterday atthe Nelson MandelaBay Stadium PortElizabeth.

Ghana cruised to thequarterfinals as Group Bleaders after a

comprehensive 3-0 thrashing ofNiger in Port Elizabethyesterday and in the processbook a clash against surprise ofthe tournament Cape Verde.

The huge win cleared doubtssurrounding the Black Stars titlewinning credentials andconfirmed their status as one ofthe firm favourites. The clashwith the Blue Sharks will be thesecond within two months asthey had earlier beaten them 1-0 in an international friendly.

Meanwhile an early penaltygoal by Democratic Republic ofCongo striker Mbokani wascancelled out by MahamadouSamassa of Mali to pave way forthem to qualify for the last eightfinals of the 2013 Africa Cup ofNations.

With the 1-1 draw, Malimoved on to confront SouthAfrica in the quarterfinals whileDR Congo will return homelatest tomorrow.

Hosts Bafana Bafana hadbooked a spot on Sunday afterforcing Morocco to 2-2 even asCape Verde shocked Angola 2-1to qualify for the knockout stagesin their first time of asking.

QUARTERFINALS FIXTURES

South Africa vs MaliGhana vs Cape Verde

The question for us in thematch against BurkinaFaso is simple; we have

to win and we have the abilityto do it, says Chipolopolo trainerHerve Renard.

The African champion coachsaid Zambia knew what was atstake and did not need the helpof any other team to securequalification stressing that“destiny is in our hands”.

“We’re under pressure thanBurkina Faso because they onlyneed a draw to qualify. But I cantell you, we are strong enoughbecause we have been in thissituation before. In Angola in2010, we drew our first matchagainst Tunisia, and then lost toCameroon. We needed to winagainst Gabon in our final gameand we played a good match andwon,” Renard told a pre matchpress conference at the teamhotel in Mbombela.

“We have been in thissituation before. We havedestiny in our own hands. Thequestion for us is simple like Isaid. We have to win and we areable to do it.”

The reigning and defendingchampions of African take on ahugely confident Burkina Fasoat the Mbombela stadiumTuesday night.

Going into the final round ofGroup C qualifiers, all teams inthe group have a chance ofprogressing and have destiny intheir own hands. Burkina Faso,who lead the group on four pointsneed only a draw to go throughand deny Zambia.

Nigeria, also on two points andEthiopia on a point clash inRustenburg and the winner ofthat tie goes through. A draw inthat match and victory forZambia over Burkina Faso wouldsee Chipolopolo win the groupand Burkina Faso going throughas runners up.

Zambia is unbeaten in eightAfrican Cup of Nations matchesstretching back to the finals lastyear.

“

No excuse againstEthiopia, NFF warns KeshiBy Patrick Andrew

Ikechukwu UcheIkechukwu Uche


UNBELIEVABLE BUT TRUE

•If we could shrink the earth's population to avillage of precisely 100 people, with all the existinghuman ratios remaining the same, there would be57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Americas and8 Africans. Only 1 would own a computer.

•All elephants walk on tiptoe, because the backportion of their foot is made up of all fat and nobone.

•Our eyes are always the same size from birth,but our nose and ears never stop growing.

•Hawaii has the only royal palace in the UnitedStates.

•Chicken liver can be used to change A type bloodto O type blood.

•It takes only 8 minutes for sunlight to travel fromthe sun to the earth, which also means, if you seethe sun go out, it actually went out 8 minutes ago.

•The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.

•An octopus has 3 hearts.

•If the population of China walked past you insingle file, the line would never end because of therate of reproduction.

•The hair on a polar bear is not white, but clear.They reflect light, so they appear white.

•Right-handed people live, on average, nine yearslonger than left-handed people do.

•The combination "ough" can be pronounced in 9different ways; Read this: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through thestreets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough,he coughed and hiccoughed."

•The blue whale has a heart the size of a smallcar and its blood vessel is so broad, that a personcould swim through it.

•A left-handed person finds it easier to open ajar than a right-handed person because they cansupply a stronger anticlockwise turning force thana right-handed person. However a right-handedperson will find it easier to tighten the jar upafterwards.

•The orbit of the Moon about the Earth would fiteasily inside the Sun.

•A chameleon can move its eyes in two directionsat the same time.

•Typewriter is the longest word that can be madeonly using one row on the keyboard.

•Because of the rotation of earth you can throwa ball farther to the west than to the east.

•The name of all the continents ends with thesame letter that they start with.

•Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

•There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar(euro, pound).

SUDOKUSUDOKU Yesterday’s solution

One man and his dog: Sam Davis gives his dog Meg a piggy back through flood water in Cleveland.Source: Dailymail.co.uk

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Say what?

Some Interesting FactsSome Interesting Facts

SPORTS LALALALALATESTTESTTESTTESTTEST

ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT:ADVERT: 0803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 74580803 311 7458BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS:BUSINESS: 0805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 17650805 689 1765NEWS:NEWS:NEWS:NEWS:NEWS: 0803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 33080803 606 3308LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS:LAGOS: 0805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 19690805 327 1969

0803 454 03440803 454 03440803 454 03440803 454 03440803 454 0344

Published by Peoples Media Limited, 35, Ajose Adeogun Street, 1st Floor Peace Park Plaza, Utako,Abuja. Kano office: Plot 3, Zaria Road, Opposite Kano State House of Assembly. Lagos Office:No.8 Oliyide Street, off Unity Road, Ikeja, Lagos. Tel: +234-09-8734478. Cell: +234 805 727 9862.e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] ISSN: 2141– 6141

TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2013

QQQQQUOUOUOUOUOTTTTTABLE QABLE QABLE QABLE QABLE QUOUOUOUOUOTETETETETEIt appears there is a grand plan by some people tosecure for the accused person (Rep Farouk Lawan)

cheap judgement of acquittal because once thisfrivolous private prosecutor fails the accused will be

discharged and acquitted and be free forever.— Prosecutor Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN)

From the pictures I saw ofPresident GoodluckJonathan at the Police

College, Ikeja, I think he camevery close to freezing up withsadness. Whether that wasgenuine or contrived is anothermatter.

A week or so before ChannelsTelevision began airing itsdocumentary on the Ikeja PoliceCollege, the Inspector General ofPolice, Mohammed Abubakar,proudly launched a new code ofconduct for the police.Coincidentally, Edo stateGovernor Adams Oshiomole, oneof the dignitaries that graced theoccasion, lambasted and indictedthe police over the murder of hisprivate secretary.

The IG responded with aclassic police line: the governor didnot know what he was talkingabout and that the police wouldrespond at an appropriate time.But we all know that anappropriate time will never come.It is just a trick to make things goaway with time.

Nevertheless, I wonderedwhat the IG's new code of conductfor the police was all about andjust how much the new code wasexpected to change the orientationof the police. Don't the lawyersalways say that you cannot buildsomething on nothing? I havetherefore classified the code undera new "sheriff is in town" syndromewhich every new IG displays oncethey are confirmed. They give usthe impression that they havecome to reform the police when infact they are there to "claim" theirblessings.

A senior police officer once toldme that it is only about 25%percent of funds meant forrunning rank and file operationsthat actually gets released by the"big men" of the Nigerian Police.

An anecdote from the bookParadise for Maggots confirms justhow things are with the police.The story was that the NuhuRibadu, pioneer chairman of theEconomic and Financial CrimesCommission went to ForceHeadquarters in Abuja for somebusiness. There was light out inthe area and the lift was thereforenot working. But he knew thatthere was supposed to be a standbygenerator. He wondered why thegenerator was not put on to powerthe place. When he got to the officeof one of the senior officer, thefellow was sweating so much thathe pulled his shirt. Another officerdid not only pull his shirt, he alsopulled off his singlet. So, Ribadu

part of what lead him toinvestigate and successfullyprosecute Tafa Balogun who hadstolen billions belonging to theNigerian Police.

Now, take a good look at thelower rank policeman you meeton the street.

Compare his dressing to thatof a senior officer at ForceHeadquarters. And then comparehim to an equivalent rank at theFederal Road Safety Corps, theNigerian Security and CivilDefence Corps.

You may also want to comparethe average police officer to

Manchester United hasbecome the first sportsteam in the world to be

valued at more than US$3 billion(£1.9bn).

According to Americanbusiness magazine Forbes,United are comfortably ahead ofthe world's second-most-valuable sports team, the NFL'sDallas Cowboys, worthUS$2.1bn (£1.4bn).

United sold 10% of shares inthe club in an Initial PublicOffering (IPO) in August whenthe Glazers - their owners - hopedto achieve a price of $20 each,which could have valued theclub at $3.3 billion (£2.06billion).

However, United'scommercial growth appears tobe driving the share price up,with the club announcingseveral new sponsorship dealssince August, qualifying for theChampions League knockoutstages, and with the prospect ofthe new bumper PremierLeague television deals that arecoming on stream from August.

www.peoplesdailyng.com

. . . putting the people first

ManchesterUnited becomefirst $3bn club

Police as beast of no nation

asked, "Is the standby generatorfaulty."

"No" said the senior policeofficer.

"Why is not on then?""There is no diesel to power it.""You mean no provision was

made for the purchase of diesel?""You will have to ask IG that

question."The story was that the office of

Tafa Balogun, the IG then waspowered by a small generatorwhile the rest of the huge buildingwas without power.

Ribadu's experience at theforce headquarter that day was

Philemon Adjekuko

GUEST COLUMNISTsecurity officers of private securityfirms who are paid an average ofeighteen thousand naira a month.In all, the police man on the streetis at the bottom of the personalappearance ladder. Some policeofficers look like runway kids whospend their time under citybridges in big towns acrossNigeria. Sometimes, you cannotbut wonder whether the NigerianPolice Force is cursed.

Yet it is these "beasts of nonation" that are saddled with theenormous responsibility to protectus. When we heap blames onstreet police officers, we hardlythink of them as people who havebeen stripped of any form of selfworth and denied the basic toolsof operation.

We hardly think of the factthat it is more dangerous to be inthe police than to be in the army,navy or air force. When weaccused the average police officerof lying, we forget that the policecommand programs every officerto be an expert in lying. And thatany police officer who attempts totell the truth does so at his ownrisk.

Now, I hear the Ministry ofPolice affairs will argue that thePolice College is directly under thecontrol of the Police Command. Onthe other hand, the PoliceCommand will argue that thePolice is not well funded. The PoliceService Commission will press forthe scrapping of the Ministry ofPolice Affairs. The NationalAssembly also wants a piece of theaction with a planned probe offunds released to the police.

Meanwhile, the documentaryby Channels and the President'sunscheduled visit to the place hasled to some form of nationaloutrage and mourning for thepolice. Nevertheless, when willthe president pay an unscheduledvisit to every police station in anypart of the country so that hewould know that police officersdon't have pens and papers to takestatements from complainantsand accused person; or to see thatthere are no ceiling fans or desksfor police officers; or to see that our21st century officers don't knowhow to use computers nor haveaccess to them; or to see howbattered police patrol vehiclesare? Until the President does all ofthese, I would like to be spared thissudden national crocodile tearsabout the rot at the Police College,Ikeja.

Philemon Adjekuko is ChiefOperating Officer at OmeAssociates Ltd, Abuja.

“You may also want to compare theaverage police officer to security officers of

private security firms who are paid anaverage of eighteen thousand naira a

month. In all, the police man on the street isat the bottom of the personal appearance

ladder. Some police officers look likerunway kids who spend their time under city

bridges in big towns across Nigeria.Sometimes, you cannot but wonder whether

the Nigerian Police Force is cursed.

Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar

Tiger Woods closed in on his75th PGA Tour victory bystretching his lead to six

shots with 11 holes remaining inthe final round of the fog-delayedFarmers Insurance Open. Woods,a six-time winner of the TorreyPines event, was 17 under whenplay was suspended for the dayin fading light.

Nick Watney was tied forsecond, after eight holes, withdefending champion BrandtSnedeker, who had completed13. “I've got to continue withexecuting my game plan," saidworld number two Woods, whowill complete his roundyesterday. “That's the idea. I'vegot 11 holes to play, and I've gotto go out there and play themwell."

Woods is bidding to win athird different PGA Tour eventfor a seventh time. He hasalready recorded seven victoriesapiece at the WGC-BridgestoneInvitational and the ArnoldPalmer Invitational.

Woods targetFarmersInsuranceOpen title

Peoples Daily Newspaper, Tuesday 29, January, 2013

Documents

Transcript of Peoples Daily Newspaper, Tuesday 29, January, 2013