PUBLISHED SINCE MAY 29, 1968 • Vol. 38 NO.281 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2013 . N100.00

VISIT: L-R: Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb Ezekiel Oladeji, NationalSecurity Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) welcoming President Goodluck Jonathan to NIA Abujayesterday. Courtesy: STATE HOUSE PHOTO.

NATURALMEDICINE

Page 19Menopausalsyndrome

NEWHORIZON

Page 20Best to

know Godfrom

childhood

STOP OIL BUNKERINGPeople of Edo State,Government has discovered thatinspite of measures taken by se-curity agents in the State to stopillegal oil bunkering, perpetra-tors of this shady business havecontinued unabated.The State Government iswarning all those still involvedin oil bunkering in the State to,in their own interest, stop thisshady and dubious businessforthwith as stiffer penaltiesawait them.Any person or group of personscaught in the illegal businesswill be dealt with according tothe law.All vehicles and equipment usedwill be burnt.Be patriotic, report any personsuspected to be in the businessof oil bunkering to the authori-ties concerned.Join Government to rid the Stateof enemies of progress.Edo State must continue tomove forward.This message is from the Edo State

Ministry of Informationand Orientation

·

·

·····

The Nigerian

Continues on page 2 Continues on page 2

Continues on page 2

House backs W’Bank assisted watershed project

Oshiomhole calls for reporton FG health projects

EDSG toboostsportssector

Continues on page 2

Child Marriage

Senate denies approval

FG predicts heavy rains in24 states

By JOSES SEDE

ABUJA - The FederalMinistry of Environmenthas predicted heavyrainfall in 24 states thatmay cause floodsbetween Tuesday andSaturday.

In a statement signedby Mr. Ekong Ekanem,Deputy Director,Erosion, Flood and

Coastal ZoneManagement, theministry named Imo,Taraba, Adamawa,

Kaduna, Sokoto, Kano,Bauchi, Kastina andBorno as the states likelyto be affected.

Others are Plateau,Jigawa, Yobe, Zamfara,

By QUEENNETHOROBEDO

BENIN CITY –Secretary to the StateGovernment, Prof.Julius Ihonvbere saysEdo State will pay moreattention to the sportsector. He announced thisyesterday, inGovernment Houseduring a courtesy call bythe Exco and membersof Edo State CoachesAssociation. Prof. Ihonvbererevealed that GovernorAdams Oshiomhole has

By KEN ABU/WINIFREDOSASOBO

BENIN CITY - EdoState House ofAssembly has passed aresolution givingapproval for the Stategovernment to fulfill all

conditions that wouldenable people of the statebenefit from the WorldBank Assisted NigeriaErosion and WatershedManagement Project.

(NEWMAP). The project is aimed atproviding solutions to theflood and gully erosionsproblems in the state. The adoption of the

resolution is sequel toa motion calling on thestate government toparticipate in theNEWMAP which wasbrought to theknowledge of the

BENIN CITY - EdoState Governor,Comrade AdamsOshiomhole hasdirected the LocalGovernment Councils in

By EUBALDUSENAHORO

the state to forwardwritten report on thehealth centre projectswhich the federalgovernment purportedly

executed on behalf of the774 local governments inthe country to his office.

The governor who gavethe directive yesterday

when executivemembers of theAssociation of LocalGovernment of NigeriaALGON, Edo State

chapter paid him acourtesy visit at theGovernment House,Benin City alleged thatthe health centres wereillegally awarded by thefederal government.

“I want to use thisopportunity to ask you tocheck in your respectivelocal government areasand give us a writtenreport of the project whichthe federal governmentpurportedly executed on

ABUJA - Deputy Senate President (DSP) andChairman, Senate Committee on ConstitutionReview Committee, Ike Ekweremadu yesterdayrefuted media reports that the Senate hasapproved under-age marriage.

Briefing NationalA s s e m b l y )c o r r e s p o n d e n t syesterday, the DSPexplained that theprovision which did notstipulate marriageableage has been in theConstitution but that theyonly attempted expungingit but could not muster theneeded two-third majority.

“We have no Bill to

approve early marriage;we are not sponsoringany Bill against Islam; thisparticular provision hasbeen in our Constitution

since 1979.Ours was an attempt

to remove that aspectso that men and womenwould have equalfooting regarding theissue of renunciation ofcitizenship. And we willnever support early

marriage.”“On the issue of

Section 29, I want toappeal to Nigerians toplease showunderstanding, topossibly read thisSection and understandthat the issue has

nothing to do with earlymarriage.

It has nothing to dowith Islam. Essentially, ithas to do with therenunciation ofcitizenship; so, youhave to give it a properperspective.

I want to assure themthat in the future, we areready to revisit it ifNigerians feel stronglyabout it”, he continued.

He further explainedthat having passedthrought the Senate, the

Continues on page 2

NewsFG predicts heavy rains in 24

states

Senate denies approval

Continued from page 1

BNCL condoles LateOmizegba’s familyOshiomhole calls for report on FG

health project Continued from page 1

EDSG to boost sports sector Continued from page 1

House backs W’Bank assisted water shedproject

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

Edo to upgrade all govthospitals - Commissioner

By OPEYEMIOLUGBEMIRO

BENIN CITY – Edo StateCommissioner for Health, Dr.(Mrs.) Aihanuwa Eregie hasexpressed the stategovernment’s commitment tothe upgrading of allgovernment owned hospitalsin the state with a view tomeeting their responsibility ofproviding quality healthcareservices to the people. The commissionerdisclosed this yesterdaywhile playing host to the ad-hoc committee on thedevelopment of GeneralHospital, Sabongidda-Ora inOwan West LocalGovernment Area, led by itsChairman, Prof. (Chief) SamIfidon. Dr. Eregie stated that thegovernment is verypassionate about the healthcare of the people, hence theon-going reconstruction andrenovation of hospitalsacross the state. Commending theSabongidda-Ora Communityfor partnering with the stategovernment in the area ofquality healthcare deliveryservices, she saidgovernment alone cannot doit all. She remarked that EdoState Government wouldcontinue to partner withserious minded communitiesand reputable organizationsfor the improvement of healthcare delivery services to itscitizens.

Speaking on the GeneralHospital, Sabongidda-Ora, thecommissioner said her visit tothe hospital was to get a firsthand knowledge of the state ofthe hospital and promised thatall the challenges at thehospital would be addressed. The Chairman, Ad-hocCommittee on thedevelopment of GeneralHospital, Sabongidda-Ora,Prof. (Chief) Sam Ifidon told thecommissioner that thecommittee was set up by theArlee Palace of Sabongidda-Ora with a primary mandateto partner with the stategovernment and the Ministry ofHealth with a view to rapidlydevelop the hospital. Appealing for the resumptionand completion of the work onthe physical structures at thehospital, Prof. Ifidon pledgedthe community’s loyalty at alltimes and undertake to workwith government in order tomaintain peace and harmonyin the community. In a related development, thehealth commissioner alsoplayed host to themanagement of ManagedHealthcare Services Ltd, ledby its Managing Director, Dr.Patrick Korie who told thecommissioner that they were inEdo State to express theorganization’s desire to partnerwith the state government atensuring that Edo people haveaccess to quality healthcaredelivery services.

Gombe, Kebbi, Niger,Kwara, Akwa Ibom, Abia,Eboyi, Cross River, Enugu,Benue and Ondo States.

The statement identifiedareas that could be mostaffected to include Afrikpo inEbonyi and Okigwe in Imo;Gembu and Lau in Taraba;Numan and Mubi inAdamawa; Shelleng inPlateau; and Wara in Kwara.

It also listed Zaria, Kafin-Madaki, Jema’a and Shangain Kaduna; Kangiwa,Goronyo, Shagari, Sokoto,Wamakko, Isa and Gummii inSokoto State.

Others are Katagum, Azare,Bajoga, Misau, Darazo,Jama’are and Kirfi in BauchiState as well as Bokori,Katsina, Funtua, Daura, Kaitaand Bindawa in Katsina State.

The ministry also named

Geidam, Shinkafi, Briyel,Bama, Biu, Dikwa and Biu inBorno as well as Katsina-Ala,Vande, Ikiyi, Gboko, Gbukuru,Igumale and Ito in Benue aslikely areas of flooding.

It also listed Ringim,Gwaram, Gumel and Hadeijain Jigawa, Bukwium, Maru andGusau in Zamfara; Nafada

and Gombe in Gombe Stateas well as Anka, Argungun,Yelwa, Ribah and Bungudu inKebbi as potential areas offlooding.

The statement added:“Areas which can be affectedby the downpour-inducedflood include Rijau andWushishi in Niger; Ugba inAbia; Abakaliki, Echara Onu,Ezilo and Nkalagu in Ebonyi.

“The rest are Ikom, Itigidi,Obubra and Ogoja in CrossRiver, and Igbokoda in OndoState.’’

The statement appealed tothe governments of therespective states to takenecessary precautionarymeasures to avoid loss of livesand property, considering thatprevious warnings had savedlives and property.

The statement also said thatan alert had been sent toareas likely to experiencewindstorm during the rainyseason. It said that any change in theprediction would beannounced as weatherforecasting was based onprobability.

BENIN CITY – Members ofstaff of the EditorialDepartment of the BendelNewspapers CompanyLimited (BNCL), publishersof the OBSERVER titles,yesterday, paid acondolence visit to thefamily of late Sir AmbroseOmizegba, a retired staff ofthe department, who diedon Friday, July 12, 2013.They were received by hiswidow, Mrs. ComfortOmizegba.

The Editor of the NigerianObserver, BarristerSolomon Imohiosen wholed the team on the visit, toldthe family members of thedeceased that the visit wasto identify as well ascommiserate with themover the loss. He described the late Mr.Omizegba as a dutiful,humble man who wascommitted to his job, andtherefore urged the family totake solace on the fact that,he lived an eventful life. He hails from Ewu, EsanCentral Local GovernmentArea, Edo State.

BENIN CITY – The OmoN’Oba N’Edo, UkuAkpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwayesterday received membersof Women in Focus For theActualization of Dividends ofDemocracy who were at thepalace on a courtesy visit tothe Oba. President of the group,Pastor Susan Agbonkonkon

Birthday: Group Felicitateswith Oba Erediauwa

By EDOMWONYI JAMES said they were at the palaceto felicitate with the Oba on hisbirthday anniversary and alsoused the occasion to intimatethe Oba on the organization’saims, objectives and activitieswhile soliciting the Oba’ssupport. The group also used theoccasion to present a BirthdayCard to his Majesty andprayed for his peaceful reignon the thrown.

called for strategic meetingto look into the BendelInsurance Football club forpossible reinvigoration. He equally drew theirattention to the College ofPhysical Education, Afuze,which is beingrehabilitated, as part ofattempts by the presentadministration to supportsports in Edo. The SSG also expressedthe need for coaches to be

recognized for the vitalroles they play in thesuccess stories of athletes,adding that the hob of anysporting initiative rests onthe coach. Prof. Ihonvbere also saidthat opportunities would begiven for training andretraining of coaches justas he assured thatenabling environmentwould be provided for themto perform maximally.

He equally promised thatthe issue of their promotionwhich has been delayedwould be looked into. Chairman, Edo StateCoaches Association,Arthur Omoregbee Adorin,who said the purpose oftheir visit was to investiturethe SSG. Prof. Ihonvbereas their Patron, appealedto the state government toensure their come as atwhen due, just as theysolicited support in areas ofseminars and workshops.

legislators by Hon. SundayAghedo (Ovia South West)during yesterday’s plenarysession under matters ofUrgent Public Importance. According to Hon. Aghedo,the state is one of the statesin Nigeria with the highestrate of devastating effects offlood and gully Erosion whichhas led to the destruction oflives and property across thethree Senatorial Districts aswell as brought untoldhardship to citizens of thestate. The Lawmaker furtherstated that the damagingeffects of flood and gullyerosion pose a continuousthreat to lives and property in

the state, saying thatsomething drastic has to bedone to curb it by ensuring thatthe Federal Governmentreleases the Ecological fundwhich has been withoutsuccess. The House CommitteeChairman on Environmentnoted that succour came tothe people of the state as theWorld Bank has included EdoState on the list of sevenstates to benefit from a grantof over $650 million at onepercent interest rate withpayment spread over a periodof ten years. He therefore urged the StateMinistry of Environment to keyinto the scheme, saying it willbenefit the people of the state. Supporting the motion, some

lawmakers, including Hon.Kingsley Ehigiamusoe,Michael Ezomo, FolyOgedengbe and AbdulrazakMomoh described the motionas timely as mostcommunities are currentlybeen ravaged by flood andgully erosion. They expressed the need forthe Edo State Government toput machinery in place tobenefit from the World bankAssisted Scheme. The Speaker, Hon. Uyi Igbewhile summing deliberationsstated that the control ofecological problem ought tobe the responsibility of theFederal government assituation which has not been

BENIN CITY – Chairman ofEdo State House of AssemblyCommittee on Energy andWater Resources, Hon. MichaelOhio-Ezomo, has summonedowners of four table waterfactories, including Rali, Coa,Tesmono and Eleo Water inEsan West and Central LocalGovernment Areas of the stateto explain to lawmakers theirfailure to meet requisitestandard quality in theiroperations. Hon. Ohio-Ezomo gave thisdirectives when he led hiscommittee members oninspection visit to some of the

water companies in Iruekpen,Ekpoma and Irrua communitiesin Edo Central SenatorialDistrict. The Hon. Members whoexpressed worry over thecondition of the factories, urgedNational Agency For Food AndDrug Administration and Control(NAFDAC) and other regulatoryagencies to be more determinedto make table water safe forconsumers in the state. Hon. Ohio-Ezomoemphasized the committee’s

determination to rid the industryof unwholesome product,adding that unscheduled visitswould continue to be paid towater factories in the state. The committee, during itsinspection visit to Coa WaterCompany, observed that thewell/storage facilities whereuntreated water is stored andthe treatment plant were locatedclose to a soak away. During the inspection visit,owners of all the water factoriesvisited could not be seen by thecommittee members.

Standard: House summons 4 waterfactory operators

the Governor’s Forum and atthe Governor’s Forum, statemake their contribution onvoluntary basis, you cannot askthe Accountant General todeduct from source ALGONmoney and we believe it ismeant to enrich fewindividuals.”

The governor assured thestate ALGON of stategovernment cooperation,saying that the stategovernment will not spend anykobo on behalf of the localgovernment councils.

Earlier, the Chairman ofALGON, Edo State ,Hon. (Mrs.)Itohan Osahon-Ogbeide said

behalf of your localgovernment.

I am talking specifically interms of the so called healthcentres, the contract for whichwas illegally awarded by thefederal government andmoney illegally deducted fromaccounts of local governments.

“When people talk ofautonomy, they don’t dealwith the basic things. For me,it was scandalous that Abujadecided to award contracts onbehalf of the 774 localgovernments to constructhealth centres.

Somehow, I have beengoing round and I have notseen the ones in Edostate and yet those monieshave been deducted.

“I think you have the right toinsist those monies must bepaid and to question the logicbehind that central award andif fraud has been committed,initiate measures to take thoseinvolved to court and ensurethat the money belonging to thepeople of your localities isnot fraudulently embezzled,”he noted.

Comrade Oshiomholemaintained that, “it is importantthat we strengthen democracyand Abuja must recognize itslimits and we also as stategovernment can never spendthe local government money,we must recognise your rightas local government to spendmoney in accordance withappropriation laws that will bepassed by the legislative armsof the local government.”

He disclosed that, “as youare aware, we have on yourbehalf also asked our lawyer tofile a suit challenging the rightof ALGON to any onepurportedly acting on theirbehalf at the national level todeduct directly from sourcefrom the federation account inthe name of ALGON.

I believe ALGON is avoluntary association, it is thelocal government equivalent of

next stage would beto await the version ofthe ConstitutionAmendment Bill thatwould be passed by theHouse ofR e p r e s e n t a t i v e s ,hopefully this week.

“As is the tradition,both chambers would

they were in Government Houseto introduce the new stateexecutive.

“ We have come to thank youfor putting the local governmentelection in place; we know it wasnot an easy task, despite thechallenges, you were able to doall that was needed to be done.

We have come to pledge oursupport and willingness in yourdevelopmental drive as long asgrassroots is concerned” sheadded.

“Recently, you have equallyapproved projects and in thenext one to two weeks, you willsee all the local governmentworking.

“We will cooperate with youto take Edo State to the nextlevel”, she added.

meet in a conference toharmonise; theharmonized bill willsubsequently betransmitted to the StateHouse of Assembly forratification of eachclause by a simplemajority of two-thirds ofthe states.

I am happy that we are

keeping to ourtimeline; I commendthe House ofRepresentatives forkeeping the faith andurge the State Housesof Assembly to alsoplay their partexpeditiously and innational interest whenthe bill eventually getsto them”, he added.

the case, hence, the need forthe state government to keyinto the scheme.

Inside EdoRoad: SomorikaAppeals To Govt

Flight Delay: Arik Air PassengersStranded

Owan West LG Boss InauguratesIssuance Of ID Cards

BENIN CITY - Passengersof Arik Air were on Mondaystranded at the Benin Airport forover five (5) hours as the flightfrom Benin to Abuja wascancelled due to alleged shortageof aviation fuel.

Some passengers who spokewith The NIGERIANOBSERVER were visibly angryand disappointed with staff andmanagement of the Airline overthe delay and final cancellationof the Abuja bound flight whichought to take off by 2pm. Speaking with our reporter atthe departure lodge of the airport,the member Oredo FederalConstituency in the House ofRepresentation, Hon. RasaqBello- Osagie said the flightwhich was supposed to take off

By RICHARD EWEKA

SABONGIDDA ORA- TheChairman of Owan West LocalGovernment Council, Hon. Barr.Godwin Aigbodion has

SOMORIKA(AKOKO-EDO)- EdoState Government has beenurged to hearken to theyearnings of the people ofSomorika Community inAkoko-Edo LocalGovernment Area of thestate who are in dire need ofaccess road, having beenneglect by successiveadministrations.

Traditional Ruler andthe Imah 1V of Somorika,HRH Oba Sule A.T. Idaiyewho made the plea inSomorika in a chat withnewsmen said thecommunity isa potentialeconomic hub of the statewith its naturalendowments.

Oba Idaiye lamentedthat lack of access road wasa major constraint toeconomic and socialdevelopment of the area.

He called on the stateGovernor, Comrade AdamsOshiomhole to increasegovernment presence in thearea by fulfilling hiselectioneering promises tothe locality.

According to the RoyalFather, “The road is the mostimportant thing to us. If hecan give us the road, he canforget about the rest. We cantake care of ourselvesbecause road construction isthe most expensive projectbeyond us.

Oba Idaiye urged theComrade Governor toremember Somorika in hisnext phase of development

By MORRISON HAYBLEprogramme as developingthe tourist centre in the areawhich he expectedgovernment to be interestedin is impossible withoutaccess road.

He also used themedium to challengeindigenes of Akoko-Edo inthe National and stateAssemblies to use theirposition to intensify effortsfor the development of thearea.

Oba Idaiye observedthat the locality remains thelargest local governmentarea in the country butwithout any sign ofdevelopment.

He advocated the needfor it to be split into two ormore to enhance evendevelopment as the statutoryallocation to it wasinsignificant and hardly ableto make any visible impact.

The Traditional Rulerregretted that the old Akoko-Edo was left as it was eitherby omission or commissionwhen local governmentwere created described asinjustice, themarginalisation of the area.

He therefore remindedAkoko-Edo indigenes inpositions of authority to riseup to their responsibilitiesand allow their impact to befelt by their people ratherthan be self serving.

by 2pm was postpone afterseveral hours of delay due to fuelcrisis.

“The Airline had fuel crisis andhad to go to Port-Harcourt to getfuel and I’m sure they could notget fuel on time and they are justcoming now (7:30pm), the flighthad to be cancelled for Tuesdaymorning 6:30am,” he concluded.

Another passenger who gavehis name as Mr. Sunday said thebehaviour exhibited by Airk Airshows that they have decided totake customers for granted anddelayed them unnecessarilywithout proper explanation andaccommodation arrangement forthe night since they fail in theiragreement with their customers.

He expressed dissatisfaction

with the behaviour of staff andmanagement of the Airline whocould not provide usefulinformation to passengers untilabout 7pm not minding that someof them (passengers) have norelations, friends or anyone herein Benin except to spend extramoney to lodge in a Hotel waitingto board the flight, the next day.“I have asked my driver to comeall the way from Kaduna to waitfor me in Abuja hoping that I willboard today, but the managementof the Airline kept posting us likekids till now. They have failed usand I am not happy with theirservices, he concluded”.

Mr. Kayfas expresseddisappointment over the way andmanner customers were treated asif they never mattered, knowingthat the Airline survives with thecustomers patronage.

“The situation is very funny,we have been here from 2pm tillnow (7:30pm); I tell you, it’s ashame on the aviation industrythat is just building structureswithout controlling the waycustomers are been treated.

“It will shock you to know thatthere is no light in the runway;how can they play with the livesof people like this”, he querried?

Festus Ijoko, said there is noproper explanation for thecancellation of the flight, as “theydid all they did to cover up theirfault and failure of dischargingtheir responsibility and keepingto the agreement they made withtheir customers; it is a shame onthe part of Arik management”.

As at the time of filling in thisreport, all efforts to reach theAirport manager and themanagement of Arik Air provedabortive as our correspondentwas told by the Airport securitypersonnel that the airportmanager staff have closed for theday.

As at 7:30am Tuesdaymorning, Mr. Sunday a passengerwho spoke with on our reportersaid the management told themthat the flight will transit at Lagosand Port-Harcourt and finally toAbuja, for reasons which were

not disclosed.“As I speak now, there is a big

confusion at the tarmac aspassengers have refused to boardto Lagos, demanding to knowfrom the management the reasonfor the change of route but nobodyis ready to explain to thepassengers”.

“Our rights have been violatedby Arik Air management and havebeen taken for granted. TheMinister of Aviation must callArik Air management to order”,he concluded.

inaugurated the issuance ofidentity cards to the councilworkers as a way of enhancingtheir security.

The chairman said the purposeof the identity card exercise is toensure that all staff and politicalappointees of the council areproperly identified therebydiscourage impersonation of thestaff.

He said the issuance of theidentity card became inevitable,especially with the recenthappenings insecurity in thecountry.

According to the council boss,it is a precautionary measure toidentify the council staff fromother people and thereforeadvised the staff, includingpolitical appointees to ensure thatthey always have their identitycard round their neck while in thesecretariat.

He disclosed that randomchecks would be carried out fromtime to time with a view toknowing the authentic workersfrom those who have no businessbeing in the council secretariat.

Highpoint of the ceremonywas the presentation of identitycards to the Head of LocalGovernment Administration,(HOLGA), Engineer BraimahMomodu by the council boss.

Late MadamVictoriaIgioseIgbinoviaGoes HomeThe families of Obazee, Azakaand Igbinovia of Ogbe Quarters,Oredo Local Government Area,Edo State have released theprogramme for the burialceremony of their mother, grandmother and great grand mother,Madam Victoria Igiose Igbinoba(nee Obazee (Urugba) whopassed on recently she was aged90years A press statement released onbehalf of the families by Hon.Barry Igbinovia and Mrs. ImadeUyiekpen indicated that onThursday July 25, 2013, therewould be service of songs at herresidence No1, Ebo Izogie street,off Ernest Idemudia street, offUpper Sakponba - Abraka Road,Near Ikpoba Okha LocalGovernment Council Secretariat,Idogbo, Benin City.

Late Madam Victoria IgioseIgbinoba (nee Obazee (Urugba)

P r e s i d e n tG o o d l u c kJonathan andthe Leader of thed e l e g a t i o n /P r e s i d e n tGeneral, Urhobop r o g r e s s i v eUnion (UPU),M a j . - G e n .Patrick Aziza(Rtd), during ameeting at theP r e s i d e n t i a lVilla in Abujarecently.

Members of Urhobo Progressive Union, during their visit to President Goodluck Jonathanat the Presidential Villa in Abuja recently.

Inside EdoCommissioner Commends Youth

Body

APC Allocates Offices

Illegal Arms Importation: Task Force ToCollaborate With Agencies

Minister ExpressesCommitment To Power Sector

ABUJA- The All progressiveCongress (APC) has allocatedoffices among five politicalparties that make up the alliance.

According to a statementfrom the national secretary theAction Congress of Nigeria,ACN got as it was handed theNational Chairman, NationalLegal Adviser, Deputy NationalTreasurer, Deputy NationalYouth Leader, two vice chairmen

By OPEYEMIOLUBRMIRO/OGBOLU

GEORGE/ANGELA PAUL-OJOR

BENIN CITY- Edo StateCommissioner for Youth andSports lady Omorede Osifo, hascommended members of theyouth Empowerment andDevelopment Centre (YEDEC)for their efforts towardsensuring the positivedevelopment of youths in thestate.

The commissioner said thisin her office, when members ofthe organisation paid her acourtesy call in her office sheexpressed the readiness of theministry to collaborate with

YEDEC in the training andempowerment of youths.

In his speech, thecoordinator of YEDEC AisiyiChristian gave a brief history ofthe organisation while alsomentioning some of theactivities undertaken byYEDEC within the past oneyear.

He mentioned partnershipand collaboration with lineministries lack of government

and two ex-officio members. The All Nigeria People Party,

(ANPP) was also awarded withthe National Secretary, NationalFinancial Secretary, DeputyNational Organisation Secretary,National welfare Secretary,Deputy National PublicitySecretary, two Vice chairman andtwo ex-officio members

Sources close to the APCNational Secretariat in Abuja saidthat the congress for progressivechange, CPC got the offices ofNational Treasurer DeputyNational chairman (NORTH)Deputy National Secretary,Deputy National legal Adviser,Deputy National Auditor,National Women Leader,National Youth Leader, one vice

chairman and one ex-officiomember.

The All Progressive GrandAlliance, (APGA) was allottedthe National Organisingsecretary Deputy Nationalchairman (South) Deputyfinancial secretary DeputyNational Women Leader, onevice chairman and one ex-officiomember while the DemocraticPeople Party (DPP) got just twopositions, the National Auditorand Deputy National WelfareSecretary.

A member of APC who spoketo The NIGERIANOBSERVER under anonymitysaid the arrangement cuts acrossthe state, wards and zone, addingthat plans are on for the party

By IJEOMA UMEH

BENIN CITY-The newlyinaugurated National taskforce tocombat Illegal importation ofsmall Arms, Ammunitions, LightWeapons, Pipeline Vandalismand Smuggling of Goods, EdoState Command, has reiterated itsresolve to join related agencies intacking the menace of small armsammunition and light-weaponsmuggling into the state-in orderto reduce crime and criminalityto the barest minimum.

The state Director of thetaskforce, pastor Dr. Peter NosaIghodaro told journalists in Beninthat the federal government’sinitiative to set up the taskforcestate is a commendable one,considering the havoc whichsmall Arms and Ammunition andlight weapon smugglers,including Pipeline vandals havecaused the nation

He noted that funds whichwould have been effectivelyutilized in enhancing the growthand development of the nationthrough its various units havegone down the drains as a resultor activities of vandals and smallarms smuggling.

He decried the upsurge incriminal and other anti-social

activities including armedrobbery and kidnapping due tothe availability of small Arms andLight-Weapons which aid theyouths in their illicit acts.

Our integrity as a nation is atstake, we are combat ready, thisserves as a note or warning too.”

Also speaking, the task forceDirector of Administration andfinance, Peter E Iduozee statedthat the Agency would cooperatewith all the various agencies inorder to achieve a common goalwhile pledging that the fundsavailable to the taskforce wouldbe judiciously used in combatingillegal movements light weaponssmuggling of fire arms and lightweapons in the state.

The secretary, Nze NnamdiDuruoha stated that the statecommand would work tirelesslyas a team to ensure that theFederal Government’s aim ofsetting up the Taskforce throughprivate public partnership isactualized.

Also in his comments, thepublic Relations officer EngineerOtas Binato Ekhosueyi stated thatpipeline vandalism is a bane ofgovernment efforts at developingthe nation and therefore called onall those involved in the act todesist hensfort or be ready to facethe wrath of the law.

support, inadequate equipmentand facilities and effectivepublicity of activities as some ofthe challenges affecting theorganisation.

The commissioner, said thatthe ministry will partner withYEDEC in her activities and herdirectors or representatives willbe present for their events.

She however, told them tosend details of where YEDECwanted the ministry to come in,for proper planning to be donetowards.

By EMMANUELEGOBIAMBU

BENIN CITY- Minister ofPower and Energy, professorOnyebuchi Nebo, has expressedgovernment’s commitment to thetraining of local manpower thatwill drive the power sectorreforms.

Prof. Nebo made this knownduring the ministerial platformmonitored in Benin yesterday tohim, “We are entering a privatesector driven electricity industryand we need to get engineers,technicians that will drive theindustry. He said that if it is notdone, the investors coming inwill dominate the sector withtheir people thereby worseningthe situation.

He revealed that the ministryhas been training people in theelectricity sector on how to manthe sector when the investors takeover.

The minister urged Nigeriansto always protect electricityinstallments. Adding that allefforts aimed at repositioning thesector will amount to noting ifelectrical installations arevandalized.

Prof. Nebo regretted asituation where people alwaysremove coppers in transformersand sell it for a meager sum onlyfor the government to spend hugeamount of money in fixing them.

He therefore advisedNigerians to report incidence ofvandalization to the appropriatequarters

Also, he said that the FederalGovernment is looking at otheroptions as renewable energy toboost existing ones, explainingthat electricity generationthrough solar energy wind amongothers have been included in thepower plans of the country.

Late MrsUwubanmwen

For Burial

Ozalla Gets New Trad RulerOZALLA- A new traditional

ruler was at the weekendinstalled for Ozalla community,Owan West Local GovernmentArea of Edo State.

He is His Royal HighnessAienloshan Albert Irivbogbe,Okpamen V11, the Onotare ofOzalla who succeeded the lateOnotare, Alofoje who died inMarch, 2013.

The installation ofOkpamen V11 on July 20, 2013coincided with his birthdayanniversary having been bornJuly 20 1909 to Mr. And Mrs.Emanbun Aienloshan of Ero

Obakpolor in Okhumeriedistrict, Ivbihere community inOzalla clan.

Until the installation at theweekend, Okpame V11 was arenowned farmer in thecommunity.

He had lived in Ibadan OyoState where he worked as aforeman panting in the thenPWD and later at theUniversity College Hospital.Before relocating to Uzebbaafter he left public service, heengaged in farm producetrading from Edo the presentEdo to Oyo State.

He was popular as awrestler and became a herowho distinguished himself andrepresented Ozalla communityand several other groupsbeyond the western coast ofNigeria.

Ozalla clan is bounded in thenorth by Iruepen and EraCommunity, in the East byOrua in the West by Afuze/Emeand in the South by Ora Clan.

THE families of Aivhienbuwaof Urhokuosa in UhunmwodeLocal Government Area andUwwubanmwen of Siluko Town,Ovia South West LocalGovernment Area, both in EdoState have released theprogramme for the burialceremony of their mother, grandmother and great grand mother,Mrs. Mary O. Uwubanmwen(Nee Airhienbuwa) who passedon recently she was aged 85years.

A press statement released onbehalf of the families byprofessor Osasere FaradayOrumwense and Dr. Ahmed EdeUwubanmwen indicated that onThursday July 25, 2013 at9:00am, the corpse would betaken in a motorcade from theUniversity of Benin TeachingHospital UBTH mortuary to herresidence at N 21 OmozogieStreet, Uselu Quarters for serviceof songs at 4:00.

congresses from the national toward.

He stated the Agency wouldserve as a back up in thecollective efforts to tackle themenace of arms dealing andvandalism.

The National Taskforce, Edostate Command was inauguratedon July 19, 2003 by the DGNational Taskforce Chief Dr.Osita E. Okereke in Abuja.

Late Mrs. Mary O.Uwubanmwen (Nee-Airhienbuwa)

Mr. Christian Aisiri, Head Consultant/Chief Executive Officer, Youth Empowerment andDevelopment Centre (YEDEC) (right) presenting some publication on his organization toHon. Omorede Osifo, Edo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports during a courtesyvisit to her office in Benin City yesterday. PHOTO: LUCKY AGIE

Hon. Omorede Osifo, Edo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports (4th from left) posein a group photograph with member of the Youth Empowerment and Development Centre(YEDEC) and Directors in her ministry during a courtesy visit in Benin City yesterday.PHOTO: LUCKY AGIE

Lagos

Theft: Police Arraign Scrap Dealer

Unlawful Assembly: Tricycle Operators Wash Vehicle

Trader Charged For Assault

LAGOS - An OjoChief Magistrates’ Courtin Lagos, has orderedthirteen tricycleoperators to wash thevehicle of ChiefMagistrate TaslimiShomade for alleged

LAGOS - A 48-year-oldtrader, Bolanle Ojubanire,who allegedly assaultedher co-tenant, was onMonday charged before anOjokoro SeniorMagistrates’ Court, Lagos.

The accused, whoresides at No. 24,Ogundare St., Ile-Epo inOke-Odo area of Agege, isstanding trial on a chargeof assault.

The prosecution told the

LAGOS - A scrap dealer,Joseph King, 23, wasarraigned in Lagos forallegedly stealing roadmedian grills valued atN250, 000, property of theLagos State Government.

King, who lives at No. 73,Iwaya Road, Sabo, Yaba, isfacing a charge of stealingat an Oshodi Magistrates’Court.

The Prosecutor, Cpl.

unlawful assembly.The accused are

Francis Levi, VitusNwafor, James Okpara,Chima Ohi, EmekaAnigboso, IfediUnachukwu, Uche Duru,Charles Uzoigwe,

Simeon Ngene, ChidiAmadi, Anthony Okoro,Linus Nwawurum andSunday Nwankwo.

They were arraigned onMarch 7 on a four-count

charge of conspiracy,breach of peace,unlawful assembly andassault.

They had pleaded notguilty to the charge andwere granted bail in thesum of N100, 000 eachwith two sureties each inlike sum.

Newsmen reports thatthe Magistrate hadadjourned the case for

trial on several occasionsto April 8, May 24 andJuly 22 respectively, dueto the absence ofprosecution witnesses.

At the resumed hearingon Monday, theprosecutor, Mr. GodwinEze again informed thecourt that he was stillunable to secure theattendance of hiswitnesses in court.

Shomade struck out thecase for want of diligentprosecution.

Kehinde Olatunde told thecourt that the accused had onJuly 15 stolen the metal barsat Sogunle Bus Stop onOshodi-Ikeja Road.

He said the accused wasapprehended by Sgt.Ambrose Okon, who sawhim selling the metal barsused to protect the flowerson the median to anotherman.

“The accused stole the

metal bars that were used inprotecting the flowersplanted by the governmenton the median.

“A police officer (Okon)on duty at Sogunle Bus Stop

caught the accused sellingthe stolen items to a buyer,”Olatunde said.

Olatunde said the offencecontravened Section 285 ofthe Criminal Law of Lagos

LAGOS - A 40-year-oldtrader, Toney Emmanuel,appeared before an EjigboMagistrates’ Court inLagos over alleged assaulton his ex-girlfriend.

Emmanuel, who residesat No. 3, Adebayo BelloSt, Oke Afa, Ejigbo,Lagos, is facing a countcharge.

The Prosecutor, Cpl.Femi Adeleye, told theCourt that the accusedassaulted Miss Jane Omo-Osufe at about 8:00 a.m.,on June 26, at hisresidence.

Adeleye said that theaccused pushed the lady tothe ground following anargument, after he refusedto vacate an apartment inwhich they lived.

He said that the ladysustained bodily injuriesfrom the push.

Adeleye said that the

Trader docked ForAssault

State, 2011.The accused, however,

entered a not-guilty plea.The Magistrate, Akeem

Fashola, granted him bail inthe sum of N100, 000 with

two sureties in like sum andadjourned the case to Aug.8 for mention.

Reports say that Section285 provides three yearsimprisonment for convictedoffenders.

offence contravenedSection 170 of theCriminal Law of LagosState, 2011.

Reports say that Section170 prescribes a yearimprisonment for a personconvicted of assault.

The accused, however,pleaded not guilty, andwas granted bail byMagistrate P. E. Nwaka inthe sum of N20, 000 and asurety.

Nwaka adjourned thecase to Augusts 8 formention.

court that Ojubanirecommitted the offence onJuly 10 at No. 24,Ogundare St., Ile-Epo at10.00 a.m.

According to Insp. ClaraOlagbaye, the accusedassaulted a co-tenant, Mrs.Doyin Ajele, during anargument over Ajele’snine-year-old son, whowas defecating in a pottyin front of her shop.

L-R: Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh; Minister of State forDefence, Erelu Olusola Obada, and the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Dele Ezeoba, after a meeting with PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, at the Presidential villa in Abuja recently.

Senator Akin Odunsi (middle) representing Ogun West and flanked by his Senior Legislative Aides, Kunle Somorin andOladokun Idris, at a press conference in Abuja recently.

Across The Nation

Check High Fees In Private Varsities, ASUU Urges FG

Court Dismisses SuitAgainst Ministry

Reactions TrailDemolition Of Houses

NOA Urges Support For AlternativeMedicineABUJA - The National

Orientation Agency (NOA) hascalled on Nigerians to givelifestyle and alternative branchesof medicine the chance andsupport they require to blossomin the country.

The appeal is contained in astatement issued in Abuja andsigned by Mr. Paul Odenyi, theChief Press Secretary to theagency.

It said that such a support hadbecome necessary for the overallhealth benefits of Nigerians.

The statement noted thatLifestyle Medicine was designedto urgently orientate Nigerians to

do the right thing either within theshore of Nigeria or elsewhere.

It also challenged Nigerians tosupport Nigerian alternativemedicine, learning from China’sexperience in that regard to findsolutions to nagging health issuesin the country.

It noted that issues such asmalaria and the HIV/AIDSpandemic had to be totallyeradicated in the country.

According to the statement, theFederal Ministry of Health shouldincrease its support for the Nigerian

Institute of Medical Research as‘`necessary complement togovernment’s commendableeffort at increasing access tohealthcare.”.

The statement called onNigerian medical researchers tofind out whether the problem ofNigerians doing the wrongthings in their homeland was amedical problem.

“Our policemen win awardswhen on foreign missions, ourdoctors are some of the best inthe west and Nigerians aremaking all kinds ofaccomplishments around theworld.”

DUTSE - Some residents ofDutse in Jigawa, have expresseddisappointment over the ongoingdemolition of structures in thestate capital by the Dutse CapitalDevelopment Authority(DCDA).

Some of the residents, whosehouses were demolished, toldnewsmen that they were notgiven any notice before theexercise commenced.

Reports say that some of thehouses on the main road werepulled down to pave way for theongoing construction of townshiproads within the city.

One of the residents affected bythe demolition, BabangidaMuhammed, told newsmen thathe was invited to the DistrictHead’s residence on Saturdaynight and was told that his housewould be demolished.

Mohammed noted that lessthan 24 hours after, he saw abulldozer which pulled down hishouse.

“As I am talking to you now,five rooms were affected while70 of my students (Almajiris)have no place to sleep,” he said.

Another resident, AminaIliyasu, said she was neitherinformed nor compensatedbefore the commencement of theexercise.

Iliyasu said that the housebelonged to her father who justretired from the state civilservice.

“My father built the housebefore his retirement, I amworried about where we aregoing to live if we are notcompensated and my dad is nowa pensioner,” she added.

Iliyasu said that he was notgiven any notice before his housewas demolished.

According to him, officials ofDCDA came to evaluate hishouse and in less than 24 hours,they came back to demolishwithout speaking to anybody.

Another victim who pleaded tospeak under condition ofanonymity described the actionof the government as callous.

Efforts to speak with any of theofficials of DCDA failed as thechairman of the authority, AlhajiBashir Aminu, did not pick hiscalls or respond to Short MessageService (SMS) sent to him.

ABUJA - The NationalIndustrial Court (NIC) sitting inAbuja has dismissed a suit filedagainst the Ministry of Aviationby a former employee, MrDominic Archibong.

The Presiding Judge, JusticeMaureen Esowe, who dismissedthe suit on Monday on groundsthat it was statute barred, held thatthe claimant went to sleep andallowed Limitation Acts todeprive him of his rights.

Esowe held that where a courtlacked jurisdiction to entertain acase, its merit was of noconsequence as the court couldnot go outside the law.

She explained that the PublicOfficers Protection Actdisallowed an action to becommenced against a publicofficer after three months fromthe time the cause of action arose.

Esowe held that the claimant,having failed to file the actionwithin the limitation period, hadforfeited his right to seek redress.

The presiding judge thereforedismissed the suit and informedthe claimant that his right to seekredress against the defendant hadbeen lost.

Counsel to the claimant, Mrs.C.A Ezekwe, however,commended the court for theruling.

It would be recalled thatArchibong had joined the FederalCivil Service Commission andAttorney General of theFederation as co-defendants inthe suit.

When the matter came up forhearing in March, the defendantsraised a preliminary objection tochallenge the competency of thesuit, arguing that it was statutebarred.

The claimant had told the courtthat he was suspended in 1987and subsequently dismissed in2007 after 20 years without pay.

He prayed the court to declarethat his suspension in 1987 andhis subsequent dismissal in 2007were unlawful, null and void.

Archibong prayed the court toorder the defendants to pay hishalf salary for 20 years when hewas on suspension as required bythe law.

The claimant also prayed thecourt to order the defendant topay all his other entitlements andaward damages in his favour.

UMUAHIA - An official ofthe Academic Staff Union ofUniversities (ASUU) onMonday urged the FederalGovernment to check highfees in private universities inNigeria.

Dr UzochukwuOnyebinama, the ASUUChairman of Michael OkparaUniversity of Agriculture,Umudike. Abia, made the callin an interview with newsmenin Umuahia.

He said charging exorbitantfees negated the core principleof education and had negativeeffects on the overalldevelopment of knowledge.

The ASUU chairmandescribed education as a socialservice and said “a situationwhere most private universitiescollect N500, 000 to N1.2million as fees per session iswrong.

“The core motive for theestablishment of educationalinstitution is to provide socialservice and not for commercialgains.

“ASUU is, therefore, seekingfor government’s timelyintervention in private, federaland state-owned universities

because of the understandingthat education is a socialservice and not commercialventure.

“Government should ensurethat every Nigerian child hasaccess to basic and qualityeducation irrespective of thefinancial status of his/herparents.’’

Commenting on the strike byASUU, Onyebinama said theunion embarked on anindefinite strike because of thelevel of decay in theuniversities.

He advised government toset aside funds to improve onpoor infrastructure and grantfinancial autonomy to theuniversities.

The ASUU chairmanstressed the need to revitalisethe higher education sector inorder for it to completefavourably with others in theworld.

“There is the urgent need bygovernment to tackle theproblem of emigration ofNigerian students and braindrain to other countries.

“These can only be achievedif financial autonomy and poor

infrastructure facing thetertiary education sector areaddressed.

“As our people leave tostudy outside, there is capitalflight and that capital is usedto develop the facilitieselsewhere,’’ Onyebinama said.

He said the strike was acontinuation of the one ofFebruary 2012 over the

unsigned agreement between theleadership of the union and theFederal Government.

“There are several issues,including, funding, federalassistance to state universities,issue of amendment of the Actestablishing JAMB and NUC,’’Onyebinama said.

He said other issues involvedin the strike were the

“establishment of NationalUniversities PensionCommission, endallowances, among others’’.

Onyebinama advisedgovernment to address theissues to reposition theNigerian university system.

The ASUU chairmanadvised students to enrol forICT training and vacationjobs rather than idle awayduring the period of thestrike.

L-R: PermanentSecretary, Ministryof Police Affairs,Dr. James Obiegbu,P e r m a n e n tSecretary, Ministryof Mines and SteelDevelopment, Mr.Linus Awute andHead of the CivilService of theFederation, AlhajiBukar Aji, at aworkshop on Gap-Analysis for IPPIS/HRMIS Role playersin Abuja recently.

Muslim women at a Ramadan lecture in Bauchi recently.

Across The Nation

Payroll System: FG Asks MDAs ToMeet Dec Deadline

Group Plans Housing Units

Ramadan: Police AssuresOf Security

NUT Wants EarlyPayment Of Salaries

SOKOTO - TheCommissioner of Police inSokoto State Alhaji ShuaibuGambo, has said that proactivesecurity measures have been putin place to ensure peacefulconduct of the Ramadan fast.

Gambo told newsmen inSokoto that, plain clothessecurity personnel had beendeployed to all the Mosques andvenues for sermons (Tafsir).

According to him, the action isto ensure the safety of lives andproperty of the people of the stateduring and after the Ramadan fastperiod.

He said that the commandwould continue to do its best tosustain the peaceful atmospherewhich Sokoto state was knownfor.

“All we need from themembers of the public is for themto come out with intelligencereports on suspected charactersfor prompt action.

“We are ready to discharge ourconstitutional responsibility tothe best of our ability andknowledge not mind whose ox isgored,’’ he vowed.

Gambo solicited the support oftraditional and religious leadersto sensitise the people on what thesociety would benefit if relevantinformation on dubious peoplewas given to the securityagencies.

“This is the time that ourImams and preachers cancomplement our efforts tomobilise the people to be securityconscious so that we can containany security threats,’’ he said.

The commissioner also calledon the officers and men of thecommand to continue to put intheir best noting that “all thosewho work hard would berewarded.’’

UMUAHIA - Abia State Housingand Allied Products CooperativeAssociation Ltd. is to construct3,400 housing units in the state, thePresident, Chief EnweremChinyereze, has said.

Chinyereze told newsmen inan interview in Umuahia onMonday that the project wouldbe realised through theInformal Sector CooperativeHousing Loan Scheme of the

Federal Mortgage Bank ofNigeria (FMBN).

“Under this project, 200housing units will be built in eachof the 17 local government areasof the state to curb the growinghousing deficit,” he said.

Chinyereze said that the housingestates would be developed by thecooperative society in partnershipwith traditional rulers and localcommunities.

“There is a window that offers

individual cooperative membersa mortgage loan to buy ahousing unit developed throughthis scheme.

“Cooperators shall make adown payment of 15 per cent ofthe approved selling price astheir personal stake in the loan,while an individual cooperatorshall enjoy the housing loan atsix per cent interest per annum,”he said.

Chinyereze appealed to thestate government for support toensure that the informal sectorin the state benefited from thescheme.

“This is a project that is beingimplemented across the countryand it is necessary that the

informal sector of our statebenefits from it.

“The condition is thattraditional rulers will provideempty pieces of land with title ofownership for this project to takeoff.

“The state government willneed to play a central role inensuring that Certificate ofOccupancy of such pieces of landis got with relative ease,” he said.

The Informal SectorCooperative Housing LoanScheme is a product of theNational Housing Fund (NHF)scheme.

It is designed to accommodatenon-salaried informal sectorNigerians through cooperativesocieties to join the NHF.

ABUJA - The FederalGovernment has reiterated theDecember deadline for all federalMinistries, Departments andAgencies (MDAs) to enrol in theIntegrated Personnel and PayrollInformation System (IPPIS).

Alhaji Bukar Aji, the Head ofthe Civil Service of theFederation, restated the positionat a four-day workshop on GapAnalysis for Human ResourcesRole Players on IPPIS.

Aji said that all MDAs shouldcomply with the deadline asearlier directed by PresidentGoodluck Jonathan.

He said the directive was tohelp government in its move toreduce wastage and financialleakages in line with theTransformation Agenda of thePresident.

He said only 235 out ofover 500 MDAs had fullyenrolled in the IPPIS Schemesince the beginning of theproject.

The head of service saidthat IPPIS was the FederalGovernment initiative in2006 to reform the publicsector.

He said it would alsoaddress the issue ofavailability and reliability ofmanagement informationneeded for decision makingand other systemicdeficiencies in the publicservice.

“Since the commencementof this project, the progressrecorded has shown that

about 235 MDAs have fullyenrolled into the scheme.

“This proves that more than85 per cent of the IPPISmodules on payroll emolumentare operational, while less than15 per cent of the HumanResources component isfunctional.

“The gap identified in the HR(Human Resources) module isa concern to all stakeholders,especially the government.

“Therefore, this workshop isnot only to bridge this gap butto ensure the fullimplementation of the schemeby all the MDAs.’’ he said.

Aji said that an IPPISsecretariat had been established

in his office to address allcomplaints and ensure accurateHR data update on the platformservice.

He said that all the MDAs hadbeen directed to establish anIPPIS Desk Unit to be headedby an Assistant Director tohandle all issues related to thescheme.

He urged the role players toensure that the HR businessprocesses were completelyupdated into the IPPIS platformin all MDAs.

The head of service listed therole players to include thedirectors of HR, Finance andAccount, auditors and heads ofIPPIS Unit.

“I strongly believe that thisproject is noble and worthbeing identified with, hencewe must take ownership of itsfull implementation to ensureaccurate repositioning of thepublic service workforce,’’ hesaid.

Dr Ezekiel Oyemomi, thePermanent Secretary, CareerManagement, Office of theHead of Civil Service said thatthe workshop was designed tobuild the capacity of the IPPISRole player.

He said that the office wascollaborating with allstakeholders to addresscomplaints of public servantsas regard IPPIS and bridge thegap between the HR andpayroll components.

R-L Director, Lagos Ministry of Works, Mr Yinka Saheed; -Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure,Mr Ganiyu Johnson, and Commissioner for Works, Dr Femi Hamzat (R), during an inspection of Road Projects by theCommissioner in Lagos

MAKURDI – Mr. Godwin Anya,the Chairman of the Nigerian Unionof Teachers (NUT) in Benue, hasurged the State Government toensure the early payment of salariesof primary school teachers.

Anya made the call on Mondayduring an interview with newsmensin Makurdi.

The chairman noted that thesalaries were always paid in arrears,thereby exposing the teachers tountold hardships.

According to him, such delayswere inimical to the welfare of theirmembers and called on thegovernment to ensure promptpayment of the salaries.

“Currently, teachers are owed twomonths salaries with several otherunpaid entitlements.’’

He said NUT was happy about

the fact that primary schoolteachers and their colleagues atthe junior secondary schoolshad been excluded from thenew minimum wage.

Anya said the governmentshould not take the welfare ofprimary school teachers withlevity, saying, ‘‘it will impactnegatively on the pupils.’’

He held that teachers hadbeen relegated to thebackground by successiveadministrations in the state bypaying only lip service to theirwelfare.

Anya said between 2002 and2006, death benefits thataccrued to teachers were leftunpaid but commended Gov.Gabriel Suswan for paying partof the claims.

L-R: INEC Commissioner, Mrs Nwafor Gladys; INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega; INEC Commissioner, Chris Iyimoga, andNational Space Reseach and Development Agency (NASRDA) Director-General, Prof Seidu Mohammed, during INECChairman’s visit to NASRDA in Abuja

Across The Nation

Kaduna Records 155 FireOutbreaksOil Coy Boss Urges NASS To Pass PIB

Anambra Schools To Get More Facilities

Cross RiverPurchases

66,000Books For

Library

Ramadan: Group To AssistLess Privileged

CALABAR – Mr. ObajiAkpet, Cross Rivers Director ofState Library Services, said thatthe state government procured66,000 volumes of books for theState Library and schoolsbetween 2011 and 2013.

Akpet told newsmen in Calabarthat this was part of thegovernment’s effort to improvethe reading culture among thepeople of the state.

“Out of the 60 public schoolsthat were renovated with newlibraries by the state government,18 of them have been impactedwith comprehensive books.

The director added that thestate had signed a Memorandumof Understanding (MoU) with anorganisation “Books for Africa’’for supply of 100 crates of booksto the state.

“It is a continuous process; itis an ongoing thing. We signedan MoU with “Books for Africa’’to bring in about 100 crates ofbooks.

“Each crate is about 22,000volumes and it is for the next fiveyears,’’ Akpet said.

He said that there was the needfor extension of library servicesto the grassroots to stem the tideof poor reading culture byNigerians.

“Even in politics, it is done;build libraries in the villages andcommunities”.

According to him, this willassist Nigerians to get back toreading habit for the benefit of thesociety.

He said that some readers werenow happy with the books theyfound in the state library addingthat some had occasionally cometo express their appreciation tothe management of the board.

KADUNA - The KadunaState Fire Service on Mondaysaid it recorded 155 fireoutbreaks between Januaryand May this year.

The state Director of FireService, Mr. Adams Kadams,told newsmen in Kaduna.

Kadams said the rate of fireincidents had drasticallyreduced compared to theprevious years.

“In the past years, we havehad time when we recorded320 in a midyear and therewas another time that we had600 outbreaks.

“Out of these 155 fireoutbreaks, 31 persons diedand 51 were injured,” he said.

The director said theyreceived two rescue operationcalls from Kaduna and Zariaduring the period underreview, and blamed the publicfor delays in reporting firecases to the service.

“We were able to saveproperty worth N2.1 billionwhile N789 million worth ofproperty was lost to variousfire incidents in the state,” hesaid.

Kadams urged residents to

YOLA - An Islamic group,Jama’atu Izalatil Bidi’ah WaIqamatis Sunna (JIBWIS) hassaid that it will providefoodstuff and clothes toorphans and prisoners invarious states in the spirit of theRamadan.

The National Chairman ofJIBWIS, Sheikh AbdullahiBala-Lau, made this known inan interview with newsmen inYola.

Bala-Lau said the aim was toshow love and give thebeneficiaries a sense ofbelonging.

He said the group haddirected all its preachers andmembers across the country tomobilise for the programmeand ensure that at least, 5,000orphans and prisonersbenefited from the gesture in

each state of the federation.He also said that the group

would sponsor the enrolment ofschool-age orphans intoprimary and secondary schools.

“Taking care of the needy isa big Jihad and that is why Iwant to appeal to allstakeholders, includinggovernment authorities, to dosomething about the growingnumber of destitute and theculture of begging in thecountry.

“We need to address theproblems to promote peace,security and prosperity,’’ Bala-Lau said.

He disclosed that JIBWISwas on the verge of concludingformalities to set up vocationaltraining centres to complementgovernment’s empowermentprogrammes.

AGULU (ANAMBRASTATE) - The Anambra Stategovernment said it would putadditional facilities in schools inthe state to enhance theircapacity to deliver qualitativelearning.

Gov. Peter Obi said this duringthe inauguration of a renovatedschool hall and access road toAgulu Girls’ Secondary School,Agulu, in Anaocha LocalGovernment Area (LGA).

“The additional interventionwould be: provision of buses toall public secondary schools,mission and privately-ownedschools in the state.

“Providing more money forerection and equipping oflibraries in all primary andsecondary schoolsnotwithstanding their owners.

“Providing additionalcomputers to secondary schoolsin the state as well as givingmore money for rebuilding ofschools,’’ he said.

He expressed satisfaction thatschools in the state were wearingnew look through the statepartnership with the mission.

In another development, Prof.Chukwuma Soludo, formerGovernor of the CBN said,“Gov. Obi is a man of destinywhose disciplined and God-

fearing life has ensured hissuccess in life’’.

Soludo said this during amemorial thanksgiving mass atSt Theresa’s Catholic Church,

Isuofia in Aguata LGA,Anambra.

He thanked the governor forhis achievements noting: “Hehas laid strong foundation for

sustainable development whichfuture administrations canconsolidate on.

“The state needs a crediblesuccessor to continue the good

works embarked on by thepresent administration and alsosustain other gains.’’

He, however, expresseddislike for Governor. Obi’s plan

to retire from politics, addingthat the country needed peoplelike him especially during thesetrying times.

In a remark, the CatholicBishop of Awka, Most Rev.Paulinus Ezeokafor, said thecollaboration between Anambragovernment and the Church hadmade clear difference whichother states should emulate.

be careful in handlingelectrical appliances, and toalways call professionalswhenever there was electrical

fault either on the poles or intheir homes.

“Most faults are from the

people, they should stoppatronising inexperiencedroad side electricians tohandle electrical faults rather,they should call on theappropriate office to guideagainst any outbreak,” headded.

BENIN CITY - The ChiefExecutive Officer (CEO) of GoldSack Maritime Treasure Oil andGas Services Nigeria Limited,and the London College forTechnical and VocationalEducation, Odaro Ize-Omoregiehas called on the NationalAssembly to facilitate the processof passing the petroleum industryBill into Law.

Making the call in a chat withnewsmen in Benin City, Ize-Omoregie said will createcompetition, more Jobs andenabling environment forentrepreneurs to thrive.

According to him, when thebill becomes law, it will open upthe space, create competition,create more jobs, allow for moreyoung people who have thetechnical and vocationalknowledge to be able to set uptheir own enterprise between theoil and gas Sectors, that willboost employment.

He expressed shock that theNigerian factor always come toplay in important and criticalissues that would have createdmore jobs and advance the courseof our development.

“I wondered why the Nigerianfactor always kills what wouldhave boost employment andmove the nation forward. It isalways responsible for ourstagnancy and woes.

Aside passing the bill into law,the government should partner

with private and corporateorganization to help createemployment for our teemingpopulation with long term impacton both the economic and socialdevelopment of the nation, heconcluded.

By RICHARD EWEKA/FAMOUS IGUISI

Transition committee Chairman, Faskari Local Government of Katsina State, Alhaji Isiyaku Faskari-Ahmad (right),his wife, Hajia Sa’Adatu, presenting relief materials to Malama Raliya Unguwxar Doka (l), during distribution ofrelief materials to 677 displaced Armed Robbery victims at Faskari Model Primary School in Katsinaz State onMonday

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) conducting a mock rescue operation.

Across The NationWogu Inaugurates NDE

BoardFIRS, Insurance FirmsTo Settle Out Of Court

Cross RiverTrainsTeachers

ReliefAgencyPledges

MoreTraining

APGA Ready For Council Polls

KATSINA - The KatsinaState Rehabilitation andEmergency Relief Agency(RERA) said that it wouldcontinue to support trainingprogrammes on rapidresponse to disasters in thestate.

Alhaji Hassan Rawayau,the Executive Director of theagency, said this in Katsina atthe opening of a two-dayworkshop on ‘EmergencyPreparedness and Response(EPR)’ jointly organised byRERA and the UNICEF,Kaduna office.

He said the agency would,apart from providing reliefmaterials and rehabilitatingvictims of disasters, supportdisaster control-relatedtraining programmes.

He also expressed the needfor the local governmentrapid response committees tobe active so as ensure quickresponse to any disastersituation.

The executive directorcommended UNICEF forbeing joint organisers of theworkshop, which he said wasmeant to up-date the state’sEPR.

He noted that the workshopwould prepare theparticipants on how to offerrapid response to emergencysituations.

Rawayau urged theparticipants to ensure thatthey put into practisewhatever they learnt in thecause of the programme.

Participants at theworkshop were drawn fromthe police, the military,Nigeria Security and CivilDefence Corps (NSCDC), theRed Cross and traditional andreligious leaders, amongother stakeholders.

ABUJA - The FederalInland Revenue Service(FIRS) and NICONInsurance Company Plcalong with 43 others haveagreed on out-of-courtsettlement of their N1.5billion tax dispute.

The insurance companieshad earlier dragged the FIRSto the Tax Appeal Tribunal inAbuja over the non-refund ofabout N1.15 billion overpaidstamp duties.

The appellants includeContinental Re-InsurancePlc, Industrial and GeneralInsurance Plc, RoyalExchange Assurance Nig.Plc, International EnergyInsurance Plc, LasacoAssurance Plc., ADICInsurance Ltd and StandardAlliance Assurance CompanyLtd, among others.

The insurance companies inan appeal filed through theircounsel, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan(SAN), alleged that they paidthe excess stamp duties to the

ABUJA - The Minister ofLabour and Productivity, ChiefEmeka Wogu, has charged thenewly inaugurated Board of theNational Directorate ofEmployment (NDE) not tointerfere in the agency’sadministration.

The minister, gave the chargein Abuja recently. He, alsoadvised the board to abide by theschedule of the Act establishingthe NDE.

Wogu, who is the board’sChairman, told them that thedirectorate might not havesufficient funds to meet theirwishes and aspirations.

ABAKALIKI - The Chairmanof All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA) in Ebonyi, Mr. JerryObasi, has said that the party willbe victorious in the September. 28,local government elections in thestate.

Obasi told newsmen inAbakaliki newsmen that the partyhad mobilised men and resourcesto achieve “a land slide victory”in the exercise.

He dismissed as untenable,insinuations that no other politicalparty in the state had the politicalmuscle and resources to contestelection in the state apart from theruling Peoples’ Democratic Party(PDP).

“Our party is fully prepared and

CALABAR - The CrossRiver Commissioner forEducation, Prof. OffiongOffiong, on Monday said thatthe Ministry of Education hadtrained 210 teachers to improveon their performance.

Offiong said this at a trainingprogamme on theimplementation of the EarlyChild Care DevelopmentEducation (ECCDE) in Calabar.

The workshop, which wasorganised for teachers andcaregivers in the state, wasaimed at improving qualitativeeducation in Cross River.

Represented by Mr BasseyOkon, the Director of Schoolsin Cross River, Offiong said thatthe workshop was organised tounderscore the importance ofthe foundation stage ofeducation.

He expressed appreciation toGov. Liyel Imoke, for hiscommitment to capacitybuilding for teachers in the state.

The Coordinator of theprogramme, Mr. Oja Amang,told newsmen that theworkshop was also organised tomake teachers and caregivers tobe familiar with the ECCDE.

Amang said that the ECCDEcurriculum would beimplemented in schools acrossthe state.

Federal Government throughFIRS between 2002 and2006.

At the resumed sitting inAbuja, Mr Sunday Oghayei,who stood in for Osipitan,said the parties had resolvedto settle the matter out-of-court, and had written a letterto the office of the chairmanof the FIRS on the resolution.

Bright Igbinosa, counsel toFIRS, confirmed thedevelopment, acknowledgingthat the office of the FIRSchairman had received aletter to that effect from theinsurance companies.

He said a meeting would bescheduled with all parties toagree on the terms ofsettlement and the report ofwhich would be filed in thecourt at the next adjourneddate.

Consequently, the actingchairman of the tribunal, Mr.Nnamdi Ibegbu, adjournedthe case to September. 4 toenable the parties to file theirout-of- court settlementreport.

He charged them to put theirpriorities right by making gooddecisions that would lift it to agreater heights.

“Let me remind us that theagency may not have sufficientfunds to meet our wishes or

planned aspirations, but wemust make sure we put ourpriorities right.

“In doing this, we mustdifferentiate between policyformulation and the day-to-daymanagement of theorganisation, with this, we arebound to succeed,’’ Wogu said.

He urged the board to set

targets, source resources,monitor implementation, anddeliver concrete outputs for thebenefits of the unemployedNigerians.

The NDE Director-General,Malam Abubakar Mohammed,said that the reconstitution of theboard would guarantee and fasttrack the optimumimplementation of thedirectorate’s mandate.

equipped in terms of human andmaterial resources for thecontest of the council election.

“All I have to say is that ourparty is strong, viable and withformidable candidates to beat,’’Obasi said.

He said the party adoptedinternal democracy in theselection of its candidates andrejected any form of impositionin line with the guiding principleand philosophy of the party.

“We ensured that our flagbearers in the forthcomingelections emerged throughtransparent party primaries forboth counsellorship andchairmanship candidates in allthe 13 council areas and wards

of the state.“We have selected men and

women of integrity and withtrack record during the primaries.We are sure of victory in theelection,’’ he said.

The party chairman urged theEbonyi State IndependentElectoral Commission (EBSIEC)to leave above the board in theexercise of its statutory function.

Obasi also advised thecommission to eschewpartisanship by providing levelplaying ground to all thecandidates irrespective of partyaffiliation.

he said, “Local governmentelections are very critical in thequest to enthrone solid

democratic norms and values.“I appeal to the commission to

conduct hitch-free and credibleelections and to ensure that thevotes of the electorate counted.’’

He said that the party hademerged stronger after theleadership crisis that engulfed it,adding that APGA would winmore states in future nationalelections.

Obasi described Chief VictorUmeh, the National Chairman ofAPGA as a “performer”.

He added that with the AppealCourt verdict that gave himvictory, APGA was set to reclaimmore states and win more seatsin the state and NationalAssembly.

R - L: Senator Hope Uzodimma representing Imo State West display his school certificateduring the visit of Imo Young Lawyers Forum at the National Assembly yesterday whilethe Co-ordinator of the Forum Gibson left and Eze Mbakwe Obi look on. PHOTO: OMOYEAMINU.

R-L: Mbakwe Obi, Senator Hope Uzodimma representing Imo West; Coordinator, Imo Young Lawyers Forum, GibsonAgbor and a member of the forum during their visit to the Senator at the National Assembly yesterday.

Business + Economy

Dry Season Farming: AFAN TasksFarmers

69 Ship For LagosPorts

Destination Inspection: AgentsSeek More Collaboration

Tincan Island Port: Association WantsUpgrade Of Access Roads

LAGOS - Sixty nineships are expected to arrivethe Lagos ports from July22 to August 18, 2013, theNigerian Ports Authority(NPA), has said.

NPA said this in its dailypublication, “ShippingPosition’’ made available tonewsmen on Monday inLagos.

The authority said that sixships would sail in withvehicles; 14 ships wouldbring in petroleumproducts, while 31 otherswould come in withcontainers.

It said that other shipswould sail in with general

cargoes, bulk wheat, freshfish, bulk fertilizer, baseoil, steel products, bulksugar, bulk salt and bulkcorn.

According to NPA, fiveships are waiting todischarge petrol at theports, while two otherswill discharge bulkfertilizer and generalcargo.

Reports say that 22 shipsare currently dischargingcontainers, bulk wheat,general cargo, bulkfertilizer, bulk urea, steelproducts and petroleumproducts.

YOLA - The Adamawachapter of All FamersAssociation of Nigeria(AFAN) has directed itsmembers in flood-pronedstates to prepare for the2013/2014 dry seasonfarming to avert famine.

Mr. Venantius Jiddere,the state Chairman of theassociation, gave thedirective in an interviewwith the News Agency ofNigeria (NAN) in Yola .

Newsmen reports that thedirective was givenfollowing prediction by theNigeria MeteorologicalAgency (NIMET) thatheavy flooding will affectthe flood-proned states.

Jiddere noted thatalready, palpable fear hadgripped their members inthe flood-proned states,especially in Adamawa,

where farmers were stillplanting grains.

“Working on theprediction of NIMET ofimpending heavier floodthis year, there is fear thatour total annual yields willdrastically reduce, mostespecially the grains.

“Therefore, a call isnecessary for farmers toprepare for higherparticipation in dry seasonfarming to avert famine.”the chairman added.

He said that it wasnecessary to alert thefarmers and governmenton what the present rainyseason portended for thestate.

“We had our first rain inAdamawa in March whichrecorded 21.00mm while

in the whole of April, therewas no single rain.

“The month of May hadnine days of showers thatrecorded 45.00 mm.

“And in June, there werefive days that recorded rainwith one of the daysrecording 105.00mmwhich caused a lot ofdiscomfort and flooding inmany parts of the state,” hesaid.

The chairman also calledon the federal and stategovernments to continuewith the trainer to traineeprogramme which hadbeen abandoned in somestates of the federation.

He pointed out that theprogramme would enablemany farmers in all parts

LAGOS- Mr. GodsonChukwu, Secretary of theNational Association ofGovernment Approved FreightForwarders (NAGAFF), onMonday urged the FederalGovernment to upgrade accessroads to the Tin Can IslandPort, Lagos.

Chukwu told newsmen inLagos that the road hadbecome so bad that containerssometimes fell on passers-by.

“Government should reduceaccidents caused by the bad

roads, in order to save lives.“Apart from the casualties

recorded on the road,importers are also losinggoods as a result of theaccidents“ he told newsmen.

He said that another majorchallenge was the presence ofhoodlums at the port, whodisguise as freight forwarders.

Chukwu said that theproblem of hoodlums wouldhave been solved if theCouncil for the Regulation ofFreight Forwarding in Nigeria(CRFFN) functioned

properly.He commended the Port

Police for continuouslyarresting the hoodlums at theport.

Chukwu said that there hadbeen series of meetingsbetween the CRFFN andother freight forwardingassociations to enable thecouncil perform its statutoryroles in the maritime industry.

He urged registered freightforwarders to always comeinto the ports with theiridentity cards.

LAGOS -TheAssociation of NigerianLicensed Customs Agents(ANLCA) has called formore collaborationbetween service providersand the Nigeria CustomsService (NCS) onDestination Inspection.

The Secretary ofANLCA, Tin-Can IslandPort Chapter, Mr ChuksKanikwu, made the call inan interview withnewsmen in Lagos.

The three service

providers are CotecnaDestination InspectionLtd., Societe General DeSurveillance (SGS) andGlobal Scansystems Ltd.

Kanikwu said: “One ofthe ways government willknow if customs canactually do the job is toallow it to work closelywith the service providers.

“The government hasspent a lot of moneytraining and re-trainingcustoms officers; so, theyshould be allowed to test-run what they have beentaught.’’

He said that the FederalGovernment should lookinto the allegations beingmade by the serviceproviders that the NCSwas not ready to take overDestination Inspection.

Kanikwu said that thegovernment should alsoexamine the terms of the

contract with the serviceproviders.

The secretary allegedthat the service providerskept saying that the NCSwas not ready to take overthe assignment becausethey (service providers)wanted to be retained.

He said that thegovernment paid themhuge amounts for theirservices.

Kanikwu also allegedthat there were delays inprocessing the RiskAssessment Report,adding that such delaysincreased the dwell timeof cargoes at the ports.

Newsmens reports thatthe Federal Government,in June, extended theDestination Inspectioncontract by five months toprepare NCS to take overthe exercise.

of the country to get accessand benefit from moderntechnologies in agriculture.

“The national foodsecurity programme can notbe achieved if Nigerianfarmers lack modernfarming technology,” thechairman added.

Catholic Faithful during their confirmation ceremony by the Auxiliary Bishop of Abuja Archdiocese, Most Rev. Anselmmoren at St. Paul Catholic Church, Gwagwalada, Abuja recently.

Auxiliary Bishop of Abuja Archdiocese, Most Rev. Anselm moren, anointing CatholicFaithful during their confirmation at St. Paul Catholic Church, Gwagwalada in Abujarecently.

Tenders are here by invited from reputable contractors currentlyregistered with the Local Government for the execution of the underlisted projects on behalf of the Local Government.

1. Construction of Borehole in each ward of Local Government.2. Construction of 4 Classrooms with Head Master’s office in wards

1,3,4,6,7 and 9.3. Purchase and installation of 500KVA transformers in wards 2,4,5,7

and 9.4. Production and supply of two in one school benches and desks.5. Construction of Health Centre at Okhu.6. Renovation of a block of Six (6) Classroom one in each ward.

2. The tender is to be accompanied withI. Evidence of current business registration with Etsako EastLocal Government as a contractor in the appropriatecategory.II. Tax clearance certificate for the immediate past three yearsof the Company.Ill. Current bank guarantee of credit worthiness.IV. Evidence of job previously executed with the LocalGovernment or other Government Agencies.V. Evidence of registration with corporate affairs commission.VI. Evidence of personal income Tax Clearance certificate ofthe director of the company in respect of LimitedLiability Companies.VII.Evidence of payment of non refundable deposit fees of

N20,000.00 and N2,000.00 Tender fee respectively.3. Documents showing the drawings and specifications of the above

listed projects are available for inspection between 8am to 4pmMonday — Friday in the office of Director of Works Land andSurvey, Etsako East Local Government, Agenebode.

4. Tender should be addressed and submitted in a sealed envelope andmarked “Confidential” at the top left hand corner of the envelopand addressed to

THE CHAIRMANETSAKO EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENTAGENEBODE.EDO STATE.

To reach him not later than 14 days from the date of this publication.6. Etsako East Local Government is not bound to accept the lowest of

any tender, nor is it bound to give reasons for rejection of any tender.

ETSAKO EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENTAGENEBODE

EDO STATE OF NIGERIA

INVITATION TO TENDER

HON. BENEDICTA ATTOHSecretary to Local Government,Etsako East Local Government,

Agenebode.

Tenders are hereby invited from reputable Contractors/Suppliers currentlyregistered with Akoko-Edo Local Government for the execution of the underlistedprojects on behalf of the Local Government:

A. EDUCATION1. Construction of a block of 6 classrooms with Headmaster’s office at Imiezua

Primary School, Enwan.2. Construction of a block of 3 classrooms with Headmaster’s office at Egbetua

Primary School, Ososo.3. Renovation/reroofing of a block of 6 classrooms at Eresha, Makeke.4. Construction of a block of 3 classrooms with Headmaster’s Office at Akugbe

Primary School Annex, Onumu-Oke.5. Procurement of desks and benches for various primary schools in the Local

Government Area.

B. HEALTH CENTRES1. Renovation and re-roofing of Imoga Maternity, Imoga.

C. ELECTRICITY1. Procurement and installation of 300KVA/33 Transformer including Low

Tension Stringing at Aiyeteju, Okpe.

D. MARKETS1. Construction of a unit of 10 open market stores at Ibillo market.2. Construction of a unit of 10 open market stores at Igarra market.

E. CULVERT1. Construction of a double box culvert over Ebuko River, Uneme-Osu.

2. Intending tenders are required to pay to the Akoko-Edo Local GovernmentTreasury a non-refundable deposit of the sum of thirty thousand naira (N30,000.00)only per project and the tenders are to be accompanied with:(i) Evidence of current business registration with Akoko-Edo Local

Government as a Contractor/Supplier in the appropriate category;(ii) Evidence of payment of non-refundable deposit to the Local

Government Treasury;(iii) Tax Clearance Certificate for the immediate past three (3) years;(iv) Current Bank guarantee of credit worthiness;(v) Evidence of job previously executed with the Local Governmentor other government agencies;(iv) Evidence of Personal Income Tax Clearance Certificate of the Director

of the Company.

3. Documents showing the drawings and specifications of the above listed projectsare available for inspection between 8.00am and 4.00pm Mondays – Fridays inthe office of the Director of Works, Land and Survey.

4. Tenders should be addressed and submitted in a sealed envelope and marked“CONFIDENTIAL” at the top left hand corner of the envelop and addressed to:

THE EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN,AKOKO-EDO LOCAL GOVERNMENT,P.M.B.04,IGARRA,EDO STATE.

To reach him not later than six (6) weeks from the date of this publication.

5. Akoko-Edo Local Government is not bound to accept the lowest or any tender,nor is it bound to give reasons for rejection of any tender, please.

AKOKO-EDO LOCAL GOVERNMENTP.M.B. 04IGARRA

INVITATION TO TENDER

Barr. N.S, Desmond,Secretary to the Local Government,

For: Executive Chairman,Akoko-Edo Local Government,

Igarra.

Signed:Signed:

WITH a basic salary of $189,500 or (N30.6m)earned annually, the Nigerian federal lawmakerhas been ranked the highest paid legislator in theworld, according to a recent study. The latestedition of The Economist magazine of Londonwhich published the report on Monday blew thelid of the jumbo pay earned by the legislators evenas denials by the Nigerian lawmakers have beenreportedly dismissed by notable citizens aspedestrian.

RELYING on data from the InternationalMonetary Fund and other sources, the studyreportedly looked at the lawmakers’ basic salaryas a ratio of the Gross Domestic Product per personacross countries of the world. The report revealedthat the basic salary (which excludes allowances)of a Nigerian law maker is 116 times the country’sGDP per person of $1,600.

WE are alarmed at the revelation by the studyeven though some notable Nigerians, particularly,the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, LamidoSanusi who threw the issue into the ring two yearsago but was shouted down by the lawmakers andNigerians didn’t quite take it seriously.

IT is common knowledge that recurrentexpenditure takes elephant share of the FederalGovernment’s annual budgets. For instance, in2012, recurrent expenditure accounted for over 74per cent of the 2012 budget and over 72 per cent inthe 2013 budget. Little wonder also, the do or dieattitude to seek political offices in Abuja. From thereports, it means the $189,500 earned annually byeach Nigerian legislator is estimated to be 52 percent higher than what Kenya legislators, who areranked second highest paid lawmakers, earned.This is absurd.

WE condemn the insensitivity of the NationalAssembly members over the years for keepingsilent in the face of the big rip off of the rest ofNigerians. It implies that the nation is using huge

Nigerian Legislators’Jumbo Pay

chunk of the nation’s resources to service less than1000 people in a country of over 160million people.

WE detest a situation where our lawmakers havereduced democracy in Nigeria to a parody wherebythe ruling class earned heavily, but preferred tosubject vast majority of the country’s population topenury. We recall that at the commencement of thesixth National Assembly, a lawmaker went to theNational Assembly with a proposal for N30,000National Minimum wage for workers. Her colleaguescut her dreams short as they argued that such anamount for minimum wage would fuel inflation inthe country. At the end of the debates, N18,000minimum wage was approved by the nation’sparliament, even at that, some state governors arestill unable to pay the minimum wage while someothers have resorted to the Ojogun (local blacksmith)minimum wage for their workers to assuage theirfeelings in the face of biting poverty. But shamelessly,same lawmakers cart home N30.6million basicannual salary outside their numerous allowances andspoils of office.

SADLY, Nigeria is a nation where over 65per centof its population live on less than one US Dollar perday. The Human Development Index (HDI) since1999, is one of the worst in the world, onlycomparable to a nation at war. Nigeria’s 2011 HDIof 0.459 is above the average of 0.456 for countriesin the low human development group and below theaverage of 0.463 for countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.From Sub-Saharan Africa, countries which are close

to Nigeria in 2011 HDI rank and population sizeare Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of the Congowhich have HDIs ranked 174 and 187 respectively.Life Expectancy is put at 51.9 per cent while theSub-Saharan African averages 54 per cent. Infantand maternal mortality rates is one of the worst inthe world.

IT is regrettable that rather than cease the goldenopportunity of the on-going constitutionalamendment to scale down their embarrassingjumbo pay, the law makers are offeringunacceptable denials of what they earn annuallyurging Nigerians to confirm the exact figure of theirbasic pay from the Revenue MobilisationAllocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). It isworse that same people who should effect thereversal are the ones in charge, as the greedylegislators would not vote against themselves on thisissue which has assumed internationalembarrassment, yet at any given opportunity theyspeak about patriotism.

WE call on the Nigerian Federal lawmakers toutilise the opportunity of the on-goingconstitutional amendment to devolve functionssuch as basic services as water, agriculture, worksand housing, education and others to the states andlocal governments. We expect members of thecurrent federal legislature to swallow the bitter pilland offer Nigerians a people-centred constitutionwhich should redistribute resources among allNigerians.

WE are also glad that the RMAFC is at the vergeof reviewing revenue allocation formula to thefederating units. We earnestly urge the agency tocut drastically the federal share and re-allocatesame to states and local government which are thearms of government closest to the majority of thepeople. Anything short of this arrangement willamount to sustaining the status quo which willcontinue to embarrass the country among thecomity of civilized nations.

THE NIGERIAN

Book ReviewBook Title: Perspectives On The CharismaticAdams OshiomholeAuthor: (Compiled, Edited by) MessrsSimeon And Peter IdaeworPage Number: 92Publisher: Fortune And TemperacePublishing CompanyDate Published: 2013Reviewer: Ijeoma Umeh A single book, no matterhow wordy, or true itsreflections, cannot containeverything that has beensaid, or written, everycomment that has beenpassed, even thecommentary that has beenrun, and continues to run,on the personality of AdamsAliyu Oshiomhole, formerNigerian Labour Congress(NLC) President and nowExecutive Governor of EdoState. However, a single bookcould attempt, no matter thebrevity of words used or thesize and extent of itschapters, to x-ray the life ofHis Excellency, who, byreason of being imbuedwith humility and modesty,even awe-inspiredreverence for thesovereignty of his creator,made it clear on assumptionof office, even prior to that,that the term ‘HisExcellency’ would not, nomatter how portrayed, bepart of his paraphernalia ortrappings of office,choosing rather to bereferred to as “the ComradeGovernor” which has stuckto him like a second skin. Having thus pronounced,‘His Excellency’ a phrasehitherto revered in thecorridors of power andamong the clout ofintellectual associations,began to filter away frompolitical socializations, justlike the ‘embargoed’‘godfather’, anotheroffshoot of the Oshiomholephenomenon. These facts have thereforeevinced the reality that notuntil people take time toread books and printedmatter in any form, theymay not truly savour theother sides of this enigma

beyond the knowledge thathe has been tirelesslyreeling out the dividends ofgood governance in a statechequered by over nineyears of misrule. The book, Perspectiveson the CharismaticAdams Oshiomhole, asaptly titled, has made agiant leap at attempting,eclectically, to capturesome of those innatequalities, those beautiful,and almost baffling traits,attitudes, characteristicsand features, which makethe man Adams AliyuOshiomhole a person ofrare breed, both as anordinary man and as apublic servantparexcellence. The 92-page book is acollection of comments onreels, orchestrated byseasoned writers, mediagenie, Public AffairsCommentators, academicsand statesmen! You wouldbe amazed, as this reviewerwas, at the number ofpersonalities from variousdivides, even from politicalleanings, scattered abroad,who concentrated ink onpaper to add words to thevolumes already incirculation, regarding theenigmatic ComradeGovernor! And they did itwith a sheer sense of historythat obviously perfectedtheir art, none contradictingthe other! Without putting down somany words of their own,the compilers and Editors,the duo of Simeon Idaeworand Peter Idaewor, provedtheir mettle as Journalistsand Publishers who knewtheir onions, who whileothers slumbered, burnt themidnight candle, kept a tabon history and carried out

thorough research on a manwho has been reckoned inhistory as a trail blazer, theman called Oshio Baba. According to them, “thesecollections of expressedcomments by eminentleaders and articles written

by renowned Journalists,politicians andcommentators published insome national dailiesshortly before and after theJuly 14, 2012 gubernatorialelections in Edo State is tohonour this legend of a manwho, in our projection, is yetto reach the climax of hisnew found career inpolitics’. They went on to posit; “…

it does not take much forselfless leaders all over, tomeet the needs andaspirations of the people.What do people, especiallyin developing climes likeours, actually need fromtheir leaders? Not free food,but good network of roads(although making hungerand poverty history havebeen mantra of thisadministration), basichealthcare facilities. Water,electricity and governmentfunded public schoolsystem for the poor, etc”and they submitted that “…

the Comrade Governor gotthis right from thebeginning and succeededincredibly inless than threeyears where previousadministration failed theEdos woefully”…. It is trite the Editorsopinion, nor is it thecollection of sizzlingarticles and marbled wordsthat enthralls: it is therandom dispersal of

impressions of variouspersons from differentangles and ranges ofopinions from diverseplatform and fora on oneman, opinions thateventually met at a commonconsensus, that actuallyholds the reader spellbound,portraying the truth in theexemplified leadershipstyle and strides of theComrade Governor. From Jide Osuntokun,Dapo Fafowora, CheromeNnanna, Mallam MusaYakubu, Charles AfeIkhaghe, Ebomhiana Musa,

to General Yakubu Gowon,Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Dr.Samuel Ogbemudia, JosefOmorotionmwan Prof.Oserhiemen OsunborKassim Afegbua, SojiOmotunde, Ikhaghe, toProf. Eddy Erhagbe, and toa host of other seasoned,writers most of themveterans in their variousprofessions, thecommentaries keep

running. This attempt to chroniclethose vitals regarding thepersonality of ComradeAdams Aliyu Oshiomholeis to, say the least, acommendable one, a veryworth while effort in a timewhen despite the haze ofinformation technology,information gathering stillbecomes an inundatingtask. The book,Perspectives of theCharismatic AdamsOshiomhole willeventually become areference material, aresource handbook for thefuture, since, from allindication, the manOshiomhole, has onlybegun his incursion into theterrain of good governance. It would also suffice toenjoin the compilers andEditors, the duo of Simeonand Peter Idaewor, tocontinue to keep in theshadow of this personalityand bringing back thefeelers to the reading publicin order for it not to losetouch on information, toproperly serialize thebooks, and tag each articlewith the dates ofpublication and the mediumwhere the words were said. This would enableresearchers or students ofhistory align their ownresearches and essaysproperly, for good history isreplete with dates and time. As for the ComradeGovernor’s future in goodgovernance, as MallamMusa Yakubu, anEconomist and politicalAnalyst wrote: “forOshiomhole, there are noeasy solutions to theproblems that confront ournation and so, in meetingthe multi-faccttedchallenges of goodgovernance, I believe, justlike Oshiomhole, thatleaders at all levels need toset aside personal politicalcalculations in the largerinterest of the polity.” And finally, in the wordsof Josef Omorotionmwan,political juggernaut andVanguard columnist, “wenow know that it takessome stubbornness topropel a revolution”.

View Point

Impact Of Ban OnMotor-Bike In Edo

By DESMOND AGBAMA

Gov Adams Oshiomhole

Tale Of Hypocrisy Against NdigboBy ODIMEGWU ONWUMERE

Dr Orji Uzor Kalu

WHEN Governor AdamsAliyu Oshiomhole announcedthe ban on the use of motorcycle popularly called “Okada”as means of transportation inBenin City on June 11, 201 3,it was received by the peoplewith mixed feelings.

Some people, especially thebike riders regarded the ban asa harsh measure, calculated todeprive them of their source oflivelihood. Others received theban with high degree of reliefand satisfaction, against thebackground of the menace theuse of bike had caused in thesociety.

Since the ban, the compliancelevel has been total, as all themotor cycles have disappearedfrom the streets of Benin City,like the sudden disappearanceof the drone of bees.

A drive through the streets ofBenin City would reveal anatmosphere of calmness. Theusual hustle and bustleassociated with motorcycle hasdisappeared, while the trafficcongestion hithertoexperienced, especially at roadjunctions have alsodisappeared. The altercationand frequent accident involving

Okada riders has become athing of the past. Driving onthe road has becomepleasurable, while pedestriansfind it easier now to cross thehighway.

The noise and blaring of hornby bike riders is no more, whilethe environment has becomemore conducive and quiet.There is also a reduction in theamount of carbon monoxideemitted into the atmosphere,which of course constitutehealth hazard to the people.

A visit to the accident andemergency wards of somehospitals in Benin City’revealed that there has been nocases of accident involvingmotorcycle. Importantly, thereis a gradual reduction in crimeassociated with the use of motorbike in Benin City. Therefore,it is not too early to say that thesociety and indeed the generalpublic have started enjoying thegains from the ban on the useof motorcycle in Benin City.

For those who criticizedGovernor Adams Oshiomholefor banning the use ofmotorcycle as means of

transportation, they did so outof ignorance or personalinterest, without consideration

the overall safey and security ofthe generality of the people. Ifthe bike riders and motorcycledealers criticized the ban, it mayhe quite understood because of

the effect the ban could haveon them directly, but for apolitician to criticize the policysimply because he or shebelongs to the opposition partyis quite unfortunate and thatwould amount to cheappoliticking.

Opposition politicians shouldbe mindful of the way theycriticize every governmentpolicies or decisions, so thatwhether or not they are inpower it will not be usedagainst them. For the purposeof emphasis, the use of Okadahad been banned in PDPcontrolled states such as Delta,Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Riversand Cross Rivers far beforeComrade Adams Oshiomholebanned it in Edo State. Like inEdo State, the ban of Okada inthose states was hinged oninsecurity. One begins towonder why that of Edo Statehas been viewed differently bysome politicians. Nogovernment would deliberatelyinflict hardship or sufferings onits people, beside, the primarypurpose of government is toensure the welfare and securityof lives and property of thepeople.

Nevertheless, Edo Stategovernment has displayedenough magnanimity for notbanning the use of bikethroughout the state like it is insome states in the federation.It therefore means thatmotorcycle can still he used as

means of transportation inplaces like Ekpoma, Irrua,Auchi, Uromi, Ubiaja amongothers.

Be that as it may, in everyrule, there is always anexception. There are someimportant sectors that rendervery’ useful and essentialservice to the public includinggovernment that require the useof motorcycle. This includesCourier Service providers andNewspaper distributors. Theseservices are needed of dailybasis the effectivedissemination of informationfrom one place to the other. Astime goes on, it is hoped thatmodalities would he workedout for these sets of people touse bike only for the purposeof rendering such essentialservices.

It is hereby suggested thatsuch categories of workersshould be properly registered,while their bike should haveidentical colour and numbersfor easy identification. Therider could also he made towear the apron or vest of theestablishment they’ represent.

Any government policy isbetter appreciated as timepasses by. In the same vain, theban on the use of motorcycleas means of transportation inBenin City will be appreciatedby all, including thosecriticizing it now.

IN the game of love, it is givenso that it wouldn’t be returned.But those who share in the loverendered return same to the givermost times. This is why peoplesay that somebody is loved byhistory. In this clime, we haveseen people rewarded withchieftaincy titles in their differentvillages, because of their act ofbenevolence to their kinsmen andwomen. At the national level,many have been rewarded withnational prizes, because of theircontributions. In like manner, wehave to honour and appreciateone of our own in the person ofDr. Orji Uzor Kalu (OUK),former Governor of Abia State.The Emetu Mba, Ahu MbaNdigbo.

What has spurred this treatisewas Kalu’s comment in aninterview recently that all hisharangues about Ndigbo to be thepresident in 2015, are not borneout of self-seeking purpose. Thisshows that he is in love withNdigbo, not for selfish reasons,but for justice to prevail. Kaluderives no pleasure in watchingNdigbo suffering in a country thattheir forebears sprinkled theirbloods for. This is not flatter, buta compliment to self-sacrifice,not for self-need, but for theneeds of Ndigbo, who know noother tribute in Nigeria, than thethird fiddle they are placed as, bythose who do not mean well tothem.

Known as a politician andbusiness mogul, Dr. Orji UzorKalu is more than this. Thesetitles were ascribed to him due tothe distinguished part of his socialor public life that people know.But the dude is more than whatpeople think he is. In the causeof penning this tract, somepersons that were interviewed,said that Kalu is a humanist to theheart and a secret donor to theneedy and the downtrodden thatcut across the country, and doesnot like to amplify this area of hislife. One of the persons was,however, pleading that Kalushould forgive all the persons thatforced him to pull most of hisbusinesses out of the country,which made over 20, 000 peoplelose their jobs. It may offend himdiscussing this in the media; butlike Ndigbo would say, there isnothing hidden under the sun.

This is a man who has left thecomfort of his zone to championfor the security and peace ofNigeria and by extension, for theemancipation of Ndigbo in thepolitical progress of the countryby 2015, with his pet projectcalled and known as Njiko Igbo.This organisation now cuts acrossall divides of Europe, Asia, Africaand America. Kalu sees theemergence of an Igbo presidencyin 2015 as his last plan. What aman with meek, practical andhumane heart!

He has never extolled himselffor this selfless task, but keep onsaying that Ndigbo have men andwomen of honour that the cap ofpresident would fit. He would tell

whoever, that he has no politicalaspirations for now, but to showlove to Nigerians and, by largeextent Ndigbo, in producingpresident of this country. He is

calling on the Igbo to be verydetermined than ever.

The ex-Governor is not only

talking about the Igbo to producepresident, but that themarginalisation against his peoplehas reached even to the Local

Government Areas, whereassome surrogates of the currentpresidency are mistakingappointments of some personsfrom the Igbo extraction to meanthat Ndigbo have been includedin the things of governance in thecountry. The later persons do notrealise that the LGAs in placeslike Kano and Jigawa States, aremore than the whole LGAs in thewhole of the five states of theSouth-East. This is the bane thatKalu has been tackling andmaking sure that they areredressed headlong.

Who could believe that theSouth-East is the only region inNigeria that has only five states,whereas other five politicalregions have six states? Whatabout just 15 senators that theSouth-east has out of 109-member Senate? Kalu sees thesepitfalls in the political equationin the country as biased ensconceagainst Ndigbo. He sees theauthorities undermining Ndigboas hypocrisy of the highest order.

As a man who loves Ndigbo,he would say that Ndigbo lovethemselves. This is contrary tothe hypocrisy in the country thatNdigbo do not love themselves.

He would challenge thissurrounding-substance by askingif all the tribes in the country lovethemselves. Why single outNdigbo that they do not lovethemselves? Kalu sees this ashypocrisy and propaganda of theun-imaginable measure. Kaluhas said that Igbo traders in themarket love themselves, Igbomarket men and women lovethemselves.

Ours does not only talk, butoffers solution to solving theproblems he sees in the country.He has told the authorities to stopany act of hypocrisy or systemthat makes a region to feelsuperior against the other; he hastold the authorities to createavenues that would makeNigerians to love one another; hehas advised the authorities toallow Ndigbo to be president andnot a select of persons from otherregions, because of fake regionalpopulation; he has said that theauthorities should address themarginalisation in theConstitution for democracy inthis country to reconcile.

Odimegwu Onwumere, Poet/Author, wrote this piece fromRivers State. Tel:+2348032552855. E-mail:apoet_25@yahoo.com

The Osazua Ivbaze08188922449 Column

Violence In The House

THE recent incidents ofviolence in some Houses ofAssembly and in the lowerchamber of the NationalAssembly have thrust tothe fore the need to re-examine the fundamentalimport of the Legislature ina democracy. This hasbecome important becausewe cannot afford tocontinue the way we havebeen going all these years.Is it not saddening that overfive decades afterindependence, thehallowed chambers of ourlegislative houses stillcontinue to function astheatres of violence andbanditry? What are the issues atstake? Do our lawmakersactually understand theirroles. Do they know thatthey represent variedinterests and therefore areby the mandate conferredon them obligated to makelaws for good governance,peace and security of thesociety.? We understand the majorrole of the legislature aslawmaking. In makinglaws, the legislature isexpected to ensure that thepeople are carried along.As a matter of fact, theinterests or desires of thepeople form the hub aroundwhich legislativebusinesses should revolve.Anything outside this is atvariance withrepresentative democracy. Unfortunately, a closelook at the activities ofmost of our lawmakers (notall) have shown that theydo not appreciate theweight of ther e s p o n s i b i l i t i e sconstitution confers onthem. From all indications,our lawmakers are actuallymore interested in

legislating for theirpockets. Self-centred andselfish, they haveabandoned their primaryfunction in pursuit of self-serving agenda. In the process, they havedesecrated the places thatare supposed to be centresof promoting goodgovernance and collectiveprosperity. Some of themhave become so violent andanimalistic that a goodnumber of people areasking if the legislature stillqualifies to be retained asa part of our democraticstructures in Nigeria. We have not forgotten theinfamous wild wild West ofWestern Regional House ofAssembly in the firstrepublic. If we want to beforgiven on that on accountof a nation just in the earlyyears of independence,then what have we to sayin the recent violentincident in Rivers House ofAssembly. In recent times, houses ofassembly in Edo, SouthWest Plateau States andFederal House ofRepresentative have also‘enjoyed’ their share ofviolence and legislativemayhem. Where are we going fromhere. Is this how we intendto grow democracy? Haveyou watched the video clipon the recent fracas inRivers House of Assemblywhereby the majorityleader, Chidi Lioyd, nowdeclared wanted by policelifted a mace and hitanother lawmaker with it.It was a mad period of free-for-all as ‘honourables’exhibited behaviours thatcannot even be imagined inanimal kingdom. Against this backdrop,what then is the way

forward? A first step will beto begin to consider theissue of part timelegislating. The salariesand allowances oflawmakers are so attractiveand this is capable ofencouraging violentbehaviours among thoseseeking to go to legislativehouses. When legislating isreduced to a part timeexercise, we may discoverthat it would only attractthose who genuinely wantto serve. We cannot continue tolavish tax payers on peoplewhose only language ofresolving dispute isviolence. There is noreason to place them onsalaries. They should beplaced on sittingallowances and suchallowances should be asapplicable to civil servants. The legislature ought tobe the conscience of thenation because it is the

expression ofrepresentative democracy.When it fails to serve thatpurpose but insteadbecomes avenue forsettling issues by recourseto violence, then it calls fora review. We want legislators whowill understand their role aslawmakers. We are achoosing organism,constantly making choices,one way or the other. Everychoice we make is astatement about our truevalues and priorities. Ateach moment we areinclined to choose what ismore important to us. And what is moreimportant to us as a peopleis peace. We need peace tobe able to pursueprosperity, to be able to laythe structures for a greaterand better tomorrow. That we cannot find peacein a legislative chambers isindeed tragic. A place that

is supposed to be an avenuefor cross-fertilization andcontest of ideas has beenturned into a violent animalkingdom. As Nigeria continues toslide into anarchy andlawlessness, must we foldour hands and watch thingsdegenerate further.Interestingly, the 1999constitution is still beingreviewed. And it hasbecome very compelling toeffect some amendments tothe section dealing with theLegislature. As advocatedearlier, the need to put it onpart time has become verycompelling. With the world now aglobal village, the kind offracas which recentlyengulfed the Rivers Houseis yet another dent in theeyes of the internationalcommunity. Ordinarily, thereshouldn’t be tension over2015 general elections.

About two years away, it isyet another year ofreckoning; a time forpoliticians to go to thepeople for votes. And forthose who still haveanother term to run, 2015is a year to re-new mandatefor service. But the way things arenow, 2015 looks like a do-or-die year. Accept it or not.The crisis in River Stateshas it roots in 2015presidential election. See what crisis hasthrown PDP and thePresidency into, Now, thereis a gang up by some PDPgovernors againstPresident Jonathan’sambition to re-contest in2015. now we can nolonger tell the differencebetween 16 and 19 andbetween 5 and 27. Now First Lady hasconfessed that she has apersonal issue to settle withAmaechi and this startedfour years ago. What kindof people are we?

“When legislating is reduced to a part time exercise, we maydiscover that it would only attract those who genuinely wantto serve.”

President Goodluck Jonathan Speaker of the House of Reps, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal

Desperation In Nigerian PoliBy EZE CHUKWUEMEKA EZE

JOHN Emerich EdwardDalberg Acton a Philosopherand the first Baron Acton ofAldenham must have hadRivers State in mind when hestated that, “The most certaintest by which we judgewhether a country is reallyfree is the amount of securityenjoyed by minorities”.Using the above statement,let us see if recentdevelopments in Rivers Stateshow that Nigeria is trulyfree.

“The state of anarchy,oppression, victimization andanomie is indeed here with usin Rivers State. This is just adress rehearsal for 2015general elections. The royalrumble continues withpersonal ambitionsuperseding the will of thepeople. The outcome ofsetting a dry bush on fire cannever be predicted”, PeterNegedu observed.

“The governor howeverhad a close shave with deathwhen upon sighting himleader of the G5 rebellawmakers Evans BabakayaBipialaka, who had beenproclaimed Speaker by fourof his supporters, pointed atthe governor and shoutedinstructions to the thugs andpolicemen allegedly broughtto the premises by his group,saying: “Shoot him! . . . Shoothim! . . .” – News Express aninternational renownedSocial Media said.

News Express went furtherto state after the abovedirective, “Amaechireportedly walked towardsBipialaka, saying: “Shootme?” He then ordered hissecurity details to arrestBipialaka, but the order couldnot be effected due to stiffresistance by the rebelleader’s orderly assisted bythugs and policemen”.

The Movement for theSurvival of the Ogoni People(MOSOP), while reacting tothe shameful incident saidthat Rivers State was fastdrifting into a state ofanarchy. It warned that ifurgent steps were not takingby government and itssecurity apparatus, the statemay return to the dark daysof uncontrollable politicallymotivated gang violence.MOSOP regretted that such adevelopment could crippleboth social and economicactivities in the state.

Recently, GovernorAmaechi, who is alsoChairman, NigeriaGovernors’ Forum, NGFwhile receiving the SenateCommittee investigating thefracas that broke out in theHouse of Assembly onTuesday 9th and Wednesday10th July respectively said‘We are under Siege’referring to the state, even as

he recalled how the Policealleged fired teargas intogovernment house. Accordingto the governor, “We are undersiege here. For two monthsnow, we have not met withsecurity men. Securitycommanders in the state don’tcome to me any longer. Theyare either scared or they don’tdeliberately want to see me.They withdrew soldiersattached to me yesterday(Wednesday 10th and thismorning, Thursday 11th July).They withdrew the APCattached to GovernmentHouse”.

A journalist with This DayNewspapers, Mr. ErnestChinwo aptly captures thesituation in these words:“From the hallowed chambersof the Rivers State House ofAssembly, the brawlingoccasioned by the power tusslein the state chapter of theruling Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) movedWednesday to the streets ofPort Harcourt, the state capital.A day after lawmakers loyal tothe state Governor, Mr.Chibuike Amaechi, and thoseopposed to him clashed in theAssembly, injuring somelegislators, supporters of thetwo rival groups took turns tosettle their political differenceswith fisticuffs, leaving anunspecified number of peopleinjured. Wednesday’s clashesbetween the rival groupsroused security agencies toseal off the Assembly complexto prevent a total breakdownof law and order in the state”.

In another development, theMinister of State for EducationChief Nyesom Wike had in anevent in Buguma thetraditional headquarters ofKalabari Kingdom where theSpeaker of the Rivers Houseof Assembly, Otelemaba DanAmachree, hails from urgedhis supporters to be ready tofight against those hedescribed as outsiders in thePeoples Democratic Party(PDP). According to Wike,“We cannot be intimidated. Donot allow anybody to provokeyou. Rivers people have saidenough is enough. If they saythey want to meet us in thefield, they should come to thefield and meet us. We are notafraid of anybody. If you(Amaechi’s supporters) like,you should continue to putyour own band there, we willcontinue to do what we aredoing. What I can tell youtoday, Nigerians know thatthose friends from this state,they have lost control of thestate. This is the first time thatRivers people are seeing thatthe National Assembly will bemaking laws for them. TheNational Assembly members(from Rivers state) shouldwithdraw. They should allcome back home. “This is not

the time anybody will usepolice to arrest you. If theycome for arrest, we will alsoarrest them back. This is thetime for action. Let them knowit clearly that we are not afraidof anybody. I have decided tocome here (Buguma) to sendthe message to them. I am notgoing to be afraid of anybody”.

Dame Patience JonathanNigerian First Lady and adaughter of Rivers State in astatement noted thatimpoverished people,including women and children,always bear the consequencesof the kind of impasse inRivers State., “This officewishes to call on all feudingparties in Rivers State to sparea thought for the social,political and economic costs ofthe crisis, and consider anurgent way to resolve allpolitical differences. It is ourposition that the greaterconsequences of the impasseis, as usual, reserved for thepoor, the weak and thevulnerable, especially womenand children, who are usuallyinnocent bystanders in allthese. This derives naturallyfrom the saying that when twoelephants fight, it is the grassthat suffers. On a larger scale,we subscribe to the fact thatconflicts and violence are themost lethal threats to peace,which itself is the irreducibleminimum condition fordevelopment. The situationmust therefore not be allowedto degenerate to a level that canbe hijacked by miscreants andhoodlums, thus exposingeveryone to insecurity fromwhich there may be no easyescape. We therefore call onelders of the state to positionthemselves appropriately in thecircumstances, and continue toseek the highest good of Riversstate and its people, by stone-walling the activities of the fewwho would rather fan littleembers into a consuminginferno. It is thereforeincumbent on all people ofgoodwill to seek to restorepeace, brotherliness and lovein Rivers State, for the state topress forward in the directionof growth and progress.”

Sadly and maybe in defianceto the plea of the first ladysome organized youths on 16thJuly, 2013 stormed PortHarcourt International Airportto embarrass and held hostagethe governors of Jigawa, Kano,Niger and Adamawa that cameto pay Governor Amaechi asolidarity visit creating theimpression that some peoplefrom a section of the countryis no longer wanted in the Statewhich may scare away some ofthe investors that will like toinvest in the State thereby

crippling the economicfortunes of the State. One maybe forced to ask the relevanceof this type of politics in a Statewe have a performingGovernor.

Reacting to the attack on theNorthern Governors that paida solidarity visit to GovernorAmaechi on 16th July, 2013 bymembers of the Grass RootDevelopment Initiatives a progroup of Chief Nyesom Wikethe Minister of State ofEducation, the federal

Commissioner Joseph Mbuchose to play politics with thesafety and security of thepeople of Rivers State andtarnish the image of Riverspeople.”

In her reaction, the stateCommissioner forInformation andCommunications, Mrs. IbimSemenitari, said members ofGDI had mobilised hoodlumsto disrupt the visit. Shealleged: “Wike had boastedafter the failed impeachmentattempt at the Rivers State

House of Assembly that hewould set Rivers State ablazeand render it ungovernable.This portends grave dangerand has far-reachingimplications for our fledglingdemocracy”

On his side, Atiku theformer Vice President ofNigeria described theescalating situation in the stateas unhelpful, and advised thatleaders of whatever hue begiven the respect they deservewherever they go. Hereminded politicians to bemindful of “our politicalhistory” in all that they do. Hesaid he was still vividlyreminded of the chain ofpolitical crises that haddisrupted democracy in thepast.

Meanwhile, in a bit towhittle down the security ofGovernor Amaechi andmaybe exposed him to gravedanger, the Inspector Generalof Police, Alh MohammedDahiru Abubakar through apress statement issued by the

Police Public Relations Officer,CSP Frank E. Mba hassummoned leading Pro-Amaechi and Security Figuresthat includes Rivers StateHouse of Assembly MajorityLeader, Hon. Chidi Lloyd, theAide-De-Camp (ADC) to theRivers State Governor, Ag.ASP Debeware-Semeikumo,and the Chief Security Officer(CSO) to the Governor, TonyIwelu to report to Force CID,Force Headquarters, Abujawithout summoning theAssemblyman Evans Bipi whoignited the clashes by invadingthe House of Assembly with

thugs in order to imposehimself as the Speaker.

In another development,Governor Chibuike Amaechiof Rivers State has raised thealarm over the presence ofPolicemen not known to eitherhim or officials of the RiversState Government. GovernorAmaechi in a statement signedby Commissioner forInformation, Mrs. IbimSeminatiri alleged that oneInspector Bawa yesterdayreported to the GovernmentHouse claiming to have beenposted from the PoliceHeadquarters Abuja to“monitor the Rivers StateGovernor’s lodge.” TheGovernor noted that, “we areaware that on issues ofpersonal safety, an officialreserves the right to pick thesecurity personnel to whom heor she may entrust their safety.This is more so in the case of aState Governor. We areworried that we can no longerguarantee the safety ofGovernor Chibuike Amaechi

andon ensAmsecSta

RPA

Rthe camHarwasaptfittelesssurpthat

Midweek Magazine

wathein resbasCowitSanin Sdan

GpubHaras danwomilconup

Iswanare

MA

TcrifroAmoffPrefro

President Goodluck Jonathan Dame Patience Jonathan, First Lad

lawmaker representingAndoni/Opobo-Nkoro FederalConstituency of Rivers State,Hon. Dakuku Peterside,described the incident asbarbaric, sadistic anddangerous the hiring of thugsand ex-militants by desperateRivers politicians todeliberately embarrass thenorthern governors who werein Port Harcourt to paysolidarity visit to Amaechi.“When did we degenerate tothis Hobbesian and primitivestate?” the lawmaker asked. Hewarned that those fanning theembers of discord must beready to reap the whirlwind,adding, “They should reflecton the events of the WesternRegion parliament in Ibadanthat eventually led to the endof the First Republic and thedisputed Ondo State election in1983, and decide if this is thepath they want to go.” Heexpressed concern over theindifference of the police in theattack. “I wonder why thepolice in Rivers State under

itics: Impunity And Threatd wish to reiterate our callall relevant authorities to

sure the safety of Governormaechi and the peace andcurity of everyone in Riversate.”REPLAYING THE UGLYAST:Records have it that before

incumbent administrationme to power in 2007, Portrcourt, Rivers State capitals turned into a war zone ortly put a jungle where theest determines the fate of theser animals. It sounds prettyprising, but not unexpectedt this hitherto ‘garden city’

country come 2015, therebytruncating the second termambition of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan who isfrom the same geo-politicalzone with him (South-South).To these people annihilatingAmaechi politically bydeploring any undemocraticmachinery does not matter iftheir agenda can be achieved.While this assumption heldsway, one day one problembecame the order in RiversState. With her oil-wellsreallocated to neighbouringsister states, Rivers is being

under the State Commissionerof Police, Mr. Mbu JosephMbu.

Mbu’s ignominious move toempower the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers: Chinda,Kelechi Godspower Nwogu(Omuma), Evans BapakayeBipi (Ogu/Bolo), MartinsAmaewhule (Obio/Akpor I)and Victor Ihunwo (PortHarcourt III) who are loyal tothe Minister of State forEducation, Chief NyesomWike to impeach the Speaker,Otelemaba Dan Amachree, topave the way for the eventual

as untoward and regrettableand called on all thoseinvolved in the crises to showgreater respect for theconstitution and the rule of lawin a statement by thepresidential spokesman,Reuben Abati.

Mr. Emeka Reuben Okala aSocial Commentator who isbased in United Kingdomasked, “If I may ask: Whatwere the crimes of Hon.Otelemaba Amachree, theSpeaker that drove a group ofjust five disgruntledlawmakers to hastily declarehim impeached just like that?The last time I checked, beforean elected officer is impeachedin a democracy, charges arepreferred against him or her forwhatever alleged offences thatthey may have committed. Achance is given to them todefend themselves, even in akangaroo court. I have waitedpatiently since yesterday asmany versions of the story ofthis very disturbing, macabreincident unfold, but have notyet read anywhere about theoffence(s) of the Speaker andthe chance he was given todefend himself. Do you just getinto the Chamber andpronounce the Speakerimpeached just like that? I’mstill struggling to understandthe meaning of the madness ofyesterday (9th July)! To makethe whole drama look mostidiotic, the ‘so-called’lawmakers who carried out theignoble act, were just only fivein number out of a total numberof 32, a far distance from aquorum. I don’t get it! To addinsult to injury, the Governorof the state gave an order to apoliceman to get the unrulyand dangerous lawmaker [law-breaker] arrested and thepoliceman disobeyed, even inthe very presence of theCommissioner of Police Mr.Mbu. This cannot happen evenunder a military rule. Ithappened once in Nigeriaimmediately after Gen. AguyiIronsi was senselessly wasted,and law and order totallybroken, with the attendant nearwar situation. An ordinary footsoldier refused to take an orderfrom Brigadier Ogundipe whowas then the highest rankingarmy officer. The soldier toldhim (Ogundipe) in the face thathe would only take order fromhis boss! Who was his boss? Afar junior officer to Ogundipe.

Is Rivers State at a brink ofwar? Has Law and Ordertotally broken down in myState? The policeman whorefused to carry out theGovernor’s Order couldn’thave had the gut to do sowithout an instruction from his“boss” in that regard — a boss

who should be reporting toAmaechi in the first place,being the Chief SecurityOfficer of the state.

With what happenedyesterday, the currentCommissioner of Police in thestate Mr. Mbu failed in his dutyto provide security when it wasmost needed. Suppose Mr.Bipialaka’s (acclaimedspeaker) supporters or thugshad obeyed their commanderand shot the Governor; whatwould have happened couldbetter be imagined thanexperienced. More so, with theCP present, but doingpractically nothing!

For crying out loud, the CP’sduty should be reviewed as amatter of urgency, especially asthere is clearly no love lostbetween him and theGovernor, in the interest andsafety of the State and itspeople.

If the account of IbimSemenitari, the StateCommissioner for Informationand Communications, isauthentic, then Mr. EvansBipialaka should be arrestedand investigated for givinginstruction to thugs to “Shoothim (the governor)”, and forengaging in and instigating anillegal action that threatenedLaw and Order in the state”.

Segun Adeniyi,Spokesperson of the latePresident, Yar’Adua and acolumnist with ThisdayNewspaper seems to have aclearer piece of this funny andstrange happenings in RiversState in an article he titled,‘What a National Disgrace’.According to him, “Such is thelevel of chicanery in oursystem today that 16 isofficially recognised as abigger number than 19 while a“majority” of five is nowenough to impeach a speakerin a House of Assembly wherethere are 32 members; and asa commentator pointed outduring the week, since theBible says “one shall chase athousand”, those fivelawmakers are more thanenough to also impeach thesitting governor! The problem,however, is that a system thatencourages these kinds ofperfidy is clearly endangered”.The Conference of Speakers ofState Legislators of Nigeriathrough Mr. Inuwa Garba itsChairman and the Gombe StateAssemble Speaker condemnedthe purported ousting of RiversState House of AssemblySpeaker Otelemeba DanAmachree, saying it isunconstitutional and barbaric.“It has come to the notice ofthe Conference of the Speakersof State Legislators of Nigeriathat five Honourable members

of Rivers State House ofAssembly with the aid ofhoodlums allegedly invadedthe Honourable House andannounced the impeachmentof the Speaker of the House,Right Honourable OtelemebaDan Amachree and purportedto have replaced him withHonourable Evans. “TheConference of Speakers dohereby condemns the action ofthe five Honourable membersof that House in totality as itcontravenes the Constitution.“Section 92 (2c) of the 1999Constitution as amendedprovides that the Speaker couldonly be removed by theresolution of the House via thevote of not less than two-thirdsmajority of the entire membersof that House. “In view of thatConstitutional provision, fivemembers alone cannot removea Speaker of the House ofAssembly of 32 Honourablemembers. This therefore,implies that the action of thosefive members isunconstitutional and null andvoid.” Garba urged theNational Assembly “to declareaction of the five honourablemembers as treason andcommence process of takingappropriate constitutionalaction against them in order tosave our democracy”.

NOW, THE QUESTIONWE SHOULD BE ASKINGIS THAT ARE THOSEENGINEERING THEMESS IN RIVERS STATEACTUALLY INTERESTEDIN THE FUTURE OF THEPOLITICS OF PRESIDENTJONATHAN?

In a previous article on themacabre dance in Rivers State,I have said Governor Amaechiis never the problem ofPresident Jonathan actualizinghis future politicalcalculations, but some peoplewho felt otherwise havecontinued to engineer onecrisis or the other creating theimpression that they are veryinterested in the future politicalfeats of the President, whiledestroying all his democraticlegacies and his feats these pastfew years. Today the institutionof the Presidency in Nigeriahas been reduced to anindecorous and unseemlystatus by those who feel thatbringing down Amaechi is thesolution to winning the 2015presidential election notknowing that they are workingtowards bringing down theaspiration of Mr. President andcan only said to havesucceeded to bring his imageand his person to scorn, if thestatements by these greatNigerians and Institutions areanything to go by.

as at it were, ranked amonge three most dangerous cities

the world. The humanources unit of New York-sed Marsh & McLennans. had equated Port Harcourtth Baghdad, capital of Iraq,na in Yemen and KhartoumSudan, as the world’s mostngerous cities.Going by the rankingblished by Bloomberg, Portrcourt ranked with Baghdadone of the world’s most

ngerous cities for foreignorkers as criminal gangs andlitia groups seeking greaterntrol of energy revenue stepattacks.s this where these gladiatorsnt to take Rivers State to, we

e watching?HOW DID THIS

ADNESS BEGIN?The genesis of the presentsis in Rivers State stems

om claims that Governormaechi may contest thefice of the President or Viceesident with a candidatem the Northern part of the

Midweek Magazine

dy Gov Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State

denied billions of Naira, someof which would have helped todefray the cost of rehabilitatingterrible and impassable FederalRoads in the State like the Aba-PH road where travellers haveto spend three hours beforeentering Port Harcourt ajourney of 20minutes. Apartfrom Ebonyi and few otherStates, Rivers is deniedappointments into federalestablishments; the state-ownedjet has been grounded, evenwhen facts points that itgenuinely belong to the State.The Nigeria Governors’ Forum,NGF election where Amaechidefeated his Plateau Statecounterpart, Jonah Jang with 19to 16 votes is in a manner ofspeaking, in the state ofinvalidation. The Governor hasbeen suspended from a party hehas contributed so much inbuilding even against theconstitution of the party.Insecurity is all time high in theState, as investors who troopedto the state are now scared, dueto the unfriendly atmosphere

removal of the Governor(Amaechi) clearly bears thisout. That the situation wasresisted and the machinations ofthe five lawmakers failed is athing of joy. Although, attemptsto thwart the plan of the fivedissenting voices resulted in theexchange of blows by thelawmakers and their supportersin the hallowed chambers of theAssembly, with both sidessustaining injuries, while themace, the symbol of legislativeauthority was broken.

Though President GoodluckJonathan hosted most of the keyactors in this macabre dance inRivers State few days ago at theState House, Abuja, while hiswife and Nigerian’s first lady,Dame Patience Jonathan hadspent about eleven days in PortHarcourt, where she allegedlymet with the gladiators opposedto governor Amaechi butreacting to the futile attempt bythe five lawmakers to impeachthe Speaker of the 32-membersState Assembly, the Presidentdescribed the Rivers PDP crisis Continues on page 18

Midweek Magazine... Desporation In Nigerian PoliticsContd from page 17

Mohammed Abubakar, I.G of Police

First to react to this macabredance was the former VicePresident Atiku Abubakar whoexpressed regret that the failureto punish similar crudeattempts in the past such as theNgige saga in Anambra Statein July of 2004 had encouragedimpunity among those seekingto impeach elected leaders bymeans other than thatenshrined in the constitution.“It is sad that those who areseeking to subvert our nascentdemocracy are some of thosewho never fought for whatmany laid down their lives for.These persons are advised totake heed to the festering crisisin Egypt following a forcedchange of leadership in thatcountry,” Atiku said.

Second, in its Editorial ofJuly 12th titled ‘Jonathan’srivers of shame’ the NationNewspapers stated thus: “THEtheatre of the absurd unfoldingin Rivers State should give anypatriotic and peace-lovingNigerian a sense of foreboding.With impunity in the air, theconstitution in peril and officialstamp from the high office ofthe presidency, the morallegitimacy of this republic isfast sliding downhill. By theweek and recently by the day,the conflict between RiversState Governor, RotimiAmaechi, and PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, imbuesthe nation with nausea.Respect for law has swappedplaces with brigandage, andthe average Nigerian watchesas the President engages in abestial war of proxies. Therecent development has all thetrappings of déjà vu. The firstopen show of power was theorder to strand GovernorAmaechi’s aircraft. Thepresidency failed to cloak it asa matter of technical procedurewithout political undertone.Findings from investigationshave exposed not only theimbecilities of the aviationauthorities but also revealedthem as couriers of maliciousorders. The Nigeria Governors’Forum (NGF) election hasshowcased, more than anyother evidence, the desperationof the president. After defyingthe rules of aircraft landing, thenecessity for peace, he and hisproxy governors defied thepurity of arithmetic by making16 superior to 19 votes. Heexecuted that anomaly purelyin bungled bid to removeGovernor Amaechi aschairman of the NGF. He alsoinspired the factionalisation ofthe group such that his loyalistsnow formed a parallel forum”.

Third, Lagos State chapter ofthe PDP described the crisis inRivers State as “highlyembarrassing.” Speaking in anexclusive chat with DailyIndependent on Tuesday,Publicity Secretary of the party

in the state, Taofik Gani, saidthe action of Rivers lawmakerswas unbecoming because it issending a wrong signal to theoutside world about howdemocracy is being practicedin Nigeria. He added thatpoliticians, as leaders and elderstatesmen, must learn toresolve their differencesamicably in the interest of thecitizens of the state.

Similarly, the ActionCongress of Nigeria, AccordParty and the NationalCoordinator of NorthernPoliticians, Academician andProfessional Businessman[CNAPAPB] Dr. JunaidMuhammed have in theirstatements called for theimmediate impeachment ofMr. President as a recourse tosaving our democraticprinciples from furtherignobility.

The Jigawa state chapter ofthe PDP condemned thepolitical crises and fracas in theRiver state House of Assemblysaying “it is real unfortunateand quick attention is neededto save the situation“.

Nobel laureate, Prof. WoleSoyinka while lending hisvoice on the matter, blamedPresident Goodluck Jonathanfor the political crisis rockingRivers State, warning thatNigeria was fast slidingtowards monarchism; thesystem of government wheretoo much power is vested inone person”.

Human rights lawyer, Mr.Femi Falana said it wasregrettable that exactly 10years after a group of thugsattempted to abduct a sittinggovernor in Anambra State,another set of thugs attemptedto undermine democraticinstitutions in Rivers State.Falana said the silence ofPresident Jonathan on theunfortunate development inRivers State was tantamount toan endorsement of the politicalcrisis. “We have been throughthis route before. We must tellthem that we are not aconquered people. The case ofRivers is more absurd, moreodious, where five members ofthe assembly aided by the stateinvaded the Assemblychambers and chased awaytheir colleagues”.

The Nigeria LabourCongress (NLC), GovernorMuazu Babangida of NigerState, Speaker of the KwaraState House of Assembly,Razak Atunwa and a non-governmental organisation,Stop Impunity Nigeria (S.I.N.)all deplored the mayhem in theState House of Assembly.

The Petroleum and NaturalGas Senior Staff Association ofNigeria (PENGASSAN) ontheir own side has threatened

to suspend operations over thecrisis rocking the Rivers StateHouse of Assembly.

To the National LabourCongress (NLC) the anti-Amaechi lawmakers aredesperados; describing the acts asshameful. “While it isunimaginable and ridiculous in ademocracy that five members ofthe House of Assembly wouldcontemplate impeaching aspeaker who enjoys the supportof 26 other members. It is ashameful tactics employed by thecombatants in their desperationfor power,” Omar added that the

disturbing part was the ignoblerole of the police in the crisis. “Itis not helpful for the Presidencyto continuously deny the stokingof crisis in the state. The travailsof the Rivers State Governor, Mr.Rotimi Ameachi, in recent timesand the reaction of stalwarts ingovernment and the ruling partyare apparent indicators that thePresidency cannot absolve itselffrom the crisis in the state. Thethreat to withdraw security to theGovernor, which is guaranteedby the constitution, and the sourrelationship between Amaechiand the state Commissioner ofPolice, whom he has called forredeployment and the requestturned down, are clear pointersto the complicity of the FederalGovernment,” NLC argued.

Civil Society LegislativeAdvocacy Centre (CISLAC) andthe Environment Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria(ERA/FoEN) in a statementsigned by its Executive Director,Auwal Ibrahim Musa(Rafsanjani), said Nigeriansconsidered it embarrassing andappalling, the unfolding scenariothat made members of the RiversState House of Assembly toresort to uncivilised action andbarbarism reminiscent of the

jungle. “We are alarmed atthe preceding events whichindicated an attempt by fivelegislators in a house of 32members purportedlyimpeaching the Speaker andreplacing him. This act,which is a flagrant disregardof all laid down rules of theHouse and the Constitutionof the Federal Republic ofNigeria is not only illegal,unlawful and undemocratic,it is also immoral,retrogressive and a threat to

To Anthony CardinalOkogie, Archbishop

Emeritus of CatholicArchdiocese of Lagos, “Icondemn the crisis in theRivers State House ofAssembly. Moreimportantly, it is verydisappointing to see our so-called honourablesexchanging blows likegangsters.“Such an act, if notcheckmated, is an invitationto terrorism andgangsterism. I call on everyright thinking Nigerian torise and speak against suchunruly conduct by men whoare supposed to be makinglaws of our land.

Action Congress ofNigeria (ACN) NationalLeader Asiwaju Bola Tinubuin his reaction stated,“However, we all know thetruth but most are afraid tospeak. There are no way thepolice and small number offive lawmakers would act sobrazenly, unless they receiveinstructions from their highplaces, attempted to impeachthe Speaker. Nigerians mustask: Is this way the PresidentJonathan intends totransform Nigeria? Byturning it from an imperfectdemocracy into a perfect

mess? “In some ways, thisRivers episode is notsurprising. What happened inthe Rivers House is one morereminder. PDP leaders holddemocracy in contempt andwill trample on it, if given theslightest opportunity. If theyinvert the relatively smallnumbers involved in theNigerian Governors Forumand the Rivers State House,what they might do to generalelections involving such alarge population as ours is ahard piece of wood to chew.”

My question is, must wecontinue in these acts ofimpunity and continue to givethe image of Mr. President anegative outlook without Mr.President intervening to stopall these inimical acts gearedtowards creating unnecessaryenemies for him?

But not minding all theseprovocative acts, GovernorAmaechi have demonstrateduncommon leadership makinghis detractors and those thatwant him out to look dumb andconfused!

INTERVENTION OF THENATIONAL ASSEMBLY.

Though the Senate has sentits Committee to visit RiversState and investigate the matterthe crisis in the assembly, theHouse of Representatives havein a resolution said it has takenover the affairs of the RiversAssembly in a in bid to restoresanity to the State. In aunanimous voice vote, theHouse of Representatives, onWednesday, invoked Section11(4) of the 1999 Constitutionas amended and resolved thatthe National Assembly shouldtake over the functions of thecrisis-ridden Assembly.

Also, the House resolved thatthe Inspector General ofPolice, Mr MohammedAbubakar, should as a matterof urgency re-deploy theRivers State Commissioner ofPolice, Mr Joseph Mbu.

The senator representingRivers South-East in theNational Assembly, SenatorMagnus Abe, commended thetimely intervention of theHouse of Representatives inthe crisis in Rivers State. Hesaid the unanimous position ofmembers during the debate onRivers Assembly crisisrekindled their commitmentagainst undemocratictendencies now creeping intothe national polity. He said asituation where democraticinstitutions were abused andcrippled by agenciesestablished to protectdemocracy portended dangerat the tunnel and urged otherdemocratic institutions in thecountry not to sit and watchNigeria’s hard earned

democracy being wasted on thealter of political interest.

Anthony Cardinal Okogie,Archbishop Emeritus ofCatholic Archdiocese of Lagosin a statement commended theHouse of Representatives fordeclaring legislativeemergency in the state statingthat such a step was necessaryin order to safeguard theintegrity of governance in thecountry.

Conclusion:The fact remains that many

Nigerians and institutions havecried out for GovernorAmaechi to be left alone butsadly, the more the pleas, themore those who want tocontinue to disparage thePresident will continue in actscapable of undermining theimage of the present occupantof such exalted office.

Even as I congratulate PastorAyodele Oritsejafor on his welldeserved re-election as CANPresident, let me appeal to himto intervene and find a way outof this madness in Rivers Stateseeing that the two politicalleaders (Jonathan andAmaechi) have much respectfor him and may listen to himas other pleas in this regardseem to have fallen on deafears.

Also, the General Overseerof Redeemed Church of God,Senior Pastor, Enoch Adeboyeneed to intervene in this mater,as the present faceoff betweenthe two is already threateningNigeria’ s democracy, hencethese respected men of Godshould not watch from thesides.

I will conclude this article byquoting Alan Barth (1906–1979) an Author and ajournalist specializing in civilliberties and best known for his30-year stint as an editorialwriter at the Washington Postwhen he stated that, “Thoughtthat is silenced is alwaysrebellious. Majorities, ofcourse, are often mistaken.This is why the silencing ofminorities is necessarilydangerous. Criticism anddissent is the indispensableantidote to major delusions”.

While to Woody Allen anAmerican film director, writer,musician, actor and comedianmust have foreseen our presentsorrow state when he stated,“We stand today at acrossroads: One path leads todespair and utter hopelessness.The other leads to totalextinction. Let us hope wehave the wisdom to make theright choice”.

Eze Chukwuemeka Eze is aMedia Consultant based inPort Harcourt and could be

reached throughezemediaconcept08@rocketmail.com

Natural Medicine WithDr. MAO

08030717341

Menopausal SyndromeMENOPAUSAL syndrome is the constellation ofsymptoms which menopause gives rise to in women.Before we discuss them, let’s first of all know whatmenopause is. Briefly, menopause occurs whenwoman stop menstruation naturally in their post-adult age of between 45 and 55years. Before the onset of menopause, the womanexperiences irregular menses and bleeding pattern.Because some women are not prepared for thedevelopment, the experience traumatizes them. Butit shouldn’t. Afterall, it is a natural event. Everymenses with a beginning has an end. Life is acontinuum. Not all women experience menopausal syndrome.Studies show that 35% of women don’t have it. Incontradistinction, 65% of women encounter thesyndrome. Out of this, 15% of women have severe symptomswhile 50% others suffer mild attacks of thesyndrome. The fundamental reason why menopause occurs isthat when a woman approaches the median age of50, ovaries shrink leading to a drop in or totalstoppage of the secretion of a hormone calledestrogen. Invariably, progesterone, a twin ovarianhormone, now predominates child-bearing is nomore naturally possible as a result. As I have said earlier on, menopause can be causedby the natural age progression of a women in herlater years. However, there are unnatural reasonswhy menopause may step in. One of them is thesurgical removal of the ovaries, maybe, because ofbreast cancer or other illnesses. Below are the syndrome associated withmenopause. Firstly, a woman begins to experiencesudden tiredness. Unlike before, she now suffersfrom fatigue, frequently. Secondly, her hair loses their gloss mass and texture.They break more easily resulting in poor hairdistribution pattern on her head. Sometimes, she has bald patches like those of men.Thirdly, she suffers from heart palpitation whichexposes her to an elevated risk of heart problems. Fourthly, her libido drops. Sex does not interesther as much as it did before. This condition isworsened if she experiences pain/injury duringintercourse. The pain/injury arise from poor vaginallubrication; and her thinner vaginal cell wall due toher menopause. These are responsible for herfrequent urinary/ reproductive tract infections. Fifthly, a woman in menopause suffers from lossof fat in the skin and poor skin elasticity. Because

of these developments, she experiences wrinkling ofthe skin which no cream can fully remedy. Or hasold age any medicine? Of course, no. Furthermore,her skin is thinner. Thus, it cannot offer as muchprotection against environmental factors as it didpreviously. Sixthly, she suffers from joint and muscle painarising from the wearing away of her joints/ muscles.Linked to this is her new status of osteoporosis giventhe fact that her blood estrogen hormone has either

dropped significantly or has been phased out by hernon-functioning ovaries. Seventhly, she begins to put on weight with moreof it deposited around that waist line. Her growingweight means that her physical movements slowdown. This results in further building up more weight.If she doesn’t exercise and modify her diet, sheballons with time migrating from overweight toobesity. she is also prone to recurrent body heat, whichinterpret as malaria or typhold fever. Hence, the needfor differential diagnosis by a health care giver toknow what is really wrong with her. It isn’t enoughfor her to be popping pain or fever medications

because this habit will damage her liver or kidneyover time. She will experience cold night sweats. It is acondition in which she wakes up all night only tofind her body soaked in cold sweat. Certainly, thiscan be embarrassing. However, when she is awareof this sysmptomatic effect of menopause, she willbe able to cope with it. Tenthly, she also will have what is called hot flushesor flashes. Here, there is an elevated blood flow to

her skin for some minutes. Therefore, the skinbecomes warmer. She feels a sensation of generalwarmth under her skin for a fleeting moment. Her breasts are equally affected by her menopause.Her once relatively saggy mass of breasts now loseform, dropping and becoming flat and slipper-likeon her. Chest. Hence when she walks or runs theyflap with pendulous attractive A main reason whyher breasts take on this new profile is because herovaries doesn’t produce estrogen or significantamount of it required for stimulating her breasttissues. To reverse this trend, some women undertakeestrogen replacement therapy or breast transplants.Well, these procedures have their own benfits andshortcomings. Take your pick. Women in menopause also experience memoryloss. Thus, they tend to misplace things during thisseason of her waning but interesting life. On a final note, she now also has to battle withdepression, irritabity, anxiety, loss of dynamicexuberance, difficult breathing and poor sleep atnight What a load of health challengers for a womanin her menopause. Well, there is no cause for alarm.Natural medicine is well stocked with resource tomanage the syndrome accompanying this phase ofher life

“The fundamental reason why menopause occurs is thatwhen a woman approaches the median age of 50, ovariesshrink leading to a drop in or total stoppage of thesecretion of a hormone called estrogen. Invariably,progesterone, a twin ovarian hormone, now predominateschild-bearing is no more naturally possible as a result.”

Best To Know God FromChildhood

WithVICTOR ANIUKWUNew Horizon

Continues on page 24

ONCE upon a time,Prablad Maharaj, a saintlylittle boy who always taughthis classmates and friendshow to praise God bychanting His holy namesand dancing, stated that.‘One who is intelligentshould use the human formor body from the verybeginning of’ life- in otherwords, from the tender ageof childhood to Practice theactivities of ’ devotionalservice to the supreme lord. This human body is mostlyrarely achieved, andalthough temporary likeother bodies, it ismeaningful because inhuman life one can performdevotional service in full tothe supreme Lord. Even aslight amount of devotionalservice can give onecomplete perfection. Thepurpose of this verse is thatfrom childhood, one shouldbe taught about Godconsciousness. This mistakeof modern civilization is thatwe are bringing up spoiledchildren. So when they growup and become hippiesbandits, it is not their fault.It is the fault of their parentsnor guardians. When young people goagainst social convention, itis not the fault of theyoungsters, but the fault ofthe educational system, thefault of the parents fault ofthe teachers. Ninety percentof world leaders are notinterested about the greatscience of’ the super soul butonly interested in whatmaterial science can offer.This science of the supersoul is not inculcated in theeducational curriculum persay. The preliminaryteaching of the super soulstates that you must firstunderstand who you are.And who are you?Materially, you are aprofessor, engineer,

scientist, Doctor. Artist etc.And spiritually, your trueconstitutional position is thatyou are a spirit soul, part andparcel of the supreme Lord.When you are able tounderstand this your positionwith God, you can begin tosee and understand your truerelationship with God andhow to develop it — that ispure God consciousness. This is not calling God inabstract You sing about God,dance about God, and go tochurch but you cannot tellme about the personality ofGod. Then who are youworshiping. A trueworshipper of God be you ofany position know that Godis a person and that God hashis spiritual personality andmust be worshipped. If youcan’t and don’t teach thechildren about thepersonality of God, what istheir pride in worshipping aGod that they don’t knownor can’t talk about. If Godis your father and our father,isn’t it worth while that wecan talk, discuss and knowmore ills divine Person? Inthis world, everyone knowshis material father and cantalk, tell, and discuss abouthim. And those who knowand don’t care to know willalso deny the personality oftheir father. So majority ofpeople and preachers whodon’t know nor care to knowabout the personality of God,and sees God as formless,also say that one cannot seeGod, one cannot talk aboutGod, one cannot imagineGod. Remember that theBible says that “the pure inHeart shall see God”. That isperfection of man, butperfection does not come inone day, month, year nordecade. And so to be pure in

heart, one should cultivatefrom the early stage of likeMaterial cum spiritualeducation both are supposedto go paripasu to achieve theutmost result of Godrealization. If you ever travelto India, have you heard Jama Muslid. This is the

greatest mosque in theworld. Many foreignerstravel to see this edifice. Itwas constructed by EmperorShah Jahan about threehundred years ago, or a littlemore than that. TheMohammadans are veryparticular to teach the Koranfrom the very beginning.That is a nice system.Whether you teach theKoran or the Bible or theBhagavad—Gita, it doesn’tmatter. One should have theidea of God consciousness.Then one can begin todevelop. This opportunity

should he offered to thechildren those who do notgive this opportunity are notreal guardians, real parentsor real teachers.

Prahiad Maharaj — thesaintly little boy once saidthat children should hetaught dharman bhagavatam,“the religion of Godconsciousness. He does notsay Hindu religion.Mohammedan religion nor

Christian religion Bhagavatameans pertaining to God. Sowhatever your idea aboutGod may be, you mustimpress upon your childrenthat there is a God that issupreme. Actually there isGod. To deny God or to saythat God is not a Person norGod is dead is simplyrescaldom. So whateverreligion sect you mayprofess, Prahlad Maharajsays that everyone shouldhave the idea of Godconsciousness and hispersonality. Krishna ofcourse, means God. But ifsomebody has an objection

to Krishna because thisname is an Indian name or aSanskrit name or Krishnaappearing in India, it doesn’tmatter. We are concernedwith the philosophy, and theteachings. Buddha was alsoIndian. He was Hindu. Andwhy is Buddhism acceptedby so many people of theworld? Japan, China,Burma, why? Thephilosophy. And also LordJesus Christ appeared inPalestine. He was notEuropean or American,

Indian nor Chinese, butthere are many ChineseChristians, IndianChristians, EuropeanChristians and AmericanChristians etc. If some ideaof religion is developed in aparticular country, weshould not take it that it ismeant for that particularcountry, no. That is amistake. God is one, just likethe sun is also one. If the sunappears in America, it doesnot become American sunNo. The sun remains thesun. There is no Americansun nor Indian sun — thesun merely rotates.Sometimes on Americanland, sometime on Indianland or Chinese land.Canakya Pundit says that wehave classes of menaccording to vedicconception — Brahmana,Ksatriya, vaisya, Sudra.These four classes areaccepted. The chandalas aredog eaters and seen as fifthclass. And if one is chandala,that do not mean that the

moon will not shine on hishouse. The moon is soliberal that it doesn’t matterif it is the house of achandala or the house of’ asaint. The same applies torain. ‘There is no necessityof rain on the sea, becausevast of water is there but therain falls into the sea becausethe rain is liberal, it is meantfor everyone no matter yourstatus or situation. Rain ismeant for the land and alsothe sea where there isalready a body of water.Similarly any Godconsciousness movement isnot meant for a particularcountry for a particularsection of society. No. Don’tthink that Bagavad- Gita andSrimad Bahavatum aremeant for the Hindus or theIndians. They are meant forevery one, just like the Bible.

Prahlad Maharaj, the littlesaintly boy said, fromchildhood, one should hetaught the science of God.Dharman Bhagavatammeans the science of God.just try to understand theword Dharma. Dharma isgenerally translated intoEnglish as religion. Butdharma does not mean aparticular type of faith. Thatis not the sanscript import.Dharma means the naturalquality. Everything has somenatural quality orcharacteristic. The naturalcharacteristic for everyliving entity is to serve.Nobody can say, I am notserving. Every one of us is aservant. You can go up to thehighest, the Prime minister,or President, and everyone isa servant. Some of us go tothe lower level of’ serving adog as pet or a cat in thehome. Whether you are aChristian, a Hindu or aMohammadan, you have toserve. It is not that becauseone is a Christian or a Hinduhe hasn’t got to serve. Somany Indians have comehere. What is theirprofession? They are justserving. They arc servingsome company or someinstitution or University.Service was there in Indiaand service is also here inNigeria. So this is alsoreligion. Religion meanscharacteristic. You cannotchange your characteristic.In whatever circumstanceyou may be, thecharacteristic will continue.

“When young people go against social convention, itis not the fault of the youngsters, but the fault of theeducational system, the fault of the parents fault ofthe teachers. Ninety percent of world leaders are notinterested about the great science of’ the super soulbut only interested in what material science can offer.”

Place Of PrayerWith

Pastor SamuelO. Osaghae

SMS Only08030809339

How Intimate Are YouWith God? (7)IN this seventh study of

the benefits of intimacy, wewill study the book ofZechariah 4:1-14 andcarefully bring out thebenefits of divine intimacyas revealed in thatscripture.

The scripture opens upwith a revelation toZechariah of a CandleStick made completely ofpure gold. The candlestickdescribed in this scriptureis formed in some measureafter that of the sanctuary,Exodus 25:31,32; but inthat of the sanctuary therewas no bowl, nor sevenpipes, nor seven lamps, northe two olive trees. The twoolive trees were to supplythe bowl with oil; the bowlwas to communicate the oilto the seven pipes; and theseven pipes were to supplythe seven lamps. Ingeneral, the candlestick, itsbowl, pipes, lamps, andolive trees, are emblems ofthe pure service of God,and the grace and salvationto be enjoyed by His trueworshippers. Without asteady supply of oil fromthe olive trees to the lamps,the candle stick would notbe able to give light whichis the whole essence ofcreating it.

From the illustrationgiven above, we can seetwo implications:

The intimacy between thetwo olive trees and theLord makes them to be thecarrier of the oil.

The intimacy between thelamps and the olive treesgave the lamps whichrepresents the body ofChrist access to a ceaselesssupply of oil (anointing)needed for it to glow andshine as the light of theworld, Matt. 5:14, so thatthe prophetic message ofIsaiah 60:1-3 will come tofulfillment.

Intimacy is therefore anundeniable prerequisite forall those who must shinebrightly as light in thiswicked and perverse world.Without a consistent link orconnection to God who isthe source of our light asChristians, we will not be

able to make any impact onthe earth. We will just walkthrough the earth and leaveno mark on it. Dailyintimacy with God is whatgives His children theability to shine brightly andmake meaningful impacton everyone that crossestheir path. All those thatdwell daily in intimacywith God will not onlycarry a full measure of theanointing of the HolySpirit, but will also shinebrightly and be instrumentsthrough which unbelieverswill be brought to theknowledge of God. As youbegin to spend quality timeon a regular and consistentbasis with God, you will beentitled to the followingbenefits of intimacyrevealed in this scripture:

1. Divine assistance andsupport vs 6. Not by might,nor by power, but by myspirit, saith the LORD ofhosts. You will no longerhave to depend on yourwisdom or ability to getthings done, God will helpyou achieve great resultsby His Spirit that dwellsrichly in you. What othersstruggle to get, you will getwithout effort and you willget to heights in life that arebeyond your dreams andimagination, not by yourstrength but by divinegrace.

2. All intimidatingsituations in your life willbe reduced to nothingnessvs 7. Who art thou, 0 greatmountain beforeZerubbabel, thou shaltbecome a plain. All thosethat dwell consistently inintimacy with God will nothave to battle with uglysituations, God will byHimself handle everyopposition on their pathand take away limitingfactors so that there is nolimit to their greatness andexplosion in life. Thosethat have an intimaterelationship with God willnot have to bother abouttheir enemies, you will notneed to kill them with your

prayers because God willhandle them by Himself asHe deems fit.

3. Prosperity in the midstof opposition vs 7. And heshall bring forth theheadstone thereof withshouting, crying, Grace,grace unto it. Theimplication of this is that as

he has laid the foundationstone, so shall he put on theheadstone: as he has begunthe building, so shall hefinish it! And all those thatwill see the completedwork will exclaim, “Howbeautiful is this structure!”God prepares a table ofincrease and celebration forthose that are intimate withHim even in the midst ofopposition. In times ofeconomic recession andglobal crises, they that havean intimate relationship arekept in affluence and greatprosperity because they

survive not by the world’seconomy but by theeconomy of heaven. We arein the season right nowwhere only those that areconsistent in spending timewith God will prosperconsistently. It is a seasonof wealth transfer, onlythose that practice divineintimacy are properlypositioned for this transferof wealth from the Gentiles

to the children of light.4. You will complete

whatever project you beginvs 9. The hands ofZerubbabel have laid thefoundation of this house;his hands shall also finishit. Those that practicedivine intimacy do notleave their projects halfcompleted; they completeevery project they embarkon. The reason for this isthat God directs them andso whatever project theyembark upon in the firstplace is in line with God’spurpose for their life. God

is not known forabandoned projects and soHe releases upon His closeassociates the grace tocomplete whatever theybegin. You will concludethat academic degree

programme, that buildingproject, that businessinvestment, that travellingplan, that marriage plan,indeed all that you set outto do if you put God firstin your life and stay withHim consistently no matterthe pressure placed uponyou by those other thingsthat demand your attention.

5. Never ending graceand unction for exploits vs14. These are the twoanointed ones that stand bythe Lord of the whole earth.These denote Christ’sSpirit dwelling in his

ministers, whomZerubbabel and Joshuarepresented, andreplenishing them, andthrough them his church,with grace and strength.Those that have an intimate

relationship with the Fatherwill operate just like Him.The anointing of the HolySpirit is upon their lips andso whatever decree theymake come toestablishment. In God’sname they shall they castout devils; they shall speakwith new tongues; theyshall take up serpents; andif they drink any deadlything, it shall not hurt them;they shall lay hands on thesick, and they shall recoverMark 16:17-18.

“Intimacy is therefore an undeniable prerequisite for all those whomust shine brightly as light in this wicked and perverse world. Withouta consistent link or connection to God who is the source of our lightas Christians, we will not be able to make any impact on the earth.We will just walk through the earth and leave no mark on it.”

International News Compliled ByISAH STELLA

Rwandan Support ForCongo Rebels Continues

Turkish Troops Kill CivilianTrying To Cross Into Syria

At Least 6 Die In Cairo Violence

Vacancies exist in a manufacturing company situatedin Edo State for the following positions:

Position: Admin ManagerQualification: BSc /HND Accounting, BusinessAdministration; MBA /ICAN will be an addedadvantage; must be Computer Literate with knowledgeof accounting packages; ability to coordinate & manageat least 15 subordinates Experience: Minimum of 6 years in similar position

POSITION: PRODUCTION OFFICERQualification: BSc / HND Biological / AppliedSciences; Must be Computer Literate; ability tocoordinate & manage at least 10 subordinatesExperience: Minimum of 3 years in similar position

POSITION: ADMIN OFFICERQualification: BSc/HND Accounting, BusinessAdministration; Must be Computer Literate; ability towork without supervision and manage at least 10subordinatesExperience: Minimum of 3 years in similar positionPosition: TechnicianQualification: OND / City & GuildExperience: Minimum of 3 years in similar position ina production plant

POSITION: OFFICE ASSISTANTQualification: SSCE, Must be Computer LiterateExperience: Minimum of 2 years in similar position

METHOD OF APPLICATION:Send CV to vacancypharma@yahoo.com within 2weeksof this publication with position of interest as subject ofemail.

VACANCIESVACANCIESVACANCIESVACANCIESVACANCIES

Signed:Management

PUBLIC AUCTION SALESThe general public is hereby informed that the underlistedscrapped, unclaimed, abandoned Motor and Motorcycles/household items at the Area Command Headquarters, NigeriaPolice, Irrua, Edo State will be publicly auctioned. All claimsshould be made within twenty one days of this publication:Items are:- Audi A3 Sal. Car Reg. No. BF 268 USL, Three 070Scrap Steel Motor Saws, Cargo Motorcycles Reg. Nos. QD430 EKP, UN 443 JJT, QT 173 JRV, IM 5537MA, DayLongUE 341 JRV, Qlink Motorcycle QE 564 UWN and Some Scrapsunregistered Motorcycles of different type.

For further information, please contact the undersigned:TONY EBHOTEMEN, (POLICE AUCTIONEER).08033360680

IBOI-EHIAWAGUAN-I, formerly known andaddressed as MissT h e r e s aOnormuekpenmhen Iboi-Ehiawaguan now wish tobe known and addressedas Mrs. TheresaOmozele Ugwu. Allformer documents remainvalid. Concerned authori-ties and the general pub-lic should please takenote.

CHANGE OF NAME

frequent statements on borderincidents, in which some Turkishtroops have been wounded, in thepast few weeks, but Monday’sclash appeared to be the first timethe army had shot at civilianstrying to cross into Syria, and notinto Turkey, as is more common.

With its hilly terrain and thickvegetation, Hatay, a panhandleprovince that juts down intoSyria, makes a relatively easycrossing point for smugglers andrebel Syrian fighters, as well asrefugees fleeing the fighting inSyria.

Turkey shelters around500,000 Syrian refugees as wellas rebels fighting to overthrowSyrian President Bashar al-Assad, but while backing theSyrian insurgents, it deniesarming them.

In the most serious spillover ofviolence in weeks, a Turkish manwas killed and a boy wascritically wounded last week by

ANKARA - A Turkish borderpatrol killed one of eightcivilians trying to cross illegallyfrom Turkey into Syria on thetense frontier, the Turkishmilitary said yesterday.

The shooting was the latest ina string of fatal incidents alongthe 900 km (560 mile) borderand underscores a growingconcern that Syria’s more thantwo-year-old civil war is fuellinglawlessness and dragging inneighboring states.

The military, which did notgive the nationality of the eightcivilians or say whether theywere armed smugglers, said thegroup had been trying to crossfrom Turkey’s Hatay provinceinto northwestern Syria onMonday and had fired on theTurkish patrol after the troopshad whistled a warning.

The Turkish troops fired backin line with their rules ofengagement, killing one of thecivilians, it said.

The military has issued

stray bullets fired during clashesbetween Islamist militants andKurdish fighters in a Syrianborder town several hundredkilometers east of Hatay.

The Turkish military returnedfire in that incident as well asafter other similar ones along theborder since then.

Ankara has becomeincreasingly concerned with thegrowing violence along its borderwith Syria, particularly theKurdish region in the southeast,where it is worried the emergenceof an autonomous Kurdish regionin Syria could embolden its ownhome-grown militants fightingfor autonomy in Turkey.

Turkey, which has the secondlargest army in NATO but isreluctant to act unilaterally inSyria, has also hit out at theUnited Nations Security Councilfor failing to come to a unifiedstance over Syria, and has calledon it to take action.

CAIRO - Six people werekilled in Cairo yesterday inclashes between opponents andIslamist supporters of Egypt’sdeposed President MohamedMursi, state-run media reported,keeping the most populous Arabnation in turmoil.

The violence broke out beforedawn near a Brotherhood protestat Cairo University, where Mursisupporters have been camped outsince the army removed theIslamist politician from power onJuly 3 following protests againsthis rule.

The Brotherhood described it asan attack on peaceful protesters.Police sources said hundreds ofMursi supporters clashed withlocal residents, street vendors andothers near the sit-in. They said

gunshots were fired and stoneswere thrown.

With the Brotherhood vowingto stay in the streets, thebloodshed was a fresh exampleof the instability facing Egypt asthe newly-installed interimgovernment moves along anarmy-backed roadmap towardselections in about six months.

The state-run Al-Ahramnewspaper quoted a healthministry official as saying sixpeople had been killed and 33wounded, bringing to nine thenumber of deaths in politicalviolence in the last two days.

At least 15 burned-out cars layabandoned around the CairoUniversity area where theclashes took place. Splatteredblood and broken glass

disfigured the pavements near theshopping area where a trafficpolice station was set on fire.

Brotherhood members withsticks guarded the entrance to theprotest site after the clashescalmed, while residents stoppedcars on the road to CairoUniversity to check for weapons.

About 100 people have died inviolence since the army deposedMursi and replaced him with aninterim administration led by theAdli Mansour, the head of theconstitutional court. TheBrotherhood accuses the army oforchestrating a coup.

It said on its website that seven

“martyrs” had been killedovernight in two separate attackson Mursi supporters, one atCairo University and anotherduring a march near a biggerround-the-clock sit-in in thenorth of the city.

The Brotherhood says it willmaintain the sit-in until Mursi,held by the army in an unknownlocation since his overthrowafter a year in power as Egypt’sfirst freely elected president, isreinstated.

“Leaders of the military coupcontinue to terrorize the peacefulprotesters in Egypt,” theBrotherhood’s Freedom andJustice Party said in a statement.

GOMA, CONGO - The M23rebel group in eastern Congocontinues to receive significantsupport from neighboring Rwandadespite ongoing abuses includingkillings, rape and forcedrecruitment of children, accordingto a new report from Human RightsWatch.

The report released Monday saidthe group has summarily executedat least 44 people and raped at least61 women and girls since March.

M23 rebels killed 15 civilians onApril 25-26 and at least another sixin mid-June as payback forsuspected collaboration withCongolese militias, Human RightsWatch said. Other civiliansallegedly killed by M23 fighters inrecent months include a man shotdead for refusing to hand his sonsover to the movement, amotorcycle driver who refused togive them money and recruitscaught after trying to escape.

The abuses have continued inrecent weeks, the rights group said.Earlier this month, four M23fighters gang-raped a 12-year-oldgirl out fetching water.

United Nations experts and otherobservers have long accusedRwanda of backing the rebels,something the government ofPresident Paul Kagame hasconsistently denied.

A United Nations expert panelreported in June that Rwanda’ssupport for M23 had declined inrecent months, but HRW said thegroup still received training andsupplies and was able to recruit inRwanda.

“It does appear the support ismore limited than it was last year,

but what we have documented interms of support is still quitesignificant,” said HRWresearcher and report author IdaSawyer.

The M23 rebellion waslaunched in April 2012 by agroup of Congolese armymutineers who claimed a March23, 2009 agreement to integratethem into the army had not beenrespected by the government.

RECONCILIATION OF NAME

I, Lucky OmogiadeEsangbedo wish to bring forthe information of the gen-eral public that I am thesame person as LuckyOmogiade Utubor as ap-peared in my documents.Henceforth, I now wish tobe known and addressed asLucky OmogiadeEsangbedo. All formerdocuments remain valid.Concerned authorities andthe general public shouldplease take note.

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of ousted Egyptian PresidentMohamed Mursi shout slogans in Cairo

Soldiers carry out a rescue mission after a strong quake jolted Lalu Village, HetuoTownship, Minxian County, northwest China’s Gansu Province. A strong earthquake shookan arid, hilly farming area in northwest China sparked landslides and destroyed ordamaged thousands of brick-and-mud homes Monday.

International Compiled ByISAH STELLA .O.

Myanmar Frees 73 PoliticalPrisoners

Al Qaeda Militants Flee IraqJail

World Awaits First Glimpse Of Britain’s New Prince

Iran Condemns EU’sBlacklisting Of Hezbollah

Myanmar’s President Thein Sein waves as he arrives at Yangon International Airportafter returning from the U.S.

An Iraqi soldier walks near watch tower of the newly named Baghdad Central Prison inBaghdad’s Abu Ghraib

blacklist the group, warning sucha move could fuel instability inthe Middle East, especially inLebanon where Hezbollah is partof the Lebanese government andhas dominated politics in Beirutin recent years.

“To label a resistance groupwhich has campaigned againstinvasion and occupation and hasa legal presence with the people’ssupport in the government ofLebanon shows it is based onloose logical foundations,”Iranian Foreign Minister AliAkbar Salehi said in a statementon the ministry website.

“This action was accomplishedwith the direction of someinfluential members of theEuropean Union and is contraryto all political and legal norms,surprising and unacceptable,” hesaid.

Israel, which welcomed the EUdecision, would be the mainbeneficiary, the Iranian foreignminister said.

“This action will be to bebenefit of the illegitimate Zionistregime and its supporters.”

moment by global media as wellas the British press, with theexcitement seen as a boost forBritons facing economicausterity.

British tabloid newspaper theSun temporarily renamed itselfthe Son in honor of the baby,while the left-leaning Guardiannewspaper provided readers of itswebsite with a “Republican”button so that they could filter outthe barrage of royal news if they

were doing well and wouldremain in hospital overnight.

William, who said he and Katecould not be happier, was withthem.

Their son is third in line to thethrone after grandfather Charlesand William, 31, and pushes thefun-loving Prince Harry,William’s brother, into fourthplace.

Congratulations flooded infrom around the world after theannouncement of the birth, whichwas followed moment-by-

LONDON - The world wasawaiting the first glimpse ofBritain’s new prince yesterday,with camera crews poised tophotograph Prince William and hiswife, Kate, leaving a Londonhospital with their baby son.

Kate, 31, gave birth to thecouple’s first child, who is third inline to the British throne, onMonday afternoon, ending weeksof feverish anticipation about thearrival.

The baby’s name will beannounced later but George andJames, both traditional royalnames, were favoured choices withBritish bookmakers for the child,who is destined, one day, to beking.

The popular couple wereexpected to adhere to tradition bygiving the public the first sight ofthe royal baby on the steps as theyleave St Mary’s Hospital in westLondon - just as William’s fatherPrince Charles and late mother,Princess Diana, did with him.

“We’re here to witness history,where a future monarch has beenborn. I just can’t wait to see themtoday,” said Maria Scott, ahousewife from Newcastle innorthern England who has campedoutside the hospital since Saturday.

Kensington Palace announcedthe arrival of the boy, weighing 8lb 6 oz (3.8 kg) at about 8:30 p.m.,on Monday, four hours after hisbirth, saying Kate and her child

prisoners, six people appointedby the government and threemediators, including Hla MaungShwe.

“The committee meets once amonth and we expect theremaining political prisoners willbe freed by the end of this year

YANGON - Myanmar ’sgovernment is releasing another73 political prisoners and morecould be freed in coming monthsto honor a commitment made bythe president during a recent tripto Europe, a member of agovernment body looking intothe process said on Tuesday.

President Thein Sein, a formergeneral now heading a quasi-civilian government, has pushedthrough a series of political andeconomic reforms since amilitary government steppedaside in 2011.

He has freed hundreds ofpolitical detainees and promisedin a speech in Britain last weekto free all those still in prison bythe end of this year.

“A total of 73 politicalprisoners are being released fromvarious detention centers today,”Hla Maung Shwe, a member ofthe Committee to ScrutiniseRemaining Political Prisoners,told Reuters.

“The total number of remainingpolitical prisoners has nowdropped to lower than 100 for thefirst time in many years.”

The government, embassiesand other groups have differentfigures for the number of politicaldetainees.

The military junta, and evenThein Sein’s government in thepast, rejected the term, but he setup the committee to examine theissue and decide which prisonerswere inside for criminal acts andthose there for political reasons.

The 19-member committeecomprises 10 former political

Qaeda to free convictedterrorists with al Qaeda.”

A simultaneous attack onanother prison, in Taji, around20 km (12 miles) north ofBaghdad, followed a similarpattern, but guards managed toprevent any inmates escaping.Sixteen soldiers and sixmilitants were killed.

CONVOY ATTACKSunni insurgents, including

the al Qaeda-affiliated IslamicState of Iraq, have beenregaining strength in recentmonths and striking on analmost daily basis againstShi’ite Muslims and securityforces amongst other targets.

The violence has raised fearsof a return to full-blown conflictin a country where Kurds,Shi’ite and Sunni Muslims haveyet to find a stable way ofsharing power.

Recent attacks have targetedmosques, amateur footballmatches, shopping areas andcafes where people gather tosocialize after breaking theirdaily fast for the holy Muslimmonth of Ramadan.

Relations between Islam’stwo main denominations havebeen put under further strainfrom the civil war in Syria,which has drawn in Shi’ite andSunni fighters from Iraq andbeyond to fight against eachother.

In the city of Mosul, 390 km(240 miles) north of Baghdad,a suicide bomber detonated avehicle packed with explosivesbehind a military convoy in theeastern Kokchali district, killingat least 22 soldiers and threepassers-by, police said.

Following the attack, leafletswere found near mosques inMosul signed by the IslamicState of Iraq and the Levant,which was formed earlier thisyear through a merger betweenSyrian and Iraqi affiliates of alQaeda.

“After receiving informationfrom our precious nation’s sons

BAGHDAD/MOSUL, Iraq -Hundreds of convicts, includingsenior members of al Qaeda,broke out of Iraq’s Abu Ghraibjail as comrades launched amilitary-style assault to freethem, authorities said onMonday.

The deadly raid on the high-security jail happened as SunniMuslim militants are gainingmomentum in their insurgencyagainst the Shi’ite-ledgovernment that came to powerafter the U.S. invasion to oustSaddam Hussein.

Suicide bombers drove carspacked with explosives to thegates of the prison on theoutskirts of Baghdad on Sundaynight and blasted their way intothe compound, while gunmenattacked guards with mortars androcket-propelled grenades.

Other militants took uppositions near the main road,fighting off securityreinforcements sent fromBaghdad as several militantswearing suicide vests entered theprison on foot to help free theinmates.

Ten policemen and fourmilitants were killed in theensuing clashes, whichcontinued until Mondaymorning, when militaryhelicopters arrived, helping toregain control.

By that time, hundreds ofinmates had succeeded in fleeingAbu Ghraib, the prison madenotorious a decade ago byphotographs showing abuse ofprisoners by U.S. soldiers.

“The number of escapedinmates has reached 500, most ofthem were convicted seniormembers of al Qaeda and hadreceived death sentences,”Hakim Al-Zamili, a seniormember of the security anddefense committee in parliament,told Reuters.

“The security forces arrestedsome of them, but the rest are stillfree.”

One security official toldReuters on condition ofanonymity: “It’s obviously aterrorist attack carried out by al

Tehran - Iran condemnedyesterday the European Union’sdecision to put the armed wingof Lebanese militant groupHezbollah on its terrorismblacklist and said the move was“contrary to all political and legalnorms, surprising andunacceptable”.

Hezbollah was set up with thehelp of Iranian funds and militaryadvisers some three decades agoand, along with Syria, is stillTehran’s most important ally inthe region, positioned as it is onthe “frontline” with Iran’s swornenemy Israel.

Pressed by Britain and theNetherlands, the European Unionblacklisted Hezbollah’s militarywing on Monday overaccusations it was involved in abus bombing in Bulgaria thatkilled five Israelis and their drivera year ago, and its deployment ofthousands of fighters to helpSyrian President Bashar al-Assadturn the tide of Syria’s civil war.

Many EU capitals hadpreviously resisted lobbyingfrom Washington and Israel to

about the arrival of a convoy of theSafavid Raafidi Army... the lionsof the Islamic State of Iraq and theLevant have confronted them,”read the leaflets, using derogatoryterms to refer to Shi’ites.

Four other policemen, werekilled in a separate attack inwestern Mosul, Iraq’s third-largestcity and capital of the Sunni-dominated Nineveh province.

Nearly 600 people have beenkilled in militant attacks across Iraqso far this month, according toviolence monitoring group IraqBody Count.

That is still well below the heightof bloodletting in 2006-07, whenthe monthly death toll sometimesexceeded 3,000.

as the president said during hisrecent visit to Europe,” HlaMaung Shwe added.

An official at the 88 GenerationPeace and Open Society, a pro-democracy activist group,confirmed the release of severaldozen political prisoners, but saidthe group was still collectingnames.

wanted.The birth fuels a new wave of

popularity for the House ofWindsor led by the youngerroyals, William and Harry, whowere both born to Diana at StMary’s Hospital.

Support for the royals dippedafter Diana’s death in a car crashin Paris in 1997, a year after herdivorce from Charles, as theroyals were accused of being outof touch with modern Britainover their handling of theaftermath.

... Know God From ChildhoodContinued from page 20

WithVICTOR ANIUKWUNew Horizon

This is the meaning ofreligion. DharrnanBhagavan - Bhagavan meanspertaining to God. And whatis that -the characteristicrelationship between Godand oneself. That is calledreligion. Religion means todovetail the characteristic ofthe living entity with thecharacteristic of God. Thecharacteristic of God is thatGod is great. And we aresmall or minute. That is ourcharacter. If we are notsmall, why are we servingthe great directly orindirectly’? My servingmeans there must besomebody greater than me.At least money is greaterthan me because I amserving my master whosupplies me some money.

In the material world thereis no genuine service.Everyone is serving with theintention of some senseenjoyment. Tomorrow therewill be a postal strike. Thatmeans the postal workers arenot serving the governmentor the public. They areserving their salary. As soonas there is a decrease insalary, they strike. I have gotmy service spirit and so Ihave to serve some body.That is my naturalcharacteristic. You cannotdeny it. Now you can findout where your serviceshould be engaged so thatyou may not be frustrated.That is also required. Thereis a relevant verse in theclassic vedic srimadBagavatarn related by adevotee who has takensanyasa, the renounced orderof life. The word sanyascomes from the Sanscritword sat, nyasa, sat meansthe supreme, the absoluteTruth. And nyasa meansrenounced. One who hasrenounced every thing forthe service of the supreme iscalled a sannyasi. Sannyasadoes not mean a particulartype of dress or a particulartype of beard. You canbecome renounced evenwith your ordinary dress,coat and pants. It doesn’tmatter, provided you havededicated your life to theservice of God. That is calledSannyasa. In Bagavad —Gita, it is clearly said thateveryone is working in thematerial world for somesalary or Some

remuneration, but if oneworked not for salary norremuneration, but as amatter of duty, then he is aSanyasi. Jesus was asanyasi. Just try tounderstand. AnasritaKarmaphalani — You aredoing some work, why areyou doing some work?Either for some salary orsome profit or some gain.Nobody is workinguselessly. Everyone mustget some gain from hiswork. But one who does notutilize that gain for sensegratification but works as amatter of duty is actually aSanyasi or a yogi. TheSannvasi and the Yogi haveno other business thansimply trying to concentratethe mind on the supremeLord within the Heart. Yogadoes not mean to show somemagical or gymnastic feats.The practice of asana orbreathing exercises will helpyou concentrate, pratyahara.Pratyahara means drawingthe senses from matter andengaging them fully in thesupreme Lord, Visnu. Thatis Yoga. Those who practicebhakti-yoga, which is beingthought herein, are thetopmost yogis because theyare being trained to draw thesenses from any thing outside Krishna consciousness.They are trying to draw thesenses from everything alsoand applying them to servethe supreme Lord Krishna.When we chant HareKrishna, we with draw ourmind from all otherengagements and try toengage the mind and the earon the sound vibration of thesupreme personality of Godhead, Krishna. Krishna,being the absolute Truth,there is no differencebetween the personality ofKrishna and His Holy name,Krishna. In the absoluteworld there is no relativity.Therefore when youconcentrate your mind onthe sound vibration of theKrishna that means you areconcentrating on theabsolute Truth. That is theprocess of yoga. Somebodymay think, here there is nobodily exercise, nobreathing exercise. How dothey become yogis?Because real yoga means toconcentrate the mind on thesupreme lord always.Therefore yoga meansconcentrating the mind on

Krishna, even by hearingthe vibration of Krishna’sHoly name, because there isno difference between thevibration of the name ofKrishna and Hispersonality. This is highestform of yoga practice,along with a life dedicatedfor the service of thesupreme Lord — Krishna.Even if we have studentsstudying Krishnaconsciousness, a studentwho has understood thisphilosophy is veryintelligent. If you like you

can talk with them and tryto under stand what theyhave understood about thescience of God, and youwill he pleased. Even aneophyte student willanswer your questionssatisfactorily. Because assoon as you becomeKrishna conscious andfollow the rules andregulations under theguidance of your bonafide

spiritual master, you becomeyourself bonafide. And assoon as you become bonafidethe response will come fromwithin because Krishna iswithin you. Krishna — thesupreme Lord is every ‘wherejust like the sun. Krishna orGod is within the universe,within this room, within yourheart, even within the atom.So also Krishna is within youand every one. As soon as youbecome sincere, Krishnaresponds from within. If youwant Krishna or God,sincerely, then the help will

come in two ways. Fromwithin and from without.Note that by the revealedbooks of knowledge. By theinstruction of the bonafidespiritual master, you will gethelp from without. And assoon as you are serious tofollow in same foot step, thenyou will get instruction fromwithin, It is said in theBagavad — Gita (10:10)tasam sastata — yuktanam

bhajatam priti-purrakam.“One who is seriouslyengaged in my service withfaith and devotion — Pritimeans love, not justsomething official. Not thekind of “Love” where I cango on strike when my salaryis not paid.

Sometimes governmentworkers are considered veryFaithful to the country’sservice, but as soon as thecountry nor government doesnot pay their salaries, theywill reject every thing.Service to the supreme Lord,

Krishna, should never be likethat. Practically Krishnagives everything and onewho is intelligent knows thatKrishna is supplying himeverything. What is thedifference between Krishnaconscious man and anordinary man? The differenceis that the Krishna consciousman knows, “ I am an eternalservant of God, therefore letme willingly serve Krishna.

Others are also servingKrishna but by force. Theyare like citizens of the statewho has violated the Lawsthey are also obeying thelaws but inside the prison,lie is forced to he there. Sothis world is a prison yardand we are also forced to behere. And if we don’t obey,we will be punished and ifwe are become obedient tothe Laws, then we are nolonger outlaws. We shall befree and out of the walls ofthe prison. When we serveKrishna, we becomepurified, and when a citizenis freely obeying the lawsof’ the state, he is free fromany contamination. And assoon he in disobedient, heis contaminated. Ourexisting here means that wehave revolted against thesupremacy of Krishna, orGod. Therefore we arethrown down here on earthto struggle for our existencewhere we can do our ownthing. The Lord is so kinddespite our reluctance tocome back to him. Hecomes with us all the time,He sits in our Hearts all thetime, witnessing all ouractivities. He sees us whenwe are giving and He seesus when we are stealing, Hesends its representatives thepure souls, not rascals, tocome and help us —understand how we shouldlive our lives. He also sendHis Holy name to sanctifyour desires and help us tolive in accordance withgodly principles. Thosewho receive this mercyhave an obligation to helpothers who are alsostruggling in this world tomeet with the mercy ofGod. Finally. He whomthese teachings elevate not,is not worthy to be a humanbeing.

“In the material world there is no genuine service.Everyone is serving with the intention of some senseenjoyment. Tomorrow there will be a postal strike. Thatmeans the postal workers are not serving thegovernment or the public. They are serving their salary.As soon as there is a decrease in salary, they strike.”

Agriculture

Feasibility ReportAnd Agrobusiness

By OLUMESE MARK

Rivers Of Troubled WaterIssues

By EMMANUEL EGOBIAMBU

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State.

IN our first edition, thewriter defined farm records asregisters or authenticdocuments that cover a widerange of farm activities eitherin physical or financial terms.Some of the value of keepingfarm records include:

(a) Farm records are keptto make farmers aware of theirinputs and output as well asprovide a basis for makingdecision.

(b) It provide some of thenecessary information fromwhich final financial reportscan be produced regularly.

(c) It act as a check andcontrol of physicalperformance of a farmbusiness.

(d) Guide future decisions.(e) Farm records provide

the basic, data for planning. What is a feasibility report? What are the economic

reasons for writing afeasibility reports?

This second article isfocused on the value ofwriting a feasibility report asan essential tool in planningan Agricultural business.

Simply put, feasibilitywriting is not a one man show,infact it an interdisalinary

duty, which requires manyprofessionals of varyingbackground and experiencefor example, a typicalagricultural project willrequire an Animal scientist,a crop scientist and anAgricultural Economist.

As a matter of fact, thetechnical will be handed bythe animal scientist or cropscientist while the greater partof the work of an agriculturaleconomist will comprise ofproject evaluation,monitoring and appraisal.What is the need for afeasibility report.

Once an agriculturalproject have be identified, astudy is carried out to coverissues that are important indeciding the commercialworthiness of a project. Thereis no one rigid format forfeasibility report, the formatadopted will depend on thenature or kind of project beenproposed.

Generally the moreintricate the more elaborate isthe information requirementof the study.

Whatever the format, agood feasibility report shouldcover all the following

aspects: * Project background * Market and demand

analysis * Technical feasibility

financial feasibility * Conclusion and

recommendation

* Project implementation. In project background, the

feasibility covers the origin ofthe project concept, the scopeof the business, the projectrationale, the project area, the

economic/ social aspect andthe sponsors or shareholders.

In demand and marketbusiness, the nature of themarket and the target audiencethat the products wound befocus. The size of the market

is also important indetermining the commercialviability of the

Project. In technicalfeasibility of a farm businessthe format used here willserve the purpose of an agro-business set up . The aim isto describe the proposedproject work and othercomponents that make up theproject, item by item andcategory by category. Thereport should be very explicit

and concentrate on thetechnical aspect and describewhat is to be done insufficient details to establishthe nature, scope and cost ofthe various measuresproposed. For instance, some

of the issues to be mentionedhere are:-

- Works and generalfacilities eg. Irrigationfacilities, generalinfrastructures access roadsextension facilities, villagewater supplies, health clinic,schools and ruralelectrification,

- On farm investment likefencing drainage system, landclearing and management.These are common features inan already established farmwhere the farmer is probablyinterested in feasibility studyfor purposes of sourcing forloans.

Farm building, machines,and equipments.

A comparative analysis ofalternative machines andequipments in terms of cost,reliability, performance andspare parts availability.

- Choice of technology.Here the source of technologythe uniqueness and the rawmaterials to be used in theproduction process arediscussed.

The farm location. This isvital for a new enterprise andthe details are reversed foranother write –up.

- Input factors input as usedhere will include the cost andavailability of material,labour, capital and spare parts.

To be continued The writer is the Zonal

Manager, Edo StateAgricultural DevelopmentProgramme.

RECENTLY, members ofthe Rivers State House ofAssembly, literarily set thepolitical scene in the countryon fire. In an attempt tochange the leadership of theHouse, five of its members,attempted to remove thespeaker, Otelemaba Dan-Amachree. In their bid toachieve that feat, theyimposed Evans-Bipi as thespeaker of the House.

This decision/move wasmet with stiff opposition bythe rest members of thelawmaking body whichresulted in physical combat.In the ensuing “fight”, variousobjects including the mace,were used as “battle-axe” Amember of the House, freelyused the mace to phlankanother while others werebusy throwing punches.

The impasse, hasgenerated a lot of heat in thepolity. The latest form of

rascality and crudeness of thelawmakers, has raisedeyebrows about the kind ofpeople that are elected intoposition.

The video clips of theincident that went viral, sawa law maker breaking themace of authority in the bodyof another.

To say the least, the fivemembers, sought to bendmathematical rules “to elect“ a speaker while suspending15 other members. Theamazing fact was that the“elected speaker, describedhis emergence as “victory fordemocracy”.

It is pertinent to note andask: What legacies are thelawmakers, nay,“lawbreakers” have in storefor the future generation? Thesame political arithmetic wasat work during the NigerianGovernors Forum (NGF),election not long ago. The

NGF election, saw 19 votesturning into 16 votes and vice-versa. The real election hadRotimi Amaechi of Rivers

pulling 19 votes and JonahJang, getting 16. However,internal concessions by somecabals, did not allow thatnatural order stay. Infact, one

of the candidates evendescribed his “victory” asordained by God and evensaid that God, though doesnot support rigging, supportsanyone who wins throughthat process.

However and ironically,the security officials whowere supposed to clampdown on the excesses of theseacts by the honourable men,were either part of the free-for-all battle or folding theirarms” watching a horrorfilm”. Even when somepersons came the followingday to register theirgrievances on theentrenchment of “minority –equation”, these securitymen, tear-gased them.

Similarly, the “speaker”,Evans –Bipi, even gave hismaiden speech to only two

members of the lawmakingchamber. Invariably, when itcomes to politics in Nigeria,mathematic rules do notcount. What matters is theperson (s) that are backing upyour fight. Provided some“Ogas at the top”, are at yourback, you do not have anyproblem at all. In a 27-member House, five were onthe verge of defeating the rest.

As events unfold by thedays, observers are askingquestions. Will theappropriate authoritiesinvoke the relevant section ofthe law to the legislature? Oris it going to be the shoutingup of the political barometerin Rivers state? Again, willthe “minority equation”continue to dictate the tune ofpolitical dance in thecountry?.

2325263243

LUCKYNOS.

1

10

11

BANKERS

N

A

P

15

27

40

}121416

}323436

}464749 P

ER

M 1

FR

OM

EA

CH

GR

OU

P =

3 X

3 X

3 =

27

LIN

ES

XXXBOX

37X37X37

MANLY U 3

SUTHERLAND 4

PARA HILLS 36

MODBURY 40

GASNELLS 29

WHITE CITY 37

INTERNATIONALHOT PAIRSS

BIG BELLSNORTHERN F. 4 XBX

CAPALABA 6 CBS

LA TROBE 15 NAP

MORNINGTON 19 SURE

WOLLONGONG U. 48 BET

SATURDAYRITUALS

1011273740GOSSIP

NAP

353637

NAP }PAIR

IF NOTNOW

WHEN?

40

EVERY WEDNESDAY, WEEK 02, 2013By

SAM EHEBHAGSM:08056626091

} NNN

NNN

} XOX

XOX

} TIP

TIP

36

=

3031

EVERY WEDNESDAY, WEEK 02, 2013By

SAM EHEBHAGSM:08056626091

Your Star

NAP 37 XX 37 XX 37

PAIR 36 OR 40

LET IT BE

NAP 19 XX 19 XX 19

PAIR 3 OR 4

GOODLUCK

NAP 8 XX 8 XX 8

PAIR 6 OR 48

ALL THE BEST

EDITOR’S NAP MURPHY NAP J. B. NAP

SUNNY NAP PAKER NAP

OKUNS NAP

NAP 1 XX 1 XX 1

PAIR 12 OR 14

WATCH OUT

NAP 11 XX 11 XX 11

PAIR 12 OR 14

KEEP TRYING

NAP 14 XX 14 XX 14

PAIR 19 OR 36

NOW AND THEN

GUESSING GAMES SMOKINGGUN

BEWARE4

11*14

15* 24 25 32

WATSON WEST1.2.X FORECAST

40

11

36

1210

5 33 34

35* 40* 44 45 47

FOR THREEDRAWS?

@

Nacho Monreal

Mourinho Denies ‘Mind Games’To Unsettle Moyes

Moyes DrivenBy United ‘Fear’

West HamTo LaunchKalou Bid

‘Terry Fit And Well’

Di Canio Vows MoreStylish Sunderland

Monreal In InjurySetback

Richards WantsTo Stay For Life

Micah RichardsJohn Terry

SUNDERLAND managerPaolo Di Canio yesterdayvowed there would be norepeat of the struggles of lastseason, saying his side wouldplay better and more stylishfootball.

Di Canio just kept the BlackCats in the Premier Leagueafter replacing MartinO’Neill, although they wereonly three points and oneplace from safety after adifficult campaign.

“For sure our plan is to playbetter football and stay upmore comfortably than lastyear,” the firebrand Italiansaid in Hong Kong, on the eveof the Barclays Asia Trophyclash with Spurs.

“During the season the planthat you make at thebeginning of the season canchange, but I am sure that wewill finish in a morecomfortable position this yearbecause the players are goodplayers and areconcentrating.”

Di Canio, who hasrevamped his squad, added:“I also need to change thementality a bit that I foundlast year. But I can tell youthat something has changed alot and I really think that wewill have a very goodseason.”

There was criticism fromsome Sunderland fans at themore direct style employedby O’Neill, but Di Canio saidhe hoped that was a thing ofthe past.

“You saw how we tried toplay much more from theback last year. We want tohave a clear identity on the

field. We will have a clearidentity and we play muchmore football than weplayed last year,” hepromised.

A deal however to buy theArgentine defender GinoPeruzzi was off because offitness concerns, he added.

“At the moment there is nochance for Gino Peruzzi tojoin us,” he said.

“We have to make sureabout some situations butmy club is not a club that cansign at the moment a playerwho is injured, even thoughit’s not a crucial injury.”

DAVID Moyes has admitted to the “fear” he holds afterbecoming the new manager of Manchester United.

Moyes replaced Sir AlexFerguson at Old Trafford thissummer after his fellow Scothad spent 26-and-a-halfyears at the helm, winningnumerous honours with theRed Devils.

And the former Evertonboss is braced for thechallenge that awaits, as hecontinues to work with hisnew squad during their pre-season tour ahead of the2013-14 season.

“There has to be anelement of fear that comeswith managing a club likeManchester United,” he tolda number of Britishnewspapers. “It keeps youworking, it keeps youfocused and helps you try not

to take your eye off the ball.“Someone said, ‘You’ll do

it easy’. I’m not saying whoit was but I don’t take that asa given, because I know it’sgoing to be really hard atManchester United.

“But in the same breath it isa great one (job) because ofwhat I have available andwhat Sir Alex has left.”

Moyes has previously saidhe will seek advice fromFerguson if required, but heis determined to make his ownmark on the side he inherited.

“It has to be a new era,” hesaid. “My job now is to makemy history. “I’m going tofollow someone who hasmade incredible history. Ithink about Matt Busby’s

history and then AlexFerguson’s history - theycould do a film about it.

“I have to make sure nowthat my history and my timeis something which the fansand people in the future talkabout.”

Moyes said he has beenimpressed with the attitude ofthe players now under hischarge. “Sometimes whenthere is a change - and I heardsome of the players saying it- you have to impress the newmanager,” he added.

“I have got to say I havebeen incredibly impressedabout how the players havegone about their work.There’s not been a day whenI’ve had people ‘throwing out’[slacking off]. If anything,they’re enjoying it and they’reasking for more.

“I’m going to drive. AndI’m going to demand the bestout of players. I’m going todemand that they give memore, or as much as I can getfrom them.”

CHELSEA captain JohnTerry says he has recoveredfrom his ankle injury andready to fight for his place inthe squad.

The 32-year-old is currently

with the Blues on their tour ofAsia and relishing the chanceto prove himself to coach JoseMourinho.

“I am fit and well,” he toldthe club’s website. “It is a bigpre-season for everyone andeveryone wants to be in theteam at the start of the season,and that is what we are aimingfor.

“I had the injury on myankle at the end of last seasonbut I came back a week earlyto get some extra fitness undermy belt, and I think that hasserved me well so far intraining.

“There are new youngsignings too, they are

obviously hungry and withpoints to prove and they arefighting for places as well, andcompetition has been verygood in training.

“The new lads have settledin really well and the qualityis good, and these tripsdefinitely help that becauseyou are in each other’spockets all day every day, soit is a great opportunity forthem to get to know the otherplayers.”

Mourinho has made it clearplayers like John Terry andFrank Lampard who wereinstrumental in his first tenureat Stamford Bridge are notguaranteed game time andwill have to fight for theirplace.

CHELSEA manager JoseMourinho has refuted thesuggestion he is playing mindgames with ManchesterUnited counterpart DavidMoyes.

It was put to Mourinho onhis arrival in Jakarta, whereChelsea on Thursday play anAll-Star XI, that hiscompliments towards Moyeswere a calculated act designedto destabilise the PremierLeague champions.

Mourinho’s sole remainingtransfer target is a ManchesterUnited player and Chelsea lastweek had a bid for WayneRooney rejected by United,who say the striker is not forsale.

Mourinho said: “If to saythat my colleague in ManUnited is a great coach, hedeserves success, he deserves

time to work, he didn’t wintrophies at Everton becauseit’s difficult to win trophiesthere. If to speak good abouthim is to play mind games,what do you say if I speakbad about him?

“The best thing is not tospeak, and if I don’t speaknobody says nothing.”

Like Moyes, Mourinhobelieves it is better to signplayers early in the transferwindow.

But, unlike United,Chelsea have alreadyrecruited Andre Schurrle,Marco van Ginkel and MarkSchwarzer this summer.

“He’s right,” Mourinhosaid. “The sooner you havethe players, the better.

“You know the squad youhave, you know what you

have to work with, you havetime for that.”

MICAH Richards has insistedthat he wants to stay atManchester City for the rest of hiscareer.

Richards, 25, has made 234appearances for his only clubsince making his debut in 2005,but only played in seven leaguegames last year as his campaignwas interrupted by injuries whilefellow right-back Pablo Zabaletawas named City’s Player of theYear.

Richards has been linked withseveral Italian clubs but isadamant he has never thought ofleaving, telling City’s officialwebsite: “Manchester City is my

club and I’ve never consideredplaying anywhere else. I thinkthere has been speculationbecause I’ve got two years left onmy contract and Pablo Zabaletahad a fantastic season.

“He’s outstanding, but that’swhat you expect at top teams —you expect competition. Theseason before, we won thePremier League and I had a goodyear, but now I’m just happy tobe back fit.

“Last season was a bit of anightmare with injuries. I pickedup the ankle problem at theOlympics and came back fromthat and then tore my cartilage.”

Richards stressed that hewanted to play more first-teamfootball this season.

He added: “The main thing isto be playing. I know there are alot of games and I don’t expectto play every game but, theseason we won the title, me andZaba rotated really well together- so if we can do that this seasonI’ll be happy.”

WEST Ham are reportedly setto launch a £2.5m bid for ex-Chelsea star Salomon Kalou,according to The Mirror.

The Hammers are said to behopeful in luring Kalou back tothe Premier League, a year afterhe left Chelsea for Ligue 1 outfitLille.

The Mirror suggests that arelease clause in his contract withthe French outfit would allowSam Allardyce to conclude a dealfor just £2.5m.

His arrival will be met withgreat anticipation as the bigmoney arrival in Andy Carrolwill miss the beginning of theseason, while Colombian hit-manDuvan Zapata’s tenure at the clubfaces a delay due to a workpermit.

Lille have recently lost manageRudi Garcia to Roma, leavingthem in a state of uncertaintyahead of the new campaign.

Allarducy sees the versatileplayer as a great addition to thesquad, due to his ability to playon either flank.

NACHO Monreal set tomiss Arsenal’s league openeragainst Aston Villa aftersustaining a back injury.

The Spanish internationalreportedly sustained the injurywhile on break following hisextended holiday after takingpart in the 2013 FIFAConfederations Cup.

Monreal’s injury has leftArsenal with just one left backwith Laurent Koscielny alsoexpected to be out due to bean ankle injury leaving KieranGibbs as the lone option in thatposition.

“Honestly I don’t reallyknow,” Arsenal coach ArseneWenger told Soccerway.com.

“(Laurent Koscielny) got aninjection and it looks like hewon’t be able to start theseason.

“That is why, of course, welost one left-back and that isthe position where we are a bitexposed at the moment.(Thomas) Vermaelen can playthere but he is injured,Monreal can play there, but heis injured, so we only haveKieran, at the moment, whocan play there.”

Arsenal kick-off theirPremiership campaign onAugust 17 when they hostVilla at The Emirates.

Sevilla Tar-geting Good

StartPerez Plays Down Jose Exit ‘Damage’

SWEDEN striker ZlatanIbrahimovic sees no reason toleave Paris Saint-Germainbut says he is planning todiscuss his future with theclub president.

Ibrahimovic won theFrench league title in hisdebut season at PSG butrumours about the 31-year-old’s intentions haveintensified following thedeparture of Carlo Ancelotti- the man who brought himto Paris.

A reunion with Ancelotti atReal Madrid now seemsunlikely but Manchester Cityare reportedly thinking aboutoffering the former Barcelonastriker a move to the PremierLeague.

Ibrahimovic returned totraining with PSG lastThursday and he is set tofeature in their friendlyagainst Hammarby in hisnative Sweden on Tuesdayevening.

CarvajalReady To

BattleArbeloa

Gerardo Martino

Real Not Planning ToRaid PSG For Zlatan

Barcelona Confirm MartinoAppointmentBARCELONA have

announced that GerardoMartino is set to sign a two-year contract to replace TitoVilanova.

Martino, who led Newell’sOld Boys to the ArgentinianClausura title last season, hasbeen appointed after it wasannounced on Friday thatVilanova was stepping downafter a recurrence of his throatcancer.

“FC Barcelona havereached an agreement toappoint Gerardo Martino asthe new coach of the footballteam for the next two seasons.This agreement is pending thedrafting and signing of thecontract,” a club statementread.

“In the coming hours [aprogramme will be plannedfor] his arrival in Barcelona,signing the contract and thesubsequent presentation.”

A number of coaches hadbeen linked with the vacancyat the Liga champions,including Luis Enrique,Andre Villas-Boas, MarceloBielsa, Michael Laudrup andGuus Hiddink, who resignedas coach of AnzhiMakhachkala on Monday.

The club said on Tuesdaymorning that Martino’s flights

will be organised in the cominghours and the contract would besigned on his arrival, beforeBarca officially present theirnew coach.

Martino, who is also knownas ‘Tata’, will become thefourth Argentine to take thereins at the Camp Nou,following in the footsteps of

Roque Olsen, Helenio Herreraand Cesar Luis Menotti.

Sport claims that Barca’snew boss will bring over threemembers of his coaching staff— assistant Jorge Pautasso,fitness expert Elvio Paolorrosoand Adrian Coria, a coach whotrained Leo Messi during histime at Newell’s youthacademy.

REAL Madrid are notinterested in signing Paris Saint-Germain’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic andCristiano Ronaldo will not bemoving in the opposite direction,according to the Spanish club’spresident Florentino Perez.

There has been speculation thatCarlo Ancelotti would raid hisformer club ever since he left PSGin June to take charge at RealMadrid.

But ahead of a friendly betweenthe two sides in Sweden onSaturday, Perez said that RealMadrid would not be making amove for either Sweden strikerIbrahimovic or Italy midfielderMarco Verratti.

“Ancelotti has not asked us tosign a PSG player and I’m goingto reassure Parisian supporters –we will not touch any player,” theReal Madrid president toldL’Equipe. “Neither Ibrahimovic orVerratti, nor any other player.”

Perez said that if that situationchanges in the next year or two,then he would let his PSG

counterpart Nasser al-Khelaifi know first.

There has been no contactbetween the two men overReal star Cristiano Ronaldo,with Perez confirming thatneither PSG, Monaco norManchester United havemade an offer for thePortuguese attacker.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is thebest player in the world andthis Real Madrid team isbuilt around him,” the 66-year-old told L’Equipe.

“I can therefore assure youthat he’ll end his sportingcareer there. And we haven’treceived any offers.”

Ancelotti led Paris Saint-Germain to their first Frenchtitle in 19 years last seasonbut indicated in May that hewould like to replace JoseMourinho at Real Madrid.

Perez travelled to see al-Khelaifi in Paris in June andsaid Real did not have to paytoo much in compensation toget their man.

The French club wanted tohold on to the Italian, whohad a year left on hiscontract, but the Realpresident was delighted thatthey finally allowed him tojoin the nine-time Europeanchampions.

“It’s the third time that Itried to get him to come hereand it’s finally become areality,” Perez said ofAncelotti.

“I think he’s perfectlyfitted to the style, the cultureand the football of Real. Helikes good footballers andwants to bring enjoyment,through our play, tosupporters. That’s exactlywhat our membersdemand.”Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Ibrahimovic To Hold TalksWith PSGDuring a press conference on

the eve of that game theSweden captain addressed hisfuture, noting that he iscontracted to PSG until 2015.

“I have a contract with PSGand in principle there’s noreason why my situation shouldchange this summer,” L’Equipereported Ibrahimovic as saying.

“In fact I’ve still not thoughtabout the question. Above all Ihave to meet my president. Weshould discuss the details –small as well as big.”

Ibrahimovic, whose 30 goalslast season helped PSG wintheir first Ligue 1 title in 19years, said he had a goodrelationship with club presidentNasser al-Khelaifi.

“We speak a lot, even aboutproperty,” he said. “But I’mconfident because I know, moreor less, what’s going tohappen.”

Along with defender ThiagoSilva, PSG’s Qatari owners seeIbrahimovic as a key part oftheir project and L’Equipesuggests that the “details”Ibrahimovic wants to talkabout could be his wages.

The paper believes that theplayer could use reportedinterest from Manchester Cityas leverage to help bump hissalary at PSG to over +15million per year.

On a sporting level,Ibrahimovic will have beenreassured by PSG’s acquisitionof defenders Marquinhos andLucas Digne. And he is alsolooking forward to workingwith Uruguayan strikerEdinson Cavani, who signedfrom Napoli for +64 million.

“I’ve never played with himso we’ll have to learn to knoweach other,” he said. “He’sgoing to have to familiarisehimself with the team, the cityand the supporters. He’s a verygood reinforcement.”

playing after six weeks ofthe season, but we arepreparing because we wantto start off as we intend toplay the whole year.

“We have not had verygood experiences recentlyso we will have to work at100 per cent. We have totrain these days only to winfrom day one.

“Day one will be thekick-off for what willhopefully be a good year.”

Sevilla defeated Chileanside Universidad Catolica2-0 on Saturday in Chile onSaturday and coke ishopeful that they will growfrom strength to strength.

“The tour is prettycompetitive. We areworking very well,’ headded. “The game againstUniversidad Catolica wasat a high level and the twothat remain will be thesame later this week.

“These are steps that wehave to take, physically wehave to improve, we haveto be more together, butthere is another week ofpreparation to go.

“Everyone bringssomething to the group andthe quality of those herewill be seen when we reallystart to compete.

SEVILLA defender Coke sayshis side are determined to startthe 2013/14 season on a highnote.

The Andalusians are set totake part in the Europa Leagueafter Malaga and RayoVallecano were banned fromtaking part in Europeancompetitions and will playagainst Mladost Podgorica ofMontenegro and FK Senica ofSlovakia in the qualifyinground.

“We will be strong forAugust 1,” Coke told reporters.“It will not be the same as

REAL Madrid youngsterDani Carvajal says he is readyto challenge Alvaro Arbeloafor a place in the startingeleven.

The 21-year-old camethrough the club’s youth ranksbut he left the SantiagoBernabeu to sign for Germanside Bayer Leverkusen in2012 after failing to break intothe first.

However, after a successfulseason with the Bundesligaoutfit, the Whites exercisedtheir option to recall the Spainunder-21 international,handing him his first teamdebut during Sunday’s 6-0rout over Bournemouth.

“The desire to go out andenjoy the first match washuge,” he told reporters. “Theteam did well, but there arethings to correct.

“We’ll have to keepworking. The season is verylong and everyone will try todo their best.

“It was a first match and theteam fought hard, tried to takethe initiative and to keep theopposition in their half of thefield.

“That position is nowherenear being mine. Arbeloa andI are both playing for it andwe’ll try to make it difficultfor the coach.”

REAL Madrid president Florentino Perez has rejectedsuggestions that former manager Jose Mourinho damagedthe image of the club before his departure at the end of lastseason.

Mourinho’s contract had beendue to run until 2016 but he leftfor Chelsea after Real failed toretain the Spanish league titleand fell at the semi-final stage ofthe Champions League for thethird successive year.

A high-profile breakdown inrelations with goalkeeper IkerCasillas did not help Mourinho’scause but Perez denied that thePortuguese manager’sconfrontational style had hurt theclub.

“Not at all,” Perez told Frenchsports newspaper L’Equipe. “Inotice that, everywhere, ourimage is improving. Jersey sales,the number of friends onFacebook and followers onTwitter prove that.

“Mourinho is a coach ofcharacter who brought a lot to usin terms of competitiveness,particularly in the ChampionsLeague.

“Like every manager, at apoint, there was a certain erosion

in the management of theteam and we thought, bothhe and I, that it was betterto move on to somethingelse.”

While one big name hasleft Real, another isgrowing in influence. Newmanager Carlo Ancelottimoved quickly followinghis appointment to nameformer Real Madrid playerZinedine Zidane as one ofhis assistants for thecoming season.

The ex-Franceinternational won both theleague and the ChampionsLeague as a player withReal and since hisretirement he has alsooperated as a sportingdirector at the club.

In a lengthy interviewwith L’Equipe, Perez saidthat Zidane was a keyfactor in Real’s decision tosign Malaga attacker Isco

and Real Sociedad midfielderAsier Illarramendi.

“The players have hugerespect for him and he’ll playa very important role,” theReal Madrid president said.

“He decided to become acoach and we were talking,for a long time, about the

possibility of entrusting himwith a youth team. ButAncelotti suggested that hebecome his assistant. It’s a greatchance for him to learn his newtrade.

“He has a special eye forpicking out young talent – hisrecommendations wereessential in the arrivals of Iscoand Illarramendi at Real. I’mnot hiding from you that oneday I’d like to see Zizoumanage Real.”

Beckenbauer Ea-ger To See Pep In

Action

Milan Wouldn’t Swap Balotelli ForTevez

Who Is Barcelona’s New Head Coach GerardoMartino?

Carl Froch To Face GeorgeGroves In All-British Title Fight

Carl Froch

HondaOpts For

Milan

GERARDO ‘Tata’ Martino has been named as the new coachof Barcelona but few people in Europe had ever even heard of the50-year-old Argentine before he started to be linked with theposition vacated by Tito Vilanova.So why exactly have Barcelona

plumped for Martino as their newboss?

Well, there is a strongconnection between Martino andLionel Messi which no doubtplayed a huge consideration in hisappointment.

Like Messi, Martino is from thecity of Rosario and Martino hasreally made a name for himself asboth a player and a manager atNewell’s Old Boys – the club thatMessi supported as a boy andplayed youth football for.

Martino was actually Messi’sfather’s favourite player and holdsthe Newell’s Old Boys record forappearances at 509. In a poll of theclub’s supporters, Martino wasnamed Newell’s greatest everplayer.

Martino was an attackingmidfielder who helped Newell’swin three titles over 14 years withthe club as a player. He had threespells at the club - broken up by abrief spell with Tenerife in 1991and another with Lanus in 1994/95.

While he was a star of thedomestic game he only ever wonone cap for the Argentine nationalteam. Near the end of his playingcareer he actually played forBarcelona – but the Ecuadorianclub of that name, not theEuropean giant he is taking charge

of now.The coach who most

influenced him as a player wasMarcelo Bielsa, who managedNewell’s from 1990-92, andMartino has taken Bielsa’sphilosophy of expressive,attacking football into his owncoaching career. He has also citedtwo other former Newell’scoaches - Jorge Solari and JoseYudica – as key influences.

His first coaching successescame in the Paraguayan PremierLeague where he won four leaguetitles – three Libertad and onewith Cerro Porteno.

Such success saw him namedcoach of the Paraguay nationalteam in 2006 where he had torebuild the side after theretirement of key players such asJosé Luis Chilavert, CarlosGamarra, Francisco Arce andCelso Ayala.

At the 2007 Copa AmericaMartino’s Paraguay shone in theiropening two games as theythrashed Colombia 5-0 in theiropening match beforedispatching the USA 3-1 in thenext match.

However, their open style wasbrutally exposed in the quarter-finals when they were hammered6-0 by Mexico and after thatmatch Martino reined in hisattack-first philosophy against

certain teams to avoid suchembarrassments.

They were highly impressive inqualification for the 2010 WorldCup – finishing on 33 points –

just one behind best qualifiersBrazil and comfortably ahead ofthe likes of Argentina andeventual semi-finalists Uruguay.Over the course of their

qualification campaign theymanaged to beat every singleother team in South America.

At the tournament itself inSouth Africa, Paraguay finishedtop of their group, helping toknock out Italy in the process,and then beat Japan on penalties

in the second round.In the quarter-finals they gave

Spain one of their biggest everscares during La Roja’s currentperiod of domination. In the 61stminute of the game, with thematch still 0-0, Oscar Cardozohad a penalty saved by IkerCasillas. Just eight minutes fromtime David Villa then scored theonly goal of the game for Spainand the rest, as they say, is history.

Martino stayed on to manageParaguay at the 2011 CopaAmerica in Peru where theyremarkably got to the finalwithout winning a game. Threedraws in the group stage wasfollowed by penalty shoot-outwins over Brazil and Venezuelabefore they lost in the final 3-0to Uruguay.

Martino quit after thatcompetition and was heavilytipped to take over as Argentinaboss but that post instead went toEstudiantes coach (and formerSheffield United and LeedsUnited player) Alejandro Sabella.

Martino instead took a year outfrom the game before returningto his beloved Newell’s andguiding the club to their first titlesince 2004 in the space of just 18months. The achievement was allthe more remarkable when youconsider that Newell’s hadfinished 19th and 18th in the twoseasons before his appointment.

His final game in charge ofNewell’s was the semi-final ofthis year’s Copa Libertadoreswhen they lost to AtleticoMineiro on penalties. Were thefans annoyed with this defeat?No, instead they went outsideMartino’s house and startedchanting his name and wavingflags to thank him for the way hehad transformed the club.

Stylistically Martino seems tofit in well with Barcelona. Helikes to play a 4-3-3 with a falsenumber nine, but has shownflexibility with his formationsand tactics in the past.

South American coaches havehad a chequered history aftermoving to Europe but if anyonehas a chance of succeeding, itlooks like Martino is a man whofits the bill.

AC Milan coach MassimoAllegri says he would notswap Mario Balotelli forCarlos Tevez as his sideprepare to face Juventus in apre-season friendly onTuesday night.

The two Scudetto favouriteswill get to see how they are

shaping up for the new seasonwhen they meet in ReggioEmilia over 45 minutes in theannual Trofeo Timtournament which this yearalso includes Serie Anewcomers Sassuolo.

Both the Rossoneri and theBianconeri are preparing tofield their strongest sides,which means Tevez will comeup against the club he was onthe brink of signing for beforeJuve made a successful last-ditch bid for his services.

Balotelli will not featuresince he has yet to starttraining again after theConfederations Cup, butAllegri has no doubt as towhom he would prefer tohave in his squad for theupcoming season.

“We have no regrets at allabout (not getting) Tevez,”Allegri said. “We got Balotelliin January and one of them is23 and the other is 29.Balotelli is an absolute star atMilan and he can only getbetter.”

Milan also have Stephan ElShaarawy and Allegri isdelighted that he turned downa move to the Premier Leaguethis summer to remain inMilan, while he is alsoexpecting greater things fromthe 20-year-old.

“I think he’s realised thatplaying a good first half of theseason is not enough in a bigclub,” Allegri said. “Stephanis an important player forMilan and for me. He needsto improve in certainmoments of the game andremain serene.”

Despite such strength inattack, Allegri acknowledgesthat Juve will be the team tobeat again this season.

“They are clear favouritesfor the title,” he said at a pressconference. “Not onlybecause they are thedefending champions, butalso because they have furtherstrengthened their side.

BAYERN Munich legendFranz Beckenbauer says that heis intrigued as to what PepGuardiola does during his firstseason at the club.

The Spaniard moved to theAllianz Arena in the summer,replacing Jupp Heynckes, and the67-year-old is looking forward toseeing how he goes aboutimproving the Germanchampions.

“I am interested in what he doesand how he will try and bring hisunique thoughts to the team andwhether it will work or not,”Beckenbauer told AZ.

“He is a world class footballerand he will bring that expertiseto any position on the pitch. I canimagine he has already begun toexperiment with the image of theteam as he imagines it. The wayhe behaves makes him a welcomeaddition, he is a popular figure.

“I do not know how the playersperceive the hype surroundingPep. It always used to be theplayers in the headlines, but youdon’t even know who’s playinganymore just because Guardiolais always the one in the headlines.

“It will slowly begin to evenback out, however. I wish him 10great years at Bayern.”

CARL Froch will defend hisIBF and WBA World supermiddleweight titles againstGeorge Groves later this year.

The all-British clash will takeplace in late November or earlyDecember at a venue still to beconfirmed at a press conferencein the near future.

Froch added the WBA strap tohis IBF belt when he beat MikkelKessler in a brilliant rematch atthe O2 Arena in May, withunbeaten Groves, his mandatorychallenger, collecting the vacantWBA Inter-Continental title onthe bill with a fifth-roundstoppage of Noe GonzalezAlcoba.

“I’m excited the first defence ofboth my belts is a big domesticclash,” said Froch. “I am a properfighter and a proper champion andI will always face my mandatorychallenger rather than vacate thetitle.

“I’ve known George for awhile, I’ve sparred with him andwatched him grow and now he’smy mandatory – I will be pouring

Boxing

everything into my preparationfor the fight and George will facethe very best of me.

“It is better this way than a low-key overseas opponent as thisfight will relight memories ofsome of the great all-Britishclashes and with world titles onthe line it’s a really huge occasionand one that will grab theattention of British sports fans.”

Groves said: “This is thebiggest fight of my career andbeing a world champion issomething that I dreamed of as akid.

“I’m well-ranked across all thegoverning bodies but fightingCarl is the one that I wanted themost.

“He is a big name in the UKand a well-respected championaround the world, and I have agreat team around me that can puttogether the right game plan tobeat him and become a worldchampion and a major force inthe super middleweightdivision.”

MILAN Chief ErnestoBronzentti confirmed reportssuggesting Keisuke Hondawants to join Milan, suggestingthe Japanese player turned downBarcelona for a move to the SanSiro.

The sprightly midfielder hasbeen in endless talks with theRossoneri for a move to theclub, with the Milan boardclaiming Honda turned downoffers from the SpanishChampions.

“The gap between our offerand their asking price is low,”he told Sky Sport Italia onMonday evening.

“Tonight after their Leaguegame he will speak with thePresident and tell them that hewants to leave.

“They would like to keep himfor the Champions, but the guyjust wants to join Milan.

“He even turned down a moveto Barcelona.”

Mario Balotelli

Gerardo

Life Bans In Nigerian Fixing Scandal

Nsofor Happy To BeBack With Eagles

Keshi Allays Ameobi Injury Fears

Minister Doubts FIFA Letter

LOKOMOTIV Moscowof Russia striker VictorObinna Nsofor has said he isthrilled to return to the SuperEagles after a two-yearabsence.

The former Inter Milanforward has been recalled byNigeria for the NelsonMandela Challenge Cupclash against hosts SouthAfrica on August 14 and hehas told MTNFootball.comhe is delighted as he still hasa lot to offer the nationalteam.

contrary I don’t believe,” Keshi.Meanwhile, the Eagles ‘B’

resumed their preparations for thesecond leg tie against Cote d’Ivoire in Abuja on Mondayevening with the coachesconcentrating on shooting andaccuracy in front of goal.

In the course of the session, topstriker Gambo Mohammed and Elkanemi’s Haruna Babalo both hadknocks and were asked to sit outhalf of the session so as to quicklyrecover for Tuesday’s test gameagainst TEAP FC of Abuja.

The medical crew has alreadysaid there is nothing to worryabout, but precautions must betaken not to aggravate any knocks

THE Ugandan Minister ofEducation and Sports, JessicaAlupo Rose Epel, has said sheis not sure the FIFA letter handdelivered to her office onmatters pertaining to thelegality of the FA is authentic.

FIFA Secretary GeneralJerome Valcke, in a letter datedJuly 19, replied to the Ministersaying that any actions/measures taken unilaterallyagainst the structures and or thestatus of FUFA would be seenas interference and thus FIFAcould put in place sanctionswhich could includesuspension.

But the Minister has saidsince the letter was not faxed oremailed to her and instead handdelivered by someone from theFA, and so she has contactedFIFA to explain if the letter isauthentic.

“It is from there that we cantake it up and decide on the nextstep,” said Alupo.

The Minister wondered whyFIFA decided to send the letterthrough FUFA and yet all theirfax and emails are active.

“When I got to know abouthow the letter was delivered, Idid not care about the contents,”added the Minister, who saidshe hopes to get FIFA’s

response by today. However, a copy of the letter

indicates that the letter was faxed tothe ministry and copied in to FUFAand CAF.

But when contacted this morning,the FA chief Executive OfficerEdgar Watson said FIFA notifiedthem that they tried faxing and it wasnot going through to the Minister’soffice.

“But it’s okay FIFA will verify ifthey wrote the letter or not,” addedWatson.

Alex Luganda, the FA’s lawyerwho also sits on the CAF Appealscommittee, said that the existingNational Council of Sports (NCS)Act does not give a minister powersto disband the FA like they areplanning to do.

Last week Alupo wrote to FIFAindicating that they needed audiencewith FIFA regards to the illegalityof the FUFA. She said they wereabout to take certain measures, butneeded to meet FIFA first.

The Minister stated that it hadbeen clarified to her that FUFA,whose affiliation to FIFA in 1959was supported by the Ugandagovernment, has since 2009operated as FUFA Ltd, a privatecompany Ltd by guarantee which isinconsistent with the law.

NIGERIA coach StephenKeshi has assured Newcastlestriker Shola Ameobi will be fitfor next month’s friendly inSouth Africa.

Keshi said he called up theexperienced forward to find outthe true situation of things whenreports broke on Sunday he wasinjured and he was told byAmeobi that he had only a knockon the arm and he will be readyfor the friendly against BafanaBafana.

“I have spoken to Shola andthe guy is fit and healthy andwill be available for the MandelaChallenge. He told me sohimself, so any other news to the

Mike Umeh

THE Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has imposed life banson players and match officials after two promotion play-offmatches ended in surreal scorelines of 79-0 and 67-0, also banningthe teams for ten years.

The decision was made lessthan a fortnight after indefinitesuspensions had been handedout to Plateau United Feeders,Akurba FC, Police Machineand Babayaro FC in the wakeof the results, which happenedin promotion encounters for theNigeria Nationwide LeagueDivision 3.

Plateau United Feeders beatAkuba FC 79-0, while Police

Machine FC beat Bubayaro FC 67-0. Plateau United Feeders andPolice Machine had been level onpoints before the games, but theextraordinary scorelines meantPlateau edged above PoliceMachine on goal difference.

The two matches were studied byan NFF committee, which ruledthat the match officials involvedshould get life bans.

An NFF statement said: “TheNFF has accepted therecommendations, and they will becommunicated to the clubs, thestate FAs and FIFA.

“We will publish all the namesof players and officials with theirphotographs and details.”

Speaking as the indefinite bans

were announced on July 10,Chief Mike Umeh, the chairmanof the NFF organisingcommittee, said: “It isunacceptable. This is a scandal ofhuge proportions. The four teamsinvolved are suspendedimmediately and indefinitely,pending further sanctions.

Shola Ameobi

on any player as the d-daydraws near for the crucial returnleg against the Elephants inAbidjan.

“Nigeria is my country and Ialways want to represent it, andeven when I was not invited, Istill saw myself as part of theteam and always supported theteam,” he said.

“I am happy to be back and Iwill show the stuff I am madeof again.”

Nsofor has scored 11 goals in44 appearances for Nigeria.

Injuries and a dip in formhave combined to keep him outof the frame of the Africanchampions for the past twoyears.

“We will investigate this matterthoroughly and get to the bottomof it.”

The farcical results led theNFF’s director of competitions,Dr Mohammed Sanusi, to issueassurances that those foundguilty would be appropriatelypunished.

Olorundare HopefulOf Eagles Debut

SUNSHINE Stars striker DeleOlorundare has toldMTNFootball.com he hopes tomake his Super Eagles debut thisweekend in Cote d’Ivoire.

Olorundare is the leadingscorer in the Nigeria league with11 goals from 19 games thisseason, but was consigned on thebench for the entire 90 minutesas Nigeria put four goals past theIvorians in the first leg of a 2014CHAN qualifier.

“I cannot wait to make mydebut for the Eagles,”Olorundare toldMTNFootball.com

“I am hoping that I would get

Ghana Regain Two Slots ForCAF Inter-Clubs Competitions

GHANA will have fourrepresentatives in continentalclub competitions from next yearafter CAF restored two lost slotsto the West African country.

This means Ghana will havetwo teams in the CAFChampions League from nextyear and will also have two clubsin the CAF Confederation Cup.

Kotoko and Berekum Chelseawill represent Ghana in the CAFChampions League whileMedeama and a yet to be decidedteam will represent the countryin the CAF Confederation Cup.

The revelation comes threeyears after the continent’sgoverning body reduced Ghana’sslots for inter-clubs competitionsdue to past poor performances byrepresentatives.

But consistent efforts by theGhana FA to regain the four slotshave resulted in the decision byCAF to return to the country thetwo slots each for eachcompetition.

The GFA has boosted clubs

financially to help them toparticipate despite financialdifficulties with BerekumChelsea, Kotoko and NewEdubiase all getting financialsupport from the federation.

Berekum Chelsea’s heroics inthe Champions League last yearhelped Ghana to regain its place.

Before then it the last time aGhanaian side feature in themoney zone of the CafChampions League was in 2006.

Kotoko were the last Ghanaianside to play in the Group phaseof the Confederation Cup in2008.

Clubs have also in the pastwithdrawn from playing inAfrica citing financialconstraints.

Hearts of Oak won theChampions League in 2000 andthe maiden edition of theConfederation Cup in 2004.

Rivals Asante Kotoko won thethen African Cup of ChampionsClubs twice in 1970 and 1983.

Victor Obinna Nsofor

my chance in Abidjan. But thedecision of who plays is on thecoach and if he picks me to play,one thing I am confident of is thatI will not disappoint.

With the inclusion of FlyingEagles star Alhaji Gero, it meansmore competition for Olorundareand Kano Pillars GamboMohammed, who was on targetin the first leg in Kaduna.

Coach Stephen Keshi isexpected to name his 18-mansquad for the game onWednesday night.

The team depart for Abidjanvia Lagos on Thursday.

Dele Olorundare

By OKHAREDIA IHIMEKPENBy RICHARD OKORO EWEKA

CMYK

Issues Threatening Democracy

Printed and published by Bendel Newspapers Company Limited, 24, Airport Road, P.M.B. 1334 Benin City. Telephone; Lagos: 01 4930929, Benin: 052 257492, 257531Editor: BARR. SOLOMON IMONHIOSEN (KSJI)-(07030699646), Marketing Manager (08023457566), Advertisement Manager (08023808856) Lagos Office: 3/4 Amode Close, Kudirat Abiola Way,

By Olusosun Bus Stop, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos. Abuja Office: Floor 1, Edo House, 75 Ralph Shodeinde Street, Central Business District, Abuja. Tel/Fax: 09-5237631.All correspondence to: 24 Airport Road, Benin City. E-mail: nigerianobserver@yahoo.com (ISSN 0331-2674)

TOMORROW ON THIS PAGE

-Hon. Josef Omorotionmwan ”

“

IN recent times, theatmosphere in theCountry has been over-heated with political,judicial and otherissues that havemoved the focus fromthe pressingdevelopmental needsof the nation to trivialissues that has beenbrought to the frontburners of discuss.

The election palava atthe Nigeria GovernorsForum (NGF) over-heated the politics,divided the forumwhich now have twofactions, one led byRivers State governorChibuike RotimiAmechi while the otheris led by Plateau Stategovernor Jona Jang.Nigerians wonderedwhy just 36 stategovernors wouldconduct an election topick a leader and suchan election has causeddistraction in thenation. This is a pointerto what most of thesegovernors did to get tooffice or what they willdo in subsequentelections in theCountry.

The execution of fourcriminals condemnedby the court of law andwhose deathsentences were signedby the ComradeGovernor of Edo State,Comrade AdamsOshiomhole elicitedreactions and counterreactions from variouspolitical analystsinterpreting the issuesfrom different politicalangles attempting togive it a meaning. Itwas a divided interest;some commended theaction and said it willserve as a deterrent toother criminals whilethe Civil RightsSocieties reasoned

by Sgt. Banabas Rogerswho confessed to havepulled the trigger thatended the life of Kudirat,obeying the command ofMajor Mustapha. IfMustapha is not guilty ofthe crime, why did it take

14 years for the truth tocome out? If he isinnocent as the judgmentsays, who will pay for thedamage of putting himbehind bars for 14 years?There are manyquestions than answers.These issues happeningacross the nation havecontinued to overheat thepolity and reactions andcounter reactions fromvarious politicalwatchers; analysts andcommentators haveinterpreted it in variousways and the effect orimplication to the nation.

Speaking on thedevelopment, theGeneral Overseer ofHabitation Church of God

Int’l and former Chairmanof Nigeria LabourCongress (NLC), EdoState, an opinion leader,a political analyst andpublic commentator, Rev.Olu Aderibigbe says thepresent happening in our

political stage, especiallythe mayhem in the Riversstate House of Assemblyis a big shame to thenation, the leaders andthe electorate in general.

He said the physicalcombat witnessed in theRivers state House ofAssembly where ourlawmakers becamelawbreakers, freelythrowing punches onthemselves before thecamera of media men. Allthis is for power. Godgiveth power,God installsand raises someone fromnowhere to somewherelike President GoodluckJonathan who came fromnowhere to become thepresident of this nation.The lawmakers and ourpoliticians should knowthat God is the only onethat maketh leaders.

“What happened in theRivers state House ofAssembly is a shame anddisgraceful to the nation.The problem is a flowfrom the problem inNigeria Governors Forum(NGF) where 36 stategovernors can’t conduct

a simple electioninvolving just 36people,just imagine howthey can supervise anelection involving a wholestate. This is a bigshame, everybody wantsto be powerful.

The mayhem in theRivers State House ofAssembly is anotherissue that has shifted theentire nation from solvingher security anddevelopmental problemsto a political problem

President Goodluck Jonathan Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State

ever conducted inNigeria, Chief M.K.OAbiola has alsogenerated more tensionin the polity. One beginsto wonder what willhappen to the revelation

“This is a shame onDemocracy and if it goesunchecked, it willdegenerate to somethingelse. We should take aclue from what ishappening today inEgypt. The issue has todo with power tussle. Weneed to learn from thehappenings in otherCountries and not allowit to transfer to our nation.Most of our leaders arepower drunk. The want tohold onto power by allmeans not mindingwhether or not it willcause the nation anyproblem. They are justconcerned aboutthemselves alone. We allwant to claim to be abovethe rule of law; it isdisheartening for a

Because of the accident of geography,that candidate from Anambra State whoscored 138 points has to watch helplesslyas he is unaccepted in Unity schools whilehis friend from Zamfara State with 2 pointsproudly walks into the same Unity schools.

caused by lawmakers ofRivers state. The show ofshame, which hasbecome a drama in ourpolitical stage, has shownyet again that probably,we’re parading selfishand self centeredpoliticians who are in thefloor to fight for their owninterest rather than that ofthe people theyrepresent.

The release of MajorHamza Al-Mustapha thealleged master mind ofthe murder of KudiratAbiola, the wife of thepresumed winner of theJune 12 1993presidential election,which was adjudged thefreest and fairest election

otherwise arguing thatthe death penalty shouldhave been reverted to lifeimprisonment. Is ittherefore an error tostand on the side of thelaw?

Commissioner ofPolice to challenge theauthority of thegovernor of a state.This is lawlessness.Those who ought toprotect the law arethose violating it” hesaid.

Rev. Olu Aderibigbeadded that if theincident in Rivers stateis not put undercontrol, it will flow toother states andgradually has anadverse effect on theconduct of the 2015general election. “ It isimportant andnecessary to put anend to it, so that it willnot spill and destroythe development of ourdemocracy”.

He frowns at thedelay of justice in thecase of Kudirat Abiolaand Al-Mustapha. Thecase has lingered onfor over 14 yearsbefore the court gavea ruling on thecase.”Justice delayedis justice denied. Thecourt has given itsverdict, so all, nomatter what theybelieved, shouldrespect the stand ofthe court. We allshould respect the ruleof the court. The familyof Abiola should leaveall to God if they arenot satisfied with thecourt ruling. IfMustapha is guilty andthe court of law has sethim free, let his heartand conscience judgehim” he concluded.

“The release of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha thealleged master mind of the murder of KudiratAbiola, the wife of the presumed winner of theJune 12 1993 presidential election, which wasadjudged the freest and fairest election everconducted in Nigeria, Chief M.K.O Abiola has alsogenerated more tension in the polity.”