,-

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

www.ngrguardiannews.com

Vol. 28, NO. 11.73T TUesday, February 8,2011 N150

iPrn si dent Goo dluck Jonathan (left), Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (POP), Haliiu Bello Ma ha mined and Vice President Naniadi Sambo, at the flag-off of Jonathan/Sambo presidential campaign inlafia, Nasarawa State ...yesterday.

Egyptian govtraises pay, pledgesto tackle graftProtesters defiant, globalLabour unions plan ralliesFrom Collins Olayinka, Abuja{with agency reports)

TTHE Egyptian government1 yesterday pledged to in-vestigate official corruptionand election fraud but thou-sands of protesters sworenot to move from the heartof downtown Cairo untiiPresident Hosni Mubaraksteps down.Also, the embattled regime

yesterday announced a 15per cent increase in salariesand pensions in the latest at-tempt to defuse popularanger.

But a global dimension isexpected to be added to thecrisis today as 301 Labourunion affiliates, comprisingabout 176 million workers,will be demonstrating si-multaneously in front of allEgyptian embassies acrossthe world with a view torevving up the pressure on

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Shock as Bankole, Danielare out of (NEC's list in OgunFrom Kelvin Ebiri (Port Harcoim),Lawrence Njoku (Enugu). AdamuAbu (Kano), Anietie Akpan (Cal-abar), Charles Qgugbuaja (Gw-erri).lnemeSftAkpan-Nsoh (Uyo),Chuks Collins (Awka), CharlesCoffie-Gyamfi (Afaeokuta) andWillie Etim (Venagoa)

"THE raging controversy as1 to who is the Peoples Dem-ocratic Party (PDF) Governor-ship candidate in Ogun statewas partially put to rest yes-terday as the IndependentNational Electoral Commis-sion (INEC) confirmed Gen.Adetunji Olurin as the au-thentic Ogun state governor-ship candidate.The list released to reportersat 630pm by the state INECCommissioner, DeaconMarkins Okunfolami listedTunde Oladunjoye, a sea-

Obasanjo's candidates, Olurin, others, on displayAbacha's son is CPC's candidate for KanoAkpabio drops deputy from A'lbom ticketChime retains POP's flag in EnuguINEC displays candidates' lists in statessoned journalist as Olurin'srunning mate.The Speaker of the House of

Representatives, Rt. Hon.Dimeji Bankole lost his bid toreturn to the Lower House forthe third time. He is to be re-placed by Peter Olusegun Ala-wode, according to the INEClistThe state Governor, Otunba

Gbenga Daniel's bid to con-

test the Ogun East Senatorialseat also appeared threat-ened as INEC approved Mo-hammed Tayir Adetunji asthe party s candidateINEC also approved lyaboOlusola Obasanjo-Bello,daughter of former PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo to con-test the Ogun Central Senato-rial seat while ChiefBabatunde Fadun is to con-

test the Ogun West seatwhich is presently being oc-cupied by Senator Kola Ba-jomo.Following unresolved crisis

within the state PDF, the fac-tions within the party heldtwo parallel primaries. Thestate party's Chairman, [pjuFadairo's faction beingbacked by Governor Danielheld its primary at the M.K.O

Abiola stadium and electedPrince Gboyega Nasir Isiakaas its Governorship candi-date.The [ubril Martins-Kuye's fac-tion which is being backed byformer President OlusegunObasanjo also held its pri-mary at the OlusegunObasanjo Library and electedGen. Olurin, a former militaryadministrator of Oyo state asits own Governorship candi-date.Both factions submitted thenames of their candidates tothe party leadership at thenational level. But followinga court injunction obtainedby the Martins-Kuye group,INEC rejected Fadairo's fac-tion's list.

The INEC listed SenatorIbikunle Amosun as the Gov-ernorship candidate for the

Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN). His running mate isPrince Olusegun Adesegun.The Governorship candidatefor the Labour Party isOtunba OlajideAwosedo

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Jonathan beginscampaign, pledges tofocus on economy,security™ESIDENTi JonJonathan yesterday de-clared that his administra-tion would focus on theeconomy and securitywhich were essential to thenation's development

B~T,01SI ATTENTION ATTENTION Nigeria, U.S. fine-tune plans for power, aviation sectors

SAVEYOURCHILD'S FUTUREOwn A Property That Explodes In Value!!

Yes, you too canOwn a plot in NEW LEKKIand watch it explode in value in the next five years.Plots are situated opposite the hottest business location inNew Lekki anct value-driven investors who want to see theirProperty Irwestrn-:! f -iio* .n v,s:.\c qL-.K;- v. 11 profit massivelyfrom buying plots of land in New Lekki.

•:•:<-.:.

I , , j, , 11-• • - I : - ! . - •

- •

'€',i!!';n-:;:>;".'.sg8

byTFC.OffOpabi,Road; Ikeja

On February 14, we will be running a special valentine message Isection in The Guardian. It would cost N100 per word for smaximum of 20 wordsPlease mail a copy of your teilerandcouponioHead, CirculationGuardian Newspapers LtdRutam HouseIsolo/Apapa ExpresswayP.M.B.12170shodi, Lagos, NigeriaOr Any Guardian Office NationwidePayment should be made to:Bank: Union Bankof Nigeria PLCJsoio BranchAccount Name: Guardian Newspapers LimiledAccount Number: 072102003078

Bank: First Bank of Nigeria PLC, Stock Exchange BranchActountName: Guardian Newspapers LimitedAccountNumber: 2442010005111To ptsce a message, orforliutherinformation please call:

~ 08037168023,014489664,08033641928,- 08035770541,08033033055,08058000888

send your message and a scanned copy of your teller to

Valentine's Day Message - Coupon.Please write clearly below {maxima ti of 20 words)

Title: First Name:Surname:Address:Contact Phone NumberThe best ft

__ J is newts™ 12, ZOH.

From Laolu Akande, NEW York•THE Federal Government1 and Washington throughthe United States (U.S.) Ex-port-Import Bank and theCentral Bank of Nigeria(CBN) are set to implementmore financial stimuluspackages in Nigeria's powerand aviation sectors.The packages are designed

to support and promotenew investments in the twosectors to boost economicactivities in Nigeria, thecountry's Ambassador toU.S., Prof. Ade Adefuye, hassaid.Adefuye said in Washington

DC yesterday that the EXIMBank's officials in particularhave revealed to him thatNigeria had only used about25 per cent of the financialfacilities and products avail-able for financing projectsin the country.

"1 have met with the Presi-

dent of the U.S. EXIM Bankand its top officials twice re-cently and they assured methat the bank is keenly inter-ested in providing financialsupport to back up the Fed-eral Governments power

sion projects," he said.EXIM Bank officials also con-

firmed that the power andaviation sectors are two ofthe major global financingpriorities in Nigeria.According to the bank, be-

tween 2000 and 2009, for in-stance, the EXIM Bank "hasauthorised over $5 billion inmedium and long termtransactions for the exportof goods and services in thepower sector." The bank hasalso "played a vital role inthe development andgrowth of the power sector

countries like Nigeria."

portedly funded projects inthe generation, transmis-sion and distribution ofpower with an overall finan-cial exposure of about $4.5billion in the power sector.While both the EXIM Bank

and the CBN are expected towork out details of the avia-tion sector projects, Adefuyesaid help for the powerproj-ects are already proceedingfrom both banks.Adefuye said an investor-fi-nancier workshop has beenscheduled for WashingtonDC on March 10,2OH whereEXIM officials and their CBNcounterparts will make spe-cific financing products andoptions available to U.S. andNigerian investors in thepower sector in the areas ofgeneration and transmis-

"It is a fall-out of the U.S.-Nigerian Bi-National Corn-

Work Group on

Power," Adefuye disclosed,adding that during the lastvisit of Foreign Affairs Minis-ter, Odein Ajumogobia, theissue was discussed betweenofficials of both countries.The commission, according

to Adefuye, is keen on ensur-ing that there is concreteprogress in the area ofpower generation and trans-mission in Nigeria.

He said there would be ameeting ahead of the March10 workshop between thePresident of EXIM Bank and.the Presidential Adviser onPower, Prof. Earth Nnaji,who wili participate in theworkshop.Adefuye said the workshop

is unique because "it is botharoadshowforpowersectorand also an opportunity tomeet bank financiers whowill be in attendance to pro-vide strategic and financial

•ntial

Protesters defiant, global Labour unions plan ralliesCONTINUED FROM PAGE IMubarak to quit.The groups, under the aus-

.t the InternationalTrade Union Confer(iriJC) in a statement madeavailable to The Guardian yes-terday, said the protestswould be solidarity with theEgyptian people in demand-ing immediate end to the 30-year old Mubarak regime.

The statement added: "The1'1'UC and its affiliates presentin Dakar will join the inter-national solidarity day withthe Egyptian people on Feb-ruary 8. On that day, aroundthe globe, unions will organ-ise demonstrations at Egypt-ian embassies, and continueto press their governmentsto demand democratic tran-sition in tgyptand to ensurethat those responsible for

the violent repression ofpeaceful demonstrationsare brought to justice."The Egyptian cabinet deci-

sion follows earlier promises

and official corruption,which have done little topersuade the tens of thou-sands occupying down-town's Tahrir Square to endtheir two-week long protest.After two weeks of instabil-

INEC displays candidates lists in statesCONTINUED FROM PAGE I

In Cross RiverState, INK pub-lished the names of GovernorLiyel Imoke of the PeoplesDemocratic Parly (PDF) and sixothers for the governorshiprace. The others in die contestinclude Etubom Nya Asuquoof the Congress for ProgressiveChange (CPC), Mr. Goodie Ak-parna of the Progressive Peo-ples' Alliance (PPA), PastorIheke Awa Solomon of the AllNigeria Peoples' Party (ANPP),Mrs. Stella Eno of the Alliancefor Democracy (AD), SenatorMathew Mbu of th,

ssofNigeria(ACN),andDr. Theo Onyuku for theLabour Party (LP). The namesof their deputies were alsopublished.However, the lists for the Na-

tional and State Assembly as-pirants were not dissthe INEC headquarters in Cal-abar.The Resident Electoral Com-

missioner, Mike Igini, could

but some INEC officials saidthe list for the National and As-sembly aspirants would bepublished at the various stateand constituency headquar-

The name of Governor Sulli-van Chime was displayed as

the PDF in Enugu State. The listwhich was pasted on the no-

at its headquarters on AchiStreet Independence Layoutalso has Chime's deputy, Sun-

ebuchi as the running-mate. It put paid tospeculations and controversy

.date of the crisis-ridden PDP inthe state, as supporters of

,gINFC

Anayo Onwuegbvj, |thronged the INEC officeserve the exercise yestercthe premises dejected.Onwuegbu had securedjunction of courtbarr (4_,and PDP from accepting Chimeas their candidate in the state.But some of his supporters be-lieved that the battle to wrestlePDP from Chime has just be-gun with the list released yes-terday.The All Progressive Grand Al-

liance (APGA) may not be par-ticipating in the election as die

candidates of the party. The listshowed that the Action Con-gress of Nigeria (ACN) has Ve-natius Omenkeukwu as itsgubernatorial candidate, whilea former Secretary to the StateGovernment, Dr Dan Shereemerged as the candidate ofthe newly formed People forDemocratic Change (PDC) witha member of the House of Rep-resentatives, Kanayo Oguakwaas his running mate.Okey Ezea emerged the candi-date of the Labour Parry (LP)with Ofor Odo as his runningmate, while Paul Okafor anaOgbonnaya Ejim are the candi-date and running mate of theANPP.Others on the list are: Ernma

Ugwu for CPC with AyoguEmeka as running mate; Cni-nonyelum Odumejemba forNCP; Mrs. Nkechi Ofor forAfrican Liberation Party (ALP)with Emma Aniakor as run-ning mate. The Congress forDemocratic Change (CDC) hasits state chairman, Mr. CharlesIbe as the candidate with EzeaSunday as running mate.Apart from the governorship

list that was displayed at theINEC state headquarters, that

of other candidates includingsenatorial, House of Repre-sentatives and State /\:were displayed at the variousconstituencies.Inasuiprising development,Mohammed, son of the lateHead of State, Gen. SaniAbacha had his name dis-played as the governorshipcandidate of the CPC;State, and Alhaji Hussaini Ab-dullahi Garba as his runningmate. For the PDP, the candi-date is former governor, RabiuMusa Kwankwaso and Dr. Ab-dullahi Umar Ganduje as hisrunning mate.On thelist also was the name

of the deputy governor, AlhajiAbdullahi TijianiGwai-zo andMalam Muhammed NasirMuktar as the governorshipcandidate and running mateon the platform of the ACN

, 'ihu SagirTakai and Dr. BashirShehu Galadanci were dis-played as the candidate andrunningmate for ANPP.In a handwritten list posted

on the commission's noticeboard along Port HarcourtRoad, Owerri, Imo State, Gov-ernor Ikedi Ohakim was pub-lished as PDP governorship

ie with his runningmate as Prof. Viola Adaku On-wu!iri, the ANPP has LemechiAhamefule as its flag bearerand Beneth Chukwuma as therunningmate.

Others on the list includedAPGA having Chief RochasOkorocha as its governorshipcandidate while Jude Agbasois his deputy. Emeka Nwajiubais the flag bearer for the CPCjust as Senator IfeanyiArarume is the governorship

=;e of tie ACN andChief Noel Agwuocha Chuk-wukadibia the running mate.The Senate, House of Repre-

sentatives and the House ofAssembly lists were yet to be

-d. The Public Rela-,iccr of the commis-

sion in the state, C-Eugene Onyeji, told The

irhat die legal officerwas still working on the lists

ity that pushed the mostpopulous Arab nation to theedge of anarchy, the crisis ap-

s to be settling itemporary stasis.

A series of government con-cessions have left the pro-testers dissatisfied but thescene has remained calm,with Tahrir Square resem-bling a carnival more thanthe rock-strewn battlefield ofrecent days.

which he said would be outsoon.The Resident Electoral Com-

r in Akwalbom State,Mrs. Maria Owi said that of all(he political panics, only 21 pre-sented candidates for variouselective offices.For the PDP, the governorship

candidate is incumbent Gover-nor Godswill Akpabio, whilehis running mate is ObongNsima Ekere and not the in-cumbent Patrick Ekpotu. TheACN has Senator John JamesAkpan-Udoedehe as its gover-norship candidate and ChiefIme Umanah as the running

ANPP has the retired Air Forceofficer and former militarygovernor, Sampson Ewang asits candidate without a run-ning mate. The CPC'S gover-norship candidate is LawrenceEsin who has also not pickedanyone as running mate.

APGA has former ACN statechairman, David Ekanem as itsgovernorship candidate andNkereuwem Peter as his run-ning mate. Other parties thatpresented candidates lor elec-

ts are PPA, PAC, CDC,CPP, HDP, AD, SDMP, NNPA andADC.In Rivers State, thelist was also

1. The Resident Elec-toral Commissioner, AniediIkoiwak, told The Guardian thatthe list which was sent in fromAbuja yesterday was to enableindividuals in the state to ver-ify the claims made by the var-ious candidates, includingGovernor Chibuifce Amaechi ascontained in the documentssubmitted to the political par-ties by the candidates whichwas then forwarded to thecommission.Ikoiwak explained that those

of candidates vying for the Sen-ate, the House of Representa-tives as well as the State Houseof Assembly would be postedin INEC offices in their con-stituencies.In Anambra and Bayelsa states,however, the expectations ofthe people were dashed as thelists are yet to be displayed.

NewsOndo okays pay risefor workers

State Governmentyesterday approved

salary increase for civil ser-vants in the state.

According to the StateHead of Service, AjoseKudehinbu, the payrise was to bring the salarystructure in the state in linewith other states in theSouth West pending thepassage of the MinimumWage bill,

He explained that theapproval was in line withthe recommendations ofthe salary adjustment com-mittee set up by the stategovernment last year fol-lowing the state's workersagitation.The approval came on the

heels of a meeting, whichtook place in the state capi-tal between the leadershipof the" labour unions andthe state government.

The parties at the parleyagreed that the adjustmentshould take effect fromJanuary 2011.

The Head of Service saidthe state governmentwould require an addition-al N65 million monthly topay the new wage.

A cross-section of governors from South-South, South-East. North Central and North-East after thair meeting in Yola. Adamawa State...on Sunday.

Airlines may get reduction on sen/ice chargeslivWnloShadareandChikaUoodluck-OgaziTO ensure better services,Ithe Federal Governmentmay have agreed to reviewcharges levied against airlinesin the country.

Also, the Ministers ofAviation, Finance, the CentralBank of Nigeria (CBN) and theNigerian Civil AviationAuthority of Nigeria (NCAA)have prevailed on banks toreduce to seven per cent, theinterest rates charged onloans procured by airlines asagainst the current 12 per centrate.This was disclosed to journal-

ists yesterday when the NCAAmet with airline operators,aviation agencies and othersto resolve the lingering crisisof debts owed by the opera-tors.

The Guardian leant that thegovernment may haveapproved 50 per cent reduc-tion in charges levied againstthe carriers, which has in turnadded to their precarious situ-ation.

Nigerian carriers are in seri-ous financial dire straits occa-sioned by huge taxes chargedby aviation agencies.

We agreed that the payment should bo mado andas ar when due; that Is, some charges, some Incen-tives and the key issues causing problem in theindustry has been resolved. It is going to continue.

They equally complainedthat charges levied againstthem were about the highestin the world. They cited thelanding and parldng feescharged by the FederalAirports Authority of Nigeria(FAAN) as the highest in theworld, including rents.

The operators also con-demned the multiple taxes bythe Nigerian AirspaceManagement Agency (NAMA)on terminal navigational

charges (TNS), classifyingthem as too heavy and ridicu-lous.

At the meeting, die atmos-phere was charged amongthe participants who wereangling for over 50 per centreduction in all charges byFAAN, NCAA and NAMA.

A senator and representativeof private airline owners, IbnNaala, opined that theircharges should have been dif-ferent from commercial oper-

- I l l i r . . . H i l h n r . l h . i l I I W. l . - i l I c . L I

I v - l i | i u l . i t n l in t i n -International Civil AviationOrganisation (1CAO) that pri-vate operators should beexempted from some chargeswhile they should pay less insome parts.

Speaking to reporters afterthe meeting, the NCAA'sDirector-General, Dr. HaroldDemuren, said there was theneed for the agencies to con-tinue to solve problems in thesector, adding: "We talked pro-fessionally and very franklyand to look for solution for theindustry, particularly as itrelates to charges."Demuren noted that the idea

was to see how government

i • mil l n'llin r ihr n p i . .fd-il nl I I I ' - .mini.••. .MI,I ,)< l l n

same dine pave flic way torthe agencies to continue toexist by paying up theircharges.

He added: "If there are no air-,lines, we have no business todo, so the airlines must paywhat they owe. At the sametune, the agencies must beable to carry out their statuto-ry responsibilities and thatalso requires fund to do it.Therefore, the airlines mustpay their bills. 1 am very happythat we have made a lot ofprogress."Reminded that similar meet-

ings to resolve the recurringproblem had not been imple-

,is agreed, Demurensaid l l i i s one was different,stressing that they discussedissues that would guaranteethe survival of the carriers andthat of the agencies.

"We agreeothat the paymentshould be made and as atwhen due; that is, somecharges, some incentives andthe key issues causing prob-lem in the industry has beenresolved. It is going to contin-ue. It is much better thanwhen we entered. We lookedat everything one by one. Forinstance, if they can give somediscount, and let me say this,you cannot be wrong support-ing your own," he concluded.

Rivers' universities teachers end strikeFrom Kehrin Ebiri, Port-Harcourt

AFTER four months, mem-/ibers of Academic StaffUnion of Universities (ASUU)of Rivers State University ofScience and Technology(RSUST) and the StateUniversity of Education havesuspended their industrialaction.The suspension of the strike,

which crippled academicactivities in the institutionssince October, 2010, followedthe intervention of the RiversState Economic AdvisoryCouncil (RSEAC) headed byformer University of PortHarcourt Vice Chancellor,Professor Nimi Briggs.

RSUST-ASUU Chairman, Dr.Felix Igwe, told The Guardianthat an agreement signed by

the chairman of the universitygoverning council, JusticeAdolphus Karibi-Whyte (red),the chairman of RSEAC andthe union stipulated thatwhile the strike has been sus-pended, the RSEAC wouldfacilitate the implementationof the 2009 FederalGovernment arid ASUU agree-mentIgwe explained that the 2009

agreement between theFederal Government andASUU has been adopted as aworking document by thegoverning councils of bothinstitutions.

"Consequently, ASUU con-gresses in the two universitiesresolved to suspend the indus-trial action until March 31,20Dand will resume the actionwithout further notice if the

2009 FederalGovernment/ASUU agree-ment is not implemented byApril 1,2011," he said.

The Registrar and Secretaryto the council, Mrs. D.cpdimabo, had a month agoissued a directive to ASUUmembers to end the strikepenultimate Thursday or riskmass sack, a threat that theunion defied.

"•**""• «• •»i««*ij»a»«wi MMii,TiMm l **i »MinjJ/"M/JlffmT1ffM'?TTTffTfflflT|TfTrTtm^ '"' -:'"

Federal Government to issue Certificates of Occupancy, others within 30 daysFrom Nkechi Dnyedika, AbujaAPPARENTLY worried by the

/Ttediousandlongprocessofgetting land documents, theFederal Government yester-day said it would henceforthissue Certificates ofOccupancy (C of O) and Deedsof Assignment to prospectiveapplicants within 30 days.

Minister of Lands, Housingand Urban Development,Chief Nduese Essien, who dis-closed this yesterday in Abuja,said the development waspart of measures to make gov-ernment's property transac-

flons effective, less cumbersome and to encourage invest-ment in the housing sector.He said the relevant units and

departments of the ministryhave been repositioned todeliver fastand efficient servic-es to members of the public.

The minister noted that thebacklog of applications for Cof O and Deeds of Assignmenton government's landed prop-erties, which were submittedfrom 2007 till date, have beentreated.He said: "A total of 883 applica-tions for C of O and Deeds of

Assignment, which were sub-mitted from2007 to 2010, havebeen processed and are readyfor issuance. Currently, theministry is making efforts atresolving the cases of 66 appli-cants, whose submissionswere not in order."

The minister, therefore,requested Nigerians, who haveapplied for title documentsduring the period underreview, to visit the relevantdepartment of the ministryand collect them.

He said: "After submittingapplications for title docu-

We have created a system that would deliver fast onall applications. If any applicant has difficulties, suchcomplaints should be channeled directly to me. I wantNigerians to know that we can do things right and ontime. The era where people waited for several years toobtain title documents from the government is over.ments, it will no longer be nee- ties, such complaints should beessary for applicants to come channeled directly to me. 1 wantto the ministry to follow-up. Nigerians to know that we canWe have created a system that do things right and on time,would deliver fast on all appli- The era where people waitedcations. for several years to obtain tide

"Ifanyapplicanthasdifflcul- documents from the govern-

ment is over. We have the man-date of Mr. President to serveNigerians and we are doingjust that.

Meanwhile, the minister hasappealed to contractors han-dling the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs)contracts all over the countryto hasten and deliver on theirjobs.He noted that any contractorthat failed to report to sitebefore February 11,2011, wouldhave such contracts terminat-ed without further recourse tothem.

41;,

visofoneyour passport to reach the world

ply to Dubai this' • JE f"'' *s* sft>?,.m&fvt1****^11^

withVISCil ^LJL^

Over

to be won

»*\.*»**—•***.

Text "LOVE" to 35100 for free andanswer the questions following with options A or B to35100 to win points,Every response to a question gets you 1 5 SfTtSf 10 sms to visafonc* network and 5 sms to other networks)Every correct answer wins you 10 points

5 correct answers (SO points) qualify you for Dubai Trip Draw3 correct answers (30 points) qualify you for N50.000 Draw2 correct answers (20 points] qualify you for Dual SIJW phone DrawEvery sent answer costs NIOO | the more you play, the greater your chances of winning

Coverage now in 24 states and over 171 cities!:'•. '.'/ • . ' i ' i , I Conditions ripply.

Avwiffthlf.' to prepaid customers only

For { f r ^ j t y f.k;'c(>h visit www.visafoiio.com.ncj .jr coil 3(;

Ho,if! Off lets 4th fiooi. i"cii(;m Hciiiso. ? Ajos-fr AikJmjiin Slreet, V'jf.totig islantl, Layc

KAMO'f-WONVi

THEGUARDIAN.TuesdayFebniary8,201l ' :;; "l :Kj

Voters' registration ends todayFrom Mohammed Abubakar(Abuja), IsaAbriyisalami (Jas),Atemma-OzioruvaAiiu (Benin City)Uzoma Nzeagwu (Awka) and NkechiOnyerSika (Abuja)

AFTER two extensions, the/Voters' registration exercisewill end today and that is offi-cial.Chief Press Secretary to the In-

dependent National ElectoralCommission ([NEC) Chair-man, Mr. Kayode Idowu, whodisclosed this yesterday, toldTfteGiiardfanttiatthecommis-sion no longer enjoyed the lux-ury of time.According to him, "the timetor this exercise is really inelas-tic because there are lots ofthings to be done before thecommencement of electionson April 2."Idowu added: "For instance,

the law requires the commis-sion to publish the finai regis-ter at least 30 days before theelection and before the finalvoter register is released onMarch 2. There are otherprocesses such as the periodfor the display of the registerfor claims and objections. So ifwe continue to grant this ex-tension, it would be impossi-ble for the commission tocany out some other aspectsof the job."Idowu stressed that Nigeriansmust show understanding

with the commission as ittried to ensure that the elec-toral timetable was not jeop-ardised through theextensionof the voters' registration ex-ercise.But President, Christian Asso-

ciation of Nigeria (CAM), Pas-tor Ayo Oritsejafor, yesterdaysubmitted that the two-day ex-tension granted by INEC forthe voters' registration exer-cise would not be enough tocover all Nigerians who havenot registered and appealed tothe commission to extend theexercise for at least one weekOritsejafor also stressed the

need for the country to de-velop a system that wouldmake political positions lessattractive.The voters' registration exer-cise started on January 15 andwas expected to end on fanu-ary 29. However, it was ex-tended by one week as a resultof the initial hiccups thattrailed the operations of theDirect Data Capture (DDC) ma-chines.

But then the commissiongranted a 48-hour extensionto some states for what itcalled "mop up exercise,"which will end today

Also, Resident Electorai Com-missioner (RFC) in PlateauState, Habu Zarma, disclosedyesterday that INEC lost twoadhoc workers in the just con-cluded registration exercise inthe state where it registered2,099.096 eligible voters.In a related development, the

INEC in Awka, Anambra Stateyesterday announced the un-timely death of Miss ChinaeloOjekwe, an Assistant Registra-tion Officer (ARO) in the on-go-ing registration exercise.Astatement by thestate com-

mission's Public Relations Offi-cer, Frank Egbo, disclosed thatMiss Ojekwe was knockeddown by a Peugeot 504 salooncar on February 2, 20il at theNteje, Oyi Local Council end ofthe Enugu-Onitsha express-way on her way home after theday's work

Miss Ojekwe was a graduateof Town, Urban and RegionalPlanning, from the FederalPolytechnic, Oko, AnambraState. The deceased, who waswaiting forhercall-up letter forthe National Youth ServiceCorps programme, died on thewaytothenospital.

Egbo said the bereaved familyhad been contacted and as-sured of the Commission'sreadiness to partner withthem in according hera befit-ting burial.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Im-migration Service (MS) yester-day ann oi! need thatitarrestedeight foreigners, mosdy Nige-riens, in four local councils ofEdo State who attempted toregister in the on going voters'registration exercise by posingas Nigerians.Speaking with reporters yes-

terday in Abuja, Oritsejafor,who described the voter's reg-istration exercise as "success-ful," said that the one weekextension would enable peo-ple living in the areas wherethe DDC machines arrived late

to be fully captured.His words: "Generally thevot-

ers' registration exercise wentwell because it is not easy toembark on this type of projectin Nigeria. However, INECknows the areas where peoplehave not registered properly. Iam from Warri and I knowthree local governments inWarn did not participate inthe registration in the firstweek because there were nomachines. I am therefore ap-pealing to INEC to extend theregistration exercise for up toone week."

Oritsejafor charged politi-cians to change their do-or-dieapproach to politics and urgedNigeri^s to register in orderto voter* credible people intooffice.

Jonathan begins campaign, pledges to focus on economy, securityFrom Simeon Nwakaudu andJohn Abba Ogfaodo, Lafia

RESIDENT Goodluckf mathan yesterday de-

clared that his administra-tion would focus on theeconomy and securitywhich were essential to thenation's development.Flagging off his North-Cen-

tral Zone presidential cam-paign in Lafia, Jonathanstated that his administra-tion wouid use the economy

Ogbulafor urges support for Presidentas the pivot on which the na-tion's progress would behinged.

However, the campaignflag-off was almost marredby protests by youths of an-other party who threw peb-bles at the presidentialconvoy as it drove to theEmir of Lafia Palace to payhomage.The protesting youths dis-

More criticisms trail Salami's planned 'elevation'From Lemmy Ugnegbe, Abuja

E)RMER West African BarAssociation (WABA) presi-

dent Femi Falana yesterdaysued the National Judicial( omu i l (N|C) over then l . i i i i i i ' i l elevation of thePresident of the Court of Ap-pealJusticeAyolsa Salami tolhe Supreme Court bench.Falana's action came amidmore condemnation of thecontroversial promotion.Joined in the suit with NIC asco-defendant is the FederalJudicial Service Commission(FJSC).

In the action instituted atthe Federal High Court,Abuja Division, the humanrights activist argues that theact offends the federal char-acter principle normally ob-served in suchappointments.

Consequently, the Lagos-based lawyer is praying thecourt for an order of perpet-ual injunction, restrainingthe two defendants (NIC andFJSC) from recommending ornominating Justice Salamifor the said appointment todie apex court.

In the originating sum-mons, Falana argues mat Part1 of the guiding principle andformula for the distributionof all cadres of posts madepursuant thereto and Section14 (3) of the Constitution ofthe Federal Republic of Nige-ria 1999 had been violatedbythe appointment of JusticeSalami to the bench beingfrom the North Central zonethat already has the maxi-mum number of Justices inthe Supreme Court since it isonly three persons from thezone that can be on thebench at the same time un-der the said guiding princi-ples and formula for thedistribution of all cadres ofposts.He therefore seeks the fol-

lowing reliefs:• A declaration that the pur-ported advice of the secondDefendant.(Federal JudicialService'Commission) to thefirst Defendant (National Ju-dicial Council) to nominateor recommend Justice Ayo

ft Bar ox-ore: f &»*&JiJ \g!\ f*>* •*

Isa Saiami, the President ofthe Court of Appeal for ap-pointment to Supreme Courtof Nigeria is in-equitable, un-lawful, illegal, and unconsti-tutional, being in flagrantviolation of Section 4 of theFederal Character Commis-sion (Establishment etc) ActCap F7, Laws of the Federa-tion of Nigeria 2004.• A declaration that the I" de-fendant cannot lawfully orvalidly recommend JusticeSalami for appointment toSupreme Court being an in-digene of Kwara State fromthe North Central 7one thatalready has the maximumnumber of three Justices inthe Supreme Court in contra-vention of Section 4 of theFederal Character Commis-sion Act.• An order of perpetual in-junction restraining the De-le ndants- whether bythemselves, agents, servantsor privies or by whomsoeverand howsoeverfrom recommending, nomi-nating or purporting to rec-ommend Hon. justiceSalami for appointment tothe Supreme Court. One An-thony Itedjere deposed to anaffidavit, whereof he averredthat "on the 1st and 2nd ofFebruary 2011, the second De-fendant purportedly passed aresolution to advise the firstDefendant to recommendthe appointment of Hon Jus-tice Salami to the SupremeCourt."Citing the composition of theSupreme Court Justices inline with the federal charac-ter Act, he also averred thatthe North Central Statehas three Justices, NorthWest, three justices, NorthEast, three,South- South, two,South East, two, South West,three, adding thatappointing another Justicefrom the North Central to theSupreme Court will not onlyoffend the principle of fed-eral character, but will also'bring confusion and need-less constitutional crisis.

Itedjere also averred that

Justice Salami has rejectedthe offer or recommenda-tion for his appointment tothe apex court and thereforeshould not be elevatedagainst his wish and Ihi'l.iw,

On Its part, the Action Con-gress of Nigeria (ACN) hadenjoined President Good-luck Jonathan to "quicklyput an end to the ongoingfrontal attack against the ju-diciary by his People's Demo-cratic Party (PDF), justbecause it is not happy withthe ruling of the Court of Ap-peal in some election peti-tion cases."

In a statement by its Na-tional Publicity Secretary, Al-haji Lai Mohammed, the ACNwarned that there would be"far-reaching consequencesfor all if the PDF, because it isthe ruling party, is allowed touse its clout todestroy the ju-diciary just to serve its ownselfish ends.""It is not unusual for any in-

dividual or political party todisagree with a court ruling.Such disagreement can bevented through appealprocess, where possible, orother accepted civilisedmeans. But to resort to down-right abusr of jiidffl's.ind theIUIIM\ .1'. lll{' II U ' . M i l l Sl'11,1

torlyiolaOmisore have been doing inthe case of the Court of Ap-peal, is a dangerous trendthat can only destroy an armof government that is widelybelieved to have done morethan any other to save ourdemocracy," ACN said.It went on: "It said a clear ex-

ample of the unbridled on-slaught against the judiciaryis the published report thatthe Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN), using the Federal Judi-cial Service Commission, isspearheading the 'promo-tion' of the President of theCourt of Appeal, Justice AyoSalami, to the Supreme Courtso as to replace him withsomeone who is believed tobe pliabie.

WEB HKMfc.V + Hl'.Sira SKILl DEI TRAIMtt, ( 2 I X 1 1MicroStart Global Resources Limited in conjunction with sidmoscsTechnology organises a 1 month intensive Training/Workshop onHTML. FIREWORKS, DREAMWEAVER, FLASH, FTP, ADSENSE

WORDPRESS. Plus Essential Business Management Skills.

-or. A•

Please call 08033187992 fMoses), 0802304UKJ3 i Emmanuel*ui visit \VVYt*.tii(llJU>KeS,ttlin* ^^^rmK'Hi.s'^rTsilol^iri'MiiKi'i'-JHos^iJ^I-fdii

The services of an ACCOUNTING OF FICERare urgently required in a company-in Isolo Area ofLagos Sta!e." Camtittate must possess a minimuni wf ONl>in a.

recognised Polytechnic in accounting* Must have two y«ars? cognate experience.* Computer literacy is an atlried »d vant;igi\

Infefestect candidate who must foe resident withinIsolo'Oktila urea shniild appfy iiniilie with w aliacfaed tc

Within sewn (7)dajs of this advert*

played placards that indi-cated their political prefer-ences, especially as theyrelated to Nasarawa State.President Jonathan likened

the economy to farming,saying that fruits of theeconomy were not reapedthe day they are initiated.He added that the degener-ation of the economy wasalso gradual, noting thatmost of those criticising thenation were the ones whodestroyed it over the years.He said: "Those who played

a key role to bury our econ-omy are the ones talkingabout it'.Jonathan also pledged that

his administration woulddevelop education andpower to help in preparingthe populace to reap the

benefits.The President said his ad-

ministration wouid not restuntil the perpetrators ofbombings across the nationwere brought to justice,adding: "This administra-tion will not sweep anycrime under the carpet .

He appreciated the 36 po-litical parties that have en-dorsed his candidacy.

Earlier, Vice President Na-madi Sambo urged the peo-ple of North-Central Zone tosupport President fonathanfor the 2011polls because ofhis commitment to trans-forming the nation.

Senate President, DavidMark, described the North-Central Zone as the home ofthe PDF, saying that the POPwould still emerge victori-ous in ilie zone.

Window Blinds

ClassicComponents|_gjgo_AyaBabte

Tisco Blinds.. **. &(tt~4-*£l#-tte. j~4 et* **

lisco Piaza, Plot 6 Bock. B,

CERTIFICATION TRAINING

ORACLE, JAVA, (TflL, f>MP, Fin modefngNHAMESIimitedYiKii-

e<*»«)w;S»««elaHM*as s, aaeounts await you !IK&JA; Adeni Jonas; 01-8046262.EjiQbo: 2. IHoshi re>aciiai-S283l37 .09023175884

. Asodi02873S042070938478-13

CCNA EXAMSS>N42K

BULK SALE OF AGO &DPKWe have Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and DuaiPurpose Kerosene (DPK) for immediate sale.Serious bulk buyers only should contact

Email:goodseedpetrochemical@yahoo.com

marftora@yahoo.coai

SINEWS' '• ":; THE GUARDIAN,

East-West coastal road project back on track Boko team sect gives conditions for peace

From Kelvin Ebiri, Port HarcourtT1OPE for the construction oflithe proposed East-Westcoastal road, which stretchesacross 66738 kilometres fromCalabar to Lagos, has beenrekindled with the submissionof tender document to theNiger Delta DevelopmentCommission (NDDC).

The document for the multi-billion-naira road project wassubmitted to the NDDC by anindigenous engineering firm,Pearl Consultants, which wascontracted to build the road.

In a letter to the NDDC, thefirm's Chief Engineer, NathIboroma, said: "We presumeinternational bidding for a jobof this magnitude and com-plexity will take five to six

months and so, it is not out ofplace to start the biddingprocess."

In preparing the bills, theroad project was divided into10 segments. The various seg-ments are Odukpani (74200kilometres J, Imo River {76300kilometres), River Sombreior(79-800 kilometres), BonnyRiver suspension bridge (7.700kilometres), River SombreiroBrass f81.900 kilometres!,Brass (91.700 kilometres),cable stayed bridges atForcados River and EscravosRiver (1130 kilometres).

It will be recalled that aninternational conference onthe development of the NigerDelta in 2001 under the aegisof the NDDC and UNDP hademphasised the urgent need

We presume international bidding for a job of thismagnitude and complexity will take five to sixmonths and so, it is not out of place to start the bid-ding process.for the coastal road, which is acritical component of the NigerDelta regional master plan.

Due to likely budgetary con-straints and competing infra-structural facilities at both diefederal and regional levels,Pearl Consultants had, prior tothe submission of the tenderdocuments, suggested it maybe expedient tobegin the con-struction of the road on a singlecarriageway that will open upthe area to attract investments.

It is expected that the pro-posed road would serve as a cat-

Soyinka bemoans state of education

alyst in the development of theregion and unlocking the vasttourism potentials and oppor-tunities in the area.

The East-West Road, which iscurrently the southern roadrunning through the NigerDelta, is about 40 kiliometresfrom the coastline, leaving avast section of the region inac-cessible by road transportBased on the design, the East-

West coastal road will serve asthe shortest route linkingLagos to die coastal areas ofOndo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa,Rivers, Akwa Ibom and CrossRivers states and also connectthe north and south verticalroutes.

From Saxone Akhaine (Kaduna)and Njadvara Musa (Maiduguri)

MEMBERS of the dread-ed Boko Haram

Islamic sect have givenconditions for truce inBorno State.

Their demands includewithdrawal of soldiers cur-rently in Maiduguri, thestate capital, and return ofthe original mosque wherethey worship.

Leader of the group,Malam Abu Suleiman, saidon the BritishBroadcasting Corporation(BBC) Hausa Service moni-tored in Kaduna yesterdaythat the group would onlystop killings in Maiduguriif the authorities heededthe conditions.

Suleiman spoke even asanother member of thesect had earlier said noteven a fly would be unjust-

From Tunji Omofoya, Osogbo

NOBEL laureate, ProfessorWole Soyinka, has

bemoaned the state of edu-cation in the country.

The educationist, wholamented the absence ofconducive teaching envi-ronment, scarcity of booksand inadequate basic labo-ratory equipment, saidunless a drastic change ismade, the future ofNigerian youths is in jeop-ardy.

Soyinka, who spoke aschairman during the maid-en Education Summit heldby Osun State at the StateUniversity, Osogbo, toaddress the decay in educa-tion in the state and profferpractical solutions, recalledthat during his school days,he enjoyed what he calledfive-star luxury withenabling physical learningenvironment.

He called on the govern-ment and stakeholders torise up to the challenge bymapping put strategies toredress it in the interest ofthe present and future gen-

erations.In his speech, Governor

Rauf Aregbesola, lamentedthat he inherited a decayededucational sector.

"The statistics released byWAEC revealed that in 2009,of the 28,619 students whotook the WAEC exams inOsun State, only 2,584 ofthem obtained five credits.In other words, in 2009,only nine per cent of ourstudents did well after sixyears of secondary schooleducation.

"If you think this is alarm-ing, you will be even morealarmed by the statisticsreleased by WAEC for year2010 when 21,503 studentsin Osun took the exams butonly 1,675 students (7.8 percent) did well enough toearn credits in five subjects,"Aregbesola said.

He described as morefrightening, the situation inpublic schools because ifthe number of studentsfrom private secondaryschools are excluded fromthe statistics, the percent-age of students who earnedfive credits would drop dis-

VACANCIES

SALES ASSOCIATES

FREELANCERS

Qualified and interested candidates should send their CVs asattachment tcj: brffiJijn.gnffiflEjjjffirfa,rmn within one weak ufthis puMicaUoKi.

TO, Afhaji Manila Road, Surulere,Lagss.Tel; 07043638811,1

mally.to less than three percentIn his keynote address, for-

mer Vice Chancellor of theUniversity of Lagos,Professor Ayo Ibidapo- Obe,said most school leavers areunemployable because theylack functional and usefuleducation.

On his part, President ofthe Nigeria Academy ofScience (NAS) noted that thecurrent learning environ-ment in most schools in thecountry is unattractive tostudents and teachers. Hethen sought a clear policyconsistency by governmentat both state and federal lev-els as a first step to addressthe problem.

Pro-chancellor of the stateuniversity, Prof PeterOkebukola, said educationin the country needs urgentattention to save it fromtotal collapse, noting whatthe nation lacks is not ideasbut political will.

States urged to establish gender unitsFrom Nkechi Onyedika, Abuja

>THEi3th regular meeting ofJLthe National Council onWomen Affairs and SocialDevelopment ended at theweekend in Port Harcourt,Rivers State, with a call on the36 states of the federation andFederal Capital Territory toestablish gender units in alltheir Ministries, Departmentsand Agencies (MDAs) in orderto strengthen gender pro-gramming and Budgeting atthe grassroots and ensurepractical implementation ofthe National Gender Policy asapproved by the FederalExecutive Council (FEC) inMarch last ' year.

The council also urged stateministries of Women Affairsand Social Development andthe Social DevelopmentSecretariat of the FCT to estab-lish climate change desks.

Chaired by the Minister ofWomen Affairs and SocialDevelopment, lyom JosephineAnenin, the meeting alsoapproved the establishmentof Referral Desk . forInternational Social Services(ISS) and Desk Office in allstates for the care of the elder-ly under the direct supervi-sion of social welfare depart-ments. It further urged the 12states yet to domesticate theChild Rights Act 2003 to do so.The council noted that in con-formity with the ratificationof the International LabourOrganisation (ILO) conven-tion concerning vocationalrehabilitation and employ-ment of Persons WithDisabilities (PWDs) No. 159 of1983 on July 14,2010, all statesshould establish job place-ment units to serve as linkbetween PWDs and the labourmarket.

ly hurt in Maiduguri if theGovernor, Ali Modu Sheriff,was removed from office,saying he is allegedly unfitto continue to govern thestate.

"We want our mosque tobe given back to us. We alsowant all the soldiers inMaiduguri to be with-drawn immediately," hesaid. Meanwhile, the JointPolice/Military Taskforce(JMPT) deployed to BornoState to quell the serialattacks and killings bymembers of the BokoHaram sect has adopted anew security strategy thatcould improve the securitysituation in Maiduguri. "

The new security strategytagged 'Stop, Search andRaise Your Arms,' tookeffect at midday Saturdayat strategic locations in thecity, including the fiveentry points on Maiduguri-Kano and Biu-Maiduguriroads; and three others inthe eastern and northernparts of the city.

Borno PoliceCommissioner,Mohammed Abubakar,told The Guardian yester-day that the new securitystrategy was to enable thepolice and other securityagents check the prolifera-tion of arms and ammuni-tions.Forty-eight hours into the

adoption of the new securi-ty measures, motorists,cyclists and pedestrianswere subjected to thor-ough searches. But thesecurity agents allegedlyharassed pedestrians.

Reacting, Police PublicRelations Officer, LawalAbdullahi, said: "The policeand soldiers have no inten-sion to harass and intimi-date members of the gener-al public."

ACN flays alleged maltreatment of Lamido's criticFrom John Akubo, Dutse•THE Action Congress ofJL Nigeria, Jigawa State chap-ter, has decried the allegedmaltreatment of one 25-yearold Mukhtari IbrahimAminu, a critic of GovernorSule Lamido.

Chairman of the party, Dr.Abubakar Hassan Fulata,who spoke on Aminu, whowas remanded in prison lastweek for allegedly posting adefamatory commentagainst Governor Lamido,said the young man and hisfather are now taking refuge

People are being harassed and intimidated andwe are not going to tolerate it. It is the abuse ofhis fundamental human right for someone to bedetained for more than 10 days for expressinghis opinion about the misrule of an individual.What is happening in Jigawa could only happenin the apartheid South Africa; it is unfortunatealso that it is happening under democracy.in Kano after fleeing JigawaState to escape what hedescribed as threat from thegovernor.

MARKETERS REQUIRED URGENTLYFIELO MARKETERS (OND)

NETWORK MARKETERS (OND / HND)MARKETING EXECUTIVES (Bsc)MARKETING MANA6ER (Bsc, MBA)Apply in person with credentials onFriday 11th or Saturday 12 February 2011

Time: 10 am prompt, toSilversands Hall School, Eleganza Gardens,Opp. VGC, tkota, Lekki.

1G.B, unlimited email •f DomainI -t- Domain N1C,Q0Wyr,(SPn -ofg .net .toro.na .go»Jig.Ot9-ngtigt*WebApps & Portal Dev.

IOMO HOUSE, I, Oshiliia Street, Anifowoshe Ikeja, logos.Email: sapport@p0tt»Jservers,ccim.ng

He alleged that the youngman is being harassed just toget back at his father whowas said to have recentlydumped the governor sPeoples Democratic Party(PDF) for the ACN.

The embattled Aminu andhis father, Alhaji IbrahimAminu, told newsmen inKano that they relocated tothe state following reports ofplans by the Jigawa govern-ment to humiliate them.

The governor was said tohave earlier withdrawn thecase of defamation of char-acter against the youngAminu that was before aMagistrate's Court in Dutsethrough the state AttorneyGeneral and Commissionerfor Justice, Tijjani InuwaDutse, making it possible forthe accused person to bereleased from prison afterspending a day in remand.

The young Aminu wasaccused of sending abusivetext messages againstGovernor Lamido on hisFacebook page on January19, 2011, an action that con-tradicts Section 393 of thePenal Code. The accusedhowever denied the allega-

tion.Fulata said: "People are

being harassed and intimi-dated and we are not goingto tolerate it. It is the abuse ofhis fundamental humanright for someone to bedetained for more than 10days for expressing his opin-ion about the misrule of anindividual. What is happen-ing in Jigawa could only nap-pen in the apartheid SouthAfrica; it is unfortunate alsothat it is happening underdemocracy."

According to Fulata, ACNmembers and the other peo-ple of Jigawa State are res-olute and nobody can beintimidated..

He dismissed the power ofincumbency as a mirage inthe present day Nigeria withall die awareness as well asthe watertight modalitiesput in place by theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC)to ensure that there is freeand fair elections."Haven't you seen an incum-

bent governor defeated inKano State, haven't you seenwhere an incumbent partywas routed out of power inBauchi State? So, Nigerianshave history of resistanceand struggle. It can also hap-pen in Jigawa State, no doubtabout it by the grace of God,"the Jigawa ACN chairmansaid.

On the voters' registration,he said that so far so good,adding that the peopleturned out and have beenregistered and are only wait-ing for the d-day.

8,2011 :7.-f

Akinjide blames rancorous primaries on poor political cultureByAbkKJunFanon)CECOND Republic Attrorney-JGeneral of the Federationand Minister of Justice, ChiefRichard Osuolale Akinjide{SAN}, has blamed the crisiscaused by the recent parties'primaries on the absence ofessential political elementsthat enhance the practice,stability and sustenance ofdemocracy in any country.

Akinjide also attributed thedevelopment to the do or dieattitude of politicians seek-ing public offices, which

manifested in previous elec-tions and was re-enacted dur-ing the primaries in the formof candidates' imposition.

In an interview with TheGuardian, Akinjide identifiedpoor educational level in thecountry, dearth of basic infra-structure and poverty assome of the factors militat-ing against the practice ofdemocracy in Nigeria.According to him, ina pover-

ty-stricken nation likeNigeria, an electorate wouldnot hesitate to sell his or her

We must know that democracy is very important,and it is more than just voting or doing elections. Ithas to do with culture, it has to do with education, ithas to do with attitude. The essential culture, whichdemocracy requires to blossom and be meaningfulto the people, is not yet in this countrysovereign power for breadand butter nor see anythingwrong in compromising hisor her dignity where there isany."We must know that democ-

racy is very important, and itis more than just voting ordoing elections. It has to dowith culture, it has to do witheducation, it has to do withattitude. The essential cul-

ture, which democracyrequires to blossom and bemeaningful to the people, isnot yet in this country," heasserted.The elder statesman further

said most practitioners ofthe art of politics lacked theright frame of mind toengage in it.

This was why there is highlevel of row, intolerance andviolence in the polity."Poverty is rampant, the nec-essary frame or mind is miss-ing, the rule of law is critical

Voters5 registration yet to hold in Borno's 16 wardsFrom Njadvara Miisa (Maidugnri) andEmmanuel Anda(Yola)

KSPITE the selective exten-ion of voters' registra-

tion exercise by two days bythe Independent NationalElectoral Commission(INEC), 16 wards in sevenlocal councils of Borno Stateare yet to be covered.

According to Prof. TukurSa'ad, the state ResidentElectoral Commissioner(REC), the communities onlygot the Direct Data Capture(DDC) machines four daysafter the take-off of the exer-cise.

Sa'ad told The Guardian onSunday that the affected vot-ers were in the 16 wards ofGubio, Mafa, fere, Konduga,Kukawa, Mobbar andMonguno local councils.

He said with the exceptionof the affected wards, thecommission had registered12 million voters in the state,adding that by the time INECsieved for double voters' reg-istration, the authenticatednumber could drop to 2.1 mil-lion.

Voters that registered inmore than one centres,according in i l i c < uminis-sloner, would be handed oveilu the [ H i l l u - Ik-i.uiSf II Is anolfi'iio.1 lodoso.He said the penalty for such

electoral offence is a N100,

000 fine or 12 months inprison. He said until (NEC'sInformation,Communication andTechnology (ICT) resolvedthe issue and problems ofdouble registrations by someof the eligible voters, thecommission might end upallowing the affected votersuse one of the cards issued tothem.In Adamawa State, INEC reg-

istered 1.72 million eligiblevoters, the state ResidentElectoral Commissioner,Kassim Gaidam, has said.

He said the voters' exerciserecorded over 85 per cent tar-get, adding that during the2006 electronic voters' regis-tration, only 1.2 million eligi-ble voters were registered inthe state.

The INEC boss in the statefurther confirmed that

immigration officials arrest-ed some foreigners, who"illegally invadedthe state inorder to participate in theexercise."Gaidam, who described the

exercise as peaceful, notedthat only 250 voters were reg-istered during the seven daysadded by the commission.

This, he said proved thatover 98 per cent of voterswere registered within the

stipulated time by INEC.On the April 2011 general

elections, he confirmed thatonly 10 political parties areparticipating in it in thestate.

He warned politiciansagainst any act that couldcause crisis during or afterthe elections, saying INECwould not tolerate anyaction that could affect thesmooth conduct of the poll.

and fairness is important,the ability to accept defeatwith grace and to win with

' magnanimity and fairnessmust be nurtured, let us befair and honest, a lot of thesethings are not in our cul-ture, he said.The former minister did not

spare some political leadersof the crisis engendered bythe primaries. He accusedthem of not allowing thewishes and aspirations ofmembers of their parties totriumph by imposing candi-dates on them.

Akinjide said it was againstthe tenets of the rule of law,which most of these politicalleaders, professed openly butdo the opposite at the criticaltime.

He however commendedthe Independent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC)for its conduct during theprimaries, noting that theagency rolled out its time-table for the primaries, stuckto it, and refused to be intim-idated by persons hedescribed as "desperatepoliticians."

Court bars journalists from trial of accused in DDC machines' theftFrom Uzoma Nzeagwu (Awka) andYaunde Oyegbami (Lagos)A LAGOS Magistrate Court in

/llkeja yesterday began thetrial of the four personsaccused of stealing 20 DirectData Capture (DDC) machinesbelonging to the IndependentNational ElectoralCommission (INEC). The courthowever prevented journalistsfrom covering the proceed-ings.

The accused persons, Mrs.Sumonu Modupe, SuleimanIsa, Lawal lateef, and HamideleJoshua, wc-rc an.ii jmrd on al u l l l . . . m i l I l l , l l ) ' , C ( l f t l ) l l < , | 1 l l . t

cy and stealing beforeMagistrate OA Komolafe onDec-ember 23,2010.The offences, according to the

police, are contrary to and pun-

JONATHAN KING LTD IS NOW !N BROAD STREET LAGOSftu an be assisted to live and work in beaufel Canada

Take advantage of m rich experience of ounrnmigraiton experts in Nigeriaalso

foreign university placementw J I

and colleges in Canaaa »S other tof Europe, Tte Amencas. Au5iraia:

SSS arrests 28 INEC officials in Anambraishable under Sections 390 (9),427 and 516 (a) of the CriminalCode, Cap CJ7, Vol. ll, Laws ofLagos State, 2003.

It was learnt that one of thesuspects, Isa, 17, is a minor andhis case was transferred to theFamily Court.Although yesterday proceed-

ing was held at die open court,journalists covering the mat-ter heeded the court's direc-tive, which forbids the pressfrom coverage of the FamilyCourt's piTxecdings.

At their arraignment lastDecember, there was a heatedargument between the jour-nalists and court officials overwhether cameramen shouldbe allowed to film the suspects.

This led to serious squabbleand the eventual seizure of acamera belonging toSuperscreen Television, whichwas later released.

The accused persons werearrested on December 9, lastyear in connection with thedisappearance of themachines at the MurtalaMuhammed InternationalAirport (MMIA), Lagos. Theywere arraigned and admittedto bail in the sum of Nsoo,000.00 each with two suretiesworking with reputable organ-isations with proofs. Also, thedefendants were ordered todeposit N50,000 each into thecourt's bank accountThe case has been adjourned

Bet!AUDIT- TAX- ACGTG SOFTWARE S FINANCIAL CONSULTING

AKDPfiACHTREK PREMIUM ACCOUNTING

Palladium Enterprise version incorporates all modulesincluding an advanced PoS, as well as a projectsand SMS moduleRegister on or B4Feb 22 and obtain 30% disc,

(FREE installation & registration of PalladiumAccounting Individual Edition and PeachtreePro Acctg 2011 for ail participants]

OATEs 24 -26 February 2011

FEE: N30.000.00 {MateMals, lundi & software inclusive]

TIME: lG:OOam -4:00pm Daily

VENUE: 58A, KU01RAT ABiOLA WAYQliivole B/Stop, Oregun, Ikeja, LagosDirect opposite Intercontinental Bank pic

FOR ENQUIRY ON SALES, IMPLEMENTATIONAND TRAINING, PLS CONTACT:

FEMI, on 08034093675, OR FUNM1, on 018937264or e-mail as at: info@babatundeajala.com^Download brochure/time table ©www.liabjitimrteaiaia.CHin

till March 21 for trialAlso yesterday, INEC in

Anambra State announced thearrest of 28 registration offi-cials recruited for die just con-cluded voters' registrationexercise for various offences.

In a statement, the AnambraResident ElectoralCommissioner (REC), Prof.Chukwuemeka Onukogwu,said they were arrested byoperatives of the State SecurityServices (SSS) on Sunday,adding that their offencesranged from registering per-sons without their finger-prints being scanned into theDDC machine, doing voters'registration with importedphotos from telephone cam-eras to registering under agedpersons.

According to him, the sus-pects included 16 males - eightcorps members, eight non-corps members - while 12 werefemales comprising of fivecorps members and seven oth-ers, adding that they were allad-hoc officials recruited byINEC for the 2011 voters' regis-tration exercise in DunukofiaLocal Council.He said their arrest followed a

report by the electoral officerin the area, adding that allthose arrested were beinginterrogated by the SSS for theoffenses.TheComrnissioner of Police inthe state, Mukcar Ibrahim, whoconfirmed die incident, saidsecurity operatives were carry-ing out further investigationsinto the matter.

•..i.-l . -i -:-,,e :•,'«" TBLJC, tNB for as taw as*, ' • '

ACM technology to qiwa superior up lima inbail wealiiei

Direct On PCLagos: Plot B. Biock 1, industrial Avenue, liupeiu, Lagos.Tel: 01 270 1700. 0806 775 BOOS, 0705 599 0559. 0705

Port.Harcnuit: 124, WOJi Road, GRA Phase It, Port-HarcaurtTel: OS05 775 8249, 0705 53S W70Abuja: S96 Argadaz Crescent Offftminu Kano Crascarrt,Wuaa H. Abuja. W 0705 599 0481 , 0805 775 8250

* w w . d 1 1 B c I o n B e c o m

Tteday,febiruary 8,200 •

Lagos doctors to get new pay this monttBy Chukwuma Muanya andWale Oyabade

\AJ1TH the approval of theVVzon budget, the LagosState government is set toimplement its pact with itsdoctors, who have resumedtheir industrial action overthe new welfare package.

The Commissioner forHealth, Dr. ]ide Idris, whoyesterday described thedoctors' strike as unneces-sary, said the governmentdid not renege on its agree-ment to implement theequivalent of ConsolidatedMedical Salary Structure(CONMESS) packages, buthad a delay from the Houseof Assembly on the passageof the budget.

Idris told journalistsamidst pleas of strandedpatients at the Lagos StateUniversity TeachingHospital (LASUTH) that itwas not the fault of thestate government that thedoctors were not paid thenew salary at the end of lastmonth.He said: "What they are say-

ing is that it took quite awhile. Yes, but it is not thefault of the state govern-ment. You will recollect thatthe budget was only passedabout two weeks ago andthe governor immediatelysigned it into law.

vlf the budget had beenpassed since January, thissituation would not havebeen. But the House has itsown process of debate onthe budget and we don'thave power over that."The oudget was presented

to the House by the gover-nor in December 2010. Andthe House just approved ittwo weeks ago and it would

not have anything to dowith the Executive arm ofgovernment".

Idris added that theprocess of implementationwould take a while. "One ofthe things that we plannedat the meeting was thatevery group would be metto discuss with theExecutive arm and that ofthe medical group wasscheduled for tomorrowand Thursday.

"Now that we know whatthe House has approved,then we will set all themachinery in motion andwe will start paying beforethe end of February .

Idris further explainedthat there has been anupward review of salaries

Fashola

and what was offered to thedoctors was almost whatthey asked but with a few

Now that we know what the House has approved,then we will set all the machinery in motion and wewill start paying before the end of February

because at the end of theday, it is the people that willsurfer and this is my appealto them".

Lagos doctors, under theaegis of Medical Guild, onSaturday commenced anindefinite strike over thestate government's non-implementatiqn of CON-MESS. The doctors said thatthe industrial action was inline with the NationalMedical Association(NMA's) directive that allstates which do not imple-ment the CONMESS by

differences."Lagos has said that it is the

package of Lagos State andit is going to be a continu-ous negotiation. We cannotget everything 100 per centand the government'sstand is that the remainingwill be ironed out over aperiod of time.

"But you cannot say thatunless everything is met,you will not work. Then, youare putting the lives of peo-ple in danger. Calling out astrike because of this, to me

totally unnecessaryis

January ending shoulddown tools.

The action has, however,paralysed medical services,except at the medical emer-gency section of LASUTH,

ringing untold hardshipon the people.

Among the crowd ofpatients that appealed forsuccour from Idris duringhis visit to LASUTH medicaland surgical emergenciesyesterday was the mother ofOlujola Adebisi, a baby withhydro cephalic condition.

Adebisi said her baby wassupposed to undergo thethird operation sinceAugust, but it was not donedue to four months doctors'strike in 2010.

mm

II Zamfara children lose sight 1,015 on treatment from lead poisoningFrom Isah Ibrahim, Gusau

A BOUT 1,015 people most-z\ly children and womenare now being treated inseveral hospitals inZamfara State followingthe discovery of high per-centage of lead poisoningin their blood.The victims ate from seven

villages in Anka andBukkuyum local councilsof the state.

Medecins Sans Frontieres(MSF) Project Coordinatorfor Anka/Bukkuyum LeadPoisoning Epidemic, Mrs.Catherin Hoel, told TheGuardian yesterday inGusau that the seven vil-lages were highly pollutedwith lead.

A source close to the MSFoffice in Anka told TheGuardian that 11 children

who were infected by thechemical have been con-firmed blind while severalothers have died in hospi-tals. She said the excavationof the polluted soil in threevillages of Anka LocalCouncil had been complet-ed while work on the othercommunities would soonbegin.

"The total number of per-sons infected with lead poi-soning and are on treat-ment from both Anka andBukkuyum councils is 1,015.We are following the treat-ment protocol so that thepatients' health will not beat risk", she said.

Hoel disclosed that hergroup along with otherdonor agencies atthe sceneof the epidemics recentlydiscovered two more vil-lages where the disease

The total number of persons infected with leadpoisoning and are on treatment from both Ankaand Bukkuyum councils is 1,015. We are follow-ing the treatment protocol so that the patients'health will not be at riskhad spread to, bringing thetotal number of affected vil-lages from five to seven. Thecommunities are TungarDaji and Dusa of Anka LocalCouncil.

"I am delighted to informyou that we are making seri-ous improvement on thepeople of these communi-ties. We are also getting sup-port from the villagers. Atpresent, there is no infectedchild that is not receivingtreatment", she I said!

The three villages wherethe polluted soil nad been

excavated are Dareta, Sunkeand Abare in Anka Council.

However, the UnitedNations (UN) has called onthe Federal Government toensure the cleaning up ofcontaminated villageswithout further delay sothat children sufferingfrom lead poisoning canreturn to their villages forfollow-up care.In a new report completed

last month, the UN Officefor the Coordination ofHumanitarian Affairs(OCHA) and the UN

Environment Programme(UNEP) urged Nigeria toprevent further lead poi-soning in the North and toimplement measures tolimit lead ore processing atsensitive sites."Abnormally high rates of

death and illness amongchildren have been record-ed since the beginning oflast year in Anka andBukkuyum areas ofZamfara State in northernNigeria. The soil in the fourvillages visited that havenot been cleaned up wasoften highly polluted withlead. There is tendency ofyoung children to ingestsoil as part of their normalhand-to-mouth behaviourexposed them to high con-centrations of lead", it stat-ed.

RISK & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL

•:'ji!i{jC' In collaboration withnternational Association of Risk &

Compliance Professional

EARN INCOME WITH VOUR MOBILE PHONECMTN, OL.O, ZAtiSi, ETISA.LAT L.IMES}AS OUR USA AFFILIATE MEMBER

IMo Stcsrt; t«*> capital. No shop*Free websKe creation *Free Sample productsTo Register Send your name. Phone no.Location to O8O355SSS64Butksms@ Nl at; www.bccs5.com

+A.J.SILICON+

> Fully air-conditioned classrooms^•Conducive learning;enviroriment >• Uninterrupted power supply ''*,^Safe and spacious car-park > State of the heart lecturing facilities(Multimedia- Presentation Jr, ->~ii^-- '•

' :\ /~ One <jT/'\ -; -i;nHUI!"n""""" •**»"

• Risk Managers• Auditors• Compliance Executives• i.T. Professionals• Regulators• Business Analyst• Bank Examiners• Credit Executives• Inspectors• Accou ntants• Bankers• Graduates etc.

Venue:

Contacts:Q8QS -J.4CI3 SSOi ' ;; ":;

O70© 3-49S5 TOO,

G7O<* 343© 87"© :

Website: wwwJeadwayassaeiates-com

Plot 14, Block U, Umsru Abbas. OffOduduwa Crescent, 6RA ikeja, Lagos

Lectures Commence:Saturday, 12th February. 2011

...Time:.Saturday Only;

llam-4pm

(Certified Information Systems Auditor)

For June 2011 ExamFOF; Accountants, Auditors, Graduates, Bankers,IT Professionals, NYSC, HND, Undergraduates, etc.

Lecture period:

Sat. 9 - spinTuition Fee;

N66,ooo

ramxxmxxxxxnxxEVenue Rola International School, Inside MKO Abiola Gardens

Behind AJausa Police Barracks, Aiausa, Ikeja." A. J, Silicon, 14B, Amara-Olu St., Off Zenith Bank,Lateef JakandeRd.Agidirtgbi-ikeja0802 929 6777, 0703 92? 3148

Email; info3aistiicofi.com Website ;wmai$iltcoiuom

THEGUAKDiANJuesday,- February 8,2011

WKri more Telecom companies joining our list oKcorporate clients, demand for TTC Mobrte-traiKd•Engineers has continued W sow, creating freshopportunities lor rtewtrainees. Vou too can enjoy

•Our trainers are terrified and experiewefJ in. various fete" ciKSacommunii - mm-haven trained wltti United States of America We<!Qmmunieattam,Tr3frifc>g Institute,California D5A, asidi-ever Technologies Leeds, UK. Our Certificate tsahdctrsed by ttieAssociation «f Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria A.TCQN! Information Tech-nology Association of Nigeria ITAN.

GSM ENGINEERINGBTS; Software Commissioning & OperationPDH: Installation Commissioning & OperationSDH: Installation Commissioning & OperationBTS/PDH/SDH Network IntegrationNETWORK MANAGEMENTTCP/IP Configuration for Domain & WorkgroupCreating & Managing User Accounts, SharingIntenietworturig & Rooter Config. leading to CCMASecurity Solutions leading to Security*

TRANSMISSIONVSAT; Installation & ConfigurationAssembly ing of VSAT HardwareSetting Azimuth and EievationIntroduction for Qpiical FibreVoIP & VPN Design and Coriflg.

RF EngineeringRF Planning with EDX SoftwareSSP Base Station ConfigurationBase Station Installation, Conftg (PAP, Wireless, Bridge, Repeater.

Structured Cabling, Domain & WorkgroupCreating & Managing User AccountsSecurity Solutions ieading to Security*Router Configuration leading to CCNAWireless Network ieading to CWNAOptic Fibre: Design leading to FOIVSAT: Installation leading to CSIintroduction to GSM engineeringVoIP & VPN Design & ConfigurationAntenna & Radio Installation &Configuration for 2,4GHz

; BU1LDING/MA1NTANING CALL CENTERI Install/Configure tP-PBX Server, IVR, Extensions,: Voice Mafl, soft/hard phones, etc. Integrate wiih1 Gateways. Roaming within Wi-Fi. Commissioning

\ CDMA TECHNOLOGY & OPERATIONSJ Mobile Telecom Basics. 3GCN Overview. Universaljj 2XC10 Hardware Platform. Syst. Structure ZXC10

Network Model 8 System Design. No.7 Signaling,

ices soon: Evening (5pm-to apm'j, .Sat' 6, ;£ui*.'r. 6 t '

TTC

IKEJA: 37 Joel Ogunaike Street, Ikeja GRA, Lsgos. 08033014082S/LERE; 50/52 Adelabu Street. Soruiere, Lagos, 08050381404OGBA: 10 College Road. Cinema B/Stop, Ogba, 08055805783AJAH: XYZ Plaza, Ajah Garrage. Lekki/Epe Exp/Way 08Q66091S95

V- Mobile p/H. 47 Betavere Wosu {igboukwu) Sir, D-Line, P/H. 08132790600WWWitlBmabllBWorld.com

Our client is a newly established medium-sized Civi! Engineering/Construction Firm withHead Office in Suruiere, Lagos. The company is well-positioned to take up various projectsin Lagos state and other parts of the country and in line with this vision desires to fill thefollowing vacant positions with experienced, honest and resuit -oriented individuals.

1. CIVIL ENGINEER; Male preferredThe idea! candidate must possess a Bachelors degree or HND in CivU Engineering with9 minimum of 5 years post qualification experience preferably in large and variedconstruction sites. Must be knowledgeable in the use of the following Engineeringsoftware-Civii3D,CADS and AUTOCAD. Being COREN registered is an adcied advantage.

2. QUANTITY SURVEYOR: Mate preferredThe ideal candidate must possess a Bachelors degree or HND in Quantity Surveying withnot less than 10 years post qualification experience. Must be knowledgeable in the preparationof projecl budgets, cost estimates, tenders, standard conditions of contract and the abilityto monitor project cost from inception to completion. Computer proficiency and membershipof relevant professional body is essential.

3. PROJECT ARCHITECT: Male preferradThe ideal candidate must possess a Bachelors degree or HND in Architecture and aminimum of 5 years post qualification experience. Knowledge of Vector works, minicards or AUTO CAD and 3-D modeling is required. Computer proficiency andmembership of relevant professional body is an added advantage.

4. RECEPTIONIST/OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR! Female preferredThe ideal candidate must possess a Bachelors degree or HND in Secretarial Admin, orSocial Sciences with minimum of 5 years relevant experience preferably in a similarorganisation. Must be organised, have a good command of written and spoken Englishand possess basic Accounting Knowledge, Proficiency in Microsoft office packages likeWord, Excei, Power point is a must.

Method of Application:Qualified candidates should forward their resumeas attachment in Microsoft Word format tomigtanrecruitments2011@yahoo.comwithin 10 days from date of publication.

Powered by:

Apply Today

American Scholarships For NigeriansTDUIL UltfttlBU Gmdp TO

Study, Work and Lluo in USA01 scowr H»w To (id

I lU'.K S<'holjii-*hip for Ytiur l<Vni.-iuii Degree To day I, &Bna SMS truing F

'

www.TravslForts.com

We maintain database of Job-seekers.Whatever job you are looking for and Whateverqualification you have, we are your best optionfor getting new job. We also teach you what itmeans to work. Employers should contact us

now. Jobseekers should contact us now.CV for database and request for jobseeker

must be by e-mail.Our assistance is absolutely free.

Pathways to Mm of Canada's Premier Universities- THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA SIMON FRASKR UNIVERSITY

visit www.houseotgotlfeHQWship.org^^ HouseofGodFeilovwshipChurch i^mmApplicant must attend Pre-Emptoyment Preparation Seminar

John GregorySenior Marketing Manager,

Fraser Intw tatkinal College (Fie;

Ryan QuesneiMarketing Manager,

international College at Manitoba j!CM:

Monday j TV14th Feb. I appearance

in Lagos

NTA AM expressAhmadu Bello Way,Victoria islandFederal Palace Hotef. loam - 4pmAhmsdu Beilo Way,Victoria Isiand

Tuesday15th Feb.

Transcotp HiitonHoteS1, Agutyi ironsi StrIvloitama

Seminar(FIG &. !CM)

Come along with

fAEC/NECScratchcardiNtEiiNATiONAi COLLEGE OF MAMTOKA

Website:fRASER ISJTERISiATiONAL COLLEGE

Websfio: wwiu.fraseric.ca

10 5,2011

INEC faces peculiar challenges in April polls, says OniFormer governor of Ekiti State, ChiefSegun Oni, says that his criticisms ofthe Nigerian judiciary should be seen asa genuine call for justice. Oni whospoke to MUYIWA ADEYEMI (HeadSouth West Bureau) in Ifaki Ekitiexpressed doubt over the ability of theIndependent National ElectoralCommission (INEC) to meet the expec-tation of Nigerians in the April generalpolls.

TN about two months, the nation will conduct aIgeneral election. How would you assess thereadiness of the Independent NationalElectoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a free,fair and credible election?I have not seen much to convince me that this

INEC will'So better than the commission hasdone in the past. The same INEC that is shout-ing one-man, one-vote came to Ekiti State toconduct a bye-election at Moba I constituencyconsisting of only 49 polling units, five wards.They bungled it. They made a mess of it. Andnot a single statement has come out fromthem. But I keep praying and it is time for all ofus to know that a common man cannot betaken for a ride forever. The electoral commis-sion keeps asking for more money and theFederal Government and the NationalAssembly keep giving them more money. Theyasked for money to buy more inks becausethey extended the days of voters' registrationbut how many Nigerians did they forecast toregister and how many have been registered tojustify the demand for more ink. Even if youextend it for five years, is it not the same inkthat you will use? Have they registered morethan they anticipated? So for the kind ofdemand they began to make, I have a seriousdoubt about everything else. But I am gladwith what the National Assembly did by grant-ing the request for money so that INEC won'thave any excuse not to deliver to the expecta-tions of Nigerians. 1 also plead that if they needmore money they should give them, so at theend of the day there will be no excuse of anykind. But if the election will be like what wesaw in Moba, then there is trouble ahead. Whathappened in Moba was a sham. But theyshould stop hiding under the propaganda thatanything that favours the Peoples DemocraticParty (POP) is bad, or anything against PDP isright. With what is on the ground now you can-not be right unless you are right. And I want toadvice the chairman of INEC Prof. Attahirujeganot to play the ostrich; he should be truthfulbecause the world is watching.How will you react to the insinuations that thefortune of PDP is dwindling in Ekiti?

I don't agree that the fortunes of the PDP areon the decline in Eldti. Anybody coming toEkiti knows that the reverse is tiie case. The for-tunes of the PDP are improving because theAction Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has misman-aged the opportunity given to them by theJustice Ayo Salami led Appeal Court. The rankof the PDP in Ekiti state is swelling. Anyoneready to know the truth should go into thestreets of Ekiti and sample the opinions of thepeople, especially those who do not believe inthe cheap propaganda of the incumbent gov-ernment. The people will tell the truth; in factsome of them are already coming over to thePDP. They call me daily and they send me textmessages. The truth is that the PDP in Ekiti isdoing very well now.As governor, you were the leader of the partybut some PDP members say that the situationhas changed now...I am not talking about leadership because it is

the people who want to distract us that arebringing all that. Some people thought theywould be able to get something to eat frombringing in unnecessary controversy in theleadership of the party in the state. We do notcare about leadership; all we care about is hav-ing a party diat is properly motivated to winelection. We have a party that has a pedigree,we have the executive of the party, a minister,

members of the National Assembly, mem-bers of the state assembly, we have people inone position or the other, all these membersare very important, the council chairmen,which I am sure will come back, they are allleaders and functionary of the party.Everybody has a role to play, there is nothinglike a unitary command where people haveto be struggling to get at.How wouldyou describe the position of yourpredecessor Mr. Ayo Fayose who at one tunesupports the incumbent government and atother times is critical of it? He was also criti-cal of your government?Fayose is entitled to his own opinion. I know

that at a time he was hand in glove withFayerni. If he is now criticising the governor,then people should find out what happenedbetween them. I know that when I fought there-run, I defeated them together. I whippedthem together because they were friends; 1remember the meeting we had with the DIGthat came from Abuja then. Fayemi, Fayoseand their group were against us, so if they areno longer partners, I think we should listento them.Since you lost at the Appeal Court, you havebeen critical of the judiciary...

I am not just critical of die judiciary, I amstating facts and I am saying that I deservejustice. The judgment that I got at the Courtof Appeal on the two occasions that I wasthere is bizarre. I have to be convinced, I am aNigerian and I will continue to demand for areview of that judgment. And if reviewed and! was told that my position was based on thedepth of my ignorance, I will tender my apol-ogy, but i am entitled to see that justice isdone. With thepoint that we are making, wedeserved to be listened to. It is not an unnec-essary criticism, we are not criticising thejudiciary. Justice Ayo Salami is not the all inall of the judiciary, he is only presiding overthe Court of Appeal, and that is where wehave issues with. And the same Justice AyoSalami has not come out to defend the judg-ment he gave. If he could not come out todefend that of Ostm State because he was notthe one that gave the judgment, he should beable to defend that of Ekiti, which he deliv-ered. He should be able to say, 'Mr CJN, pleaseconstitute an expeit panel to review what Idid to show to the whole world that I amimpeccable.' But we live in a country wherepeople hide behind one finger. But peoplewith integrity and high intelligence havesaid that judgment is bizarre. If JusticeSalami is sure of what he did he should callfor its review.Is there any precedent to support yourdemand that judgment of Appeal Court ingovernorship election dispute be reviewed?

We are not talking of precedent now. Weshould stop hiding under legal technicalitiesto perpetrate evil. We are seeing what is hap-pening in Egypt now, is there a precedent toit? We should not talk of precedents. There isno precedent that a common man like mewill be challenging the competence of theAppeal Court justice. If it has got to such aridiculous extent that I, as a litigant sayingthat the judgment I got is bizarre, peopleshould listen and be concerned about thefuture of Nigeria. For us to believe that jus-tice is done let there be other opinion.How do you react to the celebration of thefirst 100 days of the ruling ACN in Eldti?

I don't know much of what this administra-tion is doing, but I know that they are tryingto complete some of the projects that we leftbehind! Some that have been completed, Iunderstand they are already commissioningthem. As far as I am concerned, I am not both-ered about what they are doing, what isimportant is that what we have done is thereand Ekiti people know who did what and if itis convenient for them to celebrate theircommissioning with funfair, so be it. In fact,nothing wrong with the way to continuewith the projects we left behind because gov-ernment is a continuous process.Would you be surprised if the Fayemi-ledadministration performs better than youradministration?

If I say anything I may sound biased but 1have not seen any platform that shows theywould come near to our achievements. They

Oni

The electoral commission keeps asking for more money and the FederalGovernment and the National Assembly keep giving them more money. Theyasked for money to buy more inks because they extended the days of voters'registration but how many Nigerians did they forecast to register and howmany have been registered to justify the demand for more ink.

said education will be freer than we left it, I amnot sure there was anything people were pay-ing for in schools. Some teachers are tellingme today now that they have instructed stu-dents to be bringing desKs and chairs. It is hor-rendous that we have returned to the era ofstudents bringing desks to schools. I was alsotold that they nave instructed students to buyessential textbooks; everything was free whenwe were in government. The only thing thatwas not free was their school uniform, noschool fees, we paid their West AfricanExamination Council (WAEC) fees; we provid-ed all desks and chairs. When we came in, stu-dents were carrying desks and benches toschool but we ended it So if there is need forreplacement now, it should not come from thestudents, we thought we have ended that for-ever. If they cannot make education freer, I

want to advice them to sustain what we did. Ifthey cannot do better than what we did, theyshould not reduce it. Our people have saidfarewell to the era of providing desks andbenches. Let government provide what theymust provide. Our people have said bye-bye tothe era of buying textbooks, weather essentialor non-essential. Any way I see no reason thereshould not be textbooks, because I wonderwhere were the ones we provided because theyare not supposed to be taken away, they sup-posed to leave them in schools. Governmentshould find out where the textbooks webought are. If they kept them somewhere, theyshould bring them out because it is too soon tobe asking students to buy textbooks. But gov-ernment should be wary of doing less thanwhat we have done because it will increase thehardship of the people.

We should stop hiding under legal technicalities to perpetrate evil. We are see-ing what is happening in Egypt now, is there a precedent to it? We should nottalk of precedents. There is no precedent that a common man like me will bechallenging the competence of the Appeal Court justice.

:' "pomrts h

PDF in a stiff test with opposition parties in Enugu

Chime

From Lawrence Njoku (Enugu)

PRESENTLY, the race to theEnugu State Government

House is unpredictable. The con-clusion of primaries of the politi-cal parties and the emergence ofcandidates for various politicaloffices for the April elections hasnoi reduced the haziness, espe-• L i l l y In the ruling PeoplesHr 11 ultra Lie Party (PDP). TheIIIKCIMinlv h.i-i lhi-r,.|>irf. W™Huncertainty has therefore forcedthe other parties, to fancy theirchances in Lhc elections.The.imractable crisis In the I'lH',

which has eaten deep Into theparty might have combined withthe outcome of the primaries toalter the political equation in thestate to the benefit of the opposi-tion parties.

Hitherto, the PDP, which hasbeen on the saddle since 1999 inthe state, was touted to retain itshold on power in the state.Besides its base of followers, arrayof political appointees, it enjoysthe powers and privileges ofincumbency, a factor, which hasgrown to be a powerful tool in thenation's democracy.

However, an intractable leader-ship crisis since 2008 has loos-ened the party's grip in the state,encouraging the opposition par-ties to work towards drawingaway some influence from theruling party.

In one fell swoop, 15 incumbentmembers of the House ofAssembly, two members of theHouse or Representatives, a sena-tor, and many others left theparty, citing the crisis in the party.

After the governorship primar-ies, a Federal High Court in Abujaissued an order restraining theleadership of the PDP and the

The uncertainty has there-fore forced the other parties,to fancy their chances in theelections. The intractablecrisis in the PDP, which haseaten deep into the partymight have combined withthe outcome of the primariesto alter the political equationin the state to the benefit ofthe opposition parties.

Chimarohe

Independent National ElectoralCommission (INEC) from accept-ing candidates submitted by thefaction of the party led byGovernor Sullivan Chime. Theparty prefers to accept the candi-dature of Chief Anayo Onwuegbuand others. The stalemate hasforced PDP members, mostly wellplaced aspirants, who could notget a ticket in the PDP to the oppo-sition parties.M L I U U parties.

There are heightened politicalcampaigns In the rural areas byo p p o s i t i o n j i . i i i i c s , who l i . ivrused the leadership differences inthe PDP as campaign issues.One party that has hugely bene-

fited from the instability in thePDP is the newly formed. Peoplefor Democratic Change (PDC) ledby former governor, SenatorCnimaroke Nnamani. Two mem-bers of the House ofRepresentatives, serving statelawmakers and top members ofthe party in the state who dis-agree with Chime are now hob-nobbing with the PDC.In fact, Nnamani is attempting to

return to the Senate for EnuguEast on the platform of the PDC.The former secretary of the Stategovernment, Dan Sherre, now hasthe governorship ticket of theparty.

The PDC is working fast to bemore visible in the state. Its cam-paign posters and billboardsadorn various parts of the state,just as the party has taken time tokeep the radios busy with jingles,educating the people in the stateon why they should vote the partyinto power in April.

Apparently taking advantage ofthe population ofEnugu Northsenatorial zone (Nsukka), the PDCpicked Sherre, who is from thearea as its governorship candi-date. Kanayo Oguakwa, fromEnugu West is his running mate.And if the party succeeds at thepolls, it is expected to elect itsSpeaker of the State Assemblyfrom Enugu East to reflect thegeo-political balance in the state.

It was gathered that zoning thegovernorship ticket to Nsukkawas part of the strategy by theparty, which used to be relativelyunknown to curry the sympathyof the people of the area follow-ing their cried of marginalisa-tion.

The PDC had kicked-started its

Ezea

But even with the continued disaffections, the PDP in the statehas continued to assure that it has nothing to fear ahead of theApril polls. Officials of the party who preferred to speak anony-mously promised a robust campaign that could re-launch theparty as well as her candidates in the elections.campaign for the April poll latelast year, with a promise to wres-tle power from the PDP govern-monj- in l-Vi** o*-*-f !>.-.».. ~ — <J.. -J- -ment in the state. Presently, theparty is almost completing itstour of the various wards in thestate, and its activities have con-vinced political pundits that it isthe "only living party in the state."

With the return of most mem-bers who are currently serving inthe present state government, aswell as those against the stategovernment, the PDC is viewed insome quarters as the return ofNnamani to mainstream politicsin the state. After over three yearsas senator, Nnamani had refusedto comment on issues affectingthe state or his erstwhile politicalparty, PDP. He had sought solacein rebuilding his ebeano politicalstructure, the platform on whichChime became governor.

Another political party whoseactivities have been boosted is theAction Congress of Nigeria (ACN)following the entry of ValNnaedozie from Oji River as thegovernorship candidate.Nnaedozie, contested the gover-norship ticket of the PDP but lostto the intrigues in the party. Hisentry into the ACN has raised theparty's level of awareness andacceptance. He went to the ACNwith his supporters from the PDP,and his alleged sympathy withthe charismatic CatholicReverend Father, Ejike Mbaka hasmade him become the cynosureof many eyes in the state.

As the ACN embarks on cam-paigns to capture power in thestate, one or the greatest prob-lems confronting the party is howto overcome the difficulty posedby other parties, whose supportseem to lie within high densityareas.

Coming from Oji River, whichparades another strong candi-date in Anayo Onwuegbu in thePDC, Nnaedozie will be facing atough battle. The posters, ban-ners and billboards of the ACNare spread all over Enugu, and its

supporters are warming up forthe flag off of election campaigns.The return of Chief Okey n/ea to

trie Labour"Party"(iPj as tne gover-norship candidate, has alsoadded steam in the politics of thestate. Ezea. who was the governor-ship candidate in 2007 returnedto the LP after a fruitless voyage tosecure the ticket of the PDP. He isconsidered as another strong run-ner to the Government Houseseat in Enugu.

It could be recalled that Chimehad lost his governorship posi-tion after the 2007 election onaccount of Ezea's petition to elec-tion petition tribunal, but had itwas revalidated by the Court ofAppeal. He also comes from theNsukka zone as like Sherre andthere is the tendency that votesfrom the area could be splitbetween them. But Ezea is wellrooted and strong and in fact hasremained the only oppositionpolitical voice in the state since2007. This has opened the possi-bility of talks in the camp of theopposition parties to close ranksand not split their votes in thelarger interest of ousting the rul-ing PDP.A draw back for Ezea is his unpre-

dictability and penchant forjumping from one party to anoth-er giving the impression that hewants political power at all costs.Losing the governorship election

in 2007 and having the hope ofbecoming governor dashed in2008 when the court revalidatedthe victory of Chime, Ezea becamethe promoter of PeopleProgressive Alliance (PPA) inEnugu until the governor of AbiaState, Theodore Orji ditched theparty for PDP.Already, his critics are drummingon the speculations that anyonewith the knack of changing partymay turn out to be in politics forwhat to make out of it and notnecessarily to provide service.

Other parties like AllProgressives Grand Alliance(APGA) and the Congress for

Progressive Change (CPC) havealso picked their governorshipcandidates in Obinna Obiegue,and Emma Ugwu, a chieftain ofthe Conference of NigerianPolitical Parties (CNPP) in thestate, respectively. Their entry isnot considered a threat in thestate and has nothing to do withchanging the political equationof Enuyu. Since their emergence,not much has been heard of theirparties, thereby raising an indica-tion that they may have beenEicked as part of the strategy to

eep the party's name in the elec-tion in the state.Speaking on the development in

the state, Chief John IbeWe saidthat the protracted crisis in thePDP was neing exploited by theother political parties, stressingthat the way and manner thingshave gone so far, unless the partyresolves the crisis, there mightnot be a chance of the PDP rulingthe-state after the April elections.

He said he foresaw a situationthat could return the state tomuch squabble after the elec-tions, noting that with the level ofmovement to other parties bypotential candidates, who candeliver the goods, such peoplecould still stoke fire especiallywhen they serve as members inthe State Hose of Assembly.

Looking at the scenery, themorale of members of the PDPincluding those in governmenthas seriously been dampened asposters and billboards of theparty have continued to disap-pear, leaving spaces for candi-dates of other parties to springup.

The existing parallel offices ofthe party notwithstanding, politi-cal party activities rarely go onthere.But even with the continued dis-

affections, the PDP in the state hascontinued to assure that it hasnothing to fear ahead of the Aprilpolls. Officials of the party whopreferred to speak anonymouslypromised a robust campaign thatcould re-launch the party as wellas her candidates in the elections.The party claimed that it wouldretain the state in April. Rut howthis will work out is yet to be seen,with the pack of opposition par-ties baying for the blood of thePDP.

12}; APRON NEWS'

AfiicanNewsAl- Bashir acceptssouth Sudan'ssecessionSUDAN'S President Omar

al-Bashir has acceptedthe outcome of the referen-dum on southern inde-pendence.

In a speech to women andstudents at the headquar-ters of the ruling NationalCongress Party he said: "Theresult of the referendum iswell known. South Sudanhas chosen secession. Butwe are committed to thelinks between the northand the south, and we arecommitted to good rela-tions based on coopera-tion,"

The January 9 referendumcapped a 2005 north-southpeace deal, with the goal ofending a vicious cycle of civ-il war that has destabilizedthe region for decades.

Al-Bashir's commentsallayed any fears of northSudanese reluctance to letthe oil-producing south gopeacefully.

Most of Sudan's oil lies inthe south but the infra-structure is in the north,which will force economiccooperation followingsecession and shouldensure that neither side canafford a return to armedconflict.Yesterday's announcement

of final referendum returnswould likely be followed byrecognition of the south'sright to become the world'snewest independent nation

by capitals around theworld and multilateral bod-ies including the AfricanUnion and United Nations.The south is expected to for-

mally declare independenceon July 9.

Ai-Basbir made clear thatno one would have dualnorth and south Sudanesenationality, despite the prin-ciple being allowed in theconstitution, underliningthe uneasy relationship thetwo new nations will haveafter secession.

Disputes remain over thedrawing- of the border -along which much of the oilwealth lies - as well as citi-zenship, the division of pre-cious Nile water and oil rev-enues, and the major stum-bling block of Abyei, aregion claimed by bothsides.

Meanwhile, a mutiny bySudanese troops refusing toleave the south ahead of itsexpected independence,according to Agence FrancePresse (AFP) has spreadthrough towns in an oil-pro-ducing state, with at least 50people killed in the past fourdays.

The southern and northernarmies are carrying out a dif-ficult process of splitting upand dividing their weapons,with Southern Sudan expect-ed to emerge as Africa'snewest state on July 9 follow-ing a referendum last month.

OUR SAVIOURS INSTITUTEOF AMERICA INC

352, Seventh Avenue {Suite 705)New York, NY 10001

Web: wmsaviorsuriiversity.com E-mail; into@saviofsuniversity.comTel: 0091212 631 7477,009 1646 600 3559

(call bftv 10am and 3pm American Time or 4pm and 9pm African Time)

ADMISSIONSApplications are now invited from interested qualified persons fbipost graduate admissions into our Universifr in the College 0Management and Social Science and College of Science &Technology,

Courses are available on Full-Time or Distance Learning/Online

Method of ApplicationFill form online at www.saviorsuniversity.com

Duration of Course:Depends on basic qualification/work and life experience

Entry Requirements:For Masters degree, BA/B.Sc from recognised Universities.For PhD, a good Masters degree is required.HMD holders may be admitted to our Masters programme.MBAandMPAprogrammes are available,

Our Saviours Institute of America Inc. is registered in New York asa not for profit Organization (see Government website atwww.rjos.state.ny.us input our name correctly and search). TheUniversity is listed as a recognised entity. The programmes are ofinternational acceptability.

United Nations (UN) humanitarian chief Valerie Amos (second right) with women in a camp of displaced peopte in Galkayo town in Somalia after aid agencies warned of apossible catastrophe in the horn of African nation where a severe drought has plunged millions into crisis. PHOTO :AP

Tunisia suspends activities of ex-ELLOWING a series of vio-

nt incidents which secu-rity officials say are part of aconspiracy by officials close toousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to spreadchaos and take back power,Tunisia's interior minister hassuspended all activities of theformer ruling party to pre-vent a breakdown in security.In the latest in several days of

clashes that have raised ques-tions about whether Tunisiais returning to stability afterBen Ali's departure, a manwas killed during a protest inthe southern Tunisian townofKebili.'The minister of the interior

has decided to suspend allactivities and all meetings ofthe RCD (former ruling party)and to close down all itsoffices pending a judicialdecision on its dissolution,"Reufers quoted the ministrysource as saying."(This is being done) because

there is an extreme need andin order to prevent a break-down of general security and

to protect the higher interestsof the country, added thesource, who did not want tobe identified.

The same source said thatclashes broke out in1 Kebilibetween police and protestersangry at the appointment of anew regional governor. TheVictim ai ed after he waS hit feya tear gas grenade, the sourcesaid.

Tunisia was convulsed byweeks of unrest before BenAli, in office for 23 years, wasforced to flee to Saudi Arabia-Several days of lawlessness fol-lowed his departure.Since then stability has grad-

ually been returning, butthere has been a fresh flare-upof violence in the past fewdays.

Protests broke out in thetown of Sidi Bouzid on Fridayafter two men being held inthe police station there diedwhen it caught fire. Twopolicemen were later arrestedover the deaths.Another two people died in

the northern town of El Kef on

ruling partySaturday when police openecfire to quell a protest againstpolice. That protest startecwhen a police officer slappeca woman in the face.Similarly, a petrol bomb has

extensively damaged a mar-ket in Zimbabwe's capitalHarare, and authorities areblaming trie main oppositionparty which they accused otrying to stir up Tunisian andEgyptian-style revolts againstPresident Robert Mugabe's30-year ruleOfficials said the bomb at Siya-

so market targeted stalls run bysenior local members olMugabe's party, and followedthreats from the main opposi-tion Movement for DemocraticChange (MDC) of PrimeMinister Morgan Tsvangirai.Political tensions are rising in

Zimbabwe after Mugabeannounced late last year mathe wanted new elections to beheld in the country by June toend a coalition government heformed with Tsvangirai in2009, after a disputed poll in2008.

AU mediators begin last-ditch talks onCote dlvoire's crisis

Education is the hey to success and at OUR SAVIOURS isthe key to your education.

AFTVE-president African/TUJnion (AU) mediationteam has held talks with mem-bers of incumbent leaderLaurent Gbagbo's govern-ment in a last-ditch effort toconvince the man die interna-tional community said lostNovember's election to giveuppower peacefully.

me AU last week delegatedthe presidents of Chad,Mauritania, South Africa,Tanzania and Burkina Faso tofind a peaceful way to installAlassane Ouattara as presi-dent The leaders travelled toAbidjan Sunday.The team will try to organize

a face-to-iace between Gbagboand Ouattara, both who claimto be the rightfully electedpresident of Cote d'lvoire.

The AU mediation team hasone month to publish its rec-ommendations.

said it remains "deeply" con-cerned about continuing vio-lence and human rights viola-tions in Cote d'lvoire, which isembroiled in a leadershipstandoff.The 15-mem ber body chargedwith overseeing the world'speace and security issued astatement saying it wants tosee a resolution to the two-month-old political crisiscaused by the refusal of thecountry's incumbent leaderto relinquish the presidencyto the man widely seen as thewinner of last year's election.

The council issued the state-ment after a briefing aboutthe situation in the formerFrench colonyCouncil members also called

on all sides to exerciserestraint and refrain from fur-ther violence.

Meanwhile, WilliamThe,UN Security Council has ,, Knowlden.Nattonal.Executiye Coted'Ivo

Chairman of the Institute ofPeace, Stability andDemocracy (ISDP, has warnedagainst using Liberia as a step-ping ground for any militaryforces to overthrow the gov-ernment of Gbagbo. He saidhis organization's concernhas been drawn from the pre-vailing circumstances in thebrotherly country of Coted'lvoire.Knowlden said that Liberiansshould not forget that theywere highly welcomed in Coted'lvoire during the days of thewestern • manipulateddestruction of Liberia prom-ulgated by the alleged inter-national community. He saidtoday Liberians can remem-ber that the same situation isbeing repeated in Coted'lvoire and the rest of theworld to destabilize anddestroy the government of

Mbeki to attend openingof Parliament Feb.lOT^ORMER South AfricanJTPresident Thabo Mbeki willbe joined at President JacobZuma's State of the Nationaddress on Thursday by formerspeaker Frene Ginwala and ex-deputy president Baleka Mbete.

A mmm fsm ftiParliament yesterday

said that also in the publicgallery would be former chiefjustices Pius Langa and ArthurChaskalson, British ForeignSecretary William Hague andthe speaker of the Zimbabweanparliament, Lovemore Moyo.Mbeki missed Zuma's first two

State of the Nation speeches,and Zuma in turn omitted allmention of his successor in hisannual address to the nation.

Commentators have saidMbeki's presence showed he didnot want his legacy ignored Thepresidency however dismissedall speculation, saying it wasmerely logistics that caused himto miss the earlier two State ofthe Nation speeches.

Speaker Max Sisulu saidZuma's speech would for thesecond year be held at 19:00because surveys had shownthat the time change "waswell received by the generalpublic."The aim of holding the open-

ing in the evening was toenable as many people as pos-sible to follow the event ontelevision.

The government communi-cation service was setting upbig screens in all major citiesto enable those who did nothave televisions to watch thepresident's address.The new timeslot caused traf-

fic chaos in Cape Town lastyear, and Parliament said itwould do "all necessary" toprevent motorists sufferingthe same problem onThursday.

Meanwhile, South Africa'sMineral Resources Minister,Susan Shabangu, accordingto Agence France Presse (AFP)yesterday said the countrywould introduce an onlinemining applications systemafter a six-month moratori-um on new prospectingrights ends next month.

I

TjaEGUARDlAN, Tuesday 'February S, 2011

World Report

Bangladesh police scuffling with protesters as a nationwide strike called by the main opposition party yesterday sparked clash-es that left dozens injured and brought the country to a standstill. PHOTO: AFP

Support for Australian govt dips after disastersCOLLOWING a summer of nat-JTural disasters, the Australiangovernment's support hasslipped to dangerously low ley-els and as Prime Minister JuliaGillard fights for a new lax topay for flood and cyclone recon-struction, according to a newpoll.If an election was held today

Gillard would be swept fromoffice, the Newspoll in theAustralian newspaper said.

Primary support for the rul-ing Labor party had slippedto 32 percent, six points lowerthan in last August's deadlif . i l Hr i i io i i . On a (wo-pai'iybasis, whlchlsabe tier indlcaclou- i>l who would win anelection, Labour trails with 48per cent compared with 52per cent for the conservativeopposition.

But in some good news forthe government, theNewspoli, according toReuters yesterday, found 55percent support for Gillard'splan for a special "floods tax"on middle- and high-incomefamilies to raise about AS1-8billion ($1.8 billion) to helppay for disaster reconstruc-tion."Julia Gillard may have won

the policy fight on her planfor a flood levy but it seemsshe has lost the politics of asummer of disasters," TheAustralian's political editorDennis Shanahan wrote yes-terday.Officials said that wildfires

yesterday destroyed at least59 homes in Perth, Australia'sfourth largest city, as soldiersfanned out for massivecleanup operations acrossthe cyclone^hit northeast.

A natural disaster wasdeclared in areas of Perth onihe country's west coast,where two major blazesi . N ' . i < l m i l nl u i M i i o l I I H M sec-ond day, triggered by heatand high winds brought bylast week's ferocious CycloneYasi.

Fast and unpredictableflames swept through ruggedterrain at Roleystone, onPerth's southern fringes, andalong its northern outskirtsat Red Hill, Ievelling59 homesand scorching hundreds ofhectares of forest.

Australia's northeast hasbeen hit by a series of floodsand cyclones over the sum-mer, withat Ieast35 killed and30,000 homes inundated in

Queensland state, wherefloodwaters also wiped outroads, bridges and rail lines.Floods also hit New SouthWales and Victoria, whilebushfires are currently burn-ing around the WesternAustralian state capital ofPerth, where dozens of hous-es have been razed.

Early estimates of damagehave topped A510 billion,with the national govern-ment to pay for around 75percent of the costs. Gillardhas promised more cuts toIhc national budget to fundinfrastructure reconstruc-tion following the disasters.

The government plans tointroduce laws into parlia-ment on Thursday for a spe-cial floods tax to last 12months from July.But Greens and independent

lawmakers, who Gillardrelies on for a majority in thelower house of parliament,have yet to agree to the pack-age.

The government's primarysupport in the Newspoll isthe lowest since the partydumped former PrimeMinister Kevin Rudd in favorof Giliard last June.

Obama laments constant, intensescrutiny as presidentUNITED States (U.S.)

President Barack Obamahas said he does not take itpersonally when people saythey hate him but that whathe dislikes most aboutbeing president is the con-stant, intense scrutiny.

Obama who spoke onsundry issues in an inter-view broadcast during Fox'spre-game coverage of theSuper Bowl said: The peo-ple who dislike you do notknow you. The folks whohate you, they do not knowyou/ "What they hate iswhatever funhouse mirrorimage of you that's outthere. They do not knowyou."Asked by Fox News Channel

host Bill O'Reilly whetherhis critics annoyed him, theAmerican leader said: "Bythe time you get here, youhave to have nad a pretty

thick skin. If you did not,then you probably wouldnot have gotten here."

The 14-minute, live inter-view sought Obama's viewson a range of timely mat-ters, including the unrest inEgypt and the ultimate fateof the new health care law.O'Reilly also probed Obamaon lighter topics, includingwhich team would win theNFL championship gameand the worst part of hisjob.Obama lamented anewabout "being in the bubble."He is followed practicallyeverywhere by staff, SecretService agents and themedia."It's very hard to escape,"

said Obama, seated in theBlue Room of the WhiteHouse. "Every move youmake and over time, youknow, what happens is that

you feel like you're not ableto just have a spontaneousconversation with folks. Andthat's a loss. That's a bigloss."

Asked what surprised himafter he took office, Obamasaid it's that he's never askedto solve an easy problem.

"I think that the thing youunderstand intellectually butthat you don't understand inyour gut until you're in thejob is that every decision thatcomes to my desk is some-thing that nobody else hasbeen able to solve," he said."The easy stuff gets solvedsomewhere by somebodyelse. By the time it gets to me,you don't have easy answers."He said he has to use his best

judgment knowing that 'youdoivt have perfect informa-tion and you know thatyou're not going to have aperfect solution.'

Japanese rally for returnof islands from RussiaAMID dispute between

/llokyo and Moscow overthe southern Kuril islands,known in Japan as theNorthern Territories, Japan'sPrime Minister Naoto Kan yes-terday led a large rallydemanding the return of theislands held by Russia sincethe end of World War II.

He called the recent visitthere by Russia's presidentDmittyMedvedevan outrage.

The dispute has long been asticking point in relationsbetween the two countriesand has kept them from sign-ing a formal peace treaty end-ing their World War II hostili-ties.Japan has designatedFebruary 7 as "NorthernTerritories Day," saying that atreaty dating back to that dayin 1855 supports its claim tothe islands.

Kan was the top speaker at agovernment-backed rally ofabout 1,500 people in Tokyothat has been held annuallysince 1981 to mark theanniversary. He vowed thatfapan will not back down

from its cfaim and said visitsthere by Russian leaders are"an unforgivable outrage."

A smaller rally and marchwere held on the northernisland of Hokkaido.Asked about Kan's state-ments, Russian ForeignMinister Sergey Lavrov saidthey were 'undiplomatic"ana contrasted sharply withthe positive tone of a meetingbetween Kan and RussianPresident Dmitry Medvedevin Yokohama last fall.

Lavrov said that Russia wasready to cooperate withJapan and continue talks ona peace treaty.

The most important thingnow is to develop economic,social and investment ties,cultural and humanitariancooperation as well as coop-eration on internationalissues, then it will be easierto conduct a dialogue onmore difficult issues, Lavrovsaid.Russia's position on its own

claim to the islands appearsto be getting more assertivein recent months.

Hariri courtbegins hearing onterror charges•THE tribunal set up to tryJ.the killers of Lebanese ex-Prime Minister Rafiq Haririhas begun a hearing on howto define the crime of terror-ism as listed in a draft indict-ment.

'Today's proceedings showthat Lebanon, a proud found-ing member or the UnitedNations, is set for a course ofjudicial accountabilitythrough the rule of law,Agence France Prcsse (AFP)yesterday quoted presidingjudge Antonio Cassese as say-ing as the hearing openedbefore the Speciai Tribunalfor Lebanon, based inLeidschendam near TheHague.

"This hearing signals animportant moment for thelife of the tribunal."Cassese said that pre-trialjudge Daniel Fransen hadsubmitted 15 legal questionsfor the appeals chamber toclarify related to an indict-ment filed under sea! byprosecutor Danief Bellemareon January 17, and is widelybelieved to implicateHezbollah.

*»«*« i Mauri* *RU*>1* tUKnln*

www.meridian-nigeria.com

THE GUAItDrAN,ftiesdax Februarys, 2011

smaff amount &fe^¥e*Ri|pNot wonder bank,

a. Invest -Nigeria,

re. H& networking. Nosefcg of any product:0wsck details MmK

.comTo receive Gnnv manual text your name.emaii.phone no to:

nowwisliex K> flit the following vacancies;

Maaagerthe ResEauram Maiia^,

sm*K)(Ji mnnjEi§ of the produciioa proesss and eawreclass customer service. You will build, develop mdmotivate an effective team to guarantee success. You mustbe a jjraduaie with a minimum of 3 years' managementexperience ideally gained ffom a reputable food

experience ideally gained faro a reputable' food

You most liave an OND witb a minimum of iexperience ideally pined from a rejHtfafcli: food

You imist have an SSC with a minimum of 1 year re-pisiieexperknee ideally gained from a reputable

prospects and very attractive and highly competitive

P, O. Box 8581 Marina Lagas.

With the New

KCNP Certificationfrom karROX

•>;s," 2'

This Program- Jea'cis to 12 international certificati(»i from vtwSComptiaaiid

Corporate Office: 2nd Hoof, 56 A. Allen Avenue, ifceja. LagosAkowonjo: 3 Awe Close, OgbumoEhu SlreelGale,P io Bus Slop, Lagns-AtieoJuta Expressway. Lagos Tel. 05-Abeokuta: 17 Salawu OJabode Avenue,Wi-Aiabs.Abeakufa, Ogun Slate. Te(:07042&73151Abtija: 25 Mshaima Ghandhi SlraRl fifthind Tolal PiiJing SlsJion.Opp PoUce HaaiJquajlefs. Asokoro Abuja. Tel:D3-671 G229Ikeja: JatFloiff, SB A. Aiinn Aviirau, JKKja. LagDiTul;0!-79008S4Jos: No 5A/I3, Adjacent So Women Centre, Kashim IbrahimSlreel, Jos. Te!. 080370009.

Ibadan Sango: 59. OreOlorun House, CcicaCulaAiKii, Le-veriljs Bus Slop.Sartgo Ibadafi, Oyo State Td:03?£?330HIbadan Ring Road: 2nd Floor, 3far Gale Building, 1 Ososanjj^i Road,lyana Adeoyo, Ring Rciad, Ibiidan Oyn SL-,tB,TEI;62-7523303Ogba: 57 isheri Road, Ogba. Te!-0709B101474Osogbo:18. CSrafemi Awolowo Road, Ayetoio. OspgboTel 0706S4Q3279Owetri: Plol 222, Works Lsyosit, Oweirl Tel-0&3430204Sokoto: no 9 Abduflahi Fodio Road. Sokoto Tel: OB091S41256Sunilere: 42, Artenirfin Ogunssnya Slroei, Surulaie Tsf.01-7619680

,2Qtt

TheMetroSectionThugs harass, intimidate political opponents, set homes, restaurant ablaze

Season of fear...in Gboko

Anolher view of Jhc bucnl restaurantBase! Restaurani...alfar the ailaclt

Burnt residence of To-ough

Our prayer is that these peopleshould be stopped. Our lives are indanger. They have burnt ourkitchen, but we do not know whattheir next line of action would be.We don't want to lose our lives be-cause of politics...

From Simeon Nwakaudu, Makurdi

THESE days, Gboko, the traditional headquarters of TivJL nation is going through considerable turbulence. Po-

litical violence isback in Gboko Town and residents areliving in utter fear that rampaging thugs will unleashmayhem on them. .For the families of Onov and To-ough, their fears have

become real as armed political thugs lastweekset theirhome and businesses ablaze. They suffered major set-backs, which might be extremely difficult to reverse.The only positive aspect of the tension, which spreads

like wildfire across Gboko, is the fact that no lives havebeen lost since the series of arson by political thugs andpolitical fights that have characterised since political

The victims; Mrs. Zipporah TQ-ough and her brother-in-law

„ imanyawinners are linked to politics in

the town. The attacks on residents of the town are de-pendent on the political lineage of their bread winners.Base 1 Restaurant is one of the most prominent restau-

rants mGbokoGovernrnentReservedArea(GRA), whichis owned by Mrs. Mlumun Onov, a wife to Mr. Onov Tyu-lugh, a Media Adviser to the former Attorney General ofthe Federation (AGF).Tyulugh, a staunch member of ihe Action Congress of

Nigeria (ACN), is the husband of the owner of die Base iRestaurant; hence, most of diose who patronise therestaurant are supporters of his political party andother neutral residents of the town.Across Benue State, major restaurants over the lastdecade are connected to politicians and political par-ties, with patronage clearly spelt along these lines.Mrs. Onov said that on the ill-fated Thursday, they werepreparing to close for the day with a few customers stillwithin the premises when a group of political thugs

stormed the main wing of the restaurant where foodand drinks were prepared.She noted that the thugs shot sporadically into the air,which scared her, her workers and customers awayfrom the restaurant as they escaped to safety. Away fromthe restaurant and from a safe distance, they noticedthat the thugs had set the restaurant ablaze.She said that the political thugs remained within thepremises forover20 minutes snooting to scare sympa-thisers away. They eventually drove away from thepremises, but sympathisers who struggled very hard toquench the inferno, could not succeed

We are grateful to God that these thugs did not decideto turn their guns against anyone within the premises.We are unhappy because of the loss we suffered, but weare thankfufto God that we still have our lives. In duetime, we shall recoverfrom this setback", Mrs. Onov toldThe Guardian.One of the areas most affected by die rage of political

thugs is Yandev, a suburb of Gboko, where severalhouses have been set ablaze by political thugs as politi-cians struggle for the control of the community.Some houses in this area have had their roofs pulled off,whsleother houses had residents moles ted by politicalthugs who reside within the community and areknown.One of such victims of arson in the community is Mrs.

Zipporah Txjugh, whose husband is involved in poli-tics. She said that in her case, they heard shouts outsidethe compound only to notice that the kitchen made ofthatch had been set on fire.Mrs. To-ough said: 'The boys told us that they set our

kitchen ablaze as a warning of what lied ahead if rnyhusband continued to misbehave."Because they had guns, nobody could stop them untilthey left."She said since the arson a few days ago, she had beenliving in fear and hoping that the police would act tosave the people from the fear imposed on them by thepolitical thugs threatening their peace daily.According to her, there is hardly any day in the las t two

weeks that there would not be a clash by political thugsin the area. She noted that most of these thugs shot intothe air to scare people."Ourprayeris thatthesepeople should bestopped.Ourlives are in danger. They nave burnt down our kitchen,but we do not know what their next line of actionwould be. We don't want to lose our lives because of pol-itics", she said.

With tension mounting across Gboko Town and sto-

ries that tempers could boii as has been the case inAdikpo, Kwande Local Council, where political thugshave continued to engage tiiemselves along politicallines, leaders of the ACN in Benue State took the mediaon a tour of the affected homes and communities inGboko, while they appealed to their suppoiters to re-main cairn and allow the security agencies unravelthose who masterminded the spate ofarson.Addressingjournalists at the premises of Base 1 Restau-rant in Gboko at the weekend, former Benue State Gov-ernor, Senator George Akume, called on PresidentGoodJuck Jonathan to use security agencies to stop theviolence targeted against members of the ACN acrossBenue State oefore the security situation in the statenose-dived.Senator Akume said that Benue State did not deserve

the political violence being perpetrated by unidentifiedpolitical thugs as it headed towards elections.Hesaidthat the ACN believed in the capacity of security

agencies to track down those responsible for torching arestaurant in Gboko GRA, owned by an ACN supporter,Mrs. Mlumun Onov and the private residence ofMr. Ter-hemen To-ough in Yandev area of Gboko."We call on President Jonathan to set in motion the se-curity apparatus to arrest the political thugs used toperpetrate arson on law-abiding members ofthe ACN,"lie said.Also, Benue State governorship candidate ofthe ACN,

Prof. Steve Ugba stated that the use of violence to in-timidate ACN supporters in Eenue State would not yieldany results, as the members were committed to peace-ful campaigns and elections.Ugba said that the party decided to organise a media

tour of the burnt homes and businesses of members ofthe ACN in Gboko to bring to the fore the acts of vio-lence by unguarded politicians in the state.He appealed to supporters ofthe party to remain calm,

while security agencies worked towards unravelling thepersons behind the arson targeted at members of theACN.

"Throughout our campaigns, I have stressed peace.What you see across Gboko is the stark reality of whatsome politicians have in slock for us. If there was anydoubt that our lives were threatened by assassins, whatyou see today in Gboko dispels such doubts", Ugba said.

The Benue State Police Public Relations Officer,Opaiuwa Aku stated that the command was in controlofthe security situation in Benue State, saying that who-ever was involved in political violence wouid be ar-rested and prosecuted.

Investiture ceremony"THE investiture ceremony of1 Dr. Clement Kayode Ogheneas die I2th President of Univer-sity of Benin Alumni Associa-tion (UBAA) Worldwide holdson Friday, February 18,2011 atthe Banquet Hail, University ofBenin, Ugbowo Campus, BeninCity at 3.00p.m.A statement by the NationalPublic Relations Officer, UBAA,Dr. Isaac Ejebe, said ChiefCharles Ufuoma Obule wouldchair the occasion while theVice Chancellor, Prof. O.G.Os-hodin is chief host.

Exhibition at UNILAGA FIRM, Strands Events, yester-

/iday began its sixth students'trade fair al the University ofLagos (UNILAG) Sport Centre.

There will be laptops, acces-sories, fashion hooks, domesticand household products;footwear, cosmetic, electricaland electronics; phones andValentine's gifts and manymore attheexhibition.Thefair, which will end on Wednesday,February 16, will also featureentertainers such as Naeto C,General Pype, Ajayi Brothers,,SeyiLaw, GbengaAdeyinkaandothers.Church beginsTuesday progammeTHE StarGospel Church of1 God has begun its Tuesday

programme tagged Ma-iekayenubaje" at Popo GuestHouse Hall, along 40, AgboyiRoad, Al ape re-Ketu, Lagos from7.00a.m. to lO.OOarn.Host isProp net Tai wo AkinrinmadeLagos State CAN prays

IE yearly interdenomina-tional Divine Service of the

Christian Association ofNigeria(CAN), Lagos branch hoids onSaturday, February 12, at theApostolic Church InternationalConvention Ground, Ketu at8.00am. The prayer session, isentitled, 'Cuiofffrom me, youcan do nothing,'The Chairman, CAN, Lagos, Rev.Mo nsignor Bernard Okodua,said: 'The event will be a gather-ing of Christians to pray for thepeace and progress in the coun-try," adding: "Considering therate of insecurity in the countrythe need for Christians to praycannot be overemphasized."Chiebonam Agagbo,73, for burial"THE death has occurred of1 Madam ElizabethChiebonam Agagbo, (neeNwankwo). She was aged 73.A!so known as GoldUmuag-

bala, she was a prominent com-munity leader in herhometown Abba, in NjikokaLocal Council of Anambra Stateand played leadingroles in theMarket Women Associationand Cathofic Women Organisa-tions.She is survived by many chil-dren and grandchildren in chid-.ing the former chairman ofNjikoka Local Council and im-mediate past chairman of theAnambra State chapter of Peo-ples Democratic Party PDF),Chief Cosmas Agagbo.She will be buried in her

hometown on Friday, Febru-ary 18.

THE GUARDIAN, Tuesday FeBraary 8,2013;:

Progress of Idimu, Egbeda road, by firmByBukkyOlajtde

AFIRM,P!ycon Nigeria Ltd., a/imajor player in the Niger-ian construction industry, re-cently organised a town hallmeeting at Idimu Primary Pri-mary to update the Idimu, Iko-tun and Egbeda communitiesin Lagos State on the progressof the road being constructedintheirarea.The meeting, which had in at-

tendance, the Obas and chiefsof the communities, LocalCommunity Development As-sociation (LCDA), representa-tives of Lagos State Ministry ofWorks ana other stakeholders.The event gave the public anopportunity to be involved inactivities for the completion ofthe roads from Ifiotun toIdimu and Isheri roundabout

to Egbeda..Vehicle users on the Ikotun-

Idimu Expressway have beenfacing untold hardship for overa year when the Lagos Stategovernment awardecTthe roadto a construction company,who was unable to completethe site after initial excavation.A few months ago, the LagosState government intervenedby re-awarding the construc-tion of the road to Plycon Nige-ria Limited for quickcompletion.

The spokesperson, Kunle Fa-mous-Cole, "The meeting wasnecessitated by the need tokeep the community abreast ofthe developments on the roadconstruction project. We un-derstand the growing frustra-tions of the people in the area

and we need the communitiesof the Egbeda, Ikotun andIdimu area to know that our ex-pertise influenced the stategovernment's decision toaward these roads to us.."

He further said: "The Ikotunroad was awarded to us in Sep-tember and mobilised in Octo-ber. Since then, our team ofengineers have conducted fea-sibility studies and have com-pleted the pre-constractionphase. The project is currentlyat an appreciable percentage.We hope to deliver one side ofthe road from Moshalasi toIdimu roundabout soon; whilethe walkways and median curbrepair, fire hydrant and street-light installation will be ongoing. We are confident to de-liver the road a hundred percent by February 201T."

CHARTERED INSTITUTECRETAR1ESGFNIQ

established by Act of 1990, ApprovedMNssy ef EtJyeaticr! an.3 Ministry

*Seeretarlat Administration * Office "technology Management

of the institute tor screening and possible exemption on or before 31st May, 2011.exiwfrrioH PROGSAMME:(a) Sytqed by Subject for Feunda«w Members (b) Full Exemption for NIPS MembersENTRY REQUIREMENTS;

* Exemption Forms are obtainable with NS,00Q.OO at the SecretariatSCRgENfNG/LECTURE DA?€&: (a) March 20,2011 {b)April 16,2011VENUE; NIPS Secretarial Training arid Development Centre,

94 itefOdu Road, Fadeyf Bus Slop, Lagos, E-mail: nipsec05@yahoo.eomRRST JNtJUCTIOS: June 4,2811AB successful participants wil! be inducted as Chartered SecretariesFOR MOKE INFORM A TION, PLEASE CONTACT:

THE R^ISTRAR/CEOSecretariat - 3 SA Modele Street, Offlfejuosho Road, Swolere, Lagos.

& Dev. Centre;-94 IkoiWu Road, Faii^yi 'Bm Sop,jei; 08033D1136S. 06058441143, 07028126189. 01-4151549. 8197290

PROJECT MANAGEMENT COLLEGE UK

Pcojett Manage

American PM& Exam Preperation

Training

in Project Mar;

Advanced Diplomain Project Management

from just0704 0&7 25SO0704 067 25529704 067 2554

0704 067 2SS0704 067 2550704 067 255

NATIONWIDE LEARNING CENTRESABUJA - British Innovation Centre (BIC), SuitscO?, Peace Pa.-k Plas-a, MFE Building, Ptet 481. Urako.LAGOS - LEKKI - British Sdiool of ProjectManagement Elegania Mall, opposite VictoriaGarden City t*t&i Expresswn,.British School of Pralsct Management !30a Ota

Street !!o>ja GRA PORT HARCOURT- innovation House. 32a King PerKkule Sense!, Phase2. New Gt*A. ABEOKUTA - Innovation Centre.Suite 33/M, S.dA Shopping Complex. No. 34Mashoad AWolaWsy. QloninsogoArea. IBADAM- InnovatitMi Suite, 9 Bibifari, Sashnrun Road

n i ge f ia@pm co 11 e-ge -co.u k www. pmcoilege.co.uk/nigeria

General Manager, Lagos Country Club, Adahowale Adejumobi, his wife, Funrm anil their son, Babajide Mandela Adcjumabi, whobagged First -Class in Physics Electronics ai the University of Lagos convocation ceremony...recently

Coordinator of Help For the Helpless Foundation, Ola Iranloye receives the cash donation oi N25C.ODO from representativesof Committee of Wives of Lafcos Slate Officials (COWLSO), from left: Mrs. Vemisi Alii, Deaconess Aribike Ositelu and Mrs.Bolanle Peltimi.

A newly built Hotel withapartment concept andSpa facilities located in theheart of Lagos, about2minutes drive from theLagos Int'l Airport ;requires the services of are l i ab le team withinternational exposureand cognate experience tofill the following positions:

1. General ManagerExpatriate or Nigerian

4. AccountantAge 38 - 40

5, Marketing ExecutivesAge 30 - 35

For positions 1-4 all applicants must have at least 3 yearsmanagement experience in the hospitality industry

Mode Of ApplicationEligible candidates who must possess excellent communication skillsshould forward their detailed resume within two (2) weeks of thispublication to:

jobs@yellowtulipcourtyard.corn

CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA PRUDENTIAL GUIDELINESWL_lif 1 ixriiL. i-*/"\iMi\ VI Iill Wfc-l\l/"% r i\wt-*L-ri i M™\l— \^**»» iu> t_ iu,ii * fc—wby

THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF BANKERS OF NIGERIADate: Thur. 24 - Fri ,25, February 2015 Time: 8.30 a.m. Daily

Venue: Bankers House, CiBN, Adeoia HopeweH Street, Victoria Island, Lagos -

The new Prudential Guideiines for Deposit Money Banks ineffective from May 1, 201Q, The newno doubt prompted by the need to fiif

stakeholders' confidence. The guidelines shoufd normally beminimum requirements and baftks are encouraged toimplement more stringers policies and practices to enhancemitigation of risks.

This workshop therefore, is being organized to intimate

participants win the critics! provisions of the new Prudential

Guidelines and the imp) erne ni at ion strategies. It is a

response to various requests from banks and non bank

financial institutions for a programme on the new Prudential

Gut defines.

Understand the tetters and spirit of ihe

Understodtheprovlsioninsreqinremenlsof variouscredit faeities,Design appropriate internal pcfcies and specificaction piaristasfisyreperfom-iance of credits,Imtjibe a culture of transparency in financial

Overview of the New Prudential Guidelines for DepositMoney Banks in Nigeria

The New Prudenlial Guidelines: Implicalions forove

various Credit

Regulation for various Financing: Retail, Auto, CreditCard arid Housing Finance

Suspicious Transactions: What to look for.

Compliance Challenges wiih the New PrudentialGuidelines.

Heads of Legal, Corporals and CommercialBanking, Credit Departments of Banks,Mortgage Finance Institutions, Discount Houses, etcSenior Staff of Regulatory and SupervisoryInstitutions {CBN and NDIC)Senior and Middle Management Staff inCharge of Operations, intema! Control,inspection and Complis

wothshop. They in

• Mr. S.A. Qni, Director,Banking Supervision, C8H

• Mrs. E.N. Mgbojikwe, Immediate Past DirectorReceivership & Liquidation, IMDIC

• Mr, Kayode Ogtje-OlubaryioAssistant Director, Fin, Investigation NDLEA etc

• Dr, Blodun AdedipeManaging Consultant, B. Adedipe Associates

Participation fee is N95,?5Q.GQ (ninety five thousand,hundred and fifty naira oniTea/Coffee and Group Lunch onSy.

Certified bank cftequefoank drafts shotiSd be drawn in favourof The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria or e-paymeni to GT Bank Pic {Account No. 2011088887110)Sort Code 058.

WORKSHOP ONINTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL Ri"

Venue: COLONADES HOTEL, 21, Alfred Rewane Road (Formerly Kingsway Road) Ikoyi, LagosDate; 9 -10, March 2011

BackgroundIt has become imperative foroperators tn the Migerian Economy toappreciate the necessity to Key intothe global standards so as to achievea global comparability. It is in line withthis objective that the NationalExecutive Council has decided toadopt the IFRS by December 2012and the Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE) has indeed urged quotedcompanies to comply.

This workshop is therefore designedto broaden the knowledge ofparticipant and assist organisationsin complying with the Nationaldirective and accurately depictingperformance realities of theirbusinesses,

ObjectivesAt the end of this workshop,participants wit! be able to;• Understand the principle of

IFRS requirements. Prepare,analyse and understand IFRSfinancial statements,

• Differentiate !FRS preparedfinancial statements fromGAAP prepare financial

- statements.• Understand the principle of

transition to iFRS

• Apply IFRS on financialinstruments,foreign currencie,tangible assets and liabilities.

Contents• !FRS Basic Principles:

Framework for Preparation andPresentation of FinancialStatement

• Adoption of IFRS for the NigerianEconomy: issues and Prospects,

M Recognition of Elements ofFinancial Statements: Revenuesand Current Assets.

• issues in Disclosur Requirementsin IFRS.

H Foreign currencies: Foreigncurrency transactions andbalances.

• Recognition and Measurement ofN o n - c u r r e n t A s s e t s ;Depreciation, Revaluation andRetirement Obligations,

• Code of Corporate Governanceas Bedrock of Financial

Who Should Attend?• Staff of Control, Operations,

Compliance and inspectionDepartments of Banks,

• Insurance and Other FinancialInstitutions.

• Legal Officers of Banks.

• Staff of Finance and AccountsDepartments of non-bankinstitutions.

I^S ';;;>;!;H™!fExera: ^SHBanV"-"''

Participation FeeN115,7SO-00 per participant. This coversTraining Materials, Tea/Coffee, GroupLunch and Group Photograph. A discountof 5% will be given to organisations thatnominate three or more participants.

Mode of PaymentCertified bank cheque/bank drafts shouidbe drawn in favour of The CharteredInstitute of Bankers of Nigeria.

li*-ilSii. ill iv-.l,

• THE .GUARDIAN, Tuesday Jtetouary 8,2011

Conscience is an open wound; only truth can heal it.

EditorialThe controversy over Justice Salami's'promotion'•THE furore being generated over an1 alleged plan to elevate die Presidentof the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa AyoSalami to the Supreme Court is clearlyan attempt to politicise the judiciary.The attempt must be swiftly nipped inthe bud, ifthe country is to avoidlosingthe integrity of one of its most reveredinstitutions.The Nigerian judiciary may not be 100

per cent saintly, going by facts thatoccasionally expose a few bad eggs inthe system. What it has going lor ithowever is that most of its members -be they judges or judicial officers - whowere proven to be tainted, have alwaysinvariably been sanctioned. EveryNigerian, not just members of theLegal Profession, must do everything.possible, and urgently too, to preservethe judiciary as an institution that stillcommands the respect of the ordinarycitizen.

This is especially necessary becauseultimately, politicians are mainlybehind the controversy surroundingJustice Salami. Yet, from their records,politicians at both the Executive andlegislative levels have felled the coun-try. They should not be allowed to dragthe more credible arm of governmentinto the murky political terrain.

It is on record for instance that JusticeSalami was suddenly brought into crit-ical limelight following the judgmentsof Election Petition Appeal Tribunals,which did not go down well with someaggrieved politicians, who consequent-ly decided to blame him for their mis-fortune. Unfortunately, the ethics andtradition of the legal profession, cou-pled with the special indisposition ofjudges, do not permit Justice Salami torespond to various allegations ofimpropriety on his part hi any event,most of those allegations appear lacedwith political motives that perhapswere best left unreptied.

It is worrisome however that theintrigues surrounding the judge alsoinvolves the country's Chief Justice,Aloysius Katsina-Alu who, sadly, is alsobeing accused of playing to the politi-cal gallery. In particular, the ChiefJustice's alleged .offer to promoteJustice Salami to the apex court is beingviewed with great suspicion.

Justice Salami himself blew the leadopen, when he rejected the promotiononer on the ground that he was con-tent with being the Appeal Court

President, and that the Chief Justicedid not consult him before makingthe offer. Justice Salami observed thatit would amount to setting a danger-ous precedent to promote to theSupreme Court a President of theCourt of Appeal who is unwilling to bepromoted!

Salami thus advised the CJN to with-draw the promotion, to avoid disrupt-ing the status quo in an already over-heated environment. Among theother reasons he gave for his actionwere that although he did not attendthe February 2, 2011 meeting of theFederal Judicial Service Commissionas he had gone for the eighth dayjidauof an aunt, his purported promotionwas suddenly listed as an issue, whenit was not originally part of the daysagenda.

Casting aspersions on the allegedelevation, Justice Salami noted that atthe meeting, the CJN had informedmembers present "of his proposal tostrengthen the Supreme Court bymoving me to the Court of Appeal andpresumably to replace me with hisminion or stooge*. He also recalledthat he (Salami) had, "in a more auspi-cious moment, declined for good rea-sons to be appointed to the SupremeCourt"

Expectedly, Salami's letter has elicit-ed mixed reactions, with politicianscommending or criticising himdepending on their leanings. Somepoliticians have expressed the fearthat the planned promotion is to pun-ish Salami for setting up appeal panelsthat gave judgments against the rul-ing Peoples' Democratic Party (POP).Others criticise him for denouncingthe promotion allegedly because hehas things to hide.

In the last 48 hours, there have beenverbal altercations even amonglawyers, some of whom have gone tocourt over the matter. Again, unfortu-nately, the Chief Justice is not in a posi-tion to reply to the charges. Issues arebeing raised to the effect that• It is against tradition not to have con-sulted and obtained Salami's consentbefore the alleged promotion offer;• The promotion amounts to a demo-tion in real feet, since, as President ofCourt of Appeal, Salami had nominat-ed to the Supreme Court, his subordi-nates who would now be his seniorson the Bench on account of date of

appointment;• The movement would amount to nopromotion at all since Salami isalready at par with Justices of theSupreme Court by virtue of his head-ship position in the Court of Appeal;and that• The Chief Justice's offer is insincereas there are already three SupremeCourt Justices from the North Centralgeopolitical zone, and there is nopoint bringing in Justice Salami, whois from the same zone, when othergeo-political zones are yet to fill theirquota on the Bench.In addition, there have been insinua-tions that certain vested interests areplanning to rig the next general elec-tions, and then seize partisan controlof the judicial machinery ahead of thefiling of election petitions, the ChiefJustice it is alleged, may be supportingthis scheme.

Clearly, these accusations areunfortunate, and may erode the repu-tation of the judiciary. As the Head ofthe Judiciary, the Chief Justice may beentitled to nominate a qualified legalpersonality to the Supreme Court Butwhere such nomination appears tosideline due process, or fails to consid-er crucial circumstances capable ofundermining the nomination, then

the system could be courting trouble.Perhaps the CJN should have consid-ered the fact that Salami had declinedthe appointment two years ago; andthat there are seniority issues involvedin appointments to the apex courtThe Justice Salami situation should be

addressed carefully to assuageexpressed fears and calm frayednerves. We believe the best way is tojettison his proposed appointment tothe Supreme Court The Chief Justiceshould seek other personnel (there arenumerous such persons) to appoint tothe Supreme Court. The Chief Justice'sdesire to strengthen the SupremeCourt is however, legitimate, consider-ing the high number of cases pendingin the court and the expectation of

tions. In any case, section 230(2) of the1999 Constitution as amended pro-vides for 21 justices of the court, asagainst about 17 currently available.

All politicians, should guard againstdragging the judiciary into the politi-cal arena. Politicians have done toomuch damage to the country alreadythrough corruption, mismanagementand violence. They should do nothingto tarnish the integrity of the judiciary,still the last hope of the common man,

Oyinlola at 60SIR: At the age of 60 you

have achieved everythingyour contemporaries wouldwish to achieve. At 20 yearsyou were already aLieutenant in the NigerianArmy. At 42 years, youbecame the Military

Administrator of Lagos State.At 52 you became theExecutive Governor of OsunState. Your reign as Governorin Osun State brought incred-ible progress to the landespecially in the educationaland cultural fields. Whateveryour enemies may think, you

have achieved greatness.I hereby salute you as my learned

friend and colleague on your 60^Birthday celebration and wish youand your family many more yearsof God's guidance and protection.Olu Onagoruwa,Lagos.

AKc\M(t,

COWVS itt

: .BUSINESS..|19

BusinessMoneyline P23Governor reads riot act to MDAsover budget implementation

Appointments P35Discordant tunes overfactionalised ASSBIFI

Nigeria signs pact with UK body onmarketing of NigeriaSat-2

Oil prices snapthree-day losseson Egypt's crisisGLIDE oil prices rose in

jndon for the first time inthree days on concern thatpolitical upheaval in Egyptremains unresolved and maythreaten supplies of crudefrom the Middle East.Brent crude for March settle-

ment climbed as much as$1.07, or 1.1 per cent, to $100.90a barrel on the London-basedICE Futures Europe exchange.It traded for $100.53 a barrel asof 11:46 a.m. local time.

On February 4 it slid 1.9 percent to end at $99.83. On theNew York MercantileExchange the March contractwas up 25 cents at $89^8 a bar-rel. Nymex futures settled at$89.03 on February 4, the low-est since January 27, and areup 24 per cent in the past year.

North Sea Brent tradedaround $100 a barrel, extend-ing its premium over futuresin New York co the widest inthree days. Hedge funds hadraised bullish bets on oil bythe most in eight weeks onconcern the unrest wouldspread. Oil recouped earlierlosses yesterday as equitiesclimbed lor a fourth day inEurope on growing signs ofeconomic recovery

'The risk of contagion willkeep prices above Sioo a bar-rel for a while," saidChristopher Bellew, seniorbroker with BacheCommodities Limited inLondon. "Much has still to besettled in Egypt, so there is stillthe specter of unrest spread-ing to oil-producing coun-tries."European equities climbed to

their highest levels sinceSeptember 2008 and US.stock futures advanced asinvestors bet that the recoveryin the global economy isstrengthening. New Yorkfutures earlier fell as much as0.6 per cent after EgyptianVice President, OmarSuleiman, and some mem-bers of the opposition agreedyesterday on steps to resolvethe crisis.

Egyptian banks opened yes-terday for the first time in

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

From Emeka Anuforo, Abuja•VTIGERIA has signed anIN inter national imagerysales agreement with DMCInternational ImagingLimited, United Kingdom(UK), to promote the busi-ness viability of theNigerSat-2, ahead of itslaunch this quarter, togeth-er with NigerSat-X.

Already, from the interna-tional community, at theweekend, came a verdictthat images from the second

NASRDA has received necessary approval fromthe Federal Ministry of Justice to sign anagreement with the DMCII, UK as the exclusivedistributor for the sale of NigeriaSat-2 andNigeriaSat-X outside Africa.Nigeria earth observationsatellite, NigeriaSat -2, wouldbe of high quality, comparedwith those of other satel-lites.

Director-General- of theNational Space Research and

Development Agency (NASR-DA), Mr. Seidu Mohammed,said at the signing at theweekend ceremony that theagreement would assistDMCII to canvass for interna-tional customers and sign-

ing necessary sales contractsprior to launch of the satel-lites.

He gave further insightinto the features of bothsatellites.

His words: "The NigeriaSat-2 sensor will provideimagery of 3 resolutions,that is, 2.5 m panchromatic,5m multispectral (R, G, B,NIR) and also carries the 32mmulti-spectral payloads ofNigeria SaM, and moreimportantly NigeriaSat-2can image in stereo mode,

while the NigeriaSat-X sen-sor will provide 22m multi-spectral (RGB, NIR) imagery.

"For Nigeria, the intendedusage of imageries fromNigeriaSat-2 and Nigeria Sat-X is for broad area coverageinclusive of land use,geospatial analysis and envi-ronmental change monitor-ing. It is will also be used formapping, accurate geo-loca-tion and resale. NigeriaSat-2is expected to provide a max-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

Vice-President. Communication, Ericsson Group, Mwonubu Wanendeya (right): Mr, Gary Dewing; Head, Ericsson, Sub-Saharan Africa, Lars Linden; and Mr. Shilets Makho Fane, also of Ericsson,during a media briefing on "Networked Africa", in Lagos, recently. PHOTO: OSENI YUSUF

Nigeria to get $80m lifeline from World Bank for mining projectFrom Florence Lawrence, Abuja

MGERIA may soon receiveidditioiiamo million (NO

billion) facility from the WorldBank by [une, for the extensionof sustainable management ofrnineraJ resources project, initi-ated by the Brettonwood insti-tution, in the country

World BankTaskTeam Leaderin Nigeria and Senior MiningSpecialist, Mrs. EkaterinaMikhaylova made the disclo-sure in Abuja during a visit tothe Minister of Mines and SteelDevelopment, Architect Musa

Sada.While she commended the

success made so far in the firstphase of the World Bank grant,the additional financing of theproject will be a direct continu-ation and expansion of the firstproject, which was meant tocollect geo- data of the nation'smineral resources.

It will also be channelledtowards finalising the activitiesof the Artlsanal and Small ScaleMiners (ASMs), provision ofequipment to diem and hostcommunities, as well as, capac-

ity building.In a statement from the min-

istry, Mikhaylova noted thather visit to Nigeria was meantto finalise appraisal for theadditional financing credit

"Let me congratulate theteam on the good progress ofits regional project. It has beenrated very satisfactory and mymanagement has been pleasedwith the progress achieved todate. The additional fundingwill be released for the projectbetween the months of Juneand July 2011," she said.

However, the final appraisalis expected to involve afl techni-cal aspects of the additionalfinancing project with theinvolvement or ministries ofFinance and Justice.

According to her, "we need toinvolve ministries of Financeand justice for guidance fromtheir sides to avoid surprise onthe issue at the negotiationtable."

The additional funding willalso accommodate the steelsub-sector, have some legal reg-ulatory adjustment and capaci-

ty building among others.The World Bank Task Team

leader, therefore, called on theFederal Government for a con-tinued collaboration to achievea sustainable development ofthe nation's mining industry.

Mikhaylova took over themantle of leadership of thenation's SustainableManagement of MineralResources project from herpredecessor, Mr. CraigAndrews, who was the TaskTeam leader of the project formany years.

Sada stressed that part of theway forward for the sector wasto consider future possibilityfor Nigeria to create a secondline of economic input into thecountry.

He added that efforts are intop gear between the Ministryof Finance, the NationalPlanning Commission and theministry to harmonise all theactivities in the mining andsteel sector into the mainstream of the nation's econom-ic framework apart from rev-enue from oil.

1NESS,: Jim GUARDIAN. Tbesday February 8,2t)lt

Oil prices settle at$100.90 a barrel

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

more than a week and courtsresumed hearings, state televi-sion said. The country isrepairing a natural-gaspipeline network in the SinaiDesert after an explosionforced a halt in exports toIsrael and Arab countries, thestate news agency reported.

As many as 300 people havedied since clashes startedJanuary 25, according to theUnited Nations. Oil in NewYork rose as high as $92.84 abarrel during the turmoil, themost since October 7, 2008.Brent surged above $100.

Middle East and NorthAfrican countries produce 36per cent of global oil and have61 per cent of proven reserves,according to BP Pic's StatisticalReview of World Energy.Hedge funds and other large

speculators increased net-long positions, or wagers onrising prices by 17 per cent, inthe seven days endedFebruary 1, according to theCommodity Futures TradingCommission's weeklyCommitments of Tradersreport. It was the largest gainsince the week endedDecember 7.Egypt's Suleiman met yester-

day with the Wafd andTagammu parties, MuslimBrotherhood and billionaireNaguib Sawiris. The negotia-tors agreed to set up a com-mittee that will recommendby the first week of March con-stitutional changes neededfor free and fair elections,Suleiman said in a statement.

Brent's premium to WestTexas Intermediate fWTI), thecrude grade traded in NewYork, widened to $11.46 a bar-rel yesterday from $10.80 atthe end of last week. Thespread averaged 76 cents lastyear.

WTI's discount may narrowas the political crisis in Egypt

.abates, according to Cubit'sKeenan."The reason the spread blew

out in the first place wasbecause of the preference ofBrent as a global benchmarkover WTI for people to expressany geopolitical nedges, s.Keenan.

Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko (left): and World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Onno Rhul, during ihe presentation of the World Bank Assisted Projects, at the Cocoa ConferenceHall, Akure, yesterday.

Nigeria, Switzerland to seal pact on migration

'said

By Babatola Atfeyemiav Atordas; February M, «•lay globally celebrated as

Valentine day, another mile-stone in Nigeria-Switzerlandrelationship would berecorded as both countrieswould sign a MemorandumOf Understanding (MOU)tagged: "MigrationPartnership."

And to make Nigeria moreinvestment friendly,President Goodluck Jonathanhas assured of an increasing-ly enabling operating envi-ronment, even as he dis-closed that work has reachedan advanced stage in the con-struction of 10 new powerplants.

The partnership, the first ofsuch by Switzerland and anAfrican country, was dis-closed recently in Shagamu,Ogun State, at the inaugura-tion of Switzerland's Nestle'snew N12 billion factory whereit was also disclosed thatsince 2009, Nestle Nigeriahad invested N42 billion inits factories, out of a totalinvestment of N59 billion inthe country so far. Indeed,Nigeria was also announcedat the event as the world'sgreatest consumer ofMaggie-a flagship product ofthe company.

According to Switzerland'sambassador to Nigeria, DrHJE. Andreas Baun, the part-

Nigeria signs pact on marketing of NigeriaSat 2CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

imum of 250 images per day,while imagery volume fromNigeriaSat-X has been estab-lished to be a handful ofimages per day, sharingmany of the same storageand processing capabilitiesfrom the NigeriaSat-2 sys-tem."

On the agreement signing,he stressed, "in order to bet-ter prepare NASRDA for theexploitation of imageriesfrom the NigeriaSat-2 andNigeriaSat-X satellites for theinternational market, NASR-

DA has received necessaryapproval from the FederalMinistry of Justice to sign anagreement with the DMCII,UK as the exclusive distribu-tor for the sale of NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X outsideAfrica. Distribution of theseimageries within Africa willbe the responsibility ofNASRDA's company-GeoApps Plus Limited.''

On the planned launch ofthe satellite fro Russia, headded, "it is important tonote that 44 per cent ofAmerican spacecrafts to date

were launched in Russia.Therefore, it is relatively safeand cost effective to launchfrom Russia."

Also speaking, ManagingDirector of DMCII, Mr. DaveHodgson noted . thatimageries from satelliteswere crucial to nationaldevelopment.

He expressed confidencein Nigeria's satellite proj-ects, noting that because ofthe way it was built,imageries from NigeriaSat-2would be hot cake across theworld.

nership would not only bringco-operation between bothcountries to a new level, butwas designed to acknowl-edge both the opportunitiesand challenges of ensuringincreased socio-economicties between both countries.

Citing an example to but-tress his disclosure, Baunsaid it became clear duringthe negotiations precedingthe proposed MOU thatcapacity building-includingtraining and education-should be an area of joint co-operation.

"The Swiss embassy lookedinto private initiatives andtraining projects by businessoperators and found NestleNigeria's technical trainingcentre in its Agbara factoryan excellent opportunity tobuild upon. It targets atdeveloping young peopleand contributing towardsthe development of scienceand technology in theNigerian society, the envoysaid.

He added" Switzerland hasdecided to establish a schor-larship for five studentsannually at the new NesdeNigeria Technical TrainingCentre. This sponsorship willprovide vocational trainingin the field of electro-mechanical-automationengineering. Furthermore,the five best students from

each programme will havethe opportunity ro partici-pate in an additional trainingmodule of several months inSwitzerland, in the frame-work of the training pro-grammes of Nestle's head-quarters."

Jonathan, who was repre-sented by Vice PresidentNemadi Sambo, urged otherindustrial firms to emulateNestle, promising necessaryinfrastructural and policysupport The president saidgovernment would fast-track the completion of the10 new power plants, whichhe saJd would each generate50 mega watts, totaling 500mega watts.

Describing Nesde's new fac-tory as a reflection of thepresent administration'sefforts at economic develop-ment, Jonathan stressed thatthe administration's successin ensuring an enabling envi-ronment for businessdepended largely on the co-operation andsupport of theorganised private sector.

In his speech, Ogun StateGovernor, Otunba GbengaDaniel noted that the dreamof turning the state to anindustrial state is fast takingshape. He stated inter-alia,"the history of industrialadvancement of Ogun State,whenever and by whomeverit is written, will surely not

grant us a scant mention.Our mission was, and stU) is,

not to create wealth neitherfor a few nor for the moment,but to create immeasurablewealth beyond avarice for themass of our people and thegeneration hereafter."

Earlier in a World mediabriefing, the Group ChiefExecutive Officer (CEO) ofNestle, Switzerland, Mr. PaulBulcke, who describedNigeria as an investor'sdelight, said the new facilitywould make the company tobe closer to its consumersand enable it better adapt itsproducts to their needs andpreferences.

"Since 2009, Nestle hasinvested N42 billion in its fac-tories to help sustain itsgrowth in the country. Thislatest investment is proof ofour commitment to Africa inwhich we will invest CHE onebillion over the next twoyears," Bulcke stated.

Also speaking at the brief-ing, the CEO of NestleNigeria, Mr. MartinWoolnough, assured thatwith the new factory, Nestlewould not only double itsproduction of culinary prod-ucts, but would also meet thegrowing demand for maggiproducts in Nigeria andother countries in theCentral and west Africanregion.

Govt set to commission Nl.2b Singaporean model skill centreFrom Emeka Anuforo, Abuja'MIGERIA'S quest to ensureINthe development: of itshuman capital, received aboost, as Nigeria is set to com-mission its Model SkillsTraining Centre, modeledafter the Institute of TechnicalEducation, Singapore.The training centre, which is

a brainchild of the IndustrialTraining Fund {ITF), is beingequipped with N1.2 billion.

Director-General of theIndustrial Training Fund, Prof.Longmas Sambo Wapmuk,who conducted ministry offi-cials round the facilities of thecentre, in Abuja, at the week-

end, disclosed that PresidentGoodluck Ebele Jonathanwould commission the MSTCin April.

He said: "To key in and con-tribute in the actualisation ofthe Millennium DevelopmentGoals, the ITF undertook astudy visit to organisationswith similar mandates ofimplementing skills acquisi-tion programmes in threeAsian countries in 2007, anddiscovered a holisticapproach to technical skillsdevelopment at the Instituteof Technical Education,Singapore."In order to pursue this holis-

tic approach on technicalskills development, the ITFundertook a thorough studytour of the ITE facilities anddetailed discussions for a sim-ilar outfit to be established inAbuja ensured. A plan ofaction, which was developedculminated into a feasibilitystudy visit to Abuja by officialsof ITE, Singapore.

"The feasibility study reportwhich was produced con-tained modalities for futurecollaboration on five identi-fied trades: electronics (com-puter and networking), infor-mation and communicationtechnology, culinary skills

(western), mechatronicautomation technology andfacility technology."He added: "The Abuja Model

Skills Training Centre is a postsecondary technical traininginstitute established to nur-ture and produce the muchneeded technical personnelwith the skills and confidenceto face the challenges of thechanging world of work."The mission of the centre is

to create opportunities forschool leavers and adultleavers to acquire employableskills, knowledge and valuesfor life long learning and self-help in a competitive global

economy. As the economyrestructured itself and movedfrom labour-intensive to capi-tal-intensive and knowledgeintensive, as the Abuja MSTC isdesigned by the ITF to ensurethat our human capitalacquire the relevant skills,knowledge and values respon-sive to the changing needs ofschools leavers, industry andcommunity for sustainabilityand national development"

He explained that the MSTCpedagogic approach of 70 percent practJcaland 30 per centtheory allows trainees toacquire new skills and knowl-edge through exploratory

teaching and learningmethodology such as casestudies, probe-based learningand group work

"Through planning theirlearning, exploring resourcesand ideas, practicing whatthey have learnt and perform-ing with compliance, traineeswill become more effectiveand independent," he added.

On the manpower for theprogramme, he noted that aspart of plans for providingquality technical training, ITFbelieves in having competentstaff who will be effective anddedicated to their assignedduties.

THEGUAfpAETuesday, February £2011

SIM PLY SEN D'U'TO

31030

FROM YOUR PHONE

r\ *m m^ f\\m\* !••*•» >3

THE FOLLOWING

1. AJrtimeTopup2. Check Balance3. Mini Statement4. Funds Transfer5. Withdraw Cash6. Send money to phone

Banking has now been made much easier and convenient by theintroduction of our USSD service to aid your mobile banking services.No matter the phone type or model, just send a text message to theshort code stated and the application pops up on your mobile phoneto complete your transaction.

This gives you access to the world-class mobile banking and paymentsolution powered by eTranzact

Bank to,etivate youObile Banki

Service

VfemaBank

eTranzact International Ptc5th Floor, Fortune Towers, 27/29, Adeyemo Atatcija Street, Victoria Island, lagos, Nigeria.

For more information: Email: brand@etranzact.net or calf: 01-2701162, 01-4638946-9,070419696S4-S. http^Xwww.etran/acUom

Powered by;

eTranaact