=~dTO ACN Insists On Opposition Role From a1IIIes 0gugIJuaja. Owerri

Tfwas a solemn occasion yester­Jday as the remains of a corps member, Ikechukwu Chibuzo Ukeoma, who was murdered in Bauchi State during the recently concluded general elections, were given a state burial in his ancestral home in Umuchima, Awoamama, Oru East Local Council oflmo State, amid tears from relations, friends and·sym­pathizers. He was the second victim. Few

weeks ago, the first victim, AnslemNkwazema,anElecrrical ElectTonicsEngineer,andgradu­ate of Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Owerri, was buried in his hometown in Obibiezena, Owerri West Local Council. While serving in the National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC), he also', was killed in Bauchi.

Ukeoma graduated from University of Nigeria, Nsukka, with a Bachelorsdegree in Micro Biology and had gone to Bauchi to serve. ReceivingthecorpseattheMulti Purpose Hall, Owerri, the State Governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, represented by his deputy, Chief Jude Agbaso, regretted that the deceased who had gone to Bauchi in good health to serve his fatherland, was brought back in coffin.

Okorocha called on relevant authorities to ensure safety of corps members wherever they were in the country. He said that the state government was deeply toudied by the demise, stressing the need to forestall a recurrence. The governor commended the

FederalGovernmentforinstitut­inga panel to look into the post­election crisis.

In his reaction, the Director General of NYSc, Brig. Gen. Mai Tsiga, represented by the zonal CO<)rdinator of the scheme in the Southeast, Anthony Ani regretted thederiliseofhiscorps member, stating that it had placed the scheme personnel in a moody and sorry state. He called on relevant authorities to pu t in place measures to prevent future rerurrence.

'We Need Mechanised Fanning To Defeat Hunger' From Ablodun Fagbeml, 1I0rin A UNIVERSITY of 1I0no Don,

£\Prof. Kayode Oni, has can­vassed the adoption of mecha­nised farmingto save Nigelians from imminent threat to hunger. Oni, a professor of Agricultural and Bio-system Engineering, expressed his worries over the high rate of decline in modem agricultural practices in the country, warning that if the trend remained unchanged, the nation might perpetually depend on food importation to feed its teeming population. The varsity don made this sub­mission yesterday in his inau­gural lecture titied, "Man, Machine and Food Inseculity." Ruing the fact that despite the nation's crude oil revenue, majority of Nigelians still go to bedhungrydailjlOnisaid:'1ne decadence of ancient civiliza­tion was largely due to inade-­quat)' of man's tools to supply man 5 needs. Food was never available without work nor abundant food without machine." Quoting the Secretary General

of the United Nations Ban Ki­moon, the don traced the dis­mal state of agricultural devel­opment in many sub-Saharan Africa countries, Nigeria inclu­sive, to "crudity of agricultural mechanisation" on the sub­con!inent

By Ifedayu Sayo

'1"1-IE Action Congress of .1Nigeria (ACN) has denied reports in a section of the · media yesterday that it had decided to join the Government of National Unity (GNU) being planned by President GoOdluck Jonathan.

"We hereby state, for the umpteenth time, that we will not participate in any GNU,m the party said in statement issued in Accra, Ghana yester­day by its National PubliCity Secretary, Lai Mohammed.

The ACN scribe wrote: "Reports that we have embraced the GNU and adopt­eda 'guarded participation pol­icy'amounttosheerfallacy.and sliould be treated as such by all our members and supporters." The party said: "It is a curious

stretch to conclude that by par­ticipating in a meeting con­vened by President Jonathan in Abuja, the ACN has automati­cally reneged on its earlierdeci­sion notto join the GNU.

"Indeed, wewere represented at that meeting by a powerful delegation red by our Chainnan. Chief Bisi Akande, simply because it wi ll amount to sheer arrogance to shun a meeting convened by the President to discuss nothing more than the issue of Nigeria, in which we are all stakehold­ers.

Denies Joining Unity Govt Nigerians see us as such and a1soexpectmuchfromourpar­ty in aeepening democracy and ensuring better life for our long-suffering people. We vvill notsacrificetnatresponsibility on thealtarof short-term polit­ical gains."

"However, when we received the letter of invitation; we immediately wrote bacl<to the Presidency asking to be Inti­mated with the agenda of the meeting. When no response was forthCOming, we went to the meeting with a letter in which we reiterated our deci­sion not to participate in any GNU,forthesimplereasonthat a unity government in peace time can only stifle democracy and facilitate the emergence of a one-party state, which will in tum breed unbriclled corrup-tion. .

"We also used the letterto con­veyouragendatothePresident, which includes robust demo­cratic reforms, fiscal federal­ism, security, especially the issue of community poliCing, and the fight against corrup­tion. We also used the meeting to reiterate these issues as weD as our decision notto be a par­ty to any GNU. How this trans­lates to making a U-turn beats our imagination." The {'arty repeated its earlier warrung that any of its mem­bers "WllO decide to join the GNU does so in his personal capacity and automatically ceases to be a member of the ACN."

The ACN said "it is satisfied vvith its role as the leading

opposition party in the coun- would "practice - as always -try. and would continue to play responsible opposition, which that role and meet the yearn- isnotthesameashostilitytothe ings of all democracy-foving Federal Government. Nigerians." He stressed:"Weare a govern-

Mohammed said the party ment-in-waiting, and we know ._ ~ rn .>:"",,~="'----:;:::--- _ "_.

Zarnfara House Elects New Speaker From Isah Ibrahim (Gusau) and tf)8dvara Musa (Maiduguri) '1"1-IE member representing 1 Gusau I in the ZariUara State House of Assembljl Sanusi Garba Ril<ijl, was yesterday unanimously electedasnewSpeal<erofthefounn Assembly by the 24-member House. Amotion forthenominationof Rikiji as the Speaker was moved by the member representing Tsafe East State Constituency. Salisu Musa Tsafe and was sec­onded by the member repre­senting Zurmi West, Ahmad Ibrahim Dole.

The house also elected Mohammed Garba Gumml (Gummi East) as the deputy speaker;SalisuMusaTsafe(Tsafe East), majority leader; and Ahmad Ibrahim Dole (Zurmi West), minolity leader. Isa Abdulinumin (Talata Mafar North)waselected the Majority Chief Whip while Faruk Musa Dosara (Maradun 1) was elected

Borno Lawmakers Pass 41 Bills, Others Minority Chief Whip. Thenewstateassemblyconsists of members of the All Nigeria Peoples Party IANPPI who con­stitute majolity 1131 and mem­bers of the Peoples Democratic Party I PDPI who constitute 11 members making a total of 24 members for the assembly. Governor Abdul'Azeez Abubakar Yari and Deputy Governor Ibrahim Wakala Mohammed were among dig­nitaries who attended the swearing-in of the new House officials.

Meanwhile, the out-gOing Borno State House of Assembly passed a total of 41 bills and 145 resolutions duling its legisla­tivesessions between June 2007 and 2011.

This was disclosed by the Speaker of the House, Goni Ali Modu in a valedictoryspeech he delivered to the 28-member Assembly in Maiduguri, the

state capital. -He said out.of the 145 received bills, three were from private cit­izens and corporate organisa­tions in the state.

At the session, a member, Ibrahim Audu Miringa, faulted the former Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, over the latter's alleged retention of N63 billion in the Joint State and Local GovemmentAccounts. He said although the Assembly

was not aware of such huge sav­ings in the coffers of the state gov­ernment, keeping such public fundsattheexpenseoffinancing people-oriented projects to improve living conditions had deprived the people of the divi­dends of democracy for eight years. Miringa said: "What justification has the former governor in keelT ing the entire members of the Assembly in the dark, while the 34 General

r.n',~"'n. ·"'~n"n •• ni ... · of Abia State and former na~onal chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Dr. Dkwesilieze Nwodo at the International Conference Center, Abuja for the PDP Retreat

Rule With Fear of God,' Muslims Tell Amosun Fr~m Saxona Akhaine (Kaduna) Also, Kaduna State Governor, Board. Seye OIumldeand CharlesCoffie Kaduna Gets SSG, others Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa has And in Lagos, the Diocesan Gyamfl, Abeokuta Abeokuta. ~ h ed I approved Bishop of Lagos, Most Rev.

Manager ort eStateown te - tfie appointment of Alhaji Ephraim Ademowo, has called ~E Muslim Community in "We pledge that on our own evision, Ogun State Television lawai Samaila Abdullahi on the Federal Government to 10gun State yesterday urged part, we shall stand byyou,sup- Service, (OGIV), Abeokuta. He is Yakawada as the new Secretary give Lagos State a special status GovemorlbU<UI1leAmosunto ruIe port you morally all the way, Alhaji Abdul-Hakeem Ayinde to the State Government (SSG). and allocation because the state the state with the fear of God and and back it with spilitual sup- Soaga. Similarly, the governor "is first among equals and sec-pledged their spiritual and moral port, praying for you at all A statement from Amasun's approved the appointment of ond to none." support for his success. times. Today's event marks the Senior Special Assistant (Media Mr. Abokie Speaking at the Thanksgiving TheyalsoappealedtoAmosun beginning of a series of prayers and Communication), Funmi Galadima as the new Chief Of Service organised by the to "hasten slowly" In his efforts for you. May Allah accept our Wakama, yesterday indicated . Staff to his government Christian Association of to correct the wtOngs of the supplications; Adegbitesaid. that the appointment takes Special Adviser, Media and Nigeria (CAN) in honour of immediate past Adegblte,whoreadanine--page immediate effect l'ublicity to the Governor, Governor Babatunde Fashola, The Muslims spoke through address to the conl;fregation Soaga, 51, joined the services of Reuben to mark his second seconnd

the Secretary -General, of the advisedthegovernor tol'lasten the Nigerian Television Buhali, who disclosed this yes- term in office. Nigeria Supreme Council for slowly, reviewing each case one AutlJority,Abeokutain1987and terday,addedthatAmbassador Ademowosaiditwasnecessary Islamic Affairs, Dr Lateef by one on merits and doing later moved to the NTA Sule Buba is now the new for President Goodluck Adegbite at a thanks-giving" what you think is the best for Headquarters in Lagos. He is Executive Secretary of the Jonathan and the new National Jurnat" prayerto mark the start generality of the people." eresentlytheAsSlStantDirector Kaduna State Assemblytoendorsespecialsta-of Amos un s tenure held at the Meanwhile, Amosun has (Training) NTA, headquarters, Muslim Pilgrims Welfare rusforLagos. Central Mosque, Kobiti, . , al!poi[lt~d ,,~ __ ne.w ... ~~l!e!aL , &uja._