Global Poll: Widespread Perception of Serious Lack of Political Tolerance

15 Sep 2009 16:00 Africa/Lagos

Global Poll: Widespread Perception of Serious Lack of Political Tolerance

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll finds a widespread perception of a serious lack of political tolerance. Large majorities around the world perceive that people in their country are not completely free to express unpopular views; that opposition parties do not get a fair chance to express their views and influence government decisions; and that legislators have limited freedom to express views that differ from their political party's.


The poll, sponsored by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and released in conjunction with International Democracy Day, also finds overwhelming global support for the freedom of diverse political expression and, more broadly, for democracy.


WorldPublicOpinion.org conducted the poll of 21,285 respondents in 24 nations that comprise 64 percent of the world's population, including most of the largest nations--China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia and South Africa--as well as Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Germany, Great Britain, France, Israel, Poland, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Kenya, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, the Republic of Korea, and Palestine. The margins of error range from +/-2 to 4 percentage points. The surveys were conducted between April 4 and June 30, 2009. Not all questions were asked in all nations.


No nation has a majority saying that people are completely free to express unpopular views without fear of reprisal. Only 4 nations have majorities saying that opposition parties mostly get a fair chance to express their views and influence government. Majorities in 20 nations say legislators feel free to express views that differ from those of their party only sometimes, or rarely.


This perceived lack of tolerance contrasts sharply with overwhelming support for the freedom to express diverse political views, which is supported by majorities in all nations.


"Around the world we find a remarkable consensus that a diversity of political views should be tolerated, together with a widespread perception that such diversity is not fully tolerated in society in general, or even in the functioning of legislatures," comments Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org.


Majorities in all nations (averaging 90 percent) say it is important to live in a democratically governed country, with 67 percent saying it is very important. Among those who say it is very important to be free to express unpopular views, 80 percent also say it is very important to live in a democracy.


WorldPublicOpinion.org, a collaborative project involving research centers worldwide, is managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland.


Source: Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland

CONTACT: Steven Kull, WorldPublicOpinion.org, +1-202-232-7500


Web Site: http://worldpublicopinion.org/



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Pan African Telecommunications Museum

Dear Publishers and Editors,

We the African Council for Arts & Culture (AFCAC) are a registered Panafrican cultural development organisation based in Germany.

To help commemorate the development of telecommunications in Africa, we are promoting the PAN AFRICAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS MUSEUM (PATM). This museum will showcase the development of wireless communication in Africa from the talking drum to the latest device.

There shall also be permanent and temporary exhibitions with crowd-pulling effects in the museum facilities.
Stakeholders of the African Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sectors who become members of the Pan African Telecommunications Museum will have space to exhibit their brands for as long as they remain members.

Apart from the African ICT stakeholders, membership of the PATM is open to any natural or legal person in singular and plural interested in the advancement of Appropriate Technology, Arts, Culture, Heritage and Social Responsibility.

African cities of the member states of the African Union invited to apply for the hosting of the museum and members will vote for the best candidate city.

To give the cities within your target groups a chance to apply we shall very thankful if you kindly publish the attached press release in your respectful medium (downloadable from: http://www.africac.org/PanafricanTelecommunicationsMuseum.html).


Do not hesitate to contact us for clarifications and details:

Yours sincerely,

Bubacarr Sankanu
African Council for Arts and Culture (AFCAC)
Pan African Telecommunications Museum
Postfach 800144
D-51001 Cologne, Germany

Tel.: 0049152-0444-246
Fax: 0049221-9646-412
Emails:princebubacarrstm@africac.org [mailto:princebubacarrstm@africac.org]
secretariat@africac.org [mailto:secretariat@africac.org]
Site:http://www.africac.org/PanafricanTelecommunicationsMuseum.html

The Corruption and Strangulation of Nigerian Youth by the NYSC

The Corruption and Strangulation of Nigerian Youth by the NYSC


Youths obey the clarion call
Let us lift our nation high
Under the sun or in the rain
With dedication and selflessness
Nigeria is ours, Nigeria we serve.

This is the first stanza of the National Youth Service Corp(NYSC) anthem.

Looking closely to the words of the anthem, it exhibits the willingness of the great Nigerian youth who invariably would become the future leaders of our country to obey the call to serve his fatherland selflessly, but that’s not the case.

What is now obtained is the corruption of the mind of the great Nigerian Youth. How, you may ask? I will tell you. You may be aware of the fact that money changes hands and favors are obtained to influence the posting of the prospective corps members to what is called the “STATES OF MILK AND HONEY” where there are better opportunities in the sense that the availability of white collar jobs are higher than in other states. These most sought after states include Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, and Bayelsa, but this is not the end. After securing the posting to any of these so called “milk and honey” states, more money changes hands and more favors are granted to post the corps members to lucrative companies, such as banks or oil companies that pay well. The ideology is that the more you have, the better your placement. This is a country that is breathing fire and brimstone on corrupt practices, but embedding it knowingly in the minds of the future leaders of the country.

One may ask why the craze for better employment opportunities? The answer is simply the inability of the scheme to pay corps members sufficiently. The monthly allowance of a corps member is N9, 770 (about $90) only. If you get lucky to get posted to an organization that pays sufficiently, you may get from N8, 000 – N40, 000, excluding the allowance from the Federal Government, but if you are unlucky, you get stuck with the regular N9, 770. From this meager allowance, you are expected to feed, transport and accommodate yourself, because most of the employers do not provide accommodation and to worsen the case, this petty cash allowance is not even paid on time.
Let us break this down logically. You are posted to teach at a school in Ojo suburb of Lagos state and this is your first time in Lagos and no form of accommodation is provided. You are lucky to have a friend that resides in Ikoyi, but he daily transport fare is N500 and approximately N10, 000 monthly. How are you expected to feed, bathe, clothe and transport yourself to the NYSC Secretariat, pay the small levies imposed and other activities??? It often makes one wonder if its self-service or government imposed slavery?

This is a very serious issue that needs looking into.
Accommodation and transportation are important things that are very necessary for a corps member during the service year and the government should look for ways to lessen the burden of corps members.

Nigerian Youths do not deserve to be subjected to this form of physical, psychological and social trauma. It can be authoritatively said that the government is nurturing a corrupt and mentally broken-down youth in Nigeria.


By AI, A NYSCorps member serving in Lagos, Nigeria.
October, 2008.

Editor’s Statement: Nigerians Report is committed to reporting the truth without fear or partiality for the common good of humanity.

Every evil begins with a lie and the only way to get rid of evils is to expose all the lies of the devils in our midst no matter their rank and file without apologies or regrets.

International Hacker Pleads Guilty for Massive Hacks of U.S. Retail Networks

11 Sep 2009 17:38 Africa/Lagos

International Hacker Pleads Guilty for Massive Hacks of U.S. Retail Networks

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An international computer hacker pleaded guilty today to multiple charges relating to hacking activity and credit card fraud, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Michael Loucks, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Benton J. Campbell and Director of the U.S. Secret Service Mark Sullivan. More than 40 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen from major U.S. retailers as a result of the hacking activity.


Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, pleaded guilty today to 19 counts of conspiracy, computer fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft relating to hacks into numerous major U.S. retailers including TJX Companies, BJ's Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble and Sports Authority. Gonzalez was indicted in August 2008 in the District of Massachusetts on charges related to these hacks.


Gonzalez also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud relating to hacks into the Dave & Buster's restaurant chain, which were the subject of a May 2008 indictment in the Eastern District of New York. The pleas in both cases were entered before U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris in federal court in Boston.


"Consumers must be able to trust that the credit and debit cards they use everyday in thousands of stores around the world are safe from unlawful access," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division. "Working together with U.S. Attorneys' Offices around the country and with the invaluable support of law enforcement agencies, we will continue our efforts to identify and prosecute hacking and credit card fraud."


"The investigation and prosecution of identity theft is a top priority of the Department," said Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Michael Loucks. "In the past 10 years there has been a dramatic growth in the transfer and storage of credit and debit card data on computer networks. It is thus compellingly important that we work hard to investigate and prosecute the theft of personal identity data that citizens entrust to computer networks every day."


"Computer hacking and identity theft pose serious risks to our commercial, personal and financial security," stated U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Benton J. Campbell. "Hackers, including those who commit their crimes from abroad, will find no refuge from the reach of U.S. criminal justice -- they will be found, prosecuted and convicted."


"Technology has forever changed the way we do business, virtually erasing geographic boundaries," said U.S. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan. "However, this case demonstrates that even in the cyber world, there is no such thing as anonymity. The Secret Service, in conjunction with its many law enforcement partners across the United States and around the world, continues to successfully combat these crimes by adapting our investigative methodologies. We realize our success in this investigation is due in part to the cooperation of these partners in more than a dozen international law enforcement agencies."


According to the indictments to which Gonzalez pleaded guilty, he and his co-conspirators broke into retail credit card payment systems through a series of sophisticated techniques, including "wardriving" and installation of sniffer programs to capture credit and debit card numbers used at these retail stores. Wardriving involves driving around in a car with a laptop computer looking for accessible wireless computer networks of retailers. Using these techniques, Gonzalez and his co-conspirators were able to steal more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers from retailers. Also according to the indictments, Gonzalez and his co-conspirators sold the numbers to others for their fraudulent use and engaged in ATM fraud by encoding the data on the magnetic stripes of blank cards and withdrawing tens of thousands of dollars at a time from ATMs. According to the indictments, Gonzalez and his co-conspirators concealed and laundered their fraud proceeds by using anonymous Internet-based currencies both within the United States and abroad, and by channeling funds through bank accounts in Eastern Europe.


Based on the terms of the Boston plea agreement, Gonzalez faces a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 25 years in prison. Based on the New York plea agreement, Gonzalez faces up to 20 years in prison, which the parties have agreed should run concurrently. He also faces a fine of up to twice the pecuniary gain, twice the victims' pecuniary loss or $250,000, whichever is greatest, per count for the Boston case and a maximum fine of $250,000 for the New York case. Gonzalez also agreed to an order of restitution for the loss suffered by his victims, and forfeiture of more than $2.7 million as well as multiple items of real estate and personal property, including a condo in Miami, a 2006 BMW 330i, a Tiffany diamond ring and Rolex watches. Included in the forfeited currency is more than $1 million in cash, which Gonzalez had buried in a container in his backyard. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 8, 2009.


Gonzalez remains under indictment for charges brought in August 2009 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey of conspiring to hack into computer networks supporting major U.S. retail and financial organizations and steal credit and debit card numbers from those entities. Among the corporate victims named in that indictment are Heartland Payment Systems, a New Jersey-based card payment processor; 7-Eleven Inc., a Texas-based nationwide convenience store chain; and Hannaford Brothers Co. Inc., a Maine-based supermarket chain. Charges in that case remain pending. An indictment is merely an allegation and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court. While Gonzalez has pleaded guilty to the Boston and New York charges, he has not pleaded guilty to charges pending in New Jersey and remains presumed innocent of those charges.


The Boston case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Heymann and Donald Cabell of the District of Massachusetts. The New York case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William Campos of the Eastern District of New York, and Senior Counsel Kimberly Kiefer Peretti and Trial Attorney Evan Williams of the Criminal Division's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. All of these cases are being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.


Source: U.S. Department of Justice

CONTACT: U.S. Department of Justice, +1-202-514-2008, +1-202-514-1888
(TDD)

Web Site: http://www.usdoj.gov/


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Startup Weekend Nigeria Rocks!

Global Child Mortality Continues to Drop

9/11 Remembrance Day.

10 Sep 2009 16:37 Africa/Lagos

Global Child Mortality Continues to Drop

UNICEF and UN Inter-Agency Panel Release New Figures

NEW YORK, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- UNICEF today released new figures that show the rate of deaths of children under five years of age continued to decline in 2008.


The data shows a 28 percent decline in the under-five mortality rate, from 90 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990, to 65 deaths per 1000 live births in 2008. According to these estimates, the absolute number of child deaths in 2008 declined to an estimated 8.8 million from 12.5 million in 1990; the base line year for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).


"Compared to 1990, 10,000 fewer children are dying every day," said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. "While progress is being made, it is unacceptable that each year 8.8 million children die before their fifth birthday."


The new estimates are the result of collection and analysis of a range of data sources by demographers and health experts from UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the United Nations Population Division, guided by technical advisors from a number of major academic institutions.


The data shows global under-five mortality has decreased steadily over the past two decades, and that the rate of the decline in the under-five mortality rates has increased since the 1990s. The average rate of decline from 2000 to 2008 is 2.3 percent, compared to a 1.4 percent average decline from 1990 to 2000.


"Statistics tend to be clinical and antiseptic, however the practical, real world implications of this development cannot be ignored," said Caryl Stern, President and CEO, U.S. Fund for UNICEF. "These new numbers illustrate that 1500 more kids a day are waking up to see the sunrise, play with their friends and make their mothers smile."


Public health experts attribute the continuing decline to increased use of key health interventions, such as immunizations, including measles vaccinations, the use of insecticide-treated bednets to prevent malaria and Vitamin A supplementation. Where these interventions have increased, positive results have followed.


Progress has been seen in every part of the world, and even in some of the least-developed countries. A key example is Malawi, one of ten high under-five mortality countries that is now on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of a two-thirds reduction in under-five mortality between 1990 and 2015.


Estimates show that under-five mortality in Malawi has fallen from 225 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990, to 100 per thousand in 2008. In 2000, only 3 percent of children under five slept under a mosquito net - a key means of preventing malaria, whereas by 2006 this had risen to 25 percent. Malawi has focused its limited resources on improvements in health and health systems and the use of the most effective interventions, with the result that significant numbers of children's lives have been saved.


"We know what interventions work and we need to scale up those interventions and make sure they are available wherever they are needed," Stern added. "Reaching zero preventable deaths is not a dream, we can achieve this, but momentum shouldn't just be sustained, it has to be accelerated!"


The new data also shows that seven of the 67 high mortality countries (those with under-five mortality rates of 40 per thousand live births or higher) have consistently achieved annual rates of reduction of under-five mortality of 4.5 percent or higher. These are Nepal, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Bolivia and Malawi.


Impressive gains have also been made in countries that are not fully on track to meet the Millennium goal. Niger, Mozambique and Ethiopia have all reduced under-five mortality by more than 100 per 1000 live births since 1990.


While progress has been made in many countries, the global rate of improvement is still insufficient to reach the MDG, and Africa and Asia combined still account for 93 percent of all under-five deaths that occur each year in the developing world.


"A handful of countries with large populations bear a disproportionate burden of under-five deaths, with 40 percent of the world's under-five deaths occurring in just three countries: India, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo," said Veneman. "Unless mortality in these countries can be significantly reduced, the MDG targets will not be met."


In some countries, progress is slow or non-existent. In South Africa the under-five mortality rate has actually gone up since 1990. The health of the child is inextricably linked to the health of the mother and South Africa has the highest number of women living with HIV in the world. Recent commitments by the government to scale up interventions to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS should help improve the situation.


The survey data incorporated in these estimates generally reflects mortality over the preceding three to five years. This means that major improvements in provision of nets for malaria prevention, of vaccines against meningitis (HiB) and of vitamin A supplementation, improved prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and of pediatric HIV, and further progress on protecting against measles and tetanus may not yet be fully reflected in the data.


Progress can be accelerated even in the poorest environments, through integrated, evidence-driven, community-based health programs that focus on addressing the major causes of death -- pneumonia, diarrhea, newborn disorders, malaria, HIV and under-nutrition.


The two leading causes of under-five mortality are pneumonia and diarrhea. New tools, such as vaccines against pneumococcal pneumonia and rotaviral diarrhea, could provide additional momentum.


"Achieving the Millennium Development Goal target of a two-thirds reduction in under-five mortality by 2015 will require a strong sense of urgency with targeted resources for greater progress," said Veneman.


About UNICEF


UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization in the world. Working in over 150 countries, UNICEF provides children with health care, clean water, nutrition, education, emergency relief, and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States.


UNICEF is at the forefront of efforts to reduce child mortality worldwide. There has been substantial progress--the annual number of under-five deaths dropped from 13 million in 1990 to 8.8 million in 2008. But still, 24,000 children die each day from preventable causes. Our mission is to do whatever it takes to make that number zero by giving children the essentials for a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.


Source: U.S. Fund for UNICEF

CONTACT: Richard Alleyne, +1-212-880-9177, ralleyne@unicefusa.org, or
Lauren Monahan, +1-212-880-9136, lmonahan@unicefusa.org, both of U.S. Fund for
UNICEF


Web Site: http://www.unicefusa.org/




Startup Weekend Nigeria Rocks!

The 10 Most Expensive Cities in Nigeria

Picture of the Civic Centre in Lagos at night. Photograph by Grace Bernard, 2009.

The 10 Most Expensive Cities in Nigeria

The mega city of Lagos tops the list of the most expensive cities in Nigeria, because of the high cost of living in the commercial capital of the most populous country in Africa. Lagos is followed by Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. and Port Harcourt, the oil rich capital of Rivers State.

What makes Lagos and the other capital cities expensive are the exorbitant rents for accommodation, overpriced real estate, expensive hotels and inflation caused by the daily influx of both local and international migrants and expatriates.


The Eko Hotel and Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos.

Lagos, the largest city in sub-Saharan Africa, can boast of several exotic beaches and five star hotels and ritzy night life charged by the hottest music stars like King Sunny Adé, Fela Kuti the first son of the legendary king of Afrobeat Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Lagbaja, the masked one and the racy new Hip-Hop, Rap and Hip life stars like Tuface Idibia, D’bange, MI, Face, Ruggedman and many other upcoming Turks of the hyperactive Nigerian music scene and of course Lagos is the home of Nollywood, the third largest movie industry in the world. The spate of kidnappings of both foreign and local oil workers in the volatile cities of the Niger Delta drove many of them to relocate to the safe haven of Lagos where majority of the diplomatic community prefer to stay. The residents are competitive in the rat race with lusts for the luxuries of ostentatious lifestyles copied from Western nations. The hotels charge more than even many five star hotels in New York, Paris and London and renting a condo or an apartment can cost $30, 000 or more a year and buying one can cost you over a million dollars in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki.

1. Lagos
2. Abuja
3. Port Harcourt
4. Warri
5. Kaduna
6. Asaba
7. Aba
8. Owerri
9. Umuahia
10. Enugu

The most expensive cities in the world 2009 (ECA International Survey)

Nigerian Poet Publishes Collection Illustrating Life in the African Continent

9 Sep 2009 12:45 Africa/Lagos

Nigerian Poet Publishes Collection Illustrating Life in the African Continent

His Message Offers Hope in Spite of Dismal Circumstances

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- "Shadows of Existence" (published by iUniverse), by Nigerian poet Jekwu Ozoemene, depicts images of the African continent, its people and the universal love that surrounds them in a powerful collection of 46 poems.


Ozoemene became inspired to write his first collection of poetry after listening to Professor Karen King-Aribisala's reading of D.H. Lawrence's "Snake" at the University of Lagos, Nigeria in 1993. That reading instigated his literary creativity and introduced him to poetry as an art form -- with its distinctive sounds, rhythms and metaphors.


"Shadows of Existence" showcases the thoughts of a young man who matured much faster than others and struggles with the challenges and frustrations of the adult world: the abuse of women, bigotry, religious differences and marriage. In his attempt to digest the difficulties of adult life, Ozoemene found many of the answers he was looking for in his poetry.


"It's a continent of 53 countries, I scream in my head

Her response, a tilted lgbo babble I barely heard

Like a confluence of a thousand indigenous African tongues

Spoken from the matrix of humanity, voice of all songs

Africa's womb of which bore the womb that bore her grand mum"

- Africa Is Not a Country, Lagos Is My Song


With profound and moving words, Ozoemene discusses the controversial topics that consumed his thoughts, while sharing an inspiring message of hope and tolerance for his homeland.


About the Author


Jekwu Ozoemene is a poet and playwright, who earned an English degree from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, and his specialist MBA in Finance from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom. Ozoemene currently resides with his wife and children in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where he works as a senior manager with a bank.


"Shadows of Existence: An Anthology of Poetry"


Available from: http://www.iuniverse.com/, http://www.bn.com/, and http://www.amazon.com/


iUniverse is the premier book publisher for emerging, self-published authors. For more information, please visit http://www.iuniverse.com/.


EDITORS: For review copies or interview requests, contact:

Promotional Services Department
Tel: 1-800-AUTHORS
Fax: 812-355-4078
Email: promotions@iuniverse.com
(When requesting a review copy, please provide a street address.)



This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com/.


Source: iUniverse

CONTACT: Promotional Services Department of iUniverse, +1-800-AUTHORS,
or Fax, +1-812-355-4078, promotions@iuniverse.com


Web Site: http://www.iuniverse.com/


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Startup Weekend Nigeria Rocks!

Gani Fawehinmi: The Conscience of the Nation is Gone!

Chief Abdul-Ganiyu "Gani" Oyesola Fawehinmi, (22 April 1938 - 05 September 2009)

Honorable Gani Fawehinmi was the conscience of Nigeria and there will never be another Gani Fawehinmi again. He and the late Afro beat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti were the most outspoken Nigerian human rights activists of the 20th century. As Fela used his music as the instrument and vehicle for the social and political emancipation of the poor masses, Gani used his law to fight for justice and liberty in Nigeria.

For decades Gani risked life to defend the defenseless poor and powerless people of Nigeria and was imprisoned dozens of times for his protests against military dictatorship and injustice. Gani was a fearless and incorruptible prisoner of conscience. Gani was a great man and would be remembered as one of the greatest civil rights leaders of our time.

Nigerians Report hereby proposes that we should have a special day to be celebrated as a Gani Fawehinmi Day in Nigeria.

Chief Abdul-Ganiyu "Gani" Oyesola Fawehinmi, (22 April 1938 - 05 September 2009) was a Nigerian author, publisher, philanthropist, social critic, human and civil rights lawyer, politician and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) (the equivalent of the rank of Queen's Counsel in the United Kingdom).




Startup Weekend Nigeria Rocks!

Nigeria / ECOWAS heads of state to hold extra-ordinary summit in Abuja

3 Sep 2009 12:19 Africa/Lagos


Nigeria / ECOWAS heads of state to hold extra-ordinary summit in Abuja

ABUJA, September 3, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- ECOWAS Heads of State and Government are to meet on Saturday, 5th September 2009 in Abuja in an extra-ordinary summit to hold talks on Niger which has been embroiled in a
constitutional crisis.
The summit will consider the report of the ad-hoc ministerial committee which was set up by the Mediation and Security Council at its last meeting on Monday, 24th August 2009 in Abuja.

Composed of Benin, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, the ad-hoc ministerial
committee which arrived in Niamey on Saturday, 29th August 2009 was mandated, among
others, to work with all political stakeholders in Niger, including the National Council for Dialogue, towards the restoration of dialogue and consensus which characterized the political environment before the current crisis.
Specifically, the ad-hoc ministerial committee was commissioned to gather all relevant information that may assist in arriving at an accurate assessment of the political situation in Niger; hold consultations with the President of Niger, government officials, civil society groups, the media, traditional leaders and other relevant political stakeholders in the country as well as draw up a report and a set of recommendations based on the observations made during the mission.
The ad-hoc ministerial committee's report is expected to include the status of political activists who were detained for their opposition to the actions of President Mamadou Tandja. The Mediation and Security has since called for their release.

The extra-ordinary summit is yet another effort by ECOWAS leaders to have the Nigerien authorities to respect the 2001 ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance as well as the country's Constitution.

PRESS RELEASE
COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE
Published by: Department of Communication, ECOWAS Commission
No 101 Yakubu Gowon Crescent, Asokoro District Abuja – Nigeria
Publé par: Le Départment de la Communication, La Commission de la CEDEAO
No 101 Yakubu Gowon Crescent, Asokoro District Abuja – Nigeria
Tel: (234) (9)3147641 Fax: (234) (9)3147641/3005 E-mail: info@ecowas.int

In June 2009, ECOWAS Chairman and President of Nigeria, Musa Yar'adua, sent
President Tandja a special message through former Nigerian Head of State, retired Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, to convey the concerns of ECOWAS and Nigeria over the
constitutional crisis in Niger.

The regional Council of the Wise and a tripartite delegation comprising the President of the ECOWAS Commission, the Special Representative of the United Nation's Secretary General to West Africa and an African Union envoy to Niger also met with President Tandja in Niamey towards resolving the crisis.

Source: Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS)




Startup Weekend Nigeria Rocks!

Pfizer To Pay $2.3 Billion For Fraudulent Marketing

2 Sep 2009 16:47 Africa/Lagos

Justice Department Announces Largest Health Care Fraud Settlement in Its History

Pfizer To Pay $2.3 Billion For Fraudulent Marketing

WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its subsidiary Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc. (hereinafter together "Pfizer") have agreed to pay $2.3 billion, the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the Department of Justice, to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products, the Justice Department announced today.

Pharmacia & Upjohn Company has agreed to plead guilty to a felony violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for misbranding Bextra with the intent to defraud or mislead. Bextra is an anti-inflammatory drug that Pfizer pulled from the market in 2005. Under the provisions of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, a company must specify the intended uses of a product in its new drug application to FDA. Once approved, the drug may not be marketed or promoted for so-called "off-label" uses - i.e., any use not specified in an application and approved by FDA. Pfizer promoted the sale of Bextra for several uses and dosages that the FDA specifically declined to approve due to safety concerns. The company will pay a criminal fine of $1.195 billion, the largest criminal fine ever imposed in the United States for any matter. Pharmacia & Upjohn will also forfeit $105 million, for a total criminal resolution of $1.3 billion.

In addition, Pfizer has agreed to pay $1 billion to resolve allegations under the civil False Claims Act that the company illegally promoted four drugs - Bextra; Geodon, an anti-psychotic drug; Zyvox, an antibiotic; and Lyrica, an anti-epileptic drug - and caused false claims to be submitted to government health care programs for uses that were not medically accepted indications and therefore not covered by those programs. The civil settlement also resolves allegations that Pfizer paid kickbacks to health care providers to induce them to prescribe these, as well as other, drugs. The federal share of the civil settlement is $668,514,830, and the state Medicaid share of the civil settlement is $331,485,170. This is the largest civil fraud settlement in history against a pharmaceutical company.

As part of the settlement, Pfizer also has agreed to enter into an expansive corporate integrity agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. That agreement provides for procedures and reviews to be put in place to avoid and promptly detect conduct similar to that which gave rise to this matter.

Whistleblower lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act that are pending in the District of Massachusetts, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Eastern District of Kentucky triggered this investigation. As a part of today's resolution, six whistleblowers will receive payments totaling more than $102 million from the federal share of the civil recovery.

The U.S. Attorney's offices for the District of Massachusetts, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the Eastern District of Kentucky, and the Civil Division of the Department of Justice handled these cases. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts led the criminal investigation of Bextra. The investigation was conducted by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the FBI, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the Office of Criminal Investigations for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Veterans' Administration's (VA) Office of Criminal Investigations, the Office of the Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Office of the Inspector General for the United States Postal Service (USPS), the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units and the offices of various state Attorneys General.

"Today's landmark settlement is an example of the Department of Justice's ongoing and intensive efforts to protect the American public and recover funds for the federal treasury and the public from those who seek to earn a profit through fraud. It shows one of the many ways in which federal government, in partnership with its state and local allies, can help the American people at a time when budgets are tight and health care costs are increasing," said Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli. "This settlement is a testament to the type of broad, coordinated effort among federal agencies and with our state and local partners that is at the core of the Department of Justice's approach to law enforcement."

"This historic settlement will return nearly $1 billion to Medicare, Medicaid, and other government insurance programs, securing their future for the Americans who depend on these programs," said Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services. "The Department of Health and Human Services will continue to seek opportunities to work with its government partners to prosecute fraud wherever we can find it. But we will also look for new ways to prevent fraud before it happens. Health care is too important to let a single dollar go to waste."

"Illegal conduct and fraud by pharmaceutical companies puts the public health at risk, corrupts medical decisions by health care providers, and costs the government billions of dollars," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. "This civil settlement and plea agreement by Pfizer represent yet another example of what penalties will be faced when a pharmaceutical company puts profits ahead of patient welfare."

"The size and seriousness of this resolution, including the huge criminal fine of $1.3 billion, reflect the seriousness and scope of Pfizer's crimes," said Mike Loucks, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. "Pfizer violated the law over an extensive time period. Furthermore, at the very same time Pfizer was in our office negotiating and resolving the allegations of criminal conduct by its then newly acquired subsidiary, Warner-Lambert, Pfizer was itself in its other operations violating those very same laws. Today's enormous fine demonstrates that such blatant and continued disregard of the law will not be tolerated."

"Although these types of investigations are often long and complicated and require many resources to achieve positive results, the FBI will not be deterred from continuing to ensure that pharmaceutical companies conduct business in a lawful manner," said Kevin Perkins, FBI Assistant Director, Criminal Investigative Division.

"This resolution protects the FDA in its vital mission of ensuring that drugs are safe and effective. When manufacturers undermine the FDA's rules, they interfere with a doctor's judgment and can put patient health at risk," commented Michael L. Levy, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. "The public trusts companies to market their drugs for uses that FDA has approved, and trusts that doctors are using independent judgment. Federal health dollars should only be spent on treatment decisions untainted by misinformation from manufacturers concerned with the bottom line."

"This settlement demonstrates the ongoing efforts to pursue violations of the False Claims Act and recover taxpayer dollars for the Medicare and Medicaid programs," noted Jim Zerhusen, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

"This historic settlement emphasizes the government's commitment to corporate and individual accountability and to transparency throughout the pharmaceutical industry," said Daniel R. Levinson, Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. "The corporate integrity agreement requires senior Pfizer executives and board members to complete annual compliance certifications and opens Pfizer to more public scrutiny by requiring it to make detailed disclosures on its Web site. We expect this agreement to increase integrity in the marketing of pharmaceuticals."

"The off-label promotion of pharmaceutical drugs by Pfizer significantly impacted the integrity of TRICARE, the Department of Defense's healthcare system," said Sharon Woods, Director, Defense Criminal Investigative Service. "This illegal activity increases patients' costs, threatens their safety and negatively affects the delivery of healthcare services to the over nine million military members, retirees and their families who rely on this system. Today's charges and settlement demonstrate the ongoing commitment of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and its law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those that abuse the government's healthcare programs at the expense of the taxpayers and patients."

"Federal employees deserve health care providers and suppliers, including drug manufacturers, that meet the highest standards of ethical and professional behavior," said Patrick E. McFarland, Inspector General of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. "Today's settlement reminds the pharmaceutical industry that it must observe those standards and reflects the commitment of federal law enforcement organizations to pursue improper and illegal conduct that places health care consumers at risk."

"Health care fraud has a significant financial impact on the Postal Service. This case alone impacted more than 10,000 postal employees on workers' compensation who were treated with these drugs," said Joseph Finn, Special Agent in Charge for the Postal Service's Office of Inspector General. "Last year the Postal Service paid more than $1 billion in workers' compensation benefits to postal employees injured on the job."

To view public documents on this matter, please go to our Web site:

www.usdoj.gov/usao/ma/press.html

Source: U.S. Attorney's Office

CONTACT: Christina Dilorio-Sterling of U.S. Attorney's Office,
+1-617-748-3356, USAMA.MEDIA@USDOJ.GOV

Web Site: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ma/press.html




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