Detained in Cameroon's hospitals

Estelle Koulman has recently celebrated her first birthday - and her first taste of freedom as she spent the first 11 months of her life imprisoned - in a Cameroonian hospital.

Shortly after she was born in a ward in Ngousso, on the outskirts of Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, she was operated on for a bowel problem.
The little girl made a quick recovery, but she and her mother Germaine Abeboulouguiye were unable to return home as the bill came to $600 (about £375).
The government hospital refused to release them until the medical fee was settled.

Germaine Abeboulouguiye and her baby were recently freed after a paper highlighted their plight

But the family was broke - Ms Abeboulouguiye was unemployed, her partner, who did have a job, had abandoned her when she became pregnant and her parents were retired, living by subsistence farming.
"There is a lot of stress and complications - the atmosphere is not good to help raise a baby," Ms Abeboulouguiye told the BBC during her detention.
Ms Abeboulouguiye's mother came to visit at the time - bringing food and other essentials, but otherwise they were prevented from leaving the hospital.
When Cameroon's Le Jour newspaper reported their case, it caused outrage in Cameroon and a local charity intervened and paid part of the bill.
The authorities, embarrassed by the furore, waived the rest of the fee and mother and baby were finally allowed home after 11 months of detention in a white-walled hospital ward.
They are the most extreme case of the government's policy to get patients to help fund healthcare.
It makes up about 70% of the hospital budgets - and patients are expected to cover the rest.
Some free services are carried out, like malaria diagnosis for children under five.

If my family members can't help, where else should I turn to?”

Mary Akwa Patient in Buea Regional Hospital

'Held back'

But now it is common for patients who cannot pay their bills for other treatments to be detained until their relatives pay up some or all of the debt.

It was not a government policy that was ever announced, but it has come in gradually over the last five years.
Three weeks after Mary Akwa was admitted to Buea Regional Hospital for a stomach problem she was unable to find money for her bill.
"If my family members can't help, where else should I turn to?" she asked, clearly distressed.
The health authorities in Cameroon declined to comment on the allegations.
A doctor at Hospital Laquintinie in the commercial capital Douala, says the government policy brings with it difficult choices - and sometimes treatment is withheld.
"If patients don't pay me, I can't treat them," he told the BBC, requesting anonymity.
However, Dr George Enow Orock, director of Buea Regional Hospital, says while some patients may be "held back" to pay their bills they are never denied assistance.
"[We will] do something to cater for somebody dangling between life and death," he said.
"It is our obligation to care for citizens."

Traditional doctors accept produce and animals as payment for their services

Security at government hospitals has been tightened over the last five years, with high walls, fences and gates erected at institutions across the country.
Private and public security guards have been drafted in - usually on duty at the gates to ensure no patient escapes without paying their bill.
'Escaped'

I worked for six long months to pay off that bill. Cleaning, washing plates, gardening - any odd job that cropped up”

Former patient at a Catholic hospital

"We check patients before they leave the hospital premises if they have paid all the necessary dues. We check the various receipts and ensure that they are authentic," says Samuel Njie, a guard at Buea Regional Hospital.

"We've had cases of patients who have escaped from the hospital without our knowledge."
Some religious or mission hospitals and private clinics, which receive a small government subsidy, operate a similar policy in order to cover their costs.
But instead of expecting patients to pay, some ask them to work in lieu of their bill.
A tall man in Yaounde, who asked to remain anonymous, told me he was detained until July in a mission hospital in the north-west of Cameroon for six months.
He said he had contracted typhoid fever and gone to a Catholic hospital for treatment.
After the little money he had on him ran out, he was told he would have to work off the rest of his medical fees.

Patients are urged not to make corrupt payments

"I worked for six long months to pay off that bill," he said.
"Cleaning, washing plates, gardening - any odd job that cropped up.
"There was nothing I could do about it."
With the average Cameroonian surviving on less than $1 a day, some people prefer visiting traditional doctors when they get sick.
When a patient cannot pay for their treatment in cash, traditional practitioners allow them to pay in kind.
One traditional doctor in Buea told me the most popular items people use to pay their bills are fowls, goats and other things easily available in rural areas.
It is an option Germaine's mother, Mrs Abeboulouguiye, wished she could have used to settle her daughter and granddaughter's bill.
"For the first time in my life I could not help my daughter. They kept asking me to bring money to pay - even when I said I had no money."

Doctor: Puerto Rico boxer Camacho is brain dead

• This Sept. 13, 1997 file photo shows Hector Camacho, left, of Puerto Rico, and Oscar De La Hoya of Los Angeles exchanging blows in the first round …
• 
  In this Sept. 13, 1997, photo provided by Las Vegas News Bureau, Hector Camacho, left, fights Oscar De La Hoya in a boxing match at Thomas and Mack Center …

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Famed Puerto Rican boxer Hector ''Macho'' Camacho is clinically brain dead, doctors said Thursday, but family members disagreed on whether to take him off life support and two of the fighter's aunts said later that relatives had agreed to wait two more days.

Dr. Ernesto Torres said doctors had no more medical tests to perform on Camacho, who was shot in the face Tuesday night.
''We have done everything we could,'' said Torres, who is director of the Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan. ''We have to tell the people of Puerto Rico and the entire world that Macho Camacho has died, he is brain dead.''
He said at a news conference Thursday morning that Camacho's father indicated he wanted the boxer taken off life support and his organs donated, but other relatives opposed the idea.
''This is a very difficult moment,'' Torres said.
One of the fighter's aunts, Aida Camacho, said Thursday evening that two of Camacho's sisters had asked to have two more days to spend with him, and other family members had agreed even though they felt it was time to give in.
''I'm a person of a lot of faith, and I believe in miracles, but science has spoken,'' she said.
Another aunt, Blanca Camacho, also said the family had agreed to the wishes of the two sisters from New York to hold off on ending life support. But, she added, ''There's nothing left here. He's already dead.''
Most of Camacho's relatives left the hospital by Thursday night without commenting.
About a dozen people stood vigil outside. One, Orvil Miller, a singer and actor, expressed sadness about Camacho's fate and recalled his admiration for the fighter's flamboyance.
''He had the combination of the skills of a boxer along with a great sense for entertainment,'' Miller said.
Steve Tannenbaum, a friend and a former boxing agent for Camacho, said in a phone interview that he idolized Camacho as a boxer.
''He is one of the greatest small fighters that I have ever seen,'' he said. ''Hector Camacho had a legendary status.''
Tannenbaum said he initially believed Camacho would survive. ''He was almost like the indestructible man. He had so many troubles with the law, so many altercations in his life. It's a great shame.''
The 50-year-old Camacho was shot as he and a friend sat in a Ford Mustang parked outside a bar Tuesday night. Police spokesman Alex Diaz said officers found nine small bags of cocaine in the friend's pocket, and a 10th bag open inside the car. Camacho's friend, identified as 49-year-old Adrian Mojica Moreno, was killed in the attack.
Doctors had initially said Camacho was expected to survive, but his condition worsened and his heart stopped briefly overnight Tuesday, Torres said. The bullet entered his jaw and lodged in his shoulder after tearing through three of four main arteries in his neck, affecting blood flow through his brain, doctors said.
''That lack of oxygen greatly damaged Macho Camacho's brain,'' Torres said.
Camacho was born in Bayamon, a city within the San Juan metropolitan area, but he grew up mostly in New York's Harlem neighborhood, earning the nickname ''the Harlem Heckler.''
He won super lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight world titles in the 1980s and fought high-profile bouts against Felix Trinidad, Julio Cesar Chavez and Sugar Ray Leonard. Camacho knocked out Leonard in 1997, ending the former champ's final comeback attempt. Camacho had a career record of 79-6-3.
In recent years, he divided his time between Puerto Rico and Florida, appearing regularly on Spanish-language television as well as on a reality show called ''Es Macho Time!'' on YouTube. In San Juan, he had been living in the beach community of Isla Verde, where he would readily pose for photos with tourists who recognized him on the street, said former pro boxer Victor ''Luvi'' Callejas, a neighbor and friend.
Camacho battled drugs, alcohol and other problems throughout his life. He was sentenced in 2007 to seven years in prison for the burglary of a computer store in Mississippi. While arresting him on the burglary charge in January 2005, police also found the drug ecstasy.
A judge eventually suspended all but one year of the sentence and gave Camacho probation. He wound up serving two weeks in jail, though, after violating that probation.
His wife also filed domestic abuse complaints against him twice before their divorce several years ago.

One of the discussion areas between the two major party U.S. presidential candidates has been North Africa and the Middle East.

One of the discussion areas between the two major party U.S. presidential candidates has been North Africa and the Middle East.

While President Barack Obama, the Democratic Party’s White House candidate, and his Republican Party challenger Mitt Romney may have strong differences on a number of domestic policy issues, their views on the Middle East don’t have many sharp contrasts.

Arab Spring

Both presidential candidates voice support for the Arab Spring, the popular uprising in Arab nations that has toppled autocratic governments in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.

President Obama demonstrated his support in his U.N. address on September 25. “The world has been captivated by the transformation that’s taken place. And the United - the United States has supported the forces of change,” he said.

Former Governor Romney, in a speech on October 8, pledged his effort to continue U.S. support for democracy advocates in Arab nations should he be elected.

“I will begin organizing all of our diplomatic and assistance efforts in the greater Middle East under one official, with the authority and accountability necessary to train all of our soft power resources on ensuring that the Arab Spring does not fade into a long winter,” he said.

Libya

An armed man waves his rifle as buildings and cars are engulfed in flames after being set on fire inside the U.S. consulate compound in Benghazi late on September 11, 2012.

​​On September 11, 2012, an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others.

Mitt Romney harshly criticized the president in their second debate for what he says is a lack of candor about the origins of the Benghazi attack.

"There were many days that passed before we knew whether this was a spontaneous demonstration, or, actually, whether it was a terrorist attack," he said.

President Obama gave a strong response to Romney regarding Benghazi.

“The day after the attack, Governor, I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people and the world that we are going to find out exactly what happened, that this was an act of terror," he said.

Syria

A rebel fighter retreats for cover as enemy fire targets the rebel position during clashes at the Moaskar front line, one of the battlefields in the Karmal Jabl neighborhood, of Aleppo, Syria, October 24, 2012.

​​Both candidates say they support those trying to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and agree that the U.S. military should not get directly involved.

But President Obama says his support for the opposition does not extend to providing weapons.

"We have to do so making absolutely certain that we know who we are helping, that we’re not putting arms in the hands of folks who eventually could turn them against us or our allies in the region,” he said.

Former Governor Romney took a very different stance on weapons in the final debate.

“I want to make sure they get armed, and they have the arms necessary to defend themselves, but also, to remove Assad. But I do not want to see a military involvement on the part of our troops,” he said.

Iran, Israel, Palestinians

Both President Obama and former Governor Romney are emphatic in their support for Israel, especially in the face of Iranian threats against the Jewish State, as they both stated during the final debate.

“Israel is a true friend. It is our greatest ally in the region. And, if Israel is attacked, America will stand with Israel. I’ve made that clear throughout my presidency,” said the president.

"If I’m President of the United States - when I’m President of the United States - we will stand with Israel. And, if Israel is attacked, we have their back, not just diplomatically, not just culturally, but militarily," said the Republican challenger.

What hasn’t been discussed much by either candidate is U.S. efforts for resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Iraq

One Middle East Analyst, Khaled Elgindy at Brookings Institution, says the ethnic and sectarian conflict seen in Iraq after the 2003 war should caution both presidential candidates that Washington ultimately cannot control the Arab Spring.

"The United States - cannot determine outcomes. Of elections, of uprisings, of a political process. We cannot pick ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ on the ground and expect to come out victorious," said Elgindy.

Elgindy says that in these countries, their disparate elements need to find ways of reconciling their political and other differences in order to develop inclusive, representative governments.

Michelle Obama: Her four-year evolution

In 2008, some controversial remarks threatened to derail her husband's election campaign. Yet four years later, Michelle Obama is widely regarded as a political star.

When Michelle Obama takes the stage on Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention, she does so as a popular public figure with bipartisan appeal.
But four years ago, on the campaign trail in 2008, Mrs Obama was labelled by her critics as angry, bitter and militant.
Statements from her thesis at Princeton, in which she examined the effect of being black at a predominantly white college, saw her portrayed as obsessed with race.
Campaigning for her husband in Wisconsin, she told supporters that she was proud of America "for the first time in my adult life". It was a comment that dogged her throughout the summer.
"She was depicted as being unpatriotic and un-American," says Mia Moody-Ramirez, a professor of journalism, PR and new media at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
But then, at the Democratic convention in Denver, she gave a speech introducing a new version of Michelle Obama - one that would help portray her as a loving wife, mother and daughter, and would help reshape her image into the one that is much-loved today.
Michelle Obama's prominent - and some say distracting - role on the campaign trail in 2008 came despite her initial displeasure at her husband's political ambition.

Michelle Obama's 2008 speech

As I tuck that little girl and her little sister into bed at night, I think about how one day, they'll have families of their own. And one day, they - and your sons and daughters - will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They'll tell them how this time, we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming. How this time, in this great country - where a girl from the South Side of Chicago can go to college and law school, and the son of a single mother from Hawaii can go all the way to the White House - we committed ourselves to building the world as it should be.
Source: Huffington Post

"There is a pattern - at different points in their lives, she is very sceptical and hesitant about entering into political races, and once she does [back her husband], she's his strongest advocate," say Jodi Kantor, a reporter for the New York Times and author of The Obamas.

And in the campaign of 2008, Michelle Obama was bringing the full force of her personality and her training to bear.
"People who have known her for a long time say she is a naturally frank, forceful person. She's a Harvard-trained lawyer. Her tendency was to go in and argue her husband's case," says Kantor.
But the effect on the public was less than positive, in part because political wives normally take on a less prominent role, and in part because Michelle Obama was forging new ground.
"There was this perception that she was a problem for the campaign," says Bonnie Dow, an associate professor of communication at Vanderbilt University.
"The outlines of that problem are so easily tied to negative stereotypes about African-American women - that they are matriarchal, pushy loud."
When it became clear that Mrs Obama's campaign style was a detriment to her husband, she and the campaign team sought to modify her image, from dogged lawyer to loving mother and wife.
"Obama advisers put a lot of effort into tailoring her image. They brought through maternal warmth and left behind her bluntness," says Kantor.
"I don't think the Michelle Obama we see on the campaign trail is fake, she's a highly edited version."
That tailoring began over the summer of 2008, and in some ways made its public debut at the convention in Denver. Introduced by her brother, Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama gave a speech about her husband that her supporters thought was warm, funny and loving .
"When we go into the DNC... and she gives this speech, introducing the president by saying 'I stand here as a wife, mother, daughter, sister', you see the beginnings of a very purposeful rehabilitation of this image," says Dow.
The convention speech helped accelerate Mrs Obama's popularity, and by the time of her husband's inauguration in January of 2009 she was on her way to becoming a media darling.

Michelle Obama's 2008 evolution

• February 2007: Barack Obama declares his candidacy
• 18 February 2008: Says that she is "proud of my country" for the first time in her adult life
• February 2008: Princeton thesis published online
• July 2008: New Yorker cover features machine gun-toting Michelle Obama fist-bumping her husband, dressed in Muslim attire
• August 2008: Speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Denver
• October 2008: Appears on a late night talk show in a J Crew sweater set, which quickly sells out
• November 2008: Barack Obama wins election

"On inauguration day she stepped out in eye-catching dresses, and her children looked so adorable in their little winter coats and tights," says Katherine Jellison, who has studied first ladies as a professor of history at Ohio University.

"She came across on that occasion as the kind of first lady that I think America is largely most comfortable with - the devoted wife and mother."
While Barack Obama's approval ratings began dropping within his first months in office, Michelle Obama's have continued to rise. When Gallup last measured the two Obamas head-to-head, in May 2012, Mrs Obama had a 66% approval rating, while her husband had 52% approval.
Once she became the first lady, she adopted projects with a maternal focus, a role embraced by the women who came before her.
"Every issue that she takes up is linked to children and to family - she doesn't even do that many issues that are specifically linked to women who aren't mothering," says Dow.
While former librarian Laura Bush promoted literacy, Mrs Obama worked on projects for military families and Let's Move, an initiative to fight childhood obesity. In that role, she has planted a vegetable garden in the White House, appeared on reality TV to promote weight loss and written a book about her gardening success.
"Once she got into office, she realised that this was about [Barack Obama] and it had to just be about him, or there was going to be a problem. She focused on issues that did not put her in the forefront and did not overshadow him," says Allison Samuels, a senior writer at Newsweek and author of What Would Michelle Obama Do?

The Obamas have reprised their 2008 campaign double act this time around

This election cycle, Democrats hope Michelle Obama can be a powerful weapon in the re-election arsenal, not a liability to be managed.
Some Republicans number among her fans but over the years her detractors have found fault with her clothes, her projects and her views.
Her speech on Tuesday in 2012 will seek to convince the few and crucial undecided voters that her husband's plan is the best for the country. And in an era when many families are worried about paying the bills, Samuels says Michelle Obama's message may resonate more than her Republican counterpart, Ann Romney.
"Ann Romney was talking in theory, whereas Michelle had to go back to work quickly after every child because they didn't have the money," she says. "When she talks about the issues of women and poor women, it's more authentic."
To counter that argument, her critics would point to reports that she spent $6,800 on a jacket when Americans are finding it hard to make ends meet. And Ann Romney, who has fought breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, appealed directly to women when she gave a speech that ignited the Republican party's gala last week.
Just because Michelle Obama is no longer a political lightning rod, it doesn't mean she has lost her political pull.
"Even though she is able to look like she is above the fray, of course she is political. She's out there campaigning, she's out there fundraising, she's one of the most popular political figures in the country," says Kantor.
This week, she will try to use the power of her popularity to bolster her husband's hopes of winning a second term in office.
"Remember the contradiction of first lady-hood is that the less overly political a first lady seems, the more politically effective she is," says Kantor.

World's Shortest Man and Woman Meet

For the first time in history, the shortest man and woman in the world have met. The shortest man, Chandra Bahadur Dangi, 72, is from a remote area of Nepal and stands 21.5 inches tall. Eighteen-year-old Jyoti Amge hails from Nagpur, India and measures just under 25 inches tall.
It was a match made in heaven for Guinness World Records, which arranged the introduction for a photo shoot to promote the upcoming release of Guinness World Records 2013 on September 13. To provide scale, a record book (12 inches in length) was placed between Chandra and Jyoti for one of the photos.
“It was an extraordinary moment,” says Marco Frigatti, the official Guinness World Records Adjudicator, who also took part in the photo shoot. “They’re both such incredible individuals. Everyone knew this was a special moment, and the atmosphere was magical.”

A Record-Breaking Birthday

Jyoti secured the World’s Shortest Woman title simply by reaching womanhood on her 18^th birthday in December of last year. She has a condition called achondroplasia, a genetic disorder that affects bone growth and cartilage formation. Achondroplasia is the most common cause of dwarfism.
Jyoti won't grow any taller than her current height. Due to her size, she has her clothes specially made. She sleeps in a tiny bed and uses special plates and cutlery to eat. Jyoti is currently pursuing her dream of becoming a successful actress. She has already starred in a number of Indian films.
“Since being recognized by Guinness World Records, I have been able to visit lots of different countries,” says Jyoti. “I love travelling. I have visited Japan and parts of Europe, and now I can’t wait to visit the UK.”

A Record-Breaking Discovery

In February this year, Chandra made headlines around the world when he was crowned the World’s Shortest Man. Until his recent discovery, he had spent his entire life in the remote Nepalese mountain village of Rhimkholi, about 250 miles west of Kathmandu. Because Chandra has never been examined by a doctor, the cause of his short stature is unknown.Doctors suspect he has a form of primordial dwarfism.
Chandra’s 21.5-inch height also snagged him the title of Shortest Man in History, breaking the previous record of India’s Gul Mohammed, who was 22.5 in tall.
“I’m very happy that I’m being recognized by Guinness World Records and that my name will be written in a book,” says Chandra. “It’s a big thing for my family, my village and my country. I am very happy.” 

Olympic---Historic Phelps claims record 19th medal

Historic Phelps claims record 19th medal

LONDON (AFP) – Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time on Tuesday, winning a record 19th medal in the pool as China’s swimming sensation Ye Shiwen grabbed her second gold of the Games.
Phelps anchored the US team to a resounding victory in the 4x200m freestyle relay to secure gold and beat the record of 18 medals amassed by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina between 1956 and 1964.
The American had earlier been thwarted in his bid for a 200m butterfly Olympic treble by Chad le Clos of South Africa, but a silver medal allowed him to match the record medal haul before the relay sealed his place in history.
Phelps, 27, won six golds and two bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Games, then collected a record eight golds in Beijing.
He had suffered a testing start to the London Games, slumping out of the medals in the 400m individual medley and then having to settle for silver in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
But Phelps’ unprecedented 19th medal was never in doubt in Tuesday’s relay as he took over the final leg with a clear lead built up by his team-mates and powered home to leave France trailing in silver and China with bronze.
“I thanked those guys for helping me get to this moment,” said Phelps. “I told those guys I wanted a big lead in the last leg and they gave it to me.
“I just wanted to hold on.”
Ye, just 16, may encounter more speculation about her remarkable performances after she added the 200m individual medley title to the 400m individual medley crown.
The Chinese girl was lagging behind the leaders at the turn in the Aquatics Centre, but produced a powerful final 50m to overhaul Alicia Coutts of Australia in an Olympic record time of 2min 7.57sec.
Her swim came just days after her lightning freestyle leg in the longer medley propelled her to a new world record.
Ye’s feats have raised unproven suspicions of doping, with John Leonard, executive director of the World Swimming Coaches’ Association, describing her finish in the 400m medley as “impossible”.
But Ye said she had used the row to motivate herself.
“I don’t feel upset or sad about what the media have been saying about me,” she insisted. “I feel calm, but it just encouraged me to prove myself.”
Chinese authorities went on the offensive over the allegations. Jiang Zhixue, the head of anti-doping at China’s General Administration of Sport, told Xinhua news agency it was unfair to point the finger at their swimmers.
“I think it is not proper to single Chinese swimmers out once they produce good results. Some people are just biased,” he said.
Former British swimmer Adrian Moorhouse, a gold medallist in the 100m breaststroke in the 1988 Seoul Games, defended Ye, saying it was possible China had unearthed their own Phelps.
“I think it’s sour grapes,” Moorhouse said. “I think it’s quite insulting actually.”
In the gymnastics arena, the United States won the women’s team final to claim their first gold medal in the event since 1996. Russia had to settle for silver while Romania pipped 2008 Olympic champions China to bronze.
Defending champions Germany won the equestrian three-day eventing, with Michael Jung then becoming the first rider to hold the European, world and Olympic individual titles.
Great Britain finished second in the team event to earn a silver medal for Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter Zara Phillips, but the host nation is still without a single gold medal after four days of competition.
The US basketball Dream Team thrashed Tunisia 110-63 as Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love each scored 16 points, leaving the Americans heading for a date with Nigeria and eyeing the next round.
China lead the United States by 13 golds to nine in the medals table, and the Chinese won their third diving title in three events when world champions Chen Ruolin and Wang Hao clinched the women’s 10m synchro platform.
Chen, the individual 10m platform champion from the Beijing Games and the synchronised 10m platform champion, teamed with Wang to tally 368.40 points from their five dives off the tower.

Budget: Reps insist on impeaching Jonathan

Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal and President Goodluck Jonathan
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INTERVENTIONS by the Peoples Democratic Party notwithstanding, the House of Representatives on Sunday insisted that President Goodluck Jonathan must achieve 100 per cent budget implementation by September or face impeachment.

Apparently reacting to interventions by the PDP and reported overtures by the President to save his job, the House said it would not change its resolution midway.

“A resolution of the House is a resolution of the House; nobody can change it midway,” spokesman for the lawmakers, Zakari Muhammed, told The PUNCH in Abuja.

Muhammed said the only alternative was for Jonathan to achieve a 100 per cent budget implementation by September in accordance with the resolution of the House.

The lawmakers on Thursday frowned on the poor implementation of the 2012 budget and set a September 18 deadline for the Jonathan administration.

“The budget implementation is about 35 percent,” the Chairman, Committee on Appropriation, Mr. John Enoh, had told his colleagues. Enoh said the committee found that only a meagre N200bn had been released to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government in the first two quarters of the year.

The House also directed the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to immediately release all first and second quarter capital votes to the MDAs.

The resolution, which was endorsed by all members, faulted the minister’s decision to withhold the funds of some MDAs on the grounds that they were unable to utilise their first quarter votes.

The House noted that withholding funds under any excuse was a “breach of the Appropriation Act (2012).”

The action of the House gave rise to reported moves by the Presidency and the leadership of the PDP at the weekend to make the lawmakers reverse their threat.

Jonathan and the National Chairman of the PDP, Bamangar Tukur, had reportedly reached out to the Speaker of the House, Aminu Tambuwal, with a view to influencing the lawmakers to soft-pedal on their threat.

But Muhammed said while the moves were legitimate, nobody could change a stand already taken by the legislators on the floor of the House.

“Our practice is that our resolution, once taken, it stands; it can only be reviewed on the floor of the House, not by an individual. A resolution of the House is a resolution of the House; nobody can change it midway. Not even the Speaker has the powers to change a House resolution,” the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, said.

He added, “What the Executive should do is to implement the budget in line with the House resolution.

“Let us hold on to the promise of the House Leader (Mrs. Mulikat Akande-Adeola) that things will improve in the next two months.”

Akande-Adeola, had on Thursday urged her colleagues to wait till the expiration of the September deadline, assuring them that she was confident that things would have improved by then.

According to Muhammed, if funds are released to the MDAs and there is evidence that projects are being executed, members will say so on resumption from break on September 18.

“We have employers; they are the people of our constituencies. If they feel the impact of the budget, they will tell us and members will react accordingly”, he stated.

Meanwhile, the PDP, the party to which Jonathan and majority of members of the House belong to, has said it will not allow the President to be impeached.

The party said it would do everything within its powers to make sure that the frosty relationship between the House and the President did not degenerate into the level of impeachment.

To avoid this, the party said it had started consultations on how to make sure that the House work harmoniously with Jonathan.

Secretary of the PDP Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jubril, told one of our correspondents on Sunday that the party’s leadership had already commenced the process of ending the disagreement between the members of the lower legislative chamber and the Executive.

Though Jubril declined to give the specifics on the party’s intervention, he however said that the party would not fold its arms and allow the House impeach the President.

The party’s constitution in Article 12.80(f) bestows on the BOT the power to mediate in a conflict between the legislature and the Executive.

Jubril said, “The party is doing everything within its powers to resolve the misunderstanding between the two arms of government.

“Majority of the House members are PDP members and the President is also a member of our party. Therefore, we won’t allow the disagreement between them to lead to the point of impeaching the President