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November 18, 2020 by The Nation
IGP: Nigerians have lost confidence, trust in us
By Tony Akowe, Abuja
The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has said the loss of confidence between the Police and the Nigerians was one of the major challenges hampering effective discharge of the Force responsibility.
He said introduction of community policing was part of the efforts aimed at rebuilding the lost confidence.
Adamu, who was represented at a policy dialogue on policing organised by the House of Representatives to collate views on a bill to amend the Police Service Commission act by DIG Olushola Oyebande, said management of the Police was working on regaining public trust.
He said: “We all know that constitutionally, the police have legal rights to live and legally speaking, the constitution guarantees a position where they can even use their fire arms to defend themselves when the situation demands.
“Within all that, we have asked them not to do anything that will bring colossal loss to members of the public.
“Going forward, there’s a lot of confidence building mechanism that’s being put in place to retrain the police to bring back confidence.
“Now a major problem is lack of confidence between the police and members of the public.
“That’s why the present administration came up with community policing and we are trying to see how it will work.
“It’s the best form of policing and a global phenomenon. I was part of the team that went to do the research.
“There’s a lot of distrust and disconnect between the police and the public. So the community policing will try to bring this into focus and to bridge that gap.
“It’s going to be community driven and problem solving. We want to involve the community, the locals to be part of policing of the area.
“They know the culture, the language, topography and that’s why we’re having the community policing initiative to train the locals to join us. So we don’t prevent proactive policing, rather than being reactive.” | https://thenationonlineng.net/igp-nigerians-have-lost-confidence- | 447 | null | 1 | en | 0.999964 |
The kidnapped Prelate of the Methodist Church, His Eminence Samuel Uche, on Tuesday said N100m was paid as ransom before he was released.
At a press conference in Lagos, the cleric said the monies were arranged in five sacks of N20 million.
The funds, he noted, were raised by the Methodist Church in Nigeria.
He also claimed that neither the Federal or State Government, nor the military or police intervened.
The cleric was kidnapped on Sunday in Abia State but was released on Monday.
The Prelate had been kidnapped alongside two others, the Bishop of Methodist Church, Owerri Diocese and the Prelate’s chaplain.
They were reportedly whisked away at about 2pm on their way from a church programme in Okigwe Imo State to Isuochi in Umu Nneochi Local Government Area of Abia State.
Kidnapping for ransom is rife in parts of Nigeria, including the South-East where most violent crimes have been blamed on Ipob, a group seeking secession of the region from Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has taken a tough stance against ransom payments. A law criminalising ransom payments was recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari. | https://www.channelstv.com/2022/05/31/just-in- | 257 | null | 1 | en | 0.999908 |
April 19, 2021 by The Nation
BREAKING: Autonomy for judiciary non-negotiable, Senate tells Govs
By Sanni Onogu, Abuja
Senate on Monday urged the 36 Governors to grant autonomy to judiciary
It insisted autonomy for judiciary is non-negotiable.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, made the call while answering questions from reporters in Abuja.
Bamidele said it is laughable to be grappling with judicial autonomy at this stage of the nation’s development.
The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) had declared an industrial action and nationwide protests to compel governors to obey the 1999 constitution (as amended) and Executive Order 10 which granted autonomy to judiciary in the country.
While responding to a question, Opeyemi said: “It is laughable that at this point, we are still grappling with the need to grant independence to the judiciary arm of government at the state and local government levels.
“The National Assembly has been making laws that would guarantee full autonomy to the judiciary at the Federal level.
“The National Assembly does not make laws for the states; such power resides in the state Houses of Assembly.
“Judiciary at the Federal Capital Territory is independent because we have done what we are supposed to do.
“What is next is for the State Houses of Assembly to do what they are supposed to do.
“As a principle, as a policy, members of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, have tried not to call on those who are protesting to stop such protests.
“We do not want protests but definitely, we would rather talk more to State Governors, Houses of Assembly and other stakeholders to do the needful in the overriding public interest.
“We cannot continue to call on the judiciary to give peace a chance when we know the conditions under which they work cannot guarantee a passionate and enhanced delivery of justice.
“We are talking about judicial reforms; we are talking about the need for justice sector reforms.
“This is central and crucial to the independence of the judiciary in this country. We must not be left behind by the rest of the civilized world.
“Nobody stands to lose anything by granting independence to judiciary at the state level since it has been done at the national level.
“The fact that workers and staff of federal judiciary are joining the protest is only in solidarity with their colleagues at the state levels.
“It is a union matter and we do not have a control over it. We are hereby calling on the State Governors to do the needful because the independence of the judiciary is non- negotiable.
“No democracy can survive without being founded on the rule of law and independent judiciary.” | https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-autonomy- | 591 | null | 2 | en | 0.999983 |
Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala looks set to be confirmed Monday as the first woman and first African leader of the beleaguered World Trade Organization, a near-paralysed institution desperately needing a kick-start.
The WTO has called a special general council meeting at which the former Nigerian finance minister and World Bank veteran is expected to be formally selected as the global trade body’s new director-general.
US President Joe Biden strongly swung behind her candidacy shortly after the only other remaining contender, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, pulled out.
“I look forward to finalising the process,” Okonjo-Iweala said on February 6 after securing the Biden administration’s support.
The organisation is also eager to conclude the drawn-out process, having been leaderless since Brazilian career diplomat Roberto Azevedo stepped down last August, a year ahead of schedule.
The process of picking one of eight candidates to succeed him had been expected to wrap up by November, but the administration of former US president Donald Trump blocked the consensus to appoint Okonjo-Iweala.
– ‘Reform candidate’ –
The 66-year-old will not be at the WTO’s Geneva headquarters for Monday’s virtual session and it is not known when she would take up her duties.
The 164-member organisation’s special session gets under way at 1400 GMT and Okonjo-Iweala is scheduled to hold an online press conference two hours later.
The WTO picks its leaders through consensus-finding, so even though she is the only candidate still in the race — boasting US, EU and African backing — there is always the chance of a spanner being thrown in the works.
She will take over an organisation mired in multiple crises and struggling to help member states navigate the severe global economic slump triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Okonjo-Iweala argued during the race that she was best placed out of the eight candidates for the post to steer the WTO through the crises.
“I am a reform candidate,” she insisted.
She has among other things warned that growing protectionism and nationalism have been spurred on by the pandemic and insists barriers need to be lowered to help the world recover.
Even before Covid-19 battered the global economy, the WTO was weighed down by stalled trade talks and struggled to curb trade tensions between the United States and China.
The WTO also faced relentless attacks from Washington under Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump. Among other things, Trump brought the WTO’s dispute settlement appeal system to a grinding halt in late 2019.
– ‘Boldness, courage’ –
Okonjo-Iweala has said her priorities include getting long-blocked trade talks on fishery subsidies across the finish line and breathing life back into WTO’s Appellate Body.
Twice Nigeria’s finance minister (2003-2006 and 2011-2015) and its first female foreign minister in a two-month stint in 2006, Okonjo-Iweala is seen as a trailblazer in her west African homeland.
She has brushed off claims she lacks experience as a trade minister or negotiator, insisting that what is needed to lead the WTO is not technical skills but “boldness, courage”.
She has portrayed herself as a champion against Nigeria’s rampant corruption — saying her own mother was even kidnapped over her attempts to tackle the scourge.
But her critics argue she should have done more to tackle it while in power.
A development economist by training with degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Okonjo-Iweala has also had a 25-year career as a development economist at the World Bank, eventually becoming its number two.
She is on the Twitter board of directors and chaired Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/02/okonjo-iweala-set-to-be-first- | 838 | null | 1 | en | 0.9998 |
15th December, 2020
By Benson Michael
Controversy has trailed the COVID-19 status of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Tanko Muhammad, as the Supreme Court’s Director of Information, Dr Festus Akande said it was only a rumour that the CJN has contracted the virus.
Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, a member of the Supreme Court, said on Tuesday at the unveiling of the national headquarters of Muslim Lawyers’ Association of Nigeria (MULAN), in Abuja that Tanko had tested positive for COVID-19.
He said he is presently in Dubai receiving treatment.
Earlier, on Monday, Tanko who was supposed to swear in 72 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), was absent at the ceremony.
Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, the next most senior justice of the Supreme Court, administered the oath to the new SANs.
However, in a statement shortly after Saulawa confirmed Tanko’s COVID-19 status, Akande said what Saulawa said was only a rumour.
“I wish to state categorically clear that there is no medical report so far made available by anybody indicating that the Hon. CJN has tested positive for Coronavirus,” he said.
According to him, those peddling the rumour should go a step further to confirm from their sources and equally obtain the copy of whatever laboratory test result they were relying on.
He said as of this moment of issuing this statement, no one has so far shown him or any other person in Supreme Court a copy of the test result they were referring to in the report. | https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2020/12/15/controversy-trails-cjn-tankos- | 343 | null | 1 | en | 0.999671 |
August 19, 2021 by The Nation
Court refuses to restrain NPF, AGF from arresting, extraditing DCP Abba Kyari
A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected an ex-parte application for an order restraining the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) from arresting and extraditing suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abba Kyari.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed, in a ruling on Thursday, said he was not inclined to granting the relief sought in the ex-parte motion.
Justice Mohammed ordered that the ex-parte motion should be converted to a motion on notice and served same, along with the originating processes, on the respondents – the NPF and AGF.
The motion ex-parte was filed by a group, the Incorporated Trustees of the Northern Peace Foundation through their lawyer, Kayode Ajulo.
Ajulo, while moving the motion on Thursday, said his client has also filed originating processes in relation to substantive suit.
The plaintiff is, in the substantive suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/854/2021, querying the propriety of the alleged threat to arrest and extradite Kyari in relation to his indictment by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States.
The Police Service Commission (PSC) has since suspended Abba Kyari from office and as head of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
His suspension followed the recommendation of Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, as a temporary measure while the police investigate Kyari’s relationship with suspected fraudster, Ramon Abbas, also known as Hushpuppi.
Kyari was indicted by a U.S. court as a conspirator in a $1.1 million fraudulent deal against a Qatari businessman.
According to a statement by the PSC, the suspension took effect on Saturday, July 31, the day the IGP wrote to the commission, and will continue until the conclusion of the investigation.
Part of the statement reads: “The Commission has also directed the Inspector General of Police to furnish it with information on further development on the matter for necessary further action.
“The Commission’s decision which was conveyed in a letter with reference, PSC/POL/D/153/vol/V/138 to the Inspector General of Police today, Sunday, August 1st, 2021, was signed by Hon. Justice Clara Bata Ogunbiyi, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court and Honourable Commissioner 1 in the Commission for the Commission’s Chairman, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, a retired Inspector General of Police who is currently on leave.” | https://thenationonlineng.net/court-refuses-to-restrain-npf-agf- | 568 | null | 1 | en | 0.999849 |
Atiku and Buhari
Former British and Commonwealth Light heavyweight champion, Peter Oboh has likened today’s battle among political parties for the presidency of Nigeria, particularly, as it affects the two leading political parties and their candidates, President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition, the PDP to a boxing match.
“I have likened this exciting duel to a boxing bout between the defending champion, in this case, President Buhari and the number one contender who is the main challenger, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. I know there are numerous other contenders, but Atiku is ranked as the number one contender being that he represents the main opposition party, the PDP,” Oboh said.
He pointed that like in a boxing match, the combatants need the support of their fans. He said, “in this context, the fans are going to be the voters. Even in boxing, the support a fighter gets from the supporters spurs him on. It gives you the extra vibe because you would want to go down in front of your supporters.”
Oboh therefore called on supporters of the candidates, who are eligible voters to go our and cast their votes for their preferred candidates. “Unlike boxing which is just between two conders in a roped square, today’s bout has to do with numbers. The more votes a candidate gets from his supporters (the electorate), the better are the candidate’s chances,” adding, “the vote is the punching power and thus both candidates need to outpoint or knockout the other.”
The former boxing champion is therefore pleading with every elegible and qualified voter not to be discouraged because of the postponement.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/02/2019-presidential-election- | 388 | null | 1 | en | 0.999981 |
By Ndah Marama – Damaturu
Yobe state Governor, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, has congratulated the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for the choice of a worthy Vice Presidential candidate, Sen. Kashim Shettima.
The Governor who was the former Chairman APC Caretaker Committee, described the Tinubu/Shettima ticket as a victory ticket for the party.
He said the choice of Shettima, will enrich the fortunes of the party with bright chances of victory in the 2023 general election.
This was disclosed in a press statement signed by the Spokesman to the governor, Comrade Mohammed Mamman which as made available to our Correspondent in Damaturu on Monday.
“The combination of Tinubu and Shettima makes the party stronger to approach the Presidential election next year with a clear victory” he said.
Governor Buni said the APC Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates are people with bountiful wealth of experience in governance to make Nigeria great.
“Their administrative competence, skills and success stories have adequately prepared them for the leadership of the country.
“Nigeria has a lot to gain from the Tinubu/Shettima administration when elected into office” he said.
The Governor advised that at this critical moment of a dwindling World economy, Nigeria needs the excellent combination and experience of Tinubu and Shettima.
He charged the party to remain united and focused for a successful outing in 2023.
The Yobe state Governor noted that Tinubu and Shettima have great respect for all religions, making the
Muslim-Muslim ticket more acceptable because, they are both religious tolerant, working and living with people from different faiths.
Governor Buni said “With a population of over 40 million members, APC will by the grace of God win the 2023 elections fairly and squarely”.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/07/tinubu-shettima-ticket-is- | 424 | null | 1 | en | 0.9998 |
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‘How gov messed up everything we did within two years’
Says trouble began when his deputy, SSG, state APC Chair disclaimed 2 issues against him out of intimidation
Speaks on Aliko Dangote’s intervention
Calls criticism of support for Ize-Iyamu despite past utterances lazy argument
By Ozioruva Aliu
COMRADE Adams Oshiomhole, the immediate National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor of Edo State, X-rays Saturday’s governorship election which, he says, his party would win convincingly, how he fell out with his successor, Governor Godwin Obaseki, just as he calls for peace amidst rising tensions of violence in the state. Excerpts.
How has the campaign been after moving around with the candidate of your party? What have been your feelings, observations interacting with the people again after you left office?
I have been quite excited to see the worth of the people across the 18 local government areas, people are extremely warm and they are excited about seeing me after four years. It is like what more do I expect from a public office other than to govern a place for eight years, go back there after four years and I have been succeeded by a governor who has turned hostile, who tried to destroy my legacies and even lied effortlessly on a variety of issues but to find that the people are not fooled and they have very fond memories of my time, my style and so on and so forth?
It goes beyond physical infrastructure, social infrastructure and all of the things that we did then. I remain proud that people are quite appreciative. Even the human touch, the recognition that you are just another guy down the road that God has favoured using people to make you the governor which is very transient and that there is life after it.
Everywhere I go, when I see elderly women, I can notice them from the crowd saying “yes, that is him, look at him”. I can see the joy in them; so it cannot be better. I am so fulfilled and happy that I am able to join the candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, across the 18 local government areas, across the 192 wards. Besides the fact that I enjoy doing that to support him, it also helped me to also renew my bond with the people of Edo and I find it extremely exciting and fulfilling.
What are the chances of the APC in this election considering that you are contesting against an incumbent governor?
Now, incumbency can be an advantage and at the same time it can be a liability. When a governor has performed, then you can use the slogan ‘tested and trusted’, but when a governor has failed woefully like Obaseki, he is tested and failed and it is not difficult.
But my problem with the media is that you don’t report all that you see, you edit yourself out, otherwise I will pose the question to you, in all the rallies you have attended, when the question is put to the people “do you have a new school in your neighbourhood?” the answer is always “no” and there is always the cry, “we do not have teachers”. A royal father told us he had two and a half teachers in the school in his community and I was like “two and a half teachers, how?” He said because they are only three, one is the Principal and out of the other two teachers, one will retire in December and if Obaseki remains as a governor, he will be left with two; so, on education, it is zero, you can’t teach people without teachers and he lied effortlessly and a section of the media indulge him when he talks about EdoBEST, he even paid for plastic award.
How can you talk about EdoBEST when a government has closed the College of Education where teachers are trained in formal, structured academic manner and you are using consultants, some of whom have never taught and you pay those consultants N1.5m per teacher? If you want to read education in the University of Benin, you will not need N1m for a four-year degree programme to be able to teach, so all these are just fraudulent things that I am shocked that Obaseki has got himself into.
You heard people saying “we have had no light for four years” and Obaseki goes to those communities like Ilushi and says “I know you have no light for four years, but if you elect me, in three months I will give you light” and the people are like “so, you can fix it in three months, what you have refused to do for us in four years” and they just laugh at him.
There are fears of violence ahead of the election and during the election…
I believe that there will be no violence; it is a pity that most commentators have made that a big issue, but also the commentators derive their take off points from the comments made by the governor and his deputy and even lately the wife of the deputy governor. The governor had started about a year ago saying his second term is not negotiable and, according to him, he deserves it and he earns and he will have it. Now that in itself is a foundation for violence because if it is not negotiable, it means nobody will contest against you. He holds the view that it is his fundamental human right to remain governor; that undemocratic pronouncement laid the foundation for the tension.
Second is again the media; I came here to Benin at the invitation of the Oba and, when I went out in the night, I was told by my orderly that some people had arranged truck loads of thugs and they were throwing stones into my compound shouting all kinds of slogans. He said he had called the police and, by the time I got home, I met close to 100 policemen and they told me they had dislodged them. Till today why they did that, I don’t know.
The same policemen that came to my rescue, when the issue became public, then police commissioner shamelessly denied that there was such incident; rather, he said he gave me more than 25 policemen to escort me to Oba’s palace and back to the airport. So the question is why will a Nigerian citizen require 25 policemen to escort him from here to Oba’s palace less than seven minutes drive? Those who were involved in that exercise, I got their names, I did a petition, they were invited, some of them confessed, they had video where they recorded and they were boasting how they came to my house and police let them off and I said to the police “this is how crime starts”.
The second incident, I was coming to Benin for the burial of the mother of Hon. EJ Agbonayinma. I was on my way to the airport and I got information that thugs were at the airport, they had sent thugs because Obaseki’s people did not consent to my coming to Benin and I called the CP, he said the matter was under control but, by the time I got to the airport, the CP called to say I should better stay away because the thugs were too many and I said to him “these are the names you have been given that are in the airport”. He said the governor has immunity and I asked “do the thugs have immunity too?” He said I should just stay away from Benin. I told the CP he was joking, that I was going to come to Benin and he should go and do his job.
I came and on landing, he called that I should stay away but I said I was there at the tarmac. I was shocked to find out the entire airport road was blocked with police supervising the blockage and they were making bonfire on the airport road, destroying that beautiful road, but I came down with the efforts of the air force personnel.
It took me an hour and a half instead of seven minutes to drive from the airport to my house. I went for that function, I came back and my attention was drawn by my security that they blocked the two entrances on the street to my house with Edo State Waste Management Board vehicles. I called the Inspector General of Police that I was under siege and he directed the CP to intervene.
The CP sent more policemen and himself came and I was shocked when he said that they went to see Obaseki and he agreed that he (governor) ordered the blockage because he did not want me to hold any political meeting in my house. In his naivety, he thought those harsh, repressive and undemocratic measures he took will scare me and other people from asking questions about his second term. In that case, he forgot my background. In the night, they set one of the trucks near the transformer on fire and their calculation is that because the transformer is close to my house, it will explode and possibly affect my enemy, yet nobody was arrested.
Many people complained when they dropped explosives in Chief Francis Inegbeneki’s house in Benin, at the residence of the party Secretary Lawrence Okah, at the office of former Attorney General Henry Idahagbon and five other party leaders; this is not to add the ones he used bulldozer to destroy their hotel. Somebody who has gone to court and the court was to deliver a ruling on Friday and, on Wednesday, he sent bulldozers to level the place, a 32-room hotel and he once had a political meeting in that hotel. All of these laid the foundation for the tension people are talking about.
The governor is on record, now the world is so sophisticated that nobody can escape, the media cannot kill any story so you Google it you will find where Obaseki was threatening that if I come to Edo without permission from him, he will deal with me decisively, he will tell me he is the executive governor of this state. About four weeks ago, on television, he said if they want violence “I will give them violence, I will tell them I am the governor of this state”.
When a governor talks like that, what do you expect his followers to do? Not done, about three weeks ago, Obaseki said himself and his deputy are the only two people who have immunity in this state and any other person, no matter what he was before and you know “what he was before” is referring to, “I will deal with him ruthlessly” and his supporters replied “you will give him wake and see treatment”. So when the emperor talks like that, he laid the foundation for this tension. I challenge these commentators, including the media, to show me anywhere I made any violent statement.
In all our campaigns, I tell the people there will be peace, we are going to use white chalk to celebrate, we don’t want blood; I say so every day and I will keep saying so. We went to the palace, you heard what the Oba said, he said “Obaseki, call your deputy to order;” he spoke like the royal father that he is without fear or favour and the following day, the wife of the deputy governor, check it on Youtube, was talking to women, most of them far above her mother’s age and she said “take their pictures,” if I have reports that any of you associate with Women on the Move, that is a political movement that is supporting Ize-Iyamu’s wife’s campaign, she said she will flog them, so who is talking violence. I challenge the media to reproduce anywhere I said anything violent. I told the women in Jattu that they should not worry but use their PVCs to flog Obaseki’s government out of power. As a governor, we had three elections. Did we have tension this way? When have the people changed? We have a crusher as governor but the PVC will crush him peacefully on September 19th.
The governor said one of the reasons you had issues with him was when he stopped the sale of Edaiken Market to your kinsmen. What is the story?
He went to Egor trying to play divide and rule, like the headline in your paper, ‘Why I fell out with Oshiomhole’, I am hearing it for the very first time.
He alleged that I sold a market, but because the way the media take stories on their surface, he gets away with it otherwise the journalist should ask him, particularly if the journalist is not compromised, “may we have evidence of this deal” because to sell a market is not a verbal transaction. He is the governor, I challenge him to produce the document showing that I was involved in the sale of any market, not just that market and then he goes on to try to play ethnic sentiment which I find very unfortunate by saying that my not being from Benin, I do not like Benin people.
Obaseki saying that and that I tried to knock the head of two Benins. So when he contested against Ize-Iyamu four years ago, was it that I hated the Benins and I supported him? I could have easily supported an Ishan man, so when a man goes into such divisive primordial sentiments, you know that he is bankrupt in every material particular. He went to a place in Igbanke, part of Orhiomwon local government area, to campaign, the governor of Delta State tried to help him: you know when confusion sets in, even rational people begin to act in a manner they think that they are smart but the political consequences and interpretation are damaging.
The Delta governor had to send bulldozers to grade one or two roads in Igbanke. Iganke is in Edo, Governor Okowa’s wife is from Igbanke. Seeing the condition of the roads, he had to send tractors to go and grade the bad portion of the road and Obaseki went there to campaign and, very unfortunately, it rained and the road was not passable. He now wanted to drive through the road that I constructed.
There are about 10 roads in Igbanke, I did eight, the one that was left which he ought to complete was 1.2 kilometres, and he didn’t do it. Since I left, he has not been to Igbanke; so when he went there that day to pass through the graded road by Okowa, he couldn’t make it because it was marshy having rained all night. He now tried to reverse and drive through the tarred roads that I constructed and the youths blocked him and say “look, go and pass that place”.
It takes a completely failed government like that of Obaseki for another state to help you do grading, something that a local government council is expected to do and, if you look at the books of Orhiomwon local government area, you will see where the governor purportedly approved for the grading of roads but it was not done. Another government coming to help Obaseki grade a 1.2 kilometre of road because that road did not require consultancy, did not require MoU…
Yet when I was governor, BUA Cement was established, Dangote Cement started construction. We have a ceramics company here, we have a steel company working, we have a glass factory working. Azura Power started all these things we did without signing any MoU. In some instances, I only constructed roads, gave them land and they started work.
Just on Tuesday, again the media covered up and it is dangerous for the media to be covering up bad governance because you can’t turn back later to say Nigeria is failing; you saw market women at Ekiosa protesting, they blocked the road, why were they protesting? They expected you the media to convey it, they were protesting that their market got burnt. Obaseki didn’t visit there until two days after; it was not an emergency enough to him, peoples’ means of livelihood, women, their market got burnt, then he promised them when he finally got there that he will rebuild the market.
The women said “allow us to rebuild some temporary structure”, he said no, he will build a model market. He has not built the market. He also promised he will give them N100 million to support them as partial compensation for what they have lost and I know the Federal Government under President Buhari sent some relief materials to those women. Obaseki did not redeem his promise till today, he has neither built the market nor gave the women N100 million he promised them, that is why they were demonstrating; so he is an incumbent liability.
We were at Uwelu Spare Parts Market today (Thursday), you needed to be there, there was nobody wearing branded fez cap; so they are not party members, they are just voters and they narrated their story of how their market got burnt. Obaseki went there after the fire incident, he saw the grief on their faces and he promised to help them rebuild the market and also to give them some money to restart their businesses, they have not seen his brake light since then, they told us.
If he was an asset, no party will throw away an asset even though he has issues with his qualification as to how he could get admission to the University of Ibadan with three credits without English Language and Mathematics, it remains a mystery which the court will unravel. PDP sued him before out of time but we have sued him within time. The best thing that has made our campaign easy is that it is not a contest between two strangers, it is a contest between a sitting governor or, if you like, an MoU governor, as he is now called, and another person.
Incidentally, these two have contested against each other before and they have only changed political party platform. But remember that even with my support for Obaseki then, he got about 300,000 votes while Ize-Iyamu got well over 200,000; now Obaseki is an orphan, he is not an indigene of PDP, it is a marriage of convenience, he procured a Zimbabwean dollar ticket that has no electoral value with all the uncertainties arising from the academic qualification which is before a Federal High Court. But for PDP tax collectors as my very good friend Governor Wike called them and I will like to believe Wike, even when he hits me hard you see I don’t reply because he is my good friend, in politics you can exchange some friendly fireworks but he told some hard truths.
You joined the party today and by tomorrow you are the candidate and everybody was forced to step down because Obaseki cannot afford any form of contest, so now he is going to really face election for the very first time on his own. You have been here, you are familiar with all the political actors in this state, power of incumbency is when a sitting governor begin to roll out what he has achieved in the critical areas because Nigeria is still basically at provision of basic needs, people simply want roads in the city, the rural people want roads to connect the rural economy to the urban areas, they want good schools and qualified teachers to teach; even though their parents are poor, the child will have the opportunity of upward mobility, but this governor has closed the school of nursing, he has closed down the College of Agriculture both in Iguoriakhi and Agenebode, he reduced the subvention to Ambrose Alli University from N270m a month I was giving to them when I was governor to N96m, that is about one third. As a consequence, the university has been borrowing to pay salaries; last month, no bank was willing to borrow them and they defaulted in salary; so like the other institutions, AAU can close if Obaseki is re-elected.
How come you did not see this other side of Obaseki. Did he deceive you?
It is a simple thing; you can never vouch for the character of a man until he has money or he has power or both, then his true identity comes out. Obaseki didn’t believe in the development agenda of Edo but he successfully pretended for eight years. Otherwise the Benin-City master plan, how could any Benin man who sees the flooding problem in the city abandon that project? You know what it is now when it rains. I think Obaseki is just a proverbial debtor who thinks tomorrow is far.
What went wrong between the two of you?
I am sorry to mention names. Obaseki appealed to Aliko Dangote that he could not stand politics, that he hoped I could help him handle that but I said I won’t be here all the time, I wanted to relocate to Abuja because if I was here, people will be running to see me, seeking favours and I didn’t want that, I didn’t want to be a burden. I wanted to maintain an excellent relationship with my successor and the only way to achieve that was to stay away. We agreed that once in a year or once in six months, seven of us; the governor, his deputy, SSG, Chairman of the party, Secretary of the party, Political Adviser to the governor and myself will meet; the idea was that these people will assist him on day-to-day basis to deal with the political environment, but where they had issues, they will share with me and I could come in when necessary.
We had the first meeting here in this room; the seven of us. They told me they, that is, the deputy governor, the SSG, the party Chairman and Secretary, had two problems; first problem was that all his jobs he was giving them to people who were not resident in the state, they gave an example that even small things like master of ceremony in official functions, he contracted them to people who were not from this state, who were not living in this state and so the young men and women who were following us who were introducing him during campaigns were feeling they were no more useful and they gave me an example of the MC that officiated the Alaghodaro Summit to mark his first anniversary who did not know the politicians and mixed things up, yet we have these people here and they all worked for him, some are employed to work for government and he abandoned all of them. Somebody showed me a menu card for an event here that was printed in Port Harcourt. He said when he (Obaseki) was campaigning there were printers in Benin printing his posters, his leaflets, his billboards now he is governor there are no good printers in Benin again. They told me some of the party leaders including his Political Adviser boycotted the inter-denominational service because they said let “this consultant come and pray for him”; they said he has not constituted the board of companies, so those whom worked are saying “after victory only two or three people are in government; the governor, his deputy and the SSG”.
What gave us the most popularity here was the most basic thing; education; you are from this state you know however small a village is in Edo, they will have a primary school or both primary school and a secondary school, our people believe if government will not give them school they will build community primary school or community secondary school; so, since I left, the Red Roof, the idea of building new schools, stopped even though he collected the money from UBEC and because he is not building schools, the small contractors are complaining because they normally handle those jobs.
I sat with them here and I said “Your Excellency, these are the complaints and I feel you will do well to begin to look at them because by my experience, the beauty of building schools is a win –win situation. You give it to a local contractor because they are not complex civil engineering works which most local contractors can handle. As you give them these contracts, they in turn recruit bricklayers, carpenters, tillers, woodworkers. Members of tipper drivers association have jobs supplying granites, supplying cement, moulding or selling blocks, the painters have jobs and the ceramic tiles are made here in Benin, the iron rods are made here in Benin, so all of that money circulates here, the only one that goes out of Benin is the money for the long span aluminium which we normally buy from Delta Aluminium Company, so if you like it circulates within Bendel”.
This was why they said Oshiomhole had turned Edo to a huge construction site because in every ward there is construction work going on. We awarded 192 school construction jobs for the 192 wards and ‘mama put’ will spring up to be cooking for those who are working, the young boys and girls have jobs to do and that way you keep people busy, that way you generate tens of thousands of jobs, demand-driven jobs. He said he needed the first year to settle down and carry out some studies; that some consultants were looking at some things for him.
But I don’t need a consultant to tell me that this school without a roof, without windows, I need to rebuild it; the only consultant I need are two; the architect to design the school and the quantity surveyor to do the costing. I was elected July 24, 2017 as National Chairman of the party and the SSG told me that when they get to Benin, there should be another of such meetings for a midterm review; we were getting to two years.
We had a small meeting when we came to Abuja which coincided with the period of primary election for National Assembly polls and they gave me the short list of the things that were not in place and, even more worrisome, they told me that, as things stood, if he didn’t address those issues, we may lose the elections approaching particularly in Edo South because people were grumbling. We had a meeting and the same things still came up; still he had not started building schools yet collecting money from UBEC, still he had not employed any teacher from the list, he hadn’t constituted the boards, the Central Hospital remained closed, he was not sinking borehole in any community.
They told me he was told about the boards and he asked that they should submit lists, they submitted the first list, a second list and when they asked for a third one, the people said no, now it is like they are just deceiving them and they feared that even our party members may sabotage us if the situation persisted into the election. We had the meeting and I raised the issues by the people working with him and they are the same issues and “you are almost two years” and I told him, point blank, “if we go into the coming election like this, we will lose flat particularly in Edo South because in Edo South, their expectation is higher because they rightly feel that if a governor who is not from Benin City by lineage could do six lanes on airport road, could deal with the ‘mammy water’ at Teachers House and construct six lanes there, introduce street lights in Benin and power them with generators, build a modern hospital that everybody can see, you can’t deny it even if you hate me, so they expected that my successor coming from Benin will do more and so the shock going to the first year nothing, second year nothing was huge”. I said this is the time to change gear.
Meanwhile his deputy was one of the persons complaining, “you party Chairman, Ogie (SSG), say something” and they were now saying “it is not as bad as that”. Then I told Obaseki “you are in trouble; when you intimidate your appointees because you all here are the sources of the information I have, you only asked me to help raise the issues in this meeting but it is like because of his reaction you are now saying it is not as bad as that”.
I also told him we will lose the next election because these things are not rocket science. I told him “what I owe you is to tell you the truth”. I asked him “how are you going to campaign? I built schools, roads and others but you need to do more than that. In the heart of Benin, I am told you are doing some roads, I have actually quietly driven through those roads but the quality of those roads are different from what we promised Edo people because we said standard; every road must have sidewalks, they must have side drains; any road without drains is going to fail”.
I am proud to say that all the roads we tarred when I was there are testimonies of what I am saying. I told him “unless you change ways it will be difficult because I introduced eye mark, not earmark” especially if the person is a sitting governor, he should show the people what he has done. I offered Obaseki honest advice but when he wasn’t listening, I called Dangote, a mutual friend of ours, and I said “advise him, these are the problems”, and three of us had a meeting. Even the hospital I had to do a documentary on it to show that the hospital has been equipped. And our friend told him “you can’t build a thing like that and leave it for two years, the warranty is running whether you use it or not”.
There was nothing personal but I was concerned because when we introduced him, many people said we didn’t know him and I had to say “don’t worry you will know him; his style will be different from my style of course because our background is different but the mission is the same. He will continue with the projects we started” but he has abandoned all of them. God knows I raised these issues with him in good faith.
Only God knows how much we invested to take Edo out of PDP and, as you can see, since 2008 that I succeeded under God’s guidance to achieve that, we have not been able to claim any new state in the Niger Delta, so for whatever I needed to do to assist him, I was going to do that. This is the betrayer, betraying the dream, the promise of continuity, not for my good but for the good of Edo.
Accident involving your convoy and allegation that it was an assassination attempt.
To be honest with you, I think it is a natural accident, this is my personal view. It is true there might be people who may wish me dead, even you, there might be people who may wish you dead; there is no question about that, but all I want is that the police should do thorough investigation. I think it is the usual recklessness of our drivers. However, it was a pitiable sight, seeing those policemen die, especially after our discussions before we left Abuja that we were all on out of station assignment; their colleagues felt bad about the accident but I had to appeal to them to be professional.
What you said against Ize-Iyamu in the last election is now being used against you for suddenly supporting him…
I think it is a lazy man’s argument’ General Collins Powel was a Republican Secretary of State loyal to the Republican Party, he was appointed by a Republican President as Chief of Defence Staff; he is known to have supported Republican Party, but twice he has found himself endorsing a Democrat.
He supported Donald Trump, now he is backing Joe Biden because he believed that his expectation of the Republican government has not been met, so, in the circumstances, Biden will be better, so that is how it is. What about what I said about Obaseki that he will do more, has he done them? What about what Obaseki said about me on the day of his inauguration; what he said about me then, is that what he is saying about me now? You will think that he is the first governor of this state. The important thing is that I am not supposed to campaign for someone who is not in my party. I don’t know and I have not seen when Vanguard advertised Punch as the widest circulating paper in Nigeria.
To the electorate
My appeal is that we should not be provoked, election is not war, election is not a do-or-die affair and whatever we do, only one person will emerge and only the living will be governed and I think here, President Jonathan’s statement readily comes to mind when he said no political office is worth the blood of any person. This is the state, one man one vote, one woman one vote.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/09/the-oshiomhole-bombshell-obaseki-betrayed- | 6,896 | null | 1 | en | 0.999996 |
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has called on northern traditional rulers not to relent in spearheading the campaigns to avoid the spread of coronavirus pandemic in the region, stressing that the cost of treating COVID-19 patients is very expensive.
The governor who made the call on Monday at the executive committee meeting of the traditional rulers chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, noted that it costs about N400,000 to treat one COVID-19 patient.
While noting that traditional rulers have critical roles to play in ensuring that people at the grassroots adhere to government’s directives as part of measures to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus and other diseases, El-Rufai told the customary leader that treating the infected is digging a big hole in the government’s coffers.
He, however, said that the challenges in the treatment of the pandemic make it imperative that people desist from activities that will promote the spread of the virus in the northern region and the country at large.
Traditional rulers from the nineteen northern States met in Kaduna on Monday to discuss the security and socio-economic challenges confronting the region particularly in the southern part of the state.
The meeting was chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar.
In his remarks, the Sultan of Sokoto while describing the killings in Southern Kaduna as total madness, said the time has come for all stakeholders including government and traditional rulers to rise up and find solutions to the lingering crises. | https://www.channelstv.com/2020/09/08/covid-19-it-costs-n400000-to- | 325 | null | 1 | en | 0.99992 |
A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court has affirmed Douye Diri as the duly elected Governor of Bayelsa State.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, the Apex Court dismissed the six appeals filed against the governor and his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.
The appeals dismissed were filed by Alliance for Democracy (AD), Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP), Labour Movement (LM) and Accord Party.
Justice Ngwuta, in his judgement, predicated the dismissal of the appeals on the withdrawal of the six appeals by lawyers of the appellants.
Diri’s victory has been challenged a number of times but the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja at different times affirmed Diri as the duly elected governor of the state.
Governor Duoye Diri was sworn in on February 14, a day after the Supreme Court sacked the former governor-elect of Bayelsa State, David Lyon, and his Deputy, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremieoyo.
Lyon’s election was nullified after his deputy was accused of submitting forged certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). | https://www.channelstv.com/2020/11/18/breaking-supreme-court-dismisses- | 252 | null | 1 | en | 0.999565 |
Cristiano Ronaldo teased fans and media waiting outside his Madeira property as he peered round curtains during a period of self-isolation on Sunday.
The Juventus star is self-isolating in Madeira after it was confirmed almost a dozen Serie A footballers have now been infected with COVID-19.
Ronaldo jetted out at the start of the week to be with his family, as his mother Dolores Aveiro, 65, remains in a private hospital in Funchal after suffering a stroke at the start of the month.
The 35-year-old is with girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez and his children, staying in the top two floors of the seven-story Funchal house he recently purchased.
Portuguese outlet Diario de Noticas published footage on their Youtube channel showing Ronaldo quickly peeking out of the curtains in the complex to look at those gathered outside his house.
The attacker cheekily pops his head into view, before giving the crowd a wry smile and disappearing back into his room after only a matter of seconds.
Officials in the country have tonight announced that another 368 people have died of coronavirus, which is the biggest number of casualties in a single day since the virus hit the country.
Juventus star Daniele Rugani has tested positive in recent days.
And Ronaldo took to social media to advise his followers on the situation. | https://sportinglife.ng/coronavirus-ronaldo-teases-fans-from-isolation- | 285 | null | 1 | en | 0.999992 |
November 19, 2020 by The Nation
2023: Umahi’s defection raises presidential zoning stake
By Raymond Mordi; Sanni Onogu, Victor Oluwasegun, Tony Akowe, Jide Orintunsin, Abuja; Mike Odiegwu, Port Harcourt; Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki and AbdulGafar Alabelewe, Kaduna
Governor urges APC, PDP to zone ticket to Southeast
Wike knocks colleague as Buhari applauds action
Which zone takes the presidential ticket of the major parties in 2023?
This question has been taken to the front burner by the defection of Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Umahi is serving his second term having been elected on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Southeast Governors Forum Chairman said he defected from the PDP to safeguard the interest of the region which is taking a shot at the Presidency in 2023.
Umahi urged the APC and the PDP to zone their ticket to the Southeast in 2023.
“For fairness, equity and justice, the Southeast should be allowed to take a shot at the Presidency.
“It’s an appeal. It’s negotiation. We appeal to Nigerians to allow the Southeast to fly the flag of a major party,” he said.
Umahi said he would be happy if an Igbo man succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari even if he is not that person.
“If it is another Igbo man, I will be very happy,” he said, emphasising that he was not desperate to be president.
“I didn’t join APC because there was a promise made to the Southeast,” he said.
The governor, who spoke on Arise TV, said he left the PDP because of injustice in the party and because the APC “does more consultation”.
But Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike faulted Umahi’s claim, saying neither the APC nor the PDP had zoned their Presidential ticket.
He said Umahi’s claim that he left the PDP because he cannot realise his presidential ambition in the PDP was not tenable.
Wike, who spoke on a Channels programme Politics Today, said: “If there is any person, who has supported Umahi very well, he knows it is me. But he cannot threaten the party or dictate to the party.
“He came to me. He even spoke to me two days ago. He even sent me a text. He said he wants to run for President. He wants to be President of Nigeria, which he has the right. But do not threaten anybody that if we don’t give you this, this will happen.
“Politics is dialogue. Politics is diplomacy, discuss with people. Nobody threatens anybody because you want to be somebody.
“If he had not been working with APC, how will he know that there is more consultation in APC than in PDP?
“I am not saying that he shouldn’t be a President, nobody is God to say he will be President and who will not.”
‘Wike is a dictator’
Umahi said he left the PDP because it has been hijacked by “one or two” individuals, one of whom he said is Wike.
“APC does more consultation than the PDP,” he said, alleging that the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) is being remote-controlled by Wike, who he said “single-handedly installed” PDP National Chairman Uche Secondus.
“One or two people are controlling the PDP. I cannot belong to such a party.
“Somebody wanted me to work against a sitting governor in Bayelsa. You cannot stay in your state and be remote-controlling other states. It’s very unfortunate and uncalled for.
“I refused to join issues with Wike because he is my friend. But Wike must know that he is a dictator.
“Wike must know that one person cannot be called a crowd. Wike must know that a lot of governors in PDP are not very happy with him. He remote-controls the party.
“He said that I made my brother the Vice-Chairman. I fund the PDP southeast from A to Z. And he has forgotten that he singlehandedly made Secondus the Chairman.
“He has forgotten that he wanted to impose one of his own as minority Leader of the House.
“There is nothing that happens in PDP without his authorisation. He once said that PDP National Working Committee members are beggars and bribe-takers.
“I have asked him that let’s not take on ourselves or else it will be very dangerous. So let us face the party; the party does not belong to him.
“And this is by no means personal and he is demonstrating the dictatorial tendencies in him by taking on me, a fellow governor. And that is very shameful.”
Umahi warned that unless things change, more governors will leave the party.
‘Umahi wrong to call me a dictator’
Reacting when he appeared on Politics Today, a programme on Channels TV, Wike wondered when he became so relevant that he could hijack the party’s leadership.
He insisted Umahi was pursuing his selfish interests and asked him to concentrate on realising his ambition instead of claiming to be fighting for Igbo interest.
The governor said Umahi told him point-blank that he wanted to run for President, adding that the Ebonyi governor, though in PDP, was engaged in anti-party activities.
He said: “PDP has not come out to zone the Presidency for 2023. Meanwhile, the party he is defecting to has not come out to say they are zoning Presidency to the Southeast.
“On the other hand, he said one of his reasons is that Wike is a dictator. Which one do we take now? Was Wike in charge since 1999? When did Wike become relevant?
“If you remember, I did say that there are some governors who go to the Presidency in the night and that I am among those who go in the day time.”
Wike said the roles he played for the emergence of former Governor Peter Obi as the running mate to former Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar would never translate to hijacking the leadership of the party.
He said: “It is not correct that I have hijacked the leadership of my party. On the choice of Peter Obi, Saraki was there and many people were there. So it had nothing to do with me. Everybody was contributing. And I contributed.
‘In any case, you know that a presidential candidate may have had in mind who he wants to run with. The party cannot impose a vice-presidential candidate on any candidate”.
On Secondus, Wike said: “He (Umahi) said I singlehandedly imposed Uche Secondus. With all due respect, I am from Rivers State and I want good things to come to Rivers.
“If somebody from my state is running an election, what stops me from lobbying my colleagues to support that candidate?
“Also, he came from the Southsouth which has contributed enormously to the progress and success of the PDP than any other zone. The PDP was in the opposition.
“Would it not be better the zone that has produced the President and has given PDP support should be encouraged to produce the chairman?”
Ebonyi caucus disowns Umahi
Ebonyi State PDP caucus in the National Assembly disowned Umahi over his defection.
Chairman of the caucus and former Ebonyi State Governor, Senator Sam Egwu, at a press conference in Abuja, said though Umahi has the right to join any political party of his choice, the reasons he advanced for his defection were untenable.
He said the National Assembly members from the state, would not abandon the PDP because of Umahi.
Egwu said: “We remain proud card-carrying members of the PDP, the platform on which we contested elections in 2019 and won.”
The caucus said the governor should be the last person to jump ship having benefitted immensely from the PDP.
Egwu said: “For the sake of clarity, we wish to state that not a single member of the Ebonyi State PDP caucus of the National Assembly is defecting to the APC.
“The three Distinguished Senators and five House of Representatives members remain proud card-carrying members of the PDP, the platform under which we contested and won elections in 2019.
“The major reason given by Chief Umahi for defecting from the PDP to the APC is now in the public domain which is that the PDP has not been fair to the people of the Southeast on the issue of zoning the Presidency and Vice Presidency.
“While we support that it is the turn of the Southeast to fly the Presidential flag of any of the major political parties come 2023, yet we consider it impolitic, indecent and unwise to give ultimatums and conditionalities in a bid to secure zoning.
“Indeed, if there is any Ebonyi person who should remain eternally grateful to the PDP, that individual ought to be the Governor David Umahi; a man who was appointed the Ebonyi State Chairman of the PDP made deputy governor of a PDP administration, and was elected for two terms under the banner of the PDP.
“As Governor, his two younger brothers were elected to principal offices of the PDP; one (Mr Austine Umahi) as the National Vice Chairman (South East) and another (Mr. Maxwell Umahi) as the Deputy State Chairman of the PDP.
“As democrats, we concede Chief Umahi’s right to join any political association of his choice.
“However, as federal lawmakers, we are not unaware of the Supreme Court decision that candidates are products of political parties.
“What it means is that political office holders are not at liberty to migrate from one political platform to another, particularly when there is no division in their party.”
The text of the press conference was signed by Senator Sam Ominyi Egwu, Senator Obinna Ogba, Senator Mike Ama Nnachi, and House of Representatives members Sylvester Ogbaga, Igariwey Iduma Enwo, Chukwuma Nwazunku, Edwin Anayo and Livinus Makwe.
Abaribe: PDP unperturbed
Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, who was at the caucus briefing, said the PDP was not disturbed by Umahi’s defection.
In a statement by his Media Adviser, Uchenna Awom in Abuja, Abaribe said Umahi’s spirit was long in the APC before his formal announcement of his defection.
On the governor’s reasons, the Senator said: “It is not true and (it is) very unfortunate for the governor to characterise the PDP in such light.
“Examples are legion, which shows that our dear party has reciprocated severally the support of the Southeast, meaning that the party is not taking the support of Ndi-Igbo for granted.”
Fayose chides governor
Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose chided Umahi, saying he cannot be the defender of Southeast’s interest.
He said in a statement: “Umahi defected to APC long ago before this unjustifiable move, which clearly has nothing to do with the interest of the Igbo nation. This is a reflection of the type of leadership our country parades.
“Though his action dampens hope for liberation, I’m sure Nigerians will laugh last because sometimes, it will appear to have got so bad before it will begin to get better.”
PDP constitutes Ebonyi caretaker Committee
The PDP has constituted a Caretaker Committee for Ebonyi following the dissolution of the State Executive Committee by the NWC on Tuesday.
PDP spokesman Kola Ologbondiyan said in a statement: “Following the dissolution of the Ebonyi State Exco of our great party, the NWC has constituted a state caretaker committee to pilot the affairs of the party in Ebonyi state in line with the provisions of the constitution of the PDP.”
Members are Fred Udeogu (Chairman), Luke Nkwegu (Secretary), Dr Gideon Osi (Publicity Secretary), James Alaka (Organising Secretary), Amaka Igboke (Women Leader), Mudi Irenede (Legal Adviser), Mr James Onah (Assistant Secretary); and Monday Chukwu (Treasurer).
Chairman of the dissolved State Working Committee, Onyekachi Nwebonyi, said the dissolution was illegal.
“Nobody can dissolve a duly elected PDP State executive committee in Ebonyi State under my watch. The purported action of NWC if true is illegal, unconstitutional and of no effect,” he said.
Okechukwu, Northern group welcome defection
Director-General of Voice of Nigeria, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, believes Umahi’s move will guarantee the popular agitation for a president of Igbo extraction.
He said: “It will more than any alchemy facilitate it, more so when he is the pilot of a gale of defections we are expecting from the region to APC.
“As the chairman of Southeast Governors Forum, Umahi is opening the gate for his brother governors. Don’t forget that the Zikist Eagle alliance actually began during the build-up to the 2019 presidential election.
“Or, how do you explain that, for the first time in the history of presidential polls, our great party, APC, exceeded the 25 per cent threshold in three out of the five Southeast states?
“Politics is a game of numbers, today Ebonyi has filled the void left by our loss in Edo, and tomorrow we are expecting Enugu and others. Nigerian electorate is watching the renewal of APC.”
The North East Professionals Network, (NEPN), a political pressure group, said Umahi’s defection was a “bold step”.
Its Coordinator, Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf, said in a statement: “It will only take a man of courage and vision to accomplish such an unprecedented feat since the return of democracy to Nigeria in 1999.
“We equally congratulate the people of Ebonyi and the entire Southeast who stand to benefit immensely from the wise and patriotic decision of Governor Umahi.”
Ebonyi indigenes warn APC
The Association of Ebonyi State Indigenes in the Diaspora (AESID) warned the APC to be wary of Umahi, describing the governor as “controversial”.
Its President, Ambassador Paschal Oluchukwu, in a statement, recalled that Umahi once boasted that he was “100 per cent PDP and 100 per cent APC”.
The group praised some state lawmakers and cabinet members who refused to follow the governor to the APC.
“This is a very defining moment and a period of a great test of integrity for some politicians in our dear state and exhibition of downright foolishness laced with cowardice on the part of those who are still clutching to Umahi’s straws despite his starvation rate of pay.
“We commend the over eight members of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly who chose not to abandon their people and the political platforms that brought them to power despite threats, pressures and even suspensions from Umahi hirelings,” the group said.
Ohanaeze Youths fault Wike
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide faulted Wike’s comments on Umahi.
Its President-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro and Secretary-General, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, accused Wike of being among those bent on denying the Igbo a shot at the presidency in 2023.
“The plot to deny Southeast the Presidential ticket is a high profile mistake that PDP would live to regret. PDP is heading for her doom and self-destruction in the Southeast.
“It is a miscalculation for the PDP to believe that it can win 2023 Presidential election without Igbo votes”.
“PDP National Caucus and Board of Trustees should revert to zoning formula enshrined in her constitution.
“Our eyes are on the outcomes of the meetings of PDP BOT and NEC members, and any contrary expectations towards reverting to zoning formula will certainly prove PDP’s deceit.
“The outcome will definitely lead to more Southeast governors defecting to APC,” the group said. | https://thenationonlineng.net/2023-umahis- | 3,673 | null | 1 | en | 0.999992 |
Vivo mobile has announced the launch of the Vivo S10 Pro in to the S-series lineups. The launch will be done on the 15th of July 2021 according to the company.
Recall that the Vivo S9 5G was announced in March 2021 with the S9e version, now there is the Vivo S10 series.
On Vivo Weibo social media account, Vivo mobile shared a poster of the S10 Pro smartphone and only the S10 pro was shared or let’s say, used as promotion which leaves us to wondering how many devices the S10 lineup will have.
With what was seen so far, the S10 Pro will have triple camera setup which will have 108MP primary sensor.
There isn’t many details about the Vivo S10 Pro and its lineup, but leaks have it that the device will have a Dimensity 1100, 108MP primary camera, a 44W fast charging, UFS 3.1 storage, NFC, and two RAM options – 8GB (+ 3GB virtual) and 12GB (+ 4GB virtual) according to a report seen on Gsmarena. | https://www.naijatech360.com.ng/vivo-s10-pro-to- | 237 | null | 1 | en | 0.999949 |
By Emmanuel Elebeke
The transport sector in Nigeria represents about 24% of in-scope carbon emissions every year.
And 72% of these emissions come from passenger vehicles.
In a groundbreaking move towards sustainable and eco-friendly transportation, Possible EVS is set to launch Nigeria’s first fleet of electric taxis.
With an initial fleet of 30 units, the startup has ambitious plans to expand to over 200 electric taxis across major Nigerian cities by mid-2024, revolutionizing public transportation in the country.
These electric taxis, specially designed for passenger transport, will provide last-mile solutions for both intra- and inter-city trips, offering a convenient and environmentally conscious alternative for commuters.
The fleet will also introduce shared travel options, ensuring cost-effective and efficient mobility for passengers without the hassle of surge pricing.
Unlike traditional combustion engine taxis, electric taxis emit zero emissions, which contributes to a cleaner and greener urban environment.
The introduction of electric taxis aligns with the global shift towards sustainable mobility solutions, addressing the pressing challenges of climate change and air pollution.
Possible EVS’s electric taxi fleet aims to complement existing transportation services in Nigeria, rather than compete against them.
By providing a more environmentally friendly alternative, the startup aims to raise awareness about the benefits of electric vehicles and encourage the adoption of sustainable transportation practices in the country.
Speaking on the novel transportation system, CEO and founder of Possible EVS,Mosope Olaosebikan, said: “As a socially responsible and forward-thinking organization, we’re thrilled to lead this transformative journey.
We believe our pioneering efforts will inspire other players in the transportation industry to embrace sustainable practices and contribute to a cleaner, greener, and more prosperous Nigeria.”
To support the operation of the electric taxis, Possible EVS will establish charging stations across Abuja, serving as a pilot program for future expansion.
These charging stations will ensure that the electric taxis have access to reliable and convenient charging infrastructure, enabling seamless operations and reducing any concerns about range anxiety.
With the introduction of Nigeria’s first electric taxi fleet, Possible EVS sets a promising example for the nation and the African continent as a whole, demonstrating the feasibility and benefits of electric mobility. As the fleet expands and more electric taxis hit the streets, Nigeria’s urban areas will witness a positive transformation in terms of reduced emissions, improved air quality, and enhanced passenger experiences.
Possible EVS’s electric taxi initiative not only contributes to Nigeria’s sustainable development goals but also aligns with global efforts to combat climate change and create a more sustainable future for all. As the nation embraces electric mobility, Possible EVS leads the way in driving the transition toward a cleaner and greener transportation ecosystem.
“Nigerians can look forward to a seamless and comfortable commuting experience”, said Mosope.
“Our vehicles are equipped with state-of-the-art features, including spacious interiors, advanced safety systems, and user-friendly technology, and our plans to install fast-charging infrastructure across key locations will ensure convenient access to charging stations and minimize any concerns about range anxiety.”
Possible With its commitment to sustainability, innovative solutions, and a vision for a cleaner future, Possible EVS is poised to revolutionize public transportation and pave the way for a greener Nigeria.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/06/nigeria-set-to-debut-first-100-electric- | 710 | null | 2 | en | 0.999878 |
March 18, 2019 by The Nation
Breaking: Delta suspends head teacher over Success’ viral video
The Delta State government has suspended the headmistress of Okotie-Eboh Primary School 1, Sapele Local Government of the state, Mrs. Vero Igbigwe.
She was suspended following the viral video where little Success Adegor was sent home over her parents’ failure to pay her examination levies.
Igbigwe was suspended on Monday when the Delta State Commissioner for Education, Barr. Chiedu Ebie visited the school.
The head teacher, according to the commissioner, could not explain the alleged illegal collection of examination levies from the school students. | http://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-delta-suspends-head-teacher-over- | 145 | null | 1 | en | 0.998117 |
December 29, 2023 by Alao Abiodun
FULL LIST: All past Ondo governors dead except Mimiko
The death of former Ondo state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, on December 27, 2023, has once again depleted the giant elites of Nigeria’s political class.
The quantity and quality of tributes expressing grief over Akeredolu’s death has been overwhelming. Nothing could have prepared Ondo citizens, and indeed the country at large, for the shocker.
Checks by The Nation revealed that all past Ondo democratically-elected governors have passed on except one — Segun Mimiko.
Their passing on re-echoes the words of English poet and playwright, Williams Shakespeare, who described the world as a stage where each person plays his part and leaves.
These dead ex-governors were men of many parts. They wore so many caps and assumed many roles and they played all their parts so well, so efficiently, as to earn applause.
Like the biblical reference, to everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born and a time to die.
The exit of these past governors closed an era and also opened another.
Here’s what you need to know about the dead past governors:
1. Michael Ajasin – He served as governor of Ondo State from 1979 to 1983. He is the first democratically elected governor of the state.
The former Ondo governor died of “natural causes” in his home at the age of 78.
2. Bamidele Olumilua – He became governor of Ondo in the third republic from January 1992 to November 1993.
Read Also: BREAKING: Southwest governors to collaborate with Akeredolu’s family to give ex-Ondo gov befitting burial
In 2020, Muyiwa, the former governor’s son, said he died after a brief illness at the age of 80.
3. Adebayo Adefarati – He was among the first elected governors who served after the military era was halted and the fourth republic was welcomed on May 29, 1999.
He died from an undisclosed ailment. He was 76 years old at the time of his death.
4. Olusegun Agagu – He was Ondo’s second democratically elected governor. Agagu was also deputy governor to Olumilua.
The former minister was said to have slumped and died in Lagos in 2013. He was 65.
5. Rotimi Akeredolu – Akeredolu died at the age of 67. The Ondo government said Akeredolu died of “complications from protracted prostate cancer”.
6. Olusegun Mimiko – He was a two-time state commissioner for health, and served as Ondo governor from 2009 to 2017.
After his first term, he sought re-election and won, making him the first governor in the state to win a second-term bid since 1999. | https://thenationonlineng.net/full-list-all-past-ondo-governors-dead- | 649 | null | 1 | en | 0.999971 |
September 30, 2022 by The Nation
BREAKING: Gusau elected new NFF President
Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau has been elected the new President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
He was elected at NFF’s 78th Elective Congress in Benin, the Edo State capital.
In the first ballot, Gusau polled 21 votes to finish first ahead of former Ist Vice President Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi who got 12 votes while the erstwhile League Management Committee (LMC) Chairman Shehu Dikko got just six votes. Peteside Idah and Abbah Yola got one vote each.
Read Also: 40th NFF President emerges today in Benin
While the trio of Akinwunmi, Dikko, Yola opted out of a possible rerun since Gusau did not get the mandatory 22 votes to win on the first ballot, Idah pressed for a rerun and it was conducted by the electoral body .
In the ensuing rerun, Gusau polled 39 votes while Idah got one vote while one was voided.
With that, he former Chairman of Chairmen in the last board led by Amaju Melvin Pinnick becomes the 40th man to lead Nigerian football. | https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-gusau-elected-new-nff- | 264 | null | 1 | en | 0.999282 |
The remaining 29 students abducted from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka in Kaduna State have regained freedom.
Mr Abdullahi Usman, who is the Chairman of the Parents’ Committee, confirmed the release of the students by bandits to Channels Television on Wednesday in Kaduna.
He explained that the victims were released some minutes past 4pm around the Kidanda area in Giwa Local Government Area of the state, and were on their way back to the state capital.
Usman, however, refused to disclose the amount paid as ransom to the bandits for the release of the students.
55 Days Of Horror
It is freedom at last for the remaining students of the institution after 55 days of horror in the captivity of the bandits.
Bandits stormed the school in Igabi Local Government Area very early on March 11 with the intention to abduct many students.
While they were on a mission that could be described as a silent attack, a student who sighted them raised an alarm – causing tension in the school.
Soldiers in the area promptly responded to a distress call and engaged the bandits in a fierce gunfight in a bid to thwart the attack.
The action of the security operatives led to the rescue of 180 people, comprising 132 male students, 40 female students, and eight civilian staff.
Despite the intervention, the bandits still abducted 23 female and 16 male students, leaving their parents in despair with calls on the government to rescue them.
Sadly, one of those missing was a female student, Fatima Shamaki, whose father died from a heart attack after the news of her abduction was broken to him.
The bandits had released videos in which they made some demands and threatened to kill the students should their demands were not met.
323 Deaths In Three Months
Amid heightened calls for their release by the parents of the victims and concerned persons, the state government insisted that it would not negotiate with the bandits.
It, however, accused the armed men of killing students in the state to blackmail the government and compel it to abandon its ‘no ransom, no negotiation’ policy.
The students were later released in three batches in a space of one month – five on April 5, five on April 8, and 29 on March 5.
Banditry in Kaduna has taken a disturbing trend as the armed men killed a total of 323 people between January and March.
The first quarter security report by the government also revealed that within the period, bandits killed 292 males and 20 females, as well as kidnapped 949 people.
Kaduna Central senatorial district accounted for 236 deaths within Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Igabi, and Kajuru Local Government Areas. | https://www.channelstv.com/2021/05/05/breaking-29-college-students- | 554 | null | 1 | en | 0.999969 |
The Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday presented the certificate of return to the President-Elect, Bola Tinubu.
Channels Television reports that the certificate was presented to Tinubu by the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, at the International Conference Centre in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
His running mate Kashim Shettima also got his certificate of return at the event.
The presentation came a few hours after Tinubu was declared the winner of the Saturday, February 25 poll, garnering 8,794,726 votes to defeat his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, who scored 6,984,520.
Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer, took his first shot at the presidency for the first time in a keenly contested race.
The 70-year-old former Lagos Governor came out top in 12 of Nigeria’s 36 states and secured significant numbers in several other states to claim the highest number of votes
Abubakar, 76, who has now run for president six times, got 6,984,520 votes, while the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, who, in less than a year, galvanised young voters in a manner some have described as unprecedented finished the race with 6,101,533. | https://www.channelstv.com/2023/03/01/tinubu-receives-certificate- | 288 | null | 1 | en | 0.999758 |
Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, on Friday, swore in nine re-nominated commissioners in the state.
The nine commissioners, eight of whom were members of the immediate past cabinet led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, resigned from their appointments in the heat of the political crisis that rocked the state from the latter part of last year.
The swearing-in ceremony was conducted at the state Executive Council Chambers of the Government House in Port Harcourt
All nine of them took the oaths at once, beginning from the oath of allegiance before the oath of office.
One of the commissioners, Gift Worlu, who was not part of the Wike’s administration, however, comes from Obio/Akpor, the same local government area as the FCT Minister.
Congratulating the re-sworn commissioners, Governor Fubara urged them to do what is right for the state.
“I don’t think I have any charge for you. You have already read your charge to uphold the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I urge you to do the right thing.
“I can see how heavy your hearts are. I don’t blame you. You were caught in the crossfire,” Fubara said. | https://www.channelstv.com/2024/01/26/fubara-swears-in-nine-re- | 275 | null | 1 | en | 0.999981 |
Senate President, Ahmed Lawan.
A bill seeking to make it unlawful for a government of the federation to have an abandoned project in any part of Nigeria on Wednesday scaled second reading in the Senate.
The bill titled: “Compulsory Development Planning and Project Continuity Bill, 2021” was sponsored by Senator Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North).
In his lead debate, Barau said the bill seeks to make development planning compulsory for all tiers of government.
According to the lawmaker, it seeks to make provisions for each of the governments of the Federation to establish and maintain project implementation plans for projects within their jurisdiction from inception to conclusion.
Barau lamented that the non-completion of projects and lack of continuity in government programmes and policies are largely responsible for Nigeria’s lagging economic and infrastructural development.
“Mr President, my respected Colleagues, all over the world, government is a continuum.
“Ideally, once the baton of leadership of a nation is handed over to a new government, the onus lie on it to embrace the projects, policies and programmes of the previous administration without recourse to any personal, party, or primordial interests.
“However, one major identifiable draw-backs to social, economic and infrastructural development in Nigeria is lack of continuity of policies and programmes of government at the Federal, State and Local Government.
“State resources are poorly managed as some political leaders often embark on white elephant projects that cannot endure the test of time at the twilight of their tenures.
“This unfortunate tradition has badly characterized governance and induced corruption since 1999”, Barau said.
He added that as at June, 2011, the Presidential Projects Assessment committee led by Architect Ibrahim Bunu, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, had reported that there are 11,886 abandoned federal and state government projects across Nigeria which requires N7.78 trillion to complete.
He said the committee revealed that political and personal considerations outweighed national interest in the award of contracts.
“Majority of the contracts the committee said were procurement driven rather than development driven.
“With this ugly political trend and worrisome disposition of some politicians, the nation is utterly consigned to retrogression if not urgently checked”, Barau lamented.
The lawmaker explained further, “this Bill provides sure remedy to the lack of seamless developmental plan for the nation.
“It rises above primordial sentiments and stands to quarantine any regional neglect or political vendetta.
“The proposed Bill professes enduring legacies and showcases excellent promises to Nigerians.”
The bill which was exhaustively debated was unanimously supported by lawmakers in their separate contributions.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, thereafter, referred the bill to the Committee on National Planning and Economic Affairs for further legislative work.
The Committee which is chaired by Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi (APC, Ekiti North) was given four weeks to report back to the Senate.
In a related development, three bills seeking to establish the National Examination Management Commission; National Food Safety Council; and FCT Borderline Community Development Commission, also scaled second reading in the Senate on Wednesday.
The bills are sponsored by Senators Kabir Barkiya (APC, Katsina Central); Abubakar Kyari (APC, Borno North); and Sani Musa (APC, Niger East).
The bills were referred by the Senate President to the Committees on Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Basic and Secondary Education; and Agriculture and Rural Development, respectively.
The Committees were all given four weeks to report back to the upper chamber.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/06/senate-considers-bill-to- | 781 | null | 1 | en | 0.999307 |
President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, backed the implementation of a $5bn Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in the country.
The President gave the backing when he received a group of joint venture partners made up of UTM FLNG, TECHNIP Energies and JGC Corporation in his office, alongside Ambassadors of France and Japan to Nigeria.
Addressing State House correspondents after the meeting with the President, leader of the delegation and Group Managing Director of UTM FLNG, Julius Rone, said that a $5bn loan has been signed with Afreximbank for the implementation of the project.
Rone, who conveyed the President’s stance, said the project has the capacity to generate 7,000 direct jobs and produce 300,000 tons of LPG every year.
He further disclosed that it is the first time in Nigeria that an indigenous company will be involved in such a project that would contribute to the decarbonisation efforts in Nigeria.
The first floating LNG project in Nigeria, according to him, is expected to come on stream by the first quarter of 2026. | https://www.channelstv.com/2023/07/05/tinubu-backs-5bn-floating-lng- | 235 | null | 1 | en | 0.999962 |
July 28, 2021 by The Nation
Igboho to Benin court: I fled Nigeria to avoid being killed
By Adekunle Yusuf, Cotonou
Agitator sent to prison
Lawyer: he is charged with illegal entry into Cotonou
Federal Govt yet to file paper before court
No date yet for next hearing
Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho), standing trial in the Benin Republic has told the court that he fled Nigeria to avoid being killed.
The Yoruba Nation agitator, who was arrested on July 19 with his wife while attempting to travel to Germany, has been charged with illegal entry into the Benin Republic.
He is also explaining his mission in Cotonou, the Benin Republic capital.
The court ruled that he should be relocated to prison from police custody.
Igboho’s lawyer, David Ibrahim Salami, told The Nation in Cotonou what transpired at the Benin Court of Appeal on Monday where the agitator appeared before three judges.
He was in court from 7:30 am till about midnight.
Read Also: Igboho not our freedom fighter, say youths
Salami, a Professor of Law in a Beninoise University, said: “While defending himself on the criminal allegations put on his head by Nigeria, Igboho told the judges that he had never been tried for any crime in his life.”
According to Salami, Igboho said he had neither been invited to any police station nor any formal charges brought against him as a result of his agitation for the separation of Yoruba nation from Nigeria.
He explained that he was only trying to free ‘his people’ from the atrocities of killer-herdsmen, which made him incur the wrath of some powerful individuals in government.
“When the judge asked him how and when he entered the Benin Republic, who housed him and who took him to the airport, Igboho told the court that his coming to the Benin Republic was to flee from his traducers who wanted to kill him in Nigeria.
“He stressed that he spent less than one day in Cotonou before attempting to travel to Germany,” Salami added.
The lawyer spoke further: “What amazed me is the fact that the judge was explicit that Igboho’s continued detention is not as a result of his issues with Nigeria, that he is being sent to prison because of infractions committed here in the Benin Republic.”
Salami said Igboho was sent to prison to allow investigation into how he came into Cotonou and why.
Salami said no date had been fixed for the continuation of trial because the authorities would need time to investigate how Igboho entered the country.
He said Benin Republic law allows Igboho to be admitted to bail pending the outcome of the investigation.
On why the trial is behind the curtain, he added that it is when investigations are concluded that the judgment can be read in the open court.
Igboho, according to the lawyer, showed discomfort as a result of bruises he suffered when the Department of State Services (DSS) attacked his residence on July 1.
As a result, Igboho was allowed to sit throughout Monday’s court sessions instead of standing before the judges.
As a prison inmate, he will be entitled to medical services if there is a need, unlike when he was in police custody.
Salami said Igboho’s trial, which began from an extradition request from the Nigerian authorities, is now centred solely on whether or not he broke the laws of the Benin Republic.
The primary task now is to establish whether the embattled activist entered Cotonou through legal or illegal routes, and what his mission was meant to achieve, the lawyer said.
Salami said the Nigerian authority had not filed any papers against Igboho.
“We have also not seen any written complaints from Nigeria being placed before the court. It is a case between the Benin Republic and Sunday Igboho – nothing more,” he explained.
Explaining why Monday’s proceeding was prolonged, Salami said it needed to be so because the trial is being handled by three judges whose functions and powers are different but complementary: prosecution judge, investigative judge, and judge of liberty or detention.
He said the matter before the prosecution judge office did not commence until 2 pm. Reason: the enormity of tasks the prosecutor’s office needed to handle. The trial then moved to the investigative judge by 3 pm, lasting till around 6pm.
It was the judge of liberty or detention, who took over from his investigative colleague at night that ruled that more time is needed for the court to establish the true reasons behind Igboho’s coming to the Benin Republic.
Like hundreds of Igboho’s supporters who came to show solidarity on Monday, his wife, Ropo was also in court.
Throughout the day, she was seen entering and coming out of the special room where her husband was kept in the court. She had earlier been released and her German passport released to her. | https://thenationonlineng.net/igboho-to-benin-court-i-fled-nigeria-to- | 1,078 | null | 1 | en | 0.999975 |
18th July, 2019
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Award-winning Nollywood actress, Genevieve Nnaji has featured in British-Nigerian actor, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s semi-autobiographical film, “Farming”, alongside star Kate Beckinsale, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Damson Idris.
The multitalented mother of one recently wowed the world with her directorial debut film, “Lionheart” that became the first African film to be acquired by American film streaming platform, Netflix.
The actress who is not slowing down in cementing her name in the sands of time as one of the greatest actresses to come out of Africa, featured in the filming of Farming which took place around locations in London and Nigeria back in 2017.
The Nigerian star will be acting alongside British-Nigerian actor, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje who has starred in successful films like OZ, Game of Thrones and Suicide Squad.
The film he disclosed would chronicle his childhood in the UK after being offered up to be fostered by a white working-class family.
Farming also stars another British actor of Nigerian descent, Damson Idris. Idris who has starred in film roles in Snowfall and Black Mirror plays a fictional character based on Adewale called Enitan. Nnaji on her part plays alongside Adewale playing his Nigerian student parents who farm him off to an abusive foster mother played by Kate Beckinsale known for roles in Underworld and Van Helsing.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw from Black Mirror and A Wrinkle in Time will also play the supporting character of the teacher who helps Enitan find his way to redemption.
The trailer of the film which is set for release in October has now been released and sees the film addressing issues like racism and identity.
Check out the trailer below. | https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2019/07/18/watch-farming-trailer-featuring- | 409 | null | 1 | en | 0.999937 |
February 13, 2024 by Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja
AFCON 2023: Tinubu hails Super Eagles’ tenacious outing
*Says losing at final should not dispirit Nigerians
President Bola Tinubu has hailed the Super Eagles for their performance and tenacity at the just concluded 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), in Côte d’Ivoire.
Nigeria failed to lift the AFCON having lost 2-1 to the hosts, Cote d’Ivoire, at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan, on Sunday night.
However, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, President Tinubu encouraged Nigerians to be of good cheer despite the loss, noting that the Eagles’ grit and sheer determination throughout the tournament had won the hearts of Africa and the entire world.
“President Bola Tinubu salutes the Super Eagles of Nigeria for their tenacious performance in the final of the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.
Read Also: Access Holdings loses 6.26%
“President Tinubu commends the team, the coach, the crew, and the entire management team for their hard work, assiduity, and sacrifice to come this far in the tournament, acknowledging the hurdles they consistently surpassed with steadily improving performance as they pulled through to the finals.
“The President urges Nigerians to be of good cheer, emphasizing that we won a great victory in the hearts of Africa and the world by our grit, rigour, and determination in the field of play”, the statement said.
The President, according to the statement, urged Nigerians not to let the loss dispirit them, but let the experience bring them together to work harder, encouraging young citizens, aspiring to bring glory to the country through football not to be deterred as his administration is working to make their dreams come true.
“Let this passing event not dispirit us, but bring us together to work harder. We are a great nation, bound as one by the green-white-green banner of resilience, joy, hope, duty, and untiring love.
“To those cherished Nigerian youths expressing their gifts in communities, drawing lines in the sand as they play football in their humble rectangles of play, you can be our heroes tomorrow, do not relent in your pursuit. My administration is here to make dreams come true,” the President noted. | https://thenationonlineng.net/afcon-2023-tinubu- | 540 | null | 1 | en | 0.999931 |
The Executive Committee of Nigeria Football Federation on Wednesday formally ratified the appointment of Dr. Mohammed Sanusi as the General Secretary of the Federation.
At a meeting in Uyo, NFF President Amaju Pinnick presented Sanusi before the executive board for formal endorsement. The former NFF Director of Competitions, who had been appointed following the resignation of Barrister Musa Amadu on March 18, was unanimously endorsed.
Also the sitting president of Nigeria Colleges of Education Games Association and a member of several local and international bodies on sports management, Sanusi has tremendous experience in sports administration through active roles in FIFA.
World Youth Championship Nigeria 1999, Ghana/Nigeria 2000 and 2003 All-Africa Games organizing committees, and had been in charge of NFF’s Competitions Department for the past eight years.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/03/nff- | 189 | null | 1 | en | 0.999617 |
May 29, 2016 by The Nation
A/Ibom indigenes attack Udom over comment on LG funds
Controversies have continued to trail the Channels Television’s interview Mr. Udom Emmanuel, the Akwa Ibom State governor granted the TV station where he mentioned that the state’s government does not interfere with the allocations meant for local government areas in the state.
Udom, who was on Sunrise Daily, a television programme of Channels TV, had said: “Akwa Ibom government has never touched the local government funds. Not just my administration, even the previous one did not touch it. We don’t even know how they share it. It is only when they have problems that we get to know.”
Some of the indigenes, who took to the Facebook to vent their anger on the governor, asked why in many local government areas in the state the chairmen complain of having a zero allocation every month.
For instance, an indigene of the state, Bassey Inuabasi, said: “Am still dazed with the whole interview. Governor Udom evaded many questions and started talking about people telling him to fight his predecessor then when he refused to fight, he was called a stooge.
“All Udom needs to do is to use Sen. Udo Udoma and Sen. Ita Enang to get closer to the President and ask for support. He can take a cue from Ayade of Cross River State.”
Another indigene, Gordon Aglass, said: “Methinks it’s now up to the local government chairs to fight for themselves as just within three days both the former and the present governors have been making a fool out of them by blatantly lying against them on the funds the Constitution rightly gives them control over. | https://thenationonlineng.net/wike- | 387 | null | 1 | en | 0.999994 |
The Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution for victims of police brutality and other related matters has returned control of the Lekki toll gate plaza to its owners, the Lekki Concession Company (LCC).
During the proceedings on Saturday, the Chairman of the panel, Justice Doris Okuwobi, gave a ruling allowing the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) Ltd to repossess the toll gate.
Justice Okuwobi sitting with four other members of the panel listened to arguments for and against the application made by counsel to the LCC Ltd, Demola Seriki for the re-opening of the facility.
It’s the 4th time the LCC is making the application.
The other four members who sat with Justice Okuwobi are Segun Awosanya (popularly known as Segalink), Oluwatoyin Odusanya (Director, Citizen’s Right), DIG Taiwo Lakanu ( representing the police) and Lucas Koyejo (from the National Human Rights Commission).
In his arguments in support of the application, Mr Seriki asked the panel to allow the company take possession of the toll gate plaza for the purpose of evaluating the damage done so as to be able to make insurance claims needed to effect the necessary repairs which he says will last about 2 months.
Immediately after the panel ruling in his favour, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa walked in with the other three members of the panel, Patience Udoh (representing civil society), Rinuola Oduola and Temitope Majekodunmi (representing the youths).
They all proceeded to deliver dissenting decisions to the effect that they were not in support of the repossession and the reopening of the Lekki toll plaza. | https://www.channelstv.com/2021/02/06/endsars-lcc- | 381 | null | 1 | en | 0.999561 |
March 26, 2024 by Nduka Chiejina, Abuja
CBN uncovers $2.4bn foreign exchange scam
In a startling revelation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Governor Yemi Cardoso, has disclosed that law enforcement agencies are investigating foreign exchange forwards valued at approximately $2.4 billion.
Cardoso noted that these transactions are deemed ineligible for payment.
This disclosure emerged after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday, March 26.
The CBN governor shed light on the meticulous forensic audit conducted on these transactions, uncovering numerous discrepancies and rendering them invalid.
The CBN, upon settling certain tranches of FX backlog, encountered transactions marred by issues concerning their authenticity.
Consequently, Deloitte management consultants were engaged to conduct a comprehensive forensic analysis spanning several months to scrutinize the legitimacy of these forward-contracted transactions.
During the audit process, it was established that several transactions failed to meet the criteria for validation. Instances were found where allocations worth millions of dollars were disbursed without corresponding requests, and some transactions lacked proper documentation or were outright illegal.
According to Cardoso, “In the cause of that forensic audit, we determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify. In some cases, you had some requests, which well you actually had some allocations that were made in millions of dollars, which were never requested for.
“You also had somewhere they had no Naira and they were also allocated, you know, huge sums, the foreign exchange and the list goes on and it was for that reason that we refused to validate those particular transactions.
“We refused to validate them because you know apart from the fact that documentation was not satisfactory in many cases they were outright illegal and the law enforcement agencies of course are now looking into those transactions that are as far as we’re concerned, not valid to be paid.”
Addressing concerns about potential backlogs among stakeholders, Cardoso assured that the market remains open and transparent for them to address any outstanding contractual obligations. However, the CBN has diligently verified and settled recognized backlogs of forward transactions.
Cardoso reiterated the CBN’s commitment to maintaining price stability and fighting inflation. He emphasized the need for strict adherence to the core mandate of the central bank, ensuring the restoration of the average Nigerian’s purchasing power.
To this end, the MPC announced a significant hike in the benchmark interest rate to 24.75 percent as part of efforts to curb inflation. This decision, accompanied by adjustments to reserve requirements for banks, aims to tighten control over the money supply and stabilize prices.
According to Cardoso, the committee decided to: raise the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 200 basis points to 24.75 percent from 22.75 percent; adjust the asymmetric corridor around the MPR to +100/-300 basis points; retain the Cash Reserve Ratio of Deposit Money Banks at 45.0 percent; adjust the Cash Reserve Ratio of Merchant Banks from 10.0 percent to 14.0 percent and retain the Liquidity Ratio at 30.0 percent
Looking ahead, the CBN anticipates a gradual moderation of inflation rates by May, with measures in place to foster economic growth while maintaining price stability. The committee called for the full implementation of agricultural policies to enhance food supply and urged broader fiscal consolidation to improve tax collection.
Furthermore, Cardoso addressed concerns regarding the forex market, emphasizing the need to foster competition and transparency. He criticized the “oligopolistic nature of restrictions on dairy imports,” advocating for an open and inclusive foreign exchange market.
On the issue of cryptocurrency regulation and the Binance scandal, Cardoso clarified the CBN’s limited role, highlighting collaboration with relevant authorities while emphasizing that cryptocurrency regulation falls under the purview of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). | https://thenationonlineng.net/cbn-uncovers-2-4bn-foreign-exchange-scam/ | 804 | Politics | 1 | en | 0.999897 |
February 4, 2021 by The Nation
You are forgiven, Ooni replies Sunday Igboho
By Toba Adedeji, Osogbo
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has accepted the apology tendered by popular Yoruba rights activist, Sunday Adeyemo, aka Sunday Igboho.
He said Igboho, who apologised on Wednesday in a viral video for declaring the Ooni disappointed Yoruba nation for not speaking the truth on herdsmen killings in South West during a recent visit to President Muhammadu Buhari, is forgiven.
Director of Media and Public Affairs, Ooni’s palace, Mr Moses Olafare, told The Nation Sunday Igboho remains the son of Ooni.
He said: “He has forgiven him as he had tendered an apology via a video clip he produced via social media yesterday evening.
“Before tendering the apology, it was the Olugbon of Ile-igbon that first called and informed Arole Oodua on the phone that he had scolded Sunday on phone on his misdeeds and that, he would soon tender an apology to him on the matter. Sunday Igboho later released a video in which he tendered the apology.
“Even though the way and manner, Sunday behaved was sacrilege to the Oduduwa throne but he has already apologised and I can confirm that Arole Oodua forgiven him, because, there is no perfection in humanity. Sunday is a human being like a normal human being who could misbehave as well”.
He went on: “As the father of all, the Arole Oduduwa Olofin Adimula, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II remains his father who had even identified with him in the past two weeks he has begun with the struggle and he is still solidly behind him for the liberation of the Yorubas from criminal herdsmen who have adamantly terrorised our land.” | https://thenationonlineng.net/you-are-forgiven-ooni-replies-sunday- | 429 | null | 1 | en | 0.997848 |
Stories by John Alechenu, Abuja
Presidential aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party have romped up campaigns among the party’s 3,700 delegates ahead of the party’s Presidential primary scheduled for May 28-29, 2022.
Findings by Saturday VANGUARD indicate a sharp increase in the number of engagements by aspirants and party delegates within the last 48 hours.
This, it was learnt, is a direct consequence of the decision of the National Executive Committee of the party to throw open the contest for its sole Presidential ticket.
Some of the delegates, especially former PDP Governors, ministers and senior members of the National Working Committee of the party, have taken up temporary residence in the nation’s capital.
On Thursday alone, three aspirants, former Senate Presidents: Bukola Saraki, Anyim Pius Anyim and Industrialist Sam Uhuabunwa, held separate interactive sessions with statutory and other delegates in various locations.
Saraki started the day with a breakfast meeting with over 1,500 delegates at the Ballroom, a private hotel facility in the Central Business District.
He used the occasion to appeal for their votes at the upcoming primary as well as unveil his plans for the nation if eventually he wins the party nomination and gets elected as President.
The aspirant promised to rebuild the nation given the chance. He said, “I will be the bridge between Muslims and Christians. I will be the bridge between the North and the South. Because I am the Nigerian for all Nigerians.
“2023 presents the moment to choose hope over hopelessness; the moment to choose peace and security over fear and terror; the moment to choose unity and inclusion over division and exclusion; the moment that we draw a bold line in the sands of history and say, ‘no more’ and then move ahead as one people, as one nation, towards our God-assigned destiny as the greatest black nation on the face of the earth.”
While addressing a set of former NWC members who are statutory delegates in his private office in Garki, told them to vote according to the dictates of their conscience.
He said, “The Nigerian problem is that of leadership. If we recruit the right person the better for our country, like I always say, let us do the right thing because we will bear the consequences of the choices we make today. We should have these three things at the back of our minds: The future of our children, Nigeria and our party-the PDP.” Anyim promised the delegates that if elected, he would restore party supremacy and ensure they were all carried along in the decision making process.
Sam Uhuabumwa who also met with the delegates at the Immaculate Hotel and Suits, in Wuse II, said his desire was to leave behind a Nigeria which works for all Nigerians irrespective of socio-political, religious or ethnic background. He maintained that Nigeria will attain its rightful pride of place with the right kind of leadership.
Trouble brews in states over PDP guber tickets
A crisis of confidence is brewing between supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party and the party leadership in some state chapters in the run up to the party’s Governorship Primaries.
Already, several groups acting on behalf of interested parties have sprung up to raise the alarm or defend the causes of aspirants.
In Cross Rivers State, party supporters under the aegis of Cross River State PDP Professionals (CROSPP), have accused a former Governor of the State, Donald Duke, of plotting to foist the founder of Arthur Jarvis University, Arthur Jarvis Archibong, as the PDP gubernatorial candidate.
They allege that the former governor was trying to frustrate the genuine aspirations of the party’s leading lights such as: Sen. Gershom Bassey, Hon. Daniel Asuquo, and Amb. Nkoyo Toyo.
Leader of the group, Okon Edem-Ita, warned the PDP state working committee against ceding its powers to an individual or allowing any form of imposition because doing so would cost the party dearly.
He said, “As professionals within the PDP, we are totally against the weakening of our party’s chances in the forthcoming governorship election in Cross River State.
“While, it is the constitutional right of every man and woman who has attended the universal suffrage age and status to run for elections, as a group, we will never yield the PDP a defeat in the next governorship election.”
In Gombe State, another group petitioned the PDP National Working Committee over what it called the erroneous provisional clearance given to a governorship aspirant, Ardo Babayo Kumo, to contest the party’s Governorship primary.
The group, Ethnic and Corporate Compliance Institute of Nigeria, in a petition signed by Abubakar Balarabe, alleged among other things that the aspirant was a serving Federal Permanent Secretary, as at the time of his clearance.
While demanding for the disqualification of the aspirant, the petitioners said, “The Chairman is invited to note that Dr. Ardo Babayo Kumo is a civil servant and currently the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Niger Delta.
“It is most pertinent for the party to observe that this may lead to the disqualification of the party and the candidate as he cannot be validly nominated being a civil servant as at the time of the issuance of the certificate of clearance.”
2023: Don seeks cancellation of fraudulent congresses
The Director, Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, Prof. Sam Amadi, has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), not to recognise congresses conducted in breach of statutory rules and regulations.
Amadi noted that congresses conducted by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), especially within the last four weeks.
This was contained in a letter he wrote to the election management body. Amadi, an Associate Professor of law, cautioned against INEC reneging on its constitutional duties enshrined in the extant laws governing the regulation of political parties’ primaries in Nigeria.
He said, “…the apparent violation of some of the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 by the political parties, compels the Commission to intervene to protect the core principles of electoral democracy as enshrined in the constitution and the new electoral law.
“It is important to stress the importance of the new electoral law in helping to establish democracy and accountable governance in Nigeria.
“It holds the key to reversing the political capture of electoral democracy in Nigeria by a few political stalwarts, who have turned party leadership into a weapon against the democratic freedoms of Nigerians and the consolidation of democracy.”
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/05/pdp-presidential- | 1,450 | null | 1 | en | 0.999893 |
By Egufe Yafugborhi
Before Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, embarked on a fact-finding visit to Trans Amadi, Port Harcourt, where officials of the state government demolished a foundation for alleged non-compliance with urban development laws, the impression was that a mosque had been demolished.
The rumour had spread like wildfire, especially on the social media, with many accusing Wike of ordering the alleged demolition. Even the Muslim community in Rivers was among those who accused the state government.
However, checks at the demolition site and inquiries from residents revealed that no mosque was demolished but a foundation.
It was learned at the site that a similar exercise had been carried out during the administration of former ex-Governor Rotimi Amaechi.
Chairman of the Muslim community, Alhaji Abdullahi Tabaco, told Sunday Vanguard that what was demolished was a building under construction.
He said the exercise was carried out on August 20, 2019.
“We bought four plots of land from one Chief Amadi in 2008 and approval was given for the construction in 2009. In 2010, we started putting up pillars and fencing of the land,” he added.
Continuing, he said: “While the foundation of the mosque was laid in 2010, the first demolition was carried out by former Governor Amaechi on February 5, 2010, and this resulted in litigation between Chief Amadi and Rivers State Government.”
The Muslim leader claimed that, on November 2, 2017, a judgement was delivered in favour of Amadi, adding that the state government did not file an appeal.
He noted that the failure to appeal the ruling necessitated the resumed construction of the building in 2018.
However, when the governor visited the site at Biambo Street, off School Road by Mami Market Junction, he explained that approval was not given for the construction of any structure at the place.
He said: “I received calls from several prominent Nigerians on the fake news being circulated online. You can see there was no mosque here. It is most unfortunate that fickle-minded persons claimed that a mosque was demolished when no mosque existed here.
“The story was concocted by mischief makers to score cheap points. They came to erect an illegal structure. There was no approval from the state for any structure to be erected here. Persons who started the foundation had already dragged the state to court over the disputed land.
“The government gave them notice not to do anything on the land. But they went ahead with the illegal foundation and the relevant agency stopped them. Why would we want to bring down any mosque, when there are other mosques across the state? What is the special interest in this one?”
While dismissing claims by the property owners that there was a court judgment in favour of Amadi, Wike said the state government won the case.
“Rivers State government won the case. What they attempted to do was to start the illegal construction to tie the hands of the state government,” he added.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/09/sorry-mosque-demolition-in-rivers-is-fake- | 652 | null | 1 | en | 0.999985 |
THE NEW SERVICE CHIEFS, NSA
By Emman Ovuakporie & Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA — THE House of Representatives, yesterday, told the Service Chiefs to do all within their power to stop the menace of Boko Haram, activities of pirates as well as oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
Chairman of the House adhoc Committee for the screening of the Service Chiefs, Rep. Garba Datti who gave the advice when the Service Chiefs appeared for screening, told them to give priority to the protection of Nigeria’s territorial boundaries with neighbouring countries of Benin, Cameroon and Niger Republic.
Rep. Datti in an address, said the rampant activities of militants in the Niger Delta, and cases of smuggling and piracy on the nation’s water ways required constant policing to curtail the menace.
He said the welfare of military personnel engaged in the fight against Boko Haram must be made a priority.
According to him: “I am convinced you are all very familiar with the responsibility and challenges bothering on low morale of our servicemen and women, welfare, training, procurement process of military hardware and ordinance, particularly for those of them on the frontline states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe in the North East region fighting the insurgency and the general living conditions of Armed Forces personnel and the families in the various barracks in the country.”
The House Adhoc Screening Committee later went into a close-door executive session.
The service chiefs – Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin (Chief of Defence Staff ); Tukur Yusufu Buratai (Chief of Army Staff); Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (Chief of Naval Staff) and Sadique Baba Abubakar (Chief of Air Staff)—were appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari on July 13.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/08/stop- | 400 | null | 1 | en | 0.999776 |
By Chioma Onuegbu
The presidential candidate of the All progressive Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has won a polling unit in Akwa-Ibom.
He defeated his opponents at the Independence High school unit 9 Ukana west ward 2, Akwa Ibom State.
PDP 7 votes
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/02/2023-election-tinubu-wins-polling-unit- | 86 | null | 1 | en | 0.998153 |
By Bashir Bello
Not fewer than 100 victims who were kidnapped in Manawa village, Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara state have regained their freedom after spending 42 days in captivity.
Confirming the development, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Hussaini Rabiu, said the command in collaboration with the State Ministry of Security and Home Affairs secured the unconditional release of the victims.
CP Rabiu in a statement by his Police Public Relations Officer, SP Mohammed Shehu said the victims were released without giving any financial or material gain.
The Police boss however assured of the use of kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to end the menace while warning the recalcitrant bandits to renounce criminalities and embrace peace or face the full wrath of the law.
According to him, “It could be recalled that on the 8th June 2021 some recalcitrant Bandits stormed Manawa village and abducted 100 villagers including females, majority nursing mothers, males and children.
“The Zamfara State Police in collaboration with the State Ministry for Security and Home Affairs have successfully secured the unconditional release of the kidnapped victims
“The released victims who were in the custody of their abductors for 42 Days have been released without giving any financial or material gain and they will be medically checked and debriefed before being reunited with their respective families.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Hussaini Rabiu, warned the Recalcitrant bandits to renounce criminalities and embrace peace or face the full wrath of the law.
“The Command also uses this medium to call on the good people of Zamfara State to support the Police and other security agencies with credible information about the hideout, movements and other activities of Criminal elements,” the statement however reads.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/07/zamfara-bandits-unconditionally- | 381 | null | 1 | en | 0.999939 |
This follows a recent announcement by the examination body, the Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB), of the sale of ePINs for UTME and Direct Entry (DE) registrations till May 15, 2021.
Prospective candidates are to commence the process by registering their National Identification Number (NIN) by typing the word ‘NIN’, then space, adding their 11-digit NIN and sending as an SMS to 55019. They would receive a 10-character confirmation code on the telephone number that would be used to purchase their ePIN.
They are to then proceed to the Remita website and click ‘Buy JAMB form’, select ‘UTME’ or ‘Direct Entry’ and input their confirmation code, registered phone number, and other necessary details.
Candidates can make payments using their debit/credit card, internet banking, mobile wallet, USSD and others options.
Once payment is completed, PIN is delivered to the candidate’s phone number and also displayed on their Remita receipt.
Product Manager, Applications and Vertical Markets at SystemSpecs, Kayode Osinulu, said according to The Nation that the providers of Remita, said prospective candidates of the 2021 UTME are guaranteed fast, reliable and seamless registration when they buy their ePIN on the Remita platform.
“Our payment system delivers a seamless experience to every candidate as they purchase their PIN. They can also make this purchase at any time and from anywhere through any of the multiple payment options available on Remita,” he said.
Furthermore, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Head of Public Affairs and Protocols, JAMB, said the UTME mock examination will be held on Friday, April 30 for those who indicate interest and are registered before April 24, while the UTME will hold from June 5 to June 19, 2021. | https://allnews.ng/news/utme-2021-remita-commences-sale-of-jamb-e-pins | 391 | Education | 1 | en | 0.99991 |
by: Ethan Huff
Covid was just a warmup, according to billionaire eugenicist Bill Gates, who is already warning about the next scamdemic and the speed with which the next round of “vaccines” will be unleashed.
“Next time what we’ll have is factories that are able to produce [vaccines] far faster, and so just in months you should be able to make enough for the world,” Gates recently said.
“So we’ll have enough supply so that prioritization won’t matter because we’ll cover everyone.” (Related: Gates also has plans to “vaccinate” the entire food supply.)
Corresponding to statements also recently made by fake president Joe Biden about the next plandemic, Gates says that “giant mRNA factories” will soon appear that will churn out all sorts of new vaccines at warp speed.
“We’re not quite out of the woods yet with this current pandemic, and it’s sobering that we have to think about the next pandemic when we’re just now enjoying the things that we like to do in life,” lamented Folly Bah Thibault, the Al Jazeera host who spoke to Gates just before Christmas about the matter.
“Why and how ready should we be for the next pandemic?” she went on to ask Gates, to which he responded:
“Well, governments are there to protect us … but the [covid] pandemic is a disaster that they did not prepare for. The actual resources required to have a global surveillance team to make better diagnostic technologies, to do quick detection. It’s actually not going to be that expensive once the world gets organized and makes it a priority.”
It’s not if but WHEN the next “pandemic” is unleashed
According to Gates, it is not simply a possibility that there will be another scamdemic. He has repeatedly stated, including most recently to Al Jazeera, that there will be another one at some point.
It is not a “matter of if but when,” Gates revealed, warning that people and governments need to “actively prepare” for the next round of global tyranny, which is sure to eclipse the last round.
Gates wants to see a whole lot more vaccines, a whole lot more “testing” kits, and a whole lot more tyranny the next time a scary disease gets circulated in the news cycle.
“Picking how we strengthen WHO – create a special organization dedicated to pandemics,” Gates said, adding that efforts must continue being made to “get every country to practice” the things he says need to happen for the next plandemic.
“So we need a little bit of preparation so that we can stop something before it goes global,” he added. “So we’ll have lots of outbreaks but we need to have less pandemics.”
Creating a “worldwide surveillance” apparatus of the kind Gates desires is expensive. In order to pay for it, he wants the wealthiest countries in the world, including the United States, to spend $2-$3 billion annually for preparedness purposes.
Gates always wants to see all old people vaccinated first, this next time around. Young people should only get injected, he says, after all the older people have already rolled up their sleeves.
Either way, Gates wants there to be plenty of vaccines to go around for everyone, which means billions of dollars must be poured into Big Pharma’s coffers now in order to create more factories and product lines in anticipation of the next scamdemic.
“We have to make it visible how important these issues are,” Gates stressed. “If the kids were dying in our neighborhood, you know we’d buy the bed nets and we’d make it a priority.”
More related news coverage can be found at Pandemic.news.
Sources for this article include: | https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/the-next-pandemic-is-coming-says-bill- | 859 | null | 1 | en | 0.999973 |
6th October, 2023
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has called on those accusing him of fraudulent academic claims to submit all evidence to the EFCC, ICPC and the Directorate of Prosecutions within 30 days so that they can probe him.
Soyinka spoke after an online publication disputed his academic claims and attributed it to the scholastic industry of a Bristol schoolteacher.
Soyinka in a statement titled: “A Moral Call to Amoral Conscripts,” on Friday, said he would voluntarily waive all protection under the statute of limitations and insisted that the laws that govern fraudulent academic claims be invoked and applied to these allegations against him to the uttermost limit.
He declared in advance that, if found culpable, he shall strip himself of any titles and honours he might have garnered in his entire career, from the most obscure to the most coveted.
According to Soyinka, “A document of unmatchable scurrility, last encountered during General Sani Abacha’s global campaign of calumny against opponents of his despotic, infernally venal and homicidal reign, is back in circulation.
“Duly modified to suit a debased internet culture, it is making its grimy rounds ironically under the auspices of a democratic political party, supposedly dedicated to an ethos of freedom of opinion and expression. The contents of that script are attributed, as before, to the scholastic industry of a Bristol schoolteacher.”
He added that “While awaiting a decision from my lawyers whether or not to dignify the current sponsors of this mouldy tract with legal action, I wish to state in advance that I voluntarily waive all protection under the statute of limitations, and insist that the laws that govern fraudulent academic claims be invoked and applied to these allegations to the uttermost limit. I also declare, in advance that, if found culpable, I shall strip myself of any titles and honours I may have garnered in my entire career, from the most obscure to the most coveted.
“In return, I expect the purveyors of this sordid material to submit all evidence, however minuscule, to the nation’s investigative agencies – Directorates of Prosecutions, EFCC, ICPC, plus affected institutions and others – within the next thirty days.
“Failing this elementary service in public interest within the stated time, and/or If such allegations are yet again proven baseless, thus indicating that their sponsors can boast of neither honours to their careers nor honour to their births and origins, then, as a token of moral recompense, they should undertake to jump off the bridge of the symbolic River Niger, provided with life jackets to ensure a life of remorse after this ritual purgation, but chained to one another in a commendable unity of purpose.”
The Nobel Laureate said he had copied his statement to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Pan-African Writers Association, Accra; Nigerian Association of Authors, the Nobel Foundation, Stockholm, the University of Leeds, the alleged Bristol Primary Source and his school, and the infested media. | https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2023/10/06/soyinka-invites-efcc- | 668 | null | 1 | en | 0.999924 |
May 2, 2022 by The Nation
Court urged to compel Fed Govt to raise judges’ pay
The Federal High Court in Abuja has been urged to among others, compel the Federal Government, through the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), to increase the salaries and allowances of judges in the country.
The request is contained in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/595/2022 filed last Friday by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Sebastine Hon.
The suit has the National Assembly, the RMAFC, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the National Judicial Council (NJC) as defendants.
Hon, in a supporting affidavit, stated that as legal practitioner, “who has practised in all the levels of courts in Nigeria, I know that poor pay for judicial officers is seriously affecting the quality of judgments and rulings those officers are delivering, and the discharge of other functions associated with their offices.”
He argued that the current economic reality in the country required that the salaries and allowances of the nation’s judges be urgently improved upon.
The plaintiff noted that the highest paid judicial officer in the country – the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) – currently earns about N3.4million per annum, far below what is earned by such an officer in other countries.
Hon, who quoted what all judicial officers currently earn as provided under Part IIB of the Schedule to the Certain Political, Public and Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc) Amendment Act 2008, said the paltry sums have discouraged him from aspiring to became a judge.
He said it is about 14 years now since the salaries and allowances were last reviewed upward in 2008 despite the loss of value of the naira vis-à-vis other global currencies like the US dollars, the British pound sterling and the European Union (EU) euro, etc.
“As at November, 2008 when the amended Act was in force, the exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar was N117.74 to USD1.
“The naira has considerably lost its value over time; but judicial officers in Nigeria have been placed on the same salary scale for up to 12 years, namely since 2008,” he said.
Hon added that “even foreigners who have been hired from time to time to coach Nigeria’s national football teams earn higher than Nigeria’s judicial officers.”
He is praying the court for among others, a declaration that by a combined reading of the provisions of Section 6(1)(b) and (d) and Parts A and B of the First Schedule to the Revenue Allocation Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission Act, Cap. R7, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, it is unconstitutional for the 2nd defendant (RMAFC) to refuse or neglect to upwardly review the salaries and allowances of the judicial officers notwithstanding the changing local and international socio-economic realities.
The plaintiff wants an order compelling the defendants to forthwith activate measures to urgently review judicial officers pays, raising that of the CJN to a minimum of N12m monthly, N11m for other Justices of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal President; N10m for other Justice of the Appeal Court, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and President of the National Industrial Court (NIC).
Hon also wants the court to compel the defendants to raise the monthly minimum take home of a judge of the NIC to N9m; N8m for Chief Judges of High Court of state sand the Federal Capital Territory, while the other judges be entitled to N7m.
He also seeks an order compelling the RMAFC or any other body assigned its responsibilities, “to, in perpetuity, review and continue to embark upon and carry out, in conjunction with the 3rd defendant (AGF), a yearly or at most a two-yearly review of the salaries and allowances of the judicial officers listed above, with a view to making the said salaries and emolument realistic and befitting of the offices and duties attached to/exercised by such offices.” | https://thenationonlineng.net/court-urged-to- | 869 | null | 1 | en | 0.99999 |
Hours to the May 29 handover, the Kaduna State Government led by Governor Nasir El-Rufai has declared the Atyap Community Development Association as an unlawful society in the state and signed an order to proscribe it.
The proscription order noted that the Southern Kaduna association allegedly involved in acts capable of endangering the peace, tranquility, and co-existence and good governance of the state.
A statement by El-Rufai’s spokesman, Muyiwa Adekeye, said the governor signed the Atyap Community Development Association (Proscription) Order, 2023 in the exercise of the powers conferred by Section 60 of the Kaduna State Penal Code Law No. 5 of 2017, and Section 5 (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The proscription order became effective on May 24, 2023.
The proscription order noted that Sections 38 and 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantee the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and also the right to the freedom of association and peaceful assembly to all citizens. | https://www.channelstv.com/2023/05/28/el- | 228 | null | 1 | en | 0.999744 |
Publisher, journalist and former presidential candidate Dele Momodu has re-entered politics and joined Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Momodu announced his move to the PDP in a statement, explaining that his decision was based on the need to contribute meaningfully to the development of the country.
“I have consulted widely. And it is clear to me that given the dangerous and disastrous drift that our nation has experienced in the past six years, the only party from which amends can be made to rectify our situation is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” he said in the statement released on Friday morning.
“This accords with my vehement opposition to the policies and practices of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and its leadership, which has denuded our country of everything we hold dear – national unity, cohesion, security, economic prosperity, educational advancement, social infrastructure, and above all, our cherished moral values.
“For these reasons, I am happy to declare that I am now a full-fledged participating member of the great and patriotic Peoples Democratic Party.”
He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of failing in delivering democratic dividends to Nigerians, maintaining that the PDP has landmark achievements to show for their 16-year rule.
“It is deeply saddening and regrettable that some of the biggest and landmark achievements recorded under the PDP administration have been diluted, wasted, or diminished by the present APC government,” he added.
He thanked the party for accepting him into its fold and hailed PDP members for being steadfast and resolute despite the hurdles stacked against them.
“I wish to thank the leadership of my party, PDP, for fully accepting me with love and enthusiasm,” the journalist said.
“I intend to serve Nigeria from within the PDP with all humility, purpose, vigour, and sincerity in whatever role the party and God deem fit for me.” | https://www.channelstv.com/2021/10/29/dele- | 419 | null | 1 | en | 0.999979 |
October 8, 2022 by The Nation
APC to PDP: Rescue yourself first before thinking of saving Nigeria
The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday lashed out at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for saying the ruling party was not ready to govern Nigeria.
Spokesperson for the PDP presidential campaign management committee, Mr. Dino Melaye, had in a statement said it was “becoming increasingly apparent that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is neither ready for election nor structured to govern, though its members are desperate to retain power. Sadly, the undiscerning is oblivious of the usual media hypnotism that the APC engages to confuse and mesmerise the unwary.”
He added: “I once had a cause to describe the APC as an NGO and not a political party. Even now that it has managed to have a contrivance called Party Executive it remains formless, unstructured, uncoordinated and unorganised.
“It’s not surprising since, as you may recall, the coronation of the Chairman of the party was a mere formalisation of the appointment approved by President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the life wire, navigator and camp commandant of the APC.”
However, the Director of Public Affairs and Chief Spokesperson, Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo (SAN), in a swift reaction, said the opposition party was hallucinating.
Describing the PDP statement as outlandish, Keyamo asked the PDP to first concentrate on rescuing itself from the multitude of crises facing it before thinking of saving Nigeria.
“This most outlandish statement, coming from the PDP at a time it has become the theatre of the most absurd in this country, is most ironic and unfortunate. It reminds us of the Yoruba parable of the audacious thief summoning the effrontery to accuse the farm owner of illegal trespass before the farm owner could raise the alarm,” the APC presidential campaign spokesman said.
Continuing, he said: “In the past few weeks, the PDP has entertained Nigerians with scandalous issues that show the party remains a clear and present danger or threat to Nigeria’s treasury and equity.
“In the last few days, the public space has been inundated with allegations made by no less a person than a prominent governor of the PDP accusing its National Chairman of being patently corrupt and of collecting a bribe of N1 billion from one of its candidates.
“The Governor even threatened to reveal if there was a denial. The Party Chairman, Ayu, is yet to deny or debunk this allegation for fear of being stripped bare in public. Is this the party that claims it is ready for governance and that Nigerians can trust; a party without any iota of shame?
“Instead of hiding his head in shame, the same Ayu went on a bribing spree, crediting the accounts of members of the NWC in a desperate and laughable attempt to hang on to office. Is this the party Nigerians can trust? Is this the party ready to govern Nigeria?
“Some Governors within the PDP have openly expressed reservation as to the capacity of the party leadership to deliver on its often touted promise to restructure and unite Nigeria when it is getting increasingly clear they are incapable of restructuring and unifying their party to start with.
“This is because their party has a Northern Presidential candidate and a Northern Party Chairman and also ignored the principle of zoning because its perennial presidential hopeful cannot cede the opportunity to others in the spirit of national inclusion and cohesion, having consistently put his interest above national interest.
“These concerns were expressed by some PDP Governors themselves. It is like hearing from the horse’s mouth. Need we say more? These frank and honest Governors are doing the Lord’s work for us.
“Every week, we are treated to a new revelation about the PDP crises and its profligate and thieving nature. A leopard can hardly change its spot, which means that the PDP is not repentant of its old ways. Certainly, Nigerians are not ready to be deceived again by these comic characters.
“We can all vividly recall the famous Dasukigate where the money allocated for national security was shared among party chieftains whilst Boko Haram was ravaging the country. We are yet to recover from that trauma and the PDP is showing us that their patented technology for sharing sleazy funds is alive.
“It appears all their pipelines for siphoning and redistributing public funds are still very much intact and are steaming to return to full operation.”
Keyamo said not only is the APC ready to govern Nigeria, it is prepared to be fair and just to all regions, as against PDP’s flagrant breaching of its constitution.
His words:”On our part, our party has shown its commitment to be fair to all regions in the country. Whilst the PDP was breaching its own Constitution on power rotation and fairness, the APC Governors rose above primordial sentiments and rejected a move to Zone the APC Presidential ticket to the North, insisting that power must shift to the South after President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure. This is a party that believes in fairness and equity and all Nigerians can attest to that.
“Our party, being the largest party in Africa, has to consult far and wide with every critical stakeholder on campaign plans. We have put together a very strong women’s campaign team because we understand what it means to be inclusive and diverse and we are fully committed to the empowerment of women in the scheme of things. As a result, women must have their say as to how campaigns should be run.
“On 31st May 2018, President Buhari, who is the leader of our party, signed the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Bill into law. The APC also has a very extensive and broad youth campaign team. This is a party ready for Nigeria; it is a party ready to address squarely the real issues affecting Nigerians.
“Our Presidential candidate has a track record. He has held executive office; he has pioneered transformational changes. As of today, the IGR in Lagos has grown by 7400% from 1999 to 2021. This is one of the relevant issues that should animate public conversation at this moment; not the cacophony of sounds and fury from the PDP that signifies nothing.
“We advise the PDP to desist from its hallucinations and concentrate on rescuing itself before even thinking of ‘rescuing’ Nigeria.” | https://thenationonlineng.net/apc-to-pdp-rescue-yourself-first-before- | 1,393 | null | 1 | en | 0.999992 |
February 23, 2017 by The Nation
Ota: Home of maths champions
For years, secondary schools in Ota, Ogun State, have excelled in mathematics competitions. Educationists are seeking recognition for the town over this feat, report ERNEST NWOKOLO and KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE.
ta, an industrial and densely-populated town, is the headquarters of Ado/Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State. It is the traditional headquarters of the Awori.
The ancient town hosts former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s farm, Winners’ Chapel, the Covenant University, the Africa Leadership Forum, and the Bells University of Technology, among others.
It is a trading point because of its proximity to Lagos and link to the border with the Republic of Benin through Idiroko Road.
But beyond this, the town is fast becoming the nation’s hub for upcoming mathematicians. Secondary schools in Ota have distinguished themselves in mathematics and other science competitions, especially the one sponsored by Promasidor Nigeria Ltd, which is regarded as the most prestigious mathematics competition in the land, considering the prize money and the large number of participants from across the country.
Ota schools’ maths laurels
In the history of the Cowbell National Secondary School Mathematics Competition (NASSMAC), which became a nationwide competition in 2001, and its successor, the Cowbellpedia Television Quiz Competition, which made its debut in 2015, schools in Ota have always won the slot to represent Ogun State in the final stage.
The schools that have represented the state include Iganmode Grammar School, Ota Total Academy, Scholars Universal Secondary School, and the Ambassadors School.
In the past seven years, there have been one or two among these four schools among the top three winners in any of the two categories.
Iganmode Grammar School, the oldest public secondary school in the area, set the pace for others to follow. It has won either the junior or senior secondary categories of the competition five times (2002, 2007, 2011, 2012 and 2013).
For winning the award between 2011 and 2013, the town celebrated the pupils who made the state proud.
Then principal, Prince Joseph Obalanlege, was declared best Principal for Ota Zone by the Ota Zonal Education Authority for his leadership that brought about the excellent performance in maths.
The teacher credited with training the pupils, Mr Atinsola Akeem, said the school made it to the final eight times and won five times.
Sadly, since 2013, Iganmode Grammar School has not defended its title because of the challenge from private schools.
In 2012 and 2014, Ota Total Academy, founded in 2001 by a former principal of Iganmode Grammar School, won the senior category of the competition. This was building on its success in 2010 when it came second. In the Cowbellpedia era, it came fifth in the senior emerged in 2015; and got the fifth and sixth in 2016.
Scholars Universal Secondary School has also upped the ante. It got the second prize (junior category) in 2015 and though its representative in the 2016 Cowbellpedia, Idowu Oluwatunmise, did not win any of the first three slots, she holds the record of answering 17 questions correctly in the 60 seconds of fame round of the competition. Before her, the previous record was 15 questions in one minute.
However, perhaps the reigning champion, the Ambassadors School, has the most colourful story of all. Its first Cowbellpedia laurel came in 2010 (third place, junior category). But last year, it surprised the organisers and participants by clinching all six prizes in both categories (worth N8.5 million) in a final that was dominated by Ota schools.
Successes in other areas
The four schools in Ota have also shown they are not only about mathematics but excel in other areas as well. There are testimonies from the schools that their pupils excel in external examinations, as well as win other local and international competitions, and get scholarships.
Iganmode won the 2013 American Mathematics Competition organised by the International Academy of the Gifted, National Computer JETS Competition (2004), NNPC National Quiz Competition (2003) and STAN National Science Quiz Competition (2001).
Apart from Cowbellpedia, Ota Total Academy has also won various academic achievements which include NNPC Science Quiz Competition, 2013 and 2014 ( second place).
Scholars Universal Secondary School also has other laurels in its kitty – like the National Mathematics Olympiad (1st to 8th positions in the first stage), first and third positions in Ogun State MAN Mathematics Olympiad (senior quiz) and the 2016 STAN/Mobil Science (second).
The Ambassadors College has also won various academic laurels in the past including the Young Educator’s Foundation (first, second and third); MAN Mathematics Competition (second, Southwest Zone); NNPC Science Competition (final), among others.
Professor of Mathematics and former Director-General, National Mathematical Centre (NMC), Abuja, Adewale Solarin, told The Nation that pupils in Ota have been doing well for a long time in other competitions.
Solarin said pupils from Ota have performed brilliantly in the Mathematical Kangaroo (Kangourou sans frontières in French) – an international mathematical competition where students from about 71 countries participate annually.
The Algebraist, who hails from Sagamu, Ogun State, added that he recognised Ota as a hub for young mathematicians, attributing the schools’ successes to their investment in education.
“I recognised that the pupils in Ota schools are doing well not only in mathematics. I discovered that the proprietors of schools there have interest in Maths teachers and they are putting a lot of efforts to encourage and motivate the teachers. Students should be given scholarships so that they can do more and make other students to emulate them. Of truth, scholarship is the way to go about it,” he said.
Mr Alonge Timothy, a maths teacher and co-proprietor of Scholars Universal School, said schools in Ota were inspired by the feats achieved by Iganmode Grammar School.
“We have brilliant students here and we have what it takes to manage them well. We are all following the footsteps of Iganmode Grammar School. Some of the maths teachers in Ota are products of the school.
“So, we felt that if Iganmode Grammar School could win external maths competitions, we challenged ourselves to do the right thing to win and before you know it, the healthy competition erupted among the schools here.
“That is why schools and pupils in Ota are shinning every year in Cowbellpedia competition and others. We hope every other state will follow suit,” he said.
Chairman of Ambassadors School, Ota Mr Samson Osewa said Iganmode Grammar School played a positive role in spurring other schools to excellence.
“Iganmode was renowned for mathematics and all principals posted to the school took it as important. They were always in the finals. After sometime, a former principal of Iganmode, Babasanya, started Ota Total Academy and they started competing. We came into the picture in 2010 when we came third,” he said.
Osewa said his school got to where it is today by investing heavily in competent mathematics teachers, training them, instituting a system of excellence in academic performance as well as reward.
For instance, he said the school has 17 maths teachers and has a policy of having more than one in class at a time. It also holds bi-weekly tests in all subjects called King and Queen tests, where pupils who score 85 per cent and above are crowned the kings and queens of the subjects.
Five years ago, the school also started its own mathematics competition – The Ultimate Mathematics Ambassadors (TUMA) for primary schools in Lagos and Ogun states.
Osewa said some of the most impressive results of the school’s investments have been outstanding performance of its pupils in international examinations as well as scholarships.
“In our school, our investment is paying off. In 2012, we were ranked 71 in the country in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). In 2013, we were 40 and in 2014, eighth. I think in our school, it is reflecting in our results more than other schools.
“In the beginning of last year, those who represented the school in Cowbellpedia 2015, who only made it to the semi final of the competition, also scored 100 per cent in the Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics and later in the year, they wrote the American SAT and scored 800/800 in mathematics and 680/800 in English. Three of them got scholarship into Howard University in the U.S. In all, six of our students got scholarships abroad,” he said.
Government recognition or lack of it
Some of the teachers lamented the lack of the Ogun State government’s recognition of Ota schools’ contributions to the state’s educational achievements.
Alonge of Scholars Universal College said they had received no commendation from the government so far.
“We want Ota to become the hub of mathematics in Nigeria but the government is not recognising this. If it is football competition, they would have been celebrated but if it is in the academic, they stay away.
“We are not asking for money but just recognition and commendation for making Ota and Ogun State proud every year in the last six years,” Alonge said.
Osewa on his part said it would not be out of place for the government to reward the schools financially.
“Government should encourage everybody. In some states when they win Cowbellpedia, they get N15/N20 million from the government. What we want is encouragement. Iganmode’s performance might have gone down because of lack of encouragement,” he said.
However, Osewa lauded the Iganmode Club of Ota, which hosted all four schools and rewarded last year’s winners penultimate week.
“This year, Iganmode Club of Ota hosted all nine finalists and the four schools that have been representing Ota to a sumptuous dinner. They have thrown a challenge to the government,” he said.
At the event, the club honoured Oguntade Ayo, Adeyemi Taiwo, Udo Eno-obong Blessing, Ekoko Juliet, Daniel Ore-Ofe and Okoli Glory – the six winners from The Ambassadors School; as well as Oluwatunmise Idowu of Scholars Universal School, and Fatoke Ademola and Adeyanju Hasana of Ota Total Academy.
The teachers and schools were also not left out as they too got tokens from the club.
The club’s president, Obalanlege, said the pupils, teachers and their schools deserved honour for making Ota proud and putting its name in national consciousness through academic excellence.
Obalanlege said: “We the members of Iganmode Club Ota appreciate and congratulate you on your well deserved victory knowing that you have made Ota proud in particular and Ogun state in general.
“The 2016 edition of Cowbellpedia competition has come and gone but the superlative performance of schools from Ota in Ogun State will forever be remembered as they performed feat that is unparalleled in the history of the competition.”
The former principal said the club did not need to wait for the government to recognise the schools.
“These are things we love to associate our self with. We believe that government cannot be responsible for everything and our mindset should change from what government can for us to what can we do for the government.
“We believe in you and say even now that the country is faced with challenges of moving into a world in which problem solving is in high demand, we have faith that you these geniuses can use your creative skills to proffer solutions to our numerous problems,” he said.
Zonal Education Officer for Ado/Odo/Ota Local Government Area Mrs. Oluwatosin Oloko said the state remained proud of Iganmode Grammar School and others that are attracting good names to the area.
Mrs. Oloko, who was represented on the occasion by Mrs. Yusuf Olayinka, said the government would train teachers next month to help them remain relevant.
She, however, said the government could not do it alone, urging the private sector to complement its efforts.
The lawmaker representing Ota in the Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Nurudeen Aina, pledged to bring the achievements of Ota schools to the floor of the House. He said the pupils deserved commendation from the Ogun Assembly for doing the state proud.
The legislator, however, lamented that Iganmode Grammar School which blazed the trail was plagued by severe congestion because of inadequate classrooms and learning materials.
He said he had donated a block of two classrooms to the school, his alma mater, but added that it amounted to a mere drop in an ocean.
Aina said it was not uncommon to see over 70 pupils receiving lecture in a class in the school.
He appealed to old students and the state government to intervene in the school so it can sustain the high academic standard it is noted for. | http://thenationonlineng.net/ota-home-maths- | 2,838 | null | 2 | en | 0.999899 |
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA– The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday, declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, acted unlawfully, when it stopped the Continuous Voters’ Registration, CRV, exercise on July 31, more than six months to the 2023 general elections.
The court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo, said it was convinced that the action by electoral body, “would disenfranchise millions of eligible potential voters”.
It held that INEC could only stop the CRV exercise, at least 90 days before the next general elections scheduled for February 25, 2023.
The judgement followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1335l2022, which was filed before the court by a frontline constitutional lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, and Abubakar Damisa Sani.
Justice Ekwo, held thus: “In
my opinion, the intent of the lawmaker in making any law is that any person to whom the responsibility, power or authority for implementing the law Is given must act reasonably in doing so
“This means that the power of the Defendant to stop the exercise of continuous registration of voters not later than 90 days before the general elections must be exercised reasonably.
“The Defendant ended the CVR on 31st July, 2022 when the general election by its Timetable starts on 25th February, 2023.
“By simple arithmetic, the period between 31st July, 2022 and 25th February, 2023 is 208 days.
“In other words, what the Defendant is saying in its defence, is that it needed to end the CVR exercise on 31st July, 2022 which is 208 days from the date of the general election which is 25th February, 2023, at the time it did, so that the permanent voters’ cards will be printed in good time and distribution of same can commence in earnest as what use will extending the CVR exercise serve if the Defendant is not able to meet the timelines stated in Exhibit INEC 3.
“I cannot agree with the Defendant that it needs 208 days to produce permanent voters’ cards.
“Before making Exh. INEC 3, the Defendant must have satisfied itself of its capacity to produce permanent voters‘ cards and distributed same to all registered voters in Nigeria.
“It is apparent from the averments of the Defendant that they do not have the equipment that is capable of producing at the complimentary level of voters registration.
“However, the case is, the excuse given by the Defendant for stopping the CVR on 31st July, 2022, thereby depriving the Plaintiffs and other Nigerians who are eligible to vote in the 2023 general elections is not tenable going by the facts of this case.
“As I look at it now, it is my opinion that the Defendant was hasty in stopping the CVR on 31st JuIy, 2022 for the general electIons that will hold on 25th February, 2023 and 11th March, 2023 respectIvely.
“The case of the PIaintiffs therefore succeeds on the merit and I answer their sole question In the negative.
“A Declaration is hereby made that the stoppage of the continuous voters registration by the Defendant on the 31th of July, 2022, amounts to disenfranchisement of citizens who have attained or wlll attain the age of 18 years before 28th day of November, 2022, being 90 days to the date of the general elections scheduled to hold on 25th February, 2023”, Justice Ekwo held.Though the court upheld the case of the plaintiffs, it, however, declined to issue a mandatory order of injunction to compel INEC which was cited as the sole defendant in the matter, to forthwith, in line with section
9 (6), 10 (1), and 12 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, extend the CVR exercise till November 27, which will be 90 days to the general elections.
The court equally refused to order INEC to allow citizens who have the temporary voters card to vote in the forthcoming elections In 2023, they, having been duly registered as voters but could not be given their Permanent Voters Card, PVC, due to the stoppage of the registration and collection of permanent voters’ card by INEC on July 31, 2022, contrary to the provisions of sections 9 (6) and 10 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/11/2023-court- | 961 | null | 1 | en | 0.999994 |
June 18, 2015 by The Nation
Court fails to give judgement in Fani-Kayode’s case
Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on Thursday failed to give judgment in the money laundering trial involving a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, due to the absence of the prosecution counsel, Mr. Festus Keyamo.
The judge chose not to deliver the verdict in Keyamo’s absence, although the lawyer was represented in court.
Fani-Kayode’s lawyer, Chief Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), urged the judge to go on and deliver the judgment since it was ready.
He said the law did not make it mandatory that a prosecuting counsel must be present before a judgment is delivered in a criminal case.
The senior advocate said even if someone is holding a watching brief for the prosecuting counsel, the judgment could still be delivered.
But Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia insisted that she was more comfortable reading the judgment in Keyamo’s presence.
She stood the case down for 10 minutes to enable the lawyer from Keyamo’s chambers, Mr. Festus Afeiyodion, to confirm from his principal the day he would be available.
About an hour later, Afeiyodion told the judge that Keyamo requested for a short stand-down to enable him come, as he was handling another matter elsewhere.
“Mr. Keyamo asked that the matter be stood down till 1.30pm. By then, he would be through and be here personally. In the alternative, he suggested that any other day could be chosen and he will be here,” Afeiyodion said.
Adedipe, after briefly conferring with Fani-Kayode, said they would not mind waiting till 1.30pm.
However, the judge said she would prefer not to deliver the judgment under pressure as the day would have been far gone by that time.
Apparently to prove that the judgment was indeed ready, she displayed a typewritten material on her tablet, saying she prefers to read it out at a convenient time.
Fani-Kayode was accused of making a transaction exceeding N500, 000 on September 20, 2006, which was not done through a financial institution.
He was alleged to have accepted N2.1 million in cash, which was paid into his personal bank account by his aide, Supo Agbaje, while he served as Minister of Culture and Tourism.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to the alleged offence which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said contravenes the Money Laundering Act. | http://thenationonlineng.net/new/court-fails-to-give-judgement-in-fani- | 563 | null | 1 | en | 0.999975 |
April 24, 2013 by The Nation
Financialism : Water from an empty well (1)
Not many us would reason that there is any difference between money and wealth. After all, the popular perception is that to be wealthy is to have lots of money. But the authors of this book, ‘Financialism: Water from an empty well’, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Brian Browne, insist that this is pure myth. Money may be the measure of wealth; it cannot be its definition. It is this conflation of money with wealth, they contend, that is responsible for the current unhealthy and even destructive transition from traditional capitalism to the reigning economic regime that they creatively christen ‘financialism’. Capitalism is a system of private ownership of the means of production and investment in creation of goods and services by the private entrepreneur for the purpose of reaping profit. Financialism on the other hand is the system of investing and speculating in money for the purpose of multiplying money for its own sake to reap mega profits. This is clearly an unorthodox book. It is suffused through and through with ‘out of the box’ thinking. Many of the views, perceptions, observations, illustrations, pontifications and prescriptions offered by the authors starkly contradict orthodox economic thinking.
But then, the authors, the former Governor of Lagos State and the former United States Consul-General in Nigeria, confess from the outset that they are neither professional economists nor academics. Is this not a draw back for the subject they have chosen to tackle? From what well of expertise, the reader may wonder, do they then draw the intellectual offerings they proffer as solutions to current economic challenges? Such a perspective, however, obviously exaggerates the scientific status and certitude of orthodox neo-liberal economics. How do we explain, for instance, the failure of orthodox economic experts to forsee the current global financial crisis, proffer policies to prevent the catastrophe and that they appear even more helpless in helping to chart a sustainable course towards a healthier, more equitable global economy? Tinubu and Browne can, therefore, rightly claim that, not imprisoned by textbook theories or mythical ideologies, their diverse life and professional experiences enable them to examine current global economic problems from fresh, more realistic perspectives.
We can thus understand their contention that money is not synonymous with wealth. Money, they explain, only underpins the creation of wealth when it facilitates the production of goods and services through which employment is generated and value added to society. Speculation and investment in the limitless multiplication of money for its own sake is, for the authors, the equivalent of constructing a sky scrapper on a foundation of nothing. It is this abnormality that defines the transition from capitalism to financialism, a development that is at the root of the current ruinous financial and economic disorder enveloping most parts of our contemporary world. In his thrilling forward to the book, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, points out its central thrust with characteristic pungency: “It challenges the domination of print value over the material goods, a situation where the “virtual” or symbolic arbiter between commodities comes to take precedence and becomes not only valued and marketable for itself, but also tyrannizes over the enabling material base. The skewed world of economics needs to be challenged, a world where the umblical cord between produce and tally card was slashed when no one was looking”. Eminent African-American statesman, Reverend Jesse Jackson, makes the same observation when he notes in the second foreword that “The book reveals a profound fact: the dominant economic theory is more subjective than it is scientific”.
The authors realize that the economy is not an enclave insulated from the influences of society and politics. Theirs is thus an endeavour in political economy. They state right from the outset that their aim is to contribute towards a better global future through the evolution of “a political economy based on an equitable creation of wealth”. Rather than being a variant of capitalism, Tinubu and Browne claim that financialism is actually an assault against the former. But then, is capitalism itself not essentially defined and motivated by human greed as epitomized by the profit motive? After all, did Adam Smith, the father of classical economics, not famously insinuate that we do not get our dinner due to the benevolence of the baker or the butcher but their pursuit of pecuniary self-interest? If selfishness, greed and the profit motive are the underlying driving motives of capitalism itself, is financialism then not only an inevitable culmination of the accumulative logic of the capitalist ethic? Is that, perhaps why Karl Marx declared sarcastically of capitalism: “Accumulate! Accumulate! That is the law and the prophets”?
If the logic of capitalism is the maximisation of profit at all costs and the financial sector offers the best sphere for the realization of this objective, will investment including reckless speculative activity not necessarily gravitate in that direction? It is probably because of their recognition of greed as a constant factor in capitalist economic organization that the authors constantly stress throughout the book the central role of government in maintaining a sound financial system, ensuring that the financial sector sustains a viable real sector, limiting the intensity and ferocity of competition as well as acting as a pivotal economic player that promotes policies capable of fostering economic development. Not for the authors then all that neo-liberal stuff of severely limiting the economic role of the state or maximum deregulation of the economy. As they put it, “All major financial calamities are described by the lack of responsible government supervision to mitigate private avarice, easy credit, and undue optimism, leading to excessive risk-taking and spiralling asset prices”.
As the authors demonstrate in the book, cyclical crises spurred by speculative greed are intrinsic to the capitalist model of economic management. What are their diagnoses of the root causes of this problem? What prescriptions do they have for overcoming the limitations of capitalism or what they describe as its financialist variant and ensuring that it functions in a more ethical, life-enhancing way? Are the authors involved in a well- meaning but ultimately futile effort to salvage a capitalist system that has gone utterly berserk and, from all indications, offers humanity nothing but a bleak future? Is capitalism sustainable as a model of economic organization or must we continue Karl Marx’s quest for an economic system that transcends capitalist greed and create a more just, equitable, caring and human society activated by the need of the majority rather than the greed of a few? | https://thenationonlineng.net/financialism-water-from-an- | 1,346 | null | 2 | en | 0.999971 |
By Ogalah Ibrahim
Two daughters of President Muhammadu Buhari, Zahra and Hanan were among other notable figures who joined women from Nigeria northwest to flag-off Tinubu/Shettima presidential campaign in Katsina on Wednesday.
Nevertheless, their mother, Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari, who is the Grand Patron of the Tinubu-Shetima Women Presidential Campaign Team,
was represented at the ocassion by the wife of the APC Presidential candidate, Senator Remi Tinubu.
While addressing the northwestern women at the Katsina People’s Square where the flag-off held, Senator Remi thanked the Katsina Governor, Aminu Bello Masari and the good people of Katsina State for the years of friendship and support shown her husband over the years, assuring that they will not forsake the north if the party wins in 2023.
She also prayed to God to grant Masari the wherewithal to continue to contribute to the wellbeing of our nation for many more years to come.
“I want to assure you that if you vote for us we will be there for you, we will be your partner in progress.
“We will do all it takes to see that the north west, even the northeast have peace in their border,” Senator Remi said.
On her part, the wife of the APC Vice Presidential candidate, Nana Shettima, who is also the Coordinator Northwest Zone Women Campaign Team
appealed to women from the zone to support the Tinubu-Shettima ticket from top to bottom come 2023 election.
Also, speaking at the flag-off, Masari assured that the people of Katsina State will stand by Tinubu till the end.
“Bola Ahmed Tinubu is at home with us in Katsina State. He has been with us since before 1999. Its not like we have known him just yesterday. We have been with him for a very long time
“Katsina State is the home of APC and APC here in Katsina stand by him 100%. We stood by him before, we stand by him today and we will stand by him tomorrow,” Masari said.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/11/photo-buharis-daughters-join-tinubu- | 488 | null | 1 | en | 0.999569 |
The Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Tuesday, continued his re-election campaign with a visit to Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state, where he assured that the ongoing reconstruction of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway would be completed within the next 18 months.
The assurance came as the governor commissioned the Itori Township Road in Ewekoro Local Government, while lamenting the deplorable state of the very-important road and the lukewarm attitude of the Federal Ministry of Works towards road.
This is coming on the heels of the governor’s assurance that he will revisit the case of the 75 coronet Obas and a deft political move to back the re-election bid of his predecessor’s brother.
Noting that motorists and other road users plying the Lagos-Abeokuta road will soon begin to smile, the governor explained that his administration will also be embarking on the construction of affordable housing units in the local government.
He disclosed that his administration in the next few months would be able to reach an agreement with the federal government on the reconstruction of the road.
He said: “We are coming to build affordable housing units in this local government. This is a very strategic local government and we should have affordable housing units here, this is an industrial local government.
“By the grace of God, between now and the next 18 months, this your road will wear a new look. You know that I have done everything humanly possible to fix this road, it is a federal road, just like Sagamu-Abeokuta, Epe-Ijebu-Ode and Agbara-Atan roads.
“The question to ask is; why is this the only road we have not been able to do anything?
“The answer is simple: the Federal Government insisted that the road is under contract and we should not touch it.
“We’ve done everything. We’ve negotiated with them, we’ve put money on the table, saying we want to partner with you, our people are suffering on this road, we cannot sit down and appear like we are an irresponsible administration and watch our people suffer in vain.
“I am sure that in the next few months, we will reach an agreement with the federal government, and that will bring respite to our people,” he said.
Abiodun also urged the residents of the town to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC ), which are now at various wards across the state, saying that is only way to ensure the continuation of developmental projects in the state.
Governor Abiodun, who noted that governance shouldn’t be about sentiments, said that voting the right set of people into office is extremely important for a better Ogun State and the country as a whole.
He thereafter, in what many people have tagged a deft political move, announced his support for the re-election bid of Yusuf Amosun, a brother to his political rival, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
Earlier in his remarks, the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Engr Ade Akinsanya, who noted that the commissioning of the Itori township road was a promise made and kept by the present administration, added that the Itori township road would also serve as a bye-pass for the ever busy Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.
The Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Ogun Central Senatorial District, Alhaji Afolabi Salisu, while commending party faithful for coming out in large numbers to receive the governor and his campaign team, disclosed that he is confident of victory for the party during the general elections.
The Olu of Itori, Oba Abdufatai Akamo while commending the Governor for embarking on the infrastructural development of the town and the state as a whole, disclosed that the Progressive Obas Forum of Ogun Central are solidly behind the second term ambition of the governor.
On the assurance that his administration will look into the issues of the 75 Coronet Obas, he made it clear that the matter was inherited by his administration.
Abiodun made this known during a stopover at the palace of the Olu of Itori, where he noted that his administration will also look into the matter concerning Baales in the state.
He said: “All the issues that you have raised concerning our Baales and coronate Obas, I have listened to.
“I know that there is the issue of the 75 coronet Obas that we inherited that has been controversial. I am looking into it and very soon, something will be done, but we will be doing it in phases,” he noted.
The immediate past governor, Ibikunle Amosun had elevated the 75 chiefs to minor obas at the twilight of the last administration, but on assumption of office, Abiodun set up a committee, which reviewed and recommended that the promotion of the traditional rulers from Baale to Obas be reversed.
Governor Abiodun, while advising that positions of president, governor or members of the legislative Chambers shouldn’t be filled based on sentiments, noted that their is no comparison between the candidates of the All Progressives Congress and other political parties.
Abiodun also called on the traditional rulers and their subjects to vote for continuity in the state, while making case for the emergence of Yusuf Amosun as member of the State House of Assembly representing Ewekoro; Isiaka Ayokunle Ibrahim as member, House of Representative for Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency and Alhaji Afolabi Salisu as a Senator representing Ogun Central Senatorial District.
The governor noted that the emergence of Yusuf Amosun as the House of Assembly candidate for Ewekoro State Constituency was done in good faith, and that his emergence wasn’t based on sentiments or vendetta.
Abiodun further called on the traditional rulers to educate their subjects on the importance of having PVC.
He said that the people of the local government can only give him and his team a nod for a second term if they all go out and get their PVCs.
Below are more images from the campaign:
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/01/lagos- | 1,335 | null | 1 | en | 0.999983 |
February 9, 2022 by The Nation
JUST IN: Reps declare national emergency over ritual killings
The House of Representatives has declared a national emergency on the increasing spate of ritual killings.
The Green Chambers asked the Inspector General of Police to bring to book all those involved in the act.
The House also asked the Nigeria Film and Video Censors Board to increase monitoring of videos produced with ritual killing contents and ensure that such contents are deleted in line with its mandate.
Read Also: Church protests killings for money rituals
Adopting a motion of urgent public importance by Deputy Minority Leader, Toby Okechukwu, the House asked the National Orientation Agency (NOA), the media, school owners and parents to carry out enlightenment campaignS with a view to curbing the rising cases of ritual killings in the country.
Okechukwu had raised concerns about the rising cases of kidnaping for ritual purposes and the increasing cases of missing persons, which he said has assumed an alarming rate.
He also said that scenes containing killings for ritual purposes have become rampant in home videos, adding that if not checked such movies have the capacity to impact negatively on the mind of young Nigerians. | https://thenationonlineng.net/just-in-reps-declare- | 240 | null | 1 | en | 0.999935 |
28th February, 2024
By Ihechinyere Chigemeri-Uwom
The Abia Government has insisted that contrary to some insinuations, the state did not at any time invest in the Aba Geometric Power Project.
Abia Government said this while disputing an alleged claim by the spokesperson of the former administration that the state invested $5 million in the Geometric Power Project which was commissioned last Monday by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
The spokesperson had contended that as a result of the investment, Abia State should be entitled five percent share in the power project.
However, Abia Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr Okey Kanu and Special Adviser to the incumbent Governor Alex Otti on Media and Publicity, Mr Ferdinand Ekeoma disputed the claim.
Kanu told journalists that there is no existing financial commitment by the previous administration to the Geometric Power Project.
He spoke on Tuesday during a press briefing on the outcome of the State Executive Council at the Government House, Umuahia.
He said that the State Government had received a lot of commendation from people for its support towards the inauguration of the Geometric Power Project.
According to him, the development had equally raised claims from certain quarters that the previous administration made some investments in the project for the state government.
Kanu said that the government worked with facts and not assumptions, and added that during the handover the present administration did not receive any document that confirmed the claims.
He said: “Geometric Power Plant is a private sector led investment company and you don’t speak about things that don’t exist
“At the point of handover from the previous administration to this administration, I don’t think there is any existence of financial commitment on the part of the state in the Geometric Power Plant.
“Like I said we don’t need to speak to something that doesn’t exist,”
On his part, Ekeoma said that the present administration did not have any documents that confirmed that the government during the previous administration made a financial commitment to the project.
“I have heard from the spokesperson of the former government claim that there was an agreement, of course, we have been told that the state invested $5 million in geometric which gave them the opportunity to own five per cent equity share.
“At a different occasion, a former commissioner of Information during the previous administration claimed that a certain amount was paid and not the entire amount.
“That gave the Chairman of Geometric the premise to say what he said a few days ago.
“If you fulfilled your own side of the agreement it would give you the opportunity to take the said equity.
“As long as we don’t have any documents what it means is that such does not exist,” he added.
Ekeoma said that it would be pleasing to see that something was invested in a multibillion naira project in the name of the state.
According to him, it would be a welcome development to know that the government was inheriting something substantial from the previous administration.
“We are not dismissing what the former government said but all we are saying is that we would need to have a document.
“You cannot go to geometric and begin to claim you did so and so thing, when in actual sense you have nothing to show for it,” Ekeoma said. | https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2024/02/28/weve-no-investment-in-geometric- | 719 | null | 1 | en | 0.99999 |
July 20, 2022 by The Nation
Bakers to withdraw services nationwide Wednesday
The Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria (AMBCN) has threatened to withdraw their services across the country as from today.
Their grouse: increases in the prices of bakery materials, high cost of diesel and other unresolved issues.
The association had, on June 25, 2022, threatened to withdraw their services nationwide, citing a hike in the price of bakery materials, government’s insensitivity to the plight of bakers which they said has adversely affected their businesses.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chairman of AMBCN, Ishaq Adbulraheem, who announced this while speaking with The Nation yesterday, said the withdrawal of services is premised on the cost of flour, sugar and other materials used in the bakery business.
The union leader said the prices have soared beyond the reach of many bakers.
Abdulraheem, who said the regulatory agencies charge members outrageous levies, added that efforts to get the government’s intervention in the matter had been unsuccessful.
The AMBCN chairman said there had been no positive response from the concerned ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government on the lingering issues.
He said: “We are withdrawing our services nationwide. We expect government’s response so that we can review whatever we are doing. The high cost of ingredients, rate at which we are buying diesel – which is N880 per litre in the FCT – and the issue of cassava initiative that the Federal Government started so that we can move forward and save the economy are among the major issues.
“We are the second largest employers of labour in the country. But we are subjected to so many issues, not only the price increase. There is the issue of our regulatory agencies.
“There are issues of duplications in the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the rate at which the payment for registration is going up.
“We are paying too much. The registration fee with NAFDAC, which was initially N2,500, increased to N35,00 and now to N100,000.
“There is no ease of doing business. All the fees have tripled with all regulatory agencies. They said we must register with the two agencies. The government should address this so we can move forward.”
Also, the Managing Director of NEXTER Bakery in Abuja, Adewumi Bukola, urged the Federal Government to urgently address the challenges facing the bakers to enable them render their services to their customers.
“The government should cut relevant taxes and check the ever-increasing exchange rate of foreign currencies.
“We are not embarking on the measure to the detriment of our customers, but to assist them and enhance our businesses.
“We can’t bear it anymore. The last time, we did a little increment with the new prices of raw materials. We can’t continue to remain in business because customers won’t be able to afford bread if we keep increasing the prices.” | https://thenationonlineng.net/bakers-to-withdraw-services-nationwide- | 667 | null | 1 | en | 0.999996 |
July 24, 2021 by The Nation
BREAKING: Passengers escape death as plane crash lands
By: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation
Following an incident by an aircraft in the fleet of one of the major airlines in the country, the runway of the Ilorin International Airport has been closed to traffic.
Many passengers, including some highly-placed Nigerians, narrowly escaped death.
All flights to Ilorin have also been cancelled until evacuation of the plane.
The airline began operation from Ilorin Airport on June 16.
According to investigation, the aircraft crash landed at about 9.30am on Friday morning in Ilorin from Abuja.
The plane landed with a bang, which affected the cabin with luggage falling on passengers.
It was gathered with the impact of the crash the plane could not taxi to the tarmac.
In the last 24 hours, the runway of the airport had been closed to traffic.
But all the traumatised passengers were successfully evacuated from the runway.
As at the time of filing this report at 2.08pm, efforts were being made to relocate the plane from the runway.
It was learnt that the process of moving the plane from the runway was slow because, according to a source, “it is a bigger aircraft and we have no equipment.
“We are in the process of removing the aircraft. We have been on it for 24 hours,” the source added.
But the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and other agencies offered to keep the incident under wraps.
“We were directed to manage the situation,” the source said. | https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-passengers- | 341 | null | 1 | en | 0.99996 |
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola
Says digital ID ‘ll save Forex
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf AregbesolaBy Johnbosco Agbakwuru – Abuja
The Federal Government on Thursday announced that it was opting for a digital national identification card instead of the present plastic card.
The Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola, who disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents shortly after he submitted the report of the committee on Citizen Data Management and Harmonization to President Muhammadu Buhari said that the digital identification will be domiciled with the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC office.
He said, “The card is just for convenience, the real thing is the number you have. With that number you are on the databank, everything about you is there. We are just upgrading it such that your DNA too will be there very soon. Even if you are in a car, I will know if you are the one in the car with your DNA, it’s already captured. You are already captured, you cannot run away anymore.”
Also speaking, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Patami, explained that the priority of the federal government was on the digital identity card.
According to him, “What the chairman (Aregbesola) is saying now is that we are no more talking about cards, the world has gone digital, so that card is no more. Our priority now is digital ID, it will be attached to your database wherever you are. So if you can memorize it by heart, wherever you go that central database domiciled with NIMC will be able to provide the number and every one of your data will be provided.
“Now, our focus is no longer on producing cards, that card is only for record but what is important is the digital ID, and if you notice we have started using the digital ID on the international passport. Once you have the digital ID but not the card, we are 100 percent done with you.”
On his side, the Director-General of the NIMC, Aliu Azeez said, “With your national ID you are already identified, in the US is called social security number, the same with the UK and… they can control more than 1.3 billion people in about seven minutes.
“So we have found that this card is strenuous, it is forex that is going out of the country and we are in the 21st century and that is why we are focusing on national identification number and other identifications by other agencies have been linked to NIMC.”
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/08/fg-dumps-plastic-national-identity-card- | 581 | null | 1 | en | 0.999985 |
April 11, 2017 by The Nation
Jos: 80 houses for completion in June – Minister
Eighty units of houses, built under the National Housing Scheme, have reached 70 per cent completion and would be inaugurated in June, Mr Mustapha Shehuri, Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, has said.
Shehuri disclosed this on Tuesday in Jos, when he paid a courtesy call on the Deputy Governor of Plateau, Prof. Sonni Tyoden.
He said that Plateau was one of the beneficiaries of the pilot scheme of the housing programme.
According to him, the project consists of 4 units of 1-bedroom semi-detached houses, 48 units of 2-bedrooms, semi-detached, and 28 units of 3 bedroom semi-detached homes.
He said that the project, which commenced in February, would be completed and occupied in June this year.
The minister said that Nigerians, who could contribute a specified amount to the Federal Mortgage Bank, were qualified to own a house in the scheme.
Shehuri appealed to the state government to construct feeder roads that would link Rayfield to Laminga, where the houses were being constructed.
Responding, Tyoden assured the minister of the state government’s readiness to construct feeder roads that would link Rayfield to Laminga.
He appealed to the minister to address the issue of the abandoned 132 KVA line from Makara in Pankshin, noting that the abandonment had caused much hardship to the communities.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister, who had earlier inspected the housing project, expressed delight at the level and quality of work. | https://thenationonlineng.net/jos- | 353 | null | 1 | en | 0.999969 |
November 17, 2019 by The Nation
WPD: Premature babies don’t need to die
Babies born too early may have more health issues than babies born on time, and may face long-term health problems that affect the brain, the lungs, hearing or vision, an experts Dr Segun Ebitanmi has said.
World Prematurity Day (WPD) is marked globally on November 17 raises awareness of this serious health crisis. The theme for 2019 is: ‘Born too Soon: Providing the right care, at the right time, in the right place.’
The Chief Operating Officer, Dr Ebitanmi, during a WPD Walk and Preterm Party organised by Outreach Women and Children’s Hospital, Festac Town in Lagos, said premature birth is a very serious health problem that the government and parents need to adopt strategies that would help prevent deaths.
According to him these babies don’t need to die because there are ways and techniques, tools and technologies that can be used to keep them alive.
In the same vein, the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Efunbo Dosekun, urged governments to work with specialists in the private sector so that the health system could be more responsive to the needs of babies born prematurely.
Efunbo added that innovations in neonatal service delivery were already being adopted in developed countries for the care of preterm babies
“Science has created devices, strategies that can help these babies live and it’s high time we imbibe it; because they are born too early does not mean they should die.
“We need to be able to rise to this challenge, other countries that are not so well endowed as Nigeria have been able to have better outcomes,” she said.
READ ALSO: World is failing newborn babies, says UNICEF
Mrs Aisha Abari, a mother whose baby was born prematurely while narrating her ordeal said it wasn’t easy for her watching her baby passed through all the pain she did but expressed joy in being able to take her baby home.
According to her, she had a history of miscarriage, so abstained from sexual intercourse during pregnancy and had a cerclage – a surgical procedure to stitch the cervix to prevent miscarriage – but still had her baby at 29 weeks.
“During the pregnancy, I would go to the hospital for every little pain; I was very careful and so sure nothing would go wrong but at the end of the day, it still happened,” she said.
Abari, however, advised parents with premature babies to ensure they go to a good hospital with specialists and keep praying. | https://thenationonlineng.net/wp- | 552 | null | 2 | en | 0.999971 |
Roblox Down: Roblox users have been complaining about not being able to use the platform on social media, and the timing isn’t ideal. So, why is Ro-blox unavailable today? For the time being, the causes are unknown, while the platform’s engineering staff is aware of the problem and working on a solution. It looks like games and account information have been impacted.
You can only wait until Roblox is back online and know that the issue is being resolved, though some players still have access—perhaps you’re one of the lucky few who still have access to Roblox’s thousands of games. If you need something to occupy your time in the meantime, check out our listings of the top Switch RPGs and best mobile RPGs.
Roblox down: What happened today to Roblox?
The investigative team is aware of the issue, but has not yet determined a cause, according to the Roblox Status Twitter handle. The number of players on the site has dropped from over three million before the outage to less than a million this morning, one hour after it began. The outage has been classified as a service disruption by the worldwide online gaming platform, and many users around the world are having problems with Roblox’s services.
What is the problem with Roblox?
Down Detector says that people have been having trouble with Roblox since the early morning of October 29, 2021. On Down Detector at 4:52 AM this morning, there were 28,104 Roblox outage reports. 55 percent of the complaints were about website issues, 32 percent were about login issues, and 12 percent were about server connection issues. Even though the platform’s official channels of communication haven’t said what caused the outage yet, customers say that the company hasn’t updated their servers. Many users say that the website went down because of a free burrito coupon offered in partnership with Chipotle Mexican Grill. Stay tuned for more information on the Roblox outage.
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What problems are Robloxgamers having?
- Authentication difficulties with the website (logging in and being logged out at random)
- The content of the Roblox Studio website, including graphics and audio, is not loading.
- The in-game stuff is not loading properly.
- Connection issues and errors
- The Thumbnail API is currently unavailable. | https://www.officialroms.com/roblox-down/ | 576 | null | 1 | en | 0.999987 |
July 2, 2020 by The Nation
It is not our duty to unravel Boko Haram sponsors – Military
By Okodili Ndidi, Abuja
The Nigerian Military, Thursday, said that it is not part of its responsibilities to unravel the sponsors of the Boko Haram and Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) terror groups.
It said that even though it is aware that the groups are sponsored, its duty is to defeat the terrorists and not to meddle into their source of funding or sponsorship.
Coordinator Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, while fielding questions from Defence Correspondents, said that it is the duty of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Department of State Security to find out and disclose the identities of those sponsoring the terrorists and other criminal gangs in the country.
According to him, “the kind of weapons these terrorists are using like the gun truck and other sophisticated weapons are expensive and how much are they stealing to procure those arms that have to say that they are sponsored and heavily funded. But like I said, it is not the duty of the Military to uncover the sponsors. Our duty is to remain in the frontline and defeat terrorism and other criminality and that is what we are doing.
“We have the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Department of State Security (DSS), it is their responsibility to gather intelligence on the sponsors of the terrorist sand not the Military”.
On why the Military is yet to overrun the Sambisa forest, considered the traditional base of the Boko Haram Sect, Enenche, said that troops are avoiding collateral damages that may result from total bombardment of the forest.
He explained that the terrorists mingle with civilians in the Sambisa forest who collaborate with the insurgents thus making it difficult for troops to carry out major attacks on identified locations.
Meanwhile, giving updates on ongoing Military Operations, he noted that “in the North-East, troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE (OPLD) recorded commendable results in the past two weeks. During the period under review, troops conducted several operations at various locations, which led to the neutralization of terrorists, destruction of their equipment and structures as well as recovery of various items”.
He continued that, “between 18 and 30 June 2020, the Air Task Force of OPLD conducted intensive air strikes to mark the launching of its subsidiary Operation LONG REACH along the fringes of the Sambisa Forest in Borno State following concerted Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance missions.
“The air operations led to the destruction of a BHT tactical command centre housing some of their high value leaders and neutralized several of their fighters at Garin Maloma and Yuwe villages. Additionally, airstrikes conducted at Buka Korege, Bula Bello, Ngoske, Tongule, Bukar Meram and Warshale Villages led to the destruction of several BHT locations and gun trucks while scores of fighters were effectively neutralized”.
Eneche also added that, “meanwhile, troops of the Army Super Camp 17 at Cross Kauwa in Kukawa Local Government Area and troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE deployed at Response Area Aulari in Bama Local Government Area, both in Borno State, successfully repelled BHT/ISWAP’s attacks on 24 and 25 June 2020, respectively. The gallant troops responded to the terrorists’ attacks with superior firepower, thereby killing 2 of them in contact and recovered 2 AK-47 rifles, 2 Hand Grenades and some ammunition as well as 2 Rocket Propelled Guns and Unexploded Ordnances fired by the terrorists.
“While the Armed Forces of Nigeria reinvigorates and intensifies her operational activities in the theatre in the North East, it has not relented in its non-kinetic operations. These activities are evident in the civil military cooperation activities provided at various quarters by the Nigerian military, including the continued provision of medical outreach to IDPs by the Military. These activities led to improved civil military relations, thereby enhancing provision of information to security agencies, which resulted to the remarkable successes recorded in recent past in the North East Zone”.
In the North West zone, he revealed that, “in continuation of aggressive clearance operation in the North-West zone of the country, troops of Operation HADARIN DAJI under Operation ACCORD have continued to record significant successes against the criminal elements.
“This is in addition to the several air bombardments conducted under the subsidiary Operation WUTAN DAJI. The air bombardments led to the neutralization of several bandits and their Logistics bases in Doumbourou, Kuyanbana, Bimasa forests as well as Dunya village in Katsina and Zamfara States respectively.
“Also, within the period under review, troops foiled armed bandits attack in Katsina and Zamfara States. Troops successfully killed 12 armed bandits and arrested 6 suspected bandits’ informers/collaborators across the theatre.
“Similarly, troops of Operation HADARIN DAJI under Operation ACCORD also rescued 29 kidnapped victims in Katsina and Zamfara States. They were handed over to the 2 State governments. These successes recorded within the period under review have brought about a renewed vigour and determination on the side of the gallant troops in tackling the security challenge in the North West Zone”.
According to him, “in the North-Central zone, troops of Operations SAFE HAVEN, THUNDER-STRIKE, WHIRL STROKE and GAMA-AIKI conducted several ambushes, raids, clearance patrols and air operations at various locations within the zone which resulted in tremendous successes within the period under review.
“Notably, troops neutralized 4 bandits affiliated to wanted militia leader “Gana” at their hideout around Che Jukun village in Donga LGA of Taraba State on 29 June 2020. Troops had also earlier arrested 6 of his key lieutenants at Shakpev village under Tiir and Yoyoo council ward of Katsina-Ala LGA of Benue state on 25 June 2020, while three kidnappers were also neutralized during an ambush operation along the Abuja-Kaduna expressway on 28 June 2020.
“Additionally, the Air Component of the subsidiary Operation GAMA AIKI neutralized several bandits and arrested 2 other fleeing bandits who happened to be foreigners, during intensive airstrikes at Kasuwan Ango Community in Mariga LGA of Niger State. The airstrikes were conducted in the night of 28 and early hours of 29 June 2020.
“Furthermore, troops of Operation SAFE HAVEN recovered a total of 505 rustled cattle in Plateau State between 24 and 29 June 2020 while troops of Operation WHIRL STROKE recovered 4 AK 47 rifles, one AK 47 magazine, 150 rounds of 7.62 special ammunition, 55 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition, 4 locally made rifles, and 5 locally made pistols, amongst other items at Akaa and Mbagyeren villages in Ukum LGA of Benue State”. | https://thenationonlineng.net/it-is-not-our-duty-to-unravel-boko-haram- | 1,491 | null | 1 | en | 0.999897 |
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I’ll replace sharing formula in Nigeria with production formula
By Chioma Onuegbu, Uyo
THE Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), and two-term governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, recently visited Akwa Ibom State for his campaign. Speaking with newsmen before the campaign rally, he revealed his plans for Nigeria if elected president of Nigeria next month including the development of the Niger Delta region, and making Nigeria as a country to work again. Excerpts:
In 1983 the Senate approved the establishment of Ibaka Deep Seaport here in Akwa Ibom. If you become the next president what is your plan for that project?
We are talking about how do we compete in the world today. You compete by producing something that you export. So we are not doing Akwa Ibom a favour by developing the Deep Seaport, rather Akwa Ibom is offering us a space to develop an export channel which I am going to develop. Akwa Ibom can become a processing center for export. I want to change it as a processing center for export. The reason our currency is collapsing today is the function of our reserve, as we have no reserve. We have a problem because we’re not exporting anything. If you are exporting something, you won’t have dollar problem. Vietnam doesn’t have dollar problem, Malaysia that is less than 50m people does not have dollar problem. In Nigeria everybody is waiting to share money from oil. I will remove sharing formula and replace it with production formula. So we are not going to waste our money.
One of the presidential candidates said if he wins the election he will sell the NNPC. What is your take on that?
That is where we are having problem because we are dependent on oil. Oil is a diminishing asset that’s not giving anybody, anything. Oil contributes less than 10percent of our Gross Domestic Product, GDP, but it contributes about 50percent of federal government revenue which should not be. If we are a productive country, we can earn more money from other areas apart from oil. Akwa Ibom can earn more money from other things but we just believe in consumption and this formula of sharing. We don’t believe in production and that’s why I keep saying that the reason millions of people have been thrown into poverty is that Nigeria is not a producing country. Because we are waiting to share money from oil, we have our people living in poverty, it can’t continue. We have vast uncultivated land in the north and people are looking for oil. If I become president, within the few years I will devote the money from oil in trying to ensure that we clean up, and be able to develop Niger Delta for what they have suffered. Then resources from other places will be used to develop the areas. I am a champion of fiscal federalism so that people can become productive. So, I am not going to sell the NNPC, it is the least of my problems. My problem is to create a future and allow the country to work again. NNPC is not even producing anything today, its not making any profit, it is not contributing anything today.
Power distribution is a major challenge Akwa Ibom is currently facing. How do you intend to address the issue?
In my manifesto I was very clear about the power issue. As at today, our generating capacity is about 12,000Megawatts. We will do everything possible to solve the issue of power. We are going to support existing facilities, increase and decentralize the transmission to ensure that what is being generated is being distributed. Additionally, we will support every other method. In South Africa they are 60milion people and they generate almost 50,000megawatts. And the president in the past few months declared emergency in power and authorised that anybody can generate up to 100megawatts without license. We are over 200million people, we generate only 5,000megawatts, what do you think I will declare in the sector? War.
In 2019 you were running mate to Atiku Abubakar on the platform of the PDP. He is still the presidential candidate of the party for the 2023 election. Why are you not with Atiku to contest for presidency this time around?
I have a background as an Igbo man. In Igbo land if you are learning a business, you stay with your boss and when you finish he will settle you. Now two of you will be doing the same business and be looking for the same customers who will now decide who is the best. The customer may decide to continue to buy from the Oga, or from this new boy, that the product he is selling is better than that of the Oga.
How do feel about the recent comment from your own governor, Professor Charles Soludo that you cannot be the next president?
My state governor is my brother and I wish him well. I want him to do very well. If I care about people’s comments I won’t be here. People have rights to their comments and there is freedom of speech. That’s what we preach. It’s not everybody that’s here that likes me, there are people who don’t want to see me here. If everybody here likes me there is a problem. That’s life. So wherever we find ourselves in life it is only by God’s grace, because He gives it.
Your opponents have said that Labour Party doesn’t have the structure you require to win the 2023 presidential election. How will you respond to that?
You are the structure. The structures they have today are the structures we want to dismantle, the structure of criminality; structure that produced 133 million people living in poverty; the structure that produced 20million out-of-school children, and made Nigeria surpass India in Infant mortality; the structure that destroyed us. We want to destroy that structure. We want to build a better place for our children, a better place for all of us. The driver that brought me here, I asked him, who will you vote for, I want you to be honest? And when he finished telling me I said to him, you are from Akwa Ibom, can you show me one thing the Federal Government has done for the people of Akwa Ibom? That is the structure you are talking about, structure that destroyed the country and threw everybody into poverty. So we want to build a better structure, and the people are the structure. Leadership in Nigeria is a problem, but the worst problem is the people who have refused to say no in the face of bad leadership, who are celebrating the criminality of the country. That is what we want to stop. So you are the structure, I do not need any other structure, if you believe in it we’ll change the country, if you don’t believe in it, one day when they start they will not spare any of you. Today you can’t move around, you are scared, everybody is scared to move around in Nigeria. Is that a structure you want to maintain?
Since you have observed that Akwa Ibom lacks federal presence, if you become the next president, what are you going to do about it?
You can imagine that the next president is your in-law. You can only imagine it, I won’t say more than that. For me I am home here. That is why I asked what did they do for you?
In your manifesto you said you’ll pursue anti-corruption aggressively. But in Pandora papers, a consortium of investigative journalists mentioned your name among 10 Nigerian politicians with secret companies and assets. How are you going to fight corruption given the public report?
I was mentioned in Pandora. Go and read my statement on it published everywhere. What they said is that I have a Trust. Trust is a legitimate means of savings all of the World. Before I became the governor of Anambra state, while living in the UK, I already have documents that proved that I have the highest credit rating, and my bank in the UK gave me overdraft of over 7m dollars and I have a proof of networth of over 50m dollars. I won’t throw away my money or do you want my wife and children to be suffering? So when I became a governor I put my money in a Trust for them. And the Trust wasn’t bearing anybody’s name.
If you go there you will see my name, my wife and two children. And I said go there, if you see any kobo, while I was governor that went into that Trust, confiscate it. But you cannot tell me to throw away what I have and leave my children on the street, no way. I was a very comfortable man before I became governor. I was chairman of a bank before I became governor, I was the only person serving in three banks as a director before I became governor.
What I am saying is I don’t want people to continue to do what they are doing here by stealing public money. I will fight corruption, and to prove that I will fight corruption, I was governor of Anambra State for eight years. But go to Anambra State and let them show you where their money is missing. I have been saying this for eight years and nobody has challenged it. The day I left office I was not owing gratuity to anybody, I was not owing Pension or salary and I was not owing any contractor that fulfilled his obligation, not one. And I left money in three banks in Nigeria here. I left in Access Bank of Nigeria 50m dollars as at the time I left, and over 10billion naira for the State. I left in Fidelity Bank being run by Nnamdi Okonkwo at that time 50 million dollars and over 10billion naira, and I left in Diamond bank 50millon dollars and over 12billion naira. These are state money, these are physical cash. I bought shares of Companies, I invested in corporations on behalf of the state.
Nobody asked me to leave behind 150million dollars, nobody asked me to leave behind N30billion. I would have left the state in debt, but I didn’t do that. If anybody said he is going to fight corruption let us know where he had served and what he had left behind. My Speaker came to me with a Law saying that they would build a house for me in Awka and Abuja, that it was my entitlement but I sent him out of my office. Since I left Anambra State they have not bought me a bottle of water. You can go and check it, I have never received a kobo from Anambra State . I told me them I have done my job, I am going home; God gave me enough. I have served as Chairman of Security and Exchange Commission in Nigeria. Go and ask them if they paid me one naira as sitting allowance. I can fight corruption. So, I was mentioned in Pandora case and I can defend it anywhere. It is a Trust and that Trust belongs to me and the investment belongs to my children.
How are you going to address issues of insecurity, and education if elected into office?
Education is the most critical investment any nation can do. One of the problems of Nigerian today is that we are not educating our people. I will fight the issue of insecurity, because with insecurity you cannot talk about investment, even local people cannot invest. So I will make sure that we deal with the issue. And how are we going to deal with it? There are so many things we will do including having multi-level policing, from local government to state, to Federal. We’ll ensure we train them, and equip them properly, and we will get things going.
Go and check anybody who is promising you anything, let him show you example of where he did that thing he is promising. I have a background as businessman, everybody knows my name, they know the year I was born, they know the schools I attended. I may not be the most educated among the candidates because I am a trader, but I have the privilege of passing through the number of schools no other contestant has passed through. I didn’t say I am the most educated but I am the only person who can say I am an Alumni of Oxford, Cambridge. I have classmates everywhere, I am not claiming anything. So if you see people saying how can this man continue to claim that he is clean? For leaving 150m dollars and 30billion naira, who else left money?
Everybody left debt. But Nigeria is a place we celebrate criminality and then penalise those who are doing well. So my own has become news because I have a Trust. If you want, as an investigative journalist, I will pay your ticket to go and see the Trust. Next year’s election should not be by tribe, let nobody tell you it’s about religion. It is what they use to confuse us.
Nigeria is suffering, so let nobody tell you that it is about tribe. I am an Igbo man, and I am not contesting this election because I am from the South East. I am contesting this election because I am a Nigerian and I’m qualified. I don’t want anybody to vote for me by pitying me. We have about 60 percent youth unemployment. Our youths with so much energy and in their productive age are doing nothing. I am a Catholic, go to Dubai, the Catholic Church in Dubai was built by a Moslem. The Queen gave the land which was used to build the Mosque in London, the queen is not a Moslem. And stop listening to all these parties telling you about structure. They brought Nigeria to where it is today. When we started this democracy, we had less than 50million poor people in Nigeria, today it is 133million people and growing every day. Nigeria can feed itself, let’s bring people who can focus on helping Nigeria. Let nobody tell you it is his turn, or tell you, you have to wait for next time. It is the turn of Nigerian youths and women to take back this country. Your children are suffering. We have children who have gone to school and cannot find job for years and someone is saying it is his turn, which turn? It is your turn to retire. Let those people who want to be president come here as I came here and speak to you not through their spokesperson.
You don’t campaign anywhere in the world through a spokesperson, you go personally. If you are looking for job, you go for employment directly, that is why I am here. I want you to go to the nooks and crannies of Akwa Ibom and tell them that somebody is determined to change Nigeria. Hold me responsible if I don’t change this country. I am talking to you directly, my name is Peter Obi, there is no Pseudo name, that’s the name my parents gave me, so nobody is in doubt of my background. And I am not going to govern from Abuja, I am going to be in every state. So it is a job that requires physical and mental energy. We are all Nigerians, nobody is more entitled than the other. Let’s talk about how we will better Akwa Ibom. You cannot drive from here to Calabar, and somebody is telling you to vote them again, and somebody is telling you about structure, which structure can you use to tell people that you cannot drive from here to Calabar? Is that structure worth using again? Let’s stop abuse of Nigeria.
Some persons are calling for the rights of Lesbian, Gays, Bi-sexuals and Transgender. How will you react to such calls?
For me when people talk about the issue of transgender and all that, I tell them that, that is the least of our problems. I am talking about how to pull people out of poverty. I am not going to bother myself with how they want to live their lives. It is a non issue. We have more than 130 million people living in poverty, that is my care, that is what I want to bother myself with, that’s where I want to spend my energy.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/01/hold-me-responsible-if-i-dont-change- | 3,409 | null | 1 | en | 0.999994 |
November 3, 2022 by The Nation
Drug barons assassinating NDLEA operatives, says Marwa
Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig Gen Buba Marwa (Rtd) on Thursday said drug barons were assassinating operatives of the agency in the renewed fight against drug abuse in the country.
Marwa said this when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee of Drugs and Narcotics to defend the agency’s 2022 budget performance and 2023 proposal.
Against this background, he emphasised the need for the urgent provision of barracks for operatives of the agency.
“The barracks issue is very critical to us because as we all know the NDLEA is very aggressive now against drug traffickers and the drug barons and when you arrest and prosecute them and send them to jail, they are not happy. So they come after our personnel and with our personnel living in the town and cities and among them, we have been recording casualties and assassinations against them,” he said.
He said with the approval of the President, NDLEA is in the process of building barracks for its personnel for the first time.
He said it was also in the process of building three rehab centres, two forensic laboratories and procurement of security equipment.
He said the agency has concluded the acquisition of land in Adamawa, Abuja and Lagos for the barracks and the Private Public Partnership process is rounding off.
Marwa also said there was also a need to enhance the purchase of more arms and ammunition for the Agency.
“We need to be fully armed with modern weapons that would outmatch that of the cartels, especially as we go after them in the deep forests,” he said.
He said N24 billion was allocated to the barracks project in the 2022 budget and rued that it had been slashed to N13 billion in the 2023 budget proposal.
He called for an additional N10 billion for the projects. | https://thenationonlineng.net/drug-barons-assassinating-ndlea- | 405 | null | 1 | en | 0.999964 |
A 15-man medical team from China has arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The team arrived in Nigeria in a chartered Air Peace aircraft on Wednesday afternoon.
They are expected to assist Nigeria in efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehainre was at the airport to receive the medical team.
News that Chinese medical experts were coming into the country had split opinion, but the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Friday explained that they would complement ongoing efforts to tackle the pandemic.
Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha, appealed to medical experts in the country to welcome and accept their help as many other countries had.
“I wish to clarify that all the countries of the world are seeking assistance and are receiving help in the fight against COVID-19 – even the United States is looking for help elsewhere,” Mustapha, who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said.
“The support coming from China is a cooperate social responsibility initiated by CCECC, a company with a total volume of infrastructural contracts in Nigeria worth over N10 billion.”
See Photos Below: | https://www.channelstv.com/2020/04/08/breaking-chinese-medical-team- | 269 | null | 1 | en | 0.999966 |
17th March, 2016
The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on Thursday reiterated that the goal of his administration’s education reform is to develop the new man in students that are intellectually, socially and morally sound for the growth of the state.
Aregbesola also announced that the Gbogan-Ode-Omu road will be completed by the end of this year, promising that by the next 180 days, the road will be a reference point in road construction in the country.
The Governor stated this at the commissioning of King’s University, Ode-omu, investiture of the Chancellor, Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo, and the first matriculation ceremony at the university’s campus.
Aregbesola noted that the new man is placed in the centre of society who views his own development as part of and for the development of society.
He stressed that such student groomed from schools in Osun will be a non-parasitic and non-oppressive man who views his existence in light of the growth of others, saying such creation will see whatever he acquires as what should be used in the overall interest of others.
The Governor noted that the Omoluabi essence should be the goal of all education endeavours and that all higher school graduates must be worthy in learning and character thus contributing to the growth of the country.
He said, “It is hoped that this university will be able to provide moral instructions to their students by ministering to their souls. Indeed, a graduate worthy in learning and character is an invaluable addition to the nation’s social capital.
“A well-educated citizen who is morally upright cannot be quantified. This is also the philosophical underpinning of the reforms we have carried out in education in the state of Osun. Our goal is to develop the new man intellectually, socially and morally.
“This new man is placed in the centre of society who views his own development as part of and for the development of society. This is a non-parasitic and non-oppressive man who views his existence in light of the growth of others; he views whatever he acquired to be subsumed in the overall interest of others.”
Aregbesola, who chided how most universities are all striving to be generalists, held that each university, especially private ones, ought to carve a niche for themselves in area of relevance that reflects national or human need.
He charged Kings University to resist the temptation of being a generalist but rather concentrate on an area of need and become a specialist in it.
According to the Governor, “Every university must equip every of its graduate with a specific life-sustaining skill. Every graduate must be in a position to survive on his or her own, without necessarily looking for non-existent jobs.
“This is the challenge of the university in the 21st Century, and not seeking knowledge for knowledge sake as in the days of Aristotle.”
The Governor noted that the coming of private universities was at a period when there had been noticeable decline in university education, adding that the existing universities were plagued by poor quality graduate turnout occasioned by the proliferation of murderous gangsters, prostitution, examination racketeering among other vices.
He stressed that the coming of private universities gave hope for those who could not afford to send their children to universities abroad, advising that Kings University should be able to provide moral instructions to their students by ministering to their souls.
Earlier, the Proprietor and Chancellor of Kings University, Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo, stated that the university was established to complement other universities to absorb numerous applicants who could not be admitted because of limited spaces in the existing universities.
The clergyman enumerated quartet visions guiding the establishment of Kings University as leadership, information technology, entrepreneurship and excellence.
He stated that the university was established to raise leaders, kings, entrepreneurs and men whose minds are transformed and who will transform not only the immediate community, but also the state, Nigeria and the African continent.
Ashimolowo noted that the primary vision of establishment of the university is therefore to raise leaders with quality and outstanding character.
The Chancellor averred that the institution has come to change the mindset of the people from thinking locally to thinking globally.
He said: “Our vision for this university is to raise leaders with quality leadership. We want to raise leaders and kings whose minds are transformed; men who are going to be quoted; make our young people think bigger than their immediate surroundings.
“We want to transform one mind at a time; men who will stop thinking local but global; men who will not only change our community but also our state, country and the African continent.
“We’ve raised generation of graduates who are job seekers. Now, Kings University will raise graduates equipped with entrepreneurial skills so as for them to be job creators.”
The founder also disclosed that all the pioneer students of the universities were admitted on full scholarship | http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2016/03/17/aregbesola-commissions- | 1,049 | null | 1 | en | 0.999998 |
June 16, 2022 by The Nation
Tinubu, cabal and southern politicians
It was a miracle APC survived the apocalyptic prediction of its imminent fragmentation under the weight of intrigue and contradiction which were in full display during its last week convention. Tinubu while savoring his well-earned victory after brutal two-nights of many knives convention in which all his opponents, treacherous protégées and a cabal hiding under Buhari’s presidency to serve other tendencies were roundly defeated, assured all those who did not vote for him have nothing to fear. Those who know the Jagaban as a politician with malice towards none know he meant every word of his solemn undertaking. Some of those who served as his foot-soldiers in the exercise were in no distant past his political foes and one should not be surprised if those who betrayed him last Tuesday are found brainstorming with him in his sitting room in no distant future. Tinubu is therefore a political analyst’s nightmare because he alone knows how best to fight his own battles. All a keen observer of the Nigerian political process and its self-serving, political governing class can do therefore, is to put all the macabre dance and chilling scheming by aspirants and party leaders in those two nights of many knives in perspective.
First the APC convention confirmed that our political governing class have faith neither in democracy which they see just as a method to buy their way to power nor in the party system which they see as nothing other than a vehicle to power. It also exposed the southern political ruling class as a groveling self-serving gamblers and traders with no abiding faith in anything while their northern counterparts demonstrated that politics is not a dirty game but that what we have are dirty politicians for whom in the words of Kashim Shettima, ‘anything goes’.
First the public disrobing of the cabal at war against Nigeria. Before last Tuesday when it climbed the tree beyond its leaves by underestimating Tinubu’s resolve to fight rough and an unexpected patriotic stand of northern governors, many of whom may not necessarily like Tinubu’s guts, against Mai Buni and Abdullahi Adamu’s attempt to foist Ahmed Lawan as APC consensus candidate fraudulently using Buhari’s name, the identities of the cabal that have held Buhari and Nigeria hostage for the greater part of seven years remained in the realm of conjecture. But last week’s APC vicious intra-party battle changed the narrative.
But for the northern governors, with Buhari’s ‘government of delegation by abdication’, Adamu and Mai Buni would have by their pursuit of selfish and parochial agenda created more social dislocations for a deeply divided society where an irresolute president has mismanaged crisis of nation building. Sadly a trip through memory confirms this has been the pattern of the cabal’s operation in the past years.
We all remember how Bukola Saraki by his own admission in 2015, literarily stole the senate presidency, with Shehu Garba speaking for a vacillating president saying ‘the cure for headache was not cutting off the head’. The country was made ungovernable for four years after that. It was the same when church massacre (similar to recent Owo tragedy) was first carried out in Benue, followed by sacking, confiscation of community land and condemning of survivors of mindless killings to IDP camps. An unrestrained response of Buhari’s minister of defence was to blame everything on encroachment of pre-colonial and pre-36 states creation grazing routes. Governor Ortom’s anti-open grazing laws was similarly criticized by the minister while ex-emir, Sanusi Lamido from his far away Kano fiefdom encouraged Fulani immigrants in Benue to resist their host state’s anti-open grazing laws.
It was not different when Governor Akeredolu of Ondo ejected AK-47 wielding criminal Fulani herdsmen illegally operating in his state’s reserved forest. Garba Shehu, Abubakar Malami and Bauchi’s Bala Mohammed viciously attacked Governor Akeredolu quoting the fraudulent 1999 constitution. Similar strategy was also adopted when Shehu Garba purportedly speaking for Buhari, rejected the 36 states’ demand for state and community policing citing problem of funding and equipment.
Now let us turn to the groveling consensus-seeking presidential aspirants. If Rotimi Amaechi, who long ago destroyed his political base had any preparation for his presidential ambition, it was humouring President Buhari. How about his claim the president is infallible, locating University of Transportation in Katsina and buying into the president vision of extending rail line to Niger Republic? For his pains, the cabal assured the Daura-turbaned Amaechi of becoming Buhari’s APC consensus presidential candidate.
The ambition of Kayode Fayemi, the adopted son of the caliphate was also probably predicated on the promise of Mai Buni, his friend that he could emerge Buhari’s consensus candidate. Although eminently qualified, it was doubtful he would have contested against a benefactor that helped him to retrieve his stolen mandate after three years and rehabilitated him when condemned to political wilderness by PDP and Fayose. Ibikunle Amosun who lost his political base to Osoba and Tinubu was probably also thinking of becoming Buhari’s consensus candidate on account of his closeness to the president. Dave Umahi of Ebonyi was also probably bitten by the cabal’s “consensus” bug.
They discovered too late on the nights of many knives that they have all been outwitted by Adamu and Buni who named Ahmed Lawan as President Buhari’s consensus candidate and outsmarted by Tinubu who did not just work hard to earn the trust of some northern governors but also took sacrifice to ‘esu’, the Yoruba god of confusion with the centre unable to hold between the cabal and their northern governors.
Of course the cabal are the masters of the game. They planned for the future by honouring past promises. They proved as Nasir El Rufai has argued, ‘you can go to the bank with their words’. They also know southern politicians have prices. In the first republic, with promises of positions and contract, the Yoruba politicians turned truth on its head to nail their leader. In the words of Hubert Ogunde, they ‘invited the thief and also invited the owner of the farm’ to catch him. This time around with the promise of consensus candidacy, they suddenly realised Tinubu, their leader was dictatorial and ambitious and they prayed hard that God may bring him down. But swindled by Buni and Adamu, they sang a new song about Tinubu being their brother.
Of course the cabal knows the Igbo political elite more than they know themselves. If a group that created a permanent enmity between those who look up to them for direction and Yoruba, their chief hosts because Zik was prevented from becoming the premier of the West in 1952 when a Yoruba man cannot contest for local council councillor in Igbo land in 2022, why will they not swallow the bait they could reap where they did not sow in 2023? Kalu Uzor Kalu, Rochas Okorocha and other Igbo contestants believe the cabal would persuade Buhari to declare one of them a consensus APC candidate as if Igbo votes alone could secure for them the presidency. But the cabal knows that for the Igbo, politics is the art of the possible. They didn’t waste time licking their wounds before falling over each other to join Atiku or Lawan. The cabal knows, in Igbo, the north has an ever ready and willing beautiful bride. | https://thenationonlineng.net/tinubu-cabal- | 1,658 | null | 0 | en | 0.999937 |
The Supreme Court has reaffirmed Edozie Njoku as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
The apex court made the pronouncement in a judgement on an application by Njoku, where he sought the regularisation of the amended judgment of Justice Mary Peter Odili delivered on May 9, 2022.
Njoku’s motion also followed a letter of the Supreme Court to him on January 19, 2023, wherein the apex court had addressed him as the national chairman of APGA and advised him to approach the court by way of a motion to correct the slip.
The accidental slip which was corrected by the Supreme Court has restored Njoku as the actual national chairman of the party that was wrongfully removed by a Jigawa High Court.
In a lead Judgment, Justice Garba Lawal held that it was Edozie Njoku that was wrongly removed at Jigawa without being joined as a party.
Justice Lawal Subsequently, stated that Njoku’s application was meritorious and consequently granted it as prayed.
Reacting to the judgement, Njoku appealed to the Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo to make himself available for a discussion on the way forward for the party.
He said he will also do everything possible to bring stability to the party. | https://www.channelstv.com/2023/03/24/apga- | 279 | null | 1 | en | 0.999964 |
4th November, 2021
By Chimezie Anaso/Awka
Election fever has gripped Anambra state, 48 hours to the governorship election that will elect the successor to Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.
As the Independent National Electoral Commission makes final preparations, holding parleys with stakeholders and the security personnel and distributing permanent voters cards, government has also declared two days of public holiday to enable high voter turnout.
This is amid the prior order by the Indigenous People of Biafra,IPOB, asking people to stay at home from Friday, including election day on 6 November.
The group which maintains a religious following in the region ordered the sit-at-home to force the Buhari government release its leader Nnamdi Kanu.
How will things play out on Saturday? Will the voters listen to IPOB?
No one can safely predict until the election day.
The Anambra government declared Thursday Nov. 4 and Friday Nov. 5 as work-free days ahead of the election.
Mr Harry Udu, the Head of Service in Anambra said the work-free days will enable residents to move to the locations where they registered as voters.
According to Udu, Gov. Willie Obiano approved the two work-free days.
“This will enable Public Servants in Anambra to travel to their respective communities to cast their votes on Saturday Nov.6,” he stated.
Similarly, the Police Command in Anambra said there would be a total lockdown from Thursday to enable the Police to take control of the space and deal with situations promptly.
Mr Echeng Echeng, Commissioner of Police in Anambra, said top notch measures had been put in place to ensure maximum security of life and property.
DSP Nkeiruka Nwode, Zone 13 PPRO and Head, Media for Anambra governorship election, who disclosed this in a statement, said Police assets and personnel posted from various Commands and formations had started arriving.
A total of 34,000 and 20,000 personnel were deployed for the election by the Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps respectively.
On Wednesday, many residents of the state trooped to INEC offices to collect Permanent Voter’s Cards(PVCs). | https://pmnewsnigeria.com/Anambra-election-fever-Public-Holiday-begins-Police- | 479 | null | 1 | en | 0.999973 |
Africa’s prime fashion event, the two-yearly FIMA festival in Niger, was called off Tuesday on the eve of its launch over fears of terror attacks, Niger designer Alphadi announced. “The Niger government has decided to postpone this 10th edition of FIMA due to events in Diffa (southeast Niger), Mali, Chad, Cameroon, France,” said Alphadi, a prominent couturier whose real name is Seidnaly Sidhamed.
Due to have gathered some 1,000 designers, models and fashion types from 40 nations for Africa’s November 25-29 fashion week, the festival will take place “very soon”, he added without giving a date. Armed jihadists and suicide bombers from Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist group have staged repeated attacks since February in Niger’s southeast Diffa region near Nigeria, leaving hundreds of people dead.
Alphadi, whose collections feature worldwide, said the postponement also aimed to show “compassion” for neighbouring Mali, in national mourning after an attack on a luxury hotel last week that left 19 people dead. First held in 1998, the Niger fashion get-together gathers buyers and stylists as well as showcasing the latest creations in African sculpture, art and jewellery.
Musicians and sports VIPs also attend. Professional footballers Samuel Eto’o from Cameroon and Ivorian Yaya Toure were expected for this year’s launch in Niger’s biggest stadium. The last 2013 edition was held under tight security in fear of an attack by the Al-Qaeda Islamic Maghreb (AQMI).
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/11/africas-top- | 357 | null | 1 | en | 0.999868 |
November 2, 2023 by Adeyinka Aderibigbe
BREAKING: Sanwo-Olu commissions Yaba Overpass Bridge
In fulfillment of his recent pledge the Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Thursday, November 2, cut the tape to open the Yaba Overpass Bridge for use.
The Yaba Overpass is one of the four that the state government has lined up for commissioning.
The remaining overpasses waiting to be commissioned are at Oyingbo, Mushin, and Ikeja Overpass.
These overpasses are to be complemented by four others to be constructed by the Federal Ministry of Transportation.
The state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu arrived at about 12.20 p.m. and he was received by the deputy governor, Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat and the APC chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, who was represented by the deputy chairman.
The governor walked into the warm embrace of Lagosians who swarmed all over him, as he moved around to greet the many dignitaries on the ground.
Dignitaries on the ground are Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, represented by Hon. Ademola Kasumu, Transportation Commissioner Oluwaseun Osiyemi, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation Sola Giwa, royal fathers led by representatives of the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, represented by Opeluwa Onido, Oba Bashiru Oloto, Oloto of Oyo, the Onisabe of Igbobi-Sabe, in Yaba, the Chairman of Yaba, LCDA Hon. Kayode Oniyale, who led other a league of council chairmen.
Also on the ground are the Former High Commissioner to Ghana, Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro, the Managing Directors of LAMATA, Engr Abimbola Akinajo and the Managing Director of Craneburg Construction, the contractor for the Yaba Overpass Bridge Gilbert Sassine as well as top functionaries of the government, as well as representatives of the University of Lagos and Yabatech. | https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-sanwo-olu-commissions-yaba- | 455 | null | 1 | en | 0.98514 |
1st January, 2023
Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has pardoned 11 convicts in an exercise of the prerogative of mercy powers conferred on him by Section 212 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.
The governor, who acted on the recommendation of the State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy, released the convicts on Sunday.
The statement added that it was customary to extend a gesture of compassion on New Year’s day by granting pardons to deserving prisoners within the jurisdiction of the state.
The Kaduna State Advisory Council on Prerogative of Mercy had earlier recommended the grant of amnesty and for the immediate release of Musa John, Yakubu Abdullahi, and Habu Usman.
Other convicts that were released were: Shamsu Usman, Abdullahi Abdulmumuni, and Mahadi Abdullahi as well as Futune Mabuke, Abdullahi Lawal, Sunday Iliya , Mohammed Anas and Kayode Gabriel Adenji.
The statement by the Kaduna government said: ‘’Kaduna State Advisory Council on the Prerogative of Mercy based its recommendations on convicts serving sentences of three years or more who have six months.
”They must have not more than six months to serve and long-term prisoners who have served ten years or more of their sentence with good conduct.
“And convicts suffering from ill health likely to terminate in death. The committee also considered private submissions for clemency made to the governor.‘’
Earlier, El Rufai had thanked the people of the state for giving him the opportunity to serve them as well as for their understanding and support over the years.
The governor, who spoke at the Kaduna 2023 countdown celebrations that were organized by Kaduna Capital Territory Authority(KCTA), ‘’wished the people a happy new year and appealed for optimism in spite of the tough times.’’
El Rufai also sought them for their continued commitment to peace and prosperity, hoping, “the hard work done since 2015 to make the state better and improve lives will continue with the next government.” | https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2023/01/01/gov-el-rufai- | 463 | null | 1 | en | 0.999979 |
By Chinonso Alozie, Owerri
Special security forces on Sunday morning killed one “unknown gunman” and captured about seven of them who tried to attack Imo police headquarters.
Vanguard gathered in Owerri, that the planned attack by the “Unknown gunmen” started as early as 08:15 am.
But at the entrance to the road leading to police headquarters, they were engaged by the Special security forces and were gunned down. In the process, a hummer jeep in which they came to attack were recovered.
Vanguard was told as of the time of filing this report that the Special security forces were still trailing those of the “unknown gunmen ” trying to escape.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/06/breaking- | 165 | null | 1 | en | 0.999989 |
17th September, 2016
Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the late Premier of the old Western Region and leader of opposition in the First Republic was Vice Chairman of Federal Executive Council and Finance Minister (Federal Commissioner) during the General Yakubu Gowon regime.
When Awolowo (Awo for short) was in charge of the country’s finances, Nigeria embarked upon many infrastructural projects and even executed a three-year civil war without borrowing money.
However, at a point, Awolowo decided to move on. Below are his resignation letter (written 45 years ago) and Gowon’s reply.
Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Resignation Letter From The Federal Executive Council Dated June 13, 1971 To General Yakubu Gowon
June 13, 1971.
My dear Commander-in-Chief,
You will recall that in a statement made by me and published in the SUNDAY TIMES of March 30, 1969, I declared, among other things, as follows:
“Even at the federal level, I have no desire whatsoever, and I certainly cannot be tempted or induced to develop one, to head, or participate in an unelected or even an electoral-college elected civil administration in a military or any setting. At the moment, I am participating in the activities of the military government because I have been invited, and I also think it is right, so to do.
I am, therefore, obliged, morally and for the purpose of keeping Nigeria united, to take part, as fully as I can, in any measure designed, in particular, to keep the Ibos as a constituent ethnic unit in the federation of Nigeria, enjoying equal and identical status and benefits with other ethnic units, and in general, to preserve Nigeria as an economic and political entity.”
I should have, in accordance with this declaration, relinquished my present offices soon after the end of the civil war in January last year. But one main matter decided me against such an immediate course of action. As you know, before January 1970, the four-year development and reconstruction plan had been under active preparation, and it had been hoped that it would be launched early in the 1970/71 fiscal year. It was my strong desire to participate in the consideration of this plan. As it turned out, however, the plan was not actually considered until August 1970.
By that time, three other factors had supervened. First, the capital estimates for 1970/71 had been delayed until the launching of the four-year development plan, which did not take place until November last year. At this late stage, I decided that the capital estimates of 1970/71 should be incorporated into those of 1971/72.
Second, by November 1970, the time for the introduction of the 1971/72 budget was only some four months away.
Third, as from September 1970, our foreign exchange position had started to undergo an unusual rapid deterioration. It occurred to me, in all these circumstances:
-that it would be untidy for me to leave without completing the budget for 1970/71;
-that it would be hardly fair to my successor for me to leave at a time when preparations for the 1970/71 budget had actively begun under my direction, and;
-that it might be interpreted in some circles as an act of bad faith for me to leave at a time when our foreign exchange was in such a bad state, and no sensible formula had been found for arresting its deterioration. | https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2016/09/17/why-awolowo- | 727 | null | 2 | en | 0.999996 |
29th April, 2016
Obinna James has been arrested and charged before Apapa Magistrate’s court for allegedly brutalizing his wife, Ebere over sex overture to have more children in their home in Apapa, Lagos State Western Nigeria.
He was remanded in prison custody at Kirikiri for the alleged offence under the Criminal code.
The incident happened at 26 Babatunde street, Olodi Apapa where they reside. The mother of three who is a hawker resisted her husband’s attempts to impregnate her.
She reportedly told him that they were not financial buoyant to add to the three kids they already have, comprising a girl and two boys.
Enugu State-born Obinna is a commercial driver and his wife Ebere only just began street hawking to assist her husband and the family.
It was learnt that an attempt for Obinna to have his way led to Ebere fleeing their apartment.
In anger, Obinna chased her and held her on the street, forcing her to return to their apartment but she vigorously resisted him.
Vexed by her stance, Obinna battered her and threw her inside gutter, leaving her seriously bruised and badly injured.
It took the intervention of the residents who rescued the victim and took her to a hospital for treatment.
The residents who saw what happened contacted the police and he was arrested.
At the station, the police asked him to apologize to his wife and take care of his medical bill but he refused.
The police preferred charges against him and arraigned him before the court with assault and occasional harm.
He pleaded not guilty.
The presiding magistrate, Mr T. Abolarinwa granted him bail in the sum of N50,000 with one surety in like sum.
The matter was further adjourned till 11 May 2016.
He was remanded in prison pending when he will perfect his bail condition. | http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2016/04/29/man-batters-wife-over-sex- | 404 | null | 1 | en | 0.999956 |
October 4, 2020 by The Nation
APC has not abandoned restructuring, says Fayemi
By Emmanuel Oladesu, Deputy Editor
Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Ekiti Governor Kayode Fayemi has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has never abandoned the quest for restructuring.
He recalled that the party had projected restructuring as a core manifesto and set up the El-Rufai Committee to make recommendations to its leadership.
Fayemi said not only has the panel submitted its report, but concrete steps had also been made to make proposals to the National Assembly.
He drew attention to the commencement of constitution review by the Omo-Agege Committee, saying that it has rekindled.
The NGF chairman spoke with reporters in Lagos on preparations for the second year anniversary of his second term, gains and constraints of the administration, conflicts in Ekiti APC and agitations for true federalism.
To Fayemi, true federalism is the answer, adding that the onus is on the Nationa Assembly to look at the previous reports of National Conferences.
He said many recommendations along the line of restructuring, devolution and true federalism were embedded in the reports of the Niki Tobi Panel, the 2004 Conference set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the 2014 conference established by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Fayemi said: “We must confront our reality as a federation. The current structure is supportive of unitarist model. The state structure, for now, is problematic. There is a need to move towards devolution, not only of functions but also resources.”
The governor also spoke on the quest for decentralisation of security, noting the actualisation of the Southwest outfit, Amotekun, and efforts by the Federal Government to kick off community policing.
He said local policing is meaningful and more effective when it is premised on the potency of intelligence gathering in the local environment.
Drawing a link between effective security and the local environment, Fayemi said:”Security cannot be unitarised. It must be devolved.”
The governor also took cognisance of the protagonists and antagonists of constitution reforms, saying:”There are entrenched conservative interests to keep Nigeria the way it is. There are also entrenched interests to reform Nigeria.”
Reflecting on the activities of agitators for succession, Fayemi said:”Nobody wants Nigeria to break up. They only want Nigeria to work for all of us.”
The governor, who gave his administration a pass mark in Ekiti, pointed out that the lean resources have been the major constraints.
He said his administration has delivered on legacy projects, attracted investment and funding from many organisations, restored the core values, and intensified efforts on the proposed cargo airport.
Fayemi noted the intensified intra-party conflicts in Ekiti APC, saying that it is not borne out of exclusion, but borne out permutations for succession in two years’ time.
He said his administration has accommodated all stakeholders as reflected in the appointment of five governorship aspirants as commissioners, one contender into the Federal Character Commission, and the election of another two into the House of Representatives.
The governor lamented the reluctance of some chieftains to heed to the advice of the APC national leadership to explore the internal mechanism for conflict resolution and withdraw all court cases.
He said he was not distracted by the activities of those behind thd conflict.
Fayemi, who said there are no factions in the chapter, said the disciplinary committee set up by the party was based on the directive of the national leadership.
He added: “However, it is in our interest to have a united party. There is a local reconciliation Committee headed by the former chairman of the party, Chief Jide Awe, where they could ventilate their grievances. Its report has been submitted.” | https://thenationonlineng.net/apc-has-not- | 820 | null | 1 | en | 0.999962 |
March 7, 2021 by The Nation
BREAKING: Notorious herdsman Iskilu Wakili arrested in Oyo
By Samuel Oamen
The notorious herdsman terrorising communities in Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun areas of Oyo State, Iskilu Wakili, has been arrested.
The Nation learnt he was arrested on Sunday morning in Igangan in Ibarapa North Local Government.
Wakili had been alleged to have masterminded the killings and abductions in the communities.
He was arrested by men of the Odua Peoples Congress(OPC).
Kehinde Aderemi, Special Assistant on Media to Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams Adams, confirmed his arrest.
The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere commended OPC for the development.
Its National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, in a statement on Sunday, said: “Afenifere gives tremendous commendation to OPC under Iba Gani Adams for the arrest of iskilu Wakili, a Fulani bandit who has been spreading terror on ou people in Igboho area and the Nigerian Police and other security agencies unable to do anything about him.
Read Also: Don’t demonise Sunday Igboho, Akintola warns
“The early morning peaceful arrest confirms our position on how effective local initiative can do well in homeland security.
“We were not shocked that but for the intervention by the leadership in Oyo State, the Police would have gone after the OPC boys instead of taking the criminal from them and do the needful.
“Nigeria is going nowhere with a security network that shuns federalism.”
OPC on February 27 arrested the second-in-command to the alleged dreaded kidnapper, one Isiaka Muhammadu. | https://thenationonlineng.net/breaking-notorious-herdsman-iskilu- | 404 | null | 1 | en | 0.999361 |
APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole
By Davies Iheamnachor
All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State has secured an order of court restraining the national body and the National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, from dissolving the executives in the state.
The order obtained from an Abuja High Court, presided over by Justice A. O. Musa on Tuesday, restrained the first and second respondents from ‘tampering with the mandates of the elected officials/delegates elected at the ward, local government and state congresses in Rivers State on May 19, 20 and 21, 2018, to the applicant.
The court also barred the defendants from nullifying, removing or in any way refusing to give effect to the outcome of the said congresses or by purporting to conduct another congress in respect of Rivers State.
According to the Publicity Secretary of the state APC, Chris Finebone, in Port Harcourt, yesterday, the court also affirmed the validity of the congresses which took place May 19, 20 and 21 and subsequently culminated in the election of Ojukaye Flag-Amachree State Executive Committee with such congresses having been conducted in compliance with the constitution of the APC.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/09/rivers-apc-secures-order- | 272 | null | 1 | en | 0.999983 |
The police in Rivers State have arrested three suspected members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) at Mile 2, Diobu area of Port Harcourt.
This was disclosed on Sunday by the Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni.
He said the suspects were arrested for allegedly detonating dynamite in a church owned by the father of the state governor, Nyesom Wike in the state capital.
Omoni explained that the suspects were in the hospital after sustaining some injuries, adding that they were helping the police in the investigation.
Wike who signed an executive order proscribing IPOB in the state is yet to react to the explosion.
But the police spokesman, the Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mukan, has begun an investigation into the incident, noting that engineers would come to ascertain the integrity level of the building.
The suspects numbering about five attacked the church around 12 midnight on Saturday.
They were however blocked after men of a local security outfit in the area noticed strange movements and swooped in.
The Assistant Chief Security Officer of the Azikiwe Street Security, Collins Johnbull, while narrating the incident, said one of his men was hit in the process of chasing the suspects and were currently receiving treatment in the hospital. | https://www.channelstv.com/2020/11/30/three-suspected-ipob-members- | 267 | null | 1 | en | 0.99996 |
By Peter Duru, Makurdi
The Middle Belt Forum, MBF, has described as baseless the claim by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami that Nigeria would have been in crisis if President Muhammadu Buhari had signed into law the amended Electoral Act.
The National President of MBF, Dr Bitrus Pogu who was reacting to the statement Monday in Makurdi, advised President Buhari to give Nigerians what they demanded of him by signing the amended Electoral Act to usher the country into an era of the improved electoral process.
Hear him: “What Malami said was baseless rubbish. These people make assumptions based on their perception; they try to instil fear in the people. Which crisis is he talking about? Didn’t President Buhari come in through direct primaries; is that not what the All Progressives Congress, APC, used? Did it throw the country into crisis?
“The issue is yes, it is true that parties have the liberty to choose the kind of selection process they would use to conduct their primaries; we have no quarrel with that.
“The problem of Nigeria is not whether it is direct or indirect primaries. The problem of Nigeria is how to stop the wanton rigging of elections in the country by the manipulation of election results, changing of results, the cancellation of results, throwing out of results just to declare who they want.
“And we can address that by transmitting results from the polling units direct to the server, everybody sees it and you do not alter the figures. That is the thing we want for Nigeria.
“We can from there move forward to another level, but what we want at this level is that results should be electronically transmitted from the polling stations to the collation centres.
“By so doing you cut off all the so-called Returning Officers and the excuses of cancellation of results unnecessarily because some people do not want results that did not favour them and all that.
“Besides it will save cost because most of the Returning Officers are no more useful. As the results come out we all see them and Nigeria will be better for it because the right people will be elected into offices.
“So what Malami said does not hold water at all. The President who appointed him came into office through direct primaries. And whether it is direct or not that is not our problem. Let the President sign the amended Electoral Act so that we can have a better and credible election by 2023. And all the bad experiences of 2019 and others in the past would be halted.”
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/12/malamis- | 558 | null | 1 | en | 0.999992 |
A ministerial nominee, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, slumped while being screened by the Senate on Wednesday, sparking frantic scenes in the Chamber.
The nominee, who is from Kaduna State, had spoken for several minutes during his screening before falling to the floor with several lawmakers rushing to his aid.
Lawal is one of the three new ministerial nominees being screened by the Senate, with others being Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim from Kwara State and Mr Ayodele Olawande from Ondo State.
He has been revived by medical personnel who were called in to resuscitate him following the slump.
Lawal was the second nominee to be screened after the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, moved a motion to extend the sitting time beyond 2 pm to conclude all the items for the day.
He had finished making his presentation to the lawmakers and the Senator Representing Kaduna South, Sunday Marshal, was speaking and saying that the three Senators from Kaduna had no objection to Lawal’s nomination when he (Lawal) fell to the floor.
The Senate went into closed door session while efforts were being made to revive the nominee who is still inside the chamber.
The nominee said he has been serving in government for a long time and intends to bring his experience to the cabinet of the President Bola Tinubu administration.
He had said, “I want to indicate clearly that, as part of my career, I was appointed secretary to the government three times from 2015 till today. I want to say that I am likely the longest-serving secretary to the government in Nigeria.
“I have been part of administration; I have been part of policy making. I have been part of trying to change things in the country based on what I did at the federal level and at the state level.
“I want to bring this experience to wherever I find myself in the new cabinet of the president. I want to express my gratitude to all of you for listening, and I also want to extend my sincere thanks to the President of the Senate for allowing me to stand before the chambers.
“This is a house of splendor, a house of integrity. A house of democracy, and I feel highly honoured because, to me, this is the highest point of my career — to stand before this hollowed chamber and say things about myself. I feel very happy; today is maybe my happiest day to be here and be addressing this chamber.
“I want to end here by saying that the environment, which I think I may be going is a very important issue, and we know that we have been going through a lot of issues in that environment.” | https://www.channelstv.com/2023/10/04/breaking-ministerial-nominee- | 554 | null | 1 | en | 0.999956 |
Easter Message: We will die to extreme poverty and live to prosperity – Atiku
By Nwafor Sunday
The Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the last General election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Thursday wrote a message of goodwill to the US President, Joe Biden, urging him to strengthen US-Nigeria relationship.
In a statement titled: ‘Message of Goodwill To President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’, the former vice President enumerated a whole lots of challenges bedeviling Nigeria and asked for his intervention.
His words: “As President Joe Biden begins his tenure as the 46th President of the United States of America, I am confident that this new era will mark America’s regeneration and her reaffirmation as the beacon of democracy to the world.
“As I congratulate President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, I urge them and their administration to strengthen US-Nigeria ties, and help our beloved nation’s war on terror by providing every type of support required to win our war against the insurgency we face and that threatens the peace of our sub region.
“I also look forward to the removal of every travel restriction on Nigerian citizens, in keeping with the good relations that has existed between our two nations, beginning with the July 27, 1961 state visit of our first Prime Minister, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, to President John F Kennedy, and continuing over the decades since then.
“As the playwright, George Bernard Shaw once said, America and Nigeria are two nations divided by a common language. And millions of Nigerians and I wish to see that relationship sustained to the mutual benefit of both our democratic nations.
“Congratulations once again and may God bless both our nations and bring about a beneficial tenure for your administration.”
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/01/atiku-writes-biden-lists-nigerias- | 404 | null | 1 | en | 0.999905 |
September 21, 2012 by The Nation
UniAbuja a mockery of university system – Panel
The special visitation panel set up by the Federal Government in July to investigate the activities of University of Abuja since its establishment has described the institution as a mockery of the university system.
Presenting the panel’s report to the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i on Friday in Abuja, the chairman of the panel, Dr Theo Osanakpo, blamed the under development of the university on poor governance system and financial impropriety.
Osanakpo said the report indicated that the 2025 target set for the completion of the full master plan of the university might not be realised as only six per cent of the plan had been achieved after 24 years.
He identified ranking of unapproved programmes, admission irregularities, lack of a governance system and lack of a proper accounting procedures as major challenges facing the institution.
“Looking at all these irregularities going on in the institution, I would say that UniAbuja is a mockery of the university system; the facilities at the mini campus do not reflect the funds that the Federal Government give.
“There are no sporting facilities for students, no good lecture halls and the facility is way below the needs of the more than 70,000 students of the institution running the undergraduate, post graduate, sandwich, part-time and distance learning programmes,’’ he said.
Osanakpo said that the staffing of the institution and the environment were very deplorable and the government needed not just to give funds but to monitor the administration of the funds for effective usage.
He also recommended that the Vice Chancellor be “bench marked” periodically by the governing council to guarantee standard.
The panel also recommended that prospective students of the institution must have the JAMB requirement and write the post-UTME examination to curb the excesses of admission.
It also recommended that the Students Union Government (SUG) should be reinstated in the institution to allow for peer interaction which also enhances their productivity level and help to bridge the gap between students and the school management.
Responsing, the minister thanked the panel for the report, saying that “UniAbuja in spite of its proximity to the education headquarters and the regulating body, NUC, has been a challenge.’’
Rufa’i assured the panel that the report would be implemented and that within two weeks, the ministry would produce a white paper that would be presented to the president.
“The president approved this panel so I know that he would be glad to resolve the issues brought to the fore through this report.’’
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Government on July 25 inaugurated the panel to investigate the financial and governance system of the university since 1988 when it was established after the suspension of four courses due to irregularities.
The courses are medicine, veterinary medicine, agriculture and engineering. (NAN) | https://thenationonlineng.net/uniabuja- | 625 | null | 1 | en | 0.999941 |
May 2, 2019 by The Nation
Govt prepares staff to take over Abuja Lightrail from Chinese
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has commenced series of intensive technical training for its staff, who are integral part of Abuja Rail Mass Transit (ARMT) operations team.
Our correspondent reports that the training is part of the arrangements for full takeover of the management of the ARMT, otherwise known as Abuja Lightrail, when the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) currently jointly managing it exits the system, in the next two and half years.
Speaking at the opening of the training in Idu, on Monday, Assistant Director, Engr. Mustapha Mallumbi, FCT Transportation Secretariat said the essence of the training is for members of the FCT Rail operations staff to boost their knowledge base of the system.
Mallumbi added that the training organised by CCECC will improve the safety of the rail system and patronage.
While recalling that actual operations of the rail commenced since last year July 13, 2018, said currently, it’s a joint team operations and management by the CCECC and FCT Administration.
He disclosed that according to the plan, in the next two and half years to come, ARMT system, designed to cover the entire FCT and environs, which is over two hundred and thirty plus kilo meters, spread into six lots, will fully be in the hands of the locals.
“So far, what we have done is only lot 1A, Lot 3 that’s about 45km, which covers the city centre through Idu to Airport; and from Idu to Kubwa,” he stressed.
Also speaking, Deputy General Manager, Rail Operations Department, CCECC Nigeria Ltd, Tom Tang, said the training is core part of the arrangements for the technical transfer of ARMT operations and management to the local staff, to let them master all the necessary skills and knowledge to completely manage it.
He said after the training which will last for three months, more trainings will follow adding that: “We have a lot of equipment in the system which the local staff needed to know how to operate and manage effectively.”
The Assistant Director, Electrical, Transportation Secretariat, Engr Chika Ifesi, who is part of the FCTA Rail operations team, described the training as apt and a welcome development, because it enables FCTA, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) and CCECC to work together as a team.
She said: “We have to be trained together, so that we have the same approach to the system, processes, challenges and solutions.
“We felt that there is a need for all team members to sit together and learn intensively for months, so that in the coming years, our people will able to take over the management of the entire system, when the Chinese exit, to probably build more lots.” | https://thenationonlineng.net/govt-prepares-staff-to-take-over- | 616 | null | 1 | en | 0.999945 |
January 1, 2020 by The Nation
Any airport with fewer than a million passengers yearly is unviable, says Faan Md Yadudu
The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Captain Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu, in this interview, reviews the challenges and prospects of the nation’s aviation industry.
What has been your experience as FAAN MD
As the MD of FAAN, I have no reason not to perform to expectations. I am working very hard to see that we succeed. Aviation is for everyone, and we are collaborating with our stakeholders to gauge what we are doing, which we use as our feedback to fine-tune our operations. We have started bi-monthly meetings with the Aircraft Owners Association of Nigeria.We meet in our boardroom here and in Abuja. They drew up about 21 items for us to work on to improve the industry. When they submitted the list to me, I added seven more items, all to help us to keep improving.
The second issue concerns our internal operations. I made it clear to our staff that they could send direct messages to the MD through WhatsApp and dedicated numbers to enable me have valuable information about things in the system and how to fix them. Thirdly, we do know we have a lot of infrastructure and equipment all around Nigeria. A lot of our equipment and infrastructure are dilapidated. We have been working to resolve all issues, from the smallest to the biggest. An example is Enugu Airport.
Is there assurance that the Enugu airport renovation will be completed on schedule?
I am assuring everyone that when we reopen the Enugu International Airport, it will look like a new one. We are fixing the runway, drainage system, medical facility, security, even the staff quarters. We hope that when we resume operations, there it will operate for 24 hours. Currently, it is from sunrise to sunset.
From that, we are coming down to the basic issues of maintenance of our system and equipment. The most important people in this area is the personnel, our staff. These are the people that bring about achievement. No equipment or infrastructure can perform on its own. It is the personnel that will have them to deliver, and so we are working in that area to make sure that our staff are fully and competently trained, with instructors from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and within..
How much cooperation are you receiving from Southeast stakeholders in respect of the Enugu airport renovation?
We are working with the Enugu State Government. They are fully in the picture. The Southeast Governors Forum has met with the Minister of Aviation more than twice in Enugu. We are working with a particular interest group led by a very distinguished gentleman, Chris Okoye, an engineer, who is endorsed by the Southeast Governors. This is a professional job and we try not to put anything out to the public that will cause distraction.
We are committed to that project. We are doing much more than the runway. Americans say: “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” There is this suspicion that there is a sinister plan.What can we plan that is underhand about closing an airport with a bad runway? Our brothers and sisters are there. Foreigners go in and out. If we didn’t want to do it, why did we close it? And when it is completed, I am assuring you that it will be worth the while. It is also good for our own name as Nigerians, that we are able to do the right thing.
About the April deadline, I have made it clear to stakeholders that delivery is important, but quality delivery is more important. If I have to keep it closed till June for a good reason, I will do so. I closed it for safety and security, and I will keep it closed until I can assure safety and security. We are committed to April 2020, but if there is need for a force majeure (like in the case of Port Harcourt Airport that had to be closed for two years), what can one do? We are working towards end of March 2020.
Work on the Port Harcourt Airport runway is rather slow; some say it has been abandoned. Is this the case?
I will call it a delayed, not an abandoned contract, because the contractor is there. When you go there, you will see a lot of people dillydallying there. The contract is not abandoned.
Do you get support from organisations in terms of training?
Yes, we get a lot of support from the National Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to train our people. We also get some of our best materials to develop them to become our instructors, which is like an advanced kind of capacity building. This will ensure that whatever we do with our facilities and equipment, they will be in the good hands of people who have been properly trained.
Aviation is a heavily-regulated industry and so whatever we are doing, we will ensure we are not merely fully in compliance but also above performance thresholds. Once you are in compliance, you are assured of adequate safety and security, and we are striving to ensure that we achieve compliance that is above the basic threshold.
Not only Nigeria but even neighbouring countries will be able to benefit in terms of what we are doing in training our people. Organisations like ICAO are using highly-skilled individuals from other countries to train people all over the world, including Nigeria. So, we are also striving to make sure that Nigerians are capable of doing that very soon.
What is the situation with ICAO’s Cat One certification?
ICAO Certification is not about Cat One. FAA had certified the Nigerian airspace as Cat One. ICAO certification of an airport is about certifying that the airport has a clean bill, in terms of safety, security and efficiency of operation. ICAO encourages every country to, at least, have their international airports certified. It is not for all the airports. Nigeria was the first country to do two airports in Africa. South Africa did only Johannesburg, and I think Egypt did only Cairo.
We did Lagos and Abuja, and now we are working hard to do Port Harcourt and Kano. We won’t be able to do Enugu until we complete the runway, but we will do it. The comprehensive works we are doing in Enugu are aimed at Cat One certification. It is one thing to get certification and another to keep it. We have a committee to ensure that we maintain our certification.
How do you classify airports as viable and unviable?
I will give a general advice and let the state governments make their choice.The general guideline is that any airport that will have fewer than a million passengers per year is unviable. It used to be 500,000, but now it is a million per year, and this is based on statistics and data, not sentiments. According to ICAO standards, for you to break even and make profit, you need at least a million persons using the airport per year. We have some airports that have 10,000, some 20,000. But it is not everything you can judge in black and white. If you look at our population, we have very few airports. I think the challenge before us is to see how we can motivate or stimulate traffic, and that has a link to the economy. I prefer to unviable airports than not to have none at all. The potential is there. We just need to provide the enabling environment. While we wait for that time, somebody needs to nurture the sector like a baby.
The general guideline is that any airport that will have fewer than a million passengers per year is unviable. It used to be 500,000, but now it is a million per year, and this is based on statistics and data, not sentiments.
That is the job of FAAN. Given our population, we need to cultivate these airports. I know they are unviable, but when I look at the overall national interest, it is better than not having the airports. So, when a governor wants to build an airport, I give him information to guide him. I don’t say do it or don’t do it. It will surprise you to know that 19 out of our 22 airports are not viable. When you have 20 businesses and only two are bringing in profits, you don’t have money. But let us have the airports first and find ways of making them more viable.
How about the insecurity of our airports, especially the problem of livestock straying into tarmacs?
We know that we have people committed to sabotaging national security. If you don’t believe in that, then you have already compromised the safety of the airports. There are definite inside threats. You cannot tell me a criminal will have heavy equipment, infiltrate our system, cut heavy cables and go without stealing. Sometimes we just see the bodies of people electrocuted trying to cut cables and we send their bodies quietly to their families without making noise. But we are working very hard to fence the airports, increase patrols and install surveillance cameras.
How could a man be caught on camera trying to get into an Azman Air engine at the Lagos airport?
FAAN’s aviation security took him to the hospital and it was discovered that he was mentally-deranged. His brother told us they had already tied him up and taken him to their village but he escaped, came back to Lagos and accessed the airport from the Agege Motor Road end while construction was going on. But I can assure you that our security around the airport has been beefed up. The pilot was smart and stopped the engine before he climbed it or else if he had gone to the back, the heat and power of the engine would have flung him 20 meters away, and if he had gone to the front, it would have sucked him in.
Can Lagos have an airport as large as that of Dubai or Heathrow?
Number one, Lagos can easily have it. Number two, Lagos has the potential. Number three, it is already being planned. Within the next two years, you will see things in Lagos. The International, MMA2, GAT and even this bus stop here will be linked up. The plan is already in place.
What are the personal challenges?
We just need people to be trained and to have the right attitude to work. Attitude is everything. You may have the best brains but with the wrong attitude, you will not achieve anything. If you have the dullest people around you, if they have the right attitude, they will learn if you train them. So, for us, it is attitudinal change and training. But the attitudinal change is more important because we know how to conduct the training.
Overnight, you can get qualification after the training. Training is one plus one you get two. But an attitude issue, trying to break cultural, religion, performance-sensitive culture, is very difficult. If you are not itching to perform, no can never do much no matter your qualification. For me, it is how well you perform, not how well you are trained. | https://thenationonlineng.net/any- | 2,318 | null | 1 | en | 0.999998 |
Davido and Sophia
By Emmanuel Aziken
David Adeleke, the 23-year-old pop artiste popularly known as Davido has rebuffed claims by his estranged lover, Sophia Momodu on the circumstances surrounding the removal of their daughter, Imade, from Sophia’s custody.
In a lengthy narrative issued last night, Adeleke alleged that Sophia had been in weekly contact with Imade up till last week and claimed that hospital authorities had sought to transfer the baby to officials of the Lagos State Children Welfare Authority on account of alleged drug use by Sophia.
Adeleke in his narrative said the hospital authorities recanted only after Sophia agreed to surrender the baby for care with him, saying his estranged lover had kept to the agreement until she recanted last week as she insisted on going along with the Adeleke family for the treatment and family vacation in Dubai.
Adeleke in the narrative poured invectives on the respected veteran journalist, Dele Momodu, who he accused of not taking care of his niece, Sophia, alleging that Mr. Momodu and his wife entered the scene as busybodies who he claimed did not bother about the welfare of their niece until she had a baby for him.
Vowing that he was manipulated by Sophia and that he would never marry her, he accused his estranged live-in lover of debauchery, saying that he was a well brought up man who would not condone such attributes of a woman as a wife.
Efforts to get Mr. Momodu’s reaction to the development were unfruitful as he did not respond to SMS and phone calls at press time.
He said: “In May, the same month Imade was born, Sophia settled in her fancy apartment for which I paid a hefty bill for a 2 year lease. Her baby was healthy. And she seemed happy. I would take care of all the financial needs of Imade and still pay Sophia a living allowance of N300,000 plus utility bills.
“Within a matter of weeks, Sophia missing and lusting for the streets of Lagos, especially the glitzy night life. She often left Imade home for clubbing, binge drinking and a life of debauchery and deviant living. She would sleep all day and party all night. When awake, she was addicted to the telephone and cannabis. She paid the baby no attention at all and seems to despise motherhood and parenting.
Blood polluted to the maximum level with cannabis
Imade was in her custody for two straight months, unchallenged and uninterrupted, until the baby took badly and severely ill in July. Imade cried, ceaselessly, for 48 hours. She was rushed to the hospital where her condition confounded medical experts. Several tests were conducted on her and later on the mother. Medical reports, herein attached, proved that Sophia’s blood was polluted to the maximum level with cannabis and she had by the process of breast feeding infected her child with complicated medical conditions associated with the use of alcohol and especially cannabis.
“The trouble spot for Imade was her lungs. She had difficulty breathing largely because of the contaminated breast milk and the severity of the “Second Smoke” of marijuana inhaled by the poor child.
“The medical experts at the hospital were enraged by the callous treatment of Imade by her own mother and declared her unfit for the caring and the nursing of a delicate baby. The team determined that they would hand over the baby to the Children’s Welfare Authority of Lagos State Government. My family started to plead with the hospital management. For the first time, Sophia too was sober, sorry and contrite. We pleaded that the baby would be kept from the mother once she was returned to us, and that we would take over responsibilities for Imade’s welfare.
“Voluntarily, Sophia, in the attempt to avoid the handing over of the baby to the children welfare authority, agreed to a compromise position that she would transfer Imade to the Adeleke family until the cannabis in the systems of both mum and daughter was completely out and comprehensively cleaned out.
“The medical expert also indicated that the full damage to Imade’s person could not be ascertained right away and that her mental state now or in the future could not be determined nor predicted, until perhaps when she would have attained adulthood. This was why and how Imade was transferred to the custody of the Adeleke family.
Imade flown to hospital in Dubai
“Meanwhile, Imade was increasingly worse off in wellness and she had to be flown to the American hospital in Dubai. I wrote a letter of release authorizing my sister to travel to Dubai with Imade. The hospital saved Imade who was returned to Nigeria with a medical equipment that had to be used daily to enable Imade to gain restful sleep and balanced respiratory rhythm. The photograph of this equipment is hereby attached.
“If Imade had not gone to Dubai, it is fair to say that she may not be alive today. Still, some people prevented her from keeping a follow-up appointment at the American Hospital in Dubai. For the silliest possible reason. My family would not pay for Sophia’s flight ticket and thus Imade would be disallowed from traveling for the vital purpose of medical conditions that lend oxygen to her life.”
“The claim has been made that the aborted trip to Dubia was to take Imade to America. This is not true. Imade’s Nigerian passport is right now with the Immigration Office with no American Visa embossed on it and Imade, though qualified to possess an American Passport because her dad is an American citizen, still does not possess an American passport. True, her passport is being processed but the truancy of her mother has caused a major delay. I therefore ask, how will Imade have entered America without a visa on her Nigerian passport?
“The only reason why some of us are dancing naked in the market place today, is because Sophia’s request to go to Dubai on my ticket was declined. She is demanding for her new car and a raise of her allowance to one million naira per month. The sole reason why she’s demanding for the custody of Imade is to justify the necessity for this delusional one million naira. A domestic matter that could have been quietly and sensibly settled has been tossed to the public domain with the brutal consequences to the most innocent actor in this drama, Imade.
“From December 23-28, Sophia lived at my father’s Lekki residence in peace, except for the first one hour when a medication was misapplied by her and Imade speedily vomited for a fearfully long time. Sophia did not know how to even bathe her own baby. She brought a friend to stay with her in a 3-bedroom flat with a resident professional nurse and nanny. Overall, her stay was joyful and in alignment with the thrills of the Christmas holiday season.
“On December 29, less than 24 hours of leaving my father’s house, Sophia was at the airport in the company of her uncle and his wife with malice aforethought and the aim to do maximum damage that would obstruct her child from travelling aboard to receive necessary and needful medical care. She was welcome to join us if she had bought her ticket or her uncle had funded her for the trip.
“ I offered to buy her a car and suggested a Toyota brand or Hyundai. She lost her cool and told me off. She wanted a fancy jeep and preferably, a Mercedes Benz Jeep. I laughed because she just wanted to be a Lagos Big Girl for nothing. She hardly can cope with the cheapest car much less the ruinous cost of maintaining a Mercedes Benz vehicle. In December she received 500,000 naira as her allowance without doing anything for Imade. Life is not a bed of roses. Neither have I ever promised Sophia a rose garden. Her spontaneous motions of delusions utterly baffle me!
“On her twitter page, she claimed she has recovered Imade from captivity. But Imade never was in captivity. Sophia certainly knows where Imade is. And it is where she left her on December 28, at my father’s house. What is the lie about? Sophia also claimed that she hasn’t seen her daughter in 5 months, this cannot be true. Sophie spent every Sunday with her baby at my father’s house since July 2015 when she voluntarily transferred Imade to the Adeleke family after the cannabis incidence. She and her daughter constantly appear on her face book and twitter pages throughout this period of 5 months. What manner of unreliable and lying person is Sophia? The picture of your reconciliation with Imade after “captivity” that you posted on your twitter page came directly from the photo shoot that you posed for at my father’s house during your Christmas stay. Why can’t you ever be affable with truth nor have a relationship with honour?
“Uncle Dele Momodu was the first to bring this domestic matter online and onto the internet. Uncle Dele Momodu ran smack into the internet highway on December 30 with Video recordings that he dishonestly, immorally and unlawfully recorded at a government facility and office at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos. Uncle, you are wrong and you are not doing the right thing.
“Life is beautiful if we all live in simple ways and do not engage criminal gadgets to replace integrity and honour. Your recordings cannot alter the fact that I am “Davido” father of Imade and it cannot force me to be the husband of your cousin. In truth, I don’t know if you are uncle or cousin to Sophia. Still, Uncle Dele Momodu, it is immoral, unlawful and unethical to clandestinely record anyone, especially friends and family members.
“Late evening on December 30, I responded to your vicious internet publications that attacked me and my family. But my father’s counsel and the love I have for Imade prompted me to recall the arrow aimed at you. You see, my father raised me well, and I promptly complied with his advise. I thus deleted all references to the issue of December 29 at the Airport and apologized to you in particular along with all my fans. I showed you respect even if u had provoked me.
“Instead of reciprocating with love and elderly wisdom, you sustained your attack of me with even more venom and hatefulness. With all due respect for my dad, I am compelled to speak to your lies and your simulation of grand self-importance. I am 23 and you are almost 60. Your cousin has a baby for me. Rather than bring us together as a family, you wished for glowing embers to come out of cool cucumber. This is why you instructed your lawyers to put garbage on the internet in a matter that should be showcased in the court of law. Uncle, who offended you? Is it Davido, Sophia or Imade? It cannot be my late mum after whom I named Imade. Is it my gentle dad?
“I am 23 and a performing artiste that God immensely blessed and I have joyfully made good in the industry. I won’t do this forever, and I shall timely step aside in the nearest future. I have a degree and I am stashing my monies aside so that I can build a decent future for Imade plus my future wife and family. I believe as the bible says, “every good gift is from above”.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/01/davido-rebuffs-dele-momodu-says-sophia- | 2,432 | null | 1 | en | 0.999987 |
By Joseph Erunke
ABUJA–THE Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq,has ordered immediate deployment of relief materials to victims of attacks in five communities of Plateau State.
She condemned the attacks describing the actions of the perpetrators as satanic.
The minister,who sympathized with the state government and victims of the armed banditry attacks in Garga District of Kanam Local Government Area of Plateau State,said the mayhem unleashed on innocent citizens especially during the Ramadan Fasting was evil.
Farouq,in a statement she issued, Wednesday,through her Special Assistant on Media,Nneka Ikem Anibeze, directed deployment of items
including food, water, blankets and sleeping nets to the displaced victims who are currently seeking refuge in Garga Central primary school,in the local government area.
Recall that five communities including Kyaram, Gyambau, Dungur, Kukawa, Shuwaka villages under Garga District were attacked by armed bandits on Monday while scores were reportedly killed during the mayhem.
The National Emergency Management Agency under the Ministry accompanied by SEMA, Joint Military Task Force, Community Leaders, Local Government Council Members and the Media are already in Plateau state for an on-the-spot assessment to ascertain the level of destruction and advice the agency appropriately.
The Coordinator, NEMA North Central Zonal office Jos, Mr Eugene Nyelong who led the team confirmed that profiling and assessment of victims have begun.
According to Nyelong, the assessment which commenced on Tuesday April 12, 2022, revealed loss of many lives and destroyed property.
“The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are said to be over 4800 comprising mostly women and children.
“The local government health department through the dispensary in Garga Town is however offering skeletal medical support to the displaced persons while the
Director General of NEMA, Ahmed Mustapha Habib is working on prompt delivery of emergency humanitarian support ahead of full intervention,”the statement read.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/04/plateau- | 445 | null | 1 | en | 0.999322 |
January 29, 2020 by The Nation
Kukah’s attack on Buhari draws more flak, backing
•Arewa youths, coalition lash cleric•Southern, Middle Belt leaders, Bishops give support
From Jide Orintunsin, Abuja and AbdulGafar Alabelewe, Kaduna
Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Matthew Hassan Kukah’s scathing attack on President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday raised more dusts.
Northern groups and Southern elders disagreed over calls for Kukah’s arrest for his discreet call for undemocratic removal of the President from office.
The Federal Government at the weekend lashed out at the cleric and urged him to “stop stigmatising the President over nepotism claims”.
While the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) and the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) faulted the bishop’s comments, the Southern Nigeria and Middle Belt Forum said Kukah merely spoke truth to power.
Kukah said in Christmas message: “This government owes the nation an explanation as to where it is headed as we seem to journey into darkness. The spilling of this blood must be related to a more sinister plot that is beyond our comprehension…
“Every honest Nigerian knows that there is no way any non-northern Muslim president could have done a fraction of what President Buhari has done by his nepotism and gotten away with it. There would have been a military coup a long time ago or we would have been at war.”
The CNG threatened to report Kukah to the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying his Christmas Day message undermined national unity.
It said in a statement by its spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman: “The CNG finds it ironic that a reverend would choose the revered occasion of the celebration of the birth of Christ to needlessly incite hatred against a section of the country.
“It testifies to how religious bodies and leaders such as Kukah in more ways than one, attempt to aid the deterioration of the situation in the country by stimulating a form of Islamophobia on the back of the most gratuitous false story of an Islamisation agenda.
“It also furthers the irresponsible and unacceptable practice of preachers using the pulpit to promote falsehood and incite their followers against certain sections of the society by labelling and earmarking them to be targeted irrespective of whether they are part of a crime committed or not.”
The coalition accused Kukah of mischief in “deliberately distorting the Nigerian coup narratives to suit an agenda that tends to portray the North, the Hausa/ Fulani and Muslims in a bad light and render them as the culprit and the guilty entity”.
It said: “We emphatically repudiate any attempt at the vilification of one ethnic and religious group or the other for whatever reason or justification…
“We therefore, give notice to Kukah and his fellow instigators and perpetrators of all hate crimes, that the CNG is ready and willing to take matters to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for redress where local remedies could not be provided against their irresponsible actions.
“We remind the Federal Government of the imperative of checkmating all religious groups and religious teachings that undermine Nigeria’s peace, security, and peaceful coexistence through unguarded utterances and deliberate actions aimed at fomenting unrest and engendering inter-religious and inter-communal conflicts.
“Individuals associated with such groups or actions that incite others to violations must be decisively dealt with.
“In that regard, we remind the government of our earlier advice for the enactment of appropriate laws to deal with all manifestations of hate speech from any quarter.”
The AYCF described Bishop Kukah’s Christmas homily as unguarded and open incitement to military coup and insurrection against a democratic government.
In a statement by its National President, Alhaji Yerima Shettima, the group condemned “Kukah’s use of nepotism as a weapon of calumny against government and people of Nigeria”.
AYCF urged the Federal Government to place the Bishop on a special watch list for his alleged attempt to “set the South against the North in order to destabilise our country and further complicate matters”.
The group said: “Such a reckless statement by Kukah betrays something much more sinister against both the North and the nation as a whole because Nigeria is at a stage that it requires responsible advice for attaining peace and stability, not deliberate attempt to mischievously compound our problems.
“If Kukah wants to play politics, he should not do so in the pulpit and he should keep the Bishop’s office aside and choose any Nigerian political party platform to contest for President in 2023 and stop all the pretences.”
Tiv Youth Council Worldwide, in a statement by its
President and Convener Mike Msuaan, said: “We wonder why the Bishop has not found it honourable enough to commend the efforts of the President in the rescue of some of the Chibok girls and all the Kankara boys from the hands of insurgents.
“Kukah is working for the interest of enemies of the country and sowing the seeds of division at a time Nigerians across regional, ethnic and religious divides are working and praying for peace to reign in the country.”
But the Southern Nigeria and Middle Belt Forum condemned “the outbursts of the Presidency and the Northern Elders Forum” over Kukah’s message.
In a statement by its leaders Chief Guy Ikoku (Southeast), Senator Bassey Henshaw (Southsouth), Dr Isuwa Dogo (Middle Belt) and Yinka Odumakin (Southwest), the Forum said Bishop Kukah did not deserve the verbal attacks.
The Forum said: “The outspoken cleric who has been a beacon of truthfulness over the years remains a foremost defender of the aspirations of millions of Nigerians across ethnic and religious lines.
“On this occasion, his comments have been applauded by the majority of Nigerians and we all stand with him.
“We want to remind the Federal Government and its attack dogs that in the past, they had equally welcomed the forthright views of this Man of God when it favoured them.
“So, why attack him now when he cautions them on their divisive policies? Today, the country has become terribly divided along all kinds of lines.
“It is shameful and indefensible that suddenly, the Federal Government is dominated by one small ethnic group and they expect all to keep quiet like slaves.
“Also, the wind of insecurity is now almost tsunami and even up to Mr President’s doorstep in Katsina when he was home recently on holiday.
“What we expected was for those concerned to retrace their very unhelpful steps and get back to rekindling oneness in the country. We once more can call on the Federal Government to take urgent steps to restructure the country.
“We remind those concerned that the voice of truth and reason can never be suppressed successfully.
“Bishop Kukah remains a national icon, a hero of the masses. We demand an immediate apology to him for the baseless attacks.” | https://thenationonlineng.net/kukahs-attack-on-buhari-draws-more-flak- | 1,557 | null | 1 | en | 0.999981 |
By Esther Onyegbula
Lagos—Doctors at a private hospital at Ire-Akari Estate in Isolo area of Lagos State are battling to save the life of a malnourished seven-year-old primary school pupil, who slumped and lost consciousness in school.
The victim, identified as Ifechukwu Jubilee, also had visible marks of violence all over her body.
She was reportedly sent to school last Friday by her guardian, identified as Ngozi, on an empty stomach.
Her guardian, according to neighbours at their 19 Owofuju Street, allegedly beat the girl, her niece, at the slightest provocation.
Neighbours also told Vanguard that the act usually led to arguments between her and her husband, who often frowned at his wife’s maltreatment of the girl.
… on Friday morning
She was woken up from sleep last Friday morning and asked to carry out home chores before leaving for school.
Ifechukwu was said to have strayed into one of the rooms in the apartment and slept off, which angered her aunt who then beat her and sent her to school without food.
Ifechukwu, a primary 2 pupil, reportedly left home in tears, only to slump hours after getting to school— Ire-Akari Model Primary School.
One of the teachers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “She looked very pale and weak when she came to school, with her hands swollen and injuries in some parts of her body.
“It was when she fainted that we knew something was wrong. When she came out of coma, her first words were that she was hungry and narrated how her aunt usually beat her with a hard object.
“We thank God she did not die in the school. How would we have been able to explain that kind of situation?”
Her husband visited her at the station and told her not to set her feet in his house again.
He told Vanguard: “Only God knows what I am going through in my wife’s hands. I have cautioned her several times over the manner she beats the little girl. This is the last straw.”
Meanwhile, a non-governmental organization, Women Right and Health Project, has promised to follow up the investigation and ensure the victim was safe.
Weeping profusely, the suspect, a 25-year-old mother of one, begged for mercy, saying she acted out of anger, as she had been taking good care of the girl.
She was released because she is pregnant.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | http://www.vanguardngr.com/?p=582756Cc | 551 | null | 1 | en | 0.999979 |
By Egufe Yafugborhi
WARRI – FIRE outbreak from an oil blowout on the Riapele-Forcados Trunkline belonging to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, a subsidiary of NNPC, has reportedly killed a mother and three children in Odidi, Warri South West Local Government Area, Delta State.
Friday Deinghan, a community leader in Odidi who spoke to Vanguard yesterday described the magnitude of the spill and the associated fire as “unprecedented”.
The alleged victims include Mrs Ebosine Photo, 36, her children, Siyafa and Gift Photo, 16 and 6 years respectively and an unnamed toddler just under a year.
Deighan said, “The mother and the children were out fishing more than three kilometers away from the spill point, very unmindful that the crude oil has spread across the river. It was nightfall.
“She made to light a hurricane lamp they usually use to illuminate their way as they mend their nets and fishing traps. Immediately she lit it and dropped it into the water, the thing caught fire and engulfed the four of them.”
“As I speak with you now, it is serious humanitarian concern in the community as the people are confused and in mourning. People can’t go for fishing and something urgent needs to be done.”
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/04/oil-blowout- | 305 | null | 1 | en | 0.99995 |
By Henry Ojelu
Human Rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, SAN has demanded for prosecution of about 400 sponsors of terrorism reported to have been arrested by the federal government some months ago.
In a Freedom of Information, FoI, requested dated August 3, 2021 and forwarded to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN, Falana is also demanding for information on the charges which ought to have filed against the arrested terrorism sponsors.
The letter reads: “On May 4 2021, it was widely reported widely by the media that the Federal Government had concluded arrangement to prosecute about 400 alleged sponsors and financiers of terrorism in Nigeria.
ALSO READ: Abba Kyari’s Suspension: Malami hails Buhari, scores President high on Rights’ protection
“In the said publication, your office assured the nation that the suspects would be arraigned after the industrial action embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).
In view of the attacks being unleashed on law abiding citizens by groups surgents in several parts of the country, we strongly commend the move by the Federal Government to prosecute the suspects who were reported to have been arrested in a nationwide operation a few months ago.
“We, however, request that our law firm be furnished with information with respect to when criminal charges were filed against the suspects since the strike by JUSUN has since been called off.
“Kindly ensure that we are furnished with the requested information within 7 days of the receipt of this letter in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011.”
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/08/falana-writes-agf- | 362 | null | 1 | en | 0.999985 |
December 3, 2021 by The Nation
Organised Labour set for battle over planned fuel price hike
The Organised Labour has warned the Federal Government to be ready for another battle over its fresh move to increase petrol pump price by over 200 per cent. The union has placed workers under its platform on what it called “red alert”. TOBA AGBOOLA reports.
The Organised Labour in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari has told the presidency to be ready for another battle with Nigerians if he failes to arrest moves by functionaries in his administration to create “avoidable” labour and political crisis in the country.
The labour movement, while placing the workers under its platform on what it called “red alert”, also accused the presidency of trying to impose a new regime of fuel price hike on the country, thereby, subjecting Nigerians to severe hardship.
To make clear its position on the proposed fuel hike, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) recently summoned its three organs, the National Administrative Council (NAC), the Central Working Committee (CWC) and the National Executive Council (NEC), to an emergency meeting early December.
This, according to the labour centre, is to plan the next line of action in the event that the Federal Government goes ahead with its proposal.
Letters to that effect have been sent out and the meeting, among others, would give directive to the workers on the position of labour whenever government carries out its plan.
The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Malam Mele Kyari, announced that the price of petrol could rise to between N320 and N340 from February, 2022.
He said the price increase would be consequent on the plans by the Federal Government to remove subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit also commonly referred to as petrol or fuel.
Reacting, the NLC warned the Federal Government that the over 200 percent proposed hike on price of petroleum would further aggravate insecurity and possibly lead to citizens’ revolt.
The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, on the statements credited to Kyari and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, noted that the contemplation by government to increase the price of petrol by more than 200 per cent was a perfect recipe for an aggravated pile of hyper-inflation and astronomical increase in the prices of goods and services.
“This will open a wide door to unintended social consequences such as degeneration of the current insecurity crises and possibly citizens’ revolt. This is not an outcome that any sane Nigeria wishes for,” he said.
He reasoned that the argument that the complete surrender of the price of petrol to market forces would normalise the curve of demand and supply as being wrongly attributed to the current market realities with cooking gas, diesel and kerosene was very obtuse.
“The truth is that these commodities which Nigeria can easily produce have been priced out of the reach of most Nigerian families with majority of our people resorting to tree felling and charcoal for their energy needs,” he stated.
Wabba said the grand optimism of Kyari was predicated on the claims that the removal of fuel subsidy was now backed by an act of parliament, the Petroleum Industry Act, recently signed into law.
He said the assertion of Kyari was re-echoed on November 23, 2021, by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Ahmed, at the launch of the World Bank Nigeria Development Update (NDU), entitled “Time for Business Unusual”, where she announced government’s plan to disburse N5,000 to 40 million poorest Nigerians each as transport grant to cushion the effect of the planned removal of fuel subsidy.
Wabba said the disclosures by the NNPC GMD and the Minister of Finance were in agreement with the positions of the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri and the International Monetary Fund, urging the Federal Government to do away with fuel subsidy.
Wabba reiterated Labour’s position that such deregulation based on import-driven model would impoverish Nigerians the more.
He warned that the bait by the government to pay 40 million Nigerians N5000 as palliative to cushion the effect of astronomical increase in the price of petrol was comical, to say the least.
“The total amount involved in this queer initiative is far more than the money government claims to spend currently on fuel subsidy.
“Apart from our concerns on the transparency of the disbursement given previous experiences with such schemes, we are wondering if government is not trying to rob Nigerians to pay Nigerians? Why pay me N5000 and then subject me to perpetual suffering?Clearly, government thoughts on the so-called removal of fuel subsidy is cloudy and appears to be a “penny wise-pound foolish” gamble.
” It is clear that the palliative offered by government will not cure the cancer that will befall the mass of our people who suffer the double jeopardy of hyper -inflation while their salaries remain fixed.
“As we had done several times, we call on the Federal Government to consider various options that can help Nigeria navigate out of the quagmire constructed by the failure of successive governments to embrace developmental governance and accountable leadership,” Wabba said.
He said some of the viable options that could help includeed: Insulate domestic consumers from the market pressure brought about by the free fall of the Naira by making arrangement with contiguous refineries not far from Nigeria to swap crude oil with refined petroleum products; accelerate work on the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s four major refineries which are all currently operating at near zero installed capacity; and establish empirical data on the quantity of refined petroleum products consumed daily by Nigerians.
He said: “It is unfortunate that this record remains a myth and a huge crater for all manner of official sleaze and leakages in the downstream petroleum sub-sector of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. A stitch in time might saves nine.”
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), said the government’s new position on fuel subsidy was totally unacceptable and warned that the government was looking for trouble.
The TUC Secretary-General, Musa Lawal, said Labour was shocked with government’s pronouncement last week, calling it a unilateral decision without the input of Labour.
He said: “The Presidential Committee made up of government representatives and Labour has not concluded its assignment. Our last meeting was in April. This new position is totally unacceptable to us.
“Let us look at the issue of N5,000 for about 40 million Nigerians. How did the government arrive at the figure? How did they determine the targeted beneficiaries? Most Nigerians are aware that similar money was given out, the identities of the beneficiaries have remained a subject of controversy and debate among Nigerians.”
The National President of the National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE),Comrade Lateef Oyelekan, believed that a sensitive government in touch with what its people are going through would not contemplate such proposal.
He said: “The 30,000 Minimum Wage didn’t get anywhere, is it N5,000 that will now cushion people’s hardship? Cost of essential goods and services are already beyond the reach of the people.”
Vice Chairman, Association of Senior Civil Servant of Nigeria (ASCSN), Ogun State, Mr. James Oyesola, also warned that it would be catastrophic for the economy as it would lead to further inflation.
“Petrol, being the driver of the economy, it’s going to affect every area of our economy, the market women, artisans, manufacturers and the rest,” he said.
He saw as inconsequential the proposed payment of N5,000, adding that it cannot solve any of the problems being faced by Nigerians.
“What has that got to do with what is on the ground. How is N5,000 going to cushion the effect of the transportation problem. It cannot last them two days. Who is teaching them all this nonsense,” he queried angrily. | https://thenationonlineng.net/organised-labour-set-for-battle-over- | 1,724 | null | 1 | en | 0.999943 |
November 16, 2023 by Segun Showunmi, Ibadan
60-year-old Farouk Sanni bags First Class in Sociology from UI, wins eight awards
60-year-old Farouk Sanni has emerged as the best graduating student in the Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan.
Farouk Sanni, a retired banker, who said he felt accomplished with studying sociology in his quest to understand why people behave the way they behave, said he had read accounting at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife as an imposed course by an uncle.
Alhaji, as fondly called, the best graduating student, narrated his experience at the 75th convocation ceremony at the University of Ibadan.
According to him, he took up the challenge to stay healthy and pursue his quest to understand human behaviour after retiring from UBA and had to write JAMB to be admitted to study sociology.
Sanni, who bagged eight awards as a result of the feat, said he wrote JAMB with his child, who is now studying law at the University of Ibadan.
He said: “Studying in a class where you have those who are of the same age as your children can be very challenging, but I was magnanimous to accommodate what happened. Some called me Daddy, some called me Mr Sanni while some will even say “he may be a daddy but he is not my father”. I experienced a lot of things, but as an old person, I was able to remain focussed.”
Speaking on the feat of Mr Sanni, Dr Oludayo Tade a lecturer in the department, said the best-graduating student had a chair which he tied to a tree where he read under a tree in the faculty of the social sciences.
He said: “This 60-year-old man, Mallam F. K. Sanni graduated with FIRST CLASS in Sociology, University of Ibadan as the best student in his set, and with that won 8 awards.”
“He has two undergraduate children in UI at the moment. Until he graduated, he picked and dropped his two children at lecture halls, and most of the time, I met him reading under the tree on Saturday and Sunday.”
“On Ileya day, I saw him at the usual reading space under a faculty tree, where he had brought a chair tied to the tree to use whenever he came around to read. I asked him jokingly: Alhaji ni Ojo Ileya, he said Oga, I have bought everything they needed for them oooo. Staying with them will distract me, Sir.” | https://thenationonlineng.net/60-year-old-farouk-sanni-bags-first-class-in- | 571 | null | 1 | en | 0.999929 |
August 1, 2022 by The Nation
Gani Adams alleges bandits invasion of Ogun, Osun forests
Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland Gani Adams has raised the alarm over the presence of terrorists in Osun and Ogun forests.
He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly stop the country’s drift into destruction.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi, Adams said worsening insecurity would cause further harm to the economy.
He urged Southwest governors to recruit, at least, 150 local security personnel in each local government to complement Amotekun.
“For instance, the information reaching me today (yesterday) is that the terrorists are in-between Osu forest and Ile-Ife in Osun State, fully armed with various ammunition.
“They are also present in the forest between Abeokuta and Ibadan planning to attack us in the Southwest. This is one piece of information that we need to act on to avoid a possible calamity.
“Yoruba aren’t cowards. So, let everybody in the Southwest be vigilant and be watchful in checking this insecurity scourge,” he said.
Adams decried the worsening insecurity across the country.
The statement added: “We now have a situation in which family members are being forced to raise N100 million naira to pay as ransom.
“The money is delivered to these terrorists to buy more weapons and the government is merely watching.
“After every abduction, the President will summon Service Chiefs to a meeting, a statement will be issued and that is the end of it. What we will hear next is another abduction or series of kidnappings.
“The insecurity situation has reached its peak with the threat by these terrorists to kidnap the President, governors and lawmakers.
“Presidential advance team was attacked in Katsina and even soldiers guarding the president were attacked in Abuja. Some of them were killed.
“It looks as if this administration has decided to force Nigerians to seek self-help.”
Adams recalled that the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives claimed to have read more than 40 security reports from the Department of State Services (DSS) ahead of the attack on the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
Adams said: “The attack did not only happen, which led to killings but pitiably, nobody has been punished for dereliction of duty.
“Painfully, Nigeria is going down because it looks as if there is no government in the country. Millions of Nigerians are in pain; they are suffering.
“In the Abuja-Kaduna train passengers video released by the terrorists, it is heartbreaking to watch fathers, mothers and children being flogged, tortured and humiliated.
“The terrorists must have data to be able to send the video out. So, what is the job of Nigerian Communications Commissions and intelligence units of security agencies?
“Is it a crime for Nigerians to move from one place to the other? Mass abductions go on every day, yet not one victim has ever been rescued, except when a ransom is paid.
“The horrendous humiliation of Nigerians in their country by these terrorists should stop immediately.
“President Buhari can use his executive powers to allow the immediate establishment of state police with a mandate to flush out all the terrorists stationed in strategic places in the country.
“Nigerians’ silence is being misconstrued for foolishness. By the time President Buhari and other government officials realise that Nigerians can rise like Sri Lankans, it will be too late for them.
“The President has about 10 months left in office. This is the time to redeem his image.
“Nigerians believe, and rightly so, that without high-level conspiracy with these terrorists, the blood-thirsty maniacs will not have the audacity and insolent boldness to be attacking Nigerians everywhere.
“Somnambulating and hate actions from the government against Nigerians must stop now.
“Now that Abuja has seemingly lost the battle to terrorists, the Southwest region has been the next target of these destroyers of hope. But, we will never allow them to destroy our land.
“Therefore, we urge the six governors in the Southwest states to hold an urgent emergency security meeting with stakeholders across the region to address the impending implosion.
“We are aware of their plans to strike in Lagos, Ibadan, Oyo State, and Abeokuta in Ogun State.” | https://thenationonlineng.net/gani-adams-alleges-bandits-invasion-of- | 972 | null | 1 | en | 0.999987 |
By Chris Onuoha
Dr. Osayande Aghaze, a renowned businessman, may soon throw his hat into the political ring of Edo, as he expressed his interest in accepting his nomination as the Deputy of Olumide Akpata, who’s the flagbearer of Labour Party in the state’s forthcoming gubernatorial election.
Dr. Aghaze, who was recently awarded an honourary doctorate degree at Cornerstone University of Florida, United States (US), for his three decades of success in global business, stated that he’s considering accepting his nomination as Labour Party’s Deputy Governor for the Edo State 2024 election.
He made this disclosure while addressing journalists during a media parley in Benin City, Edo State Capital.
Noting that partisan politics would not propel Edo State forward, Dr. Aghaze hinted on a possible alliance with Dr. Bright Enabulele, who’s the flagbearer of Accord Party in the election.
His words: “Entering the political fray is a natural progression for me, as my life’s work has been about effecting positive change.
“Accepting the nomination as Labour Party’s Deputy Governor for the forthcoming Edo State election is an honor, and I embrace the opportunity to serve my community in a new capacity.
“My journey, punctuated by the recent recognition from Cornerstone University of Florida, has fortified my resolve to contribute meaningfully to the betterment of society.
“Over three decades of navigating the complexities of global business have equipped me with the skills and vision necessary to navigate the intricate landscape of governance. Yet, I recognise that true progress emanates from collaboration, not division. Thus, I am open to forging alliances, such as with Dr. Bright Enabulele of the Accord Party, in pursuit of advancing Edo State.”
Explaining his interest to be on the ballot for the forthcoming Edo gubernatorial election, Dr. Aghaze lamented the lack of infrastructures, and viable economic activities in the state.
According to Dr. Aghaze, Edo State needs the kind of leadership that will transform it with global equalising ideas and approaches.
“Do you know what our GDP is in Edo State?” He queried the journalists, revealing that “it’s just N3.99 trillion.”
“Now compare that to Lagos State with a GDP of N41.17 trillion. We need to do better, and it saddens me that we are where we are despite the resources and youth population we are blessed with.
“It’s in this light that I’m partnering with my prospective principal to drive the diversification of our state’s economy, nurturing sectors like agriculture and fostering the growth of diverse industries. Together, we will prioritise the improvement of our infrastructures, laying the foundation for sustainable development and prosperity. Our shared vision is one of progress, innovation, and inclusive growth.
“Therefore, let us seize this opportunity to create a future where every citizen thrives, where opportunity knows no bounds, and where our state shines and prosper.”
Dr. Aghaze is a man with many hats. He is a Hollywood filmmaker, and founder of Nature Herbal Life, a world-renowned manufacturer of Bitter Leaf Capsules.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/05/edo-guber- | 728 | null | 1 | en | 0.999947 |
June 5, 2023 by Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja
Chiefs of Staff: Gambari hands over to Gbajabiamila
Chief of Staff to former President Muhammadu Buhari, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, has handed over to his successor, Home Femi Gbajabiamila.
The handover ceremony, which took place at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, followed the announcement of Hon Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, last Friday.
The brief event, which was caught on a muted video clip, also featured President Tinubu coming in after the handing over to pose for a photo session with the duo. | https://thenationonlineng.net/chiefs-of-staff-gambari- | 145 | null | 1 | en | 0.993831 |
February 3, 2021 by The Nation
FEC approves establishment of 20 private universities
By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja
The Federal Executive Council FEC has approved the establishment of 20 private universities across the country.
The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, disclosed this to State House Correspondents on Wednesday after the week’s virtual FEC meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the State House in Abuja.
According to Adamu, the approved universities would get their provisional licenses from the National Universities Commission (NUC), which they will use for the next three years while monitoring and evaluation will go on.
The approved universities are Topfaith University, Mkpatak, Akwa Ibom State; Thomas Adewumi University, Oko-Irese, Kwara State; Maranathan University, Mgbidi, Imo State; Ave Maria University, Piyanko, Nasarawa State; and Al-Istiqama University, Sumaila, Kano State.
Also approved are Mudiame University, Irrua, Edo State; Havilla University, Nde-Ikom, Cross River State; Claretian University of Nigeria, Nekede, Imo State; NOK University, Kachia, Kaduna State; and Karl-Kumm University, Vom, Plateau State.
Others are James Hope University, Lagos, Lagos State; Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria, Kano, Kano State; Capital City University, Kano, Kano State; Ahman Pategi University, Pategi, Kwara State; and University of Offa, Offa, Kwara State.
Others are Mewar University, Masaka, Nasarawa State, Edusoko University, Bida, Niger State, Philomath University, Kuje, Abuja, Khadija University, Majia, Jigawa State and Anan University, Kwall, Plateau State.
Nine of the private universities are located in North Central, three in South South, two in South East, five of them in North West and one in South West.
Read Also: NHIS extends health insurance to lawyers
Meanwhile, the FEC has has approved the sum of N35 billion for the building of power stations by the Nigerian Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA), in the processing zones in Calabar and Kano.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, the contract awarded to Messers Mutual Commitment Nigeria Limited, would be jointly funded by the government and the company that won the award in 25% to 75% plan.
According to him, the contract sum is N35,411,119,159.47 and that the contractor will finance 75 percent of the project, which is in the sum of N26,558,339,337.10 while the NEPZA would finance 25 percent which translate to N8,852,779,792.37.
He said council approved a payback period of 10 years of the contractor’s portion.
Adebayo said on completion after 11 months, the plant will be operated by the contractor for five years during which they will build local capacity that will take over the running of the plant.
“The whole intention of the upgrade of the two zones is to create zones with world class standards. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment is desirous of making Nigeria a manufacturing hub, especially now that we have signed on to the Africa Continental free Trade Area (AFCTA) Agreement.
“So, by putting 24-hour power in the two processing zones, it will make it more attractive to foreign investors to come and set up manufacturing concerns here in Nigeria,” he explained.
Also addressing State House Correspondents after the meeting, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, said council approved the categorization of Aluminum Smelting Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) that is in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, as a power producing and strategic company.
With the approval, Adegbite said the production of aluminum will start in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Council also approved the sum of N783,521,275 inclusive of 7.5 percent VAT for the award of contract for the procurement of two hydrographic survey boats for the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) by Ministry of Transportation, in Favour of Messers First Index Project and Services Limited.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who briefed on behalf of his colleague, Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, said the contract has six months completion period.
Mohammed, who also briefed on behalf of the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Serika, said “Council approved the contract for the design, supply and installation of PTZ Long Range Tarmac Camera Surveillance system at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
“And also for a mobile surveillance system with remote controlled licensed for sober installed in the back of a Mercedes Benz Splinter Van 524 in favour of Messers Bruce Lee Pro Project, which is exclusive Nigeria and Africa representatives of the original equipment manufacturers Messers Datcom Systems Integrated Limited Posers of Slovenia.
“The total sum of the contract is N1,278,594,250. This is in order to upgrade and provide security and safety for the Nigeria Airport Authority, especially to avoid incidence on the air site and runway,” he said. | https://thenationonlineng.net/fec-approves-establishment-of-20-private- | 1,173 | null | 1 | en | 0.999487 |
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA—The Imo Sate National and State House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal has sacked the lawmaker representing Ehime Mbano/Ihite-Uboma/ Obowo federal constituency, Mr. Okeke Jonas Onwuegbu.
The tribunal, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices, held that Onwuegbu, who was declared winner of the House of Representatives election that held on February 25, was not validly nominated by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
In the lead judgement that was read by Justice Ibrahim Mohammed, the tribunal held that in violation of the provision of section 84 (5) (c)bof the Electoral Act 2022, the PDP, conducted the primary election that produced Onwuegbu as its candidate, in a venue that was outside the constituency.
Consequently, it held that the PDP conducted a primary election that was unknown to law.
Besides, the tribunal, which conducted its proceedings in Nasarawa state, issued an order, setting aside “the purported return of the 1st respondent as winner of the Ehime Mbano/Ihite-Uboma/ Obowo federal constituency election.”
The judgement followed a petition marked: EPT/IM/HR/17/2023, which was filed before the tribunal by candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Nwachukwu Austine.
Even though it nullified Onwuegbu’s of election, the tribunal, said it could not issue further consequential orders that were not sought by the petitioner.
According to the tribunal, the petitioner, having failed to seek further reliefs, “we will not play the role of Santa Claus even if it is Christmas season.”
It will recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared Onwuegbu of the PDP as winner of the election with a total of 19,468 votes.
His closest rival, Okafor Chike John of the All Progressives Congress, APC, got 15, 920 votes, the LP candidate, Austine, came third with a total of 6, 877 votes, while the candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, Reginald Keke, came a distant fourth with a total of 1, 506 votes.
However, dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, candidates of the APC, LP and PRP, approached the tribunal to nullify the election.
Meanwhile, the tribunal is set to deliver its judgement on the petition that the candidate of the APC, John, filed to be declared the authentic winner of the House of Reps election.
Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof. | https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/09/just-in-court-sacks-another-imo- | 585 | null | 1 | en | 0.999812 |
The operatives of the State Security Service, SSS, have invaded the headquarters of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, taking over the office of the embattled governor of the apex bank, Godwin Emefiele.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that there has been a running battle between the SSS and Mr Emefiele over alleged terrorism financing.
The secret service had earlier sought a court order to arrest Mr Emefiele but has been out of the country for his annual leave which is expiring tomorrow, January 17.
But the FCT High Court had in December barred the SSS from arresting, inviting, or detaining Mr Emefiele.
Arriving at the CBN headquarters Monday noon, the SSS operatives came in with about 20 vehicles with armed personnel.
The operatives also barred all staff of the bank from gaining access to Mr Emefiele’s office.
Peter Afunanya, the SSS spokesperson, is yet to respond to the query sent to him by this reporter.
Comments are closed. | https://dailynigerian.com/just-sss-invades-cbn-takes/ | 220 | null | 1 | en | 0.999952 |
March 2, 2017 by The Nation
Homeless Teenager Receives N1m Airtel Scholarship
Airtel Nigeria has joined in the effort to rehabilitate destitute children who are currently roaming the streets of Lagos.
In the third episode of its Touching Lives Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, which aired on television at the weekend, the telecom giant awarded a scholarship worth one million Naira to a promising teenage boy whose continued stay in school had become uncertain.
Having lost his father and with no one else to raise him, Rotimi Azeez had hustled his way to the country’s commercial capital in a desperate move to raise money for his education.
However, a few months after his arrival, he became homeless and at the mercy of the city’s caprices. “You never know when it’s going to rain on you all night because you can never predict the rain,” he said.
But he was soon rescued by the Street Child Care and Welfare Initiative (SCCWI), a non-governmental organisation devoted to vagrant children.
Speaking to Airtel Touching Lives, Comfort Alli, president of SCCWI, said the problem of destitute children had become a public emergency. She noted that more than 250,000 minors are currently drifting around in the metropolis. “The problem is bigger than the government of Lagos State,” she said. “Everybody has to be on ground to make sure that they fight this problem.”
This is why, according to her, the charity elected to focus on bringing relief to runaway and abandoned kids. Some of the wandering youths had become “fathers of street children” and many were exposed to drugs, homosexuality, and life-threatening diseases such as HIV.
Before the 116-year-oldwas rescued, he was “very wild, shattered, and malnourished; he probably would have become an armed robber or pickpocket,” said Folake Shittu, a senior counsellor at the aid organisation.
Now, three years later, “his attitude has changed, he has better self esteem, and improved academic performance,” said Victor Adejunle, who had been Azeez’s mentor at SCCWI for more than two years.
But since the economy slid into recession in 2016, donations to the NGO have dwindled significantly. For this reason, Alli explained, paying for Azeez’s schooling would no longer be as easy as it used to be. Although the boy had always hoped to become a lawyer, “if he doesn’t get help, he’ll be back to square one,” she said.
While accepting the Airtel intervention, Azeez said the grant would change his life. “I don’t think anyone in my family has ever received a scholarship of one million naira. I’m happy today. It’s a good thing,” he said.
The telco company noted that ‘Touching Lives’ will be back this weekend to its regular schedule on local and international television networks.
“On Saturday, the fourth episode of season three will premiere on Africa Magic Urban at 6:30pm and on Africa Magic Family at 7pm. It will later air on RaveTV from 9-9:30pm.
“The next day, Africa Magic World will show a rerun of the episode from 6-6:30pm. NTA Network and ArewaTV will do the same from 6:00-6.30pm and from 7-7:30pm, respectively,” it summed. | http://thenationonlineng.net/homeless-teenager-receives-n1m-airtel- | 773 | null | 1 | en | 0.999865 |
June 18, 2016 by The Nation
My plans for lecturers who can’t keep their Libidos -Ekiti State ‘varsity VC Prof Bamidele
Recently appointed Vice-Chancellor of Ekiti State University (EKSU), Prof. Samuel Oye Bamidele, will superintend over the 21st convocation ceremony of the university next week, barely six months after his appointment. In this interview with ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA, the senior pastor of Deeper Life Bible Church speaks about his experience on the VC’s seat so far, his vision, his achievements, and how, as a lecturer, he managed to overcome temptations from the opposite sex.
How has the experience been for the six months you have been in the saddle as Vice-Chancellor?
I want to thank God for the experience and the great challenges. And in the midst of the great challenges, I want to say that it is a sort of experience that I was able to go through with the help of God and His grace. All through the time when I resumed and till now, my experience has had a positive impact on the university community.
Recently, the West African Students Union (WASU) gave you an award, the Kwame Nkrumah Award for Excellence in Academia and Administration. How did you feel about the award which came less than a year after you assumed office?
I want to say very categorically that I am averse to taking awards, and that was the first award that I would take since I became Vice-Chancellor. It is good to say that many people and bodies contacted me with letters, saying they wanted to give me awards, but I said no. I told them that they should let me settle down first, measure my performance before giving me awards. But when these people came with suggestions, I said that I was going to reject it until I was educated that this one was a credible international award and I accepted. Then they came, and when I saw the pedigree of those who came, about 16 of them. They were introducing themselves, one said I am from Ghana, another said I am from Côte d’ Ivoire. I saw all of them coming virtually from all the West African countries. Therefore, I accepted this award. To say the least, I was particularly elated that I have this privilege of being recognised to be given this award.
On the other side of the question, the challenge I have taken is that I will continue to increase my tempo and my passion for the students because it is historical and strategic that the first award I would receive as the Vice-Chancellor of this university came from international students. They said many things I didn’t know they were ever aware of, because since I came on board, I have been fighting a great crusade on behalf of the students. I believe that this starts from parents. We are here, the biological parents have committed the lives of these students into our hands and my own simple analogy is that we should be the closest parents to them while they are in school.
I was not fighting my colleagues. It was just like a battle to say let’s change our mindset; let’s know that when parents gave these children to us, the intention was that we should let them get out of this university as better materials than they came in. It is like a factory; you put the raw materials into the system and you want to get a very good product. That has been my crusade in this university.
Shortly after you assumed office, you held revenue and academic summits. Have these policies had positive impact on the university since you concluded them?
I came into this university with a vision. In fact, in my application, I said brighter vision, bigger mission. I came here as a Vice-Chancellor with a brighter vision because I am an insider and I have taken time to critically examine the condition of our university and I felt that I should be able to understand this place more than an external candidate. I came with a vision. I knew that in this present situation in our state, in our country, except one wants to deceive himself or herself, there is no higher institution, no university that can say it would rely on the government to fund its educational activities. Therefore, I came with a vision for IGR (internally generated revenue). I also came with a vision for academic quality, because it is not enough to have money as an institution without an equal effort at improving quality.
So we had two summits. We had the academic summit and then we had the IGR summit. I am happy to say here very clearly today that these two summits are bringing positive dividends to our university. The IGR summit has radically changed the face of our university. As you are entering the university, we have a building by the right. That is our water project. I am not rushing it because we are being strategic. I could have as well restructured one of the old buildings, but I said no. We want to make it international, and when we have the water, it will be one of the best in this country.
If you get through our roadside, you will see that our bakery is growing. The building is under construction. We didn’t have a bookshop before we came on board. The shelves of the bookshop are being installed now. Our block industry before I came was comatose. It was leased to an external consultant, but I said this is a university and we are talking about IGR. It is already our own and we have tons of blocks now. Any building that is erected on the soil of this university must use blocks produced from here. We are reviving our press. Because the university is an academic environment, we have publications, journals, exam booklets. How can we rely on printers outside alone? So, these are some of the good things that came from the IGR summit.
Let me also mention that we have what we call the university auto care. That will be a masterpiece by time we complete it. Other universities will come here, by the grace of God, to look at it. In the auto care, we are going to have a quadrangle. We will have a petrol station, a service bay, a car wash, a theatre. We are going to have our own inverter, batteries and distilled water. Some of the things we go outside to buy, there is a particular sector that is working on that under the leadership of Prof. Akintayo, who is a chemist. So work is going on that particular area.
If I have my way, I would tell them to go and harvest some of our mushrooms for you and you give to your wife to cook for you. So, a lot of things are happening with this IGR. I want to believe that it is a confirmation of my vision which came through the channel of this IGR summit. So, academic summit was out to bring quality to our academic enterprise in this university. This we are already achieving.
I said it in the last Senate that I have just spent six months and I have started the second six months. This second six months, I am focusing on academic quality and discipline in the university. This is where I want to showcase again the products of the academic summit that we had, which would impact on students. It would impact on the staff and it would impact on the entire academic community. I want to say that the two summits have been fantastically productive.
Staff and students welfare is key to the output of staff and students. What is your agenda for their welfare?
In fact, if you ask any question from either the students or staff of this university, the quick answer you are likely to get is that the VC is a welfarist vice-chancellor. My passion is to see to the welfare of staff and students of this university. I want to say that if somebody comes to the helm of affairs and does not put the welfare of staff and students first, what is he or her coming there to do? Since when I came, there has been no strike because they know that I pursue the welfare of members and unions. If you are an ASUU chairman or NASU chairman, we are to pursue the welfare of staff and students. Some think I am pampering them, but it is because I also believe that I am a parent, even a grandparent to them; that I am here to passionately take care of them and pursue their welfare just like that of the staff.
I have been pleading with my staff members that, please give them quality attention and let them pass. I am not saying that they should mortgage standards, but give them quality attention and let them come out good. Don’t cut your lecture. Don’t organise a single lecture and then you do exam, because these students will fail. If you reel out failures to the society, we are reeling out expert armed robbers, expert miscreants, and I don’t want that. I want my university to reel out products that will impact positively on our society.
A university cannot survive in isolation. How do you intend to explore partnerships and exchanges with universities all over the world in order to take EKSU to a higher pedestal?
We are working seriously in that regard. My little experience before I came into this university, we are already trying to re-engineer partnerships with foreign universities. I just came from the meeting of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities which we attended in Jos, and one of our major agenda was this area of realistic collaboration. We were told in that particular place that most of what is called collaboration in Nigerian universities is just jamboree and opportunity to travel out of the country. But that is not what is going to help our universities. I have asked for a list of all foreign universities collaborating with us and they are about 10. My plan is to just zero in on two for now. By July, God helping me and God willing, I want to travel out and visit two of the major universities we are collaborating with and these are the University of Nottingham in the UK and I want to visit the University of Houston in Texas (USA). I intend to go there, study their programmes, look at the areas of collaboration.
We are not going to look at everything together; we are just going to pick one. Initially, we had a collaboration with the University of Nottingham on engineering, I want to see how we can revive that one, then our Engineering students and staff will be going there and they will be coming here. That of Houston may not be engineering; it will be in another direction. It can be on entrepreneurship and we can also collaborate. If it can be Houston on entrepreneurship, I will do it critically, I will go deep. That is the part of the vision and inspiration I got from this meeting of the Association of Vice Chancellors of the Nigerian Universities, and that we are going to accomplish from mid-July to early August. The intention is for us to have a symbiotic relationship with the local universities and the international world so that we can be really international.
You are a pastor and at the same time an academic. How do you cope with the challenges of both callings?
I want to put it to you today that every human being is also a spiritual being. And that is the mistake many people make. There is no single person that stands and just says I am for the physical. That is pretence. Even those who don’t pray, those who don’t believe those things, they still pursue other spiritual things either when they run into problems or when they have some needs.
I want to say that God has helped me to balance the two. The problem of people in the world is that they cannot find the balance. I am an academic person and I have been a pastor for more than 30 years. I am a senior pastor in Deeper Life Bible Church, and that has never affected my academic life. My academic life can never affect my spiritual life, if you meet me in the office, you can never tell that this one is a pastor because I don’t believe in bringing or importing pastor things into academic matters. Also, if you see me in the church, you will think that I am a full-time pastor because I am there to do pastoral work. If human beings can balance and know that as we are in the physical and so also we are in spiritual realm and both must be balanced. I want to thank God that He has made me to balance the two, and that’s why I have not been found wanting at both ends.
In the course of your career as an academic in this university or elsewhere, have you ever been tempted by female students?
I want to say that every human being is tempted at one point or the other. And maybe I should say it today, the power of being a Christian is that God will give you the ability, the unusual supernatural power to be able to overcome temptation without falling into it. There is a difference between temptation and falling into temptation. For example, we are all men here and that makes it good. Supposing a woman is here now, the atmosphere will not be the same. I will not say I have not been tempted in the sense that maybe an amorous person comes in, wanting to show a quarter of her breast. I will say, ‘Excuse me, go out and dress properly. As a lecturer, you can’t come into my office like that.’
Some students will come with the intention to tempt you, trying to make eye contacts, and I will say, what are you trying to do? For you to be able to overcome temptation, you must resist it. But some people don’t resist the picture of temptation, so they run into it. So, to respond to your question directly, I want to say that to God be the glory, since I gave my life to Christ, I have not been tempted to the extent of falling, touching another person’s wife or student; never, never. And it is not only girls or women that cause temptation; some are tempted with money. They supervise students and collect money on projects. I supervise Ph.D students and I don’t take anything from them. You cannot even try me. So, all those ones, if you can keep yourself from being attracted by women or by money or material things of this world and you are contented, it will be easy for you to overcome temptation. But summarily, every human being will face temptation at one point or the other, but the power to overcome that temptation can only come from Christ.
What measures has your administration put in place to prevent cases of sexual harassment of female students by their male lecturers?
We are going to work on that. I have said I am committing my first year to IGR and this other one is academic and discipline. We are trying to put some things in place that will checkmate some lecturers that cannot keep their libido, and to that extent, we are going to go through management and then the Senate to fashion out some strategies to protect our female students from sexual harassment. That one is being planned, I may not feel out everything now.
Things are changing in this university and that is the truth. The head matters. If there is seriousness at the top, everybody will fall in line. They know that if I catch you sexually harassing female students, you will be in trouble. If as the vice-chancellor I am also one of those carrying girls and ladies around, I won’t have the mouth to tell those who are doing it to stop or sanction them in line with the rules. Now, it is no longer going to be business as usual. Some regulations will come out in a short while to checkmate all those things in terms of the dressing of the students, because students also can be harassers. Female students can harass male students by their amorous outlook. We want to checkmate those things and for the staff, admin, teaching and non-teaching, we are going to have some codes that will create a level of restriction as to how they can harass female students.
The university is having its 21st Convocation next week. What will you be showcasing to the world through the event?
I am happy to tell you that this year’s convocation will be a celebration of excellence; a celebration of emancipation for a university that has come of age. We are now on the path of making ourselves known nationally and internationally, that this is a university that is growing into prominence. One, we want to showcase our students. Our students in this university are excellent, and that is the truth. They are very excellent. Recently, we had a literary competition and my university came first in the entire South West. We have a lot of talents in our university. We have some of them who are making waves in their disciplines. We want to showcase them. Apart from this, we want to showcase our current developmental innovations. Our ICT platform has moved to the next level and we want to have some of our eminent members of the society honoured by recognising and celebrating them. We are giving honorary doctoral degrees to two eminent personalities in this country. The Governor of Bayelsa State (Seriake Dickson), we want to give him a honorary award. Then our own here, Gbenga Oyebode, who has made it in the business world, in the corporate world and in the legal world, we want to showcase and celebrate him.
So, this year’s convocation will be a celebration that is unique; a celebration to which we are inviting our alumni. They are also going to be part of it. We want to celebrate excellence. We want to celebrate the Fountain of Knowledge that has become the pride of education. It will be a weeklong programme featuring a press conference, convocation environmental sanitation, convocation lecture to be delivered by no other person than the indefatigable pillar of law, pillar of education, legal luminary who is recognised beyond the shores of Nigeria, a business mogul, that is Aare Afe Babalola. All this will precede the award of diplomas, first degrees and postgraduate degrees. It promises to be historic in all respect. | http://thenationonlineng.net/plans-lecturers-cant-keep- | 3,796 | null | 1 | en | 0.99999 |
27th December, 2023
We will advance the welfare of Ondo people (Aiyedatiwa's inaugural speech)
Published By: Kazeem Ugbodaga
Newly sworn-in Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on Wednesday said Ondo State under his watch will advance the the welfare of the people.
Aiyedatiwa was sworn-in as governor on Wednesday after the death of the former governor, Rotimi Akeredolu in Germany.
Read full inaugural speech below:
BEING AN ADDRESS BY THE NEWLY SWORN-IN GOVERNOR OF ONDO STATE , HON. LUCKY ORIMISAN AIYEDATIWA HELD AT THE COCOA CONFERENCE CENTRE, OF THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE ON MONDAY, 27TH DECEMBER, 2023
It is with heavy heart that I accept this onerous responsibility of taking over the reins of governance and affairs of our State following the unfortunate loss and passing of our beloved Governor, leader and dear boss, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, CON.
The death of our Governor is indeed a devastating shock to us all, as we have all been praying earnestly for his quick recovery and subsequent safe return to Ondo State, having embarked on another medical leave on Wednesday, 13th December, 2023. Indeed, there is no armour against fate, death lays his icy hand on kings.
Permit me to use this opportunity to condole with the immediate and extended family of Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, CON, HRM Oba Gbadegesin Ogunoye III, the Olowo of Owo, the people of Owo and indeed the entire people of Ondo State over this monumental loss.
The demise of Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, CON is indeed a great loss to me as an individual as our relationship dated back to many years ago, having closely worked with him when his gubernatorial journey started in Year 2012. The loss then did not affect our relationship as we continued to maintain close political and personal relationship which climaxed in Year 2020 when he graciously picked me as his running mate for his Second Term as Governor of Ondo State.
Governor Akeredolu was a man of courage and conviction who always stood for the truth even at his own detriment. I remember vividly during the time when we had a case in court challenging our Second Term victory. He still pursued the matter of emplacing a strong security network for the people of the Southwest codenamed ‘Amotekun Corps’. The People of Ondo State and the entire people of the Southwest will be eternally grateful for this bold act which has greatly improved the security architecture in the Region and reduced incidents of kidnapping, banditry and other acts of criminalities to the barest minimum especially in Ondo State. His many legacies in the health sector, infrastructural development, education, industrial development as symbolised in the Ondo-Linyl Industrial Hub, Ore, his innovation in Ondo State Entrepreneurial Development Agency, his Tech Hub, etc will be difficult to surpass.
The events which culminated in today’s ceremony is a watershed in the history of Ondo State as this is the first time we are having a transition in an administration. Today’s event has placed a burden on all of us to pull together and stay together as one, because we have the onerous responsibility to continue to sustain the legacies of Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, CON, which was good governance, properly called. Our leader and Governor, during his time embarked upon several landmark projects, many of which have been completed and several ones ongoing. We now have the responsibility to complete them. It is to the credit of Arakunrin Akeredolu, that the State now has a flyover in Ore, while the one in Akure is ongoing. It is necessary for us to acknowledge with pride the wonderful achievements and legacies of Arakunrin Akeredolu. His records of performance are monumental and unprecedented.
I want to assure the people of Ondo State that under my watch, this administration shall continue to advance the welfare of the people. We shall always place the people first in every decision we take. It is my prayer, once more, that God Almighty shall grant the family and the people of Ondo State the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.
Let me use this opportunity to convey our deep appreciation to Mr. President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the National Chairman of our party, His Excellency Alhaji Adbullahi Ganduje, the leaders of the party both at the National and State levels, the elders of our State, for providing succour and support to our State at this critical time.
Ladies and gentlemen, I want to urge the people of Ondo State to continue to remember us in their prayers as we continue to emplace good governance in our dear State. May God continue to bless the people of Ondo State. | https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2023/12/27/we-will-advance-the-welfare-of-ondo- | 1,129 | null | 1 | en | 0.999981 |