The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Court delivers judgment in LP’s, PDP’s appeals against Sanwo-Olu today 

    Court delivers judgment in LP’s, PDP’s appeals against Sanwo-Olu today 

    The State and National Election Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos will today deliver judgment in the appeal filed by the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Azeez Adediran a.k.a. Jandor against the election of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

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    Other respondents in the appeal are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Deputy Governor Dr. Obafemi Hamzat and All Progressives Congress (APC).

    It was gathered that notice of the judgment has been sent to lawyers in the matter.

  • Adeleke sued for dissolving board members 

    Adeleke sued for dissolving board members 

    The statutory board members dissolved by the Osun State Government have sued Governor Ademola Adeleke at the National Industrial Court over ‘unlawful’ termination of their appointment. 

    The board members of Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC), Judiciary Service Commission, Civil Service Commission and Osun State House of Assembly Service Commission were appointed by the past government. 

    Governor Adeleke on Monday dissolved the boards and announced new members. He swore them in after confirmation by the House of Assembly. 

    In four separate suits by the dissolved board members dated November 13, 2023, they sought the court to declare their dissolution as illegal, ultra vires and unconstitutional. 

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    The defendants in the originating summons are Governor of Osun State, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Commissioner for Finance and Osun State House of Assembly.

    The plaintiffs, including Olusegun Oladitan (ex-OSSIEC chair), Babafemi Olatunji (Civil Service Commission), Adebayo Waliyu (Judicial Service Commission) and Awolola Abiodun (House of Assembly Service Commission) through their counsel, Kunle Adegoke, SAN, asked the court to compel the government and its agents to reinstate the boards to complete its five years tenure. 

    Three board chairmen and members urged the court to order the defendants to pay their salaries and emoluments from November 2023 till the expiration of their tenure and also demanded damages to the tune of N500 million. 

  • Governor clears retired judges’ salary arrears  

    Governor clears retired judges’ salary arrears  

    Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke yesterday cleared the salary arrears of retired judges owed by the ex-Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration.

    The payment was made one month after an Ibadan-based lawyer, Mutalubi Adebayo, SAN, threatened to sue Osun State Government for neglecting judicial workers’ welfare. 

    A statement by the governor’s spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, said Adeleke approved the cash backing arrears of salaries owed retired judges as part of his love for the retirees.

    He apologised for the neglect by the previous government of such a matter of importance to the well-being of judicial officers.

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    According to him, “I am not just committed to clearing such inherited salary matters; I am also working to provide requisite logistic support for serving judicial officers. The judiciary must be provided the tools for efficient justice administration and adjudication. 

    “The well-being of workers remains uppermost in my mind and I task the bar and the bench to remain focused and undistracted by agents of destabilisation.”

  • UI, Edurex partner in online professional courses

    UI, Edurex partner in online professional courses

    The Director, Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Babatunde Omobowale, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Edurex Technologies, Adedotun Fasiku, have stressed the need for a strong Public Private Partnership (PPP) that would revolutionise access to quality education.

    Speaking about the partnership between both institutions, the duo said U.I. and Edurex are set to offer a diverse range of online courses and certifications, which will create online learning experience, leveraging on cutting-edge technology and expertise of both institutions.

    The collaboration, Fasiku said, would give learners access to world-class education from the comfort of their homes, adding that under the collaboration, Edurex Academy and UI would offer online certifications and professional courses across disciplines such as IT, Project Management, Accounting and Finance, Agribusiness, Leadership, among others.

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    He said: “We are excited to join forces with UI to bring high quality education to learners worldwide. This partnership represents fusion of academic excellence and technological innovation, enabling us to reach learners in every corner of the globe.”

    Omobowale said: “Through our online certifications and professional courses, we aim to empower individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in today’s competitive world.

    He said registration for the online certifications and professional courses offered through EDUREX Academy and UI had begun with the first set of professional courses.

    “Interested learners and professionals can visit the official website of EDUREX Academy on www.edurex.academy.”

  • Oyo women in agric get head

    Oyo women in agric get head

    Group Managing Director of OOK Farms, Ms. Omolara Svensson, has been inaugurated as the Head of Women in Agriculture by the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Oyo State chapter.

    The ceremony was held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, and was attended by stakeholders in the state’s agriculture sector.

    Former Oyo Head of Service, Mrs. Hannah Ogunesan, presented the certificate to Ms. Svensson, urging her to collaborate with stakeholders to achieve success in her new role.

    Ogunesan urged members of the association to work hand-in-hand with Ms. Svensson, stressing the need to elevate the association to new heights.

    Svensson expressed enthusiasm about the opportunities her tenure would bring to female farmers in the state.

    She promised to focus on providing the right orientation, training and knowledge of agribusiness, and to bridge the gap between grassroots farmers, elite farmers and the government.

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    “This tenure is dedicated to realising the prosperity in farming and agribusiness for our female farmers in Oyo State and, by extension, impacting the lives of female farmers across the country and the continent,” she said.

    Svensson outlined specific goals for the initial three months: focus on training, providing additional support for farmers and working with the necessary agencies.

    “We can’t do this without carrying along our partners, the agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, international investors, financiers and even institutions such as commercial banks and Bank of Agriculture (BOA), African Development Bank (AfDB), and others,” she added.

  • Eno okays establishment of 10 dialysis centres

    Eno okays establishment of 10 dialysis centres

    • RCCG donates facility

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno has approved the establishment of 10 dialysis centres in each of the federal constituencies in the state

     The governor has directed the recruitment and training of professionals to meet the manpower needs of the centres, which are to be fully operational by next June.

     He spoke yesterday at the Immanuel General Hospital, Eket, where he inaugurated Enoch and Folu Adeboye Dialysis Centre.

     The centre was donated by the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).

     Eno ordered the deployment of personnel from the state hospitals in the dialysis centre to ensure the facility is not underutilised due to lack of personnel.

     “I have directed the Head of Civil Service to work with the Ministry of Health and the Civil Service Commission to absorb them as quickly as possible so that we can have permanent workers here. We don’t want to have equipment here, yet we don’t have the manpower to operate them,” he said.

     The governor made a case for aggressive sensitisation on kidney related ailments and measures to checkmate their occurrence.

     He directed that the Ministry of Health should collaborate with the Ministry of Information and Office of the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor to undertake the sensitisation.

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     Eno extolled the gesture of RCCG General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye and wife, Folu, in partnering government through the church’s humanitarian arm, ‘His Love Foundation’, to provide medical services for the people, especially those plagued by kidney diseases.

     RCCG Intercontinental Overseer, Christian Social Responsibility, Pastor Idowu Iluyomade, speaking on behalf of the church, said RCCG, driven by passion for humanity and the need to bring help to people afflicted by kidney diseases, had through “His Love Foundation”, set up 12 dialysis centres across Nigeria and was pleased to set the 13th in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, among other interventions.

     Health Commissioner Prof. Augustine Umoh, expatiating on the imperative of the intervention, said dialysis was one of the best ways of managing kidney failure and lauded the state government-RCCG partnership.

     He affirmed the delivery of three dialysis machines, with accessories, by the church to the centre.

  • Stakeholders fume over Ndiomu’s ‘inefficiency’, plan protest 

    Stakeholders fume over Ndiomu’s ‘inefficiency’, plan protest 

    Protest for the sack of the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Maj.-Gen Barry Tariye Ndiomu (Rtd), is imminent, following alleged reports of “inefficiency” by the PAP boss.

     Stakeholders under the auspices of Niger Delta Emancipators gave the hint in a statement yesterday by its President, Opuwei Ogelekekeme, in Warri, Delta State.

     Ogelekekeme said the group and other critical stakeholders in the Niger Delta would storm Abuja soon to protest Ndiomu’s continuous stay in office and alleged failure in “reintegrating freedom fighters into the society and in the smooth operation of the Amnesty programme.”

     The group had called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to remove Ndiomu for a more capable hand who understands the struggle of stakeholders.

     It stated that “the prevailing peace in the region appears threatened by complaints not only of corruption but also of Major-Gen. Ndiomu’s oversight of the amnesty programme’s fundamental goals.” 

    It was gathered that hundreds of ex-agitators enrolled in the second phase of the Amnesty programme convened in Bomadi, Bomadi Local Government to make resolutions on the next line of action to take concerning the developers.

     Operating under the umbrella of the ‘Second Phase General,’ this group had issued a 21-day ultimatum for Ndiomu to step down, otherwise he would face the discontent of those who had borne the brunt of ensuring peace, tranquility and development in the region, The Nation learnt.

     According to a source, the ex-militants contemplated two options, “to advocate an overhaul of the Presidential Amnesty Programme by removing Ndiomu, whom they accuse of following the path set by the past administration in terminating the programme or to return to the creeks where they belong.”

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     A stakeholder and Speaker of the Ijaw Mobile Parliament, Kingsley Warekuromor, said if Ndiomu was indeed following the past administration’s approach to ending the PAP, “it indicates lack of goodwill toward President Tinubu and potentially inciting unrest in the region”.

     Ezonfade Otus-Kelly, an Ijaw Youth Council leader from Seimbiiri clan in Delta State, Western Zone, stressed the importance of reintegrating the ex-agitators.

     Tabai England and Timibrabo Tevin of the Ijaw Patriotic Group, in their assessment of the ex-agitators’ assembly, urged President Tinubu to take actions by appointing a qualified leader for the Amnesty Office.

     They said Ndiomu not only failed to “comprehend the genuine grievances of these agitators”, but has also become “disconnected” from the reality of effectively managing the programme.

    These developments are behind the ex-agitators’ resolve to lead a protest, expressing their dissent by vowing to “dance naked in the streets of Abuja after the expiration of the 21-day ultimatum for Ndiomu’s resignation or replacement.”

  • Abia govt shuts 197 ‘substandard’ private schools 

    Abia govt shuts 197 ‘substandard’ private schools 

    Abia State Government has shut 197 ‘substandard’ private schools as part of its efforts to reform the education sector.

     Information and Culture Commissioner Okey Kanu said this when he addressed reporters at the Government House, Umuahia on the outcome of yesterday’s state Executive Council meeting.

     He said about 900 private schools had been inspected in the ongoing inspection of private schools.

     Kanu said the exercise followed government’s resolve to improve the standard of education.

     He also spoke on government’s plan to fix internal roads in the major cities, saying Ministry of Works had been directed to undertake the task.

     Commissioner for Health Dr. Ngozi Okoronkwo said over 8,000 people had received free medicare under the free medical services offered by the government.

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     She said government had begun to retrofit Cottage Hospital in Aba, to enhance its capacity, adding that it would soon be reopened.

     Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Commissioner Uzo Nwachukwu said government had appointed Transition Committee (TC)  chairmen, deputy chairmen and councillors for the 17 local governments.

     He said individuals with the capacity to deliver the rebuilding agenda of the current administration were selected to do the job.

     Nwachukwu said TC members were entitled to statutory six months tenure and that by reviewing the law, their tenure could be extended.

  • Dietary re-evaluation will reduce diabetes mortality rate, says Soludo

    Dietary re-evaluation will reduce diabetes mortality rate, says Soludo

    Wife of Anambra State Governor, Mrs. Nonye Soludo, has called for re-evaluation of dietary lifestyle and physical habits, following growing mortalities resulting from diabetes.

     Mrs. Soludo, who made this known in a statement to mark 2023 World Diabetes Day in Awka yesterday, canvassed for healthy consumption culture, physical exercise and maintenance of right attitude to reduce body weight.

     She referred to the 2021 report by International Diabetes Federation (IDF) that over 537 million adults globally, representing one in every 10, between 20 to 79 years age bracket, were living with diabetes, with an estimation that the number could rise to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045.

     The governor’s wife, founder of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), ‘Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo’, said part of the NGO’s vision remained preaching healthy lifestyle as an important factor to fight deadly diseases such as diabetes.

     Reiterating her calls on residents to be mindful of what they consumed, Mrs. Soludo noted that although food remained the first and major medicine against most killer diseases, making the wrong choice of it could be detrimental to health.

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     “Understanding the nature of the disease is an important step to managing and preventing it. Routine medical checks and early diagnosis are key to managing diabetes,” she stressed.

     Soludo’s wife urged parents to watch the type of food available for their children, and to stick to diets that could boost their immune system, in view of global reports of more than 1.2 million children and adolescents between ages of 0 to 19 living with type one diabetes.

     She also enjoined households to take extra steps towards getting quality health care by enrolling in the Anambra State Health Insurance Scheme, promising the current administration’s continued commitment to enacting health policies beneficial to residents.

  • ‘Family endorsement of candidate not criterion’

    ‘Family endorsement of candidate not criterion’

    • From Polycarp Orosevwotu, Ughelli

    An aspirant contesting for the position of President General of Evwreni Clan Improvement Union (ECIU) in Ughelli North Local Government of Delta State, Chief Kenneth Ukpebitere, has said family endorsement of a candidate is not a criterion for the election.

     Ukpebitere, who made this known in a statement while reacting to a report credited to the head of the Ukpebitere dynasty, Prince Clement Ukpebitere, described the report as mere propaganda to score cheap popularity in Evwreni kingdom with four communities, namely Uneni, Okpahwaz, Urevwe and Unenurhie.

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     Kenneth, who said he hailed from Urevwe community, slammed Clement and others for allowing themselves to be used by mischief makers in the kingdom to distort facts over Saturday’s forthcoming election into the ECIU national executive committee.

     He said: “To contest for any position in ECIU, you need not be endorsed by your family. Once you are a member of Evwreni Clan Improvement Union, you are free to contest for any position. It is the delegates who will vote for the rightful candidate.”