The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Omo-Agege, Aregbesola congratulate The Nation Editors

    Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege and minister-designate, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola have congratulated The Nation, its new Editor Mr. Adeniyi Adesina and other newly appointed editors.

    Aregbesola described the appointees as “thorough professionals and patriots”.

    The management of the newspaper announced on Friday the appointment of Adesina, who was Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, the elevation of Mr. Lawal Ogienagbon from Deputy Editor to Managing Editor, Dr Emmanuel Oladesu from Group Political Editor to Deputy Editor and Mr. Bunmi Ogunmodede as News Editor.

    Aregbesola said he had “observed the professional progression of the journalists and could proudly say they are thorough professionals and patriots who have worked hard not just for the building of The Nation to a leading brand but also the development of democracy in Nigeria since inception in 1999”.

    Read Also: The Nation marks 13th anniversary with praises, prayers

    He added: “They are as uncompromising professionally as they are dogged and unrelenting in the fight for democratic consolidation and the evolution of a democratic and just society.”

    Omo-Agege also applauded the appointment of Mr Adesina.

    In a statement by his Special Adviser (SA) on Media, Mr Yomi Odunuga, the Deputy Senate President said: “Your elevation to that lofty position attests to the testimonials given by many of your colleagues on your antecedents as a conscientious and thorough professional.

    “It is, therefore, easy to applaud the decision of the board and management of Vintage Press Limited in this regard.”

  • SERAP backs EFCC’s probe of Obasanjo govt’s $16bn power project

    The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has said the reported probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s $16 billion power project is an indication that former heads of state and other high-ranking public officials are not immune from investigation and prosecution for allegations of grand corruption.

    “This probe is something SERAP has consistently called for. Nigerians have, for far too long, been denied justice and the opportunity to get to the bottom of why they continue to pay the price for corruption in the electricity sector – staying in darkness but still made to pay crazy electricity bills,” the organisation said.

    A statement yesterday by its Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare described the probe as timely.

    SERAP said: “The probe is timely, especially coming at a time of citizens’ frustrations at persistent allegations of corruption and the impacts on their human rights. Investigating allegations of grand corruption and prosecuting former heads of state and other high-ranking officials, where such allegations show relevant and sufficient admissible evidence, would address the grave travesty that has for many years occurred in the Power sector.

    Read Also: $16bn power project

    “While some put the exact cost of the project at $16 billion, others say it is $13.8 billion. Key contractors and about 18 top public officers allegedly involved in the power project scam during the Obasanjo administration, and those of former Presidents Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, may also be arrested.”  The organisation urged the EFCC to urgently invite anyone suspected to be involved in the alleged corruption for questioning.

    It advised the agency to also extend the probe to cover the alleged squandering of N11 trillion on the Power sector between 1999 and 2015, and the unresolved case of the reported missing $12.4 billion oil windfall, allegedly spent between 1988 and 1993 by the government of former military leader, General Ibrahim Babangida.

    The statement added: “The EFCC has the full support of Nigerians in its efforts to hold high-ranking public officials to account for grand corruption. If consistently, fairly and diligently pursued, this probe would contribute to ending impunity for corruption, and to mobilising and encouraging youth civic engagement in the anti-graft fight in the country. SERAP stands ready to work with the EFCC in pursuing all allegations of grand corruption.

    “SERAP notes that former presidents have routinely faced corruption charges in countries like Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Brazil, Montenegro, South Korea, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Slovakia, Peru and Mauritius; the probe by the EFCC would mean this list would grow even further to include Nigeria.

    “Impunity for grand corruption will continue as long as high-ranking public officials go largely unpunished for their alleged crimes. It is by pursuing these allegations and taking the evidence before the court that the truth will be revealed and justice best served. Addressing impunity in the Power sector should be total. This would help to further public perception of fairness and thoroughness.

    “Lack of regular electricity supply in the country had occasioned many other problems, including lack of access to potable water. The failure by successive governments to tell Nigerians the truth about allegations of corruption in the power sector amounts to a failure to ensure that electricity services are progressively made available, on the basis of equality and non-discrimination.”

  • ‘We will withdraw result of any candidate who tampers with UTME score’

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has cancelled the unified tertiary matriculation examination (UTME) result of Kingsley Unekwe for allegedly altering his score in order to meet the cut-off points to study Medicine at the university of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).

    The board said 18-year-old Unekwe was caught inflating his original UTME score from 201 to 269.  He becomes the fifth person whose UTME result has been withdrawn and cancelled by the board.

    JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, addressed reporters when Unekwe and his mother appeared before some officials of the board in Abuja at the weekend.

    The registrar said Unekwe had edited the original score allocated to him by the board and presented it to his parents as the original result.

    He said the boy’s parent had called the board, alleging irregularities in their son’s result, leading to their invitation to Abuja from Awka, Anambra state.

    Read Also: Age barrier: read brochure before registration, JAMB advises candidates

    Unekwe, in the presence of his mother and officials of JAMB, confessed to have tampered with the original UTME result allocated to him by the board.

    He said his original score of 201 didn’t meet the requirement to read medicine which his parents wanted him to study at UNN.

    He explained that to make his parents happy, and proud, he had to edit the original UTME result to meet their expectation of him becoming a doctor. Unekwe appealed to the board for clemency, feigning ignorance of his crime.

    But JAMB registrar said the boy would be handed over to security agencies for prosecution. Prof. Oloyede said: “Anybody who does post-result infraction, will have their results withdrawn by the board.

    “You are the fifth person. Two of them are already being prosecuted because we showed them clearly that they forged their results to deceive their parents who are desperate, like your parents are to study medicine.

    “We will prosecute you for attempting to damage the image of the board. We told your father that we have all the facts, if we find out that the facts are not correct you will be prosecuted.”

  • Falana seeks publication of detainees’ names

    Activist lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct all authorities to publish the names of all detainees in their custody and the locations they are being kept.

    The latest demand is among the lawyer’s consistent actions, including writing letters to various authorities since May, on allegations of illegal detention against the Nigerian Navy (NN).

    He urged the President to prohibit the police and other security forces from subjecting Nigerians to any form of incommunicado.

    In a statement on Sunday in Lagos, Falana claimed that more relatives of victims arrested and detained for several months had contacted him, following his petition to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) last week.

    “Following the publication of the contents of the said petition by the media, a number of the family members and friends of the majority of the detainees have reached out to us. Since the detainees were arrested by armed and masked naval personnel in mufti without any warrant of arrest and incarcerated incommunicado, it was thought by many family members that the detainees had been abducted and killed by hardened kidnappers.

    Read Also: Falana threatens to dock NHRC over ‘illegal’ naval detainees

    “The most pathetic case is that of Ms Grace Inyang, who was arrested in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, by masked naval personnel on October 27, 2018. She was driven to Abuja and dumped in an underground cell at the detention facility of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).

    “She was, however, transferred to the Nigerian Naval Ship NNS Beecroft detention centre at Apapa, Lagos, last week, for further incarceration. Even though the lady has spent 295 days in detention, the detaining authorities have not informed her of any criminal offence allegedly committed by her; neither has she been allowed to communicate with her relatives.

    “The 56 men in the same detention facility at Apapa have been abandoned by the detaining authorities! Similarly, no one has attended to the other 10 citizens who have been detained inside a vessel in Marina, Lagos, for the past 13 months.

    “By not notifying the family members and relatives of the detainees of their arrest and places of detention the authorities of the Nigerian Navy have wilfully violated Section 6(2)(b) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, which has imposed a duty on all detaining authorities to notify the next of kin or relative of every suspect of the arrest at no cost to the suspect.

    “It is pertinent to note that the authorities of the Nigerian Navy have also continued to ignore court orders for the unconditional release of 15 of 67 detainees, including Navy Captain Dada Labinjo, being detained at the underground cell of the DIA at Abuja.

    “Since the detention of the 67 citizens for several months without trial cannot be justified under sections 35 and 36 of the Nigerian Constitution, the Nigerian Navy ought to release them without any further delay.

    “The illegality of the detention of the 67 people is compounded by the fact that the authorities of the Nigerian Navy have no powers under the Armed Forces Act to detain persons who are not subject to service law. However, if there is evidence that they have committed economic crimes, they should be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to prosecute them.

    “Finally, we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to direct all detaining authorities in Nigeria to publish the names of all detainees and their places of detention and prohibit the police and other security forces from subjecting Nigerians to  any form of incommunicado detention,” said Falana.

  • APC UK disclaims factional group

    The United Kingdom (UK) chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has disclaimed a factional group led by Ade Omole.

    The party said: “He does not represent APC UK as a leader, chieftain or whatsoever title he wishes to appropriate to himself.”

    In a statement yesterday, Dr. Philip Idaewor said the party’s UK chapter, which was approved by the National Executive Council (NEC) under his leadership, had put out series of public statements in the past.

    Idaewor claimed that he advised the party’s leadership as regards taking steps to verify the authenticity of persons coming from the UK who lay claims to representing the party.

    Read Also: Join APC before your party dies, Osinbajo tells PDP members

    He regretted that despite these actions and previous statements from the chapter, the individuals have continued their activities of misrepresenting the chapter with actions that tend to portray the party to the public in bad light as existing in factions.

    He said: “The fact of the matter is that there are no factions of the party in the UK, but a group of individuals who are simply determined to not obey the rules set by the party.

    “The UK chapter of APC has a clear structure that recognises branches across the UK as well as Nigerian geopolitical caucuses.

    “APC UK chapter exists as a chapter of the party recognised by the NEC of our party, having satisfied the requirements set by the party’s leadership. Our chapter is one of the 12 approved Diaspora chapters of the party.”

    Idaewor urged the party leadership to call to order all those in the Diaspora who think, behave and act bigger than the party.

    He also appealed to the party leadership under Adams Oshiomhole to use his good office to ensure that appropriate steps are taken to restore confidence in the Diaspora chapters.

  • I’ve no plan to dump APC, says Ondo deputy governor

    Ondo State Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi on Sunday denied the report that he wanted to dump the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest the next year’s governorship election.

    Besides, he said he never thought of contesting against his boss, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, stressing that the reports were the handiwork of attention-seekers, who are well-known within the state’s political circle.

    A statement by his spokesman Babatope Okeowo said: “This is a blatant falsehood as Agboola Ajayi remains a bonafide member of the APC and has no plan to dump the party for any rival political party.

    “There is no place where the deputy governor has met with stalwarts of the PDP, not to talk of dividing their party.”

    Read Also: Your allegations imaginary, Ondo APC tells PDP

    The deputy governor also used the medium to apologise to Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, whose name was dragged into the murky water of Ondo State politics as being the sponsor of his alleged plan to contest on the PDP’s platform.

    The statement emphasized: “Ajayi remains as the deputy governor and loyal to his boss. He was chosen as the deputy governor at the benevolent of his boss, Akeredolu. This is to say emphatically that Ajayi has no intention to contest against him.

    “We know the plan of the sponsors of the story is to cause a serious rift between Governor Akeredolu and his deputy for their selfish reasons.

    “It must be noted that Ajayi is a seasoned politician, who knows the limitation of his office as the deputy governor. He is not ready in any way to rock the boat of the progress of this administration.

    “This is another grand plan by the busybodies and professional blackmailers to create division within the ranks of the ruling APC in Ondo State in order to create advantage, which does not exist anywhere.”

  • ‘Oyo ‘ll break poverty barrier through payment of taxes’

    Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has pleaded for the support of stakeholders operating in the state on adequate deductions, prompt remittance of taxes and other levies.

    He said by paying taxes, the government would be able to fulfil its promises on the provision of social amenities, enduring infrastructures, regular payment of government obligations and other amenities.

    Read Also: Makinde appoints ex-CP Owoseni as special adviser

    Makinde spoke during a one-day sensitisation workshop on Computations, Deductions and Remittances for Federal and state Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as tertiary institutions at the House of Chiefs, Secretariats, Ibadan.

    Executive Chairman, Oyo State Internal Revenue Service, Aremo John Adeleke, who spoke on behalf of Makinde, reiterated that the intention of the administration was not going to over-burden any business enterprise, either small or big, but rather to ensure that government get its fair and reasonable share of all its eligible tax revenue.

  • Ekiti promises fairness in teachers’ recruitment

    The Ekiti State Government has assured applicants that the ongoing recruitment of teachers into its primary schools will be fair and transparent.

    Deputy Governor Bisi Egbeyemi said applicants would be given a level-playing ground in the recruitment exercise being conducted by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

    Egbeyemi spoke in his office at the weekend while receiving in audience the executive of the state council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) led by the chairman, Mr. Olatunde Kolapo.

    The deputy governor, in a statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Odunayo Ogunmola, pledged the readiness of the state government to consider qualified applicants for the teaching jobs without interfering in the exercise.

    Read Also: Ekiti woos investors with ease of doing business

    Egbeyemi noted that the Governor Kayode Fayemi administration would not rest on its oars in reducing unemployment among the youths to make them useful to the society.

    He also added that the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) would soon invite applications for teaching jobs in secondary schools to fill the available vacancies therein.

    On arrears of workers’ salaries, Egbeyemi noted that government was working out means of defraying the arrears left behind by the last administration and would not relent in the regular payment of salaries, pensions and gratuities as and when due.

    Kolade hailed the Fayemi administration for the regular payment of workers’ salaries, retirees’ pensions and increment in the monthly savings for the payment of gratuities from N10 million to N100 million monthly.

    The NLC chief appealed to government to fulfil its promise in the payment of salary arrears, leave bonuses and implementation of workers’ promotion.

  • Oyo Assembly allays herdsmen’s fear over anti-open grazing law

    The Oyo State House of Assembly has allayed the fears of the herdsmen  in the state that the anti-open grazing law being put in place will terminate their means of livelihood.

    The Assembly is working on the bill, which has passed Second Reading.

    But, a Fulani group, the Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria, on Friday, appealed to the Assembly to consider an alternative grazing space for their members in the law being put in place. They described it as settled grazing.

    Addressing reporters in Ibadan, the state capital on Friday, the group, led by its National President Alhaji Sale Bayari, called on the Assembly to give the law a human face by allowing an alternative grazing space for the herdsmen should the law become absolutely necessary.

    Read Also: Oyo Assembly approves Makinde’s N10b loan request

    But the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Kazeem Olayanju, told The Nation on telephone yesterday that the herdsmen in the state have nothing to fear about the law because it was aimed at regulating grazing in a way that would protect them and other members of the society.

    Olayanju explained that the Assembly recognises that herdsmen have lived together peacefully with indigenes for several decades, adding that the lawmakers are aware that they have fully integrated into the various communities where they live and do their business.

    According to him, rather than ban open grazing totally, the bill is proposing registration of herdsmen for issuance of permits.

    His words: “Our people have been living together peacefully with the Fulani for ages. But the popular claim now is that Fulani are criminals. It is also believed that the  Fulani that are committing crime are those coming from other countries. So, the bill will make them register and get permits and identity cards. So, if they are accosted anywhere in the state, their ID cards and permits will clear them as well known Fulani, who are free to practice their trade. This will help check the influx of foreigners into their midst. It will also protect them. We just want to regulate them so that nobody will harass them. It will also enable them to live peacefully with farmers. This law will also enhance peaceful relationship among stakeholders in the farming system in the state.”

    The Fulani group had pleaded: “We are pleading with the Oyo State House of Assembly to ensure that as interested and affected citizens of the pending law, we deserve to be heard and listened to during the public hearing of the bill so that our views and opinions as Nigerians are heard and considered without bias against or favour.”

    Olayanju said a public hearing might hold on the bill before its Third Reading.

  • Your allegations imaginary, Ondo APC tells PDP

    The Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) has criticised the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for releasing imaginary allegations to distract the state government.

    The PDP was accused of a desperate attempt to smear the image of the ruling party.

    The opposition party recently accused the APC-led government of defrauding the state, impoverished traditional institutions and destroying the health sector, among others.

    A statement by its spokesman, Alex Kalejaiye, said: “APC is deeply astounded that a party that carried out a crude castration and strangulation of the state finances could issue such a statement in less than 30 months of its exit.

    Read Also: PDP, APC bicker over Masari’s achievements in Katsina

    “The party wishes to declare with all sense of modesty that the current administration has proved that it has come to serve the people; develop the land, and not to plunder the treasury.

    “The above assertion explains why the government never struggled to pay salaries as at when due. Pensions that the previous administration considered an aberration are also being paid.

    “It is incongruous to listen to a government that couldn’t pay salaries for several months, and left behind hundreds of billions of debts, accuse the APC government of defrauding the state, with all the celebrated infrastructures that are visible, to even the blind.

    “In the health sector, the APC government has so far employed about half a million health workers to ensure a healthier state.”