Author: The Nation

Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has called on the National Population Commission (NPC) to separate census exercise from politics so as to gain acceptance from Nigerians.

He spoke on Monday at a news conference organised by NPC on the continuation of field work for the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) in Akwa Ibom State, and the commemoration of the world population day, titled: “25 years of ICPD…accelerating the promise”.

Emmanuel, who warned the commission against meddling census with politics, promised to support the exercise and ensure a peaceful completion of the pre-census exercise, known as the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) currently going on in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area.

He said: “Akwa Ibom is a peaceful state. We will support the National Population Commission till it completes the Enumeration Area Demarcation exercise in our state. At the completion of the EAD, Akwa Ibom will become the model for other states to follow.”

Read Also: Census: Buhari to decide on date, says NPC boss 

Federal Commissioner of the NPC Benedict Ukpong said the commission has put in place adequate arrangement for effective deployment of personnel and material in the selected council for the EAD.

He said: “For this EAD, the commission has put in place adequate logistic arrangement for effective deployment of personnel and materials in the selected councils.

“I will like to formally acknowledge and appreciate Governor Udom Emmanuel for his support for all population matters.”

Ukpong, however, appealed to the government, Ibiono Ibom council, traditional institution as well as the communities to support the commission in carrying out the EAD by allowing the demarcators access to facilities and places to be demarcated.

Abia State Commissioner of Police, Eneh Okon, on Monday at the command headquarters of the Nigeria Police Force, paraded 78 suspected robbers, kidnappers and cultists arrested in parts of the state.

Addressing reporters, Okon said 105 ammunition and firearms were recovered by his personnel.

The police boss, who said the suspects were arrested in the last three weeks, added that 22 suspects have been arraigned for offences.

Read Also: Oyo police command parades 56 suspects for various crimes

Okon, who said his men recently smashed one of the notorious kidnapping gangs with their base in Aba, which had been terrorising residents of the commercial city and other parts of the state, added that the police are not resting on their oars, but rather committed to  nipping crimes in the bud.

Thanking Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu for sending the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) team in the state to crack down on criminals, he noted that the IGP IRT had helped the command in no small ways in fighting crimes.

The Ondo State Muslims Welfare Board has hailed the National Hajj Commission for ordering the refund of N51,000 to each of the intending pilgrims that have fully paid their transport fare.

Chairman of the Board Alhaji Khaleel Fawehinmi told reporters on Monday in Akure that the National Hajj Commission resolved to refund the money following the Federal Government’s directives.

He said the decision was taken to cushion the effects of the expenses on the intending pilgrims, adding that the assistance would go a long way to encourage intending pilgrims.

According to him, the Ondo State Muslim Welfare Board will fully comply with the directives.

Read Also: Hajj 2019: Oyetola urges Osun pilgrims to obey Saudi laws, pray for state

Fawehinmi, therefore, asked the 278 intending pilgrims from the state to converge at the board’s office to collect their refunded N51,000 each and to be inoculated in preparation for the take-off for the Holy Land.

He said: “The inoculation is compulsory for all intending pilgrims. So, we are expecting them to converge on the board’s premises for collection of the refunded money and the compulsory inoculation.”

The welfare board also hailed Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu for supporting the Muslim community across the state.

Fawehinmi added that the vehicles given to the board by the governor has helped the management to visit all the nook and cranny of Ondo State to interact with the intending pilgrims.

He advised all the intending pilgrims to eschew any form of acts that can bring shame to themselves, the state and the nation at large.

Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has called for improved technical and vocational education system that can compete in the 21st Century knowledge-and-technology-driven world.

He implored the stakeholders in the education sector to develop a technical and vocational education roadmap so as to take care of middle-level manpower and create jobs for the teeming youths.

Oyetola spoke on Monday while declaring open the 79th Plenary Meeting of the Joint Consultative Committees on Education (JCCE) in Osogbo, the state capital.

The JCCE stakeholders’ meeting with the theme: “Education for Self-Reliance: A Tool for the Achievement of Education 2030 Agenda”, brought together education stakeholders from all walks of life which include the Permanent Secretaries of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory and other stakeholders in the sector.

The meeting was intended to address the decadence in the education system and chart a new course to ensure quality, qualitative and functional education in Nigeria.

The governor, who was represented by Head of Service,  Dr. Festus Olowogboyega, said the nation’s unsteady development since independence remains the proof that education sector has not responded appropriately to the needs of the people.

Read Also: Oyetola cautions Okada riders against crimes

He emphasised the need for government at all levels to invest more on technical and vocational education as panacea to the country’s socio-economic and political quagmire.

Oyetola enjoined the participants to come up with recommendations that would assist the various participating state governments in achieving qualitative and functional education capable of lifting the nation out of the lingering quagmire in education sector.

Oyetola said his government had made education a critical component of its agenda in the quest to move the state to the next level of development.

He said his government had developed a road map to tackle decadence in the education sector and continually increase access to quality education that will empower citizens to realise their full potential.

He said the state had resolved to galvanise her resources to properly harness the potentials in the vocational and technical education by upgrading all vocational and technical institutions to make them more vibrant and fit to educate the youths for the demands of a technology-driven and fast-paced world.

Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. Sonny Echono, said the meeting was organised to chat a new course to address the decadence in the education sector.

Echono, who described education as the only instrument to achieve human, capital and socio-economic developments, said the time had come for government at all levels to give education its prime position.

Echono, who was represented by the Director, Basic Senior Education, Dr. Lami Ahmodu,  said with the depression in the labour market coupled with the unprecedented socioeconomic challenges facing the country, education must be tailored towards the acquisition of skills and abilities that can make the individual a productive and self-reliant members of the society.

He called on governments to strengthen secondary education sub-sector as part of efforts to bring about the potential embedded in the young ones for national development.

Osun State Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education Mr. Festus Olajide assured that the meeting would come up with useful and workable recommendations to help to promote education to engender self-reliance.

Among the dignitaries were members of the Osun Education Steering Committee; members of the House of Assembly, top government functionaries, heads of agencies, senior civil servants; traditional rulers led by the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran; market women, volunteers of the Osun State Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) among others.

The Chairman, Board of Trustees of Unity School Old Students Association (USOSA), Mrs. Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, has decried the worsening state of Federal Government Colleges.

She said this prompted Unity Schools’ alumni to send their children to schools outside the country, lamenting that “this unfortunate situation should not be encouraged, as it is tantamount to investing our hard earned resources in foreign schools and developing foreign system of education.”

USOSA urged President Muhammadu Buhari to consider one of its members for the position of minister of Education.

It said the government should tackle insecurity to ensure development.

Read Also: In search of Buhari’s ‘Next Level’ cabinet

This formed part of a communiqué issued after the 35th plenary of USOSA, themed: “USOSA resurgence: Harnessing our diversity for national security”, held at King’s College Annex, Adeyemo Alakija Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The communiqué, signed by Lawrence Anirejuoritse Wilbert (President-General) and Nasir Wasagu (Secretary-General), reads: “USOSA, as a community of graduates from the federal government secondary education institutions, who benefitted from the Unity School concept and a functional public sector education system, with demonstrable track records for consistent support and partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education, advises President Buhari to consider naming an ex-student of the Unity School as the next minister of Education.

“The body believes that it is time for Nigeria to reap from the huge strategic socio-economic investment in generations of Nigerians, who have benefited from the excellent secondary education provided through the Unity Schools, as they represent some of the most competent persons in their fields across the globe.”

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has warned Nigerians against politicising the murder of Mrs. Funke Olakunri, daughter of Afenifere leader Pa Reuben Fasoranti.

Director General of NOA Dr. Garba Abari said every Nigerian has a role in the process of resolving the spate of criminal activities through our civic and patriotic duties.

He noted, however, that security agencies are mandated, primarily, to investigate and prosecute offenders.

Head, Press Unit NOA Paul Odenyi, in a statement, quoted the DG as condoling with the family of late Olakunri on behalf of the agency.

Read Also: Police arrest suspects over Olakunri’s murder

He stated: “As Nigerians continue to condemn the rising incidence of crime in the land, the NOA has appealed to Nigerians to allow security agencies the space to deal with the disturbing cases of banditry and armed robbery, rather than resorting to peddling political narratives and stereotypes.

“While condoling with the family of late Olakunri on behalf of the agency, the director-general said every Nigerian has a role in the process of resolving the spate of criminal activities through our civic and patriotic duties, noting however, that security agencies are mandated, primarily, to investigate and prosecute offenders.

“Abari urged political players to stop the dangerous name calling and stigmatisation and, as leaders, show more understanding and tolerance of the diverse people in the country in the spirit of shared humanity and a united nation.”

The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) on Monday began the verification exercise of 16,702 parastatal pensioners and next-of-kins in the Southwest.

The exercise, billed to run concurrently in Ibadan, Oyo State; Abeokuta, Ogun State; and Oshogbo, Osun State, will hold in Ibadan for nine days and seven days in Abeokuta and Oshogbo from 8:00am to 4:00pm.

The parastatal pensioners and NOKs are drawn from six sectors under the Directorate’s Parastatal Pension Department.

The six sectors are education, Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN); universities; health; research institutes; and power, which include railway, steel rolling mills and water resources.

Read Also: Fayemi pays N100m gratuity to additional 45 pensioners

The PTAD Executive Secretary, Mrs. Sharon Ikeazor during the exercise called on pensioners and NOKs in the state to take advantage of the exercise that has been brought to their doorstep.

She said: “We are expecting next-of-kins of deceased pensioners as well as pensioners who are still alive to come for the verification. We are also expecting those who are currently on the payroll and those who are yet to be on the payroll.

“We are doing all we can to make it a seamless exercise for the pensioners and NOKs. With the number of hours and days that has been set aside for this exercise, including our staff working on Saturdays, we are optimistic that every pensioner and NOKs in the states will be verified.”

She urged pensioners to ensure that they come with the required documents which include first letter of appointment, last letter of promotion, confirmation letter, retirement letter, bank statement and BVN.

She advised retirees to be wary of fraudsters as pension administration and payment under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) is free.

Academic and social activities at the University of Ibadan (UI) came to a halt on Monday morning as the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) of the institution began a three-day protest to demand N30 billion earned allowance.

They are also protesting the  Federal Government’s alleged  refusal to obey court judgment on staff school salaries.

Security architecture in the university community was placed on alert with the movement of security patrol teams.

The peaceful protest, which drew scores of affected workers to the main gate of the institution,  also affected smooth vehicular movements in and out of the school premises.

The protesting workers were armed with placards with inscriptions like: “We demand N30 billion to pay part of our earned allowance now”; “FG stop provoking inter-union crises in Nigerian universities”; “FG, please obey court judgment on staff school”, among others.

Read Also: JAMB registrar seeks embargo on establishment of new universities

Chairman, SSANU UI Wale Akinremi, who was flanked by other union leaders, said any nation that treats teachers the way “we treat ours in Nigeria will never be destined for greatness”.

Akinremi said the three-day protests would be followed by a branch protest and the “mother of all protests at the national level, which would shake the corridors of power to its foundation”.

Last week,  the national bodies of both unions frowned at the alleged preferential treatment extended to Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) by the Federal Government as seen in the allocation of 80 percent of money released, leaving the non-academic staff with 20 percent.

In a resolution reached after its meeting, read by the Chairman of JAC and National President of SSANU, Comrade Samson Ugwoke, the non-teaching university workers rejected the 20 per cent earned allowance allocated to the three non-teaching unions.

JAC called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency to release N30 billion belonging to non-teaching staff between 2009 to 2016.

Ugwoke, who stressed that the protest was aimed at sending a notice of strike to the Federal Government, called on its members to ensure full compliance with the directive to show its relevance to the university system.