The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • FG’s offer: ASUU should suspend strike – Suswam

    FG’s offer: ASUU should suspend strike – Suswam

    The Chairman of the Universities Needs Implementation Committee and Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam on Tuesday maintained that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) should call off its strike base on the N130 billion government’s offer.

    Speaking with State House correspondents in Abuja, he said the Federal Government has decided to inject N100 billion into the infrastructures of 61 universities in the country and N30 billion for staff allowances.

    ASUU had asked for N87 billion for the cumulated earned allowances of staff based on the agreements reached with the Federal Government in 2009.

    For shifting ground from no money to agreeing to assist the Governing Councils of universities with the N30 billion for the earned allowances, Suswam said that ASUU should reconsider its stance.

    According to him, the federal government will meet the universities’ councils and vice chancellors this week to update them on the decisions taken so far and to certify those that are really entitled to the N30 billion to be released for the earned allowances.

     

  • Gunmen kill four policemen in Kaduna

    … Detained criminals released

    Unknown gunmen have killed four policemen in two separate attacks on a divisional police station in Kajuru, headquarters of Kajuru local government of area and in Nungu community in Sanga local government area of Kaduna State.

    The Nation learnt that while three policemen died in the attack in Kajuru, two persons, including a police officer died in the attack on Nungu community in what appeared to be a renewed wave of attack in the state.

    The gunmen who were said to have arrived Kajuru at about 11.30pm and armed with sophisticated weapons, launched an attack at the police station and freed all the suspected criminals detained there.

    Sources said that two of the policemen on duty died on the spot while the third one said to be a police woman died on the way to hospital.

    The Nation was informed that some of the policemen on duty at the time of the attack had to disguise as criminals to escape the superior fire power of the attackers, while others ran into the bush.

    One of the policemen who survived the attack told journalists that the gunmen stormed the police station in several vehicles and started shooting sporadically as they arrived the police station.

    “We were not many and we couldn’t stand their sophisticated weapons. They killed three of our colleagues; an inspector and a sergeant were killed. Two or three of our colleagues sustained serious injuries and were being rushed to the hospital in Kaduna. A female police officer died on the way to the hospital.

    “They (gunmen) came around 11:30pm yesterday (on Monday) and they operated for about one hour. It was the mobile police located in a different location that safe the situation; otherwise they would have started attacking residents of the town.

    “If not for intervention of the mobile police, it could have been hell for the residents of the area. They were many, they came in vehicles, they released all the suspects being detained in the cell and some of us immediately removed our uniforms and pretended as if we were also some of the suspects in the cell. That was how we survived, others managed to escape into the bush.”

     

     

  • Banks recorded 3,380 fraud cases in 2012 – NDIC

    Deposit Money Banks reported 3,380 fraud cases involving the sum of ₦17.97 billion with expected/contingent loss of about ₦4.52 billion in 2012.

    This information is contained in the 2012 annual report of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) released on Tuesday.

    According to the report, “the expected/contingent loss had increased by ₦455 million (10.9 per cent) as against ₦4.072 billion reported in 2011.”

    The report stated that “notwithstanding the 43.7 per cent increase in the number of reported fraud cases from 2,352 in 2011 to 3,380 in 2012, the amount involved decreased by 36.4 per cent from ₦28.40 billion in 2011 to ₦18.04 billion in 2012.”

    The Corporation, the report said, “paid a cumulative sum of ₦6.82 billion to 528,212 insured depositors of closed banks by December 31, 2012 as against ₦6.68 billion paid to 527,942 insured depositors as at December 31, 2011.”

    This feat the NDIC said was achieved in spite of long closure of the banks and the unwillingness of many depositors to file for their claims.

    Similarly, a total sum of N2.505 billion was paid to 75,322 verified depositors of 95 out of 103 closed Micro Finance Banks (MFBs) during the year as against the sum of ₦2.249 billion paid to 72,062 verified depositors in 2011. In addition, the sum of N73.58 billion was paid as liquidation dividend to 250,209 depositors of DMBs as at December 31, 2012.

     

     

  • Jonathan tasks police on maintenance culture

    Jonathan tasks police on maintenance culture

    … Inaugurates FCID complex

    President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on Tuesday inaugurated the newly renovated complex of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), with a charge to exhibit maintenance culture.

    Jonathan, who described the event as significant, said it was in furtherance of his administration’s resolve to effective policing of lives and property of citizens across the country.

    Represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, the president advised that strict code of maintenance should be put place and enforced to ensure effective usage of the complex.

    “It showcases the resolve of government to provide an enabling environment for the security of lives and property of Nigerians and that the necessary support infrastructure is also provided aimed at improving efficiency and welfare of the Police Force.

    “It is imperative that I reiterate the need for proper maintenance of this beautiful building.

    “It is my advice that strict code of maintenance should be put in place and vigorously enforced to ensure that the building stands the test of time,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the president as saying during the inauguration.

    He commended the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, and his management team, for their efforts at repositioning the police for greater service, and for carrying out the project at a reasonable cost.

    “Let me add that I’m impressed with the works carried out at this edifice at a reasonable cost.

    “Let me commend the Inspector-General of Police and his team for making this renovation work possible at an affordable price.

    “It goes a long way to demonstrate the resolve and desire of the Inspector-General of Police for a modern and well motivated Police Force,’’ he added.

     

  • OAU rated best in Nigeria, eighth in Africa

    OAU rated best in Nigeria, eighth in Africa

    The Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has been rated the best university in Nigeria and the eighth in Africa in the latest webometric ranking.

    This was contained in the university’s news bulletin issued on Tuesday, quoting the new Webometric rating by Cybermetric Lab of Spain, a world-renowned research council.

    The publication stated that the council rated OAU higher on the ladder from number 14 to eight in Africa.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the council also confirmed the university’s academic excellence and intellectual supremacy, saying this was the first time that a Nigerian university would be so ranked consecutively.

    “This is a development that academic analysts and management of universities in Africa have hailed as a monumental leap for educational advancement in Nigeria, ‘’ it stated.

    Reacting, the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Bamitale Omole, attributed the giant strides recorded by his administration to unparalleled research output, administrative acumen as well as technical competence of the staff.

    Omole added that only a focused leadership, the hallmark of his management team, could produce such a feat.

    He commended the dedication to duty of all stakeholders in making sure that the ideas of the university founding fathers became a reality.

     

  • Boko Haram menace subsiding – Coomassie

    Boko Haram menace subsiding – Coomassie

    A former Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, has said that government’s efforts at tackling the Boko Haram is yielding desired result as the menace of the sect is subsiding.

    Coomassie made the observation on Tuesday in an interview with journalists shortly after the inauguration of the renovated Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) building complex.

    He called on Nigerians to play their part by providing the police and other security agencies with relevant information to enable them to get rid of the sect.

    “You can see that the Boko Haram menace has now subsided.

    “The Federal Government is now active and doing a lot of work to get rid of these people (sect members).

    “With more intelligence and effective cooperation, we will return to the status quo where we have peaceful coexistence in this country.

    “But, it is the job of all of us, if you have information, authentic intelligence information, pass to the police and other security agencies,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the former IGP as saying during the chat.

    He urged government to continue to provide the police with the wherewithal including training and retraining them to do their job and make the nation safer and secured.

     

     

  • New monarch crowned in Port Harcourt

    A new Paramount Ruler of the famous Rebisi Kingdom of Port Harcourt, Rivers State was crowned on Tuesday morning.

    He is Eze Victor Woluchem II, who becomes the Eze Epara Rebisi XII.

    Eze Woluchem II was crowned by the paramount Owhor (ark) custodian of the kingdom, Elder Emmanuel M. Woluchem after the completion of traditional rites in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

    Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Nation, His Majesty Eze Epara Rebisi XII promised to build on the legacy of his predecessor, HRM Eze Sunday Woluchem who transited on November 18, 2011.

    He said, “Rebisi people should expect an action Eze. I intend to build bridges of friendship with kingdoms that are not as friendly with Rebisi as we should expect.”

    The Central Lancashire University, Preston England, trained monarch, promised to steer clear of politics, stressing that he would present the aspiration and demands of his people to the government of the day.

    The new Eze is 60 years old and his married with children to his university sweetheart, Mrs. Felicia Woluchem.

     

  • NPFL: Owumi queries N5.27b deal

    NPFL: Owumi queries N5.27b deal

    The former Chairman of the Nigeria Professional Football League, Davidson Owumi, has queried the legality of the League Management Committee to sign a future deal on behalf of the clubs.

    The LMC had announced on Monday that they had secured a four year N5.27 billion television rights deal that will kick off in 2015.

    In a text message sent to Futaa.com on Tuesday morning, Owumi wrote:

    “This is celebrating illegality. A duly elected board got the N5 billion MTN deal signed, sealed and delivered, who told Irabor and his private company, the LMC, that a duly elected board cannot get a N10 billion television deal for the clubs?

    “Who owns the LMC? How much are the clubs entitled to in the deal, going by the articles and memorandum of the registration of the LMC?

    “Please where is the 2015 contract? Do you sign a marriage certificate while courting? “

    Meanwhile, Futaa.com understands that the tenure of the LMC may be extended. The LMC was supposed to midwife a new, elected League board at the end of the current season.

     

  • Egypt Muslim Brotherhood leader Badie held

    The spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie, has been arrested in Cairo, Egyptian officials say.

    Reports said he was detained at a residential flat in Nasr City.

    A state of emergency is in force in Egypt amid turmoil following a crackdown on Islamists in which hundreds have died.

    BBC reports that three days of mourning are being held for 25 police killed in Sinai by suspected Islamist militant extremists.

    Almost 900 people, including more than 100 police and soldiers, are reported to have been killed in Egypt since Wednesday, when the army cleared protest camps set up by supporters of deposed President Mohammed Morsi, many of them members of the Muslim Brotherhood movement.

    On Sunday, 36 Islamist protesters died in a prison van in the capital, Cairo.

    Hundreds of members of the Muslim Brotherhood have been detained over recent days.

    Mr. Badie had been on the run as the military-backed interim authorities in Egypt try to suppress protests at the ousting of Mr. Morsi.

    He is facing charges of inciting violence and murder over the killing of eight anti-Brotherhood protesters outside the movement’s headquarters in Cairo last June.

     

  • Nigeria will survive beyond 2015 through prayers – Gowon

    Nigeria will survive beyond 2015 through prayers – Gowon

    Former head of state, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), has faulted the prediction by the American government that the country would break up by 2015, stressing that similar prediction by France was already failing.

    He said that God would uproot all the leaders with evil intentions against the country.

    Gowon spoke on Monday during his official visit to Gethsemane Prayer Ministries Cathedral, Eleyele, Ibadan, presided over by National Coordinator, Nigeria Prays, Rev. Moses Aransiola.

    According to him, Nigerians should all stand up as one and intercede on the crises rocking this nation.

    He said, “That is when God will uproot all the leaders that have evil intention against this country. Nigerians need to desist from creating problems which they cannot solve and stop blaming God for their shortcomings.

    “We had series of crises in the past and if Nigerians can pray fervently well, sooner or later this country will be free from its challenges; God has heard our cries and will surely answer.

    “I don’t believe that the prediction by America that Nigeria will break before 2015 will happen. France said the same thing in the past that we will break up before 2014 but we still stand as one.

    “Every Nigerians should stand against the claims. If everyone of us believesthat it will not happen, then it will not. I believe God will not allow such to happen. Nigeria Prays is really praying against such and that was the reason why this group came into existence.”