The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Scores killed in Egypt’s protest

    More than 100 people are reportedly been killed in Cairo at a protest being held by supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.

    A doctor at a field hospital close to the protest at the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque told the BBC that more than 1,000 people had also been injured.

    The health ministry put the death toll at 20, with 177 wounded.

    Both pro- and anti-Morsi supporters had been holding huge protests overnight in the capital.

    Many thousands occupied Cairo’s Tahrir Square in support of the army, which removed Mr. Morsi from office earlier this month.

    Army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, had urged people to take to the streets to give the military a mandate for its intervention.

     

  • Traders protest imposition of market leader

    Traders protest imposition of market leader

    For about two hours early friday, traders at Ladipo Mushin, protested an alleged  ploy by one of the traders to impose himself as their new leader.

    According to the protesters, one Alhaji Abibu Oladokun Oki, the baba oloja (Market Leader) of warehouse “A” was planning to impose himself as the baba oloja general of Ladipo.

    During the protest which stopped trading activities, traders under the aegis of Ladipo Central Executive Auto Dealer Association (LACEC) denounced the move.

    The president of LACEC, Comrade Ikechukwu Animalu said that he had received a letter from Alhaji Oladokun sometime ago, claiming that he has been installed as the new baba oloja of the market.

    “What really happened is that there are eight  unit bodies. Then we have another body called LACEC which regulates the rest bodies. One day we received a letter from him (Oladokun) that he had been made the baba oloja of Ladipo.  I asked him that he is only the baba oloja of his warehouse, when did he becomes the baba oloja of Ladipo?”

    Animalu also said he received a letter from the OPC (Oodua People’s Congress) threatening that Oladokun should have his way.

    Addressing journalists, Animalu said, “I don’t want problem. He (Oladokun) should respect himself. He said he is no longer with us that anybody can create his own members.”

    Animalu further pleaded with the Federal and state authorities as well as former Lagos governor Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to intervene in the matter.

    The former chairman of Auto field warehouse, Mr. Oke Aniagbaso said it is impossible for a man that has a warehouse out of 40 warehouses in the market to be demanding for the post of baba oloja of all the whole market without going through the democratic process.

    On Thursday, while the traders were participating in the weekly environmental sanitation, they said some boys came and disturbed them, saying they have taken over and started throwing bottles chasing everybody.

    The presence of police men however prevented a volatile situation.

  • Clark apologises to Nigerians, Lamido

    Ijaw leader and former Information Minister, Chief Edwin Clark has apologized to Nigerians for his recent comments and altercations with prominent politicians across the country.

    A retrospective Clark spoke with newsmen in Warri, Delta State on Friday in the wake of his recent entanglement with Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido.

    The Ijaw leader took on Lamido and four other governors for their recent visit to embattled Rivers State Governor, Rt Honourable Rotimi Amaechi and other prominent Nigerians.

    He insisted that nobody could stop President Goodluck Jonathan from seeking election in 2015.

    His outburst elicited a stern response  from Lamido.

    The Jigawa State Governor urged the elder statesman to mind his utterances in order not to jeopardize the nascent democracy.

    Chief Clark, speaking at the finals of the first  Chief  E.K Clark National Wrestling Championship held in Warri on Friday , said, “I apologize to all Nigerians if my utterance or my action threatened the peace and unity of this country.

    “All politicians, leaders should emphasize only those things that keep this country together, we cannot split, Nigeria is a large country,”

    He emphasised that  “love is one of the greatest thing that binds us together and Nigerians should learn to love one another and work assiduously for the unity of the country”.

    He disclosed that he had to rescind his decision to reply to a statement against his person by the Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido when he discovered that a wrestler from Jigawa State was squared against a wrestler from Delta State.

    According to Chief Clerk most of the statements issued by politicians were as a result of political interests not that they were against the unity of the country.

    The former Minister of Information  called  for a national conference to be convened noting, “we need to discuss the basis of our unity in this country.”

    While also apologizing to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for any possible wrong he had done him, Chief Clark assured him of his support and that of his followers.

    Governor Uduaghan  in his speech called on the people of the South –South Region and indeed Nigerians to ensure  that they put the unity of the country first in whatever they do. He called for support for the success of President Goodluck Jonathan  and his transformational agenda.

    He said, “the unity of Nigeria is paramount, the unity of South-South is paramount, the unity of Delta State is paramount, Nigerians should continue to support the President to succeed.”

    “Our people in the South-South should support the President, whatever challenges we have, we can discuss it back home, it is not for us to pull the President down,” Dr Uduaghan said.

    He added, “we should avoid statements that are inciting, many of us prayed for democracy, we should also work for the sustenance of our democracy.”

    Governor Uduaghan who was happy with the success recorded at the National Wrestling Championship reiterated, “when there is no unity, there is no development.”

     

     

     

  • FG, ASUU talks inconclusive

    *Parties yet to agree on two issues

    *Strike may be called off next week, says Suswam

     

    The meeting to resolve the crisis between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, could not be concluded on friday.

    Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam was drafted by government to Head the implementation of Needs Assessment Report on Nigerian Universities.

    Suswam, who spoke with journalists last night in Abuja after about six hours meeting, disclosed that there were still pending issues to be resolved next week before the ASUU strike could be called off.

    According to him, there are still two knotty issues to be resolved including earned allowance and funding of university education in view of the infrastructural deficit in the university system.

    Apart from the two unresolved issues, he said that all other issues raised by ASUU have been agreed upon by the two sides.

    While the SGF would meet with ASUU leadership on Monday towards resolving the issue of earned allowance, he said that he would lead his committee on Implementation of Needs Assessment to meet with ASUU on Thursday to finalize issues on funding.

    He was optimistic that all the two pending issues would be resolved next week in order for ASUU to call off the strike.

    Assuring that his Committee would leave no stone unturned to ensure that there was sustained funding for Nigerian universities, he lamented the present rot in the Nigerian Universities.

    Speaking earlier in his opening remark at the meeting, Senator Anyim reiterated the determination of the Federal Government to resolve the crisis so that the lecturers can return to classroom.

    He said: “Our meeting today is blessed with injection of new hands, new faces and new minds. It is expected that our meeting today will be fruitful because we would have more hands helping us to resolve what is outstanding”.

    “You might also recalled that the implementation committee of Needs Assessment Report to Nigerian Universities was just inaugurated. The Chairman of that Committee is Governor Gabriel Suswam. After the inauguration of that committee, we appealed to him to join us in this meeting that is following soon after.

    “On this note, I am convinced that their desire to see this matter resolved is simply because of their commitment to national progress,” he stated.

  • Alade Odunewu is dead

    Alade Odunewu is dead

    Veteran journalist, Alhaji Alade Odunewu, popularly known as Allah De, is dead.

    He died at St Nicholas Hospital, Lagos today.

    He was 85.  He was Chairman, Board of the Nigeria Merit Award (NMMA).

    He was Commissioner for Imformation in Lagos under the administration of Alhaji Lateef Jakande.

    He will be buried tomorrow according to Islamic rites.

  • Taraba acting governor sacks two more advisers

    Taraba State Acting Governor, Garba Umar, on Thursday sacked two Special Advisers from office.

    The sacked officials are – Tonyonga Binga (Education) and Joseph Magaji Tahwa (Rural Development).

    It was not clear what led to their sack at press time.

    Umar simply said he does not require their services.

    “The services of the affected Special Advisers are no longer required”, he said in a press release. The release was signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Kefas Sule, and made available to The Nation.

    Binga and Tahwa were appointed by ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai who is recuperating in a United States hospital from injuries he sustained when a plane he piloted crashed near Yola, Adamawa State in October last year.

    Thursday’s sacking of the two advisers came a few days after the former SSG Emmanuel Njiwah, five commissioners and two advisers were sacked by the acting governor for allegedly embezzling the N400 million flood funds provided by the Federal Government.

    Njiwah and his group have since sued the government, seeking a declaration that their purported sack is null and void.

     

     

     

     

  • EFCC loses bid to prosecute Capital Oil boss Ubah

    EFCC loses bid to prosecute Capital Oil boss Ubah

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and two others lost on Thursday in their bid to prosecute the Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas Limited, Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah and his company in respect of allegation of petroleum subsidy fraud.

    A Federal High Court in Abuja faulted a recent invitation sent to them by the EFCC and granted an order restraining the commission, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) from moving against the two over the subsidy issue.

    The order of perpetual injunction was made by Justice A. Abdul-Kafarati while ruling on a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Ubah and his company.

    The judge upheld the applicants’ arguments and granted four out of the five prayers they raised in the suit, which challenged the decision of the EFCC to reinvestigate the complaint that Ubah and his company were involved in the petroleum subsidy fraud.

    Ubah and his company had argued that it was wrong for the EFCC, IGP, AGF and any other agency of the government to want to prosecute them on the same issue which a Federal High Court (FHC) in Lagos had exonerated them by virtue of its February 18, 2013 judgment in suit number: FHC/CS/07/2013 and a report by the House of Representatives committee which investigated the fuel subsidy fraud.

    They also relied on a letter dated February 12, 2013 written by the Police Special Fraud Unit, D Department to the Minister of Finance, clearing them of any criminal complicity in the allegation of subsidy fraud made against them.

    Justice Abdul-Kafarati declared that the February 18 judgment, the House of Representatives’ committee report and the police letter of February 12 “collectively tantamount to a complete and final exoneration of any criminal offence with regard to application for receipt of subsidy payment under the Federal Government of Nigeria Petroleum Support Fund (PSF) scheme.”

     

     

  • Police give N11.2m to heroic officers

    The Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 5, Argungun Hashimu, on Thursday presented cheques worth N11.2m to officers who died or suffered injuries in the line of duty.

    A total of 27 police officers including relatives of late police officers were presented with cheques ranging from N100, 000 to N1m.

    Argungun said the cheques were presented under the Group Personal Accident Insurance Scheme to alleviate sufferings of police officers who suffered injuries or died in the course of duty.

    He enjoined the beneficiaries to make proper use of the fund.

    He said, “This token is an appreciation of the officers and men affected and to cushion the effect of the accident involving those still serving and for those who are dead, succour to their families.”

     

     

  • Strike: No renegotiation with FG – ASUU

    Strike: No renegotiation with FG – ASUU

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Thursday said it would not renegotiate with the Federal Government if the previous agreement is not implemented.

    Unlike many other African countries that vote significantly for education funding on annual basis, the union members said Nigeria votes the least budget to education, while pumping huge sums to irrelevant projects that do not encourage research and development.

    Compared to the academics, local government councilors earn even more than professors, just as Nigerian legislators receive salaries that triple those of the professors who trained them in schools.

    The ASUU members made the position known at the Paul Hendrickse Hall of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, venue of a symposium entitled: “Education, Research and Development in Nigeria.”

    In attendance were the national treasurer of the union and former Chairman, UI branch, Dr. Ademola Aremu, incumbent Chairman Dr. Segun Ajiboye, Prof. Millicent Obajimi (former Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association), Dr. Abass Abdulsalaam and Dr. Femi Afolabi, among others.

    They maintained that demands for full implementation of the agreement with the government were unshaken.

     

  • Court stops PDP convention

    Court stops PDP convention

    An Abuja High Court has restrained the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from holding its planned special convention.

    Justice Suleiman Belgore, in a ruling on Thursday asked the PDP to “allow sanity to reign” and refrain from proceeding with the conduct or convocation of any form of convention “whether special or ordinary,” for the purpose of electing any officer pending the determination of a suit filed by some aggrieved members of the party.

    The ruling was on an interlocutory application by plaintiffs in the substantive suit, who complained against the decision of the party to appoint some people to act in the place of members of the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC), who resigned midway into the case that challenged the process of their election.

    Justice Belgore refused the applicants’ prayer for interlocutory injunction nullifying the appointment of acting members of PDP’s NWC and restraining the party’s National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur from performing any of the NWC’s functions pending the determination of the case.

    The judge in refusing both prayers, held that they were not part of the issues placed before the court for determination in the originating summons.

    Justice Belgore frowned at the decision of the PDP to take certain steps capable of foisting a state of helplessness on the court. He held that, having submitted itself to the jurisdiction of the court, the party must await the decision of the court on the case.

    The judge held that “it is recklessness of some high degree” for the PDP to have taken steps that could affect the case before the court.