Author: The Nation

 Gunmen operating at the Imo axis of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway have kidnapped nine Enugu-bound passengers, killed two and robbed others.

The victims, who hail from Amangwo Olokoro in Umuahia, were said to be travelling to Enugu on Saturday for a burial when they were attacked.

Narrating their ordeal to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia on Sunday, one of them, who identified himself simply as Francis, said their Sienna Bus was flagged down at gunpoint near the Arondizuogu Junction.

Francis said the vehicle was later diverted off the expressway to Arondizuogu Road in Imo, from where they were led into a hamlet far into the bush.

He said: “We were travelling to Enugu for burial and when we got close to Arondizuogu Junction, we saw a group of heavily armed men and they asked us to park.

“One of us in the vehicle asked them ‘why do you ask us to park and pointing your guns at us, do you know who I am?’ t”Then one of the hoodlums said: ‘Now oga, you will prove to us who you are.’

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“They ordered us out of the vehicle and asked us to sit on the ground and pull off our shirts with which they blindfolded us.

“From there, they started beating the man that made the comment with a machete.”

He said when they got into the hamlet, residents watched them as if it was a movie.

“When we alighted, their leader asked about the man that made the comment and they pointed at him.

“They brought him out, and barely three steps away from us, they shot him dead.

“Another man with us, who saw what happened and attempted to escape was also shot dead,” Francis said.

According to him, they seized the two bodies.

He said the hoodlums were not fewer than 50 in their hideout, with 20 of them heavily armed.

“These men were speaking our own language. They told us that Umuahia people are ‘sabo to them’, that they asked us not to vote in the last election and we went out to vote; that they declared Mondays sit-at-home and we are not obeying them; that any Umuahia person they got around here will get it hot.

“Then they asked us to say our last prayers,” Francis said.

He said as they were praying, they were moved into one of the three new Hummer buses in the hideout and were taken to where they boarded their Sienna bus.

“At that point, they asked whether we can find our way out and we said no and they told the driver to go straight.

“They said we should go and tell Umuahia people what we saw. That was how we found ourselves back to Umuahia,” he said.

Francis said valuables were collected from them, including cash and cell phones.

The deceased persons were identified as Chukwuemeka Nwachukwu, a pastor, who commented at the abduction point, and the Village Youth Leader, Ifeanyi Onwunkwe, who attempted to escape.

Imo Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, could not be reached.

• ‘Report planted to lobby for juicy committees’

No senators of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) are planning to defect to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it was learnt yesterday.

Senator Sunday Karimi (APC Kogi West) announced this while addressing some reporters on phone in Abuja.

A national daily reported yesterday that 22 APC senators were about to defect to the PDP in order to change the leadership of the 10th Senate.

But Karimi debunked the report, describing it as fake news.

Karimi, who was a two–term House of Representatives member from 2011 to 2019, represented Yagba East and West/Mopa–Amuro Federal Constituency.

The lawmaker said the report lacked any iota of truth, adding that the rumoured defection of APC senators had been rife even before the inauguration of the Senate on June 13.

He said: “It is a lie for anybody to claim that 22 APC senators are planning to decamp to the PDP.

“Where are they decamping to? What would be the basis for their decamping? Nothing has been done yet. Why should 22 APC senators allegedly wait for Senate Standing Committees before decamping? There is nothing like that.”

Karimi said Senate President Godswill Akpabio is well versed in the rules of the Red Chamber and has been on track since he took over the leadership of the Upper Chamber.

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He said: “Even before our inauguration, the rumour had been there. The Senate President understands the rules of the Senate.

“The Selection Committee is not there yet. It is not out of place for people to lobby, and that is what is going on now.

“The process of who will be chairmen and members of standing committees would be done by the Selection Committee that has not been put in place yet.

“The Senate leadership (principal officers) must be put in place before that is done. The Senate leadership will do it in agreement with party secretariats of the various political parties that constitute the Senate.

“So, where are they decamping to? A party that is dead? Which faction are they decamping to? Is it that of Nyesom Wike or the Chairman of the party that has been sacked, or that of Abubakar Atiku? Or, would they want to plunge into a river that they know they cannot swim out of alive?

“Before we went for recess, a Welfare Committee for allocation of offices and seats was put in place. The committee chairs and membership would never been done alone.”

“We only have the Senate President and the Deputy Senate President in place and they cannot do it alone.

“As far as the leadership of the Senate is concerned, the minority parties will send in their lists for approval. The SP cannot do it alone. There is nothing like that.”

Another APC senator, who spoke in confidence, said: “This story is mere speculation planted to lobby for juicy committees.

“Some senators that see themselves losing out in choice committee chairmanship/principal officers during the selection process are behind the story.”

MANY Nigerians yesterday mourned popular communication scholar and professor at the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies at the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Professor Lai Oso.

The eminent scholar died at the weekend in a road accident on the Sagamu-Ore road while returning from Delta State University (DELSU) at Abaraka, where he was an external examiner.

He was 67.

Reacting to the death, eminent Mass Communication scholar and member of the World Journalism Education Congress (WJEC), Prof. Ralf Akinfeleye, said: “I am devastated, still in a rude shock at the news of Oso’s death. I wish this was not true. Oso was my greatest friend and brother. His demise is a calamity to the communication discipline in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large.

“It is sad, disheartening and heart-breaking. I am still shocked to my marrow. I was called by a colleague, informing me of his death, which I strongly doubted. It dawned on me when my friend told me he was with Oso’s wife when calling from Sagamu.

“Oso’s death is a great loss to the discipline.”

Also, the Dean of the School of Communication at LASU, Prof. Olayinka Alawode, described Oso’s death as a loss to everyone who had come into contact with him, including LASU and other higher institutions.

He referred to the late scholar as “Baba Oso”, a father figure in the School of Communication, and credited him with positively influencing communication programmes in various universities.

“It will be difficult to find someone else to fill the gap he left behind,” he said.

Also, a Professor of Public Relations and Advertising, Prof. Rotimi Olatunji, expressed grief at Oso’s demise, describing the late scholar as a pathfinder, role model, and light bearer.

“Oso made it possible for the development of nine programmes that led to the creation of a distinct discipline of communications called “Unbundle of the Mass Communication in Nigeria,” he said.

Also, the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Abeokuta Muslim Alumni (MAPAMA) expressed shock over Oso’s death.

The late Oso was a lecturer at the polytechnic before moving to LASU.

In a statement by its National President, Prince Taofeek Oyeniyi, the alumni association said though it received the news of the lecturer’s death with shock, it took the sad incident with total submission to the will of Allah.

Also, President of the Association of Mass Communication Graduates (AMACOG), 1993/1998 set of MAPOLY, Mr. Kazeem Animasaun, recalled the late Oso’s humanity and fatherly disposition to his students.

Also, the Lagos State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) mourned the versatile Mass Communication lecturer.

In a statement yesterday by its Chairman, Mr. Adeleye Ajayi, and Secretary, Mr. Tunde Olalere, the union described the death of Oso as shocking and devastating.

“The news of the death of Prof. Oso in a motor accident while returning from Abraka, Delta State, on Saturday, was very devastating.

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“Professor Oso will be remembered for his good student-teacher relations and humble behaviour. He was always ready to assist his students and colleagues.

His death remains a big blow not only in communication circle, but in all academic spheres. May the soul of our dear lecturer, friend and mentor, Prof. Oso rest in peace,” the statement read.

The union described the late Oso as a lecturer of many successful journalists.

“Professor Oso was a Lecturer at the Ogun State Polytechnic, Abeokuta, where he rose to become Head of Mass Communication Department and the Deputy Rector.

“He taught for many years at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, and the Lagos State University (LASU).

“He was at a time, Dean of the School of Communication Studies at LASU,” it added.

Also, the Journalists International Forum For Migration (JIFORM) described the death of Prof. Oso as a blow to the media industry.

In a statement yesterday in Abuja, JIFORM’s President, Dr. Ajibola Abayomi, expressed shock and sadness over the death of the 67-year-old professor.

Abayomi said Osa’s death was a heavy loss to the media community within and outside Nigeria.

He noted that the deceased was one of Nigeria’s foremost communications scholars.

“Many of us passed through his diligent tutelage at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta and at several universities and fora. We shall miss him dearly,” he said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) have agreed to deepen collaboration on financial inclusion in Nigeria.

To firm up the agreement, the CBN has pledged to work with the BMGF and other development partners in proffering solutions to drive access to finance.

In a statement yesterday in Abuja by the apex bank after its strategic meeting with BMGF, acting CBN Governor Folashodun Shonubi noted that “though much progress had been made in various aspects of financial inclusion, some challenges still remain in attaining the desired level of financial inclusion in Nigeria”.

The apex bank’s boss called for greater partnership between the CBN and the BMGF.

Gates, the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said: “The foundation’s focus areas for continued engagement in Nigeria include health, agriculture and financial services.”

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Gates said he was happy that his organisation “is catalysing developmental action in Nigeria”.

He noted that there were still challenges and gaps but expressed optimistic “that the country would witness better outcomes, given the new economic and monetary policies currently in place in Nigeria”.

The CBN stressed that BMGF “has supported financial inclusion in Nigeria since 2012 and has been a strategic partner in driving innovation to reach excluded segments of Nigeria’s population with financial products and services”.

The partnership, the CBN added, “has brought about strategic initiatives, such as the Nigeria Financial Services Maps, a gateway for geospatial mapping of access points, the development of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy in 2012 and a revision in 2018, research into financial exclusion, scoping of digital financial services in Nigeria, and many more activities that help accelerate access to financial services”.

All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains in Lagos State have assured Nigerians that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu will be fair to all ethnic groups in their political appointments.

The APC chieftains urged those who worked for the party’s victory at the last general election to be patient, assuring them that the President and the governor would not take supporters’ loyalty for granted.

The party stalwarts spoke in Ikeja at the Indomitable Tinubu Support Organisation (ITSO) Victory Appreciation Party organised to “appreciate God for APC’s victory” at the polls.

Those who spoke included a member of the Lagos State Governing Advisory Council (GAC) Cardinal James Odunmbaku; the Director General of Lagos State Printing Press, Mr. Kolawale Peregrino; ITSO’s Director General, Mr. Abdoulbaq Balogun; ITSO’s Deputy DG, Mr. Bode Olaniyan and Director of Legal at ITSO, Adefunmilayo Tejuosho, among others.

Odunmbaku, popularly called Baba Eto of Lagos, renewed the hope of the party’s dedicated members, saying they would be appreciated and compensated by the President.

Baba Eto praised Sanwo-Olu’s governance strides and thanked Balogun for competently steering the ITSO ship of state.

He also assured the party faithful that merit and competence, rather than just tribe, would play the biggest role in the appointments in Lagos because of the state’s metropolitan character.

Odunmbaku said: “Lagos State has been yearning for the progress of every sector. So, as long as you are a Nigerian and you find your way to Lagos, the government will make the state habitable and provide opportunities for residents to achieve their dreams.”

Also, Peregrino urged Nigerians seeking a quick fix for the country’s challenges, as well as party faithful seeking appointments, to be patient.

He said: “They should look at Tinubu himself. He was patient enough to have waited till now to become President. He has made a lot of people. Why won’t we too wait for our turn? Things will go round. We have confidence in him that he (Tinubu) will revolutionise Nigeria.”

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Balogun urged Nigerians to believe in the Tinubu administration, saying they would not be disappointed.

He added: “We want to appreciate Nigerians who showed their support for the party, for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and for re-electing Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu for another term in office to continue the THEMES Agenda of his administration, touching people’s lives and moving Lagos towards a greater future.”

Balogun described President Tinubu as “a man that is committed to rewarding loyalty”.

He added: “So, in no distant time, we know that everyone that contributed and made efforts to get us to where we are today did not do so in vain… The bottom line is that the average man on the street will feel the impact of this government for their wellbeing.”

ITSO’s Director Legal Adefunmilayo Tejuosho also thanked the APC support group for standing by the party’s candidates in the last elections.

She scored President Tinubu high on his potential to positively impact Nigerians’ lives and pledged that ITSO would continue sounding out Nigerians for ways the government can improve their lives. 

Tejuosho added: “We want to continue to feel the pulse of the people in our different states and localities in Nigeria, see what their needs are and see how we can assist the government to meet their needs.”

The Chief Imam of Onigbongbo Central Mosque in Ikeja, Alhaji Abdul-Waheed Nofiu, and Rev. Gabriel Deyinka of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Ileri Oluwa ta GRA in Ojota, prayed for the success of the Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu administrations.

ITSO also presented plaques to many of its members, including Odunmbaku; the Chief of Staff to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Tayo Akinmade Ayinde; Lagos State house of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa; Balogun; Peregrino; and Olaniyan.

 The Kukah Centre for Faith, Leadership and Public Policy has said that respect for religious differences will enhance peaceful coexistence, development and stability in communities.

It, therefore,  called for regular meetings by stakeholders at the community level to foster understanding among religious groups.

This was contained in a statement by the centre after its “Conference on Inter-Religious Dialogue, Seeking Common Ground for Collaboration in A Community”   in Kaduna, Kaduna  State at the weekend.

The one-day conference was organised by the centre in partnership with Justice, Development and Peace Initiative and Global Peace Foundation.

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In the statement by Father Onuh Sixtus, the centre also called for the establishment of a forum to enlighten youths on the need to live in peace.

The statement partly reads: “Inter-religious dialogue should organise training for pastors and Imams on the need for peaceful co-existence and fairness.

“There should be a forum where pastors and Imams will come together in their various communities to discuss and encourage the religious leaders for peaceful co-existence.”  

Advising that grey areas in religions should be managed, it advised that inter-state visits by stakeholders should be initiated to enable them to learn from each other and achieve inter-communal collaboration.

“Grassroots meeting among stakeholders is very critical in inter-religious dialogue for peace and stability,” it said.