The Nation Newspaper

Category: News

  • Harmonise factions in APC, NEC urged

    Harmonise factions in APC, NEC urged

    The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been urged to step up the current reconciliation efforts in order to put the party in good stead ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    A chieftain of the party in Ondo State, who is also a former Provost of the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, Prof. Olu Aderounmu, made the appeal yesterday during the inauguration of the party’s new executives in Akure South local government led by Otunba Olubunmi Alo.

    The inauguration of the new executive is coming two weeks after another executive committee under the leadership of a lawmaker representing Akure North/South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Mr. Ifedayo Abegunde, took oath of office.

    The development was the fall-out of the congress which result has not been harmonised between factions of the party as recommended by the Appeal Committee set up by the party’s NEC.

    In his key note address, Aderounmu maintained that with the inauguration of the new executive, the leaders of the party in Akure South have taken the right step to address the crisis that has been rocking the party in the local government in recent times.

     

     

     

    He accused some leaders of the Party for allegedly tampering with the report of an Appeal Committee, which had earlier harmonised the executive positions of the party in the ratio of 60-40 percent among the three different factions within the Party in Akure South council area.

     

  • Police arrest five for cultism

    •Man robs, rapes five women 

    Five persons including four students of Lighthouse Polytechnic in Edo State have been arrested for alleged cultism by men of the Edo State Police Command.

    The four Lighthouse Polytechnic students are Patrick Rapu, Okpue Kelvin, George Ebiaye and Obodo Godwin.

    One battle axe and two bottles of hot drink were found in their possession.

    The fifth suspect, Isaac Emeka Asemota was arrested at Ugoneki while on a mission to assassinate three members of a rival cult gang.

    A locally made pistol and five live cartridges were found on him.

    Isaac, however, said he was ordered on the mission because one of their members complained that members of the rival cult gang raped his wife.

    He said he was arrested by local vigilante after they got wind of their mission.

    The four students did not respond to questions put before them.

    One Samuel Emeka Chukwu was arrested for allegedly robbing and raping five ladies at Airport Road in Benin City, the state capital.

    Police said Emeka broke into the flat occupied by the ladies, stole their phones and cash and tied them with rope after which he had carnal knowledge of all of them.

    Samuel who was paraded along others, said police arrested him based on mere allegations and challenged the police to prove the robbery and rape in the court of law.

    Police Commissioner, Foluso Adebanjo, said the suspects would be charged to court after investigations were concluded.

  • 13 lives lost on Oyo/Ogbomoso road in one week

    No fewer than 13 people have lost their lives along Oyo to Ogbomoso highway in the last one week, investigation by The Nation has revealed.

    Motorists and commuters plying the federal highway have, in the last few weeks,  had sad tales to tell as a result of their nightmarish experience while transiting from the South West zone of the country to the northern axis.

    Just recently at the Araromi junction behind St. Bernadines Girls Grammar School, Oyo, a student was reportedly crushed to death by a lorry, just as a manager of a filling station reportedly lost his life on a commercial motorcycle in front of Labamba Hotel.

    Also at Elekara Market, a north-bound lorry rammed into a trailer parked beside the road, killing five persons on the spot.

    Same day, another auto crash occurred opposite the Olivet High School where two persons died instantly, while three others sustained injuries.

    Also a few days ago, the driver of a red golf car allegedly ran into a parked taxi cab at the popular Owode area killing three persons in the process.

    Findings revealed that the major cause of these accidents is largely due to the deplorable condition of the road over many years.

    Within the Oyo axis of the highway, motorists suffer untold hardships as a greater portion of the road network is in bad shape, while the Ogbomoso axis is ridden with potholes and gullies.

    On this road, our correspondent counted over 100 potholes and deep gullies, while the breakdown of trailers and other heavy duty truck is also a common sight with these broken down vehicles left unattended to for many days.

     

  • Flood claims lecturer’s life

    A heavy downpour from Friday through the early hours of Saturday has claimed the life of a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Food Technology, Federal Polytechnic, Offa in Kwara State, Mr. Adeniyi Adebowale.

    Adebowale was said to be returning from Offa to Ede, his home town for the weekend when he ran into the flood.

    The victim, who was reportedly driving in his Toyota Camry car marked LSD 783 CA LAGOS, had entered into a swampy area with heavy water after which the flood submerged the car.

    The deceased, who was said to be living with his family members at Oke-Gada area, was just a short distance away from his residence located at 40/40 Avenue when the incident happened.

    According to a family source, who preferred not to be named, the deceased reportedly communicated with his wife, Sade, just few minutes before the incident.

    It was gathered that the deceased had been warned not to take the swampy road by other drivers plying the road, but he was alleged to have insisted on passing through the route.

     

     

  • Nigerian wins Dubai International Holy Quran Award

    A Nigerian, Sulaiman Abdulkarim Isah, has won the top position in the international Quran completion category of the Award, apart from the Dh250,000 prize money.

    Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, attended the concluding ceremony of the 18th session of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award at the weekend.

    The event which took place at the Cultural and Scientific Association, Mamzar was attended by Sheikhs, ministers, senior officials, and dignitaries.

    Saudi Omar Hussain Baeisa came second and Yemeni Mohammed Khaled Yaseen third.

    While Baeisa won Dh200,000, Yaseen bagged Dh150,000. The other top eight winners are Abdulaziz Abdulla Alhamri, Qatar; Abdul Rahman Alshuwaie, Kuwait; Mohammad Amdadulla Tajul Islam, Bangladesh; Anis Ali Al Fadel, Libya; Salem El Emjad, Mauritania; Mohammed Arif, USA; and Abdulrahman Abdulla Hasan, Bahrain.

    They were given Dh65,000 to Dh35,000 – Dh5,000 less against each lower position. “The Mauritian and American contestants, having got the same marks, were ranked eighth and second eighth.”

    Contestants, who scored 80 per cent and above, were rewarded with Dh30,000 each, while those whose performance was estimated at 70 to 79 per cent, received Dh25,000 each. Participants, with scores less than 70 per cent got Dh20,000 each.

    Three of the best 15 contestants with most tuneful voices initiated the ceremony with some verses from the Holy Quran, followed by speeches of the Chairman of the award organizing committee Ibrahim bu Melha, and Head of the arbitration committee Shaikh Sameeh Ahmed Athamneh.

    Three documentaries were then displayed on the award’s 18-year history, an outstanding Quran memoriser, and Dr Ahmed Al Tayeb Sheikh Al Azhar who won Dh1 million the Islamic Personality of the year Award. Finally the jury members and top ten winners were honoured.

    Bu Melha said the Award, which started with two sections in 1997, branched out to 12 categories this year and saw the participation of 160 countries over its 18-year history.

    “This is basically due to the incessant support of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.”

     

  • ASUP/COEASU resumption: Students recount pains of prolonged strikes

    ASUP/COEASU resumption: Students recount pains of prolonged strikes

    POLYTECHNIC and College of Education students who wasted close to a year during the prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) have described the industrial action as a wasted venture.

    ASUP and COEASU suspended their strike after the intervention of the newly appointed Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.

    In separate reactions yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, the students regretted that the strike caused socio-psychological havocs in their lives, leading to unwanted pregnancies and involvement in crimes.

    The Student Union Government (SUG) President of Federal College of Education Technical Omoku, Rivers State,   Comrade Ekeakita Hector Chinem, said:  ”the strike is a total failure and had caused more pains to students than what the management intended to achieve.”

    He said the action frustrated students, adding that more than 25% of their female counterparts are carrying unwanted pregnancies while some of the males are wasting in police cells for various offences.

    He said: “This is a shame on the side of the Hon. Minister of State for Education Chief Nyesom Wike who was in-change to amicably resolve the striking issue but failed to do so. As far as I am concerned it is an act of wickedness.

    ”With the level of unwanted pregnancies we have witnessed in my campus, it shows that the female students were prostituting during the period of strike and that was what Wike was able to achieve.”

    The SUG President of Federal Polytechnic Oko Anambra State, Comrade Nwite Ogbonna aka Okadigbo said keeping the students out of classroom for that long shows that the federal government has no feeling for polytechnic sector.

    According to him: “I was going to graduate last year before the strike started. Now if I were in year one intending to enter year two before the strike started, would I return to year one after staying close to a year at home? This is an issue that needs to be addressed.”

    A student of Alvan-Ikoku Federal Polytechnic Imo State, Onyiyechi Akajigba said: “One of my friends got pregnant but died why aborting it. It will go down on record that this government has no regard for the future of polytechnics and Collage of Education students.”

     

     

  • Niger Delta group optimistic court will upturn Nyako’s impeachment

    Niger Delta group optimistic court will upturn Nyako’s impeachment

    Niger Delta-based group, the Centre for the Vulnerable and the Underprivileged (CENTREP) was confident yesterday that the court would reverse the impeachment of the former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako.

    The group’s Executive Director, Mr. Oghenejabor Ikimi, described the entire process that led to Nyako’s impeachment as faulty and a product of a militarised democracy.

    Ikimi, a lawyer, advised the former governor not to relent in his decision to seek redress for the wrong done him by the lawmakers.

    Explaining further, Ikimi said: “We are aware that Governor Nyako was never served personally with any impeachment notice by the Clerk of the Adamawa House of Assembly.

    “The Acting Chief Judge of the State and the seven-man panel that investigated all the charges leveled against Governor Nyako and his deputy was giving military cover throughout the impeachment process.

    “The impeachment was evidently stage-managed by the Presidency as the entire proces s was a case of the voice of Jacob and the hands of Esau.

    “We call on all Nigerians to stand up to condemn this dangerous brand of democracy being smuggled into our polity by political marauders as same could spell doom to our fledgling democracy”, he stressed.

  • Senator Mark versus BringBackOurGirls campaigners

    Senator Mark versus BringBackOurGirls campaigners

    SO far, the Senate has been unable to dispel the unfortunate impression that it is unbearably, unwisely and subserviently too close to the Jonathan presidency. If last Tuesday’s solidarity visit by the BringBackOurGirls campaigners led by former Education minister, Oby Ezekwesili, to Senate President David Mark is anything to go by, it does not look like the upper legislative chamber would be able to change anytime soon. Dr Ezekwesili, in her presentation, had complained that the government was indolent in its response to the Chibok abductions and was also harassing those campaigning for the girls’ release.

    Senator Mark, however, cautioned the campaigners to adjust their methods “so as not to be seen as working at cross-purposes with the government.” He also added that he did not “think any group should play politics with it.” Flustered by Senator Mark’s response, Dr Ezekwesili shot back irritably: “This group is a group for the citizens and a group for Chibok girls. You have not given us a very tangible response we can hold on to. I hope when we come back, we will have a tangible response.” But not to be outdone, Senator Mark also angrily retorted: “I am sure you were not expecting me to tell you the girls are going to be rescued tomorrow. Let us not reduce it to what the people discuss in the classroom. The point I am trying to make is that we should be at the same wave length. Government is doing whatever they can; I do not know the tangible answer you want, which you have not received.”

    What apparently worried the Senate president and was uppermost in his mind was the low opinion the campaigners had of the presidency. Contrast this with the response of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Tambuwal, when he received the campaigners and listened to their plaintive presentation. Said he: “I have heard you talk about insinuations and attempt to label your group something that you are not. That should not bother you. It should encourage you. Do not be deterred by that.” Thank God Nigeria does not have a unicameral legislature.

  • Commissioner calls for reforms in NYSC

    The Federal Commis-sioner representing Abia State at the National Population Commission [NPC], Dr Sam Ahaiwe, has called for a reform in the activities of the National Youth Service Corps [NYSC] to accommodate the current situation for the youths.

    Ahaiwe said that youths of the country should be taken into consideration if the country has plans for a better future for itself and that engaging the youths in a meaningful venture will ensure that their future is guaranteed.

    Speaking in Umuahia as part of the activities marking this year’s World Population Day, Ahaiwe said the reform in the NYSC should be done in such a way that the young graduates would be taught entrepreneurial skills which they will use after leaving the service.

    Ahaiwe said NYSC graduates during the entrepreneurial training should be taught the rudiments of farming, “as the federal government had brought up loans for farmers, they will benefit from the loan with which they will engage themselves.”

     

     

     

     

     

    He said that apart from training them in farming, the youths of the country, after their youth service year, should also be trained in other forms of skills, stressing that when the youths are properly trained, the society will be the better for it.

    He said that the theme of this year’s Population Day, which is ‘Investing in Young People’, is quite apt, “When we consider what has been happening in the country in recent time like bombings by Boko-Haram insurgents.”

     

  • APC chieftain hails Okorocha’s free education programme

    APC chieftain hails Okorocha’s free education programme

    A Lagos – based chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the founder of the first indigenous computer learning institute in Nigeria, Rimax Institute, Chief Livinus Okwara, has hailed the transformation agenda of the Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha , in the educational sector in the state.

    Okwara, who is an indigene of Imo State and a strong supporter of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s old political party, United Political Party (UPN), yesterday, said Okorocha’s free education programme has impacted positively on the state as many youths in the state now have access to free education.

    Okwara, who is also a staunch supporter of Okorocha, described the governor as the ‘new Awolowo’ because of his love for education as well as progressive thinking.

    “Because of my love for education, I embraced UPN and Awolowo was my mentor. When I travelled to Imo State after my disappointment with so many governors who had come and gone in that state, I met the good works of the governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha.  I was so appreciative and elated about the progress he has brought to the state. People who never saw tarred road walked on it for the first time, enjoyed it and appreciated it, “he said.