The Nation Newspaper

Category: Uncategorized

  • Jonathan: more funds coming for education

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday pledged to release more funds to upgrade infrastructure in the universities.

    He said government believed the funds would be deployed prudently and wisely.

    The President spoke at the 52nd Founders’ Day lecture of the University of Nigeria(UNN), Nsukka.

    The lecture was delivered by Mr Mustafa Chike-Obi, the Managing Director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria(AMCON)

    Jonathan, whose speech was read by the Chairman of the occasion, and former Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Chief Arthur Mbanefo, said for Nigeria to grow, “ we must improve on the number of Nigerians that have access to good quality education at all levels”.

    He said: “This was what informed the decision of the Federal Government to establish six new universities across the six geo-political zones of the country.

    “ In addition, the older universities are being encouraged to increase their carrying capacity, while the first generation universities have also been directed to increase their ratio of post-graduate to undergraduate students.

    “ I’m aware that these additional responsibility would require additional investments in infrastructure and government would continue to make funds available to universities for infrastuctural upgrade believing that the funds would be deployed prudently and wisely” he said.

    The President advocated the transformation of a higher proportion of the population of the country from unskilled to skilled manpower, insisting that our population would not count for much if most us were uneducated.

    The UNN Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bartho Okolo said the Founders’ Day celebration was an annual event during which “ we remember and honour our founding fathers.” .

    “ The celebration also serve to remind us of the vision , foresight and courage that led Nigeria,s first President , Rt; Honourable(Dr) Nnamdi Azikiwe and his distinguished colleagues in the Easthern House of Assembly to establish this university only 5 days after our country gained independence from British Colonial rule in 1960.

    “ In addition, it is a time when we reflect on the extent to which the original vision of our university has been preserved as well as a time to strategize on how to advance this vision in our present and future development”. He said.

     

     

  • Dismissed police corporal, three others held for robbery

    Four persons including a dismissed police corporal, Patrick Adeki, have been arrested for alleged robbery in Lagos.

    Adeki and Chinedu Onwunure were arrested in Ebute Meta, Lagos Mainland; Chinedu Sunday Okoro and Samuel Kito were caught in Alakuko, a Lagos suburb.

    Lagos Police Command spokesperson Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), said Adeki and Onwunure were arrested by men of the anti-robbery squad from Dento Police Station following a tip-off.

    Braide said: “on Tuesday October 2 at about 1400hrs, policemen attached to Ebute-Metta Division responded to a distress call and arrested one Chinedu Onwunure inside a makeshift building, with one double barrel shot gun and nine live cartridges”.

    She said the suspect was interrogated by detectives and he confessed to so many robberies within the area and other parts of the state.

    The suspect also confessed that a dismissed policeman leads their gang. He led policemen to arrest Adeki.

    Okoro and Kito were arrested while robbing at 46 Adenekan Street, Alakuko, around 7pm on Independence Day.

    One Marakov pistol with live ammunition and a shot gun with five live cartridges were recovered from the suspects.

    Braide confirmed the death of a suspected robber, who was killed during a gun duel with the police.

    She said: “Policemen attached to Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja and 43 Police Mobile Force (PMF) Lion Building, responded to a distress call at No.1, Shogunle Street Ikeja around 8:30pm.

    “There was a shootout with robbers who were operating at that time, during which one of the robbers was hit by bullet and he died instantly, while the others escaped with bullet wounds”.

    Braide said the cases are being investigated at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba.

  • Taraba House removes deputy governor

    Taraba State Deputy Governor Sani Abubakar was yesterday impeached by the House of Assembly for alleged ‘gross misconduct.”

    Abubakar was accused of sundry allegations including the conversion of a Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) project to his private school- the Yagai Academy.

    Other businesses, owned by the embattled former deputy governor include: Yagai Water, Yagai Printing Press and Yagai Resturant.

    The Assembly described such act as “gross misconduct” and abuse of public office.

    The House also said locating the MDG ICT Centre and sinking motorised boreholes in Yagai Academy were unacceptable, as the school was his private venture and members of the public could not access them.

    They also alleged that Abubakar used his influence to acquire “a large expanse of land in Jalingo on which he built the school. With all other multi-million naira business ventures sited therein, such as Yagai Water, Yagai Printing Press and Yagai Restaurant), the empire was valued at about N1 billion.

    The lawmakers said his total emoluments could not justify such investments, adding that he had breached the Code of Conduct for public office holders, which requires that he shows transparency in the act of governance.

    He was also accused of undue interference in the postings and transfers of indigenes of his local government, Karim Lamido, and working against the interests of other stakeholders of the area.

    Replying the lawmakers’ allegations, the deputy governor said the Yagai Cybercafe was an initiative of a member of the House of Representatives and its current Chief Whip, Ishaka Bawa, representing Wukari/Ibi federal constituency.

    He said the project was carried out by MDGs Projects for Yagai Academy, noting that the school neither requested nor solicited either in writing or orally.

    He said the MDGs office put its logo on the projects as a confirmation of its school’s contribution to the development adding that Yagai, as a profit-making venture, could sink a borehole from its profits.

    He added that the contract for solar lights and street lights at Yagai were not awarded by his office, adding that all the contracts were awarded by the state government after being subjected to due process.

    He also said his office was not assigned the responsibility of monitoring and supervising the contract and therefore could not be held responsible for the diversion of such projects.

    Danladi presented a document to show how he acquired and built the Yagai Academy.

    He also tendered evidence of bank loans obtained from Zenith Bank and First Bank, with which he developed the institution.

    He pleaded with the law makers to be objective in their deliberations and promised to be more committed to the party and the people of the state.

    During the investigation of the allegations against the deputy governor, the Assembly denied receiving N100 million bribe from Governor Danbaba Suntai to remove his deputy.

    However, there are indications that the removal of the deputy governor is the fallout of a strained relationship between Suntai and some influential indigenes of the state.

  • 1,000 flood victims ‘abandoned’ in Anambra community

    About 1,000 flood victims from Awba Ofemmili in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State have allegedly been abandoned.

    The regent of Awba Ofemmili, Chief Anelo Nwanelo, said there is need to avert epidemics and hunger in the victims’ camps.

    According to the monarch, people from Ege, Nkpuocha, Akpana/Oye Agu, Igbobigi and waterside villages will contract diseases, if the government and emergency relief agencies do not come to their aid.

    Awba Ofemmili has a boundary with Aguleri-Otu in Anambra East.

    Chief Nwanelo said the people may be relocated further to Ugbenu, going by the volume of water in the area.

    She called for government intervention and assessment.

    The monarch thanked Awka North Local Government Chairman, Joy Enweluzor, for the materials her council donated to the victims.

    The Zonal Director of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Dr Bamidele Onimode, said though the Awba Ofemmili camp might have many victims, there was no provision for them.

    He said provision was for seven other camps in the state.

    The agency chief, however, assured that his men would visit the Awba Ofemmili camp to assess the situation.

    The All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) leadership in Anambra State, led by Chief Mike Kwentoh, visited the camps and donated materials worth millions of naira.

    It was, however, learnt that the Awka North camp was not budgeted for. Kwentoh said the visit was the party’s way of showing love to the displaced persons.

    He urged them to remain calm, assuring that the APGA administration under Governor Peter Obi would not abandon them.

    The chairman of Aguata Local Government Area, Chief Titus Anigbogu, has been appointed the chairman of the relief committee on flooded communities.

     

  • LP thugs killed over campaign money

    The Akeredolu Campaign Organisation (ACO) has challenged the Labour Party and Governor Olusegun Mimiko to explain the fight at Akungba Akoko yesterday.

    ACO, in a statement by its Director, Media, Publicity and Strategy, Mr. Idowu Ajanaku, urged the security agents to investigate the cause of the fight, which was alleged to be over sharing of the campaign money Mimiko gave members of his party at Akungba.

    It was learnt that LP thugs started fighting with guns, cutlasses and other weapons over how to share Governor Mimiko’s money. Following their disagreement, some of them died in the process.

    “This has confirmed our fears that Mimko has looted the treasury for the coming election.

    “For us at ACO, this has demonstrated the level of impoverishment of the Ondo people in the hands of Governor Mimiko who is now proverbially feeding the people with handouts from their resources. They need to ask him what happened to the Arigidi Tomato Paste Factory and the Auga Cattle Ranch in Akoko, which could have provided jobs for the youths now killing themselves over handouts from him.

    “We use this medium to condole with the families of the youths who died in the process and call on their parents and colleagues to take heart.

    “Rise up to say never again. Never would we allow anyone to control the destinies of our people as Mimiko has done, preferring to give our youths fish instead of teaching them how to catch fish.

    “We know that the people of Ondo State will in their characteristic manner boldly and courageously act on October 20 by voting for Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN). This will be a vote for job creation, infrastructural development, agricultural revolution and sustainable development.”

  • A lift for pensioners, senior citizens

    Ayobola Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has lifted the spirits of pensioners and senior citizens in Lagos State.

    The organisation presented food and nutrition package to them at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Lagos.

    The beneficiaries commended the Foundation for the gesture, describing it as timely and appropriate.

    The NGO explained that apart from merely supplying their needs, the donation was aimed at appreciating people who spent their whole lives in selfless service to the fatherland.

    In his welcome address, the coordinator of the foundation, Stephen Enada, said it is committed to easing the burden of retirees and senior citizens, ensuring their entitlements are given to them and they are in good state of health.

    The gesture was part of the NGO’s advocay role for pensioners and senior citizens to create awareness on their rights so that their voice could be heard and their entitlements given to them.

    The organisation added that it caters for the health and physical well-being of this cadre of the Nigerian population.

    The Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Florence Oguntuashe, represented by the Permanent Secretary Folashade Adesoye, said “Food and nutrition are a key element in maintaining our overall physical well-being.”

    She added that “the gesture is to ensure that the weak and the elderly in the society are given due attention.”

    She said the state government has embarked on plans to ensure that pensioners and senior citizens above the age of 70 are given free health services, including drugs, in general hospitals across the state, adding that there are plans also for them to have access to free Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) within the state.

    Oguntuashe said that the Public Service Office held an interactive session on September 13 for Lagos State pensioners on the need to pay special attention to their finances, diet and health-related issues.

    At that forum, the Head of Service shed light on government’s effort in creating a special ward for senior citizens in all the state-owned hospitals and health centres.

    The Commissioner said the Babatunde Fashola administration has enunciated various agricultural programmes and policies geared towards ensuring that a balanced diet is available for all.

    The Commissioner said there are 1,957 pensioners who are being paid regularly under the Contributory Pensions Scheme since October 2010, and that the ministry conducts regular bi-annual pre-retirement seminars for pensioners on how to quickly access their retirement benefits.

    She added that, among other achievements, an automated databank for retirees and employees has also been established in the state.

    Oguntuashe said the pension to care for the senior citizens in the state by the pension administrators has been sustained and demonstrated through the years by the presentation of food items to pensioners who are above 70 years of age in every quarter, adding that there home visits as well to the pensioners to enquire about their health and provide assistance wherever necessary.

    In the course of these visits, food, wheelchairs and some other packages have been made available to the oldest pensioner and those whose mobility were impaired.

    Mrs Oguntuashe said further that Governor Fashola has assured that no effort would be spared on all matters affecting pensioners so as to ease the burden of retirement and ensure comfort even at old age.

    Chairman of the foundation’s Board of Trustees, Femi Afolabi, said the organisation aims at ensuring that pensioners and senior citizens get their entitlements, and are alive and in good health.

    The wife of the governor, Dame Abimbola Fashola, represented by Mrs Roda Ayinde, said: “The key to long life is eating well and eating the right thing at the right time; it is in the light of this that Ayobola Foundation is giving out food and nutrition package to pensioners and senior citizens in Lagos State.”

    She urged the pensioners to put their trust in God as He is the source of long life and prosperity, adding that the Lagos State government is committed to enhancing the well-being of pensioners.

  • Edo Assembly passes N8.59b extra budget

    The Edo State House of Assembly has passed a N8.59 billion Supplementary Budget into law.

    It is a reduction of the N10.9 billion proposal sent to the House by Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

    The supplementary budget comprises N909 million for recurrent expenditure and N7.6 billion for capital expenditure.

    The Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Budget and Project Monitoring, Peter Aliu, said the supplementary budget was reduced because the 2013 Budget would soon be presented to the House.

    Under capital expenditure, N1 billion was earmarked for education; N2.7 billion for drainage, sewage and environmental protection; N3.3 billion for works and roads; and N6 million for others.

    Under recurrent expenditure, the Ministry of Education got N15 million, Ministry of Local government and Chieftaincy Affairs N7 million, Sports Council N60 million and Civil Service Commission N7 million.

    The lawmakers passed a resolution urging the agencies of the Federal Ministry of Works to repair the damaged railings of the Ovia River Bridge.

    They said the work includes concrete railings and road signs to prevent accidents.

  • NULGE partners MOAN in battle against multiple taxation

    The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has appointed the Mobile Advert Agency of Nigeria (MOAN) as partner in its attempt to curb multiplicity of taxes.

    This is sequel to the directive from The Presidency through the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to the NULGE President, Comrade Ibrahim Khaled, to take concrete steps to address the incidence of multiplicity of taxes as well as the harassment and molestation of motorists in all the local government areas across the country.

    In view of this, NULGE said it had approved a proposal to partner with MOAN, whose principal objective is to streamline tax collection and eradicate the menace of multiplicity of taxes, to form and coordinate a National Task Force Against Multiple Taxation/Levies.

  • ACN lashes out at Presidency over claim on anti-graft battle

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday described as a product of poor thinking, the Presidency’s decision to blame the media for the “inaccurate claim” on the nation’s anti-corruption efforts, contained in the President’s 52nd anniversary speech. It said the action is worse than the original gaffe.

    ‘’It is lazy and irresponsible for handsomely-remunerated presidential aides to lift the claim of Nigeria’s supposed progress in the anti-corruption effort from a newspaper and insert such in a presidential speech without confirmation. But then anything is possible in a rookie presidency populated by apprentice aides,’’ the party said in a statement in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

    ‘’It is even worse that those who committed this gaffe and made their principal and the entire country to look bad, justifying their action and, instead of owning up, shifting the blame to the so-called opposition media and the political opposition.

    What was the media supposed to do in the face of such egregious lies? Reinforce the lies to Nigerians and the entire world?

    And should the opposition have applauded such a spurious claim?’’ the party queried.

    ACN said in a global world with an almost instantaneous access to information, it costs nothing to ask Transparency International, the highly-responsive global coalition against corruption, to verify the claim reportedly made by a local newspaper. In the alternative, the various government agencies engaged in the battle against corruption, including the EFCC and the ICPC, could have been contacted.

    ‘’The point that is lost on these indolent aides is that every presidential speech is a reference document. Therefore, packing it with lies and unverified claims is totally condemnable, in addition to being a disservice to the President,’’ the party said.

    It advised the President’s aides who are engaged in communication or speech writing to take their job more seriously instead of running to the press at the slightest opportunity to lambast the opposition and denigrate the media, their latest whipping boy.

    ACN congratulated the media for spotting the lie that was apparently aimed at making a do-nothing Presidency to look good, saying it only shows that the fourth estate of the realm is alive to its constitutional responsibility.

  • Saudi clears women above 45 for Hajj

    Nigerian women above 45 years have been cleared to travel alone for pilgrimage. Those below 45 are still required to travel with a companion.

    No fewer than 1,000 Nigerian women have been deported from Saudi Arabia for travelling without Guarantor in their entry visas to the holy land for the Hajj.

    But the Consul of Saudi Arabia in Kano yesterday said in a statement that “female pilgrims who are above 45 years of age can perform the annual Hajj without guarantor, while those below the 45 years should have their guarantors indicated in their passports in the name of respective pilgrims welfare boards managements.”

    The latest development has given hope to the deported female pilgrims who are qualified to travel back to Saudi Arabia for the holy pilgrimage.

    According to an official letter from the Saudi Consular office in Kano, deported female pilgrims below the age of 45 must have Muharram (Individual Guide) registered on their passports while it is not necessary for those above 45.

    The Saudi authority warned that it will strictly apply the guidelines, saying officials handling pilgrims should strictly comply to avoid any possible embarrassment.

    Executive Secretary of Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board Alhaji Laminu Rabi’u, said the Board has made necessary arrangement to transport back the deported pilgrims.