The Nation Newspaper

Tag: blames

  • Iyayi’s death: FRSC blames construction firm

    Iyayi’s death: FRSC blames construction firm

    The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has said the failure of a construction company handling the Abuja-Lokoja highway to provide adequate traffic guidance to the road users and channelisation of the road caused the accident in which former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Festus Iyayi, died on November 12, last year.

    The commission stated this in its report on the death of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) academic at Banda, about seven kilometres to Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

    A copy of the report was sent to the chamber of Lagos lawyer Mr Femi Falana (SAN).

    The report, dated March 21, 2013, was signed by FRSC’s Corps Commander Chukwuma Njoku.

    Falana had requested for the report in line with the Freedom of Information Act, 2003.

    The FRSC investigative team reported that the probable cause of the road crash was “the deliberate failure of the driver in the convoy of (Kogi State) Governor Idris Wada to return fully or stick to his lane of travel. Contributing to the injury severity was speed, the direction of impact and a body reinforcement material of the Toyota Hiace bus belonging to the union (the Academic Staff Union of Universities), which pierced through the heart area of the fatally injured”.

    The commission said it discovered that at time of the crash, the weather was fine, the road surface was dry and the condition of Prof Iyayi’s vehicle did not contribute to the crash.

    The FRSC explained that a “major safety issue identified in the investigation was the failure of the driver in the convoy of the governor to completely move to his lane of travel, despite the fact that vehicles were confined to a two-lane roadway”.

    The report, which captures how the accident occurred, stressed that on Tuesday, November 12, 2013, at 11 am, a white Toyota Hiace bus driven by Mr Bright Osifo, with three officials of ASUU’s UNIBEN chapter, including Prof Iyayi and Dr Ngozi Iloh, was travelling within the outer traffic lane on the Lokoja-Koton Karfe road in company of two other ASUU chapters’ vehicles en route Kano for ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on the nationwide strike by its members.

    “At the same time, a black Toyota Hilux pick-up van, occupied by seven police detail and driven by Danladi Baba, was travelling South-bound on the inner side of the same North-bound traffic roadway as one of the vehicles in the convoy of Kogi State governor, which departed Abuja en route Lokoja same day.

    “The Toyota Hilux vehicle, while on a high but determined speed, was reported to have partially occupied the North-bound lane, thereby reducing the traffic space for oncoming vehicles and in the process sideswiped the left side of the ASUU bus.

    “The crash killed one of the occupants of the bus (Prof. Iyayi) and injured three others, including the driver; the occupants of the Toyota Hilux sustained minor injuries,” the report said.

    It explained that the bus in which Prof. Iyayi was travelling had contact and induced damage because of the collision with the Toyiota Hilux in the convoy of the Kogi State governor.

    The report said: “The entire right side of the vehicle was untouched in the crash, unlike the left side where the collision damage started at left end of the front bumper reinforcement, running through the whole length of the side from the left to front door.

    “The left side view of the bus showed compressed vehicular parts with rugged tears, shattered windscreen, bent doors, displaced fuel filler cap cover, bent left rear rim with widely punctured tyre and sheltered side glasses.”

  • Ogbeide blames Pillars’ loss on Nigerian league managers

    Ogbeide blames Pillars’ loss on Nigerian league managers

    Solomon Ogbeide, former Head Coach, Warri Wolves FC, has blamed the Nigerian league managers for the early exit of Kano Pillars FC from the 2014 CAF Champions League competition.

    Ogbeide blamed the league managers in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday.

    He said, “The fault is from the organisers of the league; our league is not on and people are playing in the Champions League; how do you expect the team to do well. Yes I’m blaming our league system. If the league had started, say sometime in November or December, our team must have gelled by now to play in the continent; they only just organised four club tournaments.

    “All the four clubs that appeared in the championship do nothing; let them (managers) plan, let us go back to the basics and plan.“

    Reacting to the allegation, Mr Mike Enahoro, the spokesman of the League Management Company, told NAN that coach Ogbeide had a right to hold an opinion on Kano Pillars’ early exit from the CAF championship.

    Enahoro said, “Mr Ogbeide has his right to have his own opinion, am I supposed to respond to everybody’s opinion ? I don’t think so, that is his opinion.”

    It will be recalled that Kano Pillars crashed out of the competition after losing 3-4 on aggregate to AS Vita FC of DR Congo.

    The Kano based side had lost the first leg 1-3 to the Congolese side in Kinshasa and won the return leg 2-1 at home, a score that was insufficient to swing the tide in their favour.

  • Aregbesola blames slow growth on leadership

    Osun State Governor Rauf Argbesola has said “weak leadership” is responsible for the nation’s slow development.

    He said Africa’s underdevelopment was not due to inferiority to other races.

    Argbesola spoke at the public presentation of a book, Work in Progress, by the Osun Development Agenda (ODA) at the Centre for Technology Management of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife.

    The governor said there was no historical evidence that other races were superior to blacks.

    He said his administration plans to improve the future of the people through quality education.

    Aregbesola said: “The priority of our government is on elementary education, which is the most important aspect of human life. If the elementary education is weak, there is no education at all.

    “Apart from the provision of infrastructure in schools, we offer free school uniforms and distribute tablets of knowledge (Opon Imo). We have also increased bursary payment and grants for primary and secondary schools.

    “Our best intervention in education is the Elementary School Feeding and Health Programme, through which we give the pupils delicious meals. We met 180,000 pupils in public schools in 2010 and now we have over 350,000 pupils.

    The convener, Kehinde Bamigbetan, said the book was published to review and document the economic, social and political transformation of Osun in the last two and a half years, which were brought about by the Aregbesola administration’s Six Integral Action Plan.

    National Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Comrade Issa Aremu, in his lecture, “Class Politics and Democratic Development,” said the book captured the “commitment” of the Aregbesola administration towards improving the standard of living.

    Lamenting the closing down of many textile companies, Aremu said money needed to service the local economy was being transferred abroad through importation of clothes.

    He said Nigeria’s economy might not grow until the government implements policies to enable the country produce its basic needs locally.

    Chairman of the occasion and Interim Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief Bisi Akande, who was represented by Wale Oshun, said the evidence of development in Osun was physical.

  • David-West blames Jonathan for prolonged ASUU strike

    David-West blames Jonathan for prolonged ASUU strike

    A former Petroleum Minister, Prof Tam David-West, yesterday criticised President Goodluck Jonathan for refusing to accede to the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    The former minister also berated the Finance Minister and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, senators and government appointees for draining the nation’s purse through what he called reckless spending.

    Prof David-West spoke at a Town Hall meeting, organised by University of Ibadan (UI) chapter of the ASUU at the Mapo Hall, Ibadan.

    He lashed out at Dr Okonjo-Iweala for her comments on the Federal Government’s 2009 agreement with ASUU.

    The academic noted that there are more thieves in government than there are saints in Nigeria.

    According to him, a government which said it spent N8 trillion illegally must be made by Nigerians to fund public education.

    Prof David-West stressed that any government, which fails to invest in education is a vagabond government.

    He said: “Any government that fails to invest in education is a vagabond government. The problem with Nigeria is that we have more thieves than saints in government. We drill over two million barrels of crude oil per day. Why should we be poor?

    “ASUU is saying that the government should spend the money to improve the quality of education for our children and those yet unborn. The same government that does not have money for education budgeted N1 billion each to feed the President and the Vice President for just a year. Are they eating rock in Aso Rock? If you went to school without shoes, ensure that your children have shoes. Good parents pray that their children must be better than them.”

    Other speakers at the event included the National Treasurer of ASUU, Dr Ademola Aremu; Oyo State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Dr Olanrewaju Bashir; UI chapter of ASUU Chairman, Dr Segun Ajiboye; Dr Biodun Badmus of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (UNAAB); Comrade Mashood Erubami, Comrade Abiodun Aremu, Mr Femi Aborishade, among other activists.

    Prof David-West said Dr Okonjo-Iweala lacked the morality to budget N2 billion annually for Jonathan’s and Namadi Sambo’s food and still claim that the same government cannot meet the education needs of the masses.

    The former minister said the Finance Minister was being paid $2 million a month under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, without her rejecting it or insisting that she should be paid in naira to improve the economy.

    He wondered what President Jonathan is doing with 10 presidential jets while President of the United States, Barack Obama, has only one.

    Prof David-West noted that the possession of a university degree does not make one a good administrator.

  • Federation Cup: Eguavoen blames team’s ouster on inexperience

    Austin Eguavoen, Head Coach of City of David United (COD) FC of Lagos, on Sunday blamed his team’s ouster from the ongoing Federation’s Cup competition on inexperience.

    Eguavoen said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    The Lagos-based Pro Division 1 team; had won the 2013 Lagos FA Cup, to qualify for the Federation Cup national preliminaries before crashing out of the competition.

    NAN reports that COD lost 0-4 to Nasarawa United FC, which ended their adventure in the competition.

    Eguavoen, who was a former Super Eagles head coach, added that his team’s performance was not as woeful as the score line had suggested.

    “We lost to Nasarawa in Ilorin, it was quite unfortunate; but it wasn’t such terrible performance: inexperience played a major role, we didn’t concede any goal in the first half.

    “We made a blunder and they scored.

    “Spectators and the opposing team applauded my boys– although the score line was a little high. Nonetheless, we gave a good account of ourselves.’’

    Eguavoen, a member of the Super Eagles squad that won the 1994 AFCON in Tunisia, however, commended the officiating and security at the match venue.

    “Well, I think, in terms of security, it was very good: officiating was fair enough. `I even stayed back to watch the second match between Warri Wolves FC and Sportlight FC. I give kudos to the officials; they performed creditably,’’ Eguavoen added.

  • Coreman blames defeat on poor officiating

    Coreman blames defeat on poor officiating

    Coach Maurice Coreman of Gombe United FC has blamed his team’s 0-1 loss to hosts Bayelsa United of Yenagoa in a mid-week Globacom Premier League match on poor officiating.

    Coreman disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) moments after the match played on Wednesday at the Samson Siasia Stadium, Yenagoa. The coach said that the way the centre referee, Amao Opeyemi, from Kwara handled the week 18 match robbed his team of an “obvious” victory.

    “The referee made some questionable decisions in the course of the game. If you ask me about officiating, I will say this was a case of very bad officiating. Why should a referee award a penalty kick just because a player fell on the ground, when the goalkeeper did not touch him, why?

    “We had a lot of calls for infringement on our players, the referee never spotted them, but when Bayelsa players fall this way, he awards an infringement against us,” Coreman stated.

    The Belgian, who acknowledged that his players wasted good chances at goal, however assured that Gombe would improve in their subsequent matches.

    NAN reports that Bayelsa got the only goal of the encounter through Ebi Peters, in the 7th minute. In the 86th minute, referee Opeyemi, citing an infringement in the 18-yard box, awarded the home team a controversial penalty, which Chigozie Christopher failed to convert.

    The referee’s decision drew wild condemnation from the Gombe bench, while Coreman insisted that there was no body contact between his goalkeeper and the Bayelsa player.

    Coach Ladan Bosso of Bayelsa, in his assessment of the match, lamented over his players’ lack of concentration in the attack, which he said resulted in the slim goal margin.

  • Yuguda blames North’s governors for NGF crisis

    Yuguda blames North’s governors for NGF crisis

    BAUCHI State Governor Isa Yuguda yesterday blamed the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) crisis on the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF).

    Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State retained the NGF chairmanship at the May 24 election with 19 votes against Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang’s 16 votes.

    But Jang claimed victory, thereby factionising the NGF.

    The Plateau governor claimed he had the endorsement of 19 governors before the poll.

    Speaking with reporters at the Presidential Villa yesterday, Yuguda identified the failure of the NSGF leadership to insist during the election on the consensus of the 19 Northern governors backing Jang as the cause of the crisis.

    According to him, he withdrew his membership from the NSGF because of the element of betrayal in the Forum.

    He said: “So, if today, we 19 governors can sit down in Abuja and decide that one of us who is supposed to be rightfully the chairman of the NGF; I say rightfully because the slot is for the North and we have decided, 19 of us out 35 governors decided. We went with that decision.

    “Normally when we take decisions, our chairman will speak. So, we went to the PDP Governors’ Forum. ANPP governors were not part of the meeting but they were part of the NSGF meeting.

    “By affirmation, all of us decided on one person and that is Jonah Jang, the governor of Plateau State. So, on our own honour, we went to the PDP Governors’ Forum and the chairman of the Forum, the Talba of Minna and Chief Servant of Niger State, presented Jonah Jang as our consensus candidate; 19 governors. So, there was a standing ovation and we were congratulated and appreciated by our colleagues that we stepped down for Jonah Jang; Ibrahim Shema and me.

    “In the first place, we have never had election in the NGF. I was in Ilorin and I seconded the motion that made Amaechi the chairman of NGF. Only 13 of us in Ilorin and if 19 governors presented a candidate in a 35-member association, I think the game is over and it has been consensus, consensus.

    “There must be integrity in governance because we governors should be of integrity. We should be role models and we should not play evil politics as far as I am concerned because most people associate politics with evil.

    “If you don’t know how to tell lies; if you don’t know how to betray; if you don’t know how to have double face; you are not a good politician. But me, I am not carved out for that. I am a professional chartered banker. I was MD (Managing Director) of two banks and I served this country as minister twice and as governor twice. My word should be my bond.

    “And if I sat down with 18 of my colleagues and we agreed on something, I should see the chairman of that Forum as the integrity of the NSGF and, by extension, the NGF.

    “That is why I said all the crises and all the unfortunate comments made about the governors today, the fault should be traced to the NSGF because we are the culprits and that is why I say on his honour, let the chairman of the NSGF come out and tell Nigerians that either of the two – we, the 19 Northern governors did not come out with Jang as the consensus candidate, or we decided and picked Jang as our consensus candidate.

    “So, if that had been done, all these things that we see wouldn’t have happened. That is why I say as far as I am concerned, if I will sit with my colleagues and we take a decision and you go and do a different thing.

    “I’m not part of those kind of things and me, as a person, will not attend the meeting, but my deputy governor can attend on behalf of the people and government of Bauchi State. But, as a person, I will not. That has always been my position.

    “But let me assure you that if there is no such code of conduct and ethics on the office of a governor, I am telling you, very soon, nobody will want to be a governor. Go and sleep and think over that and you will confirm that I am right.

    “There is honour in leadership and God sanctions leadership. If God has sanctioned leadership in our books of faith, I can’t see evil associated with leadership. So, any person associating evil with leadership and he wants to play in the evil, I am not part of it.”

     

  • Fayemi blames worrisome health indices on bad governance

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has blamed Nigeria’s worrisome health indices on bad governance.

    He spoke in Lagos on Saturday at the Eighth Prof. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti Memorial Lecture.

    Fayemi, who was the Guest Speaker, spoke on “Tackling the challenge of health and social inequity in Ekiti State”.

    He identified policy inconsistency, lack of political commitment, corruption, infrastructural decay, undue politicisation of the health sector and declining professionalism as problems militating against healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

    Fayemi said the absence of a National Health Act that clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of the government in healthcare management has also contributed to the sector’s woes.

    He said: “Other obstacles are weak co-ordination, integration and implementation of health policies and programmes; inadequate budgetary provisions for health; inequitable distribution of the health workforce and weak primary and secondary levels of care with a weak referral system.”

    The governor said the nation’s health indices are worrisome, noting that the sector’s performance index is similar to that of “war torn and less endowed countries even after 52 years of independence”.

    He said Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate is the second worst globally, adding that there is high prevalence of diseases, such as cancer, HIV/AIDS and diabetes, among others.

    Fayemi said healthcare is a social service, which is “essential for sustainable economic production”, adding that “health is wealth”.

    He said developing countries require “bold and imaginative healthcare policies to accelerate the attainment of optimum socio-economic development with the people at the centre of policy planning”.

    Recalling the health situation in Ekiti State before he assumed office in 2010, the governor said his administration designed and implemented many initiatives to improve public health but there are still challenges.

    He said a sector of the population still live below poverty line, adding that those in rural areas do not have adequate access to qualitative health care services.

    Fayemi said his administration’s health agenda is focused on the provision of free medical services to children below five years, expectant mothers, the physically challenged and senior citizens above 65 years as well as the establishment of health centres in all localities to increase immunisation coverage.

    He said over 720,000 people, a quarter of the state’s population, have benefited from his administration’s free mobile health missions in two years.

    Fayemi said the administration is planning a Community Health Insurance Scheme in partnership with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to sustain the free health programmes.

    He said about N125 million was spent on the medical bills of indigent residents.

    Fayemi said his administration has renovated all health facilities across the state, built an Accident and Emergency Unit at the State University Teaching Hospital and bought 15 ambulances to take care of emergencies.

  • VC blames student’s death on rumours

    The Vice-Chancellor of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE), Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Prof Rosemund Osahogulu, has blamed the death of a student on false rumour.

    The VC spoke at the matriculation ceremony, where 1,168 freshmen were inducted into the seven faculties of the institution.

    She said: “I want to welcome all students into this great institution, but to be honest we are mourning, particularly me.

    “The shock of what took place two days ago has not left me.

    “On this note, I want to caution every student here to be mindful of rumours.

    “It was rumour that the school hall was about to collapse that made students jump out of the three-storey building, leading to the death of one.”

    The VC advised the freshmen to focus on their studies and shun vices in the campus.

    “You must be aware that we have a zero tolerance on cultism, provocative dressing, demonstration and riot as you will be punished and even asked to leave the school,” she added.

  • Naval chief blames prosecuting agencies for oil theft

    The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Dele Ezeoba, has blamed prosecuting agencies for rising oil theft in the Niger Delta.

    Ezeoba spoke after touring the creeks and military formations within the region.

    He said the breach of pipelines and stealing of petroleum products would reduce, if agencies vested with the power of prosecution arraigned suspects and jailed them.

    “The lack of diligent prosecution of arrested suspects by responsible agencies, such as the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the police is responsible for the rising oil theft in the Niger Delta.”

    He praised the Navy and the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) for living up to their responsibility by arresting suspected oil thieves.

    “The law enforcement agencies responsibile for prosecution should ensure that the culprits caught are charged to court, prosecuted and jailed.

    “That will serve as a deterrent for would-be perpetrators.

    “What we find is that there is more of the surveillance and response but that of enforcement is negligible.

    “ It frustrates the efforts of the officers and men who put their lives on the line to fight this scourge.”

    Ezeoba challenged oil firms to provide sustainable state-of-the-art security apparatus to aid proactive response to oil theft by security agencies.

    “This is germane to this fight so that we will deter would-be intruders and avert a situation where the pipeline is already breached before we are called in to action.

    “That is the mandate of the oil majors. They have to provide frontline security that will ensure the safety of the pipelines.

    “We need more enduring proactive structures that will give us stand-off capabilities to deter these intruders from breaching the pipelines.”