The Nation Newspaper

Tag: GOVT

  • Lagos family seeks govt intervention on landed property

    The Oyemade Royal Family of Ijeshatedo, Lekki, has asked the Lagos State Government to be cautious in granting consent to prospective applicants wishing to transact and carry out any form of development on the family land in Lekki, Lagos.

    Head of the family, Otunba Babatunde Rahman, told reporters at the weekend that the plea being made to the government was informed by the presence of persons and organisations wanting to carry out development on their land with out their consent and authorisation.

    Rahman claimed that the family, under the aegis of Oyetubo Joko-Tade Estate Resources Limited, has petitioned the Lagos State Government asking for its intervention in what it described as ‘unauthorised dealings’ on their land. The said land, he claimed, was acquired during the General Mobolaji Johnson (rtd.) regime in 1972 and covered by a Certificate of Occupancy registered as 75/75/1996AE, by an estate agent whose service they had dispensed with.

    In a letter to the Registrar of Titles, Lands Bureau, Alausa, Ikeja dated October 17, 2016, the holding company owned by the Oyemade Royal Family formally informed the state government that it had disengaged the services of the estate agent (names withheld) formerly granted the power of attorney over their land  in Sangotedo, along Lekki/Epe road in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state.

    The letter was titled: “Embargo on the grant of consent to prospective applicants on Oyetubo Joko-Tade Estate Resources Limited covered by a Certificate of Occupancy registered as 75/75/1996AE situate at Sangotedo by Monastry Road, Eti-Osa LGA, Lagos State” and signed by director of the company, Otunba Babatunde Rahman  and five shareholders viz Chief Muka Bajulaiye, Alhaja Ajimot Ashaku Adisa, Chief Adelaja Nureni, Mrs Racheal Tokede and Mr. Saliu Tajudeen.

    They urged government to deal only with the accredited representatives of the family made up of the chairman and the appointed shareholders who are representatives of  the different branches of the family in the company in respect to all transactions relating to any part of the company’s 201 hectares of land.

    The family explained that it took this decision because it has been having a running battle with the person initially granted power of attorney over mismanagement of proceeds of sale of the company’s land located at Sangotedo area of Lagos and as a result of which they have commenced a legal action to recover their funds.

    The letter written to the Registrar of Titles further stated in part: “We as director and shareholders ( being members of the three branches of the family that make up the three classes of the shareholders) of Oyetubo Joko Tade Estate Resources Limited, write to inform the Bureau as follows; “That Oyetubo Joko-Tade Estate Resources Limited is the bonafide and beneficial owner of the large expanse of land situated at Sangotedo Area of Eti-Osa LGA, Lagos State and covered by a certificate of occupancy registered as 75/75/1996AE”.

  • TUNDE ALABI calls for govt support

    TUNDE ALABI calls for govt support

    Veteran actor and Village Headmaster actor, Tunde Alabi, has called on governments, especially the Lagos State Government, to help alleviate his plight.

    In a phone conversation with The Nation, the thespian expressed gratitude to all those who have in one way or the other supported him during the time of his illness, stating that he still has a lot of financial constraints.

    “I want to thank my brothers Paul Julius and Don Pedro Aganbi who have stood by me in these trying moments. God reward you abundantly. I’m making a passionate appeal to the Executive Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency Akinwunmi Ambode to come to my aid. I’m in dire need now especially, that I have lost one leg. Life will be most difficult without government support. I believe the efforts of my friends to reach the authority will yield result,” he said.

    Paul Julius, who has been championing Alabi’s cause, also spoke with The Nation on the journey so far and efforts to reach out to the Governor of Lagos State. He said together with Don Pedro Aganbi, Actors Guild Chairman, Lagos State Chapter, frantic efforts are being made to secure an appointment to see the governor on behalf of Uncle Tunde.

    “I’m very sure that the governor, for his altruistic nature, will not turn down Uncle Tunde’s request for help if our letters were to reach him personally. Uncle Tunde is a veteran actor and a senior citizen of Lagos State and has always kept loyalty with the ruling political party of the state right from the inception of AD until it now becomes APC. This is the time he needs help most in his life and he believes, if the governor hears his cry personally, he will come to his aid,” he said.

  • Oyedepo to govt: sell intellectual capital not national assets

    Oyedepo to govt: sell intellectual capital not national assets

    •Covenant Varsity clocks 14

    Nigeria has enormous intellectual resources that can be marketed globally and the profit can help save the economy, rather than sale of national assets, Founder of Covenant University Ota, Ogun State, Bishop David Oyedepo has said.

    The cleric said this in a keynote address at the university’s seventh inaugural lecture series, entitled: “Deconstructing the national development agenda: The role of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs)”, at the weekend.

    The lecture was presented by a professor of Computer Science and immediate past Vice Chancellor of CU Charles K. Ayo.

    The lecture also formed part of activities marking the university’s 14th anniversary.

    Bishop Oyedepo, in his address, themed: “Sell intellectual capital, not national asset”, said Nigeria’s penchant for foreign goods and services, regardless of the quality, would continue to soar, except both the leadership and the led remain committed to the Nigerian project.

    He emphasised that God has blessed Nigeria with enormous intellectual resources that could be marketed rather than the proposed sale of assets.

    The cleric noted that governments have demonstrated lack of interest in funding public education, adding that the citizenry too have lost interest.

    According to him, those who could not send their wards to study overseas, now choose neighbouring African countries, some which he said, were poles apart from Nigeria in standard of education.

    “I have been to Ghana. Many of the schools they have there are glorified secondary schools; but Nigerians still go there because many have lost interest in our education and government is not helping matters,” Bishop Oyedepo said.

    “We must admit that we have problems from education to health to governance. However, problems are like a sore, which keep enlarging if they are not attended to.

    “The problems are obvious but God has deposited adequate resources to deal with them.  Let us see these challenges as potentials to leap into the future that we all anticipate.”

    “It is about time governments in Nigeria redirects their energies to education. Like the guest lecturer said, we need to open up more opportunities to Nigerians through Open Distance Learning. An educated citizenry can add more value to the economy.

    “Even if government does not have up to N40 billion, let’s know what they have. But if they claim they have nothing, then there is no value because every developed society thrives on education that is well-funded,” the cleric said while alluding to Ayo’s recommendation of N40 billion to each public university annually to make them globally competitive.

    He assured that CU would continue to set a benchmark in the deployment of ICT, financial efficiency and good governance.

    Praising Ayo for the lecture, Oyedepo lauded him for espousing through his various researches and deployment of ICT solutions in addressing challenges of governance in Africa.

    In his lecture, Ayo lamented that education has suffered perennial underfunding and resulting in vices such as cultism, examination fraud, system abuse and corruption.

    Ayo alleged that today, “Nigeria produces less leaders, but mass produces miscreants”.

     

  • Union cautions govt over proposed N25b car loans

    Automobile, Boatyards, Transport Equipment & Allied Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (AUTOBATE) has cautioned the Federal Government over its plan to float a car purchase loan scheme to help Nigerians acquire new made-in-Nigeria cars.

    The association said a well-mapped-out, clear and nationalistic guideline that would not short-change the beneficiaries at the end should be put in place.

    In a release, the association’s  National President, Edeki Osumah, said  caution should be taken to ensure the so-called investors, who cut costs only on workers, detest unionisation, promote outsourcing and casualisation did not exploit the opportunity.

    He said: “AUTOBATE understands the fact that the Federal Government is trying to promote a developmental policy, especially as the recession bites harder, but we feel that this should not be done at the expense of the struggling middle class, who really needs this kind of opportunity.

    “We call on the Federal Government to institute public-owned automobile industries so as to widen and deepen the expected development. Industrial standards should also be maintained. This is the safest line to lead in this world of economic downturn so as to promote collective prosperity and robust developments.”

    He  warned that the N25billion loan must not be left at the mercy of greedy bankers, who, according to him, take advantage of opportunities like this to divert funds to other investments, thereby frustrating the supposed beneficiaries.

  • Pensioners praise govt, seek payment of arrears

    The Nigeria Union of Pensioners  has commended the Federal Government on the payment of 12-month arrears of 33 per cent pension increase to its members.

    In a statement by its President,  Dr. Abel Afolayan,  the union appreciated the payment of 30-months’ arrears of same to para-military pensioners, who comprise Customs, Immigration and the Prisons Service, despite  the current economic situation.

    The  union,  however,  appealed  to the Federal Government to ensure the speedy payment of the remaining 18 months arrears to civilian pensioners.

    The statement reads: “Equally, we were surprised that as the civilian pensioners collected 24 months, para-military got the entire 42 months’ arrears and the Nigerian military pensioners got 42 months. It is surprising that the Nigeria Police pensioners got only three months. How on earth can someone explain this grave injustice done to the police pensioners? This is highly inexplainable.

    “We appeal to Mr. President to please use his love for all and good offices to address this great injustice being done to the members of  the Nigeria Police Pensioners, who have used their youthful period to serve the nation.’’

  • Let’s preach justice, Obiozor tells Govt

    A former Nigerian Ambassador to Israel, Prof George Obiozor, has urged the Federal Government to stop preaching peace and emphasise justice.

    Obiozor noted that Nigeria needed a united country through justice for all to progress, instead of always talking about peace.

    The former ambassador said once there is justice, peace would naturally follow.

    He said injustice was the bane of the country, adding that it should be addressed to enable the nation make progress as a united entity.

    The Ndigbo, Obiozor said, have been victim of injustice, even when they have contributed to the even development of the country.

    The former ambassador noted that the problem with Nigeria was the struggle for power and dominance.

    He advised the Ndigbo to struggle for power and get it.

    According to him, the Igbo have the strength of character and will to achieve the goal.

    Obiozorm spoke at the unveiling of activities slated for this year’s World Igbo Summit in November at Gregory University, Uturu, Abia State.

    Obiozor said the summit would provide solutions to most of Igbo problems.

  • Bayelsa recorded 1,000 oil spills in 2014, says govt

    The Bayelsa State Government has said the state recorded 1,000 oil spills in 2014.

    It decried the menace that oil spills and gas flaring among oil multinationals posed to the environment.

    The government regretted that none of the oil companies had addressed the environmental problems arising from their activities.

    In a statement in Yenagoa, the state capital, by Governor Seriake Dickson’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, the government said compensation was not paid to the affected communities.

    The statement said the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Kemeasuode Wodu, spoke about government’s concerns for oil spills when he led a delegation to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, in Abuja.

    Wodu said the visit was meant to tell the minister the various challenges the government and people of Bayelsa were facing because of the activities of oil companies.

    The commissioner noted that despite the huge spills in 2014, there was no proper remediation of impacted sites.

    He recalled that on July 9, last year, a pipeline belonging to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) at Clough Creek in Azuzuama, killed 14 persons, including an employee of the State Ministry of Environment, when it exploded.

    Wodu accused the company of covering up the matter, adding that the firm hurriedly evacuated the bodies of the casualties to Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    The commissioner said the firm refused to cooperate with the state government and the Nigerian Oil Spill Detection Response Agency (NOSDRA) to ensure a proper investigation of the incident.

    He also recalled the massive spill of crude oil into the ocean – from an Agip SMB Sirus offshore loading facility around the Brass area on November 27, 2010.

    According to him, the 2010 spill caused an extensive damage to the ecosystem while the company and the regulatory body did not solve the problem.

    Wodu said: “AGIP has continued to pollute a canal within its facility in Brass, despite several representations by the community and the state government.”

    Kachikwu said the Federal Government would soon convene a stakeholders’ forum, including multi-national oil companies, to discuss the development.

    He said: “There must be adequate collaborative effort between the Federal and state governments as well as oil exploration companies.

    “On this, I am on the same page with you. So, let’s work together to achieve proper solutions to these problems. We need proper articulation and engagement of these issues.”

  • Govt imposes 24-hour curfew on Kafanchan

    A 24-hour curfew has been imposed on Kafanchan, Kaduna State, after youths set up road blocks and burnt vehicles on the Kafanchan-Kagoro road, in retaliation of last Saturday’s attack, which left 20 people dead in Godogodo.

    The retaliation was believed to have been carried out by herdsmen who, for two months, had engaged locals in a series of attacks and counter attacks.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that several people were killed and property worth millions of naira destroyed from both parties.

    Interim Chairman of Jema’a Local Government Dr Bege Katuka said the curfew would remain in force until normalcy returns, noting that the measure was to further check the breach of the law by youths, who set up illegal road blocks.

    “What is most paramount now is the security of life and property of the people. Security agents will not relent in their effort to repel the attackers,” he added.

    The council chairman, therefore, urged residents to remain calm and not to take the law into their hands.

    Katuka advised the people to remain indoors, explaining that the curfew would allow security agents carry out operations to restore peace.

  • Saraki/Ekweremadu: Reps hail govt’s action

    Saraki/Ekweremadu: Reps hail govt’s action

    Some members of the House of Representatives, under the aegis of the Consolidation Group, have called on the Presidency to promote a unity of purpose among the three arms and present an indivisible government through proper governance approach.

    While reacting to the withdrawal of the forgery case against Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki and Senator Ike Ekweremadu by the Federal Government at the FCT High Court, the Consolidation Group, however, urged the government to extend the same measure to other cases capable of setting key government functionaries against each other.

    The group, in a statement by its Convener, Zakari Mohammed, said it considered the withdrawal as a courageous move and a good sign that the federal Government is responding to popular opinions.

    ‘’We maintained our position and consistently stated that the forgery case was an infringement on the principle of separation of powers and clear interference by the executive on what is obviously an internal affair of the legislature.

    ‘’We believe the Standing Order of the Senate can only be declared forged or genuine by the Senate and by actions of the Eighth Senate; its members have no grouse about the 2015 Standing Order.

    ‘’The filing of the case has equally brought the judiciary to joining the fray with the executive to interfere with the work of the legislature. That is why we consider the withdrawal a bold step aimed at restoring constitutionalism and separation of powers.

    ‘’We commend the prosecution and the Federal Ministry of Justice for steering the government to do the right thing. At this point, what will give our people confidence and hope that government is serious about tackling the problems posed by recession is when we work as a team to proffer solutions.

  • Graduates to govt: NYSC no longer relevant

    Graduates to govt: NYSC no longer relevant

    Graduates of tertiary institutions have called for the scrapping of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), following a leaked memo urging schools’ managements to reduce the number of participants in the scheme from 2,314 to 894 per school, because of “tight budget”. Prospective Corps members no longer see the need to keep the scheme. They, therefore, urge the government to scrap it. FRANKLIN ONWUBIKO reports.

    Graduates of tertiary institutions going for the National Youth Service will no longer be automatically mobilised for the scheme by the Directorate of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). According to a new policy, prospective Corps members will need to go through voting before they can participate in the one-year compulsory service.

    No thanks to the wind of recession blowing across the country. This directive has re-echoed the call for the scrapping of the scheme, which was created by the Federal Government 43 years ago to foster inter-ethnic relationships.

    CAMPUSLIFE learnt that the management of the NYSC, a few days ago, secretly wrote to higher institutions to slash the number of prospective Corps members, who are supposed to be mobilised for Batch B 2016, citing “tight budgetary allocation” to the scheme.

    When the rumour filtered in, not many believed it until NYSC’s memo to the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State, leaked. It was learnt that many tertiary institutions got the memo to reduce the number of graduates to be mobilised for the scheme from 2,314 to 894.

    To work with the new quota, CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the management of UNIZIK summoned Heads of Departments and introduced a balloting system to enable them pick graduates across faculties. The development sparked anger on the campus last week, with many graduates, who were awaiting mobilisation, expressing frustration.

    For higher institutions that have backlogs of students to be mobilised for the scheme, the NYSC’s directive may create a crisis because fresh graduates may have to wait for another two years to undergo the youth service.

    Last month, the NYSC Media and Publicity Director, Bose Aderibigbe, confirmed that the scheme was in need of funds to sustain its operations.

    Aderibigbe hinted that N10,500 budgeted by the Federal Government for Corp members’ kits was no longer enough.

    She said: “This year, for instance, since the Federal Government does not want a situation where youths, who are done with tertiary education to hang out longer than necessary before having their chance to serve. We were given a quota of 260,000 Corps members to mobilise.

    “So far, we are left with about 70,000. Once the present batch leaves in October, the outstanding number will be mobilised. This is not a hopeless situation as many people are made to believe. It should be noted that once the government gives us the figure to mobilise for a particular year, they back it up with funds to take care of that number.

    “We are in need of a lot of funds to ease our operations, but we will continue to cry to the government until the situation improves.”

    With the recession squeezing the nation harder and allocations to the NYSC directorate dwindling, Corps members said the N19,500 monthly allowance they are being paid was not enough to cater for their accommodation and transport.

    To the prospective Corps members, the move by the NYSC directorate to slash participants’ quota has raised questions about the relevance of the scheme. They contended that since the government did not have the resources to fund the scheme, it would be reasonable to scrap it.

    Chike Okonkwo, a prospective Corps member, said the scheme should either be scrapped or suspended till the government has money to fund it.

    He said: “Many graduates would be rendered lazy by this new development. My candid advice to the government is to either scrap the scheme or suspend it till the economy bounces back. It would be bad to make students wait for years before they go for the National Youth Service. I can tell you, many graduates are not interested in the programme. So, keeping them waiting for years is improper.”

    Chima Nkwonta, a graduate of Biochemistry, decried the development, saying it would only be in favour of a few privileged students.

    His words: “This issue of balloting will only favour the children of the rich. There is no way it would not be rigged against graduates who are supposed to be picked on merit. I don’t even know which method schools would use to pick people when the quota has been reduced. But, there is no way the selected method would not be corrupted. I don’t even see the need for the youth service any longer. They should simply scrap the programme and the funds being wasted on the programme can be consolidated and paid to graduates to engage themselves in small businesses.”

    Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu, a graduate, said: “If it is true that NYSC cannot adequately fund its activities, let the government scrap the programme and use the money paid as monthly allowance to give incentive to every graduate. This would encourage graduates to start small-scale businesses, rather than waste time waiting to participate in a meaningless scheme.”

    Ikemefuna Ugwu, a Corps member, supported the call for the scrapping of the scheme, saying: “If the Federal Government was aware of the pain graduates go through to serve the nation through the NYSC, it would not hesitate to stop the scheme, especially in this period of recession. At best, the NYSC should be made optional. Graduates should be allowed to choose whether or not to serve, because the NYSC discharge certificate does not guarantee instant employment anywhere.”

    On his part, Frank Arinzechukwu, a Corps member, said he strongly believed the essence of the scheme had been defeated, calling for a total review of the programme.

    Valentine Umego, a UNIZIK graduate, asked what would become the fate of more than 4,000 graduates if 894 slots were allocated to the school.

    “This is an indication that the NYSC is no longer serving its purpose. If there is no money to fund the scheme, there is no reason for the government to keep it. Reducing the quotas allotted each school would elongate the period graduates have to wait to be mobilised for the scheme. In view of this, it is proper for the Federal Government and other agencies of government to intensively look into the programme and take decisive action on it.”