The Nation Newspaper

Tag: group

  • Group donates gifts to Agege residents

    Officials of Annmom Foundation for Mothers’ Welfare (AFMW) have donated food items to residents of Agege in Lagos.

    Director of Media Publicity & Strategy Sunday Onyewonsa said the gesture became necessary because of the need to be one’s “brother’s keeper”.

    “The Yuletide is a period when men of goodwill show love to fellow men, especially the less privilege.

    “One of the cardinal objectives of the group is to care for poor mothers and children across the globe.

    “We chose Agege because of the poor. Earlier before Christmas, we were at Idi-Araba in Mushin to share food items, clothing, shoes and umbrellas to residents.

    “We intend taking our campaign to West Africa during the year. We are also working to help IDPs in the Northeast to complement the Federal Government’s efforts,” he said.

  • Group takes campaign against indecent dressing to Lagos neighbourhood

    Group takes campaign against indecent dressing to Lagos neighbourhood

    THE scorching sun that eclipsed the morning bliss shortly after the Lagos monthly sanitation exercise ended on Saturday November 28, 2015 did not deter Pastor Bob Chukwukadibia-led Society Against Indecent Dressing (SAID) from staging a campaign against indecent dressing in Alimosho, a suburb of Lagos.

    “Indecent dressing is an evil trick from the pit of hell; stop indecent dressing and save the society from satanic grip,” Chukwukadibia shouted as he distributed campaign flyers to people along the road.

    To drive home their message, members of the group engaged roadside traders, artisans and residents as they walked along Egbeda-Idimu Road.

    The rally, which started from Egbeda Bus Stop and terminated at Idimu, lasted two hours amid relative response from bystanders, commuters and motorists who received flyers from members of the group.

    Not a few residents commended the group for addressing an issue that is fast becoming the nightmare of the society.

    A cross- section of residents praised the group for embarking on the campaign to rid the society of indecency.

    A trader, Mrs. Fausat Akinola, in her remarks, applauded members of SAID for the courage to challenge the public to rise against the malaise.

    She said: “Members of this group (SAID) deserve kudos for giving it a thought to correct our misguided youths against displaying nudity all in the name of fashion. I believe that consistent campaign in this direction will no doubt reduce if not totally eradicate the problem in our society.

    “In the past, you cannot see people bearing out sensitive parts of their body but the reverse is the case lately. This is why it is important to encourage a campaign like this and I believe their message will go   a long way to redirect the mind of those who indulge in indecent dressing soon.”

    A resident, Clement Adeola, said:”It is important to appreciate the need to engender values that can uphold decency and discourage the indiscretions of some people in the name of fashion. To this end, it is necessary to commend the effort of the organisers of this campaign and their resolve to add a voice to the need for people to conduct themselves within the operating lines of decency by wearing clothes and fashion apparels that beautify and shield their body from unnecessary  or sinful exposure.”

    Giving reasons for the campaign, Pastor Chukwukadibia said:” I did not embark on this campaign on my own. It came as a vision from God in 2008 after a female passenger displayed nudity in a public bus. She was wearing a trouser that exposed sensitive parts of her body and God ministered to me to start a project towards curbing such fashion indiscretion that insults moral values in the society. I have been waiting for God’s direction since 2008 and the divine direction finally came a few months ago, hence, this public outreach.

    “Like I said during the rally, indecent dressing is a satanic trick from the pit of hell to rob perpetrators of their heavenly inheritance and people do it ignorantly without knowing the consequences. Unfortunately, perpetrators are luring innocent people to sin through what they wear. What some people wear have robbed them of good things because of the way they appear or are seen. Many wear dresses that expose their private parts; young boys indulge in nudity by sagging their trousers and the females expose sensitive parts of their body by wearing clothes that can barely cover them up and even pierce their ears indiscriminately.”

    Chukwukadibia also spoke on the plans by the group to take the campaign to other parts of Lagos before the year runs out.

    Hear him: “We have partnered with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Egbeda branch, and we enjoyed enormous support from members of the trade union today. In a few days time, we shall be taking this campaign to Ikeja where car and door stickers among other campaign materials will be distributed to people. We shall subsequently move to other parts of the state, according to God’s direction. Hopefully, we shall take the campaign to relaxation spots, hotels, club houses and notable eateries in order to enlighten people about the danger of this emerging problem.

    “Proverbs 14: 34 says that righteousness exalts a nation and that sin is a shame to the people, therefore, our objective is to promote a culture of decency in the mode of dressing  among members of the public so that our nation can be exalted. I want people to embrace this campaign and replicate it in their homes and offices. Both Christianity and Islam frown at indecent dressing and there is need to discourage our people from acquiring a foreign culture that is destroying not only our values but our sense of decency as a nation.”

  • Group accuses Wike of turning P/Harcourt to garbage city

    Group accuses Wike of turning P/Harcourt to garbage city

    The Human Rights Alliance has declared that the Nyesom Wike’s administration has turned Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, from Garden City to Garbage City, in view of the monumental and unprecedented filth, as well as unimaginable smell and obstructions on the roads, waterways and drains across the state.

    The group, through its Executive Director, Ken Atsuwete, yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, stated that since May 29, the government of Wike, a former Minister of State for Education, had been unable to put its act of containing environmental and waste management issues together.

    The Sole Administrator of the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), Chief Felix Obuah, who is also the Rivers Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), however, insisted that officials of RIWAMA had been putting in their best to ensure a cleaner Rivers state and should be encouraged.

    The group said: “Human Rights Alliance has had to traverse Port Harcourt City, the disheartening, degrading and disconcerting revelations shout louder than imagined. No matter how hard you fight to ignore the fact, Port Harcourt is not only untidy, the city shamefully smells and it is an eyesore. Our waterways and roads are death traps.

    “Every green verge is littered with plastic waste. Empty sachet water bags, plastic bottles, plastic wrappers and whatever else that is out there. It is worse than a giant pigsty.

    “We are wondering why the hitherto Garden City and the entire Rivers State, including our waterways, should be this dirty and unkempt, when there is what appears to be a government in place, when huge sums of money are received on a monthly basis from the federation account by the same government, from the internally generated revenue and fines imposed for environmental effluent charges imposed on companies and individuals, not to mention the loans that seem to flow without seizure for the government of Rivers State?”

    The human rights group also expressed surprise that in Port Harcourt and other parts of Rivers state, there were no waste disposal bins, with residents having to dispose their refuse in the middle of motorable roads, thereby obstructing traffic, endangering lives, unleashing nauseating odour and grievous health hazards on the populace.

     

  • Support Buhari, group tells South -East youths

    Support Buhari, group tells South -East youths

    The Buhari South-East Youth Movement (BSEYM) has appealed to the youths of the South-East zone, irrespective of their political leanings, to support the government of President Muhammadu Buhari in order to bring about massive infrastructural development and favourable government policies to drive Igbo businesses leading to massive socio-economic gains to the highly enterprising South-East zone.

    Rising from a meeting in Enugu, the Director – General of the Organisation, Engr. Nwabueze Onwuneme, enjoined the youths of the South-East zone to disregard the campaign of calumny against the President especially in his fight against corruption by the opposition, stating that “it’s only the guilty that are afraid.”

    Onwuneme maintained that Buhari has the interest of Ndigbo, most especially their youths and has greatly shown strength and capacity in confronting the challenges of the nation citing the war against insurgency, the war on corruption and executive impunity, amongst others.

    Meanwhile, BSEYM has applauded Buhari on his appointment of six Igbo sons as ministers in his cabinet. The group said by this appointment, Buhari has once again demonstrated his love and trust for Ndigbo. Speaking to news men in Umuahia, Onwuneme appealed to Igbos most especially the youths to rally round the president and the ministers in order to bring about positive change to Igboland and Nigeria.

     

  • Yahaya Bello is PDP agent, group alleges

    Yahaya Bello is PDP agent, group alleges

    •Exposes how he delivered unit, ward, LGA to PDP

    The Kogi State Progressive Front (KPF) yesterday alleged that the new governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Yahaya Bello is an agent of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    It accused the National Working Committee (NWC) of APC of ‘selling’ the hard-earned victory of the party to PDP.

    It expressed disappointment with the leadership of APC for adopting Bello who shunned the party’s governorship campaign in Kogi State.

    The state coordinator of the Group Alhaji Yakubu Ogirima told reporters that Bello worked for PDP during the November 21st gubernatorial election.

    According to him, “We are strong supporters and members of the APC and we can never fold our arms and watch our victory being   sold to our political enemy who worked against us during the last election.

    “Alhaji Yahaya Bello was among the 28 APC aspirants who contested the last Primary election that produced the late Prince Abubakar Audu. We are also not oblivious of the fact that he (Bello) came second even though he disputably scored the votes he had.

    “But we are constrained  to inform you that Yahaya Bello never participated in the APC governorship campaign, but rather worked and campaigned against the APC. Little wonder why he delivered his polling unit, ward and local government (Okene) to the PDP in the last election.

    “Here are the election results from Yahaya Bello’s Unit and Ward:  Agassa /Ahache /Okene Eba  unit 11, APC got 88 while the  PDP scored 119. Then in his ward, APC 1146 and PDP 2058.

    “Now that our candidate Prince Audu is dead, Bello has the gut to spoon feed the APC national leadership so they can give the mandate he previously worked against to him. What an irony! Imagine someone working in a bank but collecting salary in another bank.”

    Yakubu who described the action of the party NWC as shameful and derogatory, said the ‘change’ preached by the party was being eroded by hunger and greed.

    He asked the APC leadership to return the mandate to late Prince Audu’s running mate, James Abiodun Faleke .

    “Faleke jointly owned the party’s ticket with Audu and subsequently the victory. This is all we demand. Or else APC will be history in Kogi State,” he added.

     

  • Reconstitute Abia Electoral Appeal Panel, group tells CJN

    Reconstitute Abia Electoral Appeal Panel, group tells CJN

    A group, the Catholic Networks of Nigeria [CNN], has protested across Abia State demanding reconstitution of the panel of justices of the Court of Appeal that will be handling the appeal filed by the candidates of All Progressives Grand Alliance [APGA].

    The group asked the Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN) and the President of the Court of Appeal (PCA) to relieve the current members of the panel of the responsibility.

    Speaking while the group was demonstrating peacefully at Bende town, the coordinator, Catechist Ambrose Udensi said the people of the state no longer have confidence on the panel of justices of the Court of Appeal at Owerri.

    Udensi alleged that INEC and PDP are the main problems the state is having through their connivance to rig the last election to the benefit of the ruling party in the state, against the wishes of the people.

    The CNN coordinator said INEC and PDP are trying to stop the people from reclaiming their mandate, “The judges did their worst by striking out most of the petitions filed by APGA candidates and has now left Abia in a state of hopelessness,” they alleged

     

  • Group seeks NJC’s intervention in Taraba verdict

    Group seeks NJC’s intervention in Taraba verdict

    A non-governmental organisation, Taraba Mandate Group (TMG) wants the National Judicial Council ( NJC) to wade into the Taraba State election petition tribunal which annulled  the election of Mr. Darius Ishaku as governor of the state.

    The group said in a statement said that “purporting to wrest a state from a candidate who scored the highest number of votes and majority in 11 local governments and giving it to a candidate who scored majority votes in only five local governments stand justice on its head. Elections are won at the polling booths, not in the chambers of judges.”

    The group in the statement by Gani Bako asked, “has the maxim ‘justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be manifestly done’ lost its foothold in Nigeria?”

    “The tribunal gave a verdict that, if allowed to stand, would rob over 300,000 voters of their mandate. But ultimately, their outrageous verdict led to loss of lives in Wukari and created a serious threat to sanity in the entire state.

    “In view of all of these, it is therefore, curious that the NJC would not even acknowledge receipts of complaints from all around the world. And for an agency like that to play the ostrich at such a critical time is unfortunate to say the least.

    It asked  the NJC to do the needful and help in restoring faith and hope, stating that its current standoffish policy is doing it no good, because of  its history, credibility and name  transcends centuries of  uncompromising judicial practice, should therefore stop this charade and felony because it has a name and reputation to protect.

     

  • Group to address schools’ safety at summit

    Borne out of  the loss of their daughter, Morenike  Toye-Arulogun seven years ago as a result of alleged negligence by her school, a couple has planned child health and safety summit for tomorrow.

    The summit themed: “How safe is your child in school?” is being organised by the Movement Against Negligence In Schools (MANIS), an advocacy group formed by Mrs Idorenyin Toye-Arulogun, the late Morenike’s mother to monitor health and safety standards in boarding schools.

    The event, which holds at NECA House, Ikeja, would sensitise stakeholders in the education sector about the importance of safety in schools.

    Speaking at a briefing in Ikeja, co-founder and father of the deceased, Toye Arulogun, said: “Seven years ago we lost our daughter in a boarding school.  She was in JSS 1 in Faith Academy. She became sick of Malaria and degenerated to Cerebral Malaria and five days after we were called, she passed on. That is the long and short of it. However, in reviewing the case, we were able to establish negligence. We realised that such is prevalent in our Nigerian schools. So, we felt the need to take on a course that will mitigate such incidences of injuries, incapacitation, and deaths to the barest minimum.”

    Arulogun called on the new Minister of Education to focus more on what is happening in schools, in collaboration with the Minister of Health, to ensure that standard health facilities are in place for the safety of the pupils.

    On her part, Mrs Arulogun decried parents’ lackadaisical attitude to the welfare of their children in schools.

    “If you go to the ministry I am sure it is in black and white what is required to establish a school.  But the thing is ‘do they follow up?’ It still boils down to the fact that it does not take only the ministry to effect change, we the parents need to speak up; if you do not speak up, it will continue to degenerate. One thing I know for sure in Nigeria is that anything that you make noise about will be addressed.

     

  • Group to stage play on women, child rights

    Group to stage play on women, child rights

    The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team  (DSVRT) will on November 27 and 28 stage a play as part of its advocacy on elimination of violence against women and the girl-child.

    Titled: A Past Came Calling, the play will feature internationally acclaimed Nollywood actress, Joke Silva.

    The producer, Gbemi Shasore, said the stage play,  written by Uche Abriel, is part of the awareness and advocacy activities in support of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25.

    It is being held in partnership with The Simi Johnson Trust for Women and Girls.

    She said: “Domestic violence statistics  indicate an increase from 21 percent in 2011 to 30 percent in 2013.

    “The economic impact of domestic violence is significant and there is evidence that stability in family life can result in an increase of as much as ten percent of national productivity.”

    Shasore hoped that the play will increase awareness on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011, the most recent Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015, as well as highlight the support services available to victims and the society at large who want to report.

  • Group celebrates first anniversary

    It was an atmosphere of fun and friendliness spiced with stimulating discussions penultimate Saturday as the Save Apapa Group (SAG) celebrated its first anniversary.

    The event, which held at the late Obafemi Awolowo Compound in Apapa was attended by dignitaries from various walks of life, including members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in and around Apapa.

    Tagged Bringing Justice to the Polity, the event provided a platform for stakeholders to brainstorm on myriad of issues particularly as it affects the group and its members.

    The event began at 12:45 p.m. with the welcome address by the chairman of the Save Apapa Group; Hon. Nathaniel Georgewill.

    Informing the gathering of the objectives of the group, Georgewill said: “The major objective of this group is to fight dictatorship and theocracy in Apapa Local Government Area.”

    He stressed that the Save Apapa Group has always been, and will continue to use non-violent measures in achieving its aspirations.

    On his part, the leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Apapa/Iganmu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Hon. Tunde Balogun urged members of the group to remain united saying, “unity among members has always remained the secret behind the success of any group.”

    One of the major issues confronting residents of Apapa in particular and Lagos in general is that of the menace of tanker drivers. The APC leader, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to help save Apapa from what he referred to as “siege from trucks and tankers”

    “Truck owners and their drivers have turned Apapa to an area where they can do whatever they like, without anybody questioning them,” he said.

    Speaking on the activities of the group, the Secretary to the Apapa/Iganmu LCDA, Mrs. Bolaji Dada described the Save Apapa Group as one of the major groups that have contributed immensely to the growth and development of Apapa.