The Nation Newspaper

Tag: group

  • Group to EFCC: probe Delta PDP chair

    Group to EFCC: probe Delta PDP chair

    A group, Delta Patriotic Network (DPN), has petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman in Delta State, Peter Nwaoboshi, for alleged corruption.

    The group alleged that Nwaoboshi used his office to amass illegal wealth.

    The petition by DPN’s National President Ojein Samuel; National Vice President Okotete Tony and National Secretary Oromoni Zuokumor, alleged that Nwaoboshi collected money from government agencies and received payments for contracts badly executed.

    The group also alleged that Nwaoboshi built two mansions in Asaba and Ibusa for over N1billion.

    The PDP Chairman said the petitioners were chasing dead issues, alleging “they are being used by some disgruntled politicians”.

    He said he welcomed investigation by any anti-graft agency, adding that he had nothing to hide as a politician and businessman.

    “All the issues they raised were investigated over three years ago by EFCC and I have been given a clean bill of health. I don’t have anything to hide and I’m ready for a fresh investigation.

    “I have been involved in genuine business and I am available for investigation.

    “But nobody should take them serious because they are idle and ready tools in the hands of some disgruntled politicians.”

  • Group decries attack on members

    Group decries attack on members

    A group campaigning for the re-election of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, De Raufs Volunteer Group, has warned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Omisore Campaign Organisation that it will not condone further attacks on its members.

    The group condemned the attack on its Director of Mobilisation, Comrade Bello Lukman, in front of the group’s secretariat, describing the act as “unwarranted and criminal.”

    The group’s Director-General, Comrade Amitolu Shittu, in a statement, said the incident occurred when a private car owner was harassed at the entrance of De Raufs office in Osogbo by persons suspected to be PDP’s thugs.

    According to Shittu, a member of the group who was recharging his phone nearby was accused of taking the picture of the thugs.

    The thugs later descended on Lukman, broke his Android phone and took away his Blackberry phone as well as N250,000 cash meant for the local units of the group.

  • Group lifts indigent Muslims

    Suf’yan Abimbola Islamic Foundation (SAIF) has offered scholarship to indigent Muslims to pursue their studies beyond secondary school level.

    President of the foundation Mr Mustapha Fadairo said this at the foundation’s annual Ramadan lecture in Lagos.

    Fadairo said the lecture  is to gear Muslims up towards excellent performance.

    “The aim of the foundation is to provide for the indigent Muslims during Ramadan and even beyond, we also help indigent Muslims in their education by providing scholarship for them to enable them carry on with their studies,” he said.

    Speaking on the theme; ‘Ramadan jurisprudence,’ Fadairo said this should prepare Muslims spiritually and physically during the month.

    “It is titled Ramadan jurisprudence to enlighten us on how to prepare spiritually, physically and materially for the month of Ramadan,” he said.

    He urged Muslims to be law-abiding and use the month of Ramadan for societal reformation.

    “We use the period to reach out to Muslims to be law-abiding and follow the teachings of the Prophet and Quran injunctions. We enjoin Muslims to be good to everyone around them irrespective of their religious inclinations. When we live an exemplary life, people will embrace Islam the more,” he said.

    The guest lecturer, Mallam Ahmad Abimbola who spoke on the theme ‘Ramadan Islamic Jurisprudence’ urged Muslims to be morally upright during and after the Ramadan.

    SAIF is named after Imam Suf’yan Abimbola, who was the Chief Imam of Abimbola Central Mosque for his contributions towards the growth of Islam.

     

  • Group trains mediators

    The Standing Conference of Mediation Advocates (SCMA) has set up a faculty for  training mediators in West African.

    Its convener, Mr Valentino Buoro, a lawyer, said a team of senior lawyers who constitute the pioneer faculty has undergone an intensive training in the United Kingdom.

    He said the group was working with the Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse (LMDC) to  train lawyers and other professionals in alternative dispute resolution.

    He said: “As one of only five organisations accredited worldwide by the International Mediation Institute (IMI) for the training of Mediation Advocates, the SCMA is pleased to collaborate with LMDC which is Africa’s first court – connected Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre.”

  • Group protests release of Boko Haram suspects

    A group known as Igbo World Union (IWU) has expressed its resentment over the alleged release of 114 of the 486 detained Boko Haram suspects arrested penultimate Sunday in Abia en route to Port Harcourt.

    Speaking with news men in Umuahia, the President-General of the group, Chief Mishak Nnanta, said alleged release of the suspects was a bad omen, adding that their release posed a great danger to the Southeast geo-political zone.

    Nnanta who spoke against the alleged gradual release of the suspects said: “Nigeria is playing with fire if indeed some people among those 486 suspects and their release posed grave danger to our lives and national unity since they would have been freed in haste.”

    Recall that some of the suspected insurgents totalling 114 mostly from Jigawa State were among the suspects who were released last Friday and handed over to the state government amid rousing welcome and grand reception.

    Nnanta said it was not opposed to freeing of any innocent ones found among the suspects but cautioned that proper steps should be taken when handling a sensitive issue like terrorist groups that have been ravaging the country for years now.

    He said: “In a situation like the one affecting the security of the country, it still beats our imagination why about 486 self-acclaimed job seekers led by confirmed Boko Haram kingpins who are on the wanted list of security agents should be travelling on a convoy under the cover of darkness.

    More annoying is the reported celebration of suspected terrorists by a state government and we think that the action of Jigawa State government tends to suggest that the so-called job seekers or travellers were on a state assignment.”

    Nnanta further said his group frowned at the furore that greeted the arrest and detention of the suspects, especially from groups with Northern interests, stressing that instead of synergising on how to end insurgency ravaging the region, “Northern governments and groups were busy campaigning and lobbying for the release of terror suspects”.

    Nnanta maintained that security agents should be allowed to handle all security

    issues in the country professionally without undue interference by individuals or groups with vested interests, “if Nigeria is serious about ending terrorism”.

    He warned the political class, religious and ethnic interest groups to stop politicising security issues as such attribute rather than bring solution only helps to worsen the already precarious security situation in the country.

    Nnanta also expressed support for the position of Southeast Governors on the war against terror, while calling on Ndigbo in particular, and Nigerians in general to remain vigilant and more security conscious in the face of daunting security challenges.

  • Group donates sandals to pupils

    A missionary/concerned group, Project Care of Bible Baptist Church, Egbeda, has presented 571 pairs of school sandals to Primary I to Primary III pupils of Ebenezer Primary School and Egbeda Primary School, both at Egbeda, an outskirts of Lagos State.

    Initiator, Project Care, Rev. Beatrice Omolayo Egunleti, said no child should be without a pair of shoes in a community blessed with so much.

    The cleric spoke during the Children’s Day Celebration organised by her organisation for the pupils of Ebenezer Primary School and Egbeda Primary School, Egbeda, Lagos. It had as the theme: ‘Lend a hand for the less-privileged’.

    The missionary said there are dangers that come from walking the streets barefooted, stressing that children are at risk of injury and exposure to disease vectors such as bacteria and parasite, which live in the soil and dirty water.

    This, she said, was the motivation that endeared the non-governmental organisation to the children. “I talk with my people and we came up with a plan to provide school sandals for the children,” she said.

    Explaining how the programe came about, Mrs Egunleti said: “As I stood outside my home, watching several eager and bright eyed students hurrying off to school, my heart was filled with joy at this sight until I looked at their feet and saw many of them barefooted, which was replaced with a determination to do something about it.”

    She said the gesture would have been impossible without the permission of the school authorities.

    The cleric thanked donors who supported the project for their generosity. Besides, the volunteers gave their time and money to ensure the shoes match the children.

    Mrs Egunleti said the organisation donated the shoes with the hope that the society would one day create opportunities for everybody that no family will send children to school barefooted. “Until then, we  must not wait for others to help us, or think that ‘I buy shoes for my children, so I have done my duty’. We must remember that we are our brothers’ keeper,” she said.

    Responding on behalf both school, head mistress, Ebenezer Primary School, Egbeda, Mrs Juliana Asu, thanked the organisation for its kindness and hands of fellowship extended to the schools.

  • Group seeks amendment of obsolete laws

    Group seeks amendment of obsolete laws

    A rights group, Greater and Better Nigeria Development Initiative (GABNDI), has urged the National Assembly to amend obsolete laws.

    It said it was unfortunate that most of the laws, such as those on rape and drug counterfeiting, no longer served as deterrents due to loopholes in them.

    “The National Assembly should look at some our laws, especially those relating to the criminal justice system, and bring them up to date,” the group’s spokesman, Mr Theophilus Akanwa, a lawyer, said.

    Akanwa, who was member of the famous Gani Fawehinmi Chambers, spoke during GABNDI’s awareness programme in Lagos.

    He said the ongoing national conference should produce a new Constitution, or at least its recommendations should be incorporated into the statute book.

    He said the new Constitution should specify terms of coexistence of the ethnic groups to avoid conflicts.

    “The outcome of the national conference should be incorporated into the Constitution for a proper definition of our co-existence. The 1999 Constitution was an imposition of the military on Nigerians. It is high time we allowed our true opinion count on our coexistence.

    “We urge the 492 delegates to make Nigeria proud by proffering solutions to the numerous issues that has kept our country where it is today.

    “We equally appeal to Mr President to ensure that the outcome of the national conference is fully implemented,” Akanwa said.

    The lawyer said the non-governmental organisation, established on April 10, 2012, would use legal means to fight for the right of Nigerians.

    Among GABNDI’s objectives, he said, is to upgrade the standard of living of members by sensitising them of the government policies and programs; to facilitate citizens participation in government; and to foster sustainable development through rights education, among others.

    The group’s Coordinator, Chief Basil Onuoha, urged the government to do more towards jobs creation, and condemned the recent Nigerian Immigration recruitment exercise in which many lost their lives.

    He added: “Our country is for me and you, so let us join hands to build it. Let us support our government. We also expect better from the leadership. Our people go abroad to look for greener pastures, but our country can be like those places if we remain here and build it.

    “It is said that charity begins at home, but is it by killing out brothers and sisters, destroying property and making people cry? There can be no development where there is insecurity,” Onuoha added.

  • Group decries smuggling

    Government’s failure to curb smuggling is hurting legitimate businesses in the agric sector, the National President, Federation of Agricultural Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN), Dr Victor Inyama, has said.

    Citing rice, which he claimed, is one of the most commonly smuggled products, Inyama said the government should be more serious with its anti-smuggling policy, as smuggling is compounding the problems of the sector. He added that the sector is facing challenges such as lack of technology and facilities.

    Inyama said the smuggling of rice, vegetables, meat and other products is slowing growth in the sector, which employs a good percentage of the country’s workforce. He said initiatives that would boost productivity and employment in the sector should be pursued, adding that development initiatives for the sector should go with strict measures against smuggling.

    Besides, Inyama advised youths to change the notion that they cannot build a career in agriculture, pointing out that the sector is embedded with opportunities that could help promote youth entrepreneurship and employment. While noting that most young people believe that they cannot build a career in agriculture, he said groups needed to educate the young ones that agriculture is not just farming, but involves other aspects such as food production, processing, marketing and advertisements.

    He said many young people would not take the risk of establishing their own mid-sized farms, rather they would opt for a combination of part-time farming and supplying services to their neighbors such as machinery service, transport, simple veterinary services, and equipment repairs. Others may choose from an even wider range of wage-based work, from unskilled labour to highly skilled ones on large commercial farms or in food processing. All of these options, he said, represent opportunities for young people.

    Inyama emphasised that farming could be the key to solving growing youth unemployment. He explained that youths are seeking to establish farms that are different from those of their parents and grandparents, but they are facing hurdles. According to him, youths want to move into high-value forms of production that earn higher incomes, but such farming requires skills and capital. Young people entering farming, he said, do so by renting land. But the poor development of rental markets is a major barrier to such opportunities.

    FACAN, he added, would work with government to make lands available to farmers. Those who can obtain land, he added, would need advice and mentoring to manage it well and access to grants or affordable loans to use as start-up capital. To take advantage of the opportunity, he said young farmers need skills to handle tasks and equipment, adding that FACAN is ready to assist. He said if effort is not made to encourage youths to take to farming, the nation will not produce cash crops.

  • Group commends NDDC, Turner on youth empowerment

    A Niger Delta group, Women Initiatives for Values Empowerment (WIVES), has commended the Managing Director and board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for their efforts towards sustainable peace in the region.

    The National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Tonbra Kasikoro, the group said the recent Niger Delta Conference on Ethics, Values and Re-orientation organised by the commission was the right steps towards the peace and youth development in the region.

    Kasiboro made the remark during the programme organised by the Special Assistant to the MD on Youths, Sports, Culture, Conflict Resolution and Women Affairs, Mr. George Turner.

    She said: “I want to commend Barrister Turner on the success of the conference as well as the youths for their patience and willingness to engage in meaningful deliberation geared towards bettering the lives of the people toward sustainable development.

    “While WIVES understands and appreciates that although development is a process, we also know that it can add beauty and values to the existence of humanity when properly managed.

    “It is a process that when given the necessary cooperation it yields the needed changes we all craved for security wise, but there is need for more engagement of our youth.”

    Meanwhile, the WIVES Coordinator has urged youths of the region to remain focussed and committed to the development of the region.

    “We must shun divisive tendencies, criminality and all acts capable of portraying the region in bad light. It is in our interest for the Niger Delta region to move on at the pace that will ensure peace and development.

    “That is why WIVES is appreciative the effort of the SA to MD for his efforts in this regards. The conference was apt and timely in this critical time in our lives. There is need for reorientation and value change,” she added.

    She charged the NDDC management to always find ways to engage the youth for purposeful development in the region in line with the President Goodluck Jonathan’s vision for the people.

  • Group petitions police, SSS over attempted abduction

    A human rights group, the Access to Justice (AJ), has petitioned Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar (IGP) over alleged suppression of police investigation into the attempted abduction of a Port Harcourt resident Mr Arthur Judah by the police in Rivers State.

    The petition, signed by the group’s Legal Programme Attorney, Mrs Destina Dalumo, was also sent to the Director of the State Security Service (SSS), the Governor of Rivers State, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Chairman, Police Service Commission and the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 6, Calabar, Cross River State.

    The group said their client’s life is in danger, urging the security authorities to intervene.

    “Our client is convinced that his life is no longer safe in Port Harcourt. We are in the circumstances requesting that you use your good office to call for the case file and to re-assign the investigation of this matter to a credible police officer and police unit capable of conducting investigations into this matter with integrity,” the group wrote.

    Judah alleged that the police in Rivers abused their powers in obstructing and, ultimately, suppressing criminal investigations into an attempt to abduct him.

    AJ said sometimes in October, last year, Judah got some strange calls with the caller refusing to divulge his identity.

    The caller later said his name was “Chief Ezego”, claiming he was Judah’s deceased father’s friend who entrusted him (Chief Ezego) with some inheritance to deliver to Judah.

    It turned out the claim was false, and the “chief” was later discovered be masterminding Judah’s abduction.

    Police officers told Judah to play along and meet with the chief. He and his co-conspirators were arrested, only to be released a few hours later purportedly on the order of Rivers Commissioner of Police. AJ said the men were released when the police had not even had the chance to interview them or begin any investigation.

    “Our client was stunned as to how the attempt to abduct/kidnap him could be treated so lightly by a Police Commissioner.

    “Our client was also informed that the Rivers CP directed that the case file be transferred to his office and he asked the parties (the complainant and the suspects) to visit his office the next day, November 4, 2013.

    “On the afore-mentioned date, our client arrived at the CP’s office in the early hours of the morning with the police officers who went for the arrest and they were in the CP’s office till evening with no one attending to them.

    “Incidentally the crime suspects were not present for the said meeting. At the close of the day, police officers in the office of the CP asked our client and the police officers with him to return the next day.

    “However, to everyone’s amazement, the police officers who went for the arrest were arrested and detained for reasons only known to the CP.

    “Subsequently, the CP immediately transferred each of them to different police stations outside Port Harcourt.

    “Some persons within the law enforcement community conversant with the developments advised our client to immediately leave Port Harcourt …

    “We urge you to take urgent and adequate measures to save our client’s life and provide needed security for him.

    “We urge your urgent intervention in this regard as we look forward to a more transparent and impartial investigation of the case,” AJ wrote.