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Tag: Meeting

  • Why we walked out of meeting, by coalition

    The Coalition of Governorship Candidates and Party Chairmen in Rivers State (CGCPC) in Rivers State yesterday walked out of a stakeholder’s meeting with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission because “INEC was not ready to give the true state of the elections”.

    A statement by Chairman and Secretary of the coalition – Warigbani Ezekiel Zebulun (candidate of Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance –APDA) and Chibuzor Anele Chairman, Nigeria Democratic Congress Party -NDCP), called for the withdrawal of the National Commissioner supervising Bayelsa, Edo and Rivers States – Mrs. May Agbamuche Mbu because “her corruptive tendencies will definitely ignite more crisis in an already tensed Rivers State”.

    The statement, which showed the coalition’s position, was released after a stakeholder’s meeting with INEC officials yesterday. Members of the coalition walked out of the meeting.

    Three INEC officials – Elder Etim Umoh, Mrs. Abamuche Mbu, and Mr. Don Umealor – spoke on their resolve to present the result of the 17 councils already collated.

    The statement reads: “Some truth-finding questions were asked, and supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Mrs. Mbu clashed. This almost led to uproar and so members of the coalition walked out of the meeting.

    “Governorship candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) wondered why Certificates of Return were issued to Governor Nyesom Wike and House of Assembly members-elect when collation had been suspended. He, therefore, called for cancellation of the process. Similarly, governorship candidate of the APDA questioned the legality of the stakeholders’ meeting and other subsequent electoral processes since the matter was in court. He also called for a halt of the process until the matter was determined.

    “It became obvious that Mrs. Mbu, who was a member of the Fact-Finding Committee, came back to Rivers State to affirm her unholy and disgraceful violent nature when governor Wike condemned her uncivil makeup which intensified the uproar and walk out. Wike recounted that the opening remarks by the Administrative Secretary paved way for the calls to cancel the election.

    “We, the Coalition of Governorship Candidates and Party Chairmen in Rivers State, are therefore compelled to call on the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmud Yakubu, to with withdraw Mrs. Mbu whose corruptive tendencies will definitely ignite more crises in an already tensed Rivers State.

    “We agitate for the removal of Sir Precious Barido as IPAC Chairman because he is no longer the Chairman of Accord Party, and his infantile attitude in the hands of the PDP. These are the positions of the Coalition group.”

  • NASS principal officers meeting postponed

    The scheduled meeting of National Assembly principal officers has been postponed.

    Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Lasun told reporters that the meeting can no longer hold for security reasons.

    Lasun said although he came for the meeting, the situation in the complex is not conducive for any meeting.

    He did not say when the meeting is likely to hold.

    Senate President Dr Bukola Saraki had called for a meeting of the officers today to review calls for urgent reconvening of the Senate and House of Representatives to attend to some issues of national importance.

    Read Also:Kano Assembly gets new Principal officers

    Operatives of the Department of State Security had early on Tuesday taken over the entries of the National Assembly complex claiming to be acting on orders from above.

    Senators and some staff of the assembly were initially denied entry but were later allowed to enter after some heated arguments.

    Later on Tuesday, a new set of operatives arrived at the NASS gate to take over from those stationed at the gate since 6.30 am.

    Journalists  and workers were still barred from gaining access into the complex as at press time.

  • Baptists to hold meeting, workers’ seminar

    The first Executive Committee (EC) meeting of Lagos East Baptist Conference (LEBC) in 2018 will hold on Thursday at the Conference Room of Baptist Academy at Obanikoro in Lagos, from 11 a.m.

    It will be presided over by the President, Dr. Emmanuel Awotunde; with the Chairman, Rev. Julius Omomola; the First Vice Chairman, Dr. Michael Afolabi and Second Vice Chairman, Mrs. F. A. Browne.

    Issues affecting the conference, associations and churches under the conference will be discussed.

    Also, the workers’ seminar of Itesiwaju Baptist Association will hold on Saturday at Araba Baptist Church, 4/6, Araba Baptist Church Street, Ilasamaja, Lagos from 9 a.m.

    The seminar, which is for pastors, deacons, deaconesses, Sunday school teachers, ushers and others, will be presided over by the Moderator, Rev. Matthew Awujoola of Ire-Akari Baptist Church in Isolo, Lagos, and Consultant, Rev. Sunday Ojebola, of Christ Dominion Baptist Church in Mushin, Lagos.

    Village evangelism by Girls’ Auxiliary (GA) of Lagos East Baptist Conference will be hosted by Christ Kingdom Association at Goshen Baptist Church, Igbo-Olomu, on Saturday.

    It will be presided over by Deaconess Victoria Ogunsami.

     

  • Yoruba youths to hold town hall meeting on restructuring

    The Yoruba Youth Council will hold a town hall meeting on restructuring  tomorrow at the House of Chiefs in the Parliament Building, Ibadan, Oyo State.

    According to a statement  by the youth group, the meeting will make the position of Yoruba youths known on the restructuring of the country. According to the National President of YYC, Eric Oluwole, said the meeting is geared towards ensuring that Nigerian youths reclaim their pride of place in national affairs.

    A renowned legal practitioner Opeyemi Agbaje is the lead speaker with the theme, “Nigeria pre and post-independence: The critical paradigm of Yoruba youth as motivator of regional restructuring.” Co-speakers include Sheikh Mohammed Taofeek Afikeusola, a United Nation youth ambassador Dayo Isreal, Chief Tola Adeniyi, Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), and Comrade Laoye Sanda.

    Also expected is the Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi as the royal father of the day. Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi will be the chief host. Other distinguished guests expected  include Prof Banji Akintoye, Prof Adeyemi Aderibigbe, Dr. Tokunbo Awolowo Dosumu , Dr. Frederick Fasehun, the  Aare Onakakakanfo of Yorubaland Gani Adams, Dr Kunle Olajide, Prince Ajibola Atanda, among other leaders.

  • Amaechi meets Ambode in closed-door meeting

    Amaechi meets Ambode in closed-door meeting

    Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, yesterday met with Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode behind closed-doors at the Lagos House in Alausa, Ikeja.

    But the minister declined to address reporters on the purpose of the visit.

    Amaechi, who arrived the Lagos House at 10:55 a.m, drove himself in a black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV).

    He was accompanied by a four-vehicle convoy.

    The meeting, which was scheduled to be open for coverage, was later announced by one of the governor’s aide to have become be a private after, after which the minister would address reporters.

    The closed-door meeting lasted about an hour.

    But reporters covering the Governor’s Office waited at the entrance to the venue for over three hours, hoping to ask the minister some questions.

    They were disappointed as Amaechi refused to speak with them.

    Before the minister stepped out, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Habib Aruna, had announced that there would be no room for questions and answers.

    Amaechi, who came out in company of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Tunji Bello and some of his aides, declined to speak on the purpose of the meeting.

    “I don’t want to be misquoted again,” he said and moved into his car.

  • Ekiti Fed Varsity’s bursar slumps, dies at meeting

    Grief has enveloped the Federal University at Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), with the death of its bursar, Mr. Adebayo Adejuyigbe, during the governing council’s meeting in Lagos, last Thursday.

    Adejuyigbe, 59, was said to have slumped. Though later revived, he died at an undisclosed hospital.

    The meeting was called by FUOYE Governing Council’s Chairman, Prof. Saadat Mabadeje.

    The deceased was reportedly buried according to Islamic injunction on Friday at Offa in Kwara State.

    A source, who witnessed the incident, said: “He was in the meeting when suddenly he started shaking and slumped. He was revived and was rushed to the hospital where he died.

    “His health situation deteriorated on the way to the hospital and he died after he got to the hospital.”

    FUOYE’s Vice Chancellor Prof. Kayode Soremekun described Adejuyigbe’s death as a big loss to the institution.

    The vice chancellor said his prudence and administrative acumen would be missed.

    Soremekun, who confirmed Adejuyigbe’s death, said it was devastating.

    He said the late bursar’s expertise and commitment to duty would be missed.

    Soremekun, who spoke through the university’s spokesman, Mr Godfrey Bakji, said: “He (Adejuyigbe) has been buried in his country home and we pray that Allah grants the family the fortitude to bear the loss.

    “Mr Adejuyigbe was a prudent and highly professional man. His advice to the management had helped in so many ways and times. He was a reservoir of knowledge on fiscal issues. He was a good and dependable administrator.

    “The university community commiserates with his family, the people of Kwara State and the Federal Government on the loss of this illustrious son and great Nigerian.”

  • Fed Govt invites three unions for meeting

    The Federal Government has invited striking non-teaching staff of Nigerian universities to a meeting following the commencement of strike.

    President of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) Samson Ugwoke made this known yesterday in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    “We have commenced the strike today; the strike is total, comprehensive and indefinite.

    “We only just got a letter from the Ministry of Labour and Employment inviting us for a meeting today.

    “But, it is not something I alone can decide but the JAC as it involves other unions, we have to come together and take that decision on when to meet with the Federal Government, ”he said.

    The ministry postponed the meeting till September 14 when the workers did not turn up yesterday.

     

     

  • Output cut to dominate OPEC, non-OPEC meeting

    Output cut to dominate OPEC, non-OPEC meeting

    Oil output cut will dominate discussions at the forthcoming meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers meeting holding in Abu Dhabi next week, following increased violation of compliance with production quota by members.

    The meeting, which will hold between August 7 and 8,will involve  experts to discuss ways to firm up member commitments to uphold their quotas.The OPEC, non-OPEC coalition monitoring committeewill give report on level of compliance with production cuts pledged by members.

    The meeting, according to Platts, is expected to demand better compliance from defaulting members and to hand down warning to such violators and intending violators that the organisation would not tolerate any country that embarks on production overshoot.

    Platts said: “Although conformity with the production agreement remains strong at the aggregate level, some countries continue to lag, which is a concern we must address head on,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said at a meeting of the monitoring committee in St Petersburg last week.

    Iraq, for example, averaged 69,000 barrels per day (bpd)above its quota from January through June, according to data from the S&P Global Platts OPEC survey, one of six secondary sources used by the coalition to monitor OPEC production. That is the largest amount by which any member of the bloc is exceeding its target.

    Iraqi minister Jabbar al-Luaibi will be meeting with Falih in the coming days, as well as with Iran oil minister Bijan Zanganeh, according to the Iraqi oil ministry.

    “Our friends had some viewpoints and gave some explanations,” Zanganeh was quoted by Iran’s Shana news service as saying.

    “They had justifications for their actions. We will continue talks with them.”

    Luaibi has insisted for months that the deal concerns exports, not production, contrary to the text of the agreement on OPEC’s website, and as the deal was being negotiated last fall, he complained that OPEC’s secondary sources were not accurately reflecting Iraq’s production levels.

    Other countries have likewise complained about secondary sources, but in almost every case, secondary source production estimates have been lower than what OPEC members have directly reported to the secretariat.

    For example, of the nine OPEC members that submitted June production figures to OPEC, six were estimated by secondary sources to have equal or lower production.Of the remaining three, the secondary source estimates for Qatar and Angola were only 10,000 bpd above their directly submitted figures, while Nigeria’s was 70,000 bpd above, though Nigeria is exempt from the deal.

    Overall, the monitoring committee pegged June compliance among the OPEC/non-OPEC producer coalition at 98 per cent.

    The International Energy Agency (IEA), an OPEC secondary source, had compliance among the 12 OPEC members with quotas under the deal at 78 per cent in June and 92 per cent for all of the year.

    Platts reports that it sees compliance much higher, with June coming in at 103 per cent and overall 2017 at 116 per cent.

    No matter the secondary source, however, Saudi Arabia’s over-compliance is what enables the entire coalition to achieve high compliance levels. The kingdom has cut 107,000 bpd more than its required level, according to Platts data, and Falih in St Petersburg said Saudi crude exports would be held to a six-year low in August.

    According to OPEC, the monitoring committee said the meeting will be co-chaired by technical representatives from Kuwait and Russia and also attended by officials from Saudi Arabia. Venezuela, Algeria and Oman, the other members of the OPEC/non-OPEC monitoring committee will not be attending.

    “This is a technical meeting being held to better understand the difficulties and obstacles faced by some OPEC and non-OPEC participating countries and to assess how conformity levels can be improved with the goal of achieving a faster rebalanced global oil market, for the benefit of producers and consumers alike,” the committee said.

    The production cut deal, which went into force January 1, calls on OPEC and 10 major non-OPEC producers to cut a combined 1.8 million bpd.The coalition on May 25 agreed to extend the deal past its June expiry through March, next year.

  • The Senate meeting’s health interlude

    The Senate meeting’s health interlude

    At the University of Jos (UNIJOS)) on  May 11, in the middle of a Senate meeting, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor S. S. Maimako, took the imaginative step of interrupting the usual proceedings to make way for a special lecture given by the University’s Director of Medical Services, Dr B. Mairiga.  For the next 30 minutes, our minds were concentrated not on such issues as student discipline or arrangements for PhD vivas, but on practical matters to do with health.

    The able speaker’s chief concern was with non-communicable diseases and their avoidance. He first quoted statistics to show that around the world the incidence of communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS is on the decline, but that of non-communicable diseases is on the increase.  More and more people in all parts of the world are suffering from coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, and are dying of cardiac arrest, stroke, and kidney failure.  The likelihood of succumbing to such a disease or of thus dying is heightened by such factors as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a diet too rich in fats, excessive sugar and salt, a sedentary existence, obesity, and stress.  It is clear that some of these factors are related to one another.  Thus too much consumption of salt (and of red meat) can raise blood pressure; a sedentary existence can lead to an increase of obesity; stress and high blood pressure are connected.

    The great recommendation of the talk, naturally, was that to avoid these risks we should adopt a healthy lifestyle.  This requires reducing the amount of fat, sugar and salt in our diet and increasing the amount of fruit and fresh vegetables; drinking plenty of water (the speaker said that some experts recommend at least two litres per day); ensuring that we get adequate exercise (the speaker suggested thirty minutes of vigorous exercise at least three times per week); and reducing stress (although some listeners no doubt thought that certain occupations, such as university administration and teaching, are inherently stress-inducing).

    The Senate chamber soon buzzed with comments and personal testimonies.  One lady Senator confessed that she had a weakness for chocolate, even though she knew it was bad for her.  Many of those present, especially those above fifty years of age, must have been thinking:  “It is time to do something.  It’s time to discipline myself”.  Some may have said to themselves: “I am already an early-morning jogger”.  Some may have thought, somewhat contumaciously: “We came here for the usual Senate business, but here we are discussing exercise and dieting.”  But surely the thought was followed promptly by another: “After all, this is important.  We are not going to be able to function properly in any occupation in life if we are not healthy.  These things need to be said again and again.”

    Readers of this newspaper, as well as my fellow-UNIJOS Senators, will almost certainly have heard or read such admonitions many times before.  Hardly a day goes by without a newspaper offering advice on health.  It is a topic about which something new can always be said – especially since the advice offered by the experts (pace Dr Mairiga) keeps changing.  Thus the Daily Telegraph of London of May 12, the day after our meeting, carried a report which darkly warns that to get the full benefit of jogging, women need to do it for thirty minutes and men for forty minutes, not three but five times per week.

    One of the slides presented by the speaker to drive home the message was captioned ‘Remember thy Creator’, and it displayed some holy books.  That was interesting, because a great amount of the advice offered on health matters originates in the Western world, and most of it does not mention the crucial importance, for a healthy lifestyle, of remembering one’s Creator and praying to Him and meditating on what He has communicated to humankind.  How does one explain this extraordinary omission?  It is because the public profession of religious belief has become desperately unfashionable in the Western world, so that to assert in the media that one may actually live a healthier life and live longer through professing faith and acting on it (as confirmed by readily available statistics) is to invite ridicule and contempt.  It may be that the failure of Western health experts to emphasize it helps to explain why the incidence of certain non-communicable diseases is increasing in the Western world, as elsewhere.

    It so happened that, early on the day of the Senate meeting, I jotted down in my diary a list of five points, based on my own experience, that I considered as contributing decisively to health.  They are: a proper prayer life; eating the right kind and quantity of food; drinking plenty of water; vigorous daily bodily exercise; and listening attentively to good music.   Probably many of us have made similar lists.

    With all the essentials being included in some form or other, such advice indeed needs to be stated again and again. Writing this article has served to share with a wider public the fresh restatement of it  made during the interlude at the UNIJOS Senate meeting. Thanks are due to Prof. Maimako for making that interlude possible.

    On a final note: a former UNIJOS Vice-Chancellor also wanted to encourage staff to be more serious about their health.  He once announced that soon he was going to start early-morning jogging at the University stadium, and invited his colleagues to join him.  “Should we come along with our certificates of fitness?” one of them asked.

    God bless Nigerians for their ever-ready sense of humour.  Perhaps the ability to laugh should be added to our lists.

    • Jowitt is a Professor of English at the University of Jos.
  • Benefits of Jalingo town hall meeting

    Benefits of Jalingo town hall meeting

    In this piece, Inuwa Sahihu examines the merits of the town hall meetings held by Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku in Jalingo, the state capital, and how the governor intends to sustain the dialogue for the purpose of getting a feedback on the perception of his programmes.

    It was a rare gathering of distinguished personalities and critical stakeholders in the rescue agenda of the government.  Darius Dickson Ishaku, governor of Taraba State, was there as the chief host. His deputy, Haruna Manu, an engineer, was also there. And so was Mr Anthony Jellason, Secretary to the Government and other members of the State Executive Council, some members of the National and the state assemblies, some foreign partners in the various on-going development projects in the state as well as other men and women of the moment.

    They all came in respect of a no less important subject – water – how it can be made good enough and available in sufficient quantity for the people of the state. And the occasion was a Town Hall meeting organised by the Taraba State Ministry of Water Resources recently in Jalingo, capital of Taraba State to review what has been achieved so far by the Ishaku administration and also search for a new way forward in the quest for effective and efficient management of water in the state.

    Water problem in Taraba State is a profound tale of perplexing contradiction. It is akin to the global irony where rivers and seas occupy three-quarters of the surface of the earth and yet there is no water good enough for domestic consumption. That was the situation which the administration of   Ishaku inherited on assumption of office in May 2015. Taraba State has many big rivers and streams. There is no local government council area in the state that is not blessed with rivers and big streams, all of them helping to sustain dry season farming and the thriving fishing industry that are also part of the success story of food production in the state. In fact, it is the reason most people felt that Taraba by which the state was called from the time of its creation is the most fitting name for the state. It is the name of one of the major rivers in the state. Yet the state never had sufficient treated water for domestic use. The provision of water has never really been a critical area of intervention by previous administrations in the state.

    That explains why the coming of Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku has been hailed as a defining moment in the effort to make water available in the state. He had vowed from the onset not only to radically address the problem of water scarcity in the towns and villages in Taraba State but to ensure that water that is produced is effectively and efficient managed. Today, the provision of good drinking water is a priority on the rescue agenda of the administration. The Ishaku administration has invested more money in the provision of water in its 22 months in the saddle than any other previous administration since the creation of the state. For the government, the attitude which has already produced remarkable impact on the water situation in the state is that every major town and village in the state must have a sustainable source of good water. This attitude informed the provision of 100 boreholes in major towns and villages in the state. It is also the reason provision has been made in the 2017 budget for the sinking of additional 150 boreholes in other areas of the state. Jalingo is already a gigantic construction site, all in the drive to develop a sustainable source of water for the people of the town. The projection for Jalingo is that by the time on-going projects are completed, the city will have water that can last up to year 2035.

    The commitment of the administration to radically address the water problem in the state was also the reason a Town Hall meeting was convened recently in Jalingo where Governor Ishaku and various stakeholders from in and outside the state shared ideas on the new way forward for achieving government’s dream of self-sufficiency in water. It was, as the governor had openly admitted in his speech at the occasion, an milestone event for drawing the attention of the public to what has been achieved so far in the provision of water and what new strategies were being adopted for faster and more fruitful results from the government’s approach to the problem.

    In less than two years, the administration has taken several remarkable steps that have taken the state closer to the actualisation of its dream for water sufficiency in the state. For example, all broken down plants, pumps and equipment in all water supply stations in the state have been repaired and put to use. Jalingo has experienced a positive reversal of the ugly tale of water scarcity of the past. Water has been restored to the city and 39 other towns and villages in the state through consistent release of funds to the state water agency for the operation and maintenance of water supply machinery. A new contract has been awarded for the development of the Jalingo primary water source. This is likely to be completed by the end of the year. That new source of water is to augment exisiting water supply infrastructure that are already serving the people.

    A lot more was achieved within this period of 22 months of the administration. The government paid counterpart funds for the JICA drilling rig which has been lying dormant for more than two years and purchased cutting-edge and modern laboratory equipment for water quality control. A government delegation led by Governor Ishaku also made a study and benchmarking visit to Nairobi City and Sewerage Corporation. A team of experts from that water giant has been here in Taraba and submitted a diagnostic investigation on how water can provided on a sustainable basis and managed effectively and profitably. Government also purchased 500 water pumps to support irrigation and dry season farming in the state in addition to the construction of two boreholes dedicated to the three-kilometre water transmission pipeline to the Greenhouse site at the College of Agriculture.

    The Town Hall meeting was also an occasion for Ishaku to share the vision of the government on water resources development and management with the people. In the months and years ahead, according to the governor, government will be engaged in capacity building towards the operation and maintenance of water system in Taraba State. To achieve this, 50 staff members of the Taraba State Water Supply Agency are to be sent to Nairobi, Kenya for a “Hands-on-training” programme. Water supply in the state is to be developed into a huge source of revenue generation with a new and modern system of payment for water by consumers to be developed. This may lead to the development of scratch cards that will be similar to what the telecommunication service providers are doing at the moment.

    The event also provided ample opportunities for the audience to ask questions on how the new dispensation of regular water supply and new payment system will work. Governor Ishaku took time out to explain the system in English and Hausa to the audience. The event was an eye-opener in various ways. It ended as a vote of confidence for what the government in doing to ensure the supply of quality water regularly. The Nairobi model of water development, distribution and billing system which government plans to adopt was widely acclaimed as the right step by participants at the meeting. Governor Ishaku also had the opportunity to listen to suggestions and complaints of the people on water and the people went away happy with his assurances that the new way of doing things being developed by  his administration in all areas of utility services, including water supply and management will turn things around for the better soon.