The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ)

  • Two die in auto crash involving Abia Gov’s wife convoy

    Tragedy struck on Tuesday in Abia, when two women died in an auto crash involving the convoy bearing the wife of Abia Governor, Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu.

    One of the dead  women was  identified as  Mrs Promise Uche-Nwamkpa, wife of a former member of the Abia state House of Assembly. The second  woman was  Mrs Nwamaka Maduchukwu, a senior special assistant on media to Mrs. Ikpeazu.

    The accident occurred when the motorcade was returning to Umuahia from Ntigha-Uzor in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia, where Ikpeazu had attended a burial.

    Witnesses said that the Hummer carrying the deceased somersaulted thrice, when the driver attempted to overtake a vehicle at Ndiolumbe around 5 p.m.

    A female occupant of the vehicle, who escaped unhurt, told our correspondent that the driver was on high speed when the accident occurred.

    “The driver was on high speed and everybody in the vehicle was asking him to slow down. Suddenly the bus started jumping up and down before it started somersaulting,” she said.

    She said that the vehicle somersaulted about three times and that she only found herself seated safely on a field by the road.

    The middle-aged, fair-complexioned woman, who was wearing a dress designed for the burial, was full of praises to God, saying that “I escaped death by His grace.”

    The driver of the Hummer, Mr Bright Ugwubujor, blamed the accident on brake failure.

    Narrating the incident to our correspondent at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Ugwubujor said that the accident occurred when he attempted to overtake a vehicle ahead of him.

    “When I tried to overtake the vehicle, I noticed an oncoming vehicle and attempted to retreat but I encountered a bump on the road and when I tried to apply the brake it could not work.

    “Immediately, the vehicle began to somersault,” he said.

    A medical doctor at the unit, where all the victims were brought for medical attention, confirmed that the death of the  two women.

    He said that other occupants of the bus, including the driver sustained bruises and minor injuries.

    He further said Mrs Promise Uche-Nwamkpa, was brought in dead to the hospital.

    The second woman, Mrs Nwamaka Maduchukwu, gave up while doctors were battling to resuscitate her with the aid of an oxygen, he said

    Maduchukwu was  a widow and mother of four children.

    She was also the chairperson, State Information Chapel of the Abia Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ ).

    The Chairman of NUJ in the state,  Mr John Emejor,  who was at the hospital to sympathise with the victims, has expressed shock  over the incident.

    Also, the former lawmaker, Uche-Nwamkpa, who came to the hospital to identify the body  of his wife, wept uncontrollably.

    Her body was thereafter taken to the hospital morgue.

    Meanwhile, members of Maduchukwu’s church and colleagues resorted to frantic prayers to revive her.

    An aide to the governor’s wife, Mr Chika Ojiegbe, said the Office of the Wife of the Governor “will issue a release soon.”

    NAN

  • Katsina trains 60 journalists on poultry, fishing, bee-keeping

    Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State has emphasised the need for journalists to embrace vocational training to enable them have a sustainable livelihood after retirement.

    Masari said this known on Tuesday in Katsina during the opening ceremony of training of 60 members of the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ ) on poultry, fisheries and bee-keeping.

    The training was organised under the Katsina State Economic Empowerment Directorate ( KASEED ).

    Masari, represented by his Special Adviser on Economic Empowerment, Alhaji Abdukkadir Mamman-Nasir said the trainees were expected to educate the public on the management of poultry, fisheries and beekeeping after the training.

    The governor said the participants would also be taught on entrepreneurship course after the training.

    According to him, after the course, there will be a test, adding that those who score 40 per cent and above will be given loans by the state government to start business as entrepreneurs.

    He said this was why the state government involved the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) and Bank of Agriculture ( BOA ) in the programme.

    Also speaking, the Director, Business Development in KASEED, Alhaji Abdurrahman Abdu-Zango, said journalists were selected for the programme because they were agents and medium of awareness creation in the society.

    In a remark, the Chairman of NUJ in the state, Alhaji Buhari Mamman, thanked the state government for organising the training.

    Mamman, who was represented by the Secretary of the council, Alhaji Hassan Dan-Ali, promised that participants would put what they have learnt during the training into practice.

    NAN

  • Kogi gets 717 slots for 2018 Hajj

    Kogi gets 717 slots for 2018 Hajj

    The Kogi Muslim Pilgrim Welfare Board says 717 slots had been allocated to the state for this year’s hajj by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria.

    The Executive Chairman of the board, Sheikh Lukman Abdullah, who disclosed this on Monday in Lokoja, said that the figure was far less than the 838 slots allocated to the state in 2017.

    Abdullah spoke during  a courtesy call on the Chairman of the state Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ ), Mr Adeiza Momoh Jimoh.

    He, however,  said that the board was making efforts to get additional slots, adding that  preparations for the 2018 hajj had commenced.

    Abdallah, who said  that the greatest challenge facing the board and intending pilgrims was time, noted  that all intending pilgrims had been given March 31 deadline to complete the payment of N1.5 million hajj fare.

    The Chairman reiterated that the green color e-passport, national identity card and medical report are compulsory  for all intending pilgrims.

    He said that accommodation  had been secured near the sacred mosques in Mecca and Medinah, adding that efforts were in the pipeline to enhance the welfare of pilgrims before, during and after the hajj.

    In his remarks,  Jimoh assured the board of support,  especially in the area of sensitisation of  pilgrims and members of the public.

    He urged  the board to always carry along the media in all its activities, adding that  more slots should  be allocated  to Muslim journalists.

    NAN

  • NACOMYO advocates special programmes to address challenges of youth

    NACOMYO advocates special programmes to address challenges of youth

    Bauchi State Coordinator of National Council of Muslim Youth Organisation ( NACOMYO ), Dr Ahmed Sabo, has called for the fashioning out of programmes that would address challenges faced by youth.

    Speaking on Tuesday when he led a delegation of the council on a visit to Bauchi Zonal office,  he said the future of any society depended on what it made of its youth.
    He said NACOMYO placed high premium on molding character, adding that the state chapter of the council had initiated programmes that would help youth address challenges and enable them attain their set goals.
    “Our activities are aimed at helping youth address their challenges and equipping them with the good character that will guarantee societal development.
    “This agenda is very crucial because most societal challenges are attributable to lack of good leadership; the youth need to be mobilized continuously to appreciate their role in fashioning out a better society in future,” he said.

    Read Also: NACOMYO  seeks Muslim participation in guber poll

    Sabo therefore solicited the support of journalists in publicizing the activities of his council.
    “This responsibility of molding the character of our future leaders, is a collective one, as such we are appealing to your agency for support.
    “We need the assistance in the area of publicity to enable the effective mobilization of youth,” h e said.
    Also in his remarks, Chairman of Bauchi Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ ), who is also the Secretary of NACOMYO in the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Mallam-Goje, said they had confidence in the ability  to render the needed support.
    Responding, Alhaji Abdullahi Salihu, promised that the agency would partner with all organizations working to enhance the fortunes of youth.
  • F-SARS seeks cooperation from media to fight crime

    F-SARS seeks cooperation from media to fight crime

    The Commander of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad ( F-SARS )in Cross River, Mr Victor Usang, has appealed for cooperation from journalists in the state in fighting crime.

    Usang made the appeal on Friday in Calabar when he paid a courtesy visit to the Chairman of the State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ ), Mr Victor Udu, at the council secretariat.

    The F-SARS commander said he was in the NUJ secretariat in the belief that security was the responsibility of everybody, nothing that community policing was the best way of fighting crime.

    “Since my assumption of office in the state, I have visited many organisations but I think NUJ is the most important partner in our efforts in fighting crime in Cross River.

    “I belief that security is the responsibility of everybody rather than few. I therefore appeal to journalists in the state to work with us in our effort to reduce crimes,’’ he said.

    According to him, there is increase in crime across the state and this calls for synergy among sister organisations and between the police and strategic professional groups like the NUJ.

    “Incidentally, Cross River is right now faced with rising crime wave such as kidnapping, cultism and armed robbery.

    “It is our duty to reduce the crime rate to the barest minimum. We need the cooperation of all, particularly the media,’’ he said.

    Read Also: Fake F-SARS commander, officer arrested in Rivers

    Responding, the NUJ chairman said that F-SARS owed it a duty to protect lives and property as well as ensure peace in the state.

    Udu called on the commander to work within the confines of the law while discharging his duties in the state.

    “Cross River needs peace and it is your duty to provide them with this peace.

    “So, I encourage you to do that2 and assure you that journalists in the state will work with you when necessary, to achieve the desired result,” he said.

    NAN

  • 40 electricity transformers vandalised in Nasarawa in 10 months – AEDC

    40 electricity transformers vandalised in Nasarawa in 10 months – AEDC

    Mr Ameen Shakur, Nasarawa State Regional Manager, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company ( AEDC ) says that no less than 40 transformers are vandalised in Lafia, capital of Nasarawa state since January.

    Shakur disclosed this on Wednesday when the executive and members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ ) Nasarawa State Council visited the company in Keffi.

    He decried the high rate of vandalism of electricity installations in the state, adding that the menace was impeding AEDC’s efforts in delivering effective service to the people of the state.

    “We have recorded over 40 transformers being vandalised since January in Lafia alone and that is what is happening all over the state.

    “It is high time customers took ownership of the equipment because they are located within their areas and are serving them.

    “There is nothing wrong with customers asking questions when they see suspicious persons around electricity installations,” Shakur said.

    According to him, a 500 KVA transformer costs N4.5 million, aside cables and other accessories.

    “It is imperative for the customers to know that the installations first belong to them, although being the company property, thus the need to protect them should be paramount.”

    He said the cost of replacing the vandalised substations was huge and appealed to customers to bear with the company

    The state regional manager assured them that the company was addressing the problem gradually due to the number of cases involved.

    Earlier, Suleiman Abubakar, Chairman of the Chapel appealed to the company to improve on its services in the state to meet the demands of the customers.

    Abubakar called for the provision of prepaid meters to address over billing and non-payment of electricity bills.

    NAN

  • OAU PG students accuse management of terminating colleagues’ studentship

    OAU PG students accuse management of terminating colleagues’ studentship

    The Post Graduate students of Obafemi Awolowo University ( OAU ), Ile-Ife on Osun State have accused the university management and the PG College of unabated victimisation.

    Addressing a press conference at the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ ) in Osogbo, Osun State capital, the leader of the students, Andrew Segun Oguma, said the studentship of four members of the students’ committee  that spearheaded the agitation against an exploitative regime were terminated on the flimsy excuse of late payment of their last semester tuition fees.

    According to them, while other students who are yet to pay their school fees were given till December to make payment,  members of the committee were strangely dismissed.

    The students lamented that despite several meetings and apology letters to the management and the PG College,  the Provost of the College,  Prof. Gbenga Alebiowu, insisted that “the apologies were not in conformity with his dictates.”

    They said: “The postgraduate students on two different occasions (aside other countless individual attempts) met with the Provost of the College in interactive sessions held within the hall of residence to extensively discuss our challenges.  “After series of communications with the provost, which all proved abortive, an official letter of our demands dated 12th September 2017 was sent to the Vice Chancellor and this was also ignored.

    “On 26th September 2017, there was a meeting of postgraduate students’ committee and the provost, which ended in a stalemate, yet, requested that the matter be rerouted and addressed to his office rather than through the Vice Chancellor.

    “On 27th September 2017, postgraduate students collectively submitted the requested letter to the provost with a week timeline for response. During the one week timeline, responses we got were decision extract that addressed nothing in our request but rather putting students in more frustrating conditions.

    “Directives were tailored towards putting undue pressure on students by compelling them to pay all outstanding fees else termination of studentship; termination of four committee members studentship among which are students who have done final oral examination and another who the Senate had sat on his result. All this response had emerged just because we appealed that students should no longer be charged fees after final oral examination.

    “Putting all of these efforts together, it is glaring that we as postgraduate students have exhausted all meaningful internal mechanisms which have unfortunately yielded no positive result. However, it has become a truth that the Provost is not ready to critically consider our demands nor yield to appeals coming from different quarters but hell bent on ensuring that students are continually exploited and made to unsparingly suffer.”

    When contacted, the Post Graduate Povost refused to make a comment. He advised our correspondent to speak with the Public Relations Officer of the university.

    Also,  the Vice-chancellor,  Prof.  Eyitope Ogunbodede,  in his response  to the allegation through a text message said: “Sorry, I am presently outside the country attending a summit on higher education. The termination was because the students did not pay their fees and were also insultive. However, the issue is now being resolved as the students have written a letter of apology. The PG College board will meet next week.”

  • Adeyemi college will soon be converted to varsity – Provost

    Adeyemi college will soon be converted to varsity – Provost

    Prof. Olukoya Ogen, the Provost of Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo on Wednesday in Akure said that the college would soon be converted to a university.

    The Provost who made this known when he paid a courtesy visit to the Chairman, Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ ), Ondo State chapter, Mr Ojo Oyewamide.

    Ogen, who was represented by Mrs Oluseto Olatuyi, the Head of Media of the college, noted that the converting process of the college was at the last stage at the Senate.

    The Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo has appealed to the Senate to fast-track passage of the bill seeking to convert the institution to a university.

    “The bill is at the last stage at the Senate and we pray that it will have President Muhammadu Buhari’s assent when finally passed.

    “Though if we attain that level, our responsibilities will be increased but we are up to the task,’’ he said.

    Ogen, who was represented by Mrs Oluseto Olatuyi, the Head of Media of the college, noted that the public hearing had been held where the institution defended the need for the college to be converted to a university.

    According to him, the college has since been operating as a university in terms of learning modules and research, thereby competing with other universities’ programmes.

    Ogen urged the chapel to collaborate with the institution in the area of information dissemination.

    The provost, who stressed the need for better and improved relationship between the college and the Chapel, described it as a major stakeholder in information management.

    “We are primarily here to seek your support and improve relationship in any area that you can be of help to our college as it relates to information dissemination and development of the school.’’

    On the issue of security on the campus, Ogen said that the school had taken preventive measures to forestall breach of security in and around the campus.

    He disclosed that the college had installed Close Circuit Television (CCTV) in strategic locations on the campus as part of efforts to ensure security.

    The provost also maintained that all students had been issued mandatory identity cards to students of the institution.

    Responding, Chapel chairman, Oyewamide commended the provost for his visit and for appointing an expert to manage its Public Relations Unit.

    He said that the chapel would continue to collaborate with the college by propagating its activities with a view to boosting its image and for mutual benefits.

    NAN

  • 2019: PDP should put it’s act together, else will be difficult to win – Bafarawa

    2019: PDP should put it’s act together, else will be difficult to win – Bafarawa

    Former Governor Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa and Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) stalwart has said that unless the party exhibits the principle and spirit of honesty and collective participation, the leadership of the country will not be grabbed.

    He said the PDP has to put it’s arts together in that direction otherwise it quest for the country’s leadership will be difficult to come bye on a platter of gold.

    Bafarawa spoke when he received officials of the Sokoto state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ ) on a courtesy visit to him at ‎his residence in Sokoto.

    The one time presidential candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party ( DPP ) also noted that the media remain the live wire of any society, adding that” the media  will only ‎succeed if practitioners are fair and fearless in their reportage.

    According to him” Democracy without the media is like tea without sugar. ‎The media is the back bone of governance and development particularly in a democratic setting.

    “Therefore, journalists who kill stories, kill themselves. What is killing Nigeria’s democracy is arm chair journalism”, he pointed out.

    The former Sokoto state governor who is also the proprietor of the newly established Garkuwa FM radio station in Sokoto further appealed to meida practitioners and journalists to improve and engage in investigative journalism to better the patriotic zeal and commitment to the development, peace and stability of Nigerians and  the country’s democratic institutions‎.

    Read Also:

    Ogun PDP: Kashamu’s camp reclaim Secretariat, arrest 17

  • IBB University gets $30m TETFund grant for research

    IBB University gets $30m TETFund grant for research

    The Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University ( IBB ), Lapai in Niger on Wednesday said it received 30 million dollars grant from Tertiary Education Trust Fund ( TETFund ) for critical research projects.

    The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Muhammad Maiturare, made this known in Lapai when executive members of Correspondent Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists ( NUJ ), Niger council, paid him a courtesy visit.

    Maiturare said that the grant was the Institutional Based Research component of TETFund, which would be utilised to explore potential benefits for socio-economic development of the state and the country at large.

    “The research projects which cut across fields of sciences, technology, education and humanities will go a long way in fast tracking the development drive of Niger State and Nigeria in general,’’ he said.

    He commended the chapel leadership for the visit and assured members of the institution’s management’s readiness to sustain collaboration with its members.

    The vice chancellor advised the journalists to always be objective in their reportage, describing them as critical stakeholders that would contribute to the development of the institution.

    Earlier, Mr Aideloje Ojo, Chairman of the Correspondent Chapel, Minna, lauded the initiative of the university in the development of the education sector, especially on research that would contribute to the development of humanity.

    Ojo assured that the correspondent chapel would support the university by promoting its activities.

    NAN