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Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • Be patient over bad roads, Sanwo-Olu appeals 

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has appealed to Lagosians for patience over the bad state of roads in the state saying the continuous rainfall since he was sworn-in about four months ago is slowing down rehabilitation/palliative work on the roads.

    Sanwo-Olu made the appeal while answering questions on the traffic situation and bad roads in the state at ‘The Platform’ put together by The Covenant Place, which took place at Iganmu on Tuesday.

    The event which was a question and answer programme coordinated by Pastor Poju Oyemade has as its theme: ‘Re- designing the Nigerian Economy with new ideas’.

    Sanwo-Olu promised that there would be extensive and massive rehabilitation of roads after the raining seasons, but that all the roads can not be tackled at the same time.

    The governor said it has been raining since he was sworn-in and bitumen does not like rain and so work on the roads is being slowed down because of this.

    He however assured that the government was still working day and night to remedy the state of the bad roads in the state.

    Read Also: Independence: We shall achieve collective aspiration as a nation – Sanwo-Olu

    Apart from bad roads, the governor said water, small landmass and population explosion were responsible for traffic congestion but that his government’s remedy for the traffic problem being experienced on a daily basis was a multi-modal transportation system.

    This he said involves developing the rail, water transportation and bus transit system which the government is already working on.

    “On water transportation, we are encouraging the building of a lot of jetties and we have just acquired 6-7 new passenger boats that can take 60-70 passengers at a time”.

    These, Sanwo-Olu said will be the long term solution to the transportation problem, adding that the government was working on a short, medium and long term solution to issues surrounding transportation.

    On commercial motor-cycle operators, the governor said because he wants to give everybody a chance to be part of the state development plan, the government is trying to harmonize and come up with a regulation system for them.

    “This is designed to know who they are, their activities and how to manage them to ensure that they don’t add to the problem of traffic flow in the state, we don’t want to disenfranchise anybody,” Sanwo-Olu said.

    The governor also disclosed that since his assumption of office it is only in the education sector that he has given a major approval for the recruitment of about 10, 000 teachers into the state public schools, a process that is already on-going.

    Adding that he would also ensure proper and adequate regular training for teachers to increase and enhance their efficiency and capacity.

    According to him, through the fibre initiative of his administration which is already on-going, everybody, especially schools and hospitals will have access to high speed internet services and as a technology enabler, it will manage traffic and other security issues in the state.

    “We are constricted in term of finances, but it is a marathon, we need to continue to run to ensure we meet up and I can assure you that we will meet up and Lagos will continue to be greater”, Sanwo-Olu assured.

  • Buhari’s independence broadcast insult to Nigerians, says PDP

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s Independence Day broadcast as an insult on the psyche of Nigerians and a mockery of the nation’s integrity as an independent state.

    The party said the President’s speech was completely unpresidential, lacking in patriotic stance and replete with manifest inconsistencies, contradictions, paradoxes and false performance claims.

    In a statement Tuesday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the main opposition party said the President’s broadcast was a “mockery of democracy” and has further confirmed that the country is in wrong hands.

    It noted that President Buhari, in his recorded address, failed to forcefully address the key issues of freedom, social justice, constitutional order, separation of powers, rule of law, human rights, credible elections, national cohesion, accountability and transparency in government.

    According to the PDP, President Buhari ignored these very fundamentals of an independent state, because his administration had violated them all.

    It expressed regrets that the President had no forceful reassurances on the challenge of escalated insecurity under his watch.

    “He (President) had no clear-cut and operable blueprint to revamp our economy, which his administration wrecked in a period of four years, resulting in so much hardship and despondency that Nigerians now resort to suicide and slavery abroad as options.

    “Our party notes that this address further exposes that the Buhari Presidency is not interested in nation building; that it is completely disconnected from the people and remains insensitive to the plights of Nigerians”, the PDP said.

    Read Also; Text of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Independence Day speech

    The party further stated that if anything, the President only succeeded in further demonstrating that his administration is, indeed, in no position to deliver a credible, acceptable and satisfactory independence address.

    This PDP lamented that under the Buhari Presidency, the nation has experienced the worst form of division, deprivation, human right abuse, constitutional violations, disregard for rule of law, electoral malpractices, disobedience to court orders, disrespect for separation of powers and curtailing of press freedom.

    It added that due to the incompetence and legitimacy challenges confronting the Buhari Presidency, the nation has lost its voice and due regard in the international arena; “as the administration has remained lacking in the required capacity and boldness to forcefully engage other world leaders on critical issues”.

    “The dearth in foreign direct investments and the inhuman treatments being meted out on our citizens in countries where we were once held in very high esteem, are some of the injuries our nation is suffering under the Buhari administration”, the statement said.

    The party observed that while other leaders motivate their citizens on Independence Day, President Buhari presented uninspiring claims, propaganda and empty promises, describing the development as “depressing”.

    The PDP however urged Nigerians not to despair but keep hope alive, as the nation collectively awaits the Supreme Court to deliver justice and retrieve “our stolen” presidential mandate, so that the nation will have a leadership that it truly deserves at this point in the nation’s history.

  • UCL: Nigerian Emmanuel Dennis makes history with Club Brugge

    With his brace in Club Brugge’s 2-2 draw against Real Madrid, Emmanuel Dennis has become the third Nigerian to score against the Spaniards in the UEFA Champions League.

    Only Yusuf Ayila and James Obiorah had found the next against Los Blancos in the tournament’s history.

    Furthermore, his first strike was the earliest goal scored by the Belgians in Champions League history.

    The Blue-Black got off to the best possible start at Santiago Bernabeu, as Dennis gave the visitors a shock lead after nine minutes despite making a mess of Percy Tau’s cross.

    He doubled his side’s lead six minutes before the half-time break after Luka Modric’s careless pass sent the youngster through on goal, before beating Thibaut Courtois in goal.

    Sergio Ramos and Casemiro clawed a point back for Zinedine Zidane’s men, but it was the Nigerian who shone the brightest in Madrid.

     

    Goal.Com

  • ‘Minimum wage non-payment is forced labour’

    The Incorporated Trustees of Laws and Rights Awareness Initiative has asked a National Industrial Court in Abuja to declare the Federal Government’s non-payment of the national minimum wage as forced labour.

    The non-governmental organisation (NGO) argued that the government’s conduct violated the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act which was assented to by the President since April 2019.

    It filed the suit marked NICN/ABJ/292/2019 through its lawyer, Mr Olumide Babalola, on Friday, September 27.
    It is seeking four reliefs:

    “A declaration that the Respondent’s payment of salaries lower than the minimum wage provided under Section 3 of the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2019 constitutes a degrading treatment in violation of eligible workers’ right to dignity of human persons guaranteed by Section 34(1)(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As amended).

    “A declaration that the Respondent’s payment of salaries less than the minimum wage constitutes forced labour in violation of the provision of Section 34(1)(c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As amended).

    Read Also; ‘States attaching conditions to minimum wage implementation’

    “A declaration that by virtue of section 9(2)(c) of the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2019, the Respondent ought to pay every eligible worker an additional penalty of not less than prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria’s lending rate for every month of default of payment of minimum wage since May 2019.

    “Consequential order(s) that this honourable court may deem fit to grant in the circumstance.”
    In their written address, the Applicant relying on a decision by the Supreme Court of India in Sanit Roy v State of Rajasthan (1983) PLR 328, 1983 SCR (2) 271, argued that payment of salaries less than the minimum wage falls within the meaning of forced labour.

    The matter is yet to be assigned to a judge.

  • Lagos-Ibadan Expressway gridlock: residents turn refugees on Island, Churches

    As the gridlock along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway occasioned by the ongoing reconstruction of the road by Julius Berger Construction Company bites harder, residents working in Lagos now take refuges on the Island, mainland and in churches.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that hundreds of residents living in the adjourning communities along the ever busy expressway but working in Lagos now squat in various places ranging from churches to relatives and friends.

    The residents who spoke to NAN lamented the lackadaisical attitude of the contractor (Julius Berger) handling the road that reputably has 250 vehicles on it every day.

    The 127.6-kilometre-long road inaugurated by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1978 is one of the largest road network in Africa and the busiest inter-state route in Nigeria.

    The only accessible road that leads to the commercial capital of the country is however awarded for reconstruction after years of neglect by the previous governments.

    The reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, according to the commuters is moving at a snail’s speed owing to the years already spent on building it.

    The section being handled by the Julius Berger from Sagamu to Lagos, however, looks the guiltiest of the commuter’s complaints as the company has been accused of unprofessional conduct in handling the reconstruction.

    There are times when accidents involving articulated will cause gridlock for hours on the road because there are no recovery vehicles to pull them away, especially the Ogun State axis of the road.

    There are also times when commuters are forced down from their vehicles to resort to trekking which may take hours, some getting home by 2 a.m. against 5 p.m. when they left their offices.

    The gridlock is compounded by road diversion by the Berger Construction Company to allow reconstruction of the 600 meters stretch of the expressway from Kara Bridge inward Berger.

    The Kara Bridge inward Berger road has become a nightmare since its partial closure on Sept. 2 as motorists and commuters spend hours in the gridlock close to two hours everyday.

    One of the complaints of the commuters is on the absence of recovery vehicles to tow away breakdown vehicles from the road, especially articulated trucks and tankers.

    Mr Abiodun Obadan told NAN that the reason for the regular occurrence of vehicular breakdown was due to the stress on the road, adding that most of the car engines would have worn out before getting to Berger.

    “We are facing a lot of problem on the road. Julius Berger handling the section of Sagamu to Lagos has not been fair to us at all because they are just reconstructing the road in bits.

    “From Mowe where I stays to Berger, there are about three to four diversions which cause traffic, so imagine a car in traffic for four hours daily, what do you expect from that car.

    “Most of the vehicles plying the roads will develop fault as a result of overheating occasioned by the heavy traffic. And if I may ask, what is the wisdom in reconstructing the roads in bits?

    “Another problem is the mismanagement of the road, the road which should have been four lanes has been narrowed to two lanes yet, Berger will not patch the potholes on the narrowed lanes,’’ he said.

    Mr Femi Adelola, one of the residents living in Asese but forced to relocate to his friends place, said he took the decision so as not to lose his job.

    “I am almost on the edge because I already have two queries as a result of coming late to work and this is nothing else than hours spent on getting to Lagos.

    “Before I relocated, I will have to leave my home around 5 a.m., but will not be able to get to work until 9.a.m., because I am working on the Island.

    “The worst part of it is that the long hours spent in the traffic is already taking toll on my health because I barely sleep, the contractor, Berger is the one mismanaging the road.

    “They don’t care about the gridlock on the road at all. Is it proper for Julius Berger’s workers to close from the site as early as 4 a.m, for a road that is as busy as that?

    Mr Soji Martins who now relocated to Gbagada, said the decision to relocate was best for him, adding that he almost lost his life to armed robbers attack on the long bridge.

    “I had to abandon my house and seek for tenants because I cannot cope again. Imagine that I was attacked when coming from work on the long bridge because there was no presence of security personnel.

    “On that fateful day when I was attacked, the robbers had a field day and the worst part of it is that it was around 10 p.m. after we have spent hours on the road,’’ he said.

    A retiree of Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech), Mr Oladotun Owamokele, told NAN that he had to be sleeping in the church to avoid sleeping on the road.

    “I am now a refugee in the church because I cannot stand the rigour of spending hours in the traffic.

    “I don’t understand the reason for leaving broken down vehicles on the narrowed lanes without being attended to. Sometimes, it can take two hours to remove them from the busy road.

    “If Julius Berger cannot afford to buy recovery vehicles, why can’t government a agency such as Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) buy them to easy the traffic?

    “I must also say that Julius Berger as a construction company looks incapable of handling the reconstruction the road using the other contractor handling other side as yardstick,’’ he said.

  • Gunmen attack army general’s house, kill guard

    Malual Ayom Dor, the former deputy military chief for administration, said that his residence at Hai Nyakuron West in Juba was attacked by unknown gunmen on Sunday evening.
    Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Monday, Lieutenant General Malual Ayom said his security guard, Garang Deng, who was posted outside the residence was killed when unknown assailants opened fire outside the house, adding the attackers also took phones from his nephew.

    “The incident occurred when the security guard and my nephew Ayom Lueth were returning home from my late brother’s house where they normally have dinner,” he said.

    “When the two people were coming home, two armed men in plain clothes emerged from the gate and asked my nephew who was ahead to kneel down, so after they asked my nephew to surrender his wallet and phones, they shot Garang when he appeared,” he added.

    Read Also: Unknown gunmen attack Ebonyi community kill 10 persons

    The security guard was rushed to Juba Military Hospital after being shot but died on Monday while being treated, he said.

    The South Sudanese army general pointed out that he was not present when the incident took place. “I left Juba for Nairobi on Sunday, but I will go back to Juba to attend the funeral,” he said.

    Malual pointed out that the motive of the attack that left his security guard dead remains unclear.

  • Two killed as angry ‘Okada’ riders set police vehicle ablaze in A’Ibom

    The attrition war between the police and commercial motorcyclists otherwise called ‘Okada’ over government’s regulation of motorcycle operations in Akwa Ibom state is yet to abate.

    This is as the police and the ‘Okada’ riders clashed on Tuesday in the oil city of Eket resulting in the death of two commercial motorcyclists and the burning of a Volvo station wagon car used by the police for surveillance.

    Police spokesman, Odiko MacDon SP confirmed the incident and said that 19 suspects have been arrested in connection with the fracas in Eket.

    MacDon said the suspects arrested had defied government’s restriction order which allows Okada riders to operate between 6 am and 6 pm.

    He insisted that the police cannot be intimidated to stop the enforcement of government’s directive.

    Saturday’s incident happened just a week after the police allegedly killed an ‘Okada’ rider in Uyo which sparked off wild protest resulting in the torching of the NTA station and massive destruction of properties in the capital city.

    The Nation gathered that tension in Eket reached a breaking point following an order placed by Eket local authorities restricting the operation of Okada riders to 6pm and 6am. The government had said the decision was to check the upsurge in crime in the area.

    It was gathered that some okada riders did accept the restriction order and went ahead to operate beyond the government time limit.

    An eyewitness Emman Okposin said the police surveillance team chased them away from the road from 5:30pm as against the 6pm deadline and that they beat his colleagues and impound their motorcycles.

    Okposin said , last Sunday night one their members was shot dead by the police while chasing the operators from road.

    ” Last Sunday our member was shot dead in the night and the corpse has been deposited in mortuary at Immanuel General hospital , Eket.

    Continuing, Okposin said the incident that caused them to revolt occurred yesterday when a policeman beat a motorcyclists and he collapsed on the spot before the victim was rushed to hospital.

    He said the victim identified as Udo from Idung Udoe in the area died previous night while receiving treatment at Immanuel General Hospital , Eket.

    Read Also: Police confirm killing of wanted kidnapper, ‘Lucifer’ in Rivers

    ” Our member udo from Idung Udoe in Eket died last night from injuries he sustained in the hands of police so we revolted.”

    He said the youths and all motorcyclists operators took the corpse to Eket local government council and later to the area police station as the council chairman Frank Archibong was not available to address them .

    Okposin said the police prevented them from entering their station and they returned the corpse to the mortuary.

    He said all the cyclists and the youths regrouped and moved to police checkpoint along James Town road and burn down their patrol vehicle as policemen at the checkpoint escaped.

  • Alleged rape: Submit yourself to court, Dakolo tells Fatoyinbo

    Busola Dakolo, wife of Nigeria’s inspirational singer Timi Dakolo has urged the FCT High Court in Abuja to discountenance Preliminary Objection filed against her case by Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo, Founder and Senior Pastor, Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA).

    Busola Dakolo, made the plea while responding to the preliminary objection by Fatoyinbo insisting that she sued the pastor because of the continuous emotional injuries she had suffered as a result of the rape he committed.

    She, therefore, asked that he (Fatoyinbo) should submit himself to court to ensure justice.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mrs Dakolo dragged Fatoyinbo to an FCT High Court for allegedly raping her on different occasions when she was a teenager about 20 years ago.

    Dakolo in her suite claimed that the incident had continued to hunt and traumatize her and as such required justice to be discharged through the law court.

    The court in a writ of summons dated Sept. 6 had ordered the Pastor to appear before it within 14 days of the service or judgment may be given in his absence.

    However, the Pastor through his lawyer Mr Alex Izinyon, SAN, tried to discharge the suite by filing a preliminary objection dated Sept. 20, saying that the case was filed out of time and the court cannot long hear the matter again.

    Read Also: COZA: Fatoyinbo not ready to be helped, says ex-spiritual father

    Responding to Fatoyinbo’s preliminary objection, Busola Dakolo through her Lawyer Mr Pelumi Olajengbesi argued that the action was not statute-barred (filed out of time) and that it is predicated on continuous injury which is an exception to the Statute of Limitation.

    She noted that the argument that her suit was filed out of time was misconceived and an attempt to hoodwink the court from the main issue and evade justice.

    “My cause of action is predicated on a continuing injury which I have continued to suffer over a long period of time,” she said.

    Busola Dakolo urged the court to discountenance Pastor Fatoyinbo’s Preliminary Objection to the case and asked that he submit himself to court to ensure justice.

    She prayed the Court not to allow the defendant run away from justice by hiding under the cloak of statute of limitation, noting that emotional distress is a tort that cannot be quantified by time

  • Eleven suspected cultists in Police net

    Eleven persons suspected to be members of Aiye Confraternity have reportedly been arrested in Okwu Olokoro community in Umuahia South Local Government Area of Abia State.

    Reports have it that street cults have been sprouting in different parts of the state especially areas where there is presence of higher institutions as unconfirmed reports have it that members of various cult groups go beyond their respective institutions to canvass for membership. This is even as they took the advantage to lure youths of secondary schools among others into their fold.

    Information available to our reporter has it that the suspects were in one of the forest in the community to carry out initiation exercise when luck ran out on them.

    Sources in the community disclosed that the community has launched manhunt on the alleged cult leader identified as Chinomso Ochulo also known as “Agwa Ojoo” (bad character).

    Read Also: ‘Killers’ of police officer arrested in Aba

    Some members of the community who pleaded not to be mentioned told our reporter that the suspects who confessed to be members of Aiye Cult were indigenes of Abia and Imo State.

    The sources added that the suspected members of the cult group claimed that they were in the bush between Okwu Olokoro and Nnono Oboro in Ikwuano local government area for a meeting and not for any initiation reasons.

    When contacted, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Okon Eneh confirmed that the eleven suspects were in police custody.

    Eneh stated that investigation at the time of filing the report was ongoing, adding that the suspects would be arraigned in court after the investigation.

    The State Police Boss, who disclosed that an axe was recovered from them, also urged parents and guardians to monitor the friends their children/wards keep both at home and in school.

     

  • Beware of those who wants us divided, Alaafin warns Yorubas

    The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi has called for unity and oneness among the Yoruba speaking people of the country, saying only through that can the desired development of the region be accomplished.

    The monarch made the call on Tuesday while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected executive council and committee members of the umbrella body of all Ibadan sociocultural groups, the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) at Ibadan House, Oke Are, Ibadan.

    Some of the prominent dignitaries at the event include the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, the Eleruwa of Eruwa, Oba Samuel Adegbola, Ex-Governor Abiola Ajimobi, Chief Bode Amoo, the state commissioner of Police, Shina Olukolu, CCII President-General, Mr Yemi Soladoye among other prominent indigenes and friends of Ibadan.

    The event also saw the Ibadan House headquarters of the Council, a police station among others commissioned by the dignitaries.

    Alaafin who chaired the event, in a brief remark noted that there are some indications that some elements are bent on dividing the Yoruba’s for different reasons, but warned that the people must be careful and ensure unity of purpose.

    He also emphasis the place of living in love and peace for unity to be achieved in the region.

    He said, “Some people want to divide the Yorubas but we should be very careful.

    “We should continue to live in peace, in one love and in unity so that we can have the desired development for our region.

    “There is no love within us in Yorubaland, and we have to learn how to live in love and peace within ourselves and I can assure you that this will foster the development we are yearning for in our region.”

    In his speech, former Governor Ajimobi said the quality of the leadership of the CCII often makes him a proud Ibadan man any day and every time, noting that the exemplary leadership styles of the Soladoye led Council is worth commending.

    Read Also: Alaafin: talking straight to Buhari

    He recounted that during his tenure as Oyo state governor, some amount of monies were raised to build an ultra-modern central palace for the Olubadan, but was quite surprised that the project has remained uncompleted till date.

    He however assured that he will not be discouraged from doing more in his capacities to contribute more to the completion of the project.

    He said, “During my tenure as governor of this state, we raised the sum of N240 million to build an ultra modern palace for Olubadan but it is quite unfortunate that the palace is still yet to be completed.

    “I suspected that some people that are in charge of that money and the project were not judicious in its usage. But I will continue to contribute my efforts to make sure that the project is completed.”

    Earlier in his address, CCII President-General, Mr Yemi Soladoye called on all indigenes of the ancient city to always be ready to contribute to the development of the city, especially on terms of ongoing projects to uplift the state.

    He recounted the various achievements of the immediate past executive which he led, noting that the city is still a long way to go.

    He said, “Despite the fact that we have made some modest progress in the life of Ibadanland, there is still a long way for us to go as a people.

    “The fate of Ibadanland has been left for too long in the hands of basically nobody. Most of us see just the privileges of being Ibadan indigenes and not the responsibilities.

    “The aspects of Ibadanland that is known to the rest of the world are a people that lack political unity, people with crisis in their traditional system, people with fragmented leadership and the most populated single ethnic group in Nigeria that does not have its own state, palace or united ethnic agenda.

    “We are a people that do not appreciate our self-worth and the leadership role that we must play in Yorubaland in Nigeria. We are loved and respected by others, but we hate ourselves with passion.

    “We are a people that prefer to cede our love outsiders than to ourselves and our fighting strength exhibited more at home than outside”, Soladoye lamented.