The Nation Newspaper

Tag: PRO

  • Pro, anti-Onnoghen protests rocks Abuja

    LAWYERS could not meet yesterday over suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen’s fate – no thanks to protests that rocked the venue in Abuja.

    The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) fixed the meeting to take a position on the suspension of the CJN by President Muhammadu on Friday.

    The pro and anti-Onnoghen protests were infiltrated by miscreants who stormed the meeting venue within the Central Business District (CBD).

    The protesters made it impossible for those against the suspension to air their view as they repeatedly chanted “Ba naso, Ba naso”, “Onnoghen must go”.

    For about three hours, vehicles could not pass as the protesters took over the road leading to the NBA secretariat venue of the meeting.

    Lawyers, who were billed to attend the meeting, could not make it to the venue.

    Security operatives had a hectic time controlling street urchins.

    Reporters were accused by the miscreants of taking side with the lawyers and not reporting their activities.

    The National Coordinator of the Advocacy for Civil Service and Justice, one of the groups protesting at the NBA secretariat, Giwa Victor, said they were not against the prosecution of Justice Onnoghen, but insisting that due process must be followed.

    He said: “We are not saying that Justice Onnoghen is not corrupt, we are not saying that he should not be removed or prosecuted. What we are saying is that due process should be followed and the petition against him should be sent to the NJC for action. There is no law in the land that vests the President with the power to suspend the CJN. Due process has to be followed.”

    Read also: Onnoghen: The wasp on the nation’s scrotum

    Co-Conveners of the National Interest Defenders, Ikenga Imo Ugochiyere, who condemned CJN Onnoghen’s suspension by the President, said the protest marked the beginning of civil action by Nigerians to reclaim their country from the grip of those who have treated “the constitution with disdain, our principles of constitutional governance with scorn and our democratic ethos with contempt and derision”.

    He said: “It is shameful that President Muhammadu Buhari relied on and used a forged and fictitious tribunal order to purport to suspend the CJN and appoint a factional Chief Justice while knowing that the order was forged and fictitious.

    “Nigerians will recall that the petition served on the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) against the Chief Justice of Nigeria was received by the Bureau on the 9th January, 2019.

    “The purported tribunal order on which the President claimed he relied upon is also dated the same 9th January, 2019. The motion on notice seeking the same prayers as the purported Ex parte motion is dated 10th January, 2019, the charge filed was dated 10th January, 2019, while the statement of the CJN in answer to the petition was on the 11th of January, 2011.”

    He accused the President of violating the constitution, an action he said amounts to gross misconduct.

    Ugochiyere called on the NBA and the National Judicial Council (NJC) not to stand against what he described as impunity.

    According to him, the swearing in of Justice Tanko Mohammed as an acting CJN was an aberration.

    He said: “The NJC and NBA must order the shutdown of the courts until the illegal suspension of the CJN is lifted and Justice Tanko Mohammed made to vacate the office.

    “The NJC must expel Justice Tanko Mohammed from the bench for accepting an illegal appointment in violation of the constitution and the NJC rules of engagement.

    “The NBA must direct lawyers to boycott the Code of Conduct Tribunal presided over by Danladi Umar until disciplinary action is served on Umar for issuing a fake order that paved the way for impunity.

    “No provision in Sections 157 and 292 of the 1999 Constitution as amended supports the President in purporting to suspend the CJN or swearing in an acting CJN.

    ‘The whole idea of a limited government is that the President’s powers is limited by law and it is ultra vires his powers to act in the absence of explicit legislative authorisation. That is representative democracy at its best which our 1999 Constitution as amended guarantees.”

  • Akwa Ibom 2019: Pro, anti-Ekere forces trade words

    Justice and Development Initiative, a political pressure group, has outlined reasons why the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom, Obong Nsima Ekere, is unfit to be governor.

    The group, in a statement  by Mr. Tom Chris Morgan,  in Uyo yesterday, accused Ekere of not executing a project given to his company years ago.

    “…The contract was awarded by the NDDC to Great House Investment to build a teaching hospital at the site of the Akwa Ibom State University in Mkpat Enin with N3.6 billion with a variation of N1.1 billion.

    “It is surprising that after six years work on the site has not reached 20 per cent completion thus denying our medical students and residents of the state the opportunity of enjoying first class medical services and training.

    “This is the same person that wants to be the governor of Akwa Ibom. It is because of this and many others that we are saying he is unfit to rule the state.

    “We therefore call on residents and indigenes to disregard his many promises of a new vision for Akwa Ibom State.”

    But spokesman of Nsima Ekere Campaign Organisation, Mr. Eseme Eyiboh, described allegations against Ekere as “ranting of those who want to confuse Akwa Ibom people on the new vision Nsima Ekere wants to bring to governance in the state.’’

    Eyiboh said those organising protests were non-performing contractors, who want to distract the APC governorship candidate.

    He urged the people to disregard calls from unknown groups, which want to be noticed in this peak period of political engineering.

  • NPA gets new PRO

    Mr Adams Jatto is the new General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communication of the Nigerian Ports Authority.

    The new spokesman holds a Master of Project Management (MPM) degree, PostGraduate Diploma in Shipping Management and Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) certificates.

    Jatto belongs to many professional bodies, among them are the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE); the Institute of Shipping Technology (FIST) and the Institute of Credit Administration (FICA). He is also a Certified Public-Private Partnership specialist.

    The new image maker before his redeployment had served as the General Manager with the Land & Asset Administration as well as the Engineering Maintenance Department.

    He attended International and local training programmes. Some of them include project management course, (Dubai); Port Master Plan (Belgium); capacity building in leadership for development and public good (Kansas State University, United States (US); IP3 Washington DC Labour Relations and Collective Bargaining, Lagos; Corporate Image and Personality Development, Lagos and Managing and Leading Strategic Change, among several others.

    At a time, Jatto was Assistant General Manager, Procurement and Managing Director, Seaview Properties Limited, a subsidiary of NPA.

    The new image-maker has urged members of staff to support him in his quest to boost the image of the authority and its personnel.

    “Collaboration must be the watchword as we navigate the very challenging task of ensuring that NPA takes its place of pride among notable institutions across the world,” he said.

    Jatto also urged officers of the unit to continue to promote the image of the authority and brace to the new vista in line with the change mantra of the Federal Government, urging them to key into the agency’s vision.

  • Council of chartered institute of project managers gets new PRO

    The President And chairperson council of chartered institute of project managers of Nigeria (Dr) Mrs. Victoria appoints Ikechukwu Bishop Okoronkwo as the Public Relationship officer(PRO)/Director Of Program of the institute.

    This is coming shortly after President Buhari had signed into Law the act establishing the institute on January 4 2018. With bill passed into law, the institute have been given the mandate to regulate and charter the practice of Project management in Nigeria.

    Mr Ike Bishop Okoronkwo is a graduate of university of port harcourt and southwales university. According to his appointment letter is to be the image maker of the Institute, to defend and give the institute a voice in the world. He is to bring his experience in marketing and branding in other to give the institute a maximum exposure. The appointment takes immediate effect.

    The president of the Institute, Dr Mrs Victoria while speaking at the special thanksgiving Organized by the institute acknowledged that Mr Ikechukwu have been with the institute since 2013 and have contributed immensely in the growth and chartering of the institute by the National Assembly. She also added that The incoming PRO has a lot of experience in information management ranging from his days in the University of port Harcourt. Mr Okoronkwo is a fellow of the institute and a well respected family man.

  • NDLEA raises alarm over use of under-aged children in hard drug peddling

     

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Oyo State Command, has raised alarm over the use of under-aged street children in the sale of hard drugs in the state.

    Mrs Mutiat Okuwobi, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the command, raised the alarm in an interview with the Newsmen on Thursday in Ibadan.

    Okuwobi said the trend had posed very serious danger to the state and called on parents not to allow their children turn into street urchins.

    “In some areas you will find that street children are used to perpetrate sales of hard drugs; most of these children are under-aged.

    “They don’t really start out by using the drugs but they help in selling it, especially marijuana or cannabis sativa. These children are supposed to be in school,” she said.

    Okuwobi also decried the high rate of use of drugs among adults and adolescents in the state.

    “The use of tramadol and cough syrup is trendy now; these are conventional drugs people use. It is mostly abused by youths. Some children also abuse these drugs.

    Read Also:   NDLEA arrests 324 in drug crackdown

    “Children that take these drugs must have probably collected them from older persons as they cannot on their own buy them,” he said.

    The PRO further said that few children had been arrested along with some youths abusing the conventional drugs in some bad joints.

    She also said there had been some reported cases of secondary school students in the state who indulge in hard drugs.

    “We have some secondary schools around our command office at Onireke where students are involved in hard drugs and the authorities do call us for intervention.

    “We have counseled some students and there is the need for continuous sensitisation among the students and that is what we do generally to stop the menace.” Okuwobi said.

    NAN

     

  • Escape in Kuje Prison: Officer-in-Charge, 13 others suspended

    Escape in Kuje Prison: Officer-in-Charge, 13 others suspended

     … Solomon Amodu, Maxwell Ajukwu still at large

    The out come of the Preliminary investigation into the last prison break at the Kuje Medium Prison has been made public.

    Following the escape of two high profile inmates, Solomon Amodu and Maxwell Ajukwu both standing trial for culpable homicide from lawful custody in Kuje Medium Security Prison on June 24, 2016, the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board (CDFIPB) has approved the suspension of 4 senior officers while the Controller-General of Prisons, Ja’afaru Ahmed in his capacity, also approved the suspension of 10 junior staff of the prison.

    The affected officers and men are:

    1. DCP Musa Tanko was the Officer-in-Charge of Kuje Medium Prison when the incident happened.
    2. SIP Buhari Musa Dogo
    3. PIP Stephen Edogbanya J.
    4. PIP Patrick Teru
    5. IP Usman Peter
    6. IP Dennis B. Makum
    7. IP Fassan S. Akin
    8. SPA Daka James
    9. SPA Adamu Luka
    10. SPA Zakari Yunasa
    11. PA Asnamal Samuel
    12. PA Ejegwa Patrick
    13. PA 11 Isah Ibrahim
    14. PA 11 Ngede Salifu.

    According to a statement issued in Abuja and made available to The Nation, by the Nigeria Prisons Service, (NPS), Public Relations Officer, (PRO), Frances Enobore: “the suspension is sequel to the outcome of the preliminary investigation into the incident and in consonance with PSR 030406 (2008) Revised Version; the officers were suspended from duty to allow for unhindered trial process.

    “The commissioned officers among them are to be served with letters of query while the junior staff will be given Form 96 (Charge Sheet) to explain their role in the unfortunate saga.

    “Meanwhile, efforts to recapture the fleeing prisoners in collaboration with sister security agencies are on-going. This is in addition to tightening security measures in and prison formations nationwide to forestall a repeat of such incident.

    “The Controller General wishes to solicit the cooperation of members of the public to volunteer useful information that will assist in the recapture of the fugitives.”

  • National Assembly union denies non-remittance of N158m dues

    National Assembly union denies non-remittance of N158m dues

    The executive of the National Assembly’s chapter of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) has denied a report that it did not remit N158 million check-off dues to its national body.

    PASAN’s national leadership, last week, announced the dissolution of the National Assembly’s Chapter over alleged non-payment of N158 million dues.

    PASAN’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the National Assembly’s chapter, , in a statement in Abuja, described the purported dissolution of the chapter’s executive as illegal.

    Kyespo said the executive had never defaulted in the payment of monthly check-off dues, as claimed by its national leadership.

    The union leader explained that no chapter of PASAN was complying with the provision of the union’s constitution on check-off dues, because of its “obnoxious nature”.

    He urged workers of the National Assembly’s Central Working Committee (CWC) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of PASAN and the public to disregard the purported dissolution.

    The statement reads: “Following claims by the National President and General Secretary of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) that the executive organ of the National Assembly Chapter of PASAN has been dissolved over alleged failure to pay check-off dues, the executive, on behalf of the National Assembly Chapter wishes to state as follows:

    “That the action of the National Secretary of PASAN on the purported dissolution of a democratically elected Exco of the NASS chapter is illegal, null and void with no effect.

    “That the National Assembly executive of PASAN has not defaulted in the payment of the monthly check-off dues as claimed by the National President and Secretary General of PASAN.

    “The seventh NEC meeting held between April 29 to 30 2014 at the Senate wing of the National Assembly complex never resolved to dissolve any chapter Exco that is owing check-off dues as purported because no chapter is complying with the provision of the PASAN Constitution as regards check-off dues due to its obnoxious nature.

    “The unilateral act of the President to have purportedly dissolved the NASS Chapter Executive and constituting a caretaker committee without a valid NEC resolution is a further proof of his anti-democratic inclination and lack of transparency in running PASAN activities at the national level. The procedure for resolving all internal dispute is clearly stated in Rule 22 of the PASAN Constitution.

    “Further proof to this is his refusal to allow external auditing of PASAN account since He assumed office even when some chapter requested to have a copy of the audited account in complying with Rule 20.

    “The appointment of Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Ishola (rtd) as legal consultant to the union without regard to the office of the National Legal Officer is a further violation of the constitution.

    “It will be recalled that funds for the first Parliamentary Games, held at the Old Parade Ground in Abuja in 2011, was illegally diverted.

    “The secrecy in running the union’s account pitched the President against the Central Working Committee (CWC) members who were in Abuja for the seventh NEC meeting to boycott the ill-timed centenary match-past deliberately organised to coincide with the May Day celebrations to deprive his chapter from participating.

    “Funds donated for the event, running into N15 million, were single-handedly and fraudulently spent.”

    Kyespo said some members of the illegal caretaker committee had resigned their appointment following the “fresh facts at their disposal” on the purported NEC resolution, less than two weeks after its inauguration.

    He said some members of the caretaker committee, including its chairman, had taken the National Assembly’s chapter to court on the same issue with the surreptitious support and sponsorship of the National President.

    He added: “The mandate given to Comrade Bawa Muhammed-led Exco by the staff of the National Assembly in March 2012 for a period of three years remain sacrosanct, valid and cannot be reversed by a self-serving individual.

    “This is because the chapter has witnessed massive achievements in the last two years which includes providing eight brand new coastal buses to ease staff movement, monthly remittance of pension deduction to Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs), hosting of the 1st ever PASAN week, improved staff training, staff housing scheme in the Federal Capital Territory which is ongoing, sensitisation of staff to pension and Hepatitis including other welfare packages.

    “The fact remains that Bawa Muhammed-led Exco still enjoys the support of its members and management through the unhindered access to PASAN facilities within and outside the National Assembly.

    “We urge the CWC members, the NEC and the public to disregard the purported dissolution.”

     

  • Sheyi Ojo signs pro contract with Liverpool

    Sheyi Ojo signs pro contract with Liverpool

    Liverpool youngster Sheyi Ojo has signed his first professional contract at the club, according to Sky Sports News.

    The former MK Dons junior is tipped for big things at Liverpool and turned 17 last month.

    Along with Ojo, Reds U-18 teammate Jordan Williams also signed a new contract.

    Williams made a senior debut for Liverpool at the end of last season in the friendly win over Shamrock Rovers.

    Ojo’s sensational move to Liverpool occurred back in 2011, when the young England U-17 international was aged just 14. However even that didn’t prevent the Reds from spending an incredible £2m on the player.

    Ahead of his move to the five-time European champions, he attracted plenty of interest from an abundant number of clubs, due to him making incredible strides at his boyhood club MK Dons.

    Ojo regularly featured for the Dons’s U-18 team, and even trained with the club’s first team on numerous occasions.

    Ojo’s main strengths are his lightning pace and dazzling skills, that enable him to go past any defender on his day.

    At his best he’s a joy to watch as he is capable of scoring goals from long distance, recently showcasing that side of his game netting a scorcher against West Brom. Ojo is also well renowned for his magnificent technique and composure on the ball allowing him to pull off skills with ease.

  • Army gets new PRO

    Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, on Monday in Abuja assumed duty as the new Director of Army Public Relations.

    Attahiru takes over from Maj.-Gen. Mobolaji Koleoso, who was deployed to the Defence Headquarters as the Chief of Military/Civil Affairs.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that until his appointment, the new Director was an Assistant Director in the Department of Policy and Plans, Defence headquarters.

    In a brief hand over ceremony at the Army headquarters, the outgoing Director thanked journalists for the cooperation given to him during his assignment.

    He urged them to extend same to the new Director.

    In a related development, Brig.-Gen. Bamidele Olawunmi has been appointed as the Principal Staff Officer to the Chief of Army Staff.

    Olawunmi takes over from Brig.-Gen Leo Irabor, who was deployed to 43 Signal, Kaduna.