The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Protesters

  • Protesters lock down Makurdi

    There was protest organised by National Council of Tiv Youths (NCTY), yesterday in Makurdi, Benue state capital, against the outburst of cattle breeders over signing into Law of anti-open grazing bill.

    The protesters, numbering hundreds and led by NCTY National President, Chief John Akperashi, marched through all major streets of Makurdi and stormed Government House where Governor Samuel Ortom addressed them.

    Some on their placard reads: “Open grazing is the Law” ,” Security operatives Meyatti all now “.

    There was traffic gridlock on Kashim Ibrahim road up to the Government House round about as the protesters marched through and sang solidarity songs in support of anti-open grazing law.

    National President of National Council of Tiv Youths Chief Akperashi presented a letter to Governor Ortom for onward transmission to Mr. President.

    He described the activities of Meyatti Allah who is opposed to the anti-open grazing law as security threat to the nation and farmers in particular.

    He said Tiv youths are in total support of anti-open grazing law and commended Ortom for signing the law.

    Governor Ortom on his party assured the protesters that his administration has put in structures to implement the anti-open grazing law.

    The government commended the protesters for their orderly conduct.

  • ‎Protest rocks Otuoke federal varsity 

    ‎Protest rocks Otuoke federal varsity 

    Angry protesters have disrupted academic activities at the Federal University located in Otuoke, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s hometown in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    Hundreds of protesters were said to have caused a stir on Wednesday when they blocked the road and barricaded the entrance to the university over alleged  marginalisation of indigenes in employment into key positions in the institution.

    The aggrieved persons caused traffic gridlock during the demonstration, which reportedly started at about 7:30am.

    It was gathered that the action, which was led by the institution’s chapter of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, lasted for about three hours.

    The protester were armed with placards of different inscriptions such as, “Bayelsans cannot be marginalised in our own lands”, “we want fair representation, Bayelsans are qualified”, “FUO na our oil well, Gbam!”, “it is our time, Bayelsans say”.

    They clapped, danced and demanded an attention from the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Accra Jaja.

    The protesters said they were bothered about the recent appointment of the institution’s Chief Legal Adviser, saying it failed the due process test.

    They insisted that the action of the university was a deliberate attempt to marginalise the indigenes and further under develop the people of the region.

    Jaja, who addressed the protesters in the company of senior employees of the institution and security operatives appealed to the protesters to calm down.

    The Chairman of SSANU, Mr. Kalizibe Joseph, said the recent appointment of a new legal adviser was not in tandem with the laid down procedure for recruitment.

    He asked the management to withdraw the appointment, follow due process, by first of all advertising the vacancy on a national daily to allow interested individuals to compete for the position.

    He said: “SSANU is a watchdog. The vice-chancellor had earlier said there is a shortfall in the institution allocation, which has made the institution unable to pay full salaries to workers.

    “We also agreed that anything employment should be put on hold pending when the institution’s finances will improve. But we were surprised on this new appointment.

    “Besides before the institution must employ, they are to first of all advertise, to give fair opportunity to all interested applicants who will also be subjected to interviews. But these processes were not followed. We are therefore calling for the immediate termination of this appointment, as it does not represent equity and fairness.

    “I am also using this medium to call on the Chairman of Council, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, to stop holding council meetings in her parlour in Abuja, but rather do the right thing by holding meetings in the institution”.

    Also speaking, the National Legal Adviser, IYC, Mr. Tare Porri, said IYC would continue to demand control of all resources located in Ijaw territory, saying Ijaws would never play a second fiddle in the country.

    “This action was a deliberate attempt by the Chairman of the council, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki to send Ijaw people parking from the university by singlehandedly imposing her brother against due process as the institution chief legal adviser.

    “All the principal positions in the school are occupied by foreigners except the office of the VC and a dean, who are Ijaw people but not indigenes. There are more than one million qualified Ijaw people that can hold that legal adviser position and a person from the north is not better off”, he said.

    He reminded the VC that the 2015 Presidential elections were lost simply because former President Jonathan was an Ijaw man, adding that there was no federal institution in the country that had Ijaw people in critical positions.

    Jaja promised to revisit the decision taken and pleaded with all the protesters to give him a week to properly address the issue.

     

  • Protesters storm courts

    Protesters storm courts

    •Prolonged trial of suspects condemned

    Families, associates and supporters of seven persons accused of complicity in the murder of former Ekiti State National Union of Road Transport Workers’ (NURTW’s) Chairman Omolafe Aderiye yesterday protested in Ado-Ekiti what they called “prolonged trial and incarceration.”
    Aderiye was killed on September 25, 2014 in Ado-Ekiti. The Governor Ayo Fayose administration instituted a murder case against the accused after assuming power the following month.
    The protest began at Okeyinmi roundabout around 7:45 a.m. The demonstrators carried placards to the state High Court and Court of Appeal.
    The action, which was peaceful, was monitored by the police and Department of State Services (DSS), to ensure it was not hijacked by hoodlums.
    The protesters alleged that the “prosecution of the accused has turned to persecution” because of their membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
    They urged the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Court of Appeal, Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to investigate why the case was stalled at the Ado-Ekiti Division of the Court of Appeal for over one and a half years.

  • Protesters occupy Amnesty International office with coffin

    Protesters occupy Amnesty International office with coffin
     
    Thousands of protesters yesterday continued to occupy the Abuja office of Amnesty International.
    The protesters insisted that the international human rights organization must leave Nigeria following the release of a damning report recently.
     The AI report indicted Nigeria’s security agencies of human rights abuse of Boko Haram members.
     The protesters who stormed AI’s office with a coffin and inscription of rest in peace (RIP), condemned the organization for the report.
     Addressing the protest in front of AI’s office, Executive Director, Global Peace and Life Rescue Initiative ( GOPRI), Melvin Ejeh, said amnesty had until 12 midnighttoday to vacate Nigeria, adding that beginning from Thursday, legal actions would be taken against the organization.
     
    He described as laughable recent report by AI that it does not recognize or react to NGOs not registered with it as the height of organization’s penchant for trivialities and a fact that the international NGO does not believe in what it preaches. 
     
    Ejeh challenged AI to disclose its affiliation with Boko Haram for the world to know when and where it registered the terror group that the killers had become their partners. 
  • Protesters attack, vandalise MTN office

    Protesters attack, vandalise MTN office

    • Mobile giant expresses faith in economy

    Youths protesting the xenophobic attack on some Nigerians in South Africa, yesterday attacked and vandalised the head office of MTN in Abuja. According to Reuters, an spokesman was quoted as saying; “They vandalised equipment, stole customer phones and I-Pads. Some customers too were attacked.

    “They are protesting against the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa. It’s our regional head office in Abuja. That’s where we have our customer care centre.”

    Reacting, MTN Group, in a terse statement, said it was concerned over the violence against its property in Nigeria, where protesters attacked and vandalised its head office. The telco enjoined people to exercise restraint and remain calm.

    The carrier said it has absolute confidence in its Nigerian operations in spite of all its trivails over the N330 billion fine over SIM card registration rules infractions.

    Its Group Chairman/Chief Executive, Mr. Phuthuma Nhleko who spoke when he led a high level delegation to the Abuja Headquarters of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said the Group will be willing to invest more in the sector in years to come.

    “We had challenges in the past, during the period of the fine, and we are grateful for the role, the Commission played towards an amicable resolution,” Nhleko said.

    He said the Group has injected over $16 billion into the country’s operations. “We have a very long way to go and so (we) ask for spectrum which is the oxygen and life blood to navigate this long and tedious investment journey. Without spectrum, the sector will suffocate,” he said.

    Nhleko specifically asked for more spectrum and the release of Visafone spectrum which equity MTN Nigeria acquired in 2015.

    He said MTN has made its mark in voice and data services and that more services such as mobile financial services are underway.

    Responding,  NCC CEO, Prof. Garba Danbatta assured the delegation that the Commission will always play by the rules and support every operator within the ambits of the law.

    “I like to state that our word is our covenant.  When we take decisions, we are concerned about the stability of the industry and there is no way we can guarantee it without considering the dominant status of MTN and its obligations and if the dominant status is becoming stringent, we are open to engagement, we will be guided by what is happening in the market, to ensure the growth and development of the sector.

    “The sector has contributed very well to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and has shown remarkable resilience in this recession,” a statement endorsed by Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Tony Ojobo, quoted Danbatta as saying.

    Some 20 shops believed to belong to immigrants were looted in the country’s capital, Pretoria in a fresh round of xenophobic attacks, although police refused to say if the attackers were specifically targeting foreigners.

  • Osinbajo to protesters: we hear you loud and clear 

    Osinbajo to protesters: we hear you loud and clear 

    •’We hear you loud and clear’ 

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo  yesterday told Nigerians that the Federal Government was addressing Nigeria’s “serious economic situation”.
    To those who protested, he said: “We hear you loud and clear”.
    Recalling a similar remark by President Muhammadu Buhari a few months ago,  Osinbajo said he had gone round the country and the complaints of the people on the economy were similar to what the protesters complained about.
    According to him, the rot of many years could not be addressed overnight.
    But he said the government remained committed to turning around the trend and placing Nigeria on the path of growth.
    There were protests against the hardship being experienced in the country in Lagos, Abuja and Ibadan.
    In Abuja, a group protested in support of the government. In Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, the protesters failed to gather at the advertised venue.
    Minister of Transportation Chibuike Amaechi, also yesterday, said Nigerians should be patient with the government as it had four years to deliver on its promise.
    Speaking during the opening ceremony of the consultative forum between the Economic Management Team and the Private Sector on the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja, the Acting President said:  ”We are in a serious economic situation and the President was particularly concerned about the lot of the common man.
    “And I quote him, “Recession today for many… for  some its means not being able to pay school fees, for others not being able to afford high cost of rice and millets and for most of our young people recession means joblessness…’
    “I for one have been across the states and even today some people are out on the streets, protesting that things are difficult. What we are saying to every Nigerian is that  ’we hear you loud and clear’, and we are determined to recover the economy. You have a right to demand for a better economy and we are committed to see it happen.
    “Years of deterioration cannot be reversed overnight. Again, it has to be said that it’s our business, it’s our duty to ensure that we put the Nigerian economy on the track of recovery,” he said
    Osinbajo spoke of how the government had intervened three times to assist states in the past 18 months to pay salaries.
    He added: “And the last intervention was in December when we paid the Paris Club refund to the states. This are funds that the Federal Government had been owing states since 2005. This was to enable states pay their workers and we tend to believe that this is what is being done.”
    The Acting President also spoke about the social intervention fund.
    This, he said, included payment of N5,000 monthly to the poorest citizens, the home grown feeding programme in several states, and the credit facility to 1.6 million traders and artisans.
    Stressing the importance of engaging the private sector in the economic recovery plan, Osinbajo said that the government could not do it alone.
    “Your participation is your own commitment to the future of our country and to those coming behind us,” he said.
    In Ilorin during the North Central Town Hall meeting by the Federal Government, Amaechi said the All Progressives Congress (APC) government did not promise to fix Nigeria’s problems within a year. He urged Nigerians to wait till the end of four years, adding that the government heard the cries of Nigerians.
    “We did not promise you that those challenges will be solved in one year. If we promise you that those challenges would be solved in one year you would have given us one year but you gave us four years mandate; so wait till the end of four years,” Amaechi said.

  • Kogi protesters misinformed, says governor’s aide

    Media Aide to Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, Kingsley Fanwo, has accused leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) of mischief following last week’s protest by its members in Lokoja.

    Fanwo, in a statement yesterday, described their action as “intentional public misinformation with the intent of causing chaos and disorder in the society”.

    According to him, the lecturers have shown “questionable desperation to hoodwink the public”.

    He called on the lecturers to wait for the publication of the staff status which, according to him, will be published in a national newspaper, the state-owned newspaper and on the state’s official website.

    He said: “The protest, by moulders of our future leaders, at the Kogi State Polytechnic, raises more questions than answers. Civil servants in the state are calm, expecting the publishing of the status of workers in the state. Workers of the polytechnic that had been cleared were paid their salaries. We do not owe any cleared worker in the polytechnic a dime.

    “It is, therefore, unthinkable that some people will go on the street just to justify the investment of their paymasters.

    “The staff audit was a success and no amount of desperate attempts by the corruption promoters can diminish the credibility of the exercise.

    “Kogi polytechnic ASUP has a moral obligation to explain why its members were the only ones who took to the streets while lecturers in other campuses engaged government in dialogue. The governor’s stance is that no genuine civil servant will be retrenched. The verification was aimed at salvaging the sinking service. The reports will shock Nigerians.”

    Fanwo called on the people to support the New Direction Agenda of Governor Bello, promising that Kogi’s best days are coming under the present administration, even as he urged them to key into the administration’s drive to make the state a better place for all.

  • Protesters storm National Assembly over AGF appointment

    Protesters storm National Assembly over AGF appointment

    the coalition of members of staff and organised labour of the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation yesterday took their opposition to the nomination Mr. Anthony Mkpe Ayine as the Auditor General for the Federation to the National Assembly.
    Members of the coalition numbering over 100 staged a protest at National Assembly gate to drive home their demand that the nomination of Ayine should be rejected by the Senate.
    The protest is coming even as the Senate Public Accounts Committee submitted its report on the screening of Mr. Ayine for appointment as the Auditor-General of the Federation to the Senate in plenary.
    Chairman of the Committee, Senator Andy Uba (Anambra South) submitted the report.
    Mr. Salami Bashir Adekunle who led the protesters said that they resolved to push for the rejection of the nomination of Ayine because his appointment would run against the spirit of engagement of the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation.
    Adekunle said the position of the coalition was that Ayine should not be allegedly imposed in the Auditor General’s office.
    He insisted that the Senate should prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to withdraw the name of Ayine.
    Adekunle said the appointment of Ayine, who he described as “an outsider” would kill merit and demoralize workers in the office.
    He also said that the nomination of Ayine was against Section 86 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended.)
    He noted that they have more than 50 professional qualified staff in the Directorate cadre of the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation.
    Adekunle said: “We say we wanted change, is this kind of nomination of a local government Auditor General the kind of change we want. Is it the change we wanted to impose the Auditor General of a local government to be the Auditor General of the Federation. If we say we need change, it should be a positive change.
    “Those behind the nomination of Ayine want to kill merit but we say that merit should not be killed. Why do they want to impose somebody from outside the system when we have capable hands within. We say no imposition of candidate. The office is not a political office and not for settlement of political goal. We say not to manipulation of the system. A level 13 officer cannot be appointed to boss his seniors.”
    Adekunle said President Buhari known for his integrity should not allow others to rubbish his name.
    He insisted that the Senate should reject the nomination in the interest of industrial harmony in the office of the Auditor General of the Federation.

  • Protesters storm National Assembly

    Protesters storm National Assembly

    A COALITION of Ethnic Nationalities yesterday protested the alleged persecution of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s family members by the Department of State Services (DSS) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) “under the guise of war against corruption”.

    The groups claimed that operatives of DSS, EFCC and National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) invaded the Abuja residence of Mrs. Patience Jonathan in her absence.

    The protesters, who were heading for the National Assembly, were stopped at the Federal Secretariat, by a group of policemen.

    Some of the protesters, however, assembled at the first gate to the National Assembly, where they addressed reporters on their mission to Abuja.

    The protesting groups included Ijaw Youths, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youths, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum and Yoruba Youth Council.

    They expressed displeasure over the ongoing trial of the former First Lady and a cousin of the former president, Roberts Azibaola and his wife, Stella, by EFCC on what they described as “phantom charges”.

    The protesters, who displayed various inscriptions lampooning the EFCC and the DSS, urged the National Assembly and other concerned Nigerians to intervene.

    In a letter, the groups appealed to the National Assembly leadership to call “DSS, EFCC and NDLEA to order over alleged witch-hunting against the former President’s family members”.

    They asked the National Assembly to ensure that the agencies adhered strictly to the principle of rule of law in their operations.

    They said: “An agency set up by an Act of Parliament can definitely not be allowed to be turned into a tool for witch-hunting of perceived enemies by any government in power.”

    Leaders of the groups included Bristol Alagbariya Emmanuel (Secretary-General, Ijaw Youth Council), Eric Oluwole (National President, Yoruba Youths Council) and Mazi Okechukwu (National Youth leader, Ohanaeze).

  • Protesters seek probe of judge

    Protesters seek probe of judge

    Aggrieved protesters yesterday stormed the premises of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to protest the judgment ordering release of the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Malami Zeenat, within 45 days.
    Justice Gabriel Kolawole ordered the release of the Shi’ite leader while delivering judgment on a fundamental rights enforcement suit El-Zakzaky filed against the government.
    The court held that El-Zakzaky’s continued detention without trial amounted to a gross violation of his rights.
    Justice Kolawole awarded N50 million damages against the Federal Government and ordered that a house be built for El-Zakzaky’s family in any part of Kaduna State or the northern region.
    But the protesters, which laid siege to the court entrance, called for an end to judicial terrorism, insisting that Justice Kolawole must leave and be probed by the government.
    National President, Coalition on Good Governance and Change Initiative (CGGCI) and other Civil Society, Comrade Okpokwu Ogenyi, who led the protesters, said the judiciary had dealt a fresh blow to the future of Nigeria by legalising terrorism while leaving the rest of Nigerians at risk.
    According to him, Justice Kolawole’s judgment was delivered without considering the dangerous precedence on law enforcement, security, anti-terror fight, terrorism, extremism and secessionist movements.
    He described the judgment as ridiculous, wondering how the judge could order release of someone, who posed grave security risk to the society, through his extreme brand of foreign- backed radicalisation in the name of religion.
    Ogenyi said: “In the space of one week, the judiciary has ordered dangerous fanatics and demagogues returned to the streets to resume brainwashing, radicalising and militarising vulnerable youths.
    “This could have only been in keeping with fulfilling obligations entered into for less than honourable considerations, even as we cannot rule out a judiciary that is taking its pound of flesh from an executive arm that has exposed the sleaze on its soiled bench.”
    Ogenyi was, however, told to write to the chief registrar of the court and submit through its lawyers.