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Tag: urges

  • ACF urges ex-militants to withdraw threats against Atiku

    The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) yesterday urged former militants in the Niger Delta to withdraw the threat to stop former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar from visiting the South-south.

    The forum described the threat as counter-productive and an illwind that would do no one any good.

    A Niger Delta youth leader, Comrade Timi Frank, also described the threat as empty, which falls flat of common sense.

    The ACF cautioned the former militants in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani. It said threats and intimidation have no place in democracy.

    Some former militants, who met at the weekend in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, under the aegis of the Leadership, Peace and Cultural Development Initiative (LPCDI), declared Atiku a persona non-grata in the Niger Delta.

    The ex-warlords faulted Atiku’s alleged roles in the formation of a new Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction.

    But ACF warned the ex-militants against a recourse to intimidation.

    The statement said: “The ACF has urged the Niger Delta ex-militants to withdraw the threat it issued against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the interest of peace, national cohesion and stability of Nigeria.

    “The ex-militants are by their misguided action crossing the fiducial mark that is alien to democratic tenets.

    “Threats such as the one from the Niger Delta ex-militants is a negation of dialogue and the political process playing itself out on account of the breakup of the PDP into factions.

    “The forum warns that the threat from the ex-militants is counter-productive and an ill wind that will do no one any good.

    “This is because democracy is not a matter of threats and intimidation, but contest of ideas and reasons.

    “Even as the crisis in the PDP rages, the Forum urges the promotion of democracy that is premised on the triple foundation of liberty, justice and common decency instead of resorting to threats and intimidation that have no place in democracy,” the statement said.

    In another statement, Frank said the position depicted the ignorance of the group and only showed its total lack of understanding of the crisis in the PDP.

  • Aregbesola urges residents to be vigilant

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has urged residents to be vigilant and report the vandalisation of public utilities to security agencies.

    He spoke at the weekend during the 12th Walk-to-Live programme at Ijebu-Jesha, heaquarters of Oriade Local Government.

    Aregbesola said: “The activities of vandals have affected the nation’s economy and destroyed social amenities. These people are bent on destroying the nation with their illegal activities. We must act as our own protectors, so we must be vigilant and protect these amenities.”

    Addressing a crowd after a six-kilometre walk from Ilo-Ijesa to the Urban Day Grammar School, Ijebu-Jesa, Aregbesola said the programme was not a political campaign, but a “constant reminder” to the people to take care of their health.

    Reiterating his administration’s commitment to promoting healthy living, he said: “Our government is concerned about the health of our people and we must always educate ourselves on the essence of physical fitness. Exercise is the best way to protect ourselves against diseases. Regular exercise keeps the body fit and make us live a healthy life in a clean environment.”

    Former Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Senator Olorunibe Mamora, who participated in the Walk, said the large turn out showed the people’s support for the government.

     

  • Offa rerun: APC candidate urges Jonathan to caution Kwara

    Ahead of the August 31 election in Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State, the chairmanship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Saheed Popoola, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to prevail on the state government to allow integrity, transparency and honesty guide its actions before, during and after the election.

    He also appealed to the President to ensure that the will of “Offa people is not trampled upon”.

    Popoola added: “The people of Offa Local Government have decided to take their destiny in their own hands. Any group, which toys with their direction, will be doing so at its own peril. They have sworn to guide their mandate jealously and warned enemies of progress not to slide the community into an avoidable anarchy.

    “But we appeal to Your Excellency to save our people the agony of being killed or maimed by thugs. Indeed, these thugs are on the rampage in Offa, threatening people to stay indoors or risk their lives!

    “We are appealing to you to intervene and caution those who are bent on throwing the blanket of insecurity around the council area from changing the goalpost when the match is yet to begin. We believe in your fatherly intervention to quickly nip the looming crisis in the bud.

    “It is also our prayer that the result of the election be counted and declared at Offa Local Government Area and the winner openly declared. We reject any attempt to want to take the result elsewhere in a bid to tinker with the result of the election, as was the practice before you intervened in 2011.

    “We equally seek the powerful presence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, local and foreign election observers and other credible Nigerians to forestall rigging and other electoral malpractices.

    “We also demand that before and during the re-scheduled election, on August 31, impartial security agents be placed across the town to provide watertight security and allow the electorate to discharge their franchise without let, hindrance and any molestation whatsoever.

    “We appeal that INEC officials be on the ground to supervise the election, as provided for in the Constitution, so that the state Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC) will not tilt the balance in favour of any political party.

    “Your Excellency, above are the appeals of the people of Offa, who genuinely nurse the fear of being robbed of their franchise. We trust, once again, in your judgment not to allow anybody or political party, no matter how highly placed, to create needless political crisis which outcome no mortal can predict.

    “Mr. President, we acknowledge your good judgment, non-partisanship and apt intervention in the January 2011 Offa Local Government election by ensuring that tight security was supplied and seeing to it through the agents of the state, which we understood were deployed at your prompting, that our people’s votes counted.

    “The people of Offa remain indebted to your good office for intervening when they called for impartial intervention in the face of political intimidation. That you instructed the agents of the state to ensure impartiality, even when the odds were against your own party (wo)men, is enough reason to salute that statesmanship and courage.”

  • Church urges govt to honour pact

    The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN) has blamed the Federal Government for the lingering strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    The Church in a communiqué issued at the end of the quarterly meeting of its General Assembly Executive Committee (GAEC), held in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State and signed by the Prelate of the Church, Rev. Emele Mba Uka and the Principal Clerk, Rev. Ndukwe Nwachukwu Eme, said the refusal of the government to honour the agreement it signed with ASUU in 2009 was the main cause of the strike. It described the action as an indication of its insincerity and lack of commitment to the growth of education.

    The Church also decried the jumbo pay package of the lawmakers, which is reported to be the highest in the world at an average of N36.6 million basic annual salary per legislator. It described it as outrageous and unrealistic in the face of rising poverty and dearth of development projects in the country.

  • Cleric urges Muslims to sustain Ramadan lessons

    An Islamic scholar, Sheikh Muyideen Gidado, has urged Muslims to maintain the cleanliness of the Ramadan season.

    Gidado, who was a guest lecturer at an event organised by Yusurullah Association of Nigeria, Ghandi Mosque, Iyana-Church Ibadan, yesterday urged Muslims to turn away from the things forbidden by Allah.

    The cleric, who spoke on the ‘Impact of Asalatu on the life of a Muslim’, said: “Living our days on earth with the fear of Allah will guarantee Al-janat and eternal bliss. I am very surprised that Muslims have the highest population in Nigeria and are the most corrupt too. During Ramadan, all the beer parlour and prostitutes joint were all closed down but immediately after, they go back to their vomit.We only have religion without the fear of God. Muslims are using the name of Allah to steal and repercussion awaits them here.”

  • Conduct council polls, NULGE urges Imo, Abia, Anambra

    The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Southeast Zone, has called on the governments of Imo, Anambra and Abia states to conduct local government elections.

    The association condemned the use of caretaker committees in local governments.

    NULGE made its position known in a communique at the end of its Southeast Zonal meeting in Enugu.

    The communique, which was signed by the National Vice President, Orji Akaji, the Enugu State President, Mrs. Lotachukwu Aneke and other officials, said after a review of happenings in the local government system” as regards democratically elected governments, the zone praised Enugu and Ebonyi governments for operating with democratically elected local government officials.”

    Akaji, who read the communique to reporters, said the constitution guarantees “democratically-elected chairmen and councillors at the local government level”.

    “The zone condemned in its entirety, the use of caretaker committees in the operation of local governments and urges the governments of Abia, Anambra and Imo states to emulate the aforementioned states in the zone.”

    The zone praised Anambra State Governor Peter Obi for paying the arrears of pension and gratuity to local government retirees and teachers.

  • Sultan urges clerics to fear God

    Sultan urges clerics to fear God

    Muslims in Nigeria joined yesterday their counterparts around the world to celebrate Eid- el- Fitri – the ceremony that marks the end of Islam’s holy month of Ramadan.

    Leaders urged peace as a sign of the season as they prayed. The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, urged Islamic and Christian clerics to preach with the fear of God.

    The Sultan, who is the head of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) in his Sallah message, said the clergy should fear Allah and live above their own selfish interests while preaching to their followers.

    “They should avoid provocative statements that could lead to the breach of the peace and lead to violence in the country.

    “They should also know that staying attuned to the religious teachings is the only way that bring mutual respect and love, which eventually lead to the desired peace in the nation,’’ he said.

    The monarch explained that it was not right for a non-Muslim to interfere in the affairs of Muslims and Islam or to impose his views on the religion he did not profess.

    Alhaji Abubakar praised the Federal Government for constituting the committee on the security challenges in the North.

    He said those calling for the scrapping of the committee were enemies of peace and were “unpatriotic’’. He urged Nigerians to support the committee to accomplish its job.

    “It is a known fact that no peace could be achieved except through constructive dialogue.

    “On our part, we are satisfied with the work of this committee and we are ready to give it all necessary support to succeed,’’ he promised.

    The Sultan also called on leaders at all levels to fear Allah by not betraying the trust placed on them in leading their subjects.

    “The precarious situation of the nation is only due to bad governance and neglect of divine injunctions.

    “Most of the leaders are busy amassing wealth and forgetting their subjects they are meant to serve,” he said.

    He praised Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamakko for transforming the state in all aspects of human lives.

    House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal urged Nigerians to promote attributes that unite the country.

    He said laying emphasis on seemingly divisive tendencies among the various ethnic and religious groups could only undermine the country’s unity of the country.

    In an Eid-el-fitri celebration message, Tambuwal urged leaders at all levels to close ranks and work for the unity and progress of the nation.

    He said the devotion and sacrifices made by Muslims in the last 30 days should be replicated every day, adding that the month-long period of self-restraint should serve as reminder of our commitment to our fatherland and humanity.

    “The same way we all remembered the less fortunate and those afflicted by poverty and disease during Ramadan, I implore us to carry over those attributes to our engagements after Ramadan. Only by so doing can we truly say we have imbibed the teachings of the holy month into our every day lives,” the Speaker stated.

    In Minna, the Niger State capital, former military leaders Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar were among the Muslim faithful, who worshipped at the main Eid prayer ground.

    Security was tight as Acting Niger State Governor Ahmed Ibeto led some members of the state executive council to the prayer ground.

    The 10 minutes rakat prayer, was led by the Chief Imam of Minna, Sheikh Ibrahim Fari. It started by 10.02 am.

    Speaking after the prayer, Gen. Abdulsalami urged Nigerians to imbibe the lesson of the Ramadan by living peacefully with one another, maintaining that meaningful progress and development can only be achieved in an environment of peace.

    The Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umar Faruk, stressed the need for peaceful co-existence among all the people in the emirate, owing to its importance to the progress and general development in the area.

    In Enugu, the Chief Imam of 82 Div., Col. Mustapha Garuba, called on Nigerians to always embrace peace in all their dealings.

    “All religions scriptures, either Muslim or Christian, preach peace. Therefore, Nigerians should adhere to it and put aside selfish interests,’’ Garuba said.

    The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, called on the people to continue to pray for the sustenance of peace and stability in the state and the country.

    Bayero told Muslims at his palace after the Eid-el-Fitri prayer at the Central Mosque, Kano, that no society could develop in an atmosphere of rancor and uncertainty.

    Represented by Wamban Kano, Alhaji Abbas Sanusi, the emir warned the people, particularly Kano residents, to desist from indiscriminate building of structures on waterways to avoid floods.

    Sheikh Ali Ukiwo, a cleric and an Imam in Umuahia, enjoined Nigerians to support President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure the realisation of the transformation agenda.

    In a sermon at the state Library worship ground, Ukiwo said: “As you celebrate, I urge you all to imbibe the tenets of oneness, love and mutual cooperation in building a greater Nigeria.’’

    Yobe State Deputy Governor Abubakar Aliyu urged Muslims to maintain the religious and moral lessons of the Ramadan fasting to promote peace.

    Aliyu noted that the efficacy of prayers in stemming insecurity, saying: “We must not relent in prayers because the efforts of security operatives combined with our prayers have brought relative peace in the state.’’

    The deputy governor urged the public to continue assisting the security agents with information as part of their contributions to sustaining peace.

    The Emir of Dutse, Alhaji Nuhu Sunusi, prayed for peace and mutual co-existence among the people in the country.

    In his goodwill message to mark the Eid-el-Fitri celebration in Dutse, he advised Muslims to consider the fasting as a period of repentance and sober reflections.

    The emir also enjoined Muslims to live peacefully with one another, irrespective of religious or ethnic differences.

  • NPAN urges court to restrain APCON from harassing newspapers

    The Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN) has urged the Court of Appeal, Lagos, to restrain the Advertising Practitioners’ Council of Nigeria (APCON) and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Abubakar from harassing advert executives of newspapers.

    The Motion on Notice followed an appeal filed earlier by the association after it received reports of continued harassment of newspapermen, despite a subsisting appeal.

    Justice Musa Kurya of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on January 10, ruled that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain a suit in which the NPAN challenged the constitutionality of Article 21 of the Nigerian Code of Advertising Practice and Sales Promotion, among others.

    The appellant/applicant sought an order restraining the respondents from continuing to rely on the article or any other related enactment to threaten, harass, coerce, solicit, persuade or otherwise interfere with the rights of NPAN members to public advertisement.

    It sought the restraining order to stay in force, pending the hearing and determination of the appeal in which the constitutionality of the article formed the subject-matter.

    NPAN also prayed for an order restraining the respondents from continuing to rely on the article to compel its members to submit their advertisement for vetting and approval by APCON, pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.

    The association said its application was based on five grounds: the constitutionality of Article 21 of the code; the need to preserve the res of the appeal; to avoid foisting a fait accompli on the appellate court; to ensure the court remains the master of proceedings in the appeal and in the interest of justice.

    NPAN, in a supporting affidavit, said despite the pending appeal, APCON had written a letter to one of its members – Leadership – directing the newspaper to comply with the provisions of Section 21 of the Code.

    The appellant added that APCON further wrote the newspaper’s clients, dissuading them from placing advertisement with the newspaper.

    “Unless the respondents, particularly the first respondent, are restrained, they would most certainly compel the members of the applicant to comply with the provision of the article, the constitutionality of which the appellant is challenging in court.

    “The conduct of the respondents, particularly the first respondent, is a well-calculated attempt to destroy the res of this appeal and thereby render the success of the appeal a nugatory,” NPAN said.

    It added that APCON ought not to have written the letters designed “to intimidate the members of the applicants into complying with Article 21 of the Code, the constitutionality of which is yet to be determined by the court”.

  • OIC urges UN to intervene in Myanmar

    The world’s largest Muslim organisation, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called on the United Nations (UN) to wade into the continuous persecution of the people of Rohingya in Myanmar.

    A statement by an Islamic group said: “Not a single Mosque since the beginning of Ramadan was allowed to operate in Rohingya (Muslim) areas of Burma. No salat, no Jumat service, no Taraweeh, no Adhan (call to prayer), just nothing like Ramadan. Not even funeral prayers are allowed.”

    It urged warring parties in the Muslim world to halt infighting during Ramadan.

    OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, appealed to Muslims not to forget the persecuted Muslim minority in Burma.

    “I cannot fail to draw attention to the suffering of our brothers from the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar (Burma) and the renewal of their suffering from the continuing widespread atrocities against them,” he said.

    “I call upon all Muslims to help alleviate the suffering of these vulnerable people. I also call upon the neighboring countries to look with compassion and kindness to the displaced people from this minority who have sought refuge with them,” he added.

    According to Ihsanoglu, the Rohingya Muslims are described by the UN as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities, facing a catalogue of discrimination in their homeland.

    “The Rohingya are deprived of free movement, education and employment in Burma.

    They are not recognised as an ethnic minority by the Burmese authorities and they suffer human rights abuses in the hands of government officials. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been displaced from their homes in Burma after deadly waves of sectarian violence with the Buddhist majority,” he said.

    Ihsanoglu called on Muslims to offer charity to the less fortunate in the spirit of Ramadan.

    “I renew my call as well for all to help and support the needy in various regions of the Islamic world as is the case of the Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries,”” he said.

  • Cleric urges leaders on nation’s challenges

    Nigerian leaders have been challenged to find a solution to the economic and security challenges facing the country.

    A cleric, Venerable N. T. Akinfemisoye of St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Idogun Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, saying the nation’s challenges are having a toll on the citizenry.

    He made the appeal in his sermon at the Third Trinity Ordination of the Diocese of Ido-Ani (Anglican Communion).

    At the service, held at the Cathedral Church of Holy Trinity, Ido-Ani and witnessed by eminent personalities within and outside the state, Rev. Oluseye Adedeji and Rev. Samuel Aina were ordained as priests in the Diocese.

    Ven. Akinfemisoye lamented the incessant killings of innocent people by members of the Boko Haram sect, and urged governments at all levels to curb the menace in the interest of peace and stability in the country.

    The cleric whose sermon was titled “The call to faithfulness”, urged the new priests to be good ambassadors of Christ.

    Akinfemisoye also called on Christians to shun worldly materials that could cost them the kingdom of God.

    The new priests were presented to Bishop Ido-Ani Diocese, Rt. Rev. Ezekiel Dahunsi, who presided over the ordination service.

    While presenting Reverends Aina and Adedeji to the congregation, Bishop Dahunsi urged them to serve God and humanity diligently, stressing that they should remain good representatives in God’s vineyard.

    The newly ordained priests and their families later went for thanksgiving to appreciate God for their new positions.

    The first session of the second synod of Ido Ani Diocese with the theme “you are the light of the world” started at St Paul’s Anglican Church, Idogun on August 1 and will end on August 4.