Aggrieved members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities at the Ekiti State University have protested the alleged irregularities in the payment of their salaries.
The workers, who demonstrated on Thursday within the university campus in Ado Ekiti the state capital, accused the management of the institution of continually paying them half month salaries.
Chanting solidarity songs, the university workers said for more than 15 months, they had been subjected to untold hardship in the institution despite their services.
Florence Daudu, Vice Chairman of the union, said workers had been receiving unnecessary deductions any time their wages were paid by the university management.
She said, “We got an amputated and fractional 60 per cent of September salary with 100 per cent Ekiti State Government tax and pension deductions.
“This payment contravenes the general order and convention on the take-home of an employee.
“On no condition should an employee go home with less than 66.66 per cent of his gross after statutory deductions, commitment, and obligations.
“It is essential to inform the governor of Ekiti State that EKSU staff are yet to receive the October salary, this was not your promise during the electioneering campaign.”
According to her, Governor Kayode Fayemi had pledged to increase the subvention given to the institution from N260m to N400m but that was yet to be fulfilled.
Secretary of the union, Azeez Aguda, said other agitations of the workers include the non-remittance of over 25 months contributory pension to various payment platforms of account.
He added that over 1000 members of staff were disengaged in December 2019 unjustly, noting that the management of the school does not care about their welfare.
“We need the management to address the non-remittance of over 15 months staff cooperative deductions amounting to N2.4bn.
“And the non-payment of three months outstanding salaries of July, August and September 2018 because if all these are not done, then they should be expecting an industrial action from us,” he said.
Spokesperson for the university, Mr Bode Olofinmuagun, could not be reached for comments at the time of this report.
Trust me , everyone has a story! Do not tell people your story out of pity, tell them your story so they can learn from your courage. I hate being pitied, I honestly do…probably this is why I hate hearing statements which depicts pity. Who says life can’t be better?
I saw a video recently in which a rich man was recalling memories of his childhood. He narrated how he and his siblings went into the bush to hunt for snails whenever rain fell. During the rainy season, they had hopes of eating meat (snail) and preparing soup far better than they would have prepared on a normal day. This story reflects the level of poverty during his childhood.
Some people have been through worse but it baffles me to see people who have been through hardship , misbehaving once they become rich and successful. At that period of their lives when people begin to pressure them for help, they start to change phone numbers, delete their social media accounts and avoid people. What then should celebrities who get pressured by family, friends and fans do? If celebrities can handle this kind of pressure, why would a non celeb start blocking people just because they asked for help?
I believe helping others isn’t a matter of compulsion. You can’t change the world but you can add your quota to effect change. So, why don’t you help those you can instead of avoiding every single person? Our strength lies in our ability to manage every situation we find ourselves, this includes pressure from folks when we eventually break through!
A typical African man starts avoiding people once he makes it, he believes the witches and wizards in his village will be after his life. The witches and wizards that did not kill him when he was struggling, the same witches and wizards that saw his prospects but didn’t take his life. Hmmm, he avoids his village people because they ask for too much , yet he is the same person who drove a Ferrari to his village during their annual festival. Now tell me, who is the real enemy? The village people or the rich man?
The rich man was the same person who promised to build an health centre for his people in the village and he is the same person avoiding them now. Was he suffering from dementia when he made the promise? You see, human beings can be unnecessarily complicated!
Sometimes when people become rich , they tend to be less intelligent while handling situations compared to how they could have handled it when they were struggling. Of course, wealth, according to some, formats every record of pain in a man’s memory but it shouldn’t format the ability to understand what people go through.
I have mentors but no role model. I learnt a great deal from every mentor I have and there is one important thing I learnt from one of them , which is, ” never promise anything, just suprise them “. The earlier we learn how to behave when we are wealthy , the better for us ! See yourself as a weathly person and begin to envisage things you could do better than other wealthy people who are not doing things right.
People say fake it till you make it but I say stay woke till you make it. What I mean by stay woke is , “never give up!”. If you fake success, you would be deceiving yourself only, what’s the point of pretending to be whom you are not? I believe when real success comes, it will announce itself. You won’t really need to show off your fleet of cars and mansions but the people whose lives you have impacted positively will do the announcement. Why would you promise to do things for people just to show off ? Is it to be praised or treated specially ? I realized that humans like to be treated like gods.
When we have the mentality of not doing things to impress people but rather care about changing people’s lives for better, we tend to be less pressured. Readers get my point, I mean when you are rich but wouldn’t show off, how many people will pressure you? This way you can conveniently assist people without going through the process of changing phone numbers and deleting social media accounts. I feel doing this is simply as a result of lacking intelligence. So what kind of rich folk do you want to be? The smart one or the foolish one?
IRATE youths of Ute-Okpu, Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State, on Tuesday took to the streets to protest rising deaths of youths in the area.
It was learnt the youths got angry after four of them died.
The protesters reportedly burnt the market, but were unable to raze the monarch’s palace as they were stopped by a team of soldiers and policemen.
About 34 persons have died mysteriously in the last three weeks.
A resident, Roland Chuks Agbontai, who lost his 22-year-old son, is convinced that the strange deaths have not abated because the communal deities, Agba-Egbo and Akpu, have not been properly appeased.
He said after the youths consulted the oracle, they were told to appease both deities. But while Agba-Egbo was appeased, Akpu’s shrine was left desolate after a church uprooted the deity, he added.
But Commissioner for Health Dr Ononye Mordi attributed the deaths to yellow fever.
Police spokesman Onome Onowakpoyeya confirmed the incident.
A former Vice Presidential Candidate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has called for the regulation of social media in order to curb fake news.
Recall that the federal government had announced a plan to censor social media after the #EndSARS protests and there have been calls by some Nigerians to regulate cyberspace in order to curb hate speech and fake news.
In an interview in Lagos on Tuesday, Bakare, the General Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church asked the government to check the excesses of social media which may be used to cause violence in the country.
The cleric also noted that the recent #EndSARS protests were aggravated by social media users. He said fake news was propagated during the protest which led to the carnage and looting of properties in Lagos and other parts of the country.
Bakare advised the government to listen to the people and meet the demands of the #EndSARS protesters. The cleric also urged President Muhammadu and the National Assembly to formulate laws that will be beneficial to all Nigerians.
Speaking on his presidential ambition, Bakare said he was destined to rule the country, stating that his ambition was not a matter of life and death. He noted that a day will come like Joe Biden that he will be president of Nigeria.
Bakare also called for the reinvention of a new Nigeria, where selflessness will be the driving force for nation-building.
The federal government has said it will make an important announcement on the crisis rocking the University of Lagos (UNILAG)), on Wednesday.
The director of press at the federal ministry of education, Ben Goong, confirmed on the phone to our reporter that the minister of education, Adamu Adamu, will by 12 noon on Wednesday address journalists on the crisis rocking the 58-year-old university. He, however, could not give the details of the planned media briefing by the minister.
Sources at the presidency and the education ministry, however, told PREMIUM TIMES that the embattled vice-chancellor of the university, Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, who was suspended in August by the institution’s Visitor, President Muhammadu Buhari, would be reinstated.
Our sources say that apart from announcing the reinstatement of the vice-chancellor, the minister will also announce the dissolution of the governing council.
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that these were the contents of the government White Paper on the crisis rocking the university. The White Paper has not been made public and this reporter has not seen the content.
The White Paper, which states the government’s legal position on the matter, was developed based on the findings and recommendations of a seven-member special presidential visitation panel that was set up by the government to look into the immediate and remote causes of the crisis that rocked the university.
The panel, chaired by a former vice-chancellor, Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, Niger State, Sa’ad Tukur, had on September 17 submitted its report after spending about three weeks instead of the two-week duration earlier announced by the government.
THE INVESTIGATION
Following the crisis that greeted the controversial removal of Mr. Ogundipe as the vice-chancellor by the Wale Babalakin-led governing council of the university on August 12, the federal government quickly intervened by asking both Messrs Ogundipe and Babalakin to step aside pending the conclusion of its investigation into the crisis.
Though Mr Babalakin appeared before the panel, he resigned his appointment as the governing council chairperson the same day the panel submitted its report.
He also relinquished his position as the chairperson of the ASUU-FGN Agreement renegotiation team.
The former council chairperson said he disagreed with the government on the composition of the visitation panel, saying the panel was raised to exonerate the vice-chancellor.
Mr Babalakin’s resignation was followed by that of another member of the governing council, Bayo Adaralegbe, who also raised similar allegations against the panel.
Mr Adaralegbe is a lawyer and partner at Babalakin and Company, a law chamber founded by Mr Babalakin.
The crisis rocking the university had reached its climax in March, when the governing council chairperson said he was not carried along in organising the university’s convocation ceremonies. He copied the minister on a letter of complaint addressed to the vice-chancellor.
Mandated by the minister, the National Universities Commission (NUC), the regulatory body for universities, ordered the suspension of the ceremonies after the weeklong event had already commenced.
The development led to accusations and counter accusations among major stakeholders in the university system and particularly between the vice-chancellor and Mr Babalakin.
The governing council accused Mr Ogundipe-led management of financial recklessness, misappropriation and concealing information from the governing council.
The allegations and the subsequent report of an ad hoc committee set up to investigate the university’s finances formed the basis upon which the governing council said it removed Mr Ogundipe from office. The decision was taken at a special governing council meeting held at the NUC’s headquarters in Abuja.
The meeting was taken to Abuja after the declaration of Mr Babalakin as a persona non grata on the campus by the university’s branch of the Academic Staff Union of the Universities (ASUU)
The governing council also announced a former dean of the institution’s faculty of social sciences, Theophilus Soyombo, as acting vice-chancellor.
But the stiff opposition from major stakeholders in the university including the senate, alumni association, among others, informed the government’s quick intervention.
Apart from setting up a special visitation panel, the government also announced the president of the alumni association, John Momoh, as the acting governing council chairman. It also instructed the senate of the university to elect an acting vice-chancellor.
At a special meeting convened by the senate, election was conducted between the deputy vice-chancellors in charge of administration and developmental services, Ben Oghojafor and Folasade Ogunsola respectively. The latter emerged the acting vice-chancellor with a wide margin having polled 135 votes as against Mr Oghojafor’s 31.
Mrs Ogunsola, a former provost of the university’s college of medicine, has since then been in the saddle as the acting vice-chancellor of the university. But, if Mr Ogundipe is reinstated on Wednesday, she will have to vacate the seat and return to her position as a deputy vice-chancellor.
Nigeria recorded 152 new cases of COVID-19 and two deaths, new data from the country’s infectious disease agency, NCDC, showed Tuesday night.
With the latest update, Nigeria’s COVID-19 total case count increased to 64,336, keeping it fifth on the list of African countries hit hardest by the disease, behind Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa.
The total death toll is now 1,160 with the two new fatalities added to the tally.
Meanwhile, more people have recovered from the virus even as fears of an imminent and more devastating second wave of infections gain momentum.
Of the over 64,000 infections, about 60,333 persons have been discharged from hospitals after treatment, but about 3, 000 active cases remain in the country.
The 152 new cases were reported from nine states – Lagos (93), FCT (21), Oyo (15), Rivers (11), Bauchi (7), Kwara (2), Bayelsa (1), Edo (1), Plateau (1).
With 93 new infections on Tuesday, more than half of the daily tally, Lagos further stretched its lead on the number of infections to over 22,000, about a third of the country’s total.
Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, and the second-most impacted city with a total of over 6,000 cases also came second on Tuesday with 21 infections.
Currently, Nigeria has tested about 687,952 of its 200 million population.
The teaching and non-teaching staff of Eclipse Valley Academy, were summoned for an emergency meeting with the principal during the lunch break. The members of staff sat in twos in the assembly hall, discussing in low tones, as they waited for the principal to arrive for the meeting.
It was not long before the principal, Mrs. Julian Igbanke joined the staff in the hall. Every one among the staff knows that Mrs. Igbanke is a good story teller. She can keep her audience spellbound with her stories, especially when she wants to get them to agree with her on something. Mummy J, as she is popularly called, can make a story out of any, and everything.
But there was something about her story this afternoon. It lacked the usual enthusiasm and boisterous energy with which she told her stories to capture the attention of her listeners. There was a kind of sobriety in her tone and body language as she carefully picked her words before her subordinates.
Another thing her listeners quickly observed was that before she started telling the story she got herself seated, picked up a handkerchief from her bag, as if she was preparing to break an unpalatable news to them.
When she was sure that all eyes were on her and that she had got the attention of everyone, she slowly proceeded with her story thus:
“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I guess most of you know why I called for this meeting? But in case you do not know, I will tell you now. It is with heavy heart I want to confirm to you that the news that filtered in when we came to school this morning has been verified and found to be true.
There were rumours this morning that we lost one of our students yesterday evening. Well, I want to tell you that it is no longer rumour; it is now truth. It has been verified. I went to their house this morning and saw things for myself; and the truth is that Abigail, the assistant head girl, died yesterday at night. So, if you saw her yesterday evening, as I did, when we had a meeting with all the prefects, that was the last time you would see her alive”.
There were groaning, weeping, bitter cries, etc., among the staff. Both men and women broke down in tears. By the way, some were already crying even before the principal made the announcement. Abigail was such a nice girl that all who knew her could not hold back their tears.
But what really happened to Abigail?
The principal continued her story…
“From what I gathered when I went to their home this morning, Abigail committed suicide inside her room last night. The mum went to her room after their morning prayer to find out why she did not come out for the usual family prayers and found her stone dead!”
At this juncture the principal could not hold it further and had to make use of the handkerchief in her hands as she buried her face on the table. More weeping, sighing, sobbing… among the staff.
After what seemed like forever, the principal continued her story…
“Abigail dropped a letter for her mum on the floor, or she was probably holding it in her hands when death overpowered her. In the letter she appreciated her mum for all she did to take care of her and her younger brother since their father died five years ago.
She acknowledged that her mum really worked hard to make sure that she and her brother were enrolled in the best school around, and that they lacked nothing, which could make them feel the absence of their dad”.
“Why then did she take her life?” Someone asked.
In answer to that question, the principal said…
“That is why I called everyone of you here. We all failed Abigail! (at this juncture she stood up). After appreciating her mum, Abigail went ahead to explain the reasons why she decided to end it all. I may not go into all the detail but the summary is that the girl has been battling with low self-esteem and prejudice since the day she was made a prefect till yesterday when she could not bear it any longer.
I learnt that one of you here went and told Abigail’s mum that she was supposed to be the head girl but Nneoma was chosen instead because, she (Nneoma) smiles a lot while Abigail has a stony face.
And the mother believed that devilish self-sent messenger. I am going to deploy everything available to me to make sure I fish him or her out. Abigail’s mum never allowed a day to pass without taunting the poor girl about her failure to become the head girl. So each time she came to school and saw Nneoma she was filled with resentment, then she would go home to meet her mum who would jeeringly ask her, ‘how is that cheerful girl, Nneoma? I love her jare! If you like keep tightening your face!’
According to the nanny who talked with me, when Abigail got home yesterday, her mum asked the usual question about Nneoma and she simply said, ‘mum why don’t you ever tell me that you love me? Am I not a human being?’
And instead of the woman to retrace her steps she started calling the poor girl unprintable names and reminding her how she has been working like a jackal to give her the best possible, yet all she could do was to play the second fiddle.
She went to bed without eating. And as fate would have it, the nanny bought a bottle of Sniper two days ago, which she kept very close to the washing machine. Nobody knew when Abigail got up in the night and took the bottle and emptied the content into her mouth.
She ended the note she dropped for her mum with, ‘mum I love you and I have always told you so, even though I can’t really say whether you love me or not. You can transfer all your love to your cheerful Nneoma, but please do not abandon my little brother the way you abandoned me.’
As at that morning when we were there, she kept shouting, ‘Abigail, I love you! Abigail, look at me nah, I said I love you! I love you Abigail…’ I suppose that by now they might have taken her mother to a doctor because it seemed she had lost her senses
Mhnnn! What a loss! I couldn’t keep this to myself, and that is why I had to call all of you to relay it. I also want to use this to remind us that we are not here just to teach them arts or sciences; we are supposed to attend to the emotional needs of these children! How come none of us even noticed that that girl was hurting?
And the mother is now confessing her love to a dead body. Let me tell you, the words I LOVE YOU are golden to every growing person. May you not utter those golden words to a ghost as Abigail’s mother is doing right now!”
The principal ended her story thus and other things followed, which I would not bother my readers with.
I want to ask every parent or teacher reading this piece, do you know that those three words are golden to every child? Are you using them wisely now or are you waiting to use them for a ghost?
I pray that you will not tell your son or daughter that you love them when it is already too late.
We can talk about any issue you have with your child; no child is irredeemable if you know what to do and what to say. Let’s talk about it NOW!
VICE President Yemi Osinbajo has called for an urgent need to design and develop suitable curriculum assessments and monitoring systems that will focus on improving the quality of education during and post-COVID-19 pandemic.
Osinbajo, who was represented by the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Chukuemeka Nwajuiba, stated this in Abuja yesterday at 2020 Nigeria’s Annual Education Conference.
The conference, which was held in collaboration with national and international partners, has its theme: “Building an Effective, Resilient and Sustainable Education System for Nigeria’s during and Post-COVID-19 Pandemic: The Way Forward”.
The vice president said the adaption of the curriculum was necessary to facilitate learning in hybrid schooling situations in view of the unexpected disruptions of education system by COVID-19 pandemic.
According to him, the possibilities of designing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics curricula such that they can be taught virtually should be worked out by appropriate government offices and stakeholders.
“The theme of this conference is a true reflection of an unusual global challenge faced by education in recent days.
“The emergence of Coronavirus pandemic has no doubt adversely affected the education sector and the economy at national and global levels.
“Let me point out that to cushion the effects of the pandemic, the world is embracing technological innovations. Virtual interactions have increasingly replaced face-to-face engagement and limit the total disruptions to many sectors,” he said.
Minister of Education Malam Adamu Adamu reiterated the commitment of the ministry for continued deployment of technologies and the internet in education to ensure that online education became an integral component of school education.
Adamu, represented by Mr. Sonny Echono, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said the disparities in access to distance learning across the country must be removed to enhance the sustainable system of education.
Similarly, the representative of UNESCO Regional Office Director, Mr. Mamadou Lamina, said the organization was committed to supporting the government of Nigeria in the area of education.
To millions of Nigerians, the nation has moved past the worst of the coronavirus. That is even if the virus is “real and potent” in the country in the first place, many will argue.
After months of lockdowns with the attendant economic downturn, job losses, rise in domestic violence and health emergencies coupled with biting hunger, things appear to be fully returning to normal.
With Yuletide fast approaching, Nigerians now reckon it is safe to let their guards down – hands are no longer washed often, facemasks are almost forgotten, mass gatherings are no longer a problem, parties, weddings and even protests are back on the cards.
But it could just be a matter of small time before this comes back to bite us even harder and more devastating this time, health experts warn. As it is happening across Europe and the U.S., the dreaded second wave of coronavirus has commenced.
When it became clear that COVID-19 would be a global pandemic, public health experts warned of the devastating effect it would have on Nigeria and much of Africa. That forecast has not materialized compared to the havoc the deadly contagion is wrecking in the western world and many scientists are still struggling to figure it out.
But as the numbers begin to pick pace gradually in Nigeria, worries are rife that the second wave could be well on its way and would be more deadly especially now that we have lowered our guard.
Nigeria’s new COVID-19 infections have increased in the last two weeks, a PREMIUM TIMES review of official data shows, suggesting a possible resurgence in cases after weeks of low numbers.
Last week (November 1-7), the country recorded 937 new cases, a two per cent increase from the previous week’s record of 923 cases which was a 32 per cent increase from the preceding week.
Nigeria recorded its highest daily figure of confirmed infections in three months with the 300 reported cases on Sunday, raising the total tally to over 64, 000.
Second wave
Countries across Europe are seeing a resurgence in COVID-19 cases after successfully slowing outbreaks early in the year, declaring more cases each day now than they were during the first wave earlier in the pandemic.
England, Portugal and Hungary are among nations in a second lockdown as the new wave of infections sweeps through, shattering efforts and responses to keep the contagion at bay.
Cases in the U.S. are also smashing new records with over 10 million infections thus far, a fifth of the over 50 million total global tally.
COVID-19, the potentially dangerous pneumonia-like disease caused by the coronavirus and said to have emanated from a local Wuhan market to spread to over 200 countries, has also claimed more than 1.2 million lives. This has exceeded the upper range of 290,000 to 650,000 annual deaths linked to severe influenza illnesses.
Drawing on historical pandemics, health experts believe second waves of viral infections are often more destructive.
The second wave of the Spanish flu pandemic during 1918-20 was particularly devastating and more lethal than the first, according to Full Facts, an international fact-checking network. The second wave of the H1N1 swine flu epidemicin 2009 to 2010 was also more lethal than the first.ADVERTISEMENT
Studies also show that natural defenses against viral infection like mucus and your nose’s cilia do not work as well in colder, dry climates, the very season we are about to enter.
Chikwe Ihekweazu, the director-general of Nigeria’s infectious disease agency, NCDC said a second wave was “inevitable” if citizens do not continue to adhere to measures put in place to contain the viral pandemic.
THE President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday, sought the involvement of more Nigerian youths in agriculture.
He urged agencies involved in agriculture to further streamline their priorities in the inclusion of the youth in driving modern methods of farming.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President spoke at the inauguration of the National Young Farmers Scheme designed by the National Agricultural Land Development Authority.
The statement was titled, ‘More youth inclusion in modern agriculture will bolster economy, improve earnings, says President Buhari’.
Buhari was quoted as assuring those interested that an enabling environment would be created for full participation.
He described agriculture as the backbone of the Nigerian economy, being the largest contributor to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
“I have directed that all NALDA’s abandoned farm estates be retrieved to enable thousands of our young men and women to be engaged in farming.
“This administration will be achieving agricultural mechanization through this scheme and I am confident that Nigeria under my watch will achieve food security in producing most of what we eat.
“In good harvest years, we may even export our surpluses and earn foreign exchange. By virtue of my passion and desire for agriculture and also as a farmer myself, I am directly supervising NALDA as an authority under the Presidency.
“I am told that so far, 4,333 families have benefited from this scheme and it is expected that many more individuals and families will benefit as the programme is rolled out,” the President added.
The Executive Secretary/CEO of NALDA, Mr Paul Ikonne, said the discovery of oil in the country hampered the growth of agriculture and increased poverty in rural communities, assuring the President that the concerted effort to revive interest in farming would tackle poverty and create wealth.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled ruling for January 26, 2021 in the no-case submissions made by the defendants in a case of alleged examination malpractices involving a relative of former governorship candidate in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke, Sikiru Adeleke and three others.
Other defendants are: Alhaji Aregbesola Mufutau (the Principal of Ojo-Aro Community Grammar School, Ojo-Aro, Osun State), Gbadamosi Thomas Ojo (the school’s Registrar) and Dare Samuel Olutope (a teacher in the school).
Justice Inyang Ekwo chose the date on Tuesday after parties adopted their written addresses in relation to the defendants’ no-case objection.
Justice Ekwo said he chose a fairly long adjourned date in view of the crowded court’s docket but told parties they would be informed should the ruling be ready before then.
The defence team led by Nathaniel Oke (SAN), while adopting the defendants’ addresses, argued that the prosecution failed, through its five witnesses, to establish a prima facie case against the defendants to warrant their being called upon to enter defence.
The defendants prayed the court to uphold their no-case submissions, dismiss the charge and acquit them.
Lawyer to the prosecution, Simon Lough, argued otherwise.
He insisted the prosecution has sufficiently made out a case against the defendants to require them to be ordered to enter their defence.
Lough prayed the court to reject the defendants’ no-case submissions and order them to defend themselves against the offences alleged.
Senator Adeleke, who contested the last Osun State governorship election in 2018 as a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was initially charged with the current four defendants, and were first arraigned in late 2018.
In the initial four-count charge, Senator Adeleke and Sikiru were accused of “fraudulently, through personation,” registered as students of Ojo-Aro Community Grammar School, Ojo-Aro, Osun State to enable them sit for the National Examinations Council (NECO) examination of June/July 2017.
The other three defendants were accused of aiding the commission of the alleged offence, in the charge filed in the name of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
However, the prosecution amended the charge in December 2018 and raised the counts to seven, following which the defendants were re-arraigned on the amended charge on December 16, 2018.
On May 28, 2020 the prosecution applied to discontinue against Senator Adeleke, citing his prolonged absence from the country.
The Senator had reportedly travelled outside the country having earlier been granted leave by the court to travel abroad on health grounds.
In a ruling on May 29, 2020, Justice Ekwo granted the prosecution’s application and proceeded to discharge and acquit the politician, leaving the remaining four as defendants in the case.
The Renaissance University, Ugbawka, Enugu State, has provided details on the death of a 400-level student of the institution.
DAILY POST learnt that the undergraduate passed on at a private hospital after a brief illness.
However, his death has generated several reports and claims.
The University has now come out to provide information on the deceased and the efforts made earlier to save his life.
This was contained in a statement issued by the University Registrar, Mr. Adedeji Olusola Adebayo, who also called for caution in honour of the deceased.
His statement read, “On 3rd November 2020, Obinna Emmanuel Anorue, a 400 level student of History, reported at the university clinic late in the evening. He complained of fever and headache. He was transported to the clinic of our nearby affiliate institution, Mea Mater Elizabeth High School, where he was examined by the doctor and medications administered to stabilize him. He said he was okay, ate his dinner and was taken back to the university.
“Two days later (5th November),he came back to the clinic complaining of the same fever and headache, and on examination had tender epigastrium (upper part of the abdomen). He was also found not to be compliant with his medications. He was encouraged to adhere to his medications with antacids added.
“The next day when he was said to still be febrile and not adhering to the drug regimen, the doctor referred him to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), despite his insistence that he was doing good.
“But while on transit, he was reportedly diverted to the 82 Division Military Hospital. He subsequently reportedly passed in a private hospital in the early hours of yesterday.
“This is a moment of immense grief and sadness for the entire university community. Management is deeply pained by his tragic loss. Our hearts go out to Obinna’s family for the devastating heartbreak they are experiencing.
“We know the terrible news is difficult to process and affects members of our university community particularly his fellow students and friends. However, we urge for responsibility in the accounts dished out to the public in order not to dishonor his memory and aggravate the grief of his family and loved ones.
“The university is in touch with the family and is open to any inquiry that will establish what may have happened.”
The Academic Staff Union of Universities declared its nationwide strike on March 23, 2020 as a result of the Federal Government’s directive that staff in Federal Government-owned institutions should register for the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, which ASUU vehemently disagreed with. Failure of the FG to fulfill the 2009 agreement it had with ASUU, which is about the revitalization of public university education and the non-payment of the Earned Academic Allowances amongst others are part of ASUU’s demands.
Truly, these aforementioned demands of ASUU are genuine and rational. As regards staff enrolling for IPPIS, ASUU has defended its position, stating that the Accountant-General of the Federation does not have the legal right to determine the payroll system of public universities as it is a duty of each university’s governing council. Also, bearing in mind the unfortunate state of public universities which is because of the failure of the government to invest more in the education sector, the underfunding of the education sector has kept government-owned Nigerian universities aback as it cannot compete with its counterparts in other parts of the world.
Despite these, it is safe to conclude that FG is not sincere and not ready to reach any consensus soon with ASUU for the union to suspend its strike in order for academic activities to commence back in school. FG has stopped payment of their salaries. This suggests that FG wants to frustrate ASUU’s struggle. Just like successive governments, this current administration has shown no commitment to change the notorious narrative known with Nigeria’s education sector. Since FG eased lockdown and allowed reopening of universities, both parties have had series of meetings which have failed to yield any positive result.
It must be noted that out of these numerous meetings, the outcome of two of these meetings suggested that FG was ready to reach an agreement with ASUU. These two meetings were held while the #EndSARS protest was on. In one of these meetings, FG agreed to pay the Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) even though there was disagreement as to which payroll system to be used. In another, it was reported by popular news outlets that FG considers the adoption of UTAS. These reports were welcomed by Nigerian students with much anxiety. Many were of the opinion that a consensus would be reached with ASUU soonest. Unfortunately, this hope was dashed when the #EndSARS protest stopped after the military officers shot people dead in Lekki.
During the tensed days of the #EndSARS protests, FG alleged that the protest was massive because of the ongoing strike and in a bid to weaken the protest, FG hurriedly had meetings with ASUU and agreed to some concessions with the deceitful zeal to meet ASUU’s demands. However, immediately the protest ended, FG changed the narrative and now, it looks like the strike will last till eternity.
FG’s reaction to the #EndSARS protest in relation to the ASUU strike is symbolic and not just a mere coincidence.
Based on history, one can boldly assert that FG fears mass action of any group and will go to any extent to stop protests from holding. Taking the #EndSARS protest as an example, governments on different occasions met with individuals presumed to be the leaders of this protest because they understood the economic effect of a protest holding for weeks and months. The campaign to #EndSARS did not start this year, the hashtag surfaced online first in 2017. From 2017 till October 2020, FG made false promises which were not fully affected by the total disbandment of SARS. The total disbandment of SARS would not have happened if youths had not trooped out to the streets to protest. The protest was consistent and peaceful until FG began to shoot protesters.
The achievement gotten from the #EndSARS protest is enough to send signals to ASUU. It is high time ASUU changed from its elite-style of pressing home their demands to a more proactive and radical one. It is funny to realize that ASUU only uses strikes and meetings in pressing home their demands and this elite-manner of challenging abnormalities seems not to be productive any longer.
The strike embarked on by ASUU has been rendered non-productive by the refusal of FG to listen to their demands. In short, ASUU needs to embark on a nation-wide protest in order for FG to take their demands seriously.
Professional unions like Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in the past had embarked on peaceful demonstrations to press home their demands and results abound. The reason why ASUU has refused to embark on a peaceful protest is still unknown and no reason can be attached to this.
Funnily enough, students who have been at home for close to eight months will not hesitate to be at the barricades with their lecturers to protest what is good for public tertiary education.
Now that FG has refused to take ASUU’s demands seriously, ASUU must mobilize its members and students to the barricades and stop its elite-style of attending to burning issues. The struggle to revitalize Nigeria’s public tertiary education must not be restricted to round-table discussions. It must be taken to the streets where the whole of Nigeria will understand what is going on.
Property worth millions of Naira was destroyed as fire razed three shops in Osogbo, on Monday.
The fire, which was said to have been caused by power surge engulfed a shopping complex at Orita Aje, around Testing Ground, the state capital of Osun.
One of the shop owners, identified as Akande, who spoke with newsmen, disclosed that the fire which lasted for about 45 minutes started at a computer accessories shop.
He noted that the intervention of the firefighters prevented the fire from gutting the whole shopping complex.
The Administrative Officer of the Osun Fire Fighters, Mr. Fatai Aremu, said Items worth over N1.2m were destroyed in the fire that was believed to have been caused by power surge.
He said: “Four of the shops were completely burnt before the arrival of men of the Fire Service, while the rest were partially affected by the fire. Properties lost to the incident is worth N1.2 million.”
“Our investigation into the incident is still ongoing,” he concluded.
The federal government has allowed Dangote Cement to resume exports across its land borders, raising hopes that the country may be opening up trade with neighbors after a year-long blockade.
According to Bloomberg, President Muhammadu Buhari‘s administration gave its authorization for Africa’s biggest producer to export cement to Niger and Togo in the third quarter for the first time in 10 months.
The company’s chief executive officer, Michel Puchercos, was quoted to have said this during an investor call in Lagos. The export was made possible “through authorization given by this administration,” he said.
The exemption to Dangote Cement is seen as a softening of the government’s position on a border closure that started in August last year, and could open the way for other businesses to fully resume exports across the country’s land barriers.
The federal government had closed borders with neighboring countries including Benin and Niger to curb smuggling and boost local production. Although the blockade encouraged the consumption of locally grown produce such as rice, it hurt factories across West Africa, which rely on Nigeria’s market of 200 million people.
Dangote resumed land export with “restricted volumes,” and plans to grow the trade using the sea channels, according to Puchercos.
The Lagos-based company’s plan to buy back some of its shares has been delayed by market volatility and low liquidity, which have affected valuation, Guillaume Moyen, acting chief financial officer said at the same conference call.
Married men in Ganjuwa Local Government Area of Bauchi State are now open to the use of childbirth spacing (CBS) commodities, particularly condoms, leading to the current out of stock of the commodity at the Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in Kafin Madaki.
This was disclosed by the chairman, Ward Development Committee, Ganjuwa LGA, Mr Mustpha Ibrahim, during a facility visit to the PHC by members of Bauchi State Public Health Media Network on Monday.
According to Ibrahim, the development is an indication of the fact that husbands are now becoming more considerate in respect to quality and healthy family lifestyle.
“We as a committee have embarked on serious awareness creation among the people and the programme has been well accepted. Men now come out publicly to demand for supply of condoms to support their wives but unfortunately for now, the commodity is out of stock here.
“The (officer) in charge told me during a meeting with them that condoms finish first out of the other CBS commodities because men are coming in for the services,” the chairman disclosed.
He further informed that to demonstrate acceptance of CBS in the area, parents now accompany their children who want to marry for premarital counselling.
He attributed the acceptance and success of CBS in the local government area to efforts of volunteers who go for house to house counselling.
“CBS is well accepted because we have parents coming for premarital counselling with their intending couples.
“Our volunteers are conducting house to house sensitization for the success of CBS,” he said.
The WDC Chairman then appealed to the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BSPCHDA) to urgently supply CBS commodities, including condoms, to the Kafin Madaki PHC for people in the area to access the services in order to avoid unplanned pregnancies.
Addressing the members of the media network, the officer in charge of PHC, Kafin Madaki, Mr Sani Usman, informed that no fewer than 60 clients accessed childbirth spacing services monthly in the centre.
He, however, said the CBS commodities ran out of stock in the centre in the month of October, attributing the development to increase in number of clients.
“In October 2020, we were out of stock but this is because of an increase in the number of clients we recorded,” Usman, a Community Health Officer, informed.
According to him, “in the month, on the average, we had 23 new clients in one week.”
A former Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, has decried the deployment of police officers to guard politicians and other influential people in the country.
Arase, according to a statement issued at the second edition of the national dialogue series of the Political Leadership and Training Institute (POLA), held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Monday.
He attributed the challenges facing the police to lack of political will to implement the recommendations of past reforms on the force.
The ex-IGP said: “We have about 400,000 police personnel in Nigeria, and 200,000 of those officers are with the political elites. What we are doing in this country is that we are policing the elites. We are not policing security spaces and this is an issue we have to look into.
“Nigeria has had at least four police reforms from committees set up by past leaders but unfortunately, none of the reports of the reforms has been implemented. The reports are just there gathering dust.”
The Oyo State COVID-19 Task Force has shut down a tertiary institution in the state following the discovery of a COVID-19 case in the institution.
The Task Force also directed the management of schools, workplaces and religious centres to ensure strict compliance with established protocols aimed at curtailing the Coronavirus disease.
The Task Force, in a statement on Saturday, declared its readiness to shut down any institution, religious centre or workplace that violates the rules on the use of closed space settings, whether at schools, religious or social settings, adding that the general public is equally advised to remain vigilant.
A statement on behalf of the Task Force signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, indicated that the advice became necessary following the discovery of a COVID-19 case in a tertiary institution in the state.
It added that the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) of the Task Force had immediately ordered a lock-in of the affected tertiary institution to keep staff, students and the general public safe.
The EOC has also kick-started contact tracing while subjecting every possible contact to necessary surveillance, the statement added.
“The government of Oyo State wishes to draw the attention of the general public to the recent resurgence of cases of coronavirus in the state.
“Many of these cases were discovered in closed space settings such as offices and other workplaces.
“A reported case within a tertiary educational institution had also resulted in more cases being discovered through contact tracing.
“The state government has taken appropriate steps to lock in the institution to prevent further spread and put in place other preventive measures.
“Contact tracing has been intensified and the Emergency Operations Centre is working with the institution concerned to ensure that all students and staff of the institution are safe and well,” the statement read.
It added that there is no need to panic, as according to the statement, all necessary protocols needed for effective management and psychosocial support have been instituted.
The statement added that “the Oyo State, as a responsive and responsible Government, wishes to admonish all residents to ensure due compliance with the directives and all COVID-19 prevention protocols as earlier stipulated, to enable a successful limitation of virus transmission.
“The Task Force essentially wishes to implore considerable restraint at closed gatherings and environments especially in closed educational, religious and social environments.
“It is important to note that these measures are not in any way punitive but are essentially aimed at protecting the lives of all and sundry from the menace of the virus as well as prevent the spread of the virus within our communities,” the Task Force said.
The statement further read: “All hygienic practices associated with the preventive protocols are to be properly adhered to, while the utilization of safety devices, as well as social distancing, should also be upheld.
“In Oyo State, the slogan has been ‘own your action’ #OYA. It is expected that each and every one of us take responsibility for our actions in this pandemic, as such actions will have a collective impact on our lives.”
Some young Nigerians who participated in the #EndSARS protest against police brutality and extortion in the country have their accounts frozen by the Central Bank of Nigeria after the apex bank got the nod from a Federal High Court in Abuja to freeze the accounts of 19 individuals and a public affairs company linked to the protests till January, 2021.
The request which was filed by the CBN on October 20, was granted by Justice Ahmed Mohammed on November 6.
The affected individuals were said to have been used by the protesters to either solicit for funds or actually received funds to support the protest.
The court order, which was addressed to the head offices of Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, First Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, United Bank of Africa, and Zenith Bank, directed the banks to freeze all transactions on the 20 accounts on the list.
We bring you the profile of some of the individuals and company that were affected by the CBN’s order.
Bolatito Rachael Oduola was one of the major figures in the EndSARS protest and played a key role in it. The Lagos State-born Oduola who is popularly known as Rinu, was one of the coordinators of the protest in Lagos and made sure it was very successful.
Rinu, a graduate of Chemistry Education from the Lagos State University, is an entrepreneur who runs an outfit called Rinu Retails.
During the protest, she was very vocal and was one of those who addressed the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, where the popular phrase, ‘Soro Soke’ was coined.
Gatefield Nigeria Ltd. got the hammer from the CBN because it raised funds to support independent Nigerian journalists who covered the nationwide EndSARS demonstrations that lasted over two weeks.
The public affairs company which is run by Adewunmi Emoruwa, reportedly raised the sum of N100m to support journalists during the protest.
It was not only in support of the protest, but helped to mobilize and solicit for funds from international donors as well as Nigerian corporations to support the protesters.
Before the CBN’s order, Gatefield, had sued Access Bank Plc for allegedly blocking an account used to promote media coverage of the protests against police brutality in the country.
The company had contended that the blocking of the account was illegal and demanded damages of N100m from the bank.
The CEO and lead strategist at Gatefield Nigeria Limited, Emoruwa, is a young Nigerian who has had a successful run in communications, public relations and public affairs across Africa, Europe and North America.
His expertise includes legislative and issues-based advocacy, strategic communications, crisis and reputation management, political campaigns, policy analysis and design. He once served as a Ministerial Advisor at the Ministry of Health.
The Ilorin, Kwara State-born Sa’dat Temitope Bibi may be from a privileged background with a father who is a top politician in the state but her passion for the downtrodden made her join up with other Nigerian youths during the EndSARS protest.
Bibi, as she is fondly called, is a luxury Vlogger, fashion, beauty and lifestyle blogger and the CEO of Eight30Media, a beauty and lifestyle brand.
She also runs SAAB Foundation, an outfit she uses to campaign against molestation, girl-child mutilation and every form of abuse against women and rape.
She is a Mass Communication graduate of Al-Hikmah University, and a one-time contestant at the Miss Nigeria International and Mr. and Miss Nigeria International pageants.
Bassey Victor Israel is a young activist who joined the EndSARS protest after losing some friends to the excesses of police officers.
The Port Harcourt, Rivers State-based Israel who believes every youth in Nigeria is not a criminal, recently posted on his Twitter handle that if given the opportunity, he would come out to protest again and again.
When someone drew his attention to the fact that his account has been frozen by the CBN, Israel responded thus:
“I refuse to be intimidated. You can go ahead and freeze my accounts and assets but this won’t stop me from speaking up against the ineptitude and incompetence of our corrupt leaders who saw our protest against police brutality as a threat to their tyranny. Justice must be served!”
Promise Ezenwanyi Uhuo is a young writer, poet, actress and a youth activist. She decided to join the protest after seeing young Nigerians who have been shunted and denied their rightful places.
She helped in sourcing for funds for the protesters and that was how her account was flagged by the Federal Government, leading to it being frozen by the CBN.
Mosopefoluwa Odeseye was one of the brains behind the success of the EndSARS protest in Lagos as she used her personal resources to cater for the protesters at various points.
The experienced event planner is the creative director at Mode Seven Events and the CEO of Iyameto’s kitchen, a catering company she founded about three years ago.
She has a diploma in Mass Communication from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, and a basic presentation certificate from the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Lagos.
She has worked as a co-host on two different shows on radio and also worked as a production manager at a movie production company.
Mosopefoluwa personally fed the protesters every day and it was her zeal that made some donors identify her and sent money through her account to take care of the protesters.
Pamilerin Adegoke Emmanuel, also known as ThePamilerin, is a social media influencer, PR guru and a journalist.
The 25-years-old Pamilerin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Engineering from the University of Lagos, but his passion for public relations led him away from the profession into the media and entertainment industry.
Pamilerin started out as the entertainment editor at Black House Media, before leaving to pursue his passion. He gained massive success when he worked on public relations for Pepsi in 2015.
He has also worked with several celebrities including Peruzzi, Adekunle Gold, Korede Bello, Adedimeji Lateef and many others.
Umoh Grace Ekanem was one of the brains behind the success of the protest in her Abuja base, and used her connections to help source for funds for the protesters.
She is an accomplished lawyer, maritime law expert and chattered arbitrator who has also worked for the Federal Government of Nigeria but that did not deter her from joining other youths to fight against police brutality, extortion, torture and murder.
Mary Damilola Oshifowora, one of the Nigerian youths whose account has been frozen by the CBN, is a social media manager, blog manager, tech enthusiast and activist.
Her social media profile reveals that she has a passion for youths and would not sit back and watch her contemporaries being molested, intimidated and brutalized without doing anything to help.
The Lagos-born Oshifowora was one of the most vocal during the protest in and was a rallying point for other protesters.
Winifred Akpevweoghene Jacob’s profile reveals that she is a strong feminist and a member of the feminist group that donated money to the protesters during the EndSARS demonstrations.
She was one of the major coordinators of the protests and the unofficial accountant who disbursed money meant to cater for the demonstrators.
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