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Post Date : July 13, 2022

ASUU: It’s Unacceptable To Still Have Schools Closed After Many Months – Bishop Kukah

  The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Kukah, has said it is unacceptable that Nigerian Universities are still closed after so many months. Bishop Kukah who stated this on Wednesday at the signing of a peace accord ahead of the Osun State gubernatorial election, asserted that the prolonged strike does not speak well of the democracy we profess to be practicing. “This is unacceptable especially as these things are happening in a democracy,” Kukah insisted. The cleric said it is quite sad that the strike has lasted this long particularly because democracy has always given the people a platform for negotiation, consensus and several other means for solving such issues as exist between the government and the authorities of the various universities. He said Nigeria must come to understand that without the universities giving opportunities for academic energy, analysis, and theorizing; it is impossible for the nation’s democracy to grow. The bishop asserted that the most important thing for political actors at this moment, is to take their responsibilities sufficiently serious. According to him, all Nigerians must at this time try to make the nation’s democracy work. Bishop Kukah said it is sad that increasingly the country is witnessing a transition from democratic rule to plutocracy. In his view, “the share amount of money that is being spent not just in campaigns but in just picking a piece of paper to declare intension to participate, is not acceptable”. “Majority of our people remain hungry and sick and we cannot be flaunting this wealth in a democracy, because if that is the system we wanted, we will call it a plutocracy in which case only rich men and women can participate in the process,” the cleric admonished. He encouraged the political actors to act on the need to expand the frontiers of freedom to participate in the processes concerning the country. Bishop Kukah called on Nigerians to come out and vote when the elections get underway, stressing that the urgency of fixing the nation is tied to the process of governance adopted in the constitution. The bishop was of the opinion that whereas the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can provide a level playing field, it is the conduct and behaviour the political players that determines how the game is going to be played. On that premise, Kukah appealed to members of the political class to make it possible for citizens to love and trust them and to show that by choosing democracy, the people have chosen to live.

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Post Date : July 13, 2022

Nigerian politicians use public funds as personal piggybanks, says Badenoch, UK PM candidate

  Kemi Badenoch, former UK equalities minister, has taken a swipe at Nigerian politicians and accused them of using public funds for their private matters. Badenoch, a UK lawmaker of Nigerian descent, said this on Monday during an event to mark the commencement of her campaign for the office of the UK prime minister on Tuesday. The 42-year-old was among several ministers that resigned over loss of confidence in Boris Johnson’s style of governance. Boris Johnson had, afterwards, resigned as UK prime minister on July 7. During the event, Badenoch said she chose to run for the highest political office in the UK following her ambition to serve a country that gives her access to ‘be free and anything I want to be’. She said Nigerian politicians have a knack for making promises to the populace and end up being a failure. “I am running for prime minister because I am ambitious. I am ambitious for our country and for our party. I chose to be the conservative MP to serve and choose this country because here, I can be free and do anything I want to be here,” she said. “I grew up in Nigeria and saw firsthand what happens when politicians are running for themselves when they use public money as their private piggybanks, when they promise the earth and pollute not just the air, but the whole political atmosphere with their failure to serve others. “I saw what socialism means. For millions, it is poverty and broken dreams. I came to Britain determined to make my way in a country where hard work and honest endeavour can take you anywhere.”

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Post Date : July 13, 2022

Why Atiku shouldn’t be Nigeria’s president -Lawyer

  A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun Adegboruwa, has warned Nigerians against electing former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, as the president of Nigeria in 2023. He made this known in a statement made available to The PUNCH on Wednesday. The lawyer accused Atiku of being desperate, saying that “PDP cannot be trusted with Nigeria’s constitution”. He also accused the PDP of flouting its rotation principle with Atiku’s emergence. The PUNCH had reported that on May 27, Abubakar won the PDP presidential ticket for 2023 general elections, after polling 371 out of the 767 accredited votes to defeat his closest rival, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers who polled 237 votes. Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, came a distant third with 70 votes. While former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, scored 14 votes, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi got 20 votes, while Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom scored 38 votes. Dele Momodu and Ayo Fayose, Charles Ugwu, and Chikwendu Kalu scored zero votes each, while Tarella Diana and Sam Ohuabunwa each received one vote each. While highlighting the “dangers of Atiku’s presidency”, Adegboruwa said, “Undue and unbridled desperation for power lead to ineffectiveness. This has been the case with Buhari and so it shall be with Atiku, who has lusted for power beyond human understanding. “In order to satisfy the political ambition of Atiku, PDP ate its own vomit, threw away its own Constitution and rejected decency and justice embedded in the power rotation doctrine. If PDP will not honour it’s own Constitution, how can it be trusted with the Constitution of Nigeria? “In seeking to succeed Buhari from the same Northern region, Atiku and his supporters do not believe in the plurality and unity of Nigeria. “In seeking to succeed Buhari who is a Muslim of the same faith with him, Atiku does not believe in the secularity of Nigeria as stated in our Constitution. “In rejecting the popular decision of the PDP Committee set up to select his Vice-Presidential candidate, Atiku has shown himself to be an incurable dictator, who may be worse than Buhari if trusted with power. “An Atiku presidency will translate to 16 years of unbroken presidency of the North, which will lead to more agitations and may snowball into disintegration. “An Atiku presidency will translate to 16 years of Muslim-Muslim presidency, which will facilitate more terrorist attacks, lead to marginalisation of people of other faiths and likely increased persecution. “Having regard to our collective experience under the inglorious Obasanjo/Atiku regime, an Atiku presidency will translate into the loss of national assets, the mortgaging of our commonwealth and uncontrolled senseless capitalism, leading to poverty of the masses. “Atiku cannot be the option for today’s Nigeria. I, therefore, urge all people of good conscience to reject PDP and it’s leprous ticket.”

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Post Date : July 13, 2022

Five feared dead, others injured in fresh herders attack on Makurdi community

  At least five persons were feared dead in a fresh attack on Anter Mbalagh community in the outskirts of Makurdi, the Benue state capital by suspected armed herdsmen. The attack was said to have left some persons with serious injuries while many have also fled their homes in search of safer abode in neighbouring communities for fear of being killed by the marauders. It was gathered from a source in the area that the attackers stormed the village yesterday and started shooting sporadically forcing the people to flee and anyone caught up with was murdered. The source who named some of those feared dead in the attack to include; Terkimbir Orbakpa, Kpungu Orbakpa, Ave Usaar, Aondogu Aku and Temanenge Kyer said that three of the victim had already been buried while the search for the remains of two others was ongoing. He said: “The attack was unprovoked, the armed herders just stormed the community late in the night at about 12:30am and started shooting. People ran for their lives. Three corpses were recovered in the morning of Tuesday and buried and two others who they must have killed in the bush have not been seen but the search for their bodies is ongoing because if they were alive they would have been seen.” The Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Colonel Paul Hemba (retd.) who confirmed the development said he had recorded two deaths in the attack. The Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent, SP, Catherine Anene said she was yet to receive details of the incident.

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Post Date : July 13, 2022

Strike: Honour ASUU agreement, group tells FG

  A group, under the aegis of the Science for Impact Initiative, has called on stakeholders to pressure the Federal Government to heed the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities to put an end to recurrent strikes. The group made this known in a statement titled, ‘Recurrent ASUU strike: A preventable disaster’, on Wednesday, where it noted that the recurrent strike by ASUU had stalled the development of education in Nigeria and had made life difficult for students and their parents. The PUNCH reports that the ASUU strike, which started as a warning exercise on February 12, 2022, has entered its fifth month, with the Union yet to shift its position on its demands to the government. The statement was signed by Dr Adeniji Adejimi, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa; Dr Taiwo Agidigbi, KyungHee University, South Korea; Joshua Babalola, Medical University of Graz, Austria; Dr Olumuyiwa Igbalajobi, University of British Columbia, Canada; Dr Opeyemi Lawal, University of Guelph, Canada; Opeyemi Oludada, University of Heidelberg, Germany. SCINT, which is an umbrella body for Voices in STEM-Nigeria, noted that the protracted strike had contributed to Nigeria lagging in scientific research hence the country is behind its global counterparts in innovation, with special reference to the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. The statement reads in part, “There is absolutely no country in the world that can be productive while her universities or tertiary institutions are constantly locked. The incessant feuds between the Federal Government of Nigeria and ASUU over the years have had a huge impact on research outputs and degree completion time, and have also resulted in financial as well as emotional constraints on the part of students and parents. The question is for how long would this preventable trend linger? “The recurrent ASUU strike will only setback by decades our nation’s scientific exploits that could translate to development and problem-solving discoveries. “Of note, research activities in these public universities were completely shut down at a time when the world was scampering and scientists around the world were exploring novel strategies to develop drugs and vaccines to combat the global threat of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. “The effect of industrial actions in the last couple of years has always been felt greatly by the students. Take, for instance, students are constantly deprived of life-changing opportunities due to a lack of access to transcripts and other necessary documents needed to process scholarship and funding opportunities attributed to strike actions that constantly paralyse the entire academic and administrative processes.” According to the statement, an immediate digitalisation of processes in public universities “would not only remove the artificial delays in processing documents but would also increase efficiency”. SCINT noted that stakeholders must play their role in holding the government accountable to prevent a collapse of Nigeria’s educational system. The group also urged private individuals to support the funding of public universities in the country noting that education was capital intensive “To save our educational system from imminent collapse, the stakeholders should put pressure on the government to honour the agreement they already had with ASUU dated back to 2009. “Stakeholders should continue to check and balance government budgeting by ensuring that both the federal and state governments reserve a reasonable percentage of their annual budgetary allocation to education according to the recommendation of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. “Going forward, qualitative research can only thrive in a conducive and adequately funded ecosystem with accessible infrastructures. The present clamour for the adequate funding of the Nigerian educational system by ASUU is not only justifiable but also a norm in saner climes. “However, all stakeholders including the industry must be encouraged to create an industry-academic partnership that could foster growth and innovative research in our universities. The sole reliance on the government for funding may be far from reality. “Nevertheless, education is capital intensive; therefore, the federal and state government cannot handle it effectively alone. It is suggested that patriotic Nigerians should also support the funding of public universities,” the statement added.

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Post Date : July 13, 2022

2023: Three Days To Deadline, NNPP, AAC Yet To Upload Candidates On INEC Portal

  The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that two political parties, African Action Congress (AAC) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), are yet to upload a single nomination of their candidates for governorship, deputy governorship and state assembly elections on the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal (ICNP). National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said this on Wednesday in a statement. According to him, as provided for in the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general elections released by the commission on February 26, 2022, all political parties that conducted valid primaries are required to nominate their candidates for governorship, deputy governorship and state assembly elections via the ICNP from 1st-15th July 2022. He said, “So far, the commission has processed 6,995 nomination forms (EC9) uploaded by 16 out of 18 political parties for the constituencies where they intend to sponsor candidates. “However, two political parties, the AAC and NNPP, are yet to upload a single nomination to the portal. The commission hereby reminds all political parties that they have three days left to upload their list of candidates to the ICNP. “The deadline is Friday, 15th July 2022. The portal will automatically shut down at 6.00pm on that date.” On issuance of Certified True Copies (CTCs) of documents, Okoye said the commission had continuously responded to requests for CTCs of documents mainly arising from the conduct of party congresses, primaries and nomination of candidates. He said, “The number of requests processed has now risen to 1,662,987 pages of documents. Sadly, in spite of the commission’s effort, 147 out of 476 requests processed as at today involving 5,646 pages are yet to be collected by applicants.” Okoye appealed to prospective litigants to come forward and collect the certifed copies of the documents.

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Post Date : July 13, 2022

Obi, Yusuff react to Tinubu’s ‘labourers’ comment

  The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and the governorship candidate of the party for the Osun poll, Lasun Yusuff, on Wednesday descended on the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, over a comment he reportedly made about their party which that they considered derogatory. Tinubu at the grand rally for the reelection of APC candidate, Adegboyega Oyetola on Tuesday, had said “they said some are in Labour, they will remain labourers till death”. Obi, who was in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, to support Yusuff at the party’s governorship rally, while addressing LP members, advised them that such a comment should be returned with love. He said, “I listened to our chairman when he said that somebody said that ‘they can labour till death.’ When they show you hatred, Labour Party will show them love. There is dignity in labour.” He also called on the people of Osun to support the party’s candidate in the governorship poll to give the state better leadership. Addressing the rally, Yusuff said the comment about the Labour Party by the APC leader was inconsistent with the attributes of a virtuous Yoruba man. He, however, promised to surprise those saying he would not get votes in Saturday’s election and urged LP members to work hard for victory at the poll. “He came back yesterday and said we should go and labour till death. That is not an attribute of a virtuous Yoruba person. I described them as people with anonymous background, we don’t know them, their life is anonymous,” Yusuff stated. Meanwhile, a cultural group, Yoruba Study Group, has adopted Lasun Yusuf as its preferred candidate for the Osun poll. The president of the group, Comrade Williams Adeosun, while speaking with newsmen in Osogbo, said, “Lasun Yusuff is very vibrant, experienced and influential. He is ready to bring his acumen to develop Osun. Look at the governorship debates that were organised in time past, he spoke intelligently, instead of some people who are dancing like a disco. “We are solidly behind him and we are committed and confident that he will win the forthcoming election.”

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Post Date : July 13, 2022

“Osun Guber Poll: ‘People Are Waiting To Sell Their Votes’

  Head of Secretariat, National Peace Committee, Rev. Fr. Atta Barkindo, has expressed concerns over vote-buying ahead of the July 16 governorship election in Osun State. While speaking on Channels Television on Wednesday, the cleric said the electorate in Osun were already waiting to sell votes during the election. Head of Secretariat, National Peace Committee, Rev. Fr. Atta Barkindo, has expressed concerns over vote-buying ahead of the July 16 governorship election in Osun State. While speaking on Channels Television on Wednesday, the cleric said the electorate in Osun were already waiting to sell votes during the election. NIGERIA DAILY: Who Is Truly To Be Blamed For Bad Governance? How Nigeria borrowed N225trn in 20 years Barkindo, the Executive Director, Kukah Centre, lamented that poverty in the land was glaring, stressing that tackling vote-buying was more than just talking about it. Barkindo said structural issues must be addressed to stop vote-buying. He said, “We have been holding town halls meeting and we have been appearing on radios, we have been appearing on the local tv here in Osun talking to people asking them not to sell their votes. “But these are just the symptoms. People are really very dispossessed and there is aggressive poverty on the ground. “Three thousand naira may mean nothing to you but to a family, that can keep them for a whole one week. We are just trying to deal with the symptoms but I think the greater issues are very structural. “So, we are appealing to the authorities, because there are millions of youths who are completely unemployed, families are living without food. “People are completely dispossessed waiting for a peanut to sell their votes to get N10,000, to get N20,000. It’s like waiting for your birthday and we can see the level of poverty on the street.” He also expressed worries over the security issues in the state ahead of the election. The cleric said his committee had carried out sensitisation and had engaged all the political actors to ensure a peaceful election come Saturday. Thirteen political parties including the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Action Alliance (AA), signed the peace accord on Wednesday. He said the peace committee will stay behind in Osun to ensure compliance and take records when there are breaches by any of the 13 parties that signed the peace accord.

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Post Date : July 13, 2022

Air Peace commences commercial flight operations to China

  The Chinese community in Nigeria congratulating Air Peace on the inaugural flight ceremony from Lagos to Guangzhou, China at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos on Wednesday. Photo Lamidi Bamidele By Prince Okafor Barely eight years into commercial operation of aircraft in Nigeria, Air Peace has expanded its network to Asia with the commencement of a direct one-weekly flight to Guangzhou, China. Vanguard gathered that a total of 240 passengers were carried out from Lagos directly to China through its Boeing 777 aircraft. The company also noted that plans are underway to connect Beijing, Shanghai, others from Nigeria, utilising interline arrangement with Asian airline. Speaking during the inaugural flight ceremony in Lagos, Air Peace Chief Operating Officer, Oluwatoyin Olajide, stated that the company had envisaged an airline that would predominantly create massive employment for Nigerians and reduce the burden of air travel for Nigerians, and by extension, Africans, through the provision of affordable and peaceful connectivity across cities and continents. She said: “Now, we can confidently assert that Air Peace has kept to this vision of providing seamless connections and expanding existing network to accommodate the evolving air travel needs of the flying public. Today, we’re officially adding the continent of Asia to our network of continents, with the commencement of initial one-weekly flight to Guangzhou-China. “If you’ve been following the growth of Air Peace, you’ll be familiar with the fact that the Chinese airspace is not new to us, as we’ve successfully operated several evacuation/special flights to the country at different times in the past, especially in 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown. “So, we’re going into China, not as newcomers, but as an airline that is technically and operationally acclimatised with the Chinese terrain. The flying public, especially those that fly the Guangzhou route, should expect best-in-class flight experience, which is characteristic of the Air Peace brand. “We are not stopping with Guangzhou- India is next and Israel is in the works. Also planned for subsequent launch are Malabo in Equatorial Guinea and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “We will continue to grow our route network as well as modernise our fleet strategically. Air Peace currently boasts of a network of twenty domestic routes, seven regional routes and two international destinations, including Dubai and Johannesburg. “As we kick off the Guangzhou route today, we must appreciate the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, the Ministry of Aviation, the Chinese government, our partners, and other stakeholders for making this possible. We promise to work harmoniously with all relevant aviation actors to ensure this new route is maximised.”

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Post Date : July 13, 2022

‘I Remain In The PDP’: Jimi Agbaje Denies Defecting To APC

  The former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Jimi Agbaje, has denied defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC). He was reacting to reports which emerged online on Wednesday suggesting that the PDP chieftain has pitched a tent with the ruling APC to work for the emergence of Bola Tinubu as Nigeria’s President. Agbaje, however, rubbished the reports during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, saying he was shocked to wake up to the news. “I think it is one of the downsides of social media where mischief makers can just throw up anything and it is out there. There is no truth whatsoever in it, I remain in the PDP. So this is smoke without fire,” he said. “I woke up this morning to read the news just like anybody. Normally they say there is no smoke without fire, but I think this is a case of where there is smoke, there is no fire because there is no fire in the first place.”

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