August 2022 – Page 19

Post Date : August 28, 2022

32 Killed, 159 Injured As Death Toll Continues To Rise In Libya Clashes

Clashes between backers of Libya’s rival governments killed at least 32 people, the health ministry said Sunday in a new toll, after a battle that sparked fears of major new conflict. Armed groups had exchanged fire that damaged several hospitals and set buildings on fire starting Friday evening, the worst fighting in the Libyan capital since a landmark 2020 ceasefire. A cautious calm had set in by Saturday evening, an AFP correspondent said. The fighting came after months of mounting tensions between backers of Abdulhamid Dbeibah and Fathi Bashagha, whose rival administrations are vying for control of the North African country which has seen more than a decade of violence since a 2011 uprising. Dbeibah’s administration, installed in the capital as part of a United Nations-led peace process after the end of the last major battle in 2020, has so far prevented Bashagha from taking office there, arguing that the next administration should be the product of elections. Bashagha was appointed by Libya’s eastern-based parliament earlier this year and is backed by powerful eastern military chief Khalifa Haftar, whose 2019 attempt to seize the capital by force turned into a year-long civil war. Bashagha, a former interior minister, had initially ruled out the use of violence to take power in Tripoli but had since hinted that he could resort to force. Libya plunged into chaos following the 2011 overthrow and killing of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a Western-backed uprising, with myriad armed groups and foreign powers moving to fill the power vacuum. Certain armed groups seen as neutral in the latest crisis had moved to back Dbeibah this weekend to push back Bashagha’s second attempt to enter the capital. Both sides exchanged blame on Saturday while world powers appealed for calm. The UN’s Libya mission called for “an immediate cessation of hostilities”, citing “ongoing armed clashes including indiscriminate medium and heavy shelling in civilian-populated neighbourhoods”. On Saturday evening, Dbeibah posted a video of himself surrounded by bodyguards and greeting fighters supporting his administration. Dbeibah’s Government of National Unity said fighting had broken out after negotiations to avoid bloodshed in the western city collapsed. Bashagha denied such talks had taken place, and accused Dbeibah’s “illegitimate” administration of “clinging to power”. Local media reported later Saturday that a group of pro-Bashagha militias that had been making their way to the capital from Misrata later turned back. Analyst Wolfram Lacher wrote on Twitter that Libya’s shifting alliances were “a never-ending story”. “The armed groups that found themselves on the same side in yesterday’s Tripoli fighting will tomorrow clash over turf, positions and budgets,” he wrote. “The factions that were pro-Dbeibah yesterday will challenge him tomorrow.”

Post Date : August 28, 2022

43-Year-Old Gombe Monarch Dies Suddenly

The Emir of Funakaye in Gombe State, Alhaji Mu’azu Muhammad Kwairanga, has died at the age of 43. According to sources at the Funakaye Emirate Council, the emir died shortly after retiring to bed, on Saturday. Our correspondent reports that the deceased’s last public function was on Saturday in Gombe where he attended the flag-off of the distribution of food items to vulnerable groups by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami. On Friday, he was at the opening ceremony of the newly constructed Kaltungo Central Mosque in Kaltungo LGA of the state. He also attended the commissioning of the phase I of the newly reconstructed Gombe-Yola Road in Kumo town of Akko LGA of the state. He was said to have held a meeting with officials of Funakaye branch of the Jama’atul Izalatul Bidi’a Wa Ikamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS) at the palace until Magrib prayer, which he observed in congregation at the palace Mosque. “He later retired to his bed, but around 12am the sad news was relayed to us about the deceased of the emir,” a palace source stated. Late Mu’azu Kwairanga Mu’azu was appointed as the third Emir of Funakaye on June 2, 2021, 13 days after the demise of his elder brother, late Abubakar Muhammad Kwairanga. Daily Trust had reported that the deceased’s elder brother died suddenly on May 20, 2021, few hours after complaining of illness. Late Mu’azu Kwairanga a descendant of late Modibbo Bubayero, the founder of Gombe Emirate, was born on April 20, 1979 to late Muhammad Kwairanga Abubakar, the first Emir of Funakaye. Funeral prayers for the decease will take place at his palace by 2:00pm on Sunday. He is survived by one wife and five children.

Post Date : August 28, 2022

Pakistan Flood: Death Toll Tops 1,000

The death toll from monsoon flooding in Pakistan since June has reached 1,033, according to figures released Sunday by the country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). It said 119 people had died in the previous 24 hours as heavy rains continued to lash parts of the country. The annual monsoon is essential for irrigating crops and replenishing lakes and dams across the Indian subcontinent, but each year it also brings a wave of destruction. Officials say this year’s monsoon flooding has affected more than 33 million people — one in seven Pakistanis — destroying or badly damaging nearly a million homes. The NDMA said more than two million acres of cultivated crops have been wiped out, 3,451 kilometers (2,150 miles) of roads destroyed, and 149 bridges washed away.

Post Date : August 28, 2022

18 Killed In Western DR Congo Clashes

Eighteen people were killed in clashes between two communities in the western Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this month, according to a government report seen by AFP Sunday. Fighting broke out between the Yaka and Teke people following a dispute over taxes and land, people in Mai-Ndombe province told AFP. Members of the Teke community consider themselves the original inhabitants of villages spread over 200 kilometers (124 miles) along the Congo River. In early August there was knifepoint fighting with the Yaka community, who settled afterward, in the town of Kwamouth, about 100 kilometers from the capital Kinshasa. “In the conflict between the Yaka and Teke in the province of Mai-Ndombe, 18 people were killed, including nine on the side of Yaka of Masia, including the chief of the land and his wife,” said Culture Minister Catherine Kathungu in the minutes of the Council of Ministers. She added: “175 houses were burnt down and an AK47 weapon belonging to an element of the Congolese National Police was taken away by the Teke assailants”. Rita Bola, the governor of Mai-Ndombe province, said Kwamouth was “calm now”. “The army is now deployed all around to secure the population”, Bola said. Members of the Yaka community had refused to pay a “customary royalty” to traditional Teke chiefs, said Abbe Felicien Boduka, president of the Justice and Peace Commission of the diocese of Inongo in Mai-Ndombe. “We Yaka no longer wanted to pay this tax because the Constitution allows Congolese to settle freely anywhere on the national territory,” Gregoire Losoto, a development worker who abandoned his cassava fields and fish ponds in Kwamouth told AFP. “The situation worsened in August because the Yaka installed their customary chief to replace a former Teke customary chief,” he said. The Yaka chief and his wife were killed “by assailants”, according to several witnesses interviewed by AFP. AFP

Post Date : August 28, 2022

Photos: Obi’s supporters hold rally in Anambra

The streets of Onitsha, Anambra State, is currently on a total lockdown as the supporters of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, march on the streets in support of the 2023 ambition. The rally commenced at exactly 11.30am from the Zik’s Avenue, near the Chinua Achebe’s Stadium, Fegge, Onitsha, Anambra State. The supporters matching round the major streets in a rally will finally converge at the stadium. Men of the various security agencies are on the ground providing security and ensuring a hitch-free rally.

Post Date : August 28, 2022

Onyeagucha, Imo govt exchange words for sealing off campaign office

Hon Uche Onyeaguocha, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate for Imo East has accused the Imo State government of sealing off his campaign office. But the government, when contacted for a reaction, debunked the claim outright. In a statement, Media Aide to the former Secretary to the State Government and former member of the House of Representatives, Prince MacDonald Enwerem, accused the Special Adviser on Special Duties to Governor Hope Uzodimma, Mr. Chinasa Nwaneri, allegedly leading some hired thugs to invade and seal off the campaign office of the PDP Imo East senatorial candidate. The statement read in part: “The attention of Hon. Barr. Uche Onyeagucha, the PDP candidate for Imo East Senatorial District has been drawn to the recent sealing of his campaign office located at 23 Ihugba Street Owerri, by Governor Hope Uzodimma using his Chief thug, Chinasa Nwaneri and fully armed members of his infamous Ebubeagu militia numbering over 30 people. “Let him seal up every house he thinks belongs to the opposition in the state. No amount of intimidation and harassment will change the direction of the wind already blowing in the state. His antics will continue to fail as usual.” Nze Chinasa Nwaneri, in response to a request for comments, dismissed the allegations by Hon Uche Onyeaguocha that the sealing of his campaign office by the state government was politically motivated. He said: “It is surprising that Hon Uche Onyeahuocha who is a lawyer and a former Secretary to the government of Imo state is carrying out an alteration of an old building without obtaining the appropriate permissions from the appropriate authorities. I am not OCDA or the ENTRACO. The fact is that he does not recognise the existence of a government in the state, and everything should not be media propaganda and he certainly knows that when a person is carrying out a renovation or altering the design of an existing building there are procedures. “Onyeaguocha did not do that and in fact the entire place has been blocked with rods and gravels and the state government would not allow that.”

Post Date : August 28, 2022

ASUU rejects government’s salary increase offer

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike in Abia has described the federal government’s Consolidated Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS) as “unilateral”, hence unacceptable. The group’s position is contained in a statement jointly issued by the Chairman and Secretary of the union, Michael Ugwuene and Paul Nwiyi, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia on Saturday. The statement is entitled, “Failure of Government: Collective bargaining agreement is the way forward.” It stated that CONUASS awarded increases of 35 per cent and 25 per cent of current salaries to professors and other ranks, respectively. It argued that the review was prepared by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission and presented to the Prof. Nimi-Briggs-led FG/ASUU Renegotiation Committee, without inputs from ASUU. “The crux of this matter is that the award is unilateral and a total breach of the provisions of all national and international legislations on which the Collective Bargaining Agreement is based,” the group stated. It stated that the renegotiation process ought to have the input of both government and ASUU teams as required by the Trade Dispute Act of 1976; ILO Conventions 49 of 1948, amongst others. “A negotiated salary, needless to say, affords industrial harmony because the worker has made an input. “A negotiated salary is a right, an awarded salary is potentially arbitrary and is just that: an award,” the statement added. It further stated that none of the issues that precipitated the six-month-old strike, including salary, had been squarely addressed. “Not even the issues that have no financial implications, like a commitment to adopt UTAS and the release of the Visitation Panel White Paper to the respective universities,” it added. The group frowned at the committee’s resolve to push the payment of the Earned Academic Allowances to the individual universities. It further expressed concern that rather than apply for a supplementary budget for its N170 billion revitalisation pledge, the federal government decided to shift the fund to the 2023 budget. The union, therefore, called on well-meaning Nigerians to appeal to the government to quickly resume and conclude the ongoing re-negotiation “to enable our students go back to campuses.” (NAN)

Post Date : August 28, 2022

$23m Abacha Loot: SERAP Writes Buhari, Seeks ‘Copy Of Agreement With US’

As the United States government plans to return the over $23 million looted by the late dictator Sani Abacha, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has demanded a copy of the agreement. Last Tuesday, Nigeria and the United States reached an agreement on the return of over $23 million of the Abacha loot. Five days after, the rights group wrote a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, asking him to “direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) to provide our organization with a copy of the agreement the Federal Government recently signed with the United States for the repatriation of $23 million stolen by late General Sani Abacha.” In the letter dated August 27 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the group said its demand is based on the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the 1999 Constitution as well as some international obligations Nigeria is meant to follow. “By the combined reading of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s international obligations, there are transparency obligations imposed on your government to widely publish the agreement on the $23 million Abacha loot,” the letter read in part. “The Nigerian Constitution, Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s anti-corruption and human rights obligations rest on the principle that citizens should have access to information regarding their government’s activities.” SERAP argued that the current administration has a responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability in how any repatriated stolen funds are spent, to reduce vulnerability to corruption and mismanagement. It also asked President Buhari to provide details of the transparency and accountability mechanisms that have been put in place to ensure that the repatriated funds are not mismanaged, diverted, or re-stolen. “We would therefore be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest. “Publishing a copy of the agreement signed with the US would also promote transparency and accountability in the spending of public funds. Nigerians are entitled to their constitutionally and internationally recognized human right to information.” “Publishing a copy of the agreement would ensure that persons with public responsibilities are answerable to the people for the performance of their duties including the management of repatriated loot,” SERAP added. According to the group, the Freedom of Information Act, Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee everyone the right to information, including to a copy of the agreement on the repatriated $23 million Abacha loot. The letter was copied to Mr Abubakar Malami.

Post Date : August 28, 2022

Strike: FG Should Sign Renegotiated Agreement With ASUU Immediately – Falana

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has called on the Federal Government to sign the renegotiated agreement with the striking members of the Academic Strike Union of University (ASUU). In a statement on Sunday, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria urged both ASUU leadership and the current administration to resume negotiations in order to end the prolonged strike for the overall good of Nigerian students. While calling on both sides to resume the negotiations in the interest of the country the Federal Government should be prevailed upon to end the prolonged industrial action. He accused the Federal Government of resorting to blackmail ASUU, recalling how talks with the union ended in deadlock, a situation that dashed the hopes of many students. “Instead of engaging in the diversionary tactics of blackmailing ASUU the Federal Government should ensure that the strike is called off by signing the Renegotiated Agreement with ASUU without any further delay,” Falana said. “While calling on both sides to resume the negotiations in the interest of the country the Federal Government should be prevailed upon to end the prolonged industrial action.” The rights lawyer is of the view that the Federal Government should commit itself to the faithful implementation of collective agreements reached with ASUU which are enforceable by virtue of the relevant provisions of the Trade Disputes Act instead of embracing the fascist option of prescribing union. Making reference to the 1992 and 2009 FG/ASUU Agreements, Falana said it was expressly stated that the revenue realised from the sale of the properties of the Federal Government abandoned in Lagos when the Federal Capital was moved to Abuja would be channelled towards the funding of tertiary education in the country. According to him, the Federal Government has turned around to selling the properties to private individuals and corporate bodies at low giveaway prices. Some of the properties, he explained, were sold to powerful individuals and corporate bodies including a multinational corporation. Arguing that a number of the properties have not been sold, Falana wants the Federal Government to turn them over to the universities in line with the terms of the FG/ASUU Collective Agreements.

Post Date : August 28, 2022

Bird Strike On Lagos-Owerri Flight, Air Peace Craft Fails To Land

The management of the private Nigerian airline, Air Peace has said that its Flight P47154 which departed Lagos at 12pm on Saturday August 27, 2022, for Owerri, could not land due to a bird strike. In a brief communique on Sunday, the airline said the strike got the bird stuck on the left main landing gear of the craft. According to statement, the strike affected the operating parameters of the landing gear which made the pilots follow regulatory safety procedures by returning to Lagos where they landed the aircraft safely without any incident. Passengers disembarked normally and another aircraft has been deployed to operate the flight. The airline apologised for the inconveniences caused to all passengers affected by this situation and be assured of its strict compliance with established safety standards.