Weeks after it announced that candidates below the age of 18 years will not be given admission into Tertiary Education, the Federal Government has now declared that underaged candidates will no longer be permitted to sit for secondary school leaving examinations administered by the West African Examinations Council, WAEC, and the National Examinations Council, NECO.
Prof. Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education made the disclosure on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’ programme on Sunday night.
He stressed that both the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) must now enforce an 18-year age limit for candidates taking the WASSCE and SSCE exams, respectively.
The Minister, also, clarified that this is not a new policy but a reinforcement of existing regulations.
His words: “It is 18 (years). What we did at the meeting that we had with JAMB (in July) was to allow this year and for it to serve as a kind of notice for parents that this year, JAMB will admit students who are below that age but from next year, JAMB is going to insist that anybody applying to go to University in Nigeria meets the required age which is 18.
“For the avoidance of doubt, this is not a new policy; this is a policy that has been there for a long time.
“Even basically if you compute the number of years pupils, and learners are supposed to be in school, the number you will end up with is 17 and a half – from early child care to primary school to junior secondary school and then senior secondary school. You will end up with 17 and a half by the time they are ready for admission.
“So, we are not coming up with new policy contrary to what some people are saying; we are just simply reminding people of what is existing. In any case, NECO and WAEC, henceforth, will not be allowing underage children to write their examinations. In other words, if somebody has not spent the requisite number of years in that particular level of study, WAEC and NECO will not allow them to write the examination.”
Almost two years after its hurried commissioning by former Governor Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti state government has taken another step to ensure the take off of the Agro-Allied international airport.
Ekiti State Agro-Allied International Airport in Ado-Ekiti, was among uncompleted projects commissioned by Fayemi at the end of his second term in 2022
The state government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) to deploy some key professionals to the airport preparatory to its take off.
The MOU, which was signed at the NAMA headquarters annex, Murtala Mohammed Airport, Lagos, attracted top officials of Ekiti state government as well as NAMA top officials.
In his welcome remarks at the event, the Managing Director of NAMA, Engr Farouk Umar noted that the signing of the MOU or Service Level Agreement represented a mutual commitment to excellence and “a shared dedication to delivering an exceptional result.”
According to him, the MOU outlined a joint responsibility, expectation and standard for air traffic control services, adding that the epoch making event served as a foundation for a partnership between NAMA and the Ekiti State Government.
This, he explained, would ensure that both parties work together seamlessly and efficiently for the effective takeoff and operation of the airport.
Farouk, who was represented by the NAMA Director of Legal Services and Company Secretary, Mrs Isemiuhonmon Egbadon maintained that the MOU was more than a contract; “it is a symbol of action, cooperation and shared vision.”
He described the signing of the document as “a pledge to uphold the highest standards of quality and performance by both parties, to foster open communication and transparency, to embrace credibility and adaptability in an ever-changing environment, given that aviation is a catalyst for the development of any economy.”
“If we are able to uphold the tenets of this agreement, we would be able to reap the fruits of our labour. We shall prioritize customer satisfaction and success of this project.
“We are not just signing a contract. We are making a promise to each other and to our customers. Let us work together to achieve greatness and make this partnership a shining example of collaboration and excellence.”
Also in her remarks, the Secretary to Ekiti State Government, Dr Habibat Adubiaro, who represented the State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, noted that the event marked a crucial moment as the state advanced towards enhancing the safety, efficiency, and reliability of airspace and air traffic management, particularly as the Ekiti State Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport in Ado-Ekiti was at the verge of full operation.
She expressed optimism that the establishment of the airport would boost tourism, facilitate smoother and safer air travel and subsequently contribute to economic growth, job creation, and improved connectivity for Ekiti State citizens.
She described the partnership with NAMA as a testament to the shared commitment of both parties to advancing the development of aviation infrastructure and services in Nigeria.
“The primary objective of this MoU is to foster a collaborative partnership that will lead to effective air traffic management systems and ensure the highest standards of safety for all airspace users. We aim to leverage NAMA’s expertise and resources to achieve these goals.”
While assuring the agency of the commitment of the state government to ensuring the successful implementation of the MoU, Dr Adubiaro reiterated that collaboration with NAMA would be guided by mutual respect and transparency.
The office of Deji of Akure has announced that there will be closure of markets and shops in Akure, Ondo state capital, on Tuesday.
A statement on Monday by Adeyeye Michael, Chief Press Secretary to the Deji of Akure, said markets and shops will not open in the ancient city because of the celebration of Aheregbe festival.
Adeyeye said: “The Palace of the Deji & Paramount Ruler of Akure Kingdom wishes to notify the residents of Akure and its environs that all Markets and Shops in Akure will be shut on Tuesday 27th August, 2024.
“The closure is an integral part of the requirement in observing the age-long tradition of the annual Aheregbe Festival.
“Sequel to this, there shall be no opening of markets, trading or opening of shops under any guise during the festival.
“Residents, market women and shop owners are kindly enjoined to comply with this directive.
“However, in view of the importance attached to the health sector, only pharmacy shops are exempted from closure during the festival
“Notwithstanding, the festival will not in any way restrict both human and vehicular movement.”
During the celebration, the Akure monarch will be in seclusion during which he will not receive visitors.
There have been public outcry against the annual closure of markets in Akure with people maintaining that Akure, with the status of a state capital should be free from any form of restriction which may prevent residents from carrying out their daily commercial activities.
In previous years, the celebration of the festival had led to violent clashes following attempts by palace guards to extend the market closure to suburb communities such as Isinkan, Isolo with Akure.
Exactly a month after giving birth to a baby, Nollywood Actress and Producer, Sharon Okpamen, passed.
The 35-year old Okpamen was fond of showcasing her baby bump on all her Social Media handles. The baby she had a month ago was her second.
She announced the birth of her second baby on July 31, and named the baby Osarhuese on her Facebook page.
She wrote: “To God be the glory. Osarhuese is here.”
The circumstances surrounding her death remain unknown, but unconfirmed sources insist it had something to do with complications as a result childbirth.
Sharon hailed from Edo State and was a filmmaker, actress, entrepreneur and humanitarian. She was born on February 16, 1989, in Abudu, Edo State.
The late actress attended Mary Milek Nursery and Primary School and University Preparatory Secondary School (UPSS) in Benin. She later studied English at the National Open University (NOUN).
The deceased began her acting career in 2010 with the film, ‘Touch Not My Crown’, a role given to her by the Late John Okafor, also known as Mr. Ibu.
Over the years, Sharon appeared in over 100 films and made a name for herself in Nollywood.
In addition to acting, she produced her own film, Night Hustlers.
“APC bigwigs from Oparanadim should, as a matter of urgency, visit Governor Uzodimma and tell him about Oparanadim gully erosion, tell him that that the Community is going. It shouldn’t be left and be tagged “gone”.
42 years after the historic visit of Chief Sam Mbakwe, a former Governor of Imo State (popular as Dee Sam) to Oparanadim gully erosion, no Government – Local, State or Federal – has done any thing to intervene in the sad and almost tragic situation.
Oparanadim gully erosion
Many people knew and referred to Mbakwe ,first executive governor of Imo State as the “weeping Governor. But what many don’t know is that, that sobriquet was given to him first in Oparanadim soil before the one he cried at Ndiegoro which was later captured on NTA & FRCN news then. Before Ndiegoro, there was Oparanadim.
Unfortunately, not many knew because the Governor’s visit to Oparanadim was not covered by FRCN/NTA Aba which were the only news outlets in operation then.
And that was probably because Oparanadim was a remote area then ,and because of that, the famed glory of where the Governor first earned the nickname “the weeping governor” was transferred to Ndiegoro when he visited the Ndiegoro flood /erosion disaster in Aba,which was then part of Imo State.
Aba was, still is, a big metropolis where both national and international journalists saw the governor weeping for the first time in public. But Sam Mbakwe cried first on Oparanadim soil, precisely at Oparanadim gully erosion site otherwise known as ‘Ala ka Mmadu’.
Nevermind
Sometime in 1981 ,Dee Sam Mbakwe as the Executive Governor visited Oparanadim gully erosion site – ‘Ala ka Mmadu’ for on the spot assessment .
On getting to Ala ka Mmadu, the governor who was led by our first Traditional Ruler of the modern era ,His Royal Highness,Eze J.U. Anyanwu, Dim 1 of Oparanadim (late). The visiting Governor was devastated to see how the gully erosion destroyed and separated two Oparanadim communities from each other. When I say separate, it was total separation that no car, motor cycle or bicycle can cross from one side to the other.
The names of the separated communities are Ihitte Ubi in the North and Isi Ala ( in the South). The distance from these two communities is not more than four or five kilometers. Now see the magnitude of the havoc. Because of this deep gully erosion which is the same size with Ndiegoro gully erosion in Aba, Abia State, my people from Umumbiri, Eziama and Umuopara/Ihenkwu/Umungasi can not enter Ihitte Ubi with car, motorcycle or bicycle. We can only visit our relatives or attend events in Ihite Ubi with our cars through Owerri and vice versa.
From Owerri, we go through Amaimo before arriving Oparanadim, same with our brothers from Ihite coming to the other side of Oparanadim, yet we have had successive Governments since Mbakwe Government. Till today Oparanadim people from Ihite Ubi do not interact, socialize or speak the Mbaise dialect like us. They speak like Senator Samuel Anyanwu (SamDaddy), and my friend Tevez from Amaimo . At 40 years plus, I know only two people from Ihite Ubi and have just visited there once when my late father, Ezeji Michael Akubueze Snr. (Nwege) drove us with his Land Rover to Iyi Duru Owerri. My father parked the car on our own side of iyi, then we – my father Ikenna my brother, and I entered Ihite Ubi on foot.
His Excellency Chief Samuel Onunaka Mbakwe came on the visit with representatives of the Federal Ministry of Works. He started crying when he was explaining to the Site Inspector from Ministry of Works why the Federal Government should act fast and support his Government to check and fix the erosion site.
Unfortunately, till today, that erosion site remain unattended to, and has consumed human beings and cars that tried to pass through it . I lost a school mate while schooling at Oparanadim Comprehensive College. My father had to transfer me to Umuokirika Secondary Technical College because of this gully erosion and many other parents did the same.
I have personally written to Hon Emeka Chinedu who is representing Ahiazu/ Ezinihitte Federal Constituency, and he told me, via SMS, that he has included the erosion site in the Ecological Fund or whatever ( this was since 2021/22). He even sent me a documents to prove it.
Oparanadim gully erosion
Hon. Emeka Chinedu, our people said I should ask you how far? Hon Emeka Chinedu, it will be a great disservice to you if you complete your eight years without attracting either the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Federal Ministry of Works, or Ecological whatever, to control this site and I will personally mobilize Oparanadim youth to chase you away if you dare come to Oparanadim to campaign in 2027. This is not about you Sir, but also applicable to (1) Member Representing Ahiazu State Assembly Hon. Sam Otuibe, (though he is no longer politically active) (2) Ahiazu Local Government Chairman.
(3) Senator Ezenwa Onyewuchi
I will not blame His Excellency, Governor Hope Uzodimma, on this because probably he is not aware of the tragic situation. The Politicians from the area and his Commissioner for Works should draw his attention to it.
Like I said earlier, I had discussed this with Hon. Emeka Chinedu. Now ,I wish to formally bring to the attention of His Excellency Senator Hope Uzodimma, the Governor of Imo State, Senator Onyewuchi, and the Minister for Works, Engineer Dave Umahi, to please come to our rescue and control Oparanadim gully erosion.
However if the present set of elected leaders whose tenures will expire in 2027 fail to check and tackle the erosion, then let it be known to all 2027 aspirants, especially Governorship, House of Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate that any of them that fails to include in their respective manifestos tye control of the gully erosion site, as well as the construction of a major road from Nkwoala- Umungwa- Ekeziama-Isiala-Duruowerri- Ihite Ubi-Amaimo -Inyishi-Owerri Road will lose 99.9% of Oparanadim votes no matter how popular they might be . I will personally sabotage their votes all over Oparanadim using our embittered and abondoned youths who are only useful to them as party agents during election. This is social justice
Just a reminder: Oparanadim ward has the second largest voters in Ahiazu.
Prince Akubueze, Executive Director, Justice & Equity, wrote from Eziama Oparanadim
Bread makers under the aegis of the Premium Bread makers Association of Nigeria, PBAN has denied compromising the standard of bread consumed by Nigerians.
In spite of the fact that the price of bread has been hiked by over 100 percent in the last few months it still remains one of the staples of many Nigerians, according to analysts who insist that some bread producers have been compromising quality due to high cost of ingredients used in making bread.
The President of PBAN, Emmanuel Onuorah, told the Vanguard that his members are people of integrity who cannot endanger the lives of Nigerians by cutting corners when it comes to the quality of bread.
The denial comes on the heels of an allegation by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, which claimed last week that bread makers have reduced the quality of the commodity due to the high cost of ingredients.
Roseline Ajayi, NAFDAC Southwest Coordinator, said during a stakeholders meeting in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital that the bread makers were endangering the health of consumers by compromising quality.
Ajayi said, “Recently, we observed that bread sold in the markets is failing laboratory tests because producers are using saccharine due to the high cost of sugar.
“They are introducing ingredients that are not good for the health of the consumers.”
Reacting to the allegation, Onuorah said his members “do not use unwholesome materials to produce” bread for consumers.
According to him, bread makers would rather increase the price of the commodity than compromise quality.
Nigerians have been complaining of the hike in the price of bread in the last few months, a situation bread makers blamed on the cost of ingredients.
Responding, Onuorah said, “PBAN members do not use unwholesome materials to produce our bread, we are very mindful of the quality of bread we produce for consumers knowing the negative health implications of the use of unwholesome baking materials to bake bread.
“We would rather adjust the price of our bread to maintain quality, rather than use unwholesome material to produce bread that will cause health problems to Nigerians.
“In PBAN, we have our Compliance Unit that monitors the materials that our members use to produce. Our constitution empowers the Exco to report any of our members found using unwholesome materials to bake bread to our regulator, NAFDAC.”
Director General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has accused politicians of sponsoring insecurity in the country.
The former Nigeria’s Minister of Finance said some unscrupulous political players have weaponised insesurity for their own selfish reasons, noting that those sponsoring instability in the country don’t care whether lives are being lost in the process.
Okonjo-Iweala made the remark on Sunday at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA. in Lagos state.
She spoke amidst serious insecurity in the country caused by bandits and terrorists who have taken over some parts of the country, particularly in the north.
The magazine reported that over 150 peoples were abducted in an attack on Sokoto state on Sunday, the latest in the series of abductions that have taken place in recent times across Nigeria.
The development followed the abduction and murder of Isah Bawa, the Emir of Gobir in Gawata town of Sokoto state by bandits after his families failed to pay the N1 billion demanded y his abductors.
Also, some medical students who were abducted on their way to Enugu from Benue State were just released at the weekend by the nation’s security forces after spending days in the den of dare-devil kidnappers.
The magazine could not confirm whether ransome was paid before the medical students were released.
Speaking at the weekend, Okonjo-Iweala said development cannot take place in the midst of insecurity, blaming political actors in the country for the menace.
She also blamed the massive theft of the nation’s crude oil for the state of insecurity in the country, adding that the massive stealing of the nation’s oil wealth undermine its economic stability.
She said, “We certainly cannot have security without development. We all know that security has been weaponised in our country for political purposes by political actors, leading partly to the situation we have now.
“We have politicians who believe that the best way to make their opponents look bad is to instigate insecurity making it look like they can’t govern, regardless of whether this leads to loss of lives and property of innocent Nigerians.
“This has to stop.
“Nigerians have seen for years how organised crude oil theft on a massive scale seriously undermines the economic and financial health of the country,” the WTO director-general said.
“All Nigerians must agree that stealing of our national assets of any type is intolerable and must be stopped.”
Gombe State government has promised to pay the new national minimum wage of N70,000 to its work force.
Once the workers start receiving the new wage, the state government said it will no longer pay the N10,000 palliative to workers.
Recall that the state decided to pay its workers N10,000 to cushion the effects of the removal of the fuel subsidy.
The announcement was made by the state’s Deputy Governor Manassah Jatau, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.
The Gombe number two citizen who doubles as the chairman of the state’s Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage informed the journalists on Sunday that details are being worked out to ensure that the workers receive the new wage.
He said the state governor is determined to ensure that the workers get the new wage once agreements are reached with labour unions in the state on the modalities.
He said, “Governor Inuwa Yahaya is fully determined to pay the minimum wage. He is one governor that believes that the new minimum wage is a necessity.
“Once we reach an agreement (on the new minimum wage), the implementation will begin, and the N10,000 palliative will stop.”
The state is one of the 36 states in the country that have agreed to pay the new wage.
The magazine reports that some state governments in the country have stated that they have no resources to pay the new wage approved by the federal government.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the New Wage Act into law in July with wild jubilations among the nation’s workforce.
Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma has lamented the sudden passing, in a ghastly auto crash, of the Head Coach of Heartland Football Club of Owerri, Mr. Christian Obi. “Imo has lost a star”, he said.
The Governor, therefore, sent his deepest condolences to the deceased’s immediate family, even as he prayed for the speedy recovery of other members of the team travelling with Obi who also sustained injuries as a result of the accident.
In a statement on Saturday, signed on his behalf by Oguwike Nwachuku, his Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser, Governor Uzodimma said: “It is with shock and sorrow that the Government of Imo State regrets to announce the tragic death of the head coach of Heartland football club of Owerri, Mr. Christian Obi, in a ghastly motor accident.
“The former Super Eagles player was on his way to Abakaliki with the Heartland team for a pre season tournament when the accident occurred.
“The Government sends its deepest condolences to the immediate family of the late Christian Obi and prays for the quick recovery of those injured in the accident.”
Bandits have, once again, struck, invading a community in Sokoto State.
In the process, they kidnapped over 150 persons.
This is coming a few days after bandits kidnapped and murdered the Emir of Gobir in Sokoto State, Alhaji Isa Muhammad Bawa.
The abduction of the said persons was made known by Prof Bello Bada, a University Don. In an interview with Radio France International(rfi) Hausa Service in Kaduna on Sunday, he alleged that the scary activities of bandits in the area was due to certain lapses from many quarters.
The Professor lamented that the bandits had the effrontery to even threaten to Kidnap former President Muhammadu Buhari when he was in power.
According to him: This is not the first time a prominent Monarch was attacked, but this is the first time a prominent monarch was Murdered.”
Bada said the murder of the Emir of Gobir was a humiliation to all Nigerians, adding that now is the time for Nigerians to have a rethink on the nefarious acts of these bandits who have continued to kill people intermittently.
”The bandits had made a similar attempt on the life of the Emir of Potiskum while he was on the way to Zaria, but he narrowly escaped. The Emir of Kauran Namoda escaped death by whiskers, but members of his entourage were killed by the bandits.
“In Zuru community, a Monarch was slaughtered by these bandits, but after some few days, these heinous acts would be completely forgotten as if nothing ever happened, until the bandits strike again”.
