Ihedioha Loses Mother, Mourns A Pillar Of Support

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April 21, 2023

A former Governor of Imo State, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Honourable Emeka Ihedioha, has lost his mother.

A Knight of the Anglican Church, just like her son, Emeka, Dame Dorothy Nsonma Ihedioha died on Thursday, 20th April, 2023, in Abuja, at the age of 90 years.

Having celebrated her 90th Birthday on 28th August, 2022, Mama died a couple of months shy of her 91st birthday which her loving family had looked forward to.

A strong woman, well grounded and rooted in her faith and trust in God, she never wavered even in the face of temptations capable of shaking one’s faith.

Dame Ihedioha was a proud daughter of the prominent Okereke family of Ngor Okpala, Imo State, and was married to the Ihedioha family, Mbutu, Mbaise, where he raised a successful and formidable family.

In a short statement to announce his mother’s passing, which he personally signed, the Rt. Honourable Ihedioha said she passed surrounded by her family.

The Statement, titled:

OUR MATRIARCH TRANSITS TO ETERNITY reads:

“After a fruitful and eventful life of God’s abundant mercies and grace, our mother, grandmother and great grandmother, Dame Dorothy Nsonma Ihedioha (Nee Okereke) gloriously transited to eternity on Thursday 20th April 2023 in Abuja, with her family by her side.

“Mama celebrated her 90th birthday on 28th August 2022.

“While we thank friends and well wishers who identified with us, particularly during our mother’s last days, we enjoin you to remember the family in your prayers.

“Funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.

“Emeka Ihedioha, CON
For the family”

Adamawa Guber: Usman Danfodio University Protests Humiliation Of Its Former VC

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Adesina Soyooye

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April 21, 2023

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Usman Dan Fodio University and Former VC

By Adesina Soyooye

In a very strong protest letter, soaked in shock and anger, the Usman Danfodio University, UDU, Sokoto, has lamented the humiliation of its Professor and former Vice Chancellor, Professor Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, on Sunday, in Yola, Adamawa State by members and sympathizers of a Political Party.

Professor Zuru, on National assignment for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, during the Governorship Supplementary Polls, was mistaken for the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Hudu Yunusa Ari, and attacked and beaten to a pulp.

Trouble started when Ari inexplicably usurped the job of the Returning Officer, Professor Muhammed Mele, and announced the Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Aishatu Dahiru Binani, as the winner, and so, Governor-elect of Adamawa State.

The provocative announcement was made when collation of votes was still ongoing, and the Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, incumbent Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, clearly in the lead.

The REC’s action triggered protests and violence and Professor Zuru became a very unfortunate, innocent victim.

In his lamentation over the attack on Professor Zuru, the Vice Chancellor of UDU, Professor Lawal Bilbis, in a statement on behalf of the entire UDU Community, which he personally signed, described the incident as barbarism and humiliation “carried out on a rare gentleman.”

Prof Bilbis was at a loss why such a “rare gentleman whose cherished national and international reputation of uprightness and selfless service to humanity could be assaulted by people who lack morality.”

He appealed to the Federal Government to quickly go after those behind the attack and give them the deserved punishment.

The statement reads in part:

“I received, with utmost shock, the horrible news of the gory and horrendous attack unleashed against Professor Abdullahi Abdu Zuru while on national assignment at Yola, Adamawa State.

“Professor Abdullahi Zuru rose through the ranks to become the 8th Vice Chancellor of UDUS from 2014 to 2019.

“The bizarre attack was not only disrespectful and dehumanizing, but has also brought untold mental torture and trauma to Professor Zuru and his family.

“It is an attack against the collective conscience of all right thinking individuals across the globe.

“‘In strong, clear, and loud terms, the Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto condemns the dreadful attack perpetrated by a certain specie of mankind without morality.

“On behalf of all staff and students of the University, we call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to launch a speedy and incisive investigation with a view to uncover, apprehend and prosecuting the masterminds and field agents of the dastardly attack within the shortest possible time. We are optimistic that the Federal Government will not allow the incident to wither away with time.

“Though the attackers have executed their nefarious agenda, what they have, however, failed to realize is that their actions will never rob Professor Zuru of his hard-earned respect, honour and integrity.

“We hereby wish to identify and commiserate with him and his family in this trying time.

“‘We join hands in extending our heart-felt sympathy to him and wish him a speedy recovery from the injuries sustained in the attack.

“We also pray to Allah SWT to grant him and his family the fortitude to overcome the inflicted trauma”.

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Thursday, 20th April, 2023, suspended Ari from office, and directed the Inspector General of Police to institute an investigation into Ari’s action.

He, also, directed the IGP, the Director General of the Department of State Services, DSS and the Commandant General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp, to investigate the role played by their officers present during the debacle in order to punish any of them culpable the appropriately.

Fintiri was, on Tuesday, finally, declared the winner of the Poll by Professor Mele, and so, re-elected for a second term in office.

House of Reps Minority Caucus Resolves To Produce Leadership Of The House

By

James Orji

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April 21, 2023

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Buoyed by its numerical superiority in the 10th House of Representatives, the emergent minority caucus(Greater Majority), has resolved to gun for the Speakership position. Following the outcome of last Saturday’s supplementary elections, membership of the Minority caucus has swollen to 182, one vote more than the statutory benchmark required to elect a Speaker – with prospects of gaining more members.

Already, there are permutations to promote a Speakership candidate from the South south geo-political zone, and a deputy speaker from the North west.

Rising from an emergency meeting of the Minority caucus leadership held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja last night, the caucus, made up of seven political parties, stated emphatically that it was primed to contest the positions of Speaker and deputy Speaker of the 10th National Assembly.

According to a statement issued by Victor Afam Ogene, spokesman of the Minority caucus, the Constitution of the Federal Republic imbues every elected member with the statutory right to gun for any position, subject to the standing orders of the House.

Ogene: “Besides the issue of ranking, every member is entitled to run for the office of Speaker, regardless of political party affiliation.

“The All Progressives Congress, APC, or indeed, any political party for that matter, reserves the right to regale itself with talks about micro-zoning leadership positions in the National Assembly. But the overriding question remains, are such fanciful engagements binding of the generality of Members-Elect? The answer today, tomorrow – and until our current constitution is altered to reflect that desire – is a big No.

“Issues surrounding this all-important question is easily resolved, in the case of the House of Representatives, by Section 50(1)(b), to wit:” There shall be a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who shall be elected by the members of that House from among themselves.

“While zoning is permitted, as an intra-party solution to the sharing of political offices, seeking to enforce such on the generality of members would be tantamount to affronting Section 50 of the Nigerian constitution.

“Besides, political parties must not always use the National Assembly as guinea pigs for their zoning fancies. Why didn’t these governors summon the same courage, which they currently seek to flaunt, during the presidential primaries, by micro-zoning the presidency to a particular zone? If it was okay to say that the presidential ticket should go to the South, then I think they ought to follow through with that same template, and propose, for instance, that the Speakership should go to the North.

Sallah: Obi Urges Nigerians to Remain Focused On Peace And Rule Of Law; Says He And Datti Under Attack

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The Source

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April 21, 2023

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The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has charged Nigerians in the spirit of Ramadan to remain focused on peace and rule of law in the country and refuse to be distracted.

Obi in a Sallah message to Muslims in the country on the occasion of the celebration of this year’s Eid il fitr noted that the Holy Month of Ramadan was for all to practice restraint, decorum, and humility; it also enjoined all faithful to be fair and just in all dealings; to help the needy and heal the ailing; to also promote mutual understanding and peace within communities.

These injunctions, Obi noted promote the values of universal social justice, world peace, and human progress.

The LP flag bearer said that Nigeria, the only nation we have as our own, is going through uncertainties

relating to insecurity, deprivation, unemployment, and most recently, divisive flawed elections arising from the activities of fringe elements, who do not respect the rule of law and the wish of our people.

He noted that they have deployed impunity and exploited the weak national institutions to subvert the will of the people with many untoward activities directed at our people and nation.

But LP standard bearer said that in these “We remain in prayers that these challenges will be overcome without adverse shock to the polity, nation & national interest.”

According to Obi, he and his Vice Datti Baba-Ahmad have been at the receiving end of the various distinctive allegations and fake news but had in deference to the revered periods of Lent and Ramadan refrained from reacting.

“The most egregious of these acts is the allegation of treason for speaking up and for following due process. It is now common knowledge that perpetrators of state capture and their acolytes continue to attack Datti and I, and indeed, the Labour Party and the Obidient Family, for seeking redress in the court of law to recover our stolen electoral mandate.

“Efforts to dissuade us from pursuing rightful judicial recourse have included state deployment of deep fake audio, identity theft, impersonation, trolls, and fighting words, but In the true spirit of Ramadan, we have remained guided and responsible.

Finally, while wishing all Muslim faithful happy Sallah festivities, the former Anambra state Governor congratulated them for the successful 30 days of Ramadan fast and called on his supporters to remain focused on peace and the rule of law, assuring that “the struggle to reclaim their mandate is in good stead, and on course”, pointing out that a new Nigeria, that will be safe and secure for all Nigerians is indeed

Following, the full details of Obi’s Sallah Message:

“As-salamu alaykum to our Muslim brothers and sisters.

“On the occasion of the celebration of Eid il Fitr, I wish you all a Happy Sallah and congratulate you for completing Ramadan 2023 successfully. Ramadan Kereem!

“The Holy Month of Ramadan was for all to practice restraint, decorum, and humility; it enjoined all faithful to be fair and just in all dealings; to help the needy and heal the ailing; to also promote mutual understanding and peace within communities. These injunctions promote the values of universal social justice, world peace, and human progress.

“Our dear country, Nigeria, the only nation we have, is going through uncertainties in different areas relating to insecurity, deprivation, unemployment, and most recently, divisive flawed elections arising from the activities of fringe elements, who do not respect the rule of law. They always deploy impunity and exploit weak national institutions to subvert the will of the people.

“Many untoward activities have been directed at our people and nation but we remain resolute in fighting for a New Nigeria, through all peaceful and legal options under our laws. We continue to implore all Nigerians to remain peaceful and law-abiding.

We equally remain in prayers that these challenges will be overcome without further adverse shock to the economy, nation, and national interest.

“In deference to the revered periods of Lent and Ramadan, we have refrained from personally reacting to various distractive allegations and fake news directed at Datti Baba-Ahmed and I. The most egregious of these acts is the allegation of treason for pursuing the due process. It is now common knowledge that perpetrators of state capture and their acolytes continue to attack Datti and I, and indeed, the Labour Party and the Obidient Family, for seeking a New Nigeria that will be beneficial to all Nigerians.

Efforts to dissuade us from pursuing a rightful path toward achieving an equitable, secure, and productive New Nigeria, included the deployment of doctored audio, identity theft, impersonation, trolls, and fighting words. In the true spirit of Ramadan, I call on our supporters to remain focused on peace and the rule of law. I also wish to assure Nigerians and the Obidients that our struggle for a New Nigeria is in good stead, and on course. Indeed, be assured that a new Nigeria, that is safe, secure, fair, and prosperous for all Nigerians is POssible!

“May Almighty God guide and bless us and bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

-PO”

Binani: Buhari Orders IGP To Probe Adamawa REC, Yunusa Ari; Directs DSS DG, NSCDC CD, To Probe Their Officers

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James Orji

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April 20, 2023

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By Adesina Soyooye

After days of uncomfortable silence on the embarrassment caused the Nation in the Adamawa Governorship Supplementary Poll, President Muhammadu Buhari has finally weighed- in, and taken action.

The President, incidentally, reacted on a day his Minister for Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, tried to explain to shocked Nigerians why Mr President kept mum. He said it was the job of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to take action, not the President’s.

Finally reacting on Thursday, the President approved the immediate suspension of the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Hudu Yunusa Ari from office until after the investigation of his embarrassing action by the Inspector General of Police.

Mr President also directed the Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC to institute a probe into the activities of their officers in order to determine the role they played in the scandalous incident.

The Governorship Supplementary Poll was held on April 15, 2023, in Adamawa between incumbent Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who was seeking a re-election for a second term in office, and the Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani.

On Sunday, while collation was still going on, and while Fintiri was leading comfortably, REC Ari inexplicably, announced Binani as the winner, and so, Governor-elect. In doing that, not only did Ari break every law guiding the election, he usurped the job of the Returning Officer, Professor Mohammed Mele, the only person empowered by Law to announce the result.

Ari’s action triggered violence and protests. An obviously embarrassed Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, distanced itself from the REC, and cancelled his declaration of Binani as Governor-elect, and dismissed it as null and void.

In a statement signed by Mr. Willie Bassey, Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, on behalf of the SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapha, the President directed the immediate investigation and prosecution, if found liable, of REC Hudu Yunusa Ari, by the Inspector General of Police.

The statement, also, “directed an investigation by the Inspector General of Police, Director-General of the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, of the role their officers in aiding and abetting the conduct/actions of Barrister Hudu Yunusa Ari, and if found culpable, appropriate disciplinary actions, to be meted out to them.”

The embattled Ari, a Lawyer, no less, had earlier been asked by INEC to keep off from the activities of the Commission in Adamawa State.

The Administrative Secretary of INEC, Adamawa, will remain in charge for now.

OPINION: Hadiza and the Toes of the Nigerian Big Man

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The Source

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April 20, 2023

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By Azu Ishiekwene

Hadiza Bala Usman’s new book, “Stepping on Toes,” is a cautionary tale for anyone hoping to work in public service in Nigeria, particularly in the Federal Government. It’s an incredible story by the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) of how to break your heart, if not your spirit, in public service.

In Nigeria, public service is a big deal. At no time is there a greater vacancy than when a new government comes in. The turnover in this sector, which consumes nearly 60 percent of Nigeria’s yearly budget, is unknown. However, in the US, it was estimated in the April 2021 Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory that the government loses close to 3,000 of its top executives every time a new president takes office.

It was around this period of political transition seven years ago that Hadiza, relatively young, doe-eyed and full of patriotic zeal, got her first high-profile appointment in the Mohammadu Buhari government which she had worked to bring into power the year before.

Her recommender, major financier and former Director General of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, and the new Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, was someone she was just getting to know.

Hadiza had earlier been appointed as Chief of Staff to Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai. She had barely settled down when Amaechi, who had obviously been impressed by her work in the campaign, called her to play an even bigger role on the national stage.

It’s hard enough to be a female chief of staff in a male-dominated cabinet in a conservative state. It’s an entirely different matter to be appointed the first female chief executive of a 61-year-old public institution regarded as one of the country’s cash cows, with annual revenue of nearly N370 billion in 2022 that equals the budget of three states – Osun, Ekiti and Ebonyi – combined.

Hadiza not only thought it was an honour for her country to appoint her to break the glass ceiling, she was also inspired by her father’s sterling legacy as one of Nigeria’s foremost intellectuals.

While not everyone who gets political appointment may end up bruising toes like Hadiza, her odyssey in 1,785 days on a job where she could have served and potentially given a lot more is a warning for those contemplating political appointment.

As Hadiza would later find out, office politics for a political appointee could be more fierce, more complicated and often more vicious than electoral politics. And if you’re going to make too much noise about principles or patriotism, Hadiza wrote, you must be prepared to resign or have your head served on the platter of the big man.

The pressure to second-guess or suck up to your benefactor in a perpetual demonstration of gratitude could bring far more misery than contemplated.

And it often comes down to what happens around the big decisions on contracts – money, big money. From Hadiza’s account, three major decisions: 1) her decision to break Intels’ oil and gas monopoly, a logistics infrastructure and services company in which former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has interests, and her insistence that the company, which had been unilaterally deducting 28 percent of revenues at source, should comply with the Federal Government’s Single Treasury Account policy; 2) the dismantling of the monopoly in the secure anchorage area; and the 3) reforms in dredging and water channels, brought her in a head-on collision with well-connected operators who had come to regard the maritime sector as their own oil blocks.

For years, they had been cashing out in millions of dollars for work either poorly done or not done at all. No Hadiza was going to get in the way.

There were minor issues, according to her, including her tight-fistedness which meant she “did nothing” for the minister from NPA. Not even “a birthday present”, someone told her. I also think going to the former Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, and short-circuiting the minister during the Intels monopoly fight was ill-advised. But the main issues, she said, were about the contracts, the money and well, the reforms.

As I raced through the book, written in conversational everyday language, my mind went to two friends – both women – who had been through this same road before. One of them was invited by a big man, her state governor, to serve. They got on well; so well, in fact, that after four years, he recommended her to serve on the national stage.

Not long afterwards her problem started. The big man expected to be treated differently. He expected exemptions, waivers and downright cover-ups even in matters where Federal Government financial regulations clearly stated otherwise.

Matters soon got to a head during the face-off between the Federal Government and the states over the Paris Club loan refunds when the woman insisted that no state could be treated differently.

She had tried to help where possible, but she would not break the rules for her benefactor. The governor was mad. Her “stubborn” refusal to grant him a special dispensation not only bruised his toes, it was also an affront on his masculinity, his manhood. He promised to clip her wings, break them, defeather her, and then hang her out to dry.

The governor dragged her out of office, executing his revenge by hiding in plain sight. What took Amaechi 1,785 days to achieve with Hadiza, took this governor 746 fewer days.

The second woman’s story was slightly different. Unlike Hadiza, and the governor’s mincemeat, Yewande Sadiku had been headhunted as executive director of Stanbic IBTC to serve as Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) in 2016, about the same time Hadiza was appointed to NPA. Her battles were, however, of a different kind.

They were not against the benefactor godfather’s thirsting for huge slices of contracts or libations of scotch on their birthdays. She fought against vested interests in the system aided and abetted by business moguls whom she once told me promised her that except she “played ball” by granting outrageous waivers, her tenure would be guaranteed misery.

Her “crime” was shining the light on the Council’s affairs. Against the odds, her five-year tenure was a breath of fresh air, making NIPC one of the most transparent MDAs in its nearly 20-year history. For daring to swim against the tide, however, she was constantly attacked by the press and haunted by the National Assembly. In the end, she refused to ask for a renewal. Her position was later given to a rascal, the very kind that our broken system incubates and nurtures.

“You will be surprised,” Hadiza wrote about her lessons, “at how you are left to fight your own battles when they occur in public service. In the days after my suspension, many of those you would have expected to intervene did not.”

In some ways, “Stepping on Toes,” also reminds me of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s “Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous,” in which she told the story of how her 83-year-old mother was kidnapped during the government’s crackdown on the fraudulent subsidy cartel. She was blamed for putting her mother in harm’s way by carrying the fight against corruption on her head.

Yet for every Okonjo-Iweala, Oby Ezekwesili or Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru who survived stepping on the toes of the Nigerian big man and his fragile ego, there are dozens of Hadizas who bear the stripes of injustice.

The former MD of NPA was asked to “step aside” with a query sensationally claiming that N165 billion was not remitted between 2016 and 2020. The panel that investigated her however found that over N182 billion had indeed been remitted to the government’s treasury on her watch!

Hadiza’s “offence” was then watered down from unremitted N165 billion to stepping on the minister’s big toes. She was sacrificed in the search for what was not missing. And without the courtesy of telling the public that Hadiza’s trial was an idiot’s tale, the government replaced her on the advice of the minister, whose main contribution was being Buhari’s ATM eight years ago.

That, sadly, is how we roll.

Ishiekwene is Editor-In-Chief of LEADERSHIP

Ekiti Gov Oyebanji Presides Over Graduation Ceremony Of Alma Mater

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Ayodele Oni

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April 20, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

Almost 40 years after being a student, Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji, returned to Ekiti State University, (EKSU) Ado Ekiti as a Visitor and presided over its graduation ceremony.

Oyebanji was a student of the university in 1985, and returned in 1993 as a lecturer at the political science department.

In 2023, he attended the convocation ceremony at the University as Governor of Ekiti State and Visitor to the University, setting the record as the first alumnus of the institution to so do.

In his speech at the ceremony, the Governor reiterated the commitment of his administration to making Ekiti State University a world-class institution by investing in infrastructure and digital tools that will make the learning environment conducive, accommodative and interesting.

Speaking on Thursday at the 27th convocation ceremony of the institution, he said his government was pursuing a multi-pronged policy action that would allow schools in Ekiti from primary to tertiary, responsive to the demand of today and ensure that the products of the institutions can compete favorably with their counterparts from across the globe.

Oyebanji, who made history as the first alumnus of the University to become the state Governor and Visitor to the state- owned University, said his administration placed immense importance on human capital development and is irreducibly committed to job creation, youth and human development which occupied number twi and three of his administration six-point agenda.

He said as part of his efforts to upscale digital education for job creation, his administration had launched Ekiti Digital Skill Academy this year with distribution of laptops to 100 youths and that the program targets 500 youths to be given laptops and other devices to facilitate their learning experience.

Governor Oyebanji congratulated the graduands and charged them to take the advantage of the trainings and learning they have acquired to contribute their quota to humanity.

“As a government, our administration places an immense importance on human capital development.

“Our government is irreducibly committed to job creation, youths and human capital development, to underscore this out of the six pillars of our administration, youth empowerment and human capital development occupy number two and three respectively.

“As part of effort to achieve this, I recently launched the Ekiti Digital Skill Academy in February this year with the distribution of laptops to 100 youths as part of our move to upscale digital education for job creation and the programme targets 500 youths to be given laptops and other devices to facilitate their learning experience.

“Similarly, we just secured the Federal Government’s approval for Ekiti Knowledge Zone to become a Free Trade Zone.

“This is critical requirement for the zone to get the needed investment inflow for the development of the zone. For us EKZ is conceived to be a digital innovation, technology and creative hub.

Earlier, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council, Prof. Akin Oyebode who commended the Governor for urgently effecting payment of one of the two outstanding subvention barely a week after inaugurating council, expressed his gratitude to the Governor for appointing him and his other colleagues as members of Council and assured that they would collaborate with management to raise the bar of excellence in the university and register it as an acceptable brand of global reckoning.

He commended the immediate past governing council and the university management for breaking new grounds through promotion of academic excellence and infrastructural development which had helped in repositioning the university as one of the high-ranking institutions internationally.

Oyebode, a Professor of Jurisprudence and a former Vice Chancellor of the University, called on stakeholders in the education sector including the alumni to rise to the support of the university in boosting its developmental projects for greater achievements as he also enjoined the graduands to start thinking of what they could contribute to their alma mater to elevate its standards.

In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Edward Olanipekun announced some of the achievements of the University to include securing accreditation for 81 regular programmes by the National Universities Commission with another eight programmes having interim accreditation.

Prof. Olanipekun added that the University also made successes in the area of ICT infrastructure noting that the institution was now able to produce transcript for its students within 72 hours of request, as well as achieving the feat of ensuring that all graduands went with their original certificates on graduation day, as against the old system where students only get statement of results and wait endlessly for their certificates.

Be Right And Fair, President Elect Charges Nigerians

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Ayodele Oni

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April 20, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

As Muslims world over are set to mark the end of Ramadan on Friday, President elect, Bola Tinubu has observed that the period has afforded Nigerians to improve on their character.

In his message, Tinubu said “We thank Munificent Allah for the grace to witness this year’s Eid-el-fitri celebration after the Holy Month of Ramadan.

“For Muslims in our country and all over the world, Ramadan is a sacred spiritual obligation as one of the five pillars of Islam.

“With the help of Almighty Allah, we have gone through a period of abstinence, self-discipline, self-reflection, self-purification in gratitude and total submission to the will of Allah.

“We have engaged in fervent prayers and supplications to Allah.

“Beyond the self-abnegation and pious living that the fasting period imposed on us, the spiritual excercize we just concluded has also helped us to improve on our moral character, refine our minds in pursuit of higher ideals for which there should be no turning back.

“At the heart of our faith and a major demand on all faithful is the requirement to commit ourselves to wholesome living.

“This entails love for one another, love for fellow humans regardless of creed, region and ethnicity, love for our communities and love for country.

“To love one another, have compassion, empathy and love our beloved country means we must become better citizens in line with the teachings of Prophet Muhammed.

“We must constantly seek to become a better version of ourselves in patriotism, dedication to duty and honesty.

“We must also never be weary of doing what is right, fair and just to all.

“We are at the dawn of a Renewed Hope for a better, greater and a more prosperous Nigeria and I stand ready to walk with all Nigerians, young and old, male and female, with this opportunity to serve you in honour and dignity.

“This is a commitment that I have made and one in which we cannot afford to fail.

“I wish all Muslims in Nigeria and beyond happy Sallah celebration.”

Assent To Peace Corps Bill As Parting Gift For Nigerian Youths – Commandant Urges President Buhari

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Ayodele Oni

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April 20, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

What some Nigerians are demanding from President Muhammadu Buhari as a parting gift in his remaining less than 40 days in office is his assent to the National Peace Corps Bill.

Among those whose expectation is high on the bill, which has been rejected twice by the president is the National Commandant of the Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN), Prof Dickson Ameh Akoh.

He has made what seems last appeal to President Buhari to this time around, assent to the Bill for an Act that would make the organization a statutory body.

The Bill for an Act to Establish the Nigerian Peace Corps (NPC) already passed by the two Chambers of the National Assembly, is currently on the table of President Buhari for assent having been transmitted to him last week.

Addressing a Press Conference on the development in Abuja on Thursday, Prof Akoh said that President Buhari will bequeath a lasting parting gift to the Nigerian youth and would be remembered for good when he assented to the Bill.

Justifying the need for Buhari to sign the Bill, Akoh explained that its entire contents, especially the function contained in the Bill is a summation of an inclusive empowerment programmes for the youths and on how to harness their innate potentials for the over all tasks of nation-building.

According to him, the passage of the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill is not only timely, reassuring and a renewed hope for the Nigerian youth, but also a pointer to the fact that the political elite is still very much conscious of the social challenges confronting the youth.

Akoh said to underscore the high level of acceptability of the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill, opinion polls conducted in 2017 by The Nation Newspaper, Naija.com and Nigerian Television Authority (NTA-Good Morning Nigeria) revealed that 89%, 76% and 97% respectively supported the establishment of the Nigerian Peace Corps.

Similarly, he said that Premium Times, an online publication and Punch Newspaper conducted opinion poll on the Bill and returned a favourable verdict of 85% and 93% respectively in its support.

“Concerned with the increasing waves of unemployment and high level of poverty in the land, both past and present administrations initiated different intervention policies to mitigate these challenges.

“Some of these initiatives are Subsidy Re-investment Programme (SURE-P), You- Win, Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), N-Power, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), Government Intervention Funds (GIF), Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) and Social Safety Net (SSN).

“It is a proven fact and incontrovertible reality that once these ‘Financial Handouts’ are no longer forthcoming or delayed in coming, these same Youths go back to the streets in protest or quickly revert to social ills and unproductive preoccupations, and even sometimes back-lashing the Government.

“However, it is advisable that a more robust, sustainable and institutionalized approach be adopted to ensure irreversibility of conditions and welfare status of our youths.

“In more developed economies, efforts are tailored towards the pre-occupation of the youths in productive ventures where they will be economically useful to themselves and the larger society.

“This is in addition to engaging them in moral, citizenship and leadership training aimed at character building and their valuable participation in nation-building.

“In the United States of America, for instance, the American Peace Corps was created as an agency to promote World Peace and Friendship by training American youths as volunteers to perform social and humanitarian services overseas, including Nigeria.

“The volunteers help communities in Developing Countries improve their Social and Economic conditions.

“The dynamic nature of insecurity in Nigeria today requires role differentiation as a panacea to expertise in addressing security challenges. It also requires multi- sectoral, multi- lateral and multi- dimensional approaches to tackle.

“In more advanced societies, Youth Based Organisations like the Nigerian Peace Corps, are established with the sole aim of engaging and pre-occupying the youths as a panacea to the social consequences of been unemployed.

“Similar organisations that exist in other parts of the world are: the American Peace Corps, Canadian Peace Corps, Bangladesh National Cadet Corps, Peace Officers Commission in China, Chinese Labour Corps, Lera Uniform Corps of Malaysia, Malaysian People Volunteer Corps, Production and Construction Corps of China.

“All these are consciously and deliberately designed to empower and socially pre-occupy the youths so that their state of idleness won’t be exploited adversely.

Akoh thanked the leadership and entire members of the 9th National Assembly for the extraordinary and unanimous support given to his Organisation all through the legislative processes leading to the eventual passage of the Bill for an Act to Establish Nigerian Peace Corps.

He said that the overwhelming support accorded the Bill by the members of the Senate and House of Representatives would be recognized and celebrated by all bonafide members of the Corps.

Violence Not An Option – Obi; ‘Better And Happier Years Await All Of Us’, He Assures

By

The Source

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April 20, 2023

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The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has given some encouraging and stimulating words to Nigerians who are going through very traumatizing pains since the General Election. He assured them that with hope in the God of justice, better and happier years await all.

Obi in a series of tweets Wednesday night in reaction to the show of shame that went on in the rerun election in Adamawa State last weekend, noted that the intention of all these electoral brigandage is to provoke the people to violence. But he advised: “it’s not the best option for those who believe in the rule of law with faith in God.

“We were provoked during the elections, but we showed restraint, patriotism, and wisdom because we were voting for a greater Nigeria and not for the destruction of Nigeria. They deployed agents who killed and maimed many, including innocent women, but we kept our cool”

While assuring the people that he is on this journey of rescuing Nigeria together with them, Obi noted that the recent events in our country, including political developments in Adamawa State, underline the importance of adhering to the rule of law.

“As a patriotic Nigerian, who has served this country diligently, I remain committed to serving the Nigerian people and achieving a greater Nigeria in which everyone will be a beneficiary of our God-given wealth of abundant human and natural resources.

In appreciating the huge potential in our land, the LP standard bearer noted that “Nigeria is a truly blessed and potentially great nation. With the Almighty God on our side, Nigeria’s greatness will soon manifest fully, thus ensuring that she is well-respected globally. In view of this, l ask all well-meaning Nigerians to commit their heart to prayers for a better and greater Nigeria.

“It bears reiterating as I did on Tuesday at the National Executive Council Meeting of the Labour Party held in Asaba, that the millions of Nigerians who voted for Datti and I did not just cast their votes, but they invested their hope in us for a new Nigeria, So we must stay the course.

The former Anambra State Governor recalls President Muhammadu Buhari’s admonishing to Nigerian youths when he signed the ‘Not Too Young to Run Act’ into law, that they should have faith in Nigeria and prepare for leadership roles, and said he agreed with the President that we have enough vibrant and intelligent Nigerian youths ready to propel Nigeria to greatness, and it is my desire and commitment to empowering Nigerian youths to leadership.

“Even in the face of provocations”, Obi appealed to the youths for calm, “We must do our utmost to be calm even under provocation; we must also not allow those bent on using any pretext to plunge our country into chaos and leave our youths without a future to succeed”

Finally, the LP flag bearer declared, “I plead to every Nigerian to keep the faith and hope in Nigeria alive. We are on this journey together, and better and happier years await all of us. God bless the good people of Nigeria and the Federal Republic of Nigeria”