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Polaris Bank, Lagos Launch N1bn Fund For Barbers, Mechanics, Others

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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By Tosin Olatokunbo

Polaris Bank says it has entered into partnership with the Lagos State government to provide N1 billion to assist artisans in the state to grow their businesses. This was disclosed on Thursday by the Innocent C. Ike-led bridge bank.

The bank’s Executive Director, Lagos Business, Segun Opeke, disclosed that the aim of the fund as to create wealth and empower artisans who have operated within the state’s MSME framework at least for a year.

He stressed that the partnership is between the bank and the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, LSETF noting that the partners will provide N500 million apiece for the fund.

On her part, the Executive Secretary of LSETF, Tejumola Abisoye said, “LSETF working with the Lagos State Council of Tradesmen and Artisans and the Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment is committed to making impact by ensuring it creates access to finance and sustainable job opportunities for artisans in Lagos State.

“We are happy to partner with Polaris Bank in ensuring that this mandate is achieved, and we know that through this fund, thousands of artisan businesses across the state can become sustainable. At LSETF, we are open to more strategic partnerships to reduce unemployment by building the capacity and improving the productivity of Lagos residents.

“We are working with Polaris Bank to grant this loan at a single digit of 9.5% per annum. This is extremely important because we want it to be clear from day one that it is affordable. We still think it is the most affordable in the market that you can have access to at the moment,” she added.

Explaining the process of accessing the funds Adebimpe Ihekuna, the Group Head, Products and Market, Polaris Bank, said the fund is easy to access, with a highly subsidised interest rate of less than one percent.

Some conditions for barbers, mechanics, vulcanizers to access the loan, she stated include a proof that their businesses are located in the state, as well as operating a Polaris Bank account.
She said intereted artisans can access up to N5 million for the purchase of equipment.

Anambra : Soludo Priotises Security, Health in N170bn Budget

By
James Orji
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By James Orji

Professor Charles Soludo,  Anambra State Governor, has assured the people of the State that his administration is poised to impact on their lives despite inheriting an empty treasury.

Soludo  had recently lamented that his predecessor, Willy Obino, left nothing in the Government coffers.

In spite of this, the former CBN Governor said he’s undaunted and will press on to deliver his campaign promises to the people of the State.

The Governor disclosed this while presenting a- N170 billion 2022 Revised Budget to the State House of Assembly, more than N28 billion of the N142 billion earlier presented by his predecessor.

“The purpose of the 2022 revised budget is to reflect current realities, challenges, and priorities of the new administration and Ndi Anambra. We are undaunted by the State of the treasury.

“We have seriously started reforming our system of tax administration to significantly ramp up our internally generated revenue over the coming years. The purpose of the 2022 revised budget is to reflect current realities, challenges, and priorities of the new administration and Ndi Anambra. We are undaunted by the state of the treasury,” Soludo told the assembly on Wednesday.

The breakdown of the Budget indicates that, capital expenditure has been increased from N81 billion to N108 billion, while recurrent expenditure increased from the N60 billion proposed by Governor Obiano.

Governor Soludo said his administration will priotise security and reform the current tax system in the state.

According to him, “We have seriously started reforming our system of tax administration to significantly ramp up our internally generated revenue over the coming years.

“Among the challenges, we inherited, a red treasury and pervasive insecurity, especially with criminals taking the seven Local Governments of the South Senatorial zone hostage, were the most acute.

“We have chosen to confront the foundational issue of security head-on and expected that those profiting from the lucrative criminal enterprise would viciously fight back, and they have.

“Suffice it to say that so far, so good. They are testing our will and resolve. Let me assure you this: Anambra will win.”

In spite of the daunting security challenges facing the state, the Governor said he remained undaunted, noting that his Government will ensure the provision of good service delivery to his people.

Soludo said: “In the meantime, the dire needs of Ndi Anambra and our transformation agenda cannot wait. We are working on a mixture of financing options, including debt that is ring-fenced to fund bankable projects and/or infrastructure with impacts on the economy, to guarantee efficient and effective service delivery to our people while ensuring fiscal sustainability over the medium to longer terms.

“As a reflection of our agenda, about 60% of the capital expenditure is targeted at delivering infrastructure that the average citizen can feel, see, use or touch and which have the highest developmental impact within the shortest possible time.

“For example, we have declared a state of emergency on rebuilding our road infrastructure and traffic management. About N52 billion or 31% of the total budget is for the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure and we intend to simultaneously invest in roads in most of the local governments, paying special attention to our urban regeneration agenda.

“We have requested the Federal Government to kindly intervene on emergency basis on a number of federal roads in the state that have become nightmarish death traps. We confidently expect their urgent responsive action.

“But in the event that the expected response does not come soon, we may have to implement urgent palliatives in some places, especially at Amansea; Ekwulobia- Igboukwu- Nnobi road; Ogidi; etc where the roads are literally cutting off.

“We plan to recruit qualified medical doctors and nurses for our general hospitals and upscale the infrastructure in selected ones.

“We have already received over 26,000 applications in response to our advertisement to recruit and train teachers for our primary and secondary schools,” the governor said.

Anyim Is A Straightforward, Honest, Simple Leader – Jigawa PDP Chairman

By
The Source
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Anyim Pius Anyim in Jigawa State

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), in Jigawa State, Alhaji Babandi Ibrahim Gumel, has described former Senate President and frontline presidential aspirant, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, as a straightforward and simple leader deserving of trust.

Gumel made the comment on Thursday when Anyim, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), met with Jigawa State delegates at the party secretariat in Dutse, the state capital.

For the former Senate President who had been traversing the nooks and crannies of the country wooing delegates, it was, indeed, a glorious outing, with the delegates pledging their support.

While paying a courtesy visit to a chieftain of the party and former governor of the state, Alhaji Sule Lamido, in his country home, Anyim pledged to stabilise the country in six months.

“I promise that within the first six months of my administration, I will stabilise this country and prepare it for growth, peace and prosperity,” he told Lamido, protégé of the late Mallam Aminu Kano, the progenitor of talakawa politics, and the large number of party supporters who joined him to welcome Anyim.

“We must agree on the things that divide us. We must come to terms with what works for us. I will provide the platform to midwife this consensus.

“We will all work together to make Nigeria great again. I will provide that distinctive leadership that will build consensus across the country and reconcile Nigerians.”

Speaking earlier at the party secretariat, Anyim promised to make Jigawa an export hub of agricultural produce, even as he emphasised that Nigeria has a lot to learn from the state.

“Jigawa State, bedsides agricultural produce, has a lot more to export to other parts of Nigeria. Jigawa is the only state in Nigeria where there is no insecurity and there is no threat of insecurity.”

Welcoming Anyim to the party secretariat, Alhaji Gumel said that not only were the 91 delegates to the PDP National Convention scheduled to hold on May 28 and 29 in Abuja present, many elders and leaders of the party were also present.

The chairman described their presence as a mark of respect for and appreciation of the leadership qualities of the former Senate President.

With chants of Anyim, Anyim, Anyim intermittently renting the air, the former SGF, who described himself as a son of the soil, said the visit was actually homecoming for him.

Addressing the excited delegates, Anyim said: “I am most delighted by the number of leaders and elders I can behold here. I sincerely feel greatly honoured by the calibre of people here present today.

“I want to reemphasise that I am from Jigawa. I am a son of the soil and I have a senior brother here whose name is Sule Lamido.

“When I was contesting for the national chairman of our party in 2007, I was also in Jigawa and I enjoyed the very warm reception of the people that I decided to pass the night here.

“Then, Jigawa was a young state.  But eight years of Sule Lamido as governor transformed the state and I am proud to be here once again.

“I have come to inform you that we are going to start a new journey and that journey is between me and my brothers and sisters in Jigawa State. We are starting a journey to go and occupy the presidential villa of Nigeria.

“As president, I will make the Hadejia-Jamare River Basin the best in Nigeria. By the time I expand it with the requisite infrastructure, Jigawa and the neighbouring states will be the richest in agricultural produce in Nigeria.

“When I landed at the Dutse airport this afternoon, I was, again, so amazed. It is one of the best airports in Nigeria but unfortunately, it is not a busy airport.

“By the time I expand the only cattle free zone in Jigawa State, by the time I finish expanding the Hadejia-Jamare River Basin, the export produce from Jigawa State will dominate the world.”

Besides agriculture, Anyim said the rest of Nigeria has to learn why Jigawa remains the most secure state in the country without.

“This is the only state in Nigeria where there is no insecurity. I asked my senior brother, Sule Lamido, how he did it. When we win the presidency, he will come with us to Abuja so that he will teach Nigerians how to fight insecurity.

“Jigawa State has something to teach Nigeria. Jigawa State will teach Nigeria how to fight and contain insecurity. With me as the president, I will give that opportunity.”

Anyim told the party chieftains that he was not in their midst to campaign and solicit for votes, but simply to let them know that “we have something to offer Nigeria.”

“We will offer Nigeria security, peace progress and prosperity. All of these are in Jigawa State and when the state partners with Anyim, Nigeria will also enjoy.

“We will work together to rescue Nigeria. We will work together to rebuild Nigeria, we will work together to advance Nigeria.

“Support me with your votes and Nigeria will be the happiest place in the world.”

In his remarks, Lamido urged for unity among the aspirants.

He said the opposition party has a sacred duty to bring back the country from the brink where APC has taken it to.

“PDP is not just a political party, it is a family. We are very organic. It is a party which is for each and every Nigerian. It is a party which does not believe in discrimination.

“Today, our biggest problem is how to restore trust among Nigerians. Unfortunately, in the last seven years of the APC government, everything has been balkanised along tribal, ethnic and religious lines and you see the consequences.

The goal of government anywhere in the world is to engender development. But you cannot develop unless there is trust which will engender stability. How do we restore trust in Nigeria?

“The PDP owes Nigerians a duty. Somehow, all we did in 16 years have been wiped out by the APC government because they are terribly incompetent. Their main desire is to attain power but attainment of power without using it for development is useless.

So I urge you and fellow aspirants to put Nigeria first. All of you must unite Nigeria through the party. What do you do to restore confidence?

“By the time one of you emerges as the candidate, we will all be there for each other. After all the campaign, at the end of the day, only one candidate will emerge. The others are very important.

“So, we must ensure that whoever emerges, we will rally around the person. As far as I am concerned, all of you are very competent.

“PDP is my blood. PDP is a party I cherish so much because it gave me everything, so I am willing to support anyone who emerges.

“I want the exercise to be very transparent and credible so that there will be integrity in the process.

“We should avoid the issue of turning the convention into a human trade fair,”Sule Lamido admonished.

The former Senate President was accompanied to Jigawa by the Director General of his campaign organisation, Dr. Mohammed Shuaibu, Hon. Idi Waziri, Hon. Ibrahim Uzoma, Senator Zego Azeez, Hon Agolia Imoni, among others.

Betrayal; How Fmr Gov Fayose Forced His Fmr Deputy, Prof Eleka Out Of Ekiti South Senatorial Race

By
Ayodele Oni
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Ayo Fayose and Olusola Eleka

By Ayodele Oni

Sensing betrayal and possible sell out on the part of some leaders, former Deputy Governor of Ekiti state, Prof Olusola Eleka, has pulled out of the Senatorial contest.

Eleka, who was Deputy to former Governor Ayo Fayose, had been hand-picked by his former boss as a candidate for Ekiti South Senatorial district in the forthcoming election.

He was among those that contested in the Governorship primary of the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) early this year but placed third.

In a letter to the National Leadership of the PDP, Eleka, however pledged to remain a loyal and committed member of the PDP.

The former Deputy Governor wrote: “I wish to notify the National Leadership of our esteemed party of my voluntary withdrawal from participating in the forthcoming People’s Democratic Party Senatorial contest in Ekiti State.

“Your Excellency will recall that I contested for the last Governorship primary election in which I came third.

“As a patriotic party man who is determined to protect the interest and ethos of the party, I congratulated the winner, Otunba Bisi Kolawole who is currently the candidate of the party.

“It is expedient to note, however, that the Senatorial ambition was the making of former Governor Ayodele Fayose.

“I received emissaries from him to contest. After much pressure from concerned stakeholders, I decided to pick up the challenge to represent the party in my senatorial district.

“To my great surprise, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, who openly endorsed my candidacy for senate in my town, discretely aided another person from the same constituency to pick the same Senatorial form.

“The above left me with no choice but to consider his endorsement as a facade and decoy.

“Having consulted widely on the foregoing with my teeming supporters across the sixteen (16) Local Governments, I have decided not to dwell where there is no sincerity of purpose but an arrogant display of deception and hence, pull out from the contest.

“The integrity I have built over the years is beyond any ambition. I am available for further arrangements that will unite the party in the build-up to the general election, slated to hold on 18th June 2022.

“Your Excellency is hereby assured of my utmost commitment to the party at the state and beyond.”

Nigeria Bar Association Tackles Wike; Says His Utterances Give One Cause For Great Concern

By
The Source
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Nyesom Wike

By Gideon Njoku

The Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, has expressed great concern over the utterances of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, as examplified by his attack on the NBA on Tuesday during a book launch in honour of the Honourable Justice Mary Peter-Odili.

Justice Peter-Odili retired from the Supreme Court on May 12, 2022, the day she turned 70 years.

Wike a Lawyer, whose wife is a High Court Judge had, at the Book Launch, lashed out at the NBA, dismissing the body as a “Paper Tiger.”

He accused the NBA of not  only being a failure in its responsibility to protect the Judiciary in Nigeria, but had  been unable to rescue it from political intimidation.

Reacting to Wike’s umbrage, the President of the NBA, Olumide Akpata, in a statement he released on Thursday, described Wike’s submission as reckless, untrue and uncharitable.

Akpata warned that while he understood Wike’s political ambitions, the Governor

“cannot, and should not, be allowed to use the NBA as fodder of any sort for his vaulting ambition.”

Recalling a number of instances where the NBA rose in defence of the judiciary, he reminded Wike of how the NBA fought the cause of Supreme Court Justice Mary Peter-Odili when her home was invaded by rogue security agents. Akpata also recalled the cases of the  Chief Judge of Cross River State, Justice Akon Ikpeme and Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court.

Noted Akpata; “Wike’s forgetfulness of these and more, suggest a dissonance that is most disconcerting and should give one serious cause for concern, especially as the Rivers governor is a senior member of the Bar.”

Akpata’s statement titled, “NBA has failed to protect Nigerian judiciary – My response to Governor Wike’s diatribe,” reads in part:

“As President of the NBA, it is not usual for me to respond to criticisms regarding the activities or performance of the NBA, and indeed our philosophy has been to welcome all such criticisms and take useful lessons therefrom.

“But I am unable to allow the Governor of Rivers State make such baseless allegations against the NBA particularly as he is a senior member of the legal profession who will be presumed by many to be speaking from a position of knowledge.

“It is indeed quite ironic that Governor Wike made these unfortunate statements at an event held in honour of the Honourable Justice Mary Peter-Odili in support of whom, the NBA stood firm in the face of that brazen attack on her home in Abuja by some persons who are now standing trial in our law courts.

“That Governor Wike has chosen so quickly, to either forget or ignore this and other actions of the NBA in support of the Judiciary is suggestive of a dissonance that is most disconcerting and should give one serious cause for concern.

“It is very convenient for Governor Wike to ask Nigerian lawyers (as he did at the Book Launch) to emulate their apparently more courageous Pakistani colleagues when the issues at stake do not concern him directly, but when in 2019 the very same Nigerian lawyers had the “temerity” to question his handling of the security situation in Rivers State and threatened to boycott the courts if there was no abatement of the rising insecurity in the State, he was only too quick to lambast the lawyers and to withdraw his “support” for the NBA in the State.

“While we understand that Governor Wike is currently on the political soapbox and, like a man with the proverbial new hammer, to whom any and everything is a nail, he will latch unto any chance to sell his candidacy, he cannot and should not be allowed to use the NBA as fodder of any sort for his vaulting ambition.

“While the NBA might have, at different points, dithered in playing these roles, the NBA is not known to have shirked that responsibility in recent times.

“Our commitment to defend the Judiciary and its integrity has remained unshaken and the NBA has been making spirited efforts to discharge that responsibility creditably in the less than two years since this administration of the NBA assumed office. Illustrative examples abound to drive home this point, and three well-known examples remain fresh in the consciousness of Nigerians and constitute recent history that cannot be rewritten even by a personality of Governor Wike’s calibre.

“Firstly, there was the crisis that rocked the Cross River State Judiciary when, against established legal tradition, the Governor of the State refused to appoint the most senior Judge in the State – Justice Akon Ikpeme – as the substantive Chief Judge on the ground that she was not an indigene of Cross River State.

“That was an attempt by the executive arm of government to extend its political turf to the Judiciary, and the active role that the NBA played both publicly and privately in defending the Judiciary and resolving that ugly debacle in that State (and a few other States where similar scenarios played out afterwards) is well-documented.

“Secondly, Nigerians would recall how the NBA swiftly rose to the defence of Mary Peter Odili JSC (rtd) in particular, and the Nigerian Judiciary in general, when the former’s residence was invaded by rogue officers of the security agencies.

“The NBA’s fierce opposition to the illegal invasion also included the appointment of a Special Investigator to unravel those behind the illegality. That the Special Investigator, after an extensive fact finding process, did not find the executive culpable is indicative of the fact that his appointment was not intended to achieve a contrived end, and should not be interpreted as the NBA being a ‘paper tiger’.

“Also fresh in our collective memories is the NBA’s defence of Honourable Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court who was wrongly excoriated by His Excellency Engr. Dave Umahi, Governor of Ebonyi State after an unfavourable judgment was entered against the Governor. The NBA’s defence of the Judiciary in that case would later result in an, almost, immediate apology by the Governor.

“More generally, the NBA has at different times in the last 20 months, filed public interest lawsuits to challenge the excesses of the Government and its agencies; issued strongly worded statements and reprimands in which it named and shamed political leaders with despotic and undemocratic tendencies; initiated a process to enthrone the appointment of only the best from amongst us as Judges; and even joined in a ten-week long strike action (with significant economic loss to our members and other debilitating effects) in a bid to contribute towards our quest for a more independent and efficient Judiciary in Nigeria.

“Short of taking the law into our hands and carrying ammunition without licence to defend the Judiciary, the NBA insists that it is doing its best in the circumstance, and in an atmosphere that is widely acknowledged to be characterised by recklessness and little regard for the rule of law by governments at all levels.

“It is in this respect that the NBA views Governor Wike’s invectives as inconsiderate and uncharitable.

“There is room for the NBA to do more in maintaining and defending the integrity and independence of the Judiciary, but  it would be mean-spirited to make such far-reaching and ridiculing statement about the NBA, at least given its engagements and activities in defence of the Judiciary since August 2020 when the current leadership assumed office.

“The NBA would continue to do all that it can to defend the Judiciary, the rule of law and indeed, Nigeria’s democracy. We will not pass that buck.”

OPINION: The Conspiracy In Sokoto

By
The Source
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By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN

There is need for genuine reconciliation in this matter.

The criminal charge of Criminal Conspiracy and Inciting Public Disturbance as framed by the Sokoto State Government against hardened murderers is an insult to the sensibilities of the parents of the deceased, the people of Nigeria and God who created Deborah.

This crime took place in an enlightened environment in a higher institution, under the watch of security men, who were said to have been overpowered.

It all started from a WhatsApp group, which has identified leaders. There are students who sent messages and threats of death on that platform. Their phone numbers are registered with NIN identification. They belong to a class in the school so they are known individuals.

Images of persons who openly and boastfully confessed of partaking in the murder abound, with one displaying the match stick with which the deceased was set ablaze.

The government of Sokoto State has by these charges shown itself complicit in this whole drama and it is most unfortunate, for a State that is headed by a lawyer, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives and who is aspiring to rule Nigeria as its President.

It is most uncharitable of His Excellency to have condoned this baseless charge.  It is better to set the suspects free rather than claim to try them.

The aftermath of this gruesome murder, the watery charges filed and the consenting attitude of those concerned have depressed me more than the act itself.

Nigeria cannot work this way at all. I’m truly saddened by this development.

I expected Governor as Visitor to that school to have visited the parents of the deceased, who trusted the authorities and sent their ward to school from Niger to Sokoto State, in furtherance of the mantra of a United Nigeria.

If the impression we get with all these charges is that the State itself endorsed the murder of the deceased, then we are sowing the seeds of discord and fragmentation.

The political ambition of Governor Aminu Tambuwal should not override the life of a citizen entrusted to his care but who was murdered in cold blood. It is better for His Excellency to resign now, rather than go down in history as the Governor under whose watch a citizen was murdered and the Governor could not enforce the laws of the land but rather aided and abetted its cover up.

It is Governor Tambuwal who is actually on trial in this case.

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, Lekki, Lagos*

IPOB Bans Pastor Kumuyi, Deeper Life Church Overseer, From South East

By
The Source
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By Charles Igbo

The General Overseer of the Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor William Kumuyi has been banned from the South East by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB.

Kumuyi had scheduled a Crusade in Aba, the commercial city of Abia State, but IPOB has advised Kumuyi, in his own interest, to cancel the Crusade.

It is not known for what reason IPOB asked Kumuyi to cancel the Crusade, but in a statement released on Thursday, signed by its Spokesperson, Emma Powerful, IPOB said it was save lives and properties   in Biafra land.

IPOB  said the state of Security in the South-east does not allow such a Crusade, as gunmen could take advantage of it and wreak mayhem in Aba.

IPOB: “Let him and the organisers of the Crusade make sure that nothing happens. The security of this region is not good because of political and criminal activities, therefore, we advise him to stop thus Crusade for security reasons.”

IPOB asked Kumuyi to “Use the opportunity to pray against the powers holding the people captive in Nigeria in his Church in Lagos.”

IPOB’s stand on Kumuyi’s crusade is unprecedented in the region as it is the first time IPOB would cancel any such event.

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has, however, asked IPOB to rescind its stand on the Crusade.

But IPOB, also expressed its disappointment that Christian leaders in Nigeria, except for a couple of them, have continued to keep quiet  in the face of the gruesome killing of Deborah Yakubu by his school mates at the Shehu Shagari College of Education for alleged blasphemy.

IPOB: “We had expected them to demand justice for the innocent Deborah Yakubu burnt alive by Muslim fanatics in Sokoto State.”

Pastor Kumuyi is one of the Christian Leaders considered very close to President Muhammadu Buhari, and has never criticised his administration for once.

Following is IPOB’s statement.

“IPOB will not allow anyone to die because of this crusade scheduled to hold in Aba. The operation of criminals operating as  unknown gunmen infiltrating the events is high and they will blame it on IPOB.

We ask him to pray for an end to the insecurity in Biafra land if he can.

“We charge Christians and men of God in Biafra land to engage God in fervent prayers to expose all those behind the insecurity in our land.

“Let him use the opportunity to pray against the powers holding the people captive in Nigeria in his church in Lagos.

We equally want them to be united against injustice. We had expected them to demand justice for the innocent Deborah Yakubu burnt alive by Muslim fanatics in Sokoto State.

“Her killers are walking freely today and 34 lawyers shamelessly volunteered to defend her killers but Christians are just watching them.

“The double-faced Nigeria security agencies only managed to arrest two of her killers because they are Muslims but if it were to be in the South-East, all the youths on the street will be in a police cell by now while the unlucky ones would have been killed.

“How many Igbo or Christian lawyers came to defend our leader fighting for the freedom of all Biafrans? But 34 Muslim lawyers have come in defence of the killers of Deborah Yakubu?

“Is it not time Christians and men of God woke up to the realities in Nigeria? They should support Biafra and Oduduwa agitators in their bid to free Biafra and Oduduwa republics from the Islamic bondage in Nigeria so that they will enjoy the freedom of worship in both republics.

“Leah Shuaibu is still in captivity today because she is a Christian but all the Muslims abducted along with her have since been freed. Christians must support IPOB to liberate them from bondage in Nigeria.

“Kumuyi should also pray against wicked Leaders and saboteurs in Biafra land and Nigeria. They are the real problems of the people. Let him use the opportunity to pray against the powers holding people captive in Nigeria in his church in Lagos.”

The leader of IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has been in the custody of the Federal Government since June 2021. He is being prosecuted in an Abuja Federal High Court for terrorism and treasonable felony.

Don’t Resume At FUTA As Your Appointment Is Fraught With Fraud, ASUU Tells First Female VC Elect, Prof Oladiji

By
Ayodele Oni
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Prof (Mrs) Adenike Temidayo Oladuni

By Ayodele Oni

Striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, (FUTA) has faulted the selection process which produced the first female Vice-chancellor of the institution, Prof. Adenike Temidayo Oladiji.

According to a statement by the Registrar of the University, Mr Richard Arifalo who doubles as Secretary to the Governing Council, Prof Oladiji was appointed through a voice vote by members of the council during its meeting as the eight substantive Vice Chancellor.

Arifalo stated that “Because of the closeness of the score of the three recommended candidates, a diffrence of 0.1%, Council decided to put it to vote and Professor Oladiji came out tops, hence her appointment.”

But ASUU, in a press statement by the Concerned Members of Senate, signed by Prof. P. A. Aborisade and Prof. M. B. Oyun, pointed out that the selection process of the first female Vice Chancellor was fraught with fraud and lacks transparency.

It claimed that the appointment tramples on the law of the university, (Act No 11 of 1993) as amended (2003) concerning the processes of the selection of a Vice-Chancellor.

“Section 3 (b) states: The Council shall select one candidate from among the three candidates submitted to it under subsection (3) of this section and forward his name to the President, Commander-in Chief of the Armed Forces”

The Concerned members however, noted that the new head of the University emerged through election process rather than base the selection on merit by selecting the best, saying the resort to voting during the process is alien to the law guiding the selection of a Vice-Chancellor of the school.

They explained that the candidate who came first during the selection process, Prof. Shadrach Olufemi Akindele with 73.9 percent was dropped, while Oladiji who came second with 73.8 percent was selected as Vice-Chancellor through election.

“The Election of a predetermined preferred candidate whose overall score in the process is lower than that of the candidate who came first, throws merit overboard. Unfortunately that cannot and will not be acceptable to us and shall not stand.

“We in FUTA stand for Merit.We found problems with the process at the very end of the procedure for the appointment of the VC when the council had to pick from the list of the three candidates submitted to it.

“Three nominees will be presented to the council in order of their positions. Under normal circumstances, the council should have picked the first based on merit. There is no lobby about it.

“In case, the council will not select the first, it must give cogent reasons why the first must be jettisoned. If the second would also not be picked, there must be a set of reasons for settling for the third.

“But in this case, the council in its own wisdom decided to leave the first, second and the third, and opted for voting between the first and the second, thereby disenfranchising the third. By the law, any of the three candidates presented is good enough for the position of VC.

“If the council wanted to go for voting, we would have wanted to see the votes of the three. But we have a vote for two and zero recorded for the third and that is where we believe something played out here.

“If you are not picking the best for the university, there must be cogent reasons and we will not accept it until the governing council does what is needed.

“We reject in its totality the appointment of a candidate (Prof Adenike Oladiji) who came second in the process without any acceptable cogent reason of why the candidate who came first was dropped.

“The resort to voting to select a Vice-Chancellor is alien to the law (Statute) guiding the selection process.

“The process is called selection intentionally by the drafters of the law rather than Election. The Election is a subversion of our law for specific and pre-determined ends.

“We, ‘Concerned members of FUTA Senate’, hereby call on the Governing Council to rescind its announcement of the candidate, go back and announce the appointment of the candidate who came First in the selection process. We will not accept anything less than this.

“We, ‘Concerned members of FUTA Senate’, call on our respected colleague, Professor Adenike Temidayo Oladiji of the University of llorin to remain steadfast at her duty post at UNILORIN and not attempt to come to FUTA as Vice-Chancellor.

“We, ‘Concemed members of FUTA Senate’, equally advise our respected colleague Professor Adenike Temidayo Oladiji not to advertise herself as the Vice-Chancellor-Elect of our University FUTA.”

Osinbajo Woos 7000 APC Delegates With Hotel Accommodation, Food

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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0
Osinbajo Declares

By Tosin Olatokunbo

The Prof. Yemi Osinbajo Campaign Organisation on Wednesday said that it would provide hotel accommodation for more than 7,000 All Progressives Congress delegates across the country during the party’s presidential primary election.

Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, Office of the Vice-President, disclosed this.

Ojudu announced this to delegates in Minna, while wooing them to vote for Osinbajo during the party’s primaries.

He said: “Before you leave Minna to the National Delegates conference, your hotel accommodations and other things will be provided for you to enable you to feel at home through out the delegates conference.

“We have provided hotel accommodations for the more than 7,000 APC delegates to the presidential primary election.

“We don’t want a situation where more than one person will stay in a room. We want all of you to feel comfortable during the primary election.”

Ojudu said that there would be vehicles to convey the delegates to and fro the venue from their hotels and also a desk officer in each hotel to attend to the needs of the delegates.

“At the hotel, food will be provided and there will be a desk officer to attend to all your needs,” he said.

Ojudu said that the campaign organisation would do everything possible to reward the delegates if Osinbajo is elected as the party’s candidate and by the grace of God emerges the president in the 2023 general election.

He said: “In the past, our delegates have not been rewarded. Rather other people who did not contribute were rewarded with appointments and jobs.

“If Osinbajo is elected as promised, we are going to reward all of you with jobs and appointments.”

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that while Ojudu was briefing the delegates and newsmen, Osinbajo was having a closed door meeting with the state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello.

NAN also reports that after the meeting with Bello, Osinbajo met the delegates in a closed door before leaving Minna

CBN Directs Banks To Protect Customers’ Data

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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0

BY Tosin Olatokunbo

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has cautioned commercial banks in the country against sharing customers information with another party without their permission. The CBN said banks must take necessary measures to protect customers’ data from falling into wrong hands.

The directive which also affects Financial Technology firms, fintechs, the apex bank said, is to enhance data sharing across the banking and payments system, promote innovations and broaden the range of financial products and services available to bank customers.

The Godwin Emefiele-led CBN disclosed this in a recently released circular titled ‘Operational guidelines for open banking in Nigeria’.

Open banking is a banking practice in which third-party financial service providers are given open access to customer banking, transaction and other financial data from banks and non-bank financial institutions via application programming interfaces, APIs.

According to the CBN “Open banking recognises the ownership and control of data by customers of financial and non-financial services, and their right to grant authorisations to service providers to access innovative financial products and services.

“This is anticipated to drive competition and improve access to banking and payments services.

“Participants in open banking shall adhere strictly to security standards when accessing and storing data, and shall be subject to minimum privacy standards, operational standards, risk management standards and customer experience standards as prescribed by the Bank.”

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