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Rancour Halts Appointment Of New VC, Fed University, Oye, Ekiti State |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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Federal University, Oye Ekiti

By Ayodele Oni

Divided over the choice of a new Vice Chancellor for the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, (FUOYE), the Governing Council has halted, temporarily, all processes leading to the appointment.

There was an earlier report that the Governing Council members were divided, with a faction behind the incumbent deputy Vice Chancellor,  Prof Abayomi Fashina, and the other fronting for an external candidate.

It was, also, gathered that another issue delaying the announcement of the new VC is the stand of some lobby groups in Ekiti state who are insisting on having an indigene of the state as a new helmsman at FUOYE.

According to reliable sources within the university, two Principal  Officers, the Registrar  and Liberian were appointed within the last two months,  and both appointees are non indigenes of Ekiti state.

A statement by the Deputy Director Corporate Services Adeyinka Ademuyiwa on Thursday, explained that the decision is to accommodate grievances and complaints of some stakeholders in the cancelled processes where over 120 petitions have been received.

According to him, a new process will commence shortly.

“In a session presided over by Council Chairman,. Dr Mohammed Lawan Yahuza, on Wednesday December 9, 2020, where all members were in attendance, including officials of the National Universities Commission, NUC, members agreed to temporarily halt the on going process and thanked NUC officials for their support and encouragement.

“FUOYE Governing Council remains committed to credible, transparent, fair and just processes and is open to suggestions and corrections that will help deliver on this onerous assignment.”

The incumbent VC, Prof Kayode Soremekun, who favours an insider as his successor, will  be out early next year.

COVID 19: Nigerians To Be Vaccinated By January |The Source

By
Bayo Bernard
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Ngozi-Okonjo-Iweala

By Fola James

The first Nigerian to receive the Pfizer COVID 19 vaccine could be as soon as January next year, Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said.

A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday, that the former minister disclosed this during a meeting with Geoffrey Onyeama, in Abuja.

According to Okonjo-iweala who is favoured as next Director General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO Nigeria and other countries must ensure that they get the vaccine as soon as possible to avert deaths resulting from the deadly virus.

She said “As long as one person has it in the world, no one is safe. And that is why poorer countries, lower-middle-income countries like Nigeria, need to get it as quickly as possible.”

Okonjo-Iweala is currently the African Union Special Envoy on mobilising international economic support for the continental fight against COVID-19 and Nigeria’s candidate for the Office of the Director-General of the World Trade Organization.

She said the Pfizer vaccine and the AstraZeneca were presently being negotiated so that poor countries don’t have to stand in a queue behind rich countries.

Okonjo-Iweala said a platform, COVAX have been developed with 186 countries on board, to ensure that poor countries get the vaccines on time, adding that health workers will be the first to be vaccinated.

She stated that “the Pfizer vaccine, the AstraZeneca, those are being negotiated now so that poor countries don’t have to stand in line behind rich countries.

“So, we hope they are starting by the end of January. We will be able to reach these countries, including most of the African countries, Nigeria included, will be able to get access to some of these vaccines.

“Initially, it will be for frontline health workers, followed by some other target groups – older people, those with underlying conditions, and then, from there, the rest of the population. I think the COVAX facility can cover maybe 20-23 per cent of the population by the end of next year.”

Insecurity: AYCF Gives Buhari Ultimatum To Sack Service Chiefs |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to, with immediate effect,  order the sack of Service Chiefs. Failing to do so, the Forum is threatening a full blown protest against the President and his Government.

The call for their Immediate removal is coming on the wave of the recent killing of over Fifty (50) rice Farmers in Zabarmari community in Borno State, by members of the Boko Haram terrorists group.

The Group lamented that the decurity architecture of the nation is nothing to write home about following the failure of the  Service Chiefs to live to their responsibilities.

The Group said that the President should take the issue of sacking the Service Chiefs as a thing of urgency, or face mass protest from youths.

At a Press Conference in Kano, the President of the Group, Zaid Ayuba, said it was necessary to take the bold step or the Group will stage a Protest.

Explaining their demands further at the Conference, the group lamented the fact that killing, kidnapping, and banditry have become a common occurrence in the Northern part of Nigeria. They condemned the recent killing of rice Farmers in Zabarmari community of Borno State,  staying that with such occurrence, the continued stay of the the service Chiefs in office is no longer tolerable.

“Killing, kidnapping,and banditry have become a common occurrence in the Northern Nigeria. But the killing of Zabarmari farmers has made continued retention of security Chiefs intolerable…” , the group reported.

Recall that about two weeks ago, a group of Boko Haram terrorists, invaded a rice farm in the Zabarmari community of  Borno State and butchered about 67 rice farmers.

Many people are baffled while the President has refused to replace his Service Chiefs whose efforts seem insufficient to harnessing the security forces available in the country to fight and eliminate the various terrorist groups in the country.

It will be recalled that the Audu Ogbeh led Arewa Consultative Forum, as have many Nigerians, also called for the removal of the Service  Chiefs, all of whom have since passed their retirement ages. But none of the calls has cut any ice with the President.

His aides say it is his prerogative to either sack or keep them.

Buhari’s Invitation By NASS: Ozekhome Carpets Malami, Says NASS Can Invite The President |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, has disagreed with the submission by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami, that the National Assembly cannot invite President Muhammadu Buhari to its Green Chamber.

Ozekhome said that the House of Representatives has the right to invite President Buhari to address the Honourable members.

In an interview with The Independent, Ozekhome said the Nigerian constitution empowers the National Assembly to summon President Muhammadu Buhari to address them over the state of the nation.

Malami had said such power is “inherently discretionary in the President and not at the behest of the National Assembly.”

But  Ozekhome countered, citing Section 88 and 89 of the constitution which empowers the National Assembly to compel the President, as a public officer, to appear before it.

Muhammadu Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari

“It depends on the angle you are looking at it. if it is from the angle of presenting a national budget, the constitution requires the President to lay the budget directly before the National Assembly, which will be sitting as a joint House presided over by the Senate President who is the chairman of the National Assembly. In such a case, the President must come directly and present his budget”.

“In America, once every year, the President is compelled to give a State of the Union address to the American people. We do not have such a provision in Nigeria. But in Nigeria, under Section 88 and 89 of the constitution, the National Assembly has oversight function on matters having to do with the well-being and security of the country”.

“If the National Assembly feels that the security of the country has become so parlous and the economy has become so poor that we have entered a second recession, then they can use their powers in Section 88 and 89 because the constitution says “any public officer”.

The sections he said do not exclude the president.

“They can also use Section 4 of the constitution, which mandates them to make laws for the peace and order of Nigeria, they can summon him that they want to know the state of insecurity or the economy or why corruption is increasing. They can say that they need his appearance so as to get his information to enable them make laws for the peace, order and stability of the country”

An aide of the President, Lauretta Onochie, had a couple of days ago said that the President would honour the invitation to appear before the House. But on Wednesday, Malami countered Onochie. In league with Malami are the Senate, which distanced itself from the House’s invitation, and APC Governors, championed by Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, himself, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Nigerians Pay Less For Data |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

The Federal government announced on Thursday that the price of data has been reduced by more than 50 percent following a directive that the Nigerian Communications commission, (NCC), should put in place measures to that effect.

Accordingly, the price of data of 1GB has been reduced from 1000 naira to 487 naira beginning from last November.

The Minister of Communications and digital economy, Dr Isa Ibrahim Pantami who broke the news, said it was in line with the directive he gave to the regulatory agency (NCC) to put measures in place to reduce the average cost of data in the country.

“The average cost of 1GB of data has reduced from the January 2020 cost of N1,000 to N487.18 in November, 2020.

“This was based on a report by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) submitted to the Honourable Minister following the implementation of the directives,” Dr Pantami’s Technical Assistant, Mr Femi Adeluyi said in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja.

Adeluyi, who is Technical Assistant, Information and Technology said: “The Honourable Minister had inaugurated a Committee that developed the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (2020-2025) on the 16th of December, 2019.

“The Plan was unveiled and launched by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, on the 19th of March, 2020.

“One of the goals of the Plan is to reduce the average cost of 1GB of data to a maximum of N390 by 2025.

“With the January 2020 baseline of N1,000 per GB, the maximum projected steady decrease for the end of each year was as follows: 2020 (N925), 2021 (N850), 2022 (N775), 2023 (N700), 2024 (N545) and 2025 (N390).

“In line with Dr Pantami’s commitment to under promise and over deliver, the measures have caused the current cost of data to reduce significantly beyond the December 2020 projection of N925.

“Based on the Report by NCC, the average cost of data as at November 2020 was N487.18, which amounts to 47.33% lower than the projected value.

” The Report also indicates that the cost of data in November 2020 was less than 50% of the cost of data in January 2020.

“The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, through the NCC, will continue to ensure that consumers enjoy a price regime that supports fairness and is friendly to consumers.

“Policies are in place to ensure that operators adopt competitive pricing that eschews unjustifiable margins. The general public may also wish to note that complaints about rapid data depletion are also being investigated.

“For more enquiries, the Honourable Minister has directed NCC to respond to all issues raised by our citizens and customers.

“All hands will remain on deck to achieve the goals of the Broadband Plan as the Ministry supervises its implementation in line with our National Digital Economy Policy for a Digital Nigeria.”

Illegal Recruitment Of Teachers Booms In Ekiti |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

A syndicate that specializes in illegal recruitment of teachers in Ekiti state has been bursted. The members are now on the run.

Investigations revealed that the syndicate, before its operation was discovered, had succeeded in recruiting and posting not less than 50 teachers to secondary schools in the State.

An inside source within Ekiti state Teaching Service Commission, disclosed that each of the recruited teachers was made to pay fees ranging between N50 and N100 thousand, depending on which area to be posted.

The activities of the syndicate were made easier as some staff of the Commission were among its members.

Also, it took the advantage of the recruitment of teachers by the state government two months ago to rob unsuspecting  candidates.

However, the recent tour by officials of the Commission  to secondary schools in the state with the  list of officially recruited teachers exposed the activities of the group.

The officials, it was further learnt, discovered that some teachers reported to  schools, especially,  those in rural areas and their names were  not in the official list.

Some of them were reported to have taken to their heels when they heard about the visit by the officials.

Officials of the Commission  are yet to make public number of those already arrested in connection with the illegal recruitment as they said they were still going round to find out the actual number of teachers illegally recruited by the syndicate.

Anthony Joshua Set For War Against Pulev, Optimistic Of Retaining Title |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

Nigeria born British pugilist, Anthony Joshua says his World Heavyweight fight against Pulev would be a war.

After 12 months since Joshua outpointed Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia to reclaim the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts, he has been off the ring, largely because of the Coronavirus Pandemic.

A crowd of 1,000 will be in attendance following approval by local authorities and after London was placed in tier two of the new system when lockdown restrictions were relaxed by the government last week.

Joshua entered a bio-secure bubble yesterday and told Sky Sports: “My body is just a vessel that carries my brain, so I have trained my brain more than I have trained my body.

“I am ready for war. I am ready for a fight and looking forward to it.”

While the build-up to Saturday’s showpiece event will be different compared with usual  both fighters in the same bubble and able to mix, Joshua stated he would focus on making everything as normal as possible. Even when the ring bell sounds at the SSE Arena there will be a big contrast to the surroundings compared to  Saudi Arabia.

Joshua beat Ruiz Jr in a rematch last December at a 15,000-seater purpose-built arena and despite that number being small compared to some of the crowds he has fought in front of, the attendance will be even fewer on Saturday.

He insisted: “It is nice, it is nice for the fans as well because it will be intimate.

“It will be a special occasion to witness a world heavyweight champion fight amongst 1,000 people.

“Normally there would be tens of thousands of people in an arena, but there are a lucky 1,000 people in there, so hopefully they get to enjoy it.”

Pulev has told Joshua not to worry about any potential bout with Tyson Fury in 2021 ahead of their fight. While the Bulgarian is Joshua’s next opponent, talk continues to centre around the agreement, in principle, the Olympic gold medallist has in place to fight fellow Briton Fury next year.

But Pulev told Matchroom Boxing: “I feel good, healthy and happy. I feel strong and with a lot of energy and much power. I think after this fight I am going to fight with Tyson Fury. It will be good.”

The 39-year-old conceded a ‘Battle of Britain’ between the Gypsy King and Joshua would be a good fight, but believes he is much-changed from the last time he lost out with world titles on the line.

State of the Nation: Buhari Not In Charge Says Soyinka |The Source

By
Bayo Bernard
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By Fola James

Nobel Laurette, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has disclosed that the nation is on auto-wheel as nobody seems to be in charge of the government.

He described the year 2020 as the most challenging year for many Nigerians, blaming the problems, on what he described as leadership vacuum in the country.

He also blamed both the political and religious leaders in the country for not doing enough to assuage the problems.

Soyinka, a professor of Literature, spoke at launching of his new book: “Chronicles of the happiest people on earth” said, “With the turbulence that characterises year 2020, and as activities wind down, the mood has been repugnant and very negative.

He added that, “With the turbulence that characterises year 2020, and as activities wind down, the mood has been repugnant and very negative.

“I don’t want to sound pessimistic but this is one of the most pessimistic years I have known in this nation and it wasn’t just because of COVID-19, no.

“Natural disasters had happened elsewhere but how have you managed to take such in their strides?

“Was calamity as a result of human negligence or as a result of malignant activities when people find themselves under the control of other beings which I am afraid what most Nigerians find themselves in, it is like you don’t know from where the blow would descend.

“That is not the way a nation should be and that is not the way the citizens should exist.

“Situation has reached a point where you are not very sure of where you are going and where you will end it. As I had said before, you don’t believe, in many instances, that anybody is in charge.

“That, really, it is a parlous condition for any nation. So, I am afraid it has not been a very good year for me generally.”

Ghana Election: How President Nana Akufo Addo Won Re-Election, Defeats John Mahama Again |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Nana Akufo-Addo

By Akinwale Kasali

At close to 80 years of age, no one ever thought Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo Addo would be reelected Ghanaian President.

Former President, John Mahama, who threw in the hat for the Presidential Election had thought his clout and antecedents at the saddle would see him return to the  Presidential Villa.But he lost again to the incumbent.

Akufo-Addo won re-election with 51.59 per cent of the vote on Wednesday. But  deadly violence erupted followed the victory, pushing the West African country into a state of crisis.

The results follow a contentious poll that both candidates had said they were leading based on their camps’ tallies.

Five people were said to have been killed in election violence since Monday, police said, marring what electoral observers said was a well-organised vote.

The Ghanaian Police Service said it recorded more than 60 incidents at Monday’s vote, in which President Nana Akufo-Addo ran for re-election against his main rival, former president John Mahama, and 10 other candidates.

“Twenty-one of the incidents are true cases of electoral violence, six of which involve gunshots resulting in the death of five,” it said.

Independent observers this week congratulated Ghana for conducting largely peaceful polls, in line with its reputation as one of West Africa’s most stable democracies.

But tension arose as Mahama’s camp said  tallies showed  its candidate in the lead.

“There were issues on election day about the procedure of voting, then immediately after the voting there were complaints about the way the result were being sorted out,” Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from  Accra, said.

“What we are hearing right now is that in the city of Tamale there has been protests going on by the opposition party claiming there were some irregularities and attempts to subvert  the will of people.

“We understand there has been an incident at the headquarters of the electoral commission, and we have seen in the last few minutes or so that the military police and other paramilitary organisation are ensuring that there is no breakdown of law and order.

Ekiti APC Exco Meets, Thumps Up NEC Over Dissolution |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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0
APC Party
APC Party

By Ayodele Oni

Members of the dissolved executive of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) in Ekiti state from wards to state levels have passed vote of confidence on the national caretaker committee of the party led by Governor Bala Muni of Yobe state.

The party Chieftains met at the party secretariat in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday and expressed satisfaction with the efforts of Governor Bala led national caretaker committee to reposition the party.

This was contained in a statement issued at the end of the meeting and signed by the party’s director of publicity, Elder Sam Oluwalana.

Members of the dissolved exco that have now transformed to caretaker members accros all levels, endorsed all the decisions taken by the APC NEC yesterday.

These include the dissolution of Ward, State, Zonal and National Excos and the transition of these officials to caretaker members.

They also endorsed the extension of the tenure till June next year, of the National Exco led by Yobe State Governor, Alhaji Bala Muni and that of the wards, states and Zonal Executives.

The meeting, which has in attendance, the state executive members led by its Chairman, Barrister Paul Omotosho and all the wards Chairmen, also expressed its support for the party’s NEC and urged the Caretaker Exco to forge ahead in its efforts to reorganize and reposition the party for future.

The new caretaker members expressed the hope that with the new developments, APC will now wax stronger and better placed to face future challenges.

It expressed the hope that the national caretaker will at the end of the day produce a formidable executives at all levels that will enjoy the confidence of members.

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