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I Have Not Resigned – Imo Deputy Governor

By
Ayodele Oni
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Prof Placid Njoku

By Ayodele Oni

Imo state Deputy Governor, Prof Placid Njoku says he is still at his desk and has not resigned as being speculated.

In a statement, his Chief Press Secretary,  Mr Ozioma Ukwuoma, said the Deputy Governor has been enjoying cordial working relationship with Governor Hope Uzodimma.

“My attention has been drawn to the fake news circulating  in the social media purporting that the Deputy Governor of Imo State, His Excellency Prof Placid Njoku has resigned.

“While it remains our practice to ignore such  baseless stories, the need to put the truth out to concerned Imo citizens has necessitated this refutal.

“This story has no iota of truth in it but is a mere figment of the  imaginations of those working  against the   Government and people of Imo state

“The Imo State Deputy Governor, His Excellency Prof. Placid Njoku enjoys a robust working relationship with his boss, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator  Hope Uzodimma, Executive Governor of Imo State and indeed with every member of the state executive Council, including members of the state legislature.

“Imolites are enjoined to disregard such unfounded rumours and continue supporting the peace and development of Imo State.”

In recent weeks, stories about plans by Governor Hope Uzodimma to drop his Deputy had been rife. Particularly, in opposition circles, they said he was going to replace Njoku with Chief Henry Njoku, popular as Haritex, a renowned entrepreneur. But it was all a product of bitter politics which was ignored.

But in the instant case, the story originated from a joke which was not properly read till the end. The joke said that the Deputy Governor had stepped down from his car into his office. It was read halfway, misinterpreted, and made to go viral on WhatsApp.

Why Polytechnic Lecturers Suspended Strike After 65 Days

By
Ayodele Oni
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ASUP

By Ayodele Oni

To allow for further negotiations, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) suspended its strike which lasted for two months  and counting.

The suspension of the strike action, which entered 65-day old, was contained in a statement signed by ASUP National Publicity Secretary,  Abdullahi Yalwa, and made available to journalists in Bauchi on Wednesday.

According to him, the suspension of the strike would last for a period of three months to allow the Federal Government complete the implementation of the agreements contained in the Memorandum of Action.

He explained that it would also allow for an appraisal of the report indicating the gradual implementation of the items contained in the agreement signed between ASUP and the Federal Government.

Yalwa’s statement entitled: “Suspension of the National Strike of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics” stated further that “the Union has resolved to suspend its 65 days old industrial action with effect from 10th June, 2021.

“The suspension is for a period of three months to enable the government complete the execution of the items contained in the Memorandum of Action signed with the Union since 27th April, 2021.

“As part of the efforts communicated by the Federal Ministry of Education, certain items have been fulfilled like the reconstitution and inauguration of governing councils and visitation panels in Nigerian Federal Polytechnics while we are led to believe that the release of funds for infrastructure revitalization and minimum wage arrears is currently being processed.

“Other items are the ongoing efforts at the review of the Scheme of Service and Conditions of Service for Polytechnics, as well as the commencement of work towards resolution of the issues around CONTISS 15 migration arrears for the lower cadre.

“In reaching the decision to suspend the strike, the Union took into cognizance the appeals made by the government, revered traditional stools in the country, members of the National Assembly, Chairmen of Governing Councils of Federal Polytechnics and members of the public who showed varied interests in the matter.

“It is the expectation of our Union that the suspension of this action will provide an enabling environment for the government to fulfill other aspects of the memorandum of action and afford the government an opportunity to reverse its trust deficit within our sector.

“We equally appreciate the different layers of intervention by critical stakeholder groups in the sector within the period.”

NDDC: Sylva, Akpabio At Loggerheads Over NDDC Managing Director’s Appointment

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

Former Bayelsa State Governor and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timpriye Sylva and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill  Akpabio are set for a showdown over the appointment of the Managing Director for the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

For weeks now, stakeholders in the region have been Clamouring for a the constitution of the NDDC board, forcing former Niger Delta militant and warlord, Government Ekpemupolo, known as Tompolo, to give the President Muhammadu Buhari Government a seven-day ultimatum for the NDDC board to be reconstituted.

He later rescinded his decision, and extended the ultimatum till end of June 2021.

However, allegations reveal that there has been politicking between the two top Ministers from the region in  Buhari’s cabinet trying to influence the appointment for their preferred Candidates.

Sylva is promoting Maxwell Okoh to become the NDDC Managing Director. Okoh is from his area in Bayelsa East, while Akpabio is promoting the interest of his Candidate, Denyabofa Dimaro, from Bayelsa West.

This has, however, been a bone of contention among the Ministers, who are said to be working tirelessly with major stakeholders in the region, consulting and selling their Candidates to the people.

Following this development, Bayelsa State Monarchs in Ekeremor Local Government of the State are criticising Sylva for alleged lopsided appointments into Federal Agencies and Parastatals coming to the state.

The Monarchs alleged that   Sylva is ceding every appointment coming to the State to his kinsmen, neglecting Ekeremor LG which produces vast portion of the oil revenue from the State.

They frowned at the lopsidedness in his activities in the Minsitry, urging President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint the Chairman or Managing Director of the soon-to-be inaugurated Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, from Ekeremor LGA, due to thr vast portion of the oil revenue from the state coming from the area to compensate the LGA.

In a  protest letter signed by HRH Perekebina Alfred, the Paramount Ruler of Koromotoru Kingdom; Chief Alexander Daunemighan, Paramount Ruler of  Peretorugbene Federated Communities and Seven other traditional rulers in Ekeremor, they said that their area has more oil wells than Nembe, where Sylva hails from, but he decided to overlook them for his own kith and kin thereby denying other zones in the state from benefitting from Federal appointments to the state.

The Monarchs called on the Minister to throw his weight behind and support their son from Ekeremor,  Denyanbofa Dimaro, for the position of Managing Director of NDDC to resolve the anomalies created by him.

Dimaro is a staunch All Progressive Congress, APC, Chieftain, prompting his people to bring in a caveat that if considered for the NDDC top job, it will be a platform for Ekeremor people to join the APC, and in turn secure victory for the party in the next coming elections.

The Monarchs also  alleged that Sylva, having taken up the Ministerial appointment in the President Buhari’s administration, controls the Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board, NCDMB, the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas with his kinsmen, Simbi Wabote and Chief Edmund Daukoru, as Executive Secretary and Chairman respectively, urging Sylva to strike a  balance by supporting their Son, Dimaro.

“It clearly shows that the Bayelsa West, comprising Ekeremor and Sagbama local government areas are unfairly treated. The Ekeremor LGA is a major oil and gas producing areas, besides it also proved substantial votes for the APC in the 2015 and 2019 general elections that gave APC victory at the polls.

“We are, therefore, pleading with Mr. President to consider giving the appointment of the substantive Managing Director of the NDDC to Smyrna form the within the above mention communities in the Ekeremor local government area of Bayelsa state, as particularly as already be announced in the media.

“In our opinion, the polity and the region are already over heated and anything that will bring about further agitations should be avoided”, the Monarchs said.

Sylva was further indicted by a Civil Rights Group, the Niger Delta Oil and Gas Producing Communities, NDOGPC, who accused the Minister for also having a hand in seeming delay in constitution of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, following his interest in nominating Maxwell Okoh, from Bayelsa East District.

In a statement by the group’s National Coordinator, Chief Preye Olomu, he said Sylva is interested in nominating a Candidate, Maxwell Okoh, who is an inexperienced young man from his area.

He added that his choice has caused disaffection and uproar from people of the Bayelsa West District.

Olomu commended Akpabio for his choice of an Ekeremor son from Peretorugbene, Dimaro to be the Managing Director for the forthcoming board, hinted that Sylva has single handedly without consultations nominated other federal appointees without ceding any to the Bayelsa West District.

Playing Dangerous Games With Insecurity In The South-east

By
The Source
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By Ike Ekweremadu

“It is Dangerous to play National or Regional politics with serious matters such as we have on our hands today rather than solving the challenges before it is too late

I have noted with concern the growing and well-choreographed attack on the South East opposition leaders for allegedly not condemning the rising insecurity and agitations and the activities of non-state actors in the South East of Nigeria

I believed initially that those were genuine concerns about the security situation in the South East.  However, I have come to the realisation that those making and inducing the statements are only playing politics with a very serious matter. The objective is to lay the foundation for the harassment and possible destruction of the opposition in the South East ahead of the 2023 General Elections.

It is on record that the South East leaders have at various times individually and collectively stated their positions on the challenges in the region, the concerns and demands of the South East people of Nigeria. They have also reiterated their opposition to the use of violence to resolve problems.

The position of the South East on Nigeria is well encapsulated in the Awka Declaration of 2018, and I am not aware that it has changed. Ohanaeze Ndigbo has also consistently reiterated this position.

My personal position was well laid out in my address entitled “Biafra: The Political, Economic, and Social Questions” presented at the meeting of South East leaders (South-east Governors, National Assembly members, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, traditional rulers, religious leaders, and leaders of thought) on political developments in the South-east and state of the nation held at the Nike Lake Resort Hotel on July 1, 2017. The same was adopted by meeting and also widely published by national dailies.

I have personally reached out to the President, His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, both privately and publicly to advise on the treatment of the South East, restiveness in the region and the need to address their concerns. As Deputy President of the 8th Senate, I recall leading a delegation of South East Senate Caucus alongside our Caucus Leader at the time, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, to meet with Mr. President as early as November 9, 2016 to discuss the rising insecurity, growing agitations and germane concerns of the people of the South East region.  With benefit of hindsight, we recalled to the President that such steps as we proffered proved very productive in resolving the agitations and the detention of Chief Ralph Uwazuruike during the tenure of the late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua.

I equally made my position known in a letter entitled “Rising Tension in the South East: Re: Appeal to Call Off Operation Egwu Eke” and dated Thursday, 14th September, 2017 wherein I gave compelling reasons for dialogue and volunteered to rally Igbo leadership and activists to a roundtable with the President. The letter was published by the Vanguard newspaper under the title “Python Dance: Ekweremadu Writes Buhari, Urges Dialogue to Avert Another War”.  Unfortunately, all these efforts came to naught, as they were neither given appropriate attention nor operationalised.

Importantly, I have consistently advocated that justice, equity, better management of our diversity, and decentralised policing, including state police of which I sponsored a Bill to that effect in the 8th and current Senate, are the sure paths to peace and security in Nigeria. But these have largely been ignored.

In any case, it is sheer blackmail and out of place to say that South East leaders, myself inclusive, have been quiet on recent events in the region. Most recently, on Sunday, May 30, 2021 to be specific, the leaders of the South East Caucus of the National Assembly, of which I am one, as well as a Member of the Senate and House of Representatives from each State of the South East region issued a joint press statement wherein we unequivocally condemned the killings and attacks on public assets in our region and called on the security agencies to immediately unveil persons behind the crisis, especially the so-called unknown gunmen, and bring them to book.

I have equally been in personal touch with Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide on the issues in the South East region. I have personally spoken with the governors of the South East, impressing on them the need to call meetings of all stakeholders in their states and engage everyone, irrespective of their political persuasions, to find solutions to the security challenges in their respective states in particular and the South East in general. I have personally spoken with Governor Hope Uzodinma on the need for a meeting of political stakeholders and leaders in Imo State to collectively proffer solutions to the turbulence in that state.

It is, therefore, unfortunate that some people prefer to blame everyone else, except themselves, believing that their brothers and sisters on opposing political divides will be profiled and taken out for them by federal might ahead of 2023 to make it easier for them to kidnap political positions in the South East. This is extreme and dangerous politics.

Once again, I call on Ohanaeze and the South East Governors Forum to immediately convene a meeting of South East leaders to genuinely dialogue and find solutions to the increasing level of insecurity in the South East and also offer solutions to the security situation nationwide.

Nevertheless, it is imperative to underscore the fact that the rising insecurity and agitations in the South East are not peculiar to the region. It sadly has become a national new normal. From the North West to North Central, North East, South West, South East, and South South, there is a conflagration of insecurity, crises, and all forms of restiveness and separatist agitations.

Therefore, for emphasis, I reiterate that it is extreme and dangerous to play national or regional politics with serious matters such as we have on our hands today rather than solving the challenges before it is too late.  Pragmatic leadership and patriotism are needed at this time.  We need to rally Nigerians, and come together as leaders to provide solutions and not trade blames or seek to make political capital out of what is clearly capable of consuming the entire nation, including even any political ambitions by anyone.

SENATOR  EKWEREMADU, PhD, CFR, was Former Deputy President of the Senate, and Leader, South East Caucus, Senate

Ondo Doles Out ₦225M To Artisans As Loans

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

Ondo State Governor, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN,  disclosed on Wednesday that over ₦225 million has been disbursed to Artisan groups in the state through the State Micro-Credit Agency.

According to the Governor, the disbursement of the loan facilities was aimed at strengthening the businesses of the various artisan groups in the state.

Speaking at this year’s Artisans’ Day in Akure, he assured the Artisans that his administration would continue to work with the various organised groups to serve as gateways to reach their members.

Arakunrin Akeredolu urged the leadership of the groups to ensure prompt and regular repayment of the loan facilities to allow others have the benefit of enjoying similar facilities.

The Governor pointed out that artisans contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of the state and community where they operate, adding that they are classified as the engine of growth of any economy.

“This sector forms about 85% of total economy of Ondo State. Therefore, it is a sector that deserves continuous attention in order to address the unemployment situation of our teeming youths.”

Governor Akeredolu stated that despite the current challenges, his administration was still able to provide an enabling environment for the development and growth of artisans in the State.

“We shall not relent in our efforts to provide a unique opportunity to reduce the hardship being experienced by our artisans and simultaneously planning for medium and long term solutions for our economic growth and development.

“One of the key points of our agenda is Digital Revolution and Entrepreneurship Development to alleviate poverty among the citizenry of the State through wealth creation.

“I am glad to say that many of the notable intervention programmes of our administration are already being felt in the sector.”

He said the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (N-CARES) programme, which is a joint programme of the World Bank, Federal and State Governments of Nigeria, is built on existing Federal and State Governments platforms.

The N-CARES programme, he added, intends to mitigate and support economic recovery efforts consequent upon the effects of COVID-19 Pandemic currently ravaging the world economy.

“It is a good development as it is an intervention fund for the MSMEs that had some financial difficulties due to COVID-19 Pandemic. The State Government has already bought into this to assist our people.”

Earlier in his welcome address, Special Adviser to the Governor on Union Matters and Special Duties, Mr Dare Aragbaiye, said the event marked another milestone in the life of the Administration as it has again shown its desire to continue to interface with different segments of the people for appropriate feedbacks and to sustain the culture of an all-inclusive governance.

Gulak: What UzodimmaTold His Family; Son Exonerates Gov; How He Was Killed -Witness

By
The Source
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Hope Uzodimma Visits Ahmed Gulak Family

By Charles Igbo

Senator Hope Uzodimma, on Wednesday, performed one of the most difficult jobs since he was sworn-in as the Governor of Imo State. It is a burden he has carried for days – a burden which at once makes him weak, sad and emotional.

Eleven days after the gruesome murder of APC chieftain, Ahmed Gulak, a Lawyer, in Imo State, Uzodimma summoned enough courage to visit his wife and members of his family.

An eye witness told this Magazine that the visit was emotional. The Governor, the source said, was still in shock, just as he was on May, 30, 2021, the day Gulak was murdered. He was devastated, and did not leave his room thereafter.

Confirming how he felt in his first comment on Gulak’s murder, Uzodimma said he froze, literally. He disclosed that he was getting ready to go to Church, since it was a Sunday, when he received the devastating news. The news marked the end of the Church attendance for him.

During the visit to Gulak’s family where he met his mourning wife, the Governor, naturally, expressed his condolences, and that of his Government and Imolites, and promised that Gulak would get justice. He said his death would never be in vain, and that he would do everything, go to any extent, to see that the perpetrators of the heinous crime and their sponsors get the full wrath and weight of the law.

Controversy as to the how/why of Gulak’s murder has continued to rage, with allegations and counter allegations flying.

Gulak was on a National assignment to the State with the Senate Committee on  the review of the 1999 Constitution when he was murdered on his way to the Imo Airport to catch his flight back to Abuja.

He was killed at Obiangwu Community, less than a 15-minute drive to the Airport.

He was the Chairman of the 2019 APC Governorship Primary in Imo State. He was the one who declared Uzodimma the winner of the Primary, a declaration, strongly protested by Uche Nwosu and the then Governor of the State, now Senator Rochas Okorocha, whose son-in-law Nwosu is.

But the Party stood by Uzodimma.

One of the speculations which made the rounds after Gulak’s murder was that it was the handiwork of the Governor, who allegedly did that because he was unable to pay Gulak a promised N10 billion, for declaring him Governor. Uzodimma was alleged to have arranged for the Cab which took Gulak to the Airport.

But Gulak’s son, Mustapha, a  Medical Doctor, dismissed the rumour as “nonsensical.”  He said it was an insult to his father’s memory because there was no need for any such deal, as Uzodimma won the Primary.

Moreover  he emphasised, if Uzodimma was owing his father, he, Mustapha, would have known. “My father was my best friend, and we discussed businesses together. I knew everything about his businesses.”

Gulak had left Protea Hotel, Owerri, in a Cab, and had no Security details with him. It was the Hotel that called the Cab for him.

The first statement by the Imo State Police Command, signed by its Spokesman, Bala Elkana, was that Gulak was in  company with two others and the driver of the Cab when he was murdered. He, also, said that the driver took a route that was strange.  Both statements turned out not to be true.

He was in the Cab with a friend of his identified as Bernard – not two. According to statements made by Bernard to the Police, they were to take the Aba road to the Airport, but it was blocked. They turned, and took the Mbaise- Ngor Okpala route. The route is not strange. It is a well known route to the airport.

However, contrary to the initial report that his killers, driving a sienna, double-crossed the Cab, Bernard said the Cab ran into the killers at Obiangwu.

As they got to a sharp corner, he said, they saw two young men lying on the ground, and six others jumping up and down. Three cars were parked. He said the men stopped the Cab, checked and confirmed there was enough fuel, and asked them why they were on the road when “their group” had said nobody should be on the road.

Bernard said one of them came to his side of the car, while another went to Gulak’s side after they had ordered them down. He said they spoke Ogoni dialect which he said he understood, and suggested that may have saved him. Apparently, he spoke the language to them. While they were still discussing, the one talking to Gulak shot him, and Gulak exclaimed: “Oh my God!” and fell down.

Bernard’s story contrasts sharply with that of the Police, but they agree that some of the assailants were killed same day at Enyiogugu where they were allegedly sharing onions to people from a truck they intercepted.

According to Bernard, he recognised two of them, including the one who shot, and killed Gulak.

Whatever, Nigerians are anxious to know the truth concerning Gulak’s murder – the killers and the sponsors.

Police investigations are on – seriously, this Magazine was told.

Gulak, a former Speaker of the Adamawa House of Assembly, was a former Political Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan. He cross-carpetted to the APC in 2018.

OPINION: NIGERIA: The State Of Our Union

By
The Source
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By Bode George

We are back again at a momentous period in the history of this fragile union. We are being pulled everywhere by fissiparous forces.

There is fear, ruin, banditry and freelance murderousness from all corners of our beleaguered nation. The blood of innocent people flow in gory sights. Everything seems disturbed, distorted, sliding towards anarchical largeness.

The senseless killings, the cruel inhuman massacre of the Igangan natives in the Yoruba heartland by suspected  herdsmen in the wee hours of last Sunday has brought the seething malady right to our door steps. No one is safe anymore.

I wonder, what hate, what evil, what madness will propel anyone of sane mind to plunge into the night with weapons of war, seeking out fellow citizens for pillage and murder? It puzzles rationality. It benumbs the senses.

The Igangan massacre is now a watershed in this ceaseless psychopathic killings that now pester our country without let. It will continue to haunt us all.

The Central Government is losing grip over our collective protection. This much the Northern Elders Forum affirmed on Monday. The NEF is of the view that there is a weakening of Will and discernment among those who constitute the national arbitrating guidance.

The center appears overwhelmed, stunned, halted, stalled, puzzled about grappling with the Nigerian challenges.

They can do better. We must review our focus and our ultimate horizon. Nigeria must withdraw from the destructive brink.

But the way forward is through fairness, truth, justice and equitable accommodation.

We have for long been divided by ethnic jingoism and sectarian bias. The withdrawal to the ethnic laager and nepotistic favoritism diminishes the national tableau.

A nation is not about narrow irredentist fixation. It is larger. It is about common goals and shared values. It is about common destinies and common verities.

Anything else is a conglomeration of indifferent, wobbling and wavering entities. It is a deviation from the normative patterns of a nation-state.

A greater Nigeria can be achieved when we are genuinely interested in the pivot of merit, in the illustration of excellence as the guiding principles of our national life.

Nigeria dangles on the precipice. It struggles and teeters at the cliff edge. However, all is not lost. Let us listen to the wisdom of our founding fathers.

Our pioneering Prime Minister Alhaji Tafawa Balewa once observed that “Nigerian democracy should be an ethnic commonwealth which should give each constituent a fair place even if they have lost at the polls.”

If this is not sobering, nothing else will.

The predication here is about mutual accommodation, selfless embrace of our fellow citizens, the distancing from ethnic hate, the eschewing of tribal bigotry, the embrace of everything that will graduate our nation towards a more developmental and sterling country where merit determines the personal importance, where knowledge enhances the growth of the average citizen.

We live in a global village where no one, no matter how powerful can defy the consensus of the free world.

The suspension of Twitter is part of the subsisting aberration. It is wrong -footed. It is hasty, unreflective, lacking in contemplative articulations. Twitter is in the world stage. It has become a permanent usage where world leaders and youths express their ideological bent. It is the utmost symbol of democratic aspirations. You don’t ban such a symbol of global exchange. You embrace it.

This hasty decision must be withdrawn forthwith. We need Twitter just as the world is enhanced through democratic exchange. You do not banish plural contributions. You encourage it. This is our national challenge.

Our country is thus bestirred in widening uncertainties. There are no certitudes anywhere as lawlessness defines the national landscape. The very first principle of governance which is predicated on protection of life and properties is no longer valid.

The law enforcement agencies are often exhausted, overwhelmed, sliding into virtual ineffectiveness.

We cannot continue with the old ways. The system is now devoid of stabilizing balance. We must rework it. We must push towards a renewal and a rebirth.

There must be a change of vision through a constitutional overhaul. The present document is the very pivot of the Nigerian malady. It lacks fairness, stripped of equitable balance, negates justice, skewed deliberately to favor a section of our people.

This is hardly the path of building an enduring society. Great nations are built upon accommodating largeness where everyone must have a sense of belonging. The fair society insists on merit, frowns upon nepotism, encourages participatory inclusiveness, creates equal opportunity for everyone to actualize himself.

If our nation must survive, if this democracy must long endure, this distorted system must give way to a new enlightened dawn.

This must start with the whittling down of power at the center, giving the components units more enabling capability to determine their fortunes.

The States must be made to be self-accounting as they freely develop the tools of economic growth and democratic aspirations. Each State should be allowed to develop at its own pace without the overbearing authority of the center.

Indeed, what we have now is basically a unitary system with a military style hierarchical order where the man at the top merely barks out instructions without any comprehension of what is on the ground. How can such an arbiter make an equitable decision? It will never happen. He is too far, too distant from the locus of action.

If this nation must survive, if this nation must be enriched in sustainable validity, we must go back to a real federating entity where each unit can freely exploit its God given resources for the good of its people.

The wild ogre of brigandage, the reckless sneak attack in the night, the venomous savaging of life and property will naturally dissipate as local law enforcement agencies tighten the noose on the outlaws.

Peace will invariably be installed, the nation itself will breathe a calmer air as the reign of equitable balance and fairness will dictate our national polity.

Throughout civilizations, throughout the challenges of human societies, the constant unfailing ingredient that holds a nation in strong and enduring bond is strictly “Justice”. A nation without Justice is a nation that is entrapped in its own self contrived ruin. It will fall.

A nation without Justice has already compromised its existence. It will not live for long. For without Justice there can be no peace. And in the absence of peace there comes the grip of iniquity and the scourge of iniquity does not breed enduring society. It destroys hope, it destroys normalcy, it invites anarchy and forfeiture.

May our country make the right choice as we grapple with these ceaseless challenges of dismemberment.

Let me leave you with this quotation from the former British Prime Minister Mr. Gordon Brown

“If any man is not safe then no one is safe”

Finally let this presentation be a guiding pathway for National reflection as we all strive together towards a more perfect union.

Chief George is the Atona Oodua of Yorubaland

Ondo Govt Empowers 3000 Unemployed Graduates With ICT Training

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

As the Country is still battling with the ban placed on social media network, Twitter, Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, has enrolled 3,000 unemployed graduates in network digital training.

At the flag off of the Training Programme tagged “Ondo-engage” for 3000 unemployed graduates in the state, the governor said it would lift participants out of unemployment market.

The flag-off ceremony was part of the activities marking the first 100 days of the Governor’s second term in office.

The Training Programme was organised by Ondo State Government through the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) in partnership with Envivo Communications Limited and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The training, which will last for nine months, will be focused on digital economy.

The participants will be paid monthly stipend throughout the period of the training and get Laptops and subscription.

Governor Akeredolu pointed out that one of the major ways to address Nigeria’s insecurity and other socio-economic challenges is through the dignified engagement and empowerment of the youthful population.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Richard Olatunde, in a statement, said the Governor noted that building the digital skills of the young graduates will go a long way to equip them with relevant skills for IT jobs.

“Undoubtedly, ICT has turned the world into a global village as it has assisted in automating government processes; using technology to solve common problems in the society; entrepreneurship development; proffering digital solution to problems of unemployment, insecurity and economic challenges; improving production.

“It is in realization of the importance of digital education that our administration decided to partner ENVIVO Communications Limited, leveraging on the various CBN funding initiatives such as the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI).

“Since the inception of our administration, we have made a lot of progress in the implementation of our ICT Drive through the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) amongst which are: implementation of State Integrated Financial Management System (SIFMIS); conduct of digital training programme for 218 teachers, 270 secondary students, over 350 unemployed youths and 62 entrepreneurs from the three senatorial districts of the State;

“Upgrading and recalibrating of Permanent Residency Card, also known as Kaadi Igbeayo; about 12,000 pregnant women have so far registered under the programme; Establishment of Akure Tech Hub, FUTA, for Ondo Central and signing of MoU for OkitipupaTech Hub, OAUSTECH, Ondo South;

“Automation of revenue collection to improve revenue generation for the State; management and control of utility infrastructure for improved revenue generation and creating of a friendly environment for investors in the state;

“Procurement of ICT services and equipment for effective service delivery; Digital Village Projects in five locations within the State for continuous digital skills acquisition; and installation of dedicated 155 MBPS Broadband internet service to all MDAs,” he said.

Mr Akeredolu disclosed that after the training programme, ENVIVO Communications Limited in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will ensure entrepreneurship opportunities for the trainees, through creation of credit windows.

He added that the gesture will engender employment and wealth thereby ensuring peace and stability in the State.

“At the end of this training programme, it is our expectation that most of the challenges being faced by the unemployed graduates will be drastically addressed.

Earlier, the Chairman of the State Information Technology Agency, Mr Olumbe Akinkugbe, said the participants will be drawn from the three senatorial districts of the state, adding that 1000 participants will be trained from each district.

He disclosed that the Governor Akeredolu administration’s desire is to use Information Technology to drive an accelerated social and economic development in the state across all sectors, including healthcare, education , new jobs opportunities among others.

Demolition Of Mechanic Villages: Massive Protest Against Governor Sanwo-Olu

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Mechanic in Lagos - NATA

By Akinwale Kasali

Hundreds of Mechanics and Automobile Technicians under the aegis of Nigeria Automobile and Techinicians Association, NATA, took to the streets of Lagos to protest against the demolition of their workshops in different parts of the State by the Lagos State Government.

The Group marched to the Lagos State House of Assembly decrying the forceful seizure of the Mechanic villages by the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration, indicting Toyin Fayinka, Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo-Olu on Transportation of converting the seized and demolished villages for personal use and gain.

The protesting NATA members carried placards with different inscriptions which said: ‘We want our mechanic villages back,’ ‘Leave our mechanic village alone’, ‘COVID-19 is not killing us, Lagos Government is killing us’, to show their grievances against this development as they chanted Aluta songs, marching towards the Lagos State House of Assembly Complex in Alausa, Secretariat, Ikeja, grounding vehicular movements.

NATA called on Governor Sanwo-Olu and Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa to save them from hardship and stop his Cabinet members from selling their yards and workshops.

Other inscriptions written on the placards are: “Lagos Lands Bureau, Lagos Ministry of Physical Planning, Stop this Inhumanity,’ ‘Leave Owutu Mechanic Village Alone,’ ‘Destroying People’s Livelihoods Contribute to Crime and Insecurity, Stop It,’.

The Group alleged that Toyin Fayinka, Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo-Olu on Transportation misinformed the Governor leading to the seizure and demolition of their shops at the Mechanic villages.

It called on the Governor to remove Fayinka, while displaying placards with the following inscriptions; “Fayinka must go! Fayinka is a thief,” the workers kept chanting in their number.

“Toyin Fayinka has turned his position as special adviser on transportation to the governor to that of land grabber and speculator; Fayinka must go,” one of the placards reads.

In a statement, the Chairperson of NATA in Lagos, Jacob Fayeun, said the workers have suffered so much injustice in the hands of the present administration as many of their workshops are being taken from them.

“It was during the Alhaji Lateef Jakande’s administration in Lagos in 1981 that we were allotted mechanic clusters known as mechanic villages to curb the menace of the problematic ‘roadside mechanics’ littering Lagos neighbourhoods before that time.

“Unfortunately, since 1999, these public spaces, many of them in difficult marshy areas and canal setbacks redeveloped by the mechanics at great expenses are being systematically stolen by government officials under various pretext.

“Most of these places are swampy areas, after developing it, they will turn back and take it from us,” Fayeun said.

Fayeun also alleged that Fayinka, has taken six workshops from them at Ladipo and turned two of them to ‘park and pay.’

“Fayinka took six in Ladipo alone, throughout Lagos, they demolished 11 mechanic villages. We want the Lagos state government to direct Fayinka to return all the demolished mechanic villages and lands.

“The said Fayinka took over a workshop belonging to a mechanic, Adediran Ogunmuyiwa last September 2019. The forceful take-over led to a protracted illness and death of the poor man on May 25, 2020.

“Fayinka also demolished the Ifelagba Mechanic Village through the Lagos State Land Bureau because we refused to pay an arbitrary levy of N57.5 million imposed on us, apart from the annual Ground Rent we pay to the Ministry of Transport.

“He has also taken over our workshops in Ladipo, Mushin which he has turned to a “Park n Pay’ lot from where he makes millions of naira daily,” Fayeun disclosed.

He added that scores of mechanic villages, neighbourhood markets, Saw-mills and other commercial places have been taken over by “Government officials and their allies without alternative provision, leaving  thousands of Lagosians and their families jobless and destitute.

“Unfortunately, the Lagos State Government has shown utter disdain for the Nigerian Constitution which under Section 16 (2D) guarantees the right of all Nigerians to gainful employment .”

Addressing the Protestants outside the House of Assembly Complex, Hon. Abiodun Tobun and Hon. Emeka Idimogu, assured them that their complaints would be resolved by the appropriate Committees in the House.

Judiciary Workers, Allegedly, Call Off Strike

By
Ayodele Oni
-
0
Court
The Law

By Ayodele Oni

Reports from the Nigerianlawyers.com indicate that the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, (JUSUN), has suspended its two-month old strike.

According to the site, the decision was taken by the National Executive Council, NEC, of the Union at its emergency meeting on Wednesday, June 9, 2021

The suspension shall take effect from Monday 14th June, 2021 and all Judiciary workers are expected to resume office that day.

The National Judicial Council (NJC) had, at a meeting with JUSUN leaders on Tuesday, with the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad in attendance, urged the striking court workers to put an end to the industrial action in the interest of the country and the suffering court users.

Recall that JUSUN had embarked on an indefinite strike which led to the closure of Courts since April 6, 2021.

JUSUN is demanding amongst other things, financial autonomy for the judiciary in the light of Sections 81 and 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and decisions of Federal High Courts to the effect that all funds due to the judiciary from the Consolidated Revenue Fund shall be paid directly to the Heads of the Courts concerned.

A subsequent Executive Order was issued by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari “Implementation of financial Autonomy of States Legislature and State Judiciary” on 20th May 2020, yet some State Governors have failed to implement this fundamental provision of the Law.

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