Obiageli Ezekwesisli, a former Education Minister, has come down hard on the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass, over the 10 Years Imprisonment Proposal for failure to recite the National Anthem.
The proposed Bill seeks to penalise anyone found guilty of refusing to recite the national anthem with a five million Naira fine,or a 10-year prison sentence, or both.
The bill also proposes that anyone who destroys a national symbol or a place of worship shall be liable to the same punishment.
The controversial Bill, sponsored by Speaker Abbas, is set for its second reading, where its general principles will be debated.
Reacting to the proposed bill on her X handle, Ezekwesili stated that the only National Anthem she will stand and recite is the old one and not the one recently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.
Ezekwesili has said that the House of Representatives should get ready to prosecute her whenever they pass their ‘obnoxious’ counter Subversion Bill.
The House of Representatives has addressed the controversies surrounding the Counter Subversion Bill saying it is for Nigeria’s national security and not targeted at any individual.
A statement on Wednesday by Musa Krishi, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, explained that the clarification was necessary due to misconceptions about the bill, which is sponsored by the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen.
He said, “The attention of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D has been drawn to reports in sections of the media about the Counter Subversion Bill, which he sponsored.
“The Speaker appreciates the interest Nigerians have so far shown on the Bill, which pertains to our national security.
“However, it has become necessary to make the following clarifications, considering the tilted reports and misconceptions about the Bill:
“The Counter Subversion Bill, 2024 (HB. 1652) was introduced on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, with Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D. as the sponsor. Thus, the Bill is still at the introductory stage.
“The Bill falls within the realm of Nigeria’s anti-terrorism framework, and it seeks to address subversive activities by associations, organisations, militias, cults, bandits, and other proscribed groups in Nigeria.
“Similar legislation obtains in other climes with varied appellations. Such countries include the United Kingdom, Spain, India, Turkey, Canada, Australia, among others.
“The Speaker, and by extension the House of Representatives, which is the People’s House, welcome robust engagements and discussions from Nigerians on the contents of the Bill, and how best to address the concerns raised.
“By Parliamentary processes and procedures, the Bill would have to be listed for Second Reading, where Members will thoroughly scrutinize its merits and demerits during debate.
“At this stage, Members can decide to ‘kill’ or allow the Bill to pass. But if it scales Second Reading, it would be referred to the relevant Committee of the House for further legislative action.
“The Committee must as a matter of responsibility invite the Nigerian public, particularly relevant stakeholders, to a public hearing on the Bill.
“It is expected that citizens would bear their minds either physically or via memoranda on the Bill. Their inputs would form the basis for the Committee’s report, to be laid on the floor of the House.
“After the consideration of the report, the Bill will be passed for the Third Reading and forwarded to the Senate for concurrence.
“If the Senate deems it fit and concurs with the Bill, a clean copy would be transmitted to the President for assent. Mr. President reserves the right to withhold assent to the Bill.
“The Speaker assures Nigerians that the Bill is all-encompassing as it relates to Nigeria’s national security and does not target any group or section of the country.
“Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, further promises that the Bill, and indeed any other draft legislation before the House, will pass through all the legislative processes, and Nigerians would have ample opportunity to make their inputs, which will constitute the final consideration (or otherwise) of the Bill.”
The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State is yet to abate as one of its factions has frown at the verdict of the Rivers State High Court which reinstated the Emeka Beke as the substantive Chairman of the Party.
APC said that the Court has no jurisdiction to sack the Tony Okocha Led Caretaker Committee, and nullify the sacking of the Beke-Led Committee.
It would be recalled that Justice Sika Aprioku had, on Monday, ruled that the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party erred in dissolving the elected executives led by Beke.
The Judge stated that the APC NWC neither has the power to dissolve an elected executive of a State, nor set-up a caretaker committee when the tenure of the elected executive is still running.
But the Spokesman of Rivers APC Caretaker Committee, Chibuike Ikenga, warned that the judgment cannot override an earlier one granted by the Supreme Court.
He said, “It (the sack) is an effort in futility. The reason is that the Supreme Court has made pronouncements and taken decisions as to issues that pertain to the internal affairs of a political party, which are justifiable before any court.
“Therefore, what we have seen was also a choreographed judgment, in the sense that the judge and a couple of his colleagues are dancing to the tune of the Rivers State government. The judgment itself is a clear indication of those coalitions you have seen from haters of President Bola Tinubu and the move to take him out of power after losing the election serially in Rivers State.
“We have spoken to our lawyers and they will appeal accordingly. By the way, our party has given us the power to continue to act because it is strictly the internal affairs of the party. We are not under any form of pressure. As you can see, we are still going about our busy because we know the position of the law.
“The court cannot force people removed for anti-party activities to lead us in the state. These people left the campaign for President Bola Tinubu and supported Atiku Abubakar of the PDP. It was based on that they were dissolved.”
The Okocha-led Executive is loyal to FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, who ironically, still proclaims himself as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, while the Beke-led Executive is loyal to former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, the “founder” of APC in the State.
Both Amaechi and Wike were Governors of Rivers State. Wike, during Amaechi’s first tenure as Governor, was his Chief of Staff. Both have, however, gone their separate ways, and are bitter political enemies.
The House of Representatives is planning to impose a N5 million penalty against those who refused to recite the national anthem.
The failure to recite the national anthem could also attract a 10-year imprisonment, according to a new proposed law by the legislature.
The Nigerian lower house is proposing a bill to also make it an offence for any Nigerian who disrespect national symbols, including the national flag and emblems.
Recall that some Nigerians under the #endbadgovernance protests had burned and defaced the Nigerian flag in their quest to show their angst against the government.
Some protesters also brandished the flag of the Russian federation, calling for the take over of the democratic administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Such wild calls have been trenchantly condemned by many weel meaning Nigerians and groups, including Afenifere, the pan Yoruba group.
According to the proposed legislation, anyone found guilty of refusing to recite the national anthem shall be fined N5 million, face a 10-year prison sentence, or both.
The Bill sponsored by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas has passed through the First Reading, and is now being red for the Second time awaiting to be sent to the Committee stage, according to checks by the magazine.
The Bill “stipulates that anyone found guilty of destroying national symbols, refusing to recite the national anthem and pledge, defacing a place of worship with intent to incite violence, or undermining the Federal Government shall face a fine of N5 million, a 10-year prison sentence, or both”.
Recall that Aisha Yesufu, a rights activist had attracted mixed reaction from Nigerians after she failed to recite the new National Anthem during a public function.
On May 29, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed into law the new national anthem bill ‘Nigeria we hail thee’.
The pan-Yoruba socio-organisation, Afenifere, has condemned those calling for military take over of the country, saying the current democracy must not be truncated.
The Chief Ayo Adebanjo-led Afenifere made this admonition in a statement on Tuesday amidst calls by some protesters in the just concluded national hunger protests by Nigerians.
The magazine reported that some protesters under the #endbadgovernance had openly canvassed for military take over, in the northern parts of the country, while others brandished the Russian Federation flag to show their disenchantment with the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Not a few Nigerians have condemned the calls by the protesters for a force take over of the government.
Reacting to the calls, Afenifere in the statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi said the current democratic process should not be truncated for any ‘reason’ whatsoever.
The group said brandishing the flags of foreign nations, describing it as inciting, and must be condemned by well meaning Nigerians.
Afenifere said despite some of its shortcomings, democratic government is still better that the military regime.
The statement said in part, “Whether the flags belonged to Russia or the army, the message is more or less the same – inciting the taking-over of government through an unconstitutional means.
“It would be a height of self-delusion to assume that the intervention of either the military or a foreign power will put an automatic stop to the hunger in the land.”
Ajayi stated that democracy “is still the best in our current situation because of its inherent characteristics of making the people the custodians of political mandate. Its elastic nature allows various tendencies to operate – as long as they do so within the ambit of the law.
“This is a far cry from what is obtainable under a military government,” the group said.
The Nigeria University Commission, NUC, has identified bad governance and funding as a major problem bedeviling the Nation’s Universities.
Chris Maiyaki, NUC Secretary, said that poor governance, academic corruption and inadequate funding are some of the critical issues affecting Tertiary Education in Nigeria.
He made this assertion during the 2024 Registry Lecture at Babcock University, Ilishan, Ogun State.
Maiyaki said there is a decline in the nation’s University system in the past three decades, compared with the remarkable achievements of earlier periods.
Speaking on the theme, “Role Of The Administrator in Changing University Environment; Issues and Prospects,
Maiyaki said Nigerian graduates were once celebrated both nationally and globally, but the current landscape is marred by social vices, manpower shortages, economic pressures and incessant strike actions.
He urged University Administrators to embrace technology and artificial intelligence to revolutionise their institutions, emphasising that effective administration and governance are key to institutional success.
“We had our glorious years but then we had the downturn and there are a lot of factors for that; economic pressure, gradual decline in funding, value of the Naira in the real term is no longer enough.
“Some of these are also attributed to poor governance systems and also sometimes the broken family system.We have fallen short in procuring state-of-the-art museum, modern/ current journals, books, and laboratory equipment in some cases.
“We need more PhDs; we need to stabilise; the system has suffered a lot of instability due to a combination of factors. We need sustained constant funding and so many, things to be done,” he said.
He also urged Administrators to broaden their focus and cultivate strong relationships with external stakeholders to contribute to the development of an effective system that supports long-term growth and excellence in higher education.
He called for a collaboration to create the desired future assuring the Federal Government’s support in creating policies that would direct institutions towards accomplishing their goals.
“May I sound a note of optimism that all hope is not lost as we have some good and cheery news to report.
“Nigeria has shown improvement in the Universities ranking and that shows that in spite of everything we’re going through, we have shown a lot of resilience.
“We have recently re-engineered our curriculum with critical stakeholders to bring it to speed because it must be in tandem with global best practices.
“I appeal to Babcock University and all other Nigerian universities to continue to work with the commission to forge ahead towards creating a future in which higher education values are defined by excellence, equity and global competence.
“We must continue to search for a way out as giving up is not an option,” he said.
The Abia State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has hailed the inauguration of Honourable Aaron Uzodike as the member representing the Aba North State Constituency at the Abia State House of Assembly after nine months of deliberate procrastination.
The Party described the development as a significant milestone in the journey towards deepening Nigeria’s democracy.
This is just as Honourable Uzodike extended his heartfelt gratitude to all men and women of goodwill who stood by him and democracy throughout the trying moments.
The Source reports that the Emanuel Emeruwa-led Abia State Legislative body, after nine months of grandstanding and pontification, which inexorably snow-balled into gross display of legislative impunity and disregard for the judiciary, on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, finally bowed to pressure, and swore-in Uzodike.
For the records, the National/State Assembly Election Appeal Court, which sat in Lagos, had on November 27, 2023, affirmed Honourable Uzodike of the PDP as the rightful winner of the March 18, 2023, State Assembly elections.
The three-man Appeal Court Panel, had ruled to quash the earlier electoral victory of Destiny Nwagwu of the Labour Party, LP, in the March 18 2023 election.
The National/State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Umuahia had, in its ruling given victory to Hon Nwagwu.
Honourable Aaron Uzodike
However, on appeal, the victory was overturned in favour of Hon Uzodike of the PDP.
Following the verdict, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, issued Uzodike with a Certificate of Return after withdrawing the one earlier issued to Hon Nwagwu.
But in a development that jolted not a few, the Abia State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Emeruwa, blatantly refused to swear-in Uzodike, even in the face of overwhelming entreaties both from the PDP, Abia opinion leaders and other stakeholders.
Speaker Emeruwa, had, at first, premised his position, on alleged absence of consequential order in the said Appeal Court judgment explicitly directing the swearing-in of Uzodike.
However, he was forced to recant, after the position failed to hold water and persuade keen watchers of the macabre dance.
Some months back, while appearing on a local Radio programme, Speaker Emeruwa again, cited a nebulous Court injunction restraining him from swearing-in Uzodike.
Attempts by the media to interrogate the obviously false claim of an injunction was met by even more impunity by the Speaker.
Particularly, the media and many concerned watchers, had questioned which Court in the land has the legal right to subject the decision of the Court of final jurisdiction to a further examination.
For one ,many, including the media, had insisted that going by the provisions of relevant sections of the 2022 Electoral Act, as amended, the Appeal Court remains the final arbiter in all National/State Assembly electoral petitions.
For vehemently challenging him to make public the said Court injunction ,the Speaker sent away two working journalists with the Enyinmba FM Radio, Aba from his scheduled press briefing at Assembly Complex in Umuahia in June this year.
Instructively, as at the time he succumbed to pressure to swear-in Uzodike on Monday, this Magazine’s checks could not establish the existence of such a restraining order; and when, and how it was vacated and by which Court.
Speaking shortly in an interview after his swearing-in, Hon Aaron said: I am eternally grateful to all men and women of goodwill who stood by me to call for the upholding of the rule of law .
“They fought the battle on my behalf. I am eternally indebted to them all. I dedicate today’s victory to you all. I will not take your love ,support and words of encouragement for granted.
“To my Constituents, the good people of Aba North, I promise you quality representation beyond legislation”
The PDP in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Head of its Media Team, Elder Abraham Amah ,and made available to this Magazine, praised the tenacity and perseverance of Hon Uzodike amidst the nine- month travails.
The PDP also called on the Speaker to avail Hon Uzodike all his legally recognized entitlements within these past months.
The National Council of State has passed a vote of confidence on the President Bola Tinubu for protecting democracy and standing for the interest of citizens.
This was expressed at its inaugural meeting since President Tinubu assumed office in May 2023.
Ex-Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan were in attendance at the Council of State meeting held at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.
Former Head of State Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalami Abubakar were reported to have attended the meeting virtually, while ex President Olusegun Obasanjo was absent.
Most of the 36 State governors were physically present at the meeting chaired by President Tinubu.
There were indications that the meeting also discussed the state of the economy and the recent protest against hunger and hardship.
The Council met last on 10th February last year ahead of the general elections.
Following non-release of results of public schools in Ondo state in the just concluded West African School Certificate Examination, (WASCE) by the examination body, Coordinator of Ondo State Youths for Good Governance, Olawale Aladejana, has accused Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of not giving education necessary attention.
The West African Examination Council, (WAEC) explained that the Ondo state government is indebted to the council, hence the results are withheld.
The group described the situation as unfortunate and demanded immediate rectification by the state government .
The State Ministry of education has however assured that the problem is mainly logistics which will be resolved soonest.
The statement by the group reads, “We are appalled by the governor’s negligence and lack of commitment to the education of our children.
“The payment of WAEC fees for students in public secondary school has always been the responsibility of the state government, and the failure of the Aiyedatiwa-led administration to do so is a betrayal of the trust placed in him by the people.
“It has been reported that WAEC wrote “INDEBTED” on the results of some students from Public secondary school students in Ondo State. This is due to the Ondo State Government’s alleged debt to WAEC, which has resulted in the withholding of results for affected students.
“The debt is believed to be related to unpaid registration fees or other financial obligations owed by the state government to WAEC. As a result, WAEC has placed an “INDEBTED” status on the affected students’ results, pending the settlement of the debt.
“Affected students and parents have been advised to contact the Ondo State Ministry of Education or WAEC for further guidance on resolving the issue.
“We demand that the governor takes immediate action to rectify the situation by paying the outstanding fees and ensuring timely payment in the future.
“We also call on the governor to take responsibility for the distress and uncertainty caused to the affected students.”
The State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Olaolu Akindolire, said in Akure that as part of the administration’s commitment to ease the burden of parents, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has paid about N550 Million Naira for 26,088 students that sat for the 2024 WASSCE Examination in the state public schools.
According to him, the Governor has also approved the balance payment of N158,716 Thousand Naira for the 2024 WASSCE Registration fee for students in public Secondary schools.
On the challenge of students in accessing their WASSCE results, the Commissioner said the state government has taken it up with officials of WAEC, and the issues, which are basically logistics hitches, will be resolved soon.
Fans and colleagues of Aduke Ajayi Morounkola popularly known as Aduke Gold are yet to come to terms with the passing of the gospel musician.
The demise of the musician came as a rude shock not to few, as it was do sudden.
Her colleague in the industry, Esther Igbekele, confirmed her passing on her social media handle when she announced the incident on Tuesday morning. She wrote and wrote, cA GENERAL HAS FALLEN. ADUKE GOLD #rip”.
Though the cause of her death is still uncertain, but Aduke Gold’s health issues were a huge part of her life.
Her battle with vertigo, which caused frequent fainting spells, was a constant challenge she faced while pursuing her music career.
Aduke Gold who started music professionally in 2004, came to stardom with her live performance at the first remembrance of the late gospel artiste, Baba Ara.
Aduke who was the 11th child of her late parents, grew up in the Ogba and Badagry areas of Lagos.
She became an orphan at the age of four years. Aduke Gold faced numerous challenges from a young age. She often shared her story of hawking goods at a tender age. Her battle with vertigo, which caused frequent fainting spells, further complicated her early years but did not deter her from pursuing her calling which is music.
One of her famous tracks, “Nitori Ogo” which she released in 2021 also brought her into limelight. Apart from music, she was a child educator with a passion for teaching young children.
Aduke was a graduate of history and international relations from Lagos State University.
Despite the competitive gospel music industry, Aduke Gold made a name for herself with her uplifting songs. Her breakthrough single, “Nitori Ogo” (translated as “Because of Glory”), garnered huge fanbase.
Aduke Gold was inspired by several influential figures in gospel and secular music. Her role models included gospel legends like D.A Fasoyin, The Ayo ni C&S Choir, and Tope Alabi, as well as secular artistes such as King Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obe.
