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Showing posts from November, 2022

Aisha Buhari: An avoidable scandal

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Mrs. Aisha Buhari and Aminu Adamu. THE name of Aisha, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, is being dragged all over the place due to an indiscretion that more matured handling could have avoided. It all started when Aminu Mohammed, a student of Environmental Management and Toxicology of the Federal University, Dutse in Jigawa State, tweeted two photographs of Aisha which showed she had considerably gained weight. It was captioned in Hausa but translated as: “The mother has got fatter by eating masses’ money”. The tweet can embarrass anybody. But wise counsel dictates that such remarks be ignored. Two reasons call for this. Number one is that getting the culprit arrested, beaten and detained, will surely turn the people against her.  More people will join the troll as they have done. And it will morph into a national and international scandal as it promises to if the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, makes good its threat of mass actions. Secondly, it is normal in a democ

Court remands Aisha Buhari's critic in Prison

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Aminu Adamu A Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High  Court, has remanded a 500 level student of the Federal University, Dutse, Aminu Adamu in Suleija Prison, Niger State over his alleged criticism of First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, on Twitter. Aminu, an indigene of Bauchi State, is of the Department of Environmental Management at Federal University, Dutse. The student had tweeted, "Su mama Anchi Kudin Talakawa an koshi", meaning "Mama has fed fat on poor people's money for which he was arrested by Security operatives in Dutse, Jigawa State and moved to the Presidential Villa in Abuja, before he was arraigned in court. Speaking with BBC Hausa, his counsel, C.K Agu said, "Even in the court session yesterday, we notified the judge about the efforts made to have him released on bail, but we did not receive any reply from the police.  "We applied to the court to release the student on bail on health grounds and on the fact that he will sit for the exam on December

1,200 APC, LP leaders defect to PDP

*As PDP inaugurates Atiku/Okowa Campaign Council No fewer than 1,200 leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Labour Party, LP, yesterday, joined the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Bayelsa State. The decampees were announced by the Special Adviser to Bayelsa State Governor on Political Matters, Chief Collins Cocodia, during the inauguration of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council in Yenagoa. Prominent among the defectors were former Director-General of the APC Governorship Campaign Council in 2019, Prof. Seiyefa Brisibe; Dr. Steven Ogola, Mr. Lucky Amadi, Chief Ebikiri Akpolo, Mr. Edwin Oweibi, Adolphus Agwuo, Steven Adaka, Abaka Tamaraebi, Kankada Ebipabowei, Chief Ebikitin Diongoli, Adagbayan Hammoh, Kingsley Mirin and thousands of their followers. Speaking on behalf of the defectors, Brisibe and Ogola said men of good conscience cannot remain in the APC as the party lacked leadership and integrity. They said their time in the APC was like being in the wilderness fo

Kick APC out of power in 2023, Atiku tells youths

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Atiku's Presidential campaign in Ondo. *Says APC doesn't care about youth's future •My husband, a Fulani, not a killer Fulani, says Titi Abubakar •PDP candidate has capacity, experience to move Nigeria forward —Tambuwal PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar has urged Nigerians to kick out the All Progressives Congress, APC, for retrogression in the country. The PDP presidential candidate specifically told the youths not to make the mistake of voting for APC, which doesn't care about their future and education.  He spoke during his campaign rally in Ondo State. His words: "We have started our campaign rally in Ondo State in the South-West and it is deliberate, because we want to show you that we appreciate what you have done for us in the last election.  "You gave us the highest votes in the South-West during the last presidential election and we will never forget that. "That is why if you repeat the same thing, we pro

I’m seeking re-election on performance — Sanwo-Olu

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CAMPAIGN — From left: Mr. Samuel Egube, Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget; Oluseye Oladejo, Publicity Secretary, All Progressives Congress, APC, Lagos State; Moruf Fatai, Lagos State Commissioner for Housing; Mr. Gbenga Omotosho, Lagos State Commisioner for Information and Strategy, and Sen. Ganiyu Solomon, DG, Lagos State APC Campaign Council, during the official launch campaign of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu's 2nd Term, by the Media Team of Campaign, held at Radisson Blu, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos . LAGOS State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday, flagged off his re-election campaign on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in style, urging Lagosians to renew his mandate, based on his achievements in the last three and a half years. A team by Lagos State Government flagged off campaigns for the re-election bid of Sanwo-Olu, and Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, with the unveiling of the brand media activation strategies amid fanfare. The campaign, wit

FG denies plan to hike petrol price

  ... as marketers sell at N235/litre The Federal Government denied yesterday it planned to hike the pump price of petrol, despite the increase in price from N180 per litre to N235 by independent marketers. The government in a statement by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, insisted that the country had 34 days of sufficiency in stock, despite visible evidence of shortage across the country. Checks around Abuja, the nation’s capital, yesterday, showed that most petrol stations were closed to motorists, while a few stations selling the product jerked up pump price to between N235 and N260 per litre; it was sold at N350 per litre in the black market. NMDPRA stated: "This advisory addresses speculations on the price and availability of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS. "The Authority wishes to inform the general public that the Federal Government has no intention of increasing the price of PMS during this period. "The Nigerian National Pe

We may start 'no pay, no work' — ASUU president

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Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, may embark on 'no pay, no work',  if the Federal Government continued to insist on not paying them their withheld eight months salaries, the National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, has said. Osodeke said the union might embark on the policy, since the Federal Government had refused to pay their salaries. It would be recalled that the National Industrial Court of Nigeria sitting in Abuja had in October ordered the union to go back to work before it could continue to entertain the matter before it, Osodeke retorted that FG did not also wait for the final judgement of the court on the matter before deciding not to pay his members their withheld salaries. He said:  "Yes, the matter still continues before the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, NICN, in Abuja. The court has not given a final judgement on it.  ''Remember that we were not the ones who dragged the government to court. It was the government th

Why hunter shoots palmwine tapper

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  A hunter, Sunday Olubusade, has reportedly killed a 30-year-old palm wine taper, identified as Kehinde, who he mistook for an antelope in  Ondo town, Ondo State. It was gathered that the victim, after the day’s work, went to a river to bathe when the hunter shot him. A police source said when questioned, the suspect said: “I was hunting and I saw an antelope and shot at it. But later, I saw a man on the floor and I quickly went to the station to report. I don’t know what happened. “Few minutes after the unfortunate incident, police detectives were invited and his remains were moved to the morgue. The police source told Vanguard: “Immediately, the incident occurred, the police were alerted and our detectives were mobilised to the scene and the corpse was evacuated to the mortuary. “The suspect has been transferred  to State CID Akure for further investigation." Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in the town following an alleged possible reprisal attack from some groups of peo

How couple, daughter killed

...as herdsmen  invade Benue community A man, Clement Ukertor, and his wife, Christiana and their 17-year-old daughter, Dooyum,  were Tuesday reportedly murdered on their farm by suspected herdsmen in Yelewata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, Tuesday. It was gathered that aside from the murdered trio, the marauders also inflicted machete injuries on their 20-year-old daughter, Blessing, who is fighting for her life in a private hospital. According to the Principal Special Assistant to the Governor of Benue State on Project Monitoring, Frank Utoo, the remains of Dooyum, who was with her parents on the farm at the time of the attack was found  yesterday in the bush.  He said: “Dooyum was killed in the attack and Blessing, who was also in the farm was lucky to have survived with deep machete cuts all over her body. “She is hospitalised and is yet to find out that her dad, mom and sister are all dead due to yesterday’s attack ïn their farms." Contacted, the Police Public Re

FEC approves mother tongue instruction in schools

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  THE Federal Executive Council, FEC, has approved a new National Language Policy which makes mother tongue a compulsory medium of instruction from primary one to six. The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the weekly FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja. The minister said the government was aware that implementation would be challenging,but noted that  for the first six years of education, mother tongue would be the only medium of instruction, adding that it would be combined with English, starting from secondary school. Adamu said though the policy had officially taken effect, it could only be fully implemented when government developed instructional materials and qualified teachers available.  He explained that the mother tongue to be used in each school would be the dominant language spoken by the community where it is located.“The mini

Govs responsible for high poverty level — Minister

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*Tasks them to tackle poverty, stop building flyovers, airports *Govs only functioning at state capitals, control lands, but not investing in agriculture THE Federal Government, has blamed the high level of poverty in the country on state governors, who it said pay more attention to building flyovers and airports, rather than improvement of life in the rural areas.  The Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, made the allegation while fielding questions from State House Correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja. On November 18, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, in the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index, MPI, Report said that 133 million (63 per cent) of Nigerians were suffering from multi-dimensional poverty, with children constituting more than half of poor people in the country. This means that two out of every three Nigerians liv

Adeleke, Oyetola bicker over handover procedure

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*Adeleke declined to meet with my handing over team – Oyetola, * They refuse to respond to our letter 2-month ago —  Chairman, Adeleke Transition Committee  *Return govt properties within 48 hours, gov orders Oyetola's aides *Osun Assembly orders status quo on LG administration   Former governor of Osun State, Adegboyega Oyetola, has accused his successor, Governor Ademola Adeleke of declining to meet with the hand-over team of his administration. Adeleke had set up a transition committee to interface with the Oyetola-led administration, but the committee headed by Dr. Muyiwa Oladimeji alleged that the Oyetola team did not co-operate with it. But Oyetola, through his spokesman, Ismail Omipidan, said a team headed by the Chief of Staff to the former governor, Dr. Charles Akinola had written to Adeleke's team seeking to meet them but the team declined. Adeleke refused to meet us Omipidan disclosed that the team set up by former Governor Oyetola sought to meet with the transition

How Gunmen killed women leader

Facts have emerged how the women leader of the Labour Party (LP) in Kaura LGA of Kaduna State, Victoria Chintex, was murdered by gunmen that invaded her residence in Kaura. Edward Buju, Publicity Secretary of the LP in Southern Kaduna senatorial zone, announced the Victoria's death in a statement. Her husband was also said to have sustained gunshot injuries and is currently receiving treatment at a medical facility. “The Southern Kaduna (Zone 3) Labour Party commiserates with the party chairman and his exco in Kaura Local Government Area, over the untimely demise of our mother and sister, Mrs Victoria Chintex, woman leader, Kaura Local Government Area, who was killed yesterday (Monday) by gunmen in her residence in Kaura,” the statement read. Buju, who described the deceased as “industrious, hard working and a dedicated party leader,” urged LP members at all levels in the state to pray for the repose of her soul. Buju said: “More so, as we await the burial plans by the family, the

Truck crushes man to death

A  truck conveying sand, has crushed a 65-year-old man, Pelegha Noah, to death at Imiringi in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State while two women narrowly escaped being hit by the truck. The tragic incident occurred opposite the second gate of the Federal Government Girls College, Imiringi. The deceased, a security guard at the unity school, who lived in the area, was reportedly crushed to death on his bike while waiting to cross the road. An eyewitness, who simply identified himself as Thomas, said the victim was waiting by the roadside and had even cautioned two women trying to cross on sighting the approaching speeding truck, which eventually killed him. The eyewitness, a commercial bus driver, Orus, who described the death of the man as terrible, said: “It was so fast, the deceased was on his bike by the roadside waiting to cross when disaster struck. Contacted, spokesman of the state police command, Asinim Butswat confirmed the sad incident. Culled from Vanguard

Herbalist kills client

...as gunshot protection charm fails  *Another native doctor in Police net for killing neighbour A 23-year-old native doctor, identified as Emmanuel Odo, has allegedly killed his client, Benedict Onunze, while testing a gunshot-protection charm he prepared for him at Umuaram, Ikem, in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu State. This is just as another native doctor, Idowu Talabi, was arrested by men of Ogun State Police Command for killing his 30 years old co-tenant, Isau Oluwatobiloba. The Enugu State Police Command’s spokesperson, Daniel Ndukwe, said the native doctor, who killed his client, has confessed to the crime and has been arrested. The statement made available to Vanguard by Ndukwe read: “On 16/11/2022 at about 11.pm, Police operatives serving in Isi-Uzo Police Division of the command, arrested Odoh Emmanuel (male and a native doctor) aged 23, of Umuaram village in Ikem community of Isi-Uzo LGA, for shooting and murdering his adult male client, one Onunze Benedict, of Eha-

Adeleke, Oyetola disagree over sacked workers, Executive Orders

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Oyetola (left) and Adeleke (right). *Adeleke didn't sack monarchs —spokesman, *Sets up review panel to investigate issue, *We employed 2,400 workers only, not 12,000 — Oyetola, *I’m ready to work with Osun lawmakers- Adeleke *We didn't sit to review gov's inaugural speech *Violence in Iwo, ruling houses divided over Aree stool   Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State and his predecessor, Adegboyega Oyetola, have disagreed over the number of workers employed in the twilight of the government of the latter. They also disagreed on issuance of Executive Orders and suspension of monarchs. While the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, accused Oyetola of employing over 12,000 workers before vacating office, spokesperson to the former governor, Ismail Omipidan, challenged the Adeleke administration to publish the list of the 12,000 workers, saying the figure was unfounded. It was gathered that the Oyetola administration employed 2,400 teachers in primary and post-primary schools across

Presidential candidates physical, mental abilities

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Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, Kwankwaso and Bola Tinubu. By Rotimi Fasan THE question of how age may have slowed down the physical and mental abilities of Bola Tinubu, the All Progressive Congress, APC, presidential candidate, rendering his claim to the presidency an untenable proposition, has continued to generate debates among Nigerians. While he has responded that he is both mentally and physically fit to take up the task of steering the ship of the Nigerian state as president, he has also not been slow to remind his critics that the presidency is neither about brawn nor is it a contest to choose the strongest man in the world.  He has assured Nigerians that his ambition to be president is not an invitation to WrestleMania even as he has jumped on the treadmill and pedaled away on the spin bike in a show of strength. If it was possible for him, I am sure, Tinubu would not be averse to a session of scuba diving or bungy jumping in demonstration of power. As with Tinubu, so it is with At

Return of History to basic education

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IF for nothing else, the eight-year tenure of renowned journalist, Adamu Adamu as the Minister of Education, will be positively remembered as the era that restored History as subject in the curriculum of the Nigerian educational system. As part of plans to put the scheme in place, the Minister partnered the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, NERDC, and the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, to commence the training of 3,700 history teachers selected from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja. Each state is contributing 100 trainees to this pilot scheme. History was discontinued in schools during the tenure of Aisha Jibril Dukku as Minister of Education under the late President Umaru Yar'Adua's regime in 2009. Some of the reasons officially given were: history graduates had fewer job openings; there was a lack of student interest in the subject; and consequently, fewer history graduates were available to teach the subject. Howe

I'll run inclusive govt — Tinubu

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Tinubu (middle) flanked by Adamu (2nd left) with other APC chieftains. PRESIDENTIAL Candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has promised to run an inclusive progressive government, if voters elected him in 2023. The former two-time Lagos State governor spoke at a colourful mega rally organised by the campaign team of APC in Lagos led by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere Lagos. Massive crowd welcomes home boy to Lagos   It was a home coming of sorts for the Lagos City boy, who was received by a jubilant crowd of supporters and APC faithful drawn from all parts of Lagos and South-West states. They came in various vehicles that locked down most parts of Surulere.  As early as 9am all the parking lots at the National Stadium complex, opposite the venue, had been filled with rally participants taking over the service lane of the highway.  It was a show of love for Tinubu, who governed Lagos for eight years and has