Minister Plans Improvement On Emergency Response, Disaster Management In Abuja

August 7, 2022

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muhammad Musa Bello has announced plans to improve emergency response and disaster management in Abuja, in partnership with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The minister, today, August 7, at a meeting with NEMA Director-General, Mustapha Habib Ahmed said that the administration has been making efforts to enforce planning regulations in flood-prone areas and that a partnership with the agency would be more effective.

Muhammad Musa Bello underscored the importance of an effective collaboration between the two agencies of government, even as he appreciated the support of NEMA in flooding incidents and occasional disasters, including its capacity building and palliative support which he said have been very helpful.

He assured that the Administration will work to ensure the successful hosting of the Agency’s forthcoming National Conference on Disaster Management, scheduled to take place in the capital city.

This was even as the NEMA boss said that the agency will continue to build the capacity of personnel and stakeholders within the FCT, both on tactical and operational levels.

I Have Every Cause To Be Grateful To Allah, No Cause To Regret My Life – Sanusi

Editorial staff

August 7, 2022

Dethroned Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammadu Sanusi has said that he has every cause to be grateful to Allah and no regret for his life.

Sanusi, who currently serves as Khalifah Tijaniyat Movement of Nigeria, was dethroned by the government of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje a couple of years ago. He spoke yesterday, August 6, in Abuja, at the premiere of a stage play, titled: “Emir Sanusi: Truth in Time.”

The Khalifah said: “I don’t think that God has taken anything away from me. So, I have no regret. I turned 61 years last year and in those years, I had the honour of having been the Chief Risk Officer at United Bank for Africa and the Chief Risk Officer at First Bank.

“I was Governor of Central Bank, Emir of Kano and now Khalifah, Tijaniyat Movement of Nigeria. If I have sadness, then I’m ungrateful. How many people have had the opportunity to be just one of those things?

“We have a long history of service to this country. My father, as the first Director-General of the Nigeria Intelligence Agency, set up the agency in 1960, the record is there to see. My parents, grandparents and great grandparents gave their lives to build this country,” he said.

Sanusi said that he will continue to speak and air his views to defend and rebuild Nigeria.

Many Students Who Sit For JAMB Are Not Qualified For Admission – Registrar

Editorial staff

August 7, 2022

Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede has announced that many of the candidates who sit for the yearly Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) are not qualified for admission in any higher institution.

Professor Oloyede, who fielded questions from news men shortly after monitoring the mop-up exam, specially arranged for candidates whose centres were allegedly involved in malpractice and candidates with biometric issues during the general examination for this year in May, said that JAMB cannot be held responsible for such unqualified students.

He insisted that parents should be blamed for pushing their children who are still in either SS1 or SS2 forward to sit for the exam to test their ability.

According to the Registrar, only the SSCE “O/L” result is the major and permanent requirement for every admission seeker at whatever level in the country while UTME is just to rank them for admission.

Speaking on JAMB exam now that members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the country are still on strike, Professor Oloyede said that the strike would not affect the conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) when it is due.

According to him, aside from the fact that more than half of all private universities are in session, some public Universities, particularly most state universities are not on strike.

“I can mention some of them. I know of Osun State University, Lagos State University, Kwara State University, and several others. And the reason for that is simple. Many of them are not on state’s government subvention and so their lecturers’ salaries are paid from the school fees.

“So they know that if they should go on strike, their salaries will not be paid.

“And besides those institutions, some other public universities such as Defence Academy, Army University, Police University and the likes are also not on strike.

“So, can’t we then now say because lecturers in the federal universities and few others are on strike, we should stop conducting our exam? What about those who are not on strike?

“So, to do that will be an unfair thing in my thinking to those schools, students and even to the society at large. We can’t hold the entire system down because a part of it is having issue.”

Professor Oloyede however, expressed over the prolonged ASUU strike, which he said, has forced students to remain idle for many months and would want the crisis resolved without further delay, for normalcy to return to those schools.

Bode George Joins Southwest PDP To Ask Prof Iyorcha Ayu To Resign As Chairman

Greenbarge Reporters

August 7, 2022

Former Deputy National Chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has joined the leadership of the party in the Southwest to ask the national chairman, Professor Iyorcha Ayu to resign immediately “in the spirit of fairness.”
Bode George, who said he was speaking as a national leader and not on behalf of the Southwest, stressed the need for the Southwest region to be given a sense of belonging as all the key positions in the party are being occupied by northerners.
“Ayu needs to resign as chairman immediately while the Southwest gets the position in the spirit of fairness. I cannot campaign for the party in the Southwest in an atmosphere where there is no fairness. What will I tell our people?”
Bode George, who was the Director-General of the PDP Presidential Campaign in 2007, said that the PDP could pick an interim chairman from the Southwest just for the purpose of fairness.
He said that refusing to take Nigeria’s diversity into consideration would make the PDP no better than the APC, which he said is pushing a Muslim/Muslim ticket.
“NEC can appoint an acting chairman from the Southwest in order to give the region a sense of belonging. Ayu promised to leave office once the PDP produces a northern Presidential candidate. For the sake of fairness, he needs to step down immediately.
“The PDP as presently constituted does not reflect Nigeria’s diversity. The North produced the Presidential candidate, the national chairman and the BoT chairman and they want the South to accept this. Would the North have accepted this if it was the other way around?”
The Southwest arm of the PDP has recently joined the push for the resignation of the Iyorchia Ayu, arguing that with the All Progressives Congress (APC) picking its Presidential candidate from the region, in the person of Bola Tinubu, the PDP would also need an influential politician from the region to be the party’s chairman.
There are demands from the camp of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State for Ayu to resign as the party’s chairman.
The demand was among the conditions given by Wike who is still said to be aggrieved over Atiku’s refusal to pick him as a running mate. Already, Wike and Atiku have begun meeting with a view to ensuring that a compromise is reached before the commencement of campaigns next month.
A member of the State Working Committee in Ekiti State was reported to have said recently: “Tinubu is campaigning as the candidate of the Yoruba people. Even Sanwo-Olu said recently that all Yoruba people must see Tinubu as their personal project. The PDP needs to make a huge concession for the Southwest which has the second largest voting population after the North-West,”

Commonwealth Games: Team Nigeria Women Grab Gold, Men Manage Bronze

Greenbarge Reporters

August 7, 2022

Team Nigeria Track and Field competitors have won more medals as Nigeria women’s clinched the 4×100m Gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
The quartet of Tobi Amusan, Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma and Grace Nwokocha ran a new African Record of 42. 20 seconds to place first ahead England and Jamaica in the final.
Tobi Amusan, who is the current World Athletics Champion, ran the first leg before handing over the baton to Favour Ofili who had yesterday won Silver medal for Team Nigeria in the 200m final.
Ofili ran the bend before passing the baton to Rosemary Chukwuma who gave a good account of herself before handing over the baton to the anchor, fleet-footed Grace Nwokocha who ran the race of her life as the Team England and Jamaica anchors, chased her in vain to the finish line as Team Nigeria struck Gold.
Earlier, Team Nigeria 4×100m for Men, finished in the 3rd Place to clinch the Bronze medal.

Buhari Directs Southeast Leaders To Fish Out Attackers Of Non-Indigenes, Police

Editorial staff

August 6, 2022

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the community and religious leaders to immediately fish out and expose the unidentified terrorists that attacked and killed non-indigenes and law enforcement officials in the Southeast.

President Buhari, who reacted to the reports of the killing of six Nigerien citizens and the brutal killing of a number of policemen at their duty posts, in a statement today, August 6, through his spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, called on the leaders in the state to “speak more forcefully against the killings, stand up and defend the ethos of our cultural and religious heritage.

“Those who know should point at specific people who did this.”

He expressed his administration’s unwavering commitment to peace and stability in the southeast and the entire country, saying that the reports of killings anywhere are sad and unwelcome.

The President expressed condolences to the families of the law enforcement agents murdered and to the government and people of Niger Republic whose citizens were cruelly beheaded by “the beastly attackers.”

He reiterated his unequivocal condemnation and promised all possible action in conducting a speedy investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

2023: 56 Support Groups Stage One-Million Man-March For Peter Obi In Nasarawa

Editorial staff

August 6, 2022

A coalition of 56 support groups across the 13 Local Government Areas of Nasarawa state have staged a one-million-man march in solidarity and support for the 2023 Labour party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

The groups, today, August 6, marched from the College of Agriculture junction along Jos road to the U-turn linking the Lafia main market along Makurdi road, carrying several inscriptions which indicated their love and support for Obi.

Secretary of the coalition, Wilson Kingsley, said that residents of the state are tired of the misrule of the All Progressives Congress-led government at the federal and state levels, which is why they came out in their numbers to support the former Anambra state governor.

According to him, the support groups are Peter Obi Candidacy Movement, Women for Peter Obi, Peter Obi Support Network, Peter Obi Ambassadors, Like Minds for Peter Obi, TakeBackNaija, Nigeria Needs Peter Obi, Peter Obi movement for President, Associates of Peter Obi, and others.

“These one million supporters are those who belong to the registered 56 groups across the 13 LGAs of the state. We are not campaigning at the moment because the Independent National Electoral Commission have not given a go-ahead. What we are doing today is a march to declare our support for Mr. Peter Obi.

“We are supporting him because we believe that he has the capacity and ability to take Nigeria to greater heights. We are tired of all the politicians who deceive us every election year, telling us that they will provide good governance but they never fulfill their promises.

“The present government has completely failed the citizens. They promised to provide security and ensure stability for our economy but everyone can see what Nigeria has become. Everything in the market have increased in price but the salary of workers did not increase.”

We Spent N100 Million To Conduct UTME For 42,000 Students – JAMB

Editorial staff

August 6, 2022

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said that over N100 million was spent to organise its 2022 mop-up Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). It was held today, August 6.

The exam body, however, expressed satisfaction over the conduct of the exam held in 45 centres across the country.

The exam was for candidates who could not participate in the examination during the main exercise in May due to various reasons, including examination malpractice.

The board noted that after every exercise, it reviewed various reports from officials in the field and video footage of the examination.

It said that a team of experts conducted this to detect activities subversive of the process.

JAMB registrar, Ishaq Oloyede told journalists while monitoring the exam in Lagos that over 42,000 candidates participated across five states.

“Yes, we are here to monitor the conduct of this examination in Lagos. After a thorough analysis of the conduct of the 2022 UTME in 10 centres spread across five states of the federation where examination malpractices were established to have taken place, it became necessary to cancel the results of all candidates who sat for the examination in the affected states.”

Oloyede decried the activities of centres involved in malpractices during the main examination held early in May.

“They have seen for themselves that cutting corners does not pay. They have seen that they are repeating the examination, though it costs us a lot of money,” said Mr Oloyede regarding the students sitting the mop-up exam. “The only shortcut to success is hard work.”

According to the registrar, rewriting the UTME has cost JAMB over N100 million.

“My advice, therefore, for candidates generally, especially those writing this examination here today, is that they have seen for themselves what all of us have made of the country.

“They are free to determine whether they want to continue with this system or on their own, whether they are eager to create a better tomorrow, and the better tomorrow is not to cheat in the examination.”

Source: NAN.

Female Pilgrim From Taraba State Declared Missing In Saudi Arabia

Editorial staff

August 6, 2022

A female pilgrim, Hassan Abdullahi Bamuze, has been declared missing in Saudi Arabia after where she had gone for pilgrimage. She was among the 668 Muslim pilgrims airlifted from Taraba State to perform this year’s Hajj rites in Saudi Arabia.

Bamuze was reported to be missing from the two batches of pilgrims that returned to Taraba State after completing the pilgrimage.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Baba Hamza Muri, confirmed the report today, August 6, in Jalingo, the state capital.

According to him, the missing female pilgrim “has not been found yet.”

Muri said that the state completed the 2022 Hajj successfully with the arrival of the last batch of 131 pilgrims from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

He said that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has assured that everything will be done to locate the missing woman.

Police Intercept Igbo Woman Transporting 2 Kanuri Kidnapped Kids In Borno

Editorial staff

August 6, 2022

Borno State Police Command has intercepted an Igbo woman, who gave her name simply as Mrs. Nkwenwu, for allegedly transporting two Kanuri children suspected to have been kidnapped. She was also with a two year old baby girl.

Borno State Police spokesman, ASP Sani Kamilu Muhammed, who confirmed the story today, August 6, said that Mrs. Nwenwu was arrested with the children on her way from Maiduguri, Borno State to Abuja.

A Commercial driver operating on the Abuja route at the motor park where the woman was arrested, Danjuma Mohammed, told newsmen that the woman had arrived the Borno express motor park along with three children: two males and a baby girl, strapped on her back, late Thursday evening on her way to Abuja.

The driver said that because it was late, she requested for accommodation in the motor park to spend the night.

Mohammed said that on Friday morning, members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) working in the park noticed the suspicious attitude of the woman and promptly arrested her.

A member of CJTf at the motor park, Mallam Bukar, said: “the woman solicited for accommodation to spent the night in the park and after undergoing interrogations by security and surveillance officials they gave her a room where she and the children slept.

“When one of children was hungry and began screaming for food, she rushed him to a nearby restaurant where some women noticed that the child crying bear Kanuri tribal marks on his face and became suspicious about the woman.

“It was one of the women who asked the child in Kanuri dialect and the boy revealed that the woman picked him at the popular Post Office roundabout and promised to buy him slippers. She called to inform me that an Igbo woman with suspicious signs brought a Kanuri boy (Almajiri) crying for food in her shop.

“I went straight to the restaurant and met the boy eating while she returned to the main wall of the park where she kept the remaining children. When she returned, I approached her to know the relationship with the child and she claimed that the children belong to her elder sister who is also going to travel alongside with them to Abuja. We waited for hours for the acclaimed sister but she did not show up and we reported to the police who moved her to the Metro Police Station.”

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