News

APC, PDP Trade Words Over Kano, Niger Protests

Published

3 months ago

February 7, 2024

The ruling All Progressives Congress on Tuesday accused the leading opposition parties in the country of orchestrating the demonstrations that took place simultaneously in Kano and Niger states on Monday.

But the Peoples Democratic Party denied the allegation, saying the protests were merely a reflection of the hardship in the land occasioned by the economic policies of the ruling party.

The allegation comes barely 24 hours after angry youths and women took to the streets of Minna and Kano to protest the biting hardship, inflation and rising cost of living in the country.

In Niger, a group of women reportedly blocked the ever-busy Minna-Bida Road at the popular Kpakungu Roundabout and called on the administration of President Bola Tinubu government to address the problem of ‘hunger in the land.’

Attempt by security operatives to quell the protest by firing teargas cannisters into the crowd and make some arrests were rebuffed by the mob.

In a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Felix Morka, in Abuja on Tuesday, the ruling party fingered the opposition parties as being the brain behind the demonstrations, which it claimed were not mere coincidence.

Morka added that it was a desperate move to portray the APC-led administration as under-performing.

The statement read, “The protests in Minna and Kano on Monday were the manifestation of this devious and unpatriotic plot. That the protests happened simultaneously in both cities is not coincidental. It bears a bold stamp of an orchestrated and coordinated effort to instigate unrest and undermine the government. This mercenary opposition tactic is a clear and present threat to public peace and national security.

“While we recognize the right of citizens to engage in peaceful protest, we urge our good people to be vigilant and not lend themselves to the treacherous attempt by the opposition to promote social strife by its incendiary rhetoric and manipulative plots.

“The President Bola Tinubu-led administration is solidly committed to doing everything in its power to mitigate the transient pains of critically important reforms that are crucial to economic recovery and sustainable prosperity for all Nigerians. It behoves us as good citizens of our beloved country to stand fast with our government in this noble stride. In due time, these policy reforms will yield enduring beneficial transformation of the material conditions of life in the country.

“We implore Nigerians to shun the guile and unpatriotic attempt by opposition elements to destabilize the country for their own base and parochial political gains.”

Reacting, Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ibrahim Abdullahi, mocked the ruling party, stating that governance was a responsibility an individual or organisation owes the followers that comes with consequences.

This was even as Abdullahi expressed concern that the nation was under a siege following the rising cost of living, insecurity and free fall of the naira.

He said, “If the PDP were to be in power, there is a tendency it might likely accuse the APC of masterminding these protests. It is a normal thing in democracy. But what is the crux of the matter here? If the issue at hand is a true reflection of the situation in the land, I don’t think it behoove the APC to start complaining about people behind it. What is more critical is that the country is under siege and facing a very terrible situation as we speak. You and I go to the same market and we are all witnesses to the massive degeneration of our economy as well as the tragic fall of our beloved country from the high point of glory.

“From 2015, we could barely wait for the tenure of Muhammed Buhari to end till after eight years. Just when Nigerians thought they have seen worse, little did they know the worst is on its way. Today, you could see the rooftop inflation, biting economic reality, sabotage, rising unemployment and insecurity. Nigerians are the ones bearing all the brunt. And for anyone to say the people should not groan or complain leaves much to be desired.

“For the APC to ask the opposition to keep quiet at a time when they should be the ones putting the FG on its toes, I don’t know if they expect the PDP and other political parties to accept what is going as the phase of life. Then where is the opposition? Insecurity has never been as worse as it is today.”
PUNCH

News

2024 UTME: 77% Of 1.8M Candidates Score Less Than 200

Published

3 mins ago

April 29, 2024

Editor

Seventy-seven per cent of the 1,842,464 candidates whose 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination results were released by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Monday scored less than 200.

Giving a breakdown of the results of the 1,842,464 candidates released, the Board’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede noted that, “8,401 candidates scored 300 and above; 77,070 scored 250 and above; 439,974 scored 200 and above while 1,402,490 scored below 200.”

The Board is expected to announce the minimum benchmark for the 2024/2025 academic session admissions during its policy meeting to be held at a later date.

Over the years the benchmark for admissions to universities has hovered around 180 to 200.

Oloyede also gave the new format for acceptance of admissions.

He said, “ Either a candidate sends ACCEPT/REJECT on his dedicated phone line to 55019/66019, or a candidate accepts or rejects any admission offer (programme change inclusive) with his/her fingerprint (biometric) at an accredited CBT centre or any JAMB Office.

“The above newly-crafted methods of accepting or rejecting admissions, are aimed at protecting the details of the candidates and upholding the sanctity of the admission process.

“With this new method, the candidates’ registered phone (SIM) is now more important than ever as it is now required to perform even more sensitive operations. We are in discussions with NCC on dedicated student’s SIM with restricted services.”

News

Libel: Delta Court Orders Linda Ikeji To Pay NBM N30m Damages

Published

8 mins ago

April 29, 2024

Editor

A Delta State High Court in Effurun has awarded N30 million damages against popular Nigerian blogger, Linda Ikeji, for a libellous publication against the Neo-Black Movement of Africa.

The lawsuit had Registered Trustees of NBM of Africa, Ese Kakor, Felix Kupa and Mayor Onyebueke as the Claimants against Linda Ikeji as Defendant.

In a ruling on Monday, in Suit No: EHC/210/2021, Presiding Justice Roli Daibo-Harriman, also ordered the absent Defendant, to pay N300,000 as being the cost of litigation.

The Defendant was further ordered to place a publication on her blog and national dailies retracting the libellous publication for which the NBM dragged her to the court, just as she is restrained from further damaging publications against the Claimants.

The NBM of Africa took to court action after she failed to honour a letter by the Claimant demanding retraction and apology over the libellous article published on her blog on Oct. 19, 2021.

The blogger in her publication of 19 October 2021 allegedly labelled the NBM of Africa as a dreaded cult group, black axe, and criminal organisation among other names.

The Claimants approached the court, praying for N1bn damages and an unreserved apology to be published on her blog and two national dailies among others.

Justice Daibo-Harriman, in her ruling, described the tags, including dreaded cultist group, black axe and criminal organisation as used in the Defendant’s publication as all defamatory.

Counsel to the Claimants, Kelvin Agbroko, noted that the ruling, “Will serve as a lesson to bloggers that it is not every item you publish. It is good to verify information before making a publication.

He said, “NBM of Africa is a legal organisation duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission. The publication made by the Defendant against my client has been cleared that it was a damaging publication.

“NBM is good to go, we are going to take all necessary steps to enforce the terms of the judgment against her. It was an erudite judgement that is all-encompassing and will be difficult to fault.”

President of the NBM of Africa, Ese Kakor said the outcome of the case had been on for about two years.

He said, “What Ikeji did was just to sell in a bid to defame the character of NBM of Africa. It is very wrong.

“I advised other bloggers not to follow the same steps as they may also face similar litigation. Do not try and defame peoples’ character. NBM has nothing to do with cultism, black axe. It is not a criminal organisation but a well-registered organisation.”

News

UPDATED: Obaseki Raises Minimum Wage To N70,000

Published

14 mins ago

April 29, 2024

Editor

The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has increased the minimum wage for workers in the state from N40,000 to N70,000.

Obaseki announced the inauguration of the newly built ultra-modern Labour House secretariat complex for labour unions in the state, along Temboga Road, Ikpoba-Hill, Benin City.

The building located at Temboga, Ikpoba Hill in Benin City is named after a former Governor of the State and former NLC President, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

The governor said, “As a result of the cordial relationship between the Edo State Government and labour unions in the state, we have enjoyed peace and industrial harmony in Edo State. Despite our efforts to make life better for Edo State workers, there are forces beyond our control, as we don’t control the national economy and our workers are still languishing in pain and penury.

“I give you insurance, improved conditions of service, pay you and promote you on time but the truth is that because of the economic situation in Nigeria today, our workers continue to be challenged; by devaluation, high food prices and inflation have made nonsense of the N40, 000 we are paying you.

“As a government, we feel your pains and know your take-home pay can barely take you home. We will continue to try. I am one of those governors who believe that we can’t run away from the fact that we must adjust the minimum wage in Nigeria. It would have been nice for there to be a central cohesive and common approach. We would have expected that by now there should have been a direction as to what minimum wage will be for workers in Nigeria.”

He added, “We don’t know when that will happen. If it happens, fine and if not, as a State we would need to do what we need to do. For us in Edo State, we have decided to move the minimum wage from N40,000 to N70,000 effective from 1st of May 2024. I think like a capitalist and not a comrade. In my May Day speech, I will give more details on our new minimum wage. If the Federal Government imposes something higher, we would make the necessary adjustments.”

Commending the labour unions for their sustained partnership with the State Government leading to the industrial harmony enjoyed in the State, “You have joined us to pursue very deep institutional reforms in the State as our achievements have been made possible because of the cordial relationship we enjoy.

He added, “Labour-Government relationship should not be only at policy contestation level but should be an alignment towards a common goal for workers and that is what we have found in Edo. Government and labour have found a common ground to improve the lives of the workers in Edo State.

“This building was conceived by my predecessor in office and my contribution is to make it happen. We have continued to invest in our workers in Edo State and our achievement in Edo State is to contribute to the welfare and well-being of Edo State workers. We not only developed the work environment but emphasized building the capacity of Edo State workers. We continue to emphasize training and restraining as an integral part of our workforce as we believe that there is a connection between high performance and training.”

In his speech, the Edo State Head of Service, Dr Anthony Okungbowa, commended the governor’s commitment to the welfare of Edo workers, noting some of his achievements including fully digitalising the State civil service, prompt payment of salaries, the highest minimum wage in Nigeria, payment of 13th-month salary, life insurance for Edo workers, health insurance for workers, automatic employment for first-class citizens of Edo State, regular promotion for Edo workers, among others.

On his part, the President of the Trade Union Congress, Comrade Engr. Festus Osifo said the building is the best labour edifice, adding that “the achievements of the governor are not contestable.”

He added, “I thank you for digitizing the labour workforce in Edo State. I am impressed by your developmental achievements which have helped to reduce the plight of workers in Edo State.”

In his welcome address, the Chairman of NLC Edo State, Comrade Odion Olaye thanked the governor for his magnanimity, friendliness and concern towards Edo workers, adding, “I thank the governor for this edifice for the organised labour as workers in Edo State have long been waiting for a day like this as the house has been desired for over 25 years. This building is second to none in Nigeria.”

In 2023, the Obaseki administration reviewed the N40,000 minimum wage for the state workers to increase it, noting that the move was part of measures to cushion the impact of the petrol subsidy removal policy by the Federal Government.