News

Catholic Bishops To FG: Save Nigerians From Multi Dimensional Poverty

Published

1 year ago

August 13, 2024

Editor

Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, has appealed to the federal government to listen to the yearnings of the masses and take a holistic review of it’s economic policies and programmes to take Nigerians out of the multi-dimensional poverty situation they are currently enmeshed in.

President of CBCN, Most Rev. Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji, who made the appeal while delivering a homily during the ordination of 11 priests at Maria Assumpta Cathedral, Owerri, linked the depressing poverty level in the land to the withdrawal of fuel subsidy and floatation of the naira.

He said: “The President of any country ought to be a listening and compassionate leader. I don’t want to talk about the hunger protest in detail but we cannot continue to keep quiet.

“Credible reports have it that the protest has claimed so many lives and caused properties worth millions of naira, to be destroyed or looted. We do not know how many people that will die in the days ahead, if the protest continues.

“In protesting, the people were just exercising their constitutional right by assembling and expressing their feelings of anger and concern over bad governance in the country.

“It is obvious that people do not only march on the streets to express their anger, but also engage in other actions. Indeed, it remains a truism that action speaks louder than words.

“Despite all petitions and pleas, our young people decided to go to the streets to say they are dying of hunger and hardship. It is a very serious matter and government should see it as such. The protesters, by their actions, also demanded attentive listening to what they are saying.

“To listen to what the youngsters are saying, government should rely on the prevailing amount of rising prices of everything needed for living.”

Taking a critical look at the free fall of the nation’s currency, Archbishop Ugorji said: “This is another of President Tinubu’s economic policy that has sadly degenerated to hyperinflation.

“Floating of the nation’s currency amounts to devaluation of the naira. The President removed fuel subsidy and surreptitiously devalued the naira.

“He devalued the currency used in paying workers and still want the workers to continue to work at the same amount that was agreed when the naira had a higher value.

“When the President removed petroleum subsidy, he should have been aware that it will come with ugly consequences because everything revolves around transportation.

“Government ought to have known that production of goods and services largely relies on fuel. Currently, the prices of everything have risen astronomically and people have been reduced to multi-dimensional poverty. Simply explained, poverty means not having access to what you need to survive each day.”

Stretching the argument further, the CBCN President opined that “food may be available but definitely not affordable.”

He said: “In this day and age, people can no longer afford things they are used to and the standard of living has drastically reduced to zero per cent.

READ ALSO: FG Revokes Two Smart Schools Contract In Kebbi, Bayelsa

“I am adding my voice to the voices of those who have already called on the President to address the demands of the young people, for peace to reign.

“If government says they are listening to the people, then it should immediately address these problems.

“We are also told that government is trying to cushion the effect of the current hardship by distributing palliatives and remittance of money into people’s bank accounts. I don’t know how many people that have received it.”

News

JUST IN: Court Orders IGP To Arrest Mahmood Yakubu, Ex-INEC Chairman

Published

2 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

Despite his exit as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, has again ordered the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest the former INEC chairman, Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, for an offence relating to contempt of court.

The Court order came a few hours after Yakubu left office as the INEC chairman.

The Action Alliance, AA, had instituted a case before the court challenging INEC and its former chairman, Prof Yakubu, over their non-compliance with the judgment of the Court delivered by Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi in suit number FHC/OS/CS/194/2024.

In the said judgment, the court ordered INEC to put the names of the National Chairman of the Action Alliance, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, and other members of the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, on the INEC portal.

The Court also held that the names of all the state chairmen of the party be uploaded on the INEC portal.

The court held that the elective convention of the party held on the 7th of October, 2023 which produced Omoaje as the national chairman of the party and other NEC members of the party was authentic as it was properly monitored and supervised by officials of INEC in accordance with the party’s constitution and the electoral acts.

However, INEC claimed to have complied with the court judgment, but the party disagreed with the commission, as the name of Omoaje was yet to be uploaded on the commission’s website despite the orders of the Court.

Although the names of the state chairmen of the party under the leadership of Omoaje and those of the NEC members are already on the INEC portal, Omoaje’s name is yet to be uploaded as of press time, a development that the court frowned at.

The court order obtained by our correspondent dated 7th October, 2025, and signed by Mr O.M. Kilani on behalf of the Court Registrar reads in part, “it is hereby ordered that the Inspector General of Police shall cause the arrest and shall charge the defendant/judgment debtors for contempt and committal proceedings within seven days of this ruling.”

The court also awarded a cost of #100,000 against the judgment creditors.

News

Lagos Closes Adeniji Adele–CMS Lane For Six Weeks Of Repairs

Published

3 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government has announced a partial closure of the Adeniji Adele Interchange Junction to CMS for six weeks to allow for rehabilitation works by the Federal Government.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, the repair works will run daily between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., starting Sunday, October 12, and ending Sunday, November 23, 2025.

Osiyemi explained that only one lane of the road will be closed during the period, while the remaining lanes will remain open to traffic to minimize disruptions.

He assured motorists that traffic management officers will be stationed along the corridor to ensure smooth vehicular movement and reduce inconvenience during the rehabilitation.

“Motorists are implored to be patient, as the lane diversion is part of the traffic management plan for the rehabilitation of the road by the Federal Ministry of Works,” the commissioner said.

He also urged drivers to comply with the directives of traffic officials on duty to ensure safety and efficient traffic flow throughout the repair period.

News

JUST IN: Tinted Permit Enforcement Placed On Hold Due To Court Order – Police

Published

4 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Nigeria Police Force said on Wednesday that the enforcement of the vehicle tinted glass permit has been suspended following a court order halting the exercise.

Spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, disclosed this during an interview on Africa Independent Television, AIT.

She said the decision to halt the enforcement came after the police officially received the court order.

Adeh said, “Information reaching me from the office of the PRO is that the order has been received and the enforcement of the tinted permit is now on hold pending the court’s verdict”.

Disclosing that the directive to suspend enforcement would remain in place pending the outcome of the ongoing legal process, Adeh said, “We are waiting for the verdict. We are not against the courts, and we will continue to wait until we get a verdict”.

Speaking on public concerns about the purpose of the tinted glass regulation, Adeh explained that it was introduced for security reasons, noting that some criminal activities had been carried out using vehicles with darkened windows.

“The law was not made by us. We are enforcers. The policy was purely security-driven. Some criminals were using tinted vehicles to commit offences, making it difficult for law enforcement to identify suspects,” she said.

She dismissed claims that the policy was designed for financial gain, noting that all payments related to tinted permits are made directly into the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA), not to the police.