#endsars: Sagay Says FG May Forcefully End Protests If Youths Continue

Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) on Monday enjoined Nigerian youths to put an end to the #endsars protest in the country following the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari and the disbandment of the unit by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).

Sagay who said the protest is being hijacked by hoodlums added that having done what the youths requested, the federal government may be have no choice than to forcefully put and end to the protests if the youths continue.

Speaking in a chat with Daily Independent, Sagay said having proven to be a listening government, the youths should be satisfied with the steps taken by the government and suspend the protests.

According to him, continuing the protests after all that has been done by the government may be as a ploy by the youths to destabiliise the country using #endsars as a smokescreen.

He said "My observation is that hoodlums are already hijacking the protests. The IGP has already disbanded the SARS. So, it no longer exists officially as a unit. The youths refused to stop protesting, they said they wanted the President to issue an Executive Order dissolving it. Executive Orders are not used for that purpose".

"Executive Orders are lawmaking instruments to make laws, just like National Assembly will make a law, although this type of Executive Order is below that level. It wouldn't have been an appropriate thing to do".

"But it's as if the President is listening, he now came and made this address in which he accepted everything the youths are asking for. He went on to even say that the squad people who are responsible for various harmful and illegal activities will be identified and dealt with. To me, that should be the end of the matter".

" I believe the youths should be satisfied at this stage. If the youths still come out tomorrow again, then it will look as if the whole demonstration has a hidden agenda for which EndSARS is being used as a cover. It will seem there is an agenda to disturb the stability of the country and engage in activities that may be along the line of #revolutionnow which itself is the highest crime in our constitution".

"In such a situation, the government will have no choice than to bring an end to it and nobody will be able to complain then".

"This is what they were doing in Hongkong for nine months. They got all that they want in Hongkong but they refused and continued protesting; they stopped all commercial activities; stopped flying in and out of Hongkong and paralysed all activities until the Chinese stepped in and were forced to pass the law, completely suspended their rights, and now they are complaining".

"So, our youths must know how far they should go. Since they have gotten more than they want, at this stage, everyone should quietly go back to their homes and not continue obstructing the highways, disturbing commercial activities in the state".

"Otherwise, it could give rise to much more serious consequences which they themselves will not be happy about" Sagay said.

Students Shutdown Polytechnic Ibadan, Lock Lecturers Out Over Tuition, Portal


In the early hours of Monday, 12 October, 2020, students of the Polytechnic, Ibadan shutdown entrance gates into the institution, locking their lecturers and other members of staff out.

After the state government gave the go-ahead for resumption after the Federal government announced closure of all schools in March due to the surging cases of the Coronavirus, the students find it difficult to grapple with the reality of imminent examinations as announced by the management of the institution.

Among their demands are the provision of a good and stable portal, the breakdown of tuition fees, good internet access, no delayed results, no to #1,500 anti-cultism textbook.

In response to the development, the Dean of Student Affairs, Dr SA Ajibola, has announced the postponment of examinations till further notice.

#nairaland

#ENDSARS: Elderly Woman Slapped By Police For Pointing At Police Station

An elderly woman was slapped by police officers today in front of a police station in the heat of the end SARS protest, NaijaCover Reports.

In a video shared online as Obtained By NAIJACOVER, the woman is seen lamenting and promising to take the case up after she was slapped.

The slap left her with a red swollen cheek. She explained that the only thing she did was point at a police station and she was slapped for it.

"What did I do wrong? I'm a Nigerian. I'm a free citizen. I have the right to point to police station. I am not a criminal," the elderly woman said in the video.

She added in Yoruba: "He now slapped me unjustly, just like that? And he expects to go free? Will he?"

The woman's daughter shared the video online and wrote: "What did she do! Why would you slap my mum!"

She did not state the location where it happened.

Twitter users have expressed outrage while cursing the officer responsible.

#Nairaland

#endsars: Davido Reacts To His Denial Of Protesting In Leaked Video


It was reported earlier today, that David Adeleke professionally known as Davido told the IG of Police that he didn't protest with the ENDSARS protesters and he was only there to calm them down as they were his fans.

Davido posted on Instagram, explaining the reasons why he made the comment.

I am Nigerian first before anything .

#Instagram

Anambra Govt To Operate Makeshift Schools For Flood Displaced Children

The Anambra state government has resolved to provide learning opportunities for children in “Holding Centres” in communities where flooding has posed a challenge to children expected to be in schools.

Commissioner for Basic Education, Prof Kate Omenugha, said this at stakeholders meeting in her office at the Jerome Udoji Secretariat, Awka.Omenugha said the aim of the meeting was to find a way to teach school children in flood-challenged areas of the state.



A committee chaired by Head, Post Primary School Service Commission (PPSSC), Otuocha zone, Mr. Joseph Enemuo, was set up and told to see to the success of the project.


The committee would also ensure among other things, that learning was going on at all the holding centres of the state.It would also be handy with data on the number of schools submerged in flood and the damages to equipment if any.

In attendance include chairman, Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBE, Mr. Patrick Ugbaja; chairman, PPSSC, Mrs. Ifeoma Okaro; Zonal Education Officers and Education Secretaries from the flood-affected areas.


#orientdailynews

NUJ Urges Anambra Govt To Address Infrastructural Decay In ANSPoly

Nigeria Union of Journalists, Anambra state council, has called on the state government to urgently attend to physical and manpower deficits in Anambra State Polytechnic (ANSPoly), Mgbakwu, in Awka North local government area.In a communique signed by the chairman and secretary of the council, Comrades Emmanuel Ifesinachi and Emma Udeagha, issued at the end of the union’s monthly congress, said the attention of the union had been brought to the dearth of infrastructure in the state polytechnic.

The communique reads in part: “The congress deliberated on a number of issues affecting the union and the state and resolved as follows. We commend the Anambra state government for upgrading the State Polytechnic, Mgbakwu, to a polytechnic.

This will help to address the education needs of our youths, but we are urging the government to address the physical and manpower deficits in the polytechnic to enable it to befit the status of a polytechnic.




“The congress commended the state government for providing resettlement centers and relief materials for flood affected communities in the state and urged the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to intensify efforts to ensure that all those living in flood prone areas in the state, including Ossamalla and Omamballa are protected from the increased flood menace.

“The congress called on the state government, as a matter of urgency, to rehabilitate all dilapidated intra and intercity roads in parts of the state, with high quality materials, to guarantee their durability and save the people from avoidable danger.“We regretted the reported influx of stranger elements in parts of the state and urged security agents to ensure that undesirable elements were not allowed to have a field day in the state.

“Congress further commended the National Inland Waterways Authority for the ongoing efforts to upgrade Onitsha Sea Port and make it a port of destination, and urged the Agency to expedite action on the exercise, which, it noted, would help boost business activities in the South East and reduce accidents caused by articulated vehicles that presently transport containers to the zone.”

Excitement As CONIFA Admits Biafra Football Into Global Tournament


It was excitement galore at the Freedom House in Owerri, Imo state capital, weekend, following the alleged admission of Biafra Football Federation, (BFF) by the Confederation of Independent Football Associations ( CONIFA), to participate in global tournaments.

Consequently, the founder and leader of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, otherwise called Biafra Independent Movement, BIM, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, encouraged both male and female Biafra youths to avail themselves of this great opportunity to showcase their talents and become known in the International community.




It was gathered that CONIFA Global president, Mr. Per- Anders Blind, had officially written Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, through his foreign representative, Mr. Ikenna Obibi Egeonu, to Biafra Football Federation, BFF, informing him of the new development.Ralph Uwazuruike, who felt excited that CONIFA just admitted Biafra nation as one of the countries to participate in their global football events, noted that by this admission, Biafra would participate in all the football activities of the global body.

In a statement signed by his personal assistant on Media Matters, Elder Chris Mocha, and made available to newsmen in Onitsha, Uwazuruike encouraged the leaders of Biafra Internal Government to continue with non violent posture, recalling that last April, the Unrepresented Nations and People’s Organization admitted Biafra as the 46th member-nation because of her stance in non violence.He explained that, “Confederation of Independent football Associations, CONIFA, informed us too that one of the reasons why they admitted us was because we are members of UNPO.

“You can now appreciate the importance of non violence in our Biafra struggle,” he said.He, therefore, directed the Biafran Minister of Sports to do the needful by allowing every Biafran to participate once he or she is talented stressing that the country to be represented is Biafra, which no body is the owner.

“Money and influence have no role to play in the selection of people. what matters here is capability and talent. This achievement was made by all Biafrans and at the end all Biafrans must enjoy it,” Uwazuruike stated.

#orientdailynews

FG Suspends University Lecturers’ Salaries Over Non IPPIS Compliance


The federal government has decided that all university staff who are yet to be enrolled on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), would be removed from its payroll with effect from November, 2020.

A letter from the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), dated October 8, and signed by the director of IPPIS, Dr. Nsikak Ben, and addressed to all vice-chancellors, stated that such staff would cease to receive salaries until they are properly enrolled on the platform.


The correspondence titled: “Stoppage of Salaries of University Staff that are yet to be Enrolled on IPPIS Platform”, reads: “I am directed to inform you that any staff of your institution, who has not enrolled on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), either as a result of study leave (with pay), maternity leave or on medical ground, will no longer appear on the IPPIS payroll with effect from November, 2020 payroll, except such staff who presents himself for the biometric data capture at the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Abuja with an introduction letter/IPPIS enrollment forms duly endorsed by the principal authorities of the institution.

“In addition, all supporting documents should include evidence of a six months salary bank statement. In view of the above, kindly inform your staff in this category to urgently avail themselves for the biometric data capture at the OAGF.“However, exemption may only be given where institutions provide evidence of study leave, stating the duration to justify such persons being retained on the payroll. Please accept the assurances of the warm regards of the Accountant-General of the Federation.”

Relationship between the federal government and the university staff under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had deteriorated recently over the objection of the latter to be enrolled on the IPPIS payment platform, which the government said will help cut waste and corruption in public service by eliminating ghost workers as well as helping to have an accurate number of its actual workforce.However, ASUU had maintained that the IPPIS will retard progress in the educational system because of the peculiar nature of its operations and asked for an exemption.



The union also developed the Universities Transparency and Accountability System (UTAS), as an alternative to the IPPIS.Meanwhile, ASUU national president, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, had earlier dismissed reports linking President Muhammadu Buhari that university lecturers would not be paid for failure to enrol in IPPIS.

According to him, the directive on IPPIS was meant for civil servants and university academics are not civil servants. We have an understanding with the government to develop an alternative platform which would be sensitive to the operations of the university, accommodate the peculiarities of the university system and respect the autonomy of our universities as obtained globally.

“The idea of seeking clearance from the Head of Service or the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation is alien to university operations because it will halt its flexibility. The University Miscellaneous (Provisions) (Amendment) Act (2003), which the government gazetted as University Autonomy Act (2007), has vested the powers of managing personnel and payroll system issues in the hands of each university’s governing council.“ASUU has gone beyond the debate on this matter.

On 9th January, 2019 when we visited Mr. President, who is Visitor to all federal universities, we reached an understanding that ASUU would develop its proposed University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) for testing and adoption for managing personnel information and payroll system in the universities.

“We have since done that and presented it to the Federal Ministry of Education. What is left is to present to other major stakeholders, particularly in the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning. The development of UTAS was done at no cost to the government. We used contributions from the check-off deductions of ASUU members to finance the project and this cost us millions of naira.

“IPPIS was designed by the World Bank for the civil service. We are aware of the antics of bureaucrats, especially in the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, aimed at bringing universities under their control.“ASUU will not fold its arms and watch the gains we made on the autonomy of Nigerian universities slip by. It took us several years of continuous struggle during the military to get here.

So, let nobody hide under the name of President Muhammadu Buhari to attack the autonomy of public universities because Nigerian scholars are prepared to resist it to the last drop of their blood.”

Orientdailynews

MOSOP Blames Oil Firm Unjust Treatment For Ogoni Women Travails


The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has described as unfortunate, the destruction of the future of the girl child in Ogoni due to the years of extreme exploitation by Shell and the federal government.

MOSOP president, Fegalo Nsuke, said Nigeria should give the girl child a voice and future by enabling access to quality education; calling for free education for the girl child to ameliorate the social inequalities suffered by the female folks.In a speech to mark the International Day of the Girl Child, Nsuke said his call was in conformity with the theme of this year’s celebration centered on “My voice, our equal future.


“He said the living conditions in Ogoni were far worse than represented in the media saying; “At least sixty percent of Ogoni women above 55 years were widows and an estimated 20 percent of the population had no access to primary education or were dropouts from school.

“He noted that the lack of education and jobs constituted great disincentives and were weakening the capacity of women to make the best out of their potentials.The MOSOP president called on the federal government and the Rivers state government in particular to enforce existing legislation on girl-child education, rehabilitate dilapidated educational structures particularly the primary and secondary schools in Bunu Bagha, Khana local government area amongst others which happens to be the oldest school in Nyo-Khana but currently in a non-usable state.



The MOSOP president also lamented the high rate of child labour in Nigeria noting that the girl child have become more vulnerable to abuse due to child labour regretting that the laws have been unable to protect the girl child from abuse.

The Mosop said: “state corruption especially in the institutions that should protect citizens coupled with increasing and overwhelming social insecurity have made the girl child more vulnerable to abuse with greater difficulty to prosecute offenders.

Girl child education should be encouraged by making it free up to tertiary levels.”The MOSOP president held that the girl child was seriously disadvantaged and non-competitive and so needed special incentives to compete favourably with their male counterparts.

Nsuke also called on the Rivers state government to build a primary school for the Teenama community in Ken Khana, Khana local government area where access to basic education is extremely difficult due to absence of a school.

Finally, the MOSOP president urged Ogoni women to play a greater role as models in shaping the opinion of the girl child and encourage the younger children to embrace education.

#orientdaily

Niger Delta Leaders Back NDDC Forensic Audit

Some prominent leaders and critical stakeholders of the Niger Delta region have declared their support for the on-going forensic audit in the Niger Delta Commission, NDDC saying that anyone against the audit is an enemy of the Niger Delta people.

The cream of the oil-rich region, who were led by Chief Timi Kaiser Ogoriba, to a solidarity visit to the Interim Management Committee of the Commission also NDDC management the Commission’s new permanent headquarters in Port Harcourt, also threw their weight behind the IMC, of the commission for its developmental strides in the region.


The delegation, which included Ms. Ankio Briggs and Alhaji Asari Dokubo, urged the NDDC management to do more because the development of the Niger Delta region was still a far cry from what was envisaged by those whose agitations led to the establishment of the NDDC.Ogoriba said: “The on-going forensic audit is very necessary because the funds that have passed through the NDDC from inception till date, do not match the development on ground. Given this fact, anyone that is against the forensic audit has a problem and such a person is an enemy of the Niger Delta people.

”He observed that a lot of the funds that had come into the NDDC were not properly managed, stating: “We want a situation where things are done differently for better results.”Ogoriba applauded the NDDC for completing its permanent headquarters building, urging the Commission to also monitor the proper execution of its projects.“You need an independent project monitoring committee that will stick to rules and ensure compliance with set standards,” he urged.Responding, the NDDC Acting Managing Director, Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, said that the IMC was poised to reposition and refocus the commission as directed by President Muhamadu Buhari.He said: “The NDDC has existed for 20 years, doing things the same way, and it has not been able to deliver on its core mandate of fast-tracking development in the Niger Delta region.

“We have tried to make some changes; but we met a lot of challenges. We believe that with all hands on deck and leaving the past behind, we are going to surge forward and bring the needed development to our people.”Pondei expressed sadness that the NDDC, which was set up as an interventionist agency, ended up performing the functions of local and state governments, thus limiting its capacity to intervene where necessary.He declared: “We want to return the NDDC to its proper role as an interventionist agency.That is why we are revisiting the region’s roadmap, the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan. The development compass needs review and we will need inputs from all stakeholders to once again underline what the NDDC is supposed to be doing.”



In the area of project monitoring, Pondei said that the commission had since changed its approach. He explained: “In the recent inspection of just 15 projects by the Executive Director Projects and his team, the commission saved N1.6 billion from overstated milestones.

They could not match what was on ground with what was presented in Interim Payment Certificates, IPCs. We could have done more of these project inspections but for the distractions coming from our detractors. Nevertheless, we are set to resume the inspection visits.”

The NDDC boss said that the Commission had been engaging the governors of the nine Niger Delta states. According to him, “our plan is to hold regular meetings but this has not been realized because of the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we have been able to hold virtual meetings through Zoom.”Pondei lamented that various agricultural programmes have failed in the Niger Delta region on account of poor funding. Notwithstanding, he stated that the Commission had started a pilot rice planting project which would be subsequently spread across the region.

He said further: “This project will help in getting our youths to be meaningfully engaged in farming. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is ready to provide loans for it.

“We also have plans to train our youths to benefit from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, Train 7 project. Barring funding challenges, we want to train the youths in under-water welding.”Also speaking, the NDDC Executive Director Projects, Dr Cairo Ojougboh, assured that the IMC would do the right things for the benefit of the people of the Niger Delta.

He said that the demonstration of support from leaders of the region was re-assuring, noting that the solidarity visit to NDDC meant that the IMC was on the right path.In her own remarks, an environmental and human rights activist, Annkio Briggs, bemoaned a situation where the NDDC and the Niger Delta region were now a laughing stock in Nigeria because everybody who wanted to make excuses for the injustice in the region, cites the poor performance of the NDDC.

The truth, she said, was that the Commission had to deal with a system where its budget must be taken to the national assembly where the lawmakers were at liberty to pick and choose what they want before approving the budget.


#orientdailynews