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ABUJA — Over eight persons yesterday escaped death but suffered various degrees of injuries from machete cuts as members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, branch 2, clashed at Federal Housing Authority FHA Bus stop at Lugbe, Abuja.
Eyewitnesses said the fight ensued among the union members, following alleged encroachment of Lugbe bus stop branch by the Branch 2 team from Pyakasa, a community along Yar’Adua express way.
But for the intervention of Zone 5 and 8 Lugbe police stations, led by Superintendent Elisha Lafet, which quelled the crises that lasted over 15 minutes, the situation would have degenerated.
Vanguard gathered that loyalists of Pyakasa and Jabi Park leadership were engaged in fierce argument over who should control the park.
The Branch 2 members were said to have come to collect union fees from the drivers operating from Lugbe to the city centre, an action that infuriated the NURTW employees at FHA bus stop at Lugbe.
The eyewitness account said “members of the union suddenly started bringing out cutlasses and macheting people; they use to operate at Pyakasa and want to come and start to operate at FHA.”
Another witness told Vanguard: “If the chairman of Pyakasa had not dodged the cutlass aimed on his head, he would have been a dead man.”
The witnesses, however, commended the swift intervention of Lafet and his men who came and brought the situation under control as they took both leaders off the scene and dispersed the other loyalists from further mayhem on the people at the bus stop.
When contacted to comment on the matter, Superintendent Lafet declined comment.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
ABEOKUTA – FACTIONAL leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ogun State, Buruji Kashamu, Monday accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of working for the re-election of the state Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun in 2015.
Kashamu who was reacting to Obasanjo’s comments recently on the activities of money-bag politicians in the state, described the statements as unbecoming of a former president of the country, claiming that those Obasanjo derogatorily labeled as money-bag politicians bankrolled his political activities in the past. Obasanjo had last week advised some PDP members from Ogun West Senatorial District who visited him in his Hilltop Mansion in the state capital, against allowing themselves to be swayed by money-bag politicians.
In a statement, Kashamu described Obasanjo’s comment as laughable, saying that it was shocking and surprising that former president could now denounce the same people who, he said, provided the funds for his election, re-election and long political battles against the former governor of the state Otunba Gbenga Daniel.
Describing Obasanjo as a “gerontocratic” politician masquerading as elder statesman, Kashamu said, “Was it not money-bag politicians that bankrolled his elections the first and second terms? Was it not the same people he hobnobbed with when it was convenient for him to wrest the party structure from the immediate past administration in the state? Was it not the same set of people that he used to work for his candidate in the governorship election? This is the sort of inconsistency that Presidential Spokesman Reuben Abati recently noted concerning Obasanjo.
“It was not in Obasanjo’s place to set the parameters for such because he has continually shown his bias for imposition, do-or-die politics, injustice and illegalities – the very issues at the roots of the Ogun PDP crisis.
“Obasanjo told his guests that some money-bags want to deprive them of a better future. But if anyone is being deceitful it is Obasanjo, who pretends to be a leader of the PDP in the daytime but in the night is neck-deep in the re-election strategy of Governor Ibikunle Amosun of the ACN, who is his kinsman from Owu Kingdom.
“That is why he does not hesitate to shower encomiums on Amosun whenever the opportunity presents itself. The game-plan is to weaken PDP for Amosun to have a smooth sail by making it appear that he is performing, especially when such praises are coming from the supposed leader of the opposition.
“In respect of a better future for Ogun State people, I know that 99.9 per cent of Ogun State people are of the opinion that Obasanjo’s dominance of the national and local politics in the past five decades has made no impact on their lives.”
He continued: “Obasanjo is a classic example of a man to whom much has been given but little or nothing has been returned. Although we have not held public office, our people can attest to the little we have done in impacting their lives and empowering them.
“I am not a money-bag politician. I am a hard-working businessman who loves my people and passionate about the PDP. But, if sharing your God- given resources with the less privileged qualifies me to be a money-bag, then I plead guilty.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The South West Chapter of the PDP on Monday said it would honour Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday and Saturday in Abeokuta.
The party, at a media briefing in Ibadan, said the occasion was meant to celebrate Obasanjo’s voluntary retirement as the Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman.
The Chairman of the Obasanjo Civic Reception Committee, Mr Yemi Adefulu, told newsmen that the programme, which includes lectures, cultural night and civic reception, would hold at the Olusegun Obasanjo International Library in Abeokuta.
He said the lectures scheduled for Friday at the library would be chaired by a former President, Chief Ernest Shonekan.
The lectures, he added, would be delivered by former Ghanaian President, Mr John Kufour, and Alhaji Maitama Sule, Nigeria’s former representative to the UN.
Also to speak at the forum is Mrs Obiageli Ezekwesili, the immediate past Vice-President for Africa at the World Bank.
He said a cultural night would be held in honour of the former president also on Friday while a civic reception would hold on Saturday.
Adefulu said President Goodluck Jonathan would be the special guest of honour at the occasion, adding that more than 5,000 people were expected across political divides.
“We chose to celebrate the outstanding leader for his sterling leadership and rare courage.
“ He was an outstanding defender of the nation’s unity, who stood for the dignity of the black man and human race at every forum.
“In our clime, it is only when people die that they are appreciated and adulated in superlative terms. We chose to be different.
“ We decided to celebrate this outstanding leader of our time, to show gratitude and the gratitude of the nation for his sterling leadership and rare courage,’’ he said.
Present at the briefing were Chief Olusegun Oni and Dr Segun Agagu, former governors of Ekiti and Ondo States respectively.
Also present at the forum were members of PDP executives in the South West states.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the former president resigned as chairman of the BoT of the party in April, 2012.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
An Ado-Ekiti High Court on Monday sentenced one Emmanuel Tometin to death by hanging for killing a woman after raping her at a farm in 2006.
Justice Ilori Akintayo, who delivered the judgment in Ado Ekiti, said that he found the accused guilty as charged.
He subsequently ordered that the accused be sentenced to life imprisonment for the offence of rape while he should be hanged for murder.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the accused committed the offence on Aug. 17, 2006 at Oke sele Farm in Igirigiri, Ado-Ekiti.
The charge sheet had read: ‘’That you Emmanuel Tometin on Aug. 17, 2006 at Oke Sele Farm at Igirigiri, Ado-Ekiti, in Ado Judicial division had unlawful carnal knowledge of Funmilayo Ajayi.
‘’That you Emmanuel Tometin on Aug. 17, 2006 at Oke sele farm Igirigiri, Ado-Ekiti, in Ado Judicial division murdered Funmilayo Ajayi.’’
The defence counsel, Titi Baderinwa, who had been representing Tometin since the trial started, was not in court.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The Senate on Monday in Abuja pledged its determination to ensure that the investigation into pension administration was pursued to a logical conclusion.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs Enyinnaya Abaribe made the pledge while briefing newsmen on issues of focus for the Senate when it resumes from end of year break on Jan. 16.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the Joint Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service and States and Local Government Administration had been saddled with the assignment.
The investigation, however, suffered a setback following the inability of Mr Abdulrasheed Maina, Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) to honour the committee’s summons over alleged N195 billion pension scam.
Abaribe said that every committee of the Senate was representative of the Senate and any decisions emanating from a committee carried the approval of the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly.
He said that contrary to insinuations, the Senate would not leave anything to chance in its avowed determination to bring the pension probe to a logical conclusion.
“The rule is that every committee is a representation of the Senate as a whole. That means that if a committee of the Senate is operating or is summoning anybody, it’s not just that committee it is the whole Senate.
“That means that whatever sanctions that are going to come are not sanctions that will come from just that committee, but sanctions that will come from the whole Senate.
“On the matter of Maina, let me state unequivocally that the Senate cannot be said to be helpless in the matter. On the contrary, the Senate will pursue the matter to its logical conclusion,'' he said.
The Senate spokesman urged the Presidency to take a critical look at the House of Representatives' insistence not to pass the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 2013 budget until the Director-General, Ms Arume Oteh is sacked.
He advised appointees of the President to avoid any situation that was capable of creating disaffection between the executive and the legislative arms of government.
“Beyond that we also feel in the Senate that anybody that works for Mr President should as much as possible not put Mr President at loggerheads with the parliament.
“I don’t think there is any individual that is far more important to the country than the rest of us.
“The House of Representatives and the Senate are representatives of the people and whenever they collectively take a position you have to assume that the position is in the best interest of the nation,'' Abaribe said.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Jonathan's policies are not favoring the North. North has to work together to ensure that power was returned to the region in 2015.
Prof Ango Abdullahi, spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), and the former Special Adviser to President Obasanjo and ex-vice-chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has declared that only when power is restored to the North would the region's problems be solved.
Abdullahi said this yesterday after a meeting at the house of Maitama Sule in Kano called to brainstorm on how Northern groups can Work together in unity to ensure that power was returned to the region in 2015.
At the meeting were several Northern groups each represented by a prominent Northerner including Maitama Sule at whose residence the meeting held, controversial former senator, Joseph Waku who represented the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Capt. Bashir Sodangi representing the Arewa Elders Forum, former presidential candidate of the NRC, Alhaji Bashir Uthman Tofa, Evang M. O. Owojaiye of Northern Christian Elders Forum, John Dara representing the Middle Belt Forum, Ambassador Yahaya Kwande who is a member of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal A.M. Daggash, Prof Idris Muhammad and Prof. Dandatti Abdulkadir of Kano Initiative, and renowned Northern intellectual, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmad amongst others.
Abdullahi criticized president Jonathan and his policies as not favoring the North and declared that the meeting would ensure that power returned to the North in 2015.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday said despite the various challenges currently facing Nigeria, it was too old to disintegrate.
Having been together for about 100 years since the amalgamation of the North and South protectorates in 1914, the president said it was too late for any region in the country to ask for a “divorce.”
Jonathan spoke during the Armed Forces Remembrance Day inter-denominational service at the National Ecumenical Centre, Abuja.
He said, “In 2014, we are going to celebrate our centenary; our 100 years of existence.
“You cannot stay in a marriage for 100 years and say that is the time you will divorce. If there are issues that we have been managing, we will continue to manage them. We will not talk about separation.
“I always say that all nations of the world have their own history. Sometimes, people question the unity of this country, especially when you talk about the amalgamation of the South and North in 1914.
“If you look at the history of very big countries, some have very ugly past. It is for us who are alive today to reshape our future. We should begin to talk about those things that will bring unity and development.”
The President also warned leaders at all levels to desist from divisive tendencies, saying the country would overcome some of its challenges if the citizens loved one another and live in peace.
He said, “ If our leaders at all levels, whether political leaders, community or religious leaders, talk more about those things that divide us instead of those things that bring us together, then we will be encouraging younger ones who know little or nothing about the history of this country to do things differently.
“So, the best gift we can give to the armed forces and sister organisations, is for us in our daily utterances and activities to emphasise the need for us to live in peace, love ourselves and unite.
“Some people talk about disintegration of Nigeria. Even at political level, some people take it as a weapon of self-seeking when they want to discuss politics.
“My conviction and I believe that of everybody here is that Nigeria will continue to remain a united nation.
“Nigeria will not disintegrate. Anybody who is doing any research on sociology, psychology or political science can do his work, but Nigeria will remain one.”
Jonathan, who spoke also on the country’s greatness, attributed it to its size and diversity.
He said, “I always say that they say Nigeria is big, it is not because of the oil. There are smaller countries that produce more oil than us. What is the quantity of oil that we produce after all?
“Yes, we do produce but our oil per unit person is insignificant. But we are appreciated and we are still reckoned with in spite of our challenges because of our size and diversity both of the human beings and the environment.
“But when we work together, we will take this country to where we want to go. Where our children, our grandchildren and children yet unborn will be happy.”
On the security challenges, the President noted that security agents were doing well.
Jonathan said, “We sleep because our security agents have to stay awake. In some cases where things happen, people blame them. But for those of us who get daily reports about the security challenge we have, we know that these men and women have been doing very well.”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Anambra State Governor Peter Obi says he has been praying to God to give the state a governor better than him.
Obi said this at a service to mark the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration at the Cathedral Church of St Faith, Awka, on Sunday.
He said such a successor would be able to build and improve on his achievements.
The governor’s tenure comes to an end on March 17, 2014.
He called on Nigerians to place the collective interest of the country above other considerations.
He also stressed the need for leaders to take decisions that would help build a better society even when they are unpopular.
Obi said the return of mission schools had been yielding the desired results with performances of students in internal and external examinations.
“Just last week, we gave a scholarship to an indigene of the state, Miss Sandra Anagor, from Umuawulu, who came first in NECO and SSCE examinations,” Obi said.
Anglican Bishop of Awka, Rev. Alexander Ibezim, said God had used the governor to boost education in the state and to lay a solid foundation for quality education.
Ibezim called for prayers to attract divine healing to the country to erase the scars of the civil war. He warned of the dangers of turning away from God as, according to him, closer relationship with God is fundamental for the survival of the country.
He urged Nigerians to avoid divisive tendencies to enable the country to harness strength in unity and harmonious co-existence so that efforts of those who labored to protect the unity of the country would not be in vain.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamakko has dismissed the recent National Bureau of Statistics’ rating of the state as the poorest in the country.
According to the NBS, Sokoto has 81.2 per cent poverty rate.
However Wamakko, who spoke with reporters in Abuja on Saturday, said the rating was misinforming.
The governor said the report had contradicted the Central Bank of Nigeria’s rating of the state as second best in Nigeria with a good profile of Internally Generated Revenue.
He said, “For us in Sokoto, the report by the CBN, which has its structures on the ground in the state, is most authentic and believable. The CBN, based on empirical evidence, rated Sokoto as second among states with the best IGR in 2012 and the records of finances in the state supported the rating by the CBN.
“An agency that failed to conduct a proper survey on what we have been doing as government to mop up the rate of unemployment in the state should not attempt to misinform Nigerians and the rest of the world that Sokoto is the poorest state in Nigeria with 81.2 per cent rate. Such a rating is unthinkable, utterly incorrect and misinforming.”
He said he was not discouraged by the NBS rating, saying he would improve on his administration’s achievements in agriculture, industry, education, culture and youth development.
Also, a non-governmental organisation, Good Governance Project Initiative, said the rating was “untenable and illogical”.
The group, in a statement by its President, Innocent Okadigbo, said, “The people of Sokoto State are predominantly farmers. They produce enough food for themselves and other neighbouring states. That, in any case has removed them from poverty circle.
“There are serious government incentives for farming. In both rural and urban areas, social amenities such as electricity, water, roads, shelter and recreational facilities are available. How can one say the state is poor with these facilities on the ground?”
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Some elderly citizens of Ekiti State under the aegis of Ekiti Council of Elders have hailed Governor Kayode Fayemi’s administrative style and passion for development.
The group led by First Republic Minister, Chief Joel Babatola, stated this in a statement on Sunday. Other members of the council are former governor of old Ondo State, Mr. Bamidele Olumilua, and Chief Deji Fasuan.
The group said the state was fortunate to have Fayemi as governor, adding that the values for which Ekiti people were known for were now being restored under the current administration.
Fasuan, who spoke when the group visited the governor on Friday, noted that Fayemi’s administration had shown enough integrity, hard work and performance.
He urged the governor to continue to make these values the watchwords of his administration.
Also, Olumilua assured the governor of the council’s support, urging Fayemi to continue to tap from the wealth of experience of the elders in addressing developmental issues in the state.
Fayemi thanked them for the visit, saying it was a meeting of great minds coming for the development of the state.
Promising that government would always consult with the council, he said there was the need to bridge the gap between the energy of the youth and the wisdom of the elders.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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