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Tag: Members

  • ASUU directs members to boycott UI Convocation

    ASUU directs members to boycott UI Convocation

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan Chapter, on Tuesday asked her members to boycott 2020 Convocation and the foundation laying ceremonies of the Premier University.

    The decision may not be unconnected with the ongoing strike embarked upon by the Union.

    The Union in a release signed by the Chairman, Professor Ayo Akinwole stated that the position of the Union is that holding convocation ceremonies is a violation of the principle of the ongoing strike.

    Akinwole maintained that the Union is constrained to “advise members not to be in attendance or participate in the preparation for and the actualization of the said convocation and 72nd foundation Day Ceremonies”.

    It was gathered that the Union has also communicated her position via a letter written to the outgoing Vice Chancellor Professor Idowu Olayinka.

    “The notice for the university of Ibadan 2020 Graduation and 72 foundation Day ceremonies come to our attention on Saturday 7thNovember, 2020. In the spirit of the current ASUU strike, holding graduation ceremonies at this time would be a violation of the principle of the ongoing strike to rescue public university education in Nigeria. To the best of our knowledge, there was no request for a waiver for such to take place in the University of Ibadan.”

  • Edo poll: We’ve added over 120,000 new members since Obaseki joined – PDP

    Edo poll: We’ve added over 120,000 new members since Obaseki joined – PDP

    Dr Tony Aziegbemi, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo, said the party has issued more than 120,000 party cards to people defecting to the party since Gov. Godwin Obaseki’s return to PDP.

    Aziegbemi said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of the party’s campaign tour of the wards in Igueben Local Government Area.

    Obaseki defected to the party in June after APC denied him a ticket for the second term in office.

    He said that the defectors included those who joined PDP with the governor and others, who chose to be part of the development of the party.

    He said that Obaseki had done remarkably well in his first tenure, adding that his performance would speak for him.

    According to Aziegbemi, the turnout of supporters, trooping out to receive our campaign team in all the wards so far visited, is an indication of the people’s support for the governor.

    Meanwhile, he said that residents of the state should expect more developmental stride from Obaseki in the next four years.

    “That is why we are asking the people to vote massively for our candidate on September 19 for continuity and consolidation.

    Another chieftain of PDP, Mr John Inegbedion, said that the governor had delivered on almost all his 2016 campaign promises.

  • APC warns members against accepting PDP governor’s appointment, threatens expulsion

    APC warns members against accepting PDP governor’s appointment, threatens expulsion

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State has said all members who accept appointments from the state governor will be expelled from the party.

    Governor Ahmadu Fintiri who is of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) recently appointed advisers and assistants and constituted the boards of several commissions and parastatals, thereby extending appointments to some members of the main opposition APC.

    But the APC, in a statement released on Wednesday by its state Publicity Secretary, Mohammed Abdullahi, stressed that members who accept appointments from the PDP government would be removed from the party.

    The party said, “We refer to the recent appointments released by the PDP Government in the State that featured the names of some members of our Great Party and wish to draw the attention of the appointees to Article 9.5 of the APC Constitution which states that any party member that accepts a political appointment from any political party or opposition government ceases to be a member of APC.

    “While we commend the loyalty and faithfulness of our Party members who rejected the appointments offered to them by the PDP Government, all those who accept the appointments will have their names removed from the Party Register.”

    The party accused the APC of attempts to destablize the APC, saying, “The APC is keenly watching the PDP government’s fruitless efforts in trying to cause commotion and disunity within the APC family. This attempt has failed and will ever fail.

    “We therefore urge our members to remain resolute and focused in supporting the Buhari Administration as we further unite to take over power in Adamawa State in 2023.”

  • IPOB expels four members for leaking secrets to Nigerian government

    IPOB expels four members for leaking secrets to Nigerian government

    Four members of the Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB) have been expelled from the organisation.

    Disclosing this in audio broadcast on Monday, IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu alleged that the expelled IPOB members were involved in fraudulent activities including armed robbery and kidnapping.

    He listed the persons involved to include one Onwukwe Nwanze, Chukwunye Matthew, Akuwa and Ojukwu.

    “These persons have been expelled from IPOB and anybody dealing with them is doing so at his or her own risk. They are not part of this family any more,” Kanu said.

    According to him, they were involved in fraudulent activities.

    “Apart from that, they are informants to Nigeria government. They go about claiming that they are members of Biafra Secret Service media and innocent family members are in police custody because of them. ”

    He also claimed that there is a new trend of fraud been perpetuated by some people he alleged were security agents.

    “They are circulating forms online claiming that they are IPOB when they are not, telling people that they are government when we do not have any government because only the people of Biafra will elect a government.

    We don’t have any government yet. This government is online and whatsapp groups and slot of people in UK are falling victims to these people. They are not IPOB, we are not online, we are not calling for members across the UK.

    “If you want to join the IPOB, you are welcome to do so but we are not online. There is no form, there is no registration fee, once you fill such a form, you will be killed before you know it and the people that take your money will not be there when this would happen. ”

    He added: “I got information that there are one or two persons in Germany calling people back home and telling them to join BSS. I want to warn that these people are going into armed robbery and kidnapping using the name of BSS and Biafra to set up criminal gangs in Biafra land. We will treat such people as criminals if caught.”

  • BREAKING: Imo Assembly lifts suspension on five members

    BREAKING: Imo Assembly lifts suspension on five members

    The Imo House of Assembly has lifted the suspension placed on five of its members, who were suspended in November 2018, for alleged unparliamentary conduct.

    The Speaker, Mr Iheanacho Ihim announced their recall during Tuesday’s plenary in Owerri.

    Ihim said the matter was resolved after an interface at an executive session, saying that the members have been fully readmitted.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Speaker had on April 11 invited the suspended members to an interface at the executive session of April 16 to discuss their possible readmission.

    He issued the invitation following a motion by Mr Chika Madumere (AGAP-Nkwerre) at plenary.

    A state High Court had on Nov. 5, 2018 quashed the suspension of four of the five members, describing it as unconstitutional.

    The court also jointly awarded the applicants, Dr Uche Oguwuike (Ikeduru-APC), Mr Chiji Collins (Isiala Mbano- APGA), Mr Israel Nnataraonye (Mbaitoli-APC) and Mr Nkenna Nzeruo (Oru East-APC) N8 million in damages and 100,000 in legal fees.

    The judge, Justice Goddy Anunihu in his ruling also directed the Speaker and the house who were the first and second respondents to pay the applicants their salaries, allowances and emoluments for the period they were suspended.

    However, the judgment was ignored by the house leadership which appealed against it.

  • PDP directs aggrieved members to withdraw court cases against party or face sanctions

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has directed all members of the party that instituted court cases against the party to withdraw them or face sanctions.

    The deputy national publicity secretary of the PDP, Diran Odeyemi, said in a statement on Thursday that the party considered myriads of cases instituted against it by its members as inimical to the successes it has achieved in the last few years.

    The party is apparently disturbed by the ruling against the candidacy of the governorship candidate of the party in Osun, Ademola Adeleke, by a high court in Bwari, Abuja and other outstanding litigations.

    Adeleke, a serving senator, was recently declared the winner of September 22 governorship election by the Osun governorship election petition tribunal, which conducted its sittings in Abuja.

    But the contest of the party’s governorship ticket for the Osun election by Akin Ogunbiyi has remained an internal concern which had further compounded the challenges of Adeleke.

    Ogunbiyi had earlier denied any involvement in the travails of Mr Adeleke at the courts, with particular reference to the Tuesday’s court judgment nullifying his candidature as PDP’s flag bearer in the last governorship election.

    Odeyemi however, said any PDP member with genuine interest in the party must not make himself available to be used by elements that wanted to slow down its progress through needless litigation.

    “We consider it inimical to our progress as a vibrant political party the myriad of cases instituted against PDP by members who are expected to be part of the concerted efforts towards being the ruling party in Nigeria,” he said.

    “We can’t continue to struggle under the yoke of needless litigations when we intend to return to power both at federal level and in other states that are out of control of PDP at the moment.”

    Odeyemi reminded members of the decision of the National Executive Council (NEC) to sanction any member, no matter how highly placed, who, through court cases constitute themselves as a cog in the wheel of progress of the party, adding that some members had been expelled from the party in the recent past for same reason.

    “We are monitoring situations in Osun, Ekiti, Oyo, Lagos and other states across the country regarding court matters instituted by our members,” he said.

  • PDP backs Melaye, warns members to stay away from recall

    The Kogi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on members to shun what it described as the government contrived recall process of Senator Dino Melaye.

    The party on Friday in a statement by its Director, Research and Documentation, Achadu Dickson, labelled the planned recall of the member representing the Kogi West Senatorial district, as a hoax, and urged members to kick against it.

    It dissociated itself from the recall process, describing it as undemocratic and a display of executive recklessness against opposing voices.

    The PDP asserted that it is in support of the embattled APC senator in exposing bad governance that has characterized the Governor Yahaya Bello-led administration in Kogi.

    It said that Senator Melaye’s message of inept leadership and bad governance that has brought the state to its lowest ebb, “only goes to reinforce the PDP’s position that Kogi is now a failed state, and made a laughing stock among comity of states in Nigeria.

    The statement called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, not to lend themselves as tools in the forceful plan to deny the people of Kogi West the right to elected representation, without necessarily being at the mercy of the executive arm of government.

    It urged members to remain peaceful and law abiding, and not to succumb to intimidation from mischief makers in achieving the recall.

    Recall that INEC had on Wednesday said it will commence the verification of petitioners signature from April 28.

  • Biafra: IPOB declares 40 members missing after clash with police, army

    …demands immediate release of missing members

    The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra has declared 40 of its members missing after having clashes with the army and police on Thursday in Anambra State.

    The group’s Media and Public Secretary, Emma Powerful, made this known in a statement he issued in Awka, the Anambra State capital on Friday.

    He said a combined team of police and army attacked its members, who were returning from a burial ceremony at about 5.30pm on Thursday at Nnewi, adding that after the scuffle, 40 of its members got missing.

    While calling for the immediate release of such members, the group warned that it would not tolerate the unprovoked molestation of its members by security operatives.

    The statement read in part, “IPOB and its leadership worldwide once again wish to draw the attention of the general public and the world at large to the dangerous attacks and arrest of IPOB members in Anambra State last night (Thursday). They went for the burial of an IPOB member who was among those killed last year during the Operation Python Dance II in Umuahia, Abia State.

    “This barbaric attack by a combined team of Fulani-dominated Nigerian Army and Nigeria Police happened at Nnewi when IPOB family members who went for a burial of one of our IPOB family members, Odika Esieme Chukwuma, from Igbo Ukwu in Anambra State.

    “He belonged to the Obosi Zone of IPOB. After the burial, as our people were returning from the village of the deceased around 5.30 pm and on reaching St Mary’s Catholic Church, where they were supposed to disperse to their various homes, they were accosted by a team of security agents and without any provocation, they began shooting at our people.

    “In the ensuing chaos, some people fell down and the buses they were travelling in climbed over some of them. Many were injured, resulting from gunshots from the army and police. Many more were taken away by the army and police to unknown destinations. Some people had their cars seized, others with motorcycles had them taken away from them too.”

    The group said its legal team had gone round police stations in the state to effect the release of its members, but could not locate any of such members.

    It added, “We are putting the world on notice that since this unwarranted and unprovoked attack and abduction of IPOB members coming back from a burial at Igbo Ugwu, our legal team has not located or ascertained the whereabouts of about 40 of our members, who were among those attacked along the Nnewi Ichii Road in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State.”

    Meanwhile, the Anambra Police Command on Friday warned the people in the state to stop associating with IPOB members or face arrest.

    It reminded the people that the Biafra group remained a proscribed and an outlawed organisation.

    The command said it had arrested four members of the outlawed group, according to a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Nkeiruka Nwode. The statement read in part, “The command today (Friday) arrested four members of the group, while other members of the proscribed group fled to unknown destinations.

    “The arrested persons confessed to being members of IPOB and will be charged to court for prosecution.

    “The following exhibits were recovered from the suspects: 14 Biafran flags, metal gong, one small bell, one helmet, motorcycle, Delica shuttle bus, Suzuki bus, and a Nokia phone.”

     

  • Fumigate, disinfect non-performing members out of your cabinet now – Sani tells Buhari

    Fumigate, disinfect non-performing members out of your cabinet now – Sani tells Buhari

    The Senator representing Kaduna Central senatorial district, Shehu Sani has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to sack non-performing members of his cabinet to move the country forward.

    The human right activist and politician who spoke with newsmen who paid him a Sallah homage said the need for the President to overhaul his cabinet now more than ever before cannot be over-emphasised.

    Senator Sani who is the Senate committee chairman on local and foreign debts described those he wants sent packing as “the mafias that exists within presidency whose intents are different from that of president himself but they are part of what is called presidency.”

    According to him, “One thing the President needs to do which is very important is a need for him to take a proactive stand in order to reset his presidency by looking at his cabinet in totality. Those who have failed should be shown the way out and those who have not been able to perform satisfactorily should be replaced or reshuffled.

    “But it is time for Mr. President to throw some people out of his cabinet and change the portfolio of some of them so they can help him to perform better. There is mid term fatigue that exists and the only way out is to bring in capable hands.

    “If the first appointment into office was to appease the political interest, I think the president now should appoint those who are capable of delivering the mission, the vision and the programme of his own administration,” Sabi said.

    Senator Sani who is also the President of Civil Rights Congress (CRC) in Nigeria further said, “There is a message I’m sending to Mr. President to fumigate and disinfect presidency in the general interest of his own government and also the country as a whole.”

     

  • Reps buy N6.1bn cars at N17m each for 360 members

    Reps buy N6.1bn cars at N17m each for 360 members

    …about 200 cars already delivered to some members

    The House of Representatives is spending N6.1 billion on procurement of 360 Peugeot 508 for its members, it was learnt at the weekend.

    At a unit price of about N17 million, the leadership of the House said no members would get more than a car, including the principal officers.

    It debunked allegation of favoritism in the distribution of about 200 units that were supplied so far, saying members would take possession of their vehicles by the end of the year.

    Another batch of supply is expected this week.

    According to its leadership, favoritism was not employed in the distribution of the already procured vehicles.

    Speaking with reporters at the weekend, House spokesman Abdulrazaq Namdas explained that installment supply of the vehicles was due to the financial challenges facing the House leadership.

    “About 200 vehicles have been supplied so far and members would take possession of theirs by the end of the year.

    “We never promised to supply the 360 vehicles at once because of the financial constraints.

    “The budget implementation hasn’t commenced and that is the reason for the installment supply of the vehicles. But, since it was provided for in the budget, every member will get theirs before the year runs out.

    “Complaints by some members is normal because the House is huge and it is normal for some to complain. But, since we are getting the cars in batches, it will be impossible for everyone to get at once.

    “Allegation that women lawmakers and committee chairmen were given first was also not true.

    “As a matter of fact, it was the decision of the leadership to provide for the new members first. So, you may have a new member having while a committee chairman like myself don’t have yet.

    “The distribution was not meant to marginalise anyone; the leadership wasn’t choosy about the distribution. Everyone will be adequately taken care of before the year runs out.”

    On why the House had to procure the cars for its members, Namdas pleaded for the understanding of Nigerians, saying there was a level that Nigerians would not want their lawmakers to descend to.

    According to him, Nigerians would want their representatives to be deserving of their status.

    “Definitely, chief executive and directors in government institutions and agencies have official vehicles attached to them. Why would lawmakers not enjoy same privilege?

    “Meanwhile, not even our principal officers will have more than one of the same vehicle and these vehicles are to last for four years and not yearly as we have in other arms of government.

    “Our job here is to make laws for good governance and that is what we are doing and we need peace of mind and the goodwill of Nigerians to accomplish this,” he added.