TheNewsGuru

Tag: Mobile Phones

  • JAMB to consider use of mobile phones for UTME

    JAMB to consider use of mobile phones for UTME

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB ) says it is contemplating a new policy to allow the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidates write the examinations with their personal phones and other devices.

    The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede disclosed this in Abuja on Saturday at the 2023 Policy Meeting on Admissions to Tertiary Institutions.

    He said this proposed policy was based on the rising cost of logistics in taking the UTME nationwide.

    According to him, it cost the JAMB over N1.2billion to equip a Computer Based Test (CBT) centre in Kaduna state, particularly in procuring computers which candidates use to take the examination.

    ”The policy which falls under the “Bring Your Own Device” may require candidates wishing to take UTME in the future to bring their own devices to the examination hall,” he said.

    At the policy meeting, the registrar expressed concern over the crave for university education among candidates at the detriment of polytechnics and colleges of education.

    While condemning the wide disparity in admission quotas in the country, he advised aspiring candidates to explore other options within the tertiary education sector for admission.

  • #EndSARS: I now receive curses, threats daily on my mobile phones – Femi Adesina

    #EndSARS: I now receive curses, threats daily on my mobile phones – Femi Adesina

    The Special Adviser to the President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, has revealed that he has been receiving curses and messages from Nigerians due to false reports made about his stands on #EndSARS protest.

    Adesina, who is President Buhari’s spokesman, in an article titled, ‘An Enemy of the People’ published on Thursday evening said a report was made that he was against the #EndSARS protests and accusing him of telling the President to ignore the protests and not give in to the demands of ‘Twitter warriors’.

    “The first salvo came on Sunday from a suicide fake journalist who plies his trade with an online rag called Peoples Gazette. He published that President Muhammadu Buhari was to have approved the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) the previous Friday, but had been prevailed upon not to do so by his spokesman, Femi Adesina. That happens to be me, and the information was coming to me as a piece of virulent, hateful news.

    “Again, the hatchet job masquerading as a news item , added that I convinced the President not to ever surrender the sovereignty of government to ‘Twitter warriors,’ whatever that means.

    “Further, it said because of my anti-people convictions, I had issued a statement against the EndSARS protesters, which had received wide condemnation from the general public,” he wrote.

    The President’s spokesman said someone went ahead to post his telephone numbers on social media which led to him receiving calls and hate messages.

    Adesina stated that he received a second round of attacks when an old interview he had granted Channels Television on the ‘Revolution Now’ protests was twisted to make it appear as if he was referring to the #EndSARS protests.

    The President’s spokesman thanked Channels TV for clarifying the interview but said despite the move by the television station, the attacks did not stop.

    He wrote, “Those who wanted to, believed the television station. A large number chose not to, and bombarded my phone lines with curses, expletives, and messages from the pit of hell. Well, if anybody chooses to belong to that nether region, it’s a matter of choice.

    “Talking about the bombardment of my phone lines, it had begun on Sunday. A hateful mind had published my two numbers on Twitter, urging people to troll me. They called till the phone batteries went dead. Mum was the word from me.”

    Adesina said he never advised the President to ignore the #EndSARS protests rocking the nation.

    He stated that the online medium that published the report did not give him a chance to respond to the allegations thereby opening him to attacks.

    Adesina claimed many people hated him because they were envious of his position as the President’s spokesman.

  • Osun poll: INEC bans mobile phones at polling units, moves against vote buying

    Osun poll: INEC bans mobile phones at polling units, moves against vote buying

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has issued strict warning against the use of mobile phones in the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun State, Olusegun Agbaje said the commission in collaboration with security agents will do everything to prevent vote buying during the September 22 governorship election in the state.

    The REC, who said this in Osogbo on Thursday at a meeting held with the governorship candidates, their running mates and party officials as part of the preparations of the commission ahead of the poll, stressed that voters would not be allowed to use telephones to take photographs of their ballots.

    According to him, some voters have been using camera to take photographs of their ballots and show the same photos to politicians in order to be paid for voting for them.

    Agbaje, who was the REC that conducted the August 2014 governorship election in the state before he was transferred to Ondo State and brought back again, said that INEC was determined to conduct a transparent and violence-free election in Osun State and therefore needed the cooperation of all stakeholders to achieve this.

    He said vote-buying was an electoral offence, saying that emerging trends of electoral fraud would be curbed. he, however, noted that it required the support of all stakeholders and security agents.

    Agbaje said, “We won’t allow people to go to the polling booths with their telephones. There won’t be anything to show that this is who they cast their votes for. We have security agents and they will not allow that. You will see our plan to curb this during the election.

    “They said it was ‘vote and cook soup’ during Ekiti election, but they have changed it to ‘vote and buy land’ in Osun; but we won’t allow this. If you want to buy land, it won’t be from the money you will make during this election. You will need to look for other means to source money to buy the land.

    “That is why we want you all candidates and party leaders to talk to your people to stop this. If you see anybody giving money to people during the election, alert security agents.”