Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, the minister of state for education, says tertiary institutions in-country will reopen “very soon”.

Speaking during a programme that aired on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) on Saturday, Nwajiuba said the federal government is also working to end the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) before schools reopen.

Tertiary institutions in the country have been shut since March after the government ordered their closure to slow the speed of the coronavirus.

Nwajiuba said while private universities have requested to be allowed to reopen, vice-chancellors want those in exit classes to resume in earnest.

“Tertiary institutions across the country will open very soon,” he said.

“Private universities have written us, requesting that they are allowed to reopen ahead of public institutions. Vice-chancellors have also requested that we allow them to reopen for their students in exit classes.

“We have also a lot of calls from bodies who want us to resolve the industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities before reopening because some public schools which are not ASUU-prone want to take the advantage of the strike to move ahead, but that would destroy our public schools. So, we are working on all these calls.”

The minister said the National Universities Commission (NUC) would have to do an appraisal of the state of tertiary institutions ahead of the reopening.

“We are waiting for the same from other tertiary institutions bodies so I can situate them and present the PTF on COVID-19,” he said.

“I can’t give the NUC a deadline on this because our job at the ministry is to wait for their inputs. This is not a political decision alone.

“If you open the university system, you have opened the country.”

Nwajiuba urged ASUU to call off their strike because their grievances “have more or less been resolved”.

“The body is making efforts to situate the visitation panel, though, that has to be gazetted and we are on it,” he said.

The First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, spoken on the controversy trailing her journey from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) back home.

Some online media on Saturday raised tempers by claiming the First Lady’s plane nearly crashed while returning home on Friday.

There were also reports of her health conditions earlier in the month, alleging she had been flown to Dubai for urgent medical care.

However, in a statement she signed, the First Lady said she flew home on Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft, contrary to claims it was a private jet, belonging to her in-law, Alhaji Mohammed Indimi that bought her back.

She also confirmed the flight ran into turbulence but did not say if the crew on board lost control as the media reports claimed.

“I want to use this opportunity to thank all Nigerians for their prayers and well wishes while I was away for medical treatment in the United Arabs Emirates (UAE). I am well now and fully recovered and had since returned back home, Nigeria.

“On our way back, the Nigerian Airforce Flight encountered a violent clear air turbulence which was navigated safely and professionally by the Captain and crew of the Flight.

“I want to commend and appreciate the courage and professionalism of the Captain and his crew, the wonderful gallant service men and women of the entire Nigerian Airforce for their dedication to duty and the quality of maintainance of its Fleet,” she said.

The First Lady also called on healthcare services providers in Nigeria to take advantage of the N100 billion credit support for the sector by the Federal Government.

“I recall hosting the private healthcare providers earlier in the year and we had a very productive engagement where the issue of building the capacity of Nigeria health sector was the major focus, and funding was discovered to be the major challenge.

“I, therefore, call on the healthcare providers to take the advantage of the Federal Government’s initiative through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines for the operation of NGN100 Billion Credit Support for the Healthcare Sector as was released recently contained in a circular dated March 25, 2020 to the Commercial Banks.

“This will no doubt help in building and expanding the capacity of the Nigerian health sector and ultimately reduce medical trips and tourism outside the Country.

“Once again, I thank our frontline workers, and all Nigerians for their steadfast as we navigate the challenges facing the entire world,” she said.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has commended the President and Visitor to the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Muhammadu Buhari, for recognising the role of the institution’s Senate in its governance.

In an interview, the Chairman, ASUU-UNILAG, Dr. Dele Ashiru said it was praiseworthy that Buhari allowed due process by respecting the legal role of the Senate – a role that the suspended Governing Council chairman, Dr. Wale Babalakin failed to recognise.

He said: “It is a right step in the right direction. Worth gratifying is the recognition of the position of the Senate as a critical organ in the governance structure of the University.

“The same Senate which Wale Babalakin treated with disdain, with contempt, with absolute lack of respect, the Visitor of the University through the Honourable Minister should be commended for standing firm in defense of the rule of law – particularly by asking Senate to reconvene with a view to selecting an Acting Vice-chancellor in compliance with the law.”

Ashiru added that with the Visitation panel all accused would be given fair hearing.

“An accused is deemed innocent until he or she is proven guilty. This visitation panel will afford each party the opportunity to give their own side of the story,” he said.

Regarding the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Theophilus Soyombo’s statement that he had step aside, Ashiru said he was not recognized by the law in the first place.

“And for the so-called vice-chancellor – the surrogate vice-chancellor, he need not step down because he never existed in the face of the law,” he said.

When asked to react to the backing out of the Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) from the joint resolution of workers’ congress to protest Prof. Toyin Ogundipe’s sack, Ashiru said: “That question should be better answered by SSANU and NASU. But I feel sorry for them. I feel very sorry for them,” he said.

On his part, NASU-UNILAG chairman, Comrade Kehinde Ajibade, said: “It is a good welcome and good development.”

Commenting on the matter, SSANU Chairman, Sola Sowunmi, said the union is calling for calm among it’s members and prayers for the University for the bad publicity.

“I don’t have any comment. My only side of it is that we are just urging our members to be prayerful, be calm and peaceful and we just believe that God’s counsel would prevail.

“It is a development that is not too pleasant for us because the university name has been dented one way or the other,” he said.

In a press release announcing his stepping down, Prof. Soyombo said he accepted the role for to restore peace in the university.

“As I noted in my address to a cross-section of staff on 19th August, 2020, I accepted the offer to serve as a call to service, with the objective of restoring peace and stability in the university. It is my prayer that the peace and stability that we so much need and desire at this time be restored very quickly, so that the University of Lagos can continue to march on as the University of First Choice and the Nation’s Pride. I urge all our staff and students to continue to go about their lawful activities in a peaceful manner,” he said.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has vowed to deal with any of its staff responsible for leaking official documents.

According to a statement issued Saturday evening, the DMO said it “will brief relevant security agencies in the country to thoroughly investigate the sources of the documents”.

The reason for involving security agencies, the DMO said, is “with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book in line with Public Service Rules No. 030401 and 030402, which prescribes dismissal for unauthorised disclosure of official information as a serious act of misconduct”.

Vanguard newspaper had run a story titled “Alleged N1.08bn corruption scandal hits DMO”. Reacting to the story, the DMO said “the sponsors of the story are disgruntled elements who have not only breached the Civil Service Rules but have also contravened laid down procedures for dealing with official matters”.

It went on to state that “these officials have resorted to illegally leaking official documents due to their recent redeployment; have colluded with other disgruntled persons who have failed in their attempts to control the running of the affairs of the DMO, which has blocked their ability to pilfer public funds”.

The DMO added that “the story referred to documents that, on their own, are incomplete and do not reflect the whole story or the purpose of any transaction”.

DMO denied claims that events and travels by officials of the DMO either did not take place or did not hold as “false and an attempt to discredit the impeccable records of the organisation. These speak to their desperation to give the institution a bad name”.

The Nation’s debt managers described itself as “an accountable, transparent and responsible organisation that works in accordance with laid down civil service procedures”.

It noted that “it is highly regarded by multilateral agencies and financial institutions as a reputable government agency”.

The Vanguard report, the DMO lamented, has “been twisted and distorted with the intention to misinform the general public and discredit the institution.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHC) has condemned the recurring practice of human trafficking and other acts that inhabit citizens’ enjoyment of constitutionally guaranteed rights to liberty, human dignity, among others.

The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu noted despite the abolition of slave trade several decades ago, many countries including Nigeria are still grappling with other forms of modern-day slavery such as human trafficking, sexual slavery, child/forced labour, prostitution, enlistment of minors in military service, servitude or removal of an organ for pecuniary benefits, osu, ohu and other cast systems, etc.

Ojukwu, in a statement he issued in commemoration of the 2020 International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (IDRVS), called for a concerted effort to end all forms of modern-day slavery to pave the way for full enjoyment of human rights in Nigeria by all the rural and urban poor, the rich, the downtrodden, the displaced and the homeless.

NHRC’s spokesman, Fatimah Agwai Mohammed quoted Ojukwu, in the statement, noting that the long-term effects of the transatlantic slave trade, which also have some trappings of racism still reverberate across various societies globally.

Mohammed added: “He (Ojukwu) said all hands must be on deck to fight the menace, saying it is high time humanity came to terms with the tenets of human rights which are targeted at enhancing human dignity, equality, and respect for fundamental freedoms.

.”The relevant Sections of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, the Universa Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and other regional and international human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a signatory, all condemn slavery in all its ramifications.

“He decried the disturbing trend where young Nigerian men, women, and girls are trafficked to various parts of the world including Saudi Arabia, Italy, Libya, etc in the name of searching for greener pasture only for them to become stranded and face various forms of inhuman and degrading treatments.

“He disclosed that the Commission is working assiduously with relevant agencies to stem the tide of all forms of modern-day slavery, servitude, and other related practices.

“He condemned the action of some parents locking up members of the families in solitary and inhuman confinement for years with little or no food thereby denying them of their human rights.

“Similarly, the Executive Secretary urged members of the public to be vigilant and report any suspected migration, child abuse/molestation, and the attendant human rights violations to the commission (NAPTIP) or the police, for the necessary interventions accordingly.”

The Atyap, Fulani and Hausa communities in Zangon-Kataf local government area held a successful peace and reconciliation summit for peaceful coexistence in the area.

Participants at the summit who committed to peace and forgiveness of each other condemned the killings and destruction that have occurred.

They declared their readiness to help security agencies with information to arrest and prosecute criminal elements.

The summit, appreciated the government for deploying security forces and commended youths from the various communities for their symbolic embrace and agreement not to mount roadblocks anywhere in the chiefdom.

The meeting, which held under the traditional ruler, Agwatyap, Dominic Gambo Yahaya, brought together the three communities in a peace summit held at the Mariyamu and Yakubu Event Centre in Ungwan Wakili.

The summit, co-chaired by AVM Stephen Shekari (rtd) and Dr. Salim Umar, represented the Atyap Chiefdom’s attempted to bring its communities together and stop the bloodshed and destruction of property.

The communique issued after the meeting was signed by representatives of the Atyap, Fulani and Hausa communities, the co-chairs and His Highness the Agwatyap.

In a 14-point, resolution, the summit called on all residents of Atyap Chiefdom not to take laws into their hands and instead submit all grievances to the lawful authorities.

According to the meeting “appreciated the fact that all Nigerians have the constitutional or fundamental right to move and reside anywhere in Nigeria, including Atyap Chiefdom, without any fear, molestation or harassment from anybody or any source whatsoever.”

The summit however called on the authorities to facilitate the return of displaced persons.

It further:“recommended the establishment of a standing peace committee that should comprise of Hausa, Fulani and Atyap and their youth to organise robust engagement/dialogue on security issues from time to time with a view to sustaining peaceful coexistence.”

The resolve for peace by the communities comes hours after the Kaduna State Government reduced curfew hours in Zangon Kataf and Kauru LGAs, citing serious efforts at rapprochement between the conflict communities.

thenigerialawyer

General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), Dr. Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, has denied involvement in any fraudulent activities as being portrayed in some sections of the media, which he accused of being bent on churning out malicious stories against him and the church.

Defending Dr. Olukoya, in a statement, his media aide, Mr. Collins Edomaruse, said the seven allegations laid against the general Overseer and the MFM were without foundation, but intent to damage his reputation and destroy the global image of the church.

Edomaruse also said “It has become pertinent for the purpose of clarity to respond to the false allegations being peddled against the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries and our General Overseer – Dr. D. K. Olukoya in the social media particularly sponsored by SaharaReporters. These allegations are seven (7) in number namely:

No. 1 That Dr. Olukoya falsely claimed residence of US city of Maryland.

Nothing can be further from the truth. Dr. Olukoya is a public figure nationally and internationally. His domicile is therefore a fact of public knowledge. The true position is that the Pastor who wanted to register MFM in Maryland inserted Dr. Olukoya’s name without prior consultation with or knowledge of the G.O because he believed that Dr. Olukoya should be involved but after he consulted a lawyer and received advice that a person’s name cannot be on the incorporation documents unless he is resident in Maryland, that registration was put in abeyance and allowed to lapse. The Pastor is still alive and all the evidence are there for all to see at the Company Registry in Maryland.

No. 2 Allegation is that Dr. Olukoya Illegally Imported books into the United States and evaded payment of Customs duties on those books.

This is also untrue. Dr. Olukoya’s books are sold on Amazon. It is fool hardy for anyone to suggest that he brought in his books to US illegally when he can and has been doing so legally. This false allegation was pioneered by a former Pastor of MFM who tried to steal MFM Branch in Maryland. He conceived this lie as his defence to a civil Suit the Church brought against him in the County Court in Maryland. This concocted lie could best be described as the wild thrashings of a drowning man intent on bringing everybody down with him. However, in defence of this allegation, MFM brought its book keeper to testify in court who produced all the receipts of payment and customs documents and, in the end, the Judge not only thrashed the wild allegation but gave judgement in favour of MFM

No. 3 is the allegation that the Trustees in the UK were suspended.

This is completely false. They were never suspended. They are still in charge of the Church even up till now.

No. 4 is the allegation of fraud against the Trustees of MFM UK.

The trustees were never indicted. We can authoritatively say that no Trustee of MFM-UK has ever committed fraud.

No. 5 is the allegation that Dr. Olukoya connived with someone to steal 150,000 pounds.

This is a complete fabrication from the fevered minds of the defamers. Fortunately, all the people that took money illegally are still alive. The genesis of this allegation is that the lease of one of our branches in London contained a clause which stipulated that any party who broke the Lease for any reason before its expiration would pay a penalty of 150,000 British Pounds to the other party. It happened that the owner of the property broke the lease and sold the property to a third party which necessitated the Church relocating from the building. The property owners honoured their obligation and paid the penalty sum of 150,000 pound which the Pastor of that branch somehow found a way of paying it into his personal account without informing the Headquarters and conspired with the external auditors to shield that income from discovery. It was much later that a member of that branch brought to the attention of Headquarters that such amount of money had been received by the Pastor.

Headquarters immediately set up a panel to investigate the incident and give fair hearing to the Pastor concerned. He attended the sitting of the panel and unequivocally admitted the theft. The Panel directed him to refund the money immediately. Upon receipt of the report of the Panel, the General Overseer issued the Pastor an ultimatum in writing to pay back the money within forty-eight (48) hours whereupon he promised to re-mortgage his house in London to comply. It was later brought to the attention of Dr. Olukoya that this ultimatum had not been complied with by the Pastor who, on his own, began to repay the money by instalments.

From the above narration, it is crystal clear to any unbiased mind that the money was stolen long before the Headquarters and Dr. Olukoya got to hear and that when they did, appropriate internal machineries were promptly put in place to investigate and recover it.

The publication on the Charity Commission’s website which Sahara Reporters quoted out of context does not say or infer that Dr. Olukoya as Lead Trustee of the Church connived at the losses. It simply states, albeit on a false factual basis, that Dr. Olukoya agreed with and permitted the Pastor to repay the money by instalments. The question that flow from Sahara Reporter’s misconception and misrepresentation are:

a. Since the synonyms of connive are: plot, scheme, conspire, plan, hatch up, how can anybody do any of these in respect of an event that had already transpired without his knowledge?

b. Would a person who connived at an act set up a Panel to probe that act and eventually set an ultimatum for the return of the stolen money?

Suffice to say, at this point, that Dr. Olukoya has in letters dated 15th and 16 August 2019 writen to the Charity Commission to challenge the non-factual nature of the report written about him on their website. The Commission in a terse reply dated August 20th 2019 indicated that it would address that complaint.

No. 6 is the allegation that MFM and Dr. Olukoya are land grabbers and were set to lose the MFM Prayer City land.

Besides the fact that MFM has a Certificate of Occupancy, the falsehood of this allegation has been judicially determined by the fact that the lawyer who granted the interview from which Sahara Reporters made the false publication, as usual without independent research, has been damnified in damages for libel in the judgment of a High Court.

No. 7 is the publication by Sahara Reporters that its Publisher Omoyele Sowore and his crew were beaten up and detained by MFM at its Prayer City.

The necessity to re-address this false allegation is underscored by the fact that the incident leading up to it is the foundation of Sowore’s deep seated hatred for MFM and Dr Olukoya and the reason for his sustained rancid and venomous attacks on our Church and General Overseer.

On the Cross-over service held at the MFM Prayer City in the night of December 2012 to the morning of January 2013, Sowore and his Crew, without being previously accredited like all other journalist and newsmen covering the event, gate-crashed and started filming and advancing towards the podium where Dr. Olukoya had already started preaching. Recall that this was a period when terrorist attacks and bomb blasts in places of worship were rampant and security was beefed up in such locations with large presence of uniformed and plain clothed Policemen, DSS operatives, Bomb detection Squads and other security operatives.

These Security operatives stopped Sowore and his crew from advancing further towards the podium, took them out for questioning and after they identified themselves they were advised to restrict themselves to the area reserved for pressmen but Sowore in his conceited perception of himself as having a larger than life image and reputation took offence at the suggestion and left with his crew only to subsequently concoct and publish those lies; and has not relented since then.

Our members and friends are advised to just ignore these false and malicious publications for what they are.

As for those who have made it their preoccupation and livelihood to pour filth on our Church and General Overseer, we love you as God’s creation and will continue to pray that you cease from your steady decline into perdition. We also commend to you the words of the scriptures in Isaiah 33:1 – “Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled; and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled; and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee,” KJV

everyday

Bashir El-rufai, son of Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-rufai, has told the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to re-direct its invitation for the 2020 Annual General Conference to opposition politicians.

The body of legal practitioners in the country had invited the Kaduna helmsman to the event as a speaker but the invitation was greeted with criticism, mostly from Nigerians on social media. A petition seeking his disengagement was also forwarded to the association.

The development forced the NBA to withdraw the invitation extended to the governor who then described it as unfair.

“For an association, whose bread and butter is about justice to make a ruling based on the stridency of people who lampoon judicial processes against certain individuals without hearing the other side is odd,” the governor, through his Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, said in a Thursday statement.

“It bears noting that in its response to pressure, the NBA leadership has signaled an unfortunate embrace of injustice, unfairness, absence of fair hearing and total disregard for the rule of law.

“The defamatory statements in the petition is another matter entirely, and they will get the appropriate response,” he added.

On his part, the governor’s son, described the invitation which his father would have honored as useless.

In a Friday tweet, the young lad advised that it be re-directed to Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers State and Ayodele Fayose, former governor of Ekiti State.

“These guys should re-direct their useless invitation to Nyesom Wike or Ayodele Fayose. The true respecters of Rule of Law & decorum. Make the conference have a uniform theme of speakers,” he said in the morning tweet.