Month: November 2022

Nigerian Tribune

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC)of the House of Representatives on Wednesday directed the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) Professor Abubakar Rasheed Adamu to produce before it all the Vice Chancellors whose universities were indicted by the Office of the Auditor General of the federation over illegal approval of budgets and extra-constitutional expenditures over the years.

The Chairman of the Committee Hon Busayo Oluwole Oke, (PDP-Osun) gave the directive at the resumed hearing of the ongoing investigations of over 100 Ministries, Departments and Agencies MDAs of the Federal Government alleged by the Auditor General of the Federation to be Operating illegal budgets and extra-constitutional expenditures over the years

Hon Oke while speaking shortly after the Vice Chancellor of the Adama Modibo, Federal University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa State, Prof Abdullahi Leman Tukur made his presentation before the Committee, said that the action became necessary as the affected Vice Chancellors had refused to honour all the invitations extended to them without any justice attention

He directed the Clerk of the committee to notify the Minister of Education about the development Immediately

According to him, “the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission(NUC) is hereby directed to bring the affected Vice Chancellors before this honourable committee to speak to the Audit queries raised against their Universities, enough of this ignoble act, why are they avoiding the Parliament, it means they have something to hide

“The Committee is trying to give the affected Vice Chancellors an opportunity of fair hearing, we are going to name them and shame them in the National Dailies, we have the power to issue a warrant of arrest against them or they must account for public funds they collected.”

Bon Okie urged Prof Tukur to assist the Committee to educate his Colleagues making themselves appear before the Committee based on his experience during his own appearance, saying that the committee was not out to harass them.

The Vice Chancellors are expected to appear before the Committee with the followings:

• Copies of the budgetary estimates the Commission presented to the Mr President through the Budget Office of the Federation with respect to the 2015 to 2022 fiscal year.
• Copies of the budget estimates that were presented to the Mr President which in turn presented to the National Assembly.
• And Confirmation on whether the Constitutionally laid down process was complied with prior to expenditures from the Internally Generated Revenue by the Commission with documentary evidence.
• Approved Budget (both Appropriation and IGR 2021 and 2022) among others.

Prof Tukur who commended the committee for its good work promised to talk to his colleagues about the need for them to do the needful.

The Nation Newspaper

There was pandemonium in Ikirun community, the headquarters of Ifelodun Local Government Area of Osun State on Wednesday when a prince, Lukman Gboleru, was reportedly shot as security operatives attempted to forcefully open the palace.

The Nation reports several protests have trailed the appointment of Oba Yinusa Akadiri as the new monarch of the community with five persons shot once.

Aggrieved members of other ruling houses mobilised and shut the palace with charms to prevent the new king to access it.

On Wednesday morning, security operatives, including Policemen, stormed the palace to force their way to the premises, a move youths violently resisted.

A resident, who pleaded not to be named, said the police gained entrance into the premises but some suspected hoodlums mobilised behind the palace and set it ablaze.

The Prince, who was reportedly resisting the forceful entry of security men into the palace, was shot dead.

Another source said three firefighters mobilised to extinguish the fire at the palace were injured while on their way. They were forced to abandon their vehicle halfway.

Prince Tajudeen Gboleru told The Nation: “My brother was killed during a fight in front of the palace this morning. He led some youths to the palace when he heard that they want to enter the palace, there was a brawl and one of the policemen shot him dead.”

Osun Fire Service spokesman Ibraheem Adekunle confirmed three of their men ”were injured in Ikirun on their way to put off the fire at the palace of Akirun this morning. I am on my way to the hospital now.”

Details Shortly…

Daily Trust

A 200-level Dental student of the Sultan Abdurrahman College of Health Technology, Gwadabawa, Sokoto, was killed by his friends who were also students of the college over alleged phone theft.

The victim who was identified as Lukman hailed from Kalambaina in the Wamakko Local Government Area of Sokoto state.

Daily Trust reliably gathered that the student and his murderers were living in a rented apartment outside the school premises.

“His friends and fellow students accused him of stealing a phone belonging to another student,” the source said.
It added that they conspired with their friends who visited them from the city and forcefully dragged the victim out of his room.

“They tied him to an electric phone, poured cold water on him and continue torturing him in their bid to force him to confess to the crime.

“When he fainted, some of the students rushed him to Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching hospital and was confirmed death on arrival,” the source revealed.

It was gathered that, the management of the hospital after identifying him as a student, ordered their internal security personnel not to allow any of the students that brought him to escape.
The management, however, informed the college authority and the police who arrested the students for investigation.

The provost of the College, Nasir A. Musa while speaking to Daily Trust on phone, said he was not aware of the development until the management of UDUTH informed him on Sunday morning as both the victim and his killers were living off-campus.
“So I called one of our staff who went to the hospital. I equally informed the Divisional Police Officer of Gwadabawa who led his men to the scene of the incident and arrested some of the perpetrators.

“As I am talking to you, seven students linked to the crime have been arrested and the police are trailing others including their friends that came from the city who also took part in the torture.

“We have already dismissed some of the students involved to serve as deterrents to others. Because if we allow them go score free other students can do a similar thing in the future,” the provost said.
The spokesman of the Sokoto Police Command, DSP Sanusi Abubakar could not be reached for comment.

Vanguard News

President Muhammadu Buhari has unveiled the new currency notes on Wednesday morning before the federal executive council (FEC) meeting at the state house, Abuja.

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (BN), was in attendance during the unveiling ceremony.

The unveiling of the new notes took place before the weekly Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting, presided over by President Buhari.

Speaking to State House correspondents after the brief ceremony, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele said that in line with the global practice, the naira was supposed to be redesigned and re-issued between five and eight years.

He regretted that in Nigeria, the naira has not been redesigned for about 19 years now because of lack of political will from the previous leaders.

According to him, “In the past, I have to confess that attempts by the CBN to redesign and reissue the naira notes have been resisred. It is only President Muhammadu Buhari that has the courage to do so.”

Emefiele said it was the mandate of the CBN, to redesign and reissue the notes, assuring that henceforth, the exercise would take place after five to eight years.

“After today, the CBN will begin to redesign and reissue the naira for every five to eight years,” he said.

The CBN governor said that Nigeria has gone cashless and that security agencies would monitor people making withdrawal at the counter to know how much withdrawn and also monitor the usage of the money.

He said there was no need to insinuate that the policy was targeted at anyone.

Emefiele said that the CBN was determined in ensuring that the provision of the law on volume of money one should carry is followed.

“The world has moved to cashless economy and the CBN has moved to cashless economy. We will restrain the volume of cash someone will withdraw over the counter. We will follow up with the person’s data to know the reason for such withdrawal,” he said.

For those calling for extension of time for the usage of the old notes, the CBN boss said, “we will not go with people that want extension of time. From today, this currency that was re-issued will become a legal tender.”

He said there is no local government area in the country where there is no bank agent, adding that there is over one million point across the country that people should go and deposit the old notes.

He also assured that the new notes cannot be counterfeited because of the features in them.

The Covenant University has denied allegations making the rounds in some sections of social media that female students of the school are being sexually harassed and raped by workers of the institution.

Vreporters gathered that some Nigerians have taken to social media platforms people to accuse some workers of sexually harassing and raping female undergraduates of the institution.

Lamenting over the incident on social media, a man, while using his Instagram handle, @_Otitoo, called for urgent intervention to prevent a situation that would lead to the death of a student.

The post read, “CU girls are being raped and nothing is being done about it. Do something now. We don’t want to see your candles after we lose another girl.”

The screenshot of another message that was also shared on Twitter alleged that workers of the school were raping students who broke rules of the institution, adding that a student who got pregnant for a worker got expelled.

The message read, “The staff in Covenant University are raping the students. They’ll set stupid rules and if the students should break them, they’ll sleep with them in exchange for their studentship.

“A girl is in a coma now. She did an abortion for the head of the students’ disciplinary council. He got her pregnant and still expelled her.

“So many students there are being abused. It’s a Christian University for crying out loud. Covenant University has hidden so many deaths. They’ve expelled so many students for trying to speak up for their rights.”

When Punch Contacted the Media Office of the institution, who gave her name only as Chichi, described the social media posts as false and the work of a mischievous person.

“It’s not true. It is a very false tweet or whatever it was. The person behind it must be mischievous.”

She added that the tweet was a surprise to her because no student had come forward to complain about anything related to the allegations in the tweet.

Christy Uba, has been directed to oversee the affairs of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, following the removal of former Director General of the scheme, Brigadier General Muhammad Kaku Fadah, by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The interim appointment of Uba who is a director of the scheme was contained in a statement signed by NYSC spokesperson, Eddy Megwa on Tuesday.

Uba according to the release will oversee the agency until the President appoints a substantive Director-General.

“Following the removal of Brigadier General Muhammad Kaku Fadah as Director General, National Youth Service Corps by President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, Mrs Christy Uba, Director, Information and Communications Technology, the most senior Director in the Scheme has taken over the leadership of the Corps in the capacity of Overseer, pending the appointment of a substantive Director General by Mr President,” the statement said.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has announced to the public that, there will be a public holiday in the country on Wednesday after the Saudi team defeated Argentina 2-1 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

According to Arabnews, King Salman approved a suggestion made by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to celebrate the national team’s victory with a holiday.

All public and private sector employees and students at all educational stages will be given a holiday, Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Saudis celebrated beating the South Americans in the opening game as they stopped Lionel Messi, ending a 36-game undefeated run for the Argentines.

The Arabians had always lost badly against big countries with the most demeaning being the 8-0 lost to Germany in the 2002 World Cup held in South Korea and Japan.

In the historic win against Argentina, Saleh Alsheri scored the equalizer in the 48th minute before Salem Aldawseri scored the decider five minutes later.

Saudi Arabia will go on to face Lewandowski’s Poland side on Saturday.