Month: September 2023

The Lagos State Governorship Election Tribunal has struck out the Labour Party and its candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, from the petition of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Olajide Adediran popularly known as Jandor, against the recent governorship election.

Jandor is challenging the return of Babajide SanwoOlu and Obafemi Hamzat in the March 18 governorship election in Lagos State.

Shortly after the announcement of appearances by all lawyers and parties in the case at Monday’s proceeding, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Arum Ashom, announced that the court would first deliver judgment in the case of the PDP & its candidate before giving its judgment in the petition of the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.

Justice Ashom also yielded the floor to his brother judge, Justice Mikail Abdullahi to read the judgment on behalf of the panel.

The third judge on the panel is Justice Igho Braimoh.

The tribunal, in its judgment read by Justice Abdullahi, first dwelt on the preliminary objections filed by the parties.

The first objection taken is whether the 3rd Respondent, the Deputy Governor of Lagos, Obafemi Hamzat is a separate and distinct candidate from the 2nd respondent, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The tribunal was also asked to determine whether the deputy governor could be listed as a respondent in the petition.

The Tribunal noted that this issue has been decided in a number of cases and went on to hold that a deputy governor and governor are not separate candidates and they are not required to pay a separate security deposit.

In the second objection, the tribunal was asked to decide whether a person who lost an election could be joined as a respondent in an election petition.

Jandor had joined the Candidate of the Labour Party, Rhodes-Vivour as a respondent in his petition. Citing a list of decided cases, the tribunal agreed that a petition is contemplated to be filed between the winner and the loser of an election and not between two persons who lost.

The tribunal therefore upheld the preliminary objection and subsequently struck out the name of the 5th respondent, Rhodes-Vivour from the petition filed by Jandor. The tribunal also expunged from its records all exhibits tendered in evidence by Rhodes-Vivour in the petition filed by Jandor.

The tribunal went on to hold that Rhodes-Vivour cannot subsequently go on to challenge any part of the judgment of the Jandor’s petition or else he becomes a meddlesome interloper.

In a similar vein, the Tribunal held that the 6th respondent, the Labour Party ought not to have made a respondent in Jandor & the PDP’s petition. The name of the party was subsequently struck out for being improperly joined. All evidence and exhibits concerning the party were also expunged from the tribunal’s records.

The Tribunal however disagreed with the objections made by the APC & its candidate that the Mis joinder of the LP & its candidate was a ground for striking out the petition.

The tribunal held, “That the 5th & 6th respondent ought not to have been made respondents to the petition cannot rob the tribunal of the jurisdiction to hear the parties. The question of misjoinder cannot lead to a striking out of the petition as the proper order to make is to strike out the names of the parties”.

“Already the name of the 5th respondent has been struck out and the 6th respondent who has been found to be improperly joined is also ordered to be struck out”.

Hearing of the judgment is still underway as of the time of filing this report.

The Taraba state Government has approved N75,000 allowance for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members posted to schools in the state.

This was said in a press statement by Zainab Usman, the state Commissioner for Information and Reorientation.

She said: “As an emergency response to the education situation, His Excellency has approved significant allowances for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members serving in Taraba State schools:

“An additional ten thousand naira will be added to their monthly allowance. A one-time payment of fifty thousand naira as medical allowance. An accommodation allowance of twenty-five thousand naira per term, totaling seventy-five thousand naira for three terms.”

Exceptional corps members “who distinguish themselves while serving in schools will be offered automatic employment opportunities,” the statement read.

According to the commissioner, other procedures are also being implemented to guarantee transparency in Taraba’s enrollment and teaching processes.

According to him, the rise in new enrollments in both elementary and secondary schools during the last 10 working days has prompted an immediate response.

“Commencing this term, an ICT-based registration system will be introduced. This will apply to teachers and both new and returning students. Ensuring that they are registered will guarantee the provision of essential school materials upon their arrival,” the statement added.

She also said “Uniforms, shoes, socks, and books will be made available by January to support students in their pursuit of education” while in the coming year, the State Government will cover the examination fees for all SS3 students, enabling them to write both WAEC and NECO examinations.

“Exceptional students will be eligible for sponsorship and scholarships,” the commissioner said.

Aside from that, “Adult learners seeking new enrollment should be directed to the various Mass Education Centers, ensuring accessibility to education for all”.

Tension has gripped the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state, as a panel recommended the dismissal, suspension, and expulsion of more than 14 individuals, including both staff and students, for various offences.

The implicated individuals comprise a Priest and three lecturers, with additional students facing expulsion for offences like aiding and abetting.

This information was disclosed in an official release signed by Dr Emmanuel Ojukwu, the special adviser to the Vice Chancellor for Public Relations and Special Duties, and provided to journalists in Awka on Sunday, September 24.

Recall that the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Charles Esimone, has been grappling with a major challenge related to sexual harassment, extortion, and various transgressions within the University.

Three lecturers were accused of extorting funds from students who successfully completed their courses, and employing fellow students to carry out these malevolent acts.

“The Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka has taken disciplinary actions against the following staff and students for various offences.

“Principal Executive Officer 11, abandoned his duty post for a considerable length of time. As a result, he was indicted for gross misconduct and suspended from duty for six months to serve as a deterrent to other officers

“Senior Executive Officer was indicted for fraudulent financial transaction concerning the University. She was suspended for six months on half salary” the Varsity said

The Reverend priest and another were both accused of aiding and abetting examination misconduct after collecting gratification from students.

One of the lecturers was indicted for clearing and graduating a student, who had 12 outstanding courses.

The panel recommended that he should be dismissed from the services of the University, while the result should be withdrawn and further credentials such as Certificates and Transcripts should not be issued.

Amid growing tension and concerns in the social media space over the death of Nigerian music star and rapper, Ilerioluwa Aloba, also known as Mohbad, his former boss, Naira Marley, who left Nigeria few days before Mohbad’s death is set to return to Nigeria.

R on Friday, reliably gathered that Marley who many people accused of being responsible for Mohbad’s death is said to have grown tired of being fingered in his former protégé’s death and may jet back into the country this weekend.

A source told R on Friday that Marley is considering cutting short his engagement abroad to return to Nigeria and douse mounting tension that has kept his name on the lips of many social media users for more than a week.

While Marley is believed to be in Europe, his partner, Sammy Larry, who was alleged of constantly bullying Mohbad may also be forced to return.

A source in one of the security agencies saddled with the responsibility of unraveling the cause of the rapper’s death following an autopsy carried out told R that all suspects mentioned in the in the case will be reached out to in a matter of days as soon as autopsy is completed.

Though the source didn’t reveal how Marley and others whose name had been mentioned in the saga would be brought into the country but it was gathered that they will soon be back for questioning.

When R reached out to Marley’s camp on Friday for his reaction, his management refused to speak on the matter as they directed this reporter to another number that would be best to answer questions.

It was also gathered that Larry’s family are reportedly mounting pressure on him to return and clear his name of any wrong doing.

Mother of late rising music star Mohbad has revealed why she distanced herself from her son despite his fame. According to the mother of the deceased singer, she stated that her son lived in fear due to bullying and physical assault.

Born on June 8, 1996 in Lagos, the singer died on September 12, 2023, in a controversial manner with fingers pointing at his record label, Marlian Music which is headed by popular singer, Naira Marley.

During an interview with TVC, Promise Aloba, the late singer’s mother said that during the lifetime of the artiste he took good care of her. However, she hardly made it known that she was the singer’s mother because ‘he was scared I might get kidnapped or killed.’

Aloba said, “I don’t tell people I am Mohbad’s mother, because he was scared, I might get kidnapped or killed.

“I’ve spent just five months in the new house he rented for me, he even visited me 3 times. He took me out of where I was living before to Ikorodu, he said he wanted to be visiting me from time to time.

Speaking about the plans the deceased had for her the aggrieved mother said, “He just rented a huge space comprising of 3 shops for me. I’m yet to open it. He gave me money that I used to buy 2 big freezers and a big generator. The day he died, he promised to send N5 million so I can buy goods to stock up.

“His wife said she will come and meet me, that I should get someone that will support me because we cannot buy the goods at once, that it will take us 3 days to buy all the goods.

Mohbad’s mother during the interview said that she is scared to go back to her base, Ikorodu, Lagos.

She said, “But now I’m scared, I can’t go back to Ikorodu, I called someone to help me rent the shop out and give me the money. My son did not enjoy himself, he lived in fear. He did not enjoy himself.

“Whenever I visit him here, he sits right there and I’ll sit with him, then take him upstairs to sleep but he’ll be shaking his head. I even thought all those problems and attacks had stopped, but when they beat him again recently after he dropped his EP, I said these people haven’t left you, and he usually went to the police station to report, because I witnessed it twice.

“I spent 10 days with him, I did not know he was going to die. I left on Saturday and he died on Monday. And the reason I left on Saturday was because he had a show, he begged, begged, and begged me not to leave. So, I told him that won’t he allow me to go to church on Sunday, that I’ve missed church for two weeks and I needed to go and pray because I’m losing myself. It was the church that I mentioned that made him let me go.

“Because him and his wife were pranking me, I told him that I was going, but because he didn’t want me to go, he delayed giving me my feeding money because he knows I’ll leave if he gives me the money. Normally, he gives me feeding allowance every month.”

President Bola Tinubu has established a humanitarian and poverty alleviation trust fund for the country.

Betta Edu, the minister of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation, made the announcement on Friday at the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States.

Edu said 30 percent of the funding is expected to come from the federal government while the balance of 70 percnet is expected from donor agencies.

According to the minister, the fund would have several governing caders with a structure that would show accountability and transparency.

“Thirty percent of the funding expected in this trust fund will be coming from the government of Nigeria, and is expected that the rest of this funding comes from other nations, the United Nations, donor agencies, philanthropic individuals, private sector, who we want to bring fully into the space amongst other forms of innovative fundraising,” she said.

“The essence is for us to be able to adequately address the issues which we face on the ground as a matter of urgency.

“I’m sure we already know that the president declared a state of emergency on food security in Nigeria, he equally had a state of emergency on other things like humanitarian crisis and our ability to provide durable solutions.”

Edu said the government was counting on the support of the international community and development partners to provide adequate support in tackling poverty in Nigeria.

“And as we make plans to come in and address this need, what must be key at the back of our minds is providing durable solutions,” she added.

“We must be able to address education for these persons, we must be able to address their livelihood, we must be able to address their reintegration back into communities, we must be to address their resettlement, including the provision of proper shelter for them to stay in.

“We must be able to address their GPV needs amongst other things and we’re counting on your support.”

Edu said the number of persons affected by the humanitarian crisis in the country is expected to rise and asked concerned parties to act fast.

She added that the government is seeking urgent international support to address human and climate-induced displacement and poverty in the country.

Martin Griffiths, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, welcomed the initiative, saying it would take more than the efforts of the government to tackle humanitarian issues.

The gallant military officers have rescued six of the 24 students of the Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State, abducted by gunmen Friday morning.

Daily Trust reports that bandits in their large number invaded three of the school’s hostels, forced their way into the rooms through windows and abducted 24 students.

Also military personnel were said to have engaged the attackers in a gun battle, before they escaped with their victims.

However, a top military source close to the Commander of 1 Brigade Nigerian Army, Gusau, confirmed to Channels TV that six of the students had been rescued.

The source said that the Brigade Commander, Brigadier General Sani Ahmed, was leading the operation with other security agencies in the forest along Tsafe Local Government Area (LGA) of the state to rescue the remaining victims.

He added that several bandits were neutralised and weapons recovered during the operation.