NIGERIAN NOTCH

By Kamen Chuks   Today at the plenary, the Senator representing the good people of Anambra South Senatorial District , Senator Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah called the attention of the Senate leadership to the unwieldy number of road blocks and  check points by police Army and other security agencies  on the Lagos to Onitsha Expressway  especially from Ijebu Ode  down to Onitsha axis Today, I came under Order 43 of the Senate Rules to raise a complaint about the  increasingly worrisome number of roadblocks/checkpoints mounted by the Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Army and other paramilitary security agencies between Ijebu Ode and Onitsha head bridge....He said He went on to emphasize  that the alarming number  of checkpoints( the highest in  the country)  spanning over 136 roadblocks between Ijebu Ode and Onitsha head bridge appears to have outlived its usefulness, in terms of curbing security breaches as they now serve as conduit pipes for extortion and intimidation of commuters especially

The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu has been invited before a panel probing the activities of the agency. The panel is said to be sitting at the Banquet Hall wing of the Presidential Villa. Magu was stopped in traffic while moving out of the Wuse II Annex of the EFCC in Abuja and the invitation was extended to him. Although Magu was on his way to the Force Headquarters, he pleaded with an officer from FCID who met with him to honour the scheduled appointment. A source said: “Both Magu and Jacobs are now in an office in the Banquet Wing of the Vila. “He has not been arrested by any of the security agencies. We are awaiting further development. ” But he was told the invitation by the panel was more important. At about 1.35pm, Magu arrived at the Villa where he was ushered into the wing. As at Press time, Magu has been joined at the Villa by his lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs.

The Imo State government yesterday made public of its findings in the payroll system regarding pension fraud which involved eight persons said to be receiving N330 million annually as a pension. The governor, Hope Uzodinma, disclosed this in Owerri, after meeting with the leadership of the state chapters of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, led by Josiah Ugochukwu, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Austin Chilakpu and Trade Union Congress, TUC, at the Government House in Owerri. The names mentioned were as follows; Ajokubi H. A, (N65, 685, 491. 00) Njoku Damian (N 5,042,439.58) , Obasi Canice (N 3, 460, 366.64), Anyanwu F. N (No, 150, 336. 00), Emenalo Theresa (N 3,058, 592.00), John Sunday (N 2,320624. 00) Ajaegbo E. O (N2, 298,910.34) and Ekedere Eunice (N 32,490, 016. 00). The governor said it also discovered that over one thousand pensioners who retired in 1976 were still receiving a pension, just as he pointed out that pensioners in the verified database have all been paid

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Monday kicked against the reopening of schools by the Federal Government due to the COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging the country. Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, ASUU National President, spoke with the with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ota, Ogun. According to him, the Federal Government needed to address the challenges of education sector before it can talk of reopening schools. Ogunyemi urged the Federal Government to provide ideal environment and should take the lead by meeting the conditions spelt out by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) before reopening schools. “The Federal Government must lead and show the ways by meeting the conditions for reopening of schools before any school can be allowed to open, because COVID-19 pandemic is a health challenge. “When it comes to public health, it is something that should not be left in the hands of individual, but the Federal Government must take the lead,’’ he said. The ASUU pres

By Obiagha Victor The journey to Agu Awka 2021 has long started, all the major political parties in the state are presently warming up to take over the number one leadership position in the State from the outgoing incumbent, come 2021. This calls for deep evaluation of the parties  and her candidates, and what they are offering the people as a bond. The Young Progressive Party (YPP) is a party to watch out for in  the forth coming elections in Anambra State. The party today in Anambra, presents hope, to the common man in the  actualisation of societal dreams, equity, progress and overall development of the state  YPP, is a party that  sponsors visionary and highly cerebral young leaders at all strata of the society, in order to end the age long bad governance, in the Nigerian political system. It is a party whose sole aim is to build and sustain a state (especially a commercial one like Anambra), with a vibrant economy, designed to serve the people's interests, in which good govern

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), says it will provide no fewer than 200,000 bed spaces for students in various tertiary institutions in the country. Mr Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, Chairman, TETFund Board of Trustees disclosed this in Abuja at the agency 2020 Board Retreat for Research Grants. The retreat has as theme: “Consolidating TETFund as a Model Intervention Agency for Nigeria’s Knowledge Economy”. Ibrahim-Imam said the board was concerned with the issues of lack of adequate accommodation spaces and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in different tertiary institutions in the country. “I am very particular about two critical areas, which is also of great concern to me and the Board of Trustees. “These include the issue of accommodation and ICT, in spite various interventions by TETFund our tertiary institutions still have inadequate lecture theatres, research laboratories, hostels and ICT facilities. “In the area of accommodation, it is a known fact that the numbe