09102019 - 2020: Buhari presents N10.33trn job creation budget to NASS

10 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019
Why Press Freedom‘ll aid
Nigeria’s devt— Adegboruwa
By Onozure Dania
LAGOS— A human
rights activist, Mr.
Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa,
SAN, yesterday, said that
press freedom is highly
desirable for Nigeria to
achieve the desired
growth.
Also, the Lagos State
Attorney-General and
Commissioner for Justice,
Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo,
SAN, assured of
government’s resolve to
ensure that press freedom
thrives.
Adegboruwa disclosed
this while delivering a
paper at the 2019 annual
lecture of the National
Association of Judicial
Correspondents, NAJUC,
in Lagos.
In his speech, he noted
that the concept of press
freedom is well entrenched
in the laws of Nigeria while
the Nigerian Constitution,
apart from imposing a duty
on the media to hold
government accountable to
the people, has also made
provision for the freedom
and right of the press to
carry out the onerous task
in aid of nation building.
The SAN noted that the
press occupies a pivotal role
in every society, as it
represents the conscience
and values of a people and
more importantly, it is a
veritable link of information
exchange between the
people and their
government.
He said: “It is pertinent
to note that the issue of
press freedom in Nigeria is
of great importance, as one
would observe from Section
39 of the Constitution that
it falls within the realm of
fundamental rights codified
in Chapter IV of the
Constitution. The import of
this, is that press freedom
is an inalienable right
which no government can
derogate from or deny her
citizens.
“The advent of the new
social media has aided
Nigerians like all other
citizens of the world, in
giving full expression to the
constitutionally guaranteed
right to freedom of
expression and right to hold
and disseminate opinion on
any matter.
“The advent of twitter,
facebook, instagram and
others in that category has
empowered Nigerians
especially young people to
either expose various forms
of malfeasance prevalent in
society or to mobilize for
causes which they believe
can better their lives.
“It is conceded that there
are the challenges of fake
news, hate speeches,
defamation and other vices
associated with the use of
social media. However, is
that enough justification to
further regulate the already
regulated use of the social
media through the
enactment of regulations,
which sometimes violate
constitutional provisions?"
RUGIPO CRISIS: ASUP
chairman, scribe dismissed
•Action laughable —Union
By Dayo Johnson
AKURE—THE crisis in
the Ondo State owned
Rufus Giwa Polytechnic,
Owo, RUGIPO, deepened,
yesterday, as the
management of the
institution dismissed the
Chairman and secretary of
the Academic Staff Union of
Polytechnics, ASUP, Messrs
Oluwadare Ijawoye and
Ade Arikawe, for alleged
gross misconduct.
The leadership of the
union had accused
principal officers and
chairman of the Governing
Council, Mr. Banji Alabi of
corruption and called for his
sack.
Ijawole equally raised
alarm that the institution
was on the verge of collapse
due to the leadership style
of Alabi.
However, the
management, in a circular,
announced the sack of the
two union leaders and the
suspension of the union
activities in the institution.
When contacted, Ijawole
described the action as
laughable.
He, however, said that he
was yet to be communicated
by the management.
The union leader
promised to react as soon
as he is communicated
officially.
Meanwhile, the
Governing Council of the
institution has reappointed
the former rector of the
institution Dr. Gani
Ogundahunsi and other
principal officers
including Mr. Atiku Sule
(Registrar) and Mrs. F R.
Aladeniyi (Librarian).
This was contained in a
statement by the chairman
of the governing council,
Banji Alabi
Alabi said: “The issue of
appointing principal
officers for the
institution contributes to
the recent attacks and
blackmailing against his
personality and the
governing council from
some quarters, hence the
need for the development.
“The past few days have
been quite challenging for
us as a Management
having to deal with the
campaign of calumny
sponsored by some
elements on campus, who
are hell bent on been a cog
in the wheel of progress.
“One of the reasons for
the sponsored campaign of
calumny and attack on us,
apart from the issues of
corruption fighting back is
the politics of appointing
the substantive Principal
officers of the Polytechnic
which some special interest
group believe should be
their prerogative and not
that of the Governing
Council as provided by
law.”
ALLEGED MONEY LAUNDERING: EFCC
re-arraigns Atiku’s son-in-law
By Innocent Anaba
LAGOS—THE son-inlaw
to former Vice
President and presidential
candidate of Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, in
the 2019 general election,
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,
Abdullahi Babalele, was,
yesterday, re-arraigned
before a Federal High
Court sitting in Lagos, on
two counts charge of money
laundering.
He was re-arraigned
before
Justice
Chukwujekwu Aneke by
the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission,
EFCC.
Babalele’s rearraignment
followed the
reassignment of the case to
Justice Aneke.
He was formerly
arraigned before Justice
Nicholas Oweibo on August
14, during the court’s
annual vacation.
Also arraigned during the
court’s long vacation is
Atiku’s lawyer, Uyiekpen
Giwa-Osagie, a partner in
the law of Africa Law
Practice.
Uyiekpen was arraigned
alongside his younger
brother, Erhunse, on two
counts charges bordering
on laundering of $2 million.
At the resumed hearing
of the charge against
Atiku’s son-in-law,
Babalele, EFCC prosecutor,
Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, told
the court that his agency has
a two-count charge against
the defendant.
He noted the court that
though the plea of the
defendant had been taken
when he was first
arraigned before Justice
Oweibo, during the court’s
long vacation, the law is
when the case file is
reassigned to another
judge, the plea of such
defendant must be
retaking.
Babalele’s counsel, Chief
Mike Ozekhome, SAN,
argued that since the plea
of his client had earlier be
taken, the court should
discountenance
prosecution’s plea and hear
his client’s pending
application for bail
variation.
However, Justice Aneke,
acceded to prosecutor’s
request and ordered that
the defendant plea be
taking.
After taking the
defendant’s plea, his
counsel, Ozekhome, SAN,
moved his application for
bail variation.
He argued that granting
the application will enable
his client travel abroad for
medical treatment of a life
threatened sickness.
Ozekhome also told the
court that all the attached
documents points to great
danger if the defendants
did not go for medical,
adding that his client’s case
is ‘life threatened’ and
same is contained in many
diagnosis done by his
client.
Upon listening to the
parties’ arguments, Justice
Aneke, adjourned the
matter till October 11, for
ruling on the application.
Meanwhile, further
hearing of the money
laundering charges against
Atiku’s lawyer, Uyiekpen
Giwa-Osagie and the
brother to the lawyer,
Erhunse Giwa-Osagie, has
been adjourned till October
15.
3m pharmaceutical centres in Nigeria
unregistered —PSN
By Ola Ajayi
IBADAN— A former
National President of
Pharmaceutical Society of
Nigeria, PSN, Mr. Olumide
Akintayo, yesterday,
disclosed that no fewer than
three million unregistered
pharmaceutical centres are
spread across the country.
He said the proliferation
of the pharmaceutical
centres was as a result of
weak regulations by
relevant stakeholders.
He said this in an
opening ceremony of the
2019 pharmacy week of the
PSN, in Oyo State, entitled:
Pharmacy Practice Beyond
2029: The Reality of
Digitalisation , held at the
Nest Spa Suite, Agodi GRA,
Ibadan.
Akintayo said: “Pharmacy
is a highly regulated
profession. Unfortunately
for us in Nigeria, poor
regulatory controls have led
to a situation whereby we
contend with over three
million unregistered
pharmaceutical premises in
the 36 states of the
federation and Abuja.
“Fundamentally, all we
are saying simply is that
you can’t run away from
digitalisation. It has become
a world of technology.
Nigeria is a global village.
So, we cannot run away
from events from global
environment. But the note
of caution here is that you
need to develop a solid
regulatory framework in the
implementation plan for
internet pharmacy, a chain
pharmacy project and all of
that, or anything connected
with that.
“We have laws that will
still make it possible for us
to crack down on physical
structures that are
unregistered. But how are
we going to deal in terms
of sanctions and all of that
with internet pharmacy?
How are we going to
SECURITY
CONFAB—Lagos
State Governor,
Mr. Babajide
Sanwo-Olu, with
the Inspector
General of
Police, Mr.
Mohammed
Adamu, during
the Governor’s
meeting with the
police boss on
the security
situation in
Lagos, at the
F o r c e
Headquarters,
A b u j a ,
yesterday.
handle internet pharmacy
because the operators will
be completely faceless?
There will be nobody to hold
responsible.”
In his own comments,
Governor Seyi Makinde of
Oyo State, represented by
Commissioner for Health,
Dr. Bashir Bello, said: “I
make bold to affirm that
within the tenure of this
administration, health has
been identified as a cardinal
area of utmost importance
in human development in
the state.
FIRS donates troop carriers to police
ABUJA—THE Federal
Inland Revenue
Service, FIRS, has donated
two Tata 1618c Troop Carrier
trucks to the Nigeria Police
Force, NPF, as part of efforts
to deepen the partnership
between the two
organisations. Each truck
has the capacity to
accommodate 63 police
officers.
Chairman, FIRS, Mr.
Tunde Fowler, said the
police have been an
important partner in
revenue collection in the
country. “When you are
talking about tax, you talk
about the law and, of course,
you talk about the police.
The police have been
partners to the FIRS for
revenue, and everybody is
quite aware that revenue is
a major topic that we need
to grow for Nigeria.
“We collect revenue for
the three tiers of
government — the federal,
state and local
governments — and the
way we see it, without
adequate security, there can
be no business.
"Without adequate
security there can be no tax
revenue, hence we see
ourselves as partners and,
at the same time, we are
also aware that as we
support each other, this
country will be better. “We
believe basically that any
one who joins the military
or the paramilitary or
people who put their lives
at risk for the rest of us,
should be admired and
supported,” Fowler said.
The Inspector-General of
Police, Mr. Mohammed
Adamu, while receiving
the trucks, described FIRS’
gesture as the first of its
kind, since he assumed
office as the police boss.