26052020 - We'll jail parents who enrol children into Almajiri system

10 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2020
:Vanguard
News
Collapse of Unity Forum is good
omen —Ondo APC chairman
By Dayo Johnson
Aof KURE—CHAIRMAN
the All Progressives
Congress, APC, in Ondo
State, Mr. Ade Adetimehin,
said, yesterday, that the
path to genuine
reconciliation has started,
with the dissolution of the
Unity Forum.
Adetimehin stated this in
a statement by the party’s
Publicly Secretary, Mr. Alex
Kalejaye in Akure.
A founding member of
the Unity forum, Mr. Idowu
Otetubi, had dumped the
forum and returned to the
APC in Ondo State.
Responding to the
development, the APC
chairman described the
development as “a
prerequisite for genuine
reconciliation in the state
Clark, a towering pillar at 93
—DESOPADEC MD
W
A
R R I —
MANAGING
Director and Chief
Executive Officer of Delta
State Oil Producing Areas
Development Commission,
DESOPADEC, Bashorun
Askia Ogieh, has described
Chief Edwin Kiagbodo
Clark as a towering pillar
and source of strength to
many he has mentored.
Bashorun Askia said
Chief E.K. Clark who is
celebrating his 93 years
birthday, is an avowed
advocate of equal rights,
defender of justice and
fairness.
In a birthday message he
personally signed,
Bashorun Askia said: “It is
with a heart full of pride
and thankfulness to God
almighty that I celebrate you
on your 93rd birthday. We
give Him all the glory for
giving you a very robust
good health and the
wisdom that have guided
you all these very fruitful
years.
Alleged fraud: FIIRO DGs
demotion, abuse of power —CSOs
By Dapo Akinrefon
LAGOS—THE Coalition
of Civil Society Groups
in Nigeria, yesterday,
described the recent
demotion of the former
acting Director-General of
the Federal Institute of
Industrial Research
Oshodi, FIIRO, Dr. Chima
Igwe, as a charade, abuse
of power and an attempt by
some desperate politicians
to hijack the administration
of the institute for selfish
political gains.
The group, while reacting
to the latest demotion of
Igwe, described it as illegal.
It also accused the
Governing board of
abusing its powers,
considering the recent
number of its arbitrary
decisions, taken without
any recourse to the
chapter.”
Adetimehin described
Otetubi as a highly
experienced politician as
well as a dogged political
warrior, whose love for the
development of Ondo State
is exemplary.
He said: “Ondo APC is
also elated over the
voluntary and
unconditional withdrawal
of a case at the Federal
High Court, Akure,
instituted by the group,
challenging the
composition of the Ade
Adetimehin led State
Executive. The state
chairman applauds the
former chairman of the
Unity Forum and members
of his executive for placing
the fortune of the party
ahead of personal ego and
interest."
“Gogorogo, you are very
deep, so when you call to
the deep, the deep quivers.
The very reason those of us
who are your political
children are never tired of
drinking from your very
deep well of knowledge
and political sagacity.
“Your towering presence
in the affairs of the nation,
especially those concerning
our dear Niger Delta, has
been a source of strength
to all those you have
faithfully mentored.
“You are an Elder
statesman and nationalist
who have variously
deprived yourself the
comfort you can afford for
the sake of humanity, which
has endeared to the hearts
of all who have been
fortunate to cross your path.
“Papa, as you celebrate this
day, I join all your well wishers to
pray to the Almighty God to
continue to shower you with his
blessings, give you continuous
good health and to guard and
guide you always.”
Ministry of Science and
technology.
In a statement by its
Convener, Mr. Emmanuel
Ayodeji, the Civil Society
Groups said: “We wish to
remind Nigerians that the
war against Dr. Chima
Igwe is both fuelled by
some ethnic champions
and corrupt individuals,
who are opposed to his
prudent administration of
FIIRO, when he had come
to unravel the massive
corruption taking place in
the institute, which has
made the cartel to be at war
with him. This, they have
employed several means, to
achieve, including the recent
engagements of the governing
board of the Institute, to illegally
force Dr. Igwe out of Office."
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COVID-19: Lagos to re-open schools
if… —Education commissioner
By Olasunkanmi
Akoni
L AGOS—STRONG
indications emerged,
yesterday, that officials of
the Federal and Lagos State
governments are working
out guidelines for reopening
of schools, which
closure was precipitated by
the outbreak of COVID-19
pandemic.
This came as the Lagos
State Government hinted
that there are plans to
employ no fewer than 2,000
more teachers in its public
primary schools.
Similarly, the state
government, through the
Office of Education Quality
Assurance, has designed
an initiative, tagged:
‘Read-Aloud, Lagos’, to
create and stimulate the
interest of school children
in reading books.
The Lagos State
Commissioner for
Education, Folashade
Adefisayo disclosed this
during an online show,
Covinspiration show,
moderated by a United
Nations Youth Ambassador,
Dayo Isreal, while giving
scorecard of Governor
Babajide Sanwo-Olu led
administration within the
360 days.
On the possible reopening
of schools,
Adefisayo said: “Like other
sectors already approved
by the Federal Government
to reopen, the state
government is meeting with
officials of the Federal
Ministry of Education to
design guidelines that
must be adopted before the
schools will be re-opened.
“We are watching the
behaviour of the pandemic
to see what happens next
and we are working with the
Federal government on the
re-opening of the schools in
the country as soon as
....To employ 2,000 primary school teachers
possible.
“This is not a decision that
any state can unilaterally
take on its own. If we are
certain that the children are
safe, we will reopen the
schools for learning to
resume.
“We are already working
with the Federal Ministry
of Education and they are
working with National
Center for Disease Control,
NCDC, on the guidelines
that could be adopted when
the need arises for the
schools to reopen.
“After the protocol is
completed and health
officials assured us that the
coast is clear, we will give
the schools some days to
adjust their premises in
accordance with the
guidelines on
commencement of
academic activities.”
On the recruitment plan
of teachers, Adefisayo said:
“We have concluded the
recruitment of 1,000
secondary school teachers.
And we are currently
working on the recruitment
of 2,000 teachers for public
primary schools.
“We are looking at
employing teachers every
quarter because the rate of
retirement of teachers is
very high in Lagos. The
administration has granted
the ministry permission to
replace retired teachers.
“Aside from recruitment,
we have spent a lot on the
training of current teachers
to improve their teaching
skills in classrooms. And
this COVID-19 period was
the time when we were able
to do a lot of things in the
education sector of Lagos
state.”
On Read Aloud Initiative,
the Director-General, Office
of Education Quality
Assurance, Mrs. Abiola
Seriki-Ayeni, said: “As an
education quality
assurance person, I was
moved by the conviction
that children perform better
when they are led in the act
of reading by someone
else."
Land dispute: Oyo court voids Adedibu’s
right of occupancy
By Ola Ajayi
IBADAN—AN
Oyo
State High Court has
voided a right of
occupancy on a parcel of
land obtained by a former
strongman of Ibadan
politics, late Alhaji Lamidi
Adedibu.
The parcel of land,
measuring 0.5443
hectares, is situated at the
Government Reservation
Area, Iyaganku in
Ibadan.
Two of the children of
the deceased politician,
Professor Abass Adedibu,
Alhaji Akeem Adedibu
and his wife, Alhaja
Modinat Adedibu had
filed a suit on behalf of
Chief Adedibu against the
Governor of Oyo State,
Mr. Rasak Lawal, the
Commissioner for Lands,
Housing and Survey and
the Attorney General and
Commissioner for Justice,
Oyo State.
The claimants in the suit
marked 1/632/2016, had
challenged the
defendants urged the
court to grant them an
order that the statutory
right of occupancy dated
February 21, 2008 was
valid and subsisting.
They also prayed for a
perpetual injunction
restraining the
government and other
defendants from making
use of a consent judgment
that the court had earlier
delivered against them.
Chief Adedibu’s
children were represented
by their counsel, Mr. A. T
Adebayo while Mr. Bayo
Azeez and O. A
Ogunniran held the brief
for the defendants.
In their final written
address, the defendants
asked the court to
determine whether the
claimants had been able
to prove their title to the
disputed land.
In his ruling, the
presiding judge, Justice
INSPECTION: From
left—Lagos State
Commissioner for
The Environment
and
Water
Resources, Tunji
Bello; Special
Adviser to the
Governor on
Drainage and Water
Resources, Joe
Igbokwe, and
P e r m a n e n t
Secretary, Office of
Drainage Services,
Lekan Shodehinde,
during the on-going
inspection of canals
and drainages in
Lagos, yesterday.
Photo: NAN.
E.O Ajayi said: “Justice
cannot be done without
knowing who has the
burden of proof under
adversary system of
litigation in a claim for a
declaration of title to land.
“The law is trite that
burden lies on the
claimant who generally
must rely on the strength
of his case and not on the
weakness of the
defendant’s issue. The
onus is on the claimant to
establish his case on the
balance of probability.
On the claimants’
prayer for a perpetual
injunction restraining the
defendants, the court held
that it would only grant an
injunction to support a
legal right.
“Having held that the
statutory right of
occupancy of the
claimants is not valid and
subsisting, there is no
legal right that needs a
protective order of this
court.”