02062021 - Attacks on INEC offices won’t stop 2023 polls —BUHARI

10 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021
:Vanguard
News
17 yrs after, NPA workers
demand salary increase
By Victor Ahiuma-
Young
LAGOS—WORKERS of
the Nigerian Ports
Authority, NPA, yesterday,
urged the management of
the NPA to increase their
salaries, lamenting that
their salaries and other
benefits have not been increased
in the last 17 years.
President of Maritime Workers
Union of Nigeria, MWUN, NPA
branch, Mr. Ifeanyi Mazeli, said
this while addressing guests and
delegates at the 5th Quadrennial
Branch Delegates Conference, in
Lagos.
Mazeli said: “We wish to
Family petitions Defence minister,
SGF over use of Naval personnel
by land grabbers
By James
Ogunnaike
A Agbeje BEOKUTA—THE
family of Fowowawo
village, near Magbon Etido in
Obafemi-Owode Local
Government Area of Ogun State,
has petitioned the offices of the
Minister of Defence and the
Secretary to the Government of
the Federation, SGF, over the use
of Naval personnel by land
grabbers to terrorise the
community.
In the petitions by solicitors,
Manasseh Ehile and Company,
dated May 4, 2021, the family said
the Naval personnel, led by an
officer, invaded the village on May
1, abducted three members of the
Agbeje family and locked them
inside a container in the bush.
According to the petitioners,
the Agbeje family had obtained
judgment in a land suit against
the Alabi Taiwo, progenitor of the
Ogunleyes, in 1993, part of which
it sold 10 acres to one Alhaja
Awawu Gidado for mining and
sand dredging.
They added that another
judgement was delivered by an
Ogun State High Court in
Abeokuta, on April 20, 2015, in
favour of the Agbeje family,
reaffirming its ownership of the
land.
Orubebe eulogises Clark at 94
Former minister of Niger Delta
Affairs, Elder Godsday
Orubebe, has joined well-wishers
to wish Chief Edwin Clark a happy
and memorable birthday,
describing him as a true living
legend.
The elder statesman, who
turned 94 on May 25, celebrated
God’s grace in his life amidst
encomiums from the general
public, who see him as a blessing.
Orubebe said: “On May 25, we
celebrated a true living legend,
an ‘iroko’ of our common
aspirations, and pride of our great
heritage, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo
Clark, as he clocks the enviable
age of 94 years.
“Over the years, you have paid
the unique price of leadership, not
only in your Ijaw land but also in
our beloved country, Nigeria.
Your outstanding qualities of
truthfulness, fairness and justice
for all are some of your living
legacies.
“This day, I join millions of
Nigerians and the entire world to
suggest that the NPA
management should kindly look
into the possibility of increasing
the salaries of workers as the last
increment was done in 2004. The
numerical strength of our
members is dwindling daily. This
is as a result of promotions,
retirements and death which is a
natural phenomenon.
We wish to use this opportunity
to once again to appeal to our
management to employ more
junior workers to boost the
workforce. There are hundreds of
private jetties operating in the
country and yet, the presence of
the NPA is not there. There is a
need to reverse the trend for
obvious reasons.”
The family stated further
that since its loss in court, the
Alabi family via Sufi Taiwo
Ogunleye, Ayinde Ogunleye
and Adisa Ogunleye, had
sought the help of the naval
personnel stationed at Arepo,
to abduct members of the Agbeje
family, aiding forcible
entry on the judgment land,
harass, intimidate and assault
resident of Fowowawo Village.
They argued in the petitions
that the naval officers and
members of the Ogunleye family
have been engaging in illegal
dredging of sand and destruction
of farmlands.
The petitioners said that one
Nurudeen Adenekan, a member
of Agbeje Family, who was
allegedly abducted sometime in
2019 by some naval officers, was
brutally assaulted and eventually
died due to the internal injuries
he suffered during the assault.
They stated that despite the
affidavits of undertaking sworn to,
by the duo of Taiwo Sufianu
Ogunleye and Waliu Babalola,
before a Magistrate Court, in
December 2020, not to step on
the judgment land and cause
mayhem, they had led the military
officers to sack Fowowawo Village
four times between March and
April.
The petitioners, therefore,
urged the offices of the Defence
Minister and that of the SGF to
celebrate you as a great gift from
God. You are a father to all and a
worthy leader. May the Grace and
Glory of God continue to rain
upon you,” Orubebe said.
Describing him as a legal
luminary and political leader,
Orubebe said Chief Clark is also
the father of Niger Delta and Ijaw
Nation, and many more.
“We are inspired by your
continued legacy and hard work,
and we convey our best wishes
and prayers for more healthy and
active years ahead.”
LAGOS—IN a bid to
empower Nigerian
youths in the tourism
business, Goge Africa,
which is Africa’s leading
tourism media and
destination marketing
outfit, has commenced a
four-day free training programme
in tourism in Lagos State.
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
By Ola Ajayi
Iof BADAN—PRESIDENT
the Christian
Association of Nigeria,
CAN, Reverend Supo
Ayokunle, said, yesterday,
that some members of the
National Assembly
approached the Christian
body to lobby the legislature
for the amendment of the
controversial Companies
and Allied Matters Act,
CAMA, bill.
Revd Ayokunle, who was
the President of the
Nigerian Baptist
Convention for 10 years,
said this during the
handover ceremony to new
leaders, Dr. Israel Akanji
and Professor Emeritus
Adewale Akinsola.
The ceremony was
PRESENTATION—
Ambassador
E l i j a h
Onyeagba
( r i g h t ) ,
Nigeria's envoy
to the Republic
of Burundi,
presenting his
Letter of
Credence to the
President of
B u r u n d i ,
E v a r i s t e
Ndayishimiye.
Some NASS members demanded bribe
for CAMA bill amendment —CAN president
By Rotimi
Ojomoyela & Deola
Badru
ANational DO-EKITI—THE
Association of
Nigerian Students, NANS,
yesterday, declared June 12
as “a national day of
protest” for all Nigerian
students.
National President of the
association, Sunday
Asefon, said the country
has nothing to celebrate the
June 12 Democracy Day,
when students were being
killed and kidnapped by
bandits.
organized by the Nigerian
Baptist Convention at the
Baptist Convention
Building Chapel, Dugbe, in
Ibadan.
While advising his
successor to put on the
armour of God and to avoid
putting his trust in 'arms of
flesh', he narrated what he
went through while trying
to look for a sponsor for the
amendment of CAMA bill.
He said: “The arm of flesh
is going to fail you.
Politicians in Nigeria, when
they want to have their way,
they know how to lobby.
When we went to
lawmakers who are
Christians in the National
Assembly to assist us in
sponsoring a bill for
amendment to CAMA, I set
up a committee to meet
them.
“When we got to them,
they told us they were not
in the National Assembly
because of CAN. They said,
though they are Christians,
CAN didn’t send them
there. They told us: ‘we
were nominated and
sponsored by our parties.’
Their loyalty is first to their
parties and those who
sponsored them.
“They said if you want us
to help, you have to lobby
and what does lobby mean.
They said Christians only
cannot give us what we
wanted; that they have to
go to non-Christians and
before they can support us,
there must be an ‘answer’
in your hands.”
While speaking on the
proposed introduction of
Sharia law in the southwest
zone of the country, the new
NBC President, Revd
Akanji said, it was wrong
to impose it on the people.
Akanji said: “We don’t all
believe in Sharia and
Christians should be allowed to
operate as Christians. In our
Christian schools, we have our
enabling law. You can’t come to
our schools and say you want this
done. There are Islamic Schools,
a Christian can’t go there and call
the shots saying we want this or
that. We can’t do that.
“Why for God’s sake will you
come to a Christian School with
Christian principles and enabling
law and demand that certain
things must be done? We should
create space for one another.
Christians must not drive out
Muslims and Muslims must not
drive out Christians.”
Democracy Day: NANS declares June 12
national protest day ....As Makinde slashes LAUTECH fees by 25%
Asefon, who spoke in a
chat with journalists, said it
was sad that insecurity has
reached a frightening peak,
where students can longer
go to school with the
guarantee that they would
return home safely.
He said: “Putting it in the
right perspective, the
Federal Government and
security apparatuses have
failed us; we can no longer
trust them.
“The Federal
Government must convene
a national dialogue, where
people can come with
different ideas and proffer
Goge Africa, LASG commence training in
tourism business
The programme, which spans
June 1 and 4, is in collaboration
with the Lagos State government,
Sterling Bank, National Institute
for Hospitality and Tourism,
NIHOTOUR, and Nigeria
Railway Corporation, NRC.
A statement by Managing
Director, Goge Africa, Mrs. Nneka
Isaac-Moses, said: “This initiative
is in line with our mission to
build capacity for 1000 tourism
practitioners by 2025.
“The tourism industry
worldwide needs reinvigoration
following new travel regulations
necessitated by the COVID-19
pandemic. Therefore, there is no
better time to upscale human
capacity in line with global best
practices in the tourism industry
worldwide than now.
solutions to this insecurity
issue.
“We are daunted by the
endless news of the
kidnapping of students in
their hundreds within the
last two years. This
development is not only
unacceptable; it challenges
the very fabrics of our
national development,
unity, cohesion and
portends grave danger to
our educational institutions.
“NANS under my
leadership, having
considered the continuous
threats to the lives of our
students and the lukewarm
pace of security
apparatuses to these
nefarious crimes, we
regrettably call on the
Federal Government to
order the temporary closure
of all schools in the North-
West and North-Central
until adequate security is
put in place.”
Makinde
slashes
LAUTECH fees
by 25%
Meanwhile, Governor
Seyi Makinde of Oyo State,
yesterday, announced a 25
percent reduction in the
tuition fee of students of
Ladoke Akintola University
of Technology, LAUTECH,
Ogbomoso.
The governor said this
while meeting with students
of the institution during his
visit to the town to
commission the school’s
teaching hospital’s High
Dependency Unit.
Makinde said: “Let me
tell you, the LAUTECH fee
is still the lowest in the
South-West. Having said
that, I will reduce your fee
across the board; whether
indigenes or nonindigenes,
even new
students. There will be a
reduction of 25 per cent
across the board.
“We will ensure your fouryear
course does not
become an eight-year
course as a result of many
strikes. We will make sure
your academic calendar is
properly regularized.”