Notable News This Sunday Morning 11th Oct. 2020

ONDO DECIDES: Akeredolu in early lead   

…INEC announces results from 12 LGAs

Akeredolu

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, seems to have taken an early lead in the results so far announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the just concluded Ondo governorship election.

The incumbent governor is in the lead with a margin of about 84,011 votes from the results of 12 local government areas that have been announced by the electoral umpire.

According to the results declared by INEC from the collation centres of the 12 LGAs, Akeredolu polled 189,489, with Eyitayo Jegede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following closely behind with 108,195 votes.

Makinde

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has decried the police’s action in killing Jimoh Isiaka in Ogbomoso during #EndSARS protest.

Isiaka was reportedly shot dead during the protest by trigger-happy police officer.

Makinde, in a statement said he received with deep sadness the news of the passing of one of Isiaka, who was shot during the ENDSARS protest in Ogbomoso and later died at Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, earlier today.

He said at this same protest, Abdulrasaq Olawale, Oluwadamilare Gbolohunmi, and five other persons sustained injuries and were taken to hospital for treatment.

“This situation is highly regrettable. I have contacted the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State, Nwachukwu Enwonwu, and other relevant agencies, and investigations into what led to the unfortunate incident are still ongoing.

Buhari’s directive on IPPIS not for varsity teachers    –ASUU

Ogunyemi, ASUU President

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said on Saturday its members were not affected by President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that only federal workers on Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) would get salaries.

The president had on Thursday called for total compliance with the government’s directive on full enrollment on the IPPIS.

Buhari, who stated this while presenting the 2021 Appropriation Bill to the joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja, insisted that only federal workers captured on the platform would be paid salaries.

He ordered all federal workers to enroll in the IPPIS, declaring that the platform was meant to check fraud, including the payment of salaries to non-existent personnel.

However, the President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, in a chat with journalists in Abuja, said the workers referred to by the president in his address were civil servants.

Ogunyemi said: “The directive was meant for civil servants; university academics are not civil servants.

“We have an understanding with the government to develop an alternative platform which would be sensitive to the operations of the university and accommodate its peculiarities.

“The platform we are developing will also respect the autonomy of our universities as obtained globally.

President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday his administration was fully committed to the fight against insurgency, banditry, and other forms of criminality in the country.

The president stated this during the Combined Passing Out Parade for 67 Regular Course and Short Service Course 46 (Army) at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna.

He said: “We remain focused in the fight against insurgency, armed banditry, and others forms of criminality across the nation.

“We remain committed to ending the security challenges bedeviling the country.

“I am confident that the training received by the passing out cadets has adequately equipped them to face any challenges in their line of duty.”

Buhari noted that the cadets had gone through rigorous and demanding tasks, and were undoubtedly infused with a sense of self-esteem, efficacy, and accomplishment.

“Furthermore, it lifts your spirit and leaves you with the conviction that with commitment and dedication you would successfully accomplish future tasks that will come your way as officers of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the president added.

Uzodinma

Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, on Saturday said poverty was the greatest cause of the wave of insecurity in the country.

Uzodinma, who spoke in Ushafa, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, also lamented that the current level of insecurity was the greatest the country had ever witnessed.

According to him, leadership and patriotism being exhibited by President Muhammadu Buhari led administration, are the way out.

Uzodinma, who presented a paper on “National Security and Sustainable Development” at the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS), also cried out on imminent swallowing up of Imo land by gully erosion.

According to him, while peace and security are ‘sine qua none ‘ for development, it can also be said that real development driven by good leadership cum governance , are also precursor to peace and security, the very reason President Buhari’s leadership will help in getting Nigeria out of the woods.

He said: “It may not be an exaggeration to say that the current wave of insecurity in the land is one of the worst in recent history.

“Truth to tell, in the last ten years, the country has never had it this bad in terms of security challenges or insecurity.

“The direct consequence is that Nigeria, that was once perceived as a peaceful place for residence and business by foreigners, is now listed among the dangerous places to visit in the travel advisories of many countries.”

Continuing, Uzodinma listed factors such as ethnicity, religious difference, illiteracy, unemployment, poverty and perennial problem of porous borders as causes and anatomy of insecurity in Nigeria.

 

he Chairman of the board of Cross River Basin Development Authority, Eseme Eyiboh, has been sacked by President Muhammed Buhari.

Mr Eyiboh’s sack came about two months after the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, overruled the board on the suspension of the agency’s managing director, Bassey Nkposong, over an alleged corrupt act.

Mr Nkposong was suspended after an ad-hoc committee which looked into how the agency was run accused him of irregularities in the award of N250 million worth of contracts and other “breaches.”

“The Governing Board had to invoke its oversight powers by setting up an ad-hoc committee to look into the activities, programmes and projects of the Basin Authority,” Mr Eyiboh said.

Mr Eyiboh said his removal “should not end the quest for accountability” at the agency.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has said the launching of “Operation Fireball,” is the final onslaught against Boko Haram insurgency. The over a decade long insurgency has claimed 32,000 lives with property worth about N3.42 trillion in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

Announcing the new operation at the weekend in Maiduguri during the concluded Combined Conference of Chief of Army Staff, he said: “We are approaching a crucial phase in our counter-terrorism operations in the Northeast with Operation Fireball.”

He said the new operation would be extended to insurgents’ hideouts of Sambisa Forest, Mandara Mountains and the Lake Chad region.

North Korea unveiled previously unseen intercontinental ballistic missiles at an unprecedented predawn military parade on Saturday that showcased the country’s long-range weapons for the first time in two years.

Analysts said the missile, which was shown on a transporter vehicle with 11 axles, would be one of the largest road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in the world if it becomes operational.

“This missile is a monster,” said Melissa Hanham, deputy director of the Open Nuclear Network.

Also displayed were the Hwasong-15, which is the longest-range missile ever tested by North Korea, and what appeared to be a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

Ahead of the parade, which was held to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers’ Party, officials in South Korea and the United States said Kim Jong Un could use the event to unveil a new “strategic weapon” as promised earlier this year.