₦airaland Forum

My fellow NRlander that served as Batch A 2012 corp members in Rivers State. Let's come together and form a synergy, as we all have confirmed the payment timetable of Batch C 2011. So please, for those of us that are closer to the state board/nysc , should please always update the house on every proceeding on how Batch A 2012 state allowance will look like. One love.

na wah ooooo

Adufaye: Spain na! U no need d holy ghost 2 tel u

Which country between Brazil and Spain will lift the cup?

A faction of CPC accuses Buhari group of planning to bribe INEC.

A fresh threat to the registration of the All Progressives Congress, APC, emerged on Friday as a faction of the Congress for Progressives Change, CPC, one of the opposition parties in the merger deal, alleged a plot by two members of Tony Momoh-led faction to connive with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to undermine the provisions of the Electoral Act.

Dennis Aghanya, former CPC National Publicity Secretary, who now occupies the same position in the Rufai Hanga-led faction of the party, said in a statement that two former ministers in the Momoh-led executive of the party have concluded plans with two top officials of the electoral body to circumvent the stipulation of the Act concerning the return of the original certificate of the party.

The CPC is currently in merger talks with four other opposition parties, namely Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN; All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP; Democratic Peoples Party, DPP and; a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. They have since applied to INEC for registration.

However, the Hanga faction, which is not in the merger deal, having broken away before it began, claims to be in possession of the original certificate of the party- a situation that may jeopardize the registration of the merging APC.

Section 84 (5) of the Electoral Act says, “Where the request for the proposed merger is approved, the Commission shall withdraw and cancel the certificates of registration of all the political parties opting for the merger and substitute a single certificate of registration in the name of the party resulting from the merger.”

Although, the Momoh-led CPC backed by its former presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, has since sworn to an affidavit in court that the party’s certificate is missing, Mr. Aghanya, whose faction is in court challenging the emergence of the executive of the group, alleged that the two members of the other faction have doled out sums of money to the INEC officials to manipulate the process of the registration of APC.

“It has come to our knowledge that two former ministers in the Tony Momoh camp who are also at the forefront of the APC merger arrangement have concluded plans with one or two top officials of INEC to circumvent the stipulation of the electoral act concerning returning the original CPC certificate before joining the merger,” he said.

“According to our source from INEC, the former ministers have doled out huge sums of money to the affected INEC staffs who in turn promised them that they would ensure that the issue of who is in possession of the original registration certificate of CPC would be manipulated as if INEC is not aware that the Hanga CPC faction is in existence nor that there is any existing court cases pertaining to the national leadership of the CPC.”

The factional spokesman called on the security agencies to watch closely the activities of the INEC officials in order to abort their plan, insisting that the Commission “must be seen to be upright at all times.”

Mr. Aghanya noted that though the formation of APC is aimed at creating a sincere platform to wrest power from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, it (APC) may be contradicting itself by allowing some supposed men of honour to manipulate facts known to the public.

He pointed out that there will be no need to blame PDP if facts are distorted by people who, according to him, see themselves as colossus.

Mr. Aghanya said his faction of CPC has unshakeable faith in INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega, adding, “We sincerely wish to advice him to watch the activities of his lieutenants very closely, especially as the polity is now heating up. We are resolved to follow up the unresolved issues of who are the authentic national leadership of the CPC up to the Supreme Court. If at all the CPC has the need to go into any form of merger or other forms of negotiation, the Sen Hanga led NEC remains the authentic leadership of the party to do so.”

CPC under-represented in merger talks

Mr. Aghanya also expressed dissatisfaction with the representation of the Momoh-led faction in APC, saying the party has not benefitted much as expected.
He said, “From the bargaining position of those who have represented the Tony Momoh group at the merger talk and the subsequent sharing of interim leadership positions, it is clear that the interest of the CPC followership is not properly represented and protected.

“The moment a group is not holding the National Chairman, Secretary or BOT Chairmanship position in such an amalgamated arrangement, it has lost out. While it may get the Presidential ticket, what is the guarantee that other members of the group at various levels can also actualize their political dream? This is politics and it is driven by personal interest.”

The spokesman of the INEC recognised CPC, Rotimi Fashakin, has however dismissed Mr. Aghanya’s claims.

“The most ludicrous thing in this razzmatazz is the way Dennis Aghanya has advertised his ignorance in the public domain. If he and his co-travelers in the perfidious endeavor of illegality clutching to a property of CPC think they will have any modicum of recognition, the law is not looking at the submission of the original copy as sine qua non to registration.

“All the submission and actions of CPC so far as pertaining to the merger are known to the law. The law equally recognizes the Tony Momoh-led Exco as legitimate to make all the transactions on behalf of CPC. So where cometh the empty grandstanding of these impostors? They are best ignored because they constituted themselves as group of losers,” Mr. Fashsakin said.

Also, a representative of CPC in the Merger Committee, Osita Okechukwu, challenged Mr. Aghanya to report the bribery allegation to the police with evidence.

“It is trite law that he who alleges (Mr. Aghanya) has to prove. Methinks he is a hired hand, one of those who want PDP to rule uninterrupted for sixty years whether the party is performing or not,” Mr. Okechukwu said.

Source : http://premiumtimesng.com/news/139815-fresh-threat-to-apc-registration-as-splinter-cpc-group-cries-foul.html?wpmp_tp=1

The Federal Government is ready to defend the recent execution of four convicts in Edo, which ended a seven-year moratorium on death penalty in the country, an official said.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olugbenga Ashiru, gave the indication in Abuja on Friday at a Consultative Forum on the forthcoming review of human rights in Nigeria under the UN Universal Period Review (UPR).

Mr. Ashiru acknowledged that executions in Edo would likely come up when the country appears before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this October for a periodic review of its human rights.

The June 24 execution in Edo had been criticised by the U.K. Government, UN and the EU High Representative, Catherine Ashton. According to the top EU diplomat, the execution negates recent commitment repeatedly made by Nigerian officials, most recently in May, to maintain the de facto moratorium on executions.

Mr. Ashiru told reporters that the execution would not act as an impediment to “’tremendous improvements” by government on human rights issues in the country. He reminded countries accusing Nigeria of human rights violations to remember that the criminal code was inherited from the ‘colonial powers.

The minister said state governments are autonomous in Nigeria and for the execution in Edo, Governor Adams Oshiomhole acted within the confines of the law.

“I agree that there was an unwritten code that we should have a moratorium pending the time when our constitution is reviewed.

“But don’t forget that the constitution we follow is supreme but the criminal code that we use is still the same handed over to us by the colonial powers. So, until the statute books are reviewed, there is nothing anybody can do and I think the governor of Edo acted within his constitutional powers.

“He gave reasons why he signed the death warrants because the circumstances under which the crimes were committed were really heinous and in itself a crime against humanity,” Mr. Ashiru said.

Earlier, the minister told the forum reviewing the draft national report before its submission to the UN Human Rights Council not to be “apologetic” on the country’s stance on same sex marriage.

“We should not shy away to defend what is right, what is correct and what is in our constitution,” he said.

He also told the forum to strongly defend the records of Nigeria’s armed forces on human rights.

“They have been tested and trusted and they have distinguished themselves in numerous peacekeeping operations across the world,” he said.

The Solicitor-General of the Federation, Abdullahi Yola, recalled that Nigeria underwent the first cycle of UPR in 2009 during which a number of recommendations were made to the country.

“Nigeria accepted 30 recommendations out of 32 and rejected recommendations 12 and 13 of UPR 2009 on same sex marriage and abolition of death sentence,” he said.

Prof. Bem Angwe, the Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, said the country was conscious of its obligations to the international community under different human rights instruments.

“Our obligations to the international community will not be dictated by the dictates of particular nations. The obligations will be dictated by the dictates of humanity and what we as a people continue to agree and observe.

“Where we fail, we must admit our failure. Where we are found lacking as a people, we must admit and strive to make improvements,” he said.

Mr. Angwe urged participants at the forum to adopt a final report that would represent the values and aspirations of the Nigerian people and not “necessarily the views of the government.”

The participants at the two-day event include government officials, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), civil society groups and members of the academia.

Source : http://premiumtimesng.com/news/139805-nigeria-ready-to-defend-execution-of-four-convicts-before-un-says-minister.html

The industrial action embarked upon by the National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, is trailed with controversy as the doctors and the Ministry Of Health give different accounts of the cause of the strike with the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, turning her back on the striking doctors and threatening to sanction them.

The national body of the resident doctors had Wednesday given a directive to all its members to embark on a three-day warning strike which is scheduled to end on Saturday.

The resident doctors commenced the strike to press home their demand from the Ministry of Health and the Federal Government following alleged breakdown of previous communications.

The president of the NARD, Ismail Lawal, said the doctors are protesting poor funding of residency training of its members by the Federal Government. He said the “strike is not to make people suffer unduly” noting that unlike previous industrial actions, concrete plans were on ground to avoid loss of lives as emergency cases would be treated in all hospitals across the country.

A residency training is a structured six year programme which some doctors undergo in order to become specialists in various fields of medicine.

“All we want is for the government to take training of resident doctors as a serious issue, which will eventually be of great benefit to the country,” he said.

Mr. Lawal said that only N20 million was allocated for training of resident doctors in the 2013 budget as against N150 million allocated in previous budget.

“This is a huge difference as you can see and this is the month of June and most of our doctors have not gone on training.

“We have asked for a supplementary budget for the training, but the Federal Government has failed to honour our request,” Mr. Lawal said.

Residents doctors have complied with the strike directive from the association. At the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idia-Araba, Lagos, only emergency cases were being attended to while the outpatient unit remained shut.

The case was slightly different at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, ABUTH, as the strike paralysed the teaching hospital. Out patients who trooped to the hospital left ABUTH in utmost disappointment, while those on admission were attended to by nurses and senior doctors.

Corroborating Mr. Lawal’s claims on why the NARD embarked on the strike, Emeka Ugwu, President of the LUTH Chapter of the association told PREMIUM TIMES that “we’re on strike because we have to follow our national directive and it has to do with issues about training of resident doctors.

“We believe that Nigerian doctors can be trained to the equivalent of what obtains abroad and Nigerians won’t need to go abroad anymore for medical treatment as what obtains at the moment. We want the government to provide sufficient funds for residency training”.

According to Mr. Ugwu, the NARD had given a 21-day ultimatum which expired on June 18, and also gave an extra eight day extension which ended on June 26.

“We are appealing to Nigerians to please understand what we’re doing; it is in their own interest and the present state of health in the country is quite unfair to them. We however appreciate the present minister of health and the president for providing funds for training but it is not enough,” the Lagos doctor said.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that some hospitals like LUTH were given about N21million last year to train 500 resident doctors, an equivalent of N42, 000 per doctor while the teaching hospital in Enugu got only N5million.

The University College Hospital in Ibadan reportedly got nothing which affected the residency programme of the doctors.

“In LUTH, we have a large body of residents while an exam costs more than that sum. Is there any course that can be taken care of by that sum?

“We want Nigerians to prevail on the government to provide sufficient funds so that we can have standard healthcare delivery system. We still do have specialists in the country, thus, it’s high time Nigerians get involved,” Mr. Ugwu said.

Health Ministry denies doctors’ claims

The Health Ministry has, however, given a different reason for the cause of the strike, blaming the doctors.
Speaking in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Yusuf Isiaka, spokesperson of the Health Ministry, said “the doctors are not being straight forward. There was a meeting with them all up till last week. They are demanding for increase in their allowances and we’re going through due process. They are lying. We are indeed really surprised that they embarked on such a strike”.

Also, Dan Nwomeh, Special Assistant on Media and Communication to the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, said that ”one thing you should know about this labour people is that it is not what is actually happening that they present to the public. It’s their selfish interest that they want satisfied, not the good of Nigerians”.

Mr. Nwomeh said “The health ministry, NARD, NMA and other sectors under the NMA held meetings and there were outcomes which we all agreed on and were duly signed by all parties involved. It’s a local issue involving ISTH (Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital) and not what they are presently claiming.

“I guess that the CMD is not treating them well but his tenure is to end in August, while the minister of health says he should remain till then and vacate the office thereafter. The doctors want him out by all means out of fear he may elongate his stay.

“These doctors don’t know how to tell the public the truth because the man has committed no crime,”he said.

Official documents made available to PREMIUM TIMES show that the Health Minister, Mr. Chukwu, held a meeting on June 14 with the NARD and the ISTH Branch of the association.

The NMA and representatives of the Board and Management of ISTH also attended the meeting, which was sequel to a strike notice served the Health Ministry by NARD, over some industrial issues at ISTH Irrua.

“All the contentious issues were resolved and a joint statement of the resolutions was duly signed by the appropriate representatives of the FMOH and NARD respectively,” the health ministry said in a statement released before the resident doctors strike.

“However, following a motion for injunction against the planned strike by the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of ISTH , a motion that has not even been granted, NARD reacted by serving fresh notice of a national warning strike; not a local ISTH strike by the hospital’s ARD.

“Though the Honourable Minister of Health has directed that the matter be withdrawn from court in the spirit of the earlier agreement, NARD is now demanding for the suspension of the CMD of ISTH Irrua.

“It should be noted that the demand for the suspension of the CMD was not the raison d’être for the planned warning strike, and was not on the list of demands that were tabled at the meeting between NARD and the FMOH.

“The Honourable Minister of Health therefore condemns the planned strike action and calls on NARD to rescind the decision to proceed on the strike and allow the implementation of the comprehensive resolutions of 14th June 2013,” the health ministry added.

NMA threatens sanctions

The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, has also distanced itself from the industrial action embarked upon by the resident doctors, threatening to sanction them.

The NMA President, Osahon Enabulele, said he is embarrassed by the industrial action because the medical group had actually reviewed the issues of dispute and “initiated measures to correct the perceived anomalies with verifiable positive outcomes”.

“The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) regrets the ongoing 3-day warning strike embarked upon by members of NARD which began on Wednesday 26th June 2013,” the union leader stated.

Mr. Enabulele said during its first National Health Summit held in Asaba in January 2013, Nigerian doctors resolved “without equivocation to banish the evils of embarking on strikes at the slightest provocation without allowing for exploration of constructive and peaceful means for dispute resolution”.

He warned that “the NMA would not withhold applying the strongest sanctions on any erring affiliate body or individual member for violating the extant laws/constitutional provisions of the association or for bringing the association/ medical profession to public disrepute or for the blatant disregard for its fundamental principles, values and her mandate to protect the health of Nigerians.

“NMA, therefore, apologises to the entire nation for the hurt and the avoidable deaths and health complications that could result from this strike action by NARD.

“The NMA once more through this forum advises the leadership of NARD to consider all appeals from various quarters to call off the strike to allow for a well articulated, constructive and mature engagement with the relevant offices of government.

“Finally, we appeal to the Federal Government to correct the observed budgetary shortfall and apply all necessary administrative sanctions to any erring head of health institution,” Mr. Enabulele said.
Brain drain

Meanwhile , the resident doctors leader at LUTH, Mr. Ugwu, has stated that there is a direct relationship between the poor residency funds and the ongoing medical brain drain being witnessed in the country.

“A doctor who has given extra six years and is not being given the appropriate environment gets frustrated and would gladly leave the country when such opportunities which often presents itself comes knocking.

“Believe me, Nigerian doctors who end up going abroad perform wonderfully well, thus, we can note where the loopholes lie,” he said.

“The training of a doctor is continuous and can never stop and when they are not getting these trainings, they fall short of providing services befitting of this 21st century. The government should please make sure it doesn’t escalate beyond this,” he added.

Mr. Uwgu reiterated that the present poor budgetary allocations for training of residents has dire consequences for the health sector.

“If hospitals do not have funds to train, then they won’t employ residents and residency training and hospital management requires a balance. Mind you, there’s a cascade effect. Medical students will at the long run be affected as it is resident doctors who do teach medical students (bedside) and which is the main training needed in diagnosis, investigations and clinical knowledge.

“If we don’t have properly trained residents, we’ll not have properly trained consultants (specialists) and medical students. The consequences would be quite dire in the lives of patients at the long run as it would worsen healthcare and medical education than what presently obtains,” he said.

Source : http://premiumtimesng.com/news/139787-confusion-as-nma-threatens-to-sanction-resident-doctors-over-nationwide-strike.html

These men should learn how to behave.

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers was blocked by presidential bodyguards from exchanging pleasantries with President Goodluck Jonathan at a dinner hosted by the president on Wednesday night to avert a possible breach of security, the Special Adviser to the president on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, has said.

The Punch newspaper quoted Mr. Gulak as saying the President arrived the event before the governor and was already seated before Mr. Amaechi and his entourage arrived and that it was a breach of protocols for the Rivers governor to approach  the president after arriving late.

He suggested that the bodyguards only did their job, which is to protect the president and other officials at the event.

Mr. Gulak was responding to comments by the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria, which criticized the president over the incident.

The paper quoted Mr. Gulak  as saying,  “The President has a good relationship with all state governors and he meets with them regularly. The case in point is a pure security issue and it should be treated as a security issue that should not be politicised.

“The question the ACN and others who may want to politicise this issue need to ask is whether the President arrived at the venue of the dinner and was already seated before the governor arrived.

“Usual practice across the world is that once the President arrives a place, nobody whether a governor or not, is allowed entrance. That is the protocol. Even(Barack)  Obama  of the United States cannot be on his seat and a governor will be allowed to come in.

“If that was the situation in this case that the President was already on his seat,  it would have been a breach of protocol and security for any security person to allow the governor access to the President. Such a security person would have been sanctioned if he had done that.”

The ACN, had in a statement by its spokesperson, Lai Mohammed, berated President Jonathan over the incident, and called for a probe.

Mr. Mohammed said, “We are making this call because we do not believe that, in spite of the reported frosty relations between the two, President Jonathan – as the father of the nation – will lend the weight of his high office to such a demeaning action as exhibited by the presidential security personnel.

“To believe that anyone occupying the esteemed office of the President of one of Africa’s most important nations will be a party to a situation in which any security aide will wilfully fence a state chief executive from paying his respect to the President at such an open gathering will be to think the worst of the occupier of that office.

“That is why we have chosen not to believe that this indeed occurred, and why we are calling on Mr. President to tell Nigerians that ‘it ain’t so’ “We shudder to think of what efforts are being made – including the use of national institutions – to undermine Gov. Amaechi if the treatment reportedly meted out to him at the dinner has the approval of the powers that be. We are even more worried at what will happen to a governor from the opposition who falls out of favour with the President, if a governor from the same party as the President can be so publicly humiliated.”

A presidential bodyguard had on Wednesday night stopped Mr.  Amaechi, from getting close to President Jonathan to pay homage.

Mr. Amaechi, who is the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), and his loyalists arrived the venue when the event was already in progress.

They came in from the Rivers Governor’s lodge where they met earlier for about 15 minutes and then adjourned to honour the President’s invitation.

On his entourage were Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun); Adams Oshiomole (Edo); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Rabiu Kwankwanso (Kano); Abdulazeez Kyari-(Zamfara); Muritala Nyako (Adamawa) and Magartakada Wamakko (Sokoto).

Governor Amaechi, after settling down, got up and made his way towards where President Jonathan was seated in company of Presidents Joyce Banda of Malawi and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, apparently to pay homage.

However, the bodyguard blocked the governor from meeting the President. The Governor resisted for a while but had to return to his seat when it was glaring the bodyguard won’t allow him.
Already, the governor has been suspended from the PDP after he won a reelection as chairman of the NGF, despite opposition from his party and the presidency.

Federal aviation authorities have also grounded an aircraft belonging to his state, claiming its importation papers were not in order. The state government has denied the allegation.

Source : http://premiumtimesng.com/news/139780-why-aso-rock-bodyguard-blocked-amaechi-from-president-jonathan-presidency.html

A mild drama occurred on Thursday morning shortly before the commencement of the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, as two claimants to the post of Nigeria Governors Forum Chairman were made to sit beside themselves.

In what is probably the first meeting attended by both men since the governors’ forum, NGF, election in May, the seating arrangement was altered, which allowed Governors Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers and Jonah Jang of Plateau to sit beside themselves.

Mr. Amaechi defeated Mr. Jang by 19 votes to 16 to emerge chairman of the NGF in May, but the Plateau Governor rejected the result and instead set up a parallel faction.

Obviously following directives, presidential aides altered the sitting arrangement at NEC meetings. Previously, the Chairman of the Governors Forum would sit directly opposite Vice President Namadi Sambo, who chairs the council.

However, on Thursday, no seat was reserved for the NGF chairman as the council apparently failed to recognize anyone for the position. The seats were rearranged for the governors in alphabetical order of the name of their states. With no state starting with the letter Q, Mr. Amaechi of River’s seat was directly beside that of Mr. Jang of Plateau.

The Rivers Governor went into the Chambers and headed for his usual seat opposite Mr. Sambo only to be informed that his seat was the one marked with R. He then realised who his neighbour was going to be.

The Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, who supports Mr. Amaechi, approached the latter and kick started the small talks and jabs.

“So you are going to sit with Jang. This is very nice oh. Somebody is trying to be diplomatic here,” Mr. Aliyu told the Rivers Governor.

Mr. Amaechi replied saying: “We are still together. So, I am going to sit with him. The real chairman and the… (laughter)”

Observers watched curiously to see how Mr. Jang and other governors would react to the sitting arrangement.

When Mr. Jang arrived; he walked in and exchanged pleasantries with other governors including Mr. Amaechi. After being told he was to sit beside his opponent, he did.

“You are welcome, I am the authentic chairman,” Mr. Amaechi told Mr. Jang while exchanging greetings.

The Plateau Governor did not respond and both governors sat without saying anything to themselves for a while before others started arriving.

The Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, who noticed the situation, held Mr. Jang’s hand and pointed to Mr. Amaechi, saying “that is my chairman.” He added that the Plateau Governor was the leader of the other Peoples Democratic Party extended faction of the governors’ forum; which drew laughter from those present at the venue.

The governors were finally accompanied to the meeting by their respective commissioners of finance and education.

While the mood at the event was mild, it also showed that the rancour within Nigerian governors was far from over. The crisis in the NGF worsened after the elections as supporters on both sides have thrown caution to wind, with verbal attacks through the media.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/139723-drama-as-presidency-seats-amaechi-beside-jang-at-nec-meeting.html

We need more fearless people like the security chief in Nigeria.

In a report he filed to the NUC, a copy of which is in the possession of PREMIUM TIMES, Okon Nyong, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, provided shocking details of the events of June 12 to the commission, urging broad inquiry into serious allegations of negligence and fraud against Professors Comfort Ekpo, the school’s VC; Okon Ansa, the deputy vice chancellor,administration; and Paul Ekwere, the deputy vice chancellor, academic.
Mr. Nyong said he was confident the sloppy response from the school management was deliberate to stir a crisis that would raze documents and other materials that could be evidential in the event of graft investigation against it.
“The protest was management-induced to destroy vital documents to cover up their corrupt practices in the system,” the retired lieutenant colonel said.
The university remains shut after the demonstration, which began peacefully over inter-campus transportation that tasked students N200 per day, degenerated after police fired live ammunitions killing at least one student.
Minutes after the attack, the students rallied and burnt the VC’s office, the examination and bursary unit and the security post, witnesses said.
The school’s security chief provides the first insight into how the University management ignored warnings of possible trouble and insisted on withdrawing buses that shuttled students between campuses more than 10 kilometers apart.
The buses, almost free as students paid only N1, 000 per semester, were due to be replaced with those from a private provider, AA Rescue; requiring that students, mainly of engineering and science faculties, pay N200 daily.
Despite the significant difference-with the students having to spend N1, 000 weekly and N16, 000 a semester of four months- Mr. Nyong said the agreement with the operators excluded students’ representatives, and the school refused a sustained enlightenment and a gradual  transition to the new order.
Authorities also rejected suggestions for adequate security, including the use of police to strategic offices, before the withdrawals.
“The advice was ignored,” he said.
Early signs of troubles came after students blocked an intra-campus road a week earlier over a delayed school bus, and also protested new levies including N2,000 late registration; N2,000 for a new general course and N1,000 for a planned Arts centre.
While the unrests were resolved, tension hung in the air. Yet, the school leadership insisted on changes within days, the security chief said in letters sent to the NUC. He confirmed same details to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday.
“Why were they hasty in effecting the decision despite the enormous problems at hand?”Mr. Nyong asked.
With transit delays between Port Harcourt and Uyo, the contracted buses finally arrived on June 11; and despite warnings, the school management effected the changes a day later, surprising hundreds of students who had arrived at the main campus to board buses to the permanent campus for early morning lectures.
As hours mounted for the students, with no buses in sight, senior officials of the school, including the two deputy V.Cs repeatedly rebuffed suggestions they address the increasingly restive students, Mr. Nyong said.
After police fired and killed a student hours into the initially peaceful demonstration, students deposited the corpse at the VC’s office, and set the security office ablaze.
Mr. Nyong said he sought police assistance to help secure the most vital offices to no avail. While the police milled outside, they insisted on an official communication from the school management to step into the campus. For hours, neither the V.C, nor the D.V.Cs obliged, Mr. Nyong said.
“Expressly, the inferno at the University of Uyo, was caused by the management’s disdainful treatment and handling of security matters, abrupt mismanagement and outright negligence of security information,” he said.
Rescue efforts, including dousing the fire, were done later at night with the help of the State Security Service.
Vice Chancellor Ekpo refused to comment when reached on telephone on Wednesday. She responded to our calls, identified herself, but left the phone open repeatedly without any response once the concerns were put to her.
But beneath the cover of the June 12 trouble, staff and students of the school speak of a deep-seated friction in the school’s current leadership and a complex management that makes it hard to properly harness resources and derive efficiency.
Substantiation for that claim may, in some ways, lie in the fact that ahead of the recent uproar, the university remained amongst the most peaceful, enduring years of calm with barely student demonstrations, much more, violent ones.
Mr. Nyong, who has served under three Vice Chancellors in the school, accused Mrs. Ekpo of handling security matters with “emotion”; and he suspects that may have to do with a turbulent history they both share.
The Vice Chancellor particularly ignored the many suggestions by Mr. Nyong that may have helped avert the student crisis, after he turned down her request to recommend her candidate for a security job, and also criticized a shady N350 million loan guaranteed by the V.C. for the school’s irritable Non Academic staff union-in a suspected bid to cow the union, Mr. Nyong told the university regulatory body, NUC.
“She felt challenged,” he wrote, “especially when I made it known to her that the office in question is for senior officers, hence the need to follow due process to advertise the office, to attract competition so that a better candidate can emerge. Since then, she sought ways to frustrate me out of the system.
The loan deal is currently under police investigation and the affected members of staff have been questioned-but like a multitude of corruption cases, may never be concluded.
The school’s security unit says it is deprived of working devices, vehicles and benefits. For instance, only one Hilux patrol car is currently in use for five campuses.
Despite their apparently precarious functions, staff of the department are denied Hazard Allowance of only N15,000 whereas drivers are paid.
“Security staff work against armed robbers, cultists, rapists, kidnappers, mosquitoes, snakes, and other wild animals under sun and rain. Whose job then is more hazardous?” Mr. Nyong asked, comparing security workers with drivers who receive that allowance.
As the relationship became rockier, the V.C. signaled early June she will no longer be working with the CSO beyond June. Pressured by other staff, she offered an extension of only a month-to end July. But after the June 12 crisis, Mr. Nyong was served a sack letter three days later.
He said the move was preemptive; to debar him from testifying should the federal government initiate a probe into the riot. He assured the NUC that despite leaving; he will be available if ever needed for details of the events.
“This is ridiculous,” he said. “I promise to be available from anywhere to render my account of the ugly incident whenever I am invited.”
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/139711-exclusive-uniuyo-security-chief-says-vc-deputies-induced-deadly-students-protest-to-conceal-fraud.html

They don't have any record of people dat dey send invitation to. We were d one dat was writing our name as we were coming in. So,

nkechijoan: Was not invited can I getcrash

u may try ur luck.

The interview is not a long one, juz some couple of minutes and u ar tru.
Its a One on One thing wit d director of the Micro-Finance bank.
All what he is asking are:-
1. Ur C.V
2. What did u study
3. Ur experience
4. Y must dey employ u
5. Where do u reside
6. How much do u think dey can pay u
And finally, the man will say "Thank u, n we will get back to u "
Its a cheap interview dat u don't need to crack ur brain on wot to reply.

afrolegend: Dose that have attended the interview should please shed a light on d discussion so as to know whether to attend or not

Where is this hostility going to lead Nigeria to?

A presidential bodyguard stopped embattled Rivers state Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, from getting close to President Jonathan to pay homage.

Mr. Amaechi, who is the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), and his loyalists arrived the venue when the event was already in progress.

They came in from the Rivers Governor’s lodge where they met earlier for about 15 minutes and then adjourned to honour the President’s invitation.

On his entourage were Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun); Adams Oshiomole (Edo); Sule Lamido (Jigawa); Rabiu Kwankwanso (Kano); Abdulazeez Kyari-(Zamfara); Muritala Nyako (Adamawa) and Magartakada Wamakko (Sokoto).

Governor Amaechi, after settling down, got up and made his way towards where President Goodluck Jonathan was seated in company of Presidents Joyce Banda of Malawi and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, apparently to pay homage.

However, a presidential bodyguard blocked the governor from meeting the President. The Governor resisted for a while but had to return to his seat when it was glaring the bodyguard won’t allow him.

Also, Governor Amaechi, who was seated in company of the chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Godswil Akpabio, was not recognised at the event while Mr. Akpabio was introduced  as chairman of the PDP Governors  Forum.

The paper also reported an altercation between Amaechi and Akpabio. The duo reportedly accused each other of being undemocratic.
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/139709-jonathans-bodyguard-blocks-amaechi-from-greeting-president.html

Brazilian protesters and police have clashed near a stadium hosting a Confederations Cup soccer match, with police using tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets to disperse thousands of demonstrators.

Anti-government protesters, angered by the billions spent in World Cup preparations, picked up tear gas canisters and threw them back at police, along with rocks.

The protesters were about 2 kilometres away from the stadium where Brazil was playing against Uruguay in a semifinal match on Wednesday of the warm-up tournament for next year's World Cup. A banner hung from a bridge read "FIFA go home" in reference to the world soccer body.

Police set up a 2-kilometre perimeter around the stadium, normal procedure for international tournaments. Mounted police and riot units maintained another security line about 1 kilometre from the stadium. About 5,000 policemen deployed to the stadium, with an additional 1,500 army personnel stationed at points throughout the city, sources told Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo in Brasilia.

A further 150 officers have been stationed outside the Brazilian team's hotel, our correspondent said.

"The protesters started this when they tried to break through our outer barrier, we had no choice but to respond" said police Captain Flavio Almeida.

FIFA cancelled a "Soccer for Hope" charity event due to be held in Belo Horizonte on Wednesday, and postponed its chief Sepp Blatter's trip to the city.

By the time the match ended in a 2-1 Brazil victory, most of the protesters had dispersed. In another area of Belo Horizonte, a group of masked young men shattered the windows of car showroom and set the shop on fire.

About 50,000 protesters had earlier massed in a central plaza in Belo Horizonte. "We don't need the World Cup, we need education, we need better health services, a more humane police" said Leonardo Fabri, a 19-year-old protester.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/06/2013626134558458839.html

I got d same msg too, sayin I shud come 4 an interview on Tues being 25.
@ akpovwa, wot did u applied 4 pls?

akpovwa: pls I got an invitation for an interview at mustard micro-finance bank. anyone with an helpful information?

I don't know y Rivers State is compounding its problem. I served as a Batch A 2012 corper in rivers state and I was been told story on P.O.P ground that our money is being rectified. After many month Batch B 2012 has join the queue now. Amaechi abeg no let me invite EFCC and ICPC 2 dis mata. Pls Mr Moderator help me 4ward dis to Ameachi because he understand pidgin well pass English.

Long awaited decision.
Long live GEJ
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria

If 2011 batch C corp member are not yet paid there state allowances, what is d fate of 2012 batch A corp member?

I can never date my ex, cos ex is ex, and once u look back, u will turn to a pillar of salt.