₦airaland Forum

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, has flagged off the resettlement of internally displaced persons to nine local government councils while also disbursing N954.7 million for their rehabilitation and supporting them in getting a source of livelihood.

About 12,985 comprising 4,880 male heads of household, 1,230 female heads of household, 6,875 married women and other family members were earmarked to be resettled in the nine councils, in the first phase, those to be resettled are to communities in six councils of Bama, Konduga, Gwoza, Kukawa, Jere and Ngala.
Each of the 4,880 male heads of household and another 1,230 female heads of household received N100,000, while about 6,875 married women each received N50,000 cash.

Zulum noted that while cash support was distributed, 6,875 married women also received maize, rice, and mattresses, including mats, oil, and kitchen utensils.
Zulum also stated that the food items distributed were part of the federal government’s support for the state.

According to him, “This food item we are giving to the returnees is from NEMA. A few days ago, we lunched the distribution of food items donated to the government of Borno by the federal government at Pulka.”

He added that: “I want to commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I want to commend the office of the Vice President, I also want to commend NEMA for partnering with us to ensure sustainable resettlement of the IDPs in this very important camp.”

Mohammed Ibrahim, the President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), has threatened that the union alongside the Non-academic Staff Union of Education…
Mohammed Ibrahim, the President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), has threatened that the union alongside the Non-academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions (NASU) will shut down the universities in the country if the government refuses to grant their demands in the next seven days.

He disclosed this while speaking as a guest on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics.

Ibrahim said a 7-day ultimatum which will start counting from Monday (today) had been issued to the Federal Government, threatening that the two bodies would embark on a total strike if nothing was done by the government at the end of the ultimatum.

He said there would be a total shutdown of the universities if members of the non-academic staff went on strike, saying: “We are in charge of security, we are in charge of administration, we are in charge of medicals, we are in charge of hostels, we are in charge of electricity, we are in charge of everything apart from teaching. So, once our members down tools, no university can function in Nigeria.”

“It’s quite unfortunate. No union member wants to go on strike but when you are pushed to the wall, what would you do? You have to push back.

“You can see what is happening in the country. The economy is in dundrums and everybody is suffering. Most of our universities are located far outside the township and our members have to commute every day. Fuel cannot be accessed, food is scarce, our medicals can not be attended to, and members are suffering quite clearly,” he added.

Speaking about the union’s grievances, the SSANU President said, “It’s quite absurd that we have to speak like this and it is because we have been clearly shown that we do not matter in the system while we all know that there is no university that can function without the non-teaching staff.

“We are populated by professionals, we oil the engine in the administration of every university and therefore treating a segment of staff with disdain does not speak well of the system.

The Federal Government is going to establish a Presidential Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, announced on Thursday in Abuja.

Edu, who spoke at the headquarters of the humanitarian ministry, while playing host the Country Director, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Jeremie Zoungrana, said the fund was part of measures to lift over 133 million Nigerians out of poverty and other humanitarian crises.

The minister also solicited the foundation’s technical and financial support towards achieving the task of lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty and tackling the myriad of humanitarian crises across the country.

She said, “We have a huge task on our hands. As we speak now, over 16 million Nigerians are affected by humanitarian crises, either man-made or natural disasters. Of course, security issues and pockets of unrest in different areas have not made this any better.



“Other natural disasters like the flooding, which we are presently going through, and the opening of a dam in another country, which will have its effect on Nigeria, are another call for attention to ensure that people are catered for.

“And then we have these unrests in all the neighbouring countries—in Cameroon, in the southern part of Cameroon—that have over 46,000 refugees coming into Nigeria. So there are over 36,000 in Cross River. We have a whole lot in Taraba and Benue along that border.”

She told her guests that the government was also dealing with other crises in Niger, with people coming to Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, among others.”

The Lagos State Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Miss Dabiraoluwa Adeyinka, and some other state executive members have dumped the party and joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Adeyinka, leading about 15 other party executives to the main opposition party on Monday, said that the decision was based on personalities with the tickets of the PDP in the state.

According to her, the group consulted widely before settling for the PDP, having considered the reality on ground.

She said they also considered some personalities in the party like Ms Funke Akindele, the Lagos PDP Deputy Governorship Candidate.

” We are proud of this and find it convincing. We find a lot of attractions in PDP.

“The likes of Funke Akindele are a role and model for us. She likes us as youths, she is accessible and a young mind, who has impacted the system in Nigeria by creating employment for Nigerian youths.

“She (Akindele) is doing wonderfully well and she is a sellable youth. She is a voice for the women and a voice for the Nigerian youths.

“She (Akindele) is motivation even without meeting her in person. We want to join force with an entity like that,” Adeyinka said.

Adeyinka added that the group was also attracted to PDP because of the likes of Mr Wellington Bankole ( Banky W), the PDP House of Representatives’ candidate for Eti-Osa Federal Constituency.


“Those are people we want to reckon with because for Nigerian youth to be able to speak and make impact, we have to come together as one force. We need a force to change status quo.

“We want a Lagos for all not for a few. We want a Lagos that works for everyone. We want to kill the system of godfatherism that puts our lives in danger.

“We need to find the right direction, we have a torchlight in PDP. Not because it is PDP, but because we have people of like minds like Dr Abdul-Azeez Adediran and others there.

“We were not paid to do this or under pressure., It is high time for Nigerian youth to get involved.

“We want to be able to elect people into office because they merit it not because the system put them there,” she added

Soldiers kill guest as siblings clash at funeral

A guest, David Chinonso, has been reportedly killed at Owode, Ogombo community, in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State, after some military men stormed the burial of one late Mathew Ekpu.

The uniformed men, numbering 15, were said to have arrived at the venue in an attempt to stop the corpse from being interred on the premises of the deceased.

This led to a confrontation, as one of the deceased’s sons, Victor, was hit in the head with an iron, while Chinonso was shot in the chest.

The children of the deceased, who spoke to PUNCH Metro, accused their sibling, Richard, of leading the attack, which happened on Saturday, November 19, 2022.

One of the children, Victoria Abimbola, said Richard was planning to acquire their father’s house and had demanded that the deceased be buried in their hometown in Akwa Ibom State.

She said, “My father gave birth to 10 children, and before he died, he told us that Richard, his second son, built a house for him in our village. We were happy when we first heard until Richard told him that the house he built was in exchange for my father’s house in Lagos.

“The rest of us disagreed with the decision and we told him that the house is the only property our father has in Lagos and it is more like a family house to every one of us. After that, he started putting pressure on our father, who later fell sick and died on September 5.

“After our father’s death, he (Richard) prevented us from burying him in the house. He also tried to stop us with policemen the day we took the corpse from the mortuary for burial, but we restricted him.”

Another family member, Victor, said he was attacked while trying to interrogate the military officers who stormed the burial.

He said, “Some uniformed men came in the morning to stop us from burying our father, but since they did not provide any document that warranted their visit, we sent them away.

“So, we were holding a thanksgiving service in the church adjacent to our father’s house when the officials returned with five military men. They entered the premises and started to destroy property. When I stepped out of the church, I saw them assaulting the 15-year-old son of my brother, Daniel. By the time I asked what happened, one of them hit me with an iron rod on my head, while another hit me with a club from behind. I fell immediately. Some of the guests, who saw what happened, confronted them and while trying to chase them, one of the uniformed men fired a shot which hit David Chinonso, who died on his way to a hospital.”

Richard, however, denied the allegations, saying he acquired the property with the consent of his siblings.

He said, “Our father needed money to build a house in his hometown in Akwa Ibom and relocate there, so he told my brother, David, who is his first son, to buy the house so that the property would stay within the family, but he did not.

“Then in 2020, my father asked all of us to jointly acquire the house, but others complained about funds. When my brother Victor suggested an external buyer with the intention of getting a commission, my father declined and approached me to acquire the house. He also told them and they all agreed.

“So, I struggled to provide the fund, built the house, and got the documents. Since then, they started making financial demands on me and because I could not provide them, they conspired against me and my father.

“My father told me how they threatened to kill him, bury him and use his grave to claim the property. I told them if they did not want me to take possession of the house, they should return the money, but they did not. And since my father insisted on being buried in his hometown before he died, I reported the matter to the police.

“They were invited for questioning but they did not show up. While my elder brother moved into the house with his family, they also rushed to bury my father there. That was how the relevant authorities I reported the matter to moved against them and not me.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident.

He said, “We are aware and the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department. The military officers were invited and they provided the information needed and their details. I will do a follow-up to confirm the update.”