₦airaland Forum

Some residents of Agric community in Ojo Local Government, Lagos State, are bemoaning the increase in armed robbery attacks at their major bus stops.

The residents also alleged that the hoodlums sell and smoke hard drugs with reckless abandon and at night rob people of their valuables.

The residents said the hoodlums live in the shanties built at the bus stops.

Agric Bus stop , which consists of six Community Development Association (CDA), is located along Okokomaiko Road before Volkswagen bus stop in Ojo Local Government.

The community leaders are pleading with the Lagos State Government to clear the shanties built by the hoodlums and station security personnel at the bus stops.

The CDA leaders who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said their bus stops are not secure anymore.

They said the armed robbers do come out from the shanties to perpetrate evil acts by dispossessing people of their belongings and kill anyone who refuses to oblige.

They disclosed that about 11 people have been killed and over 50 people injured and shot while returning to their various homes in both daytime and night.

Abiodun Gbamgboye, the CDA leader of Habib community, said the incessant robbery attacks at Agric bus stop have stricken fear in people.

“Returning home or going out in this area is now a herculean task.

“The whole community is scared as our bus stops now turn to arm robbers’ den and hard drugs zone, the shanties built by the hoodlums are their major hideouts,” he said.

He noted that in the daytime, “we see them display hard drugs they sell on their tables and smoke, they even display mixture of drinks with hard drugs.

“There are many people who have been killed while being robbed. For instance, one Stanley Mbosah was killed last week while returning home.

“Most of us no longer take our cars out of the community for fear of being robbed by the hoodlums.

Appeal to government

“We want the State Government, the police and Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (NDLEA) to come to our aid,” Mr Gbamboye said.

Another CDA leader, from Olowotabutabu community, Emmanuel Chukwudi, said there is the need for government to arrest the hoodlums who live in the shanties built at the bus stops.

“I want Government to help us station Police Patrol at the bus stops, remove shanties and arrest the hoodlums, their presence is causing agitation to inhabitants of this community,” he said.

In his reaction, Salau Rasheed, a CDA leader of Ayedoto community, also expressed concern on insecurities and sale of hard drugs at the bus stops.

“Our bus stop is no longer safe for even our children who go to school, we are scared that the hoodlums may want to lure our children into taking hard drugs,” he said.

Others who talked on the insecurity of the communities were the CDA leaders, Mr Celestine Igwilo of Otubu Community; Mr Albert Mere, Secretary, Olugbemi Community. They all said there was the need for Police to help them arrest those thieves.

Mr Olawale Saliu, who is a renowned lawyer living in one of the communities, told NAN that residents are scared of the evil the hoodlums unleash as they might extend their act to houses if not curtailed.

He, however, urged the security personnel in the area and Ojo Local Government Chairman to help them in clearing shanties where the hoodlums hide.

The Emir of Jama’are in Bauchi State, Ahmadu Muhammad Wabi III, has died, SaharaReporters has learnt.
A titleholder in the emirate (Gado Da Masun Jama’are) has confirmed that the monarch passed on around midnight on Sunday.

He said, “The Emir, who has ruled for over 50 years died after a protracted illness; leaving behind two wives, 35 children and several grandchildren.”

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has hinted at the possibility of an impending industrial action as the national leadership of the union has directed its members nationwide to declare lecture-free day on Monday, February 7, in preparation for a possible showdown with the Nigerian government.

Multiple circulars issued by the various branches of the union announcing the decision, noted that the lecture-free day will be used to sensitise the university communities and the general public on the failure of the government to honour an agreement the parties entered into in December 2020, and which led to the suspension of a nine-month prolonged strike then.

The new threat comes less than a week after President Muhammadu Buhari pledged the commitment of his administration to fulfilling the agreement with the union.

Mr Buhari made the promise when members of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) visited him to share thoughts with him on the lingering issues.

While making the pledge, Mr Buhari, however, pleaded with the union to exercise patience and consider current economic realities.

Suspended strike

The last national strike by ASUU was in March 2020 and lasted till December when the Memorandum of Action (MoA) was signed.

However, a year after signing the MoA, ASUU accused the government of failing to fulfil its side of the bargain and threatened to mobilise for another strike immediately.

The government quickly moved to pay N55 billion as part-payment for the Earned Academic Allowance and Revitalisation Fund, but the union was unmoved until the Nigerian Inter-religious Council (NIREC) and other dignitaries waded in.

ASUU chair speaks

ASUU national president, Emmanuel Osedeke, a professor, confirmed the directive and also that the national body had instructed all the chapters to sensitise the public “on the nobleness of its cause”.

“We are going to have a meeting that day, we will invite as many people as possible to talk about the issue of Nigerian education,” he told our reporter in a telephone interview on Saturday.

ASUU said the Nigerian government has only addressed, partially, two of its eight demands, including the visitation panel to federal universities. He described the release of funds for the Earned Academic Allowance and revitalisation funds as ‘partial’.


Mr Osodeke said: “Out of all the nine or eight issues, they attempted one or two things, even the issue of the visitation panel they said they set up till now the result is not out after more than one year.”

Lecture free day

Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES has seen the circulars from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and Bayero University, Kano, informing students of a lecture-free Monday on February 7.

ASUU assured that its actions are in the best interest of the country’s university system, calling on all to join hands with ASUU in its struggle and save the system from collapse.

Parts of the statement from BUK, signed by Haruna Musa and Yusuf Madugu, chairperson and secretary, respectively, read: “ASUU-BUK wishes to inform all stakeholders that any action taken by ASUU would be in the best interest of the Nigerian university system. The union, therefore, urges all concerned to join hands with ASUU in order to salvage the system from imminent collapse by prevailing on the government to as a matter of urgency implement all the agreements it freely entered with ASUU”.

According to the circulars, the various chapters of the union are also going to hold a congress on that day.

Demands

ASUU’s demands have barely changed since the signing of the ASUU/FG 2009 agreement.

These demands include the sustainability of the university autonomy, which it said the introduction of IPPIS violates; immediate deployment of UTAS to replace IPPIS; renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement; release of the reports of visitation panels to federal universities and distortions in salary payment challenges.

Others include funding for revitalisation of public universities, earned academic allowance, poor funding of state universities and promotion arrears.

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) is reportedly set to be the agency that will license and regulate social media platforms, online news outlets and content creators in the country.

Naija News learned that the proposed amendment is part of the NBC Act Amendment Bill that will be reintroduced as an executive bill in the National Assembly by the Federal Government.

Recall that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, is reportedly set to relaunch a fresh bid for the regulation of social media in the country.

Mohammed is making moves to reintroduce the NBC Act amendment bill which seeks to empower the commission with the power to regulate social media, internet broadcasting, fix tariffs for pay television services, among other functions.

The proposed amendment of Section 2 of the NBC Act 2004 seeks to give NBC power to the backend of social media platforms and online content providers for “easy facilitation of complaint resolution”.

The amendment for section 2 of the Act reads: “Section 2 subsection 1 (b) (iii) To read ‘Social media platforms, online content providers and any other online content distribution.

“Section 2 subsection 1 (d) should read ‘Regulating and controlling the broadcasting industry; including social media platforms, online content providers, satellite TV, digital services and any other medium of distribution.”

In a 15-page document obtained by TheCable, the federal government seeks to give NBC power to license and regulate Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Triller and Snapchat.

Also, NBC will be able to license and sanction online content creators such as Mr Macaroni, Broda Shaggi, Tao Ma, Johs2funny, Lasisi, Kiekie and a host of other providers. The commission will also be in control of movie streaming sites like IrokoTV, IbakaTV and others.

Through the proposed amendment, the commission will also be able to license and regulate online news platforms such as Naija News, TheCable, Premium Times, HumAngle, SaharaReporters, Daily Post and others.

The validity of the licence in the first instance is for a period of two years, and when the licence expires, the commission will consider an application for renewal based on “compliance to the terms and conditions of the licence” as formulated by the commission.

Also, the proposed amendment seeks to confer on the NBC and investigative agencies the power to request the personal information of social media users with or without court orders.

It also seeks to compel social media platforms to release such user information as requested by the NBC or investigative agencies within a period of seven days.

The bill states that the commission or investigative agency may in the face of national security request the personal information of a user of any social media platform.

The proposal also states that when the commission or an investigative agency is making a user information request for investigation, it may on the basis of court authorisation make such a request from social media platforms and online content providers.

Published 4 February 2022

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has congratulated two chieftains of the All Progressives Congress – Minister of Transportation and two-time Director-General of his election campaigns, Rotimi Amaechi; and businessman, Nasiru Danu, on the conferment of chieftaincy titles on them on Saturday by the Daura Emirate Council.

Buhari’s congratulatory message was contained in a statement signed on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, titled ‘President Buhari welcomes Daura title to Amaechi, says rail transformation is a great legacy’.

Buhari described the conferment of the title of “Dan Amana,” (the trusted one) to Amaechi as a clear commitment to the harmonious relationship between the nation’s diverse cultures. Danu is being turbaned as Tafida Babba of Daura.

He commended the Minister “for working with enormous energy to make the CHANGE we promised Nigerians a reality. The change we are witnessing in the transport sector is an extraordinary legacy.”

Though the president will not be at the event, he has designated a delegation of three, made up of the Ministers of Water Resources, Sulaiman Adamu; Aviation, Hadi Sirika and the Senior Special Assistant (Media and Publicity), Garba Shehu to represent him.

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Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says the state government has selected three companies for the final stage in the contract award process for the Fourth Mainland Bridge.

He stated this on Friday while featuring on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ programme monitored by The PUNCH.

According to him, the selection process for the project, which will be executed under a Public-Private Partnership, will be completed by March this year.

The project is running behind schedule as the governor had earlier said that the project will take off by the end of 2021.

Sanwo-Olu, who noted that the bridge is a huge project, said three companies had been shortlisted for the final stage of the process from an initial list of 30 companies.

Taking to his social handles after the programme, Sanwo-Olu wrote, “I also addressed the Fourth Mainland Bridge which is a big project we want to deliver under Public-Private Partnership. From about 30 companies that expressed interest, we are now at the final stage with three shortlisted companies and I am hoping by March we should have completed the process.

‘’I want to say our administration is doing well, even if I do say so myself and our people can also testify to the progress we are making across board.

‘’I made a promise to serve Lagosians diligently and I intend to continue to do that with all the vigour and energy in me.’’

In August 2020, the Lagos State Government shortlisted six companies for the design, development, construction, operation, and maintenance of the Fourth Mainland Bridge.

This followed the government’s issuance of a Request for Qualification in February this year. The six companies were said to have completed the technical and financial capacity requirements.

The government had earlier said that the preferred bidder for the bridge will be known by December 2021.

The Fourth Mainland Bridge is a 37.4km freeway subdivided into three sections namely Island Section, Lagoon Section and Mainland Section. It will commence from Abraham Adesanya Roundabout in Lekki through Ajah and Langbasa areas, crossing the Ado Badore Road before arriving at the Lagoon shoreline.

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The Lagos State Government said it would be diverting traffic from Yaba as it continues the First Phase of the construction of the Red Line railways covering Oyingbo to Agbado from midnight February 1, to February 16, 2022.

In a statement, the Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, said the diversion was in line with the Lagos Rail Mass Transit project.

Oladeinde averred that the two weeks long site activity would necessitate a diversion to protect road users during the installation of precast beams.

According to the diversion plan, motorists heading to Muritala Mohammed way from Western Avenue will be diverted to Empire Road at Jibowu while traffic inbound Yaba will be diverted to Empire Road to access Western Avenue.

He explained that in the same vein, motorist on Herbert Macaulay road would be able to connect Empire Road to access Western Avenue for their desired destinations.

The commissioner assured that the site would be cordon off for the safety of the citizenry, adding that emergency vehicles would be on ground to tow mechanical faulty vehicles along the axis.

He also stated that signage’s would be placed on the access roads with the State’s Traffic Management Authority to manage traffic flow and minimize inconveniences.

The State Government reiterated its continuous commitment towards the development of transport infrastructure within the metropolis, maintaining that it is vital for the Multi-Modal Transportation System of the State Government which would in turn boost the economic prowess of the citizenry.

The Senator representing Kano Central and leader of G7, Ibrahim Shekarau, has expressed his readiness to reconcile with the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje-led faction on strict conditions of equity and fairness to all members of All Progressive Congress in Kano.

Shekarau stated this in an audio released on Wednesday on what transpired at the reconciliation meeting initiated by the Chairman, APC Caretaker Committee and Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, and other members.

The PUNCH reported that the APC Caretaker Committee led by Buni and Jigawa State Governor, Mohammad Abubakar, met in Abuja, on Tuesday, with the warring factions of the party in Kano, so as to reconcile the groups.

According to Shekarau, the committee did not rule on any issue after the discussion but rather appealed to the factions to close ranks for peace to reign.

He said, “The reconciliatory committee was inundated with our successes at the court and the current situation of the party.

‘’We told the committee that we are ready for peace discussion but with conditions. The conditions are respect for party members, equity and fairness among all, so that everybody’s rights are protected.

‘’The struggle we are embarking on is not to create chaos or disrespect anybody, but to ensure that the efforts create a level playing field for everybody.

“The Almighty God emphasised that reconciliation is very good but we should be sensible, honest and ensure fairness in carrying out the action.’’

Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, on Wednesday said he has fulfilled many of his promises, especially in the area of infrastructure development for the people of Ile-Ife and Modakeke in the state.

Oyetola spoke at separate rallies held in Modakeke and Ile-Ife during his tour to Ife Central and Ife East local government areas of the state.

He then requested for continuous support and commitment from the members of the All Progressives Congress with an assurance to do more, if given chance of another term in office.

He said, “I trust the people of Ife and Modakeke, you have always stuck to your words, you have promised to be with me for second term project and I trust you to do as pledged.

“I have fulfilled many of my promises on Infrastructure in Ife and Modakeke and I am assuring of you of more infrastructure. I am here to promise that once you stand by us, we will meet your expectations.

“With what I am seeing here, I am not afraid and I’m sure that whatever type of primary the party endorses, either direct or indirect, with your support I will be victorious. Be patient, as we move on, many people would be appointed into position.

“We can only spread infrastructure and political development when we are in power, so work more to ensure that the party, and I retain the seat of power to spread more dividends of democracy within the party and to the general populace.”

Speaking further, Oyetola also urged members of the party to work towards resolution of whatever misunderstanding within the party to ensure unity and focus on the July governorship poll.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola said no fewer than 136 lives and property worth N3 trillion were lost to different fire incidents across the country in 2021.

He added that the Federal Fire Service saved properties worth N18.9 trillion, while no fewer than 587 lives and rescued 260 persons from fire incidents last year.

Aregbesola, stated this during the decoration of newly promoted Deputy Controllers General of the Service in Abuja on Thursday.

He said the service received a total of 2,845 distress calls.

These were contained in a statement by the Minister’s Media Adviser, Sola Fasure.

It partly read, “Last year, the FSS responded to 2,845 SOS distress-calls in which 136 lives and property worth N3 trillion were lost.

“But the FSS was able to save 587 lives, rescue 260 persons and save property worth N18.9 trillion.

“In sum, the stock of the FSS has grown in leaps and bounds as the agency has contributed significantly to national security – in the protection of lives and property,” .

Aregbesola noted that between 2015 and now, the Federal Government led by , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd) committed more resources into the Fire Service than since its creation in 1901.

“The attention and resources devoted by the Buhari administration since 2015 is more than whatever has been put into it since its establishment in 1901. Between 2015 and 2020, the Federal Government provided 106 modern firefighting trucks to the FSS.

“Last year, the Federal Executive Council also approved (and have since been procured and deployed) N10.4 billion infrastructure upgrade comprising of 44 firefighting engines, 15 water tankers, 15 rapid intervention fire engines (not conventional ones) that can go into the nooks and crannies to respond to distress-calls and 20 basic life support ambulances. Also, 17 firefighting officers were sent to Belarus for an advanced trainer-training course.

These officers are the master trainers that will be training other officers on modern firefighting, disaster and emergency management.”