Flowerbud News

Author: Lawal AbdulSalam Olawale

  • `Ember’ months: FRSC counsels motorists on dangers of speeding

    `Ember’ months: FRSC counsels motorists on dangers of speeding

    The Delta State Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has urged motorists to refrain from dangerous driving to reduce road accidents this `Ember’ months.

     

    The sector Commander, Mr Bassey Eshiet, gave the advice on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Asaba.

    According to Eshiet, drivers should reduce their speed these `Ember’ months as a strategy to avoid accidents.

    During `Ember’ months, most drivers want to travel today and come back the same day, thereby speeding.

     

    “Speeding is the leading cause of crashes on the road, and we want all road users to be cautious of their speed level.

     

    “That is why we encourage transport company owners and even private vehicle owners to install speed limiting device.

     

    “It helps vehicle to operate at a preloaded speed. We have devices such as radar speed gun to monitor the speed of a vehicle, and once you are suspected to have oversped, we give you a ticket and you pay for the violation,” he said.

     

    He also advised drivers not to engage in alcohol intake before embarking on any journey, and urged members of the public to cooperate with FRSC to ensure a safe motoring environment.

     

    “Drivers should refrain from drug abuse and intake of intoxicating substances that affect their vision and judgment while driving.

     

    “The whole essence is to save lives; we should obey all the rules governing driving, and we should cooperate with officials of the corps on duty.

    If for any reason you have a cause to register apprehension, you should channel your grievances appropriately and it will be addressed,” he said.

    He gave the assurance that the sector command would continue to carry out massive road safety enlightenment and enforcement to ensure compliance of road users with traffic rules and regulations.

  • Rector Crisis: Osun Govt. Reopens OSPOLY

    Rector Crisis: Osun Govt. Reopens OSPOLY

     

    Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has approved the re-opening of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree for continuation of academic activities.

     

    In a statement issued on Wednesday, by the commissioner for education, Hon. Dipo Eluwole , said the step is taken by government to ensure that academic activities in the institution are not disrupted further.

     

    The statement read, “This is to inform the general public especially staff and students of Osun State Polytechnic,Iree that Mr. Governor has graciously approved the re- opening of the institution.

     

    “This step is taken by Government to ensure that academic activities in the institution are not disrupted further. Staff and students are hereby enjoined to ensure that peaceful co- existence reigns within and outside the institution’s campus.”

     

    The State Government ordered the closure of The Osun State Polytechnic, Iree Campus, for two weeks.

     

    The directive for the closure is coming following the return of suspended Rector, Tajudeen Odetayo.

     

    Recall that the state government had suspended Odetayo through a letter signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Kehinde Jimoh, on July 24, 2023 for alleged gross misappropriation of funds and abuse of office.

     

    He was replaced by Alabi Kehinde who was appointed in acting capacity.

     

    OSUN DEFENDER recalled that the suspended Rector, Tajudeen Odetayo had resumed for office as Rector before the closure order.

     

    Odeyato had taken the step to resume following an order of the National Industrial Court, Ibadan Division which reinstalled him as Rector.

     

    Delivering ruling on the motion, Justice Opeloye Ogunbowale granted an interim order restraining Governor Adeleke and 14 others from appointing a rector for the polytechnic.

     

    Justice Ogunbowale also ordered Adeleke and other respondents to stay further action on the institution, pending hearing of the motion on notice slated for October 10, 2023.

     

    The judge had directed that a hearing notice be issued to all respondents before the next adjourned date.

     

    Meanwhile, the institution’s acting Rector, Kehinde Alabi has appealed to members of the polytechnic community to remain calm.

  • Tribunal verdict: Kano declares 24-hour curfew amid tension

    Tribunal verdict: Kano declares 24-hour curfew amid tension

    The Kano State government has on Wednesday declared a 24-hour curfew in the state to avoid a breakdown of law and order following the ruling of the three-man election tribunal led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay

    The Kano State government has on Wednesday declared a 24-hour curfew in the state to avoid a breakdown of law and order following the ruling of the three-man election tribunal led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay.

    CP Gumel who vowed to ensure strict compliance with the order, however, warned residents that defaulters will be arrested and made to face the wrath of the law.

     

    According to him, “A Twenty-Four Hours (24hrs) Curfew order has been communicated by the State Government via letter with Reference No: K/SEC/H/435/T.1/153 dated 20th September 2023 taking effect from 6pm of Wednesday, 20th September to 6pm of Thursday, 21st September 2023.

     

    “In view of the Constitutional mandate of the Nigeria Police Force alongside the relevant Internal Security and Law Enforcement Agencies to preserve law and order in the State, the Kano State Police Command have mapped out strategies on that direction and call on the good people of the State to give the necessary confidence and supports.

     

    “Going forward, Kano State residents are called upon to note that combined Security Forces have already been dispatched to the nooks and crannies including the entry and exits of the State to ensure enforcement and strict compliance of the curfew.

     

    “Violators will be arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.

     

    “Finally, I wish to appreciate all the peace-loving People of the State and urge them to remain law abiding as it’s in the best interest of all that we come together to maintain law and order in the State,” CP Gumel however stated.

  • Yoruba Council Asks Obasanjo To Apologise On 10 TV Stations, 20 National Dailies For Disrespecting Oyo Kings, Threatens Lawsuit

    Yoruba Council Asks Obasanjo To Apologise On 10 TV Stations, 20 National Dailies For Disrespecting Oyo Kings, Threatens Lawsuit

    The group in a letter of pre-action notice written to former President Obasanjo through the Palace of Olowu of Owu Kingdom in Ogun State, Oba Saka Matemilola, titled “Pre-action Notice Final Warning/Demand For Apology” and dated September 18, 2023, by Juriman Associates Chambers, urged Obasanjo to henceforth stop further parading of himself as the Balogun of Owu Kingdom.

     

    Apan-Yoruba organisation, Yoruba Council Worldwide (YCW) is set to sue former President Olusegun Obasanjo for publicly disrespecting Yoruba monarchs at a function in Iseyin, Oyo State last Friday.

     

    The group in a letter of pre-action notice written to former President Obasanjo through the Palace of Olowu of Owu Kingdom in Ogun State, Oba Saka Matemilola, titled “Pre-action Notice Final Warning/Demand For Apology” and dated September 18, 2023, by Juriman Associates Chambers, urged Obasanjo to henceforth stop further parading of himself as the Balogun of Owu Kingdom.

    According to the organisation, Obasanjo failed in his obligation to uphold the culture and traditions of the Yoruba people and is therefore relieved of all chieftaincy titles in Yoruba land including the Balógun of Owu Kingdom.

     

    The pre-action notice reads: “We are Public Interest Law firm committed to ensuring protection of fundamental rights, peacebuilding and sanctity of the rule of law, hence we write on behalf of the incorporated Trustees of the Yoruba Council Worldwide (Igbimo Apapo Yoruba Lagbaye) acting for themselves and on behalf of concerned Yoruba indigenous people globally, alongside all the affected Traditional Leaders (Oba Alayeluwas) present at the Iseyin, Oyo State, 15th September, 2023 event hereinafter referred as “Our Clients/Victims.

     

    “Having waited endlessly for your compliance to the 3 days earlier call for sober apology press conference; which was a widely circulated notice via a press conference held at the NUJ Secretariat, FCT, Abuja on 16th September, 2023 – warning period that started on the actual date of committed violation on 15th and lapsed on 17th September, 2023.

     

    We hereby write you this final warning notice, within which we shall commence strict legal action to ensure adequate legal sanctions and remorseful apology press conference/publications in 20 National Dailies Newspapers (Any Available) and Ten (10) TV Stations: Channels, TVC, Arise, LTV, AIT, OGTV, NTA, CNN, BBC and OSBC / 10 Radio stations accordingly.”

     

    “This warning is consequent upon your brazen refusal to apologize, continuous degradation and disparaging comments; you spat out poison like a venomous rattlesnake, talking down on the natural rulers like a teacher does to offending kindergarten pupils, while flapping your left hand like a salamander does its tail in a moment of extreme anger, wherein you then hectored the referred traditional rulers to stand, “e dide!”, in the mode of a garrison commander at an army parade. While you falsely claimed all Obas bow down before you in your room, highly ridiculous and disdainful to say the least.”

     

    It added, “Take Notice: The life and death of Obas in Yorubaland are a testament to their assumed powers, authority and highly referred respect granted by God Almighty and not enshrined by man.

     

    “We are aghast at your vexatious grandstanding premeditated, primordial sentiments and oversensationalized reasons to lecture the traditional rulers on giving honour to whom it is due on the 15th September, 2023 at Iseyin, Oyo State is a Total Sacrilege.”

     

    “We see your disrespectful statements at the commissioning of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Iseyin campus, and had commanded kings from Oyo State to stand up and accord you respect (and subsequent defense in premium times and other news mediums); to the arrays of first class Royal Fathers and other leading Obas like toddlers or a village headmaster or Army General talking profusely at his foot soldiers in a most depressing, disparaging and disrespectful manner.

     

    “Our Client: Yoruba Council Worldwide reiterates their position as the leading vanguard voice for all Yoruba indigenous people globally, our client’s owe eternal duty to preserve the aesthetic distinct Yoruba Omoluabi ethos, Royal stools and ancestral customs and traditions of the Yoruba Obaship.

     

    “Yoruba venerated their kings, with highest level of preserved respect and honour, hence Yoruba kings is the incarnation of the concept of earthly sovereignty. They regulated peace and order, guaranteed harmonic social relations with their fellow beings and was the intercessor who interacted between them and cosmic forces.

     

    “By this little knowledge we hope this will remind you actually erred in morality and law, precipitating our earlier client’s demand for immediate apologies within three (3) days which you deliberately and continuously ignored blatantly.

     

    “We by this final warning notice shall immediately commence strict legal action at a court of competent jurisdiction for legal redress and compensatory damages accordingly.”

     

    Obasanjo was earlier given three days to apologise for his actions to the entire Yoruba land for his “sacrilegious act” against the revered monarchs.

  • Iranian Women Face 10 Years In Prison For Not Wearing Hijab

    Iranian Women Face 10 Years In Prison For Not Wearing Hijab

    Iran lawmakers have passed a new bill that will jail women and girls who refuse to wear the hijab for up to 10 years.

     

    Lawmakers in Iran, where the hijab is mandatory for women, approved on Wednesday the “Support for the Culture of Hijab and Chastity” legislation, which seeks to increase penalties for flouting Islamic dress codes, Telegraph reports.

    Iranian lawyers opposed to the new rule say that the 10-year prison sentence is not far off those handed down for the crimes of drug trafficking and, in some cases, murder.

     

    The previous maximum penalty for refusing a hijab was two months’ imprisonment. The maximum fine for the same offence is being raised from roughly £1 to £2,500 under the new law.

     

    Under Iranian law, which is based on the country’s interpretation of Sharia, women and girls above the age of puberty must cover their hair with a hijab and wear long, loose-fitting clothing to disguise their figures.

    The bill also proposes fines for those “promoting nudity” or “making fun of the hijab” in the media and on social networks and for owners of vehicles in which a female driver or passenger is not wearing the hijab or appropriate clothing, according to AFP news agency.

     

    Any person who promotes violating the dress code “in an organised manner” or “in co-operation with foreign or hostile governments, media, groups or organisations” could also be imprisoned for between five and 10 years, it says.

     

    The bill will now be sent for approval by the Guardian Council, a conservative body of clerics and jurists. They have the power to veto the bill if they consider it inconsistent with the constitution and Sharia.

     

    The law was passed just days after the first anniversary of the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, which triggered unprecedented anti-regime protests across Iran. Mahsa, 22, had been detained by the Iranian morality police for incorrectly wearing her hijab and was beaten to death by officers.

     

    Since those protests, a growing number of women have been flouting the hijab in public, even though they risk meeting the same fate as Mahsa.

     

    Earlier in September a panel of UN experts, including the special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, warned that the regime’s new law amounted to a form of “gender apartheid”.

     

    “The draft law could be described as a form of gender apartheid, as authorities appear to be governing through systemic discrimination with the intention of suppressing women and girls into total submission,” they said in a joint statement.

     

    The law will be in place for three years following the vote in Iran’s Consultative Assembly, though it still needs to be approved by the powerful Guardian Council, an all-male body that vets legislation.

     

    Iranian officials have also sought other means of pressuring women to wear the religious garment, such as confiscating the cars of those who refuse.

     

    In one particularly grim case, a woman was reportedly forced to wash corpses as punishment for not wearing a hijab.

  • Army chief orders full medical care for wounded soldiers

    Army chief orders full medical care for wounded soldiers

    The General Officer Commanding 3 Armoured Division Nigerian Army, Major General AE Abubakar, on Wednesday, visited soldiers who were wounded in action during the ongoing Operation Hakorin Damisa IV at the Jos University Teaching Hospital in Jos, Plateau State.

     

    The PUNCH reports that the Nigerian Army had in July 2023, launched a new military operation in Plateau state, code-named Operation Hakorin Damisa IV following a series of attacks by gunmen in different communities which left over 300 persons dead and properties destroyed.

     

    The Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja, who launched the new operation in Mangu Local Government Area of the state said the aim was specifically to end the spate of attacks and killings in the LGA and other parts of the state.

     

    The Media Officer of the Special Task Force, Captain Oya James, who disclosed the visit of the GOC to the Jos University Teaching Hospital in a statement on Wednesday, said he was accompanied by Commanders and Principal Staff Officers from 3 Division headquarters and Operation Safe Haven.

    Although the statement did not disclose the number of injured soldiers receiving treatment at JUTH, it disclosed that during the visit, the GOC who is also the Commander, Operation Safe Haven, assured the wounded personnel of adequate medical treatment that would enable them to recover quickly from the injuries sustained.

     

    “The nation was proud of their selfless service and continued sacrifices toward maintaining peace in the country.

     

    “Lagbaja has directed that comprehensive medical care was imperative for the wounded heroes including further medical therapy overseas should the need arise. He reiterated that the welfare of troops was of utmost importance to the COAS while wishing them quick recovery,” the statement partly read.

  • BREAKING: Tribunal sacks NNPP’s Abba Yusuf, declares APC’s Gawuna winner in Kano

    BREAKING: Tribunal sacks NNPP’s Abba Yusuf, declares APC’s Gawuna winner in Kano

    The Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal on Wednesday sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasiru Gawuna, winner of the March 18 governorship poll.

    Reading of the judgment was transmitted virtually via Zoom, a teleconference service as the panel members were not physically in court.

    The ruling came weeks after lawyers of both parties made their closing arguments on behalf of their clients on 21 August.

     

    Recall the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared that the NNPP polled 1,019,602 votes to defeat the APC with its candidate, Nasir Gawuna, who scored 890,705 votes. The NNPP candidate thus won with a margin of 128,897 votes.

     

    However, the APC filed a petition at the tribunal to challenge the results declared by the electoral body.

     

    Yusuf, who contested on the platform of the NNPP was declared winner of the election by the INEC.

     

    After the declaration by INEC, Gawauna congratulated Yusuf, but the All Progressives Congress headed to court to challenge the victory.

     

    The three-man panel, on Wednesday, ordered the withdrawal of certificate of return which INEC presented to Yusuf, and directed a certificate of return to be issued to Gawuna.

     

    The court deducted 165,663 votes from Yusuf as invalid, stating that the ballot papers (165,663) were not stamped or signed and therefore declared invalid

  • Tuition Hike: FG appeals to students, parents as varsities resume

    Tuition Hike: FG appeals to students, parents as varsities resume

    The Minister of State for Education, Dr Tanko Sununu, has appealed to students, parents and lecturers in public tertiary institutions to shun acts capable of disrupting the academic session as schools get set for resumption.

     

    Sununu made the appeal in Abuja on Wednesday when the leadership of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) paid him a courtesy visit.

    Speaking ahead of the resumption of academic activities in tertiary institutions, the minister said the show of restraint would be in the best interest of all stakeholders as well as the stability of the system.

     

    He noted that his ministry is having constructive dialogue and consultation with stakeholders over the welfare of students, staff as well as the provision of infrastructure in the nation’s tertiary institutions.

     

    While acknowledging that strikes and non-use of facilities could lead to rapid decay, Sununu promised President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to avoid any situation that could lead to further industrial actions.

     

    Earlier speaking, the President of CONUA, Niyi Sunmonu, said there could be likelihood of unrest occasioned by the new increase in school fees, which he said had the potential of disrupting academic activities and the school calendar.

     

    Sunmonu also appealed to government to look into ways of improving the condition of service of academic and non-academic staff of universities, which he said had deteriorated due to the petroleum subsidy removal.

     

    He added that there was need to revisit the issue of the 8-month salary arrears that arose from the last strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), arguing that members of CONUA did not go on strike.

  • BREAKING: Bauchi Guber Tribunal upholds Bala Mohammed’s victory

    BREAKING: Bauchi Guber Tribunal upholds Bala Mohammed’s victory

    The Bauchi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its governorship candidate, Sadique Abubakar

    The tribunal affirmed the victory of Governor Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

     

    The three-man panel chaired by Justice P.T Kwahar, held that there was “no strong reason to nullify the election”, stating that the poll was conducted in compliance with the law.

     

    DAILY POST reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared Bala Mohammed winner of the March 18 governorship election.

     

    However, the APC candidate, a former Chief of Air Staff, approached the court to nullify the election over alleged irregularities

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