Category: General News

The Senate Committee on Entertainment Economy, led by its Chairman, Senator Elisha Abbo on Thursday paid a condolence visit to the late Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, aka ‘Mohbad’ family.

Abbo who was accompanied by Nollywood actress, Tonto Dikeh visited and commiserated with Mohbad’s mother as seen in photos now widely posted on social media.

Mohbad died on Tuesday, September 12, in a controversial manner, sparking outrage on social media.

Following the singer’s death, #JusticeForMohbad rallies have been held across different locations in the country.

There are speculations linking Mohbad’s death to a rift with his former label boss, Azeez Fashola ‘Naira Marley’, and socialite Samson Erinfolami ‘Sam Larry’.

Recall that the Lagos State Police Command said it has commenced a full investigation into the death of the singer.

“Consequent upon the growing public concerns and the preliminary police review of the general circumstances surrounding the death of Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba aka Mohbad, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Idowu Owohunwa, has directed the commencement of full-scale criminal investigation into the case,” the statement partly reads.

Veteran journalist Hamisu Danjibga, a reporter with Voice of Nigeria (VON) in Zamfara state who was declared missing has been gruesomely murdered at his residence in Gusau metropolis in the state.

Danjibga was declared missing by family, friends and colleagues on Sunday and were struggling to know Wheabouts, until Wednesday evening when his Dead body was discovered dumped in a soak away behind his house in Yelwa Samaru area in Gusau, the state capital.

Zamfara State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in a statement issued on Thursday by the council secretary Ibrahim Ahmad regrets to announce the death of Danjibga whose body was found in a sock away behind his house three days after missing.

The discovery of his corpse was a result of unpleasant odour observed by Islamiya Children in the evening of Wednesday 20th September 2023 who drew the attention of their teachers”.

“After breaking the sock away the dead body was confirmed to be that of Danjibga by his family and some neighbours. His funeral rites have since been observed according to Islamic injunctions”.

“The Union extends its heartfelt condolence to the family, Voice of Nigeria and the entire Zamfara state”.

“The Council while expressing deep concern over the nature of Danjibga’s demise, appealed to security agencies to thoroughly investigate the matter and bring the perpetrators of the dastardly act to justice”

An Ibadan-based lawyer, Mutalubi Adebayo, SAN, has given Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, a 10-day ultimatum to pay arrears of allowances owed retired and serving judges in the state or face legal action.

Adebayo, in a statement dated Thursday, September 21, signed by himself, and obtained by our correspondent in Osogbo, said that should Adeleke refuse to yield to the request, by September 30, legal action to compel him to pay up would commence in a court of competent jurisdiction on October 3.

The lawyer, who confirmed being the author of the statement in a message to our correspondent, also noted that besides the arrears of outstanding allowances, he would also claim interest and aggravated damages in respect of the unpaid entitlements.

Adebayo’s statement further read in parts, “This serves as a notice to the Governor, the Government and the Judicial Service Commission of Osun State of Nigeria that if all the arrears of allowances being owed all the Judicial Officers in the state (both serving and retired) from the tenure of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola till date are not liquidated on or before the 30th day of September 2023, I, JCI Senator Mutalubi Ojo Adebayo, SAN, shall on the 3rd day of October 2023 commence legal action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover the full amount of the said unpaid allowances from the Government of Osun State and its Judicial Service Commission.

“Take further notice that I will also claim interest and aggravated damages in respect of those unpaid allowances because the acts of the Government of Osun State in refusing to pay same over the years amount to sheer callousness, recklessness, disregard for rule of law, indecent and unfair.”

However, the spokesperson to the governor, Olawale Rasheed, had yet to react to the statement as of the time of filing the report

The Federal Government has expressed its desire to expand the scope of its National Fire Academy in Sheda, Abuja to allow for the training of private firefighters in order to stem cases of fire disasters in the country

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo disclosed this on Wednesday night when he inspected facilities at the Academy.

He suggested the possibility of broadening the use of the National Fire Academy, Sheda, Abuja to accommodate private fire service men”, said; Babatunde Alao, his spokesman.

Speaking after his first official inspection tour of the academy, Tunji-Ojo said the facility has the capacity to play key roles in training safety officers who will be “on-the-ground” responders for the private sector.

He said; “A lot has been done, but there is still a lot more to be done. With what I have seen here, I can guarantee you that we will work very hard to see that this facility will not only be useful in training officers of the fire service but also for the private sector.

“We must make fire safety a personal affair. Every institution, commercial and social recreation centre should have certified fire and safety personnel, trained by this facility.”

According to him, the academy could serve various private sector players, saying, “a market, bank, hotel, mall, restaurant, or even ministries should have first responders who can administer basic fire fighting remedy while waiting for the arrival of a full operation squad of the country’s Fire Service.”

Dr Tunji-Ojo explained that the tour was to avail him of the situation of things at the facility and also see how fire service processes could be innovated to serve a broader spectrum in line with the #RenewedHope agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

“Today, we have over 3 million private guards certified by the NSCDC. We can have something similar for the fire service. We need private fire service men to enhance our service and response time. The President’s #RenewedHope agenda has charged us to be innovative if we must change the narrative.

As a matter of fact, this is another innovative way to generate revenue because we expect that anyone looking to become a safety or security guard should get trained and certified by this academy.”

The minister, who inspected the facility alongside the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Oluwatoyin Akinlade, was led on the tour by the Comptroller General of the Federal Fire Service, Jaji Abdulganiyu.

By Ibironke Ariyo
Abuja:. The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says road traffic fatalities significantly reduced in the first half of 2023 by 15.5 percent.

This is contained in statement released by FRSC’s Spokesman, Assistant Corps Marshal Bisi Kazeem, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Kazeem said that the corps recorded a total of 5,700 road traffic crashes (RTCs) as against 6,627 recorded during the same period in the preceding year 2022.

He said there was 14 per cent reduction in RCTs as captured in the FRSC road traffic crash dashboard within the period under review.

According to him, the corps also witnessed 14 per cent reduction in the number of rescued victims with injuries between January and June.

He added that the corps rescued a total of 16,716 accident survivours in 2023, as against the 19,440 injured in accidents during the same period in 2022.

“On the number of people killed, the corps also recorded a significant reduction within the same operational period in review

“According to the crash data report, in the first six months of the year 2023, the corps recorded a total of 2,850 fatalities as against 3,375 fatalities in the same period in 2022, representing 15.5 per cent reduction, ” he said.

Kazeem quoted the FRSC Corps Marshal, Dauda Biu, as attributing the modest achievement to a number of strategies and innovations in enforcement activities.

He said that there was improved presence and visibility of FRSC personnel, public enlightenment and engagement with partners within the period under review.

Biu charged motorists to desist from bad driving habits, adding that the Corps would continue to monitor and deal with any driving infraction.

This, he said, would be by sanitising the highways and entrenching safety values and measures on the over 200,000 kilometers road network across the country. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng) / Flowerbudnews

By Biola Lawal

Abuja (Flowerbudnews):  Director-General, Directorate of Technical Aid Corps, Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub, has stated that the Agency would draw operational inspiration from the Four,-D Agenda of President Tinubu’s Foreign Policy initiative in order to actualise its mandate.

Buba gave the assurance in a speech on Wednesday in Abuja on the occasion of the deployment of a new set of TAC Volunteers to Liberia, Nkem Anyata-Lafia, the
SA (Media and Publicity) to the DG disclosed in a statement, a copy of which was made available to Flowerbudnews.

The former lawmaker thanked Mr President for giving life to the vision and ideals of the TAC Scheme so that it could continue to play the big- brother role Nigeria has impacted over the past 35 years in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

Buba reiterated his determination to strengthen the Agency by Repositioning, Re-energising and Re-engineering it for better and broader relevance in the affairs of our nation.

He enjoined the participants being deployed to Liberia to their task as service to humanity and should be guided by Patriotism, Discipline, Commitment to Service and Obedience to primary authority.

Buba also urged them operate with commitment to the Agreement that they have entered with Nigeria.

‘:To ensure that the next two years in your place of primary assignment and the recipient country is a period that has been earmarked to offer you the best opportunity to exert impact  on your professional calling and the enabling environment to be your best and actualise the goals of the TAC Scheme,” Buba told them.

”we cannot overemphasize that everything concerning you has been taken care of within the framework of our agreement with the Recipient country and your kind selves, ”he further told them.

Buba assured them that the Nigerian Mission in Monrovia ”will continue to remain accessible to all Volunteers for guidance, direction, co-operation and complaints on any matter to which you quickly desire our kind attention,”.

The DG also used the occasion to publicly expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his appointment to the national service as Director General of TAC.

”I wish to avail myself of this rare privilege to publicly extend my gratitude and utmost loyalty to our dear Leader and President, for finding us worthy of his trust and giving us the privilege to join his quest for a better and more prosperous nation where every Nigerian will feel proud of being a member,’: the TAC Boss declared.

He added; ”Let me re-iterate my commitment to the vision of the Renewed Hope Agenda and pledge to join hands with all stakeholders in this Administration to vigorously pursue all of the laudable intentions of that vision.

”In strict compliance with Mr President’s mandate to all officials of the present Administration, we came into DTAC less than a month ago and quickly set out for the pursuit of Mr President ‘s mandate a 3- Point Agenda that aligns with His Renewed Hope Agenda here in DTAC.,,” he stated further.

The volunteers will be in Liberia for two years (Flowerbudnews)

For Records;    Full Speech Below:

REMARKS BY RT. HON. (DR.) YUSUF BUBA YAKUB, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, DIRECTORATE OF TECHNICAL AID CORPS (DTAC), DURING THE DEPLOYMENT OF TECHNICAL AID CORPS (TAC) VOLUNTEERS TO LIBERIA ON SEPTEMBER 20,2023 IN ABUJA.

Protocols.

1.Permit me to, particularly, acknowledge the presence of gentlemen of the Press, who, I intend to use the opportunity of today’s event to also meet since my assumption of office here as DG.

2.Permit me to start by informing you that since taking over the reins of leadership here on August 25, following the gracious appointment of His Excellency, President and Commander-in-Chief, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, at whose gracious instance today’s programme is holding, we have hit the ground running to actualise his vision for a new Nigeria using the DTAC platform.

3.I wish to, therefore, avail myself of this rare privilege to publicly extend my gratitude and utmost loyalty to our dear Leader and President, for finding us worthy of his trust and giving us the privilege to join his quest for a better and more prosperous nation where every Nigerian will feel proud of being a member.

4.Let me re-iterate my commitment to the vision of the Renewed Hope Agenda and pledge to join hands with all stakeholders in this Administration to vigorously pursue all of the laudable intentions of that vision.

4.In strict compliance with Mr President’s mandate to all officials of the present Administration, we came into DTAC less than a month ago and quickly set out for the pursuit of Mr President ‘s mandate a 3- Point Agenda that aligns with His Renewed Hope Agenda here in DTAC.

These three points encompass the following: Repositioning, Re-energising and Re-engineering DTAC for better and broader relevance in the affairs of our nation.

5.It is our hope and conviction that, if we follow strictly the vision that has been handed over to us by our dear President, we cannot but make the greatest impact to the utmost benefit of our nation.

6. Your Excellencies, gentlemen of the Press, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, through our 3-R we hope to reset the DTAC for greater performance in the years ahead. I would like to inform that we have begun this solemn mission in national service by setting several timelines, which we hope to deliver to the nation in no distant time.

Today’s occasion is one such move, which will be followed by others. We, therefore, request the buy-in of everyone here and the support of the Press to make a success of all that we intend to achieve here.

7. I have no shred of doubt in my mind that together we will make the requisite progress. During my long years at the National Assembly, I had the privilege of building a strong symbiotic relationship with members of the Press.

And as one would readily expect from every engagement for mutual progress, I intend to build upon that thriving relationship between us here in DTAC.

8.Let me, therefore, welcome you all to the occasion of the deployment of TAC Volunteers to Liberia, the Recipient country. We have, following rigorous and painstaking processes, come this far from months of planning and working through various details.

9.For us here, our business is to continue to facilitate the recruitment and orientation of Nigerian professionals in diverse fields of endeavour for deployment to recipient countries in Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific where their professional ingenuity is highly needed.

This is what our nation has continued to do since 1987 when the Directorate was established and was perfected by an Act of Parliament No 27 in 1993.

10. I would like to, therefore, congratulate all the Volunteers here, who, of course, will appreciate today’s programme, especially, given the painstaking processes that have brought you thus far.

11. For the avoidance of doubt, and, maybe, for the information of members of the Press here, this group of Volunteers has evolved from a long range of processes that include, response to adverts, shortlisting of qualified applicants, interviews, selection as well as other processes.

12. My emphasis on the above bears directly from the important activities and processes that we have undertaken to ensure that the next two years for the Volunteers will be a period of serious commitment to the task ahead of them in furtherance of our bilateral ties and friendship with the recipient country, in this particular case, the Republic of Liberia.

13. As part of the commitment of the Volunteers, and as you are aware, there is a tripartite agreement and commitment between us as Federal Republic of Nigeria and you as Volunteers on one hand. and, again, between us as Government and the Recipient country, in another. We must not fail in any of these.

14.Knowing that you have received the requisite orientation on the demands of the TAC Scheme and all that are required from you per time, it is, therefore, expected that your involvement in this journey for service to humanity and country must be one that will be characterized and guided by the following:

i. Patriotism
ii. Discipline
iii. Commitment to Service
iv. Obedience to primary authority and, last but not the least,
v. Commitment to the Agreement you have entered with your nation, Nigeria.

15.To ensure that the next two years in your place of primary assignment and the recipient country is a period that has been earmarked to offer you the best opportunity to exert impact  on your professional calling and the enabling environment to be your best and actualise the goals of the TAC Scheme, we cannot overemphasize that everything concerning you has been taken care of within the framework of our agreement with the Recipient country and your kind selves.

16.As you already know, our Mission in Monrovia will continue to remain accessible to all Volunteers for guidance, direction, co-operation and complaints on any matter to which you quickly desire our kind attention.

17. Again, let me return to the crux of our gathering here today, the deployment of Volunteers.

There is hardly any more things to add other than what you have received in the process of preparing for this day. Stick, therefore, with all you have been told and you will never put a foot wrong. And as my father would always say each time I prepared to return to school as a boarding student, “always remember whose son you are before you step out anywhere.”

18. As I conclude these remarks, let me thank the staff and Management of DTAC, who have all worked assiduously to make this day a reality. To the gentlemen of the Press, is there anything we can do without your kind cooperation? As always, we will strive to always keep our continuous synergy in nation-building and I invite you to go with me as partners and collaborators.

19.We again extend our humble invitations to all of you to join us in realising the Nigeria envisaged by Mr President ‘s Renewed Hope Agenda as exists for our Foreign Policy (Democracy, Development, Demographics and Diaspora) and in other spheres of our national lives.

20. I thank you for your patient listening and wish our Volunteers journey mercies to Liberia. (Flowerbudnews)

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.

By Jessica Dogo

The Senate President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio says the 10th National Assembly will not review the social media regulation bill since there are laws already guiding the use of the media.

Akpabio was represented by the Senate Committee Chairman on ICT, Sen. Shuiab Salisu, at the Parliamentarian Symposium of Africa Internet Governance Forum (AIGF), hosted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday in Abuja.

The theme of the programme is: “Transforming Africa’s Digital Landscape: Empowering Inclusion, Security, and Innovation”.

He said that the theme was a reflection of the deepest yearnings of all Africans for concerted efforts to keep in step with the rest of the world in the ICT race.

Akpabio said: “I am not sure that there is going to be a specific bill on social media regulation. However, there are emailing laws in various areas, social media is just one space.

“So, rather than having a specific legislation on social media. I will rather say social media is just one platform. The same way people have used regular media platform, to commit libel.”

Speaking on the youthful age of the African population, he said: “Africa may have missed out in the first, second, and third Industrial Revolutions but on the fourth is based on digital competence and knowledge system.

“Africa is placed in position to lead this digital revolution.

“I think a lot of things are happening that we need to also create awareness among the citizens.

“I will work together with my colleagues in the House of Representatives to drive an agenda that will ensure our country, Nigeria begins the trajectory to greatness using technology as an enabler to regulate social future.”

Akpabio said that this reality had compelled convocation to seek ways to develop, apply and arrive at shared norms, rules, decision-making procedures and other activities that would impact on the evolvement and utilisation of the internet.

The Secretary General (AIGF), Hon. Samuel George, member Ghanaian Parliament, who spoke on internet Governance in Africa said that Governments on the African continent were doing a fantastic job when it comes to the processes of digitalisation.

George said that people would like politicians to focus more on bricks and physical infrastructure than putting in more resources into digital rights.

He added: “We are seeing a lot more government services becoming digitalised; social services, government services, health care, justice, are becoming digital platforms.

“West African sub region Nigeria, is a big leader in that so we believe that governments are doing well

“As a politician, I know that we have challenges and that is one of the things we reach out to the media that citizens need to understand the value of digital infrastructure.

“If politicians come in and say that they have passed a digital rights bill to the citizens, they have not done anything but when they build a hospital they have done something.

“So those are the things that influence the decisions that politicians make.”

According to George,  instead of putting in more resources into digital rights, which affect everything  done online now, focus is rather placed on bricks and physical infrastructure.

He said: “So, you help us to raise the issues of digital rights and digital frameworks.

“You are talking about legislation and creating safe spaces on the internet and making sure that governments have the right framework for internet problems and the safety of citizens digital rights.”

NAN

By Adekunle Williams

NAN recalls that on Sept. 1, the mother of the boy, Abiodun Deborah, had cried out over the disappearance of her child’s small intestine during his treatment at the hospital.