Justice Ibrahim Bubba, of the Federal High Court in Lagos, has
ordered the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to vacate the
residence and properties of Senator-Elect Buruji Kashamu. Mr. Kashamu
has been under House Arrest since the early hours on Saturday morning,
when the NDLEA swarmed around his house.
Mr. Kashamu is currently wanted by the United States on charges of
narcotics trafficking. He was incarcerated on similar charges in the
United Kingdom, but released before his extradition to the United
States.
The NDLEA issued press statements saying that Mr. Kashamu was placed
under House Arrest so that it would be certain that he appear before the
court on Monday May 25, for a ruling whether an extradition process to
the United States would begin. However, the NDLEA was unable to bring
Mr. Kashamu to court on Monday.
Mr. Kashamu’s lawyer, Ajibola Oluyede, spoke with SaharaReporters
today and said that “the court order is a direct result of the motion I
submitted yesterday, telling the court that what the Attorney General
and NDLEA were doing was unlawful.” The motion stated that the Attorney
General, Mr. Adoke, and the Chairman of the NDLEA were in violation of
Mr. Kashamu’s human rights.
“We have now issued charges against the Attorney General and the
NDLEA for criminal conduct for how they carried themselves,” Mr. Oluyede
told a SaharaReporters correspondent.
He added, “they must now return to court on June 4th to answer these charges.”
Mr. Oluyede also stated that “it is clear that the original purpose
of this invasion was to kidnap him [Mr. Kashamu] and ship him off to the
US, in violation of the Extradition Act.”
“No arrest warrant was issued by the court, which means they [the
Attorney General and NDLEA] never intended to follow legal procedure,”
he said.
Mr. Oluyede then revealed that he received information that, “their
[the NDLEA and Attorney General] first plan was to abduct him on
Saturday and ship him off to the US. It was only when this failed that
they started talking about taking him to court.”
Mr. Oluyede also told SaharaReporters that it is obvious that former
President Olusegun Obasanjo was behind the latest efforts to arrest
Senator-Elect Kashamu. “Prince Kashamu is the political nemesis of
Obasanjo, who has now lost relevance in the South West.”
“Obasanjo is now a paper weight electorally in Nigeria, he may have
international clout but he cannot get votes for people in Nigeria,” Mr.
Oluyede said.
The NDLEA Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Ofoyeju Mitchell, told
SaharaReporters that “the NDLEA has not received any court order to
vacate Mr. Kashamu’s residence and we believe any order to vacate his
residence is diversionary.”
Mr. Mitchell also stated that “the NDLEA refuses to be distracted by
his court maneuvers and advises that Kashamu respect the law by
submitting himself to the due process of the law.”
Mr. Mitchell also stated that it is false to suggest that the NDLEA
has acted unlawfully, “we received a provisional warrant from the
Federal High Court.”
Wednesday, 27 May 2015
APC Denies Zoning Senate President to North-Central The statement, which was issued in Abuja by the APC’s national secretary, Mai Mala Buni, disclosed that the party was deeply embarrassed by the report. It speculated that the report was apparently planted in the media to sow the seeds of instability in the party.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied a report that its
National Working Committee (NWC) met on Monday night and decided to zone
the presidency of the Senate to Nigeria’s north central zone and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives to the southwest.
In a statement released today, the party said nothing of the sort reported by some media happened.
The statement, which was issued in Abuja by the APC’s national secretary, Mai Mala Buni, disclosed that the party was deeply embarrassed by the report. It speculated that the report was apparently planted in the media to sow the seeds of instability in the party.
“The NWC never discussed the issue of zoning at its meeting,” the statement remarked. It added, “Therefore, the report of its decision on zoning is a figment of the imagination of whoever concocted the story.”
The party said nothing had changed, adding that President-elect Muhammadu Buhari had indicated his readiness to work with anyone from any part of the country who earns any of the principal offices of the incoming National Assembly, including the Senate Presidency and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
In a statement released today, the party said nothing of the sort reported by some media happened.
The statement, which was issued in Abuja by the APC’s national secretary, Mai Mala Buni, disclosed that the party was deeply embarrassed by the report. It speculated that the report was apparently planted in the media to sow the seeds of instability in the party.
“The NWC never discussed the issue of zoning at its meeting,” the statement remarked. It added, “Therefore, the report of its decision on zoning is a figment of the imagination of whoever concocted the story.”
The party said nothing had changed, adding that President-elect Muhammadu Buhari had indicated his readiness to work with anyone from any part of the country who earns any of the principal offices of the incoming National Assembly, including the Senate Presidency and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Tuesday, 12 May 2015
A Vietnamese court has sentenced two nigerian men Christian Nnadike, 34, and Collins Deke, 37, to 12. years imprisonment each
A Vietnamese court has sentenced two Nigerian men, Christian Nnadike, 34, and Collins Deke, 37, to 12 years each in a Vietnam prison for hacking into emails of local companies, contact the company’s foreign partners and swindle them of their money.
The men along with a Vietnamese female accomplice, Le Thi Kim Quyen, 35, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison and another Nigerian, de facto husband of the Vietnamese lady, Mark Mamado Abdallah, 39, who is currently at large, ran a scamming syndicate in Vietnam.
At the court hearing which took play in April, the men and their accomplice were also found guilty of another fraud scheme in which they pretended to be a British friend of two Vietnamese women on Facebook and asked them to send money as shipping fees to receive gifts.
According to prosecutors, the group defrauded many unsuspecting victims of over VND3.3 billion (US$150,000) between April and August 2013. Most of this came from the email hacking scheme.
Prosecutors said over the four months, the vietnamese woman, Quyen and her Nigerian husband, Abdallah hacked into the emails of several Vietnamese companies doing business with foreign companies. They gave the information to Nnadikwe and then Deke, who would later transfer it to another Nigerian man living in Malaysia. The unknown man in Malaysia then used the compromised email accounts to contact the victims’ foreign partners, asking them to send payments to a bank account opened by Quyen and Abdallah.
The men along with a Vietnamese female accomplice, Le Thi Kim Quyen, 35, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison and another Nigerian, de facto husband of the Vietnamese lady, Mark Mamado Abdallah, 39, who is currently at large, ran a scamming syndicate in Vietnam.
At the court hearing which took play in April, the men and their accomplice were also found guilty of another fraud scheme in which they pretended to be a British friend of two Vietnamese women on Facebook and asked them to send money as shipping fees to receive gifts.
According to prosecutors, the group defrauded many unsuspecting victims of over VND3.3 billion (US$150,000) between April and August 2013. Most of this came from the email hacking scheme.
Prosecutors said over the four months, the vietnamese woman, Quyen and her Nigerian husband, Abdallah hacked into the emails of several Vietnamese companies doing business with foreign companies. They gave the information to Nnadikwe and then Deke, who would later transfer it to another Nigerian man living in Malaysia. The unknown man in Malaysia then used the compromised email accounts to contact the victims’ foreign partners, asking them to send payments to a bank account opened by Quyen and Abdallah.
Monday, 11 May 2015
Fadolapo shola blog: BEN MURRAY'S and the hypocrisy of a nigerian polit...
Fadolapo shola blog: BEN MURRAY'S and the hypocrisy of a nigerian polit...: By Elvis Iyorngurum I read Senator-elect, Ben Murray-Bruce’s piece, “It Doesn’t Matter if the Cat is White or Black,” published in Thisday’...
BEN MURRAY'S and the hypocrisy of a nigerian politician
By Elvis Iyorngurum
I read Senator-elect, Ben Murray-Bruce’s piece, “It Doesn’t Matter if the Cat is White or Black,” published in Thisday’s edition of April 29, 2015. In the article, he criticised President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari’s composition of his Transition Committee. He feels it is an inappropriate assemblage and questioned the General’s ability to constitute a productive team to support him in running his government. He also advised General Buhari to cut the cost of governance, beginning from Aso Rock, by reducing the overhead cost of the executive and persuading the legislature to do same.
Recently, Senator Murray-Bruce has been using his Twitter handle to further promote his prescriptions for our ailing economy. He asked General Buhari to use made in Nigeria Peugeot as his official car and also reduce the number of cars in the presidential fleet.
Senator Murray-Bruce is a man I had a lot of respect for. I heard him speak several times when he was campaigning for the Governorship of Bayelsa state. No doubt he is a brilliant and eloquent man and I had wished Bayelsans would give him the opportunity to lead them as their Governor and when that did not happen, I was deeply disappointed. Now much of that respect has eroded because of the Senator’s recent statements. His statements have a lot of substance I must admit, but they raise a lot of questions over his motive and his reputation.
The Senator had these brilliant ideas on how to run Nigeria and structure our financial and public service system, yet he failed to bring them forward until now, because his own, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has been the president. Now there’s an incoming president who is not from his region so he suddenly feels the need to come public and show he has a loud mouth. He criticised Gen Buhari’s constitution of his Transition Committee and it makes me wonder if he has ever felt it is helpful to our country that President Jonathan has had the likes of Doyin Okupe, Abba Moro, Diezani Alison-Madueke and Musiliu Obanikoro in his government. What did he say when Jonathan appointed Ahmadu Ali as his campaign DG and Fani Kayode as his campaign spokesperson? Talking about the cost of governance, why did he not ask President Jonathan to use made in Nigeria Peugeot car? Why did he not advise Jonathan to cut the overhead of the executive? Why did he not speak out when Stella Oduah bought two armoured cars with 225million Naira of unbudgeted public funds?
His ideas are brilliant and he has the right to state his own opinion on issues of governance. It is also well within his rights to criticise General Buhari and I do not intend to contest that. My concern is the attitude of seeing nothing wrong in a leader’s action if he is from your own part of the country and especially if you are benefiting from him. Clearly the Senator enjoyed Jonathan’s patronage and that can account for his emergence as a Senator. President Jonathan has ran the most incompetent, corrupt and despicable government any society can be cursed with. All through his five years of destroying this nation, one bit after the next, there was a man named Ben Murray-Bruce, a close confidant of the President who saw nothing wrong in all the president did or perhaps was too cowardly to say a word of caution to him. Now the same man wants us to see him as a brilliant saint who has the wisdom to advise a president on good leadership.
It is shameless hypocrisy for Senator Murray-Bruce to suddenly have the zest to criticise and condemn General Buhari for actions that he condoned when Dr Jonathan was the president. If he felt silence is golden for five years, he should accord it the same attribute now.
We must develop the value of standing for the truth regardless of who is on the side opposite of it. It is inevitable that if we must advance as a people, we must also grow beyond sentiments and selfish considerations and stand for the collective good of our society, no matter who it will pitch us against. The attitude of keeping quiet when someone from your region, religion or ethnicity is doing wrong and only speaking against the person from the other side is most unhelpful and unacceptable. It makes me question the integrity of Senator Murray-Bruce and the motive of his present sermonisations. He owes it to Nigerians to first of all explain why he kept quiet for five years while President Jonathan was strangling this nation to its death and also give us sufficient reasons to trust his character. The change we have instituted in our national culture is deeper than mere political change. It includes a new resolve to hold every public figure accountable for their actions and inactions and Senator Murray-Bruce can’t be an exception. Until he gives me reason not to, I believe he has been a beneficiary of the corruption in the present government that is why he never came out to criticise all the misdeeds of the government. On account of that belief, he lacks the moral authority to make the statements he is making now and he is a perfect example of the kind of character that we cannot condone in anyone who aspires to be called a public figure in the emerging Nigeria. God bless Nigeria.
I read Senator-elect, Ben Murray-Bruce’s piece, “It Doesn’t Matter if the Cat is White or Black,” published in Thisday’s edition of April 29, 2015. In the article, he criticised President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari’s composition of his Transition Committee. He feels it is an inappropriate assemblage and questioned the General’s ability to constitute a productive team to support him in running his government. He also advised General Buhari to cut the cost of governance, beginning from Aso Rock, by reducing the overhead cost of the executive and persuading the legislature to do same.
Recently, Senator Murray-Bruce has been using his Twitter handle to further promote his prescriptions for our ailing economy. He asked General Buhari to use made in Nigeria Peugeot as his official car and also reduce the number of cars in the presidential fleet.
Senator Murray-Bruce is a man I had a lot of respect for. I heard him speak several times when he was campaigning for the Governorship of Bayelsa state. No doubt he is a brilliant and eloquent man and I had wished Bayelsans would give him the opportunity to lead them as their Governor and when that did not happen, I was deeply disappointed. Now much of that respect has eroded because of the Senator’s recent statements. His statements have a lot of substance I must admit, but they raise a lot of questions over his motive and his reputation.
The Senator had these brilliant ideas on how to run Nigeria and structure our financial and public service system, yet he failed to bring them forward until now, because his own, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has been the president. Now there’s an incoming president who is not from his region so he suddenly feels the need to come public and show he has a loud mouth. He criticised Gen Buhari’s constitution of his Transition Committee and it makes me wonder if he has ever felt it is helpful to our country that President Jonathan has had the likes of Doyin Okupe, Abba Moro, Diezani Alison-Madueke and Musiliu Obanikoro in his government. What did he say when Jonathan appointed Ahmadu Ali as his campaign DG and Fani Kayode as his campaign spokesperson? Talking about the cost of governance, why did he not ask President Jonathan to use made in Nigeria Peugeot car? Why did he not advise Jonathan to cut the overhead of the executive? Why did he not speak out when Stella Oduah bought two armoured cars with 225million Naira of unbudgeted public funds?
His ideas are brilliant and he has the right to state his own opinion on issues of governance. It is also well within his rights to criticise General Buhari and I do not intend to contest that. My concern is the attitude of seeing nothing wrong in a leader’s action if he is from your own part of the country and especially if you are benefiting from him. Clearly the Senator enjoyed Jonathan’s patronage and that can account for his emergence as a Senator. President Jonathan has ran the most incompetent, corrupt and despicable government any society can be cursed with. All through his five years of destroying this nation, one bit after the next, there was a man named Ben Murray-Bruce, a close confidant of the President who saw nothing wrong in all the president did or perhaps was too cowardly to say a word of caution to him. Now the same man wants us to see him as a brilliant saint who has the wisdom to advise a president on good leadership.
It is shameless hypocrisy for Senator Murray-Bruce to suddenly have the zest to criticise and condemn General Buhari for actions that he condoned when Dr Jonathan was the president. If he felt silence is golden for five years, he should accord it the same attribute now.
We must develop the value of standing for the truth regardless of who is on the side opposite of it. It is inevitable that if we must advance as a people, we must also grow beyond sentiments and selfish considerations and stand for the collective good of our society, no matter who it will pitch us against. The attitude of keeping quiet when someone from your region, religion or ethnicity is doing wrong and only speaking against the person from the other side is most unhelpful and unacceptable. It makes me question the integrity of Senator Murray-Bruce and the motive of his present sermonisations. He owes it to Nigerians to first of all explain why he kept quiet for five years while President Jonathan was strangling this nation to its death and also give us sufficient reasons to trust his character. The change we have instituted in our national culture is deeper than mere political change. It includes a new resolve to hold every public figure accountable for their actions and inactions and Senator Murray-Bruce can’t be an exception. Until he gives me reason not to, I believe he has been a beneficiary of the corruption in the present government that is why he never came out to criticise all the misdeeds of the government. On account of that belief, he lacks the moral authority to make the statements he is making now and he is a perfect example of the kind of character that we cannot condone in anyone who aspires to be called a public figure in the emerging Nigeria. God bless Nigeria.
german chancellor meets russian president
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Moscow on Sunday to lay a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin and held talks with President Vladimir Putin, a day after the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of WW2 victory.
Merkel did not attend a military parade on Red Square. The event was shunned by Western leaders angered by Russia’s role in the conflict in Ukraine.
It is planned that the leaders of Russia and Germany will discuss the crisis in Ukraine.
Merkel and French President Francois Hollande helped broker a ceasefire between Ukrainian forces and Pro-Russian Separatists in Eastern Ukraine, but it has been violated many times.
NO ROAD Motorist and resident continue to groan.
By fadolapo sola
NO ROAD!—Motorists and residents continue to groan under the unending traffic chaos at the Mile 2 end of Oshodi-Apapa Expressway caused by petroleum tankers.
You may never fully understand the malady at the Mile 2/Apapa end of the Oshodi-Apapa expressway until you visit there. This is the ill-luck President Goodluck Jonathan apportioned the residents and workers in that area; it grew incrementally worse in the last two years.
Tankers, as they are called, waiting to load Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, have defied every suggested solution. It was so bad sometime last year that President Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Project Monitoring, Professor Sylvester Monye, came to Lagos but was not able to get to the point of the road where a proper assessment could be made. Why? Because the tanker drivers are the lords of the road!
If you are a resident of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, just imagine the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as the loading depot. Then imagine a five-lane queue of tankers – highly combustible, with unruly drivers – from the airport all the way to Lugbe Estate.
If you are a resident of Ibadan, imagine a five-lane queue of these same articulated vehicles from Iwo Road roundabout all the way to Ibadan Tollgate, by Lead City University. If you live and work in Enugu, imagine same from the Enugu Airport all the way to Government House, Enugu, where Governor Sullivan Chime presently resides.
Apapa Oshodi road completely shut down
For those living and or working in Kaduna, visualize a five-lane queue of these terrible tankers from Angwanrimi to Ahmadu Bello House; and if you are a Port Harcourt person, imagine same from Pipeline Junction to Mile 1 Flyover.
The reason for this voyage is that unless and until you experience this madness, the story would sound distant, very distant.
Yet, that same road leads to Nigeria’s port, one of the busiest in Africa, yielding billions of naira but enmeshed in this murkiness. For a distance of less than 400metres in-between and depending on which part of this stretch is your house or office, you could be stranded on the road for eight, yes, eight hours. It could be worse.
Even a revered Man of God, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, when he visited Vanguard in December 2013, could not but express bewilderment at the will-power of residents and workers in this seemingly God-forsaken part of Lagos. Vanguard has had to open an ultra-modern outlet in Ikeja for ease of business regarding advert placements. The madness is egregiously complemented by craters on this federal highway, which makes driving crazy.
Jonathan is on his way out. Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s next President and Commander-in-Chief would inherit this mess.
If there is any part of Nigeria requiring urgent CHANGE, it is this part of town. Nigerians are waiting. 18 more days cannot be as bad as the years of neglect.
NO ROAD!—Motorists and residents continue to groan under the unending traffic chaos at the Mile 2 end of Oshodi-Apapa Expressway caused by petroleum tankers.
You may never fully understand the malady at the Mile 2/Apapa end of the Oshodi-Apapa expressway until you visit there. This is the ill-luck President Goodluck Jonathan apportioned the residents and workers in that area; it grew incrementally worse in the last two years.
Tankers, as they are called, waiting to load Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, have defied every suggested solution. It was so bad sometime last year that President Jonathan’s Special Adviser on Project Monitoring, Professor Sylvester Monye, came to Lagos but was not able to get to the point of the road where a proper assessment could be made. Why? Because the tanker drivers are the lords of the road!
If you are a resident of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, just imagine the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as the loading depot. Then imagine a five-lane queue of tankers – highly combustible, with unruly drivers – from the airport all the way to Lugbe Estate.
If you are a resident of Ibadan, imagine a five-lane queue of these same articulated vehicles from Iwo Road roundabout all the way to Ibadan Tollgate, by Lead City University. If you live and work in Enugu, imagine same from the Enugu Airport all the way to Government House, Enugu, where Governor Sullivan Chime presently resides.
Apapa Oshodi road completely shut down
For those living and or working in Kaduna, visualize a five-lane queue of these terrible tankers from Angwanrimi to Ahmadu Bello House; and if you are a Port Harcourt person, imagine same from Pipeline Junction to Mile 1 Flyover.
The reason for this voyage is that unless and until you experience this madness, the story would sound distant, very distant.
Yet, that same road leads to Nigeria’s port, one of the busiest in Africa, yielding billions of naira but enmeshed in this murkiness. For a distance of less than 400metres in-between and depending on which part of this stretch is your house or office, you could be stranded on the road for eight, yes, eight hours. It could be worse.
Even a revered Man of God, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye, of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, when he visited Vanguard in December 2013, could not but express bewilderment at the will-power of residents and workers in this seemingly God-forsaken part of Lagos. Vanguard has had to open an ultra-modern outlet in Ikeja for ease of business regarding advert placements. The madness is egregiously complemented by craters on this federal highway, which makes driving crazy.
Jonathan is on his way out. Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s next President and Commander-in-Chief would inherit this mess.
If there is any part of Nigeria requiring urgent CHANGE, it is this part of town. Nigerians are waiting. 18 more days cannot be as bad as the years of neglect.
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has said he still wants to buy Arsenal despite failing in a 2010 bid to acquire a stake in the club.
The Nigerian billionaire is now worth nearly eight times as much as when he tried to buy into the Gunners, and the passionate Gooners has not given up on his dream of getting involved with the north London club.
“I still hope, one day at the right price, that I’ll buy the team,” Dangote, 58, told Bloomberg.
“I might buy it, not at a ridiculous price but a price that the owners won’t want to resist,” he continued, before ominously adding, “I know my strategy.
Interestingly, Dangote has publically stated that Arsene Wenger “needs to change his style a bit,” claiming the team “need new direction.”
Dangote – valued at over US$15billion – is worth more than both Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke and Uzbek Billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who have been fighting for control at the Emirates in recent years.
But his bid to take over the club won’t be coming immediately, with the cement and commodities tycoon wanting to get his portfolio of businesses in order first.
“We have $16 billion-worth of investments in the next few years,” he said. “Right now I want to take my own business to a certain level. Once I finish on that trajectory, then maybe”
Majority owner Kroenke recently bought more shares in Arsenal, and is not believed to have any interest in selling the club.
The Nigerian billionaire is now worth nearly eight times as much as when he tried to buy into the Gunners, and the passionate Gooners has not given up on his dream of getting involved with the north London club.
“I still hope, one day at the right price, that I’ll buy the team,” Dangote, 58, told Bloomberg.
“I might buy it, not at a ridiculous price but a price that the owners won’t want to resist,” he continued, before ominously adding, “I know my strategy.
Interestingly, Dangote has publically stated that Arsene Wenger “needs to change his style a bit,” claiming the team “need new direction.”
Dangote – valued at over US$15billion – is worth more than both Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke and Uzbek Billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who have been fighting for control at the Emirates in recent years.
But his bid to take over the club won’t be coming immediately, with the cement and commodities tycoon wanting to get his portfolio of businesses in order first.
“We have $16 billion-worth of investments in the next few years,” he said. “Right now I want to take my own business to a certain level. Once I finish on that trajectory, then maybe”
Majority owner Kroenke recently bought more shares in Arsenal, and is not believed to have any interest in selling the club.
SENATE PESIDENT: ILORIN ELDERS FORUM BACKS BUKOLA SRAKI
Senator saraki
eminent elders in Ilorin Emirate of Kwara have expressed their support for the aspiration of Dr. Bukola Saraki, a chieftain of APC, to be the president of the eighth Senate. The elders expressed confidence in the ability of Saraki to provide quality leadership in the upper chamber of the National Assembly. In a statement in Ilorin on Monday, the elders thanked the National Working Committee of the APC for allotting the office of the Senate president to the north-central zone.
The statement was signed by Alh. Ganiyu Lawal-Giwa, Alh. Tijjani Orisankoko, Alh. Tunde Saka and Alh.Musa Aiyelabegan. They advised that the party’s leadership to take a step forward by ceding the position to Kwara in the interest of equity and fairness. “Since Saraki’s foray into partisan politics, we have keenly monitored his activities and have come to the conclusion that he’s one of the best leaders that God endows Nigeria with.
“We are highly impressed about Saraki’s performance as two-term governor of Kwara, chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum and chairman of the prestigious Nigerian Governors Forum. “It is on record that during his tenure as NGF’s chairman, the Turaki of Ilorin took the now comatose forum to an enviable pedestal. “It is in line with the above that members of this forum are urging the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to consider Saraki for the position of the Senate president,” the statement said.
Senator saraki
eminent elders in Ilorin Emirate of Kwara have expressed their support for the aspiration of Dr. Bukola Saraki, a chieftain of APC, to be the president of the eighth Senate. The elders expressed confidence in the ability of Saraki to provide quality leadership in the upper chamber of the National Assembly. In a statement in Ilorin on Monday, the elders thanked the National Working Committee of the APC for allotting the office of the Senate president to the north-central zone.
The statement was signed by Alh. Ganiyu Lawal-Giwa, Alh. Tijjani Orisankoko, Alh. Tunde Saka and Alh.Musa Aiyelabegan. They advised that the party’s leadership to take a step forward by ceding the position to Kwara in the interest of equity and fairness. “Since Saraki’s foray into partisan politics, we have keenly monitored his activities and have come to the conclusion that he’s one of the best leaders that God endows Nigeria with.
“We are highly impressed about Saraki’s performance as two-term governor of Kwara, chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum and chairman of the prestigious Nigerian Governors Forum. “It is on record that during his tenure as NGF’s chairman, the Turaki of Ilorin took the now comatose forum to an enviable pedestal. “It is in line with the above that members of this forum are urging the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to consider Saraki for the position of the Senate president,” the statement said.
Sunday, 10 May 2015
HOW TO RESOLVE NOUN CHALLENGES (FINAL) BY MARIAM OKUNU
For the first time after my graduation from the first of it's kind university,I feel the need to give you some insight into ways on how to resolve the numerous challenges confronting noun students. Some of those challenges include the following:
1.LAW SCHOOL
2.NYSC
3.LACK OF A FORMALLY ACCEPTED NATIONAL STUDENT UNION
4.HIGH SCHOOL FEE
5.ALUMNI SCAM
First, NOUN students/graduates must understand that we are the primary stake holder in the institution. They have more stake in this institution than every other stake holder.
Secondly,if NOUN graduates are being discriminated on the basis of law school,nysc or others, those that will be discriminated are not the management. Its you.
If NOUN law graduates are not allowed to go to Law school, that doesn’t affect the salary of the management, neither does it affect their pedigree in the society. The one that will be affected is no other than you.
So, if nothing is affecting the management as a result of NOUN discrimination, they can afford to sit down idle for the next 30years without resolving the problem. Therefore, the only who can take NOUN issue seriously is no other person, than you.
If you fail to do what must be done, it may never be done.
For this reason, the following steps is to be taken to resolve all the challenges once and for all.
STEP 1: We are meeting the President Elect to congratulate him on his victory aswell all urge him to pay more attention to our institution
STEP 2: We shall setup a committee comprising leaders from various study centres to list out all the issues of Open university and strategies on the best way to present our issues to the stake holders and general public.
STEP 3: We shall hold a press conference to present our case to the world. In that press conference, we shall present our position on the following issue:
•NYSC: We shall cite relevant section of the NYSC act to make a case for our participation in NYSC. Also, we shall appropriately condemn the insensitivity of the NOUN management towards the issue despite receiving huge amount of money for the purpose.
•LAW SCHOOL: We shall make a case for why we must participate in law school,just as it is obtainable in other countries, citing appropriate references across the world.
•STUDENT UNION: Also, through this struggle, we must end the efforts of NOUN management to deny students of their fundamental rights of freedom of association as guaranteed in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.
•NATIONAL UNIVERSITY COMMISSION: Also, we shall question the integrity of NUC which accredited NOUN courses including Law, yet continue to watch helplessly as we are being denied participation in Law school and NYSC.
•ALUMNI: Here, we shall also discuss the scam called Alumni. There is nothing like Alumni in Open University, yet graduates continue to pay Alumni fee.
STEP 4: After our Press Conference, we shall follow up by visiting the following establishment to make our position.
•National University Commission
•DG- NYSC
•DG- Law School
•President- Nigerian Bar Association
•National Assembly (Both Senate and Federal House of Representative)
•National Human Rights Commission
•Minister for Education and Youths
•We shall also visit human rights lawyers like Femi Falana, Festus Keyamu and others.
STEP 5: The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) shall follow up our press conference. They shall also hold similar press conference to give us back up in our demands. They shall also visit the key institutions concerned to show their solidarity with us in our struggle.
We are sure that by the time we embark on this struggle, the entire nation would be aware of our issues and that would mount the necessary pressure on our management and the concerned agencies.
STEP 6: We shall always respond to any concern expressed through the media or others.
As from the day of our press conference, we would never keep silent until all issues are resolved.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATION
To accomplish the above, we need all the financial contribution we can get students. Although, we cannot arrive at the exact amount we need at the moment, but the amount we get, will determine the extent of our engagement with media and others.
HOW TO RAISE FUNDS
We are hoping to raise funds through the following sources:
1.CONTRIBUTION FROM WORKING CLASS STUDENTS
2.CONTRIBUTION FROM EACH STUDY CENTRES
3.SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION FROM LAW DEPARTMENT
4.INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION FROM MEMBERS OF CONS AND OTHERS
1.CONTRIBUTION FROM WORKING CLASS STUDENTS
As we already know, there are two (2) categories of students in NOUN. The working class and the none-working class.
We are aware that the working class students wouldn’t be able to support us physically, but they can support us morally and financially. So, we hope that the working class students would be able to play their part in this struggle by giving us the financial backing we require.
2.CONTRIBUTION FROM STUDY CENTRES
We are hoping that each study centres would contribute the sum of Ten Thousand Naira Only (N10,000).
3.SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION FROM LAW DEPARTMENT
We are hoping that the law department across the federation would be able to make some contribution to assist this struggle as they are the once who needed this efforts more.
4.INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION FROM MEMBERS OF CONS AND OTHERS
We are hoping that members of CONS and other online groups would also make their individual contribution to support this movement.
With this we should pass our message in a civil manner void of violence.Our effort are to compliment and seek clarification from our prestigious institution and stakeholders.
For the first time after my graduation from the first of it's kind university,I feel the need to give you some insight into ways on how to resolve the numerous challenges confronting noun students. Some of those challenges include the following:
1.LAW SCHOOL
2.NYSC
3.LACK OF A FORMALLY ACCEPTED NATIONAL STUDENT UNION
4.HIGH SCHOOL FEE
5.ALUMNI SCAM
First, NOUN students/graduates must understand that we are the primary stake holder in the institution. They have more stake in this institution than every other stake holder.
Secondly,if NOUN graduates are being discriminated on the basis of law school,nysc or others, those that will be discriminated are not the management. Its you.
If NOUN law graduates are not allowed to go to Law school, that doesn’t affect the salary of the management, neither does it affect their pedigree in the society. The one that will be affected is no other than you.
So, if nothing is affecting the management as a result of NOUN discrimination, they can afford to sit down idle for the next 30years without resolving the problem. Therefore, the only who can take NOUN issue seriously is no other person, than you.
If you fail to do what must be done, it may never be done.
For this reason, the following steps is to be taken to resolve all the challenges once and for all.
STEP 1: We are meeting the President Elect to congratulate him on his victory aswell all urge him to pay more attention to our institution
STEP 2: We shall setup a committee comprising leaders from various study centres to list out all the issues of Open university and strategies on the best way to present our issues to the stake holders and general public.
STEP 3: We shall hold a press conference to present our case to the world. In that press conference, we shall present our position on the following issue:
•NYSC: We shall cite relevant section of the NYSC act to make a case for our participation in NYSC. Also, we shall appropriately condemn the insensitivity of the NOUN management towards the issue despite receiving huge amount of money for the purpose.
•LAW SCHOOL: We shall make a case for why we must participate in law school,just as it is obtainable in other countries, citing appropriate references across the world.
•STUDENT UNION: Also, through this struggle, we must end the efforts of NOUN management to deny students of their fundamental rights of freedom of association as guaranteed in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.
•NATIONAL UNIVERSITY COMMISSION: Also, we shall question the integrity of NUC which accredited NOUN courses including Law, yet continue to watch helplessly as we are being denied participation in Law school and NYSC.
•ALUMNI: Here, we shall also discuss the scam called Alumni. There is nothing like Alumni in Open University, yet graduates continue to pay Alumni fee.
STEP 4: After our Press Conference, we shall follow up by visiting the following establishment to make our position.
•National University Commission
•DG- NYSC
•DG- Law School
•President- Nigerian Bar Association
•National Assembly (Both Senate and Federal House of Representative)
•National Human Rights Commission
•Minister for Education and Youths
•We shall also visit human rights lawyers like Femi Falana, Festus Keyamu and others.
STEP 5: The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) shall follow up our press conference. They shall also hold similar press conference to give us back up in our demands. They shall also visit the key institutions concerned to show their solidarity with us in our struggle.
We are sure that by the time we embark on this struggle, the entire nation would be aware of our issues and that would mount the necessary pressure on our management and the concerned agencies.
STEP 6: We shall always respond to any concern expressed through the media or others.
As from the day of our press conference, we would never keep silent until all issues are resolved.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATION
To accomplish the above, we need all the financial contribution we can get students. Although, we cannot arrive at the exact amount we need at the moment, but the amount we get, will determine the extent of our engagement with media and others.
HOW TO RAISE FUNDS
We are hoping to raise funds through the following sources:
1.CONTRIBUTION FROM WORKING CLASS STUDENTS
2.CONTRIBUTION FROM EACH STUDY CENTRES
3.SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION FROM LAW DEPARTMENT
4.INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION FROM MEMBERS OF CONS AND OTHERS
1.CONTRIBUTION FROM WORKING CLASS STUDENTS
As we already know, there are two (2) categories of students in NOUN. The working class and the none-working class.
We are aware that the working class students wouldn’t be able to support us physically, but they can support us morally and financially. So, we hope that the working class students would be able to play their part in this struggle by giving us the financial backing we require.
2.CONTRIBUTION FROM STUDY CENTRES
We are hoping that each study centres would contribute the sum of Ten Thousand Naira Only (N10,000).
3.SPECIAL CONTRIBUTION FROM LAW DEPARTMENT
We are hoping that the law department across the federation would be able to make some contribution to assist this struggle as they are the once who needed this efforts more.
4.INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION FROM MEMBERS OF CONS AND OTHERS
We are hoping that members of CONS and other online groups would also make their individual contribution to support this movement.
With this we should pass our message in a civil manner void of violence.Our effort are to compliment and seek clarification from our prestigious institution and stakeholders.
Saturday, 9 May 2015
why National open university of Nigeria must go to law school
LAW SCHOOL FOR OPEN UNIVERSITY: WHY NIGERIA CAN’T BE DIFFERENT
Abdulrazaq O Hamzat
Going by history, Law school study by correspondence has existed in the United States since 1890 when Sprague Correspondence School of Law (which eventually merged with Blackstone Institute, and later was known as Blackstone School of Law) was established by William C. Sprague in Detroit, Michigan.
Among the school’s early graduates was Antoinette D. Leach, early Sprague Law Correspondence Law School graduate and first woman attorney in Indiana, who in 1893 became the first woman admitted by the Indiana Supreme Court to practice law in Indiana. The school and others (including American Correspondence School of Law of Chicago; Columbian Correspondence College of Law in Washington D.C.; New York Correspondence School of Law in New York; andothers) were innovative for the time in providing many poor, working-class, women, and ethnic minorities educational opportunities.Among the La Salle Extension University graduates who went on to make contributions in law and politics are governors Harold J. Arthur and Eurith D. Rivers, Senator Craig L. Thomas, U.S. Representatives John S. Gibson and William T. Granahan, and African-American leaders Arthur Fletcher, Jessie M. Rattley, and Gertrude Rush.
For years, many have been wondering why the impact of education is not being felt in Nigeria. It was observed that, as the country continue to produce more professors, more doctors, more graduates etc, so the level of educational impact is declining. This according to observer is not unconnected to our attitude towards learning.
It is my view that, many Nigerians including those in authority confine themselves to the past, failing to see reason in what is obtainable in the present. As other countries including those who gave us our present system continue to embrace change and moving along with it, we continue to wallow in ignorance, holding unto the non-existing standard while depriving our citizens the benefit of the modern opportunities.While some have blame it on lack of proper education, others blame it on the inability of individuals to make adequate use of their acquired education.
Being from the Open University myself, I have no doubt what so ever that the quality of learning taking place in this institution far supersede that of many conventional universities, but it was a surprise to read that the law graduates of this first of its kind University are being denied a chance at the Nigerian law school without any justifiable reason.Let’s face fact, the non-recognition of Open University law degree is another example of how education has failed once again, to make effect even among those in legal authority.
The policy of the Council of Legal Education and the Body of Benchers, which are the statutory bodies vested with the regulation of training and admission of aspirants to the Nigerian Bar, is that the study of Law must be undertaken on a full-time basis in recognized and accredited institutions. To them, only through such process can law be adequately learned.But come to think of it, is the Nigerian legal system not tailored after the British legal system, just as the Nigerian Open University was after the British Open University? So, if the British Open University can offer law degree through correspondence and is well recognized,why should the custodian of legal practice in Nigeria blindly assume that such cannot be replicated in Nigeria? Or are we now saying the Nigerian legal standard is of greater standard to the British legal standard?
If our government and educators continue to make references to best practice across the world, why should they ignorantly reject the best practices of Open University as seen across the world?
Here, we know that the CLE none-recognition of NOUN is as a result of politics. However, what the CLE should tell us openly is that they want to restrict the number of lawyers in Nigeria because as far as we are concerned, NOUN posses all requirement if not more. I challenge the CLE to evaluate their performances through NLS and compare it with other university students.It was obvious that those against noun students admission into NLS are for their selfish interest/sentiment.
For the records, the law degree of Open university in United kingdom is the most popular law degree in in that country with over 6000 students. Upon completion, they are 100% guaranteed acceptance in their law school and to practice as lawyers.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
In the United States, many state institutions offer law degree through this process and they are well recognized. One of the state that offersan ability to practice law via successful completion of a mandated 4 years of law school through either a correspondence or online law school is California. Once a law student has successfully completed his first year of law school, Business and Professions Code section 6060 requires the student to take and pass the First Year Law Student Examination, commonly known as the "BABY BAR," within the first three attempts of becoming eligible.GERMANY Distance legal education in Germany is available through Fern Universität Hagen, a public university similar to the British Open University. The graduates receive LLB or LLM degrees.CHINA Distance legal education in China is available through Beijing Foreign Studies University through a partnership with Spirit of Law School of Law.
SOUTH AFRICA
Even in South Africa, Distance legal education is an acceptable method to become a lawyer in South Africa, and is available through the University of South Africa (UNISA).
UNITED KINGDOM Distance legal education in the United Kingdom is accepted by the Law Society of England and Wales as a qualifying law degree and one of the possible ways to become a solicitor or a barrister.
In several other countries influenced by the British legal heritage, legal education can be obtained through distance education, including India, Indonesia, Australia etc.
I am of the view that, if the entire world is moving forward by catching up with modern practices, Nigeria shouldn’t be left behind. Not recognizing Open University on the basis of non-existing barrier will hurt our dear nation and rob it of the gains of the 21st century. W must be concerned with the nations progress, not our selfish desire.In Present day, Northwestern California University School of Law is the oldest existing correspondence law school in the United States.
It was founded in 1982 and began presenting its correspondence program entirely online in 2002. It is the first online law school to offer Internet based and faculty led video conferencing sessions for students for some courses.
In 1996, Abraham Lincoln University began a hybrid in-class and correspondence approach to law school, designed to offer scheduling flexibility to students, before adding an online component in 2004.
The first law school to offer a degree program completely online was Concord Law School, a unit of Kaplan, Inc., which started in 1998. As of2006 Concord is the largest of the seven distance learning law schools. Concord graduated its first class in November 2002.The California School of Law, founded in 2007, is the first law school to utilize synchronous technology in all courses. Such technology provides direct communication between professors and students in live “real time” virtual classrooms.If these respected institutions across the globe can offer law degree using correspondence,what gives the Council of Legal Education and the Body of Benchers the impression that such cannot be done in Nigeria?
Rather than condemn Open university without basis and unfairly deny its graduate, the Councilof Legal Education and the Body of Benchers should give the Open University graduates a level playing ground to showcase themselves.Only through such an avenue, can the quality of this noble institution be properly appreciated.
Let me conclude by warning that, NOUN cannot be prevented from law school without cogent reason. I advice those in authority to stop this politics and quickly retrace their steps. Should the law school continue to deny our law graduates, we shall not relent, but seek legal redress.
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