Author: oduduwanews

The senior citizens, who had stormed Osun State Government Secretariat in protest, said people were no longer willing to lend them money to feed over their inability to pay back the previous borrowing.

The protesters, who were mostly primary school teachers, locked the main entrance to the secretariat and refused all entreaties to open the gate, insisting on meeting the governor, Adegboyega Oyetola.

Stating their grievances, the leader of the protesters, Michael Adebayo, said hunger made them to embark on the protest, adding that no one was sponsoring them.

Adebayo also said many retirees that left service since year 2016 on a contributory pension scheme had not been paid their entitlements and demanded that Governor Oyetola should address them.

He said, “Hunger forced us to the street to embark on protest. We have people in Ibadan, Lagos, and many places who have been helping us, but they always heard the news that the state government release money for us. Because of that, they are no longer willing to help us. Also, because we could not pay back the previous money many people lent us, they are no longer willing to lend us money to feed.

“You claimed that the present administration is battling with the backlog of pension. Anybody that gets to the seat of government will inherit both assets and liability. That an administration left backlog should not be part of what you should tell us.

“The person that incurred the debt is from your party. Since you know that there was mismanagement of government resources, you should have notified EFCC to arrest the person.”

Speaking earlier, Osun state deputy governor, Benedict Alabi, urged the pensioners to exercise patience and wait for the outcome of the meeting between them and the state government slated for November 29, where matters affecting them would be discussed.

He said, “I am sure as the deputy governor of this state, the outcome of the meeting will serve your interest as we will add to money we have been allocating on monthly basis to pay of your entitlements.”

A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Lagos.

Fani-Kayode was said to be under investigation for alleged forgery and manipulation of documents.

Our correspondent learnt that the ex-minister, who rejoined the All Progressives Congress in September, was brought to the Lagos Zonal Office of the anti-graft agency on Tuesday.

The details of the allegations against him were sketchy but the EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed Fani-Kayode’s arrest by operatives.

“I think something like that happened,” he said and declined to comment further.

Fani-Kayode had been having a running battle with the EFCC for some time and he was once remanded for 67 days in 2016 alongside a former minister of finance, Nenadi Usman.

The duo and two others were facing a 17-count of criminal conspiracy, fraud and money laundering to the tune of N4.9 billion.

They denied the allegations, and each of them was later granted N250 million bail.

The West African Examinations Council, WAEC, has released the 2021 examination results, with 65.24% of candidates who wrote the exam clinching 5 credits in English Language and Mathematics subjects.

A total of 80.56 per cent results have been fully processed, and 19.44 per cent still being processed — due to some issues being resolved.

According to Patrick Areghan, the Head of Nigeria National office of WAEC, a total of One Million, Five Hundred and Seventy-Three Thousand, Eight Hundred and Forty-Nine (1,573,849) candidates registered for the examination from Nineteen Thousand, Four Hundred and Twenty Five (19,425) recognised secondary schools in Nigeria.

Of the number that registered for the examination, One Million, Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty One (1,560,261) candidates sat the examination.

“The examination, which was an international one, took place simultaneously throughout the five-member countries of the Council – The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, using the same International Timetable,” Areghan said.

“The examination spanned seven weeks, between August 16 and October 8, 2021. Throughout the period, we were faced with serious security challenges in the South East (IPOB and ESN sit-at-home order) and banditry, kidnapping, insurgency, etc, in the north and other parts of the country. All these, coupled with the continuous effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic, made the whole exercise a Herculean one.”

In conducting the examination, we were guided by the various measures/protocols rolled out by the Federal and various State governments, aimed at checking the spread of the Corona Virus Disease. The Coordination of Examiners and Marking of Candidates’ Scripts took place at Eighty-Five (85) traditional and three (3) e-Marking Venues throughout the country. A total of Seventy Seven Thousand, Three Hundred and Sixty-Eight (77,368) Examiners participated in the coordination and marking exercise.

“The examination ended on October 8, 2021, and today, Monday, November 22, 2021 – 45 days after the conduct of the last paper, we are releasing the result! This is a record time, taking into consideration the fact that we lost a week to insecurity, during the marking exercise in the South East, occasioned by the heightened tension before and during the Anambra Gubernatorial election.

“It is, therefore, not true, as you can see, that WAEC delayed the release of the results of the WASSCE (SC) 2021 as is being speculated in some quarters. We have kept to our promise, in spite of all odds. We should be praised rather than being vilified. Nothing can be faster or earlier than what we have done. We do not release results without marking the scripts and processing the scores. We are grateful to the examiners for doing a good job within the stipulated period.

“A total of One Million, Five Hundred and Seventy-Three Thousand, Eight Hundred and Forty-Nine (1,573,849) candidates registered for the examination from Nineteen Thousand, Four Hundred and Twenty Five (19,425) recognised secondary schools in the country. Of the number that registered for the examination, One Million, Five Hundred and Sixty Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty One (1,560,261) candidates sat the examination.

“The examination was also administered to candidates from some schools in the Benin Republic and Cote d’Ivoire, where the Nigeria curriculum for Senior Secondary School is being used. Schools in Equatorial Guinea could not present candidates for the examination due to logistic challenges posed by COVID-19. ” He said.

How to Check WAEC 2021 Result Online

You do not need to purchase any scratch card/pin to access your result. Candidates are to check the Smart Identity Card used during the conduct of the examination for their Result Checker PIN and Serial Number.

) Go to WAEC 2020 result checking portal at https://www.waecdirect.org

2) Enter your WAEC Examination Number in the required column.

3) Select your Examination Year i.e. 2021.

4) Select your Examination Type i.e. SCHOOL CANDIDATE RESULT.

5) Enter the Card Serial Number.

6) Enter the Card PIN.

7) Finally, click “Submit” button to get your 2021 WAEC Result.

One of the committee members who worked on Lekkit Toll Gate EndSARS shootings, Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa SAN has claimed that since the submission of the report of the Lagos #EndSARS Panel, there have been lots of threats and attacks, by those suspected to be agents of the government, upon him, especially in the media

“I have not committed any crime beyond joining other eminent Nigerians with unblemished integrity, to accept the nomination of government on behalf of my constituency, the Nigerian Bar Association and the civil society and the indeed the masses of our people, for a national assignment.

“Two prominent lawyers of the government have openly incited opinions against me on national television, with mindless accusations. I have however refused to be intimidated or bend to the tactics of government to be silenced”.

“I urge the good people of Nigeria, my professional colleagues in the Nigerian Bar Association, my comrades in the civil rights movement and the people of Nigeria, to hold government responsible should anything happen to me.

“Just last night, one of the prominent EndSARS protesters who testified before the Panel, Miss Kamsiyochukwu Ibe, was attacked and dealt serous machete blows, in what was clearly an attempted murder, as reported by her counsel, with very disturbing photos.

“I heeded the clarion call to serve by the government with the honest believe that the Panel was meant to say the truth and nothing but the truth, which is what we have done. It is left for government and Nigerians to do the needful with the report of the Panel”.