The Students’ Union President of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH has insisted that they were truly impersonated in a recently held stakeholders’ meeting with Governor Makinde convened to resolve lingering ASUU strike.
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Recall, ODUDUWA NEWS had earlier reported how the Students’ Union distanced itself from the purported LAUTECH stakeholders’ meeting with Gov Makinde, claiming such meeting was held with rented student leaders.
The Students , Uionn President, Adeboye Anuoluwa in a media chat with ODUDUWA NEWS today claimed that they maintained their stance and that they only held meeting with their staff unions.
He said, those who claimed that the issue has been resolved were those who impersonated us and we immediately frowned against it by making a press statement on the issue.
“Though, we commend Gov Makinde for the bold step taken to ensure that the school hasten resumption. However, some closed associates of the government are using the opportunity to impersonate us for the reason best known to them”, said Union President.
The student union government of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho has called out Mr. Taiwo Adisa, the Oyo state press secretary over alleged impersonation of current union members at the organized meeting to resolved issues surrounding renaming of the school.
In a press release sent to ODUDUWA NEWS by the SUG Public Relations Officer disclosed that no current union member was invited to the stakeholders meeting organized by the state government, hence the union want the state press secretary to revealed to the public those who represented them in the meeting.
Read The Full Press Release Here:
PRESS RELEASE
No present Students’ Union Leader attended the LAUTECH Stakeholders’ meeting.
While we appreciate and commend the efforts put in place to resolve all issues in LAUTECH, we want to inform the gentlemen of the press and media that no present Students’ Union Leader received an invite or attended the LAUTECH Stakeholders meeting with the Governor.
Recall that we had on Tuesday met with the Committee on Education, Oyo State House of Assembly in the presence of the Governing Council Chairman and Management of the University and also addressed the press on the need for the suspension of the renaming of LAUTECH and resolving LAUTECH ASUU strike.
We hereby call out the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Mr. Taiwo Adisa to tell us those who represent the interest of current Students’ Union Leaders as stated in his press release circulating around.
We considered this as a form of impersonation of the Leadership of the present Students’ Union Leaders.
The National Association of Nigerian Students NANS has vowed to join Nigeria Labour Congress NLC in the proposed nationwide protest.
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This was contained in a statement made available today by the President of the association, Asefon Sunday as read in part:
“On behalf of members of NANS, I wish to commend the National Leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress for their steadfastness and commitment to join forces with well meaning Nigerians to advocate for the end of the protracted ASUU Strike.
“While NANS has organised various protest in the past with no substantial results, also our advocacy and consultation has not yielded any desirable result. We have activated political solution and we are very hopeful that an end is in the purview.
“However, we are in total support of the planned protest by NLC as we believe this will stem up the advocacy and assist in no mean measure to put adequate pressure on the Federal Government to do all that is required to stop the strike.
“I therefore direct all NANS structures across the country to mobilize and join NLC protest. NANS will only be involved in the mobilization of students to the protest sites and will act based on the direction provided by the NLC. NANS structures across the country shall submit to the leadership of NLC all through the protest.
“Once again, I commend NLC and it’s leadership for their thoughtfulness and solidarity at this critical time”.
Following various complaints and allegations of continuous abuse of female students in the Federal Government Girls College, Oyo, and the petition written to the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Oyo State chapter by concerned parents, Oyo NAWOJ on Sunday, July 18, 2022, demanded that relevant authorities take immediate action to halt such alleged abuses.
NAWOJ also called for the suspension of the principal of the school, to allow thorough investigation in the matter.
NAWOJ, speaking through its chairperson, Comrade Jadesola Ajibola, at a Press Conference held at the NUJ Press Centre, Iyaganku, Ibadan, called on the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, to immediately set up an investigation panel to look into the alleged molestation of the girls, sexual harassment and all forms of abuse against students of FGGC, Oyo.
NAWOJ also called on the Registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Professor Segun Ajiboye, who it described as an outstanding indigenous son of Oyo state, to investigate the attitude of these registered teachers without delay and take appropriate action.
“We demand the immediate suspension of the principal to allow for thorough investigation on the matter and the PTA Chairman also should resign with immediate effect as the Concerned Parents claim they no longer have confidence in your leaderships as it portends more danger to the lives of the girls in the school.
“And as the alleged perpetrators are undoubtedly members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), we call on Comrade Raji Oladimeji to look into this issue further.
“As an association, we will not relent on our oars until we get justice for the survivor of the recent abuse, a minor who was regularly sexually abused and violated and other victims in that school.
“Also, we ask that the Federal Government who owns the school to set up a committee and make Oyo NAWOJ one of the members to investigate the alleged sexual abuse perpetrated against these students and bring any erring staff to justice,” NAWOJ demanded.
While condemning what is now called the sexual siege on FGGC Oyo and any form of violation against the rights of any child in the state in its totality, Oyo NAWOJ stated that it believed that by now, the leadership of the school ought to have set up a panel to investigate the dangerous trend reported by concerned parents of the school.
The association commended the Oyo state Police Command under the leadership of the new Commissioner of Police, CP Adebowale Williams, for taking up the recent incident involving a 14 year-old girl who was sexually molested and abused by her teacher and urged the CP to speed up investigations and start prosecution of the accused teacher before a court of competent jurisdiction within the state without delay.
NAWOJ also called on Governor Seyi Makinde and his wife to support in ensuring justice for the victims and provide more protection for pupils and students in the state, while warning others who are constantly engaging in the inhuman acts to stop it immediately as the law would surely catch up with them shortly.
Oyo NAWOJ also dvised parents to do more in ensuring the protection of their children at all times, adding that NAWOJ remains the voice for the voiceless in the country and would continue to respond to calls of this nature from other schools where some violators were still perpetrating such an act.
In her contribution, a representative of the Concerned Parents, Faniyan Nancy, stated that the molestation and defilement of girls in FGGC, Oyo has been on for over a decade within the school but became worse under the current principal, adding that parents could not continue to watch while the school sweeps cases under the carpet without considering the effect of the sexual abuses on the children.
Also speaking, another parent, Honourable Adewale Adebayo, said the parents had to shout out as rather than diminish, cases of teachers in the school abusing students sexually continue to rise and many students have been destroyed psychologically.
“We cannot close our eyes to this menace that can truncate the future of our children. Perpetrators must be made to face the law especially since the management of the school has been covering up such incidents in the past for months and refusing to take disciplinary actions against the perpetrators when such cases are reported,” he added.
Akinade Alamu, the chairman of the Oyo State Post-Primary Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), has stated that the state’s current data collection on recently hired teachers is not in the least bit religiously motivated.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) objected to the choice to hold the exercise on Monday and Tuesday on the basis that those two days had been set aside for the Eid-el-Kabir holiday, but the TESCOM Chairman responded by stating that the exercise had been arranged long before the holiday was announced.
Additionally, he said that the exercise is a continuous process and is not intended to punish anyone.
He continued by saying that the initiative aims to further strengthen accountability and openness in the ongoing recruitment operations.
The chairman said: “It is important to place on record that the ongoing screening exercise is not intended to deny our Muslim brothers and sisters the benefit of enjoying the Sallah break declared by the Federal Government.
“The whole exercise is aimed at strengthening the state’s adherence to transparency in the course of the recruitments undertaken so far.
“It is part of the state’s quest to affirm compliance of the state to transparency and accountability in the recruitment of staff across the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies.
“The exercise is an ongoing process that started last week and is meant to capture the data of the State Government staff recruited in the last two years into the database of the Ministry of Finance.
“It is in fulfillment of the national transparency initiative signed into by the State Government “We had originally designed that the exercise would hold all through the weekend but had to suspend the same on Saturday and Sunday in view of the Eid-Kabir celebrations.
“The exercise is not only for the Teaching Service Commission but for all Ministries, Departments and Agencies that conducted recruitment since the beginning of Governor ‘Seyi Makinde’s administration and a provision had been made for the rescheduling of the exercise so that all new employees would be captured.
“The rescheduling was to be arranged by the Ministry of Finance and the MDAs.
“One is, therefore, surprised to see that any group could insinuate that such an exercise, aimed at institutionalizing transparency, could be tagged as one meant to debar Muslims of the benefits of the national holiday.
“Such an insinuation is misconceived and a clear misrepresentation of the state’s clear and noble intention.”
Mr. Sunday Adebayo, a teacher who also served as supervisor of the West African Examinantions Council has regained his freedom hours after being kidnapped and taken by masked men to an unidentified location.
52-year-old Adebayo resides in Oyo State’s Iseyin Local Government Area.
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Adebayo reportedly got lost recently while traveling to school in Iseyin.
Confirming his abduction this morning, the Oninayin of Inayin in Iwajowa Local Government, Oba Ayansiji Peter, was quoted as saying that the victim had been released by his captors this morning.
His abductors were said to have initially demanded for N100 million ransom.
“The kidnappers initially demanded for N100 million. They later reduced it to N15 million. As at last night, we were begging them for N2 million but they said no.
“I received a call this morning from one of his family members that he had been released, so I don’t know how much the family eventually paid”, the traditional ruler disclosed.
The Universal Basic Education Commission has commended the qualitative education pupils in Oyo State are enjoying under the Governor Seyi-Makinde led administration. The Commission has also called on the state government to recruit more teachers into primary schools.
The Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission, Dr. Hamid Bobboyi gave the charge today in Ibadan, as part of the 2022 National Personnel Audit team’s recommendation to the State Government.
Bobboyi said the need to recruit more teachers became manifest during the just concluded Personnel Audit Exercise in the state by the Commission in collaboration with OYOSUBEB.
He however commended the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board for cooperating with its Audit team in the conduct of the National Personnel Audit Exercise.
Speaking through the head of the team, Engr. Muhammed Bello, the ES said, “we urge the Oyo State Government to look into recruitment of teachers into the public primary schools in the State”.
He pledged the commitment of the commission to look into other areas to move basic education forward in Oyo State.
He added that the National Personnel Audit Exercise was a major activity in data gathering used in planning and development of education.
Bobboyi said that the commission discovered a lot of progress made, compared to the previous exercise.
According to him, “Though entry is still ongoing, we would give the Board updates on the list and give the State government accurate data in order to plan and develop basic education.”
He solicited the cooperation of other stakeholders in education in ensuring accurate data so as to know where every Nigerian child of school age was at any given time.
Responding, the Executive Chairman, Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr. Nureni Aderemi Adeniran admitted the shortage of teachers in the State, saying the State Government is making efforts to look into fresh recruitment and replacement of seconded teachers in the state.
“We are aware of the shortage of teachers in our primary schools. The State Government under the leadership of our dear Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde is making efforts to ensure the problem is resolved in time”, Adeniran added.
He added that the State Government will continue to collaborate with the Federal Government and other relevant agencies to ensure the public education sector in the State thrives.
Adeniran also hinted that school owners and proprietors operating illegally in the State would be made to face the law.
He warned such schools to regularise their registration by visiting the ministry of Education, Ibadan.
Adeniran reiterated the Oyo State government’s commitment at revamping education in the state.
Dr. Adeniran commended the National Personnel Audit team’s report on data of schools in the State, adding that the update will help the State in planning its education in the forthcoming fiscal budget.
Media Team, Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the rights of Muslims Female Students in Lagos state to wear Hijab to school without harassment or discrimination.
In a majority decision, Nigeria’s apex court gave the ruling on Friday in Abuja.
Among those on the panel were Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Justice John Inyang Okoro, Justice Uwani Aji, Justice Mohammed Garba, Justice Tijjani Abubakar, and Justice Emmanuel Agim.
While six ruled in favour of the use of hijab, one dissented.
The Lagos State Government had in February 2017 approached the Supreme Court to challenge the July 21, 2016 judgment of the Court of Appeal which reinstated the use of hijab by Muslim pupils in Lagos public primary and secondary schools.
This was after the state government sought to stay the execution of the judgment at the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal but failed.
While striking down Justice’s Onyeabo’s verdict, the Justice Gumel panel had held that the ban on hijab was discriminatory against Muslim pupils in the state.
The panel upheld the Muslim students’ contention that the ban violated their rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, dignity of human persons and freedom from discrimination guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution.
Justice Gumel also held that wearing the hijab was an Islamic injunction and an act of worship required of Muslims.
He said the use of hijab by Muslim pupils could not cause disunity, distraction and discrimination against students of other faiths as declared by the lower court judge.
Human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is enjoying the lingering industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Sowore said that while students and lecturers have been roaming and groaning helplessly in the streets for the past four months that lecturers of public universities have been on strike, President Buhari has been busy enjoying himself.
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Sowore on his Twitter page on Thursday lamented that there are over 1.5 million students whose future is at stake due to the lingering ASUU strike, whereas no one seems to care.
The #RevolutionNow convener added that the matter has been made worse as the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union has also joined the strike.
He said, “For 123 days now Nigerian University teachers have been on strike, also Nigerian students in Colleges of Education have been thrown into the streets, their teachers too are on strike.
“The @MBuhari is enjoying the prolonged strike, students are suffering and parents are agonizing.
“There are over 1.5 million students whose future is at stake and no one seems to care. I lived through an era when the government was afraid of Nigerian students but today students are afraid of the government, they’re scared to exercise their rights to have a future.
“I urge Nigerian students to bond together and force this despicable regime to #EndAsuuStrikeNow. It is a task that must be DONE!”
ASUU has been on strike for over four months to press home its demands.
The striking lecturers’ demands include funding for the revitalisation of public universities, Earned Academic Allowances, use of the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) and promotion arrears.
Also, the non-teaching staff of universities including Non-Academic Staff of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, SSANU, and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) have embarked on industrial actions after the failure of the government to meet the demands of the respective unions.
Former Governor of Ekiti State Ayo Fayose has alerted presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressive Congress Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to walk into danger with his pursuit of the presidential ticket of the party.
Fayose in an open letter on Monday said he foresaw danger just as it happened to the likes of the late MKO Abiola.
He warned Tinubu that what he believed was a political empire has been “Balkanized “ by his outburst in Abeokuta where he made some references to President Muhammadu Buhari.
