Fuel Scarcity Panic: We have over 1.7b litres of petrol, says NNPC

The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited yesterday advised consumers not to engage in panic buying of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) as it has over 1.7 billion litres of the product.

Its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Malam Garba Deen Muhammad, made this known in a statement.

He said: “The public is hereby advised not to engage in panic buying of Premium Motor Spirit, more commonly known as petrol.

“The NNPC has over 1.7 billion litres of petrol in stock and more product is expected to arrive into the country daily over the coming weeks and months.

“It is, therefore, unnecessary to entertain any fear of scarcity of petrol throughout the festive season and beyond.

INEC Announces Charles Soludo As Anambra Governor-Elect

Charles Soludo, the former Governor of Central of Nigeria, and the Governorship candidate of APGA at the just concluded Anambra Governorship Election has been declared Governor-Elect of the State

Vice Chancellor, University of Calabar (UNICAL) and Returning Officer, Anambra governorship election, Prof Florence Obi, announced Soludo as the Governor-Elect at exactly 1:51 am.

Obi announced the votes polled by the political parties as follows; APC, 43,285; APGA, 112,229; PDP, 53,807, among others.

She also stated the total number of valid votes in the election as follows; 241,523; rejected votes stood at 8,108, while the total vote cast in the election was given as 249,631.

Obi said: “This is the moment we have been waiting for. I want to use this opportunity to thank the chairman of INEC and his team for this opportunity given to me and my university to partake in this Anambra 2021. I thank the service chiefs, the people of Anambra State, we remain very grateful.

“Allow me to read this form EC8E, which I have completed. I Prof Florence Banku Obi hereby certify that I’m the returning officer of the Anambra governorship election held on 6 and 9 of November.

“That Charles Chukwuma Soludo of APGA, having certified the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner of the election,” Prof. Obi said.

Former chairman of APGA, Senator Victor Umeh, while reacting to the victory said the election was transparent, and is the best election so far held in the state.

“We have again won the state, despite the fact that some people boasted that they will win the state. This is to tell them that APGA is on ground, and it is not just about boasting of winning, but doing your homework well. I urge them to concede victory to our party and the candidate, because the people made a clear choice.”

Man set ablaze for alleged kidnapping in Ibadan

One man identified to be alleged kidnapper was set ablaze very closed to Jogor Centre, Ibadan.

“The delivery made bike-man chase him into the gutter and the man ran underground prompting bike-men and angry people to set fire to materials, the eyewitness said.

Another eyewitness explained that, “the mad man tried crawling into another underground but couldn’t withstand the heat which made him go out eventually”.

“He was beaten and ran into the compound of Jogor center where he was brought out, beaten and set on fire”.

Among the items recovered included ATM cards, knives, and the names of six people who were seen in the list.

Twins Detained Over N215,000 Hospital Bill

Twin babies (a boy and a girl) born on October 22 at Supreme Royal hospital in Lagos, have been detained by the hospital management over unpaid balance of N215,000 bills.

According to the mother, Sadiat Alao, she gave birth through Caesarean section, which she didn’t planned for and was billed N350,000.

She, however, said the father of the twins had been paying bit by bit, but was unable to offset the bill.

She said: “He has not showed up for over one week because of the balance and the more we stay in the hospital, the more we will continue to incur more bills.

“I am begging kind-hearted Nigerians to come to my aid because of these twins.”

Efforts made to talk to the Medical Director proved abortive as we were told he wasn’t available.

Sadiat can be reached via 08172024662

No going back on 120% Ondo varsity fees hike, VC insists as PDP, parents kick

The Vice-Chancellor of University of Medical Sciences, UNIMED, Ondo State, Prof Adesegun Fatusi, has said there is no going back on the hike in tuition fees of the institution.

This coming on the heels of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and parents of students in UNIMED, yesterday, kicking against the 120 per cent increase in tuition fees, saying the increase would swell the number of out-of-school children.

The PDP’s Publicity Secretary in the state, Kennedy Peretei, in a statement, said the hike “is a silent notice to parents who cannot afford the new fees regime to withdraw their children.”

Akeredolu’s antecedents
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has never hidden his penchant for increasing fees in tertiary institutions, since he assumed headship of the state.

The Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, and Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, have suffered serial closures over students’ protests bordering on fees’ hikes.

The Rufus Giwa Polytechnic in Owo shrank to a student population of 1,753, from over 9,000, due to fees increase.

Most private residential accommodation for students in Owo is now empty. Even the economy of the ancient city has been adversely affected.

Parents and students of UNIMED received shockers when they noticed increment of fees with nearly 120 per cent for 2021/2022 session.

No explanation was given for this hike. Medical students have to pay as much as N1,320,000, as against N515,000 payable in the previous academic session (2020/2021)

“There is no justification for this continuous upward review of school fees, when the economy of the state is practically comatose and workers’ salaries are not only irregular but never paid in full.

“The PDP in Ondo State calls on the governor and the APC-led government to wear a human face in taking decisions that affect the well-being of our future leaders.”

Parents berate govt
Also faulting the hike, some of the parents who spoke with Vanguard said: “There will be mass withdrawal. It is not realistic.

“Mass withdrawal is looming in the school. We were paying N350,000 and it was difficult.

“We know Medicine is not cheap, but this is on the high side. Other state schools are running medicine but their fees are not as high as N2 million.”

No going back on new fees, VC insists
When contacted, the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adesegun Fatusi, said there was no going back on the new fees schedule.

Fatusi said: “The institution is committed to offering quality education and this position would not be compromised.

“The parents have an option. Their children don’t need to study here. Other medical schools are available.

“We run this school almost free of tuition fees. This school is a specialised school and we cannot continue with the previous fees.”

400 People To Benefit From Lagos’ Free Limb Deformity Intervention – LASG

No fewer than 400 people will benefit from the latest phase of the Lagos State Government sponsored Free Limb Deformity Corrective Surgery and Rehabilitative Programme – an intervention programme targeted at rehabilitating people, especially children, with lower limb deformities such as rickets or Blount disease, and other lower limb deformities that affect their normal growth and function.

The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, disclosed this during his visit to the screening site for the latest batch of beneficiaries at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital on Monday.

According to him, the current phase of the exercise has recorded over 400 potential beneficiaries, who will be screened over a period of two days, while appropriate medical examinations are conducted.

He explained that during the current phase, 80 children will benefit from corrective surgical intervention, just as others will be offered physiotherapy, nutrition and health education as well as assistive mobility devices that will improve their health.

Ogboye noted that the results of their examination will be reviewed by a team of specialists and those that qualify for surgery will be booked for surgical intervention within the next 10 days, adding that the process will be at no cost to the patients.

He said: “The process involves a screening where surgeons examine patients and select those eligible to benefit from surgery and others that may benefit from assistive devices and other forms of physical rehabilitation. Those who pre-qualify for surgery will then go through a series of diagnostic investigations including x-rays and blood tests to check for the form of the bone malformation, calcium levels and other basic parameters. Patients are then offered surgery and kept overnight for observation”.

“This is supervised by our team of orthopaedic surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and other health professionals. After discharge, patients will come for follow-up visits at the clinic, and then also go through physiotherapy to ensure we get the best outcomes”, the Permanent Secretary added.

He noted that many of the limb deformities, which can be corrected by surgery and rehabilitation, will improve the health status of the beneficiaries and give a greater sense of self-worth, stating that the patients would have better chances for economic empowerment and financial independence.

His words: “This programme often leads to improved mobility and health outcomes for the beneficiaries, and allows us to demonstrate our commitment as a State to develop our human capital and give our children a good platform to achieve their dreams and aspirations”.

“The programme also allows us to generate data to create other targeted disability intervention strategies to help more people that may have been disadvantaged healthwise in one way or another”, Ogboye said.

Speaking in the same vein, the Coordinator of the Programme, Dr. Tolulope Ajomale, noted that over 6,000 patients have benefitted from the programme since inception, adding that the programme has evolved into a multidisciplinary surgical outreach programme that explores surgical intervention, physiotherapy and assistive mobility devices to improve their health.

He noted that the programme, usually held biannually, was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, stressing that the surgical and rehabilitative intervention programme has been rejigged to ameliorate the suffering of patients and their families.

Ajomale added that the massive turnout of potential beneficiaries at the screening exercise is an affirmation of the impact the programme has on citizens who have benefitted from the programme, stressing that another screening exercise will be organised before the end of the year to expand the window for more potential beneficiaries.

Gbajabiamila signs Armed Forces Trust Fund Bill, 19 others for transmission to Senate

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has signed 20 bills passed by the House, including the Armed Forces of Nigeria Trust Fund Bill, 2021, for transmission to the Senate for concurrence.

Gbajabiamila signed the 20 bills at a brief ceremony in his office at the National Assembly on Monday, prior to their transmission to the Senate.

The 20 bills are among many other bills already passed by the House and forwarded to the Senate for concurrence before they are transmitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent.

The Armed Forces Bill seeks to establish the Armed Forces of Nigeria Trust Fund. It will provide special financial support for the Armed Forces, makes provision for regular training for personnel and the provision of security/defence equipment for effective defence of Nigeria’s territories and the fight against insurgency. The bill was passed by the House on October 13, 2021.

Another one is the National Agricultural Development Fund Bill, 2021, which seeks to establish the National Agricultural Development Fund to provide funding for agricultural development. It was also passed by the House on October 13, 2021.

Other bills the Speaker signed were the National Assembly Library Trust Fund Bill, 2021; Chartered Institute of Forensic and Certified Fraud Examiners of Nigeria Bill, 2021; National Biotechnology Development Agency Bill, 2021; South West Development Commission Bill, 2021; North Central Development Commission Bill, 2021; North West Development Commission Bill, 2021, and the South East Development Commission Bill, 2021.

Also on the list were the Federal College of Education (Technical) Ako, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State Bill, 2021; Federal College of Agriculture Malumfashi Bill, 2021; Federal College of Education (Technical) Keana, Nasarawa State Bill, 2021; Federal University of Agriculture and Entrepreneurship Saki Bill, 2021; Federal University of Education Pankshin, Plateau State Bill, 2021; Federal Polytechnics Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021; and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

There were also the Usman Dan Fodio University Sokoto Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021; University of Maiduguri Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021; Federal University of Environmental and Technology Saakpenwa, Ogoni Bill, 2021, and Specialized National Dermatology Hospital Bill, 2021.

Once the 20 bills get to the Senate, the senators are expected to work on them and concur with the House before the National Assembly will forward them to the President for his assent, prior to the bills becoming laws.

Court Convicts Abdulrasheed Maina Of N2 Billion Pension Fraud Charges

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday found the chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina, guilty of money laundering charges.

In a judgement being delivered by Okon Abang, the trial judge, the court held that Mr Maina stole over N2 billion belonging to Pensioners, “most of whom have died without reaping the fruits of their labour,” the judge said.

“I find the defendant (Mr Maina) guilty and convicted in count 2, 6, 9, 3, 7 and 10,” Mr Abang held.

A month ago, the court jailed Mr Maina’s son, Faisal, after finding him guilty on all three counts of money laundering involving N58.1million in public funds.

There has been no report that Faisal, who faced a trial separate from his father, has been apprehended and put in jail.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Mr Maina before Mr Abang, on October 25, 2019, and firm, Common Input Property and Investment Ltd.

Mr Maina was tried on a 12-count money laundering charge filed against him by the EFCC.

Part of the allegations against him is that he used his firm to launder N2 billion and also used some of it to acquire properties in Abuja.

He had pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.

Mr Maina had jumped bail twice in the course of the trial. He was recently arrested in Niamey, Niger Republic, where he had fled.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how a senator, Ali Ndume, was briefly jailed after he failed to provide Mr Maina, whom he had stood surety for. Mr Ndume spent five days at the Kuje correctional centre before he was granted bail.

In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/256/2019, EFCC alleged that Maina used fictitious names to open and operate various bank accounts, as well as recruited his relatives that were bankers to operate fake bank accounts through which illicit funds were channelled.

The verdict is ongoing, as the judge said, “it’s a long judgement, which I don’t want to scare counsel.

Ikoyi Building Collapse: Death Toll Rises To 43

One more body has been recovered from under the rubble at the site of a 21-storey building that collapsed in the Ikoyi area of Lagos last Monday, bringing the death toll to 43.

This was made known in a statement issued by the Lagos State Commissioner of Information & Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso on Sunday.

He noted that the corpse was retrieved from the rubble on Saturday night after the government announced the recovery of six more survivors.

He wrote, ”One more body has been recovered from the site of the collapsed 21-storey building in Ikoyi, Lagos. The body, which was recovered on Saturday, has brought the number of bodies retrieved from the rubble to 43.

Makinde Mourns Onigbeti of Igbeti, Extols Late Oba’s Virtues

Engr. Seyi Makinde, on Sunday, mourned the passage of the Onigbeti of Igbeti in Olorunsogo Local Government Area of the State, Oba Emmanuel Oyebisi, Afasegbejo III, stating that his death has left a vacuum in the state.

According to a statement signed by
Moses Alao, Special Assistant (Print Media) to Governor Makinde, it reads “I condole with the entire Igbeti Community of Olorunsogo Local Government Area of the State on the demise of the Onigbeti of Igbeti, Oba Emmanuel Oyekan Oyebisi.
“I equally commiserate with the Oyo State Traditional Council and friends, families and well-wishers of the late royal father.
“I have had many encounters with the late Oba Oyebisi, beginning from the pre-2015 general election days while seeking the governorship seat.

“The late Kabiyesi was a great leader and a peace-loving ruler. His love for the development of Igbeti and Oyo State in general is unprecedented and he never missed an opportunity to make this clear.
“Surely, Oba Oyebisi’s death has left a huge vacuum in Olorunsogo Local Government and among the traditional council in the state.
“It is my prayer that God grants repose to his soul and uphold the community and the family he left behind.”

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