Sahara Reporters Latest News Thursday 6th December 2018

Sahara Reporters Latest News Thursday 6th December 2018

Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 06/12/18

E2%80%94-residents-lament-pace-work-collapsed target=_blank>‘We Bought Diesel For Rescue Operations To Continue’ — Residents Lament Pace Of Work On Collapsed Building In Rivers

Members of the Nzuko Obodoukwu clan in Imo State have held a rally to call for better resources to aid the rescue of people still trapped in the rubble of the seven-storey building that collapsed in Rivers State more than one week ago.
Members of the clan expressed dissatisfaction with the slow rate of work recorded by the evacuation team, adding that one of their family members is trapped in the building.
President of the clan, Benjamin Obidegwu, stated that the clan had assisted with the evacuation, and expressed sadness that hopes of rescuing others trapped under the rubble is fading.
Obidiegwu also disclosed that a brother of one of the victims had to buy diesel for the evacuation team to aid the rescue process.
“We have tried in our capacity to get the needed help at rescuing not only our brother, but all others trapped under the debris of the collapsed structure. The brother of one the victims had to buy 150 litres of diesel after the rescue team stopped work due to shortage of diesel,” he said.
The Nzuko Obodoukwu clan maintained that those yet to be rescued, if alive, would not be in the right frame of mind.
They, however, questioned the lack of urgency and resources deployed to rescue those still trapped.
“We wish to state categorically that the resources deployed to save our brother, Morgan, and others leaves much to be desired. The lack of urgency on the part of the rescue team and the low sympathy this ugly incident got, necessitated by the worrisome disposition of the media, is a cause for concern,” he said.
He urged all relevant agencies to hasten up the pace of rescue activities at the site.
Meanwhile, the South-South Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Martins Ejike, had disclosed that 44 people have been brought out — 31 alive and 13 dead.
Ejike lamented the lack of adequate manpower in carrying out their operations, adding that the rescue team had to work with the assistance of collaborators.

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target=_blank>Nigerian Army Killed Police Efficiency, Says Oba Akiolu

Oba Rilwan Akiolu, Oba of Lagos, has said the Nigerian Army “killed the efficiency” of the Nigerian Police Force.
He stated this in his address at the public hearing on a bill for an Act to repeal the Police ACT CAP 19, 2004 organised by the Senate Committee on Police Affairs.
The hearing is currently holding at the Conference Hall 231, Senate New Building National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
The Police Reform Bill is sponsored by Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah and was debated up to Second Reading in the House before being referred to the Committee.
In his opening remarks, Deputy Senate Majority Leader Ibn Na’Allah, who spoke on behalf of the Senate President Bukola Saraki noted that “A revamped policing structure will provide better guarantees for the rights and freedom of citizens”.
“This proposed law will enhance communal relations, and in order to do this, will establish a Divisional State Police Board to foster better engagement with the people and the communities in which they live,” he added.
Speaking at the event, Oba Akiolu said: “It is the Nigerian Army who actually killed the efficiency and the progress of the Police”. Aside that, he restated the need for “adequate funding and not the normal envelope budget”.
Also present at the hearing include Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris, Obi of Onitsha, His Royal Majesty Igwe Alfred Achebe, among others.

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target=_blank>CSOs Protest At US Embassy In Abuja, Say No To Granting Atiku ‘Politically-Motivated Visa’

A group of civil society organisations under the aegis of Forum of Non-Governmental Organisations In Nigeria have besieged the US Embassy in Abuja to advise against granting American Visa to Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Bearing placards as they marched to the embassy on Wednesday, the protesters urged the officials at the Embassy to tread with caution on the matter.
Addressing the protesters, Comrade Wole Badmus, Convener and National Chairman of the group, said they had formally written to the United States Embassy against granting the visa request by the former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
Noting that issuing the visa would portray the US as endorsing his candidature, he said: “This is apart from the tacit and covert electoral gain such can confer him as the general correct perception in our country now is that Atiku is being denied American visa because of proven cases of money laundering and financial crimes against him.
“Sir, you may recall the outcome of the US Senate Permanent Sub-committee on Investigations chaired by Carl Levin. The committee submitted its report on 4 February, 2010. It is equally interesting to note that the probe was motivated by the US government’s concern about corruption in the Third World and its corrosive effects on the development of honest government, democratic principles and the rule of law.”

Badmus explained that there is a nexus between corruption and failed state, stating that the World Bank estimated that $1trillion in bribes alone exchange hands worldwide each year.
He continued: “A summary of the report indicates that between 2000 and 2008, Jennifer Douglas a US citizen and the fourth wife of Atiku Abubakar, helped her husband bring over $40million in suspect funds into the United States through wire transfers sent by offshore corporation to US bank account.
“In a 2008 civil complaint, the US Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Ms. Douglas received over $2million in bribe payments in 2001 and 2002 from Siemens AG, a major German Corporation.”
He added that Ms. Douglas owned up when the banks began to question the offshore wire transfers that all the funds came from, stating that “granting American Visa to Atiku would amount to negation of the Patriot Act which makes the acceptance of foreign corruption proceeds a US money laundering offence”.
He added that it would make a mockery of the United Nations Convention against Corruption enacted in 2003, in which USA played an active role in its enactment and presently ratified by more than 140 countries.

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target=_blank>Dear Bishop Oyedepo, God Is Not Happy With Your False Witness On Jubril By Churchill Okonkwo

On the weekend that Fr. Mbaka was shamelessly trying to extort money by harassing and blackmailing Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, you, Bishop David Oyedepo was busy maliciously gossiping (from the altar) about President Buhari as one Jubril from Sudan. While Fr. Mbaka was driven by the quest for money, you, Bishop Oyedepo, blinded by hatred was driven by desperation for power. As a Christian, it was a depressing weekend as I was left wondering what’s happening to Christianity in Nigeria?
Clearly, you, Bishop Oyedepo was blinded by his hatred of President Buhari when you read the satire “Matters miscellaneous” by Prof. Olatunji Dare in the Nation Newspaper of November 27 th , 2018. If not, there is no explanation why you and your team should degenerate to the devilish innuendos that Nigerian President is one Jubril from Sudan. Prof. Dare employed satire by exaggeration in his piece as a technique to expose the foolishness of people insinuating that Buhari is one Jubril. Yet, blinded by hatred, you, Bishop Oyedepo fell for it. What a ridicule you made of yourself and your congregation that was shouting Amen in unionism to malicious prayers.
Dear Bishop Oyedepo, beyond your unhidden desire to regain influence that you used to exert when Goodluck Jonathan was in power, there is something gratingly noxious about your hatred of President Buhari. From making a mockery of President Buhari at every opportunity to shamelessly embracing a corrupt Atiku and the PDP in a desperate move to regain influence, your “blind” hatred of Buhari is so intense that it has led you to utterances that are unbecoming of a man of God.
Proverbs 26:24-26 says that “whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart; when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart; though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.” Dear, Bishop, you goofed by exposing your hatred of Buhari. What should the people of God do when hatred is spewed from God’s altar? Shout Amen to prayers that are driven by disdain and hate or cover their eyes and run out of the church? What is happening to Christianity in Nigeria?
In Exodus 23: 1, we were told “do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness. But here we you, Bishop Oyedepo acting as a malicious witness, Nnamdi Kanu’s mouthpiece and Atiku’s campaign manager all at once. I wouldn’t have worried so much, but the fact that you did all these from the altar of God should trouble every Christian.
To show how mischievous and malicious you are, you made no mention of Prof Dare’s reference in the same satire, to dependable sources telling him that “Abuja is close to unraveling the identity of the fake Jew parading himself on faked foreign soil as Nnamdi Kanu.”
Selective amnesia? You, Bishop Oyedepo and your team clearly selected a section of Prof. Dare’s piece that will advance your malicious agenda of slandering President Buhari, period.
Dear Bishop, your blind hatred of Buhari is unreasoning hatred, a hatred and fury over which you have lost control of yourself, yet again. This is grievously sinful as we are to remain in control of ourselves always, loving our brothers, and not wishing death on fellow beings. Hatred may not be sinful if it is directed towards some evil quality that a person has but does not touch that person.
For example, it would have been understandable if you dislike Buhari because of the failure of his administration to deliver on the promise of stamping out Boko Haram or revamping Nigerian economy. It is, however, sinful when you, Bishop Oyedepo extends your hatred to the person of Buhari by engaging in malicious gossip. Of course, you cannot possibly claim to hate Buhari for not stamping out corruption while kissing and caressing Atiku Abubakar and the PDP.
So, why engage in this needless slandering?
Scripture uses the word slander which means making a false spoken statement damaging to a person’s reputation. Slander can destroy someone's marriage, job, wealth, and family.
Let me refer you, Bishop and your congregations and all Christians to the Words from the Holy Book. Ephesians 4:29 says “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what
is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
What was the benefit of the gossip on Buhari from you to your congregation and Christians? Nothing spiritual or related to salvation. The gossip was purely political to advance your personal agenda.
Among the things that the Lord hates is a false witness who pour out lies (Proverbs 6:16-19). What were you expecting Bishop when he poured out his heart about an imaginary slavery from a Sudanese Jubril? In his testimony and witnessing, Paul spoke the truth faithfully (2 Corinthians 11:31; 1 Timothy 2:7). Did you speak to your congregation faithfully and truthfully?
Was Fr. Mbaka speaking truthfully when he cajoled Peter Obi to spit money or his December 31 st prophesy will go against him and Atiku? What happened to true Christianity?
Bishop, you stated in the video that went viral that “if the President will not address the nation on a subject as sensitive as this, it must have been proved beyond any iota of doubt that maybe he is not our President.”
In case you and your team are claiming ignorance, I want to inform you that President Buhari saw the evil in their hearts and have addressed that unnecessary and idioticinsinuation over the weekend in Poland. He stated and I quote “I can assure you all that this is the real me. Later this month I will celebrate my 76th birthday. And I’m still going strong!”
Leviticus 19: 16 warned Christians not to “go about spreading slander among your people.” So, I challenge you, Bishop Oyedepo to retract your malicious innuendo and apologize to President Buhari and Nigerians in the same altar of God. I will love to see the same congregation shout a loud Amen to your prayer of good health for Buhari next Sunday. Failure to do this, to use your exact words, “will prove beyond any iota of doubt” that you are not a true man of God. It is that simple.
Finally, to my Christian brothers and sisters, I will leave you with these Words from the Holy Book. As followers of Christ Jesus, our testimony should be based and anchored on TRUTH. If you tell lies, you draw loyalty to yourself, and not to Christ; He is TRUTH! (John 14:6) and He testified to the truth (John 18:37). We should earnestly pray for deliverance from deception (Joshua 1:8; 2 Timothy 2:15). We should not seek to hear only what is appealing to the ears or the flesh (Jeremiah 5:31; 2 Timothy 4:3). The time to STOP the foolishness on Jubril or Jubrin or whatever is NOW. These are the Words of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
From Brother Churchill, with Love.
You can email Churchill at Churchill.okonkwo@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@churchillnnobi

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target=_blank>Police: 16 Officers Killed In Zamfara Ambush

The Nigeria Police Force has said it lost 16 officers in the ambush by bandits which occurred on Thursday, November 29, 2018.
The Police had earlier claimed that one officer was killed in the attack.
However, in the latest development, the Police said it rescued 20 officers alive, while 16 bodies were recovered.
This is coming after a report by SaharaReporters in which a relative of one of the affected officers said the Police lied about the casualty figure.

target=_blank>Prostitution Is Capitalism On Campus By Emmanuel Onwubiko

With just few weeks to Nigeria’s most critical election, the major contenders who began their campaigns for the coveted number one political job in Nigeria which is the office of the President have so far not adequately addressed the critical issue of right to education.
Going through the various ramifications and segments of the nation’s highest law which is the constitution, it is unambiguous that the right to qualitative education opens the door to the enjoyment of all other fundamental right provisions espoused in chapter four of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 (as amended).
For instance, in section 17 subsection (3), the constitution stipulates that the state shall direct its policy towards ensuring that (a) all citizens, without discrimination on any group whatsoever, have the opportunity for securing adequate means of livelihoods as well as adequate opportunity to secure suitable employment.
There is no doubt that the clearest way of obtaining suitable employment is the capacity building and/or manpower educational empowerment of the citizenry.
Section 18 (3) of the grund norm emphasized that “government shall strive to eradicate illiteracy, and to this end government shall as and when practicable provide (a)free compulsory and universal primary education; (b) free university education; and (c) free adult literacy programme.
The above mentioned objectives of state policy are never implemented because as I write, the educational sector is amongst the most marginalized even as the provision of the constitution which absolutely prohibits discrimination is not respected by top government functionaries who have continuously underdeveloped the public educational sector whilst diverting public fund towards providing the most competitive educational training for their own children in some of the best Ivy league universities in the advanced Western economies.
The neglect of the public educational sector got to a deteriorated extent that most parents have decided to cough out huge cash to be able to send their children to foreign jurisdictions for educational trainings. The public school system in Nigeria suffers from the twin evil of corruption by the management staff and criminal marginalization in terms of funding by all levels of government in Nigeria. Most public schools are at the different stages of collapse.
The focus of this piece today is not on the peremial neglect of the public educational sector but rather one of the most critical offshoots of these neglect and corruption that are weighing down the public educational institutions. This problem is the fact that most girls from disadvantaged homes in Nigeria who are in public tertiary institutions are forced to become s** workers so as to train themselves in those schools that have kept hiking tuition fees but without commensurate upgrade of standards.
This issue is a debilitating factor all around the globe but the Nigerian dimension is uniquely satanic. This is because unlike in some western societies whereby there are facilities from which students can borrow to pay for their very expensive university education and gradually pays off these debts when they begin to work, in Nigeria, the poor students have no form of scholarship funding nor any educational funding banks to borrow. They then resort to engaging in all forms of social crime so that they can pay their ways through school.
Last week when I visited most states in the South East of Nigeria whereby tertiary education is an attractive sector for most young persons, I came face to face with the existence of what can be called capitalism on campus which is another way of describing commercial s** activities by female students of these universities. Capitalism on campus is a menace all around educational faculties around the Country. Public and private universities are very busy commercializing honorary doctorate awards to the highest bidders and are engaged in different fields of businesses to boost their revenue generation, but nothing is done to ameliorate the untold and despicable hardships that most students go through. Moreover, nearly 60 percent of female students in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions are their own educational sponsors. This is why in such places like University of Lagos amongst several others, there is the problem associated with what we call ARISTOS. This word is coined from the capitalist term ARISTOCRATS which means rich patron who deploy their wealth to obtain sexual gratification from female or even male students. There are also those that are pejoratively termed as RUNS GIRLS.
The sad thing about it is that the school management have never really appreciated this issue as a fundamental stumbling block to the holistic training and the educational formation of the young persons.
As I write, the academic communities are on shut down due to needless industrial action occasioned by the consistent willful neglect of the funding of public university system by both the national and sub-national governmental administrations.
The academic staff union of universities embarked on strike for nearly a month now. Of course the academic and non-academic staffs are worried about how to make their wages big but the welfare of their students is never in their calculations.
Sadly, the student union bodies have for over two decades become a cash-and-carry contraption for never-do-wells who impose themselves as students union leaders only so they can use their positions to fleece and extort politicians and play the role of praise singers.
There is really no concerted effort to address this issue of students prostitution on campus. This is compounded by the fact that some of the lecturers are even guilty of demanding for sexual gratifications from their students in exchange for marks.
However, my search for the main underlying reason behind the expanding spectre of commercial s** activities or mercantilism on Nigerian campuses led me to a scholarly work done on this issue by Dr. Ron Roberts, identified as Jamaica based university professor.
This university teacher is known to have researched into the menace and to have published a book he called “Capitalism on Campus: S** work, academic freedom and the market.”
My reading of a recent book review on the above work done by Russell Whitehouse shows that virtually the entire factors he observed in that book are significantly present in most tertiary educational institutions in Nigeria in both public and private sectors.
In the review, he wrote that s** and student debt are viewed as two inevitable facets of university-student life. Kingston University’s Dr. Ron Roberts writes about the disturbing connections between these two and the state of academia as a whole in Capitalism on Campus.
Dr. Roberts writes about the growing phenomenon of uni students partaking in s** work (mainly stripping, camming & prostitution). The book cites multiple UK surveys conducted between 2012-2017 which, found that between 5-6% of students were engaging in s** work. Furthermore, many of these admitted s** workers came from middle-class backgrounds. Another survey found that 30% of students personally knew of another student(s) engaged in s** work, while another found that 16% of students were considering entering the adult industry.
These, figures, the reviewer affirmed, have reliably been rising in tandem with UK tuition hikes that started under New Labour in the late 90s. Such a trend hasn’t been isolated to the UK, of course. American rappers like Jay-Z and Juicy J and the Canadian Drake have been rapping about women stripping to pay their tuition for decades. Across much of the West, college has become exponentially more expensive. Young people in both the US and UK are shouldering total student loan debts in excess of $1 trillion.
This debt explosion, according to the book reviewer combined with poor job prospects for “inexperienced workers,” soaring urban housing costs and the remnants of the recession have compelled many young women (and surprisingly high numbers of men) to take up s** work. Rather than addressing this crisis, schools, by and large, have chosen to ignore it. Worse, many universities and academic associations actively try to whitewash research and reporting about student s** work. Dr. Roberts cites personal experiences, as well as the experiences of other academics, of being stonewalled and threatened by administrators for daring to try to study the issue.
Universities, he observed, are obsessed with maintaining a façade. Ever since universities went from being a public utility to a privatized cash cow, schools have felt the need to sell themselves as a product. Dr. Roberts writes that, “The largely uncritical domestic support offered by university vice-chancellors to tuition fee increases and marketization suggests not merely a lack of vision and subservience, but a propensity to keep one eye on the huge salary and another on possible rewards from the honours system.” This prioritization of bringing in money over student welfare means an obsession with public imaging and maintaining a high rating in places like the U.S News and World Report Best Colleges Rankings and The Princeton Review.
The writer also stated that much of the weight for these rankings comes from student surveys. Several university teachers and administrators have been caught telling students to give disingenuous good reviews on such surveys. The exponentially rising tuition rates at these school means that front offices are largely beholden to prospective parents of students and donors. Thus, the administrator line of thinking goes: What parent or affluent donor is going to want donate to or to send their precious child to a school that’s been exposed for having loads of students who sell their bodies just to get by? Uni students who have to resort to such means are consequently not just deprived of help by administrators, but often threatened with disciplinary action.
The reviewer affirmed and rightly so that society foists upon its future workers not just serf-like levels of debt, but substantial psychological baggage, as well.
The reviewer also asserted that the soaring rates of depression, anxiety and suicide among Western youth is, according to Dr. Roberts, better understood not as an index of personal failure, but as a consequence of the brutal circumstances which have seen cuts in investment, training and job opportunities for young people, low wages, exorbitant student loans and tuition fees, cuts to mental health and welfare services, as well as a savage primary and secondary school system where endemic testing has become the norm.”
Worried about the lacuna in any form of legal frameworks to check the menace as highlighted above, I then checked nuc.edu.ng and found out that the National Universities Commission was established in 1962 as an advisory agency in the Cabinet Office. However in 1974, it became a statutory body and the first Executive Secretary, in the person of Prof. Jibril Aminu was then appointed.
The National Universities Commission (NUC) is a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Education (FME). The Commission has a Governing Council, its Executive Secretary is Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed mni, MFR, who assumed office on August 3, 2016.
Over the years, the Commission has transformed from a small office in the cabinet office to an important arm of government in the area of development and management of university education in Nigeria.
The main functions of the Commission are outlined as follows:
Granting approval for all academic programmes run in Nigerian universities; Granting approval for the establishment of all higher educational institutions offering degree programmes in Nigerian universities; Ensure quality assurance of all academic programmes offered in Nigerian universities; and Channel for all external support to the Nigerian universities.
The Commission has twelve Directorates; Directorate of Academic Planning, Directorate of Inspection and Monitoring, Directorate of Management Support Services, Directorate of the Establishment of Private Universities, Directorate of Students Support Services, Directorate of Research, Innovations & Information Technology, Directorate of Finance and Accounts, Directorate of Accreditation, Directorate of Open and Distance Education, Directorate of Liaison Services and International Cooperation, Directorate of Corporate Communications, and the Directorate of the Executive Secretary’s Office. Each of the Directorates is headed by a Director.
As a coordinating body, the Commission ensures it discharges its responsibilities by recruiting adequate and relevant man power and appeals to the Universities for their sustained support and understanding. The Commission also relies on support from the Federal Government, State Governments and other stakeholders in its bid to improve on the quality of tertiary education and graduates of the nation’s university system.
From what we have seen above regarding the functions and duties of the main regulatory body that coordinates standardization of the educational sector of the tertiary level, it would seem that the welfare of the students are not adequately captured. NUC has failed substantially to bridge this gap between the high tuition fees and the social demands and pressures on students to meet up with these different aspects funding requirements whilst they are in the higher institutions.
The only faint approach towards the eradication of the social malaise of sexual abuses of students is the infinitesimal cases that the independent corrupt practices and other offences commission has instituted against randy lecturers.
I will therefore charge the candidates of the main national parties seeking for office of the President of Nigeria to tell Nigerians how each of them intends to tackle the menace of prostitution on campus.
The next president must look at the way to adopt strategies to assist students to be able to study without tears. The next president must work collectively with the national legislature and state legislatures to operationalize modalities for stopping the rising cases of prostitution on the Nigerian educational campuses.
The need to sanitize the educational sector in Nigeria and check the proliferation of all kinds of commercial s** work by students is anchored on the provision of the Nigerian constitution in chapter four and specifically section 34 (1) which states that: “Every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, and accordingly :- no person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment; no person shall be held in slavery or servitude; and no person shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.”
*Emmanuel Onwubiko is head of Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and blogs @www.emmanuelonwubiko.com; www.huriwanigeria.com; www.huriwa.blogspot.com.

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target=_blank>BREAKING: Fayose ‘Involved In Accident’ On Third Mainland Bridge

Ayodele Fayose, immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, was involved in an auto accident on Wednesday.
According to his aide, Lere Olayinka, the accident occurred on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos on Wednesday afternoon.
His condition is currently stable and he has received medical attention.
Olayinka posted the news of the accident via a tweet that read: “Immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose was involved in auto accident on 3rd Mainland Bridge in Lagos few minutes ago. He is in stable condition as I write while he is receiving medical attention”. Immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayodele Fayose was involved in auto accident on 3rd Mainland Bridge in Lagos few minutes ago. He is in stable condition as I write while he is receiving medical attention.— Lere Olayinka – Aresa 1 (@OlayinkaLere) December 5, 2018

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target=_blank>BREAKING: Gunmen Abduct Three Health Workers In Ondo, Demand N50m Ransom

Armed men have abducted three workers of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo in Ondo State, SaharaReporters has just learnt.
The health workers were kidnapped on Tuesday along Emure-Ile/Owo road on their way to work at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Owo, a 45-minute drive from Akure, the Ondo State capital.
A medical doctor, nurse and records officer were kidnapped.
Our correspodent gathered that one of the kidnapped victims has been identified as Jospehine Fanikasi, a records officer at FMC.
A source, who confirmed the news to SaharaReporter on Wednesday, said the medical workers were abducted on a “bad portion” of Owo road.
The source, who preferred not to be named, explained that the gunmen double-crossed the vehicle that was coveying the health workers. The hoodlums later marched the three victims into a waiting vehicle, before they drove into the bush.
“Yes, it is true. Three of our medical workers were abducted yesterday (Tuesday) while on their way to their place of work at FMC, Owo. They are: a medical doctor, a nurse and a records officer, who are all working with the Federal hospital in Owo town of Ondo State,” the source said.
“The three kidnapped victims were double-crossed with another vehicle along Owo road at gunpoint. The kidnappers spoke a different kind of English, and couldn’t speak the language well.”
A church member of one of the victims also confirmed the incident via phone call, stating that they had gone spiritual on the matter.
She said the abductors have contacted the family of the victims and are demanding N50million for their release.
“They have contacted their families and they were told to raise the sum of N50million to effect their release. Even in the church, we have resorted to fasting and prayer for God to touch the hearts of the kidnappers and let them release their victims,” she said
Femi Joseph, Police Spokesperson in Ondo State, confirmed the incident to SaharaReporters.
Although he claimed that only two persons were abducted by the gunmen, he stated that the Police have begun investigation into the incident.
“I only know of two persons who were kidnapped by the gunmen in Owo, but our boys have swung into action and we will rescue the victims. Already, we have deployed our men into the bush and they have started combing everywhere. Investigation has also started on the case and we shall bring the peptrators to book,” he said.

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E2%80%99s-energy-commissioner-resigns-apc-over-%E2%80%98integrity-deficient%E2%80%99-gov-primary target=_blank>BREAKING: Ambode’s Energy Commissioner Resigns From APC Over ‘Integrity-Deficient’ Gov Primary

Wale Oluwo, the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral resources, has resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) with immediate effect.
Oluwo resigned from the APC shortly after also resigning from Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s cabinet.
In a letter to the Lagos State Chairman of the APC, dated December 3, he explained that he was quitting the party because of its “integrity-deficient” state governorship primary, and the use of an arm of government to blackmail the Executive.
“My decision to resign is not unconnected with the events of the last few weeks, which have created a heavy moral burden for me. Ihave found it rather difficult to come to terms or rationalize the party’s conduct of the October 2018 primary elections, which were largely characterized by massive voter disenfranchisement, intimidation, violence, undue influence and non-compliance with all known principles of democracy,” he said.
“In the particular case of the gubernatorial primary, which was conducted using the “open ballot” option in violation of the guidelines of the APC that specified the “open-secret ballot” option, it is clear to me that the core principles of merit, competence, justice and fairness have been sacrificed by the APC on the altar of political expediency.”
He added that “the integrity-deficient nature of the primary” had “significantly diminished the hard-earned reputation of our state as a reference point for free and fair democratic practice”.
THE FULL LETTER
A few hours ago, Isubmitted to His Excellency, the Governor of Lagos State, a letter of resignation of my appointment as the Honourable Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources. Consequently, as a registered member of the All Progressives Congress, I have deemed it necessary to formally notify you of my intention to reconsider my membership status.
My decision to resign is not unconnected with the events of the last few weeks, which have created a heavy moral burden for me. Ihave found it rather difficult to come to terms or rationalize the party’s conduct of the October 2018 primary elections, which were largely characterized by massive voter disenfranchisement, intimidation, violence, undue influence and non-compliance with all known principles of democracy. In the particular case of the gubernatorial primary, which was conducted using the “open ballot” option in violation of the guidelines of the APC that specified the “open-secret ballot” option, it is clear to me that the core principles of merit, competence, justice and fairness have been sacrificed by the APC on the altar of political expediency.
The integrity-deficient nature of the primary has significantly diminished the hard-earned reputation of our State as a reference point for free and fair democratic practice. I have struggled for weeks to understand the rationale for the apparent desperation and brigandage brazenly displayed by the party apparatchik in the various elections. I had never thought such vicious attack could be unleashed on the progress that the state had made in its steady democratic journey.
The indifference of the APC to the continued use of an arm of government by a powerful group within the party, to intimidate critical institutions of democracy in the State, undermines the doctrine of separation of powers, creates an atmosphere of uncertainty and impairs government’s ability to implement policies and programmes that will benefit the majority of the people. This is in conflict with my strongly held belief that group interest, no matter how powerful, must be subordinated to the interest of the majority.
Iam convinced that the present atmosphere of encirclement will not abate anytime soon. Itherefore resign my membership of the All Progressives Congress, immediately.

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Politicians Plan To Unleash Mayhem In Delta During 2019 Elections, Says Group

The Delta Central Equity Group (DCEG) has alleged that there are plans to “unleash mayhem in Delta Central Senatorial District during the 2019 general election”.
DCEG is an amalgamation of youth groups within the Delta Central Senatorial District, dedicated to the principles of equity and justice within the governing framework/structure of Delta State.
At its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Tuesday at the Dome Event Centre (Glass House), Ughelli-Patani Expressway, Ughelli, Delta State, the group alleged that there were plans by one of the political parties to carry out violence in the district to make the election inconclusive.
In a communique issued shortly after a one-day retreat and an enlarged National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the group, signed by the convener of the group, Morris Idiovwa and Festus Otesiri Igherebuo, Urhobo Youth President, obtained by SaharaReporters, noted “plans to turn Delta Central Senatorial District into a theater of war so as to again achieve the grand plot of an inconclusive election”.
The communique read: “There are ongoing behind-the-scene plots to incite and mobilise Delta Central youth as cannon fodders for election-related violence and upheaval to achieve the same set goal during the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections. Then there is the not-so-hidden and unfolding grand design to precipitate absolute chaos within Delta Central on the date of the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections to achieve the same grand goal.

“The Delta Central Equity Group NEC, having carefully considered these issues, has resolved as follows: That every son and daughter of Delta Central Senatorial District must reject every attempt by political desperadoes to manipulate them to achieve selfish political ends. That the security forces must both be neutral and perceived to be so during the course of these coming elections.
“That we, the youth of Delta Central, wholeheartedly reject any and every attempt by narrow-minded and wicked ethnic irredentists to sow chaos within our district to achieve their evil political goals. That we the youth of Delta Central stand firm on the side of justice and equity and shall continue to work towards these noble goals in the governing political framework in Delta State.
“That we the youth of Delta Central, under the banner of Delta Central Equity Group (DCEG), will fiercely resist any and every attempt by foreign-based political merchants to turn our district into a theater of war to achieve their evil agenda. That we will not accept any form of political gang-up and narrow ethnic supremacist calculations, devoid of justice and equity in the governing framework of Delta State.
“In conclusion Delta Central Equity Group wishes to state unequivocally that we shall always work with the twin attributes of justice and equity in espousing our vision for a united and equitable governing framework in Delta State today and always. Also, we hereby enjoin every political actor or group plotting to destabilise Delta Central for whatever narrow political calculation to bury such thoughts forthwith as we will not tolerate any attempt to do otherwise.
“Also, we want to state our readiness and resolve to work with all security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure peaceful conduct of the elections in the Delta Central area and to ensure that no single voter, duly registered, is disenfranchised by any means during the elections.”

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