Sahara Reporters Latest News Tuesday 4th June 2019

Sahara Reporters Latest News Tuesday 4th June 2019

Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 04/06/19

target=_blank>Courage In The Face Of Terror By Abayomi Ogunsanya

Yomi Ogunsaya

Two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were two weeks ago finally released from Insein prison where they had been held for more than sixteen months by the Myanmar Government following their conviction and sentencing on September 3, 2018. The pair were among thousands of prisoners that were granted a presidential amnesty on May 7. They were arrested on December 12, 2017, and charged under the colonial-era Official Secret Act and subsequently jailed for seven years for breaching that Act. Before they were arrested, the two journalists had been investigating the execution of 10 Muslim Rohingya men and boys in Inn Din. That investigation culminated in their contribution to a Reuters exposé that was published in February 2018 and for which the two and their colleagues won a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting in April 2019. In the aftermath of that investigation and the publication by Reuters, the military was left with little choice but to admit to the killings and seven soldiers that were involved in the crime were convicted. In recognition of their effort and courage, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were honored with the 2018 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award. Their arrest and conviction had sparked global outrage, particularly because, as it turned out, the so-called ‘secret document’ for which they were arrested was no secret. Since their release, they have continued to receive plaudits for exemplary courage in reporting the truth in the face of apparent military intimidation and miscarriage of justice by a Myanmar government whose action, through the military campaign against the Rohingya, has been described by the United Nations as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” It has also emerged that the seven soldiers who were jailed for the killing of the 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys were clandestinely freed in November.
The arrest and conviction of the two journalists, the crime which they investigated, and now the clandestine release of the culpable soldiers provide contexts to examine a certain recent events in Nigeria which bear resemblance to the Myanmar killings, and to do so against the backdrop of the publication of a recent book of tribute in honour of Dapo Olorunyomi, founder and publisher of PremiumTimes. I have not read “Testimony to Courage”, but the subject of the book, Dapo Olorunyomi, and another book, published more than a decade earlier—Kunle Ajibade’s “Jailed for Life”—capsulize my central purpose in this article, which is to offer a few reflective comments on the need for more courage in journalism in Nigeria, especially in these times of increasing dictatorship by regimes that are purported to be democratic.
I deem it fitting to begin my reflection by drawing parallels between the killing, three years ago, of over three hundred Shi’a Muslims in Zaria, Northern Nigeria, and the murder of the 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys in Rakhine state. Although in terms of scale and possible motivation, the two incidents are far apart. However, there are other basis for comparison and some grounds to make the claim that there is something which the former can learn from the latter about how courage is required in the pursuit of truth and justice. Both killings were by soldiers and both took place against a backdrop of state tolerated violence against minority groups. Myanmar is a Buddhist majority country, with a significant Muslim minority. There is a history of persecution of these minority Muslims, especially the Rohingya in Rakhine, the home of most of Burma’s Rohingya Muslim minority, and many of whom were forced to flee after the 2015 Rohingya refugee crisis and the military crackdown in 2016 and 2017. Like Rohingya Muslims, the Shi’a Muslims are a minority sect within the umma in Nigeria and their persecution did not start with the Zaria massacre. Indeed, the killings in Zaria was not an isolated, one-off incident; for over two decades now, the sect has been in perennial open confrontation with the military and the majority Sunni Muslims in northern Nigeria, and as recently as late October 2018, around 46 members of the sect were killed during a joint cheeky military and police crackdown in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city. I view these killings of members of the Shi’a sect in Nigeria and Rohingya Muslim men and boys as a form of state or political violence. The anthropology professor, Carol Nagengast, writes that “Political violence encompasses overt state-sponsored or tolerated violence…(coercion or the threat of it, bodily harm, etc.) but may also include actions taken or not by the state or its agents with the express intent of realizing certain social, ethnic, economic, and political goals in the realm of public affairs…” States are primarily responsible for ensuring the human rights of their own citizens, including the right to life. However, in certain circumstances or contexts, a state could tolerate a violent action against its own citizens or a section thereof. And “…insofar as such an action is tolerated or encouraged by states in order to create, justify, excuse, explain, or enforce hierarchies of difference and relations of inequality”, they are “acts of state violence, even though states themselves may not appear on the surface to be primary agents.” It is impossible to exculpate both the Nigerian state and the Myanmar government from the crime—for it is nothing short of a genocidal crime in both instances—of mass killing in the two countries. The military are state agents and whether or not they acted based on directives from the government is irrelevant; what is more, the failure of the states to properly bring them to book—as in the case of Nigeria—or to ensure that they serve out their punishment in full measure cast these governments as enablers of genocidal violence.
But there is an important difference between the incident in Myanmar and the one in Zaria, Nigeria, which can be located in the response of media and journalists in both countries to what happened to their minority groups. In Myanmar, despite initial denial and the best effort of the Burmese government to repudiate any wrongdoing, the two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, displayed a great deal of courage which saw them contributing to the production of a piece of investigative journalism that brought to light the despicable situation of human rights in the country and the chilling details of the killings of the 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys. Their investigation also ensured that the courts reached a decision to convict the six soldiers found culpable in that dastardly act. Although Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were jailed on trump up charges, their work give clear indications of the fact that human rights should be pursued with courage and that truth and justice often come with a price. Herein lies the crux of my reflection in this piece. Although the Shi’a massacre was reported at the time it happened and a number of opinion pieces and editorials have been written about it, very little fact-finding journalism has gone into bringing the matter to the front burner since 2015 when it happened. To my knowledge, no soldier has been convicted for the massacre and there has not been any journalist venturesome enough to reveal beyond what is already known. I am not unmindful of the precarious life of journalists generally and the fact that Nigerian journalists are in danger of being exposed to unfavorable treatment if they dug into the matter. According to Amnesty International, “
But then, as the saying goes, freedom is never served on a silver platter. Searching for the truth can sometimes be like finding a proverbial needle in the haystack and the road to finding it is often lined with landmines. There is no doubt that journalism requires considerable courage to practice, especially in climes where a repressive regime is in place. It is in this connection that Kunle Ajibade’s Jailed for Life and the recently launched Testimony to Courage fit into my purpose in this article. Ajibade’s book is a record of his experience as a political prisoner in Sani Abacha’s gulag. It is a book about courage in the face of terror. It is this kind of courage that also animates Dapo Olorunyomi’s life and, I believe, the book that bears testimony to his political activism and his enviable achievement as a journalist and the publisher of a tabloid renowned for investigative journalism. Both Kunle Ajibade and Dapo Olorunyomi, in their separate and sometimes overlapping journalistic engagements, have given us a lot to think about in the face of increasing and often desperate attempt to gag the press and intimidate journalists. They have also shown how investigative journalism, in spite of the odds, can be liberating. For their courage in the face of terror, these journalists have suffered greatly; they have also won considerable acclaim. We celebrate them today, like the two Reuters journalists, not just because of their work, but more crucially because of the courage that defines their vocation. We need that sort of courage more than ever before in these days of unabashed repression, official conspiracy, and increasing intolerance of criticism by the state. We need a journalism that is not afraid to speak truth to power; the kind of journalism that we associate with Kunle Ajibade and Dapo Olorunyomi.

Dr. Abayomi Ogunsanya is an independent scholar and journalist. He lives in the Republic of Ireland.

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target=_blank>Security Guards Accused of Killing Ghanaian Boss, Daughter Arrested in Ondo

Two security guards suspected to have killed their boss, Kwakye Kwaku Richards, at his residence in Akure, Ondo State, have been apprehended.
The suspects, Ayuba Idris, and Taisu Abubakar, both aged 20, were initially declared wanted by the police for killing Mr. Richards alongside his 27-year-old daughter, Miss Kwakye Tope.
Richard and his daughter had earlier been declared missing by the police.

The father and daughter were killed in their home at Ojomo Akintan Estate on Ilesha/Owo expressway.
The suspects were arrested by a crack of detectives from the Ondo State Police Command in Kano and Sokoto states, respectively.
Sahara Reporters gathered that the two guards were of the Hausa and Fulani extractions.
Undie Adie, Commissioner of Police in Ondo State, said the guards confessed to killing their employer and his daughter.
Mr. Adie explained that the suspects after killing the victims dumped their bodies in a building at the Ojomo Akintan Estate.
“The two suspects initially said they killed the 71-years-old Richards because he refused to pay them three months’ salaries. They, however, later recanted their claim by admitting that the deceased did not owe them any salary. They also said they decided to kill the daughter on the same day in order to cover their track since she saw them the day they killed her father,” the police commissioner told journalists.
He added that items recovered from them include a laptop, some clothes, and mobile phones.
The suspects are expected to be charged to court soon.

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target=_blank>Court Stops SEC From Barring Tinubu, Omamofe

A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has restrained Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) from taking any? step concerning or acting on its decision contained in its letter of May 31, 2019 imposing a fine of N91,125,000.00 on Mr. Adewale Tinubu and barring him and Mr. Omamofe? Boyo from being Directors of public companies for a period of 5years? pending the determination of the substantive suit filed before the court?? ? ? Justice Mojisola Olatoregun granted the order sequel? to an ex-parte application accompanied with an affidavit of urgency filed before the court by Dr. Olisa Agbakoba SANl leading two other senior Advocates of Nigeria Messers Tayo Oyetibo and Oluyede Delano? ?? ? ? ? ? ? In an affidavit sworn to by the Deputy Group Executive Officer of Oando Plc Mr. Boyo, the deponent averred that by letter dated May 18, 2017, SEC wrote to Oando requesting for a response to allegations in a petition written by Asbury Inc. Investment company and Alhaji Dahiru Mangal dated May 2, 2017, alleging abuse of corporate governance and purported mismanagement of Oando ‘s business.?? ? ? Oando was reported to have duly addressed all the allegations in the petition through its letter dated May 24, 2017. Other letters written by SEC concerning this issue was equally addressed.? ? Thereafter, the commission suspended trading on? Oando shares. However, due to the negative effects of the suspension, the company instituted a legal action against the SEC to challenge its decision.
The matter was later taken to a court of appeal where the case was struck out for lack of jurisdiction by the federal high court in Lagos.? ?? ? ? Following discussions with SEC, it was agreed that the suspension should be lifted whilst Oando withdraw its appeal against the? ruling of the Federal high court, while Akintola Deloitte was retained as sole forensic auditor to conduct the forensic audit of the company?? ? The company did not receive any further communication from the SEC until May 31, 2019, when it received the commission’s letter informing it of the conclusion of? Deloitte’s audit?.,? In its letter, SEC decided and stated thus: “Mr. Tinubu pay the sum of N91,125,000.00, to SEC for breaching section 60(2)of the investments and securities Act? 2017 for certification of untrue statements of material facts in Oando 2013,2014 and 2015 financial statements, and, Mr. Tinubu and Mr. Boyo be barred from being Directors of public companies for five years for improper conduct in managing the affairs of Oando.?”? ? ? Mr. Boyo averred further that SEC’s letter is devoid of material or particulars which would provide them with information, reasons, grounds or specific actions alleged to have been taken by them which constitute wrongdoing under the law,neither were they interviewed by either Deloitte or SEC nor invited to appear before SEC to defend or respond to SEC’s findings as SEC’s letter which convey its findings also imposed sanctions on him and Tinubu.?? ? ? Despite not providing them with an opportunity to respond to the Deloitte? audit report and the allegations contained therein, SEC proceeded to purportedly appoint Mr. Mutiu Adio Sunmonu as head of interim management of Oando. They verily believe that his appointment would interfere with their management of Oando company.?? ? ? Mr. Boyo contended that if the injunctive orders being sought were not granted and SEC continued with its actions, an irreparable loss would be caused to Oando through the collapse of its share price.
SEC’s actions, if not restrained would also lead to an erosion of the company’s shareholders’ funds, thereby jeopardizing the investment of thousands of Nigerians who are shareholders of Oando.? ?? ? Consequently, the two applicants urged the court? to restrain SEC and its agents, employees, and privies from taking any step concerning or acting on its decision contained in its letter of May 31 pending the determination of the motion for interlocutory injunction.?? ? Joined as co-respondent is Mr. Sunmonu.?? ? ? ?In her ruling, justice? Olatoregun, while adjourning until June 14 restrained SEC, its agents and privies from taking any step concerning or acting on its decision contained in its letter of May 31, 2019 pending the hearing and determination of the applicants’ motion for interlocutory injunction.?

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target=_blank>UPDATED: President Buhari Yet To Make Decision On Approval Of State Police Says Presidency

The Presidency has said it is yet to take a decision on the approval of state and local government police in the country.
This was in response to news that President Buhari had approved the establishment of state and local government police.
The news was quoted to be part of a report on the reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which also recommended the setting up of state and local government police.
A statement from the Aso Rock refuting the news report said the President received the report but instructed that a three-man panel produce a white paper within three months.
“President Buhari Monday received a report on the reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The President requested that the report be studied & a white paper produced within 3 months.
“President Buhari’s specific directive is that a three-man panel be set up to produce the white paper.
“The report of the white paper committee will form the basis of the decisions of the government on the many recommendations, including the setting up of state and local government police made by the Ojukwu panel,” the statement read.
The Presidency noted that until the panel presents a report, it would be “premature and pre-emptive to suggest that the recommendations contained in the report have been approved by the President in part or whole.”

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target=_blank>Is Adams Oshiomole A Secret Weapon Of The PDP? By Femi Aribisala

Adams Oshiomhole may not be a card-carrying member of the PDP. As a matter of fact, he is the national chairman of the ruling APC. Nevertheless, he has been a major blessing to the PDP and a systematic liability to the APC. If one did not know any better, you might conclude that Oshiomhole is a PDP plant in the APC. So counter-productive have been the activities of the APC national chairman to the fortunes of his party.
Case Against Oshiomhole
Oshiomhole’s subversion of APC interests has reached the point where his second-in-command, Senator Lawal Shuaibu, the Deputy National Chairman of the party, is now calling for his resignation. In a letter to Oshiomhole leaked to the public, he said: “We had 23 states in 2015, but after the 2019 elections we lost seven states! We also had 60 senators in 2015 at the end of the elections; we now end up with 57 senators in 2019! You were not brought in to lose the election. It is absolutely unacceptable!
He is not alone in this position within the APC.  Former national chairman of the party, John Odigie Oyegun says: “Oshiomhole engages his mouth before engaging his mind, so he offends party members.” “Oshiomhole is degrading and de-marketing the party; rather than seeking to bring more people on board, he is chasing people out of the party with his ‘agbero’ style of engagement.”
The Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, says Oshiomhole, lacks respect for truth and decency. The former governor of old Sokoto State, Yahaya Abdulkarim said: “If Oshiomhole does not quit, the APC will be dead by 2023.”
Other governors, such as former Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo, and Governor Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna, also want to see the back of Oshiomhole.  Indeed, at one juncture, it was reported that as many as 15 of the 21 APC governors collected signatures for his removal.
The immediate past minister of communications, Adebayo Shittu says: “With Oshiomhole, (APC) would go down by the time President Muhammadu Buhari finishes his second term. Oshiomhole is full of himself. He has an ego problem and wants to dominate every environment. Democracy is not like that.”
Abrasive Style
Oshiomhole’s “gra gra” style of leadership means he specializes in insulting and aggravating everybody. Within the APC, he sees his job as that of a village headmaster, authorized to whip others into line. This makes him very divisive. Indeed, he is like a bull in a china shop. His over-bearing manner knows no bounds.
During President Buhari’s recent inauguration, Oshiomhole forgot that he is not a member of the government, but only a member of the ruling party. He arrogated himself into a position of honour among the members of the military brass at Eagle Square, only to be embarrassed by the Commander of the Brigade of Guards who had to ask him to leave the place.
Because he loves to hear the sound of his own voice, Oshiomhole often puts his foot in his mouth. He even once dissed President Buhari, the very person who handpicked him to be chairman of APC. He said: “If the President condones disrespect for his office, I will not condone disrespect for the party.” In effect, PDP does not need to berate the president of being weak. The national chairman of his party already does.
He threatened to suspend Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, from the party if he failed to constitute and inaugurate board members for federal agencies and parastatals under his ministry. Said Oshiomhole: “When we expel the minister, we will prevail on the president that he can’t keep in his cabinet people who have neither respect for his own decisions nor have respect for the party without which they would not have been ministers.”
It appears Oshiomhole can even dictate to the president who should be in his cabinet.
“Offshore Rigging”
Nowhere else did Oshiomhole do as much damage to the APC as in his handling of the party’s presidential primaries. In hindsight, it became abundantly clear that he was in over his head: he was just not up to the job.
Asked Oyegun: “How would you not have crisis in states with the confusion that Oshiomhole created when he gave the states freedom to choose their methods of choosing candidates for elections?” Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, said the APC primaries exposed Oshiomhole’s incompetence. He described the primaries as “political charade,” with “a shocking proclivity towards banditry and impunity.”
The outcome was chaos. In some states, party bigwigs sitting in Abuja tried to write the results of elections that did not take place. This was the case in Ogun. In some places like Kano, fictitious direct elections were said to have been conducted whereby President Buhari was awarded an incredible 2.9 million votes. You may well ask who counted those votes and where did the people line up?
In others, indirect votes took place, conducted by carefully selected electors charged with working to the answers. To run for APC gubernatorial candidate, Oshiomhole said the expression of interest form would cost N22.5 million naira. This money was then collected from contestants even where no election took place.
Pat Utomi paid 22 million to contest for APC nomination as candidate for Governor in Delta State. APC collected his money but held no primary. The selection was over before he even got to the polls. Said Utomi: “While I was still looking for the venue of the APC gubernatorial primaries, a friend called to tell me that the election had been concluded and a winner has emerged. APC is fraudulent and occultic.”
In short, Utomi was robbed of 22 million naira in broad daylight. In this manner, Oshiomhole devised a system to rob APC candidates of their money all over Nigeria. Even the president’s wife, Aisha Buhari (God bless her) was constrained to insist this was out of order: “It is disheartening to note that some aspirants used their hard earned money to purchase nomination forms, got screened, cleared and campaigned vigorously yet found their names omitted on Election Day, these forms were bought at exorbitant prices.”
To ensure that Buhari had no opposition, Oshiomhole fixed the nomination papers for the APC presidential candidate at a whopping 45 million naira. By implication, only those who had 45 million to burn would be foolish enough to challenge the president. The president himself, who claimed he has less than N30 million in his bank account in 2015, easily got “investors” to put up the money for him.
As a result, other presidential aspirants in the APC called for Oshiomhole’s resignation.  Alhaji Mumakai-Unagha and Dr SKC Ogbonnia put out a statement that Oshiomhole: “deliberately hiked the prizes of nomination forms to scare genuine Nigerians with burning desire to salvage the nation economy, he’s gradually destroying the party to pave way for the Peoples’ Democratic Party. He imposed party executives as well as candidates in the various constituents against the wishes of the people.”
Legislative Overreach
Even though he is not a legislator and his authority as party chairman does not extend to the national assembly, Oshiomhole announced that the APC would not allow any PDP senator to be appointed as committee chairman in the Senate, except where statutorily required. This muddied the waters again for the APC in the struggle for ensuring the party maintains legislative supremacy in Buhari’s second-term.
Oshiomhole’s broadside runs against the grain of longstanding legislative practice. He does not seem to understand that Nigeria is not running a parliamentary system of government where legislators are answerable to their parties and can be whipped into voting one way or the other.
He is also ignorant of the fact that PDP votes might be required in determining who will be Speaker and President of the Senate. Indeed, as a result of his attempt to bully legislators, there are indications that some APC lawmakers are already planning to defy the party line.
Therefore, saner minds have sought to gag the loquacious APC national chairman, before he ends up putting too much sand in the party’s garri. It was reported that a high-powered APC delegation, including putative national leader, Bola Tinubu, concerned that Oshiomhole’s high-handedness was counter-productive and might create loopholes for the PDP, sat the national chairman down and told him, in no uncertain terms, to refrain from making any further comments on the election of national assembly leaders.
Oshiomhole is said to have rebuffed the delegation, insisting that, as chairman, he cannot be gagged. But he was then said to have been gently reminded that he could easily be removed from office and possibly charged with financial crimes if he did not desist. Since then, little has been heard from Mr. Chairman. He has gone underground.
From Comrade To Governor
When he was president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Oshiomhole was celebrated for fighting energetically for the rights of Nigerian workers. But when he became Governor of Edo, Oshiomhole, quickly forgot and denied his roots. When a poor woman selling “peanuts” by the roadside appealed to him not to have her livelihood confiscated, Oshiomhole told her to “go and die.”
As governor of Edo State, Oshiomhole was another APC master at the art of grandstanding against corruption with lies, more lies and fake news. He said a senior official of the Obama administration revealed to him that a Jonathan minister stole $6 billion dollars. This was denied by the Americans and shown to be palpably false. In any case, how can one single individual possibly steal that much and from where?
He also claimed a consultancy fee of 140 billion naira was paid for the Second Niger Bridge project. This also turned out to be a tall tale. The Bureau of Public Procurement exposed this “fabu” by revealing that the total cost of the bridge is only 108 billion naira.
For all his false piety, Oshiomhole can hardly be described as Mr. Integrity. As a matter of fact, Oshiomhole went on record undercutting the anti-corruption posture of the APC by inviting those who have stolen government money to join the APC. Said Oshiomhole: “Once you join APC, all your sins are forgiven.”
In 2018, an anti-corruption crusader, Bishop Osadolor Ochei, obtained an order of mandamus compelling the EFCC to institute criminal proceedings against Oshiomhole over allegations of financial fraud. To date, Oshiomhole stands accused of official high-headedness, impervious impunity, lack of inclusiveness and dictatorial leadership.
It is not too late. Since members of the APC are now fed up with him, it might be better for Adams Oshiomhole to apply to join the PDP. But there is no guarantee that his application will be accepted.

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target=_blank>32 Political Parties Reject Gov. Dickson’s Choice Of BYSIEC Chairman

Thirty-Two political parties in Bayelsa State have threatened to boycott council poll following the controversial that surround the appointment of a new Chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC).
They rejected the Mr. Ball Oyarede, who until his appointment was a card-carrying member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a member of the state’s House of Assembly.
The aggrieved political parties, under the aegis of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), the rejection was based on the fact that an umpire of BYSIEC, which is supposed to be an independent body to conduct free and fair elections into the local government areas in the state, has been eroded and therefore not acceptable by the opposition parties in Bayelsa State.
The opposition parties, in a communique issued yesterday after an emergency meeting and signed by the Chairman of IPAC, Eneyi Zidougha and Chairman of the CNPP, Golden Agagowei, declared: “It is our belief that the governor of Bayelsa State who is a lawyer and former commissioner of justice in the state, a former parliamentarian and governor should know better, that this is against the Electoral Act of 2010 as amended.”
“If the governments decide to go ahead with the appointment of Hon. Ball Oyarede as BYSIEC Chairman, as leaders of the various opposition parties in Bayelsa State, we have no option but to boycott the entire process of the local government elections.”
“We, therefore, advise the government on the above premises to look for a more capable hand, preferably from the academia to be appointed to head BYSIEC with urgency in other to meet with the scheduled time table for the local council elections.”

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target=_blank>Before We Die of Hunger, Akeredolu Should Pay Us Seven Months’ Unpaid Salaries, Ondo Workers Cry Out

PHOTONEWS: Protesting Workers Of Ondo State Waste Management Authority (ODSMA) Demonstrating In Their Office On Monday In Akure Over Unpaid Seven Months’ Salary.

Workers engaged by the Ondo State Waste Management Authority (ODS WMA) have protested over the non-payment of their outstanding salaries and other benefits.
The angry workers, who are mostly sweepers, clerical staffs, attendants and truck drivers lamented that the government had failed to pay their salary spanning into seven months.
The protesters, mostly the sweepers, were engaged by ODS WMA under a public-private partnership arrangement, said that they are also against the government ceding their jobs to the ZL Global Alliance Limited.
Sahara Reporters reported that the state government had in 2018 had a “concession agreement” with ZL Global Alliance Limited-ZGAL for an effective waste management system in the state.
Armed with placards, the aggrieved workers shut down and paralyzed all business activities at the offices of ODSWMA in Alagbaka area of Akure with different solidarity songs.
Some of their placards’ inscriptions read: “We Are Crying For Our Money, June 2016, January 2017, JAN-May 2019, Pay Our Money”; “Enough Of Slavery, We Are Human”; “Pay Us All Our Seven Month Salary”; “Total No To Filling Of Private Company (ZL) Employment Form, Do Not Attach Our Salary To It” while they accused the management of high-handedness.
The protesting workers noted that they have been enduring hard times since the state government refused to pay their salaries, as they could no longer cater to the needs of their families.
Michael Innocent, the ring leader of the protesting workers said that the state government has failed to pay their accumulated salary and areas for thirteen years despite working in an unconducive manner.
“I am one of the workers employed at here at this Ondo State Waste Management Authority (ODSWMA) for over thirteen years.
“And having been working here for such years, the authorities suddenly claimed that they are ceding us into a private company which is ZLGAL.
“But we are saying total NO to it, as we were not employed by a private organization. So, why attaching our salaries to the private firm” he said.
Comrade Innocent argued that they decided to maintain their jobs with the state government, which initially employed them since there was no concrete agreement of transfer.
According to him, the angry workers could not offset their necessary bill including their children tuition fees due to non-payment of their salary and other entitlements.
However, he maintained that appeal made to Ondo state government to look into their plights didn’t achieve any positive result.
“We decided to stand by our right to retaining our appointments as staff of the government and in doing so, they have failed to pay our salaries. They failed to pay us because we didn’t renew our job with the private company and now they are owing us seven-month salaries from June and July 2016 & January to May 2019.
“We are crying to authority concern to come to our aides to salvage our soul from this perdition, they should save us from this cruelty and marginalization from this Ondo state waste management authority. We are already dying of hunger on a daily basis. Life is becoming more unbearable and even miserable as many of us have kids in schools.
“We could not pay their school fees while some are not in school due to lack of money to pay for their charges and some of us owe our landlord and we cannot pay our bills too. We have overstayed, we have been working for over thirteen years here and there is no confirmation and we say enough is enough of stagnancy and enough of dehumanization and inhumane treatment,” he added.
Another protester, Adekunle Adeola noted that the specification of their jobs was spelt out in their letters as written in the civil service rules and regulation.
She wondered why Governor Rotimi Akeredolu led government in the state would not permanent them (workers) before ceding them to the waste management private firm.
“All of us have employment letters and we were issued an identity card and we had been employed here for the past thirteen months. We were surprised when they said they are ceding us forcefully to a private company but we said total No to it. They refused to give us a permanent letter while also cheating us with all our entitlement,” Mrs. Adeola said.
Sahara Reporters could not get the reactions of the General Manager of the Ondo State Waste Management Authority, ODSMA as of the time of this report.

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target=_blank>HEDA Calls For Probe Of Corruption In Federal Civil Service Recruitment

HEDA Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju

The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) has called for a thorough investigation into widespread allegations of improper recruitment into the Petroleum Services Equalisation Fund.
The anti-corruption group cited the recruitment of one Ahmed Aminu Said into the services even though he was a youth corps member as of the time of his appointment in 2004.
HEDA expressed fears that the case of Said might be a trend, the rule rather than the exception, adding that there are likely similar recruitments that undermine ethics and best standards in labour relations
In a protest letter signed by HEDA Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, addressed to the Head of Civil Services of the Federation and copied to President Muhammadu Buhari, the group said in July 2004, Said was given statutory employment while still undergoing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program due for completion in September of that year.
The group wants a thorough probe of what it called “a potential string of anomalies” in the employment of workers into the civil service and possibly other federal government parastatals.
“Recruitments of people that do not possess the minimum requirements aids corruption and incompetence. It undermines principles of justice and distorts the moral fabric of the civil service workforce expected to be the pivots of government’s national policies,” HEDA wrote in the petition.
It also asked the Head of Civil Services of the Federation to pull the veil off a potentially corrupt system that “will in the long run fuel incompetence, godfatherism, harm good governance and transparency in public administration.”
HEDA said media reports by TheCable newspaper had indicated that Said graduated from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) in Bauchi and that he proceeded for the NYSC exercise on September 8, 2003.
HEDA also attached to the petition the discharge certificate allegedly belonging to Said with Certificate No. A879916 and completion date September 7, 2004 and an offer of employment dated July 22, 2004 with reference no. PEF/C/123/S.3.
The Media report, wrote HEDA, yet to be denied indicated that Said, who was to be confirmed after two years of probationary period, was granted study leave to obtain master’s degree in computer and network engineering at the Sheffield Hallam University UK, while still under probation with fully paid leave allowance during the study leave.
This is a benefit exclusively reserved for employee confirmed after their probationary period and HEDA said the recruitment violated the National Youth Service Corps Act, 2004.
“Section 12 of the Act states that it shall be the duty of every prospective employer to demand and obtain from any person who claims to have obtained his first degree at the end of the academic year 1973-74 or, as the case may be, at the end of any subsequent academic year. The section also stated that a copy of the Certificate of National Service of such person issued pursuant to section 11 of the Act and that it shall also be the duty of every employer to produce on demand to a police officer, not below the rank of an assistant superintendent of Police, any such certificate and particulars or copies thereof among other legal requirements in the Act,” it stated.
HEDA added: “The law is very clear on the production of the discharge or exemption certificate to employers before employment can take place and from the allegation in the report under reference, it was alleged that the said Abdul was employed without production of his discharge certificate.”
The anti-graft agency noted that the dates on the letter of employment and NYSC discharge certificate were clear indications of the allegations.

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SaharaReporters, New York

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target=_blank>Ihedioha Gives Okorocha 24 Hours to Hand Over

The Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has given former Governor Rochas Okorocha up to midnight of Tuesday, June 4, 2019, to do a proper handover to his government.
Ihedioha spoke at the Government House in Owerri, during the swearing into office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Uche Onyeaguocha and Chief of Staff, Chris Okewulonu.
The governor afterward ordered the Permanent Secretary, and Head of Service, under Okorocha, to quickly prepare all the necessary documents and hand them over to the SSG, and Chief of Staff, before tomorrow’s midnight.
The governor also wanted Imo people who desired to have a feel of the dilapidation in the government house at the moment, to feel free to do so.
Ihedioha’s warning is coming days after it was reported in Vanguard that he claimed that it has been very difficult for him as the incumbent governor to operate from the current government house and in addition, he did not have documents to work on as a governor.
Ihedioha said: “I direct Head of Service and Permanent Secretary, to ensure a complete handover of all government properties, the last administration utilized on behalf of Imo people to SSG and Chief of Staff of Imo state government. I want the process to be completed by midnight tomorrow.
“I spoke to Imo people that we will start work we will assume work. We will give no excuses of not performing. We will give dividend of democracy irrespective of the status of the state of facilities I inherited. The government that ended its tenure was not prepared to hand over or ready to receive us. I thank Imo people for receiving us and we shall serve the state with the fear of God.”

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SaharaReporters, New York

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BBNaija Season 4 Set To Premiere June 30

Nigerian reality show, Big Brother Naija, has announced that the program will start to air on June 30, 2019.
In a post on the official Instagram page of DSTV on Monday, the organisers said the show, which is rated 18 plus, will be on air soon.
“Okay! We CAN’T wait no more! #BBNaija2019 storms your screens on June 30th! fire Available on all DStv packages Proudly sponsored by @bet9jaig,” the post read.
Big Brother Naija is a Nigerian reality competition where about 14 contestants live in an isolated house for 90 days and compete for a huge cash prize amongst other perks.

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SaharaReporters, New York

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