Children’s Day: NUT bemoans worsening state of public primary schools

Today, Nigerian children will join their counterparts across the world to celebrate this year’s Children’s Day. But while their mates in other climes are learning with ease with good facilities, public primary school pupils in the country are learning under very terrible condition in schools that are in state of disrepair.

Investigations carried out by The PUNCH revealed that many of these pupils are learning with difficulty in dilapidated structures and environments that are not suitable for learning.

Polls: INEC distributes election materials to LGAs in Osun

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osun on Thursday distributed election materials to all the 30 local government areas in the state, ahead the State House of Assembly election on Saturday.

Mr Olusegun Agbaje, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), distributed the electoral materials in the presence of political party agents at the Central Bank of Nigeria premises in Osogbo.

“What we have left here this year in Osun is the House of Assembly or what we call state constituency election. “The state has 26 House of Assembly seats and we have 22 local government areas in the state that will produce one representative each.

“Eight local government areas will produce four representatives that is one representative for two local government areas. “What we are doing today is distributing the election materials to these local government areas, starting with the eight local government areas that are sharing one constituency/producing one representative.

Tenant gets N20, 000 bail for knocking landlord’s tooth out

An Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court on Thursday slammed a N20,000 bail on a tenant, Emmanuel Nwachukwu, who allegedly punched his landlord, Mr. Sanusi Ishola in the mouth and broke his front tooth during an argument.

Magistrate M. I. Dan-Oni, in a ruling, ordered the 32-year-old to produce one surety in like sum.

The prosecutor, Insp. Victor Eruada, told the court that the defendant punched Mr. Ishola in the mouth and broke his incisor during an argument.

He alleged that Nwachukwu committed the offence on February 24, at 9:00 a.m. at their residence.

Buhari has subverted Supreme Court, Atiku may not get justice – Agbakoba

Agbakoba

A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has said he is in support of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s decision to challenge the result of the February 23 presidential poll in court.

He, however, expressed doubts that Atiku would get justice because “President Muhammadu Buhari has subverted the Supreme Court by the removal of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Walter Onnoghen, and the appointment of the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (Justice Muhammad Tanko).”

Agbakoba, who had earlier urged Atiku not to go to court to challenge the poll result, said his earlier advice was based on his view that the PDP presidential candidate would face “an uphill task, given the circumstances of challenging election results” in the country.

NNPC to penalise defaulters of Procurement Act

Group Managing Director of the NNPC,
Dr. Maikanti Baru

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru, on Wednesday, warned the management and staff of the oil firm against any action that contravenes the provisions of the Public Procurement Act in the award of contracts.

According to Baru, severe penalties await any defaulter of the stipulations in the Procurement Act.

Baru cautioned employees of the firm against contract splitting and accumulation, which he described as a deliberate act by procurement managers to subvert due process in the procurement process.He gave the warning at a Supply Chain Management workshop for NNPC Procurement Managers at the corporation’s headquarters in Abuja.

He restated the corporation’s commitment to transparency in every aspect of its operations, stressing that all procurements and contract awards in NNPC under his watch so far had been carried out in conformity with the Public Procurement Act.

Breaking: Why I want INEC to surrender election materials for inspection – Atiku

….as tribunal okays stand-down to deliver a ruling

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party,  PDP,  Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Wednesday, adduced reasons why he applied for an order to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,  to surrender all the materials used for the February 23 presidential election, for inspection.

He said the request was to establish that the exercise was fraught with manifest irregularities, including multiple thumb-printing of ballot papers, saying he intends to engage forensic experts to analyse the election materials.

Consequently, he prayed the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, for leave to be allowed to obtain some of the sensitive materials that INEC deployed for the presidential election. Meantime, the tribunal, stood-down its proceedings for one hour to enable it to consider the merit or otherwise of the request.

Women storm INEC headquarters, fault military involvement in elections

Women protesting
against
Independent National
Electoral Commission,
INEC, in Owerri.

The women who marched to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Abuja, on the auspices of Save Democracy Women, also called on the electoral umpire to demonstrate high level of non partisanship in Saturday’s elections.

Led by May Uneku, convener, Impact Future Nigeria, the women carried placards bearing various inscriptions to press home their demands.

Some of the placards read: “Nepotism must stop,” “Restore our stolen mandate,” “No place for tyranny in modern democracy’,” “Save our democracy,” “Black cloud over Nigeria,” “Let our votes count,” among others.