Student Leaders Urge Students' Union To Challenge Rustication And Suspension In Court

FROM THE LEADERSHIP OF THE UNION

Equity and Unity are the foundation; love, courage, wisdom and trust are pillars upon which a just society rests. On the 25th August, 2014 by 4pm, the leadership of the union summoned a meeting of the heads of departments, faculties, religious and other associations to give detailed report, evaluate and seek the yearnings and opinions of their students on how best to further approach the struggle at this critical moment of our history as they are the closest to the students they represent from their respective organization.

The very essence of the meeting is to incorporate all structures on campus as we embark on another phase of the struggle because if attention is given to unity and no affection is given to diversity, our world will experience true peace and progress.

After a detailed verbal report was given by the president of the union which was as communicated to the entire Great IFE students in the official release of the union on 24th Aug, 2014 titled “WELCOME BACK:THE GREAT ARMY OF COURAGE!”, the leaders spoke one after the other and debated the issues critically and the following are their resolved positions:

1. Massive payments made by stale students weakened the struggle and the strength of union leaders in executing it of which started before late registration threat of the management when finalist were paying because of the fear of not securing special electives and accommodation while the union leaders staked their studentship in fighting for students of which the students didn’t solidarized by complying with the None Payment directives given by their leaders to give the struggle a strong leverage.

2. The leaders frowned at the congresses called by the leadership of the union that led to the last set of protests lamenting that they were not representational of their students’ interests but that were peopled and hijacked by certain interests not in tandem with the generality of OAU students.

3. In view of the above, the leaders demanded that more of such meetings of heads of faculties, departments, religious bodies and other associations should frequently be called instead of congress, or better still call for referendum to test the true feelings of the majority of the students.

4. The leaders reiterated that their students won’t welcome any further protest or related actions that are capable of the academic calendar, but enjoined that other effective diplomatic mechanisms should be employed.

5. The leadership of the union should concentrate more on the freshmen fees to get it reduced further and get the management committed to the implementation of instalmental payment and other relief programs.

6. The challenging in court of those of us put under suspension order of rustication and the re-instatement of those suspended should be facilitated in due course.

However the leadership of the union whom are obliged to represent, amplify and magnify the good interest of the entire Great IFE students irrespective of prevailing circumstances such as threat of termination of their studentship by university management shall continue the struggle based on the opinions/wishes of the majority and strongly demur, decry and frown at the targeted victimization of students.

Conclusively, a letter was sent to the university management on 28th August, 2014 to request for the extension of normal registration of which in response to our request late registration has now been extended to 5th September 2014 for all students to have the opportunity of registering.

La lucha sigue... !

Signed
Shittu I. Olatayo
Secretary-General Ibikunle Isaac M. President.

OAU CDL Extends 2014/2015 Predegree Application

As expected, the Centre For Distance Learning arm of the Obafemi Awolowo University who is in charge of the Predegree Programme has announced the extension of the duration for the 2014/2015 Predegree application. The application will now close on Friday, 12th September, 2014.

Please understand that after this period, there may be no further extension as the entrance exam is likely to come up September.The application fees remain N15,000 and it is mandatory for all candidates to keep checking the website from time to time to know the Entrance Examination Date and also to print the Exam Slip.

 Read details about the application here and apply here

Awoites Rush To Meet Bed Space Clearance Deadline

As it was earlier announced that yesterday, Friday 29th August, 2014 will be the last day for students who were already given Bed Spaces to claim them by registering it with the Hall Managements.


In our visit to Awolowo Hall yesterday, students were seen in their large numbers queing in order to register themselves. The students were cooperative enough with the Porters registering them as the queue moved fast and smoothly. There was no problem as at the time of the visit and more students were trooping in to join the queue.

A students allocated to a room in Block 2 that our correspondent asked why he has left his accommodation reregistration late responded that it was not his fault. He said "The reason why I am trapped in this late rush is because my payment was not confirmed early enough. As a finalist, the Bed Space I applied for the will only be seen when my payment has been confirmed.

However, students allocated to the burnt Room 107, Block 7 in Awolowo Hall were told by the Portal to drop their documents and come back later in the day. It was not clear to us if they will be given another Bed Space or the repair is imminent.

Insurgency: NCC To Start Monitoring Phone Calls

In view of the unstable security situation in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, says security agencies will soon commence monitoring of all calls to enhance their operational activities in the country.


This Commission announced this recently at a special edition of Consumer Outreach programme organized by the commission at IBB Golf Club, Maitama, Abuja.

According to the commission, plans are in the offing to come up with a guideline that will guide the take-off of the plan in such a way that no subscriber’s right or privacy would be breached in the process.

Though, the Commission promised to ensure full protection of the rights of every consumer through the proposed guidelines, it however noted that there is no enabling law at the moment to guide the operators on such powers and called for a quick enactment of legislations to give the proposed guideline a legal backing by the time the implementation proper kicks off. According to the commission’s legal adviser, Mrs. Yetunde Akinloye, “In view of the worrisome security situation in the country, the security agencies are about to key into peoples’ conversation. We as a regulatory agency are coming with guidelines that will guide the operators on this. Though, at the moment, we do not have a law to guide how the operators should keep consumers privacy in conversation, we also need this guideline. to enhance the smooth implementation of the plan.”

Recall that last year Senator Isa Galaudu, PDP Kebbi North sponsored a bill entitled A Bill for an Act to Provide for Interception, Development and Protection of Communications Networks and Facilities for Public Interest and Other Related Matters 2013.

The bill seeks to give legal backing to relevant national chief security officers, national security agency, Department of State Services and Police to intercept communications considered prejudicial to national security or public interest.

The bill passed second reading in the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly and was referred to the Senate committees on Communication, Judiciary and National Security for further legislative input.

However, though the bill generated serious condemnations from different quarters going by wide spread fears of privacy breach it could bring about, it received overwhelming support in the Senate, in September last year.

But the NCC is promising that the soon to be released guidelines will take care of fears of privacy breach and ensure that the process does not affect genuine conversations.

In his opening remarks, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Engr. Ubale Maska said since the establishment of the Consumer Affairs Bureau, in 2001, the Commission had taken several initiatives to address numerous challenges consumers are facing by coming up with projects that will ensure and guarantee that consumer are well informed, educated and protected at all times.

Also corroborating him, Director Consumer Affairs Bureau of the Commission, Mrs. Maryam Bayi said, the Commission had made remarkable strides in its bid to protect the interest of telecom consumers, not just as a fulfillment of its mandate but also as commitment to ensure that Nigerian telecoms consumers get value for their money.

she explained that the Commission had come up with a number of regulations and initiatives for the purpose of protecting the telecom consumer interest. They include: the establishment of regulations on consumer code of practice, quality of service, enforcement, mobile number portability among others.

Also speaking, the Assistant Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Reuben Muoka described the regulation of the Nigerian telecom sector as a delicate balance for the commission. Muoka noted that the consumer outreach programme of the commission has not only made Nigerian consumers the most celebrated among other consumers in Nigerian economy but has also been recognized by the International telecommunication Union, ITU as an innovative initiative helping the commission to alleviate consumers problems.


Source: Vanguard News

Normal Registration Period Extended By A Week Again

 The extended period of Normal Registration of students for the 2013/2014 academic session has once again been extended.

The further extension is coming at a moment when many students are finding it real hard to register their courses online, even after their payment confirmation. Our visit to the Computer Building on Friday, 29th August which was initially set as the date for the commencement of the Late Registration with penalty saw students in their hundreds gathered to lodge complaints of various degree. Several complains ranging from the non-confirmation of their school fees, inability to register their core courses, inability to login to their e-portal account, inability to register for special electives even while we have them left to many other.

The Management has however granted the request of the Students' Union in relation to several obvious problems to graciously extend the period of normal registration by a solid week again. Now, Normal Registration will end on 4th September as the Late Registration with penalty will consequently be activated on the 5th September, 2014.

2014/15 UEFA Champions League Draw

2014/15 UEFA Champions League Draw

GROUP A

Atletico Madrid
Juventus
Olympiakos
Malmo

GROUP B

Real Madrid
FC Basel
Liverpool FC
Ludogrets

GROUP C

Benfica
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
AS Monaco

GROUP D

Arsenal
Borussia Dortmund
Galatasary
Anderlecht

GROUP E

Bayern Munchen
Manchester City
Cska Moscow
AS Roma

GROUP F

Barcelona
Paris Saint Germain PSG
AFC Ajax
APOEL Nicosia

GROUP G

Chelsea
FC Schalke 04
Sporting CP
NK Maribor

GROUP H

FC Porto
Shakhtar Donetsk
Athletic Bilbao
FC Bate Boeisov

Boko Haram Sponsor: Ihejirika And El-Rufai Accuse Each Other

ABUJA—FORMER Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Minister, Malam Nasir El-Rufai and immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd), Thursday, accused each other of sponsoring the deadly Boko Haram sect that has been terrorising many parts of northern Nigeria since 2011 with over 5000 people killed.

El-Rufai kick-started the accusations on his Facebook page with a post that read: “Breaking News: Sheriff and Ihejirika Just Named as Boko Haram Kingpins – Arise TV – August 28, 2014.’’
He said: “Australian hostage negotiator, Stephen Davis has just named former Borno Governor Ali Modu-Sheriff and immediate past Chief of Army Staff Lt-Gen Ihejirika (removed in January 2014) as the Boko Haram brains on ARISE NEWS.

“Davis said Boko Haram commanders that he has been negotiating with were the source of this information. The kingpins not only finance Boko Haram operations but select targets for assassination and execution. Finally, the truth about Boko Haram is coming out. Hopefully, the murderers of General Muhammadu Shuwa, the abductors of the Chibok girls, those truly responsible for the Nyanya bombings, and attempted assassination of General Buhari and Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi will be known.

“We hope the authorities will take the steps necessary to act on this revelation, and thereby discharge their duty to protect us, the citizens of Nigeria. That is just what it is, a hope!”
Reacting to the accusation, General Ihejirika countered that El-Rufai, who is a chieftain of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, is one of the front-line commanders of the terrorist group.

Speaking with Vanguard over El-Rufai’s allegation, Ihejirika said he is not surprised that this unimaginable allegation is coming from ‘one of the Boko Haram Commanders’ because “The (Commanders) including El-Rufai know where the problem is. He should stop deceiving Nigerians by trying to divert attention.”

According to Ihejirika, “When the Boko Haram operation started, supporters of the sect like El-Rufai said that there was nothing like Boko Haram and that the army was just killing innocent youths. If you also remember, not too long ago, some of their supporters including El-Rufai said that I was re-inventing the killing of the Ibos during the Biafra war following government’s determination to rid the country of terrorism.”

An obviously angry Ihejirika, who spoke on phone, said: “The likes of El-Rufai started the campaign of human right abuses in order to divert international attention from the heinous crime being committed by the Boko Haram terrorists.”

Ihejirika recalled recent allegations that he took away N48 billion, an amount of money he said is still in the coffers of the Ministry of Defence and can be verified by anybody, adding that he was not surprised that this allegation is coming from the likes of El-Rufai who started the campaign.
“The likes of El-Rufai have been supporting Boko Haram. In fact, El-Rufai and his likes are the same group of people that ensured the army did not get the requested equipment to deal with this menace once and for all, as they used their cohorts to tell the government that procuring modern equipment was not necessary.”

Recalling that the same El-Rufai went to This Day Newspaper premises to grant interview to condemn security forces for the efforts to rid the country of the senseless mayhem unleashed by the terrorists, Ihejirika said: “At the onset of this crisis, I was the first person to declare that the country was at war but a group of sponsors led by El-Rufai disagreed, saying that it was not true.
“It is the same group of El-Rufai that started the human rights abuses campaign. It was done in order to block any international assistance after the state of emergency was declared and the sect was initially tamed. That gave Boko Haram time and respite to build up again”.

Furthermore, General Ihejirika said that when the United States was to initially declare Boko Haram a terrorist organization, the same El-Rufai and his group mounted pressure on the international community, using alleged human rights abuses as campaign strategy.

The former Army Chief revealed that this same group including El-Rufai has taken further steps in support of Boko Haram, “which I cannot disclose for now”.

Shortly after his tenure came to an end as COAS, some Northern political elites started the crusade for General Ihejirika to be summoned before the International Criminal Court in the Hague claiming that he killed their sons and daughters innocently in the name of containing the rapid spread of Boko Haram insurgency in the country.

He not only established the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army with headquarters in Maiduguri, he established new Army Brigades, Counter Terrorism Schools in Kachia and Jaji as well as the Terrorism Training School.

A screenshot of  El-Rufai’s post on his Facebook wall.

Source: Vanguard News