Ibikunle, Olori Agree To A Cease Fire Following ASUU's Intervention

The rift between the Students Uniion President, Ibikunle Isaac Motunrayo and the Vice President of the Students Union, Funmilola Oladejo a.k.a Olori may have ended following the intervention of the national chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU).

ASUU waded into the crisis and effected a meeting between the two major parties involved and they both tendered their grievances. After a whole lot of discussion, a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) was signed by Ibikunle and Olori. Below were the resolutions jointly agreed to by them:

1. Immediate ceasefire on physical assault and media attack was reached by all present.
2. The process for the reinstatement of all suspended students should begin immediately.
3.  All detained students and others should be released with an undertaking that nothing must happen to the opposition within and outside OAU campus.
4. A student congress should be called by the Union leadership between the first and second week of  second semester (Rain semester), and under the observation of ASUU representatives and periodic congress should be held henceforth.
5. The stakeholders were agreed on the need to strengthen the EXCO as a TEAM rather than distract the process of peace and safety with impeachment moves.
6. The paraded students should be given psychological therapy.
7. Everyone should work for the progress and interest of the Union.
8. ASUU will take care of the bills of the hospitalized students.

INEC Recruiting Ad-Hoc Staff For 2015 General Elections

INEC Recruiting Ad-Hoc Staffs For 2015 General Elections

DEADLINE: 11th December, 2014

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is set to revalidate and upgrade its Ad-Hoc Staff Recruitment Databank in preparation for the forth-coming 2015 General Elections. The positions identified and the respective job descriptions are State Constituency Returning Officers, Senatorial District Constituency Returning Officers, Federal Constituency Returning Officers, State Assembly Constituency Returning Officers, Collation Officers, Supervisory Presiding Officers, Presiding Officers, Assistant Presiding Officers.

ELIGIBILITY

 

Outlined below are the various positions available and their requirements, Please make sure you read the instructions below before you begin your registration.

STATE CONSTITUENCY RETURNING OFFICER

Requirement: Must be a Serving Vice Chancellor of any University or Retired Justice/Judge of Federal High Court.

SENATORIAL/NATIONAL AND STATE CONSTITUENCY RETURNING OFFICER

Requirement: Must be a Serving Professor in any Federal Tertiary Institution or Retired Justice/Judge of Federal High Court.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA (LGA) COLLATION OFFICER

Requirement: Must be A Lecturer of Federal Tertiary Institution Or Member of the following Professional Associations (NMA, ANAN, PSN, NSE, NIA, NIQS)

SUPERVISORY PRESIDING OFFICER

Requirement: Must be an INEC Staff or Federal Public Servant (Ministries, Departments and Agencies) Grade Level 10-14 at State Level.

PRESIDING OFFICER

Requirement: Must be a serving NYSC Member.

ASSISTANT PRESIDING OFFICER

Requirement: Must be a serving NYSC Member , Student of penultimate year in Federal Tertiary Institutions, Former NYSC Member that participated in 2011-date Electoral activities or Federal Government Employee Grade Level 07-09 possessing minimum of National Diploma/equivalent at State Level.

Returning enrollees should enroll based on the appropriate category that currently applies to them.

If you wish to begin your registration now click here
 
For detailed job description of the positions identified, please goto information for Electoral Officials on the Home Page of the website.

Release These Suspects Now!

RELEASE THESE SUSPECTS NOW!!!

It is quite unfortunate that some two young men suspected to be cultists have been held up in Awolowo Hall for about 24 hours since their arrest by some students. Before aberration becomes a tradition on this sacred land, we have to reason logically and weigh arguments carefully from the two factions involved else the innocent ones will be condemned unjustly. The peculiarity of the examination time and urgency of the message contained in this article will not give me the opportunity to explain things the way I see them but hopefully, I will write again one of these days.

The two suspected cultists have been said to have confessed to the allegations leveled against them but without mincing words, that was done under duress and before the fiery ‘Court of Awoites’. Headboy had a similar issue yesterday! The same faction that was attacked or that engaged these suspected cultists somewhere outside the campus are the same people moderating their case, I ask myself, can one be a Judge in his own case?

I am not a Law student but I have friends who are students in the Faculty of Law and I read about these things, God forbid, if anything bad happens to these young men that have been beaten blue black and held up for this long, many innocent Awoites will not be spared on a good day because no competent Court of Law has pronounced these ones guilty, hence are still presumed innocent!
I will not but plead with Great Ife students to understand the current political gulf in our Union and the two obvious factions who can do anything within their powers to pervade and propagate propaganda to gain students’ favour at any time. We are intellectuals and we should not be easily swayed away by their words. Our judgement should be premised on nothing but fair hearing before we take sides.

I call on all Great Ife students who recognize human right to freedom and expression to join me to call for the immediate release of these imprisoned ones now!

Two wrongs can never make a right! Illegality can never be legal!! It was Hon. Headboy yesterday, it may be you or me tomorrow!!!

PRESS RELEASE: Students' Union Leaders Appreciate Jonathan, Condemn 'Political Tools'

PRESS RELEASE

Revolutionary greetings to all and sundry in the South West Zone, Osun state, Ife community and the generality of Great Ife Students on a successful host of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR for a special meeting with the Council of Obas in South West.

The leadership of the Students’ Union is appreciative of the listening character of the President as well as the efforts of individuals who facilitated the meeting with the President. It is imperative at this point to relay the product of the discussion with the President. The Speaker of the SRC addressed the President and submitted the protest letter which he personally received and gave assurances that the major issue in the letter – increment in fees is going to be addressed holistically in no long time as there are other schools that are affected. He committed himself to address welfare issues that affect OAU specifically.

Although some self-centered and politically-sponsored individuals attempted to unleash their demonic resolutions to deter and dissuade the union leaders from making pressing demands that will enhance the welfare of Great Ife students on campus, to make necessary demands for the reversal of fees and the reinstatement of some of our suspended students from the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. On his way out, the president stepped out to the cheers of the students, receiving a lot of applause from the entirety of Great Ife students and commuters having heard that he had committed himself on the increment.
Meanwhile, just as the Union President conveyed to His Excellency, we again implore the president to stick to his promise, as a man of honour and integrity, as Great Ife students are in great anticipation and expectance. The cheers you received today at the time you were leaving were premised on the fact that we believed you will address the increment immediately. Mr President, the reversal of increased fees should also be extended to all Federal Universities and pump funds into education in the interest of the country.

However, we condemn the attitude of some individuals who portrayed themselves as elements of frustration and cheap political tools. Through this medium, we warn them to stay away from OAU campus as they are not unknown to the leadership of the union. We maintain our ground as Intellectual Fighters for Emancipation and not as uncoordinated confusionists and anarchists.

The leadership of the Union is very much undistracted in the maximization of this opportunity to solve the myriad of problems confronting Great IFE students. We also remain committed to the execution of our proposed projects and the completion of ongoing ones – Angola and Mozambique hall water projects, Great IFE app, Union website, and buses for campus shuttle, union hostel, among others.


La Lucha Sigue…
SGNED:
BAMIDELE OLUDARE J. IBIKUNLE ISAAC M.
P.R.O President

I Regret Not Having Yoruba As Speaker -Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday publicly lamented that he was unable to make a Yoruba politician the Speaker of the House of Representatives after 2011 general elections because of the selfish agenda of some Yoruba leaders.

He spoke at the Yoruba Unity Summit with the theme: “National Development: Wither the Yoruba,” which held at the Oduduwa Hall of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

Jonathan who was the special guest of honour at the event organised by the Yoruba Unity Forum, said he recognised the Southwest as a key player in the country and was still haunted by that unfortunate incident in 2011 when his desire to repay the Yoruba for their support for him was lost.

Mulikat Akande had then vied to be Speaker of the House of Representatives but lost to Aminu Tambuwal of the Northwest because of inadequate support from her Southwestern colleagues.

Recalling the events, the President said: “I thank you all for the support in the past elections. One of the problems I faced in the National Assembly is that I felt the right thing should be done because our party, the PDP, has a formula.

“We have six geo-political zones in the country and when the President emerges from one of the geo-political zones, the Vice-President emerges from another geo-political zone, the rest core offices, the Senate President, the Speaker, Secretary to Federal Government, the chairman of the party must come from different geo-political zones.
“The idea is that, whenever we are distributing board positions and some of these appointments, whenever we are appointing ministers, all these people sit to take decisions. In that case we want all the geo-political zones to be in the inner caucus that take critical decisions.

“The last time, it was difficult for me because I insisted that the Southwest must get the Speaker. Of course, I couldn’t go through with it because some of us within the Southwest didn’t want it, based on some personal reasons. I am still suffering from that till today.

“That is one of the reasons the leaders said, this time around, we must work collectively so that whatever position is zoned to the Southwest, we should get that position. People should not rob it from us.”

He expressed his belief in one Nigeria and challenged the Yoruba to be united even as he declared that the contributions of the Southwest to national unity would always be cherished.

Jonathan also noted the significance of the Southwest in the nation’s economy as he recalled that the region, particularly Lagos and Ogun states, control 55 per cent of the economy, a reason he remains committed to providing the people with infrastructure, electricity and other resources to further boost the economy.

“With unity, we can go to the moon. The Yoruba will not be left behind,” he added.

The President noted that the Yoruba had joined the national political fray with vigour and enterprise and were never afraid of internal debate among themselves, a reason for their being in the vanguard of demand for a national conference, as had just been concluded by his administration.

He again promised to implement the recommendations of the conference although he pointed out that there were some things he could not say or do immediately, as they could be deliberately given partisan consideration by desperate politicians who “are even ready to kill.”

Also, Akande noted that the Southwest had been relegated in the political arrangement of the nation not due to any deliberate action of Jonathan but because of Yoruba disunity.

“We should support his re-election bid, and we believe that he will reward us by reinstating us to our rightful place,” she stated.

In his fiery remarks, Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, urged President Jonathan not to be bothered or intimidated by former President Obasanjo’s criticisms because they are only made out of spite, which cannot be appeased.


Source
Photo Credit: State House Photo

Call For Papers; Elections: Means To What Ends?

As an event to mark Abiodun Omonijo’s birthday on the 1st of January 2015, we call on everyone who is passionate and still believe in the possibility of a better world to submit papers of not more than 2000 words on the theme; ELECTIONS: MEANS TO WHAT ENDS?

In writing these papers, ideas should be channeled at providing solutions to the problems that we are all aware of already. This collection will be published online at abiodunomonijo.wordpress.com on the 1st of January, 2015. Interested writers should send their papers to abiodunomonijobiz@gmail.com between 1st Decmber-25th December, 2014
THEME: ELECTIONS: MEANS TO WHAT ENDS?

SUBTHEMES:

1. THE MEDIA AND ELECTIONS: THE PROS AND THE CONS
2. CITIZENS AND POLITICAL APATHY: POSSIBLE ENDS
3. ELECTORAL MACHINATIONS : STOMACH INFRASTRUCTURE, GODFATHERISM, LOBBYING, RIGGING . . .
4. YOUTH INVOVLEMENT: WHAT ‘IS’ AND WHAT ‘OUGHT’ TO BE THE ELECTORAL PROCESS

Thanks.

Comrade Oye Slaps Fresher, Case To Be Moderated Today

By Olanrewaju Oyedeji

Angola Hall of Residence in Obafemi Awolowo University was another theatre of protest yesterday as students fought against alleged infringement on the right of their colleague who was slapped and abused by the Financial Secretary of the Students' Union, Awoyemi Omolayo Sogo a.k.a Comrade Oye.

The Financial Secretary came with the President of OAU SU to commission the water project supposedly done by the Ibikunle led administration.After the commissioning, Comrade Oye was involved in an argument with a Part 1 English student named Joy, he threatened to slap the Part 1 guy who saw it as a joke. Comrade Oye carried out his threat and landed a slap on face of Joy, not feeling any remorse for his actions, the aforementioned comrade threatened to slap the freshman again. This irked Angolans who witnessed the saga demanded that he apologize which Comrade Oye declined.
Students saw this as an affront on their right and clamoured that he be given the Scientific Maximum Shishi(SMS) since he would not apologize. The SU President who was also present at the scene could not achieve anything with his entreaties as the students remain angered. Things almost got out of hand when students in their numbers mobbed Comrade Oye stating that he would not leave unless if he is made to pass through SMS. Com Oye was eventually whisked to the Health Centre to prevent further attack on tghe Union officer.

Not Moved by this action, Comrade Ibiyemi, the Angola Hall chairman mobilized Angola Hall residents to move enmass to the Health Centre insisting that justice must be served.

After much deliberation and an undertaking signed by Angolans and Students Union CEC members, the case was adjourned till 12pm today for proper moderation.