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Ooni of Ife cautions Sunday Igboho against politicians, lauds campaign against herdsmen
Abimbola Abatta, Osogbo
Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has warned popular Yoruba rights activist, Sunday Adeyemo also known as Sunday Igboho, to watch out for politicians seeking to hijack his campaign against the herdsmen menace in the South West.
Oba Adeyeye advised Igboho not to take laws into his hands but allow constituted authorities to handle the herdsmen menace.
The Ooni praised Igboho for taking on the campaign against herdsmen, saying he has done very well.
He, however, urged him to back down so that government can take over the battle to avoid politicians hijacking the movement.
The monarch said: “Let us be very objective. He (Igboho) is being a mouthpiece for the downtrodden.
“He came up and everybody is listening now, but my advice to him as a traditional ruler is that he needs to be very careful so that the politicians won’t hijack the whole motive from him.
“He has done well and we’ve already praised him but he shouldn’t take laws into his hands. We have the governor there. He is the chief security officer of the state, and Mr President has invited him. Let the right people that are being authorised to do what is right do it.
“Igboho has done well, and the world has heard him but everything should be done in moderation.
“We know that the bandits are everywhere. He shouldn’t take laws into his hands. We have laws in this country, and we should follow it. Let the right people do and follow what they are supposed to do.”
Stating that traditional rulers have a role to play, the Ooni said, “It is not as if we will now go out to criticise them. We are not politicians, we are traditional rulers; we should be respected, we should be neutral and we should accommodate all and sundry.
“Traditional rulers have a role to play. We should be very neutral and so far so good, we have been trying to be neutral. Whatever this government is doing, we always stand up to try and see how to support them.”
By Matthew Denis
The Federal Ministry of Works has terminated contract numbers 6,136, 6,137 and 6,138 with Mothercat Ltd, Dantata & Sawoe Construction Ltd and RCC Ltd, respectively.
The projects affected by the termination are the dualisation of Obajana – Benin road, section II (Okene – Auchi) in Kogi/Edo State; the dualisation of Obajana – Benin road, section III (Auchi – Ehor) in Edo State and the dualisation of Obajana – Benin road section IV (Ehor – Benin) in Edo State.
This was contained in a statement released by Orji Uchenna Orji, Special Adviser (Media) to the Minister of Works on Monday.
According to the government, the termination became necessary in view of the alleged inordinate delay by the affected companies in job performance and their failure, neglect and refusal to fulfil their contractual obligations as required by the Standard Conditions of Contract.
Orji stated that this had affected the timely completion of the projects and thus resulted in the expiration of the contracts by effluxion of time.
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Ogbe has stated that the board remains on track to achieve its target of achieving 70 percent local participation in the oil and gas industry by 2027.
The NCDMB ES made this known yesterday at the Nigerian Oil and Gas conference (NOG) holding in Abuja.
Engr. Ogbe, speaking at the opening of the Nigerian Content Seminar, said jobs in the industry can only be out-sourced when there was no in-country capacity.
He said the board would continue its stringent monitoring of projects in the country to ensure that where local capacity exists, Nigeria companies were given the opportunity to bid for the jobs.
He stressed that the “board will only approve local content plans that consist of contractors meeting the legal definition of Nigerian companies and demonstrating the capacity to execute projects within Nigeria.”
He added the NCDMB would continue to ensure that all services provided in the industry “generate values within the country.”
On his part, the Director, project Certification and Authorisation, NCDMB, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele said a lot of progress has been made in growing local capacity in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, disclosing there are currently over 13,000 indigenous oil service firms registered by the board and over 120 operators registered also.
The Federal Government has announced that the Governing Councils of Federal universities, polytechnics, and other tertiary institutions will be inaugurated on July 4, 2024. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has rejected the composition of the newly constituted governing councils, stating that the list is dominated by retired politicians rather than experts in academia or relevant fields.
ASUU’s national President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, expressed concerns over the trend in the appointment process, emphasising that the union demanded the reinstatement of the ‘illegally’ dissolved governing councils, not the constitution of new ones.
Despite ASUU’s ultimatum, the Federal Government has proceeded with the inauguration, which is expected to take place on July 4.
President Bola Tinubu approved the reconstitution of the Governing Councils and Boards of federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, with 560 individuals appointed to the governing councils and boards of Federal Government-owned tertiary institutions.
The approval was given for the effective management of Nigerian tertiary institutions across the country.
It was gathered that the Acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Prof. Aisha Maikudi, announced the inauguration date during her acceptance speech on Monday, while assuming the institution’s affairs.
A total of 560 individuals were appointed to the governing councils and boards of Federal Government-owned tertiary institutions.
For the University of Ibadan, the President appointed Chief Bisi Akande as the Chairman of the governing council. The board members are Alexander Ajipe, Nelson Alapa, Ifeoma Nwankwo, and Prof. Emmanuel Alo.
Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) was appointed as the Chairman of the governing council of the University of Lagos. The council members are Bello Kumo, Prof. Idowu Mark, Niyi Akande, and Bola Njoku.
Isa Yuguda chairs the board of the National Open University. The council members are Goddy Etta, Yomi Balogun, Deborah Apah, and Hingah Biem.
Siyan Oyeweso has been named as the chairperson of the governing council of Obafemi Awolowo University. Joining him are Edward Sarki, Joseph Abaagu, Wahaab Owokoniran, and Abubakar Kachaalla, who have been appointed as council members.
Additionally, Adebayo Shittu, Muiz Banire, and Senator Florence Ita Giwa have been appointed as chairpersons of the governing boards for David Umahi University of Medicine in Ebonyi State, Federal University of Transportation in Katsina State, and Federal Polytechnic in Ugep, Cross River State, respectively, among others.
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