News

Reps working to realize LG autonomy, recognition for traditional institutions – Speaker Abbas

Published

5 months ago

July 5, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

…as Etsu Nupe Urge NASS Assembly to re-establish roles of traditional institutions

By Gloria Ikibah

The Speaker of the House of Representatives Rep. Abbas Tajudeen, has said that the 10th Assembly under his leadership has taken steps aimed at actualising constitutionally recognized roles for traditional institutions and the autonomy for Local Governments in Nigeria.

The Speaker, who stated this at the day-two of the ongoing ‘Open Week’ celebration to mark the first anniversary of the 10th House, noted that it is in furtherance of the objectives that the House constituted two special Standing Committees to drive the process of actualizing constitutional autonomy for Local Governments, as well as granting recognition to traditional institutions in Nigeria.

“The 10th House, under my leadership, will do its best to give recognition to the traditional rulers during our constitution amendment exercise. Many amendments were made in the past to grant constitutional recognition to traditional rulers, but they never saw the light of day.

“Because most of us in the House honestly believe that traditional institutions are the backbones of our society, we believe that the welfare of our people will be more enhanced with a legal role for the traditional institutions.

“We also believe the security of our country will be more enhanced if the traditional institutions are given better roles. That’s the reason from the onset, we decided to create Committees, two different ones, actually. One of them is the Committee on Traditional Institutions to drive the process of giving legal recognition to the traditional institutions in this coming constitutional amendment. The second one is the Committee on States and Local Governments,” he said.

Speaker Abbas added that “if we must make headway with the ongoing constitution amendment, state governments, State Houses of Assembly, Local Government Councils and their councilors must be considered. That’s the reason we decided that another committee dealing with issues of States and Local governments should come on board.

“These two Committees, we believe, will drive the process of reaching out to critical stakeholders in the states to ensure that the goal of local government autonomy is realized.”

Also contributing to the conversation as panelists were traditional rulers led by the Etsu Nupe Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, the Chairman, Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers, who recalled the historical background of traditional institutions in Nigeria.

He added that during the colonial era, the traditional institution was already established, which was why the colonialists went through the institution to administer their rules.

“So, we are urging this Assembly to use the ongoing constitution review exercise to re-establish the roles of traditional institutions in the country so that we can assist governments at all levels to monitor and maintain security and peace in our various domains.”

Also making case for traditional institutions having constitutional roles is the Nigerian Bar Association represented by the President, Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), who urged the leadership of the 10th National Assembly to revisit all legal and legislative encumbrances hindering the realization of the full potential of traditional institutions in the country.

He commended the Speaker for championing the cause of returning traditional institutions to their glory days by carving roles for them in the constitution, free from the overbearing influence of political actors.

He noted that for such roles to be effective and sustainable, the constitution must also take care of the issue of job security for the traditional rulers, whom he said are currently at the mercy of politicians.

Other panelists representing traditional substitutions from various parts of the country, as well as Members of the House also made case for the constitutional recognition of traditional institutions for the purposes of complementing government’s efforts toward maintaining peace and security.

They specifically harped on the need to create line items in the budget with a view to funding activities of traditional rulers in their various domains towards fighting insecurity and promoting peaceful coexistence among their subjects and settlers alike.

News

NECO accredits more foreign schools for SSCE, BECE

Published

7 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has given accreditation to more foreign schools to write the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

The Acting Director, Information and Public Relations, Mr. Azeez Sani, disclosed this in a statement.

The newly accredited schools are in Niger Republic and Equatorial Guinea.

“NECO Accreditation Team visited the Schools to assess their readiness to write the SSCE and BECE.

“The Accreditation Team inspected classrooms, laboratories, libraries, computer laboratories, workshops, examination halls and sport facilities to determine their adequacy and suitability for NECO Examinations.

“After a thorough evaluation and comprehensive assessment, the schools were granted full SSCE and full BECE accreditation status,” the statement said.

The statement added that the accreditation of additional foreign schools is a testament to NECO’s commitment to providing quality education and assessment beyond the shores of Nigeria.

“With its expanding global presence, NECO is poised to become a leading examination body in Africa, offering opportunities for students worldwide to benefits from its expertise, thus contributing to the advancement of education in Africa and beyond.”

In another development, the statement disclosed that candidates are participating in the on-going NECO SSCE External in Diffa, Niger Republic.

“The UNHCR School, Diffa, Niger Republic is the first NECO SSCE External Centre outside Nigeria.”

NECO examinations are now written by candidates in Benin Republic, Togo, Cote’ d’Ivoire, Niger Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Saudi Arabia.

News

Guardiola suffers worst defeat of career as Tottenham hammer Man City 4-0

Published

8 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, suffered the worst defeat of his managerial career as they lost 4-0 to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday night.

The Premier League champions were already on a run of four consecutive defeats ahead of the visit of the North London side.

James Maddison scored twice in the first half to set Spurs on their way to a sensational win.

Pedro Porro drilled in a third, before Brennan Johnson got on the scoresheet late in the game.

The result leaves City in second place with 23 points. They could go eight points behind Liverpool by the end of this Game Week.

Guardiola takes his men to Anfield next weekend.

News

FUOYE Re-Marks Exam Papers of Student Failed By Lecturer Over Sex-for-Grade Scandal, Secures Justice

Published

8 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Ekiti State, has cleared a female student, Ramota Olahanloye, to graduate following the re-marking of her final-year examination scripts.

Olahanloye had alleged that a lecturer, Dr. Anthony Agbegbedia, demanded sexual favours from her, and when she declined, he deliberately failed her in two final-year courses.

In a statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser on Media to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Wole Balogun, the university confirmed that Olahanloye’s allegations were investigated, and her scripts were re-marked.

“The young lady’s scripts were re-marked, and she performed fairly better than the scores initially awarded by Dr. Anthony Agbegbedia,” the statement read.

According to Balogun, the university management approved Olahanloye’s revised results, which qualified her for graduation.

“The university management has given executive approval for her results to be processed. She has since commenced her final clearance from relevant units of the university,” the statement added.

Balogun also disclosed that Agbegbedia had been sanctioned by the institution for his misconduct.

Olahanloye expressed her joy over the resolution of the case, saying, “I am happy that I have gotten justice, and I really appreciate the university Vice-Chancellor for setting up the committee that investigated the matter.

“I was shown my entire results, including the graduation list with my name on it. I have started my clearance as a graduating student of the university, and I am truly happy.”

Her father, Rasaki Olahanloye, also lauded the university for its commitment to justice.

“I can confirm to the world that FUOYE has served justice to my daughter. I was shown her upgraded results after her scripts were re-marked, and it is clear that she passed.

“The university fulfilled its promise to ensure fairness, and I appreciate the VC, Prof. Sunday Fasina, and the committee members for ensuring my daughter gets justice,” he said.