News

Reps Criticises TETFund Boss, Others For Shunning Probe

Published

5 months ago

July 10, 2024

By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives Committee on Federal Character on Tuesday criticised the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Architect Sonny Echono, for failing to appear at an investigative hearing to defend the activities of the agency.

Chairman of the committee, Rep. Idris Wase, expressed displeasure over the fact that Echono failed to turn up even after several invitations.

Wase also berated the Industrial Training Fund ITF, Transmission Company of Nigeria TCN, National Sugar Development Council for also failing to honour the Committee’s invitation.

According to the chairman, these agencies were taking the committee for granted over their persistent refusal to honour invitations, even as he said that henceforth it would not be tolerated.

The representative of the Executive Secretary of TETFund at the meeting, Babatunde Oladeji, who is the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation told the committee that the Executive Secretary was away on official leave.

But Rep. Wase, stressed that all agencies of government must be accountable and transparent to the Nigerian people.

He said henceforth they would be sanctioned in accordance to the law if they continue to avoid the parliament.

He said, “You must be accountable to the House. This is the last time. Next time the committee would invoke its powers provided for in the constitution

“You are appearing before the House of Representatives Committee and we are not going to take this nonsense any longer.

“This is a House that you should be giving account to. And I don’t know the instrument that gave you the power to operate. The same parliament that gave you the powers, what makes you think that they are useless here. We are here on behalf of all Nigerians. We keep writing and you keep neglecting us. Where do you draw your powers from? You are spiting the entire country.

“We cannot let any agency or ministry take us for granted because without us, they don’t exist. It is unacceptable for them to keep disrespecting this committee”.

He said because of the way heads of agencies were treating the parliament with levity, the committee had to advertise in three national dailies apart from the letters.

“I am disappointed with the Executive Secretary of Tetfund. He was a former federal permanent secretary. I expect him to be more compliant than any other person as he should know the rudiments of civil service better. He chose to neglect it. We would not take it.

“The Committee has not been doing it’s job properly in the past that is why people think they can do anything and carry on with it. It would not be business as usual.

“This is your last warning. Tell him that the Committee is not willing to go the way he thinks. Or take the Committee for granted. But if he thinks he has the power to do that, then we shall meet at the appropriate point.bWe will make every chief executive accountable. They should not test the will of the Committee,” he told the representative of the Tetfund Boss.

News

NECO accredits more foreign schools for SSCE, BECE

Published

4 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

5 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

5 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.