News

Julius Abure Sacked As Party Chair, As Former Finance Minister Takes Over The Helm

The Labour Party (LP) has sacked the national chairman of the party, Comrade Julius Abure, and members of the National Executive Committee (NEC). The party set up a 29-member caretaker committee, with the former finance minister, Senator Esther Nenadi Usman, as chairman and Hon. Darlington Nwokocha as secretary.

The decision was the outcome of the “duly constituted” NEC and expanded stakeholders’ meeting hosted in Umuahia by the governor of Abia State, Mr. Alex Otti, the party’s only governor.

The meeting, chaired by the presidential candidate of LP in the 2023 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, was well-attended by prominent party members, including all LP federal and state lawmakers.

Abure and his allies were not at the meeting.

The stakeholders insisted that Abure’s tenure had expired in June, hence, he no longer had any legitimacy to continue in the capacity of national chairman.

A five-point communique read by the LP 2023 deputy governorship candidate in Plateau State, Hon. Edward Pwajok, said the membership of the committee reflected “various interests and tendencies” in the party.

The critical interests include the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Senate, House of Representatives, Houses of Assembly, and the governorship candidates of LP in 2023.

According to the communique, the caretaker committee “should immediately ensure” that the congresses of the whole party were conducted at ward, local government, state and national levels “as soon as possible”.

The caretaker committee would preside over the affairs of LP in the next three months within which new leaders would emerge from ward to national levels after the party congresses.

The stakeholders enjoined “all party members to support the caretaker committee to carry out its mandate”.

Obi commended Otti for his efforts to reposition the party by ensuring that the meeting held as planned.

He said, “We consulted and discussed” before agreeing on the need to convene the expanded stakeholders’ meeting in order to resolve the troubling issues affecting LP.

The former Anambra State governor told his party members that they already knew “my own position” in the crisis rocking the party.

Obi said because of the position he had taken, “I have been called all sorts of names. Some said I’m not serious; some said I’m weak and should not present myself again as presidential candidate.”

He stated that unsavoury utterances from people will not change his position.

Obi added, “But I want due process to be followed. Whatever we are going to do in future, I want everybody to be free to participate in it. In going forward, let everybody learn to sacrifice for the party.”

The LP national leader spoke in a conciliatory tone. He said the meeting was not meant to suspend or sack party members, hence, “nobody would be secluded after this meeting”.

Usman said the caretaker committee had been saddled with “a big responsibility”.

But she assured the party stakeholders and elders that the committee would work to put LP back to its proper footing.

News

FULL LIST: Covenant emerges Nigeria’s best university for 2024

Covenant University has again secured the top spot in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024.

The ranking, which evaluates universities across various performance metrics, placed the Ota-based institution ahead of other leading Nigerian universities, reaffirming its position as a higher-education leader.

The rankings, which surveyed 1,907 universities across 108 countries, assessed the institutions based on 18 performance indicators across five key areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook.

CU emerged as Nigeria’s best, outperforming the University of Ibadan, the Federal University of Technology Akure, and the University of Lagos, which ranked second, third, and fourth respectively

The 2024 list also reflected a shift in the global higher education landscape, with more than 134 million citations from 16.5 million research publications analyzed and survey responses from over 68,000 scholars collected globally.

Other Nigerian universities making the top ten include Bayero University, University of Ilorin, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Afe Babalola University. The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta also earned a spot in the top tier, securing 10th place.

1. Covenant University

2. University of Ibadan

3. Federal University of Technology Akure

4. University of Lagos

5. Bayero University

6. University of Ilorin

7. University of Nigeria, Nsukka

8. Afe Babalola University

9. University of Benin

10. Federal University ofAgriculture, Abeokuta

11. Ladoke Akintola University of Technology

12. Lagos State University

13. Nnamdi Azikiwe University

14. Obafemi Awolowo University

15. University of Port Harcourt

16. Abia State University

17. Akwa Ibom State University

18. Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike

19. Babcock University

20. Baze University

21. Bells University of Technology

22. Benson Idahosa University

23. Delta State University, Abraka

24. Edo State University, Uzairue

25. Edwin Clarke University

26. Elizade University

27. Evangel University, Akaeze

29. Federal University of Kashere

30. Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun

31. Federal University of Technology, Minna

32. Federal University of Technology, Owerri

33. Fountain University

34. Landmark University

35. Nasarawa State University, Keffi

36. Niger Delta University

37. Plateau State University, Bokkos

38. Thomas Adewumi University

39. Veritas University, Abuja

40. Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kan

News

Court bars VIO from confiscating vehicles, imposing fines on motorists

A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a ruling prohibiting the Directorate of Road Traffic Services, commonly known as the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), from stopping vehicles on the road, impounding or confiscating them, and imposing fines on motorists.

The judgment, delivered by Justice Evelyn Maha on October 2, stems from a fundamental rights enforcement suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1695/2023) filed by human rights activist and public interest attorney Abubakar Marshal.

In her ruling, Justice Maha affirmed Marshal’s assertion that there is no legal basis for the VIO and its officials to stop, impound, or confiscate vehicles or to levy fines against motorists.

The order also extends to the Director of Road Transport, the Area Commander in Jabi, and the Team Leader in Jabi, with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) listed as a respondent

Additionally, the court issued a restraining order against the respondents, preventing them and their agents from impounding or confiscating vehicles or imposing fines, labeling such actions as wrongful, oppressive, and unlawful.

Justice Maha further granted a perpetual injunction to protect the rights of Nigerians, ensuring their freedom of movement, presumption of innocence, and right to own property without lawful justification.

This landmark ruling is expected to have significant implications for traffic enforcement practices and motorists’ rights in Nigeria.

Celebs

Falana denies demanding ₦10m from Bobrisky for Presidential Pardon

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has dismissed the allegation that Idris Okuneye aka Bobrisky while serving his six-month jail sentence from a purported private apartment reached out to him to seek a presidential pardon.

In a recent viral video, Martins Otse aka VeryDarkMan, claimed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) dropped the money laundering charges against the popular cross-dresser after receiving ₦15 million.

In a recorded conversation Otse played online, a voice believed to be Bobrisky’s was heard saying Falana and his son, Folarin Falana aka Falz, tried to get him a presidential pardon in exchange for ₦10,000,000.

While releasing the audio conversation aimed at exposing the alleged corruption involving Bobrisky and officials of the EFCC and the Nigeria Correctional Service, Otse said the Falanas would lose the respect he has for them if the cross-dresser’s claims about them were true.

In response to the allegation, the lawyer while speaking on Channels TV on Thursday, October 3, 2024, debunked the claim, saying he has never met Bobrisky.

“Bobrisky never spoke to me. I have never met him. I do not know him from Adam. He allegedly spoke to my son, Folarin (Falz),” he said.

Contrary to the presidential pardon claim, Falana said the cross-dresser approached Falz his son on May 4, requesting for ₦3 million to be placed in a special part of the prison.

“My son said this guy (Bobrisky) was appealing to people for assistance and called my son on May 4 or thereabout this year and said can you give me ₦3 million to be placed in a special part of the prison — we call it VIP section.

“And my son said, ‘are you calling me under the authorization of the superintendent of prisons?’ He said no. Then Falz said ‘don’t call me again. I’m unable to assist you to bribe the prison authorities. And be very careful, since you are already in jail for an offence. Please, if you are going to call me next time, you either do it through the superintendent, or you write a letter endorsed by the prison authorities.” the Lagos lawyer said.

Falana emphasized that his son has never negotiated fees on behalf of anybody.

Having threatened to institute legal action against Otse, the human rights lawyer described his action as infantile radicalism, saying he would make him a deterrent to other social media users who use their platforms to defame people.

Meanwhile, the EFCC’s head of the prosecution team, Bilikisu Bala, has denied the bribery allegation against the commission.

While appearing before the House of Reps committee investigating the matter, Bala said the anti-corruption agency legally dropped the money laundering charges against the controversial cross-dresser because the EFCC could not sustain the charges.