Tragedy was averted following a horrific truck accident earlier today in Imo state.
According to reports, the truck driver who was said to be on top speed - lost control of the vehicle and rammed into a shop at Umualumaku Umueze, Okigwe area of the state.
It was gathered that no life was lost in the accident as people fled before the truck could reach the shop.
Residents of the area are calling on drivers to be careful on how they drive especially in this festive season.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has staged a walkout from the meeting with a federal government delegation.
The government delegation was led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.
The university lecturers embarked on an indefinite strike on November 4, demanding improved funding of universities and implementation of previous agreements with the government.
The National President of ASUU, Biodun Ogunyemi, led the union’s delegation to Monday’s meeting.
The ASUU delegation arrived at the ministry at exactly 5:00 p.m. but no member of the federal government delegation was around as at this time.
The government delegation led by the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, arrived at exactly 6:00 p.m.
The minister of education, Adamu Adamu, was absent at the time the meeting started.
Before the walkout and at the start of the meeting, Mr Ngige told the lecturers that he hopes a consensus on most of the issues is reached at the end of the meeting.
He assured the union that attention will be paid to three critical demands, which are salary shortfall, university revitalisation and earned allowances of lecturers.
…Appreciates Gov. Ugwuanyi’s magnanimity, love
Workers of Enugu State confirmed receipt of the 13th month salary as 2018 Christmas bonus on Monday, from Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s administration.
Confirming the news, the Chairman of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Enugu State Council, Comrade Igbokwe Chukwuma Igbokwe disclosed that “some workers started calling me this evening that they have received alert for the 13th month salary”.
The elated labour leader had in a letter issued to Gov. Ugwuanyi, today, which was co-signed by his secretary, Comrade Benneth Asogwa, appreciated the governor’s “magnanimity for the approval and payment of the 13th month salary (Christmas bonus) to the civil servants and workers of the state-owned parastatals in Enugu State”.
They stated that the Congress was delighted that “for the first time the state-owned parastatals will be paid 13th month salary alongside their colleges in the civil service”.
The Congress noted that the governor’s kind gesture towards the civil/public servants of the state has “demonstrated your continuous love for the workers of Enugu State by putting smiles on their faces in this Christmas season”.
They therefore, pledged their unflinching support for the success of his administration.
Truly, Enugu State is in the hands of God.
In the mood of Christmas and welfare outreach, RCCG, Hall of Mercy Parish, Bwari, Abuja provided food items to members and non-members of the church at half the market price. Some items like clothes, bags, shoes etc where made available for free.
A bag of rice sold in the market for N18,000 was sold at the church for N9,000. Half bag sold in the market for N9,000 was sold for N4,500 in the church. Other food items like groundnut oil, tomatoes, pepper etc, were sold in the church at half the market price, just to reach out to those in need who cannot afford the exorbitant prices of those items in the market.
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Barring last minute changes, former Governor of kano state Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso have concluded plans to return to the All Progressive Congress (APC), from the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Our reporter learnt on good authority that the Senator representing Kano central Kwankwaso, have been sending Emissaries to the Presidency to pave way for his return into the fold of the APC again. It would be recalled that Kwankwaso alongside 12 other Senators in July, 2018 defected to the PDP.
Kwankwaso vied for the office of the Presidency under the platform of the PDP and finished 4th in the presidential race. Impeccable source in the Kwankwassiyya camp told this newspaper that, the Senator is not happy with some developments in the PDP and feel uncomfortable.
The sources added that as at the time of filling this report the PDP Presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar hasn’t not release a dime to campaign in kano, noting that Kwankwaso had allegedly submitted a proposal of over N1 Billion to Atiku. Since the request was tabled, Atiku have kept mum, after series of reminders were sent to him by Kwankwaso. Kwankwaso is equally angry, Atiku didn’t appoint him campaign cordinator in the North-west, considering his wealth of experience.
“ I can confirm to you that Oga is not happy about so many decisions that are not going his way, I don’t see him staying in PDP”. Miffed by this the former Governor have consulted widely and have concluded to return to the APC. The source revealed that the only obstacle on his way back to APC is the insistence of those in the Presidency that he (Kwankwaso) should ‘ go and mend faces with the state Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.’ Kwankwaso is said to be very upset with that decision which he perceived as condescending low to plead with a man he installed who he felt betrayed him. Another factor troubling the former Presidential aspirant is the disquiet in his Kwankwassiyya camp, since he allegedly imposed his brother in-law Alhaji Abba Kabiru Yusuf as the PDP governorship candidate.
Many of his allies are not happy with the alleged imposition of his In-law, which has since led to the exit of his staunch supporters of the duo of General Idris Bello Danbazzau (RTD), and Hajiya Balaraba Ibrahim who joined the APC recently. Our reporter gathered reliably that many of his close allies are on their way back to the APC, which include the national chairman of Kwankwassiyya movement former Secretary to the State Government Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, former national treasurer of the APC Alhaji Bala Gwagwarwa, former Deputy Governor Hafiz Abubakar among others all on their way back to APC and may soon be received by President Muhammadu Buhari. To this end, political pundits in the state are of the view that Ganduje’s re-election bid look like a walk in the park.
Source: https://dailytimes.ng/kwankwaso-set-to-return-to-apc/
Diamond Bank
LAGOS — Access Bank Plc has finally acquired Diamond Bank Plc.
According to insiders, the official announcement of the transaction will be made in the course of the week by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, according to TheCable.
Another source said confirmed that the deal has been sealed, awaiting final ratification from the regulatory body.
The acquisition was midwifed by the CBN in a bid to further consolidate the banking industry, sources informed.
Last week, Diamond Bank announced its decision to drop its international operating licence to focus on national operations following capitalisation issues.
Uzoma Dozie, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, confirmed the development in a statement released on Friday.
Dozie had said: “With this approval, the bank will cease to operate as an international bank.
“The re-licensing as a national bank supports Diamond Bank’s objective of streamlining its operations to focus resources on the significant opportunities in the Nigerian retail banking market, and the economy as a whole. The move follows Diamond Bank’s decision to sell its international operations, which included the disposal of its West African Subsidiary in 2017 and Diamond Bank UK, the sale of which is currently in its final stages.”
“The change to national bank status also enables the bank to maintain a lower minimum capital requirement of 10 per cent, as against 15 per cent required for international banks.”
The bank recorded its worst month on record in November with share plunging to 0.61k per unit on November 30, 2018.
The tension among residents of Ondo State over rising insecurity got to a worrisome level at the weekend when most travellers from and to Akure and Akoko areas of the state including lecturers of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, RUGIPO escaped abduction while some were not lucky as they fell the victims of gunmen who flooded the highways yesterday.
The apprehension among the residents and travellers got to a worrisome level due to recent dismantling of the military checkpoints across the state which they believe had given criminals free hands to operate in the last one week.
An eyewitness account summarized that several people escaped at Ogbese/Iluabo area on Owo-Akure road around 5:20 pm on Saturday evening, “I narrowly escaped kidnapping after Iluabo on my way to Akure after a wedding ceremony I attended at Omuo Ekiti. Nigerians are under siege. I saw these guys shooting sporadically from a distance. Unfortunately, some kids and those who were unlucky to get out of their vehicles were taken away by the kidnappers”.
Our correspondent gathered that three different cases of kidnapping and armed robbery were recorded on the routes on Saturday’s evening specifically at Oba Akoko axis where three persons fell victims of kidnappers on Friday’s night, while that of Ogbese/Ilu Abo axis areas of Akure occured simultaneously on Saturday’s evening.
Only last week four persons including a lecturer Taiwo Akinyemi abducted at Amurin Village, near Owo, but Taiwo later died in the kidnappers’ den while three weeks ago, six chieftains of African Democratic Congress (ADC) including the state chairman and senatorial candidate for Ondo north were kidnapped on Ikare Akoko- Owo road and were later released after paying ransome.
Three victims were also said to be members of staff of the Federal Medical Centre, Owo were kidnapped but they were later released by the suspected kidnappers recently after huge ransoms had been collected from their families.
Narrating his ordeal on Owo-Akure road, a lecturer from RUGIPO, Dr. Rahman Abubakri who escaped being kidnapped by the gunmen at Ilu Abo area of Akure on Saturday lamented that he narrowly escaped with other travellers but another lecturer from the department of Marketing at the Polytechnic was not lucky as he was picked by the kidnappers yesterday.
Abubakri said, “Around 5:20 pm this evening( Saturday), I narrowly escaped kidnapping around Iluabo on my way to Akure after a wedding ceremony I attended at Omuo Ekiti.
Nigerians are under siege. I saw the fulanis shooting sporadically from a distance. The bushes and tick forests we don’t care to go into have been well studied by the Fulanis. Unfortunately, some kids were taken away by the kidnappers”.
He opined that, “almost the same time, a lecturer of the Department of Marketing, Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo was kidnapped by the same Fulani herdsmen between Ipele and Owo Road. Another kidnapping took place at Oba Akoko. Three persons fell victim as they were taken away into the Bush. My colleagues missed being kidnapped on Friday evening”.
The lecturer who expressed worries over the increasing rate of insecurity in Ondo state in recent time, said the upsurge in kidnapping cases must be tackled by the police and government at all levels.
Another traveller who escaped, Mrs Nike Oyetade alleged that the kidnappers use the forests near their operation points as detention camps, stressing that children in secondary schools and tertiary institutions far away from their various places of residents are not safe anymore.
Another traveller’s family member sent a message to our reporter around 7pm Saturday, “Info from one of our members who just passed through Ogbese now has it that just before Ogbese from Akure the men of the underworld has struck again kidnapped some people and presently in a gun shoot out with the police.Kindly avoid the route now”.
Speaking on the security situation, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Femi Joseph, who confirmed the incident, said men of the state police command had been on the trail of the kidnappers.
The PPRO said “we have resolved to increase our manpower on our roads with more patrol to reduce the activities of these criminals to the barest minimum. I can assure you that justice will be done and the search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts, to find those responsible and bring them to justice”.
