THE NIGERIAN
The Nigerian
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PUBLISHED SINCE MAY 29, 1968
VIEWPOINT cmyk
Pg. 19
Understanding Who You Are
OPINION Pg 18
Between The African Child And A Bleak Future
THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2013
• Vol . 38 NO.284 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2 013 • N 100.00
Ramadan: Muslims eulogises By FUNMI BABATOPE BENIN CITY- Muslim Faithful across the 3 senatorial districts in Edo State, have
Oshiomhole
commended the state Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for his benevolence in
donating Beverages, to them, as part of the state Government efforts to cushion the effect of the
on-going 2013 Ramadhan fasting. The Beverages according to comrade Oshiomhole is to assist Continues on page 2
2015
INEC registers APC
ABUJA - The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday approved the merger of three leading opposition parties ahead of the presidential polls in 2015, potentially setting up a stiff challenge to the ruling party. The INEC said the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) would now be known as the All Progressives Congress (APC). It said the three parties “have met all statutory requirements for the merger, and has
accordingly granted their request.” The parties have been plotting the merger for months in a bid to win power from President Goodluck Jonathan’s Peoples Democratic Party. Jonathan is expected to seek another term in the 2015 vote, though he has not announced his intentions.
Previous attempts to rally the opposition against the PDP, which
has won every presidential vote since a return to civilian rule in
1999, have failed amid infighting. Picking a presidential ticket could prove to be a challenge for the opposition alliance, with its membership including a collection of varying interests.
While the PDP has controlled the presidency, opposition parties have had success in the states. The ACN, the biggest party in the merger, controls most of the southwest, including the Continues on page 2
ASUU insists on implementation AWKA -The Academic of agreement
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the South East Zone said it would continue with its ongoing strike until Government implemented its demands. The union announced this position in Awka when it addressed newsmen. “Only the implementation of the agreement reached between the Federal Government and the union would make the lecturers resume work.’’ Dr Chidi Osuagwu, the Zonal Coordinator of the union, said it was embarrassed to hear from some quarter that the ongoing strike would be called off on August1. “This is very unacceptable to the union and its members. We will not call off the strike until the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement is fully implemented’’, he said. He appealed to students, parents and
guardians to bear with the union, pointing out that it was pursuing a worthy cause to improve the university system in the country. He recalled that ASUU embarked on the strike due to federal government’s failure to implement the agreement it willingly entered into with the union in October 2009. According to him, between 2009 and 2011, ASUU made serious efforts to get the government to implement the agreement by even embarking on warning strikes, to no avail. He said the agreement included funding for revitalisation of
universities, federal assistance to state universities and payment of academic allowances. Osuagwu blamed the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie “for not protecting the institutions.’’ The zone is made up Continues on page 2
VISIT: Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole (4th left), and the MD FAAN, Mr. George Orisi during his visit to Government House in Benin City yesterday. Photo: CHARITY OZIGBO-ESERE.
Teachers audit shows massive age falsification Town hall meeting:
By ADAMS OYIBOKE
BENIN CITY-Edo State Government audit of Primary Schools in
the State has revealed massive falsification of age of Primary School Teachers in the State Public Schools. In a town hall meeting
on education in the State yesterday Governor Oshiomhole said its audit carried out by the State’s Information and Communications
thority of Nigeria, Mr. George Uriesi who led other management staff who included Mr. Yakubu Dati, General Manager, Mr. Kolawole
Adefomiwa, Deputy General Manager, Mr. Adeboye Festus, the Chief Security Officer and Mr. Ayodele SunContinues on page 2
FAAN MD visits Oshiomhole, apologises over the incident which
BENIN CITY - Authorities of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has apologized to the Edo State Government and air travelers
led to the closure of the Benin Airport on Tuesday. The Managing Director, Federal Airport Au-
Technology showed that 789 teachers out of 1,379 obtained their Primary School Leaving Certificates before the age of 8 or 9. He said “some of the records show there were a few who were particularly gifted and they finished Primary School before they were born. “We found that of all
our Primary School Teachers, only 1,287 representing 9% out of 14,484 teachers have proper and accurate records in our system. 91% have various forms of discrepancies in their records. Oshiomhole said “about 1,379 teachers representing 11.5% claim that they obtained Continues on page 2