Metro
Yoruba groups’ meeting ends in disarray, members harass convener
The meeting of the Assembly of All Yoruba Groups Worldwide in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday, ended in confusion.
The meeting was held at the House of Chiefs, Oyo State Secretariat.
The meeting, which had in attendance many Yoruba groups like the Oodua People’s Congress (Fredrick Faseun’s faction) OPC New Era, Yoruba Youth Socio-Cultural Organisation and other groups from Kwara and Kogi states, was disrupted while the Chief Convener, Victor Taiwo, was speaking to the gathering.
Read Also:[Video] Moment Kogi Health Commissioner wept over looted Medical Equipment
Taiwo, who wrote the book, ‘Nigeria on gunpowder: The climax of misrule’, had circulated his speech but he was heckled by some supporters of Prof. Banji Akintoye, who pre-empted him on the leadership crisis that hit the Yoruba World Congress.
Akintoye had announced the change of name of the YWC to Ilana Omo Oodua on Sunday.
But Taiwo said in the speech that he was the initiator of the Yoruba Council of Elders under the leadership of the late Pa Emmanuel Alayande.
He also said in reports by Punch Newspapers that Akintoye degenerated from the status of a Yoruba leader to President-General of the YWC and now President of a splinter group, Ilana Omo Oduduwa, without followers, which he pronounced to the world on October 24, 2020.
But while still reading the speech, the representative of Prof. Akintoye, Kunle Adesokan, interrupted him and others joined him.
The meeting became rowdy and some leaders left. Efforts to calm down the agitated persons were abortive.
The Baale Ekotedo, Ibadan, Chief Taiwo Ayorinde, made efforts to calm them down but his attempts failed.
Read Also: CBN Releases Guidelines for N75bn Youths Investment Fund
“When I was talking in the morning, I said we did not come here to remove Banji Akintoye. But we heard that he has gone to another group,” he stated.
But Mr Akinola George said nobody could remove Akintoye as Yoruba leader, because those who were elected into that office before him were never removed.
He said, “You cannot elect him Yoruba leader and now say you want to remove him. Chief Awolowo was Yoruba leader until he died; Chief Adekunle Ajasin was elected Yoruba leader and he was Yoruba leader until he died. Akintoye will remain Yoruba leader until he dies.”
The Publicity Secretary of the OPC, Lawal Kazeem, asked those remaining if they still wanted Akintoye to remain the Yoruba leader by voice vote.
Although not everybody said yes, there was no one who opposed it.
After that, leaders of the various groups affirmed the leadership of Akintoye.
The President, Yoruba Youth Socio-Cultural Association, Mr Olalekan Hammed, also affirmed the support of the group to the leadership of Akintoye.
The meeting ended abruptly without discussing the main purpose of the gathering.
The Petroleum Products Marketing Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, has increased the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, to N155.17 per litre from N147.67 per litre Punch reports,
The PPMC disclosed this in an internal memo with reference number PPMC/C/MK/003, dated November 11, 2020, and signed by Tijjani Ali.
Read Also: NNPC’s staff receive N357bn as salary in a year
The memo, a copy of which was seen by our correspondent, said the new ex-depot price would take effect from Friday.
The ex-depot price is the price at which the product is sold by the PPMC to marketers at the depots.
In its PMS price proposal for November, the PPMC put the landing cost of petrol at N128.89 per litre, up from N119.77 per litre in September/October.
It said the estimated minimum pump price of the product would increase to N161.36 per litre from N153.86 per litre.
The National Operation Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr Mike Osatuyi, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said the over N7 increase in ex-depot price would translate into an increase in pump prices.
“Crude oil price is going up,” he said, noting that the Federal Government has fully deregulated petrol prices.
Following the deregulation of petrol prices in September, marketers across the country adjusted their pump prices to between N158 and N162 per litre to reflect the increase in global oil prices.
Petrol price band had also risen from N121.50–N123.50 per litre in June to N140.80-N143.80 in July and N148-N150 in August.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said in September that the government had stepped back in fixing the price of petrol, adding that market forces and crude oil price would continue to determine the cost of the product.
A parody account of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU has given undergraduates seven pieces of advice on how to spend their time because of the union’s indefinite strike.
“Here are 7 ways you can make the most of this period.
1.Intern or get a small-time job
This may be a great time to draft your CV and pitch yourself to employers. Already, there are a couple of opportunities since the announcement of this strike.
2.Join the family business
Some of us have ‘family businesses’. This the business our parents have been doing for some time. It can be a big-time company or a small supermart. Whichever one it is, it’s not a bad idea spending holiday working here. It’s one way to give back and also add to your professional experience.
3. Learn a new skill
I have an engineer friend who makes a living today from graphics design. He learnt it while we were in school. There’s almost no limit to the skills you can learn during holidays. If anything, start with learning basic and intermediate computer operations(if you don’t know that by now). Code schools are also popping up
everywhere so you can join one. You can also join the growing community of Nigerian freelancers and hone your skills.
4. Be active in church or mosque, other groups
Refuse to be an onlooker anywhere you find yourself. Be a part of people who make things work. Join a group in church, your community, and be active in it. These experiences also contribute shaping the person you’ll be in the future.
5. Travel
There’s no harm in travelling if you can afford it. Travelling is also a form of learning. If you happen to have relations scattered around Nigeria and abroad, consider travelling. Life’s too short to not explore more places.
6. Read books
We don’t mean only course-related books. Take up a novel, read a book on investment, study Nigerian history, look up spiritual books. Read far and wide.
7. Have fun
Well, you still have to catch some fun. Plus, it’s perfectly okay to spoil yourself a little. You can binge watch your favourite TV series, play football, go to more events etc etc.
*Story re-edited to reflect that the advice is from an ASUU parody account.
Traders burn 10-year-old boy for allegedly stealing food
A 10-year-old boy, Ifeanyi, was on Saturday thrown into a fire for allegedly stealing a small measure of uncooked rice in a market at Inikiri Benard village, Effium community, in the Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the lad’s mother was late, while his father was mentally-challenged.
A community source said, “The boy was thrown into a fire by two traders who accused him of stealing rice from a shop at the market to cook for himself and his father.”
The Chairman of Human Rights Defenders, Ebonyi State chapter, Mr Sam Nweke, condemned the inhuman act meted out to the kid.
He said, “HURIDE got a call from one Mr George Etamesor, on the grave abuse of this poor boy. This was because he was caught trying to steal some rice in their village market. They tied him up, threw him into the fire in a refuse dump in the market and allowed him to roast like a goat.
“The perpetrators are from the village. After committing this evil and seeing the critical condition of their victim, they still abandoned him to groan to death.
“It took the intervention of sympathisers to rush him to AMURT Hospital in Effium. But due to the severe nature of the injuries, boy was denied treatment. Efforts were thereafter made to take him to the Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, where he is currently struggling between life and death.”
Nweke added, “When we inquired from the perpetrators why they went that far in maltreating the boy, they said he had the habit of stealing cassava, yam and others. So this time, they caught him stealing their rice and they decided to teach him a lesson so that he would not come back to steal their food again.
“They said it was not their intention to burn his whole body. They said they only tied him up and after beating him, they tried to roast his toes in the fire, but because he was struggling, he slipped off their hands and fell into the fire and got burnt beyond their expectation. We have reported the incident to the police.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs Loveth Odah, said though she was aware of the incident, the police had yet to receive an official complaint on the matter.
She said, “I heard about the ugly incident as a person; it is painful. But the command has not been officially communicated.
“We wanted to arrest those who did this evil thing to the small boy, but the attitude of the human rights group which drew my attention to the incident is not encouraging. The HURIDE people told us that we should not arrest them for now because they want them (the perpetrators) to first take care of the boy’s medical bills in the hospital. I don’t know why they keep doing this.”
Q & A5 years agoNigeria Coat of Arms & Nigerian Flag: All Facts You Should Know
Entertainment6 years agoDownload & Listen to “Jore” by Adekunle Gold ft. Kizz Daniel
Business5 years agoThe Biggest Container Ship Ever To Come To Nigeria Berths In Onne Port, Rivers State (Photos)
Q & A5 years agoThe 8 Hierarchy of Courts in Nigeria Explained: Functions & Jurisdiction
Q & A5 years agoNigerian Phone Numbers: Prefix For All Nigerian Networks
Business5 years agoAll you need to know about bitcoin
Politics5 years agoFull List of Nigeria’s Senate Presidents Till Date
Politics1 year agoBreaking: UAE lifts visa ban on Nigerians