Six men have been arrested for raping a 12 year old girl at Argungu Local Government Area of Kebbi State. 

The girl, whose name was withheld,  went for an errand for her parents when she was accosted by the men and taken to their hideout. 

The suspects include: isah Isma’il, 60yrs, Ibrahim Umar, 45, Mustapha Sani, 44, Dauda Garba, 40, Tukur Bawa, 38 and Muktar Muhammed, 28. 

It was gathered that they were apprehended by men of the Hisbah Command at various locations in Argungu after committing the crime.

A director at the Hisbah Command in Birnin Kebbi said the suspects confessed to committing the offence while being interrogated by the officials of the command.

He added that the suspects and the victim had been handed over to the criminal investigation department of the police command in Birnin Kebbi for further investigation.

The Public Relations Officer of the Police Command, SP Nafi’u Abubakar who confirmed the arrest of the suspects said they are being investigated at the CID in Birnin Kebbi police Command.

Super Eagles coach, Finidi George has promised to make Enyimba International Stadium as his first point of call in search of home- based players for the Eagles.

The Enyimba International Stadium is the home ground of Nigeria Premier Football League side Enyimba.

Finidi revealed that he is hopeful of selecting at least one player to play in the Super Eagles from the People’s Elephant.

The former Enyimba coach revealed this during his farewell speech in Aba.

“Definitely I will still come back to Aba to watch Enyimba play because my duty now is to mix the Super Eagles team up with the home based players,” Finidi told the media in Aba.

“Aba definitely will be my first destination when I come to watch Enyimba play. Most likely I will see one or two that I can take with me to the Super Eagles.”

DAILY POST recalls that Finidi George was unveiled as the Super Eagles coach on Monday.

A 38-year-old Ipswich Town manager, Kieran McKenna could be the next boss at Manchester United.

The Red Devils have reportedly started talks with representatives of the manager as they search for Erik ten Hag’s potential replacement.

As per a report by Santi Aouna on FootMercato, the young manager’s past experience with the Red Devils and his exceptional display at the Championship side has seen him get on the list.

Kieran McKenna has won back-to-back promotions with Ipswich Town as they return to the Premier League next season.

McKenna was the U18 coach at Old Trafford in 2016 and was later promoted to assistant manager under Jose Mourinho before leaving in 2018.

He was appointed as the Ipswich Town manager in December 2021.

The report, however, added that England national team boss, Gareth Southgate remains the top candidate for Manchester United.

Apart from the England boss, McKenna, Graham Potter, Thomas Tuchel and Robert De Zerbi have all been linked with Manchester United.

Naira’s woes continue for the second week as legitimate operators of Bureau De Change, BDC, await the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention.

FMDQ data showed that the naira dipped to N1520.40 per dollar on Tuesday from N1478.11.

This represents N42.29 depreciation against the dollar in the official market compared to N1478.11 traded on Monday.

 

Similarly, in the parallel market section, the naira dropped to N1520 per dollar on Tuesday, compared to N1500 the previous day.

The combined data showed that the margin between official and parallel foreign exchange markets stood at N0.40 on Tuesday.

Speaking about the development, Mistila Dayyabu, a BDC operator at Wuse Zone 4, urged the Central Bank to resume its supply of FX to the retail end of the market as a solution to the naira fluctuations.

“The naira depreciated further to N1,520 per dollar from N1,500 on Monday. We are eagerly waiting for CBN to release additional FX intervention into the retail end of the market,” he said.

From February to April 8, 2024, the apex bank distributed FX three times to BDCs.

However, the naira returned to depreciation in mid-April. During that period, it dropped by 28 per cent against the dollar.

Popular Nigerian singer Ayra Starr has opened up about her relationship status.

According to the 21-year-old singer, she is currently single and hopes to find love soon.

The ‘Bloody Samaritan’ hitmaker also admitted that she has broken a few hearts.

Speaking in a recent interview with Angela Yee, Starr said: “I am not in love yet but [I will be] soon. I have broken a few hearts. Not on purpose, though. In case I’ve broken anybody’s heart, it has not been on purpose.”

… gives FG 2 weeks to reinstate governing councils, resolve 2009 agreement

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has threatened to embark on another nationwide strike to protest absence of governing councils in all federal universities across the country among other issues the government is yet to address.

The body which recalled that the federal government dissolved governing councils of the universities in May,last year,has asked Nigerians to hold the government responsible for any decision it takes to protest the action of government.

President of ASUU,Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke,spoke at a press conference ,Tuesday,in Abuja, said the union rejected all the “ongoing illegalities and flagrant violation of university autonomy in public universities as a result of non reinstatement/reconstitution
of Governing Councils.”

Osodeke insisted that Nigerians must hold the federal and state governments responsible if the matter of governing councils was allowed to degenerate into an avoidable industrial crisis.

The latest ASUU statement came following its National Executive Council,NEC meeting, held at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, between Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th May, 2024.

At the meeting, the union undertook a dispassionate and comprehensive review of the status of its engagements with Federal and State Governments on how to reposition Nigeria’s public universities for global reckoning and competitiveness.

The meeting also took a critical look at the worsening living and working conditions in universities and the nation at large.

Osodeke said the meeting received alarming reports on the failed promises of the Federal and State governments towards addressing the lingering issues that forced the union to embark on the nationwide strike action of February-October 2022.

He said:”As our union has consistently stated, salary awards are no substitutes for a negotiated Agreement. Each negotiated Agreement between the Federal Government of Nigeria (FG) and ASUU is a comprehensive package that captures not the just salary component but also a gamut of requirements for benchmarking a competitive university system designed for addressing the developmental challenges of Nigeria.

“ASUU’s demand for negotiated salary and other conditions of service is anchored on the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Convention No. 98 which underscores the principle of collective bargaining.

“The last FGN/ASUU Agreement was in 2009. Consequent upon the union’s advocacy spanning almost one decade, our union went into the renegotiation with the FGN as in 2017.”

On the issue of governing councils, he said,”the NEC observed with dismay the continued erosion of autonomy of public universities, contrary to the provisions of the Universities Miscellaneous Act (1993, 2012).”

He added:”The illegal dissolution of Governing Councils by the Tinubu Government and many state governments has paved way for all manner of illegalities in the Nigerian university system.

“University administrations now place advertisements for the appointment of Vice-Chancellor without authorization from the appropriate quarters – the Governing Councils.

“Outgoing vice-chancellors, working in cahoots with the federal and state ministries of education, are illegally running the universities on daily basis.

“They routinely usurp the powers of Governing Councils to recruit and discipline staff as well as manage university finances in manners bereft of transparency and accountability, ” he added.

The union further lamented the unending grip of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, saying that the platform is a fraudulent one that inflicted unprecedented hardship on Nigerian academics and corruptly distorted university operations with respect to payroll management.

“ASUU also lamented the socio-economic crises in which our nation, Nigeria, is currently engulfed are multifarious and multidimensional, no thanks to the massive injection of neo-liberal policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

“The NEC therefore, condemned in strong terms the seeming refusal of federal and state governments to decisively address all outstanding issues with the union.

“NEC shall reconvene after two weeks from the date of the NEC meeting to
review the situation and take a decisive action to address the issues,” he added.

The Lagos State Police Command, has said that the controversial singer Haberb Okikiola popularly known as Portable would be granted bail only if he is able to produce a reliable surety.

The singer was arrested Tuesday morning following his inability to pay the balance of N14 million out of N27 million worth of a G-Wagon car he purchased from a car dealer.

He was said to have paid only N13 million, while refusing to pay the N14 million balance.

Confirming Portable’s arrest to Vanguard, the spokesman for the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hudenyin said the singer will spend the night in the police cell, pending when he’s able to produce a reliable surety before he can be granted bail.

“Yes, he’s with us. A vehicle dealer has lodged a complaint against him.

“If he gets a reliable surety, he will be granted bail,” said the police spokesman.

However, as at 8.30pm, there was no sign of him being released on bail.

A professor of political economics, Pat Utomi, has revealed that the proposed mega party for the 2027 elections in Nigeria would not be like the conventional political party Nigerians are used to.

According to him, the party would be based on real issues, values and ideologies that can shape human progress.

Speaking on Tuesday during an appearance on Arie TV, Utomi lampooned the current crop of politicians in the country for always ignoring real issues but instead, focus on attacking one another based on religious, ethnic and other grounds.

“My first point of call is to create this new tribe and the new tribe is not a political party. It is a movement focused on values that shape human progress. In this, we understand, look, this politician settles against one another by talking about ethnicity, religion, and all of that.

“Nobody has become richer because of the ethnic group he comes from or has had a better life because of the religion he comes from. So they use it, and in this age, it’s very easy to play propaganda politics and put people against one another. In the end, everybody loses.

“We play a zero-sum game. So let’s accept certain fundamental values: the dignity of the human, human solidarity, and work ethic—all of those things,” he said.

Speaking further, the former presidential candidate said people that would be a part of the platform would have ideologies and goals that the citizens can hold them accountable for.

He said: “As people begin to walk their talk and live in this domain, you can say to these people that the only way that you can change the world is through a political party.

“So we have an initiative to then say, Here is a political platform in development that’s values-driven, that has to have an ideology and goals that people can be held accountable for. All of this must be in place and tested before the people.

“It can happen fairly quickly—more than people realize. Look at what happened in Senegal. It can become more challenging, depending on how the young people in Senegal manage it.”

According to Utomi, people are fed up with the political class in Nigeria and something must be done to save the country.

“I mean, somebody gave me an analysis and said, ‘Nigeria will be in popular insurrection within the next four months,’ the way things are going. Somebody sent me this analysis from Nigeria just two weeks ago, and I’m saying to myself, “we have got to stop our country,” he submitted.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has disclosed that he inherited a huge debt burden from the Nyesom Wike administration.

Fubara made the revelation on Tuesday during the commissioning of the Aleto-Ogale-Ebubu-Eteo Road, also known as Old Bori Road in the Eleme Local Government Area of the state.

He said the contractors who handled the affected projects are returning for outstanding payments.

Governor Fubara, who did not give an estimate of the debt, said he is now compelled to speak out after being pushed by his detractors.

The governor expressed his intension to appear for project commissioning project with “white paper” detailing project funding.

Governor Fubara clarified that his administration has not engaged in conflicts with the federal government, saying it has instead received support, although challenges persist due to the interest of an insider.

According to the governor, the reconstruction of the Old Bori road will provide an alternative to the dilapidated section of the Eleme axis of the East-West road.

He said: “My story as a person will not be complete if Eleme is not mentioned, that is the truth. Maybe, if I have not started from Eleme, I will not get to Level 14. At least I started here before I got to Level 14.

“And for the records, this contract was awarded to CCECC on the 14th of August 2023 not by “I” but by this administration and as we go further, we will be going with a White Paper showing the record and amounts this project was awarded.

“This project was awarded at N6.7bn and I can say boldly no kobo is remaining, we have paid the contractor completely without owing. The purpose of this is to let the world know that if there is one problem this administration has it is debts.

“Most of the projects commissioned (by the last administration), the contractors are still coming for their balance payments running into millions and billions. I have said I don’t want to talk because I am part of that system but when they keep pushing me, I will say it so that we will see the nyansh of the fowl.

“But let us leave that one until when they are ready, we will also be ready. The small one we are doing now, they are not sleeping, I wonder what will happen when we do the big one.

“The Problem we have is accumulated debts from the past government.”