Nigeria Content Online

The Lagos State
government, yesterday, announced a law banning motorcyclists, popularly
known as okada, from carrying pregnant women and children.

Babatunde Fashola,
the state governor, at the Stakeholders Forum on Motorcycle (Okada)
operations, said the ban which also includes road safety measures and
restricts the movement of motorcyclists, especially from all Lagos
bridges, will take effect from September 1.

Mr Fashola said the
move was for “the preservation of human lives and the safety of
property, and called on government agencies including the police,
traffic management agencies and state task force agencies to enforce
the law.”

Case for the underage and unborn children

Speaking on the ban
on the carrying of pregnant women and underage children, the governor
said, “The child has no say but our government has the right to stand
up on behalf of that child.” He also reiterated the need for crash
helmets and other road safety measures, saying that his government had
decided against placing an outright ban on commercial motorcycling
because of the service it provides the public and “for those who
provide these services as a means of livelihood.”

‘The danger of okada’

Also speaking at
the forum, Marvel Akpoyibo, the state police commissioner, said
okada-related accidents accounted for an average of 70 per cent of road
accidents in the state, between January and May this year.

Mr Akpoyibo, in his
call for appropriate measures in curbing the spate of accidents, said
further analysis showed that 14 per cent of okada-related accidents in
the state within the five-month period were fatal.

“Although a large
section of Lagos populace have come to regard commercial motorcycles as
a necessary evil, it has become imperative for government to
intervene…. To this end, stringent measures must be taken to curtail
the excesses of commercial motorcycle operators,” he said.

He, however,
identified “corrupt practices on the part of law enforcement agents, in
the issuance of vehicle and drivers’ licences, and dearth of
infrastructure and road signs” as some of the factors also responsible
for carnage on the roads.

Some stakeholders’ grudges

However, not all
the stakeholders were fully satisfied with the government’s decision,
as evident in the grumbling by the crowd during the forum, especially
regarding restrictions of motorcycles in some parts of the state.

According to Dansu
Alphonsus, a commercial motorcyclist in Ikeja, the banning of
motorcycles in some parts of the capital city will ‘indirectly ban him
from working’.

“I ply Ikeja area,
so by banning okada along Obafemi Awolowo way, Alausa, and Mobolaji
Bank Anthony way (all in Ikeja) will affect me too much; it’s like not
working again.”

“We should be
allowed to carry pregnant women also; it will not be good if they are
stranded where they cannot easily get transport,” he said.

Another commercial
motorcyclist, Joseph Oladoja, said the implementation of the law will
largely depend on government’s resolution to curb corruption in
obtaining drivers’ licences and other road usage permits.

“For instance, the
rider’s card which is supposed to be N800, we pay about N1,600 to get
it; the number plate which is N4,000 normally, we spend N6,000 to get
it, and this discourages most okada riders. It will be easier to
sanitise our roads if we also curb corruption in those offices,” he
said.

Courier services,
along with the okada riders, also stand to face major challenges as a
result of the new law, starting from next month.

Oladipo Akinyele of
Xpress Partners Limited, who spoke for Courier services in the state,
said their services “will be greatly affected by the restrictions
placed on motorcycles.”

“Our business
services people in core areas where it is only easy for motorcycles to
reach,” he said, in his appeal for a review of the law.

Mr Fashola,
responding to requests from the motorcyclists and courier service
owners, said his administration will look into the issues.

The Oyo State
Police Command, on Tuesday, arraigned 25 persons before a Chief
Magistrate Court sitting in Iyaganku, Ibadan , Oyo State, over their
alleged involvement in the violent crisis between two Islamic sects at
Sabo area of the state capital last Sunday.

The suspects, who
pleaded not guilty to all the charges against them, were each granted
bail in the sum of N100,000 and two sureties in like sum by the
magistrate, Sofiat Oyediran.

Cutting across the
two groups involved in the fracas – Izalat and Tijaniyah – the suspects
were alleged to be responsible for the infliction of injuries on
several victims and destruction of properties.

The police
prosecutor, A.O Ojeh, in the charge sheets read to the hearings of the
suspects, accused them of flouting the order of the court which
prohibited the two sects from using microphone and loud speakers to
preach inciting sermons and disturb public peace. The offence, he said,
contravenes the provision of the law and punishable under section 133
of the criminal code cap 38 laws of Oyo State.

The suspects were
also accused of acting against the provisions of section 451 of the
criminal code cap 38 law of the state by destroying valuables, which
included a jeep, valued at N1.3m; motorcycles, and many household items.

The 16th to the
25th accused persons, who are members of Izalat, were arraigned on
one-count charge of willfully disrespecting the ruling of the court in
Suit No: MISC/85/2010 by preaching inciting sermons among themselves
and disturbing the public peace, contrary to and punishable under
Section 133 of the Criminal Code Cap 38 Vol. II Laws of Oyo State
Nigeria 2000.

Fifteen others,
belonging to the Tijaniyah, were arraigned on a five-count charge. The
charge include preaching inciting sermon, willful and unlawful damage
of properties including a Land Rover Freelander Jeep, motorcycle,
roofing sheets, ceiling fans, and a generating set; as well as willful
and unlawful assault occasioned by bodily harm.

Leaders on trial

Messrs Waheed Olajide and Adebayo Shitu represented suspects from the Tijaniyah and Izalat groups respectively.

They both, in their
oral application, prayed the court to grant the suspects bail, arguing
that the offences preferred against them were bailable.

Mr Olajide told the
court that all the suspects were invited by the police as leaders of
their respective sects, adding that none was arrested at the scene of
the crisis. He said since they personally came to honour the police
invitation before they were detained, they would be ready to come back
to face trial and would not jeopardize investigation and the course of
justice.

Mr Shittu, in his application for bail for the suspects, urged the court to allow them bail in the most liberal terms.

While acceding to
their prayers and granting the bail, the chief magistrate ordered that
one of the sureties for the suspects must have landed property in the
state capital, while the other must present evidence of payment of tax
payment for three consecutive years and produce an identity card.

The case was then adjourned to September 16, 2010.

Nasarawa State
joined other states in promising to support Goodluck Jonathan should he
decide to run for president in the 2011 elections after a 30-man
delegation led by the state’s governor, Aliyu Akwe Doma, and the
minister of state for information, Labaran Maku, visited the president
yesterday to convey the message.

“We wish to state
that should you decide to answer the clarion calls on you from
different parts of the country to contest the 2011 Presidential
Election, we, the people of Nasarawa State are resolved to give you our
total support and commitment,” Mr Doma, said.

The governor, who
spoke with journalists after meeting with the president, said the
decision was taken “because I am confident and believe in his capacity
to lead this country”.

Welcoming the
promise of support, Mr. Jonathan said he was greatly encouraged by the
delegation’s visit and its appreciation of his administration’s
achievements in the time it has had in office.

Mr. Jonathan said he will draw on the pledged support should he decide to contest next year.

Making votes count

During the visit,
the President reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that every vote
counts in next year’s general elections, saying he will not compromise
his commitment to credible elections.

“We will not shift
an inch away from it. Public office holders must truly enter office
with the mandate of the people. If votes do not count, then public
office holders cannot be compelled to do the right thing. Ensuring that
all votes count is therefore the best way of ensuring that our
democracy stabilizes and our people reap its positive dividends,” Mr
Jonathan told the delegation.

Plea for better roads

The Nasarawa
delegation requested that the dualisation of the Abuja -Keffi road be
extended to Akwanga and Lafia, and onward to Makurdi and Enugu.

To this Mr Jonathan
said it was his belief that all the arterial roads into Federal Capital
should be expressways to facilitate easy movement in and out of the
city.

“We must factor it
into our long-term national planning,” he said, adding that his
administration is committed to strengthening institutional structures
to enhance proper long-term planning and continuity in project delivery.

The delegation
included the Nasarawa State Deputy Governor, Michael Abdul; former
governor Abdullahi Adamu; the Speaker of the State House of Assembly,
Musa Mohammed; the Emir of Lafia and Chairman of the State Council of
Chiefs, Mustapha Agwai; senators, Abubakar Sodangi and Walid Jibrin and
Yunana Iliya .

Others in the delegation were Yusuf Agade Ayitogo; PDP National Vice
Chairman, North Central Zone, Hussaini Akwanga; Joseph Umaru, Hassan
Mohammed Agwai; the Emir of Nasarawa, Hassan Ahmed; the Andoma of Doma,
Ahmadu Onawo; the Eus Karu, Luka Panya Baba and several community
leaders.

The Oyo State
chapter of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday promised to
give more slots to women in the next political dispensation.

The state secretary
of the party, Bashiru Akanbi, disclosed this at the party secretariat,
Ibadan, on Tuesday, while receiving party members from Ona-Ara local
government of the state, who came to present Jumoke Akinjide, a
senatorial candidate from the council, for the Oyo central senatorial
district.

“Oyo State will be
gender sensitive. We are committed to the Beijing, China declaration
that gave women participation in politics 35 percent,” he said.

Mr. Akanbi also
said, in line with Goodluck Jonathan’s commitment to credible elections
in 2011, the party will ensure a level-playing ground for all aspirants
in the party during their primaries.

According to him,
since the president, as the leader of the party, has made the
commitment at every opportunity he had to speak within and outside the
country, it is expected that the local units of the party should
express its seriousness through internal democracy.

“Ensuring credible
election must start from home. The PDP executive in the state will
remain an unbiased umpire for the primaries.

“By being fair to
all, candidates would avail anybody that eventually grabs the ticket
the confidence of every member, including those who lost the ticket to
him,” Mr. Akanbi stated.

The party scribe urged all members of the party to participate fully in the proposed review of voters’ register.

Game of number

He explained that
since the president and the chairman of Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, have assured Nigerians of free, fair,
and credible elections in 2011, the coming elections will be games of
number.

He asked them to go out and register, and mobilise their supporters to also do so, saying it is their civic responsibility.

Commending members
of the party in the senatorial district over their conduct during
campaigns and political rallies, Mr. Akanbi urged members from other
districts in the state to do the same.

“Oyo Central
senatorial district is the only place in the state where aspirants and
their supporters relate peacefully at rallies. In all their programmes
I have attended, there were never booming of guns and use of any
weapon. They have been peaceful,” he said.

The aspirant, in her speech, promised to give the district
responsible representation if elected to the upper chamber of the
National Assembly, saying she would not disappoint the party either.

The Chief Justice
of Nigeria (CJN), Aloysius Katsina-Alu, has ordered an Abuja High Court
judge, Othman Musa, to explain why he evicted the legal resident of an
Abuja house during a custody dispute. Mr. Musa has two weeks to explain
why he should not be sacked for his decision.

The Justice was
acting on a dispute between Mr Eyiboh and Hassan Muhammed Gusau, a
senator from Zamfara State. The two have been locked in a contentious
legal battle since 2008 over the land on which Mr. Eyiboh erected his
house.

On May 28, Justice
Musa granted an ex-pate motion evicting Eseme Eyiboh, a House of
Representatives member from Akwa Ibom State, from his private residence
in Area 11, Garki. Mr. Gusau had a writ of possession from a Sharia
court in Jigawa State and a letter from an Abuja Upper Area Court
judge, directing the police to aid the enforcement of the eviction.

On June 3, a team
of officers, led by a bailiff and Mr. Gusau’s relatives, arrived at the
house early in the morning and threw out Mr Eyiboh’s belongings. The
representative said that it took the intervention of his lawyers to
dissuade the team from carrying out the eviction.

The lawyers
questioned why Justice Musa had approved such an action when Mr. Eyiboh
had not been joined in the Jigawa suit, nor was his name mentioned in
the Abuja court order.

On June 30, the
judge reversed his order, saying that it was given in error. He ordered
Mr. Eyiboh to take back possession of the home.

However, not satisfied with the new order, Mr Eyiboh petitioned the
CJN, who is also the chairman of the National Judicial Council. “I
believe sincerely that Musa colluded with my adversary, Hassan Muhammed
Gusau, to forcefully evict me from my property and hand over possession
to the said Gusau,” said Mr. Eyiboh, in the petition.

The southwest
leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), has cautioned
governors of Osun and Oyo States, Olagunsoye Oyinlola and Adebayo
Alao-Akala, against further delay in resolving the crisis between the
governments of the two states over Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology (LAUTECH) to avoid the hammer of the National University
Commission (NUC) on the institution.

Ayo Afolabi, the
party’s director of publicity in the region, in a press release in
Ibadan on Tuesday, also called on elders of the two owner-states of the
university to prevail on the two governors on the crisis, for the sake
of posterity.

He said if the
governors fail to resolve the crisis now, and allow their ego to
eventually push the NUC to withdraw the university’s licence as earlier
threatened, posterity will not be kind to them.

“Throwing away the
LAUTECH licence deliberately on the altar of irresponsible fight by
these spoilt-brat governors, who obviously have no iota of respect for
education, as they do not have the benefit of it, will amount to the
greatest disservice to the institution,” the release stated.

Mr. Afolabi
wondered what could be the crux of the fight “that it could not be
amicably resolved in the corporate interest of the institution and the
owner states, as had been the case with matured and reasonable chief
executives who had managed the destiny of LAUTECH since 1991 when Osun
State was carved out of Oyo State.”

According to him,
educational activities in the two states have been in limbo for some
months, and students and staff in the educational sector have continued
to bear the brunt.

Destruction of university

“It is on record
that teachers in all secondary schools in Oyo State have been on strike
for well over three months now, while Osun State government had just
coned the lecturers of the four higher institutions it owned, to
suspend its four month old strike, which they called for legitimate
demands.”

He further noted
that the two states possess weak educational policies, as the incumbent
governors display little respect for the sector.

Suggesting a due
process if the owner-states desires halt the joint ownership of the
university, Mr. Afolabi accused Messrs Alao-Akala and Oyinlola of
working towards the destruction of the university “founded and nurtured
on the strength of integrity of reputable elderly and selfless
indigenes with great foresight for the future.

“Our party is of
the view that if it becomes inevitable that joint ownership of LAUTECH
will come to a halt, it should pass through due process and laid down
procedures, with the concerned parties taking their dues, the interest
of the students adequately protected, the staff taken in to due
consideration, while the institution’s future and destiny is not
disrupted.

“The ACN is calling
on the elders of the two owner’s states to come together NOW to rescue
the institution. The earlier the elders act, the better for the
institution that had been officially rated as the best state owned
university in Nigeria,” the release concluded.