Month: July 2023

A legal practitioner, Mr Tunde Afe-Babalola, SAN, says his father’s disciplinary approach contributed tremendously to his success in his endeavour.

Tunde, son of the legal luminary, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, made this known on Sunday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja

The lawyer, who recalled that his father would be celebrating his 60th anniversary of his call to Bar on July 9, said the legal giant’s attributes had helped him to grow in the profession.

“My father’s attributes include hard work, dedication, generosity, sacrifice, resilience, trust, fear of God, love for mankind, etc.

“These same attributes which he has, are the same things that have helped me over the years.

“Really, the way he disciplined us contributed tremendously to my success today.

“Victor Devlin said, ‘Listen, there is no way any true man is going to let children live around him in his home and not discipline and teach, fight and mould them until they know all he knows. His goal is to make them better than he is. Being their friend is a distant second to this.”

“Barack Obama said, ‘Someone once said that every man is trying to live up to his father’s expectations or make up for their father’s mistakes….’

“In his case, I emulate his great attributes and wonderful achievements,” he said.

He described his father as a simple man despite all the international awards and achievements.

“He is a loving, generous and supportive father,” he added.

Afe-Babalola said his father’s genuine love for the people and the desire to positively impact the society kept him going in the legal profession.

“Absolutely, he is my mentor and I am what I am today because of the Grace of God and my father. I cannot pray for a better father,” he said.

He congratulated his father on his 60 years of law practice.

“Dad, you are a winner, a goal getter and a worthy example to all of us. Indeed, we are so proud of having you among us over these 60 years in the legal profession.

“Your dedication to work is beyond admiration. Having produced innumerable SANs, several judges up to the appellate levels, several Attorney Generals at the federal and state levels, leaders of industry, etc.

“We pray that God will give you many more years of sound health and further impactful contribution to the legal profession worldwide,” he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), on Sunday decried the invasion of Mina and Arafat by fake pilgrims which resulted in inadequate tents.

The Chairman of NAHCON, Alhaji Zikrullah Hassan, stated this during a working visit to Mutawif for Pilgrims from African non-Arab countries, in Makkah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“First, I will like to react to the fact that there was an invasion of this year’s Hajj by illegal pilgrims and it was embarrassing.

“I don’t know the percentage but we saw people who had no business in Mina and few days later they turned Mina into a market place and a carnival.

“However, we were not in a position to checkmate them. We do not have the security control because there was no way we can handle the issue, an embarrassment to us.

“There was no way we can check them. Only the appropriate authorities can do that.”

Hassan said that the same tent space used for the 2022 Hajj of about 43,000 pilgrims, was the same tent Nigeria used for 95,000 pilgrims for this year’s hajj.

“In view of the inadequate tent space, many pilgrims who looked towards an enjoyable Hajj had to find themselves under the sun for days.

“And they had nowhere to go but remain under the sun. Many didn’t know that the best we can do as a Hajj mission is only to complain. We had no power or control over the issue.

“We were just helpless and this is not a good one for the pilgrims who have looked towards an enjoyable Hajj.”

He said like the issue of tent, the issue of food was poorly served by the company, adding that meals had no Nigerian touch.

According to him, this year, very many food served to pilgrims were not eaten and even they came, they were very late.

“NAHCON was helpless on the issues of the tent space and feeding. We had no control and management but we take the blame because the pilgrims know us they don’t know you.

“They believed we were responsible, yet we are helpless. We also went through the pain. Some of our places were turned like a refuse dump and at times some of our toilets lacked water.”

The NAHCON boss, therefore, demanded that going forward, the commission should be allowed to handle feeding of pilgrims at Mina and Arafat to ensure that Nigerian pilgrims get value for their money.

“As far as feeding is concerned, I think it should just return to the commission because if you return feeding to us we will be able to manage our problems among ourselves.

“We will be able to screen the caterers and ensure that they have the Nigerian touch. The food we had this year doesn’t have the Nigerian touch at all.

“And, therefore, we will write a letter of request for refund.”

Speaking on behalf of the Executive Secretaries of the 36 States and the FCT Chairmen of Pilgrims Boards, Alhaji Salihu Abubakar of Adamawa, said the contacted company was taking a risk by insisting on feeding pilgrims in Mina and Arafat.

He said every state board complained about the lack of food, adding that the contracted company will fast loose its image and the confidence of the pilgrims.

“He cited the Adamawa State pilgrims tents, where there was no lunch and dinner on June 26 and there was no breakfast on June 27 and there was very few plates of lunch given on June 27.

“It was when we were on our way to Muzzalifah that food packs that do not contain water and juice, were given to us and I, as the Executive Secretary and my entire tent, didn’t have a single bottle of water and there was nowhere we could get water.

“On reaching Muzdalifah, some of us trekked up to Jamrat and we came back to our tents in Mina on 28 June and there was no food, no breakfast and no lunch.”

Responding, Mr Bador Bafakeeh, the Chief Executive of the contracted company, said the company observed the huge number of illegal pilgrims in the Nigerian tents in Mina and Arafat which made most of the tents very crowded.

According to him, the company checked all the number of pilgrims which increased to maybe 30 to 40 per cent than the agreed number.

“The tents were customized with the number of pilgrims agreed on and we tried to maintain it with the food and all utility services we agreed on.

“Most of our video records shows that there was many illegal pilgrims in different tents when we were sharing food. A lot of official report had been written regarding all of these cases from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and some government entities.”

He assured that the company would look into all the issues raised by NAHCON and subsequently convey another meeting with the commission and all stakeholders to find a common ground.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Stakeholders in the Hajj Industry have commended the performance of the Aero Contractors on the outbound movement of pilgrims from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia.

They made the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Makkah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Executive Secretary, Nasarawa State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Idris Al-Makura, said the airline performed very well to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.

According to him, this is the first time an indigenous airline has come out to showcase its capacity.

“To be honest, at the beginning I was very skeptical about the issue because out of the blues we just heard about Aero Contractors which has not engaged in the transportation of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia before.

“So I was very scared that maybe the airline might not be able to make it and we might have a disappointment at the end of the day, but as God will have it, I met with the Aero Contractor team including its Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Maifata.

“We held a meeting to discuss the modalities of the operation and we left everything in the hands of God and as God will have it, I’m very happy, not only myself but also all colleagues in Oyo, Adamawa, Taraba states and even the FCT and Kaduna state that were rescued by the airline. They are very happy.”

He said that initially, the National Hajj commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) allocated about 7,000 pilgrims to Aero Contractors but after being impressed with its performance, the commission increased the allocation to 11,600.

“By next year, if we are still in the system, we will recommend that 40 per cent of the total Nigerian pilgrims should be lifted by Aero contractors.”

Also, Alhaji Salihu Abubakar, the Executive Secretary, Adamawa State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, applauded the airline for the professional and effective way it handled the transportation of Nigerian pilgrims.

“It is great working with the Aero Contractors team, which handled the transportation of our pilgrims with a professional and mature touch.

“We appreciate the Chairman and if we are given hundreds of choices, we shall choose Aero contractors again and again and again! We are proud of the Aero Contractors team.”

Responding, the Coordinating Officer of Aero Contractors for the 2023 hajj, Alhaji Liman Usman, said from the beginning, all the state pilgrims board allocated to the airline were not comfortable with the ability of the airline to discharge its duties effectively.

“We are first timers in the transportation of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. Lots of people were not sure if we can deliver, people speculated that we will not make it at all but by the grace of God, were able to deliver successfully.”

According to him, initially, the airline was given about 7,200 pilgrims from Oyo, Nasarawa, Adamawa and Taraba States but at the end of the day, we were able to transport additional 9,00 pilgrims from the FCT and another 9,000 pilgrims from Kaduna state.

“These are extra four flights from Kaduna and the FCT. FCT pilgrims were allocated to Air Peace and due to some reasons we were asked to come in and rescue its pilgrims.

“Azman airline was assigned to transport Kaduna state pilgrims but at the end of the day, we also recused some of the state pilgrims and at the same time, we added one flight from the National Assembly.

“For the last flight, we came with few travel agents and all our staff so in total, we transported 11,876 piwlgrims.”

He assured that the company would surpass its performance in the inbound movement of pilgrims back to Nigeria

“We have started making preparations toward that and by God’s grace we will achieve success.”

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has withdrawn the result of one Mmesoma Ejikeme, a candidate of the just-released Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result over alleged manipulation of her scores.

This is contained in a statement by the Head, Public Affairs and Protocol, JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.

Recall that Ejikeme, who claimed to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME, was recently awarded a N3 million scholarship by Innocent Chukwuma, Chairman of Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Company.

Benjamin said that some of the 2023 UTME candidates were parading fake scores in order to get undue advantage.

He said JAMB, which also listed the case of one Atung Gerald in Kaduna that allegedly claimed to have scored 380, advised the public not to fall victim to the antics of the candidates.

“The attention of JAMB has been drawn to several publications in both print and online media celebrating certain candidates for scoring high in the 2023 UTME.

”The board is constrained to set the records straight and wishes to state unequivocally that many of the results which many of these candidates are parading are fake.

”In many instances, some of these candidates had actually obtained far lower scores than they are claiming and had used some funny software packages to manipulate their results to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.

”The most pathetic of them all is the case of Miss Ejikeme, who claimed to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME and was awarded a N3 million scholarship by Chukwuma,” he said.

He said that the candidate was set to be honoured by the Anambra State Government when one of its top officials put a call through to JAMB to confirm her claim, only for the board to reveal that she had actually scored 249 and not 362.

”She had manipulated her UTME result to deceive the public and fraudulently obtained scholarship and other recognitions.

”The board would like to state that the likes of Mmesoma are still out there, deceiving those who are always in a hurry to bestow honour on candidates without confirming from the Board,” he added.

He advised the public to always cross check claims by candidates with the Board before rushing to honour them with undeserving awards.

He said this was because certain software had been created to produce fake results and put same out in the public space for fun which was what the sponsors of these candidates were using to defraud good-spirited Nigerians.

”It is to be noted that the candidate had sent a message to the Board’s platform to request her UTME result after which she manually inflated her scores and pasted same on the 2022 UTME result sheet.

”Unknown to her, the Board had changed the design of the 2023 UTME result sheet. Her original result remains 249 as nothing can change that,” he explained.

He, therefore, said that the candidate would be prosecuted as the Board would investigate all candidates laying claims to higher scores than they actually obtained.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured communities in the uThukela District Municipality, in Ladysmith that government Ministers will work to resolve their challenges and that their issues will not be put on the back burner.

Ramaphosa was speaking on Friday during the 7th Presidential District Development Model (DDM) Imbizo at the Oqungwini Sport Field. The Imbizo follows similar engagements that have taken place in the six provinces of the North West, Free State, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Northern Cape and the Western Cape.

The President interacted with people and listened to their experiences of daily life, their service delivery challenges as well as their initiatives and solutions to improve socio-economic conditions.

“We have heard all that you have said here, I am happy you gave us the time to listen to what we had to say to you in regards to the service delivery challenges you face. The challenges you laid out here will be addressed and Ministers will do follow up visits to see that they are resolved,” the President said.

In the spirit and theme of leaving no one behind, the President and leaders from the three spheres of government interacted with members of communities on service delivery issues and general problems in municipalities.

Basic services such as water and sanitation, electricity, network connectivity, dilapidated roads, unemployment, the R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grant, limited healthcare facilities, and a lack of recreational centres were the main challenges the communities laid bare to the President.

The President acknowledged that network connectivity was one of the biggest challenges.

“It is true that network is not there, the Premier has already explained that coverage and penetration is only 11% – which is not sufficient. I sympathise with you, as you have already mentioned that it is difficult for you to get feedback when you apply for jobs due to the shortage of network.

“We have a programme called SA connect which we will utilise to connect the entire country especially rural areas, so we are going to make sure that you also get connected so that you can have your own network,” the President said.

On the issue of policing, the President told communities that their cries have been heard and said the Minister of Police Bheki Cele would return to the area to work with local authorities.

“We have heard about the issues of police stations around here and Minister Cele will come back to work with MECs and aMakhosi to resolve issues of crime and policing,” he said.

Some residents complained that services or projects stopped because there had been a change in leadership. In response to this, the President said the work of government must be consistent and it must not stop because of change in leadership.

Regarding the poor state of some of the roads, the President promised the residents that had gathered at the event that government would do more when it comes to roads while noting that there has been some improvement in certain areas.

President Ramaphosa said government will come up with more projects like the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) to create more jobs for the youth.

“The issue of unemployment does not only affect those who are 18-35, it is right across the country. We will come up with projects that will provide employment opportunities. We currently have the PES, which hired one million people throughout the country.

“We want it to continue, we are working hard to create more jobs to boost the economy. We must start building our jobs at a local government level, as well as provincial level,” the President said.

President Ramaphosa said government was busy resolving the water challenges across the country.

He told the community members that the Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu has been visiting different areas to assess their challenges and that he was working hard to resolve them.

“It is not true that government is doing nothing regarding the water challenges. We are doing a lot and we are laying out money here in the province and nationally as well to address water challenges.”

President Ramaphosa extended his gratitude to the scores of residents for gathering at the venue and thanked those who acknowledged the work being done by government in their communities.

The Imbizo follows a commitment he made to engage with communities throughout the country in his 2022 State of the Nation Address (SONA).

The imbizo platform builds on the District Development Model (DDM), which calls for greater cooperation between citizens and public representatives.

The DDM embodies an approach by which the three spheres of government and state entities work in unison in an impact-oriented way, and where there is higher performance and accountability for coherent service delivery and development outcomes

Source: Nam News Network