Headlines

Electoral reform: NGO trains South-West youths on active political participation

Published

4 months ago

January 21, 2025

MAP Media Africa, a Non-Governmental Organisation, has begun training of youths in the South-West on the need for their involvement in active political participation and electoral reform in the country.

The team leader of the NGO, Mayowa Adeniran, said during that the one day training in Osogbo, it was aimed at increasing youth’s active participation in political processes and electoral reform in the country.

Adeniran, who noted that the training would cut across the six states in the South-West geopolitical zone, said that the project was to mobilise, empower and engage young people for sustainable electoral participation.

He said that the NGO was training the youth by focusing on the top five “youth election reform priorities” in the country.

According to him, the reform includes; establishment of an electoral offences commission, timely transmission of election results, interpretation and amendment of continuous registration laws, pre-election petition resolutions and INEC leadership selection process reform.

“At the end of all these, we want to see how we can increase youths participation as the 2027 general elections approaching.

“The training is to stimulate conversation around electoral reform, the use of digital media to engage and the reason for the shift in voter apathy.

“The training is also to let the youth see how their participation can reduce political violence and how they can engage their fellow youths to participate in politics,” he said.

Adeniran, who noted that the training was a regional project, said it was supported by Canada Funds for Local Initiatives (CFLI).

He also said that the youth were expected to train other youths at their various senatorial districts.

Also speaking, Mrs Bunmi Eyelade, South-West Director of programmes, Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), an NGO, said that the training was to encourage the youth to continue to participate in electoral processes and its reform.

“We know that at this point, the young people are disillusioned about elections in country, considering what happened in 2023 general elections and thereafter.

“This training, however, is expected to encourage the young ones to see reasons why they need to take active participation in electoral processes for a positive change,” she said.

Some of the participants commended the NGO for the initiative, describing it as an eye opener.

A participant, Adetunji Ajala, Chairman of National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) in Osun, said that the training had deepened his understanding on how things should be done in electoral processes in the country.

Ajala, who commended the NGO for identifying with the relevant youth stakeholders in the state, said that they would stepdown the training at their various senatorial districts.

Mr Aghanti Smith, the General-Secretary of Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities in Osun, said the youth must be ready to take active participation in politics to ensure a better Nigeria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the participants drawn from the three senatorial districts in the state were taught on importance of electoral reform advocacy, role of youth-led movements and organisations in promoting political participation, among others.

Education

NUC grants ESUT full accreditation for Law, 7 other programmes

Published

1 week ago

May 21, 2025

Saadatu Sahabo

The National Universities Commission, (NUC), has given full accreditation to the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), for her Law programme.

According to the Public Relations Officer of ESUT, Mr Ikechukwu Ani, this is contained in a letter addressed to the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aloysius Okolie, on Wednesday in Enugu by the NUC.

Ani said that in the letter, the Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu said the report was contained in the result of the October/November 2024 accreditation of academic programmes in Nigerian universities.

Ani disclosed that other programmes in the institution accredited by the NUC include Master of Science in Business Management; Education Computer Science; Education Physics and Agricultural Engineering.

Other accredited programmes he said were Quantity Surveying; Urban and Regional Planning; and Applied Microbiology.

He said that the letter quoted Section 10 (1) of the Education National Minimum Standard and Establishment of Institutions, Act CAP E3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 as empowering the NUC to lay down minimum academic standards for all academic programmes taught in Nigerian universities.

He said the session also empowers the NUC to accredit such programmes.

Crime

Court remands 2 over alleged attempted murder

Published

1 week ago

May 21, 2025

Saadatu Sahabo

Court discharges man accused of burning father’s house in Abuja

An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, remanded two persons, Olaitan Fasasi and Kehinde Tobiloba in a correctional facility over alleged attempted murder.

Fasasi, 40, and Tobiloba, 26, whose addresses were not provided, are being charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and membership of a secret society.

The Magistrate, Mr L.A Owolabi, did not take the plea of the defendants for want of jurisdiction.

Owolabi directed the police to forward the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.

He thereafter adjourned the case until May 31 for mention.

The Prosecutor, Josephine Ikhayere, told the court that the defendants committed the offences at about 5.02p.m on Feb. 15, at Mushin, Lagos.

She said that Fasasi, Tobiloba and others now at large, attempted to commit murder by shooting at a resident, Alfred Ademola.

“They armed themselves with a locally made gun. They belong to Eiye Confraternity, a group proscribed by law,”, she said.

Ikhayere said that the offences contravened Sections 230(1) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2012.

He said that the actions of the defendants also contravened Section 2(3)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the unlawful societies and Cultism Law of Lagos State Law.

Headlines

Plateau Governor Sets Up Committee to Probe Two Decades of Attacks

Published

1 week ago

May 20, 2025

Matthew Eloyi

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has inaugurated a 10-member fact-finding committee tasked with uncovering the root causes of the persistent attacks plaguing communities across the state.

Speaking during the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday in Jos, Governor Mutfwang charged the committee with conducting a comprehensive review of violent incidents from 2001 to date. “We thought that we should set up this high-powered fact-finding committee to look at the incessant attacks on our communities,” the governor stated.

According to Mutfwang, the committee is expected to perform an in-depth assessment of the recurring security breaches, determine the number of affected communities, and assess the extent of damage done over the years. “We want to understand the root causes and propose actionable recommendations for lasting peace, justice, and stability in the affected communities,” he said.

The committee’s mandate also includes establishing the number of casualties, identifying possible perpetrators and their motives, and uncovering potential routes used by bandits to access Plateau State. “Identify possible routes of bandits into the state and recommend measures to limit their access,” the governor added.

Chairman of the committee, retired Maj.-Gen. Rojas Nicholas, thanked the governor for the confidence reposed in the members. He pledged that the committee would approach its assignment with fairness and commitment. “We will do our best to produce a report that would befit its assignment,” Nicholas assured.

The committee is expected to submit its findings and recommendations in due course, with hopes that the report will provide a pathway to durable peace and security in the state.