By Afolabi Adetunji Lagos, Nigeria.

Steven N’Zonzi is still having a very impressive season in Spain. The former Stoke City player is one of Sevilla’s most important components in their fight for the title this year, something that comes as a surprise even for those who follow him closely.

The player is in no doubt in form, and they take stats to compare him to other league players. By only considering the passes per game, they found out N’Zonzi is first in the league, leaving all of Barcelona and Real Madrid players behind.

Now many English clubs have been interested in bringing him back to the Premier League, and this time, Arsenal are mentioned in that list.

N’zonzi  club Deportivo claims that Arsenal, Juventus, Chelsea and Manchester City are all intrested in the player, and his father Fidele is being hard on the negotiations with the Spanish side to renew his contract.

The player currently has a €30m release clause, although Estadio Deportivo claims his ‘real price’ should be something between €40m and €50m. That’s why Sevilla are in a hurry for an extension.

It’s perhaps surprising that Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, or any other club interested, haven’t had a go at matching the clause and trying to convince the player.

By Scroll reporter Lagos, Nigeria.

 A renowned economist and a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress APC, Prof. Pat Utomi has attributed the backwardness of Delta State to poor governance, noting that Delta today has become like a land ravaged by locust.

He spoke at a reconciliatory visit to some APC leaders in Delta Central hosted by Dr. Veronica Ogbuagu in Warri, Wednesday.

Prof. Utomi stated that Delta state could have become the Dubai of Africa, considering the resources that accrued to the state.

He blamed successive administrations since 1999 for the sorry state of Delta, asserting that they jettisoned great ideas which were freely offered to them to transform Delta and wasted several opportunities.

In his word: “Each time I look at my state, all I feel is shame, all Delta elites should be ashamed of what have become of their state. With all the resources that the state is blessed with, we have nothing to show more than decayed infrastructure.

“To change this narrative; APC in Delta state must reconcile and reconstruct its strategies if we really want a better Delta, if not history will hold us all responsible for not acting when we should.”

In her remark, Dr. Veronica Ogbuagu, a former Commissioner for Education in the state, collaborating Utomi’s view said that Delta state is very sick, due to poor leadership and followership, stressing that the people celebrate incompetency and mediocrity.

Bemoaning the poor state of things in Delta, she noted that; “if nothing is done to change the state of things in Delta, the generation to come will spit on our graves, because Delta has become a failed state.”

While appreciating the need for unity in APC, Dr. Ogbuagu said that there cannot be any meaningful reconciliation until the “illegal” Delta state executive of the APC is dissolved, and an all-embracing caretaker committee put in place, and congress held, the party will just be joking.

By Scroll reporter Lagos, Nigeria.

The Save TASUED and Fund Education Coalition (STAFEC) wishes to seize this medium to inform the mass of the Nigerian populace its dauntless resolve to stage a mass action against the anti student/anti-poor policies of the Amosun led government of Ogun State on the 6th of February 2017. The mass action is aimed at showing our displeasure towards the premeditated neglect of public education especially TASUED by the Amosun Government of Ogun State. We take exception to the illegal and arbitrary tax of N10, 000 imposed on students and we reject in totality, the increment in acceptance fee from N30, 000 to N40, 000. The coalition maintains an outright rejection of the introduction of N25, 000 registration fee; we consider it as fraudulent, thoughtless and unacceptable especially at the time the same students and their unpaid parents barely managed to pay the pocket tearing N76, 500 school fees, astronomical acceptance fee and many other ridiculous charges. We consider it as wicked to impose such enormous burden on poor Nigerian parents at a time of a biting recession that sees the average Nigerian family regard a two square meal as an unaffordable luxury.

The coalition demands immediate reversal of all of these anti-poor policies, a careful probe into the spending of the University management and immediate upward funding of the University vis the prompt/adequate payment of the allowances of Staff Unions of the institution. The government in the past years has deliberately starved the University of the Needed Fund to indeed function as a qualified tertiary institution.  The respective state governments of Ogun State have for a very long time taken a huge delight in Underfunding TASUED. For instance, the Gbenga Daniel led PDP government allocates an insignificant paltry of 61million naira on a yearly basis, although not adequate and timely. The much condemned underfunding of the Gbenga Daniel regime was only surpassed by ridiculous extent of the gross irresponsibility of Amosun led APC government whose immense hatred and disgraceful demeanor for education compelled  him to dwindle yearly allocation of the University to a mere 16million naira (even this has not been paid for quite a number of months).

This inglorious tradition of Underfunding has contributed immensely to the antiquated condition the University finds itself. Else, how does a University that is supposed to be 12 years, the first University of Education in Nigeria, second in Africa and eight in the world and yet cannot boast of modern and adequate learning facilities, decent hostels and other municipal services. It is a height of understatement to regard the laboratories and libraries as obsolete.

The consequence of this unfortunate trend of underfunding aside from the above stated disgusting scenario is inadequate payment of salaries/allowances of members of the University Staff Unions (ASUU, NASU, SSANU, and NAAT). The imposition of arbitrary tax on students is in addition to its illegality a deliberate ploy to exploit mass of students and their poor and unpaid/underpaid parents.

This reckless display of utter ineptitude by government has inevitably influenced the extortionist policies of the management of the institution. The astronomical school fees of TASUED, the increase in the charges of vocational studies (subsequently and fraudulently disguised as registration fee) from N1000 to N25, 000, the imposition of N20, 000 as penalty for late submission of clearance file and the despotic increment of acceptance fee from N30, 000 to N40, 000; are few of the many anti-poor/student policies incited by government unacceptable neglect of the
institution.

While reasserting our resolve to prosecute the February 6 mass action to press home our demands, we reiterate our demand for the immediate reversal of the above stated insensitive policies of the government and management as well as adequate funding of TASUED to the standard of a typical 21st century tertiary institution.

Signed;
Tai Solarin Students’ Union.
The National Secretariat, National Universities Education Student
Association (NUESA).
Alliance of Nigerian Students against Neoliberal Attacks (ANSA)
Abraham Adesanya Students’ Union, Students and Youth Activists Support initiative (SAYASI)

By Scroll reporter Lagos, Nigeria.

The Oyo State Government has said it would rigorously contest the legality of the interim injunction emanating from the creation of the 35 Local Government Development Areas (LCDAs) and restricting the state from conducting local governments’ election, saying that it borders on the welfare of the entire citizens, payment of salaries and grassroots development.

The state Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Oluseun Abimbola, who stated this on Tuesday at a press briefing held at the governor’s office, noted that the state government would abide by all the orders in the suit FHC/ABJ/CS/16/2017 pending determination by the court.

Abimbola pointed out that one the orders directing the 2^nd (Accountant General of the Federation), 3^rd (Central Bank of Nigeria) 4^th (Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission) and 5^th  (Federal Ministry of Finance) defendants to warehouse in an interest yielding account, all monies and or allocations belonging to the distorted 33 constitutionally recognised local governments in Oyo State, pending the determination of the Motion on Notice was an ambush on the allocation meant for the local governments in the state which would affect the welfare of the people, payment of salaries and the development of the grassroots.

The AG and Commissioner of Justice, who was assisted at the briefing by his counterparts from the Ministries of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters and Information, Culture and Tourism, Messrs. Bimbo Kolade and Toye Arulogun as well as the Special adviser to Governor Ajimobi on Communication and Strategy, Yomi Layinka, urged the citizens of the state to be peaceful and law abiding, stressing that local governments election would still hold but not until the judicial process affecting its conduct dealt with.

According to Abimbola, “fifteen (15) claimants filed actions on behalf of some villages in some LGs in Oyo and 10 defendants have been joined in the suit which include the Oyo State Government, Oyo State House of Assembly, the Attorney General of the Federation, Accountant General of the Federation, Central Bank of Nigeria, Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission,  Federal Ministry of Finance, Independent National Electoral Commission, Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission and Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, the Alaafin of Oyo.

“The suit emanated based of the grievances of these plaintiffs on the creation of LCDAs in about two local governments in Oyo Town. They submitted their petitions to the LCDAs Petitions Review Committee headed by me like other aggrieved parties and they have made their presentations. Our committee has been sitting and complaints have been reviewed. However, we are surprised that the state government is taken to court over the issue they have made presentations on. They have the right to do so under that the provision of the constitution and the legality of the orders will be rigorously contested by the government.

“Meanwhile, we are going to abide by the interim order and that puts the conduct of the already scheduled February 11, 2017 local government election on hold. The nation’s electoral body has been directed not to release the voters’ register and without this, there cannot be election. We want to reassure the citizens that election will hold as soon as we settle the court case. We urge the citizens to be law abiding and be peaceful in their endeavours,” Abimbola stressed.

Speaking at the briefing while responding to questions, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Toye Arulogun noted that it is a misrepresentation of facts for some individuals and groups to insinuate that the state government orchestrated the suit, adding that it would be unreasonable for the Oyo State Government to go to court to seek an order aimed at crippling the finances of local governments in the state at a very critical time such as this. He added that the order of the court had far reaching implications on the Government and the governed in the state.

He reiterated that the government has shown its readiness for the conduct of the elections by instituting OYSIEC, setting a date for elections, releasing funds for OYSIEC, printing of election materials and purchase of utility vehicles, pointing out that only a mischievous and cynical mind would doubt the government’s commitment to conduct the elections given the amount of evidence indicating the contrary.

The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy  Matters, Bimbo Kolade disclosed that majority of the people of the state had embraced the new LCDAs and demonstrated support by volunteering and pledging buildings as offices and homes, furniture and other essentials towards the successful take – off of the new LCDAs. He appealed to the people of the state to remain calm and assured them that government will implement the LCDAs as an actualization of the yearnings of the people.