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Bayelsa Youth Protest Varsity Marginalisation
Scores of young people from Bayelsa State yesterday, staged a peaceful protest to demand for the appointment of indigenes into management positions in the Federal University, Otuoke (FUO).
They accused the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Mobolaji Aluko, of marginalising the host state and alleged that none of the principal officers in the institution was from Bayelsa State.
The Tide News source reports that the protesters converged on the main campus of FUO in the early hours and locked the gate against staff and students.
They proceeded from the main campus to the administrative buildings area where they were denied entry as the gate had been locked by some security personnel who got wind of the protest.
The protest, though peaceful, caused panic among residents of Otuoke as business operators promptly closed shop apparently for fear that hoodlums could take advantage of the situation to loot.
Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “Bayelsa youth say no to change of principal officers from Bayelsa”, “Registrar is not a Bayelsan. He is short-changing Bayelsans”, “Leave our woman bursar alone’’.
Others read: “We need equal representation in the management of FUO, Otuoke”, “IYC declares war if bursar and librarian are changed” and “VC and registrar must go now, Enough is enough”.
The President, National Union of Bayelsa State Students (NUBSS), Mr Richard Lawyer, who led the action, said that they were using the peaceful protest to send a strong message to Aluko and the school management.
He alleged that the vice chancellor removed the acting bursar, who is an indigene.
He also alleged that Aluko manipulated the retention of his godsons for the post of director, physical planning and development and that of university librarian, who are non-indigenes.
Lawyer said that the people of the state would not accept the arrangement in which principal offices including heads of departments were occupied by non-indigenes.
He said that they were dissatisfied with the way Aluko had been running the university, stressing that the marginalisation of Bayelsa people must stop.
He insisted that the acting bursar from Bayelsa must be retained.
“All sensitive positions in this university are occupied by non-Bayelsans; this not right. And it will not happen in our time.
“What is happening in Federal University, Otuoke will define the future of Bayelsans. But Bayelsa state students, youths and women leaders will resist it.
“We are not happy with the way the VC and his people have been running the affairs of the university. We are warning every one of them who is behind this marginalisation to stop.
“Even if the bursar will be replaced, her replacement must come from Bayelsa,” the students leader said.
However, the Registrar of FUO, Mr David Suowari, who spoke on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, denied and dismissed the allegations of the protesting students.
He said that the university authorities had no hand in the appointment of any principal officers.
Suowari explained that all such appointments were made by the Federal Government.
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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