…As Makinde warns head teachers: Don’t hold meetings during school hours

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday commiserated with the Tijjaniyya Movement in Nigeria over the death of 40 of its members killed in an auto crash on Sunday.

Scores of others were injured in the incident.

The victims were on their way from Kwandari in Plateau after celebrating Maulud in Saminaka, Kaduna State when their bus collided with a truck at Lere, Kaduna.

President Tinubu condoled with the families of the victims and with the governments of Kaduna and Plateau states, Mr Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President, Information and Strategy, said in a statement.

He prayed for the repose of the souls of the departed.

The President directed the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC) to improve highway monitoring and reduce the number of road accidents nationwide.

In the meantime, the Oyo State Government on Tuesday in Ibadan warned head teachers in all public primary schools against holding any form of meeting during school hours.

Dr Nureni Adeniran, Chairman of Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (OYO-SUBEB), gave the warning while monitoring schools’ resumption.

He said the development was to ensure strict adherence to the unified school timetable in all public schools in the state.

“This is a warning to all head teachers and teachers to desist from holding meetings during school hours.

“Henceforth, any primary school head-teacher who indulges in such an act will be severely dealt with,” Adeniran said.

He appealed to unions and associations within the basic education sub-sector “to adhere to the warning as the new session begins”.

The OYO-SUBEB Chairman directed the Education Secretaries to disseminate the information to all head teachers in their respective local government universal basic education authorities.

The OYO-SUBEB Chairman who expressed satisfaction with the turnout of pupils in public schools urged the teachers to be dedicated to duty.

He reiterated the commitment of Gov. Seyi Makinde’s administration towards delivering quality education in the state’s public schools.

…As Students protest power outage 2 weeks before first Semester exams

The authorities of the University of Benin on Thursday shut down academic activities in the institution indefinitely.

The university in a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Dr Benedicta Ehanire, attributed the decision to the refusal of the students to shift grounds on their demands.

The Newsmen recall that the students on Wednesday took to the streets, blocking the ever-busy Benin-Ore Highway to protest weeks of power outages on campus.

The students, who had two weeks until their first-semester examination, said the situation was severely affecting their preparation.

The students also called for a downward review of transport fares by the UNIBEN shuttle service, which was increased with effect from July 1.

It was reported that the university was thrown into a blackout by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) following the inability to reach an agreement over contentious electricity billings.

The monthly bill was said to have jumped from about N80 million to between N200 and N280 million, forcing the university to resort to power generators as well as rationalisation of power on the two campuses and hostels.

When a news correspondent spoke with the protesting students amidst heavy rainfall, they were hellbent on continuing the rampage unless their demands were met.

But in the notice of closure made available to newsmen, Ehanire described the students’ demand for a 24-hour  supply of electricity as unrealistic.

“Following the insistence of students of the University of Benin to shift grounds on their demands for twenty-four hours supply of electricity and more, considered unrealistic by the University’s Senate, the University has shut down academic activities indefinitely.

“Students are to vacate the hostels immediately while all the relevant units of the University are to take note and comply.

“However, non-teaching staff and staff on essential duties are not affected by the shutdown,” said the university’s spokesperson.

The Ajoke Ayisat Afolabi Foundation (AAAF), the philanthropic arm of SIFAX Group, has set a target of awarding a scholarship to 2,000 indigent students nationwide in 2024.

Foluke Ademokun, Executive Coordinator, AAAF, while speaking on the activities of the non-governmental organisation in the first quarter of this year, noted that the driving force behind this initiative was to support indigent parents and tackle the menace of out-of-school children.

She said: “We are focused on helping the government reduce the number of out-of-school children, so in our way, we have provided a platform where we source and pay for school fees of indigent students across Nigeria so they can access quality education, despite the financial circumstance of their parents or guardians and we have been doing this since the inception of the Foundation about 15 years ago. Thousands of underprivileged children have benefitted from the Foundation.

“In the first quarter of 2024, we have paid for over 237 students in Lagos and Zaria and we are optimistic that before the end of the year, we should reach more than 2,000 students. The Foundation also plans to equip the students with in-demand skills, promote life-long learning opportunities, and reduce inequalities in access to quality education.”

Ademokun further said the foundation also extended support to Umunna Comprehensive Secondary School, Umuosu in Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia State with the donation of 3-in-1 desks and seats to foster a good learning environment that would impact the student’s overall learning experience and success.

 “When we visited the school and we saw that the environment was not conducive for learning especially the tables and desks used by the students, we knew that an intervention was necessary to make the school attractive for the students, this was why we initiated this donation of new desks and seats. We believe that the students will be motivated and better engaged with the new desks and seats”, she noted.

Other projects executed by the Foundation and SIFAX Group in the first quarter of the year, according to Ademokun, include the provision of daily meals for indigents in Zaria, donation of foodstuffs to over 1,000 Lagos residents, free medical outreaches in Lagos and Ogun states, digital training for market women in Lagos, distribution of energy-efficient stoves to women in Abia state, and start-up grants to women in Zaria, Kaduna state. 

While commenting on the various projects, Basil Agboarumi, Executive Director, Corporate and Governmental Affairs, SIFAX Group noted that the Group was committed to investing in the underprivileged Nigerians through its various intervention projects aimed at improving their quality of life.