The socio-cultural club was founded in 1971.

Speaking at an interactive session with the media, the incumbent head of the club, known as the AB National, Chief Omotunde Peter, who explained why the multiple-packaged event, which was supposed to have begun in December 2021, was starting late, said the delay was due to some challenges that faced the club.

He, however, thanked God that despite all the challenges, the programmes finally started last weekend with an Annual General Meeting, AGM, of the club on Saturday December 3rd, 2022, followed by a World Press Conference on Sunday, December 4th, 2022.

The 400-level student of Economics, said the media chat was to intimate the public with many activities to come as part of the celebrations.

He disproved the misconceptions that the club was for  unserious people.

The AB National gave a roll call of some members of the club that graduated with First-Class degrees while insisting that members of the club were found at the top hierarchy of all professions in Nigeria and beyond.

He said: “We must celebrate how far we have come in the club. The Kegites Club clocked 50 since December last year but we couldn’t celebrate it because we were in the process of registering the club. Surviving for half of a century is not what every organisation can boast of. It is half a century of producing great minds in all strata of the society while promoting African Culture.”

On his part, the chairman of the 50th Anniversary Planning Committee, Patron Lekan Osiade, gave reasons for the nearly 12 months delay of the event, explaining that the postponement was due to the process of renaming and registering the club.

Osiade noted that, but for the need to rejuvenate the club, the event would have commenced in 2021 as it was earlier billed to kick start last year, to coincide with the exact anniversary date, noting that the Kegites Club was formed in 1971.

His words: “It would have started last year but the celebration was delayed because of some challenges we went through. We had to register and distinguish the club from the multifaceted replicas. Don’t forget there are other concepts of the club all over the place.

“But we have put that episode behind us now. We are now ready for a new chapter in the life of the Kegites Club, and that is beginning with this anniversary. We will be having our in-house programmes on a monthly basis, while our public programmes will be quarterly, till we have our grand finale”, he said.

When asked about the political affiliation of the club, the chairman said it was a socio-cultural club adhering strictly to its ethos of non-political and non-religious affiliation.

Osiade, who is the Special Assistant on Information to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, said, though members were allowed to belong to political and religious organisations individually, the Kegites Club as a body remained neutral.

He therefore refused to be dragged into answering political questions.

Rather, he advised all Nigerians of voting age to collect their Permanent Voters Card, PVC, and vote the candidates that suit their purposes.

He said: “I can only advise you to ensure that you get your PVC and exercise your franchise. In the Kegites Club, we work in tandem with any government in power, we don’t canvass votes for any political party. In our club, we don’t discuss political parties or religion but we discuss good governance.

“Go and get your PVC so that you can vote for candidates of your choice as any decision taken at the polls will also affect you. The Kegites Club was founded to maintain African culture, tradition and values of Africa and this is necessary to correct the erroneous belief that Kegites is a cult group.”

According to Patron Osiade, who is a Life Senior Fellow, LSF, of the national headquarters of the club, there were so many concerns in the club about the dwindling African culture and the need to bring back African values, while blending tradition with modernization and civility.

“There is a need to bring back our cultural and traditional values. By this, we don’t mean advocating for extremism in adhering to the culture. We are not encouraging some old barbaric practices, we are clamouring for the return of our moral and cultural values with a blend of civility and modernism to preserve our traditions,” he said.

A former head of the club and an associate professor at the University of Maiduguri, Chief Biodun Ojo, also spoke on the need to have the celebration notwithstanding the delay that previously bedevilled the event.

He also explained the difference between the University of Ibadan as the national headquarters and the Obafemi Awolowo University, which is the world headquarters of the club.

According to him, the University of Ibadan remained the national headquarters of the KCN and dealt with issues pertaining to the members in Nigeria, being the highest authority in the club.

“We have a very good relationship with all other branches of the club in the West, North, East and even overseas. Kegites Club started at the University of Ibadan in 1971, while it is right that the Palmwine Drinkard Club had been founded in Obafemi Awolowo University earlier, in 1986, they adopted our name which is the Kegites Club and our distinct features. So, it is clear.”

He further revealed that former President Olusegun Obasanjo and a former President of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere were members of the club, having joined in November 1976 during that year’s convocation ceremony of the University of Ibadan.

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Akeredolu, who assented to the bill at the State Executive Chamber of his office, noted that the new amendment became imperative in light of the heightened insecurity across the state.

The governor assured that the amended Law would enhance the security architecture of the state and help the Amotekun Corps to perform better.

He appreciated the State House of Assembly for the quick passage of the bill.

Similarly, the Ondo State Executive Council has taken some far-reaching decisions to further sharpen the course of governance for the well-being of people of the state.

Addressing Government House reporters at the end of the Council meeting, the newly reassigned Honourable Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mrs Bamidele Ademola-Olateju regretted that one more death was recorded as a result of the June 5 terror attack on St Francis Catholic Church, Owo .

According to Ademola-Olateju, the number of fatalities is now 41 while 17 persons were still being hospitalised.

While commiserating with the bereaved families and praying for speedy recovery of those still in the hospital, the commissioner restated the commitment of the state government to having a memorial site built in honour of all the victims.

Also at the briefing, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Akogun Adetunji Adeleye, appreciated Governor Akeredolu for assenting to the amendment to the law which established the Ondo State Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun.

He assured that the development would scale up the operational capacities of the state security outfit.

Adeleye used the occasion to announce the procurement of the newly acquired operational vehicles to be distributed to all security operatives in the state including the Nigerian Police, Nigerian Army, Directorate of State Security and Amotekun Corps to fortify the performances of security agencies in the state.

Akeredolu on March 5, 2020 signed the bill into law.

Akeredolu, at the brief signing ceremony, which took place at the State Executive Council, SEC, Chambers warned against any political colouration of the outfit.

The signing came barely 24 hours after the House of Assembly passed the bill.

Amotekun was initiated by the six South-West governors to tackle the security challenges facing the region.

Lagos, Oyo, Ogun and Osun Houses of Assembly also signed their states’ versions of the bill on the same day.

Source: NAN

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The State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Odiko Macdon, confirmed this in a statement to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Uyo on Monday.

Macdon said that the Police Command had been inundated with inquiries about one Moses Armstrong, the actor.

He said that the actor was arrested on June 9 in the state.

“The popular Nollywood actor and singer, Moses Armstrong, has been arrested by men of the Police Command for allegedly defiling a 16-year old girl in the state.

“We arrested the suspect based on an initial complaint of rape. We have done our preliminary findings and the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) has taken over the case,” he said.

Macdon explained that the suspect was no longer with the command but taken to court on June 20 by the DPP and remanded accordingly.

Also speaking, the national president of the Guild, Mr Emeka Rollas, described the case as “a very serious one”.

He said it was being handled by the wife of the governor, Mrs Martha Emmanuel, through her Family Empowerment and Youth Re-Orientation Path Initiative, FEYReP.

Rollas explained that the accusation was a sad development, as it involved one of their own and the organisation would not condone such a crime.

“To get involved with a child as young as 16 years is not something I and the association I represent, would stand for.

“This is a very sad development involving a member of ours, but I wouldn’t want to comment any further on this case,” he said.

Armstrong, until his arrest, was a Special Assistant to the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel.

The guild has suspended the Nollywood actor over the allegation.

Source: NAN

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The Presidency made the clarification on Tuesday in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.

The Presidency said the proposed amendments as sent to the president for assent entailed major legal, financial, economic and security consequences for all Nigerians, principal among which would be a severe spike in the cost of holding primary elections by parties – integral to democracies the world over.

That, it said, was in contradiction to the purpose for which an amendment was proposed.

The statement reads in full:

The President’s decision to withhold assent from the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021 has come under scrutiny from media and political circles. This is quite correct because it is a decision that will impact all Nigerians. The President’s Office has decided therefore to issue an official statement to make its position clear.

Nigeria’s strength as a nation and its status as one of the wealthiest economies in Africa with one of its highest standards of living owes above all to its proud democratic processes, which are enshrined in the Electoral Act of 2010.

It is this act which the new bill seeks to amend. These amendments have been presented as a means to enhance and build upon our democratic processes. After careful review, the President’s Office has found that the opposite is true.

Rather, the proposed amendments entail significant legal, financial, economic and security consequences for all Nigerians, principal among which would be a severe spike in the cost of holding primary elections by parties – integral to democracies the world over.

And who would shoulder these costs? The Nigerian taxpayer of course. And who would benefit? Only the richest of political parties. At a time when the nation is seeking to extricate itself from the economic mire of the worst global health crisis in living memory, whatever other merits the new bill may have, now is not the time for such frivolous spending of public money.

Inevitably, the usual voices are making themselves heard, with cynical claims of election rigging and so on. This is nothing new. We heard their self-serving cries of fraud in 2015, when we saw the first peaceful transfer of power in independent Nigeria’s history. Then again in 2019, when President Buhari was re-elected with a lead of over three million. We will hear them again in 2023.

Until then, the President will do whatever he can to protect this country’s democracy, and that includes withholding assent from this Bill. It is worth noting that, as one of Nigeria’s largest political parties, the ruling APC is one of those that stand to benefit from a bill that favours wealthier parties. But it is not the job of this government to protect the APC. It is the job of this government to protect Nigeria, her people and her democracy.

To those that would rather that limited public funds be spent on politicking during this time of global crisis, we say: cease these cynical games. Tell the Nigerian people openly what you want. Put your – or rather their – money where your mouth is.

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The steps are being taken to help ensure accident-free road transportation.

Also, the company, as parts of its efforts at ensuring accident-free trucking disclosed that it had partnered the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, to help in the recruitment, training and monitoring of its drivers.

Speaking during the awareness campaign, Dangote Cement, Ibese Plant Director, Mr. Azad Nawabuddin, explained that beyond reduction of road crashes, the company was targeting zero accident especially during festive periods when the roads are usually congested.

Explaining the theme for the campaign, “Use Road Like Person Wey Sabi”, the Dangote plant director noted that the message of being considerate while using the road was directed at its truck drivers, the commercial motorcyclists and drivers of light vehicles operating in and around the plant, as well as other members of its communities.

He said, “I therefore enjoin all these actors on our roads who are well represented here today to learn and imbibe necessary tips to improve their use of the road in a professional manner and help cascade the safety messages to their colleagues hereafter.

“We, as government, corporate organisations, communities and individuals must all join hands and play our part in ensuring safety on our roads because safety is a collective responsibility.

“Earlier today, we had taken the road safety campaign to our neighbouring communities via road shows coordinated by FRSC and our employee volunteers in recognition of the communities as our key stakeholders and partners.

“I am glad that the messages were well received, and it is our hope this will drive some attitudinal change in the way we use the road.”

In the same vein, the assistant director of transport in charge of safety and operation in Dangote Cement, Mr. Sanusi Iskilu, revealed that the company is fixing board cameras on its trucks so as to help in achieving the zero-accident target.

Iskilu explained that Dangote cement also employed the service of external stakeholders who give feedback on the performances of its drivers, noting “we have a lot of initiatives that we have taken on board. In the recent year, you will discover that our accidents have reduced drastically and we have improved.”

He added: “Strategically, we have been able to fix onboard cameras on some of our trucks, so, we are able to see drivers in transit in their cabin and they are cautioned as well. We have external stakeholders that give feedback of our drivers performance in transit for us to immediately act and ensure that they are monitored and they are strictly brought under control.”

He added that the awareness campaign started with reduction in road crashes and has now “moved from our campaign of no harm to people to no accident at all. So, if there is no accident, we can’t hurt anybody let alone killing and we want to consider everybody on the road. And this has even given us credibility from the public apart from the regulatory agencies.”

While giving his lecture, FRSC commander, Caleb Yerima, maintained that every road users needed to adhere strictly to the rules and regulations guiding it while commending Dangote Cement for embarking on the awareness campaign and the training of its truck drivers so as to help in reducing accidents on Nigeria road.

He said, “Dangote has been doing that; that is why they engage their staff in different training to enhance their performance. For spending billions of naira to purchase vehicles, it means that it also needs training them to preserve the vehicles. We cannot just handover investments to someone that doesn’t know how to use it. And that is why training and retraining is very important.”

Highlight of the Dangote Plant Road Safety Awareness Campaign programme was the presentation of hundreds of C-Caution, 500 reflective jackets and 100 motorcyclist helmets to the participants at the event.

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Precisely, the benchmark index rose by 21.88 points or 0.05 per cent to close at 40,243.05 from 40,221.17 achieved on Thursday.

Accordingly, month-to-date and year-to-date returns stood at 0.1 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively.

Similarly, the market capitalisation gained N15 billion to close at N20.970 trillion from N20.955 trillion posted on Thursday.

The upturn was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Eterna, United Capital, AXA Mansard Insurance, Pharm-Deko and FBN Holdings.

On market performance this week, United Capital Plc expected some profit taking on the bourse amid last week’s rally.

The market breadth closed positive with 23 gainers against 14 losers.

AXA Mansard Insurance led the gainers’ chart in percentage terms with 9.87 per cent to close at N2.56 per share.

Pharm-Deko followed with 9.79 per cent to close at N2.58, while University Press appreciated by 9.76 per cent to close at N1.35 per share.

Consolidated Hallmark Insurance went up by 8.77 per cent to close at 62k, while Courteville Business Solutions appreciated by 8.57 per cent to close at 38k per share.

On the other hand, Morison Industries led the losers’ chart in percentage terms by 10 per cent to close at N1.89 per share.

Northern Nigeria Flour Mills followed with a decline of 9.94 per cent to close at N7.70, while Veritas Kapital Assurance shed 8.70 per cent to close at 21k per share.

Cornerstone Insurance lost 8.62 per cent to close at 53k, while Jaiz Bank depreciated by five per cent to close at 57k per share.

Transactions in the shares of Fidelity Bank topped the activity chart with 18.59 million shares valued at N46.77 million.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company followed with 18.27 million shares worth N512.42 million, while FBNH traded 18.15 million shares valued at N147.87 million.

Universal Insurance traded 15.48 million shares worth N3.23 million, while Champion Breweries transacted 14.19 million shares worth N29.09 million.

However, the total volume of trades dipped by 80.7 per cent to 202.36 million shares valued at N1.86 billion traded in 4,066 deals.

This was in contrast with 1.05 billion shares worth N7.42 billion exchanged in 3,752 deals recorded on Thursday.

Source: NAN

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In an emotional statement, she said she had done her best to deliver Brexit and it was a matter of “deep regret” that she had been unable to do so.

Being prime minister had been the “honour of my life”, she said.

Mrs. May said she would continue to serve as PM while a Conservative leadership contest takes place.

It means she will still be prime minister when US President Donald Trump makes his state visit to the UK at the start of June.

Mrs May announced she would step down as Tory leader on 7 June and had agreed with the chairman of Tory backbenchers that a leadership contest should begin the following week.

Boris Johnson, Esther McVey and Rory Stewart have said they intend to run for the party leadership, while more than a dozen others are believed to be seriously considering entering the contest.

The prime minister has faced a backlash from her MPs against her latest Brexit plan, which included concessions aimed at attracting cross-party support.

Andrea Leadsom quit as Commons leader on Wednesday saying she no longer believed the government would “deliver on the referendum result”.

Mrs May met Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt at Downing Street on Thursday where they are understood to have expressed their concerns about her proposed withdrawal bill.

In her statement on Friday, she said she had done “everything I can” to convince MPs to support the withdrawal deal she had negotiated with the European Union but it was now in the “best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort”.

She added that, in order to deliver Brexit, her successor would have to build agreement in Parliament.

“Such a consensus can only be reached if those on all sides of the debate are willing to compromise,” she said.

Mrs May’s voice shook as she ended her speech saying: “I will shortly leave the job that it has been the honour of my life to hold.

“The second female prime minister, but certainly not the last.

“I do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love.”

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said she had been “right to resign” and that the Conservative Party was now “disintegrating”.

A series of Conservative MPs praised Mrs May following her statement.

Source:  BBC

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The Minister of State, Aviation, Hadi Sirika, made this known on Wednesday while speaking with journalists at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said the decision followed the crash in Ethiopia which led to the loss of 157 people on board, including two Nigerians – Professor Pius Adesanmi, and an ex-diplomat, Abiodun Bashua.

He said the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority had warned against flying into and out of the country using Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9.

This, he explained, was pending the outcome of the findings into the cause(s) of the crash in Ethiopia and also pending the outcome of the response of the manufacturer, Messers Boeing.

Said he:  “Regarding Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9, that has been in the news recently, there is no cause for alarm as there is no operator in Nigeria that is using that type of airplane.

“The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, whose mandate it is to issue advisory, has already issued advisory that nobody should fly into Nigeria or out of Nigeria using Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9, pending the determination of the actual cause of the crash in Ethiopia and also pending the outcome of the response of the manufacturer, which is Messrs Boeing.

“Regardless of the enormous safety records of this plane 737, it has caused concern in the world of aviation and you know aviation is universal, whatever affects one affects the other because aircraft will be flying in and out. So, we have issued directive that no operator with Boeing 737 Max 8 or Max 9 should operate into and outside our airports and this is being carried out.”

Sirika spoke on the order placed for the model of the aircraft by Arik and Air Peace.

“Regarding Air Peace and Arik orders, whether those orders were confirmed or intent, it is to our knowledge in the ministry that they won’t be in the country until the next two years or so.

“And this is enough period to sort out whatever problem it is with that plane. The world of aviation will not be sleeping just as we in Nigeria will not be sleeping. And it is normal standard practice that once a particular aircraft type is involved in accident back to back, it is withdrawn from the market and see if there is something they are doing wrong.

“And if it is confirmed that a particular problem say for instance, landing gear, they will issue an instruction to ground such plane worldwide until the problem is fix.”

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