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Frontline feminine activist and university lecturer, Stella Nyanzi has bagged an 18 month jail term for criticising Ugnada's President  Yoweri Museveni.

Nyanzi had through a facebook post carpeted Museveni's 33 year rule.

In her reaction Director for East Africa, Amnesty International, Joan Nyanyuki said that “Stella Nyanzi has been criminalised solely for her creative flair of using metaphors and what may be considered insulting language to criticise President Museveni’s leadership''.

“The mere fact that forms of expression are considered insulting to a public figure is not sufficient ground to penalize anyone. Public officials, including those exercising the highest political authority, are legitimately subject to criticism and political opposition.”

“This verdict is outrageous and flies in the face of Uganda’s obligations to uphold the right to freedom of expression for all people in Uganda and demonstrates the depths of the government’s intolerance of criticism,”

“It must be quashed and Stella Nyanzi, who has already suffered enormously for expressing her opinions, left to get on with her life.

“The Ugandan authorities must scrap the Computer Misuse Act 2011 which has been used systematically to harass, intimidate and stifle government critics like Stella Nyanzi.”

Anyanzi was arrested and detained in prison on 2 November 2018, two weeks after she posted a birthday poem considered to be abusive against the President.

The acitivist has already spent 9 months in prison.

Government at all levels have been advised to ensure governance is anchored on the all inclusive principle.

The Ezendigbo of Ibadan and Oyo state Eze and the Vice President(Southern zone)Association of Ezendigbo in Diaspora(Dr.)Alez Anozie gave this advice in a chat with Federationews2day.

‘’When government at all levels is all inclusive, it will go a long way in uniting the country and it will also go a long way in making people to have confidence in the true unity of Nigeria’’, Eze(Dr.)Anozie asserted.

Similarly, a statement by Eze(Dr.)Anozie disclosed that the President of the Association of Ezendigbo in Diaspora, Eze Ibekwe called on Igbos in the 36 states and Abuja to be law abiding. 

Eze Ibekwe, according to the statement, made this call in Ibadan, during the general meeting of all the recognized Ezendigbos residing outside the South East Geo-Political zone in Ibadan.

The statement further said that the Chief Host, Eze (Dr.) Anozie was earlier on hand to receive members of the association at his palace in Ososami, after which they proceeded on a courtesy visit to the Olubadan of Ibadanland’s palace.

It also said that both the executives and members of the association and the Olubadan gave assurances of mutual cooperation and peaceful co existence among the two tribal groups.

Women in Rwanda now occupy 54 of the 80 seats in the countrys Parliament.

The United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union seek a 30 percent minimum benchmark for women representation.

The new world record for women representation in parliament is now  67.5 %, following the announcement of the September 3 parliamentary elections results by the National Electoral Commission.

Even though the Rwanda Government places value on women's roles and has facilitated  several  reforms to aid the growth of women's capacity in civil society,  women's - and human - rights are limited.

The need to spport women in all spheres of life has been emphasized.

This postion was made known by the Interim Country Director of Plan International Malawi, Phoebe Kasoga,

There are living examples of how stereotypes are reinforced to the disadvantage of girls and women due to media representation through magazines, movies, adverts and news. This limits their potential.''

“We see that there is less support for females in certain industries. Our ambassador is an engineer and she said when she started out in the industry, she was told that she was most likely going to be sent home. This type of behavior makes women look down on themselves,”  Kasoga stated

The All Workers Convergence(AWC) has called on labor leaders in Nigeria to redeem their image  by achieving the new national minimum wageto regain workers confidence.

The AWC made this call through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

The Oyo state Wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers(NUT) says that the office of the Tutor-General is alien to the rules of the state civil service.

Th state  wing of the NUT  made this declaration  last week Saturday  through its state Chairman, Comrade Tojuade Adedoyin at an event to commemorate the 2019 World  Teachers Day in Ibadan.

''The office of the Tutor-General recently  announced by the Honourable Commissioner for Education in the state is strange to existing civil service rules of Oyo state.  Therefore for fairness, equity and justice, the teaching profession should neither be exempted nor isolated from the extant civil service rules'', Comrade Adedoyin stated.

The NUT, however, expressed its gratitude to the state Governor for his approval  of qualified Primary School teachers to be promoted to Grade level 15, adding ''we strongly appeal in furtherance of your unprecedented inclination and love for teachers and the teaching profession that the office of Permanent Secretary(Schools' Administration)should subsist to fill vacancies in al TESCOM  Zonal Offices and among the three  senatorial districts''.

Sadly, a sizable number of teachers, speaking incognito, argued that faulty political appointments was capable of affecting governance negatively.

'' There are several professionals locally, who can deliver, we do not know why they were not engaged'', the teachers wondered.

The general insinuation is that the state government is working to promote unfriendly policies inherited from the immediate past administration, while it also silently introduce certain policies that might not go down well with the people.

The dearth of trained teachers in Oyo state has been blamed on the reluctance of successive administrations in the state to address the problem.

This assertion was made by Reverend J.A Alamu, who was the chairman at an event with theme’’YOUNG TEACHERS, FUTURE OF THE PROFESSION’’, organized by the state council of the Nigeria Union of Teachers(NUT)to commemorate the International Teachers day in Ibadan, Nigeria.

‘’I shall be happy if our present government can look into this. We knew how we recruited teachers in those days, most of whom came into the profession without formal training, but we were committed, we climbed the ladder until we became true professionals. Since the teacher training was abolished, we have run into a problem of not having trained teachers.’’

‘’ This problem can be remedied. If we can’t re-introduce teacher training, we can work hard on training and retraining. All of you who came into the profession between 20 and 30 years ago are retiring, where are we heading to ? The government should do something about it, if we want to make progress in the education sector of this state and Nigeria generally. I hope the present regime under my son, Seyi Makinde will look into this, deliver my message, tell him Alamu said so. May God grant all of us long life to reap the fruits of this great profession,’’ Reverend Alamu concluded.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the NUT in the state, Comrade Tojuade Adedoyin appealed to the state government to as a matter of urgency engage the services of trained, qualified and competent teachers.

‘’Your excellency Sir, let me call your attention to the urgent need for the recruitment of new teachers in both primary and secondary schools in the state. Sir, the current statistics obtained across the state on the dwindling number of our teachers occasioned by the retirement of our teachers without new recruitment several years back needs much to be done by your administration.

‘’This year alone, Sir over two thousand(2,000) teachers have retired as at 30th September, 2019. The leadership of NUT is strongly appealing to the government to urgently employ trained and qualified teachers devoid of much political maneuvering and interference as we believe that the recruitment should be based mostly on merit’’, Comrade Adedoyin stated.

Of worry, is the fact that the shortage of qualified and competent teachers is already taking its toll on the attitude, behavior and activities of pupils and students alike.

Majority of them now use obscene language, as medium of expression, exhibit uncouth behavior and engage in crime as a means to an end.

For better understanding of the almost hopeless situation, most children of school age,primary and secondary school age, particularly residing at, but not limited to Olorunsogo, Molete in Ibadan display behavior and ways of life synonymous with crime. While the girls engage in prostitution, the boys take to various forms of crime. The high rate of drop outs in this community is already a problem. Those yet to drop out, attend both public and private schools.

The All Workers Convergence(AWC) has declared that the non-implementation of the new national minimum wage of N30,000 is capable of discouraging high productivity among workers.

The AWC made this declaration through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

''What the Minister of Labor and the Federal Government do not know is that the poor pay of workers and the non-implementation of the N30,000 new national minimum wage  will not encourage  the high productivity of workers and this is also an indication of the failure of governance.''

''The pronouncement of the Minister of Labor, Dr. Chris Ngige is very unfortunate, though we are aware that workers of Grade Levels 01 to 06 in the Federal Civil Service have had their salaries adjusted with a very meager amount. To us in the AWC, the payment is just an award from government and until the new minimum wage issue is resolved, implementation is yet to commence'', Comrade Emelieze state.

The move by the Federal Government of Nigeria to concession the 22 Teaching hospitals in the country has been described as a calculated step to empower the elite.

This position was made known by the All Workers Convergence(AWC)through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

‘’From all angles and social indices before Nigerians, it has become obvious to everybody that our so called government is giving up its responsibilities, therefore governance is been abandoned systematically. This, Nigerians have seen as an attempt to concession the 22 teaching hospitals in the country. In a nut shell, government is trying to privatize these government hospitals, thereby making the prospect of health care delivery only for the highest bidder, which of course is the elite, more of a cash and carry process’’.

‘’It therefore means that those who cannot afford the bills are free to die. The position of the AWC, is that government should immediately reverse the idea of concession of the 22 teaching hospitals it owns’’, Comrade Emelieze declared.

Government at all levels have been called upon to  encourage the youth population to pursue careers in  Technical and Vocational education.

This Call was Made by Mr. Niyi Fagbemi,  Head of the Vocational Training Centre for PrintingTechnology(Young Mens Christian Association), Ibadan, Nigeria.

''Government at all levels should do more for the youth by encouraging them to pursue careers in Technical and Vocational education. It is better to prepare a curriculum and go through it, than to embark on crash programmes whether it is thrre or six months, to avoid turning out half baked graduates'', Mr. Fagbemi stated.

He also advisedc parents and guardians to encourage their children and wards to acquire skills that would make them self reliant adding, '' so that they would have something to fall back on''.

The centre, which is non denominational, trains the youth, mostly indigent, in Printing Technology

The presence  of a Female Lawmaker  who was in the chamber of the Kenya Parliament with her five month old baby temporarily disrupted  proceedings last week Wednesday .

The acting Speaker, Christopher Omulele had, on noticing that Kwale Woman Representative, Ms Zuleika Hassan  was in the chamber with her baby, ordered her to take her child out of the chamber.

This resulted into a division among the lawmakers, with some male lawmakers pitching their tents with the female lawmakers wh insisted that Hassan should remain in the chambers.

Even though the acting Speaker ordered the Sergeant-at-Arms to implement his order, a human shield around the the female lawmaker  temporarily prevented her from  been taken out.

In a chat with newsmen after leaving the chambers, Ms Hassan, who was accompanied by her female lawmakers, expalined why she was in the chambers with her baby.

"I had an emergency and decided not to miss work but come with the baby. She is not an atomic bomb and can't explode," Ms Hassan stated.

 In 2013, Kenyan lawmakers  passed a motion directing the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) to set aside a room within Parliament buildings for breastfeeding mothers. 

The All Workers Convergence(AWC) has declared that  the scheduled meeting between members of the National Joint Civil Service Negotiating Council and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is inimical to the interests of Nigerian workers.

The AWC made this declaration known through its National Coordinator, Comrade Andrew Emelieze.

‘’Meeting at this very critical period is very dangerous for the labour movement and Nigerian workers. We are afraid, government is attempting to buy over the labour leaders and so after the meeting labour leaders would start singing another song.’’

‘’We therefore urge Nigerian workers to be ready to take personal action in their various work places, while the AWC insists that workers would never accept another table that does not reflect the interest of Nigerian workers’’.

‘’To this end, we have started mobilizing in Ibadan, to lock up the Federal Secretariat complex indefinitely on Monday 29th July, 2019 in protest against the non-implementation of the new national minimum wage and insecurity in the country, if the meeting on Wednesday between the labour leaders and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is not positive.’’

‘’The AWC calls on workers across the federation to convoke meetings and decide their fate, irrespective of the agitations by the Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) and the Trade Union Congress(TUC), Comrade Emelieze stated.

The Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Ekanem Oyo-Ita recently disclosed that the workers were making unrealistic demands.

“President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to implementing the new national minimum wage and that is why the presidential committee on the consequential adjustment arising from the minimum wage has been sitting to deliberate on it.

“And in fact, it has sat with the union leadership within the public service to come out with the consequential adjustment arising from the new minimum wage. There were a few, what I will call unrealistic demands from the unions’’, Mrs. Oyo-Ita stated.

The Head of Service also disclosed that the new national minimum wage was targeted at the low income earners, and as a result the Federal Government would not allow the demands of the Senior Staff unions to affect its implementation.

The Association of Water Well Drilling Rig Owners and Practitioners (AWDROP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint an experienced professional to oversee the affairs of the Ministry of Water Resources as he did in his first term in office.

The AWDROP made this call through its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Richard Adeyinka.

‘’It is advisable the President looks inward, when he wants to appoint a Minister for Water Resources. He should appoint someone who has experience and is well versed in the field. Those in the Ministries of Justice and Health are core professionals, same should apply for water resources, so that Nigeria can have a smooth ride in achieving the SDG 2030 goals. The professional so appointed shall make the workload much lighter, when we talk about governance. The former Minister Engr. Admu performed to the best of his ability’’, Mr. Adeyinka concluded.

Nigerians have continued to express reservations over the unimpressive performance of a number of the Ministers, President Buhari appointed in his first term in his office.

The Oyo State Fire Service has  declared that only 8 lock up shops made of plank at the Orita-Aperin Market were razed by the inferno that engulfed the market over the weekend.

A cross section of mainstream media had reported that the faulty truck of the state fire service negatively affected the inferno at the market.

The State Fire Service made this declaration through its Deputy Director, Mr. Moshood Adewuyi.

''It is a mis-statement for saying that the fire  service truck malfunctioned, in the process of putting out the fire that engulfed the Orita Aperin market. The reverse is the case, my people performed excellently well, those in the market and its surrounding can testify to this. The shops were made of combustible materials, the shops were made of plank. Of 50 of these shops, the fire service was able to contain the situation and only 8 shops were affected.  What was the situation ? The fire started at the centre of th market and we were able to curtail its spread, only 8 lock up shops were affected. Our quick intervention saved the situation. In the process of putting out the fire, the pump of the truck broke down and because of this we opted for buckets to put out the fire. I use this medium to appeal to newsmen to always contact the fire service in such a situation before publishing their reports. People can go to the market and see for themselves what we did, the whole market was constructed with combustible materials'', Mr. Adewuyi concluded.

In another development the people of the state have  expressed worry the state over the declining level of governance as a result of the freezing of the accounts of Ministiries Departmens and Agencies, just as they called on the state government to take urgent steps to address the situation.

 Nigeria Hydrological Services and Nigeria Meteorological Agency(NIMET) has warned that 11 Local Governments in Rivers state shall experience severe flooding while seven others shall experience mild flooding.

This disclosure was made by The Zonal Director of the  National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA), Walson Brandon in an interaction with Journalists.

Brandon who also stated that the forecast showed that flooding this year was expected be more than that of last year, listed the areas to be affected to include : Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, (2) Oyigbo, (3) Tai. (4) Abua/Odual. (5) Degema, (6) Akuku-Toru, (7) Port Harcourt City, (8) Obio-Akpor (9) Gokana, (10) Ahoada-West (11) Ahaoda East (12) Andoni (13) Asari-Toru (14) Bonny. (15) Ogu-Bolo (16) Okrika, (17) Opobo-Nkoro, (18) Etche as the local government that will suffer flooding.

He advised the State Government to  put in place emergency management procedures to mitigate the impeding flooding saying,''emergencies are local for example when there’s a plane crash, it happens at a place, so we expect the local residents around that area to assist in basic First Aid and also respond adequately. Since disasters happen at a particular place, we expect the people to take action concerning their environment.''

“Federal Government is a big entity that covers the 36 states and capital, in issues of emergency the first respondent is Local government, by extension the state as second before Federal government, so there’s a need for the state government to have robust state emergency team to mitigate the coming flooding. Our procedures are, if there’s an emergency, we move to the area and assess the situation and then make recommendation to our headquarters for action, pending the response from the Headquarters we assist victims with basic first aid and emergency services. so the state is expected to act first,'' Brandon noted.

In 2015, Ahoada West was submerged and  over 60 families were affected by the flooding.

​Adamawa state Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri has assured  that his administration shall involve women in governance.

Governor  Fintiri gave this assurance on Wednesday while playing host to  the state chapter of the  National Council of Women Affairs, National Association of Women Traders and other interest groups, who paid him Sallah visit at the Government House in Yola.

For the ladies, you won’t just have a place with the other room and the kitchen,not at all like what acquired in the prompt past government which endowed the ladies issues service to a man. “We are here and will be here for you. We have begun, and we will keep on doing our best for the general great of the state. We have guaranteed you an 11-point motivation, and that is the thing that we will represent toward the finish of our four years, the Governor stated.

The Trade Union Congress of Namibia(TUCN) has declared that the silence from both Government and labour leaders negotiating salary increases is deceitful and an indication that there is nothing for the workers.

This declaration was made by the Secretary General of the TUCN,  Mahongora Kavihuha, who insisted that his union was not part of the negotiation.

“The negotiations are a secret between the 'cahoots' unions and the government. We have observed the strategy of both recognized unions and government: whenever public servants raise their voice, they come and comfort us as if there is something in the pipeline, while there is nothing,” Kavihuha stated.

Senior government and trade union officials kept sealed lips on Wednesday night , refusing to disclose the outcome of  negotiations for salary increases.

The negotiations are coming on the heels  of threats by Namibian workers  to go on an indefinite strike, if the government does not increase their salaries.

Workers are demanding a 12 per cent increase in salaries, while government insists that there is paucity of funds.

Salary of workers waslast increased in 2016 by 5 per cent , with a promise by government to increase same by 9 per cent in 2017.

The increase came at a time, Teachers across the country embarked on an indefinite industrial action.

A former Governor of Oyo state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja has declared that his expectation is that the state Governor will ensure good governance by making a positive impact in all sectors of the state economy.

Senator Ladoja, who  is also the Osi Olubadan of Ibadanland, made this declaration on Tuesday,  in an interaction with journalists at his Ondo street residence in Bodija, Ibadan, Nigeria.

''Good government. Anything that is good government is what I expect from  the present government in Oyo state. Whether you belong to party A or party B, you are the Governor of everybody. Your focus must be on the people. You can play tricks before the election, but once you become the Governor it is your duty to protect everybody''.

''I expect him to do  better in all sectors, especially in education. Health, he should put emphasis on primary health care delivery. Agriculture, he must create more jobs through Agriculture. He should strive for self sufficiency'', Senator Ladoja  advised.

The Ibadan High Chief also assured that he would be ready to offer useful advice that would move the state forward if the the state Governor so requested.

''Has the Governor asked us any question that we did not answer ? There was cooperation between me and Ajimobi, but he became intolerant. We have to grow along with our problems and show unerstanding. I am sure that there is no past Governor that will not want to cooperate with the state Governor. He might want to create a forum of past Governors for this purpose'',  the former Governor stated.

Zamafara state Governor, Bello Matawallen-Maradun has assured that his administration shall reabsorb  about 1,400 workers who were laid off by the immediate past Govermment in the state.

Governor Matawallen-Maradun gave this assurance on Wednesday in his speech, during the swearing-in and inauguration of the Governor and his deputy in the  state capital, Gusau.

“We are going to set up a committee to verify them and put them into the state core civil service, except those who secured another job,’’ the Governor stated.

The state Governor who noted that the workers were recruited in line with civil service rules  and regulations, said ''Therefore, this administration will reinstate them.”

After been owed 60 months salary arrears the workers, who  were recurited in 2014, were relieved of their appointments.

He also promised  to ensure meaningful development of the state, while calling on the people to join hands with his adminsitration to deliver on his electoral promises.

Workers of the National  Lottery Regulation Commission(NLRC) have insisted that the delibrate disregard of the provisions of the Public Service Rules by the Director General of the Commission and his refusal  to put in place conditions of service for the workers among several other issues prompted them to proceed on an indefinite sit-at-home industrial action.

This disclosure was made by the Chairman of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria(ASCSN)NLRC Unit, in Ibadan, Oyo state, Comrade Austin Oseiga, in a chat with Federationews2day.

''The union highlighted in the letters, series of violation of the Public Service Rules and unfair labour practices perpetrated by the DG of the National Lottery Regulation Commission, Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila, who has been running the Commission as his personal estate''.

''The Director General has refused to process staff conditions of service for approval. He has also refused to pay Duty Tour Allowances(DTA) to qualified officers who were invited to participate in the 2017 and 2018 promotion exercises and has continued to use a security agency to conduct staff audit against the provisions on Public Service Rules'' 

Comrade Oseiga also lamented that the Director General had abandoned staff who sustained serious injury while on official assignment, while stressing that he had embarked on an '' unwarranted incursion into the privacy of vulnerable members of staff through the vexatious installation of Close Circuit Television, right inside their offices, which is against global practices''.

''Most worrisome is the fact that the DG, has become more daring as he has gone ahead to enact and implement more anti-government and workers' policies. For example, the DG  has ordered members of staff of the Commission to submit their Curriculum Vitae and academic credentials for verification by a security outfit and that ''any staff that does not submit a copy of their Curriculm Vitae and academic qualifications will have their names removed from the Commission's payroll'', the workers concluded.

Indeed, watchers of the unfolding deveopment reveal that political appointees of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) have sysematically damaged the structure of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs) in the last four years, perhaps, according to the watchers, in fulfillmnent of a sinister agenda.

Of seriuos concern, is the morale of workers in the country which has hit an all time low during the same period, as a result of the negative approach of the political appointees to administration in the affected MDAs.