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Nnamani knocks Obi for weaponising religion, ethnicity for politics

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Chimaroke Nnamani, former governor of Enugu State, has criticised the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, for allegedly introducing religious and ethnic politics in Nigeria.

Reviewing the activities of the just-concluded elections, Nnamani, in a statement in Abuja, said: “Peter Obi deflowered the virgin innocence of political patriotism and nationalism in Nigeria.

“He fed our people with the sacred apple and Nigeria may never be the same again.”

The senator representing Enugu East decried the development, saying: “What was in whispers and hush tones, Peter proclaimed loud in decibels in Cathedrals and Holy Sepulchres.”

Nnamani noted that “the Roman Catholic-dominant politics Peter mastered and foisted on Anambra people when he was governor was a prelude to his nationwide campaigns”.

He alleged that “the Roman Catholic’s Family Trinity of Mary, Joseph and Jesus was what Peter spread ecumenically across the faith landscape as the Labour Party’s symbol of Father, Mother and Child”.

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The Enugu East senator also said Peter Obi‘s religious war in the garb of Labour Party politics were nationalised and universalised for all Christian dominations among Nigerians at home and abroad.

According to him, Obi proselytised “do not vote for me because I am a Christian” but “the code was clear and its subliminal assimilation final”.

He added: “For his ethnic war, he spread across Igbo domiciled areas across Nigeria, specifically markets and shopping malls.

“He picked out Christian minority areas for his campaigns in Northern and Central Nigeria. His dual opium of tribalism and religious bigotry have made national landing to depart no more.”

An Enugu Catholic Priest, Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka of Adoration Ministry, had publicly apologised for the partisan role the church played during this year’s general election.

He said: “The world should hear me. I’m using my name as a reverend father, a prophet and a messenger of God to apologise on behalf of the whole men of God: pastors, priests and bishops. I’m not worthy to apologise for bishops, but I’m apologising.

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“Let the mercy of God descend because what we did within this political moment, a lot of indescribable political brouhaha and political jingoism and a lot of atrocities we manifested by burying the power of the sacrament beneath political forces, political huffs and vultures, and they want to ‘vulturise’ the church.

“We turned the church into campaign centres. We turned the church into a place of politicking. We messed up the altar. We defiled the altar of the Most High God.

“We offended God and we started teaching the people in the church where to vote and how they would do it.

“Where they drew humans, the church said it’s the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (The Trinity). Lots of blunders were made by taking the glory of God and giving it to mortals.

“I’m pleading for the mercy of God. I pray that God will forgive us for we have got it wrong this time.”

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UK local election: Boris Johnson turned away from polling station after forgetting valid ID

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Former prime minister of the UK, Boris Johnson, was turned away from his local polling station after forgetting to bring the required photo identity.

 

Johnson had joined locals in South Oxfordshire on Thursday to vote in the police and crime commissioner election.

Polling officials however told him he would not be allowed to vote without providing his identity.

There are 22 acceptable forms of ID in the UK including passports, driving licences, blue badges, and certain local travel cards.

 

As prime minister in 2022, Johnson introduced the Elections Act which requires photo ID — a development that sparked intense criticisms from Britons.

Last year, the Electoral Commission warned that the new law could exclude hundreds of thousands of people, including minorities and those with disabilities.

A spokesperson for Johnson confirmed he had forgotten the photo ID, but that he was able to cast his ballot after he returned with a valid ID.

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“Mr Johnson voted Conservative,” Sky News quoted the spokesperson as saying.

Downing Street said it would “look into” changing the controversial rules which require photo ID in order to vote, so that ID cards of veterans can be added to the list of valid identification.

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Governors can pay N615k minimum wage if they get priorities right – NLC

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President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, says state governors can afford to pay the proposed N615,000 minimum wage if they get their priorities right.

Ajaero spoke on Thursday during an interview with Channels Television.

 

Recently, organised labour announced that the new minimum wage should be pegged at N615,000.

The proposal came amid ongoing minimum wage negotiations between federal and state governments on one hand, and organised labour on the other.

 

In 2019, the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari pegged the national minimum wage at N30,000.

After the new minimum wage was announced at the time, it took some states forever to implement the increment.

 

Asked during the interview if organised labour’s proposal of N615,000 is realistic, Ajaero said the amount is the “most realistic” given the galloping inflation in the country.

 

The NLC president said organised labour considered factors like transportation, housing, and feeding before arriving at the sum.

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“If you are talking about being realistic, the N615,000 demand is the most realistic. Being realistic is not about slave wage,” Ajaero said.

 

“However, N30,000 is big money if inflation is brought down, and at a single digit.

“Look at the indices that create inflation. If you check them, you can talk about being realistic. All other factors in the country are going high and wages remain constant.”

 

Asked if states can afford the N615,000 proposal, the NLC president averred that it is not about ability to pay but the priorities of states.

“I think we need to understand the issues of ability to pay and not getting the priority right,” he added.

 

“Most of the states that have shown willingness to pay the current minimum wage are not among those getting the highest revenue.

“During the time of Muhammadu Buhari, some states were declared not having enough money to pay and he released funds for them to pay.

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“Those states still refused to pay. It is not the question of either the quantum of money that they have or not, it is what they decide to do with such money.

 

“If they get their priorities right, then a lot can happen.”

 

Organised labour has also threatened to embark on a strike if a new minimum wage is not announced before May 31, 2024.

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15-yr-old Kwara public school student scores 362 in UTME

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A student of a public secondary school, Government Secondary School, Omu Aran, Kwara State, Olukayode Victor Olusola, scored 362 marks in this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, to be among the contenders for the highest scorers in the examination.

Though the Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Prof. Isaq Oloyede, organisers of the exam, had said the Board would not announce the highest scorer to avoid last year’s experience of confusing claims, Olukayode’s score is celebratory, as it is among the highest in recent years.

He scored 95 marks each in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry and 77 in English Language.

 

His exploit is coming against the backdrop of the poor performance of candidates in the exam in which 1.4 million scored less than 200 marks out of 400. The exam was taken by over 1.8 million candidates

Also, Olukayode’s excellent performance is coming at a time when confidence is greatly eroding in what public schools have to offer and some private schools are boasting of being the most expensive in the country.

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Olukayode was born in 2009 and hopes to study Electrical Electronic at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State.

 

His mother, Beatrice Tosin, while giving all the honour to God, also praised the studious and hard working nature of her child.

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