Headlines
ASUU Strike: Students Protest, Barricade Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Carpet FG
Motorists and commuters were stranded along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Tuesday when some students, under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students, South-West zone, protested against the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Universities strike and the fuel scarcity in the country.
The protesters, who blocked both sides of the expressway around the Car Park C, Mowe, Ogun State, carried placards with various inscriptions and sang solidarity songs.
The activities of the protesters grounded traffic with many travellers trapped in the gridlock.
The NANS Chairman in Ogun State, Kehinde Simeon, who spoke on behalf of the students, said the association was giving the Federal Government seven working days to address the ASUU strike and the fuel scarcity.
Simeon threatened that if the government failed to address the issues before the expiration of the ultimatum, students would block all major roads in the South-West.
Speaking with one of our correspondents, the student leader noted that the association believed that the fuel scarcity was created by the Federal Government to hike the price of fuel.
He said, “One of the issues is the ongoing fuel scarcity which we perceive to be a kind of artificial scarcity which the Federal Government is trying to use to depict people’s opinion and look for a way to further hike the fuel price.
“We believe that they are using this to test run and if we keep silent in the face of such oppression and we do not speak out in the interest of teeming Nigerian students because we are the ones at the receiving end, and the masses by extension, it is going to be an aberration.
“The second reason is the incessant ASUU strike. We see that the Federal Government has decided not to do the needful. A senator would be going home with an average of N100m monthly and people in the teaching line who helped these people in actualising their dreams could not even boast of N200,000 monthly and they expect us to sit down, cross our legs and watch all this?
“They should listen to the lecturers, do the needful, go back to the negotiation table and come back with something meaningful.”
Speaking on why the protest was brought to the expressway, Simeon said it was to send a signal to the Federal Government since the road is a federal road.
Reading a statement jointly signed by the association’s South-West chairmen at the protest ground, Simeon said, “Unfortunately, at the height of these crises, the President, in his usual manner of leaving the country at the needed time, jetted out to London for medical check-up; another exposure of the unreasonable, lackadaisical and shameful personality of the Nigerian ruling class.
“We will only be charging the Nigerian people, most particularly the working class under the Nigerian Labour Congress. to come to their historical role in ensuring this nonsense is stopped.”
The Punch
Source: Reuters
Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has alleged that there may be attempts to prevent key opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
Oseni’s remark followed a Federal High Court judgment ordering the de-registration of some political parties.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples’ Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance Party (AAP) over alleged constitutional breaches.
The judgment arose from a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties failed to meet constitutional and statutory electoral performance requirements necessary for continued recognition as political parties.
Justice Lifu subsequently barred INEC from recognising the affected parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting them to participate in activities related to the 2027 general elections.
The ruling, if upheld, could affect the political ambitions of several politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC presidential flag-bearer, and Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
But speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Oseni described the court ruling as a “test” of public reaction, warning that more actions could follow ahead of the next general election.
According to him, opposition parties such as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, should be cautious, claiming that efforts could be made to stop major figures from participating in the election.
Oseni argued that the judgment was part of a broader process aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of 2027.
He maintained that the ruling came despite some of the affected parties having recorded electoral victories in recent elections.
He warned that Nigerians must remain vigilant to safeguard the country’s democracy, stressing the need for judicial reforms alongside efforts to tackle insecurity.
Oseni said: “NDC, ADC should be careful because there will be attempt, and this is me predicting now, to ensure that Obi, Atiku and other big contenders are not on the ballot.
“This that you saw yesterday is just a test. This is not the real place where the whole thing is going. This is me predicting now.
“You know before you have a show you test the microphone. They want to see the reactions of Nigerians. More is still coming.
“You can see how they carry a judgement when ADC won two House of Representatives seats in Kogi, one Kogi House of Assembly seat, APP one chairmanship seat in Jigawa, Zenith Labour party won several seats in Abia, but they still went ahead and issued judgement for deregistration after the Court of Appeal, a higher court, said it should stay on that.
“If we want to deal with this judicial rascality, can I tell you something? The judge that gave this judgment, nothing will happen to him. Nothing on this earth. They are just coming.
“And who is leading this group? Gbajabiamila. Have you forgotten what Gbajabiamila said on Hon Ajibade’s birthday? So they are just coming. This one is just a test. The next one they will do is the NDC.
“With the way they’re going, if Nigerians don’t shine their eyes when they will finally have this election, you will not have the major contenders in the ballot. This thing they have just done is to test reactions from Nigerians.
“I saw this thing coming. You know we are going into an election in which Atiku Abubakar is the only major candidate from the North. It’s not like the last one you have Kwankwaso that can split the Kano votes. And you have Peter Obi and general consensus that a lot of people are in abject penury, insecurity is raging hard.
“This is the beginning of many things. They are just testing the microphone. It’s engineered. More is coming. Nigerians, it is you that will save your democracy. Judicial reforms have become so important as insecurity in Nigeria.”
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has picked former Rivers State Governor and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, as his running mate.
Announcing the decision, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said Amaechi’s emergence followed broad consultations within the party and reflected his strong performance as runner-up in the party’s presidential primaries as well as his track records of service to his state and the country.
According to the ADC, Amaechi’s extensive experience across both the legislative and executive arms of government, as former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, two-term Governor of Rivers State, and former Minister of Transportation, makes him uniquely qualified to complement Atiku’s leadership, strengthen the party’s national appeal, and bolster its campaign to offer Nigerians an experienced and credible alternative ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The party said the choice of Amaechi underscores its commitment to presenting a leadership team with proven governance experience and national appeal as it prepares for the 2027 presidential contest.
ThisDay
