Michael Ojuroye Initiative (Ngo)

Governor Babatunde Fashola The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has said Governor Babatunde Fashola should learn from President Goodluck Jonathan, especially in the area of harmonious politics. The party said this against the backdrop of the Federal Government’s approval of a $200m loan sought by the Lagos State Government. The party, in a statement by its publicity secretary, Taofik Gani, accused Fashola of playing bad politics by frustrating developmental programmes of PDP councillors in their wards. The statement read in part “In the opinion of the party, the Federal Government’s gestures to an opposition state government has further confirmed that the Jonathan-led PDP Government is indeed a government of development with human face and with clear direction, contrary to the  impression being sponsored by the All Progressives Congress. “Unlike Fashola and his council chairmen who are deliberately witch hunting our few councillors by denying their wards de...

Former South African President Nelson Mandela died on Thursday at the age of 95. Mandela, the first black and post apartheid President of South Africa, died in his home in Johannesburg, according to South African President Jacob Zuma, who announced the late anti-apartheid hero’s death. Mandela was discharged from a Pretoria hospital in September after spending seven months in the lung hospital, where he was admitted for lung infection. Relatives and the South African government have consistently maintained that his condition was “stable but critical.” In announcing Mandela’s death on Thursday night, President Zuma said in his address, “Nelson Mandela, 95, passed away at his home a short while ago. While the late President’s health had been in steady decline for a number of years, it is still difficult to come to terms with the fact that he is no longer with us. “It is impossible to put into words the impact that Mandela has had on the world. He showed that peaceful resistance, ...

Nelson Mandela discharged from hospital after his battle with Pneumonia in 2013. This is the moment when Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years in company of his wife,Winnie Mandela. A former South African president, shaking hands with Nelson Mandela, when he won the election in 1994. [/media-credit] Mandela poses with the FIFA World Cup Trophy. The tournament was hosted by South Africa in 2010. That was the first time that Africa would host the world in this event. Follow us on Twitter:   Click here 

Yemisi Oyebanji, a widow, who owns a small scale frozen food shop in Ojodu area of Lagos, has been a sad woman in the last one month. Though her husband died four months ago, her sadness stemmed from the fact that her small shop, which she started in early September may soon be closed due to dwindling electricity supply. Speaking to Sweecrude on her ordeal she said “Since the first week of November, I have been encountering losses on a regular basis, as the products in my freezers easily get spoilt due to the constant blackout in this area. I lost four cartons of chicken and three cartons of turkey worth about N40, 000 in the last three weeks due to poor power supply. Not only do I encounter blackout, the bill has increased. How can a small shop like mine pay as much as N9,500, as against the N3, 000 I paid last month?” She queried. Oyebanji told Sweetcrude that the constant blackout is threatening her means of livelihood and has put her in a position that she would not know how to...

Lagos based lawyer and activist, Barrister Bamidele Aturu, yesterday, dismissed the Federal Government’s sack threat to striking university lecturers, saying that government has failed to appreciate the rot in the university system. Rather, he said government should meet the demands of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU. Aturu, who spoke at the 6th Annual Law and Social Development lecture and public presentation of a book, ‘Law and Practice of the National Industrial Court,”  at Lagos Airport Hotel, said it is “sad” that the Fededral Government has failed to appreciate the rot in the university system which ASUU wants corrected,” adding that members of ASUU would not be cowed by such threats. Condemning the “resume or be sacked” order, Mr. Aturu said: “The truth of the matter is that we no longer have universities in Nigeria. This explains why many people among the ruling class have their children and wards in foreign universities. “The demands of ASUU in my view are l...

The Banker magazine, a publication of Financial Times of London, has named Zenith Bank Plc, the “Bank of the Year Nigeria 2013” at an award ceremony held at the Intercontinental Park Lane Hotel, London. The award ceremony, which was attended by leading personalities and institutions in business and finance from around the world, celebrates the achievements of the world’s leading financial institutions. Nominees for the award were judged by their ability to deliver shareholder returns and gain strategic advantage in terms of market visibility and positioning. The award was also indicative of the level of trust and confidence on the brand and is a testament to the strong management, sound business model and prudent risk approach of Zenith Bank. According to The Banker magazine, Zenith Bank was selected based on the overall performance of the institution and the opinion of leading financial analysts from the world’s financial markets. Receiving the award on behalf of the bank, the ban...

Ahead of the December 4 deadline given by the federal government to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call off its strike, the presidency has said the federal government will do all that is needful to ensure that public universities are opened by Wednesday. The statement from the presidency coincided with the decision by the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) to comply with the federal government’s directive to vice-chancellors (VCs) to re-open the universities. UniAbuja is one of a few universities that have defied ASUU in recent weeks. The VCs of Osun and Ebonyi State Universities ordered the re-opening of their schools early last week, while the University of Nigeria, Nsukka is set to resume classes today. Addressing a press conference yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President, Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said: “The president will do the needful to ensure that the universities are opened on Wednesday. Do you think that the government is a joker? ...