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Category Politics|Sports

Politics|Sports

SGBV: FG to review 2017 national policy on justice

By Ebere Agozie/Pauline Ochai

The Federal Government says it will review the 2017 national policy on justice in order to encapsulate Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) matters.

Justice Minister, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, said this on Tuesday in Abuja in his keynote address at a high-level engagement with states on “Promoting Rule of Law and Enhancing Criminal Justice Pathway to Address Sexual and Gender Based Violence Against Women and Girls.

The three days programme was organised by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF ) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Fagbemi, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary and Solicitor General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Justice, Beatrice Jeddy-Agba noted that the review will aim at providing a sustainable framework to address SGBV challenges.

“Though the task ahead appears enormous, I call on all various states, stakeholders, state actors and international development partners to commit to the effective implementation of all policy programmes and laws relating to SGBV”.

The Resident Representative of UNDP, Mr Simon Ridley said the interventions under the EU-UN initiatives rooted in victims-centred modality, norms and international standards reflected its shared commitment to creating a safer and more equitable world.

While delivering her own speech, the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy disclosed that her ministry is ready to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in building a robust synergy in its drive to closing the existing data gap on SGBV.

She, therefore, enjoined state actors and stakeholders to also amplify their advocacy campaigns about the challenges.

Both the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun and Director General National Agency For the Prohibition of Trafficking in Person (NAPTIP), Dr Fatima Waziri-Azi emphasised on synergy, alignment, collaborations and support from the judiciary to win the war.

They both also agreed that their strengthening of zero tolerance to SGBV, establishing gender desks across the federation and securing of different convictions were all pointers to their readiness.

NAN reports that the policy seeks to promote human rights and access to justice for all, especially the poor, weak and vulnerable.

It also seeks to promote correctional and restorative justice and alternative dispute resolution; Preserve and maintain the plural character of the Nigerian legal system and Promote independence and impartiality of the Judiciary.(NAN)

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edited by Sadiya Hamza

Politics , Politics|Sports

LP kicks against  delay in conduct of LGA election in Bayelsa

By Angela Atabo

Labour Party  has vowed to stage a  peaceful protest over Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa’s alleged outright refusal to conduct local government elections.

The  Factional  National Chairman of the party Lamidi Apapa, made  this known in  a statement in Abuja.

Apapa  urged the Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC) to do the needful

“If BYSIEC fails to issue a notice to commence the process of local government elections before month end, the party would resort to civil actions aimed at pressuring the governor to do the needful.

“The civil action would be peaceful, but resolute, in our pursuit of electoral justice and democratic representation for the people of Bayelsa State,” he said.

Apapa said that the governor would  not deny the importance and significance of the grassroots to the development of a state, as local government areas were created to help establish, nurture sustain democracy and democratic political culture.

He said that as such ,LGAs needed to be given  powers to function effectively, to stabilise and strengthen the political system.

He further said that the importance of local government in ensuring democratic representation for the people at the grassroots level could not  be over-emphasised.

“The people of Bayelsa State, particularly those at the grassroots deserve elected officials who can effectively advocate their needs and drive development initiatives.

“We are concerned that funds intended for local governments in Bayelsa State are being withheld by the state government, instead of being allocated to democratically elected local government officials

“We view the development as a deliberate neglect of the local area, contradicting the governor’s claims of pursuing a prosperous administration,” he said.

According to Apapa, Labour Party strongly condemned  the utilisation of civil servants to administer local government affairs describing  it as an unconventional and backward approach.

He said that the delay in conducting the  local council election may be driven by the governor’s political agenda, contrary to his earlier statements of prioritising the people’s development over political maneuvers.

He said that the attention of the party had also been drawn to the slow progress of the ongoing case in Sagbama High Court, Yenagoa, aimed at compelling the governor to conduct elections.

Apapa  also expressed concerns about alleged potential interference with the judicial process.

He, therefore, urged the governor to respect the independence of the judiciary, which played a crucial role in his assumption of office.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

Politics|Sports

Man to walk London Marathon backwards in support of Ukrainians

A father who previously crawled the London Marathon dressed as a gorilla is to walk the famous event backwards this year as a means of “looking over my shoulder for Ukraine.”

Tom Harrison, who lives in Amersham, Buckinghamshire in the UK, and works in project management, said there were several reasons behind his idea to walk the London Marathon backwards.

The London Marathon is to take place on April 23.

“At school we had a motto which was in Latin and it translated to: Look forward and look back,” he said.

“It meant look at what you’ve achieved, look at what you’ve done and where you’ve come from -– don’t forget that -– but also look forward to the future and what’s still to come and what you can still achieve.

“I’m going to keep that in mind for the walk because I’m going forward but also looking backwards.”

The 46-year-old is no stranger to taking on unique feats, having walked 263 miles in 15 days from Land’s End in Cornwall to Parliament Square in London in September 2022.

He also crawled the 26.2 mile marathon route in a gorilla outfit in 2017 as his alter-ego “Mr Gorilla.”

Harrison added that he thought his “quirky” and “eye-catching” idea would help to publicise the cause.

The funds generated from the event are being donated to Red Cross to support Ukrainians embroiled in the ongoing war with Russia.

“There was a mass missile strike in Ukraine just recently, which was launched by the Russians, and knocked out energy supplies across lots of cities and killed numerous people”, he said.

“This is something we don’t have to face here –- yes, we have higher energy bills –- but at least we can put the heating on for a bit when we need it.

“But in Ukraine a lot of people don’t have this option a lot of the time.

“And most Ukrainians will know someone who has been killed during the war and it’s really horrible what they are going through. So, they still need to be supported and not forgotten about.

“I am kind of looking over my shoulder for Ukraine.” (dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Olawale Alabi

Politics|Sports

Kubwa youths enjoy football as voting continues

By Emmanuel Afonne

Major streets in Kubwa, a popular satellite town in Abuja, were on Saturday turned into football playing fields in spite of the large turnout of voters at various voting centres in the area.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who went round the centres reports that some of the players had already cast their vote, while others were waiting for their turn.

The first set of players were seen at Jaji Street, near the Chief’s Palace, while another group were busy with play along the Kubwa Village Market Road.

One of the players, Thomas Edeh, said he voted as early as 9:30 a.m., but decided to exercise his body and wait for the result.

At the Kubwa market, another player who only gave his name as Sule, said he was unable to collect his Permanent Voters Card (PVC), and as such decided to stay away from polling units.

Sule, however, said he already instructed his family members who got their PVCs who to vote for.

NAN reports that as at noon, voting was going on smoothly in all the polling units in phase 2, site 2 and Kubwa Village, including the Lea Primary School which is the Registration Area Centre (RAC) for Kubwa ward. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Vincent Obi