Alao-Akala, who was born in Ogbomosho, Oyo State, on June 3, 1950, died at the age of 71.
Details of his death remained sketchy as of the time of filing this report.
But the Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State, Dr Olatunde Abdluazeez, told news correspondent that “the news of his death is out.”
He said, “The news of his death is out. He did his best for the state. May his soul rest in peace.”
Alao-Akala was a former police officer and a former Deputy Governor to Chief Rashidi Ladoja. He became governor when Ladoja was impeached. He was a candidate of the ADP in the 2019 governorship election in Oyo State before defecting to the APC.
The Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, made this known in a statement.
The statement was titled, ‘LASG Frowns At Non-Compliance With Academic Calendar By Some Schools’.
Seriki-Ayeni reiterated that part of the mandate of her office was to develop a harmonised school calendar in conjunction with stakeholders in the education sector and ensure compliance, stressing that the monitoring exercise embarked upon by the officials of the Agency was to appraise the level of compliance with the resumption date, students’ presence and COVID-19 safety protocols.
“During our recent exercise to monitor the level of compliance with Tuesday 4th January, 2022 resumption date, we observed that the level of compliance was low. We are going to seal the schools that have not adhered to the academic calendar with ‘Notice of Non-Compliance’ stickers and issue letters of invitation to the Administrators to visit our office in Alausa where further disciplinary actions will be taken,” Seriki-Ayeni was quoted as saying.
It disclosed this while reacting to the recent marginal drop in the cost of cooking gas.
According to findings, the price of 12.5kg LPG has dropped from N8,800 to between N8400 and N8200. In some outlets, the price of the commodity dropped to between N7,800 and N8,000.
“It is in government’s interest for the price to go down consistently and there are certain initiatives that are being taken at the moment, which hopefully will see to further drops in price regardless of the international cost,” the Programme Manager, National LPG Expansion Implementation Plan, Office of the Vice President, Dayo Adeshina, stated.
When asked to state one of such initiatives, he replied, “The discussions are still ongoing and there are certain things that you can do to stimulate the market which will have an effect. One of them also has to do with storage.”
He added, “Now, as of the third of January this year, that figure is $744 per tonne. So you can see there is a drop from about $800 around November to $700 in January. The issue here is that the price has been fluctuating.
“Yes you have the effects of Customs and the position of the VAT that made people pay tax for what they imported even in 2019 and 2020. Of course, some importers stopped importing, but there is a resolution going on to resolve that aspect.”
Asked whether the Federal Government had removed the VAT on cooking gas imports, Umudu replied, “It (government) has not been enforcing the tax and has remained silent about it, but has not said anything about removing it. This also has helped in price reduction.”
This is according to a statement signed by the Board’s Head of Media and Protocol, Dr Fabian Benjamin, which noted that any claims that the sale of forms had commenced was fraudulent and should be disregarded.
The statement reads, “The attention of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has been drawn to the activities of unwholesome elements who had been misleading the general public on the purported commencement of the sale of the 2022 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and Direct Entry application documents.
“For the avoidance of doubt, any information in circulation purporting to have emanated from the Board to the effect that the sale of the 2022 UTME and DE forms has commenced is not only fraudulent but is a calculated attempt by mischief makers to create unnecessary panic among prospective candidates for their own selfish ends.
“It should be noted that the commencement of the sale of the Board’s application documents in any given year has never been shrouded in mystery rather it is always a well-publicised undertaking in the print media as well as online and electronic platforms.
“Although the Board has concluded all arrangements to commence the sale of the 2022 UTME/DE Application Documents in due course it is yet to fix any date for its commencement.
“The general public is, therefore, by this notice urged to be mindful of speculators who are in the habit of second-guessing the Board’s on certain procedural issues with the aim of defrauding hapless candidates.
“The Board wishes to inform the general public that they would be sufficiently informed of the commencement of the sale of EPINs once approval has been granted by relevant authorities.
“Furthermore, the announcement of a suitable date to commence the sale would be accompanied by well-defined information on the procedures for the purchase of the e-pins, creating a profile, and where to go for biometric capturing, among other essential details.”
Less than two weeks to the start of the Africa Cup of Nations, the Super Eagles finally have a new manager, Jose Peseiro.
Peseiro is a 61-year-old manager with three decades of experience managing some of the biggest clubs in Portugal.
He first made a name for himself managing CD Nacional, taking the modest club from the third tier of Portuguese football to the Primeira Liga in three seasons. After a mid-table finish in his first year in the top-flight, Peseiro left the club to join Carlos Queiroz, on whom he had made a strong impression by way of his work in Madeira, at Real Madrid.
According to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Peseiro will only take charge after the Africa Cup of Nations, but will be in Cameroon in an observatory role. This has, understandably, elicited mixed reactions from fans.
A number of obvious questions arise from the Peseiro appointment, as well as the modalities of his taking over.
The first, in light of the fact the Portuguese manager has been given a two-year contract: what happens if he fails in his very first assignment to qualify Nigeria for the World Cup in Qatar?
The second question is a WASSCE-style multifaceted one, and concerns his “observer” brief at the AFCON. What precisely does that mean?
Is he simply getting a paid vacation to Garoua on the bill of the NFF?
Here is a theory: would it be farfetched to think that Peseiro is, in fact, taking charge of everything right away, but will simply not sit on the bench on matchday, possibly as a ploy to insulate him from pressure from the watching public?
A statement issued and signed by the head of JAMB’s media and protocol unit, Fabian Benjamin, said those mandated to provide vaccination cards are persons covered under the NCDC Vaccination policy.
Benjamin said the clarification became necessary because it “discovered that many underage candidates were making frantic efforts to get vaccinated with some even falsifying their age to be vaccinated just to access services at the Board’s facilities.”
The statement reads in part; “All candidates, clients, and other members of the public below the age of 18 years are not required to produce any vaccination card before being allowed access to our facilities. This category of persons is not covered by the NCDC vaccination policy.”
“It is to be noted that the policy, as announced by the Board, is in tandem with the NCDC policy of no vaccination, no access to public places as well as ensuring that only persons eligible for vaccination are vaccinated and issued the card.
“Meanwhile, in view of likely abuse by individuals, the Board would also require evidence of being underage to allow any underage individual access to its facilities.
“This directive is to protect the public as well as the staff of the Board from the ravaging virus and would want all and sundry to play their own part in this battle of ensuring that we have a healthy and productive population.”
This was contained in a statement signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha which was made available to journalists in Abuja.
Crossover services are significant events held majorly in churches on the night of December 31 every year to usher in the New Year.
It is a time when religious organisations, especially Christians, gather to pray and worship their Maker for the gift of a New Year. Customarily, the services begin a few hours before midnight and end some minutes after, depending on the denomination.
The statement reads in part, “The Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 recognizes the importance of the Christmas and New Year celebrations for most Nigerians. As we prepare to celebrate with our families and loved ones, it is important that we do so safely by taking the necessary precautionary measures to stop the further spread of COVID-19 in our country.
“The PSC wishes to remind Nigerians that we are now experiencing the 4th wave COVID19 as new cases have continued to rise in the country. This is the result of a mix of very low vaccination coverage, increased travels and movements, reduced compliance to public health social measures and highly transmissible Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant now circulating in the country.
The statement further reads, “Indoor religious congregation should be limited to 50% capacity with full compliance to public health social measures; face masks and hand sanitisers should be used at all times regardless of vaccination status while in public spaces.
“Families are advised to limit the number of visitors to their homes and put in place precautionary safety measures. Any gathering in the excess of 50 people should be done in open spaces with physical distancing.
“Avoid non-essential interstate travel at this period as this increases the risk of spreading infection from one place to another. People who intend to travel are encouraged to take a rapid COVID-19 test to confirm status as many infected persons are asymptomatic.
“Ensure that you have taken the full dose of COVID-19 vaccination including the booster dose to reduce your risk of severe infection and death in case of exposure to COVID-19.”
Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, felicitates with Christians and all Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora on this year’s Christmas and New Year celebrations.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Shuaib Belgore. It was titled, ‘FG declares Monday, 27th, Tuesday 28th, 2021 and Monday, January 3rd, 2022 public holidays’.
The minister was quoted as saying, “We must emulate the life of Jesus Christ in His practice and teachings on Humility, Service, Compassion, Patience, Peace and Righteousness, that His birth signifies.
“This will be the best way to portray Christ and celebrate his birth.”
“Moderately celebrate the festival without large groupings and observe all the protocols stipulated by medical authorities. Take it as a point of personal responsibility to prevent the spread of the virus,” the minister said.
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