Authorities of the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, have broken its silence over viral dress codes which was claimed to have emanated from the institution.
Reacting to the dress codes which has generated mixed reactions from the public, the Registrar of the varsity, K. A. Bakare, in a statement obtained by Vreporters on Friday said, the circular flying on the internet has no correlation with the one being drafted by the institution.
However, the school admits that, the management is of course, proposing to release dress codes for its students, but stated it clearly that, the one being prepared by the authorities is different from the one in circulation and will be released to the public in due course.
The newly released statement read in part, “Although, the council has approved dress codes for the students for the students of the University, what went viral was not document approved by Council. However, we do hope to release official dress code version in due course directed at enhancing academic sensibilities, social decency and ethical standards in line with the university’s motto, “for learning and culture”.
As Muslims across the world prepare to observe 2025 Ramadan, some Muslim countries in the world have officially announced the sighting of the Cresent which marks the end of Shaabaan and equally marks the commencement of Ramadan the following day.
Based on findings by Vreporters.com on Friday, Muslim community in New Zealand is the first country to have declared the sighting of the moon follows by some countries in the Middle East, which include;Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt and Palestine so far.
Also, some Muslim communities in Australia, Philippines have declared Sunday, 1st of Ramadan due to their inability to sight the moon.
The Muslim community in Nigeria have been directed by the Sultan of Sokoto who also doubles as the Commander of the Muslim Ummah in the country to report any concrete evidence of sighting the Cresent to the nearest authorities in their respective areas.
The National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) is outraged and appalled by MTN’s recent decision to increase data tariffs, which, without any iota of doubt will have a catastrophic impact on students’ ability to conduct research and complete projects.
NAPS, in a statement made available to VReporters on Sunday by its National President, Comrade, Festus Oyewumi who said the move is nothing but a blatant display of greed and disregard for the welfare of students, adding that, the hike will not be condoned under any guise and will not be tolerated.
The release read in part; “We are giving MTN a 10-day ultimatum to reverse the tariff increase. If they fail to comply, we will be forced to take drastic action, including shutting down their offices nationwide. We will mobilize our members and take to the streets to protest this injustice and ensure that MTN is held accountable for their actions.
“Our students rely heavily on data to access online resources, conduct research, and submit assignments, and this increase will make it impossible for many of them to afford the data they need. This is a direct attack on their right to education and will have far-reaching consequences for their academic success and future prospects.
“We condemn MTN’s actions in the strongest possible terms and demand that they immediately reverse the tariff increase. We will not stand idly by while our students are denied the opportunity to succeed due to MTN’s profiteering. We will not be silenced or intimidated by MTN’s attempts to exploit our students for their own financial gain.
“We warn MTN that we will not be ignored or dismissed. We will fight tirelessly to protect the interests of our students and ensure that they have access to affordable and reliable data services. We will not rest until MTN reverses the tariff increase and commits to providing fair and affordable services to our students”.
Oyeyemi reiterated that, the mobile telecommunications giant, MTN has 10 days to reverse the tariff increase and if it fails to do so, it will face the full force of Nigerian students’ wrath adding that, no one can intimidate or cow the students populate with obnoxious hike.
In a bid to ensure safety and well-being of University students in Ogun state, the National Association of University Students, NAUS, through its Campus Monitoring Committee, CMC, has paid a courtesy visit to the commander of SWAT Police in the state, SP. Salami Murphy Akanbi to solicit for his cooperation.
The Committee made this known in a statement jointly signed by the newly elected Chairman, Comr. Adeyemi Boluwatife Opeyemi; The Publicity Secretary, Comr. Akowe Elisha Oluwadamilare and the General Secretary, Comr. Talabi Adekunle Adeyanju on Friday.
The State Commander, Mr Akanbi warmly congratulated the leadership of the committee on their new roles and offered valuable advice, emphasizing the importance of good leadership. He reminded the comrades that, the leadership actions today will have consequences in the future, encouraging them to lead with integrity.
Akanbi graciously offered his support, and urged the students leaders to reach out to him anytime for assistance in maintaining students safety.
The CMC in return appreciated his dedication to ensuring the safety of school environments and the entire state noting that, the tireless efforts of the security chief align with the governor’s commitment to creating a secure and conducive environment for students and citizens.
The CMC also extended its sincere appreciation to His Excellency, Prince DAPO ABIODUN, MFR, the Governor of Ogun State, for his relentless efforts in driving positive change in the state.
According to CMC, the Governor’s style of leadership has fostered a safe and supportive environment for students to thrive.
“We acknowledge his initiatives aimed at improving security, infrastructure, and education, which have significantly impacted our members and the broader community.
“We are grateful for his dedication to the betterment of Ogun State and its citizens. As student leaders, we are inspired by his example and committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders like the SWAT Police to ensure our students’ safety and well-being”.
The students leaders encouraged all University undergraduates across the length and breadth of the state to never hesitate to reach out to the committee whenever they notice insecurities or suspicious movement and actions in their respective areas adding that, the safety of its members is their topmost priority as it’s a clarion call to duty to serve the University Students irrespective of their different backgrounds .
Students of Crescent University Abeokuta, CUAB, floored their counterparts in Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ilé-Ifè, to emerge winner in the National debate in the ongoing Jihad Week organized by the Muslim students of the institution, MSSN OAU.
Vreporters gathered that this year edition tagged; The RICHNESS OF TIME is billed to hold between 30th of May to June 9th, 2024.
No fewer than twelve institutions participated in the debate cum Qur’anic competition, as some of the invited schools are currently having their tests in their respective schools which in turn led to the low numbers of the participating institutions.
In the debate category, Crescent University defeated the hosting institution, OAU, while Muslim students of the Federal University, Oyè-Ekiti, FUOYE emerged third.
Also, in Qur’anic competition, the Federal college of education in Iwo emerged Winner, while OAU came secund and their counterparts in UI got third position. In the female category of Qur’anic competition, OAU female students pulled the strings that their fellow male students couldn’t pulled to emerge winner while UI and the University of Iléṣà emerged second and third respectively, as the Winners went home with whooping sum of N200k, N150k, and 100k based on their performances.
The organizer also showered N100k, N80k and N50k to the best debaters respectively.
In a bid to reward punctuality and promptness, the organizers also splashed reasonable amount of money to the first three persons who got to the venue of the event, Odùduwà Hall. The lucky attendees are ; Sister Lateefah, Brother Toyeeb and Brother Mubarak, as the trio got home with 20k, 10k and 10k respectively for showing value to “The Richness of Time” which was theme of the day. Punctuality surely pays
Also, out of the organizers magnanimity a sum of N20,000 was donated to the secondary schools that attended (MHS) Modakeke High School, Misty Gee, The Ark Islamic Model College, Ibikunle Lawal High School.
It should be noted that, from the Chairman, Respected Dignitaries, Staff Advisers MSSN OAU, The Vice Dean Student Affairs, CEO 18A Furnitures, Previous Ameer’s and Excos of MSSN OAU, Osun State Area Unit, Student Union President and the generality all raised about 300k on spot to the pocket of MSSN OAU.
Major mobile money operators in the country including fintech firms like OPay, Palmpay, have resumed onboarding new users following the Central Bank of Nigeria review of their operations.
Checks by Vreporters on Tuesday Confirmed the development.
Also, both OPAY and its counterpart, Palm pay sent a notification emails to their customers in regard to the latest development.
The email sent by Palm pay read: “We are pleased to announce that the onboarding of new customers has resumed on PalmPay for individual and business users following the review by the CBN.
” We are thrilled to continue our mission to provide more Nigerians with access to secure and reliable financial services.
“All new users are required to validate either NIN or BVN when registering. Kindly ensure your information on these platforms is up-to-date before you start your registration process.
” You can reach out to our 24/7 customer support by E-mail or Customer care line.”
Recall that, the Apex bank through an official memo released in April urged the mobile operators in the country to suspend onboarding of new members in a bid to review their operations and to sanitize the platforms.
In a practical move to stop the tide of abuses associated with the process of accepting admission by candidates through which some elements of no commercial values exploit helpless candidates, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB)has introduced a new channel for accessing this service.
The Board stated this in its weekly bulletin sighted by Vreporters on Monday.
According to the release this change of policy, the Board observed with dismay that some institutions have formed the habit of accepting or rejecting admission offers on behalf of candidates so as to create vacancies for less-qualified but favoured candidates while cybercafe and some centres engage in the practice to blackmail or extort money from the candidates.
The Board views this odious practice as criminal and a gross misconduct and has, therefore, put measures in place to forestall this unethical behaviour.
Consequently, the new method for accessing results is for a candidates to either ‘Accept’ or ‘Reject’ on his dedicated phone number to 55019 or 66019.
Candidate can also access his admission through the use of fingerprint at any accredited CBT centre or JAMB office Nationwide.
The newly introduced method is solely meant to protect candidates’ personal information as well as upholding the sanctity of admission processing.
Recall that the board had hitherto accepted login to the candidates’ profile by accredited CBT Centres on the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS)
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced that the Crescent of the 10th Islamic lunar month, Shawaal wasn’t sighted in Key areas of the kingdom on Monday.
The Kingdom made the announcement via its official X handle, @Haramaininfo.
The tweets reads: “The crescent moon was NOT sighted in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, Eid Al Fitr will be celebrated on Wednesday, 10th April 2024.
“May Allāh ﷻ allow us to utilise the remaining moments of this blessed month to engage in that which pleases Him, may He accept our siyām, qiyām & a’māl & may He allow us to witness many more Ramadāns in good health. Āmīn”.
In Nigeria, the Commander of the Muslim faithful, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar has directed the Muslim Ummah in the country to look out for the new month of Shawwal today, Monday stating further that the sighting of the moon will mark the beginning of Shawwal 1445AH which will also be the day to celebrate Eid-el-fitr.
As at the time of filing this report, the Sultan is yet to make official announcement on whether the moon has been sighted in any part of the country or not.
According to Islamic jurisdiction, if the moon is not sighted in any part of the country, it will amount that, the Eid-el-Fitr will be celebrated on Wednesday, as Tuesday will mark the 30th day of Ramadan
The kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has announced the sighting of the lunar month of Ramadan which will pave way for the beginning of the blessed Islamic month .
The Kingdom made the announcement via its twitter platform, @Haramaininfo on Sunday.
The tweets partly read: “Crescent of Ramadan 1445/2024 has been sighted in Saudi Arabia!
“Subsequently, Ramadan 1445/2024 begins tomorrow, 11 March 2024.
“Taraweeh Prayers will begin in the Two Holy Mosques after Isha Prayers”.
Just yesterday, The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’d Abubakar urged the Nigerian Muslims to be on the lookout for the sighting of the moon, as today, Sunday marks the 29th of Sha’ban.
As at the time of filing this report, the Sultan is yet to make official announcement about the commencement of the fasting in Nigeria.
Ramadan is the Ninth month of the Islamic calendar, hijrah, 1445.
Students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State, have cried out over looming hike in tuition fee without proper consultation of key union leaders in the institution, accusing the management of running one-man show owing to the delay in inauguration of duly elected students’ union leaders.
The students under the aegis of Collective Voice of Federal Polytechnic Ede Students made their displeasure known in release made available to Vreporters on Sunday.
Vreporters authoritatively gathered that, the Students’ Union election was held in October, 2023 electronically which the major stakeholders, the students participated in, but the result was not declared officially by Adepoju Uthman Ayomide led Independent Students Electoral Commission, ISIEC till this moment, a move which unsettles some students of the institution.
The aggrieved students in the release claimed that the delay in inaugurating the duly elected union leaders might not be unconnected with the plan to skyrocket the tuition fee any moment, as the students posit that, the portal to make payment for the tuition and other sundry fees might be open on Monday, 8th of January, 2024, which according to the students will reflect the new fee regime, as planned by the management.
The distressed students made frantic appeal to the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS; the National Association of Polytechnics Students, NAPS; and their subsidiaries to call the management to order in shelving the proposed hike in tuition fee and to swiftly inaugurates the duly elected union leaders.
Vreporters sighted a publication by an online medium in November, 2023 where the management through the institution’s spokesman, Sola Lawal, called for calm among the generality of students urging them not to be used by fifth columnists to destabilize the institution.
Efforts to reach out to Mr Lawal proved abortive as his contact made available to Vreporters is not connecting as at the time of filing this report.
