Senate Committee indicts CP Mba: Rivers Crisis

 

ABUJA —THE Senate ad-hoc Committee set up to investigate the political crisis in Rivers State, has indicted the State Police Commissioner, CP Joseph Mbu.

Vanguard gathered that the committee, in the report which will be laid before the Senate today, was however not happy with the way and manner the commissioner handled the problem that led to the leader of the House of Assembly, Michael Chinda and Martins Amahule sustaining injuries.

There was also an attempt in the Rivers State House of Assembly to impeach the Speaker, Otelemaba Amachree. Following the development, the Senate asked the Committee on States and Local Governments led by Senator Kabiru Gaya, ANPP, Kano South to investigate into the matter and come up with recommendations.

Meanwhile, governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP will today meet in Abuja.

Vanguard gathered that the governors will discuss among others, the planned Special National Convention, the forthcoming Anambra State election and how the PDP must win

24 PEOPLE DIED IN AN ACCIDENT ON OKPILA/AUCHI ROAD IN EDO STATE

It was a harvest of deaths from road accidents, yesterday, as a total of 24 people perished in two separate accidents that occurred on the Lagos-Ibadan and Benin-Lagos expressways.

In the Ibadan crash, no fewer than six persons lost their lives, while eight others sustained serious injuries.

Vanguardngr gathered that the accident involved a commercial bus with number plate OYO XE 675 LUY and a truck with number plate Lagos XX 455 GGE.

A SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT ON OKPILA/AUCHI ROAD IN EDO STATE

It was learnt that the 14-passenger bus skidded off the road and ran into the truck parked by the roadside.

About N64,210 and five Euro were reportedly recovered from the victims.

Confirming the accident, Assistant Corps Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Oluyole Unit 1, Mr. Sanya Adeoye, explained that the corpses of the victims were taken to the morgue, while the injured were rushed to University College Hospital, Ibadan.

He said: “The bus veered off the road and hit the stationery truck by the roadside. We suspect a mechanical fault.

“In all, 14 passengers were involved. Six died — four male and two female. Their corpses have been deposited at the Adeoyo morgue. The injured victims are now receiving treatment at the University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan.

18 die along Benin-Lagos road

Along the Benin-Lagos express road, a Toyota Hiace bus and a truck loaded with gravel were involved in a head-on collusion, killing 18 passengers.

The incident occurred near Okada, Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State. It led to a serious gridlock as passengers and drivers made frantic effort to save the life of the victims.

Edo State Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Mr. Kenneth Nwaegbe, confirmed on phone, yesterday, that 18 persons were roasted alive, while two other children survived the incident.

Among the dead were said to be 15 adults and two kids. Vanguard gathered that the driver of the truck also died in the accident. He said the commercial bus belonging to Peace Mass Transit, left Onitsha in Anambra State for Lagos via Benin when an oncoming truck had a head-on collision on a side of the road under construction.

He said: “What happened was that the Mark truck was carrying gravel and was coming from Ore to Benin when one of its tyres burst and it lost control.

“The Toyota bus was going from Benin to Lagos when the two collided. The dead were removed from the wreckage with axes through the assistance of a team of rescue operation.

The team was made up of officials of FRSC from the Tollgate Unit Command, policemen drafted from Okada town and sympathisers some of who were passengers travelling either from Lagos to the Eastern part of the country or those going to Lagos and other parts of the Western part.”

Senator Akinyelure weeps for endorsing under age girl marriage

 

Source  Punch

The member representing Ondo Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, wept before members of his constituency in Akure on Monday as he apologised to them that he voted in error to support the senate resolution backing marriage of underage girls.

Akinyelure was summoned by his constituents to explain his role in the controversial passage of a resolution to retain the provision of Section 29 (4) (b) of the 1999 Constitution, which states that a married underage girl is deemed to be an adult.

Politicians, women groups and students had besieged the Adegbemile Hall, venue of the meeting, with placards to protest against what they described as the legalisation of sexual abuse of young girls, which their representative had supported.

But Akinyelure burst into tears as he laboured to convince the obviously enraged crowd at the tension-soaked session that he mistakenly pressed the wrong button during the electronic voting exercise thinking that he was voting against child marriage.

The Senator said he had aligned his thought with that of other senators, who supported the resolution that the provision should be expunged from the constitution.

He added that the resolution was paraphrased again in a way that confused him to mean that pressing the ‘No’ button would mean voting against the resolution that the resolution should be retained in the constitution.

He said, “I am very sorry for this costly mistake. I actually voted in error. I pressed the ‘No’ button during the electronic voting session, thinking that I was kicking against the early marriage. I can never support such barbaric and wicked bill.”