EDO CANCELS TEACHERS’ COMPETENCY TEST, RECALLS 936 SACKED TEACHERS

Edo State Government has reversed the planned competency test for teachers in the state and recalled the 936 teachers whose names were deleted from the payroll over certificate discrepancies and age falsification.
Government also announced the immediate extension of the relativity to teachers in the state public schools.
Making the announcements Thursday, Governor Adams Oshiomhole during a meeting with the Nigeria Union of Teachers [NUT] and the Nigeria Labour Congress [NLC] said “On assumption of office, it was very clear to me and my colleagues that our future is defined by the level of investment in education and the quality of the basic education we provide for our children and that is why we have devoted resources to the rebuilding of our Primary Schools, Junior and Senior Secondary Schools.

WOMAN SETS EX-LOVER ON FIRE IN EDO

The police in Edo State have arrested a 35-year-old woman, Esohe Ogbeiwi, for allegedly setting her ex-lover, Peter Osayi, on fire.
The woman, who reportedly had two children for the victim, was said to have poured petrol on him and set him ablaze.
Family members said there was a dispute between the duo and that the woman invited the deceased over for settlement.
They added that in the course of their settlement talk, the woman allegedly poured petrol on her ex-lover and lit a match.
The late Peter was said to have been rushed to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) where he died a day after the incident.
A brother to the victim, who gave his name as Moses, said, “We want government to give us justice. He was roasted alive. My brother told me before his death not to allow the girl escape.”
Spokesman of the Edo State police command, DSP Uwoh Noble, confirmed the incident, adding that Esohe had been arrested and enquiries into the incident had since commenced.

GRAND PA FOUND DEAD ATOP WOMAN IN BENIN

A grandfather, (name withheld) was yesterday found dead atop a married woman.
70-year-old victim believed to have died after having marathon sex with another man’s wife at about 1pm in a Brothel in the Government Reservation Area, Benin City.
Our reporter gathered that the operator of the Brothel raised an alarm when the woman attempted to escape.
A son to the deceased who did not give his name said the father left home 45 minutes earlier.
The son said they were called by the police to come to the Benin Central Hospital only to see the dad’s corpse.
Doctors on duty said David was brought stone dead to the hospital.
The woman was also present at the hospital but policemen ferried her away to prevent her from being mobbed.
The corpse was deposited at the Central Hospital mortuary.
Police Public Relations Officer, DSP,Moses Eguavoen, when contacted said, he was yet to be briefed on the matter.
Source: People’s Daily

EDO TEACHERS SHUN COMPETENCY TEST

The competency test ordered by Edo government for teachers in public schools recorded low turn-out, as many teachers refused to participate in the exercise which held on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the test was scheduled to hold simultaneously in the three senatorial districts of the state.
When a correspondent of NAN visited the University of Benin, one of the venues at 11.30 a.m. only 73 teachers were accredited.
Mr Akinade Ojo, the Secretary, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) Edo Chapter, told newsmen that teachers were directed to boycott the test.
“Six thousand primary school teachers were expected to present themselves for the test in Edo South, and from record less than 100 teachers were present for the test,’’ he said
Mr Olayiwola Afolabi, counsel to Academic Staff Union of Secondary School (ASSUS) Edo Chapter, said that the union obtained a court order stopping the test.

NO GOING BACK ON TODAY’S COMPETENCY TEST—EDO GOVT

Edo State government, on Friday, reiterated its commitment to go ahead with the competency test for teachers in the state, stating that it was not aware of any court injunction restraining it from going ahead with the exercise.
A statement made in Benin and signed by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Louis Odion, said, “We have received media enquiries over rumour of an injunction purportedly granted by a court restraining Edo State government from going ahead with the teachers’ assessment exercise scheduled to hold on March 22.

EDO TEACHERS KICK AGAINST COMPETENCY TEST

BENIN—Scores of teachers in primary and secondary schools in Edo State, yesterday, held a protest rally against the state government’s plan to conduct a competency test for all teachers in the state.
The teachers, who stormed Auchi, Etsako-West Local Government Area of the state, rejected the plan by the government to subject them to any form of test.
It will be recalled that the government had fixed February 8 as date for the competency test for all primary and secondary school teachers in the state.
The competency test is coming on the heels of the sack of 836 teachers by the government in 2013, due to falsification of age and certificate forgery, among others.
Meanwhile, Governor Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday, insisted that the proposed competency test for teachers in the state was not meant to witch-hunt anybody.
Disagreeing with Oshiomhole, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, through its state chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, accused the government of using “the competency test, along with some other policies including repressive tax policies, to shore up the state’s depleted vault.”

EDO COUNCILLORS STRANDED IN ITALY AFTER RETREAT

Lawmakers in Orhionmon Local Government Area of Edo State now find it difficult to return to Nigeria from Italy, where the council chairman had reportedly taken them to for a retreat.
The Edo State House of Assembly, acting on a letter received from the state governor, Adams Oshiomhole, had, on Monday, announced the suspension of the council chairman, along with that of Uhunmwode Local Government Area of the state.
While the council chairman was said to have heard of his planned suspension and immediately returned to the country, the lawmakers have not been able to return to Nigeria for a reason someone close to the council described as logistics.

OSHIOMHOLE SIGNS DEATH PENALTY LAW FOR KIDNAPPING

The Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, on Friday signed into law a bill prescribing the death penalty for convicted kidnappers in the state.
The law, which is an amendment of a previous one, also states that any premises where victims of kidnapping were held would be demolished.
Declaring that the penalty applies to all stages of kidnapping, Mr. Oshiomhole said whether the victim dies in captivity, in the process of being kidnapped, or while being rescued, the penalty remains the same.

EDO CULT GROUPS UNITE TO FIGHT KIDNAPPING, ROBBERY

SOME school-based cult groups in Edo State have come together in an alliance against the spate of kidnappings, armed robberies and other violent crimes in the state.
The cult members, belonging to various fraternities in schools across the state converged at the Sand Beach Resorts, Benin, on Saturday for a summit tagged “Interactive Peace Summit: Strategy for Social Cohesion.”
At the summit, the groups, which came together under the aegis of Rainbow Consolidated Forum said they were not satisfied with the spate of violent crimes and insecurity in the state and vowed to fight the situation.

EDO HOUSE SALE: APC, PDP, OTHERS AT WAR

The plan by the Governor Adams Oshiomhole-led administration to sell the Edo House in Lagos, has polarised political parties in Edo State. While the Peoples Democratic Party and Labour Party have vowed to shoot down the plan by all means, other parties have lined up behind Oshiomhole. PUNCH in this write-up, examines the issues in contention
The raging controversy in Edo State over a plan by the Edo State Government to sell the Edo House situated in Lagos, has, no doubt, charged the hitherto calm political atmosphere in the state.
The conflict began penultimate Saturday, when the state chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, at a press conference, vowed to employ all means within its power to stop the sale of the house, which is located on Victoria Island, Lagos.

OLAITAN: I WON’T REST UNTIL JUSTICE IS DONE - OSHIOMHOLE

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has again tasked the police to unmask the killers of his Principal Private Secretary, Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, saying if a governor can’t get justice, then the ordinary man has no hope of getting same.

While receiving the new Commissioner of Police in Edo State, Mr Foluso Adebanjo, in his office, Comrade Oshiomhole said: “I cannot pretend, I remain aggrieved and I believe it’s a shame, a national embarrassment that a governor can’t get justice. If a governor can’t get justice, what is the hope of a tomato seller? What is the hope of a roadside mechanic? What is the hope of an okada rider?

HOW ROBBERS RAPED 35-YEAR-OLD IN HUSBAND’S PRESENCE

Residents of Ogida quarters in Benin City were shocked last Saturday when they woke to see a house wife (names withheld) shouting and pleading for help.

They rushed to the house only to discover that the woman was raped by three young men who stormed the house at about 3am.

They further discovered the victim’s husband who was tied by the robbers and pushed  under the bed. Saturday Vanguard learnt that the suspects Peter Anigboro (25 years old), Lucky Williams (22) and Olise Friday, forced the door of the residence of the victim open with an impoverished gun and a dagger.