Happenings

Members of the Non-Academic Staff and Related Institutions(NASU) University College Hospital(UCH) branch, Ibadan, Nigeria have appealed to the hospital's management to identify and sanction those responsible for the disruption of the union's election to usher in new executives on 15 March, 2023.
Trouble started when the electoral committee, which included the NASU state chairman, Comrade Adepeju announced the disqualification of one of the contestants, Comrade Adekunle Adegboye, for belonging to two different trade unions.
This prompted angry members to disrupt the elections, while the rear windscreen of Comrade Adepeju's vehicle was shattered in the process of leaving the sports field venue of the elections.

The unruly members ignored the  the hospital's Director of Administration, who along with other officials walked from the venue to their offices.
However, a section of the membership of the union have accused Comrade Kehinde Abiona-led executives of incompetence and corruption.
They insisted that as a result of the incompetence of the executives, an unspecified number of members were dismissed, while disclosing that the chairman facilitated the use of the union's vehicle without due process.
''Our members were dismissed because of the incompetence of the executives. In addition, our vehicle, a Toyota Sienna which the chairman took to Lagos without due process, was impounded in Lagos and he illegally withdrew N37,000 from NASU account to pay for the fee of the offense. There is also the issue of the mismanagement of the NASU food  canteem. Food and drinks are expensive because of the returns, the operators give the chairman,'' they stated.
However, in his reaction, the embattled chairman dismissed the allegations against him, saying, '' the  elections were disrupted by non-financial and expelled members of the union who have constituted themselves into foxes and hyneas who want to devour the resources of the union. That is the basis of their allegations.
He also insisted that Comrade Adegboye was disqualified ''premised on the fact that there are two different trade unions on his payslip which contravened part of the NSU electoral guidelines for the conduct of the 2023 NASU elections.;;
On the allegation of incompetence, Comrade Abiona said, '' the issue of the inability to defend members on the panel, is a lie from the pit of hell. Despite several panels that were set up and we attended between March 2019 til date, only one member was dismissed because the CCTV camera caught him stealing and he was still on probationary period.''
He denied the allegation of corruption, saying, '' there is nothing like illegal use. The union's Sienna vehicle was taken tp Lagos in the course of signing a nomination form, in order to contest for a position on our Teaching Hospital Trade Group council. In the course of the official trip, there was an issue with traffic control officers in Lagos and the then branch treasurer, Mrs. Okeowo Aminatu Bayon;le refused to sign for the amount of fine paid, hence I, Comrade Joseph Kehinde Abiona, was fully responsible for the fine. Anybody having contrary views must come out with concrete evidence.''

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Comrade Abiona denied  all the allegations, adding,'' as at today, 20th March, 2023, the branch executive committee under the able leadership of J.K Abiona is still in charge until another date for the elections is picked. As a responsible leader, I am appealing to financial members of the branch and other stakeholders in the UCH community to remain calm and law-abiding until another date for the elections is picked. Finally,  I want to tender an unreserved apology on behalf of all our financial members  to the management as well as our national headquarters for the show of shame of miscreants in our midst on the 15th March, 2023.''

Presently, the union secretarait within the premises of the UCH is under lock and key.

The Ramadhan fasting exercise, is a divine construct given by God to mankind as the fourth pillar of Islam, for the purpose of spiritual rejuvenation to improve the state of piety.
This is to help the animal called Man to become reformed, decent, modest and disciplined enough to be able to have an easy ride in his pursuit of social desires.

The signs of Lent for the Christians and the arrival of Saomu Ramadhan must be seen as a blessing to us in Nigeria to seek Divine Intervention for Government Transition and for our next political dispensation to be fruitful and beneficial to all of us in Nigeria as a nation.

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Prof. S. A. Olagoke JP FNSE, FNATE, FNIM, FAES
Ajagun Esin of Oyo State
Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam
Shafaudeen In Islam Worldwide.

Running for and winning an office as a governor is an accomplishment to be proud of.

More importantly, Nigeria’s democratic political sphere, for the first time in history, gave the mandate to the people,  through BVAS and INEC Servers, to perfect our voting exercise to have more credible or so reliable results to produce credible leaders in the government of the next political dispensation.

However, the hackers' attempt was disturbing, while vote buying was at its worst practice despite the Naira redesign and cash crunch for the Nigerians making the winners, to look like beneficiaries of the highest syndrome.

However, we need to congratulate the winners for peace to reign and the transition to be smooth for the emerging leaders to be able to perform in a conducive and peaceful environment. After all, those who feel cheated or unsatisfied with the results have the basic alternative to seeking redress in a court of law.

For our Governor in Oyo State, I congratulate Engr. Seyi Makinde FNSE.  On behalf of myself as Mogaji Aare Alasa, Arole OgunElu Dynasty and the entire OgunElu Aare Alasa Dynasty, of which Aigbofa Compound among other 35 is your source, we congratulate your Excellency on your  second term bid success. The first Road of Oja'ba - Oranyan axis reconstructed by your Government and the Renovation of the First Central Mosque, Oja'ba, Ibadan endear all of us to  you and your Government. May your name never be soiled.

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Every government is responsible to its people in the areas of food, clothing, and shelter. Unfortunately, this is the core around which everything else revolves. It is still a surprise that no Governor in Nigeria, past or present, has quite got this basic tenet of governance right. Only with improved income could people seek to build personal homes, however, when the government goes into schemes for people, the challenge of food and clothing would without much ado be surmounted.  Thus, my advice is that the governor take a cursory look into a low-cost housing scheme for civil servants and other people in society with regular incomes to procure. Work on the complaints of the people.

In particular, I put forward the following for consideration:

At the end of these second four years, what would you be noted for? The first has been known to cater to civil servants. What of other areas? Start with this end in mind. Go back in the history of the first four years, what area or sector was left unattended. Give them attention this time around. The focus should be on good government, not politics, which drains energy and time. Practice management by walking around. 

Set performance goals, with high priority goals for local governments should be established.  Each head should set out how it and its agencies will accomplish the goal. This information should be available in the public domain.

Employees more often than not have experience that can improve the administrative environment, but are rarely given the opportunity to air their opinions.

Give greater attention to the current state of State Universities and Polytechnic Campuses; give them a suitable look and review their tuition to be affordable to all; attend to the gloomy state of our water works; provide standard road networks that are not coloured with political undertones.

Pay attention to the poor state of major towns in Oyo state; rehabilitate our general hospitals and be fair to all the 33 local government areas of the state.

The issue of a high sense of insecurity bedeviling the state is a call for concern and action.  

As a religious leader who has observed Nigerian politics for some time, the most important advice I am going to give you is to be prayerful. Also, politics is local. I advise you to increase your local presence. 

On a final note, do not perceive other political parties as arch enemies for peace to reign and accelerated development that will be sustainable and bequeathable to mark the era of Omituntun 2.0 as your second term Blessing.

Alh. Engr. Prof. S. A. Olagoke JP

Ajagun Esin of Oyo State

Mogaji Aare Alasa, Arole OgunElu Dynasty

Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam

Shafaudeen In Islam Worldwide.

We must never envy the ways of the wicked because their days are numbered.

Psalm 37 : 1-20

1 A Psalm of David.) Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. 2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. 3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. 11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. 13 The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming. 14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation. 15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. 16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous. 18 The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. 19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

Forever in our hearts. Mrs. V.A Ande-Wife J. Ande-Daughter

15 years gone by, you are still in our minds. Bisi, Nike, Funke, Tayo

A federal jury in the Middle District of Florida convicted a Virginia man today for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare of over $1 million in prescription drug benefits.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ronald A. Beasley II, 33, of Portsmouth, was the pharmacist in charge at NH Pharma, a pharmacy located in Lake Mary, Florida. Through NH Pharma, Beasley and his co-conspirators billed Medicare for expensive compound drug creams that they never actually purchased or dispensed, and instead provided Medicare patients an inexpensive compound drug cream not covered by Medicare. Inventory records showed that NH Pharma did not buy enough of the expensive prescription drugs to fill all the prescriptions NH Pharma billed to Medicare. In total, Beasley and his co-conspirators received more than $1 million in fraudulent proceeds from Medicare.

Beasley was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; Special Agent in Charge David Walker of the FBI Tampa Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Reginald Cuyler Jr. and Darren C. Halverson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

Source-FBI

Behind the Bureau’s role as the lead governing agency for the forensic examination of the Chinese high-altitude balloon

FBI special agents assigned to the Evidence Response Team process material recovered from the high-altitude balloon recovered off the coast of South Carolina. In a news briefing on Thursday, senior FBI officials detailed the Bureau’s role as the lead governing agency for the forensic examination of the Chinese high-altitude balloon identified and shot down February 5 by the U.S. military off the coast of South Carolina. The Operational Technology Division and the Laboratory Division are working closely with subject matter experts from the Department of Defense—including the Naval Criminal Investigative Service—and other government agencies. Additionally, personnel from the FBI’s Washington, Columbia, Charlotte, and Norfolk field offices have deployed personnel, including ERT- and USERT-trained agents, to assist with the logistics of the recovery and analysis of the debris. Michael Paul, assistant director of the Operational and Technology Division (OTD), and Eric Pokorak, assistant director of the Laboratory Division, said it is too early in the investigation to determine the intent and capabilities of the balloon. Pokorak said much of the evidence remains underwater and that the FBI is coordinating further searches with the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. Dive teams from the FBI and U.S. Navy are working together. “We were on-scene late Sunday, on February 5, and the first evidence that was received was transported to Quantico and received late Monday, February 6,” he explained. Pokorak described the search area as a “large-scale scene” and said weather concerns in the next few days “may impact” evidence collection and the transportation of recovered items.

Once the evidence is received at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, a team of experts engages in a decontamination process, Pokorak continued. “In simple terms, that is removing the salt water from the evidence itself. Rinsing and washing it so that it can be further processed.” The evidence recovered so far has been limited to surface findings, including the balloon (or canopy itself) some wiring, a tiny amount of electronics—but only a small portion of the payload. “We have not seen the payload where we expect to see the lion’s share of the electronics,” said Paul. “OTD deployed specialists to assist with screening and to specifically assess electronic components that might be recovered during the operation.”

He said this investigation marks the first time the FBI Laboratory and OTD have responded to a “hot air balloon of this nature” and the processing of the corresponding scene. Paul said no “energetic or offensive material” has been detected but emphasized much of the evidence has yet to be recovered. Asked about the manufacturer of the balloon or whether its design was based on stolen intelligence, Paul said the FBI is not in position “at this point to have that information.” He said both the FBI Laboratory and OTD are working to determine the source of the balloon components. Additionally, the FBI has no information or physical evidence at this time that contradicts previous statements made by other government agencies. The Laboratory Division leads the collection, transportation, and subsequent forensic examinations of evidentiary material. It is staffed with subject matter experts, including highly trained evidence response dive teams and hazardous evidence response teams, which contribute to the mission of collecting, analyzing, and sharing timely scientific and technical information within the FBI and with other government and law enforcement agencies. The OTD is the FBI’s provenance for applied technology enabling and enhancing investigations. OTD personnel have been deployed to assist with recovery efforts and initial assessments of technological evidence. Source-FBI