School bus kills 18-month-old pupil on premises

The death of an 18-month-old pupil of Bessie International School, a private school on Wahab Larinde Street, Mafoluku, Oshodi, Lagos, has thrown the management and the deceased’s family into mourning

The girl, Memunat Lamidi, who was said to be in the crèche section, was reportedly hit on the school premises by a Toyota Litace, with number plate, JJJ393BU, owned by the school.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the girl was with one of the gatekeepers around 1pm on Thursday when the bus was driven into the premises.

The gatekeeper was said to have seated her on a bench while he made to open the gate for the driver.

He had opened one side of the gate and wanted to open the other side for smooth entrance of the vehicle, when Lamidi got down from the bench and walked into path of the vehicle.

She was knocked down by the bus as the driver drove into the school compound.

A woman, who sells drinks opposite the school, told PUNCH Metro on Monday that Lamidi’s mother had been relocated due to the trauma caused by the incident.

“Everybody was devastated by the incident. Normally, when a vehicle wants to enter or leave the school premises, the guards open the gate. One opens a side of the gate, while the other opens the other side. But that day, one of the gatekeepers, called Malami, was not around when the school bus blew the horn from outside.

“The girl was playing with the available gatekeeper. He put her on the bench and went to open the gate. As he was opening the other side of the gate, the girl left her seat. She walked into the path of the bus, which hit her. One of the schoolteachers told me that the mother had been taken to one of her relatives,” the woman, who did not want her name in print, said.

A resident, Leke Adebisi, blamed the accident on lack of concentration on the part of the driver, adding the Lamidi died shortly after she was admitted in a hospital in the area.

He said, “I don’t think the deceased’s family is interested in taking the case up with the school legally.”

Attempts by our correspondent to get comments of the school management were frustrated by one of the gatekeepers, who did not give his name.

He said, “The head teacher is in a management meeting and I don’t know when the meeting will end.”

He subsequently shut the gate.

When our correspondent insisted he would wait for the head teacher, the gate man said, “I have attended to you. I said you are not welcome.”

However, the Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Police Command, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the accident, saying investigation had commenced.

She said, “An accident occurred at about 1.20pm on Thursday, at the gate of Bessie International School. A Toyota Litace marked, JJJ393BU, knocked down a one and half years old girl standing by the gate. She was rushed to a hospital, where she was confirmed dead. The case is under investigation.”

FG REACHES AGREEMENT WITH ASUU

FG REACHES AGREEMENT WITH ASUU

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, on Wednesday acknowledged that the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities made progress during theirs talks.

He gave the assurance while addressing state house correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the state House.

Ngige said that ASUU had eight demands of which seven had been trashed out, adding that the government conceded to them the right to exclude endowment funds accruing to universities from the Treasury Single Account.

The minister said the TSA was not for punishment but to enable every government institution to, at a first glance, know its financial disposition and for accountability.

He said, “The government agreed to ASUU demand but limited it to only endowment fund, and that is fund sourced by ASUU.

“But that does not also mean that at the end of the day the university council will not have rights to audit such an account.

“That is really the area that is a little bit contentious.

“The other aspect of it is the earned allowances; the earned allowance is the only one that is not sorted out now because everyone knows and agrees that we are in a recession.

“And if we are in a recession and you are asking us to pay you N284 billion, nobody will pay it because the money is not there.

“So they agreed and National Assembly also agreed and something was worked out.

“And government offered them some amount pending when we finish the auditing of the first tranche of money that has been given to them in the same area of earned allowances.

“That tranche of money they collected is being audited but the auditing process is very slow because some people for strange reasons are not allowing auditing to take place.

“A time frame of six months has been fixed within which the auditing will be done.”

According to Ngige, within the six months government has offered what it will pay monthly while ASUU has made a counter proposal.

He said that both parties had gone back to their principals to look at the proposals and return.

He said the Executive and the National Assembly would look at the finances of government and propose an appropriation for subsequent years.

He said, “For 2016, there is nothing in the budget for it; it will be done and appropriated and paid when due.

“I don’t think the matter is a helpless case, we are moving forward and next week they will come back with their counter proposal.”

According to the minister, his education counterpart gave an update on the ASUU demand to FEC.