News

By Muhammad Aminu

The Federal Government has denied giving any ultimatum to the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, to bring an end to the lingering industrial action in public universities.

Senior Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said in a statement on Wednesday that there was no ultimatum given to the education minister to end the strike.

He accused the media of being deceived by their sources by giving definite time, saying the minister only suggested two or three weeks or even less.

The statement noted: “Neither during nor after the meeting was any ultimatum given to the Minister of Education.

“During the meeting, the Minister of Education requested that the Minister of Labour hands off the negotiation to allow him lead and conclude what he had earlier on started with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). And he promised that he could get an agreement within the shortest possible time, possibly two to three weeks.”

“It is a pity that almost all media houses allowed themselves to be deceived by interested sources that are not the authorized spokesmen of the government.

According to Shehu, the Minister will carry all the necessary stakeholders who can realistically work to end the strike as the government doors are open.

“In carrying out this assignment, the Minister will carry along all relevant ministries and agencies with statutory functions and duties relating to the issues involved.

“The Presidency is optimistic that agreements can be reached in even a shorter period if all parties/stakeholders are not unrealistically obstinate. We appeal to the parties to work together to end the strikes.

“On the part of the administration, all doors remain open for dialogue and the resolution of the issues.”

The statement called on the media to desist from spreading misinformation on the matter.

“We appeal to the media not try to spread misinformation. The orchestrated media narratives seeking to present an entirely different picture, attributed to sources, in the last 24 hours are not helpful at all.

“The outcome of the meeting held by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to end the agitations by university unions ought to be beyond spin-doctoring and conjectures, it added.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Nigeria’s former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, said the Buhari-led government had adopted his proposal to rebrand the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC

Atiku disclosed this in a post he made on his verified Facebook page on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. He said he is happy the decision was taken, but there is still more to be done to make the NNPC a world-class company.

“I had in 2018 made public my plans to reform the NNPC to make it more profitable, transparent and efficient. The APC-led government denigrated me for my patriotic vision. But today, I am happy to note that the same government has taken a tentative step along the lines of the suggestions that I had made. It is a step in the right direction, but we are still far from what I had envisaged. I hope I’ll have the opportunity to complete the process of turning the NNPC into a genuinely world-class company in the mould of NLNG, Aramco of Saudi Arabia and Petrobras of Brazil, where Nigerians and institutions will invest in. ” Atiku posted 

 Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari, in a televised programme on Tuesday, officially unveiled the rebranding and commercialization of the NNPC.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The Delta State Police Command has nabbed a 23-year-old man named Godspower Adigheti for allegedly killing his girlfriend Gift Oloku.

It was discovered that Oloku, a student at the Delta State Polytechnic in Ozoro, was allegedly murdered by the suspect because she had broken his iPhone 11 Pro Max.

According to sources, Adigheti got into a disagreement with the deceased, who shared a home with him, over what she did there.

It was learned that the suspect’s iPhone 11 Pro Max’s screen was broken during the tense altercation.

The woman passed away in a hospital, according to State Police Public Relations Officer DSP Bright Edafe, who confirmed the incident in a statement.

The statement reads, “On July 16, 2022, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ozoro received a distress call that one Godspower Adigheti, 23, of Oramudu quarters, inflicted machete cuts on his 22-year-old girlfriend, Gift Oloku.

“The lady was taken to a hospital where she was confirmed dead. Meanwhile, the suspect is in custody, and an investigation is ongoing into the matter.”

By Uzair Adam Imam 

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), has vowed that the come 2023 general election will be the best ever in Nigeria’s history.

Yakubu said this Tuesday, July 19th 2022, in Abuja, when he received delegations of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and that of the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

He also assured that INEC would improve on its successes in subsequent elections to come.

The Daily Reality gathered that the meeting was the first that INEC was hosting after Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.

Yakubu was quoted as saying, “We assure you that we will continue to work not only hard but even harder to deliver the 2023 general elections.

“As for the preparation for the 2023 general elections, I want to assure you that we promised Nigerians that Ekiti was going to be good, and Ekiti was a good election.

“We promised that Osun was going to be better; Osun was a better election. We are promising that the 2023 general elections will be our best election ever, and we are committed to delivering the best election ever,’’ Yakubu said.

Speaking earlier, Secretary of State for Ohio, United States and leader of the delegations, Mr Frank LaRose, had commended INEC over on its successes.

He, however, commended INEC for its various efforts to improve the conduct of elections in Nigeria.

He states, “we took the opportunity to visit Osun because that was only the second time election has been conducted under the new Electoral Law. 

“We met with the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Osun, and we observed many different polling locations on Election Day,” he stated. 

By Muhammad Aminu

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), South-West Zone, has said it would join the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in protest to pressurise the federal government to end the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.

In a statement issued by NANS Coordinator and Public Relations Officer Adegboye Olatunji and Awoyinfa Opeoluwa, which was made available to newsmen on Tuesday.

The NLC had earlier vowed to embark on a nationwide protest on July 26 and 27 in solidarity with the trade unions in the Nigerian public universities and others.

The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, who made the disclosure in a circular jointly signed by Mr Emmanuel Ugboaja, General Secretary of the Congress, on Sunday, said the protest was in line with the decisions of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the NLC on June 30.

ASUU and other trade unions in the education sector have been on strike for over five months over the alleged failure of the Federal Government to keep to the agreement entered with the unions.

The demands of the striking workers include issues bordering on funding of universities, salaries, and earned allowances of lecturers.

However, the NANS leadership in the South-West zone called on students across the country to join the NLC in the nationwide protest in solidarity with ASUU.

NANS added that it would “not keep silent and watch our future being ruined by the prolonged ASUU strike.”

It stated: “It is timely and urgent to issue this statement today with a view to putting an end to the lingering strike action by ASUU. We want a total reformation of the educational sector.

“The Leadership of NANS, Zone D, has taken it upon herself to categorically stand against the dilapidated state of the educational sector in Nigeria.

“We are at a time when Nigerian students have lost hope and do not know what’s next on the radar. ASUU strike has been on for over five months without any hope of resumption.

“We have also waited for so long to see if the Federal Government will dance to the music of Nigerian students who have been clamouring for an end to the ASUU strike, but the reverse is the case.

“We’ve had several press conferences, granted several interviews, held several meetings to plead with both ASUU and the Federal Government, and held several peaceful protests across the Federation.

“According to the commandment of solidarity, we’re on the last ‘Cs of Aluta,’ which is confrontation. This is the time to call on all Nigerian students across all zones to join the NLC in solidarity to end the ASUU strike on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, and Wednesday, July 27, 2022. Nigerian students are tired of the long overdue strike action.

“Consequently, all NANS cadres and stakeholders, zonal leadership, Campus Committee Chairmen, Student Union Government presidents, Nigerian students, and the general public are hereby put on high notice to mobilise, organise and get prepared to be part of the movement,” NANS said

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly intervened in the ongoing impasse between the  Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and the Federal Government. 

Presidential Spokesperson Femi Adesina posted on Facebook on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, that the president was in consultation with ministers and government officials over the lingering ASUU strike.

“President Buhari in consultation with Ministers and other Government Officials over [the] lingering ASUU Strike in [the] State House on 19th July 2022”, Mr Adesina posted. 

In attendance in the meeting with the president were the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu; the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami; the Head of Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan; the Chairman of National Salaries Income and Wages Commission, Ekpo Nta, and the Director-General Budget Office, Ben Akabueze.

Sources in the presidency confirmed that the president had directed the Minister of Education to resolve the industrial crisis within two weeks.

It can be recalled that ASUU embarked on strike on February 14, 2022, which has crippled the academic and commercial activities in all the Nigerian universities.

By Aminu Muhammad

The Nigerian Police Force’s Kaduna State command has announced the re-arrest of Ali Shuaibu, 60, a suspected prison escapee from Kuje.

According to a statement made by Mohammed Jalige, the command’s public relations officer, Shuaibu, who was on his way to Kano State, was detained.

The Kano State native admitted that he was one of around 800 prisoners that fled the Kuje Correctional Center in Abuja when terrorists raided the prison, according to a police official.

The police statement reads, “Sequel to the Commissioner of Police Kaduna Command’s directive to all tactical commanders and Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) to mount purposeful surveillance across all inlets to Kaduna State in response to the recent infamous Kuje Jail break as instructed by the Inspector General of Police, the operatives without prejudice to existing crime prevention measures, responded effectively which has started yielding a positive result with the arrest of a suspected escapee on the 17th July 2022 at about 1930hrs.

“The suspect, one Ali Shuaibu 60yrs of age and an indigene of Kano State, was apprehended by the police operatives at a location in Kaduna, while on transit to Kano based on active intelligence.

“The suspect on preliminary investigation revealed that he is part of the inmates who escaped during the recent attack on the Kuje medium security correctional centre.

“The Commissioner of Police, Kaduna Command, Yekini A. Ayoku, directed that necessary protocols be carried out before handing the suspect over to the Nigerian Correctional Service for proper placement.

“He further tasked officers not to relent in their effort to effectively tackle all forms of crimes and criminality in all critical areas of the state.”

By Muhammad Aminu

The Presidential Candidate of the New Nigerians People’s Party (NNPP), Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said that he would give priority to education if Nigerians give him the chance in the forth coming general election.

Speaking at the official presentation of his running mate, Bishop Isaac Idahosa, Kwankwaso also decried collapse of tertiary education under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to the former Kano State Governor, Nigeria is bleeding from severe wounds inflicted on it by the incompetence and insincerity of the APC-led government.

“The sad reality is that our country is bleeding from several and severe wounds inflicted on her either as a result of incompetence or insincerity of the operators of government or the total lack of the understanding of how to govern a multi-cultural, multi-religious and multiethnic country like our own.

“Their insincerity and intolerance has inflicted injurious wounds to the social fabric of Nigeria. Their nepotism and parochial approach to governance has inflicted severe wounds to the country. Their ineptitude and lack of empathy has dealt a damaging blow on the body psyche of all Nigerians.

“Their condescending arrogance and sense of entitlement has further widened the fault lines in our country and their nonchalant attitude towards the core functions of governance is causing dangerous escalation of insecurity,” he said.

The former minister of defence further lamented the rising inflation and unemployment in the country, saying the current economic statistics in Nigeria were unacceptable.

Bishop Idahosa, in his acceptance speech, said Nigeria is on a critical juncture where a fresh start is imminent.

“Nigeria deserves a fresh start and fresh ideas. Nigeria deserves a fresh deal that will steer the country away from division and hate. A fresh deal that will steer the country away from incompetence and cluelessness; a fresh deal that will steer the country away from insecurity and economic woes,” he said.

He therefore, urged Nigerians to register and obtain voters card to be able to bring about the desired change in the country.

Earlier, the National Chairman of the party, Prof. Ahmed Rufai Alkali, said that NNPP is the fastest growing party in Nigeria, adding that Kwankwaso’s sterling leadership is responsible for the growth.

“The NNPP entered the political space at the most critical time and is going to take the opportunity to give Nigerians hope because Kwankwaso is the man Nigerians are waiting for,” he said.

By Muhammad Aminu

A lecturer with Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Zoe Solomon Tamunotonye, has become a commercial bus conductor to feed his family.

Tamunotonye’s video surfaced on social media platforms earlier today, where he was busy in his newfound endeavour. He’s seen beckoning passengers to enter a commercial bus along Ikwerre Road in Port Harcourt.

He was suspended by the Management of the Polytechnic after a committee of inquiry indicted him for randy behaviour with a female student of the institution.

The academic was also accused of influencing the female student’s detention at the Sani Abacha Road Police Station in Port Harcourt.

The Polytechnic Management stopped his salary in January 2022, which reportedly made his life unbearable.

He was said to have turned around to accuse the female student of diverting the sum of N250,000 he gave her for her personnel business and holding on to his office key and other property.

It can be recalled that before Tamunotonye’s incident, the University of Abuja and Obafemi Awolowo University expelled academic staff that had sexually abused female students of their respective institutions.

By Babatunde Qodri

Since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, we have never witnessed such a long and suffocating strike as it is at the moment when public tertiary institutions would be closed down, and there would be no serious move by those concerned to avert it. In two years, our universities have suffered unprecedented deterioration due to incessant industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Consequently, students are often condemned to stay at home. But this is what we get any time we elect a leader that cares less about the education sector. Ministers of Education and Labour Adamu Adamu and Chris Ngige, respectively, largely contribute to this agelong industrial action. Yet, despite a series of meetings, nothing tangible has happened to facilitate the return of students to class. This is unarguably appalling. 

Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU Chairman, recently revealed the lack of readiness by the Federal Government to yield to the demands of striking lecturers when he appeared on Channels TV. Osodeke slammed the Minister of Labour for misleading the public on the development while accusing the Federal Government of insincerity in its dealing with the Union. One then wonders whether this administration actually places a premium on the future of Nigerian students. The government’s body language is symptomatic of what these abandoned students have to contend with for years.

This is not to throw a jab at the Minister of Education or the Labour Minister. Unarguably, however, I am disturbed by the carefree approach of the Federal Government to the situation that affects millions of young Nigerians. It is sad to stress that this unfortunate development has resulted in many problems.

For instance, several Nigerians affected by the industrial action have been forced into activities that negatively affect society and their future. Because they say idle hands are susceptible to devilish errands, most students are now into internet fraud and other related engagements to the country’s detriment. This is in addition to the fact that some of these students, having stayed at home for a long, have lost interest in education, thereby engaging in unprofitable endeavours.

It is necessary also to admit that the protracted strike translates to a waste of time, with students spending more time than necessary. And this puts them at a disadvantage. While their counterparts in private and state universities have seamlessly unhindered years to run and complete their programs, students in public universities are trapped. Those supposed to be used as innovation agents are abandoned to situations that delimit them. This is thoroughly depressing.

Moreover, the strike has a way it contributes to the debilitating nature of the Nigerian education system. Today, Nigerian lecturers seek opportunities outside the country to make their skills and knowledge relevant. There are cases of Nigerians in the medical fields going to countries abroad in search of better conditions. This is not good for the country as it ultimately leads to a shortage of competent lecturers in our various public tertiary institutions. Even if the industrial action is called off, the fact that it has forced talented Nigerians to opt to lose confidence in the system remains a threat.

My final take: If the Federal Government cannot meet up with the demands of the Union, at least it must identify with its clamour since it is in the best interest of public tertiary institutions. Both parties must forge a new mode of communication that recognizes the yearnings of Nigerians. Done based on sincerity, the government might agree to attend to the union’s demands in batches. Between all of these is the need for committed Ministers of Labour and Education who can drive the Government to do the needful. This is necessary to put the country on the path of steady development.

Babatunde Qodri wrote via babatundelaitan@gmail.com.