No headway as ASUU battles govtover extra allowances, funding - When the Academic Staff Union ofUniversities, ASUU, embarked on a nationalstrike on July 1, 2013 due to the refusal ofFederal Government to implement the 2009agreement it signed with the union whichhad several components, includingadequate funding of education sector,Nigerians feared another long winter fortheir children forced to return home.Strike by lecturers in public universities hasbecome a normal trend every two years.The nation is accustomed to disruptedacademic sessions that at times linger onfor about six months.To have an uninterrupted academiccalendar in the university system isabnormal. So the strike factor is usually builtinto the calendar. An academic programmescheduled for three or four years, could lastfor seven years.The blame for this can rightly be placed atthe door step of the Federal Government,fond of breaching negotiated agreementsreached with ASUU. There is the question offailed leadership, corruption, show ofinsincerity and lack of commitment toagreements; knowing that any breachwould lead to shutting down of theuniversities by a frustrated union whichfeels government is unwilling to developeducation in the country. The governmentis yet to understand that any refusal tohonour agreement freely signed withoutduress tantamounts to a breach of contract,actionable in law.Already, the public university system is indecadence in all ramifications. Most of theover 30 Federal and 36 State universitiesare in bad condition. Physical infrastructurefor teaching and learning are grosslyinadequate, dilapidated and over stretched.The laboratories and workshops areobsolete, poor furnishings, poor power andwater supply, outdated equipment,crowded hostels and unhygienic livingconditions.Many of the universities don’t have videoconferencing facility, only a fraction haveor use interactive white boards. Many arewithout public address systems in theirlecture rooms, while none of theuniversities had fully automated libraryresources.Education Minister, Prof. Ruqayattu Ahmedand ASUU President, Nasir Issa-FageeApart from all these inadequacies, it hasbeen found in a Federal Ministry ofEducation Report, that many of theuniversities are grossly understaffed,relying mainly on part-time and visitinglecturers, with several under-qualifiedacademic staff, lacking effective staffdevelopment programmes. Recently, theNational Universities Commission (NUC)came out with a directive that all universitylecturers must possess Ph. D degrees withina given time or lose their appointments.Only about 43% of academic staff in theuniversity system have doctorate degrees,the remaining 57% don’t.According to the report, there are 37,504lecturers in public universities, but only28,128 (about 75%) are engaged on fulltime basis, the rest 25% are either part-time,visiting, on sabbatical or on contract.Against this sordid scenario, one canunderstand the struggle of ASUU to reformand transform public universities to meetwith the standards obtainable in otherclimes.Our leaders are not ready to embark of thistransformation because they are notcommitted to proper and adequate fundingof education of which UNESCOrecommended 26% of national budget. ButNigeria allocates less than 10% of herbudget to education which is even amongthe lowest in Africa. Yet this nation can dobetter.People in government and politicians arequick to send their children to UK, USA,Canada, Australia, Ukrain, Russia, and evennearby Ghana, Togo, Benin for universityeducation. Because of their ill-gotten wealth,they can patronise expensive privateinstitutions, rather than increase funding toupgrade public schools at home.Dr. Nasir Fagge, ASUU National President,had explained that the strike was not just toreposition the education sector, particularlythe university system, but to salvage ourcountry. He said ASUU was determined toprosecute the strike to its logical conclusion,and that the implementation of theagreement was a cardinal issue that mustbe accomplished by the union as this wouldtransform the country’s university system.Government offered a paltry N100 billionfor infrastructure, and N30 billion forearned allowances, a far cry from N87billion demanded.On accepting the offer of N30 billion andgoing back to class while reachingagreement on when the next installmentswill be paid, Fagge rejected this, saying, “Wehad made that mistake before wherebyonly the salary component of theagreement was singled out and so we cannot afford to make such a mistake again.Until the whole agreement is fullyimplemented, we are not going to call offthis strike.”Over N500 billion is needed forinfrastructure upgrade.President Goodluck Jonathan and othereminent Nigerians had appealed to ASUU totake the N30 billion offer by governmentand return to classroom.The union had demanded for N87 billion(not N92 billion) in extra allowancestranslated as excess work load, highcarriage of students per lecturer,responsibility allowance which includedsupervision of academic projects for final-year students, Masters, Ph.D theses, courseadvice, administrative duties as heads ofdepartments, deans of faculties, hallmasters, etc.Because of inadequate staffing, the workload had been heavy with one lecturer to200, or even 300 students.Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, instating the government position had saidthe money – N92 billion according to her,which ASUU was demanding (but refutedby the union to be actually N87bn) was notonly unrealistic, but also not within thereach of the Federal Government.Her words at a 2-day conference ofCommissioners of Finance and Accountants-General of States Ministries of Finance heldin Minna, Niger State. “At present, ASUUwants the government to pay N92 billion inextra allowances when resources are notthere and when we are working tointegrate past increases in pensions. Weneed to make choices in this country as weare getting to the stage where recurrentexpenditures take the bulk of our resourcesand people get paid but can do no work.”Series of deadlock had characterisedmeetings between ASUU leaders and theFederal Government Team lead by GovernorSuswam of Benue State to resolve the crisisand pave way for lecturers to return backto work.Mr. James Bidemi, a Senior Managementstaff in a public university, commended theASUU action which seemed good andappropriate, but cautioned if the dispute isnot resolved, it could destroy universityeducation in the country. He called for stateof emergency on education.“Government should meet at least 50% to60% of ASUU demand, and people willsupport government in the appeal for thestrike to be called off. It’s about anagreement which government was boundto implement and also endeavour to tacklethe decaying infrastructure in theuniversity system.” A university teacher, inhis reaction, wondered why the Minister ofEducation failed to capture these earnedallowances owed to lecturers by the 2009agreement in the 2013 budget. If they werelegislators, the funds will be available.Meanwhile, the strike is biting hard asstudents have been roaming the streets,lured into criminality and social vices likeprostitution, drug trafficking, kidnappingand political thuggery.Chief Joshua Nwosu, a businessman withthree children in the university now athome blamed bad and insensitive leadersfor the horrible condition of the educationsystem.“The government just refused toallocate sufficient fund to education despitethe abundant financial resources available.Millions of our youths are jobless, yetgovernment is not willing to provideadequate money for educationaldevelopment. Something drastic must bedone to save our education from totalcollapse. President Jonathan should act fastand be patriotic.”

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ASUU and Abuja: ‘No agreement today;no agreement tomorrow’ (2) - WHEN I wrote those series I had no idea that twomonths down the line ASUU would embark on aparalysing strike that would do serious violence tothe academic calendar. One doesn’t need to beprophetic, Godspower Oyewole-style, to see our public universities are headed for the rocks. Their problems which daily stare us in the face willnot and cannot be resolved by the fast increasingprivate universities, many of which invariablydepend on academics from their publiccounterparts to fully meet their accreditationrequirements. Those who imagine the private universities cansucceed where the public universities have failedare only taking a short time view of the situation.Although much more business-like and oftenbetter managed and maintained, they are by far toofew and too expensive to take care of the educational demands of the armies of schoolleavers matriculated every year. While one believes that there is too much emphasison university education at the expense oftraditional technical education of the sort providedby polytechnics and trade guilds, it is a matter oftime before the private universities many of whichappear prone to lower standards in order to attract more applicants and generally tend to shun out fartoo many first class graduates- it’s a matter of timebefore they too get overwhelmed by the pressureof demand. That’s even in the unlikely event thatmost Nigerians can afford and therefore preferthem to the publicly-owned institutions. Until the middle class and society as a whole getsricher enough to afford private education for thosequalified, university education would still largely beprovided by public institutions. Which is why thepublic universities have to be better resourced. Andthis is not a new thing. Some of our universities like Ibadan, then Ife, Nsukka and ABU used to beamong the best in the commonwealth with scholarsfrom every part of the world. A number of my teachers in the public secondaryschools I attended were foreigners, from England,India, Pakistan and the Philippines, etc, to saynothing of Ghana. At the university, it was normalto see many of these scholars from other countrieseither as permanent staff or visiting researchers. This is no longer the case. It is a measure of howlow we’ve fallen out of the league of countries thatprovide meaningful university education that ouruniversities today suffer from the most despicableand pernicious form of in-breeding. The politics ofsurvival and ethnic and/or political balancing determines which students are offered admissionand which lecturers are hired. It’s even shaping thecurriculum in certain instances! Most of the students, teaching and non-teachingpersonnel in Nigerian universities today, are fromthe local communities. But for reason ofdesperation due to severe shortfall in availablespaces which forces some to move out of their‘catchment areas’, it is increasingly difficult to find people going out of their immediate localities toseek university education to say nothing of fillingteaching openings where such are available to‘non-indigenes’. This is nowhere helped by the violent campaignagainst so-called Western education in many partsof the North. You have to be a son or daughter of‘the soil’ to make your way in the treacherousterrain of contemporary academia. In the privateinstitutions, you must profess particular religions or belong in particular denominations in the eventyou can afford the relatively high fees to gainadmission. Many of today’s universities lack and cannot affordthe facilities available in Nigerian secondary schoolsof the 1970s and 80s. The cliché that theseuniversities are glorified secondary schoolsdeserves close examination to appreciate theenormity of the problem we are faced with. The near-total collapse of infrastructure with itsmanifestation in laboratories that are almost bare,shorn of necessary equipment and chemicals and/or reagents to perform experiments; library shelvesthat are coated in dusts, mildewed and outdatedliterature; poorly ventilated offices and lecture rooms (nobody talks of theatres anymore) withdamaged roofs that expose their occupants to theelements- noisy offices and classrooms withpuddles of rainwater mixed with human andanimal faeces, powered by noisy generators thatemit noxious fumes that make any meaningful research or study impossible- this is the picture ofrot that pervades our universities. Electricity is rationed and is available for less thanten hours in a whole week. A vicious circle thatsucks alike brutal and brutalised lecturers andstudents into its vortex is created. Lecturers have been reduced to mere classroomteachers. Salaries are delayed or irregular; researchfunds are grossly inadequate where they areavailable and lecturers are compelled to obtainbank loans to fund their own research and attendconferences even while carrying killing workloads involving students crammed into classes meant fora fifth of the population in it. Aside all of this, they still have to face the indignityof appearing before very disrespectful and uncouthforeign embassy staff that routinely deny themtravel visas to attend international conferenceswhere local conferences are rare and are oftenconvened by cronies with an eye to meet the demands for promotion. There is hardly time for relaxed study or sustainedreflection, the kind that gives birth to profoundinsight and discoveries. Scholarship is now a questfor survival, an economic struggle to recouppersonal funds invested in academic activities. Thus after working non-stop for six or more yearsin the very deplorable environments of ouruniversities, lecturers look forward to theirsabbatical. But sabbaticals are no longer what theyused to be, a break from the demands of regularwork routine, time to regain spent energy and engage in easy research, reflection and maybe lightteaching. Now, sabbaticals are opportunities for fully paid butvery rigorous teaching engagements in equallyparlous local university environments. This is thepractical demand of individual economy. At the endof such sabbaticals, academics return to theirregular jobs nowhere improved but more spent, enervated and on edge than they were before thesabbatical. The campus environments are like open marketbazaars. There are only dirt roads and footpaths,no paved roads. A concrete jungle of uncompleted,collapsing or collapsed buildings with cracked,unpainted walls that are grimy from lack ofmaintenance. The grasses are shaggy, there are no lawns andwhere they exist they have since turned wildbushes of thistles and thorns. Nobody talks ofrecreation facilities where libraries and laboratoriesare empty. The only recreation available is the dangerous kind:prostitution and cheap sex that often trigger bitterand violent confrontations among studentterrorists called cultists and local bandits. Robbery,rape and binge drinking are commonplaceactivities here.

CAN begs ASUU, health workers tosuspend strike - Bauchi State Chapter of the ChristianAssociation of Nigeria, CAN, has appealed to theAcademic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, andJoint Health Sector Union, JOHESU, to sacrifice theirinterests and consider the plight of the masses whoare victims of ongoing strikes. State Secretary of CAN, Rev. Joshau Rai Mains, whomade the appeal, yesterday, in an interview inBauchi, lamented that education and health sectorsin the country were in shambles and if nothing was done to salvage the situation,Nigerians would be worse for it. Joshau argued that continuous strikes were nothealthy for the development of the country, as suchthe striking unions should reconsider their stanceand call off the strikes. He said: “The health and education sectors are veryimportant in the development of any country and ifthese two sectors are grounded, how can weprogress in the country? You will never hear a timethat the health and education sectors in developedcountries are going on strikes because thesecountries know how vital these sectors are. “In Nigeria, the reverse is the case; every sector ofthe country, once they are pursuing their personalinterests, they forget about the plight of thecommon man. “The Medical and Health Workers union in thecountry should reconsider the distress the strikehas put patients in. I know this strike might haveled to the death of some people, who did not geturgent medical attention.” The group called on the Federal Government to besincere in implementing its agreement with the twounions so that the workers could return to work.

CAN begs ASUU, health workers tosuspend strike - Bauchi State Chapter of the ChristianAssociation of Nigeria, CAN, has appealed to theAcademic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, andJoint Health Sector Union, JOHESU, to sacrifice theirinterests and consider the plight of the masses whoare victims of ongoing strikes. State Secretary of CAN, Rev. Joshau Rai Mains, whomade the appeal, yesterday, in an interview inBauchi, lamented that education and health sectorsin the country were in shambles and if nothing was done to salvage the situation,Nigerians would be worse for it. Joshau argued that continuous strikes were nothealthy for the development of the country, as suchthe striking unions should reconsider their stanceand call off the strikes. He said: “The health and education sectors are veryimportant in the development of any country and ifthese two sectors are grounded, how can weprogress in the country? You will never hear a timethat the health and education sectors in developedcountries are going on strikes because thesecountries know how vital these sectors are. “In Nigeria, the reverse is the case; every sector ofthe country, once they are pursuing their personalinterests, they forget about the plight of thecommon man. “The Medical and Health Workers union in thecountry should reconsider the distress the strikehas put patients in. I know this strike might haveled to the death of some people, who did not geturgent medical attention.” The group called on the Federal Government to besincere in implementing its agreement with the twounions so that the workers could return to work.

Young inventor dazzles Jonathan with power-generating football - 2013-08-17 00:27:41President Goodluck Jonathan on Fridayexpressed delight over the creativity of a25-year-old Nigerian, Jessica Matthews,who invented a power-generating footballcalled SOCCKET ball.Matthews, who is a co-founder and ChiefExecutive Officer of Unchartedplay, was atthe Presidential Villa, Abuja to present theball, which can generate three hours oflight from 30 minutes of play to Jonathan.She also presented an energy-generatingskipping rope to the President.While congratulating her on her creativityand innovativeness, Jonathan said he wasimpressed that Matthews, who trained as apsychologist and economist, developedherself in the field of science.He described her feat as a proof of thequality of human resource present inNigeria.The President said the invention wasuseful as a major tool that could be usedto mobilise young Nigerians andencourage them to think more deeply.Matthews said, "Sometimes power is lostand you say what can you do to solve thissituation and I saw my cousins andeveryone playing football, playing witheverything not even with football alone."I say this is amazing and they can rivalMessi. If we can take this kinetic that isgenerated here and use it to address theissues that we really have; kinetic energyis used for windmill, why not the ball?"She said although the items were alreadyon sale in New York, she had not startedmaking them in Nigeria.She, however, said when they would bemade available for sale in Nigeria, the costwould be equivalent to what people payfor a solar inverter.Minister of Trade and Investment,Olusegun Aganga, said the FederalGovernment was looking at thepossibilities of manufacturing the items inNigeria and see how to make themcheaper for Nigerians.He said, "Jessica is a Nigerian, she studiedat Harvard University, she went toBusiness School and actually taught herselfElectrical and Mechanical Engineering. So,she is an inspiration to every Nigerianespecially our children in Nigerianuniversities. This is a product not only forNigeria, but a product made in Nigeria bya Nigerian and for the world."The second thing is that the product isactually versatile, it is not just about theelectricity you see, you can use it tocharge your mobile phones, for fans, sothere are so many things for which it canbe used."

ASUU Strike: 53 Days After,Students Look Inwards,Discover Talents-As the crucial meeting between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the federal government ended with nodefinite call off date in sight over the ongoing strike by the lecturers, students have taken matters into their hands and have engaged themselves in various activities to keep themselves busy and out of mischief by utilizing their various talents and gifts. Speaking to some of them yesterday, LEADERSHIP discovered that a majority of affected students have delved into fashion and design, music, acting, marketing, modelling etc pending the official end of the strike. Benjamin Umeojiaku, a 500 level Engineering student of the University of Abuja revealed that the strike has afforded him opportunity to focus on his fashion label. He said, “instead of staying idle and allowing the devil to open shop on my hands, I have focused on building my fashion line. It has kept me busy and has also been a source of income” Damola is a budding artiste and performer. The Unibuja student told LEADERSHIP that he has devoted his free time to improving his music by investing in some studio time, performing in concerts and attending music classes. A final year Theatre Arts student from University of Nasarawa, simply known as Rose has devoted her time to catering and ushering. She says that she made her decision when she realized that waiting on ASUU and the federal government would be like waiting for the ‘Titanic’ to come into berth. David Iroanusi and Francis Onunkwo are students of the Faculty of Education, University of Abuja. Both have delved into the entertainment industry through modelling, acting and music. They stated that engaging themselves in an activity has helped them pass the time in a productive and creative manner. They advised fellow students to follow their lead and engage in meaningful activities. They said, “It is obvious that we would probably spend sixyears on a four year programme, its better we try our hands at other things so that wecan always have a back-up plan.” Tobi Johannes is the Editor in chief of LOL! Magazine, a campus editorial in University of Abuja. He had this to say: “it is said that if your ship refuses to come in, you should swim out to it. We, Nigerian students are not ready to get ourselves wet swimming to a troubled ship, we’d rather just take a train. During the period of this strike, the LOL! Team has been working hard to expand our brand. We have diversified into television through our YouTube channel. As the strike action enters week eight, the students are united in appealing to the government and ASUU to settle their differences and bring about a definite and lasting solution to the incessant strike actions. The strike which started on the first of July is a result of non implementation of some of the resolutions of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement.

FG not ready to end strike – ASUU After 10 unsuccessful meetings with theFederal Government, the Academic Staff Union ofUniversities, ASUU, yesterday said government wasnot ready to end the 8-week-old strike, lamentingthat government displayed dishonesty and lack ofintegrity during negotiations. At a briefing in Lagos, ASUU’s President, Dr. IsaFaggae, claimed that government had declared itwould not implement the agreed injection of fundsto revitalise the public universities, but was onlymaking a dubious statement of supporting someuniversities with N100 billion. He said: “Government had also declared that it willnot pay university academics their earnedallowances which accumulated from 2009 to 2013.Rather, it is talking about providing N30 billion toassist various Governing Councils of FederalUniversities to defray the arrears of N92 billion owed to all categories of staff in the universitysystem.” Narrating the union’s experience at the lastmeeting with the Government held on Monday,Faggae said: ASUU was shocked by the level ofdeceit, dishonesty, and lack of integrity displayedby the Government. Never in the history of ASUU-Government relations have we, as a union, ever experienced the kind of volte-face exhibited byGovernment. At one stage in the interaction, theSecretary to the Government Federation ridiculedthe agreement, the MoU and the Needs AssessmentReport, mocking the Minister of Education to “goand give them N400 billion,” at which members of the government scornfully laughed.” He argued that the Governor Gabriel Suswam-ledImplementation Committee was being used assmokescreen to “deceive ASUU, Nigerian studentsand their parents, as well as other unsuspectingmembers of the public on the purportedly releasedN100 billion for the implementation of the Needs Assessment Report. First, he said, government plans to divert theregular yearly allocations to universities by TertiaryEducation Trust, TETFund, to make at least 70% ofthe N100 billion. This is unacceptable to ASUU. It islike robbing Peter to pay Paul, since the idea ofrevitalization took full cognizance of the intervention role TETFund ab-initio. “Again, contrary to subsisting operationalprocedures, about 75% of the money meant forrevitalizing universities would not be released tothem as the Suswam Committee plans to hand overconstruction of the hostel projects to the FederalMinistry of Education and/or the National Universities Commission, for implementation. This isillegal; neither the ministry nor NUC is backed bylaws of Nigerian Public Universities to divert moniesmeant for the development of these institutions intocentrally executed projects.” Dr. Faggae questioned the committee’s motives forproposing to commit N1.6 million to a bed space,instead of N200, 000 to N400, 000, saying, “We seea continuation of outrageous contract regimes inthe plan to centrally coordinate the construction ofstudent hostels as done in the case of the 12 newly established Federal Universities with TETFundresources. The NUC has transmuted itself into a“Tenders’ board” which awarded contracts for theconstruction of 560 bed spaces hostel for eachuniversity at a whooping sum of 1.2 bn. Thiscontract sum translates into N2.143 million per bed space.”

NASS, FG urge ASUU to call off strikeAs the industrial action embarked upon by theAcademic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, entersit second month, the leadership of the NationalAssembly, NASS, and Federal Government,yesterday, appealed to the lectures to end the strike. The NASS and FG made the plea after a meeting withPro-Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of publicuniversities in Abuja. They pleaded that the FG has made offers andcommitment to necessitate the resumption ofacademic activities in the nation’s publicuniversities. According to Senate Chairman on Education,Senator Uche Chukwumerije, “The SenateCommittee has always sought the required fund forour nation’s universities. We plead with ASUU for immediate end of the strike. We want to plead with lecturers to be moresensitive to their scale of priorities especially in thearea of education and timely implementations ofagreements. The present ASUU strike must end. It istime for the nation to take the bull by the horn”. Chairman House Committee on Education,Honourable Aminu Suleiman said, “I want tocommend all those who have fought for the properfunding of our universities in the country. TheFederal Government have also taken position toidentify the needs of all our Federal Polytechnics and Colleges of Education to stop this problem onceand for all. “It is gratifying to know that government hasshifted grounds and it is also in our position topassionately appeal to the aggrieved members ofASUU in the interest of the system to also makeconcession so that students can resume school”. He noted, “We always agree to disagree we canalways disagree without disrupting the system. Wemust appreciate that by prolonging this strike weare doing more harm to the system and causingmore problems for the country in general. What government has done is quite in line with thelegislative agenda which we set out for ourselvesas members of House of Representatives. Nosacrifice is too much in ensuring the developmentof the sector”. The SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, said the FG hasalready demonstrated sufficient commitment to theimplementation of 2009 FG/ASUU agreement. He said President Goodluck Jonathan has set N100billion to develop infrastructure in 61 universitiesand N30 billion to support the university councils insettling the earned allowances. The SGF therefore appealed to the universityteachers to call of the two months old strike.

ASUU, FG negotiation ends in deadlock AgainNegotiations between the Federal Government andthe leadership of the Academic Staff Union ofNigeria Universities (ASUU) over the on-goingstrike by members of the union ended in adeadlock in Abuja yesterday. Speaking to journalists after the meeting whichlasted several hours, the Governor of Benue StateGabriel Suswam who is Chairman of the NeedsAssessment Implementation Committee set up bythe Federal Government stated that PresidentGoodluck Jonathan had pledged to commence release of N100 billion for the infrastructuraldevelopment of the universities from the beginningof September. He further stated that due process for the release ofthe funds to execute the identified projects in allfederal universities across the country had alreadystarted. Said he: ” Among the infrastructures that would beprovided are chairs, classrooms, laboratories ,libraries and student hostels. There would also berenovation of existing infrastructures andexecution of fresh projects.” He further stated that ASUU leaders were membersof the the Needs Assessment Committee addingthat they had agreed with resolutions on how toaddress the infrastructural decay in federaluniversities. On his part, the Secretary to the Government of theFederation (SGF) Senator Anyim Pius Anyim statedthat the Federal Government delegation and ASUUhad almost agreed on all disputed issues addingthat the only outstanding one was that of earnedallowances of academic staff of federal universities. He further stated that even though ASUU haddemanded for the release of N87 billion to settlethe outstanding allowances, the FederalGovernment had agreed to disburse the sum ofN30 billion to all the universities. Said he: “However, we cannot determine what isowed individual lecturers in different universities.Hence we have agreed that councils of variousuniversities should determine how much teachersin the various institutions are owed”. However, the President of ASUU Dr. Nasir Fagge inhis own remarks said that the union still insistedthat the Federal Government should implement the2009 agreement reached between both parties. Said he: “If you remember our objective for goingon strike was to get government to implement the2009 ASUU/ Federal Government agreement,particularly the memorandum of understandingwe reached. I want to say that at today’s (yesterday’s) meeting,we looked at all the issues in that MOU and it isclear to us that the the Governor Suswamcommittee that is working on the fundingrequirement for rehabilitating the universitysystem based on the implementation of the needs assessment report; it is clear to us that that we havenot really gone far in that aspect. Secondly,remember in our earlier discussion, we said thereare other aspects of the agreement that wererefered to eitherthe Implemenatation monitoringcommittee or the federal ministry of education. We are yet to commence work on those aspects.” He continued: “On the earned academic allowances,since the government made it clear that it doesn’thave the money to implement that aspect, wewere made to understand today that governmentis going to consult the universities’ governingcouncils and then if there is any need for further meeting, we would be consulted. So, on the basis of that, we will also go back andinform our members on this development. I thinkat this point, what the union is talking about is theimplementatioin of 2009 agreement not therenegotiation of the agreement.”

ASUU’s N87bn can’t be renegotiated, says APCThe All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked theFederal Government to honour its agreement withthe Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) inorder to end the ongoing strike that has paralyzedacademic activities in the nation’s publicuniversities. In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by itsInterim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji LaiMohammed, the party said no government worthits salt can afford to play with education, because itis the path to nationaldevelopment. It said ASUU was not making any fresh demandbeyond the agreement it reached with thegovernment in 2009, adding: ”Agreements aremeant to be honoured, and breaching them comeswith some consequences.” APC said the strike which has kept students inpublic universities at home for many weeks is afurther blow to the country’s education system,which has deteriorated so much that no Nigerianuniversity is currently listed in the top 100universities in the world and only a few Nigerian universities have made the top 100 in Africa. ”The 87 billion naira that ASUU is demandingrepresents earned allowances hence cannot berenegotiated. In any case, this amount pales intoinsignificance when placed side by side with the 1trillion naira that has been spent on federallegislators in the past 8 years; or the frivolity involved in a government minister travelling toChina to negotiate a $1 billion loan in a charteredjet (with its attendant costs) and with a retinue ofstaffers who earned generous estacode in hardcurrency. ”It is an indication of the kind of priority that thisFederal Government attaches to education thatwhile it has refused to meet its own side of anagreement it reached with ASUU since 2009, itcould pay out 3 trillion naira in non-existent fuelsubsidies to fat cats, spend 10 billion naira annually to maintain the jets in the presidential fleet and dolittle or nothing to prevent the stealing of 400,000barrels of crude oil per day, which translates to$120 million in a month, money that surely ends upin some people’s pockets! ”What we are saying is that if the FederalGovernment would reduce its profligacy and cutwaste, there will be enough money to pay teachersin public universities, as well as fund research andupgrade infrastructure in such institutions. Hungryteachers can neither teach well nor carry out research. And poorly-taught students can neitherexcel nor propel their nation to greatheights,” the party said. It expressed total shock and disgust at thedemonstrated non-chalance of those who shouldbe working round the clock to resolve the crisis,especially the Minister of State for Education NyesonWike, who has enough time on his hands to belaunching vigilance groups and dancing ‘palongo’ around town when the nations public universitiesare shut and students are languishing. This isshameful and totally unacceptable. ”We are not surprised, because most governmentofficials have sent their children and wards toforeign universities, hence do not give a damn if thechildren of others are in school or not. ”Education is the key to national development. Thisis why UNESCO has recommended an allocation ofat least 26% of national budgets to that criticalsector. Therefore, talking about national growthand development without adequately fundingeducation is a pipe dream!” APC said.

Teacher can’t read own certificate?When the late Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kutisang his popular number, Teacher, Don’t Teach MeNonsense, many thought it was just a song but thesong had become a reality in time. It was sometime in 2011, when Governor AdamsOshiomhole paid an unscheduled visit to a primaryschool in Edo North senatorial district of the statethat he found out the rot which has pervaded theUniversal Basic Education in the state. For someone who has embarked on massiveconstruction and rehabilitation of schools in thecountry of course, he must be concerned with thequality of teachers in these schools. Oshiomholebeckoned on a teacher in the school and asked himwhat are his workings hours. The teacher could not answer and said I don’t know and later murmured“7am to 4pm Sir”. Oshiomhole and one of the state’s teacher A visibly shocked Oshiomhole now called a pupiland asked, “where is your teacher? The teacherstanding beside him replied on behalf of the pupil“na me”. That was when the governor knew thathe has a serious problem in the educational sector. A week after the incident, a group of UniversalBasic Education teachers who were at theGovernment House in Benin to protest their nonabsorption into the state teaching service stormedthe state government House, unknown to them thegovernor was waiting for such an opportunity to bare his mind on the rot in the system. Whileaddressing the UBE teachers he asserted thatemployment into the state teaching service will nolonger be automatic, adding that the applicant mustshow competence beyond paper qualification. He said to them, “the governor does not have aguaranteed job, therefore nobody can have one.You must go through proper interview. The systemmust be convinced that you have what it takes tobe a good teacher”. He stressed that the systemmust go through progressive change to ensure that education is restored to its pride of place,stressing there are teachers who cannot speakEnglish. “Whatever they were doing before, wehave to review it in the light of current experience.We have teachers who cannot speak English. Iasked a teacher last week what the working hours were. He did not know, he said 7am to 4pm. And Iasked a pupil, where is your teacher? The teachersaid, ‘na me’. The governor disclosed thatgovernment was going to employ teachers to fillthe existing vacancies, but it must be based onmerit and not geographical area. While noting that government will weed outunproductive teachers from the school system torestore the dignity of education, the Governorstressed that government cannot guarantee jobsfor all UBE graduates simply because they havepassed through teacher training. He however assured them that government would direct theUniversal Basic Education Board to commerce theprocess of employment of teachers. “l appreciatethat after going through teacher training, youexpect that you would be employed, but it wouldnot be automatic”. And following his resolve to clean up the mess in the system, the governorcommenced the recruitment of teachers andsaddled members of the State Universal EducationBoard (SUBEB) with the responsibility to recruitteachers. But the governor got another shock of hislife, when petitions started flying around that the members were receiving bribe to recruitunqualified teachers. Saturday Vanguard wasreliably informed that an official of the Board sleptwith a female whom he promised to giveemployment but at the end of the day refused tofulfill his promise even after sleeping with her. As a result, the governor in collaboration with the stateHouse of Assembly dissolved the Board chaired byHon. Joseph Emoabino and cancelled therecruitment exercise. While Mr Omorotiomwan wassworn-in as Commissioner. Worried by the mess inthe educational sector, the state called for a town hall meeting with a view to find solution to theproblems in that sector. But before the town hallmeeting, there was an audit of primary schoolteachers in the state and it was revealed massivefalsification of age of Primary School Teachers in theState Public Schools. But the teachers and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in thestate saw the governor’s action differently. Theyalleged that it was because the teachers went onstrike that the state government decided to punishthem. They even alleged that it was because theGovernor was accused of not having his primary school certificate by the PDP governorshipcandidate in the last governorship election,Gen.Charles Airhiavbere that informed thegovernor’s reform in the sector. Though they werereminded that the court had quashed thoseallegations, after it declared that Airhiavbere failed to prove any of the allegations against thegovernor. However the town hall meeting held penultimateweek and all the stakeholders were on hand tobare their minds. While declaring the meeting open,Oshiomhole who was the first to pull the triggerdisclosed that from the audit carried out by theState’s Information and Communications Technology, 789 teachers out of 1,379 obtainedtheir Primary School Leaving Certificates before theage of 8 or 9. He said “some of the records showthere were a few who were particularly gifted andthey finished primary school before they wereborn. We found that of all our primary school teachers, only 1,287 representing 9% out of14,484 teachers have proper records in oursystem. 91% have various forms of discrepanciesin their records. About 1,379 teachers representing11.5% claim that they obtained their Primary SchoolCertificates after they had been employed as teachers. In fact, some obtained their PrimarySchool Certificates not more than two years ago,from the school in which they were employed asteachers. The question is whether they went toTeachers’ Training College or obtained NationalCertificate of Education (NCE) before they went to primary school. These are facts that have been welldocumented. It would not be helpful to the causeof education and our resolve to deliver qualityeducation to our pupils if we do not deal with thisissue decisively”. The Governor who reeled out statistics on theteachers-student ratio in all the Local Governmentsin the State said the average of 30 students perteacher in the State is much lower than the UNESCOrecommendation on student-teacher ratio sayingthis might mean that there are more teachers in the State primary schools than needed. While notingthat there were positives from the audit, theGovernor said there are more female teachers thanmale teachers in the State and that “in some cases,we have more female pupils in schools than maleand that is very encouraging, because in some States, they are still battling with how to get theirfemale children to school, but that is not the case inEdo.” He also noted that “as a result of the steps wehave taken to restore confidence and integrity toour Public Schools, there has been a steadyincrease in enrolment in Public Junior Secondary Schools in the State. The Governor who said thetown hall meeting on education was called to find asolution to the problems said the Government wasopen to suggestions on the way forward.Some ofthe stakeholders at the town hall meeting includingthe State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Comrade Patrick Ikosimi, the Aidenojie of SouthIbie, H.R.H Kelvin Danesi, the Ojirrua of Irrua, H.R.HWilliam Momodu, Comrade Jude Obasanmi,Chairman, Conference of Non GovernmentalOrganizations in Edo State, Rev. Asibor, Mr. Efe John,Mrs. Rosemary Abode and others urged the Governor to take a tough decision to properlysanitize the education sector. Determined, to sanitize the system despite thecriticism from the PDP and some teachers, the StateGovernment invited 1,300 Primary School teacherswho have irregularities in their educationcertificates and age records to appear before averification committee to defend themselves. This was made known at a meeting GovenorOshiomhole held with the leadership of the stateNigeria Labour Congress (NLC) led by ComradeEmmanuel Ademokun and the Nigeria Union ofTeachers (NUT) led by Comrade Patrick Ikosimi. TheGovernor said that the exercise is not to witch-hunt anybody however insisted that it would not bebusiness as usual and that those who have becometoo old to teach will have to give way. Oshiomholesaid “it is not my wish to preside over dismissals,first it is not cheap. Secondly, I have a responsibilityto keep Edo going and ensure that our children are in good hands of teachers who are senile and alsostill strong to stand and competent to teach. If thefacts reveal that there are teachers in the classroomwho do not have the requisite qualification, youcannot insist that they remain in the system. The good news is that those who are not too old,who are capable of training, if we find that they aredeficient and it is possible for them to benefit fromtraining, we will give them training, what is notacceptable is to say it is business as usual. We canmismanage everything in our country, if you mismanage education, you are killing ourtomorrow, our collective future. The roads we arebuilding, we won’t have brains to look over them.In the absence of brains, we won’t have growthand development. I have asked the Ministry ofEducation to invite those category of teachers whose number is about one thousand threehundred who from the records appear to havestarted their Primary School before they were bornto come and speak to the fact because we are notassuming that those documents are iron-cast.” TheGovernor said the Primary School teachers will be paid their monthly salary which was withheld whilethey embarked on strike. And on the day of the verification exercise, it wasdrama at Asologun Primary School, Ikpoba OkhaLocal Government Area, Benin City, Mrs AugustaOdemwinge could not read a sworn affidavit shetendered as part of her credentials. GovernorAdams Oshiomhole who paid an unscheduled visit to the State Staff Training Centre venue of theexercise was appalled that a teacher could notread, saying “if you can’t read, what do you teachthe pupils, what do you write on the board?”Chairman of the state Nigeria Union of Teachers,Comrade Patrick Ikosimi who was also at the screening to monitor the exercise said the woman’sfailure was “an embarrassment”. On arrival at thecentre, the governor took time to peruse some ofthe teacher’s credentials and documents presented.When Mrs. Odenwingie took her turn for theexercise, the Governor who listened to her defence asked her to read the affidavit she presented,however, she was stuttering and read the affidavitas if a kindergarten were learning to read, to the consternation of everybody around. Chairman ofthe Nigeria Union of Teachers NUT, ComradeIkosimi who described Mrs Odemwingie failure as an embarrassment said the union was in tune withthe state government on the need to sanitize theschool system. He said: “We are committed topartnering with the government to repositionEducation in the state. What this teacher has justdisplayed is a show of shame, it shows the decadence in the education sector. As the chairmanof NUT, I have written to the governor that we arein total support of what he is doing. He shouldproperly involve the NUT so that together we canfish out the culprits who are not viable as far as thesystem is concerned,” he said. Reacting to the situation, the state Commissioner ofHigher Education, Mr Washington Osifo, said: “Werepresent the trust of the people. We will do whatthe people want us to do. But I think we are not farfrom the people, the people want quality servicedelivery, we will not also shy away from that. We will not have those who are not qualified manningsuch sector. You cannot invest tax payers money todevelop any sector particularly the educationalsector. Because it is very critical, it is a recruitingground for other sectors of the economy. We areteaching leaders of tomorrow so we must ensure we give them the best. If a teacher cannot putwords together then he cannot be in the classroom. There is no sentiment about it. The only thingshe was able to pronounce that day was her name,and it is very embarrassing to the stategovernment. I have not been able to recover from that shock. Yes it was bad but it is not incurablybad. All the teachers are not bad, our teachers aresound but we want it better and that is why weembarked on the reform. The Governor wants thebest for our children and we are working towardsthat direction”.

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ASUU faults Okonjo-Iweala over N92bn demandby unionThe Academic Staff Union of Universitieshas described as a misrepresentation of facts, thecomment made by the Co-ordinating Minister of theEconomy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that the striking university lecturersdemanded N92 billion as earned allowances in the 2009 agreement. According to the union, which spoke through theChairman, University of Ibadan chapter, Dr.Olusegun Ajiboye, the Federal Government and theminister are not telling the truth. In a statement, the union said: “I want Nigerians toask the minister where she got her figure of N92billion from. There was never a time that ASUUmade a demand that is up to N92 billion. I think the92 billion naira is just the imagination of the Ministerof Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy.” Dr. Ajiboye clarified the issue noting that the earnedallowances jointly calculated with the FederalGovernment and ASUU in the 2009 agreement wasN87 billion and it covers allowances for three and ahalf years for thousands of lecturers in Nigerianuniversities. Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala He stressed that the N87 billion was a compromisemade by ASUU by scaling down from N127 billionto N87 billion. The university lecturer urged Nigerians to say no topeople whom he said were bent on destroyingpublic institutions. He said: “This is a government that signed anagreement with us on January 24, 2012 to theeffect that they would inject N100 billion as fundinginto the universities in the first one month and thatbefore the end of 2012, they would inject anotherN300 billion. The same government did not put down a kobo to any of these universities. “So, it is a sad story that we are hearing now thatthe government cannot meet a demand of N87billion whereas the government said that theywould keep on putting N400 billion annually forthree years consecutively to the tune of about N1.2trillion. If the government is now saying it cannot meet N87billion, Nigerians should know that this isnot a government that can be trusted for anything. “The total amount of earned allowances foracademic staff in Nigerian universities for the threeand a half years computed together with thegovernment was N87 billion. And that was agreedbased on negotiations because we started fromN127billion and it was reduced to N107 billion before we now got to 15 percent of salary paymentof each person. It is called earned allowances and itis the sum total of the excess work which academicstaff had done for the past three and a half years.You are now telling Nigerians that this is what thesepeople are asking for as if it’s a new thing. Nigerians should know that it is what the peoplehave worked for and not N92 billion. It is fallacyand what these people (federal government) arejust pushing is propaganda.”

ASUU faults Okonjo-Iweala over N92bn demandby unionThe Academic Staff Union of Universitieshas described as a misrepresentation of facts, thecomment made by the Co-ordinating Minister of theEconomy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that the striking university lecturersdemanded N92 billion as earned allowances in the 2009 agreement. According to the union, which spoke through theChairman, University of Ibadan chapter, Dr.Olusegun Ajiboye, the Federal Government and theminister are not telling the truth. In a statement, the union said: “I want Nigerians toask the minister where she got her figure of N92billion from. There was never a time that ASUUmade a demand that is up to N92 billion. I think the92 billion naira is just the imagination of the Ministerof Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy.” Dr. Ajiboye clarified the issue noting that the earnedallowances jointly calculated with the FederalGovernment and ASUU in the 2009 agreement wasN87 billion and it covers allowances for three and ahalf years for thousands of lecturers in Nigerianuniversities. Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala He stressed that the N87 billion was a compromisemade by ASUU by scaling down from N127 billionto N87 billion. The university lecturer urged Nigerians to say no topeople whom he said were bent on destroyingpublic institutions. He said: “This is a government that signed anagreement with us on January 24, 2012 to theeffect that they would inject N100 billion as fundinginto the universities in the first one month and thatbefore the end of 2012, they would inject anotherN300 billion. The same government did not put down a kobo to any of these universities. “So, it is a sad story that we are hearing now thatthe government cannot meet a demand of N87billion whereas the government said that theywould keep on putting N400 billion annually forthree years consecutively to the tune of about N1.2trillion. If the government is now saying it cannot meet N87billion, Nigerians should know that this isnot a government that can be trusted for anything. “The total amount of earned allowances foracademic staff in Nigerian universities for the threeand a half years computed together with thegovernment was N87 billion. And that was agreedbased on negotiations because we started fromN127billion and it was reduced to N107 billion before we now got to 15 percent of salary paymentof each person. It is called earned allowances and itis the sum total of the excess work which academicstaff had done for the past three and a half years.You are now telling Nigerians that this is what thesepeople are asking for as if it’s a new thing. Nigerians should know that it is what the peoplehave worked for and not N92 billion. It is fallacyand what these people (federal government) arejust pushing is propaganda.”

ASUU faults Okonjo-Iweala over N92bn demandby unionThe Academic Staff Union of Universitieshas described as a misrepresentation of facts, thecomment made by the Co-ordinating Minister of theEconomy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that the striking university lecturersdemanded N92 billion as earned allowances in the 2009 agreement. According to the union, which spoke through theChairman, University of Ibadan chapter, Dr.Olusegun Ajiboye, the Federal Government and theminister are not telling the truth. In a statement, the union said: “I want Nigerians toask the minister where she got her figure of N92billion from. There was never a time that ASUUmade a demand that is up to N92 billion. I think the92 billion naira is just the imagination of the Ministerof Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy.” Dr. Ajiboye clarified the issue noting that the earnedallowances jointly calculated with the FederalGovernment and ASUU in the 2009 agreement wasN87 billion and it covers allowances for three and ahalf years for thousands of lecturers in Nigerianuniversities. Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala He stressed that the N87 billion was a compromisemade by ASUU by scaling down from N127 billionto N87 billion. The university lecturer urged Nigerians to say no topeople whom he said were bent on destroyingpublic institutions. He said: “This is a government that signed anagreement with us on January 24, 2012 to theeffect that they would inject N100 billion as fundinginto the universities in the first one month and thatbefore the end of 2012, they would inject anotherN300 billion. The same government did not put down a kobo to any of these universities. “So, it is a sad story that we are hearing now thatthe government cannot meet a demand of N87billion whereas the government said that theywould keep on putting N400 billion annually forthree years consecutively to the tune of about N1.2trillion. If the government is now saying it cannot meet N87billion, Nigerians should know that this isnot a government that can be trusted for anything. “The total amount of earned allowances foracademic staff in Nigerian universities for the threeand a half years computed together with thegovernment was N87 billion. And that was agreedbased on negotiations because we started fromN127billion and it was reduced to N107 billion before we now got to 15 percent of salary paymentof each person. It is called earned allowances and itis the sum total of the excess work which academicstaff had done for the past three and a half years.You are now telling Nigerians that this is what thesepeople are asking for as if it’s a new thing. Nigerians should know that it is what the peoplehave worked for and not N92 billion. It is fallacyand what these people (federal government) arejust pushing is propaganda.”

UNIBEN lecturer arraigned for receiving bribefor student’s transferFORMER Assistant Dean, Faculty of Law,University of Benin, Mr. Isu-Ochiora Okogeri, hasbeen arraigned before a Benin High Court forallegedly accepting a bribe to facilitate the transferof a female student to the Faculty of Law of the university. The university teacher is being charged on a one-count charge for enriching himself as a publicofficer by receiving N100,000.00 from oneOmoluwabi Elogho with a promise to effect hercourse transfer to the faculty of law, an offencepunishable under Section 98(b)(11) of the criminal code. First Prosecution Witness (PW1), EdosegheOghogho Idahosa who is the head of theintelligence unit in the security department of theuniversity, led by the state counsel, KennethUgiagbe while giving evidence in the case NoMCK/94C/2013, said the accused person committed the offence on December 31, 2012. He told the court that the accused person, who wasalso a member of Intra-Faculty Transfer Boardrequested and received the alleged sum of moneyfrom the prospective student, who wanted to betransferred from the Faculty of Arts to the Faculty ofLaw. The witness added that following intelligentreports, his team advised the female student to playalong, just as he said that the student informed histeam that the lecturer had asked her to bring thecash to him in his faculty office instead of payingthe said money into a bank account. He further told the court that his surveillance teamclosely monitored them to the faculty, where theaccused person asked the female student to boardhis SUV and dropped her off near the main gate ofthe school, where he (witness) ordered the securityofficers at the gate to stop all the out-going vehicles, as the lecturer was being monitored. According to him, “I confronted the accusedperson over the said money allegedly given him bythe female student and pleaded with him thatsearch be carried out on his vehicle. He becameshocked and dumfounded. I also cleared the wayto enable him park his car at the security office which he rebuffed and sped off. ”The witness further stated that they pursued himwith a motor bike to where he went to drop thesaid money in the exhaust pipe of an abandonedtruck in the fuelling station inside the school anddrove off from the scene, unknown to him that hewas closely monitored. The security officer also told the court that havingengaged the accused person in a hot chase, he waslater apprehended near the fire service stationinside the campus and taken to the security post forinterrogation, where he obliged statement. The security officer further said N17,000 wasrecovered from him and the said N 100,000 wasrecovered from where he had earlier hidden it. The case was adjourned to August 21.

No money to meet ASUU’s demands, saysOkonjo-IwealaThere ap-pears to be no end in sight to thelingering strike by the Academic Staff Union ofUniversities, ASUU, in the country as Minister ofFinance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala declared, yesterday, thatthe nation’s economy cannot accommodate thedemands of the lecturers for now. The minister spokewhile delivering her keynoteaddress at the opening ceremony of this year’sNational Council on Finance and Economic Development, NACOFED, in Minna, Niger State,yesterday. Okonjo-Iweala She said that if othersectors were to be adequatelyand urgently developed, less emphasis should beplaced on recurrent expenditure, especially salariesand allowances of workers. According to her, “at present, ASUU wantsgovernment to pay N92 billion in extra allowancesover and above their salaries. Though we are indiscussion with them, the problem is that theresources to take care of the demands are simplynot there.” She said that with the present situation in thecountry, Nigerians need to make a choice. She said:“People are supportive when there isagitation to increase salaries, pensions amongothers. “But on the other hand, people also turnaround to say the recurrent budget is too high and there is noway you can have it both ways and so we have tomake specific choices in this country.” Cause Okonjo-Iweala noted that the country was stillsuffering from the impact of the wage increase in2010, adding that by the time other demands are added, the recurrent budget will be getting higher,thus leaving virtually nothing for capital. She said:“Do we want to get to a stage whenvirtually all the monies and resources we earn arebeing used to pay salaries and allowances forpublic servants, who make up a minute percentage of the country’s population? “If we do, it means thatgovernment workers willtake up the entire budget of the country withnothing left for roads, water, education andothers.” She, therefore, challenged thecommissioners and other stakeholders to use the conference to findpermanent solutions to the lingering financialproblems in order to move the nation forward.Challenges The minister enumerated some of thechallengesfacing the country to include, over-dependence on oil revenues, the lopsidedness of the publicexpenditures, the budget formulation process andthe need to improve the actual public financialmanagement system. She, however, said that despitethese dauntingchallenges, there is progress in agriculture, housing and real estate, manufacturing and diversifying theeconomy away from oil and improving the non-oiltax revenue collection. Vice President Namadi Sambo,in his speech readon his behalf by Minister of Economic Planning, Dr.Shamsudeen Usman, said some of the reforms in public financial management already taken by thepresent administration had started yielding results.Reforms He said they include reducing recurrentexpenditure to sustainable levels, while increasingthe fiscal space for supporting capital projects anderadicating ghost workers, among others. Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, who wasrepresented by his deputy, Alhaji Ahmed Ibeto,said that the country must gradually but surelysteer away from oil-dominated and global controlto a liberalised agro-based economy, wheregovernment and private entrepreneurs actively participate in economic activities. He urged theparticipants to use the forum toarticulate issues that are germane to the realisationof a deregulation of the downstream oil sector.Participants at the conference, with the themeRestructuring Nigeria’s Public Finances, comprised state finance commissioners and other relevantstakeholders.

FG, ASUU meeting deadlocked, rescheduled for Aug.19A closed-door meeting between the FederalGovernment and the Academic Staff Union ofUniversities (ASUU) on Tuesday in Abuja ended in adeadlock. However, Gov. Gabriel Suswam of Benue, who alsoserves as Chairman of the Universities NeedsAssessment Committee, told newsmen that bothparties had rescheduled their negotiations for Aug.19. Suswan, who is the negotiator for the FederalGovernment, said that tremendous progress had been made in the negotiations. He said that this wasmainly on the NEEDsAssessment and Earned Allowance issues raised byASUU. The governor expressed his optimism that theissues would soon be resolved going by theprogress made so far. “Well the meeting continues next week Monday.We made some progress; we had very fruitfuldiscussion with ASUU. “We have agreed we are tomeet again on Mondayat about three o’clock. When we meet again we willbe able to arrive at some decisions.’’ He gave assurance that Federal Government wasmaking effort to resolve the crises in the educationsector. Suswam said that government had introducedsome new faces in the negotiating team, includingthe minister of finance and the director-general ofthe Budget Office. “Now that finance minister is coming, we aregetting close to resolving it because the strike isabout settling some debts and also intervening inthe universities and so she is here and she alsocontributed. “I have spent so much time as governorbeing part of this which shows the seriousness which thepresident attaches to what is happening in theeducation sector. “As I leave here, we are going tothe secondmeeting which is on Needs Assessment. We want tomake sure that we solve this problem so we are holding meetings round the clock.” He said thatgovernment believed that the nextmeeting with ASUU would open a new phase in thenegotiations.

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ASUU’s strike not about salary reward – Don A lecturer at the University of Abuja,Prof. Femi Odekunle, says the current ASUUstrike is not about salary or benefits butabout ensuring an effective universitysystem.Odekunle on Friday in Abuja said that theclaim by the Federal Government that someof the agreements reached between theunion and government were notimplementable was untrue.“I do not believe that any agreementsreached are not implementable, otherwisethey would not even have been reached inthe first place.“And these issues that ASUU is fighting forhave to do with infrastructure, funding andconducive environment for learning and allcapture such nuts and bolts that drive thesystem.’’ “So the claim by anyone to say that certainaspects of the agreement are notimplementable is fraudulent.“If the Federal Government can put fundsinto the National Assembly in terms ofsalary and allowances, why can’t it do thesame for education that produces themanpower for the development of thenation.’’Odekunle accused the Federal Governmentof employing tactics that were creatingdivision between ASUU and management ofuniversities by its sudden increase of vice-hancellors’ salaries and allowances.The don, who noted that some lecturerswere also culpable in contributing to thesector’s decay, noted, however, thatmajority of the the lecturers were seriousand committed.He said that government should addressissues, including the misuse of resources,corruption of the political and governmentclass, high cost of governance and otherissues that had continued to have adverseeffects on the country’s development.Odekunle advised the government toaddress the ASUU strike from its root causeand not to “play politics and games withour children’s future’’. (NAN)

NNPC to enforce N50/litre kerosene price; allays fears of scarcity The Nigerian National PetroleumCorporation, NNPC, and its downstreamsubsidiary, the Pipelines and ProductsMarketing Company, PPMC, yesterday,threatened to sanction marketers and otherstakeholders engaged in the sale ofkerosene above the approved price toNigerians.The NNPC, in a statement signed by Mrs.Green, Acting Group General Manager, GroupPublic Affairs Division, also allayed fears ofalleged scarcity of kerosene in the country,saying that about 11 million litres of DualPurpose Kerosene, DPK, were being suppliedacross the country daily, far above thenational demand of eight million litres daily.The struggle to buy Kerosene, an householdcommodity for cooking, becomes morechallenging even at a NNPC petrol Station inLagos. Photo by Lamidi BamideleGreen maintained that the NNPC and thePPMC will continue to work with allstakeholders to ensure even distribution ofkerosene to all nook and crannies of thecountry, and also advised members of thepublic against panic buying of the product.“We, therefore, call on all stakeholders toensure that petroleum products includingkerosene get to the general public atgovernment approved prices as severesanctions await any defaulter,” she said.Continuing she said: “This clarification hasbecome necessary due to reports ofscarcity of the product in some parts of thecountry. For the avoidance of doubt, theNNPC, through its subsidiary, the PPMCsupplies between 10 and 11 million litres ofkerosene daily, which is distributed throughallocations to licensed marketers such asIndependent Petroleum MarketersAssociation of Nigeria, (IPMAN), Depot AndPetroleum Products Marketers Association,(DAPPMA), Major Marketers Association ofNigeria (MOMAN) and NNPC Retail Limitedwho sell to the general public through theirretail outlets.“It is, therefore, a surprise to receivereports of scarcity in spite of the fact thatNNPC/PPMC supply above the eight millionlitres national daily consumption.”

Ex-militants threaten to storm N’Assembly over kerosene scarcityFormer militant leaders from the Niger Deltaregion, yesterday, threatened to disruptlegislative session of the National Assemblynext Monday, over the persistent scarcity ofkerosene and alleged gross inability ofPipeline and Product Marketing Company,PPMC, to increase supply of the product inthe country.They also threatened to march to theNational Assembly over the allegedunwarranted attacks and insults onPresident Goodluck Jonathan by oppositiongroups and political parties in the country.The former militant leaders, under the aegisof the Leadership, Peace and CulturalDevelopment Initiatives, LPCDI, said thoughthe protest march to the National Assemblywould be peaceful, they were calling for anindependent investigation into thepersistent scarcity of kerosene. They wantthe sack of the Managing Director of PPMCover alleged failure to make the productavailable.LPCDI, in a statement in Yenagoa, BayelsaState, said it had entered into collaborationwith other civil society groups nationwideto stage a warning and peaceful protestmarch against the persistent scarcity ofkerosene and the unwarranted anddisrespectful verbal attacks on the Presidentand the glaring failure to effectivelyaddress the issue of kerosene scarcity inthe country.

Flood kills nine-year-old girl, destroys 14 houses in Bauchi -Bauchi – Flooding recorded in the firstweek of August, has claimed one life anddamaged no fewer than 14 houses inBauchi metropolis, an official has said.Malam Inuwa Bello, the Head of EmergencyOperations, Bauchi State EmergencyManagement Agency (SEMA), made thisknown in an interview in Bauchi onThursday.He said that state assessment team whovisited the affected areas, confirmed thedeath of a nine-year-old girl at Shekal wardin the state capital.Bello said that plans were under way toassist the victims with food and otheressential items.According to him, the SEMA has alsointensified its sensitisation campaign onappropriate measures to be taken byresidents to avert disaster.He, however, expressed regret that in spiteof all enlightenment efforts, some peoplestill blocked culverts with garbage and builtstructures on water ways.Commenting on the issue the stateCommissioner for Information, MrMohammed Damina, said the ministry hadalso intensified its sensitisation campaign.“We have adopted several awarenesscreation strategies to draw the attention ofthe people on the need to take proactivemeasures to avert a recurrence of the flooddisasters.’’NAN recalls that heavy rainfall in the last oneweek, caused flooding, submerging somehouses and roads in the state capital.Areas worst affected by the flood wereFadaman Mada, Yelwa, Gwallaga, GRA, PalaceRoad and Shekal, among others.Those rendered homeless are currentlysquatting with friends and relations.The Federal Ministry of Environment hadissued an alert, warning that heavy rainfallcould be witnessed in some states, namelyTaraba, Adamawa, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kano,Zamfara, Kebbi, Bauchi, Katsina, Borno, Yobe,Gombe and Benue (NAN)

LIST OF SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES FOR 2013 NLNG SCHOLARSHIP!!!This is to inform the entire public especiallystudents who applied for the 2013/2014NLNG scholarship scheme that the list ofsuccessful candidates have been releasedfor the scholarship aptitude test.The invited candidates for the aptitude testwere sent text messages to the phonenumbers they registered with.NLNG 2013 Aptitude test dateThe 2013 NLNG scholarship aptitude test willhold on 10th August 2013 at the venuesattached to the mail sent to your email. Allshortlisted candidates can now check theiremail for their venue.Required Documents for the NLNGScholarship Aptitude test:Please not that you are expected to comewith the following:i.) Writing Materialsii.) Original Letter of Invitation From NLNGiii.) Original Jamb/University Admissionletteriv.) Original WAEC resulv.) School ID card.Please do well to share this!!!

Apply For NNPC/MPNUndergraduate NationalScholarship Awards 2013/2014As part of its support to educationaldevelopment and human capacity building,Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN), operator ofNigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC)/MPN Joint Venture awards annualscholarships to qualified undergraduatestudents in Nigerian Universities.Applications for NNPC/MPN UndergraduateNational Scholarship Awards are based onthe following criteria:GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGEAwards will be made to qualified andsuitable students who are currentlyadmitted in Nigerian Universitiesirrespective of state of origin including theFederal Capital Territory (FCT).DISCIPLINESApplications in the following list ofapproved disciplines are considered:Petroleum EngineeringChemical EngineeringMechanical EngineeringElectrical/ElectronicEngineeringCivil EngineeringGeology/GeophysicsMedicine (MBBS Only)Agricultural Science (andrelated fields)Computer ScienceELIGIBILITYCandidates must beholders of the SSCE or itsequivalent with at least sixsubjects passed at a sittingApplicants must beregistered full-timeundergraduates in their 1stor 2nd year of study in anyaccredited NigerianUniversityStudents who arecurrently on similarscholarship awards fromother oil and gas companiesshould not apply.METHOD OF APPLICATIONIf you are qualified and interested, pleaseread carefully through the "How it works"section then proceed to apply via the“Apply Now” section at the sidebar of thiswebsite and submit as instructed.Shortlisted candidates should be preparedto take a screening test to be held on the6th & 7th of September, 2013 strictcompliance with our guidelines isadvisable, and only shortlisted candidateswill be contacted.APPLICATION DEADLINE DATEApplications not received by Thursday,22ndth of August 2013 will not beaccepted. Names of short-listed candidatesfor the qualifying test will be published innational dailies. Shortlisted candidates willalso be contacted with details of thescreening test via SMS text and email.Employees of ExxonMobil subsidiarycompanies in Nigeria and their dependentsare not eligible for this scholarship.PLEASE NOTE: ExxonMobil UpstreamAffiliates in Nigeria (Esso Exploration andProduction Nigeria Limited and MobilProducing Nigeria Unlimited) do not useplacement agencies that charge scholarshipapplicants an advance fee of any kind (e.g.application fees, placement fees, test fees,etc.)For further details visit http://www.nnpcmpn.com.ng/

FG urged to facilitate Ibori’s release from London jailOGHARA—MORE than one year after formerDelta State governor, Chief James Ibori, wasconvicted by a London court, his kinsmenand key political stakeholders in Delta Statehave called on the Federal Government tofacilitate his release and subsequent returnto Nigeria, describing him as an epitome ofinfrastructural and human capitaldevelopment in the state.Niger Delta activist and Warri chief, AyirimiEmami, who was among stakeholders thatspoke to newsmen in Oghara, the countryhome of Chief Ibori, shortly after a noveltyfootball match organised to celebrate theformer governor’s 55th birthday, describedhis travail as political, adding that Iborideveloped the youths, roads and otherinfrastructure to better the lots of Deltans.Chief Emami, Chairman of Itsekiri RegionalDevelopment Committee, IRDC, said: “Despitebeing in prison, if Ibori happens to contestelection now, he will win because he is aman of the people.”Delta State Commissioner for Transport, Mr.Ben Igbakpa, an aide to Governor EmmanuelUduaghan, Faith Majemite, a member on theboard of the Delta State Oil Producing AreasDevelopment Commission, DESOPADEC, Mr.Henry Ofa and other top political officeholders in Delta State, who also bared theirminds described the huge turn-out ofpeople at the novelty football match playedat the Oghara township stadium betweenIbori United of Oghara and Ibori United ofWarri as a testament of the ex governor’spopularity and developmental strides whilehe was in the saddle as Delta State chiefexecutive.An Oghara indigene, Simon Otobo opinedthat the Urhobo, who prayed for Ibori’sarrest were now regretting doing sobecause of the political gulf his absence wascausing the Urhobo nation and pleaded forleniency on the part of the Nigerian andBritish governments.An elderly woman and a commercialmotorcycle rider, Omoko Rose andEdafewogho Ekawhen, respectively,commended the former governor fordeveloping Oghara in Ethiope West LocalGovernment Area of the state and appealedto the Federal Government to work towardsIbori’s release, noting that it would helpstabilise the polity.Delta State Commissioner for Transport, Mr.Ben Igbakpa, an aide to Governor EmmanuelUduaghan, Faith Majemite, a member in theboard of the Delta State Oil Producing AreasDevelopment Commission, DESOPADEC, Mr.Henry Ofa and other top political officeholders in Delta State, who also bared theirminds described the huge turn-out ofpeople at the novelty football match playedat the Oghara township stadium betweenIbori United of Oghara and Ibori United ofWarri as a testament of the ex governor’spopularity and developmental strides whilehe was in the saddle as Delta State chiefexecutive.

Students urge FG to meet ASUU’s demandsto end strike ................................Lagos – The South-West zone of the NationalAssociation of Nigerian Students (NANS) onWednesday called on the Federalgovernment to meet the demands ofstriking university lecturers to saveundergraduates’ future..........The zonal Coordinator, Mr Tunde Adeyemo,made the call while addressing a newsconference in Lagos........Adeyemo said that the current strike wouldfurther weaken the sector and negativelyaffect the students.,......The university teachers, under the aegis ofAcademic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU),embarked on what they described as `total,comprehensive and indefinite` strike onJune 30........The lecturers are protesting non-implementation of some sections of anagreement ASUU entered into with theFederal Government in 2009.........“All ASUU is demanding now is that theagreement must be fully implemented........“We, students, cannot afford to beindifferent to this agreement just becauseof our fears about the disruption of theacademic calendar..........“Considering the teaching and learningfacilities in most of our universities, there isan urgent need for the government to bemore responsive in the area of massfunding to save the entire sector fromcollapse...........“If this agreement is fully implemented, itwill mean better funding of education and agreat relief to over-burdened students.........“It is based on this premise that we want tolend our voices, for the interest of thestudents, to appeal to the FederalGovernment to urgently implement thisagreement fully, “ he said.Adeyemo said that university autonomy,improved funding and independent studentunionism were of much concern to NANS........“We demand that budget monitoring andNEEDS committees must include electedrepresentatives of staff and students’unions.” (NAN)Please do well to like and share this!!!

WAEC releases May/June 2013examination results Lagos -The WAEC on Wednesday releasedthe full results of 1,543,683 candidates whosat for its May/June 2013 Secondary SchoolCertificate Examination.The number represents 91.38 per cent of1,689,188 candidates who registered forthe examination,.The Head of National Office (HNO) of WAEC,Dr Charles Eguridu, announced the resultson Wednesday when he addressed a newsconference in Lagos.Eguridu said 889,636 candidates obtainedsix credits and above, while 1,074,065others obtained five credits and above.According to him, the results of 145,505others, representing 8.62 per cent, werebeing processed due to some errors.“These errors are traceable to thecandidates as well as their schools in thecourse of registration or writing theexamination.’’The HNO explained that such errors werebeing corrected by the council to enable theaffected candidates to get their results fullyprocessed and released subsequently.Eguridu disclosed that the council cancelledthe result of 2,176 candidates.He explained that the cancellation was dueto multiple entries by the candidatesdiscovered while processing the results.“In line with the council’s regulation, theentire results of such candidates who havebeen found guilty of this act had beencancelled, “ he said.The HNO also said 112,865 results ofcandidates, representing 6.75 per cent,were withheld due to examinationmalpractice.Eguridu pointed out that the cases werebeing investigated and that reports of theinvestigations would be presented to theNigeria Examinations Committee (NEC) forconsideration.Further breakdown revealed that 1,225,591candidates obtained credits and above infour subjects, 1,353,273 obtained creditsand above in three subjects, while1,465,581 obtained credits and above intwo subjects.Eguridu said that of the 121 blindcandidates, 117 attempted it while 24obtained five credits in five subjectsincluding English Language.“Blind candidates do not take Mathematicsand Science Practical in WASSCE diets“, hesaid.He hailed security agencies for providingthe much needed security throughout theconduct of the examination.The HNO said that despite the securitychallenge in the country, especially in someparts of the North-East, the council was ableto conduct the examination.“We thank the Federal government andsecurity agencies particularly in Adamawa,Borno and Yobe States for the supportrendered the council during the conduct ofour examination.“We equally commend the Federal and StateMinistries of Education for their support interms of their facilities and logistics given tous during the conduct of the examination.’’He decried the murder of three of thecouncil’s personnel by gunmen while ontheir way from Yola to Maiduguri.The candidates can check their resultsonline on the council’s website within 24hours of the declaration of the results.(NAN) please do well to like and share this!!!

Group threatens protest over kerosene scarcity -A group in the Niger Delta, Leadership, Peaceand Cultural Development Initiative hasthreatened to mobilise other civil libertyorganizations to stage a peaceful protest tothe National Assembly in Abuja over what itdescribed as the scarcity of kerosene in thecountry and the attendant hardship to thepeople.The protest which is slated for Tuesdaynext week is to bring to the notice of theupper chamber the suffering of the massesover the scarcity of the product in themarket.The group is also calling for the removal ofthe Pipeline and Products MarketingCompany (PPMC) boss over his allegedfailure to effectively tackle the issue ofkerosene scarcity in the country.In a letter addressed to the Senate Presidententitled “A request for audience”, andsigned by its National President, PastorReuben Wilson and eleven others, thegroup described as disturbing the plight ofthe masses most of whom depend onkerosene daily for domestic use.According to the National President of thegroup said, “we are collaborating with othercivil liberty organizations to organize apeaceful mass protest calling for the sack ofthe Managing Director, Pipeline AndProducts Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr.Haruna Momoh, for his failure to effectivelyaddress the issue of kerosene scarcity inthe country.“We are particularly worried about thescarcity of kerosene because of itsimportance to the welfare of the masses.The masses daily experience untolddifficulties and agonizing moments in theirbids to get kerosene for their daily needs.“It is therefore, a matter of national urgencyfor the kerosene scarcity to be diametricallyaddressed to enable the masses enjoy theon-going National Transformation.”

Group threatens protest over kerosene scarcity -A group in the Niger Delta, Leadership, Peaceand Cultural Development Initiative hasthreatened to mobilise other civil libertyorganizations to stage a peaceful protest tothe National Assembly in Abuja over what itdescribed as the scarcity of kerosene in thecountry and the attendant hardship to thepeople.The protest which is slated for Tuesdaynext week is to bring to the notice of theupper chamber the suffering of the massesover the scarcity of the product in themarket.The group is also calling for the removal ofthe Pipeline and Products MarketingCompany (PPMC) boss over his allegedfailure to effectively tackle the issue ofkerosene scarcity in the country.In a letter addressed to the Senate Presidententitled “A request for audience”, andsigned by its National President, PastorReuben Wilson and eleven others, thegroup described as disturbing the plight ofthe masses most of whom depend onkerosene daily for domestic use.According to the National President of thegroup said, “we are collaborating with othercivil liberty organizations to organize apeaceful mass protest calling for the sack ofthe Managing Director, Pipeline AndProducts Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr.Haruna Momoh, for his failure to effectivelyaddress the issue of kerosene scarcity inthe country.“We are particularly worried about thescarcity of kerosene because of itsimportance to the welfare of the masses.The masses daily experience untolddifficulties and agonizing moments in theirbids to get kerosene for their daily needs.“It is therefore, a matter of national urgencyfor the kerosene scarcity to be diametricallyaddressed to enable the masses enjoy theon-going National Transformation.”

Delta State Graduate Jobs Via Graduate Assistance Programme (GradUP) - Employment opportunities for Delta State Indigenes — Quanteq Technology Services Limited is providing ad hoc employment opportunities in ICT for unemployed indigenes of Delta State who have completed the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) Scheme. Delta State Graduate Assistance Programme (GradUP) Graduated with BSc. or HND certificate of Delta State Origin are eligible for this job opportunity. However, such persons must also have completed the mandatory National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) Scheme. Selected candidates would be trained on: -Computer basics -Network Administration -Electronic Document Management -Database administration -Project Management -Communication Skills -Critical Thinking Skills For a period of minimum three weeks. This would be followed by the evaluation of candidates for placement into the available positions. Requirements All interested candidates MUST satisfy the following requirements: -Indigene of Delta State -Currently unemployed -Minimum of BSc or HND from a reputable university or polytechnic -Completed the National Youths Service Scheme. Application Closing Date : 4th of August, 2013 Method of Application Interested and qualified candidates should visit : www.quanteq.com/dtgradup

FG to release N10 billion cassava bread development fundABUJA- THE Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, hassaid the federal government will soonrelease N10 billion for cassava breaddevelopment fund and to further boost thecassava production.Adesina who was represented the SeniorTechnical Assistant to the minister ofAgriculture, Dr. Adetunji Oredipe disclosedthis in Kogi State at the Cassava GES Roll Outat Agbadu Staple Crop Processing Zone, SCPZ,in Kabba Bunu Local Government Area ofthe state.He explained Government established theCassava Bread Development Fund, whichwould be funded through the tariff onwheat flour.He further said that the Cassava BreadDevelopment Fund would also be used tosupport research and development effortson cassava bread, training of master bakers,support for master bakers for theacquisition of new equipment forproduction.*African leaders share 40 percent cassavabread. The Goodwill Ambassador for theInternational Institute of TropicalAgriculture (IITA), former Nigeria’s PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo (left); former Presidentof Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa (next toObasanjo from left); Tanzania’s President, DrMrisho Jakaya Kikwete (dressed in red tieand holding cassava bread); and IITADirector for Eastern Africa, Dr VictorManyong (far right); having a taste of the40 percent cassava bread during theinauguration of IITA Science Building in Dares SalaamSpeaking on the Growth EnhancementScheme (GES), the Minister said that the GESwill allow the farmers to produce additionalfood because the farmers will receive theirimproved cuttings and fertilisers.“This year we are taking cassava GESprogramme to scale, we have designeddifferent levels of support to differentcategories of farmers and we arecommitted to making this work.“This marks another major milestone in ourdrive to ensure that the modern cassavafarmers adopt the best available agriculturalpractices starting with the use of improvedinputs; cuttings and fertilisers. In doing this,we will ensure that our farmers, the realcassava farmers who should be the realbeneficiaries of government policy are welltargeted by government programme”, hesaid.According to Adesina, to assure sustainablesupply of high quality cassava flour, asecure of low interest and long termfinancing from the China Exim Bank for theimportation of 18 large scale high qualitycassava flour processing plant was made tobe owned and operate by the privatesector.In his address, Commissioner forAgriculture, Kogi Sate, Dr. Olufemi Bolarinnoted that the Governor of Kogi State, IdrisWada has keyed into the ATA in Agricultureby encouraging and assisting Kogi Statepeasant farmers in all facets of agriculturalproduction.He said that the state government hassubsidised agro chemicals, Fertilisers to thefarmers to enable them participate fully inagricultural production, stressing that thestate government had earmarked in all the 3senatorial district huge area of land foragricultural activities such as cassava,maize, etc, to employ the services of theteeming youth.According to him, cassava has beendiscovered to play a vital role in the federalgovernment ATA in agricultural sub-sectorof the economy, adding that in agriculture,there were various sector that should beencourage and educate the youth toindulged to assist in reducing youthrestiveness and unemployment such asfisheries, etc.He therefore advice the youth to takeinterest in agriculture, saying that theemergence of mechanised system ofagriculture has made it easy and conductivefor the graduates to imbibe the culture offarming in order to be self- reliant anddrastically reduce unemploymentenveloping the whole world.

Students beg President Jonathan to wade into ASUU strikeAbakaliki – Students of the Ebonyi StateUniversity (EBSU) on Friday beggedPresident Gooodluck Jonathan to wade intothe lingering ASUU and Federal Governmentcrisis.The students said that they looked up to MrPresident to personally intervene in theface-off.Mr Louis Onwe, a 300-level biochemistrystudent said: ‘’His intervention into theongoing crisis will lead to timely resolutionof the impasse and resumption of academicwork.’’He said that since the president enjoyedenormous goodwill with the union, it wouldlisten to him if he intervened personally inthe face-off.“ASUU demands are quite germane as it willboost research and development ofinfrastructures in the universities,’’ Onwesaid.Mr Kelechukwu Anyigor, also a 300-levelstudent of biochemistry, said they wereoptimistic that Jonathan’s intervention wasneeded to quickly resolve the strike.“Our president enjoys tremendous goodwillbecause of his human rights records, andhis attempt to reposition the country’seconomy.“It is our candid belief that if he personallyintervenes in the matter, ASUU will listen tohim in the interest of the students and thenation at large,’’ Anyigor said.Mr Michael Otuu of the Department ofBusiness Administration, called on thepresident to rise above politics and wadeinto the crisis in the interest of Nigerianstudents and university education.According to him, the indefinite strikealready in its fifth week is having anegative toll on the academic pursuit ofuniversity students in the country.Otuu called on well meaning Nigerians toprevail on the federal government toaccede to the demands of ASUU in theinterest of industrial harmony in thesystem.The National President of ASUU, Dr IsaFagge, declared a nationwide indefinitestrike on July 1 to protest the failure of thegovernment to honour the 2009agreements it reached with ASUU. (NAN)

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ASUU strike: NANS exco splits, disowns presidentABUJA—Executive members of the NationalAssociation of Nigerian Students, NANS,have disowned the national president, Mr.Yinka Gbadebo, on his support for theFederal Government in the ongoing strikeby the Academic Staff Union of Universities,ASUU.Some members of the executive toldnewsmen, yesterday, that students werelargely unbiased in the crisis and theinclination of Mr. Gbadebo to support thegovernment was a deviation from thestudents’ collective goal of resolving thecrisis.The executive members who includednational assistant secretary general, AliMohammed , the national sports director,Talib Abubakar Gumel, director of travelsand exchange, Olusegun Oyebisi, said therewas no consultation on the issues beforeGbadebo declared NANS support for theFederal Government.The students also dissociated NANS as abody from the ongoing face off betweenofficials of the Federal Government and theRivers State government saying that theirpresident did not have any right to speakon the issue.“The national president did not have ourmandate to support the federal governmentover the strike as we are a neutral body. Wedo not support either the federalgovernment or ASUU because it is thestudents that bear the brunt of the strike,”Ali who spoke on behalf of his colleaguessaid yesterday.“We call on ASUU and the FederalGovernment to resolve the issue withinseven days so that the students can returnto their campuses.”“We do not understand why the nationalpresident should support the federalgovernment or what concerns studentswith what is happening between the Rivers State governor and the President. The matter is between the two of them it does concern the students.”please do well to share this!!!!

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