Zabarmari: Zulum Leads Funeral Prayer Of 43 Farmers Killed By Boko Haram

 Zabarmari: Zulum Leads Funeral Prayer Of 43 Farmers Killed By Boko Haram

Borno state governor, Babagana Umara Zulum on Sunday led the funeral prayer of the 43 farmers that were slaughtered by Boko Haram Insurgents in Zabarmari on Saturday.
The slain farmers who live in Zabarmari, a farming community in Jere Local Government Area, famous for rice cultivation and local processing, were attacked on Saturday, at Koshebe village, a place in Mafa Local Government Area.


The governor during his visit was told that death toll was yet to be fully ascertained.

“Your Excellency, as you have seen here, 43 corpses were buried, but others have not been retrieved from the scene of the incident. Nobody can tell you the exact number of people killed. Some of the victims are still missing” a resident (name concealed, told the Governor).

Zulum empathised with the bereaved community and hoped for the release of the remaining victims who have being held captive.

“First of all, accept my deepest sympathy over this carnage, once again, that affects all of us and every human with conscience. I am told some persons are still missing. We have been discussing with the military since yesterday, Insha Allah the remaining people will be traced soon.”

“It is disheartening that more than 40 citizens were slaughtered while they were working in their farmlands.

“Our people are in very difficult situations, they are in two different extreme conditions, in one side they stay at home they may be killed by hunger and starvation, on the other, they go out to their farmlands and risk getting killed by the insurgents.

Governor Zulum say Borno is still appealing to the Federal Government to ensure that safety returns to Borno.

“We are still appealing to the Federal Government to ensure recruitment of more our youths in the CJTF and hunters into the Nigerian military and the Civil Defence so that they can form part of the agro rangers that will protect farmers.

“We need many boots to protect farmlands and our youths understand the terrain. We will not lose hope because we have to remain optimistic about ending the insurgency,” Zulum said.

ASUU Moves To End Strike

 ASUU Moves To End Strike

There are strong indications that the leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), may have begun to call off its nine-month-old strike following some agreements reached with the federal government.

At the end of a closed-door meeting between the two parties on Friday at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, it was gathered that government agreed to raise payment for Earned Academic Allowance and revitilisation to N70bn.

According to a top official of the ministry who was privy to the discussions, the government pledged to pay N40 billion as the Earned Allowance and N30bn for the revitalization of the university system bringing the total payment to N70 billion.

The official added that government also pledge to settle university lecturers’ salary arrears between February and June on or before December 31, a development ASUU members welcomed.

Reporters had reported that government at last week meeting accepted to exempt the varsity teachers from Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) pending the approval of their proposed payment system, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

Speaking after the meeting, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, who led government’s delegation told newsmen that the parley was fruitful, reiterating that the government made a proposal to ASUU which it would take back to its members.

“Many issues were discussed at the meeting including salary shortfall, the payment system and revitalization of the university system. I am positive that all the issues would be resolved at our next meeting,” the minister said.

When journalists turned to the ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, he simply said everything the minister said was correct and declined to comment further.

Both parties, however, promised to get back to their respective principals and organs respectively and report back in the next meeting.

Governor Zulum’s 25-Year Development Plan For Borno State

Governor Zulum’s 25-Year Development Plan For Borno State

Since he assumed office, Professor Babagana Zulum, the governor of Borno State, has continued to endear himself to the indigenes of the state and Nigerians in general for his style of leadership which places emphasis on human capacity development.

It is just as well for a state that has been at the epicentre of a brutal relentless insurgency that has continued to claim thousands of life, disrupted and displaced thousands more.

In such dire circumstances, to have a leader of the calibre of Governor Zulum is the right tonic to inject the much needed hope to a people having to live with the trauma of violence and its negative effects in their lives.

It is in this context that Governor Zulum proposed an unprecedented 25-year development plan for Borno which he hopes will bring succour to the beleaguered people of the state and encourage them to recover from the ravages of the insurgency.

In Governor Zulum’s words ‘’we must take deliberate steps to rebuild our communities, resettle our people and empower them to be self-reliant despite the challenges.

Our people cannot continue to rely on hand outs and it is our duty as a government to provide a roadmap for recovery and prosperity, for current and future generations’’.

The plan which was developed through an inclusive and participatory approach will be implemented through nine strategic pillars which include human capital development (mass education and skills acquisition), leadership in agriculture, health, sustainable development and regional trade hub.

Other key areas include reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement, purposeful infrastructure, accountable governance, peace and security.

While we laud Governor Zulum’s commendable initiative in putting out this comprehensive and far reaching plan, we would however like to point out that the plan needs to be tempered with some realism.

First of all the constitutional term limit of Governor Zulum is two terms which is eight years altogether.

A 25-year development plan for the state will certainly spill over into the tenure of another governor who may not want to continue with some or all of the programmes as we have witnessed in other states.

In view of that we suggest that Governor Zulum reviews and restricts the plan to his tenure of eight years which is within his constitutional term allowance.

The security situation in the state should also be factored in per the implementation of the plan. This is because it makes no sense to build a project only to see insurgents destroy it. Again it must also be noted that many areas of the state have been deserted by their inhabitants many of whom are living in camps for Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP).

Since the projects are meant for them, in the main, they would have little meaning to their lives and livelihood, thereby inadvertently defeating the aim.

In this regard Governor Zulum should as a precautionary measure, consider implementing aspects of the plan in areas of the state where peace has returned for effective monitoring and evaluation.

On the whole, to guarantee security of the projects and programmes under the plan, it is suggested that Governor Zulum waits until the war is over and comprehensive security is restored in the state.

While awaiting the end of the war he should concentrate on maintaining and even increasing the current tempo of laudable development initiatives he is embarking on.

The emphasis at this stage should be for all concerted efforts to bring an end to the prevailing insecurity so as to provide an enabling environment for the people of Borno State to benefit from this uncommon governor’s purposeful drive and passion to uplift the state.

Ban Overseas Studies For Public Servants' Children – ASUU

 Ban Overseas Studies For Public Servants' Children – ASUU

The zonal coordinator of the union, Prof. Olufayo Olu-Olu, in a statement, said such a law would help to rebuild the nation's education sector.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Akure zone, has said the only way to end incessant strikes in the education sector is to promulgate a law banning the public office holders from sending their children abroad to study.

The zonal coordinator of the union, Prof. Olufayo Olu-Olu, in a statement, said such a law would help to rebuild the nation's education sector.

"Members of the ruling class and their cohorts have their wards schooling abroad, so they do not commit to ending ASUU strike since the political office has become occupational rather than public service.

"Until we domesticate two very important practices as laws in Nigeria, we may not get out of this doldrums -first, an act to compel all public office holders and government appointees to have their wards educated in Nigeria public schools from primary to tertiary level.

"Secondly, an act to compel all political office holders, appointees and their dependents prohibiting them from seeking medical intervention outside Nigeria. When these two laws are enacted, perhaps we will gradually see the end of needless ASUU strikes in the country.

"Until such a time when the government does the needful (our ivory towers properly funded, our withheld emoluments paid amongst other issues), the struggle continues," the statement partly read.

Accept What Government Offers You, Ngige Tells ASUU

 Accept What Government Offers You, Ngige Tells ASUU

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on Monday advised members of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to take the offer the federal government proposed as conditions to end the 8-month-old ongoing strike.

Ngige, who described the offer as the best while featuring on Arise TV morning show, also urged the striking university teachers to hasten consultations with its members in order to return to the negotiation table before Friday.

According to him, the nation will appreciate them if they accept the offer, call off the strike and return to their respective classrooms.

“I feel that even this offer is one of the best they have ever gotten since I started conciliation with them. I do not see why they should not accept it. Everything they asked for has been granted. I don’t think they should say the offer is not good,” the minister said.

“So, that’s what I expect them to do this time around. If they do so, the nation will appreciate them and regard them as patriotic citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I expect them to get back to me much earlier than Friday,”

“But I told them before they left that asking the nation and the students to wait from Friday to Friday is unfair, they should come back to us by Tuesday. They have done that before when we negotiated with the Senate President. The offer was made on a Thursday and they came back to us on a Tuesday.

The reporters had reported that the federal government last week bowed to pressure as it excluded ASUU from IPPIS and agreed to pay them their outstanding salaries from February to June using the old salary payment Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform.

Though, the government had said the exemption of ASUU members is a temporary measure pending the conclusion of the integrity test on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

Exclusion Of ASUU From IPPIS Not Permanent, Says FG

 Exclusion Of ASUU From IPPIS Not Permanent, Says FG

The federal government says it has not permanently exempted members of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) from Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, who made the clarifications on Saturday, said the government’s proposal to exempt members of the ASUU is a temporary measure pending the conclusion of integrity test on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

According to him, the position of the government team on the negotiation with ASUU is not saying they have been exempted totally, adding that he was quoted out of context.

The minister said, “I think it is better because a lot of people are quoting us out of context saying that we abandoned the IPPIS and that we said they should not be on IPPIS, it is not true.

“What we said in the meeting and what we agreed was that in the interim for the transition period that UTAS is being tested by NITDA and the Office of National Security Adviser for cyber security.

“For that transition period, ASUU members that are not yet on IPPIS will be paid through the platform with which they were paid the President’s compassionate COVID-19 payment done to them between the months of February and June.

“That platform is a hybrid platform between IPPIS and GIFMIS platform (Government Integrated Financial and Management Information System ) for the transition period. That was what was us used, it’s a hybrid.”

F,G Government Exempts ASUU From IPPIS

 Nigerian Government Exempts ASUU From IPPIS, Offers N65bn As Earned Allowances, Revitalisation Fund

The government also shifted grounds on a number of issues including the insistence that all academic staff of federal universities must be paid through the IPPIS platform

After weeks of negotiations and foot-dragging, the Nigerian Government on Friday offered a cumulative sum of N65bn to the Academic Staff Union of Universities to address earned academic allowances and revitalisation of universities.

The government also shifted grounds on a number of issues including the insistence that all academic staff of federal universities must be paid through the IPPIS platform.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, disclosed this after a meeting with the striking lecturers in Abuja.

Briefing reporters at the end of the meeting, he described the negotiation as fruitful as government had decided to shift grounds on the lingering issues that have kept students out of the classroom for several months.

The minister said, “The FG reiterated that her offer of N40bn or N35bn, whichever is accepted by ASUU was for all the universities’ unions. ASUU had proposed that N40bn be paid immediately for all unions.

“We are also reviewing how the lecturers will be paid on the old platform (Government Integrated Financial Management Information System) until UTAS (which the lecturers are proposing) is ready for usage.”

ASUU To Hold Fresh Negotiation With Nigerian Government On Friday As Government Releases N50 Billion

 ASUU To Hold Fresh Negotiation With Nigerian Government On Friday As Government Releases N50 Billion

The strike has lasted for about eight months as the union insists that the government must meet all of its demands before the strike would be called off.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has said it will be meeting the Nigerian government for another round of negotiation over its ongoing strike.

The strike has lasted for about eight months as the union insists that the government must meet all of its demands before the strike would be called off.

In a tweet on Wednesday, ASUU said the meeting with the government was called by the Ministry of Labour and Employment and would be held on Friday at the minister's conference hall.

"The Federal Government has said it will resume meeting with the Academic Staff Union of Universities on Friday. The Ministry of Labour and Employment disclosed this on Wednesday night.

"The parley is expected to address various pending issues, including the contentious payment platform preferred by the union.

Recall that ASUU had opposed the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System used in settling workers' salaries by the government and instead, developed the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, which is currently undergoing test-run by the National Information Technology Development Agency.

"The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union had also proposed the University General and Peculiar Personnel and Payroll System in place of the IPPIS. Their action followed the complaints against the IPPIS, which allegedly caused salary delays and shortchanged the university workers.

"The Ministry of Labour and Employment spokesman, Charles Akpan, disclosed in a text message on Wednesday that the dialogue with the ASUU leaders would be held at the minister's conference hall."

ASUU also revealed that the government has agreed to pay N30 billion earned academic allowance and N20 billion for the revitalisation of the education sector and the arrears of salaries to the university teachers, adding that "the only outstanding issue was the disagreement over the payment platform."

Despite the commitment, ASUU insisted that the government had not met its demands, noting that the resolution of the eight-month strike was not in sight.

Nigerian activists and pressure groups have called on the students to embark on a protest to force the government to meet the demands of the university unions.

Also, the Education Right Campaign has asked Nigerian parents and students to prepare for a nationwide protest over the ongoing strike.

The group urged Nigerian students and parents not to allow themselves to be fooled by the Minister of Labour, rather, students should begin earnest preparation for peaceful nationwide protests and demonstrations to compel the federal government to meet the demands of ASUU, SSANU, NASU, and NAAT so that the universities could be reopened for academic activities.

"Nigerian students have suffered too much already, but the antics of the Federal Government shows the Buhari APC capitalist regime does not care.

Hence the need for mass protests and demonstrations to kick off nationwide to send a note of warning to that students can no longer tolerate the delay and closure," the group said.

Saudi Offers Scholarship Slot To 424 Nigerians

Saudi Offers Varsity Scholarship Slot To 424 Nigerians — Embassy

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia said it is offering 424 scholarship slots for Nigerian students to study various courses in Saudi Universities.

A press release by the Royal Embassy in Abuja on Monday, said the slots are part of the 6,597 scholarship that the kingdom distributes annually to African students.

According to the statement, 150 slots are also given to students from republic of Benin annually.

“For the links and condition to apply for the scholarship students are advised to seek information from the Ministry of foreign affairs and/or Ministry of education in their countries.

” Information may also be obtained from the Royal Embassy.

“The Embassy appreciates the cordial relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the federal republic of Nigeria as well as with the friendly African countries” the statement read in part.

ASUU Knocks Ngige Over N110bn Revitalisation Fund

   ASUU Knocks Ngige Over N110bn Revitalisation Fund

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has slammed the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige over the claim that the Federal Government cannot afford the conservative N110 billion for revitalization of the universities in the country.

ASUU’s Lagos Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Olusiji Sowande, in a statement on Sunday urged parents, students and the general public not to be persuaded by Ngige’s claim.

He was reacting to a recent comment made by Ngige on a live TV programme.

Sowande said “the statement is laced with hidden fact that the minister and his team have no intention of ending the ongoing strike this year.

“The Nigerian public should be appalled that government team, having had series of meetings with our union, is just collating pertinent data required to engage our union.

“Consequently, government has deliberately been wasting the time and resources of our union on meetings and engagements it was not prepared for.

“It is therefore not surprising that Dr. Chris Ngige-led government team has not been able to return to negotiating table since the last engagement with our Union on November 4, 2020.”

On the claim that the federal government cannot afford the revatilization fund, the union lamented that “only recently, government approved N5 billion bailout fund to operators in the aviation sector to ameliorate the harsh realities of COVID-19 on their business operations.”

It also raised the concern that over the years, Nigerian government has spent over N1.5 trillion to bailout power generation and distribution companies to keep their business afloat despite privatization of the power sector.

“If government could bailout private businesses for “Business Good” then Nigerian public Universities deserved to be bailed out for “Public Good”.

FG To Engage 1st Class, 2nd Class Upper Graduates As Teachers

 FG To Engage 1st Class, 2nd Class Upper Graduates As Teachers

The Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono said teachers without requisite qualifications, competencies and practicing license are presently migrated out of the Nigerian Teaching Service.

“By 2021, we will not engage teachers if they don’t meet particular threshold, we are now limiting entry point of teaching only to the best who are qualified, we will engage individuals with second class upper and first class divisions,” he said

Echono disclosed this on Saturday in Abuja while monitoring the conduct of the 2020 October Diet Batch B Teachers’ Professional Qualifying Examinations, (PQE).

He said: “We will make arrangements for conversion programmes for people who have these categories of results from other fields, they need to learn pedagogy, methodology, through the NTI and the TRCN, and they will undergo specific programmes that will empower them to teach.”

The Permanent Secretary maintained that the entry level will be higher and they will get better remuneration with peculiar allowances, adding that concerned Education agencies are finalising figures with National Income Salaries and Wages.

The Federal government, according to him, is more interested in learning outcomes and that a National Implementation Committee on teachers’ revitalization/resuscitation plan will be inaugurated before the end of November 2020.

“We must enforce Mr. President’s directive that only qualified teachers will be allowed into our classrooms. The Professional Qualifying Examinations is going on smoothly across 34 states and the feedback has been good,” he said.

Meanwhile, a total of 17, 602 teachers from across 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, participated in the exam as against over 46,000 candidates that sat for the March 2020 PQE, due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

On his part, the Registrar of TRCN, Prof Josiah Ajiboye said the council has created a smooth atmosphere for teachers including those in Diaspora for the exams, saying that the drop in figure was due to the effect of COVID-19 that distorted activities globally.

FG Urged To Investigate Budgetary Allocation Of FGC Maiduguri

FG Urged To Investigate Budgetary Allocation Of FGC Maiduguri

The National President, Federal Government College Maiduguri Old Student’s Association (FEGOCOMOSA), Suleiman Mohammed Dikwa, has appealed to the Minister of Education, Mal. Adamu Adamu, to investigate the budgetary allocation and execution of projects in the school from January 2015 to December 2019.

Dikwa made the call during the FEGOCOMOSA 32nd Annual General Conference held in Jos, the Plateau State capital, recently.

He urged the minister to grant a special status to the school to encourage them as well as the brave students who have endured the insecurity in the state over the years.

He also pleaded with the members who have access to policy and decision makers in both public, private and development sectors to intervene in their various capacities toward the development of their alma mater.

On their membership, he said technology is crucial for the development of any organisation and that they have set up a payment platform to enable members of the congress to pay their annual dues and register their details online.

“Members in diaspora have also increased their participation via the online platform. We intend to develop further, the interactive capacity of the platform to increase interaction between members,” he said.

According to him, the association registered the FEGOCOMOSA investment cooperative and has carried out extensive consultations and developed corporate governance structures as well invested in safe assets.

He also noted that in response to the needs of the members, they have set up a welfare committee to handle that, adding that based on the recommendation of the committee, they have opened a welfare account and have also come up with a suitable medical insurance package for their members.

Ndume, IDPs, Others: Stop Deradicalisation Of Boko Haram Members

 Ndume, IDPs, Others: Stop Deradicalisation Of Boko Haram Members

Many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, elders and security experts, on Wednesday supported the position of the Senate Committee on Army, which frowned at the deradicalisation of Boko Haram members.

They said the exercise was premature considering that the Boko Haram war had not been won yet. But some people said the federal government was not totally wrong, saying deradicalisation remained one of key components of ending war all over the world.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno), said on Wednesday that the deradicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration of the repentant terrorists was not in order.

He said: “I am in disagreement with the government on the issue of deradicalising and reintegrating(repentant Boko Haram members)

I still maintain that. You can’t be resettling people, pampering them while the war is on.

“The committee is on the same page and I believe many Nigerians are on the same page with this. In my village, mallams that are Muslims, not ordinary Muslims but mallams, elders above 60, were taken to an abattoir and slaughtered by Boko Haram. 75 of them,” he said.

Arrest those funding Boko Haram

Ndume also asked President Muhammadu Buhari to expedite action on the arrest and prosecution of Boko Haram sponsors.

Responding to a question on six Nigerians convicted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over “Boko Haram funding”, Ndume said those that were directly or indirectly involved in Boko Haram activities should be brought to book.

Reporters had exclusively reported how six Nigerians were convicted by an Abu Dhabi court in 2019 over links to Boko Haram funding.

Their families said they were wrongly convicted.

According to Ndume, “We are still calling on the Nigerian government to ensure that those that are directly or indirectly involved in Boko Haram activities should be brought to book and used as an example. I think we have not been up and doing on that,” he said.

The initiative was first proposed at the Nigerian National Security Council (NSC) meeting in September 2015, after which repentant Boko Haram members were encouraged to surrender and embrace peace.

During their stay at the deradicalisation camps such as the one in Gombe, they would be subjected to a combination of psychotherapy, art therapy and psycho-spiritual counselling.

They would also be subjected to skill acquisition programe, offered certificate of “psychosocial normalcy” and then reintegrated into the society.

However, those against releasing the ex-Boko Haram militants said many of them ended up re-joining the terror group. They said this was partly responsible for the inability of the Nigerian security forces to end the crisis.

Heal our wounds first – Borno residents

Some residents of Maiduguri yesterday described the deradicalisation exercise as “hasty,” saying the government should have healed the wounds of those who suffered in the hands of the ex-terrorists first before reintegrating those who erred.

Dr Bulama Mali Gubio, who is the Secretary of the Borno Elders Forum said, “Which communities are the insurgents going back to after undergoing the so-called deradicalisation exercise?

“After all these killings, displacing millions of dwellers of all those communities, destroying all the standing buildings – private and public in all those communities; and now, the perpetrators are said to be taken back; back to where?” he queried.

“Thousands of people – parents, spouses, children, siblings or cousin brothers and sisters were in one attack or the other killed by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno, while widows, and widowers, and orphans or other loved ones of those killed are still living in pain, and you are here empowering the killers.

“Take my case for instance – I, alone, have lost 17 people to the Boko Haram attacks; and one of my brothers whose five children were killed by Boko Haram insurgents also died as a result of the pain of losing his children.

“The responsibility of those left behind is on me. I think, there are hundreds of similar cases across the state and beyond,” Dr Gubio said. He said this was his personal opinion and not that of Borno elders.

He explained that deradicalisation and reintegration of Boko Haram insurgents could not be possible without meeting, consulting, calming down the surviving loved ones of those killed, and then compensating them and seek their forgiveness and acceptance.

“If governments had done all these, it would have achieved its goals, but innocent people are being killed and nobody cares about the loved ones they left behind; and the killers are being empowered and released. Which kind of reconciliation process is this?

“A very powerful judicial commission of inquiry should have been set up to listen to those affected and/or offended by the insurgency so that they could express their feelings,” he said.

“With what face are you expecting me to look at the repentant Boko Haram members after they killed my parents?” Kanna Ali (not real name) and an IDP in Maiduguri asked.

“Yes, our religion said we should forgive but there are conditions. The government should talk to those aggrieved first,” she said.

Yusuf Kolo, another IDP in Maiduguri who relocated to Damaturu said it would be difficult for people to accept the ex- Boko Haram militants while the protracted insurgency lasts.

Kaltume Ahmed, a resident of Yola, Adamawa State, said Boko Haram fighters that genuinely repent should be embraced by the larger society.

“Some of them join the group by force and whether they presented themselves to security agents or they were arrested, if they ask for forgiveness we should forgive them,” she said.

Release them after war

In separate telephone interviews with one of our correspondents, a former Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Austin Iwar, and a former Director-General of State Security Service, Mike Ejiofor, noted that the Senate’s move to stop the government’s deradicalisation of terrorists was in order.

According to Ejiofor, the government’s silence in bringing sponsors of Boko Haram terrorists to book “is not sensible”, saying that fighting the insurgents to a standstill, not deradicalisation or negotiation could put an end to violence in the North East.

“I am completely in line with Senator Ndume and the entire Senate…These are the same people attacking and you are negotiating with them, saying you are giving them amnesty. To me, it doesn’t make sense,” he said.

When asked what government should do to find a lasting solution to the problem of insurgency, Ejiofor said, “The way forward is government should fight these people including their sponsors to a standstill.

It is only then that they (Boko Haram terrorists) would now offer to negotiate, not the government offering them negotiation. They should negotiate at the point of weakness.”

On his part, Iwar said the move to rehabilitate terrorists flouted laws of the land, particularly the Terrorism Act, which stated that when they are arrested, they should be made to face the law accordingly.

The former AIG added that the government should pay more attention to rehabilitation of victims of insurgency in the North East rather than the rehabilitation of terrorists.

“Government needs to follow what the law says in handling the terrorism. We have a Terrorism Act. I repeat, rehabilitating the victims, bringing them back to society is more important.

“Even if they are in IDP camps, the government should design a special package – I mean economic special rehabilitation package for them so that even if they are not able to go back to their villages, they can engage in economic activities through soft loans.

“The law says a terrorist should be arrested and be processed through the criminal justice system…Prison itself, is that not why we changed it to correction? The former prisons have now become correctional centres.

Even within prison, we have rehabilitation. People go to school there. People learn trade, carpentry, tailoring and others. Let the terrorists go to prison and experience the same process of corrections and rehabilitation.”

Another terrorism expert who does not want his name in print said the government “is between the devil and the deep blue sea.

“They have no capacity to hold on to the high number of suspects and they lack the resources to fully deradicalise an ideological terror. An ideological terrorist can hardly be deradicalised and about 30 per cent of those releases are ideological. That is why they are rejoining the group to fight Nigeria,” he said.

Army declares 86 terrorists wanted

The Nigerian Army on Wednesday kicked off a manhunt for the fourth batch of wanted Boko Haram terrorists.

It also co-opted more Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) members into its operation.

A banner showing photographs of the wanted terrorists was unveiled by Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno and the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, at the CJTF Super Camp Chabal, near Maiduguri.

Many terrorists like Abubakar Shekau, Abu Al- Barnawi, Ibrahim Maryam and Abu Sulum made the latest list released.

Some of the wanted terrorists on the current list had been on the watch list since 2016, while others were declared wanted for the first time.

Buratai said that some of the terrorists that had been declared wanted since 2016 have either been arrested or killed in various operations while some had been on the run.

He called on members of the public as well as the CJTF to support the army in fishing out remnants of Boko Haram terrorists that were still hiding and operating within their localities.

ASUU Strike: NUC, NLC ‘Clash’ Over Industrial Disharmony In Universities

ASUU Strike: NUC, NLC ‘Clash’ Over Industrial Disharmony In Universities

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the four unions in universities – ASUU, SSANU, NASU and NAAT, on Monday clashed with National Universities Commission (NUC) over ongoing industrial crisis rocking the tertiary institutions in the country.

Speaking at the 2nd Quadrennial delegates conference in Abuja, organised by SSANU with the theme: “Respecting the sanctity of collective bargaining in democracy,” the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, said federal government is fond of breaching agreements reached through collective bargaining with labour unions.

He said this has been the main reason for frequent industrial action being witnessed in the education sector, saying, “You don’t sign agreement for the sake of it. You signed so that it can be implemented. You can’t sign an agreement and then wait till it is due for implementation before raising issues.”

But in a swift reaction by the Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed stated that the demands by various unions in the universities have led to polarisation of the university system, adding that it is making difficult for the institutions to match up with its peers abroad.

According to Rasheed, it is regrettable that most times government and individual unions lock horns negotiating for better welfare packages for their members at the detriment of the students, adding that constant strike by unions in universities was affecting the robust growth of the system.

“No university in the world can operate effectively in isolation, it is frustrating that the university system in Nigeria have been polarised by various unions. You have NAAT, ASUU, SSANU all negotiating for different things. Most times, while one group is negotiating with government, others are warming up for strike unless their demands are met,” he said.

However, speaking further, Wabba said, “I think it (breaching the agreement) has been the problem of collective bargaining administration in this country. Are we looking for a global standard or Nigerian standard?

“We should be aiming at a global standard not Nigerian standard and the global standard is enshrined in convention 198 of International Labour Organization (ILO).

“The important one which we constantly refer to is the collective bargaining agreement of 2009 between federal government and ASUU. If that agreement was signed in good faith and was implemented, I am not sure we will be where we are today.”

President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Samson Ugwoke, also backed his labour counterpart, saying the biggest challenge faced by the union was the lack of respect of agreements duly and freely entered into by government at all levels.

He stressed that the 2009 FG/SSANU agreement was an example of how agreements freely entered into are not implemented or are done in breach.

“As we speak today, the biggest challenge being faced by SSANU is the lack of respect of agreements duly and freely entered into by our employers either at State or Federal levels.

“In 2001, an agreement was duly reached with the federal government which was left largely unimplemented before 2009 when another agreement was yet reached,” he said.

Ugwuoke explained that some aspects of the 2009 agreement with respect to Earned Allowances, career structure and progression of SSANU members, encroachment into non-teaching units by Academic Staff among others, are yet to be implemented despite series of strikes between 2009 to date.

IPPIS: Again, ASUU Blames Nigerian Government Over Protracted Strike Action

 IPPIS: Again, ASUU Blames Nigerian Government Over Protracted Strike Action

Recall that lecturers in universities had on March 2020 embarked on a nationwide strike to press home their demands, which include revitalisation, Earned Academic Allowances, renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, visitation panels, among others.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has again blamed the Nigerian Government for the prolonged strike embarked upon by lecturers in the country.

Recall that lecturers in universities had on March 2020 embarked on a nationwide strike to press home their demands, which include revitalisation, Earned Academic Allowances, renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, visitation panels, among others.

Prof Abiodun Ogunyemi, ASUU National President, reiterated this on Monday, while speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television program, monitored by our correspondent.

Ogunyemi said the delay in bringing the eight-month-old strike was due to government's refusal to remove Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System as a payment platform for striking university lecturers.

He, however, noted that the University Transparency and Accountability Solution was the best way to go for the lecturers before the strike would be called off.

“What we need is a commitment; there is nothing like transition and what we are saying, in essence, is that government should just go ahead and pay what government has withheld – the salaries of our members; people have not been paid for eight or nine months on account of not registering on IPPIS.

“Government should stop this arm-twisting and manipulation, going back to universities to ask them to go and enroll in IPPIS so that they will go and migrate to UTAS; people see it as a game of deception and we cannot trust them.

“Each time people talk about this problem has been there for long, they don’t also appreciate the solution we have brought to the system to keep the system going," he said.

He added that the government had insisted that there was a transition period within which ASUU members would first be captured in the IPPIS before migrating to UTAS.

According to him, UTAS had been presented to the Minister of Education and senior management staff, the President and leadership of the Senate, and the Office of the Accountant-General where NITDA and Office of the National Security Adviser and other MDAs were fully represented.

He added that the ongoing strike may still linger if government failed to meet the demands of the lecturers.

HND/Degree Dichotomy Limiting Profession, Say Dental Therapistsntry.

 HND/Degree Dichotomy Limiting Profession, Say Dental Therapistsntry.

The Nigerian Dental Therapists’ Association (NDTA) has said their profession has suffered setback as a result of the Higher National Diploma and Bachelor Degree dichotomy in the country.

There has been great discrimination between HND and BSc certificate holders for a long time in the country.

Speaking at the 2020 Scientific Conference and Annual General meeting of the NDTA Saturday with the theme, “Repositioning Dental Therapy Practice in Nigeria, a guest speaker and lecturer at the Enugu Federal College of Dental Technology, Enugu, Dr Johnson Omale said, “One of the problem facing the dental therapy profession is that graduates are not well placed because of the Nigeria factor of HND/BSc dichotomy.

He said HND holders are seen as technological officer and not scientific officers and that is affecting them because their scheme of service do not go beyond HND degree adding that that is why they are calling for a Bachelor degree certificate in the course to help placed graduates in better position.

Dr Omale said HND has limited lots of people in this profession and that is why they are trying to bridge because having a BSc in this profession will help enhance scheme of service.

The chairman, Local Organising Committee of the association, Ifeoma Chidioka said, they are creating awareness for people to understand how important it is to take care of their oral health because it is a very important part of the body system.

Chidioka who said oral health awareness is very poor in Nigeria also urged everyone to visit the dental clinic once in every six months while saying it will help to prevent oral diseases.

“Taking care of our mouth is as important as taking care of other other part of our body too and we must do that regularly to live healthy.”

The Association also said they will elect new executives that will charge their affairs for the next four years.

Strike Will Continue Until Gov’t Addresses Issues In Contention — ASUU

 Strike Will Continue Until Gov’t Addresses Issues In Contention — ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says the ongoing strike will continue until all the issues in contention are adequately addressed by the federal government.

The union also accused the federal government of using the seizure of salaries as a hunger weapon against its members for refusal to migrate to the Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS).

Speaking with newsmen shortly after its meeting at the Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Bayelsa State on Thursday, the Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Port Harcourt Zone, Professor Uzo Onyebiama, called on parents and students to join the union in the struggle to redeem the university system and future of Nigerian youths, insisting that the demands of ASUU were not only about the welfare of itsmembers but also for the revamping of university education in the country.

Professor Onyebiama, who was flanked by ASUU’s chairperson NDU branch l, Dr. Kingdom Tonbara; ASUU’s chairperson UNIPORT, Austen Sado; ASUU’s chairperson, Federal University Otouke, Emmanuel Akpan and others, said the IPPIS will remove the autonomy of universities and install it in the hands of the Accountant General of the Federation.

He said: “IPPIS has become an obnoxious instrument for stripping the governing councils of universities of their powers and their responsibilities and removing the hard won autonomies of universities.

“The issue of autonomy is critical to the survival of our universities as institutions for intellectual freedom and development of our dear country.

“The purported directive of Mr President and the subsequent circulars to the Vice Chancellors on enrollment on IPPIS, using

the seizure of salaries as a hunger weapon and the compulsory change of effective date of annual salary increment of salaries of academic staff from October 1 to January 1 are by these provisions illegal as such null and void.

“IPPIS ensures that the governing councils of universities are no longer free to discharge their functions and exercise their responsibilities and can no longer ensure that disbursement of universities funds comply with the approved budgetary ratio for personnel cost, overhead cost, etc.

“in the light of these threats inherent in the enrollment of academic staff in IPPIS, our union cannot afford to quietly lie low.

"We, as a union of intellectuals, have a sacred responsibility to alert Nigerians about this calamity called IPPIS, which has been hoisted on the universities.

“We hereby call on parents, including academic staff and students, to take up the gauntlet and join this struggle to redeem our universities and the future of Nigerian youths.

“We will remain in this struggle until the issues in contention are adequately addressed,” he said.

‘FG can’t meet demands’

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, had on Wednesday said the government cannot meet the requests of ASUU due to present economic situation in the country.

ASUU is demanding N110bn for revatilisation of tertiary institutions amongst other requests.

Ngige, who stated this while briefing journalists immediately after a closed-door meeting with ASUU members in Abuja, reiterated that government had offered only N20bn it can afford.

According to him, Nigeria’s dare economic situation occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic would not allow government to do beyond its financial capacity despite its commitment to revitalisation of universities.

“This government is not against revitalisation but this government says that because of dare economic situation, because of COVID-19, we cannot really pay in the N110 billion which they are demanding for revitalisation,” the minister said.

Ngige explained that the government had offered a total sum of N50bn to the striking lecturers, where N30bn out of the money is meant for Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) of all the unions – ASUU, SSANU and NASU.

He said ASUU members insisted that all the N30bn be meant for them alone.

ASUU Seeks Swift Completion Of Negotiation With FG

 ASUU Seeks Swift Completion Of Negotiation With FG

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says it is seeking swift completion of its ongoing renegotiations with the Federal Government to suspend the lingering industrial action.

Prof. Ade Adejumo, the Zonal Coordinator, Ibadan Zone of ASUU, stated this at a press conference in Ibadan on Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ASUU embarked on the industrial action seven months ago which is premised on the union’s refusal to adopt the Federal Government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

Adejumo, who was represented at the conference by Prof. Moyo Ajao, the Chairperson, ASUU, University of Ilorin Chapter, said the union was forced to go on strike in March 2020 when the COVID-19 lockdown began.

He said this was done to give the government enough room to address lingering issues.

“It was a patriotic act aimed at resolving the issues so that our students would be in school any time the lockdown was lifted.

“Some people have been wondering why ASUU is on strike again.

“The simple answer is that ASUU is on strike because of the survival of the University system where many of us still have our children as students.

“ASUU is on strike in order to restore the past glory of public universities and address infrastructural decay and deficit in our institutions.

“ASUU is on strike for the legitimate dues of its members who are the least paid in the tertiary education sub-sector,” he said.

According to him, ASUU is actually tired of having a circus show of talks but in the interest of the students and the Nigerians at large, we still continue to hold meetings upon meetings.

“At this stage of the struggle, Nigerians are urged to compel the government to release withheld salaries of our members, remit check-off dues of the union to the rightful owner.

“Government should also speed up the process of testing the integrity of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) so that it can be deployed for payment beginning from January 2021.

“We are ready to suspend the strike as our children too are tired of staying at home but we cannot work on empty stomachs.”

Adejumo said the interest of Nigeria and the future generations was more paramount to ASUU than the immediate gains of its members.

“That is why ASUU has been consistent in challenging the rot in the system through sustained engagements with the powers that be since the time of the military.

“The gains of ASUU struggles are in the changes that TETFund has been able to bring to the tertiary education sector in the country, and ASUU will not relent in pushing for a better university system in the country.

The union said the government agreed to inject funds to revitalise the country’s universities in 2019, adding that however, it was still waiting for the fulfillment of the agreement. (NAN)

Nigeria Youth Investment Fund is officially opened by FG, Application portal for the N75bn Nigerian Youth.

Application portal for the N75bn Nigeria Youth Investment Fund is officially opened for registration.

The application portal for the N75bn Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) is officially opened for registration.

Presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad who made the announcement stated that Nigerian youths between the ages of 18-35 with business ideas that require funding can apply for N250,000 - N5,000,000.

He tweeted;

IMPORTANT: The application portal for the N75bn Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF) is officially opened for registration. Youths (18-35 yrs) with business ideas that require funding can apply for N250,000 - N5,000,000.

                             

FG And ASUU, Enough Is Enough!

FG And ASUU, Enough Is Enough!

It is now eight months since members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities [ASUU] commenced a strike, which began as a warning strike on March 9, 2020.

Since then, needless twists and turns and obdurate stance of both sides have elevated it into a vain contest of egos.
Four weeks since Education Minister Malam Adamu Adamu announced on October 2 that all schools in the country were safe for full re-opening from October 12, public universities in Nigeria are still closed with no date for reopening.

ASUU President Professor Biodun Ogunyemi said the strike was declared in order to compel government to implement the outstanding agreements and resolutions of the Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] it signed with ASUU in 2009, 2013 and 2017 as well as the Memorandum of Action [MoA] of 2019.

Except for the Nigerian University Pension Management Company [NUPEMCO] Limited that successfully took off, government has failed to honour all other aspects of the 2019 MoA.

Other unfulfilled parts of the agreements include part payment of outstanding arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAAs) as well as mainstreaming further payments into annual budgets beginning from 2019.

The agreement to send visitation panels to all federal universities, tentatively agreed to commence in March last year, is also outstanding.

The hot dispute that later ensued over enrolment of ASUU members on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) later came to overshadow all other aspects of the FG-ASUU dispute.

During his 2020 budget presentation to the National Assembly in October last year, President Muhammadu Buhari said salary should not be paid to federal workers who failed to enrol on IPPIS by the end of October 2019.

He repeated the same directive in his 2021 budget speech on October 8, 2020. ASUU has consistently argued that IPPIS does not make provisions for sabbatical leave, visiting appointments, arrears of promotion and responsibility allowances. It is now one year since the bickering over IPPIS implementation started, with no end in sight.

Last month, Senate President Ahmad Lawan invited ASUU leaders to a meeting, which paved the way for the government and ASUU to resume negotiations.

After a meeting held on October 13, this year, Minister of Labour and Employment Chris Ngige said government agreed to consider the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) platform that ASUU presented.

He said the software would be subjected to integrity tests. After another meeting on October 16, Ngige told ASUU leaders, among other offers, that N30 billion will be released on or before November 6 as part payment of EAAs.

He said the remaining N10 billion would be paid in two equal tranches in May 2021 and February 2022. However, all payments including ASUU members’ withheld salaries would be paid through the IPPIS platform. ASUU rejected this offer and the meeting ended in deadlock.

Another meeting held on October 28 also ended in deadlock. Mode of payment of withheld salaries and EAAs remain the most contentious matters about which neither federal government nor ASUU is shifting ground.

Given its promotion of high ethical principles in Nigerian society, ASUU should not reject any scheme that seeks to promote accountability in the payment of workers’ wages.

Besides, employees should not dictate financial policies to their employer. University autonomy is not an adequate argument against IPPIS because ASUU does not generate revenues for paying its members’ salaries.

We condemn government’s inexcusable culture of consistent default in implementing agreements. Yet, ASUU has lost a lot of public sympathy due to its incessant strikes over the years.

The ongoing ASUU strike was a factor in the large turnout of youths in the #EndSARS street protests. Students in public universities, their parents/guardians and Nigeria’s economy are the worst victims each time ASUU goes on strike.

These strikes have contributed to the poor quality of Nigerian graduates over the years. ASUU should learn to utilise other options in industrial disputes, such as seeking redress at the National Industrial Court or taking its case to the National Assembly, instead of incessantly shutting down the university system.

Both sides should quit their ego trips and meet on middle ground. We urge ASUU to accept the period and figures proposed by the federal government for settling its entitlements.

It is realistic given the shape of the economy occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. We also urge the federal government to adopt UTAS as long as it passes all integrity tests. During the transition period to the UTAS, ASUU members should be paid through the existing pre-ASUU strike platform.

This undue clash of egos has cost varsity education in Nigeria dearly. Most of this year is already lost to the new pandemic and lockdown.

Nigeria would be paying a costly price for generations to come if this impasse is not immediately resolved.

Education is one of the sectors worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Worse still, Nigeria had already missed out in nearly all global education targets including Education for All.

We, therefore, urge President Buhari, as father to all and as Visitor to all federal universities, to break this ego contest and ensure a quick resolution of this unnecessary deadlock.