The Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) has suspended its eight-month-old industrial action conditionally, a member of the union’s National Executive Committeetold Channels TV early Friday, October 14.
The union decided to suspend the strike during a meeting of its leadership that started on Thursday night, October 13.
ASUU leadership'. Photo credit: House of Representatives Source: Facebook
The meeting was called by the union to determine its next line of action after its state branches met over the Court of Appeal ruling last week.
The Court of Appeal had ordered ASUU to suspend the strike before its appeal of the ruling ordering lecturers to resume work can be heard.
Members of the union’s National Executive Committee, which comprises the chairmen of the state chapters and members of the national executive, attended the meeting at the ASUU national secretariat in Abuja.
Though the union is yet to make an official pronouncement, a highly informed source within the NEC saying:
“Yes, it has been called off. The president will release an official circular in the morning.”
Meanwhile the Universities (ASUU) on Friday, October 14 in a press statement noted that the issues in its disputes with the Federal Government were not well addressed.
ASUU Makes Fresh Complaint after Calling Off Strike Source: Twitter
The press release, which was signed by the National President of the union, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, however, hailed the intervention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The statement partly read:
“The National Executive Council of ASUU held an emergency meeting at the Comrade Festus Iyayi National Secretariat, University of Abuja, Abuja, on Thursday, October 13, 2022”.
The union in its statement further noted that the Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity, Chris Ngige, took the striking lecturers to court.
“The National Industrial Court, in its wisdom, gave an order compelling ASUU to resume work pending the determination of the substantive suit. Given the nature of the order, and in the opinion of our counsel, there was the need to appeal the interlocutory injunction granted against our union at the Court of Appeal.
“The Court of Appeal acknowledged the validity of the grounds of the union’s appeal but still upheld the order of the lower court and ordered our union to comply with the ruling of the lower court as condition precedent for the appeal to be heard.
“NEC noted the series of meetings with the leadership of the House of Representatives led by the Hon. Speaker, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, as well as intervention efforts of other well-meaning Nigerians both within and outside the government and the progress made so far.”
Speaking further on the status of negotiations, the union said,
“While appreciating the commendable efforts of the leadership of the House of Representatives and other patriotic Nigerians who waded into the matter, NEC noted with regrets that the issues in dispute were yet to be satisfactorily addressed.
“However, as a law-abiding union and in deference to appeals by President Muhammadu Buhari, and in recognition of the efforts of Hon. Gbajabiamila, and other well-meaning Nigerians, ASUU NEC resolved to suspend the strike action embarked upon on February 14, 2022. Consequently, all members of ASUU are hereby directed to resume all services hitherto withdrawn with effect from 12:01 on Friday, October 14, 2022.”
Image caption, Nnamdi Kanu - who holds a UK passport - fled Nigeria in 2017 before being arrested in 2021
Nigeria's Appeal Court has dropped all charges against separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu after ruling that he had been illegally arrested abroad.
The court also ruled that his extradition had been illegal.
The Appeal Court sitting in Abuja while discharged the embattled leader Kanu who was being prosecuted by the federal government at the Federal High Court in Abuja for 15 count charges bordering, including treasonable felony and terrorism, offences he allegedly committed in the course of his separatist campaigns.
Nnamdi Kanu. Photo credit: Marco Longari/AFP Source: Getty Images
The three-man panel of the Court of Appeal said the Federal High Court lacks the jurisdiction to try him in view of his abduction and extraordinary rendition to Nigeria in flagrant violation of the OAU convention and protocol on extradition.
The court held that the 15-count charge preferred against Kanu did not disclose the place, date, time and nature of the alleged offences before being unlawfully extradited to Nigeria in clear violation of international treaties.
The Appeal Court however ruled that the Federal High Court did not have the jurisdiction to try Kanu.over the 15 charges of which eight had previously been dropped.
The court further held that the federal government failed to disclose where Nnamdi Kanu was arrested despite the grave allegations against him.
In the letter dated Monday, October 3, Ozekhome premised his petition on the need to seek a political solution to the travails of the embattled IPOB leader.
The letter, which has in copy Abubakar Malami, the minister of justice, Ozekhome asked the president to direct the Attorney General of the Federation to facilitate the release.
On their reactions, human rights activists, Deji Adeyanju andOmoyele Soworehave asked the federal government to immediately release Kanu following the Appeal Court ruling.
Kanu leads the banned indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) group.
Ipob is campaigning for the creation of an independent state in south-eastern Nigeria.
Kanu - who holds a UK passport - fled Nigeria in 2017 before he was seized and brought back in 2021.
His 2021 arrest abroad was illegal because extradition protocol was not followed, the court said.
Kenya has not commented on whether it played a role in Kanu's deportation to Nigeria.
He was originally arrested in 2015 but he fled Nigeria in 2017 while out on bail. He had previously denied any wrongdoing.
Ipob wants a group of states in the south-east of the country, largely inhabited by members of the Igbo ethnic group, to break away from Nigeria and form an independent nation called Biafra.
In 1967 Igbo leaders declared independence for the state of Biafra, but after a civil war, which led to the deaths of up to a million people, the secessionist rebellion was defeated.
But the idea of Biafra has never gone away and despite the arrests of his members, Kanu's movement has seen a recent swell in its numbers.
The ruling by a panel of three judges is seen as a major blow to the government which had detained Kanu on various treason and terrorism-related charges.
The State Cordinator of the agency, Nasiru Mato, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Kaduna.
He said the products were seized in Jaji, Kagoro, Kafanchan, Mararaba Jos and within the township.
Mato said during the activities, several brands of unregistered aphrodisiacs, analgesics and cosmetics were seized and would be subjected to laboratory investigation for further necessary regulatory actions within the ambit of the law.
“It is against this backdrop that NAFDAC recently goes on broad spectrum routine and surveillance visits to establishments in several parts of the state for strict compliance.
” He said the visits were also to ensure that regulated products available to the consumer exhibited the desired quality, safety, and efficacy.
He said the decision was to ensure the agency rid the state from circulation of substandard regulated products.
“NAFDAC has deployed real – time digital cutting edge technology for use by consumers called Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) to establish on the spot whether drugs are genuine or fake, to ensure the safety of the consumer always.
The Coordinator cautioned against illegal advertisements of regulated products in any form.
He urged consumers to always check product labelling for product name, NAFDAC Registration Number, Production Date, Expiry Date, Batch Number, storage condition, direction for use, name and location address of the manufacturer.
During the National Endowment for Democracy event in Washington DC, the United States, INEC's chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, on Tuesday, October 11, stated that the commission has deleted not less than 2.7 million names from its voter register over double registrations.
Prof. Mahmood.Photo Source: Original
On the new PVCs. Prof. Mahmood disclosed that the new Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) will be ready by November., adding that at the moment, about 50% of the new PVCs were ready, but yet to be distributed to collection centres.
Speaking on the widespread insecurity in Nigeria. INEC's boss stated that the commission is really worried for its staff members during the general elections, especially in the southeast and northwest regions.
“It is a perennial issue because, at the end of the day, it is not new but the dimension of the insecurity is new in the sense that in the past, it was localised or confined to a particular part of the country – the North-East but now, it is more widespread.
“We are keeping our eyes, particularly, on the North-West and the South-Eastern part of the country. Elections are conducted by human beings.
“We worry about the security of our officials, materials, and even the voters themselves. Without them, elections cannot be conducted.”
Recall that INEC had disclosed that it found about 1,126,359 records out of the 2, 523,458 fresh registrants that registered between June 28, 2021, and January 14, 2022, 1,126,359 to be invalid and consequently delisted them.
The commission however disclosed that it also detected several double, multiple, and ineligible registrants and has consequently invalidated them, adding that these include entries that fail to meet the commission’s business rules.
The national commissioner and chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, also noted that a thorough process was being undertaken to clean up the registration data.
Wasiu Oduwole a fish pepper soup seller's from Ikenne, in the Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, is currently hospitalised with one of his eyes blinded.
According to our source. Wasiu was kicked in the eye by Nureni Oduwaye, a traditional monarch from the same community.
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed the incident, while stating that the case will be brought before the court in due time. Photo: NPF Source: Facebook
Our source gathered that the incident occurred at the Moore Blessing Hotel, Ikenne-Sagamu, when the monarch allegedly attacked Wasiu for dancing with his queen.
While recounting his ordeal, Wasiu, in a sick and excruciating condition, stated that the monarch, his wife (the queen), and other guests were all invited to a birthday party at the Moore Blessing Hotel by the celebrant known as Iya Alaje.
Before the commencement of the birthday party, Wasiu revealed that he was contracted by the hotel’s owner, Yakub Omobolanle, to prepare 14 plates of fish pepper soup for guests at the event.
He said when he commenced preparation of the fish pepper soup, he discovered that the ingredient was not enough.
Wasiu said when the guest started feasting on the pepper soup, the hotel’s owner complained about how it was prepared.
He said:
“I told him it wasn’t my fault and that the ingredients were insufficient. After I was done with the cooking, I went into the bar and met the owner of the hotel, the celebrant, Iya Alaje, her husband, and a woman, who I never knew was a queen. I started apologising to them and I was told not to worry.
“The celebration was ongoing when the monarch, Nureni Oduwaye, entered. The deejay was playing and everyone was dancing. I was surprised as the celebrant and the queen were singing secular music. I commended them because people of their age and status don’t usually like secular music, let alone knowing the lyrics.”
Wasiu said suddenly; the monarch, who was already wearing an angry expression on his face, asked him to identify himself, and he told him that he was a relative of the hotel’s owner.
The monarch was said to have angrily dashed to his car, adding that the hotel owner and the celebrant’s husband ran after him. Iya Alaje’s husband after returned instructed him to apologise to the monarch.
Wasiu said:
“The queen was even asking whether I did wrong, but for the sake of peace, I went to apologise to him. When I got to where he was, I started begging him. I told him I was informed that he was annoyed because I was dancing with his queen and said I did not dance with her.
“As I was attempting to lie down to continue begging, he used his leg to kick my left eye. The injury in my eye was so severe that I was rushed to a nearby hospital from where I was transferred to the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital.”
Wasiu, at present, is seeking justice, and he revealed that the monarch only checked on him once after an extended stay in the hospital.
Our source also gathered that the Police Command in Ogun state was informed officially.
However. Wasiu’s mother, Shakirat, alleged that the police were trying to write off the case due to the monarch's influence.
She said:
“When I saw my son in the hospital, I almost fainted. I was advised to report the case to the Area Commander, Sagamu, and when we got there, I was crying and explaining to him, but he said we would have to settle the case.
"He said he is the son of a king and the person responsible for my son’s condition is also a king and for that reason, we have to settle the case. I am speaking up because I want justice for my son.”
The owner of the hotel, who confirmed the attack on Wasiu, said the monarch had been acting unremorseful.
Omobolanle said:
“When I was told that the monarch became angry because Wasiu was dancing with his queen, I had to tell him that I was the one who invited Wasiu to prepare the catfish and that he does not know his queen. He was just acting annoyed. The husband of the celebrant told Wasiu to beg the monarch and it was in the process of begging that the monarch kicked his eye.
“I was the one that rushed him to a hospital and paid the hospital bill. I have been told that Wasiu no longer sees with the eye.”
Oduwaye, when contacted, said he had visitors and could not talk to any reporter.
“You must come to Shagamu if you want to hear the facts from me,” he added.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident.
He said:
“The area commander confirmed that the case was reported and that it had been investigated and concluded. He said the case should have been charged to court on Monday but the monarch said he was sick and came in the evening.
“So, he told both parties to come on Wednesday so the matter could be charged to court but the complainant did not show up. If the complainant shows up, we will charge the case to court.”
Femi Falana, the lead counsel to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has disclosed that the academics' 8 months of industrial action will be called off in days, not weeks.
The senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) made this known at a book launch titled “Breaking Coconut with your Head”, written by Lanre Arogundade, in Lagos on Monday, October 10.
Falana reveals when ASUU will call off its strike Photo Credit: @ASUU_Nigeria Source: Twitter
According to the legal luminary, the strike will likely be concluded outside the courtroom.
Falana has been the lead defense counsel to the university lecturers after the union was dragged to the national industrial court by the federal government.
The union and the federal government had failed to reach a conclusive agreement that would warrant it calling off its strike before the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration took the academics to the industrial court.
However, the court ordered the union to return to classrooms and continue negotiating.
The union further appealed the judgment at the appellate court in Abuja, but the court of appeal said it won’t entertain the union’s case until it complied with the judgment of the industrial court.
Experts have said the failure of the union to comply with the court order would be considered as contempt which is punishable under the law.
The appeal court has asked the striking lecturers to obey the order of the national industrial court before it could entertain their appeal.
Misbau Lateef, the legal adviser of CONUA, the newly registered academic union, said no law of any responsible country will allows workers to withhold their services for this long.
Nigeria’s melting point, is said to be one of the largest economies in West Africa, almost twice the size of the economies of Togo, the Benin Republic and the Niger Republic.
It is the microcosm of Nigeria, has the biggest Gross Domestic Product (GPD) in the country with $91 billion, and earns far more than any other state from internally generated revenue (IGR).
Lagos State governor, governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Dangote Refinery, airport and sea port Credit:NurPhoto / Contributor Source: Getty Images
Lagos also leads other states as the highest indebted in the country. Data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) states that the external debt of Lagos is over $1 billion.
According to BusinessDay, Lagos owes about $1.33 billion in external debts, leading the pack of other highly indebted states in Nigeria.
With over 20 million residents, vibrant commerce and good infrastructure, Lagos is also a choice destination for investors.
A report quoted the Lagos State government as saying it has attracted about $26.07 billion in the last two years.
Experts believe that the population of Lagos state is an attraction for investors as it houses two thriving seaports, Apapa and Tin Can ports.
There are other investments in Lagos capable of transforming the state into West Africa’s biggest economy.
Still partly under construction, the Lekki Deep Sea Port will compete with federal government-owned and operated ports and will process about 4 million tons of cargo annually. It will have a container volume of 2.5 million Twenty Equipment Units (TEU) in a year.
Estimated at $19 billion, the Dangote Refinery will produce about 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day and a storage capacity of 4.74 billion barrels of crude oil.
It is projected that the operational refinery would ease Nigeria’s fuel problem, crash the price of imports and confine petrol scarcity to the past.
The Lekki Free Trade Zone sits on about 3,000 hectares of investment space with 132 free-trade enterprises and seven investment-rich sectors and has about 320 million market size.
To complement the huge investments pouring into the Lekki axis, the Lagos State government announced that it would build a new airport in the area.
Vanguard reports that the construction of the new airport in the Lekki-Epe area will commence in 2023.
The state government declared on its official Instagram handle on Friday, October 7, 2022.
Ope George, Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, stated on Thursday, October 6, 2022, that the government had already gotten the required approvals from the Nigerian government to fly the new airport.
George said the new airport would be constructed on 3,500 hectares of land in the Lekki-Epe area.
With investments flowing into the state, analysts believe it would soon outpace other countries in West Africa to emerge as the biggest economy in the region.
If this happens, Lagos will be on its way to becoming the Dubai of West Africa.
Legit.ng also reported that a social media post shows a notice by Surulere local government in Lagos re-introducing radio and television licenses in Lagos as against NCC guidelines to drive the council’s internally generated revenue.
The council in its reaction to a, post on Twitter handle @AnuoluwapoSis said, “They said we should be paying using television.”
With the growing crisis between the Kogi state government and the management of Dangote Cement company over the ownership of the Obajana factory, the Coalition for Truth and Justice has accused the company of disrupting the peace and security in Kogi state.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, October 9, the coalition alleged that the insistence by the company on recovery of its shares in the Obajana cement factory is causing tension and agitation in the state.
The Dangote Cement company . Photo: Dangote Group Source: Getty Images
Led by its secretary, Musa Attah, the coalition warned the company against deploying the tactic of name-calling and ultimately causing turmoil and threat to the security and peace of the people of Kogi state.
Quite a lot has been playing out since the Kogi state government sealed the cement company in the Obajana community over an ownership tussle.His words:
"The worrisome component of this underarm tactics is that Dangote Industries is yet to satisfactorily refute the claims by the Kogi state Commissioner for Information, Mr Kingsley Femi Fanwo, that the company held a clandestine meeting at which it plotted to sabotage the state using federal might.
"The dangerous plot includes actions to disrupt the peace and destabilize Kogi State over the insistence of the state to recover its shares in the company.
"These planned activities by the Dangote Group of Company will have far-reaching effects. Considering that the plan of using Dangote trucks to block the flow of traffic for instance would hamper recovery from the fuel shortages caused by the disruptions from the flooding of the road that had prevented haulage of petrol.
Further accusing the company of peddling stories that suggest a mob action by the Kogi state government against the Dangote Group, Attah noted that the report of an inquiry by the state showed evidence of shady dealings which led to the recommendation of the constitution of a specialized technical committee.
The committee according to Attah was saddled with the responsibility of evaluating the entire transaction on Obajana Cement Company Limited.
He, however, warned the halt further attacks on the people and government of Kogi adding that if the company thinks that it has a claim to Obajana Cement Company plc, in spite of the documents released by the state government, it should go to court.
He added:
"We warn that on no account should Dangote trucks obstruct traffic flow in any part of Kogi state.
"We advise other states where Dangote Industries operate to urgently review transactions entered into with the company by their past administration so that they can remedy any identified lapses since the company has proven to be addicted to policy manipulation and government capture.
"We urge the Federal Government to take steps to restore citizens’ confidence and prove that Dangote Industries does not own Nigeria as the company’s officials were captured on tape as saying at the meeting where they plotted to sabotage Kogi state and by extension the whole of Nigeria."
Attah also called on the people of Kogi to unite along party, ethnic and sectarian lines to support the state government in addressing the excesses of a monster that has too often made their state a killing field in its pursuit of profit.
On his own, he assured that the coalition will continue to monitor the development in Kogi state and will respond as necessary.
The move is set to have a serious effect on Dangote's wealth as the factory in Obajana is its biggest cement plant in Africa.
Dangote Industries Limited has reacted to the move and also the sealing of the factory.
Dangote cement and BUA cement are Nigeria's two most valuable listed manufacturing companies.
BUA foods, another company, owned by Abdulsamad, sat in the third position, while Nestle Nigeria completed the list of top four valuable manufacturing companies.
The ranking of the banks is according to data from the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX).
