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Tag: President Muhammadu Buhari

  • Buhari urged to sell more Presidential aircrafts

    Buhari urged to sell more Presidential aircrafts

    Constitutional Lawyer and Human Rights Activist, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, Thursday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to further reduce the cost of governance by selling four more Presidential Aircrafts from the remaining nine in the presidential fleet.

    He said it was good that President Buhari handed over two of the Aircrafts to the Nation’s Airforce considering the huge cost of maintaining them, lamenting that the country spends over a billion naira monthly to maintain the Presidential fleet.

    The activist made the remarks while delivering a paper titled “The Role of the Judiciary in Promoting and Sustaining Good Governance: Nigeria as a case Study” during the 2016 Annual Lecture and Gold Service Awards organized by the Centre for Democratic Governance in Africa at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

    He criticized the Presidential System of Government as being practiced in Nigeria, describing it as too expensive, and wasteful. He said it was a misnormal for 85 percent of the nation’s annual expenditure to be committed to recurrent expenses.

    Ozekhome also criticized the sting operations carried out by the Department of State Security, DSS, and “the media trial of judges based on allegations that are yet to proven before a competent court of law”, maintaining that the process was not only faulty but unconstitutional.
    He said the action was an attempt to annex and emasculate the judiciary and strip it of its powers and functions as an independent arm of government with the mandate to ensure checks and balances in the functions of the other arms of government.

    The activist maintained that the role of the judiciary cannot be over emphasized in any functional democratic system, arguing that in view of its central role to the stability of the system the issues of appointment of judicial Officers and their condition of service should be taken seriously.

    Ozekhome who condemned any form of corruption in the judiciary further submitted that the nation’s judiciary should be above board at all times.

    His words: “one of the time tested doctrines of the principles of equity is that he that comes to equity must come with clean hands. If the judiciary must effectively carry out its role of fostering accountability, it must first be shown most unequivocally that the judiciary itself is accountable and takes accountability seriously.

    “This is because, a judiciary laden with the baggage of corruption or unaccountable cannot in all good conscience, superintend over the issue of public accountability since it is the last hope of the common man.

    “Consequently in a situation where the common man sees the judiciary as part of the problems, rather than the solution, the role of the Bench in fostering accountability will be gravely hampered and seriously jeopardized. Rather than see Judges as God’s representatives on earth, they will be seen as Lucifer’s earthly chieftains and emissaries” Ozekhome asserted.

  • Buhari may present 2017 budget December 1

    Buhari may present 2017 budget December 1

    …MTEF unrealistic, Senators insist

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari may present the 2017 Appropriation Bill to the joint session of the National Assembly on December 1, 2016.

    Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, gave the hint Wednesday while contributing to the debate on the 2017 to 2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

    Akpabio said that the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki on Tuesday made reference to the fact that the President Buhari may be coming to the National Assembly to submit and read the 2017 budget on 1st of December 2016.

    The information came as the Senators overwhelmingly described the MTEF and FSP as largely unrealistic.

    The lawmakers took turns to tear the MTEF and FSP to shred rooting for the fiscal document to be returned back to the Presidency.

    Saraki saved the day by appealing to his colleagues that though the assumptions and estimates in the MTEF were largely incorrect they remained assumptions and estimate.

    The Senate President noted that it was the responsibility of the Senate to work on the document and use its capacity to produce a realistic document.

    Akpabio said, “We can see that we don’t have a perfect document in our hands but of course we are looking at assumptions and assumptions may not necessarily be correct. I want to suggest that we send it to the committee. Of course, the committee will invite the relevant agencies and ministries of government.

    “They will come up with a more realistic MTEF/FSP because I believe also that looking at the date that this was submitted to the Senate, (4th of October) and we are debating it today on the 23nd of November. So, a lot of indices must have changed. Wednesday, you made reference to the fact that the President may be coming to the chambers to submit and read the 2017 budget on 1st of December.

    “If that is the case and we send this (MTEF) back and wait for it to come and debate it, it means that we will not be able to meet that deadline. But if we send it to the committee level, they may come up with something within the next three days that will be much realistic.”

    So, my appeal will be that the committee members should take into cognisance all the submissions and observations made today; so that we can come up with a more realistic MTEF and FSP.
    The Medium Term Expenditure Framework and the Fiscal Strategy Paper is proposing a budget that will be predicated on an oil revenue benchmark of $42.5 per barrel for the period 2017 -2019.

    The non-oil revenue for 2017 -2019 is guided by the improved efficiency of collection and expected growth in non-oil GDP, and accordingly customs collection, Companies Income Tax, Value Added Tax and FGN Independent Revenue are non-oil sectors the government is expecting revenue from in 2017.

    The proposal also shows that the government is projecting a 3.02% GDP growth in 2017, while inflation is expected to moderate at 12 ‚92%.

    The GDP growth would be driven by strong performance in agriculture, wholesale and retail, construction and real estate sectors ‘ among others.

    Similarly, the GDP growth for the medium term is based on the assumptions of average oil production of 2.2mbpd‚2.3 mbpd and 2.4mbpd for 2017,2018 and 2019 respectively with average benchmark oil price of USD42.5pb,USD45pb‚ and USD50pb for 2017,2018 and 2019 respectively as well as an average exchange rate of N290 per dollar. It is also based on an average growth rate of 9.69% during the period.

    Deputy Senate Leader, Bala Ibn Na’Allah who presented the MTEF noted that the document is designed to reposition the Nigerian economy from the shores of recession to a sustainable inclusive growth path.

    “The fiscal strategy for the 2017 -2019 MTEF / FSP therefore is framed to fundamentally restructure the economy for enhanced productivity, efficiency and accountability in the management of national resources with the intent of unlocking the real sector and private sector potentials for bolstering growth.

    “The focus of the 2017-2019 MTEF and FSP is the utilization of targeted spending in critical sectors that will translate into quick transformative capabilities and strong linkages with medium term development plans to achieve a more developed infrastructure base to stimulate real sector productivity, job creation and increased private sector investment.

    “The 2017 budget will be guided by six principles namely realism, credibility, allocative strategic, prioritization, transparency and accountability and social safety nets

    “The policy outline in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and the Fiscal Strategy Paper are in line with the Change Agenda of this Administration,” Na’Allah said.

    The consideration of the fiscal document followed a closed session of the upper chamber during which senators were said to have attempted to persuade themselves not to throw out the document.

    It was learnt that the Presidency refused to rework the MTEF and FSP the Senate rejected on November 3rd, 2016.

    A reliable source said that “the same MTEF we rejected and returned to the Executive was sent back to us to consider. Nothing was changed, nothing was reworked, it was the same it was submitted in October.”

    Almost all the senators who contributed to the debate agreed that the projections in the MTEF/FSP were unrealistic.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator John Enoh (Akwa Ibom Central) said the first thing to consider is the broad, the basic assumptions that are contained in the document including the assumptions of the daily oil production of 2.2 which has not changed from where it was in 2016.

    Enoh said, “I think with the backdrop of a lot that is happening in terms of oil production the government especially the executive arm has to put in place a proper engagements strategy in the Niger Delta if it hopes to achieve this because as I speak am sure we are losing on a daily basis more than 600,000 or 800,000 barrels a day.

    “If that is what we are doing and then we are predicating daily production in 2017 at 2.2 then the government needs to do quite a lot in terms of the oil price benchmark of $42.5.

    “Talking about the exchange rate of N290 when in spite of the exchange rate we have figures that rotates the upper limits into as much as N350 not minding what is happening in the parallel market

    “In looking at the 2017 projections, the one that is most startling in terms of the projections that has increased is bad. VAT in 2016 was about 1.2, 1.4 but in 2017 it was projected about 2 trillion and I think that there is no real basis if for example as at September VAT indicated just about 55 percent then why are you now increasing it by more than 1trillion.”

    Senator Solomon Adeola (Lagos West) in his contribution noted that by passing the MTEF, the Senate was giving the leeway to the President to present the 2017 budget.

    The lawmaker said that the first thing the Senate should have done was to consider and analyze the performance of the 2016 budget.

    Senator Adeola added, “Going through the document before us, I want to say that the Economic Team of the government is in disarray. The document before us is not realistic. We should return it for the Economic Team to rework.”

    For Senator Suleiman Adokwe, (Nasarawa South) the problem is the bureaucracy, who have a template they recycle every year.

    Adokwe lamented that it appears there is no economic blue print to get the country out of recession.

    Senator Mohammed Hassan (Yobe North) agreed the most of the assumptions in the document were unrealistic.

    Sentor Usman Bayero Nafada warned that if the MTEF was not well done, the 2017 budget would fail.

    He wondered why the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele would inform Nigerians that the exchange rate stood at N305 to one dollar while the government would sent a document containing N290 to one dollar.

    Senator Jibrin Barau (Kano North) said that Senate has the constitutional power to adjust the document as it deemed correct.

    Barau also said the assumptions were wrong.

    On his own Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) said “Mr. President, if we speak the truth, we would die, if we lie, we would die. So I have chosen to speak the truth and die.

    “I want to say this document that I have before me, this MTEF proposal and projections of the 2017 to 2019 is a lie. This document is not truthful, it is not honest, it is not transparent and it is not factual.

    “We want to know the level of compliance of the MTEF we passed last year and it is for three years, 2016-2018. What are the new amendments, Is this MTEF predicated on the loan that the executive is requesting to take. We want to know and that is not stipulated in this MTEF. We also want to know the whether the rate of N290 exchange rate per dollar is it realistic? Is this the truth. Governance is about the truth, it is about honesty, it is about transparency, it is about opening yourself to the people.

    “The GDP is going down and this MTEF document is telling me that it is going up. So, how do you corroborate this fraud. We should not be talking about deficit to GDP in realistic term we should be talking about deficit to revenue. How much of our revenue is being used in servicing our debts.

    “You need to tell us, we need to know that what percentage of our revenue you are allocating to servicing debts but that question is very, very painful to me because recently in international forum the minister of budget and planning blatantly displaying ignorance of not knowing even what the debt profile of the government is.”

    After the debate and appeal by the Senate President, the lawmakers agreed to refer the document to the joint committee on Appropriation, Finance and Budget and National Planning for further legislative action.

     

     

  • Buhari orders ban of unregistered teachers from classrooms

    Buhari orders ban of unregistered teachers from classrooms

    President Muhammadu Buhari and Ministers of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu and Prof. Anthony Anwukah, have agreed to ban unqualified and unregistered teachers from classrooms, Registrar, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Josiah Ajiboye has said.

    He also said the Federal Government would not employ teachers without registration certificates and licenses from the TRCN under the 500, 000 teachers’ scheme.

    Prof. Ajiboye said this during the 10th Education Conference in Abuja on Wednesday with the theme: “Improving Education Standards and Emulating the Global Perspective and Practices.”

    Ajiboye said: “Presently, it has been accepted by the Federal Government, the President, the ministers of education have agreed that no one again that is not qualified, that is not registered with TRCN will stand in front of our classrooms.

    “I can assure you that no one will be employed as a teacher by the federal government without license and registration certificate.

    “We are calling on all teachers, if you know yourself and you refer to yourself as a professional teacher you must be registered with TRCN. You must carry our certificate and our license.

    “At the last induction ceremony that was conducted last week in OAU, six professors registered with TRCN and 14 other academics were also inducted into the teaching profession.”

    Prof. Ajiboye, who called on teachers both in public and private schools to ensure they are duly registered and licensed by the council, said Kaduna state government, had directed its teachers to obtain their licenses and registration certificates before they would be promoted.

    The registrar, who said teachers in private schools, had started registering with the council, called on orders that are yet to register with TRCN to do so.

    “Teachers in private schools are also expected to be registered and licensed by TRCN. According to the law establishing the council we are the ones who can talk about who is a teacher in this country.

    “Currently, teachers in private schools are responding to TRCN’s call for them to come and register. Now we are in the level of persuasion when we move beyond this level we will go to the enforcement of the law.

    “Kaduna state government has really gone out to tell the teachers that look if you are not registered with TRCN you cannot be promoted. This is what we want to encourage in all the states,” he said.

    Earlier in her remarks, President of NAPPS, Dr. Sally Adukwu-Bolujoko, called on the federal government to invest 50 per cent of the budget on education.

    “Government should invest 50 % of the national budget every year for the next 20 years to revamp public schools from dilapidation and degeneration. From 2012 to date, all the budgets in education have just been about 11%. Whereas you know that UNESCO’s benchmark for developing country is 26%. Countries like Senegal, Ivory Coast have begun to give more than 26% and ourselves, with our large population, and the biggest economy in Africa, we have not reached half the mark of UNESCO.

    “The state of our public school is appalling. It is not a place where value is given. It is a place where the values children acquire from good homes get eroded. We are asking that as a matter of strategy focus on education by funding it and having the political will to drive and to monitor our money till it delivers results.

    “We are bothered that the Nigerian child’s education is poor, under the threes, dilapidated houses, sitting on bricks and on the floor. Every child should be captured in school. No longer should Nigerian child be at home or hawking when others are in school,” she said.

  • Kachikwu charges hydrocarbon council on speed, efficiency

    Kachikwu charges hydrocarbon council on speed, efficiency

    The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has advised the newly-inaugurated council on hydrocarbons to speedily formulate policies that will address challenges in the oil and gas sector.

    Kachikwu gave the advice in Abuja on Tuesday at the resuscitation of the council.

    The Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, on Oct. 5, gave the nod for the resuscitation of the council which had been in existence for some time.

    According to him, the council acts as an ombudsman that meets once yearly to review policies in the sector, bringing together ‎people from business, oil sector, oil communities and relevant ministries.

    Kachikwu said: “As you put together this hydrocarbon council, I urge all of you to take cognizance of so much that is going on in the Ministry of Petroleum.’’

    “It is one of the most challenging, exciting times we have in creating, develop the right policies, right principles to address frustrations that are in the system.’’

    He said there was so much to do in the industry.

    According to him, these include growth of the upstream through policies on oil and gas, passage of the long-sought-after petroleum industry bill and issues of Niger Delta security among others.

    “We’re setting for ourselves very comprehensive goals that we want everybody to participate in. We are taking the bull by the horn for every little problem that we have.

    “Those solutions shouldn’t stop at the ministry.

    “It should first begin with you, your various undertakings in the sector whether it’s as scholars, ministry representatives, investors, policy formulators, traditional rulers who provide framework.

    “Whatever capacity, everybody needs to have an input. We will study it. There is nowhere in Nigeria today where there is an urgency of yesterday as the petroleum sector.

    “Like I say, oil got us to where we are today. It is going to take oil to take us out of it.’’

    Speaking to newsmen after the event Kachikwu said the nation was not where it should be as per crude oil production and the bombing of the Forcados pipeline recently further hampered output.

    Earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs Jamila Shua’ra, said the essence of the meeting was to “engender a bottom-up approach to policy making’’.

    “We had 30 memos presented from the council at its inaugural stage. I think that is a good way to start. Next year, we hope to have a more robust session.’’

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that stakeholders were drawn from oil producing states.

    Hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting of hydrogen and carbon is a primary energy source.

    The majority of hydrocarbons found on Earth occur in crude oil, which Nigeria has large deposits of it.

     

  • Buhari committed to safe and healthy work place – Ngige

    Buhari committed to safe and healthy work place – Ngige

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige has affirmed the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari led administration to providing safe and healthy working environment that will stimulate decent working conditions for Nigerian workforce.

    Represented by the Director of Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. Ifeoma Anyanwutaku at the validation of the draft National Occupational Safety and Health Profile, the minister said the government was aware of the fact that a safe and healthy worker is an asset to his or her employer and the nation.

    He said the Federal Government will continue to take necessary steps to add value and strengthens policies and programmes aimed at providing safe and healthy working environment and stimulate fair working conditions for all workers.

    The Minister emphasized that a well-defined and popular profile document for the promotion of social dialogue in occupational safety and health is essential for effective consultations and collaboration for a robust safety and health culture.

    According to him, the validation of the Draft National Occupational Safety and Health Profile will be a catalyst to the nation’s drive to adopt international best practices in the promotion of preventive occupational safety and health culture.

    Country Director of International Labour Organisation, Demmis Zulu said that the ILO was committed to the development and preventive of OSH strategies which aimed to protect and promote workers’ health and wellbeing.

    Zulu said: “It goes without saying that the whole issue of National Health and Safety is paramount and needs to be given the seriousness, importance and priority it deserves.

    “For instance, there are quite a number of incidents and accidents in different sectors of Nigeria’s economy, particularly, in both the manufacturing and the construction sector. Workers who are affected by these incidents and accidents, due to lack of adherence to the minimum standards of occupational health and safety, are those between the ages of 18 and 30”.

    He added that the document would ensure that the manufacturing and construction sectors, among others, improve their working condition and environments.

  • Updated: Buhari signs eight bills into law

    Updated: Buhari signs eight bills into law

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday signed eight bills into law.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang told State House correspondents after the signing ceremony.

    According to him, the new Acts are the Prevention of Crime Amendment Act‎ 2016, the National Crop Varieties and Livestock Breeds (Registration) Amendment Act‎ 2016, Telecommunications and Postal Offences Amendment Act‎ 2016, the National Agricultural Land Development Authority Amendment Act‎ 2016.

    Others are the Produce Enforcement of Export Standards  Amendment Act‎ 2016, the Agricultural and Rural Management ‎Training Institute Amendment Act‎ 2016, Bee Import Control and Management Amendment Act‎ 2016, and Water Resources Amendment Act‎ 2016‎.

    He said: “Mr. President assented to eight bills passed by the National Assembly. The different bills are on different sectors of the economy and development.

    “These bills were passed by the National Assembly and transmitted to Mr. President for assent and Mr. President today assented to it today and have automatically become law.

    “Mr. President expresses his appreciation to leadership and membership of National Assembly, for the great work they did in considering the bills and the details that have gone in to consider the bills‎.

    “Mr. President considers the Act as very vital to the present administration and in consonants with ‎All Progressive Congress agenda and thanks the National Assembly very much.

    “He also directs that ministries, departments and agencies and all government functionaries, that whenever there is a bill pending before the National Assembly and there is a call for public hearing, they must attend and make inputs into those bills, so that those inputs will be taken into accounts by the legislature when considering the bill. So that when the bills are eventually passed it would be easier to implement,” he added.

    According to him, the assent to the eight bills is unprecedented.
    He said: “This is the very first time in this administration that eight bills are forwarded to him at a go for assent.

    “In all my years in the National Assembly except for the 46 bills which were passed a day to the end of that administration, no such number bills have been passed and forwarded at once ‎to the President for assent and no such number of bills has been assented to at a record time.

    “I also consider it a record that bills have been passed on various sector‎ and in giving assent to the bill it did not lead to rancour or disputation as to what should be in and what should not be in. This shows that the executive and the legislature are working together because the ministers attended every hearing that were called in respect of the bill.

    “And all the ministers involved, the director generals all monitored the processes and procedures on the floor. And myself and my colleague Hon. Akau Ismaila monitored and worked with the committees while work on the bills were going on, and so it did not lead to any rancour in the course considering the bills on the floor and after passage it became easier for consultations and it has been assented to by Mr. President,” he said.

    According to him, all the eight bills are member bills sponsored by members of the National Assembly.

    He disclosed that there is presently no bill pending assent ‎before President Buhari as all bills sent to him have been assented to.

  • Group faults N’Delta leaders’ 16-point demand to Buhari

    Group faults N’Delta leaders’ 16-point demand to Buhari

    Niger Delta Youth Association, (NDYA), has faulted the 16-point demand handed to President Muhammadu Buhari by leaders of Niger Delta, known as ‘Pan-Niger Delta Forum, (PNDEF) on the way forward in resolving the crisis in the oil -rich region.

    This was contained in a seven-point communiqué issued in Akwa Ibom State after an emergency conference of the body during which it took a critical assessment of the ’16 Point Demand’ earlier presented to the Presidency.

    In the communiqué, the President, Comrade Victor James, Vice President, Comrade Ibiso Harry and other executives of NYDA, regretted that the leaders could not give priority to the Niger Delta Coastal Road Project which they said would improve the economic life of the people of the region.

    Harry who read the communiqué for the group also pointed out that the delegation ought to have expanded the request for the granting of oil and gas blocks to cover communities of the entire Niger Delta other than giving few individuals the blocks.

    The group while commending the contingent for their courage, tasked the presidency to ensure sincerity in dealing with the issues of Niger Delta.

    The communiqué read in part: “We endorsed some of the ’16 Points Demands’, ranging from the Maritime University at Okrenkoko in Delta State, to the restructuring of the Amnesty Programme, the opening up of Warri, Calabar and Port Harcourt Ports as international Ports, the cleaning up of the entire Niger Delta wherever pollution is found.

    “PNDEF should have made the ‘Niger Delta Coastal Road Project’ one of its basic demands and as clear as possible without ambiguity because it is strategically positioned along the region’s vast coastline and an economically viable project which will attract serious foreign investments to the Niger Delta in terms of real estate and tourism.

    “Some demands like the federal government’s granting of oil and gas blocks should rather be expanded to cover communities of the entire Niger Delta as simply giving a few individuals from the Niger Delta oil and gas blocks will not create the wealth need to move the region forward.

    “The reason is because our region is suffering from institutional and systemic poverty therefore clusters of communities within all ethnic nationalities should be granted oil and gas blocks as doing so will create wealth which the people are starved and which prevents the people from enhancing their potentials.

    “What the Niger Delta needs is sincerity from this present administration particularly when it cannot be argued that the current resurgence of violence and insurgency resulting in the bombing of oil and gas facilities is occasioned by the current administration’s approach to issues relating to the Niger Delta Region and Its People.”

  • Buhari inaugurates boards of NNPC, NCDMB,  NNRA

    Buhari inaugurates boards of NNPC, NCDMB,  NNRA

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday challenged members of the newly inaugurated boards in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to ensure decency and transparency in the management of the nation’s oil industry.

    The inaugurated boards included the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA).

    Buhari specifically tasked the new boards to ensure that they devise practical strategies aimed at tackling current challenges within the oil industry.

    He said the boards, which would be chaired by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, should advise the minister and the corporations’ management on the most effective ways for Nigeria to get value for money from its assets.

    “Oil and gas are the country’s foreign exchange earners. Therefore, the importance of these boards cannot be over emphasised. Your job should be to ensure propriety in management of these most vital national institutions

    “You should advise the Minister and the Corporations’ management on the most effective way for Nigeria to get value for money from our assets.

    “My expectations from the members of the boards is for them to ensure that NNPC charts a way to face current economic challenges.

    “This will involve a careful look at the ongoing reforms designed to steer the corporation to achieve better performance and efficiency,’’ he said.

    Buhari further stressed the need for the new NNPC board to come up with innovative ways of addressing the constraints in funding Joint Venture projects between the corporation and international oil companies as well as other investment issues.

    According to him, his administration has introduced transparency in the management of the country’s oil industry through the monthly publishing of operational and financial reports of the NNPC.

    The President expressed optimism that with the members’ experience and knowledge, the country’s aspiration in the oil industry would be achieved within a reasonable time frame.

    Responding, the Chairman of the inaugurated boards, Kachikwu assured that they would ensure transparency and accountability in running the affairs of the boards.

  • SSANU demands immediate removal of three VC’s

    SSANU demands immediate removal of three VC’s

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Vice-Chancellors of three universities in the country over alleged abuse of office, gross misconduct and corrupt practices.

    The Vice-Chancellor are: Prof Olusola Oyewole, Federal University of  Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Prof Biyi Daramola, Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Prof. Michael Adikwu, University of Ibadan (UNIABUJA).

    The National Vice-President of the union, Western Zone, Comrade Alfred Jimoh made the call Friday while addressing journalist at University of Ibadan, Ibadan.

    He accused Prof Oyewole of sacking their members when he discovered that they were the ones that exposed his alleged high level corruption and abuse of office alleged to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    “As at the last count, he has sacked twenty three (23) members of SSANU in FUNAAB without following due process and he is still threatening to sack more, yet he has not been able to disprove any of the allegations against him.

    “Also in FUTA, similar scenario is happening and Prof Daramola has been accused of corrupt practices and should be placed on suspension. At UNIABUJA, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Adikwu has suspended the Chairman and Secretary of SSANU without even half salary, for daring to ask question about the ongoing maladministration in the university of Abuja.

    “To the best of our knowledge, Nigerians voted President Muhamadu Buhari into power for three major reasons out of which are: Fight Against Corruption, which had become a very deadly cancer that had eaten deep into the fiber of the Nigerian society is among. It is with this in mind that SSANU as a responsible Union in the highest echelon of Nigerian education sector, has chosen to exercise a lot of constraints and understanding with the government thus far, even in the face of serious pressure from its members at the branch levels, believing that President Buhari and his government meant well with this well thought out Three-Points-Agenda.

    “This was what made SSANU to openly key into the Anti-corruption war of the Buhari Administration vide its Communique issued at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Edo State, between 11th-12th August, 2016″.

    SSANU’s demands to  President Buhari includes;” The immediate and unconditional recall and protection of all SSANU members sacked by the rampaging Vice Chancellors (FUNAAB and UNIABUJA), Adequate protection for the lives, properties and job of all SSANU members particularly, the whistle blowers. The immediate removal of the following Vice Chancellors: (Prof. Olusola Oyewole-FUNAAB, Prof. Biyi Daramola-FUTA, Prof. Michael Adikwu-UNIABUJA). Reversal of all impunities committed by these Vice Chancellors against our members, including the ones which they use their compromised Councils to do under the guise of University autonomy. Autonomy does not include protection for impunity and thieves.

    “Immediate arraignment of the Vice Chancellors by the EFCC and ICPC. Immediate setting up of a special Visitation Panel to visit these Universities (FUNAAB, FUTA and UNIABUJA) and indeed any other universities where such infractions are found henceforth. The recovery of all the looted funds of the Universities and the prosecution of all the Vice Chancellors and individuals fingered for corruption.”

  • Recession: Ex-minister urges Nigerians to be patient, prayerful

    Dr Hassan Lawal, a former minister of Labour and Productivity, has urged Nigerians to be patient and prayerful while President Muhammadu Buhari strives to fix the economy.

    Lawal made the appeal on Friday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the maiden Keffi Polo Tournament in Keffi, Keffi Local Government Area of the state.

    “ The policies and decisions being undertaken by the APC-led administration under President Muhammadu Buhari would soon end the economic recession that has brought hardship to the people.

    “ I want to use this medium to appeal to Nigerians to be more patient and prayerful as President Buhari strives to fix the economy so as to improve the standard of living of the people.

    “Sustained prayers by the adherents of the two major religions in the country will definitely assist the president, other elected and appointed leaders to overcome both economic and security challenges hindering the growth and speedy development of the country.

    “Nigeria is passing through a phase as most developed countries of the world today also passed through this phase.

    “ I believe that no condition is permanent, the economy will develop and the hardship will no longer be there as lots of blessings will come to the country,” he said.

    Lawal also appealed to the people of the state and Nigerians to bury their differences and unite for the overall development of the country.

    The former minister stressed the need for Nigerians to be united and live in peace with one another, adding that “without peace and unity, socio-economic development will continue to elude any society.’’

    “History has shown that countries that make progress are those whose communities live in peace with each other,’’ he added.

    He also commended Alhaji Ahmed Wadada, a former House of Representatives member, for the establishment of a polo ranch in Keffi,

    Lawal said the project would bring development closer to the people of the area and the state at large as well as create jobs.

    “ The establishment of a polo ranch in Keffi by Hon. Wadada is a very good development not only for Keffi but for Nasarawa State and Nigeria at large.

    “ We are very happy and proud of Hon.Wadada for establishing the polo ranch in Keffi.