Nelson Ugwuagbo

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has notified the Federal Government of its intention to embark on a nationwide strike, issuing a 21-day notice.

This decision was made at the end of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the University of Ibadan.

According to sources within the NEC, the notice is not an ultimatum but a requirement under labor laws, ensuring that all actions are taken in accordance with legal procedures.

ASUU had previously threatened to go on strike due to the non-implementation of agreements reached with the federal government. Despite a meeting with the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, on June 26 to address the issues, the agreements remain unimplemented.

Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the national president of ASUU, stated that the meeting with the Minister of Education resulted in an agreement to reconvene after two weeks to assess the government’s progress. However, the government has yet to implement the agreed-upon measures.

Some of the unmet demands include the non-implementation of the 2009 re-negotiated agreements, which have been pending for over six years. Additionally, academic allowances owed to ASUU members have accumulated for over six years, with no action taken.

Regarding the revitalization fund, ASUU agreed to the Needs Assessment Report, which proposed raising N200 billion yearly for five years. However, only one payment has been made since 2013.

ASUU also demands that the government halt the proliferation of universities, as many new institutions are being approved without sufficient funding to operate effectively.

The deputy speaker of the house of representative, Benjamin Kalu in a video, on Monday, said he had already told Governor Otti of Abia State in private that he would not be the governor of the state if he remains in the Labour Party.

Kalu went on to boast that the ruling APC will take over Abia State come 2027.

He added that Ndi Abia also owe the President for appointing him to the number six position in the country and for the South East Development Commission (SEDC).

Kalu stated that while Otti has been delivering good governance he cannot allow Labour Party to be in charge of the state in 2027 election. He said he has to pay the debt he owes the President and the APC.

In reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Otti, Ukoha Njoku, said Ndi Abia will teach the Deputy Speaker in 2027 election.

On his X handle, Njoku wrote, “This would have been funny if not that it is sad.

“However, it must be said that the ultimate deciders of this theory becoming reality or remaining a bad dream, will be the good people of Abia State.

Until then, anyone can say anything. May God keep us alive to be witnesses.

Otti Will Be Reelected Governor – LP Lawmaker, Obi Trashes Kalu’s Claim, Makes Revelation About APC’s Plan to Take Over Abia State

Meanwhile, Labour Party Lawmaker, Hon Obi Aguocha, has fired back at Deputy Speaker Ben Kalu’s claim that APC will take over Abia State in 2027, describing it as a desperate and brazen display of political ambition.

Aguocha, representing Umuahia/Ikwuano Federal Constituency, challenged Kalu to declare his governorship ambition openly, rather than hiding behind his position as Deputy Speaker.

The LP Lawmaker accused Kalu of disrespecting and denigrating the office of the incumbent Governor, Alex Otti, with his open vituperation, and lacking the audacity to declare the seat of the Governor vacant in 2027.

Aguocha’s response came after Kalu’s trending video, where he vowed that APC will take over the Governorship seat in Abia come 2027, sparking rumours of his ambition to contest the seat.

The LP Lawmaker revealed that Kalu’s camp has been boasting about his chances of winning the APC ticket in the state, despite reservations about his political structure and skill to defeat Governor Otti.

Aguocha commended Governor Otti’s achievements, including the removal of ghost workers, infrastructural development, investments in education and health, and his target to turn Aba into the Taiwan of Africa.

The LP Lawmaker advised Kalu to focus on his legislative duties and constituents, rather than engaging in “pugnacious instability” and “intemperate political culture”.

He assured that Abians will repay Governor Otti for his achievements come 2027, and warned Kalu that there is no vacancy in Abia State in 2027.

Aguocha also reminded Kalu that the Labour Party won Bende Federal Constituency (Kalu’s constituency) in 2023 and can declare that seat vacant again.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has issued permits to several companies, including Golden Penny Power Limited and MTN Communications Nigeria Limited, to generate mini-grid electricity.

In the first quarter of 2024, NERC issued nine new off-grid generation licenses with a combined capacity of 109.69 megawatts, as well as three new trading licenses.

Golden Penny Power Limited received a license to build six off-grid gas plants in Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, and Cross River states, with a total capacity of 100MW.

MTN Communications Nigeria Limited was granted a permit to build four captive generation plants in Lagos State, with a combined capacity of 15.94MW.

Other companies, including SweetCo Foods Limited, African Steel Mills Nigeria Limited, West African Ceramics Limited, Royal Engineered Stones Limited, and Armilo Plastics Limited, were also permitted to generate captive power.

These captive power generation permits allow entities to own and maintain power plants for generating power for their own consumption, rather than for sale to a third party.

In the first quarter of 2024, NERC issued nine captive power generation permits with a total nameplate capacity of 52.57MW.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Edo state, has set Thursday, 24th of August 2024 to Monday, 26th August 2024 for Permanent Voters Card (PVC) collection.

This information was made known in a memo signed by Timidi Wariowei, the INEC head for voter education and publicity.

The five day exercise will take place at the ward headquarters.
Thereafter, the exercise will move to INEC headquarters in each Local Government for another three days, from Wednesday 28th August, to Friday 30th August, 2024.

Collection of PVCs in Edo State are in line with preparations for the upcoming Edo State Governorship elections, slated to hold September 21st, 2024.

A total of 184,438 voters were registered during the recently concluded Continuous Voters Registration in Edo State.
The figure included 119,206 new registrations, 8,847 inter-state transfers, and 46,171 intra-state transfers.

Additionally, 4,808 voters requested corrections to their details, and 5,406 voters applied for replacements of lost or damaged PVCs.

From August 22 to August 26, registered voters could pick up their cards at any of the 192 Wards in Edo State from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily, including weekends, he announced.

After this period, the collection would move to INEC’s Local Government offices across the state, where voters can collect their PVCs from August 28 to September 8, 2024.

The commission however stressed that PVC collection must be done in person as there will be no collection by proxy

Afe Babalola, Founder of ABUAD, criticized the Federal Government’s palliative distribution, saying it is creating a culture of dependency and poverty among Nigerians, turning them into beggars.

This was just as he declared support for The Patriots, led by former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku, which recently pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to, as a matter of urgency, consider the enactment of a new constitution.

The legal icon, who spoke when the Prestige Sisters League visited him at the ABUAD campus, said that those protesting against hunger are doing so genuinely because everyone knows there is hunger in the country.

He said: “Those who are complaining about hunger are doing so sincerely. They are hungry. A hungry man can go to any length to show his anger. We do not need anybody to tell us that there is hunger in the country. The protest was genuine and government should listen to them.

“The duty of government is the welfare of the people. The problem we have now is that people cannot move freely. They have abandoned the farms. People are being killed in their farms and everybody wants to stay where they are safe. It is because the government has failed in this regard that we have hunger.

“It is wrong for government to be sharing garri, beans and rice as palliatives. They are turning the people to beggars. The government that is giving the people rice and beans is leading us to poverty. The government is discouraging people from working, whereas, the duty of government is to provide the people enabling environment for people to work and feed themselves.

Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Limited, a Chinese firm, has released one of the three Nigerian aircraft, an Airbus A330, detained in France, following a court order. This move allows President Bola Tinubu to attend a scheduled meeting.

The release of the presidential jet was a goodwill gesture from the company to the President, according to a statement issued by Zhongshan on Friday.

Nigeria’s authorities had notified the company that President Tinubu had a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and needed one of the presidential jets to attend.

Zhongshan emphasized that it has consistently sought to act reasonably and fairly in its legal dispute with Nigeria, which was not of its making.

The company stated that it lifted the seizure of the aircraft immediately as a gesture of goodwill, allowing it to be used for the President’s trip.

Zhongshan remains committed to talks with the Nigerian government to reach a reasonable compromise rapidly.

Earlier, the Federal Government had initiated legal steps to address the interim attachment of the three presidential aircraft in France.

Elon Musk’s Starlink is expanding its presence in Nigeria by building ground stations in Lagos, Ogun, and Rivers states to enhance internet connectivity.

The company has acquired approximately 29,000 acres of land in these states to establish the facilities, which will be constructed in partnership with Equinix, a leading data center solutions provider.

The ground stations will be located in Okun Ajah (Lagos), Sagamu (Ogun), and Port Harcourt (Rivers), strategically positioned to improve internet access in the region.

Construction has begun in Lagos and is expected to be completed by Q4 2024, with the other locations projected to be ready in 2025.

This significant investment underscores Starlink’s commitment to strengthening its global network and improving internet access in Nigeria.

An appellate court in the United States authorised Zhongshan, a Chinese company, to proceed with its efforts to confiscate Nigeria’s assets abroad after it rejected Nigeria’s sovereign immunity argument.

The decision made August 9, 2024, came after judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Washington found that Nigeria had violated both the fundamental and commercial rights of executives at a Chinese firm that had entered into a trade zone agreement with Nigeria.

The latest development worsens a crisis that the Nigerian government has been attempting to manage in Europe and prevent from spilling to other jurisdictions.

A French court had earlier authorised the seizure of the three presidential jets due to the ongoing dispute between Zhongshan and the Ogun State government.

The Chinese workers of Zhongshan proceeded to the US court to retrieve an outstanding arbitration award for breach of contract after initially winning their case in the United Kingdom in 2021.

They were awarded $55.6 million in compensation from Nigeria and $75,000 in moral damages, along with interest and legal and arbitration fees, court filings said. The UK court said it was satisfied with the evidence submitted by the Chinese before awarding them nearly $60 million.

However, Nigeria argued before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington that its sovereign immunity forbade the matter from being entertained in a US court.

But the federal judge denied Nigeria’s argument, saying the country is a signatory to the New York Convention that allows arbitration between persons, which may include a sovereign entity.

Nigeria subsequently filed an interlocutory appeal in the matter on April 22, 2024, and two of the three-man panel decided that the matter should proceed because Nigeria had lost its immunity grounds when it joined Ogun in violating the contractual agreement.

The court stated that Nigeria can be held liable for the breach against the Chinese since Ogun is a federating unit of Nigeria.

“Whether the arbitration exception applies in this case therefore turns on whether a treaty—specifically, the New York Convention—governs the Final Award,” the majority, Patricia Millett and Michelle Childs, said. “We hold that it does because the Final Award arose from (1) a legal relationship, (2) that is considered as commercial, and (3) is between persons.”

The judges also concluded that “Zhongshan and Nigeria shared a legal relationship because Nigeria owed Zhongshan legal duties under the Investment Treaty.”

In a shocking incident, gunmen kidnapped over 20 medical and dental students, as well as a House Officer, while they were en route to a convention in Enugu State, Southeastern Nigeria.

The students, who were traveling together from the University of Maiduguri and University of Jos, were ambushed by the gunmen in the Otukpo area of Benue State around 5:30 p.m.

They were headed to the Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students (FECAMDS) annual convention when the incident occurred.

The Benue State Police Command has confirmed the kidnapping and launched an investigation, with spokesperson SP Catherine Anene stating that the report was received between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Details later …

The Enugu State government has given a 90-day ultimatum to Churches and Mosque in the state to: remove all outdoor loudspeakers and implement soundproofing measures within their premises.

This move aims to minimize noise pollution and maintain a more serene environment in the state.

The decision was made during a stakeholders’ meeting on Thursday, aimed at implementing the Enugu State Anti-Noise Pollution Policy.

The meeting, organised by the Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, brought together Christian and Muslim leaders, government officials, and media practitioners to address noise pollution in the state.

Recall that the Enough state government had in December 2023 as part of its urban renewal policy, directed all night clubs, beer parlours and other entertainment operators to mitigate their noise pollution in the capital city, particularly in residential areas.

However, in his address during the engagement, the Chairman of Enugu Capital Territory Development Authority, ECTDA, Hon. Uche Anya, lamented that his office has received over 1000 letters of complaints from around the state capital over noise pollution from different churches.

He said that noise pollution is the biggest challenge in Enugu state capital today and we cannot continue that way.

“We have received over 1000 petitions from across the state from residential neighbours complaining about their inability to sleep at nights because of the noise pollution emanating from the churches and business operations.

“We call you here to dialogue so that this Policy will be successfully implemented. Enugu State Government will need your active collaboration, support and full understanding to enable us place Enugu State in a position to effectively contain the challenges of urbanisation.

“We must ensure we eliminate noise in the state. We cannot allow any bar with free to air. If you must operate in a residential areas you must put acoustics to ensure that noise from your business and church does not affect your neighbours.”