Headlines

The FCT wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has directed its members across the six area councils to embark on an industrial strike from today; September 11, over non-payment of 25 months arrears.

They are also protesting the non-implementation of a 40 per cent peculiar allowance by the council chairmen.

The union gave the directive in a communique issued at the end of its emergency State Wing Executive Council (SWEC) meeting held at Teachers’ House in Gwagwalada.

The communique was jointly signed by the NUT state chairman, Comrade Stephen Knabayi, and secretary, Margaret F. Jethro.

The communique added that the council chairmen had also failed to pay other outstanding allowances, which they said included non-implementation of promotion arrears, non-upgrading of concerned teachers, non-implementation of annual increments, non-implementation of promotion letters released for teachers, among others.

“And having explored and exhausted all available avenues of getting these outstanding demands of the concerned teachers met without the desired result including non-commitment of the councils to the welfare of primary school teachers, the SWEC in-session resolved to direct all primary school teachers to embark on an infinite strike action from Monday; September 11, 2023,” the communique read in part.

The union vowed not to call off the strike until its demands are met while calling on parents across the FCT to remain guided by keeping their wards and children safe at home.

The Imo State National and State House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal has sacked a member of the House of Representatives, Ikenga Ugochinyere.

Ugochinyere contested the election under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The tribunal ordered a supplementary election within 90 days in the state as it declared that Ugochinyere was not qualified to contest the Ideato North/South Federal Constituency election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared Ugochinyere winner of the election with 13, 026 votes.

Obi Chigozie of the Labour Party, LP, came second with 5,696 votes, while the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Abazu Benson. came third with 2, 368 votes.

The APC candidate, Benson, approached the tribunal to seek a redress with a petition marked: EPT/IM/HR/10/2023.

INEC, Ugochinyere, PDP, candidate of the Labour Party, Obi Paschal Chigozie and his party, the LP, were listed as the 1st to 5th respondents.

In the petition, the APC candidate insisted that Ugochinyere was not qualified to run in the election and also argued that all the votes that were credited to him were wasted votes.

The APC candidate told the court that contrary to the provision of the Electoral Act 2022, the PDP conducted its primary election at a venue that was outside the constituency.

In a unanimous decision on Sunday, the three-member panel of the tribunal which conducted its proceedings in Nasarawa State, held that Ugochinyere was not validly nominated by the PDP to contest the election.

Delivering its judgement, chairman of the panel, Justice Anthony Akpovi, specifically directed the electoral umpire to conduct the supplementary poll within 90 days.

The tribunal also noted that the PDP and its candidate should be excluded from the supplementary election.

A video has emerged indicating that the Niger republic’s coupists have started deploying military along its border with neighbouring country, Benin, amidst imminent military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.

The development was disclosed by a counter-insurgency expert and security analyst in Lake Chad, Zagazola Makama.

Leading reporters recalls that ECOWAS had threatened a possible military action against the junta who seized power in Niger and suspended the constitution.

Last month, ECOWAS ordered its standby force to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger.

The order followed the resolution of ECOWAS on the Niger coup after its extraordinary meeting in Abuja.

However, the regional bloc’s army is yet to invade Niger.

Makama on his social media platform X, on Monday, posted a video that showed Niger’s military were deploying at Beninese border in preparation against the military intervention by the ECOWAS.

“Niger deploys Military to the Niger- Beninese Border amidst eminent Military intervention plans of ECOWAS,” he wrote.

The Royal Navy warship, HMS Trent has arrived Nigeria’s shore in Lagos, Nigeria.

This is Trent’s second visit to Nigeria is part of its regional mission to aid allies and partners in driving down illegal activities including piracy and illicit trafficking.

According to a statement from the British High Commission on on Sunday, September 10, the visit would help deliver capacity training and support maritime security in the region.

The commission said the HMS Trent departed Gibraltar carrying an expert boarding team of UK Royal Marines and a Puma surveillance drone, adding that “HMS Trent’s mission is to support West African allies helping countries to develop the capability to fight crimes at sea and ensure they can play an effective role in bringing stability to wider West Africa.

“With around £6bn of UK trade passing through the region, part of Trent’s tasking is to support stability across the Gulf of Guinea through training to help partner navies take the fight to criminal actors, fostering ties and sharing knowledge, whilst conducting patrols to increase security.”

HMS Trent’s Commanding Officer, Commander Tim Langford, said, “The Royal Navy has a long history of engagement within the region and an enduring partnership with the Armed Forces of Nigeria. My team are really looking forward to the opportunity to work with their Nigerian counterparts and build on the relationships established when we visited Lagos in 2021.”

UK Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Jonny Baxter noted that the deployment demonstrated how a truly Global Britain is stepping up on the world stage to tackle shared international security challeng”Nigeria is an important and valued defence partner for the UK in West Africa. Our two countries face many shared threats and we are keen to work with Nigeria to defeat these and to help improve maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.”

A boat accident has claimed the lives of 24 people and left others missing in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State.

According to witnesses the incident which occurred on Sunday, September 10 afternoon has left the affected communities in mourning as the indigenes are searching for the whereabouts of their loved ones.

The number of persons that boarded the ill-fated boat at the time of filling this report is still sketchy.

Also, the cause of the boat mishap is still unknown although sources around the area said the passengers were not wearing any life jackets when the accident occurred.

Chairman of the Mokwa Local Government Area, Jibrim Muregi, who confirmed the boat mishap in a telephone interview said divers were making efforts to rescue more victims or recover more bodies.

Muregi confirmed that 21 dead bodies were recovered, and three community members of Gbajibo, Ekwa and Yankeiade were affected.

THE Socio-Economic Rights Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked state governors to publish the spending details of the N2 billion disbursed by the Federal Government as part of interventions to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians.

The statement as well issued a a seven-day ultimatum.

The organisation disclosed this via its official X handle on Sunday, September 10.

“We’ve given Nigeria’s 36 state governors seven days to publish details on the spending of the N72 billion fuel subsidy palliative disbursed to them by the Federal Government, including the names of beneficiaries and the reliefs provided with the money,” SERAP posted.

A letter signed by the organisation’s Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare dated September 9, SERAP noted that transparency and accountability in the spending of the palliative funds would check inclinations to corruption, adding that legal steps would be taken if the deadline is not met.

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and your state to comply with our request in the public interest.

“The oversight afforded by public access to the details of the spending of the N2 billion palliative and any subsequent disbursement would serve as an important check on the activities of your state and help to prevent abuses of the public trust,” the letter read.

After the recruitment process to fill vacant positions in public secondary schools in the state, Ekiti State Government has recruited 500 successful candidates following the recruitment.

The Permanent Secretary, Ekiti State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Mr Mike Omolayo made this disclosure that the employment letters of the successful candidates were ready for collection by the candidates.

The TESCOM PS made the disclosure on Sunday, September 10 in a ‘public service announcement’ signed on his behalf by the Chief Information Officer, Princess Adejoke Ajayi.

According to the statement, “Following the recent release of the lists of successful candidates recruited into the teaching service by the Ekiti State TESCOM, successful candidates who have completed their documentation processes are hereby directed to collect their letters of appointment at TESCOM, Ado Ekiti on Monday 11th September, 2023 by 10 am.

The new teachers are expected to resume on September 18 when the new academic session begins in the state, Ajayi disclosed.

The qualifying examination was followed by two other stages of oral interview and micro-teaching for successful candidates, which Omolayo said, was “for the purpose of promoting merit and ability over mediocrity.”

President Bola Tinubu has stressed the importance of Ngeria’s strategic as Africa’s largest economy and democracy and its role in shaping a more equitable world to the G-2

Disclosing this on on Saturday, September 9, the special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement titled ‘President Tinubu to G-20 leaders: As Africa’s largest market, economy and democracy, Nigeria is ready to play vital role in G-2.

“Nigeria is poised, able, and willing to be a major player in this family of the G-20 and in shaping a new world, without whom, the family will remain incomplete. “

While acknowledging the vital role of the G-20 in shaping a rules-based world order that promotes shared prosperity and security, Tinubu argued that most of today’s pressing issues are “international in character and cannot be addressed without multilateral cooperation.”

Therefore, stronger collaboration, cooperation, and partnerships among diverse regions are the pathways to a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable future for the world, he added.

Tinubu said this explains why the role and contributions of the G-20 in shaping a fair new world order can not be over-emphasized.

“A world that lives as one family, but is divided by staggering income inequalities and uneven access to basic social goods by the vast majority of our people cannot result in a peaceful and secure world where shared prosperity is achieved,” Tinubu observed.

He said such rules and global governance structures of the world’s collective dreams must be collectively designed, owned, and managed