Lecturers under the aegis of Congress of University Academics have asked the Federal Government to reopen tertiary institutions in the country .
CONUA is a breakaway faction of the Academic Staff Union of Universities .
CONUA made this known in a press statement after its National Executive Council meeting held in Abuja .
The statement , which was signed by CONUA ’ s National Coordinator , Niyi Sunmonu , was titled ‘ Stop intimidation of CONUA members ’ .
The lecturers urged FG to reopen universities as soon as possible .
The statement added , “ The meeting called on the government to reopen universities as soon as possible as CONUA members are ready to resume work.
“ It however added that everything necessary in terms of COVID- 19 protocols must be put in place before reopening the universities in order to prevent students and staff from contracting the disease .
“ CONUA further stated that the education sector cannot continue to stagnate , as it appears that COVID- 19 would continue to be a threat and we must , in the circumstance , learn to strive to lead our normal life.
“ Union thus urged the government to make available everything that can help our universities to resume work as is being done elsewhere in the world . ”
CONUA also condemned alleged intimidation and harassment of some of its members by “ some university administrations and some other unions within the University ” .
The statement added in part, “ While saluting those university administrations which held meetings to promote academic staff members during the COVID – 19 lockdown , the Union condemned in strong terms those administrations who failed to organise such exercises, despite that several academic staff have been waiting for their promotions for a long time , with some spanning five to ten years .
“ The Union received information to the effect that some universities held Senate meetings and Congregation elections but refused to convene any meeting to carry out the promotion of its members , simply because some people threatened that such promotions , if ever announced , will be reversed .
“ CONUA leadership felt outraged by such pronouncements and expressed its resolve to support any efforts by university administrations to facilitate the due promotion of academic staff members . ”
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu says the Ondo State Security Network Agency , also known as Operation Amotekun, will not be subsumed under the community policing arrangement of the Nigeria Police Force .
He also insisted that governors would not pay community policemen .
Before now , states across the country had clamoured for independent police systems to tackle peculiar security challenges in their localities .
Earlier in the year , six states in the South – West region came together to form a regional security operation code – named Operation Amotekun , which has since been backed by law in the respective states .
Akeredolu had on August 11 inaugurated Operation Amotekun in Akure , the Ondo State capital .
But with the recent approval of N13 . 3 bn by the Federal Government for the take- off of the community policing initiative across the country, the Deputy Inspector – General of Police in charge of Research and Planning, Adeleye Oyebade , said on Tuesday that all other security arrangements in the country would fall under the community policing set – up of the federal government .
“ I am going to tell you straight away. By the time the community policing strategy and implementation come fully into operation , everybody will follow suit . Everybody will join us and follow what we are preaching and what we practice , ” Oyebade said .
Responding Wednesday on Channels Television ’ s programme, Sunrise Daily , Akeredolu said , “ It will never be accepted , it is not our thinking . We have a law that sets this up . If the DIG feels otherwise , there is always a place for us to ventilate it. We are not afraid of this . The law says Amotekun will operate under its own law ; it is not going to be subsumed under any setup. No .
“ We will not collapse Amotekun for community policing . It will stand on its own. There is no intimidation . We are not people that can be intimidated ( or ) that the IG will give orders to . We will not . Amotekun is different. Community policing is different. If the IG does not understand , he will leave one day and other people will understand.
“ We will work together , it is collaboration , not that it will be subsumed. The law is there and if anybody finds a fault in that law , we can go to court and ventilate whatever position in it. The DIG is totally wrong , Amotekun will not be subsumed under the community policing . ”
On the use of arms by Amotekun corps, Akeredolu noted , “ We are trying to make a case but we ’ ve not yet agreed as to what should be with the issue of ammunition . For now , we allow Amotekun ( cops ) to carry non -prohibited ammunition . There are some ammunition that are non -prohibited. But we know it can look suicidal trying to confront these criminals with non – prohibited ammunition , so , we are looking at other means.
“ These are disciplined people and if they carry arms , it will be for protection . We will keep having this discussion with the police and at the national level . But if the Nigerian Police find it difficult to prevent herders who carry weapons with their cows , some of them have prohibited arms like AK – 47 and you have not been able to prevent that , so , what stops disciplined people like Amotekun ( operatives) to carry arms for protection ? At least when civil defence started , they were not carrying arms , they didn ’ t allow them carry arms but a case was made and they now carry arms . We will continue to discuss this . ”
The governor said , “ I am sure that they are taking this thing too far . Governors will have to pay ? We have discussed this thing before and we told them it is not going to possible . Are you increasing our allocations ? Which state governor will accept that ? Other states might say , ‘ Yes , we will pay ’ , but we will not pay .
“ Let ’ s be fair to ourselves, we are running a federal system . Where is that money going to come from when we are struggling to pay salaries ? Nobody has ever come to us to say we will pay salaries ( of community policemen) anyway and if they come , we will write to say, no , we don ’ t have extra money to do that . ”
The governor further explained the need for multi – level policing to effectively confront the security challenges in the country .
He added , “ No state takes pride in insecurity and the governors will be committed to (state policing ) because most governors are elected to secure the lives and property within their domains . So , which state will now have the police of its own and not deploy it to good use ?
“ Multi – level policing is the best for this country. I am one of those who believe we cannot have a central police and that security will continue to suffer until we devolve multi – level policing .
“ Maybe people are afraid that the governors will take charge of it. No , the governors will not be the ones who will be solely responsible for state police . It will be a police council at the state level , the composition will be spelled – out and people will be there by the virtue of their offices. So , it is not going to be a command that will be headed by a governor but by the functionality of the state police council . ”
The President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ), has decried what he described as the “terribly slow pace ” of justice administration in the Nigerian courts .
Buhari , who recalled how it took so long for the courts to decide and eventually dismiss the election petitions he filed to challenge his losses in the 2003 , 2007 , and 2011 presidential polls , declared that the Nigerian justice system needed an urgent reform.
He suggested that the judiciary should put a 12 – month time limit on the hearing of criminal cases from the high court to the Supreme Court , while all civil cases should be concluded within 15 months.
Buhari spoke at the 60 th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, with the theme, “ Stepping Forward . ”
His speech was read at the virtual conference by the Vice – President , Prof . Yemi Osinbajo (SAN ).
Speaking about his experience , Buhari said , “ At the end, I lost all three cases. I wondered then , why it needed to take so long to arrive at a verdict and if I had won the case , someone who did not legitimately win the election would have been in office all that time .
“ In 2019 , I was no longer petitioner ; I had now become a respondent in the case of Atiku and Buhari and the whole process took barely six months; just over six months. What was the difference ? The law had changed since my own in 2003 , 2007 and 2011 . You had now introduced time limits for election petitions . Everything must be done within a six to eight – month period . My question then is why can ’ t we have a time limit for criminal cases? Why can ’ t we have a rule that will say a criminal trial all the way to the Supreme Court must not exceed 12 months? And why can ’ t we do the same for civil cases? Even if we say that civil cases must not go beyond between 12 and 15 months. I think that for me is stepping forward. ”
The president equally lamented the churning out of multiple and conflicting court orders by judges, noting that in the recent leadership crisis that rocked the ruling All Progressives Congress , no fewer than eight conflicting court orders were made by different judges in a space of six weeks .
Buhari also proposed a reform of the process of judges ’ appointment , recommending that aspiring judges should take tests.
Talks between West African mediators and Mali’s military coup leaders has ended after three days of discussions without any decision on the make-up of a transitional government, a junta spokesman said.
West Africa’s regional bloc dispatched negotiators to Mali at the weekend in a bid to reverse President Ibrahim Keita’s removal from power last week.
But talks had focused on who would lead Mali and for how long, rather than the possibility of reinstating the president, diplomats said.
The coup has raised the prospects of further political turmoil in Mali which, like other countries in the region, is facing an expanding threat from militants.
Col. Ismael Wague said mediators would report to regional heads of state ahead of a summit on Mali this week but, highlighting the backing the soldiers enjoy, the final decision on the interim administration would be decided locally.
“Nothing has been decided. Everyone has given their point of view. The final decision of the structure of the transition will be made by us Malians here,’’ Wague.
Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who led the regional mediation team, said they requested and were granted access to Keita.
President Keita told us that he has resigned. That he was not forced to do so.
“That he does not want to return to politics and that he wants a quick transition to allow the country to return to civilian rule,” Jonathan told reporters.
However, The junta that seized power in Mali wants a military-led transitional body to rule for three years and has agreed to release the ousted President, a source in a visiting West African delegation and the rebel soldiers, has said.
Last week’s coup, Mali’s second in eight years, followed months of protests calling for Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to resign as public discontent with the government grew over the collapsing economy and a brutal Islamist insurgency.
“The junta has affirmed that it wants a three-year transition to review the foundations of the Malian state. This transition will be directed by a body led by a soldier, who will also be head of state,” a source in the ECOWAS delegation told AFP after talks with the junta.
“The government will also be predominantly composed of soldiers” under the proposal, the source said on condition of anonymity.
A junta official confirmed to AFP that “the three-year transition would have a military president and a government mostly composed of soldiers.”
The source and the official added that the soldiers have agreed to free Keita, detained along with other political leaders since the coup on Tuesday, and he would be able to return to his home in the capital Bamako.
“If he wants to travel abroad for (medical) treatment, that is not a problem,” said the source from ECOWAS.
Talks between West African mediators and Mali’s military coup leaders has ended after three days of discussions without any decision on the make-up of a transitional government, a junta spokesman said.
West Africa’s regional bloc dispatched negotiators to Mali at the weekend in a bid to reverse President Ibrahim Keita’s removal from power last week.
But talks had focused on who would lead Mali and for how long, rather than the possibility of reinstating the president, diplomats said.
The coup has raised the prospects of further political turmoil in Mali which, like other countries in the region, is facing an expanding threat from militants.
Col. Ismael Wague said mediators would report to regional heads of state ahead of a summit on Mali this week but, highlighting the backing the soldiers enjoy, the final decision on the interim administration would be decided locally.
“Nothing has been decided. Everyone has given their point of view. The final decision of the structure of the transition will be made by us Malians here,’’ Wague.
Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who led the regional mediation team, said they requested and were granted access to Keita.
President Keita told us that he has resigned. That he was not forced to do so.
“That he does not want to return to politics and that he wants a quick transition to allow the country to return to civilian rule,” Jonathan told reporters.
However, The junta that seized power in Mali wants a military-led transitional body to rule for three years and has agreed to release the ousted President, a source in a visiting West African delegation and the rebel soldiers, has said.
Last week’s coup, Mali’s second in eight years, followed months of protests calling for Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to resign as public discontent with the government grew over the collapsing economy and a brutal Islamist insurgency.
“The junta has affirmed that it wants a three-year transition to review the foundations of the Malian state. This transition will be directed by a body led by a soldier, who will also be head of state,” a source in the ECOWAS delegation told AFP after talks with the junta.
“The government will also be predominantly composed of soldiers” under the proposal, the source said on condition of anonymity.
A junta official confirmed to AFP that “the three-year transition would have a military president and a government mostly composed of soldiers.”
The source and the official added that the soldiers have agreed to free Keita, detained along with other political leaders since the coup on Tuesday, and he would be able to return to his home in the capital Bamako.
“If he wants to travel abroad for (medical) treatment, that is not a problem,” said the source from ECOWAS.
Tunisia ’ s prime minister – designate has unveiled the country’ s second government in six months, which must now seek approval from lawmakers incensed by how the administration was formed .
Hichem Mechichi had previously declared his intention to form a cabinet dominated by independent technocrats able to “ present urgent solutions” for a country where a sluggish economy has been further battered by the coronavirus pandemic .
The former interior minister ’ s decision to bypass consultations with political factions had angered , among others, the powerful Islamist party Ennahdha , which has demanded a “ political” government reflecting the balance of forces in parliament.
But Ennahdha and other parties have also spoken of the need to approve the government to avoid dragging the already crisis – hit country into disruptive early elections .
Mechichi told reporters he had decided to form a new cabinet composed of “ independent expertise” , with only a few outgoing ministers included in the line – up .
The 46 – year – old Mechichi is the third head of government to be appointed since polls last October , which resulted in a parliament divided among deeply antagonistic blocs .
The impasse further hampered a fledgling democracy — ushered in by a revolution 10 years ago — that has since struggled with regional inequalities and a pandemic that has wiped out thousands of jobs .
Ennahdha won the most seats in last year ’ s poll but fell far short of a majority and eventually agreed to join a coalition administration .
Parliament is set to vote on Mechichi ’ s line – up in the next 10 days .
The House of Representatives has defended its decision to suspend activities of its standing and ad hoc committees , saying there was no hidden agenda .
It also faulted its Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements for investigating the $ 500 m loan facility Nigeria recently secured from China , saying it had already been approved by the National Assembly and captured in the 2020 Appropriation Act .
But before activities of the committees were suspended on Thursday , the Committee on Treaties , Protocols and Agreements had written the Ministry of Transportation , demanding documents containing loan agreements with China from 2000 to date .
Among the facilities the committee is probing is the $ 500 m loan secured from China – EXIM Bank to finance railway projects under the Ministry of Transportation .
The Peoples Democratic Party had, on Saturday, asked the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila , to step aside for allegedly frustrating investigations into executive corruption.
The party stated this in a statement titled, ‘ PDP Berates Gbajabiamila For Frustrating Corruption Investigation in the House of Representatives … Asks Speaker to Step Aside, ’ signed by its National Publicity Secretary , Kola Ologbondiyan.
But the Majority Leader , Alhassan Ado – Doguwa, who is also the leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress caucus in the House, in a statement on Monday , berated the PDP for faulting the decision of the House to stop committees from investigative hearings .
The statement was titled, ‘’ You ’ re suffering from horrific political hallucinations – Doguwa replies the PDP. ’
Ado – Doguwa said , “ It is at first repulsive for an opposition party , the PDP, that has seemingly lost the actual meaning and essence of opposition , to have brought in undue politics into a matter of national interest, especially at the time of prevailing health and economic challenges .
“ Although one should not have glorified them with a response by wasting precious time required for fixing the economic woes which they recklessly plunged the country into , it has become imperative , for the sake of educating their sympathizers , to set the record unambiguously straight.
“ It is ridiculous to discover that the PDP, a supposedly major opposition party in the country, does not know the workings of the National Assembly , let alone know where the constitution and the House procedures have been breached. ”
“ Hence , making reference to the recent $ 500 m China loan by the PDP spokesman which has already been approved by the National Assembly through a transparent and formal request was either a deliberate misrepresentation of facts or an utter ignorance of history .
“ Therefore , it is pertinent to know that the government has already captured the recent loan in the 2020 appropriation law and it should not be a subject of any controversy or query in the committee’ s investigation process , at least for now. And as a matter of norm and procedure , the House can only wait until disbursements and utilisation commence before embarking on oversight implementation . ”
The Academic Staff Union of Universities has vowed to sustain its ongoing strike action until the Federal Government addresses all its demands.
The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Biodun Ogunyemi , stated this at the University of Port Harcourt during its interactive session with critical stakeholders, meant to provide public enlightenment on the struggles of the union .
Ogunyemi said ASUU was demanding the Federal Government to implement its 2012 universities needs assessment , adding that the union ’ s demands were genuine and in the interest of the nation.
“ Students who are our children and partners in progress should show understanding , what we are asking from the government is in their interest and the interest of the nation, good hostel accommodation , good classroom blocks that can engender effective learning, laboratories where cutting edge research can be carried out and offices that can drive the process of quality university education .
“ So , what we are asking of the government are not baseless things , but those things that in 2012 , the government conducted during a needs assessment survey and found out that there are widespread rot and decay in the university system , we asking that the government implement its own report of 2012 . ”
“ Salary issues are still there, we have not fully addressed that , it appears that some forces in government are bent on suffering our members by withholding their salaries . But we believe that once we sort out the issues of Universities Transparency and Accountability Solution , other issues will fall in place.
“ The 2009 agreement we had with government stipulates that that agreement would be reviewed every three years , but since then , we have not been able to review the salary scale and that is why we are saying that the negotiation we started with the government in 2017 ought to have been completed and with the completion of that negotiation process .
“ A new salary scale should be in place and we are insisting that the process is completed before this ongoing strike is suspended among other things . ”
The management of Chevron Nigeria Limited says it has engaged the leaders of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers over the 175 workers laid off by one of its contract companies.
Mr Esimaje Brikinn , the company ’ s General Manager , Policy , Government and Public Affairs , made this known in an interview with NAN in Lagos .
Brikinn said the laid- off workers were not employees of Chevron but workers of an independent contractor providing services to Chevron .
He said the contract company laid off its workers following the suspension of the service contract agreement between it and Chevron .
“ CNL is a responsible and law – abiding company .
“ In keeping with our commitment to resolving issues through meaningful dialogue and respect for the rule of law , we are engaging the leaders of NUPENG and the contractor company to fully understand and seek an amicable resolution of the issues.
“ The company ’ s highest priority remains the welfare and safety of its employees , contractors and the security of its assets ; we will, therefore , do our best to safeguard these interests , ” Brikinn said .
The police have re – arrested Sunday Shodipe, the prime suspect in the series of ritual killings at the Akinyele Local government Area of Oyo State .
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state , Mr Olugbenga Fadeyi , confirmed this to newsmen .
The Inspector – General of Police , Mohammed Adamu , had dispatched additional investigative aids to Oyo State , including crack detectives to track down the fleeing serial killer.
The fugitive , who is the prime suspect in the multiple murder of innocent citizens at Akinyele Local Government Area , Moniya , Ibadan , Oyo State , had escaped from police custody in suspicious circumstances.
But the force spokesman , DCP Frank Mba , in a statement , said , “ The IGP , who condemned the unfortunate escape from the lawful custody of the suspect , has directed the Commissioner of Police , Oyo State Command , to intensify efforts and ensure the prompt re- arrest of the fleeing suspect .
“ The CP has also been directed to speed up investigations into the circumstances that led to the escape of the suspect . All persons indicted in the escape are to be identified and made to face the wrath of the law . ”
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