The Federal Executive Council has approved N2 . 9 billion contracts for the printing of sensitive and non – sensitive examination materials .
The council also approved N 1 . 6 bn for the rehabilitation and upgrade of some roads within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja .
The decisions were taken at the council ’ s meeting presided over by the President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ).
Minister of Information and Culture , Lai Mohammed ; Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu ; and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, briefed State House correspondents at the end of the meeting at the Presidential Villa , Abuja.
Adamu said the printing contracts were awarded to a group of eight printers.
According to the minister , the materials are meant for the Basic Education Certification Examination , the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination , and the National Common Entrance , adding that “ because of the recent disturbances, we have postponed the examinations that have not taken place . ”
Academic Staff Union of Universities and Federal Government have resumed their negotiation over the strike embarked upon by the lecturers .
They had adjourned their meeting till Monday after the meeting last Wednesday ended in a deadlock.
The parley is expected to decide on the platform for the disbursement of the funds pledged by the FG.
The FG team had offered to pay the salary arrears and the N30 billion earned allowances of the university lecturers through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System platform pending the roll – out of ASUU ’ s preferred platform , the University Transparency and Accountability Solution .
But the ASUU delegation reportedly insisted that the university teachers would not enrol on the government salary platform .
The Minister of State , Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo , announced the continuation of the meeting on Monday .
“ Our discussions/negotiations with the Academic Staff Union of Universities continue today , ” he tweeted .
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige , is leading the FG’ s team while the ASUU president , Biodun Ogunyemi , leads the lecturers .
Reports says that, the meeting between FG and ASUU deadlocked last Wednesday , following the disagreement over the payment platform that would be used in disbursing the salary arrears and the N30 bn Earned Allowances of the university lecturers .
The spokesman , Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr Charles Akpan, explained that the meeting adjourned till Monday to enable the union leaders to get across to their members on the mode of payment .
Among other things , the government had agreed to pay N40 bn, being the pending Earned Academic Allowance of the university teachers overdue since November 2019 .
Out of the amount, N 30 bn would be paid on or before November 6 , while the remaining N10 bn would be spread equally over two tranches to be paid in May 2021 and February 2022 .
Academic Staff Union of Universities and Federal Government have resumed their negotiation over the strike embarked upon by the lecturers .
They had adjourned their meeting till Monday after the meeting last Wednesday ended in a deadlock.
The parley is expected to decide on the platform for the disbursement of the funds pledged by the FG.
The FG team had offered to pay the salary arrears and the N30 billion earned allowances of the university lecturers through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System platform pending the roll – out of ASUU ’ s preferred platform , the University Transparency and Accountability Solution .
But the ASUU delegation reportedly insisted that the university teachers would not enrol on the government salary platform .
The Minister of State , Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo , announced the continuation of the meeting on Monday .
“ Our discussions/negotiations with the Academic Staff Union of Universities continue today , ” he tweeted .
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige , is leading the FG’ s team while the ASUU president , Biodun Ogunyemi , leads the lecturers .
Reports says that, the meeting between FG and ASUU deadlocked last Wednesday , following the disagreement over the payment platform that would be used in disbursing the salary arrears and the N30 bn Earned Allowances of the university lecturers .
The spokesman , Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr Charles Akpan, explained that the meeting adjourned till Monday to enable the union leaders to get across to their members on the mode of payment .
Among other things , the government had agreed to pay N40 bn, being the pending Earned Academic Allowance of the university teachers overdue since November 2019 .
Out of the amount, N 30 bn would be paid on or before November 6 , while the remaining N10 bn would be spread equally over two tranches to be paid in May 2021 and February 2022 .
Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola, has warned looters still in possession of stolen items to return them before the commencement of the house – to – house search by security agents on Thursday .
Oyetola made this known while inspecting some of the recovered loots deposited at the parking lot of the Government House, Osogbo .
Oyetola, who said about 20 per cent of the looted items have been returned , enjoined other looters to take advantage of the hours left in the amnesty period , adding that there would be no extension.
According to a statement by his office , the governor stressed that those who refused to embrace the offer of the government would face the full wrath of the law .
The statement quoted Oyetola as saying, “ For us , this voluntary return of the of loots is a welcome development. The intention is to assist the various owners of these items to have the opportunity of getting their properties and belongings because we believe strongly that it is going to be a big setback for them to have all these properties lost . ”
Warning the looters , the governor added , “ What they should realise is that , there are a lot of video clips and video coverage for all the looting that took place in the state. The implication of this is that there is no hidden place for anybody that looted anything in Osun .
“ So , it is in their interest to voluntarily return all the items or face the wrath of the law after the expiration of the 72 hours . We are not going back after this period . We are going to go from house to house to retrieve the looted items . ”
The West African Examinations Council has said the results of the 2020 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination would be released next week .
The results were supposed to be out today but the examination body said the postponement was due to the violence and arson in the country which affected some of its offices and some of its operations nationwide .
The unrest experienced in the aftermath of the # EndSARS protests against police brutality had forced governments to impose curfew in their respective states .
“ WASSCE SC 2020 Results Release Date : Dear candidates , the Council had planned to release the results today in fulfilment of our Project 45 but due to the curfew imposed last week, it had to be postponed till next week.
“ The exact date will be made known soon , ” @ waecnigeria tweeted .
When contacted , the Head of Public Affairs , WAEC Nigeria , Demianus Ojijeogu , confirmed the development.
The President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd . ) , is currently meeting some former Nigerian leaders .
Although the agenda of the meeting is not made public , issues bordering on the current security situation in the country are believed to top the agenda .
While Buhari is presiding from the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa , Abuja , some former Nigerian leaders are participating virtually .
Those participating virtually include General Yakubu Gowon (retd . ); former President Olusegun Obasanjo ; Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar ( retd . ); former President Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Ernest Shonekan .
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd . ); Chief of Defence Staff , General Gabriel Olanisakin ; Inspector – General of Police , Mohammed Adamu ; Director -General , Department of State Services , Yusuf Bichi; and Director – General , National Intelligence Agency , Ahmed Rufai , among others are attending with the President .
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said he called President Muhammadu Buhari, to inform him of the killings of #ENDSARS protesters at Lekki Toll Gate, by the Nigerian Army on Tuesday, but was told he was not available.
“I made calls to the President twice yesterday but was told he wasn’t in the office. The second time he was said to be at the FEC meeting; I haven’t spoke to him directly but I have reached the Chief of Staff to the President”, he said in an interview with Arise TV.
When asked to explain why CCTV at Lekki Toll Gate was removed before the dastardly act, he said:
“The cameras removed were not security cameras, it is a laser camera for cars; it picks tags for cars and plate numbers; it is not a security camera; it is an infrared camera; security cameras are still available and that is what we are using for our own investigation.
“They did the removal because of curfew. As regards the light LCC put off the light because of the curfew order issued by Lagos State Government. I have never spoken to the owner of the company ( Tinubu’s son), I am very certain their decision was purely a corporate decision.
“I will not stop to continue to apologize to Lagosians. Is it possible to make CCTV footage public; Sanwo-Olu agreed to make the phone call public.”
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki , has issued a 48 – hour ultimatum to fleeing inmates from the Medium Security Correctional Centres on Sapele Road and at Oko , Airport Road, to return to the prisons .
Some hoodlums had hijacked the # EndSARS protests against police brutality and extrajudicial killings earlier in the week.
The rampaging hoodlums had attacked the two prisons and freed about 2 , 000 inmates.
But while inspecting the two vandalised correctional facilities on Wednesday , Obaseki said the freed inmates must return before Friday, October 23 , 2020 .
In a statement signed by Crusoe Osagie, Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy to the governor, Obaseki said the level of destruction in the state was never in the spirit of the # ENDSARS protests but the action of criminal elements who have now caused unrest in the state .
The statement was titled, ‘ Benin jailbreaks : Obaseki inspects correctional facilities , issues ultimatum to fleeing inmates’ .
It quoted Obaseki as saying , “ This is not in the spirit of # ENDSARS protests. The protesters were focused on reforming the police system not to destroy prisons and release inmates . You can tell that there was some criminal intention behind these acts.
“ We condemn the act wholeheartedly and even the # ENDSARS protesters have joined us in condemning this act . Government can ’ t sit down , fold its hands and allow a breakdown of law and order in our society because everyone will be affected.
“ We know some of the inmates have been released but we appeal to all inmates who have escaped to come back on their own before the close of business on Friday. They should report themselves back as nothing will be done to them but failure to do that , we will come after them as we have their records . ”
“ Controller of Correctional Services in the state , Babayo Maisanda , who took the governor and top security agencies round the damaged custodial centers , said the total number of escapees is 1818 , ” the statement added .
“ We were overwhelmed by these hoodlums who were armed. We heard of their coming and informed other security agencies to come to our aid but didn ’ t see them. We were eventually overpowered , ” Maisanda was quoted in the statement .
Again , the National Examinations Council has announced the rescheduling of the papers meant for Thursday , Friday and Saturday, attributing it to circumstances beyond its control .
This would be the second time NECO would be rescheduling the examination this week , the first being on Sunday .
The organisation said the affected papers would now be scheduled for November 17 , 18 and 2020 , while the timetable for the papers would be made available subsequently.
NECO Head of Information and Public Relations Division , Azeez Sani , made the announcement in a statement .
He said , “ This is to inform the general public and especially candidates that NECO has been constrained by circumstances beyond its control , to reschedule the papers meant for Thursday 22 October 2020 , Friday 23 October 2020 and Saturday 24 October 2020 .
“ The affected papers are now scheduled for November 17 , 18 and 19 2020 . The examination time table for these papers will be made available subsequently.
“ These changes were due to the security challenges , which led to the imposition of curfew and closure of schools by some state governments , in order to safeguard lives and properties . In the circumstances, it has become difficult for the council to move examination materials across the country.
“ The council prays that the examinations will continue on Tuesday 27 October 2020 , all things being equal , with the papers as originally scheduled in the examination time table . Any inconvenience caused is highly regretted. ”
Soun of Ogbomosoland, Oba Oladunni Oyewumi Ajagungbade III, has politely rejected a gift of N90m by Governor of Oyo State, Engr Seyi Makinde for renovation his palace which was attacked by hoodlums during #EndSARS protest in the town.
The monarch turned down the gift in a letter dated October 19, 2020, addressed to Governor Makinde. The governor had pledged a donation of N100m for the repairs of the vandalized palace.
Oba Oyewumi explained that the damages incurred during the unfortunate incident would be taken care of by a coordinated community effort of Ogbomoso sons and daughters. The King further stated that a N10m released by the Governor would be added to the contributions of his subjects.
Part of the letter read, “allow me to use this medium to express the appreciation of my people and myself for the kind gesture by Your Excellency in pledging the sum of N100m for the cost of the repairs and renovation of the Palace from the damages of the attack and an immediate disbursement of the sum of N10m”.
“However, subsequent to your visit, and in a gesture truly representative of the good and peace-loving people of Ogbomoso, a coordinated community of Ogbomoso sons and daughters have also taken up the responsibility for the repairs and renovation of their Palace and the repair and renovation work has commenced.”
“In consequence of this development, and the assessment done, there is no need to disburse the balance of the sum of N90m.
“May I reiterate my advice during your visit that avenues and opportunities to engage our teeming youth who are largely unemployed or underemployed be assiduously explored to keep them meaningfully engaged and not idle. I have no doubt in my mind that under your able leadership this will be done.”
“With respect to the misguided ones who violated the sacred sanctity of Aafin Ogbomoso, as the father of all, they are forgiven for their mistake and misdeed in the knowledge that they have retraced their steps and mended their ways for the future and will no longer allow themselves to be misguided”.
“Once again, my sincere thanks to you for your support and interest in upholding the traditional institution of Oyo State and by extension Yorubaland.”
“May God grant you wisdom and success as you steer the affairs of Oyo State”.
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