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RSU, IAUOE Join Varsity Workers Strike. Today
Workers of Nigerian universities will begin a nationwide “warning” strike today following the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum given the Federal Government to address issues of Earned Allowances, sacked workers of university staff schools and other issues affecting their members and the university system.
President of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Chairman of Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU, Samson Ugwoke, told newsmen that the strike would be “total and comprehensive”.
Ugwoke pointed out that already, their members have been mobilised, while all the non-teaching staff in the university system across the federation have been directed to stay at home from today.
The SSANU president, however, said it would last for five days, from Monday to Friday, to serve as a warning to the Federal Government.
“Yes, the strike will start on Monday, and it will be comprehensive and total. It will last for five days – Monday to Friday. To ensure its success, we have already mobilised all our members, and they have been directed to stay away from work from Monday,” Ugwoke said.
The unions, under the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU, had issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet their demands or face a nationwide strike.
The unions said the strike had become imperative as the government failed to response to their demands.
In a circular issued after the JAC meeting penultimate Thursday, and sent to all branches, the unions warned that at the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum, they would be left with no other option than withdrawing their services and closing down the universities if the government fails to address all their grievances.
Entitled: “Notice of Industrial Action,” the circular, which was signed by Ugwoke and the General Secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi, lamented the non-challant attitude of the Federal Government towards addressing their grievances and obeying court judgment.
The circular read: “That a 14-day ultimatum of industrial action be given to the Federal Government to address the pending issues with effect from Monday, August 5, 2019. During the period of the ultimatum, all branches are hereby directed to carry out peaceful protest on Tuesday, August 6, 2019 and Thursday, August 15, 2019.
“At the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum, Sunday, August 18, 2019, without any positive response from the Federal Government, members shall proceed on a five-day warning strike in all branches from Monday 19 to Friday, August 23, 2019, inclusive.
“You are, therefore, directed to properly mobilise our members for this action. All defaulting branches shall be sanctioned accordingly.”
However, academic and other official activities would be paralysed in the two state-owned universities, the Rivers State University (RSU) and the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUOE) following the nationwide industrial strike embarked upon by the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) under the aegis of Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU, today.
Speaking to The Tide on the decision to join the strike in the state, the Chairman of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) at the Rivers State University (RSU), Nkpolu-Oruworukwo, Port Harcourt, Comrade Azuma Cheta said members of the union would join the strike beginning from today because of alleged government’s insensitivity to the plight of their members working at the university staff schools as well as its inability to comply with the national directives of the union.
Cheta disclosed that the state government had refused to pay their members working at the staff schools and the international schools their salaries for the past four years.
The chairman said they would have relaxed the strike but for the interest of those members now languishing in pains over the government’s refusal to pay them salaries since February, 2016.
“We will comply with the directive but for our members at the international schools and staff schools, who the state government has refused to pay salaries for the past four years”, he stated.
Also at the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUOE), the Chairman of SSANU, Comrade Chisa Egwu could not be reached for comments, but a senior staff working at the administration department, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said they held a congress meeting on the proposed strike, last Friday, at the union’s auditorium.
President Bola Tinubu has approved the nomination of four new members to the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement yesterday, said the appointment is to fill existing vacancies and strengthen the board’s capacity.
The statement said the approved nominees are Mr. Olusegun Omosehin of the National Insurance Commission and Engr. Wole Ogunsanya of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria.
Tinubu also endorsed the nomination of Sam Onyechi, who represents the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum and Barrister Owei Oyanbo from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The President encouraged the new members to leverage their expertise and dedication to enhance local content development within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
It added, “The nominations arose from the exit of previous institutional representatives from the Governing Council.
“The NCDMB Governing Council, established under Section 69 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, comprises representatives from key institutions.
“These include the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, and the National Insurance Commission.”
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has announced plans to construct additional hostels, rehabilitate roads, and enhance power supply in the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT).
NDDC’s Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, disclosed this during a visit to the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, yesterday by a delegation from the UNIPORT’s Governing Council.
Ogbuku stated that the NDDC had committed to upgrading facilities at UNIPORT as part of efforts to foster partnership with educational institutions across the Niger Delta.
According to him, the implementation of additional projects at the university forms part of a broader strategy to improve education standards in the region.
“Aside from the construction of new hostel blocks and installation of a 300 KVA solar inverter system, the NDDC will also facilitate more projects in the university.
“The commission will also deploy its engineers to assess the condition of UNIPORT’s roads and hostels for potential rehabilitation,” he said.
Ogbuku noted that upon completion, the projects would add to various initiatives previously undertaken by the commission at the university.
“These and other projects reflect our commitment to actualising President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the Niger Delta region,” he added.
He reaffirmed the NDDC’s dedication to fostering development and strengthening partnerships across the region.
Earlier, Sen. Mao Ohuanbunwa, Chairman of UNIPORT’s Governing Council, who led the delegation commended the current leadership of the NDDC for its achievements in accelerating development in the Niger Delta.
He highlighted the university’s infrastructural challenges, noting that it lacked adequate facilities to accommodate its growing student population, and appealed for the NDDC’s support in addressing the shortfall.
“Currently, UNIPORT has a total student population of about 50,000, while its hostel accommodation capacity can only cater for 5,000 students.
“We therefore urge the NDDC to assist in the construction of additional hostels, improve transportation facilities, and facilitate the acquisition of gas turbines to enhance power supply for our students,” Ohuanbunwa pleaded.
The Vice Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, commended NDDC for its impactful projects across the Niger Delta and extended an invitation to the commission to participate in the institution’s forthcoming 50th anniversary celebrations.
The Senate has rejected a motion to rename the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters after the former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, late Prof Humphrey Nwosu.
Nwosu presided over the June 12, 1993, presidential election, which was truncated by the former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd).
The election which was won by the late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola, was adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the electoral history of Nigeria.
The motion to rename INEC after Nwosu was re-sponsored by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe yesterday after lawmakers threw it out last Wednesday.
Abaribe called for posthumous national honours to be conferred on Nwosu in recognition of his role in Nigeria’s democratic evolution.
However, the proposal sparked a heated debate once again, with lawmakers deeply divided over Nwosu’s legacy.
Senator Osita Ngwu acknowledged that Nwosu operated under a military regime, which restricted his ability to announce the results.
He argued that “there was no way he would have announced the results with a gun to his head. That doesn’t change the fact that some of us see him as a hero.”
Senator Austin Akobundu, however, described it as most uncharitable for lawmakers to dismiss Nwosu’s contributions, insisting that he deserved a place in Nigeria’s hall of honour.
On the other hand, several senators like Senator Jimoh Ibrahim dismissed the idea outright, questioning why the Senate should honour someone who failed to announce the results insisting that “nothing should be named after him”.
Senator Cyril Fasuyi argued that history does not reward efforts, but only results.
“As long as he did not announce the result, whether under duress or not, I am against naming INEC headquarters after him,” he submitted.
Also, Senator Sunday Karimi criticised Nwosu for lacking the courage to speak out, while Senator Afolabi Salisu warned that immortalising him would undermine the memory of MKO Abiola, the widely accepted winner of the June 12, 1993, annulled election.
“Any attempt to do anything beyond a one-minute silence is to rubbish Abiola’s legacy,” he tendered.
After intense deliberation, most senators rejected the motion through a voice vote.
They, however, agreed to honour him with a one-minute silence and extend condolences to his family, effectively dismissing the other prayers to immortalise Nwosu.