News
‘95% Of RSUST Lecturers Abandon Strike’
The Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST) says 95 per cent of members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have resumed academic work in spite of the ongoing strike by the lecturers.
The university’s spokesman, Mr Desmond Wosu, told newsmen in an interview in Port Harcourt yesterday that ASUU had declared media war against the university.
He alleged that the union had resorted to portraying the university in a negative manner so as to publicly undermine its credibility.
Wosu was reacting to a call by the leadership of ASUU to set-up a panel of inquiry to establish the legality of the reappointment of Prof. Barineme Fakae as vice-chancellor.
He said the call by ASUU was regrettable, especially as Governor Chibuike Amaechi had encouraged the union to seek court redress, if it felt that the reappointment exercise lacked transparency.
“I think what the national leadership of ASUU should do is, if they want legal interpretation of what Governor Amaechi had done; is to go to a competent court of jurisdiction, instead of blackmail and campaign of calumny against Amaechi and the management of this university.
“For ASUU to continue to blackmail us and wage media war against this university is unfortunate because more than 95 per cent of academic staff have come back to work after realising that it was unnecessary for them to have embarked on the strike in the first place.
“We appeal to ASUU to shield their swords and prevail on its members, who are out there to come back to work because Amaechi performed his civic responsibility of appointing a vice-chancellor for this university.”
Wosu said the university would not be distracted by the union and as such, would continue to run its academic programmes in the interest of the people.
Reacting, the Chairman of the university branch of ASUU, Dr Felix Igwe, said the union opted for a judicial commission of inquiry because of its transparency and speed in dispensation of justice.
He said that the university management was afraid of being confronted with facts, and as such, opted to deceive the public by carrying media propaganda against the union.
“We are a trade union and so, if we are protesting for something, it is for us to choose which method we are going to use to call attention to a protest.
“We are protesting against what they (university management) did, and they are now asking us to use their own method of finding solution to what we are protesting against.
“There is a legal way and also the trade union way of doing things; court alone is not the only solution to solving problems that have to do with industrial dispute as it is.
“In 2008, when the visitor (Amaechi) imposed the vice-chancellor (Fakae) on us by making him a substantive vice-chancellor after he had served for nine months as acting (VC); we protested and the visitor said the union could go to court.
“The visitor said that if you (ASUU) go to court; the case will be in court until I (Amaechi) finish my tenure and the vice-chancellor finishes his tenure.
“So ASUU went to Federal High court and the issue suffered 22 different adjournments and so it’s not as if the issue of court is not something that anybody can exploit; ASUU decides the best method of attending to its issues whenever it arises.”
Igwe also said that the university management was deceiving the public when it claimed that 95 per cent of striking lecturers had resumed academic activities.
According to him, the university is contradicting itself as the same university which is claiming that lecturers have resumed work; is asking the same lecturers to come back to work.
Our correspondent recalls that ASUU had on August, 2012, embarked on a strike over the reappointment of Prof Barineme Fakae as the institution’s vice-chancellor.
The Nigerian rail system generated N1.69billionn in revenue from passengers in the second quarter of 2024, reflecting a 53.14 per cent increase compared to the N1.10billion recorded in the same period of 2023.
This data was disclosed by the National Bureau of Statistics in its report released yesterday.
According to the report, a total of 689,263 passengers travelled by rail in Q2, representing a growth rate of 45.38 per cent compared to 474,117 passengers in the corresponding quarter of 2023.
The volume of goods transported via rail also saw a significant increase, with 143,759 tons moved in Q2 2024, up from 56,936 tons in Q2 2023. Additionally, the Nigerian Railway Corporation reported a volume of 5,940 tons of goods transported through pipelines in Q2 2024, an increase from the 2,856 tons recorded in the same period of the previous year.
Revenue from goods conveyed via rail stood at N537.36m in Q2 2024, a remarkable increase of 206.68 per cent compared to N175.22m in Q2 2023. The movement of goods through pipelines also contributed to revenue generation, with N42.08m collected in Q2 2024, compared to N12.81million in Q2 2023.
Other revenue receipts amounted to N994.68million in Q2 2024, representing a staggering increase of 5,206.68 per cent from the N18.74m recorded in the corresponding period of last year.
In the first quarter, of 2024, The Tide source reported that Nigeria spent more on servicing the debt incurred for building its railways than the revenue generated by its railway system. The country spent 2,470 per cent more on railway debt servicing than it made from revenue from rail services in the first quarter of 2024.
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) says it is committed to advancing projects and programmes that enhance food security and sustainable growth in the region.
Chief Monday Igbuya, the Delta State representative on the NDDC Board, made this pledge in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, yesterday by the NDDC’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mrs Seledi Thompson-Wakama.
Igbuya spoke at the inauguration of a training and empowerment programme for women and youths in livestock and agro processing in Amukpe, Sapele area of Delta.
He stated that the NDDC was prioritising livestock training in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“NDDC is focussed on implementing programmes to ensure food security and agricultural growth in multi sectors, aiming to improve living standards.
“It is our belief that for socio-economic development to take place, there is need to develop manpower in the agricultural sector,” he said.
Igbuya expressed confidence that training farmers would enhance livestock production, create jobs, and alleviate poverty in the Niger Delta.
Mrs Winifred Madume, NDDC Director of Agriculture and Fisheries, said that training farmers and entrepreneurs was essential for improving productivity and market access.
“The commission has been promoting research and development through various institutions and providing farming techniques to beneficiaries,” she said.
The Project Consultant, Dr Simon Akhaine, said that 200 women and youths had registered for the livestock and agro-business skill acquisition programme.
According to him, the programme aims to equip them with the essential knowledge and skills for self-sufficiency in livestock farming, thereby boosting regional food security.
President Bola Tinubu will not attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this year.
In his stead, Vice President Kashim Shettima will lead Nigeria’s delegation to the annual summit.
Tinubu “wants to focus on domestic issues and address some of the country’s challenges, especially after the recent devastating flooding,” a statement from the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, revealed yesterday.
The statement is titled ‘Vice President Shettima to Lead Nigeria’s Delegation to the 79th United Nations General Assembly.’
It reads, “President Bola Tinubu will not attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this year.
“Therefore, the President has directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to lead Nigeria’s delegation.”
Tinubu, who returned to the country last Sunday after his trips to China and the United Kingdom, “wants to focus on domestic issues and address some of the country’s challenges, especially after the recent devastating flooding,” said Onanuga.
At UNGA 79, Vice President Shettima will deliver Nigeria’s national statement to the General Assembly, attend important sideline events, and hold bilateral meetings.
The high-level General Debate, with the theme “Leaving No One Behind: Acting Together for the Advancement of Peace, Sustainable Development, and Human Dignity for Present and Future Generations,” will run from Tuesday, September 24, through Saturday, September 28, 2024.
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