Education

ASUU, SSANU In Verbal War Over N22.1bn Allowance

Published

4 years ago

October 31, 2021

Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, are now at each other’s throats over how to disburse the N22.1 billion Earned Allowances promised university workers by the federal government.

ASUU is accusing SSANU and other staff unions in the university system of not been able to fight their own battles and always waiting for ASUU to do the fighting and then come to share in the spoil.

However, SSANU is accusing ASUU of greed and that the union likes to play the role of a tree making the forest.

The National President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke and the National President of SSANU, Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, made the positions of their unions known in separate interviews with the Vanguard Newspaper at the weekend.

Osodeke, who first spoke, wondered why other unions in the university system would not fight their own battles, but wait until ASUU has done all the work before raising issues.

“We don’t know why they won’t negotiate for their members. According to Trade Union Rules, a union cannot negotiate for members of another union. They just want to incubate eggs they did not lay. ASUU collects dues from members and it is our duty to defend such members and negotiate on their behalf. Let other unions go and do the same.

“I don’t know the kind of unionism they practise, is it unionism of attaching themselves to other unions? Let them go and meet the government if what they are being offered is not enough. Whatever they get is because of the magnanimity of the government. You are a journalist and if the government gives anything to medical workers, will your union, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, says its members would benefit from it?” He asked.

On his part, Comrade Ibrahim of SSANU accused ASUU of behaving as if it can do everything all alone in the university system, and also accused the union of greed.

“We don’t need to attach ourselves to any other union to demand and get our dues and rights. In the first instance, we are all members of the university system. When the first tranche of allowance was paid, it was fairly shared and ASUU did not like that. So, before the second payment was paid, ASUU had gone to twist the arm of the government and from the government end, the sharing formula followed the funds.

“After the payment of the second tranche, the government set up a committee to do the forensic audit of all federal universities and it was discovered that ASUU members were overpaid. Up until now, the report of the forensic audit has not been released. ASUU forced the government to let the sharing template follow the funds,” he said.

On the call by SSANU and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions, NASU, that government should suspend the disbursement based on 75% allocation for ASUU and 25% for other unions, Osodeke said SSANU and NASU could not stop the disbursement.

However, Ibrahim said if the money is shared based on that formula, his members would decide the next line of action.

But finding by our correspondent is that the money has not been released as at Sunday, the end of October, which was the deadline given the government by ASUU to pay.

When confronted with that, Osodeke said the leadership of ASUU would meet in a few days to assess the situation.

Recall that last week, the non-teaching staff went to town complaining about alleged lopsidedness in how the expected money would be shared.

SSANU and NASU, which formed a Joint Action Committee, JAC, through Ibrahim and Peter Adeyemi, the Secretary General of NASU, said they would not accept the sharing template being proposed.

The third non-academic staff union in universities is the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT.

While the government is in a fix over the situation, the possiblity of the government giving the non-teaching staff additional fund cannot be ruled out.

It did the same thing when tbe second tranche of N23 billion for the year 2017 was released and ASUU was allowed to take 89% and following the complaint of the non-teaching staff, an additional sum of N8 billion was given them.

Meanwhile, the situation, if not handled properly, can lead to another round of industrial action in the universities, either by teaching or non-teaching staff.

Education

HOMEF Decries Alarming Rate Of Malnutrition, Food Insecurity

Published

4 months ago

March 1, 2025

Editor

Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), has decried the alarming rate of malnutrition and food insecurity in nations of the world, lamenting that Nigeria tops the list.

According to HOMEF, rather than directly addressing the challenges of malnutrition and food insecurity, the government of Nigeria is focused on the deployment of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as a solution to food insecurity.

INFO DAILY reports that HOMEF’s research of 2023 reveals that Abuja tops the list of GM food with 16 products followed by Lagos with 12 products while 11 products were captured in Port Harcourt on the chart.

Benin City and Warri followed on the chart with 9 and 8 products respectively while Yenagoa, Uyo and Enugu had 4, 3 and 1 products in their respective markets during the research.

Speaking at the organization’s Sustain- Ability Academy on Food Justice and Restoration which was held at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, the Executive Director, HOMEF, Tasked Nigerians to challenge “current narratives in favour of industrial agriculture.”

Speaking on the theme: Food Justice and Restoration, Bassey, said the
current narratives of hunger in Nigeria and Africa require urgent in-depth interrogation, just as he attributed hunger in Nigeria to the persistent violence in the northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY).

Bassey added: “According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, up 33.1 million Nigerians are projected to be food insecure in 2025.

“This projection is based on a number of factors namely: economic hardship, coupled with record high inflation (which reached 40.9 per cent for food in June 2024), climate change impacts, particularly foods, which directly impact the rising costs of both food and essential non-food commodities and services.

He continued: “Persistent violence in the northeastern states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) hinders food availability and access. Additionally, armed banditry and kidnapping in the Northwest and farmer-harder conflict in the North-Central states, including Zamfara, Kastina, Sokoto, Kaduna, Benue, Plateau and Niger, exacerbate the prevailing economic struggles,” he stressed.

The Executive Director, therefore, charged the Nigerian government to “protect the rights of people to safe food and a healthy environment irrespective of their social or financial status.”

“We all contribute by making healthy food choices, supporting agroecological initiatives, and advocating for policy reforms,” he added.

Earlier, the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, UNIBEN, Prof. Chris Omokaro, said a Professor of Agricultural Economic it pleases him that the programme focuses on GMO, and urged Nigerians to interrogate if GMOs follow the natural principle of breeding.

Education

18-year-old UNILORIN Student Becomes Chartered a Accountant

Published

5 months ago

January 18, 2025

Editor

18 year-old student of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Department of Accounting, Miss Faith Aduragbemi Olabisi, has qualified as a chartered accountant.

According to the bulletin of the university, the feat was described as a rare display of the superlative service delivery obtainable at the University of Ilorin.

The statement said that Miss Olabisi is one of the several candidates who were successful in the November 2024 professional examinations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).

Speaking on the development, Miss Olabisi said that it had always been her dream to become a chartered accountant as soon as possible.

Miss Olabisi appreciated the support of her lecturers and mother who provided her with the necessary motivation needed to attain the feat at her age.

Also speaking on this rare feat, the acting head of the Department of Accounting, Dr Segun Abogun, said that he was very impressed with what he called “Miss Olabisi’s Outstanding Achievement.”

He explained that Miss Olabisi is one of the several students of the department that passed the ICAN professional examinations last year.

Dr Abogun encouraged Miss Olabisi and her colleagues to continue to serve as role models to others for the department to produce more chartered accountants among them, even before their graduation from the institution.

Reacting to the development, the vice chancellor, Professor Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, expressed delight with the laudable achievement of the Unilorite.

In a statement issued by the institution’s director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Kunle Akogun, the VC, who said that he was not surprised with the performance of Miss Olabisi, said that the institution had always produced record-breaking professionals among its students, staff, and alumni.

The vice chancellor, who is also the secretary-general of the association of West African Universities (AWAU), explained that it is performances like that of Miss Olabisi and the enduring peace within the university that had made it the nation’s most sought-after.

Professor Egbewole congratulated Miss Olabisi for making herself, family, institution and womanhood proud as he encouraged her to continue to give her best to her studies and to remain a shining role-model not only in learning but also in character.

The VC also encouraged other students of the institution to emulate Miss Olabisi for them to also succeed in their academic and professional endeavours

Education

2025 UTME/DE Registration Yet To Begin, Says JAMB

Published

5 months ago

January 15, 2025

Editor

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that registration for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE) has not yet begun.

In a statement posted on its official X account on Wednesday, JAMB assured candidates that the registration process details would be announced soon.

The post reads: “Attention prospective 2025 UTME/DE candidates! Kindly note that registration has not commenced. However, details on the exercise would be announced soon.

“You can get your NIN ahead and a phone number that has not been previously used to register on our platform to generate your profile code prior the time.”

In another development, JAMB revealed that The Lekki Headmaster by Kabir Alabi Garba will be the recommended text for the 2025 UTME Use of English examination.

“Attention prospective 2025 UTME candidates! This is to inform you that The Lekki Headmaster by Kabir Alabi Garba has been approved as the reading text for the Use of English,” JAMB said.

“Details on the UTME/DE registration shall be released shortly. Kindly be on the lookout for updates.”